Making sense of multiple sclerosis.

Objective: In this study, the aim was to examine the dimensional structure of a multi-item measure of sense making in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and to investigate relations between sense making and both positive and negative adjustment outcomes. Method: Participants were 408 persons with MS and 232 caregivers. Questionnaires were completed at the initial assessment (Time 1) and 12 months later (Time 2). Results: Factor analysis of the Sense Making Scale (SMS) revealed 6 psychometrically sound factors: Redefined Life Purpose, Acceptance, Spiritual Perspective, Luck, Changed Values and Priorities, and Causal Attribution. Results of regression analyses indicated that the Time 2 SMS factors accounted for significant amounts of variance in each of the Time 2 adjustment outcomes (life satisfaction, positive states of mind, anxiety, depression, caregiver adjustment rating of the care receiver), after controlling for Time 1 adjustment and relevant demographic and illness variables. Conclusions: Findings delineate the dimensional structure of sense making in MS and the differential links between sense making dimensions and adjustment and have implications for the measurement of sense making. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Making sense of research

The article covers experimental data about influence of infrasound on hearing and vestibular apparatus, about body changes linked functionally to this apparatus. The authors revealed 4 zones of response of hearing and vestibular apparatus to infrasound. Infrasound appeared to affect directly nuclei of VIII and X cranial nerves and indirectly other organs and systems linked functionally to vagus nerve.     

Breast cancer worry and screening: Some prospective data.

Breast cancer concerns were measured among 353 women, ages 40–75, from North Dakota. One year later, participants were recontacted and asked about their screening behavior during the previous year. Greater concern about breast cancer, even the highest level of concern, was related to a higher likelihood that women performed breast self-examination, had a mammography screening, and had a clinical breast examination. These data do not support the idea that worry inhibits action; instead, they suggest that nonpathological worry motivates self-protective behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Making sense of hemodynamic monitoring

Like pieces in a puzzle, hemodynamic monitoring values can provide a vivid picture of a heart under stress--once you understand how to put all the pieces together. Here's a step-by-step guide.     

Making sense of word senses: The comprehension of polysemy depends on sense overlap.

Studies of polysemy are few in number and are contradictory. Some have found differences between polysemy and homonymy (L. Frazier & K. Rayner, 1990), and others have found similarities (D. K. Klein & G. Murphy, 2001). The authors investigated this issue using the methods of D. K. Klein and G. Murphy (2001), in whose study participants judged whether ambiguous words embedded in word pairs (e.g., tasty chicken) made sense as a function of a cooperating, conflicting, or neutral context. The ambiguous words were independently rated as having low, moderate, or highly overlapping senses to approximate a continuum from homonymy to metonymic polysemy. The effects of meaning dominance were examined. Words with highly overlapping meanings (e.g., metonymy) showed reduced effects of context and dominance compared with words with moderately or low overlapping meanings (e.g., metaphorical polysemy and homonymy). These results suggest that the comprehension of ambiguous words is mediated by the semantic overlap of alternative senses/meanings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Breast cancer screening. State of the art and introduction to preventive measures

Carcinoma of the breast is the most frequent cause of death in women aged between approximately 38 and 50 years. At present, 1 out of 14 women in Germany and 1 out of 9 in America suffer from breast cancer within a life time. To date, modern methods of treatment and hormone therapy have only been able to increase long-term survival by about 12%. Trials have shown that early diagnosis alone has been able to increase survival from 20% to 50%. Early diagnosis proved to be most effective when clinical examination plus mammography in two planes was carried out annually. An increase in survival has been achieved in post-menopausal women as a result of screening. 22 percent of breast cancers were detected at a curable in situ stage by means of screening. Even after a limited screening program of 4 examination cycles the increase in survival rate over 15-20 years was significant.     

Making sense of bovine spongiform encephalopathy

The possibility of animals infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) causing Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans has caused public alarm resulting in the banning of the export of British beef. This paper explores the current understanding of BSE and its relationship to CJD. Although there are similarities between the diseases, there is no clear evidence of a causal link between the two.     

Applying cognitive-social theory to health-protective behavior: Breast self-examination in cancer screening.

Applies recent developments in cognitive-social theory to health-protective behavior, articulating a Cognitive-Social Health Information Processing (C-SHIP) model. This model of the genesis and maintenance of health-protective behavior focuses on the individual's encodings and construals, expectancies, affects, goals and values, self-regulatory competencies, and their interactions with each other and the health-relevant information in the course of cognitive-affective processing. In processing health information, individuals are assumed to differ in both the accessibility of these mental representations and the organization of relationships among them. In this article, the model is applied to analyze and integrate the often-confusing findings on breast self-examination in cancer screening. Implications are considered for assessments and interventions to enhance adherence to complex, long-term, health-protective regimens, tailored to the needs and characteristics of the individual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Breast cancer screening and related attitudes among Filipino-American women

This study assessed mammography screening rates and related attitudes and intervention preferences in Filipino-American women, a group that has been neglected in cancer control research. Face-to-face interviews were conducted in English and Tagalog with a convenience sample of 218 Filipino women 50 years and older residing in Los Angeles. Sixty-six % had ever had a screening mammogram, 42% had had one in the past 12 months, and 54% in the past 2 years. These rates are about 20% lower than those found among African-American and white women in the 1994 California Behavioral Risk Factor Survey. Women who had received a doctor's recommendation to obtain a mammogram, women stating that they were very likely to obtain a mammogram if a physician recommended it, and women who felt very comfortable requesting a mammogram from a physician were more likely to have been screened. Women who had friends and relatives who had obtained mammograms those stating that their friends and relatives would be very supportive of their getting a mammogram, and those who felt that it was very worthwhile to obtain a mammogram were also more likely to have been screened. The following variables were negatively related to the outcome: concern over cost, the attitude that mammograms are only needed in the presence of symptoms, perceived inconvenience of taking the time and difficulties getting to the mammography facility, and embarrassment. Implications for interventions to increase breast cancer screening are discussed.     

Breast cancer screening adherence: does church attendance matter?

Little is known about the health behaviors of church attendees. This article reviewed telephone interview data of 1,517 women who were church members from 45 churches located in Los Angeles County to determine their breast cancer screening status and to identify the key predictors of screening. Almost all of this sample (96%) reported attending church at least once a month. Key predictors of screening included physician-patient communication, ethnic background, and having medical insurance. Although church-related predictors were not significantly related to screening adherence, the authors compared community-based screening rates from another sample to their sample rates and found that, when controlling for income and education, church members fared better on mammography screening than women who were community residents. This finding suggests that frequent church attendance contributes to better mammography screening status and that the relationship between religious involvement and health behaviors needs further explanation.     

Making sense by making sentient: Effectance motivation increases anthropomorphism.

People commonly anthropomorphize nonhuman agents, imbuing everything from computers to pets to gods with humanlike capacities and mental experiences. Although widely observed, the determinants of anthropomorphism are poorly understood and rarely investigated. We propose that people anthropomorphize, in part, to satisfy effectance motivation—the basic and chronic motivation to attain mastery of one's environment. Five studies demonstrated that increasing effectance motivation by manipulating the perceived unpredictability of a nonhuman agent or by increasing the incentives for mastery increases anthropomorphism. Neuroimaging data demonstrated that the neural correlates of this process are similar to those engaged when mentalizing other humans. A final study demonstrated that anthropomorphizing a stimulus makes it appear more predictable and understandable, suggesting that anthropomorphism satisfies effectance motivation. Anthropomorphizing nonhuman agents seems to satisfy the basic motivation to make sense of an otherwise uncertain environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)