Beyond hearing: Where the real-world and online support meet.

A random sample survey of an online self-help group for people with hearing loss was conducted. Two factors predicted active participation in the group: a lack of real-world social support and being comparatively effective (having less disability, coping more effectively, and using real-world professional services). More active participation in the group was associated with more benefits from the group and stronger reports of community orientation. The authors also found evidence that integration of online and real-world support (if it existed) benefited participants. That is, if supportive family and friends in the real world shared the online group with participants, participants reported above average benefits, whereas if supportive family and friends were uninvolved in the online group, participants reported below average benefits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Survey reveals physicians'' experiences with cults

In late June 1992, a stratified random sample of Pennsylvania physicians (5,400) were mailed a two-page questionnaire asking about experiences with destructive cults, either personal, professional, or both. Professional experience was defined as "with patients or their families," and personal experience was defined as "with self, family, or friends." The survey sample group was drawn from primary care physicians (family practice, general practice, internal medicine, and pediatrics) and psychiatrists. Surveys were returned by 1,396 participants, a 26 percent rate of return. A number of the returned surveys (173) included personal observations and comments.     

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Vif-derived peptides inhibit the viral protease and arrest virus production

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of food insufficiency in the United States and to examine sociodemographic characteristics related to food insufficiency. METHODS: Data were analyzed from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population living in households. Individuals were classified as "food insufficient" if a family respondent reported that the family sometimes or often did not get enough food to eat. RESULTS: From 1988 through 1994, the overall prevalence of food insufficiency was 4.1% and was primarily related to poverty status. In the low-income population, food insufficiency was positively associated with being Mexican American, being under the age of 60, having a family head who had not completed high school, participating in the Food Stamp Program, and not having health insurance. It was not related to family type or employment status of the family head. Over half of food-insufficient individuals lived in employed families. CONCLUSIONS: Food insufficiency is not limited to very low-income persons, specific racial/ethnic groups, family types, or the unemployed. Understanding food insufficiency is critical to formulating nutrition programs and policies.     

Affective, organizational, and relational characteristics of maltreating families: A system's perspective.

In-home structured interactions of 42 maltreating families (neglect: n?=?12; physical abuse: n?=?19; sexual abuse: n?=?11) and 23 low-income comparison families with preschool-aged children were examined to determine whether maltreating and nonmaltreating families could be distinguished by system-level processes. Coding from videotapes of family interactions yielded ratings for affective, organizational, and relational features of each family unit. Results from family coding demonstrated that sexually abusive families had significantly more difficulties regulating anger, evidenced more chaos and less role clarity, and relied less on adaptive-flexible relationship strategies than nonmaltreating families. The importance of family climate and structure, above and beyond individual maltreatment acts, are highlighted. Treatment and social policy implications and directions for future research in the family study of child maltreatment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adjustment of young adolescents in two-parent nuclear, stepfather, and mother-custody families.

This study examined differences in the psychological adjustment (self-reports of global severity of psychopathology, goal directedness, and school-related problems) and correlates of the psychological adjustment of 234 seventh- and ninth-grade students who resided in two-parent nuclear (intact) families, stepfather families, or mother-custody divorced families. These three family structures were equivalent, or were equated statistically, on demographic and socioeconomic variables. Adjustment was unrelated to family structure, gender, and grade or to any interactions among these variables. However, trends in the correlates of adjustment were similar for adolescents in each of the three family-structure groups. Generally, adjustment was negatively related to family conflict and to the use of externalizing coping strategies; was positively related to the family dimensions of cohesion, expressiveness, and personal growth; and was positively related to social support from friends. Current models of adolescent adjustment are discussed, and the limitations of self-report data are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Season's greetings: Adults' social contacts at the holiday season.

Close friends and family play an important role in adults' lives, but little is known about the implications of infrequent or peripheral social ties that adults maintain. Eighty-seven adults, ranging in age from 24 to 87 years (M?=?51.25) provided information about their holiday card networks. Participants completed surveys for up to 25 cards that they received during one holiday season (n?=?1,405 surveys completed) and provided the holiday greetings as well, if they were willing (n?=?1,152 cards). Over half of the cards participants received were from individuals whom participants did not consider to be close friends or family members and whom they had not seen in over a year. Adults of all ages described emotional reactions to approximately one third of the cards they received. Younger adults tended to view their holiday greetings as a means of maintaining or building new social ties, whereas older adults were more likely to view their holiday greetings as a link to their personal past. Receiving a greater number of holiday cards and receiving cards from close social contacts were associated with increased feelings of social embeddedness. Similarities and differences between peripheral ties and close social ties are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social influences in motivated drinking among college students.

This study tested whether drinking motives mediate the relation between personality and alcohol use and whether these predictors affected drinking in these individuals' friends. College students and their friends participated in the study as dyads (n=43 dyads, 86 participants). Each person completed surveys and a 28-day experience sampling protocol. Structural equation analyses found that (a) social motives mediated the relation between extraversion and alcohol outcomes, (b) coping motives mediated the relation between neuroticism and alcohol outcomes, and (c) enhancement motives mediated the relation between extraversion and alcohol outcomes. Moreover, young adults' alcohol use, but not their problem use, was influenced by their own drinking motives as well as the drinking motives of their best friends. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social support in college life for disabled students.

Examined the social support networks of 30 disabled students (mean age 25.7 yrs) using wheelchairs on 2 university campuses. Structured interviews recorded interpersonal relations deemed important in maintaining current lifestyles, the resources exchanged in these relationships, the direction of resource exchanges, and the value of relationships. Results indicate that while friends outnumbered family members in Ss' networks, family members were more highly valued. Comparisons with an additional group of 15 nondisabled students indicate that the disabled Ss' networks were more extensive and included more relationships with friends than those of nondisabled Ss. It is concluded that knowledge of the social support networks of disabled students has implications both for the kinds of services provided by more formal support systems and for counseling such students in their adjustment to college life. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding gender differences in bereavement following the death of an infant: Implications of or treatment.

The death of an infant confronts parents with a multitude of difficult challenges. Bereaved parents often experience a grief that is unexpectedly pervasive, intense and enduring. Support from family, friends, and medical professionals is often limited, and most parents rely predominantly on their partner or spouse for sustained support and understanding over time, partners often experience increased difficulties in supporting each other due to gender differences in grief and coping, strained communication, and characteristic patterns of misunderstandings. This article discusses research findings regarding gender similarities and differences in grief and coping following perinatal loss or loss from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and regarding marital difficulties associated with incongruent grieving. Also discussed are the impact of social support on the experience of bereavement, typical patterns of misunderstandings underlying many grief-related marital difficulties, and treatment recommendations for psychotherapists working with individual clients or bereaved couples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family cohesion, family adaptability, social support, and adolescent depressive symptoms in outpatient clinic families.

The relationships among adolescent depressive symptoms and self-reported family cohesion, adaptability, satisfaction with family functioning, family structure, and social support received from family and friends were investigated in a sample of 93 families attending family therapy at an outpatient clinic. Results were in keeping with previous studies of nonclinical samples, in that family cohesion and family social support were inversely related to depression. In contrast to nonclinical samples, family characteristics were more strongly associated with depression among boys than among girls, and social support from friends did not act as a buffer against depression. The strongest predictor of depressive symptoms was adolescents' levels of satisfaction with the cohesiveness and adaptability in their families, suggesting the importance of subjective cognitive appraisal in the link between family functioning and depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Familial coping with cancer in childhood and adolescence. Possibilities for standardized assessment with a self-assessment method: results of an empirical pilot study

44 parents of pediatric oncology patients answered mailed questionnaires about their own coping and about their sick children's coping and bodily complaints during oncological therapy. Most of the families coped well from parents' view. The dominant coping style of the parents consisted of active, problem-focused coping strategies in combination with an optimistic basic attitude, maintainance of family cohesion and belief in god or search for a meaning of the illness. The children and adolescents used predominantly adaptive coping strategies. The parental problem-group with a predominantly maladaptive coping-style reported low family cohesion, high depression, high wishful thinking and minimization. The maladaptive children and adolescents were rated as more socially withdrawing, more irritable, less optimistic and competent as well as less compliant. Strong correlations were found between parents' and their children's coping. Problem families with a special need for psychosocial support can early be identified by the coping questionnaires used in this study. Prospective longitudinal studies with multi-methodal and multi-perspective designs should be conducted to reach a better understanding of the family coping process in case of childhood and adolescence cancer.     

Social-environmental factors in unipolar depression: Comparisons of depressed patients and nondepressed controls.

Examined the role of stress and coping factors in depression by comparing a group of 409 Ss (over age 18) entering psychiatric treatment for unipolar depression with a sociodemographically matched group of 409 nondepressed Ss. In addition to reporting significantly more stressful events than controls, depressed Ss also experienced more severe life strains associated with their own and their family members' physical illness, their family relationships, and their home and work situations. Depressed Ss were less likely to use problem-solving and more likely to use emotion-focused coping responses and had fewer and less supportive relationships with friends, family members, and co-workers. These group differences were consistent for both depressed women and men. Findings indicate the value of expanding the consideration of psychosocial factors in depression to include individuals' chronic strains and acute stressors as well as their coping responses and social resources. (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive behavior in adult monkeys following separation from family environment.

Studied the reactions of 10 nuclear family-reared young adult rhesus monkeys to separation from their families. Ss housed with friends during family separation were relatively unaffected by the separation, as were Ss housed with both friends and strangers. However, Ss individually housed following family removal exhibited depressivelike behaviors previously observed only in infant monkeys separated from mother and/or peers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Epidemiologic studies of Reye's syndrome: cases seen in Pittsburgh, October 1973-April 1975

Twenty-seven cases of Reye's syndrome (RS) were admitted over a 19-month period to one urban hospital. All lived in a suburban or rural location and 23 cases occurred during two influenza outbreaks. Two to three months following the last cases of RS, 24 families of RS cases and 21 control families representing neighbors or friends were interviewed for factors which could predispose to RS. Children with RS had an illness immediately preceding the onset of RS more frequently than did controls (p less than .001). No other clinical, familial, or environmental factors distinguished RS children and families from controls. Water samples, collected during the interviews, from 34 homes showed no potential toxins. The geographic pattern of RS cases with localization exclusively to rural areas suggests that an as yet unidentified environmental factor may be related to the development of RS.     

Real and perceived attitude agreement in social networks.

It is often asserted that friends and acquaintances have more similar beliefs and attitudes than do strangers; yet empirical studies disagree over exactly how much diversity of opinion exists within local social networks and, relatedly, how much awareness individuals have of their neighbors' views. This article reports results from a network survey, conducted on the Facebook social networking platform, in which participants were asked about their own political attitudes, as well as their beliefs about their friends' attitudes. Although considerable attitude similarity exists among friends, the results show that friends disagree more than they think they do. In particular, friends are typically unaware of their disagreements, even when they say they discuss the topic, suggesting that discussion is not the primary means by which friends infer each other's views on particular issues. Rather, it appears that respondents infer opinions in part by relying on stereotypes of their friends and in part by projecting their own views. The resulting gap between real and perceived agreement may have implications for the dynamics of political polarization and theories of social influence in general. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early childhood family structure and mother–child interactions: Variation by race and ethnicity.

With data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort (n = 6,449), a nationally representative sample of births in 2001, we used hierarchical linear modeling to analyze differences in observed interactions between married, cohabiting, never-married, and divorced mothers and their children. In contrast to previous studies, we concentrated on early childhood, a developmentally critical period that has been understudied in the family structure literature, and relied on objective observational measures of mother–child interactions, which are unlikely to be biased by maternal perceptions of interactions with children. Nonmarital family structures were common in the lives of young children, as 32% lived outside of a married, biological parent home. Initial results indicated that married families were consistently associated with higher quality interactions. Moreover, though it was hypothesized that the presence of a biological father might be associated with higher quality interactions than single-parent households, this hypothesis was not confirmed. Additional models suggest that race and ethnicity moderated the effect of family structure, as non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White participants showed little significant variation between married and unmarried families. Among Hispanics, mothers living in cohabiting, divorced, or single families, when compared to married mothers, exhibited more negative and more intrusive behaviors; cohabiting mothers also scored lower on the measure of cognitive stimulation. Results suggest that marriage may not be uniformly associated with higher levels of mother–child interactions and that cohabitation, particularly for Hispanics, may be associated with adverse outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Approach and avoidance coping responses among older problem and nonproblem drinkers.

The Coping Responses Inventory (CRI) was used to study coping among older problem and nonproblem drinkers. The CRI organizes coping efforts according to their focus (approach or avoidance) and method (cognitive or behavioral). Compared with nonproblem drinkers, older problem drinkers were more likely to use cognitive and behavioral avoidance responses to manage life stressors. Problem drinkers who experienced more negative life events and more severe stressors used both more approach and more avoidance coping. Those who had more financial and social resources relied more on approach and less on avoidance coping. Problem drinkers who relied more on avoidance coping tended to have more drinking problems and to report more depression and physical symptoms and less self-confidence. Positive reappraisal was associated with less depression and more self-confidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Career-Sustaining Behaviors, Satisfactions, and Stresses of Professional Psychologists.

A random sample of licensed psychologists from Illinois (N=286) responded to a survey about career-sustaining behaviors (CSBs) and about satisfactions and stresses they experience at work. The highest rated CSBs were spending time with partner/family, maintaining a balance between personal and professional lives, and maintaining a sense of humor. Overall, more satisfied respondents reported greater importance of CSBs. Female respondents reported significantly greater use of CSBs than male respondents and were more likely to endorse behaviors that were relational or educational in nature, such as participating in personal therapy, spending time with friends, discussing work frustrations with colleagues, seeking case consultation, maintaining regular contact with referral networks, participating in continuing-education programs, reflecting on positive experiences, and engaging in quiet leisure activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)