Predictors of quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction in individuals living with HIV and AIDS in a resource-constrained setting in South Africa

The burden of HIV disease is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in South Africa (SA). Whilst there have been many studies conducted on the biomedical and socio-psychological aspects of HIV and AIDS, insufficient attention has been paid to the quality of life of those infected with the virus. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the predictors of quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction (Q-LES) among individuals infected with HIV. A battery of questionnaires, which included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q), were administered to 121 participants. Data was analysed using SPSS. Of the total sample (n = 121), 74% were females. The study found that a large proportion (49.5%) of the sample within the age group 25–49 years old experienced psychological distress. Those who were not on antiretroviral treatment (ART) were significantly affected (66%). Psychological distress was significantly prevalent among HIV positive individuals and also the strongest predictor of Q-LES among these individuals.     

The nature of quality of life in residential care facilities: the case of White older South Africans

This study describes the nature of quality of life (QoL) from the perspective of older South Africans (n?=?41) in residential care facilities (female =?75%; age range 62–95 years). The residents participated in individual in-depth interviews and focus groups. They also set down their narrative reflections on their QoL in journals. Data were analysed by means of interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings reveal the resident older South Africans regard QoL as a spiritually informed worldview of life events, coping with challenges and being mindful of others. The residents perceived QoL to include proximity and quality and reciprocity with others. QoL among older people is context and people specific.     

Burnout and its relations with basic psychological needs and motivation among athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectivesThe present study is a review on studies about the relationships between the three basic psychological needs/motivational regulations (i.e., amotivation, controlled regulation, extrinsic autonomous regulation, and intrinsic motivation) and burnout.DesignA systematic review and meta-analysis.MethodStudies were identified through five electronic databases and manual search using combinations of three groups of keywords. Three inclusion criteria were then used to screen the searched articles.ResultsEighteen studies met the inclusion criteria and these studies varied considerably in terms of their study characteristics (e.g., characteristics of participants, study designs, and outcome measures). The results also showed that the three basic psychological needs, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic autonomous regulation, and amotivation had small to large effects on predicting global burnout and its three dimensions. However, controlled regulation showed no or weak correlations with the burnout subscales.ConclusionsSelf-determination theory was generally supported in explaining athlete burnout.     

BODY WORLDS: Choosing to Be Immortalized as an Educational Specimen

Research ethics education in the biosciences has not historically been a priority for research universities despite the fact that funding agencies, government regulators, and the parties involved in the research enterprise agree that it ought to be. The confluence of a number of factors, including scrutiny and regulation due to increased public awareness of the impact of basic research on society, increased public and private funding, increased diversity and collaboration among researchers, the impressive success and speed of research advances, and high-profile cases of misconduct, have made it necessary to reexamine how the bioscience research community at all levels provides ethics education to its own. We discuss the need to and reasons for making ethics integral to the education of bioscientists, approaches to achieving this goal, challenges this goal presents, and responses to those challenges.     

Duke University's Program on Religion,Aging, and Health

ABSTRACT

Assisted living facilities (ALFs) offer a level of care between independent living and nursing homes. Recently researchers have begun to explore quality-of-life issues concerning residents of ALFs. Considerable research suggests that religion is positively associated with both emotional and physical health. This study examines how residents use religious practices to cope with the challenges of life in ALFs. Qualitative analysis of in-person interview data from 55 residents of ALFs revealed a variety of religious practices, such as prayer, church attendance, and Bible reading. Most residents deemed religion important and reported that religious practices provided a framework for coping with problems. Coping ranged from the mundane (e.g., attending a gospel concert to offset the otherwise dull routine of the home) to the transcendent (e.g., enlisting the support of an omnipotent ally in the face of adversity). Six ways residents utilized religion as a coping mechanism emerged. Residents used religion to maintain continuity with their previous lives; to obtain relief from physical or emotional pain; to provide a framework for socialization; to develop courage; to maintain a purpose for their lives; and to prepare for death. Suggestions for enhancing the quality and variety of religious activities within ALFs are offered.     

Social Anxiety and Friendship Quality over Time

Abstract

High social anxiety in adults is associated with self-report of impaired friendship quality, but not necessarily with impairment reported by friends. Further, prospective prediction of social anxiety and friendship quality over time has not been tested among adults. We therefore examined friendship quality and social anxiety prospectively in 126 young adults (67 primary participants and 59 friends, aged 17–22 years); the primary participants were screened to be extreme groups to increase power and relevance to clinical samples (i.e., they were recruited based on having very high or very low social interaction anxiety). The prospective relationships between friendship quality and social anxiety were then tested using an Actor–Partner Interdependence Model. Friendship quality prospectively predicted social anxiety over time within each individual in the friendship, such that higher friendship quality at Time 1 predicted lower social anxiety approximately 6 months later at Time 2. Social anxiety did not predict friendship quality. Although the results support the view that social anxiety and friendship quality have an important causal relationship, the results run counter to the assumption that high social anxiety causes poor friendship quality. Interventions to increase friendship quality merit further consideration.     

Adaptation to stroke using a model of successful aging

ABSTRACT

The process of adaptation to the physical and psychosocial consequences after stroke is a major challenge for many individuals affected. The aim of this study was to examine if stroke patients within 1 month of admission (n?=?153) and followed up at 1 year (n?=?107) engage in selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) adaptive strategies and the relationship of these strategies with functional ability, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and depression 1 year later. Adaptive strategies were measured using a 15-item SOC questionnaire. Internal and external resources were assessed including recovery locus of control, stroke severity, and socio-demographics. Outcome measures were the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (SS-QoL), the Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale and the Depression Subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Findings indicated that stroke patients engaged in the use of SOC strategies but the use of these strategies were not predictive of HRQOL, functional ability or depression 1 year after stroke. The use of SOC strategies were not age specific and were consistent over time, with the exception of the compensation subscale. Results indicate that SOC strategies may potentially be used in response to loss regulation after stroke and that an individual's initial HRQOL functional ability, levels of depression and socio-economic status that are important factors in determining outcome 1 year after stroke. A stroke-specific measure of SOC may be warranted in order to detect significant differences in determining outcomes for a stroke population.     

Community Psychology and Quality of Life in Tanzania

The purpose of this study was to explore the status of community psychology and its contribution to the quality of life in Tanzania. The study was based on both literature review and interviews. First, social responses to problems such as malaria, food insecurity, domestic violence, environmental changes, and HIV/AIDS are discussed. This is followed by a report on the results of five face-to-face interviews of individuals working in the fields of psychology, sociology, social work, counseling and public health. The participants were predominantly from the Capital City of Dar es Salam and one hailed from the city of Mbeya, 850 km from Dar es Salaam. The interviews were exclusively conducted in English as all participants were fluent in English, though it was their second language. On the basis of the literature review and the interviews, it was concluded that although community psychology has made some progress in contributing to quality of life in Tanzania, it is a field of great potential which must be further explored for the benefit of Tanzanians.     

Developmetrics A balanced and short Best Friend Index for children and young adolescents

This study evaluated a short friendship questionnaire providing a balanced assessment of positive (e.g., support) and negative (e.g., jealousy) friendship features. In addition, associations with indices of adaptive functioning versus psychopathology were tested. The friendship questionnaire was presented to 548 typically developing children and young adolescents (M _age = 11;01 years). Results confirmed validity and independence of the two friendship features, and showed that negative friendship features were uniquely associated with symptoms of psychopathology, whereas both positive and negative features were, in opposite directions, uniquely associated with aspects of socioemotional functioning.     

Predicting consumer satisfaction from CD players

This paper explores the relationship between expectations and product satisfaction evaluations in a high‐involvement product category. While doing so, the paper attempts to develop a regression model to predict the overall level of consumer satisfaction derived from CD players, using a number of explanatory variables within an ordinary least squares framework. This regression model links overall satisfaction to confidence in other people's opinions, expectations of product quality, experience with product quality, replacement rate and the importance of price. The model predicts fairly well for cross‐sectional data, with an adjusted R² of 57 per cent, and appears to be robust. Finally, the implications of these results for marketers are discussed. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.