Ambivalence, communication and past use: understanding what influences women's intentions to use contraceptives

Unintended pregnancy among women in the 18-30 age group is a public health concern. The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) provides a framework for exploring how women's perceptions of threat, efficacy, and fear influence intentions to use contraceptives. Past use and communication with best friends and partners were also considered. A telephone survey of 18-30-year-old women (N = 599) was completed. After univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted, the variables were entered into a hierarchal, multi-variate linear regression with three steps consistent with the EPPM to predict behavioral intention. The first step included the demographic variables of relationship status and income. The constructs for the EPPM were entered into step 2. Step 3 contained the fear measure. The model for the third step was significant, F(10,471) = 36.40, p < 0.001 and the variance explained by this complete model was 0.42. Results suggest that perceived severity of the consequences of an unintended pregnancy (p < 0.01), communication with friends (p < 0.01) and last sexual partner (p < 0.05), relationship status (p < 0.01), and past use (p < 0.001) were associated with women's intentions to use contraceptives. A woman's perception of the severity was related to her intention to use contraceptives. Half of the women (50.3%) reported ambivalence about the severity of an unintended pregnancy. In our study, talking with their last sexual partner had a positive effect on intentions to use contraceptives, while talking with friends influenced intentions in a negative direction. These results reconfirm the need for public health practitioners and health care providers to consider level of ambivalence toward unintended pregnancy, communication with partner, and relationship status when trying to improve women's contraceptive behaviors. Implications for effective communication interventions are discussed.     

Unique Ways in Which the Quality of Friendships Matter for Life Satisfaction

Journal of Happiness Studies - The quality of individuals’ social relationships consistently predicts greater well-being. But little is known about the relative importance of different...     

Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Correlates of Health-Related Quality of Life in Croatian University Students

The purpose of this study was to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a sample of Croatian university students and to determine its association with sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. The study was conducted on a random sample of 1750 students in Zagreb, Croatia. We used the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12v2) and separate questions on sex, age, body mass index (BMI), settlement size, disposable income, cigarette consumption, alcohol consumption, and exercise frequency. The HRQoL scale on which Croatian students scored the highest was Physical Functioning. High mean scores were also found for other physical health measures, while the scores in mental health scales were somewhat lower. Male students scored significantly higher than females on all SF-12 scales (p?<?0.05). The regression analysis showed that Physical Component Summary score (PCS) is negatively related to BMI (partial r?=??0.09) and cigarette consumption (partial r?=??0.06), and positively related to alcohol consumption and exercise frequency (partial r?=?0.08, for both), while Mental Component Summary score (MSC) is positively related to BMI (partial r?=?0.07) and exercise frequency (partial r?=?0.10). Although HRQoL-scores for the Croatian students were higher than in the general population of Croatia and student populations in several other countries, there is still room for improvement, especially in the mental health aspect. In general, HRQoL was found to be significantly lower among females and smokers, but positively related with exercise frequency. In order to improve students’ HRQoL, university authorities should consider initiating health-promotion programs with emphasis on females, smokers and non-exercisers.     

Time Perception in Alcoholics and other Psychiatric Patients

A battery of time perception tests evaluating the areas of filled time estimation, empty time estimation, time in abstract reasoning and short interval comparisons was administered to 30 alcoholic inpatients, 24 general psychiatric inpatients, and 17 normal controls. The tests of abstract reasoning and estimates of unfilled intervals discriminated between the alcoholic and general psychiatric group on the one hand, and the controls on the other. No significant differences between alcoholic and general psychiatric patients were found.     

Revisiting the self-interest versus values debate: The role of temporal perspective

Scholars of public opinion have struggled to explain why people often vote against their economic self-interest in favor of a value-based rationale. Based on Construal Level Theory (Liberman, Trope, & Stephan, 2007), we argue that both values and material self-interest affect social and political attitudes, but in different temporal contexts. Specifically, because material self-interest is more concrete and applicable to everyday concerns, we predict that it should carry more weight with regard to judgments made in the context of the near future. In contrast, values, which are more abstract by nature, should carry greater weight for judgments made in the distant future. In an experimental test of this hypothesis, we presented participants with a fictitious policy that affected their pocketbooks in an otherwise value-laden domain. We found that people's financial self-interest more strongly predicted attitudes toward a proposal to increase tuition in the near condition, whereas antiegalitarian values more strongly predicted attitudes in the far condition. These findings offer new insights into the symbolic politics debate.     

Design and Evaluation of a Decision Aid for Inviting Parents to Participate in a Fragile X Newborn Screening Pilot Study

The major objectives of this project were to develop and evaluate a brochure to help parents make an informed decision about participation in a fragile X newborn screening study. We used an iterative development process that drew on principles of Informed Decision Making (IDM), stakeholder input, design expertise, and expert evaluation. A simulation study with 118 women examined response to the brochure. An independent review rated the brochure high on informational content, guidance, and values. Mothers took an average of 6.5 min to read it and scored an average of 91.1 % correct on a knowledge test. Most women rated the brochure as high quality and trustworthy. When asked to make a hypothetical decision about study participation, 61.9 % would agree to screening. Structural equation modeling showed that agreement to screening and decisional confidence were associated with perceived quality and trust in the brochure. Minority and white mothers did not differ in perceptions of quality or trust. We demonstrate the application of IDM in developing a study brochure. The brochure was highly rated by experts and consumers, met high standards for IDM, and achieved stated goals in a simulation study. The IDM provides a model for consent in research disclosing complicated genetic information of uncertain value.     

Motivational pathways to alcohol use and abuse among Black and White adolescents

Using data from a biracial community sample of adolescents, the present study examined trajectories of alcohol use and abuse over a 15-year period, from adolescence into young adulthood, as well as the extent to which these trajectories were differentially predicted by coping and enhancement motives for alcohol use among the 2 groups. Coping and enhancement motivations (M. L. Cooper, 1994) refer to the strategic use of alcohol to regulate negative and positive emotions, respectively. Results showed that Black and White youth follow distinct alcohol trajectories from adolescence into young adulthood and that these trajectories are differentially rooted in the regulation of negative and positive emotions. Among Black drinkers, coping motives assessed in adolescence more strongly forecast differences in alcohol involvement into their early 30s, whereas enhancement motives more strongly forecast differences among White drinkers. Results of the present study suggest that different models may be needed to account for drinking behavior among Blacks and Whites and that different approaches may prove maximally effective in reducing heavy or problem drinking among the 2 groups.     

Maintaining sexual desire in intimate relationships: the importance of approach goals

Three studies tested whether adopting strong (relative to weak) approach goals in relationships (i.e., goals focused on the pursuit of positive experiences in one's relationship such as fun, growth, and development) predict greater sexual desire. Study 1 was a 6-month longitudinal study with biweekly assessments of sexual desire. Studies 2 and 3 were 2-week daily experience studies with daily assessments of sexual desire. Results showed that approach relationship goals buffered against declines in sexual desire over time and predicted elevated sexual desire during daily sexual interactions. Approach sexual goals mediated the association between approach relationship goals and daily sexual desire. Individuals with strong approach goals experienced even greater desire on days with positive relationship events and experienced less of a decrease in desire on days with negative relationships events than individuals who were low in approach goals. In two of the three studies, the association between approach relationship goals and sexual desire was stronger for women than for men. Implications of these findings for maintaining sexual desire in long-term relationships are discussed.     

The effects of viewing physical and relational aggression in the media: Evidence for a cross-over effect

Research has shown that viewing violence in the media can have a profound impact on aggressive thoughts and behaviors. However, the impact of viewing relational aggression in the media has rarely been examined. This paper presents the results of an experimental study that examines the impact of viewing relational and physical aggression in the media on subsequent aggression. In this study, adult females were shown video clips containing no-aggression, relational aggression, or physical aggression. Their aggressive behavior was measured through the use of a competitive reaction time task (physical aggression) and evaluations of a confederate of the experiment (relational aggression). As a whole, participants viewing either relational or physical aggression behaved similarly. Specifically, participants who viewed either type of aggression were subsequently more physically and relationally aggressive than those who viewed the non-aggressive clip. The results show evidence for a generalization effect of viewing media aggression, in that viewing one form of aggression can influence the manifestation of other forms. This is the first study to show that viewing relational aggression in the media can increase subsequent physical aggression. Implications for parents, media producers, and policy makers are discussed.