Resolving the theory of planned behaviour's ‘expectancy-value muddle’ using dimensional salience

The theory of planned behaviour is one of the most widely used models of decision-making in the health literature. Unfortunately, the primary method for assessing the theory's belief-based expectancy-value models results in statistically uninterpretable findings, giving rise to what has become known as the ‘expectancy-value muddle’. Moreover, existing methods for resolving this muddle are associated with various conceptual or practical limitations. This study addresses these issues by identifying and evaluating a parsimonious method for resolving the expectancy-value muddle. Three hundred and nine Australian residents aged 18–24 years rated the expectancy and value of 18 beliefs about posthumous organ donation. Participants also nominated their five most salient beliefs using a dimensional salience approach. Salient beliefs were perceived as being more likely to eventuate than non-salient beliefs, indicating that salient beliefs could be used to signify the expectancy component. The expectancy-value term was therefore represented by summing the value ratings of salient beliefs, an approach that predicted attitude (adjusted R ²?=?0.21) and intention (adjusted R ²?=?0.21). These findings suggest that the dimensional salience approach is a useful method for overcoming the expectancy-value muddle in applied research settings.     

Neuropsychological Functioning in Early Hydrocephalus: Review From a Developmental Perspective

Children with hydrocephalus have deficits in several neuropsychological domains. The most notable are motor, visuoperceptual, and visuomotor function. These deficits are multiply determined and depend on the etiology and severity of the hydrocephalus to a large extent. Corpus callosum abnormalities resulting from stretching of callosal fibers and other cortical white matter tracts are implicated as contributory to these deficits. Enlarged ventricles and associated compression of posterior cortical areas also correlate with cognitive impairment. Distinguishing which cognitive domain negatively impacts on the child’s functioning and which domains influence behavior in isolation or in combination has been the subject of numerous studies. Developmentally, we know little about the emergence of neuropsychological functioning in children with hydrocephalus. Study of the effects of hydrocephalus at different stages of development is useful to clinicians and researchers interested in the impact of diffuse neurophysiological damage on cognition in the developing brain. The medical and neuropsychological literature have begun to inform about these effects. The core deficits in hydrocephalus have yet to be explicated and a focus on investigations that answer these questions is required. This review summarizes the current knowledge about neurocognitive sequelae of hydrocephalus.     

Pregnancy complications and neuropsychological outcomes: A review

Pregnancy complications elevate risk of associated adverse medical, socioenvironmental, and behavioral outcomes in children. These are likely to have a substantial impact on neuropsychological functioning and mental health across the child’s lifespan. Thus, an understanding of the complex relationships between pregnancy complications and neuropsychological outcomes is critical for both practitioners and researchers. This review summarizes prevalent pregnancy complications and the associated psychological and neuropsychological findings, highlighting methodological challenges that have restricted investigations of these outcomes and identifying opportune areas for future study.     

Tailoring Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Binge Eating in Adolescent Girls

Whereas effective treatments exist for adults with recurrent binge eating, developmental factors specific to adolescents point to the need for a modified treatment approach for youth. We adapted an existing cognitive behavioral therapy treatment manual for adults with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder (Fairburn, 2008) for use with adolescents. This paper presents a number of clinical case vignettes, drawn directly from interactions with teen participants, that illustrate some of the developmental factors common to adolescents—as well as the importance of our adaptations to address for these factors.     

The Personal Is the Political: Antecedents of Gendered Choices of Elected Representatives

This article focuses on the legislative careers of women and men in state legislative office to explore how the relationship between the private and public spheres affects career opportunities, choices, perceptions, and actions. The findings indicate that the intersection of private and public is configured differently in the lives of women and men. Among other results, women were found to perform double duty, holding primary responsibility for the work of home and children even though they have the same public responsibilities as their male counterparts. The implications of these findings for individuals, public policy choices, institutional operations, and social patterns are explored.     

Predicting Resource Utilization by Children with Serious Emotional Disturbance and Their Families

Our study represents a rural case management agency's use of its data to aid in its transition from being funded by federal grant funds to self-sustainment. We wanted to learn if some characteristics of those children served could predict the resources needed to serve them. We analyzed data on 90 children and adolescents living in a rural community. Using multiple regression analysis we found that CAFAS total and CBCL total problem scores predicted Medicaid reimbursements but not flexible funds spending or case management hours. History of psychiatric hospitalization, however, predicted flexible funds spending and case management hours. Using one-way ANOVA and post hoc analysis we found that the staff members' assessments of each child and family's level of service needs were reflected in differences in mean CAFAS total scores, Medicaid reimbursements and case management hours, but not CBCL total problem scores or flexible funds spending.     

Interpersonal Conflicts of Women in Nursing Homes: An Administrative Perspective

Older women may respond to conflicts by suppressing anger. Suppressed anger is associated with depression and hypertension. Research on the everyday conflicts of community-dwelling older women has begun to emerge. Such information is not available for women in nursing homes, and is necessary for developing interventions that can help protect women in nursing homes against anger-related illness. Nursing home administrators were surveyed to evaluate women's health promotion programming in general, and the incidence of and institutional response to conflicts of women residents. About 74% of residents were women; yet, women's health promotion programs were rare (offered in 1 out of 25 facilities, or 4%). Ninety percent of administrators identified depression as the most significant women's health problem, but tended to see it as warranting medical rather than programmatic attention. Eighty percent identified strained interpersonal relationships as a significant health problem for women, requiring programmatic attention. In particular, administrators identified the need for programming to help women residents resolve conflicts with roommates and family members. Formal mechanisms for managing conflicts of residents did not exist in sample nursing homes.     

Social Support, Job Stress, Health, and Job Satisfaction Among Nurses in the United Kingdom

Recruitment and retention of nurses is a major concern in healthcare provision in several countries. This study explored the relationship between perceived social support, job stress, health, and job satisfaction among nurses from 4 organizations in northwest England. A total of 350 usable questionnaires measuring stressors, perceived support, health, and job satisfaction, was obtained from a sample of 1,162 nurses drawn from 4 healthcare organizations. A follow-up study was conducted after 6 months. Results indicate that perceived organizational support is related to nurses' health and job satisfaction. Current interventions to increase support, which typically operate at individual or group level, may be limited in their effectiveness unless nurses' perceptions of organizational support are taken into account.     

Family therapy for childhood depression: researching significant moments

This paper is a qualitative family therapy process study which is part of a larger European-based outcome study comparing family therapy to child psychotherapy plus parent support for depressed children and their families. The family therapists and two clinical supervisors from the original study formed themselves into a research team to study the process of therapy with twelve families. Therapists selected the significant moments from fifty-nine sessions, and were then interviewed by the research team using a standard protocol to investigate the therapists' own thinking about the significant moments. Applying a thematic analysis, the significant moments were clustered into eleven themes. The paper discusses the rationale for this model of research, which is well suited for clinical teams, and the application of the themes to therapeutic work with depressed children and their families.