Global healthy backpack initiatives

Schoolbag use by children is a global common concern.. Children carry school books and other amenities in their school bags. Global evidence indicates that daily load carried by school children may have negative health implications. Backpack as a school bag model, is the healthiest way of load carriage for school children. Several initiatives have been launched world over to minimize unhealthy consequences resulting from schoolbags. Based on a situation analysis, Sri Lanka implemented a national healthy schoolbag campaign by joint efforts of Ministries of Health and Education. Actions were contemplated on; strategies for bag weight reduction, introduction of an ergonomically modeled schoolbag and bag behaviour change. New strategies were introduced with awareness campaigns to policy makers, bag manufacturers, parents, teachers and children. Four million schoolchildren benefitted. In 2000, the backpack strategy of "Pack it Light, Wear it Right" was started as a public health initiative in the United States by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Over the last eleven years, thousands of occupational therapy practitioners and students participated in educational programs and outreach activities. In 2004, modeled after the success AOTA initiative, the Icelandic Occupational Therapy Association launched a national backpack awareness initiative. This article shares examples of practices that could be implemented in any context to the promote health of children.     

Sympathetic Magic and Gambling: Adherence to the Law of Contagion Varies with Gambling Severity

This study assessed adherence to the law of contagion by 118 undergraduate students (39 males). Participants were students who played a slot machine game after viewing a prior player who seemed to be winning (“lucky” condition) or losing (“unlucky” condition). Adherence to the law of contagion was assessed by the selection of the coin holder used by a “lucky” prior player and the avoidance of the coin holder used by an “unlucky” prior player. Contagion varied directly with scores on the Problem Gambling Severity Index and scores on the Luck/Perseverance subscale of the Gamblers’ Belief Questionnaire (Steenbergh et al. in Psychol Addict Behav 16(2):143–149, 2002). Gamblers high in problem severity chose the “lucky” coin holder and avoided the “unlucky” coin holder significantly more than gamblers low in problem severity. Problem gamblers, therefore, exhibit evidence of magical thinking related to the transfer of a “lucky” essence. The same was the case for individuals with a strong level of belief that sheer continuation in gambling (luck perseverance) results in success and for individuals who believe that luck is a personal rather than a situational characteristic. All three variables (problem gambling severity, luck perseverance and personal luck) had direct effects on behavior reflecting irrational magical thinking. A belief that knowledge or skill has a role in successful gaming was unrelated to magical thinking. These findings suggest potential foci for cognitive interventions with problem gamblers and those with non-skill based evidence of irrational thinking.     

Linking bird species traits to vegetation characteristics in a future urban development zone: implications for urban planning

Identifying the relationships between species traits and patch-scale vegetation characteristics in areas designated for urban development can improve our understanding of how animal communities may change with urbanization. We explored the implications of this premise to the urban planning process in a mixed-use landscape in Canberra (Australia), prior to its development into new suburbs. We used RLQ analysis to relate bird foraging, nesting and body size traits to patch-scale vegetation characteristics. Relationships between species traits and vegetation characteristics within the development zone suggest that species that forage and nest on the ground and in the understory strata, and smaller-bodied species will be most negatively affected by urbanization. Identifying the relationships between species traits and vegetation characteristics may be used by urban planners to (i) identify potentially critical habitat and species at risk from development, (ii) inform the choice of impact mitigation measures, and/or (iii) distinguish between high and low mitigation measures. Analyses conducted early in the planning process can then be used to allocate proposed land uses in an ecologically sensitive way, and to plan appropriate mitigation measures.     

Helicopter Parents and Landing Pad Kids: Intense Parental Support of Grown Children

Popular media describe adverse effects of helicopter parents who provide intense support to grown children, but few studies have examined implications of such intense support. Grown children (N = 592, M age = 23.82 years, 53% female, 35% members of racial/ethnic minority groups) and their parents (N = 399, M age = 50.67 years, 52% female; 34% members of racial/ethnic minority groups) reported on the support they exchanged with one another. Intense support involved parents' providing several types of support (e.g., financial, advice, emotional) many times a week. Parents and grown children who engaged in such frequent support viewed it as nonnormative (i.e., too much support), but grown children who received intense support reported better psychological adjustment and life satisfaction than grown children who did not receive intense support. Parents who perceived their grown children as needing too much support reported poorer life satisfaction. The discussion focuses on generational differences in the implications of intense parental involvement during young adulthood.     

Love and hooking up in the new millennium: communication technology and relationships among urban African American and Puerto Rican young adults

Communication technology is a central feature of young people's lives, but its role in romantic and sexual relationships has not been thoroughly examined. This article describes how young adults use communication technology for partnering across relationship stages (formation, maintenance, and dissolution) and types (serious/casual), and proposes implications of usage in relationships. This study analyzed qualitative data from a five-week, prospective, coital diary method with related debriefing interviews (N = 70) of African American and Puerto Rican men and women aged 18 to 25 years in Hartford and Philadelphia. Cell phones, including calls, text messaging, and mobile Internet, were the most common forms of communication technology used for partnering goals. Participants reported using cell phones to pursue partnering goals across all relationship stages, including formation (meeting, screening, and getting to know new partners), maintaining existing relationships, and breaking up. Cell phone uses depended on the type of relationship (serious/casual) and the participants' intentions and desires. Results indicated that cell phones are an important element of communication among young adults in romantic and sexual relationships. Specific features of cell phone communication shape the process and context of partnering. Future research should explore emerging communication technologies and implications for psychosocial development, dating violence, and sexual behavior.     

Predictors of victim-perpetrator relationship stability following a sexual assault: a brief report

The researchers assessed the predictors of victim-perpetrator relationship stability following a sexual assault. Participants included 254 women sexually assaulted by a friend, casual dating partner, or steady dating partner. Results suggested that most victim-perpetrator relationships (75%) continued following the sexual assault. Greater trauma symptomatology, less perpetrator blame, and nondisclosure of the assault by victims predicted relationship continuation with the perpetrator. Additionally, the odds of continuing the relationship were greater following acts of sexual coercion than following acts of completed rape. Close relationships (steady dating partner) were more likely to continue following the sexual assault than less close relationships (friends and casual dating partners). Unexpectedly, the odds of relationship stability were greater for women without histories of childhood sexual abuse than women with histories of childhood sexual abuse. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.     

A prospective study of sexual assault and alcohol use among first-year college women

This study prospectively examined the relation between alcohol use and sexual assault in a sample (N = 319) of first-year college women. Both frequency of drinking and frequency of binge drinking were measured. Over the course of their freshman year, 19.3% reported experiencing at least one sexual assault. Frequent binge drinking and frequent drinking predicted a subsequent sexual assault; however, experiencing a sexual assault did not predict changes in alcohol use. Frequent binge drinking demonstrated a stronger association with sexual assault than did frequent drinking. Findings help clarify the relation between alcohol use and sexual assault in college women and call for continued differentiation in assessment of alcohol use.