Adherence, body mass index, and depression in adults with type 2 diabetes: the mediational role of diabetes symptoms and self-efficacy.

OBJECTIVE: Evidence indicates that depression is linked to the development and worsening of diabetes, but the mechanisms underlying this link are not well understood. The authors examined the hypothesis that diabetes-related symptoms mediate the effect of both behavioral adherence and body mass index (BMI) on depression. In addition, they examined whether a prior finding that self-efficacy mediates the effect of behavioral adherence and BMI on depression would replicate with a larger sample size (W. P. Sacco, K. J. Wells, C. A. Vaughan, A. Friedman, S. Perez, & R. Morales, 2005). Also, the relative contributions of diabetes-related symptoms and self-efficacy to depression were evaluated. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional design involving adults diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes (N = 99). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measure was depression (Patient Health Questionnaire: Nine Symptom Depression Checklist). Predictors of depression were diet and exercise adherence (Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Questionnaire), diet and exercise self-efficacy (Multidimensional Diabetes Questionnaire), diabetes symptoms (Diabetes Symptom Checklist), and BMI (based on height and weight data from medical records). RESULTS: Path and mediation analyses indicated that adherence and BMI each contributed to depression indirectly, via their effects on self-efficacy and diabetes-related medical symptoms. CONCLUSION: Results provide evidence consistent with two independent pathways by which BMI and adherence could increase depression in people with Type 2 diabetes. The first pathway indicates that the effects of higher BMI and poor adherence on depression are mediated by lower self-efficacy perceptions. The second pathway indicates that the effect of higher BMI on depression is mediated by increased diabetes symptoms.     

Listening as Religious Practice (Part One): Exploring Quantitative Data from an Empirical Study of the Cultural Habits of Music Fans

This article explores and reflects upon the role that music consumption may be playing in the flexible field of cultural expression, identity formation, and meaning-making activity in the West, as overt commitment to organised religion continues to decline and prove fragile. Using quantitative data from a 2009–2010 study of 231 music users, the authors locate and analyse the respondents’ declarations about their listening practices in relation to their other socio-cultural habits and life-commitments. The article explores the genres and themes of music listened to, the means by which the music is accessed, the frequency of listening, and the scale and nature of non-musical commitments. The significance of differences between replies of male and female respondents and between replies of self-identified religious and non-religious respondents is also considered. The article concludes that, while listening habits differ only slightly between religious and non-religious respondents, there are differences in three significant respects: music use with respect to political self-expression; access of ‘life-worlds’/the narratives that people live by; the frequency and technological format of listening.     

Managing group process in nonprocess groups: Working with the theme-centered psychoeducational group

While there has been a recent proliferation of groups for consultative and psychoeducational purposes, little has been written about using the group process in these nonprocess groups. This paper investigates the management of various group processes in a group whose contracted focus is teaching stress management skills. Distinctions are made between psychotherapeutic and theme-centered psychoeducational process management. Many group processes can be predicted given the group's normal developmental stages, while other ongoing group processes arise spontaneously. A working dialogue between the presented content and the emerging process is necessary in order for psychoeducation to be personalized and most fully assimilated. A clinical vignette follows the evolution of a stress management group conducted for high-level executives who have been identified as manifesting Type-A behaviors. For each session, the format and material content are briefly outlined, the emerging group process is described, and the clinical interventions involved in the process management are discussed.     

Infant responding to joint attention, executive processes, and self-regulation in preschool children

Infant joint attention is related to behavioral and social outcomes, as well as language in childhood. Recent research and theory suggests that the relations between joint attention and social-behavioral outcomes may reflect the role of executive self-regulatory processes in the development of joint attention. To test this hypothesis two studies were conducted. The first, cross-sectional study examined the development of responding to joint attention (RJA) skill in terms of increasing executive efficiency of responding between 9 and 18 months of age. The results indicated that development of RJA was characterized by a decreased latency to shift attention in following another person's gaze and head turn, as well as an increase in the proportion of correct RJA responses exhibited by older infants. The second study examined the longitudinal relations between 12-month measures of responding to joint attention and 36-month attention regulation in a delay of gratification task. The results indicated that responding to joint attention at 12-months was significantly related to children's use of three types of self-regulation behaviors while waiting for a snack reward at 36 months of age. These observations are discussed in light of a developmental theory of attention regulation and joint attention in infancy.     

Aging and Visual Short-term Memory: Effects of Object Type and Information Load

ABSTRACT

Previous research has observed that the size of age differences in short-term memory (STM) depends on the type of material to be remembered, but has not identified the mechanism underlying this pattern. The current study focused on visual STM and examined the contribution of information load, as estimated by the rate of visual search, to STM for two types of stimuli – meaningful and abstract objects. Results demonstrated higher information load and lower STM for abstract objects. Age differences were greater for abstract than meaningful objects in visual search, but not in STM. Nevertheless, older adults demonstrated a decreased capacity in visual STM for meaningful objects. Furthermore, in support of Salthouse's processing speed theory, controlling for search rates eliminated all differences in STM related to object type and age. The overall pattern of findings suggests that STM for visual objects is dependent upon processing rate, regardless of age or object type.     

Bridging math and theology: Constructing a set theoretic model of the processions and relations in the trinity

The goal of this paper is to show that a simple, set-theoretic manipulation of symbols can be used to model or signify Trinitarian relations as presented by Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae. More specifically, by assigning certain mathematical symbols to specific terms in his theology, his careful use of terminology and his theological arguments can be represented and preserved since the structure of the symbols will be designed to reflect the structure of his grammar in a tight, succinct format. Advantages of this modeling include brief symbolic summaries rather than lengthy prose, as well as a promotion of ecumenical dialogue through a language (mathematics) accessible to all faiths.     

Influence of paper color and a monetary incentive on response rate

This study examined whether survey response rate differed based on the color of the paper the survey was printed on (blue vs green) and presence of a monetary incentive. A 4-page survey on eating disorders was mailed to Division 1A and 1AA college head athletic trainers (N=223) with half of the surveys on blue paper and half on green paper. Half of the athletic trainers (n = 111) received a $1.00 monetary incentive, and half (n = 112) received no monetary incentive. A total of 166 (71%) athletic trainers returned completed surveys. Response rates did not differ based on survey color but did differ based on presence of a monetary incentive. Athletic trainers who received a monetary incentive were significantly more likely than those who did not to return completed surveys (86% vs 63%, respectively).