Effects of viewing 9/11 footage on distress and Islamophobia: a temporally expanded approach

We investigated whether viewing September 11 footage affected peoples’ perceived distress spanning past, present, and anticipated future. Participants (n = 174) were randomly assigned to a 9/11, fear, or neutral condition and completed measures of temporal perceived distress, distress of future terrorism, Islamophobia, and restriction of civil liberties attitudes. Participants in the neutral and fear conditions perceived their 9/11‐related distress as declining over time. Those in the 9/11 condition perceived their distress as higher at present and declining from present (vs. past ratings). Those viewing 9/11 (vs. neutral or fear) footage reported greater future terrorism distress, more prejudice, and greater restriction of civil liberties. These differences were explained by higher 9/11‐related distress ratings for past 5 years, present, and future.     

Examining the Impact of Technology on Exhibitionistic Behavior

Contemporary sexual behavior cannot be fully understood without considering the effects of smartphones and social networking websites, both of which have provided additional avenues for consensual sexual activity. However, technology has also created new ways to engage in deviant behavior that may be similar to exhibitionism (exposing one’s genitals to unsuspecting individuals). Participants completed a survey about traditional exhibitionistic behaviors (flashing) and technological sexual behaviors such as sending sexually explicit pictures. A small percentage of participants reported engaging in both technological and traditional exhibitionistic behavior, which may be indicative of an electronic manifestation of deviant sexual behavior.     

Spousal Influence on CPAP Adherence: Applications of Health‐related Social Control

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the most prevalent sleep disorders in the United Sates and is a risk factor for poor health outcomes. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is an effective treatment for OSA, but adherence rates are poor. Although the spouses of patients with OSA have high potential to influence adherence, there has been minimal research to date. The purpose of this review is to summarize key findings regarding spousal influence on health‐related behavior change and treatment adherence from other medical fields (e.g., type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease) in which this line of inquiry has been more thoroughly developed. Recommendations are presented to guide future research investigating spousal influence on CPAP adherence based on findings from other patient populations. In particular, we emphasize the use of spousal health‐related social control as it applies to adherence and provide guidance regarding conceptual and methodological moderators.     

Scale Alignment in the Between-Item Multidimensional Partial Credit Model

In between-item multidimensional item response models, it is often desirable to compare individual latent trait estimates across dimensions. These comparisons are only justified if the model dimensions are scaled relative to each other. Traditionally, this scaling is done using approaches such as standardization—fixing the latent mean and standard deviation to 0 and 1 for all dimensions. However, approaches such as standardization do not guarantee that Rasch model properties hold across dimensions. Specifically, for between-item multidimensional Rasch family models, the unique ordering of items holds within dimensions, but not across dimensions. Previously, Feuerstahler and Wilson described the concept of scale alignment, which aims to enforce the unique ordering of items across dimensions by linearly transforming item parameters within dimensions. In this article, we extend the concept of scale alignment to the between-item multidimensional partial credit model and to models fit using incomplete data. We illustrate this method in the context of the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS), a multidimensional survey of kindergarten readiness used in the state of Illinois. We also present simulation results that demonstrate the effectiveness of scale alignment in the context of polytomous item response models and missing data.     

Acceptance of Illness Among Patients Pursuing Transplantation or Left Ventricular Assist Device

Acceptance of illness is related to better mental health among patients with chronic illness; however, this construct has not been evaluated as part of routine transplantation evaluations. The purpose of this study was to create a brief measure of acceptance of illness for patients pursuing organ transplantation and examine how acceptance is related to distress. Retrospective medical record reviews were conducted for 290 patients who completed a routine psychosocial evaluation prior to transplant listing which included the Illness Acceptance Scale (IAS). Internal consistency for the IAS was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha?=?.92). Illness acceptance was negatively correlated with depression, anxiety, and catastrophizing and was not related to health literacy or health numeracy. The IAS is a reliable and valid measure for patients who are pursuing thoracic transplant or left ventricular assist device. Clinicians may want to screen transplant candidates for illness acceptance and refer those with lower levels to psychological interventions.

     

Relationship between respiratory mortality and self-perceptions of aging

Although there is growing evidence that psychological factors affect an individual's susceptibility to respiratory illnesses, psychological predictors of respiratory mortality have received little attention. This study investigated whether an age-specific psychological factor, older individuals’ beliefs about their own aging, predicted the likelihood of their dying from respiratory causes (ICD-9: 460–519). The sample was composed of 620 individuals, aged 50–87 years at baseline, who participated in a longitudinal study with six waves. Our research found that individuals with higher baseline positive self-perceptions of aging were significantly less likely to die of respiratory causes over the next 23 years, after controlling for age, functional health, gender, loneliness, marital status, self-rated health, and socioeconomic status (hazard ratio?=?0.695; p?<?0.005). This is the first study to link individual beliefs about aging to cause-specific mortality. Future research is warranted to further elucidate the relationship between self-perceptions of aging and resistance to respiratory mortality.