Endocrine markers during a job intervention

An intervention consisting of a thorough examination of the psychological worksite problems and a follow-up with feedback and recommendations was made in four different office worksites. One of the sites («active» group) was more organizational change-oriented than the others («passive» group). The course was followed before, three times during the 3 months of the intervention, and 4 months after the end of it, by means of three endocrine plasma markers: cortisol, prolactin and testosterone. In both study groups the prolactin levels increased in women during the starting phase of the intervention, whereas in men prolactin levels remained stable with a tendency (p=0.06) towards lowered prolactin levels during the end phase of the intervention in the active group. Cortisol levels increased markedly in the passive group and tended to decrease in the active group during the intervention (two-way interaction p=0.003), particularly in men. These findings may be indicative of feelings of uneasiness. Testosterone increased in the active group only, particularly at the beginning of the intervention and particularly in women, and also increased in a non-intervention control group. Testosterone levels are associated with anabolic activity. An increase may be indicative of a «placebo effect» of the intervention. Testosterone changes were still clearly observable after 4 months.     

Maternal narration about parenting pride and regret is related to youth emotion regulation

As they respond to children's emotions, mothers socialize children's emerging emotion regulation. Mothers' own autobiographical narratives likely reflect in part habitual ways of expressing and managing emotions—ways that may in turn influence the way mothers respond to their children's emotions. We examined features of mothers' narratives about parental pride and regret experiences, and assessed whether these were associated with parental socialization of emotion and the emotion regulation repertoire of their children. Two hundred thirty‐seven mothers with children ranging from 8 to 17 years of age provided two narratives about parental pride and parental regret experiences. Parental emotion socialization and children's emotion regulation were assessed via self‐ and informant‐report using a multi‐measure, multi‐observer approach. We found that features of the way mothers narrated their experiences with a particular child related to their parenting of that child, and that child's emotion regulation. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for emotion‐related parenting, and the potential importance of parent narratives.     

THE INTERACTION BETWEEN MARITAL STANDARDS AND COMMUNICATION PATTERNS: HOW DOES IT CONTRIBUTE TO MARITAL ADJUSTMENT?

Couples' cognitions about marriage and their communication patterns have both been found to be highly associated with marital distress. To examine the relationships among marital cognitions, communication, and marital adjustment, we had a sample of 387 community couples complete three self-report measures: the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, the Inventory of Specific Relationship Standards, and the Communication Patterns Questionnaire. Results indicated that the correlation of communication with marital adjustment is higher for women with more relationship-focused standards than for women with less relationship-focused standards; this interaction does not occur for men. The implications of the interaction and the gender difference as well as the importance of teaching communication skills, and working with associated cognitions are discussed.     

Change IS Possible: Reducing High-Risk Drinking Using a Collaborative Improvement Model

Abstract

Objective: To describe the adoption of public health and improvement methodologies to address college students’ high-risk drinking behaviors and to aid in prevention efforts. Participants: Members of 32 colleges and universities, content experts, and staff members of the National College Health Improvement Program (NCHIP). Methods: A 2-year learning collaborative developed by NCHIP trained individuals from 32 different college and universities in using the Plan–Do–Study–Act cycle as a method to create and implement initiatives aimed at reducing students’ high-risk drinking behaviors and related harms. Results: Participants experienced success ranging from noteworthy increases in type and amount of interventions directed at reducing high-risk drinking, to creating collaboratives across campus, the local community, and stakeholders. Challenges related to data collection and creating lasting cultural change remain. Conclusions: The use of quality improvement methodologies and creation of a national collaborative successfully effected meaningful change in high-risk drinking behaviors on college campuses.     

College students,shared decision making,and the appropriate use of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections: A systematic literature review

ABSTRACT

Objective: This systematic review examines shared decision making to promote the appropriate use of antibiotics for college students with respiratory tract infections. Participants/Methods: CINAL, Cochrane, PubMed, EBSCO, and PsycNET were searched in October 2014 using the following criteria: English language, human subjects, peer-reviewed, shared decision making for respiratory tract infections, adult patients or college students, and antibiotic use for respiratory tract infections. Twelve articles were selected for final review. Results: College students and younger, more educated, adults prefer shared decision making. Shared decision making shows promise for decreasing antibiotic use for respiratory tract infections. Education, understanding, and provider-patient communication are important to the shared decision-making process. Conclusions: Shared decision making shows promise to promote the appropriate use of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections in college students and could be considered for future studies.     

‘Hearing the Real Stories about the Issues at Hand’: Politically Active Elders Engage Bachelor in Social Work (BSW) Students in Influencing Social Policy

This article focuses on the successes and challenges experienced by a social work program offering experiential learning opportunities to bachelor in social work (BSW) students. As part of the BSW Experiential Learning (BEL) Program, policy students collaborated with politically active older adults to develop compelling letters to the editor of a newspaper and influential letters to state-level legislators concerning policies impacting older adults. Using a two-year quasi-experimental design, one section of the course paired students with older adults while the other section served as the control group. Although no significant differences were found in influencing student interest in working with older adults, students paired with older adults showed greater confidence in and learning of the content. Lessons learned from this experience and implications for future implementation will be detailed.     

Reported Peer Conflicts of Children in the United States and Indonesia

U.S. and Indonesian 9‐ to 11‐year‐old children (N=147) reported on multiple occasions conflicts that they experienced with peers. The precursors of conflict, behavior during conflict episodes, and resolutions were coded. Teacher ratings of aggression and social preference were obtained. The conflicts of children in both countries most often occurred between friends, were short, amicably settled, and solved without aggression. Indonesian children reported disengaging from conflict more often than did U.S. children, whereas U.S. children more frequently reported using negotiation. Reports of aggression during conflict were associated with U.S. and Indonesian children's teacher‐rated aggression, whereas reports of disengagement were associated with Indonesian children's teacher‐rated social preference and aggression.     

Reports of Conferences,Institutes, and Seminars

Five reports cover the 2009 Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians Conference, the COUNTER and Usage Data webinar, the 2009 Acquisitions Institute at Timberline Lodge, the 2009 North American Serials Interest Group Conference, and selected sessions of the 2009 annual conference of the American Library Association in Chicago, Illinois.     

“And Now I’m Just Different,but There’s Nothing Actually Wrong With Me”: Asexual Marginalization and Resistance

This article explores the relationship between contemporary asexual lives and compulsory sexuality, or the privileging of sexuality and the marginalizing of nonsexuality. Drawing on 30 in-depth interviews, I identify four ways the asexually identified individuals in this study saw themselves as affected by compulsory sexuality: pathologization, isolation, unwanted sex and relationship conflict, and the denial of epistemic authority. I also identify five ways these asexually identified individuals disrupted compulsory sexuality: adopting a language of difference and a capacity to describe asexuality; deemphasizing the importance of sexuality in human life; developing new types of nonsexual relationships; constituting asexuality as a sexual orientation or identity; and engaging in community building and outreach. I argue that some of these practices offer only a limited disruption of compulsory sexuality, but some of these practices pose a radical challenge to sexual norms by calling into question the widespread assumption that sexuality is a necessary part of human flourishing.