Crimes and Punishments

Every criminal act ought to be matched by a corresponding punishment, or so we may suppose, and every punishment ought to reflect a criminal act. We know how to count punishments. But how do we count crimes? In particular, how does our notion of a criminal action depend on whether the prohibited action is an activity, an accomplishment, an achievement, or a state?     

Go Figure? Body-Shape Motives are Associated with Decreased Physical Activity Participation Among Midlife Women

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between midlife women's physical activity motives and their participation in physical activity. Cross-sectional qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 59 midlife women, most of whom were well-educated European-Americans (mean age = 45.6 years). Body-shape physical activity motives (i.e., motives related to toning, shaping, and weight loss) were compared with all other types of physical activity motives combined. Participants with body-shape motives were significantly less physically active than those with non-body-shape motives (p<.01). Negative affect toward physical activity was negatively associated with participation, but did not mediate the effect of physical activity motives on participation. Body Mass Index (BMI) was not related to physical activity motives or participation. Results suggest that body-shape motives might be associated with less physical activity participation than non-body-shape motives among midlife women.     

子宫及卵巢切除术对女性内分泌和性功能的影响

子宫与卵巢是女性性器官,具有多种内分泌功能,产生许多生物活性物质调节机体内分泌系统,二者保持平衡状态可使机体内分泌稳定,性功能正常。因良性疾病切除子宫后,卵巢血供受损,功能下降,可发生卵巢功能早衰,更年期症状提前出现;因病需要同时切除卵巢者,可使更年期症状加重,影响女性内分泌及性功能并可增加心血管系统疾病和骨质疏松症的发病率。因此建议在外科手术时应严格掌握子宫及卵巢切除的适应证,尽量减少不必要的损伤给女性带来的不良后果。     

青春期性心理健康的初步研究

在文献综述、开放式问卷调查和个别访谈的基础上,提出了青春期性心理健康的理论构想,自编了“青春期性心理健康量表”。约1,600名青少年学生接受了测试。研究表明,该量表具有良好的信度和效度,青春期性心理健康体现在性认知(生理知识、性知识)、性价值观(性观念、性态度)和性适应(社会适应、性控制力、自身适应)等三个方面。     

听障学生与正常学生性别角色识别的比较研究

本研究采用内隐联想测验(IAT),对听障学生和正常学生进行了性别角色识别的比较研究,旨在探究性别角色识别的内隐认知特点及群体差异性。实验表明,听障学生的相容辨别和不相容辨别的反应时都显著高于正常学生,而准确率都低于正常学生,这说明听障学生性别角色识别的认知发展滞后于正常学生。本文认为,性别角色识别是一种内隐社会认知,是各类学生性意识发展的认知基础,教育者应通过各种有效途径,保证各类学生从小时候起就正确地进行性别角色的识别和扮演,以促进其性心理和性道德健康地发展。     

Motor activity and spatial proximity: Relationships to infant emotions and maternal postpartum depression

The ability to express emotions is a protective factor for infant development. Despite the multimodal nature of emotion expression, research has mainly focused on facial expressions of emotions. The present study examined motor activity and spatial proximity in relation to positive and negative infant facial expressions and maternal postpartum depression during face-to-face interactions at four months. Video cameras and a motion capture system recorded mother-infant interactions. Repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted to analyze the effect of micro-coded infant positive and negative facial affect and maternal depression diagnosis on automatically extracted measures of motor activity and spatial proximity, including speed of mothers’ arm movements (nondepressed = 32; PPD = 16), and infants’ arm movements (nondepressed = 29; PPD = 17), and head distance (nondepressed = 45; PPD = 27). Results showed that the speed of infants’ arm movements and head distance were greater during negative compared to positive infant affect. Further, the results demonstrated that the speed of PPD mothers’ arm movements was slower than the speed of nondepressed mothers’ arm movements. In the discussion, it is suggested that increased speed of infant arm movements during negative affect functions to elicit faster caregiving responses, and that increased head distance during negative infant affect functions to decrease the intensity of the interaction. Finally, the slower speed of arm movements in PPD mothers suggests psychomotor retardation, which is proposed to limit these mothers’ abilities to engage their infants during the interaction.     

DNA methylation of NR3c1 in infancy: Associations between maternal caregiving and infant sex

Caregivers play a critical role in scaffolding infant stress reactivity and regulation, but the mechanisms by which this scaffolding occurs is unclear. Animal models strongly suggest that epigenetic processes, such as DNA methylation, are sensitive to caregiving behaviors and, in turn, offspring stress reactivity. We examined the direct effects of caregiving behaviors on DNA methylation in infants and infant stress reactivity. Infants and mothers (N = 128) were assessed during a free play when infants were 5 months old. Maternal responsiveness and appropriate touch were coded. and infant buccal epithelial cells were sampled to assess for DNA methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene, NR3c1 exon 1F. Infant cortisol reactivity was assessed in response to the still-face paradigm. Greater levels of maternal responsiveness and appropriate touch were related to less DNA methylation of specific regions in NR3c1 exon 1F, but only for females. There was no association with maternal responsiveness and appropriate touch or DNA methylation of NR3c1 exon 1F on prestress cortisol or cortisol reactivity. Our results are discussed in relation to programming models that implicate maternal care as an important factor in programing infant stress reactivity.     

Force irradiation effect of kinesiotaping on contralateral muscle activation

We aimed to determine the force irradiation effect of kinesiotaping (KT) on contralateral muscle activity during unilateral muscle contraction. Forty healthy (26 females, 14 males) subjects were divided into two groups: KT and control groups. KT was applied on the biceps brachii at the contralateral limb (non-dominant limb) in the KT group, whereas no taping was applied to the control group. All participants performed unilateral isometric, concentric, and eccentric contractions with their dominant upper limbs (exercised limb) by means of an isokinetic dynamometer, while the contralateral limb was in the resting condition, neutral position, and motionless during the testing procedure. During the exercise, contralateral biceps brachii muscle activity was recorded by surface electromyography (EMG). To quantify the muscle activation, EMG signals were expressed as a percentage of the maximal isometric voluntary contraction, which is referred to as %EMG_max. The KT group showed significantly higher %EMG_max in the biceps brachii compared to the control group at the contralateral limb during the isometric, concentric, and eccentric contractions (p = 0.035, p = 0.046, and p = 0.002, respectively) The median values of the contralateral muscle activity were 2.74 %EMG_max and 6.62 %EMG_max during the isometric contraction for the control and KT groups, respectively (p = 0.035). During the concentric contraction, the median values of the contralateral muscle activity were 1.61 %EMG_max and 9.39 %EMG_max for the control and KT groups, respectively (p = 0.046). The median values of the contralateral muscle activity were 4.49 %EMG_max and 22.89 %EMG_max for the eccentric contraction for the control and KT groups, respectively (p = 0.002). In conclusion, KT application on the contralateral limb increased the contralateral muscle activation in the biceps brachii during the unilateral isometric, concentric, and eccentric contractions.     

Microaggressions and Sexual Risk Behaviors in Black College Women: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

The study examined the association between microaggressions and sexual risk behaviors, the mediating role of anxiety, and the moderation of this mediation by bicultural self‐efficacy. One hundred twenty‐six Black college women (mean age = 20.63) completed a survey. A moderated mediation analysis showed that anxiety partially mediated the relationship between microaggressions and sexual risk behaviors and that bicultural self‐efficacy did not significantly moderate the indirect relationship. Findings indicate the importance of microaggressions in psychological and physical health. El estudio examinó la asociación entre microagresiones y comportamientos sexuales de riesgo, el papel mediador de la ansiedad y la moderación de esta mediación la autoeficacia bicultural. Ciento veintiséis mujeres negras universitarias (media de edad = 20.63) completaron una encuesta. Un análisis de mediación moderada mostró que la ansiedad medió parcialmente la relación entre microagresiones y comportamientos sexuales de riesgo, y que la autoeficacia bicultural no moderó la relación indirecta de forma significativa. Los hallazgos indican la importancia de las microagresiones en la salud física y psicológica.     

Survivors' Stories: Navigating Parenthood After Surviving Child Sexual Abuse

Survivors of child sexual abuse may have strained relational functioning in adulthood, which may affect their parenting practices. Understanding that stories indicate personal meanings attributed to a phenomenon, the authors utilized narratology to learn the parenting stories of 9 survivors. Findings include the following themes: negotiating a balance of protecting and letting go, using relational images as guideposts for parenting decisions, and exploring functioning in relational contexts.