Occupational physical activity as an indicator of health and fitness

Recent government guidelines suggest that simply increasing physical activity, regardless of mode, leads to improved health profiles. This study examined the relationship between amount of work-related physical activity of United States Forest Service (USFS) workers and 12 indicators of health and fitness. Subjects were 110 USFS workers recruited from 8 separate USFS ranger stations in the Pacific Northwest. The associations between work-related physical activity and indicators of health and fitness indicated the 63 workers who were physically active on the job displayed better overall health and fitness patterns as evidenced by higher aerobic capacity, lower body fat, and greater muscular flexibility than their 47 inactive peers.     

Parents' Experiences with Genetic Counseling After the Birth of a Baby with a Genetic Disorder: An Exploratory Study

Little is known about factors determining which families utilize genetic counseling services. We conducted semistructured interviews with parents of four children born with cystic fibrosis (CF) and ten with Down's syndrome (DS) to ascertain reasons for using, or not using, genetic counseling services in the state of Victoria, Australia. We also explored the usefulness of genetic counseling for the families who had experienced it, and the perceived role of genetic counseling. All mothers of children with CF see a genetic counselor as part of a structured education program following diagnosis through newborn screening. Information overload was identified by them as an important problem. There is no specific program for families of children with DS. Six of them had received genetic counseling and four had not, either because it was not specifically offered to them or because they did not pursue it in the context of misconceptions about its purpose. The timing of the offer of genetic counseling is important and needs to take into account parents' coping strategies after diagnosis. Several parents commented on the favorable aspects of counseling, including getting information they needed to deal with the diagnosis and relief of guilt. Better awareness of genetic counseling by referring physicians, and providing counseling at more than one visit, may contribute to a more effective service.     

Interpersonal leveling,independence, and self‐enhancement: a comparison between Denmark and the US,and a relational practice framework for cultural psychology

We argue that the relational model that people use for organizing specific social interactions in any culture determines whether people self‐enhance. Self‐enhancement is not a functional consequence of the (independent or interdependent) cultural model of self. Across three studies, Danes self‐enhanced considerably less than did Americans but were more independent on the Twenty Statements Test, made more individual attributions about social life, made more autonomous scenario choices, and were more independent on the self‐construal scale. Public modesty did not account for these Danish‐American differences in self‐enhancement. However, Danes practiced interpersonal leveling, preferring equality of outcome more than did Americans. This leveling strongly and inversely predicted self‐enhancement within both cultures and mediated Danish‐American differences in self‐enhancement. In contrast, no independence measure systematically predicted self‐enhancement within both cultures nor mediated the cultural differences in self‐enhancement. This dissociation of independence and self‐enhancement demonstrates that self‐enhancing downward social comparisons are not functionally necessary for an independent concept of self. We conclude that social relationships, not the model of the self, mediate the mutual constitution of psyche and culture. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modifiable risk factors for attempted suicide in Australian clinical and community samples

Modifiable risk factors for suicide attempt require identification in clinical and community samples. The aim of this study was to determine if similar social and psychiatric factors are associated with suicide attempts in community and clinical settings and whether the magnitude of effect is greater in clinical populations. Two case-control studies were used: nationwide community-based lifetime attempted suicide (ComAS) cases compared to nationwide community controls; and clinical deliberate self-poisoning (ClinDSP) cases that had hospital treatment compared to normative controls of similar demographic composition. The pattern of risk factors in ComAS and ClinDSP cases was similar, the magnitude of risk usually greater in clinical cases. Greatest attributable fractions were: ComAS current unemployment (39.8% male, 15.5% female) and anxiety disorders (14.0% males, 22.6% females); and ClinDSP current unemployment (69.6% male, 55.5% female) and affective disorders (45.4% male, 39.1% female). Practical intervention targets were unemployment, anxiety and substance use disorders, affective disorders (clinical only), and personality disorder (females only).     

Desire,Domination, Sadism,and the Degradation of Love: Reply to Commentaries by Joyce Slochower and Christopher Bonovitz

In her response to commentaries by Joyce Slochower and Christopher Bonovitz, the author further clarifies her understanding of countertransferential sadism and how it compares to other enactments. She addresses Slochower’s concern about psychoanalytic restraint in the relational frame. The author responds to Bonovitz, who used a Fairbairnian perspective to comment on the clinical material she presented, and she considers how Fairbairn’s concepts of the libidinal ego, the rejecting object and the internal saboteur apply to analytic sadism. Finally, she contemplates whether the sadistic enactments described in her paper can be viewed as a prelude to the expansion of analytic love.     

A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Coaches’ Observed Emotion-Behavior Profiles and Adolescent Athletes’ Self-Reported Developmental Outcomes

This investigation explored the relationship between coaches’ emotions and adolescent athletes’ psychosocial development. Participants were 9 male soccer coaches and their female athletes (N = 134, M_age = 14.54). Systematic observation was used to assess coaches’ emotions during practice and athletes completed questionnaires evaluating developmental outcomes. Cluster analyses revealed 2 groups: “calm, inquisitive coaches” (n = 6) and “intense, hustle coaches” (n = 3). Athletes of calm, inquisitive coaches reported significantly more prosocial behaviors and less antisocial behaviors directed toward opponents than athletes of intense, hustle coaches. Thus, coaches’ emotions during practice may be associated with young athletes’ moral behaviors.