Can a Virtual Nature Experience Reduce Anxiety and Agitation in People With Dementia?

Research has found that viewing nature reduces stress and improves mood, but few studies have focused on the potential of viewing nature to reduce negative emotions associated with dementia. Using a counterbalanced design, 14 memory care residents were alternately exposed to a virtual nature experience (treatment) and a generational movie (control). Before and after each exposure, heart rate was measured, and emotions were assessed with the Observed Emotion Rating Scale and the Agitated Behavior Scale. Results are that heart rate declined significantly compared with the generational movie, and anxiety and pleasure showed greater improvements during the nature intervention, although the difference was not significant.     

Parenting in 2 Worlds: Testing improved parent–adolescent communication about sexuality in Urban American Indian families

Urban American Indian (AI) adolescents are more likely than non-Natives to have early sexual debut, teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and inadequate sexual health information. A RCT in three Arizona cities, with 585 parents of urban AI adolescents, tested whether a culturally tailored parenting intervention for urban AI families, Parenting in 2 Worlds (P2W), increased parent–adolescent communication about sexuality, compared to an informational family health intervention that was not culturally tailored. P2W produced significantly larger increases on two measures: communication about general sexual health and about sexual decision-making. The desired effects of P2W on the first measure were stronger short-term for cross-gender dyads, while for the second measure, they were stronger long-term for both mothers and fathers of adolescent sons.     

RELATIVE RISK AVERSION IS CONSTANT: EVIDENCE FROM PANEL DATA

Most classical tests of constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) based on individual portfolio composition use cross‐sectional data. Such tests must assume that the distributions of wealth and preferences are independent. We use panel data to analyze how individuals’ portfolio allocation between risky and riskless assets varies in response to changes in total financial wealth. We find the elasticity of the risky asset share to wealth to be small and statistically insignificant, supporting the CRRA assumption; this finding is robust when the sample is restricted to households experiencing large income variations. In addition, we find a small but significant negative correlation between wealth and risk aversion. Various extensions are discussed.