Dignity in dementia: Person-centered care in community

Drawing on Kitwood's [Ageing Soc. 13 (1993) 51] theory of person-centered care and the interpersonal process of caregiving, this article offers an alternative to the image of the family caregiver as victim through an exploration of the lived experience of caring for a person with dementia in community. Extending care beyond coping, the act of giving care is promoted as a worthy activity and reciprocal social opportunity. Three nonfamily caregiver “portraits” are offered in an arts-informed representational form. The relational processes of caregiving are explored from the vantage point of personal experience and theoretical knowledge. Dignity emerges as the resonant quality, essential value, and guiding principle in an ethic of dementia care. Implications about the direction of research about care and caregiving and research accessibility and usefulness are explored.     

Urbanization and warming of Phoenix (Arizona,USA): Impacts,feedbacks and mitigation

This paper examines the impacts, feedbacks, and mitigation of the urban heat island in Phoenix, Arizona (USA). At Sky Harbor Airport, urbanization has increased the nighttime minimum temperature by 5°C and the average daily temperatures by 3.1°C. Urban warming has increased the number of misery hours per day for humans, which may have important social consequences. Other impacts include (1) increased energy consumption for heating and cooling of buildings, (2) increased heat stress (but decreased cold stress) for plants, (3) reduced quality of cotton fiber and reduced dairy production on the urban fringe, and (4) a broadening of the seasonal thermal window for arthropods. Climate feedback loops associated with evapotranspiration, energy production and consumption associated with increased air conditioning demand, and land conversion are discussed. Urban planning and design policy could be redesigned to mitigate urban warming, and several cities in the region are incorporating concerns regarding urban warming into planning codes and practices. The issue is timely and important, because most of the world's human population growth over the next 30 years will occur in cities in warm climates.     

Problematic emotions and maternal grief

The study was an empirical examination of the relation of personality proneness to "problematic social emotions"--envy (Dispositional Envy Scale), jealousy (Interpersonal Jealousy Scale), and shame and guilt (Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2)--to maternal grief (Perinatal Grief Scale-33) following miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, or infant/child death. The 441 women who participated in the study were enrolled from the Website, e-mail contact lists, and parent support groups of an organization that offers information and support to bereaved parents. All four problematic emotions were positively correlated with maternal grief. Envy, jealousy, and guilt made significant unique contributions to the variance in maternal grief. Overall, time lapse since the loss and the four problematic emotion predispositions explained 43% of the variance in maternal grief following child bereavement.     

Effects of support groups on post traumatic stress responses in women experiencing stillbirth

This research study explores the effects of support groups on traumatic stress responses of women experiencing stillbirth. Women (N = 47) responded to a mixed method questionnaire. Quantitative results utilizing the Impact of Event Scale Revised demonstrate that women who attend support group, when controlling for time, had fewer post traumatic stress symptoms than did the women who did not attend support group. Qualitative results elucidate the role of support groups in managing grief, suggesting that connectivity with other like women may be a useful strategy in reducing problematic psychological outcomes.     

A Review of Current Ambulatory Assessment Studies in Adolescent Samples and Practical Recommendations

The use of ambulatory assessment (AA) and related methods (experience sampling, ecological momentary assessment) has greatly increased within the field of adolescent psychology. In this guide, we describe important practices for conducting AA studies in adolescent samples. To better understand how researchers have been implementing AA study designs, we present a review of 23 AA studies that were conducted in adolescent samples from 2017. Results suggest that there is heterogeneity in how AA studies in youth are conducted and reported. Based on these insights, we provide recommendations with regard to participant recruitment, sampling scheme, item selection, power analysis, and software choice. Further, we provide a checklist for reporting on AA studies in adolescent samples that can be used as a guideline for future studies.     

Beliefs About Gambling Problems and Recovery: Results from a General Population Telephone Survey

Respondents were asked their beliefs about gambling abuse as part of a general population telephone survey. The random digit dialing survey consisted of 8,467 interviews of adults, 18 years and older, from Ontario, Canada (45% male; mean age = 46.2). The predominant conception of gambling abuse was that of an addiction, similar to drug addiction. More than half of respondents reported that treatment was necessary and almost three-quarters of respondents felt that problem gamblers would have to give up gambling completely in order to overcome their gambling problem. Problem gamblers (past or current) were less likely than non- or social gamblers to believe that treatment was needed, and current problem gamblers were least likely to believe that abstinence was required, as compared to all other respondents. Strong agreement with conceptions of gambling abuse as disease or addiction were positively associated with belief that treatment is needed, while strong agreement with conceptions of disease or wrongdoing were positively associated with belief that abstinence is required.     

Successful aging: choosing wisdom over despair

This article defines wisdom and despair as choices for cognitively intact older adults. Some individuals are able to integrate the conditions of old age while others respond in ways that inhibit effective integration. The conscious aging theory, as well as Erikson's developmental theory regarding achievement of integrity/wisdom, provides a theoretical basis for exploration of this topic. Constructs of personality, including self-concept, self-acceptance, destiny control, interiority, rigidity, and flexibility, are described. Finally, guidelines for nurses working with older adults who are facing this developmental stage of life are provided.