Prediction of adolescents doing physical activity after completing secondary education

The purpose of this study, based on the self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) was to test the prediction power of student's responsibility, psychological mediators, intrinsic motivation and the importance attached to physical education in the intention to continue to practice some form of physical activity and/or sport, and the possible relationships that exist between these variables. We used a sample of 482 adolescent students in physical education classes, with a mean age of 14.3 years, which were measured for responsibility, psychological mediators, sports motivation, the importance of physical education and intention to be physically active. We completed an analysis of structural equations modelling. The results showed that the responsibility positively predicted psychological mediators, and this predicted intrinsic motivation, which positively predicted the importance students attach to physical education, and this, finally, positively predicted the intention of the student to continue doing sport. Results are discussed in relation to the promotion of student's responsibility towards a greater commitment to the practice of physical exercise.     

Clinical utility of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) in the Spanish transsexual and nontranssexual population

The aim of the study is to evaluate the usefulness of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974), an overall measurement of the cultural construct of masculinity and femininity, in the psychological assessment of Spanish transsexuals. Seventy male-to-female transsexuals (MF), 51 female-to-male transsexuals (FM), 77 control men, and 79 control women completed the Spanish version of the BSRI. Statistically significant differences between groups were only found on the femininity scale, on which MF transsexuals and control women scored significantly higher than FM transsexuals and control men. The results indicate that (a) only the femininity scale of the BSRI appears to be useful today for evaluating differences in the sex-role identification in Spanish controls and transsexuals; and (b) MF and FM transsexuals score as a function of their gender identity instead of their anatomical sex on the BSRI femininity scale.     

Health-related Quality of Life,Fatigue, and Posttraumatic Growth of Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy: A Longitudinal Study

The purpose of this study was to determine health-related quality of life (HRQoL), fatigue, and posttraumatic growth (PTG) among patients with breast or prostate cancer during and following radiation therapy (RT). A total of 91 patients completed measures at three time points as follows: one or two weeks before the start of RT, in the fifth/sixth week of treatment, and four to six weeks post-treatment. Consistent with the previous literature, the results of this study revealed that RT was associated with declines in global HRQoL, Physical Well-being, Social/Family Well-being, and Functional Well-being, as well as an increase in fatigue. By four to six weeks post-treatment, these factors improved significantly and returned to baseline levels with the exception of Social/Family Well-being. The PTG total score and almost all of its subscale scores did not change significantly during the period of the study. However, the subscale of Spiritual Change for PTG significantly increased during the RT, and sustained this improvement at four to six weeks post-treatment. A significant negative correlation was found between Physical Well-being and PTG total score, whereas a significant positive correlation was revealed between Social/Family Well-being and PTG total score. The results from this analysis suggest that a significant decrease in HRQoL is evident in the fifth/sixth week of RT treatment. However, recovery of HRQoL occurs as quickly as a few weeks after the end of treatment. Moreover, patients with high ratings of Social/Family Well-being experience more positive psychological changes (PTG) resulting from the cancer experience.     

IMPACT OF MATERNAL DEPRESSION ON PREGNANCIES AND ON EARLY ATTACHMENT

The relatively high prevalence and duration of depression in the prenatal and postpartum periods reinforce the need for better understanding of maternal depression. The purpose of this article is to explore the main effects of depression to pregnancies’ outcome and to early attachment reviewing research from the last decade and to find the best way to prevent the negative effects of maternal depression to infants. Recent studies have reported significant associations between maternal depression and several adverse obstetric, fetal, and neonatal outcomes. Antenatal depression has been associated with shorter gestation and lower birth weight, with consequences for infant development. A number of studies have demonstrated an association between prenatal depression and attachment difficulties, which seems to play an important mediating role in the development of further adverse outcomes for children. This review reveals some potential risks of untreated depression during the antenatal and postnatal periods, with possibly significant implications for practice and further research. Considering the high prevalence of depression, antenatal detection of depressive symptoms and intervention before childbirth has huge importance in prevention. Early interventions also may need to focus on mother–infant interactions as a key factor of later child development.     

Goal orientations, motivational climate, equality, and discipline of Spanish physical education students

This study analyzes how dispositional goal orientations and perception of different motivational climates are related to the students' perception of sex-related egalitarian treatment and the appearance of disciplined or undisciplined behaviors in physical education classes. Analyses showed that ego orientation is a predictor of undisciplined behavior. Task orientation was positively associated to discipline. The perception of task-involving motivational climate is related to the students' perception of equal treatment. On the contrary, the perception of ego-involving climate has been linked positively to the prediction of the perception of sex discrimination in physical education classes and negatively to the perception of equality and the appearance of disciplined behavior. This study discusses the implications of these results related to teaching instructional actions in physical education classes.     

Psychological problems and associated factors at 6 years of age: differences between sexes

In a non-clinical group of 130 children (65 boys and 65 girls), we evaluated the relationships between psychological problems using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) reported by parents, the Inattention Overactivity With Aggression (IOWA) scale reported by teachers, individual factors (Intellectual quotient [IQ], temperament and heart rate) and environmental factors (stress events, mother's profession and being or not being an only child). We found no differences between the sexes in the prevalence of total psychological problems in the clinical range, but girls had significantly more borderline total problems than boys. Girls tended to have more externalizing problems than boys. In boys, there were more links between individual and environmental factors and psychological problems, especially externalizing problems. A high score in psychological problems assessed by the CBCL affected the school performance of boys and the social performance of girls. For boys, IQ was significantly lower when the score for total behavioral problems was higher, and for girls IQ was significantly lower when the score for externalizing problems was higher. Understanding the different levels of vulnerability of the sexes at different periods of development may help to improve the treatment children in this age group receive.     

Linking organizational resources and work engagement to employee performance and customer loyalty: the mediation of service climate

This study examined the mediating role of service climate in the prediction of employee performance and customer loyalty. Contact employees (N=342) from 114 service units (58 hotel front desks and 56 restaurants) provided information about organizational resources, engagement, and service climate. Furthermore, customers (N=1,140) from these units provided information on employee performance and customer loyalty. Structural equation modeling analyses were consistent with a full mediation model in which organizational resources and work engagement predict service climate, which in turn predicts employee performance and then customer loyalty. Further analyses revealed a potential reciprocal effect between service climate and customer loyalty. Implications of the study are discussed, together with limitations and suggestions for future research.     

Stability of weak second-order semantics

By extending the underlying data structure by new elements, we also extend the intput/output relation generated by a program i.e., no existing run is killed, and no new one lying entirely in the old structure is created. We investigate this stability property for the weak second order semantics derived from nonstandard time models. It turns out that the light face, i.e., parameterless collection principle always induces stable semantics, but the bold face one may be unstable. We give an example where an elementary extension kills a bold face run showing also that the light face semantics is strictly weaker than the bold face one.The research was partially carried out while the author visited McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and was supported in part by the Natural and Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada