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Biomedical subjects

S K Whitbourne

Publications and source records attributed to S K Whitbourne.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Transcriptional regulation of CCSP by interferon-gamma in vitro and in vivo.

Interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), a potent cytokine inducing a wide range of immunologic activities, is increased in the airway secondary to viral infection or during an inflammatory response. This increase in IFN-gamma concentration may alter the expression of specific airway epithelial cell genes that regulate adaptation of airway inflammatory responses. One protein induced by IFN-gamma is Clara cell secretory protein (CCSP), which may contribute to the attenuation of airway inflammation. This study was done to investigate the molecular mechanism by which IFN-gamma stimulates the expression of the CCSP gene in mouse transformed Clara cells and transgenic mice. Deletion mapping and linker-scanning mutations demonstrated that IFN-gamma-induced expression of CCSP was regulated, in part, at the level of transcription. In vitro and in vivo studies verified that the minimal IFN-gamma-responsive segment was localized to the proximal 166 bp of the 5'-flanking region. Additionally, IFN-gamma-induced expression of CCSP was mediated indirectly through an interferon regulatory factor-1-mediated increase in hepatocyte nuclear factor-3beta.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Identity processing styles and the need for self-esteem in middle-aged and older adults.

This study was a test of the relationship between self-esteem and the identity processing styles of identity assimilation (i.e., maintaining consistent views of the self), accommodation (i.e., changing the self ), and a balance between consistency seeking and identity change. A community sample of 242 older adults ranging in age from forty to ninety-five (M = 63.31) completed measures of identity processing and self-esteem. Previous research has demonstrated that identity assimilation increases with age in order to maintain self-esteem in the domain of physical and cognitive functioning; this is referred to as the identity assimilation effect (IAE). Based on this research, a similar result was expected in the domain of personality. Although identity assimilation and balance predicted increases in self-esteem, and identity accommodation predicted decreases in self-esteem, as predicted, no interaction effects were observed. The results of this study suggest the IAE may be domain specific to physical and cognitive functioning.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

Coping with schizophrenia: patterns in later adulthood.

By exploring the subjective experience of older people, this study investigated whether the coping framework developed with younger adults with schizophrenia could be applied to people with schizophrenia over the age of 50 years. Fifteen participants diagnosed with schizophrenia, over the age of 50, were recruited from clubhouses and given a semi-structured interview to identify what, if any, coping strategies were used to manage persistent symptoms. The results indicated that the coping strategies used by this older sample were similar to those reported by earlier studies with younger populations. However, it was reported that the efficacy of the coping strategies had increased as the participants had grown older and accepted their illness. Older adults with schizophrenia are capable of employing strategies to manage their illness and should be considered an important source of knowledge for younger individuals who struggle with the illness and for mental health professionals who work with the chronically mentally ill.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Psychosocial development and life experiences in adulthood: a 22-year sequential study.

In this study, a model was tested postulating reciprocal relationships between psychosocial development and life experiences in adulthood. A sequential design compared college alumni (n = 99) who were age 20 in 1966, age 31 in 1977, and 42 in 1988 (Cohort 1) with college alumni (n = 83) who were 20 in 1977 and 31 in 1988 (Cohort 2). Path analyses testing specific hypotheses provided partial support for the reciprocal model. For Cohort 1 men, lower socioeconomic levels at age 31 were associated with higher industry versus inferiority scores at age 42. For Cohort 1 women, higher identity scores at the age of 31 predicted full-time homemaker status by age 42. The findings from 20 to 31 years were more consistent for Cohort 2, with college psychosocial scores predictive of greater success and commitment in the areas of occupation and family life. Differences between the cohorts were interpreted in terms of sociohistorical factors including differential socialization between men and women in the 1960s versus the 1970s, as well as peculiarities of the period of the 1960s that appeared to influence specifically men who were in college.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Evaluation of infantilizing speech in a rehabilitation setting: relation to age.

The purpose of the present study was to assess whether reactions to infantilizing speech and content are a function of age when levels of dependence within an institutional environment are controlled. Ten individuals below the age of sixty-five were compared with ten above age sixty-five. Respondents were given two sets of materials designed to produce comparative ratings of adult and infantilized speech content and intonation. The over sixty-five age group did not detect a difference between adult and infantilizing content. The under sixty-five age group reacted more negatively to infantilizing content than did the older group. Independence scores were not significantly correlated with either set of speech ratings, or to age. The difference between older and younger adults with the same level of functional impairment supports the empirical literature that infantilization is due in part to stereotyped expectations regarding the aged as more dependent and hence in need of childlike treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Evaluation of infantilizing intonation and content of speech directed at the aged.

Infantilization was investigated in a sample of thirty-five elderly adults, both community residents (N = 18) and residents of institutions (N = 17). Respondents were presented with materials designed to elicit ratings of adult and infantilized speech content and intonation on the dimensions of "likeability," "equality of treatment," and "degree of respect." Community and institutionalized elders rated adult speech in an equivalent fashion. However, community residents were more negative in their ratings of infantilizing speech content and intonation compared to their ratings of adult speech than were institutionalized elders. The negative regard that community elders had for infantilizing speech was particularly pronounced for intonation. Furthermore, community elders appeared particularly resentful of infantilizing speech intonation on the dimension of respect. There was no evidence to support the contention that infantilizing speech is high in nurturance. Adding to the findings of Ryan and co-workers, it appeared important to differentiate between infantilizing content and intonation, as the infantilizing intonation produced a more pronounced negative reaction than did infantilizing content among community elders.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Older women's constructs of their lives: a quantitative and qualitative exploration.

In the present article, the lifespan construct model was applied to the lives of older women by administering the life drawing to a sample of seventy-eight community-dwelling elderly women. Respondents also completed the Bradburn Affect Balance Scale and the Nowicki-Strickland locus of control measure. Correlations were examined among measures derived from the life drawing (time perspective, affect, and content), affect, and locus of control. Quantitative findings indicated that the more positively adjusted older women were those who maintained an external locus of control, were future-oriented, and whose lifespan constructs were defined in terms of family. The qualitative data provided further support, as the women who described their lives in positive terms were those who seemed to define themselves in terms of their families. The findings were interpreted in terms of Erikson's theory and feminist approaches to understanding women's lives.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Psychosocial development in adulthood: a 22-year sequential study.

Data supporting the notion of adult personality stability are challenged by the present findings, in which developmental change was demonstrated using the Eriksonian-stage-based Inventory of Psychosocial Development (IPD; Constantinople, 1969). A sequential design over the ages 20-42 was used on 2 cohorts of college students and alumni originally tested in 1966 and 1976-1977 (ns in 1988 = 99 and 83, respectively), and a 3rd cohort of college students in 1988-1989 (n = 292). Results of longitudinal, cross-sectional, and sequential analyses challenged ideas about personality stability, with evidence of increasingly favorable resolutions of the early Eriksonian psychosocial stages up through the oldest age studied. There was evidence of a trend over the past decade toward less favorable resolution of ego integrity versus despair. The findings were interpreted in terms of developmental change processes during the adult years interacting with culturally based environmental effects on psychosocial development.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Age differences and correlates of worrying in young and elderly adults.

A cross-sectional investigation compared worry and its correlates in elderly people (N = 89) and in college students (N = 74). Consistent with prediction, the elderly adults expressed significantly fewer worries than the college students about finances and social events. Both groups were equally worried about health issues. The elderly scored higher on the Bradburn Affect Balance Scale, scored in the external direction on the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale, and were more oriented toward the past and present than the future. Worry in the elderly was related to less favorable attitudes toward the future, and among college students worry was related to negative attitudes toward the present. For both age groups, an external locus of control was associated with higher worry scores.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Identity processes and perceptions of the life span in chronic mental patients.

This study was an exploratory investigation of identity and life-span perceptions in a sample of thirty-seven chronic mental patients, ranging from twenty-three to sixty-four years of age, using the "life drawing," a projective technique. Age differences were found in the adaptation of identity to the life experiences associated with mental illness. Individuals less than thirty years old were more likely to adopt a "patient identity"; in contrast, the over-forty years-old adapted to their illness through denial. These differences held regardless of psychiatric diagnosis, suggesting a process of identity adaptation more general than is implied in mental disorder diagnostic systems.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

Ageism in undergraduate psychology texts.

A sample of 139 texts written over the past 40 years was analyzed for evidence of ageism (i.e., lack of attention to the psychology of later life and stereotyping of older adults). More recent texts cover the topic more comprehensively than in the past, but this coverage is limited in depth. Although textbook authors appear to be trying to communicate a positive message about aging and older persons, their efforts are compromised by ambivalence in the form of contradictory statements about the nature of the aging process. There is an unfortunate condensation of sources in recent texts, which draw heavily from a small cluster of authorities. Implications of these findings for the larger textbook enterprise are discussed.

Aging↗
PubMed1989

Social relationships, psychosocial adaptation, and intrainstitutional relocation of elderly men.

The intrainstitutional relocation of 40 men aged 53 to 91 years was studied in relation to social integration, and to behavioral and self-report measures of psychosocial adaptation. In both longitudinal and time-lag analyses of pre- and postrelocation data, relocated men scored lower on the attitude toward aging dimension (PGC Morale Scale, Lawton, 1975), had fewer friends, and evidenced better communication behavior (p less than .01) than did unrelocated men. The more sociable men showed more change after relocation than did men who were less sociable.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Outcomes of a geriatric rehabilitation program in a long-term care facility.

This study investigated outcomes of geriatric rehabilitation and predictors of success among 81 consecutive admissions to a 40-bed rehabilitation unit in a long-term care facility. Predictors measured at admission included sociodemographic variables, functional status (both current and prior to illness), social contact, and self-motivation. In all, 62 patients (77%) successfully completed the rehabilitation program; 76% of the successes were discharged home. Failure to discharge successfully rehabilitated subjects was mainly due to placement problems and patient and family preference. Both of the success groups showed significant improvement in functional status (Barthel Index), while failures had poorer initial functional status, and showed no improvement on average. At six-month follow-up, functional status (measured by the Sickness Impact Profile) was similar in the two success groups. No predictors other than functional status were associated with rehabilitation success. Among the successes, better functional status at six months was predicted by aspects of self-motivation.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Openness to experience, identity flexibility, and life change in adults.

The personality trait of openness to experience was used to predict identity flexibility, the tendency of adults to evaluate alternative identity commitments in the area of family and work. Openness to experience was also used as an independent variable to predict the occurrence of actual life change 12 months after identity flexibility was ascertained. A sample of 57 adults (34 women and 23 men) ranging in age from 24 to 61 (M = 41 years) was tested twice over the 12-month period. Age and openness to experience significantly predicted identity flexibility, whereas only years of education predicted life change. Identity flexibility was significantly related to life change. It was concluded that both personality and perceived and actual social resources are predictors of flexibility and life change in adulthood.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Age and openness to experience in autobiographical memory.

Adult age and openness to experience were examined as predictors of autobiographical memory in a group of men and women ranging from 25 to 85 years of age. The remoteness of autobiographical memories retrieved in response to prompt words was more dependent on the age of the respondent than on his or her tendency to be receptive to new experiences as measured by Costa and McCrae's (1978) Experience Inventory. Older adults were more past-oriented in their recollections than younger adults, and experientially-open individuals regardless of age recalled more events from their recent pasts than from their distant pasts. Number of memories recalled, while not related to age, was positively associated with experiential openness.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Imagery and modality in sentence acquisition by adult males and females.

The hypothesis that imagery use by the aged in learning concrete materials is suppressed under visual presentation conditions was investigated in a comparison of acquisition of sentences across three learning trials. Ten men and women in each of three age groups (21.4, 39.7, and 69.5 years) were given five abstract and five concrete sentences under either auditory or visual presentation. It was hypothesized that interference between perceptual and mediational processes would occur when both were dependent on the same store (visual or auditory), and that the oldest group would be most subject to this interference effect with concrete sentences. The results provided support for this hypothesis and led to the further suggestion that the effect of interference was mediated by practice.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

How physicians view the process of change in their practice behavior.

The changes all physicians make in their treatment of patients constitute a neglected but key issue in the operation of the health care system. Identification of a model of this crucial change process was the purpose of this study. Interviews with a random sample of 66 physicians representing five specialties produced data on 182 changes. The fundamental stages in the change process were priming (coming to feel dissatisfaction with some aspect of practice behavior), focusing (learning of alternative practice behavior), and follow-up (obtaining further information or advice regarding the possible change). Any of a variety of information sources may focus a change, but follow-up is overridingly dependent on colleague communication (representing local professional opinion) and journals (representing an authoritative professional perspective). This change process model provides a basis for orienting continuing medical education activities to the achievement of behavioral outcomes.

Behavior↗