The Contribution of Physical Activity to Health-Related Quality of Life: New Population Estimates from National Survey Data

Sedentary lifestyles have been linked to higher rates of stroke, hypertension, depression, certain types of cancers, and cardiovascular disease, and increased risk of mortality. The link between physical inactivity and health has led to research on how physical activity (PA) interventions might improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Estimates of HRQoL improvements are typically focused on targeted at-risk groups, however. Given that almost half of the U.S. adult population is physically inactive, it would be helpful to broaden our understanding of how PA relates to quality of life for the population at large. In this study, we calculated the HRQoL gains attributable to PA across three nationally representative data sets that use different quality of life measures, and assessed the reliability in the results. The data sets used were the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Quasi-likelihood regression modeling with a beta distribution was used to generate the estimates. We found mean HRQoL scores were very similar across the three data sets and the estimated HRQoLs gained from PA varied only slightly, suggesting that all three provide reliable estimates for the general population.

     

On the relative contributions of positive reinforcement and escape extinction in the treatment of food refusal

We compared the effects of positive reinforcement alone, escape extinction alone, and positive reinforcement with escape extinction in the treatment of the food and fluid refusal of 4 children who had been diagnosed with a pediatric feeding disorder. Consumption did not increase when positive reinforcement was implemented alone. By contrast, consumption increased for all participants when escape extinction was implemented, independent of the presence or absence of positive reinforcement. However, the addition of positive reinforcement to escape extinction was associated with beneficial effects (e.g., greater decreases in negative vocalizations and inappropriate behavior) for some participants.     

Cross‐level,three‐way interactions among work‐group climate,gender, and frequency of harassment on morale and withdrawal outcomes of sexual harassment

We examined the effects of gender and work‐groups' perceptions of climate for sexual harassment on the relationship between individuals' sexual harassment experiences and job‐related outcomes (namely, job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, work withdrawal, and job withdrawal). Drawing from a variety of theories, we proposed that a beneficial climate would buffer men from negative outcomes, but would intensify negative outcomes for women. Significant three‐way interactions were found for job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, and job withdrawal. Results indicated that beneficial work‐group climate perceptions buffered men from decrements in job satisfaction and work withdrawal, but intensified decrements in all three outcomes for women. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

NONCONTINGENT PRESENTATION OF ATTENTION AND ALTERNATIVE STIMULI IN THE TREATMENT OF ATTENTION-MAINTAINED DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR

Previous research has demonstrated that destructive behavior may be reduced through noncontingent presentation of attention when attention is identified as the stimulus responsible for behavioral maintenance. Because it may not always be possible to deliver attention in all situations, we examined the extent to which alternative stimuli that have been identified through a choice assessment would substitute for attention (the functional analysis—based reinforcer) in a noncontingent reinforcement procedure. Prior to treatment, functional analyses demonstrated that the destructive behavior of 2 clients with mental retardation was maintained by adult attention. Next, a stimulus choice assessment identified highly preferred tangible items for the 2 clients. Finally, we compared the effectiveness of two noncontingent reinforcement procedures: continuous noncontingent access to attention and continuous noncontingent access to the tangible item identified in the choice assessment. For both clients, these noncontingent reinforcement procedures reduced destructive behavior. The results are discussed in terms of the clinical implications for the treatment of destructive behavior using functional and alternative stimuli.     

THE USE OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT IN THE TREATMENT OF ESCAPE-MAINTAINED DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR

We identified 3 clients whose destructive behavior was sensitive to negative reinforcement (break from tasks) and positive reinforcement (access to tangible items, attention, or both). In an instructional context, we then evaluated the effects of reinforcing compliance with one, two, or all of these consequences (a break, tangible items, attention) when destructive behavior produced a break and when it did not (escape extinction). For 2 clients, destructive behavior decreased and compliance increased when compliance produced access to tangible items, even though destructive behavior resulted in a break. For 1 client, extinction was necessary to reduce destructive behavior and to increase compliance. Subsequently, when the schedule of reinforcement for compliance was faded for all clients, destructive behavior was lower and fading proceeded more rapidly when compliance produced multiple functional reinforcers (i.e., a break plus tangible items or attention) and destructive behavior was on extinction. The results are discussed in terms of the effects of relative reinforcement value and extinction on concurrent operants.     

Determinants of Employee Participation in Organizations’ Family-friendly Programs: A Multi-level Approach

Many organizations have become more “family-friendly” by initiating programs to help employees meet their family needs. In return, family-friendly organizations are said to benefit from the positive attitudes and behavior of appreciative employees. However, long-term positive outcomes may not emerge if employees are reluctant to participate in work–family programs because they are concerned that their organization or manager does not support their participation. We propose two parallel conceptual models of the complex, multi-level mechanisms behind employees’ decisions to participate in their organization’s family-friendly programs.     

The effects of attrition on baseline comparability in randomized experiments in education: a meta-analysis

Using meta-analysis, randomized experiments in education that either clearly did or clearly did not experience student attrition were examined for the baseline comparability of groups. Results from 35 studies suggested that after attrition, the observed measures of baseline comparability of groups did not differ more than would be expected given sampling error. The degree of either overall or differential attrition did not relate to baseline comparability, a finding that held under sensitivity analyses. Also, both overall and differential attrition rates were unrelated to posttest effect sizes. All of these analyses, however, lacked sufficient statistical power to detect small but potentially meaningful effects. Results suggest caution is warranted when applying quality scales and other blanket rules pertaining to attrition that are meant to either serve as inclusion-exclusion criteria or in scoring study quality. Much greater attention is needed to both the reporting of attrition in primary studies and to the development of conceptual and empirical models of the attrition process. These developments would aid further investigation of the relation between attrition and study outcomes.