Childbirth and Alcohol Consumption Impact of Recent Childbirth on Alcohol Consumption

While the devastating effects of parental alcohol use on children’s health are well known, the specific impact of childbirth on parental alcohol consumption has rarely been examined in the general population. We sought to examine patterns of alcohol use associated with childbirth. Data were drawn from the US National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. We compared successively the characteristics of alcohol use among females living with a child under 1 year with (i) those of females not living with children under 1 year and (ii) those of females living with an older child. Mean daily ethanol intake was lower among females living with a child under 1 than among females either not living with children under 1 year (p?<?0.001) or living with an older child (p?<?0.01). Moreover, low-to-mild drinking frequencies fell among females living with a child under 1, compared with females either not living with children under 1 year (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)?=?0.56; 95% CI [0.40, 0.80] for at least once a month and AOR?=?0.40; 95% CI [0.27, 0.58] for less than once a month) or living with an older child (AOR?=?0.52; 95% CI [0.36, 0.75] for at least once a month and AOR?=?0.66, 95% CI [0.46, 0.94] for less than a month). No significant difference was found for males. Our study suggests that childbirth, as opposed to motherhood per se, reduces several (though not all) dimensions of alcohol consumption in females, but not in males.     

No advantage for remembering horizontal over vertical spatial locations learned from a single viewpoint

Previous behavioral and neurophysiological research has shown better memory for horizontal than for vertical locations. In these studies, participants navigated toward these locations. In the present study we investigated whether the orientation of the spatial plane per se was responsible for this difference. We thus had participants learn locations visually from a single perspective and retrieve them from multiple viewpoints. In three experiments, participants studied colored tags on a horizontally or vertically oriented board within a virtual room and recalled these locations with different layout orientations (Exp. 1) or from different room-based perspectives (Exps. 2 and 3). All experiments revealed evidence for equal recall performance in horizontal and vertical memory. In addition, the patterns for recall from different test orientations were rather similar. Consequently, our results suggest that memory is qualitatively similar for both vertical and horizontal two-dimensional locations, given that these locations are learned from a single viewpoint. Thus, prior differences in spatial memory may have originated from the structure of the space or the fact that participants navigated through it. Additionally, the strong performance advantages for perspective shifts (Exps. 2 and 3) relative to layout rotations (Exp. 1) suggest that configurational judgments are not only based on memory of the relations between target objects, but also encompass the relations between target objects and the surrounding room—for example, in the form of a memorized view.     

Cognitive reappraisal reduces perceived exertion during endurance exercise

Emotion regulation may influence psychological responses to exercise. We examined whether the emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and distraction, influenced psychological state and prefrontal cortex oxygenation during endurance exercise. Twenty-four endurance runners ran for 90 min at 75–85% maximum heart rate in three separate sessions with no instruction or with instructions to use cognitive reappraisal or distraction. Participants rated their emotional arousal, emotional valence, and perceived exertion before, every 30 min during, and after exercise. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy quantified changes in prefrontal cortex oxygenation. Participants felt lower emotional arousal and physical exertion when instructed to utilize cognitive reappraisal than when given no emotion regulation instruction. Such responses to distraction did not differ from the other conditions. Emotion regulation strategies did not influence emotional valence or prefrontal cortex oxygenation. Participants’ analytical interpretation of the cognitive reappraisal instruction could contribute to small effect sizes and limited effects. Further research should determine contexts under which emotion regulation strategies most benefit endurance exercise experience.     

Experience of Parental Marital Dissolution Earlier in Life and the Disposition to Forgive Among Older Violent and Non-Violent Prisoners

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in self-reported dispositional forgiveness types among older male prison inmates who experienced parental separation/divorce earlier in life. Participants included a sample of N = 261 incarcerated men, aged 45 and older, residing in state-managed prisons in Oklahoma. IBM/SPSS 22.0 was used to examine mean differences across forgiveness of self, situation, and others. Significant mean differences were evident only for forgiveness of situation. In particular, significant differences emerged relative to depressive affect F (1, 192) = 19.90, p < .001, and social support F (1, 192) = 18.64, p < .001. After controlling for age, race, religiosity, depression, social support, perceived health, crime type, and parental separation/divorce, one significant interaction (crime type X parental separation/divorce) emerged, F (1, 192) = 4.42, p < .05. It appears that the disposition to forgive the situation among older prison inmates depends on criminal offender type as well as whether the older inmate experienced parental dissolution earlier in life. Implications for pastoral counseling programing and forgiveness therapy treatment for older male prison inmates who experienced parental separation/divorce earlier in life are discussed.     

Presence,Content, and Characteristics of Memories of Individuals with Dental Phobia

Knowledge about memories of distressing events underlying fears and specific phobias is limited. This study assessed (1) the presence, content, and characteristics of memories of events that initiated or exacerbated dental anxiety levels; and (2) the relationship between dental trait anxiety and some key features of these memories. This study used a semi‐structured interview and included dental phobics (n = 42), subthreshold dental phobics (n = 41), and normal controls (n = 70). Dental phobics were more likely to report a memory underlying their anxiety than the normal controls. Moreover, dental phobics' memories were reported as more vivid, disturbing, and more intensely relived than the memories of the normal controls. Greater severity of dental trait anxiety was significantly associated with greater disturbance of patients' memories. The results suggest that memories of distressing events play a significant role in the development of dental phobia and that their characteristics are associated with severity of dental trait anxiety. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Keeping It Going: Evidence of Long-Term Improvements After Implementation of the 1-2-3 Magic Parenting Program

This study builds upon a pilot evaluation of the 1-2-3 Magic Program (Bailey, van der Zwan, Phelan, &; Brooks, 2012 Bailey, E. L., van der Zwan, R., Phelan, T. W., &; Brooks, A. (2012). The 1–2-3 Magic Program: Implementation outcomes of an Australian pilot evaluation with school-aged children. Child &; Family Behavior Therapy, 34(1), 53–69. doi:10.1080/07317107.2012.654455[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), by investigating its long-term efficacy as a brief parenting intervention for families with a school-aged child. Twelve Australian families participated in a randomized controlled trial, assigned either to a wait-listed control group or to one that received immediate training. Consistent with the pilot evaluation, only families who had received training reported significant improvement in child and parenting behavior at an 8-week follow-up assessment. These improvements were maintained for 12-month posttraining, supporting the long-term efficacy of the 1-2-3 Magic Program for Australian families.