Quality of life before and after lung transplantation in patients with emphysema versus other indications

Whether lung transplantation improves Health-related Quality of Life in patients with emphysema and other end-stage lung diseases before and after lung transplantation was examined. Between 1992 and 1999, 23 patients with emphysema and 19 patients with other indications completed self-administered questionnaires before lung transplantation, and at 4, 7, 13, and 25 mo. after transplantation. The questionnaire included the Nottingham Health Profile, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Self-rating Depression Scale, the Index of Well-being, the self-report Karnofsky Index, and four respiratory-specific questions. Neither before nor after transplantation were significant differences found on most dimensions of Health-related Quality of Life between patients with emphysema and other indications. Before transplantation, both groups report major restrictions on the dimensions Energy and Mobility of the Nottingham Health Profile, low experienced well-being, depressive symptoms, and high dyspnea. About 4 mo. after transplantation, most Health-related Quality of Life measures improved significantly in both groups. These improvements were maintained in the following 21 mo.     

Development of adolescents' peer crowd identification in relation to changes in problem behaviors

This 5-wave longitudinal study, which included 1,313 Dutch adolescents, examined the development of peer crowd identification in relation to changes in problem behaviors. Adolescents from 2 age cohorts annually reported their identification with 7 peer crowds and their levels of internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. Univariate latent growth curve analyses revealed declines (i.e., "Hip Hoppers" and "Metal Heads") or declines followed by stabilization (i.e., "Nonconformists") in identification with nonconventional crowds and increases (i.e., "Elites" and "Brains") or declines followed by stabilization (i.e., "Normals" and "Jocks") in identification with conventional crowds. Multivariate latent growth curve analyses indicated that stronger and more persistent identifications with nonconventional crowds were generally associated with more problem behaviors throughout adolescence. In contrast, stronger and more persistent identifications with conventional crowds were generally associated with fewer problem behaviors throughout adolescence with the notable exception of Brains, who showed a mixed pattern. Though characterized by fewer externalizing problems, this group did report more anxiety problems. These findings and their implications are discussed.     

Disruptions and General Distress for Essential and Nonessential Employees During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Journal of Business and Psychology - The COVID-19 pandemic and outbreak response represent a global crisis that has affected various aspects of people’s lives, including work. Speculation is...     

A Qualitative Study on Children’s Digital Media Use and Parents’ Self-interest

Journal of Child and Family Studies - This qualitative study provides insight into the role of parents’ self-interest in digital media use of children in different age groups. We conducted 31...     

Reading about explanations enhances perceptions of inevitability and foreseeability: a cross-cultural study with Wikipedia articles

In hindsight, people often perceive events to be more inevitable and foreseeable than in foresight. According to Causal Model Theory (Nestler et al. in J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 34: 1043–1054, 2008), causal explanations are crucial for such hindsight distortions to occur. The present study provides further empirical support for this notion but extends previous findings in several ways. First, ecologically valid materials were used. Second, the effect of causal information on hindsight distortions was investigated in the realm of previously known events. Third, cross-cultural differences in reasoning (analytic vs. holistic) were taken into account. Specifically, German and Vietnamese participants in our study were presented with Wikipedia articles about the nuclear power plant in Fukushima Daiichi, Japan. They read either the version that existed before the nuclear disaster unfolded (Version 1) or the article that existed 8 weeks after the catastrophe commenced (Version 2). Only the latter contained elaborations on causal antecedents and therefore provided an explanation for the disaster. Reading that version led participants to perceive the nuclear disaster to be more likely inevitable and foreseeable when compared to reading Version 1. Cultural background did not exert a significant effect on these perceptions. Hence, hindsight distortions were obtained for ecologically valid materials even if the event was already known. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

A critical review of the literature on academic self-handicapping: theory,manifestations, prevention and measurement

Academic self-handicapping is a very popular subject of research in educational psychology, in which a growing number of related findings are reported. However, apart from a recent meta-analysis (Schwinger et al. in J Educ Psychol 106(3):744–761, 2014), the last comprehensive review of the subject was published 17 years ago (Urdan and Midgley in Educ Psychol Rev 13(2):115–138, 2001). This paper integrates relevant findings accumulated since then, which are discussed in a coherent interpretive framework. The first part of the paper discusses the definition and theoretical grounds of academic self-handicapping, then its manifestations in an academic context are enumerated. The second part of the study focuses on the self-protective function of stereotypes based on self-handicapping as well as on the impressions self-handicapping students may make on others at school. A summary of the contributions of goal orientation theory is provided in relation to self-handicapping, and the effects of various goal orientations and goal structures on academic performance are analysed. Based on an analysis of interactions between self-handicapping and academic performance, the authors argue for the importance of prevention and suggest possible ways to prevent self-handicapping. In conclusion, measurement issues of academic self-handicapping and the methodological paradox inherent in questionnaire measures are discussed.     

Dissociating the two faces of selective memory retrieval

Research in the past four decades has repeatedly shown that selective retrieval of some (non-target) memories can impair subsequent retrieval of other (target) information, a finding known as retrieval-induced forgetting. More recently, however, there is evidence that selective retrieval can both impair and enhance recall of related memories (K-H. T. Bäuml & Samenieh, 2010). To identify possible experimental dissociations between the detrimental and the beneficial effects of memory retrieval, we examined retrieval dynamics in listwise directed forgetting, varying the delay between preceding non-target and subsequent target recall. When target recall immediately followed non-target recall, we replicated the prior work and found detrimental effects of memory retrieval on to-be-remembered items but beneficial effects on to-be-forgotten items. In contrast, when a delay was introduced between non-target and target recall, the detrimental effects were present but the beneficial effects were absent. The results demonstrate a first experimental dissociation between the two effects of memory retrieval. They are consistent with a recent two-factor account of the two faces of selective memory retrieval.     

Relation Between EMG Activation Patterns and Kinematic Properties of Aimed Arm Movements

Aimed flexion movements of the arm of different amplitude and duration were studied. Velocity and acceleration traces of movements with equal duration but different amplitude were equal, apart from a scaling factor (ratio between movement amplitudes). After appropriate scaling, EMG activity of the first agonist burst for these movements superimposed. This was not true for EMG activity in the antagonist muscle.

For movements with equal amplitude, but different duration, the time to peak acceleration was constant for all MT’s. Except for this fact, traces of acceleration, velocity, and agonist activity following the time of peak acceleration were about equal after appropriate scaling in time and amplitude. The integral of EMG activity in the first agonist burst increased linearly with peak velocity. For the antagonist burst, the integrated EMG activity increased more than proportionally.

During movements made as fast as possible, subjects used a different strategy by varying the duration of the accelerating phase for movements of different amplitude. Movement amplitude was achieved by adjusting the duration of the agonist burst and the onset time for the antagonist muscle. Amplitude of the antagonist burst was constant within a narrow range for movements of different amplitude.

These results did not change when the inertial mass was doubled by loading the arm with an additional mass.