An Intervention to Help Community-Based Organizations Implement an Evidence-Based HIV Prevention Intervention: The Mpowerment Project Technology Exchange System

Considerable resources have been spent developing and rigorously testing HIV prevention intervention models, but such models do not impact the AIDS pandemic unless they are implemented effectively by community-based organizations (CBOs) and health departments. The Mpowerment Project (MP) is being implemented by CBOs around the US. It is a multilevel, evidence-based HIV prevention program for young gay/bisexual men that targets individual, interpersonal, social, and structural issues by using empowerment and community mobilization methods. This paper discusses the development of an intervention to help CBOs implement the MP called the Mpowerment Project Technology Exchange System (MPTES); CBOs’ uptake, utilization and perceptions of the MPTES components; and issues that arose during technical assistance. The seven-component MPTES was provided to 49 CBOs implementing the MP that were followed longitudinally for up to two years. Except for the widely used program manual, other program materials were used early in implementing the MP and then their use declined. In contrast, once technical assistance was proactively provided, its usage remained constant over time, as did requests for technical assistance. CBOs expressed substantial positive feedback about the MPTES, but felt that it needs more focus on diversity issues, describing real world implementation approaches, and providing guidance on how to adapt the MP to diverse populations.     

Body satisfaction is associated with Transtheoretical Model constructs for physical activity behavior change

Despite advancements in health behavior theory and practice, less than half of the United States population meets physical activity recommendations. Two cross-sectional studies (n = 432; n = 1455) were conducted to explore associations between body satisfaction and Transtheoretical Model (TTM) constructs proposed to explain the physical activity behavior change process. A series of regression analyses were conducted, controlling for demographic and TTM variables, as appropriate. Results indicate that body satisfaction significantly explains 2–8% of variance in the TTM constructs responsible for promoting stage movement. Furthermore, body satisfaction was significantly associated with stages of change representing short (>6 months) and long-term (>5 years) maintenance of physical activity. Future research should continue to examine these construct relationships using more rigorous research designs, with the ultimate goal of implementing body satisfaction components alongside traditionally effective TTM interventions to improve physical activity maintenance.     

Collective intentionality and socially extended minds

There are many ways to advance our understanding of the human mind by studying different kinds of sociality. Our aim in this introduction is to situate claims about extended cognition within a broader framework of research on human sociality. We briefly discuss the existing landscape, focusing on ways of defending socially extended cognition. We then draw on resources from the recent literature on the socially extended mind, as well as the literature on collective intentionality, to provide a framework for thinking about the social dimension of individual minds. We then turn to a brief overview of the individualistic approaches advanced by Ludwig and Spaulding in this volume. And we close with a discussion of the transformative role of the social mind in individual life presented by Kern and Moll, as well as the distributed approach to interacting systems defended by Goldstone and Theiner.     

The God‐Shaped Hole: Addictive Disorders and the Search for Perfection

Clients with addictive disorders who have an internalized need for perfection benefit from an integration of spirituality into counseling treatment. This article provides a review of the literature, offers a spiritual approach for working with clients who struggle with addiction and perfectionism, and provides a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of the integration of spirituality and counseling.     

Reliability and Validity of a Brief Life Satisfaction Scale with a High School Sample

This study investigated the psychometric properties of a brief life satisfaction scale, the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (Huebner et al., 2004a), with a high school age sample. The results revealed preliminary evidence of internal consistency, two-week test–retest reliability, construct validity, and criterion-related validity for research purposes. Expected demographic effects were also obtained. Overall, the findings suggest that the BMSLSS may provide a useful indicator of adolescent life satisfaction in studies in which brevity of measures is an important consideration.     

Influence of Attachment Style on Sexual Abuse Survivors' Posttraumatic Growth

This study investigated the directional relationship between adults' (N = 292) attachment styles and perceived impact of child sexual abuse with their experience of posttraumatic growth (PTG). Structural equation modeling results identified that attachment style served as a partial mediator between trauma and PTG scores, with the mediating effect contributing to 8% of the variance in the presence of PTG (p < .05; standardized coefficient = ?.31).