Psychotherapy Integration: Contributions from Lifestyle Theory

The lifestyle theory of intervention is evaluated with respect to its status as an integrated psychotherapy using theoretical integration, technical eclecticism, and the common factors approach as criteria. Because lifestyle theory integrates concepts from evolutionary biology, existential philosophy, cognitive psychology, social learning theory, and various therapeutic models it satisfies preliminary criteria for theoretical integration. To the extent that it provides an internally consistent model and makes use of techniques from disparate schools of psychotherapy, it adopts a technical eclectic approach to intervention. The lifestyle model also appears to qualify as an integrated psychotherapy by virtue of its attention to several common factors in psychotherapy.     

Harnessing the Power of a Novel Program for Dynamic Balance Perturbation with Supported Body Weight

Abstract

Self-initiated postural adjustments commonly occur in daily life. To accessibly measure this type of dynamic balance, we developed a simple computer program to induce virtual perturbations and combined it with a commercially available balance board and portable EMG system to measure resulting self-initiated postural adjustments. When performing perturbed balance tests, safety harness with body weight support (BWS) is often used. However, influences of these harnesses on postural reactions are not well known. This study investigated the sensitivity of our assessment tool under different BWS conditions and muscle responses during postural adjustments following perturbation at different directions. Fifteen neurologically intact participants performed self-initiated postural adjustments under conditions with: (1) no harness; (2) harness with no BWS; and (3) harness with 10% BWS. Postural adjustment time and muscle activities of the lower leg were measured. We observed significant increases in postural adjustment time in the harness with no BWS condition and differneces in lower leg muscles response to virtual perturbation. Our findings suggest that the combination of our customized program with EMG is a sensitive and convenient tool to measure postural adjustments that approximate real-world scenarios. This method can be used with light body weight support to ensure safety without influencing muscle synergies.     

The development of children's rule use on the balance scale task

Cognitive development can be characterized by a sequence of increasingly complex rules or strategies for solving problems. Our work focuses on the development of children's proportional reasoning, assessed by the balance scale task using Siegler's (1976, 1981) rule assessment methodology. We studied whether children use rules, whether children of different ages use qualitatively different rules, and whether rules are used consistently. Nonverbal balance scale problems were administered to 805 participants between 5 and 19 years of age. Latent class analyses indicate that children use rules, that children of different ages use different rules, and that both consistent and inconsistent use of rules occurs. A model for the development of reasoning about the balance scale task is proposed. The model is a restricted form of the overlapping waves model (Siegler, 1996) and predicts both discontinuous and gradual transitions between rules.     

Applying the concept of lifestyle in association with aggression and violence in Greek cohabitating couples

The current study investigated the role of lifestyle as a significant factor related to the aggression and violence between cohabitating partners. Based on previous research, lifestyle was defined as a special reflection of socialization into society and working life, where different lifestyles should also be able to produce different patterns of socialization into people's roles as partners. It was found that gender and years of cohabitating were significantly related to Emotional aggression and Sexual violence; lifestyle patterns were associated with specific forms of violence. More specifically, the lifestyles of Pleasure & Elegance and the one of Culture-Intellectualism were found to promote Emotional aggression. Also, the lifestyle of Yuppies/Workaholic and that of Physical activities stimulated the appearance of Sexual violence between partners. Moreover, individuals with Tradition-Religiousness lifestyle were more likely to show lower levels of Physical & Sexual violence while the adherents of the Substance abuse lifestyle pattern appeared to have an inclination towards Physical & Sexual Violence. Finally, the occurrence of one form of violent behaviour was likely to be related to the other forms of violent behaviour.     

细胞周期相关因子cdt1和geminin的平衡

cdt1和geminin是重要的细胞周期相关因子,参与细胞周期的调控cdt1与某些疾病的发生有着密切的关系,geminin是cdt1的抑制因子,他们间的平衡对DNA复制;;基因稳定以及细胞周期的调控起着重要的作用,并已经在一些感染性疾病和肿瘤中证实     

Outcomes of work–life balance on job satisfaction,life satisfaction and mental health: A study across seven cultures

This study investigates the effects of work–life balance (WLB) on several individual outcomes across cultures. Using a sample of 1416 employees from seven distinct populations – Malaysian, Chinese, New Zealand Maori, New Zealand European, Spanish, French, and Italian – SEM analysis showed that WLB was positively related to job and life satisfaction and negatively related to anxiety and depression across the seven cultures. Individualism/collectivism and gender egalitarianism moderated these relationships. High levels of WLB were more positively associated with job and life satisfaction for individuals in individualistic cultures, compared with individuals in collectivistic cultures. High levels of WLB were more positively associated with job and life satisfaction and more negatively associated with anxiety for individuals in gender egalitarian cultures. Overall, we find strong support for WLB being beneficial for employees from various cultures and for culture as a moderator of these relationships.     

Coping with occupational uncertainty and formal volunteering across the life span

Common wisdom suggests that individuals confronted with occupational uncertainty (e.g., job insecurity and difficulties with career planning) may withdraw from volunteering. We argue that volunteering may be useful to workers in some career stages and that stage-appropriate coping with occupational uncertainty may increase individuals' readiness to volunteer. In Study 1, we used cross-sectional and 1-year follow-up data from Germany that covered three age groups: 16–29 (N_T1 = 1253, N_T2 = 224), 30–43 (N_T1 = 1560, N_T2 = 371), and 56–75 (N_T1 = 518, N_T2 = 215). High engagement and low disengagement in coping with occupational uncertainty were associated with concurrent volunteering in the youngest group but not in the other groups. Over 1 year, high disengagement reduced the likelihood of starting volunteering in the youngest group and increased this likelihood in the oldest group. Study 2 used an independent, cross-sectional German sample that included two age groups: 20–29 (N = 326) and 30–40 (N = 367). Using a different measure of volunteering, Study 2 partly replicated the cross-sectional findings from Study 1. Results suggest that individual agency is a decisive link between occupational uncertainty and the readiness to volunteer, particularly among young labor market entrants.     

Efficacy of neurostimulation to treat symptoms of Mal de Debarquement Syndrome. A preliminary study using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation

Mal de debarquement syndrome (MdDS) is a rare and poorly understood condition of perceived continual motion. Using a multiple‐case design (n = 13; 8 f; 63.5 ± 12.6 years), this study investigated the efficacy of eight 20‐min sessions, over 4 weeks, of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the dorsolateral pre‐frontal cortex. Compared to sham, rTMS demonstrated improvement in balance and confidence in daily living activities. rTMS shows promise for the treatment of MdDS. However, larger trials with longer intervention periods are required.     

Load release balance test under unstable conditions effectively discriminates between physically active and sedentary young adults

This study investigates test-retest reliability and diagnostic accuracy of the load release balance test under four varied conditions. Young, early and late middle-aged physically active and sedentary subjects performed the test over 2 testing sessions spaced 1 week apart while standing on either (1) a stable or (2) an unstable surface with (3) eyes open (EO) and (4) eyes closed (EC), respectively. Results identified that test-retest reliability of parameters of the load release balance test was good to excellent, with high values of ICC (0.78–0.92) and low SEM (7.1%–10.7%). The peak and the time to peak posterior center of pressure (CoP) displacement were significantly lower in physically active as compared to sedentary young adults (21.6% and 21.0%) and early middle-aged adults (22.0% and 20.9%) while standing on a foam surface with EO, and in late middle-aged adults on both unstable (25.6% and 24.5%) and stable support surfaces with EO (20.4% and 20.0%). The area under the ROC curve >0.80 for these variables indicates good discriminatory accuracy. Thus, these variables of the load release balance test measured under unstable conditions have the ability to differentiate between groups of physically active and sedentary adults as early as from 19 years of age.