SEARCH · Search PubMed
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.
The study investigated whether emotionally provoking disagreements between 36 marriage partners influenced their ability to identify each other's feelings from tone of voice cues. The results suggested that among the males the ability of stable introverts to identify increased after disagreements, while that of neurotic introverts decreased (p smaller than 0.01).
This article presents the results of three studies as they relate to the influence of the family on adolescents' sex lives. The first study examined sexual and contraceptive practices among girls aged 12-19 in Mexico City. It was found that both communication with the mother and pregnancy history of close female relatives were predictors of initiation of sexual relations, contraceptive use, and pregnancy. The second study examined differences between young men who had gotten their partner pregnant and young men who had not. Again, communication levels with parents were found to influence behavior. The final study examined levels of communication about sex as perceived by parents and their children. Mothers had higher levels of communication with their children about sex than did fathers, and fathers' perception of what they were communicating differed substantially from their children's perception. As a whole, the three studies' results support the hypothesis that the family has a substantial influence on adolescents' sexual and contraceptive behavior and provides justification for the incorporation of such issues as parent-child communication into sex education programs.
Young children with significant disability often have limited communicative repertoires. The means they have available to communicate with others might include natural gesturing, vocalizing, and occasionally challenging behavior. These forms frequently are unconventional, ambiguous, and idiosyncratic and are therefore difficult for partners to understand. As a result of these compromised repertoires, communication breakdowns are the rule rather than the exception and the children's capacity to repair these breakdowns becomes critical. This article focuses on communication breakdowns and repairs by (a) identifying and defining their variations, (b) providing a rationale for their importance (especially for children with substantial language delays), and (c) developing a conceptual framework to facilitate their assessment and to assist in the design of interventions that are logically related to the assessment results. Guidelines for conducting the assessments and for implementing the interventions are provided.
The Social Cognitive Processing Model suggests that talking with others facilitates cognitive and emotional processing of experiences such as cancer if the social context in which these discussions take place is supportive and positive. Despite this, patients and spouses may inadvertently constrain each other's attempts to process and cope with the disease. To our knowledge, no previous studies have directly examined the effect of lung cancer on the spousal relationship. We began to examine this effect by identifying the social constraints experienced by couples coping with lung cancer through semi-structured interviews with 13 patients and 12 spouses. Using Grounded Theory methodology, our analyses showed that these couples experienced a wide variety of social constraints, including denial, avoidance, and conflict that can hinder open spousal communication. Specifically, patients and spouses reported trouble discussing continued tobacco use, cancer-related symptoms, prognosis, and the emotional effects of lung cancer on the spouse. Despite these constraints, participants who reported talking with their partners about their relationships reported fewer constraints and better communication about cancer. These findings highlight the importance of a relationship perspective in the study of lung cancer and provide information about how talking together about the spousal relationship may enable couples to minimize social constraints and enhance cognitive and emotional processing of the disease.
This study investigated the efficacy of a 10-session, HIV-risk-reduction intervention with 221 women and 187 men receiving outpatient psychiatric care for a mental illness. Patients were randomly assigned to the HIV intervention, a structurally equivalent substance use reduction (SUR) intervention, or standard care; they were assessed pre- and postintervention and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Patients receiving the HIV-risk-reduction intervention reported less unprotected sex, fewer casual sex partners, fewer new sexually transmitted infections, more safer sex communications, improved HIV knowledge, more positive condom attitudes, stronger condom use intentions, and improved behavioral skills relative to patients in the SUR and control conditions. Patients receiving the SUR intervention reported fewer total and casual sex partners compared with control patients. Exploratory analyses suggested that female patients and patients diagnosed with a major depressive disorder were more likely to benefit from the HIV-risk-reduction intervention.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
A significant decrease in the incidence of most STDs has been reported in Norway during the last decade, especially the last 5 years. Today, syphilis, hepatitis B and gonorrhoea are almost non-existent with incidence rates (IR) of 1.1, 0.9 and 4.4 per 100,000 respectively. The frequency of genital herpes, however, has remained unchanged (IR = 45), while chlamydial infection has shown a decrease of 13% during the last year (IR women = 240). The Chlamydia epidemic became evident in the early 1980-ies and since then has represented the major threat to the reproductive condition in young women resulting in PID, tubal occlusions and ectopic pregnancies. In Norway a preoperative screening program in connection with the performance of abortions was introduced 8-9 years ago. Since then a gradual decrease in the frequency of chlamydial positivity has been notified. At our hospital a reduction of 75% (from 11.7% to 3.1%) in the prevalence of C. trachomatis has been observed in women seeking abortion. The decrease is evident is all age groups, but predominantly in those below 25 years. At the same time the frequency of PID has decreased by 80%, while so far only a slight reduction in the frequency of ectopic pregnancies has been observed. Public and professional awareness, together with an increased prescription of anti-chlamydial drugs to women with genital infections may have contributed to this decrease. Partner tracing is not satisfactory, being performed in only one out of 5 cases. A new act for the prevention of communicable diseases will be introduced next year. This act will make partner notification mandatory and STD treatment free of charge. In Norway, 350,000 chlamydial tests (8 per 100 inhabitants) are performed per year, 39% in women < 25 years. Even today the age-specific prevalence of these women are so high that Chlamydia screening is cost-effective.
OBJECTIVES: This study sought to examine the expectations and satisfaction of pastors and lay leaders regarding a research partnership in a randomized trial guided by community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods. METHODS: Telephone and self-administered print surveys were administered to 78 pastors and lay leaders. In-depth interviews were conducted with 4 pastors after study completion. RESULTS: The combined survey response rate was 65%. Research expectations included honest and frequent communication, sensitivity to the church environment, interaction as partners, and results provided to the churches. Satisfaction with the research partnership was high, but so was concern about the need for all research teams to establish trust with church partners. CONCLUSIONS: Pastors and lay leaders have high expectations regarding university obligations in research partnerships. An intervention study based on CBPR methods was able to meet most of these expectations.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody testing and education about HIV infection on communication about sexual risk behaviors for HIV transmission. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled trial with three arms. SETTING: University student health center. PATIENTS: Of 2196 heterosexual university students attending the student health clinic for medical care, 435 were interested in education about HIV and HIV testing and were randomly assigned to three groups. Follow-up at 6 months was done in 370 subjects (85%): 90 control subjects, 144 subjects who received education alone, and 136 subjects who received education plus HIV testing. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Subjects who received HIV testing plus education questioned sexual partners about their HIV status more than subjects receiving education alone or those in the control group (56%, 42%, and 41% of subjects, respectively; P = 0.01). No consistent differences among groups in the number of sexual partners or in the use of condoms were found at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Heterosexual university students who received education about HIV infection plus HIV testing had increased communication with sexual partners about the risk for HIV infection after 6 months. Further reduction in risk behaviors for HIV transmission may require additional interventions in this population.
Given that condom use is not directly under a woman's control, the sexual division of power may play an important role in sexual behavior among pregnant women. We assessed the influence of factors related to the theory of gender and power (e.g., relationship power, abuse history, and sexual communication) on sexual behavior (e.g., two or more partners in the year prior to pregnancy, condom use, condom-use intentions, and STI diagnosis) among 196 pregnant women recruited from five community dispensaries in rural Haiti. Results showed that gender and power factors significantly related to sexual behavior. Gender and power factors were most significant for condom use and intention to use condoms, accounting for 18 and 25% of the variance above and beyond HIV knowledge and demographic covariates, respectively. These results suggest the need to create prevention interventions that restore power imbalances, provide support for women suffering abuse, and strengthen communication skills.
Within the context of an international comparative family dynamics project, this study had two chief goals: to describe the family dynamics of childbearing and childrearing families in Finland, and to study changes in family dynamics after childbirth. The sample consisted of families expecting (n = 118) and rearing (n = 94) their first or second child in Finland. Two instruments were used in data collection, i.e. the Family Dynamics Questionnaire and the Family Dynamics Measure; both these tools have been developed in the USA. According to the results, childbearing and childrearing families were thought to function quite well. Pregnant mothers described their family dynamics in more positive terms than fathers, reporting greater flexibility and clearer communication. Similarly, mothers reported more individuation and mutuality than their partners. First-time expectant families reported more mutuality than families expecting their second child. Childrearing mothers reported more individuation, but also more role conflict than did fathers. Communication in families rearing their first child was clearer than in families rearing their second child. The birth of a child affected family dynamics by bringing about various changes such as role conflict, isolation and distorted communication.
BACKGROUND: Spouses caring for a partner with dementia are subject to physical, psychological and social stresses. In view of the part played by spouse carers in preventing admission to institutional care, a fuller understanding of the subjective experience of caring is an important area of enquiry. Qualitative analysis of their accounts of the difficulties and rewards in looking after their partners may indicate strategies to support them and to alleviate the stresses that they experience. METHOD: Twenty co-resident spouses of people with NINCDS-ADRDA probable dementia of the Alzheimer's type, who had been diagnosed as such within the past 12-36 months, were recruited from service contacts in each of 14 out of the 15 countries of the EU. All completed a semi-structured interview that included open-ended questions about the experience of caring. RESULTS: Overall, the most commonly expressed difficulties reflected: loss of companionship through diminished quality of communication; loss of reciprocity as carers experienced their partners' growing dependency; and deterioration in their partners' social behaviour. Satisfaction from caring stemmed from: a feeling of job satisfaction; continued reciprocity and mutual affection; companionship; and the fulfillment of a sense of duty. CONCLUSION: Spouse carers in the 14 countries described the difficulties and rewards of caring in similar terms. This suggests commonality of experience, in spite of diversity in informal and statutory provision of care for older people between different countries.
PURPOSE: To examine the association between religiosity (defined by frequency of engaging in religious/spiritual activities) and African-American adolescent females' sexual behaviors, attitudes toward sex, and ability to negotiate safer sex. METHODS: Between December 1996 and April 1999, 1130 female adolescents were screened for eligibility in a sexually transmitted disease (STD)/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention trial. Data collection was achieved through a confidential self-administered questionnaire that examined religiosity and a structured interview regarding sexual behavior. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sociodemographics of the sample and logistic regression was used to measure the association between religiosity and the outcome variables. RESULTS: In the study sample (n = 522), 64% of the adolescents had higher religiosity scores based on a 4-item scale (alpha =.68). Results indicate that adolescents who had higher religiosity scores were significantly more likely to have higher self-efficacy in communicating with new, as well as steady male partners about sex; about STDs, HIV, and pregnancy prevention; and in refusing an unsafe sexual encounter. These adolescents were also more likely to have initiated sex at a later age, used a condom in the past 6 months, and possess more positive attitudes toward condom use. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study indicate a relationship between religiosity and sexual behaviors, attitudes toward sex, and ability to negotiate safer sex.
Evidence from the evolution of human cultural behavior and learning, embryology and genetics of the brain, and the behavior of human infants indicates that the critical and uniquely human motives for cooperative imagination and joint interest in objects and tasks are determined by expression of genes and epigenetic neural systems elaboration long before birth, along with essential peripheral organs of perception and motor expression that will serve in communication by rhythmic facial, vocal, gestural, and body movement signals. These cerebral motives continue to exercise their influence on neural development and behavior throughout life, transforming the behaviors of the developing individual through a succession of phases to which other individuals and cultural institutions are constrained to adapt. We discuss the theory of innate intersubjectivity and relate it to the hypothesis of an Innate Motive Formation that emerges in brain development as regulator of morphogenesis in neural systems, and that continues to function, postnatally, as generator of motives and emotions by which human contacts and relationships are regulated. We suggest that differentiates of the primary motive formation in the embryo brain later serve to generate intelligent exploration of the objective environment and the emergence of an additional dialogic mechanism that represents the self-subject as a partner for an other-subject, intersubjectively. Intersubjective communication in infancy leads, through systematic age-related transformations of the brain and behavior, to preverbal mimetic negotiation of cooperative awareness and joint task performance. Finally we discuss, in relation to this theory, interpretations of faulty communication and development at different stages of the life cycle that result from maternal postnatal depression, autism, premature birth and schizophrenia.
UNLABELLED: Twenty-four adolescents participated in social conversations with a same-sex peer, an opposite-sex peer, or a speech-language pathologist (SLP) or graduate student. The conversations were compared in regard to specific verbal and nonverbal behaviors, with the goal of identifying conversational behaviors that may be assessed with validity in a clinical setting. Significant differences were found in speaker and listener linguistic behaviors between conversations with peers and those with clinicians. A trend towards the increase in speaker nonverbal behaviors was also noted with clinician partners. Conversations with opposite-sex peers tended to be characterized by fewer direct questions, reduced listener eye contact, and increased listener nonverbal behaviors than those with same-sex peers. Several behaviors occurred rarely in any group, including physical contact between partners and requests for clarification; others occurred with high frequency in all groups, including eye contact and emotional expression. The implications of these patterns for persons with communication disorders are considered. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: (1) To describe communication behaviors that may be measured in adolescent conversations. (2) To identify those communication behaviors that may be influenced by factors related to the conversation partner.
Ethologically derived procedure was used to determine the appearance of precopulatory behavioural elements in adult male rats in the course of interaction with a behaviourally strictly defined female partner, the so-called Presenting female. The data obtained were tabulated in sequence tables of elements. Two versions were used with the aim to analyze an expected value for each cell and comparing this with the observed value. Flow diagrams were constructed to depict the appearance of the individual precopulatory elements as well as transitions among them. The results can be summarized as follows. The appearance of precopulatory elements in males interacted with Presenting female proceeds in a certain sequence. After the partners are close together, the typical sequence of short body-sniffing, anogenital exploration and touching the flank was found. The other elements - climbing over, circling around, manipulation, standing on - lack a similar regularity; the relations among them are rather complicated. If the male is not able to pass from the precopulatory to the copulatory phase, he reverts very often to the exhibition of the two out of three formerly exhibited elements, i.e. anogenital exploration and touching the flank. However, there are considerable interindividual as well as intraindividual differences in total frequencies of precopulatory elements. The results are discussed from a point of view of the optimum goal-directness of sexual interaction and compared with those achieved in the previous studies in which different stimulus females were used. Further, the function of the individual precopulatory elements of male rats in sexual interaction is reviewed. Finally, the precopulatory interaction is considered to be a communicative process by means of which the sex partners are approaching the transition into the copulatory phase.