Religiously Affiliated Continuum of Care Retirement Communities

SUMMARY

The paper introduces an action research initiative called Spirited Scotland, an embryonic movement seeking to restore spirituality to an appropriate place in health and social care. It locates the initiative in the changing social and spiritual circumstances of post-industrial Scotland and identifies some challenges it faces associated with the prevailing understandings of health, becoming ill, and successful ageing. The paper also considers some policy and practice challenges raised by Spirited Scotland, in terms both of content and process.     

Studying Early Adolescents' Academic Motivation,Social-Emotional Functioning,and Engagement in Learning: Variable- and Person-Centered Approaches

This study used variable- and person-centered data analytic techniques to examine how early adolescents' academic motivation and social-emotional functioning were associated with their self-reported cognitive and behavioral engagement in the middle school classroom. Regression results showed that both motivational and mental health constructs contributed to the prediction of individual differences in classroom engagement. Person-centered analyses revealed between group variation in classroom engagement as a function of differing patterns of motivation and mental health among different subgroups of adolescents. Convergent and complementary information on these subgroups was provided by using two different grouping approaches. Findings are discussed in terms of broad patterns of promise or problems during early adolescence.     

Self-reported Diabetes Prevalence and Risk factors in South Africa: Results from the World Health Survey

Using the data from the South African World Health Survey (WHS), the current study aims to assess the self-reported prevalence of diabetes and associated risk factors by socio-economic characteristics in South Africa. A population-based survey of 2314 participants (1116 men and 1236 women) was conducted in South Africa in 2003. Results indicate an overall self-reported diabetes prevalence of 9.1%, 7.1% for men and 10.8% for women. In terms of diabetes risk factors, high rates of overweight or obesity (58.4%), physical inactivity (55.2%), less than 5 servings of fruits and vegetables in a day (69.3%), and medium or high stress levels (63.3%) were found; 18.4% were smoking daily and 7.3% were risky drinkers. Univariate regression analyses found that from the six different risk factors none apart from having high stress were associated with the occurrence of diabetes. Greater age was associated with obesity and inversely associated with insufficient consumption of fruits and vegetables. Daily smoking and being physically inactive were inversely associated with risky drinking. Low socioeconomic background was associated with unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and stress.     

An investigation of the theoretical content of physical activity brochures

New evidence-based physical activity (PA) guidelines and recommendations for constructing messages supplementing the guidelines have been put forth. As well, recent reviews have identified theoretical constructs that hold promise as targets for intervention: self-regulation, outcome expectancies and self-efficacy. The purpose of this study was to examine the integration of messages targeting self-regulation, self-efficacy and outcome expectancies in existing physical activity brochures. Twenty-two PA brochures from Canadian and American National Health Organizations were assessed for their use self-efficacy, self-regulatory processes and outcome expectancies. Brochures were analyzed line-by-line using a modified version of the validated Content Analysis Approach to Theory-Specified Persuasive Educational Communication (CAATSPEC; Abraham, Southby, Quandte, Krahé, & van der Sluijs, 2007). Two independent raters coded a third of the brochures (n = 7). Inter-rater reliability was acceptable for 17 of the 20 categories (rs > .79). Discrepancies in all categories were discussed and agreement was reached. The remaining brochures were coded by one of the two raters. Usage of the three key theoretical constructs accounted for only 36.43% of brochure content (20.23% self-efficacy, 10.40% outcome expectancies, 5.80% self-regulation). Brochures lacked the use of a variety of theoretical strategies, specifically goal-setting, planning and verbal persuasion and rarely highlighted the affective benefits of physical activity. In the future brochures should aim to place increased emphasis on self-regulation, self-efficacy, and affective outcome expectancies.     

Beauty is in the sex of the beholder: An examination of the effects of interviewer characteristics on assessments of respondent attractiveness

Research exploring the effects of physical attractiveness frequently assesses attractiveness by employing subjective appraisals by independent raters. However, there is reason to believe that rater characteristics – especially their sex – may systematically bias subjective ratings of physical attractiveness. The current study explores this possibility by analyzing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 13,330). Analyses of these data revealed that ratings of physical attractiveness are significantly influenced by the sex of the interviewer/rater. Specifically, male raters were significantly less likely than female raters to assess males as attractive, very attractive, and very unattractive. The results are explained within the context of evolutionary psychology and illustrate a methodological concern for research on physical attractiveness.     

心理健康素质测评系统·中国成年人坚韧人格量表的编制

本研究的目的是结合中国社会文化特点,编制适合中国成年人使用的坚韧人格量表。通过开放式问卷调查、专家访谈及参考国外同类问卷等方式编写条目,分别以大学生和普通人群为被试,通过三次施测获得数据,经项目筛选和修改,最终确定坚韧人格量表包含4个维度,共27个项目。对正式量表的心理测量学考察表明,坚韧人格量表具有较高的内部一致性信度和重测信度,量表的模型拟合度较好,具有较高的结构效度、内容效度、会聚效度和校标效度。结论,坚韧人格量表具备较好的心理测量学特征,可以作为中国成年人人格坚韧性的测量工具。