Use of Community-Based Participatory Research Methods in Adults' Health Assessment

Since adults 18 to 64 years of age represent the fastest growing population, we conducted a community assessment to assess health status, chronic disease prevalence, health behaviors, utilization of health screenings, and access to health care. A total of 450 adults completed a 56-item assessment on quality of life. Prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes were higher than Healthy People 2010 targets. Respondents reported poor health behaviors, such as a lack of physical activity. Data from this community assessment will be used for program development and to obtain funding.     

Emotion and recognition memory: the discrimination of negative information as an adaptive process

We studied the effect of emotion generated by IAPS (International Affective Picture System) pictures on incidental recognition of these pictures for short retention periods (15 min). Memorization distraction tasks and reaction time tasks were used together with short exposure times (2 seconds per picture) in order to prevent a high recognition rate that would impede testing for the effect of emotion on discrimination parameters (A′) and response bias (B′′D) (ceiling effect). We used 80 pictures representing the medium and high levels of two-dimensional emotional space. The results showed greater discrimination and a more conservative response style to unpleasant and medium arousal level pictures. These pictures produced higher confidence and lower response times in the recognition phase. The results can be explained by the negative content of the pictures and activation level effects on attentional processing and memory, and can be interpreted as a phenomenon that is evolutionarily adaptive.     

Using the Implicit Association Test to Assess Children's Implicit Attitudes toward Smoking

The development and psychometric properties of an Implicit Association Test (IAT) measuring implicit attitude toward smoking among fifth grade children were described. The IAT with "sweets" as the contrast category resulted in higher correlations with explicit attitudes than did the IAT with "healthy foods" as the contrast category. Children with family members who smoked (versus non-smoking) and children who were high in sensation seeking (versus low) had a significantly more favorable implicit attitude toward smoking. Further, implicit attitudes became less favorable after engaging in tobacco prevention activities targeting risk perceptions of addiction. Results support the reliability and validity of this version of the IAT and illustrate its usefulness in assessing young children's implicit attitude toward smoking.     

Objective and subjective socioeconomic status and susceptibility to the common cold.

OBJECTIVE: We ask whether subjective socioeconomic status (SES) predicts who develops a common cold when exposed to a cold virus. DESIGN: 193 healthy men and women ages 21-55 years were assessed for subjective (perceived rank) and objective SES, cognitive, affective and social dispositions, and health practices. Subsequently, they were exposed by nasal drops to a rhinovirus or influenza virus and monitored in quarantine for objective signs of illness and self-reported symptoms. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Infection, signs and symptoms of the common cold, and clinical illness (infection and significant objective signs of illness). RESULTS: Increased subjective SES was associated with decreased risk for developing a cold for both viruses. This association was independent of objective SES and of cognitive, affective and social disposition that might provide alternative spurious (third factor) explanations for the association. Poorer sleep among those with lesser subjective SES may partly mediate the association between subjective SES and colds. CONCLUSIONS: Increased Subjective SES is associated with less susceptibility to upper respiratory infection, and this association is independent of objective SES, suggesting the importance of perceived relative rank to health.     

Why worry? Worry, risk perceptions, and willingness to act to reduce medical errors.

Through the domain of medical errors, the role of worry and perceived risk in precautionary behaviors was examined in a convenience sample (N = 195, mean age = 42 years, 71% female). Worry was linked to fatality estimates. A model of the antecedents and consequences of worry also was tested. Risk characteristics such as dread and preventability, negative reactivity, and vulnerability to medical errors appeared to motivate worry about medical errors. Worry about medical errors was a better predictor of intentions to take precautionary actions than were risk perceptions. An understanding of how worry influences preventive efforts will help in building communication strategies to the public and in effectively engaging patients in the role of vigilant partner in care.     

The Benefit of Forgetting Suicidal Ideation

In a sample of young adult Australians, those who had had suicidal ideation but who did not acknowledge ever having had it when asked 4 years later, were experiencing better mental health, as demonstrated by significantly better functioning on a range of psychometric measures, than those who recalled it. These results are consistent with several recent reports and indicate that forgetting painful events such as suicidal ideation is an adaptive defense mechanism. This has implications in terms of therapy focusing on contemporaneous events and the future, rather than on the past.