Anxiety across the transition to parenthood: change trajectories among low-risk parents

Background and Objectives: A number of sources suggest changes in anxiety across the transition to parenthood may be experienced by parents in different ways, yet no studies have examined whether new parents experience changes in anxiety in distinct subgroups. Design: We conducted a longitudinal study of 208 first-time parents (104 couples) from a low-risk population. Parents were interviewed from the third trimester of pregnancy to nine-months postpartum. Methods: The current study utilized latent class growth analysis to explore subgroups of change in symptoms of anxiety. Based on stress and coping theory, we also examined a number of personal and social prenatal predictors of subgroup membership. Results: We identified two distinct change trajectories: (1) moderate and stable and (2) low and declining. We also found prenatal depression, expected parenting efficacy, and relationship satisfaction were significantly associated with subgroup membership. Conclusions: Our results suggest a majority of new parents adjust well to parenthood in terms of anxiety, while a smaller subgroup of parents experience continually higher levels of anxiety months after the baby is born.     

An inquiry into the emotional impact of sight loss and the counselling experiences and needs of blind and partially sighted people

Background: The link between sight loss and depression is well documented. The UK Vision Strategy seeks to bring the emotional impact of sight loss into public awareness and improve access to emotional support for visually impaired people. However, dedicated counselling services for visually impaired people remain scarce, and research into the effectiveness of psychological interventions is predominantly anecdotal rather than evidence based. Aim: To explore the emotional impact of sight loss in four core areas (mood, self concept, social connectedness and loss), and to explore the counselling experiences and needs of blind and partially sighted adults. Method: Data were collected using the mental health and social functioning sub-scales of the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire-25 and semi-structured interviews transcribed and analysed using grounded theory. Results: Participants with a serious eye condition shared a common transition from sight to blindness, starting with diagnosis, coping with deterioration of sight, experiencing loss in different areas of life, experiencing changed perceptions of self in relation to society, experiencing others in a changed way and experiencing rehabilitation. A theoretical model describing the transition from sight to blindness is proposed. Participants reported negative perceptions of counselling and a lack of counselling opportunities in relation to their sight loss. Implications: The implications for policy and practice are discussed, particularly the need for counselling after diagnosis of visual impairment and the specific challenges facing those who deliver counselling to blind and partially sighted clients.     

The Inter-Life project: researching the potential of art,design and virtual worlds as a vehicle for assisting young people with key life changes and transitions

ABSTRACT

Careers work in the twenty-first century faces a key challenge in terms of digital technologies: to evaluate their potential for careers work in challenging settings. Given the rapidity of developments, technologies require evaluation in research innovations and naturalistic settings. Virtual worlds offer potential for careers and guidance work, and the therapeutic domain. To illustrate this, we present examples in which young people explore their feelings and ideas, plans and difficulties, while preparing for film-making. During this they develop important life transition skills. We argue that the power of virtual worlds – to support emotional and cognitive engagement – could be utilised in practice settings. We conclude that they are serious candidates as digital tools in the careers and guidance domain.     

Effect of sample size on ductility of metallic glass

With decreasing sample dimension, the compressive plastic strain of a Zr-based metallic glass increases from near zero to as high as 80% without failure. This indicates that macroscopically brittle or ductile deformation behaviour can occur in chemically and structurally identical metallic glass. A concept of critical shear offset is proposed to explain the strong size effect on the enhanced plasticity of metallic glass by taking the shear fracture energy density into account. This finding provides new understanding on the principle that for metallic glass ‘smaller is more ductile’, even on the macroscopic scale.     

Enhanced plastic deformation in a metallic glass induced by notches

It is shown that the compressive plasticity of a metallic glass, namely Zr_52.5Ni_14.6Al₁₀Cu_17.9Ti₅, can be improved by the introduction of two symmetrical notches. The enhanced plasticity may be ascribed to a blocking effect of the propagation of shear bands caused by large stress gradients around the notches. In contrast to ceramic specimens with similar notches, the plasticity enhancement of metallic glass induced by notches can provide a new approach to understanding its unique mechanism of deformation.     

Ductility enhancement in nanoglass: role of interaction stress between flow defects

Using a thermodynamically consistent non-local plasticity model, the mechanistic origin of enhancement in ductility and suppression of dominant shear banding in nanoglasses (NGs) is analysed. It is revealed that the interaction stress between flow defects plays a central role in promoting global plasticity of NGs. Specifically, we find that the intrinsic length associated with this stress provides a scaling for the shear band width and its coupling with grain size governs the level of enhancement in the deformation behaviour of NGs. The present work may provide useful insights in developing highly ductile NGs for practical engineering applications.     

A comparative study of Sr-doped LaMnO3 synthesised via solid-state reaction and sol–gel methods

ABSTRACT

This work deals with the synthesis of hole-doped La_1-xSr_xMnO₃ (x?=?0.25 and 0.33) perovskite via two different ways, namely a solid-state reaction method and a sol–gel process. Various properties of the samples have been investigated and compared by means of different techniques, namely X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-dependent resistivity measurements in the temperature range 25–300?K using a closed cycle refrigerator and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). All samples have orthorhombic crystal symmetry and an irregular variation in unit-cell volume with increase in Sr content. The average crystallite size was determined from the XRD data and found to lie in the range 19–22?nm. Metal–insulator transitions (MIT) were observed in all the samples via low-temperature electrical characterisations. The magnetic measurements confirm that the magnetisation does not saturate for the 25% Sr doped samples up to the available field of 10?kOe. The magnetic response also supports the interpretation of XRD and resistivity data. The obtained results are explained on the basis of double-exchange and super-exchange mechanisms.     

Fluctuation-driven first-order crystal to rotator phase transition

This article develops renormalization-group techniques to analyze the phase transition between the crystal and the rotator-V (Rv), phase in n-alkanes. An explicit free energy is constructed and it is verified that the unstable fixed point corresponds to a fluctuation-driven first-order crystal to Rv phase transition. Available experimental data are consistent with our model.     

Stages of change in fruit intake: A longitudinal examination of stability,stage transitions and transition profiles

The present study examined stability and transitions in Transtheoretical stages of change for fruit intake in an adult cohort of 735 individuals not exposed to a planned intervention. Six assessments took place within a four-month period with varying time intervals using electronic questionnaires, measuring fruit intake, stage of change and demographic characteristics. Precontemplation and maintenance were the most stable stages of change, while preparation was the least stable. Longer time intervals showed lower stability, but frequent stage transitions also occurred in shorter time intervals. Seven transition profiles were distinguished. Sequences within transition profiles mostly showed stage transitions to adjacent stages, independent of the interval duration. Differences in fruit intake, age, level of education and ethnicity were found between different transition profiles. Stability rates and most transition sequences largely support the Transtheoretical Model. Results indicating potential deviations from the model, e.g. short-term stage instability and stage transition profiles not in accordance with the Transtheoretical Model are discussed.