The effect of metronome pacing on selected aerodynamic patterns of stuttered speech: Some preliminary observations and interpretations

The purpose of this investigation was to provide some preliminary data regarding the effects of metronome pacing on physiological aspects of speech during stuttering. Five aerodynamic measures were chosen as dependent variables: (a) peak intraoral air pressure, (2) intraoral air pressure onset duration, (3) intraoral air pressure offset duration, (4) total intraoral air pressure duration, and (5) peak air flow rate. Five adult stutterers and five adult nonstutterers read a prose passage containing 12 English consonants, each in three syllable-initial stressed positions, during a control condition and experimental condition. In the experimental condition the subjects read the passage while synchronizing one word per beat at 60 beats per minute. The results demonstrated that both stutterers and normals evidenced lower peak pressures and greater pressure durations during metronome pacing. Air flow rates increased for normal subjects and decreased for stutterers in the experimental condition. Dysfluencies recorded during the control condition were observed to have much more rapid intraoral air pressure onsets when compared with fluent counterparts in the experimental reading. These results were interpreted with reference to Wingate's (1969) modified vocalization hypothesis and Van Riper's (1971) altered timing concept.     

Gender Differences in Population Versus Media Body Sizes: A Comparison over Four Decades

Mean body mass indices (BMIs, kg/m²)of North Americans aged 18 to 24 collected from 11national health surveys were compared to: Playboycenterfold models, Miss America Pageant winners,andPlaygirl models. The survey samples were representative of themix of different ethnic and racial groups in Canada andthe USA. No racial or ethnic information was availablefor either the Playboy women or the Miss America Pageant winners. Ninety percent of the Playgirlmen were white; 10%, black; 1.5%, Hispanic black; and.8%, American Samoan. From the 1950s to the present,while the body sizes of Miss America Pageant winners decreased significantly and the body sizes ofPlayboy centerfold models remained below normal bodyweight, the body sizes of Playgirl models and youngadult North American women and men increasedsignificantly. The increase in body size of Playgirl modelsappears to be due to an increase in muscularity, whereasthe increase in body size of young North American menand women is more likely due to an increase in body fat. Thus, in the 1990s, the body size andshape of the average young adult North American becameincreasingly different from the ideal being promoted bythe media. Furthermore the difference in male and female body sizes depicted by the media inthe 1990s was huge, whereas the difference between thebody sizes of 18- to 24-year-old North American womenand men was actually quite small. These discrepancies are discussed in relation to the differentsociocultural expectations for the two genders and theincreasing prevalence of body dissatisfaction reportedby both women and men.     

The Role of Husbands’ and Wives’ Emotional Expressivity in the Marital Relationship

The current investigation was designed to examine the role of positive and negative emotional expressivity in the marital relationship. Data from 58 married couples were used to assess spouses’ levels of emotional expressivity and how these levels predicted reports of marital functioning. Regression analyses indicated that positive emotional expressivity had limited influence on marital functioning. Negative expressivity, however, had a strong impact on marital love, conflict, and ambivalence. Post-hoc analyses revealed significant differences between pairings in which the husband was high in negative expressivity, irrespective of wives’ negative emotional expressivity, and pairings in which both partners were low in negative emotional expressivity. These findings are discussed with respect to previous research that suggests that wives’ emotional expressivity is the major determinant of marital functioning.     

Men and Menstruation: A Qualitative Exploration of Beliefs,Attitudes and Experiences

Our article presents the findings from a study exploring men’s attitudes towards and perceptions of menstruation. Using a social constructionist framework, we analyzed 48 Australian men’s written accounts in response to an anonymous online questionnaire which explored messages they received about menstruation growing up as well as their current attitudes towards, and experiences with, menstruation. Respondents were 18–69 years-old; most were Caucasian and in an intimate relationship, and they varied considerably in terms of educational attainment. Thematic analysis yielded four themes: (a) managing the stigma of menstruation, (b) talking menstruation today—open and closed communication, (c) menstruation is part of relationships, and (d) menstruation and social commentary. These findings shed light on how boys learn about menstruation and how men’s role in menstruation is constructed, emphasizing the educational, relational, and socio-political contexts in which these attitudes are created. Researchers, health care providers, and educators could use our findings to create more effective reproductive health education programs. Improving communication between parents and children may encourage a more balanced view towards menstruation, working towards reducing the stigma commonly experienced by girls and women.     

Emotion Regulation of Preschool Children in Foster Care: The Influence of Maternal Depression and Parenting

Emotion regulation is a core developmental process that is related to children’s academic success and mental health. A small body of research has documented that maltreated children show deficits in this developmental arena. The current study was designed to add to the limited literature on emotion regulation in maltreated children in foster care. Emotion regulation tasks were administered to preschool foster children, videotaped, and later coded. Parenting was assessed via coded observations of mother-child interactions. Mothers reported on their experience of depressive symptomatology. We examined the relation of foster parenting and foster mother depression, as well as child characteristics and child welfare experiences, to emotion regulation, specifically in the joy and anger domains. Findings revealed that maternal depression and parental structuring significantly contributed to children’s anger regulation, but not to their regulation of joy. These findings are considered in the context of future research with respect to young maltreated children in foster care.     

The association of antidepressant and statin use with death and incident cardiovascular disease varies by depression severity

Depression has been reported to be associated with a greater risk of death and cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, the impact of antidepressants (ADM) on CVD risk remains controversial. Statin use is known to decrease CVD risk. Whether the use of these medications together affects CVD risk has not been studied. Patients (N = 26,828) completing the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), ≥40 years of age, without prior CVD, and no prior ADM use were studied. Depressive severity was categorized as none-mild (PHQ-9 score ≤14, n = 21,517) and moderate-severe (PHQ-9 score ≥15, n = 5311). Cox hazard regression was used to evaluate the association of no ADM/no statin use (n = 23,104 [86.1%]), ADM/no statin use (n = 877 [3.3%]), no ADM/statin use (n = 2627 [9.8%]), and ADM/statin use (n = 220 [.8%]) with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE: death, CAD, stroke). Patients averaged 56 ± 12 years; 61% female. There were 1182 (4.4%) 3 year MACE events. The association of ADM and statin use with MACE varied by depressive symptom severity, with statin therapy associated with a decreased risk in the none-mild group (HR = .78, p = .007) and ADM in the moderate-high group (HR = 0.58, p = 0.02). Concomitant use of ADMs and statins did not appear to provide additive benefit.     

Physiological markers of challenge and threat mediate the effects of performance-based goals on performance

We predicted that adopting a performance-approach vs. performance-avoidance goal would lead to physiological responses characteristic of psychological states of challenge vs. threat appraisals, respectively. Furthermore, we predicted that these states would mediate the effects of goals on performance. Twenty-seven undergraduate females performed a task described as identifying either exceptionally strong performers (performance-approach goal) or exceptionally weak performers (performance-avoidance goal). Participants’ cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) was recorded while they performed the task. As predicted, participants in the performance-approach goal condition performed better on the task than did those in the performance-avoidance goal condition. Also as predicted, those in the former condition exhibited a challenge pattern of CVR whereas those in the latter condition exhibited a threat pattern of CVR. Furthermore, physiological responses mediated the effects of performance-based goals on performance.