Predictors of Health Locus of Control in Older Adults

Health locus of control has been shown to influence how individuals approach their health and health-related decisions. The present study examined the variables predictive of older adults’ health locus of control. A total of 261 adults aged 54–84 years completed a questionnaire about their health, approach to health, and background information about themselves. The results revealed that demographic indicators, health-related variables, and psychological variables—particularly health risk tolerance, future time perspective, health self-efficacy, and emotional instability—were related to older adults’ health locus of control. Findings have implications for programs aimed at modifying older adults’ health locus of control.     

Functional cerebral distance and the effect of emotional music on spatial rotation scores in undergraduate women and men

The influence of listening to music on subsequent spatial rotation scores has a controversial history. The effect is unreliable, seeming to depend on several as yet unexplored factors. Using a large sample (167 women, 160 men; M age = 18.9 yr.), two related variables were investigated: participants' sex and the emotion conveyed by the music. Participants listened to 90 sec. of music that portrayed emotions of approach (happiness), or withdrawal (anger), or heard no music at all. They then performed a two-dimensional spatial rotation task. No significant difference was found in spatial rotation scores between groups exposed to music and those who were not. However, a significant interaction was found based on the sex of the participants and the emotion portrayed in the music they heard. Women's scores increased (relative to a no-music condition) only after hearing withdrawal-based music, while men's scores increased only after listening to the approach-based music. These changes were explained using the theory of functional cerebral distance.     

Cognitive biases in processing infant emotion by women with depression,anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in pregnancy or after birth: A systematic review

Perinatal psychological problems such as post-natal depression are associated with poor mother–baby interaction, but the reason for this is not clear. One explanation is that mothers with negative mood have biased processing of infant emotion. This review aimed to synthesise research on processing of infant emotion by pregnant or post-natal women with anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Systematic searches were carried out on 11 electronic databases using terms related to negative affect, childbirth and perception of emotion. Fourteen studies were identified which looked at the effect of depression, anxiety and PTSD on interpretation of infant emotional expressions (k = 10), or reaction times when asked to ignore emotional expressions (k = 4). Results suggest mothers with depression and anxiety are more likely to identify negative emotions (i.e., sadness) and less accurate at identifying positive emotions (i.e., happiness) in infant faces. Additionally, women with depression may disengage faster from positive and negative infant emotional expressions. Very few studies examined PTSD (k = 2), but results suggest biases towards specific infant emotions may be influenced by characteristics of the traumatic event. The implications of this research for mother–infant interaction are explored.     

A Mild Panic? Media Accounts of Kratom

ABSTRACT

Historically, the news media has been a primary participant in the construction of moral panics surrounding various drugs and their users. The current study utilizes the moral panic framework to depict how the media represents a drug new to the Western world: kratom. Kratom, a traditional plant-based substance from South Asia, came in to the public’s view when the DEA announced its intent to emergency schedule the substance, citing a threat to public health. We use content analysis to explore how kratom and kratom use is depicted in a sample of news media articles gathered from an online source. Broadly, we find that the news media seems to report more information about the substance and less hyperbole than is typical of media reports on drugs in the past.