A Comparison of Mood and Quality of Life Among People with Progressive Neurological Illnesses and Their Caregivers

The current study was designed to investigate differences in mood and a range of QOL domains among 423 patients and 335 caregivers of people with motor neurone disease (MND), Huntington’s disease (HD), Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis (MS). Patients and caregivers completed an anonymous questionnaire that evaluated their mood (anxiety, depression, fatigue, confusion) and QOL (physical, psychological, social, environment). The results demonstrated that caregivers of people with MND and HD experienced most problems with their mood and QOL compared to caregivers of people in the other illness groups. There were few differences in mood or QOL between patients and caregivers. Patients generally showed greater confusion, physical impairment, and psychological maladjustment. The findings suggest that educational and intervention programs need to be developed to help both patients and their caregivers to adjust and cope with these illnesses, particularly caregivers of people with MND and HD.     

Monitoring eye movements while searching for affective faces

A single experiment is reported in which we provide a novel analysis of eye movements during visual search to disentangle the contributions of unattended guidance and focal target processing to visual search performance. This technique is used to examine the controversial claim that unattended affective faces can guide attention during search. Results indicated that facial expression influences how efficiently the target was fixated for the first time as a function of set size. However, affective faces did not influence how efficiently the target was identified as a function of set size after it was first fixated. These findings suggest that, in the present context, facial expression can influence search before the target is attended and that the present measures are able to distinguish between the guidance of attention by targets and the processing of targets within the focus of attention.     

Which body features are associated with female adolescents’ body dissatisfaction? A cross-cultural study in Australia,China and Malaysia

This study investigated how dissatisfaction with various aspects of the body is associated with overall body dissatisfaction among female adolescents in Western and Asian cultures. Data used in the study were obtained from 58 Malaysian Malays, 95 Malaysian Chinese, 242 Chinese from China, and 81 non-Asian Australians aged 12–19 years (M = 15.72, SD = 1.72) who were recruited from high schools. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing dissatisfaction with their body overall, and dissatisfaction with varying aspects of their body. Malaysian Chinese were the most dissatisfied with their bodies. After controlling for body mass index (BMI), age and dissatisfaction with weight/shape, upper, middle and lower body, and muscles, dissatisfaction with the face was positively correlated with overall body dissatisfaction among Malaysian Malays and Australians. These findings demonstrate the importance of using assessment measures that address all possible areas of body focus as well as being tailored to the relevant culture.     

Biopsychosocial correlates of weight status perception in Australian adolescents

This study examined the utility of the biopsychosocial model to predict accuracy of weight status perception among Australian adolescents. The factors included in this framework were: age, gender, and BMI-z (biological factors); satisfaction with body weight and shape (psychological factors); socioeconomic status, peer weight (social factors). Cross-sectional data, including measured height and weight, and self-reported weight status, was obtained from 2954 adolescents (mean age = 14.6, 56% male) who participated in the It's Your Move! study. Accuracy of weight status perception was associated with gender, BMI-z, SES, and weight and shape satisfaction. Gender differences in weight status perception were moderated by satisfaction with weight. In boys, weight satisfaction was associated with perceived healthy weight; in girls, it was associated with perceived healthy weight and underweight. Moderately overweight adolescents are most at risk of underestimating their weight status and could benefit from education about the boundaries of the healthy weight range.     

Intuitive Heuristics Linking Perfectionism, Control, and Beliefs Regarding Body Shape in Eating Disorders

A number of correlational studies have established a clear association between perfectionism, control and beliefs regarding body shape in eating disorders (EDs). The aim of this study is to test the effectiveness of the above- mentioned associations in exploring the presence of intuitive heuristics. Intuitive heuristics can be conceived as as mental shortcuts, cognitive processes that are highly susceptible to irrational biases. Forty one non clinical female controls and 27 in-patient females with an ED diagnosis participated in an experimental task that tested whether participants would show an intuitive rather than a logically based link between perfectionism in different domains (study, work, hygiene) and a thin body shape. In the healthy female participants the occurrence of proposed link was noted in the hygiene domain only, while ED participants showed this intuitive association in all the domains explored: study, work, and hygiene. The study confirms in clinical ED sample a wider employment of heuristics associating perfectionism and thinness that is based on purely intuitive irrational reasoning.     

Development,Social-Emotional Behavior and Resilience of Orphaned Children in a Family-Oriented Setting

SOS children’s villages take care of orphaned or abandoned children who are likely to suffer from multiple psychosocial problems. Nevertheless, much is not known about the developmental, social-emotional, nutritional and resilience status of young SOS children (SOSc) living in poor settings of developing countries such as Ethiopia. The present study examined the developmental, social-emotional, nutritional and resilience status of SOSc in Jimma town of Ethiopia. In total, we selected 62 children (3.5–71.8 months of age; 32 boys and 30 girls) and tested for their personal-social, language, fine and gross motor development with the culturally adapted and standardized developmental screening tool, Denver II-Jimma; and their social-emotional behavior with the ages and stages questionnaire: social-emotional (ASQ:SE). We compared their outcomes to 62 age- and sex- matched family-reared children. To estimate the nutritional status of all children, we followed the WHO child growth standards. We used an interview guide to investigate resilience of the children. SOSc performed significantly poorer on language (p?<?0.001, effect size (es)?=?0.957), gross motor (p?<?0.001, es?=?0.879) and social-emotional (p?<?0.001, es?=?1.220) outcomes. Twenty-two (35.5%) of SOSc were undernourished and 17 (77.30%) of them were stunted. SOSc demonstrated resilient behavior, and child, SOS family and community characteristics were the major protective factors which enabled them to thrive in spite of the loss of their parents. Early intervention focusing on language, gross motor and social-emotional skills may be particularly beneficial to support children in SOS villages.     

A Longitudinal Study of Coping Strategies and Quality of Life Among People with Multiple Sclerosis

The current study was designed to examine the role of coping strategies on quality of life (QOL) of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) over a period of 12 months. Respondents were 321 people with MS and 239 people from the general population who completed measures of QOL on two occasions, 12 months apart. People with MS also completed measures of how they coped with their illness. The results demonstrated that people with MS experienced lower levels of QOL at both points in time. For people with MS, QOL domains strongly predicted other QOL domains at both time 1 and time 2. The coping strategies of social support, focusing on the positive and wishful thinking were consistent predictors of physical QOL, psychological QOL, social QOL and environmental QOL. These findings indicate that coping strategies play an important role in predicting the QOL of people with MS.     

A Comparison of the Sources and Nature of Body Image Messages Perceived by Indigenous Fijian and European Australian Adolescent Girls

Australian and Fijian adolescent girls reported on the influence that sociocultural factors, including parents, peers, and the media, had on their body image attitudes. It was expected that messages that promote a thin body would be less prevalent among Fijians, as their cultural traditions place more importance on robust body sizes. An inductive thematic analysis of the girls’ semi-structured interviews indicated that both Fijian (n = 16) and Australian (n = 16) girls (aged 13–17) reported messages from similar sources, which included parents, siblings, and friends/peers. Australian girls consistently reported messages that reinforced thinness. On the other hand, Fijian girls reported messages that emphasized both thinness and robustness. The discussion focuses on the conflict between Western ideals and cultural Fijian traditions and the implications for culturally sensitive interventions.     

An acute stressor enhances sensitivity to a chemical irritant and increases51CrEDTA permeability of the colon in adult rats

We investigated the effect of prior acute stress on colonic permeability induced by a chemical irritant known to induce symptoms similar to inflammatory bowel disease in rodents. Adult male rats (n=12) were stressed by a single session of ten unpredictable, uncontrollable foot shocks, and half were home cage controls (n=12). Twenty-nine days later, half of each treatment group was exposed to 4% DSS (dextran sulphate sodium) solution in their drinking water for 48 hours while half received pure water over two periods separated by 17 days. After food deprivation overnight and light isoflurane anaesthesia the following morning, the animals were given a colonic infusion of 2000 nCi (nanocurie)⁵¹CrEDTA (⁵¹Cr-labelled ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) and then placed individually in metabolic cages for a six hours continuous urine collection. Radioactivity in urine was measured by a gamma counter and percentage recovery of⁵¹CrEDTA calculated as an indicator of colonic mucosal permeability. Results concluded that pre-shocked animals exposed to DSS showed significantly higher mucosal permeability than the pre-shocked animals given water, and the non-shocked animals given either DSS or water. Pre-shock in combination with two exposures to a chemical irritant separated by 17 days had a pronounced effect on colonic permeability, indicating that stress should be considered a possible initiating or contributory factor to increased intestinal permeability related to a mucosal challenge.     

Relationships Between Men’s and Women’s Body Image and Their Psychological, Social, and Sexual Functioning

This study was designed to examine the relationships between different aspects of body image and psychological, social, and sexual functioning throughout adulthood. The respondents were 211 men and 226 women (age range 18–86 years; mean = 42.26). Respondents completed measures of self-rated attractiveness, body satisfaction, body image importance, body image behaviors, appearance comparison, social physique anxiety, self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and social and sexual functioning. Body image was associated with self-esteem for all groups, but was unrelated to other aspects of psychological, social, and sexual functioning. There were some exceptions; a disturbance in body image was related to problematic social and sexual functioning among middle-aged men and to depression and anxiety symptoms in late adulthood among men and women. Middle-aged men who presented with the type of body image disturbance typical of women were more likely to have impaired interpersonal functioning. These results demonstrate that social aspects of body image appear to be important in understanding psychological functioning in later life.