The science of unitary human beings: an integrative review

This article is an integrative review of the research which has been carried out based on Martha Rogers' conceptual framework, the science of unitary, irreducible human beings. Results of the review supported the model and theories which have been derived from the framework. However, because of methodological difficulties in measuring the concepts and because of the instruments being used, this support is not statistically significant. More research is needed using methods and instruments which better fit the concepts that are basic to the Rogerian principles of homeodynamics. Also, theories being used as the basis of the study need to be more definitively stated in future research.     

Testicular cancer health education: an integrative review

Cancer of the testis is the most common malignancy in men between the ages of 15 and 35, yet it is one of the most curable cancers. The optimistic prognosis that results from early detection and treatment of testicular cancer underscores the critical need for teaching testicular self-examination (TSE). However, an integrative review of the health education literature suggests that the men most susceptible are virtually unaware of the symptoms of testicular cancer and how to detect them. Although educational materials have been available, very little intervention research has been published on testicular cancer. The literature to date has focused on the pyschosocial factors associated with the practice of TSE and increasing knowledge of testicular cancer. Although an important beginning step, knowledge of testicular cancer alone as a preventive health behaviour is not sufficient if young men either do not know how to do the examination on their own testicles or do not believe it is important to them. Nurses should incorporate health education for testicular cancer and TSE in the delivery of routine primary health care. Furthermore, future research should aim to (a) increase knowledge through the educational curricula of high schools and colleges by use of video presentations, (b) examine the efficacy of using silicone models to ensure that men can be trained to detect the symptoms of testicular cancer, and (c) study compliance with recommendations to perform TSE.     

Back injury prevention interventions in the workplace: an integrative review

The purpose of this integrative review is to describe the state of knowledge about the effect of worksite back injury prevention programs on selected study outcomes. Fifteen experimental and quasi-experimental studies published between 1987 and 1994 were identified through a comprehensive literature search. The research studies were reviewed and analyzed using a data collection abstracting tool. Four types of back injury prevention intervention programs were identified: back belts, back schools, exercise/flexibility training, and educational classes. Positive program outcomes were reported for all four program types; however, the back school and the exercise/flexibility training programs were studied more frequently and demonstrated a greater proportion of positive results than the other two program types. Conclusions should be viewed cautiously due to the small number of studies reviewed and their methodological limitations. Implications for occupational health nursing practice and future research related to worksite back injury prevention are offered.     

Executive function in preschoolers: A review using an integrative framework.

During the last 2 decades, major advances have been made in understanding the development of executive functions (EFs) in early childhood. This article reviews the EF literature during the preschool period using an integrative framework. The framework adopted considers EF to be a unitary construct with partially dissociable components (A. Miyake et al., 2000). The authors focus on 3 EF components: working memory, response inhibition, and shifting. For the present purposes, the central executive is conceived of as a central attention system that is involved in all EF component operations. Research to date suggests that elementary forms of the core EF components are present early during the preschool period. Changes in EF during the latter half of the preschool period appear to be due to the development of attention and integration of component EFs. Finally, the review outlines a number of areas that warrant further investigation if researchers are to move forward in understanding early EF development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of the clinical nurse specialist: an integrative review of the literature

This review of the literature related to the role of the clinical nurse specialist was commissioned by the AACN in order to provide a comprehensive resource for advanced practice nurses. This review provides a historical overview of clinical nurse specialists and some of the gaps or barriers to practice that have been experienced. A summary of these gaps shows that many have repeated themselves over the years. Also provided are potential solutions to facilitate the progression of this role in the future.     

Treating prison inmates with co-occurring disorders: an integrative review of existing programs

The tremendous growth in state and federal correctional populations has focused greater attention on the needs of mentally ill and substance abusing inmates. Although an estimated 3-11% of prison inmates have co-occurring mental health (psychotic and major mood) disorders and substance abuse disorders, few treatment programs are described in the literature and there is little available information regarding effective treatment strategies for this population. The current study provides an integrative review of seven 'dual diagnosis' treatment programs that recently have been developed in state and federal prisons. Many of these have evolved from existing substance abuse treatment programs and approaches. Key program components include an extended assessment period, orientation/motivational activities, psychoeducational groups, cognitive-behavioral interventions such as restructuring of 'criminal thinking errors', self-help groups, medication monitoring, relapse prevention, and transition into institution or community-based aftercare facilities. Many programs use therapeutic community approaches that are modified to provide (a) greater individual counseling and support, (b) less confrontation, (c) smaller staff caseloads, and (d) cross-training of staff. Research is underway in three of the seven sites to examine the effectiveness of these new programs.     

The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review.

The emerging field of emotion regulation studies how individuals influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express them. This review takes an evolutionary perspective and characterizes emotion in terms of response tendencies. Emotion regulation is defined and distinguished from coping, mood regulation, defense, and affect regulation. In the increasingly specialized discipline of psychology, the field of emotion regulation cuts across traditional boundaries and provides common ground. According to a process model of emotion regulation, emotion may be regulated at five points in the emotion generative process: (a) selection of the situation, (b) modification of the situation, (c) deployment of attention, (d) change of cognitions, and (e) modulation of responses. The field of emotion regulation promises new insights into age-old questions about how people manage their emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational commitment: The utility of an integrative definition.

Reports a series of 9 studies, with a total of 2,734 adults, in which the construct definition, measurement, and validation of organizational commitment (OC) were evaluated. An integrated examination of a wide range of antecedents of the various dimensions of OC was conducted. Results support the existence of 3 major OC dimensions (affective, continuance, and normative), with 2 subdimensions (personal sacrifice and lack of alternatives) for the continuance dimension. Results suggest that the widely used Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (L. Porter et al; see record 1975-06351-001) assesses primarily the affective dimension. Results provide various levels of support for the set of proposed antecedents. Implications for construct definition, measurement, and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children of depressed parents: An integrative review.

Reviews the literature on the adjustment of children of depressed parents, difficulties in parenting and parent–child interaction in these families, and contextual factors that may play a role in child adjustment and parental depression. First, issues arising from the recurrent, episodic, heterogeneous nature of depression are discussed. Second, studies on the adjustment of children with a depressed parent are summarized. Early studies that used depressed parents as controls for schizophrenic parents found equivalent risk for child disturbance. Subsequent studies using better-defined samples of depressed parents found that these children were at risk for a full range of adjustment problems and at specific risk for clinical depression. Third, the parenting difficulties of depressed parents are described and explanatory models of child adjustment problems are outlined. Fourth, important gaps in the literature are identified, and a consistent, if unintentional, "mother-bashing" quality in the existing literature is noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-fulfilling prophecies: A theoretical and integrative review.

Classroom self-fulfilling prophecies are reviewed in terms of 3 sequential stages: (a) Teachers develop expectations, (b) teachers treat students differently depending on their expectations, and (c) students react to this treatment in expectancy-confirming ways. The focus is on the social and psychological events occurring at each of these stages, the causal processes linking one stage to the next, and the conditions limiting the occurrence of self-fulfilling prophecies, particularly the self-schemas and self-esteem of the student. It is suggested that this model provides a theoretical framework for both understanding past research and guiding future research on self-fulfilling prophecies. (92 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Breakfast and cognition: an integrative summary

In this supplement, the papers presented at the International Symposium on Breakfast and Performance in Napa, CA in 1995 are summarized and integrated with data published since that time. In particular, the focus is on issues of research design, measurements, mechanisms, potential effect modifiers (eg, age), and relevance for public policy. No definitive conclusions can be drawn from the existing data on either the long- and short-term benefits of breakfast on cognition and school learning or the mechanisms that mediate this relation. The pooled data suggest that omitting breakfast interferes with cognition and learning, an effect that is more pronounced in nutritionally at-risk children than in well-nourished children. At the very least, breakfast consumption improves school attendance and enhances the quality of the students' diets.     

The perfectionism model of binge eating: Tests of an integrative model.

This study proposes, tests, and supports the perfectionism model of binge eating (PMOBE), a model aimed at explaining why perfectionism is related to binge eating. According to this model, socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) confers risk for binge eating by generating exposure to 4 triggers of binge episodes: interpersonal discrepancies, low interpersonal esteem, depressive affect, and dietary restraint. In testing the PMOBE, a daily diary was completed by 566 women for 7 days. Predictions derived from the PMOBE were supported, with tests of mediation suggesting that the indirect effect of SPP on binge eating through triggers of binge episodes was significant. Reciprocal relations were also observed, with certain triggers of binge episodes predicting binge eating (and vice versa). Results supported the incremental validity of the PMOBE over and above self-oriented perfectionism and neuroticism and the generalizability of this model across Asian and European Canadian participants. The PMOBE offers a novel view of individuals with high levels of SPP as active agents who raise their risk of binge eating by generating conditions in their daily lives that are conducive to binge episodes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Duration and outcome in psychotherapy: An integrative review.

Research and practice trends are fueling a strong interest in brief therapy, highlighting the question of the relationship between treatment duration and outcome. A number of investigations have reported a weak or nonexistent relationship between duration and outcome, yielding the possible conclusion that there are few differences between brief and longer term treatments. A finer-grained analysis, however, based on such methodological factors as the nature, source, and timing of outcome measures, reveals intriguing dose–effect linkages within particular helping modalities. Summarizing process and outcome research, this article identifies potential client, therapist, and contextual mediators of the brevity of treatment. Recent research concerning stages of change within psychotherapy is advanced as an integrative framework that yields researchable hypotheses concerning the factors that facilitate outcomes at various points in the helping process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The rational-choice theory of neurosis: Unawareness and an integrative therapeutic approach.

In agreement with Freud (1915a, 1915b), patients' unawareness regarding the underlying causes of their behavior seems to be the key to understanding the development and treatment of neurotic disorders. However, Freud's concepts of the unconscious and repression have encountered serious problems that do not allow for their maintenance (see review by Rofé, 2008). An additional issue concerns the fact that none of the available theories can integrate the therapeutic effects of various interventions under a single theoretical framework. Both of these issues are addressed in this article by the rational-choice theory of neurosis (RCTN). RCTN maintains that patients consciously and deliberately adopt neurotic disorders when confronted with intolerable levels of stress. Unawareness is created through sophisticated cognitive processes, by which patients forget their own self-involvement. Subsequently, patients develop a self-deceptive belief that rationalizes the neurotic behavior, thereby preserving unawareness. According to this new theory, all therapies exert their effect either by disrupting patients' ability to preserve unawareness, increasing the cost of the symptom, decreasing the patient's emotional distress, or eliminating the stressor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The parental environment cluster model of child neglect: an integrative conceptual model

MCAF/MCP-1 is a chemotactic cytokine which belongs to beta- or C-C chemokine subfamily. MCAF/MCP-1 activates not only monocytes but also other types of leukocytes. However, precise roles of MCAF/MCP-1 in vivo remain unclear. To elucidate these issues, we established a human MCAF/MCP-1 transgenic mouse (Tgm). The Tgm produced constitutively a high concentration of MCAF/MCP-1 (7-13 ng/ml) in the serum under the influence of beta-actin promoter in the vector of transgene. The expression of transgene was recognized in multiple organs, especially in lymphoid organs and an accumulation of macrophages was seen in these lymphoid organs. However, peritoneal macrophages of the Tgm exhibited reduced phagocytosis toward latex beads which had been injected intraperitoneally. It was also demonstrated that these Tgm had prolongation of liver granuloma reaction against the stimulation of zymosan. In contrast, activities of Fgr and Hck, macrophage-associated src-family protein tyrosine kinases, were increased in the peritoneal cells of Tgm. When peritoneal macrophages of Tgm were developed in a non-Tgm circumstance after bone marrow transplantation from Tgm into AKR, these macrophages exhibited increased expression of Mac-1. Moreover, when co-cultured with IFN-gamma, these macrophages produced a large amount of nitric oxide as compared to non-Tgm cells cultured in the same condition as Tgm cells. These findings suggested that the dysfunction of macrophages seen in human MCAF/MCP-1 Tgm in vivo was attributed to down-regulation and/or desensitization of receptors for MCAF/MCP-1 caused by the high concentration of MCAF/MCP-1.     

Implicit affective cues and attentional tuning: An integrative review.

A large and growing number of studies support the notion that arousing positive emotional states expand, and that arousing negative states constrict, the scope of attention on both the perceptual and conceptual levels. However, these studies have predominantly involved the manipulation or measurement of conscious emotional experiences (e.g., subjective feelings of happiness or anxiety). This raises the question: Do cues that are merely associated with benign versus threatening situations but do not elicit conscious feelings of positive or negative emotional arousal independently expand or contract attentional scope? Integrating theoretical advances in affective neuroscience, positive psychology, and social cognition, the authors propose that rudimentary intero- and exteroceptive stimuli may indeed become associated with the onset of arousing positive or negative emotional states and/or with appraisals that the environment is benign or threatening and thereby come to moderate the scope of attention in the absence of conscious emotional experience. Specifically, implicit “benign situation” cues are posited to broaden, and implicit “threatening situation” cues to narrow, the range of both perceptual and conceptual attentional selection. An extensive array of research findings involving a diverse set of such implicit affective cues (e.g., enactment of approach and avoidance behaviors, incidental exposure to colors signaling safety vs. danger) is marshaled in support of this proposition. Potential alternative explanations for and moderators of these attentional tuning effects, as well as their higher level neuropsychological underpinnings, are also discussed along with prospective extensions to a range of other situational cues and domains of social cognitive processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patient-therapist boundary issues: An integrative review of theory and research.

Boundary issues, which regularly arise in therapy, can present difficult dilemmas for clinicians. The purpose of this article is to help clinicians resolve these dilemmas by integrating some of the theoretical positions with empirical evidence reported in the literature on boundary issues in counseling and psychotherapy. The authors review the concept of treatment boundaries and the ethical principles that underpin them. They also review common boundary violations and provide recommendations to attenuate harm done to clients when such boundary violations occur in therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Administration of medications via the intramuscular route: an integrative review of the literature and research-based protocol for the procedure

Administering injections is an activity inherent to nursing practice. A critical review of nursing fundamentals texts found that the "proper" procedure was often non-research based and reflected myths, traditions, and out-of-date recommendations regarding the technique. This article is an integrative review of the extensive research conducted by a variety of researchers in health-related disciplines during the last seven decades. The pertinent research is reviewed and critiqued and serves as the basis for a clinical practice protocol. This research-based procedure ensures efficient and effective nursing care related to intramuscular injections.