Social and moral norm differences among Portuguese 1st and 6th year medical students towards their intention to comply with hand hygiene

This study examines social and moral norms towards the intention to comply with hand hygiene among Portuguese medical students from 1st and 6th years (N = 175; 121 from the 1st year, 54 from the 6th year). The study extended the theory of planned behaviour theoretical principles and hypothesised that both subjective and moral norms will be the best predictors of 1st and 6th year medical students' intention to comply with hand hygiene; however, these predictors ability to explain intention variance will change according to medical students' school year. Results indicated that the subjective norm, whose referent focuses on professors, is a relevant predictor of 1st year medical students' intention, while the subjective norm that emphasises the relevance of colleagues predicts the intentions of medical students from the 6th year. In terms of the moral norm, 6th year students' intention is better predicted by a norm that interferes with compliance; whereas intentions from 1st year students are better predicted by a norm that favours compliance. Implications of the findings highlight the importance of role models and mentors as key factors in teaching hand hygiene in medical undergraduate curricula.     

Tele-pain management: use of videoconferencing technology in the delivery of an integrated cognitive-behavioral and physical therapy group intervention

Chronic pain has been recognized as a highly prevalent problem, and interdisciplinary treatments have been shown to be effective in the treatment of chronic pain. An integrated cognitive-behavioral and physical therapy group protocol has been developed and then implemented at remote sites using videoconferencing technology to provide pain management for veterans. The treatment model is summarized and recommendations are made for addressing challenges in implementing this type of treatment via videoconferencing.     

Rumination and body dissatisfaction interact to predict concurrent binge eating

Based upon the escape theory (Baumeister, 1991; Heatherton & Baumeister, 1991) and the emotional cascade model (Selby, Anestis, & Joiner, 2008), it was hypothesized that body dissatisfaction and rumination tendencies would interact to predict concurrent binge eating symptoms. This hypothesis was tested in a sample of 780 undergraduate students. The results conformed to prediction, in that individuals with high levels of body dissatisfaction were most likely to report binge eating behavior when they also had a tendency to ruminate. This interaction had a significant association with binge eating, above and beyond variance accounted for by participant sex, depression symptoms, and body mass index. Moreover, there was evidence of specificity for the model, as the interaction did not predict concurrent problematic drinking. Our findings suggest compatibility between the escape theory and emotional cascade models, and identify two factors that, in combination, may render individuals particularly vulnerable to binge eating.     

Opposing Trends of Religious Attendance and Religiosity in Predicting Elders’ Functional Recovery after an Acute Myocardial Infarction

This study examined the role of religion and spirituality in older adults’ functional recovery following an AMI. Participants were interviewed within 2 weeks of the AMI about their religious beliefs. Functional recovery was evaluated using the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) at one month and seven months. We found that those who reported attending religious services more frequently had better functional recovery. In contrast, those who considered themselves more spiritual had worse functional recovery. These findings remained after controlling for age, gender, co-morbidity (Charlson Co-Morbidity Scale), depression (CES-D), social support (MOS Social Support Survey), and grip strength in Linear Mixed Models. The implications of the findings are discussed.Dr. Levy is an Associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Public health at Yale University. Her research focuses on the influence of psychosocial factors on aging health. She received the Margaret M. Baltes Early Career Award in Behavioral and Social Gerontology from the Gerontological Society of America, the Springer Award for Early Career Achievement on Adult Development and Aging from the American Psychological Association, and a Career Award from the National Institute on Aging. She was also awarded a Brookdale National Fellowship for Leadership in Aging. Kathryn Remmes Martin received her Bachelor’s Degree from the College of the Holy Cross and her Master’s Degree (MPH) in Chronic Disease Epidemiology from Yale University. She is currently a doctoral student in the Health Behavior and Health Education Department at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, School of Public Health.     

Derived Conditional Position Discrimination in Individuals without Naming Skills

The Psychological Record - Derived conditional discrimination was evaluated in 2 men with mental retardation whose language was limited to gestural requests. In each conditional-discrimination...     

Differential Daily Writing Contingencies and Performance on Major Multiple-Choice Exams

On 4 of 7 days in each unit of an undergraduate human development course, students responded in writing to specific questions related to instructor notes previously made available to them. The study compared the effects of three writing contingencies on the quality of student writing and performance on major multiple-choice exams in the course. The three contingencies were (1) receiving credit for all writing products each unit, (2) receiving credit for one randomly selected writing product each unit, and (3) receiving no credit for any writing product each unit. On all dimensions of exam performance, writing for daily credit produced higher scores than did writing for random credit and writing for no credit. The daily-writing contingency also produced the highest writing ratings across all units; the writing for random credit produced the next highest writing scores; and the writing for no credit yielded the lowest writing scores. Across all three contingencies, writing scores were highly correlated with performance on multiple-choice exams.     

Development of the Measure of Adaptations for Pelvic Symptoms (MAPS): the Importance of Incorporating the Female Patient’s Voice

Women with pelvic floor disorders use many adaptations in an attempt to minimize symptoms and enhance the quality of their lives. Existing condition-specific measures fail to capture the extent or impact of these adaptive behaviors. The present paper seeks to extend the women’s health literature and expand the registry of available measures to assess pelvic floor disorders by: 1) documenting the steps taken in the development and initial validation of the Measure of Adaptations for Pelvic Symptoms (MAPS); and 2) describing the added value of incorporating the patient’s voice in the instrument development process through in-depth focus groups. The rigorous process used to develop the measure (i.e., literature review, clinical experts, anecdotal patient reports, telephone-administered pilot study, and focus groups with female patients) is described. Analysis of the focus group data yielded eight important adaptation themes used to further refine the MAPS: disclosure, seclusion, being prepared, planning, clothing considerations, sexuality, order and intensity, and outlook. Specifically, focus group participants confirmed the use of sanitary pads and limiting food and beverage consumption. Women did not endorse keeping a jar or commode nearby. Discussions yielded important modifications to items about restroom use, clothing preferences, “survival kits” and “informal” pessary use. Participants described social isolation and preparations for sexual relations that led to new items. This study confirmed the value of incorporating women’s voices in the questionnaire development process through in-depth focus groups. The process revealed important patient experiences and led to significant refinements of the final measure.     

Romantic Commitment and the Perceived Availability of Opposite-Sex Persons: On Loving the One You're With1

This article reports a study that examined whether perceptions of the availability of members of the opposite sex are related to commitment to romantic relationships among students at two colleges. Analyses of students' anonymous questionnaire responses reveal that students who perceived that there were relatively few members of the opposite sex on their college's campus were more committed to their romantic relationship, considered their relationship to be more attractive, and invested more in it compared with other students. These relations involving the perceived opposite-sex ratio did not vary as a function of the length of the romantic involvement or the students' gender, race, or college. The perceived opposite-sex ratio was significantly related to the actual opposite-sex ratio, but the latter was not significantly related to commitment, investments, or perceived attractiveness of the relationship. Considering the sample as a whole, the students overestimated the availability of opposite-sex persons. It is concluded that perceptions of the availability of persons of the opposite sex may affect the dynamics of relationships between men and women. Implications of the findings for social exchange theories are discussed.     

Cross-modal, auditory-visual Stroop interference: a reply to Cowan and Barron (1987)

This series of experiments was performed to verify Cowan and Barron's (1987) reported effect of auditory color-word interference on a visual Stroop task. Extant theory predicts effects of irrelevant speech on visual memory tasks involving immediate, ordered recall of the items. Interference between the two sources of information (visual and auditory) is assumed to be located at the phonological store component of the articulatory loop. Perceptual tasks such as the Stroop task, which do not require use of the articulatory loop for rehearsal purposes, should not be similarly susceptible. The present data fail to replicate Cowan and Barron's findings, and are thus consistent with contemporary theory.     

BEHAVIORAL GERONTOLOGY: APPLICATION OF BEHAVIORAL METHODS TO THE PROBLEMS OF OLDER ADULTS

Elderly persons are under-represented in research and clinical applied behavior analysis, in spite of data suggesting that behavior problems are quite prevalent in both community dwelling and institutionalized elderly. Preliminary investigations suggest that behavioral procedures can be used effectively in treating various geriatric behavior problems. We discuss a number of areas within behavioral gerontology that would profit from additional research, including basic field study, self-management, community caregiver training, institutional staff training and management, and geriatric behavioral pharmacology. Special considerations for adapting behavioral procedures are discussed, and suggestions for expanding the role of behavior analysis in geriatric care are offered.