Avoiding Procrastination through Time Management: An Experimental Intervention Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Häfner, Alexander; Oberst, Verena; Stock, Armin

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a short-term time management intervention on procrastination. Procrastination is a serious issue for many students and associated with different negative consequences, such as anxiety or low grades. As procrastination is described as a self-regulatory failure, a training programme focussing…

Elementary EFL Teachers' Computer Phobia and Computer Self-Efficacy in Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Kate Tzuching

2012-01-01

The advent and application of computer and information technology has increased the overall success of EFL teaching; however, such success is hard to assess, and teachers prone to computer avoidance face negative consequences. Two major obstacles are high computer phobia and low computer self-efficacy. However, little research has been carried out…

Keep your eyes open: dispositional vigilance moderates the relationship between operational police stress and stress symptoms.

PubMed

Kubiak, Jeanette; Krick, Annika; Egloff, Boris

2017-09-01

Vigilant coping is characterized by a deep processing of threat-related information. In many cases, vigilant coping increases stress symptoms, whereas avoidant coping decreases negative affect. However, vigilance may be beneficial when stress-eliciting situations involve a risk of injury or escalation as is usually the case in police operations. We investigated the roles of vigilance and cognitive avoidance in police operations in a cross-sectional survey. The participants were 137 students (104 men, M age  = 28.54, SD = 8.04) from the Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences; 76 of them were already police officers (work experience: M = 12.59 years), and 61 were police officer candidates who had completed a 3- to 6-month police internship. Participants completed a paper-and-pencil survey and reported their operational stress, dispositional vigilance and cognitive avoidance in police operations, and stress symptoms. We found that vigilance was negatively associated with stress symptoms and moderated the relationship between operational stress and stress symptoms. Cognitive avoidance, on the other hand, just missed the level of statistical significance in our test of whether it was positively associated with stress symptoms. Our findings demonstrate that vigilance may protect against the negative consequences of stress in police operations.

Practice Makes Perfect and Other Curricular Myths in the Sport Specialization Debate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brylinsky, Jody

2010-01-01

This article presents a different focus on the specialization debate, one that changes the focus to the quality of sport instruction regardless of the level of specialization in training. It suggests that many of the negative consequences of early sport specialization may be avoided with appropriate coaching and sport skill instruction. Rather…

The School Nurse's Ability to Detect and Support Abused Children: A Trust-Creating Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kraft, Lisbet Engh; Eriksson, Ulla-Britt

2015-01-01

Child abuse has negative health consequences. Early detection and preventive measures lead to avoidance of prolonged and more complex problems. School nurses have a child protection role and should pay attention to vulnerable children. Through health dialogues and other interactions with pupils, school nurses have the opportunity to detect child…

Long-term performance of minimum-input oak restoration plantings

Treesearch

Elizabeth Bernhardt; Tedmund J. Swiecki

2015-01-01

Starting in 1989, we used minimum-input methods to restore native oaks to parts of their former ranges in Vacaville, California. Each restoration site was analyzed, and only those inputs deemed necessary to overcome expected limiting factors for oak establishment were used. We avoided unnecessary inputs that added to cost and could have unintended negative consequences...

Legal issues for German-speaking cannabis growers. Results from an online survey.

PubMed

Werse, Bernd

2016-02-01

Cannabis prohibition can generally be regarded as the main driver for home growing of marijuana. In this paper, I discuss the impact of drug prohibition on cannabis cultivators from the three German-speaking countries: Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In particular, this refers to the questions; how illicitness influences motivations for growing; which precautionary measures are taken against the risk of discovery; how penal consequences differ in the three countries and how these aspects are linked to each other. The results come from a sample of 1578 respondents from the German-language online survey conducted following the International Cannabis Cultivation Questionnaire (ICCQ). The survey was carried out in late 2012 and early 2013. While most of the reasons for growing cannabis relate to avoiding negative consequences of prohibition, the illicitness of cannabis also plays a major role for concern about the cultivation activities as well as measures to avoid negative consequences. Swiss growers are less worried about their activity compared to respondents from Germany or Austria. The results confirm the notion that the illicitness of cannabis is the main drive for the private cultivation of the plant. At the same time, prohibition is the principal reason for concern regarding the growing activity. The severity of possible sentences seems to be linked to the degree of concern and precautionary measures. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Context-dependent activation of reduced autobiographical memory specificity as an avoidant coping style.

PubMed

Debeer, Elise; Raes, Filip; Williams, J Mark G; Hermans, Dirk

2011-12-01

According to the affect-regulation hypothesis (Williams et al., 2007), reduced autobiographical memory specificity (rAMS) or overgeneral memory (OGM) might be considered a cognitive avoidance strategy; that is, people learn to avoid the emotionally painful consequences associated with the retrieval of specific negative memories. Based on this hypothesis, one would predict significant negative associations between AMS and avoidant coping. However, studies investigating this prediction have led to equivocal results. In the present study we tested a possible explanation for these contradictory findings. It was hypothesized that rAMS (in part) reflects an avoidant coping strategy, which might only become apparent under certain conditions, that is, conditions that signal the possibility of 'danger.' To test this hypothesis, we assessed AMS and behavioral avoidance but experimentally manipulated the instructions. In the neutral condition, two parallel versions of the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) were presented under neutral instructions. In the threat condition, the first AMT was presented under neutral instructions, while the second AMT was presented under 'threat instructions.' Results showed no significant correlations between avoidance and OGM under neutral conditions but significant and markedly stronger correlations under threat conditions, with more avoidance being associated with fewer specific and more categoric memories. In addition, high avoiders showed a stronger reduction in AMS in the threat condition as compared with the neutral condition, while low avoiders showed no such difference between conditions. The data confirm that OGM can be considered as part of a broader avoidant coping style. However, more importantly, they show that, at least in nonclinical individuals, the activation of this coping style may depend on the context. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Population properties affect inbreeding avoidance in moose.

PubMed

Herfindal, Ivar; Haanes, Hallvard; Røed, Knut H; Solberg, Erling J; Markussen, Stine S; Heim, Morten; Sæther, Bernt-Erik

2014-12-01

Mechanisms reducing inbreeding are thought to have evolved owing to fitness costs of breeding with close relatives. In small and isolated populations, or populations with skewed age- or sex distributions, mate choice becomes limited, and inbreeding avoidance mechanisms ineffective. We used a unique individual-based dataset on moose from a small island in Norway to assess whether inbreeding avoidance was related to population structure and size, expecting inbreeding avoidance to be greater in years with larger populations and even adult sex ratios. The probability that a potential mating event was realized was negatively related to the inbreeding coefficient of the potential offspring, with a stronger relationship in years with a higher proportion or number of males in the population. Thus, adult sex ratio and population size affect the degree of inbreeding avoidance. Consequently, conservation managers should aim for sex ratios that facilitate inbreeding avoidance, especially in small and isolated populations. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

The Appraisal of Fear Appeals as Threatening or Challenging: Frequency of Use, Academic Self-Efficacy and Subjective Value

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Putwain, David; Remedios, Richard; Symes, Wendy

2016-01-01

Fear appeals are messages that focus on avoiding the negative consequences of failure. They are often used by teachers as a motivational tactic prior to high-stakes examinations. In this study, we examined whether 566 secondary school students, from 26 different classes, approaching high-stakes examinations appraised fear appeals as threatening or…

Avoidant Coping as a Mediator between Appearance-Related Victimization and Self-Esteem in Young Australian Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lodge, J.; Feldman, S. S.

2007-01-01

Peer victimization, especially appearance-related bullying, is a highly stressful experience for a young person and is associated with significant negative outcomes. Perhaps, the most common consequence of peer victimization in adolescence is lowered self-esteem. Evidence supports the role of low self-esteem as a non-specific risk factor and high…

In Your Face: Risk of Punishment Enhances Cognitive Control and Error-Related Activity in the Corrugator Supercilii Muscle.

PubMed

Lindström, Björn R; Mattsson-Mårn, Isak Berglund; Golkar, Armita; Olsson, Andreas

2013-01-01

Cognitive control is needed when mistakes have consequences, especially when such consequences are potentially harmful. However, little is known about how the aversive consequences of deficient control affect behavior. To address this issue, participants performed a two-choice response time task where error commissions were expected to be punished by electric shocks during certain blocks. By manipulating (1) the perceived punishment risk (no, low, high) associated with error commissions, and (2) response conflict (low, high), we showed that motivation to avoid punishment enhanced performance during high response conflict. As a novel index of the processes enabling successful cognitive control under threat, we explored electromyographic activity in the corrugator supercilii (cEMG) muscle of the upper face. The corrugator supercilii is partially controlled by the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) which is sensitive to negative affect, pain and cognitive control. As hypothesized, the cEMG exhibited several key similarities with the core temporal and functional characteristics of the Error-Related Negativity (ERN) ERP component, the hallmark index of cognitive control elicited by performance errors, and which has been linked to the aMCC. The cEMG was amplified within 100 ms of error commissions (the same time-window as the ERN), particularly during the high punishment risk condition where errors would be most aversive. Furthermore, similar to the ERN, the magnitude of error cEMG predicted post-error response time slowing. Our results suggest that cEMG activity can serve as an index of avoidance motivated control, which is instrumental to adaptive cognitive control when consequences are potentially harmful.

In Your Face: Risk of Punishment Enhances Cognitive Control and Error-Related Activity in the Corrugator Supercilii Muscle

PubMed Central

Lindström, Björn R.; Mattsson-Mårn, Isak Berglund; Golkar, Armita; Olsson, Andreas

2013-01-01

Cognitive control is needed when mistakes have consequences, especially when such consequences are potentially harmful. However, little is known about how the aversive consequences of deficient control affect behavior. To address this issue, participants performed a two-choice response time task where error commissions were expected to be punished by electric shocks during certain blocks. By manipulating (1) the perceived punishment risk (no, low, high) associated with error commissions, and (2) response conflict (low, high), we showed that motivation to avoid punishment enhanced performance during high response conflict. As a novel index of the processes enabling successful cognitive control under threat, we explored electromyographic activity in the corrugator supercilii (cEMG) muscle of the upper face. The corrugator supercilii is partially controlled by the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) which is sensitive to negative affect, pain and cognitive control. As hypothesized, the cEMG exhibited several key similarities with the core temporal and functional characteristics of the Error-Related Negativity (ERN) ERP component, the hallmark index of cognitive control elicited by performance errors, and which has been linked to the aMCC. The cEMG was amplified within 100 ms of error commissions (the same time-window as the ERN), particularly during the high punishment risk condition where errors would be most aversive. Furthermore, similar to the ERN, the magnitude of error cEMG predicted post-error response time slowing. Our results suggest that cEMG activity can serve as an index of avoidance motivated control, which is instrumental to adaptive cognitive control when consequences are potentially harmful. PMID:23840356

Self-Presentation Strategies, Fear of Success and Anticipation of Future Success among University and High School Students.

PubMed

Kosakowska-Berezecka, Natasza; Jurek, Paweł; Besta, Tomasz; Badowska, Sylwia

2017-01-01

The backlash avoidance model (BAM) suggests women insufficiently self-promote because they fear backlash for behavior which is incongruent with traditional gender roles. Avoiding self-promoting behavior is also potentially related to associating success with negative consequences. In two studies we tested whether self-promotion and fear of success will be predictors of lower salaries and anticipation of lower chances of success in an exam. In study 1, prior to the exam they were about to take, we asked 234 students about their predictions concerning exam results and their future earnings. They also filled scales measuring their associations with success (fear of success) and tendency for self-promotion. The tested model proved that in comparison to men, women expect lower salaries in the future, anticipate lower test performance and associate success with more negative consequences. Both tendency for self-promotion and fear of success are related to anticipation of success in test performance and expectations concerning future earnings. In study 2 we repeated the procedure on a sample of younger female and male high school pupils ( N = 100) to verify whether associating success with negative consequences and differences in self-promotion strategies are observable in a younger demographic. Our results show that girls and boys in high school do not differ with regard to fear of success, self-promotion or agency levels. Girls and boys anticipated to obtain similar results in math exam results, but girls expected to have higher results in language exams. Nevertheless, school pupils also differed regarding their future earnings but only in the short term. Fear of success and agency self-ratings were significant predictors of expectations concerning future earnings, but only among high school boys and with regard to earnings expected just after graduation.

Self-Presentation Strategies, Fear of Success and Anticipation of Future Success among University and High School Students

PubMed Central

Kosakowska-Berezecka, Natasza; Jurek, Paweł; Besta, Tomasz; Badowska, Sylwia

2017-01-01

The backlash avoidance model (BAM) suggests women insufficiently self-promote because they fear backlash for behavior which is incongruent with traditional gender roles. Avoiding self-promoting behavior is also potentially related to associating success with negative consequences. In two studies we tested whether self-promotion and fear of success will be predictors of lower salaries and anticipation of lower chances of success in an exam. In study 1, prior to the exam they were about to take, we asked 234 students about their predictions concerning exam results and their future earnings. They also filled scales measuring their associations with success (fear of success) and tendency for self-promotion. The tested model proved that in comparison to men, women expect lower salaries in the future, anticipate lower test performance and associate success with more negative consequences. Both tendency for self-promotion and fear of success are related to anticipation of success in test performance and expectations concerning future earnings. In study 2 we repeated the procedure on a sample of younger female and male high school pupils (N = 100) to verify whether associating success with negative consequences and differences in self-promotion strategies are observable in a younger demographic. Our results show that girls and boys in high school do not differ with regard to fear of success, self-promotion or agency levels. Girls and boys anticipated to obtain similar results in math exam results, but girls expected to have higher results in language exams. Nevertheless, school pupils also differed regarding their future earnings but only in the short term. Fear of success and agency self-ratings were significant predictors of expectations concerning future earnings, but only among high school boys and with regard to earnings expected just after graduation. PMID:29163271

Youth survival: addressing the role of promoting the acquisition of the prosocial triad and other survival skills in youth.

PubMed

Pratt, Helen D; Pratt, Brandy M; Sackett, Mila

2007-06-01

This article addresses the issue of teaching youth skills that will help them to maximize opportunities and positive consequences and minimize exposure to negative consequences in their lives. These skills will allow them to mature into mentally healthy, productive members of society. Essential skills that are critical to allow this maturational process include developing prosocial skills; the ability to recognize, discriminate the level of threat, and use strategies to avoid danger; and the ability to adapt to the changing demands of his or her environment.

Quality of life, primary traumatisation, and positive and negative affects in primary school students in the Gaza Strip.

PubMed

Veronese, Guido; Pepe, Alessandro; Almurnak, Feda; Jaradah, Alaa; Hamdouna, Husam

2018-02-21

Many researchers have reported that exposure to war and ongoing political violence increases mental health problems in children. Results of studies have also shown a high prevalence (58-80%) of post-traumatic stress disorder in war-affected children living in the occupied Palestinian territory. The aim of this study was to estimate the direct and indirect effects of perceived life satisfaction on the consequences of children's exposure to trauma and the balance of positive and negative affect. Palestinian children were recruited from primary schools in four refugee camps in the Gaza Strip (Bureij, Gaza Beach Camp, Jabalia, Rafah). All children had been involved in or witnessed one or more episodes of violence involving other people in the 2 months prior to the study (the 2012 Gaza War). We used the Multidimensional Students Life Satisfaction Scale (peers, self, living environment, school, family), the Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children, and the revised Children Impact of Events scale (intrusion and avoidance symptoms) to test (through structural equation modelling) the moderation effect of life satisfaction on war trauma via positive emotions. 1276 Palestinian children were enrolled in this study. The model tested with structural equation modelling was robust. Children's life satisfaction influenced both the intrusion (β=-0·48; p=0.003) and avoidance (β=-11; p=0·021) effects of primary traumatisation. The consequences of primary traumatisation by intrusion (β=0·34; p=0·008) and avoidance (β=0·27; p=0.011) contributed to increasing negative affect. Finally, perceived life satisfaction had direct effects on affective experience, specifically increasing positive affect and diminishing negative affect. Perceived quality of life in children has a role in controlling war-related traumas. Life satisfaction contributes both directly and indirectly to change affectivity. When children perceive themselves to be highly satisfied with their home and school environment, living conditions, and relationships with peers and parents, the effects of trauma are less severe. None. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Use of Protective Behavioral Strategies Is Related to Reduced Risk in Heavy Drinking College Students with Poorer Mental and Physical Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LaBrie, Joseph W.; Kenney, Shannon R.; Lac, Andrew

2010-01-01

The present study examined the moderating role of health status (physical, mental, and social health) and the relationships between protective behavioral strategies utilized to reduce high-risk drinking (e.g., avoiding drinking games, setting consumption limits, or having a designated driver) and alcohol use and negative consequences in a sample…

The 7-factor hybrid model of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms and alcohol consumption and consequences in a national sample of trauma-exposed veterans.

PubMed

Claycomb Erwin, Meredith; Charak, Ruby; Durham, Tory A; Armour, Cherie; Lv, Xin; Southwick, Steven M; Elhai, Jon D; Pietrzak, Robert H

2017-10-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate associations between the 7-factor hybrid model of DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, which includes intrusions, avoidance, negative affect, anhedonia, externalizing behaviors, anxious arousal, and dysphoric arousal symptoms, and alcohol consumption and consequences. A nationally representative sample of 916 trauma-exposed U.S. military veterans were administered the Trauma History Screen, PTSD Checklist-5, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to determine associations between the 7-factor hybrid model of PTSD symptoms, and alcohol consumption and consequences. Results revealed that lifetime dysphoric arousal (r=0.31), negative affect (r=0.30), and anhedonia (r=0.29) symptom clusters were most strongly associated with past-year alcohol consequences. No significant associations were observed for alcohol consumption. While the cross-sectional study design does not allow one to ascertain causative associations between PTSD factors and alcohol consumption and consequences, results generally align with the self-medication hypothesis, as PTSD factors reflecting internalizing were most strongly related to alcohol-related consequences. These results underscore the importance of assessing for alcohol use problems in veterans who score highly on PTSD symptoms reflecting internalizing symptomatology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intentions to Prevent Weight Gain in Older and Younger Adults; The Importance of Perceived Health and Appearance Consequences.

PubMed

Beeken, Rebecca J; Mahdi, Sundus; Johnson, Fiona; Meisel, Susanne F

2018-01-01

This study investigates whether health and appearance consequences predict intentions to prevent weight gain and whether these relationships differ in younger versus older adults and in men versus women. UK adults aged 18-26 years (younger adults; n = 584) or >45 years (older adults; n = 107) participated in an online survey. Logistic regression assessed associations between intentions to avoid gaining weight and age, gender as well as perceived negative consequences of weight gain for health and appearance. Co-variates were ethnicity, education, weight perception and perceived weight gain vulnerability. Interactions between age, gender and perceived health and appearance consequences of weight gain were also tested. Perceived negative appearance consequences of weight gain predicted weight gain prevention intentions (OR = 9.3, p < 0.001). Health concerns were not a significant predictor of intentions overall but were a strong predictor for older adults (age × health concern interaction: OR = 13.6, p > 0.01). Concerns about feeling unattractive predict intentions to prevent weight gain. However, health consequences of weight gain are only important motivators for older adults. Future research should identify ways to shift the focus of young people from appearance concerns towards the health benefits of maintaining a healthy weight. © 2018 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.

Market turbulence creates financing opportunity.

PubMed

Cooper, James H

2012-03-01

The flight to high-quality assets resulting from Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S. government's credit rating has dropped the yield on U.S. Treasury securities as investors have sought refuge amid uncertain market conditions. Consequently, hospitals can now obtain mortgage insurance from the U.S. government to finance expansions and refinance their debt with GNMA securities at taxable interest rates that are often more favorable than tax-exempt bond fixed rates. Because GNMA certificates can be sold in a forward purchase transaction that locks in a fixed interest rate while avoiding payment of interest until construction funds are disbursed, they can help avoid the effects of negative arbitrage.

Is it beneficial to use Internet-communication for escaping from boredom? Boredom proneness interacts with cue-induced craving and avoidance expectancies in explaining symptoms of Internet-communication disorder

PubMed Central

Ostendorf, Sina

2018-01-01

The use of online-communication applications including messengers (e.g. WhatsApp) or social networking services (e.g. Facebook) on the smartphone has turned into daily practice for billions of people, for example during waiting times. An increasing number of individuals show diminished control over their usage of these applications despite negative consequences in everyday life. This can be referred to as Internet-communication disorder (ICD). The current study investigated the effect of boredom proneness on symptoms of an ICD. It further examined the mediating role of cognitive and affective mechanisms, namely expectancies to avoid negative feelings online and cue-induced craving. The results of a structural equation model (N = 148) illustrate that boredom proneness is a risk factor for the development and maintenance of an ICD as it had a significant direct effect on ICD symptoms. Furthermore, boredom proneness predicted avoidance expectancies as well as cue-induced craving. Both in turn enhanced the risk of developing ICD tendencies. Moreover, both variables mediated the effect of boredom proneness on ICD and interacted among each other. In summary, the results demonstrate that people who have a higher susceptibility to experience boredom show higher expectancies to avoid negative emotions online, which promotes higher craving reactions when being confronted with specific cues (e.g. an incoming message), and could result in ICD tendencies. PMID:29672574

Is it beneficial to use Internet-communication for escaping from boredom? Boredom proneness interacts with cue-induced craving and avoidance expectancies in explaining symptoms of Internet-communication disorder.

PubMed

Wegmann, Elisa; Ostendorf, Sina; Brand, Matthias

2018-01-01

The use of online-communication applications including messengers (e.g. WhatsApp) or social networking services (e.g. Facebook) on the smartphone has turned into daily practice for billions of people, for example during waiting times. An increasing number of individuals show diminished control over their usage of these applications despite negative consequences in everyday life. This can be referred to as Internet-communication disorder (ICD). The current study investigated the effect of boredom proneness on symptoms of an ICD. It further examined the mediating role of cognitive and affective mechanisms, namely expectancies to avoid negative feelings online and cue-induced craving. The results of a structural equation model (N = 148) illustrate that boredom proneness is a risk factor for the development and maintenance of an ICD as it had a significant direct effect on ICD symptoms. Furthermore, boredom proneness predicted avoidance expectancies as well as cue-induced craving. Both in turn enhanced the risk of developing ICD tendencies. Moreover, both variables mediated the effect of boredom proneness on ICD and interacted among each other. In summary, the results demonstrate that people who have a higher susceptibility to experience boredom show higher expectancies to avoid negative emotions online, which promotes higher craving reactions when being confronted with specific cues (e.g. an incoming message), and could result in ICD tendencies.

Animal to human translational paradigms relevant for approach avoidance conflict decision making.

PubMed

Kirlic, Namik; Young, Jared; Aupperle, Robin L

2017-09-01

Avoidance behavior in clinical anxiety disorders is often a decision made in response to approach-avoidance conflict, resulting in a sacrifice of potential rewards to avoid potential negative affective consequences. Animal research has a long history of relying on paradigms related to approach-avoidance conflict to model anxiety-relevant behavior. This approach includes punishment-based conflict, exploratory, and social interaction tasks. There has been a recent surge of interest in the translation of paradigms from animal to human, in efforts to increase generalization of findings and support the development of more effective mental health treatments. This article briefly reviews animal tests related to approach-avoidance conflict and results from lesion and pharmacologic studies utilizing these tests. We then provide a description of translational human paradigms that have been developed to tap into related constructs, summarizing behavioral and neuroimaging findings. Similarities and differences in findings from analogous animal and human paradigms are discussed. Lastly, we highlight opportunities for future research and paradigm development that will support the clinical utility of this translational work. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A landslide is a landslide is a landslide… Or is it? Defining landslide potential across large landscapes

Treesearch

Jonathan Thompson; Kelly Burnett

2008-01-01

Not all landslides are created equal. Some have the potential to run out to streams and others do not. Some are likely to simplify and damage stream habitat, and others can be important sources of gravel and large wood, fundamental components of habitat complexity for salmon and other stream inhabitants. Forest managers want to avoid negative consequences and promote...

Feed‐backs among inbreeding, inbreeding depression in sperm traits, and sperm competition can drive evolution of costly polyandry

PubMed Central

Bocedi, Greta; Reid, Jane M.

2017-01-01

Abstract Ongoing ambitions are to understand the evolution of costly polyandry and its consequences for species ecology and evolution. Emerging patterns could stem from feed‐back dynamics between the evolving mating system and its genetic environment, defined by interactions among kin including inbreeding. However, such feed‐backs are rarely considered in nonselfing systems. We use a genetically explicit model to demonstrate a mechanism by which inbreeding depression can select for polyandry to mitigate the negative consequences of mating with inbred males, rather than to avoid inbreeding, and to elucidate underlying feed‐backs. Specifically, given inbreeding depression in sperm traits, costly polyandry evolved to ensure female fertility, without requiring explicit inbreeding avoidance. Resulting sperm competition caused evolution of sperm traits and further mitigated the negative effect of inbreeding depression on female fertility. The evolving mating system fed back to decrease population‐wide homozygosity, and hence inbreeding. However, the net overall decrease was small due to compound effects on the variances in sex‐specific reproductive success and paternity skew. Purging of deleterious mutations did not eliminate inbreeding depression in sperm traits or hence selection for polyandry. Overall, our model illustrates that polyandry evolution, both directly and through sperm competition, might facilitate evolutionary rescue for populations experiencing sudden increases in inbreeding. PMID:28895138

The effects of social and health consequence framing on heavy drinking intentions among college students.

PubMed

Kingsbury, John H; Gibbons, Frederick X; Gerrard, Meg

2015-02-01

Many interventions targeting college student drinking have focused on negative health effects of drinking heavily; however, some research suggests that social factors may have a stronger influence on the drinking behaviour of young people. Moreover, few studies have examined message framing effects in the context of alcohol consumption. This study investigated the effects of social and health consequence framing on college students' intentions to engage in heavy drinking. This study used a 2 × 2 experimental design with an appended control condition. One hundred and twenty-four college students (74 women; M(age) = 18.9) participated in this study for course credit. Participants read vignettes that were ostensibly written by a recent graduate from the university, who described an episode of drinking in which he or she experienced either social or health consequences. These consequences were framed as either a gain (i.e., positive consequences of not drinking heavily) or a loss (i.e., negative consequences of drinking heavily). After reading the vignette, participants completed a measure of heavy drinking intentions. Regression analyses revealed that social consequences were associated with lower heavy drinking intentions when framed as a loss and that health consequences were associated with lower heavy drinking intentions when framed as a gain. These effects were stronger among those who reported higher (vs. lower) levels of previous drinking. Results suggest that interventions that focus on the negative health effects of heavy drinking may be improved by instead emphasizing the negative social consequences of drinking heavily and the positive health consequences of avoiding this behaviour. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Previous studies have shown that gain frames are more effective than loss frames when highlighting the health consequences of health risk behaviours, such as heavy drinking. The heavy drinking behaviour of young people is influenced by social factors (e.g., perceived social consequences). However, little is known about framing effects for social consequences of heavy drinking. What does this study add? This study builds on previous research by demonstrating that a loss frame is more effective than a gain frame when highlighting the social consequences of health risk behaviour. Framing effects are strongest for those with more previous drinking experience. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Initial validation of the Nine Item Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake disorder screen (NIAS): A measure of three restrictive eating patterns.

PubMed

Zickgraf, Hana F; Ellis, Jordan M

2018-04-01

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is an eating or feeding disorder characterized by inadequate nutritional or caloric intake leading to weight loss, nutritional deficiency, supplement dependence, and/or significant psychosocial impairment. DSM-5 lists three different eating patterns that can lead to symptoms of ARFID: avoidance of foods due to their sensory properties (e.g., picky eating), poor appetite or limited interest in eating, or fear of negative consequences from eating. Research on the prevalence and psychopathology of ARFID is limited by the lack of validated instruments to measure these eating behaviors. The present study describes the development and validation of the nine-item ARFID screen (NIAS), a brief multidimensional instrument to measure ARFID-associated eating behaviors. Participants were 455 adults recruited on Amazon's Mechanical Turk, 505 adults recruited from a nationally-representative subject pool, and 311 undergraduates participating in research for course credit. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence for three factors. The NIAS subscales demonstrated high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, invariant item loadings between two samples, and convergent/discriminant validity with other measures of picky eating, appetite, fear of negative consequences, and psychopathology. The scales were also correlated with measures of ARFID-like symptoms (e.g., low BMI, low fruit/vegetable variety and intake, and eating-related psychosocial interference/distress), although the picky eating, appetite, and fear scales had distinct independent relationships with these constructs. The NIAS is a brief, reliable instrument that may be used to further investigate ARFID-related eating behaviors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is video gaming, or video game addiction, associated with depression, academic achievement, heavy episodic drinking, or conduct problems?

PubMed

Brunborg, Geir Scott; Mentzoni, Rune Aune; Frøyland, Lars Roar

2014-03-01

While the relationships between video game use and negative consequences are debated, the relationships between video game addiction and negative consequences are fairly well established. However, previous studies suffer from methodological weaknesses that may have caused biased results. There is need for further investigation that benefits from the use of methods that avoid omitted variable bias. Two wave panel data was used from two surveys of 1,928 Norwegian adolescents aged 13 to 17 years. The surveys included measures of video game use, video game addiction, depression, heavy episodic drinking, academic achievement, and conduct problems. The data was analyzed using first-differencing, a regression method that is unbiased by time invariant individual factors. Video game addiction was related to depression, lower academic achievement, and conduct problems, but time spent on video games was not related to any of the studied negative outcomes. The findings were in line with a growing number of studies that have failed to find relationships between time spent on video games and negative outcomes. The current study is also consistent with previous studies in that video game addiction was related to other negative outcomes, but it made the added contribution that the relationships are unbiased by time invariant individual effects. However, future research should aim at establishing the temporal order of the supposed causal effects. Spending time playing video games does not involve negative consequences, but adolescents who experience problems related to video games are likely to also experience problems in other facets of life.

Is video gaming, or video game addiction, associated with depression, academic achievement, heavy episodic drinking, or conduct problems?

PubMed Central

Brunborg, Geir Scott; Mentzoni, Rune Aune; Frøyland, Lars Roar

2014-01-01

Background and aims: While the relationships between video game use and negative consequences are debated, the relationships between video game addiction and negative consequences are fairly well established. However, previous studies suffer from methodological weaknesses that may have caused biased results. There is need for further investigation that benefits from the use of methods that avoid omitted variable bias. Methods: Two wave panel data was used from two surveys of 1,928 Norwegian adolescents aged 13 to 17 years. The surveys included measures of video game use, video game addiction, depression, heavy episodic drinking, academic achievement, and conduct problems. The data was analyzed using first-differencing, a regression method that is unbiased by time invariant individual factors. Results: Video game addiction was related to depression, lower academic achievement, and conduct problems, but time spent on video games was not related to any of the studied negative outcomes. Discussion: The findings were in line with a growing number of studies that have failed to find relationships between time spent on video games and negative outcomes. The current study is also consistent with previous studies in that video game addiction was related to other negative outcomes, but it made the added contribution that the relationships are unbiased by time invariant individual effects. However, future research should aim at establishing the temporal order of the supposed causal effects. Conclusions: Spending time playing video games does not involve negative consequences, but adolescents who experience problems related to video games are likely to also experience problems in other facets of life. PMID:25215212

Consequences of Learned Helplessness and Recognition of the State of Cognitive Exhaustion in Persons with Mild Intellectual Disability

PubMed Central

Gacek, Michał; Smoleń, Tomasz; Pilecka, Władysława

2017-01-01

Persons with intellectual disability are a group at risk of being exposed to overly demanding problem-solving situations, which may produce learned helplessness. The research was based on the informational model of learned helplessness. The consequences of exposure to an unsolvable task and the ability to recognize the symptoms of cognitive exhaustion were tested in 120 students with mild intellectual disability. After the exposure to the unsolvable task, persons in the experimental group obtained lower results than the control group in the escape/avoidance learning task, but a similar result was found in the divergent thinking fluency task. Also, participants in the experimental group had difficulties recognizing the symptoms of the cognitive exhaustion state. After a week’s time, the difference in escape/avoidance learning performance was still observed. The results indicate that exposure to unsolvable tasks may negatively influence the cognitive performance in persons with intellectual disability, although those persons may not identify the cognitive state related to lowered performance. PMID:28479937

Consequences of Learned Helplessness and Recognition of the State of Cognitive Exhaustion in Persons with Mild Intellectual Disability.

PubMed

Gacek, Michał; Smoleń, Tomasz; Pilecka, Władysława

2017-01-01

Persons with intellectual disability are a group at risk of being exposed to overly demanding problem-solving situations, which may produce learned helplessness . The research was based on the informational model of learned helplessness. The consequences of exposure to an unsolvable task and the ability to recognize the symptoms of cognitive exhaustion were tested in 120 students with mild intellectual disability. After the exposure to the unsolvable task, persons in the experimental group obtained lower results than the control group in the escape/avoidance learning task, but a similar result was found in the divergent thinking fluency task. Also, participants in the experimental group had difficulties recognizing the symptoms of the cognitive exhaustion state. After a week's time, the difference in escape/avoidance learning performance was still observed. The results indicate that exposure to unsolvable tasks may negatively influence the cognitive performance in persons with intellectual disability, although those persons may not identify the cognitive state related to lowered performance.

Boundary Avoidance Tracking: Consequences (and Uses) of Imposed Boundaries on Pilot-Aircraft Performance

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

BOUNDARY AVOIDANCE TRACKING: CONSEQUENCES (AND USES) OF IMPOSED BOUNDARIES ON PILOT-AIRCRAFT...States Government. AFIT/GAE/ENY/09-M03 BOUNDARY AVOIDANCE TRACKING: CONSEQUENCES (AND USES) OF IMPOSED BOUNDARIES ON PILOT-AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE...Case 2 (Gray, 2005) ....................................... 20 Figure 8. Effect of BAT Parameters on Tracking Success (Gray, 2005

Aberrant approach-avoidance conflict resolution following repeated cocaine pre-exposure.

PubMed

Nguyen, David; Schumacher, Anett; Erb, Suzanne; Ito, Rutsuko

2015-10-01

Addiction is characterized by persistence to seek drug reinforcement despite negative consequences. Drug-induced aberrations in approach and avoidance processing likely facilitate the sustenance of addiction pathology. Currently, the effects of repeated drug exposure on the resolution of conflicting approach and avoidance motivational signals have yet to be thoroughly investigated. The present study sought to investigate the effects of cocaine pre-exposure on conflict resolution using novel approach-avoidance paradigms. We used a novel mixed-valence conditioning paradigm to condition cocaine-pre-exposed rats to associate visuo-tactile cues with either the delivery of sucrose reward or shock punishment in the arms in which the cues were presented. Following training, exploration of an arm containing a superimposition of the cues was assessed as a measure of conflict resolution behavior. We also used a mixed-valence runway paradigm wherein cocaine-pre-exposed rats traversed an alleyway toward a goal compartment to receive a pairing of sucrose reward and shock punishment. Latency to enter the goal compartment across trials was taken as a measure of motivational conflict. Our results reveal that cocaine pre-exposure attenuated learning for the aversive cue association in our conditioning paradigm and enhanced preference for mixed-valence stimuli in both paradigms. Repeated cocaine pre-exposure allows appetitive approach motivations to gain greater influence over behavioral output in the context of motivational conflict, due to aberrant positive and negative incentive motivational processing.

Lack of behavioural evidence for kin avoidance in mate choice in a hymenopteran parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).

PubMed

Bourdais, D; Hance, T

2009-05-01

Mechanisms for inbreeding avoidance should be prevalent in insects that reproduce by arrhenotokous haplodiploidy because of the higher potential production of unviable diploid males in inbred matings. Few studies have focused on mating strategies in insect parasitoids and even less on kinship relationships during mate choice. In this study we tested avoidance of kin as mate in the parasitic wasp Aphidius matricariae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) using an ethological approach. Key mating parameters, such as male wing fanning, latent period before genitalia contact and duration of copulation were measured. No evidence for kin avoidance in mate choice in both A. matricariae males and females was observed in our behaviour (no choice or choice tests) tests. This lack of ethological sib mating avoidance could be due to different factors such as sex determination rule different than the single locus complementary sex determination, making lower the proportion of diploid males in case of sib matings and thus its negative consequence. The existence of other inbreeding avoidance strategies and mechanisms that reduce the probability of 2 receptive relatives meeting in nature may be common, for example, inbred mating may be rare through differential dispersal, delayed maturation, or protandry.

Maternal Attachment Style and Responses to Adolescents’ Negative Emotions: The Mediating Role of Maternal Emotion Regulation

PubMed Central

Jones, Jason D.; Brett, Bonnie E.; Ehrlich, Katherine B.; Lejuez, Carl W.; Cassidy, Jude

2014-01-01

SYNOPSIS Objective Previous research has examined the developmental consequences, particularly in early childhood, of parents’ supportive and unsupportive responses to children’s negative emotions. Much less is known about factors that explain why parents respond in ways that may support or undermine their children’s emotions, and even less is known about how these parenting processes unfold with adolescents. We examined the associations between mothers’ attachment styles and their distress, harsh, and supportive responses to their adolescents’ negative emotions two years later and whether these links were mediated by maternal emotion regulation difficulties. Design Mothers in a longitudinal study (n = 230) reported on their attachment style, difficulties regulating their emotions, and their hypothetical responses to their adolescents’ negative emotions, respectively, at consecutive laboratory visits one year apart. Results Mothers who reported greater attachment-related avoidance and anxiety reported having greater difficulties with emotion regulation one year later. Emotion dysregulation, in turn, predicted more distressed, harsher, and less supportive maternal responses to adolescents’ negative emotions the following year. In addition, greater avoidance directly predicted harsher maternal responses two years later. Conclusions These findings extend previous research by identifying maternal attachment style as a predictor of responses to adolescent distress and by documenting the underlying role of emotion dysregulation in the link between adult attachment style and parenting. PMID:25568638

Comparison of Career Perceptions of Female and Male Surface Warfare Officers,

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-08-01

and social contact with job motivation were either weak or nonexistent for both males and females. Geddes (1975) examined the differences between male... phobia " and according to Horner (1972) as a "motive to avoid success". Horner describes this motive as a personality disorder which is acquired early...in childhood and is manifested by a belief that success will result in some negative consequence, such as social rejection or feelings of inadequacy

Feed-backs among inbreeding, inbreeding depression in sperm traits, and sperm competition can drive evolution of costly polyandry.

PubMed

Bocedi, Greta; Reid, Jane M

2017-12-01

Ongoing ambitions are to understand the evolution of costly polyandry and its consequences for species ecology and evolution. Emerging patterns could stem from feed-back dynamics between the evolving mating system and its genetic environment, defined by interactions among kin including inbreeding. However, such feed-backs are rarely considered in nonselfing systems. We use a genetically explicit model to demonstrate a mechanism by which inbreeding depression can select for polyandry to mitigate the negative consequences of mating with inbred males, rather than to avoid inbreeding, and to elucidate underlying feed-backs. Specifically, given inbreeding depression in sperm traits, costly polyandry evolved to ensure female fertility, without requiring explicit inbreeding avoidance. Resulting sperm competition caused evolution of sperm traits and further mitigated the negative effect of inbreeding depression on female fertility. The evolving mating system fed back to decrease population-wide homozygosity, and hence inbreeding. However, the net overall decrease was small due to compound effects on the variances in sex-specific reproductive success and paternity skew. Purging of deleterious mutations did not eliminate inbreeding depression in sperm traits or hence selection for polyandry. Overall, our model illustrates that polyandry evolution, both directly and through sperm competition, might facilitate evolutionary rescue for populations experiencing sudden increases in inbreeding. © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution © 2017 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Delineating potential mechanisms of implicit alcohol cognitions: drinking restraint, negative affect, and their relationship with approach alcohol associations.

PubMed

Cohn, Amy M; Cameron, Amy Y; Udo, Tomoko; Hagman, Brett T; Mitchell, Jessica; Bramm, Stephanie; Ehlke, Sarah

2012-06-01

Problem drinkers may use alcohol to avoid negative mood states and may develop implicit cognitive associations between negative emotional states and reinforcing properties of drinking. It is paradoxical that attempts to control drinking, such as among those high in drinking restraint, may inadvertently increase desire to drink and subsequent alcohol consumption, and this may be exaggerated under times of emotional distress when urges to drink are high. We examined whether individuals who are high on drinking restraint would demonstrate stronger alcohol-related thoughts elicited by stimuli that represent the desire to use alcohol, in response to stronger versus weaker negative mood arousal. Seventy hazardous drinkers completed measurements of drinking restraint, alcohol consumption, and consequences of use. After being randomized to view negative or positive pictures sets, participants completed an Implicit Association Task (IAT) to test differences in the strength of the association between desire to approach or avoid alcohol or water cues, and then a measurement of subjective craving following the IAT. Regression analyses showed that trait restriction not temptation was positively related to IAT scores, after controlling for relevant covariates and explained 7% of the total variance. Trait temptation not IAT predicted subjective craving. Negative affect was unrelated to IAT scores, singly or in conjunction with measures of drinking restraint, contrary to predictions. In sum, implicit alcohol cognitions are related to attempts to restrict drinking not temptation to drink and are less strongly influenced by mood state.

Physicians' fear of legal action becoming "pervasive," lawyer tells Ottawa conference.

PubMed Central

Rafuse, J

1995-01-01

Medical malpractice claims may be more common in the US than Canada, but that does not diminish the negative emotional, physical and professional consequences of legal action, delegates to the recent International Conference on Physician Health in Ottawa were told. Several US speakers described how physicians should employ risk-management strategies to avoid malpractice suits. They were also warned about what to expect during a legal action and the likelihood of facing subsequent suits alleging substandard care. PMID:7859204

Getting stuck with pornography? Overuse or neglect of cybersex cues in a multitasking situation is related to symptoms of cybersex addiction.

PubMed

Schiebener, Johannes; Laier, Christian; Brand, Matthias

2015-03-01

Some individuals consume cybersex contents, such as pornographic material, in an addictive manner, which leads to severe negative consequences in private life or work. One mechanism leading to negative consequences may be reduced executive control over cognition and behavior that may be necessary to realize goal-oriented switching between cybersex use and other tasks and obligations of life. To address this aspect,we investigated 104 male participants with an executive multitasking paradigm with two sets: One set consisted of pictures of persons, the other set consisted of pornographic pictures. In both sets the pictures had to be classified according to certain criteria. The explicit goal was to work on all classification tasks to equal amounts, by switching between the sets and classification tasks in a balanced manner. We found that less balanced performance in this multitasking paradigm was associated with a higher tendency towards cybersex addiction. Persons with this tendency often either overused or neglected working on the pornographic pictures. The results indicate that reduced executive control over multitasking performance, when being confronted with pornographic material, may contribute to dysfunctional behaviors and negative consequences resulting from cybersex addiction. However, individuals with tendencies towards cybersex addiction seem to have either an inclination to avoid or to approach the pornographic material, as discussed in motivational models of addiction.

Getting stuck with pornography? Overuse or neglect of cybersex cues in a multitasking situation is related to symptoms of cybersex addiction

PubMed Central

LAIER, CHRISTIAN; BRAND, MATTHIAS

2015-01-01

Background and aims Some individuals consume cybersex contents, such as pornographic material, in an addictive manner, which leads to severe negative consequences in private life or work. One mechanism leading to negative consequences may be reduced executive control over cognition and behavior that may be necessary to realize goal-oriented switching between cybersex use and other tasks and obligations of life. Methods To address this aspect, we investigated 104 male participants with an executive multitasking paradigm with two sets: One set consisted of pictures of persons, the other set consisted of pornographic pictures. In both sets the pictures had to be classified according to certain criteria. The explicit goal was to work on all classification tasks to equal amounts, by switching between the sets and classification tasks in a balanced manner. Results We found that less balanced performance in this multitasking paradigm was associated with a higher tendency towards cybersex addiction. Persons with this tendency often either overused or neglected working on the pornographic pictures. Discussion The results indicate that reduced executive control over multitasking performance, when being confronted with pornographic material, may contribute to dysfunctional behaviors and negative consequences resulting from cybersex addiction. However, individuals with tendencies towards cybersex addiction seem to have either an inclination to avoid or to approach the pornographic material, as discussed in motivational models of addiction. PMID:25786495

Perceptions of Workplace Bullying Among Athletic Trainers in the Collegiate Setting

PubMed Central

Weuve, Celest; Pitney, William A.; Martin, Malissa; Mazerolle, Stephanie M.

2014-01-01

Context: Bullying has received a vast amount of attention in the recent past. One form of bullying, workplace bullying (WPB), has been a substantial concern explored in many health professions that can negatively influence a health care provider's role in an organization. To date, however, WPB has not been investigated in athletic training contexts. Objective: To examine the perceptions of certified athletic trainers who experienced or witnessed WPB during employment in the collegiate setting. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: College or university. Patients or Other Participants: Fifteen athletic trainers (7 women, 8 men) with an average age of 42 ± 12 years. Data Collection and Analysis: Data were collected via semistructured, in-depth phone interviews or asynchronous online interviews. Data were analyzed using an inductive content analysis. Trustworthiness was established with member checks and peer debriefing. Results: Four themes emerged from the analysis: (1) antecedents of WPB, (2) consequences of WPB, (3) coping with WPB, and (4) lack of workplace environment training. The antecedents of WPB involved the bully's personality and perceptions of the athletic training profession as well as environmental factors including the pressure to win and a lack of administrative support. The consequences of WPB included increased stress, feelings of inadequacy, and increased distrust. Individuals coped with WPB by relying on emotional resilience and avoidance. A final theme, lack of workplace environment training, revealed that little attention was given to interpersonal issues and WPB in the workplace. Conclusions: Workplace bullying incidents occur when administrators tolerate bullying behaviors from controlling and manipulative individuals who lack respect for the athletic training professional. Several negative outcomes result from bullying interactions, including stress and anxiety; WPB is dealt with by learning to be more emotionally resilient and avoiding confrontations. Workplace training is needed to prepare athletic trainers for such negative experiences. PMID:25098658

Perceptions of workplace bullying among athletic trainers in the collegiate setting.

PubMed

Weuve, Celest; Pitney, William A; Martin, Malissa; Mazerolle, Stephanie M

2014-01-01

Bullying has received a vast amount of attention in the recent past. One form of bullying, workplace bullying (WPB), has been a substantial concern explored in many health professions that can negatively influence a health care provider's role in an organization. To date, however, WPB has not been investigated in athletic training contexts. To examine the perceptions of certified athletic trainers who experienced or witnessed WPB during employment in the collegiate setting. Qualitative study. College or university. Fifteen athletic trainers (7 women, 8 men) with an average age of 42 ± 12 years. Data were collected via semistructured, in-depth phone interviews or asynchronous online interviews. Data were analyzed using an inductive content analysis. Trustworthiness was established with member checks and peer debriefing. Four themes emerged from the analysis: (1) antecedents of WPB, (2) consequences of WPB, (3) coping with WPB, and (4) lack of workplace environment training. The antecedents of WPB involved the bully's personality and perceptions of the athletic training profession as well as environmental factors including the pressure to win and a lack of administrative support. The consequences of WPB included increased stress, feelings of inadequacy, and increased distrust. Individuals coped with WPB by relying on emotional resilience and avoidance. A final theme, lack of workplace environment training, revealed that little attention was given to interpersonal issues and WPB in the workplace. Workplace bullying incidents occur when administrators tolerate bullying behaviors from controlling and manipulative individuals who lack respect for the athletic training professional. Several negative outcomes result from bullying interactions, including stress and anxiety; WPB is dealt with by learning to be more emotionally resilient and avoiding confrontations. Workplace training is needed to prepare athletic trainers for such negative experiences.

Operant conditioning of autobiographical memory retrieval.

PubMed

Debeer, Elise; Raes, Filip; Williams, J Mark G; Craeynest, Miet; Hermans, Dirk

2014-01-01

Functional avoidance is considered as one of the key mechanisms underlying overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM). According to this view OGM is regarded as a learned cognitive avoidance strategy, based on principles of operant conditioning; i.e., individuals learn to avoid the emotionally painful consequences associated with the retrieval of specific negative memories. The aim of the present study was to test one of the basic assumptions of the functional avoidance account, namely that autobiographical memory retrieval can be brought under operant control. Here 41 students were instructed to retrieve personal memories in response to 60 emotional cue words. Depending on the condition, they were punished with an aversive sound for the retrieval of specific or nonspecific memories in an operant conditioning procedure. Analyzes showed that the course of memory specificity significantly differed between conditions. After the procedure participants punished for nonspecific memories retrieved significantly more specific memories compared to participants punished for specific memories. However, whereas memory specificity significantly increased in participants punished for specific memories, it did not significantly decrease in participants punished for nonspecific memories. Thus, while our findings indicate that autobiographical memory retrieval can be brought under operant control, they do not support a functional avoidance view on OGM.

Density and delay of punishment of free-operant avoidance1

PubMed Central

Baron, Alan; Kaufman, Arnold; Fazzini, Dan

1969-01-01

In two experiments, the free-operant shock-avoidance behavior of rats was punished by electric shock. Two aspects of the schedule of response-produced shock were varied: the frequency of punishment over time (punishment density) and the temporal interval between the punished response and the punishment (punishment delay). The general finding was that response-produced shock suppressed avoidance responding under most of the density-delay combinations studied, and suppression increased as a function of increases in density and decreases in delay. Rate increases of small magnitude also were observed, usually as an initial reaction to the lesser densities and longer delays. Response suppression, while decreasing the number of punishment shocks received, also increased the number of avoidance shocks, so that the total number of shocks received usually was greater than the minimal number possible. The results were discussed from the standpoint of similarities between the effects of punishing positively and negatively reinforced behavior. The finding that subjects did not minimize the total number of shocks suggested that when avoidance behavior is punished, responding is controlled more by the local consequences of responding than by overall shock frequencies during the course of the session. PMID:16811408

Inbreeding and inbreeding avoidance in wild giant pandas.

PubMed

Hu, Yibo; Nie, Yonggang; Wei, Wei; Ma, Tianxiao; Van Horn, Russell; Zheng, Xiaoguang; Swaisgood, Ronald R; Zhou, Zhixin; Zhou, Wenliang; Yan, Li; Zhang, Zejun; Wei, Fuwen

2017-10-01

Inbreeding can have negative consequences on population and individual fitness, which could be counteracted by inbreeding avoidance mechanisms. However, the inbreeding risk and inbreeding avoidance mechanisms in endangered species are less studied. The giant panda, a solitary and threatened species, lives in many small populations and suffers from habitat fragmentation, which may aggravate the risk of inbreeding. Here, we performed long-term observations of reproductive behaviour, sampling of mother-cub pairs and large-scale genetic analyses on wild giant pandas. Moderate levels of inbreeding were found in 21.1% of mating pairs, 9.1% of parent pairs and 7.7% of panda cubs, but no high-level inbreeding occurred. More significant levels of inbreeding may be avoided passively by female-biased natal dispersal rather than by breeding dispersal or active relatedness-based mate choice mechanisms. The level of inbreeding in giant pandas is greater than expected for a solitary mammal and thus warrants concern for potential inbreeding depression, particularly in small populations isolated by continuing habitat fragmentation, which will reduce female dispersal and increase the risk of inbreeding. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Psychiatric stigma in the military.

PubMed

Porter, T L; Johnson, W B

1994-09-01

There is potential for the stigma of mental health care to directly affect an active duty member's career. The authors are aware of cases in which fear of adverse career consequences has led service members to avoid needed mental health care. In order to investigate the legitimacy of this fear, the authors surveyed 252 USN and USMC commanding and executive officers concerning their attitudes about service members who had received mental health and other services; 138 responded. Overall the responses were neutral and there were relatively few negative evaluations of service members who had received services. Military health care providers should take an active role in diminishing the stigma of mental illness, and in allaying fears of adverse career consequences for seeking care.

Does a Culture of Happiness Increase Rumination Over Failure?

PubMed

McGuirk, Lucy; Kuppens, Peter; Kingston, Rosemary; Bastian, Brock

2017-07-17

Promoting happiness within society is good for health, but could the overpromotion of happiness have a downside? Across 2 studies, we investigate 2 emotion norms associated with an emphasis on happiness-the importance of (a) seeking positive emotion, and (b) avoiding negative emotion-and whether these norms have implications for how people respond to, and seek to regulate, their negative emotional experiences. In Study 1, we used an experimental design to show that emphasizing the importance of happiness increased rumination in response to failure. In Study 2, we drew on cross-sectional evidence to investigate the other side of this equation, finding that emphasizing the importance of not experiencing negative emotional states (e.g., depression and anxiety) was also associated with increased rumination, and that this had downstream consequences for well-being. Together, the findings suggest that the overpromotion of happiness, and, in turn, the felt social pressure not to experience negative emotional states, has implications for maladaptive responses to negative emotional experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring the relationship between positive and negative emotional avoidance and anxiety symptom severity: the moderating role of attentional control.

PubMed

Bardeen, Joseph R; Tull, Matthew T; Stevens, Erin N; Gratz, Kim L

2014-09-01

Emotional avoidance has been found to be associated with higher levels of anxiety. However, no research to date has differentiated between the avoidance of positive and negative emotions in relation to anxiety. Additionally, no studies have examined the extent to which attentional control moderates the relation between the avoidance of emotions and anxiety. Thus, the purpose of this study was to (a) clarify relations between both positive and negative emotional avoidance and anxiety, and (b) examine attentional control as a moderator of the relations between both positive and negative emotional avoidance and anxiety. A community sample of adults (N = 93) completed a series of questionnaires, as well as a laboratory-based measure of attentional control. Greater avoidance of both positive and negative emotions was associated with higher levels of anxiety. Additionally, attentional control moderated the relationship between negative (but not positive) emotional avoidance and anxiety. Specifically, the avoidance of negative emotions was associated with higher levels of anxiety for those with lower attentional control. Limitations include a cross-sectional design, use of self-report measures, and the examination of hypotheses within a non-clinical sample. Findings are consistent with a growing body of research demonstrating the moderating role of attentional control in the relation between risk factors and negative outcomes. Findings also suggest that empirically-based treatment approaches that contain attention-based components may be beneficial for emotionally avoidant individuals with poor attentional control abilities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Regular and problematic leisure-time Internet use in the community: results from a German population-based survey.

PubMed

Beutel, Manfred E; Brähler, Elmar; Glaesmer, Heide; Kuss, Daria J; Wölfling, Klaus; Müller, Kai W

2011-05-01

In our study, we attempted to identify systematically the use of Internet applications in the German population in order to derive risk factors for problematic use. In a representative survey of the German population, we queried 1,401 women and 1,111 men between the ages of 14 and 94 years by specific questions and standardized questionnaires on depression, anxiety (HADS), and depersonalization (CDS-2). The majority of the German population (55%) used the Internet in their leisure time. Users were younger and had a higher socioeconomic status (education, employment, income). Leisure-time use included e-mail and information search, as well as shopping. Chatting, online communities, games and sex were domains of young, mostly male adults. Overall, 9.3% reported at least one negative consequence of Internet use, especially neglect of recreational activities and problems with family/partner, work or education, and health. Problematic use was associated with longer average daily online times, avoidance of negative emotions, preference for certain applications (gaming, gambling, online sex) and an increased rate of depersonalization. The extent of Internet use per se is not sufficient as an addiction criterion and other negative consequences; rather, specific adverse consequences need to be identified. If the Internet is used excessively to cope with negative affect states and alternative means of coping (e.g., social support, health-promoting behavior) are diminished, a vicious cycle may ensue with increasing stress and reliance on the reinforcing properties of certain online activities that may finally lead to addictive behavior.

Religious Involvement, Coping, Social Support, and Psychological Distress in HIV-Seropositive African American Mothers

PubMed Central

Prado, Guillermo; Feaster, Daniel J.; Schwartz, Seth J.; Pratt, Indira Abraham; Smith, Lila; Szapocznik, Jose

2005-01-01

This study used a cross-sectional design to examine the role of religious involvement within a stress-process framework. Participants were 252 urban, low-income HIV-seropositive African American mothers. The relationships among religious involvement, stress, coping responses, social support, and psychological distress were examined using structural equation modeling. The number of stressors reported by the mother was related to greater religious involvement, which in turn was negatively related to psychological distress. Furthermore, the results suggest that social support, active coping, and avoidant coping responses mediated the relationship between religious involvement and psychological distress. According to the present results, interventions to attenuate psychological distress in HIV-seropositive African American mothers might focus on increasing social support, promoting active coping, and decreasing avoidant coping. The present findings suggest that this may be accomplished, in part, by promoting involvement in religious institutions and practices. However, in light of the cross-sectional design used in the present study, and given that religion may have both positive and negative consequences further research is needed to determine the extent to which promoting religiosity may increase or alleviate distress. PMID:15475672

False beliefs about fattening foods can have healthy consequences

PubMed Central

Bernstein, Daniel M.; Laney, Cara; Morris, Erin K.; Loftus, Elizabeth F.

2005-01-01

We suggested to 228 subjects in two experiments that, as children, they had had negative experiences with a fattening food. An additional 107 subjects received no such suggestion and served as controls. In Experiment 1, a minority of subjects came to believe that they had felt ill after eating strawberry ice cream as children, and these subjects were more likely to indicate not wanting to eat strawberry ice cream now. In contrast, we were unable to obtain these effects when the critical item was a more commonly eaten treat (chocolate chip cookie). In Experiment 2, we replicated and extended the strawberry ice cream results. Two different ways of processing the false suggestion succeeded in planting the false belief and producing avoidance of the food. These findings show that it is possible to convince people that, as children, they experienced a negative event involving a fattening food and that this false belief results in avoidance of that food in adulthood. More broadly, these results indicate that we can, through suggestion, manipulate nutritional selection and possibly even improve health. PMID:16079200

False beliefs about fattening foods can have healthy consequences.

PubMed

Bernstein, Daniel M; Laney, Cara; Morris, Erin K; Loftus, Elizabeth F

2005-09-27

We suggested to 228 subjects in two experiments that, as children, they had had negative experiences with a fattening food. An additional 107 subjects received no such suggestion and served as controls. In Experiment 1, a minority of subjects came to believe that they had felt ill after eating strawberry ice cream as children, and these subjects were more likely to indicate not wanting to eat strawberry ice cream now. In contrast, we were unable to obtain these effects when the critical item was a more commonly eaten treat (chocolate chip cookie). In Experiment 2, we replicated and extended the strawberry ice cream results. Two different ways of processing the false suggestion succeeded in planting the false belief and producing avoidance of the food. These findings show that it is possible to convince people that, as children, they experienced a negative event involving a fattening food and that this false belief results in avoidance of that food in adulthood. More broadly, these results indicate that we can, through suggestion, manipulate nutritional selection and possibly even improve health.

The costs (or benefits) associated with attended objects do little to influence inattentional blindness.

PubMed

Stothart, Cary R; Wright, Timothy J; Simons, Daniel J; Boot, Walter R

2017-02-01

We sometimes fail to notice unexpected objects or events when our attention is directed elsewhere, a phenomenon called inattentional blindness. We explored whether unexpected objects that shared the color of consequential objects would be noticed more often. In three pre-registered experiments, participants played a custom video game in which they avoided both low- and high-cost missiles (Experiment 1 and 2) or tried to hit rewarding missiles while avoiding costly ones (Experiment 3). After participants had played the game for about 8min, an unexpected object moved across the screen. Although participants selectively avoided more costly missiles when playing, they were no more likely to notice an unexpected object when its color was associated with greater costs. Apparently, people are no more likely to notice unexpected objects that are associated with negative consequences. Future research should examine whether objects that are themselves consequential are noticed more frequently. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Avoiding mandatory hospital nurse staffing ratios: an economic commentary.

PubMed

Buerhaus, Peter I

2009-01-01

The imposition of mandatory hospital nurse staffing ratios is among the more visible public policy initiatives affecting the nursing profession. Although the practice is intended to address problems in hospital nurse staffing and quality of patient care, this commentary argues that staffing ratios will lead to negative consequences for nurses involving the equity, efficiency, and costs of producing nursing care in hospitals. Rather than spend time and effort attempting to regulate nurse staffing, this commentary offers alternatives strategies that are directed at fixing the problems that motivate the advocates of staffing ratios.

Environmental assessment of the 40 kilowatt fuel cell system field test operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bollenbacher, G.

1982-01-01

This environmental assessment examines the potential environmental consequences, both adverse and beneficial, of the 40 kW fuel cell system system field test operation. The assessment is of necessity generic in nature since actual test sites were not selected. This assessment provides the basis for determining the need for an environmental impact statement. In addition, this assessment provides siting criteria to avoid or minimize negative environmental impacts and standards for determining candidate test sites, if any, for which site specific assessments may be required.

Innovation and restrictive conformity among hospital employees: individual outcomes and organizational considerations.

PubMed

Jansen, E; Eccles, D; Chandler, G N

1994-01-01

Two factors characterize innovative organizational climates as perceived by nonmanagerial hospital employees. The first, innovation, comprises perceptions about the consequences or contingencies (e.g., punished, ignored, rewarded) of such proactive activities as implementing new ideas, questioning established methods, and communicating with other departments and the supervisor. The second, restrictive conformity, comprises perceptions about the consequences of risk-aversive, conflict-avoidant activities that suggest dysfunctional conformity (e.g., "sticking to the rules no matter what"). Positive personal outcomes--greater role clarity, organizational involvement, and satisfaction, and lower role conflict and willingness to leave the organization--are associated with innovation; negative personal outcomes are associated with restrictive conformity. The dialectical tension between conformity and innovation is discussed in terms of loose coupling and a reward systems perspective.

Focusing on the Negative: Cultural Differences in Expressions of Sympathy

PubMed Central

Koopmann-Holm, Birgit; Tsai, Jeanne L.

2014-01-01

Feeling concern about the suffering of others is considered a basic human response, and yet, we know surprisingly little about the cultural factors that shape how people respond to the suffering of another person. To this end, we conducted four studies that tested the hypothesis that American expressions of sympathy focus on the negative less and positive more than German expressions of sympathy, in part because Americans want to avoid negative states more than Germans do. In Study 1, we demonstrate that American sympathy cards contained less negative and more positive content than German sympathy cards. In Study 2, we show that European Americans want to avoid negative states more than Germans do. In Study 3, we demonstrate that these cultural differences in “avoided negative affect” mediate cultural differences in how comfortable Americans and Germans felt focusing on the negative (vs. positive) when expressing sympathy for the hypothetical death of an acquaintance's father. To examine whether greater avoided negative affect results in lesser focus on the negative and greater focus on the positive when responding to another person's suffering, in Study 4, American and German participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) to “push negative images away” (i.e., increasing desire to avoid negative affect), or (2) to “pull negative images closer” to themselves (i.e., decreasing desire to avoid negative affect). Participants were then asked to pick a card to send to an acquaintance whose father had hypothetically just died. Across cultures, participants in the “push negative away” condition were less likely to choose sympathy cards with negative (vs. positive) content than were those in the “pull negative closer” condition. Together, these studies suggest that cultures differ in their desire to avoid negative affect, and that these differences influence the degree to which expressions of sympathy focus on the negative (vs. positive). We discuss the implications of these findings for current models of sympathy, compassion, and helping. PMID:25243416

Focusing on the negative: cultural differences in expressions of sympathy.

PubMed

Koopmann-Holm, Birgit; Tsai, Jeanne L

2014-12-01

Feeling concern about the suffering of others is considered a basic human response, and yet we know surprisingly little about the cultural factors that shape how people respond to the suffering of another person. To this end, we conducted 4 studies that tested the hypothesis that American expressions of sympathy focus on the negative less and positive more than German expressions of sympathy, in part because Americans want to avoid negative states more than Germans do. In Study 1, we demonstrate that American sympathy cards contain less negative and more positive content than German sympathy cards. In Study 2, we show that European Americans want to avoid negative states more than Germans do. In Study 3, we demonstrate that these cultural differences in "avoided negative affect" mediate cultural differences in how comfortable Americans and Germans feel focusing on the negative (vs. positive) when expressing sympathy for the hypothetical death of an acquaintance's father. To examine whether greater avoided negative affect results in lesser focus on the negative and greater focus on the positive when responding to another person's suffering, in Study 4, American and German participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: (a) to "push negative images away" (i.e., increasing desire to avoid negative affect) from or (b) to "pull negative images closer" (i.e., decreasing desire to avoid negative affect) to themselves. Participants were then asked to pick a card to send to an acquaintance whose father had hypothetically just died. Across cultures, participants in the "push negative away" condition were less likely to choose sympathy cards with negative (vs. positive) content than were those in the "pull negative closer" condition. Together, these studies suggest that cultures differ in their desire to avoid negative affect and that these differences influence the degree to which expressions of sympathy focus on the negative (vs. positive). We discuss the implications of these findings for current models of sympathy, compassion, and helping.

The role of negative reinforcement eating expectancies in the relation between experiential avoidance and disinhibition.

PubMed

Schaumberg, Katherine; Schumacher, Leah M; Rosenbaum, Diane L; Kase, Colleen A; Piers, Amani D; Lowe, Michael R; Forman, Evan M; Butryn, Meghan L

2016-04-01

Eating-related disinhibition (i.e., a tendency to overeat in response to various stimuli) is associated with weight gain and poorer long-term weight loss success. Theoretically, experiential avoidance (i.e., the desire or attempts to avoid uncomfortable internal experiences), may predispose individuals to developing negative reinforcement eating expectancies (i.e., the belief that eating will help to mitigate distress), which in turn promote disinhibition. Such relationships are consistent with an acquired preparedness model, which posits that dispositions influence learning and subsequent behavior. Drawing from this framework, the current study represents the first investigation of relations between negative reinforcement eating expectancies, experiential avoidance (both general and food-specific) and disinhibited eating. In particular, the mediating role of negative reinforcement eating expectancies in the relation between experiential avoidance and disinhibited eating was examined. Participants (N=107) were overweight and obese individuals presenting for behavioral weight loss treatment who completed measures of general and food-related experiential avoidance, negative reinforcement eating expectancies, and disinhibition. Experiential avoidance and negative reinforcement eating expectancies significantly related to disinhibition. Furthermore, the relation between experiential avoidance and disinhibition was mediated by negative reinforcement eating expectancies. The current study supports an acquired preparedness model for disinhibition, such that the relation between experiential avoidance and disinhibition is accounted for by expectations that eating will alleviate distress. Findings highlight the potential role of eating expectancies in models accounting for obesity risk, and identify negative reinforcement eating expectancies as a potential treatment target for reducing disinhibition. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Smoking-specific experiential avoidance cognition: explanatory relevance to pre- and post-cessation nicotine withdrawal, craving, and negative affect.

PubMed

Farris, Samantha G; Zvolensky, Michael J; Schmidt, Norman B

2015-05-01

Negative-reinforcement based cognitive processes have been implicated in the maintenance of cigarette smoking. Given the expectation that smoking will attenuate aversive internal experiences, smokers may be particularly unwilling to experience or remain in contact with smoking-related distress (i.e., experiential avoidance). Yet, there is little known about a cognitive-based process termed smoking-specific experiential avoidance with regard to withdrawal, craving, or negative affect during a quit attempt. Data were collected from adult daily smokers (n = 259) participating in a larger smoking cessation trial. Pre- and post-quit experiences of nicotine withdrawal, craving, and negative affect were examined in terms of cognitive-based smoking-specific experimental avoidance, measured by the Avoidance and Inflexibility Scale (AIS). Results indicated that baseline smoking-specific experiential avoidance was associated with greater overall levels of withdrawal, craving, and negative affect at treatment initiation (pre-cessation). Reductions in smoking-specific experiential avoidance from baseline to quit day were associated with increased likelihood of quit day abstinence. Such reductions were also predictive of lower levels of nicotine withdrawal, craving, and negative affect on quit day. Also, less reduction in experiential avoidance was associated with experiencing greater withdrawal in the early phase of quitting. The impact of cognitive-based experiential avoidance pertaining to smoking impacts both pre- and post-cessation experiences in terms of negative affect, withdrawal, and smoking cravings and may represent an important treatment target. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The political use of the cancer metaphor: negative consequences for the public and the cancer community.

PubMed

Meisenberg, Barry R; Meisenberg, Samuel W

2015-06-01

There has been an increase in the use of cancer as a political metaphor, most recently to describe the threat of international terrorism. The powerful cancer metaphor implies a particular political problem is serious, progressive and deadly. As such to use a cancer metaphor prepares the public for a set of serious, intense and prolonged actions. While politically useful for a governmental to communicate policy, there are negative consequences to the use of the cancer metaphor. It perpetuates among the public and patients old stereotypes of cancer prognosis and therapies that oncologists have tried to combat through education. These education efforts are designed to help patients avoid overly aggressive treatments, surveillance, monitoring and surgeries. It is hard to successfully educate the general public and patients when they continuously receive alternative messages from political leaders who use the cancer metaphor for a different purpose. Professional cancer educators and clinicians should be aware of this trend and redouble efforts to educate that the political metaphor is for politics only and misleading in the public health and clinical arenas.

A test of the functional avoidance hypothesis in the development of overgeneral autobiographical memory.

PubMed

Hallford, D J; Austin, D W; Raes, F; Takano, K

2018-04-18

Overgeneral memory (OGM) refers to the failure to recall memories of specific personally experienced events, which occurs in various psychiatric disorders. One pathway through which OGM is theorized to develop is the avoidance of thinking of negative experiences, whereby cumulative avoidance may maladaptively generalize to autobiographical memory (AM) more broadly. We tested this, predicting that negative experiences would interact with avoidance to predict AM specificity. In Study 1 (N = 281), negative life events (over six months) and daily hassles (over one month) were not related to AM specificity, nor was avoidance, and no interaction was found. In Study 2 (N = 318), we revised our measurements and used an increased timeframe of 12 months for both negative life events and daily hassles. The results showed no interaction effect for negative life events, but they did show an interaction for daily hassles, whereby increased hassles and higher avoidance of thinking about them were associated with reduced AM specificity, independent of general cognitive avoidance and depressive symptoms. No evidence was found that cognitive avoidance or AM specificity moderated the effect of negative experiences on depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that life events over 6-12 months are not associated with AM specificity, but chronic daily hassles over 12 months predict reduced AM specificity when individuals avoid thinking about them. The findings provide evidence for the functional-avoidance hypothesis of OGM development and future directions for longitudinal studies.

Negative emotions and emotional eating: the mediating role of experiential avoidance.

PubMed

Litwin, Rachel; Goldbacher, Edie M; Cardaciotto, LeeAnn; Gambrel, Laura Eubanks

2017-03-01

Emotional eating is a risk factor for eating pathology across the life- and weight-span. Research demonstrates that negative emotions are a precipitant of emotional eating, particularly among female college students. However, the underlying factors that explain this relationship are unclear. Experiential avoidance, a propensity toward being unwilling to remain in contact with aversive private experiences, may explain the association between negative emotions and emotional eating. The purpose of this study was to examine whether experiential avoidance would mediate the association between negative emotions and emotional eating. A sample of 132 women (17.4 % African American, 59.8 % White) completed measures of mood, experiential avoidance and emotional eating. Bias-corrected bootstrapping mediational analyses were conducted. Experiential avoidance mediated the relationship between negative emotions and emotional eating b = -0.21, 95 % BC CI [-0.43, -0.07]. The indirect effect through experiential avoidance accounted for 9 % of the variance, which represents a medium effect (k 2  = 0.09, 95 % BC CI [0.03, 0.18]). Results suggest that experiential avoidance is important for understanding the relationship between negative emotions and emotional eating and may inform potential strategies for prevention and treatment.

Suffering in silence: consequences of sexual violence within marriage among young women in Nepal

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Despite the grave consequences of sexual violence, and it's persistence both within and outside marriages, this subject has received relatively little attention from researchers, policy makers, and programme managers in Nepal. This paper explores the definition of sexual violence and its various forms and consequences as reported by young married women in Nepal. In addition, it describes the coping mechanisms used by young married women to avoid sexual violence perpetrated against them by their husbands. Methods This paper analyzes data collected during the qualitative study on "Sexual violence among young couples in Nepal", conducted amongst two major ethnic groups - Brahmin/Chhetri and Tharu - between 2006 and 2007. The data is comprised of 39 free-lists and 15 in-depth case histories with married women aged 15-24 years. The average rank and Smith's Salience were calculated from the free-listing data. The thematic analysis approach was used for the analysis of information from the case histories. Results Approximately three-quarters (74%) of the young women mentioned 'sex against one's wishes' as sexual violence within marriage (SVWM). Sixty-two percent of respondents described 'forced sex during illness' and 'forced sex after consumption of alcohol' as SVWM. About half of young women (48.7%) who participated in the free-listing exercise reported having experienced SVWM. The types of SVWM ranged from unwanted sexual touch to forced sex. Backache, headache, lower abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding and thoughts of suicide were the most commonly reported negative physical and psychological health consequences of SVWM. Women reported various coping strategies including 'trying to convince husbands', 'sleeping in a separate room', 'visiting maternal home', 'waking up the children', and 'using pretexts such as being ill or menstruating', to avoid SVWM. However, in most cases, women reported that these coping strategies were unsuccessful. Almost all women experiencing SVWM were socially isolated and did not turn to institutions, relatives or friends for advice and support. Conclusions Sexual violence within marriage is common in Nepal. Findings provide circumstantial evidence of links between sexual violence and negative general and reproductive health outcomes for women. Various actions are required to prevent SVWM and provide immediate support to the victims. PMID:21223603

Aging and goal-directed emotional attention: distraction reverses emotional biases.

PubMed

Knight, Marisa; Seymour, Travis L; Gaunt, Joshua T; Baker, Christopher; Nesmith, Kathryn; Mather, Mara

2007-11-01

Previous findings reveal that older adults favor positive over negative stimuli in both memory and attention (for a review, see Mather & Carstensen, 2005). This study used eye tracking to investigate the role of cognitive control in older adults' selective visual attention. Younger and older adults viewed emotional-neutral and emotional-emotional pairs of faces and pictures while their gaze patterns were recorded under full or divided attention conditions. Replicating previous eye-tracking findings, older adults allocated less of their visual attention to negative stimuli in negative-neutral stimulus pairings in the full attention condition than younger adults did. However, as predicted by a cognitive-control-based account of the positivity effect in older adults' information processing tendencies (Mather & Knight, 2005), older adults' tendency to avoid negative stimuli was reversed in the divided attention condition. Compared with younger adults, older adults' limited attentional resources were more likely to be drawn to negative stimuli when they were distracted. These findings indicate that emotional goals can have unintended consequences when cognitive control mechanisms are not fully available.

Understanding approach and avoidance in verbal descriptions of everyday actions: An ERP study.

PubMed

Marrero, Hipólito; Urrutia, Mabel; Beltrán, David; Gámez, Elena; Díaz, José M

2017-06-01

Understanding verbal descriptions of everyday actions could involve the neural representation of action direction (avoidance and approach) toward persons and things. We recorded the electrophysiological activity of participants while they were reading approach/avoidance action sentences that were directed toward a target: a thing/a person (i.e., "Petra accepted/rejected Ramón in her group"/ "Petra accepted/rejected the receipt of the bank"). We measured brain potentials time locked to the target word. In the case of things, we found a N400-like component with right frontal distribution modulated by approach/avoidance action. This component was more negative in avoidance than in approach sentences. In the case of persons, a later negative event-related potential (545-750 ms) with left frontal distribution was sensitive to verb direction, showing more negative amplitude for approach than avoidance actions. In addition, more negativity in approach-person sentences was associated with fear avoidance trait, whereas less negativity in avoidance-person sentences was associated with a greater approach trait. Our results support that verbal descriptions of approach/avoidance actions are encoded differently depending on whether the target is a thing or a person. Implications of these results for a social, emotional and motivational understanding of action language are discussed.

Healthcare managers in negative media focus: a qualitative study of personification processes and their personal consequences

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Over the last decade healthcare management and managers have increasingly been in focus in public debate. The purpose of the present study was to gain a deeper understanding of how prolonged, unfavorable media focus can influence both the individual as a person and his or her managerial practice in the healthcare organization. Methods In-depth interviews (n = 49) with 24 managers and their superiors, or subordinate human resources/information professionals, and partners were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results The conceptual model explains how perceived uncertainties related to the managerial role influence personification and its negative consequences. The role ambiguities comprised challenges regarding the separation of individual identity from the professional function, the interaction with intra-organizational support and political play, and the understanding and acceptance of roles in society. A higher degree of uncertainty in role ambiguity increased both personification and the personal reaction to intense media pressure. Three types of reactions were related to the feeling of being infringed: avoidance and narrow-mindedness; being hard on self, on subordinates, and/or family members; and resignation and dejection. The results are discussed so as to elucidate the importance of support from others within the organization when under media scrutiny. Conclusions The degree of personification seems to determine the personal consequences as well as the consequences for their managerial practice. Organizational support for managers appearing in the media would probably be beneficial for both the manager and the organization. PMID:24397306

Latent-level relations between DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters and problematic smartphone use.

PubMed

Contractor, Ateka A; Frankfurt, Sheila B; Weiss, Nicole H; Elhai, Jon D

2017-07-01

Common mental health consequences following the experience of potentially traumatic events include Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and addictive behaviors. Problematic smartphone use is a newer manifestation of addictive behaviors. People with anxiety severity (such as PTSD) may be at risk for problematic smartphone use as a means of coping with their symptoms. Unique to our knowledge, we assessed relations between PTSD symptom clusters and problematic smartphone use. Participants ( N = 347), recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk), completed measures of PTSD and smartphone addiction. Results of the Wald tests of parameter constraints indicated that problematic smartphone use was more related to PTSD's negative alterations in cognitions and mood (NACM) than to PTSD's avoidance factor, Wald χ 2 (1, N = 347) = 12.51, p = 0.0004; and more to PTSD's arousal compared to PTSD's avoidance factor, Wald χ 2 (1, N = 347) = 14.89, p = 0.0001. Results indicate that problematic smartphone use is most associated with negative affect and arousal among trauma-exposed individuals. Implications include the need to clinically assess problematic smartphone use among trauma-exposed individuals presenting with higher NACM and arousal severity; and targeting NACM and arousal symptoms to mitigate the effects of problematic smartphone use.

Emotional and Financial Experiences of Kidney Donors over the Past 50 Years: The RELIVE Study.

PubMed

Jacobs, Cheryl L; Gross, Cynthia R; Messersmith, Emily E; Hong, Barry A; Gillespie, Brenda W; Hill-Callahan, Peg; Taler, Sandra J; Jowsey, Sheila G; Beebe, Tim J; Matas, Arthur J; Odim, Jonah; Ibrahim, Hassan N

2015-12-07

Most kidney donors view their experience positively, but some may experience psychosocial and financial burdens. We hypothesized that certain donor characteristics, poor outcome of the recipient, negative perceptions of care, and lack of support may be associated with poor psychosocial outcomes for donors. The Renal and Lung Living Donors Evaluation Study (RELIVE) examined long-term medical and psychosocial outcomes for kidney donors (at three U.S. transplant centers) who donated between 1963 and 2005. Standardized questionnaires evaluated donor perspectives, recovery time, social support, motivation, financial impact, insurability after donation, and current psychological status. Questionnaires were mailed to 6909 donors. Questionnaires were returned by 2455 donors, who had donated 17 ± 10 years earlier (range, 5-48 years), a response rate of 36%. Most (95%) rated their overall donation experience as good to excellent. Rating the overall donor experience more negatively was associated with donor complications, psychological difficulties, recipient graft failure, and longer time since donation. Nine percent (n=231) reported one or more of the following poor psychosocial outcomes: fair or poor overall donor experience, financial burden, regret or discomfort with decision to donate, or psychological difficulties since donation. Recipient graft failure was the only predictor for reporting one or more of these poor psychosocial outcomes (odds ratio, 1.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.33 to 2.34). Donors with lower educational attainment experienced greater financial burden. One of five employed donors took unpaid leave; 2% reported health and life insurability concerns. Although the majority of donors viewed their overall donation experience positively, almost 1 in 10 donors reported at least one negative consequence related to donation. Recipient graft failure was associated with poor psychosocial outcome, defined as one or more of these negative consequences. Some donors were financially disadvantaged, and some experienced insurance difficulties. Interventions to avoid negative psychosocial and financial consequences are warranted. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Emotional and Financial Experiences of Kidney Donors over the Past 50 Years: The RELIVE Study

PubMed Central

Gross, Cynthia R.; Messersmith, Emily E.; Hong, Barry A.; Gillespie, Brenda W.; Hill-Callahan, Peg; Taler, Sandra J.; Jowsey, Sheila G.; Beebe, Tim J.; Matas, Arthur J.; Odim, Jonah; Ibrahim, Hassan N.

2015-01-01

Background and objectives Most kidney donors view their experience positively, but some may experience psychosocial and financial burdens. We hypothesized that certain donor characteristics, poor outcome of the recipient, negative perceptions of care, and lack of support may be associated with poor psychosocial outcomes for donors. Design, setting, participants, & measurements The Renal and Lung Living Donors Evaluation Study (RELIVE) examined long-term medical and psychosocial outcomes for kidney donors (at three U.S. transplant centers) who donated between 1963 and 2005. Standardized questionnaires evaluated donor perspectives, recovery time, social support, motivation, financial impact, insurability after donation, and current psychological status. Questionnaires were mailed to 6909 donors. Results Questionnaires were returned by 2455 donors, who had donated 17±10 years earlier (range, 5–48 years), a response rate of 36%. Most (95%) rated their overall donation experience as good to excellent. Rating the overall donor experience more negatively was associated with donor complications, psychological difficulties, recipient graft failure, and longer time since donation. Nine percent (n=231) reported one or more of the following poor psychosocial outcomes: fair or poor overall donor experience, financial burden, regret or discomfort with decision to donate, or psychological difficulties since donation. Recipient graft failure was the only predictor for reporting one or more of these poor psychosocial outcomes (odds ratio, 1.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.33 to 2.34). Donors with lower educational attainment experienced greater financial burden. One of five employed donors took unpaid leave; 2% reported health and life insurability concerns. Conclusions Although the majority of donors viewed their overall donation experience positively, almost 1 in 10 donors reported at least one negative consequence related to donation. Recipient graft failure was associated with poor psychosocial outcome, defined as one or more of these negative consequences. Some donors were financially disadvantaged, and some experienced insurance difficulties. Interventions to avoid negative psychosocial and financial consequences are warranted. PMID:26463883

Anticipated Guilt for Not Helping and Anticipated Warm Glow for Helping Are Differently Impacted by Personal Responsibility to Help

PubMed Central

Erlandsson, Arvid; Jungstrand, Amanda Å.; Västfjäll, Daniel

2016-01-01

One important motivation for people behaving prosocially is that they want to avoid negative and obtain positive emotions. In the prosocial behavior literature however, the motivations to avoid negative emotions (e.g., guilt) and to approach positive emotions (e.g., warm glow) are rarely separated, and sometimes even aggregated into a single mood-management construct. The aim of this study was to investigate whether anticipated guilt if not helping and anticipated warm glow if helping are influenced similarly or differently when varying situational factors related to personal responsibility to help. Helping scenarios were created and pilot tests established that each helping scenario could be formulated both in a high-responsibility version and in a low-responsibility version. In Study 1 participants read high-responsibility and low-responsibility helping scenarios, and rated either their anticipated guilt if not helping or their anticipated warm glow if helping (i.e., separate evaluation). Study 2 was similar but here participants rated both their anticipated guilt if not helping and their anticipated warm glow if helping (i.e., joint evaluation). Anticipated guilt was clearly higher in the high-responsibility versions, but anticipated warm glow was unaffected (in Studies 1a and 1b), or even higher in the low-responsibility versions (Study 2). In Studies 3 (where anticipated guilt and warm glow were evaluated separately) and 4 (where they were evaluated jointly), personal responsibility to help was manipulated within-subjects. Anticipated guilt was again constantly higher in the high-responsibility versions but for many types of responsibility-manipulations, anticipated warm glow was higher in the low-responsibility versions. The results suggest that we anticipate guilt if not fulfilling our responsibility but that we anticipate warm glow primarily when doing over and beyond our responsibility. We argue that future studies investigating motivations for helping should measure both anticipated negative consequences for oneself if not helping, and anticipated positive consequences for oneself if helping. PMID:27733840

Anticipated Guilt for Not Helping and Anticipated Warm Glow for Helping Are Differently Impacted by Personal Responsibility to Help.

PubMed

Erlandsson, Arvid; Jungstrand, Amanda Å; Västfjäll, Daniel

2016-01-01

One important motivation for people behaving prosocially is that they want to avoid negative and obtain positive emotions. In the prosocial behavior literature however, the motivations to avoid negative emotions (e.g., guilt) and to approach positive emotions (e.g., warm glow) are rarely separated, and sometimes even aggregated into a single mood-management construct. The aim of this study was to investigate whether anticipated guilt if not helping and anticipated warm glow if helping are influenced similarly or differently when varying situational factors related to personal responsibility to help. Helping scenarios were created and pilot tests established that each helping scenario could be formulated both in a high-responsibility version and in a low-responsibility version. In Study 1 participants read high-responsibility and low-responsibility helping scenarios, and rated either their anticipated guilt if not helping or their anticipated warm glow if helping (i.e., separate evaluation). Study 2 was similar but here participants rated both their anticipated guilt if not helping and their anticipated warm glow if helping (i.e., joint evaluation). Anticipated guilt was clearly higher in the high-responsibility versions, but anticipated warm glow was unaffected (in Studies 1a and 1b), or even higher in the low-responsibility versions (Study 2). In Studies 3 (where anticipated guilt and warm glow were evaluated separately) and 4 (where they were evaluated jointly), personal responsibility to help was manipulated within-subjects. Anticipated guilt was again constantly higher in the high-responsibility versions but for many types of responsibility-manipulations, anticipated warm glow was higher in the low-responsibility versions. The results suggest that we anticipate guilt if not fulfilling our responsibility but that we anticipate warm glow primarily when doing over and beyond our responsibility. We argue that future studies investigating motivations for helping should measure both anticipated negative consequences for oneself if not helping, and anticipated positive consequences for oneself if helping.

[From the nursing home to hospital and back again… A mixed methods study on hospital transfers from nursing homes].

PubMed

Kada, Olivia; Brunner, Eva; Likar, Rudolf; Pinter, Georg; Leutgeb, Ines; Francisci, Nina; Pfeiffer, Bettina; Janig, Herbert

2011-01-01

Hospital transfers from nursing homes are frequent, costly, often preventable, and can have negative effects on the residents' health. The present study investigated the current situation in Carinthia (Austria) regarding the characteristics of relocated nursing home residents, the proportion of avoidable transfers, the consequences of relocation from the physicians' and nurses' perspectives and ways for improving nursing home care. Retrospectively, the documentations of a regional hospital (N=4149), a rescue service (N=10754), and a social insurance agency (N=7051) were analysed; qualitative interviews with physicians (N=25) and nursing administrators (N=16) were conducted. A considerable proportion of these transports seemed to be avoidable: for example, about 40% of the ambulatory treatments in the emergency department of the investigated hospital were inappropriate. Options for improving the current situation will be discussed. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: a Three-Dimensional Model of Neurobiology with Implications for Etiology and Treatment.

PubMed

Thomas, Jennifer J; Lawson, Elizabeth A; Micali, Nadia; Misra, Madhusmita; Deckersbach, Thilo; Eddy, Kamryn T

2017-08-01

DSM-5 defined avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) as a failure to meet nutritional needs leading to low weight, nutritional deficiency, dependence on supplemental feedings, and/or psychosocial impairment. We summarize what is known about ARFID and introduce a three-dimensional model to inform research. Because ARFID prevalence, risk factors, and maintaining mechanisms are not known, prevailing treatment approaches are based on clinical experience rather than data. Furthermore, most ARFID research has focused on children, rather than adolescents or adults. We hypothesize a three-dimensional model wherein neurobiological abnormalities in sensory perception, homeostatic appetite, and negative valence systems underlie the three primary ARFID presentations of sensory sensitivity, lack of interest in eating, and fear of aversive consequences, respectively. Now that ARFID has been defined, studies investigating risk factors, prevalence, and pathophysiology are needed. Our model suggests testable hypotheses about etiology and highlights cognitive-behavioral therapy as one possible treatment.

Wandering in Dementia and Trust as an Anticipatory Action.

PubMed

Moser, Sebastian J

2018-05-14

The increase of dementia makes cognitive disorder a global challenge. Even if wandering is not a symptom of dementia in general, professionals and scientists dominate the definition of wandering as an aimless movement of people with cognitive impairment, mainly dementia. In consequence, professional types of wandering management were elaborated trying to avoid or replace it. However, this can cause negative effects. The article analyses an apparently common informal type of wandering management. It consists of slipping an address paper in the wallet of the ill person. The analysis reveals that this practice is normatively structured by a gift of trust.

Bone marrow–derived stem cells preserve cone vision in retinitis pigmentosa

PubMed Central

Smith, Lois E.H.

2004-01-01

Retinitis pigmentosa is a heritable group of blinding diseases resulting from loss of photoreceptors, primarily rods and secondarily cones, that mediate central vision. Loss of retinal vasculature is a presumed metabolic consequence of photoreceptor degeneration. A new study shows that autologous bone marrow–derived lineage-negative hematopoietic stem cells, which incorporate into the degenerating blood vessels in two murine models of retinitis pigmentosa, rd1 and rd10, prevent cone loss. The use of autologous bone marrow might avoid problems with rejection while preserving central cone vision in a wide variety of genetically disparate retinal degenerative diseases. PMID:15372096

Negative affect as a moderator of the relationship between hookup motives and hookup consequences.

PubMed

Montes, Kevin S; Napper, Lucy E; Froidevaux, Nicole M; Kenney, Shannon; LaBrie, Joseph W

2016-01-01

The current study examined the extent to which negative affect moderates the relationships between distinct hookup motives and hookup consequences. Data were collected from 271 heavy-drinking undergraduate college students. Students from 3 US universities completed online surveys assessing hooking up-related motives, behaviors, and consequences. The results showed that conformity motives to hookup and negative affect predicted hookup consequences. Furthermore, negative affect moderated the relationship between hooking up for relationship reasons and hookup consequences. Specifically, among students with high negative affect, hooking up to secure a long-term relationship was positively associated with hookup consequences whereas among students with low negative affect, securing a long-term relationship was negatively associated with hookup consequences. These findings highlight the role that motives and negative affect play in the prediction of negative hookup consequences. Moreover, the findings from the current study have the potential to inform prevention efforts designed to reduce hookup consequences.

Self-compassion, pain, and breaking a social contract.

PubMed

Purdie, Fiona; Morley, Stephen

2015-11-01

Self-compassion is the ability to respond to one's failures, shortcomings, and difficulties with kindness and openness rather than criticism. This study, which might be regarded as a proof-of-concept study, aimed to establish whether self-compassion is associated with expected emotional responses and the likelihood of responding with problem solving, support seeking, distraction, avoidance, rumination, or catastrophizing to unpleasant self-relevant events occurring in 3 social contexts. Sixty chronic pain patients were presented with 6 vignettes describing scenes in which the principal actor transgressed a social contract with negative interpersonal consequences. Vignettes represented 2 dimensions: (1) whether pain or a nonpain factor interrupted the fulfillment of the contract and (2) variation in the social setting (work, peer, and family). The Self-Compassion Scale was the covariate in the analysis. Higher levels of self-compassion were associated with significantly lower negative affect and lower reported likelihood of avoidance, catastrophizing, and rumination. Self-compassion did not interact with pain vs nonpain factor. Work-related vignettes were rated as more emotional and more likely to be associated with avoidance, catastrophizing, and rumination and less likelihood of problem solving. The findings suggest that self-compassion warrants further investigation in the chronic pain population both regarding the extent of its influence as a trait and in terms of the potential to enhance chronic pain patients' ability to be self-compassionate, with a view to its therapeutic utility in enhancing psychological well-being and adjustment. Limitations regarding the possible criterion contamination and the generalizability of vignette studies are discussed.

Weakening of negative relative to positive associations with cocaine-paired cues contributes to cue-induced responding after drug removal.

PubMed

Su, Zu-In; Kichaev, Gleb; Wenzel, Jennifer; Ben-Shahar, Osnat; Ettenberg, Aaron

2012-01-01

Cocaine has been shown to have initial positive (euphoric) and delayed negative (anxiogenic) effects in both humans and animals. Cocaine-paired cues are consequently imbued with mixed positive and negative associations. The current study examines the relative roles of these dual associations in the enhanced drug-seeking observed upon presentation of cocaine-paired cues. Rats ran a straight alley once/day for a single i.v. injection of cocaine (1.0 mg/kg/inj) in the presence of a distinctive olfactory cue (scented cotton swabs placed under the apparatus). An alternate scent was presented in a separate cage 2-h prior to runway testing. After 15 trials/days, the scents and cocaine reinforcer were removed and a series of extinction trials (lasting for 1 or 3 weeks) was initiated. Immediately following extinction, runway responding was tested during a single trial in the presence of the cocaine-paired or non-paired cue. As previously reported, while subjects initiated responding faster over trials (reduced latencies to leave the start box), they exhibited a progressive increase in approach-avoidance conflict behavior ("retreats") regarding goal-box entry, reflecting cocaine's dual positive+negative effects. Once established, retreat behaviors persisted over the course of 1 or 3 weeks days of extinction. However, both run times and retreats decreased in response to presentation of the cocaine-paired but not the non-paired scent. These data suggest that, after reinforcer removal, cue-induced cocaine-seeking stems in part from a reduction in approach-avoidance conflict; i.e., a greater weakening of the negative relative to the positive associations that animals form with cocaine-paired stimuli. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Problem drinking among Flemish students: beverage type, early drinking onset and negative personal & social consequences.

PubMed

De Bruyn, Sara; Wouters, Edwin; Ponnet, Koen; Van Damme, Joris; Maes, Lea; Van Hal, Guido

2018-02-12

Although alcohol is socially accepted in most Western societies, studies are clear about its associated negative consequences, especially among university and college students. Studies on the relationship between alcohol-related consequences and both beverage type and drinking onset, however, are scarce, especially in a European context. The aim of this research was, therefore, twofold: (1) What is the relationship between beverage type and the negative consequences experienced by students? and (2) Are these consequences determined by early drinking onset? We will examine these questions within the context of a wide range of alcohol-related consequences. The analyses are based on data collected by the inter-university project 'Head in the clouds?', measuring alcohol use among students in Flanders (Belgium). In total, a large dataset consisting of information from 19,253 anonymously participating students was available. Negative consequences were measured using a shortened version of the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey (CADS_D). Data were analysed using negative binomial regression. Results vary depending on the type of alcohol-related consequences: Personal negative consequences occur frequently among daily beer drinkers. However, a high rate of social negative consequences was recorded for both daily beer drinkers and daily spirits drinkers. Finally, early drinking onset was significantly associated with both personal and social negative consequences, and this association was especially strong between beer and spirits drinking onset and social negative consequences. Numerous negative consequences, both personal and social, are related to frequent beer and spirits drinking. Our findings indicate a close association between drinking beer and personal negative consequences as well as between drinking beer and/or spirits and social negative consequences. Similarly, early drinking onset has a major influence on the rates of both personal and social negative consequences. The earlier students started drinking, the more negative consequences they experienced during college or university. Several (policy) interventions are discussed. This study is the first to incorporate detailed information on both beverage type and drinking onset, and its associated negative consequences, as measured by the CADS_D, in a large student population.

Parasites, info-disruption, and the ecology of fear.

PubMed

Rohr, Jason R; Swan, Autumn; Raffel, Thomas R; Hudson, Peter J

2009-03-01

There is growing interest in the ecological consequences of fear, as evidenced by the numerous studies on the nonconsumptive, trait-mediated effects of predators. Parasitism, however, has yet to be fully integrated into research on the ecology of fear, despite it having direct negative and often lethal effects on hosts and being the most common life history strategy on the planet. This might at least be partly due to the traditional, but untested, assumption that anti-parasite responses are weak relative to anti-predator responses. To test this hypothesis, we quantified the activity and location responses of Bufo americanus tadpoles to one of six chemical cues: water; cercariae of Echinostoma trivolvis, a trematode which infects and can kill amphibians; a snail releasing E. trivolvis cercariae; an uninfected snail; food; or conspecific alarm chemicals signaling predation. There is also literature encouraging research on the context dependency and pollution-induced disruption of fear responses. Consequently, before quantifying responses to the chemical cues, half of the B. americanus were exposed to the herbicide atrazine (201 microg/l for 4 days), a reported inhibitor of fear responses in fish. Tadpoles were attracted to food, were indifferent to an uninfected snail, avoided alarm chemicals, and exhibited avoidance and elevated activity in response to a snail shedding cercariae and cercariae alone. Atrazine had no detectable effects on B. americanus' responses to the tested cues despite the use of a higher concentration and longer exposure duration than has been repeatedly shown to inhibit chemical cue detection in fish. The magnitude of anti-parasite and anti-predator responses were qualitatively similar, suggesting that the fear of disease and its ecological consequences could be comparable to that of predation. Consequently, we call for a greater integration of parasites into research on the ecology of fear and trait-mediated indirect effects.

Description and predictors of positive and negative alcohol-related consequences in the first year of college.

PubMed

Barnett, Nancy P; Clerkin, Elise M; Wood, Mark; Monti, Peter M; O'Leary Tevyaw, Tracy; Corriveau, Donald; Fingeret, Allan; Kahler, Christopher W

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to establish the frequency of positive and negative alcohol-related consequences during the first year of college and to evaluate gender, race/ethnicity, time of year, alcohol use, and intoxication as predictors of consequences using frequent assessments. Participants (N = 1,053; 57.5% female) completed biweekly assessments of alcohol use and positive and negative alcohol-related consequences throughout the year. The majority of drinkers reported both positive and negative consequences. Having a good time and feeling less stressed were the most commonly reported positive consequences. Blackouts and getting physically sick were the most commonly endorsed negative consequences. At the weekly level, number of drinking days, drinks per drinking day, and estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC, reflecting intoxication) were significantly related to all consequences after controlling for demographics and time of year. Negative consequences had stronger associations with number of drinks and eBAC than positive consequences did. With each additional drink consumed on a drinking day, the incidence of negative consequences more than doubled (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 2.34, 95% CI [2.19, 2.50]), whereas the incidence of positive consequences increased by about half (IRR = 1.51, 95% CI [1.47, 1.56]). The consequence with the largest gender difference was regretted sex, with women reporting it more often. Few racial/ethnic differences were found in report of negative consequences. Greater positive and negative consequences were endorsed at the beginning of both academic semesters. As number of drinks and eBAC increase, the relative odds of a negative consequence are higher than that of a positive consequence. Alcohol interventions could promote greater awareness of the likelihood of specific consequences and could highlight that positive consequences are associated with lower levels of drinking.

RESILIENCE THEORY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR CHINESE ADOLESCENTS.

PubMed

Wang, Jin-Liang; Zhang, Da-Jun; Zimmerman, Marc A

2015-10-01

Over the past 20 years, resilience theory has attracted great attention from both researchers and mental health practitioners. Resilience is defined as a process of overcoming the negative effects of risk exposure, coping successfully with traumatic experiences, or avoiding the negative trajectories associated with risks. Three basic models of resilience have been proposed to account for the mechanism whereby promotive factors operate to alter the trajectory from risk exposure to negative consequences: compensatory model, protective model, and inoculation model. Assets and resources are two types of promotive factors found to be effective in decreasing internalizing and externalizing problems. Considering the protective or compensatory role of assets and resources in helping youth be resilient against negative effects of adversity, resilience could be applied to Chinese migrant and left-behind children who are at risk for internalizing (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalizing problems (e.g., delinquent behaviors, cigarette and alcohol use). Additionally, psychological suzhi-based interventions, a mental health construct for individuals that focuses on a strengths-based approach, can be integrated with resilience-based approach to develop more balanced programs for positive youth development.

Coping behaviors among sexual minority female youth.

PubMed

Pendragon, Diane K

2010-01-01

This article summarizes data from a qualitative study investigating the ways in which female youth perceive and respond to challenges related to the interplay of late adolescence and a minority sexual orientation. Fifteen sexual minority females in late adolescence were interviewed individually and in focus groups. The interviews focused on participants' perceptions of challenges, the impact those stressors have in their lives, and methods they utilize to cope with them. The most common negative experiences reported were isolation, lack of acceptance, harassment, and violence. Sub-themes include: hearing negative messages about gender and sexual orientation, pressures to conform to a variety of cultural norms including gender norms, fears of future violence, and pressure to identify sexual orientation. Collectively, the participants described these negative consequences of experiences of heterosexism, sexism, and racism as their most difficult experiences. The most common responses to these stressors reported by participants were finding support in relationships, engaging in coping responses, pursuing education and activism, rebellion and resistance, and avoidance and deferment.

Valence modulates source memory for faces.

PubMed

Bell, Raoul; Buchner, Axel

2010-01-01

Previous studies in which the effects of emotional valence on old-new discrimination and source memory have been examined have yielded highly inconsistent results. Here, we present two experiments showing that old-new face discrimination was not affected by whether a face was associated with disgusting, pleasant, or neutral behavior. In contrast, source memory for faces associated with disgusting behavior (i.e., memory for the disgusting context in which the face was encountered) was consistently better than source memory for other types of faces. This data pattern replicates the findings of studies in which descriptions of cheating, neutral, and trustworthy behavior were used, which findings were previously ascribed to a highly specific cheater detection module. The present results suggest that the enhanced source memory for faces of cheaters is due to a more general source memory advantage for faces associated with negative or threatening contexts that may be instrumental in avoiding the negative consequences of encounters with persons associated with negative or threatening behaviors.

Reward, motivation and emotion of pain and its relief

PubMed Central

Porreca, Frank; Navratilova, Edita

2016-01-01

The experience of pain depends on interpretation of context and past experience that guide the choice of an immediate behavioral response and influence future decisions of actions to avoid harm. The aversive qualities of pain underlie its physiological role in learning and motivation. In this review, we highlight findings from human and animal investigations that suggest that both pain, and the relief of pain, are complex emotions that are comprised of feelings and their motivational consequences. Relief of aversive states, including pain, is rewarding. How relief of pain aversiveness occurs is not well understood. Termination of aversive states can directly provide relief as well as reinforce behaviors that result in avoidance of pain. Emerging preclinical data also suggests that relief may elicit a positive hedonic value that results from activation of neural cortical and mesolimbic brain circuits that may also motivate behavior. Brain circuits mediating the reward of pain relief, as well as relief-induced motivation are significantly impacted as pain becomes chronic. In chronic pain states, the negative motivational value of nociception may be increased while the value of the reward of pain relief may decrease. As a consequence, the impact of pain on these ancient, and conserved brain limbic circuits suggest a path forward for discovery of new pain therapies. PMID:28106670

Inhibition of various gram-positive and gram- negative bacteria growth on selenium nanoparticle coated paper towels

PubMed Central

Wang, Qi; Larese-Casanova, Philip; Webster, Thomas J

2015-01-01

There are wide spread bacterial contamination issues on various paper products, such as paper towels hanging in sink splash zones or those used to clean surfaces, filter papers used in water and air purifying systems, and wrappings used in the food industry; such contamination may lead to the potential spread of bacteria and consequent severe health concerns. In this study, selenium nanoparticles were coated on normal paper towel surfaces through a quick precipitation method, introducing antibacterial properties to the paper towels in a healthy way. Their effectiveness at preventing biofilm formation was tested in bacterial assays involving Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. The results showed significant and continuous bacteria inhibition with about a 90% reduction from 24 to 72 hours for gram-positive bacteria including S. aureus and S. epidermidis. The selenium coated paper towels also showed significant inhibition of gram-negative bacteria like P. aeruginosa and E. coli growth at about 57% and 84%, respectively, after 72 hours of treatment. Therefore, this study established a promising selenium-based antibacterial strategy to prevent bacterial growth on paper products, which may lead to the avoidance of bacteria spreading and consequent severe health concerns. PMID:25926733

Inhibition of various gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria growth on selenium nanoparticle coated paper towels.

PubMed

Wang, Qi; Larese-Casanova, Philip; Webster, Thomas J

2015-01-01

There are wide spread bacterial contamination issues on various paper products, such as paper towels hanging in sink splash zones or those used to clean surfaces, filter papers used in water and air purifying systems, and wrappings used in the food industry; such contamination may lead to the potential spread of bacteria and consequent severe health concerns. In this study, selenium nanoparticles were coated on normal paper towel surfaces through a quick precipitation method, introducing antibacterial properties to the paper towels in a healthy way. Their effectiveness at preventing biofilm formation was tested in bacterial assays involving Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. The results showed significant and continuous bacteria inhibition with about a 90% reduction from 24 to 72 hours for gram-positive bacteria including S. aureus and S. epidermidis. The selenium coated paper towels also showed significant inhibition of gram-negative bacteria like P. aeruginosa and E. coli growth at about 57% and 84%, respectively, after 72 hours of treatment. Therefore, this study established a promising selenium-based antibacterial strategy to prevent bacterial growth on paper products, which may lead to the avoidance of bacteria spreading and consequent severe health concerns.

Zooplankton Responses to Low-Oxygen Condition upon a Shallow Oxygen Minimum Zone in the Upwelling Region off Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hidalgo, P.; Escribano, R.

2015-12-01

A shallow oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) is a critical component in the coastal upwelling ecosystem off Chile. This OMZ causes oxygen-deficient water entering the photic layer and affecting plankton communities having low tolerance to hypoxia. Variable, and usually species-dependent, responses of zooplankton to hypoxia condition can be found. Most dominant species avoid hypoxia by restricting their vertical distribution, while others can temporarily enter and even spent part of their life cycle within the OMZ. Whatever the case, low-oxygen conditions appear to affect virtually all vital rates of zooplankton, such as mortality, fecundity, development and growth and metabolism, and early developmental stages seem more sensitive, with significant consequences for population and community dynamics. For most study cases, these effects are negative at individual and population levels. Observations and predictions upon increasing upwelling intensity over the last 20-30 years indicate a gradual shoaling of the OMZ, and so that an expected enhancement of these negative effects of hypoxia on the zooplankton community. Unknown processes of adaptation and community-structure adjustments are expected to take place with uncertain consequences for the food web of this highly productive eastern boundary current ecosystem.

Avoiding burnout in an orthopaedic trauma practice.

PubMed

Marsh, J Lawrence

2012-09-01

Burnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and decreased sense of personal accomplishment, and burnout has been very tightly linked with career dissatisfaction and other associated negative personal and professional consequences. Recently published studies indicate that among surgeons and surgical specialists, burnout is common, and that at least in some groups of surgeons, it has significant negative consequences for their practice and career. It is concerning that studies have found younger surgeons were at greater risk for burnout. There is no data on rates of, or risk for, burnout specifically for orthopaedic trauma surgeons. However, there are several reasons to expect the risk may be significant, including demanding call schedules and difficult to control work schedules. There are some common-sense guidelines to minimize the chances of burnout in the early stages of an orthopaedic trauma career. One of the most important is to set up a work schedule that allows personal pursuits, including time with significant other and family away from work. Achieving and maintaining a balance between work and home will optimize the chances of achieving the tremendous satisfaction possible in an orthopaedic trauma career and minimize the chances of burnout.

Individual and Sex Differences in the Consequences of Victimization: Moderation by Approach and Avoidance Motivation

PubMed Central

Llewellyn, Nicole; Rudolph, Karen D.

2015-01-01

Peer victimization is a known risk factor for various forms of maladjustment; however, the specific type of maladjustment may depend on individual differences in youth. This 2-wave longitudinal study examined the hypothesis that social approach–avoidance motivation, together with sex, would moderate the contribution of 3rd-grade victimization to 4th-grade maladjustment. Children (N = 574, M age = 8.94, SD = 0.37) reported on their victimization exposure, social approach–avoidance motivation, and depressive symptoms. Teachers reported on students’ victimization exposure and aggressive behavior. Victimization predicted aggressive behavior only in boys with moderate to high approach motivation; victimization predicted depressive symptoms only in girls with moderate to high avoidance motivation. This research elucidates the diverse consequences associated with peer victimization and informs efforts to address these consequences in a targeted manner. PMID:25019947

Individual and sex differences in the consequences of victimization: Moderation by approach and avoidance motivation.

PubMed

Llewellyn, Nicole; Rudolph, Karen D

2014-09-01

Peer victimization is a known risk factor for various forms of maladjustment; however, the specific type of maladjustment may depend on individual differences in youth. This 2-wave longitudinal study examined the hypothesis that social approach-avoidance motivation, together with sex, would moderate the contribution of 3rd-grade victimization to 4th-grade maladjustment. Children (N = 574, M age = 8.94, SD = 0.37) reported on their victimization exposure, social approach-avoidance motivation, and depressive symptoms. Teachers reported on students' victimization exposure and aggressive behavior. Victimization predicted aggressive behavior only in boys with moderate to high approach motivation; victimization predicted depressive symptoms only in girls with moderate to high avoidance motivation. This research elucidates the diverse consequences associated with peer victimization and informs efforts to address these consequences in a targeted manner.

Under the influence of Facebook? Excess use of social networking sites and drinking motives, consequences, and attitudes in college students

PubMed Central

Hormes, Julia M.

2016-01-01

Background and aims Excessive use of social networking sites (SNS) has recently been conceptualized as a behavioral addiction (i.e., “disordered SNS use”) using key criteria for the diagnosis of substance dependence and shown to be associated with a variety of impairments in psychosocial functioning, including an increased risk of problem drinking. This study sought to characterize associations between “disordered SNS use” and attitudes towards alcohol, drinking motives, and adverse consequences resulting from alcohol use in young adults. Methods Undergraduate students (n = 537, 64.0% female, mean age = 19.63 years, SD = 4.24) reported on their use of SNSs and completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Temptation and Restraint Inventory, Approach and Avoidance of Alcohol and Drinking Motives Questionnaires, and Drinker Inventory of Consequences. Results Respondents meeting previously established criteria for “disordered SNS use” were significantly more likely to use alcohol to cope with negative affect and to conform to perceived social norms, reported significantly more conflicting (i.e., simultaneous positive and negative) attitudes towards alcohol, and had experienced significantly more, and more frequent adverse consequences from drinking in their inter- and intrapersonal, physical, and social functioning, compared to individuals without problems related to SNS use. Discussion and conclusions Findings add to an emerging body of literature suggesting a link between excess or maladaptive SNS use and problems related to alcohol in young adults and point to emotion dysregulation and coping motives as potential shared risk factors for substance and behavioral addictions in this demographic. PMID:28092186

Under the influence of Facebook? Excess use of social networking sites and drinking motives, consequences, and attitudes in college students.

PubMed

Hormes, Julia M

2016-03-01

Background and aims Excessive use of social networking sites (SNS) has recently been conceptualized as a behavioral addiction (i.e., "disordered SNS use") using key criteria for the diagnosis of substance dependence and shown to be associated with a variety of impairments in psychosocial functioning, including an increased risk of problem drinking. This study sought to characterize associations between "disordered SNS use" and attitudes towards alcohol, drinking motives, and adverse consequences resulting from alcohol use in young adults. Methods Undergraduate students (n = 537, 64.0% female, mean age = 19.63 years, SD = 4.24) reported on their use of SNSs and completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Temptation and Restraint Inventory, Approach and Avoidance of Alcohol and Drinking Motives Questionnaires, and Drinker Inventory of Consequences. Results Respondents meeting previously established criteria for "disordered SNS use" were significantly more likely to use alcohol to cope with negative affect and to conform to perceived social norms, reported significantly more conflicting (i.e., simultaneous positive and negative) attitudes towards alcohol, and had experienced significantly more, and more frequent adverse consequences from drinking in their inter- and intrapersonal, physical, and social functioning, compared to individuals without problems related to SNS use. Discussion and conclusions Findings add to an emerging body of literature suggesting a link between excess or maladaptive SNS use and problems related to alcohol in young adults and point to emotion dysregulation and coping motives as potential shared risk factors for substance and behavioral addictions in this demographic.

Cross-cultural generality and specificity in self-regulation: avoidance personal goals and multiple aspects of well-being in the United States and Japan.

PubMed

Elliot, Andrew J; Sedikides, Constantine; Murayama, Kou; Tanaka, Ayumi; Thrash, Todd M; Mapes, Rachel R

2012-10-01

The authors examined avoidance personal goals as concurrent (Study 1) and longitudinal (Study 2) predictors of multiple aspects of well-being in the United States and Japan. In both studies, participants adopted more avoidance personal goals in Japan relative to the United States. Both studies also demonstrated that avoidance personal goals were significant negative predictors of the most relevant aspects of well-being in each culture. Specifically, avoidance personal goals were negative predictors of intrapersonal and eudaimonic well-being in the United States and were negative predictors of interpersonal and eudaimonic well-being in Japan. The findings clarify and extend puzzling findings from prior empirical work in this area, and raise provocative possibilities about the nature of avoidance goal pursuit.

Why Adolescents Fight: A Qualitative Study of Youth Perspectives on Fighting and Its Prevention

PubMed Central

Shetgiri, Rashmi; Lee, Simon C.; Tillitski, John; Wilson, Connie; Flores, Glenn

2014-01-01

Objective Identify risk factors for fighting, factors that protect against fighting, and strategies to prevent fighting, among adolescents who fight and those uninvolved in fighting. Methods Focus groups were conducted with middle and high-school students, stratified by fighting (fighter/non-fighter) status, race/ethnicity, and gender. Groups were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using margin coding and thematic content analysis. Themes were independently identified by three coders; disagreements were resolved by consensus. Results The 65 participants in the 12 focus groups were 13–17 years old. Reasons for fighting include self-defense, to gain/maintain respect, or due to anger; having goals for the future is protective. Non-fighters state that their parents condone fighting only when physically attacked, and teach adolescents strategies to avoid fighting. Fighters describe mixed messages from parents, and pro-fighting attitudes and modeling of aggressive behavior among some family members. Non-fighters avoid fighting by ignoring insults or walking away. Fighters feel unable to use nonviolent conflict-resolution methods effectively. Peers may instigate or encourage fights. Suggested prevention strategies include anger-management and conflict-resolution programs, relationships with caring adults, and physicians counseling youth about the consequences of fighting. Conclusions Non-fighters use various strategies to avoid fighting, whereas fighters are aware of few alternatives to fighting. Conflicting parental messages about fighting may enhance the likelihood of fighting. Physicians can counsel youth about the negative consequences of fighting. Interventions that teach anger management and conflict resolution, promote adolescent self-efficacy for using non-violent strategies, and address parental attitudes about fighting may be effective in preventing fighting. PMID:25528128

Positive and negative consequences of a military deployment.

PubMed

Newby, John H; McCarroll, James E; Ursano, R J; Fan, Zizhong; Shigemura, Jun; Tucker-Harris, Yvonne

2005-10-01

This study determined the perception by 951 U.S. Army soldiers of positive and negative consequences of a peacekeeping deployment to Bosnia. Seventy-seven percent reported some positive consequences, 63% reported a negative consequence, and 47% reported both. Written comments were also provided. Of the 951 soldiers, 478 wrote at least one positive comment and 403 at least one negative comment. Single soldiers were more likely than married soldiers to report positive consequences (82% vs. 72%). Married soldiers were more likely than single soldiers to report negative consequences (70% vs. 55%). Positive consequences included making additional money, self-improvement, and time to think. Negative consequences included the military chain of command, being away from home, and deterioration of marital/significant other relationships.

Attachment avoidance, but not anxiety, minimizes the joys of caregiving.

PubMed

Nelson-Coffey, S Katherine; Borelli, Jessica L; River, Laura M

2017-10-01

Perhaps unlike other social roles that people may hold, caring for children offers opportunities for both immense joy and incredible frustration. Yet what predicts how parents will feel during caregiving experiences? In the current study, we examined parents' (N = 152) positive emotion, negative emotion, and felt meaning during caregiving using the Day Reconstruction Method. In addition, we tested attachment anxiety and avoidance as predictors of parents' emotion during caregiving relative to their other daily experiences. We found that attachment avoidance was associated with elevated negative emotion and reduced positive emotion and meaning in life across the entire day, whereas attachment anxiety was associated with elevated negative emotion and marginally greater meaning in life, but not positive emotion, across the entire day. Furthermore, caregiving was associated with greater positive emotion and meaning, but not negative emotion, compared to parents' other daily activities. Finally, attachment avoidance, but not anxiety, was associated with lower levels of positive emotion, negative emotion, and felt meaning during caregiving compared to other daily activities. These findings are consistent with other evidence that attachment avoidance is associated with deactivation of emotion in close relationships and suggest that attachment avoidance minimizes the joys of parenting.

Rethinking the role of worry in generalized anxiety disorder: evidence supporting a model of emotional contrast avoidance.

PubMed

Llera, Sandra J; Newman, Michelle G

2014-05-01

The Contrast Avoidance model (Newman & Llera, 2011) proposes that individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are hypersensitive to sharp upward shifts in negative emotion that typically accompany negative events, and use worry to maintain sustained intrapersonal negativity in an attempt to avoid these shifts. Although research shows that worry increases negative emotionality and mutes further emotional reactivity to a stressor when compared to the worry period (e.g., Llera & Newman, 2010), no study has tracked changes in negative emotionality from baseline to worry inductions followed by a range of emotional exposures. Further, no study has yet assessed participants' subjective appraisals of prior worry on helping to cope with such exposures. The present study tested the main tenets of the Contrast Avoidance model by randomly assigning participants with GAD (n=48) and nonanxious controls (n=47) to experience worry, relaxation, and neutral inductions prior to sequential exposure to fearful, sad, and humorous film clips. Both physiological (nonspecific skin conductance responses [NS-SCRs]) and self-reported emotional changes were observed. Results indicated that worry boosted negative emotionality from baseline, which was sustained across negative exposures, whereas low negative emotionality during relaxation and neutral inductions allowed for sharp increases in response to exposures. Furthermore, GAD participants found worry to be more helpful than other conditions in coping with exposures, whereas control participants reported the opposite pattern. Results provide preliminary support for the Contrast Avoidance model. This suggests that treatment should focus on underlying avoidance patterns before attempting to reduce worry behavior. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Predicting academic self-handicapping in different age groups: the role of personal achievement goals and social goals.

PubMed

Leondari, Angeliki; Gonida, Eleftheria

2007-09-01

Academic self-handicapping refers to the use of impediments to successful performance on academic tasks. Previous studies have shown that it is related to personal achievement goals. A performance goal orientation is a positive predictor of self-handicapping, whereas a task goal orientation is unrelated to self-handicapping. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between academic self-handicapping, goal orientations (task, performance-approach, performance-avoidance), social goals, future consequences and achievement in mathematics. An additional aim was to investigate grade-level and gender differences in relation to academic self-handicapping. Participants were 702 upper elementary, junior and senior high school students with approximately equal numbers of girls and boys. There were no grade-level or gender differences as regards the use of self-handicapping. The correlations among the variables revealed that, when the whole sample was considered, self-handicapping was positively related to performance goal orientations and pleasing significant others and negatively to achievement in mathematics. The results of hierarchical regression analysis showed that, in upper elementary and junior high schools, the association between achievement in mathematics and self-handicapping was mediated by performance-avoidance goals. In senior high school, only task goal orientation was a negative predictor of self-handicapping.

Maternal and Early-Life Circadian Disruption Have Long-Lasting Negative Consequences on Offspring Development and Adult Behavior in Mice.

PubMed

Smarr, Benjamin L; Grant, Azure D; Perez, Luz; Zucker, Irving; Kriegsfeld, Lance J

2017-06-12

Modern life involves chronic circadian disruption through artificial light and these disruptions are associated with numerous mental and physical health maladies. Because the developing nervous system is particularly vulnerable to perturbation, we hypothesized that early-life circadian disruption would negatively impact offspring development and adult function. Pregnant mice were subjected to chronic circadian disruption from the time of uterine implantation through weaning. To dissociate in utero from postnatal effects, a subset of litters was cross-fostered at birth from disrupted dams to control dams and vice versa. Postnatal circadian disruption was associated with reduced adult body mass, social avoidance, and hyperactivity. In utero disruption resulted in more pronounced social avoidance and hyperactivity, phenotypes not abrogated by cross-fostering to control mothers. To examine whether circadian disruption affects development by acting as an early life stressor, we examined birthweight, litter size, maternal cannibalism, and epigenetic modifications. None of these variables differed between control and disrupted dams, or resembled patterns seen following early-life stress. Our findings indicate that developmental chronic circadian disruption permanently affects somatic and behavioral development in a stage-of-life-dependent manner, independent of early life stress mechanisms, underscoring the importance of temporal structure during development, both in utero and early postnatal life.

Latent-level relations between DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters and problematic smartphone use

PubMed Central

Contractor, Ateka A.; Frankfurt, Sheila B.; Weiss, Nicole H.; Elhai, Jon D.

2017-01-01

Common mental health consequences following the experience of potentially traumatic events include Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and addictive behaviors. Problematic smartphone use is a newer manifestation of addictive behaviors. People with anxiety severity (such as PTSD) may be at risk for problematic smartphone use as a means of coping with their symptoms. Unique to our knowledge, we assessed relations between PTSD symptom clusters and problematic smartphone use. Participants (N = 347), recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk), completed measures of PTSD and smartphone addiction. Results of the Wald tests of parameter constraints indicated that problematic smartphone use was more related to PTSD’s negative alterations in cognitions and mood (NACM) than to PTSD’s avoidance factor, Wald χ2(1, N = 347) = 12.51, p = 0.0004; and more to PTSD’s arousal compared to PTSD’s avoidance factor, Wald χ2(1, N = 347) = 14.89, p = 0.0001. Results indicate that problematic smartphone use is most associated with negative affect and arousal among trauma-exposed individuals. Implications include the need to clinically assess problematic smartphone use among trauma-exposed individuals presenting with higher NACM and arousal severity; and targeting NACM and arousal symptoms to mitigate the effects of problematic smartphone use. PMID:28993716

From avoidance to approach: The influence of threat-of-shock on reward-based decision making.

PubMed

Bublatzky, Florian; Alpers, Georg W; Pittig, Andre

2017-09-01

Potential threat can prime defensive responding and avoidance behavior, which may result in the loss of rewards. When aversive consequences do not occur, avoidance should, thus, be quickly overcome in healthy individuals. This study examined the impact of threat anticipation on reward-based decisions. Sixty-five participants completed a decision-making task in which they had to choose between high- and low-reward options. To model an approach-avoidance conflict, the high-reward option was contingent with a threat-of-shock cue; the low-reward option was contingent with a safety cue. In control trials, decisions were made without threat/safety instructions. Overall, behavioral data documented a typical preference for the profitable option. Importantly, under threat-of-shock, participants initially avoided the profitable option (i.e., safe, but less profitable choices). However, when they experienced that shocks did actually not occur, participants overcame initial avoidance in favor of larger gains. Furthermore, autonomic arousal (skin conductance and heart rate responses) was elevated during threat cues compared to safety and non-threatening control cues. Taken together, threat-of-shock was associated with behavioral consequences: initially, participants avoided threat-related options but made more profitable decisions as they experienced no aversive consequences. Although socially acquired threat contingencies are typically stable, incentives for approach can help to overcome threat-related avoidance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Stress and attitudes toward negative emotions in adolescence].

PubMed

Ozawa, Eiji

2010-12-01

This study investigated the relationship between stress and attitudes toward negative emotions in adolescents. Adolescent students (N=1500) completed a questionnaire that measured attitudes toward negative emotions, emotional-stress reactions, and stress coping. Analysis of date yielded, two factors of the attitudes toward negative emotions: "Negative feelings about negative emotions" and "Capabilities of switching of negative emotions". In order to examine the theoretical relationships among attitudes toward negative emotions, emotional-stress reactions, and stress coping, a hypothetical model was tested by covariance structure analysis. This model predicted that students who have a high level of attitudes toward negative emotions would report enhanced problem solving which promoted stress coping. The results indicated that "Negative feelings about negative emotions" enhanced avoidable coping, and avoidable coping enhanced stress reactions. "Capabilities of switching of negative emotions" was related to a decrease of avoidable coping. Based on the results from covariance structure analysis and a multiple population analysis, the clinical significance and developmental characteristics were discussed.

Benefits of positive relationship experiences for avoidantly attached individuals.

PubMed

Stanton, Sarah C E; Campbell, Lorne; Pink, Jennifer C

2017-10-01

Attachment avoidance is characterized by discomfort with closeness and a reluctance to develop intimacy with romantic partners, which contribute to heightened general negativity and lower satisfaction and self-disclosure in and out of their relationships. Recent research, however, has begun to uncover circumstances in which romantic partners and positive relationships buffer more avoidantly attached individuals against deleterious individual and relationship outcomes. Across 3 studies, using a multimethod approach encompassing both experimental and dyadic longitudinal diary methods, we investigated the effects of positive, intimacy-related relationship experiences on more avoidant persons' positive and negative affect, relationship quality, self-disclosure, and attachment security immediately and over time. Results revealed that more avoidant individuals exhibit a reduction of general negative affect in particular (Studies 1-2) and report greater relationship quality (Studies 2-3) in response to positive relationship experiences, and, following intimacy-promoting activities with their partner, engage in greater self-disclosure over time and demonstrate decreased attachment avoidance 1 month later (Study 3). These findings identify novel circumstances in which more avoidant persons' negative expectations of relationships may be countered, and suggest that relatively simple techniques can have potentially important short- and long-term implications for more avoidant individuals and their relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia result from a failure to represent the expected value of rewards: Behavioral and computational modeling evidence

PubMed Central

Gold, James M.; Waltz, James A.; Matveeva, Tatyana M.; Kasanova, Zuzana; Strauss, Gregory P.; Herbener, Ellen S.; Collins, Anne G.E.; Frank, Michael J.

2015-01-01

Context Negative symptoms are a core feature of schizophrenia, but their pathophysiology remains unclear. Objective Negative symptoms are defined by the absence of normal function. However, there must be a productive mechanism that leads to this absence. Here, we test a reinforcement learning account suggesting that negative symptoms result from a failure to represent the expected value of rewards coupled with preserved loss avoidance learning. Design Subjects performed a probabilistic reinforcement learning paradigm involving stimulus pairs in which choices resulted in either reward or avoidance of loss. Following training, subjects indicated their valuation of the stimuli in a transfer task. Computational modeling was used to distinguish between alternative accounts of the data. Setting A tertiary care research outpatient clinic. Patients A total of 47 clinically stable patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 28 healthy volunteers participated. Patients were divided into high and low negative symptom groups. Main Outcome measures 1) The number of choices leading to reward or loss avoidance and 2) performance in the transfer phase. Quantitative fits from three different models were examined. Results High negative symptom patients demonstrated impaired learning from rewards but intact loss avoidance learning, and failed to distinguish rewarding stimuli from loss-avoiding stimuli in the transfer phase. Model fits revealed that high negative symptom patients were better characterized by an “actor-critic” model, learning stimulus-response associations, whereas controls and low negative symptom patients incorporated expected value of their actions (“Q-learning”) into the selection process. Conclusions Negative symptoms are associated with a specific reinforcement learning abnormality: High negative symptoms patients do not represent the expected value of rewards when making decisions but learn to avoid punishments through the use of prediction errors. This computational framework offers the potential to understand negative symptoms at a mechanistic level. PMID:22310503

Perceptions of racial confrontation: the role of color blindness and comment ambiguity.

PubMed

Zou, Linda X; Dickter, Cheryl L

2013-01-01

Because of its emphasis on diminishing race and avoiding racial discourse, color-blind racial ideology has been suggested to have negative consequences for modern day race relations. The current research examined the influence of color blindness and the ambiguity of a prejudiced remark on perceptions of a racial minority group member who confronts the remark. One hundred thirteen White participants responded to a vignette depicting a White character making a prejudiced comment of variable ambiguity, after which a Black target character confronted the comment. Results demonstrated that the target confronter was perceived more negatively and as responding less appropriately by participants high in color blindness, and that this effect was particularly pronounced when participants responded to the ambiguous comment. Implications for the ways in which color blindness, as an accepted norm that is endorsed across legal and educational settings, can facilitate Whites' complicity in racial inequality are discussed.

Neural Substrates of Counterfactual Emotions After Risky Decisions in Late Adolescents and Young Adults.

PubMed

Rodrigo, María José; Padrón, Iván; de Vega, Manuel; Ferstl, Evelyn

2018-03-01

Adolescents' neural substrates of emotional reactions to the consequences of risky decisions are poorly understood. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, 30 late adolescents and 30 young adults made risky and neutral decisions in social scenarios and received valenced outcomes. Negative outcomes in risky decisions eliciting regret, as compared with negative outcomes in neutral decisions eliciting disappointment, activated executive control (orbitofrontal cortex) and self-relevance regions (middle temporal gyrus [MTG], posterior cingulate cortex, and precuneus) for both age groups. Young adults showed more activation than adolescents in regret and disappointment as compared with relief and elation conditions in the avoidance (insula), action monitoring (inferior frontal gyrus, pre-SMA, and caudate), and social-cognition regions (superior temporal sulcus and MTG). These late socio-emotional developments may pave the way for more adaptive decision-making behavior in social contexts. © 2018 Society for Research on Adolescence.

[Population development and economic growth. A simulation analysis for Switzerland].

PubMed

Schmidt, C; Straubhaar, T

1996-01-01

"A simulation exercise of a general equilibrium model for Switzerland makes clear that the macroeconomic impacts of aging populations are not very strong. There is no need for urgent policy actions to avoid severe negative economic consequences....However, the aging of population affects negatively the net income of the active labor force. An increasing share of their gross salaries goes to the retirement system to finance the pension payments of a growing number of pensioners. Attempts to moderate the elderly dependency ratio would lower this burden for the active labor force. Options are an increase of the female participation rate, an increase of the labor participation rate of the elderly--[which] also means a higher retirement age--and an increasing flow of immigrants. But socioeconomic problems might probably generate practical limits on the extent to which immigration can be increased." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND FRE) excerpt

Linking masculinity to negative drinking consequences: the mediating roles of heavy episodic drinking and alcohol expectancies.

PubMed

Wells, Samantha; Flynn, Andrea; Tremblay, Paul F; Dumas, Tara; Miller, Peter; Graham, Kathryn

2014-05-01

This study extends previous research on masculinity and negative drinking consequences among young men by considering mediating effects of heavy episodic drinking (HED) and alcohol expectancies. We hypothesized that masculinity would have a direct relationship with negative consequences from drinking as well as indirect relationships mediated by HED and alcohol expectancies of courage, risk, and aggression. A random sample of 1,436 college and university men ages 19-25 years completed an online survey, including conformity to masculine norms, alcohol-related expectancies, HED, and negative drinking consequences. Regression analyses and structural equation modeling were used. Six of seven dimensions of masculinity and the alcohol expectancy scales were significantly associated with both HED and negative consequences. In multivariate regression models predicting HED and negative consequences, the playboy and violence dimensions of masculinity and the risk/aggression alcohol expectancy remained significant. HED and the risk-taking dimension of masculinity were also significant in the model predicting negative consequences. The structural equation model indicated that masculinity was directly associated with HED and negative consequences but also influenced negative consequences indirectly through HED and alcohol expectancies. The findings suggest that, among young adult male college and university students, masculinity is an important factor related to both HED and drinking consequences, with the latter effect partly mediated by HED and alcohol expectancies. Addressing male norms about masculinity may help to reduce HED and negative consequences from drinking.

Learning processes underlying avoidance of negative outcomes.

PubMed

Andreatta, Marta; Michelmann, Sebastian; Pauli, Paul; Hewig, Johannes

2017-04-01

Successful avoidance of a threatening event may negatively reinforce the behavior due to activation of brain structures involved in reward processing. Here, we further investigated the learning-related properties of avoidance using feedback-related negativity (FRN). The FRN is modulated by violations of an intended outcome (prediction error, PE), that is, the bigger the difference between intended and actual outcome, the larger the FRN amplitude is. Twenty-eight participants underwent an operant conditioning paradigm, in which a behavior (button press) allowed them to avoid a painful electric shock. During two learning blocks, participants could avoid an electric shock in 80% of the trials by pressing one button (avoidance button), or by not pressing another button (punishment button). After learning, participants underwent two test blocks, which were identical to the learning ones except that no shocks were delivered. Participants pressed the avoidance button more often than the punishment button. Importantly, response frequency increased throughout the learning blocks but it did not decrease during the test blocks, indicating impaired extinction and/or habit formation. In line with a PE account, FRN amplitude to negative feedback after correct responses (i.e., unexpected punishment) was significantly larger than to positive feedback (i.e., expected omission of punishment), and it increased throughout the blocks. Highly anxious individuals showed equal FRN amplitudes to negative and positive feedback, suggesting impaired discrimination. These results confirm the role of negative reinforcement in motivating behavior and learning, and reveal important differences between high and low anxious individuals in the processing of prediction errors. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Engaging in Rather than Disengaging from Stress: Effective Coping and Perceived Control

PubMed Central

Dijkstra, Maria T. M.; Homan, Astrid C.

2016-01-01

Being able to cope effectively with stress can help people to avoid negative consequences for their psychological well-being. The purpose of this study was to find out why some coping strategies are effective in reducing the negative effect of stressors on well-being and some are not. We argue that the degree to which such coping strategies engage or disengage people from stressful incidents is related to their perceived control of the situation that, in turn, is positively associated with their psychological well-being. We thus propose that the relationship between coping and psychological well-being is mediated by the extent of perceived sense of control. We collected cross-sectional data from a large heterogeneous sample (N = 543) in the Netherlands. We assessed seven different coping strategies, perceived control, and psychological well-being. Our results indeed revealed that strategies reflecting more engaged coping such as active confronting and reassuring thoughts, were associated with more sense of control and therefore to psychological well-being. In contrast, strategies reflecting disengagement coping, such as passive reaction pattern, palliative reaction, and avoidance, were associated with less perceived control, which in turn was negatively associated with psychological well-being. Results regarding the coping strategies expressing emotions and seeking social support were less straightforward, with the former being negatively associated with perceived control and psychological well-being, even though this strategy has stress engaging elements, and the latter only showing a positive indirect effect on psychological well-being via perceived control, but no positive main effect on well-being. These findings are discussed from the perspective of stress being an environment-perception-response process. PMID:27708603

a Comparison of Two Strategies for Avoiding Negative Transfer in Domain Adaptation Based on Logistic Regression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, A.; Vogt, K.; Rottensteiner, F.; Ostermann, J.; Heipke, C.

2018-05-01

In this paper we deal with the problem of measuring the similarity between training and tests datasets in the context of transfer learning (TL) for image classification. TL tries to transfer knowledge from a source domain, where labelled training samples are abundant but the data may follow a different distribution, to a target domain, where labelled training samples are scarce or even unavailable, assuming that the domains are related. Thus, the requirements w.r.t. the availability of labelled training samples in the target domain are reduced. In particular, if no labelled target data are available, it is inherently difficult to find a robust measure of relatedness between the source and target domains. This is of crucial importance for the performance of TL, because the knowledge transfer between unrelated data may lead to negative transfer, i.e. to a decrease of classification performance after transfer. We address the problem of measuring the relatedness between source and target datasets and investigate three different strategies to predict and, consequently, to avoid negative transfer in this paper. The first strategy is based on circular validation. The second strategy relies on the Maximum Mean Discrepancy (MMD) similarity metric, whereas the third one is an extension of MMD which incorporates the knowledge about the class labels in the source domain. Our method is evaluated using two different benchmark datasets. The experiments highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the investigated methods. We also show that it is possible to reduce the amount of negative transfer using these strategies for a TL method and to generate a consistent performance improvement over the whole dataset.

The Elimination of a Self-Injurious Avoidance Response through a Forced Running Consequence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borreson, Paul M.

1980-01-01

The self-injurious avoidance responses of a 22-year-old severely mentally retarded male were eliminated through a forced running consequence. Side effects, such as reduced noise, increase in smiling, and faster progress toward instructional objectives, were also noted. The results were maintained over a period of two years. (Author/PHR)

Borderline Personality Disorder and the Effects of Instructed Emotional Avoidance or Acceptance in Daily Life.

PubMed

Chapman, Alexander L; Rosenthal, M Zachary; Dixon-Gordon, Katherine L; Turner, Brianna J; Kuppens, Peter

2017-08-01

This study examined the effects of avoidance- versus acceptance-oriented emotion regulation instructions among individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD; n = 48), major depressive disorder (MDD; n = 54), and non-psychiatric controls (NPC; n = 50) using ecological momentary assessment. Participants were randomly assigned to either accept or avoid negative emotions, and monitored their moods, urges, and distress tolerance several times per day over 6 days. Avoidance instructions resulted in reduced negative affect and urges for maladaptive behaviors uniquely among BPD participants. Together with past research, and consistent with treatment approaches emphasizing the short-term use of skills to avoid or distract from emotions (e.g., DBT; Linehan, 1993b, 2015), these findings suggest that avoidance of negative emotions may have temporary benefits for individuals with BPD. Acceptance-oriented strategies may take longer or may require more extensive training to be beneficial for emotional functioning in everyday life in BPD.

Social anxiety, reasons for drinking, and college students.

PubMed

Norberg, Melissa M; Norton, Alice R; Olivier, Jake; Zvolensky, Michael J

2010-12-01

Recent research suggests that social anxiety may be associated with higher rates of alcohol problems in women, yet may be associated with lower levels of drinking in men. The current study investigated putative mechanisms that may underlie potential gender differences in the social anxiety-alcohol relationship. One hundred and eighteen college students (61.0% women) completed an interview assessing drinking behaviors and questionnaires measuring social anxiety, drinking motives, and drinking situations. Although college men and women both reported similar frequencies of drinking in positive situations and to enhance positive emotions, women reported drinking more often in negative situations and to cope with aversive emotions than men. Mediated moderation analyses suggested that women with social anxiety may be at greater risk of encountering adverse consequences because of their likelihood to drink to conform or to cope with the aversive affect they experience in negative situations. Conversely, when men experience high rates of adverse consequences, it may be due to drinking greater quantities of alcohol in positive situations. Highly socially anxious college men may drink less alcohol and experience fewer adverse consequences than their nonanxious or mildly anxious counterparts because they may find themselves in positive situations and drinking to enhance positive feelings less often, potentially due to avoidant behavior. These findings may help to explain why social anxiety serves as a potential risk factor for alcohol-related problems for college women, but a protective factor for college men. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Mastery matters most: How mastery and positive relations link attachment avoidance and anxiety to negative emotions.

PubMed

Paech, Juliane; Schindler, Ines; Fagundes, Christopher P

2016-08-01

Attachment avoidance and anxiety are associated with negative emotions. However, the mechanisms underlying these associations are not fully understood. We investigated environmental mastery and positive relations with others as two mechanisms behind the attachment-emotion link in a sample of 343 adults. As predicted, attachment avoidance and anxiety were related to greater fear, hostility, envy and depression through lower mastery. Contrary to our hypothesis, positive relations mediated only the attachment-depression link. In addition, by adopting a moderated mediation approach, we were able to show that mastery mattered most for individuals high on avoidance: The indirect effect of avoidance through lack of mastery on fear, hostility and depression (but not on envy) increased with higher avoidance scores. Contrary to our predictions, poor relationships did not matter more as sources of negative emotions as anxiety increased. These findings underscore that the emotional life of avoidantly attached individuals is especially jeopardised by poor mastery.

Attention Bias of Avoidant Individuals to Attachment Emotion Pictures.

PubMed

Liu, Ying; Ding, Yi; Lu, Luluzi; Chen, Xu

2017-01-27

How attachment style affects emotion processing is tightly connected with individuals' attention bias. This experiment explored avoidant individuals' attentional engagement and attentional disengagement using a cue-target paradigm in fMRI. The experimental group consisted of 17 avoidant participants, while the control group consisted of 16 secure participants; these were identified by the Experiences in Close Relationships inventory and the Relationship Questionnaire. Each reacted to pictures of positive parent-child attachment, negative parent-child attachment, positive romantic attachment, negative romantic attachment, and neutral non-attachment. Behaviorally, avoidant individuals were slower than secure individuals in responding to emotions and their attentional disengagement effect for negative parent-child emotions was stronger than positive ones. fMRI results showed that avoidant compared to secure individuals activated more strongly in the right superior temporal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, and the left medial frontal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, supplementary motor area, and cingulate gyrus. They also showed stronger activation in disengaging from positive than negative emotions in the bilateral fusiform and middle occipital gyri. In conclusion, avoidant individuals could detect emotions as effective as secure individuals in attentioal engaging stages. They can disengage from positive emotions with effective cognitive resources and were harder to get rid of negative emotions with insufficient resource.

Prevalence and persistence of potentially pathogenic and antibiotic resistant bacteria during anaerobic digestion treatment of cattle manure.

PubMed

Resende, Juliana Alves; Silva, Vânia Lúcia; de Oliveira, Tamara Lopes Rocha; de Oliveira Fortunato, Samuel; da Costa Carneiro, Jailton; Otenio, Marcelo Henrique; Diniz, Cláudio Galuppo

2014-02-01

Anaerobic digestion figures as a sustainable alternative to avoid discharge of cattle manure in the environment, which results in biogas and biofertilizer. Persistence of potentially pathogenic and drug-resistant bacteria during anaerobic digestion of cattle manure was evaluated. Selective cultures were performed for enterobacteria (ENT), non-fermenting Gram-negative rods (NFR) and Gram-positive cocci (GPC). Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were determined and a decay of all bacterial groups was observed after 60days. Multidrug-resistant bacteria were detected both the influent and effluent. GPC, the most prevalent group was highly resistant against penicillin and levofloxacin, whereas resistance to ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam and chloramphenicol was frequently observed in the ENT and NFR groups. The data point out the need of discussions to better address management of biodigesters and the implementation of sanitary and microbiological safe treatments of animal manures to avoid consequences to human, animal and environmental health. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-subjugation among women: exposure to sexist ideology, self-objectification, and the protective function of the need to avoid closure.

PubMed

Calogero, Rachel M; Jost, John T

2011-02-01

Despite extensive evidence confirming the negative consequences of self-objectification, direct experimental evidence concerning its environmental antecedents is scarce. Incidental exposure to sexist cues was employed in 3 experiments to investigate its effect on self-objectification variables. Consistent with system justification theory, exposure to benevolent and complementary forms of sexism, but not hostile or no sexism, increased state self-objectification, self-surveillance, and body shame among women but not men in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, we replicated these effects and demonstrated that they are specific to self-objectification and not due to a more general self-focus. In addition, following exposure to benevolent sexism only, women planned more future behaviors pertaining to appearance management than did men; this effect was mediated by self-surveillance and body shame. Experiment 3 revealed that the need to avoid closure might afford women some protection against self-objectification in the context of sexist ideology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Nurses' intention to resign and avoidance of emergency department violence: A moderated mediation model.

PubMed

Li, Yu-Fang; Chao, Minston; Shih, Chih-Ting

2017-10-10

Studies that examined the negative impact of violence in emergency departments on nurses' leave and avoidance behavior are well-documented. However, few studies provided an integrated model of how and when violence influences their leave and avoidance behavior. The study adopted Affective Events Theory to propose and examine a model of violent events, negative emotions, and (leave and avoidance) behaviors on nurses in emergency departments and further analyzed whether the model is salient to nurses' occupational burnout, nursing experience, and nursing rank. The sample included 123 emergency department nurses at a teaching hospital in northern, Taiwan. All participants had experienced violent incidents within the preceding 6 months. Moderated mediation analysis suggested that nurses experienced one of two emotional processes following violent incidents: "violence-negative feelings toward work-intention to resign" or "violence-negative emotion and physical symptoms-avoidance tendencies." Moreover, nurses with high burnout levels expressed weaker intention to resign after violent incidents, while nurses with more experience and higher rank were less likely to avoid violence after violent incidents. Emergency nurses do not simply elect to escape but may engage in avoidance behavior. This study revealed that how violent incidents affect nurses' resignation or avoidance behaviors depends on how they feel. Occupational burnout and nurses' attributes affected their behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reactivity to negative affect in smokers: the role of implicit associations and distress tolerance in smoking cessation.

PubMed

Cameron, Amy; Reed, Kathleen Palm; Ninnemann, Andrew

2013-12-01

Avoidance of negative affect is one motivational factor that explains smoking cessation relapse during cessation attempts. This negative reinforcement model of smoking cessation and relapse has demonstrated the importance of one's ability to tolerate nicotine withdrawal symptoms, particularly negative affect states, in remaining abstinent from smoking. Distress tolerance and implicit associations are two individual constructs that may influence the strength of this relationship. In this pilot study the authors examined implicit associations related to avoidance and negative affect using a modified Implicit Association Test (IAT), a measure designed to examine implicit associations related to negative affect and avoidance, and the relationship of these associations to distress tolerance and smoking relapse. In total, 40 participants were recruited through community flyers as part of a larger smoking cessation study. Participants completed a brief smoking history, behavioral distress tolerance assessments, and the modified IAT. Smoking status was assessed via phone 3days and 6days post-quit date. Results from a Cox proportional hazard model revealed that implicit associations between avoidance and negative affect were significantly negatively correlated with time to relapse after a smoking cessation attempt, whereas the behavioral distress tolerance assessments did not predict time to relapse. This study provides novel information about the cognitive associations that may underlie avoidant behavior in smokers, and may be important for understanding smoking relapse when negative affect states are particularly difficult to tolerate. Authors discuss the importance of implicit associations in understanding smoking relapse and how they can be targeted in treatment. © 2013.

Collaboration and Teamwork in the Health Professions: Rethinking the Role of Conflict.

PubMed

Eichbaum, Quentin

2017-11-14

Whereas the business professions have long recognized that conflict can be a source of learning and innovation, the health professions still tend to view conflict negatively as being disruptive, inefficient, and unprofessional. As a consequence, the health professions tend to avoid conflict or resolve it quickly. This neglect to appreciate conflict's positive attributes appears to be driven in part by (1) individuals' fears about being negatively perceived and the potential negative consequences in an organization of being implicated in conflict, (2) constrained views and approaches to professionalism and to evaluation and assessment, and (3) lingering autocracies and hierarchies of power that view conflict as a disruptive threat.The author describes changing perspectives on collaboration and teamwork in the health professions, discusses how the health professions have neglected to appreciate the positive attributes of conflict, and presents three alternative approaches to more effectively integrating conflict into collaboration and teamwork in the health professions. These three approaches are (1) cultivating psychological safety on teams to make space for safe interpersonal risk taking, (2) viewing conflict as a source of expansive learning and innovation (via models such as activity theory), and (3) democratizing hierarchies of power through health humanities education ideally by advancing the health humanities to the core of the curriculum.The author suggests that understanding conflict's inevitability and its innovative potential, and integrating it into collaboration and teamwork, may have a reassuring and emancipating impact on individuals and teams. This may ultimately improve performance in health care organizations.

Speaking out on safe sleep: evidence-based infant sleep recommendations.

PubMed

Bartick, Melissa; Smith, Linda J

2014-11-01

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued recommendations in 2005 and 2011 to reduce sleep-related infant death, which advise against all bedsharing for sleep. These recommendations overemphasize the risks of bedsharing, and this overemphasis has serious unintended consequences. It may result in increased deaths on sofas as tired parents try to avoid feeding their infants in bed. Current evidence shows that other risks are far more potent, such as smoking, shared sleep on sofas, sleeping next to impaired caregivers, and formula feeding. The emphasis on separate sleep is diverting resources away from addressing these critical risk factors. Recommendations to avoid bedsharing may also interfere with breastfeeding. We examine both the evidence behind the AAP recommendations and the evidence omitted from those recommendations. We conclude that the only evidence-based universal advice to date is that sofas are hazardous places for adults to sleep with infants; that exposure to smoke, both prenatal and postnatal, increases the risk of death; and that sleeping next to an impaired caregiver increases the risk of death. No sleep environment is completely safe. Public health efforts must address the reality that tired parents must feed their infants at night somewhere and that sofas are highly risky places for parents to fall asleep with their infants, especially if parents are smokers or under the influence of alcohol or drugs. All messaging must be crafted and reevaluated to avoid unintended negative consequences, including impact on breastfeeding rates, or falling asleep in more dangerous situations than parental beds. We must realign our resources to focus on the greater risk factors, and that may include greater investment in smoking cessation and doing away with aggressive formula marketing. This includes eliminating conflicts of interest between formula marketing companies and organizations dedicated to the health of children.

Neuroticism and Attitudes Toward Action in 19 Countries

PubMed Central

Ireland, Molly E.; Hepler, Justin; Li, Hong; Albarracín, Dolores

2018-01-01

Although individuals scoring high on Neuroticism tend to avoid taking action when faced with challenges, Neuroticism is also characterized by impulsivity. To explore cognitive biases related to this costly behavior pattern, we tested whether individuals who rated themselves as higher in Neuroticism would evaluate the general concepts of action and inaction as, respectively, more negative and positive. We further investigated whether anxiety and depression would mediate and individualism-collectivism would moderate these relations in a large international sample. Participants (N = 3,827 college students; 69% female) from 19 countries completed surveys measuring Neuroticism, attitudes toward action and inaction, depression, anxiety, and individualism-collectivism. Hierarchical linear models tested the above predictions. Neuroticism negatively correlated with attitudes toward action and positively correlated with attitudes toward inaction. Furthermore, anxiety was primarily responsible for emotionally unstable individuals’ less positive attitudes toward action, and individuals who endorsed more collectivistic than individualistic beliefs showed a stronger negative association between Neuroticism and attitudes toward action. Researchers and practitioners interested in understanding and remediating the negative consequences of Neuroticism should pay greater attention to attitudes toward action and inaction, particularly focusing on their links with anxiety and individualism-collectivism. PMID:24684688

Neuroticism and attitudes toward action in 19 countries.

PubMed

Ireland, Molly E; Hepler, Justin; Li, Hong; Albarracín, Dolores

2015-06-01

Although individuals scoring high on Neuroticism tend to avoid taking action when faced with challenges, Neuroticism is also characterized by impulsivity. To explore cognitive biases related to this costly behavior pattern, we tested whether individuals who rated themselves as higher in Neuroticism would evaluate the general concepts of action and inaction as, respectively, more negative and positive. We further investigated whether anxiety and depression would mediate and individualism-collectivism would moderate these relations in a large international sample. Participants (N = 3,827 college students; 69% female) from 19 countries completed surveys measuring Neuroticism, attitudes toward action and inaction, depression, anxiety, and individualism-collectivism. Hierarchical linear models tested the above predictions. Neuroticism negatively correlated with attitudes toward action and positively correlated with attitudes toward inaction. Furthermore, anxiety was primarily responsible for emotionally unstable individuals' less positive attitudes toward action, and individuals who endorsed more collectivistic than individualistic beliefs showed a stronger negative association between Neuroticism and attitudes toward action. Researchers and practitioners interested in understanding and remediating the negative consequences of Neuroticism should pay greater attention to attitudes toward action and inaction, particularly focusing on their links with anxiety and individualism-collectivism. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The relevance of goal-orientation for motivation in high versus low proneness to negative symptoms.

PubMed

Schlier, Björn; Engel, Maike; Fladung, Anne-Katharina; Fritzsche, Anja; Lincoln, Tania M

2017-06-01

The psychological mechanisms of why individuals with negative symptoms fail to initiate and perform goal-directed behavior are not well understood. Drawing on the reward-sensitivity and expectancy-value theories, we investigate whether negative symptom-like experiences (NSLE) are associated with generating less approach goals (aimed at reaching a positive outcome) and more avoidance goals (aimed at avoiding a negative outcome) and whether this type of goal-orientation explains motivational deficits (i.e., perceiving goals as less feasible and important and being less committed to them). Based on the continuum model of negative symptoms, we identified two parallelized extreme groups with high and low levels of NSLE (n = 37, respectively) in an ad-hoc online-sample of healthy individuals (N = 262) using the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences. In an online study, these participants were instructed to generate approach and avoidance goals and to rate each goal in terms of feasibility, importance and goal-commitment. Participants with low levels of NSLE generated more approach than avoidance goals. Participants with high levels of NSLE showed no such difference due to increased numbers of avoidance goals. Furthermore, avoidance goal-orientation predicted reduced subjective feasibility and importance of goals and less goal-commitment. Results are based on a healthy sample rather than people with psychosis. No longitudinal or behavioral data for goal-striving was collected. People with NSLE generate more avoidance goals than controls. This is dysfunctional because it correlates with feeling less committed to reach one's goals. Optimizing goal-setting could be a promising starting-point for psychological interventions aimed at reducing negative symptoms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Child Gain Approach and Loss Avoidance Behavior: Relationships With Depression Risk, Negative Mood, and Anhedonia.

PubMed

Luking, Katherine R; Pagliaccio, David; Luby, Joan L; Barch, Deanna M

2015-08-01

Reduced reward responsiveness and altered response to loss of reward are observed in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) and adolescents at increased risk for MDD based on family history. However, it is unclear whether altered behavioral responsiveness to reward/loss is a lifelong marker of MDD risk, which is evident before the normative adolescent increase in incentive responding. Healthy 7- to 10-year-old children of mothers with MDD (high risk: n = 27) or without MDD (low risk: n = 42) performed 2 signal detection tasks assessing response bias toward reward (approach) and away from loss (avoidance). Differences in approach/avoidance were related to MDD risk, child general depressive symptoms (maternal report), child-reported anhedonic symptoms, and child-reported negative mood symptoms via repeated-measures analysis of variance. MDD risk did not significantly relate to gain approach or loss avoidance. However, within high-risk children, higher numbers of maternal depressive episodes predicted blunted loss avoidance. Blunted gain approach was related to elevated anhedonic symptoms, whereas enhanced loss avoidance was related to elevated negative mood. Elevated negative mood was further related to blunted gain approach in high-risk children but related to enhanced gain approach in low-risk children. In children, individual differences in specific depressive symptoms and recurrence of maternal depression significantly predicted gain approach/loss avoidance, but the presence/absence of maternal MDD did not. Child depressive symptoms characterized by low positive affect (anhedonia) were related to blunted gain responsiveness, whereas elevated depressed/negative mood was related to enhanced loss responsiveness. Findings suggest that relations between gain approach and negative mood may be an important distinction between those at high versus low risk for MDD. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

When avoiding unpleasant emotions might not be such a bad thing: verbal-autonomic response dissociation and midlife conjugal bereavement.

PubMed

Bonanno, G A; Keltner, D; Holen, A; Horowitz, M J

1995-11-01

It has been widely assumed that emotional avoidance during bereavement leads to either prolonged grief, delayed grief, or delayed somatic symptoms. To test this view, as well as a contrasting adaptive hypothesis, emotional avoidance was measured 6 months after a conjugal loss as negative verbal-autonomic response dissociation (low self-rated negative emotion coupled with heightened cardiovascular activity) and compared with grief measured at 6 and 14 months. The negative dissociation score evidenced reliability and validity but did not evidence the assumed link to severe grief. Rather, consistent with the adaptive hypothesis, negative dissociation at 6 months was associated with minimal grief symptoms across 14 months. Negative dissociation scores were also linked to initially high levels of somatic symptoms, which dropped to a low level by 14 months. Possible explanations for the initial cost and long-term adaptive quality of emotional avoidance during bereavement, as well as implications and limitations of the findings, are discussed.

Climate change enhances the negative effects of predation risk on an intermediate consumer.

PubMed

Miller, Luke P; Matassa, Catherine M; Trussell, Geoffrey C

2014-12-01

Predators are a major source of stress in natural systems because their prey must balance the benefits of feeding with the risk of being eaten. Although this 'fear' of being eaten often drives the organization and dynamics of many natural systems, we know little about how such risk effects will be altered by climate change. Here, we examined the interactive consequences of predator avoidance and projected climate warming in a three-level rocky intertidal food chain. We found that both predation risk and increased air and sea temperatures suppressed the foraging of prey in the middle trophic level, suggesting that warming may further enhance the top-down control of predators on communities. Prey growth efficiency, which measures the efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels, became negative when prey were subjected to predation risk and warming. Thus, the combined effects of these stressors may represent an important tipping point for individual fitness and the efficiency of energy transfer in natural food chains. In contrast, we detected no adverse effects of warming on the top predator and the basal resources. Hence, the consequences of projected warming may be particularly challenging for intermediate consumers residing in food chains where risk dominates predator-prey interactions. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

High-quality collection and disposal of WEEE: Environmental impacts and resultant issues.

PubMed

Baxter, John; Lyng, Kari-Anne; Askham, Cecilia; Hanssen, Ole Jørgen

2016-11-01

Life cycle assessment of the collection, transport and recycling of various types of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in Norway shows that small amounts of critical materials (refrigerants, precious/trace metals) are vital for the overall environmental accounts of the value chains. High-quality recycling ensures that materials and energy are effectively recovered from WEEE. This recovery means that responsible waste handling confers net environmental benefits in terms of global warming potential (GWP), for all types of WEEE analysed. For refrigeration equipment, the potential reduction of GWP by high-quality recycling is so large as to be of national significance. For all waste types, the magnitude of the net benefit from recovering materials and energy exceeds the negative consequences of irresponsible disposal. One outcome of this may be widespread misunderstanding of the need for recycling. Furthermore, framing public communication on recycling in terms of avoiding negative consequences, as is essentially universal, may not convey an appropriate message. The issue is particularly important where the consumer regards products as relatively disposable and environmentally benign, and/or where the "null option" of retaining the product at end-of-life is especially prevalent. The paper highlights the implications of all these issues for policy-makers, waste collectors and recyclers, and consumers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Negativity bias and task motivation: testing the effectiveness of positively versus negatively framed incentives.

PubMed

Goldsmith, Kelly; Dhar, Ravi

2013-12-01

People are frequently challenged by goals that demand effort and persistence. As a consequence, philosophers, psychologists, economists, and others have studied the factors that enhance task motivation. Using a sample of undergraduate students and a sample of working adults, we demonstrate that the manner in which an incentive is framed has implications for individuals' task motivation. In both samples we find that individuals are less motivated when an incentive is framed as a means to accrue a gain (positive framing) as compared with when the same incentive is framed as a means to avoid a loss (negative framing). Further, we provide evidence for the role of the negativity bias in this effect, and highlight specific populations for whom positive framing may be least motivating. Interestingly, we find that people's intuitions about when they will be more motivated show the opposite pattern, with people predicting that positively framed incentives will be more motivating than negatively framed incentives. We identify a lay belief in the positive correlation between enjoyment and task motivation as one possible factor contributing to the disparity between predicted and actual motivation as a result of the framing of the incentive. We conclude with a discussion of the managerial implications for these findings. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Quantum gravitational collapse as a Dirac particle on the half line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassan, Syed Moeez; Husain, Viqar; Ziprick, Jonathan

2018-05-01

We show that the quantum dynamics of a thin spherical shell in general relativity is equivalent to the Coulomb-Dirac equation on the half line. The Hamiltonian has a one-parameter family of self-adjoint extensions with a discrete energy spectrum |E |m , where m is the rest mass of the shell and E is the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner mass. For sufficiently large m , the ground state energy level is negative. This suggests that classical positivity of energy does not survive quantization. The scattering states provide a realization of singularity avoidance. We speculate on the consequences of these results for black hole radiation.

Effects of Physical Exercise on Cognitive Functioning and Wellbeing: Biological and Psychological Benefits

PubMed Central

Mandolesi, Laura; Polverino, Arianna; Montuori, Simone; Foti, Francesca; Ferraioli, Giampaolo; Sorrentino, Pierpaolo; Sorrentino, Giuseppe

2018-01-01

Much evidence shows that physical exercise (PE) is a strong gene modulator that induces structural and functional changes in the brain, determining enormous benefit on both cognitive functioning and wellbeing. PE is also a protective factor for neurodegeneration. However, it is unclear if such protection is granted through modifications to the biological mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration or through better compensation against attacks. This concise review addresses the biological and psychological positive effects of PE describing the results obtained on brain plasticity and epigenetic mechanisms in animal and human studies, in order to clarify how to maximize the positive effects of PE while avoiding negative consequences, as in the case of exercise addiction. PMID:29755380

Does habitual body avoidance and checking behavior influence the decrease of negative emotions during body exposure in eating disorders?

PubMed

Vocks, Silja; Kosfelder, Joachim; Wucherer, Maike; Wächter, Alexandra

2008-07-01

The aim of the present study was to assess whether habitual body avoidance and body-checking behavior influences the decrease of negative emotions during body exposure. Twenty-one eating-disordered female participants completed the Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire and the Body Checking Questionnaire. On another day, a 40-min body exposure session was conducted under standardized conditions. Every 10 min, negative emotions were assessed. It was shown that the extent of decrease in negative emotions during the body exposure session could be predicted by a lower degree of body checking. Results indicate that habitual checking behavior seems to negatively influence the effect of body exposure. Therefore, an adaptation of body exposure to patients with a higher degree of body-checking behavior might be promising.

The Systematic Use of Positive and Negative Consequences in Managing Classroom Encopresis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George, Thomas W.; And Others

1977-01-01

This study reports a successful classroom intervention program which was designed to curb encopresis. It used positive consequences in combination with negative consequences, rather than negative consequences alone. Also it utilized a reversal strategy to evalulate the efficacy of the treatment variables. (Author)

A Transient Dopamine Signal Represents Avoidance Value and Causally Influences the Demand to Avoid

PubMed Central

Pultorak, Katherine J.; Schelp, Scott A.; Isaacs, Dominic P.; Krzystyniak, Gregory

2018-01-01

Abstract While an extensive literature supports the notion that mesocorticolimbic dopamine plays a role in negative reinforcement, recent evidence suggests that dopamine exclusively encodes the value of positive reinforcement. In the present study, we employed a behavioral economics approach to investigate whether dopamine plays a role in the valuation of negative reinforcement. Using rats as subjects, we first applied fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) to determine that dopamine concentration decreases with the number of lever presses required to avoid electrical footshock (i.e., the economic price of avoidance). Analysis of the rate of decay of avoidance demand curves, which depict an inverse relationship between avoidance and increasing price, allows for inference of the worth an animal places on avoidance outcomes. Rapidly decaying demand curves indicate increased price sensitivity, or low worth placed on avoidance outcomes, while slow rates of decay indicate reduced price sensitivity, or greater worth placed on avoidance outcomes. We therefore used optogenetics to assess how inducing dopamine release causally modifies the demand to avoid electrical footshock in an economic setting. Increasing release at an avoidance predictive cue made animals more sensitive to price, consistent with a negative reward prediction error (i.e., the animal perceives they received a worse outcome than expected). Increasing release at avoidance made animals less sensitive to price, consistent with a positive reward prediction error (i.e., the animal perceives they received a better outcome than expected). These data demonstrate that transient dopamine release events represent the value of avoidance outcomes and can predictably modify the demand to avoid. PMID:29766047

Emotional valence and contextual affordances flexibly shape approach-avoidance movements

PubMed Central

Saraiva, Ana Carolina; Schüür, Friederike; Bestmann, Sven

2013-01-01

Behavior is influenced by the emotional content—or valence—of stimuli in our environment. Positive stimuli facilitate approach, whereas negative stimuli facilitate defensive actions such as avoidance (flight) and attack (fight). Facilitation of approach or avoidance movements may also be influenced by whether it is the self that moves relative to a stimulus (self-reference) or the stimulus that moves relative to the self (object-reference), adding flexibility and context-dependence to behavior. Alternatively, facilitation of approach avoidance movements may happen in a pre-defined and muscle-specific way, whereby arm flexion is faster to approach positive (e.g., flexing the arm brings a stimulus closer) and arm extension faster to avoid negative stimuli (e.g., extending the arm moves the stimulus away). While this allows for relatively fast responses, it may compromise the flexibility offered by contextual influences. Here we asked under which conditions approach-avoidance actions are influenced by contextual factors (i.e., reference-frame). We manipulated the reference-frame in which actions occurred by asking participants to move a symbolic manikin (representing the self) toward or away from a positive or negative stimulus, and move a stimulus toward or away from the manikin. We also controlled for the type of movements used to approach or avoid in each reference. We show that the reference-frame influences approach-avoidance actions to emotional stimuli, but additionally we find muscle-specificity for negative stimuli in self-reference contexts. We speculate this muscle-specificity may be a fast and adaptive response to threatening stimuli. Our results confirm that approach-avoidance behavior is flexible and reference-frame dependent, but can be muscle-specific depending on the context and valence of the stimulus. Reference-frame and stimulus-evaluation are key factors in guiding approach-avoidance behavior toward emotional stimuli in our environment. PMID:24379794

Negative mood regulation expectancies moderate the relationship between psychological abuse and avoidant coping.

PubMed

Shepherd-McMullen, Cassandra; Mearns, Jack; Stokes, Julie E; Mechanic, Mindy B

2015-05-01

This study explored the relationships among psychological abuse, attitudes about intimate partner violence (IPV), negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE), and coping. Participants were 126 female college students in dating, cohabitating, or married relationships within the previous year. In one single session, they completed self-report scales measuring IPV, NMRE, and coping. Results indicated that women reporting higher levels of psychological abuse reported less negative attitudes toward IPV, engaged in less-active coping responses, and had lower NMRE. Psychological abuse was a significant predictor of avoidant coping, while NMRE significantly predicted both active and avoidant coping. In addition, the interaction of NMRE × Psychological abuse added incremental prediction of avoidant coping. Implications for research and practice are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

The Moderating Effect of Interaction Avoidance Between Abusive Supervision and Subordinates' Job Promotions.

PubMed

Peltokorpi, Vesa

2017-10-03

While abusive supervision is shown to have negative stress-related effects on targets, less is known about the factors capable of mitigating these negative effects and their career-related outcomes. In this paper, we drew on the transactional model of stress and coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1986) and the upward mobility theory (Turner, 1960) to explore the moderating effect of subordinates' interaction avoidance between abusive supervision and job promotions. To test this moderating effect, we collected data from 604 full-time employees at three points in time over a 12-month time period in Japan. The findings suggest that interaction avoidance moderates the relationship between abusive supervision and promotions, such that this relationship will be less negative as interaction avoidance increases.

Experimental modification of interpretation bias about animal fear in young children: effects on cognition, avoidance behavior, anxiety vulnerability, and physiological responding.

PubMed

Lester, Kathryn J; Field, Andy P; Muris, Peter

2011-01-01

This study investigated the effects of experimentally modifying interpretation biases for children's cognitions, avoidance behavior, anxiety vulnerability, and physiological responding. Sixty-seven children (6-11 years) were randomly assigned to receive a positive or negative interpretation bias modification procedure to induce interpretation biases toward or away from threat about ambiguous situations involving Australian marsupials. Children rapidly learned to select outcomes of ambiguous situations, which were congruent with their assigned condition. Furthermore, following positive modification, children's threat biases about novel ambiguous situations significantly decreased, whereas threat biases significantly increased after negative modification. In response to a stress-evoking behavioral avoidance test, positive modification attenuated behavioral avoidance compared to negative modification. However, no significant effects of bias modification on anxiety vulnerability or physiological responses to this stress-evoking Behavioral Avoidance Task were observed.

Pain coping strategies: Neonatal intensive care unit survivors in adolescence.

PubMed

van Ganzewinkel, Christ-Jan; Been, Jasper V; Dieleman, Jeanne P; Katgert, Titia; Boelen-van der Loo, Tera; van der Pal, Sylvia M; van Dijk, Monique; Kramer, Boris W; Andriessen, Peter

2016-12-01

Data on long-term consequences of preterm birth on pain coping later in life are limited. To assess whether gestational age, birth weight and neonatal disease severity have effect on pain coping style in adolescents born preterm or with low birth weight. Observational, longitudinal study (Project On Preterm and SGA-infants, POPS-19). We analyzed data of 537 adolescents at the age of 19 years, who were born at a gestational age <32 weeks or with a birth weight <1500g. Participants completed the pain coping questionnaire (PCQ) that assesses pain coping strategies in three higher-order factors: approach ("to deal with pain"), problem-focused avoidance ("to disengage from pain") and emotion-focused avoidance ("expression of pain"). Furthermore, their pain coping effectiveness, pain controllability and emotional reactions to pain were assessed. All participants completed an IQ test. Univariate analysis showed no significant correlation between length of stay, sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis and any of the higher-order factors. Approach was only correlated with IQ. Problem-focused avoidance was, in the multiple regression analysis (including gestational age, IVH and IQ), only correlated with IQ. For emotion-focused avoidance (including birth weight, SGA, IVH, respiratory support and IQ) three independent predictors remained: IVH was positively correlated, while respiratory support and IQ were negatively correlated with emotion-focused avoidance. Early neonatal characteristics and neonatal disease severity have limited effect on pain coping style in adolescence. Higher IQ was associated with the use of adaptive coping strategies, while maladaptive strategies were used less. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Juvenile social defeat stress exposure persistently impairs social behaviors and neurogenesis.

PubMed

Mouri, Akihiro; Ukai, Mayu; Uchida, Mizuki; Hasegawa, Sho; Taniguchi, Masayuki; Ito, Takahiro; Hida, Hirotake; Yoshimi, Akira; Yamada, Kiyofumi; Kunimoto, Shohko; Ozaki, Norio; Nabeshima, Toshitaka; Noda, Yukihiro

2018-05-01

Adverse juvenile experiences, including physical abuse, often have negative health consequences later in life. We investigated the influence of social defeat stress exposure as juveniles on neuropsychological behaviors, and the causal role of glucocorticoids in abnormal behaviors and impairment of neurogenesis in mice exposed to the stress. The juvenile (24-day-old) and adult (70-day-old) male C57BL/6J mice were exposed to social defeat stress induced by an aggressive ICR mouse. Social defeat stress exposure as juveniles, even for 1 day, induced persistent social avoidance to the unfamiliar ICR mouse in the social interaction test, but that was not observed in mice exposed to the stress as adults. Social avoidance by the stress exposure as juveniles for 10 consecutive days was observed, when the target mouse was not only unfamiliar ICR but also another C57BL/J mouse, but not an absent or an anesthetized ICR mouse. The stress exposure did not induce anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in spontaneous locomotor activity, elevated plus-maze test, marble-burying test, forced swimming test, or sucrose preference test. Serum corticosterone levels increased immediately after the stress exposure. The hippocampal neurogenesis was suppressed 1 day and 4 weeks after the stress exposure. Administration of mifepristone, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, prior to each stress exposure, blocked the persistent social avoidance and suppression of neurogenesis. In conclusion, social avoidance induced by social defeat stress exposure as juveniles are more persistent than that as adults. These social avoidances are associated with suppression of hippocampal neurogenesis via glucocorticoid receptors. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Positive and Negative Perceived Consequences of First Intercourse among Middle and High School Students in Puebla, Mexico

PubMed Central

Vasilenko, Sara A.; Espinosa-Hernandez, Graciela; Halgunseth, Linda C.

2016-01-01

Relatively little is known about young people’s interpretations of sexual behaviour in Latin America. In this study, we examine the most commonly perceived consequences of first sexual intercourse among Mexican middle and high school students, how perceived consequences differ by gender, and factors that may predict experiencing more positive or negative consequences. Sexually active Mexican students aged 12–19 years (N = 268) reported whether they had experienced each of 19 consequences following first intercourse. Both positive consequences, such as physical satisfaction and closeness to partner, and negative consequences, such as worry about STDs and pregnancy, were common. Sex with a non-relationship partner was associated with fewer positive and more negative consequences, with the effect for positive consequences being stronger for young women. Pressure to have sex was associated with fewer positive consequences of first intercourse, and pressure to remain a virgin was associated with more positive and negative consequences. These findings suggest that young people often report mixed feelings about their first sexual intercourse, and that relationship context and sexual socialisation influence their perceptions of the event. PMID:26529235

Survival and quality of life in burns.

PubMed

Königová, R

2010-07-01

Advances in medical technology and practices have been associated with increasing medical specialization, but they have developed at a price. This price has included not only enormous financial costs, but the additional cost of dehumanized patient care, diminished confidence in the medical staff and, consequently, human suffering. Burn injuries are catastrophic in scope and require specialized, intensive and prolonged treatment from which ensure ethical and psychological problems often complicated by many individual factors. Some of them arising from the Code of Patients Rights not only in the Czech Republic and contribute to DNR decisions (do-not-resuscitate). Not only "Quantity" of life but also "Quality" of life should be considered, particularly in burns. Critical factor is age. In old patients more sophisticated medical knowledge and practice may actually contribute to suffering. At any age scarring represents a special type of disfigurement. The "burn image" is more likely to evoke public avoidance than sympathy. The non handicapped by their negative attitudes help create and perpetuate the handicap and the consequent burden of suffering in burn patients.

Men's and women's reports of pretending orgasm.

PubMed

Muehlenhard, Charlene L; Shippee, Sheena K

2010-11-01

Research shows that many women pretend or "fake" orgasm, but little is known about whether men pretend orgasm. The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) whether, how, and why men pretend orgasm and (b) what men's and women's reports of pretending orgasm reveal about their sexual scripts and the functions of orgasms within these scripts. Participants were 180 male and 101 female college students; 85% of the men and 68% of the women had experienced penile-vaginal intercourse (PVI). Participants completed a qualitative questionnaire anonymously. Both men (25%) and women (50%) reported pretending orgasm (28% and 67%, respectively, for PVI-experienced participants). Most pretended during PVI, but some pretended during oral sex, manual stimulation, and phone sex. Frequently reported reasons were that orgasm was unlikely, they wanted sex to end, and they wanted to avoid negative consequences (e.g., hurting their partner's feelings) and to obtain positive consequences (e.g., pleasing their partner). Results suggest a sexual script in which women should orgasm before men, and men are responsible for women's orgasms.

Uncertainty and research needs for supplementing wild populations of anadromous Pacific salmon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reisenbichler, R.R.

2005-01-01

Substantial disagreement and uncertainty attend the question of whether the benefits from supplementing wild populations of anadromous salmonids with hatchery fish outweigh the risks. Prudent decisions about supplementation are most likely when the suite of potential benefits and hazards and the various sources of uncertainty are explicitly identified. Models help by indicating the potential consequences of various levels of supplementation but perhaps are most valuable for showing the limitations of available data and helping design studies and monitoring to provide critical data. Information and understanding about the issue are deficient. I discuss various benefits, hazards, and associated uncertainties for supplementation, and implications for the design of monitoring and research. Several studies to reduce uncertainty and facilitate prudent supplementation are described and range from short-term reductionistic studies that help define the issue or help avoid deleterious consequences from supplementation to long-term studies (ca. 10 or more fish generations) that evaluate the net result of positive and negative genetic, behavioral, and ecological effects from supplementation.

Service without a smile: comparing the consequences of neutral and positive display rules.

PubMed

Trougakos, John P; Jackson, Christine L; Beal, Daniel J

2011-03-01

We used an experimental design to examine the intrapersonal and interpersonal processes through which neutral display rules, compared to positive display rules, influence objective task performance of poll workers and ratings provided by survey respondents of the poll workers. Student participants (N = 140) were trained to adhere to 1 of the 2 display rule conditions while delivering opinion surveys to potential patrons of an organization during a 40-min period. Results showed that, compared to positive display rules, neutral display rules resulted in less task persistence and greater avoidance behavior. These effects were mediated through a greater use of expression suppression. In addition, neutral display rules resulted in less positive respondent mood, which accounted for lower ratings of service quality and of overall favorability attitudes toward the sponsoring organization. The importance and ubiquity of neutral display rules are discussed, given the potential for positive and negative consequences at work. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Evidence of hypoxic foraging forays by yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and potential consequences for prey consumption

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roberts, James J.; Grecay, Paul A.; Ludsin, Stuart A.; Pothoven, Steve A.; Vanderploeg, Henry A.; Höök, Tomas O.

2012-01-01

Previous studies in a variety of ecosystems have shown that ecologically and economically important benthic and bentho-pelagic fishes avoid hypoxic (−1) habitats by moving vertically or horizontally to more oxygenated areas. While avoidance of hypoxic conditions generally leads to a complete shift away from preferred benthic prey, some individual fish continue to consume benthic prey items in spite of bottom hypoxia, suggesting complex habitat utilisation and foraging patterns. For example, Lake Erie yellow perch (Perca flavescens) continue to consume benthic prey, despite being displaced vertically and horizontally by hypolimnetic hypoxia. We hypothesised that hypolimnetic hypoxia can negatively affect yellow perch by altering their distribution and inducing energetically expensive foraging behaviour. To test this hypothesis, we used drifting hydroacoustics and trawl sampling to quantify water column distribution, sub-daily vertical movement and foraging behaviour of yellow perch within hypoxic and normoxic habitats of Lake Erie’s central basin during August-September 2007. We also investigated the effects of rapid changes in ambient oxygen conditions on yellow perch consumption potential by exposing yellow perch to various static and fluctuating oxygen conditions in a controlled laboratory experiment. Our results indicate that, while yellow perch in general avoid hypoxic conditions, some individuals undertake foraging forays into hypoxic habitats where they experience greater fluctuations in abiotic conditions (pressure, temperature and oxygen concentration) than at normoxic sites. However, laboratory results suggest short-term exposure to low oxygen conditions did not negatively impact consumption potential of yellow perch. Detailed understanding of sub-daily individual behaviours may be crucial for determining interactive individual- and ecosystem-level effects of stressors such as hypoxia.

Decision making of heavy cannabis users on the Iowa Gambling Task: stronger association with THC of hair analysis than with personality traits of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire.

PubMed

Hermann, Derik; Leménager, Tagrid; Gelbke, Jan; Welzel, Helga; Skopp, Gisela; Mann, Karl

2009-01-01

It is unclear whether impairment in decision making, measured by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), in addiction is substance-induced or the consequence of personality structure. Analysis of the IGT, the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and cannabinoids in hair and urine were performed in 13 cannabis users and matched controls. Hair Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) correlated negatively with the last subtrial (cards 80-100) of the IGT (R = -0.67). In all participants (n = 26) the TPQ dimension, harm avoidance, correlated negatively with the total IGT score (R = -0.46). The last IGT-subtrial correlated with adventure seeking (R = 0.43), harm avoidance (R = -0.39) and reward dependence (R = -0.44). The last subtrial gives information on whether a participant has learned the IGT strategy. Multiple regression confirmed the impact of THC on the last subtrial, whereas TPQ personality traits did not additionally explain variance. Former indications of the IGT performance depending on the amount of cannabis consumed were replicated with an objective measurement of chronic cannabis consumption (hair THC). Multiple regression analysis argues for a stronger impact of chronic THC consumption than personality traits, but does not provide a causal relationship. Other factors (e.g. genetic) may also play a role. 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Exploring the role of positive and negative consequences in understanding perceptions and evaluations of individual drinking events

PubMed Central

Lee, Christine M.; Patrick, Megan E.; Neighbors, Clayton; Lewis, Melissa A.; Tollison, Sean J.; Larimer, Mary E.

2016-01-01

While research has established that drinking more alcohol is associated with experiencing more positive and negative alcohol-related consequences, less is known about how college students evaluate their drinking experiences. Evaluations of drinking events may vary with factors such as how much one drinks, which consequences one experiences, and the context (i.e., where and with whom) one drinks on a given occasion. This research used daily data (Level 2: N=166 students, 61% female; Level 1: N=848 person drinking days) to explore the relationship between quantity of alcohol consumed and experience of specific domains of positive and negative consequences and to examine how the experience of specific consequences related to overall evaluation of the drinking experience. Drinking on a given day was positively associated with experiencing more negative (social and personal) and more positive (image, fun/social, and relaxation) consequences. With respect to the formation of overall impressions, negative (social and personal) consequences were associated with less favorable evaluations whereas positive (image, fun/social, and relaxation) consequences were associated with more favorable evaluations of the drinking experience. Indirect effects analyses suggested that consequences (negative personal, negative social, positive fun/social, and positive relaxation) significantly mediated the relationship between drinking and overall evaluation at the daily level. These results underscore the importance of considering both positive and negative consequences in understanding students’ choices to drink and how they evaluate their experiences. PMID:20385445

The scare tactic: do fear appeals predict motivation and exam scores?

PubMed

Putwain, David; Remedios, Richard

2014-12-01

Prior to high-stakes exams, teachers use persuasive messages that highlight to students the possible consequences of failure. Such messages are known as fear appeals. This study examined whether fear appeals relate to self- and non-self-determined motivation and academic performance. Data were collected in 3 waves. Self-report data pertaining to perceived fear appeals were collected in the first wave, self-report data pertaining to self-determined motivation were collected in the second wave, and exam scores were collected in the third wave. An increased frequency of fear appeals and the appraisal of fear appeals as threatening predicted lower self-determined motivation but were largely unrelated to non-self-determined motivation. An increased frequency of fear appeals and the appraisal of fear appeals as threatening predicted lower examination performance that was partly mediated by lower self-determined motivation. These findings support a position derived from self-worth theory that the negative consequences of fear appeals arise from their focus on avoiding failure rather than their focus on extrinsic consequences. We suggest that teachers and instructors need to be aware how seemingly motivational statements can unwittingly promote lower self-determined motivation. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Exploring the roots of unintended safety threats associated with the introduction of hospital ePrescribing systems and candidate avoidance and/or mitigation strategies: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Mozaffar, Hajar; Cresswell, Kathrin M; Williams, Robin; Bates, David W; Sheikh, Aziz

2017-09-01

Hospital electronic prescribing (ePrescribing) systems offer a wide range of patient safety benefits. Like other hospital health information technology interventions, however, they may also introduce new areas of risk. Despite recent advances in identifying these risks, the development and use of ePrescribing systems is still leading to numerous unintended consequences, which may undermine improvement and threaten patient safety. These negative consequences need to be analysed in the design, implementation and use of these systems. We therefore aimed to understand the roots of these reported threats and identify candidate avoidance/mitigation strategies. We analysed a longitudinal, qualitative study of the implementation and adoption of ePrescribing systems in six English hospitals, each being conceptualised as a case study. Data included semistructured interviews, observations of implementation meetings and system use, and a collection of relevant documents. We analysed data first within and then across the case studies. Our dataset included 214 interviews, 24 observations and 18 documents. We developed a taxonomy of factors underlying unintended safety threats in: (1) suboptimal system design, including lack of support for complex medication administration regimens, lack of effective integration between different systems, and lack of effective automated decision support tools; (2) inappropriate use of systems-in particular, too much reliance on the system and introduction of workarounds; and (3) suboptimal implementation strategies resulting from partial roll-outs/dual systems and lack of appropriate training. We have identified a number of system and organisational strategies that could potentially avoid or reduce these risks. Imperfections in the design, implementation and use of ePrescribing systems can give rise to unintended consequences, including safety threats. Hospitals and suppliers need to implement short- and long-term strategies in terms of the technology and organisation to minimise the unintended safety risks. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Identifying attentional bias and emotional response after appearance-related stimuli exposure.

PubMed

Cho, Ara; Kwak, Soo-Min; Lee, Jang-Han

2013-01-01

The effect of media images has been regarded as a significant variable in the construction or in the activation of body images. Individuals who have a negative body image use avoidance coping strategies to minimize damage to their body image. We identified attentional biases and negative emotional responses following exposure to body stimuli. Female university students were divided into two groups based on their use of avoidance coping strategies (high-level group: high avoidance [HA]; low-group: low avoidance [LA]), and were assigned to two different conditions (exposure to thin body pictures, ET, and exposure to oversized body pictures, EO). Results showed that the HA group paid more attention to slim bodies and reported more negative emotions than the LA group, and that the EO had more negative effects than the ET. We suggest that HAs may attend more to slim bodies as a way of avoiding overweight bodies, influenced by social pressure, and in the search for a compensation of a positive emotional balance. However, attentional bias toward slim bodies can cause an upward comparison process, leading to increased body dissatisfaction, which is the main factor in the development of eating disorders (EDs). Therefore, altering avoidance coping strategies should be considered for people at risk of EDs.

Chronic exposure to WIN55,212-2 affects more potently spatial learning and memory in adolescents than in adult rats via a negative action on dorsal hippocampal neurogenesis.

PubMed

Abboussi, Oualid; Tazi, Abdelouahhab; Paizanis, Eleni; El Ganouni, Soumaya

2014-05-01

Several epidemiological studies show an increase in cannabis use among adolescents, especially in Morocco for being one of the major producers in the world. The neurobiological consequences of chronic cannabis use are still poorly understood. In addition, brain plasticity linked to ontogeny portrays adolescence as a period of vulnerability to the deleterious effects of drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate the behavioral neurogenic effects of chronic exposure to the cannabinoid agonist WIN55,212-2 during adolescence, by evaluating the emotional and cognitive performances, and the consequences on neurogenesis along the dorso-ventral axis of the hippocampus in adult rats. WIN55,212 was administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) once daily for 20 days to adolescent (27-30 PND) and adult Wistar rats (54-57 PND) at the dose of 1mg/kg. Following a 20 day washout period, emotional and cognitive functions were assessed by the Morris water maze test and the two-way active avoidance test. Twelve hours after, brains were removed and hippocampal neurogenesis was assessed using the doublecortin (DCX) as a marker for cell proliferation. Our results showed that chronic WIN55,212-2 treatment significantly increased thigmotaxis early in the training process whatever the age of treatment, induced spatial learning and memory deficits in adolescent but not adult rats in the Morris water maze test, while it had no significant effect in the active avoidance test during multitrial training in the shuttle box. In addition, the cognitive deficits assessed in adolescent rats were positively correlated to a decrease in the number of newly generated neurons in dorsal hippocampus. These data suggest that long term exposure to cannabinoids may affect more potently spatial learning and memory in adolescent compared to adult rats via a negative action on hippocampal plasticity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Protective behavioral strategies and negative alcohol-related consequences in college students.

PubMed

Araas, Teresa E; Adams, Troy B

2008-01-01

Alcohol abuse among college students is associated with a quality of life burden. The current study replicated and extended previous research on protective behavioral strategies (PBS) by examining relationships between PBS use and negative alcohol-related consequences. A national sample of 29,792 U.S. college students who completed the National College Health Assessment during spring 2004 was included. Using a retrospective analysis of cross-sectional data, relationships between PBS use and negative alcohol-related consequences were examined. Greater PBS use was associated with fewer negative alcohol-related consequences, while less frequent use of PBS was correlated with increased negative alcohol-related consequences. The current study findings strongly support expanded educational alcohol-intervention programs promoting greater PBS use aimed at reducing or completely alleviating negative alcohol-related consequences (e.g., BASICS, ASTP). Future research should further investigate such PBS-based intervention programs, examine the existence of latent PBS, and study use of combined PBS.

The positive bystander effect: passive bystanders increase helping in situations with high expected negative consequences for the helper.

PubMed

Fischer, Peter; Greitemeyer, Tobias

2013-01-01

The present field study investigated the interplay between the presence of a passive bystander (not present versus present) in a simulated bike theft and expected negative consequences (low versus high) in predicting intervention behavior when no physical victim is present. It was found that an additional bystander increases individual intervention in situations where the expected negative consequences for the helper in case of intervention were high (i.e., when the bike thief looks fierce) compared to situations where the expected negative consequences for the helper were low (i.e., when the bike thief does not look fierce). In contrast, no such effect for high vs. low expected negative consequences was observed when no additional bystander observed the critical situation. The results are discussed in light of previous laboratory findings on expected negative consequences and bystander intervention.

Planning and Assessing Stability Operations: A Proposed Value Focus Thinking Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

to avoid double -counting of possible consequences. 8... Taxes War Profiteering Arms Smuggling Grey Economy Avoidance of taxes Violation of regulations Smuggling Evasion of economic embargoes... Taxes War Profiteering Arms Smuggling Grey Economy Avoidance of taxes Violation of regulations Smuggling Evasion of economic embargoes

Attachment insecurity, biased perceptions of romantic partners' negative emotions, and hostile relationship behavior.

PubMed

Overall, Nickola C; Fletcher, Garth J O; Simpson, Jeffry A; Fillo, Jennifer

2015-05-01

In the current research, we tested the extent to which attachment insecurity produces inaccurate and biased perceptions of intimate partners' emotions and whether more negative perceptions of partners' emotions elicit the damaging behavior often associated with attachment insecurity. Perceptions of partners' emotions as well as partners' actual emotions were assessed multiple times in couples' conflict discussions (Study 1) and daily during a 3-week period in 2 independent samples (Study 2). Using partners' reports of their own emotional experiences as the accuracy benchmark, we simultaneously tested whether attachment insecurity was associated with the degree to which individuals (a) accurately detected shifts in their partners' negative emotions (tracking accuracy), and (b) perceived their partners were feeling more negative relationship-related emotions than they actually experienced (directional bias). Highly avoidant perceivers were equally accurate at tracking their partners' changing emotions compared to less avoidant individuals (tracking accuracy), but they overestimated the intensity of their partners' negative emotions to a greater extent than less avoidant individuals (directional bias). In addition, more negative perceptions of partners' emotions triggered more hostile and defensive behavior in highly avoidant perceivers both during conflict discussions (Study 1) and in daily life (Study 2). In contrast, attachment anxiety was not associated with tracking accuracy, directional bias, or hostile reactions to perceptions of their partners' negative emotions. These findings demonstrate the importance of assessing biased perceptions in actual relationship interactions and reveal that biased perceptions play an important role in activating the defenses of avoidantly attached people. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Perceived positive and negative consequences after surviving cancer and their relation to quality of life.

PubMed

Castellano-Tejedor, Carmina; Eiroa-Orosa, Francisco-José; Pérez-Campdepadrós, Marta; Capdevila, Lluís; Sánchez de Toledo, José; Blasco-Blasco, Tomás

2015-06-01

Surviving childhood cancer has multiple implications on both physical and psychological domains of the individual. However, its study and possible effects on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes of adolescent survivors has been understudied. The objective of this study was twofold; to assess positive and negative cancer-related consequences (psychosocial and physical) in a sample of adolescent cancer survivors and to explore their relationship with HRQoL outcomes. Forty-one participants answered two questions about positive and negative consequences in the aftermath of cancer and filled in the KIDSCREEN-52 self-reported version. Data were analysed using mixed methods approach. Overall, 87.8% of the studied sample identified positive consequences and 63.4% negative consequences in survivorship. Four positive categories and five negative categories with regard to cancer-related consequences were found. Changed perspectives in life narratives seem to be the positive consequence more related to HRQoL (physical well-being, mood & emotions, autonomy, social support & peers), followed by useful life experience (physical well-being, autonomy, social support & peers). Psychological impact was the most referred negative consequence with a significant detrimental effect on social support and peers HRQoL dimension. Even if the majority of survivors reported benefit finding in the aftermath of cancer, concomitant positive and negative consequences have been found. However, findings only reveal a significant relationship between positive narratives and HRQoL, and negative consequences do not seem to have a significant influence on overall HRQoL in survivorship. © 2015 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Physiological and Behavioral Mechanism for Leaf Herbivore-Induced Systemic Root Resistance1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Erb, Matthias; Robert, Christelle A.M.; Marti, Guillaume; Lu, Jing; Doyen, Gwladys R.; Villard, Neil; Barrière, Yves; Wolfender, Jean-Luc; Turlings, Ted C.J.

2015-01-01

Indirect plant-mediated interactions between herbivores are important drivers of community composition in terrestrial ecosystems. Among the most striking examples are the strong indirect interactions between spatially separated leaf- and root-feeding insects sharing a host plant. Although leaf feeders generally reduce the performance of root herbivores, little is known about the underlying systemic changes in root physiology and the associated behavioral responses of the root feeders. We investigated the consequences of maize (Zea mays) leaf infestation by Spodoptera littoralis caterpillars for the root-feeding larvae of the beetle Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, a major pest of maize. D. virgifera strongly avoided leaf-infested plants by recognizing systemic changes in soluble root components. The avoidance response occurred within 12 h and was induced by real and mimicked herbivory, but not wounding alone. Roots of leaf-infested plants showed altered patterns in soluble free and soluble conjugated phenolic acids. Biochemical inhibition and genetic manipulation of phenolic acid biosynthesis led to a complete disappearance of the avoidance response of D. virgifera. Furthermore, bioactivity-guided fractionation revealed a direct link between the avoidance response of D. virgifera and changes in soluble conjugated phenolic acids in the roots of leaf-attacked plants. Our study provides a physiological mechanism for a behavioral pattern that explains the negative effect of leaf attack on a root-feeding insect. Furthermore, it opens up the possibility to control D. virgifera in the field by genetically mimicking leaf herbivore-induced changes in root phenylpropanoid patterns. PMID:26430225

Pathological gambling and alcohol dependence: neural disturbances in reward and loss avoidance processing.

PubMed

Romanczuk-Seiferth, Nina; Koehler, Saskia; Dreesen, Caspar; Wüstenberg, Torsten; Heinz, Andreas

2015-05-01

Pathological gambling (PG) shares clinical characteristics such as craving and loss of control with substance use disorders and is thus considered a behavioral addiction. While functional alterations in the mesolimbic reward system have been correlated with craving and relapse in substance use disorders, only a few studies have examined this brain circuit in PG, and no direct comparison has been conducted so far. Thus, we investigated the neuronal correlates of reward processing in PG in contrast to alcohol-dependent (AD) patients and healthy subjects. Eighteen PG patients, 15 AD patients and 17 controls were investigated with a monetary incentive delay task, in which visual cues predict the consequence (monetary gain, avoidance of loss, none) of a fast response to a subsequent target stimulus. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were analyzed to account for possible confounding factors such as local gray matter volume. Activity in the right ventral striatum during loss anticipation was increased in PG patients compared with controls and AD patients. Moreover, PG patients showed decreased activation in the right ventral striatum and right medial prefrontal cortex during successful loss avoidance compared with controls, which was inversely associated with severity of gambling behavior. Thus, despite neurobiological similarities to substance use disorders in reward processing, as reported by previous studies, we found relevant differences with respect to the anticipation of loss as well as its avoidance (negative reinforcement), which further contributes to the understanding of PG. © 2014 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Thinking while drinking: Fear of negative evaluation predicts drinking behaviors of students with social anxiety.

PubMed

Villarosa-Hurlocker, Margo C; Whitley, Robert B; Capron, Daniel W; Madson, Michael B

2018-03-01

College students with social anxiety disorder experience more alcohol-related negative consequences, regardless of the amount of alcohol they consume. Social anxiety refers to psychological distress and physiological arousal in social situations due to an excessive fear of negative evaluation by others. The current study examined within-group differences in alcohol-related negative consequences of students who met or exceeded clinically-indicated social anxiety symptoms. In particular, we tested a sequential mediation model of the cognitive (i.e., fear of negative evaluation) and behavioral (protective behavioral strategies) mechanisms for the link between social anxiety disorder subtypes (i.e., interaction and performance-type) and alcohol-related negative consequences. Participants were 412 traditional-age college student drinkers who met or exceeded the clinically-indicated threshold for social anxiety disorder and completed measures of fear of negative evaluation, protective behavioral strategies (controlled consumption and serious harm reduction), and alcohol-related negative consequences. Fear of negative evaluation and serious harm reduction strategies sequentially accounted for the relationship between interaction social anxiety disorder and alcohol-related negative consequences, such that students with more severe interaction social anxiety symptoms reported more fear of negative evaluation, which was related to more serious harm reduction strategies, which predicted fewer alcohol-related negative consequences. Future directions and implications are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A novel theory of experiential avoidance in generalized anxiety disorder: A review and synthesis of research supporting a contrast avoidance model of worry☆,☆☆

PubMed Central

Newman, Michelle G.; Llera, Sandra J.

2011-01-01

An important emphasis of the literature on generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has been to achieve a greater understanding of the function of emotion (e.g., avoidance, dysregulation) in the etiology and maintenance of this disorder. The purpose of the following paper is to propose a new way of conceptualizing emotional sequelae in GAD by detailing the Contrast Avoidance Model of Worry. In presenting this model, we review theory and data that led to our current position, which is that individuals with GAD are more sensitive to feeling emotionally vulnerable to unexpected negative events, and that worry (the key pathological feature of GAD) is employed to prolong and maintain a negative emotional state thereby avoiding an unexpected negative emotional shift, or contrast experience. We also discuss implications for treatment given the presence of a new target for emotional exposure techniques. Finally, we establish the Contrast Avoidance Model within the framework of extant theories and models of pathogenic processes of GAD. PMID:21334285

You may worry, but can you recognize threats when you see them?; Neuroticism, threat identifications, and negative affect.

PubMed

Tamir, Maya; Robinson, Michael D; Solberg, Emily Crawford

2006-10-01

The present studies sought to investigate the hedonic consequences of threat-identification skills at low and high levels of neuroticism. Such skills were assessed in terms of both speed (Study 1) and accuracy (Study 2) of identifying threatening objects in cognitive tasks. As predicted, threat-identification skills interacted with trait neuroticism in predicting subjective experiences. Specifically, individuals high in neuroticism experienced lower levels of negative affect during their everyday lives if they were also skilled in identifying threats in the cognitive tasks (Studies 1-2). Such skills did not matter at low levels of neuroticism. This interactive pattern was also replicated in the context of life domain satisfaction (Study 2). The results support the view that avoidance motivation encompasses multiple component processes, including some that are cognitive in nature, and specifically extends self-regulatory views of neuroticism. Of most importance, our data indicate that threat-identification skills can be hedonically beneficial, rather than costly, at high levels of neuroticism.

Association Between Anticipatory Grief and Problem Solving Among Family Caregivers of Persons with Cognitive Impairment

PubMed Central

Fowler, Nicole R.; Hansen, Alexandra S.; Barnato, Amber E.; Garand, Linda

2013-01-01

Objective Measure perceived involvement in medical decision making and determine if anticipatory grief is associated with problem solving among family caregivers of older adults with cognitive impairment. Method Retrospective analysis of baseline data from a caregiver intervention (n=73). Multivariable regression models testing the association between caregivers’ anticipatory grief, measured by the Anticipatory Grief Scale (AGS), with problem solving abilities, measured by the Social Problem Solving Inventory – Revised: Short Form (SPSI-R: S). Results 47/73 (64%) of caregivers reported involvement in medical decision making. Mean AGS was 70.1 (± 14.8) and mean SPSI-R:S was 107.2 (± 11.6). Higher AGS scores were associated with lower positive problem orientation (P=0.041) and higher negative problem orientation scores (P=0.001) but not other components of problem solving- rational problem solving, avoidance style, and impulsivity/carelessness style. Discussion Higher anticipatory grief among family caregivers impaired problem solving, which could have negative consequences for their medical decision making responsibilities. PMID:23428394

Impact of climate change on crop yield and role of model for achieving food security.

PubMed

Kumar, Manoj

2016-08-01

In recent times, several studies around the globe indicate that climatic changes are likely to impact the food production and poses serious challenge to food security. In the face of climate change, agricultural systems need to adapt measures for not only increasing food supply catering to the growing population worldwide with changing dietary patterns but also to negate the negative environmental impacts on the earth. Crop simulation models are the primary tools available to assess the potential consequences of climate change on crop production and informative adaptive strategies in agriculture risk management. In consideration with the important issue, this is an attempt to provide a review on the relationship between climate change impacts and crop production. It also emphasizes the role of crop simulation models in achieving food security. Significant progress has been made in understanding the potential consequences of environment-related temperature and precipitation effect on agricultural production during the last half century. Increased CO2 fertilization has enhanced the potential impacts of climate change, but its feasibility is still in doubt and debates among researchers. To assess the potential consequences of climate change on agriculture, different crop simulation models have been developed, to provide informative strategies to avoid risks and understand the physical and biological processes. Furthermore, they can help in crop improvement programmes by identifying appropriate future crop management practises and recognizing the traits having the greatest impact on yield. Nonetheless, climate change assessment through model is subjected to a range of uncertainties. The prediction uncertainty can be reduced by using multimodel, incorporating crop modelling with plant physiology, biochemistry and gene-based modelling. For devloping new model, there is a need to generate and compile high-quality field data for model testing. Therefore, assessment of agricultural productivity to sustain food security for generations is essential to maintain a collective knowledge and resources for preventing negative impact as well as managing crop practises.

Indecision and avoidant procrastination: the role of morningness-eveningness and time perspective in chronic delay lifestyles.

PubMed

Díaz-Morales, Juan Francisco; Ferrari, Joseph R; Cohen, Joseph R

2008-07-01

The authors examined how time orientation and morningness-eveningness relate to 2 forms of procrastination: indecision and avoidant forms. Participants were 509 adults (M age = 49.78 years, SD = 6.14) who completed measures of time orientation, morningness-eveningness, decisional procrastination (i.e., indecision), and avoidant procrastination. Results showed that morningness was negatively related to avoidant procrastination but not decisional procrastination. Overall, the results indicated different temporal profiles for indecision and avoidant procrastinations. Avoidant procrastination related to low future time orientation and low morningness, whereas indecision related to both (a) high negative and high positive past orientations and (b) low present-hedonistic and low future time orientations. The authors inferred that distinct forms of procrastination seem different on the basis of dimensions of time.

Extinction of avoidance behavior by safety learning depends on endocannabinoid signaling in the hippocampus.

PubMed

Micale, Vincenzo; Stepan, Jens; Jurik, Angela; Pamplona, Fabricio A; Marsch, Rudolph; Drago, Filippo; Eder, Matthias; Wotjak, Carsten T

2017-07-01

The development of exaggerated avoidance behavior is largely responsible for the decreased quality of life in patients suffering from anxiety disorders. Studies using animal models have contributed to the understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying the acquisition of avoidance responses. However, much less is known about its extinction. Here we provide evidence in mice that learning about the safety of an environment (i.e., safety learning) rather than repeated execution of the avoided response in absence of negative consequences (i.e., response extinction) allowed the animals to overcome their avoidance behavior in a step-down avoidance task. This process was context-dependent and could be blocked by pharmacological (3 mg/kg, s.c.; SR141716) or genetic (lack of cannabinoid CB1 receptors in neurons expressing dopamine D1 receptors) inactivation of CB1 receptors. In turn, the endocannabinoid reuptake inhibitor AM404 (3 mg/kg, i.p.) facilitated safety learning in a CB1-dependent manner and attenuated the relapse of avoidance behavior 28 days after conditioning. Safety learning crucially depended on endocannabinoid signaling at level of the hippocampus, since intrahippocampal SR141716 treatment impaired, whereas AM404 facilitated safety learning. Other than AM404, treatment with diazepam (1 mg/kg, i.p.) impaired safety learning. Drug effects on behavior were directly mirrored by drug effects on evoked activity propagation through the hippocampal trisynaptic circuit in brain slices: As revealed by voltage-sensitive dye imaging, diazepam impaired whereas AM404 facilitated activity propagation to CA1 in a CB1-dependent manner. In line with this, systemic AM404 enhanced safety learning-induced expression of Egr1 at level of CA1. Together, our data render it likely that AM404 promotes safety learning by enhancing information flow through the trisynaptic circuit to CA1. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Animal models of extinction-induced depression: loss of reward and its consequences.

PubMed

Huston, Joseph P; Silva, Maria A de Souza; Komorowski, Mara; Schulz, Daniela; Topic, Bianca

2013-11-01

The absence or loss of rewards or reinforcers holds a major role in the development of depression in humans. In spite of the prevalence of extinction-induced depression (EID) in humans, few attempts have been made to establish animal models thereof. Here we present the concept of extinction-related depression and summarize the results of two sets of studies in our attempt to create animal models of EID, one set based on extinction after positive reinforcement in the Skinner-box, the other on extinction after negative reinforcement - escape from water. We found various behaviors emitted during the extinction trials that responded to treatment with antidepressant drugs: Accordingly, the important behavioral marker for EID during extinction of escape from the water was immobility. During extinction after positive reinforcement the important indices for extinction-induced depression are the withdrawal from the former site of reward, biting behavior and rearing up on the hind legs. Avoidance behavior and biting may model aspects of human depressive behavior, which may include withdrawal or avoidance as well as aggressive-like behaviors. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bridging the gap between the clinician and the patient with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes.

PubMed

Cantarini, L; Lucherini, O M; Frediani, B; Brizi, M G; Bartolomei, B; Cimaz, R; Galeazzi, M; Rigante, D

2011-01-01

Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes are categorized as a spectrum of three autoinflammatory diseases, namely familial cold auto-inflammatory syndrome, Muckle-Wells syndrome and chronic infantile neurological cutaneous articular syndrome. All are caused by mutations in the NLRP3 gene coding for cryopyrin and result in active interleukin-1 release: their rarity and shared clinical indicators involving skin, joints, central nervous system and eyes often mean that correct diagnosis is delayed. Onset occurs early in childhood, and life-long therapy with interleukin-1 blocking agents usually leads to tangible clinical remission and inflammatory marker normalization in a large number of patients, justifying the need to facilitate early diagnosis and thus avoid irreversible negative consequences for tissues and organs.

Depression and anxiety mediate the relationship between temperament and character and psychotic-like experiences in healthy subjects.

PubMed

Prochwicz, Katarzyna; Gawęda, Łukasz

2016-12-30

In this study we examined the hypothesis that depression and anxiety may mediate the relationship between personality traits and both positive and negative psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in healthy adults. The Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) scale, Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were administered to 492 healthy individuals. Multiple stepwise regression and mediation analyses were performed to examine whether depressive and anxiety symptoms influence the relationship between the TCI dimensions and positive and negative PLEs. Self-transcendence, persistence, novelty-seeking and self-directedness significantly predicted positive PLEs; self-directedness and harm avoidance were predictable for negative PLEs. Self-transcendence, self-directedness, persistence and harm avoidance also predicted the distress caused by positive PLEs, whereas self-directedness and harm avoidance predicted distress raised by negative PLEs. Depressive symptoms and the state of anxiety partially mediated the linkage between self-directedness and positive PLEs, and between self-directedness, harm avoidance and negative PLEs. Our findings confirm that the personality pattern influences both positive and negative PLEs as well as distress caused by experiencing positive and negative PLEs, and they indicate that certain personality traits may influence the development of PLEs via the emotional pathway of heightened depression and anxiety. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attachment priming and avoidant personality features as predictors of social-evaluation biases.

PubMed

Bowles, David P; Meyer, Björn

2008-02-01

Personality research has shown that negativity in social situations (e.g., negative evaluations of others) can be reduced by the activation of participants' sense of attachment security. Individuals with avoidant personality disorder (APD), however, are theoretically less responsive to context or situational cues because of the inflexible nature of their personality disposition. This idea of individual differences in context-responsiveness was tested in a sample of 169 undergraduates who were assessed for APD features and assigned to positive, negative, or neutral attachment priming conditions. More pronounced APD features were associated with more negative responses to vignettes describing potentially distressing social situations. A significant interaction showed that participants with more avoidant features consistently appraised the vignettes relatively more negatively, regardless of priming condition. Those without APD features, by contrast, did not exhibit negative appraisals/evaluations unless negatively primed (curvilinear effect). This effect could not be explained by depression, current mood, or attachment insecurity, all of which related to negative evaluative biases, but none of which related to situation inflexibility. These findings provide empirical support for the notion that negative information-processing is unusually inflexible and context-unresponsive among individuals with more pronounced features of APD.

Beliefs about Emotions, Depression, Anxiety and Fatigue: A Mediational Analysis.

PubMed

Sydenham, Mia; Beardwood, Jennifer; Rimes, Katharine A

2017-01-01

Beliefs that it is unacceptable to experience or express negative emotions have been found to be associated with various clinical problems. It is unclear how such beliefs, which could be viewed as a form of unhelpful perfectionism about emotions, may contribute to symptomatology. This study investigated two hypotheses: a) greater endorsement of beliefs about the unacceptability of negative emotions will be associated with greater emotional avoidance and lower levels of support-seeking and self-compassion; b) these beliefs about emotions will be associated with higher levels of symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue and that this relationship will be mediated by social support-seeking, emotional avoidance and self-compassion. Online questionnaires were completed by 451 community participants. Mediational analyses were undertaken to investigate emotional avoidance, social support-seeking and self-compassion as mediators of the relationship between beliefs about emotions and symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue. Beliefs about the unacceptability of negative emotions were significantly associated with more emotional avoidance and less self-compassion and support-seeking. The relationships between beliefs about emotions and depression, anxiety and fatigue were significantly mediated by self-compassion and emotional avoidance but not social support-seeking. Future research should investigate whether interventions that pay particular attention to emotional avoidance and self-compassion, such as mindfulness-based therapy or modified forms of CBT, may be beneficial in reducing distress and fatigue associated with beliefs about the unacceptability of negative emotions.

Psychopathic individuals exhibit but do not avoid regret during counterfactual decision making.

PubMed

Baskin-Sommers, Arielle; Stuppy-Sullivan, Allison M; Buckholtz, Joshua W

2016-12-13

Psychopathy is associated with persistent antisocial behavior and a striking lack of regret for the consequences of that behavior. Although explanatory models for psychopathy have largely focused on deficits in affective responsiveness, recent work indicates that aberrant value-based decision making may also play a role. On that basis, some have suggested that psychopathic individuals may be unable to effectively use prospective simulations to update action value estimates during cost-benefit decision making. However, the specific mechanisms linking valuation, affective deficits, and maladaptive decision making in psychopathy remain unclear. Using a counterfactual decision-making paradigm, we found that individuals who scored high on a measure of psychopathy were as or more likely than individuals low on psychopathy to report negative affect in response to regret-inducing counterfactual outcomes. However, despite exhibiting intact affective regret sensitivity, they did not use prospective regret signals to guide choice behavior. In turn, diminished behavioral regret sensitivity predicted a higher number of prior incarcerations, and moderated the relationship between psychopathy and incarceration history. These findings raise the possibility that maladaptive decision making in psychopathic individuals is not a consequence of their inability to generate or experience negative emotions. Rather, antisocial behavior in psychopathy may be driven by a deficit in the generation of forward models that integrate information about rules, costs, and goals with stimulus value representations to promote adaptive behavior.

Moral Distress, Workplace Health, and Intrinsic Harm.

PubMed

Weber, Elijah

2016-05-01

Moral distress is now being recognized as a frequent experience for many health care providers, and there's good evidence that it has a negative impact on the health care work environment. However, contemporary discussions of moral distress have several problems. First, they tend to rely on inadequate characterizations of moral distress. As a result, subsequent investigations regarding the frequency and consequences of moral distress often proceed without a clear understanding of the phenomenon being discussed, and thereby risk substantially misrepresenting the nature, frequency, and possible consequences of moral distress. These discussions also minimize the intrinsically harmful aspects of moral distress. This is a serious omission. Moral distress doesn't just have a negative impact on the health care work environment; it also directly harms the one who experiences it. In this paper, I claim that these problems can be addressed by first clarifying our understanding of moral distress, and then identifying what makes moral distress intrinsically harmful. I begin by identifying three common mistakes that characterizations of moral distress tend to make, and explaining why these mistakes are problematic. Next, I offer an account of moral distress that avoids these mistakes. Then, I defend the claim that moral distress is intrinsically harmful to the subject who experiences it. I conclude by explaining how acknowledging this aspect of moral distress should reshape our discussions about how best to deal with this phenomenon. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Fiscal policy and tobacco control: a unique opportunity to benefit public health and the public treasury].

PubMed

Armendares, Pedro Enrique; Reynales Shigematsu, Luz Miriam

2006-01-01

Various studies and analyses show that an increase in tobacco prices through taxation is one of the most efficient tools in the application of integral policies in the fight against tobacco. Increases in taxes contribute to cessation, to reductions in consumption and in the number of deaths among addicts and to decrease the number of people who start to smoke. However, many governments hesitate to apply high taxes to tobacco for fear of possible negative economic results including loss of jobs and a decrease in fiscal revenue as a consequence of smuggling. Both literature and empirical experience indicate that these negative consequences do not occur or have been overestimated, often due to arguments promoted by the tobacco industry itself. Increases in tobacco taxes result in greater fiscal income, even in the presence of smuggling, which can be confronted without eroding tobacco control policies. Numerous countries, including Mexico, still have a wide margin for increasing tobacco taxes, and thereby to take advantage of an exceptional opportunity that benefits both the population's health and the public treasury. To do so, governments must stand up to the powerful tobacco industry, which is aware of the efficiency of taxes to combat tobacco use and therefore resorts to intense ad campaigns, political lobbying and negotiation of voluntary agreements for "self-regulation" in order to avoid stricter legislative or fiscal measures.

Psychopathic individuals exhibit but do not avoid regret during counterfactual decision making

PubMed Central

Baskin-Sommers, Arielle; Stuppy-Sullivan, Allison M.; Buckholtz, Joshua W.

2016-01-01

Psychopathy is associated with persistent antisocial behavior and a striking lack of regret for the consequences of that behavior. Although explanatory models for psychopathy have largely focused on deficits in affective responsiveness, recent work indicates that aberrant value-based decision making may also play a role. On that basis, some have suggested that psychopathic individuals may be unable to effectively use prospective simulations to update action value estimates during cost–benefit decision making. However, the specific mechanisms linking valuation, affective deficits, and maladaptive decision making in psychopathy remain unclear. Using a counterfactual decision-making paradigm, we found that individuals who scored high on a measure of psychopathy were as or more likely than individuals low on psychopathy to report negative affect in response to regret-inducing counterfactual outcomes. However, despite exhibiting intact affective regret sensitivity, they did not use prospective regret signals to guide choice behavior. In turn, diminished behavioral regret sensitivity predicted a higher number of prior incarcerations, and moderated the relationship between psychopathy and incarceration history. These findings raise the possibility that maladaptive decision making in psychopathic individuals is not a consequence of their inability to generate or experience negative emotions. Rather, antisocial behavior in psychopathy may be driven by a deficit in the generation of forward models that integrate information about rules, costs, and goals with stimulus value representations to promote adaptive behavior. PMID:27911790

Predictors of Health Behavior from a Behavior-Analytic Orientation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birkimer, John C.; And Others

1996-01-01

Discovers a high correlation between positive emotional states, supportive self talk, and specific healthy behaviors in college students. The correlated health behaviors were vigorous exercise, mild exercise, seat belts, and avoidance of alcohol and junk food. Considers the impact of negative self talk on the avoidance of negative behavior. (MJP)

Hemispheric Asymmetries in Striatal Reward Responses Relate to Approach-Avoidance Learning and Encoding of Positive-Negative Prediction Errors in Dopaminergic Midbrain Regions.

PubMed

Aberg, Kristoffer Carl; Doell, Kimberly C; Schwartz, Sophie

2015-10-28

Some individuals are better at learning about rewarding situations, whereas others are inclined to avoid punishments (i.e., enhanced approach or avoidance learning, respectively). In reinforcement learning, action values are increased when outcomes are better than predicted (positive prediction errors [PEs]) and decreased for worse than predicted outcomes (negative PEs). Because actions with high and low values are approached and avoided, respectively, individual differences in the neural encoding of PEs may influence the balance between approach-avoidance learning. Recent correlational approaches also indicate that biases in approach-avoidance learning involve hemispheric asymmetries in dopamine function. However, the computational and neural mechanisms underpinning such learning biases remain unknown. Here we assessed hemispheric reward asymmetry in striatal activity in 34 human participants who performed a task involving rewards and punishments. We show that the relative difference in reward response between hemispheres relates to individual biases in approach-avoidance learning. Moreover, using a computational modeling approach, we demonstrate that better encoding of positive (vs negative) PEs in dopaminergic midbrain regions is associated with better approach (vs avoidance) learning, specifically in participants with larger reward responses in the left (vs right) ventral striatum. Thus, individual dispositions or traits may be determined by neural processes acting to constrain learning about specific aspects of the world. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/3514491-10$15.00/0.

How would I live with a disability? Expectations of bio-psychosocial consequences and assistive technology use.

PubMed

Parant, Aymeric; Schiano-Lomoriello, Sandrine; Marchan, Francis

2017-10-01

It is widely accepted that social dimensions are crucial when facing a disability. More specifically, a normative incentive to conceal one's disability, which can lead to abandonment of assistive technology devices (ATD), is often reported. This study seeks to examine this norm. The expected consequences of having a disability were measured using a sample of 549 able-bodied students from three groups. The results showed that the expected consequences of having a disability and therefore the descriptive norms associated with disability were less negative for the participants who were familiar with disability, but higher for sports students. Furthermore, the relation between objective and subjective consequences (having a disability and feeling disabled, respectively) and public and private use of ATD were modelled. The model shows that both higher objective and lower subjective consequences were linked to higher ATD use in public and, indirectly, in private. The present study contributes to the literature on the normative elements related to the use of ATD. Indeed, it shows that when a person makes his/her disability a part of him/herself, she/he is expected to hide it and therefore to avoid using ATD. However, this assessment proves to be context-dependent and calls for the implementation of handicap awareness programs. Implications for Rehabilitation If faced with a disability, expecting to feel disabled and expecting lower objective consequences are linked to lower ATD use. Expected ATD use in private seems to be related to ATD use in public but not to the expected consequences of the disability. Expectations and therefore social norms about having a disability are highly context-dependent which encourages the implementation of handicap awareness programs.

Affect and Craving: Positive and Negative Affect are Differentially Associated with Approach and Avoidance Inclinations

PubMed Central

Schlauch, Robert C.; Gwynn-Shapiro, Daniel; Stasiewicz, Paul R.; Molnar, Danielle S.; Lang, Alan R.

2012-01-01

Background Research on reactivity to alcohol and drug cues has either ignored affective state altogether or has focused rather narrowly on the role of negative affect in craving. Moreover, until recently, the relevant analyses of affect and craving have rarely addressed the ambivalence often associated with craving itself. The current study investigated how both negative and positive affect moderate approach and avoidance inclinations associated with cue-elicited craving in a clinical sample diagnosed with substance use disorders. Methods One hundred forty-four patients (age range 18–65, mean 42.0; n = 92 male) were recruited from an inpatient detoxification unit for substance abuse. Participants completed a baseline assessment of both positive and negative affect prior to completing a cue-reactivity paradigm for which they provided self-report ratings of inclinations to approach (use) and avoid (not use) alcohol, cigarettes, and non-psychoactive control substances (food and beverages). Results Participants with elevated negative affect reported significantly higher approach ratings for cigarette and alcohol cues, whereas those high in positive affect showed significantly higher levels of avoidance inclinations for both alcohol and cigarette cues and also significantly lower approach ratings for alcohol cues, all relative to control cues. Conclusions Results for negative affect are consistent with previous cue reactivity research, whereas results for positive affect are unique and call attention to its clinical potential for attenuating approach inclinations to substance use cues. Further, positive affect was related to both approach and avoidance inclinations, underscoring the utility of a multidimensional conceptualization of craving in the analysis. PMID:23380493

Affect and craving: positive and negative affect are differentially associated with approach and avoidance inclinations.

PubMed

Schlauch, Robert C; Gwynn-Shapiro, Daniel; Stasiewicz, Paul R; Molnar, Danielle S; Lang, Alan R

2013-04-01

Research on reactivity to alcohol and drug cues has either ignored affective state altogether or has focused rather narrowly on the role of negative affect in craving. Moreover, until recently, the relevant analyses of affect and craving have rarely addressed the ambivalence often associated with craving itself. The current study investigated how both negative and positive affect moderate approach and avoidance inclinations associated with cue-elicited craving in a clinical sample diagnosed with substance use disorders. One hundred forty-four patients (age range of 18-65, mean 42.0; n=92 males) were recruited from an inpatient detoxification unit for substance abuse. Participants completed a baseline assessment of both positive and negative affect prior to completing a cue-reactivity paradigm for which they provided self-report ratings of inclinations to approach (use) and avoid (not use) alcohol, cigarettes, and non-psychoactive control substances (food and beverages). Participants with elevated negative affect reported significantly higher approach ratings for cigarette and alcohol cues, whereas those high in positive affect showed significantly higher levels of avoidance inclinations for both alcohol and cigarette cues and also significantly lower approach ratings for alcohol cues, all relative to control cues. Results for negative affect are consistent with previous cue reactivity research, whereas results for positive affect are unique and call attention to its clinical potential for attenuating approach inclinations to substance use cues. Further, positive affect was related to both approach and avoidance inclinations, underscoring the utility of a multidimensional conceptualization of craving in the analysis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Alcohol on the Emotional Displays of Whites in Interracial Groups

PubMed Central

Fairbairn, Catharine E.; Sayette, Michael A.; Levine, John M.; Cohn, Jeffrey F.; Creswell, Kasey G.

2017-01-01

Discomfort during interracial interactions is common among Whites in the U.S. and is linked to avoidance of interracial encounters. While the negative consequences of interracial discomfort are well-documented, understanding of its causes is still incomplete. Alcohol consumption has been shown to decrease negative emotions caused by self-presentational concern but increase negative emotions associated with racial prejudice. Using novel behavioral-expressive measures of emotion, we examined the impact of alcohol on displays of discomfort among 92 White individuals interacting in all-White or interracial groups. We used the Facial Action Coding System and comprehensive content-free speech analyses to examine affective and behavioral dynamics during these 36-minute exchanges (7.9 million frames of video data). Among Whites consuming nonalcoholic beverages, those assigned to interracial groups evidenced more facial and speech displays of discomfort than those in all-White groups. In contrast, among intoxicated Whites there were no differences in displays of discomfort between interracial and all-White groups. Results highlight the central role of self-presentational concerns in interracial discomfort and offer new directions for applying theory and methods from emotion science to the examination of intergroup relations. PMID:23356562

The effects of alcohol on the emotional displays of Whites in interracial groups.

PubMed

Fairbairn, Catharine E; Sayette, Michael A; Levine, John M; Cohn, Jeffrey F; Creswell, Kasey G

2013-06-01

Discomfort during interracial interactions is common among Whites in the U.S. and is linked to avoidance of interracial encounters. While the negative consequences of interracial discomfort are well-documented, understanding of its causes is still incomplete. Alcohol consumption has been shown to decrease negative emotions caused by self-presentational concern but increase negative emotions associated with racial prejudice. Using novel behavioral-expressive measures of emotion, we examined the impact of alcohol on displays of discomfort among 92 White individuals interacting in all-White or interracial groups. We used the Facial Action Coding System and comprehensive content-free speech analyses to examine affective and behavioral dynamics during these 36-min exchanges (7.9 million frames of video data). Among Whites consuming nonalcoholic beverages, those assigned to interracial groups evidenced more facial and speech displays of discomfort than those in all-White groups. In contrast, among intoxicated Whites there were no differences in displays of discomfort between interracial and all-White groups. Results highlight the central role of self-presentational concerns in interracial discomfort and offer new directions for applying theory and methods from emotion science to the examination of intergroup relations.

Concurrent Schedules of Positive and Negative Reinforcement: Differential-Impact and Differential-Outcomes Hypotheses

PubMed Central

Magoon, Michael A; Critchfield, Thomas S

2008-01-01

Considerable evidence from outside of operant psychology suggests that aversive events exert greater influence over behavior than equal-sized positive-reinforcement events. Operant theory is largely moot on this point, and most operant research is uninformative because of a scaling problem that prevents aversive events and those based on positive reinforcement from being directly compared. In the present investigation, humans' mouse-click responses were maintained on similarly structured, concurrent schedules of positive (money gain) and negative (avoidance of money loss) reinforcement. Because gains and losses were of equal magnitude, according to the analytical conventions of the generalized matching law, bias (log b ≠ 0) would indicate differential impact by one type of consequence; however, no systematic bias was observed. Further research is needed to reconcile this outcome with apparently robust findings in other literatures of superior behavior control by aversive events. In an incidental finding, the linear function relating log behavior ratio and log reinforcement ratio was steeper for concurrent negative and positive reinforcement than for control conditions involving concurrent positive reinforcement. This may represent the first empirical confirmation of a free-operant differential-outcomes effect predicted by contingency-discriminability theories of choice. PMID:18683609

Linking Individual Learning Styles to Approach-Avoidance Motivational Traits and Computational Aspects of Reinforcement Learning

PubMed Central

Carl Aberg, Kristoffer; Doell, Kimberly C.; Schwartz, Sophie

2016-01-01

Learning how to gain rewards (approach learning) and avoid punishments (avoidance learning) is fundamental for everyday life. While individual differences in approach and avoidance learning styles have been related to genetics and aging, the contribution of personality factors, such as traits, remains undetermined. Moreover, little is known about the computational mechanisms mediating differences in learning styles. Here, we used a probabilistic selection task with positive and negative feedbacks, in combination with computational modelling, to show that individuals displaying better approach (vs. avoidance) learning scored higher on measures of approach (vs. avoidance) trait motivation, but, paradoxically, also displayed reduced learning speed following positive (vs. negative) outcomes. These data suggest that learning different types of information depend on associated reward values and internal motivational drives, possibly determined by personality traits. PMID:27851807

The Yin and Yang of support from significant others: Influence of general social support and partner support of avoidance in the context of treatment for social anxiety disorder.

PubMed

Rapee, Ronald M; Peters, Lorna; Carpenter, Leigh; Gaston, Jonathan E

2015-06-01

Support from social networks is generally considered to protect against mental disorder but in some circumstances support for negative behaviours (such as avoidance) may be counterproductive. Given the critical interplay between social anxiety disorder and social interactions, it is surprising that the relationship of support from significant others to this disorder has received so little attention. The current study evaluated the reciprocal relationships between perceived social support and perceived partner support for avoidance behaviours (avoidance support) among a sample of 131 participants with social anxiety disorder who were assessed three times within the context of a treatment outcome study. A new measure of partner support for avoidance behaviours was developed, called the Avoidance Support Measure, and showed adequate internal consistency and construct validity. Correlations at baseline showed significant negative relationships between perceived social support and social anxiety and significant positive relationships between avoidance support and social anxiety. Path analysis showed that perceived social support at Times 1 and 2 negatively predicted future social anxiety at Times 2 and 3. On the other hand, only a single predictive relationship involving avoidance support was significant and showed that social anxiety at Time 1 positively predicted avoidance support at Time 2. These early results point to the different ways that support from significant others might relate to social anxiety and suggest that further work in this area may be fruitful. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social anxiety and alcohol-related negative consequences among college drinkers: do protective behavioral strategies mediate the association?

PubMed

Villarosa, Margo C; Moorer, Kayla D; Madson, Michael B; Zeigler-Hill, Virgil; Noble, Jeremy J

2014-09-01

The link between social anxiety and alcohol-related negative consequences among college students has been well documented. Protective behavioral strategies are cognitive-behavioral strategies that college students use in an effort to reduce harm while they are drinking. In the current study we examined the mediating role of the 2 categories of protective behavioral strategies (i.e., controlled consumption and serious harm reduction) in the relationship that social anxiety symptoms have with alcohol-related negative consequences. Participants were 572 undergraduates who completed measures of social anxiety, alcohol use, negative consequences of alcohol use, and protective behavioral strategy use. Only serious harm reduction strategies emerged as a mediator of the association that social anxiety symptoms had with alcohol-related negative consequences. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Feeling loved and integrated or lonely and rejected in everyday life: The role of age and social motivation.

PubMed

Nikitin, Jana; Freund, Alexandra M

2018-06-01

Social approach and social avoidance goals (i.e., approach of positive and avoidance of negative outcomes in social situations) are important predictors of the feeling of being socially integrated or isolated. However, little is known about the development of these goals across adulthood. In a large diary study with N = 744 young (18-39 years), middle-aged (40-59 years), and older adults (60-83 years), we tested the hypothesis that the adaptiveness of social goals changes across adulthood: Social approach goals were hypothesized to be adaptive during young adulthood when adult social relationships are to be established. In contrast, social avoidance goals were hypothesized to become more adaptive with age as people are increasingly motivated to avoid interpersonal tension. Our findings support these hypotheses: Social approach goals were positively and social avoidance goals negatively associated with younger but not with middle-aged and older adults' daily social well-being. These results were robust across different situations (positive, negative) and different types of relationships (close, peripheral). The study highlights the changing role of social approach and avoidance goals for daily social well-being across adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Regulation of emotion in ADHD: can children with ADHD override the natural tendency to approach positive and avoid negative pictures?

PubMed

Van Cauwenberge, Valerie; Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J S; Hoppenbrouwers, Karel; Van Leeuwen, Karla; Wiersema, Jan R

2017-03-01

Studies have demonstrated inefficient use of antecedent-focused emotion regulation strategies in children with ADHD attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In the current study we tested for the first time if ADHD is also associated with difficulties in response-focused strategies by measuring the ability to override action tendencies induced by emotional information. Performance data on a computer-based approach-avoidance paradigm of 28 children with ADHD and 38 typically developing children between 8 and 15 years of age were analyzed, by comparing a congruent condition in which they were instructed to approach positive and avoid negative pictures and an incongruent condition where they had to override these automatic reactions and approach negative and avoid positive pictures. Children also rated the valence and salience of the pictures. Children with ADHD and typically developing children rated the emotional valence of the pictures appropriately and similarly, while positive pictures were rated as more arousing by children with ADHD. Solid congruency effects were found indicating that the task measured response-focused emotion regulation; however groups did not differ in this respect. Our findings do not support a deficit in emotion regulation in ADHD in terms of the ability to override natural tendencies to approach positive and avoid negative pictures.

Pain-Relief Learning in Flies, Rats, and Man: Basic Research and Applied Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerber, Bertram; Yarali, Ayse; Diegelmann, Sören; Wotjak, Carsten T.; Pauli, Paul; Fendt, Marcus

2014-01-01

Memories relating to a painful, negative event are adaptive and can be stored for a lifetime to support preemptive avoidance, escape, or attack behavior. However, under unfavorable circumstances such memories can become overwhelmingly powerful. They may trigger excessively negative psychological states and uncontrollable avoidance of locations,…

Internalized societal attitudes moderate the impact of weight stigma on avoidance of exercise.

PubMed

Vartanian, Lenny R; Novak, Sarah A

2011-04-01

Experiences with weight stigma negatively impact both psychological outcomes (e.g., body dissatisfaction, depression) and behavioral outcomes (e.g., dieting, exercise). However, not everyone is equally affected by experiences with weight stigma. This study examined whether internalized societal attitudes about weight moderated the impact of weight stigma. Adult participants (n = 111) completed measures of experiences with weight stigma, as well as two indexes of internalized societal attitudes (the moderators): Internalized anti-fat attitudes and internalization of societal standards of attractiveness. Psychological outcomes included self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and bulimic symptoms; behavioral outcomes included avoidance of exercise and self-reported exercise behavior. Weight stigma was positively correlated with body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and bulimic symptoms, and was negatively correlated with state and trait self-esteem. Both indexes of internalized attitudes moderated the association between weight stigma and avoidance of exercise: Individuals high in anti-fat attitudes and high in internalization of societal standards of attractiveness were more motivated to avoid exercise if they also experienced a high degree of weight stigma; individuals low in anti-fat attitudes and low in internalization were relatively unaffected. Avoidance of exercise was negatively correlated with self-reported strenuous exercise. These findings suggest that weight stigma can negatively influence motivation to exercise, particularly among individuals who have internalized societal attitudes about weight. Reducing internalization might be a means of minimizing the negative impact of weight stigma and of facilitating healthy weight management efforts.

Development of a Measure of Experiential Avoidance: The Multidimensional Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gamez, Wakiza; Chmielewski, Michael; Kotov, Roman; Ruggero, Camilo; Watson, David

2011-01-01

Experiential avoidance (EA) has been conceptualized as the tendency to avoid negative internal experiences and is an important concept in numerous conceptualizations of psychopathology as well as theories of psychotherapy. Existing measures of EA have either been narrowly defined or demonstrated unsatisfactory internal consistency and/or evidence…

Negative reinforcement learning is affected in substance dependence.

PubMed

Thompson, Laetitia L; Claus, Eric D; Mikulich-Gilbertson, Susan K; Banich, Marie T; Crowley, Thomas; Krmpotich, Theodore; Miller, David; Tanabe, Jody

2012-06-01

Negative reinforcement results in behavior to escape or avoid an aversive outcome. Withdrawal symptoms are purported to be negative reinforcers in perpetuating substance dependence, but little is known about negative reinforcement learning in this population. The purpose of this study was to examine reinforcement learning in substance dependent individuals (SDI), with an emphasis on assessing negative reinforcement learning. We modified the Iowa Gambling Task to separately assess positive and negative reinforcement. We hypothesized that SDI would show differences in negative reinforcement learning compared to controls and we investigated whether learning differed as a function of the relative magnitude or frequency of the reinforcer. Thirty subjects dependent on psychostimulants were compared with 28 community controls on a decision making task that manipulated outcome frequencies and magnitudes and required an action to avoid a negative outcome. SDI did not learn to avoid negative outcomes to the same degree as controls. This difference was driven by the magnitude, not the frequency, of negative feedback. In contrast, approach behaviors in response to positive reinforcement were similar in both groups. Our findings are consistent with a specific deficit in negative reinforcement learning in SDI. SDI were relatively insensitive to the magnitude, not frequency, of loss. If this generalizes to drug-related stimuli, it suggests that repeated episodes of withdrawal may drive relapse more than the severity of a single episode. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time Out from Sex or Romance: Sexually Experienced Adolescents' Decisions to Purposefully Avoid Sexual Activity or Romantic Relationships.

PubMed

Byers, E Sandra; O'Sullivan, Lucia F; Brotto, Lori A

2016-05-01

Researchers have given significant attention to abstinence among adolescents, but far less is known about purposeful avoidance of sexual activity (and relationship involvement). Typically, it is assumed that, once adolescents have initiated sexual activity, they will thereafter engage in sexual activity if given the opportunity. However, it is unclear whether that is true as some research indicates that many adolescents engage in sexual activity intermittently. Sexually experienced adolescents may purposefully avoid engaging in sexual activity for a period of time and, if so, this has implications for understanding their sexual decision-making. We used a mixed methods approach to investigate sexually experienced adolescents' decisions to purposefully avoid further sexual activity and/or romantic relationships with a focus on how common these decisions are and factors influencing them. Participants were 411 (56 % female) adolescents (16-21 years old) who completed an on-line survey that assessed reasons for each type of avoidance, religiosity, sexual esteem, sexual distress, sexual coercion, and dysfunctional sexual beliefs. Overall, 27 % of participants had engaged in sexual avoidance and 47 % had engaged in romantic avoidance. Significantly more female than male adolescents reported sexual and romantic avoidance. Adolescents' reasons for sexual avoidance included: lack of sexual pleasure or enjoyment, relationship reasons, negative emotions, values, fear of negative outcomes, negative physical experience, and other priorities. Reasons for romantic avoidance included: effects of previous relationship, not interested in commitment, wrong time, other priorities, negative emotions, no one was good enough, and sexual concerns. Logistical regressions were used to assess associations between age, religiosity, sexual esteem, sexual distress, experience of sexual coercion, and dysfunctional sexual beliefs and having engaged in romantic and/or sexual avoidance. The female adolescents who had avoided sexual activity were more likely to have experienced sexual coercion. The male adolescents who had avoided sexual activity were more religious and likely to have experienced sexual coercion. The male adolescents who had avoided romantic relationships were more sexually distressed and likely to have experienced sexual coercion. No associations were found for romantic avoidance among female adolescents. These results reflect considerable agency in the decision-making of adolescents in intimate contexts. They are discussed in terms of their challenge to current discourses about rampant adolescent sexuality as well as their implications for education and prevention interventions that incorporate personal choice and decision-making into their protocols.

Differential effects of anxiety sensitivity components in the relation between emotional non-acceptance and post-traumatic stress symptoms among trauma-exposed treatment-seeking smokers.

PubMed

Bakhshaie, Jafar; Zvolensky, Michael J; Allan, Nicholas; Vujanovic, Anka A; Schmidt, Norman B

2015-01-01

Anxiety sensitivity (AS), defined as the extent to which individuals believe anxiety and anxiety-related sensations have harmful consequences, may play an important explanatory role in the relation between emotional non-acceptance and the expression of traumatic stress symptoms among trauma-exposed smokers. This investigation examined whether lower-order dimensions of AS (cognitive, physical, and social concerns) differentially explain the relation between emotional non-acceptance and post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptom clusters (re-experiencing, avoidance, hyperarousal) among trauma-exposed daily smokers (N = 169, 46% female; Mage = 41, SD = 12.3). AS and its lower-order facets of cognitive and social concerns were found to mediate the relations between emotional non-acceptance and avoidance and hyperarousal PTS symptoms. Using a multiple mediation model, the mediational effect of AS cognitive concerns for the relation between emotional non-acceptance and post-traumatic avoidance symptoms was found to be uniquely evident relative to social and physical concerns. All observed AS effects were evident above and beyond the variance accounted for by gender, number of traumatic event exposure types, negative affectivity, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and alcohol use problems. The present findings suggest cognitive-based AS concerns may play a mechanistic role in the relation between emotional non-acceptance and certain PTS symptoms among trauma-exposed daily smokers.

Are You a Seeker or an Avoider?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berman, Mark L.

2002-01-01

Some workers may consistently try to avoid failure, responsibility, and negative feedback. Trainers can help by assessing organizational circumstances; assist avoiders in developing knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes; and locate employee assistance programs or counseling if needed. (JOW)

The influence of leadership style on subordinates' attachment to the leader.

PubMed

Molero, Fernando; Moriano, Juan A; Shaver, Phillip R

2013-01-01

The aim of this research is to explore the extent to which employees establish attachment bonds with their leaders and the effects these bonds have on organizational outcomes. A sample of 225 participants reported on their supervisor's leadership style (transformational, transactional, or passive-avoidant), their attachment bonds to this supervisor (anxious or avoidant), and four organizational variables (subordinate's satisfaction, identification with the organization, extra effort, and perceived leadership effectiveness). Results, analyzed using a Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach, indicated that (a) transformational leadership was negatively associated with employees' insecure (anxious or avoidant) attachment to their leader; (b) passive/avoidant leadership was positively associated with subordinates' insecure attachment to their leader; (c) transactional leadership was positively associated with employee's anxious attachment but not with their avoidant attachment; (d) avoidant, but not anxious, attachment to the leader was negatively associated with employee satisfaction, perceived leader effectiveness, employee's extra effort, and organizational identification.

The toxicology of cannabis and cannabis prohibition.

PubMed

Grotenhermen, Franjo

2007-08-01

The acute side effects caused by cannabis use are mainly related to psyche and cognition, and to circulation. Euphoria, anxiety, changes in sensory perception, impairment of memory and psychomotor performance are common effects after a dose is taken that exceeds an individually variable threshold. Cannabis consumption may increase heart rate and change blood pressure, which may have serious consequences in people with heart disease. Effects of chronic use may be induction of psychosis and development of dependency to the drug. Effects on cognitive abilities seem to be reversible after abstinence, except possibly in very heavy users. Cannabis exposure in utero may have negative consequences on brain development with subtle impairment of cognitive abilities in later life. Consequences of cannabis smoking may be similar to those of tobacco smoking and should be avoided. Use by young people has more detrimental effects than use by adults. There appear to be promising therapeutic uses of cannabis for a range of indications. Use of moderate doses in a therapeutic context is usually not associated with severe side effects. Current prohibition on cannabis use may also have harmful side effects for the individual and the society, while having little influence on prevalence of use. Harm is greatest for seriously ill people who may benefit from a treatment with cannabis. This makes it difficult to justify criminal penalties against patients.

Permanent polarization and charge distribution in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs): Insights from near-infrared charge-modulation spectroscopy of an operating OLED

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marchetti, Alfred P.; Haskins, Terri L.; Young, Ralph H.

2014-03-21

Vapor-deposited Alq{sub 3} layers typically possess a strong permanent electrical polarization, whereas NPB layers do not. (Alq{sub 3} is tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum(III); NPB is 4,4′-bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl.) The cause is a net orientation of the Alq{sub 3} molecules with their large dipole moments. Here we report on consequences for an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) with an NPB hole-transport layer and Alq{sub 3} electron-transport layer. The discontinuous polarization at the NPB|Alq{sub 3} interface has the same effect as a sheet of immobile negative charge there. It is more than compensated by a large concentration of injected holes (NPB{sup +}) when the OLED is running. Wemore » discuss the implications and consequences for the quantum efficiency and the drive voltage of this OLED and others. We also speculate on possible consequences of permanent polarization in organic photovoltaic devices. The concentration of NPB{sup +} was measured by charge-modulation spectroscopy (CMS) in the near infrared, where the NPB{sup +} has a strong absorption band, supplemented by differential-capacitance and current-voltage measurements. Unlike CMS in the visible, this method avoids complications from modulation of the electroluminescence and electroabsorption.« less

The Contractual Liability of Student Organizations with Outside Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Likins, Jeanne M.

1978-01-01

Included is a consideration of contract and agency law, how these apply to student organizations, potential liability consequences, guidelines to avoid such consequences, and a summary of the current situation. (Author)

Initiatives and Challenges in Consequence Management after a WMD Attack

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-08-01

Challenges in Consequence Management people to seek shelter or other protection when possible, to avoid exposure to weapons of mass destruction effects . The...Potential Effects .........................................9 V. Methods for Managing the Consequences of WMD Use.................14 VI. Toward a...mass destruction (WMD). Consequence management1 is a process to mitigate the effects of the use of weapons of mass destruction, including

The consequences of coping with stalking-results from the first qualitative study on stalking in Denmark.

PubMed

Johansen, Katrine Bindesbøl Holm; Tjørnhøj-Thomsen, Tine

2016-11-01

The purpose of this article is to explore: (1) how victims of stalking experience the phenomenon in their daily life, (2) how the nature of stalking informs the victim's internal coping strategies, and (3) how the victims' internal coping strategies negatively affect their daily life and well-being. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 victims of stalking. Thematic content analysis was employed, and themes were primarily identified inductively and broad into dialogue with concepts, such as Foucault's panopticism. The results of the study indicate that rather than the stalkers' harassment itself; it is the unpredictability of the stalkers' potential actions that inform the victims' primary coping strategy-self-regulation. Self-regulation consists of various strategies victims employ to avoid the stalker. Our analysis shows that self-regulation as a coping strategy has social and psychological consequences for the victims, leading to various degrees of social isolation and apprehension. We conclude that it is necessary to consider how professionals advise victims to cope with their situation as how legal measures should focus on the security of victims.

Promiscuity resolves constraints on social mate choice imposed by population viscosity.

PubMed

While, Geoffrey M; Uller, Tobias; Bordogna, Genevieve; Wapstra, Erik

2014-02-01

Population viscosity can have major consequences for adaptive evolution, in particular for phenotypes involved in social interactions. For example, population viscosity increases the probability of mating with close kin, resulting in selection for mechanisms that circumvent the potential negative consequences of inbreeding. Female promiscuity is often suggested to be one such mechanism. However, whether avoidance of genetically similar partners is a major selective force shaping patterns of promiscuity remains poorly supported by empirical data. Here, we show (i) that fine-scale genetic structure constrains social mate choice in a pair-bonding lizard, resulting in individuals pairing with genetically similar individuals, (ii) that these constraints are circumvented by multiple mating with less related individuals and (iii) that this results in increased heterozygosity of offspring. Despite this, we did not detect any significant effects of heterozygosity on offspring or adult fitness or a strong relationship between pair relatedness and female multiple mating. We discuss these results within the context of incorporating the genetic context dependence of mating strategies into a holistic understanding of mating system evolution. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Elevated amygdala activity during reappraisal anticipation predicts anxiety in avoidant personality disorder.

PubMed

Denny, Bryan T; Fan, Jin; Liu, Xun; Ochsner, Kevin N; Guerreri, Stephanie; Mayson, Sarah Jo; Rimsky, Liza; McMaster, Antonia; New, Antonia S; Goodman, Marianne; Siever, Larry J; Koenigsberg, Harold W

2015-02-01

Avoidant personality disorder is characterized by pervasive anxiety, fear of criticism, disapproval, and rejection, particularly in anticipation of exposure to social situations. An important but underexplored question concerns whether anxiety in avoidant patients is associated with an impaired ability to engage emotion regulatory strategies in anticipation of and during appraisal of negative social stimuli. We examined the use of an adaptive emotion regulation strategy, cognitive reappraisal, in avoidant patients. In addition to assessing individual differences in state and trait anxiety levels, self-reported affect as well as measures of neural activity were compared between 17 avoidant patients and 21 healthy control participants both in anticipation of and during performance of a reappraisal task. Avoidant patients showed greater state and trait-related anxiety relative to healthy participants. In addition, relative to healthy participants, avoidant patients showed pronounced amygdala hyper-reactivity during reappraisal anticipation, and this hyper-reactivity effect was positively associated with increasing self-reported anxiety levels. Our finding of exaggerated amygdala activity during reappraisal anticipation could reflect anxiety about the impending need to reappraise, anxiety about the certainty of an upcoming negative image, or anxiety relating to anticipated scrutiny of task responses by the experimenters. While we believe that all of these possibilities are consistent with the phenomenology of avoidant personality disorder, future research may clarify this ambiguity. These results suggest that amygdala reactivity in anticipation of receiving negative social information may represent a key component of the neural mechanisms underlying the heightened anxiety present in avoidant patients. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Alcohol Consumption and Negative Sex-Related Consequences among College Women: The Moderating Role of Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moorer, Kayla D.; Madson, Michael B.; Mohn, Richard S.; Nicholson, Bonnie C.

2013-01-01

Alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS) limit overall negative consequences; however, less is known about the relationship between PBS and negative sex-related consequences. The purpose of the current study was to examine the moderating effects of 2 distinct types of PBS--controlled consumption strategies and serious harm reduction…

Cigarette graphic health warning labels and information avoidance among individuals from low socioeconomic position in the U.S.

PubMed

McCloud, Rachel Faulkenberry; Okechukwu, Cassandra; Sorensen, Glorian; Viswanath, K

2017-04-01

Although graphic health warning labels (GHWs) on cigarette packs have influenced cessation behaviors in other countries, no U.S. studies have explored the impact of avoidance of GHW content among individuals from low socioeconomic position (SEP). The purpose of this study was to determine the predictors of intention to avoid GHWs, and how avoidance impacts cessation intention, in a low SEP sample in the U.S. Data come from low SEP smokers (n = 541) involved in a field experiment. The participants responded to questions pre- and post viewing of GHWs assessing SEP, intention to avoid them, emotional reactions, and intention to seek health information or quit smoking. Backwards stepwise logistic regression determined the predictors for intention to avoid GHWs. Simple and adjusted logistic regression analyzed the association between avoidance and its main predictors and outcomes of intentions to seek information or quit smoking. Predictors for avoidance included being somewhat addicted to cigarettes (OR 2.3, p = 0.002), younger than 25 (OR 2.6, p = 0.008), and having medium (OR 3.4, p < 0.001) or high (OR 4.7, p < 0.001) levels of negative emotional reaction to the labels. Intention to avoid GHWs was positively associated with the intent to look for health information about smoking (OR 2.2, p = 0.002). Higher levels of negative emotional reaction were positively associated with cessation behaviors, with high negative emotional reaction associated with nine times the odds of quitting (p < 0.001). Results indicate avoidance of GHWs does not detract from the labels' benefit and that GHWs are an effective means of communicating smoking risk information among low SEP groups.

Intermittent auscultation versus continuous fetal monitoring: exploring factors that influence birthing unit nurses' fetal surveillance practice using theoretical domains framework.

PubMed

Patey, Andrea M; Curran, Janet A; Sprague, Ann E; Francis, Jill J; Driedger, S Michelle; Légaré, France; Lemyre, Louise; Pomey, Marie-Pascale A; Grimshaw, Jeremy M

2017-09-25

Intermittent Auscultation (IA) is the recommended method of fetal surveillance for healthy women in labour. However, the majority of women receive continuous electronic monitoring. We used the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to explore the views of Birthing Unit nurses about using IA as their primary method of fetal surveillance for healthy women in labour. Using a semi-structured interview guide, we interviewed a convenience sample of birthing unit nurses throughout Ontario, Canada to elicit their views about fetal surveillance. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were content analysed using the TDF and themes were framed as belief statements. Domains potentially key to changing fetal surveillance behaviour and informing intervention design were identified by noting the frequencies of beliefs, content, and their reported influence on the use of IA. We interviewed 12 birthing unit nurses. Seven of the 12 TDF domains were perceived to be key to changing birthing unit nurses' behaviour The nurses reported that competing tasks, time constraints and the necessity to multitask often limit their ability to perform IA (domains Beliefs about capabilities; Environmental context and resources). Some nurses noted the decision to use IA was something that they consciously thought about with every patient while others stated it their default decision as long as there were no risk factors (Memory, attention and decision processes, Nature of behaviour). They identified positive consequences (e.g. avoid unnecessary interventions, mother-centered care) and negative consequences of using IA (e.g. legal concerns) and reported that the negative consequences can often outweigh positive consequences (Beliefs about consequences). Some reported that hospital policies and varying support from care teams inhibited their use of IA (Social influences), and that support from the entire team and hospital management would likely increase their use (Social influences; Behavioural regulation). We identified potential influences on birthing unit nurses' use of IA as their primary method of fetal surveillance. These beliefs suggest potential targets for behaviour change interventions to promote IA use.

Poor adjustment to college life mediates the relationship between drinking motives and alcohol consequences: a look at college adjustment, drinking motives, and drinking outcomes.

PubMed

LaBrie, Joseph W; Ehret, Phillip J; Hummer, Justin F; Prenovost, Katherine

2012-04-01

The current study examined whether the relationship between drinking motives and alcohol-related outcomes was mediated by college adjustment. Participants (N=253) completed an online survey that assessed drinking motives, degree of both positive and negative college adjustment, typical weekly drinking, and past month negative alcohol-related consequences. Structural equation modeling examined negative alcohol consequences as a function of college adjustment, drinking motives, and weekly drinking behavior in college students. Negative college adjustment mediated the relationship between coping drinking motives and drinking consequences. Positive college adjustment was not related to alcohol consumption or consequences. Positive reinforcement drinking motives (i.e. social and enhancement) not only directly predicted consequences, but were partially mediated by weekly drinking and degree of negative college adjustment. Gender specific models revealed that males exhibited more variability in drinking and their positive reinforcement drinking motives were more strongly associated with weekly drinking. Uniquely for females, coping motives were directly and indirectly (via negative adjustment) related to consequences. These findings suggest that interventions which seek to decrease alcohol-related risk may wish to incorporate discussions about strategies for decreasing stress and increasing other factors associated with better college adjustment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reduction in Memory Specificity Following an Approach/Avoidance Scrambled Sentences Task Relates to Cognitive Avoidant Coping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Debeer, Elise; Raes, Filip; Williams, J. Mark G.; Hermans, Dirk

2013-01-01

"Overgeneral autobiographical memory" (OGM) refers to the tendency to retrieve less specific personal memories. According to the functional avoidance hypothesis, OGM might act as a cognitive strategy to avoid emotionally distressing details of negative memories. In the present study, we investigated the effect of an experimentally…

[Oral allergy syndrome due to cashew nuts in the patient without pollinosis].

PubMed

Inomata, Naoko; Osuna, Hiroyuki; Ikezawa, Zenro

2006-01-01

A 26-year-old woman felt tingling on her tongue and itching both in the throat and on the face immediately after she put a cashew nut on her tongue. She had a history of atopic dermatitis and bronchial asthma, but not of pollinosis. CAP-FEIA and skin prick test (SPT) were positive for cashew nuts. The results showed negative for peanuts and other tree nuts than cashew nuts. Consequently, she was diagnosed with oral allergy syndrome due to cashew nuts. In addition, the result of skin prick test with cashew nuts normalized one year after she began avoiding cashew nuts, indicating that cashew nuts allergy would be due to sensitization by itself rather than to cross-reactivity between cashew nuts and pollens in this case.

Scaling up our understanding of non-consumptive effects in insect systems

DOE PAGES

Hermann, Sara L.; Landis, Douglas A.

2017-04-06

Here, non-consumptive effects (NCEs) of predators on prey is an important topic in insect ecology with potential applications for pest management. NCEs are changes in prey behavior and physiology that aid in predation avoidance. While NCEs can have positive outcomes for prey survival there may also be negative consequences including increased stress and reduced growth. These effects can cascade through trophic systems influencing ecosystem function. Most NCEs have been studied at small spatial and temporal scales. However, recent studies show promise for the potential to manipulate NCEs for pest management. We suggest the next frontier for NCE studies includes manipulatingmore » the landscape of fear to improve pest control, which requires scaling-up to field and landscape levels, over ecologically relevant time frames.« less

Brief Report: Risk-Aversion and Rationality in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

PubMed

Gosling, Corentin J; Moutier, Sylvain

2018-05-30

Risk-aversion and rationality have both been highlighted as core features of decision making in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This study tested whether risk-aversion is related to rational decision-making in ASD individuals. ASD and matched control adults completed a decision-making task that discriminated between the use of risk-averse and rational strategies. Results showed that overall, ASD participants were more risk-averse than control participants. Specifically, both groups made similar choices when risk-aversion was the less rational strategy but ASD participants chose more rational options than control participants when risk-aversion was the most rational strategy. This study confirmed that risk-aversion is a core feature of ASD and revealed that ASD individuals can switch their decision-making strategy adaptively to avoid negative consequences.

Scaling up our understanding of non-consumptive effects in insect systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hermann, Sara L.; Landis, Douglas A.

Here, non-consumptive effects (NCEs) of predators on prey is an important topic in insect ecology with potential applications for pest management. NCEs are changes in prey behavior and physiology that aid in predation avoidance. While NCEs can have positive outcomes for prey survival there may also be negative consequences including increased stress and reduced growth. These effects can cascade through trophic systems influencing ecosystem function. Most NCEs have been studied at small spatial and temporal scales. However, recent studies show promise for the potential to manipulate NCEs for pest management. We suggest the next frontier for NCE studies includes manipulatingmore » the landscape of fear to improve pest control, which requires scaling-up to field and landscape levels, over ecologically relevant time frames.« less

Anonymity and live-donor transplantation: an ELPAT view.

PubMed

Mamode, Nizam; Lennerling, Annette; Citterio, Franco; Massey, Emma; Van Assche, Kristof; Sterckx, Sigrid; Frunza, Mihaela; Jung, Harald; Pascalev, Assya; Zuidema, Willij; Johnson, Rachel; Loven, Charlotte; Weimar, Willem; Dor, Frank J M F; Dor, Frank

2013-02-27

Anonymity of donors or recipients in living-donor transplantation is a complex issue and practice varies widely. There are compelling arguments for maintaining anonymity of both parties before unspecified donor transplantation and specified indirect transplantation. After transplantation, there are still good reasons to avoid disclosure of identities. Although anonymity could be lifted if both parties explicitly request it, there are significant, potentially negative consequences of such an approach. Both donor and recipient should be counseled regarding these, and transplant teams should consider the considerable financial and psychosocial costs if problems are encountered as a result of contact. Given the recent rise in the number of unspecified living-donor transplants and through paired exchange schemes, it is vital that data are collected regarding the effects of maintaining or revoking anonymity after transplantation.

A scoping research literature review to assess the state of existing evidence on the "bad" death.

PubMed

Wilson, Donna M; Hewitt, Jessica A

2018-02-01

A scoping research literature review on "bad death" was undertaken to assess the overall state of the science on this topic and to determine what evidence exists on how often bad deaths occur, what contributes to or causes a bad death, and what the outcomes and consequences of bad deaths are. A search for English-language research articles was conducted in late 2016, with 25 articles identified and all retained for examination, as is expected with scoping reviews. Only 3 of the 25 articles provided incidence information, specifying that 7.8 to 23% of deaths were bad and that bad deaths were more likely to occur in hospitals than in community-care settings. Many different factors were associated with bad deaths, with unrelieved pain being the most commonly identified. Half of the studies provided information on the possible consequences or outcomes of bad deaths, such as palliative care not being initiated, interpersonal and team conflict, and long-lasting negative community effects. This review identified a relatively small number of research articles that focused in whole or in part on bad deaths. Although the reasons why people consider a death to be bad may be highly individualized and yet also socioculturally based, unrelieved pain is a commonly held reason for bad deaths. Although bad and good deaths may have some opposing causative factors, this literature review revealed some salient bad death attributes, ones that could be avoided to prevent bad deaths from occurring. A routine assessment to allow planning so as to avoid bad deaths and enhance the probability of good deaths is suggested.

The Efficacy of All-Positive Management as a Function of the Prior Use of Negative Consequences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pfiffner, Linda J.; O'Leary, Susan G.

1987-01-01

The study found that in the absence of a history of negative consequences, an all-positive management system for eight first- through third-grade children with academic and/or classroom behavioral problems was not sufficient to maintain on-task rates of academic accuracy. The addition of negative consequences immediately improved on-task behavior…

The Relationship Between Perceived Hookup Attitudes and Negative Hookup Consequences: Do Perceived Attitudes of Close Friends Matter?

PubMed

Montes, Kevin S; Blanco, Lyzette; LaBrie, Joseph W

2017-01-01

Research suggests that the perceived hookup attitudes of close referents are generally a poor predictor of hookup behavior and likely a poor direct predictor of negative hookup consequences. The current study aimed to examine three intervening variables as mediators of the relationship between the perceived hookup attitudes of college students' close friends and negative hookup consequences (e.g., regret, embarrassment). Self-report data were collected from 589 heavy-drinking college students from three midsized universities. The results indicated that students' own attitudes toward hooking up, motivation to hook up, and self-reported number of hookup partners significantly mediated the relationship between the perceived hookup attitudes of close friends and negative hookup consequences. The perceived hookup attitudes of close friends were positively associated with participants' attitudes toward hooking up. Participants' attitudes toward hooking up were positively associated with social-sexual motivation to hook up. Elevated social-sexual motivation to hook up was positively associated with hooking up with multiple partners, with hooking up with multiple partners positively associated with negative hookup consequences. A better understanding of the predictors and mediators of negative hookup consequences has the potential to inform prevention and intervention efforts.

‎ Anxiety Sensitivity Dimensions and Generalized Anxiety‏ ‏Severity: The ‎Mediating Role of Experiential Avoidance and Repetitive‏ ‏Negative Thinking‎ ‎

PubMed Central

Mohammadkhani, Parvaneh; Pourshahbaz, Abbas; Kami, Maryam; Mazidi, Mahdi; Abasi, Imaneh‏

2016-01-01

Objective: Generalized anxiety disorder is one of the most common anxiety disorders in the general ‎population. Several studies suggest that anxiety sensitivity is a vulnerability factor in generalized ‎anxiety severity. However, some other studies suggest that negative repetitive thinking and ‎experiential avoidance as response factors can explain this relationship. Therefore, this study ‎aimed to investigate the mediating role of experiential avoidance and negative repetitive thinking ‎in the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and generalized anxiety severity.‎ Method: This was a cross-sectional and correlational study. A sample of 475 university students was ‎selected through stratified sampling method. The participants completed Anxiety Sensitivity ‎Inventory-3, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire, and ‎Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale. Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation, multiple ‎regression analysis and path analysis.‎ Results: The results revealed a positive relationship between anxiety sensitivity, particularly cognitive ‎anxiety sensitivity, experiential avoidance, repetitive thinking and generalized anxiety severity. In ‎addition, findings showed that repetitive thinking, but not experiential avoidance, fully mediated ‎the relationship between cognitive anxiety sensitivity and generalized anxiety severity. α Level ‎was p<0.005.‎ Conclusion: Consistent with the trans-diagnostic hypothesis, anxiety sensitivity predicts generalized anxiety‏ ‏severity, but its effect is due to the generating repetitive negative thought.‎ PMID:27928245

Child abuse and performance task assessments of executive functions in boys.

PubMed

Mezzacappa, E; Kindlon, D; Earls, F

2001-11-01

We examined executive functions using performance tasks in 126 boys aged 6 to 16 years. who attended public schools and therapeutic schools for children with emotional and behavioral problems. Children were further grouped based on the presence or absence of substantiated abuse histories. Based on their abuse histories and schools of origin, children were classified as Therapeutic, Abused (TA, N = 25). Therapeutic, Nonabused (TN, N = 52), and Public School (PS, N = 48). Controlling IQ and medication status, we compared children in the three groups on teacher ratings of behavior, on experimenter observations of behavior during testing, and on performance tasks challenging the capacities to inhibit an act in progress, and to passively avoid responses associated with adverse consequences. We examined mean group differences in symptoms, behaviors, and task performance, as well as differential age-dependent changes in these dimensions. Independent of abuse history, therapeutic school children demonstrated comparable levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and comparable levels of redirections to task during testing-sessions, that were significantly higher than those of the public school children. Both groups of therapeutic school children also showed comparable overall performance on the capacities to inhibit an act in progress, and to passively avoid responses associated with adverse consequences that were poorer than the performance of children from the public school. Children with histories of substantiated abuse showed diminished improvement with increasing age in the capacity to passively avoid responses associated with adverse consequences when compared not only to the public school children, but also to the children from the therapeutic schools without histories of abuse. Our findings complement reports of behavioral observations of abused children, and reports associating child abuse with altered cognitive development in other areas of competence. They suggest that child abuse may negatively influence the expected developmental progression of competence in certain executive functions. This in turn could have implications for the nature and the persistence of certain forms of psychopathology associated with abuse and poor self-control. Given the cross-sectional nature of our data, however, longitudinal developmental studies of the relations between child abuse and executive functions are needed to elucidate the influence of abuse on the growth and development of such organizing principles of behavioral self-regulation.

Predispositions to approach and avoid are contextually sensitive and goal dependent.

PubMed

Bamford, Susan; Ward, Robert

2008-04-01

The authors show that predispositions to approach and avoid do not consist simply of specific motor patterns but are more abstract functions that produce a desired environmental effect. It has been claimed that evaluating a visual stimulus as positive or negative evokes a specific motor response, extending the arm to negative stimuli, and contracting to positive stimuli. The authors showed that a large congruency effect (participants were faster to approach pleasant and avoid unpleasant stimuli, than to approach unpleasant and avoid pleasant stimuli) could be produced on a novel touchscreen paradigm (Experiment 1), and that the congruency effect could be reversed by spatial (Experiment 2) and nonspatial (Experiment 3) response effects. Thus, involuntary approach and avoid response activations are not fixed, but sensitive to context, and are specifically based on the desired goal. (Copyright) 2008 APA.

Behavioral and endocrine consequences of simultaneous exposure to two different stressors in rats: interaction or independence?

PubMed

Muñoz-Abellán, Cristina; Rabasa, Cristina; Daviu, Nuria; Nadal, Roser; Armario, Antonio

2011-01-01

Although behavioral and endocrine consequences of acute exposure to stressors have been extensively studied, little is known about how simultaneous exposure to two different stressors interacts to induce short- and long-term effects. In the present experiment we studied this interaction in adult male rats exposed to cat fur odor (impregnated cloth) or immobilization on boards either separately or simultaneously. We reasoned that exposure to the odor of a potential predator while immobilized, may potentiate its negative consequences as compared to exposure to only one of the stressors. Exposure to cat odor elicited the expected reduction of activity and avoidance of the area where the impregnated cloth was located. The endocrine response (plasma levels of ACTH and corticosterone, as a measure of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, HPA) was markedly greater after immobilization than after cat fur odor and no additive effects were found by simultaneous exposure to both stressors. Cat odor, but not immobilization, increased anxiety-like behavior as evaluated in the elevated plus-maze 7 days after the stressors, with no evidence of enhanced HPA activation. In addition, cat odor exposure resulted in long-lasting (8 days later) fear conditioning to the box containing a clean cloth, which was reflected by hypoactivity, avoidance of the cloth area and enhanced HPA activation. All these effects were similarly observed in rats exposed simultaneously to cat odor and immobilization. In rats only exposed to immobilization, only some weak behavioral signs of fear conditioning were found, but HPA activation in response to the context paired to immobilization was enhanced to the same extent as in cat odor-exposed animals, supporting a certain degree of endocrine conditioning. The present results did not reveal important behavioral interactions between the two stressors when animals experienced both simultaneously, whereas some interactions were found regarding HPA activation. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Behavioral and Endocrine Consequences of Simultaneous Exposure to Two Different Stressors in Rats: Interaction or Independence?

PubMed Central

Muñoz-Abellán, Cristina; Rabasa, Cristina; Daviu, Nuria; Nadal, Roser; Armario, Antonio

2011-01-01

Although behavioral and endocrine consequences of acute exposure to stressors have been extensively studied, little is known about how simultaneous exposure to two different stressors interacts to induce short- and long-term effects. In the present experiment we studied this interaction in adult male rats exposed to cat fur odor (impregnated cloth) or immobilization on boards either separately or simultaneously. We reasoned that exposure to the odor of a potential predator while immobilized, may potentiate its negative consequences as compared to exposure to only one of the stressors. Exposure to cat odor elicited the expected reduction of activity and avoidance of the area where the impregnated cloth was located. The endocrine response (plasma levels of ACTH and corticosterone, as a measure of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, HPA) was markedly greater after immobilization than after cat fur odor and no additive effects were found by simultaneous exposure to both stressors. Cat odor, but not immobilization, increased anxiety-like behavior as evaluated in the elevated plus-maze 7 days after the stressors, with no evidence of enhanced HPA activation. In addition, cat odor exposure resulted in long-lasting (8 days later) fear conditioning to the box containing a clean cloth, which was reflected by hypoactivity, avoidance of the cloth area and enhanced HPA activation. All these effects were similarly observed in rats exposed simultaneously to cat odor and immobilization. In rats only exposed to immobilization, only some weak behavioral signs of fear conditioning were found, but HPA activation in response to the context paired to immobilization was enhanced to the same extent as in cat odor-exposed animals, supporting a certain degree of endocrine conditioning. The present results did not reveal important behavioral interactions between the two stressors when animals experienced both simultaneously, whereas some interactions were found regarding HPA activation. Theoretical implications are discussed. PMID:21731743

Constellation Program Lessons Learned. Volume 2; Detailed Lessons Learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rhatigan, Jennifer; Neubek, Deborah J.; Thomas, L. Dale

2011-01-01

These lessons learned are part of a suite of hardware, software, test results, designs, knowledge base, and documentation that comprises the legacy of the Constellation Program. The context, summary information, and lessons learned are presented in a factual format, as known and described at the time. While our opinions might be discernable in the context, we have avoided all but factually sustainable statements. Statements should not be viewed as being either positive or negative; their value lies in what we did and what we learned that is worthy of passing on. The lessons include both "dos" and "don ts." In many cases, one person s "do" can be viewed as another person s "don t"; therefore, we have attempted to capture both perspectives when applicable and useful. While Volume I summarizes the views of those who managed the program, this Volume II encompasses the views at the working level, describing how the program challenges manifested in day-to-day activities. Here we see themes that were perhaps hinted at, but not completely addressed, in Volume I: unintended consequences of policies that worked well at higher levels but lacked proper implementation at the working level; long-term effects of the "generation gap" in human space flight development, the need to demonstrate early successes at the expense of thorough planning, and the consequences of problems and challenges not yet addressed because other problems and challenges were more immediate or manifest. Not all lessons learned have the benefit of being operationally vetted, since the program was cancelled shortly after Preliminary Design Review. We avoid making statements about operational consequences (with the exception of testing and test flights that did occur), but we do attempt to provide insight into how operational thinking influenced design and testing. The lessons have been formatted with a description, along with supporting information, a succinct statement of the lesson learned, and recommendations for future programs and projects that may be placed in similar circumstances.

Cardiac Concomitants of Feedback and Prediction Error Processing in Reinforcement Learning.

PubMed

Kastner, Lucas; Kube, Jana; Villringer, Arno; Neumann, Jane

2017-01-01

Successful learning hinges on the evaluation of positive and negative feedback. We assessed differential learning from reward and punishment in a monetary reinforcement learning paradigm, together with cardiac concomitants of positive and negative feedback processing. On the behavioral level, learning from reward resulted in more advantageous behavior than learning from punishment, suggesting a differential impact of reward and punishment on successful feedback-based learning. On the autonomic level, learning and feedback processing were closely mirrored by phasic cardiac responses on a trial-by-trial basis: (1) Negative feedback was accompanied by faster and prolonged heart rate deceleration compared to positive feedback. (2) Cardiac responses shifted from feedback presentation at the beginning of learning to stimulus presentation later on. (3) Most importantly, the strength of phasic cardiac responses to the presentation of feedback correlated with the strength of prediction error signals that alert the learner to the necessity for behavioral adaptation. Considering participants' weight status and gender revealed obesity-related deficits in learning to avoid negative consequences and less consistent behavioral adaptation in women compared to men. In sum, our results provide strong new evidence for the notion that during learning phasic cardiac responses reflect an internal value and feedback monitoring system that is sensitive to the violation of performance-based expectations. Moreover, inter-individual differences in weight status and gender may affect both behavioral and autonomic responses in reinforcement-based learning.

Cardiac Concomitants of Feedback and Prediction Error Processing in Reinforcement Learning

PubMed Central

Kastner, Lucas; Kube, Jana; Villringer, Arno; Neumann, Jane

2017-01-01

Successful learning hinges on the evaluation of positive and negative feedback. We assessed differential learning from reward and punishment in a monetary reinforcement learning paradigm, together with cardiac concomitants of positive and negative feedback processing. On the behavioral level, learning from reward resulted in more advantageous behavior than learning from punishment, suggesting a differential impact of reward and punishment on successful feedback-based learning. On the autonomic level, learning and feedback processing were closely mirrored by phasic cardiac responses on a trial-by-trial basis: (1) Negative feedback was accompanied by faster and prolonged heart rate deceleration compared to positive feedback. (2) Cardiac responses shifted from feedback presentation at the beginning of learning to stimulus presentation later on. (3) Most importantly, the strength of phasic cardiac responses to the presentation of feedback correlated with the strength of prediction error signals that alert the learner to the necessity for behavioral adaptation. Considering participants' weight status and gender revealed obesity-related deficits in learning to avoid negative consequences and less consistent behavioral adaptation in women compared to men. In sum, our results provide strong new evidence for the notion that during learning phasic cardiac responses reflect an internal value and feedback monitoring system that is sensitive to the violation of performance-based expectations. Moreover, inter-individual differences in weight status and gender may affect both behavioral and autonomic responses in reinforcement-based learning. PMID:29163004

Mad genius revisited: Vulnerability to psychopathology, biobehavioral approach-avoidance, and creativity.

PubMed

Baas, Matthijs; Nijstad, Bernard A; Boot, Nathalie C; De Dreu, Carsten K W

2016-06-01

Although many believe that creativity associates with a vulnerability to psychopathology, research findings are inconsistent. Here we address this possible linkage between risk of psychopathology and creativity in nonclinical samples. We propose that propensity for specific psychopathologies can be linked to basic motivational approach and avoidance systems, and that approach and avoidance motivation differentially influences creativity. Based on this reasoning, we predict that propensity for approach-based psychopathologies (e.g., positive schizotypy and risk of bipolar disorder) associates with increased creativity, whereas propensity for avoidance-based psychopathologies (e.g., anxiety, negative schizotypy, and depressive mood) associates with reduced creativity. Previous meta-analyses resonate with this proposition and showed small positive relations between positive schizotypy and creativity and small negative relations between negative schizotypy and creativity and between anxiety and creativity. To this we add new meta-analytic findings showing that risk of bipolar disorder (e.g., hypomania, mania) positively associates with creativity (k = 28, r = .224), whereas depressive mood negatively associates (albeit weakly) with creativity (k = 39, r = -.064). Our theoretical framework, along with the meta-analytic results, indicates when and why specific psychopathologies, and their inclinations, associate with increased or, instead, reduced creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-Esteem, Achievement Goals, and Self-Handicapping in College Physical Education.

PubMed

Chen, Zuosong; Sun, Kaihong; Wang, Kun

2017-01-01

This study aims to investigate the relationships among self-esteem, achievement goals, and self-handicapping and the potential mediating role of achievement goals in the relationship between self-esteem and self-handicapping in college physical education. The participants were 320 Chinese college students. Three validated scales were employed to assess participants' self-esteem, achievement goals, and self-handicapping in college physical education. Results showed that self-esteem had a negative effect on self-handicapping. Self-esteem had a positive effect on mastery goals, but had a negative effect on performance-avoidance goals. Mastery goals had a negative effect and performance-avoidance goals had a positive effect on self-handicapping. Moreover, mastery goals and performance-avoidance goals partially mediated the relationship between self-esteem and self-handicapping, and self-esteem had both direct and indirect effects on self-handicapping in college physical education. The findings indicate that improving individual's self-esteem and promoting mastery goals while reducing performance-avoidance goals may be relevant strategies to reduce self-handicapping in college physical education.

Implicit associations with popularity in early adolescence: an approach-avoidance analysis.

PubMed

Lansu, Tessa A M; Cillessen, Antonius H N; Karremans, Johan C

2012-01-01

This study examined 241 early adolescents' implicit and explicit associations with popularity. The peer status and gender of both the targets and the perceivers were considered. Explicit associations with popularity were assessed with sociometric methods. Implicit associations with popularity were assessed with an approach-avoidance task (AAT). Explicit evaluations of popularity were positive, but implicit associations were negative: Avoidance reactions to popular peers were faster than approach reactions. Interactions with the status of the perceiver indicated that unpopular participants had stronger negative implicit reactions to popular girls than did popular participants. This study demonstrated a negative reaction to popularity that cannot be revealed with explicit methods. The study of implicit processes with methods such as the AAT is a new and important direction for peer relations research.

Influence of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum on risk avoidance in addiction: a mediation analysis.

PubMed

Yamamoto, Dorothy J; Woo, Choong-Wan; Wager, Tor D; Regner, Michael F; Tanabe, Jody

2015-04-01

Alterations in frontal and striatal function are hypothesized to underlie risky decision making in drug users, but how these regions interact to affect behavior is incompletely understood. We used mediation analysis to investigate how prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum together influence risk avoidance in abstinent drug users. Thirty-seven abstinent substance-dependent individuals (SDI) and 43 controls underwent fMRI while performing a decision-making task involving risk and reward. Analyses of a priori regions-of-interest tested whether activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and ventral striatum (VST) explained group differences in risk avoidance. Whole-brain analysis was conducted to identify brain regions influencing the negative VST-risk avoidance relationship. Right DLPFC (RDLPFC) positively mediated the group-risk avoidance relationship (p < 0.05); RDLPFC activity was higher in SDI and predicted higher risk avoidance across groups, controlling for SDI vs. Conversely, VST activity negatively influenced risk avoidance (p < 0.05); it was higher in SDI, and predicted lower risk avoidance. Whole-brain analysis revealed that, across group, RDLPFC and left temporal-parietal junction positively (p ≤ 0.001) while right thalamus and left middle frontal gyrus negatively (p < 0.005) mediated the VST activity-risk avoidance relationship. RDLPFC activity mediated less risky decision making while VST mediated more risky decision making across drug users and controls. These results suggest a dual pathway underlying decision making, which, if imbalanced, may adversely influence choices involving risk. Modeling contributions of multiple brain systems to behavior through mediation analysis could lead to a better understanding of mechanisms of behavior and suggest neuromodulatory treatments for addiction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum on risk avoidance in addiction: a mediation analysis*

PubMed Central

Yamamoto, Dorothy J.; Woo, Choong-Wan; Wager, Tor D.; Regner, Michael F.; Tanabe, Jody

2015-01-01

Background Alterations in frontal and striatal function are hypothesized to underlie risky decision-making in drug users, but how these regions interact to affect behavior is incompletely understood. We used mediation analysis to investigate how prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum together influence risk avoidance in abstinent drug users. Method Thirty-seven abstinent substance-dependent individuals (SDI) and 43 controls underwent fMRI while performing a decision-making task involving risk and reward. Analyses of a priori regions-of-interest tested whether activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and ventral striatum (VST) explained group differences in risk avoidance. Whole-brain analysis was conducted to identify brain regions influencing the negative VST-risk avoidance relationship. Results Right DLPFC (RDLPFC) positively mediated the group-risk avoidance relationship (p < 0.05); RDLPFC activity was higher in SDI and predicted higher risk avoidance across groups, controlling for SDI vs. controls. Conversely, VST activity negatively influenced risk avoidance (p < 0.05); it was higher in SDI, and predicted lower risk avoidance. Whole-brain analysis revealed that, across group, RDLPFC and left temporal-parietal junction positively (p ≤ 0.001) while right thalamus and left middle frontal gyrus negatively (p < 0.005) mediated the VST activity-risk avoidance relationship. Conclusion RDLPFC activity mediated less risky decision-making while VST mediated more risky decision-making across drug users and controls. These results suggest a dual pathway underlying decision-making, which, if imbalanced, may adversely influence choices involving risk. Modeling contributions of multiple brain systems to behavior through mediation analysis could lead to a better understanding of mechanisms of behavior and suggest neuromodulatory treatments for addiction. PMID:25736619

Measuring Negative Consequences of College Student Substance Use: A Psychometric Evaluation of the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martens, Matthew P.; Brown, Natashia T.; Donovan, Brooke M.; Dude, Kim

2005-01-01

A commonly used instrument to assess negative consequences of substance use among college students is the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey (CADS; C. A. Presley, P. W. Meilman, & J. S. Leichliter, 1998; C. A. Presley, P. W. Meilman, & R. Lyerla, 1993). Results from 2 studies suggest that a subset of CADS negative consequences items can be…

Psychiatry between Glorification and Stigmatization.

PubMed

Sutovic, Alija

2017-12-01

In psychiatry, stigma means negative marking of the person only because s(he) has a diagnosis of mental disease, and usually this refers to schizophrenia. Stigmatization is related to prejudice, i.e. negative attitudes that are deeply rooted on false beliefs that schizophrenia cannot be treated. In principle, stigma is caused by combination of ignorance and fear which represents the basis of the creation of entrenched myths and prejudice. From a historical point of view, schizophrenia as a disease remains for public, one of the medical areas that are related to fear, a sense of discomfort, prejudice and avoidance. A combination of difficult mental disease, discrimination and stigmatization can be devastating for mentally disabled patients. Throughout history, stigma played significant role in patient's emotional and social isolation from other people deepening their suffering. A common consequence of stigma is discrimination which represents violation of basic human rights. Mentally disabled patients are often unjustifiably seen as dangerous, incapable, irresponsible which causes their isolation, homelessness and economic collapse. Thereby, possibilities for normal life, work, treatment, rehabilitation and social integration are decreased.

Selenium alleviates cadmium toxicity by preventing oxidative stress in sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seedlings.

PubMed

Saidi, Issam; Chtourou, Yacine; Djebali, Wahbi

2014-03-01

The present study investigated the possible mediatory role of selenium (Se) in protecting plants from cadmium (Cd) toxicity. The exposure of sunflower seedlings to 20μM Cd inhibited biomass production, decreased chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations and strongly increased accumulation of Cd in both roots and shoots. Similarly, Cd enhanced hydrogen peroxides content and lipid peroxidation as indicated by malondialdehyde accumulation. Pre-soaking seeds with Se (5, 10 and 20μM) alleviated the negative effect of Cd on growth and led to a decrease in oxidative injuries caused by Cd. Furthermore, Se enhanced the activities of catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase, but lowered that of superoxide dismutase and guaiacol peroxidase. As important antioxidants, ascorbate and glutathione contents in sunflower leaves exposed to Cd were significantly decreased by Se treatment. The data suggest that the beneficial effect of Se during an earlier growth period could be related to avoidance of cumulative damage upon exposure to Cd, thus reducing the negative consequences of oxidative stress caused by heavy metal toxicity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Adolescents' and parents' experiences of managing the psychosocial impact of appearance change during cancer treatment.

PubMed

Williamson, Heidi; Harcourt, Diana; Halliwell, Emma; Frith, Hannah; Wallace, Melissa

2010-01-01

Using combined qualitative data from multiple case study interviews and an online survey, this study explored the impact of appearance change on 22 adolescents receiving cancer treatment aged 13 to 18 years and six of their parents. Data were analyzed using template analysis. Appearance changes were a major concern. Adolescents typically struggled to adapt to new experiences and concerns related to this highly sensitive issue. Many felt anxious and self-conscious and were reluctant to reveal appearance changes in public. These feelings were compounded by the negative reactions of others (e.g., staring, teasing, and inappropriate questioning), which sometimes lead to avoidance of social activity and threats of noncompliance. Parents of these children felt ill-prepared to manage appearance-related anxieties. Adolescents wanted support to develop the practical and social skills necessary to maintain a "normal" appearance and manage the negative responses of others. However, some adolescents showed resilience and, with support from friends and family, developed strategies to manage their altered appearance and its social consequences. These strategies are explored, which can inform interventions to support adolescents and parents.

Single night video-game use leads to sleep loss and attention deficits in older adolescents.

PubMed

Wolfe, Jasper; Kar, Kellyann; Perry, Ashleigh; Reynolds, Chelsea; Gradisar, Michael; Short, Michelle A

2014-10-01

The present study investigated adolescent video-game use prior to bedtime and subsequent sleep, working memory and sustained attention performance. Participants were 21 healthy, good-sleeping adolescents (16 male) aged between 15 and 20 years (M = 17.6 years, SD = 1.8). Time spent video-gaming and subsequent sleep was measured across one night in the sleep laboratory. There were significant correlations between time spent video-gaming and sleep and between video-gaming and sustained attention, but not working memory. Sleep duration, in turn, had a significant negative association with sustained attention performance. Mediation analyses revealed that the relationship between video-gaming and sustained attention was fully mediated by sleep duration. These results indicate that video-gaming affected the ability to sustain attention only in as much as it affected sleep. In order to minimise negative consequences of video-game playing, video-games should be used in moderation, avoiding use close to the sleep period, to obviate detriments to sleep and performance. Copyright © 2014 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Negative βhCG and Molar Pregnancy: The Hook Effect.

PubMed

Lobo Antunes, Isabel; Curado, Joana; Quintas, Ana; Pereira, Alcides

2017-09-29

Molar pregnancy, included in gestational trophoblastic disease, is a benign pathology with ability to metastasize, usually occurring with excessively high βhCG levels. Clinical scenario is usually a woman in extremes of reproductive age presenting with amenorrhoea, pain and vaginal blood loss; signs derived from high βhCG levels may be present (hyperthyroidism, hyperemesis). Diagnosis is based on a positive pregnancy test - usually a qualitative urinary test. The limitation of this test results from its inability to become positive in presence of markedly high levels of βhCG, saturating the antigens used - known as the 'hook effect'. With the widespread use of gynaecological ultrasound cases of molar pregnancy have been diagnosed in timely fashion. We describe a case referred as a degenerating fibroid, with a negative urinary pregnancy test. Transvaginal ultrasound was highly suggestive of molar pregnancy, which was confirmed with a quantitative βhCG test, allowing for timely treatment. The importance of a high index of suspicion for this pathology is tremendous to avoid the devastating consequences of a delayed diagnosis.

Coping with fear through suppression and avoidance of threatening information.

PubMed

Nielsen, Jesper; Shapiro, Stewart

2009-09-01

Fear appeal communications are widely used by social marketers in their efforts to persuade individuals to refrain from engaging in risky behaviors. The present research shows that exposure to a fear appeal can lead to the suppression of concepts semantically related to the threat and bias attentional resources away from threat-relevant information. Participants in the experimental condition viewed a fear appeal advertisement depicting the negative consequences of drinking and driving. The results of a reaction time task showed inhibited responses to words semantically related to drinking (e.g., beer, party) relative to a baseline group that controlled for priming effects (Experiment 1a) and level of fear (Experiment 1b). Furthermore, those in the experimental condition were shown to adopt an attention avoidance processing style, decreasing attention to alcohol-related advertisements appearing in a mock magazine (Experiments 2a and 2b). Because processing of alcohol-related advertising has been linked previously to an increase in drinking and driving, inhibited processing of such advertisements suggests a positive outcome of suppression effects. This contrasts with prior claims suggesting that suppression is counter to prevention-based efforts. 2009 APA, all rights reserved

Motion sickness history, food neophobia, and sensation seeking.

PubMed

Alley, Thomas R; Willet, Kathleen A; Muth, Eric R

2006-06-01

Motion sickness is believed to be caused by conflicting sensory signals, a situation that mimics the effects of ingesting certain toxins. Thus, one might suspect that individuals who have experienced a relatively high frequency of motion sickness may be particularly vigilant about avoiding anything that produces nausea, induding potentially nauseating toxins. Consequently, they may be more resistant to trying new foods, i.e., be more food neophobic, since unfamiliar foods can have unexpected adverse effects due to toxins or allergens. Likewise, many highly stimulating experiences can trigger motion sickness, so individuals who are more susceptible may be more prone to avoid such experiences, i.e., be less sensation seeking. Finally, it was expected that food neophobia would be more frequent in individuals low on sensation seeking tendencies. Self-reported motion sickness history in 308 adults (M= 18.8 yr.; SD = 1.6) was correlated with scores on the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking and the Food Neophobia Scale. As predicted, greater history of motion sickness was associated with lower Sensation Seeking scores. Food Neophobia was not correlated with motion sickness history but, as expected, was negatively correlated (r = -.42) with scores on Sensation Seeking. Further research is recommended that measures actual sensitivity to motion sickness.

Challenges in Determining the Role of Rest and Exercise in the Management of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

PubMed

Wells, Elizabeth M; Goodkin, Howard P; Griesbach, Grace S

2016-01-01

Current consensus guidelines recommending physical and cognitive rest until a patient is asymptomatic after a sports concussion (ie, a mild traumatic brain injury) are being called into question, particularly for patients who are slower to recover and in light of preclinical and clinical research demonstrating that exercise aids neurorehabilitation. The pathophysiological response to mild traumatic brain injury includes a complex neurometabolic cascade of events resulting in a neurologic energy deficit. It has been proposed that this energy deficit leads to a period of vulnerability during which the brain is at risk for additional injury, explains why early postconcussive symptoms are exacerbated by cognitive and physical exertion, and is used to rationalize absolute rest until all symptoms have resolved. However, at some point, rest might no longer be beneficial and exercise might need to be introduced. At both extremes, excessive exertion and prolonged avoidance of exercise (physical and mental) have negative consequences. Individuals who have experienced a concussion need guidance for avoidance of triggers of severe symptoms and a plan for graduated exercise to promote recovery as well as optimal functioning (physical, educational, and social) during the postconcussion period. © The Author(s) 2015.

Predictors of continued problem drinking and substance use following military discharge.

PubMed

Norman, Sonya B; Schmied, Emily; Larson, Gerald E

2014-07-01

The goals of the present study were to (a) examine change in rates of problem alcohol/substance use among a sample of veterans between their last year of military service and their first year following separation, (b) identify predictors of continued problem use in the first year after separation, and (c) evaluate the hypothesis that avoidant coping, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and chronic stress place individuals at particularly high risk for continued problem use. Participants (N = 1,599) completed self-report measures before and during the year following separation. Participants who endorsed either having used more than intended or wanting or needing to cut down during the past year were considered to have problem use. Of 742 participants reporting problem substance use at baseline, 42% reported continued problem substance use at follow-up ("persistors"). Persistors reported more trouble adjusting to civilian life, had a greater likelihood of driving while intoxicated, and had a greater likelihood of aggression. Multivariate analyses showed that avoidant coping score at baseline and higher PTSD symptom score and greater sensation seeking at follow up predicted continued problem use. Understanding risk factors for continued problem use is a prerequisite for targeted prevention of chronic problems and associated negative life consequences.

PDYN rs2281285 Variant Association with Drinking to Avoid Emotional or Somatic Discomfort

PubMed Central

Preuss, Ulrich W.; Winham, Stacey J.; Biernacka, Joanna M.; Geske, Jennifer R.; Bakalkin, Georgy; Koller, Gabriele; Zill, Peter; Soyka, Michael; Karpyak, Victor M.

2013-01-01

Introduction One of the proposed psychobiological pathways of craving attributes the desire for drinking in the context of tension, discomfort or unpleasant emotions, to “negative” (or “relief”) craving. The aim of this study was to replicate a previously reported association of the PDYN rs2281285 variant with negative craving using a different phenotyping approach. Methods The TaqMan® Genotyping Assay was used to genotype the rs2281285 variant in 417 German alcohol-dependent subjects. The presence of negative/relief craving was assessed by asking if participants ever ingested alcohol to avoid unwanted emotional or somatic discomfort. Results The minor allele of rs2281285 was associated with an increased risk of drinking to avoid/escape unwanted emotional or somatic events (OR = 2.29, 95% CI = 1.08–4.85, p = 0.0298). Discussion Despite the use of a different phenotyping approach to the measurement of negative craving, our results confirm the association between negative craving and PDYN rs2281285. Genetic markers of negative craving may help to identify subgroups of alcohol-dependent individuals vulnerable to relapse in the context of negative emotions or somatic discomfort, leading to the development of specifically tailored treatment strategies. PMID:24223163

[Association between approach-avoidance commitment to romantic relationships, emotional experiences in romantic relationships, and personal mental health].

PubMed

Komura, Kentaro

2016-02-01

The present study examined the association between approach-avoidance commitment, emotional experiences in romantic relationships, and mental health. It was hypothesized that the association between avoidance commitment and emotional experiences was moderated by approach commitment. Two hundred and three undergraduates who were involved in romantic relationships participated in a questionnaire survey. Results revealed that approach commitment was associated with greater positive emotion and less negative emotion, and these emotional experiences were associated with higher mental health. On the other hand, the association between avoidance commitment and emotional experiences was moderated by approach commitment. That is, only when approach commitment was weak, avoidance commitment was associated with fewer positive emotions and greater negative emotions, and that these emotional experiences were associated with lower mental health. These results reveal that approach-avoidance commitment was associated with mental health via emotional experiences in romantic relationships, and verified Johnson's (1999) and Levinger's (1999) theoretical argument.

Life-threatening event reduces subjective well-being through activating avoidance motivation: a longitudinal study.

PubMed

Van Dijk, Dina; Seger-Guttmann, Tali; Heller, Daniel

2013-04-01

Drawing on the approach-avoidance theory, we have examined the role of avoidance motivation in explaining the negative effects of a life-threatening event on subjective well-being (SWB). Residents of the south of Israel were surveyed during heavy missile attacks in January 2009 (T1; n = 283), and again after 6 months (T2; n = 212) and 1 year (T3; n = 154). During the missile attacks, we also surveyed a group from the center of the country (T1; n = 102), not exposed to the attacks. The results indicate that avoidance motivation was activated by the life threat and further mediated its detrimental influence on SWB measures (positive/negative affects, anxiety, and subjective health). Moreover, within the southern sample, the drop in avoidance motivation over time mediated the parallel drop in SWB. In contrast to avoidance motivation, approach motivation remained stable over time and was related to positive emotions. The role of avoidance and approach motivations in life-threatening situations is further discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Working memory, math performance, and math anxiety.

PubMed

Ashcraft, Mark H; Krause, Jeremy A

2007-04-01

The cognitive literature now shows how critically math performance depends on working memory, for any form of arithmetic and math that involves processes beyond simple memory retrieval. The psychometric literature is also very clear on the global consequences of mathematics anxiety. People who are highly math anxious avoid math: They avoid elective coursework in math, both in high school and college, they avoid college majors that emphasize math, and they avoid career paths that involve math. We go beyond these psychometric relationships to examine the cognitive consequences of math anxiety. We show how performance on a standardized math achievement test varies as a function of math anxiety, and that math anxiety compromises the functioning of working memory. High math anxiety works much like a dual task setting: Preoccupation with one's math fears and anxieties functions like a resource-demanding secondary task. We comment on developmental and educational factors related to math and working memory, and on factors that may contribute to the development of math anxiety.

Inadequate Models of Adolescent Substance Use Prevention: Looking for Options to Promote Pro-Social Change and Engagement.

PubMed

Ostaszewski, Krzysztof

2015-01-01

In the adolescent substance use prevention two competing models can be found: negative and positive. The negative model is entirely focused on risks and problems that young people should avoid. The positive model goes beyond that problem-oriented perspective and calls for positive youth growth and development. Both models of prevention seems to be inadequate to address effectively the challenging problem of adolescent substance use associated consequences. Both models are in fact flawed, but in different ways. Old, negative model neglects the power of individual strengths and ecological developmental assets, while new, positive model is often instrumentally used by politicians and other stakeholders for completely different goals than an informed, science-based prevention. As a result many substance use prevention programs implemented at schools and in communities are neither theoretically nor empirically informed. In order to address these flaws, the model of balanced prevention was outlined. It posits that triple well informed efforts are needed to achieve both specific substance use prevention goals and youth personal/social development. These efforts include protection building, risks reducing and individual assets development support. The proposed model is an ongoing work in progress. It can be considered as an encouragement for international dialogue to build a balanced conceptual foundation for adolescent substance use prevention.

Learning and generalization from reward and punishment in opioid addiction

PubMed Central

Myers, Catherine E.; Rego, Janice; Haber, Paul; Morley, Kirsten; Beck, Kevin D.; Hogarth, Lee; Moustafa, Ahmed A.

2016-01-01

This study adapts a widely-used acquired equivalence paradigm to investigate how opioid-addicted individuals learn from positive and negative feedback, and how they generalize this learning. The opioid-addicted group consisted of 33 participants with a history of heroin dependency currently in a methadone maintenance program; the control group consisted of 32 healthy participants without a history of drug addiction. All participants performed a novel variant of the acquired equivalence task, where they learned to map some stimuli to correct outcomes in order to obtain reward, and to map other stimuli to correct outcomes in order to avoid punishment; some stimuli were implicitly “equivalent” in the sense of being paired with the same outcome. On the initial training phase, both groups performed similarly on learning to obtain reward, but as memory load grew, the control group outperformed the addicted group on learning to avoid punishment. On a subsequent testing phase, the addicted and control groups performed similarly on retention trials involving previously-trained stimulus-outcome pairs, as well as on generalization trials to assess acquired equivalence. Since prior work with acquired equivalence tasks has associated stimulus-outcome learning with the nigrostriatal dopamine system, and generalization with the hippocampal region, the current results are consistent with basal ganglia dysfunction in the opioid-addicted patients. Further, a selective deficit in learning from punishment could contribute to processes by which addicted individuals continue to pursue drug use even at the cost of negative consequences such as loss of income and the opportunity to engage in other life activities. PMID:27641323

Learning and generalization from reward and punishment in opioid addiction.

PubMed

Myers, Catherine E; Rego, Janice; Haber, Paul; Morley, Kirsten; Beck, Kevin D; Hogarth, Lee; Moustafa, Ahmed A

2017-01-15

This study adapts a widely-used acquired equivalence paradigm to investigate how opioid-addicted individuals learn from positive and negative feedback, and how they generalize this learning. The opioid-addicted group consisted of 33 participants with a history of heroin dependency currently in a methadone maintenance program; the control group consisted of 32 healthy participants without a history of drug addiction. All participants performed a novel variant of the acquired equivalence task, where they learned to map some stimuli to correct outcomes in order to obtain reward, and to map other stimuli to correct outcomes in order to avoid punishment; some stimuli were implicitly "equivalent" in the sense of being paired with the same outcome. On the initial training phase, both groups performed similarly on learning to obtain reward, but as memory load grew, the control group outperformed the addicted group on learning to avoid punishment. On a subsequent testing phase, the addicted and control groups performed similarly on retention trials involving previously-trained stimulus-outcome pairs, as well as on generalization trials to assess acquired equivalence. Since prior work with acquired equivalence tasks has associated stimulus-outcome learning with the nigrostriatal dopamine system, and generalization with the hippocampal region, the current results are consistent with basal ganglia dysfunction in the opioid-addicted patients. Further, a selective deficit in learning from punishment could contribute to processes by which addicted individuals continue to pursue drug use even at the cost of negative consequences such as loss of income and the opportunity to engage in other life activities. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A recommendation for timing of repeat Chlamydia trachomatis test following infection and treatment in pregnant and nonpregnant women

PubMed Central

Lazenby, Gweneth B; Korte, Jeffrey E; Tillman, Sarah; Brown, Florence K; Soper, David E

2018-01-01

The objective of this study was to describe the time required to obtain a negative chlamydia test in pregnant and nonpregnant women following treatment to inform test-of-cure collection and recommend an abstinence period to avoid reinfection. Seventy-two women with Chlamydia trachomatis infection, 36 pregnant and 36 nonpregnant, were enrolled in a prospective cohort study. Women were excluded less than 18 years of age, if they had been treated for chlamydia, reported an allergy to macrolide antibiotics, or if they had Myasthenia Gravis. Women were treated for chlamydia with single-dose therapy and submitted weekly vaginal chlamydia nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). Once NAATwere negative, the participants completed the study. Forty-seven women completed the study per protocol. The primary outcome was to determine the time to a negative chlamydia NAAT following treatment, with secondary outcomes of determining the appropriate time to collect a test-of-cure following chlamydia treatment and to recommend an appropriate abstinence period following treatment to avoid reinfection. Results showed that the time to a negative chlamydia NAAT was significantly different between groups (log-rank p = 0.0013). The median number of days to obtain a negative chlamydia NAAT was 8 days (IQR 7–14) in pregnant and 7 days (IQR 6–10) in nonpregnant women (WRST p = 0.04). All participants had a negative chlamydia NAAT by day 29 post-treatment. Following single-dose treatment for chlamydia, both pregnant and nonpregnant women should test negative with NAAT by 30 days post-treatment. Clinicians should collect a test-of-cure in pregnant women no earlier than 1 month. To avoid reinfection, women should avoid condomless intercourse for at least 1 month. PMID:27864473

A recommendation for timing of repeat Chlamydia trachomatis test following infection and treatment in pregnant and nonpregnant women.

PubMed

Lazenby, Gweneth B; Korte, Jeffrey E; Tillman, Sarah; Brown, Florence K; Soper, David E

2017-08-01

The objective of this study was to describe the time required to obtain a negative chlamydia test in pregnant and nonpregnant women following treatment to inform test-of-cure collection and recommend an abstinence period to avoid reinfection. Seventy-two women with Chlamydia trachomatis infection, 36 pregnant and 36 nonpregnant, were enrolled in a prospective cohort study. Women were excluded less than 18 years of age, if they had been treated for chlamydia, reported an allergy to macrolide antibiotics, or if they had Myasthenia Gravis. Women were treated for chlamydia with single-dose therapy and submitted weekly vaginal chlamydia nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). Once NAAT were negative, the participants completed the study. Forty-seven women completed the study per protocol. The primary outcome was to determine the time to a negative chlamydia NAAT following treatment, with secondary outcomes of determining the appropriate time to collect a test-of-cure following chlamydia treatment and to recommend an appropriate abstinence period following treatment to avoid reinfection. Results showed that the time to a negative chlamydia NAAT was significantly different between groups (log-rank p = 0.0013). The median number of days to obtain a negative chlamydia NAAT was 8 days (IQR 7-14) in pregnant and 7 days (IQR 6-10) in nonpregnant women (WRST p = 0.04). All participants had a negative chlamydia NAAT by day 29 post-treatment. Following single-dose treatment for chlamydia, both pregnant and nonpregnant women should test negative with NAAT by 30 days post-treatment. Clinicians should collect a test-of-cure in pregnant women no earlier than 1 month. To avoid reinfection, women should avoid condomless intercourse for at least 1 month.

Coping and negative appraisal as mediators between control beliefs and psychological symptoms in children of divorce.

PubMed

Sandler, I N; Kim-Bae, L S; MacKinnon, D

2000-09-01

Examined control beliefs of children of divorce as predictors of their coping, negative appraisals for stressful events, and mental health problems. We tested whether coping and negative appraisal for stressful events mediated the relations between multiple dimensions of control beliefs and mental health problems. Different dimensions of control beliefs were related to different aspects of coping and negative stress appraisal. Internal control beliefs for positive events were related to both active and avoidant coping. Unknown control beliefs for positive events were related to higher active coping and higher negative appraisal. Unknown control beliefs for negative events were related to higher avoidant coping. In addition, evidence for mediation was found such that the effect of unknown control beliefs for positive events on mental health problems was mediated by negative appraisal. Implications and directions for further research are discussed.

Reducing risk of pressure sores: effects of watch prompts and alarm avoidance on wheelchair push-ups.

PubMed Central

White, G W; Mathews, R M; Fawcett, S B

1989-01-01

People who use wheelchairs are at risk for developing pressure sores. Regular pressure relief, in the form of a wheelchair push-up, is one way to reduce the likelihood of pressure sores. We examined the effects of antecedent (i.e., instructions, audible prompts) and consequent (i.e., alarm avoidance) events on wheelchair push-ups, using a multiple baseline analysis with 2 participants with spina bifida. Results suggest that the combined procedure was more effective than either antecedent or consequent events alone, and there is some evidence suggesting maintenance of effects over time. PMID:2793635

The blues broaden, but the nasty narrows: attentional consequences of negative affects low and high in motivational intensity.

PubMed

Gable, Philip; Harmon-Jones, Eddie

2010-02-01

Positive and negative affects high in motivational intensity cause a narrowing of attentional focus. In contrast, positive affects low in motivational intensity cause a broadening of attentional focus. The attentional consequences of negative affects low in motivational intensity have not been experimentally investigated. Experiment 1 compared the attentional consequences of negative affect low in motivational intensity (sadness) relative to a neutral affective state. Results indicated that low-motivation negative affect caused attentional broadening. Experiment 2 found that disgust, a high-motivation negative affect not previously investigated in attentional studies, narrowed attentional focus. These experiments support the conceptual model linking high-motivation affective states to narrowed attention and low-motivation affective states to broadened attention.

Conditioned flavor aversion and location avoidance in hamsters from toxic extract of tall larkspur (Delphinium barbeyi)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Studies were conducted to address conditioned flavour aversion (CFA) and place avoidance learning in hamsters given injections of alkaloid extracts from tall larkspur (Delphinium barbeyi), to determine if larkspur had reinforcing or negative properties sufficient to cause place avoidance or preferen...

Effects of Adult Romantic Attachment and Social Support on Resilience and Depression in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries

PubMed Central

Dodd, Zane; Warren, Ann Marie; Riggs, Shelley; Clark, Mike

2015-01-01

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) can cause psychological consequences that negatively affect quality of life. It is increasingly recognized that factors such as resilience and social support may produce a buffering effect and are associated with improved health outcomes. However the influence of adult attachment style on an individual’s ability to utilize social support after SCI has not been examined. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between adult romantic attachment perceived social support depression and resilience in individuals with SCI. In addition we evaluated potential mediating effects of social support and adult attachment on resilience and depression. Methods: Participants included 106 adults with SCI undergoing inpatient rehabilitation. Individuals completed measures of adult attachment (avoidance and anxiety) social support resilience and depression. Path analysis was performed to assess for presence of mediation effects. Results: When accounting for the smaller sample size support was found for the model (comparative fit index = .927 chi square = 7.86 P = .01 β = -0.25 standard error [SE] = -2.93 P < .05). The mediating effect of social support on the association between attachment avoidance and resilience was the only hypothesized mediating effect found to be significant (β = -0.25 SE = -2.93 P < .05). Conclusion: Results suggest that individuals with SCI with higher levels of attachment avoidance have lower perceived social support which relates to lower perceived resilience. Assessing attachment patterns during inpatient rehabilitation may allow therapists to intervene to provide greater support. PMID:26364285

[Climatic changes in Scandinavia--consequences for public health].

PubMed

Kanestrøm, I

1999-01-30

Atmospheric composition and climate conditions are of great importance for health. Increasing consumption of fossil fuels ever since the industrial revolution has resulted in higher contents of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Primarily, this will increase the global temperature. Secondarily, it may change the patterns of precipitation and droughts. Higher extreme temperatures will have a negative effect on health. Climate changes can also change the living conditions of undesirable insects and microbes. The ozone gas in the atmosphere acts as a shield against the harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Chlorofluorocarbons contribute to reduction of the ozone layer and increase ultraviolet radiation. Increased exposure of the skin to this radiation may cause damage such as sunburn and skin cancer. In order to avoid damage, it is of importance to wear protective clothing or use effective sunshades.

The possible effects of anthropogenic acoustic pollution on marine mammals' reproduction: an emerging threat to animal extinction.

PubMed

Nabi, Ghulam; McLaughlin, Richard William; Hao, Yujiang; Wang, Kexiong; Zeng, Xianyuan; Khan, Suliman; Wang, Ding

2018-05-26

For about 119 species of cetaceans and other aquatic animals, sound is the key source of learning about the environment, navigation, communication, foraging, and avoiding predators. However, in the recent era, the introduction of large quantities of anthropogenic noise into the ocean has significantly altered the ocean's acoustic environment. The anthropogenic noises travel very long distances, blanketing enormous areas. This can affect cetaceans, either by direct killing or compromising hearing, navigation, communication, predation, as well as normal behaviors. It has been suggested that acoustic pollution could possibly negatively affect cetacean reproduction, which is harmful for endangered and threatened species. However, it is still unknown how acoustic pollution can suppress cetacean reproduction. This is the first comprehensive review article, which focuses on the possible consequences affecting the reproduction of marine mammals resulting from acoustic pollution.

Social anxiety symptoms and drinking behaviors among college students: the mediating effects of drinking motives.

PubMed

Villarosa, Margo C; Madson, Michael B; Zeigler-Hill, Virgil; Noble, Jeremy J; Mohn, Richard S

2014-09-01

The impact of social anxiety on negative alcohol-related behaviors among college students has been studied extensively. Drinking motives are considered the most proximal indicator of college student drinking behavior. The current study examined the mediating role of drinking motives in the relationship that social anxiety symptoms have with problematic (alcohol consumption, harmful drinking, and negative consequences) and safe (protective behavioral strategies) drinking behaviors. Participants were 532 undergraduates who completed measures of social anxiety, drinking motives, alcohol use, harmful drinking patterns, negative consequences of alcohol use, and protective behavioral strategy use. Our results show that students with higher levels of social anxiety symptoms who were drinking for enhancement motives reported more harmful drinking and negative consequences, and used fewer protective behavioral strategies. Thus, students who were drinking to increase their positive mood were participating in more problematic drinking patterns compared with students reporting fewer social anxiety symptoms. Further, conformity motives partially mediated the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and negative consequences. Thus, students with more symptoms of social anxiety who were drinking in order to be accepted by their peers were more likely than others to experience negative consequences. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

The Affective Bases of Risk Perception: Negative Feelings and Stress Mediate the Relationship between Mental Imagery and Risk Perception.

PubMed

Sobkow, Agata; Traczyk, Jakub; Zaleskiewicz, Tomasz

2016-01-01

Recent research has documented that affect plays a crucial role in risk perception. When no information about numerical risk estimates is available (e.g., probability of loss or magnitude of consequences), people may rely on positive and negative affect toward perceived risk. However, determinants of affective reactions to risks are poorly understood. In a series of three experiments, we addressed the question of whether and to what degree mental imagery eliciting negative affect and stress influences risk perception. In each experiment, participants were instructed to visualize consequences of risk taking and to rate riskiness. In Experiment 1, participants who imagined negative risk consequences reported more negative affect and perceived risk as higher compared to the control condition. In Experiment 2, we found that this effect was driven by affect elicited by mental imagery rather than its vividness and intensity. In this study, imagining positive risk consequences led to lower perceived risk than visualizing negative risk consequences. Finally, we tested the hypothesis that negative affect related to higher perceived risk was caused by negative feelings of stress. In Experiment 3, we introduced risk-irrelevant stress to show that participants in the stress condition rated perceived risk as higher in comparison to the control condition. This experiment showed that higher ratings of perceived risk were influenced by psychological stress. Taken together, our results demonstrate that affect-laden mental imagery dramatically changes risk perception through negative affect (i.e., psychological stress).

The Affective Bases of Risk Perception: Negative Feelings and Stress Mediate the Relationship between Mental Imagery and Risk Perception

PubMed Central

Sobkow, Agata; Traczyk, Jakub; Zaleskiewicz, Tomasz

2016-01-01

Recent research has documented that affect plays a crucial role in risk perception. When no information about numerical risk estimates is available (e.g., probability of loss or magnitude of consequences), people may rely on positive and negative affect toward perceived risk. However, determinants of affective reactions to risks are poorly understood. In a series of three experiments, we addressed the question of whether and to what degree mental imagery eliciting negative affect and stress influences risk perception. In each experiment, participants were instructed to visualize consequences of risk taking and to rate riskiness. In Experiment 1, participants who imagined negative risk consequences reported more negative affect and perceived risk as higher compared to the control condition. In Experiment 2, we found that this effect was driven by affect elicited by mental imagery rather than its vividness and intensity. In this study, imagining positive risk consequences led to lower perceived risk than visualizing negative risk consequences. Finally, we tested the hypothesis that negative affect related to higher perceived risk was caused by negative feelings of stress. In Experiment 3, we introduced risk-irrelevant stress to show that participants in the stress condition rated perceived risk as higher in comparison to the control condition. This experiment showed that higher ratings of perceived risk were influenced by psychological stress. Taken together, our results demonstrate that affect-laden mental imagery dramatically changes risk perception through negative affect (i.e., psychological stress). PMID:27445901

Helping Teenage Girls Avoid the Female Athlete Triad.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ilardi, Deb

2002-01-01

Describes how school nurses can advocate for adolescent female students and help them avoid the female athlete triad that includes disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. The article focuses on consequences of the triad, how to uncover the symptoms, working to improve public support, and creating a successful program through partnership.…

INFANT AVOIDANCE DURING A TACTILE TASK PREDICTS AUTISM SPECTRUM BEHAVIORS IN TODDLERHOOD.

PubMed

Mammen, Micah A; Moore, Ginger A; Scaramella, Laura V; Reiss, David; Ganiban, Jody M; Shaw, Daniel S; Leve, Leslie D; Neiderhiser, Jenae M

2015-01-01

The experience of touch is critical for early communication and social interaction; infants who show aversion to touch may be at risk for atypical development and behavior problems. The current study aimed to clarify predictive associations between infant responses to tactile stimuli and toddler autism spectrum, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors. This study measured 9-month-old infants' (N = 561; 58% male) avoidance and negative affect during a novel tactile task in which parents painted infants' hands and feet and pressed them to paper to make a picture. Parent reports on the Pervasive Developmental Problems (PDP), Internalizing, and Externalizing scales of the Child Behavior Checklist were used to measure toddler behaviors at 18 months. Infant observed avoidance and negative affect were significantly correlated; however, avoidance predicted subsequent PDP scores only, independent of negative affect, which did not predict any toddler behaviors. Findings suggest that incorporating measures of responses to touch in the study of early social interaction may provide an important and discriminating construct for identifying children at greater risk for social impairments related to autism spectrum behaviors. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

How does achievement motivation influence mental effort mobilization? Physiological evidence of deteriorative effects of negative affects on the level of engagement.

PubMed

Capa, Rémi L; Audiffren, Michel

2009-12-01

We tested whether the effect of achievement motivation on effort is modulated by two possible factors of the motivational intensity theory (Wright and Kirby, 2001): perceived difficulty and maximally justified effort. Approach-driven (N=16) and avoidance-driven (N=16) participants were first instructed to perform a reaction time task to the best of their abilities. Next, the participants were instructed to consistently beat their performance standard established in the first condition. Approach-driven participants showed a stronger decrease of midfrequency band of heart rate variability, which was used as an index of mental effort, than avoidance-driven participants in the second instruction condition. Moreover, avoidance-driven participants showed a higher corrugator supercilii reactivity, which was used as an index of negative affects, than approach-driven participants in the second instruction condition. No difference of perceived difficulty between groups was observed. Results suggested that avoidance-driven participants developed negative affects in the second instruction condition decreasing the maximally justified effort and their level of engagement.

Wait time management strategies for total joint replacement surgery: sustainability and unintended consequences.

PubMed

Pomey, Marie-Pascale; Clavel, Nathalie; Amar, Claudia; Sabogale-Olarte, Juan Carlos; Sanmartin, Claudia; De Coster, Carolyn; Noseworthy, Tom

2017-09-07

In Canada, long waiting times for core specialized services have consistently been identified as a key barrier to access. Governments and organizations have responded with strategies for better access management, notably for total joint replacement (TJR) of the hip and knee. While wait time management strategies (WTMS) are promising, the factors which influence their sustainable implementation at the organizational level are understudied. Consequently, this study examined organizational and systemic factors that made it possible to sustain waiting times for TJR within federally established limits and for at least 18 months or more. The research design is a multiple case study of WTMS implementation. Five cases were selected across five Canadian provinces. Three success levels were pre-defined: 1) the WTMS maintained compliance with requirements for more than 18 months; 2) the WTMS met requirements for 18 months but could not sustain the level thereafter; 3) the WTMS never met requirements. For each case, we collected documents and interviewed key informants. We analyzed systemic and organizational factors, with particular attention to governance and leadership, culture, resources, methods, and tools. We found that successful organizations had specific characteristics: 1) management of the whole care continuum, 2) strong clinical leadership; 3) dedicated committees to coordinate and sustain strategy; 4) a culture based on trust and innovation. All strategies led to relatively similar unintended consequences. The main negative consequence was an initial increase in waiting times for TJR and the main positive consequence was operational enhancement of other areas of specialization based on the TJR model. This study highlights important differences in factors which help to achieve and sustain waiting times. To be sustainable, a WTMS needs to generate greater synergies between contextual-level strategy (provincial or regional) and organizational objectives and constraints. Managers at the organizational level should be vigilant with regard to unintended consequences that a WTMS in one area can have for other areas of care. A more systemic approach to sustainability can help avoid or mitigate undesirable unintended consequences.

The Neural Correlates of Anomalous Habituation to Negative Emotional Pictures in Borderline and Avoidant Personality Disorder Patients

PubMed Central

Koenigsberg, Harold W.; Denny, Bryan T.; Fan, Jin; Liu, Xun; Guerreri, Stephanie; Jo Mayson, Sarah; Rimsky, Liza; New, Antonia S.; Goodman, Marianne; Siever, Larry J

2013-01-01

Objective Extreme emotional reactivity is a defining feature of borderline personality disorder, yet the neural-behavioral mechanisms underlying this affective instability are poorly understood. One possible contributor would be diminished ability to engage the mechanism of emotional habituation. We tested this hypothesis by examining behavioral and neural correlates of habituation in borderline patients, healthy controls, and a psychopathological control group of avoidant personality disorder patients. Method During fMRI scan acquisition, borderline patients, healthy controls and avoidant personality disorder patients viewed novel and repeated pictures, providing valence ratings at each presentation. Statistical parametric maps of the contrasts of activation during repeat versus novel negative picture viewing were compared between groups. Psychophysiological interaction analysis was employed to examine functional connectivity differences between groups. Results Unlike healthy controls, neither borderline nor avoidant personality disorder participants showed increased activity in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex when viewing repeat versus novel pictures. This failure to increase dorsal anterior cingulate activity was associated with greater affective instability in borderline participants. In addition, borderline and avoidant participants showed smaller insula-amygdala connectivity increases than healthy participants and did not show habituation in ratings of the emotional intensity of the images as did healthy participants. Borderline patients differed from avoidant patients in insula-ventral anterior cingulate connectivity during habituation. Conclusions Borderline patients fail to habituate to negative pictures as do healthy participants and differ from both healthy controls and avoidant patients in neural activity during habituation. A failure to effectively engage emotional habituation processes may contribute to affective instability in borderline patients. PMID:24275960

Effects of buspirone on the immediate positive and delayed negative properties of intravenous cocaine as measured in the conditioned place preference test

PubMed Central

Ettenberg, Aaron; Bernardi, Rick E.

2007-01-01

In prior work, we have demonstrated that the behavioral effects of cocaine adhere to the predictions of the opponent-process theory of drug action. Animals develop conditioned place preferences for distinct locations paired with the immediate effects of IV cocaine, but learn to avoid places paired with the effects present 15-min post injection. It was of interest to assess the putative role of 5-HT in producing the negative properties of cocaine since cocaine acts to inhibit the reuptake of serotonin (5-HT) and since such actions have been associated with anxiogenic consequences. Male rats were administered a reinforcing dose of cocaine (1.0 mg/kg IV) and then placed – either immediately or after a 15-min delay -- into one side of a two-compartment (black-white) Conditioned Place Preference (CPP) box for 5-min. On alternate days, the animals received IV saline injections and were placed in the opposite side of the CPP box. This continued for eight days after which animals had experienced 4 pairings of cocaine with one side (black or white) of the CPP apparatus, and 4 saline pairings with the opposite side. Other groups of rats were treated identically except that 30-min prior to placement into the apparatus, these animals received an IP injection of saline or buspirone (a partial 5-HT1A agonist) at a dose that we have shown to be anxiolytic (2.5 mg/kg IP). Control animals experienced either buspirone or saline pretreatments without cocaine. Our results confirm that animals increase the time spent on the side paired with the immediate effects of cocaine (compared to baseline), but tend to avoid the side paired with effects present 15-min post-injection. Buspirone had no effect on the immediate rewarding properties of cocaine, but completely reversed the negative properties present 15-min post-cocaine. These results are consistent with the view that attenuation of 5-HT neurotransmission (via the autoreceptor agonist properties of buspirone) can reverse the negative impact of IV cocaine. PMID:17524462

Using Thermal Radiation in Detection of Negative Obstacles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rankin, Arturo L.; Matthies, Larry H.

2009-01-01

A method of automated detection of negative obstacles (potholes, ditches, and the like) ahead of ground vehicles at night involves processing of imagery from thermal-infrared cameras aimed at the terrain ahead of the vehicles. The method is being developed as part of an overall obstacle-avoidance scheme for autonomous and semi-autonomous offroad robotic vehicles. The method could also be applied to help human drivers of cars and trucks avoid negative obstacles -- a development that may entail only modest additional cost inasmuch as some commercially available passenger cars are already equipped with infrared cameras as aids for nighttime operation.

What you like is what you try to get: Attitudes toward emotions and situation selection.

PubMed

Markovitch, Noam; Netzer, Liat; Tamir, Maya

2017-06-01

Why do people expose themselves to certain emotional stimuli and avoid others? We propose that what people want to feel is linked to attitudes toward emotions. In 3 studies, we show that individuals with more (vs. less) negative attitudes toward an emotion were more (vs. less) likely to avoid stimuli that induce that emotion. People who evaluated disgust (or joy) less favorably than others were less likely to expose themselves to disgusting (or joyful) pictures (Study 1). These links were emotion-specific and could not be explained by differences in state or trait emotion (Study 2) or in emotional reactivity (Study 3). We were further able to show that the choice of emotion-inducing stimuli affected emotional experience in a congruent manner. People with more (vs. less) negative attitudes toward disgust (or sadness) were more likely to avoid disgusting (or sad) stimuli, resulting in more intense experiences of disgust (or sadness; Study 2). Finally, people with more negative attitudes toward disgust chose to avoid more disgusting stimuli, whether attitudes were assessed explicitly or implicitly (Study 3). These findings suggest that people avoid stimuli that induce emotions that they evaluate less favorably, even when such evaluations are not consciously accessible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotions and emotional approach and avoidance strategies in fibromyalgia.

PubMed

van Middendorp, Henriët; Lumley, Mark A; Jacobs, Johannes W G; van Doornen, Lorenz J P; Bijlsma, Johannes W J; Geenen, Rinie

2008-02-01

Disturbances in emotional functioning may contribute to psychological and physical symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia. This study examined emotions and emotion-regulation strategies in women with fibromyalgia and in controls, and how these variables relate to symptoms of fibromyalgia. We compared 403 women with fibromyalgia to 196 control women using self-report questionnaires. Negative emotions and the use of emotional-avoidance strategies were elevated, and positive emotions were reduced, in fibromyalgia patients; the alexithymia scale "difficulty identifying feelings" showed a large deviation from normal. Emotional-approach measures were not deviant. In the fibromyalgia sample, emotional-avoidance strategies were highly correlated with more mental distress and were modestly correlated with more pain and fatigue, while emotional-approach strategies were only minimally related to better functioning. We tested two interaction models. The intense experiencing of emotions was related to more pain only in patients who lack the ability to process or describe emotions. Although fibromyalgia patients showed deficits in the experiencing of positive affect, positive affect did not buffer the association between pain and negative affect. This study demonstrates increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions, as well as increased emotional-avoidance strategies, in women with fibromyalgia. Research should test whether interventions that reduce emotional avoidance lead to health improvements in women with fibromyalgia.

A Field Investigation of the Effects of Drinking Consequences on Young Adults’ Readiness to Change

PubMed Central

Usala, Julie M.; Celio, Mark A.; Lisman, Stephen A.; Day, Anne M.; Spear, Linda P.

2014-01-01

In the research on readiness to change (RTC) one’s drinking, there has been little assessment of the influence of positive drinking consequences or other potential moderating variables. To address these limitations, we examined how young adults’ RTC their alcohol consumption shortly following a drinking episode was associated with self-reported drinking consequences, as well as any potential moderating effects of gender and Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC). In street interviews outside bars, 238 young adults were administered questionnaires about their drinking, including a measure examining participants’ current readiness to reduce their alcohol consumption. Within 72 hours of their drinking episode, 67 participants (36 males; Entire Sample Mage = 20.90 years, Range = 18–26 years) completed an online survey, once again measuring RTC as well as positive and negative drinking consequences. Consistent with our hypothesis, positive drinking consequences were negatively associated with participants’ changes in RTC. Additionally, a three-way interaction of gender x BrAC x Positive Drinking Consequences on RTC showed that females with low BrACs reported higher RTC scores when they had endorsed fewer positive drinking consequences. Interestingly, negative drinking consequences alone did not impact individuals’ RTC. Because positive drinking consequences were a significantly better predictor of RTC than were negative drinking consequences, researchers are advised to examine both types of consequences in future studies. Finally, effective alcohol education programs for those who have never consumed alcohol as well as social drinkers should include consideration of the experience of positive outcomes. PMID:25452061

Within Your Control? When Problem Solving May Be Most Helpful.

PubMed

Sarfan, Laurel D; Gooch, Peter; Clerkin, Elise M

2017-08-01

Emotion regulation strategies have been conceptualized as adaptive or maladaptive, but recent evidence suggests emotion regulation outcomes may be context-dependent. The present study tested whether the adaptiveness of a putatively adaptive emotion regulation strategy-problem solving-varied across contexts of high and low controllability. The present study also tested rumination, suggested to be one of the most putatively maladaptive strategies, which was expected to be associated with negative outcomes regardless of context. Participants completed an in vivo speech task, in which they were randomly assigned to a controllable ( n = 65) or an uncontrollable ( n = 63) condition. Using moderation analyses, we tested whether controllability interacted with emotion regulation use to predict negative affect, avoidance, and perception of performance. Partially consistent with hypotheses, problem solving was associated with certain positive outcomes (i.e., reduced behavioral avoidance) in the controllable (vs. uncontrollable) condition. Consistent with predictions, rumination was associated with negative outcomes (i.e., desired avoidance, negative affect, negative perception of performance) in both conditions. Overall, findings partially support contextual models of emotion regulation, insofar as the data suggest that the effects of problem solving may be more adaptive in controllable contexts for certain outcomes, whereas rumination may be maladaptive regardless of context.

Wolves Recolonizing Islands: Genetic Consequences and Implications for Conservation and Management.

PubMed

Plumer, Liivi; Keis, Marju; Remm, Jaanus; Hindrikson, Maris; Jõgisalu, Inga; Männil, Peep; Kübarsepp, Marko; Saarma, Urmas

2016-01-01

After a long and deliberate persecution, the grey wolf (Canis lupus) is slowly recolonizing its former areas in Europe, and the genetic consequences of this process are of particular interest. Wolves, though present in mainland Estonia for a long time, have only recently started to recolonize the country's two largest islands, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. The main objective of this study was to analyse wolf population structure and processes in Estonia, with particular attention to the recolonization of islands. Fifteen microsatellite loci were genotyped for 185 individuals across Estonia. As a methodological novelty, all putative wolf-dog hybrids were identified and removed (n = 17) from the dataset beforehand to avoid interference of dog alleles in wolf population analysis. After the preliminary filtering, our final dataset comprised of 168 "pure" wolves. We recommend using hybrid-removal step as a standard precautionary procedure not only for wolf population studies, but also for other taxa prone to hybridization. STRUCTURE indicated four genetic groups in Estonia. Spatially explicit DResD analysis identified two areas, one of them on Saaremaa island and the other in southwestern Estonia, where neighbouring individuals were genetically more similar than expected from an isolation-by-distance null model. Three blending areas and two contrasting transition zones were identified in central Estonia, where the sampled individuals exhibited strong local differentiation over relatively short distance. Wolves on the largest Estonian islands are part of human-wildlife conflict due to livestock depredation. Negative public attitude, especially on Saaremaa where sheep herding is widespread, poses a significant threat for island wolves. To maintain the long-term viability of the wolf population on Estonian islands, not only wolf hunting quota should be targeted with extreme care, but effective measures should be applied to avoid inbreeding and minimize conflicts with local communities and stakeholders.

The Impact of Parental Modeling and Permissibility on Alcohol Use and Experienced Negative Drinking Consequences in College

PubMed Central

Abar, Caitlin; Abar, Beau; Turrisi, Rob

2009-01-01

This study examined the impact of parental modeled behavior and permissibility of alcohol use in late high school on the alcohol use and experienced negative drinking consequences of college students. Two-hundred ninety college freshmen at a large university were assessed for perceptions of their parents’ permissibility of alcohol use, parents’ alcohol-related behavior, and own experienced negative consequences associated with alcohol use. Results indicate that parental permissibility of alcohol use is a consistent predictor of teen drinking behaviors, which was strongly associated with experienced negative consequences. Parental modeled use of alcohol was also found to be a risk factor, with significant differences being seen across the gender of the parents and teens. Discussion focuses on risk factors and avenues for prevention research. PMID:19398278

Relationship of work-family conflict with burnout and marital satisfaction: cross-domain or source attribution relations?

PubMed

Bagherzadeh, Razieh; Taghizadeh, Ziba; Mohammadi, Eesa; Kazemnejad, Anoshirvan; Pourreza, Abolghasem; Ebadi, Abbas

2016-01-01

The present study was conducted to examine the relationship between two dimensions of work-family conflict (WFC) with marital satisfaction and burnout in a society in which few studies have been done about the consequences of WFC. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015. Surveys were distributed to 420 employed married women with various jobs living in Bushehr province, Iran. Data were collected using a questionnaire for demographic characteristic, the Netmeyer's WFC questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory: General Survey (MBI-GS), and Enrich maritalsatisfaction questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. There was a negatively significant association between work interference with family(WIF) and overall burnout as well as emotional exhaustion (P < .01). Family interference with work (FIW) was significantly associated with depersonalization (P < .01). The overall marital satisfaction and its subscales were significantly associated with WIF (P < .01) and FIW (P < .01 for overall marital satisfaction and P < .05 for its subscales). In terms of practical implication, to avoid creating disadvantages of WIF and FIW,facilitation in two domains of improving work and family conditions can be a useful means to prevent WFC and its consequences.

Consequences of the North American Free Trade Agreement for health services: a perspective from Mexico.

PubMed Central

Frenk, J; Gómez-Dantés, O; Cruz, C; Chacón, F; Hernández, P; Freeman, P

1994-01-01

OBJECTIVES. The purposes of the study were to assess the potential impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on medical care in Mexico and to identify internal measures Mexico could take to increase the benefits and minimize the risks of free trade. METHODS. The dual nature of the health sector is examined; the Mexican, Canadian, and US health care systems are compared; and modes and consequences of international exchange of health services are analyzed. RESULTS. Four issues require immediate attention: accreditation of health care facilities, licensing and certification of professionals, technology assessment, and financial equity. CONCLUSIONS. NAFTA offers opportunities for positive developments in Mexico, provided risks can be anticipated and preventive measures can be taken to avoid negative impacts on the health system. Medical services, like other elements of the Mexican economy, must be modernized to respond to the demands of global competition. The Mexican National Academy of Medicine has recommended to the Mexican government (1) internal strengthening of the Mexican health care system to improve its ability to respond to the new conditions created by NAFTA and (2) a gradual process to facilitate equitable and mutually beneficial interactions among the three countries. PMID:7943476

Tanning and teens: Is indoor exposure the tip of the iceberg?

PubMed Central

Hay, Jennifer L.; Riley, Kristen E.; Geller, Alan C.

2017-01-01

Due to recent state regulations and the reduced availability of free-standing tanning salons, indoor tanning prevalence is beginning to decline. This may lead to unintended consequences – increases in outdoor intentional tanning. We advance a series of research directions to track and intervene to address all forms of intentional tanning. First, we advocate for enforcement of indoor tanning regulation and encourage collection of data on tanning salon compliance and alternative indoor tanning strategies. Second, we suggest questions about outdoor and indoor tanning should be included in national surveys. Third, we need to understand the potentially complex patterns of indoor and outdoor tanning that may exist among those who tan. Fourth, research examining changing motivations for intentional tanning is needed. Finally, indoor tanning intervention studies should include outdoor tanning as an outcome to examine the effect of interventions on these related risk behaviors. These advances will ensure the development of novel interventions to address intentional tanning through multiple routes, and to avoid any unintended negative consequence of indoor tanning regulation. The promising downward direction of indoor tanning use in the United States should now lead the public health field to sharpen its focus on outdoor tanning. PMID:28765337

Relationship of service members' deployment trauma, PTSD symptoms, and experiential avoidance to postdeployment family reengagement.

PubMed

Brockman, Callie; Snyder, James; Gewirtz, Abigail; Gird, Suzanne R; Quattlebaum, Jamie; Schmidt, Nicole; Pauldine, Michael R; Elish, Katie; Schrepferman, Lynn; Hayes, Charles; Zettle, Robert; DeGarmo, David

2016-02-01

This research examined whether military service members' deployment-related trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and experiential avoidance are associated with their observed levels of positive social engagement, social withdrawal, reactivity-coercion, and distress avoidance during postdeployment family interaction. Self reports of deployment related trauma, postdeployment PTSD symptoms, and experiential avoidance were collected from 184 men who were deployed to the Middle East conflicts, were partnered, and had a child between 4 and 13 years of age. Video samples of parent-child and partner problem solving and conversations about deployment issues were collected, and were rated by trained observers to assess service members' positive engagement, social withdrawal, reactivity-coercion, and distress avoidance, as well as spouse and child negative affect and behavior. Service members' experiential avoidance was reliably associated with less observed positive engagement and more observed withdrawal and distress avoidance after controlling for spouse and child negative affect and behavior during ongoing interaction. Service members' experiential avoidance also diminished significant associations between service members' PTSD symptoms and their observed behavior. The results are discussed in terms of how service members' psychological acceptance promotes family resilience and adaption to the multiple contextual challenges and role transitions associated with military deployment. Implications for parenting and marital interventions are described. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Relationship of Service Members’ Deployment Trauma, PTSD Symptoms and Experiential Avoidance to Postdeployment Family Reengagement

PubMed Central

Brockman, Callie; Snyder, James; Gewirtz, Abigail; Gird, Suzanne R.; Quattlebaum, Jamie; Schmidt, Nicole; Pauldine, Michael R.; Elish, Katie; Schrepferman, Lynn; Hayes, Charles; Zettle, Robert; DeGarmo, David

2016-01-01

This research examined whether military service members’ deployment-related trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms and experiential avoidance are associated with their observed levels of positive social engagement, social withdrawal, reactivity-coercion, and distress avoidance during postdeployment family interaction. Self reports of deployment related trauma, postdeployment PTSD symptoms and experiential avoidance were collected from 184 men who were deployed to the Middle East conflicts, were partnered, and had a child between 4 and 13 years of age. Video samples of parent-child and partner problem solving and conversations about deployment issues were collected, and were rated by trained observers to assess service members’ positive engagement, social withdrawal, reactivity-coercion, and distress avoidance, as well as spouse and child negative affect and behavior. Service members’ experiential avoidance was reliably associated with less of observed positive engagement and more observed withdrawal and distress avoidance after controlling for spouse and child negative affect and behavior during ongoing interaction. Service members’ experiential avoidance also diminished significant associations between service members’ PTSD symptoms and their observed behavior. The results are discussed in terms of how service members’ psychological acceptance promotes family resilience and adaption to the multiple contextual challenges and role transitions associated with military deployment. Implications for parenting and marital interventions are described. PMID:26437144

Cognitive avoidance of intrusive memories: recall vantage perspective and associations with depression.

PubMed

Williams, Alishia D; Moulds, Michelle L

2007-06-01

Although recent research demonstrates that intrusive memories represent an overlapping cognitive feature of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there is still a general paucity of research investigating the prevalence and maintenance of intrusive memories in depression. The current study investigated the association between a range of cognitive avoidant mechanisms that characterize PTSD samples (i.e., suppression, rumination, emotional detachment, and an observer vantage perspective) and intrusive memories of negative autobiographical events in relation to dysphoria. Hypotheses were based on the proposition that employment of these cognitive mechanisms would hinder the emotional processing of the negative event, thus contributing to the maintenance of intrusions. Results supported an association between negative intrusive memories, dysphoria, and avoidant mechanisms. Significant differences were also found between field and observer memories and measures of emotional detachment and rumination. Implications relating to intrusive memory maintenance and treatment approaches are discussed.

Perceived social pressure not to experience negative emotion is linked to selective attention for negative information.

PubMed

Bastian, Brock; Pe, Madeline Lee; Kuppens, Peter

2017-02-01

Social norms and values may be important predictors of how people engage with and regulate their negative emotional experiences. Previous research has shown that social expectancies (the perceived social pressure not to feel negative emotion (NE)) exacerbate feelings of sadness. In the current research, we examined whether social expectancies may be linked to how people process emotional information. Using a modified classical flanker task involving emotional rather than non-emotional stimuli, we found that, for those who experienced low levels of NE, social expectancies were linked to the selective avoidance of negative emotional information. Those who experienced high levels of NE did not show a selective avoidance of negative emotional information. The findings suggest that, for people who experience many NEs, social expectancies may lead to discrepancies between how they think they ought to feel and the kind of emotional information they pay attention to.

Negative Expertise: Comparing Differently Tenured Elder Care Nurses' Negative Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gartmeier, Martin; Lehtinen, Erno; Gruber, Hans; Heid, Helmut

2011-01-01

Negative expertise is conceptualised as the professional's ability to avoid errors during practice due to certain cognitive agencies. In this study, negative knowledge (i.e. knowledge about what is wrong in a certain context and situation) is conceptualised as one such agency. This study compares and investigates the negative knowledge of elder…

Human, free-operant avoidance of “time out” from monetary reinforcement1

PubMed Central

Baron, Alan; Kaufman, Arnold

1966-01-01

To assess the aversive effects of withdrawing monetary reinforcement, human subjects were exposed to a free-operant avoidance procedure in which periods of no reinforcement occurred if the subject failed to respond, and each response postponed withdrawal of reinforcement. Avoidance behavior was developed either through specific instructions about the consequence of responding or through preliminary escape-avoidance training. In all cases, rates of response were found to be a positively accelerated function of decreases in the duration by which responding postponed reinforcement withdrawal. The findings with respect to the function relating avoidance behavior to the interval of postponement were viewed as similar to those obtained when shock is used as the aversive event in free-operant avoidance conditioning. PMID:5964512

Free-Operant Avoidance Behavior by Rats after Reinforcer Revaluation Using Opioid Agonists and d-Amphetamine

PubMed Central

Urcelay, Gonzalo; Mar, Adam; Dickinson, Anthony; Robbins, Trevor

2014-01-01

The associative processes that support free-operant instrumental avoidance behavior are still unknown. We used a revaluation procedure to determine whether the performance of an avoidance response is sensitive to the current value of the aversive, negative reinforcer. Rats were trained on an unsignaled, free-operant lever press avoidance paradigm in which each response avoided or escaped shock and produced a 5 s feedback stimulus. The revaluation procedure consisted of noncontingent presentations of the shock in the absence of the lever either paired or unpaired with systemic morphine and in a different cohort with systemic d-amphetamine. Rats were then tested drug free during an extinction test. In both the d-amphetamine and morphine groups, pairing of the drug and shock decreased subsequent avoidance responding during the extinction test, suggesting that avoidance behavior was sensitive to the current incentive value of the aversive negative reinforcer. Experiment 2 used central infusions of D-Ala2, NMe-Phe4, Gly-ol5]-enkephalin (DAMGO), a mu-opioid receptor agonist, in the periacqueductal gray and nucleus accumbens shell to revalue the shock. Infusions of DAMGO in both regions replicated the effects seen with systemic morphine. These results are the first to demonstrate the impact of revaluation of an aversive reinforcer on avoidance behavior using pharmacological agents, thereby providing potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of avoidance behavior symptomatic of anxiety disorders. PMID:24790199

Focus Groups of Parents and Teens Help Develop Messages to Prevent Early Marijuana Use in the Context of Legal Retail Sales.

PubMed

Skinner, Martie L; Haggerty, Kevin P; Casey-Goldstein, Mary; Thompson, Ronald W; Buddenberg, Laura; Mason, W Alex

2017-02-23

The changes in Washington State and Colorado marijuana laws call for the development of new brief family-focused adolescent marijuana use preventive interventions that are relevant for and tailored to the context of legalization for retail sale. To that end, focus groups with parents and teens were conducted to find out about their concerns and needs in the context of legalization. Six semi-structured focus groups (3 with parents, 3 with teens) were conducted in Washington State in 2013 related to consequences of teen marijuana use and messages that would be effective in helping to prevent teens from using marijuana in the context of legal adult use. A total of 33 teens and 35 parents participated. Three primary themes were common to these parents and teens: the negative consequences of marijuana use during adolescence on mental, physical, and social health; the need for more or better information; and the need for information/messages to come from trusted sources. The themes related to potential prevention messages include the use of fear; stories about real people; focusing on short-term consequences; and teens needing alternative activities (something better to do). The results suggest that parents and teens need information about the new retail marijuana legalization law. Teens are open to both information and guidance from parents as long as it is calm and respectful. Firsthand accounts of consequences of marijuana use from peers and adults, rather than threats from authority figures, could hold some promise for persuading teens to avoid marijuana use.

Focus Groups of Parents and Teens Help Develop Messages to Prevent Early Marijuana Use in the Context of Legal Retail Sales

PubMed Central

Skinner, Martie L.; Haggerty, Kevin P.; Casey-Goldstein, Mary; Thompson, Ronald W.; Buddenberg, Laura; Mason, W. Alex

2016-01-01

Purpose The changes in Washington State and Colorado marijuana laws call for the development of new brief family-focused adolescent marijuana use preventive interventions that are relevant for and tailored to the context of legalization for retail sale. To that end, focus groups with parents and teens were conducted to find out about their concerns and needs in the context of legalization. Methods Six semi-structured focus groups (3 with parents, 3 with teens) were conducted in Washington State in 2013 related to consequences of teen marijuana use and messages that would be effective in helping to prevent teens from using marijuana in the context of legal adult use. A total of 33 teens and 35 parents participated. Results Three primary themes were common to these parents and teens: the negative consequences of marijuana use during adolescence on mental, physical, and social health; the need for more or better information; and the need for information/messages to come from trusted sources. The themes related to potential prevention messages include the use of fear; stories about real people; focusing on short-term consequences; and teens needing alternative activities (something better to do). Conclusions The results suggest that parents and teens need information about the new retail marijuana legalization law. Teens are open to both information and guidance from parents as long as it is calm and respectful. Firsthand accounts of consequences of marijuana use from peers and adults, rather than threats from authority figures, could hold some promise for persuading teens to avoid marijuana use. PMID:27768528

Comparison of Simplexa universal direct PCR with cytotoxicity assay for diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection: performance, cost, and correlation with disease.

PubMed

Landry, Marie L; Ferguson, David; Topal, Jeffrey

2014-01-01

Simplexa Clostridium difficile universal direct PCR, a real-time PCR assay for the detection of the C. difficile toxin B (tcdB) gene using the 3M integrated cycler, was compared with a two-step algorithm which includes the C. Diff Chek-60 glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) antigen assay followed by cytotoxin neutralization. Three hundred forty-two liquid or semisolid stools submitted for diagnostic C. difficile testing, 171 GDH antigen positive and 171 GDH antigen negative, were selected for the study. All samples were tested by the C. Diff Chek-60 GDH antigen assay, cytotoxin neutralization, and Simplexa direct PCR. Of 171 GDH-positive samples, 4 were excluded (from patients on therapy or from whom duplicate samples were obtained) and 88 were determined to be true positives for toxigenic C. difficile. Of the 88, 67 (76.1%) were positive by the two-step method and 86 (97.7%) were positive by PCR. Seventy-nine were positive by the GDH antigen assay only. Of 171 GDH antigen-negative samples, none were positive by PCR. One antigen-negative sample positive by the cytotoxin assay only was deemed a false positive based on chart review. Simplexa C. difficile universal direct PCR was significantly more sensitive for detecting toxigenic C. difficile bacteria than cytotoxin neutralization (P = 0.0002). However, most PCR-positive/cytotoxin-negative patients did not have clear C. difficile disease. The estimated cost avoidance provided by a more rapid molecular diagnosis was outweighed by the cost of isolating and treating PCR-positive/cytotoxin-negative patients. The costs, clinical consequences, and impact on nosocomial transmission of treating and/or isolating patients positive for toxigenic C. difficile by PCR but negative for in vivo toxin production merit further study.

Culture-general and -specific associations of attachment avoidance and anxiety with perceived parental warmth and psychological control among Turk and Belgian adolescents.

PubMed

Güngör, Derya; Bornstein, Marc H

2010-10-01

Both the adolescent peer attachment and perceived parenting style literatures emphasize the role of the quality of the parent-child relationship in children's healthy adjustment beyond the family, but few studies have investigated links between adolescents' peer attachment and perceptions of parenting. We investigate relations of adolescents' perceptions of warmth and psychological control from parents with avoidance and anxiety in attachment to close friends in two contrasting cultures. Altogether, 262 Turk and 263 Belgian youth between 14 and 18 years of age participated. Cross-culturally, attachment avoidance was negatively related to maternal warmth, and attachment anxiety positively related to maternal and paternal control and negatively to paternal warmth. Beyond these general relations, attachment avoidance was associated with paternal psychological control in Belgians but not in Turks. The study provides cross-cultural evidence for specific relations between peer attachment and perceived parenting and suggests a culture-specific pathway for the development of attachment avoidance.

Social Approach and Autistic Behavior in Children with Fragile X Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Jane E.; Weisenfeld, Leigh Anne H.; Hatton, Deborah D.; Heath, Morgan; Kaufmann, Walter E.

2007-01-01

Social avoidance is a core phenotypic characteristic of fragile X syndrome (FXS) that has critical cognitive and social consequences. However, no study has examined modulation of multiple social avoidant behaviors in children with FXS. In the current study, we introduce the "Social Approach Scale" (SAS), an observation scale that includes physical…

Hypoglycemia: an overview of fear of hypoglycemia, quality-of-life, and impact on costs.

PubMed

Fidler, Carrie; Elmelund Christensen, Torsten; Gillard, Samantha

2011-01-01

The clinical goal in the treatment of diabetes is to achieve good glycemic control. Tight glycemic control achieved with intensive glucose lowering treatment reduces the risk of long-term micro- and macro-vascular complications of diabetes, resulting in an improvement in quality-of-life for the patient and decreased healthcare costs. The positive impact of good glycemic control is, however, counterbalanced by the negative impact of an increased incidence of hypoglycemia. A search of PubMed was conducted to identify published literature on the impact of hypoglycemia, both on patient quality-of-life and associated costs to the healthcare system and society. In people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, hypoglycemia is associated with a reduction in quality-of-life, increased fear and anxiety, reduced productivity, and increased healthcare costs. Fear of hypoglycemia may promote compensatory behaviors in order to avoid hypoglycemia, such as decreased insulin doses, resulting in poor glycemic control and an increased risk of serious health consequences. Every non-severe event may be associated with a utility loss in the range of 0.0033-0.0052 over 1 year, further contributing to the negative impact. This review is intended to provide an overview of hypoglycemia in diabetes and its impact on patients and society, and consequently it is not a comprehensive evaluation of all studies reporting hypoglycemic episodes. To provide the best possible care for patients and a cost-effective treatment strategy for healthcare decision-makers, a treatment that provides good glycemic control with a limited risk of hypoglycemia would be a welcome addition to diabetes management options.

Childhood obesity: the impact on long-term risk of metabolic and CVD is not necessarily inevitable.

PubMed

McMullen, Sarah

2014-08-01

The worldwide prevalence of overweight and obesity in the adult population is estimated to be 35%. These trends are reflected in childhood obesity prevalence, and the potential impact of early-onset obesity is of great concern. The aim of this review was to investigate the long-term implications of childhood obesity for metabolic and cardiovascular health, focusing on the independent contribution of childhood obesity to adult disease risk, as distinct from associations mediated by tracking of obesity across the lifespan. The data systematically reviewed provide little evidence to suggest that childhood overweight and obesity are independent risk factors for metabolic and cardiovascular risk during adulthood. Instead, the data demonstrate that the relationships observed are dependent on tracking of BMI between childhood and adulthood, alongside persistence of dietary patterns and physical activity. Adjustment for adult BMI uncovers unexpected negative associations between childhood BMI and adult disease, suggesting a protective effect of childhood obesity at any given level of adult BMI. Further work is required to explain these findings, both in terms of pathways and statistical artefacts. To conclude, it must be stressed that it is not suggested that childhood obesity is without negative consequence. Childhood obesity is clearly associated with a range of adverse physical and psychological outcomes. However, the data are important in supporting a positive message that the long-term consequences of childhood obesity are avoidable; and that there remains opportunity for intervention across the lifespan. This nuance in understanding long-term risk is important when considering the effectiveness of interventions at different stages of the lifespan.

Coping and chronic psychosocial consequences of female genital mutilation in The Netherlands.

PubMed

Vloeberghs, Erick; van der Kwaak, Anke; Knipscheer, Jeroen; van den Muijsenbergh, Maria

2012-01-01

The study presented in this article explored psychosocial and relational problems of African immigrant women in The Netherlands who underwent female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), the causes they attribute to these problems--in particular, their opinions about the relationship between these problems and their circumcision--and the way they cope with these health complaints. This mixed-methods study used standardised questionnaires as well as in-depth interviews among a purposive sample of 66 women who had migrated from Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia or Sierra Leone to The Netherlands. Data were collected by ethnically similar female interviewers; interviews were coded and analysed by two independent researchers. One in six respondents suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and one-third reported symptoms related to depression or anxiety. The negative feelings caused by FGM/C became more prominent during childbirth or when suffering from physical problems. Migration to the Netherlands led to a shift in how women perceive FGM, making them more aware of the negative consequences of FGM. Many women felt ashamed to be examined by a physician and avoided visiting doctors who did not conceal their astonishment about the FGM. FGM/C had a lifelong impact on the majority of the women participating in the study, causing chronic mental and psychosocial problems. Migration made women who underwent FGM/C more aware of their condition. Three types of women could be distinguished according to their coping style: the adaptives, the disempowered and the traumatised. Health care providers should become more aware of their problems and more sensitive in addressing them.

Framing of nutrition education messages in persuading consumers of the advantages of a healthy diet.

PubMed

van Assema, P; Martens, M; Ruiter, R A; Brug, J

2001-12-01

Educational dietary messages can stress either the positive consequences of performing a recommended dietary behaviour (positive frame) or the negative consequences of not performing a recommended dietary behaviour (negative frame). From studies on other health behaviours, there is evidence that positive frames have a stronger impact in encouraging preventive behaviours than negative frames. The main hypothesis of the present study was therefore that positively framed messages on eating a low-fat diet and eating enough fruit and vegetables (F & V) are more persuasive than negatively framed messages. In a 2 (Frame: positive vs. negative) x 2 (Dietary behaviour: fat vs. F & V) design, 152 adult respondents randomly received one of four messages. Subsequently, they completed a questionnaire measuring cognitive attitude, affective attitude and intention to change the dietary behaviours. No significant differences in attitudes and intentions were found between the positive frame conditions and the negative frame conditions. Based on the current study no advice can be given yet to dietitians and other nutrition educators about whether they should emphasize the positive consequences of a dietary change or the negative consequences of not making the dietary change.

The challenges for scientists in avoiding plagiarism.

PubMed

Fisher, E R; Partin, K M

2014-01-01

Although it might seem to be a simple task for scientists to avoid plagiarism and thereby an allegation of research misconduct, assessment of trainees in the Responsible Conduct of Research and recent findings from the National Science Foundation Office of Inspector General regarding plagiarism suggests otherwise. Our experiences at a land-grant academic institution in assisting researchers in avoiding plagiarism are described. We provide evidence from a university-wide multi-disciplinary course that understanding how to avoid plagiarism in scientific writing is more difficult than it might appear, and that a failure to learn the rules of appropriate citation may cause dire consequences. We suggest that new strategies to provide training in avoiding plagiarism are required.

Attentional Bias for Threat in Older Adults: Moderation of the Positivity Bias by Trait Anxiety and Stimulus Modality

PubMed Central

Lee, Lewina O.; Knight, Bob G.

2009-01-01

Socioemotional selectivity theory suggests that emotion regulation goals motivate older adults to preferentially allocate attention to positive stimuli and away from negative stimuli. This study examined whether anxiety moderates the effect of the positivity bias on attention for threat. We employed the dot probe task to compare subliminal and supraliminal attention for threat in 103 young and 44 older adults. Regardless of anxiety, older but not younger adults demonstrated a vigilant-avoidant response to angry faces. Anxiety influenced older adults’ attention such that anxious individuals demonstrated a vigilant-avoidant reaction to sad faces, but an avoidant-vigilant reaction to negative words. PMID:19739931

A field investigation of the effects of drinking consequences on young adults' readiness to change.

PubMed

Usala, Julie M; Celio, Mark A; Lisman, Stephen A; Day, Anne M; Spear, Linda P

2015-02-01

In the research on readiness to change (RTC) one's drinking, there has been little assessment of the influence of positive drinking consequences or other potential moderating variables. To address these limitations, we examined how young adults' RTC their alcohol consumption shortly following a drinking episode was associated with self-reported drinking consequences, as well as any potential moderating effects of gender and Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC). In street interviews outside bars, 238 young adults were administered questionnaires about their drinking, including a measure examining participants' current readiness to reduce their alcohol consumption. Within 72h of their drinking episode, 67 participants (36 males; entire sample Mage=20.90years, Range=18-26years) completed an online survey, once again measuring RTC as well as positive and negative drinking consequences. Consistent with our hypothesis, positive drinking consequences were negatively associated with participants' changes in RTC. Additionally, a three-way interaction of gender×BrAC×positive drinking consequences on RTC showed that females with low BrACs reported higher RTC scores when they had endorsed fewer positive drinking consequences. Interestingly, negative drinking consequences alone did not impact individuals' RTC. Because positive drinking consequences were a significantly better predictor of RTC than were negative drinking consequences, researchers are advised to examine both types of consequences in future studies. Finally, effective alcohol education programs for those who have never consumed alcohol as well as social drinkers should include consideration of the experience of positive outcomes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Failure-Avoidance: Parenting, the Achievement Environment of the Home and Strategies for Reduction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Ted

2004-01-01

This paper draws together the as yet nascent literature on the development of failure-avoidant patterns of behaviour. These are behaviours intended to minimise risk to self-worth in the event of failure, thereby avoiding the negative impact of poor performance in terms of damage to self-worth. Self-worth protection, self-handicapping, impostor…

Single prolonged stress impairs social and object novelty recognition in rats.

PubMed

Eagle, Andrew L; Fitzpatrick, Chris J; Perrine, Shane A

2013-11-01

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) results from exposure to a traumatic event and manifests as re-experiencing, arousal, avoidance, and negative cognition/mood symptoms. Avoidant symptoms, as well as the newly defined negative cognitions/mood, are a serious complication leading to diminished interest in once important or positive activities, such as social interaction; however, the basis of these symptoms remains poorly understood. PTSD patients also exhibit impaired object and social recognition, which may underlie the avoidance and symptoms of negative cognition, such as social estrangement or diminished interest in activities. Previous studies have demonstrated that single prolonged stress (SPS), models PTSD phenotypes, including impairments in learning and memory. Therefore, it was hypothesized that SPS would impair social and object recognition memory. Male Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to SPS then tested in the social choice test (SCT) or novel object recognition test (NOR). These tests measure recognition of novelty over familiarity, a natural preference of rodents. Results show that SPS impaired preference for both social and object novelty. In addition, SPS impairment in social recognition may be caused by impaired behavioral flexibility, or an inability to shift behavior during the SCT. These results demonstrate that traumatic stress can impair social and object recognition memory, which may underlie certain avoidant symptoms or negative cognition in PTSD and be related to impaired behavioral flexibility. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Short-term prospective effects of impulsivity on binge drinking: mediation by positive and negative drinking consequences.

PubMed

Park, Aesoon; Kim, Jueun; Gellis, Les A; Zaso, Michelle J; Maisto, Stephen A

2014-01-01

Although the association of impulsivity with diverse alcohol outcomes has been documented, the mechanisms by which impulsivity predicts drinking over time remain to be fully characterized. The authors examined whether positive drinking consequences, but not negative drinking consequences, mediated the association between impulsivity and subsequent binge drinking, over and above prior binge drinking. Participants were 171 college students. Participants completed 2 online surveys with an average interval of 68 days between assessments at Time 1 (September to October 2012) and Time 2 (November to December 2012). Path analysis showed that, among 5 facets of impulsivity, the effect of sensation seeking on subsequent binge drinking was completely mediated by prior positive consequences. No mediating effects of negative consequences were found. Prior experience of positive drinking consequences may serve as one of the risk pathways by which sensation seeking shapes binge drinking over time. Personalized intervention strategies may utilize information about students' impulsivity facets to address their binge drinking and alcohol-related consequences.

Zeroing in on the dark side of the American Dream: a closer look at the negative consequences of the goal for financial success.

PubMed

Nickerson, Carol; Schwarz, Norbert; Diener, Ed; Kahneman, Daniel

2003-11-01

Recent research has demonstrated that aspiring to the American Dream of financial success has negative consequences for various aspects of psychological well-being. The present longitudinal study examining the relation between the goal for financial success, attainment of that goal, and satisfaction with various life domains found that the negative impact of the goal for financial success on overall life satisfaction diminished as household income increased. The negative consequences of the goal for financial success seemed to be limited to those specific life domains that either concerned relationships with other people or involved income-producing activities, such as one's job; satisfactions with two of those life domains, however, were among the strongest predictors of overall life satisfaction in this sample of well-educated respondents in their late 30s. The negative consequences were particularly severe for the domain of family life; the stronger the goal for financial success, the lower the satisfaction with family life, regardless of household income.

Positive and negative consequences of HIV disclosure among seropositive injection drug users.

PubMed

Parsons, Jeffrey T; VanOra, Jason; Missildine, Whitney; Purcell, David W; Gómez, Cynthia A

2004-10-01

This study examines HIV status disclosure in an ethnically diverse sample of HIV-seropositive injection drug users (IDUs) from New York City and San Francisco. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 158 participants. Analyses revealed a number of negative and positive consequences of disclosing serostatus to sexual partners. Negative consequences included stigma, rejection by sexual partners and others, loss of intimacy, and threats to personal well-being. Positive rewards resulting from disclosure included increased social support and intimacy with partners, reaffirmation of one's sense of self, and the opportunity to share personal experiences and feelings with sexual partners. The role of responsibility in impacting disclosure and nondisclosure revealed varied patterns in terms of how this construct impacts disclosure and resulting behaviors with sexual partners. Some participants used particular strategies, such as getting involved in seroconcordant relationships or minimizing intimacy in relationships, in order to combat potential negative outcomes of disclosure. For others, positive rewards were viewed as important enough to risk negative consequences. Interventions for HIV-positive IDUs are discussed.

76 FR 68306 - Airworthiness Directives; Bombardier, Inc. Airplanes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-04

... another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the... axle thrust face, damage to the protective coating and consequent stress corrosion. In both cases, the... coating and consequent stress corrosion. In both cases, the MLG did not collapse. In order to avoid future...

Understanding Clinical Anger and Violence: The Anger Avoidance Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gardner, Frank L.; Moore, Zella E.

2008-01-01

Although anger is a primary emotion and holds clear functional necessities, the presence of anger and its behavioral manifestations of aggression/violence can have serious emotional, health, and social consequences. Despite such consequences, the construct of clinical anger has to date suffered from few theoretical and treatment advancements and…

Emotional, behavioral, and developmental features indicative of neglect or emotional abuse in preschool children: a systematic review.

PubMed

Naughton, Aideen Mary; Maguire, Sabine Ann; Mann, Mala Kanthi; Lumb, Rebecca Caroline; Tempest, Vanessa; Gracias, Shirley; Kemp, Alison Mary

2013-08-01

Early intervention for neglect or emotional abuse in preschoolers may mitigate lifelong consequences, yet practitioners lack confidence in recognizing these children. To define the emotional, behavioral, and developmental features of neglect or emotional abuse in preschoolers. A literature search of 18 databases, 6 websites, and supplementary searching performed from January 1, 1960, to February 1, 2011, identified 22 669 abstracts. Standardized critical appraisal of 164 articles was conducted by 2 independent, trained reviewers. Inclusion criteria were children aged 0 to 6 years with confirmed neglect or emotional abuse who had emotional, behavioral, and developmental features recorded or for whom the carer-child interaction was documented. Twenty-eight case-control (matched for socioeconomic, educational level, and ethnicity), 1 cross-sectional, and 13 cohort studies were included. Key features in the child included the following: aggression (11 studies) exhibited as angry, disruptive behavior, conduct problems, oppositional behavior, and low ego control; withdrawal or passivity (12 studies), including negative self-esteem, anxious or avoidant behavior, poor emotional knowledge, and difficulties in interpreting emotional expressions in others; developmental delay (17 studies), particularly delayed language, cognitive function, and overall development quotient; poor peer interaction (5 studies), showing poor social interactions, unlikely to act to relieve distress in others; and transition (6 studies) from ambivalent to avoidant insecure attachment pattern and from passive to increasingly aggressive behavior and negative self-representation. Emotional knowledge, cognitive function, and language deteriorate without intervention. Poor sensitivity, hostility, criticism, or disinterest characterize maternal-child interactions. Preschool children who have been neglected or emotionally abused exhibit a range of serious emotional and behavioral difficulties and adverse mother-child interactions that indicate that these children require prompt evaluation and interventions.

Current Practices and Attitudes Regarding Use of Inhaled Nitric Oxide in the NICU

PubMed Central

Kayton, Allyson; Timoney, Paula; Vargo, Lyn; Perez, Jose A.

2018-01-01

Background: Excessive supplemental oxygen exposure in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can be associated with oxygen-related toxicities, which can lead to negative clinical consequences. Use of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) can be a successful strategy for avoiding hyperoxia in the NICU. iNO selectively produces pulmonary vasodilation and has been shown to improve oxygenation parameters across the spectrum of disease severity, from mild to very severe, in neonates with hypoxic respiratory failure associated with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. Purpose: An online survey was conducted among members of the National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners to gain insight into the level of understanding and knowledge among neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) about optimizing supplemental oxygen exposure and the use of iNO in the NICU setting. Results: Of 937 NNP respondents, 51% reported that their healthcare team typically waits until the fraction of inspired oxygen level is 0.9 or more before adding iNO in patients not responding to oxygen ventilation alone. Among respondents with 1 or more iNO-treated patients per month, only 35% reported they know the oxygenation index level at which iNO should be initiated. Less than 20% of NNPs reported perceived benefits associated with early initiation of iNO for preventing progression to use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or reducing the length of hospital stay, and about one-third of respondents reported they believe early iNO use minimizes hyperoxia. Implications for Practice: More education is needed for NNPs regarding the negative effects of oxidative stress in neonates. Implications for Research: Additional clinical trials investigating the most beneficial strategies for avoiding neonatal hyperoxia are warranted. PMID:29465446

Gendered power dynamics and women's negotiation of family planning in a high HIV prevalence setting: a qualitative study of couples in western Kenya.

PubMed

Harrington, Elizabeth K; Dworkin, Shari; Withers, Mellissa; Onono, Maricianah; Kwena, Zachary; Newmann, Sara J

2016-01-01

In sub-Saharan Africa, high burdens of HIV and unmet need for contraception often coexist. Research emphasises the need to engage men and couples in reproductive health, yet couples' negotiations around fertility and family planning in the context of HIV have been sparsely studied. This study examined the gendered power dynamics that frame women's and couples' negotiations of contraceptive use in western Kenya. We conducted 76 in-depth interviews with 38 couples, of whom 22 couples were concordant HIV-positive. Qualitative data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Direct communication around contraception with men was often challenging due to perceived or expressed male resistance. A substantial minority of women avoided male reproductive decision-making authority through covert contraceptive use, with concern for severe consequences when contraceptive use was discovered. Many men assumed that family planning use signified female promiscuity and that infidelity motivated covert use. Men were more willing to use condoms to avoid HIV re-infection or on the recommendation of HIV care providers, which allowed some women leverage to insist on condom use. Our findings highlight the tension between male dominated reproductive decision making and women's agency and point to the need for gender transformative approaches seeking to challenge masculinities that negatively impact health.

Mediators of Outcome in Complicated Grief Treatment.

PubMed

Glickman, Kim; Shear, M Katherine; Wall, Melanie M

2017-07-01

In this study, we examined the mechanisms of action of complicated grief treatment (CGT), an efficacious psychotherapy for complicated grief. We explored 3 putative mediators (guilt/self-blame related to the deceased, negative thoughts about the future, and avoidance) among treatment completers assigned to either CGT (n = 35) or interpersonal psychotherapy (n = 34) in a previously reported randomized controlled trial. Antidepressant use was examined as a moderator of mediation effects. A reduction in guilt/self-blame, negative thoughts about the future, and avoidance behavior each mediated the relationship between treatment group and complicated grief outcomes. Reduction in avoidance emerged as an independent mediator after controlling for all mediators. Reducing avoidance of situations and emotions connected to the loss seems to be a key mechanism of change in CGT. Revising counterfactual thinking around troubling aspects of the death may also play a role in facilitating effective adaptation to loss. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The 2 × 2 Standpoints Model of Achievement Goals

PubMed Central

Korn, Rachel M.; Elliot, Andrew J.

2016-01-01

In the present research, we proposed and tested a 2 × 2 standpoints model of achievement goals grounded in the development-demonstration and approach-avoidance distinctions. Three empirical studies are presented. Study 1 provided evidence supporting the structure and psychometric properties of a newly developed measure of the goals of the 2 × 2 standpoints model. Study 2 documented the predictive utility of these goal constructs for intrinsic motivation: development-approach and development-avoidance goals were positive predictors, and demonstration-avoidance goals were a negative predictor of intrinsic motivation. Study 3 documented the predictive utility of these goal constructs for performance attainment: Demonstration-approach goals were a positive predictor and demonstration-avoidance goals were a negative predictor of exam performance. The conceptual and empirical contributions of the present research were discussed within the broader context of existing achievement goal theory and research. PMID:27242641

Unhappiness Intensifies the Avoidance of Frequent Losses While Happiness Overcomes It.

PubMed

Yechiam, Eldad; Telpaz, Ariel; Krupenia, Stas; Rafaeli, Anat

2016-01-01

The implication of spontaneous and induced unhappiness to people's decision style is examined. It is postulated that unhappy individuals have a greater tendency to avoid frequent losses because these can have depleting effects, and unhappy individuals are more sensitive to such effects. This is evaluated in Study 1 by using an annoying customer call manipulation to induce negative affect; and by examining the effect of this manipulation on choices in an experiential decision task (the Iowa Gambling task). In Study 2 we examined the association between self-reported (un)happiness and choices on the same decision task. In Study 1 the induction of negative affect led to avoidance of choice alternatives with frequent losses, compared to those yielding rarer but larger losses. Specifically, this pertained to the advantageous alternatives with frequent vs. non-frequent losses. In Study 2 unhappiness was similarly associated with less exposure to frequent losses; while extreme high happiness was associated with no tendency to avoid frequent losses when these were part of an advantageous alternative. The findings clarify the role of happiness in decision making processes by indicating that unhappiness induces sensitivity to the frequency rather than to the total effect of negative events.

Unhappiness Intensifies the Avoidance of Frequent Losses While Happiness Overcomes It

PubMed Central

Yechiam, Eldad; Telpaz, Ariel; Krupenia, Stas; Rafaeli, Anat

2016-01-01

The implication of spontaneous and induced unhappiness to people's decision style is examined. It is postulated that unhappy individuals have a greater tendency to avoid frequent losses because these can have depleting effects, and unhappy individuals are more sensitive to such effects. This is evaluated in Study 1 by using an annoying customer call manipulation to induce negative affect; and by examining the effect of this manipulation on choices in an experiential decision task (the Iowa Gambling task). In Study 2 we examined the association between self-reported (un)happiness and choices on the same decision task. In Study 1 the induction of negative affect led to avoidance of choice alternatives with frequent losses, compared to those yielding rarer but larger losses. Specifically, this pertained to the advantageous alternatives with frequent vs. non-frequent losses. In Study 2 unhappiness was similarly associated with less exposure to frequent losses; while extreme high happiness was associated with no tendency to avoid frequent losses when these were part of an advantageous alternative. The findings clarify the role of happiness in decision making processes by indicating that unhappiness induces sensitivity to the frequency rather than to the total effect of negative events. PMID:27853443

Unintended Consequences of Smoke-Free Bar Policies for Low-SES Women in Three California Counties

PubMed Central

Moore, Roland S.; Annechino, Rachelle M.; Lee, Juliet P.

2009-01-01

Background To amplify earlier studies of unintended consequences of public policies, this article illustrates both negative and positive unanticipated consequences of smoke-free workplace policies in California bars for women of low SES. Methods The article relies on thematic analysis in 2008 of qualitative data gathered between 2001 and 2007 from three mixed-method studies of tobacco use in and around bars where indoor smoking is prohibited. Results Unanticipated consequences primarily occurred when bars did comply with the law and smokers went outside the bar to smoke, particularly when smokers stood on the street outside the bar. Key negative consequences for women who smoked outside of bars included threats to their physical safety and their public image. For women living near bars, increased smoking on the street may have increased their exposure to secondhand smoke and disruptive noise. For some women, however, unanticipated negative consequences were identified with noncompliant bars. Smokers were conjectured to congregate in the smaller number of bars where smoking was still allowed, resulting in increased exposure to secondhand smoke for low-SES women working in these bars. A common positive unintended consequence of the tobacco control ordinance was increased social circulation and solidarity, as smokers gathered outside bars to smoke. Conclusions Smoke-free workplace laws in bars can have both negative and positive consequences for workers and smokers, and low-income women in particular. PMID:19591753

Unintended consequences of smoke-free bar policies for low-SES women in three California counties.

PubMed

Moore, Roland S; Annechino, Rachelle M; Lee, Juliet P

2009-08-01

To amplify earlier studies of unintended consequences of public policies, this article illustrates both negative and positive unanticipated consequences of smoke-free workplace policies in California bars for women of low SES. The article relies on thematic analysis in 2008 of qualitative data gathered between 2001 and 2007 from three mixed-method studies of tobacco use in and around bars where indoor smoking is prohibited. Unanticipated consequences primarily occurred when bars did comply with the law and smokers went outside the bar to smoke, particularly when smokers stood on the street outside the bar. Key negative consequences for women who smoked outside of bars included threats to their physical safety and their public image. For women living near bars, increased smoking on the street may have increased their exposure to secondhand smoke and disruptive noise. For some women, however, unanticipated negative consequences were identified with noncompliant bars. Smokers were conjectured to congregate in the smaller number of bars where smoking was still allowed, resulting in increased exposure to secondhand smoke for low-SES women working in these bars. A common positive unintended consequence of the tobacco control ordinance was increased social circulation and solidarity, as smokers gathered outside bars to smoke. Smoke-free workplace laws in bars can have both negative and positive consequences for workers and smokers, and low-income women in particular.

Online Professionalism and the Mirror of Social Media

PubMed Central

Kind, Terry; Chretien, Katherine C.

2010-01-01

The rise of social media—content created by Internet users and hosted by popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Wikipedia, and blogs—has brought several new hazards for medical professionalism. First, many physicians may find applying principles for medical professionalism to the online environment challenging in certain contexts. Second, physicians may not consider the potential impact of their online content on their patients and the public. Third, a momentary lapse in judgment by an individual physician to create unprofessional content online can reflect poorly on the entire profession. To overcome these challenges, we encourage individual physicians to realize that as they “tread” through the World Wide Web, they leave behind a “footprint” that may have unintended negative consequences for them and for the profession at large. We also recommend that institutions take a proactive approach to engage users of social media in setting consensus-based standards for “online professionalism.” Finally, given that professionalism encompasses more than the avoidance of negative behaviors, we conclude with examples of more positive applications for this technology. Much like a mirror, social media can reflect the best and worst aspects of the content placed before it for all to see. PMID:20632121

Ocean acidification alters fish populations indirectly through habitat modification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagelkerken, Ivan; Russell, Bayden D.; Gillanders, Bronwyn M.; Connell, Sean D.

2016-01-01

Ocean ecosystems are predicted to lose biodiversity and productivity from increasing ocean acidification. Although laboratory experiments reveal negative effects of acidification on the behaviour and performance of species, more comprehensive predictions have been hampered by a lack of in situ studies that incorporate the complexity of interactions between species and their environment. We studied CO2 vents from both Northern and Southern hemispheres, using such natural laboratories to investigate the effect of ocean acidification on plant-animal associations embedded within all their natural complexity. Although we substantiate simple direct effects of reduced predator-avoidance behaviour by fishes, as observed in laboratory experiments, we here show that this negative effect is naturally dampened when fish reside in shelter-rich habitats. Importantly, elevated CO2 drove strong increases in the abundance of some fish species through major habitat shifts, associated increases in resources such as habitat and prey availability, and reduced predator abundances. The indirect effects of acidification via resource and predator alterations may have far-reaching consequences for population abundances, and its study provides a framework for a more comprehensive understanding of increasing CO2 emissions as a driver of ecological change.

Ecological complexity buffers the impacts of future climate on marine consumers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldenberg, Silvan U.; Nagelkerken, Ivan; Marangon, Emma; Bonnet, Angélique; Ferreira, Camilo M.; Connell, Sean D.

2018-03-01

Ecological complexity represents a network of interacting components that either propagate or counter the effects of environmental change on individuals and communities1-3. Yet, our understanding of the ecological imprint of ocean acidification (elevated CO2) and climate change (elevated temperature) is largely based on reports of negative effects on single species in simplified laboratory systems4,5. By combining a large mesocosm experiment with a global meta-analysis, we reveal the capacity of consumers (fish and crustaceans) to resist the impacts of elevated CO2. While individual behaviours were impaired by elevated CO2, consumers could restore their performances in more complex environments that allowed for compensatory processes. Consequently, consumers maintained key traits such as foraging, habitat selection and predator avoidance despite elevated CO2 and sustained their populations. Our observed increase in risk-taking under elevated temperature, however, predicts greater vulnerability of consumers to predation. Yet, CO2 as a resource boosted the biomass of consumers through species interactions and may stabilize communities by countering the negative effects of elevated temperature. We conclude that compensatory dynamics inherent in the complexity of nature can buffer the impacts of future climate on species and their communities.

Immunization with a heat-killed preparation of the environmental bacterium Mycobacterium vaccae promotes stress resilience in mice

PubMed Central

Reber, Stefan O.; Siebler, Philip H.; Donner, Nina C.; Morton, James T.; Smith, David G.; Kopelman, Jared M.; Lowe, Kenneth R.; Wheeler, Kristen J.; Fox, James H.; Hassell, James E.; Greenwood, Benjamin N.; Jansch, Charline; Lechner, Anja; Schmidt, Dominic; Uschold-Schmidt, Nicole; Füchsl, Andrea M.; Langgartner, Dominik; Walker, Frederick R.; Hale, Matthew W.; Lopez Perez, Gerardo; Van Treuren, Will; González, Antonio; Halweg-Edwards, Andrea L.; Fleshner, Monika; Raison, Charles L.; Rook, Graham A.; Peddada, Shyamal D.; Knight, Rob

2016-01-01

The prevalence of inflammatory diseases is increasing in modern urban societies. Inflammation increases risk of stress-related pathology; consequently, immunoregulatory or antiinflammatory approaches may protect against negative stress-related outcomes. We show that stress disrupts the homeostatic relationship between the microbiota and the host, resulting in exaggerated inflammation. Repeated immunization with a heat-killed preparation of Mycobacterium vaccae, an immunoregulatory environmental microorganism, reduced subordinate, flight, and avoiding behavioral responses to a dominant aggressor in a murine model of chronic psychosocial stress when tested 1–2 wk following the final immunization. Furthermore, immunization with M. vaccae prevented stress-induced spontaneous colitis and, in stressed mice, induced anxiolytic or fear-reducing effects as measured on the elevated plus-maze, despite stress-induced gut microbiota changes characteristic of gut infection and colitis. Immunization with M. vaccae also prevented stress-induced aggravation of colitis in a model of inflammatory bowel disease. Depletion of regulatory T cells negated protective effects of immunization with M. vaccae on stress-induced colitis and anxiety-like or fear behaviors. These data provide a framework for developing microbiome- and immunoregulation-based strategies for prevention of stress-related pathologies. PMID:27185913

Short message service or disService: issues with text messaging in a complex medical environment.

PubMed

Wu, Robert; Appel, Lora; Morra, Dante; Lo, Vivian; Kitto, Simon; Quan, Sherman

2014-04-01

Hospitals today are experiencing major changes in their clinical communication workflows as conventional numeric paging and face-to-face verbal conversations are being replaced by computer mediated communication systems. In this paper, we highlight the importance of understanding this transition and discuss some of the impacts that may emerge when verbal clinical conversations are replaced by short text messages. In-depth interviews (n=108) and non-participatory observation sessions (n=260h) were conducted on the General Internal Medicine wards at five academic teaching hospitals in Toronto, Canada. From our analysis of the qualitative data, we identified two major themes. De-contextualization of complex issues led to an increase in misinterpretation and an increase in back and forth messaging for clarification. Depersonalization of communication was due to less verbal conversations and face-to-face interactions and led to a negative impact on work relationships. Text-based communication in hospital settings led to the oversimplification of messages and the depersonalization of communication. It is important to recognize and understand these unintended consequences of new technology to avoid the negative impacts to patient care and work relationships. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

An examination of distress intolerance in undergraduate students high in symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.

PubMed

MacDonald, Emma M; Pawluk, Elizabeth J; Koerner, Naomi; Goodwill, Alasdair M

2015-01-01

People with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) engage in maladaptive coping strategies to reduce or avoid distress. Evidence suggests that uncertainty and negative emotions are triggers for distress in people with GAD; however, there may also be other triggers. Recent conceptualizations have highlighted six types of experiences that people report having difficulty withstanding: uncertainty, negative emotions, ambiguity, frustration, physical discomfort, and the perceived consequences of anxious arousal. The present study examined the extent to which individuals high in symptoms of GAD are intolerant of these distress triggers, compared to individuals high in depressive symptoms, and individuals who are low in GAD and depressive symptoms. Undergraduate students (N = 217) completed self-report measures of GAD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and distress intolerance. Individuals high in GAD symptoms reported greater intolerance of all of the distress triggers compared to people low in symptoms of GAD and depression. Individuals high in GAD symptoms reported greater intolerance of physical discomfort compared to those high in depressive symptoms. Furthermore, intolerance of physical discomfort was the best unique correlate of GAD status, suggesting that it may be specific to GAD (versus depression). These findings support continued investigation of the transdiagnosticity and specificity of distress intolerance.

Online professionalism and the mirror of social media.

PubMed

Greysen, S Ryan; Kind, Terry; Chretien, Katherine C

2010-11-01

The rise of social media--content created by Internet users and hosted by popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Wikipedia, and blogs--has brought several new hazards for medical professionalism. First, many physicians may find applying principles for medical professionalism to the online environment challenging in certain contexts. Second, physicians may not consider the potential impact of their online content on their patients and the public. Third, a momentary lapse in judgment by an individual physician to create unprofessional content online can reflect poorly on the entire profession. To overcome these challenges, we encourage individual physicians to realize that as they "tread" through the World Wide Web, they leave behind a "footprint" that may have unintended negative consequences for them and for the profession at large. We also recommend that institutions take a proactive approach to engage users of social media in setting consensus-based standards for "online professionalism." Finally, given that professionalism encompasses more than the avoidance of negative behaviors, we conclude with examples of more positive applications for this technology. Much like a mirror, social media can reflect the best and worst aspects of the content placed before it for all to see.

Communication between the elderly person and the family health team: is there integrality?

PubMed

de Almeida, Rita Tereza; Ciosak, Suely Itsuko

2013-01-01

to verify the forms of communication used in four Primary Health Units with Family Health Program teams in Porto Feliz, São Paulo, and how they impact in the care and control of the health of elderly people. this qualitative study sought to capture the communication between elderly people and healthcare professionals. Interviews were conducted with 20 elderly people of both sexes. from the discourses and observations, assertive communication and blocked communication emerged as the central analysis themes, the verbal and nonverbal elements of which, unveiled subjectivity of the communication process, of the local culture and of the psychosocial factors positively and negatively contributing to the healthcare for elderly people. The nursing teams of the Family Health Strategy showed forms of communication that favored the adherence of the elderly people to the care and control of their health. Negatives aspects did not have completely prejudicial consequences, however, should be avoided, in order to facilitate integral care to elderly people. it is worth reinforcing the need for improvement of the nursing team and other healthcare professionals regarding health communication as an innovative technology, bringing credibility to the health promotion and prevention programs with elderly users.

Weight discrimination and bullying.

PubMed

Puhl, Rebecca M; King, Kelly M

2013-04-01

Despite significant attention to the medical impacts of obesity, often ignored are the negative outcomes that obese children and adults experience as a result of stigma, bias, and discrimination. Obese individuals are frequently stigmatized because of their weight in many domains of daily life. Research spanning several decades has documented consistent weight bias and stigmatization in employment, health care, schools, the media, and interpersonal relationships. For overweight and obese youth, weight stigmatization translates into pervasive victimization, teasing, and bullying. Multiple adverse outcomes are associated with exposure to weight stigmatization, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, suicidal ideation, poor academic performance, lower physical activity, maladaptive eating behaviors, and avoidance of health care. This review summarizes the nature and extent of weight stigmatization against overweight and obese individuals, as well as the resulting consequences that these experiences create for social, psychological, and physical health for children and adults who are targeted. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Withdrawal in Childhood

PubMed Central

Rubin, Kenneth H.; Coplan, Robert J.; Bowker, Julie C.

2013-01-01

Socially withdrawn children frequently refrain from social activities in the presence of peers. The lack of social interaction in childhood may result from a variety of causes, including social fear and anxiety or a preference for solitude. From early childhood through to adolescence, socially withdrawn children are concurrently and predictively at risk for a wide range of negative adjustment outcomes, including socio-emotional difficulties (e.g., anxiety, low self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and internalizing problems), peer difficulties (e.g., rejection, victimization, poor friendship quality), and school difficulties (e.g., poor-quality teacher-child relationships, academic difficulties, school avoidance). The goals of the current review are to (a) provide some definitional, theoretical, and methodological clarity to the complex array of terms and constructs previously employed in the study of social withdrawal; (b) examine the predictors, correlates, and consequences of child and early-adolescent social withdrawal; and (c) present a developmental framework describing pathways to and from social withdrawal in childhood. PMID:18851686

Future orientation: a construct with implications for adolescent health and wellbeing.

PubMed

Johnson, Sarah R Lindstrom; Blum, Robert W; Cheng, Tina L

2014-01-01

Multidisciplinary research has supported a relationship between adolescent future orientation (the ability to set future goals and plans) and positive adolescent health and development outcomes. Many preventive strategies - for example, contracepting, exercising - are based on taking actions in the present to avoid unwanted or negative future consequences. However, research has been hampered by unclear and often divergent conceptualizations of the future orientation construct. The present paper aims to integrate previous conceptual and operational definitions into a conceptual framework that can inform programs and services for youth and efforts to evaluate future orientation as a target for intervention. Recommendations focus on furthering the study of the construct through measurement synthesis as well as studies of the normative development of future orientation. Also suggested is the need to pair environmental intervention strategies with individual level efforts to improve future orientation in order to maximize benefits.

Future Orientation: A Construct with Implications for Adolescent Health and Wellbeing

PubMed Central

Lindstrom Johnson, Sarah; Blum, Robert W; Cheng, Tina L.

2016-01-01

Multi-disciplinary research has supported a relationship between adolescent future orientation (the ability to set future goals and plans) and positive adolescent health and development outcomes. Many preventive strategies—for example contracepting, exercising—are based on taking actions in the present to avoid unwanted or negative future consequences. However, research has been hampered by unclear and often divergent conceptualizations of the future orientation construct. The present paper aims to integrate previous conceptual and operational definitions into a conceptual framework that can inform programs and services for youth and efforts to evaluate future orientation as a target for intervention. Recommendations focus on furthering the study of the construct through measurement synthesis as well as studies of the normative development of future orientation. Also suggested is the need to pair environmental intervention strategies with individual level efforts to improve future orientation in order to maximize benefits. PMID:24523304

[Effect of anemia on child development: long-term consequences].

PubMed

Zavaleta, Nelly; Astete-Robilliard, Laura

2017-01-01

Anemia in children younger than 3 years is a public health problem in Peru and worldwide. It is believed that one of the primary causes of anemia is iron deficiency. Numerous studies and reviews have reported that iron deficiency limited psychomotor development in children and that, despite the correction of anemia, children with iron deficiency experienced poorer long-term performance in cognitive, social, and emotional functioning. These outcomes were reported in observational studies, follow-up studies, and experimental studies with a control group. Anemia can decrease school performance, productivity in adult life, quality of life, and the general income of affected individuals. Here we describe possible mechanisms underlying the effect of iron deficiency, with or without anemia, on childhood development. The high rate of anemia in this age group is a cause for concern. Moreover, anemia should be prevented in the first year of life to avoid long-term negative effects on individual development.

"She Stopped Me From Killing Myself": Bullied Bloggers' Coping Behaviors and Support Sources.

PubMed

Danielson, Carly M; Emmers-Sommer, Tara M

2017-08-01

Bullying is on the rise, and bullied targets often face consequences when they do not effectively manage their victimization. This study investigates bullied bloggers' use and evaluations of coping strategies and support sources. Informed by Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) appraisal theory, Tenenbaum, Varjas, Meyers, and Parris's (2011) model of bullied students' coping, and social support literature, bullied students' narratives (N = 100) from five bullying blogs (Pacer's, I'm Getting Bullied, ReachOut, BullyVille, No Place 4 Hate) are examined. The findings reveal similar negative outcomes with particular coping strategies and support sources for bullied male and female bloggers. These results reinforce coping strategies that many bullying organizations promote in their programs and websites (i.e., do not avoid disclosure, confront bullies, or retaliate), and promote future research about how to improve parents' and teachers' supportive communication with bullied youth.

Precision Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Hunting Elephants.

PubMed

Joyner, Michael J

2016-01-01

Precision medicine postulates improved prediction, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease based on patient specific factors especially DNA sequence (i.e., gene) variants. Ideas related to precision medicine stem from the much anticipated "genetic revolution in medicine" arising seamlessly from the human genome project (HGP). In this essay I deconstruct the concept of precision medicine and raise questions about the validity of the paradigm in general and its application to cardiovascular disease. Thus far precision medicine has underperformed based on the vision promulgated by enthusiasts. While niche successes for precision medicine are likely, the promises of broad based transformation should be viewed with skepticism. Open discussion and debate related to precision medicine are urgently needed to avoid misapplication of resources, hype, iatrogenic interventions, and distraction from established approaches with ongoing utility. Failure to engage in such debate will lead to negative unintended consequences from a revolution that might never come. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Environmental and social footprints of international trade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiedmann, Thomas; Lenzen, Manfred

2018-05-01

Globalization has led to an increasing geospatial separation of production and consumption, and, as a consequence, to an unprecedented displacement of environmental and social impacts through international trade. A large proportion of total global impacts can be associated with trade, and the trend is rising. Advances in global multi-region input-output models have allowed researchers to draw detailed, international supply-chain connections between harmful production in social and environmental hotspots and affluent consumption in global centres of wealth. The general direction of impact displacement is from developed to developing countries—an increase of health impacts in China from air pollution linked to export production for the United States being one prominent example. The relocation of production across countries counteracts national mitigation policies and may negate ostensible achievements in decoupling impacts from economic growth. A comprehensive implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals therefore requires the inclusion of footprint indicators to avoid loopholes in national sustainability assessments.

Recovery of agricultural nutrients from biorefineries.

PubMed

Carey, Daniel E; Yang, Yu; McNamara, Patrick J; Mayer, Brooke K

2016-09-01

This review lays the foundation for why nutrient recovery must be a key consideration in design and operation of biorefineries and comprehensively reviews technologies that can be used to recover an array of nitrogen, phosphorus, and/or potassium-rich products of relevance to agricultural applications. Recovery of these products using combinations of physical, chemical, and biological operations will promote sustainability at biorefineries by converting low-value biomass (particularly waste material) into a portfolio of higher-value products. These products can include a natural partnering of traditional biorefinery outputs such as biofuels and chemicals together with nutrient-rich fertilizers. Nutrient recovery not only adds an additional marketable biorefinery product, but also avoids the negative consequences of eutrophication, and helps to close anthropogenic nutrient cycles, thereby providing an alternative to current unsustainable approaches to fertilizer production, which are energy-intensive and reliant on nonrenewable natural resource extraction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Current issues in implementing do-not-resuscitate orders for cardiac patients.

PubMed

Ruiz-García, J; Canal-Fontcuberta, I; Martínez-Sellés, M

2017-05-01

Cardiovascular diseases are still the most common cause of death, and heart failure is the most common reason for hospitalization of patients older than 65 years. However, Cardiology attributes low importance to end-of-life care. Cardiac patients' perception of their disease's prognosis and the results of cardiopulmonary resuscitation differ greatly from reality. The "do not resuscitate" order allows patients to pre-emptively express their rejection for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, thereby avoiding its potentially negative consequences. However, these orders are still underused and misinterpreted in cardiac patients. Most of these patients usually have no opportunity to have the necessary conversations with their attending physician on their resuscitation preferences. In this review, we performed an analysis of the causes that could explain this situation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Medicina Interna (SEMI). All rights reserved.

"Between the devil and the deep blue sea": the beliefs of caregivers of people with dementia regarding the use of in-home respite services.

PubMed

Phillipson, Lyn; Jones, Sandra C

2011-04-01

This article details results from qualitative research with caregivers in regard to the beliefs they associate with the use of in-home respite services. Outcomes are perceived by caregivers in relation to care recipient personal safety and the avoidance of negative consequences through the provision of supervision in the caregiver's absence. Use of in-home services challenges normative beliefs for some caregivers, particularly for spousal caregivers who feel it is their role to provide assistance that is needed in the home. Likewise, perceived inflexibility and the inability of in-home services to provide responsive and personalized care make the use of in-home services difficult and may inform control beliefs. Implications are discussed in relation to community care pathways and the promotion and development of in-home respite services to better target caregiver beliefs and respond to caregiver perceived needs.

Be Careful Where You Smile: Culture Shapes Judgments of Intelligence and Honesty of Smiling Individuals.

PubMed

Krys, Kuba; -Melanie Vauclair, C; Capaldi, Colin A; Lun, Vivian Miu-Chi; Bond, Michael Harris; Domínguez-Espinosa, Alejandra; Torres, Claudio; Lipp, Ottmar V; Manickam, L Sam S; Xing, Cai; Antalíková, Radka; Pavlopoulos, Vassilis; Teyssier, Julien; Hur, Taekyun; Hansen, Karolina; Szarota, Piotr; Ahmed, Ramadan A; Burtceva, Eleonora; Chkhaidze, Ana; Cenko, Enila; Denoux, Patrick; Fülöp, Márta; Hassan, Arif; Igbokwe, David O; Işık, İdil; Javangwe, Gwatirera; Malbran, María; Maricchiolo, Fridanna; Mikarsa, Hera; Miles, Lynden K; Nader, Martin; Park, Joonha; Rizwan, Muhammad; Salem, Radwa; Schwarz, Beate; Shah, Irfana; Sun, Chien-Ru; van Tilburg, Wijnand; Wagner, Wolfgang; Wise, Ryan; Yu, Angela Arriola

Smiling individuals are usually perceived more favorably than non-smiling ones-they are judged as happier, more attractive, competent, and friendly. These seemingly clear and obvious consequences of smiling are assumed to be culturally universal, however most of the psychological research is carried out in WEIRD societies (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) and the influence of culture on social perception of nonverbal behavior is still understudied. Here we show that a smiling individual may be judged as less intelligent than the same non-smiling individual in cultures low on the GLOBE's uncertainty avoidance dimension. Furthermore, we show that corruption at the societal level may undermine the prosocial perception of smiling-in societies with high corruption indicators, trust toward smiling individuals is reduced. This research fosters understanding of the cultural framework surrounding nonverbal communication processes and reveals that in some cultures smiling may lead to negative attributions.

Bioprecipitation: a feedback cycle linking earth history, ecosystem dynamics and land use through biological ice nucleators in the atmosphere.

PubMed

Morris, Cindy E; Conen, Franz; Alex Huffman, J; Phillips, Vaughan; Pöschl, Ulrich; Sands, David C

2014-02-01

Landscapes influence precipitation via the water vapor and energy fluxes they generate. Biologically active landscapes also generate aerosols containing microorganisms, some being capable of catalyzing ice formation and crystal growth in clouds at temperatures near 0 °C. The resulting precipitation is beneficial for the growth of plants and microorganisms. Mounting evidence from observations and numerical simulations support the plausibility of a bioprecipitation feedback cycle involving vegetated landscapes and the microorganisms they host. Furthermore, the evolutionary history of ice nucleation-active bacteria such as Pseudomonas syringae supports that they have been part of this process on geological time scales since the emergence of land plants. Elucidation of bioprecipitation feedbacks involving landscapes and their microflora could contribute to appraising the impact that modified landscapes have on regional weather and biodiversity, and to avoiding inadvertent, negative consequences of landscape management. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The role of marijuana use etiquette in avoiding targeted police enforcement

PubMed Central

REAM, GEOFFREY L.; JOHNSON, BRUCE D.; DUNLAP, ELOISE; BENOIT, ELLEN

2012-01-01

Internationally, where marijuana is illegal, users follow etiquette rules that prevent negative consequences of use. In this study, adherence to etiquette is hypothesized to reduce likelihood of marijuana-related police stop/search and arrest. Ethnographers administered group surveys to a diverse, purposive sample of 462 marijuana-using peer groups in several areas of New York City. Findings indicated that lack of etiquette was associated with dramatically higher likelihood of police stop/search or arrest only for users who were Black, male, and/or recruited from Harlem/South Bronx. If these users followed a few identified etiquette rules, their risk of police stop/search or arrest was comparable to that of other users. Implications are that etiquette represents an intentional conscientiousness about marijuana use. Groups that are specially targeted for anti-marijuana enforcement can remediate that heightened risk by following marijuana etiquette. PMID:23155303

Reported emergency department avoidance, use, and experiences of transgender persons in Ontario, Canada: results from a respondent-driven sampling survey.

PubMed

Bauer, Greta R; Scheim, Ayden I; Deutsch, Madeline B; Massarella, Carys

2014-06-01

Transgender, transsexual, or transitioned (trans) people have reported avoiding medical care because of negative experiences or fear of such experiences. The extent of trans-specific negative emergency department (ED) experiences, and of ED avoidance, has not been documented. The Trans PULSE Project conducted a survey of trans people in Ontario, Canada (n=433) in 2009 to 2010, using respondent-driven sampling, a tracked network-based method for studying hidden populations. Weighted frequencies and bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for the trans population in Ontario and for the subgroup (n=167) reporting ED use in their felt gender. Four hundred eight participants completed the ED experience items. Trans people were young (34% aged 16 to 24 years and only 10% >55 years); approximately half were female-to-male and half male-to-female. Medically supervised hormones were used by 37% (95% CI 30% to 46%), and 27% (95% CI 20% to 35%) had at least 1 transition-related surgery. Past-year ED need was reported by 33% (95% CI 26% to 40%) of trans Ontarians, though only 71% (95% CI 40% to 91%) of those with self-reported need indicated that they were able to obtain care. An estimated 21% (95% CI 14% to 25%) reported ever avoiding ED care because of a perception that their trans status would negatively affect such an encounter. Trans-specific negative ED experiences were reported by 52% (95% CI 34% to 72%) of users presenting in their felt gender. This first exploratory analysis of ED avoidance, utilization, and experiences by trans persons documented ED avoidance and possible unmet need for emergency care among trans Ontarians. Additional research, including validation of measures, is needed. Copyright © 2013 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Individual and Sex Differences in the Consequences of Victimization: Moderation by Approach and Avoidance Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Llewellyn, Nicole; Rudolph, Karen D.

2014-01-01

Peer victimization is a known risk factor for various forms of maladjustment; however, the specific type of maladjustment may depend on individual differences in youth. This 2-wave longitudinal study examined the hypothesis that social approach-avoidance motivation, together with sex, would moderate the contribution of 3rd-grade victimization to…

Neural evidence that inhibition is linked to the affective devaluation of distractors that match the contents of working memory.

PubMed

De Vito, David; Al-Aidroos, Naseem; Fenske, Mark J

2017-05-01

Stimuli appearing as visual distractors subsequently receive more negative affective evaluations than novel items or prior targets of attention. Leading accounts question whether this distractor devaluation effect occurs through evaluative codes that become associated with distractors as a mere artefact of attention-task instructions, or through affective consequences of attentional inhibition when applied to prevent distractor interference. Here we test opposing predictions arising from the evaluative-coding and devaluation-by-inhibition hypotheses using an electrophysiological marker of attentional inhibition in a task that requires participants to avoid interference from abstract-shape distractors presented while maintaining a uniquely-colored stimulus in memory. Consistent with prior research, distractors that matched the colour of the stimulus being held in memory elicited a Pd component of the event-related potential waveform, indicating that their processing was being actively suppressed. Subsequent affective evaluations revealed that memory-matching distractors also received more negative ratings than non-matching distractors or previously-unseen shapes. Moreover, Pd magnitude was greater on trials in which the memory-matching distractors were later rated negatively than on trials preceding positive ratings. These results support the devaluation-by-inhibition hypothesis and strongly suggest that fluctuations in stimulus inhibition are closely associated with subsequent affective evaluations. In contrast, none of the evaluative-coding based predictions were confirmed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhancing Privacy in Participatory Sensing Applications with Multidimensional Data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Groat, Michael; Forrest, Stephanie; Horey, James L

2012-01-01

Participatory sensing applications rely on individuals to share local and personal data with others to produce aggregated models and knowledge. In this setting, privacy is an important consideration, and lack of privacy could discourage widespread adoption of many exciting applications. We present a privacy-preserving participatory sensing scheme for multidimensional data which uses negative surveys. Multidimensional data, such as vectors of attributes that include location and environment fields, pose a particular challenge for privacy protection and are common in participatory sensing applications. When reporting data in a negative survey, an individual participant randomly selects a value from the set complement ofmore » the sensed data value, once for each dimension, and returns the negative values to a central collection server. Using algorithms described in this paper, the server can reconstruct the probability density functions of the original distributions of sensed values, without knowing the participants actual data. As a consequence, complicated encryption and key management schemes are avoided, conserving energy. We study trade-offs between accuracy and privacy, and their relationships to the number of dimensions, categories, and participants. We introduce dimensional adjustment, a method that reduces the magnification of error associated with earlier work. Two simulation scenarios illustrate how the approach can protect the privacy of a participant's multidimensional data while allowing useful population information to be aggregated.« less

The Rice Transcription Factor WRKY53 Suppresses Herbivore-Induced Defenses by Acting as a Negative Feedback Modulator of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Activity1

PubMed Central

Hu, Lingfei; Ye, Meng; Zhang, Tongfang; Zhou, Guoxin; Wang, Qi; Lu, Jing

2015-01-01

The mechanisms by which herbivore-attacked plants activate their defenses are well studied. By contrast, little is known about the regulatory mechanisms that allow them to control their defensive investment and avoid a defensive overshoot. We characterized a rice (Oryza sativa) WRKY gene, OsWRKY53, whose expression is rapidly induced upon wounding and induced in a delayed fashion upon attack by the striped stem borer (SSB) Chilo suppressalis. The transcript levels of OsWRKY53 are independent of endogenous jasmonic acid but positively regulated by the mitogen-activated protein kinases OsMPK3/OsMPK6. OsWRKY53 physically interacts with OsMPK3/OsMPK6 and suppresses their activity in vitro. By consequence, it modulates the expression of defensive, MPK-regulated WRKYs and thereby reduces jasmonic acid, jasmonoyl-isoleucine, and ethylene induction. This phytohormonal reconfiguration is associated with a reduction in trypsin protease inhibitor activity and improved SSB performance. OsWRKY53 is also shown to be a negative regulator of plant growth. Taken together, these results show that OsWRKY53 functions as a negative feedback modulator of MPK3/MPK6 and thereby acts as an early suppressor of induced defenses. OsWRKY53 therefore enables rice plants to control the magnitude of their defensive investment during early signaling. PMID:26453434

The negative effects on mental health of being in a non-desired occupation in an increasingly precarious labour market.

PubMed

Canivet, Catarina; Aronsson, Gunnar; Bernhard-Oettel, Claudia; Leineweber, Constanze; Moghaddassi, Mahnaz; Stengård, Johanna; Westerlund, Hugo; Östergren, Per-Olof

2017-12-01

Precarious employment has been associated with poor mental health. Moreover, increasing labour market precariousness may cause individuals to feel 'locked-in', in non-desired workplaces or occupations, out of fear of not finding a new employment. This could be experienced as a 'loss of control', with similar negative health consequences. It is plausible that the extent to which being in a non-desired occupation (NDO) or being in precarious employment (PE) has a negative impact on mental health differs according to age group. We tested this hypothesis using data from 2331 persons, 18-34, 35-44, and 45-54 years old, who answered questionnaires in 1999/2000, 2005, and 2010. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) were calculated for poor mental health (GHQ-12) in 2010, after exposure to NDO and PE in 1999/2000 or 2005. NDO and PE were more common in the youngest age group, and they were both associated with poor mental health. In the middle age group the impact of NDO was null, while in contrast the IRR for PE was 1.7 (95% CI: 1.3-2.3) after full adjustment. The pattern was completely the opposite in the oldest age group (adjusted IRR for NDO 1.6 (1.1-2.4) and for PE 0.9 (0.6-1.4)). The population attributable fraction of poor mental health was 14.2% and 11.6%, respectively, for NDO in the youngest and oldest age group, and 17.2% for PE in the middle age group. While the consequences of PE have been widely discussed, those of NDO have not received attention. Interventions aimed at adapting work situations for older individuals and facilitating conditions of job change in such a way as to avoid risking unemployment or precarious employment situations may lead to improved mental health in this age group.

Does the public's negative perception towards wood in rivers relate to recent impact of flooding experiencing?

PubMed

Ruiz-Villanueva, Virginia; Díez-Herrero, Andrés; García, Juan Antonio; Ollero, Alfredo; Piégay, Hervé; Stoffel, Markus

2018-09-01

Instream large wood (LW) is widely perceived as a source of hazard that should be avoided. This is also the case of Spain, where wood has been systematically removed from rivers for decades. Consequently, people are accustomed to rivers with minimal or no LW at all. However, the presence and transport of wood is natural and has positive ecological effects. Previous studies reported that the general negative perception towards LW in rivers is related to the lack of background knowledge about stream ecology or fluvial dynamics. However, we hypothesize here that recent flooding experience has an influence on the perception of LW as well. To test this hypothesis, we surveyed groups of individuals living in different areas of Spain that have been affected more or less frequently by floods. In addition, we surveyed a group of scientists to test whether their perception towards LW differs from that of the general public. We observe that flooding experience is not the main controlling factor of how LW is perceived. Instead, we observe that respondents, independently of the time passed since the last flood, perceived watercourses with LW as less aesthetically, more dangerous, and with a larger need to improve channels than in watercourses without LW. Regional differences were detected, potentially related to differences in environmental attitudes. We confirm the existence of a gap in perception between scientific communities and the general public regarding natural river systems with wood; thereby highlighting the need to transfer knowledge, training, and education to bridge this gap. The generalized negative perception towards LW could have important consequences on the implementation of river management measures, such as LW augmentation for restoration purposes. This study underlines that wood removal should be more balanced in post-flood works and that public information is needed to implement a balanced LW management policy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Alcohol-Related Negative Consequences among Drinkers around the World

PubMed Central

Graham, Kathryn; Bernards, Sharon; Knibbe, Ronald; Kairouz, Sylvia; Kuntche, Sandra; Wilsnack, Sharon C.; Greenfield, Thomas K.; Dietze, Paul; Obot, Isidore; Gmel, Gerhard

2013-01-01

Aims This paper examines (1) gender and country differences in negative consequences related to drinking; (2) relative rates of different consequences; (3) country-level predictors of consequences. Design, setting and participants Multi-level analyses used survey data from the GENACIS collaboration. Measurements Measures included 17 negative consequences grouped into (a) high endorsement acute, (b) personal and (c) social. Country-level measures included average frequency and quantity of drinking, percent current drinkers, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Human Development Index (HDI). Findings Overall, the three groupings of consequences were reported by 44%, 12% and 7% of men and by 31%, 6% and 3% of women, respectively. More men than women endorsed all consequences but gender differences were greatest for consequences associated with chronic drinking and social consequences related to male roles. The highest prevalence of consequences was in Uganda, lowest in Uruguay. Personal and social consequences were more likely in countries with higher usual quantity, fewer current drinkers, and lower scores on GDP and HDI. However, significant interactions with individual-level quantity indicated a stronger relationship between consequences and usual quantity among drinkers in countries with lower quantity, more current drinkers and higher scores on GDP and HDI. Conclusions Both gender and country need to be taken into consideration when assessing adverse drinking consequences. Individual measures of alcohol consumption and country-level variables are associated with experiencing such consequences. Additionally, country-level variables affect the strength of the relationship between usual quantity consumed by individuals and adverse consequences. PMID:21395893

The prepared emotional reflex: intentional preparation of automatic approach and avoidance tendencies as a means to regulate emotional responding.

PubMed

Eder, Andreas B; Rothermund, Klaus; Proctor, Robert W

2010-08-01

Advance preparation of action courses toward emotional stimuli is an effective means to regulate impulsive emotional behavior. Our experiment shows that performing intentional acts of approach and avoidance in an evaluation task influences the unintended activation of approach and avoidance tendencies in another task in which stimulus valence is irrelevant. For the evaluation-relevant blocks, participants received either congruent (positive-approach, negative-avoidance) or incongruent (positive-avoidance, negative-approach) mapping instructions. In the evaluation-irrelevant blocks, approach- and avoidance-related lever movements were selected in response to a stimulus feature other than valence (affective Simon task). Response mapping in the evaluation task influenced performance in the evaluation-irrelevant task: An enhanced affective Simon effect was observed with congruent mapping instructions; in contrast, the effect was reversed when the evaluation task required incongruent responses. Thus, action instructions toward affective stimuli received in one task determined affective response tendencies in another task where these instructions were not in effect. These findings suggest that intentionally prepared short-term links between affective valence and motor responses elicit associated responses without a deliberate act of will, operating like a "prepared reflex." Copyright 2010 APA

Social approach and avoidance behaviour for negative emotions is modulated by endogenous oxytocin and paranoia in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Brown, Elliot C; Tas, Cumhur; Kuzu, Duygu; Esen-Danaci, Aysen; Roelofs, Karin; Brüne, Martin

2014-11-30

Patients with schizophrenia suffer from dysfunctional social behaviour. Social approach and avoidance (AA) has been associated with motor responses, as the affective valence and gaze direction of facial stimuli can bias push and pull motor tendencies. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of endogenous oxytocin in social AA behaviour in schizophrenia. Basal plasma oxytocin levels were collected from 28 patients who were then given a joystick-based Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT). Reaction times were recorded and AAT effect scores calculated for responses to happy and angry faces, which either had direct or averted gaze. Individual differences in basal oxytocin had a significant relationship with AAT responses, and patients with higher levels of oxytocin tended to avoid angry faces more. Furthermore, greater avoidance of angry faces was correlated with more severe psychotic (positive and general) symptoms and greater paranoia. This suggests that the endogenous effects of oxytocin may be specific to the interpretation of negative threatening emotions in schizophrenia patients, and also provides evidence that psychotic symptoms and paranoia can impact on social AA behaviour by heightening threat avoidance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Psychological Factors Involved in Sexual Desire, Sexual Activity, and Sexual Satisfaction: A Multi-factorial Perspective.

PubMed

Dosch, Alessandra; Rochat, Lucien; Ghisletta, Paolo; Favez, Nicolas; Van der Linden, Martial

2016-11-01

This study explored the role of psychological trait factors in sexual desire and sexual activity. In particular, it investigated how these factors may contribute to maintaining a balance between motivational aspects and self-control abilities, as both have been considered important in relation to adaptive sexuality. Moreover, the study explored the relationship between sexual desire, activity, and satisfaction. Participants completed questionnaires assessing sexual desire (dyadic, solitary), sexual activity (with a partner, alone), sexual satisfaction, approach and avoidance motivation, attachment, self-control, sensation seeking, and mindfulness. Cluster analyses, based on participants' level of sexual desire and sexual activity, highlighted three distinct profiles for each gender related to different types of psychological functioning: (a) participants with high dyadic sexual desire and activity were the most sexually satisfied, showed optimal psychological functioning, and were characterized by a balance between motivational tendencies to seek positive rewards and self-control abilities (high approach motivation, secure attachment, high self-control, high mindfulness); (b) participants with high dyadic and solitary sexual desire and activity were moderately satisfied and showed a type of psychological functioning predominantly characterized by impulsivity (an overly high motivation to obtain rewards in women, and low self-control in men); (c) participants with low dyadic sexual desire and activity were the least sexually satisfied and were characterized by high motivation to avoid negative consequences and low self-control (high avoidance motivation, insecure attachment, and poor mindfulness). These results shed further light on how fundamental psychological factors contribute to explain the individual variability in sexual desire, activity, and satisfaction.

False gold: Safely navigating open access publishing to avoid predatory publishers and journals.

PubMed

McCann, Terence V; Polacsek, Meg

2018-04-01

The aim of this study was to review and discuss predatory open access publishing in the context of nursing and midwifery and develop a set of guidelines that serve as a framework to help clinicians, educators and researchers avoid predatory publishers. Open access publishing is increasingly common across all academic disciplines. However, this publishing model is vulnerable to exploitation by predatory publishers, posing a threat to nursing and midwifery scholarship and practice. Guidelines are needed to help researchers recognize predatory journals and publishers and understand the negative consequences of publishing in them. Discussion paper. A literature search of BioMed Central, CINAHL, MEDLINE with Full Text and PubMed for terms related to predatory publishing, published in the period 2007-2017. Lack of awareness of the risks and pressure to publish in international journals, may result in nursing and midwifery researchers publishing their work in dubious open access journals. Caution should be taken prior to writing and submitting a paper, to avoid predatory publishers. The advantage of open access publishing is that it provides readers with access to peer-reviewed research as soon as it is published online. However, predatory publishers use deceptive methods to exploit open access publishing for their own profit. Clear guidelines are needed to help researchers navigate safely open access publishing. A deeper understanding of the risks of predatory publishing is needed. Clear guidelines should be followed by nursing and midwifery researchers seeking to publish their work in open access journals. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Does adult attachment style mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and mental and physical health outcomes?

PubMed

Widom, Cathy Spatz; Czaja, Sally J; Kozakowski, Sandra Sepulveda; Chauhan, Preeti

2018-02-01

Attachment theory has been proposed as one explanation for the relationship between childhood maltreatment and problematic mental and physical health outcomes in adulthood. This study seeks to determine whether: (1) childhood physical abuse and neglect lead to different attachment styles in adulthood, (2) adult attachment styles predict subsequent mental and physical health outcomes, and (3) adult attachment styles mediate the relationship between childhood physical abuse and neglect and mental and physical health outcomes. Children with documented cases of physical abuse and neglect (ages 0-11) were matched with children without these histories and followed up in adulthood. Adult attachment style was assessed at mean age 39.5 and outcomes at 41.1. Separate path models examined mental and physical health outcomes. Individuals with histories of childhood neglect and physical abuse had higher levels of anxious attachment style in adulthood, whereas neglect predicted avoidant attachment as well. Both adult attachment styles (anxious and avoidant) predicted mental health outcomes (higher levels of anxiety and depression and lower levels of self-esteem), whereas only anxious adult attachment style predicted higher levels of allostatic load. Path analyses revealed that anxious attachment style in adulthood in part explained the relationship between childhood neglect and physical abuse to depression, anxiety, and self-esteem, but not the relationship to allostatic load. Childhood neglect and physical abuse have lasting effects on adult attachment styles and anxious and avoidant adult attachment styles contribute to understanding the negative mental health consequences of childhood neglect and physical abuse 30 years later in adulthood. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Treatment of avoidance behavior as an adjunct to exposure therapy: Insights from modern learning theory.

PubMed

Treanor, Michael; Barry, Tom J

2017-09-01

Pathological avoidance of benign stimuli is a hallmark of anxiety and related disorders, and exposure-based treatments have often encouraged the removal of avoidance, or safety behaviors, due to their negative effects on extinction learning. Unfortunately, empirical evidence suggests that avoidance behaviors can persist following treatment, and the mere availability of avoidance behavior can be sufficient to renew fear following successful extinction learning. The present paper critically examines the function of avoidance behavior through the lens of modern learning theory, and speculates on novel behavioral and pharmacological strategies for targeting avoidance as an adjunct to current evidence-based treatments. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Anxiety sensitivity moderates behavioral avoidance in anxious youth.

PubMed

Lebowitz, Eli R; Shic, Frederick; Campbell, Daniel; Basile, Krista; Silverman, Wendy K

2015-11-01

Individuals who are high in anxiety sensitivity (AS) are motivated to avoid sensations of anxiety. Consequently, AS is hypothesized to contribute to overall avoidance of any feared stimuli. No studies have yet examined whether fear of a stimulus is a stronger predictor of behavioral avoidance in individuals who are high in AS compared to individuals who are low in AS. We examined whether AS moderates the association between fear of spiders and behavioral avoidance of spider stimuli in 50 clinically anxious youth. Fear of spiders significantly predicted avoidance of spider stimuli in youth high in AS but not in youth low in AS. These results provide support for the role of AS in avoidant behavior and help to explain the link between AS and the anxiety disorders. The results have implications for exposure-based anxiety treatments and highlight the importance of increasing anxious patients' ability to tolerate sensations of anxiety. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validation of the Social Exercise and Anxiety Measure (SEAM): Assessing fears, avoidance, and importance of social exercise

PubMed Central

Levinson, Cheri A.; Rodebaugh, Thomas L.; Menatti, Andrew R.; Weeks, Justin W.

2012-01-01

In two studies (N = 416; N = 118) examining responses from undergraduates, we developed the Social Exercise and Anxiety Measure (SEAM) and tested its factorial, convergent, and divergent validity. Our results demonstrate that the SEAM exhibits an excellent three factor structure consisting of the following subscales: Social Exercise Self-efficacy, Gym Avoidance, and Exercise Importance. In both studies, Social Exercise Self-efficacy correlated negatively and Gym Avoidance correlated positively with social interaction anxiety, fear of scrutiny, and fear of negative evaluation. Exercise Importance correlated positively with frequency of exercise and frequency of public exercise. Implications for the mental and physical health of individuals with high levels of social anxiety are discussed. PMID:24244069

Usability Flaws in Medication Alerting Systems: Impact on Usage and Work System.

PubMed

Marcilly, R; Ammenwerth, E; Roehrer, E; Pelayo, S; Vasseur, F; Beuscart-Zéphir, M-C

2015-08-13

Previous research has shown that medication alerting systems face usability issues. There has been no previous attempt to systematically explore the consequences of usability flaws in such systems on users (i.e. usage problems) and work systems (i.e. negative outcomes). This paper aims at exploring and synthesizing the consequences of usability flaws in terms of usage problems and negative outcomes on the work system. A secondary analysis of 26 papers included in a prior systematic review of the usability flaws in medication alerting was performed. Usage problems and negative outcomes were extracted and sorted. Links between usability flaws, usage problems, and negative outcomes were also analyzed. Poor usability generates a large variety of consequences. It impacts the user from a cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and attitudinal perspective. Ultimately, usability flaws have negative consequences on the workflow, the effectiveness of the technology, the medication management process, and, more importantly, patient safety. Only few complete pathways leading from usability flaws to negative outcomes were identified. Usability flaws in medication alerting systems impede users, and ultimately their work system, and negatively impact patient safety. Therefore, the usability dimension may act as a hidden explanatory variable that could explain, at least partly, the (absence of) intended outcomes of new technology.

Usability Flaws in Medication Alerting Systems: Impact on Usage and Work System

PubMed Central

Ammenwerth, E.; Roehrer, E.; Pelayo, S.; Vasseur, F.; Beuscart-Zéphir, M.-C.

2015-01-01

Summary Objectives Previous research has shown that medication alerting systems face usability issues. There has been no previous attempt to systematically explore the consequences of usability flaws in such systems on users (i.e. usage problems) and work systems (i.e. negative outcomes). This paper aims at exploring and synthesizing the consequences of usability flaws in terms of usage problems and negative outcomes on the work system. Methods A secondary analysis of 26 papers included in a prior systematic review of the usability flaws in medication alerting was performed. Usage problems and negative outcomes were extracted and sorted. Links between usability flaws, usage problems, and negative outcomes were also analyzed. Results Poor usability generates a large variety of consequences. It impacts the user from a cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and attitudinal perspective. Ultimately, usability flaws have negative consequences on the workflow, the effectiveness of the technology, the medication management process, and, more importantly, patient safety. Only few complete pathways leading from usability flaws to negative outcomes were identified. Conclusion Usability flaws in medication alerting systems impede users, and ultimately their work system, and negatively impact patient safety. Therefore, the usability dimension may act as a hidden explanatory variable that could explain, at least partly, the (absence of) intended outcomes of new technology. PMID:26123906

[Disease versus disorder. Medical and socio-environmental aspects of mental suffering].

PubMed

Heinz, A

2015-01-01

A disease concept should be broad enough to provide social protection for all subjects suffering from this malady but at the same time it needs to be narrow enough to avoid pathologization of behavior that is merely socially undesirable. From a medical perspective a"disease" is present if functions are impaired that are relevant for individual survival. In the field of psychiatry and psychotherapy, such medically relevant functions include the ability to be alert and fully oriented, to ascribe one's own intentions to oneself and to modulate affects according to the situation. Beyond such medically relevant symptoms of a disease, any clinically relevant dysfunction should also be harmful for the individual if a mental malady is to be diagnosed. One such harmful consequence of a disease can be that the person feels ill and suffers from this state, another negative consequence for the individual can be due to an impairment of activities of daily living and social participation. These harmful consequences of a disease are usually discussed under the heading of the"illness experience" and the"sickness aspect" of any disorder. Beyond mental maladies characterized by disease symptoms that are accompanied either by an illness experience or impaired activities of daily living and social participation (sickness), there are many states of human suffering which can be objectified and classified but do not constitute a disease in the medical sense and should more aptly be named a disorder.

Measuring alcohol-related consequences and motives among students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

PubMed

Messina, Bryan G; Tseng, Andy; Correia, Christopher J

2015-07-01

College student drinkers have the propensity to engage in heavy alcohol consumption. These consumption patterns can be problematic given the well-established relationship between heavy drinking and negative consequences of alcohol consumption. Though the research on college student drinking is abundant, much of the work conducted has been with Caucasian samples and less so with African American samples or at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The current paper assessed the internal reliability and concurrent validity of two popular measures of alcohol related negative consequences (CAPS-r and YAACQ) and a measure of drinking motives (DMQ-R) within a HBCU sample. Total scores for the CAPS-r and YAACQ and all five subscales of the DMQ-R were internally reliable as determined by Cronbach's alpha. Correlations and regressions established concurrent validity for both measures of negative consequences as well as the subscales for the DMQ-R. Findings support the use of these measures in the assessment of negative consequences and motivations for alcohol consumption within a HBCU population. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of coping resources and self-esteem as moderators of the relationship between threat appraisals and avoidance of activities after traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Riley, Gerard A; Dennis, Rebecca K; Powell, Theresa

2010-12-01

It is not uncommon for people after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) to develop anxieties about possible negative outcomes (i.e., threat appraisals) in relation to participating in valued activities. Some respond to this anxiety by avoiding the activities, but others maintain their participation. The present study investigated two factors that may help explain this variation across individuals in their response to threat appraisals - self-esteem and the evaluation of coping resources. Forty-one individuals with a TBI completed the Avoidance and Threat Appraisals Questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Coping Resources Questionnaire. The study's hypotheses were supported: Those low in self-esteem, and those with a negative evaluation of their ability to cope with the TBI, were significantly more likely to respond to threat appraisals with avoidance. Those whose injury was more recent and those whose injury was the result of an assault were also more likely to respond with avoidance. The theoretical and therapeutic implications of these results are discussed.

Improving the Sensitivity of Needs Assessment for Substance Abuse Prevention Planning: The Measurement of Differential Severity of Consequences for Individual Substance Types

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shamblen, Stephen R.; Springer, J. Fred

2007-01-01

There is an absence of systematic, comparative research examining the negative consequences that are experienced as a result of using specific substances. Further, techniques typically used for needs assessment (i.e., prevalence proportions) do not take into account the probability of experiencing a negative consequence as a result of using…

Temporal framing and the decision to take part in type 2 diabetes screening: effects of individual differences in consideration of future consequences on persuasion.

PubMed

Orbell, Sheina; Hagger, Martin

2006-07-01

Reliable individual differences in the extent to which people consider the long- and short-term consequences of their own behaviors are hypothesized to influence the impact of a persuasive communication. In a field experiment, the time frame of occurrence of positive and negative consequences of taking part in a proposed Type 2 diabetes screening program was manipulated in a sample of 210 adults with a mean age of 53 years. Individual differences in consideration of future consequences (CFC; A. Strathman, F. Gleicher, D. S. Boninger, & C. S. Edwards, 1994) moderated (a) the generation of positive and negative thoughts and (b) the persuasive impact of the different communications. Low-CFC individuals were more persuaded when positive consequences were short term and negative consequences were long term. The opposite was true of high-CFC individuals. Path analyses show that net positive thoughts generated mediated the effect of the CFC x Time Frame manipulations on behavioral intentions.

Understanding shame in adults: retrospective perceptions of parental-bonding during childhood.

PubMed

Lutwak, N; Ferrari, J R

1997-10-01

The association between perceptions of parental-bonding style during childhood and moral affect of shame at young adulthood were examined with 264 women and 140 men (mean age [+/- SD] = 20.4 +/- 1.6 years old). Shame affect was significantly positively related to fear of negative evaluation by others and social avoidance, and negatively related to recalled parental care in one's childhood. Multiple regression analyses indicated that maternal protectiveness, paternal care, fear of negative social evaluation, and social avoidance were significant predictors of shame, explaining 41% of the variance. Results support object relations theory, which states that shame is a moral affect associated with social evaluation apprehension and may have developmental implications for one's parental relations.

Relative Luminance and Figure-Background Segmentation Problems: Using AMLA to Avoid Nondiscernible Stimulus Pairs in Common and Color Blind Observers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jover, Julio Lillo; Moreira, Humberto

2005-01-01

Four experiments evaluated AMLA temporal version accuracy to measure relative luminosity in people with and without color blindness and, consequently, to provide the essential information to avoid poor figure-background combinations in any possible "specific screen-specific observer" pair. Experiment 1 showed that two very different apparatus, a…

The Relation between Youth Fear and Avoidance of Crime in School and Academic Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrett, Kimberly L.; Jennings, Wesley G.; Lynch, Michael J.

2012-01-01

Despite decades of research analyzing fear of crime among adults, little is known about youth fear of crime in general and youth fear of crime in school, specifically. Moreover, among existing studies most emphasize causes of fear, with little discussion of avoidance or the academic consequences of these feelings and behaviors in school. This…

Addiction Motivation Reformulated: An Affective Processing Model of Negative Reinforcement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Timothy B.; Piper, Megan E.; McCarthy, Danielle E.; Majeskie, Matthew R.; Fiore, Michael C.

2004-01-01

This article offers a reformulation of the negative reinforcement model of drug addiction and proposes that the escape and avoidance of negative affect is the prepotent motive for addictive drug use. The authors posit that negative affect is the motivational core of the withdrawal syndrome and argue that, through repeated cycles of drug use and…

Psychosocial consequences of allocation to lung cancer screening: a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Aggestrup, Louise Mosborg; Hestbech, Mie Sara; Siersma, Volkert; Pedersen, Jesper Holst; Brodersen, John

2012-01-01

To examine the psychosocial consequences of being allocated to the control group as compared with the screen group in a randomised lung cancer screening trial. The Danish Lung Cancer Screening Trial, a randomised controlled trial, ran from 2004 to 2010 with the purpose of investigating the benefits and harms of lung cancer screening. The participants in Danish Lung Cancer Screening Trial were randomised to either the control group or the screen group and were asked to complete the questionnaires Consequences Of Screening and Consequences Of Screening in Lung Cancer (COS-LC). The Consequences Of Screening and the COS-LC were used to examine the psychosocial consequences of participating in the study, by comparing the control and the screen groups' responses at the prevalence and at the incidence round. There was no statistically significant difference in socio-demographic characteristics or smoking habits between the two groups. Responses to the COS-LC collected before the incidence round were statistically significantly different on the scales 'anxiety', 'behaviour', 'dejection', 'self-blame', 'focus on airway symptoms' and 'introvert', with the control group reporting higher negative psychosocial consequences. Furthermore, the participants in both the control and the screen groups exhibited a mean increase in negative psychosocial consequences when their responses from the prevalence round were compared with their responses from the first incidence round. Participation in a randomised controlled trial on lung cancer screening has negative psychosocial consequences for the apparently healthy participants-both the participants in the screen group and the control group. This negative impact was greatest for the control group.

Alzheimer's disease and the law: positive and negative consequences of structural stigma and labeling in the legal system.

PubMed

Werner, Perla; Doron, Israel Issi

2017-11-01

To explore the meaning and consequences of labeling on structural stigma in the context of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the legal system. This qualitative study was made up of three focus groups including social workers and lawyers (n = 26). Participants were asked to report their experience in circumstances in which persons with AD and their family members engage with the legal system. Thematic analysis using the constant comparative method was used. The discussions in the focus groups raised two overall themes. (1) The significance of the medical diagnostic labeling of AD in the legal system and (2) the consequences of labeling of AD within the legal system. This last theme included four sub-themes: (a) negative consequences of labeling; (b) reasons associated with negative consequences of labeling; (c) positive consequences of labeling; and (d) reasons associated with positive consequences of labeling. Findings of the study provide a first foundation for future research on the meaning and consequences of labeling in legal cases involving persons with AD. They suggest that increasing judges' knowledge about AD and reforming the existing 'status-based' legal capacity legislation might benefit by limiting the legal weight given today to the medical diagnosis.

Social and emotional consequences of refraining from sexual activity among sexually experienced and inexperienced youths in California.

PubMed

Brady, Sonya S; Halpern-Felsher, Bonnie L

2008-01-01

We examined the social and emotional consequences among adolescents of refraining from sexual activity (oral or vaginal sex) and whether these consequences differed over time and by gender and sexual experience. Adolescents (N=612; 58% female) recruited from 2 schools were assessed at 4 time points separated by 6-month intervals, beginning in fall of ninth grade. The percentage of adolescents who reported only positive consequences (e.g., they felt responsible, friends were proud) dramatically decreased over time, whereas the percentage that reported negative consequences (e.g., they felt left out, partners became angry) steadily increased. Adolescent girls and sexually experienced adolescents were more likely to report both positive and negative consequences than were adolescent boys and sexually inexperienced adolescents. Adolescents who began the study with sexual experience were more likely to report positive consequences of refraining from sexual activity by the end of the study than those who initiated sexual activity later. Sexual education programs should address how adolescents can cope with or prevent negative consequences of refraining from sexual activity, so that decisions to abstain are rewarding and decisions to engage in sexual activity are motivated by maturity and readiness.

"Drinking won't get you thinking": a content analysis of adolescent-created print alcohol counter-advertisements.

PubMed

Banerjee, Smita C; Greene, Kathryn; Hecht, Michael L; Magsamen-Conrad, Kate; Elek, Elvira

2013-01-01

Involvement in creating antialcohol advertisements generates enthusiasm among adolescents; however, little is known about the messages adolescents develop for these activities. In this article, we present a content analysis of 72 print alcohol counteradvertisements created by high school (age 14-17 years old) and college (18-25 years old) students. The posters were content analyzed for poster message content, persuasion strategies, and production components, and we compared high school and college student posters. All of the posters used a slogan to highlight the main point/message of the ad and counterarguments/consequences to support the slogans. The most frequently depicted consequences were negative consequences of alcohol use, followed by negative-positive consequence comparison. Persuasion strategies were sparingly used in advertisements and included having fun/one of the gang, humor/unexpected, glamour/sex appeal, and endorsement. Finally, posters displayed a number of production techniques including depicting people, clear setting, multiple colors, different font sizes, and object placement. College and high school student-constructed posters were similar on many features (e.g., posters displayed similar frequency of utilization of slogans, negative consequences, and positive-negative consequence comparisons), but were different on the use of positive consequences of not using alcohol and before-after comparisons. Implications for teaching media literacy and involving adolescents and youth in developing alcohol prevention messages are discussed.

“Drinking Won’t Get You Thinking”: A Content Analysis of Adolescent-Created Print Alcohol Counter-Advertisements

PubMed Central

Banerjee, Smita C.; Greene, Kathryn; Hecht, Michael L.; Magsamen-Conrad, Kate; Elek, Elvira

2013-01-01

Involvement in creating anti-alcohol advertisements generates enthusiasm among adolescents, however, little is known about the messages adolescents develop for these activities. In this paper, we present a content analysis of 72 print alcohol counter-advertisements created by high school (age 14–17 years old) and college (18–25 years old) students. The posters were content analyzed for poster message content, persuasion strategies, and production components, and we compared high school and college student posters. All of the posters used a slogan to highlight the main point/message of the ad and counter-arguments/consequences to support the slogans. The most frequently depicted consequences were negative consequences of alcohol use followed by negative-positive consequence comparison. Persuasion strategies were sparingly used in advertisements and included having fun/one of the gang, humor/unexpected, glamour/sex appeal, and endorsement. Finally, posters displayed a number of production techniques including depicting people, clear setting, multiple colors, different font sizes, and object placement. College and high school student constructed posters were similar on many features (for instance, posters displayed similar frequency of utilization of slogans, negative consequences and positive-negative consequence comparisons), but were different on the use of positive consequences of not using alcohol and before-after comparisons. Implications for teaching media literacy and involving adolescents and youth in developing alcohol prevention messages are discussed. PMID:23980705

Alcohol-related negative consequences among drinkers around the world.

PubMed

Graham, Kathryn; Bernards, Sharon; Knibbe, Ronald; Kairouz, Sylvia; Kuntsche, Sandra; Wilsnack, Sharon C; Greenfield, Thomas K; Dietze, Paul; Obot, Isidore; Gmel, Gerhard

2011-08-01

This paper examines (i) gender and country differences in negative consequences related to drinking; (ii) relative rates of different consequences; and (iii) country-level predictors of consequences. Multi-level analyses used survey data from the Gender, Alcohol, and Culture: An International Study (GENACIS) collaboration. Measures included 17 negative consequences grouped into (i) high endorsement acute, (ii) personal and (iii) social. Country-level measures included average frequency and quantity of drinking, percentage who were current drinkers, gross domestic product (GDP) and Human Development Index (HDI). Overall, the three groupings of consequences were reported by 44%, 12% and 7% of men and by 31%, 6% and 3% of women, respectively. More men than women endorsed all consequences, but gender differences were greatest for consequences associated with chronic drinking and social consequences related to male roles. The highest prevalence of consequences was in Uganda and lowest in Uruguay. Personal and social consequences were more likely in countries with higher usual quantity, fewer current drinkers and lower scores on GDP and HDI. However, significant interactions with individual-level quantity indicated a stronger relationship between consequences and usual quantity among drinkers in countries with lower quantity, more current drinkers and higher scores on GDP and HDI. Both gender and country need to be taken into consideration when assessing adverse drinking consequences. Individual measures of alcohol consumption and country-level variables are associated with experiencing such consequences. Additionally, country-level variables affect the strength of the relationship between usual quantity consumed by individuals and adverse consequences. © 2011 The Authors, Addiction © 2011 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Harm avoidance in adolescents modulates late positive potentials during affective picture processing.

PubMed

Zhang, Wenhai; Lu, Jiamei; Ni, Ziyin; Liu, Xia; Wang, Dahua; Shen, Jiliang

2013-08-01

Research in adults has shown that individual differences in harm avoidance (HA) modulate electrophysiological responses to affective stimuli. To determine whether HA in adolescents modulates affective information processing, we collected event-related potentials from 70 adolescents while they viewed 90 pictures from the Chinese affective picture system. Multiple regressions revealed that HA negatively predicted late positive potential (LPP) for positive pictures and positively predicted for negative pictures; however, HA did not correlate with LPP for neutral pictures. The results suggest that at the late evaluative stage, high-HA adolescents display attentional bias to negative pictures while low-HA adolescents display attentional bias to negative pictures. Moreover, these dissociable attentional patterns imply that individual differences in adolescents' HA modulate the late selective attention mechanism of affective information. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Trajectories of attachment in older age: interpersonal trauma and its consequences.

PubMed

Bachem, Rahel; Levin, Yafit; Solomon, Zahava

2018-06-04

Previous studies suggest that attachment insecurities may increase after trauma exposure, an effect documented only at a group level. This study explores the heterogeneity of changes over time and examines the associations of the nature of the traumatic event (interpersonal and nonpersonal), and its consequences (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and loneliness) with attachment trajectories. Two groups of Israeli veterans participated: 164 former prisoners-of-war and 185 combat veterans. Attachment was assessed at four points (1991-2015). Risk factors were evaluated in 1991. Using latent growth mixture modeling, trajectories of attachment insecurities were explored. Three avoidance trajectories (stability, decrease, inverse u-shaped) and two anxiety trajectories (stability, decrease) were identified. The inverse u-shaped avoidance trajectory was associated with captivity, humiliation, loneliness, and PTSD, and stable avoidance was associated with loneliness. Stable anxiety was associated with captivity and loneliness. Attachment insecurities can change during aging and persist decades after a trauma. Trauma-related risk factors are related to more deleterious trajectories.

Individual differences in coping with criticism of one's physical appearance among Taiwanese students.

PubMed

Lu, Luo; Kao, Shu-Fang; Chang, Ting-Ting; Lee, Ya-Wen

2009-08-01

When someone is criticized for some failure or deficiency, he or she is faced with a dilemma about whether or how to respond. To date, most research on responses to criticism has adopted a communication approach and has focused on general social complaints. The present study instead adopted the perspective of stress and coping and aimed to delineate possible responses to criticism pertaining to one's physical appearance. We investigated the efficacy of three coping styles, namely acceptance, avoidance, and retaliation in explaining emotional reactions towards such criticism, and we additionally controlled for personality characteristics, in particular assertion and harmony beliefs. A sample of Taiwanese university students (N = 300) was surveyed for their coping styles and psychological outcomes, and personality traits were examined as possible predictors of response options. We found that (1) acceptance, retaliation, and avoidance were three broad coping styles in this problematic social situation; (2) the individual trait of assertion was negatively related to the use of avoidance, while harmony beliefs were positively related to acceptance and avoidance, but negatively related to retaliation; and (3) the use of acceptance and avoidance were positively related to positive emotions, whereas retaliation was positively related to negative emotions. Males tended to use more acceptance. Implications of these findings were discussed in relation to existing studies of communication, stress and coping. Possible influences of the Chinese collectivist culture on people's responses to criticism were also delineated, such as valuing interpersonal harmony and face-work in social situations.

Where are the Sunday babies? II. Declining weekend birth rates in Switzerland.

PubMed

Lerchl, Alexander; Reinhard, Sarah C

2008-02-01

Birth dates from almost 3 million babies born between 1969 and 2005 in Switzerland were analyzed for the weekday of birth. As in other countries but with unprecedented amplitude, a very marked non-random distribution was discovered with decreasing numbers of births on weekends, reaching -17.9% in 2005. While most of this weekend births avoidance rate is due to fewer births on Sundays (up to -21.7%), the downward trend is primarily a consequence of decreasing births on Saturdays (up to -14.5%). For 2005, these percentages mean that 3,728 fewer babies are born during weekends than could be expected from equal distribution. Most interestingly and surprisingly, weekend birth-avoiding rates are significantly correlated with birth numbers (r = 0.86), i.e. the lower the birth number per year, the lower the number of weekend births. The increasing avoidance of births during weekends is discussed as being a consequence of increasing numbers of caesarean sections and elective labor induction, which in Switzerland reach 29.2 and 20.5%, respectively, in 2004. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that both primary and secondary caesarean sections are significantly correlated with weekend birth avoidance rates. It is therefore likely that financial aspects of hospitals are a factor determining the avoidance of weekend births by increasing the numbers of caesarean sections.

Where are the Sunday babies? II. Declining weekend birth rates in Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lerchl, Alexander; Reinhard, Sarah C.

2008-02-01

Birth dates from almost 3 million babies born between 1969 and 2005 in Switzerland were analyzed for the weekday of birth. As in other countries but with unprecedented amplitude, a very marked non-random distribution was discovered with decreasing numbers of births on weekends, reaching -17.9% in 2005. While most of this weekend births avoidance rate is due to fewer births on Sundays (up to -21.7%), the downward trend is primarily a consequence of decreasing births on Saturdays (up to -14.5%). For 2005, these percentages mean that 3,728 fewer babies are born during weekends than could be expected from equal distribution. Most interestingly and surprisingly, weekend birth-avoiding rates are significantly correlated with birth numbers ( r = 0.86), i.e. the lower the birth number per year, the lower the number of weekend births. The increasing avoidance of births during weekends is discussed as being a consequence of increasing numbers of caesarean sections and elective labor induction, which in Switzerland reach 29.2 and 20.5%, respectively, in 2004. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that both primary and secondary caesarean sections are significantly correlated with weekend birth avoidance rates. It is therefore likely that financial aspects of hospitals are a factor determining the avoidance of weekend births by increasing the numbers of caesarean sections.

Youth with substance abuse histories exhibit dysfunctional representation of expected value during a passive avoidance task.

PubMed

White, Stuart F; Tyler, Patrick; Botkin, Mary L; Erway, Anna K; Thornton, Laura C; Kolli, Venkata; Pope, Kayla; Meffert, Harma; Blair, R James

2016-11-30

Individuals with substance abuse (SA) histories show impairment in the computations necessary for decision-making, including expected value (EV) and prediction error (PE). Neuroimaging findings, however, have been inconsistent. Sixteen youth with (SA positive ) and 29 youth without (SA negative ) substance abuse histories completed a passive avoidance task while undergoing functional MRI. The groups did not significantly differ on age, gender composition or IQ. Behavioral results indicated that SA positive youth showed significantly less learning than SA negative youth over the task. SA positive youth show problems representing EV information when attempting to avoid sub-optimal choices in bilateral inferior frontal gyrus and striatum. Furthermore, SA positive youth showed a significantly increased differential response to reward versus punishment feedback modulated by PE in posterior cingulate cortex relative to SA negative youth. Disrupted decision-making is likely to exacerbate SA as a failure to represent EV during the avoidance of sub-optimal choices is likely to increase the likelihood of SA. With respect to the representation of PE, future work will be needed to clarify the impact of different substances on the neural systems underpinning PE representation. Moreover, interaction of age/development and substance abuse on PE signaling will need to be explored. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and validation of two measures of emotional contrast avoidance: The contrast avoidance questionnaires.

PubMed

Llera, Sandra J; Newman, Michelle G

2017-06-01

The Contrast Avoidance (CA) model (Newman & Llera, 2011) proposed that individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) fear sharp emotional shifts (or contrasts), such as the shift from a pleasant or neutral state to one of sudden distress following a negative event. Further, the model suggests that chronic worry is employed by those with GAD to sustain negative emotionality as a means to avoid sudden shifts into negativity. The model has received empirical support; however, no validated measure exists to assess CA tendencies. In this paper we developed and tested two measures of CA: one focusing on worry, and another examining broader mechanisms of CA that could be used test whether CA is applicable to other disorders. In Study 1, Part 1, we used 3 samples of participants (each N=410) to perform item reduction, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. In Study 1, Part 2, we performed tests of construct validity. In Study 2, we used a new sample (N=126) to determine test-retest reliability. All data point to the strong psychometric properties of the CA questionnaires and their relationship to GAD. Both measures distinguished between participants reporting clinical levels of GAD symptoms and nonanxious controls, demonstrating their utility as complementary measures of CA tendencies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Alcohol expectancies and alcohol outcomes: effects of the use of protective behavioral strategies.

PubMed

Grazioli, Véronique S; Lewis, Melissa A; Garberson, Lisa A; Fossos-Wong, Nicole; Lee, Christine M; Larimer, Mary E

2015-05-01

Alcohol expectancies (AEs) are positively associated with drinking behaviors, whereas the use of protective behavioural strategies (PBS) is negatively related to alcohol outcomes among young adults. PBS have been shown to weaken relationships between some alcohol risk factors and alcohol outcomes. This study aimed to examine longitudinally the moderating effect of PBS on the relationships between AEs and alcohol outcomes among young adults. Participants (N = 188; 61.7% female) were U.S. young adults participating in a larger longitudinal study. Measures of PBS, AEs, alcohol use, and related consequences were used from the baseline and 12-month follow-up assessments. Negative binomial hurdle models found that PBS (total score) significantly moderated the relationship between positive AEs and consequences, such that among high school seniors endorsing higher positive AEs, those using more PBS in high school reported fewer negative consequences 1 year later. PBS (Manner of Drinking) also moderated the relationship between negative AEs and alcohol use, revealing the use of PBS in high school as having a protective function against later drinking among participants with high positive AEs. Last, PBS (Serious Harm Reduction) significantly moderated the associations between positive AEs and alcohol use and between negative AEs and consequences, such that participants with higher AEs and higher PBS use in high school were at greatest risk for drinking and experiencing negative consequences later. Overall, these findings suggest that PBS use may be protective by weakening relationships between positive AEs and alcohol outcomes. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Combat PTSD and Implicit Behavioral Tendencies for Positive Affective Stimuli: A Brief Report

PubMed Central

Clausen, Ashley N.; Youngren, Westley; Sisante, Jason-Flor V.; Billinger, Sandra A.; Taylor, Charles; Aupperle, Robin L.

2016-01-01

Background: Prior cognitive research in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has focused on automatic responses to negative affective stimuli, including attentional facilitation or disengagement and avoidance action tendencies. More recent research suggests PTSD may also relate to differences in reward processing, which has lead to theories of PTSD relating to approach-avoidance imbalances. The current pilot study assessed how combat-PTSD symptoms relate to automatic behavioral tendencies to both positive and negative affective stimuli. Method: Twenty male combat veterans completed the approach-avoidance task (AAT), Clinician Administered PTSD Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II, and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-II. During the AAT, subjects pulled (approach) or pushed (avoid) a joystick in response to neutral, happy, disgust, and angry faces based on border color. Bias scores were calculated for each emotion type (avoid-approach response latency differences). Main and interaction effects for psychological symptom severity and emotion type on bias score were assessed using linear mixed models. Results: There was a significant interaction between PTSD symptoms and emotion type, driven primarily by worse symptoms relating to a greater bias to avoid happy faces. Post hoc tests revealed that veterans with worse PTSD symptoms were slower to approach as well as quicker to avoid happy faces. Neither depressive nor anger symptoms related to avoid or approach tendencies of emotional stimuli. Conclusion: Posttraumatic stress disorder severity was associated with a bias for avoiding positive affective stimuli. These results provide further evidence that PTSD may relate to aberrant processing of positively valenced, or rewarding stimuli. Implicit responses to rewarding stimuli could be an important factor in PTSD pathology and treatment. Specifically, these findings have implications for recent endeavors in using computer-based interventions to influence automatic approach-avoidance tendencies. PMID:27252673

Social judgment of abortion: a black-sheep effect in a Catholic sheepfold.

PubMed

Bègue, L

2001-10-01

French Catholic participants (N = 340) with high or low religious identification read 1 of 8 scenarios presented as an interview with a female target 2 months after she had had an abortion. The experimental device varied situational pressure (pressure vs. no pressure), the target's religious social identity (Catholic vs. neutral), and the consequences of abortion for the target (positive vs. negative). The participants then rated the acceptability of the target's decision. The participants judged abortion more negatively in the no-pressure condition. Moreover, the participants with high religious identification judged abortion more negatively than did those with low religious identification. In partial support of a black-sheep effect, the participants with high religious identification judged the Catholic target more negatively than they judged the neutral one in some conditions (pressure, negative consequences). In other conditions (no pressure, both positive and negative consequences), the participants with low religious identification judged the Catholic target more positively than they judged the neutral one.

Adolescent attachment styles and their relation to the temperament and character traits of personality in a general population.

PubMed

Chotai, Jayanti; Jonasson, Mattias; Hägglöf, Bruno; Adolfsson, Rolf

2005-05-01

Attachment styles as well as personality traits in adolescents and adults have been found to be associated with their health outcomes and with their personality pathology. In this cross-sectional exploratory study, we study the relationship between attachment styles that derive from our data employing the items of Feeney et al. (1994) self-report attachment style questionnaire (ASQ), and personality traits given by the junior version of Cloninger et al. (1993) self-report temperament and character inventory (TCI), in a sample of 426 adolescents (54% females) from a general population. The secure attachment style was correlated significantly negatively with the personality trait harm avoidance (HA), but significantly positively with the personality traits novelty seeking (NS), reward dependence (RD), cooperativeness (CO) and self-transcendence (ST). The preoccupied (anxious/ambivalent) attachment style was correlated significantly positively with HA and NS, but significantly negatively with self-directedness (SD). The fearful-avoidant category was correlated significantly negatively with NS. Our five-factor solution of the attachment styles and their relation to the TCI point towards a need for a modification of the two-axis, four-category attachment model of Bartholomew (1990) and Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991), with their category dismissing-avoidant replaced by the two categories defined here as dismissing relations (correlated significantly negatively with CO) and dismissing others (correlated significantly negatively with RD and significantly positively with SD).

Flight performance in the altricial zebra finch: Developmental effects and reproductive consequences.

PubMed

Crino, Ondi L; Klaassen van Oorschot, Brett; Crandell, Kristen E; Breuner, Creagh W; Tobalske, Bret W

2017-04-01

The environmental conditions animals experience during development can have sustained effects on morphology, physiology, and behavior. Exposure to elevated levels of stress hormones (glucocorticoids, GCs) during development is one such condition that can have long-term effects on animal phenotype. Many of the phenotypic effects of GC exposure during development (developmental stress) appear negative. However, there is increasing evidence that developmental stress can induce adaptive phenotypic changes. This hypothesis can be tested by examining the effect of developmental stress on fitness-related traits. In birds, flight performance is an ideal metric to assess the fitness consequences of developmental stress. As fledglings, mastering takeoff is crucial to avoid bodily damage and escape predation. As adults, takeoff can contribute to mating and foraging success as well as escape and, thus, can affect both reproductive success and survival. We examined the effects of developmental stress on flight performance across life-history stages in zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ). Specifically, we examined the effects of oral administration of corticosterone (CORT, the dominant avian glucocorticoid) during development on ground-reaction forces and velocity during takeoff. Additionally, we tested for associations between flight performance and reproductive success in adult male zebra finches. Developmental stress had no effect on flight performance at all ages. In contrast, brood size (an unmanipulated variable) had sustained, negative effects on takeoff performance across life-history stages with birds from small broods performing better than birds from large broods. Flight performance at 100 days posthatching predicted future reproductive success in males; the best fliers had significantly higher reproductive success. Our results demonstrate that some environmental factors experienced during development (e.g. clutch size) have stronger, more sustained effects than others (e.g. GC exposure). Additionally, our data provide the first link between flight performance and a direct measure of reproductive success.

Optimal city size and population density for the 21st century.

PubMed

Speare A; White, M J

1990-10-01

The thesis that large scale urban areas result in greater efficiency, reduced costs, and a better quality of life is reexamined. The environmental and social costs are measured for different scales of settlement. The desirability and perceived problems of a particular place are examined in relation to size of place. The consequences of population decline are considered. New York city is described as providing both opportunities in employment, shopping, and cultural activities as well as a high cost of living, crime, and pollution. The historical development of large cities in the US is described. Immigration has contributed to a greater concentration of population than would have otherwise have occurred. The spatial proximity of goods and services argument (agglomeration economies) has changed with advancements in technology such as roads, trucking, and electronic communication. There is no optimal city size. The overall effect of agglomeration can be assessed by determining whether the markets for goods and labor are adequate to maximize well-being and balance the negative and positive aspects of urbanization. The environmental costs of cities increase with size when air quality, water quality, sewage treatment, and hazardous waste disposal is considered. Smaller scale and lower density cities have the advantages of a lower concentration of pollutants. Also, mobilization for program support is easier with homogenous population. Lower population growth in large cities would contribute to a higher quality of life, since large metropolitan areas have a concentration of immigrants, younger age distributions, and minority groups with higher than average birth rates. The negative consequences of decline can be avoided if reduction of population in large cities takes place gradually. For example, poorer quality housing can be removed for open space. Cities should, however, still attract all classes of people with opportunities equally available.

Self-medication practices and rational drug use habits among university students: a cross-sectional study from Kahramanmaraş, Turkey.

PubMed

Okyay, Ramazan Azim; Erdoğan, Ayşegül

2017-01-01

Self-medication refers to the use of medicines to treat self-diagnosed diseases without consulting any healthcare professionals. Irrational drug use and self-medication have serious negative consequences both on health and economy. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the habits related to rational use of drugs (RUD) and to estimate the prevalence of self-medication practices among university students. This cross-sectional study was conducted on university students in Kahramanmaraş. From May 2017 to June 2017 a total of 960 students filled a "Rational Use of Drugs Questionnaire". The prevalence of practicing self-medication in students was 63.4%. The most common medicines that the students had consumed without prescription were analgesics by 39.5%, antibiotics by 36.9% and cold remedies by 24.0%. The rate of students who declared that they were familiar with RUD and "rational use of antibiotics" (RUA) was 45.9%. Reading/checking the instructions in the prospectus (OR = 1.529, 95% CI [1.176-1.990]), understanding the context of the prospectus (OR = 1.893, 95% CI [1.387-2.584]), compliance with the duration of antibiotic treatment (OR = 1.597, 95% CI [1.231-2.071]) and consulting a physician in case of a side effect (OR = 1.350, 95% CI [1.037-1.757]) were significantly higher among students who were familiar with RUD as compared to who were not. Since the awareness of RUD among university students was found to be inadequate, it has critical importance to hold educational activities with the cooperation of physicians, health organizations, universities, non-governmental organizations and media to avoid negative consequences of irrational drug use and self-medication.

How to Create Conditioned Taste Aversion for Grazing Ground Covers in Woody Crops with Small Ruminants

PubMed Central

Manuelian, Carmen L.; Albanell, Elena; Rovai, Maristela; Caja, Gerardo

2016-01-01

Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) is a learning behavior process where animals are trained to reject certain feed after gastrointestinal discomfort has been produced. Lithium chloride (LiCl) is the preferred agent used in livestock to induce CTA because it specifically stimulates the vomit center. In addition, LiCl is commercially available, and easy to prepare and administer using a drenching gun. Nevertheless, some factors have to be considered to obtain an effective long-lasting CTA, which allows small ruminants to graze during the cropping season. A key aspect is to use animals with no previous contact with the target plant (the plant chosen to be avoided; new feed). Due to their native neophobic feeding behavior, small ruminants can easily associate the negative feedback effects with the new feed, resulting in a strong and persistent CTA. The recommended doses are 200 and 225 mg LiCl/kg body weight (BW) for goats and sheep, respectively. To induce CTA, 100 g of the target plant should be individually offered for at least 30 min, and LiCl administered thereafter if the intake is greater than 10 g. Each time the animal eats the target plant without negative consequences, the CTA becomes weaker. Consequently, to minimize the risk of target plant consumption, it is essential to have sufficient palatable ground cover available. The presence of an alternative feed (of quality and quantity) prevents the accidental consumption of the target plant. A close monitoring of the flock is recommended to remove and re-dose any animal consuming more than 4 bites or 10 g of the target plant. At the beginning of each grazing season, check the CTA status of each animal before moving them to the crop. PMID:27167860

Immediate reactions following iodinated contrast media injection: a study of 38 cases.

PubMed

Dewachter, Pascale; Laroche, Dominique; Mouton-Faivre, Claudie; Bloch-Morot, Evelyne; Cercueil, Jean-Pierre; Metge, Liliane; Carette, Marie-France; Vergnaud, Marie-Claude; Clément, Olivier

2011-03-01

To investigate the pathomechanisms involved in cases of immediate hypersensitivity reactions occurring after the administration of iodinated contrast media. Patients having presented clinical signs of immediate hypersensitivity suggesting allergy after iodinated contrast medium were investigated. Histamine and tryptase concentrations were measured, and/or skin tests were performed. Patients with positive skin tests to the culprit contrast agent were classified as IgE-mediated allergic hypersensitivity (Group I) and patients with negative skin tests as non-allergic hypersensitivity (Group II). 38 patients were included. Most reactions appeared after non-ionic (n = 32). Reactions were more frequently severe following ionic than non-ionic (p = 0.014). Skin testing was not performed in 11 patients. Skin tests with the culprit contrast agent were negative in 26% of the patients (Group II, n = 7) whereas they were found positive with the contrast agent in 73% of the patients (Group I, n = 19). Latex-induced reaction was diagnosed in one patient, and was consequently excluded from the cohort. In Group I, the frequency of cross-reactivity with the other commercialized iodinated contrast media was low (7%). Cardiovascular signs were present in Group I (52.6%, n = 10), and absent in Group II (p = 0.023). Histamine and tryptase concentrations were higher in patients who had cardiovascular signs (p < 0.02). Immediate reactions with clinical signs suggesting allergy along with positive skin tests with the administered contrast agent confirm immediate allergic hypersensitivity (anaphylaxis) to this agent. Consequently, the culprit contrast agent should be definitely avoided as well as cross-reactive ICM in order to prevent further recurrences. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Now You See it, Now You Don't: Age Differences in Affective Reactivity to Social Tensions

PubMed Central

Charles, Susan Turk; Piazza, Jennifer R.; Luong, Gloria; Almeida, David M.

2009-01-01

When faced with interpersonal conflict, older adults report using passive strategies more often than do younger adults. They also report less affective reactivity in response to these tensions. We examined whether the use of passive strategies may explain age-related reductions in affective reactivity to interpersonal tensions. Over eight consecutive evenings, participants (N = 1031, 25 – 74 years-old) reported daily negative affect and the occurrence of tense situations where they had an argument or avoided an argument. Older age was related to less affective reactivity when people decided to avoid an argument but was unrelated to affective reactivity when people engaged in arguments. Findings suggest that avoidance of negative situations may largely underlie age-related benefits in affective well-being. PMID:19739920

[Effects of an implicit internal working model on attachment in information processing assessed using Go/No-Go Association Task].

PubMed

Fujii, Tsutomu; Uebuchi, Hisashi; Yamada, Kotono; Saito, Masahiro; Ito, Eriko; Tonegawa, Akiko; Uebuchi, Marie

2015-06-01

The purposes of the present study were (a) to use both a relational-anxiety Go/No-Go Association Task (GNAT) and an avoidance-of-intimacy GNAT in order to assess an implicit Internal Working Model (IWM) of attachment; (b) to verify the effects of both measured implicit relational anxiety and implicit avoidance of intimacy on information processing. The implicit IWM measured by GNAT differed from the explicit IWM measured by questionnaires in terms of the effects on information processing. In particular, in subliminal priming tasks involving with others, implicit avoidance of intimacy predicted accelerated response times with negative stimulus words about attachment. Moreover, after subliminally priming stimulus words about self, implicit relational anxiety predicted delayed response times with negative stimulus words about attachment.

Approach/Avoidance Orientations Affect Self-Construal and Identification with In-group

PubMed Central

Nussinson, Ravit; Häfner, Michael; Seibt, Beate; Strack, Fritz; Trope, Yaacov

2011-01-01

Approach and avoidance are two basic motivational orientations. Their activation influences cognitive and perceptive processes: Previous work suggests that an approach orientation instigates a focus on larger units as compared to avoidance. Study 1 confirms this assumption using a paradigm that more directly taps a person’s tendency to represent objects as belonging to small or large units than prior studies. It was further predicted that the self should also be represented as belonging to larger units, and hence be more interdependent under approach than under avoidance. Study 2 supports this prediction. As a consequence of this focus on belonging to larger units, it was finally predicted that approach results in a stronger identification with one’s in-group than avoidance. Studies 3 and 4 support that prediction. PMID:22844229

Masculinity impediments: Internalized masculinity contributes to healthcare avoidance in men and women.

PubMed

Himmelstein, Mary S; Sanchez, Diana T

2016-07-01

Gender beliefs contribute to men's healthcare avoidance, but little research examines these outcomes in women. This article models healthcare avoidance related to masculine contingencies of self-worth in men and women. Nested path modelling tested relationships between social role beliefs, masculine contingencies of self-worth, barriers to help seeking and avoidance of health care in university and non-university-student adult samples. Results indicated social role beliefs predicted masculine contingencies of self-worth in men but not in women. Regardless of gender, masculine contingencies of self-worth predicted barriers to help seeking, which predicted healthcare avoidance in both men and women. Thus, masculine contingencies of self-worth have downstream consequences for men and women through barriers to help seeking. © The Author(s) 2014.

Frequency-dependent and correlational selection pressures have conflicting consequences for assortative mating in a color-polymorphic lizard, Uta stansburiana.

PubMed

Lancaster, Lesley T; McAdam, Andrew G; Hipsley, Christy A; Sinervo, Barry R

2014-08-01

Genetically determined polymorphisms incorporating multiple traits can persist in nature under chronic, fluctuating, and sometimes conflicting selection pressures. Balancing selection among morphs preserves equilibrium frequencies, while correlational selection maintains favorable trait combinations within each morph. Under negative frequency-dependent selection, females should mate (often disassortatively) with rare male morphotypes to produce conditionally fit offspring. Conversely, under correlational selection, females should mate assortatively to preserve coadapted gene complexes and avoid ontogenetic conflict. Using controlled breeding designs, we evaluated consequences of assortative mating patterns in color-polymorphic side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana), to identify conflict between these sources of selection. Females who mated disassortatively, and to conditionally high-quality males in the context of frequency-dependent selection, experienced highest fertility rates. In contrast, assortatively mated females experienced higher fetal viability rates. The trade-off between fertility and egg viability resulted in no overall fitness benefit to either assortative or disassortative mating patterns. These results suggest that ongoing conflict between correlational and frequency dependent selection in polymorphic populations may generate a trade-off between rare-morph advantage and phenotypic integration and between assortative and disassortative mating decisions. More generally, interactions among multiple sources of diversity-promoting selection can alter adaptations and dynamics predicted to arise under any of these regimes alone.

Tanning and Teens: Is Indoor Exposure the Tip of the Iceberg?

PubMed

Hay, Jennifer L; Riley, Kristen E; Geller, Alan C

2017-08-01

Because of recent state regulations and the reduced availability of free-standing tanning salons, indoor tanning (IT) prevalence is beginning to decline. This may lead to unintended consequences, such as increases in outdoor intentional tanning. We advance a series of research directions to track and intervene to address all forms of intentional tanning. First, we advocate for enforcement of IT regulation and encourage collection of data on tanning salon compliance and alternative IT strategies. Second, we suggest questions about outdoor and IT should be included in national surveys. Third, we need to understand the potentially complex patterns of indoor and outdoor tanning that may exist among those who tan. Fourth, research examining changing motivations for intentional tanning is needed. Finally, IT intervention studies should include outdoor tanning as an outcome to examine the effect of interventions on these related risk behaviors. These advances will ensure the development of novel interventions to address intentional tanning through multiple routes, and to avoid any unintended negative consequence of IT regulation. The promising downward direction of IT use in the United States should now lead the public health field to sharpen its focus on outdoor tanning. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(8); 1170-4. ©2017 AACR . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

Harvest-induced evolution: insights from aquatic and terrestrial systems

PubMed Central

Festa-Bianchet, Marco

2017-01-01

Commercial and recreational harvests create selection pressures for fitness-related phenotypic traits that are partly under genetic control. Consequently, harvesting can drive evolution in targeted traits. However, the quantification of harvest-induced evolutionary life history and phenotypic changes is challenging, because both density-dependent feedback and environmental changes may also affect these changes through phenotypic plasticity. Here, we synthesize current knowledge and uncertainties on six key points: (i) whether or not harvest-induced evolution is happening, (ii) whether or not it is beneficial, (iii) how it shapes biological systems, (iv) how it could be avoided, (v) its importance relative to other drivers of phenotypic changes, and (vi) whether or not it should be explicitly accounted for in management. We do this by reviewing findings from aquatic systems exposed to fishing and terrestrial systems targeted by hunting. Evidence from aquatic systems emphasizes evolutionary effects on age and size at maturity, while in terrestrial systems changes are seen in weapon size and date of parturition. We suggest that while harvest-induced evolution is likely to occur and negatively affect populations, the rate of evolutionary changes and their ecological implications can be managed efficiently by simply reducing harvest intensity. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Human influences on evolution, and the ecological and societal consequences'. PMID:27920381

The 24-hour society between myth and reality.

PubMed

Costa, G

2001-12-01

The 24-hour society appears to be an ineluctable process towards a social organisation where time constraints are no more "restricting" the human life. But, what kind of 24-hour society do we need? At what costs? Are they acceptable/sustainable? Shift work, night work, irregular and flexible working hours, together with new technologies, are the milestone of this epochal passage, of which shift workers are builders and victims at the same time. The borders between working and social times are no more fixed and rigidly determined: not only the link between work place and working hours is broken, but also the value of working time changes according to the different economic/productive/social effects it can make. What are the advantages and disadvantages for the individual, the companies, and the society? What is the cost/benefit ratio in terms of physical health; psychological well-being, family and social life? The research on irregular working hours and health shows us what can be the negative consequences of non-human-centered working times organisations. Coping properly with this process means avoiding a passive acceptance of it with consequent maladjustments at both individual and social level, but adopting effective preventive and compensative strategies aimed at building a more sustainable society, at acceptable costs and with the highest possible benefits.

Influence of knowledge and beliefs on consumption of performance enhancing agents in north-western Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Al, Omar Mansour; Elshatarat, Rami Azmi

2017-01-01

Consumption of performance enhancing agents (PEAs) has a wide range of negative health consequences, but knowledge of these consequences among gym users of PEAs in Saudi Arabia is not well understood. Identify the knowledge, awareness, beliefs and attitudes of gym users about negative health consequences of using PEAs, and the relationship between these factors and use of these agents. Cross-sectional study. Five gyms in Madinah city, Saudi Arabia. Convenience sampling was used to recruit gym users. An electronic self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Level of knowledge about the negative health consequences of PEAs among gym users. About 70% of 316 participants had used one or more of PEAs over the last six months. Of those, about 68.4% used protein powder supplements and 48.1% used energy drinks. Participants who believed that protein powder supplements (c2=52.3, P < .01) and energy drinks (c2=35.2, P < .01) had health hazards used these agents less often than others during the six months preceding data collection. Participants who had less knowledge about the negative health consequences were more likely to use protein powder supplement (t=2.38, P=.018). On the other hand, those who were more knowledgeable about the negative health consequences of insulin, were more likely to use insulin (t=2.45, P=.015). Misuse of PEAs is widespread among gym users in Saudi Arabia. Improving the level of knowledge and awareness of possible serious health consequences would hopefully lead to reduced PEA consumption. The temporal sequence of cause and effect could not be determined in a cross sectional study. Convenience sampling in a single city limited the generalizability of the findings to all regions of Saudi Arabia.

Dysfunctional beliefs towards motherhood and postpartum depressive and anxiety symptoms: Uncovering the role of experiential avoidance.

PubMed

Fonseca, Ana; Monteiro, Fabiana; Canavarro, Maria Cristina

2018-06-06

This study aimed to examine the relationship between dysfunctional motherhood-related beliefs and postpartum anxiety and depression symptoms, and whether experiential avoidance may be a potential mechanism in explaining these relationships. A sample of 262 postpartum women participated in a cross-sectional online survey. The model presented a good fit (CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.077) suggesting that more dysfunctional motherhood-related beliefs related with maternal responsibility and with others' judgments were associated with higher postpartum anxiety and depressive symptoms. Indirect effects through experiential avoidance were also found. Dysfunctional motherhood-related beliefs are cognitive vulnerabilities for postpartum psychological disorders and should be assessed to identify women that may be prone to early interventions. Moreover, dysfunctional beliefs seem to affect psychopathological symptoms by activating experiential avoidance strategies (e.g., rumination), which may accentuate the frequency of women's negative thoughts and emotions. Early interventions should target the promotion of acceptance of private negative experiences (psychological flexibility). © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Academic Self-Handicapping and Achievement Goals: A Further Examination.

PubMed

Midgley, Carol; Urdan, Tim

2001-01-01

This study extends previous research on the relations among students' personal achievement goals, perceptions of the classroom goal structure, and reports of the use of self-handicapping strategies. Surveys, specific to the math domain, were given to 484 7th-grade students in nine middle schools. Personal performance-avoid goals positively predicted handicapping, whereas personal performance-approach goals did not. Personal task goals negatively predicted handicapping. Perceptions of a performance goal structure positively predicted handicapping, and perceptions of a task goal structure negatively predicted handicapping, independent of personal goals. Median splits used to examine multiple goal profiles revealed that students high in performance-avoid goals used handicapping more than did those low in performance-avoid goals regardless of the level of task goals. Students low in performance-avoid goals and high in task goals handicapped less than those low in both goals. Level of performance-approach goals had little effect on the relation between task goals and handicapping. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

Oxytocin attenuates social and non-social avoidance: Re-thinking the social specificity of Oxytocin.

PubMed

Harari-Dahan, Osnat; Bernstein, Amit

2017-07-01

Re-examining decades of the social construal of Oxytocin, the General Approach-Avoidance Hypothesis of Oxytocin (GAAO) predicts that Oxytocin will modulate responding to emotionally-evocative and personally-relevant social and non-social stimuli due to its action on the neural substrate of approach and avoidance motivation. We report the first critical experimental test of GAAO predictions by means of a double-blind intra-nasal administration of Oxytocin vs. placebo in 90 healthy adults (N=90, 50% women). As predicted, we found that among men and women for whom negative emotion (anxious arousal) is motivationally-relevant, intra-nasal administration of Oxytocin reduced behavioral avoidance of emotionally-evocative negatively-valenced social and non-social stimuli, but not closely matched emotionally-neutral stimuli. Findings cannot be explained by extant social theories of Oxytocin. We discuss the implications of the present findings for basic and translational clinical Oxytocin research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Associations of Neuroticism-Impulsivity and Coping with Binge Eating in a Nationally Representative Sample of Adolescents in the United States

PubMed Central

Townsend, Lisa; Reinblatt, Shauna P.; Mendelson, Tamar

2016-01-01

Objective Binge eating behavior is a public health concern due to its negative physical and mental health consequences. Little is known about the interplay of personality traits, coping styles, and binge eating in the general adolescent population. We examined the associations among the combination of neuroticism and impulsivity (NI), maladaptive coping styles (poor problem solving, distraction, and escape-avoidance), and lifetime prevalence of binge eating in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents. We also explored coping as a moderator of the NI–lifetime binge eating association and gender as a moderator of the NI–coping associations and coping–lifetime binge eating associations. Methods We used data from the National Comorbidity Survey: Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A: 2001–2004), a cross-sectional nationally representative study of adolescents aged 13 to 18 years (n=10,028). We studied the associations of NI and coping with lifetime binge eating using multivariate regression models. Results High NI was significantly associated with all three coping styles, especially escape-avoidance (β = 3.96, confidence interval [CI] = 3.62, 4.29, p < 0.001). Gender was a significant moderator of the NI–distraction coping association (β = −0.68, CI = −1.33, −0.03, p = 0.041), indicating a stronger association in males (β = 1.20, CI = 0.81, 1.58, p < 0.001) than females (β = 0.53, CI = 0.02, 1.03, p = 0.042). Lifetime prevalence of binge eating was 1.13 times higher with increased escape-avoidance coping (CI = 1.10, 1.18, p < 0.001). Discussion Our findings indicate significant associations among high NI, increased escape-avoidance coping, and higher lifetime prevalence of binge eating in adolescents. Findings of our study have potential to inform development of interventions that target modification of maladaptive personality traits and coping styles to reduce problematic eating. PMID:27289518

Vaginismus: heightened harm avoidance and pain catastrophizing cognitions.

PubMed

Borg, Charmaine; Peters, Madelon L; Schultz, Willibrord Weijmar; de Jong, Peter J

2012-02-01

Catastrophic appraisal of experienced pain may promote hypervigilance and intense pain, while the personality trait of harm avoidance (HA) might prevent the occurrence of correcting such experiences. Women inflicted with vaginismus may enter a self-perpetuating downward spiral of increasing avoidance of (anticipated) pain. In vaginismus the anticipation of pain may give rise to catastrophic pain ideation. This may establish hypervigilance toward painful sexual stimuli, which consequently results in negative appraisal of sexual cues. This process could impair genital and sexual responding, intensify pain and trigger avoidance, which in turn may contribute to the onset and persistence of symptoms in vaginismus and to certain extent also in dyspareunia. To investigate whether women suffering from vaginismus are characterized by heightened levels of habitual pain catastrophic cognitions, together with higher levels of HA. This study consisted of three groups: a lifelong vaginismus group (N = 35, mean age = 28.4; standard deviation [SD] = 5.8), a dyspareunia group (N = 33, mean age = 26.7; SD = 6.8), and women without sexual complaints (N = 54, mean age = 26.5; SD = 6.7). HA scale of Cloninger's tridimensional personality questionnaire, and the pain catastrophizing scale. Specifically women inflicted with vaginismus showed significantly heightened levels of catastrophic pain cognitions compared with the other two groups, as well as significant enhanced HA vs. the control group, and a trend vs. the dyspareunia group. Both traits were shown to have cumulative predictive validity for the presence of vaginismus. This study focused on the personality traits of catastrophizing pain cognitions and HA in women with lifelong vaginismus. Our findings showed that indeed, women suffering from vaginismus are characterized by trait of HA interwoven with habitual pain catastrophizing cognitions. This study could help in the refinement of the current conceptualization and might shed light on the already available treatment options for women with vaginismus. © 2011 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Interpersonal conflict: strategies and guidelines for resolution.

PubMed

Wolfe, D E; Bushardt, S C

1985-02-01

Historically, management theorists have recommended the avoidance or suppression of conflict. Modern management theorists recognize interpersonal conflict as an inevitable byproduct of growth and change. The issue is no longer avoidance of conflict but the strategy by which conflict is resolved. Various strategies of conflict resolution and the consequences of each are discussed in this article, along with guidelines for the effective use of confrontation strategy.

Racial discrimination, binge drinking, and negative drinking consequences among black college students: serial mediation by depressive symptoms and coping motives.

PubMed

Desalu, Jessica M; Kim, Jueun; Zaso, Michelle J; Corriders, Sydnee R; Loury, Jacoby A; Minter, Monique L; Park, Aesoon

2017-09-21

Experiences of racial discrimination have been associated with diverse negative health outcomes among racial minorities. However, extant findings of the association between racial discrimination and alcohol behaviors among Black college students are mixed. The current study examined mediating roles of depressive symptoms and coping drinking motives in the association of perceived racial discrimination with binge drinking and negative drinking consequences. Data were obtained from a cross-sectional study of Black college students attending a predominantly White institution in the northeastern US (N = 251, 66% female, mean age = 20 years). Results from path analysis showed that, when potential mediators were not considered, perceived racial discrimination was positively associated with negative drinking consequences but not frequency of binge drinking. Serial multiple mediation analysis showed that depressive symptoms and in turn coping drinking motives partially mediated the associations of perceived racial discrimination with both binge drinking frequency and negative drinking consequences (after controlling for sex, age, and negative life events). Perceived racial discrimination is directly associated with experiences of alcohol-related problems, but not binge drinking behaviors among Black college students. Affective responses to perceived racial discrimination experiences and drinking to cope may serve as risk mechanisms for alcohol-related problems in this population. Implications for prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.

The influence of approach-avoidance motivational orientation on conflict adaptation.

PubMed

Hengstler, Maikel; Holland, Rob W; van Steenbergen, Henk; van Knippenberg, Ad

2014-06-01

To deal effectively with a continuously changing environment, our cognitive system adaptively regulates resource allocation. Earlier findings showed that an avoidance orientation (induced by arm extension), relative to an approach orientation (induced by arm flexion), enhanced sustained cognitive control. In avoidance conditions, performance on a cognitive control task was enhanced, as indicated by a reduced congruency effect, relative to approach conditions. Extending these findings, in the present behavioral studies we investigated dynamic adaptations in cognitive control-that is, conflict adaptation. We proposed that an avoidance state recruits more resources in response to conflicting signals, and thereby increases conflict adaptation. Conversely, in an approach state, conflict processing diminishes, which consequently weakens conflict adaptation. As predicted, approach versus avoidance arm movements affected both behavioral congruency effects and conflict adaptation: As compared to approach, avoidance movements elicited reduced congruency effects and increased conflict adaptation. These results are discussed in line with a possible underlying neuropsychological model.

Psychosocial consequences of allocation to lung cancer screening: a randomised controlled trial

PubMed Central

Aggestrup, Louise Mosborg; Hestbech, Mie Sara; Siersma, Volkert; Pedersen, Jesper Holst

2012-01-01

Objective To examine the psychosocial consequences of being allocated to the control group as compared with the screen group in a randomised lung cancer screening trial. Method The Danish Lung Cancer Screening Trial, a randomised controlled trial, ran from 2004 to 2010 with the purpose of investigating the benefits and harms of lung cancer screening. The participants in Danish Lung Cancer Screening Trial were randomised to either the control group or the screen group and were asked to complete the questionnaires Consequences Of Screening and Consequences Of Screening in Lung Cancer (COS-LC). The Consequences Of Screening and the COS-LC were used to examine the psychosocial consequences of participating in the study, by comparing the control and the screen groups' responses at the prevalence and at the incidence round. Results There was no statistically significant difference in socio-demographic characteristics or smoking habits between the two groups. Responses to the COS-LC collected before the incidence round were statistically significantly different on the scales ‘anxiety’, ‘behaviour’, ‘dejection’, ‘self-blame’, ‘focus on airway symptoms’ and ‘introvert’, with the control group reporting higher negative psychosocial consequences. Furthermore, the participants in both the control and the screen groups exhibited a mean increase in negative psychosocial consequences when their responses from the prevalence round were compared with their responses from the first incidence round. Conclusions Participation in a randomised controlled trial on lung cancer screening has negative psychosocial consequences for the apparently healthy participants—both the participants in the screen group and the control group. This negative impact was greatest for the control group. PMID:22382119

Perceived vulnerability moderates the relations between the use of protective behavioral strategies and alcohol use and consequences among high-risk young adults.

PubMed

Garcia, Tracey A; Fairlie, Anne M; Litt, Dana M; Waldron, Katja A; Lewis, Melissa A

2018-06-01

Drinking protective behavioral strategies (PBS) have been associated with reductions in alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences in young adults. PBS subscales, Limiting/Stopping (LS), Manner of Drinking (MOD), and Serious Harm Reduction (SHR), have been examined in the literature; LS, MOD, and SHR have mixed support as protective factors. Understanding moderators between PBS and alcohol use and related consequences is an important development in PBS research in order to delineate when and for whom PBS use is effective in reducing harm from alcohol use. Perceptions of vulnerability to negative consequences, included in health-risk models, may be one such moderator. The current study examined whether two types of perceived vulnerability (perceived vulnerability when drinking; perceived vulnerability in uncomfortable/unfamiliar situations) moderated the relations between LS, MOD, SHR strategies and alcohol use and related negative consequences. High-risk young adults (N = 400; 53.75% female) recruited nationally completed measures of PBS, alcohol use and related consequences, and measures of perceived vulnerability. Findings demonstrated that perceived vulnerability when drinking moderated the relations between MOD strategies and alcohol use. The interactions between perceived vulnerability when drinking and PBS did not predict alcohol-related consequences. Perceived vulnerability in unfamiliar/uncomfortable social situations moderated relations between MOD strategies and both alcohol use and related negative consequences; no other significant interactions emerged. Across both perceived vulnerability types and MOD strategies, those with the highest levels of perceived vulnerability and who used MOD strategies the most had the greatest decrements in alcohol use and related negative consequences. Prevention and intervention implications are discussed. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The Negative Consequences of Teacher Competency Testing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallegos, Arnold M.

1984-01-01

Negative consequences of minimum competency testing for teacher candidates include the waste of human potential resulting from the disproportionately high failure rate of minority teacher candidates and the danger of lessening the pressure for needed curriculum reforms. This essay urges seeking alternative methods for improving the quality of…

Coping, stress, and the psychological symptoms of children of divorce: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study.

PubMed

Sandler, I N; Tein, J Y; West, S G

1994-12-01

The authors conducted a cross-sectional and prospective longitudinal study of stress, coping, and psychological symptoms in children of divorce. The sample consisted of 258 children (mean age = 10.1; SD = 1.2), of whom 196 were successfully followed 5.5 months later. A 4-dimensional model of coping was found using confirmatory factor analysis, with the factors being active coping, avoidance, distraction, and support. In the cross-sectional model avoidance coping partially mediated the relations between negative events and symptoms while active coping moderated the relations between negative events and conduct problems. In the longitudinal model significant negative paths were found from active coping and distraction Time 1 to internalizing symptoms Time 2, while Time 1 support coping had a positive path coefficient to Time 2 depression. Positive paths were found between negative events at Time 1 and anxiety at Time 2, and between all symptoms at Time 1 and negative events at Time 2.

Maternal Frontal EEG Asymmetry and Chronic Stressors Moderate the Link between Child Conduct Problems and Maternal Negativity

PubMed Central

Chen, Nan; Bell, Martha Ann; Deater-Deckard, Kirby

2016-01-01

Frontal EEG asymmetry is associated with individual differences in positive/negative emotionality and approach/avoidance tendencies. The current study examined the moderating role of maternal resting frontal EEG asymmetry on the link between child behavior problems and maternal harsh parenting, within the context of differing degrees of chronic family stressors (father unemployment, single parenthood, caring for multiple children, and household chaos). The sample included 121 mother-child pairs. Results showed that stressors and frontal EEG asymmetry together moderated the link. Child problem behaviors were moderately associated with greater maternal negativity for mothers with right frontal asymmetry, or mothers who experienced more stressors. However, no association existed between child behavior problems and maternal negativity for mothers with few stressors and left frontal asymmetry. The findings implicate transactions between household stress and a psychophysiological indicator of maternal emotional reactivity and mothers’ approach/avoidance tendencies, in the etiology of parental negativity toward challenging child behaviors. PMID:27853348

Alcohol evaluations and acceptability: Examining descriptive and injunctive norms among heavy drinkers

PubMed Central

Foster, Dawn W.; Neighbors, Clayton; Krieger, Heather

2015-01-01

Objectives This study assessed descriptive and injunctive norms, evaluations of alcohol consequences, and acceptability of drinking. Methods Participants were 248 heavy-drinking undergraduates (81.05% female; Mage = 23.45). Results Stronger perceptions of descriptive and injunctive norms for drinking and more positive evaluations of alcohol consequences were positively associated with drinking and the number of drinks considered acceptable. Descriptive and injunctive norms interacted, indicating that injunctive norms were linked with number of acceptable drinks among those with higher descriptive norms. Descriptive norms and evaluations of consequences interacted, indicating that descriptive norms were positively linked with number of acceptable drinks among those with negative evaluations of consequences; however, among those with positive evaluations of consequences, descriptive norms were negatively associated with number of acceptable drinks. Injunctive norms and evaluations of consequences interacted, indicating that injunctive norms were positively associated with number of acceptable drinks, particularly among those with positive evaluations of consequences. A three-way interaction emerged between injunctive and descriptive norms and evaluations of consequences, suggesting that injunctive norms and the number of acceptable drinks were positively associated more strongly among those with negative versus positive evaluations of consequences. Those with higher acceptable drinks also had positive evaluations of consequences and were high in injunctive norms. Conclusions Findings supported hypotheses that norms and evaluations of alcohol consequences would interact with respect to drinking and acceptance of drinking. These examinations have practical utility and may inform development and implementation of interventions and programs targeting alcohol misuse among heavy drinking undergraduates. PMID:25437265

Understanding Associations Between Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Negative Consequences of Drinking: a Moderated Mediation Analysis.

PubMed

Karriker-Jaffe, Katherine J; Liu, HuiGuo; Kaplan, Lauren M

2016-05-01

We explored how neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) is related to negative consequences of drinking to explain why racial/ethnic minority group members are more at risk than Whites for adverse alcohol outcomes. We tested direct and indirect effects of neighborhood SES on alcohol problems and examined differences by gender and race. We used data from the 2000 and 2005 National Alcohol Surveys (N = 7912 drinkers aged 18 and older; 49 % female) linked with data from the 2000 Decennial Census in multivariate path models adjusting for individual demographics. In the full sample, neighborhood disadvantage had a significant direct path to increased negative consequences, with no indirect paths through depression, positive affect or pro-drinking attitudes. Neighborhood affluence had significant indirect paths to increased negative consequences through greater pro-drinking attitudes and increased heavy drinking. Subgroup analyses showed the indirect path from affluence to consequences held for White men, with no effects of neighborhood disadvantage. For racial/ethnic minority men, significant indirect paths emerged from both neighborhood disadvantage and affluence to increased consequences through greater pro-drinking attitudes and more heavy drinking. For minority women, there was an indirect effect of neighborhood affluence through reduced depression to fewer drinking consequences. There were limited neighborhood effects on alcohol outcomes for White women. Interventions targeting pro-drinking attitudes in both affluent and disadvantaged areas may help reduce alcohol-related problems among men. Initiatives to improve neighborhood conditions could enhance mental health of minority women and reduce alcohol-related health disparities.

Overcharge tolerant high-temperature cells and batteries

DOEpatents

Redey, Laszlo; Nelson, Paul A.

1989-01-01

In a lithium-alloy/metal sulfide high temperature electrochemical cell, cell damage caused by overcharging is avoided by providing excess lithium in a high-lithium solubility phase alloy in the negative electrode and a specified ratio maximum of the capacity of a matrix metal of the negative electrode in the working phase to the capacity of a transition metal of the positive electrode. In charging the cell, or a plurality of such cells in series and/or parallel, chemical transfer of elemental lithium from the negative electrode through the electrolyte to the positive electrode provides sufficient lithium to support an increased self-charge current to avoid anodic dissolution of the positive electrode components above a critical potential. The lithium is subsequently electrochemically transferred back to the negative electrode in an electrochemical/chemical cycle which maintains high self-discharge currents on the order of 3-15 mA/cm.sup.2 in the cell to prevent overcharging.

Neurons for hunger and thirst transmit a negative-valence teaching signal.

PubMed

Betley, J Nicholas; Xu, Shengjin; Cao, Zhen Fang Huang; Gong, Rong; Magnus, Christopher J; Yu, Yang; Sternson, Scott M

2015-05-14

Homeostasis is a biological principle for regulation of essential physiological parameters within a set range. Behavioural responses due to deviation from homeostasis are critical for survival, but motivational processes engaged by physiological need states are incompletely understood. We examined motivational characteristics of two separate neuron populations that regulate energy and fluid homeostasis by using cell-type-specific activity manipulations in mice. We found that starvation-sensitive AGRP neurons exhibit properties consistent with a negative-valence teaching signal. Mice avoided activation of AGRP neurons, indicating that AGRP neuron activity has negative valence. AGRP neuron inhibition conditioned preference for flavours and places. Correspondingly, deep-brain calcium imaging revealed that AGRP neuron activity rapidly reduced in response to food-related cues. Complementary experiments activating thirst-promoting neurons also conditioned avoidance. Therefore, these need-sensing neurons condition preference for environmental cues associated with nutrient or water ingestion, which is learned through reduction of negative-valence signals during restoration of homeostasis.

Different drinking motives, different adverse consequences? Evidence among adolescents from 10 European countries.

PubMed

Wicki, Matthias; Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Eichenberger, Yvonne; Aasvee, Katrin; Bendtsen, Pernille; Dankulincová Veselská, Zuzana; Demetrovics, Zsolt; Dzielska, Anna; Farkas, Judit; de Matos, Margarida Gaspar; Roberts, Chris; Tynjälä, Jorma; Välimaa, Raili; Vieno, Alessio

2017-11-01

This study, which builds on previous research demonstrating that drinking motives are associated with adverse consequences, investigates the associations between drinking motives and non-alcohol-attributed adverse consequences and disentangles alcohol-related and direct effects. On the basis of a sample of 22 841 alcohol-using 13- to 16-year-olds (50.6% female) from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Switzerland and Wales, structural equation models were used to estimate direct and indirect effects. Additionally, differences across countries were tested in a multigroup analysis. The indirect effect (via alcohol use) was greater for injuries and academic problems than for more general outcomes such as life dissatisfaction and negative body image. For social, enhancement and coping motives, we found positive indirect effects (via alcohol use) on injuries and academic problems; the association was negative for conformity motives. The direct effect, that is, the effect above and beyond alcohol use, indicated more negative consequences among those who tended to drink more frequently for coping motives. More negative consequences, such as injuries and negative body image, were also found among those who drink for conformity motives. The pattern of association was largely comparable across countries. While the actual mean level of drinking motives, alcohol use and adverse consequence varied across countries, the consistency of association patterns implies that drinking motive-inspired health promotion efforts are likely to be beneficial across Europe. This is particularly important for coping drinkers because they are especially prone to adverse consequences over and above their alcohol use. [Wicki M, Kuntsche E, Eichenberger Y, Aasvee K, Bendtsen P, Dankulincová Veselská Z, Demetrovics Z, Dzielska A, Farkas J, de Matos MG, Roberts C, Tynjälä J, Välimaa R, Vieno A. Different drinking motives, different adverse consequences? Evidence among adolescents from 10 European countries. © 2017 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Impulsivity and Alcohol-Related Risk among College Students: Examining Urgency, Sensation Seeking and the Moderating Influence of Beliefs about Alcohol's Role in the College Experience

PubMed Central

LaBrie, Joseph W.; Kenney, Shannon R.; Napper, Lucy E.; Miller, Kevin

2013-01-01

The personality trait of impulsivity is predictive of heavy drinking and consequences among college students. The current study examined how impulsivity—measured via positive urgency, negative urgency, and sensation seeking—and a person's beliefs about the role alcohol plays in the college experience relate to drinking and consequences in a sample of 470 college students (mean age = 19 years, 61.3% female, 59.8% white). In support of hypotheses, sensation seeking independently predicted greater drinking, and both positive and negative urgency predicted greater experience of alcohol-related negative consequences after controlling for consumption level. Moreover, alcohol beliefs moderated the relationship between impulsivity types and alcohol outcomes. Among students high (versus low) in sensation seeking, strong beliefs about alcohol's role in college life were related to significantly greater drinking, and among students high (versus low) in negative urgency, endorsing strong beliefs about alcohol's role in college life were related to greater levels of alcohol-related negative consequences. Overall, findings inform college prevention efforts by highlighting the need to distinguish unique facets of impulsivity and examine how they intersect with students’ beliefs about alcohol in college. PMID:24120644

Impulsivity and alcohol-related risk among college students: examining urgency, sensation seeking and the moderating influence of beliefs about alcohol's role in the college experience.

PubMed

LaBrie, Joseph W; Kenney, Shannon R; Napper, Lucy E; Miller, Kevin

2014-01-01

The personality trait of impulsivity is predictive of heavy drinking and consequences among college students. The current study examined how impulsivity-measured via positive urgency, negative urgency, and sensation seeking-and a person's beliefs about the role alcohol plays in the college experience relate to drinking and consequences in a sample of 470 college students (mean age=19 years, 61.3% female, 59.8% White). In support of the hypotheses, sensation seeking independently predicted greater drinking, and both positive urgency and negative urgency predicted greater experience of alcohol-related negative consequences after controlling for consumption level. Moreover, alcohol beliefs moderated the relationship between impulsivity types and alcohol outcomes. Among students high (versus low) in sensation seeking, strong beliefs about alcohol's role in college life were related to significantly greater drinking, and among students high (versus low) in negative urgency, endorsing strong beliefs about alcohol's role in college life were related to greater levels of alcohol-related negative consequences. Overall, findings inform college prevention efforts by highlighting the need to distinguish unique facets of impulsivity and examine how they intersect with students' beliefs about alcohol in college. © 2013.

Context sensitive regulation of pain and emotion: Development and initial validation of a scale for context insensitive avoidance.

PubMed

Flink, Ida K; Klein-Strandberg, Ester; Linton, Steven J

2017-10-01

Context insensitivity has been put forward as a potential mechanism explaining the high co-occurrence of pain and emotional distress. In the pain literature, the concept has only been introduced at a theoretical level and an assessment tool for exploring its impact is lacking. In an interpersonal setting, a core aspect of context sensitivity and insensitivity concerns when to disclose and when to avoid expressing pain and related distress. Both context insensitive disclosure and context insensitive avoidance may hamper interpersonal support and fuel the problem. This exploratory study describes an attempt to develop a self-report instrument to assess tendencies to disclose vs. avoid expressions of pain and related distress, as well as self-perceived adjustment of disclosure vs. avoidance to the context. A pool of items was systematically developed to assess different aspects of context insensitivity, including disclosure vs. avoidance of expression. 105 participants with persistent pain were recruited at pain rehabilitation clinics (80% of the sample) and in a university setting (20% of the sample). The participants responded to the pool of items as well as to a number of validated self-report instruments covering pain, pain-related disability, pain catastrophizing, emotion regulation tendencies, self-compassion and pain acceptance. The analyses explored the factorial structure of the initial instrument, as well as the criterion and construct validity. The analyses confirmed a stable underlying structure of the initial scale, with four distinct factors explaining 64.4% of the total variance. However, the criterion and construct validity could only be confirmed for one of the factors, which contained items reflecting context insensitive avoidance of expression. Consequently, only this factor, demonstrating very good internal consistency, was kept in the final version of the instrument which was named context insensitive avoidance (CIA). We found support for the final version of our instrument, capturing one prominent aspect of context insensitivity. Avoidance of expression was related to higher ratings of pain, disability, catastrophizing and suppression as well as to lower levels of self-compassion. We encourage further studies to explore the impact of context insensitive avoidance for regulating pain and associated negative emotions. Yet, more research is needed that goes beyond self-report and includes other aspects of context. It is urgent to develop systematic ways for assessing context insensitivity, as it will enhance our understanding of regulatory strategies as potential transdiagnostic mechanisms in pain and emotion. This tool for assessing contextually insensitive avoidance of expression could potentially be used both clinically and in future research to advance our understanding of comorbid problems with pain and emotional distress. Further research is needed to develop methods for assessing other aspects of context insensitivity to fully understand its impact in patients suffering from pain. Copyright © 2017 Scandinavian Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Affect-laden imagery and risk taking: the mediating role of stress and risk perception.

PubMed

Traczyk, Jakub; Sobkow, Agata; Zaleskiewicz, Tomasz

2015-01-01

This paper investigates how affect-laden imagery that evokes emotional stress influences risk perception and risk taking in real-life scenarios. In a series of three studies, we instructed participants to imagine the consequences of risky scenarios and then rate the intensity of the experienced stress, perceived risk and their willingness to engage in risky behavior. Study 1 showed that people spontaneously imagine negative rather than positive risk consequences, which are directly related to their lower willingness to take risk. Moreover, this relationship was mediated by feelings of stress and risk perception. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings by showing that imagining negative risk consequences evokes psychophysiological stress responses observed in elevated blood pressure. Finally, in Study 3, we once again demonstrated that a higher intensity of mental images of negative risk consequences, as measured by enhanced brain activity in the parieto-occipital lobes, leads to a lower propensity to take risk. Furthermore, individual differences in creating vivid and intense negative images of risk consequences moderated the strength of the relationship between risk perception and risk taking. Participants who created more vivid and intense images of negative risk consequences paid less attention to the assessments of riskiness in rating their likelihood to take risk. To summarize, we showed that feelings of emotional stress and perceived riskiness mediate the relationship between mental imagery and risk taking, whereas individual differences in abilities to create vivid mental images may influence the degree to which more cognitive risk assessments are used in the risk-taking process.

Affect-Laden Imagery and Risk Taking: The Mediating Role of Stress and Risk Perception

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

This paper investigates how affect-laden imagery that evokes emotional stress influences risk perception and risk taking in real-life scenarios. In a series of three studies, we instructed participants to imagine the consequences of risky scenarios and then rate the intensity of the experienced stress, perceived risk and their willingness to engage in risky behavior. Study 1 showed that people spontaneously imagine negative rather than positive risk consequences, which are directly related to their lower willingness to take risk. Moreover, this relationship was mediated by feelings of stress and risk perception. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings by showing that imagining negative risk consequences evokes psychophysiological stress responses observed in elevated blood pressure. Finally, in Study 3, we once again demonstrated that a higher intensity of mental images of negative risk consequences, as measured by enhanced brain activity in the parieto-occipital lobes, leads to a lower propensity to take risk. Furthermore, individual differences in creating vivid and intense negative images of risk consequences moderated the strength of the relationship between risk perception and risk taking. Participants who created more vivid and intense images of negative risk consequences paid less attention to the assessments of riskiness in rating their likelihood to take risk. To summarize, we showed that feelings of emotional stress and perceived riskiness mediate the relationship between mental imagery and risk taking, whereas individual differences in abilities to create vivid mental images may influence the degree to which more cognitive risk assessments are used in the risk-taking process. PMID:25816238

Positive and Negative Alcohol-Related Consequences: Associations with Past Drinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Christine M.; Maggs, Jennifer L.; Neighbors, Clayton; Patrick, Megan E.

2011-01-01

While recent attention suggests that positive and negative alcohol-related expectancies are important determinants of alcohol use, less is known about what types of consequences young people report actually experiencing when drinking alcohol. The present study (N = 742, 54% women) examined positive (Fun/Social, Relaxation/Coping, Positive Image)…

The Affective Consequences of Cognitive Inhibition: Devaluation or Neutralization?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frischen, Alexandra; Ferrey, Anne E.; Burt, Dustin H. R.; Pistchik, Meghan; Fenske, Mark J.

2012-01-01

Affective evaluations of previously ignored visual stimuli are more negative than those of novel items or prior targets of attention or response. This has been taken as evidence that inhibition has negative affective consequences. But inhibition could act instead to attenuate or "neutralize" preexisting affective salience, predicting opposite…

Negative Affect as a Moderator of the Relationship between Hookup Motives and Hookup Consequences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montes, Kevin S.; Napper, Lucy E.; Froidevaux, Nicole M.; Kenney, Shannon; LaBrie, Joseph W.

2016-01-01

Objective: The current study examined the extent to which negative affect moderates the relationships between distinct hookup motives and hookup consequences. Participants: Data were collected from 271 heavy-drinking undergraduate college students. Methods: Students from 3 US universities completed online surveys assessing hooking up--related…

Anxiety and the Use of Alcohol-Related Protective Behavioral Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Napper, Lucy E.; LaBrie, Joseph W.; Hummer, Justin F.

2015-01-01

Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are useful skills for reducing the negative consequences of alcohol. The moderating effects of anxiety on the relationship between 3 different types of PBS and negative consequences were examined among students accessing college counseling services. Results revealed a significant interaction between anxiety…

Positive and Negative Consequences in Contingency Contracts: Their Relative Effectiveness on Arithmetic Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kidd, Teresa A.; Saudargas, Richard A.

1988-01-01

The study with two elementary students who had low levels of completion and accuracy on daily arithmetic assignments found that a negative consequence was not necessary and that use of a positive component alone was sufficient to maintain high levels of completion and accuracy. (Author/DB)

A clinical profile of compulsive exercise in adolescent inpatients with anorexia nervosa.

PubMed

Noetel, Melissa; Miskovic-Wheatley, Jane; Crosby, Ross D; Hay, Phillipa; Madden, Sloane; Touyz, Stephen

2016-01-01

The aim of the current study was to contribute to the development of a clinical profile of compulsive exercise in adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa (AN), by examining associations between compulsive exercise and eating and general psychopathology. A sample of 60 female adolescent inpatients with AN completed a self-report measure of compulsive exercise and a series of standardized self-report questionnaires assessing eating and general psychopathology. Higher levels of compulsive exercise were associated with increased levels of eating disorder psychopathology and anxiety. Specifically, the avoidance aspect (negatively reinforced) of compulsive exercise was associated with elevated scores on measures of eating disorder, anxiety, depression, and obsessive compulsiveness psychopathology, as well as lower self-esteem scores. The mood improvement value (positively reinforced) of compulsive exercise, however, did not reflect such trends. Compulsive exercise driven by avoidance of negative affect is associated with more severe psychological features in adolescent inpatients with AN. The current findings emphasize the need for research and clinical efforts in the development of treatments addressing avoidance of negative affect and compulsive exercise in adolescents with AN.

The allocation of valenced concepts onto 3D space.

PubMed

Marmolejo-Ramos, Fernando; Tirado, Carlos; Arshamian, Edward; Vélez, Jorge Iván; Arshamian, Artin

2018-06-01

The valence-space metaphor research area investigates the metaphorical mapping of valenced concepts onto space. Research findings from this area indicate that positive, neutral, and negative concepts are associated with upward, midward, and downward locations, respectively, in the vertical plane. The same research area has also indicated that such concepts seem to have no preferential location on the horizontal plane. The approach-avoidance effect consists in decreasing the distance between positive stimuli and the body (i.e. approach) and increasing the distance between negative stimuli and the body (i.e. avoid). Thus, the valence-space metaphor accounts for the mapping of valenced concepts onto the vertical and horizontal planes, and the approach-avoidance effect accounts for the mapping of valenced concepts onto the "depth" plane. By using a cube conceived for the study of allocation of valenced concepts onto 3D space, we show in three studies that positive concepts are placed in upward locations and near the participants' body, negative concepts are placed in downward locations and far from the participants' body, and neutral concepts are placed in between these concepts in both planes.

Locating anger in the hierarchical structure of affect: comment on Carver and Harmon-Jones (2009).

PubMed

Watson, David

2009-03-01

C. S. Carver and E. Harmon-Jones (2009) have presented considerable evidence to support their argument that "anger relates to an appetitive or approach motivational system, whereas anxiety relates to an aversive or avoidance motivational system" (p. 183). However, they have failed to take sufficient account of the extensive psychometric data indicating that anger is strongly related to anxiety (and other negative affects) and more weakly associated with the positive affects. Considering all of the available evidence, the most accurate conclusion is that anger shows both approach and avoidance properties. Moreover, viewed in the context of the hierarchical structure of affect, some evidence suggests that the nonspecific component of anger (i.e., its shared variance with the other negative affects) is primarily related to the aversive or avoidance motivational system, whereas its specific component (i.e., its unique qualities that distinguish it from other negative affects) has a stronger link to the appetitive or approach system. The author concludes by considering the broader implications of these data for affective structure. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Daily Stress, Coping, and Negative and Positive Affect in Depression: Complex Trigger and Maintenance Patterns.

PubMed

Dunkley, David M; Lewkowski, Maxim; Lee, Ihno A; Preacher, Kristopher J; Zuroff, David C; Berg, Jody-Lynn; Foley, J Elizabeth; Myhr, Gail; Westreich, Ruta

2017-05-01

Major depressive disorder is characterized by emotional dysfunction, but mood states in daily life are not well understood. This study examined complex explanatory models of daily stress and coping mechanisms that trigger and maintain daily negative affect and (lower) positive affect in depression. Sixty-three depressed patients completed perfectionism measures, and then completed daily questionnaires of stress appraisals, coping, and affect for 7 consecutive days. Multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) demonstrated that, across many stressors, when the typical individual with depression perceives more criticism than usual, he/she uses more avoidant coping and experiences higher event stress than usual, and this is connected to daily increases in negative affect as well as decreases in positive affect. In parallel, results showed that perceived control, less avoidant coping, and problem-focused coping commonly operate together when daily positive affect increases. MSEM also showed that avoidant coping tendencies and ongoing stress, in combination, explain why people with depression and higher self-critical perfectionism maintain daily negative affect and lower positive affect. These findings advance a richer and more detailed understanding of specific stress and coping patterns to target in order to more effectively accomplish the two predominant therapy goals of decreasing patients' distress and strengthening resilience. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Anticipated affective consequences of physical activity adoption and maintenance.

PubMed

Dunton, Genevieve Fridlund; Vaughan, Elaine

2008-11-01

The expected emotional consequences of future actions are thought to play an important role in health behavior change. This research examined whether anticipated affective consequences of success and failure vary across stages of physical activity change and differentially predict physical activity adoption as compared to maintenance. Using a prospective design over a 3-month period, a community sample of 329 healthy, middle-aged adults were assessed at 2 time points. Anticipated positive and negative emotions, stage of behavior change (precontemplation [PC], contemplation [C], preparation [P], action [A], maintenance [M]), and level of physical activity. At baseline, anticipated positive emotions were greater in C versus PC, whereas anticipated negative emotions were greater in M versus A and in M versus P. Higher anticipated positive but not negative emotions predicted physical activity adoption and maintenance after 3 months. Although the expected affective consequences of future success and failure differentiated among individuals in the early and later stages of physical activity change, respectively; only the anticipated affective consequences of success predicted future behavior.

Individual Spatial Responses towards Roads: Implications for Mortality Risk

PubMed Central

Grilo, Clara; Sousa, Joana; Ascensão, Fernando; Matos, Hugo; Leitão, Inês; Pinheiro, Paula; Costa, Monica; Bernardo, João; Reto, Dyana; Lourenço, Rui; Santos-Reis, Margarida; Revilla, Eloy

2012-01-01

Background Understanding the ecological consequences of roads and developing ways to mitigate their negative effects has become an important goal for many conservation biologists. Most mitigation measures are based on road mortality and barrier effects data. However, studying fine-scale individual spatial responses in roaded landscapes may help develop more cohesive road planning strategies for wildlife conservation. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated how individuals respond in their spatial behavior toward a highway and its traffic intensity by radio-tracking two common species particularly vulnerable to road mortality (barn owl Tyto alba and stone marten Martes foina). We addressed the following questions: 1) how highways affected home-range location and size in the immediate vicinity of these structures, 2) which road-related features influenced habitat selection, 3) what was the role of different road-related features on movement properties, and 4) which characteristics were associated with crossing events and road-kills. The main findings were: 1) if there was available habitat, barn owls and stone martens may not avoid highways and may even include highways within their home-ranges; 2) both species avoided using areas near the highway when traffic was high, but tended to move toward the highway when streams were in close proximity and where verges offered suitable habitat; and 3) barn owls tended to cross above-grade highway sections while stone martens tended to avoid crossing at leveled highway sections. Conclusions Mortality may be the main road-mediated mechanism that affects barn owl and stone marten populations. Fine-scale movements strongly indicated that a decrease in road mortality risk can be realized by reducing sources of attraction, and by increasing road permeability through measures that promote safe crossings. PMID:22970143

Consequences of the size structure of fish populations for their effects on a generalist avian predator.

PubMed

Kloskowski, Janusz

2011-06-01

Size-structured interspecific interactions can shift between predation and competition, depending on ontogenetic changes in size relationships. I examined the effects of common carp (Cyprinus carpio), an omnivorous fish, on the reproductive success of the red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena), an avian gape-limited predator, along a fish size gradient created by stocking distinct age-cohorts in seminatural ponds. Young-of-the-year (0+) carp were an essential food source for young grebes. Only adult birds were able to consume 1-year-old (1+) fish, while 2-year-old (2+) fish attained a size refuge from grebes. Amphibian larvae were the principal alternative prey to fish, followed by macroinvertebrates, but the abundance of both dramatically decreased along the carp size gradient. Fledging success was 2.8 times greater in ponds with 0+ versus 1+ carp; in ponds with 1+ carp, chicks received on average 2.6-3 times less prey biomass from their parents, and over 1/3 of broods suffered total failure. Breeding birds avoided settling on 2+ ponds. These results show that changes in prey fish size structure can account for shifts from positive trophic effects on the avian predator to a negative impact on the predator's alternative resources. However, competition did not fully explain the decrease in grebe food resources in the presence of large fish, as carp and grebes overlapped little in diet. In experimental cages, 1+ carp totally eliminated young larvae of amphibians palatable to fish. In field conditions, breeding adults of palatable taxa avoided ponds with 1+ and older carp. Non-trophic interactions such as habitat selection by amphibians or macroinvertebrates to avoid large fish may provide an indirect mechanism strengthening the adverse bottom-up effects of fish on birds.

On the perpetuation of ignorance: system dependence, system justification, and the motivated avoidance of sociopolitical information.

PubMed

Shepherd, Steven; Kay, Aaron C

2012-02-01

How do people cope when they feel uninformed or unable to understand important social issues, such as the environment, energy concerns, or the economy? Do they seek out information, or do they simply ignore the threatening issue at hand? One would intuitively expect that a lack of knowledge would motivate an increased, unbiased search for information, thereby facilitating participation and engagement in these issues-especially when they are consequential, pressing, and self-relevant. However, there appears to be a discrepancy between the importance/self-relevance of social issues and people's willingness to engage with and learn about them. Leveraging the literature on system justification theory (Jost & Banaji, 1994), the authors hypothesized that, rather than motivating an increased search for information, a lack of knowledge about a specific sociopolitical issue will (a) foster feelings of dependence on the government, which will (b) increase system justification and government trust, which will (c) increase desires to avoid learning about the relevant issue when information is negative or when information valence is unknown. In other words, the authors suggest that ignorance-as a function of the system justifying tendencies it may activate-may, ironically, breed more ignorance. In the contexts of energy, environmental, and economic issues, the authors present 5 studies that (a) provide evidence for this specific psychological chain (i.e., ignorance about an issue → dependence → government trust → avoidance of information about that issue); (b) shed light on the role of threat and motivation in driving the second and third links in this chain; and (c) illustrate the unfortunate consequences of this process for individual action in those contexts that may need it most.

Are we preventing flood damage eco-efficiently? An integrated method applied to post-disaster emergency actions.

PubMed

Petit-Boix, Anna; Arahuetes, Ana; Josa, Alejandro; Rieradevall, Joan; Gabarrell, Xavier

2017-02-15

Flood damage results in economic and environmental losses in the society, but flood prevention also entails an initial investment in infrastructure. This study presents an integrated eco-efficiency approach for assessing flood prevention and avoided damage. We focused on ephemeral streams in the Maresme region (Catalonia, Spain), which is an urbanized area affected by damaging torrential events. Our goal was to determine the feasibility of post-disaster emergency actions implemented after a major event through an integrated hydrologic, environmental and economic approach. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and costing (LCC) were used to determine the eco-efficiency of these actions, and their net impact and payback were calculated by integrating avoided flood damage. Results showed that the actions effectively reduced damage generation when compared to the registered water flows and rainfall intensities. The eco-efficiency of the emergency actions resulted in 1.2kgCO 2 eq. per invested euro. When integrating the avoided damage into the initial investment, negative net impacts were obtained (e.g., -5.2E+05€ and -2.9E+04kgCO 2 eq. per event), which suggests that these interventions contributed with environmental and economic benefits to the society. The economic investment was recovered in two years, whereas the design could be improved to reduce their environmental footprint, which is recovered in 25years. Our method and results highlight the effects of integrating the environmental and economic consequences of decisions at an urban scale and might help the administration and insurance companies in the design of prevention plans and climate change adaptation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

It depends: Approach and avoidance reactions to emotional expressions are influenced by the contrast emotions presented in the task.

PubMed

Paulus, Andrea; Wentura, Dirk

2016-02-01

Studies examining approach and avoidance reactions to emotional expressions have yielded conflicting results. For example, expressions of anger have been reported to elicit approach reactions in some studies but avoidance reactions in others. Nonetheless, the results were often explained by the same general underlying process, namely the influence that the social message signaled by the expression has on motivational responses. It is therefore unclear which reaction is triggered by which emotional expression, and which underlying process is responsible for these reactions. In order to address this issue, we examined the role of a potential moderator on approach and avoidance reactions to emotional expressions, namely the contrast emotion used in the task. We believe that different approach and avoidance reactions occur depending on the congruency or incongruency of the evaluation of the 2 emotions presented in the task. The results from a series of experiments supported these assumptions: Negative emotional expressions (anger, fear, sadness) elicited avoidance reactions if contrasted with expressions of happiness. However, if contrasted with a different negative emotional expression, anger and sadness triggered approach reactions and fear activated avoidance reactions. Importantly, these results also emerged if the emotional expression was not task-relevant. We propose that approach and avoidance reactions to emotional expressions are triggered by their evaluation if the 2 emotions presented in a task differ in evaluative connotation. If they have the same evaluative connotation, however, reactions are determined by their social message. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Think twice: Impulsivity and decision making in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

PubMed

Grassi, Giacomo; Pallanti, Stefano; Righi, Lorenzo; Figee, Martijn; Mantione, Mariska; Denys, Damiaan; Piccagliani, Daniele; Rossi, Alessandro; Stratta, Paolo

2015-12-01

Recent studies have challenged the anxiety-avoidance model of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), linking OCD to impulsivity, risky-decision-making and reward-system dysfunction, which can also be found in addiction and might support the conceptualization of OCD as a behavioral addiction. Here, we conducted an exploratory investigation of the behavioral addiction model of OCD by assessing whether OCD patients are more impulsive, have impaired decision-making, and biased probabilistic reasoning, three core dimensions of addiction, in a sample of OCD patients and healthy controls. We assessed these dimensions on 38 OCD patients and 39 healthy controls with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Beads Task. OCD patients had significantly higher BIS-11 scores than controls, in particular on the cognitive subscales. They performed significantly worse than controls on the IGT preferring immediate reward despite negative future consequences, and did not learn from losses. Finally, OCD patients demonstrated biased probabilistic reasoning as reflected by significantly fewer draws to decision than controls on the Beads Task. OCD patients are more impulsive than controls and demonstrate risky decision-making and biased probabilistic reasoning. These results might suggest that other conceptualizations of OCD, such as the behavioral addiction model, may be more suitable than the anxiety-avoidance one. However, further studies directly comparing OCD and behavioral addiction patients are needed in order to scrutinize this model.

Integrating frequency and magnitude information in decision-making in schizophrenia: An account of patient performance on the Iowa Gambling Task.

PubMed

Brown, Elliot C; Hack, Samantha M; Gold, James M; Carpenter, William T; Fischer, Bernard A; Prentice, Kristen P; Waltz, James A

2015-01-01

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; Bechara et al., 1994) has frequently been used to assess risky decision making in clinical populations, including patients with schizophrenia (SZ). Poor performance on the IGT is often attributed to reduced sensitivity to punishment, which contrasts with recent findings from reinforcement learning studies in schizophrenia. In order to investigate possible sources of IGT performance deficits in SZ patients, we combined data from the IGT from 59 SZ patients and 43 demographically-matched controls with data from the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART) in the same participants. Our analyses sought to specifically uncover the role of punishment sensitivity and delineate the capacity to integrate frequency and magnitude information in decision-making under risk. Although SZ patients, on average, made more choices from disadvantageous decks than controls did on the IGT, they avoided decks with frequent punishments at a rate similar to controls. Patients also exhibited excessive loss-avoidance behavior on the BART. We argue that, rather than stemming from reduced sensitivity to negative consequences, performance deficits on the IGT in SZ patients are more likely the result of a reinforcement learning deficit, specifically involving the integration of frequencies and magnitudes of rewards and punishments in the trial-by-trial estimation of expected value. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Species-specific crab predation on the hydrozoan clinging jellyfish Gonionemus sp. (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa), subsequent crab mortality, and possible ecological consequences.

PubMed

Carman, Mary R; Grunden, David W; Govindarajan, Annette F

2017-01-01

Here we report a unique trophic interaction between the cryptogenic and sometimes highly toxic hydrozoan clinging jellyfish Gonionemus sp. and the spider crab Libinia dubia . We assessed species-specific predation on the Gonionemus medusae by crabs found in eelgrass meadows in Massachusetts, USA. The native spider crab species L. dubia consumed Gonionemus medusae, often enthusiastically, but the invasive green crab Carcinus maenus avoided consumption in all trials. One out of two blue crabs ( Callinectes sapidus ) also consumed Gonionemus , but this species was too rare in our study system to evaluate further. Libinia crabs could consume up to 30 jellyfish, which was the maximum jellyfish density treatment in our experiments, over a 24-hour period. Gonionemus consumption was associated with Libinia mortality. Spider crab mortality increased with Gonionemus consumption, and 100% of spider crabs tested died within 24 h of consuming jellyfish in our maximum jellyfish density containers. As the numbers of Gonionemus medusae used in our experiments likely underestimate the number of medusae that could be encountered by spider crabs over a 24-hour period in the field, we expect that Gonionemus may be having a negative effect on natural Libinia populations. Furthermore, given that Libinia overlaps in habitat and resource use with Carcinus , which avoids Gonionemus consumption, Carcinus populations could be indirectly benefiting from this unusual crab-jellyfish trophic relationship.

Gendered power dynamics and women’s negotiation of family planning in a high HIV prevalence setting: A qualitative study of couples in western Kenya

PubMed Central

Harrington, Elizabeth K.; Dworkin, Shari; Withers, Mellissa; Onono, Maricianah; Kwena, Zachary; Newmann, Sara J.

2017-01-01

In sub-Saharan Africa, high burdens of HIV and unmet need for contraception often coexist. Research emphasises the need to engage men and couples in reproductive health, yet couples’ negotiations around fertility and family planning in the context of HIV have been sparsely studied. This study examined the gendered power dynamics that frame women’s and couples’ negotiations of contraceptive use in western Kenya. We conducted 76 in-depth interviews with 38 couples, of whom 22 couples were concordant HIV-positive. Qualitative data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Direct communication around contraception with men was often challenging due to perceived or expressed male resistance. A substantial minority of women avoided male reproductive decision-making authority through covert contraceptive use, with concern for severe consequences when contraceptive use was discovered. Many men assumed that family planning use signified female promiscuity and that infidelity motivated covert use. Men were more willing to use condoms to avoid HIV re-infection or at the recommendation of HIV care providers, which allowed some women leverage to insist on condom use. Our findings highlight the tension between male-dominated reproductive decision-making and women’s agency and point to the need for gender transformative approaches seeking to challenge masculinities that negatively impact health. PMID:26503879

Species–specific crab predation on the hydrozoan clinging jellyfish Gonionemus sp. (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa), subsequent crab mortality, and possible ecological consequences

PubMed Central

Carman, Mary R.; Grunden, David W.

2017-01-01

Here we report a unique trophic interaction between the cryptogenic and sometimes highly toxic hydrozoan clinging jellyfish Gonionemus sp. and the spider crab Libinia dubia. We assessed species–specific predation on the Gonionemus medusae by crabs found in eelgrass meadows in Massachusetts, USA. The native spider crab species L. dubia consumed Gonionemus medusae, often enthusiastically, but the invasive green crab Carcinus maenus avoided consumption in all trials. One out of two blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) also consumed Gonionemus, but this species was too rare in our study system to evaluate further. Libinia crabs could consume up to 30 jellyfish, which was the maximum jellyfish density treatment in our experiments, over a 24-hour period. Gonionemus consumption was associated with Libinia mortality. Spider crab mortality increased with Gonionemus consumption, and 100% of spider crabs tested died within 24 h of consuming jellyfish in our maximum jellyfish density containers. As the numbers of Gonionemus medusae used in our experiments likely underestimate the number of medusae that could be encountered by spider crabs over a 24-hour period in the field, we expect that Gonionemus may be having a negative effect on natural Libinia populations. Furthermore, given that Libinia overlaps in habitat and resource use with Carcinus, which avoids Gonionemus consumption, Carcinus populations could be indirectly benefiting from this unusual crab–jellyfish trophic relationship. PMID:29085761

Integrating frequency and magnitude information in decision-making in schizophrenia: An account of patient performance on the Iowa Gambling Task

PubMed Central

Brown, Elliot C.; Hack, Samantha M.; Gold, James M.; Carpenter, William T.; Fischer, Bernard A.; Prentice, Kristen P.; Waltz, James A.

2015-01-01

Background The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994) has frequently been used to assess risky decision making in clinical populations, including patients with schizophrenia (SZ). Poor performance on the IGT is often attributed to reduced sensitivity to punishment, which contrasts with recent findings from reinforcement learning studies in schizophrenia. Methods In order to investigate possible sources of IGT performance deficits in SZ patients, we combined data from the IGT from 59 SZ patients and 43 demographically-matched controls with data from the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART) in the same participants. Our analyses sought to specifically uncover the role of punishment sensitivity and delineate the capacity to integrate frequency and magnitude information in decision-making under risk. Results Although SZ patients, on average, made more choices from disadvantageous decks than controls did on the IGT, they avoided decks with frequent punishments at a rate similar to controls. Patients also exhibited excessive loss-avoidance behavior on the BART. Conclusions We argue that, rather than stemming from reduced sensitivity to negative consequences, performance deficits on the IGT in SZ patients are more likely the result of a reinforcement learning deficit, specifically involving the integration of frequencies and magnitudes of rewards and punishments in the trial-by-trial estimation of expected value. PMID:25959618

26 CFR 1.752-2 - Partner's share of recourse liabilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

..., unless the facts and circumstances indicate a plan to circumvent or avoid the obligation. See paragraphs... Other than the partners' obligation to fund negative capital accounts on liquidation, there are no other... circumvent or avoid E's obligation to contribute to the partnership. Example 4. Partner guarantee with right...

Surviving Performance Improvement "Solutions": Aligning Performance Improvement Interventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernardez, Mariano L.

2009-01-01

How can organizations avoid the negative, sometimes chaotic, effects of multiple, poorly coordinated performance improvement interventions? How can we avoid punishing our external clients or staff with the side effects of solutions that might benefit our bottom line or internal efficiency at the expense of the value received or perceived by…

Parental Antecedents of Need for Approval: A Longitudinal Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lobel, Thalma E.

1982-01-01

Examined antecedents of two components of need for approval (the approach component and the avoidance component) on a longitudinal basis. For females, need for approval was positively related to mothers' withdrawal of love and the avoidance component was negatively related to mothers' encouragement of their daughters to fight back. (Author)

Worry and Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Review and Theoretical Synthesis of Evidence on Nature, Etiology, Mechanisms, and Treatment

PubMed Central

Newman, Michelle G.; Llera, Sandra J.; Erickson, Thane M.; Przeworski, Amy; Castonguay, Louis G.

2016-01-01

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is associated with substantial personal and societal cost yet is the least successfully treated of the anxiety disorders. In this review, research on clinical features, boundary issues, and naturalistic course, as well as risk factors and maintaining mechanisms (cognitive, biological, neural, interpersonal, and developmental), are presented. A synthesis of these data points to a central role of emotional hyperreactivity, sensitivity to contrasting emotions, and dysfunctional attempts to cope with strong emotional shifts via worry. Consistent with the Contrast Avoidance model, evidence shows that worry evokes and sustains negative affect, thereby precluding sharp increases in negative emotion. We also review current treatment paradigms and suggest how the Contrast Avoidance model may help to target key fears and avoidance tendencies that serve to maintain pathology in GAD. PMID:23537486

Attachment-related strategies during thought suppression: ironic rebounds and vulnerable self-representations.

PubMed

Mikulincer, Mario; Dolev, Tamar; Shaver, Phillip R

2004-12-01

The authors conducted 2 studies of attachment-related variations in thought suppression. Participants were asked, or not asked, to suppress thoughts about a relationship breakup and then to perform a Stroop task under high or low cognitive load. The dependent variables were the rebound, of previously suppressed separation-related thoughts (Study 1) and the accessibility of self-traits (Study 2). Under low cognitive load, avoidant individuals did not show any rebound of separation-related thoughts and activated positive self-representations. Under high cognitive load, avoidant participants failed to suppress thoughts of separation and were more likely to activate negative self-representations. Attachment anxiety was associated with high activation of negative self-representations and unremitting separation-related thoughts. The results are discussed in terms of the hidden vulnerabilities of avoidant individuals. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotion regulation and culture: are the social consequences of emotion suppression culture-specific?

PubMed

Butler, Emily A; Lee, Tiane L; Gross, James J

2007-02-01

Emotional suppression has been associated with generally negative social consequences (Butler et al., 2003; Gross & John, 2003). A cultural perspective suggests, however, that these consequences may be moderated by cultural values. We tested this hypothesis in a two-part study, and found that, for Americans holding Western-European values, habitual suppression was associated with self-protective goals and negative emotion. In addition, experimentally elicited suppression resulted in reduced interpersonal responsiveness during face-to-face interaction, along with negative partner-perceptions and hostile behavior. These deleterious effects were reduced when individuals with more Asian values suppressed, and these reductions were mediated by cultural differences in the responsiveness of the suppressors. These findings suggest that many of suppression's negative social impacts may be moderated by cultural values. (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved.

Coping Strategies and Benefit-finding in the Relationship between Non-disclosure and Depressive Symptoms among Breast Cancer Survivors in China.

PubMed

Lee, Minsun; Song, Yuan; Zhu, Lin; Ma, Grace X

2017-07-01

Open communication about cancer diagnosis and relevant stress is frequently avoided among breast cancer survivors in China. Non-disclosure behavior may lead to negative psychological consequences. We aimed to examine the relationship between non-disclosure and depressive symptoms, and the role of coping strategies and benefit-finding in that relationship among Chinese breast cancer survivors. Using convenience sampling, we recruited 148 women in an early survivorship phase (up to 6 years post-treatment) in Nanjing, China. Participants were asked to complete a set of questionnaires in Chinese language, regarding sociodemographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, disclosure views, coping strategies, and benefit-finding. A higher level of non-disclosure was associated with more depressive symptoms. This relationship was mediated by self-blame and moderated by benefit-finding. Specifically, non-disclosure was associated with depressive symptoms through self-blame. The impact of non-disclosure was minimized among the women with a higher level of benefit-finding. Unexpressed cancer-related concern may increase self-blame, which leads to emotional distress among Chinese breast cancer survivors. Practicing benefit-finding may reduce the negative impact of non-disclosure. As a culturally appropriate way of disclosure, written expression may be beneficial to Chinese breast cancer patients.

Coping Strategies and Benefit-finding in the Relationship between Non-disclosure and Depressive Symptoms among Breast Cancer Survivors in China

PubMed Central

Lee, Minsun; Song, Yuan; Zhu, Lin; Ma, Grace X.

2017-01-01

Objective Open communication about cancer diagnosis and relevant stress is frequently avoided among breast cancer survivors in China. Non-disclosure behavior may lead to negative psychological consequences. We aimed to examine the relationship between non-disclosure and depressive symptoms, and the role of coping strategies and benefit-finding in that relationship among Chinese breast cancer survivors. Methods Using convenience sampling, we recruited 148 women in an early survivorship phase (up to 6 years post-treatment) in Nanjing, China. Participants were asked to complete a set of questionnaires in Chinese language, regarding sociodemographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, disclosure views, coping strategies, and benefit-finding. Results A higher level of non-disclosure was associated with more depressive symptoms. This relationship was mediated by self-blame and moderated by benefit-finding. Specifically, non-disclosure was associated with depressive symptoms through self-blame. The impact of non-disclosure was minimized among the women with a higher level of benefit-finding. Conclusion Unexpressed cancer-related concern may increase self-blame, which leads to emotional distress among Chinese breast cancer survivors. Practicing benefit-finding may reduce the negative impact of non-disclosure. As a culturally appropriate way of disclosure, written expression may be beneficial to Chinese breast cancer patients. PMID:28601096

Prostaglandin-dependent modulation of dopaminergic neurotransmission elicits inflammation-induced aversion in mice

PubMed Central

Fritz, Michael; Klawonn, Anna M.; Nilsson, Anna; Singh, Anand Kumar; Zajdel, Joanna; Björk Wilhelms, Daniel; Lazarus, Michael; Löfberg, Andreas; Jaarola, Maarit; Örtegren Kugelberg, Unn; Billiar, Timothy R.; Hackam, David J.; Sodhi, Chhinder P.; Breyer, Matthew D.; Jakobsson, Johan; Schwaninger, Markus; Schütz, Günther; Rodriguez Parkitna, Jan; Saper, Clifford B.; Blomqvist, Anders; Engblom, David

2015-01-01

Systemic inflammation causes malaise and general feelings of discomfort. This fundamental aspect of the sickness response reduces the quality of life for people suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases and is a nuisance during mild infections like common colds or the flu. To investigate how inflammation is perceived as unpleasant and causes negative affect, we used a behavioral test in which mice avoid an environment that they have learned to associate with inflammation-induced discomfort. Using a combination of cell-type–specific gene deletions, pharmacology, and chemogenetics, we found that systemic inflammation triggered aversion through MyD88-dependent activation of the brain endothelium followed by COX1-mediated cerebral prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis. Further, we showed that inflammation-induced PGE2 targeted EP1 receptors on striatal dopamine D1 receptor–expressing neurons and that this signaling sequence induced aversion through GABA-mediated inhibition of dopaminergic cells. Finally, we demonstrated that inflammation-induced aversion was not an indirect consequence of fever or anorexia but that it constituted an independent inflammatory symptom triggered by a unique molecular mechanism. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that PGE2-mediated modulation of the dopaminergic motivational circuitry is a key mechanism underlying the negative affect induced by inflammation. PMID:26690700

Proteus mirabilis alleviates zinc toxicity by preventing oxidative stress in maize (Zea mays) plants.

PubMed

Islam, Faisal; Yasmeen, Tahira; Riaz, Muhammad; Arif, Muhammad Saleem; Ali, Shafaqat; Raza, Syed Hammad

2014-12-01

Plant-associated bacteria can have beneficial effects on the growth and health of their host. However, the role of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPR), under metal stress, has not been widely investigated. The present study investigated the possible mandatory role of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in protecting plants from zinc (Zn) toxicity. The exposure of maize plants to 50µM zinc inhibited biomass production, decreased chlorophyll, total soluble protein and strongly increased accumulation of Zn in both root and shoot. Similarly, Zn enhanced hydrogen peroxide, electrolyte leakage and lipid peroxidation as indicated by malondaldehyde accumulation. Pre-soaking with novel Zn tolerant bacterial strain Proteus mirabilis (ZK1) isolated zinc (Zn) contaminated soil, alleviated the negative effect of Zn on growth and led to a decrease in oxidative injuries caused by Zn. Furthermore, strain ZK1 significantly enhanced the activities of catalase, guaiacol peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and ascorbic acid but lowered the Proline accumulation in Zn stressed plants. The results suggested that the inoculation of Zea mays plants with P. mirabilis during an earlier growth period could be related to its plant growth promoting activities and avoidance of cumulative damage upon exposure to Zn, thus reducing the negative consequences of oxidative stress caused by heavy metal toxicity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Alzheimer's aggression: influences on caregiver coping and resilience.

PubMed

Wilks, Scott E; Little, Kristina G; Gough, Heather R; Spurlock, Wanda J

2011-04-01

This study assessed impact of Alzheimer's patients' aggressive behavior (AD aggression) on caregiver coping strategies (task-, emotion-, and avoidance-focused) and caregiver resilience, and examined whether coping strategy moderated the AD aggression-caregiver resilience relationship. Informal caregivers across Louisiana (N = 419) completed surveys with measures of demographics, AD aggression, caregiver coping strategies, and caregiver resilience. Task-focused coping positively related to resilience. Aggression negatively predicted caregiver resilience. Emotion- and avoidance-focused coping strategies separately interacted with aggression and increased its negative relationship to caregiver resilience. Task-focused coping showed no moderation. Implications for social work professionals are discussed.

The Impact of Experiential Avoidance on the Inference of Characters' Emotions: Evidence for an Emotional Processing Bias.

PubMed

Pickett, Scott M; Kurby, Christopher A

2010-12-01

Experiential avoidance is a functional class of maladaptive strategies that contribute to the development and maintenance of psychopathology. Although previous research has demonstrated group differences in the interpretation of aversive stimuli, there is limited work on the influence of experiential avoidance during the online processing of emotion. An experimental design investigated the influence of self-reported experiential avoidance during emotion processing by assessing emotion inferences during the comprehension of narratives that imply different emotions. Results suggest that experiential avoidance is partially characterized by an emotional information processing bias. Specifically, individuals reporting higher experiential avoidance scores exhibited a bias towards activating negative emotion inferences, whereas individuals reporting lower experiential avoidance scores exhibited a bias towards activating positive emotion inferences. Minimal emotional inference was observed for the non-bias affective valence. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications of experiential avoidance as a cognitive vulnerability for psychopathology.

Evidence for negative feature guidance in visual search is explained by spatial recoding.

PubMed

Beck, Valerie M; Hollingworth, Andrew

2015-10-01

Theories of attention and visual search explain how attention is guided toward objects with known target features. But can attention be directed away from objects with a feature known to be associated only with distractors? Most studies have found that the demand to maintain the to-be-avoided feature in visual working memory biases attention toward matching objects rather than away from them. In contrast, Arita, Carlisle, and Woodman (2012) claimed that attention can be configured to selectively avoid objects that match a cued distractor color, and they reported evidence that this type of negative cue generates search benefits. However, the colors of the search array items in Arita et al. (2012) were segregated by hemifield (e.g., blue items on the left, red on the right), which allowed for a strategy of translating the feature-cue information into a simple spatial template (e.g., avoid right, or attend left). In the present study, we replicated the negative cue benefit using the Arita et al. (2012), method (albeit within a subset of participants who reliably used the color cues to guide attention). Then, we eliminated the benefit by using search arrays that could not be grouped by hemifield. Our results suggest that feature-guided avoidance is implemented only indirectly, in this case by translating feature-cue information into a spatial template. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Wolves Recolonizing Islands: Genetic Consequences and Implications for Conservation and Management

PubMed Central

Remm, Jaanus; Hindrikson, Maris; Jõgisalu, Inga; Männil, Peep; Kübarsepp, Marko; Saarma, Urmas

2016-01-01

After a long and deliberate persecution, the grey wolf (Canis lupus) is slowly recolonizing its former areas in Europe, and the genetic consequences of this process are of particular interest. Wolves, though present in mainland Estonia for a long time, have only recently started to recolonize the country’s two largest islands, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. The main objective of this study was to analyse wolf population structure and processes in Estonia, with particular attention to the recolonization of islands. Fifteen microsatellite loci were genotyped for 185 individuals across Estonia. As a methodological novelty, all putative wolf-dog hybrids were identified and removed (n = 17) from the dataset beforehand to avoid interference of dog alleles in wolf population analysis. After the preliminary filtering, our final dataset comprised of 168 “pure” wolves. We recommend using hybrid-removal step as a standard precautionary procedure not only for wolf population studies, but also for other taxa prone to hybridization. STRUCTURE indicated four genetic groups in Estonia. Spatially explicit DResD analysis identified two areas, one of them on Saaremaa island and the other in southwestern Estonia, where neighbouring individuals were genetically more similar than expected from an isolation-by-distance null model. Three blending areas and two contrasting transition zones were identified in central Estonia, where the sampled individuals exhibited strong local differentiation over relatively short distance. Wolves on the largest Estonian islands are part of human-wildlife conflict due to livestock depredation. Negative public attitude, especially on Saaremaa where sheep herding is widespread, poses a significant threat for island wolves. To maintain the long-term viability of the wolf population on Estonian islands, not only wolf hunting quota should be targeted with extreme care, but effective measures should be applied to avoid inbreeding and minimize conflicts with local communities and stakeholders. PMID:27384049

Seeing It from Both Sides: Do Approaches to Involving Patients in Improving Their Safety Risk Damaging the Trust between Patients and Healthcare Professionals? An Interview Study

PubMed Central

Hrisos, Susan; Thomson, Richard

2013-01-01

Objective Encouraging patients to be more vigilant about their care challenges the traditional dynamics of patient-healthcare professional interactions. This study aimed to explore, from the perspectives of both patients and frontline healthcare staff, the potential consequences of patient-mediated intervention as a way of pushing safety improvement through the involvement of patients. Design Qualitative study, using purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews with patients, their relatives and healthcare professionals. Emergent themes were identified using grounded theory, with data coded using NVIVO 8. Participants 16 patients, 4 relatives, (mean age (sd) 60 years (15); 12 female, 8 male) and 39 healthcare professionals, (9 pharmacists, 11 doctors, 12 nurses, 7 health care assistants). Setting Participants were sampled from general medical and surgical wards, taking acute and elective admissions, in two hospitals in north east England. Results Positive consequences were identified but some actions encouraged by current patient-mediated approaches elicited feelings of suspicion and mistrust. For example, patients felt speaking up might appear rude or disrespectful, were concerned about upsetting staff and worried that their care might be compromised. Staff, whilst apparently welcoming patient questions, appeared uncertain about patients’ motives for questioning and believed that patients who asked many questions and/or who wrote things down were preparing to complain. Behavioural implications were identified that could serve to exacerbate patient safety problems (e.g. staff avoiding contact with inquisitive patients or relatives; patients avoiding contact with unreceptive staff). Conclusions Approaches that aim to push improvement in patient safety through the involvement of patients could engender mistrust and create negative tensions in the patient-provider relationship. A more collaborative approach, that encourages patients and healthcare staff to work together, is needed. Future initiatives should aim to shift the current focus away from “checking up” on individual healthcare professionals to one that engages both parties in the common goal of enhancing safety. PMID:24223230

Low back pain beliefs are associated to age, location of work, education and pain-related disability in Chinese healthcare professionals working in China: a cross sectional survey.

PubMed

Tan, B-K; Smith, Anne J; O'Sullivan, Peter B; Chen, Gang; Burnett, Angus F; Briggs, Andrew M

2014-07-28

Low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Evidence pointing towards a more efficacious model of care using a biopsychosocial approach for LBP management highlights the need to understand the pain-related beliefs of patients and those who treat them. The beliefs held by healthcare professionals (HCPs) are known to influence the treatment advice given to patients and consequently management outcomes. Back pain beliefs are known to be influenced by factors such as culture, education, health literacy, place of work, personal experience of LBP and the sequelae of LBP such as disability. There is currently a knowledge gap among these relationships in non-western countries. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between LBP-related beliefs among Chinese HCPs and characteristics of these HCPs. A convenience sample of 432 HCPs working in various health settings in Shanghai, China, completed a series of questionnaires assessing their demographic characteristics, LBP status, pain-related disability and their beliefs about their own LBP experience, using the Back beliefs Questionnaire (BBQ) and the Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ). Younger Chinese HCPs (20-29 years) held more negative beliefs and attitudes related to LBP compared to older HCPs (>40years; BBQ mean difference [95% CI]: 2.4 [0.9 - 3.9], p = 0.001). HCPs working outside tertiary hospitals had poorer beliefs concerning the inevitable consequences of LBP (BBQ mean difference [95% CI]: -2.4 [-3.8 - -1.0], p = 0.001). HCPs who experienced LBP had higher level of fear avoidance beliefs when experiencing high LBP-related disability (FABQ-physical mean difference [95% CI]: 2.8 [1.5 - 4.1], p < 0.001; FABQ-work mean difference [95% CI]: 6.2 [4.0 - 8.4], p < 0.001)) and had lower level of fear avoidance beliefs if they had completed postgraduate study (FABQ-physical mean difference [95% CI]: 2.9 [-5.8 - 0.0], p = 0.049). This study suggests that LBP-related beliefs and attitudes among Chinese HCPs are influenced by age, location of work, level of LBP-related disability and education level. Understanding back pain beliefs of Chinese HCPs forms an important foundation for future studies into the condition and its management in China.

Alcohol mixed with energy drink: Use may be a consequence of heavy drinking.

PubMed

Rossheim, Matthew E; Thombs, Dennis L; Weiler, Robert M; Barry, Adam E; Suzuki, Sumihiro; Walters, Scott T; Barnett, Tracey E; Paxton, Raheem J; Pealer, Lisa N; Cannell, Brad

2016-06-01

In recent years, studies have indicated that consumers of alcohol mixed with energy drink (AmED) are more likely to drink heavily and experience more negative consequences than consumers who avoid these beverages. Although researchers have identified a number of plausible hypotheses that explain how alcohol-energy drink co-ingestion could cause greater alcohol consumption, there has been no postulation about reverse causal relations. This paper identifies several plausible hypotheses for the observed associations between AmED consumption and greater alcohol consumption, and provides initial evidence for one such hypothesis suggesting that heavy drinking may be a determinant of AmED use. Data collected from 511bar patrons were used to examine the plausibility of one of the proposed hypotheses, i.e., AmED is an artifact of heavy drinking. Associations between the consumption of an assortment of alcoholic beverage types and total alcohol consumption were examined at the event-level, to assess whether AmED is uniquely related with greater alcohol consumption. Increased alcohol consumption was associated with greater odds of consuming most alcoholic beverage types; this association was not unique to AmED. Results support the overlooked hypothesis that AmED use is an artifact of heavy drinking. Thus, AmED consumption may be a consequence or marker of heavier drinking. Much of the existing research on alcoholic beverage types is limited in its ability to implicate any specific type of drink, including AmED, as a cause of increased alcohol consumption and related harm. More rigorous study designs are needed to examine causal relationships. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coping, Stress, and the Psychological Symptoms of Children of Divorce: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sandler, Irwin N.; And Others

1994-01-01

Examined stress and coping symptoms of 258 children whose parents were divorced. Found that, in the cross-sectional model, avoidance coping partially mediated the relations between negative events and symptoms; while active coping moderated between negative events and conduct problems. In the longitudinal model, significant negative paths were…

Negative Effects of Reward on Intrinsic Motivation--A Limited Phenomenon: Comment on Deci, Koestner, and Ryan (2001).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cameron, Judy

2001-01-01

Prior meta analyses by J. Cameron and other researchers suggested that the negative effects of extrinsic reward on intrinsic motivation were limited and avoidable. E. Deci and others (2001) suggested that the analyses were flawed. This commentary makes the case that there is no inherent negative property of reward. (SLD)

Moral Judgments in Parochial and Public School Second-Graders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moran, James D., III; Jennings, Marge S.

The moral judgments of 22 parochial school second graders and 20 public school children of similar age and intelligence were compared in this study. The children were read 12 moral judgment stories of either negative intention and positive consequence or positive intention and negative consequence. Story content included either damage to personal…

Testing for Accountability: A Balancing Act That Challenges Current Testing Practices and Theories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brennan, Robert L.

2015-01-01

Koretz, in his article published in this issue, provides compelling arguments that the high stakes currently associated with accountability testing lead to behavioral changes in students, teachers, and other stakeholders that often have negative consequences, such as inflated scores. Koretz goes on to argue that these negative consequences require…

The Effects of Sleep Problems and Depression on Alcohol-Related Negative Consequences among College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wattenmaker McGann, Amanda

2013-01-01

Previous literature provides an overview of the multiple relationships between alcohol use, protective behavioral strategies (PBS), alcohol-related negative consequences, depression, and sleep problems among college students, as well as differences by individual level characteristics, such as age, gender, and race/ethnicity. The purpose of this…

Negative consequences from heavy social networking in adolescents: The mediating role of fear of missing out.

PubMed

Oberst, Ursula; Wegmann, Elisa; Stodt, Benjamin; Brand, Matthias; Chamarro, Andrés

2017-02-01

Social networking sites (SNS) are especially attractive for adolescents, but it has also been shown that these users can suffer from negative psychological consequences when using these sites excessively. We analyze the role of fear of missing out (FOMO) and intensity of SNS use for explaining the link between psychopathological symptoms and negative consequences of SNS use via mobile devices. In an online survey, 1468 Spanish-speaking Latin-American social media users between 16 and 18 years old completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Social Networking Intensity scale (SNI), the FOMO scale (FOMOs), and a questionnaire on negative consequences of using SNS via mobile device (CERM). Using structural equation modeling, it was found that both FOMO and SNI mediate the link between psychopathology and CERM, but by different mechanisms. Additionally, for girls, feeling depressed seems to trigger higher SNS involvement. For boys, anxiety triggers higher SNS involvement. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Eco-logical : an ecosystem approach to developing transportation infrastructure projects in a changing environment

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-09-13

The development of infrastructure facilities can negatively impact critical habitat and essential ecosystems. There are a variety of techniques available to avoid, minimize, and mitigate negative impacts of existing infrastructure as well as future i...

Understanding Excessive School Absenteeism as School Refusal Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dube, Shanta R.; Orpinas, Pamela

2009-01-01

Understanding excessive absenteeism is important to ameliorating the negative outcomes associated with the behavior. The present study examined behavioral reinforcement profiles of school refusal behavior: negative reinforcement (avoidance) and positive reinforcement (gaining parental attention or receiving tangible benefits from not attending…

Age and motivation predict gaze behavior for facial expressions.

PubMed

Nikitin, Jana; Freund, Alexandra M

2011-09-01

This study investigated age-related differences between younger (M = 25.52 years) and older (M = 70.51 years) adults in avoidance motivation and the influence of avoidance motivation on gaze preferences for happy, neutral, and angry faces. In line with the hypothesis of reduced negativity effect later in life, older adults avoided angry faces and (to a lesser degree) preferred happy faces more than younger adults did. This effect cannot be explained by age-related changes in dispositional motivation. Irrespective of age, avoidance motivation predicted gaze behavior towards emotional faces. The study demonstrates the importance of interindividual differences beyond young adulthood.

Understanding Associations between Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Negative Consequences of Drinking: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

PubMed Central

Karriker-Jaffe, Katherine J.; Liu, HuiGuo; Kaplan, Lauren M.

2016-01-01

Aims We explored how neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) is related to negative consequences of drinking to explain why racial/ethnic minority group members are more at risk than Whites for adverse alcohol outcomes. We tested direct and indirect effects of neighborhood SES on alcohol problems and examined differences by gender and race. Methods We used data from the 2000 and 2005 National Alcohol Surveys (N=7,912 drinkers aged 18 and older; 49% female) linked with data from the 2000 Decennial Census in multivariate path models adjusting for individual demographics. Results In the full sample, neighborhood disadvantage had a significant direct path to increased negative consequences, with no indirect paths through depression, positive affect or pro-drinking attitudes. Neighborhood affluence had significant indirect paths to increased negative consequences through greater pro-drinking attitudes and increased heavy drinking. Sub-group analyses showed the indirect path from affluence to consequences held for White men, with no effects of neighborhood disadvantage. For racial/ethnic minority men, significant indirect paths emerged from both neighborhood disadvantage and affluence to increased consequences through greater pro-drinking attitudes and more heavy drinking. For minority women, there was an indirect effect of neighborhood affluence through reduced depression to fewer drinking consequences. There were limited neighborhood effects on alcohol outcomes for White women. Conclusions Interventions targeting pro-drinking attitudes in both affluent and disadvantaged areas may help reduce alcohol-related problems among men. Initiatives to improve neighborhood conditions could enhance mental health of minority women and reduce alcohol-related health disparities. PMID:26898509

Examining the structural relationships among gambling motivation, passion, and consequences of internet sports betting.

PubMed

Lee, Choong-Ki; Chung, Namho; Bernhard, Bo J

2014-12-01

The rise in popularity of Internet gambling has led to new gambling controversies among researchers and policymakers alike. Opponents frequently point to the negative impacts of problem gambling, while advocates tend to view this form of gambling as relatively harmless and convenient entertainment for the vast majority of participants. Interestingly, in making their points, both sides cite empirical arguments about passion for the gambling act-with opponents arguing that Internet gambling enables unhealthy obsessions, and advocates pointing to the apparent intensive interest of large numbers of Internet players. As it turns out, both sides may have a point. In this paper, we examine whether types of passion were related to types of motivation and consequences. The data were collected through a sample from an online gambling website in South Korea. We rely upon Rousseau et al.'s (J Gambl Stud 18(1):45-66, 2002) seminal work on positive and negative aspects of passion, and in the process we develop a framework for understanding positive and negative consequences of this form of gambling. The results reveal that intrinsic gambling motivations (e.g., gambling for excitement) is related to harmonious passion, which in turn results in positive consequences. Meanwhile, extrinsic gambling motivations (e.g., money) is related to obsessive passion, which in turn results in negative consequences.

Serious mental illness and negative substance use consequences among adults on probation.

PubMed

Rossheim, Matthew E; Livingston, Melvin D; Lerch, Jennifer A; Taxman, Faye S; Walters, Scott T

2018-03-22

Adults on probation are at greater risk of both using substances and having a mental disorder compared to the general population. Several theories explain the relationship between substance use and poor mental health. However, the interaction between substance use, mental health, and substance-related consequences is not well understood. A better understanding of this relationship may help treatment programs become more responsive to people with serious mental illness (SMI). The current study used interview data from 313 adults on probation who reported recent substance use. We examined associations between SMI risk, substance use, and substance use consequences. A substantial proportion of the sample (37.5%) screened at risk of having a SMI. Adjusting for type and amount of substance use, those who screened at risk of having a SMI reported more negative substance use consequences. Significant interaction effects were observed between use of alcohol or opiates and SMI risk. Alcohol use was associated with more negative substance use consequences among those at risk of SMI, while opiate use was associated with more consequences among those not at risk. Programs are sorely needed to identify and treat adults with comorbid substance use and mental health symptoms, particularly for adults in the justice system. Clinicians should carefully consider how mental health may interact with substance use to exacerbate consequences.

Unintended adverse consequences of introducing electronic health records in residential aged care homes.

PubMed

Yu, Ping; Zhang, Yiting; Gong, Yang; Zhang, Jiajie

2013-09-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the unintended adverse consequences of introducing electronic health records (EHR) in residential aged care homes (RACHs) and to examine the causes of these unintended adverse consequences. A qualitative interview study was conducted in nine RACHs belonging to three organisations in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, Australia. A longitudinal investigation after the implementation of the aged care EHR systems was conducted at two data points: January 2009 to December 2009 and December 2010 to February 2011. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 110 care staff members identified through convenience sampling, representing all levels of care staff who worked in these facilities. Data analysis was guided by DeLone and McLean Information Systems Success Model, in reference with the previous studies of unintended consequences for the introduction of computerised provider order entry systems in hospitals. Eight categories of unintended adverse consequences emerged from 266 data items mentioned by the interviewees. In descending order of the number and percentage of staff mentioning them, they are: inability/difficulty in data entry and information retrieval, end user resistance to using the system, increased complexity of information management, end user concerns about access, increased documentation burden, the reduction of communication, lack of space to place enough computers in the work place and increasing difficulties in delivering care services. The unintended consequences were caused by the initial conditions, the nature of the EHR system and the way the system was implemented and used by nursing staff members. Although the benefits of the EHR systems were obvious, as found by our previous study, introducing EHR systems in RACH can also cause adverse consequences of EHR avoidance, difficulty in access, increased complexity in information management, increased documentation burden, reduction of communication and the risks of lacking care follow-up, which may cause negative effects on aged care services. Further research can focus on investigating how the unintended adverse consequences can be mitigated or eliminated by understanding more about nursing staff's work as well as the information flow in RACH. This will help to improve the design, introduction and management of EHR systems in this setting. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Are energy drinks unique mixers in terms of their effects on alcohol consumption and negative alcohol-related consequences?

PubMed

Johnson, Sean J; Alford, Chris; Stewart, Karina; Verster, Joris C

2018-01-01

Previous research has suggested that consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AMED) increases overall alcohol consumption. However, there is limited research examining whether energy drinks are unique in their effects when mixed with alcohol, when compared with alcohol mixed with other caffeinated mixers (AOCM). Therefore, the aim of this survey was to investigate alcohol consumption on AMED occasions, to that on other occasions when the same individuals consumed AOCM or alcohol only (AO). A UK-wide online student survey collected data on the frequency of alcohol consumption and quantity consumed, as well as the number of negative alcohol-related consequences reported on AO, AMED and AOCM occasions (N=250). Within-subjects analysis revealed that there were no significant differences in the number of alcoholic drinks consumed on a standard and a heavy drinking session between AMED and AOCM drinking occasions. However, the number of standard mixers typically consumed was significantly lower on AMED occasions compared with AOCM occasions. In addition, when consuming AMED, students reported significantly fewer days consuming 5 or more alcohol drinks, fewer days mixing drinks, and fewer days being drunk, compared with when consuming AOCM. There were no significant differences in the number of reported negative alcohol-related consequences on AMED occasions to AOCM occasions. Of importance, alcohol consumption and negative alcohol-related consequences were significantly less on both AMED and AOCM occasions compared with AO occasions. The findings that heavy alcohol consumption occurs significantly less often on AMED occasions compared with AOCM occasions is in opposition to some earlier claims implying that greatest alcohol consumption occurs with AMED. The overall greatest alcohol consumption and associated negative consequences were clearly associated with AO occasions. Negative consequences for AMED and AOCM drinking occasions were similar, suggesting that energy drink was comparable with AOCM in this regard.

Excessive responsibility in obsessional concerns: a fine-grained experimental analysis.

PubMed

Ladouceur, R; Rhéaume, J; Aublet, F

1997-05-01

Excessive responsibility has been suggested as a central cognitive variable associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) (Rachman, 1993, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 31, 149-154; Salkovskis, 1985, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 23, 571-583; Salkovskis, 1989, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 27, 677-682; Salkovskis, 1995, Current controversies in the anxiety disorders). Several studies using questionnaires (e.g. Rhéaume, Freeston, Dugas, Letarte & Ladouceur, 1995, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 785-794) and experimental manipulations (Ladouceur et al., 1995, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 937-946; Lopatka & Rachman, 1995, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 673-684) have shown evidence for such a link between responsibility and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Responsibility has been defined as the belief of possessing a pivotal power to provoke or preventing crucial negative consequences (Salkovskis et al., 1992 cited in Salkovskis, 1995, Current controversies in the anxiety disorders). This definition emphasizes two related cognitive distortions: personal influence and potential negative consequences. The respective roles of each component and their potential interaction need to be clarified. The present study tests the effects of an experimental manipulation of both influence and negative consequences on perceived responsibility and checking behavior during a classification task. Seventy-seven subjects were divided into four experimental conditions: the Combined condition, the Influence condition, the Negative Consequences condition and the Control condition. After the experimental manipulation, subjects from each condition had to classify capsules in semi-transparent bottles. Results showed that personal influence is the best predictor of perceived responsibility. Although increased potential negative consequences were sufficient to trigger hesitations, combined influence and negative consequences were necessary to produce modifications. These results are consistent with the results obtained by the questionnaires (e.g. Rhéaume, Ladouceur, Freeston & Letarte, 1995a, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 159-169) and previous manipulations (e.g. Ladouceur et al., 1995).

Italian Credit Mobility Students Significantly Increase Their Alcohol Intake, Risky Drinking and Related Consequences During the Study Abroad Experience

PubMed Central

Aresi, Giovanni; Moore, Simon; Marta, Elena

2016-01-01

Aims To examine changes in alcohol intake and consequences in Italian students studying abroad. Methods Italian exchange students planning to study abroad were invited to report on their drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences before and after their time abroad. Results After excluding those who abstained throughout, data on 121 students were analysed and showed that they tended to consume more alcohol and experience more alcohol-related negative consequences compared to their pre-departure levels. Conclusion The added alcohol risk of study abroad for Italian students merits consideration of possible opportunities for intervention. PMID:27261474

Examining the Associations among Severity of Injunctive Drinking Norms, Alcohol Consumption, and Alcohol-Related Negative Consequences: The Moderating Roles of Alcohol Consumption and Identity

PubMed Central

Lewis, Melissa A.; Neighbors, Clayton; Geisner, Irene Markman; Lee, Christine M.; Kilmer, Jason R.; Atkins, David C.

2009-01-01

The present study examined a range of injunctive norms for alcohol use and related consequences from less severe behaviors (e.g., drinking with friends) to more severe behaviors (e.g., drinking enough alcohol to pass out), and their relationship with alcohol consumption and alcohol-related negative consequences among college students. In addition, this research aimed to determine if these relationships between injunctive norms and consequences were moderated by alcohol consumption and level of identification with the typical same-sex college student. A random sample (N = 1,002) of undergraduates (56.9% female) completed a Web–based survey that was comprised of measures of drinking behavior, perceived approval of drinking behaviors that ranged in severity (i.e., injunctive norms), and level of identification with the typical same-sex college student. Results suggest that the association between negative consequences and injunctive drinking norms depend on one's own drinking behavior, identification with other students, and the severity of the alcohol use and related consequences for which injunctive norms are assessed. Findings are discussed in terms of false consensus and false uniqueness effects, and deviance regulation perspectives. Implications for preventative interventions are discussed. PMID:20565144

Talented Adolescent Women and the Motive to Avoid Success.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George, Valerie D.

1986-01-01

Explored the extent to which talented Black and White adolescent women express motivation to avoid success and the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on the expression of negative imagery. Results indicate no difference in motivation by race, however, there was a significant difference in the responses of participants as a function of the cues…

Maternal Dysphoric Mood, Stress, and Parenting Practices in Mothers of Head Start Preschoolers: The Role of Experiential Avoidance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shea, Sarah E.; Coyne, Lisa W.

2011-01-01

Maternal dysphoria predicts behavioral difficulties in preschool-aged children, and may contribute to negative child outcomes by exacerbating parenting stress. Parenting stress increases the likelihood of maladaptive parenting practices, especially when mothers face multiple contextual stressors. We explored maternal experiential avoidance (EA) as…

Not all those who wander are lost: examining the impact of sojourner adjustment and drinking motives on alcohol consequences experienced by Americans studying in foreign countries.

PubMed

Pedersen, Eric R; Neighbors, Clayton; Lee, Christine M; Larimer, Mary E

2012-11-01

American students studying in foreign countries represent a unique group at risk for increased and problematic drinking. Examination of risk and protective factors for negative alcohol-related consequences can lead to the development of efficacious preventive interventions for reducing high-risk drinking while abroad. The present study examined the relationship between sojourner adjustment (i.e., the sociocultural and psychological adjustment of short-term residents in foreign environments), drinking motives, and alcohol-related consequences. Participants were 248 college students (81% women) who recently completed study-abroad trips and completed online surveys about their drinking motives and behavior, alcohol-related consequences, and sojourner adjustment. In general, positive sojourner adjustment (i.e., social interaction with host nationals, language development and use, and host culture identification) was protective against negative consequences, whereas negative sojourner adjustment (i.e., social interaction with co-nationals and homesickness/feeling out of place) was associated with increased reporting of consequences. Unexpectedly, the positive sojourner adjustment factor of cultural understanding and participation was associated with greater alcohol-related consequences. Social motives for drinking also predicted consequences. Drinking motives moderated several of the relationships between sojourner adjustment and consequences. Interest in and adoption of the host country culture may protect against problematic alcohol use; however, this may vary based on students' reasons for drinking. These findings support the need for further examination of sojourner adjustment in college students abroad and indicate potential areas for development of preventive interventions.

Storm surge evolution and its relationship to climate oscillations at Duck, NC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munroe, Robert; Curtis, Scott

2017-07-01

Coastal communities experience increased vulnerability during storm surge events through the risk of damage to coastal infrastructure, erosion/deposition, and the endangerment of human life. Policy and planning measures attempt to avoid or mitigate storm surge consequences through building codes and setbacks, beach stabilization, insurance rates, and coastal zoning. The coastal emergency management community and public react and respond on shorter time scales, through temporary protection, emergency stockpiling, and evacuation. This study utilizes time series analysis, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test, Pearson's correlation, and the generalized extreme value (GEV) theorem to make the connection between climate oscillation indices and storm surge characteristics intra-seasonally to inter-annually. Results indicate that an El Niño (+ENSO), negative phase of the NAO, and positive phase of the PNA pattern all support longer duration and hence more powerful surge events, especially in winter. Increased surge duration increases the likelihood of extensive erosion, inland inundation, among other undesirable effects of the surge hazard.

Microbial Products and Biofertilizers in Improving Growth and Productivity of Apple - a Review.

PubMed

Mosa, Walid F A E; Sas-Paszt, Lidia; Frąc, Mateusz; Trzciński, Paweł

2016-08-26

The excessive use of mineral fertilizers causes many negative consequences for the environment as well as potentially dangerous effects of chemical residues in plant tissues on the health of human and animal consumers. Bio-fertilizers are formulations of beneficial microorganisms, which upon application can increase the availability of nutrients by their biological activity and help to improve soil health. Microbes involved in the formulation of bio-fertilizers not only mobilize N and P but mediate the process of producing crops and foods naturally. This method avoids the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers and genetically modified organisms to influence the growth of crops. In addition to their role in enhancing the growth of the plants, biofertilizers can act as biocontrol agents in the rhizosphere at the same time. Biofertilizers are very safe for human, animal and environment. The use of Azotobacter, Azospirillum, Pseudomonas, Acetobacter, Burkholderia, Bacillus, Paenibacillus and some members of the Enterobacteriaceae is gaining worldwide importance and acceptance and appears to be the trend for the future.

The detection of malingered post-traumatic stress disorder.

PubMed

Knoll, James; Resnick, Phillip J

2006-09-01

The detection of malingered PTSD is made particularly challenging by the subjective nature of PTSD criteria and requires a thorough, systematic approach. The psychiatrist must gather and analyze evidence from the evaluation, clinical records, psychologic testing, third parties, and other sources. Although some individuals may malinger PTSD to avoid criminal sanctions, the most common motivation for malingering PTSD is financial gain. Clinical nuances may help distinguish genuine from malingered PTSD. The psychiatrist should be aware of the differences observed between civilian and combat-related PTSD. Although special effort is required, the psychiatrist bears considerable responsibility to assist society in differentiating true PTSD from malingering.Undetected malingering is not limited simply to fraudulent monetary awards, but can involve misuse of limited mental health resources, leading to negative consequences for the mental health system. As Burkett aptly notes, malingered combat PTSD cases "take time, energy, and financial resources away from treating true combat veterans with PTSD. And real combat vets who truly need help end up in group therapy with phonies, get disgusted, and quit treatment".

[Neonatal purpura fulminans without sepsis due to a severe congenital protein C deficiency].

PubMed

Hmami, F; Cherrabi, H; Oulmaati, A; Bouabdallah, Y; Bouharrou, A

2015-10-01

Severe congenital protein C deficiency is a rare life-threatening coagulopathy. In the early hours of life, the neonate presents with extensive purpura fulminans and substantial skin necrosis contrasting with a preserved general state and a negative infectious exam. Disseminated intravascular coagulation sets in secondarily. Prenatal outset of thrombotic events is a rare situation that worsens the prognosis, especially protein C replacement in utero is not available. We report a case of a male newborn of consanguineous parents who were asymptomatic carriers of heterozygous protein C deficiency. This infant presented prenatal ventricular hemorrhage with hydrocephalus and rapidly extensive postnatal skin necrosis that was not regressive in spite of fresh frozen plasma administrated after 24h of life. Prenatal diagnosis, early recognition, and urgent therapy with protein C replacement and anticoagulant treatment are crucial to improve the prognosis, avoid further damage after delivery, and prevent the devastating consequences of severe protein C deficiency. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

[HIV infection and immigration].

PubMed

Monge, Susana; Pérez-Molina, José A

2016-01-01

Migrants represent around one third of patients newly diagnosed with HIV in Spain and they constitute a population with higher vulnerability to its negative consequences due to the socio-cultural, economical, working, administrative and legal contexts. Migrants are diagnosed later, which worsens their individual prognosis and facilitates the maintenance of the HIV epidemic. In spite of the different barriers they experience to access healthcare in general, and HIV-related services in particular, access to antiretroviral treatment has been similar to that of the autochthonous population. However, benefits of treatment have been not, with women in general and men from Sub-Saharan Africa exhibiting the worse response to treatment. We need to proactively promote earlier diagnosis of HIV infection, the adoption of preventive measures to avoid new infections, and to deliver accessible, adapted and high-quality health-care. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica. All rights reserved.