Physical attractiveness and health: Comment on Weeden and Sabini (2005).

Evolutionary behavioral biology suggests that certain characteristics of the human face and body are important for mate preferences and are therefore subject to sexual selection. J. Weeden and J. Sabini (see record 2005-11504-001) identify a number of weaknesses in the association between traits' attractiveness and health. In contrast, the authors argue that (a) studies on preferences for physical characteristics that rely on 1 trait permit only limited interpretation, (b) limitations placed on J. Weeden and J. Sabini's review exclude important associations, (c) there are misconceptions in their treatment of some traits, and (d) their selected literature provides an inaccurate picture regarding effect size. The authors suggest that future research in this field should seek conceptual and methodological constancy in trait selection and in the evaluation of attractiveness- and health-related traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Community Psychology: In Pursuit of Liberation and Well-being.

Reviews the book Community Psychology: In Pursuit of Liberation and Well-being, edited by Geoffrey Nelson and Isaac Prilleltensky (2005). As their subtitle suggests, the authors are concerned with many matters beyond a mental health focus. Although they modestly describe themselves as "editors," Nelson and Prilleltensky actually wrote most of the book, with only Parts 5 and 6 devoted to the work of others. In Part I, the authors introduce their project for community psychology, offering "issues, values, and tools for liberation and well-being." In Part II, "Values, Principles, and Conceptual Tools," the authors talk about sources of values and the way values are chosen to inform research and action. Part III, "Tools for Action," is devoted to interventions at various levels: social, organizational, small group, and individual. In Part IV, the authors present "Tools for Research." Part V presents diverse topics that include marginalization; globalization, poverty, and social justice; colonization and racism; immigration, adaptation, and the challenges of cultural diversity. Part VI, a final "look toward the future," talks about the new aims and definitions of community psychology presented by this text. This books is one of those rare texts that fully meets the twin purposes of providing ideas for the mature community psychologist as well as working as a text for advanced students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Keeping It Real: A Grounded Theory Study of African American Clients Engaging in Counseling at a Community Mental Health Agency.

Few studies have examined African American clients' subjective experiences in counseling from their perspective. This study used a constructivist paradigm, grounded theory methodology, and dimensional analysis to develop a model of clients' subjective experiences in counseling. Derived from clients' perspectives, the model suggests that the African American participants in this study engaged in an ongoing assessing process. Initially, they assessed client-therapist match, which was influenced by 3 factors: salience of Black identity, court involvement, and ideology similarity between client and therapist. These clients then assessed their safety in therapy and their counselor's effectiveness simultaneously. Clients in turn used information obtained from their assessing process to monitor and manage their degree of self-disclosing along a continuum. The model has important implications for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reciprocal Associations Between Adolescent Sexual Activity and Quality of Youth-Parent Interactions.

The authors examined differences in adolescents' relationships with their parents before and after adolescent first sexual activity. Participants were 13,570 members of the core sample of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health) Waves 1 and 2. Path analyses examined changes in parent-adolescent closeness, shared activities, and problem-focused interactions associated with changes in sexual activity separately for sons and daughters and for mothers and fathers. Race, religion, age, urbanicity, and parents' education were controls. Results confirm that increased problem-focused interactions and decreased parental closeness and shared activities both precede and follow adolescent sexual activity. Maintaining positive parental relations after adolescent first sexual activity is discussed as a means to reduce risks associated with sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood Sexual and Physical Abuse and the 1-Year Prevalence of Medical Problems in the National Comorbidity Survey.

In a population sample (N = 5,877; ages 15 to 54), the authors found childhood sexual and physical abuse to be associated with the 1-year prevalence of serious health problems for both men and women. The authors also found that participants' psychiatric disorders partially mediated the effects of physical and sexual abuse on adult health. However, childhood abuse continued to independently influence health status after the authors controlled for psychiatric disorders. Contrary to expectations, individuals who experienced a combination of sexual and physical abuse did not have a higher frequency of health problems than those who experienced either type of abuse alone. Implications for these findings are discussed, including possible mechanisms that may account for the association between childhood abuse and adult health problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adherence Across Behavioral Domains in Treatment Promoting Smoking Cessation Plus Weight Control.

The authors tested whether adherence to simultaneous health behavior changes was unitary or domain specific among 76 women who modified smoking, eating, and physical activity to accomplish smoking cessation plus weight control. Random-effects regression analyses showed that adherence to both smoking and diet plans declined linearly and covaried positively; their association tended to grow stronger over time. In contrast, physical activity plan adherence did not change over time and was unrelated to other domains. At the end of treatment, 65%, 30.5%, and 25% adhered well or excellently to smoking, diet, and activity treatments, respectively. Findings support both unitary and domain-specific aspects of adherence and suggest that among smokers, smoking and eating behaviors may have similarities unshared by physical activity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative Optimism About Health and Nonhealth Events in 8- and 9-Year-Old Children.

Comparative optimism has been studied extensively in adults and is a significant component of social- cognitive models about health. In contrast, little is known about comparative optimism in children or about the wider social- cognitive processes that underpin their health-related behavior. This study investigated comparative optimism for health- and nonhealth-related topics in 101 children 8 or 9 years of age, the youngest ages that have been investigated so far. Children were shown to be unrealistically optimistic for health and nonhealth events. The implications of these findings for understanding comparative optimism in children are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why Are You Bringing Up Condoms Now? The Effect of Message Content on Framing Effects of Condom Use Messages.

According to prospect theory (A. Tversky & D. Kahneman, 1981), messages advocating a low-risk (i.e., easy, low-cost) behavior are most effective if they stress the benefits of adherence (gain framed), whereas messages advocating a risky behavior are most effective if they stress the costs of nonadherence (loss framed). Although condom use is viewed as a low-risk behavior, it may entail risky interpersonal negotiations. Study 1 (N = 167) compared ratings of condom use messages advocating relational behaviors (e.g., discussing condoms) or health behaviors (e.g., carrying condoms). As predicted, loss-framed relational messages and gain-framed health messages received higher evaluations. Study 2 (N = 225) offers a replication and evidence of issue involvement and gender as moderators. Results are discussed with reference to the design of condom use messages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Injury risk among children of low-income U.S.-born and immigrant mothers.

The number of immigrants in the United States is at an all time high, yet psychologists have largely ignored the domain of immigrant health. This article considers 1 aspect of immigrant health, risk for pediatric injury. A sample of over 5,000 5-year-old children from impoverished families was studied; approximately 13% had immigrant mothers. Children of immigrants had a significantly lower rate of injury in the prior year. This was particularly true of non-White children of immigrants. Three possible mediators for this finding--assistance with parenting, parenting style, and health care accessibility--were considered, but none explained the difference. The need for further research on the topic and implications of results for injury prevention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial and health consequences of adolescent depression in Black and White young adult women.

Depression in adolescent girls may result in negative consequences in young adulthood. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was administered to 1,727 Black and White girls ages 16 to 18 years who participated in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Growth and Health Study. Three years later, women in the depressed groups were more likely to be current smokers, had attained a lower level of education, and reported lower self-worth relative to the nondepressed group. Body dissatisfaction, eating concerns, and loneliness were greater in the depressed groups. Relative to Black women, White women who were moderately depressed during adolescence reported more health care services utilization in young adulthood. Prevention efforts for depressed adolescents should be broadly focused to improve young adult outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)