Family-based physical activity interventions and family functioning: A systematic review

Family physical activity (PA) can confer multiple health benefits, yet whether PA interventions affect general family functioning has not been appraised. The purpose of this review was to evaluate studies that have examined the effect of family PA interventions, where child PA was the focus of the intervention, on constructs of family functioning. Literature searches were concluded on January 11, 2022 using seven common databases. Eligible studies were in English, utilized a family PA intervention, and assessed a measure of family functioning as a study outcome. The initial search yielded 8413 hits, which was reduced to 20 independent PA interventions of mixed quality after screening for eligibility criteria. There was mixed evidence for whether family PA interventions affected overall family functioning; however, analyses of subdomains indicated that family cohesion is improved by PA interventions when children are in the early school years (aged 5–12). High-quality studies also showed an impact of family PA interventions on family organization. Targeted interventions at specific family subsystems (e.g., father–son, mother–daughter), characteristics (low-income, clinical populations, girls), and broad multibehavioral interventions may have the most reliable effects. Overall, the findings show that family PA interventions can promote family cohesion and organization, particularly among families with children in the early school years. Higher quality research, employing randomized trial designs and targeting specific intervention and sample characteristics (e.g., different clinical conditions, specific parent–child dyads), is recommended in order to better ascertain the effectiveness of these approaches.     

The Client's Perspective of Genetic Counseling—A Grounded Theory Study

Previous studies of genetic counseling have mainly focused on outcomes defined by researchers or service providers, and have frequently related to changes in reproductive behavior and/or client knowledge. A longitudinal study of 43 families referred to a clinical genetic service was undertaken to ascertain client needs and expectations of the service, and to identify relevant outcomes from the clients' perspective. Semistructured interviews were conducted with each client, prior to and after genetic counseling. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using grounded theory. The need for certainty emerged as a powerful factor that motivated clients to pursue the genetic referral. The client's lay knowledge of the condition, satisfaction of the need for certainty, and the formation of a personalized relationship between the client and the genetics staff significantly influenced the central outcome, identified as a change in the client's psychological adaptation to the genetic condition in the family.     

Making faces: Creating three-dimensional parameterized models of facial expression

Previous studies of the perceptual processing and dynamics of emotional expression in faces have been limited by the lack of realistic yet controlled stimuli. The present work offers researchers a method for creating such stimuli for exploring these phenomena. We describe the creation of the stimuli and a series of experiments testing the validity of these stimuli with respect to emotional expressions in humans. Participants evaluated synthesized facial images and standardized photographs of six basic emotional expressions for intensity and accuracy of perceived emotion. Comparisons of these measures were qualitatively similar for synthesized and photographed faces. A manipulation of the magnitude of the synthesized expressions yielded a significant effect on the perceived intensity of expression. In a subsequent multidimensional scaling study, no systematic differences were uncovered in the derived configurations of the synthesized expressions and the photographs. These results are discussed in the context of possible future research applications.     

Gender Differences in Cognitive and Emotional Adjustment to Traumatic Brain Injury

This study examined gender differences in cognitive and emotional status after traumatic brain injury (TBI) among 262 men and 140 women with TBI referred for neuropsychological evaluations. In this cross-sectional study, cognition was measured in terms of both absolute level of functioning (i.e., raw/standard scores) and estimated decline from premorbid levels expressed as z-deficit scores in the following domains: intelligence [Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS-R)], memory and attention [Wechsler Memory Scale—Revised (WMS-R)], processing speed (Trails A), and cognitive flexibility (Trails B). Emotional functioning was measured in terms of depression (Beck Depression Inventory) and general emotional distress (Brief Symptom Inventory). Kruskal–Wallis nonparametric one-way ANOVAs indicated that women and men differed significantly on 2 of 8 raw/standard cognitive scores [men demonstrated lower WMS-R General Memory (p < .05) and Trails B scores (p < .0001) and 4 of 8 relative decline scores [women demonstrated more estimated change in VIQ (Verbal IQ) [p < .0001], FSIQ (Full Scale IQ) [p < .01], and Attention (p < .01)]; men demonstrated greater estimated z-decline scores on Trails B (p < .01)]. Women reported significantly higher levels of depression (p < .01), but men endorsed significantly greater general psychological distress (p < .05). Research and assessment recommendations are suggested.     

Use of pocket computers for self-administration of cognitive tests in the field

A pocket computer is described that can be used by subjects to self-administer cognitive tests in field situations. Two cognitive tests, a vigilance and an encoding task, were developed for this computer and used to test cognitive performance during a 30-day military field exercise.     

Do boys prefer daddy or his physical style of play?

Fathers typically adopt a more physically active style of play with their young sons than mothers, and boys often react more positively to play with fathers than with mothers. The current study examined whether differences in children's reactions were related to differences in parental play style or to parent per se. Eighteen 3-year-old boys were observed as they played with each parent in each of two playrooms — one conducive to the maternal style of play and one to the paternal play style. Both parents were highly flexible in adopting the play style typical of the other parent in the appropriate playroom. The boys reacted more positively to both parents when their play style was more physical and active, resembling the typical paternal style. Differences between parents were smaller than differences related to play environment, but were consistent with existing literature: fathers were more actively involved, took more initiative, and played more physically with their sons than did mothers.This research was supported by a research grant and leave fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. We thank Kathleen Bloom, Anat Ninio and Michael Ross for their comments on earlier drafts of this paper.     

A comparison of the classification capabilities of the 1-dimensional kohonen neural network with two pratitioning and three hierarchical cluster analysis algorithms

Neural Network models are commonly used for cluster analysis in engineering, computational neuroscience, and the biological sciences, although they are rarely used in the social sciences. In this study we compare the classification capabilities of the 1-dimensional Kohonen neural network with two partitioning (Hartigan and Späthk-means) and three hierarchical (Ward's, complete linkage, and average linkage) cluster methods in 2,580 data sets with known cluster structure. Overall, the performance of the Kohonen networks was similar to, or better than, the performance of the other methods.     

Social Cognition and Evolutionary Psychology: Physical Attractiveness and Contrast Effects on Women's Self-perceived Body Image

Self-evaluations of body image were examined in a 2 (attractiveness of stimulus person) × 2 (sex of stimulus person) design to determine if contrast effects consistent with evolutionary psychology occur for women's self-perceptions of their body image. Main effects for attractiveness were hypothesized. Higher self-ratings for figure-related aspects of body image were predicted for women exposed to an unattractive male or female. These effects were significant. Women exposed to an unnattractive male or female had more positive feelings about figure-related aspects of their body image than women exposed to an attractive male or female. Contrast effects in accordance with evolutionary theory occur for aspects of body image that play a role in inferences regarding reproductive fitness.     

SUPERORDINATE IDENTIFICATION, SUBGROUP IDENTIFICATION, AND JUSTICE CONCERNS:

Abstract— The diversity of American society raises concerns about whether authorities can maintain social cohesion amid competing interests and values The group-value model of justice suggests that authorities function more effectively when they are perceived as fair (e g, benevolent, neutral, and respectful) However, such relational evaluations may be effective only if authorities represent a group with which people identify In a diverse society, subgroup memberships may assume special importance People who identify predominantly with a subgroup may focus on instrumental issues when evaluating a superordinate-group authority, and conflicts with that authority may escalate if those people do not receive favorable outcomes Results indicate that subgroup identification creates problems for authorities only when people have strong subgroup subgroup identification and weak superordinate-group identification As long as people identify strongly with the superordinate group, even if they also identify strongly with their subgroup, relational issues will dominate reactions to authorities     

Pattern alternation: Effects of spatial frequency and orientation

Campbell and Howell (1972) reported an effect called “monocular pattern alternation.” They found that a pattern composed of two orthogonal sinusoidal gratings, one horizontal and the other vertical, underwent rivalry when viewed monocularly for a period of time. In the present study, it has been shown that monocular pattern alternation depends upon the orientation of the pattern and the spatial frequency of its components. Fewer reversals were found for an obliquely oriented pattern than for a pattern with components in the horizontal and vertical meridians. Alternation rate was higher when the gratings were similar in frequency but differed in orientation than when the components of the pattern differed in both dimensions. It was concluded that pattern alternation reflects an antagonistic interaction between interdependent channels in the human visual system that respond to orientation and spatial frequency.