Religiosity and Quality of Life in Older Christian Women in Ireland: A Mixed Methods Analysis

Journal of Religion and Health - This study used a mixed methods approach to understand the ways in which religion and quality of life (QoL) are associated in later life in Ireland. Longitudinal...     

Decision-making competence and cognitive abilities: Which abilities matter?

Decision-making competence is a skill that is associated with numerous positive life outcomes. Even though multiple cognitive abilities have been shown to predict decision-making competence, few studies have incorporated a large test battery tapping into several cognitive abilities concurrently in the same models. The current paper presents a study that sought to investigate which cognitive abilities predicted overall decision-making competence in adults using hierarchical regression analysis. A cognitive test battery, comprising abilities such as general intelligence, executive functions, numeracy, visuospatial ability, and time perception, was administered to 182 participants. Results indicate that both general intelligence, which was consistently the strongest predictor, and numeracy contributed independently to overall decision-making competence. Executive functions did predict overall decision-making competence, while all predictors were included in the models. A novel finding concerns the relationship between time perception and decision-making competence. The complementary roles of these cognitive abilities are discussed.     

Competing Arbitrary and Nonarbitrary Stimulus Relations: The Effect of Exemplar Training in Adult Participants

The Psychological Record - The current study sought to extend the work of Stewart et al. (The Psychological Record, 52, 77–88, 2002) by investigating the effects of differing histories with...     

Positive fantasies or negative contrasts: The effect of media body ideals on restrained eaters’ mood,weight satisfaction,and food intake

Although viewing media body ideals promotes body dissatisfaction and problematic eating among women (e.g., extreme restraint/overeating), some argue that women only report such negative effects because they think that they are meant to (i.e., demand characteristics). Because restrained eaters are trying to lose weight, they might be vulnerable to such media exposure. However, because of demand characteristics, evidence is mixed. Therefore, we minimized demand characteristics and explored whether media body ideals would trigger restrained eaters to report negative (negative mood, weight dissatisfaction) or positive (positive mood, weight satisfaction) effects. We also hypothesized that this change (negative or positive) would encourage food intake. Restrained and unrestrained eaters (n = 107) memorized media or control images. Restrained eaters exposed to media images reported decreased weight satisfaction and increased negative mood, but their food intake was not significantly affected. Perhaps paying advertent attention to the images caused goal-related negative affect, which triggered restraint.     

Effects of Mothers' Locus of Control for Child Improvement in a Developmentally Delayed Sample

A potentially important variable that has received little attention in the literature is the locus of control (LOC) a caregiver holds for child improvement, including its influence on the caregiver's treatment compliance and on actual child improvement. In this study, 131 mother-child dyads were assessed across 1 year, to evaluate the utility of the LOC construct in a practice setting. Children were approximately 4 years old at the first assessment, and all of them had been diagnosed with a developmental disability. Mothers' compliance with treatment (mothers' attendance at sessions; teachers' ratings of mothers' support and knowledge) was tracked, and measures of child development status and mothers' locus of control were administered. Statistical results indicated that mothers' locus of control was not significantly correlated with children's gains in development over the year. The mothers' beliefs about whether the child or chance would be responsible for improvement were associated with lower compliance with treatment, whereas the mothers' beliefs that child improvement was attributable to professional intervention were associated with enhanced involvement in treatment.     

Determinants of patient satisfaction with the medical consultation

Abstract

This study assessed patient satisfaction with the medical consultation in ambulatory settings. A multistage sampling method, stratified by geographical location in metropolitan Sydney and type of medical practice, was employed. Two hundred and seventy-two patients attending medical consultations completed a brief questionnaire and interview immediately following a medical consultation with either a general practitioner or a medical specialist. Factor analysis of the questionnaire indicated that 58% of the variance in patient satisfaction ratings was accounted for by the level of interpersonal warmth and respect and the amount of information communicated by the doctor. Other factors impacting on satisfaction included the number of patient requests perceived to be met by the doctor, and the characteristics of the medical encounter, such as the length of the consultation and whether the visit was a first or subsequent consultation. There was no association between level of satisfaction and gender of doctor or the type of medical practice attended.     

Apahe Age Groups

Previous communications have indicated that interpretations of Rorschach protocols resultant from testing the Apaches of the Mescalero Indian Reservation produce information which conforms closely to that obtained by standard anthropological and psychoanalytic investigative techniques.

Anthropologic and psychoanalytic observations demonstrate that the effects of acculturation are less disruptive to the personality organization of old-age than of middle-age and young-age Mescalero and Chiracahua Apaches. In the present communication, a comparison is made of Rorschach protocols derived from testing of those three-age groups. The interpretation of those protocols confirms the assumptions based on the anthropological and psychoanalytic observations.