A qualitative analysis of the vaccine intention–behaviour relationship: parents’ descriptions of their intentions,decision-making behaviour and planning processes towards HPV vaccination

Objective: The objective of this study is to identify factors influencing the vaccine intention–behaviour relationship. Design: A total of 445 parents who received a brief intervention to promote HPV vaccination were categorized based on their intentions post-intervention (yes/unsure/eventually/never) and subsequent adolescents’ vaccine status (yes/no). Fifty-one of these parents participated in qualitative interviews. Main Outcome Measures: Parents described their intentions, decision-making and planning processes towards vaccination. Framework analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Parents in the ‘Yes/Yes’ category were knowledgeable about HPV/vaccine, described strong, stable intentions, considered themselves the primary decision-makers about vaccination and said they vaccinated immediately. ‘Yes/No’ parents described strong intentions and thought their adolescent was vaccinated OR described hesitant intentions, seeking advice/agreement from others and noting barriers to vaccination without solutions. ‘Unsure/Yes’ parents described their intentions as strengthening with information from credible sources and identified strategies for overcoming barriers. ‘Unsure/No’ and ‘Eventually/No’ parents had misinformation/negative beliefs regarding vaccination, described being ambivalent or non-supportive of vaccination and cited barriers to vaccination. ‘Never/No’ parents held negative beliefs about vaccination, described strong, stable intentions to NOT vaccinate, deferring the decision to others, and reported no planning towards vaccination. Conclusions: Intention characteristics and planning processes could moderate the vaccine intention–behaviour relationship, potentially serving as targets for future vaccine strategies.     

Coaches' assessment of their coaching efficacy compared to athletes' perceptions

This study compared coaches' assessments of their own coaching efficacy with their athletes' perceptions of the coaches' efficacy. Coaching efficacy was measured with the Coaching Efficacy Scale. Participants were 9 football coaches and 76 football players from the same team. Analysis indicated coaches were confident in their coaching abilities (range 6.5 to 9.0 on a 9-point scale). For 7 of the 9 coaches the coaches' ratings of themselves were higher than the athletes' ratings. For the other 2 coaches, athletes' ratings of coaches' efficacy were higher than the coaches' ratings of themselves. All coaches' ratings fell within the 95% confidence interval based on the athletes' ratings of the coaches' efficacy. Results are discussed in terms of the interplay between athletes and coaches efficacy beliefs and its influence on behavior.     

Verbal and nonverbal predictors of executive function in early childhood

The study of executive function (EF) has become increasingly popular in multiple areas of research. A wealth of evidence has supported the value of EF in shaping notable outcomes across typical and atypical development; however, little evidence has supported the cognitive contributors to early EF development. The current study used data from a large longitudinal sample of healthy children to investigate the differential influence of verbal and nonverbal cognition on later EF. Participants were assessed at 2 years of age using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning, and Mullen scores were used to calculate nonverbal and verbal developmental quotients. Executive function was measured at 6 years using assessments from the Stanford-Binet, Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Results suggested that early nonverbal cognition was a better predictor of 6-year EF as measured by task-based laboratory assessments, whereas verbal cognition was a better predictor of parent-reported EF. Findings are discussed in regard to EF development and characteristics of EF measurement.     

Peer relationships and emotional well-being of children with sickle cell disease: a controlled replication.

We completed a replication study examining the social and emotional functioning of children with sickle cell disease (SCD) who have not had an overt stroke and a group of demographically similar comparison classmates based upon data from multiple informants. Relative to comparison peers, children with SCD were described by teachers as more prosocial and less aggressive. Peers described them as having fewer friends, less athletic, ill more often, and missing more school. No group differences were identified for emotional well-being. Effect size analyses indicated that this study replicated a number of findings from our previous study of children with SCD (Noll et al., 1996). Findings from both studies suggest relative psychological hardiness among children with SCD who have not had an overt stroke.     

Dimensions of Black Suicide: A Theoretical Model

ABSTRACT: This paper has two purposes: (1) to develop a theoretical model of suicide, based on the previous work of Henry and Short, and (2) to apply that model in the study of black suicides in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. In so doing, we are focusing on suicide among a traditionally low-status, low-suicide population group, one which Henry and Short cited in support of the positive relationship between status and suicide. The generality of the theory is thus examined in this and other ways. The theory of “external restraints” is only weakly sustained by this analysis. More adequate testing of the theory must await further data, with careful attention to the subjective aspects of hypothesized structural relationships.     

Identifying the role of sociodemographic factors in major depressive disorder and suicidality among Spanish-speaking Latino patients in a federally qualified health center

Rates of suicide and major depressive disorder (MDD) are currently at the highest point in the history of the United States (US). However, these rates are not distributed evenly among the population and Latinos show disproportionately high rates of both suicide and MDD. Yet, past research has infrequently explored factors related to suicide and MDD in primary care settings that serve as the major community portal for mental health among the Latino population. Thus, the current study investigated sociodemographic variables (marital status, nativity, education, employment, primary language, age, and gender) in terms of their relations with suicidal ideation, suicide risk, MDD, and MDD symptom severity among Latino primary care patients in a Federally Qualified Health Center (N = 634, M _age = 39.46, SD = 11.46, 87.1% female). Results indicated that gender and Nativity were associated with suicidal ideation, older age was associated with suicide risk, and higher education and having a partner were negatively associated with MDD and depressive symptom severity. These results provide novel insight into the role of sociodemographic factors predicting suicide and MDD among Latinos in primary care, and suggest greater scientific and clinical attention can be focused on certain sociodemographic factors to offset mental health disparities among this group.     

Perfectionism and negative repetitive thoughts: Examining a multiple mediator model in relation to mindfulness

Perfectionism is known to be associated with various maladaptive outcomes, yet little research has examined mechanisms underlying perfectionism or potential protective factors. This study investigated worry and rumination as mediators between perfectionism and psychological distress in university students (N = 213), and related the multiple mediator model to a five-facet conceptualization of mindfulness. Socially prescribed perfectionism was related to higher levels of distress, including negative affect, depression, anxiety, and stress, while self-oriented perfectionism and other-oriented perfectionism appeared unrelated to distress. Mindfulness facets of acting with awareness, non-judging of inner experience, and to a lesser extent non-reactivity to inner experience, were the strongest independent contributors to perfectionism, negative repetitive thoughts, and distress. Worry and rumination mediated the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and negative affect; however, the mediating effect of rumination was absent in those high in mindfulness. These findings suggest that a mindfulness disposition may mitigate distress related to socially prescribed perfectionism by removing the mediating effect of ruminative thought. Future research might explore a mindfulness-training program to target negative repetitive thoughts underlying socially prescribed perfectionism.     

Peer Relationships and Emotional Well-Being of Children with Sickle Cell Disease: A Controlled Replication

This study investigated the effects of stimulus presentation modality on working memory performance in elementary school-age children ages 7–13. The experimental paradigm implemented a multitrial learning task incorporating three presentation modalities: Auditory, Visual, and simultaneous Auditory plus Visual. The first experiment compared the learning and memory performance of older and younger elementary school children. The second experiment compared verbal learning and memory performance in elementary school children with major depressive disorder (MDD) to the performance of nondepressed children. All participants benefited from the pictorial presentation of information during learning and recall of information as compared to the auditory presentation alone. Both age and socioeconomic status affected working memory performance in typically developing children. Children with depression demonstrated a more passive learning style during the auditory list acquisition. The present study supports the pictorial superiority hypothesis in verbal learning tasks and the theory that working memory matures during elementary school years. Furthermore, current results indicate that complex working memory measures are not entirely independent of previous experience.     

Multiple-family group treatment of outpatients with schizophrenia: impact on service utilization

The impact of multiple-family group treatment (MFGT) on outpatient and inpatient mental health service utilization of 97 persons with schizophrenia was investigated. Participants were randomly assigned to standard care (n = 44) or standard care plus MFGT (n = 53). Service use for a year prior to randomization, the 2-year study period, and a 1-year follow-up were examined. Relative to standard care participants, the MFGT group had reduced community hospitalization during year 1 of the intervention and reduced state hospitalization at follow-up. During the intervention period, MFGT participants demonstrated a significant increase in outpatient utilization as a direct consequence of the intervention. However, when service use was summed across 3 years post-randomization, no group differences were observed. Results suggest that implementation of MFGT in a community mental health setting reduces inpatient service at specific time periods, without significantly increasing outpatient service utilization. These findings add to other outcomes from this study that demonstrate decreased psychiatric symptoms and caregiver distress.     

Effects of fear of success on women's performance at masculine versus feminine tasks

The present study was designed to test hypotheses derived from Horner's theory concerning the effect of the sex-role orientation of the performance situation on the arousal of the motive to avoid success in women. The study compared the performance of women high and low in the motive to avoid success in a male-oriented and a female-oriented situation. It was found that women performed significantly better (p < .01) in the male-oriented than in the female-oriented situation, with this difference between conditions being greater for those women scoring high rather than low in the motive to avoid success (p < .05). These results are inconsistent with an inhibitory anxiety explanation of motive to avoid success. The possibility that the measure of this motive may in part be a measure of ability is discussed.