Relearning to Live Life Without Substances: A Grounded Theory of the Impact of Group Physical Exercise on Sobriety

Research has found significant benefits in using exercise as an adjunct treatment for substance use. This study used a qualitative grounded theory approach to explore the role of group exercise on maintaining sobriety. Sixteen persons (13 White men and 3 White women, age M = 31.81, SD = 8.23), recruited from a substance use recovery group that meets at a gym in an urban area in the Southeast part of the United States, were individually interviewed. Data were analyzed using Charmaz’s (2006) constructivist grounded theory strategies. Central themes revealed a parallel process between the steps taken to seek sobriety and those taken to maintain sobriety. The driving forces of sobriety success in both was 12 steps and group exercise programming that included elements of mentorship, structure, accountability, and fellowship or community. This study supported the use of physical group exercise as an adjunct treatment option for substance use treatment.     

Home Modifications among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Closer Look at Race and Ethnicity

ABSTRACT

This study investigated racial and ethnic differences in home modification use. Data from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study were used (n=6,764). Compared with non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanics were less likely to have a grab bar (odds ratio (OR) = 0.6), bath seat (OR = 0.8), or raised toilet (OR = 0.6). Non-Hispanic Blacks were less likely to have a grab bar (OR = 0.7) or bath seat (OR = 0.7) than non-Hispanic Whites, but more likely to have a raised toilet (OR = 1.3). English proficiency largely explained ethnic differences, while health status partially accounted for racial disparities.     

Alcohol use and strenuous physical activity in college students: A longitudinal test of 2 explanatory models of health behavior

Objective: To help clarify the effect of gender on the bidirectional relationship between alcohol use and strenuous physical activity in college students. Participants: Five hundred twenty-four (52% female) college students recruited in August 2008 and 2009 and followed up in April 2009 and April 2011, respectively. Methods: Participants reported their alcohol use and strenuous physical activity on 2 occasions (baseline and follow-up) spaced approximately 1 or 2 years apart. Results: For females, alcohol use quantity at baseline was associated with increased strenuous physical activity at 1- and 2-year follow-ups, and alcohol use frequency at baseline was associated with decreased strenuous physical activity at 2-year follow-up. For males, alcohol use frequency at baseline predicted decreased strenuous physical activity at 1-year follow-up. Conclusions: Gender differences may be explained from an eating disorders perspective such that women use physical activity as a compensatory strategy to combat potential weight gain from calories consumed during alcohol use.     

Stressors beget stressors: The effect of passive leadership on employee health through workload and work–family conflict

The current study examined passive leadership as a potential antecedent of two commonly studied workplace stressors (i.e. workload and work–family conflict), and investigated its negative effect on employee burnout and physical symptoms via these stressors. We collected two waves of data from 274 focal participants, and one wave of data from their co-workers. Results showed that both self-reported and co-worker-reported passive leadership was positively related to employee burnout and physical symptoms, as well as workload and work–family conflict. Additionally, workload and work–family conflict partially mediated the effects of passive leadership on burnout and physical symptoms, respectively. Our findings support the notion that passive leadership can create a stressful workplace and have a detrimental effect on employees’ health.     

Note From Iran: Self-Reported Elder Abuse in Qazvin, 2012

This brief report provides a first look at self-reported instances of elder abuse by a sample of people 60 years and older living in Qazvin, Iran. Six hundred community-dwelling persons, drawn from the registry files of each health center in Qazin, completed questionnaires during April to October 2012. At least 80% of the participants reported experiencing some form of psychological abuse, financial abuse, and/or neglect at least once during a 2-month period. Physical and sexual abuse were rarely reported. Despite a strong Iranian cultural emphasis on respect for elders, the self-reporting of elder abuse, especially psychological abuse, is greater than our expectation. We recommend that health-related policies and programs begin to identify elder abuse and neglect as a first step in prevention.     

Assimilation,segregation, or integration? A teaching project examining approaches to religious and ideological diversity in the classroom

In this article, we describe the multiple phases of a project that was constructed around the real case of a young Muslim student who wished to be exempted from coeducational physical education on religious grounds. When the school refused her initial request, she decided to take legal measures which ended up in the German Federal Administrative Court. The court ultimately ruled in her favour. Her case was selected as the core ingredient for a new teaching project, which studies acculturation from different perspectives, and examines the complex balance between individual rights and societal duties, as defined by constitutional law in the Federal Republic of Germany. This case demonstrates that the majority society, represented in this study by the school, at times needs to change traditional educational policy in order to further national goals of integration; not as a compromise, but as a fair balance of interests. The project was implemented successfully as an integrated part of teacher preservice education occurring towards the end of the first academically based phase of their training.     

浅析健身房中团体健身课的健身功能

对健身房中的主要健身项目进行了介绍,并对团体健身课的健身功能进行了分析。     

制度变迁过程的历史沉淀成本效应分析

在新古典完全竞争市场理论——历史沉淀成本决策无关性的假设前提背景下,从未来不确定性、信息不完全和财务预算约束等角度考察历史沉淀成本对制度变迁过程的影响,为制度变迁过程确立一个新的分析视角,从而弥补了原有研究的不足。在现实经济生活中,市场不完全是常态,有限理性、交易成本、信息不完全和环境不确定性等因素普遍存在,历史沉淀成本很容易发挥作用,从而表明:未来越不确定,信息越不完全,资源越稀缺,导致财务预算越硬,历史沉淀成本效应越大,制度变迁过程越困难;反之越容易。由此可发现,在放松完全竞争市场的假设前提条件下,当事人的决策不可能不受到历史沉淀成本的影响。因此,只有当事人对历史沉淀成本的约束条件作出正确的理性反应,才能使其决策更加贴近真实世界,这对于全面认识制度变迁过程具有重要的理论创新意义和现实指导价值。