Relationships between self-determination theory and theory of planned behavior applied to physical activity and exercise behavior in chronic pain

This study examined the relationships between self-determination theory (SDT) and theory of planned behavior (TpB) applied to physical activity and exercise behavior (PA&E) in people with chronic pain. Two hundred and eleven adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain (28 males and 183 females, age range 18 to 82 years, mean age 43 years) were recruited from online support groups and clinic networks in the United States. Participants completed SDT measures relevant to PA&E on perceived autonomy support, autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as well as TpB measures relevant to PA&E on intention, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Correlational techniques and canonical correlation analysis were performed to examine the relationships and variance within and between theoretical dimensions. Overall, the SDT set accounted for 37% of the TpB variance and the TpB set accounted for 32% of the SDT set variance. The results indicate there are statistical similarities and differences between concepts in SDT and TpB models for PA&E. Using both empirical guidance and clinical expertise, researchers and practitioners should attempt to select and integrate non-redundant and complementary components from SDT, TpB, and other related health behavior theories.     

Spiritual and religious experiences of adolescent psychiatric inpatients versus healthy peers

One hundred twenty-two adolescent psychiatric inpatients with depressive disorders and 80 healthy peers were administered the INSPIRIT, a measure of core spiritual experiences. Healthy adolescents reported a greater frequency of spiritual experiences and a more positive impact of such experiences on their belief in God than did their inpatient peers. Adolescent inpatients reported higher frequencies of experiencing angels, demons, God or guiding spirits; feeling unity with the earth and other living things; and with near death or life after death as compared to healthy peers. Overall, females reported higher frequency of spiritual experiences and higher impact of the experience on their belief in God than did males. It was concluded that the INSPIRIT is a feasible spiritual assessment tool for adolescent populations and may be used by chaplains as a means for guiding clinical conversations with adolescents.     

A continuous smooth map of space in the primary visual cortex of the common marmoset

We examined the fine-scale mapping of the visual world within the primary visual cortex of the marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacchus) using differential optical imaging. We stimulated two sets of complementary stripe-like locations in turn, subtracting them to generate the cortical representations of continuous bands of visual space. Rotating this stimulus configuration makes it possible to map different spatial axes within the primary visual cortex. In a similar manner, shifting the stimulated locations between trials makes it possible to map retinotopy at an even finer scale. Using these methods we found no evidence of any local anisotropies or distortions in the cortical representation of visual space. This is despite the fact that orientation preference is mapped in a discontinuous manner across the surface of marmoset V1. Overall, our results indicate that space is mapped in a continuous and smooth manner in the primary visual cortex of the common marmoset.     

Should My Provider Pray with Me? Perspectives of Urban Adolescents with Asthma on Addressing Religious and Spiritual Issues in Hypothetical Clinical Settings

This qualitative study examined the preferences of urban adolescents with asthma for including religious/spiritual (R/S) inquiry in a variety of hypothetical clinical encounters. Twenty-one urban adolescents (M _age = 15.6 years, 52 % female, 81 % African American) with asthma participated in a semi-structured interview. Interviews were transcribed and underwent a thematic analysis. R/S preferences were contextual rather than personal, driven by: (1) acuity of the hypothetical clinical context; (2) nature of the patient–provider relationship; and (3) level of R/S intervention/inquiry. Most adolescents welcomed prayer if near death, but did not see the relevance of R/S in a routine office visit.     

Spirituality and Religiosity in Urban Adolescents with Asthma

Predictors of multiple dimensions of spirituality/religiosity (S/R) and adolescents’ preferences for having S/R (e.g., prayer) addressed in hypothetical medical settings were assessed in a sample of urban adolescents with asthma. Of the 151 adolescents (mean age = 15.8, 60% female, 85% African-American), 81% said that they were religious and spiritual, 58% attended religious services in the past month, and 49% prayed daily. In multivariable models, African-American race/ethnicity and having a religious preference were associated with higher levels of S/R (R ² = 0.07–0.25, P < .05). Adolescents’ preferences for including S/R in the medical setting increased with the severity of the clinical situation (P < .05).     

THE WORK ATTACHMENT OF MOTHERS WITH PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

The aim of this article is to describe the derivation and use of an index representing mothers'attachment to the workforce. This index is based on the proportion of time (equivalent full-time) the mother had worked since the birth of her first child and can be used as both a continuous and categorical variable. The sample comprised 166 Sydney-area families, each of which had at least one preschool-aged child. Relationships were examined with the mother's current work status and with various demographic characteristics of the women, with the aim of providing some validation for the index. More years of education and smaller family size distinguished between women with high versus low work attachment. In addition, women with high work attachment married at a significantly later age than those with moderate or low work attachment. The usefulness and limitations of the new index are discussed.     

Inhibitory conditioning resulting from a reduction in the magnitude of reinforcement

Five experiments, all employing conditioned suppression in rats, studied inhibitory conditioning to a stimulus signalling a reduction in shock intensity. Experimental subjects were conditioned to a tone signalling a 1·0 mA shock and to a tone-light compound signalling a 0·4 mA shock. On a summation test in which it alleviated the suppression maintained by a third stimulus also associated with the 1·0 mA shock, the light was established as a conditioned inhibitor. Retardation tests gave ambiguous results: the light was relatively slow to condition when paired, either alone or in conjunction with another stimulus, with the 0·4 mA shock, but the difference from a novel stimulus control group was not significant. Two final experiments found no evidence at all of inhibition on a summation test in which the light was presented in conjunction with a stimulus that had itself been associated with the 0·4 mA shock. The results of these experiments have implications for the question of what animals learn during the course of inhibitory conditioning.     

Rapidly developed scalar timing in unsignalled shuttlebox avoidance learning

Three groups of rats were given brief inescapable shocks in a shuttlebox with equal shock-shock (S-S) and response-shock (R-S) intervals of 10, 15 or 20 s. Non shock-elicited responses (experimentally defined) postponed the occurrence of the next shock while shock elicited responses had no programmed consequences. Avoidance behaviour was rapidly acquired with all groups avoiding 85% or more of scheduled shocks by the end of the fifth 1 h session. Interresponse times revealed the development of excellent temporal discriminations in all groups. The data provide quantitative support for Gibbon's (1971) scalar timing hypothesis.