Predictors of Risky and Precautionary Sexual Behaviors Among Single and Married White Women1

Risky and precautionary sexual behaviors were examined in a community sample of 260 single and married/cohabitating White women. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the ability of age, socioeconomic status (SES), marital status, religiosity, and 9 health belief constructs to predict risky sexual behavior with one's partner, using a barrier method of birth control, unintended pregnancies, and number of sexual partners in the past year. The pattern of results suggests that single White women appear to feel more vulnerable to HIV and STD infection and more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior than do married White women. The discussion focuses on the importance of sociocultural factors in understanding risk behaviors within the social context of relationship status, the complexity of the concept of risk reduction, and the need for going beyond the health belief model in order to develop different HIV prevention strategies for single and married White women.     

Personality and Emotional Intelligence in Older Adults: A Predictive Model Based on Structural Equations Modeling

Recent research on emotions in aging points to emotional intelligence (EI) as a factor that plays an important role in this process, and different conceptualizations of EI show that this construct is closely linked to personality in the general population. The main purpose of this study was to find out whether findings obtained in the general population indicating a predictive relationship between personality and EI are also confirmed during the aging process. A sample of 233 healthy older subjects between 60 and 90?years old was used. Participants answered two self-report scales on EI and personality, respectively. Structural equation modeling was used to test the predictive role of personality in EI. Personality was found to be a predictor of EI in older people, and the weight of the prediction was significant in all the dimensions of the big five personality factors, except the dimension of neuroticism, which is known to vary greatly during the aging process. These results indicate that personality influences EI differently in the older adult population, compared to the general population. This is a relevant finding that should be examined further in order to better understand the influence of personality on positive emotional development in this population.     

Air pollution, cognitive deficits and brain abnormalities: a pilot study with children and dogs

Exposure to air pollution is associated with neuroinflammation in healthy children and dogs in Mexico City. Comparative studies were carried out in healthy children and young dogs similarly exposed to ambient pollution in Mexico City. Children from Mexico City (n: 55) and a low polluted city (n:18) underwent psychometric testing and brain magnetic resonance imaging MRI. Seven healthy young dogs with similar exposure to Mexico City air pollution had brain MRI, measurement of mRNA abundance of two inflammatory genes cyclooxygenase-2, and interleukin 1 beta in target brain areas, and histopathological evaluation of brain tissue. Children with no known risk factors for neurological or cognitive disorders residing in a polluted urban environment exhibited significant deficits in a combination of fluid and crystallized cognition tasks. Fifty-six percent of Mexico City children tested showed prefrontal white matter hyperintense lesions and similar lesions were observed in dogs (57%). Exposed dogs had frontal lesions with vascular subcortical pathology associated with neuroinflammation, enlarged Virchow-Robin spaces, gliosis, and ultrafine particulate matter deposition. Based on the MRI findings, the prefrontal cortex was a target anatomical region in Mexico City children and its damage could have contributed to their cognitive dysfunction. The present work presents a groundbreaking, interdisciplinary methodology for addressing relationships between environmental pollution, structural brain alterations by MRI, and cognitive deficits/delays in healthy children.     

Grounding person memory in space: Does spatial anchoring of behaviors improve recall?

In two experiments, we examine and find support for the general hypothesis that memory for behavioral information in the context of an impression formation task depends on where that information is located in vertical space. These findings extend earlier work showing that memory for location and shifts of spatial attention are influenced by the “good is up” metaphor. Specifically, we show that person memory is better for behavioral information in metaphor compatible locations (positive in upper space and negative in lower space) than in metaphor incompatible locations (positive in lower space and negative in upper space). These findings show for the first time that person‐specific information, and person memory in general, is structured spatially. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.