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PubMedDate not supplied

Rational decision perspectives on alcohol consumption by youth. Revising the theory of planned behavior.

Cognitive and developmental approaches have made great strides in describing and predicting alcohol consumption by youth. The present review examines several theories of decision making with regard to alcohol consumption, including subjective expected utility (SEU) theory, the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior, and alcohol-related outcome expectancy theory. In addition, the developmental literature on the contribution of parents and peers to adolescent alcohol consumption is reviewed. A model is proposed, which integrates the theory of planned behavior and alcohol-related outcome expectancy theory with modifications based on findings from the developmental literature. Implications for further research are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

On the history of biological theories of homosexuality.

Biological theories of homosexuality fit into the discourse on reproduction and sexuality that began in the nineteenth century. They arose in the context of the early homosexual rights movement, with its claim for natural rights, and the psychiatric discussions about sexual perversions. With the classification of homosexuality as a distinct category, homosexuals were excluded from the "normal". Biological theories of homosexuality were attempts not only to explain its causes, but also to maintain the exclusion of homosexuals as the "other". Biological explanations can be categorized as genetic, constitutional, endocrinological, and ethological. On the one hand, biological theories were used in the struggle for homosexual rights. On the other hand, they were used to "cure"e homosexuals. Every theory led to a specific therapy. This paper points out the roots of this thinking, traces the development of various theories, and shows the utilization of biological theories in treating homosexuality.

Female↗
PubMed1990

A unified theory of aging.

In the 1988 issue of this Journal, in the article: "Aging: Causes and control," 17 aging theories were presented. Those theories are now amplified, and an additional 7 theories are considered. Utilizing concepts from these theories, a unified theory of aging is then presented.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

More on the determinants of the fertility transition.

The economic approach to fertility is an application of the economics theory of consumer behavior. It is assumed that consumers of children are utility-maximizers with stable preferences over time. Thus, changes in fertility are related to changes in household income and the "price" of children. One concern in this approach is that demographic changes are a product of changes in tastes rather than exogenous changes in economic factors such as the earning ability of women. In this paper, the effect of economic variables on the demand for children in the United States in 1950, 1960, 1970, and 1980 is examined. Support is provided for the hypothesis that the earning ability of women is an important determinant of fertility.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The denial of elder mistreatment by victims and abusers: the application of neutralization theory.

Denial is often mentioned as a constraining factor in the assessment and intervention of domestic violence cases. Within the context of elder mistreatment, this paper utilizes neutralization theory to explain how the abuser and the elderly victim justify or rationalize abusive or neglectful behavior. Intervention techniques are provided to counteract different types of denial, and practitioners are cautioned against utilizing neutralization techniques themselves.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2003

The role of social and behavioral science in public health practice: a study of the New York City Department of Health.

Studies over the last decade have demonstrated the effectiveness of public health interventions based on social and behavioral science theory for many health problems. Little is known about the extent to which health departments are currently utilizing these theories. This study assesses the application of social and behavioral science to programs in the New York City Department of Health (NYCDOH). Structured open-ended interviews were conducted with executive and program management staff of the health department. Respondents were asked about the application of social and behavioral sciences within their programs, and about the benefits and barriers to increasing the use of such approaches. Themes related to the aims of the study were identified, a detailed coding manual developed, narrative data were coded independently by two investigators (kappa.85), and data analyzed. Interviews were conducted with 61 eligible individuals (response rate 88%). The most common applications of social and behavioral science were individual-level behavior change to prevent HIV transmission and community-level interventions utilizing community organizing models and/or media interventions for health promotion and disease prevention. There are generally positive attitudes about the benefits of utilizing these sciences; however, there are also reservations about expanded use because of resource constraints. While NYCDOH has successfully applied social and behavioral sciences in some areas of practice, many areas use them minimally or not at all. Increasing use will require additional resources. Partnerships with academic institutions can bring additional social and behavioral science resources to health departments and benefit researchers understanding of the health department environment.

Behavioral Sciences↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Smoking among adolescents in China: an analysis based upon the meanings of smoking theory.

PURPOSE: This study utilized the Meanings of Behavior theory to examine whether meanings of smoking differ among adolescents in China who were never smokers, ever smokers, and past-30-day smokers. The Meanings of Behavior theory argues that affect takes precedence over cognitive constructs in motivating behavior This study also examined whether the associations among meanings of smoking and smoking behavior vary by age and gender DESIGN: This study was a cross-sectional study using survey data. SETTING: Middle and high schools in seven cities in China. SUBJECTS: A random sample of 4724 students comprised this study. MEASURE: A self-administered questionnaire asked about smoking behavior and incorporated the meanings of smoking scale. RESULTS: Overall prevalence rates of ever smokers and past-30-day smokers in this sample were 24.3% and 9.0%. Smoking was much more prevalent in boys than in girls. Students in the 11th grade were more likely than those in the 7th grade to have tried smoking at some time and to have smoked within the past 30 days. Odds ratios confirmed that meanings of smoking were significantly associated with smoking behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Meanings of smoking are associated with smoking behavior among Chinese adolescents in that smoking may connote autonomy, control, or social relatedness. Prevention programs in China require new strategies to incorporate meanings of smoking in order to meet adolescent psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and social connections.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Decision making in an interdisciplinary team.

Decision making in an interdisciplinary team occurs at the interface between groups with varied backgrounds, orientations, interests, and goals. Most interdisciplinary teams attempt to identify the complex set of variables influencing their decisions and then utilize this knowledge to maximize efficiency in health care delivery. Models of information and decision analysis developed by general systems theory are suggested as a method for advancing the understanding of where, when, and how decisions are made by the interdisciplinary team. A university-affiliated psychiatric service in a private general hospital is studied. Here the following forces meet, complement, compete, and collide: the community, university, hospital administration, private practitioners, insurance companies, consultation and liaison psychiatrists, university staff psychiatrists and residents, nurses, aides, social workers, activities personnel, patients and their families, the patient group, the ward milieu. Considering these factors, we describe: (1) the flow of information and feedback loops into, within, and out of the psychiatric service; (2) the location of decision nodes; (3) decision-making echelons. The general systems theory concepts utilized in this analysis are proposed as pragmatic tools for improving interdisciplinary team function.

Decision Making↗
PubMed1996

[Analysis of an interactive situation in the light of Rickelman's and de Laing's theory].

The authors utilized Rickelman's Bio-Psycho-Social Linguistics Interaction Model and Laing's Interpersonal Perception Theory categories to classify and describe an interaction situation, supposing that these theoretical frameworks were compatible. They concluded that, in despite of some identified convergent theoretic aspects, their practical application evidenced substantive differences, derived from philosophical basis, that raised difficulties or objections to their concomitant use.

Communication↗
PubMed1996

AIDS education for college students: review and proposal for a research-based curriculum.

The history of AIDS education for college students in the U.S. is reviewed. Wide agreement concerning the goals and overall content of the AIDS-education curriculum is found. However, the context and location of AIDS education within the curriculum vary considerably. Increased knowledge about AIDS is a frequent outcome, but improvements in attitude and reported sexual behaviors are more difficult to achieve. The conceptual frameworks used in AIDS education include the health belief model, social learning theory, and theory of reasoned action; each has contributed to the design of an AIDS-prevention curriculum. A proposed research-based AIDS-education curriculum would utilize the theory of planned behavior from attitude research, the elaboration likelihood model from persuasion research, and the conceptual change model from science education research.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The discrepancy between risky and riskless utilities: a matter of framing?

Utilities differ according to whether they are derived from risky (gamble) and riskless (visual analog scale, time-tradeoff) assessment methods. The discrepancies are usually explained by assuming that the utilities elicited by risky methods incorporate attitudes towards risk, whereas riskless utilities do not. In (cumulative) prospect theory, risk attitude is conceived as consisting of two components: a decision-weight function (attentiveness to changes in, or sensitivity towards, chance) and a utility function (sensitivity towards outcomes). The authors' data suggest that a framing effect is a hitherto unrecognized and important factor in causing discrepancies between risky and riskless utilities. They collected risky evaluations with the gamble method, and riskless evaluations with difference measurement. Risky utilities were derived using expected-utility theory and prospect theory. With the latter approach, sensitivity towards outcomes and sensitivity towards chance are modeled separately. When the hypothesis that risky utilities from prospect theory coincide with riskless utilities was tested, it was rejected (n = 8, F(1,7) = 132, p = 0.000), suggesting that a correction for sensitivity towards chance is not sufficient to resolve the difference between risky and riskless utilities. Next, it was assumed that different gain/loss frames are induced by risky and riskless elicitation methods. Indeed, identical utility functions were obtained when the gain/loss frames were made identical across methods (n = 7), suggesting that framing was operative. The results suggest that risky and riskless utilities are identical after corrections for sensitivity towards chance and framing.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of crystal structure and theory for 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine.

The crystal structure of the food mutagen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b] pyridine (PhIP) has been determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Crystals grown by evaporation of an aqueous solution form in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/n with two molecules of PhIP per asymmetric unit, along with six water molecules. The phenyl groups of these two PhIP molecules have torsion angles of different magnitude with respect to the plane of the imidazopyridine moiety. To maintain centrosymmetry, the crystal also contains an oppositely torsioned symmetry equivalent of each. The amino groups of both PhIP molecules take part in an extensive hydrogen bond network with the water of crystallization, forming long channels through the crystals parallel to the crystallographic b axis. The diffraction results are compared to theoretical calculations of the optimized geometry for a single PhIP molecule in vacuo as well as with water hydrogen-bonded to the exocyclic amine. In general, the agreement between the X-ray crystal structure of PhIP and its theory-derived counterpart in vacuo is within the combined experimental-theoretical uncertainty. The C-N bond to the exocyclic amine and the neighboring C=N imidazole bond are exceptions. This is attributed to the combined neglect of the crystal environment, waters of hydration, and the lack of coplanarity between the imidazole ring and the amine group in the calculations. To address the effect of waters of hydration, additional calculations were performed to optimize the geometry of a PhIP molecule with two water molecules hydrogen-bonded to the exocyclic amine. The resulting C-N exocyclic amine and C=N imidazole bond lengths were closer to those obtained by X-ray diffraction. The accord between theory and experiment demonstrates the utility of applying theory to (1) accurately predict structures of PhIP metabolites and intermediates that are too labile for study by conventional structural techniques such as X-ray crystallography and (2) assist in studying the mechanisms by which PhIP and its metabolites interact with proteins and DNA.

Crystallization↗
PubMed1999

Hope, goal-blocking thoughts, and test-related anxieties.

Based on Onwuegbuzie's 1998 findings pertaining to the relationship of lower scores on hope to higher ones on anxiety about statistics, a brief overview of the etiology of test-related anxieties in the context of Snyder's hope theory is given, and the utility of hope theory for helping students with test-related anxieties is explored.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Can information on cost improve clinicians' behavior? Lessons from health care trials and management theory.

Facing intense price competition and societal pressures, health care provider organizations have focused increasingly on the cost-effectiveness of medical services. In instances when there is insufficient evidence that a more expensive treatment course generates improved outcomes, the lower cost option is often encouraged. Yet, with resource utilization still determined principally by individual physicians, large practice variations often persist. This paper reviews the literature and explores the impact of sharing cost information on physicians' practice patterns utilizing management theory concepts. More research should be conducted to determine long-term benefits of educational interventions, physicians' fundamental views on the relationship between cost and quality and its effect on their responsiveness to cost information, and the role of leadership in changing clinical behavior.

Cost Control↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The value of Peplau's theory for mental health nursing.

Recent changes in mental health care have necessitated reevaluation of Peplau's nursing theory. There is an expanding body of nursing knowledge and a debate is taking place regarding the difference between models and theories. Peplau's theory considers nursing as an interpersonal process between nurse and patient. The theory lacks empirical investigation and is not yet tested regarding the multidisciplinary team approach, which is largely based on the medical model. For the theory to gain credibility within the dynamics of the multidisciplinary team, it must be tested within a framework of robust research design involving various diagnostic groups and practice settings. Until such time, the theory's utility must seriously be questioned within contemporary mental health practice.

Humans↗
PubMed2006

Engaging baccalaureate clinical faculty.

Role theory was utilized in this descriptive study to investigate clinical faculty in baccalaureate nursing programs. The Clinical Faculty Role Questionnaire was developed and employed to study 134 full-time and part-time clinical faculty members. Theory derivation was used and the concept of role engagement was empirically supported. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationships among the variables. T-test results identified differences between full-time and part-time faculty members on role variables of status, role conception, and role engagement. The relationships between study concepts and areas of educational content related to the teaching role were explored and identified as supportive of the clinical educator role. Ancillary qualitative investigation resulted in the identification of several themes: the need for clinical competence; for part-time faculty, a desire to be included in program planning.

Data Collection↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The use of confidence intervals for individual utilities: limits to formal decision analysis for treatment choice.

This paper discusses the use of confidence intervals for utility measurements. Classic test theory is applied to estimate confidence intervals for utilities. The theory is enhanced to calculate confidence areas for combined utilities and confidence bands for the threshold line. As an example it is shown that, if confidence intervals are taken into account, the implied preferred treatment of T3-larynx carcinoma patients is uncertain for a wide range of utilities, considering the mediocre reliability of most methods of utility assessment. This implies that although utility measurement and formal decision analysis can be a useful way to look at the decision problem, ambiguity, which must be resolved by other means, will often remain.

Aged↗