Understanding infidelity: Correlates in a national random sample.

Infidelity is a common phenomenon in marriages but is poorly understood. The current study examined variables related to extramarital sex using data from the 1991-1996 General Social Surveys. Predictor variables were entered into a logistic regression with presence of extramarital sex as the dependent variable. Results demonstrated that divorce, education, age when first married, and 2 "opportunity" variables--respondent's income and work status--significantly affected the likelihood of having engaged in infidelity. Also, there were 3 significant interactions related to infidelity: (a) between age and gender, (b) between marital satisfaction and religious behavior, and (c) between past divorce and educational level. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental correlates of handedness in a national sample of 11-year-olds

In this paper we present data on the prevalence of speech problems in a nationally representative group of children according to three modes of assessment. There was a large measure of disagreement between the assessments. Sex, social class, birth order and family size differences were examined. There was indirect evidence to suggest that the social class differences in the teacher's assessments of poor speech could be explained in terms of differences in children's dialect and language rather than a reflection of speech deficits. Finally we examined the relationship between parental assessment and the three modes of assessment. Overall, the degree of concurrence was low.     

Psychosocial sequelae of violent victimization in a national youth sample.

In a national telephone sample of youths aged 10–16 years, over one third reported having been the victims of an assault. Victimized respondents displayed significantly more psychological and behavioral symptomatology than did non victimized respondents (more symptomatology related to post traumatic stress disorder, more sadness, and more school difficulties), even after controlling for some other possible sources of distress. Sexual assault was associated with particularly high levels of symptomatology. However, victims of other forms of assault—nonfamily assaults involving weapons or physical injury (aggravated assaults), assaults by parents, violence to genitals, and attempted kidnappings—also evidenced levels of distress that were not statistically lower than those suffered by victims of sexual assault. The findings suggest that substantial mental health morbidity in the general child and adolescent population is associated with victimization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prevalence of migraine in a sample population of school children

INTRODUCTION: The object of this study was to determine the prevalence of migraine in school children in our area, since few such studies have been done. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was carried out by means of a questionnaire given to school children aged between 6 and 14. We selected a representative sample of the population, the size of which was determined by accepting as a reference value the 4% mentioned by Bille. The questionnaire was drawn up after a search of the literature for similar questionnaires and a preliminary trial on children known to suffer from migraine (giving a specificity of 96.6% and a sensitivity of 96.5%). RESULTS: Using the criteria of Vahlquist there was a prevailence of 7.0% and with IHS of 6.7%. There was a predominance (not significant) of females (54.4%). In 89.1% there was a positive family history (parents and/or siblings) of migraine.     

Psychological health in a non-clinical sample of obese women

PURPOSE: A new semi-continuous thermodilution cardiac output (CCO) system has been developed recently (Opti-Q and Q-vue Abbott critical care system). The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy and reproducibility of this new device with conventional ice-bolus thermodilution cardiac output (BCO). METHODS: Fifteen critically ill patients who needed pulmonary artery catheterization were prospectively investigated. Eighty seven paired data using BCO and CCO methods were compared. Reproducibility was assessed from 90 BCO and 87 CCO determinations by calculation of the mean standard error (SEM) and according to Bland and Altman methodology. RESULTS: The BCO and CCO ranged from 2.46 to 11.20 L.min-1 and from 1.75 to 10.05 L.min-1 respectively. Bias (mean difference between BCO and CCO) was null (0.002 L.min-1, P = 0.98), precision (SD of the bias) was 0.74 L.min-1 and the limits of agreement (mean difference +/- 1.96 SD) ranged from -1.45 to 1.45 L.min-1. The threshold to consider two cardiac outputs as different (3 x SEM) was equivalent for BCO and CCO (0.54 and 0.465 L.min-1 respectively). According to the Bland and Altman method, reproducibility of CCO was greater than that of BCO; bias of repeated measurements of BCO and CCO were 0.15 L.min-1 (P < 0.05) and 0.047 L.min-1 (NS), respectively. CONCLUSION: Compared with BCO, this new device was accurate but cannot be considered as interchangeable regarding the limits of agreement. Reproducibility of CCO was superior to BCO.     

Mate selection preferences: Gender differences examined in a national sample.

Social psychologists have devoted considerable theoretical and empirical attention to studying gender differences in traits desired in a mate. Most of the studies on mate preferences, however, have been conducted with small, nonrepresentative samples. In this study, we analyzed data collected from single adults in a national probability sample, the National Survey of Families and Households. Respondents were asked to consider 12 possible assets or liabilities in a marriage partner and to indicate their willingness to marry someone possessing each of these traits. These data extended previous research by comparing men's and women's mate preferences in a heterogeneous sample of the national population and by comparing gender differences in different sociodemographic groups. The gender differences found in this study were consistent with those secured in previous research (e.g., youth and physical attractiveness were found to be more important for men than for women; earning potential was found to be less important for men than for women) and were quite consistent across age groups and races. However, the various sociodemographic groups differed slightly in the magnitude of gender differences for some of the mate preferences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trends toward a national health care marketplace

In the last two decades, the term "quality-of-life" has become popular in medicine and health care. There are, however, important differences in the meaning and the use of the term. The message of all quality-of-life talk is that medicine and health care are not valuable in themselves. They are valuable to the extent that they contribute to the quality of life of patients. The ultimate aims of medicine and health care are not health or prolongation of life as such, but preservation or improvement of the quality of life. The primary aims of medicine and health care, such as the prolongation of life, can--but need not always--come into conflict with the ultimate ones: medical treatments do not always benefit a patient. In this article I will, first, summarize the results of my explorations of the use and the meaning of the term "quality-of-life." The use and the meaning of the term turn out to depend on the contexts of medical decision-making in which it is used. I will show that there are at least three different concepts of quality-of-life. Second, I will argue that the different concepts of quality-of-life are not unrelated. They point to different components of and/or conditions for happiness. Third, I will analyze the relation between the three concepts of quality-of-life, health and happiness.     

Perceived race-based discrimination, employment status, and job stress in a national sample of black women: implications for health outcomes

This study examined concordance between self-reported drug use and urinalysis data among 341 applicants for methadone treatment in Sydney, Australia. Rates of under-reporting of use of specific drugs were low (0% to 10%). Irregular drug use, short half-life of some abused drugs, and relatively low sensitivity of the TLC assay procedure led to most detected drugs being found in only one of two urine samples collected. Subjects reported having recently used nearly twice as many drugs as were detected in their urine. Agreement (kappa) between self-report and urinalysis results was in the fair to good range for most drugs. None of the six predictors of misreporting examined were found to be of practical value.     

Gallstones and diabetes: a case-control study in a free-living population sample

Data on the association between cholelithiasis and diabetes often are controversial and are mostly based on autopsies or on hospital series. Therefore, we designed a case-control study to determine the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in a group of subjects with gallstones or having undergone cholecystectomy (cases) and compared these with a control group of subjects without gallstones, selected during an epidemiological study performed on a free-living population sample. The subjects were matched for sex, age, and body mass index. We enlisted 336 cases and 336 controls, aged 30 to 69 years. All subjects with fasting glycemic levels of < 140 mg/dL and without a documented history of diabetes were submitted to a simplified oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). All subjects who underwent OGTT were classified according to the National Diabetes Data Group (NDDG) criteria. The prevalence of diabetes in the subjects affected by gallstone disease was significantly higher than that in controls (11.6% vs. 4.8%; odds ratio [OR], 2.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.39-4.67). Diabetes was more frequent in subjects with gallstone disease than in the control group, even according to sex (18.3% vs. 9.9% for men: OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 0.99-4.2; 9.3% vs. 2.6% for women: OR, 3.85; 95% CI, 1.4-10.6). We conclude that an altered glucose metabolism may increase the risk of developing cholelithiasis in certain subjects.     

Study of 15 protein polymorphisms in a sample of the Turkish population

Anatolia, because of its geographic position and its use as an area of settlement, was also a land of transit that accommodated a succession of populations. The last important invasion occurred in the Middle Ages with the arrival of the Turks, an Altaic-speaking nomadic population descended from the Oguz tribes and originating in Mongolia. Although the Turks imposed their culture, their genetic contribution seems to have been modest. To validate this hypothesis, we studied the genetic structure of the Turkish population by examining 15 genetic markers in a sample of 93 subjects. The allele frequencies observed were HP*1 = 0.240; GLO1*1 = 0.344, ESD*2 = 0.134, GC*1S = 0.613, GC*1F = 0.129, PGM1*2S = 0.322, PGM1*2F = 0.041, PGM1*1F = 0.027, F13B*1 = 0.762, F13B*2 = 0.101, ORM1*S = 0.327, AHSG*2 = 0.181, C6*B = 0.239, C7*1 = 0.983, APOC2*1 = 1.0, APOE*3 = 0.868, APOE*2 = 0.063, BF*F = 0.258, BF*S07 = 0.017, BF*SQ0 = 0.011, C4A*Q0 = 0.145, C4A*2 = 0.070, C4A*5 = 0.012, C4A*6 = 0.023, C4B*Q0 = 0.101, C4B*2 = 0.048, C4B*3 = 0.005, and C4B*11 = 0.005. The present Turkish population was compared to other European, Middle Eastern, and North African populations by means of correspondence analysis. Turks cluster with Turkomans, who share the ancient Turks' derivation from the Oguz tribe. Moreover, Turks clearly belong to European groups and resemble the populations of neighboring countries. Therefore the present data support the hypothesis that the ancient Turkish tribes, who started to enter Anatolia 1000 years ago, contributed little to the gene pool of the preexisting Anatolian populations. Alternatively, if the genetic structure of the invading Turks resembled that of the ancient Anatolians, it will be impossible to find traces of their admixture with the autochthonous inhabitants of Anatolia. However, further analysis of other samples from Turkey and from populations living in the homelands of the Turkish tribes, namely, the eastern area of the Caspian Sea and Mongolia, is needed.     

Women, marital status, and symptoms of depression in a midlife national sample

Hospitals have to purchase new technology, update equipment, and replenish supplies continually to meet the needs of patients and the medical and nursing staff in a sound financial way. Thus, inventories must be maintained accurately and adequately with proper controls. Awareness of the cost of capital and operational supplies is essential to meeting budget allocations. With or without centralized buying, the MM department has the expertise to assist every department in purchasing to meet its needs and in setting and resetting inventory levels for its supplies. Explanations and formulas for handling capital equipment and regular supplies and some formats have been presented to facilitate the process. Because OR items are both expensive and numerous and OR storage space the most costly space in the hospital, physicians and nurse managers must understand the financial processes and inventory management and educate their staffs in these matters.     

Neurocognitive influences on health behavior in a community sample.

Context: Dominant models of individual health behavior omit biological variables entirely and are composed almost exclusively of social-cognitive and conative variables. Research from the neurosciences suggests a role for brain function in explaining behaviors that require active self-regulation for consistent performance. However, the association between brain function and health behavior is underexplored. Objective: To examine the predictive power of executive function for 2 health risk behaviors and 2 health protective behaviors in healthy adults. Design: A cross-sectional community sample (N = 216) of adults 20-100 years of age were administered a battery of neuropsychological tests and completed self-report questionnaires regarding their health practices. It was hypothesized that poor performance on neuropsychological tests tapping executive function would be associated with poor health behavior tendencies. Results: Errors on the Stroop task were positively associated with health risk behavior and negatively associated with health protective behavior after controlling for demographics, education, and IQ. Conclusion: Executive function is associated with health behavior tendencies. If the association is causal, explanatory models of individual health behavior should be revised to account for individual differences in biologically imbued self-regulatory abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Socioeconomic determinants of health. The contribution of nutrition to inequalities in health

Social class differences in health are seen at all ages, with lower socioeconomic groups having greater incidence of premature and low birthweight babies, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers in adults. Risk factors including lack of breast feeding, smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, hypertension, and poor diet are clustered in the lower socioeconomic groups. The diet of the lower socioeconomic groups provides cheap energy from foods such as meat products, full cream milk, fats, sugars, preserves, potatoes, and cereals but has little intake of vegetables, fruit, and wholewheat bread. This type of diet is lower in essential nutrients such as calcium, iron, magnesium, folate, and vitamin C than that of the higher socioeconomic groups. New nutritional knowledge on the protective role of antioxidants and other dietary factors suggests that there is scope for enormous health gain if a diet rich in vegetables, fruit, unrefined cereal, fish, and small quantities of quality vegetable oils could be more accessible to poor people.     

Changes in energy intakes during pregnancy and lactation in a national sample of US women

Increases in energy intakes during pregnancy and lactation were evaluated by examining dietary data for 458 pregnant women who participated in the Continuing Surveys of Food Intakes by Individuals conducted in 1985 and 1986. Energy intakes were well below recommendations during all reproductive states; however, increases during pregnancy approximated recommendations, while increases during lactation were low. Postpartum non-lactating intakes did not return to prepregnancy levels for Black women or women with lower incomes.     

Tackling inequalities in health: experience in the UK

During the past year, there has been increasing emphasis on inequalities in health, following the publication of policy documents on public health and health services by the new Government. Each District has to produce a Health Improvement Programme, which involves local authorities, voluntary agencies and businesses. Local targets for inequality may be required. The framework proposed by Government covers three levels: 1. AIMS: Increase disability-free life expectancy/reduce inequalities 2. SETTINGS: Healthy schools, for children/healthy workplace, for adults/healthy localities for older people 3. TARGETS: Heart disease and stroke/cancers/accidents/mental health. The text provides specific examples of existing projects for children and the role of the NHS as the biggest employer in UK.