Coping,psychological adjustment,and complementary and alternative medicine use in persons living with hiv and aids

Abstract

Many HIV-positive individuals dissatisfied with allopathic approaches to disease management have turned to complementary and alternative medicines (CAM). Although people use CAM for a variety of reasons (e.g., symptom management, holistic approach towards healthcare, improved immunity), the psychological benefits that these treatments may have are still not fully understood. The present study was designed to further previous research that demonstrated relationships between CAM use, stress appraisals, and coping behaviors. HIV-positive individuals (N= 127) completed measures assessing stress appraisals, coping, psychological adjustment, satisfaction with life, and immune functioning. After controlling for ethnicity and sexual orientation, stress appraisals and coping behaviors were found to be related to CAM use. Further, curvilinear relationships between CAM use and adjustment emerged, suggesting that some CAM use may be adaptive. Self-reported immune measures were unrelated to CAM use. In all, it appears that CAM use may be a complex form of coping that assists individuals in adjusting to a life-threatening illness. The implications of these findings with respect to adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) are also discussed.     

Illness representations and distress in women undergoing screening for familial ovarian cancer

Women with a familial or genetic predisposition to ovarian cancer are at significantly increased risk of developing the disease, and this warrants effective risk management strategies. A clinical trial of ovarian cancer screening (OCS) is being conducted to establish the effectiveness of this risk management strategy. This article reports data from its psychological partner study which aims to evaluate the psychological effects of OCS. Leventhal's Self-Regulatory Model provided the theoretical framework for understanding emotional responses to OCS. The revised Illness Perceptions Questionnaire (IPQ-R) is based on this model and the IPQ-R, adapted to the risk of ovarian cancer, was completed by women (N?=?1999) prior to screening. The original IPQ-R factor structure was not replicated but IPQ-R variables explained 14.70% of the variance in women's ovarian cancer-specific distress after controlling for age, general anxiety and depression. Negative emotional representations of ovarian cancer risk and general anxiety were moderately associated with greater ovarian cancer-specific distress whereas cognitive illness representations were weakly related to ovarian cancer-specific distress. Further analyses of data from the ongoing psychological evaluation are needed to determine the predictive utility of IPQ-R variables in explaining distress during OCS.     

Executive functioning deficits in preschool children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Executive function (EF) deficit is a hallmark of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), but the vast majority of available evidence comes from school-age children and adolescents. Very little is known about EF during the critical developmental period prior to 6 years of age in FASD. We evaluated EF in 39 children with FASD (3.0–5.5 years) and a comparison group of 50 age-matched, nonexposed controls. Measures included the EF Scale for Early Childhood and a Delay of Gratification task. Compared to age-matched controls, preschool children with FASD had impairments on the EF Scale and showed more impulsivity on the Delay of Gratification task. To confirm the EF Scale finding, FASD group performance was compared to a separate normative dataset (N = 1,400). Those with FASD performed below normal (M = –0.57, SD = 0.92). Within the FASD group, IQ was correlated with the EF Scale (partial r = .60, p = .001) and Delay of Gratification (partial r = .58, p = .005). EF Scale performance did not differ significantly across levels of FASD severity (fetal alcohol syndrome [FAS], partial FAS, or alcohol-related neurobehavioral disorder [ARND]). However, compared to normative data, those with FAS had the largest deficits (M = –0.91 SD from the mean, SE = 0.23), followed by partial FAS (M = –0.66 SD from the mean, SE = 0.26), then ARND (M = –0.36 SD from the mean, SE = 0.20). These novel data show that EF deficits manifest well before the age of 6 years in children with FASD, that they occur across the spectrum, and that EF may be most impaired in children with more severe forms of FASD and/or lower IQs.     

Kinetics of diffusion via divacancies in a concentrated random fcc alloy

The diffusion kinetics in a concentrated fcc alloy are described by means of divacancies. The model chosen is the random alloy model with bound divacancies. We show that for the fcc structure the Manning formalism developed originally for monovacancies can be used intact to describe diffusion via divacancies. Monte Carlo simulation results for both tracer and collective correlation factors are in good agreement with the results of the formalism for a wide range of the component atom exchange frequencies with the divacancy except for the slower-moving component.     

Phonon densities of states of gamma-cerium and delta-cerium measured by time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering

Time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering spectra were measured on cerium metal at temperatures near the fcc (gamma)-to-bcc (delta) transition temperature. Phonon density-of-states (DOS) curves were extracted from data acquired over a wide range of momentum transfers. A large softening of the phonon DOS was found in going from gamma-cerium to delta-cerium, and this accounts for an increase in vibrational entropy of (0.71 +/- 0.05)k _B/atom. To be consistent with the latent heat of the gamma-delta transition, this increase in vibrational entropy must be accompanied by a large decrease in electronic entropy. The results not only confirm the recent discovery of a significant electronic contribution to the gamma-delta transition but also suggest that it may be twice that previously reported.     

General and supplementary factors of personality in genetic and environmental correlation matrices

Genetic and environmental correlation matrices among 7 personality scales were estimated, using samples of adult and young adult twins from Australia (2081 and 1178 pairs, respectively). A general factor of personality and two supplemental factors were obtained in each. The supplemental factors were tentatively identified as Social conformity and Other-dependence. Factors from the genetic and environmental correlations replicated well across samples, and they were similar in both the genetic and environmental covariation. It was concluded that the structure of personality is inherent in the evolved phenotype, and is not the immediate consequence of either genetic or environmental organizing factors.