Typologies of Religiousness/Spirituality: Implications for Health and Well-Being

The purpose of this study was to develop empirically based typologies of religiousness/spirituality (R/S) and to determine whether the typologies were related to health and well-being. The study used a nationally representative sample of adults (N = 1,431). Using latent profile analysis, typologies were derived based on religious service attendance, prayer, positive religious coping, and daily spiritual experiences. Multivariate statistical tests were used to examine cluster differences in health and well-being. A four-class model was identified: highly religious, moderately religious, somewhat religious, and minimally religious or non-religious. The four classes were distinctively different in psychological well-being, in that the highly religious class was most likely to be happy and satisfied with finances and least likely to be psychologically distressed.     

The effect of a psycho-educational intervention on weight management in obese military personnel

Obesity is a serious health problem for many population groups, including military personnel. Model-based health education programs have been shown to be effective in reducing weight. This study assessed the efficacy of an educational intervention based on a trans-theoretical model (TTM) targeting weight loss among active duty military. A single group experimental study using a before-after design was conducted in 49 military personnel with obesity. Constructs such as self-efficacy, decisional balance, stages of change, and processes of change as well as anthropometric measures including weight, waist circumference, and body mass index (BMI) were assessed at three times (baseline, 2 months after the intervention, and 4 months later). The intervention consisted of 10 educational sessions developed based on TTM constructs. At baseline, 30 (61%) and 19 (39%) persons were in the pre-action and action stages, respectively. By 2 months after the intervention, only 24 persons (49%) were in pre-action stages and 25 (51%) were in the action stages. Four months later, one (2%) and 43 (88%) were in pre-action and action stages. The mean changes in self-efficacy (25.7 ± 4.1 to 29.3 ± 2.4), decisional balance (9.2 ± 3.6 to 13.8 ± 1.9), total cognitive (74.7 ± 8.5 to 84.7 ± 6.3), and total behavioral change (60.8 ± 9.8 to 71.7 ± 7.8) were significantly different across the three time points. Reductions in weight (99.8 ± 10.4 to 93.0 ± 9.6), waist circumference (105.9 ± 14.2 to 100.2 ± 13.0), and BMI (32.5 ± 5.2 to 30.3 ± 4.5) from baseline to 4 months after the intervention were also significant (p < 0.05). An educational program based on TTM may be effective in reducing weight among obese military staff.     

降压达标在高血压治疗中的意义

随着高血压发病人数的增加,高血压所造成的心、脑、肾等重要靶器官损伤、功能衰竭日益受到重视。临床研究证明,为减少由高血压造成的重要器官损伤、提高患者的生活质量、降低病死率,通过各种方式尽快将血压控制在所要求的达标范围内是非常必要的。     

Validation of the Duke Religion Index: DUREL (Portuguese Version)

The purpose of the current study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Duke Religion Index (PDUREL) in a community setting. PDUREL was translated and adapted for administration to 383 individuals from a population-based study of low-income community-dwelling adults. The PDUREL intrinsic subscale and total scores demonstrated high internal consistency (alphas ranging from 0.733 for the total scale score to 0.758 for the intrinsic subscale). Correlations among the DUREL subscales were also examined for evidence of discriminant validity. Correlations were ranging from 0.36 to 0.46, indicating significant overlap between the scales without marked redundancy. PDUREL is a reliable and valid scale. The availability of a comprehensive, but brief measure of religiousness can help to study the role of religiousness in health by researchers from countries that speak the Portuguese language.     

Influence of multiple-day temporal distribution of repetitions on memory: a comparison of uniform, expanding, and contracting schedules

Very few studies have examined the influence of schedules of repetitions across multiple days (e.g., Tsai, 1927 ). Three temporal schedules of four presentations of pseudoword/word pairs over a 7-day learning period were compared: a uniform (presentations on Days 1, 3, 5, and 7), an expanding (1, 2, 3, 7), and a contracting (1, 5, 6, 7) schedule. Schedule was a within-subjects variable. Experiment 1 was performed on the Internet and showed that cued recall on Day 9 led to higher scores for the stimuli of the expanding schedule. Experiment 2 was performed in the laboratory and showed that the expanding and the uniform schedules led to the highest scores on Day 9. A recognition task performed during the learning phase revealed that stimuli recognized at the time of their repetition were more likely to be retrieved later than the others. Our results are discussed within the framework of the study-phase retrieval and encoding variability theories.