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PubMed2004

Threat appraisals, distress and the development of positive life changes after September 11th in a Canadian sample.

Several surveys have reported the negative psychological impact on the general public of the terrorist attacks in the USA of September 11th, 2001. Yet the attacks also led many people to make positive changes in their relationships, values and priorities. A survey of 80 adults in Ottawa, Canada demonstrated that greater perceived threat and greater initial distress reactions significantly predicted the extent to which people reported positive changes in their lives (e.g. closer to family, refocused priorities). Initial distress and greater perceived threat also correlated positively with whether people provided help after the disaster. Follow-up data on 40 of these participants 11 months later revealed significant stability over time for the extent of positive life changes reported, and demonstrated that degree of initial distress and perceived threat continued to correlate positively with life change reports at this later point in time. The data are consistent with the argument that the perception of growth may develop out of one's personal experience of emotional pain.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2004

Anonymous oocyte donation: a follow-up analysis of donors' experiences.

BACKGROUND: this study was conducted to assess oocyte donors' satisfaction after the procedure and to obtain information on base rates of various experiences associated with oocyte donation. METHODS: volunteer anonymous oocyte donors seen at a university-based IVF programs were identified (N = 54). The follow-up questionnaire asked donors to rate aspects of clinic interactions, medical procedures and experiences during and after the process, as well as expectations and level of fulfillment. RESULTS: ten individuals were lost to follow-up and 20 donors did not respond. The typical oocyte donor respondent (N = 24) was 26.5 years old, Caucasian, single with no children and had experienced some college education. Mean follow-up time was 21 months. Overall, 79% were satisfied or extremely satisfied with their experience, 42 % would be an oocyte donor again and 50% would recommend that a friend consider being an oocyte donor. Donors tolerated procedures well, but most did experience cramping and injection site pain. A significant proportion experienced anxiety and negative emotional experiences during the process. Expectations were fulfilled regarding helping another woman and sense of satisfaction, but most (87.5%) expressed the desire to know the outcome for the recipient. CONCLUSIONS: the data demonstrate that oocyte donation was a positive experience for the majority of women in the program, although emotional symptoms are normative.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Retroviruses and cancer.

All RNA viruses that cause cancer under natural conditions fall into the "retro" category, meaning that the first step in their replication is the "reverse transcription" of RNA into DNA. This peculiarity of their biologic behavior has helped explain other intriguing features of these viruses and opened new directions for future research into the role of viruses in altering the infected cell's genetic material and in oncogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Public beliefs about the helpfulness of interventions for depression: effects on actions taken when experiencing anxiety and depression symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: Previous research has shown that the public have different beliefs to mental health professionals about the helpfulness of interventions for mental disorders. However, it is not known whether the public's beliefs actually influence their behaviour when they develop psychiatric symptoms. METHOD: A postal survey of 3,109 Australian adults was used to assess beliefs about the helpfulness of a broad range of interventions for depression, as well as respondents' current level of anxiety and depression symptoms and any history of treated depression. A follow-up survey of 422 persons who had a high level of symptoms at baseline was conducted 6 months later. These people were asked which interventions they had used to reduce their symptoms. An analysis was carried out to see whether beliefs and other factors at baseline predicted subsequent use of interventions. RESULTS: There were some major discrepancies between the ranking of interventions as likely to be helpful and the ranking of how frequently they were actually used. Interventions involving mental health professionals were often rated as likely to be helpful, but were rarely used in practice. Other simple, cheap and readily available interventions were used the most frequently, but were not the most likely to be rated as helpful. The most consistent predictors across all interventions used were gender, history of treatment, current symptoms and belief in a particular intervention. Of particular interest was the finding that beliefs in the helpfulness of antidepressants predicted their use. However, beliefs were not predictors of use for all interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Beliefs about the helpfulness of an intervention did not always predict actual use of that intervention, although beliefs did predict use of antidepressants. Therefore, campaigns that change public beliefs about effective treatments may also influence actual use of treatments. Interventions preferred by professionals are not frequently used at present. Most people with anxiety and depression symptoms rely primarily on simple self-help interventions, the effectiveness of which has been little researched.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Adolescents' responses to peers with depression or conduct disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To determine how young people are likely to respond to a peer with mental illness, or who has severe behavioural problems. METHOD: A mental health literacy survey was conducted with 1137 adolescents in years 8, 9 and 10 in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. Respondents were presented with a vignette of either a 16-year-old boy meeting criteria for conduct disorder or a 16-year-old girl meeting criteria for major depression. As part of the survey, respondents were asked to write in words what they would do if the person in the vignette was a friend of theirs and they wished to help. Responses were coded into categories. RESULTS: Over half the sample (53%) described positive social support as the only action they would take to help. A further 23% said they would engage an adult such as a parent, teacher or school counsellor to help with the situation. Those responding to the conduct disorder vignette were more likely to describe engaging an adult to help and males were more likely to say they would do nothing. Female students tended to answer differently to the conduct disorder and depression vignettes, while male students responded similarly to the two vignettes. CONCLUSIONS: Many adolescents do not respond to friends' distress in ways which are likely to facilitate appropriate help. Mental health education in schools should include skills for offering help and encouraging peers to seek help.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Psychiatric severity and spirituality, helping, and participation in alcoholics anonymous during recovery.

Although helping others is a critical part of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and many treatment programs, measures for assessing helping and describing its relationship with sobriety are lacking. A sample of 200 subjects completed a Helper Therapy Scale including three subscales: Recovery Helping (alpha = 0.78), Life Helping (alpha = 0.62), and Community Helping (alpha = 0.60). A previous analysis using structural equation modeling found that length of sobriety predicted measures of spirituality, helping, and AA participation. The analysis reported here examined whether psychiatric severity was associated with these variables. Results indicated significant relationships between psychiatric severity and measures of spirituality (Self Transcendence, Forgiveness, Positive Coping, and Negative Coping) and AA Achievement (defined as completing the 12 steps and serving as a sponsor). However, no relationships were found between psychiatric severity and length of sobriety, the three Helper Therapy subscales, or AA involvement. The findings suggest that individuals with higher psychiatric severity may need assistance from their peers or professional service providers to develop a spiritual life, serve as a sponsor for others, or complete the steps of AA.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Operationalizing the concept of the optimal healing environment in clinical settings: the importance of "readiness".

Creation of an optimal healing environment (OHE) in a clinical setting is a multifaceted undertaking and subject to a wide variety of developmental influences. While comprehensive definitions for OHE might provide sufficient guidance for communicating philosophy and values and developing patient-practitioner processes, direction for creating a supportive administrative structure or establishing an evaluation/research strategy is less defined. Operationalizing the concept of OHE by breaking it down into components such as values, structure, process, and measurement of outcomes, proved to be a useful framework for analyzing the evolution of our integrated care program. Future OHE initiatives may benefit from using this type of framework to assess readiness among cocreators prior to development and implementation, as a guide for ongoing evaluation of an OHE postimplementation and as a basis for comparing OHEs across a variety of clinical settings.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2004

Population health management as a strategy for creation of optimal healing environments in worksite and corporate settings.

This paper provides an (OHE) overview of a population health management (PHM) approach to the creation of optimal healing environments (OHEs) in worksite and corporate settings. It presents a framework for consideration as the context for potential research projects to examine the health, well-being, and economic effects of a set of newer "virtual" prevention interventions operating in an integrated manner in worksite settings. The main topics discussed are the fundamentals of PHM with basic terminology and core principles, a description of PHM core technology and implications of a PHM approach to creating OHEs.

Health Education↗
PubMed1998

Expression of candidate pheromone receptor genes in vomeronasal neurons.

In mammals, olfactory sensory perception is mediated by two anatomically and functionally distinct organs: the main olfactory epithelium (MOE) and the vomeronasal organ (VON). Pheromones activate the VNO and elicit a characteristic array of innate reproductive and social behaviors, along with dramatic neuroendocrine responses. Recent approaches have provided new insights into the molecular biology of sensory transduction in the VNO. Differential screening of cDNA libraries constructed from single sensory neurons from the rat VNO has led to the isolation of a family of genes which are likely to encode mammalian pheromone receptors. The isolation of these receptors from the VNO might permit the analysis of the molecular events which translate the bindings of pheromones into innate stereotypic behaviors and help to elucidate the logic of pheromone perception in mammals.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

The usefulness of distinguishing different types of general practice consultation, or are needed skills always the same?

We hypothesized that it might be important to distinguish different types of consultation in order to understand better how help is delivered in general practice. This paper provides preliminary data on the ways that consultations can differ in how they unfold, and on how such differences might affect the helping process and the outcomes of each consultation. Several types of general practice consultation were noticed amongst 210 transcripts. Having established adequate inter-rater reliability of the classification system, we explored the differences between consultations of three broad types: Psychosocial, Complex, and Straightforward. Some of the questions asked in this preliminary study included: 1) do certain sorts of doctor, or patient, engage in certain sorts of consultation? 2) are there any relationships between the type of consultation and its length, patient-centredness or outcomes? 3) are the correlations between process and outcome clearer within categories of consultation than they are if consultations are treated as homogeneous? Findings provide a foundation for further investigations.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2000

Giving social support to others, socioeconomic status, and changes in self-esteem in late life.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to see if providing emotional support to others bolsters the self-esteem of older adults over time; and (2) to assess whether the salubrious effects of helping others are more likely to be enjoyed by high socioeconomic status (SES) elders. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with a nationally representative sample of older adults at three points in time: 1992-1993, 1996-1997, 1998-1999. Complete data are available for 511 elderly people. During each round of interviews, respondents were asked how often they provided emotional support to their social network members. Information on the self-esteem of older support providers was also gathered at each point in time. RESULTS: Initially, the findings revealed that helping others tends to bolster the self-esteem of all study participants regardless of their SES standing. However, these benefits began to taper off for lower SES elders during the course of the study. By the third wave of interviews, the salutary effects of helping others were evident only among older adults in upper SES levels. DISCUSSION: The results highlight the dynamic nature of the helping process and underscore the importance of taking SES into account when studying the effects of assisting others in late life.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Living quarters and unmet need for personal care assistance among adults with disabilities.

OBJECTIVES: This study used a person-environment (P-E) framework to examine individual capabilities and social and physical environmental attributes for their association with unmet assistance needs in activities of daily living (ADLs). Analyses were replicated among five ADLs (bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting, eating) and test the relative risk of apartment dwellers compared to those living in houses. METHODS: Data were obtained from the National Health Interview Survey, Supplement on Disability Followback Survey. Analyses consisted of a nationally representative sample of aged and nonaged adults with one or more ADL limitations. RESULTS: Slightly less than 1 in 5 subjects with a specific ADL limitation had unmet needs for that ADL. This was true across all ADLs. The likelihood of unmet ADL assistance increased with the number of ADL limitations and other health status indicators. It was at least 50% higher among those living in apartments than in houses and higher among Hispanics. There were no differences by age or gender. DISCUSSION: The P-E framework postulates that individuals seek settings matched to their capabilities, but findings suggest that many are at risk for adaptation at any one time. Specific risk factors are identified. Selection factors like preferences, expectations, and adaptation options available have not been directly measured.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2006

Within-family differences in mothers' support to adult children.

OBJECTIVE: In this article we explore the ways in which mothers provide support differentially to their adult children and the factors that explain such differentiation. METHODS: We collected data for the present analysis during face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of 556 mothers ranging in age from 65 to 78 residing in the greater Boston area. RESULT: We found substantial within-family variation in mother-to-child support. Multivariate analyses revealed a set of factors that explained within-family differences: Mothers were more likely to provide support to children who were daughters, unmarried, lived nearby, had health problems, and had provided the mothers with support. DISCUSSION: These findings indicate that within-family differences in support to children continue across the life course. Such variations within the family underscore the importance of using designs that provide information on relationships between parents and each of their children, rather than focusing on single parent-child dyads.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Obligations to stepparents acquired in later life: relationship quality and acuity of needs.

OBJECTIVE: . The purpose of this study was to examine beliefs about responsibilities of an adult child to an older stepparent or parent who has remarried later in life. We also investigated the effects of relationship quality and acuity of needs on perceived responsibilities to parents and stepparents. METHODS: We obtained a sample of 487 men and 571 women from across the United States by using a multistage probability sampling design that used random-digit dialing of telephone numbers. We presented respondents with a multiple-segment vignette in which the type of relationship between the adults (i.e., parent-child or stepparent-stepchild), the relationship quality, and the acuity of the older person's need were randomly varied. Respondents indicated how much help the younger adult should give the older person and how obligated the younger adult was to help the older person. In addition, we asked respondents open-ended questions about the rationale for their judgments about intergenerational helping. RESULTS: Perceived responsibilities to parents were greater than responsibilities to stepparents. Relationship quality and acuity of need were also related to obligation beliefs. DISCUSSION: Stepparents acquired later in life generally are not seen as family members, and thus norms of family obligations do not apply to them.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Sources of helping and intergenerational solidarity: a three-generations study of Mexican Americans.

Sources of help and advice (other than one's spouse) and degree of intergenerational solidarity were investigated in a three-generation sample of Mexican Americans. It was found that elderly Mexican Americans are involved in strong helping networks with their children who rely a great deal on them for advice and help. In all three generations, there is a predominance of family as sources of support. Women are relied on for help regarding health matters and men regarding home repairs and upkeep. Help and advice regarding financial problems and personal problems fall primarily along same-sex lines. Scales measuring intergenerational solidarity, showed that all-female dyads have greater associational solidarity than all-male and cross-sex dyads. Few differences appear in affectual solidarity which was uniformly high. Finally, there appears to be minimum association and intergenerational helping between grandparents and grandchildren.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Relative contributions of help by employed and nonemployed sisters to their elderly parents.

The relationship between daughters' employment status and involvement in the provision of services to old parents was examined using information collected from 50 pairs of sisters whose employment status differed. The Wilcoxon matched-pairs, signed-ranks test was used to assess whether employment status affected perceptions of parents' needs, relative contributions to parents, and relative contributions when parents' health status was poorer. Nonemployed sisters contributed relatively more tangible services than their employed sisters when parents' health status was poorer. Qualitative analysis of the interviews indicated that although nonemployed sisters usually took disproportionate responsibility for medical appointments and day-time emergencies and care, employed sisters were expected to contribute in other ways. That the significance of individual attributes of family members makes sense only within the family context is stressed.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Centrality of the grandfather role among older rural black and white men.

This study examined racial differences in the centrality of the grandfather role and in the factors related to its saliency. Rural men aged 65 years or older, 48 Black and 51 White, reported on their grandchild of most contact. Multiple Classification Analysis, t-tests, and hierarchical multiple regression were used to examine two hypotheses: (a) the grandfather role would be more central to Black than to White men, and (b) factors predicting interaction with grandchildren would vary by race. Strong support was found for both. Racial differences were observed in household structure, association with grandchildren, grand-filial expectations, help given to grandchildren, and in affection for grandchildren. Similarities, however, were seen in the ranked importance of the role, in the amount of help received from grandchildren, and in grandfather-grandchild consensus. The findings support a cultural rather than a structural/economic base for the grandfather role, thus validating the cultural variant perspective.

Affect↗