The relationship between self-reported oral symptoms and life-events

Abstract

This paper investigates whether eight specific life-events were related to self-reported chronic (persistent trouble over the last 12 months) and acute (trouble in the last 14 days) oral symptoms in a sample of 3861 civil servants aged 35-44 years. The results of a logistic regression analysis taking age, social class and gender into account showed that a range of life-events—marital or family problems other than divorce, death of a relative, personal serious illness, serious illness of a close relative, major financial difficulty and mugging and robbery—were significantly associated with either acute or chronic oral symptoms. Further analysis showed that marital or family problems other than divorce was found to be the most important life event studied. The results support the argument that marital dissatisfaction leads to poorer physical and psychological health.     

A Model for Peer Experiential and Reciprocal Supervision (PEERS) for Genetic Counselors: Development and Preliminary Evaluation Within Clinical Practice

A model for practising genetic counselors to obtain clinical supervision via reciprocal peer observation and feedback was developed and trialled. The model was developed in response to a perceived lack of opportunity for immediate observational feedback for practising genetic counselors. The aims reached by consensus were to facilitate learning new approaches and skills, to revitalise current ways of practising, and to enhance supervision skills in a two-way process, where the observer learnt from the counselor, and vice-versa. The genetic counselors agreed on a process of paired reciprocal observation whereby the observer was present in the room during the counseling session, and a reflective feedback discussion was arranged within 24 h of the session. Four main themes emerged from analysis of the recorded discussions were (i) “I wasn’t sure if I-”: voicing of doubts or internal questions that occurred during session for the counselor conducting the session, (ii) “I really liked that”: positive feedback and validation from the observer, (iii) “I wonder whether-”: offering of alternative views, insights and strategies by the observer, and (iv) “That’s a real thing for me to take away and think about”: evidence of learning by both observers and counselors.     

Relationship between church attendance and mental health among Mormons and non-Mormons in Utah

A prevention model was applied to assess the protective effect of religion and church attendance against mental illness among respondents to the 1996 Utah Health Status Survey. Compared to Mormons that attend church weekly (active), less active Mormons, less active non-Mormons, and those with no religious preference, because of emotional problems, are at increased risk of accomplishing less than desired (model 1); having trouble doing work or other activities as carefully as desired (model 2); and seeking professional help (model 3). After adjusting for alcohol and tobacco use, education, income, physical activity, general health status, employment, body mass index, gender and age, only less active Mormons and those with no religious preference remained at significantly increased risk in model 3. Self-reported health status was the strongest predictor of mental health in each model. Active Mormons reported having the best health status and, consequently, the lowest levels of mental illness.     

Does prospective memory influence quality of life in community-dwelling older adults?

Older adults commonly experience declines in prospective memory, which describes one’s ability to “remember to remember,” and can adversely affect instrumental activities of daily living and healthcare compliance. However, the extent to which prospective memory failures may influence quality of life in typically aging older adults is not well understood. One-hundred and four community-dwelling older Australians (aged 50 to 82 years) were administered a comprehensive, neuropsychological battery that included the Memory for Intentions Screening Test (MIST), Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (IADLQ), and World Health Organization Quality of Life-8 (WHOQOL-8). Multiple regressions controlling for negative affect, medical comorbidities, and other neurocognitive functions revealed an interaction between prospective memory and instrumental activities of daily living in the concurrent prediction of quality of life. Among the 39 older adults who reported multiple problems on the IADLQ, lower performance-based prospective memory (MIST) and higher self-reported prospective memory failures in daily life (PRMQ) were significantly associated with lower quality of life (WHOQOL-8). Conversely, no significant associations were observed between prospective memory and quality of life in the 65 participants without IADL problems. Prospective memory difficulties adversely impact quality of life in community-dwelling older adults who experience problems independently managing their instrumental activities of daily living. These findings extend prior literature showing that prospective memory plays a unique role in the real-world outcomes of older adults and clinical populations and highlight the need to develop effective strategies to enhance prospective memory functioning in these vulnerable groups.     

哈茨霍恩的后现代宗教观

关于C．哈茨霍恩(Charles HartShorne,1887--2000年,美国名宗教哲学家、过程神学主要代表人物之一。——译),人们知道得最多、讨论得最多的也许是他关于神的本质和存在的观念。的确,他的许多最重要的贡献都来自这一主题。     

Confusable gratings selectively elicit orientation-contingent colour aftereffects

Induction of orientation-selective colour aftereffects (the McCollough effect) was studied with groups of young children who differed in their ability to discriminate an oblique grating from its mirror-image under recognition conditions. If the McCollough effect is generated through associative learning, children who failed to learn simple identifying responses to oblique lines as a function of the direction in which the lines point should also fail to associate colour lablels selectively to these same stimuli. Instead, the ease with which the McCollough effect was induced by alternate exposure to left-oblique lines in green light and right-oblique lines in red light was independent of the ability of the young child to discriminate direction of line under recognition conditions.