Sex Roles in Health Storylines on Prime Time Television: A Content Analysis

This study examined the role of character gender in prime time television health portrayals. A content analysis of 1,291 health-related storylines from three spring seasons (2004–2006) of the ten most popular American television programs measured the frequency of male and female characters in prominent roles and how storylines differed with the sex of the ill or injured character. Our analyses revealed a significantly greater number of male characters. Moreover, storylines with a male ill or injured character were more serious in tone, more likely to take place in a medical setting, and had higher educational value. Proportionally, there were some similarities in storylines across the sexes, however, the absolute differences are striking and may have unfortunate effects on viewers.     

Medroxyprogesterone acetate impairs memory and alters the GABAergic system in aged surgically menopausal rats

In women, medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) is the most commonly used progestin component of hormone therapy (HT). In vitro, MPA negatively impacts markers of neuronal health and exacerbates experimentally-induced neurotoxicity. There is in vitro evidence that these factors are driven by GABAergic and neurotrophic systems. Whether these effects translate to a negative impact on brain function has not been tested in vivo, clinically or preclinically. Here we evaluate the mnemonic and neurobiological effects of MPA in the surgically menopausal rat. Aged ovariectomized (OVX) rats were given subcutaneous vehicle, natural progesterone, low-dose MPA or high-dose MPA. Multiple cognitive domains were analyzed via the water radial-arm maze (WRAM) and Morris maze (MM). Cognitive brain regions were assayed for changes in the GABAergic system by evaluating GAD protein, the synthesizing enzyme for GABA, and neurotrophins. On the WRAM, both progestin types impaired learning. Further, high-dose MPA impaired delayed memory retention on the WRAM, and exacerbated overnight forgetting on the MM. While neurotrophins were not affected by progesterone or MPA treatment, both progestin types altered GAD levels. MPA significantly and progesterone marginally decreased GAD levels in the hippocampus, and both MPA and progesterone significantly increased GAD levels in the entorhinal cortex. These findings suggest that MPA, the most commonly used progestin in HT, is detrimental to learning and two types of memory, and modulates the GABAergic system in cognitive brain regions, in aged surgically menopausal rats. These findings, combined with in vitro evidence that MPA is detrimental to neuronal health, indicates that MPA has negative effects for brain health and function.     

Why we simulate negated information: a dynamic pragmatic account

A well-established finding in the simulation literature is that participants simulate the positive argument of negation soon after reading a negative sentence, prior to simulating a scene consistent with the negated sentence (Kaup, Ludtke, & Zwaan, 2006; Kaup, Yaxley, Madden, Zwaan, & Ludtke, 2007). One interpretation of this finding is that negation requires two steps to process: first represent what is being negated then "reject" that in favour of a representation of a negation-consistent state of affairs (Kaup et al., 2007). In this paper we argue that this finding with negative sentences could be a by-product of the dynamic way that language is interpreted relative to a common ground and not the way that negation is represented. We present a study based on Kaup et al. (2007) that tests the competing accounts. Our results suggest that some negative sentences are not processed in two steps, but provide support for the alternative, dynamic account.     

Modeling the Information Preferences of Parents of Children with Mental Health Problems: A Discrete Choice Conjoint Experiment

Although materials informing parents about children’s mental health (CMH) problems can improve outcomes, we know relatively little about the design factors that might influence their utilization of available resources. We used a discrete choice conjoint experiment to model the information preferences of parents seeking mental health services for 6 to 18 year olds. Parents completed 30 choice tasks presenting experimentally varied combinations of 20 four-level CMH information content, transfer process, and outcome attributes. Latent class analysis revealed three segments with different preferences. Parents in the Action segment (43%) chose materials providing step-by-step solutions to behavioral or emotional problems. They preferred weekly meetings with other parents and coaching calls from a therapist. The Information segment (41%) chose materials helping them understand rather than solve their child’s problems. These parents were more sensitive to logistical factors such as receiving information in groups, the location where information was available, the modality in which the information was presented, and the time required to obtain and use the information. The Overwhelmed segment (16%) reported more oppositional and conduct problems, felt their children’s difficulties exerted a greater adverse impact on family functioning, and reported higher personal depression scores than those in the Action or Information segments. Nonetheless, they did not choose information about, or solutions to, the problems their children presented. Simulations predicted that maximizing utilization and realizing the potential benefits of CMH information would require knowledge transfer strategies consistent with each segment’s preferences.

Welfare policies and very young children: experimental data on stage-environment fit

The authors examined the effects of welfare programs that increased maternal employment and family income on the development of very young children using data from 5 random-assignment experiments. The children were 6 months to 3 years old when their mothers entered the programs; cognitive and behavioral outcomes were measured 2-5 years later. While there were no overall program impacts, positive or negative, on the development of children in this age group, there was a pair of domain- and age-specific effects: The programs decreased positive social behavior among 1-year-olds and increased school achievement among 2-year-olds. After exploring several explanations for these results, the authors suggest that the contextual changes engendered by the programs, including children's exposure to center-based child care, interacted differentially with specific developmental transitions.     

Effectiveness of Cognitive/Behavioral Small Group Intervention for Reduction of Depression and Stress in Non-Hispanic White and Hispanic/Latino Women Dementia Family Caregivers: Outcomes and Mediators of Change

This study enrolled 184 middle-aged and older women (95 Non-Hispanic White and 89 Hispanic/Latino) who provided in-home hands-on care to an elderly relative with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. Within ethnic group they were randomly assigned to either a CBT-based small group intervention program called “Coping with Caregiving” (CWC) that taught a variety of cognitive and behavioral skills to reduce stress and depression, or to a minimal telephone based control condition (TSC). Intervention lasted about 4 months; one post-treatment assessment was completed 6 months after baseline by interviewers blind to the intervention condition. Interviews and interventions were conducted in English or Spanish by trained staff. Results indicated that those in the CWC (regardless of ethnicity) showed greater improvement from pre to post intervention than those in the TSC on measures of depressive symptoms, overall life stress, and caregiving-specific stress. In order to investigate if these changes may have been related to one proposed mechanism of change in CBT (skill utilization), a new measure was constructed. Change in frequency of use and perceived helpfulness of adaptive coping skills were assessed in all caregivers. Results indicated that caregivers in CWC reported greater frequency of use, and greater perceived helpfulness, of these skills at post intervention compared to caregivers in the TSC. Improvement measured by dependent measures was correlated with an increase in these indices for those in the CWC. Tests for mediation suggest that effective skill utilization may mediate the effect of treatment on outcome. Implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations provided for future research.     

Centrifugal acceleration to 3Gz is related to increased release of stress hormones and decreased mood in men and women

It has been suggested that the central and peripheral neural processes (CPNP) are affected by gravitational changes. Based on the previous experiments during parabolic flights, central and peripheral changes may not only be due to the changed gravitational forces but also due to neuroendocrine reactions related to the psycho-physiological consequences of gravitational changes. The present study focuses on the interaction of neuroendocrine changes and the physical and mental states after acceleration to three-time terrestrial gravity (3Gz). Eleven participants (29.4+/-5.1 [SD] years (male (n=8): 30+/-5.1 years; female (n=3): 27.7+/-2.1 years) underwent a 15 min acceleration to 3Gz in a human centrifuge. Before and after the acceleration to 3Gz circulating stress hormone concentrations (cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), prolactin, epinephrine, norepinephrine) and perceived physical and mental states were recorded. A second control group of 11 participants underwent the same testing procedure in a laboratory session. Serum cortisol concentration during exposure to the centrifugal acceleration increased by 70%, plasma concentration of ACTH increased threefold, prolactin twofold, epinephrine by 70% and norepinephrine by 45%, whereas the perceived physical well-being decreased. These findings demonstrate that psycho-physiological changes have to be regarded as a relevant factor for the changes in CPNP during phases of hypergravity exposure.     

Malingering as a categorical or dimensional construct: the latent structure of feigned psychopathology as measured by the SIRS and MMPI-2

The 6 nonoverlapping primary scales of the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS) were subjected to taxometric analysis in a group of 1,211 criminal and civil examinees in order to investigate the latent structure of feigned psychopathology. Both taxometric procedures used in this study, mean above minus below a cut (MAMBAC) and maximum covariance (MAXCOV), produced dimensional results. A subgroup of participants (n = 711) with valid Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) protocols were included in a second round of analyses in which the 6 nonoverlapping primary scales of the SIRS and the Infrequency (F), Infrequency-Psychopathology (Fp), and Dissimulation (Ds) scales of the MMPI-2 served as indicators. Again, the results were more consistent with dimensional latent structure than with taxonic latent structure. On the basis of these findings, it is concluded that feigned psychopathology forms a dimension (levels of fabrication or exaggeration) rather than a taxon (malingering-honest dichotomy) and that malingering is a quantitative distinction rather than a qualitative one. The theoretical and clinical practice implications of these findings are discussed.     

Replacing overt verbal and gestural prompts with unobtrusive covert tactile prompting for students with autism

Verbal responses, gestures, and other physical stimuli are often used to prompt children to pay attention to their teacher, participate in group responding, and engage in independent activities in the classroom. Prompts can be intrusive and draw attention to the problem, however. In the present study, unobtrusive vibrating pagers were used to discreetly alert children to attend directly to the teacher or the ongoing activity, thus reducing the number of disruptions the children created in their classrooms. The children were then able to learn more effectively and with less interference to others in the vicinity. Specifically, 5 male children, between 4 and 7 years old, who attended a regular education preschool or regular education first-grade classroom, participated. An alternating baseline and treatment conditions design was used, in which periods of overt traditional prompting were alternated with periods of covert tactile and overt traditional prompting. The data showed that covert tactile prompting was successful in reducing the amount of overt traditional prompting that was needed for attention to a teacher, group responding, and engagement in independent activities.     

No pain, no gain: Perceptions of calorie expenditures of exercise and daily activities

Reduction in physical activity is considered a major contributor to weight problems. Increasingly, people are expending less energy in household chores but joining fitness clubs. Do people perceive ordinary daily activities to expend less energy than exercise activities using similar amounts of calories? In the present study college students were asked to evaluate the calorie expenditure of 30 physical activities (i.e., exercises and household tasks). The household tasks were matched (in terms of caloric expenditure) to at least one exercise activity. When participants rated both exercise and daily activities, it appears that they focused on rate of caloric expenditure rather than type of activity (i.e., household task or exercise). In Study 2, college students evaluated the energy expenditure of light/leisure, moderate, and intense exercise. This emphasis concerning the benefit of intense physical activity was observed once again. College students appear to have assimilated the belief that intense physical activity expends more energy than longer sessions of lower intensity physical activity using similar amounts of calories. Perhaps one reason why people are not physically active is that they believe physical activities must be intense to be of benefit. At the same time they are automatizing household chores and, thus, become less active overall.