Risk factors associated with overweight and obesity in college students

College obesity is increasing, but to the authors' knowledge, no researchers to date have evaluated risk factors in this population. OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed whether abnormal eating perceptions and behaviors were associated with overweight in college students. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A sample of undergraduates (N = 4,201) completed an online survey containing demographic questions and the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) questionnaire. The authors stratified participants into normal-weight and overweight/obese groups and evaluated physical activity, EAT-26 score, purging behaviors, and answers to selected overweight screening questions on the basis of body mass index. A modified EAT-26 score of > or = 11 was associated with overweight (p = .016). RESULTS: Compared with normal-weight peers, overweight participants displayed an increased fear of bingeing, preoccupation with food, desire to be thinner, and engagement in dieting behavior. Mean body mass index also increased with age and physical inactivity (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Because physical inactivity, disordered eating perceptions, and disordered behaviors are associated with increased rates of overweight and obesity, identification of these risk factors in obese youths may increase understanding of weight loss barriers and facilitate the treatment of adolescent obesity.     

Readiness to change, partner violence subtypes, and treatment outcomes among men in treatment for partner assault

Men court-mandated to attend a batterer's intervention program (BIP) were evaluated to determine whether pre-BIP readiness to change and the presence of partner violence subtypes predicted BIP completion, criminal recidivism, and postadjudication partner violence 6 months post-BIP. Of the 199 subject sample, 40% did not complete BIP. Four readiness-to-change clusters were found, with most men (76%) reporting change-resistant stages-of-change profiles. The partner violence typology reported by Holtzworth-Munroe et al. (2000) was supported with clustering into four subtypes: family only (FO), low-level antisocial (LLA), borderline/dysphoric (BD), and generally violent/antisocial (GVA). BIP completion was predicted by violence subtype (with BD and GVA more likely to drop out) but not by pre-BIP readiness to change. Men rearrested scored higher on the precontemplative stage of change and were more likely to be in the BD and GVA subtypes. Implications for counseling strategies are discussed.     

Hand force of men and women over 65 years of age as measured by maximum pinch and grip force

This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the impact of age and gender on 4 measures of grip and pinch force of well elderly community dwellers and to provide normative values. The hypotheses were that age and gender affect pinch and grip force and that these 2 factors might interact. Hand strength of 224 seniors 65-92 years old was tested. Grip and pinch force decreased in successively older age groups past 65 years. Men's grip force exceeded that of women in all age groups. Men's hand-force decline was steeper than that of women over successive age groups, suggesting that gender differences in force decreased with age. Trends were the same for all 4 types of grip- and pinch-force measurement but were most clearly visible in grip and key-pinch force. Norms were provided for seniors age 65-85+ years in 5-yr increments.     

Unsettling Universities' Incongruous,Gendered Bureaucratic Structures: A Case‐study Approach

Recent research shows that women faculty members in academia continue to face systemic barriers to opportunity and advancement and that these barriers are particularly strong in science and engineering, and in university administration. University administrators and faculty members, however, have been slow to recognize that systemically gendered barriers will have to be reduced or eliminated in order for women faculty to advance in their careers. One key problem is that many, if not most, leaders in powerful decision‐making roles in universities continue to embrace women‐centred explanations for gender disparities in advancement through the academic ranks. University leaders' lack of recognition of institutionalized gender barriers suggests the need for greater dissemination of research findings (and training) about how systemic barriers operate and why these barriers disproportionately disadvantage women. In this article I first theorize universities as incongruous, gendered bureaucratic structures. I then outline an intervention strategy for enabling university faculty members and administrators to see incongruous, gendered bureaucratic structures and to then use this knowledge to develop strategies for addressing the problem of women's underrepresentation among science and engineering faculty. The strategy described is a case‐study approach recently implemented at a mid‐sized research‐intensive university in the US Midwest. The workshop was part of a broader university programme aimed at transforming the university's cultures, practices and structures in ways that help to enhance the recruitment, retention and promotion of women scientists. I conclude by discussing the benefits and limitations of the case‐study approach as a method for unsettling accepted knowledge about the gendered structures and normative practices of the university.     

Persistent Risk-Related Worry as a Function of Recalled Exposure to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Prior Trauma

Large oil spills are disasters associated with psychological effects for exposed communities. The amount of worry that individuals experience after a disaster may be influenced by many factors, such as the type and extent of exposure to disaster impacts, prior trauma, and sociodemographic characteristics. This study examined the nature and predictors of worry about ongoing impacts of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DH) oil spill reported by Gulf of Mexico coastal residents. A random sample of 2,520 adult residents of Gulf of Mexico coastal counties were administered a telephone survey in 2016, including items about persistent worry and exposure to DH impacts, prior trauma, residence at the time of the spill, and sociodemographic characteristics. Respondents varied in the amount of worry they reported about ongoing health, social, and economic impacts. Controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, higher exposure to the DH oil spill was related to higher levels of worry about ongoing impacts, with past traumatic events related specifically to worry about health impacts. Unexpectedly, those who moved into the region after the spill showed similar levels of worry to residents exposed to the spill, and higher levels than residents who did not recall being exposed to the DH oil spill. This study highlights the impact of the DH oil spill on coastal residents many years after the DH disaster. The findings underscore the need to examine multiple pathways by which individuals experience disasters and for risk researchers to close knowledge gaps about long-term impacts of oil spills within a multi-dimensional framework.     

Communicating Actionable Risk for Terrorism and Other Hazards⋆

We propose a shift in emphasis when communicating to people when the objective is to motivate household disaster preparedness actions. This shift is to emphasize the communication of preparedness actions (what to do about risk) rather than risk itself. We have called this perspective “communicating actionable risk,” and it is grounded in diffusion of innovations and communication theories. A representative sample of households in the nation was analyzed using a path analytic framework. Preparedness information variables (including content, density, and observation), preparedness mediating variables (knowledge, perceived effectiveness, and milling), and preparedness actions taken were modeled. Clear results emerged that provide a strong basis for communicating actionable risk, and for the conclusion both that information observed (seeing preparedness actions that other have taken) and information received (receiving recommendations about what preparedness actions to take) play key, although different, roles in motivating preparedness actions among the people in our nation.     

Using regression mixture models with non-normal data: examining an ordered polytomous approach

Mild to moderate skew in errors can substantially impact regression mixture model results; one approach for overcoming this includes transforming the outcome into an ordered categorical variable and using a polytomous regression mixture model. This is effective for retaining differential effects in the population; however, bias in parameter estimates and model fit warrant further examination of this approach at higher levels of skew. The current study used Monte Carlo simulations; 3000 observations were drawn from each of two subpopulations differing in the effect of X on Y. Five hundred simulations were performed in each of the 10 scenarios varying in levels of skew in one or both classes. Model comparison criteria supported the accurate two-class model, preserving the differential effects, while parameter estimates were notably biased. The appropriate number of effects can be captured with this approach but we suggest caution when interpreting the magnitude of the effects.