Correlates of relationship, psychological, and sexual behavioral factors for HIV risk among Indian women

The rate of HIV/AIDS among women in India is expected to rise yet few studies have examined factors related to HIV risk among Indian women. The objective of this prospective, cross-sectional study was to characterize similarities and differences in the relationships, psychological well-being, and sexual behaviors among Indian women (N=459). Both HIV positive (N=216) and negative (N=243) women from urban and rural areas in India were included in this study. Chi-square, analysis of variance, and logistic regression analyses revealed that in both geographic groups, HIV-positive women were significantly more likely to report marital dissatisfaction, a history of forced sex, domestic violence, depressive symptoms and husband's extra marital sex when compared to the HIV-negative women. Findings also indicate that specific factors related to the quality of the marital relationship such as domestic violence, martial dysfunction, and depressive symptoms may be related to HIV-related risks for women. Implications for future research and culturally relevant interventions are discussed.     

Reasoning about the disclosure of success and failure to friends among children in the United States and China

Children's reasoning about individuals' willingness to disclose their successes and failures was investigated among 194 6- to 11-year-olds in the United States and China. In Study 1, participants showed a valence-matching effect, in which they predicted that individuals would be more likely to disclose their performance to an audience of friends if the friends' level of achievement was similar rather than dissimilar. This effect was weaker among children from China, who were more likely to justify their responses with reference to the implications for learning together or improving future performance. Results of Study 2 suggest that for children from the United States, the disclosure of successful performance to a friend who has performed poorly is seen as implicitly conveying the message "I'm better than you," whereas for children from China the message is "I can help you to do better." Results are interpreted with reference to cultural values and expectations about helping others to learn.     

Conceptions of aggression and withdrawal in early childhood

Two studies investigate young children's beliefs about aggression and withdrawal in others with reference to the possibility of stability and change. Study 1 (N=41) provides evidence that preschool children (1) view aggression in more essentialist ways (i.e. they believe it to be more stable and less changeable) than withdrawal and (2) believe that friends hold a greater potential to create change in aggression and withdrawal than do other potential sources of influence, such as parents and teachers. Study 2 (N=25) replicates the findings of Study 1 and also demonstrates that by preschool age, children hold systematic ideas about the effectiveness of strategies that friends can use to change the behaviour of their peers. These ideas include the belief that prosocial strategies, such as showing peers how to make friends, are more effective than requests to stop engaging in undesirable behaviour. Study 2 also demonstrates that preschool‐aged participants engaged in essentialist reasoning to a greater extent than did a comparison group of 20 7–8 year olds. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social support, positive states of mind, and HIV treatment adherence in men and women living with HIV/AIDS.

Numerous studies have linked social support to better medication adherence among illness groups, but few have examined potential mechanisms for this relationship. Relationships were examined between social support, depression, positive states of mind (PSOM), and medication adherence among HIV positive men who have sex with men (n = 61) and women (n = 29) on highly active antiretroviral therapy. Depression and PSOM were evaluated as potential mediators of the relationship between support and adherence. Cross-sectional data showed that greater social support and PSOM related to better adherence whereas higher depression scores related to nonadherence. PSOM partially mediated the relationship between social support and adherence. PSOM may be an important mechanism through which social support is related to better medication adherence in this population.     

Conflict resolution in women is related to trait aggression and menstrual cycle phase

Twenty‐four women with a diagnosis of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and 18 controls took part in a study of patterns of female aggression. They completed a version of the Conflict Tactics Scale for a premenstrual and a follicular phase of their menstrual cycle and for the past year. The Life History of Aggression was completed during a clinician interview. The women used more aggressive tactics to solve conflicts in the premenstrual than in the follicular phase, but the difference was only significant for the PMDD group. During the past year, reasoning was the most common strategy used by women to resolve conflicts, but verbal aggression was also prevalent. Although physical violence was less common, the prevalence of any act of violence was 33% in the controls and 62% in the clinical group. Women with PMDD used both verbal and physical aggression more frequently than the controls and had a higher lifetime history of aggression. Aggression by women toward partners was associated with a general tendency to act aggressively. Aggr. Behav. 29:228–238, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

I am AmeriBritSouthAfrican‐Zambian: Multidimensional remote acculturation and well‐being among urban Zambian adolescents

One impact of globalisation is that adolescents today are frequently exposed to the values, attitudes and norms of other nations without leaving their own backyards. This may lead to remote acculturation—cultural and psychological changes experienced by non‐migrant individuals having indirect and/or intermittent contact with a geographically separate culture. Using quantitative and qualitative data, we examined multidimensional remote acculturation among 83 urban Zambian adolescents who are routinely exposed to U.S., U.K. and South African cultures through traditional and social media and materials/goods. Cluster analyses showed 2 distinct groups of adolescents. “Traditional Zambians, TZs” (55.4%) were significantly more oriented towards Zambian culture and reported a higher level of obligation to their families and greater interdependent self‐construal compared with “Westernised Multicultural Zambians, WMZs” (44.6%), who were more oriented towards U.S., U.K. and South African cultures. Furthermore, remote acculturation predicted somewhat lower life satisfaction among WMZs. These results demonstrate that individuals' behaviours, values and identity may be influenced by multiple geographically distant cultures simultaneously and may be associated with psychological costs.     

Supporting Japanese Mothers of Children with ADHD: Cultural Adaptation of the New Forest Parent Training Programme

International practice guidelines recommend medication and behavioral intervention as evidenced‐based treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Currently in Japan, the availability of non‐pharmacological interventions for ADHD is limited. We report the results of a pilot and a proof‐of‐concept study for a new behavioral intervention for Japanese mothers of children with ADHD. The pilot study delivered a standard six‐session behavioral intervention and two parent‐support sessions. Participants approved the group format and requested additional support to change parenting practices and behavioral strategies targeting ADHD symptoms. For the proof‐of‐concept study, the intervention was revised to include five sessions of pre‐intervention support followed by six sessions of the New Forest Parent Training Programme (NFPP), an evidence‐based intervention for ADHD. The revised intervention, NFPP‐Japan, was associated with reductions in the mothers’ reports of children's ADHD symptoms and aggression, more effective parenting practices, and reduced parenting stress. The pilot and proof‐of‐concept studies indicate that it is possible to successfully modify Western behavioral interventions for Japanese mothers and to justify a randomized controlled trial evaluation of the NFPP‐Japan, which is currently underway.     

Using the Diffusion Model to Explain Cognitive Deficits in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Slow, variable, and error-prone performance on speeded reaction time (RT) tasks has been well documented in childhood ADHD, but equally well documented is the context-dependent nature of those deficits, particularly with respect to event rate. As event rates increase (or, as the interstimulus intervals become shorter), RTs decrease, a pattern of performance that has long been interpreted as evidence that cognitive deficits in ADHD are a downstream consequence of a fundamental difficulty in the regulation of arousal to meet task demands. We test the extent to which this is a misinterpretation of the data that occurs when RT and accuracy are considered separately, as is common in neurocognitive research. In two samples of children aged 8–10 with (N?=?97; 33 girls) and without (N?=?39; 26 girls) ADHD, we used the diffusion model, an influential computational model of RT, to examine the effect of event rate on inhibitory control in a go-no-go task. Contrary to longstanding belief, we found that fast event rates slowed the rate at which children with ADHD accumulated evidence to make a decision to “no-go”, as indexed by drift rate. This in turn resulted in a higher proportion of failed inhibits, and occurred despite increased task engagement, as reflected by changes in the starting point of the decision process. Thus, although faster event rates increased task engagement among children with ADHD, the increased engagement was unable to counteract the concurrent slowing of processing speed to “no-go” decisions. Implications for theoretical models of ADHD and treatments are discussed.     

Measuring Mental Wellbeing Among Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Instruments

Globally, promoting mental wellbeing among adolescents is of great public health and social significance. However, less is known about advances in measures of mental wellbeing, relevant for use in mental health interventions, which are age-appropriate and acceptable for use among adolescents. Comprehensive assessment includes multiple aspects of mental wellbeing, as well as positive indicators of feeling and functioning. This review used systematic review methods, guided by PRISMA, to identify and assess comprehensive instruments in terms of their content, conceptual relevance for youth, and responsiveness to change. Ryan and Deci’s framework for mental wellbeing, grounded in hedonic and eudaimonic perspectives, was applied to assess the preponderance of feeling and functioning items for each instrument. The review identified 11 instruments that fit specified inclusion criteria. Only four of the scales were developed for adolescents. Though the scales varied in their preponderance of items, all scales encompassed at least one indicator of both feeling and functioning. Findings emphasize the importance of validating adult-developed instruments for youth and ensuring the instrument’s cultural and conceptual relevance within groups of adolescents. As promoting mental wellbeing becomes critical to the field of practice, practitioners need access to relevant and acceptable measures.