Religion and Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Objectives: To determine whether cardiovascular-disease risk-factor profiles of majority-church members differ from those of non-church members we examined a large population-based random sample. Methods: Data from the two cross-sectional surveys of the Pawtucket Heart Health Program conducted in 1981–82 (n = 2442) and 1983–84 (n = 2799) were evaluated. Trained interviewers collected physiological measures including height, weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and a small blood sample (for total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein). Smoking, exercise, sociodemographics, and church membership were determined by self-report. Results: Church members were older, more likely to be female, Portuguese, married, have more people living in their households, and were also more likely to be greater than 20% overweight. Forty-eight percent of church members reported never having smoked cigarettes compared to 35.4% of non-church members. Differences in systolic blood pressure and total cholesterol were attributable to age, sex, and ethnicity. Conclusions: Aside from cigarette-smoking status and body-mass index, the risk profile of the two groups was not different, indicating that health-promotion interventions geared to the general population may not need to be tailored too extensively for members of religious organizations based on health status. On the other hand, the demographic differences and easy access to entire families may require more attention.     

A review of research on smoking among United States Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (2006–2016)

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders diagnosed in U.S. veterans. PTSD is associated with high smoking prevalences and difficulty quitting in the general U.S. population. The current study reviewed research on smoking and PTSD in U.S. veteran samples to summarize past research and identify areas in need of additional inquiry. MEDLINE and PsycINFO searches identified papers on smoking in samples of U.S. veterans with PTSD published from January 2006 through December 2016. Thirty-four articles met all of the inclusion criteria: (a) part of the sample consisted of U.S. veterans with PTSD or PTSD symptoms, and (b) the study examined some aspect of smoking behavior. U.S. veterans with PTSD were more likely to report smoking, heavy smoking, nicotine dependence, and late-onset smoking compared to veterans without PTSD. Smoking behaviors (e.g., current smoking, heavy smoking, smoking expectancies) differed by PTSD symptoms and by combat exposure. Smoking cessation feasibility studies examined the integration of smoking treatment into PTSD clinics and found favorable outcomes. Future research on veterans with PTSD would benefit from extending topics beyond rates of smoking to better understand the treatment needs of veterans. Research on smoking-related behaviors can help identify areas to target for interventions.     

Braiding Two Evidence-Based Programs for Families At-Risk: Results of a Cluster Randomized Trial

Child maltreatment is a significant public health problem best addressed through evidence-based parent-support programs. There is a wide range of programs with different strengths offering a variety of options for families. Choosing one single evidence-based program often limits the range of services available to meet the unique needs of families. This paper presents findings from a study to examine the systematic braiding of two evidence-based programs, Parents as Teachers and SafeCare at Home (PATSCH), with the goal to provide a more robust intervention for higher risk families. A cluster randomized effectiveness trial was conducted to examine if PATSCH improved parenting behaviors known to decrease the risk for child maltreatment compared to Parents as Teachers (PAT) Alone. Parents (N?=?159; 92 PAT Alone; 67 PATSCH) were enrolled to complete a baseline, 6-month and 12-month assessment. Results indicate the groups did not differ on number of environmental hazards in the home, parents’ health care decision-making abilities, child abuse potential, and physical assault over time. However, with regard to the potential for child abuse, the PATSCH group showed a decrease in nonviolence discipline and increase in psychological aggression compared to the PAT group. Further research is needed to better examine this concept and its implications for the field.     

Sex on the margins: centering intersex,transgender, and sexually fluid voices in religious and scientific discourse

ABSTRACT

This collection of essays arose from the conference “Sex on the Margins: Navigating Religious, Social, and Natural Scientific Models of Sex Differences,” February 24–26, 2017, at Boston University. Scholars examined how our growing knowledge of sex, gender, and sexual diversity impacts binary models of sex that continue to hold sway in most religious and natural scientific examinations of human nature, including their practical application in medical approaches to differently sexed and gendered bodies. The authors call for a nuanced, interdisciplinary approach to sex difference which respects and protects minorities without eliding statistically significant binary patterns of human experience.     

Using found poetry to illuminate the existential and posttraumatic growth of women with breast cancer engaging in art therapy

Arts-based research (ABR) is an expanding methodological genre, which adapts the tenets of the creative arts to make social science research accessible, evocative, and engaging. It crosses the boundaries of both art and science, but has made few inroads within the discipline of psychology. This article describes a pilot project examining how art-making shaped the trajectories of women diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. Using ABR as a way of distilling the findings, we demonstrate how experiences of existential and posttraumatic growth can be understood more intensely and profoundly through found poetry. Found poems (excerpts from interviews reframed as poetry) offer a richer, more meaningful, and potent evocation of themes than traditional coding categories. Poetry permits the voice of the participant to be more clearly heard and allows the reader to access deeper insights and understandings of the complexities of growth through adversity.     

The neural correlates of alcohol-related aggression

Alcohol intoxication is implicated in approximately half of all violent crimes. Over the past several decades, numerous theories have been proposed to account for the influence of alcohol on aggression. Nearly all of these theories imply that altered functioning in the prefrontal cortex is a proximal cause. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment, 50 healthy young men consumed either a low dose of alcohol or a placebo and completed an aggression paradigm against provocative and nonprovocative opponents. Provocation did not affect neural responses. However, relative to sober participants, during acts of aggression, intoxicated participants showed decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex, caudate, and ventral striatum, but heightened activation in the hippocampus. Among intoxicated participants, but not among sober participants, aggressive behavior was positively correlated with activation in the medial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These results support theories that posit a role for prefrontal cortical dysfunction as an important factor in intoxicated aggression.     

Pride and punishment: Entitled people's self‐promoting values motivate hierarchy‐restoring retribution

What is the purpose of punishment? The current research shows that for entitled people—those with inflated self‐worth—justice is about maintaining societal hierarchies. Entitled people more strongly hold self‐enhancing values (power and achievement; Studies 1 and 3). They are also more likely, when thinking about justice for offenders, to adopt a hierarchy‐based justice orientation: Perceptions that crime threatens hierarchies, motives to restore those hierarchies, and support for retribution (Studies 2 and 3). Further, the relationship of entitlement to justice orientation is mediated by self‐enhancing values when entitlement is measured (Study 3) and manipulated (Studies 4, 5 and 6). Together these studies suggest that entitlement—and the resultant preoccupation with one's status—facilitates a view of justice as a hierarchy‐based transaction: one where criminal offenders and their victims exchange power and status. These findings reveal the self‐enhancing and hierarchy‐focused nature of entitlement, as well as the roots of retribution in concerns about status, power, and hierarchies.     

2D or not 2D? An fMRI study of how dogs visually process objects

Animal Cognition - Given humans’ habitual use of screens, they rarely consider potential differences when viewing two-dimensional (2D) stimuli and real-world versions of dimensional stimuli....     

3-D bone models to improve treatment initiation among patients with osteoporosis: A randomised controlled pilot trial

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of 3-D printed bone models as a tool to facilitate initiation of bisphosphonate treatment among individuals who were newly diagnosed with osteoporosis.

Design: Fifty eight participants with estimated fracture risk above that at which guidelines recommend pharmacological intervention were randomised to receive either a standard physician interview or an interview augmented by the presentation of 3-D bone models.

Main outcome measures: Participants’ beliefs about osteoporosis and bisphosphonate treatment, initiation of bisphosphonate therapy assessed at two months using self-report and pharmacy dispensing data.

Results: Individuals in the 3-D bone model intervention condition were more emotionally affected by osteoporosis immediately after the interview (p = .04) and reported a greater understanding of osteoporosis at follow-up (p = .04), than the control group. While a greater proportion of the intervention group initiated an oral bisphosphonate regimen (alendronate) (52%) in comparison with the control group (21%), the overall initiation of medication for osteoporosis, including infusion (zoledronate), did not differ significantly (intervention group 62%, control group 45%, p = .19).

Conclusion: The presentation of 3-D bone models during a medical consultation can modify cognitive and emotional representations relevant to treatment initiation among people with osteoporosis and might facilitate commencement of bisphosphonate treatment.