Religiosity, Alcohol Use, and Sex Behaviors Among College Student-Athletes

College student-athletes tend to consume more alcohol, engage in sex, and report more sex partners than nonathlete students. The current study examined the relationship between religiosity (e.g., influence of religious beliefs and church attendance) and alcohol use and sex behavior among college student-athletes. Most of the student-athletes (n = 83) were religious. Influence of religious beliefs was a significant predictor of less alcohol use and less sexual activity (i.e., oral and vaginal sex, number of sex partners). However, increased church attendance was not found to be a protective factor. Findings suggest that religious beliefs may contribute to reduction of alcohol use and sexual risk among college student-athletes. Consideration should be given to incorporating religiosity aspects in sexual and alcohol risk-reduction interventions for student-athletes.     

Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Research: Developmental Issues

Describes developmental issues that pose current challenges to the design of treatment outcome investigation with children and adolescents. Normal childhood development and the development of childhood disorders are discussed using the transactional model of development. Challenges in diagnostic decision making, the selection of the most appropriate treatment regimen, and the measurement methods are highlighted. Recognition of the need to study child treatments through long-term follow-up periods underscores the need for resolution of these developmental issues.     

Religiosity and Risky Sexual Behaviors among an African American Church-based Population

African Americans are disproportionately burdened by STDs and HIV in the US. This study examined the relationships between demographics, religiosity, and sexual risk behaviors among 255 adult African American church-based participants. Although participants were highly religious, they reported an average of seven lifetime sex partners and most inconsistently used condoms. Several demographic variables and religiosity significantly predicted lifetime HIV-related risk factors. Taken together, findings indicated that this population is at risk for HIV. Future research should continue to identify correlates of risky sexual behavior among African American parishioners to facilitate the development of HIV risk reduction interventions in their church settings.     

What do Suicide Survivors Tell Us They Need? Results of a Pilot Study

Few studies have examined the natural coping efforts used by suicide survivors, or have identified specific problems and needs survivors experience following the death of a significant other by suicide. In the present study, we used a newly developed needs assessment survey to examine four areas of natural coping efforts: practical, psychological, and social difficulties; formal and informal sources of support; resources utilized in healing; and barriers to finding support since the loss. Sixty-three adult survivors of suicide were recruited from suicide survivor conferences and support groups. Results indicate that participants experienced high levels of psychological distress since the suicide, including elevated symptoms of depression, guilt, anxiety, and trauma. Participants experienced substantial difficulties in the social arena (e.g., talking with others about the suicide). The majority of the sample viewed professional help as beneficial; although many informal sources of support were also valued (e.g., one-to-one contact with other survivors). Depression and a lack of information about where to find help served as barriers to help-seeking behaviors for our participants. Participants who reported higher levels of functional impairment were more likely to report higher levels of psychological distress, social isolation, and barriers to seeking help. Future research with a longitudinal and more inclusive sample is needed to build on these preliminary findings and to provide a solid foundation for evidenced-based interventions with survivors.     

Interventions for suicide survivors: a review of the literature

Mourning after suicide is frequently a difficult experience. Research suggests that suicide survivors may be at elevated risk for several psychiatric and somatic complications. Despite this, very little research has focused on developing and empirically evaluating clinical interventions for this population. This paper attempts to stimulate interest in intervention research by reviewing three relevant areas: (a) studies of the perceived needs of survivors; (b) implications of the research on general bereavement interventions for work with survivors; and (c) research documenting the efficacy of specific interventions for adult survivors. Recommendations for future studies are discussed.     

Eat now,exercise later: The relation between consideration of immediate and future consequences and healthy behavior

In light of the current obesity epidemic, individual choices for food and exercise should be understood better. Consideration of the immediate and future consequences of these choices (i.e., time orientation) can be an important predictor of eating and exercising behavior. The objective was to show that behavior-specific time orientation differentially predicts eating and exercising behavior. Two studies were conducted among students (N = 55) and the general public (N = 165). Participants completed two adapted versions (for food and exercise) of the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFC), each consisting of the subscales CFC-future and CFC-immediate. Thereafter they reported their eating and exercising behavior. Study 1 showed that CFC-food, but not CFC-exercise, predicted eating behavior. Similarly, both studies showed that CFC-exercise, but not CFC-food, predicted exercising behavior. Moreover, eating behavior was predicted by CFC-food/immediate, whereas exercising behavior was predicted by CFC-exercise/future. In conclusion, behavior-specific time orientation predicts behavior within a behavioral domain but less well across behavioral domains. Additionally, consideration of immediate and future consequences differentially predict behavior across behavioral domains. In order to predict behavior, time orientation is measured best at a behavior-specific level.     

Conversing while driving: The importance of visual information for conversation modulation

Multiple studies have shown an increased accident risk due to telephoning while driving. On the other hand, driving with passengers leads to a decreased accident risk. One explanation is a conversation modulation by passengers in cars which leads to a different conversation pattern which is not so detrimental to driving as that when phoning. A driving simulator study was conducted in order to examine this conversation modulation more closely and to find out more about the factors involved in this modulation, especially about the role of visual information available to the passenger. In a within-subject design the conversational patterns of 33 drivers and passengers in different in-car settings (passenger as usual, passenger without front view or passenger without view of the driver) were compared to a hands-free cell phone and to a hands-free cell phone with additional visual information either about the driving situation or the driver. Participants were instructed to have a naturalistic small-talk with a friend. Results of the drivers’ speaking behavior showed a reduction of speaking while driving. Compared to a conversation partner on the cell phone, a passenger in the car varies his speaking rhythm by speaking more often but shorter. Further analyses showed that this effect is also found with a cell phone when providing the conversation partner additional visual information either about the driving situation or the driver. This latter finding supports the idea that conversation modulation is not triggered by being in the car but by the visual information about the driver’s state and the driving situation.     

Using empowerment theory in collaborative partnerships for community health and development

Models of community empowerment help us understand the process of gaining influence over conditions that matter to people who share neighborhoods, workplaces, experiences, or concerns. Such frameworks can help improve collaborative partnerships for community health and development. First, we outline an interactive model of community empowerment that describes reciprocal influences between personal or group factors and environmental factors in an empowerment process. Second, we describe an iterative framework for the process of empowerment in community partnerships that includes collaborative planning, community action, community change, capacity building, and outcomes, and adaptation, renewal, and institutionalization. Third, we outline activities that are used by community leadership and support organizations to facilitate the process of community empowerment. Fourth, we present case stories of collaborative partnerships for prevention of substance abuse among adolescents to illustrate selected enabling activities. We conclude with a discussion of the challenges and opportunities of facilitating empowerment with collaborative partnerships for community health and development. This work was supported by Kansas Health Foundation Grants 9206032B and 9206032A to support and evaluate community partnerships to prevent adolescent substance abuse. Thanks to Tom Wolff for sharing his wisdom about community coalitions so generously, and to Bill Berkowitz and anonymous reviewers for thoughtful comments on an earlier version of this manuscrpt. We also thank our colleagues from the Kansas Health Foundation, Mary K. Campuzano, Steve Coen, and Marni Vliet, and those from collaborating communities, who continue to teach us about ways to enhance community capacities to address local concerns.     

Real-world inpatient programs: Shedding some light-A critique

This critique is a response to an article by Morisse, Batra, Hess, Silverman, and Corrigan (1996), in which “a token economy for the real world” is promulgated as an alternative to the comprehensive social-learning program and assessment technology presented by Paul and Lentz (1977). The article misrepresents the treatment-and-assessment procedures that have been empirically validated as the most effective and cost-efficient for inpatient programs. The article also inappropriately cites the results of prior reports as support for an oversimplified approach to the development and implementation of inpatient programs. The promoted approach is in direct opposition to the widely recognized need for empirically validated interventions and evaluations in mental health services. Not only are data lacking to support assertions of effectiveness for the resulting program but illustrative examples demonstrate technically unsound procedures as well as an ethically questionable emphasis on staff desires to the exclusion of patient needs. We attempt to correct Morisse et al.'s inaccuracies and misconceptions regarding the work of Paul and colleagues, note the major problems with their perfunctory approach, and provide recommendations for implementation and maintenance of empirically validated procedures for inpatients.