Methodological considerations in developing measures of HIV risk-relevant behaviors and attitudes: An empirical illustration

Abstract

This paper describes the pilot testing of a survey designed to assess the prevalence of HIV exposure risk-relevant behaviors and associated attitudes, beliefs and knowledge in a heterogeneous, ethnically diverse, sexually active population (the US Army). The specific objectives for the pilot test were to: (1) define optimal survey question formats for behavioral and attitude items; (2) identify questions that were poorly worded or that would not contribute to the overall objectives of the survey; (3) assess the extent to which respondents could accurately follow instructions; (4) identify appropriate and culturally relevant terminology for sensitive items; (5) determine the appropriate timeframe for recall of simple and complex sexual behaviors; (6) assess the degree of respondent honesty and belief in the anonymity of the survey results.     

Editorial: Drug Abuse and AIDS

Abstract

The present article presents an overview of the behavioral and psychological components which have been found to be associated with Type A behaviors in children and adolescents. Each component is discussed within the context of the assessment device used to measure it. with methodological concerns being addressed whenever appropriate. Using both observational methods and self-report questionnaires. the four major behavioral components of adult Type A behavior; competitive-achievement striving, time urgency, aggressiveness-hostility and impatience have been found in child/adolescent Type A subjects. Type A children have a lower self-esteem, a more external locus of control and higher anxiety level than their non-Type A counterpart. Coping mechanisms for stress and characteristic cognitions may differ in Type A subjects as they progress from childhood through adolescence. Recommendations for future research are presented.     

An Emotionally Inexpressive (Type C) Coping Style Influences HIV Disease Progression at Six and Twelve Month Follow-ups

This study examined the effects of specific psychosocial factors on the progression of HIV infection in 200 HIV-1 seropositive but asymptomatic men and women. At baseline, participants' disease status was determined, and they were administered self-report assessments of coping style, social support and loneliness. Participants were classified at 6 and 12 month follow-ups as progressed or unchanged, compared to their baseline status. In logistic regression analyses, higher baseline Type C coping scores (indicating emotional inexpressiveness and decreased recognition of needs and feelings) significantly predicted progression at 6 months ( p <0.01) and 12 months ( p <0.02), but only among participants classified at baseline as CDC-A2 (between 200-499 CD4 cells/mm 3 ). In participants originally classified as CDC-A1 (CD4 cell counts > 500/mm 3 ), no psychosocial variable showed any significant relationship. Results emphasize the need to consider the disease context, as well as the interaction between biological and psychological factors in contributing to disease progression.     

Maternal Role Confusion: Relations to Maternal Attachment and Mother–Child Interaction from Infancy to Adolescence

Self‐reports of role confusion with the parent in childhood are associated with a variety of adverse outcomes. However, role‐confusion has been studied primarily from the point of view of the child. The current study evaluated an instrument for assessing role confusion from maternal interviews rather than from child observations or self‐reports in adulthood. Fifty‐one mothers participating in a longitudinal study since their own child's infancy were administered the Experiences of Caregiving Interview (C. George & J. Solomon, 1996) when the child was age 20. Interviews were coded using the newly developed Parental Assessment of Role Confusion (PARC; L. Vulliez‐Coady & K. Lyons‐Ruth, 2009). Maternal PARC scores were related to observational measures of role‐confusion in interaction with the child both in infancy and late adolescence. PARC scores also were related to mothers’ hostile‐helpless states of mind on the Adult Attachment Interview (C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1984, 1985, 1986) and to the extent of Unresolved loss, but not Unresolved Trauma. PARC scores also were related to mothers’ self‐reports of helplessness experienced in the parenting role. Discriminant validity of the PARC was demonstrated in that role confusion on the PARC was not related to hostile or disoriented forms of parent–child interaction. Implications for clinical assessment of role confusion are discussed.     

Multiple Mediators of the Attitude Similarity-Attraction Relationship: Dominance of Inferred Attraction and Subtlety of Affect

The authors examined the mediation of the attitude similarity–attraction relationship. When affect was the sole measured mediating variable, the hypothesized partial mediation held in Experiment 1 (N = 60). In Experiment 2 (N = 96), ratings of the 3 potential mediators (affect, inferred attraction, and cognitive evaluation) and of an irrelevant variable (inferred cognitive evaluation) were taken at 2 orders of mediator measurement. The attitude similarity-attraction link was more strongly mediated by inferred attraction than by cognitive evaluation. Surprisingly, however, the effect of affect on attraction was reversed in the multiple-mediation analysis. Post hoc analyses disclosed that affect transmitted the similarity effect from its preceding variable only to the succeeding one. Theoretical and methodological implications of the dominance of inferred attraction and the subtlety of affect are discussed.     

Linking admiration and adoration to self-expansion: Different ways to enhance one's potential

How is admiration different from adoration? We provided one answer to this question by examining the pathways through which admiration and adoration linked to self-expansion in a questionnaire and an experimental (autobiographical recall of emotion episodes) study. Both emotions were associated with increased potential efficacy to accomplish goals (i.e., self-expansion), but different action tendencies accounted for these links. While our emotion inductions did not successfully distinguish between admiration and adoration, we could statistically disentangle their effects through mediator models. In both studies, self-reported admiration linked to self-expansion through the tendency to emulate admired others. Adoration related to self-expansion through the tendency to affiliate with adored others. These findings were obtained after controlling for other emotions in response to the target person (awe, love, hope, benign envy) and mutuality of the relationship. Our findings also suggest that considering specific emotions (rather than undifferentiated positive affect) helps uncover different pathways to self-expansion.     

Strength-Based Positive Interventions: Further Evidence for Their Potential in Enhancing Well-Being and Alleviating Depression

The impact of nine strengths-based positive interventions on well-being and depression was examined in an Internet-based randomized placebo-controlled study. The aims of the study were to: (1) replicate findings on the effectiveness of the gratitude visit, three good things, and using character strengths interventions; (2) test variants of interventions (noting three good things for 2 weeks; combining the gratitude visit and three good things interventions; and noting three funny things for a week); and (3) test the effectiveness of the counting kindness, gift of time, and another door opens-interventions in an online setting. A total of 622 adults subjected themselves to one of the nine interventions or to a placebo control exercise (early memories) and thereafter estimated their degrees of happiness and depression at five times (pre- and post-test, 1-, 3-, and 6 months follow-up). Eight of the nine interventions increased happiness; depression was decreased in all groups, including the placebo control group. We conclude that happiness can be enhanced through some “strengths-based” interventions. Possible mechanisms for the effectiveness of the interventions are discussed.     

The effects of exercise withdrawal on mood and inflammatory cytokine responses in humans

Mechanisms underlying the relationship between exercise and mood are not well understood. This study sought to investigate the role of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and autonomic balance in determining the impact of exercise withdrawal on negative mood. Healthy men and women who regularly exercised (N?=?26, mean age?=?25.5 years, SD?=?4.5 years) were randomised to exercise withdrawal or exercise maintenance for 2 weeks. Protocol adherence was monitored using accelerometers. Inflammatory markers from plasma (interleukin-6, IL-6; tumour necrosis factor-alpha; interleukin-10; and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist), heart-rate variability (HRV) and measures of mood (General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS)) were assessed at study entry and at 2-week follow-up. Exercise withdrawal resulted in significant increases in negative mood over time on both the GHQ (p?=?0.028) and the POMS (p?=?0.005). Following the intervention, IL-6 concentration was lower in the exercise withdrawal than exercise maintenance condition (p?=?0.05). No intervention effects were observed for other cytokines or HRV. The mood changes were significantly related to changes in IL-6 concentration (β?=?-?0.50, p?=?0.011), indicating that reduction in IL-6 was related to increased negative mood. Our results are consistent with positive effects of exercise on mental health, but further research on inflammatory pathways is warranted.     

Slaves,Prisoners, and Republican Freedom

Philip Pettit’s republican conception of freedom is presented as an alternative both to negative and positive conceptions of freedom. The basic idea is to conceptualize freedom as non-domination, not as non-interference or self-mastery. When compared to negative freedom, Pettit’s republican conception comprises two controversial claims: the claim that we are unfree if we are dominated without actual interference, and the claim that we are free if we face interference without domination. Because the slave is a widely accepted paradigm of the unfree person, the case of a slave with a non-interfering master is often cited as providing a good argument for the first republican claim and against a negative conception of freedom. One aim of this article is to raise doubts about whether this is true. The other aim of the article is to show that the prisoner—also a paradigm of the unfree person—presents a good argument against the second republican claim and in favour of a negative conception of freedom. This is called the ‘prisoner-argument’. It will be argued that neither Pettit’s distinction between free persons and free choices nor his distinction between compromising and conditioning factors of freedom can help to rebut the charge of the prisoner-argument.     

Shades of emotion: What the addition of sunglasses or masks to faces reveals about the development of facial expression processing

Three studies investigated developmental changes in facial expression processing, between 3years-of-age and adulthood. For adults and older children, the addition of sunglasses to upright faces caused an equivalent decrement in performance to face inversion. However, younger children showed better classification of expressions of faces wearing sunglasses than children who saw the same faces un-occluded. When the mouth area was occluded with a mask, children under nine years showed no impairment in expression classification, relative to un-occluded faces. An early selective focus of attention on the eyes may be optimal for socialization, but mediate against accurate expression classification. The data support a model in which a threshold level of attentional control must be reached before children can develop adult-like configural processing skills and be flexible in their use of face- processing strategies.