Increasing calcium intake in young women through gain-framed,targeted messages: A randomised controlled trial

Background: Adequate calcium consumption during early adulthood can help prevent osteoporosis in women.

Purpose: The effects of gain-framed, targeted messaging on calcium intake were examined over 12 months.

Methods: Young women (18–19 years) not consuming sufficient calcium were randomly assigned to receive standard care materials (control) or gain-framed, targeted materials (experimental). Health belief model (HBM) constructs, calcium intake and markers of bone formation, resorption and bone mineral density were assessed at various time points throughout the year.

Results: Calcium intake increased significantly more in the experimental versus the control condition (p?<?0.01). Self-efficacy was the only HBM construct to improve significantly more in the experimental condition versus control (p?=?0.05). The HBM did not mediate changes in calcium intake. Measures of bone health did not differ between conditions by the end of this nonpharmacological intervention (p's?>?0.05).

Conclusions: It is possible to increase young women's calcium consumption through gain-framed, targeted messages.     

Antecedents of children's physical activity intentions and behaviour: Predictive validity and longitudinal effects

Abstract

This study examined the predictive validity and time-lagged relationships in a model of children's physical activity intentions, attitudes, perceived behavioural control (PBC), behaviour and past behaviour using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1985) as a framework. In Study 1, 386 children aged 12–14 years completed measures of intentions, attitudes, subjective norm, PBC and past behaviour. Their physical activity behaviour was assessed one week later. Structural equation analyses supported the construct and predictive validity of the TPB with the exception of subjective norms which did not predict intentions. In Study 2,70 children completed measures of their physical activity attitudes, intentions, PBC and past behaviour. Attitudes, intentions, PBC and recent behaviour were re-assessed five weeks later. The cognitions demonstrated a moderate degree of stability over time and there were some cross-lagged effects between attitudes and PBC. Past behaviour demonstrated additive rather than attenuating effects. These results support the use of the TPB cognitions and past behaviour as a framework to examine children's physical activity behaviour.     

Collaboration between Science and Religious Education teachers in Scottish Secondary schools

The article reports on quantitative research that examines: (1) the current practice in collaboration; and (2) potential for collaboration between Science and Religious Education teachers in a large sample of Scottish secondary schools. The authors adopt and adapt three models (conflict; concordat and consonance) to interrogate the relationship between science and religion (and the perceived relation between these two subjects in schools) (Astley and Francis 2010 Astley, J., and L. J. Francis. 2010. “Promoting Positive Attitudes towards Science and Religion among Sixth-Form Pupils: Dealing with Scientism and Creationism.” British Journal of Religious Education 32 (3): 189–200.10.1080/01416200.2010.498604 [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The findings indicate that there is evidence of limited collaboration and, in a few cases, a dismissive attitude towards collaboration (conflict and concordat and very weak consonance). There is, however, evidence of a genuine aspiration for greater collaboration among many teachers (moving towards a more robust consonance model). The article concludes by discussing a number of key factors that must be realised for this greater collaboration to be enacted.     

The Relationship Between Male-Perpetrated Interparental Aggression,Paternal Characteristics,and Child Psychosocial Functioning

It is well established that children in homes where interparental violence is present are at increased risk for psychosocial (i.e., internalizing, externalizing, and attention) difficulties. However, previous studies have provided a limited view on the variety of factors that commonly co-occur in these environments (e.g., other characteristics of the parents and family) and how they may collectively impact children. Knowing this information could have implications for parental interventions aimed at preventing the continuation or initiation of psychosocial problems in children. Thus, the present study simultaneously examined the association between father-perpetrated interparental aggression, father characteristics, and child psychosocial functioning in a sample of 145 men arrested for domestic violence. Results showed that of all the variables examined, paternal antisocial personality traits and interpersonal hostility were uniquely associated with overall child psychosocial impairment, externalizing problems, and attention problems. Implications for intervention programs are discussed.     

Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and the Ethics of Body and Place: Critical Methodological Reflections

This article is a critical methodological reflection on the use of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) initiated in the context of a qualitative research project on the experience of seclusion in a psychiatric setting. It addresses an explicit gap in the IPA literature to explore the ways that Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology can extend the remit of IPA for noncognitivist qualitative research projects beyond the field of health psychology. In particular, the article develops Merleau-Ponty’s understanding of the lived-body, language, and embodied speech, with specific attention to the ethical implications of body and place. It concludes with a discussion on phenomenological reflexivity and prompts a reconsideration of phenomenological methods across a wide range of qualitative research projects concerned with subjectivity and ethical practice, including critical health studies, critical bioethics, and cultural studies that employ a qualitative empirical research design.     

Resilience Among Women with HIV: Impact of Silencing the Self and Socioeconomic Factors

In the U.S., women account for over a quarter of the approximately 50,000 annual new HIV diagnoses and face intersecting and ubiquitous adversities including gender inequities, sexism, poverty, violence, and limited access to quality education and employment. Women are also subjected to prescribed gender roles such as silencing their needs in interpersonal relationships, which may lessen their ability to be resilient and function adaptively following adversity. Previous studies have often highlighted the struggles encountered by women with HIV without focusing on their strengths. The present cross-sectional study investigated the relationships of silencing the self and socioeconomic factors (education, employment, and income) with resilience in a sample of women with HIV. The sample consisted of 85 women with HIV, diverse ethnic/racial groups, aged 24–65 enrolled at the Chicago site of the Women’s Interagency HIV Study in the midwestern region of the United States. Measures included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale -10 item and the Silencing the Self Scale (STSS). Participants showed high levels of resilience. Women with lower scores on the STSS (lower self-silencing) reported significantly higher resilience compared to women with higher STSS scores. Although employment significantly related to higher resilience, silencing the self tended to predict resilience over and above the contributions of employment, income, and education. Results suggest that intervention and prevention efforts aimed at decreasing silencing the self and increasing employment opportunities may improve resilience.     

Jerome on Sinlessness: a Via Media between Augustine and Pelagius

This article will explore Jerome's understanding of sinlessness and will argue that he saw himself just as opposed to Augustine as to Pelagius. I begin by exposing Jerome's context in the Pelagian Controversy. I then expose his understanding of sinlessness. Next, I turn to his arguments in Ep. 133 and the first two books of his Dialogi contra Pelagianos. In book three of that text, we notice a change in his arguments which indicates that Jerome is no longer arguing only against Pelagius; he now disagrees with Augustine as well. I then examine a variety of issues besides sinlessness in the third book of the Dialogi that reveal that Jerome disagreed with Augustine on multiple topics, showing that his opposition to Augustine's position on sinlessness was not exceptional. Finally I turn to statements by Jerome that seem to indicate a positive appreciation for the Bishop of Hippo, but which on closer inspection are seen to contain latent criticisms.