The Effects of Eight-Month Physical Activity Intervention on Vigilance Performance in Adult Obese Population

We aim to analyze the effects of an 8-month physical activity intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness, body mass index (BMI), and vigilance performance in an adult obese population. We conducted an 8-month physical activity intervention based on dance and rhythmic activities. The weekly frequency was 2 sessions of 1 hr per day. Training sessions were divided into 3 phases: a 10-min warm-up, 40 min of dance and rhythmic activities, and 10 min to cool-down. To assess cardiorespiratory fitness, participants performed a modified version of the 6-min walk test from the Senior Fitness Test battery (Larsson & Mattsson, 2001; Rikli & Jones, 1999). Vigilance performance was measured by means of the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT). Two measurements were performed immediately before and after the intervention. The results revealed that participants improved their cardiorespiratory fitness, BMI, and vigilance performance after the intervention. All in all, findings contribute new empirical evidence to the field that investigates the benefits of physical activity intervention on cognitive processes in obese population.     

Learning to Live with OCD: Labeling,the Self,and Stigma

Researchers have long questioned relationships among self-conceptions, “mental illness,” and stigma. This article looks at these issues through the lens of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), as minimal research has focused on the lived experience of OCD. We examine the impact of OCD on constructions of identity and the management/resistance of stigma. We do this through in-depth interviews with an untraditional Internet-based sample. We find respondents experience a crisis of self that leads them to a variety of strategies to deal with self-stigma, experienced stigma, and anticipated stigma.     

Quality adjusted survival analysis: A neglected application of the quality of well-being scale

Abstract

Background In survival analysis, those who are alive are statistically coded as 1.0 while those who are dead are coded as 0.0. Since everyone who remains alive is given the same score, a person confined to bed with an irreversible coma is alive and is counted the same as someone who is active and asymtomatic. The Quality of Well-being (QWB) scale defines levels of wellness on the continuum between death and optimum function and integrates morbidity and mortality into the same number. This paper demonstrates the effect of including mortality in QWB estimates for male adults with HIV infection.

Method This study involves follow-up of a cohort of 386 male adults participating in the San Diego HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center (HNRC). Patients were evaluated using the QWB at enrollment and at six month intervals. All patients were classified into three stages of HIV disease according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) classification: CDC IV (symptomatic HIV disease), CDC II or III (asymptomatic infection) and uninfected male controls.

Results QWB scores were calculated with and without mortality included for men in each CDC class who completed a one year (N = 148) or two year follow-up (N = 60). At each evaluation, there were significant differences among CDC classes and inclusion of deaths increased the variance accounted for by CDC class at each evaluation.

Conclusions HIV infection has significant impacts upon both morbidity and mortality. Survival analysis captures only the mortality dimension, while quality adjusted survival analysis using the QWB includes both dimensions. We propose quality adjusted survival analysis as a more sensitive method for assessing outcome in HIV disease and other health conditions.     

Structural Equation Modeling of Spatial Presence: The Influence of Cognitive Processes and Traits

This article examines the formation process of spatial presence, which is conceived as a two-step process involving the construction of a mental model of the mediated environment, followed by the emergence of spatial presence. During both stages, cognitive processes and user traits are in effect. We present data derived from a pooled set of data of three studies using the same virtual environment. Structural equation modeling is used to confirm the proposed theoretical model. The results show that attention and the trait of visual spatial imagery are positive predictors of the mental model of the mediated environment. In the second step, the formation of spatial presence is governed by involvement, the suspension of disbelief, and the domain-specific interest, together with the mental model.     

Task dependent modulation of exogenous attention: Effects of target duration and intervening events

Inhibition of return (IOR) consists of slower reaction times in response to stimuli appearing at previously attended or inspected locations. The exact mechanisms underlying the effect have not yet been determined. In the present work, we manipulated two variables, target duration and intervening event (fixation cue between cue and target), through which we modulated the IOR effect as a function of task. When the target was presented until response, the presence of an intervening event made the cueing effect more negative in all tasks, although facilitation in the absence of an intervening event was only observed in discrimination and go–no-go tasks. When the target duration was 50 ms, the effect of the intervening event on cueing was also only observed for the discrimination and go–no-go tasks. Target duration had no effect at all in the discrimination task. Possible mechanisms for these modulations (detection cost and spatial selection benefit, both of which are based on cue–target integration processes) are discussed.     

Self-Criticism and Depressive Symptoms Mediate the Relationship Between Emotional Experiences With Family and Peers and Self-Injury in Adolescence

Although the relationship between negative childhood experiences, peer victimization, depressive symptoms, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is widely recognized, the mechanisms involved are not fully understood, especially among adolescents. This study aims to test the mediating role of both self-criticism and depressive symptoms in the relationship between memories of negative or positive experiences, current peer victimization, and NSSI. The sample consists 854 Portuguese adolescents, 451 female and 403 male, with ages between 12 and 18 years (M = 14.89; SD = 1.79), from middle and secondary schools. Participants answered self-report measures. Results from path analysis showed that memories of negative experiences, the absence of positive memories with family in childhood and peer victimization indirectly impact on NSSI through self-criticism and depressive symptoms. In addition, these stressful experiences led to depressive symptoms through self-criticism. Lastly, the most severe form of self-criticism indirectly impacts on NSSI through depressive symptoms, even though it also has a strong direct effect. It suggests that negative experiences with parents and peer victimization, as well as the absence of positive memories with family, have a negative impact on NSSI when these experiences are linked with a sense of self-hatred and depressive symptoms.     

The Indirect Effect of Early Experiences on Deliberate Self-Harm in Adolescence: Mediation by Negative Emotional States and Moderation by Daily Peer Hassles

The present study examines whether early experiences of threat, subordination and devaluation with family influence adolescents’ negative emotional states and subsequently deliberate self-harm; and if this effect is conditioned by daily peer hassles. The sample consisted of 441 adolescents (57.6 % female) with ages between 13 and 18 years old from middle and high schools. Participants completed self-report instruments measuring early memories of threat, subordination and devaluation, daily peer hassles, negative affect and deliberate self-harm behaviors. Results from conditional process analysis showed that adolescents who feel devalued and experience threat and submission within family tend to endorse high levels of negative affect, which in turn accounts for increased endorsements on deliberate self-harm. Moreover, the impact of negative affect on deliberate self-harm is amplified by the presence of moderate and high levels of daily peer hassles. This study suggests the relevance of assessing and intervening on type of emotional memories (i.e., threat, subordination and devaluation), daily disruptions with peers and negative emotional states with adolescents who self-injure. These findings may be useful in the development of preventive and intervention programs for reducing deliberate self-harm in adolescence.