African American Women’s Limited Knowledge and Experiences with Genetic Counseling for Hereditary Breast Cancer

Genetic counseling and testing for hereditary breast cancer have the potential benefit of early detection and early interventions in African American women. However, African American women have low use of these services compared to White women. We conducted two focus groups with African American women diagnosed with breast cancer (affected group, n?=?13) and women with at least one first-degree relative with breast/ovarian cancer (unaffected group, n?=?8). A content analysis approach was employed to analyze interview data. Breast cancer survivors had more knowledge about genetic counseling and testing than participants who were unaffected with cancer. However, knowledge about genetic counseling was limited in both groups. Barriers to pursuing genetic counseling and testing included poor understanding of the genetic counseling and testing process, fear of carrying the mutation, concerns about discrimination, and cost. Motivators to participate in genetic counseling and testing included desire to help family members, insurance coverage, and potential of benefiting the larger African American community. Education efforts are needed to increase genetic counseling and testing awareness in the African American community.     

A Sequential Examination of Parent–Child Interactions at Anesthetic Induction

Parental presence is often employed to alleviate distress in children within the context of surgery under general anesthesia. The critical component of this intervention may not be the presence of the parent per se, but more importantly the behaviors in which the parent and child engage when the parent is present. The purpose of the current study was to examine the sequential and reciprocal relationships between parental behaviors and child distress during induction of general anesthesia. Participants were 32 children (3–6 years) receiving dental surgery as a day surgery procedure, and their parents. A modified Child Adult Medical Procedures Interaction Scale-Revised was used to code parent and child behaviors. Initial child distress led to increased parental provision of reassurance and decreased provision of physical comfort. Our findings may inform the development of preoperative preparation programs whereby parents can be appropriately educated about what behaviors will be helpful/unhelpful for their child during induction of general anesthesia.     

Universal stories: How narratives satisfy core motives

Abstract

For millennia, narratives have been a primary mode of oral discourse. Narrative presentation of information has been shown to facilitate interpersonal and group communication. However, research indicates that narratives are more than merely an adaptive mode of communication. Narrative is a fundamental – and perhaps foundational – element of social and cultural life. The present article posits that the centrality of narrative in social life is due to narrative’s ability to help satisfy the five core social motives, as identified by Fiske belonging, understanding, control, self-enhancement, and trust. In so doing, this article reviews empirical and theoretical work examining basic narrative processes, autobiographical narratives, and entertainment narrative consumption to illustrate how narrative thought helps to satisfies core human motives and in turn, how the narrative construction process informs self and identity formation.     

THE PHYSICALIZED MIND AND THE GUT‐BRAIN AXIS: TAKING MENTAL HEALTH OUT OF OUR HEADS

As it becomes increasingly plausible that the mind–brain is explicable in naturalistic terms, science‐and‐religion scholars have the opportunity to engage creatively and proactively with facets of brain‐related research that better inform our understanding of human well‐being. That is, once mental health is recognized as being a whole‐body phenomenon, exciting theological conversations can take place. One fascinating area of research involves the “gut–brain axis,” or the interactive relationship between the microbiome in the gastrointestinal tract (i.e., gut bacteria), the central nervous system, and mental health. A growing body of literature explores the immensely significant interactions between the gut microbiome and mental health issues involving depression, anxiety, gene expression, and stress responses. One's mental health does not occur in a disembodied state, but in a complex physical environment that is strongly influenced by environmental factors, many of which we can control. This article argues that science‐and‐religion can welcome scientific research in this area, creatively incorporating such insights into a theology of mental health and physical well‐being.     

Chess knowledge predicts chess memory even after controlling for chess experience: Evidence for the role of high-level processes

The expertise effect in memory for chess positions is one of the most robust effects in cognitive psychology. One explanation of this effect is that chess recall is based on the recognition of familiar patterns and that experts have learned more and larger patterns. Template theory and its instantiation as a computational model are based on this explanation. An alternative explanation is that the expertise effect is due, in part, to stronger players having better and more conceptual knowledge, with this knowledge facilitating memory performance. Our literature review supports the latter view. In our experiment, a sample of 79 chess players were given a test of memory for chess positions, a test of declarative chess knowledge, a test of fluid intelligence, and a questionnaire concerning the amount of time they had played nontournament chess and the amount of time they had studied chess. We determined the numbers of tournament games the players had played from chess databases. Chess knowledge correlated .67 with chess memory and accounted for 16% of the variance after controlling for chess experience. Fluid intelligence accounted for an additional 13% of the variance. These results support the conclusion that both high-level conceptual processing and low-level recognition of familiar patterns play important roles in memory for chess positions.     

Measurement of agency, communion, and emotional vulnerability with the Personal Attributes Questionnaire

Factor analytic studies of the 24-item Personal Attributes Questionnaire (Spence & Helmreich, 1978) have reported inconsistent results, and a previous confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated inadequate fit for factors corresponding to Masculinity, Femininity, and Masculinity-Femininity scales. In this research, we used CFA in a college sample (N = 382) to evaluate the 3-factor model, and we revised scales by eliminating 6 misspecified items. The revised model fit well in another college sample (N = 230). We renamed the revised scales Agency, Communion, and Emotional Vulnerability. In relation to Five-factor theory, Emotional Vulnerability and Communion correlated well with Neuroticism and Agreeableness, respectively, and Agency had moderate correlations with Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness. Psychometric results in the context of current theory suggest that Agency (Masculinity) may not be a fully adequate measure of the agency construct.     

Relation of game location and experience on mood states

The study investigated relationships between game location, performers' experience, and mood states. 31 experienced collegiate soccer players completed the Brunel Mood Scale to assess anger, calmness, confusion, depression, fatigue, happiness, tension, and vigor before eight competitive games (four home and four away). Participants were categorized into Experienced and Less Experienced groups, based on the level of performance at which they played. Repeated-measures multivariate analyses of variance compared mean mood scores across location and experience, and follow-up univariate analyses suggested the increase in mood scores on Tension and decrease in scores on Calmness, Happiness, and Vigor between playing away and at home were significantly greater for Less experienced soccer players than Experienced players. Implications of these findings for the applied practitioner are discussed.     

Spirituality,Anger, and Stress in Early Adolescents

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of spiritual beliefs and involvement with anger and stress in early adolescents. Early adolescents (n = 53) completed the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (Hatch et al. 1998), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (Spielberger 1999), and the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen and Williamson 1988). Contrary to expectations, spirituality was significantly and positively related to anger and stress. Implications and possible explanations for the unanticipated findings in this study are discussed.     

Defining and Contextualizing Robust Sport-Confidence

This study provided a systematic qualitative examination of robust sport-confidence. A focus group (2 male and 2 female participants), and follow-up interviews, with 16 (8 male and 8 female participants) elite individual sport performers, were conducted to define and contextualize the characteristics of robust sport-confidence. Data analysis procedures resulted in a definition of robust sport-confidence and the identification of 6 characteristics of robust sport-confidence. The characteristics abstracted were: multidimensional, malleable, durable, strength of belief, developed, and protective. Overall, robust sport-confidence was conceptualized as a multidimensional set of enduring positive beliefs. Future research and practical implications are discussed.