Resilience is associated with better recovery in Chinese people diagnosed with coronary heart disease

This study investigated the impact of personal resilience (a composite measure of optimism, perceived control and self-esteem) on outcome measures in 67 Chinese coronary heart disease patients in response to an 8-week rehabilitation programme. The effect of personal resilience on posttraumatic growth attributed to the onset of heart disease was also examined. Results indicated that coronary heart disease patients high in personal resilience achieved better outcomes than those low in personal resilience, as indicated by higher physical and mental summary measures in SF-36, lower cholesterol levels and better performance on the 6?min walk test. Moreover, personal resilience was demonstrated to be a significant predictor of the level of posttraumatic growth although the rehabilitation programme exerted a weak mediating effect on the link between personal resilience and posttraumatic growth. Findings were discussed in relation to clinical implications of the construct of personal resilience and the intervention programme.     

Perceptions of treatment control moderate the daily association between negative affect and diabetes problems among adolescents with type 1 diabetes

Perceived control over diabetes may serve to buffer the relationship between adolescents’ experience of daily negative affect and daily problems with diabetes. In a daily diary study including 209 adolescents (ages 10.5–15.5) with type 1 diabetes, we examined how daily affect related to daily fluctuations in experience of diabetes problems, and whether perceptions of control moderated these daily associations. Using hierarchical linear modelling, we found that day-to-day experiences of negative affect were associated with more frequent daily diabetes problems. Perceptions of treatment control moderated associations between negative affect and number of problems; negative affect was more strongly associated with number of problems among teens perceiving lower versus higher treatment control over their illness. The same pattern of association was not apparent for personal control. Results suggest that perceived treatment control may help to buffer detrimental associations between negative affect and adolescents’ ability to successfully manage their diabetes.     

个体和群体歧视知觉对流动儿童主观幸福感的影响

采用整班联系、自愿参加的方式,通过匿名方式对北京市1552名流动儿童施测个体和群体歧视知觉问卷、积极/消极情感量表、生活满意度量表、内群体认同测验与群体地位感测验,探讨个体和群体歧视知觉对流动儿童主观幸福感的影响及内群体认同感和群体地位感在其中的中介作用。结果表明：（1）个体和群体歧视知觉与流动儿童的主观幸福感、内群体情感认同及群体地位感之间存在显著性相关,与内群体认知认同之间相关不显著。（2）个体歧视知觉对流动儿童的主观幸福感存在直接显著的负向预测作用,并通过降低流动儿童的群体地位感,进而间接地负向影响流动儿童的主观幸福感;（3）群体歧视知觉对流动儿童的主观幸福感也存在直接显著的消极影响,并同时借助于群体地位感的中介作用、以及内群体情感认同和群体地位感的双重中介作用间接地降低流动儿童的主观幸福感。     

Resilience as the ability to bounce back from stress: A neglected personal resource?

The purpose of this study was to examine resilience, as the ability to bounce back from stress, in predicting health-related measures when controlling for other positive characteristics and resources. We assessed resilience, optimism, social support, mood clarity, spirituality, purpose in life, and health-related measures in two large undergraduate samples. In Study 1, resilience was related to both health-related measures (less negative affect and more positive affect) when controlling for demographics and other positive characteristics. In Study 2, resilience was related to all four health-related measures (less negative affect, more positive affect, less physical symptoms, and less perceived stress) when controlling for the other variables. None of the other positive characteristics were related to more than three of the six possible health-related measures when controlling for the other variables. Resilience, as the ability to bounce back, may be an important personal resource to examine in future studies and target in interventions.     

Character Strengths and Deep Connections Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Spiritual and Secular Pathways to Resistance Among Volunteers

This study investigated a conceptual model with two pathways, altruism and perceived spiritual support, leading to resilience among student volunteers following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (H‐KR). Both strengths share the sense of deep connections. Parallel pathways with the two major constructs were estimated using structural equation modeling, adjusting for demographics and peritraumatic emotional reactions. The two indicators may have served as a protective mechanism for all volunteers despite differing racial/cultural backgrounds. The potential protection of these strength factors was mediated through optimism and hope. Resilience among minority volunteers was associated more with faith‐related strengths, as indicated in the relevant pathway that also contributed to their altruistic actions. The resilience of white volunteers, however, was directly associated with altruism, a strength that does depend heavily on religious beliefs. Further, the modification index suggested a direct path from race to depression.     

Internal Forces During Static Prehension: Effects of Age and Grasp Configuration

The authors studied effects of healthy aging on 3 components of the internal force vector during static prehensile tasks. Young and older subjects held an instrumented handle using a 5-digit prismatic grasp under different digit configurations and external torques. Across digit configurations, older subjects showed larger internal normal (grip) and tangential (load-resisting) digit force components and larger internal moment of force. In contrast to earlier reports, safety margin values were not higher in the older subjects. The results show that the increased grip force in older persons is a specific example of a more general age-related problem reflected in the generation of large internal force vectors in prehensile tasks. It is possible that the higher internal forces increase the apparent stiffness of the hand+handle system and, hence, contribute to its stability. This strategy, however, may be maladaptive, energetically wasteful, and inefficient in ensuring safety of hand-held objects.     

Adapting to Context in Community-Based Participatory Research: “Participatory Starting Points” in a Chinese Immigrant Worker Community

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is increasingly being used to better understand and improve the health of diverse communities. A key strength of this research orientation is its adaptability to community contexts and characteristics. To date, however, few studies explicitly discuss adaptations made to CBPR principles and processes in response to community context and partners’ needs. Using data from our CBPR study, the San Francisco Chinatown Restaurant Worker Health and Safety Project, and drawing from literature on immigrant political incorporation, we examine the links between the contexts of the Chinese immigrant worker community, adaptations made by our collaborative, and study outcomes. In particular, we explore the concepts of contexts of reception and participatory starting points, which may be especially relevant for partnerships with immigrant communities whose members have historically had lower rates of civic and political participation in the US. We discuss contextual findings such as worker partner accounts of language barriers, economic and social marginalization, and civic skills and participation, as well as subsequent adaptations made by the partnership. We also describe the relative effectiveness of these adaptations in yielding equitable participation and building partners’ capacity. We conclude by sharing lessons learned and their implications for CBPR and partnerships with immigrant communities more broadly.     

Slowing Down the Clock: A Review of Experimental Studies Investigating Psychological Time Dilation

A review of 24 experiments investigated the factors that produce a subjective time dilation. The aim of this review was to investigate the magnitude of the obtained time dilation. The mean time duration judgment ratio of subjective time to objective time for the selected studies was 1.31, SD = .24. The analyses revealed that experimental studies investigating subjective time dilation tend to obtain small to moderate time dilation and that several factors can be manipulated in order to make a specific time interval appear longer than it is. Highlighting the factors that lead to a subjective time dilation has both research implications, by pointing to the underlying cognitive mechanisms of time perception, and practical implications, by indicating the factors that can be manipulated in order to control how we perceive time.     

Truth,Ramsification, and the Pluralist's Revenge

Functionalists about truth employ Ramsification to produce an implicit definition of the theoretical term true, but doing so requires determining that the theory introducing that term is itself true. A variety of putative dissolutions to this problem of epistemic circularity are shown to be unsatisfactory. One solution is offered on functionalists' behalf, though it has the upshot that they must tread on their anti-pluralist commitments.