Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Life Change Events”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources

Traditional practices, traditional spirituality, and alcohol cessation among American Indians.

OBJECTIVE: The detrimental effects of alcohol misuse and dependence are well documented as an important public-health issue among American Indian adults. This preponderance of problem-centered research, however, has eclipsed some important resilience factors associated with life course patterns of American Indian alcohol use. In this study, we investigate the influence of enculturation, and each of the three component dimensions (traditional practices, traditional spirituality, and cultural identity) to provide a stringent evaluation of the specific mechanisms through which traditional culture affects alcohol cessation among American Indians. METHOD: These data were collected as part of a 3-year lagged sequential study currently underway on four American Indian reservations in the upper Midwest and five Canadian First Nation reserves. The sample consisted of 980 Native American adults, with 71% women and 29% men who are parents or guardians of youth ages 10-12 years old. Logistic regression was used to assess the unique contribution of the indicators of alcohol cessation. Excluding adults who had no lifetime alcohol use, the total sample size for present analysis is 732 adult respondents. RESULTS: The findings show that older adults, women, and married adults were more likely to have quit using alcohol. When we examined the individual components of enculturation, two of the three components (participation in traditional activities and traditional spirituality) had significantly positive effects on alcohol cessation. CONCLUSIONS: Although our findings provide empirical evidence that traditional practices and traditional spirituality play an important role in alcohol cessation, the data are cross-sectional and therefore do not indicate direction of effects. Longitudinal studies are warranted, in light of the work that concludes that cultural/spiritual issues may be more important in maintaining sobriety once it is established rather than initiating it.

Adolescent↗

[Living with diabetes: the experience as it is told by children].

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that demands adaptation in the psychological, social and physical sphere. This study aimed to understand the experiences of children with the disease. Symbolic Interactionism and Grounded Theory were used as a theoretical and methodological reference framework, respectively. We interviewed children in the age group between 7 and 14 years old. A total of 7 topics were identified in the collected data, which were: "Experiencing something unexpected", "Facing a harsh reality", "Being afraid of what is happening", "Living under control", "Trying to adapt to a new reality", "Maturing with this close relationship" and "Seeing this disease from a different angle". Living with diabetes is something these children are confronted with daily from the very moment it is diagnosed, having to live with a restricted diet, insulin therapy and life style changes, facts that bring about feelings that range from fear to insecurity, to revolt, to acceptance and adaptation.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

A comparison of ego identity status transition pathways and change rates across five identity domains.

The present retrospective study was designed to explore the question of whether or not ego identity status transition pathways and change rates differ significantly across domains of identity development from adolescence through middle adulthood. A sample of 100 middle- and upper-middle-class New Zealand adults from forty to sixty-three years of age were interviewed regarding the development of values in the areas of vocation, religion, politics, and gender roles, and relationships using an adaptation of the Marcia Ego Identity Status Interview. Raters later assigned an identity status for each year of chronological age for each participant. Preliminary analyses indicated that subgroups of the larger sample differed significantly in terms of identity status transition patterns. Within each of the eight subgroups examined, there were statistically significant differences in transition pathways and change rates across the five identity domains. These findings suggest the importance of examining separate identity domains and controlling for demographic variables in future studies of adult identity development. Results are discussed in terms of Grotevant's process model of identity formation.

Achievement↗

Perspectives on the continuity perspective.

This paper explores the strengths and limitations of the continuity perspective on aging. First, current usages of the concept are delineated. Then available literature is reviewed for evidence that continuity is in fact characteristic of the aging process and for indications that it is positively related to morale in old age. While lack of comparable data makes conclusions somewhat tentative, it appears that discontinuity is as characteristic of aging as continuity and that continuity may actually be maladaptive in many cases. Components of a conceptual definition of continuity are discussed, and suggestions are made for operationalization and more rigorous investigation of the concept.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Aging in place: knowing where you are.

Research on aging in place appropriately emphasizes the value of familiar surroundings. The current study contributes an exploration of elders' personal knowledge of where and with whom they are aging in place, knowledge actively accumulated from a lifetime spent in the same area. Structured conversations over a four-month period with 10 elders living on a peninsula in northern Maine provide richly detailed narratives of physical and social particulars of where they live. I use Rowles's (1978) image of concentric circles radiating out from home to organize the information gathered regarding each elder's dwelling, neighborhood and community. Most notable is the depth and detail of their personal knowledge of where they are and with whom they are growing old. I conclude that both the knowledge itself, and the sharing of that knowledge with others, contribute to the implicit and explicit support deemed so valuable for elders who age in place.

Aged↗

Life-history interviews of aging gay men.

Homosexual men and women have seldom been studied by gerontologists and almost nothing is known about the lifestyles, pattern of development through the adult years, and the effect of homosexuality on aging. Fourteen gay men, ranging in age from fifty-five to eighty-one, were interviewed about their life history and experiences of aging as gay men. Three of the respondents had long-term relationships that lasted up to forty years; two had experienced the death of a lover and had begun a new long-term relationship; four had been married to women and two had children (one unmarried man adopted a son and is now a grandfather). The wide diversity of their patterns of aging, the presence of positive aspects of gay aging, and the high life satisfaction of many of the respondents contradict the stereotype of the lonely, isolated old gay man.

Aged↗

Temporal and status dimensions of life cycles.

An alternative approach to the life cycle is developed which avoids the creation of monolithic age categories and exclusive reliance upon the unidimensional index of chronological age. An age status graph is constructed by intersecting age with a status dimension. Using a card sort technique, age norms of status transition for family and work are ascertained. These data exemplify the potential utility of age status graphing in understanding the life cycle. The methodological strengths of operationalizing variables, explicitness of criteria, and conceptual flexibility are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Psychosocial stressors in the lives of great jazz musicians.

Brief biographical information on four great jazz tenor saxophone players of the past is presented to illustrate the similar psychosocial stressors these men seemed to experience, namely, severe substance abuse, haphazard working conditions, lack of acceptance of their art form in the United States, marital and family discord, and a vagabond life style. Ages at death of 80 great jazz musicians may indicate that the stressful life style of jazz musicians may be reflected in a shortened life span, but a control group is needed.

Age Factors↗

Stress triggers of long, short, and variable sleep patterns.

Sleep and stress patterns in 34 young adult sleepers were measured. Time series analysis of sleep report measured 6- and 3-day patterns of light stress preceding a change in sleep pattern for long (n = 15) and short or variable (n = 7 and 12) sleepers, respectively.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Psychosocial stress and ischaemic heart disease: an evaluation in the light of the diseases' attribution to war service.

This review of the psychosocial aetiology of ischaemic heart disease is prompted by a recent decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to accept that the ischaemic heart disease of a non combatant World War II veteran could be attributed to his war service. In the light of existing clinical and research evidence the Tribunal appears to have erred in its judgement. The precedent this particular decision establishes may prove extremely costly.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Problem drinking and obesity: a comparison in personality patterns and life-style.

Problem drinkers attending an outpatient alcoholism program and obese clients attending an outpatient weight program were compared with each other and with matched control groups on life-style characteristics and personality variables (Adjective Check List). While both treatment groups expressed high dissatisfaction with all aspects of their lives, relative to controls, problem drinkers experienced a greater variety of problems than weight clients. Problem drinkers and weight clients were both significantly differentiated from their respective control groups on 10 of 24 Adjective Check List scales. Moreover, the two treatment groups showed substantial similarity in overall personality profiles. Both groups indicated characteristics of impulsivity, dependency, and self-abasement. Problem drinkers uniquely showed high drive and unconventionality, whereas weight clients uniquely showed submissiveness and low ambition.

Adult↗

Religious orientation and pain management.

Occupational therapists may find pain management less effective than anticipated for the patient's condition. In exploring additional avenues of relief, it is important to look beyond physical agents. The therapist must sort physical, psychological, and spiritual components of pain to provide appropriate intervention or referral. The interface between health care and religion is strongest at the point of confrontation with a life-changing event. Literature addressing the relationship between religious orientation and pain perception differentiates among major religions but not among differences in beliefs of diverse denominational groups. Understanding beliefs about pain may be indispensable to its effective management. Productivity demands necessitate sensitivity to factors other than the physical in order to avoid ineffective treatment. The patient's beliefs can be explored within the contexts of initial evaluation and the course to treatment. Knowledge of the mechanics of pain and treatment modalities can be augmented by awareness of the influence of beliefs on response to treatment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

The unpackaging of routine in older women.

OBJECTIVE: A qualitative research design using grounded theory procedures and techniques was used to explore how routine changed in later adulthood for seven Caucasian, college-educated, middle-class women who were not employed and who were free of major functional impairments. METHOD: In-depth interviews, observations, an autobiography, and researcher-generated memos provided data. Data analysis involved concept formation, concept development, and conceptual modification and integration. Data collection and analysis were concurrent, iterative, reflective, and reflexive. RESULTS: Although the participants used routines to facilitate their well-being, they reported doing so to a lesser extent than when they had children living at home or when they worked. These participants unpackaged routines and molded them into increasingly flexible time-use strategies in response to age-related changes in their ecocultural niche, philosophy of life, and physical status. CONCLUSION: That the participants sought less obligation and more freedom as they aged may influence the way they respond to a health care practitioner's advocating for an increase in routine. Interventions with older women must be compatible with existing routines and family themes and directly linked to well-being.

Activities of Daily Living↗