Cross-sectional age variance extraction: What's change got to do with it?

In cross-sectional age variance extraction (CAVE), age, the indicator of a hypothesized developmental mechanism, and a developmental outcome are specified as independent, mediator, and target variables, respectively, to test hypotheses about behavioral development. We show that: (a) longitudinal change in a mediator variable accounting for substantial cross-sectional age-related variance in the target variable need not correlate with the target variable's longitudinal change; and, conversely, (b) longitudinal change in a mediator not sharing cross-sectional age-related variance with the target variable may nevertheless correlate highly with that variable's longitudinal change. We discourage use of CAVE for testing multivariate hypotheses about behavioral development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are health and happiness the product of wisdom? The relationship of general mental ability to educational and occupational attainment, health, and well-being.

This study tested a structural model explaining the effects of general mental ability on economic, physical, and subjective well-being. A model was proposed that linked general mental ability to well-being using education, unhealthy behaviors (smoking and excessive drinking), occupational prestige, and health as mediating variables. The sample consisted of 398 individuals, from whom measures were collected across 4 periods. The results supported a model that includes direct and indirect (through unhealthy behaviors and occupational prestige) links from mental ability to physical well-being (i.e., health) and economic well-being. Furthermore, the results supported the relationships of economic well-being and physical well-being to subjective well-being. Overall, the study underscores the importance of general mental ability to work and nonwork outcomes, including physical, economic, and psychological well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positively biased appraisals in everyday life: When do they benefit mental health and when do they harm it?

To promote optimal mental health, is it best to evaluate negative experiences accurately or in a positively biased manner? In an attempt to reconcile inconsistent prior research addressing this question, we predicted that the tendency to form positively biased appraisals of negative experiences may reduce the motive to address those experiences and thereby lead to poorer mental health in the context of negative experiences that are controllable and severe but lead to better mental health in the context of controllable negative experiences that are less severe by promoting positive feelings without invoking serious consequences from unaddressed problems. In 2 longitudinal studies, individuals in new marriages were interviewed separately about their ongoing stressful experiences, and their own appraisals of those experiences were compared with those of the interviewers. Across studies, spouses' tendencies to form positively biased appraisals of their stressful experiences predicted fewer depressive symptoms over the subsequent 4 years among individuals judged to be facing relatively mild experiences but more depressive symptoms among individuals judged to be facing relatively severe experiences. Furthermore, in Study 2, these effects were mediated by changes in those experiences, such that the interaction between the tendency to form positively biased appraisals of stressful experiences and the objectively rated severity of initial levels of those experiences directly predicted changes in those experiences, which in turn accounted for changes in depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that cognitive biases are not inherently positive or negative; their implications for mental health depend on the context in which they occur. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways: Parenting during adolescence, attachment styles, and romantic narratives in emerging adulthood.

In this longitudinal study, a quantitative and qualitative examination of the associations among parent–child relations, adult attachment styles, and relationship quality and theme in romantic narratives was conducted. Parenting and adult attachment style were assessed through questionnaires, whereas overall quality of romantic relationships (regard and importance), intimacy, and romantic story theme were examined with a life story approach (McAdams, 1993). At ages 17 and 26 years, 100 participants completed a series of questionnaires and also, at age 26, told a story about a “relationship-defining moment” with a romantic partner. Parent–child relations when participants were 17 years old were related predictably to all three attachment styles. About 70% of the sample told romantic stories with a “true love” type of theme. Associations between parent–child relations when the child was 17 and this type of theme in the story told when the participant was 26 were mediated by a more secure (and a less avoidant) attachment style when the participant was 26, as predicted. The implications of these findings for links between attachment models and the life story are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

When it comes to pay, do the thin win? The effect of weight on pay for men and women.

Cultivation theory suggests that society holds very different body standards for men versus women, and research indicates that the consequences of defying these social norms may not be linear. To test these notions in the employment context, we examined the relationship between weight and income and the degree to which the relationship varies by gender. For women, we theorized a negative weight–income relationship that is steepest at the thin end of the distribution. For men, we predicted a positive weight–income relationship until obesity, where it becomes negative. To test these hypotheses, we utilized 2 longitudinal studies, 1 German and 1 American. In Study 1, weight was measured over 2 time periods, and earnings were averaged over the subsequent 5 years. Study 2 was a multilevel study in which weight and earnings were within-individual variables observed over time, and gender was a between-individual variable. Results from the 2 studies generally support the hypotheses, even when examining within-individual changes in weight over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problem-solving variability in older spouses: How is it linked to problem-, person-, and couple-characteristics?

Problem-solving does not take place in isolation and often involves social others such as spouses. Using repeated daily life assessments from 98 older spouses (M age = 72 years; M marriage length = 42 years), the present study examined theoretical notions from social-contextual models of coping regarding (a) the origins of problem-solving variability and (b) associations between problem-solving and specific problem-, person-, and couple- characteristics. Multilevel models indicate that the lion's share of variability in everyday problem-solving is located at the level of the problem situation. Importantly, participants reported more proactive emotion regulation and collaborative problem-solving for social than nonsocial problems. We also found person-specific consistencies in problem-solving. That is, older spouses high in Neuroticism reported more problems across the study period as well as less instrumental problem-solving and more passive emotion regulation than older spouses low in Neuroticism. Contrary to expectations, relationship satisfaction was unrelated to problem-solving in the present sample. Results are in line with the stress and coping literature in demonstrating that everyday problem-solving is a dynamic process that has to be viewed in the broader context in which it occurs. Our findings also complement previous laboratory-based work on everyday problem-solving by underscoring the benefits of examining everyday problem-solving as it unfolds in spouses' own environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are patterns important? An investigation of the relationships between proficiencies in patterns, computation, executive functioning, and algebraic word problems.

Although mathematical pattern tasks are often found in elementary school curricula and are deemed a building block for algebra, a recent report (National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008) suggests the resources devoted to its teaching and assessment need to be rebalanced. We examined whether children's developing proficiency in solving algebraic word problems is related to their proficiencies in patterns, computational, and working memory tasks. Children (N = 151 10-year-olds) were tested twice, 1 year apart, and were administered tests of updating capacities (2 complex span and 1 running span task), computation (from the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test), patterns (function machine, number patterns), and algebraic word problems. Proficiencies on the patterns and computational tasks predicted algebraic proficiency. Proficiencies on the computational and patterns tasks are, in turn, predicted by updating capacity. These findings suggest that algebraic reasoning may be difficult if the child has poor updating capacity and either poor facility with computation or difficulty in recognizing and generalizing rules about patterns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autonomic feedback in stressful environments: How do individual differences in autonomic feedback relate to burnout, job performance, and job attitudes in salespeople?

Individual differences in autonomic feedback—the dispositional tendency to experience signs and symptoms of autonomic nervous system activity in response to positive and negative emotionally evocative stimuli—were hypothesized to relate to affective and behavioral job outcomes in occupations characterized by job stress because higher autonomic feedback would intensify reactions to emotional evocation. In a cross-sectional study of Dutch salespeople, individual differences in autonomic feedback were independent of role stress and yet were strongly and positively related to burnout and negatively related to extra-role performance and job satisfaction; they were also nonsignificantly and negatively related to in-role job performance. Further, when job stress was higher–high role stress or low managerial support–individual differences in autonomic feedback were more strongly related to burnout, especially emotional exhaustion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How much do I tell thee? Strategies for managing information to parents among American adolescents from Chinese, Mexican, and European backgrounds.

Strategies for managing information about activities to parents, including partial disclosure, avoidance, lying, and full disclosure, were examined in 479 American adolescents (M = 16.38 years, SD = 0.77) varying in generational status and from Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds. Information management strategies for personal, prudential, and overlapping (multifaceted) activities as defined within social domain theory were examined. With age, parental education, and generational status controlled, Chinese American adolescents partially disclosed more to mothers about personal and multifaceted activities than did Mexican American adolescents and more to fathers about personal activities than did European American teens. In contrast, European and Mexican American adolescents fully disclosed more to mothers about personal activities than did Chinese-origin adolescents. Strategies varied by generation among Chinese American youth; second-generation adolescents avoided discussing activities with parents more than did immigrants. Adolescents who fully disclosed about all activities and lied less about multifaceted and personal activities reported stronger endorsement of obligations to assist their families, more trust in parents, and less problem behavior. More depressed mood was associated with more lying about personal activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

To lump or to split? Comparing individuals with traumatic and nontraumatic limb loss in the first year after amputation.

Objective: To compare individuals with traumatic (TE) vs. nontraumatic (NTE) amputation etiology on pain, psychological, and social variables over the first 12 months postamputation, and to explore changes in mean levels of and correlations between these variables over time. Participants: There were 111 adults with newly acquired limb loss. Settings: A VA medical center and a Level I trauma hospital in a large metropolitan area. Main Outcome Measures: Characteristic Pain Severity, Pain Interference, Patient Health Questionnaire depression module, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, Social Constraints Scale, Aversive Emotional Support Scale, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention single item Social Support measure, single item loneliness measure. Results: The NTE group was significantly older, had lower income, and had greater medical comorbidity, preamputation pain, and physical disability. The etiology groups did not differ significantly in mean levels of outcome variables except that the TE group reported greater aversive emotional support at 6 and 12 months. The TE group demonstrated a quadratic change in pain interference, with highest levels at 6 months and a linear increase in social constraints. Both etiology groups showed a linear increase in PTSD symptoms over time. Correlations between physical, psychological, and social distress were observed earlier in the year for the NTE group. Conclusion: Despite significant demographic and preamputation experience differences, few differences in outcomes emerged by etiology group in the first year after amputation. Findings suggest that the year after amputation may be a time of greater change for those with traumatic amputation compared to those with nontraumatic amputation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rationing and unfairness in the National Health Service: who is responsible, who is to blame and what can be done about it?

Analysis of the tasks of a virological laboratory as regards viral hepatitis helped the authors validate the requirements to computer provision and develop a program "Hepatitis" which permits the creation of a reliable data bank on subjects screened for viral hepatitis, offers a comprehensive highly qualified analysis, and saves time needed for file registration and making reports. The program is addressed to virology laboratories of sanitary epidemiological, therapeutic, and research institutions.     

“If you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” Social identity salience moderates support for retaliation in response to collective threat.

Researchers have recently asserted that social identity salience moderates the way in which people react to external stressors. However, previous research has mainly investigated this idea in the context of internal coping processes in response to personal threat. The present research examines people's willingness to respond to collective threat by means of aggressive acts of revenge. A study with 80 female participants revealed that aggressive revenge intentions were most pronounced when the form of collective threat was relevant to a currently salient social identity. Specifically, we found that a threat to national identity (the 7/7/2005 London bombings) led to greater aggression and greater support for revenge when national rather than gender identity was salient. In contrast, a threat to gender identity (Taliban misogyny) led to greater aggression and greater support for revenge when gender rather than national identity was salient. Implications for research on social identity, stress, and responses to terrorism are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why did the sperm cross the cumulus? To get to the oocyte. Functions of the sperm surface proteins PH-20 and fertilin in arriving at, and fusing with, the egg

The sperm surface has an active role in the events of fertilization. The definition of the sperm surface in both its composition and domain organization begins during spermatogenesis and continues until the moment of sperm-egg fusion. Alterations of the surface proceed as a result of internal programming and environmental cues from both the male and female reproductive tracts, including interactions with the egg itself. We have investigated the sperm surface to understand its domain organization and the ongoing changes in this organization as well as the role of specific surface proteins in fertilization. Much of our research has concentrated on two surface proteins: PH-20 and fertilin. PH-20 is a single-chain protein, anchored in the membrane via a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. The N-terminal domain of the molecule has a hyaluronidase activity. The hyaluronidase activity of PH-20 on the sperm plasma membrane enables sperm to penetrate the layer of cumulus cells surrounding the oocyte. PH-20 has a second function, unrelated to its hyaluronidase activity, in the binding of acrosome-reacted sperm to the zona pellucida (secondary sperm-zona binding). The fertilin molecule is an alpha,beta heterodimer whose two subunits are closely related transmembrane proteins. Fertilin beta has a disintegrin domain that has high sequence homology with the snake disintegrins, a known class of soluble integrin ligands. The binding site of the beta disintegrin domain functions to bind sperm to the egg plasma membrane via a mechanism that leads to sperm-egg fusion. The precursor of fertilin alpha, made in the testis, has an active metalloprotease site that could function in spermatogenesis. This metalloprotease domain is removed by proteolytic processing in the testis. Mature fertilin alpha on sperm also has a hydrophobic, putative "fusion peptide" that may promote the process of lipid bilayer fusion between sperm and egg plasma membranes. Fertilin alpha and beta are the first identified members of a new gene family of transmembrane proteins, the ADAM family, so called because they contain A Disintegrin And Metalloprotease domain. Many distinct ADAMs have now been found in diverse tissues and species (Drosophila to human) and are proposed to have a variety of functions in development and the adult. In addition to fertilin, other ADAMs are also present on the sperm plasma membrane and may participate with fertilin in sperm-egg fusion.     

Invisible wounds, visible savings? Using microsimulation to estimate the costs and savings associated with providing evidence-based treatment for PTSD and depression to veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

This research used microsimulation modeling to estimate the social costs of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for the 261,827 troops deployed on June 30, 2008, for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Given current standards of care, roughly half of these individuals will be treated for these conditions in the 2 years after they return, and 30% of those treated will receive evidence-based treatment (EBT). Our results suggest that the 2-year social costs of depression and PTSD for this cohort will be $923 million. Policy simulations evaluating the savings associated with universal access to EBT suggest that such access would generate cost savings of $138 million (15%). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences in caries recording with and without bitewing radiographs. A study on 5-year old children in the County of Bohusl?n, Sweden

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the cerebral blood flow parameters assessed by transcranial Doppler during aortic cross-clamping and unclamping in patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysmectomy. METHODS: Invasive intraoperative monitoring of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and PaCO2, and right middle cerebral artery (RMCA) monitoring of blood flow parameters (mean velocity "Vm" and pulsatility index "PI") by transcranial Doppler were performed as well as evaluation of the four parameters during these subsequent periods: pre-cross-clamping, pre-unclamping, unclamping and 1-5-10-20 minutes after abdominal aortic unclamping. RESULTS: No significative changes of MAP, PaCO2, Vm and PI were noticed during the aortic cross-clamping period (77.5 +/- 18.5 SD minutes). During aortic unclamping Vm and MAP decreased (64 +/- 20 vs 52 +/- 20 cm/sec, p < 0.05, and 101 +/- 8 vs 80 +/- 15 mmHg, p < 0.01, respectively). At the 1th post-unclamping minute there was an increase from pre-unclamping values of Vm (75 +/- 20 cm/sec, p < 0.05) and PaCO2 (42 +/- 1.5 vs 36 +/- 2 mmHg, p < 0.05), with persistent reduction of MAP (92 +/- mmHg, p < 0.05), even more evident at the 5th post-unclamping minute (Vm = 93 +/- 25 cm/sec; PaCO2 = 46 +/- 1.2 mmHg, p < 0.001, and MAP returned to pre-unclamping value), in which there was also a decrease of PI (0.65 +/- 0.16 vs 0.78 +/- 0.2, p < 0.05). At the 10th minute Vm (83 +/- 24 cm/sec, p < 0.02) and PaCO2 (41 +/- 1.5 mmHg, p < 0.05) increments were present together with persistent reduction of PI (0.69 +/- 0.17, p < 0.05), while at the 20th post-unclamping minute also Vm, PaCO2 and PI returned to their pre-unclamping values. CONCLUSIONS: The Vm decrease at aortic unclamping might correlate with the acute changes in MAP (blood steal hypovolemia) and is likely due to an inadequate cerebral autoregulatory response to abrupt MAP changes. The arterial CO2 increase after aortic unclamping could lead to a dilation of cerebral arterioles and a rise of CBF (increase of Vm and decrease of PI). Transcranial Doppler is a simple and reliable technique for the monitoring of cerebral blood flow parameters and seems to be quite suitable for the recognition and the quantification of changes in these parameters induced by surgical manoeuvres able to produce hemodynamic instability.     

Can it be predicted which patients with chronic low back pain should be offered tertiary rehabilitation in a functional restoration program? A search for demographic, socioeconomic, and physical predictors

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective clinical trial was conducted that involved six groups of patients with chronic low back pain selected from a large cohort (N = 816). OBJECTIVES: To correlate pretreatment baseline variables with outcome parameters after treatment in a functional restoration program or in control programs, to identify possible factors predictive of the need for functional restoration. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Since the functional restoration program was first described, research has focused on identifying patients who will or will not benefit from such a program. The value of previous studies is limited, however, because predictive factors from a control group were not "subtracted." METHODS: Eight hundred sixteen patients with chronic low back disability were included. All had a structured medical examination, including various physical tests before participation in either a functional restoration program (n = 621) or shorter "control" outpatient programs (n = 144). A smaller group of the cohort (n = 51) had no treatment and served as a pure control group. Six groups were selected from the cohort: Three underwent an identical functional restoration program and three underwent different outpatient control programs. Several baseline demographic, physical, and socioeconomic variables were correlated to 1-year outcome parameters. RESULTS: Age, days of sick leave, connection to the work force, and back pain intensity, were significantly correlated to success 1 year after entry into the study in all groups, no matter what kind of treatment was administered. Back muscle endurance, sports activity, activity of daily living scores, and vibrations were of importance in some outcome parameters for success after functional restoration. Smoking was positively correlated to disability pension. Days of sick leave and, in functional restoration, ability to work were the only factors that were correlative with statistics for people who withdrew. CONCLUSIONS: Different factors can be identified as predictive of outcome in a functional restoration program, but most of these factors were also shown to predict success for shorter control outpatient programs or of no treatment.     

Molecular Biology to Radiation Oncology: A Model for Translational Research? Opportunities in basic and translational research. From a workshop sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, Radiation Research Program, January 26-28, 1997, Bethesda, Maryland

Many exciting discoveries are being made that are providing new insights into how molecules, cells and tissues respond to ionizing radiation. There remains a need, however, to translate these findings into more effective treatments for cancer patients, including those treated with radiation therapy. This complex task will require the collaboration of scientists studying molecular, cellular and tissue responses, and those performing clinical trials of emerging therapies. The Radiation Research Program of the National Cancer Institute sponsored a workshop entitled "Molecular Biology to Radiation Oncology: A Model for Translational Research?" to bring together basic scientists and clinicians to exchange ideas and fundamental concepts and to identify opportunities for future research and collaboration. Four broad topics were addressed: signal transduction and apoptosis, the cell cycle, repair of radiation damage, and the microenvironment. The development, selection and use of appropriate experimental models is crucial to finding and developing new therapies, and opportunities exist in this area as well. This paper and the accompanying paper by Coleman and Harris that provides the viewpoint of radiation oncologists (Radiat. Res. 150, 134-147, 1998) summarize the background concepts and opportunities for translational research identified by the workshop participants.