Sample records for develop negative attitudes

  1. Positive expectations encourage generalization from a positive intergroup interaction to outgroup attitudes.

    PubMed

    Deegan, Matthew P; Hehman, Eric; Gaertner, Samuel L; Dovidio, John F

    2015-01-01

    The current research reveals that while positive expectations about an anticipated intergroup interaction encourage generalization of positive contact to outgroup attitudes, negative expectations restrict the effects of contact on outgroup attitudes. In Study 1, when Blacks and Whites interacted with positive expectations, interaction quality predicted outgroup attitudes to a greater degree than when groups interacted with negative expectations. When expectations (Studies 2 and 3) and the actual interaction quality (Study 4) were manipulated orthogonally, negative expectations about the interaction predicted negative outgroup attitudes, regardless of actual interaction quality. By contrast, participants holding positive expectations who experienced a positive interaction expressed positive outgroup attitudes, whereas when they experienced a negative interaction, they expressed outgroup attitudes as negative as those with negative expectations. Across all four studies, positive expectations encouraged developing outgroup attitudes consistent with interaction quality. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  2. Mental health professionals' attitudes towards people with mental illness: do they differ from attitudes held by people with mental illness?

    PubMed

    Hansson, Lars; Jormfeldt, Henrika; Svedberg, Petra; Svensson, Bengt

    2013-02-01

    Studies investigating mental health professionals' attitudes towards people with mental illness are scarce and there is a lack of comparative studies including both patients' and mental health professionals' attitudes. The aim of the present study was to investigate mental health staff's attitudes towards people with mental illness and compare these with the attitudes of patients in contact with mental health services. A further aim was to relate staff attitudes to demographic and work characteristics. A cross-sectional study was performed including 140 staff and 141 patients. The study included a random sample of outpatients in contact with mental health services in the southern part of Sweden and staff working in these services. Attitudes were investigated using a questionnaire covering beliefs of devaluation and discrimination of people with a mental illness. Negative attitudes were prevalent among staff. Most negative attitudes concerned whether an employer would accept an application for work, willingness to date a person who had been hospitalized, and hiring a patient to take care of children. Staff treating patients with a psychosis or working in inpatient settings had the most negative attitudes. Patient attitudes were overall similar to staff attitudes and there were significant differences in only three out of 12 dimensions. Patients' most negative attitudes were in the same area as the staff's. This study points to the suggestion that mental health care staff may hold negative attitudes and beliefs about people with mental illness with tentative implications for treatment of the patient and development and implementation of evidence-based services. Since patients and staff in most respects share these beliefs, it is essential to develop interventions that have an impact on both patients and staff, enabling a more recovery-oriented staff-patient relationship.

  3. Writing-to-Learn: Attitudes of nursing students at Sultan Qaboos University.

    PubMed

    Balachandran, Shreedevi; Venkatesaperumal, Ramesh; Clara, Jothi; Shukri, Raghda K

    2014-02-01

    The objectives of this study were to assess the attitude of Omani nursing students towards writing-to-learn (WTL) and its relationship to demographic variables, self-efficacy and the writing process. A cross-sectional design was used to evaluate attitudes towards WTL by Sultan Qaboos University nursing students. A convenience sample of 106 students was used and data collected between October 2009 and March 2010. A modified version of the WTL attitude scale developed by Dobie and Poirrier was used to collect the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis. Senior and junior students had more positive attitudes to WTL than mid-level students who tended to have negative attitudes towards writing. Although 52.8% students had negative attitudes towards the writing process, the median was higher for attitudes to the writing process compared to the median for self-efficacy. There was a positive correlation between self-efficacy and writing process scores. Overall, students had negative attitudes towards WTL. Attitudes are learnt or formed through previous experiences. The incorporation of WTL strategies into teaching can transform students' negative attitudes towards writing into positive ones.

  4. Test Candidates' Attitudes and Their Relationship to Demographic and Experiential Variables: The Case of Overseas Trained Teachers in NSW, Australia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murray, Jill C.; Riazi, A. Mehdi; Cross, Judith L.

    2012-01-01

    One measure of the impact of a high-stakes test is the attitudes that test takers hold towards it. It has been suggested that positive attitudes produce beneficial effects while real or anticipated negative experiences can result in the development of attitudes that erode confidence and potentially impact negatively on performance. This study…

  5. Writing-to-Learn

    PubMed Central

    Balachandran, Shreedevi; Venkatesaperumal, Ramesh; Clara, Jothi; Shukri, Raghda K.

    2014-01-01

    Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess the attitude of Omani nursing students towards writing-to-learn (WTL) and its relationship to demographic variables, self-efficacy and the writing process Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to evaluate attitudes towards WTL by Sultan Qaboos University nursing students. A convenience sample of 106 students was used and data collected between October 2009 and March 2010. A modified version of the WTL attitude scale developed by Dobie and Poirrier was used to collect the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis. Results: Senior and junior students had more positive attitudes to WTL than mid-level students who tended to have negative attitudes towards writing. Although 52.8% students had negative attitudes towards the writing process, the median was higher for attitudes to the writing process compared to the median for self-efficacy. There was a positive correlation between self-efficacy and writing process scores. Conclusion: Overall, students had negative attitudes towards WTL. Attitudes are learnt or formed through previous experiences. The incorporation of WTL strategies into teaching can transform students’ negative attitudes towards writing into positive ones. PMID:24516740

  6. A comparison of attitudes towards stuttering of non-stuttering preschoolers in the United States and Turkey

    PubMed Central

    Nakisci, Egemen; Ozdemir, Ramazan S.

    2017-01-01

    Background and objectives Extensive research documents ubiquitous negative attitudes towards stuttering, but when and how they develop is unclear. This non-experimental, comparative study examined US and Turkish preschoolers to explore the origin of stuttering attitudes cross-culturally. Method The authors compared stuttering attitudes of 28 US and 31 Turkish non-stuttering preschoolers on English and Turkish versions of experimental prototypes of the newly developed Public Opinion Survey on Human Attributes–Stuttering/Child (POSHA–S/Child). Children first watched a short video of two stuttering avatar characters and then answered oral questions about stuttering. Parents completed a demographic questionnaire. Differences in the US and Turkish POSHA–S/Child means were calculated using the Mann–Whitney U test. Results Attitudes of the US and Turkish children were remarkably similar. Children rated most of the items negatively but also rated some items as neutral or positive. They held relatively more negative attitudes towards traits and personalities of children who stutter yet relatively more positive attitudes towards stuttering children’s potential. Conclusion Stuttering attitudes in children appear to be partly independent of culture. PMID:28470081

  7. A comparison of attitudes towards stuttering of non-stuttering preschoolers in the United States and Turkey.

    PubMed

    Weidner, Mary E; St Louis, Kenneth O; Nakisci, Egemen; Ozdemir, Ramazan S

    2017-04-21

    Extensive research documents ubiquitous negative attitudes towards stuttering, but when and how they develop is unclear. This non-experimental, comparative study examined US and Turkish preschoolers to explore the origin of stuttering attitudes cross-culturally. The authors compared stuttering attitudes of 28 US and 31 Turkish non-stuttering preschoolers on English and Turkish versions of experimental prototypes of the newly developed Public Opinion Survey on Human Attributes-Stuttering/Child (POSHA-S/Child). Children first watched a short video of two stuttering avatar characters and then answered oral questions about stuttering. Parents completed a demographic questionnaire. Differences in the US and Turkish POSHA-S/Child means were calculated using the Mann-Whitney U test. Attitudes of the US and Turkish children were remarkably similar. Children rated most of the items negatively but also rated some items as neutral or positive. They held relatively more negative attitudes towards traits and personalities of children who stutter yet relatively more positive attitudes towards stuttering children's potential. Stuttering attitudes in children appear to be partly independent of culture.

  8. Attitudes without Objects: Evidence for a Dispositional Attitude, its Measurement, and its Consequences

    PubMed Central

    Hepler, Justin; Albarracin, Dolores

    2013-01-01

    We hypothesized that individuals may differ in the dispositional tendency to have positive versus negative attitudes, a trait termed the Dispositional Attitude. Across four studies, we developed a 16-item Dispositional Attitude Measure (DAM) and investigated its internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and predictive validity. DAM scores were (a) positively correlated with positive affect traits, curiosity-related traits, and individual pre-existing attitudes, (b) negatively correlated with negative affect traits, and (c) uncorrelated with theoretically unrelated traits. Dispositional attitudes also significantly predicted the valence of novel attitudes while controlling for theoretically relevant traits (such as the big-five and optimism). The dispositional attitude construct represents a new perspective in which attitudes are not simply a function of the properties of the stimuli under consideration, but are also a function of the properties of the evaluator. We discuss the intriguing implications of dispositional attitudes for many areas of research, including attitude formation, persuasion, and behavior prediction. PMID:23586409

  9. Attitudes without objects: evidence for a dispositional attitude, its measurement, and its consequences.

    PubMed

    Hepler, Justin; Albarracín, Dolores

    2013-06-01

    We hypothesized that individuals may differ in the dispositional tendency to have positive vs. negative attitudes, a trait termed the dispositional attitude. Across 4 studies, we developed a 16-item Dispositional Attitude Measure (DAM) and investigated its internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and predictive validity. DAM scores were (a) positively correlated with positive affect traits, curiosity-related traits, and individual preexisting attitudes; (b) negatively correlated with negative affect traits; and (c) uncorrelated with theoretically unrelated traits. Dispositional attitudes also significantly predicted the valence of novel attitudes while controlling for theoretically relevant traits (such as the Big 5 and optimism). The dispositional attitude construct represents a new perspective in which attitudes are not simply a function of the properties of the stimuli under consideration, but are also a function of the properties of the evaluator. We discuss the intriguing implications of dispositional attitudes for many areas of research, including attitude formation, persuasion, and behavior prediction. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  10. Delinquency as a mediator of the relation between negative affectivity and adolescent alcohol use disorder.

    PubMed

    Shoal, Gavin D; Gudonis, Lauren C; Giancola, Peter R; Tarter, Ralph E

    2007-12-01

    This investigation examined mediators of the longitudinal relation between negative affectivity and the development of problematic drinking behavior in adolescent boys and girls. In the present study, 499 early adolescents completed inventories of negative affectivity, attitudes toward delinquency, personal delinquency, and affiliation with delinquent peers. Positive attitudes toward delinquency emerged as the most consistent mediator and strongly predicted drinking frequency in various situations. Compared with personal delinquency, both attitudes toward delinquency and peer delinquency were superior predictors of affect-related drinking. Our results also demonstrated that positive attitudes toward delinquency mediated the relation between negative affectivity and later development of an alcohol use disorder. These findings suggest that a proneness to unpleasant affect impacts adolescent drinking by heightening risk for general rejection of normative behavior, rather than by increasing drinking as a means of managing affect. The importance and implications of testing delinquency variables together in the same model are discussed.

  11. The Role of Counterfactual Thinking on Attitudes Toward ADHD Medication Use.

    PubMed

    Ramos, Ashley M; Becker, Brittney; Biemer, Julie A; Clark, Lindsay; Fields, Sherecce; Smallman, Rachel

    2016-01-01

    Despite serious health risks, attitudes toward Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medication use in college students remain favorable. Given the robust link between attitudes and behavior (e.g., the Theory of Planned Behavior), it is important to understand how these attitudes are developed and maintained. The current study examined the role of counterfactual, or "what if'" thinking as a mechanism for the development of attitudes toward ADHD medications. All participants (n = 190) were asked to read either a positive or negative scenario regarding ADHD medication misuse and rate their attitudes toward the behavior; half of the participants were also asked to generate counterfactuals prior to rating their attitudes. Results suggest that scenario valence influenced the direction of counterfactual statements. Further, through the generation of upward counterfactuals, the negative scenario elicited more positive attitudes toward ADHD medication misuse. Based on limited prior research, it is suggested that upward counterfactuals may allow individuals to explain away the misuse of ADHD medication and avoid negative emotions such as guilt and shame related to current or prior ADHD medication misuse. In sum, additional research is needed to confirm preliminary findings that suggest counterfactual thinking could be a precursor to ADHD medication misuse.

  12. The Effects of Knowledge of Child Development and Social-Emotional Maturity on Adolescent Attitudes toward Parenting.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Larsen, John J.; Juhasz, Anne McCreary

    1985-01-01

    Investigated the relationship between the combined effect of knowledge of child development and level of social-emotional maturity, and the extent to which this relationship affects adolescent attitudes toward parenting. Negative attitudes toward parenting were associated with lack of knowledge of child development and low levels of…

  13. The relationship between parenting attitudes, negative cognition, and the depressive symptoms according to gender in Korean adolescents.

    PubMed

    Park, Subin; Kim, Bung-Nyun; Park, Min-Hyeon

    2016-01-01

    Parenting style is one potential contributor to the development of adolescents' cognitions, self-esteem and emotional problems. This study examined the relationship between maternal parenting attitudes and adolescents' negative cognitions, and depressive symptoms according to gender. A total of 401 middle and high school students were recruited (i.e. 221 males and 180 females; mean age, 13.92 ± 1.31 years). The Maternal Behavior Research Instrument assessed maternal parenting attitudes. Analyses examined the relationship between parenting attitudes and affective symptoms, with self-esteem and negative automatic thoughts as mediators of these relations. Maternal rejecting attitudes were positively associated with depressive symptoms via increasing negative autonomic thoughts and decreasing self-esteem among female adolescents. Among male adolescents, maternal rejecting attitudes were associated with low self-esteem, but they were not associated with depressive symptoms. Maternal parenting has a larger impact on the emotional adjustment of females compared to males. Interventions to increase self-esteem and correct negative cognitions may be helpful for depressed female adolescents, specifically for those whose mothers are rejecting.

  14. Predicting Portuguese Psychology Students' Attitudes Toward the Psychological Development of Children Adopted by Lesbians and Gay Men.

    PubMed

    Gato, Jorge; Fontaine, Anne Marie

    2016-11-01

    The present study seeks to ascertain the attitudes of Portuguese psychology students (future psychologists) toward the development of children adopted by lesbian and gay parents. Each participant (N = 182) read a vignette describing an adoption of a child by lesbian and gay persons. After reading the vignette, participants rated four different aspects of the future development of the adopted child (psychosocial adjustment, victimization, psychological disturbance, and normative sexuality). Furthermore, participants were asked about their gender, interpersonal contact with lesbians and gay men, gender role attitudes, and attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Future psychologists' attitudes toward the developmental outcomes of children adopted by lesbians and gay men were associated with negative attitudes toward non-heterosexuals, which in turn correlated to interpersonal contact with lesbians and gay men and adherence to gender conservative values. These results clearly highlight the central role of social attitudes and the need for cultural competence training of future psychologists that encourages interpersonal contact with non-heterosexuals and discourages traditional gender roles and negative attitudes toward lesbian and gay men.

  15. Predictors of Attitudes toward Childlessness.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spreadbury, Connie

    The study assessed young adults' attitudes toward childlessness and identified certain factors which predict positive or negative attitudes toward childlessness. The author anticipated finding changes in attitudes because of recent social developments such as awareness of world overpopulation, availability of birth control methods, pressure for…

  16. Delinquency as a Mediator of the Relation between Negative Affectivity and Adolescent Alcohol Use Disorder

    PubMed Central

    Shoal, Gavin D.; Gudonis, Lauren C.; Giancola, Peter R.; Tarter, Ralph E.

    2007-01-01

    This investigation examined mediators of the longitudinal relation between negative affectivity and the development of problematic drinking behavior in adolescent boys and girls. In the present study, 499 early adolescents completed inventories of negative affectivity, attitudes toward delinquency, personal delinquency, and affiliation with delinquent peers. Positive attitudes toward delinquency emerged as the most consistent mediator and strongly predicted drinking frequency in various situations. Compared with personal delinquency, both attitudes toward delinquency and peer delinquency were superior predictors of affect-related drinking. Our results also demonstrated that positive attitudes toward delinquency mediated the relation between negative affectivity and later development of an alcohol use disorder. These findings suggest that a proneness to unpleasant affect impacts adolescent drinking by heightening risk for general rejection of normative behavior, rather than by increasing drinking as a means of managing affect. The importance and implications of testing delinquency variables together in the same model are discussed. PMID:17490823

  17. Instructional strategies to improve women's attitudes toward science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Newbill, Phyllis Leary

    Although negative attitudes toward science are common among women and men in undergraduate introductory science classes, women's attitudes toward science tend to be more negative than men's. The reasons for women's negative attitudes toward science include lack of self-confidence, fear of association with social outcasts, lack of women role models in science, and the fundamental differences between traditional scientific and feminist values. Attitudes are psychological constructs theorized to be composed of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. Attitudes serve functions, including social expressive, value expressive, utilitarian, and defensive functions, for the people who hold them. To change attitudes, the new attitudes must serve the same function as the old one, and all three components must be treated. Instructional designers can create instructional environments to effect attitude change. In designing instruction to improve women's attitudes toward science, instructional designers should (a) address the emotions that are associated with existing attitudes, (b) involve credible, attractive women role models, and (c) address the functions of the existing attitudes. Two experimental instructional modules were developed based on these recommendations, and two control modules were developed that were not based on these recommendations. The asynchronous, web-based modules were administered to 281 undergraduate geology and chemistry students at two universities. Attitude assessment revealed that attitudes toward scientists improved significantly more in the experimental group, although there was no significant difference in overall attitudes toward science. Women's attitudes improved significantly more than men's in both the experimental and control groups. Students whose attitudes changed wrote significantly more in journaling activities associated with the modules. Qualitative analysis of journals revealed that the guidelines worked exactly as predicted for some students.

  18. Attitudes of neurology specialists toward older adults.

    PubMed

    Seferoğlu, Meral; Yıldız, Demet; Pekel, Nilüfer Büyükkoyuncu; Güneş, Aygül; Yıldız, Abdülmecit; Tufan, Fatih

    2017-08-01

    Attitude of healthcare providers toward older people is very important in the aging world. Neurologists contact older adults very frequently. We aimed to investigate the attitudes of neurologists toward older adults. We recorded participants age; sex; duration of clinical practice in neurology; existence of older adult relatives; and history of geriatrics education, nursing home visits, older adult patient density in their clinical practice, and participation in voluntary public activities. UCLA Geriatrics Attitude Scale was used to evaluate participants' attitudes. A total of 100 neurologists participated in this study. Seventy-seven percent had positive, 3 % had neutral, and 20 % had negative attitudes. Twenty-seven percent of the participants had history of geriatrics education, and these participants tended to have a higher rate of positive attitudes. Neurologists with positive attitudes tended to be older than those with negative attitudes. Participants with history of living with older adult relatives had lower rates of positive attitudes. The most common diagnoses of the patients the participants encountered were stroke and dementia. Independent factors associated with positive attitudes were history of geriatrics education and older age. History of living with older relatives tended to have a negative effect. Most of the negative items of the attitude scale were associated with the natural course and behavior of the common diseases in neurology practice. Generalization of geriatrics education may translate into a better understanding and improved care for older patients. Development of instruments and implementation of qualitative studies to assess attitudes of neurologists toward older adults are needed.

  19. The Depiction of Mental Illnesses in Children's Television Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wahl, Otto; Hanrahan, Erin; Karl, Kelly; Lasher, Erin; Swaye, Janel

    2007-01-01

    Concern has been expressed that negative attitudes toward people with mental illnesses begin to develop early in childhood. This study examines one of the possible sources of learning of such negative attitudes--children's television programs. Two hundred sixty-nine (269) hours of children's television programming were videotaped, viewed, and…

  20. Attitudes towards mental illness of nursing students in a Baccalaureate programme in Jamaica: a questionnaire survey.

    PubMed

    Bennett, J; Stennett, R

    2015-10-01

    There is longstanding evidence of nurses demonstrating negative attitudes towards people with mental illness. Student nurses' fear or discomfort with mentally ill patients results in poorer outcomes for patients and students' dissatisfaction with their experience of mental health nursing. There is evidence of negative attitudes towards mental illness in the Jamaican society; however, no studies have explored whether these attitudes are held by nursing students. The aim of the study was to examine the attitudes of nursing students towards mental illness. A questionnaire survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 143 third-year nursing students who were enrolled in a baccalaureate programme. Data were collected using the Attitudes Towards Acute Mental Health Scale (ATAMHS). A response rate of 71% was achieved for the survey. The findings indicated that the student nurses held an overall negative attitude towards mental illness, with a general perception that mentally ill people are dangerous. The student nurses were divided in their opinions in a number of areas, suggesting a possible conflict of opinions. Negative attitudes towards mental illness impact client outcomes and the career choices made by nurses. This study provides baseline data within the Jamaican context that adds to the evidence on nursing students' attitude to mental illness. Further research is needed to explore whether nursing education and clinical experience enables student nurses in Jamaica to develop a more positive attitude towards mental illness and mental health nursing and whether cultural factors contribute to negative attitudes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Introducing English and German versions of the Adolescent Time Attitude Scale.

    PubMed

    Worrell, Frank C; Mello, Zena R; Buhl, Monika

    2013-08-01

    In this study, the authors report on the development of English and German versions of the Adolescent Time Attitude Scale (ATAS). The ATAS consists of six subscales assessing Past Positive, Past Negative, Present Positive, Present Negative, Future Positive, and Future Negative time attitudes. The authors describe the development of the scales and present data on the reliability and structural validity of ATAS scores in samples of American (N = 300) and German (N = 316) adolescents. Internal consistency estimates for scores on the English and German versions of the ATAS were in the .70 to .80 range. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a six-factor structure yielded the best fit for scores and that the scores were invariant across samples.

  2. Development of a Scale to Measure Attitudes toward Inclusive Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilczenski, Felicia L.

    1995-01-01

    The Attitudes toward Inclusive Education Scale (ATIES) is a measure of positive and negative attitudes toward integrating children with disabilities into regular classes. Results with 445 teachers show that the ATIES defines a unidimensional attitudinal variable and yields interval measures of attitudes toward inclusive education. (SLD)

  3. University of Malaya dental students' attitudes towards communication skills learning: implications for dental education.

    PubMed

    Nor, Nor Azlida M; Yusof, Zamros Y M; Shahidan, Mohd Noor F M

    2011-12-01

    The Ministry of Higher Education in Malaysia has called for the implementation of a soft skills module in all public universities in Malaysia. In response to this and as part of curriculum development efforts for a new integrated program for 2011, a study was undertaken to improve the University of Malaya (UM) Faculty of Dentistry's communication skills course. One of the study objectives was to investigate dental students' attitudes towards communication skills learning and the association between their attitudes and demographic and education-related characteristics. A cross-sectional survey--using a self-administered twenty-four-item adapted Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) that contained both positive (PAS) and negative (NAS) attitude subscales--was carried out targeting all final-year dental students at the UM and the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). A total of 148 students completed the survey, yielding a response rate of 88.1 percent. Overall, UKM students had significantly more positive attitudes towards communication skills learning (PAS score: mean=48.69, SD=4.48, p<0.001) than UM students (mean=46.03, SD=4.22). There was no statistically significant difference in negative attitudes between the two groups. UKM students with more positive attitudes tended to be female (p<0.05). UM students with more negative attitudes perceived themselves as poor communicators (p<0.05), and UKM students with more negative attitudes tended to have poor English proficiency (p<0.05). This study found that both UM and UKM final-year dental students have positive and negative attitudes towards learning communication skills. These attitudes were significantly associated with certain background and education-related attributes. Outcomes of this study served as a valuable guide in strengthening the communication skills course for the UM's new, integrated dental curriculum.

  4. Trends in attitudes toward people living with HIV, homophobia, and HIV transmission knowledge in Quebec, Canada (1996, 2002, and 2010).

    PubMed

    Adrien, Alix; Beaulieu, Marianne; Leaune, Viviane; Perron, Michèle; Dassa, Clément

    2013-01-01

    People living with HIV (PWHIV) face negative attitudes that isolate and discourage them from accessing services. Understanding negative attitudes and the social environment can lead to more effective health promotion strategies and programs. However, a scale to measure attitudes has been lacking. We developed and validated attitudes toward PWHIV Scale to examine trends in attitudes toward PWHIV in Quebec in 1996, 2002, and 2010. We also examined the relationship between negative attitudes toward PWHIV, homophobia, and knowledge about HIV transmission. The scale included 16 items and had a five-factor structure: F1 (fear of being infected), F2 (fear of contact with PWHIV), F3 (prejudicial beliefs toward groups at high risk of HIV), F4 (tolerance regarding sexual mores and behaviors), and F5 (social support for PWHIV). The validity and reliability of the scale were assessed and found to be high. Overall, Quebecers had positive attitudes toward PWHIV, with more negative attitudes observed in subgroups defined as male, ≥50 years of age, <14 years of education, higher levels of homophobia, and below-average knowledge about HIV transmission. Scores were stable between 1996 and 2002, and increased in 2010. Negative attitudes were correlated with higher levels of homophobia and lesser knowledge about HIV transmission. The lowest scores for each factor were observed in the same subgroups that had low overall scores on the Attitudes Scale. The findings from this study can be used to intensify interventions that promote compassion for PWHIV, address attitudes toward homosexuality, and encourage greater knowledge about the transmission of HIV in these subgroups.

  5. FROM BIAS TO BISEXUAL HEALTH DISPARITIES: ATTITUDES TOWARD BISEXUAL MEN AND WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES.

    PubMed

    Friedman, M Reuel; Dodge, Brian; Schick, Vanessa; Herbenick, Debby; Hubach, Randolph; Bowling, Jessamyn; Goncalves, Gabriel; Krier, Sarah; Reece, Michael

    2014-12-01

    A newly emergent literature suggest that bisexual men and women face profound health disparities in comparison to both heterosexual and homosexual individuals. Additionally, bisexual individuals often experience prejudice, stigma, and discrimination from both gay/lesbian and straight communities, termed "biphobia." However, only limited research exists that empirically tests the extent and predictors of this double discrimination. The Bisexualities: Indiana Attitudes Survey (BIAS) was developed to test associations between biphobia and sexual identity. Using standard techniques, we developed and administered a scale to a purposive online sample of adults from a wide range of social networking websites. We conducted exploratory factor analysis to refine scales assessing attitudes toward bisexual men and bisexual women, respectively. Using generalized linear modeling, we assessed relationships between BIAS scores and sexual identity, adjusting for covariates. Two separately gendered scales were developed, administered, and refined: BIAS-m (n=645), focusing on attitudes toward bisexual men; and BIAS-f (n=631), focusing on attitudes toward bisexual women. Across scales, sexual identity significantly predicted response variance. Lesbian/gay respondents had lower levels of bi-negative attitudes than their heterosexual counterparts (all p-values <.05); bisexual respondents had lower levels of bi-negative attitudes than their straight counterparts (all p-values <.001); and bisexual respondents had lower levels of bi-negative attitudes than their lesbian/gay counterparts (all p-values <.05). Within racial/ethnic minority respondents, biracial/multiracial status was associated with lower bi-negativity scores (all p-values <.05). This study provides important quantitative support for theories related to biphobia and double discrimination. Our findings provide strong evidence for understanding how stereotypes and stigma may lead to dramatic disparities in depression, anxiety, stress, and other health outcomes among bisexual individuals in comparison to their heterosexual and homosexual counterparts. Our results yield valuable data for informing social awareness and intervention efforts that aim to decrease bi-negative attitudes within both straight and gay/lesbian communities, with the ultimate goal of alleviating health disparities among bisexual men and women.

  6. An Assessment Blueprint for EncStat: A Statistics Anxiety Intervention Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Watson, Freda S.; Lang, Thomas R.; Kromrey, Jeffrey D.; Ferron, John M.; Hess, Melinda R.; Hogarty, Kristine Y.

    EncStat (Encouraged about Statistics) is a multimedia program being developed to identify and assist students with statistics anxiety or negative attitudes about statistics. This study explored the validity of the assessment instruments included in EncStat with respect to their diagnostic value for statistics anxiety and negative attitudes about…

  7. Teachers' Attitudes towards the Gifted: The Importance of Professional Development and School Culture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lassig, Carly

    2015-01-01

    Given that teachers have one of the most significant influences on the educational development of gifted students, reports of negative attitudes and beliefs in popular myths about giftedness are cause for concern. It is important to understand teachers' attitudes and beliefs to implement effective training and educational practices to improve…

  8. Interprofessional Collaboration and Turf Wars How Prevalent Are Hidden Attitudes?*

    PubMed Central

    Chung, Chadwick L. R.; Manga, Jasmin; McGregor, Marion; Michailidis, Christos; Stavros, Demetrios; Woodhouse, Linda J.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Interprofessional collaboration in health care is believed to enhance patient outcomes. However, where professions have overlapping scopes of practice (eg, chiropractors and physical therapists), "turf wars" can hinder effective collaboration. Deep-rooted beliefs, identified as implicit attitudes, provide a potential explanation. Even with positive explicit attitudes toward a social group, negative stereotypes may be influential. Previous studies on interprofessional attitudes have mostly used qualitative research methodologies. This study used quantitative methods to evaluate explicit and implicit attitudes of physical therapy students toward chiropractic. Methods: A paper-and-pencil instrument was developed and administered to 49 individuals (students and faculty) associated with a Canadian University master's entry-level physical therapy program after approval by the Research Ethics Board. The instrument evaluated explicit and implicit attitudes toward the chiropractic profession. Implicit attitudes were determined by comparing response times of chiropractic paired with positive versus negative descriptors. Results: Mean time to complete a word association task was significantly longer (t = 4.75, p =.00) when chiropractic was associated with positive rather than negative words. Explicit and implicit attitudes were not correlated (r = 0.13, p =.38). Conclusions: While little explicit bias existed, individuals associated with a master's entry-level physical therapy program appeared to have a significant negative implicit bias toward chiropractic PMID:22778528

  9. Interprofessional collaboration and turf wars how prevalent are hidden attitudes?

    PubMed

    Chung, Chadwick L R; Manga, Jasmin; McGregor, Marion; Michailidis, Christos; Stavros, Demetrios; Woodhouse, Linda J

    2012-01-01

    Interprofessional collaboration in health care is believed to enhance patient outcomes. However, where professions have overlapping scopes of practice (eg, chiropractors and physical therapists), "turf wars" can hinder effective collaboration. Deep-rooted beliefs, identified as implicit attitudes, provide a potential explanation. Even with positive explicit attitudes toward a social group, negative stereotypes may be influential. Previous studies on interprofessional attitudes have mostly used qualitative research methodologies. This study used quantitative methods to evaluate explicit and implicit attitudes of physical therapy students toward chiropractic. A paper-and-pencil instrument was developed and administered to 49 individuals (students and faculty) associated with a Canadian University master's entry-level physical therapy program after approval by the Research Ethics Board. The instrument evaluated explicit and implicit attitudes toward the chiropractic profession. Implicit attitudes were determined by comparing response times of chiropractic paired with positive versus negative descriptors. Mean time to complete a word association task was significantly longer (t = 4.75, p =.00) when chiropractic was associated with positive rather than negative words. Explicit and implicit attitudes were not correlated (r = 0.13, p =.38). While little explicit bias existed, individuals associated with a master's entry-level physical therapy program appeared to have a significant negative implicit bias toward chiropractic.

  10. The Communication Attitude Test (CAT-S): Normative Values for 220 Swedish Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johannisson, Tove B.; Wennerfeldt, Susanna; Havstam, Christina; Naeslund, Maria; Jacobson, Kajsa; Lohmander, Anette

    2009-01-01

    Background: The risk of developing a negative attitude to communication as a consequence of having a speech disorder has been in focus for decades in research concerning fluency disorders in relation to both children and adults. The Communication Attitude Test (CAT), which was created to measure children's attitudes towards their own…

  11. Impact of negation salience and cognitive resources on negation during attitude formation.

    PubMed

    Boucher, Kathryn L; Rydell, Robert J

    2012-10-01

    Because of the increased cognitive resources required to process negations, past research has shown that explicit attitude measures are more sensitive to negations than implicit attitude measures. The current work demonstrated that the differential impact of negations on implicit and explicit attitude measures was moderated by (a) the extent to which the negation was made salient and (b) the amount of cognitive resources available during attitude formation. When negations were less visually salient, explicit but not implicit attitude measures reflected the intended valence of the negations. When negations were more visually salient, both explicit and implicit attitude measures reflected the intended valence of the negations, but only when perceivers had ample cognitive resources during encoding. Competing models of negation processing, schema-plus-tag and fusion, were examined to determine how negation salience impacts the processing of negations.

  12. Testing the bi-dimensional effects of attitudes on behavioural intentions and subsequent behaviour.

    PubMed

    Elliott, Mark A; Brewster, Sarah E; Thomson, James A; Malcolm, Carly; Rasmussen, Susan

    2015-11-01

    Attitudes are typically treated as unidimensional predictors of both behavioural intentions and subsequent behaviour. On the basis of previous research showing that attitudes comprise two independent, positive and negative dimensions, we hypothesized that attitudes would be bi-dimensional predictors of both behavioural intentions and subsequent behaviour. We focused on health-risk behaviours. We therefore also hypothesized that the positive dimension of attitude (evaluations of positive behavioural outcomes) would better predict both behavioural intentions and subsequent behaviour than would the negative dimension, consistent with the positivity bias/offset principle. In Study 1 (cross sectional design), N = 109 university students completed questionnaire measures of their intentions to binge-drink and the positive and negative dimensions of attitude. Consistent with the hypotheses, both attitude dimensions independently predicted behavioural intentions and the positive dimension was a significantly better predictor than was the negative dimension. The same pattern of findings emerged in Study 2 (cross sectional design; N = 186 university students) when we predicted intentions to binge-drink, smoke and consume a high-fat diet. Similarly, in Study 3 (prospective design; N = 1,232 speed limit offenders), both the positive and negative dimensions of attitude predicted subsequent (6-month post-baseline) speeding behaviour on two different road types and the positive dimension was the better predictor. The implications for understanding the motivation of behaviour and the development of behaviour-change interventions are discussed. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

  13. Too Materialistic to Get Married and Have Children?

    PubMed Central

    Li, Norman P.; Lim, Amy J. Y.; Tsai, Ming-Hong; O, Jiaqing

    2015-01-01

    We developed new materials to induce a luxury mindset and activate materialistic values, and examined materialism’s relationship to attitudes toward marriage and having children in Singapore. Path analyses indicated that materialistic values led to more negative attitudes toward marriage, which led to more negative attitudes toward children, which in turn led to a decreased number of children desired. Results across two studies highlight, at the individual level, the tradeoff between materialistic values and attitudes toward marriage and procreation and suggest that a consideration of psychological variables such as materialistic values may allow for a better understanding of larger-scale socioeconomic issues including low fertility rates among developed countries. We discuss implications and describe how psychological factors relating to low fertility fit within evolutionary mismatch and life history theory frameworks. PMID:25955502

  14. Too materialistic to get married and have children?

    PubMed

    Li, Norman P; Lim, Amy J Y; Tsai, Ming-Hong; O, Jiaqing

    2015-01-01

    We developed new materials to induce a luxury mindset and activate materialistic values, and examined materialism's relationship to attitudes toward marriage and having children in Singapore. Path analyses indicated that materialistic values led to more negative attitudes toward marriage, which led to more negative attitudes toward children, which in turn led to a decreased number of children desired. Results across two studies highlight, at the individual level, the tradeoff between materialistic values and attitudes toward marriage and procreation and suggest that a consideration of psychological variables such as materialistic values may allow for a better understanding of larger-scale socioeconomic issues including low fertility rates among developed countries. We discuss implications and describe how psychological factors relating to low fertility fit within evolutionary mismatch and life history theory frameworks.

  15. Is Contact with People with Disabilities a Guarantee for Positive Implicit and Explicit Attitudes?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hein, Sascha; Grumm, Mandy; Fingerle, Michael

    2011-01-01

    In the past 50 years research on attitudes toward people with disabilities has repeatedly revealed negative attitudes by predominantly using self-report measures. The main aim of the present contribution was to develop an Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess implicit attitudes toward people with disabilities. For this purpose 47 university…

  16. Attitudes of midwifery and nursing students in a Turkish university toward lesbians and gay men and opinions about healthcare approaches.

    PubMed

    Bilgic, Dilek; Daglar, Gulseren; Sabanciogullari, Selma; Ozkan, Semiha Aydin

    2018-03-01

    Lesbians and gay men are subjected to negative attitudes and poor quality health care by midwives in the process of having children and by nurses in the process of receiving general health care services. Our aim was to investigate midwifery and nursing students' attitudes towards lesbians and gay men and their opinions about health care approaches displayed towards them. The study was designed as a cross-sectional and descriptive one and conducted in one midwifery and two nursing schools in a city in Turkey and comprised 1321 students. To assess the participants' attitudes, the Attitudes toward Lesbians and Gays (ATLG) Scale was used. To assess opinions about health care approaches, the students were asked open-ended questions. All the participating students' attitude scores were below the average and they exhibited negative attitudes towards lesbians and gays. While very few of the participants had positive views about health care given to, most of them either had negative views or did not have any opinions. The midwifery students' attitudes were more positive than were those of the nursing students. Students' health care approaches towards lesbians and gay men were insufficient and negative. Educators need to develop training programs, which can help students gain cultural awareness of the health care needs of lesbians and gay men in different cultures before they graduate. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Correlates of chilean adolescents' negative attitudes toward cigarettes: the role of gender, peer, parental, and environmental factors.

    PubMed

    Lorenzo-Blanco, Elma I; Bares, Cristina; Delva, Jorge

    2012-02-01

    We examined the association of peer, parental, and environmental factors with negative attitudes toward cigarettes among youth from Santiago, Chile. A total of 860 youth from Santiago, Chile, completed questions regarding their lifetime use of cigarettes, intentions to smoke, attitudes toward cigarettes, and questions that assessed peer, parental, and environmental factors. For both boys and girls, peer disapproval of smoking was associated with more negative attitudes toward cigarettes and peer smoking was associated with less negative attitudes toward cigarettes. Peer pressure was significantly associated with more negative attitudes toward cigarettes for girls only. Parental smoking was associated with less negative attitudes and parental control with more negative attitudes, but these associations were significant in the overall sample only. School prevention efforts and exposure to cigarette ads were not associated with cigarette attitudes. Difficulty in accessing cigarettes was positively associated with negative attitudes for boys and girls. Smoking prevention efforts focus on attitude change, but scant information is available about the experiences that influence Chilean youth's attitudes toward cigarettes. Results from the current study suggest that prevention efforts could benefit from gender-specific strategies. Girls' but not boys' attitudes were influenced by peer pressure. Moreover, negative attitudes toward cigarettes were associated with lower current smoking in girls only. Parental smoking was an important influence on youth's attitudes toward cigarettes. Efforts to reduce smoking among Chilean youth may benefit from concurrently reducing parental smoking.

  18. Correlates of Chilean Adolescents’ Negative Attitudes Toward Cigarettes: The Role of Gender, Peer, Parental, and Environmental Factors

    PubMed Central

    Bares, Cristina; Delva, Jorge

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: We examined the association of peer, parental, and environmental factors with negative attitudes toward cigarettes among youth from Santiago, Chile. Methods: A total of 860 youth from Santiago, Chile, completed questions regarding their lifetime use of cigarettes, intentions to smoke, attitudes toward cigarettes, and questions that assessed peer, parental, and environmental factors. Results: For both boys and girls, peer disapproval of smoking was associated with more negative attitudes toward cigarettes and peer smoking was associated with less negative attitudes toward cigarettes. Peer pressure was significantly associated with more negative attitudes toward cigarettes for girls only. Parental smoking was associated with less negative attitudes and parental control with more negative attitudes, but these associations were significant in the overall sample only. School prevention efforts and exposure to cigarette ads were not associated with cigarette attitudes. Difficulty in accessing cigarettes was positively associated with negative attitudes for boys and girls. Conclusion: Smoking prevention efforts focus on attitude change, but scant information is available about the experiences that influence Chilean youth’s attitudes toward cigarettes. Results from the current study suggest that prevention efforts could benefit from gender-specific strategies. Girls’ but not boys’ attitudes were influenced by peer pressure. Moreover, negative attitudes toward cigarettes were associated with lower current smoking in girls only. Parental smoking was an important influence on youth’s attitudes toward cigarettes. Efforts to reduce smoking among Chilean youth may benefit from concurrently reducing parental smoking. PMID:22157230

  19. Removing Bias towards World Englishes: The Development of a Rater Attitude Instrument Using Indian English as a Stimulus

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hsu, Tammy Huei-Lien

    2016-01-01

    This study explores the attitudes of raters of English speaking tests towards the global spread of English and the challenges in rating speakers of Indian English in descriptive speaking tasks. The claims put forward by language attitude studies indicate a validity issue in English speaking tests: listeners tend to hold negative attitudes towards…

  20. The Peer Attitudes toward Children Who Stutter (PATCS) Scale: An Evaluation of Validity, Reliability and the Negativity of Attitudes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Langevin, Marilyn; Kleitman, Sabina; Packman, Ann; Onslow, Mark

    2009-01-01

    Background: Persistent calls for school-based education about stuttering necessitate a better understanding of peer attitudes toward children who stutter and a means to measure outcomes of such educational interventions. Langevin and Hagler in 2004 developed the Peer Attitudes Toward Children who Stutter scale (PATCS) to address these needs and…

  1. The Peer Attitudes toward Children Who Stutter Scale: Reliability, Known Groups Validity, and Negativity of Elementary School-Age Children's Attitudes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Langevin, Marilyn

    2009-01-01

    Psychometric properties of the Peer Attitudes Toward Children who Stutter (PATCS) scale (Langevin, M., & Hagler, P. (2004). Development of a scale to measure peer attitudes toward children who stutter. In A.K. Bothe (Ed.), Evidence-based treatment of stuttering: empirical bases and clinical applications (pp. 139-171). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence…

  2. An Analysis of Chinese High School Students' Attitudes toward Persons with Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yu, Zhang

    2013-01-01

    Disabilities and negative attitudes toward individuals with disabilities permeate human history, from ancient Greece to modern society. The study of attitude toward disabilities, mostly in western countries, has provided information for the development of policy concerning the rights of individuals with disabilities. Complying with international…

  3. Fear, Loathing and Ambivalence toward Learning and Teaching Mathematics: Preservice Teachers' Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Itter, Diane; Meyers, Noel

    2017-01-01

    Preservice teachers graduate from an education system that shapes their mathematical understandings, beliefs and attitudes, and then re-enter that system to shape their own students' mathematical understandings, beliefs, and attitudes. Unfortunately, many of our future teachers have developed negative attitudes symptomatic of a self-perpetuating…

  4. Development and pilot testing of a culturally sensitive multimedia program to improve breast cancer screening in Latina women.

    PubMed

    Goel, Mita Sanghavi; Gracia, Gaby; Baker, David W

    2011-07-01

    Our study goal was to assess the effects of a brief patient video on breast cancer knowledge and attitudes among Latina women at a community health center. We conducted pre- and post-testing of knowledge and attitudes in women aged 40 years or older with active screening referrals (n=91). We compared pre- and post-test knowledge and attitudes overall and by baseline values. Mean knowledge increased from 5.8/10 to 6.9/10 (p<0.05), with the greatest increases in those with low baseline knowledge (p<.001). There were no changes in mean attitudes, which were high at baseline (3.8/5); however, among the 16 women with negative/neutral attitudes, 50% developed positive attitudes after watching the video (p<0.05). Baseline intention to complete screening was high at 98%. Although the overall effects were modest, the greatest improvements were in those with low baseline knowledge scores and negative/neutral baseline attitudes. Future testing should examine the effects in a community-based sample. A brief patient video has promise for influencing patient knowledge and perhaps attitudes while being amenable to integration into clinical flow. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Educational Developers' Experiences of Negative Faculty Attitudes towards Teaching and Development--An International Survey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ekecrantz, Stefan; Schwieler, Elias

    2016-01-01

    In this article, results from an international survey on the experiences of educational developers' experiences of teachers' attitudes, emotions, and normative values in higher education are presented. Teacher-student relationships have a substantial impact on student learning and the general learning climate, but have still received relatively…

  6. Urban middle-school students' attitudes toward a defined science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zacharia, Zacharias; Calabrese Barton, Angela

    2004-03-01

    Recent studies have shown that urban students and students of color have exceptionally negative attitudes toward school science and their futures in that field as compared with white students and nonurban students. In this paper we summarize research findings on students' attitudes toward science. We note that most of the studies of students' attitudes toward science that have been conducted so far have measured students' attitudes against the backdrop of a generalized science. Thus, we develop a detailed argument for why science needs to be more clearly defined in attitude instruments. We report on our development of this instrument as well as our initial findings.

  7. Changes in resident attitudes towards tourism development and conservation in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.

    PubMed

    Mbaiwa, Joseph E; Stronza, Amanda L

    2011-08-01

    Negative attitudes of resident communities towards conservation are associated with resource decline in developing countries. In Botswana, Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) was adopted to address this challenge. CBNRM links rural development and conservation. However, the impact of CBNRM on changes of resident attitudes towards conservation and tourism is not adequately researched. This paper, therefore, assesses the impacts of CBNRM on resident attitudes towards tourism development and conservation in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. The study purposively sampled villages of Khwai, Mababe and Sankoyo. Household data using variables like: economic benefits from CBNRM; level of satisfaction with CBNRM; co-management of natural resources between resident communities and government agencies; and collective action was collected. This data was supplemented by secondary and ethnographic data. Using qualitative and quantitative analysis, results indicate changes in resident attitudes from being negative to positive towards tourism and conservation. These changes are triggered by economic benefits residents derived from CBNRM, co-management in resource management; and, collective action of communities in CBNRM development. Positive attitudes towards conservation and tourism are the first building blocks towards achieving conservation in nature-based tourism destinations. As a result, decision-makers should give priority to CBNRM and use it as a tool to achieve conservation and improved livelihoods in nature-based tourism destinations of developing countries. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. HIV-negative partnered men's attitudes toward using an in-home rapid HIV test and associated factors among a sample of US HIV-Negative and HIV-discordant male couples.

    PubMed

    Mitchell, Jason W; Sullivan, Patrick S

    2015-03-01

    Many men who have sex with men acquire HIV while in a same-sex relationship. Studies with gay male couples have demonstrated that relationship characteristics and testing behaviors are important to examine for HIV prevention. Recently, an in-home rapid HIV test (HT) has become available for purchase in the United States. However, HIV-negative partnered men's attitudes toward using an HT and whether characteristics of their relationship affect their use of HTs remain largely unknown. This information is relevant for the development of HIV prevention interventions targeting at-risk HIV-negative and HIV-discordant male couples. To assess HIV-negative partnered men's attitudes and associated factors toward using an HT, a cross-sectional Internet-based survey was used to collect dyadic data from a national sample of 275 HIV-negative and 58 HIV-discordant gay male couples. Multivariate multilevel modeling was used to identify behavioral and relationship factors associated with 631 HIV-negative partnered men's attitudes toward using an HT. HIV-negative partnered men were "very likely" to use an HT. More positive attitudes toward using an HT were associated with being in a relationship of mixed or nonwhite race and with one or both men recently having had sex with a casual male partner. Less positive attitudes toward using an HT were associated with both partners being well educated, with greater resources (investment size) in the relationship, and with one or both men having a primary care provider. These findings may be used to help improve testing rates via promotion of HTs among gay male couples.

  9. Communication attitudes of Japanese school-age children who stutter.

    PubMed

    Kawai, Norimune; Healey, E Charles; Nagasawa, Taiko; Vanryckeghem, Martine

    2012-01-01

    Past research with the Communication Attitude Test (CAT) has shown it to be a valid and reliable instrument for assessing speech-associated attitude of children who stutter (CWS). However, in Japan, the CAT has not been used extensively to examine the communication attitude of CWS. The purpose of this study was to determine if a Japanese version of the CAT could differentiate between the communication attitude of Japanese elementary school CWS and children who do not stutter (CWNS). A Japanese translation of the 1991 version of the Communication Attitude Test-Revised (CAT-R) was used in this study. Eighty Japanese CWS and 80 gender- and grade level-matched CWNS participated in the study. The results showed that CWS had a significantly more negative communication attitude than CWNS. Both CWS and CWNS in 1st grade showed significantly more positive communication attitudes than children in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. Furthermore, a link between stuttering severity and CWS' communication attitude was found. Additional research is needed to confirm the results of the current study, which indicate that the communication attitude of Japanese CWS becomes more negative as they get older. The reader will be able to: (1) Describe the process that was used to develop a Japanese version of the Communication Attitude Test (CAT-J). (2) Discuss attitude differences between Japanese children who stutter and those who do not and how grade level impacts a negative attitude toward communication. (3) Explain the link between stuttering severity and attitudes of Japanese children who stutter. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Impact of an Oncology Course on the Attitudes of Freshman Medical Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Appel, Marilyn H.; And Others

    Previous attempts to change the prevailing negative attitudes of health professionals toward cancer and cancer patients have consisted mainly of elective courses for small groups of students at advanced levels of medical training. In order to develop more positive attitudes, the Cancer Coordinating Committee at the Medical College of Pennsylvania…

  11. How baby's first shot determines the development of maternal attitudes towards vaccination.

    PubMed

    Betsch, Cornelia; Bödeker, Birte; Schmid, Philipp; Wichmann, Ole

    2018-05-17

    The attitude towards vaccination is a major determinant of vaccination behavior; this also includes parents' attitudes towards the immunization of their child. Negative attitudes have been associated with vaccine hesitancy and outbreaks of infectious diseases throughout the globe. This study aimed to assess how and why attitudes become more pro-vaccine or vaccine-skeptical over time, and which sources are especially influential in this process. Prospective cohort study with measurements at time of recruitment during pregnancy and at +3, +6 and +14 months after childbirth with cross-sectional control groups. In total, 351 women entered the longitudinal analyses, while 204, 215 and 173 women were recruited in the cross-sectional control groups, respectively. Inclusion criteria were: (i) being at least 18 years of age, (ii) pregnant, (iii) primigravida, and (iv) living in Germany. During pregnancy mothers reported rather positive prior experiences with vaccinations. However, their judgment turned significantly more negative after the first vaccination experience with their child. Mixed-effects models showed that these changes were significantly related to increased risk perceptions and concerns about vaccination, which then had a negative impact on the vaccination attitude. In contrast, gaining more vaccine-related knowledge over time positively influenced attitude formation. During the first year of their child's life maternal attitudes towards vaccination are formed and guide future decisions whether to vaccinate or not vaccinate a child. Strategies should be implemented that improve mothers' experiences when their newborn is vaccinated to prevent the development of vaccine hesitancy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Attitudes and behaviours of maternal health care providers in interactions with clients: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Mannava, P; Durrant, K; Fisher, J; Chersich, M; Luchters, S

    2015-08-15

    High maternal mortality and morbidity persist, in large part due to inadequate access to timely and quality health care. Attitudes and behaviours of maternal health care providers (MHCPs) influence health care seeking and quality of care. Five electronic databases were searched for studies from January 1990 to December 2014. Included studies report on types or impacts of MHCP attitudes and behaviours towards their clients, or the factors influencing these attitudes and behaviours. Attitudes and behaviours mentioned in relation to HIV infection, and studies of health providers outside the formal health system, such as traditional birth attendants, were excluded. Of 967 titles and 412 abstracts screened, 125 full-text papers were reviewed and 81 included. Around two-thirds used qualitative methods and over half studied public-sector facilities. Most studies were in Africa (n = 55), followed by Asia and the Pacific (n = 17). Fifty-eight studies covered only negative attitudes or behaviours, with a minority describing positive provider behaviours, such as being caring, respectful, sympathetic and helpful. Negative attitudes and behaviours commonly entailed verbal abuse (n = 45), rudeness such as ignoring or ridiculing patients (n = 35), or neglect (n = 32). Studies also documented physical abuse towards women, absenteeism or unavailability of providers, corruption, lack of regard for privacy, poor communication, unwillingness to accommodate traditional practices, and authoritarian or frightening attitudes. These behaviours were influenced by provider workload, patients' attitudes and behaviours, provider beliefs and prejudices, and feelings of superiority among MHCPs. Overall, negative attitudes and behaviours undermined health care seeking and affected patient well-being. The review documented a broad range of negative MHCP attitudes and behaviours affecting patient well-being, satisfaction with care and care seeking. Reported negative patient interactions far outweigh positive ones. The nature of the factors which influence health worker attitudes and behaviours suggests that strengthening health systems, and workforce development, including in communication and counselling skills, are important. Greater attention is required to the attitudes and behaviours of MHCPs within efforts to improve maternal health, for the sake of both women and health care providers.

  13. The effects of knowledge of child development and social-emotional maturity on adolescent attitudes toward parenting.

    PubMed

    Larsen, J J; Juhasz, A M

    1985-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between the combined effect of knowledge of child development and level of social-emotional maturity, and the extent to which this relationship affects adolescent attitudes toward parenting. The analysis of the data (multiple regression and canonical analysis) suggested that there were significant relationships among these variables. In general, the relationships indicated that subjects' negative attitudes toward parenting were associated with lack of knowledge of child development and low levels of social-emotional maturity, while subjects' positive attitudes toward parenting were associated with knowledge of child development and high levels of social-emotional maturity. The joint impact of knowledge of child development and social-emotional maturity factors on attitudes toward parenting accounted for 51% of the variation among the variables.

  14. [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.

  15. Negative Body Attitudes and Sexual Dissatisfaction in Men: The Mediating Role of Body Self-Consciousness During Physical Intimacy.

    PubMed

    van den Brink, Femke; Vollmann, Manja; Sternheim, Lot C; Berkhout, Lotte J; Zomerdijk, Renée A; Woertman, Liesbeth

    2018-04-01

    Previous research indicated that negative attitudes about the body and appearance are common among men and demonstrated that negative body attitudes are associated with negative sexual experiences. The present study investigated the association between body attitudes and sexual dissatisfaction and the mediating role of body self-consciousness during physical intimacy. In a cross-sectional design, 201 Dutch men completed an online survey regarding body attitudes toward muscularity, body fat, height, and genitals, body self-consciousness during physical intimacy, and sexual dissatisfaction. Hypotheses were tested using correlation analyses and a mediation analysis with body attitudes as predictors, body self-consciousness as mediator, and sexual dissatisfaction as outcome. Correlation analyses showed that negative body attitudes and body self-consciousness during physical intimacy were significantly related to sexual dissatisfaction. The mediation analysis revealed that negative attitudes toward muscularity, body fat, and genitals had indirect effects on sexual dissatisfaction through body self-consciousness during physical intimacy. Negative attitudes toward genitals additionally had a direct effect on sexual dissatisfaction. These findings indicate that body image interventions focused on male body attitudes may be beneficial in improving men's body image, which may ultimately increase sexual satisfaction.

  16. Sri Lankan doctors' and medical undergraduates' attitudes towards mental illness.

    PubMed

    Fernando, Sunera Mayanthi; Deane, Frank P; McLeod, Hamish J

    2010-07-01

    Stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness can impede help-seeking and adversely affect treatment outcomes, especially if such attitudes are endorsed by medical personnel. In order to help identify targets for anti-stigma interventions, we comprehensively examined negative attitudes towards mental illness displayed by Sri Lankan doctors and medical students and compared these with equivalent UK and other international data. A self-report questionnaire originally developed in the UK was completed by medical students (n = 574) and doctors (n = 74) from a teaching hospital in Colombo. The questions assessed the presence and intensity of stigmatizing attitudes towards patients with schizophrenia, depression, panic disorder, dementia and drug and alcohol addiction. The study revealed higher levels of stigma towards patients with depression, alcohol and drug addiction in this Sri Lankan sample compared to UK data but attitudes towards schizophrenia were less stigmatized in Sri Lanka. Blaming attitudes were consistently high across diagnoses in the Sri Lankan sample. Sri Lankan medical students displayed more negative attitudes than doctors (P < 0.001). Overall stigma was greatest towards patients with drug addiction, followed by, alcohol addiction, schizophrenia, depression, panic disorder and dementia. Sri Lankan doctors and undergraduates endorse stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illnesses and are especially prone to see patients as blameworthy. As such attitudes are likely to affect the engagement of patients in treatment and specific interventions that modify negative attitudes towards people with mental illnesses are needed. Ensuring that medical students have contact with recovered patients in community psychiatry settings may be one way of decreasing stigmatizing attitudes.

  17. When Perspective Taking Creates a Motivational Threat: The Case of Conservatism, Same-Sex Sexual Behavior, and Anti-Gay Attitudes.

    PubMed

    Mooijman, Marlon; Stern, Chadly

    2016-06-01

    Taking another person's perspective has generally been found to foster positive attitudes. We propose that perspective taking can lead to more negative attitudes when people imagine an experience that threatens their current motivations and goals. We test this idea by examining how taking the perspective of a male same-sex couple influences political conservatives' attitudes. Across four studies, we demonstrate that (a) the extent to which conservatives (but not liberals) imagine same-sex sexual behavior predicts more anti-gay attitudes, (b) this effect is in part attributable to conservatives experiencing greater disgust, and (c) having conservatives reappraise disgust as not necessarily signaling the threat of disease eliminates this effect. These findings indicate that perspective taking can foster negative attitudes when the content of perspective taking threatens current motivations. The proposed ideas provide unique insights toward developing a more comprehensive framework of how perspective taking shapes attitudes. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  18. Attitudes toward stuttering of nonstuttering preschool and kindergarten children: A comparison using a standard instrument prototype.

    PubMed

    Weidner, Mary E; St Louis, Kenneth O; Burgess, Megan E; LeMasters, Staci N

    2015-06-01

    This study investigated attitudes of nonstuttering preschool and kindergarten children toward peers who stutter in order to identify differences by age groups and better understand the genesis of stuttering attitudes. The study also examined the use of a new stuttering attitudes instrument designed for use with young children. The newly developed Public Opinion Survey on Human Attributes-Stuttering/Child was verbally administered to 27 preschool and 24 kindergarten children who do not stutter in the mid-Atlantic region of the USA. Overall, preschoolers held more negative stuttering attitudes than kindergarteners, but results were not uniformly in that direction. In both groups, the attribute of stuttering was viewed more negatively than individuals who stutter. Children viewed the potential of peers who stutter as quite positive, whereas their knowledge about and experience with stuttering were generally limited and some of their beliefs quite negative. Negative or uninformed stuttering attitudes among nonstuttering children begin as early as the preschool years. This study provides empirical evidence for the need to educate young children about the nature of stuttering and how to respond appropriately to peers who stutter. Readers should be able to: (a) describe attitudinal differences between kindergarteners and preschoolers toward peers who stutter; (b) describe the parameters of the POSHA-S/Child; (c) describe the nature of stuttering attitudes in young children relative to their beliefs and self reactions; and (d) describe the implications and future direction of stuttering attitude research in young children. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Health workers' attitudes toward sexual and reproductive health services for unmarried adolescents in Ethiopia.

    PubMed

    Tilahun, Mesfin; Mengistie, Bezatu; Egata, Gudina; Reda, Ayalu A

    2012-09-03

    Adolescents in developing countries face a range of sexual and reproductive health problems. Lack of health care service for reproductive health or difficulty in accessing them are among them. In this study we aimed to examine health care workers' attitudes toward sexual and reproductive health services to unmarried adolescents in Ethiopia. We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional survey among 423 health care service providers working in eastern Ethiopia in 2010. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and logistic regression were performed to drive proportions and associations. The majority of health workers had positive attitudes. However, nearly one third (30%) of health care workers had negative attitudes toward providing RH services to unmarried adolescents. Close to half (46.5%) of the respondents had unfavorable responses toward providing family planning to unmarried adolescents. About 13% of health workers agreed to setting up penal rules and regulations against adolescents that practice pre-marital sexual intercourse. The multivariate analysis indicated that being married (OR 2.15; 95% CI 1.44 - 3.06), lower education level (OR 1.45; 95% CI 1.04 - 1.99), being a health extension worker (OR 2.49; 95% CI 1.43 - 4.35), lack of training on reproductive health services (OR 5.27; 95% CI 1.51 - 5.89) to be significantly associated with negative attitudes toward provision of sexual and reproductive services to adolescents. The majority of the health workers had generally positive attitudes toward sexual and reproductive health to adolescents. However, a minority has displayed negatives attitudes. Such negative attitudes will be barriers to service utilization by adolescents and hampers the efforts to reduce sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies among unmarried adolescents. We therefore call for a targeted effort toward alleviating negative attitudes toward adolescent-friendly reproductive health service and re-enforcing the positive ones.

  20. Attitudes toward psychiatry as a prospective career among medical students in their pre-clinical year in China- a pilot study.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xuyi; Xiang, Xiaojun; Hao, Wei; Liu, Tieqiao

    2013-01-01

    To understand the attitudes among medical students in China toward different medical specialties and to find the factors that influenced their choice of career in psychiatry. A questionnaire was developed and administered to 287 medical students at the Xiangya Medical College, Central South University in Changsha, China. All the students were asked to rate the importance of five possible factors in choosing a specialty as a vocation: the ability to help patients, interesting and challenging work, lifestyle factors, financial reward, and prestige. Students reported negative perceptions of psychiatry in regard to all five possible factors that were important in choosing a specialty as a vocation, especially in financial reward and prestige. Medical students in China have negative attitudes toward psychiatry as a career. Some negative beliefs about psychiatry seem to be due to erroneous or insufficient knowledge that could be corrected during the course of medical education. Some negative attitudes were unlikely to be completely changed until the mental health system in China improves.

  1. Attitudes Toward Psychiatry as a Prospective Career among Medical Students in Their Pre-Clinical Year in China- A Pilot Study

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Xuyi; Xiang, Xiaojun; Hao, Wei; Liu, Tieqiao

    2013-01-01

    Objective To understand the attitudes among medical students in China toward different medical specialties and to find the factors that influenced their choice of career in psychiatry. Methods A questionnaire was developed and administered to 287 medical students at the Xiangya Medical College, Central South University in Changsha, China. All the students were asked to rate the importance of five possible factors in choosing a specialty as a vocation: the ability to help patients, interesting and challenging work, lifestyle factors, financial reward, and prestige. Results Students reported negative perceptions of psychiatry in regard to all five possible factors that were important in choosing a specialty as a vocation, especially in financial reward and prestige. Conclusions Medical students in China have negative attitudes toward psychiatry as a career. Some negative beliefs about psychiatry seem to be due to erroneous or insufficient knowledge that could be corrected during the course of medical education. Some negative attitudes were unlikely to be completely changed until the mental health system in China improves. PMID:24023869

  2. Development and Validation of the Negative Attitudes towards CBT Scale.

    PubMed

    Parker, Zachary J; Waller, Glenn

    2017-11-01

    Clinicians commonly fail to use cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) adequately, but the reasons for such omissions are not well understood. The objective of this study was to create and validate a measure to assess clinicians' attitudes towards CBT - the Negative Attitudes towards CBT Scale (NACS). The participants were 204 clinicians from various mental healthcare fields. Each completed the NACS, measures of anxiety and self-esteem, and a measure of therapists' use of CBT and non-CBT techniques and their confidence in using those techniques. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the factor structure of the NACS, and scale internal consistency was tested. A single, 16-item scale emerged from the factor analysis of the NACS, and that scale had good internal consistency. Clinicians' negative attitudes and their anxiety had different patterns of association with the use of CBT and other therapeutic techniques. The findings suggest that clinicians' attitudes and emotions each need to be considered when understanding why many clinicians fail to deliver the optimum version of evidence-based CBT. They also suggest that training effective CBT clinicians might depend on understanding and targeting such internal states.

  3. Encouraging understanding or increasing prejudices: A cross-sectional survey of institutional influence on health personnel attitudes about refugee claimants' access to health care

    PubMed Central

    Rousseau, Cécile; Oulhote, Youssef; Ruiz-Casares, Mónica; Cleveland, Janet; Greenaway, Christina

    2017-01-01

    Background This paper investigates the personal, professional and institutional predictors of health institution personnel's attitudes regarding access to healthcare for refugee claimants in Canada. Methods In Montreal, the staff of five hospitals and two primary care centres (n = 1772) completed an online questionnaire documenting demographics, occupation, exposure to refugee claimant patients, and attitudes regarding healthcare access for refugee claimants. We used structural equations modeling to investigate the associations between professional and institutional factors with latent functions of positive and negative attitudes toward refugee's access to healthcare. Results Younger participants, social workers, participants from primary care centres, and from 1st migrant generation had the lowest scores of negative attitudes. Respondents who experienced contact with refugees had lower scores of negative attitudes (B = -14% standard deviation [SD]; 95% CI: -24, -4%). However, direct contact with refugees increased scores of negative attitudes in the institution with the most negative attitudes by 36% SD (95% CI: 1, 71%). Interpretation Findings suggest that institutions influence individuals’ attitudes about refugee claimants’ access to health care and that, in an institutional context of negative attitudes, contact with refugees may further confirm negative perceptions about this vulnerable group. PMID:28196129

  4. Psychological Contract Breach and Job Attitudes: A Meta-Analysis of Age as a Moderator

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bal, P. Matthijs; De Lange, Annet H.; Jansen, Paul G. W.; Van Der Velde, Mandy E. G.

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the influence of age in the relation between psychological contract breach and the development of job attitudes. Based on affective events, social exchange, and lifespan theory, we hypothesized that (1) psychological contract breach would be related negatively to job attitudes, and (2) that age would moderate…

  5. Efficiently Assessing Negative Cognition in Depression: An Item Response Theory Analysis of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beevers, Christopher G.; Strong, David R.; Meyer, Bjorn; Pilkonis, Paul A.; Miller, Ivan R.

    2007-01-01

    Despite a central role for dysfunctional attitudes in cognitive theories of depression and the widespread use of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, form A (DAS-A; A. Weissman, 1979), the psychometric development of the DAS-A has been relatively limited. The authors used nonparametric item response theory methods to examine the DAS-A items and…

  6. Gender Attitudes in Early Childhood: Behavioral Consequences and Cognitive Antecedents.

    PubMed

    Halim, May Ling D; Ruble, Diane N; Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine S; Shrout, Patrick E; Amodio, David M

    2017-05-01

    This study examined factors that predicted children's gender intergroup attitudes at age 5 and the implications of these attitudes for intergroup behavior. Ethnically diverse children from low-income backgrounds (N = 246; Mexican-, Chinese-, Dominican-, and African American) were assessed at ages 4 and 5. On average, children reported positive same-gender and negative other-gender attitudes. Positive same-gender attitudes were associated with knowledge of gender stereotypes. In contrast, positive other-gender attitudes were associated with flexibility in gender cognitions (stereotype flexibility, gender consistency). Other-gender attitudes predicted gender-biased behavior. These patterns were observed in all ethnic groups. These findings suggest that early learning about gender categories shape young children's gender attitudes and that these gender attitudes already have consequences for children's intergroup behavior at age 5. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  7. Factors associated with a positive attitude towards receiving cancer information: a population-based study in Spain.

    PubMed

    Sanz-Barbero, Belén; Prieto, María Eugenia; Cambas, Naiara

    2016-04-01

    It is necessary to raise a positive attitude towards cancer information to improve disease prevention and control. To identify social factors, health characteristics and cancer-related perceptions and knowledge associated with a positive attitude towards cancer information. We ran multivariate logistic regression models to analyse population-based data from OncoBarómetro-2010, a Spanish representative survey on perceptions and knowledge, related to cancer, conducted among 7938 people aged 18 years or more. Attitudes towards cancer information. A positive attitude includes feeling motivated to keep informed, to have screening tests or to change lifestyle. A negative attitude includes feeling indifference, concern, frustration or fear. 38.3% of the studied population reported having received information related to cancer (within the last 6 months). Among those, 31.5% expressed a negative attitude towards cancer information. People more likely to have a positive attitude towards cancer information (reference category: negative attitude) were people aged 35-74 (ref: aged 18-34) (P < 0.001) and cancer survivors (ref: those who had not had cancer) (OR: 3.05; 95% CI: 1.73-5.38). The likelihood of a positive attitude increased with the level of education (P < 0.001). The variables negatively associated with a positive attitude towards cancer information were poor self-rated health status (ref: fair) (OR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.42-0.95) and high self-perceived risk of developing cancer (ref: low) (OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.60-0.92). These findings have potential to inform programmes designed to promote cancer prevention behaviours. Policies should target population groups with low socio-economic groups, those with poor self-rated health and individuals with high self-perceived risk of cancer. Further, in order to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms, we need to focus on individuals with unhealthy lifestyles. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. An event-related potential paradigm for identifying (rare negative) attitude stimuli that people intentionally misreport.

    PubMed

    Crites, Stephen L; Mojica, Andrew J; Corral, Guadalupe; Taylor, Jennifer H

    2010-09-01

    This experiment explored whether a late positive potential (LPP) of the event-related brain potential is useful for examining attitudes that people attempt to conceal. Participants identified a set of liked, neutral, and disliked people and viewed sequences consisting of either names or pictures of these people. Disliked people appeared rarely among liked people, and participants either: (1) always accurately reported their negative attitudes toward the people; (2) misreported negative attitudes as positive when they saw a picture of a disliked person; or (3) misreported negative attitudes as positive when they saw a name of a disliked person. Rare negative stimuli evoked a larger-amplitude LPP than frequent positive stimuli. Misreporting attitudes significantly reduced the amplitude difference between rare negative and frequent positive stimuli, though it remained significant.

  9. The Attitudes of Navy Corrections Staff Members: What they Think About Confinees and their Jobs

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1994-02-01

    and socially involved citizens (Irwin, 1974). The attitudes and behaviors of the custodial and program staff are thought to be essential factors for...developed. Initially, we have proceeded with the underlying theoretical assumption (supported by previous research) that both the attitudes and behaviors of...suggested that one of the contextual variables related to attitudes about a group was the views of persons with reward power. It may be that negative

  10. Homonegative Attitudes and their Correlates Among Vietnamese College Students.

    PubMed

    Thanh Nguyen, Toan; Kimura, Kenichi; Morinaga, Yasuko

    2016-06-01

    This study investigated sex differences in homonegativity and their correlates among 197 Vietnamese college students (males = 49, females = 148, M = 20.9 years, SD = 2.9) in Ho Chi Minh City. The survey included Vietnamese-language versions of four scales measuring attitudes toward homosexuality (ATHS), traditional masculinity ideology, knowledge of homosexuality, and contact experiences with homosexuals. An exploratory factor analysis indicated a 3-factor structure for the ATHS: Homonegativity, Tolerance, and Positive Images. Male respondents reported significantly higher scores on homonegativity. Traditional masculinity ideology was positively related to females' homonegativity, but negatively correlated with tolerant attitudes of both males and females. Knowledge about homosexuality was negatively correlated with homonegativity. Media contact with homosexuals was negatively correlated with males' homonegativity, but positively correlated with both females and males' tolerant attitudes. Results suggest that future research develop a new scale to measure Vietnamese's homonegativity and that media contact as well as ample and accurate knowledge about homosexuality can alter homonegativity. © The Author(s) 2016.

  11. Chapter 6: The Effects of Professional Development on Technological Competency and the Attitudes Urban Physical Education Teachers Have toward Using Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ince, M. Levent; Goodway, Jacqueline D.; Ward, Phillip; Lee, Myung-Ah

    2006-01-01

    Teachers' attitudes toward the use of technology vary greatly. Studies show that many teachers have negative attitudes toward the use of technology and that gender differences exist, with females using technology less than their male counterparts. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a technology-focused professional development…

  12. Dealing With Uncertainty: Testing Risk- and Ambiguity-Attitude Across Adolescence.

    PubMed

    Blankenstein, Neeltje E; Crone, Eveline A; van den Bos, Wouter; van Duijvenvoorde, Anna C K

    2016-01-01

    Attitudes to risk (known probabilities) and attitudes to ambiguity (unknown probabilities) are separate constructs that influence decision making, but their development across adolescence remains elusive. We administered a choice task to a wide adolescent age-range (N = 157, 10-25 years) to disentangle risk- and ambiguity-attitudes using a model-based approach. Additionally, this task was played in a social context, presenting choices from a high risk-taking peer. We observed age-related changes in ambiguity-attitude, but not risk-attitude. Also, ambiguity-aversion was negatively related to real-life risk taking. Finally, the social context influenced only risk-attitudes. These results highlight the importance of disentangling risk- and ambiguity-attitudes in adolescent risk taking.

  13. 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.

  14. Do smoking attitudes predict behaviour? A longitudinal study on the bi-directional relations between adolescents' smoking attitudes and behaviours.

    PubMed

    de Leeuw, Rebecca N H; Engels, Rutger C M E; Vermulst, Ad A; Scholte, Ron H J

    2008-10-01

    Prevention and intervention programmes focus frequently upon retaining or creating negative attitudes towards smoking in an effort to prevent adolescents from smoking. As the focus upon attitudes is central in these programmes it is essential to know whether smoking attitudes actually precede smoking behaviour or, conversely, are affected by it. Therefore, in the present study we examined to what extent bi-directional relations existed between smoking attitudes and behaviour. Data were used from the three annual waves of the 'Family and Health' project. Participants were asked to complete questionnaires individually at their homes. Addresses of families consisting of two parents and two adolescents were obtained from the records of 22 municipalities in the Netherlands. At baseline, 428 families participated with a response rate of 94% at the third measurement. Self-reports were used to assess adolescents' smoking attitudes and behaviour. Associations between smoking attitudes and behaviour were tested using structural equation modelling. Findings revealed that smoking attitudes did not predict smoking consistently over time. However, past smoking affected subsequent attitudes moderately, suggesting that adolescents who started to smoke developed less negative attitudes towards smoking. The current findings imply that smoking behaviour predominantly shapes smoking-related attitudes, rather than vice versa. Focusing merely on smoking attitudes is probably not enough to prevent adolescents from smoking.

  15. Comparison of nursing students’ and clinical nurses’ attitude toward the nursing profession

    PubMed Central

    Koushali, Ali Noruzi; Hajiamini, Zahra; Ebadi, Abbas

    2012-01-01

    Background: To develop nursing education and promote nursing strategies, there is a need for a staff with positive attitude. The present study was conducted to compare the attitudes among clinical nurses and nursing students toward the nursing profession. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive- analytical study 313 clinical nurses and 81 nursing students (total n = 394) of Tehran, Iran, were selected through a systematic sampling method and their viewpoints were investigated using a nursing professional attitude questionnaire. Results: The findings of this study showed that 72.6% of nurses and 65.4% of students had positive attitude toward their profession, and despite the high percentage of the clinical nurses’ positive outlook, the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The results showed that approximately one-third of the students and nursing practitioners had neutral or negative attitude toward their occupation. Due to the serious effect of one’s professional attitude and commitment of service, it is necessary to have further studies about the current situation to eliminate such negative factors. PMID:23853651

  16. Ethnic differences in attitudes and bias toward older people comparing White and Asian nursing students.

    PubMed

    Lee, Young-Shin

    2015-03-01

    To identify attitudes and bias toward aging between Asian and White students and identify factors affecting attitudes toward aging. A cross-sectional sample of 308 students in a nursing program completed the measure of Attitudes Toward Older People and Aging Quiz electronically. There were no differences in positive attitudes and pro-aged bias between Asian and White groups, but Asian students had significantly more negative attitudes and anti-aged bias toward older people than White students. Multiple regression analysis showed ethnicity/race was the strongest variable to explain negative attitudes toward older people. Feeling uneasy about talking to older adults was the most significant factor to explain all attitudinal concepts. Asian students were uneasy about talking with older people and had negative attitudes toward older adults. To become competent in cross-cultural care and communication in nursing, educational strategies to reduce negative attitudes on aging are necessary. © The Author(s) 2014.

  17. Portuguese adolescents' attitudes toward sexual minorities: transphobia, homophobia, and gender role beliefs.

    PubMed

    Costa, Pedro Alexandre; Davies, Michelle

    2012-01-01

    Research has shown that negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men are common and widespread in Western societies. However, few studies have addressed attitudes toward transgender individuals. In addition, although research has shown that homophobic harassment and bullying is highly common among adolescents, little is known about adolescent's attitudes toward sexual minorities. This study aimed to fill these gaps in knowledge, by investigating adolescents' attitudes toward transgender individuals and possible attitudinal correlates of those attitudes. Participants (N = 188; 62 males and 126 females) were recruited in high schools in Lisbon, Portugal. Age ranged from 15 to 19 years (M = 17; SD = .96). Participants completed a questionnaire booklet measuring attitudes toward transgender individuals, lesbians, and gay men, and gender role beliefs. Results revealed that attitudes toward transgender individuals were significantly correlated with all attitude measures. Specifically, it was revealed that those participants who endorsed negative attitudes toward transgender individuals were also endorsing of negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men and tended to adhere to traditional gender roles. A significant gender effect was found with males being more negative toward sexual minorities than females, but these negative attitudes were more extreme toward gay men than toward lesbian women. Implications of these findings are discussed.

  18. The development and correlates of gender role attitudes in African American youth.

    PubMed

    Lam, Chun Bun; Stanik, Christine; McHale, Susan M

    2017-09-01

    This research examined the longitudinal trajectories and family correlates of gender role attitudes in African American youth in a sample of 166 sibling pairs residing with their mothers and fathers. Multilevel modelling revealed that (1) girls and boys exhibited significant declines in gender attitude traditionality from ages 9 to 15 that levelled off through age 18, (2) mothers' (but not fathers') gender role attitude traditionality was positively related to youth's attitude traditionality, and (3) within-person variation in mothers' (but not fathers') racial discrimination experiences was negatively related to within-person variation in youth's gender role attitude traditionality. The utility of applying a cultural ecological framework within an ethnic homogenous, accelerated longitudinal design to understand African American family processes, in conjunction with the intersectionality between race and gender, is the focus of the discussion. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Gender role attitude traditionality declined for girls, but not for boys, in European and Mexican American families. Little is known about the roles of African American parents in shaping their children's gender development. What does this study add? For African American girls and boys, gender role attitude traditionality declined from ages 9 to 15 and then levelled off through age 18. At the between-person level, African American mothers', but not fathers', attitude traditionality was positively linked to that of their children. At the within-person level, African American mothers', but not fathers', experiences of racial discrimination were negatively linked to their children's attitude traditionality. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

  19. Fidelity Moderates the Association Between Negative Condom Attitudes and Outcome Behavior in an Evidence-Based Sexual Risk Reduction Intervention for Female Sex Workers.

    PubMed

    Pitpitan, Eileen V; Chavarin, Claudia V; Semple, Shirley J; Mendoza, Doroteo; Rodriguez, Carlos Magis; Staines, Hugo; Aarons, Gregory A; Patterson, Thomas L

    2017-06-01

    Intervention fidelity and participant-level variables, such as negative attitudes towards condoms, are important variables to consider in the successful implementation of evidence-based HIV prevention interventions. Mujer Segura is an intervention that has been shown to be efficacious at reducing condomless sex for female sex workers (FSWs) in Mexico [1]. We examined main effects of fidelity, negative condom attitudes, and their interaction on the effectiveness of the Mujer Segura intervention at reducing condomless sex at intervention follow-up. Of the FSWs recruited from 13 cities across Mexico, 528 participated in the Mujer Segura intervention. We measured negative condom attitudes at baseline (comprising of beliefs and outcome evaluations) and condomless sex with clients at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Fidelity was measured by a fidelity checklist completed by independent raters; the sum of potentially 43 total elements completed by the counselor constituted fidelity. Complete fidelity was found in only 15.1% (n = 73) of sessions. There was no significant main effect of intervention fidelity on condomless sex with clients at follow-up. There was a significant and positive main effect of negative condom attitudes and a significant two-way interaction. At lower levels of fidelity, negative condom attitudes predicted greater condomless sex acts, whereas at higher levels of fidelity, the effect of condom attitudes became weaker. The results also indicated that the interaction between negative condom attitudes and fidelity were driven primarily by negative condom beliefs, as opposed to negative condom outcome evaluations. Ensuring treatment fidelity in an HIV prevention intervention is particularly important when participants have negative attitudes towards condoms.

  20. Successes with Reversing the Negative Student Attitudes Developed in Typical Biology Classes for 8th and 10th Grade Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hacieminoglu, Esme; Ali, Mohamed Moustafa; Oztas, Fulya; Yager, Robert E.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to compare changes in attitudes of students about their study of biology in the classes thought by five biology teachers who experienced an Iowa Chautauqua workshop with and two non-Chautauqua teachers who had no experience with any professional development program. The results indicated that there are significant…

  1. Negative attitude towards medication is associated with working memory impairment in schizophrenia patients.

    PubMed

    Goodman, Craig; Knoll, Gabriella; Isakov, Victoria; Silver, Henry

    2005-03-01

    A lack of insight into illness and negative attitudes towards medication are common among individuals with schizophrenia and impact clinical outcomes. This study aimed to examine the relationships between attitudes towards medication and cognitive function in schizophrenia patients. Thirty-five male forensic inpatients who were suffering from chronic schizophrenia participated in the study. A drug attitude inventory was used to evaluate the attitudes of the patients towards medication. Neuropsychological function was assessed with a comprehensive battery of tests. Patients with positive attitudes towards medication performed significantly better than those with negative attitudes on tests of verbal working memory (digit span forwards and backwards), inhibition and set shifting (Penn Inhibition test), delayed object memory and overall mental status (Mini Mental State Examination). There were no differences in age, education, hospitalizations or clinical symptoms between the groups. Our findings support an association between negative attitudes towards medication and poor cognitive performance, particularly of working memory.

  2. Xenophobia and Tolerance toward Immigrants in Adolescence: Cross-Influence Processes within Friendships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Zalk, Maarten Herman Walter; Kerr, Magraret; van Zalk, Nejra; Stattin, Hakan

    2013-01-01

    To what extent do adolescents and their friends socialize each others' attitudes toward immigrants? Can friends' positive attitudes toward immigrants counter adolescents' negative attitudes toward immigrants, and do friends' negative attitudes decrease adolescents' positive attitudes? These questions were examined by following a large (N = 1,472)…

  3. Negative eating attitudes and behaviors among adolescents: The role of parental control and perceived peer support.

    PubMed

    Pace, Ugo; D'Urso, Giulio; Zappulla, Carla

    2018-02-01

    In the present study, we examined from a longitudinal perspective the relationship between parental (both maternal and paternal) psychological control, perceived peer support, and negative eating attitudes and behaviors, focusing on the moderating role that perceived peer support may play in the relationship between parental psychological control in early adolescence and negative eating attitudes and behaviors in late adolescence. In Wave 1, participants were 507 adolescents (249 boys and 258 girls) aged from 14 to 15 years (M = 14.76; SD = 0.63). Three years later (Wave 2), the same adolescents participated again in the study (M = 17.88 years; SD = 0.57). Regression analyses displayed that paternal, but not maternal, achievement-oriented psychological control during early adolescence positively predicted negative eating attitudes and behaviors in late adolescence, whereas perceived peer support negatively predicted negative eating attitudes and behaviors. Results also showed a moderator effect of perceived peer support in the relationship between father's psychological control and negative eating attitudes and behaviors, such that at higher levels of paternal achievement-oriented psychological control, negative eating attitudes and behaviors tended to be higher when perceived peer support was low and to be lower when perceived peer support was high. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  4. Attitudes to teaching mathematics: Further development of a measurement instrument

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Relich, Joe; Way, Jenni; Martin, Andrew

    1994-07-01

    The evidence that a relationship exists between attitudes to teaching mathematics and the formation of positive attitudes to mathematics among pupils is somewhat tenuous. Nevertheless, there is a strong belief among pre-service teacher educators that positive attitudes need to be fostered in teacher education students, particularly for prospective primary school teachers. Unfortunately, the research evidence suggests that high proportions of pre-service teachers hold negative attitudes towards mathematics. Although many instruments measuring affect in areas such as self-concept, anxiety, etc. have appeared in the literature over the years, no comprehensive instrument on attitudes is available to help teacher educators monitor attitudinal changes among their pre-service student teachers to the teaching of mathematics. This research re-examines an earlier attempt to develop such an instrument in Australia (Nisbet, 1991) and posits an alternative and refined version.

  5. Communication attitudes in children who stutter: A meta-analytic review.

    PubMed

    Guttormsen, Linn Stokke; Kefalianos, Elaina; Næss, Kari-Anne B

    2015-12-01

    This article presents a meta-analytic review of differences in communication attitudes between children who stutter (CWS) and children who do not stutter (CWNS). To be included in this review, the studies had to include a group of CWS and CWNS between the ages of 3-18 years and a measurement of communication attitudes. The journal articles were identified by using the key words stutter*, speech disfluenc*, fluency disorder*, and stammer* cross-referenced to awareness*, reaction*, attitude*, KiddyCAT, CAT, A-19 Scale, PASS and OASES. A total of 18 studies met the inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis. The results showed that CWS exhibit more negative communication attitudes than CWNS from the preschool years. The differences between the groups increased with age, but were not influenced by gender. The results indicate that negative communication attitudes can be an effect of stuttering. Key issues requiring further investigation are whether communication attitudes differ as a function of age at stuttering onset and whether communication attitudes influence the development of stuttering. After reading this article, the reader will be able to: (a) summarise empirical findings with regard to the relationship between communication attitudes and childhood stuttering; (b) describe the different instruments used to measure communication attitudes; (c) discuss the relationship between communication attitudes, age and gender. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Pupillary Responses as a Biomarker of Diminished Effort Associated With Defeatist Attitudes and Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Granholm, Eric; Ruiz, Ivan; Gallegos-Rodriguez, Yuliana; Holden, Jason; Link, Peter C

    2016-10-15

    The hypothesis that defeatist performance attitudes are associated with decreased goal-directed task effort and negative symptoms in consumers with schizophrenia was investigated by using pupillary responses as a biomarker of task effort. Pupillary dilation during cognitive tasks provides a biomarker of effort devoted to the task, with greater dilation indicating greater effort. Defeatist attitudes were assessed in 149 consumers with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 50 healthy control subjects, and consumers were divided into three groups (tertile split) with respect to severity of defeatist attitudes. Pupillary dilation responses were recorded during a digit-span task with three-, six-, and nine-digit spans. Effort allocation (pupillary responses) to the task increased as the processing load increased from low (three-digit) to moderate (six-digit) demands in healthy control subjects and consumers with schizophrenia with mild and moderate severity of defeatist attitudes. In contrast, consumers with severe defeatist attitudes did not increase their effort when processing demands increased from low to moderate loads. These consumers showed significantly less effort in the six-digit condition relative to consumers with mild defeatist attitudes. Moreover, consumers with severe defeatist attitudes showed significantly greater severity of negative symptoms relative to consumers with mild defeatist attitudes and negative symptoms were significantly correlated with defeatist attitudes. These results suggest a relationship between defeatist performance attitudes, goal-directed task effort indexed by pupillary responses, and negative symptoms in schizophrenia. The findings have implications for using cognitive therapy to reduce defeatist attitudes that may contribute to diminished effort and negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  7. Defining the patient safety attitudes and influencing factors of health professionals working at maternity hospitals.

    PubMed

    Tunçer Ünver, Gamze; Harmanci Seren, Arzu Kader

    2018-02-27

    To determine patient safety attitudes of midwives, nurses and physicians and to examine the difference or correlation in patient safety attitudes of midwives, nurses and physicians working in maternity hospitals. It has been suggested that it is necessary to define the factors affecting patient safety attitudes of health professionals working in maternity hospitals. A descriptive and correlational design was employed.The sample comprised 58 midwives, 134 nurses and 63 physicians (255) in two maternity hospitals in Istanbul, Turkey. The data were collected using an 'information form' and a 'Patient Safety Attitude Questionnaire'. The safety attitudes of participants were generally found to be negative. However, midwives had more positive patient safety attitudes and the age, unit, adequacy of patient safety training and the importance of patient safety were the most effective variables. As health professionals working in maternity hospitals generally have negative patient safety attitudes and because patient safety training provided better attitudes among the participants, these training programmes should be developed and implemented considering the differences among age groups and units. Health professionals have different views on the patient safety culture; therefore, training needs to involve everyone to create a shared vision for patient safety. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Medical student, nursing student, and non-health care respondents' implicit attitudes toward doctors and patients: Development and a pilot study of a new implicit attitudes test (IAT).

    PubMed

    Schwartz, Alan; Mazouni, Abdelhamid

    2017-01-01

    Medical educators have been concerned that medical students may decline in empathy for patients during the course of their training, based on studies measuring clinical empathy using psychometrically strong self-report measures. Clinical empathy is a complex construct, incorporating attitudes toward patients but also other components, such as professional detachment. Triangulation of extant measures with instruments based on nonreactive methods could provide a better understanding of whether and how physician attitudes toward patients may be changing during training. We sought to develop and pilot-test such a nonreactive method. We develop variations of an implicit association test (IAT) designed to measure attitudes toward physicians and patients based on speed of reaction to images of actors and positive and negative words. In the IATs, the same actors are photographed as doctors, clinic outpatients, hospitalized inpatients, and as a "general public" control. We examine preliminary evidence for their validity by collecting pilot data from internet participants (not involved in the health professions), medical students, and nursing students. Internet participants (n = 314) and nursing students (n = 31) had more negative associations (IAT scores) with doctors than did medical students (n = 89); nursing students and female internet participants had more positive associations with hospitalized patients than did medical students and male internet participants. Medical students' associations with hospitalized patients varied by year of training. This IAT may provide insight into implicit attitudes among those who enter training for the health profession and changes in those attitudes that may be inculcated during that training.

  9. Spanish adolescents' attitudes toward transpeople: proposal and validation of a short form of the Genderism and Transphobia Scale.

    PubMed

    Carrera-Fernández, María Victoria; Lameiras-Fernández, María; Rodríguez-Castro, Yolanda; Vallejo-Medina, Pablo

    2014-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a short form of the Genderism and Transphobia Scale and assess adolescents' attitudes toward transpeople. A total of 800 Spanish adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years (50.70% girls, 49.30% boys) completed the Spanish version of the scale and other related questionnaires. The short form of the scale is composed of 12 items clustered into two factors (Transphobia/Genderism and Gender Bashing) that explain 54.22% of the variance. All the items showed good discriminating power, and the present scale demonstrated adequate reliability and validity. In the study, boys exhibited significantly more negative attitudes toward transpeople than girls did, both in the affective/cognitive dimension (Transphobia/Genderism) and in the behavioral dimension (Gender Bashing). Moreover, adolescents showed significantly more negative attitudes toward gender-nonconforming men than toward gender-nonconforming women. These results are discussed in terms of their relevance to the maintenance of discriminatory attitudes toward sexual diversity.

  10. Learning to Dislike Chocolate: Conditioning Negative Attitudes toward Chocolate and Its Effect on Chocolate Consumption.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yan; Wang, Guosen; Zhang, Dingyuan; Wang, Lei; Cui, Xianghua; Zhu, Jinglei; Fang, Yuan

    2017-01-01

    Evaluative conditioning (EC) procedures can be used to form and change attitudes toward a wide variety of objects. The current study examined the effects of a negative EC procedure on attitudes toward chocolate, and whether it influenced chocolate evaluation and consumption. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental condition in which chocolate images were paired with negative stimuli, or the control condition in which chocolate images were randomly paired with positive stimuli (50%) and negative stimuli (50%). Explicit and implicit attitudes toward chocolate images were collected. During an ostensible taste test, chocolate evaluation and consumption were assessed. Results revealed that compared to participants in the control condition, participants in the experimental condition showed more negative explicit and implicit attitudes toward chocolate images and evaluated chocolate more negatively during the taste test. However, chocolate consumption did not differ between experimental and control conditions. These findings suggest that pairing chocolate with negative stimuli can influence attitudes toward chocolate, though behavioral effects are absent. Intervention applications of EC provide avenues for future research and practices.

  11. Learning to Dislike Chocolate: Conditioning Negative Attitudes toward Chocolate and Its Effect on Chocolate Consumption

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Yan; Wang, Guosen; Zhang, Dingyuan; Wang, Lei; Cui, Xianghua; Zhu, Jinglei; Fang, Yuan

    2017-01-01

    Evaluative conditioning (EC) procedures can be used to form and change attitudes toward a wide variety of objects. The current study examined the effects of a negative EC procedure on attitudes toward chocolate, and whether it influenced chocolate evaluation and consumption. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental condition in which chocolate images were paired with negative stimuli, or the control condition in which chocolate images were randomly paired with positive stimuli (50%) and negative stimuli (50%). Explicit and implicit attitudes toward chocolate images were collected. During an ostensible taste test, chocolate evaluation and consumption were assessed. Results revealed that compared to participants in the control condition, participants in the experimental condition showed more negative explicit and implicit attitudes toward chocolate images and evaluated chocolate more negatively during the taste test. However, chocolate consumption did not differ between experimental and control conditions. These findings suggest that pairing chocolate with negative stimuli can influence attitudes toward chocolate, though behavioral effects are absent. Intervention applications of EC provide avenues for future research and practices. PMID:28900409

  12. The effect of perceived person-job fit on employee attitudes toward change in trauma centers.

    PubMed

    Zatzick, Christopher D; Zatzick, Douglas F

    2013-01-01

    Employee attitudes toward change are critical for health care organizations implementing new procedures and practices. When employees are more positive about the change, they are likely to behave in ways that support the change, whereas when employees are negative about the change, they will resist the changes. This study examined how perceived person-job (demands-abilities) fit influences attitudes toward change after an externally mandated change. Specifically, we propose that perceived person-job fit moderates the negative relationship between individual job impact and attitudes toward change. We examined this issue in a sample of Level 1 trauma centers facing a regulatory mandate to develop an alcohol screening and brief intervention program. A survey of 200 providers within 20 trauma centers assessed perceived person-job fit, individual job impact, and attitudes toward change approximately 1 year after the mandate was enacted. Providers who perceived a better fit between their abilities and the new job demands were more positive about the change. Further, the impact of the alcohol screening and brief intervention program on attitudes toward change was mitigated by perceived fit, where the relationship between job impact and change attitudes was more negative for providers who perceived a worse fit as compared with those who perceived a better fit. Successful implementation of changes to work processes and procedures requires provider support of the change. Management can enhance this support by improving perceived person-job fit through ongoing training sessions that enhance providers' abilities to implement the new procedures.

  13. Illness Perceptions in Patients of Schizophrenia: A Preliminary Investigation from Lahore, Pakistan.

    PubMed

    Hussain, Sadia; Imran, Nazish; Hotiana, Usman Amin; Mazhar, Nauman; Asif, Aftab

    2017-01-01

    Patient's perception of their illness influences their healthcare decisions. The objectives of this study were to explore patient's own beliefs about their illness (Schizophrenia) and perceived social support, and its impact on their attitudes toward pharmacological treatment in Lahore, Pakistan. This study was conducted at Mayo Hospital Lahore from March to September 2016. Hundred individuals suffering from Schizophrenia completed four questionnaires; a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Illness Perception Questionnaire for Schizophrenia(IPQ-S), Drug attitude Inventory-10 (DAI) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (PSS). Stress, family problems, lack of friends & financial worries were endorsed strongly by patients as cause of their mental illness. Ambiguity regarding their mental illness duration and personal control was observed. Patients' perceived significant negative consequences, negative emotional response, as well as had poor understanding of their mental illness and treatment effectiveness. Statistically significant gender differences in treatment control and illness coherence subscales of IPQS were observed. Drug attitude inventory was positively correlated with Treatment control subscale (p < .01) and negatively correlated with Illness coherence subscale of IPQS (p < .05). The negative consequences subscale and perceived social support was negatively correlated (p < .01). Patient's perception about their own illness is predictor of their drug taking attitude and perceived social support. Study results should help to develop new interventions to correct inaccurate beliefs in patients with schizophrenia to improve illness outcome.

  14. Attitudes toward statistics in medical postgraduates: measuring, evaluating and monitoring.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yuhai; Shang, Lei; Wang, Rui; Zhao, Qinbo; Li, Chanjuan; Xu, Yongyong; Su, Haixia

    2012-11-23

    In medical training, statistics is considered a very difficult course to learn and teach. Current studies have found that students' attitudes toward statistics can influence their learning process. Measuring, evaluating and monitoring the changes of students' attitudes toward statistics are important. Few studies have focused on the attitudes of postgraduates, especially medical postgraduates. Our purpose was to understand current attitudes regarding statistics held by medical postgraduates and explore their effects on students' achievement. We also wanted to explore the influencing factors and the sources of these attitudes and monitor their changes after a systematic statistics course. A total of 539 medical postgraduates enrolled in a systematic statistics course completed the pre-form of the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics -28 scale, and 83 postgraduates were selected randomly from among them to complete the post-form scale after the course. Most medical postgraduates held positive attitudes toward statistics, but they thought statistics was a very difficult subject. The attitudes mainly came from experiences in a former statistical or mathematical class. Age, level of statistical education, research experience, specialty and mathematics basis may influence postgraduate attitudes toward statistics. There were significant positive correlations between course achievement and attitudes toward statistics. In general, student attitudes showed negative changes after completing a statistics course. The importance of student attitudes toward statistics must be recognized in medical postgraduate training. To make sure all students have a positive learning environment, statistics teachers should measure their students' attitudes and monitor their change of status during a course. Some necessary assistance should be offered for those students who develop negative attitudes.

  15. The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): predictors of alcohol attitudes and expectancies in Hispanic national groups.

    PubMed

    Mills, Britain A; Caetano, Raul

    2010-05-01

    Multiple theoretical frameworks identify attitudes and expectancies as important predictors of alcohol behavior. Few studies have examined demographic predictors of these evaluative and belief-based cognitive mediators in the general population, and none have examined them in large-scale studies of Hispanics, a group at higher risk for drinking behavior and problems. This study probes the extent to which dimensions of attitudes and expectancies share common demographic predictors in a large sample of Puerto Ricans, Cuban-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and South/Central Americans. The 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS) used a multistage cluster sample design to interview 5,224 individuals randomly selected from households in Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles. This study focused on 2,773 respondents self-identified as current drinkers. Multiple linear regression was used to identify predictors of positive and negative dimensions of attitudes and expectancies, controlling for various background variables. Religious affiliation selectively predicted alcohol attitudes, with Catholics having more positive and fewer negative attitudes than other religious groups. Hispanic group selectively predicted alcohol expectancies, with Cuban-Americans having less positive and less negative expectancies than other groups. Being U.S.-born or male predicted more positive attitudes and expectancies, but birthplace and gender did not predict negative dimensions of attitudes or expectancies. Higher acculturation and more education were linked to a decreased tendency to agree with any item. Age was positively and negatively associated with negative expectancies and positive attitudes, respectively, and having never been married, higher income, and unemployment were each linked to fewer negative attitudes. Although there is some overlap, attitudes and expectancies are influenced by different sociodemographic variables. Positive and negative dimensions of those constructs also show distinct patterns of relations. Prevention and treatment programs targeting cognitive mediators of behavior should be mindful of these differential determinants and future modeling endeavors should incorporate them.

  16. The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): Predictors of alcohol attitudes and expectancies in Hispanic national groups

    PubMed Central

    Mills, Britain A.; Caetano, Raul

    2012-01-01

    Background Multiple theoretical frameworks identify attitudes and expectancies as important predictors of alcohol behavior. Few studies have examined demographic predictors of these evaluative and belief-based cognitive mediators in the general population, and none have examined them in large-scale studies of Hispanics, a group at higher risk for drinking behavior and problems. This study probes the extent to which dimensions of attitudes and expectancies share common demographic predictors in a large sample of Puerto Ricans, Cuban-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and South/Central Americans. Methods The 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS) used a multistage cluster sample design to interview 5,224 individuals randomly selected from households in Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles. This study focused on 2,773 respondents self-identified as current drinkers. Multiple linear regression was used to identify predictors of positive and negative dimensions of attitudes and expectancies, controlling for various background variables. Results Religious affiliation selectively predicted alcohol attitudes, with Catholics having more positive and fewer negative attitudes than other religious groups. Hispanic group selectively predicted alcohol expectancies, with Cuban-Americans having less positive and less negative expectancies than other groups. Being U.S.-born or male predicted more positive attitudes and expectancies, but birthplace and gender did not predict negative dimensions of attitudes or expectancies. Higher acculturation and more education were linked to a decreased tendency to agree with any item. Age was positively and negatively associated with negative expectancies and positive attitudes, respectively, and having never been married, higher income, and unemployment were each linked to fewer negative attitudes. Conclusions Although there is some overlap, attitudes and expectancies are influenced by different sociodemographic variables. Positive and negative dimensions of those constructs also show distinct patterns of relations. Prevention and treatment programs targeting cognitive mediators of behavior should be mindful of these differential determinants and future modeling endeavors should incorporate them. PMID:20184565

  17. The "New Career" and Organizational Commitment: Do Boundaryless and Protean Attitudes Make a Difference?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Briscoe, Jon P.; Finkelstein, Lisa M.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to establish whether positive or negative relationships exist between boundaryless and protean career attitudes (respectively) and organizational commitment and whether such relationships can be moderated by development opportunities. Design/methodology/approach: Surveys from 212 part-time MBAs were analyzed…

  18. Changing Nursing Students' Attitudes about Aging: An Argument for the Successful Aging Paradigm

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferrario, Catherine G.; Freeman, Florida J.; Nellett, Gaile; Scheel, Jeanne

    2008-01-01

    Ageism retards recruitment of healthcare professionals to work with older adults. Negative attitudes toward older adults were found in surveying four colleges of nursing (N = 117). Curriculum enhancements at one of the colleges used successful aging as an organizing framework, developed faculty as aging specialists, and required coursework and…

  19. Communication attitude and speech in 10-year-old children with cleft (lip and) palate: an ICF perspective.

    PubMed

    Havstam, Christina; Sandberg, Annika Dahlgren; Lohmander, Anette

    2011-04-01

    Many children born with cleft palate have impaired speech during their pre-school years, but usually the speech difficulties are transient and resolved by later childhood. This study investigated communication attitude with the Swedish version of the Communication Attitude Test (CAT-S) in 54 10-year-olds with cleft (lip and) palate. In addition, environmental factors were assessed via parent questionnaire. These data were compared to speech assessments by experienced listeners, who rated the children's velopharyngeal function, articulation, intelligibility, and general impression of speech at ages 5, 7, and 10 years. The children with clefts scored significantly higher on the CAT-S compared to reference data, indicating a more negative communication attitude on group level but with large individual variation. All speech variables, except velopharyngeal function at earlier ages, as well as the parent questionnaire scores, correlated significantly with the CAT-S scores. Although there was a relationship between speech and communication attitude, not all children with impaired speech developed negative communication attitudes. The assessment of communication attitude can make an important contribution to our understanding of the communicative situation for children with cleft (lip and) palate and give important indications for intervention.

  20. An implicit non-self-report measure of attitudes to speeding: development and validation.

    PubMed

    Hatfield, Julie; Fernandes, Ralston; Faunce, Gavin; Job, R F Soames

    2008-03-01

    Speeding is a major contributor to road trauma and attitudes toward speeding are hypothesised to be a key determinant of the behaviour. Attitudinal research is limited by reliance on self-report measures and the attendant possibility of reporting biases. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) aims to measure attitudes without reliance on self-report, by assessing the association between a target-concept and an evaluation, in terms of reaction time for compatible versus non-compatible pairings. The present research aimed to develop and evaluate an IAT to measure attitudes to speeding. Forty-five licensed drivers completed the speed-related IAT, and drove a driving simulator. Participants also completed a questionnaire that assessed self-reported attitudes to speeding, and several variables theoretically related to attitudes, including speeding behaviour. Observed IAT results suggested that attitudes toward speeding are negative, and were generally consistent with results derived from the simulated driving and self-reported behaviours, beliefs, and attitudes. Thus, the speed-related IAT appears to be a valid measure of attitudes toward speeding, which might be used to measure attitudes in road safety research without reliance on self-report.

  1. Knowledge, attitude and practices regarding HIV/AIDS among adult fishermen in coastal areas of Karachi

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Migrant populations are at high risk of Human Immuno Deficiency Virus infection (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Studies of HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes and practices among fishermen in developing countries have shown gaps in knowledge and fear of contagion with ambivalent attitudes towards HIV/AIDS and inconsistent universal precautions adherence. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding HIV/AIDS among adult fishermen in a coastal area of Karachi, Pakistan. Methods Community based cross sectional study was conducted among fishermen in coastal area of Karachi from June to September 2012. A total of 297 adult fishermen were selected by using simple random sampling technique from different sectors of coastal village. Data were collected using a structured validated questionnaire. The frequency distribution of both dependent and independent variables were worked out. Comparisons of knowledge, attitude and practices regarding HIV/AIDS by socio-demographic characteristics were made using logistic regression. Results Out of 297 fishermen, majority had in-appropriate knowledge (93.6%), negative attitude (75.8%) and less adherent sexual practices (91.6%). In univariate analysis, lower education and higher income were significantly associated (OR 2.25, 95% CI, 1.11, 4.55), (OR = 3.04 CI 1.03-9.02, p value 0.04) with negative attitude and un-safe practices towards HIV/AIDS respectively, whereas no significant association of socio-economic characteristics with knowledge, attitude and practices were observed in multivariate analysis. Conclusions This study suggests that fishermen had very poor knowledge, negative attitudes towards HIV and AIDS and had unsafe sexual practices which suggest that they lack the basic understanding of HIV/AIDS infection. Extensive health education campaign should be provided to the vulnerable sections of the society for the control of HIV/AIDS. PMID:24886122

  2. Cosmetic surgery attitudes among midlife women: Appearance esteem, weight esteem, and fear of negative appearance evaluation.

    PubMed

    Dunaev, Jamie L; Schulz, Jessica L; Markey, Charlotte N

    2018-01-01

    Previous research has examined factors thought to influence individuals' interest in cosmetic surgery, yet few studies have examined these issues among midlife women. This study examines predictors of cosmetic surgery attitudes among midlife women ( N = 114; age = 45-65 years; M age  = 53.7) and considers a previously unexplored variable: fear of negative appearance evaluation. Results indicated that lower weight and appearance esteem were associated with more positive cosmetic surgery attitudes and greater fear of negative appearance evaluation. Furthermore, fear of negative appearance evaluation mediated the relationship between appearance and weight esteem and cosmetic surgery attitudes. We conclude that fear of negative appearance evaluation is an important factor to consider in examining cosmetic surgery attitudes.

  3. Framing (implicitly) matters: the role of religion in attitudes toward immigrants and Muslims in Denmark.

    PubMed

    Anderson, Joel; Antalíková, Radka

    2014-12-01

    Denmark is currently experiencing the highest immigration rate in its modern history. Population surveys indicate that negative public attitudes toward immigrants actually stem from attitudes toward their (perceived) Islamic affiliation. We used a framing paradigm to investigate the explicit and implicit attitudes of Christian and Atheist Danes toward targets framed as Muslims or as immigrants. The results showed that explicit and implicit attitudes were more negative when the target was framed as a Muslim, rather than as an immigrant. Interestingly, implicit attitudes were qualified by the participants' religion. Specifically, analyses revealed that Christians demonstrated more negative implicit attitudes toward immigrants than Muslims. Conversely, Atheists demonstrated more negative implicit attitudes toward Muslims than Atheists. These results suggest a complex relationship between religion, and implicit and explicit prejudice. Both the religious affiliation of the perceiver and the perceived religious affiliation of the target are key factors in social perception. © 2014 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. The knowledge and attitudes of Thai obstetrics and gynaecology residents towards Down syndrome screening.

    PubMed

    Kor-anantakul, Ounjai; Awapark, Penwadee; Suwanrath, Chitkasaem; Suntharasaj, Thitima; Hanprasertpong, Tharangrut

    2013-01-01

    To survey the knowledge and attitudes towards Down syndrome screening in the final year of training of Thai obstetrics and gynaecology residents. A self-administered structured questionnaire of knowledge and attitudes towards Down syndrome screening was developed One hundred thirty six residents were asked to respond to the questionnaire on their last day of the Thai board examination in the year 2006 and 2007. The data was analyzed using SPSS for windows version 15.0. Eighty-two completed questionnaires surveys were returned (60% response rate). The mean total score of knowledge of Down syndrome and its screening test was 81%. Eighty percent of respondents (65/82) had positive attitudes towards counseling for screening Down syndrome for all pregnant women. Fifty-four percent (44/82) had negative attitudes towards Down syndrome screening for all pregnant women. Sixty percent (49/82) favored nuchal translucency measurement by ultrasonography for screening in the first trimester Training institutes, age, sex, and the counseling experience of residents did not affect the attitudes. The final-year Thai Obstetrics and Gynaecology residents had good knowledge and positive attitudes towards Down syndrome screening. More than half of the residents had negative attitudes towards the screening of all pregnant women. Educational programs and training are needed to address these deficiencies before screening programs are widely implemented.

  5. Correlates of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with medical care: a community perspective.

    PubMed

    Hulka, B S; Kupper, L L; Daly, M B; Cassel, J C; Schoen, F

    1975-08-01

    The attitude of the public toward physicians and medical services is an issue of current concern and debate. To address this problem, an instrument was developed using Thurstone scaling methods in conjunction with a Likert format and a modified scoring technique. Following pretesting of the instrument among both patient and population samples, a survey was conducted among the residents of a probability sample of households in a city of 200,000 people. The attitude questionnaire was completed by 1,713 adults in 1,112 households. Overall, attitudes were favorable toward the professional competency and the personal qualities of physicians. Accessibility, including costs and convenience, were less highly regarded. Men were less satisfied than women and blacks less satisfied than whites. Particularly negative attitudes were expressed toward the personal qualities of physicians by young blacks, whereas among blacks over 60 the negative effect was toward cost and convenience. Having a regular physician and long attendance with that physician were correlated with positive attitudes. The most negative sentiment was expressed by women without regular source of care. Medical services are being sought and obtained by a large segment of society, but problems of costs and acceptability for the elderly, low social class persons, members of large families, and for blacks still remain.

  6. An experimental assessment of physical educators' expectations and attitudes: the importance of student weight and gender.

    PubMed

    Peterson, Jamie Lee; Puhl, Rebecca M; Luedicke, Joerg

    2012-09-01

    At school, physical education (PE) teachers and coaches may be key supports for physical activity. Unfortunately, PE teachers may endorse negative stereotypes and attitudes toward overweight youth. These biases may influence the amount of instruction physical educators provide to students and their participation in PE or other physical activity. This study assessed physical educators' (N = 162) ability and performance expectations, attributions, and attitudes toward overweight and non-overweight students. Physical educators endorsed inferior ability expectations for overweight students compared to non-overweight students. Poorer performance expectations were limited to overweight female targets, but when controlling for participant characteristics, this effect became marginally significant for overweight male targets. There was a trend such that participants endorsed more external attributions for the abilities and performance of overweight female students, yet this effect was reduced to marginal significance when controlling for participant characteristics. Participants endorsed more negative attitudes for both overweight males and females compared to non-overweight youth. Findings indicate that physical educators' expectations, attributions, and attitudes regarding students may be negatively influenced by youth body weight, and differ by student gender. The potential effect of physical educators' weight bias on adolescent participation in physical activity and its implications for students' physical health, academic achievement, and social development are discussed. © 2012, American School Health Association.

  7. A Focus Group Study Exploring Student Nurse's Experiences of an Educational Intervention Focuse don Working with People with a Diagnosis of Personality Disorder.

    PubMed

    Stacey, G; Baldwin, V; Thompson, B; Aubeeluck, A

    2018-05-21

    Negative attitudes exist in practice towards those with a diagnosis of personality disorder. Preregistration training offers the opportunity to address this by developing understanding of the diagnosis, confidence in working with people with the diagnosis and empowering new nurses to challenge prevailing attitudes. Attempts to integrate and evaluate specific educational interventions of this nature into pre-registration nurse education have not been explored elsewhere. To explore preregistration nurses' experience of a programme of training focused on personality disorder and their perception of its influence on attitudes, understanding of clients and their experience of practice. A qualitative study using thematic analysis of two focus groups of pre-registration mental health nursing students. Evidence of positive attitudes and confidence to supportively challenge negative attitudes in practice were found. Students showed a shift away from a focus on changing the perceived 'difficult' behaviour of a client towards an understanding of their own emotional responses to the behaviours. The Knowledge and Understanding Framework training shows potential for students to change attitudes and develop progressive practice working with people with personality disorder. The integration of the Knowledge and Understanding Framework should be considered as part of preregistration training. Further research into the sustained influence of the training post registration is required. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  8. Public awareness, knowledge, and practice relating to epilepsy among adults in Konya.

    PubMed

    Kartal, Ayşe; Akyıldız, Abdülbaki

    2016-06-01

    This study aimed to determine the familiarity with, knowledge of, misunderstandings, and attitudes toward epilepsy among a group of Turkish adults living in Konya, an urban city in central Turkey. By using an established familiarity-knowledge-attitudes practice questionnaire, 500 randomly selected adult residents of Konya were interviewed face-to-face. Demographic and sociocultural factors that predicted negative attitudes were determined. More than half of all participants (68.4%) reported hearing or reading about epilepsy, 44% knew someone with epilepsy, and 42.2% had witnessed a seizure. The primary source of knowledge was via relatives and friends; Negative attitudes were about marriage and inability to live alone with epilepsy (63.2% objected to marriage and 84% objected to living alone). A preconception of epilepsy being a dangerous and lifelong disease was the primary reason for negative attitudes. Predictors of negative attitudes were female gender, lower educational status, and living in a rural area. Negative attitudes regarding the marital status of patients with epilepsy still exist. These may stem from misconceptions about the cause and treatability of epilepsy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Beyond bipolar conceptualizations and measures: the case of attitudes and evaluative space.

    PubMed

    Cacioppo, J T; Gardner, W L; Berntson, G G

    1997-01-01

    All organisms must be capable of differentiating hostile from hospitable stimuli to survive. Typically, this evaluative discrimination is conceptualized as being bipolar (hostile-hospitable). This conceptualization is certainly evident in the area of attitudes, where the ubiquitous bipolar attitude measure, by gauging the net affective predisposition toward a stimulus, treats positive and negative evaluative processes as equivalent, reciprocally activated, and interchangeable. Contrary to conceptualizations of this evaluative process as bipolar, recent evidence suggests that distinguishable motivational systems underlie assessments of the positive and negative significance of a stimulus. Thus, a stimulus may vary in terms of the strength of positive evaluative activation and the strength of negative evaluative activation it evokes. Low activation of positive and negative evaluative processes by a stimulus reflects attitude neutrality or indifference, whereas high activation of positive and negative evaluative processes reflects attitude ambivalence. As such, attitudes can be represented more completely within a bivariate space than along a bipolar continuum. Evidence is reviewed showing that the positive and negative evaluative processes underlying many attitudes are distinguishable (stochastically and functionally independent), are characterized by distinct activation functions (positivity offset and negativity bias principles), are related differentially to attitude ambivalence (corollary of ambivalence asymmetries), have distinguishable antecedents (heteroscedacity principle), and tend to gravitate from a bivariate toward a bipolar structure when the underlying beliefs are the target of deliberation or a guide for behavior (principle of motivational certainty). The implications for society phenomena such as political elections and democratic structures are discussed.

  10. The association between negative attitudes toward aging and mental health among middle-aged and older gay and heterosexual men in Israel.

    PubMed

    Shenkman, Geva; Ifrah, Kfir; Shmotkin, Dov

    2018-04-01

    The association between negative attitudes toward aging and mental health (indicated by depressive symptoms, neuroticism, and happiness) was explored among Israeli middle-aged and older gay and heterosexual men. In a community-dwelling sample, 152 middle-aged and older gay men and 120 middle-aged and older heterosexual men at the age range of 50-87 (M = 59.3, SD = 7.5) completed measures of negative attitudes toward aging, depressive symptoms, neuroticism, and happiness. After controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, the association between negative attitudes toward aging and mental health was moderated by sexual orientation, demonstrating that negative attitudes toward aging were more strongly associated with adverse mental health concomitants among middle-aged and older gay men compared to middle-aged and older heterosexual men. The findings suggest vulnerability of middle-aged and older gay men to risks of aging, as their mental health is markedly linked with their negative attitudes toward aging. This vulnerability should be addressed by clinicians and counselors who work with middle-aged and older gay men.

  11. Maternal adjustment and maternal attitudes in adolescent and adult pregnant women.

    PubMed

    Figueiredo, Bárbara; Tendais, Iva; Dias, Cláudia C

    2014-08-01

    This study analyzes differences between adolescent and adult pregnant women and the contribution of maternal age to maternal adjustment and maternal attitudes during pregnancy. A sample of 398 Portuguese pregnant women (111 younger than 19 years) was recruited in a Portuguese Maternity Hospital and completed the Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Questionnaire between the 24(th) and 36(th) weeks of gestation. Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Questionnaire(1) RESULTS: Adolescent pregnant women show lower maternal adjustment (poorer body image and worse marital relationship) and poorer maternal attitudes (more negative attitudes to sex) than adult pregnant women. When controlling for socio-demographics, age at pregnancy predicts poorer body image and more negative attitudes to sex, but not a worse marital relationship, more somatic symptoms or negative attitudes to pregnancy and the baby. A worse marital relationship was better predicted by living without the partner, and more somatic symptoms and negative attitudes to pregnancy and the baby was predicted by higher education. Adolescent pregnant women show lower maternal adjustment and poorer maternal attitudes than adult pregnant women according to socio-demographics and unfavorable developmental circumstances. Copyright © 2014 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Medical student, nursing student, and non-health care respondents' implicit attitudes toward doctors and patients: Development and a pilot study of a new implicit attitudes test (IAT)

    PubMed Central

    Mazouni, Abdelhamid

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Medical educators have been concerned that medical students may decline in empathy for patients during the course of their training, based on studies measuring clinical empathy using psychometrically strong self-report measures. Clinical empathy is a complex construct, incorporating attitudes toward patients but also other components, such as professional detachment. Triangulation of extant measures with instruments based on nonreactive methods could provide a better understanding of whether and how physician attitudes toward patients may be changing during training. We sought to develop and pilot-test such a nonreactive method. Methods We develop variations of an implicit association test (IAT) designed to measure attitudes toward physicians and patients based on speed of reaction to images of actors and positive and negative words. In the IATs, the same actors are photographed as doctors, clinic outpatients, hospitalized inpatients, and as a “general public” control. We examine preliminary evidence for their validity by collecting pilot data from internet participants (not involved in the health professions), medical students, and nursing students. Results Internet participants (n = 314) and nursing students (n = 31) had more negative associations (IAT scores) with doctors than did medical students (n = 89); nursing students and female internet participants had more positive associations with hospitalized patients than did medical students and male internet participants. Medical students’ associations with hospitalized patients varied by year of training. Discussion This IAT may provide insight into implicit attitudes among those who enter training for the health profession and changes in those attitudes that may be inculcated during that training. PMID:28813524

  13. Attitudes to emotional expression and personality in predicting post-traumatic stress disorder.

    PubMed

    Nightingale, J; Williams, R M

    2000-09-01

    To test hypotheses derived from a suggestion of Williams (1989) that negative attitudes towards emotional expression act as a predisposing or maintaining factor for post-traumatic stress reactions following a traumatic event. The study employed a prospective design in which attitudes to emotional expression, the 'Big Five' personality factors (Costa & McCrae, 1992a) and initial symptoms and injury severity within 1 week of a road traffic accident were used to predict the development of post-traumatic stress disorder 6 weeks post-accident. Sixty victims of road traffic accidents randomly selected from attenders at a large A&E department were assessed by questionnaire and interview. Measures comprised a 4-item scale relating to emotional expression, standardized scales for intrusion and avoidance features of traumatic experiences, and for anxiety and depression and the NEO-FFI Five Factor Personality Inventory. Forty-five of these participants responded to a postal questionnaire follow-up. In this survey the battery was repeated and also included a self-report diagnostic measure of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The percentage of the sample meeting DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for PTSD at 6 weeks post-trauma was 30.8%. A small but significant relationship was found for negative attitudes to emotional expression at 1 week to predict intrusive symptoms and diagnosis at 6 weeks, over and above the independent relationships of initial symptoms, initial injury severity, personality and coping. The emotional expression measure was largely stable between the two points of measurement. More negative attitudes to emotional expression were related to less openness, extraversion and agreeableness personality domains. Some support for the hypotheses was found in relation to the development of PTSD and for the status of attitudes to emotion as a stable trait related to personality factors. The potential importance of attitudes to emotional expression in therapy and other work is discussed.

  14. CS Unplugged and Middle-School Students' Views, Attitudes, and Intentions regarding CS

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taub, Rivka; Armoni, Michal; Ben-Ari, Mordechai

    2012-01-01

    Many students hold incorrect ideas and negative attitudes about computer science (CS). In order to address these difficulties, a series of learning activities called Computer Science Unplugged was developed by Tim Bell and his colleagues. These activities expose young people to central concepts in CS in an entertaining way without requiring a…

  15. The Teacher Attitudes toward Homeless Students Scale: Development and Validation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Jessica J.

    2012-01-01

    Recent estimates suggest there are roughly 1.6 million homeless children and this number is growing (National Center on Family Homelessness, 2011). This trend is particularly worrisome given that homeless children face a number of obstacles within society and education, not the least of which is negative teacher attitudes (Swick, 2000; U.S.…

  16. The Role of Playful Science in Developing Positive Attitudes toward Teaching Science in a Science Teacher Preparation Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bulunuz, Mizrap

    2015-01-01

    Problem Statement: Research studies indicate that teachers with negative attitudes toward science tend to use didactic approaches rather than approaches based on students' active participation. However, the reviews of the national academic literature in Turkey located a few research studies on the relationship between playful science experiences…

  17. Values of Catholic science educators: Their impact on attitudes of science teaching and learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    DeMizio, Joanne Greenwald

    This quantitative study examined the associations between the values held by middle school science teachers in Catholic schools and their attitudes towards science teaching. A total of six value types were studied---theoretical, economic, aesthetic, social, political, and religious. Teachers can have negative, positive, or neutral attitudes towards their teaching that are linked to their teaching practices and student learning. These teachers' attitudes may affect their competence and have a subsequent impact on their students' attitudes and dispositions towards science. Of particular interest was the relationship between science teaching attitudes and religious values. A non-experimental research design was used to obtain responses from 54 teachers with two survey instruments, the Science Teaching Attitude Scale II and the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that political values were negatively associated with attitudes towards science teaching. Data collected were inconsistent with the existence of any measurable association between religious values and attitudes towards science teaching. This study implies that science teacher preparation programs should adopt a more contextual perspective on science that seeks to develop the valuation of science within a cultural context, as well as programs that enable teachers to identify the influence of their beliefs on instructional actions to optimize the impact of learning new teaching practices that may enhance student learning.

  18. Attitudes toward statistics in medical postgraduates: measuring, evaluating and monitoring

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background In medical training, statistics is considered a very difficult course to learn and teach. Current studies have found that students’ attitudes toward statistics can influence their learning process. Measuring, evaluating and monitoring the changes of students’ attitudes toward statistics are important. Few studies have focused on the attitudes of postgraduates, especially medical postgraduates. Our purpose was to understand current attitudes regarding statistics held by medical postgraduates and explore their effects on students’ achievement. We also wanted to explore the influencing factors and the sources of these attitudes and monitor their changes after a systematic statistics course. Methods A total of 539 medical postgraduates enrolled in a systematic statistics course completed the pre-form of the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics −28 scale, and 83 postgraduates were selected randomly from among them to complete the post-form scale after the course. Results Most medical postgraduates held positive attitudes toward statistics, but they thought statistics was a very difficult subject. The attitudes mainly came from experiences in a former statistical or mathematical class. Age, level of statistical education, research experience, specialty and mathematics basis may influence postgraduate attitudes toward statistics. There were significant positive correlations between course achievement and attitudes toward statistics. In general, student attitudes showed negative changes after completing a statistics course. Conclusions The importance of student attitudes toward statistics must be recognized in medical postgraduate training. To make sure all students have a positive learning environment, statistics teachers should measure their students’ attitudes and monitor their change of status during a course. Some necessary assistance should be offered for those students who develop negative attitudes. PMID:23173770

  19. Negative Aging Attitudes Predict Greater Reactivity to Daily Stressors in Older Adults.

    PubMed

    Bellingtier, Jennifer A; Neupert, Shevaun D

    2016-08-03

    In order to understand conflicting findings regarding the emotional reactions of older adults to daily stressors, we examined the possibility that negative aging attitudes could function as an important individual differences factor related to stressor reactivity. Using a daily dairy design, we examined the aging attitudes of 43 older adults reporting on 380 total days. Participants reported their aging attitudes on Day 1, followed by their stressor exposure and negative affect on Days 2-9. Covariates included age, gender, education, and personality. Using multilevel modeling, our results suggest that individuals with more positive aging attitudes report consistent levels of affect across study days regardless of stressors, whereas those with more negative aging attitudes reported increased emotional reactivity to daily stressors. Positive aging attitudes may serve as a resource that helps buffer reactions to daily stressors. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Message framing in social networking sites.

    PubMed

    Kao, Danny Tengti; Chuang, Shih-Chieh; Wang, Sui-Min; Zhang, Lei

    2013-10-01

    Online social networking sites represent significant new opportunities for Internet advertisers. However, results based on the real world cannot be generalized to all virtual worlds. In this research, the moderating effects of need for cognition (NFC) and knowledge were applied to examine the impact of message framing on attitudes toward social networking sites. A total of 216 undergraduates participated in the study. Results reveal that for social networking sites, while high-NFC individuals form more favorable attitudes toward negatively framed messages than positively framed messages, low-NFC individuals form more favorable attitudes toward positively framed messages than negatively framed messages. In addition, low-knowledge individuals demonstrate more favorable attitudes toward negatively framed messages than positively framed messages; however, the framing effect does not differentially affect the attitudes of high-knowledge individuals. Furthermore, the framing effect does not differentially affect the attitudes of high-NFC individuals with high knowledge. In contrast, low-NFC individuals with low knowledge hold more favorable attitudes toward positively framed messages than negatively framed messages.

  1. Illness Perceptions in Patients of Schizophrenia: A Preliminary Investigation from Lahore, Pakistan

    PubMed Central

    Hussain, Sadia; Imran, Nazish; Hotiana, Usman Amin; Mazhar, Nauman; Asif, Aftab

    2017-01-01

    Background and Objective: Patient’s perception of their illness influences their healthcare decisions. The objectives of this study were to explore patient’s own beliefs about their illness (Schizophrenia) and perceived social support, and its impact on their attitudes toward pharmacological treatment in Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: This study was conducted at Mayo Hospital Lahore from March to September 2016. Hundred individuals suffering from Schizophrenia completed four questionnaires; a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Illness Perception Questionnaire for Schizophrenia(IPQ-S), Drug attitude Inventory-10 (DAI) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (PSS). Results: Stress, family problems, lack of friends & financial worries were endorsed strongly by patients as cause of their mental illness. Ambiguity regarding their mental illness duration and personal control was observed. Patients’ perceived significant negative consequences, negative emotional response, as well as had poor understanding of their mental illness and treatment effectiveness. Statistically significant gender differences in treatment control and illness coherence subscales of IPQS were observed. Drug attitude inventory was positively correlated with Treatment control subscale (p < .01) and negatively correlated with Illness coherence subscale of IPQS (p < .05). The negative consequences subscale and perceived social support was negatively correlated (p < .01). Conclusion: Patient’s perception about their own illness is predictor of their drug taking attitude and perceived social support. Study results should help to develop new interventions to correct inaccurate beliefs in patients with schizophrenia to improve illness outcome. PMID:29067048

  2. Effects of media violence on health-related outcomes among young men.

    PubMed

    Brady, Sonya S; Matthews, Karen A

    2006-04-01

    To test the effects of media violence exposure on blood pressure, negative affect, hostile social information processing, uncooperative behavior, and attitudes toward health risk behaviors among young men varying in lifetime violence exposure within the home and community. Experimental laboratory study. University campus situated within an urban environment. One hundred male undergraduates aged 18 to 21 years. Men who had previously reported differing amounts of lifetime home and community violence were randomly assigned to play The Simpsons: Hit and Run (low-violence condition) or Grand Theft Auto III (high-violence condition). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure; negative affect; hostile social information processing; uncooperative behavior; and permissive attitudes toward violence, alcohol use, marijuana use, and sexual activity without condom use. Men randomly assigned to play Grand Theft Auto III exhibited greater increases in diastolic blood pressure from a baseline rest period to game play, greater negative affect, more permissive attitudes toward using alcohol and marijuana, and more uncooperative behavior in comparison with men randomly assigned to play The Simpsons. Only among participants with greater exposure to home and community violence, play of Grand Theft Auto III led to elevated systolic blood pressure in comparison with play of The Simpsons (mean, 13 vs 5 mm Hg). Media violence exposure may play a role in the development of negative attitudes and behaviors related to health. Although youth growing up in violent homes and communities may become more physiologically aroused by media violence exposure, all youth appear to be at risk for potentially negative outcomes.

  3. When training boomerangs - Negative outcomes associated with Cockpit Resource Management programs

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Helmreich, Robert L.; Wilhelm, John A.

    1989-01-01

    Participants' self-reports and measures of attitudes regarding flightdeck management indicate that Cockpit Resource Management training is positively received and causes highly significant changes in attitudes regarding crew coordination and personal capabilities. However, a subset of participants react negatively to the training and show boomerangs (negative change) in attitudes. Explorations into the causes of this effect pinpoint personality factors and group dynamics as critical determinants of reactions to training and the magnitude and direction of attitude change.

  4. Psychiatrists' and Psychiatry Residents' Attitudes Toward Transgender People.

    PubMed

    Ali, Nareesa; Fleisher, William; Erickson, Julie

    2016-04-01

    Gender minority groups, such as transgender individuals, frequently encounter stigma, discrimination, and negative mental health outcomes, which can result in contact with mental health professionals. Recent studies suggest that negative attitudes toward transgender individuals are prevalent and measurable within the general population. The Genderism and Transphobia scale (GTS) measures anti-transgender feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. The purpose of this study was to use the GTS to conduct an investigation of psychiatrists' attitudes toward transgender individuals. A cross-sectional survey of n = 142 faculty members and residents from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba was conducted. Respondents completed an online survey consisting of demographic questions and the GTS. Responses were analyzed descriptively and compared to previously published data on the GTS. There was a trend for psychiatrists and psychiatry residents within this sample to endorse less negative attitudes toward transgender people compared to other published data using a sample of undergraduate students. Descriptive analyses suggest that psychiatrists' and psychiatry residents' GTS scores may be related to gender identity, political ideology, religiosity, and levels of both professional and personal contact. These data evoke optimism regarding psychiatrists' and psychiatry residents' attitudes toward transgender individuals. Additional larger-scale studies comparing this medical specialty group with other specialty groups will further elucidate factors that modify physician attitudes toward this patient population. These findings may contribute to the development of educational strategies to ensure that the transgender population receives medical treatment without stigma or attitudinal compromise.

  5. Attitudes towards individuals with disabilities as measured by the implicit association test: a literature review.

    PubMed

    Wilson, Michelle Clare; Scior, Katrina

    2014-02-01

    Research investigating attitudes towards individuals with disabilities has largely focused on self-reported explicit attitudes. Given that factors such as social desirability may influence explicit attitudes, researchers have developed tools which instead assess less consciously controllable implicit attitudes. Considering research on implicit attitudes thus seems pertinent. A review of studies measuring implicit attitudes towards individuals with physical disabilities (visual, motor or hearing) or intellectual disabilities via the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) was carried out. Systematic searches of PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, ERIC, MEDLINE, PUBMED, Scopus and Web of Science databases identified relevant articles published between January 2000 and September 2012. Seventeen articles (reporting on 18 studies that employed the IAT) were identified. These investigated implicit attitudes towards individuals with; physical disabilities (N=13), intellectual disabilities (N=3), both physical and intellectual disabilities (N=1), and 'unspecified disabilities' (N=1). Across all studies, moderate to strong negative implicit attitudes were found and there was little to no association between explicit and implicit attitudes. Individuals' beliefs about the controllability of their future, sensitivity to the concept of disease, and contact with individuals with disabilities appear to be associated with implicit attitudes. A consistent pattern of moderate to strong negative implicit attitudes towards individuals with disabilities was evident. These studies provide a starting point, but methodological issues related to sampling and the employed IATs limit the generalizability of these results. Further research investigating implicit attitudes towards specific disability types, with a wider subject pool are necessary as well as further investigation of factors that contribute to these attitudes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Comparison of attitudes toward disability and people with disability among caregivers, the public, and people with disability: findings from a cross-sectional survey.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Qiaolan; Tian, Qi; Hao, Chun; Gu, Jing; Tao, Jianting; Liang, Zuoyi; Chen, Xinlin; Fang, Jiqian; Ruan, Jianhua; Ai, Qiuxiang; Hao, Yuantao

    2016-09-29

    A negative attitude toward disability is one of the potential barriers for people with disability (PWD) to achieve social equality. Although numerous studies have investigated attitudes toward disability, few have evaluated personal attitudes toward disability among PWD, and made comparisons with attitudes of healthy respondents. This study was to investigate and compare the attitudes of PWD, caregivers, and the public toward disability and PWD in China, to identify discrepancies in attitude among the three groupsand to examine potential influencing factors of attitude within each group. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2912 PWD, 507 caregivers, and 354 members of the public in Guangzhou, China. Data were collected on participants' socio-demographic information and personal attitudes toward disability using the Attitude to Disability Scale (ADS). ANOVA and ANCOVA were applied to compare the level of attitude among the three groups. Simple and multiple linear regression analyses were used to investigate the relationship between each background factor and attitude within each group. Over 90 % of caregivers were PWD's family members. After controlling the socio-demographic characteristics, caregivers had the lowest total scores of ADS (caregivers: 47.7; PWD: 52.3; the public: 50.5). Caregivers who had taken care of PWD for longer durations of time had a more negative attitude toward disability. In contrast, PWD who had been disabled for longer times had a more positive attitude toward disability. The current national social security system of China does not adequately support PWD's family-member caregivers who may need assistance coping with their life with PWDs. More research is needed, and the development of a new health-care model for PWD is warranted.

  7. Effects of parental attitudes on the use of addictive substances in high school students.

    PubMed

    Öztekin, C; Şengezer, T; Özkara, A

    2017-09-01

    Substance abuse is a major public health problem including social and economic aspects. Although multidimensional data about substance abuse are limited in our country, the fact that Turkey is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia with a young population creating a promising market brings out the necessity of maintaining high awareness on substance abuse. Smoking, alcohol, and substance use are important health problems of adolescence period and families play a major role on adaptation to the changes in growth and development period. The research on substance abuse and dependence emphasizes on protective or risk-enhancing effects of family. The aim of this study was to provide evidence on the interventions that could be implemented about substance use by evaluating the relationship between parental attitude and attitudes of high school students toward substance use. This was a survey study. The study included randomly selected high school students who were willing to participate in the study from Ankara province. The students were applied the sociodemographic information questionnaire especially prepared for this research, the Addictive Substances Attitudes Scale for high school students, and the Parental Attitudes Scale. In the study, data of 707 students, 311 boys and 396 girls, with a mean age of 16.1 years were evaluated. According to the obtained findings, the rate of students with a negative attitude toward addictive substances increases as parental attitude changes from authoritative attitude to democratic attitude. The present study demonstrated that parental attitudes are related with the attitudes of high school students toward addictive substances. Students mostly adopted a negative attitude toward substance use in case of democratic parental attitude. Therefore, to protect children from substance abuse, parents should be advised to adopt a democratic attitude characterized with sincere love and constructive control.

  8. Incidental mood state before dissonance induction affects attitude change.

    PubMed

    Martinie, Marie-Amélie; Almecija, Yves; Ros, Christine; Gil, Sandrine

    2017-01-01

    The way that incidental affect impacts attitude change brought about by controlled processes has so far been examined when the incidental affective state is generated after dissonance state induction. We therefore investigated attitude change when the incidental mood occurs prior to dissonance state induction. We expected a negative mood to induce systematic processing, and a positive mood to induce heuristic processing. Given that both systematic processing and attitude change are cognitively costly, we expected participants who experienced the dissonance state in a negative mood to have insufficient resources to allocate to attitude change. In our experiment, after mood induction (negative, neutral or positive), participants were divided into low-dissonance and high-dissonance groups. They then wrote a counterattitudinal essay. Analysis of their attitudes towards the essay topic indicated that attitude change did not occur in the negative incidental mood condition. Moreover, written productivity-one indicator of cognitive resource allocation-varied according to the type of incidental mood, and only predicted attitude change in the high-dissonance group. Our results suggest that incidental mood before dissonance induction influences the style of information processing and, by so doing, affects the extent of attitude change.

  9. Incidental mood state before dissonance induction affects attitude change

    PubMed Central

    Martinie, Marie-Amélie; Almecija, Yves; Ros, Christine; Gil, Sandrine

    2017-01-01

    The way that incidental affect impacts attitude change brought about by controlled processes has so far been examined when the incidental affective state is generated after dissonance state induction. We therefore investigated attitude change when the incidental mood occurs prior to dissonance state induction. We expected a negative mood to induce systematic processing, and a positive mood to induce heuristic processing. Given that both systematic processing and attitude change are cognitively costly, we expected participants who experienced the dissonance state in a negative mood to have insufficient resources to allocate to attitude change. In our experiment, after mood induction (negative, neutral or positive), participants were divided into low-dissonance and high-dissonance groups. They then wrote a counterattitudinal essay. Analysis of their attitudes towards the essay topic indicated that attitude change did not occur in the negative incidental mood condition. Moreover, written productivity–one indicator of cognitive resource allocation–varied according to the type of incidental mood, and only predicted attitude change in the high-dissonance group. Our results suggest that incidental mood before dissonance induction influences the style of information processing and, by so doing, affects the extent of attitude change. PMID:28708861

  10. The role of cross-group friendship and emotions in adolescents' attitudes towards inclusion.

    PubMed

    Grütter, Jeanine; Gasser, Luciano; Malti, Tina

    2017-03-01

    Most countries have started to educate students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools, but it remains unclear how inclusive attitudes towards students with SEN can be promoted. This study investigated the role of adolescents' friendships and socio-moral competencies for their attitudes towards the inclusion of students with SEN. Specifically, we studied whether adolescents without SEN would develop more inclusive attitudes if they had close friendships with SEN students and if they expressed negative emotions about social exclusion. Adolescents' inclusive attitudes and their emotions were gathered from survey data of 1225 Swiss students aged 11-13. Social network data were collected to assess adolescents' friendship relationships. The results indicated that adolescents' friendship closeness with SEN students positively related to their inclusive attitudes. However, this was only true for adolescents who anticipated more negative than positive emotions if a student with SEN was excluded. These findings highlight the role of friendship relationships between adolescents with and without SEN and adolescents' socio-moral experiences for their attitudes towards the inclusion of peers with SEN. Thus, inclusive education may benefit from promoting friendships among students with and without SEN as well as adolescents' socio-moral competencies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Obstetrician Attitudes, Experience, and Knowledge of Planned Home Birth: An Exploratory Study.

    PubMed

    Leone, Jennifer; Mostow, Jackie; Hackney, David; Gokhale, Priyanka; Janata, Jeffrey; Greenfield, Marjorie

    2016-09-01

    The incidence of planned home birth is increasing in the United States. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists acknowledges a woman's right to make an informed choice about place of delivery, including home birth. This exploratory study measures obstetricians' attitudes, experiences, and knowledge about planned home birth, identifies associations between these factors, and compares obstetricians' responses in Ohio to those in Arizona and New Mexico. A survey about attitudes, experiences, and knowledge of planned home birth was distributed to obstetricians in Ohio, Arizona, and New Mexico. Attitude and knowledge scores were calculated for each respondent and used to evaluate associations through linear regression. Attitude and knowledge scores in states that have regulation of direct entry midwives (Arizona and New Mexico) were compared to a state which does not (Ohio). Obstetricians in all three states reported little experience and knowledge of planned home birth and overall negative attitudes. Obstetricians with stronger knowledge did not differ in their attitudes from those with less knowledge. No statistically significant differences were found when comparing attitude and knowledge scores in Ohio to Arizona and New Mexico, but Ohio obstetricians responded most negatively to the attitude questions. Obstetricians have limited knowledge and experience and hold very negative attitudes about planned home birth. Research is necessary to determine: 1) whether negative obstetrician attitudes would be modified by exposure to home birth education and experience, and, 2) whether negative obstetrician beliefs deter safe and timely transfer from home or compromise hospital care for transferred parturients. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. An investigation of negative affect, reactivity, and distress tolerance as predictors of disordered eating attitudes across adolescence.

    PubMed

    Juarascio, Adrienne S; Felton, Julia W; Borges, Allison M; Manasse, Stephanie M; Murray, Helen B; Lejuez, Carl W

    2016-06-01

    The current study examined internalizing symptoms, affect reactivity, and distress intolerance as prospective predictors of increases in eating disorder (ED)-attitudes during adolescence. Adolescents (n = 206) took part in a six-year longitudinal study examining the development of psychopathology. Latent growth curve analysis was used to examine associations between predictors and later ED-attitudes. Distress intolerance and internalizing symptoms were associated with ED-attitudes at baseline, but did not predict increases over time. Affect reactivity, however, was significantly associated with increases in ED-attitudes over time. Baseline affect reactivity did not interact with baseline distress intolerance to predict increases in ED-attitudes; however higher baseline internalizing symptoms interacted with distress intolerance to predict increases in ED-attitudes across adolescence. These results are among the first to document that affect reactivity alone and the combined effect of high internalizing symptoms and high distress intolerance early in adolescence are risk factors for the later development of ED-attitudes. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Construction and Validation of a Measurement Instrument for Attitudes towards Teamwork.

    PubMed

    Mendo-Lázaro, Santiago; Polo-Del-Río, María I; Iglesias-Gallego, Damián; Felipe-Castaño, Elena; León-Del-Barco, Benito

    2017-01-01

    Cooperative, collaborative learning and other forms of group learning methods are increasingly used in classrooms. Knowing students' attitudes toward teamwork has great value since they influence the students' learning results as well as their social development. So it is necessary to have robust instruments to provide a better understanding of these attitudes and preferences concerning teamwork. Such instruments also help to identify the factors that promote positive or negative attitudes within the context of group activities. Using a sample of 750 first and second year university students studying a degree in Kindergarten, Primary and Social Education, an instrument measuring attitudes toward team learning has been developed. Two distinct factors were obtained through various factorial analyses and structural equations: Academic attitudes and Social and emotional attitudes . Our study reveals that the instrument is both valid and reliable. Its application is both simple and fast and it has important implications for planning teaching and learning activities that contribute to an improvement in attitudes as well as the practice of teaching in the context of learning through teamwork.

  14. Construction and Validation of a Measurement Instrument for Attitudes towards Teamwork

    PubMed Central

    Mendo-Lázaro, Santiago; Polo-del-Río, María I.; Iglesias-Gallego, Damián; Felipe-Castaño, Elena; León-del-Barco, Benito

    2017-01-01

    Cooperative, collaborative learning and other forms of group learning methods are increasingly used in classrooms. Knowing students’ attitudes toward teamwork has great value since they influence the students’ learning results as well as their social development. So it is necessary to have robust instruments to provide a better understanding of these attitudes and preferences concerning teamwork. Such instruments also help to identify the factors that promote positive or negative attitudes within the context of group activities. Using a sample of 750 first and second year university students studying a degree in Kindergarten, Primary and Social Education, an instrument measuring attitudes toward team learning has been developed. Two distinct factors were obtained through various factorial analyses and structural equations: Academic attitudes and Social and emotional attitudes. Our study reveals that the instrument is both valid and reliable. Its application is both simple and fast and it has important implications for planning teaching and learning activities that contribute to an improvement in attitudes as well as the practice of teaching in the context of learning through teamwork. PMID:28676775

  15. Spatial assessment of attitudes toward tigers in Nepal.

    PubMed

    Carter, Neil H; Riley, Shawn J; Shortridge, Ashton; Shrestha, Binoj K; Liu, Jianguo

    2014-03-01

    In many regions around the world, wildlife impacts on people (e.g., crop raiding, attacks on people) engender negative attitudes toward wildlife. Negative attitudes predict behaviors that undermine wildlife management and conservation efforts (e.g., by exacerbating retaliatory killing of wildlife). Our study (1) evaluated attitudes of local people toward the globally endangered tiger (Panthera tigris) in Nepal's Chitwan National Park; and (2) modeled and mapped spatial clusters of attitudes toward tigers. Factors characterizing a person's position in society (i.e., socioeconomic and cultural factors) influenced attitudes toward tigers more than past experiences with tigers (e.g., livestock attacks). A spatial cluster of negative attitudes toward tigers was associated with concentrations of people with less formal education, people from marginalized ethnic groups, and tiger attacks on people. Our study provides insights and descriptions of techniques to improve attitudes toward wildlife in Chitwan and many regions around the world with similar conservation challenges.

  16. Beyond the negative: political attitudes and ideologies strategically manage opportunities, too.

    PubMed

    White, Andrew Edward; Neuberg, Steven L

    2014-06-01

    Hibbing et al. use evolutionarily derived logic to suggest that political attitudes are related to responses to negative features of the environment. We suggest that the authors focus too narrowly on the negative and contend, instead, that a more comprehensive evolutionary approach focusing on people's responses to threats and opportunities will better account for variation in political attitudes.

  17. The Effects of Anger, Sadness and Happiness on Persuasive Message Processing: A Test of the Negative State Relief Model.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitchell, Monique M.; Brown, Kenneth M.; Morris-Villagran, Melinda; Villagran, Paul D.

    2001-01-01

    Examines the strength of the effects of happiness and sadness on attitude change, and compares these effects with the effect of anger on attitude change and persuasive message processing. Finds that message strength was positively correlated with attitude, intention and behavior, but was negatively correlated with negative thoughts, and counter…

  18. The Role of Shame as a Mediator between Anti-Black Racial Identity Attitudes and Negative Affect in a Sample of African American College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jefferson, Stephen

    2011-01-01

    A sample of 168 African American undergraduates was surveyed to clarify past findings demonstrating a consistent relationship between endorsing negative attitudes about being African American and experiencing negative affect. Specifically, shame was tested as a mediator between participants' endorsement of preencounter attitudes (i.e., anti-Black…

  19. A Cross-Cultural Validation Study of the Computer Attitude Scale.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, JinGyu; And Others

    The reliability and factorial validity of the Computer Attitudes Scale (CAS) was assessed with college students in South Korea. The CAS was developed for use with high school students, but has been used in higher education in the United States. It is a Likert-type scale of 30 positive and negative statements about the use of computers, and is one…

  20. Creating Disability Awareness through Sport: Exploring the Participation, Attitudes and Perceptions of Post-Primary Female Students in Ireland

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tindall, Daniel

    2013-01-01

    According to research, negative attitudes and perceptions towards people with disabilities begin to emerge early in one's development creating one of the most difficult barriers encountered by children with disabilities; those expressed by their peers. As a result, young people may begin to label others around them, differentiating between the…

  1. Attitudes towards continuous professional development: a study of pharmacists in Lebanon.

    PubMed

    Saade, Sylvia; Ghazala, Fatima; Farhat, Ali; Hallit, Souheil

    2018-01-01

    To investigate the views and assess motivation, attitudes of pharmacists in Lebanon towards mandatory continuous education (CE), its transition to Continuous Professional Development (CPD), and identify barriers to participation in CPD. A cross-sectional observational study, conducted between February and May 2017, enrolled 591 pharmacists. The questionnaire used in this study was developed after an extensive literature review and based on previous similar studies in different countries. Half of the pharmacists who completed the questionnaire agreed that all the factors that were mentioned in the questionnaire motivated completing CPD, whereas 55.4% felt confident that CPD meets their needs. 78.4% felt confident in their abilities to assess what they have learned. 71.6% felt confident in their abilities to assess what additional CPD activity may be necessary. The majority of the pharmacists agreed that accessibility of group learning activities (location/distance) (69.6%), job restrictions (76.3%) and lack of time (80.6%) were the most essential barriers against participation in CPD. Motivation was significantly and positively correlated with attitude (r= 0.718), but negatively correlated with barriers (r= -0.243). Attitude was significantly and negatively correlated with barriers (r= -0.120). Our findings contribute to informing the forward pathway for the profession. Attitude and motivation to CPD were positive in this study. Accessibility of group learning activities due to distance and location, job restrictions and lack of time were the major barriers to participation in CPD. Potential solutions can be sought to address these issues.

  2. Quality of Cultural Heritage in EIA; twenty years of experience in Norway

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

    Lindblom, Inge, E-mail: inge.lindblom@niku.no

    2012-04-15

    The aim of this paper is to clarify and discuss how quality, relevance, attitudes, beliefs and transfer value act as underlying driving forces in the development of the Cultural Heritage theme in EIAs. One purpose is to identify and discuss some conditions that can better environmental assessment in order to increase the significance of EIA in decision-making with regard to Cultural Heritage. The main tools used are different research methods designed for analyses of quality and quality changes, primarily based on the relevant opinions of 160 people occupied with Cultural Heritage in EIA in Norway. The study is based onmore » a review of 40 types of EIAs from 1991 to 2000, an online questionnaire to 319 (160 responded) individuals from 14 different backgrounds, and interviews with three institutions in Sweden and Denmark. The study confirms a steadily increasing quality on EIRs over time, parallel with an improvement of the way in which Cultural Heritage is treated in EIA. This is supported by both the interviews and the qualitative comments regarding the survey. Potential for improvements is shown to be a need for more detailed background material as well as more use of adequate methods. The survey shows the existence of a wide variety of negative views, attitudes and beliefs, but the consequences of this are difficult to evaluate. However, most certainly, negative attitudes and beliefs have not been powerful enough to be detrimental to the quality of Cultural Heritage component, as nothing in the study indicates that negative attitudes and myths are undermining the system of EIA. The study shows the importance of having on-going discussions on quality and quality change over time by people involved in EIA, and how this is a necessary condition for successful implementation and acceptance. Beliefs and negative attitudes can also be a catalyst for developing better practice and advancing new methodology. In addition, new EIA countries must be prepared for several years of development and improvements after implementation. This is important in order to gain acceptance from the bureaucracy, especially from the Cultural Heritage authorities and local population.« less

  3. How Do Attitudes toward Mental Health Treatment Vary by Age, Gender, and Ethnicity/Race in Young Adults?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gonzalez, Jodi M.; Alegria, Margarita; Prihoda, Thomas J.

    2005-01-01

    This article investigates attitudes toward seeking mental health treatment in a national epidemiological sample. Young adults reported the most negative attitudes, as compared to older adults. Males reported more negative attitudes, as compared to females, a consistent finding in young adults. The gender difference was not consistent in Latinos…

  4. Attitudes about Childlessness in the United States: Correlates of Positive, Neutral, and Negative Responses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koropeckyj-Cox, Tanya; Pendell, Gretchen

    2007-01-01

    The study used cross-sectional analyses of the National Survey of Families and Households (1987-1988, 1992-1994) to examine attitudes about childlessness in the United States. It (a) assesses prevalence of positive, neutral, and negative attitudes about childlessness and (b) identifies the correlates of different attitudes in the population. About…

  5. Dysfunctional Attitudes and Affective Responses to Daily Stressors: Separating Cognitive, Genetic, and Clinical Influences on Stress Reactivity

    PubMed Central

    Conway, Christopher C.; Slavich, George M.; Hammen, Constance

    2016-01-01

    Despite decades of research examining diathesis-stress models of emotional disorders, it remains unclear whether dysfunctional attitudes interact with stressful experiences to shape affect on a daily basis and, if so, how clinical and genetic factors influence these associations. To address these issues, we conducted a multi-level daily diary study that examined how dysfunctional attitudes and stressful events relate to daily fluctuations in negative and positive affect in 104 young adults. Given evidence that clinical and genetic factors underlie stress sensitivity, we also examined how daily affect is influenced by internalizing and externalizing symptoms and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) genotype, which have been shown to influence neural, endocrine, and affective responses to stress. In multivariate models, internalizing symptoms and BDNF Val66Met genotype independently predicted heightened negative affect on stressful days, but dysfunctional attitudes did not. Specifically, the BDNF Met allele and elevated baseline internalizing symptomatology predicted greater increases in negative affect in stressful circumstances. These data are the first to demonstrate that BDNF genotype and stress are jointly associated with daily fluctuations in negative affect, and they challenge the assumption that maladaptive beliefs play a strong independent role in determining affective responses to everyday stressors. The results may thus inform the development of new multi-level theories of psychopathology and guide future research on predictors of affective lability. PMID:27041782

  6. Public perceptions about HIV/AIDS and discriminatory attitudes toward people living with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in Iran.

    PubMed

    Masoudnia, Ebrahim

    2015-01-01

    Negative and discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are one of the biggest experienced challenges by people suffering from HIV, and these attitudes have been regarded as a serious threat to the fundamental rights of all infected people who are affected or associated with this disease in Iran. This study aimed to determine the relationship between public perception about HIV/AIDS and discriminatory attitudes toward PLWHA . The present study was conducted using a descriptive and survey design. Data were collected from 450 patients (236 male and 214 female) in Tehran and Yazd cities. The research instruments were modified HIV-related knowledge/attitude and perception questions about PLWHA, and discriminatory attitudes toward PLWHA. The results showed that prevalence of discriminatory attitudes toward PLWHA in the studied population was 60.0%. There was a significant negative correlation between citizens' awareness about HIV/AIDS, HIV-related attitudes, negative perception toward people with HIV/AIDS symptoms and their discriminatory attitudes toward PLWHA (p < .01). The hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that components of public perception about HIV/AIDS explained for 23.7% of the variance of discriminatory attitudes toward PLWHA. Negative public perceptions about HIV/AIDS in Iran associated with discriminatory attitudes toward PLWHA and cultural beliefs in Iran tend to stigmatize and discriminate against the LWHA.

  7. Nurses' attitudes towards older people care: An integrative review.

    PubMed

    Rush, Kathy L; Hickey, Stormee; Epp, Sheila; Janke, Robert

    2017-12-01

    To examine hospital nurses' attitudes towards caring for older adults and delineate associated factors contributing to their attitudes. Population ageing is of international significance. A nursing workforce able to care for the ageing population is critical for ensuring quality older adult care. A synthesis of research related to nurses' attitudes towards older adult care is important for informing care quality and the nursing workforce issues. A systematic integrative review process guided the review. Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature and Medline databases were searched for primary research published between 2005-2017. A total of 1,690 papers were screened with 67 papers read in-depth and eight selected for this review that met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Nurses' held coexisting positive and negative attitudes towards generic and specific aspects of older adult care. Negative attitudes, in particular, were directed at the characteristics of older adults, their care demands or reflected in nurses' approaches to care. Across jurisdictions, work environment, education, experience and demographics emerged as influences on nurses' attitudes. There is a paucity of research examining nurses' attitudes towards older adult care. The limited evidence indicates that attitudes towards older people care are complex and contradictory. Influences on nurses' attitudes need further study individually and collectively to build a strong evidence base. Interventional studies are needed as are the development of valid and reliable instruments for measuring nurses' attitudes towards older adult care. Bolstering postgraduate gerontological preparation is critical for promoting nurses' attitudes towards older adult care. Creating age-friendly work environments, including appropriate resource allocation, is important to support older people care and facilitate positive nursing attitudes. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Parents' Attitudes toward Clinical Genetic Testing for Autism Spectrum Disorder-Data from a Norwegian Sample.

    PubMed

    Johannessen, Jarle; Nærland, Terje; Hope, Sigrun; Torske, Tonje; Høyland, Anne Lise; Strohmaier, Jana; Heiberg, Arvid; Rietschel, Marcella; Djurovic, Srdjan; Andreassen, Ole A

    2017-05-18

    Clinical genetic testing (CGT) of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have positive and negative effects. Knowledge about parents' attitudes is needed to ensure good involvement of caregivers, which is crucial for accurate diagnosis and effective clinical management. This study aimed to assess parents' attitudes toward CGT for ASD. Parent members of the Norwegian Autism Society were given a previously untested questionnaire and 1455 answered. Linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate contribution of parent and child characteristics to attitude statements. Provided it could contribute to a casual explanation of their child's ASD, 76% would undergo CGT. If it would improve the possibilities for early interventions, 74% were positive to CGT. Between 49-67% agreed that CGT could have a negative impact on health insurance, increase their concern for the child's future and cause family conflicts. Parents against CGT (9%) were less optimistic regarding positive effects, but not more concerned with negative impacts. The severity of the children's ASD diagnosis had a weak positive association with parent's positive attitudes to CGT ( p -values range from <0.001 to 0.975). Parents prefer that CGT is offered to those having a child with ASD (65%), when the child's development deviates from normal (48%), or before pregnancy (36%). A majority of the parents of children with ASD are positive to CGT due to possibilities for an etiological explanation.

  9. Attitudes of medical students toward psychiatry in a Chilean medical school.

    PubMed

    Valdivieso, Sergio; Sirhan, Marisol; Aguirre, Constanza; Ivelic, Jose Antonio; Aillach, Emilio; Villarroel, Luis

    2014-06-01

    The authors assess the attitudes of seventh-year medical students with regard to psychiatry and patients with psychiatric illness during the psychiatry clerkship. A 32-item questionnaire regarding attitudes toward psychiatry and patients with psychiatric illness was administered at the beginning of the psychiatry clerkship. One hundred and ten seventh-year students participated in the study, providing responses anonymously. Average negative attitude item score was 2.45 ± 0.3 (range 1.7-3.3). Eighty-three students (75 %) responded to all the questions with an average negative attitude item score of 2.43 ± 0.3 (range 1.7-3.3) and a total negative attitude item score of 77.9 ± 10.3 (range 55-104). Undergraduate students of a Chilean medical school showed fairly positive attitudes toward psychiatry and toward patients with psychiatric illness.

  10. Public perceptions of stigma towards people with schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety.

    PubMed

    Wood, Lisa; Birtel, Michele; Alsawy, Sarah; Pyle, Melissa; Morrison, Anthony

    2014-12-15

    Stigma is one of the greatest challenges facing people with a psychiatric diagnosis. They are widely stigmatised by the general public in the western world. The aim of this study was to examine public stigma attitudes towards schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) 2008 opinions survey (n=1070) was utilised. Percentage of endorsements for stigma items were initially compared to the previous 1998 and 2003 databases. Overall stigma attitudes had decreased (from 1998 to 2008) but increased since 2003. A principal components factor analysis identified that stigma attitudes have the same three factors structure across all diagnoses; negative stereotypes, patient blame and inability to recover. Schizophrenia was significantly associated with the most negative stereotypes, least blamed and viewed as least likely to recover compared to anxiety and depression. Public and individualised interventions that target diagnostic variability in stigma attitudes need to be developed and examined in future research. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  11. Health service staff's attitudes towards patients with mental illness.

    PubMed

    Arvaniti, Aikaterini; Samakouri, Maria; Kalamara, Eleni; Bochtsou, Valentini; Bikos, Constantinos; Livaditis, Miltos

    2009-08-01

    Stereotypes and prejudices against patients with mental illness are widespread in many societies. The aim of the present study is to investigate such attitudes among the staff and medical students, including employees and trainees, in a general university hospital. Six hundred individuals (361 employees, 231 students) completed the following questionnaires: Level of Contact Report (LCR), Authoritarianism Scale (AS), and Opinion about Mental Illness (OMI), a scale yielding five factors (social discrimination, social restriction, social care, social integration, and aetiology). Multivariate linear regression models were applied in order to search for the simultaneous effect of many variables on the scores of OMI factors. An important part of the sample held negative attitudes especially concerning social discrimination and restriction of the patients. Women, older and less educated staff, nursing staff, and people scoring higher on authoritarianism were more prejudiced. Higher scores on familiarity were associated with less negative attitudes. The results indicate the need to develop sensitisation and training programs considering mental health topics among health service employees.

  12. The Public and Nuclear Waste Management.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zinberg, Dorothy

    1979-01-01

    Discusses the public's negative attitude towards nuclear energy development. Explains the perceptions for the nuclear waste disposal problem, and the concern for the protection of the environment. (GA)

  13. A slow life history is related to a negative attitude towards cousin marriages: a study in three ethnic groups in Mexico.

    PubMed

    Buunk, Abraham P; Hoben, Ashley D

    2013-06-24

    Little is known about current attitudes towards cousin marriages. Using data from a rural population in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, the present research examined how life history was related to attitudes towards cousin marriages in various ethnic groups. Participants were 205 parents from three ethnic groups. i.e., Mestizos (people of mixed descent, n = 103), indigenous Mixtecs (n = 65), and Blacks (n = 35). Nearly all men in this study were farm workers or fishermen. Participants reported more negative than positive attitudes towards cousin marriage, and women reported more negative attitudes than did men. The main objection against marrying a cousin was that it is wrong for religious reasons, whereas the risk of genetic defects was considered relatively unimportant. Cousin marriage was not considered to contribute to the quality and unity of marriage and the family. The three ethnic groups did not differ in their attitude towards cousin marriages. However, a slower life history was related to a more negative attitude towards cousin marriages, especially among Blacks, less so among Mixtecs, and not at all among Mestizos. In addition, and independent of the effect of life history, with increasing levels of parental control over mate choice, the attitude towards cousin marriage was more positive, but among men the attitude was more negative the more religious they were. The results are discussed in the context of theorizing on life history theory and the benefits and costs of cousin marriages.

  14. Examining Implicit Attitudes towards Exercisers with a Physical Disability

    PubMed Central

    Dionne, Cassandra D.; Gainforth, Heather L.; O'Malley, Deborah A.; Latimer-Cheung, Amy E.

    2013-01-01

    Background. Using measures of explicit attitudes, physical activity status has been established as a factor that reduces the stigma able-bodied people hold towards people with physical disabilities. This phenomenon is called the exerciser stereotype. However, whether the exerciser stereotype exists when using measures of implicit attitudes remains unknown. Objective. The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of negative implicit attitudes towards people with physical disabilities and determine whether implicit attitudes towards people with physical disabilities were influenced by the exerciser stereotype. Methods. One hundred able-bodied participants (82 females, 18 males) completed two implicit association tests (IATs): the Disability-Attitudes IAT and the Disability-Activity IAT. The Disability-Attitudes IAT measured implicit attitudes towards people who were not disabled relative to disabled; the Disability-Activity IAT measured attitudes towards people with a physical disability who were active relative to inactive. Results. Results revealed that 83.8% of participants had negative implicit attitudes towards people with a disability. Participants held more positive attitudes towards active versus inactive people with a physical disability. Conclusions. The study findings indicate that the exerciser stereotype exists implicitly and may undermine negative attitudes towards people with physical disabilities. PMID:23710142

  15. The Effect of Attitude toward the Elderly on Behavior toward an Older Adult.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sinnott, Jan D.; And Others

    Many people hold negative attitudes toward older adults, and these attitudes often are associated with negative behavior toward the old. To explore the behavioral correlates of attitudes toward the elderly, 105 male and female college students, with a mean age of 24.5 years, participated in a two-phase experiment. During phase one, all subjects…

  16. Simple exposure to alcohol cues causally increases negative implicit attitudes toward lesbians and gay men.

    PubMed

    Greitemeyer, Tobias; Nierula, Carina

    2016-01-01

    Previous research has shown that acute alcohol consumption is associated with negative responses toward outgroup members such as sexual minorities. However, simple alcohol cue exposure without actually consuming alcohol also influences social behavior. Hence, it was reasoned that priming participants with words related to alcohol (relative to neutral words) would promote prejudiced attitudes toward sexual minorities. In fact, an experiment showed that alcohol cue exposure causally led to more negative implicit attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. In contrast, participants' explicit attitudes were relatively unaffected by the priming manipulation. Moreover, participants' typical alcohol use was not related to their attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. In sum, it appears that not only acute alcohol consumption but also the simple exposure of alcohol cues may promote negative views toward lesbians and gay men.

  17. Attitude toward Public Health Dentistry as a career among dental students in Odisha: A Cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Sharma, Nupur; Jain, Kittu; Kabasi, Soumik

    2016-01-01

    Knowledge of dental students' expectations of their profession as well as their attitudes to study a particular specialty of dentistry is of great importance. These attitudes and expectations make studying dentistry meaningful to dental students and society and understanding these factors facilitate workforce planning in the dental sector The aim of the study was to assess the attitude of dental students towards considering Public Health Dentistry as their future career. A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted, which included the 3 rd year, 4 th fourth year and dental interns studying in the State of Odisha. It consisted of 27 questions that were graded on 5-point Likert scale. The responses for the attitude questions toward selecting Public Health Dentistry for postgraduation were categorized into three factors, which are a negative attitude (includes score 0-21), neutral attitude (score 22-44), and positive attitude (score 45-64). Differences between groups were examined using Chi-square test for proportions. The level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Among 886 respondents, 302 (34.08%) were males and 584 (65.91%) were females. One-third (33.52%) of them had a positive attitude toward selecting public health dentistry as their future career, and nearly two-third of them (58.23%) had neutral attitude, with very few students having a negative attitude (8.23%) toward the specialty for pursuing postgraduation. Respondents had a considerable amount of interest in pursuing postgraduation in this specialty. Efforts should be intensified, both by the dental council and by the dental colleges, to develop this specialty, keeping in mind the increasing attitude of dental undergraduates toward it.

  18. Big Five Personality Traits and Eating Attitudes in Intensively Training Dancers: The Mediating Role of Internalized Thinness Norms.

    PubMed

    Scoffier-Mériaux, Stéphanie; Falzon, Charlène; Lewton-Brain, Peter; Filaire, Edith; d'Arripe-Longueville, Fabienne

    2015-09-01

    Dancers are at high risk of developing disordered eating attitudes, notably because of internalized thinness norms. Although the big five personality traits have been shown to be associated with eating attitudes in daily life, in dancers where eating issues and thinness norms internalization could be salient little is known about these associations and the role of the internalization of thinness norms in this relationship. The main objectives of this study were thus to examine the relationships between the personality traits defined in the big five model and the self-regulation of eating attitudes, and to assess the role of internalized thinness norms in this association. The study included 180 intensively training dancers with an average age of 15.6 years (SD = 2.8). Dancers completed questionnaires measuring the big five personality traits, internalization of thinness norms and self-regulation of eating attitudes in sport. Bootstrapped mediation analyses showed that neuroticism was negatively associated with self-regulation of eating attitudes, both directly and indirectly through the mediating role of internalized thinness norms. This study suggested that: (a) neuroticism is a vulnerability factor for self-regulation of eating attitudes in dancers, as already evidenced in the general population, and (b) the internalization of thinness norms is a pathway through which neuroticism affects self-regulation of eating attitudes. The big five model is therefore partially related to the internalization of thinness norms and eating attitudes in dancers. Key pointsThe big five model relates to the internalization of thinness norms and eating attitudes in dancers.Neuroticism is negatively related to the self-regulation of eating attitudes.The internalization of thinness norms is correlated to the relationship between neuroticism and self-regulation of eating attitudes.

  19. Attitude toward Public Health Dentistry as a career among dental students in Odisha: A Cross-sectional study

    PubMed Central

    Sharma, Nupur; Jain, Kittu; Kabasi, Soumik

    2016-01-01

    Background: Knowledge of dental students' expectations of their profession as well as their attitudes to study a particular specialty of dentistry is of great importance. These attitudes and expectations make studying dentistry meaningful to dental students and society and understanding these factors facilitate workforce planning in the dental sector The aim of the study was to assess the attitude of dental students towards considering Public Health Dentistry as their future career. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted, which included the 3rd year, 4th fourth year and dental interns studying in the State of Odisha. It consisted of 27 questions that were graded on 5-point Likert scale. The responses for the attitude questions toward selecting Public Health Dentistry for postgraduation were categorized into three factors, which are a negative attitude (includes score 0–21), neutral attitude (score 22–44), and positive attitude (score 45–64). Differences between groups were examined using Chi-square test for proportions. The level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: Among 886 respondents, 302 (34.08%) were males and 584 (65.91%) were females. One-third (33.52%) of them had a positive attitude toward selecting public health dentistry as their future career, and nearly two-third of them (58.23%) had neutral attitude, with very few students having a negative attitude (8.23%) toward the specialty for pursuing postgraduation. Conclusion: Respondents had a considerable amount of interest in pursuing postgraduation in this specialty. Efforts should be intensified, both by the dental council and by the dental colleges, to develop this specialty, keeping in mind the increasing attitude of dental undergraduates toward it. PMID:28182073

  20. Big Five Personality Traits and Eating Attitudes in Intensively Training Dancers: The Mediating Role of Internalized Thinness Norms

    PubMed Central

    Scoffier-Mériaux, Stéphanie; Falzon, Charlène; Lewton-Brain, Peter; Filaire, Edith; d’Arripe-Longueville, Fabienne

    2015-01-01

    Dancers are at high risk of developing disordered eating attitudes, notably because of internalized thinness norms. Although the big five personality traits have been shown to be associated with eating attitudes in daily life, in dancers where eating issues and thinness norms internalization could be salient little is known about these associations and the role of the internalization of thinness norms in this relationship. The main objectives of this study were thus to examine the relationships between the personality traits defined in the big five model and the self-regulation of eating attitudes, and to assess the role of internalized thinness norms in this association. The study included 180 intensively training dancers with an average age of 15.6 years (SD = 2.8). Dancers completed questionnaires measuring the big five personality traits, internalization of thinness norms and self-regulation of eating attitudes in sport. Bootstrapped mediation analyses showed that neuroticism was negatively associated with self-regulation of eating attitudes, both directly and indirectly through the mediating role of internalized thinness norms. This study suggested that: (a) neuroticism is a vulnerability factor for self-regulation of eating attitudes in dancers, as already evidenced in the general population, and (b) the internalization of thinness norms is a pathway through which neuroticism affects self-regulation of eating attitudes. The big five model is therefore partially related to the internalization of thinness norms and eating attitudes in dancers. Key points The big five model relates to the internalization of thinness norms and eating attitudes in dancers. Neuroticism is negatively related to the self-regulation of eating attitudes. The internalization of thinness norms is correlated to the relationship between neuroticism and self-regulation of eating attitudes PMID:26336350

  1. Disease-related stigma: comparing predictors of AIDS and cancer stigma.

    PubMed

    Greene, Kathryn; Banerjee, Smita C

    2006-01-01

    This study explores the prevalence of AIDS and cancer stigma as influenced by attitude toward homosexuality, religiosity, authoritarianism, and androgyny. This study used a quasi-experimental survey design (N = 485) to examine attitude toward people with AIDS and cancer, and interaction with people with AIDS and cancer. Negative attitudes toward homosexuality, high religious intensity and ideology, high authoritarianism, and low expressive emerged as factors related to more negative attitudes toward people with AIDS and unwillingness to interact with people with AIDS. Attitudes toward people with cancer were generally not related to the variables. Findings explore how to campaign efforts to reduce existing negative attitudes toward AIDS and homosexuality, given that gay men with AIDS are especially stigmatized. Implications and directions for future research are discussed, especially for interventions.

  2. Vaccination against yellow fever in French Guiana: The impact of educational level, negative beliefs and attitude towards vaccination.

    PubMed

    Koïvogui, Akoï; Carbunar, Aurel; Imounga, Laure-Manuella; Laruade, Christelle; Laube, Sylvaine

    Analyze the impact of educational level, negative beliefs and negative attitudes on the yellow fever vaccination coverage (YFVC). This analytical study involved a sample of 2763 people from 866 households. Educational status was described in six levels: No level (Respondent had never attended school), level-1 (respondent left before intermediate school), level-2 (Respondent attended intermediate school), level-3 (respondent attended high school), level-4 (Respondent attended university), Other level (When the level could not be determined). The Attitude towards vaccination was described in terms of person's availability to recommend vaccination to third. The relationships were analyzed by multivariate mixed logistic regression. Among the 2763 peoples, 2039 (73.8%) were vaccinated against yellow fever. People who left high school with or without the French baccalaureate were more likely to be vaccinated against YF than people without any diploma (OR = 1.4; p < 0.05). The probability of being vaccinated among people with negative attitudes was reduced by 40% (OR = 0.6; p < 0.05). Low level of education, negative beliefs and negative attitudes have significant impacts on YFVC. Negatives beliefs and attitudes result often from a major lack of information about the benefits of vaccination. This deficit is exacerbated in persons with low educational level. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Tolerating the “doubting Thomas”: how centrality of religious beliefs vs. practices influences prejudice against atheists

    PubMed Central

    Hughes, Jeffrey; Grossmann, Igor; Cohen, Adam B.

    2015-01-01

    Past research has found a robust effect of prejudice against atheists in largely Christian-dominated (belief-oriented) samples. We propose that religious centrality of beliefs vs. practices influences attitudes toward atheists, such that religious groups emphasizing beliefs perceive non-believers more negatively than believers, while groups emphasizing practices perceive non-practicing individuals more negatively than practicing individuals. Studies 1–2, in surveys of 41 countries, found that Muslims and Protestants (belief-oriented) had more negative attitudes toward atheists than did Jews and Hindus (practice-oriented). Study 3 experimentally manipulated a target individual's beliefs and practices. Protestants had more negative attitudes toward a non-believer (vs. a believer), whereas Jews had more negative attitudes toward a non-practicing individual (vs. a practicing individual, particularly when they had a Jewish background). This research has implications for the psychology of religion, anti-atheist prejudice, and cross-cultural attitudes regarding where dissent in beliefs or practices may be tolerated or censured within religious groups. PMID:26441728

  4. Tolerating the "doubting Thomas": how centrality of religious beliefs vs. practices influences prejudice against atheists.

    PubMed

    Hughes, Jeffrey; Grossmann, Igor; Cohen, Adam B

    2015-01-01

    Past research has found a robust effect of prejudice against atheists in largely Christian-dominated (belief-oriented) samples. We propose that religious centrality of beliefs vs. practices influences attitudes toward atheists, such that religious groups emphasizing beliefs perceive non-believers more negatively than believers, while groups emphasizing practices perceive non-practicing individuals more negatively than practicing individuals. Studies 1-2, in surveys of 41 countries, found that Muslims and Protestants (belief-oriented) had more negative attitudes toward atheists than did Jews and Hindus (practice-oriented). Study 3 experimentally manipulated a target individual's beliefs and practices. Protestants had more negative attitudes toward a non-believer (vs. a believer), whereas Jews had more negative attitudes toward a non-practicing individual (vs. a practicing individual, particularly when they had a Jewish background). This research has implications for the psychology of religion, anti-atheist prejudice, and cross-cultural attitudes regarding where dissent in beliefs or practices may be tolerated or censured within religious groups.

  5. Stereotype threat among older employees: relationship with job attitudes and turnover intentions.

    PubMed

    von Hippel, Courtney; Kalokerinos, Elise K; Henry, Julie D

    2013-03-01

    Stereotype threat, or the belief that one may be the target of demeaning stereotypes, leads to acute performance decrements and reduced psychological well-being. The current research examined stereotype threat among older employees, a group that is the target of many negative stereotypes. Study 1 surveyed older workers in two different organizations regarding their experiences of stereotype threat, their job attitudes and work mental health, and their intentions to resign or retire. Across both samples, feelings of stereotype threat were related to more negative job attitudes and poorer work mental health. In turn, these negative job attitudes were associated with intentions to resign and (possibly) retire. In Study 2, younger and older employees were surveyed. The results indicated that only for older employees were feelings of stereotype threat negatively related to job attitudes, work mental health, and intentions to resign. The implications of these findings for understanding job attitudes and intentions among older workers are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Further support for the role of dysfunctional attitudes in models of real-world functioning in schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Horan, William P; Rassovsky, Yuri; Kern, Robert S; Lee, Junghee; Wynn, Jonathan K; Green, Michael F

    2010-06-01

    According to A.T. Beck and colleagues' cognitive formulation of poor functioning in schizophrenia, maladaptive cognitive appraisals play a key role in the expression and persistence of negative symptoms and associated real-world functioning deficits. They provided initial support for this model by showing that dysfunctional attitudes are elevated in schizophrenia and account for significant variance in negative symptoms and subjective quality of life. The current study used structural equation modeling to further evaluate the contribution of dysfunctional attitudes to outcome in schizophrenia. One hundred eleven outpatients and 67 healthy controls completed a Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale, and patients completed a competence measure of functional capacity, clinical ratings of negative symptoms, and interview-based ratings of real-world functioning. Patients reported higher defeatist performance beliefs than controls and these were significantly related to lower functional capacity, higher negative symptoms, and worse community functioning. Consistent with Beck and colleagues' formulation, modeling analyses indicated a significant indirect pathway from functional capacity-->dysfunctional attitudes-->negative symptoms-->real-world functioning. These findings support the value of dysfunctional attitudes for understanding the determinants of outcome in schizophrenia and suggest that therapeutic interventions targeting these attitudes may facilitate functional recovery. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Implicit and explicit measures of sexual orientation attitudes: in group preferences and related behaviors and beliefs among gay and straight men.

    PubMed

    Jellison, William A; McConnell, Allen R; Gabriel, Shira

    2004-05-01

    The relations among implicit and explicit measures of sexual orientation attitudes and sexual-orientation-related behavior and beliefs among gay men (Study 1) and straight men (Studies 1 and 2) were explored. Study 1 found relations between implicit and explicit measures of sexual orientation attitudes, large differences between gay and straight men on both implicit and explicit measures, and that these measures predicted sexual-orientation-related behaviors among gay men. Also, only straight men exhibited a negative relation between their attitudes toward homosexuality and heterosexuality. Study 2 found that as straight men held more negative attitudes toward homosexuality, they more strongly endorsed the importance of heterosexual identity and of traditional masculine gender roles. These endorsements mediated the negative relation between their attitudes toward heterosexuality and homosexuality. Implications for assessing attitudes toward sexual orientation and their relations for sexual orientation identity are discussed.

  8. Liking More Means Doing More

    PubMed Central

    Hepler, Justin; Albarracin, Dolores

    2018-01-01

    Dispositional attitudes are an individual difference in the tendency to form positive versus negative attitudes. As positive (negative) attitudes promote active (inactive) responses to stimuli, we predicted that dispositional attitudes would be positively correlated with patterns of general action. In Study 1, participants reported all activities they engaged in during a 1-week period using a structured time use survey. Dispositional attitudes were positively correlated with the number of unique behaviors participants engaged in and with the total number of behaviors reported for the entire week. Study 2 replicated Study 1 using a free response time use survey. Overall, the results demonstrated that dispositional attitudes predict general action, such that the tendency to form positive (negative) attitudes predicts the tendency to engage in many (few) behaviors in daily life. This pattern occurred for both low effort and high effort behaviors. Implications for understanding activity patterns are discussed. PMID:29375723

  9. The Negative Effects of Prejudice on Interpersonal Relationships within Adolescent Peer Groups

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Poteat, V. Paul; Mereish, Ethan H.; Birkett, Michelle

    2015-01-01

    Social development theories highlight the centrality of peer groups during adolescence and their role in socializing attitudes and behaviors. In this longitudinal study, we tested the effects of group-level prejudice on ensuing positive and negative interpersonal interactions among peers over a 7-month period. We used social network analysis to…

  10. Sexual Orientation as a Peripheral Cue in Advertising: Effects of Models' Sexual Orientation, Argument Strength, and Involvement on Responses to Magazine Ads.

    PubMed

    Ivory, Adrienne Holz

    2017-10-12

    This study examines how sexual orientation of couples featured in magazine advertisements affects heterosexual viewers' responses using the elaboration likelihood model as a framework. A 3 × 2 × 2 × 3 experiment tested effects of sexual orientation, argument strength, involvement, and attitudes toward homosexuality on heterosexuals' attitudes toward the couple, advertisement, brand, and product, purchase intentions, and recall. Results indicate that consumers were accepting of ads with lesbian portrayals. Participants showed more negative attitudes toward gay male portrayals, but attitudes toward heterosexual and lesbian ads were similar. This effect was moderated by participants' attitudes toward homosexuals. Low-involvement consumers showed more negative attitudes toward homosexual portrayals than toward heterosexual portrayals, indicating that sexual orientation may have served as a peripheral cue negatively impacting attitudes toward the couple and ad under low elaboration. These effects were not observed for attitudes toward the brand and product, purchase intentions, or recall.

  11. Stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs about bulimia nervosa: gender, age, education and income variability in a community sample.

    PubMed

    McLean, Siân A; Paxton, Susan J; Massey, Robin; Hay, Phillipa J; Mond, Jonathan M; Rodgers, Bryan

    2014-05-01

    Stigmatizing attitudes towards eating disorders negatively impacts treatment seeking. To determine the effect of interventions to reduce stigma, a measure of stigma that is simple to implement is required. This study aimed to develop a measure of stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs towards bulimia nervosa (SAB-BN) and evaluate the distribution of beliefs across gender, age, education, and income groups. Participants were 1828 community adults (890 men; 938 women) aged 18-65 sampled from the Australian Electoral Roll responded to a mailed questionnaire. Participants provided demographic information and completed the SAB-BN questionnaire. Five components of stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs were identified; advantages of BN, minimization/low seriousness, unreliability, social distance, and personal responsibility. Stigma was low except on social distance and personal responsibility sub-scales, which indicated negative attitudes toward people with bulimia. Men compared with women and lower compared with higher education and income groups held significantly higher stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs. There were few differences between age groups in stigma. Differences between demographic groups provides evidence for known-groups validity. The SAB-BN questionnaire provides a potentially useful tool for evaluating stigma in relation to BN. Results provide insight into components of stigma and the demographic groups to whom interventions should be targeted. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Classroom climate indicators and attitudes towards foreigners.

    PubMed

    Gniewosz, Burkhard; Noack, Peter

    2008-10-01

    The school has been described as an important socialization agent in the process of political development. But the mechanism concerning how school contributes to political development has rarely been investigated. In this study we focus on contextual variables, i.e., classroom climate indicators that are seen as important aspects of the context in which adolescent development takes place. The study was based on the total of 1312 German students. In multilevel analyses, we regressed students' reports on intolerant attitudes towards foreigners on background characteristics as well as on the perceived classroom climate. Fairness in the classroom as perceived by the individual student was found to be negatively related to intolerance and achievement pressure was positively related. Students attending the high college-bound track reported less antiforeigner attitudes as did students where parents had a more sophisticated educational background. The results are discussed proposing schools to provide an open climate as a contextual framework for the development of tolerant attitudes among adolescents.

  13. Maternal attitudes towards home birth and their effect on birth outcomes in Iceland: A prospective cohort study.

    PubMed

    Halfdansdottir, Berglind; Olafsdottir, Olof A; Hildingsson, Ingegerd; Smarason, Alexander Kr; Sveinsdottir, Herdis

    2016-03-01

    to examine the relationship between attitudes towards home birth and birth outcomes, and whether women's attitudes towards birth and intervention affected this relationship. a prospective cohort study. the study was set in Iceland, a sparsely populated island with harsh terrain, 325,000 inhabitants, high fertility and home birth rates, and less than 5000 births a year. a convenience sample of women who attended antenatal care in Icelandic health care centres, participated in the Childbirth and Health Study in 2009-2011, and expressed consistent attitudes towards home birth (n=809). of the participants, 164 (20.3%) expressed positive attitudes towards choosing home birth and 645 (79.7%) expressed negative attitudes. Women who had a positive attitude towards home birth had significantly more positive attitudes towards birth and more negative attitudes towards intervention than did women who had a negative attitude towards home birth. Of the 340 self-reported low-risk women that answered questionnaires on birth outcomes, 78 (22.9%) had a positive attitude towards home birth and 262 (77.1%) had a negative attitude. Oxytocin augmentation (19.2% (n=15) versus 39.1% (n=100)), epidural analgesia (19.2% (n=15) versus 33.6% (n=88)), and neonatal intensive care unit admission rates (0.0% (n=0) versus 5.0% (n=13)) were significantly lower among women who had a positive attitude towards home birth. Women's attitudes towards birth and intervention affected the relationship between attitudes towards home birth and oxytocin augmentation or epidural analgesia. the beneficial effect of planned home birth on maternal outcome in Iceland may depend to some extent on women's attitudes towards birth and intervention. Efforts to de-stigmatise out-of-hospital birth and de-medicalize women's attitudes towards birth might increase women׳s use of health-appropriate birth services. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Medical Student Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Mental Illness Across Five Nations.

    PubMed

    Stefanovics, Elina A; Rosenheck, Robert A; He, Hongo; Ofori-Atta, Angela; Cavalcanti, Maria; Chiles, Catherine

    2016-12-01

    Negative attitudes toward people with mental illness are a widespread concern and may vary across countries. This study used a 36-item questionnaire to compare attitudes toward people with mental illness and beliefs about the causes of mental illness among medical students from the United States, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria, and China (N = 1131). Exploratory factor analysis identified the underlying factor structure of the questionnaire, and analysis of covariance was then used to compare factors representing four nonstigmatized attitudes across students from the five countries. US Medical students scored highest on all four factors, followed by those from Brazil. Nigerian and Ghanaian students scored lowest on nonsupernatural etiology of mental illness, and Chinese students showed the lowest score on personal social acceptance and public policy acceptance of people with mental illness. Differences in medical student attitudes between these five countries suggest underlying sociocultural differences in attitudes with the more stigmatized attitudes in developing countries.

  15. The impact of instructor pedagogy on college calculus students' attitude toward mathematics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sonnert, Gerhard; Sadler, Philip M.; Sadler, Samuel M.; Bressoud, David M.

    2015-04-01

    College calculus teaches students important mathematical concepts and skills. The course also has a substantial impact on students' attitude toward mathematics, affecting their career aspirations and desires to take more mathematics. This national US study of 3103 students at 123 colleges and universities tracks changes in students' attitudes toward mathematics during a 'mainstream' calculus course while controlling for student backgrounds. The attitude measure combines students' self-ratings of their mathematics confidence, interest in, and enjoyment of mathematics. Three major kinds of instructor pedagogy, identified through the factor analysis of 61 student-reported variables, are investigated for impact on student attitude as follows: (1) instructors who employ generally accepted 'good teaching' practices (e.g. clarity in presentation and answering questions, useful homework, fair exams, help outside of class) are found to have the most positive impact, particularly with students who began with a weaker initial attitude. (2) Use of educational 'technology' (e.g. graphing calculators, for demonstrations, in homework), on average, is found to have no impact on attitudes, except when used by graduate student instructors, which negatively affects students' attitudes towards mathematics. (3) 'Ambitious teaching' (e.g. group work, word problems, 'flipped' reading, student explanations of thinking) has a small negative impact on student attitudes, while being a relatively more constructive influence only on students who already enjoyed a positive attitude toward mathematics and in classrooms with a large number of students. This study provides support for efforts to improve calculus teaching through the training of faculty and graduate students to use traditional 'good teaching' practices through professional development workshops and courses. As currently implemented, technology and ambitious pedagogical practices, while no doubt effective in certain classrooms, do not appear to have a reliable, positive impact on student attitudes toward mathematics.

  16. Beliefs in and About God and Attitudes Toward Voluntary Euthanasia.

    PubMed

    Sharp, Shane

    2018-06-01

    I use data from the General Social Survey to evaluate several hypotheses regarding how beliefs in and about God predict attitudes toward voluntary euthanasia. I find that certainty in the belief in God significantly predicts negative attitudes toward voluntary euthanasia. I also find that belief in a caring God and in a God that is the primary source of moral rules significantly predicts negative attitudes toward voluntary euthanasia. I also find that respondents' beliefs about the how close they are to God and how close they want to be with God predict negative attitudes toward voluntary euthanasia. These associations hold even after controlling for religious affiliation, religious attendance, views of the Bible, and sociodemographic factors. The findings indicate that to understand individuals' attitudes about voluntary euthanasia, one must pay attention to their beliefs in and about God.

  17. Attitudes towards continuous professional development: a study of pharmacists in Lebanon

    PubMed Central

    Saade, Sylvia; Ghazala, Fatima; Farhat, Ali

    2018-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the views and assess motivation, attitudes of pharmacists in Lebanon towards mandatory continuous education (CE), its transition to Continuous Professional Development (CPD), and identify barriers to participation in CPD. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study, conducted between February and May 2017, enrolled 591 pharmacists. The questionnaire used in this study was developed after an extensive literature review and based on previous similar studies in different countries. Results: Half of the pharmacists who completed the questionnaire agreed that all the factors that were mentioned in the questionnaire motivated completing CPD, whereas 55.4% felt confident that CPD meets their needs. 78.4% felt confident in their abilities to assess what they have learned. 71.6% felt confident in their abilities to assess what additional CPD activity may be necessary. The majority of the pharmacists agreed that accessibility of group learning activities (location/distance) (69.6%), job restrictions (76.3%) and lack of time (80.6%) were the most essential barriers against participation in CPD. Motivation was significantly and positively correlated with attitude (r= 0.718), but negatively correlated with barriers (r= -0.243). Attitude was significantly and negatively correlated with barriers (r= -0.120). Conclusion: Our findings contribute to informing the forward pathway for the profession. Attitude and motivation to CPD were positive in this study. Accessibility of group learning activities due to distance and location, job restrictions and lack of time were the major barriers to participation in CPD. Potential solutions can be sought to address these issues. PMID:29619137

  18. Attitudes of medical students toward psychiatry and psychiatry as a career: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Lyons, Zaza

    2013-05-01

    The discipline of psychiatry, and psychiatry as a career option, have been negatively regarded by medical students for decades. There is a large amount of literature on attitudes of students and the factors that attract them to and detract from psychiatry. The aim of this article is to systematically review this literature from 1990 to the present time. The author undertook a systematic review searching a number of electronic databases using the following key words: medical students, attitudes, psychiatry, career. Studies were included in the review if they had been published in an English-language, peer-reviewed journal. Data extracted included year of publication, country where the study was conducted, study design and aim, sample size and response rate, year of study that students were in when they participated in the research, and main results. A total of 32 papers from 22 different countries were selected for inclusion; 12,144 students from 74 medical schools were surveyed. A mix of positive and negative attitudes toward psychiatry were identified, and, overall, attitudes were found to be positive. However, psychiatry as a career choice was rated poorly and found to be unpopular for many students. The studies undertaken to-date have identified and raised awareness of a wide range of negative and positive factors toward psychiatry. In order to encourage more students to consider psychiatry as a career, attention needs to focus more closely on the psychiatry curriculum and the development of innovative teaching strategies. This may overcome the negativity that students express toward psychiatry, improve recruitment rates to training programs, and put psychiatry on a more positive foundation for the future.

  19. The Cognitive and Behavioural Impact of Alcohol Promoting and Alcohol Warning Advertisements: An Experimental Study

    PubMed Central

    Brown, Kyle G.; Stautz, Kaidy; Hollands, Gareth J.; Winpenny, Eleanor M.; Marteau, Theresa M.

    2016-01-01

    Aims To assess the immediate effect of alcohol promoting and alcohol warning advertisements on implicit and explicit attitudes towards alcohol and on alcohol seeking behaviour. Methods We conducted a between-participants online experiment in which participants were randomly assigned to view one of three sets of advertisements: (a) alcohol promoting, (b) alcohol warning, or (c) unrelated to alcohol. A total of 373 participants (59.5% female) aged 18–40 (M = 28.03) living in the UK were recruited online through a research agency. Positive and negative implicit attitudes and explicit attitudes towards alcohol were assessed before and after advertisements were viewed. Alcohol seeking behaviour was measured by participants' choice of either an alcohol-related or non-alcohol-related voucher offered ostensibly as a reward for participation. Self-reported past week alcohol consumption was also recorded. Results There were no main effects on any of the outcome measures. In heavier drinkers, viewing alcohol promoting advertisements increased positive implicit attitudes (standardized beta = 0.15, P = 0.04) and decreased negative implicit attitudes (standardized beta = −0.17, P = 0.02). In heavier drinkers, viewing alcohol warning advertisements decreased negative implicit attitudes (standardized beta = −0.19, P = 0.01). Conclusions Viewing alcohol promoting advertisements has a cognitive impact on heavier drinkers, increasing positive and reducing negative implicit attitudes towards alcohol. Viewing alcohol warning advertisements reduces negative implicit attitudes towards alcohol in heavier drinkers, suggestive of a reactance effect. PMID:26391367

  20. 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.

  1. The Cognitive and Behavioural Impact of Alcohol Promoting and Alcohol Warning Advertisements: An Experimental Study.

    PubMed

    Brown, Kyle G; Stautz, Kaidy; Hollands, Gareth J; Winpenny, Eleanor M; Marteau, Theresa M

    2016-05-01

    To assess the immediate effect of alcohol promoting and alcohol warning advertisements on implicit and explicit attitudes towards alcohol and on alcohol seeking behaviour. We conducted a between-participants online experiment in which participants were randomly assigned to view one of three sets of advertisements: (a) alcohol promoting, (b) alcohol warning, or (c) unrelated to alcohol. A total of 373 participants (59.5% female) aged 18-40 (M = 28.03) living in the UK were recruited online through a research agency. Positive and negative implicit attitudes and explicit attitudes towards alcohol were assessed before and after advertisements were viewed. Alcohol seeking behaviour was measured by participants' choice of either an alcohol-related or non-alcohol-related voucher offered ostensibly as a reward for participation. Self-reported past week alcohol consumption was also recorded. There were no main effects on any of the outcome measures. In heavier drinkers, viewing alcohol promoting advertisements increased positive implicit attitudes (standardized beta = 0.15, P = 0.04) and decreased negative implicit attitudes (standardized beta = -0.17, P = 0.02). In heavier drinkers, viewing alcohol warning advertisements decreased negative implicit attitudes (standardized beta = -0.19, P = 0.01). Viewing alcohol promoting advertisements has a cognitive impact on heavier drinkers, increasing positive and reducing negative implicit attitudes towards alcohol. Viewing alcohol warning advertisements reduces negative implicit attitudes towards alcohol in heavier drinkers, suggestive of a reactance effect. © The Author 2015. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press.

  2. Attitudes towards prisoners, as reported by prison inmates, prison employees and college students.

    PubMed

    Kjelsberg, Ellen; Skoglund, Tom Hilding; Rustad, Aase-Bente

    2007-05-04

    Positive attitudes towards prisoners are important in securing the effectiveness of various correctional rehabilitation programs and the successful reintegration of prisoners after release. We wanted to investigate the attitudes towards prisoners among prison inmates, prison employees and college students. The Attitudes Toward Prisoners scale was completed by 298 inmates in 4 Norwegian prisons, 387 employees working in the same prisons, and 183 college students. In addition, all respondents were asked a number of general questions about prisoners, crime and punishment. The study groups differed significantly in their attitudes towards prisoners, as measured by the Attitudes Toward Prisoners scale, with prison inmates holding the most positive attitudes. Prison officers held more negative attitudes than other prison employees. Prison employees working in female-only facilities held more positive attitudes than those working in male-only facilities. Students differed significantly in their attitudes, with those studying business economics holding more negative attitudes than those studying nursing. A number of strong correlations emerged between negative attitudes towards prisoners and more pessimistic and punitive answers on general questions about prisoners, crime and punishment. The attitudes towards prisoners differed markedly among the groups investigated. The findings could have important implications, particularly for the preventive work carried out in our prisons. Whether attitudes toward prisoners can be influenced by educational programs and the dispersion of factual information needs to be investigated.

  3. Attitudes towards prisoners, as reported by prison inmates, prison employees and college students

    PubMed Central

    Kjelsberg, Ellen; Skoglund, Tom Hilding; Rustad, Aase-Bente

    2007-01-01

    Background Positive attitudes towards prisoners are important in securing the effectiveness of various correctional rehabilitation programs and the successful reintegration of prisoners after release. We wanted to investigate the attitudes towards prisoners among prison inmates, prison employees and college students. Methods The Attitudes Toward Prisoners scale was completed by 298 inmates in 4 Norwegian prisons, 387 employees working in the same prisons, and 183 college students. In addition, all respondents were asked a number of general questions about prisoners, crime and punishment. Results The study groups differed significantly in their attitudes towards prisoners, as measured by the Attitudes Toward Prisoners scale, with prison inmates holding the most positive attitudes. Prison officers held more negative attitudes than other prison employees. Prison employees working in female-only facilities held more positive attitudes than those working in male-only facilities. Students differed significantly in their attitudes, with those studying business economics holding more negative attitudes than those studying nursing. A number of strong correlations emerged between negative attitudes towards prisoners and more pessimistic and punitive answers on general questions about prisoners, crime and punishment. Conclusion The attitudes towards prisoners differed markedly among the groups investigated. The findings could have important implications, particularly for the preventive work carried out in our prisons. Whether attitudes toward prisoners can be influenced by educational programs and the dispersion of factual information needs to be investigated. PMID:17480213

  4. Women's perspectives toward menopause: A phenomenological study in Iran.

    PubMed

    Hakimi, Sevil; Simbar, Masoumeh; Ramezani Tehrani, Fahimeh; Zaiery, Farid; Khatami, Shiva

    2016-01-01

    This study explores the attitude and feelings toward menopause among Azeri menopausal women using hermeneutic phenomenology based on Van Manen's approach. A total of 18 menopausal women who were attended in urban health centers of Tabriz, Iran, were recruited using a purposive sampling method. Data were gathered through semistructured interviews. Each interview was transcribed verbatim and analyzed simultaneously. Data analysis led to the emergence of five main themes: positive attitude, neutral attitude, negative attitude, positive feelings, and negative feelings. Participants had different feelings and attitude. Acceptance of menopause as a natural process helps women to have a neutral attitude toward menopause.

  5. Elder care as "frustrating" and "boring": understanding the persistence of negative attitudes toward older patients among physicians-in-training.

    PubMed

    Higashi, Robin T; Tillack, Allison A; Steinman, Michael; Harper, Michael; Johnston, C Bree

    2012-12-01

    This study explores the attitudes of physicians-in-training toward older patients. Specifically, we examine why, despite increasing exposure to geriatrics in medical school curricula, medical students and residents continue to have negative attitudes toward caring for older patients. This study used ethnography, a technique used by anthropologists that includes participant-observation, semi-structured interviews, and facilitated group discussions. Research was conducted at two tertiary-care academic hospitals in urban Northern California, and focused on eliciting the opinions, beliefs, and practices of physicians-in-training toward geriatrics. We found that the majority of physicians-in-training in this study expressed a mix of positive and negative views about caring for older patients. We argue that physicians-in-trainings' attitudes toward older patients are shaped by a number of heterogeneous and frequently conflicting factors, including both the formal and so-called "hidden" curricula in medical education, institutional demands on physicians to encourage speed and efficiency of care, and portrayals of the process of aging as simultaneously as a "problem" of inevitable biological decay and an opportunity for medical intervention. Efforts to educate medical students and residents about appropriate geriatric care tend to reproduce the paradoxes and uncertainties surrounding aging in biomedicine. These ambiguities contribute to the tendency of physicians-in-training to develop moralizing attitudes about older patients and other patient groups labeled "frustrating" or "boring". Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. From Memory to Attitude: The Neurocognitive Process beyond Euthanasia Acceptance.

    PubMed

    Enke, Martin; Meyer, Patric; Flor, Herta

    2016-01-01

    Numerous questionnaire studies on attitudes towards euthanasia produced conflicting results, precluding any general conclusion. This might be due to the fact that human behavior can be influenced by automatically triggered attitudes, which represent ingrained associations in memory and cannot be assessed by standard questionnaires, but require indirect measures such as reaction times (RT) or electroencephalographic recording (EEG). Event related potentials (ERPs) of the EEG and RT during an affective priming task were assessed to investigate the impact of automatically triggered attitudes and were compared to results of an explicit questionnaire. Explicit attitudes were ambivalent. Reaction time data showed neither positive nor negative associations towards euthanasia. ERP analyses revealed an N400 priming effect with lower mean amplitudes when euthanasia was associated with negative words. The euthanasia-related modulation of the N400 component shows an integration of the euthanasia object in negatively valenced associative neural networks. The integration of all measures suggests a bottom-up process of attitude activation, where automatically triggered negative euthanasia-relevant associations can become more ambiguous with increasing time in order to regulate the bias arising from automatic processes. These data suggest that implicit measures may make an important contribution to the understanding of euthanasia-related attitudes.

  7. From Memory to Attitude: The Neurocognitive Process beyond Euthanasia Acceptance

    PubMed Central

    Enke, Martin; Meyer, Patric; Flor, Herta

    2016-01-01

    Numerous questionnaire studies on attitudes towards euthanasia produced conflicting results, precluding any general conclusion. This might be due to the fact that human behavior can be influenced by automatically triggered attitudes, which represent ingrained associations in memory and cannot be assessed by standard questionnaires, but require indirect measures such as reaction times (RT) or electroencephalographic recording (EEG). Event related potentials (ERPs) of the EEG and RT during an affective priming task were assessed to investigate the impact of automatically triggered attitudes and were compared to results of an explicit questionnaire. Explicit attitudes were ambivalent. Reaction time data showed neither positive nor negative associations towards euthanasia. ERP analyses revealed an N400 priming effect with lower mean amplitudes when euthanasia was associated with negative words. The euthanasia-related modulation of the N400 component shows an integration of the euthanasia object in negatively valenced associative neural networks. The integration of all measures suggests a bottom-up process of attitude activation, where automatically triggered negative euthanasia-relevant associations can become more ambiguous with increasing time in order to regulate the bias arising from automatic processes. These data suggest that implicit measures may make an important contribution to the understanding of euthanasia-related attitudes. PMID:27088244

  8. The effect of positive and negative movie alcohol portrayals on transportation and attitude toward the movie.

    PubMed

    Koordeman, Renske; Anschutz, Doeschka J; Engels, Rutger C M E

    2014-07-01

    This study examined the effects of alcohol portrayals on transportation and attitude toward a movie. In addition, we examined whether positive and negative movie alcohol portrayals affect transportation into and attitude toward the movie. A within-subject design was used in which participants were exposed to 8 different movie clips containing alcohol (positive or negative context) or no alcohol portrayals in a controlled laboratory setting. A total of 159 college students (84 males and 75 females) ages 18 to 30 participated in the experiment. Transportation and attitude toward the movie were measured after each movie clip. Participants were more transported into and had a more positive attitude toward movie clips with alcohol portrayals compared to the same movie clips with no alcohol portrayal. In addition, participants were more transported into movie clips with negative alcohol (NA) portrayals compared to clips with positive alcohol (PA) portrayals. For attitude toward the movie, opposite results were found. Participants had a more positive attitudes toward clips with PA portrayals compared to clips with NA portrayals. The way alcohol is portrayed in movies may contribute to how people evaluate and get transported in movies. Copyright © 2014 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

  9. 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

  10. 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.

  11. Effects of perceived smoking-cancer relationship and cardiovascular health attitudes on childrens' views of smoking.

    PubMed

    Bektas, Ilknur; Bektas, Murat; Selekoğlu, Yasemin; Kudubes, Aslı Akdeniz; Altan, Sema Sal; Ayar, Dijle

    2015-01-01

    This study was conducted with the aim of determining how students' perceived smoking-cancer relationship and cardiovascular health attitudes affect childrens' views of smoking. The sample of this descriptive-cross sectional study comprised 574 subjects between the ages of 11-15. The data were collected using the Children's Cardiovascular Health Promotion Attitude Scale and the Children's Decisional Balance Measure for Assessing and Predicting Smoking Status. Correlation and logistic regression were used for analysis. It was determined that a statistically significant relationship exists between the attitudes of children towards smoking and their ideas about the relationship of smoking with cancer, which is negative and low (r=-0.223). There was also a statistically significant relationship between their attitudes towards cardiovascular health and their attitudes towards smoking, again at a low level (r=0.257). It was determined that children with ideas about smoking and cancer were 9.4 times less likely to have positive/negative attitudes towards smoking, while positive attitudes towards cardiovascular health made negative attitudes towards smoking 3.9 times less likely. It was determined that the attitudes of students towards cardiovascular health and their perceptions of smoking and cancer reduced the positive perceptions towards smoking.

  12. Patterns and prevalence of disordered eating and weight control behaviors in women ages 25-45.

    PubMed

    Reba-Harrelson, L; Von Holle, A; Hamer, R M; Swann, R; Reyes, M L; Bulik, C M

    2009-12-01

    The current study describes detailed eating behaviors, dieting behaviors, and attitudes about shape and weight in 4023 women ages 25 to 45. The survey was delivered on-line and participants were identified using a national quota-sampling procedure. Disordered eating behaviors, extreme weight loss measures, and negative cognitions about shape and weight were widely endorsed by women in this age group and were not limited to White participants. Thirty-one percent of women without a history of anorexia nervosa or binge eating reported having purged to control weight, and 74.5% of women reported that their concerns about shape and weight interfered with their happiness. Unhealthy approaches to weight control and negative attitudes about shape and weight are pervasive even among women without eating disorders. The development of effective approaches to address the impact of these unhealthy behaviors and attitudes on the general well-being and functioning of women is required.

  13. [Why are stereotypes about mentally ill so resistant? Lessons from social psychology].

    PubMed

    Möller-Leimkühler, A M

    2004-01-01

    Prejudices and social stigma in mental illness have a long tradition and have hardly been modified by educational programmes on the long term. The question, why these negative social attitudes appear to be considerably resistant to change is analysed with reference to social psychological research on stereotypes. First, a short review of studies on public attitudes towards the mentally ill and media analyses will give evidence to the widespread stereotypical misconceptions and their reproduction by selected media information. Then the dynamics of social stereotyping will be explained in relation to cultural, cognitive and emotional factors focussing on the development and activation of stereotypes within the paradigm of information processing. It is supposed that stereotype activation facilitates the processing of consistent information as well as it inhibits the processing of inconsistent information. Implications for changing negative attitudes about the mentally ill are discussed.

  14. Negative Public Attitudes Towards Cancer Survivors Returning to Work: A Nationwide Survey in Korea.

    PubMed

    Shim, Hye-Young; Shin, Ji-Yeon; Kim, Jong Heun; Kim, So-Young; Yang, Hyung-Kook; Park, Jong-Hyock

    2016-04-01

    Early diagnosis and an improved survival rate have emerged as important issues for cancer survivors returning to work during the prime of their working life. This study investigated the attitudes of the general public towards cancer survivors returning to work in Korea and attempted to identify the factors influencing this negative attitude. A general public perception survey regarding cancer survivors returning to work, targeting 2,000 individuals between 40-70 years of age, was conducted as face-to-face home visit. The public expressed a negative attitude towards cancer survivors returning to work, in terms of both perception and acceptance. Negative perception was higher among those in metropolitan areas compared with urban/rural areas (odds ratio [OR], 1.71), with monthly incomes < $2,000 compared with > $4,000 (OR, 1.54), and with patient care experience compared with those without (OR, 1.41). Negative acceptance was higher among those with monthly incomes < $2,000 compared with > $4,000 (OR, 1.71) and those with patient care experience compared with those without (OR, 1.54). The common factors between acceptance and perception that influenced negative attitude included area of residence, patient care experience, and monthly income. This study identified negative attitudes towards cancer survivors returning to work in South Korea and the factors influencing the reintegration of cancer survivors into society. It is necessary to promote community awareness and intervention activities to enable access to community, social, and individual units for the social reintegration of cancer survivors.

  15. Information Framing Reduces Initial Negative Attitudes in Cancer Patients' Decisions About Hospice Care.

    PubMed

    Fridman, Ilona; Glare, Paul A; Stabler, Stacy M; Epstein, Andrew S; Wiesenthal, Alison; Leblanc, Thomas W; Higgins, E Tory

    2018-06-01

    Negative attitudes toward hospice care might prevent patients with cancer from discussing and choosing hospice as they approach end of life. When making a decision, people often naturally focus on either expected benefits or the avoidance of harm. Behavioral research has demonstrated that framing information in an incongruent manner with patients' underlying motivational focus reduces their negative attitudes toward a disliked option. Our study tests this communication technique with cancer patients, aiming to reduce negative attitudes toward a potentially beneficial but often-disliked option, that is, hospice care. Patients (n = 42) with active cancer of different types and/or stages completed a paper survey. Participants read a vignette about a patient with advanced cancer and a limited prognosis. In the vignette, the physician's advice to enroll in a hospice program was randomized, creating a congruent message or an incongruent message with patients' underlying motivational focus (e.g., a congruent message for someone most interested in benefits focuses on the benefits of hospice, whereas an incongruent message for this patient focuses on avoiding harm). Patients' attitudes toward hospice were measured before and after receiving the physician's advice. Regression analyses indicated that information framing significantly influenced patients with strong initial negative attitudes. Patients were more likely to reduce intensity of their initial negative attitude about hospice when receiving an incongruent message (b = -0.23; P < 0.01) than a congruent one (b = -0.13; P = 0.08). This finding suggests a new theory-driven approach to conversations with cancer patients who may harbor negative reactions toward hospice care. Copyright © 2018 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Perceptions of Athletic Competence and Fear of Negative Evaluation during Physical Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ridgers, Nicola D.; Fazey, Della M. A.; Fairclough, Stuart J.

    2007-01-01

    Background: Physical education (PE) aims to enhance self-esteem, develop sporting interests and to encourage a physically active life-style. However, little is known about how a fear of negative evaluation (FNE), the socially evaluative aspect of social anxiety, affects children's attitudes to PE. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the…

  17. Comparative analysis of positive and negative attitudes toward statistics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghulami, Hassan Rahnaward; Ab Hamid, Mohd Rashid; Zakaria, Roslinazairimah

    2015-02-01

    Many statistics lecturers and statistics education researchers are interested to know the perception of their students' attitudes toward statistics during the statistics course. In statistics course, positive attitude toward statistics is a vital because it will be encourage students to get interested in the statistics course and in order to master the core content of the subject matters under study. Although, students who have negative attitudes toward statistics they will feel depressed especially in the given group assignment, at risk for failure, are often highly emotional, and could not move forward. Therefore, this study investigates the students' attitude towards learning statistics. Six latent constructs have been the measurement of students' attitudes toward learning statistic such as affect, cognitive competence, value, difficulty, interest, and effort. The questionnaire was adopted and adapted from the reliable and validate instrument of Survey of Attitudes towards Statistics (SATS). This study is conducted among engineering undergraduate engineering students in the university Malaysia Pahang (UMP). The respondents consist of students who were taking the applied statistics course from different faculties. From the analysis, it is found that the questionnaire is acceptable and the relationships among the constructs has been proposed and investigated. In this case, students show full effort to master the statistics course, feel statistics course enjoyable, have confidence that they have intellectual capacity, and they have more positive attitudes then negative attitudes towards statistics learning. In conclusion in terms of affect, cognitive competence, value, interest and effort construct the positive attitude towards statistics was mostly exhibited. While negative attitudes mostly exhibited by difficulty construct.

  18. Attitudes among dentists and dental hygienists towards extended scope and independent practice of dental hygienists.

    PubMed

    Reinders, Jan J; Krijnen, Wim P; Onclin, Pieter; van der Schans, Cees P; Stegenga, Boudewijn

    2017-02-01

    Attitudes of dentists and dental hygienists towards extended scope and independent dental hygiene practice are described in several studies, but the results are heterogenous. The purpose of this systematic review was to compare the attitudes of dentists and dental hygienists towards extended scope and independent dental hygiene practice. PubMed, AMED and CINAHL were screened by two independent assessors to identify relevant studies. Only quantitative studies that reported the percentages of dentists' and dental hygienists' attitude towards extended scope and independent dental hygiene practice were included. The random-effects model was used to synthesise possible heterogenous influences. Meta proportions with regard to a positive attitude towards extended scope of practice are 0.54 for dentists and 0.81 for dental hygienists. Meta proportions of a positive attitude towards independent practice are 0.14 for dentists and 0.59 for dental hygienists. A meta analysis with regard to negative attitudes could only be performed on extended scope of practice and did not reveal a difference between the two professions. We obtained homogeneous outcomes of the studies included regarding negative attitudes of dentists . A minority of dentists hold negative attitudes towards extended scope of dental hygiene practice. Study outcomes regarding negative attitudes of dental hygienists were heterogeneous. Positive attitudes are present among a majority of dentists and dental hygienists with regard to extended scope of dental hygiene practice, while for independent dental hygiene practice this holds for a minority of dentists and a majority of dental hygienists. © 2016 FDI World Dental Federation.

  19. Can Caring Create Prejudice? An Investigation of Positive and Negative Intergenerational Contact in Care Settings and the Generalisation of Blatant and Subtle Age Prejudice to Other Older People.

    PubMed

    Drury, Lisbeth; Abrams, Dominic; Swift, Hannah J; Lamont, Ruth A; Gerocova, Katarina

    2017-01-01

    Caring is a positive social act, but can it result in negative attitudes towards those cared for, and towards others from their wider social group? Based on intergroup contact theory, we tested whether care workers' (CWs) positive and negative contact with old-age care home residents (CHRs) predicts prejudiced attitudes towards that group, and whether this generalises to other older people. Fifty-six CWs were surveyed about their positive and negative contact with CHRs and their blatant and subtle attitudes (humanness attributions) towards CHRs and older adults. We tested indirect paths from contact with CHRs to attitudes towards older adults via attitudes towards CHRs. Results showed that neither positive nor negative contact generalised blatant ageism. However, the effect of negative, but not positive, contact on the denial of humanness to CHRs generalised to subtle ageism towards older adults. This evidence has practical implications for management of CWs' work experiences and theoretical implications, suggesting that negative contact with a subgroup generalises the attribution of humanness to superordinate groups. Because it is difficult to identify and challenge subtle prejudices such as dehumanisation, it may be especially important to reduce negative contact. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Implicit and Explicit Illusory Correlation as a Function of Political Ideology

    PubMed Central

    Carraro, Luciana; Negri, Paolo; Castelli, Luigi; Pastore, Massimiliano

    2014-01-01

    Research has demonstrated that people who embrace different ideological orientations often show differences at the level of basic cognitive processes. For instance, conservatives (vs. liberals) display an automatic selective attention for negative (vs. positive) stimuli, and tend to more easily form illusory correlations between negative information and minority groups. In the present work, we further explored this latter effect by examining whether it only involves the formation of explicit attitudes or it extends to implicit attitudes. To this end, following the typical illusory correlation paradigm, participants were presented with members of two numerically different groups (majority and minority) each performing either a positive or negative behaviour. Negative behaviors were relatively infrequent, and the proportion of positive and negative behaviors within each group was the same. Next, explicit and implicit (i.e., IAT-measured) attitudes were assessed. Results showed that conservatives (vs. liberals) displayed stronger explicit as well as implicit illusory correlations effects, forming more negative attitudes toward the minority (vs. majority) group at both the explicit and implicit level. PMID:24820311

  1. Implicit and explicit illusory correlation as a function of political ideology.

    PubMed

    Carraro, Luciana; Negri, Paolo; Castelli, Luigi; Pastore, Massimiliano

    2014-01-01

    Research has demonstrated that people who embrace different ideological orientations often show differences at the level of basic cognitive processes. For instance, conservatives (vs. liberals) display an automatic selective attention for negative (vs. positive) stimuli, and tend to more easily form illusory correlations between negative information and minority groups. In the present work, we further explored this latter effect by examining whether it only involves the formation of explicit attitudes or it extends to implicit attitudes. To this end, following the typical illusory correlation paradigm, participants were presented with members of two numerically different groups (majority and minority) each performing either a positive or negative behaviour. Negative behaviors were relatively infrequent, and the proportion of positive and negative behaviors within each group was the same. Next, explicit and implicit (i.e., IAT-measured) attitudes were assessed. Results showed that conservatives (vs. liberals) displayed stronger explicit as well as implicit illusory correlations effects, forming more negative attitudes toward the minority (vs. majority) group at both the explicit and implicit level.

  2. Validity of the Butcher Treatment Planning Inventory as a Measure of Negative Treatment Attitudes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hatchett, Gregory T.

    2007-01-01

    This study evaluated the validity of the Butcher Treatment Planning Inventory (BTPI) as a measure of negative expectations and attitudes toward counseling. Undergraduate students completed the BTPI, the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Abbreviated Version, and the Expectations About Counseling-Brief Form during one…

  3. Factors Affecting Students' Attitudes toward Toads

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tomažic, Iztok; Šorgo, Andrej

    2017-01-01

    Amphibians are one of the most threatened animal groups; however, attitudes and emotions toward them are mostly negative. One of the efforts, as a part of the cognitive dimension of nature protection, should be in the shifting of negative attitudes toward amphibians to positive ones. The purpose of this study was reevaluation of the Toad Attitude…

  4. The Effect of Body Mass Index, Negative Affect, and Disordered Eating on Health-Related Quality of Life in Preadolescent Youth.

    PubMed

    Mitchell, Tarrah B; Steele, Ric G

    2016-08-01

    To examine the indirect effect of body mass index z-score (BMIz) on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) through disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in a community sample of preadolescent children, and the degree to which negative affect moderated the association between BMIz and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Participants included 165 children between 8 and 12 years of age (M = 9.41). HRQOL, disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, and negative affect were assessed using self-report measures. Height and weight were collected by research staff. Consistent with previous research in treatment-seeking and adolescent samples, the indirect effect of BMIz on HRQOL through disordered eating attitudes and behaviors was significant. Negative affect did not moderate the relationship between BMIz and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Intervening on disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in preadolescents with higher weight status is critical to prevent the risk for poor HRQOL. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Knowledge and Attitude of Nursing Students toward Electroconvulsive Therapy

    PubMed Central

    Sharma, Nitasha; Ghai, Sandhya; Grover, Sandeep

    2017-01-01

    Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the commonly used treatment modalities for patients with severe mental disorders. However, acceptance of ECT by the patient and relatives often depends on how the health-care professionals themselves present the treatment modality to the patients and their relatives. There is a lack of information about the knowledge and attitude toward ECT among health professionals. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge about and attitude toward ECT among nursing students. Methodology: Knowledge of and attitudes toward ECT among nursing students were assessed using ECT knowledge and attitude questionnaires. Results: The study included 183 nursing students. Majority (n = 62; 60.8%) of the participants obtained information about ECT from media (movies, television, print media, etc.). None of the students had full knowledge about ECT. Although a significant proportion of students had knowledge about the ECT procedure and consent procedure, majority of them had poor knowledge about the effectiveness, mechanism of action, indications, and side effects of ECT. Negative attitudes were also highly prevalent, with more than two-thirds of the participants having negative attitudes toward ECT on more than half of the attitude items of the scale. Total knowledge score positively correlated with total attitude score, suggesting that higher knowledge was associated with more positive attitude. Conclusions: Although nursing students have knowledge about basic ECT procedure and consent, they lack knowledge about the effectiveness, mechanism of action, indications, and side effects of ECT. Negative attitude toward ECT is also highly prevalent among nursing students. Accordingly, there is a need to improve the knowledge and address the negative attitude of nursing students, which may ultimately lead to better acceptance of the treatment. PMID:28936064

  6. Knowledge and Attitude of Nursing Students toward Electroconvulsive Therapy.

    PubMed

    Sharma, Nitasha; Ghai, Sandhya; Grover, Sandeep

    2017-08-01

    Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the commonly used treatment modalities for patients with severe mental disorders. However, acceptance of ECT by the patient and relatives often depends on how the health-care professionals themselves present the treatment modality to the patients and their relatives. There is a lack of information about the knowledge and attitude toward ECT among health professionals. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge about and attitude toward ECT among nursing students. Knowledge of and attitudes toward ECT among nursing students were assessed using ECT knowledge and attitude questionnaires. The study included 183 nursing students. Majority ( n = 62; 60.8%) of the participants obtained information about ECT from media (movies, television, print media, etc.). None of the students had full knowledge about ECT. Although a significant proportion of students had knowledge about the ECT procedure and consent procedure, majority of them had poor knowledge about the effectiveness, mechanism of action, indications, and side effects of ECT. Negative attitudes were also highly prevalent, with more than two-thirds of the participants having negative attitudes toward ECT on more than half of the attitude items of the scale. Total knowledge score positively correlated with total attitude score, suggesting that higher knowledge was associated with more positive attitude. Although nursing students have knowledge about basic ECT procedure and consent, they lack knowledge about the effectiveness, mechanism of action, indications, and side effects of ECT. Negative attitude toward ECT is also highly prevalent among nursing students. Accordingly, there is a need to improve the knowledge and address the negative attitude of nursing students, which may ultimately lead to better acceptance of the treatment.

  7. Nurses' attitudes towards euthanasia: a cross-sectional study in Iran.

    PubMed

    Naseh, Ladan; Rafiei, Hossein; Heidari, Mohammad

    2015-01-01

    Nurses have an important role in caring for terminally ill patients. They are often confronted with euthanasia but little is known about their attitudes towards it. The present study aimed to examine Iranian Muslim nurses' attitudes towards euthanasia. In this exploratory cross-sectional study, all qualified registered nurses working in two teaching hospitals (Kashani and Hajar hospitals) in Iran were invited to participate. The Euthanasia Attitude Scale (EAS) was used to assess the nurses' attitude towards euthanasia. Of 266 nurses who fit the criteria, 190 participated in the study (response rate 72.9%); 91.1% (n=173) were female and 8.9% (n=17) were male. In total, 57.4%, 3.2% and 39.5% of nurses reported a negative, neutral and positive attitude to euthanasia respectively. Nurses reported their most negative attitude to the domain 'practical consideration' with mean of 2.36±0.9 and most positive attitude to the domain 'treasuring life' with a mean EAS score of 2.85±0.4. The majority of Muslim nurses were found to have negative attitudes to euthanasia. We recommend that future studies should be conducted to examine Muslim nurses' attitudes to euthanasia in different cultures to determine the role of culture and religious beliefs in attitude to euthanasia.

  8. The impact of humorous media on attitudes toward persons with disabilities.

    PubMed

    Smedema, Susan Miller; Ebener, Deborah; Grist-Gordon, Virginia

    2012-01-01

    To examine the relationship between disability-related humor and attitudes toward persons with disabilities in business students (i.e. "future employers"). Students watched one of two films designed to reduce negative attitudes toward persons with disabilities (one humorous in tone and the other serious in tone) or no film at all, and completed a measure of attitudes toward persons with disabilities. Results indicated that, after controlling for previous contact with persons with disabilities, age, and gender, students who watched the humorous film reported significantly more positive attitudes toward persons with disabilities. Disability humor may be an effective means of positively influencing attitudes toward persons with disabilities in future employers. [ • The acceptance and integration of persons with disabilities into society continues to be limited by negative attitudes.• Previous research has shown that employers with positive attitudes toward persons with disabilities maybe more likely to hire a person with a disability than employers with negative attitudes.• In this study, students who watched a humorous film reported significantly more positive attitudes toward persons with disabilities than students who watched a serious film or no film at all.• Consequently, it may be beneficial to embed disability humor into job-placement strategies in order to improve attitudes and positively influence hiring decisions.

  9. Patterns of Welfare Attitudes in the Australian Population.

    PubMed

    Schofield, Timothy P; Butterworth, Peter

    2015-01-01

    The study of community attitudes toward welfare and welfare recipients is an area of increasing interest. This is not only because negative attitudes can lead to stigmatization and discrimination, but because of the relevance of social attitudes to policy decisions. We quantify the attitudes toward welfare in the Australian population using attitude data from a nationally representative survey (N = 3243). Although there was broad support for the social welfare system, negative attitudes are held toward those who receive welfare benefits. Using canonical correlation analysis we identify multivariate associations between welfare attitudes and respondent demographic characteristics. A primary attitudinal dimension of welfare positivity was found amongst those with higher levels of education, life instability, and personal exposure to the welfare system. Other patterns of negative welfare attitudes appeared to be motivated by beliefs that the respondent's personal circumstances indicate their deservingness. Moreover, a previously unidentified and unconsidered subset of respondents was identified. This group had positive attitudes toward receiving government benefits despite having no recent experience of welfare. They did, however, possess many of the characteristics that frequently lead to welfare receipt. These results provide insights into not only how attitudinal patterns segment across the population, but are of relevance to policy makers considering how to align welfare reform with community attitudes.

  10. Patterns of Welfare Attitudes in the Australian Population

    PubMed Central

    Schofield, Timothy P.; Butterworth, Peter

    2015-01-01

    The study of community attitudes toward welfare and welfare recipients is an area of increasing interest. This is not only because negative attitudes can lead to stigmatization and discrimination, but because of the relevance of social attitudes to policy decisions. We quantify the attitudes toward welfare in the Australian population using attitude data from a nationally representative survey (N = 3243). Although there was broad support for the social welfare system, negative attitudes are held toward those who receive welfare benefits. Using canonical correlation analysis we identify multivariate associations between welfare attitudes and respondent demographic characteristics. A primary attitudinal dimension of welfare positivity was found amongst those with higher levels of education, life instability, and personal exposure to the welfare system. Other patterns of negative welfare attitudes appeared to be motivated by beliefs that the respondent’s personal circumstances indicate their deservingness. Moreover, a previously unidentified and unconsidered subset of respondents was identified. This group had positive attitudes toward receiving government benefits despite having no recent experience of welfare. They did, however, possess many of the characteristics that frequently lead to welfare receipt. These results provide insights into not only how attitudinal patterns segment across the population, but are of relevance to policy makers considering how to align welfare reform with community attitudes. PMID:26554361

  11. Older Adults Talk Technology: Technology Usage and Attitudes.

    PubMed

    Mitzner, Tracy L; Boron, Julie B; Fausset, Cara Bailey; Adams, Anne E; Charness, Neil; Czaja, Sara J; Dijkstra, Katinka; Fisk, Arthur D; Rogers, Wendy A; Sharit, Joseph

    2010-11-01

    Older adults (n = 113) participated in focus groups discussing their use of and attitudes about technology in the context of their home, work, and healthcare. Participants reported using a wide variety of technology items, particularly in their homes. Positive attitudes (i.e., likes) outnumbered negative attitudes (i.e., dislikes), suggesting that older adults perceive the benefits of technology use to outweigh the costs of such use. Positive attitudes were most frequently related to how the technology supported activities, enhanced convenience, and contained useful features. Negative attitudes were most frequently associated with technology creating inconveniences, unhelpful features, as well as security and reliability concerns. Given that older adults reported more positive than negative attitudes about the technologies they use, these results contradict stereotypes that older adults are afraid or unwilling to use technology. These findings also highlight the importance of perceived benefits of use and ease of use for models of technology acceptance. Emphasizing the benefits of technology in education and training programs may increase future technology adoption.

  12. Older Adults Talk Technology: Technology Usage and Attitudes

    PubMed Central

    Mitzner, Tracy L.; Boron, Julie B.; Fausset, Cara Bailey; Adams, Anne E.; Charness, Neil; Czaja, Sara J.; Dijkstra, Katinka; Fisk, Arthur D.; Rogers, Wendy A.; Sharit, Joseph

    2010-01-01

    Older adults (n = 113) participated in focus groups discussing their use of and attitudes about technology in the context of their home, work, and healthcare. Participants reported using a wide variety of technology items, particularly in their homes. Positive attitudes (i.e., likes) outnumbered negative attitudes (i.e., dislikes), suggesting that older adults perceive the benefits of technology use to outweigh the costs of such use. Positive attitudes were most frequently related to how the technology supported activities, enhanced convenience, and contained useful features. Negative attitudes were most frequently associated with technology creating inconveniences, unhelpful features, as well as security and reliability concerns. Given that older adults reported more positive than negative attitudes about the technologies they use, these results contradict stereotypes that older adults are afraid or unwilling to use technology. These findings also highlight the importance of perceived benefits of use and ease of use for models of technology acceptance. Emphasizing the benefits of technology in education and training programs may increase future technology adoption. PMID:20967133

  13. Examining the relationship between male rape myth acceptance, female rape myth acceptance, victim blame, homophobia, gender roles, and ambivalent sexism.

    PubMed

    Davies, Michelle; Gilston, Jennifer; Rogers, Paul

    2012-09-01

    The relationship between male rape myth acceptance, female rape myth acceptance, attitudes toward gay men, a series of gender role and sexism measures, victim blame and assault severity were investigated. It was predicted that men would display more negative, stereotypical attitudes than women and that male rape myth endorsement would be related to, and predicted by, the other attitude and attribution scales. Respondents comprised 323 undergraduates (146 males and 177 females) from a large University in the Northwest of England. Results broadly conformed to predictions, with men generally more negative than women, and male rape myth acceptance significantly related to female rape myth acceptance, negative attitudes about gay men, gender role attitudes, and victim blame. Furthermore, male rape myth acceptance was predicted by female rape myth acceptance, gender attitudes, and victim blame. Methodological issues and implications for future work and those working with victims are discussed.

  14. Attitudes of physical therapist students toward physical therapist assistants before and after full-time clinical internships.

    PubMed

    Cavallo, Cheryl L; Richter, Randy R

    2004-01-01

    Development of attitudes of physical therapists (PTs) toward physical therapist assistants (PTAs) begins during their professional education, and attitudes are influenced further by clinical experiences. The purpose of this study was to understand attitudes of student PTs toward PTAs. We surveyed 66 clinical intern students enrolled in an entry-level master of physical therapy program. PT students received the same survey before and after their full-time clinical internship. Eleven Likert scale items were used to assess students' attitudes toward PTAs in the areas of competence, financial remuneration, and job security. One item was designed to determine whether PT students' level of contact with PTAs influenced attitudes. A random sample of 13 (20.9%) students who returned surveys were asked to participate in a telephone interview designed to enrich the quantitative data. After item analysis, five of the scale items were eliminated from the analyses due to poor internal consistency. Cronbach's alpha of the remaining six scale items was 0.75. Survey results reveal that PT students maintain an overall positive attitude toward PTAs before and after full-time clinical internship. Qualitative interview data support this finding. Students' attitudes in specific areas of PTA competence were negative and positive, however. The negative attitude may have been based on the students' beliefs that PTAs are not competent to perform physical therapy in situations that are changing or unpredictable. Positive attitudes may have been reflective of the students' beliefs that PTAs are competent to implement established plans of care. Student ranking of four professional issues showed a significant difference before and after full-time clinical internships.

  15. Do medical students like communication? Validation of the German CSAS (Communication Skills Attitude Scale).

    PubMed

    Busch, Anne-Kathrin; Rockenbauch, Katrin; Schmutzer, Gabriele; Brähler, Elmar

    2015-01-01

    Attitudes towards communication skills of medical undergraduates can be gathered using the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS). We aimed to develop a German version of the CSAS (CSAS-G) in order to explore attitudes towards communication skills in a German cohort. Additionally the potential influence of demographic factors was examined. We realized the CSAS-G and conducted a survey with 529 participants from 3 different years of study. We then carried out an explorative as well as confirmatory factor analysis and compared the attitudinal scores. Multiple regression analysis was performed. The confirmatory analysis confirmed the two-subscale system revealed by the explorative factor analysis. Students indicate low levels of negative attitudes and moderate levels of positive attitudes. Attitudinal scores differ significantly in relation to gender. The CSAS-G can be used in German cohorts to evaluate attitudes towards communication skills. Medical students in our study show basically a positive approach. Further investigation is necessary to explore and understand attitudes towards communication skills of German medical students.

  16. Perceptions and Attitudes of Health Professionals in Kenya on National Health Care Resource Allocation Mechanisms: A Structural Equation Modeling

    PubMed Central

    Owili, Patrick Opiyo; Hsu, Yi-Hsin Elsa; Chern, Jin-Yuan; Chiu, Chiung-Hsuan Megan; Wang, Bill; Huang, Kuo-Cherh; Muga, Miriam Adoyo

    2015-01-01

    Background Health care resource allocation is key towards attaining equity in the health system. However, health professionals’ perceived impact and attitude towards health care resource allocation in Sub-Saharan Africa is unknown; furthermore, they occupy a position which makes them notice the impact of different policies in their health system. This study explored perceptions and attitudes of health professionals in Kenya on health care resource allocation mechanism. Method We conducted a survey of a representative sample of 341 health professionals in Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital from February to April 2012, consisting of over 3000 employees. We assessed health professionals’ perceived impact and attitudes on health care resource allocation mechanism in Kenya. We used structural equation modeling and applied a Confirmatory Factor Analysis using Robust Maximum Likelihood estimation procedure to test the hypothesized model. Results We found that the allocation mechanism was negatively associated with their perceived positive impact (-1.04, p < .001), health professionals’ satisfaction (-0.24, p < .01), and professionals’ attitudes (-1.55, p < .001) while it was positively associated with perceived negative impact (1.14, p < .001). Perceived positive impact of the allocation mechanism was negatively associated with their overall satisfaction (-0.08) and attitude (-0.98) at p < .001, respectively. Furthermore, overall satisfaction was negatively associated with attitude (-1.10, p <.001). On the other hand, perceived negative impact of the allocation was positively associated with overall satisfaction (0.29, p <.001) but was not associated with attitude. Conclusion The result suggests that health care resource allocation mechanism has a negative effect towards perceptions, attitudes and overall satisfaction of health professionals who are at the frontline in health care. These findings can serve as a crucial reference for policymakers as the Kenyan health system move towards devolving the system of governance. PMID:26039053

  17. Youth leadership program for changing self-image and attitude toward people with disabilities.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Ronen; Roth, Dana; York, Alan; Neikrug, Shimshon

    2012-01-01

    Society has a negative attitude toward people with intellectual disabilities or psychiatric disabilities. It is well documented that they are subjected to prejudice, stigma, and negative attitudes (Di Giulio, 2003; Finger, 1994). Professional literature indicates that information about disabilities and encounters with persons with disabilities can change negative attitudes (Carter, Hughes, Copeland, & Breen, 2001; Krajewski & Flaherty, 2000). This study accompanied 164 9th-grade students from various junior high schools throughout Israel. Half of the students participated in an integration program for changing attitudes toward persons with disabilities, and the other half served as the control group. The research examined the existence and the degree of relationship between participation in the program, changes in attitudes toward people with disabilities, and self-image. The research findings pointed to a positive change in attitudes of the participants of the program in comparison with the control group, resulting mainly from personal contact with people with disabilities. No relationship was found between levels of self-image of the research group and attitudes toward people with disabilities.

  18. Are the attitudes of exercise instructors who work with older adults influenced by training and personal characteristics?

    PubMed

    Hawley, Helen; Skelton, Dawn A; Campbell, Malcolm; Todd, Chris

    2012-01-01

    Little is known about the relationship between attitudes and characteristics of instructors and uptake and adherence of older people to exercise classes. This article explores these issues. The authors surveyed 731 UK exercise instructors with specialist older adult exercise qualifications. A questionnaire investigated instructors' characteristics and attitudes toward older adults' participation in exercise. For mostly seated classes, EXTEND qualification (B = 0.36, p = .005) had a positive effect on instructors' attitudes. Later Life Training qualification (B = -2.80, p = .003), clinical background (B = -3.99, p = .005), and delivering classes in National Health Services (B = -3.12, p < .001), leisure centers (B = -2.75, p = .002), or nursing homes (B = -2.29, p = .005) had a negative effect on attitudes. For mostly standing classes, experience (B = 0.20, p = .003) and delivering in leisure centers (B = 0.46, p = .032) had a positive and clinical background (B = -1.78, p = .018) had a negative effect on instructors' attitudes. Most instructors have positive attitudes, but training and work context can influence attitudes toward older people's participation in exercise classes both positively and negatively.

  19. [Transcultural adaptation of the Antifat Attitudes Test to Brazilian Portuguese].

    PubMed

    Obara, Angélica Almeida; Alvarenga, Marle Dos Santos

    2018-05-01

    Obese individuals are often blamed for their own condition and the targets of discrimination and prejudice. The scope of this study is to describe the cross-cultural adaptation to Brazilian Portuguese and the validation of the Antifat Attitudes Test - specifically developed for evaluation of negative attitudes toward the obese individual. The scale has 34 statements distributed in three subscales - Social/Character Disparagement (15 items), Physical/Romantic Unattractiveness (10 items) and Weight Control/Blame (9 items). The method involved the translation of the scale; evaluation of the conceptual, operational and item equivalence; evaluation of the semantic equivalence using the paired t test, the Pearson correlation coefficient and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC); internal consistency evaluation (Cronbach's alpha) and test-retest reliability (ICC) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis - after application in 340 college students in the area of health. The results showed good global internal consistency and reliability (α 0.85; CCI 0.83), and factor analysis showed that the original subscales can be kept in the adaptation, and therefore the scale adapted to the Brazilian-Portuguese version is valid and useful in studies to explore negative attitudes toward obese individuals.

  20. Nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding major immobility complications among bedridden patients: A prospective multicentre study.

    PubMed

    Li, Zhen; Zhou, Xinmei; Cao, Jing; Li, Zheng; Wan, Xia; Li, Jiaqian; Jiao, Jing; Liu, Ge; Liu, Ying; Li, Fangfang; Song, Baoyun; Jin, Jingfen; Liu, Yilan; Wen, Xianxiu; Cheng, Shouzhen; Wu, Xinjuan

    2018-05-01

    To gain insight into nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding major immobility complications (pressure ulcers, pneumonia, deep vein thrombosis and urinary tract infections) and explore the correlation of nurses' knowledge and attitudes with the incidence of these complications. Immobility complications have adverse consequences, and effective management requires appropriate knowledge, attitudes and skills. Evidence about nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding immobility complications is lacking. Cross-sectional study. A total of 3,903 nurses and 21,333 bedridden patients from 25 hospitals in China were surveyed. Nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding major immobility complications were assessed using researcher-developed questionnaires. The content validity, reliability and internal consistency of the questionnaires were validated through expert review and a pilot study. The incidence of major immobility complications among bedridden patients from selected wards was surveyed by trained investigators. Correlations between knowledge, attitudes and the incidence of major immobility complications were evaluated with multilevel regression models. Mean knowledge scores were 64.07% for pressure ulcers, 72.92% for deep vein thrombosis, 76.54% for pneumonia and 83.30% for urinary tract infections. Mean attitude scores for these complications were 86.25%, 84.31%, 85.00% and 84.53%, respectively. Knowledge and attitude scores were significantly higher among nurses with older age, longer employment duration, higher education level, previous training experience and those working in tertiary hospitals or critical care units. Nurses' knowledge about pressure ulcers was negatively related to the incidence of pressure ulcers, and attitude towards pneumonia was negatively correlated with the incidence of pneumonia. Clinical nurses have relatively positive attitudes but inadequate knowledge regarding major immobility complications. Improved knowledge and attitudes regarding major immobility complications may contribute to reducing these complications. Nursing managers should implement measures to improve nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding major immobility complications to reduce the incidence of these complications in bedridden patients. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Attitudes towards Human Papilloma Virus Vaccination in the Latin American Andean Region.

    PubMed

    Nwanodi, Oroma

    2017-09-08

    This commentary explores the distribution of human papilloma virus (HPV) and HPV-related diseases, and factors affecting attitudes towards HPV, HPV-related diseases, and HPV vaccination in the Latin American Andean region. Lack of knowledge of HPV, known negative attitudes or incorrect assumptions about HPV, HPV-related diseases, and HPV vaccination provide a basis upon which to develop targeted HPV awareness and preventive health media campaigns. For maximal effect, media campaigns should use the internet, radio, and television to address health care providers, parents, and students. Additional programming can be developed for clinics to use in-house with their clients. Ministries of Education, Finance, and Health all have roles to play to increase national HPV, HPV-related diseases, and HPV vaccination awareness.

  2. Stigma among health professionals towards patients with substance use disorders and its consequences for healthcare delivery: systematic review.

    PubMed

    van Boekel, Leonieke C; Brouwers, Evelien P M; van Weeghel, Jaap; Garretsen, Henk F L

    2013-07-01

    Healthcare professionals are crucial in the identification and accessibility to treatment for people with substance use disorders. Our objective was to assess health professionals' attitudes towards patients with substance use disorders and examine the consequences of these attitudes on healthcare delivery for these patients in Western countries. Pubmed, PsycINFO and Embase were systematically searched for articles published between 2000 and 2011. Studies evaluating health professionals' attitudes towards patients with substance use disorders and consequences of negative attitudes were included. An inclusion criterion was that studies addressed alcohol or illicit drug abuse. Reviews, commentaries and letters were excluded, as were studies originating from non-Western countries. The search process yielded 1562 citations. After selection and quality assessment, 28 studies were included. Health professionals generally had a negative attitude towards patients with substance use disorders. They perceived violence, manipulation, and poor motivation as impeding factors in the healthcare delivery for these patients. Health professionals also lacked adequate education, training and support structures in working with this patient group. Negative attitudes of health professionals diminished patients' feelings of empowerment and subsequent treatment outcomes. Health professionals are less involved and have a more task-oriented approach in the delivery of healthcare, resulting in less personal engagement and diminished empathy. This review indicates that negative attitudes of health professionals towards patients with substance use disorders are common and contribute to suboptimal health care for these patients. However, few studies have evaluated the consequences of health professionals' negative attitudes towards patients with substance use disorders. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Is the effect of justice system attitudes on recidivism stable after youths' first arrest? Race and legal socialization among first-time youth offenders.

    PubMed

    Fine, Adam; Cavanagh, Caitlin; Donley, Sachiko; Frick, Paul J; Steinberg, Laurence; Cauffman, Elizabeth

    2017-04-01

    Youth who hold negative attitudes toward the justice system are more likely to engage in crime. It is particularly important to study attitudes early in someone's criminal career when they may still be open to change. To date, however, there has been no empirical test assessing whether the relation between attitudes and behavior changes after a first arrest. Using a sample of 1,216 first-time, male, juvenile offenders from the Crossroads Study, the present study explored: (a) racial/ethnic differences in the longitudinal patterns of youths' attitudes; and (b) reciprocal associations between youths' attitudes and both their offending behavior and rearrests in the 2.5 years after their first arrest. The results indicated that White youths' attitudes remained largely stable, Black youths' attitudes became more negative, and Latino youths' attitudes became more negative but only among Latino youth who reoffended. Although the results indicated that youths' attitudes were related to both offending and rearrest, the bidirectional relation between attitudes and offending weakened across time. After 2.5 years after their first arrest, attitudes no longer predicted offending or rearrests. These novel findings suggest that a youth's first contact is likely the most impactful. When it comes to young offenders' interactions with the justice system, first impressions matter. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. Caring for the elderly: changing perceptions and attitudes.

    PubMed

    Lovell, Marge

    2006-03-01

    The aging population is currently one of the main issues facing international health care systems. It is a recognized fact that with advancing age, the likelihood of developing health problems and chronic disease will increase and the demand for health care resources will escalate. This will impact hospitals and long-term care facilities. Our young nurses of the future will be faced with the challenging task of caring for this elderly population. A review of the literature revealed that nursing students have a negative attitude toward the elderly. This may be affected by personal beliefs, values, culture, experience, or observations. Their perceived attitudes toward the gerontology field will make it difficult to recruit the nurses required in this area. This article will explore these issues and examine the role of all health care professionals to help change their attitudes and develop a more positive relationship to meet the needs of this unique population.

  5. Young Syrian adults' knowledge, perceptions and attitudes to premarital testing.

    PubMed

    Gharaibeh, H; Mater, F K

    2009-12-01

    The issue of premarital testing is a controversial and complex issue. Syria is an Islamic country that is moving towards modernization that involves changes in social structures and urbanization of attitudes, beliefs, views and values. The purpose of this study was to identify young Syrian adults' knowledge, perceptions and attitudes about premarital testing. Descriptive, cross-sectional design was utilized. The study was conducted at a mid-sized university in Syria. A stratified simple random sampling was used to recruit the university students in the last 2 years of their graduation. A total of 942 students participated in the study using a questionnaire developed to measure the participants' knowledge, attitudes and perception of premarital testing. Although university students had a considerable knowledge of premarital testing, they had a limited knowledge about certain aspects. Moreover, although they had some positive attitudes, they still had negative attitudes and perceptions towards other aspects of premarital testing. The study results could assist in the development of health education programmes in Syria and other Arab countries to increase their awareness and influence their attitudes towards premarital testing. The study limitation was that the sample was chosen from one part of Syria.

  6. Consumer choice: Linking consumer intentions to actual purchase of GM labeled food products.

    PubMed

    Sleenhoff, Susanne; Osseweijer, Patricia

    2013-01-01

    With a mandatory labeling scheme for GM food in Europe since 2004 measuring actual consumer choice in practice has become possible. Anticipating Europeans negative attitude toward GM food, the labeling was enforced to allow consumers to make an informed choice. We studied consumers actual purchase behavior of GM food products and compared this with their attitude and behavioral intention for buying GM food. We found that despite a majority of consumers voicing a negative attitude toward GM food over 50% of our European respondents stated that they did not actively avoid the purchase of GM food and 6% actually purchased one of the few available GM labeled food products in the period between September 2006 and October 2007. Our results imply that a voiced negative attitude of consumers in responses to questionnaires about their intentions is not a reliable guide for what they actually do in supermarkets. We conclude that the assumption of a negative attitude with regard to GM food is at least in part construed.

  7. Factors associated with attitudes toward the elderly in a sample of elderly caregivers.

    PubMed

    Luchesi, Bruna Moretti; Alexandre, Tiago da Silva; de Oliveira, Nathalia Alves; Brigola, Allan Gustavo; Kusumota, Luciana; Pavarini, Sofia Cristina Iost; Marques, Sueli

    2016-12-01

    The number of elderly caregivers is increasing in the world. It is important to know the attitudes toward the elderly, because they can influence a range of behaviors. Our aim was to determine factors associated with attitudes toward the elderly in a sample of older carers. Three hundred and thirteen elderly caregivers (75.4% women, mean age 69.7 ± 7.1) who cared for a dependent older person at home completed a cross-sectional household interview. In addition to the four domains of the Neri Scale to Assess Attitudes Toward the Elderly, participants were evaluated regarding the demographics, care recipient (CR) characteristics, functional and cognitive status, general health, life satisfaction, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms. Overall, attitudes toward the elderly were neutral in this sample. More negative attitudes in some Neri Scale domains were associated with being older, living in an urban setting, taking more medications per day, caring for an elderly dependent in basic Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), being "more or less" satisfied with life, and having higher levels of perceived stress. There was a negative association between positive attitudes and educational level. The results highlight the need for public policies to promote more positive attitudes toward aging and change negative stereotypes usually used to designate older people. These public policies can try to modify some predictors of negative attitudes, such as perceived stress, which was associated with all four domains of Neri Scale.

  8. Can medical students recognize depression? A survey at the Zagreb School of Medicine.

    PubMed

    Kuzman, Martina Rojnic; Bosnjak, Dina; Vokal, Petra; Kuharic, Josip; Brkic, Ivana; Kuzman, Tomislav; Dujmovic, Josip

    2014-06-01

    The objective of this study was to investigate medical students' knowledge and attitudes towards depression. Students attending their final year at Zagreb School of Medicine completed a set of standardized questionnaires, including attitudes towards psychiatric medication, attitudes towards depression, and personality inventory. In total, 199 students completed the questionnaire (response rate 77 %). Most medical students were only partially able to correctly identify major symptoms of depression, but did suggest referral to mental health specialists as the most appropriate course of action. They recognized social and biological causes of depression. Degree of correct identification of symptoms of depression correlated positively with non-stigmatizing attitudes towards depression and negatively with stigmatizing attitudes towards depression. Students' attitudes toward depression may influence their recognition of symptoms of depression. Incorporation of these findings in development of undergraduate medical curricula may improve students' recognition of depression.

  9. Negative Public Attitudes Towards Cancer Survivors Returning to Work: A Nationwide Survey in Korea

    PubMed Central

    Shim, Hye-Young; Shin, Ji-Yeon; Kim, Jong Heun; Kim, So-Young; Yang, Hyung-Kook; Park, Jong-Hyock

    2016-01-01

    Purpose Early diagnosis and an improved survival rate have emerged as important issues for cancer survivors returning to work during the prime of their working life. This study investigated the attitudes of the general public towards cancer survivors returning to work in Korea and attempted to identify the factors influencing this negative attitude. Materials and Methods A general public perception survey regarding cancer survivors returning to work, targeting 2,000 individuals between 40-70 years of age, was conducted as face-to-face home visit. Results The public expressed a negative attitude towards cancer survivors returning to work, in terms of both perception and acceptance. Negative perception was higher among those in metropolitan areas compared with urban/rural areas (odds ratio [OR], 1.71), with monthly incomes < $2,000 compared with > $4,000 (OR, 1.54), and with patient care experience compared with those without (OR, 1.41). Negative acceptance was higher among those with monthly incomes < $2,000 compared with > $4,000 (OR, 1.71) and those with patient care experience compared with those without (OR, 1.54). The common factors between acceptance and perception that influenced negative attitude included area of residence, patient care experience, and monthly income. Conclusion This study identified negative attitudes towards cancer survivors returning to work in South Korea and the factors influencing the reintegration of cancer survivors into society. It is necessary to promote community awareness and intervention activities to enable access to community, social, and individual units for the social reintegration of cancer survivors. PMID:26044157

  10. Do Online Comments Influence the Public's Attitudes Toward an Organization? Effects of Online Comments Based on Individuals' Prior Attitudes.

    PubMed

    Sung, Kang Hoon; Lee, Moon J

    2015-01-01

    The authors investigated the effects of reading different types of online comments about a company on people's attitude change based on individual's prior attitude toward the company. Based on Social Judgment Theory, several hypotheses were tested. The results showed that the effects of online comments interact with individuals' prior attitudes toward a corporation. People with a strong negative attitude toward a corporation were less influenced by other's online comments than people with a neutral attitude in general. However, people with a prior negative attitude were more affected by refutational two-sided comments than one-sided comments. The results suggest that the effects of user generated content should be studied in a holistic manner, not only by investigating the effects of online content itself, but also by examining how others' responses to the content shape or change individuals' attitudes based on their prior attitudes.

  11. Nurses' attitudes towards adult patients who are obese: literature review.

    PubMed

    Brown, Ian

    2006-01-01

    This paper presents a review of all empirical studies focusing on nurses' attitudes towards adult overweight or obese patients, with the aim of clarifying the dimensions and patterns of these attitudes and the methods by which they have been studied. Obesity has become a common condition and a major public health concern, but it is often associated with negative attitudes and discrimination. Nurses play a key role in providing support and care to patients who are obese. Electronic searches were carried out on seven databases from inception to December 2004, along with hand-searching of references in relevant studies. The search terms were built around obesity (and related terms), nursing (and its branches) and attitudes (and related terms). Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and summarized in tabular form and analysed in relation to the aims of this review during January 2005. There is relatively little research about nurses' attitudes towards obese patients, and the studies reviewed mostly have weaknesses of sampling and measurement. However, they do consistently suggest that a proportion of nurses have negative attitudes and beliefs, reflecting wider stereotypes within Western cultures. There is also a hint of a more complex mix of attitudes among nurses, some of which may counter the consequences of negative attitudes, but these have not been adequately investigated. A number of variables that influence attitudes of nurses can be identified, including age, gender, experience and the weight/body mass index of the nurse. Further research (both qualitative and quantitative) is needed with more rigorous sampling and, where appropriate, more consistency of measurement. A shift in focus towards the sets of attitudes (positive as well as negative) and behaviours that influence health service quality and outcomes for obese persons would be useful.

  12. Dependent, but not Perfectionistic, Dysfunctional Attitudes Predict Worsened Mood and Appraisals after Emotional Support from a Romantic Partner

    PubMed Central

    Felix, Steven A. M.; Hooker, Christine I.

    2016-01-01

    Background: Receiving emotional support from a romantic partner often leads to emotional costs via negative appraisals about the self and one's relationship, but it is unclear whether certain individuals are more susceptible to these costs. We evaluate whether the presence of perfectionistic and dependent dysfunctional attitudes leads to more negative effects of receiving emotional support from a romantic partner. Methods: Twenty-nine couples (27 men, 31 women; mean age 24.5) completed the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale and then a daily online questionnaire by recording their mood, appraisals, and received emotional support. Mixed-effects regressions were used to evaluate whether perfectionistic and dependent dysfunctional attitudes moderated the relationship between emotional support receipt and subsequent mood and appraisals. Results: Perfectionism did not interact with emotional support but exerted a main effect of increasing negative moods and appraisals. Dependency interacted with emotional support such that those with more dependent attitudes reported greater negative next-day moods and appraisals as a function of emotional support. Conclusions: Individuals with dependent, but not perfectionistic, dysfunctional attitudes are more likely to experience emotional and cognitive costs after receiving emotional support. These costs may stem from activation or exacerbation of the attitudes specific to dependency, including need for acceptance, support, and approval of others. PMID:27790161

  13. Estimating the prevalence of negative attitudes towards people with disability: a comparison of direct questioning, projective questioning and randomised response.

    PubMed

    Ostapczuk, Martin; Musch, Jochen

    2011-01-01

    Despite being susceptible to social desirability bias, attitudes towards people with disabilities are traditionally assessed via self-report. We investigated two methods presumably providing more valid prevalence estimates of sensitive attitudes than direct questioning (DQ). Most people projective questioning (MPPQ) attempts to reduce bias by asking interviewees to estimate the number of other people holding a sensitive attribute, rather than confirming or denying the attribute for themselves. The randomised-response technique (RRT) tries to reduce bias by assuring confidentiality through a random scrambling of the respondent's answers. We assessed negative attitudes towards people with physical and mental disability via MPPQ, RRT and DQ to compare the resulting estimates. The MPPQ estimates exceeded the DQ estimates. Employing a cheating-detection extension of the RRT, we determined the proportion of respondents disregarding the RRT instructions and computed an upper bound for the prevalence of negative attitudes. MPPQ estimates exceeded this upper bound and were thus shown to overestimate the prevalence. Furthermore, we found more negative attitudes towards people with mental disabilities than those with physical disabilities in all three questioning conditions. We recommend employing the cheating-detection variant of the RRT to gain additional insight in future studies on attitudes towards people with disabilities.

  14. How Menopause Symptoms and Attitude Impact Korean Women's Quality of Life After Adjuvant Treatment for Breast Cancer.

    PubMed

    Gang, Moonhee; Jung, Mi Sook; Park, Sunyoung; Park, Younghee; Oh, Kyongok

    Attitudes toward menopause vary across cultures and influence women's experiences of menopausal symptoms, possibly leading to reduced posttreatment quality of life in breast cancer survivors. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of menopausal symptoms and attitudes on health-related quality of life in breast cancer survivors who were premenopausal at the time of diagnosis. A total of 139 women receiving chemotherapy with/without endocrine therapy were assessed with self-report questionnaires of established reliability and validity. Hierarchical regression was conducted to assess the impact of menopausal symptoms and attitudes on quality of life, while controlling for demographic characteristics. Overall, participants endorsed more than half of 46 symptoms, most at the level of mild symptoms, and most reported a less positive attitude toward menopause. Lower quality of life was significantly predicted by more menopausal symptoms endorsed and more negative attitudes when controlling for demographic factors associated with quality of life (R = 26.1%). Most participants experienced change from premenopause to postmenopause after the completion of adjuvant chemotherapy with or without tamoxifen. The results suggest that more menopausal symptoms and negative attitudes toward menopause may affect health-related quality of life considerably in chemotherapy-treated Asian breast cancer survivors. Healthcare professionals should develop a better understanding of the effects of menopausal symptoms and attitudes on quality of life by using a culturally relevant perspective based on patients' sociocultural backgrounds. Furthermore, these findings help healthcare professionals communicate with their Asian clients in a more informed way and provide culturally appropriate and individualized care.

  15. Enhancing the public sector’s capacity for inclusive economic participation of disabled youth in rural communities

    PubMed Central

    Lorenzo, Theresa

    2016-01-01

    Background The capacity of service providers in the public sector to deliver inclusive services is essential to implement strategies that will allow the full participation of disabled youth in development opportunities in the rural context. Objectives This article sets out to describe the capacity of service providers in facilitating the participation of disabled youth in economic development opportunities. Method An instrumental, embedded single case study informed the research design. The sample consisted of five disabled youth, four family members and six service providers. Data was gathered through in depth individual interviews and focus group discussions. Data analysis was done inductively and thematically. In the discussion, the interpretation used organisational capacity elements as a framework. Results The findings indicate a perception of disability as a multifaceted and challenging issue with different orientations to service delivery, based on the understanding of the impairment and disability. There is a strong focus on impairment and negative attitudes. Discussion An asset-building approach could facilitate awareness of the capacities of disabled youth and thus shift negative attitudes to enabling attitudes. The vague strategies for youth and women reflect an organisational attitude that seems non-committal to its core agenda of inclusive development, which would ensure equal opportunities for participation by disabled youth. Conclusion An appreciative process of facilitating a deeper understanding of the needs of disabled youth would assist service providers to reconceptualise disability within an expansive framework of equal opportunities and active citizenship. PMID:28730042

  16. Role-modeling and medical error disclosure: a national survey of trainees.

    PubMed

    Martinez, William; Hickson, Gerald B; Miller, Bonnie M; Doukas, David J; Buckley, John D; Song, John; Sehgal, Niraj L; Deitz, Jennifer; Braddock, Clarence H; Lehmann, Lisa Soleymani

    2014-03-01

    To measure trainees' exposure to negative and positive role-modeling for responding to medical errors and to examine the association between that exposure and trainees' attitudes and behaviors regarding error disclosure. Between May 2011 and June 2012, 435 residents at two large academic medical centers and 1,187 medical students from seven U.S. medical schools received anonymous, electronic questionnaires. The questionnaire asked respondents about (1) experiences with errors, (2) training for responding to errors, (3) behaviors related to error disclosure, (4) exposure to role-modeling for responding to errors, and (5) attitudes regarding disclosure. Using multivariate regression, the authors analyzed whether frequency of exposure to negative and positive role-modeling independently predicted two primary outcomes: (1) attitudes regarding disclosure and (2) nontransparent behavior in response to a harmful error. The response rate was 55% (884/1,622). Training on how to respond to errors had the largest independent, positive effect on attitudes (standardized effect estimate, 0.32, P < .001); negative role-modeling had the largest independent, negative effect (standardized effect estimate, -0.26, P < .001). Positive role-modeling had a positive effect on attitudes (standardized effect estimate, 0.26, P < .001). Exposure to negative role-modeling was independently associated with an increased likelihood of trainees' nontransparent behavior in response to an error (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.15-1.64; P < .001). Exposure to role-modeling predicts trainees' attitudes and behavior regarding the disclosure of harmful errors. Negative role models may be a significant impediment to disclosure among trainees.

  17. Valence asymmetries in attitude ambivalence.

    PubMed

    Snyder, Aaron I; Tormala, Zakary L

    2017-04-01

    Existing models of ambivalence suggest that as the number of conflicting reactions (e.g., attitude components) increases, so too does the experience of ambivalence. Interestingly, though, these models overwhelmingly assume that this relationship is independent of valence. Across 3 studies we observe that this effect is in fact heavily influenced by 2 established valence asymmetries: positivity offset (baseline positive reactions even in the absence of positive information) and negativity bias (greater impact of negative reactions than positive reactions). Consistent with positivity offset, we observe that subjective ambivalence is greater when people have univalent negative rather than univalent positive attitudes. However, as conflicting information is acquired, subjective ambivalence rises more quickly when that information is negative rather than positive. The latter effect is consistent with negativity bias and suggests that although people feel more conflicted when they have only negative (vs. only positive) reactions, they also feel more conflicted when they have mostly positive (vs. mostly negative) reactions. Our investigation also uncovers an interesting consequence of these asymmetries: When people have mixed reactions, they do not experience maximum ambivalence at equal levels of positivity and negativity, as suggested by canonical ambivalence theory. Rather, subjective ambivalence peaks when positive reactions outnumber negative reactions. These effects are found to have downstream consequences for other dimensions of attitude strength. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. The Future Architects' Attitude towards Innovations in the Context of Sustainable Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Artemeva, Veronika

    2014-01-01

    The architectural innovations are becoming more and more important in the economic and social development and in the quality improvement of people's lives. Sometimes, however, the implementation of innovative projects can lead to negative consequences. The development of any innovation should be based on a comprehensive analysis of their…

  19. Knowledge and Attitudes toward HIV, Hepatitis B Virus, and Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Health-care Workers in Malawi.

    PubMed

    Mtengezo, Jasintha; Lee, Haeok; Ngoma, Jonathan; Kim, Susie; Aronowitz, Teri; DeMarco, Rosanna; Shi, Ling

    2016-01-01

    The highest prevalence of HIV infection occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa and hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence are the second highest in Sub-Saharan Africa including Malawi. Health-care workers (HCWs) play an important role in the prevention of, response to, and management of these infectious diseases. There is, however, no published research about the level of knowledge and attitudes toward HIV, HBV, and HCV infection among Malawian HCWs. The purpose of this study was to explore and determine the knowledge of and attitudes toward HIV, HBV, and HCV among a targeted population of Malawian HCWs. A cross-sectional community-based participatory research with 194 HCWs was completed employing health survey method. The project was a collaborative effort between nursing faculties in the USA and Malawian. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons was used to assess the differences in knowledge and attitude among three subgroups of HCWs. Of 194 of Malawian HCWs surveyed, 41% were support staff, 37% were nursing students, and 22% were health-care professionals. Both health-care professionals and support staff had high knowledge scores related to HIV/AIDS, and their attitudes were mainly positive. However, a series of one-way ANOVAs revealed significant differences in knowledge and attitude toward HIV/AIDs, HBV, and HCV among HCWs ( P < 0.01). The majority had less knowledge about HBV and HCV and more negative attitudes toward hepatitis. This study highlights the ongoing need for reducing negative attitudes toward HIV, HBV, and HCV; and providing health education among HCWs, especially focusing on HBV and HCV prevention. The findings of the research project can be used to develop interventions addressing low HBV- and HCV-related knowledge and attitudes.

  20. Implicit attitudes toward smoking: how the smell of cigarettes influences responses of college-age smokers and nonsmokers.

    PubMed

    Glock, Sabine; Kovacs, Carrie; Unz, Dagmar

    2014-05-01

    The habit of smoking may have automatic behavioral components guided by implicit attitudes. Smokers' attitudes toward smoking should thus be less negative than nonsmokers', so that a salient smoking cue (smell) is able to activate positive aspects of these attitudes. An affective priming task was used to explore this hypothesis. Unexpectedly, smokers and nonsmokers showed equally negative implicit attitudes, irrespective of smell. Smokers exposed to the cigarette smell did, however, display generally slower responses than nonsmokers, suggesting attentional bias. This could have implications for smoking policies in contexts where attentional factors affect performance.

  1. The Continuation of Prejudice: Addressing Negative Attitudes in Nurse Training and Continuing Professional Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nash, Paul; Stuart-Hamilton, Ian; Mayer, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Measures of attitudes to ageing typically examine only explicit attitudes, treating attitude holders as a homogeneous group with regards to education levels. Implicit attitudes (i.e., the immediate attitudinal response before conscious processes amend that attitude to an explicit attitude) have been less commonly examined. The current study…

  2. Menstruation across time: menarche, menstrual attitudes, experiences, and behaviors.

    PubMed

    McPherson, Marianne E; Korfine, Lauren

    2004-01-01

    This study explored the relationship between early and current menstrual experiences. The primary hypothesis was that women who reported positive menarcheal experiences (including menstrual education and menarche) would tend to report positive current menstrual attitudes, experiences, and/or behaviors, and vice versa for women who reported negative menarcheal experiences. In this survey-based study, college-aged women (n = 327) were screened by completing a questionnaire concerning their menarcheal experiences. Women who had extremely negative ("negative group," n = 46) or extremely positive ("positive group," n = 38) early menstrual experiences returned to complete questionnaires concerning current menstrual attitudes, experiences, and behaviors. Early and current menstrual experiences were most strongly associated in the domain of menstrual attitudes. Women in the negative group reported more negative menstrual attitudes than did women in the positive group. There were additional associations between early menstrual experiences and measures of body image and health behaviors. Positive group participants reported more positive body image and better general health behaviors. Results suggest that early menstrual experiences may be related to menstrual experiences later in life. This study invites further investigation of the psychology of menstruation and suggests connecting menstruation with other women's health issues.

  3. Exploring the Impact of Toxic Attitudes and a Toxic Environment on the Veterinary Healthcare Team.

    PubMed

    Moore, Irene C; Coe, Jason B; Adams, Cindy L; Conlon, Peter D; Sargeant, Jan M

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this qualitative study was to compare veterinarians' and Registered Veterinary Technicians' (RVT's) perceptions of the veterinary healthcare team with respect to the impact of toxic attitudes and a toxic environment. Focus group interviews using a semi-structured interview guide and follow up probes were held with four veterinarian groups (23 companion animal veterinarians) and four Registered Veterinary Technician groups (26 RVTs). Thematic analysis of the discussions indicated both veterinarian and RVT participants felt team members with manifestations of toxic attitudes negatively impacted veterinary team function. These manifestations included people being disrespectful, being resistant to change, always wanting to be the "go to person," avoiding conflict, and lacking motivation. When conflict was ignored, or when people with toxic attitudes were not addressed, a toxic environment often resulted. A toxic environment sometimes manifested when "broken communication and tension between staff members" occurred as a result of employees lacking confidence, skills, or knowledge not being managed properly. It also occurred when employees did not feel appreciated, when there was difficulty coping with turnover, and when there were conflicting demands. The presence of people manifesting a toxic attitude was a source of frustration for both veterinarian and RVT participants. Prompt and consistent attention to negative behaviors is recommended to reduce the development of a toxic environment.

  4. Knowledge, Stereotyped Beliefs and Attitudes Around HIV Chemoprophylaxis in Two High HIV Prevalence Neighborhoods in New York City.

    PubMed

    Farhat, Davida; Greene, Emily; Paige, Mark Q; Koblin, Beryl A; Frye, Victoria

    2017-05-01

    HIV chemoprophylaxis (PrEP/PEP) has emerged as a transformative prevention tool to reduce infection rates and decrease disease burden. However, uptake is low, and efficacy depends upon adherence. To maximize impact, potential barriers to uptake and adherence must be identified and understood. Using univariate and logistic regression analytic methods, we assessed associations among potential barriers to uptake and adherence, including HIV chemoprophylaxis knowledge, negative stereotyped beliefs about people who use it and negative attitudes towards HIV chemoprophylaxis use by relatives among 583 residents of two high HIV prevalence neighborhoods in New York City. About a quarter of respondents knew about HIV chemoprophylaxis and over 50 % endorsed negative stereotyped beliefs about users; yet, approximately two-thirds had positive attitudes toward its use among a male or female relative. Young age, having lesbian or gay friends/family members and low levels of homophobia were associated with not endorsing negative stereotyped beliefs. Negative stereotyped beliefs were not associated with negative attitudes toward HIV chemoprophylaxis use among relatives. Implications for PrEP dissemination are discussed.

  5. Nursing Students' Attitudes Toward Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons: An Integrative Review.

    PubMed

    Lim, Fidelindo A; Hsu, Richard

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to critically appraise and synthesize findings from studies on the attitudes of nursing students toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. There is paucity of research to assess the attitudes of nursing students toward LGBT persons. An electronic search was conducted using PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, EbscoHost, PsycInfo, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature using medical subject headings terminologies. Search terms used included gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, LGBT, nursing students, baccalaureate nursing, undergraduate nursing, homophobia, homosexuality, sexual minority, attitudes, discrimination, and prejudice. Less than 50 percent of the studies (5 out of 12) suggested positively leaning attitudes of nursing students toward LGBT persons; six studies reported negative attitudes, and one study reported neutral attitudes. There are some indications that student attitudes may be moving toward positively leaning. Studies published before 2000 reported a preponderance of negative attitudes.

  6. Self-Regulation and Implicit Attitudes Toward Physical Activity Influence Exercise Behavior.

    PubMed

    Padin, Avelina C; Emery, Charles F; Vasey, Michael; Kiecolt-Glaser, Janice K

    2017-08-01

    Dual-process models of health behavior posit that implicit and explicit attitudes independently drive healthy behaviors. Prior evidence indicates that implicit attitudes may be related to weekly physical activity (PA) levels, but the extent to which self-regulation attenuates this link remains unknown. This study examined the associations between implicit attitudes and self-reported PA during leisure time among 150 highly active young adults and evaluated the extent to which effortful control (one aspect of self-regulation) moderated this relationship. Results indicated that implicit attitudes toward exercise were unrelated to average workout length among individuals with higher effortful control. However, those with lower effortful control and more negative implicit attitudes reported shorter average exercise sessions compared with those with more positive attitudes. Implicit and explicit attitudes were unrelated to total weekly PA. A combination of poorer self-regulation and negative implicit attitudes may leave individuals vulnerable to mental and physical health consequences of low PA.

  7. Implicit attitudes, emotions, and helping intentions of mental health workers toward their clients.

    PubMed

    Brener, Loren; Rose, Grenville; von Hippel, Courtney; Wilson, Hannah

    2013-06-01

    The attitudes of mental health care workers toward their clients may influence the quality of care they provide. There is growing recognition of the role of implicit attitudes in behavior toward people with stigmatized illnesses, such as mental illness, and of the need to measure these separately from explicit attitudes. Seventy-four mental health workers completed implicit and explicit measure of attitudes toward people with mental illness. The participants were also asked about their intention to help people with mental illness and their emotional reactions toward people with a mental illness. The findings show that the implicit attitudes of the health workers toward clients with a mental illness are somewhat negative despite the fact that their explicit attitudes are somewhat positive. Although both implicit and explicit attitudes predicted negative emotions, only implicit attitudes were related to helping intentions. This study highlights the association between implicit attitudes and behavioral intentions and confirms the importance of addressing implicit attitudes in mental health research.

  8. Medical students' attitudes toward gay men.

    PubMed

    Matharu, Kabir; Kravitz, Richard L; McMahon, Graham T; Wilson, Machelle D; Fitzgerald, Faith T

    2012-08-08

    Healthcare providers' attitudes toward sexual minorities influence patient comfort and outcomes. This study characterized medical student attitudes toward gay men, focusing on behavior, personhood, gay civil rights, and male toughness. A cross-sectional web-based anonymous survey was sent to medical students enrolled at the University of California, Davis (N = 371) with a response rate of 68%. Few respondents expressed negative attitudes toward gay men or would deny them civil rights. More negative responses were seen with respect to aspects of intimate behavior and homosexuality as a natural form of sexual expression. Men and students younger than 25 years old were more likely to endorse negative attitudes toward behavior as well as more traditional views on male toughness. We show that an important minority of students express discomfort with the behavior of gay men and hold to a narrow construction of male identity. These findings suggest that competency training must move beyond conceptual discussions and address attitudes toward behaviors through new pedagogical approaches.

  9. Medical students’ attitudes toward gay men

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Healthcare providers’ attitudes toward sexual minorities influence patient comfort and outcomes. This study characterized medical student attitudes toward gay men, focusing on behavior, personhood, gay civil rights, and male toughness. Methods A cross-sectional web-based anonymous survey was sent to medical students enrolled at the University of California, Davis (N = 371) with a response rate of 68%. Results Few respondents expressed negative attitudes toward gay men or would deny them civil rights. More negative responses were seen with respect to aspects of intimate behavior and homosexuality as a natural form of sexual expression. Men and students younger than 25 years old were more likely to endorse negative attitudes toward behavior as well as more traditional views on male toughness. Conclusions We show that an important minority of students express discomfort with the behavior of gay men and hold to a narrow construction of male identity. These findings suggest that competency training must move beyond conceptual discussions and address attitudes toward behaviors through new pedagogical approaches. PMID:22873668

  10. Food attitudes and well-being: The role of culture.

    PubMed

    Rodríguez-Arauz, Gloriana; Ramírez-Esparza, Nairán; Smith-Castro, Vanessa

    2016-10-01

    Previous cross-cultural studies have found differences in food attitudes. For example, Americans are more concerned about weight gain than people from France and India. This study aimed to add on the literature on cross-cultural differences in food attitudes by comparing Euro-Americans with Costa Ricans on three different food attitudes: concern about gaining weight, food negativity, and the belief in the link between diet and health. This study also analyzes the implications of food attitudes on well-being. Specifically, within and across cultures, analyses were done to test the relationship between food attitudes and both anxiety and depression. Results showed that Costa Ricans are significantly less concerned about weight and less food negative than Euro-Americans. In further analyses an interaction was revealed, in which Costa Ricans that are high on weight concern but low on food negativity show lower levels of depression, compared to Euro-Americans. Results and implications for further research are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. 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)

  12. Does self-stigma reduce the probability of seeking mental health information?

    PubMed

    Lannin, Daniel G; Vogel, David L; Brenner, Rachel E; Abraham, W Todd; Heath, Patrick J

    2016-04-01

    An important first step in seeking counseling may involve obtaining information about mental health concerns and treatment options. Researchers have suggested that some people may avoid such information because it is too threatening due to self-stigma and negative attitudes, but the link to actual help-seeking decisions has not been tested. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine whether self-stigma and attitudes negatively impact decisions to seek information about mental health concerns and counseling. Probit regression models with 370 undergraduates showed that self-stigma negatively predicted decisions to seek both mental health and counseling information, with attitudes toward counseling mediating self-stigma's influence on these decisions. Among individuals experiencing higher levels of distress, the predicted probabilities of seeking mental health information (8.5%) and counseling information (8.4%) for those with high self-stigma were nearly half of those with low self-stigma (17.1% and 15.0%, respectively). This suggests that self-stigma may hinder initial decisions to seek mental health and counseling information, and implies the need for the development of early interventions designed to reduce help-seeking barriers. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Construction and validation of attitudes toward plagiarism questionnaire.

    PubMed

    Mavrinac, Martina; Brumini, Gordana; Bilić-Zulle, Lidija; Petrovecki, Mladen

    2010-06-01

    To develop and test the psychometric characteristics of a questionnaire measuring attitudes toward plagiarism. Participants were 227 undergraduates and graduate students (128 women and 99 men) from three Croatian universities, with a median age of 21 years (range 18 to 48). Research was conducted from March to June 2009. For the purpose of construction of the first version of the questionnaire, 67 statements (items) were developed. The statements were based on the relevant literature and were developed following rules and recommendations for questionnaire writing, and 36 items were chosen for final validation. Factor analysis was used to find out the factor structure of the questionnaire and to measure construct validity. The final version of the questionnaire consisted of 29 items divided into a three-factor structure: factor I - positive attitude toward plagiarism (12 items); factor II - negative attitude toward plagiarism (7 items); and factor III - subjective norms toward plagiarism (10 items). Cronbach alpha was calculated to confirm the reliability of the scale: factor I - alpha=0.83; factor II - alpha=0.79; and factor III - alpha=0.85. Correlations between factors were: -0.37 between I and II, -0.41 between I and III, and +0.31 between II and III. Attitudes Toward Plagiarism questionnaire was developed, with good psychometric characteristics. It will be used in future research as a standardized tool for measuring attitudes toward plagiarism.

  14. Attitudes towards Human Papilloma Virus Vaccination in the Latin American Andean Region

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    This commentary explores the distribution of human papilloma virus (HPV) and HPV-related diseases, and factors affecting attitudes towards HPV, HPV-related diseases, and HPV vaccination in the Latin American Andean region. Lack of knowledge of HPV, known negative attitudes or incorrect assumptions about HPV, HPV-related diseases, and HPV vaccination provide a basis upon which to develop targeted HPV awareness and preventive health media campaigns. For maximal effect, media campaigns should use the internet, radio, and television to address health care providers, parents, and students. Additional programming can be developed for clinics to use in-house with their clients. Ministries of Education, Finance, and Health all have roles to play to increase national HPV, HPV-related diseases, and HPV vaccination awareness. PMID:28885601

  15. Effects of stigma on Chinese women's attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence.

    PubMed

    Wang, Cuili; Li, Jingjing; Wan, Xiaojuan; Wang, Xiaojuan; Kane, Robert L; Wang, Kefang

    2015-04-01

    To examine whether and how stigma influences attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence, and whether its effect varies by symptom severity. Urinary incontinence is prevalent among women, but few seek treatment. Negative attitudes towards urinary incontinence treatment inhibit from seeking care. Urinary incontinence is a stigmatised attribute. However, the relationship between stigma and attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence has not been well understood. This was a cross-sectional community-based study. We enrolled a sample of 305 women aged 40-65 years with stress urinary incontinence from three communities in a Chinese city between May-October in 2011. Data were collected on socio-demographic characteristics, urinary incontinence symptoms, stigma and attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence using a self-reported questionnaire. Effects of stigma were analysed using path analysis. Attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence were generally negative. For the total sample, all the stigma domains of social rejection, social isolation and internalised shame had direct negative effects on treatment-seeking attitudes. The public stigma domain of social rejection also indirectly affected treatment-seeking attitudes through increasing social isolation, as well as through increasing social isolation and then internalised shame. The final model accounted for 28% of the variance of treatment-seeking attitudes. Symptom severity influenced the strength of paths: the effect of internalised shame was higher in women with more severe urinary incontinence. Stigma enhances the formation of negative attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence; public stigma affects treatment-seeking attitudes through internalisation of social messages. Stigma reduction may help incontinent women to form positive treatment-seeking attitudes and engage them in treatment. Interventions should specifically target the self-stigma domains of social isolation and internalised shame in women with urinary incontinence to most efficiently increase their use of health care. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Ageism in Belgium and Burundi: a comparative analysis

    PubMed Central

    Marquet, Manon; Missotten, Pierre; Schroyen, Sarah; Nindaba, Desiderate; Adam, Stéphane

    2016-01-01

    Background Recent cross-cultural comparisons between Asian and Western cultures have shown that ageism arises more from the lack of availability of social and economic resources for older adults than from the culture itself. We tested this assumption by conducting a survey among people living in a least developed country compared with those living in a developed country. Participants and methods Twenty-seven Belgians living in Belgium, 29 Burundians living in Belgium, and 32 Burundians living in Burundi were included in this study. Their attitudes toward older adults were assessed using several self-reported measures. Results Statistical analyses confirmed that older people are more negatively perceived by Burundians living in Burundi than by Burundians and Belgians living in Belgium, whose attitudes did not differ from each other. Conclusion Consistent with our hypothesis, our results suggest that the level of development of a country and more particularly the lack of government spending on older people (pension and health care systems) may contribute to their younger counterparts perceiving them more negatively. PMID:27601889

  17. A comparison of three strategies for reducing the public stigma associated with stuttering.

    PubMed

    Boyle, Michael P; Dioguardi, Lauren; Pate, Julie E

    2016-12-01

    The effects of three anti-stigma strategies for stuttering-contact (hearing personal stories from an individual who stutters), education (replacing myths about stuttering with facts), and protest (condemning negative attitudes toward people who stutter)-were examined on attitudes, emotions, and behavioral intentions toward people who stutter. Two hundred and twelve adults recruited from a nationwide survey in the United States were randomly assigned to one of the three anti-stigma conditions or a control condition. Participants completed questionnaires about stereotypes, negative emotional reactions, social distance, discriminatory intentions, and empowerment regarding people who stutter prior to and after watching a video for the assigned condition, and reported their attitude changes about people who stutter. Some participants completed follow-up questionnaires on the same measures one week later. All three anti-stigma strategies were more effective than the control condition for reducing stereotypes, negative emotions, and discriminatory intentions from pretest to posttest. Education and protest effects for reducing negative stereotypes were maintained at one-week follow-up. Contact had the most positive effect for increasing affirming attitudes about people who stutter from pretest to posttest and pretest to follow-up. Participants in the contact and education groups, but not protest, self-reported significantly more positive attitude change about people who stutter as a result of watching the video compared to the control group. Advocates in the field of stuttering can use education and protest strategies to reduce negative attitudes about people who stutter, and people who stutter can increase affirming attitudes through interpersonal contact with others. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Impact of life stories on college students' positive and negative attitudes toward older adults.

    PubMed

    Yamashita, Takashi; Hahn, Sarah J; Kinney, Jennifer M; Poon, Leonard W

    2017-03-28

    Gerontological educators are increasingly interested in reducing college students' negative, and promoting their positive, attitudes toward older adults. Over the course of a semester, students from six 4-year institutions viewed three life story videos (documentaries) of older adults and completed pre- and posttest surveys that assessed their positive (Allophilia Scale) and negative (Fraboni Scale of Ageism) attitudes. The authors assessed changes in attitudinal scales between treatment (with videos, n = 80) and control (no video, n = 40) groups. Change score analysis with 95% bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals estimated the effects of the documentaries on students' attitudes. The treatment group showed significant increases in kinship, engagement, and enthusiasm, and decreases in antilocution and avoidance (all ps <.05). There was no significant change in affect, comfort, or discrimination. This study demonstrated how video stories impact students' attitudes about older adults.

  19. The effects of priming on children's attitudes toward older individuals.

    PubMed

    Hoe, Sony; Davidson, Denise

    2002-01-01

    The purpose of the present research was to examine younger (7-years-old) and older (10-years-old) children's attitudes toward older individuals following one type of five primes: positive prime, negative prime, elderly prime, grandparent prime, or neutral prime. Overall, children's attitudes on three tests--Apperception, Semantic Differential, and Attribute Salience--were affected by the type of prime children were given, with positive and grandparent primes resulting in more positive views toward older individuals than negative, elderly, or neutral (control group) primes. The present research provides evidence that priming the most accessible cognitions about an individual can affect even young children's perception of the individual. These results are discussed in terms of category-based and data-driven processing and may explain the disparate findings obtained in previous studies that have shown the children's attitudes toward older individuals are sometimes negative, whereas other studies have shown that children's attitudes are more positive or neutral.

  20. Can evaluative conditioning decrease soft drink consumption?

    PubMed

    Shaw, Jena A; Forman, Evan M; Espel, Hallie M; Butryn, Meghan L; Herbert, James D; Lowe, Michael R; Nederkoorn, Chantal

    2016-10-01

    The present study examined the effect of a picture-picture evaluative conditioning (EC) procedure on soft drink (soda) outcomes, including negative implicit attitudes, consumption during a taste test, and real-world consumption reported during the week after the intervention. In the EC condition (n = 43), soda images were paired with disgust images and water images were paired with pleasant images, whereas in the control condition (n = 41), the same images were viewed without pairing. The EC condition showed a larger reduction in real-world soda consumption across the week following the intervention. However, individuals in the EC condition did not consume less soda during a taste test immediately following the intervention. EC only significantly increased negative implicit attitudes towards soda among individuals who already had relatively higher baseline negative attitudes. These findings generally favored the potential for EC to impact soda drinking habits, but suggest that a brief EC intervention may not be strong enough to change attitudes towards a well-known brand unless negative attitudes are already present. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Oncologists' negative attitudes towards expressing emotion over patient death and burnout.

    PubMed

    Granek, Leeat; Ben-David, Merav; Nakash, Ora; Cohen, Michal; Barbera, Lisa; Ariad, Samuel; Krzyzanowska, Monika K

    2017-05-01

    The aims of this study were to examine the relationship between negative attitudes towards expressing emotion following patient death and burnout in oncologists and to explore oncologists' preferences for institutional interventions to deal with patient death. The participants included a convenience sample of 177 oncologists from Israel and Canada. Oncologists completed a questionnaire package that included a sociodemographic survey, a burnout measure, a survey assessing negative attitudes towards expressing emotion, and a survey assessing desired interventions to cope with patient death. To examine the association between burnout and negative attitudes while controlling for the effect of sociodemographic variables, a hierarchical linear regression was computed. Higher burnout scores were related to higher negative attitudes towards perceived expressed emotion (partial r = .25, p < .01) of those who viewed this affect as a weakness and as a sign of unprofessionalism. Approximately half of the oncologists found each of the five categories of institutional interventions (pedagogical strategies, emotional support, group/peer support, taking time off, and research and training) helpful in coping with patient death. Our findings suggest that high burnout scores are associated with negative attitudes towards expressing emotion and that there is a wide variation in oncologist preferences in coping with patient death. Institutions should promote interventions that are varied and that focus on the needs of oncologists in order to reduce burnout. Interventions that legitimize expression of emotion about patient death may be useful. Another way to reduce stigma would be to require oncologists to "opt out" rather than "opt in" to accessing a selection of social and/or individual interventions.

  2. Attitude changes during and after long submarine missions.

    PubMed

    Weybrew, B B; Molish, H B

    1979-01-01

    To assess the kind and degree of attitude changes occurring during a 2-month submerged mission, two enlisted crews of one fleet ballistic missile submarine (FBM) (n = 101 each) were administered the Submarine Attitude Questionnaire before and after two 55-day submerged missions interspersed with a rehabilitation period of the same duration. Results showed that time-in-service and pay grade bore a U-shaped relationship to positive attitudes toward the service. During submergence, most attitudes became negative and then reversed polarity during rehabilitation. However, there were no cumulative effects upon attitudes during successive missions. Attitudes pertaining to the realities of the mission (for example, boredom, hazardous aspects) became more negative but recovered faster. On the other hand, attitude changes related to long-range expectancies in terms of goal achievement of the crew members were less likely to recover. Several possible explanations for these attitude changes are discussed in the context of the mission of the FBM submarine. Suggestions for preventing or alleviating untoward attitude changes during long submarine missions are also presented.

  3. The complexity and ambivalence of immigration attitudes: ambivalent stereotypes predict conflicting attitudes toward immigration policies.

    PubMed

    Reyna, Christine; Dobria, Ovidiu; Wetherell, Geoffrey

    2013-07-01

    Americans' conflicted attitudes toward immigrants and immigration has stymied immigration reform for decades. In this article, we explore the nuanced nature of stereotypes about immigrants and how they relate to ambivalent attitudes toward immigrant groups and the disparate array of immigration policies that affect them. Using item response theory and multiple regression analysis, we identified and related stereotypes of different immigrant groups to group-based and policy attitudes. Results demonstrate that ambivalent stereotypes mapped onto ambivalent group-based and immigration policy attitudes. Specifically, stereotypes that portray groups in positive or sympathetic ways predicted positive attitudes toward the group and more supportive attitudes toward policies that facilitate their immigration to the United States. Conversely, negative qualities predicted negative attitudes toward the same group and support for policies that prevent the group from immigrating. Results are discussed in light of current theory related to stereotype content, complementarity of stereotypes, and broader implications for immigration attitudes and policy. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  4. Do medical students like communication? Validation of the German CSAS (Communication Skills Attitude Scale)

    PubMed Central

    Busch, Anne-Kathrin; Rockenbauch, Katrin; Schmutzer, Gabriele; Brähler, Elmar

    2015-01-01

    Objectives: Attitudes towards communication skills of medical undergraduates can be gathered using the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS). We aimed to develop a German version of the CSAS (CSAS-G) in order to explore attitudes towards communication skills in a German cohort. Additionally the potential influence of demographic factors was examined. Methods: We realized the CSAS-G and conducted a survey with 529 participants from 3 different years of study. We then carried out an explorative as well as confirmatory factor analysis and compared the attitudinal scores. Multiple regression analysis was performed. Results: The confirmatory analysis confirmed the two-subscale system revealed by the explorative factor analysis. Students indicate low levels of negative attitudes and moderate levels of positive attitudes. Attitudinal scores differ significantly in relation to gender. Conclusion: The CSAS-G can be used in German cohorts to evaluate attitudes towards communication skills. Medical students in our study show basically a positive approach. Further investigation is necessary to explore and understand attitudes towards communication skills of German medical students. PMID:25699103

  5. Improving Teenage Attitudes toward Children, Child Handicaps, and Hospital Settings: A Child Development Curriculum for Potential Parents.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anastasiow, Nicholas J.; And Others

    1978-01-01

    The article describes FEED (Facilitative Environments Encouraging Development), a junior high child development curriculum for potential mothers, intended to result in improved childrearing practices that will in turn offset all or most of the negative effects of the low birthweight and prematurity that are associated with teenage pregnancies.…

  6. Attitudes towards psychotherapy manuals among clinicians treating eating disorders.

    PubMed

    Waller, Glenn; Mountford, Victoria A; Tatham, Madeleine; Turner, Hannah; Gabriel, Chloe; Webber, Rebecca

    2013-12-01

    Clinicians have relatively low uptake and implementation of evidence-based psychotherapies for the eating disorders, and this problem appears to be associated with low use of manualized approaches. This study examines clinicians' positive and negative attitudes to manuals, and possible beliefs and emotional factors that might drive those attitudes. The participants were 125 psychological therapists working with eating-disordered patients. Each completed standardised measures of attitudes to manuals and emotional states. A number of beliefs about the content of manuals were associated with both positive attitudes to the outcome of treatment and negative attitudes to their impact on the treatment process. In addition, a more positive mood was associated with more positive attitudes. Suggestions are made regarding how attitudes might be made more positive, in order to facilitate the use of evidence-based therapies for eating disorders. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Attitudes and beliefs of university science professors toward the discipline of education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fogelberg, Katherine

    Because professional development (PD) is about persuasion and influence, it makes sense to use an influence framework when trying to determine the reasons current university-level PD has been fairly ineffective in changing teacher practice to date. This research used the theory of reasoned action (TRA) to determine if university natural science professors' attitudes and beliefs toward the discipline of education (DE), a construct not recognized in the current literature, were positive or negative. The study also looked to discover some of the major influences on the participants' attitudes and beliefs toward DE. A method bricolage was used to analyze data from 10 participants in two separate phases in an attempt to establish a replicable Discourse Analysis methodology for analyzing attitudes and beliefs, and to investigate the major influences on the formation of these attitudes and beliefs. The findings indicate that in general the participants' had positive beliefs in and about DE with negative attitudes toward DE and that the majority of the participants' views of teaching were formed by a number of significant influences. However, the participants' attitudes and beliefs toward DE are complicated by several issues, the most prominent being that this cohort's ideas about DE are based upon their PD experiences, which were generally delivered by centers for teaching excellence (CTEs) or equivalent entities. This research needs to be extended to determine the generalizability of these findings, as well as to provide evidence-based research to support the re-thinking of how PD is delivered at the university level.

  8. General practitioners' knowledge of ageing and attitudes towards older people in China.

    PubMed

    Yang, Yanni; Xiao, Lily Dongxia; Ullah, Shahid; Deng, Lanlan

    2015-06-01

    To explore general practitioners (GPs)knowledge of ageing, attitudes towards older people and factors affecting their knowledge and attitudes in a Chinese context. Four hundred GPs were surveyed using the Chinese version of the Aging Semantic Differential (CASD) and the Chinese version of the Facts on Aging Quiz (CFAQ1) scale. The CASD scores indicated that GPs had a neutral attitude towards older people. The CFAQ1 scores indicated a low level of knowledge about ageing. GPs' awareness of the mental and social facts of ageing was poorer compared to that of physical facts. Male GPs had a significantly higher negative bias score than female GPs. No other variables had a statistically significant influence on knowledge and attitudes. The findings suggest the need for education interventions for GPs regarding knowledge of ageing and also provide evidence to guide future development of continuing medical programs for this group of medical doctors. © 2013 ACOTA.

  9. Obesity in the news: do photographic images of obese persons influence antifat attitudes?

    PubMed

    McClure, Kimberly J; Puhl, Rebecca M; Heuer, Chelsea A

    2011-04-01

    News coverage of obesity has increased dramatically in recent years, and research shows that media content may contribute to negative public attitudes toward obese people. However, no work has assessed whether photographic portrayals of obese people that accompany news stories affect attitudes. In the present study, the authors used a randomized experimental design to test whether viewing photographic portrayals of an obese person in a stereotypical or unflattering way (versus a nonstereotypical or flattering portrayal) could increase negative attitudes about obesity, even when the content of an accompanying news story is neutral. The authors randomly assigned 188 adult participants to read a neutral news story about the prevalence of obesity that was paired with 1 of 4 photographic portrayals of an obese adult (or no photograph). The authors subsequently assessed attitudes toward obese people using the Fat Phobia Scale. Participants in all conditions expressed a moderate level of fat phobia (M = 3.83, SD = 0.58). Results indicated that participants who viewed the negative photographs expressed more negative attitudes toward obese people than did those who viewed the positive photographs. Implications of these findings for the media are discussed, with emphasis on increasing awareness of weight bias in health communication and journalistic news reporting.

  10. Positive media portrayals of obese persons: impact on attitudes and image preferences.

    PubMed

    Pearl, Rebecca L; Puhl, Rebecca M; Brownell, Kelly D

    2012-11-01

    The purpose of this research was to assess the impact of nonstereotypical, positive media portrayals of obese persons on biased attitudes, as well as propose a change in media practices that could reduce public weight bias and consequent negative health outcomes for those who experience weight stigma. Two online experiments were conducted in which participants viewed either a stigmatizing or a positive photograph of an obese model. In Experiment 1 (N = 146), participants viewed a photograph of either a Caucasian or African American obese woman; in Experiment 2 (N = 145), participants viewed either a Caucasian male or female obese model. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze outcomes for social distance attitudes toward the obese models depicted in the images, in addition to other negative attitudes and image preferences. Participants who viewed the stigmatizing images endorsed stronger social distance attitudes and more negative attitudes toward obese persons than participants who viewed the positive images, and there was a stronger preference for the positive images than the stigmatizing images. These results were consistent regardless of the race or gender of the obese model pictured. The findings indicate that more positive media portrayals of obese individuals may help reduce weight stigma and its associated negative health outcomes.

  11. Rape myth acceptance, sexual trauma history, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

    PubMed

    Baugher, Shannon N; Elhai, Jon D; Monroe, James R; Gray, Matt J

    2010-11-01

    The prediction of false rape-related beliefs (rape myth acceptance [RMA]) was examined using the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (Payne, Lonsway, & Fitzgerald, 1999) among a nonclinical sample of 258 male and female college students. Predictor variables included measures of attitudes toward women, gender role identity (GRI), sexual trauma history, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. Using linear regression and testing interaction effects, negative attitudes toward women significantly predicted greater RMA for individuals without a sexual trauma history. However, neither attitudes toward women nor GRI were significant predictors of RMA for individuals with a sexual trauma history. PTSD did not moderate RMA's relationship with attitudes toward women and GRI. This study has clinical implications for treatment as well as for the development of rape myth-dispelling programs.

  12. Breastfeeding attitudes of Finnish parents during pregnancy.

    PubMed

    Laanterä, Sari; Pölkki, Tarja; Ekström, Anette; Pietilä, Anna-Maija

    2010-12-02

    Breastfeeding attitudes are known to influence infant feeding but little information exists on the prenatal breastfeeding attitudes of parents. The purpose of this study was to describe Finnish parents' prenatal breastfeeding attitudes and their relationships with demographic characteristics. The electronic Breastfeeding Knowledge, Attitude and Confidence scale was developed and 172 people (123 mothers, 49 fathers) completed the study. The data were analysed using factor analysis and nonparametric methods. Breastfeeding was regarded as important, but 54% of the respondents wanted both parents to feed the newborn. The mean rank values of breastfeeding attitudes differed significantly when parity, gender, education, age, breastfeeding history and level of breastfeeding knowledge were considered. The respondents who were expecting their first child, were 18-26 years old or had vocational qualifications or moderate breastfeeding knowledge had more negative feelings and were more worried about breastfeeding than respondents who had at least one child, had a higher vocational diploma or academic degree or had high levels of breastfeeding knowledge. Respondents with high levels of breastfeeding knowledge did not appear concerned about equality in feeding. Both mothers and fathers found breastfeeding important. A father's eagerness to participate in their newborn's life should be included in prenatal breastfeeding counselling and ways in which to support breastfeeding discussed. Relevant information about breastfeeding should focus on the parents who are expecting their first child, those who are young, those with low levels of education or those who have gaps in breastfeeding knowledge, so that fears and negative views can be resolved.

  13. Ew, that's icky: Assessing children's attitudes towards the insects of Connecticut

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weeks, Faith Jean-Ellen

    This study investigated children's attitudes towards insects, focusing on how attitudes change from fascination to repulsion as the children age. This study involved 127 elementary students (grades 4-6) and 139 high school students (grades 9-12) from New Haven public schools. Students were administered Likert type surveys to evaluate their attitudes after viewing photos of 8 common insects of Connecticut; the butterfly, ladybug, dragonfly, ant, moth, cricket, beetle, and fly. Scores from elementary school students were compared with high school students to determine if attitudes towards insects became less favorable as the children age. The results were also analyzed to determine if attitudinal changes were consistent between girls and boys. It was found that elementary school students did not hold more negative attitudes than high school students, but girls did hold more negative attitudes towards insects than boys.

  14. Factors Associated With Negative Attitudes Toward Speaking in Preschool-Age Children Who Do and Do Not Stutter.

    PubMed

    Groner, Stephen; Walden, Tedra; Jones, Robin

    2016-01-01

    This study explored relations between the negativity of children's speech-related attitudes as measured by the Communication Attitude Test for Preschool and Kindergarten Children Who Stutter (KiddyCAT; Vanryckeghem & Brutten, 2007) and (a) age; (b) caregiver reports of stuttering and its social consequences; (c) types of disfluencies; and (d) standardized speech, vocabulary, and language scores. Participants were 46 preschool-age children who stutter (CWS; 12 females, 34 males) and 66 preschool-age children who do not stutter (CWNS; 35 females, 31 males). After a conversation, children completed standardized tests and the KiddyCAT while their caregivers completed scales on observed stuttering behaviors and their consequences. The KiddyCAT scores of both the CWS and the CWNS were significantly negatively correlated with age. Both groups' KiddyCAT scores increased with higher scores on the Speech Fluency Rating Scale of the Test of Childhood Stuttering (Gillam, Logan, & Pearson, 2009). Repetitions were a significant contributor to the CWNS's KiddyCAT scores, but no specific disfluency significantly contributed to the CWS's KiddyCAT scores. Greater articulation errors were associated with higher KiddyCAT scores in the CWNS. No standardized test scores were associated with KiddyCAT scores in the CWS. Attitudes that speech is difficult are not associated with similar aspects of communication for CWS and CWNS. Age significantly contributed to negative speech attitudes for CWS, whereas age, repetitions, and articulation errors contributed to negative speech attitudes for CWNS.

  15. Effects of Anti-Smoking Public Service Announcements on the Attitudes of Korean College Students toward Smoking.

    PubMed

    Cho, Kyoung Won; Lee, Jakyoung; Ryu, Ji-Hye; Kim, Soo Jeong

    2017-12-01

    This study aimed to identify the effects of anti-smoking public service announcements on the attitudes of Korean college students toward smoking. This study involved students via convenience sampling from seven universities who were randomly assigned to four groups. All groups completed a preliminary questionnaire, before being shown a public service announcement twice, and then completed a post viewing questionnaire. For announcements with positive messages, the proportion of changes in beliefs and attitudes were 39.1% and 19.8%, respectively, whereas those with negative messages showed a greater proportion of changes in the beliefs (59.7%) and attitudes (40.3%). After adjusting for sex and change in belief, the message types and smoking status were identified as factors affecting the change in the participants attitudes. A negative message resulted in a greater change in attitudes (odds ratio [OR], 3.047; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.847-5.053). Ever-smokers including current smokers showed a greater positive change in attitude than never-smokers (OR, 6.965; 95% CI, 4.107-11.812). This study found that positive anti-smoking public service announcements were more effective on attitude change than negative messages. Additionally these announcements were more effective among viewers who were current smokers or had a prior smoking experience.

  16. Demographic Group Differences in Adolescents' Time Attitudes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andretta, James R.; Worrell, Frank C.; Mello, Zena R.; Dixson, Dante D.; Baik, Sharon H.

    2013-01-01

    In the present study, we examined demographic differences in time attitudes in a sample of 293 adolescents. Time attitudes were measured using the Adolescent Time Attitude Scale (Mello & Worrell, 2007; Worrell, Mello, & Buhl, 2011), which assesses positive and negative attitudes toward the past, the present, and the future. Generally, African…

  17. Creating Positive Attitudes towards English as a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elyildirim, Selma; Ashton, Sally

    2006-01-01

    The author reviews research on the connections between attitudes and language learning, and between attitudes and motivation. The article suggests that language learners' motivation and attitudes can influence learning outcomes, and that effective teaching can change negative attitudes. It describes a classroom action research project that was…

  18. Information and Attitudes toward Disability.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hafer, Marilyn; Narcus, Margery

    1979-01-01

    Examined effects of two movies, Like Other People and The Music Box, on attitudes as measured by the Attitudes toward Disabled Persons scale. Results indicated more negative attitudes were induced in pretested participants by Like Other People at initial post-test; however, more favorable attitudes were exhibited by participants six weeks later.…

  19. Attitudes towards and knowledge about homosexuality among medical students in Zagreb.

    PubMed

    Grabovac, Igor; Abramović, Marija; Komlenović, Gordana; Milosević, Milan; Mustajbegović, Jadranka

    2014-03-01

    The aim of the study was to investigate whether students in their fifth and sixth years of medical school in Zagreb have homophobic attitudes and assess their knowledge about homosexuality. A survey was conducted among fifth and sixth year medical students during the 2009/2010 academic year. The survey consisted of general demographic data, two validated questionnaires--"Knowledge about Homosexuality Questionnaire" and "Heterosexual Attitudes towards Homosexuality Scale"--and questions about personal experiences created for this study. The mean knowledge scores were X = 14.8 out of 20. Furthermore, gender differences in attitudes were observed, indicating less negative attitudes among the female participants. The regression model was significant (ANOVA: Sum of Squares = 38.065; df = 17, Mean Square= 2239, F = 10.6; p < 0.001) with 38% of explained variance. The significant predictor variables that indicate lower attitudes about homosexuality score were female gender (beta= -0.14, p = 0.015), sixth year of study (beta = -0.16, p = 0.009) and more knowledge about homosexuality (beta = -0.48, p < 0.001). Negative attitudes are present among the students; therefore, educational efforts should be included in the curricula of medical schools to diminish the negative perceptions of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

  20. Food choice motives, attitude towards and intention to adopt personalised nutrition.

    PubMed

    Rankin, Audrey; Bunting, Brendan P; Poínhos, Rui; van der Lans, Ivo A; Fischer, Arnout Rh; Kuznesof, Sharron; Almeida, Mdv; Markovina, Jerko; Frewer, Lynn J; Stewart-Knox, Barbara J

    2018-05-17

    The present study explored associations between food choice motives, attitudes towards and intention to adopt personalised nutrition, to inform communication strategies based on consumer priorities and concerns.Design/SettingA survey was administered online which included the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) and items assessing attitudes towards and intention to adopt personalised nutrition. Nationally representative samples were recruited in nine EU countries (n 9381). Structural equation modelling indicated that the food choice motives 'weight control', 'mood', 'health' and 'ethical concern' had a positive association and 'price' had a negative association with attitude towards, and intention to adopt, personalised nutrition. 'Health' was positively associated and 'familiarity' negatively associated with attitude towards personalised nutrition. The effects of 'weight control', 'ethical concern', 'mood' and 'price' on intention to adopt personalised nutrition were partially mediated by attitude. The effects of 'health' and 'familiarity' were fully mediated by attitude. 'Sensory appeal' was negatively and directly associated with intention to adopt personalised nutrition. Personalised nutrition providers may benefit from taking into consideration the importance of underlying determinants of food choice in potential users, particularly weight control, mood and price, when promoting services and in tailoring communications that are motivationally relevant.

  1. Changing implicit attitudes toward smoking: results from a web-based approach-avoidance practice intervention.

    PubMed

    Macy, Jonathan T; Chassin, Laurie; Presson, Clark C; Sherman, Jeffrey W

    2015-02-01

    Implicit attitudes have been shown to predict smoking behaviors. Therefore, an important goal is the development of interventions to change these attitudes. This study assessed the effects of a web-based intervention on implicit attitudes toward smoking and receptivity to smoking-related information. Smokers (N = 284) were recruited to a two-session web-based study. In the first session, baseline data were collected. Session two contained the intervention, which consisted of assignment to the experimental or control version of an approach-avoidance task and assignment to an anti-smoking or control public service announcement (PSA), and post-intervention measures. Among smokers with less education and with plans to quit, implicit attitudes were more negative for those who completed the approach-avoidance task. Smokers with more education who viewed the anti-smoking PSA and completed the approach-avoidance task spent more time reading smoking-related information. An approach-avoidance task is a potentially feasible strategy for changing implicit attitudes toward smoking and increasing receptivity to smoking-related information.

  2. Changing Implicit Attitudes toward Smoking: Results from a Web-Based Approach-Avoidance Practice Intervention

    PubMed Central

    Macy, Jonathan T.; Chassin, Laurie; Presson, Clark C.; Sherman, Jeffrey W.

    2014-01-01

    Implicit attitudes have been shown to predict smoking behaviors. Therefore, an important goal is the development of interventions to change these attitudes. This study assessed the effects of a web-based intervention on implicit attitudes toward smoking and receptivity to smoking-related information. Smokers (N=284) were recruited to a two-session web-based study. In the first session, baseline data were collected. Session two contained the intervention, which consisted of assignment to the experimental or control version of an approach-avoidance task and assignment to an anti-smoking or control public service announcement (PSA), and post-intervention measures. Among smokers with less education and with plans to quit, implicit attitudes were more negative for those who completed the approach-avoidance task. Smokers with more education who viewed the anti-smoking PSA and completed the approach-avoidance task spent more time reading smoking-related information. An approach-avoidance task is a potentially feasible strategy for changing implicit attitudes toward smoking and increasing receptivity to smoking-related information. PMID:25059750

  3. Attitudes Toward Male and Female Sexuality Among Men and Women With Intellectual Disabilities.

    PubMed

    Chou, Yueh-Ching; Lu, Zxy-Yann Jane; Pu, Cheng-Yun

    2015-01-01

    Studies comparing the sexual attitudes of men and women with intellectual disabilities (ID) have been limited. A mixed-methods approach was employed to explore attitudes toward sexuality among men and women with ID in Taiwan and to ascertain the disparities between attitudes among men and women with ID. First, fifty-six men and forty-four women with mild and moderate ID completed a face-to-face interview survey. After this, focus groups were conducted for men and women with ID. Results indicated that women with ID were more likely to have negative attitudes toward parenting and non-reproductive sexual behavior than their male counterparts. Qualitative data indicated that men and women with ID had different sexual attitudes and experiences and were subject to different expectations from people around them. Both men and women with ID had very limited opportunities to develop romantic relationships and a healthy sexual identity. Sexual rights awareness and practice should be matters of concern for this group of adults and women with ID in particular.

  4. Comparative study of middle school students' attitudes towards science: Rasch analysis of entire TIMSS 2011 attitudinal data for England, Singapore and the U.S.A. as well as psychometric properties of attitudes scale

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pey Tee, Oon; Subramaniam, R.

    2018-02-01

    We report here on a comparative study of middle school students' attitudes towards science involving three countries: England, Singapore and the U.S.A. Complete attitudinal data sets from TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) 2011 were used, thus giving a very large sample size (N = 20,246), compared to other studies in the journal literature. The Rasch model was used to analyse the data, and the findings have shed some useful light on not only how the Western and Asian students responded on a comparative basis in the various scales related to attitudes but also on the validity, reliability, and unidimensionality of the attitudes instrument used in TIMSS 2011. There may be a need for TIMSS test developers to consider doing away with negatively phrased items in the attitudes instrument and phrasing these positively as the Rasch framework shows that response bias is associated with these statements.

  5. Mental Health Treatment Seeking Among Older Adults with Depression: The Impact of Stigma and Race

    PubMed Central

    Conner, Kyaien O.; Copeland, Valire Carr; Grote, Nancy K.; Koeske, Gary; Rosen, Daniel; Reynolds, Charles F.; Brown, Charlotte

    2010-01-01

    Objective Stigma associated with mental illness continues to be a significant barrier to help seeking, leading to negative attitudes about mental health treatment and deterring individuals who need services from seeking care. This study examined the impact of public stigma (negative attitudes held by the public) and internalized stigma (negative attitudes held by stigmatized individuals about themselves) on racial differences in treatment seeking attitudes and behaviors among older adults with depression. Method Random digit dialing was utilized to identify a representative sample of 248 African American and White adults older adults (over the age of 60) with depression (symptoms assessed via the Patient Health Questionnaire-9). Telephone based surveys were conducted to assess their treatment seeking attitudes and behaviors, and the factors that impacted these behaviors. Results Depressed older adult participants endorsed a high level of public stigma and were not likely to be currently engaged in, nor did they intend to seek mental health treatment. Results also suggested that African American older adults were more likely to internalize stigma and endorsed less positive attitudes toward seeking mental health treatment than their White counterparts. Multiple regression analysis indicated that internalized stigma partially mediated the relationship between race and attitudes toward treatment. Conclusion Stigma associated with having a mental illness has a negative influence on attitudes and intentions toward seeking mental health services among older adults with depression, particularly African American elders. Interventions to target internalized stigma are needed to help engage this population in psychosocial mental health treatments. PMID:20220602

  6. Clarifying beliefs underlying hunter intentions to support a ban on lead shot

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Schroeder, Susan A.; Fulton, David C.; Doncarlos, Kathy

    2016-01-01

    Shot from hunting adds toxic lead to environments worldwide. Existing lead shot regulations have been instituted with little understanding of hunter beliefs and attitudes. This study applied the Theory of Reasoned Action, using a multilevel, multivariate approach, to clarify how positive and negative beliefs relate to attitudes about a ban on lead shot. Structure coefficients and commonality analysis were employed to further examine relationships between beliefs and attitudes. Results suggest that while both positive and negative outcomes influence attitudes, positive outcomes were more influential for supporters and negative beliefs for opposers. Management may need to focus on the results from hunters who indicated that they would be unlikely to support a ban, as these hunters include those who may actively oppose additional efforts to regulate lead.

  7. Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors and Health Promotion Attitudes in Preregistered Nurses: A Questionnaire Study.

    PubMed

    Blake, Holly; Stanulewicz, Natalia; Griffiths, Katherine

    2017-02-01

    Nurses report inadequacies in health promotion practices. This study investigated attitudes toward being role models for healthy eating, and examined predictors of health promotion attitudes in preregistered nurses. A questionnaire was completed by 493 preregistered nurses. Measures included health promotion attitudes, healthy lifestyle index, self-esteem, and body satisfaction. Preregistered nurses (89.5%) felt that nurses should be role models for health. However, 37% had a negative health promotion attitude and were more likely to be dissatisfied with their body and lead less healthy lifestyles. Most preregistered nurses (96%) felt that delivering health promotion would be a key element of their job and held positive health promotion attitudes. Healthy lifestyle was the most consistent significant predictor of health promotion attitude. Preregistered nurses with an unhealthy lifestyle and lower self-esteem held a more negative health promotion attitude. Intervention is needed to support preregistered nurses in making healthy lifestyle choices, improving their self-perception and health promotion attitude. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(2):94-103.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

  8. Relationships between menstrual and menopausal attitudes and associated demographic and health characteristics: the Hilo Women's Health Study.

    PubMed

    Morrison, Lynn A; Sievert, Lynnette L; Brown, Daniel E; Rahberg, Nichole; Reza, Angela

    2010-07-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the relation of menstrual attitudes to menopausal attitudes and the demographic and health characteristics associated with each. This cross-sectional study consisted of a randomly selected sample of 1,824 respondents aged 16 to 100 years in multi-ethnic Hilo, Hawai'i. Women completed questionnaires for demographic and health information, such as age, ethnicity, education, residency in Hawai'i, menopausal status, exercise, and attitudes toward menstruation and menopause. Women more often chose positive terms, such as "natural," to describe menstruation (60.8%) and menopause (59.4%). In bivariate analyses, post-menopausal women were significantly more likely to have positive menstrual and menopausal attitudes than pre-menopausal women. Factor analyses were used to cluster attitudes followed by linear regression to identify demographic characteristics associated with factor scores. Asian-American ethnicity, higher education, reporting more exercise, and growing up outside of Hawai'i were associated with positive menstrual attitudes. Higher education, older age, post-menopausal status, growing up outside of Hawai'i and having hot flashes were associated with positive menopausal attitudes. Bivariate correlation analyses suggested significant associations between factor scores for menstrual and menopausal attitudes. Both negative and positive menstrual attitudes were positively correlated with the anticipation of menopause, although negative attitudes toward menstruation were negatively correlated with menopause as a positive, natural life event. Demographic variables, specifically education and where one grows up, influenced women's attitudes toward menstruation and menopause and should be considered for inclusion in subsequent multi-ethnic studies. Further research is also warranted in assessing the relationship between menstrual and menopausal attitudes.

  9. Relationships between menstrual and menopausal attitudes and associated demographic and health characteristics: The Hilo Women’s Health Study

    PubMed Central

    Sievert, Lynnette L.; Brown, Daniel E.; Rahberg, Nichole; Reza, Angela

    2010-01-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the relation of menstrual attitudes to menopausal attitudes and the demographic and health characteristics associated with each. This cross-sectional study consisted of a randomly selected sample of 1824 respondents aged 16 to 100 years in multi-ethnic Hilo, Hawai`i. Women completed questionnaires for demographic and health information, such as age, ethnicity, education, residency in Hawai`i, menopausal status, exercise, and attitudes toward menstruation and menopause. Women more often chose positive terms, such as “natural,” to describe menstruation (60.8%) and menopause (59.4%). In bivariate analyses, post-menopausal women were significantly more likely to have positive menstrual and menopausal attitudes than pre-menopausal women. Factor analyses were used to cluster attitudes followed by linear regression to identify demographic characteristics associated with factor scores. Asian-American ethnicity, higher education, reporting more exercise, and growing up outside of Hawai`i were associated with positive menstrual attitudes. Higher education, older age, post-menopausal status, growing up outside of Hawai`i and having hot flashes were associated with positive menopausal attitudes. Bivariate correlation analyses suggested significant associations between factor scores for menstrual and menopausal attitudes. Both negative and positive menstrual attitudes were positively correlated with the anticipation of menopause, although negative attitudes toward menstruation were negatively correlated with menopause as a positive, natural life event. Demographic variables, specifically education and where one grows up, influenced women’s attitudes toward menstruation and menopause and should be considered for inclusion in subsequent multi-ethnic studies. Further research is also warranted in assessing the relationship between menstrual and menopausal attitudes. PMID:20853216

  10. The Young Offender.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MacLeod, Hinson

    1979-01-01

    Looks at delinquency from the viewpoint of a training school chaplain and outlines factors believed to contribute to the development of delinquent behavior. Signs of maladjustment include overactivity, acute anxiety and fear, depression, psychosomatic disorders, unusual behavior, negative attitudes toward others and themselves, and resistance to…

  11. Impact of Selected Professional Aspects on Teacher Burnout.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kudva, Pramila

    This study investigated the relationship between several components of teacher burnout and various professional factors. Professional factors included professional qualifications, teaching level, professional growth, professional commitment, and role efficacy. Components of teacher burnout included development of negative attitudes toward students…

  12. Exploring the Impact of Toxic Attitudes and a Toxic Environment on the Veterinary Healthcare Team

    PubMed Central

    Moore, Irene C.; Coe, Jason B.; Adams, Cindy L.; Conlon, Peter D.; Sargeant, Jan M.

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this qualitative study was to compare veterinarians’ and Registered Veterinary Technicians’ (RVT’s) perceptions of the veterinary healthcare team with respect to the impact of toxic attitudes and a toxic environment. Focus group interviews using a semi-structured interview guide and follow up probes were held with four veterinarian groups (23 companion animal veterinarians) and four Registered Veterinary Technician groups (26 RVTs). Thematic analysis of the discussions indicated both veterinarian and RVT participants felt team members with manifestations of toxic attitudes negatively impacted veterinary team function. These manifestations included people being disrespectful, being resistant to change, always wanting to be the “go to person,” avoiding conflict, and lacking motivation. When conflict was ignored, or when people with toxic attitudes were not addressed, a toxic environment often resulted. A toxic environment sometimes manifested when “broken communication and tension between staff members” occurred as a result of employees lacking confidence, skills, or knowledge not being managed properly. It also occurred when employees did not feel appreciated, when there was difficulty coping with turnover, and when there were conflicting demands. The presence of people manifesting a toxic attitude was a source of frustration for both veterinarian and RVT participants. Prompt and consistent attention to negative behaviors is recommended to reduce the development of a toxic environment. PMID:26779492

  13. Delving Beyond Conscious Attitudes: Validation of an Innovative Tool for Assessing Parental Implicit Attitudes toward Physical Punishment

    PubMed Central

    Sturge-Apple, Melissa L.; Rogge, Ronald D.; Peltz, Jack S.; Suor, Jennifer H.; Skibo, Michael A.

    2014-01-01

    Parenting scholars have long been interested in understanding the prevalence, determinants, and child outcomes associated with the use of physical discipline. To date, much of the empirical research in this area has utilized self-report measures to assess this construct. However, the subjective nature of participants’ explicit reports presents an important confound to studying this issue. Thus, the overarching aim of this study was to provide the first test of an implicit assessment of physical discipline through using a Go/No-go Association Task (GNAT). A GNAT-Physical Discipline was developed and examined in two separate studies of mothers and their 2-3 year old child. One study was conducted in an online format and the second within a laboratory design. Across both studies, findings suggested that the GNAT-Physical Discipline distinguished between positive and negative implicit attitudes towards the use of physical discipline. In addition, negative implicit attitudes were uniquely linked to maternal reports of physical discipline when compared to other discipline practices. Results suggest the potential for the GNAT paradigm in research on parental attitudes around the use of physical discipline in parenting contexts. In addition, our use of an online format (with implicit assessments of key constructs) demonstrates that child and family researchers may be able to explore their hypotheses in larger, geographically diverse samples. PMID:26195917

  14. Impact of present and past antipsychotic side effects on attitude toward typical antipsychotic treatment and adherence.

    PubMed

    Lambert, M; Conus, P; Eide, P; Mass, R; Karow, A; Moritz, S; Golks, D; Naber, D

    2004-11-01

    (1) determine which antipsychotic side effects (SE) schizophrenic patients consider the most distressing during treatment with typical antipsychotics, (2) measure the impact of actual and past SE on patients' attitude toward antipsychotics and (3) assess the influence of both on adherence. The 213 schizophrenics, treated with conventional antipsychotics, were recruited in two psychiatric hospitals in Hamburg. Subjects were assessed about type and severity of present and past side effects and their attitude and adherence to antipsychotic treatment. The 82 (39%) patients presented present SE while 131 (61%) did not. Sexual dysfunctions (P < 0.001), extrapyramidal (P < 0.05) and psychic side effects (P < 0.05) were rated as significantly subjectively more distressing than sedation or vegetative side effects. Patients presenting with present SE compared with patients without present SE had a significantly more negative general attitude toward antipsychotics (P < 0.05), were more doubtful about their efficacy (P < 0.01) and were less likely to encourage a relative to take such a medication in case of need (P < 0.001). A regression analysis indicated that nonadherence was mainly influenced by negative general and efficacy attitudes toward antipsychotics and the experience of past or present antipsychotic side effects. All antipsychotic side effects, present or past, can have a durable negative impact on patient's attitude toward antipsychotic treatment and adherence. Non-adherence is mainly determined, among other factors, by these negative attitudes, which are partly influenced by the experience of past or present antipsychotic-induced side effects.

  15. Construction and Validation of Attitudes Toward Plagiarism Questionnaire

    PubMed Central

    Mavrinac, Martina; Brumini, Gordana; Bilić-Zulle, Lidija; Petrovečki, Mladen

    2010-01-01

    Aim To develop and test the psychometric characteristics of a questionnaire measuring attitudes toward plagiarism. Methods Participants were 227 undergraduates and graduate students from three Croatian universities, with a median age of 21 years (range 18 to 48). Research was conducted from March to June 2009. For the purpose of construction of the first version of the questionnaire, 67 statements (items) were developed. The statements were based on the relevant literature and were developed following rules and recommendations for questionnaire writing, and 36 items were chosen for final validation. Factor analysis was used to find out the factor structure of the questionnaire and to measure construct validity. Results The final version of the questionnaire consisted of 29 items divided into a three-factor structure: factor I – positive attitude toward plagiarism (12 items); factor II – negative attitude toward plagiarism (7 items); and factor III – subjective norms toward plagiarism (10 items). Cronbach α was calculated to confirm the reliability of the scale: factor I – α = 0.83; factor II – α = 0.79; and factor III – α = 0.85. Correlations between factors were: -0.37 between I and II, -0.41 between I and III, and +0.31 between II and III. Conclusion Attitudes Toward Plagiarism questionnaire was developed, with good psychometric characteristics. It will be used in future research as a standardized tool for measuring attitudes toward plagiarism. PMID:20564761

  16. Same-Sex Relationships and Women with Intellectual Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burns, Jan; Davies, Danielle

    2011-01-01

    Background: Limited existing research looking at homosexuality and people with intellectual disabilities has identified a low level of knowledge, homophobic attitudes and negative experiences for gay men. Mainstream research has identified traditional gender role beliefs to be highly associated with negative attitudes towards homosexuality. This…

  17. The effect of evaluation on co-occurrence memory judgement.

    PubMed

    Bar-Anan, Yoav; Amzaleg-David, Efrat

    2014-01-01

    Three experiments tested the effect of an attitude towards an object on the memory judgement of whether this object co-occurred with positive versus negative stimuli. We induced positive or negative attitudes towards novel male stimuli, and paired each man with an equal number of positive and negative animals. In a memory test, participants reported more co-occurrences of same-valence man/animal pairs than opposite-valence pairs. This valence-compatibility effect occurred even when attitudes were induced after the pairing (Experiment 1), when participants knew that each man occurred with an equal number of positive and negative animals (Experiment 2), and in reports of clear memory of pairs that did not co-occur (Experiment 3). The present findings suggest that evaluation causes illusory correlation even when the co-occurring stimuli are not traits or behaviours attributed to the attitude object. The results question the validity of co-occurrence memory judgements as measures of co-occurrence awareness in evaluative conditioning (EC) research.

  18. Ask and you shall receive: desire and receipt of feedback via Facebook predicts disordered eating concerns.

    PubMed

    Hummel, Alexandra C; Smith, April R

    2015-05-01

    The current study examined whether certain types of Facebook content (i.e., status updates, comments) relate to eating concerns and attitudes. We examined the effects of seeking and receiving negative feedback via Facebook on disordered eating concerns in a sample of 185 undergraduate students followed for approximately 4 weeks. Results indicated that individuals with a negative feedback seeking style who received a high number of comments on Facebook were more likely to report disordered eating attitudes four weeks later. Additionally, individuals who received extremely negative comments in response to their personally revealing status updates were more likely to report disordered eating concerns four weeks later. Results of the current study provide preliminary evidence that seeking and receiving negative feedback via social networking sites can increase risk for disordered eating attitudes, and suggest that reducing maladaptive social networking usage may be an important target for prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing disordered eating attitudes. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Depressive Symptoms and Help-Negation among Chinese University Students in Taiwan: The Role of Gender, Anxiety and Help-Seeking Attitudes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, Hsiaowen

    2014-01-01

    This study extended the consideration of help-negation in regard to suicide to that of depressive symptoms in a large sample of 981 Chinese university students in Taiwan. The study examined the help-negation effects of depression and the impact of gender, anxiety, and help-seeking attitudes on that relationship. Chinese students, aged 17 to…

  20. Outcomes of crew resource management training

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Helmreich, Robert L.; Wilhelm, John A.

    1991-01-01

    Participants' self-reports and measures of attitudes regarding flightdeck management indicate that crew resource management training is favorably received and causes highly significant, positive changes in attitudes regarding crew coordination and personal capabilities. However, a subset of participants reacted negatively to the training and showed boomerangs (negative change) in attitudes. Explorations into the causes of this effect pinpoint personality factors and group dynamics as critical determinants of reactions to training and of the magnitude and direction of attitude changes. Implications of these findings for organizations desiring to enhance crew effectiveness are discussed, and areas of needed additional research are described.

  1. [Schizophrenia--an illness and its treatment reflected in public attitude].

    PubMed

    Schöny, W

    1998-01-01

    Stigmatization with regard to mental illness and especially schizophrenia has been known from time immemorial. Meanwhile the negative attitudes have become metaphorical for unpredictability, violence, and bizarrely (grotesquely) contradictory behaviour. Persons concerned with these prejudices are excluded from the society and there is little willingness for contact. Particularly afflicted are also the relatives of schizophrenic persons. Media and motion pictures play an essential role in the maintenance of these negative attitudes. There will be suggestions (stimuli), especially by opinion leaders, to reach a change of the attitudes towards diseases and their methods of treatment.

  2. Effecting attitudinal change towards rational drug use.

    PubMed

    Singh, T; Natu, M V

    1995-01-01

    Attitudes of 40 interns towards rational drug use (RDU) were assessed, using a standardized Likert type scale. The assessment was repeated after 4 months to evaluate the effect of usual working conditions of the hospital. After this period, the attitudes had slided towards negative side (p < 0.01). At this point, an intervention in the form of a workshop was provided for half the group while other half served as control. A repeat assessment after another period of 4 months revealed that the attitudes of test group returned towards positive side (p < 0.01) while control group maintained its negative attitudes.

  3. The Relation Between Death Attitude and Distress: Tolerance, Aggression, and Anger.

    PubMed

    Esnaashari, Fatemeh; Kargar, Flor Rezaei

    2018-06-01

    The aim of this research was to determine the relation between death attitude and distress tolerance and aggression and anger. For this, 135 subjects among 7,535 professional and specialist members of the Iran National Library were selected using convenience sampling method. They replied to Death Attitudes Profile-Revised, distress tolerance questionnaire, and aggression questionnaire. The results showed that the attitudes of approach acceptance, neutral acceptance, and escape acceptance had positive relation to distress tolerance and negative relation to aggression and anger while the attitudes of fear of death and death avoidance had negative relation to distress tolerance and positive relation to aggression and anger. Furthermore, all death attitudes predicted distress tolerance. But only the attitudes of approach acceptance, escape acceptance, fear of death, and death avoidance predicted aggression, and only approach acceptance, neutral acceptance, fear of death, and death avoidance predicted anger.

  4. Attitudes toward Same-Sex Attraction and Behavior among Chinese University Students: Tendencies, Correlates, and Gender Differences

    PubMed Central

    Chi, Xinli; Hawk, Skyler T.

    2016-01-01

    The present study examined Chinese university students’ attitudes toward same-sex attraction and behavior, the socio-demographic correlates of these attitudes, and the potential gender differences in both tendencies and correlates. A total of 2,644 Chinese university students (49.7% male, mean age = 20.27 years) indicated generally negative attitudes toward same-sex attraction and behavior, with males reporting more negative attitudes than females. More years in university (i.e., higher grade levels), higher levels of maternal education, growing up in an urban area, and more frequent Internet use significantly predicted more positive attitudes. Gender significantly moderated one correlate: For female participants, a higher university grade was related to more positive attitudes; this correlation was not significant for male participants. The findings suggest valuable directions for related intervention practices for young people in China. PMID:27790184

  5. Enhancing the effectiveness of antismoking messages via self-congruent appeals.

    PubMed

    Chang, Chingching

    2009-01-01

    A self-congruent effect model was applied to understand adolescents' responses to antismoking advertising that referred to the self or others. Experiment 1 showed that self-referring ads generated more negative smoking attitudes than other-referring ads among adolescents with independent self-construals, whereas other-referring ads generated more negative smoking attitudes than self-referring ads among adolescents with interdependent self-construals. A survey further showed that smokers rated themselves higher on a measure of independent self-construal than nonsmokers. Experiment 2 then found that self-referring ads are more effective than other-referring ads for smokers, who have independent self-construals. Findings supported the idea that health communication campaign designers can maximize message effectiveness by developing different messages for different target segments of the population based on their self-construals.

  6. High-risk driving attitudes and everyday driving violations of car and racing enthusiasts in Ontario, Canada.

    PubMed

    Yildirim-Yenier, Zümrüt; Vingilis, Evelyn; Wiesenthal, David L; Mann, Robert E; Seeley, Jane

    2015-01-01

    Attitudes and individual difference variables of car and racing enthusiasts regarding high-risk behaviors of street racing and stunt driving have recently been investigated. Positive attitudes toward high-risk driving, personality variables such as driver thrill seeking, and other self-reported risky driving acts were associated with these behaviors. However, probable relationships among high-risk driving tendencies, everyday driving behaviors, and negative road safety outcomes have remained largely unexamined. This study aimed to investigate the associations among car and racing enthusiasts' high-risk driving attitudes, self-reported everyday driving violations (i.e., ordinary and aggressive violations), and self-reported negative outcomes (i.e., collisions and driving offense citations). A web-based survey was conducted with members and visitors of car club and racing websites in Ontario, Canada. Data were obtained from 366 participants. The questionnaire included 4 attitude measures-(1) attitudes toward new penalties for Ontario's Street Racers, Stunt and Aggressive Drivers Legislation; (2) attitudes toward new offenses of stunt driving under the same legislation; (3) general attitudes toward street racing and stunt driving; (4) comparison of street racing with other risky driving behaviors-self-reported driving violations (i.e., ordinary and aggressive violations); self-reported collisions and offense citations; and background and driving questions (e.g., age, driving frequency). Results revealed that attitudes toward stunt driving offenses negatively and general attitudes toward street racing and stunt driving positively predicted ordinary violations, which, in turn, predicted offense citations. Moreover, general attitudes toward street racing and stunt driving positively predicted aggressive violations, which, in turn, predicted offense citations. The findings indicate that positive high-risk driving attitudes may be transferring to driving violations in everyday traffic, which mediates driving offense citations.

  7. Community psychiatry: results of a public opinion survey.

    PubMed

    Lauber, Christoph; Nordt, Carlos; Haker, Helene; Falcato, Luis; Rössler, Wulf

    2006-05-01

    Mental health authorities must know the public's attitude to community psychiatry when planning community mental health services. However, previous studies have only investigated the impact of demographic variables on the attitude to community psychiatry. To assess the influence of psychological and sociological parameters on the public opinion of community psychiatry in Switzerland. Linear regression analyses of the results of a public opinion survey on a representative population sample in Switzerland (n = 1737). Most respondents have positive attitudes to community psychiatry. In the regression analysis (R2 adjusted = 21.2%), negative emotions towards mentally ill people as depicted in the vignette, great social distance, a positive attitude to restrictions, negative stereotypes, high rigidity and no participation in community activities significantly influenced negative attitudes to community psychiatry. Additionally, other parameters, e.g. contact with mentally ill people and the nationality of the interviewee, have a significant influence. In planning psychiatric community services, general individual traits and emotive issues should be considered because they influence the response towards community psychiatry facilities in the host community.

  8. Measurement of student attitudes in first year engineering - A mixed methods approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malik, Qaiser Hameed

    This research study focused on freshman attitudes towards engineering in a newly implemented cornerstone sequence that emphasized holistic design experiences. The students' initial attitudes and changes in these attitudes were examined with the explanatory mixed methods approach that allows a sequential examination of the target population with two methods, using two sets of data, to investigate the treatment effects. In the quantitative phase, the study compared changes in freshman attitude towards engineering, between the new 'design sequence' group (composed of freshmen in the cornerstone sequence) and the prior 'traditional sequence' group (composed of all other freshmen), over the course of one semester. The data were collected in fall 2008 at two time intervals and changes in the two groups' attitudes were examined with repeated measures analysis of covariance models. The analyses reported here include data from 389 students out of the total population of 722 freshmen. The analyses revealed that engineering freshmen joined the program with positive or strongly positive attitudes towards engineering. Those strong attitudes were durable and resistant to change. Students in the design sequence group had higher ACT scores, enjoyed math and science the most, and did not believe engineering to be an exact science. However, no appreciable time-group interaction was observed. To validate the quantitative results, an interview protocol was developed to investigate initial freshman attitudes and changes, if any, that took place as a result of the new cornerstone sequence. One-on-one interviews with a sample of ten students out of the population of 272 freshmen revealed that freshmen in the cornerstone sequence entered the program full of enthusiasm and idealism, and with strongly positive attitudes towards engineering. The strong motivational factors included parental/teacher influences, childhood motivations, and high school extra-curricular experiences. The participants appreciated the team work and problem solving aspects of engineering; however, they reported negative experiences in the cornerstone sequence. Interestingly, their overall perception about engineering was not affected by any of the negative experiences. The qualitative phase substantiated the belief that strong attitudes are harder to change; they are durable, they have impact, and they are not significantly affected by a short treatment. The results of this mixed methods study indicate that changing student attitudes may not be an easy task. One must develop a better understanding of student attitudes in order to improve understanding of the fine-grained details of curriculum and its implementation to be able to develop more effective cornerstone design courses. Clearly, tight and focused quantitative studies complemented with a qualitative component provide a much broader and deeper insight into the learning that takes place in freshman courses. This research also documents the use of a longitudinal study to track the design sequence group and observe their performance in their junior and senior years. This would provide a better understanding of the long term effects of the new sequence.

  9. Male and Female College Presidents: Leadership Behaviors and Attitudes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wheeler, Karen J.; Tack, Martha W.

    A study on differences between the leadership behaviors and attitudes of male and female college presidents is presented. Women are rarely represented in top academic administrative positions in higher education. Reasons include sex discrimination, negative perceptions of them as administrators, and negative evaluation of their administrative…

  10. Attitudes towards the Human Genome Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shahroudi, Julie; Shaw, Geraldine

    Attitudes concerning the Human Genome Project were reported by faculty (N=40) and students (N=66) from a liberal arts college. Positive attitudes toward the project involved privacy, insurance and health, economic purposes, reproductive purposes, genetic counseling, religion and overall opinions. Negative attitudes were expressed regarding…

  11. Attitudes toward Invertebrates: Are Educational "Bug Banquets" Effective?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Looy, Heather; Wood, John R.

    2006-01-01

    Scientists have used educational presentations and "bug banquets" to alter widespread negative attitudes toward invertebrates. In this article, the authors explore whether such presentations have a measurable affect on attitudes. Junior high, high school, and university students completed an attitude survey focusing on invertebrates in…

  12. The effects of gender, race, religion, and political orientation on the sex role attitudes of college freshmen.

    PubMed

    Lottes, I L; Kuriloff, P J

    1992-01-01

    Freshmen (N = 556) at a large eastern private university were administered a questionnaire during the first week of classes. A social learning perspective was used to examine the effects of gender, race (Asian, black, and white), religion (Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant), and political orientation (liberal and conservative) on four areas of sex role ideology--traditional attitudes toward female sexuality, justification of male dominance, negative attitudes toward homosexuality, and attitudes toward feminism. Although all four independent variables produced a significant effect on at least one measure of sex role ideology, religion and political orientation produced significant differences on all four sex role measures. Liberals as compared to conservatives and Jews as compared to Protestants were less traditional in their attitudes toward female sexuality, less accepting of male dominance and negative attitudes toward homosexuality, and more accepting of feminist attitudes. The results support the view that entering freshmen have established sex role belief systems that tend to be organized around constellations of traditional/conservative versus egalitarian/liberal attitudes.

  13. [Stigma among health professionals towards patients with substance use disorders and its consequences for healthcare delivery: systematic review].

    PubMed

    van Boekel, L C; Brouwers, E P M; van Weeghel, J; Garretsen, H F L

    2015-01-01

    Healthcare professionals are crucial in the identification and accessibility to treatment for people with substance use disorders. Objective of this literature review is to assess health professionals' attitudes towards patients with substance use disorders and to examine the consequences of these attitudes on healthcare delivery for these patients. PubMed, Psycinfo and Embase were systematically searched for articles published between 2000-2011. Reviews, commentaries and letters were excluded, as were studies originating from non-Western countries. The search process yielded 1562 citations. After selection and quality assessment 28 studies were included. Health professionals generally have negative attitudes towards patients with substance use disorders. They perceive violence, manipulation, and poor motivation as impeding factors in the healthcare delivery for these patients. Health professionals also lack adequate education, training and support structures in working with this patient group. Negative attitudes of health professionals diminish patients' feelings of empowerment and subsequently treatment outcomes. Health professionals have a more task-oriented approach (e.g. less personal engagement and diminished empathy) in the delivery of healthcare for these patients. This review indicates that negative attitudes of health professionals towards patients with substance use disorders are common and contribute to suboptimal health care for these patients. However, few studies have evaluated the consequences of health professionals' negative attitudes towards patients with substance use disorders.

  14. Pairing images of unhealthy and healthy foods with images of negative and positive health consequences: Impact on attitudes and food choice.

    PubMed

    Hollands, Gareth J; Marteau, Theresa M

    2016-08-01

    To examine the impact of presenting images of foods paired with images of positive and negative health consequences of their consumption on food choice and attitudes. Participants (N = 711) were randomly allocated in a 2 × 3 factorial design (Food Type × Affective Valence) to 1 of 6 conditioning procedures that paired images of either energy-dense snack foods or fruit, with (a) images of negative health outcomes, (b) images of positive health outcomes, or (c) a no image control. The primary outcome was food choice assessed postintervention with a behavioral choice task. Secondary outcomes were implicit attitudes (assessed pre- and postintervention) and explicit attitudes (assessed postintervention). Presenting images of negative health outcomes led to more healthy food choices relative to control and positive image conditions, irrespective of whether they were paired with images of energy-dense snack foods or fruit. This relationship was partially mediated by changes in implicit and explicit attitudes. Images of positive health outcomes did not alter food choices. This study replicates and extends previous research showing that presenting images of negative health consequences increases healthy food choices. Because effects were elicited by manipulating affective valence irrespective of paired food type, these results appear more consistent with an explanation based on priming than on evaluative conditioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Predictors of negative attitudes toward Indigenous Australians and a unit of study among undergraduate nursing students: A mixed-methods study.

    PubMed

    Ramjan, Lucie; Hunt, Leanne; Salamonson, Yenna

    2016-03-01

    Indigenous people are the most disadvantaged population within Australia. The Bachelor of Nursing program at a large university in Western Sydney embedded Indigenous health into the undergraduate teaching program. This paper reviews the negative responses received towards course content on evaluation of the Indigenous health unit and explores the predictors for the negative attitudes towards Indigenous Australians. Two surveys were used (baseline and follow-up) to: 1. Determine the main predictors for negative attitudes towards Indigenous people and; 2. Explore students' perceptions of the educational quality of the Indigenous health unit. The surveys allowed collection of socio-demographic, academic data and included the 18 item 'Attitude Toward Indigenous Australians' (ATIA) scale and open-ended responses. Students who were: 1. Overseas born, 2. Enrolment category: International student and; 3. Whose primary source of information about Indigenous Australians were the media and school were significantly more likely to have higher negative attitudes towards Indigenous Australians. Qualitative data revealed some unfavourable comments dismissing the value and educational quality of the content within the Indigenous health unit. Community engagement is paramount to enhancing the student experience. Movement away from media driven 'hype' to an educated perspective is necessary to create an accurate portrayal of the Indigenous community. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Effects of Anti-Smoking Public Service Announcements on the Attitudes of Korean College Students toward Smoking

    PubMed Central

    Cho, Kyoung Won; Lee, Jakyoung; Ryu, Ji-hye; Kim, Soo Jeong

    2017-01-01

    Objectives This study aimed to identify the effects of anti-smoking public service announcements on the attitudes of Korean college students toward smoking. Methods This study involved students via convenience sampling from seven universities who were randomly assigned to four groups. All groups completed a preliminary questionnaire, before being shown a public service announcement twice, and then completed a post viewing questionnaire. Results For announcements with positive messages, the proportion of changes in beliefs and attitudes were 39.1% and 19.8%, respectively, whereas those with negative messages showed a greater proportion of changes in the beliefs (59.7%) and attitudes (40.3%). After adjusting for sex and change in belief, the message types and smoking status were identified as factors affecting the change in the participants attitudes. A negative message resulted in a greater change in attitudes (odds ratio [OR], 3.047; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.847–5.053). Ever-smokers including current smokers showed a greater positive change in attitude than never-smokers (OR, 6.965; 95% CI, 4.107–11.812). Conclusion This study found that positive anti-smoking public service announcements were more effective on attitude change than negative messages. Additionally these announcements were more effective among viewers who were current smokers or had a prior smoking experience. PMID:29354398

  17. The Development of the Concept of Suicide in Children.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Normand, Claude L.; Mishara, Brian L.

    1992-01-01

    Examined development of concept of suicide in 60 children. Found that 10 percent of first, 50 percent of third, and 95 percent of fifth graders had basic understanding of suicide. Attitudes toward suicide were neutral or negative. Concept of suicide was significantly related to concept of death and experiences with death and was also related to…

  18. Recruiting medical students into psychiatry in lower income countries.

    PubMed

    Nortje, Gareth; Seedat, Soraya

    2013-08-01

    There is a serious shortage of psychiatrists and poor recruitment of new psychiatry trainees worldwide. Low and middle income countries suffer disproportionately on many accounts. A negative attitude towards psychiatry is thought to contribute to poor recruitment of psychiatry trainees. Previous reviews have focused on the attitudes of medical students in high income countries, but factors relevant to attitude and recruitment may be different in lower income countries. Here we review studies of medical students' attitudes towards psychiatry from low and lower-middle income countries, summarize key themes which negatively influence attitudes, and suggest strategies for overcoming them. Major themes include stigma, perceived status of psychiatry, lack of psychiatric trainers, local cultural beliefs, poor working conditions, and quality of patient care.

  19. Attitudes to mental illness among mental health professionals in Singapore and comparisons with the general population.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Qi; Picco, Louisa; Chang, Sherilyn; Abdin, Edimansyah; Chua, Boon Yiang; Ong, Samantha; Yow, Kah Lai; Chong, Siow Ann; Subramaniam, Mythily

    2017-01-01

    Similar to the general public, mental health professionals sometimes also have negative attitudes towards individuals with mental illness; which could ultimately affect the quality of care received by the patients. This study aims to explore attitudes to mental illness among mental health professionals in Singapore; make comparisons with the general population; and investigate the significant correlates. A cross-sectional design was used. Eligible participants were recruited from the Institute of Mental Health, Singapore. Attitudes to mental illness among the mental health professionals were measured using an adapted 26-item Attitudes to Mental Illness questionnaire (AMI). An earlier study amongst the general population in Singapore had used the same tool; however, factor analysis suggested a 20-item, 4-factor structure (AMI-SG) was the best fit. This 4-factor structure was applied among the current sample of mental health professionals to allow comparisons between the professionals and the general population. Data were collected through an online survey tool 'Questionpro' from February to April 2016, and 379 participants were included in the current analysis. Attitudes to mental illness among these professionals were compared to those of the general population, which were captured as part of a national study conducted from March 2014 to April 2015. The 20-item, 4-factor structure AMI-SG derived from the general population was applicable among the mental health professionals in Singapore. Compared to the general population, mental health professionals had significantly more positive attitudes to mental illness; however their scores on 'social distancing' did not differ from the general population. Indian ethnicity was negatively associated with 'social distancing' and 'social restrictiveness' among the professionals; while higher education was negatively related to 'prejudice and misconception'. Compared to nurses, doctors showed significantly more positive attitudes on 'social restrictiveness' and 'prejudice and misconception'. Having family or close friends diagnosed with mental illness was negatively associated with 'social distancing' among the professionals. The AMI-SG is an effective tool to measure attitudes to mental illness among mental health professionals in Singapore. Although the professionals had significantly more positive attitudes to mental illness than the general public in Singapore, their attitudes on 'social distancing' resembled closely that of the general public. Professionals tended to have more negative attitudes if they were nurses, less educated, and of Chinese ethnicity. More studies are needed to explore the underlying reasons for the differences and to generalize these findings among mental health professionals elsewhere.

  20. Attitudes to mental illness among mental health professionals in Singapore and comparisons with the general population

    PubMed Central

    Picco, Louisa; Chang, Sherilyn; Abdin, Edimansyah; Chua, Boon Yiang; Ong, Samantha; Yow, Kah Lai; Chong, Siow Ann; Subramaniam, Mythily

    2017-01-01

    Background Similar to the general public, mental health professionals sometimes also have negative attitudes towards individuals with mental illness; which could ultimately affect the quality of care received by the patients. This study aims to explore attitudes to mental illness among mental health professionals in Singapore; make comparisons with the general population; and investigate the significant correlates. Methods A cross-sectional design was used. Eligible participants were recruited from the Institute of Mental Health, Singapore. Attitudes to mental illness among the mental health professionals were measured using an adapted 26-item Attitudes to Mental Illness questionnaire (AMI). An earlier study amongst the general population in Singapore had used the same tool; however, factor analysis suggested a 20-item, 4-factor structure (AMI-SG) was the best fit. This 4-factor structure was applied among the current sample of mental health professionals to allow comparisons between the professionals and the general population. Data were collected through an online survey tool ‘Questionpro’ from February to April 2016, and 379 participants were included in the current analysis. Attitudes to mental illness among these professionals were compared to those of the general population, which were captured as part of a national study conducted from March 2014 to April 2015. Results The 20-item, 4-factor structure AMI-SG derived from the general population was applicable among the mental health professionals in Singapore. Compared to the general population, mental health professionals had significantly more positive attitudes to mental illness; however their scores on ‘social distancing’ did not differ from the general population. Indian ethnicity was negatively associated with ‘social distancing’ and ‘social restrictiveness’ among the professionals; while higher education was negatively related to ‘prejudice and misconception’. Compared to nurses, doctors showed significantly more positive attitudes on ‘social restrictiveness’ and ‘prejudice and misconception’. Having family or close friends diagnosed with mental illness was negatively associated with ‘social distancing’ among the professionals. Conclusion The AMI-SG is an effective tool to measure attitudes to mental illness among mental health professionals in Singapore. Although the professionals had significantly more positive attitudes to mental illness than the general public in Singapore, their attitudes on ‘social distancing’ resembled closely that of the general public. Professionals tended to have more negative attitudes if they were nurses, less educated, and of Chinese ethnicity. More studies are needed to explore the underlying reasons for the differences and to generalize these findings among mental health professionals elsewhere. PMID:29145419

  1. The Effect of Unintended Interracial Contact Upon Racial Interaction and Attitude Change. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cook, Stuart W.

    This was a study of the influence of unintended interracial contact and characteristics of the contact situation on attitude-related action and attitude change. It was designed to determine if persons with initially negative racial attitudes would change these attitudes by an experimental experience. The research subjects were white students from…

  2. Ethnic Stereotypic Attitudes among Israeli Children: Two Intervention Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Slone, Michelle; Tarrasch, Ricardo; Hallis, Dana

    2000-01-01

    Examined stereotypic attitudes of Israeli children toward Arab and Jewish children and their alteration with two 6-week classroom intervention programs. Found that Jewish children held more negative stereotypes toward Arab than toward Jewish children. Found that both textual and audiovisual programs reduced negative Arab stereotypes in comparison…

  3. The Impact of College Student Money Attitudes on Credit Responsibility

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Marguerite; Carpenter, Jason M.

    2009-01-01

    Growing concern among academics, policymakers and educators to address credit abuse among college students prompts a need for greater understanding of the determinants of these negative behaviors. The present study investigates the impact of individuals' money attitudes on both negative and positive credit behaviors within a single empirical model…

  4. Children's Views on Aging: Their Attitudes and Values.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newman, Sally; Faux, Robert; Larimer, Barbara

    1997-01-01

    Examines childrens' (N=71) perceptions and attitudes about aging and older adults. Results indicate that children do not view aging negatively as adults assume. Children were positively affected by interactions with older adults, described physical signs of aging without judgment, and responded negatively to some of the unpleasant conditions…

  5. Using Implicit Bias Training to Improve Attitudes toward Women in STEM

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jackson, Sarah M.; Hillard, Amy L.; Schneider, Tamera R.

    2014-01-01

    Implicit biases can foster negative attitudes and lead to damaging stereotypical behaviors. Stereotypes can negatively affect the education, hiring, promotion, and retention of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study evaluated the impact of diversity training on university faculty (N=234) by assessing changes…

  6. Effective Teaching Practices during Physical Fitness Testing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stewart, Amanda; Elliot, Steven; Boyce, B. Ann; Block, Martin E.

    2005-01-01

    Participation in fitness tests is among the most common memories many adults hold of physical education class. If students have a negative attitude towards fitness testing, they may be less likely to assess their own progress once they graduate. These negative attitudes often promote lifestyle choices that support participation in at-risk…

  7. Overcoming Graduate Students' Negative Perceptions of Statistics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lalayants, Marina

    2012-01-01

    Although there has been some attention in the literature to such issues as students' attitudes toward statistics, instructors are still constantly faced with the challenge to engage students; understand their perceptions, motivations, and interests; and deal with their reluctance and negative attitudes toward the field of statistics. The purpose…

  8. Teachers' Attitudes toward African American Vernacular English: A Quantitative Correlational Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Daily, Danny L., Jr.

    2017-01-01

    African Americans students, who use African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in the academic setting, receive negative misconceptions by English educators. Negative teacher attitudes might cause African American students to lack commitment to learning. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine whether English teachers…

  9. Attitudes and beliefs affect frequency of eating out in the Lower Mississippi Delta

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Attitudes and beliefs reflecting cultural values can have a positive or negative influence on eating behaviors. Eating out may negatively affect diet quality through increased fat intake and larger portion sizes. In a representative sample of the Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) consisting of 1601 Af...

  10. Exposure to the 'Dark Side of Tanning' skin cancer prevention mass media campaign and its association with tanning attitudes in New South Wales, Australia.

    PubMed

    Perez, Donna; Kite, James; Dunlop, Sally M; Cust, Anne E; Goumas, Chris; Cotter, Trish; Walsberger, Scott C; Dessaix, Anita; Bauman, Adrian

    2015-04-01

    Melanoma is the most common cancer among 15- to 29-year-olds in Australia, with rates increasing with age. The 'Dark Side of Tanning' (DSOT) mass media campaign was developed in 2007 to influence attitudes related to tanning. This study aimed to assess recall and impact of the DSOT campaign. Data were collected using online surveys of 13- to 44-year-olds living in New South Wales in the summer months of 2007-2010 (n = 7490). Regression models were used to determine predictors of recall of DSOT and to investigate associations between exposure to the campaign and tanning attitudes. The campaign achieved consistently high recall (unprompted recall 42-53% during campaign periods; prompted recall 76-84%). Those who recalled DSOT advertisements had a higher likelihood of reporting negative tanning attitudes compared with those who reported no recall, after adjusting for other factors (odds ratio [OR] 1.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.27 for unprompted recall; OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.03-1.36 for prompted recall). Being interviewed in later campaign years was also a significant predictor of negative tanning attitudes (e.g. fourth year of campaign versus first year: OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.01-1.53). These results suggest that mass media campaigns have potential to influence tanning-related attitudes and could play an important role in skin cancer prevention. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Motives for consumer choice of traditional food and European food in mainland China.

    PubMed

    Wang, Ou; De Steur, Hans; Gellynck, Xavier; Verbeke, Wim

    2015-04-01

    The demand for European (-style) foods in mainland China has been increasing dramatically during the last decade. Nevertheless, European food producers often appear to be not capable to fully exploit this huge market potential, partially due to the competition with traditional (Chinese) foods. This study examines the determinants of mainland Chinese consumers' choice of traditional food and European food. A web-based survey was administered with 541 consumers from two cities: Shanghai and Xi'an. Thereby, the Food Choice Motives model, predominantly used thus far in a European or developed context, is applied to mainland China in order to address the lack of knowledge on food motives of its consumer market and to detect associations between these motives, attitudes, and purchase intentions. Factor analysis resulted in a new Food Choice Motive construct that is considered more appropriate within the context of mainland Chinese consumers, encompassing six dimensions: Health concern, Time or money saving, Sensory appeal, Availability and familiarity, Mood and Food safety concern. Path analysis demonstrated that Time or money saving was negatively associated with attitude toward traditional food on the one hand and purchase intentions toward European food on the other hand. Availability and familiarity had a positive association with attitude toward traditional food. Mood was a positive factor driving attitude toward European food. For both food types, Sensory appeal and Attitude were positively linked to purchase intentions. Furthermore, Mood was negatively linked to the purchase intention toward traditional food in Shanghai. Food safety concern was positively associated with attitudes toward traditional food in Xi'an. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Negative Attitudes toward Older Workers and Hiring Decisions: Testing the Moderating Role of Decision Makers' Core Self-Evaluations.

    PubMed

    Fasbender, Ulrike; Wang, Mo

    2016-01-01

    Organizational hiring practices have been charged for unfair treatment on the grounds of age. Drawing on theories of planned behavior and core self-evaluations, this research investigated the impact of negative attitudes toward older workers on hiring decisions and examined the moderating role of decision-makers' core self-evaluations. We tested our hypotheses based on a structured online questionnaire and a vignette study using a sample of 102 participants working in human resource management across different industries. As predicted, negative attitudes toward older workers were positively related to avoidance of hiring older people, which in turn was negatively related to the likelihood to select the oldest candidate. Because hiring decisions are not only about the hiring subject but also about the decision-maker, we tested the moderating role of decision-makers' core self-evaluations. Results showed that core self-evaluations buffered the relationship between negative attitudes toward older workers and avoidance of hiring older people. Theoretical implications of the findings with regard to hiring decisions about older people and practical recommendations to improve diversity management strategies and age-balanced hiring practices in organizations are discussed.

  13. The effect of a negative mood priming challenge on dysfunctional attitudes, explanatory style, and explanatory flexibility.

    PubMed

    Fresco, David M; Heimberg, Richard G; Abramowitz, Adrienne; Bertram, Tara L

    2006-06-01

    Ninety-seven undergraduates, 48 of whom had a history of self-reported major depression, completed measures of mood and cognitive style (e.g. explanatory style, explanatory flexibility, dysfunctional attitudes) prior to and directly after a negative mood priming challenge that consisted of listening to sad music and thinking about an upsetting past event. Eighteen of the previously depressed participants endorsed baseline levels of depression, explanatory style for negative events, and dysfunctional attitudes higher than levels reported by never depressed participants or euthymic participants with a history of depression. All three groups (never depressed participants, dysphoric participants with a history of depression, euthymic participants with a history of depression) demonstrated increases in dysphoria and dysfunctional attitudes in response to the negative mood priming challenge. Dysphoric participants with a history of depression, but not the other two groups, evidenced modest increases in explanatory style following the negative mood priming challenge. Finally, euthymic participants with a history of depression, but not the other two groups, evidenced drops in explanatory flexibility. Findings from the present study suggest that the cognitive theories of depression may benefit from examining both cognitive content and cognitive flexibility when assessing risk for depression.

  14. Employer attitudes toward hiring persons with disabilities in Armenia.

    PubMed

    Breen, Jonathon; Havaei, Farinaz; Pitassi, Cristina

    2018-04-17

    The purpose of this two-part study was to provide input into a strategy to improve employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in Armenia. Employment rates for persons with disabilities in Armenia have been variously reported between eight and 21%, much below the general employment rate of 82%. First, a Participatory Action Research process led to the development of a 15 item self-report measure - the Perceived Barriers to Employing Persons with Disabilities Scale - which was administered to 158 employers. Second, respondent data were examined to determine psychometric properties of the scale and to inform strategic recommendations for policy development. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in the removal of 6 items, leaving a 9 item scale. Responses produced a multidimensional scale clustering around 2 factors. The first of these, structural issues, was principally informed by employer perceptions of limited skill levels of persons with disabilities, high costs associated with employing persons with disabilities, and the lack of accessibility within facilities. The second factor, social issues, was informed by employers' anticipation of negative reactions of coworkers, customers and supervisors toward persons with disabilities entering the workforce. Employers also indicated a belief that persons with disabilities with skills should be entitled to work. Results of this study suggest that attitudes of Armenian employers toward people with disabilities, and subsequent hiring decisions, are partly informed by perceptions of the negative reactions of others within the workplace. This finding disagrees with studies from other jurisdictions, which generally consider that these attitudes are principally informed by perceived skills deficits on the part of people with disabilities. These results would support the development of employer-focused information and awareness campaigns designed to address both of these factors. Implications for Rehabilitation Employment rates for people with disabilities are much below those of the general population. Research indicates that employer attitudes contribute significantly to the employment success of people with disabilities. A recent employer survey in Armenia indicates that these attitudes are influenced by a perception that others within the workplace do not accept people with disabilities. Vocational counseling and training programs, and employer awareness interventions, may be more effective if this influence on employer attitudes is addressed.

  15. Why Don't Smokers Want Help to Quit? A Qualitative Study of Smokers' Attitudes towards Assisted vs. Unassisted Quitting.

    PubMed

    Morphett, Kylie; Partridge, Brad; Gartner, Coral; Carter, Adrian; Hall, Wayne

    2015-06-10

    The development of prescription medication for smoking cessation and the introduction of evidence-based guidelines for health professionals has increasingly medicalised smoking cessation. There are debates about whether medicalisation is a positive development, or whether it has devalued unassisted quitting. In this debate the views of smokers have been neglected. This study explored the attitudes of smokers towards a range of quitting methods, and their considerations when judging their value. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 29 smokers and analysed data using thematic analysis. The results show that the perceived nature of an individual smoker's addiction was central to judgments about the value of pharmacological cessation aids, as was personal experience with a method, and how well it was judged to align with an individual's situation and personality. Unassisted quitting was often described as the best method. Negative views of pharmacological cessation aids were frequently expressed, particularly concerns about side effects from prescription medications. Smokers' views about the value of different methods were not independent: attitudes about cessation aids were shaped by positive attitudes towards unassisted quitting. Examining smokers' attitudes towards either assisted or unassisted quitting in isolation provides incomplete information on quitting preferences.

  16. Young children's attitudes toward peers with intellectual disabilities: effect of the type of school.

    PubMed

    Georgiadi, Maria; Kalyva, Efrosini; Kourkoutas, Elias; Tsakiris, Vlastaris

    2012-11-01

    This study explored typically developing children's attitudes towards peers with intellectual disabilities, with special reference to the type of school they attended. Two hundred and fifty-six Greek children aged 9-10 (135 in inclusive settings) completed a questionnaire and an adjective list by Gash (European Journal of Special Needs Education 1993; 8, 106) and drew a child with intellectual disabilities, commenting also on their drawings. Typically developing children expressed overall neutral attitudes towards peers with intellectual disabilities. Type of school differentiated their attitudes, with children from inclusive settings being more positive towards peers with intellectual disabilities and choosing less negative adjectives to describe them than children from non-inclusive settings. Girls and students who expressed more positive social, emotional and overall attitudes towards students with intellectual disabilities chose more positive adjectives to describe a child with intellectual disabilities. It was also found that children from inclusive settings drew children with intellectual disabilities as more similar to a child with Down syndrome in comparison with children from non-inclusive settings. Effective inclusive practices should be promoted to foster social acceptance of students with intellectual disabilities. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  17. Obesity, stigma, and responsibility in health care: A synthesis of qualitative studies

    PubMed Central

    Ulriksen, Kjersti

    2011-01-01

    Objective To synthesize research findings on experiences and attitudes about obesity and stigma in health care. Methods We compiled qualitative studies and applied Noblitt & Hare's meta ethnography to identify, translate, and summarize across studies. Thirteen qualitative studies on experiences and attitudes about obesity and stigma in health care settings were identified and included. Results The study reveals how stigmatizing attitudes are enacted by health care providers and perceived by patients with obesity. Second-order analysis demonstrated that apparently appropriate advice can be perceived as patronizing by patients with obesity. Furthermore, health care providers indicate that abnormal bodies cannot be incorporated in the medical systems—exclusion of patients with obesity consequently happens. Finally, customary standards for interpersonal respect are legitimately surpassed, and patients with obesity experience contempt as if deserved. Third-order analysis revealed conflicting views between providers and patients with obesity on responsibility, whereas internalized stigma made patients vulnerable for accepting a negative attribution. A theoretical elaboration relates the issues of stigma with those of responsibility. Conclusion Contradictory views on patients’ responsibility, efforts, knowledge, and motivation merge to internalization of stigma, thereby obstructing healthy coping and collaboration and creating negative contexts for empowerment, self-efficacy, and weight management. Professionals need to develop their awareness for potentially stigmatizing attitudes towards vulnerable patient populations. PMID:22121389

  18. Mexican beliefs and attitudes toward hysterectomy and gender-role ideology in marriage.

    PubMed

    Marván, Ma Luisa; Quiros, Vanessa; López-Vázquez, Esperanza; Ehrenzweig, Yamilet

    2012-01-01

    One hundred and sixty-one Mexican respondents completed a questionnaire that measured beliefs and attitudes toward hysterectomy and another that measured gender-role ideology in marriage (GRIMQ). The participants were divided into two groups according to the GRIMQ: "high machismo/marianismo" and "low machismo/marianismo" groups. The participants belonging to the first group showed the most negative attitudes toward hysterectomy. In this group, men showed more negative attitudes toward hysterctomy and were less likely than women to believe that hysterectomy has positive aspects. The findings are discussed in light of male dominance and female subordination that prevail in certain cultural groups of Mexico.xs.

  19. Ambivalent sexism, attitudes towards menstruation and menstrual cycle-related symptoms.

    PubMed

    Marván, Ma Luisa; Vázquez-Toboada, Rocío; Chrisler, Joan C

    2014-08-01

    The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between ambivalent sexism and beliefs and attitudes towards menstruation, and, in turn, to study the influence of these variables on menstrual cycle-related symptoms. One hundred and six Mexican women completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, the Beliefs about and Attitudes toward Menstruation Questionnaire and the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire. The higher scores on benevolent sexism were associated with the most positive attitudes towards menstruation and also with the belief that a menstruating woman should or should not do some activities and that menstruation keeps women from their daily activities. The higher scores on hostile sexism were associated with rejection of menstruation as well as with feelings of embarrassment about it. Beliefs about and attitudes towards menstruation predicted menstrual cycle-related symptoms related to negative affect, impaired concentration and behavioural changes, but did not predict somatic symptoms. These results will be useful to health professionals and advocates who want to change the negative expectations and stereotypes of premenstrual and menstrual women and reduce the sexism and negative attitudes towards women that are evident in Mexican culture. © 2013 International Union of Psychological Science.

  20. Assessing Psychological Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes: a Critical Comparison of Measures.

    PubMed

    Holmes-Truscott, E; Pouwer, F; Speight, J

    2017-07-01

    This study aims to examine the operationalisation of 'psychological insulin resistance' (PIR) among people with type 2 diabetes and to identify and critique relevant measures. PIR has been operationalised as (1) the assessment of attitudes or beliefs about insulin therapy and (2) hypothetical or actual resistance, or unwillingness, to use to insulin. Five validated PIR questionnaires were identified. None was fully comprehensive of all aspects of PIR, and the rigour and reporting of questionnaire development and psychometric validation varied considerably between measures. Assessment of PIR should focus on the identification of negative and positive attitudes towards insulin use. Actual or hypothetical insulin refusal may be better conceptualised as a potential consequence of PIR, as its assessment overlooks the attitudes that may prevent insulin use. This paper provides guidance on the selection of questionnaires for clinical or research purpose and the development of new, or improvement of existing, questionnaires.

  1. Teachers' Attitude towards English in Batu Anam

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jian, Mah Zhi; Lin, Lee Poh

    2011-01-01

    This research investigates the attitude of 60 primary and secondary school teachers towards English in Batu Anam. A questionnaire was administered to find out whether they have a positive or a negative attitude towards the English language. Results indicate that teachers in Batu Anam generally have a positive attitude towards English. Comparison…

  2. "Disgusting" Animals: Primary School Children's Attitudes and Myths of Bats and Spiders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prokop, Pavol; Tunnicliffe, Sue Dale

    2008-01-01

    Knowledge of animals may influence children's beliefs and behaviour toward them, thus building positive attitudes toward animals is one of main goals of environmental education programmes. Although keeping animals contributes to the increase of children's positive attitudes toward wild animals, pet owners show similar negative attitudes toward…

  3. Stimulus Variables in the Measurement of Attitudes Toward Disability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Golin, Anne K.

    1970-01-01

    Negative attitudes toward mental illness and physical disability have frequently been reported. But methods of attitude measurement have varied considerably, and results have been inconsistent. This study investigated the role of amount of information, favorableness of information, and disability in determining attitudes toward a stimulus person.…

  4. Regular and Special Educators: Handicap Integration Attitudes and Implications for Consultants.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gans, Karen D.

    1985-01-01

    One-hundred twenty-eight regular and 133 special educators responded to a questionnaire on mainstreaming. The two groups were similiar in their attitudes. Regular educators displayed more negative attitudes, but the differences rarely reached significance. Group differences became more apparent when attitudes concerning specific handicapping…

  5. Fear of negative appearance evaluation: development and evaluation of a new construct for risk factor work in the field of eating disorders.

    PubMed

    Lundgren, Jennifer D; Anderson, Drew A; Thompson, Joel Kevin

    2004-01-01

    The psychometric properties and correlates of a measure designed to assess fear of negative appearance evaluation are presented. In Study 1, 165 college females completed the Fear of Negative Appearance Evaluation Scale [FNAES; Thomas, C.M., Keery, H., Williams, R., & Thompson, J. K. (1998, November). The Fear of Negative Appearance Evaluation Scale: Development and preliminary validation. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Washington, DC] along with measures of body image, eating disturbance, and depression. Results replicated previous analyses indicating the presence of a single factor, good internal consistency, and significant association with measures of body image and eating disturbance. Additionally, the FNAES accounted for unique variance beyond that explained by general fear of negative evaluation, and other measures of body image and eating disturbance, in the prediction of body shape dysphoria, dietary restraint, and trait anxiety. Study 2 further examined the validity of the FNAES, finding it to correlate significantly with measures of social physique anxiety, body image, eating attitude, and mood. The FNAES did not significantly correlate with body mass index (BMI). Regression analyses found the FNAES to predict levels of body image, eating attitude, and mood beyond variance explained by social physique anxiety. The FNAES appears to measure a conceptually unique aspect of body image that has not been indexed by previous measures and may serve a useful role in risk factor and preventive work.

  6. Regional media coverage influences the public's negative attitudes to policy implementation success in Sweden.

    PubMed

    Fredriksson, Mio; Tiainen, Anne; Hanning, Marianne

    2015-12-01

    One central aspect of health literacy is knowledge of patients' rights. Being an important source of information about health and health care, the media may influence health literacy and act as a policy implementer. To investigate whether regional news media coverage in Sweden is linked to (i) the public's awareness and knowledge of a patient's rights policy, the waiting-time guarantee and (ii) the public's attitudes to how the guarantee's time limits are met, that is, implementation success. Three types of data are used. First, a national telephone survey of the public's awareness, knowledge and attitudes; second, media coverage information from digital media monitoring; and third, official waiting-time statistics. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses are performed with the 21 Swedish county councils/regions as a base. In the county councils/regions, non-awareness ranged from 1 to 15% and knowledge from 47 to 67%. There are relatively large differences between population groups. The amount of regional media coverage shows no significant correlation to the level of awareness and knowledge. There is, however, a significant correlation to both positive and negative attitudes; the latter remains after controlling for actual waiting times. At the national level, the media function as a policy implementer, being the primary source of information. At the regional level, the media are part of the political communication, reporting more extensively in county councils/regions where the population holds negative views towards the achievement in implementing the guarantee. We conclude that Swedish authorities should develop its communication strategies to bridge health literacy inequalities. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Obesity: attitudes of undergraduate student nurses and registered nurses.

    PubMed

    Poon, Man-Yuk; Tarrant, Marie

    2009-08-01

    To investigate undergraduate student nurses' and registered nurses' attitudes towards obese persons and towards the management of obese patients. Obesity is a global public health problem. Escalating rates of overweight and obesity are also taking a toll in Asian countries that have historically had much lower rates. Despite the growing prevalence of obesity worldwide, studies show that nurses and other health professionals hold negative attitudes towards obese people, which may affect the care of obese patients. Cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 352 undergraduate student nurses and 198 registered nurses. The questionnaire consisted of the Fat Phobia Scale, the Attitudes Toward Obese Adult Patients Scale and a demographic profile. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and student's t-tests. Overall mean scores on the Fat Phobia Scale (3.53 SD 0.47) indicated average levels of fat phobia and mean scores on the Attitudes Toward Obese Adult Patients scale (2.64 SD 0.51) indicated neutral attitudes towards obese patients. Registered nurses had significantly higher levels of fat phobia and more negative attitudes than did student nurses. The majority of participants perceived that obese people liked food, overate, and were shapeless, slow and unattractive. Additionally, over one-half of participants believed that obese adults should be put on a diet while in hospital. Results of this study show that both registered nurses and student nurses have negative perceptions of obesity and are unlikely to attribute positive characteristics to obese individuals. That registered nurses hold more negative attitudes towards obese person is cause for concern. Given the increasing prevalence of obesity and the disproportionate number of obese persons affected by many health conditions, current and future nurses should have positive professional attitudes towards obese individuals. Obesity needs to be more adequately addressed, both in basic nursing education programs and in continuing professional education for practising nurses.

  8. Attitudinal and motivational antecedents of participation in voluntary employee development activities.

    PubMed

    Hurtz, Gregory M; Williams, Kevin J

    2009-05-01

    This study investigated factors influencing ongoing participation in employee development activities. A multiple-indicator structural equation model building on the theory of planned behavior and prior employee development literature was tested with a survey across 4 organizations on 2 occasions. The model uses reactions to past participation and past supportiveness of the social and organizational environment as indirect antecedents of participation, filtered through their impact on attitudes and behavioral intentions toward future participation. Learning goal orientation also influenced attitudes toward participation. Whereas personal control over participation and higher levels of voluntariness were negatively related to participation, intentions to participate and availability of opportunities arose as strong predictors of higher participation rates. Many significant hypothesized paths were found, and 85% of the variance in participation was explained by the model variables. Increasing employee awareness of opportunities and managing positive attitudes toward those opportunities are recommended as key factors for increasing participation rates. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

  9. Construction of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Questionnaire for Assessing Plagiarism

    PubMed Central

    Poorolajal, J; Cheraghi, P; Irani, A Doosti; Cheraghi, Z; Mirfakhraei, M

    2012-01-01

    Background This study was conducted to develop a questionnaire in order to evaluate knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of the faculty members and students toward plagiarism. Methods: A KAP study was conducted from June to October 2011 enrolling 390 volunteers anonymously (response rate 96%). The questionnaire included the following four parts: (a) general characteristics like gender, academic degree and education level; (b) nine questions regarding knowledge (Min=0, Max=9); (c) nine questions regarding attitude (Min=9, Max=27); and (d) eight questions regarding practice (Min=0, Max=8). A pilot study was conducted to assess reliability of the questions regarding knowledge and attitude. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the knowledge and attitude questions was 0.70 and 0.74 respectively. Results: The overall prevalence of at least once plagiarism commission was 38% (SD=0.035). The overall mean score of knowledge, attitude and practice was 5.94 (SD=1.66), 24.12 (SD=2.99), and 0.66 (SD=1.15) respectively. Knowledge of plagiarism was significantly higher among higher academic degrees and females. Their negative attitude toward plagiarism was stronger too. No statistically significant difference regarding plagiarism commission was observed among different academic degrees in both sexes. According to linear regression analysis, plagiarism commission decreased 13% per one unit increase in score of knowledge (P=0.005) and 16% per one unit increase in score of attitude (P<0.001). Conclusions: This knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) questionnaire was developed as a standard tool in order to assess perception of subjects toward plagiarism and to estimate the prevalence and the type of plagiarism commission. PMID:23304676

  10. Construction of knowledge, attitude and practice questionnaire for assessing plagiarism.

    PubMed

    Poorolajal, J; Cheraghi, P; Irani, A Doosti; Cheraghi, Z; Mirfakhraei, M

    2012-01-01

    This study was conducted to develop a questionnaire in order to evaluate knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of the faculty members and students toward plagiarism. A KAP study was conducted from June to October 2011 enrolling 390 volunteers anonymously (response rate 96%). The questionnaire included the following four parts: (a) general characteristics like gender, academic degree and education level; (b) nine questions regarding knowledge (Min=0, Max=9); (c) nine questions regarding attitude (Min=9, Max=27); and (d) eight questions regarding practice (Min=0, Max=8). A pilot study was conducted to assess reliability of the questions regarding knowledge and attitude. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the knowledge and attitude questions was 0.70 and 0.74 respectively. The overall prevalence of at least once plagiarism commission was 38% (SD=0.035). The overall mean score of knowledge, attitude and practice was 5.94 (SD=1.66), 24.12 (SD=2.99), and 0.66 (SD=1.15) respectively. Knowledge of plagiarism was significantly higher among higher academic degrees and females. Their negative attitude toward plagiarism was stronger too. No statistically significant difference regarding plagiarism commission was observed among different academic degrees in both sexes. According to linear regression analysis, plagiarism commission decreased 13% per one unit increase in score of knowledge (P=0.005) and 16% per one unit increase in score of attitude (P<0.001). This knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) questionnaire was developed as a standard tool in order to assess perception of subjects toward plagiarism and to estimate the prevalence and the type of plagiarism commission.

  11. The relationship between maternal attitudes and young people's attitudes toward children's rights.

    PubMed

    Day, David M; Peterson-Badali, Michele; Ruck, Martin D

    2006-04-01

    Relations between maternal socio-political attitudes and parenting style and young people's and mothers' attitudes toward young people's nurturance and self-determination rights were examined. Both young people (n = 121) and mothers (n = 67) were more supportive of nurturance than self-determination rights, although young people were more supportive than their mothers of self-determination rights and mothers were more supportive than young people of nurturance rights. Maternal conservatism was unrelated to young people's support for rights and negatively related to mothers' support for both types of rights. Last, young people who perceived their mother to be either authoritarian or uninvolved showed stronger endorsement of self-determination rights than young people who perceived their mother to be authoritative. The implications of these findings for the development of young people's attitudes toward rights within the context of various family factors are discussed. In particular, it is suggested that a balance needs to be achieved between assertion of rights and a respect for the rights of others.

  12. Attitudes Toward Mental Health Services Among American Indians by Two Age Groups.

    PubMed

    Roh, Soonhee; Brown-Rice, Kathleen A; Lee, Kyoung Hag; Lee, Yeon-Shim; Yee-Melichar, Darlene; Talbot, Elizabeth P

    2015-11-01

    This study examined determinants of attitudes toward mental health services with a sample of American Indian younger-old-adults (aged 50-64, n = 158) and American Indian older-old adults (aged 65 and older, n = 69). Adapting Andersen's behavioral model of healthcare utilization, predisposing factors, mental health needs, and enabling factors were considered as potential predictors. Female and those with higher levels of social support tend to report more positive attitudes toward mental health services. Culture-influenced personal belief was associated with negative attitudes toward mental health services among American Indian younger-old -adults. Age and higher chronic medical conditions were significantly related to negative attitudes toward mental health services. Health insurance was positively associated with positive attitudes toward mental health services in the American Indian older-old adults. Findings indicate that practitioners should engage how culture, social support, and chronic conditions influence the response to mental health needs when working with older American Indians.

  13. Factors associated with a positive attitude towards change among employees during the early phase of a downsizing process.

    PubMed

    Svensen, Erling; Neset, Gunnar; Eriksen, Hege R

    2007-04-01

    Most research on organizational changes in working life, including downsizing, focuses on the negative attitudes and negative consequences of the change. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the employee's previous learning experience and characteristics of the working environment were associated with positive attitudes towards organizational change. The 467 employees (73.5% males) working in a global oil company in the early phases of a downsizing process were asked to answer a questionnaire with demographic variables, perception of the working environment, and attitude to change (93% response rate). Corporate social responsibility (CSR), involvement and participation, team leadership and team effectiveness were important factors related to positive attitudes towards organizational change. Non-leaders and older employees were positive to change. We conclude that employees' perceptions of their psychosocial working environment, in particular the CSR, were highly related to their attitude to organizational change.

  14. Perceived cultural attitudes toward homosexuality and their effects on Iranian and American sexual minorities.

    PubMed

    Mireshghi, Sholeh I; Matsumoto, David

    2008-10-01

    This study examined the relationship between three mental health constructs and perceived cultural attitudes toward homosexuality among lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Specifically, differences in perceived cultural attitudes and depression, self-esteem, and perceived stress between 49 Iranians and 47 Americans were compared. It was hypothesized that (a) perceived cultural attitudes toward homosexuality would be more negative among Iranians than Americans; (b) perceived cultural attitudes would be related to depression, self-esteem, and perceived stress; and (c) that Iranian participants' scores on the depression, self-esteem, and perceived stress measures would reflect poorer mental health than that of their American counterparts. Results indicated more negative perceptions of cultural attitudes toward homosexuality among Iranians. Contrary to prediction, however, no difference was found in levels of depression, self-esteem, and perceived stress among American and Iranian participants. Findings are discussed in terms of cultural and familial differences with regard to sexual orientation disclosure.

  15. Pharmacy students' knowledge, attitudes, and evaluation of direct-to-consumer advertising.

    PubMed

    Naik, Rupali K; Borrego, Matthew E; Gupchup, Gireesh V; Dodd, Melanie; Sather, Mike R

    2007-10-15

    To assess pharmacy students' knowledge, attitudes, and evaluation of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). A cross sectional, self-administered, 106-item survey instrument was used to assess first, second, and third professional year pharmacy students' knowledge about DTCA regulations, attitudes toward DTCA, and evaluation of DTC advertisements with different brief summary formats (professional labeling and patient labeling) and in different media sources (print and television). One hundred twenty (51.3%) of the 234 students enrolled participated in the study. The mean percentage knowledge score was 48.7% +/- 12.5%. Based on the mean scores per item, pharmacy students had an overall negative attitude toward DTC advertisements. Students had an overall negative attitude toward television and print advertisements using the professional labeling format but an overall positive attitude toward the print advertisement using the patient labeling format. Lectures discussing DTC advertising should be included in the pharmacy curriculum.

  16. Pharmacy Students' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Evaluation of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising

    PubMed Central

    Borrego, Matthew E.; Gupchup, Gireesh V.; Dodd, Melanie; Sather, Mike R.

    2007-01-01

    Objectives To assess pharmacy students' knowledge, attitudes, and evaluation of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). Methods A cross sectional, self-administered, 106-item survey instrument was used to assess first, second, and third professional year pharmacy students' knowledge about DTCA regulations, attitudes toward DTCA, and evaluation of DTC advertisements with different brief summary formats (professional labeling and patient labeling) and in different media sources (print and television). Results One hundred twenty (51.3%) of the 234 students enrolled participated in the study. The mean percentage knowledge score was 48.7% ± 12.5%. Based on the mean scores per item, pharmacy students had an overall negative attitude toward DTC advertisements. Students had an overall negative attitude toward television and print advertisements using the professional labeling format but an overall positive attitude toward the print advertisement using the patient labeling format. Conclusions Lectures discussing DTC advertising should be included in the pharmacy curriculum. PMID:17998983

  17. Toward the Army of the 1980s: A Study of Male Attitudes Toward Women as Combatants

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1978-06-09

    questions which included demographic discriminators, positive and negative social role perceptions and personal assessments on hypothetical performance...influence future policy development. The degree of dependence varies among the major variables of social beliefs, gender-role perceptions, mind-sets, and

  18. Schooling and Disadvantage in Sri Lankan and Other Rural Situations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baker, Victoria J.

    1988-01-01

    Discusses author's observations of poverty-related problems within rural Sri Lankan schools. Juxtaposes literature on Third World education problems at national, district, school, and individual levels. Concludes high educational expectations in developing world are tightly constrained by poverty, negative attitudes, and weaknesses of systems.…

  19. Safety in Science. Curriculum Support Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lulashnyk, Lorne; Boonov, Janet

    Since the major causes of accidents are carelessness and a negative or apathetic attitude towards safety, this guide was developed to facilitate safe, stimulating science laboratory activities by providing both general and specific safety information presented in 12 sections. Subject areas considered in these sections include: 1)…

  20. Target Language Variation and Second-Language Acquisition: Learning English in New York City.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eisenstein, Miriam R.

    1986-01-01

    Investigates the role of dialect variation in the acquisition of American English by adult second language learners. The study revealed that dialect differences present problems for learners and cause variable intelligibility and negative learner attitude toward some varieties of English and its speakers. This attitude could negatively affect a…

  1. A Cross-Validation Study of the School Attitude Assessment Survey (SAAS).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCoach, D. Betsy

    Factors commonly associated with underachievement in the research literature include low self-concept, low self-motivation/self-regulation, negative attitude toward school, and negative peer influence. This study attempts to isolate these four factors within a secondary school population. The purpose of the study was to design a valid and reliable…

  2. Instructor Accents in Online Education and Their Effect on Learning and Attitudes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sanchez, C. A.; Khan, S.

    2016-01-01

    Reductions in perceptual fluency have been shown to negatively impact attitudes towards learning material, but not learning itself. The current study extends this work to spoken presentations and examines whether the presence of a foreign accent negatively affects learners' experience in an online learning environment. Results indicate that the…

  3. Condoms and US college-aged men and women: briefly assessing attitudes toward condoms and general condom use behaviours.

    PubMed

    Hill, Brandon J; Amick, Erick E; Sanders, Stephanie A

    2011-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop an abbreviated reliable tool for assessing the attitudes US college-aged men and women have about condoms and condom use. An online questionnaire was constructed and completed by 674 participants incorporating modified items from the Attitudes Towards Condom Scale (1984) and the Multidimensional Condom Attitude Scale (1994), with the addition of gender-neutral worded and condom positive or erotic items. The original 40 items were reduced to 18 Likert-type items comprising the Brief Condom Attitude Scale (BCAS). Gender comparisons on a subset of 584 self-identified heterosexual participants indicated that women were significantly more likely to consider condoms as less protective, while men were significantly more likely to consider condoms as more interruptive. Additional analyses examining partnership indicated that monogamous participants were significantly more likely to view condoms as less interruptive, more erotic and less negative than non-monogamous participants. The BCAS appears to be a reliable measure for assessing US college-aged individuals' attitudes about condoms.

  4. Attitudes of stakeholders towards the Podyji/Thaya River Basin National Park in the Czech Republic.

    PubMed

    Cihar, Martin; Stankova, Jindriska

    2006-11-01

    In August 2000, a survey of public opinion was carried out among visitors, local residents and representatives of local self-governments in the territory of the Podyji/Thaya River Basin National Park in the Czech Republic. The goal was to obtain stakeholders' opinions and attitudes towards nature conservation, the National Park and tourism within the territory which used to be closed to the public for 40 years due to the Iron Curtain. Without the knowledge of opinions of stakeholders it is not possible to manage nature conservation and development in the protected area properly. Using the method of direct interviews, 646 questionnaires where collected, of which 523 were from visitors and tourists, 115 from local residents and 8 from mayors of towns/villages. The questionnaires were analysed in order to detect differences in attitudes among the respondent groups in the following thematic areas: (a) the National Park, its environment and perception of it by respondents; (b) relationship of respondents to the territory; (c) tourism and attitudes towards recreational activities; (d) the Administration of the National Park and evaluation of its work; and (e) economic impact of tourism for local communities. One section of the study focused on comparing the attitudes between local inhabitants and mayors and the other section presents a collation of opinions from locals, mayors and tourists. Although a positive evaluation of the national park dominated the results, some negative attitudes and experiences were identified among locals. In addition, the situation also differed within communities. Results also indicated a relatively strong relationship to the territory by locals, but low job opportunities and income from tourism. The level of tourism intensity was perceived as an increasing and sometimes disturbing factor for local communities; motoring was observed as being the most negative activity for nature. The Administration of the Podyji/Thaya River Basin National Park was sometimes criticised and the communication with the community was not always evaluated satisfactorily. All groups of respondents identified waste management to be the most pressing issue. Identification of differences in attitudes of interviewed respondents may be effectively used in planning environmental management and sustainable tourism development in the area.

  5. Implicit Attitudes towards People with Intellectual Disabilities: Their Relationship with Explicit Attitudes, Social Distance, Emotions and Contact

    PubMed Central

    Wilson, Michelle Clare; Scior, Katrina

    2015-01-01

    Implicit attitude research has expanded rapidly over the last decade and is seen as very promising as it counters biases present in much attitude research such as social desirability. However, most research in the area of intellectual disabilities has focused on explicit attitudes alone. This study examined implicit attitudes to this population and also examined their association with emotional reactions and contact, which have previously been found to have a significant influence on attitudes and stigma. A web based survey consisting of a single target Implicit Association Test, measures of explicit attitudes, social distance, and emotional reactions towards and contact with individuals with intellectual disabilities was completed by 326 adult UK residents. Implicit attitudes were not significantly associated with explicit attitudes, social distance or emotional reactions. Instead there were small to moderate associations between emotional reactions and explicit attitudes and social distance. Implicit attitudes did not vary according to participants’ level of contact with individuals with intellectual disabilities, type of the contact relationship (voluntary versus involuntary), gender or educational attainment. In contrast, these participant characteristics did affect explicit attitudes and social distance. Implicit attitudes towards individuals with intellectual disabilities were somewhat negative and, unlike explicit attitudes and stigma, did not vary according to participant demographics or contact. As they may have a negative impact on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, implicit attitudes merit increased attention in research and interventions in the intellectual disabilities field. PMID:26366575

  6. Implicit Attitudes towards People with Intellectual Disabilities: Their Relationship with Explicit Attitudes, Social Distance, Emotions and Contact.

    PubMed

    Wilson, Michelle Clare; Scior, Katrina

    2015-01-01

    Implicit attitude research has expanded rapidly over the last decade and is seen as very promising as it counters biases present in much attitude research such as social desirability. However, most research in the area of intellectual disabilities has focused on explicit attitudes alone. This study examined implicit attitudes to this population and also examined their association with emotional reactions and contact, which have previously been found to have a significant influence on attitudes and stigma. A web based survey consisting of a single target Implicit Association Test, measures of explicit attitudes, social distance, and emotional reactions towards and contact with individuals with intellectual disabilities was completed by 326 adult UK residents. Implicit attitudes were not significantly associated with explicit attitudes, social distance or emotional reactions. Instead there were small to moderate associations between emotional reactions and explicit attitudes and social distance. Implicit attitudes did not vary according to participants' level of contact with individuals with intellectual disabilities, type of the contact relationship (voluntary versus involuntary), gender or educational attainment. In contrast, these participant characteristics did affect explicit attitudes and social distance. Implicit attitudes towards individuals with intellectual disabilities were somewhat negative and, unlike explicit attitudes and stigma, did not vary according to participant demographics or contact. As they may have a negative impact on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, implicit attitudes merit increased attention in research and interventions in the intellectual disabilities field.

  7. Attitudes to Mental Illness and Its Demographic Correlates among General Population in Singapore.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Qi; Abdin, Edimansyah; Picco, Louisa; Vaingankar, Janhavi Ajit; Shahwan, Shazana; Jeyagurunathan, Anitha; Sagayadevan, Vathsala; Shafie, Saleha; Tay, Jenny; Chong, Siow Ann; Subramaniam, Mythily

    2016-01-01

    Public attitudes to mental illness could influence how the public interact with, provide opportunities for, and help people with mental illness. This study aims to explore the underlying factors of the Attitudes to Mental Illness questionnaire among the general population in Singapore and the socio-demographic correlates of each factor. From March 2014 to April 2015, a nation-wide cross-sectional survey on mental health literacy with 3,006 participants was conducted in Singapore. Factor analysis revealed a 4-factor structure for the Attitudes to Mental Illness questionnaire among the Singapore general population, namely social distancing, tolerance/support for community care, social restrictiveness, and prejudice and misconception. Older age, male gender, lower education and socio-economic status were associated with more negative attitudes towards the mentally ill. Chinese showed more negative attitudes than Indians and Malays (except for prejudice and misconception). There is a need for culture-specific interventions, and the associated factors identified in this study should be considered for future attitude campaigns.

  8. The attitudes of nursing students to euthanasia.

    PubMed

    Naseh, Ladan; Heidari, Mohammad

    2017-01-01

    One of the most common morally controversial issues in endof-life care is euthanasia. Examining the attitudes of nursing students to this issue is important because they may encounter situations related to euthanasia during their clinical courses. The aim of our study was to examine nursing students' attitudes to euthanasia in Shahrekord city in western Iran. This was done using the Euthanasia Attitude Scale. The scale is divided into four categories, ie ethical considerations, practical considerations, treasuring life and naturalistic beliefs. Of 132 nursing students, 120 participated in the study (response rate 93.1%). According to the study's findings, 52.5%, 2.5% and 45% of the students reported a negative, neutral and positive attitude to euthanasia, respectively. There was a significant correlation between the nursing students' attitudes to euthanasia and some demographic characteristics, including sex, age and religious beliefs. Iranian Muslim nursing students participating in the study had a negative attitude to euthanasia. Further studies are recommended among nursing students from different cultures and of different religious faiths.

  9. The moderating role of socially desirable responding in implicit-explicit attitudes toward asylum seekers.

    PubMed

    Anderson, Joel R

    2017-07-04

    Implicit and explicit attitudes correlate under certain conditions and researchers are interested in the moderating factors of this relationship. This paper explored the role of socially desirable responding in this relationship by testing the hypothesis that impression management (IM; i.e., deliberate response modification) and self-deceptive enhancement (SDE; i.e., positive self-bias) play moderating roles in the relationship of implicit-explicit attitudes toward asylum seekers in Australia. Seventy-four students responded to a battery of measures and the results revealed that IM (but not SDE) moderated this relationship to the extent that higher IM scores weakened the correspondence between implicit and explicit attitude scores. This suggests that attitudes toward asylum seekers might be susceptible to socially desirable response tendencies and in combination with the finding that IM was negatively related to explicit attitudes, it is argued that self-presentation concerns result in the deliberate attenuation of reported negative explicit attitudes. © 2017 International Union of Psychological Science.

  10. The morality of attitudes toward nanotechnology: about God, techno-scientific progress, and interfering with nature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vandermoere, Frederic; Blanchemanche, Sandrine; Bieberstein, Andrea; Marette, Stephan; Roosen, Jutta

    2010-02-01

    Using survey data, we examine public attitudes toward and awareness of nanotechnology in Germany ( N = 750). First, it is shown that a majority of the people are still not familiar with nanotechnology. In addition, diffusion of information about nanotechnology thus far mostly seems to reach men and people with a relative higher educational background. Also, pro-science and technology views are positively related with nanotech familiarity. Results further show that a majority of the people have an indifferent, ambiguous, or non-attitude toward nanotechnology. Multinomial logit analyses further reveal that nanotech familiarity is positively related with people's attitudes. In addition, it is shown that traditional religiosity is unrelated to attitudes and that individual religiosity is weakly related to nanotechnology attitudes. However, moral covariates other than religiosity seem of major importance. In particular, our results show that more negative views on technological and scientific progress as well as more holistic views about the relation between people and the environment increase the likelihood of having a negative attitude toward nanotechnology.

  11. University of Venda's male students' attitudes towards contraception and family planning.

    PubMed

    Raselekoane, Nanga R; Morwe, Keamogetse G; Tshitangano, Takalani

    2016-07-08

    Many young men continue to disregard the importance of contraception and family planning in South Africa. The fact that even university students also do not take contraception and family planning seriously poses a serious threat to their own health and well-being. This paper aims at investigating the attitudes of male students towards contraception and the promotion of female students' sexual health rights and well-being at the University of Venda. Quantitative research method is used to determine how attitudes of 60 male students towards contraception can jeopardise the health and well-being of both male and female students. This study reveals that the majority of 60 male students at the University of Venda have a negative attitude towards contraceptives. As a result, male students at the University of Venda are not keen on using contraceptives. Male students' negative attitude and lack of interest in contraceptives and family planning also limit progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals on primary health care, especially with regard to sexual and reproductive health and well-being of female students at the University of Venda. The fact that more than half of the male students interviewed did not take contraception and family planning seriously poses a serious threat to health and well-being of students, including violation of female students' sexual and reproductive health rights in South Africa. This calls for radical health promotion and sexual and reproductive rights programmes which should specifically target male students at the University of Venda.

  12. Nursing attitudes toward patients with substance use disorders in pain.

    PubMed

    Morgan, Betty D

    2014-03-01

    The problem of inadequate pain management in hospitals is well documented. Patients who have substance use disorders (SUD) have many medical problems and are often in pain as a result of these problems. Nurses often lack knowledge of appropriate treatment of both pain and SUD, and have been identified as having negative attitudes toward patients with SUD. The negative attitudes may affect the quality of care delivered to patients with problems of pain and SUD. The purpose of this study was to identify and explore nurses' attitudes toward hospitalized patients with SUD who are in pain, to expand the knowledge about nurses' attitudes and interactions with patients with SUD in pain, and to generate theory that will contribute to a greater understanding of the problem. Grounded theory methodology was used to interview hospital-based nurses who work with patients with SUD who are in pain. Individual interviews, using a semistructured interview guide, were conducted with 14 nurses who worked with this population. Additionally, an expert addictions nurse was interviewed at the end of the study to validate the findings. Interviews were analyzed and coded with the use of grounded theory concepts. A model illustrating the categories and their relationships was developed based on the theory generated as a result of the study. The implications for nursing practice, education, research, and policy are discussed. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Should non-citizens have access to publicly funded health care?: a study of public attitudes and their affecting factors.

    PubMed

    Sun, L-Y; Lee, E-W; Zahra, A; Park, J-H

    2015-09-01

    To analyse public attitudes towards access for non-citizens to publicly funded health care and to assess the factors that affect such attitudes. Cross-sectional study. Data from 29 countries were used for a multilevel regression, and data from four countries (United States, Sweden, Philippines, and Korea) were used for a linear regression. The data were collected from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP), the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations. The dependent variable was considered to be agreement for non-citizen access to publicly funded health care. The independent variables included: the gross national income (GNI), the gross national income coefficient (GINI), sex, age, education, household income, employment, health insurance, self-related health status, chronic illness, percent having insurance, percent having public insurance, percent employed, percent migrants, percent of health expenditure of the total gross domestic product (GDP), and percent of social expenditure of the total GDP. Egalitarianism for education policy (EEP), egalitarianism for health policy (EHP), and willingness to contribute to an egalitarian health policy (WCHP) were also examined. In the countries surveyed, more than half of the citizens agreed that non-citizens should have access to publicly funded health care. Agreement with that statement had a negative trend with respect to the GNI. The percent having public insurance and WCHP had a significantly positive association with agreement while the percent of those with insurance had a negative relationship. In the USA, household income, EHP, and WCHP were positively associated with agreement, while females were inversely associated with agreement. In Sweden, having health insurance had an inverse association to agreement while females, postsecondary education, health insurance coverage, and WCHP were positively associated with agreement. In the Philippines, household income, EEP, and EHP had significant negative associations with agreement while WCHP had a positive relationship. In Korea, household income and self-rated health status were positively associated with agreement, while postsecondary education had a negative association. Public attitudes towards allowing non-citizens to have access to publicly funded health care present high levels of variation, even among developed countries or countries with similar GDPs. The specific socio-economic conditions within a country and an individual's own social, demographic, and economic background can have different effects on the individual's attitudes towards non-citizens. On a global level, coverage of public health insurance plays an important role for enhancing the public's positive attitudes towards non-citizens' access to publicly funded health care. On a national level, health care policies tailored toward non-citizens based on the specific situation of each country and region are necessary. Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Mood effects on attitude judgments: independent effects of mood before and after message elaboration.

    PubMed

    Bless, H; Mackie, D M; Schwarz, N

    1992-10-01

    This study investigated the independent effects of induced mood on the encoding of persuasive messages and on the assessment of attitude judgments. In Experiment 1, positive or negative mood was induced either before the encoding of a counterattitudinal message or before the assessment of attitude judgments. When mood was induced before message presentation, Ss in a bad mood were more persuaded by strong than by weak arguments, whereas Ss in a good mood were equally persuaded by strong and by weak arguments. When Ss encoded the message in a neutral mood, however, the advantage of strong over weak arguments was more pronounced when Ss were in a good rather than in a bad mood at the time of attitude assessment. In Experiment 2, Ss exposed to a counterattitudinal message composed of either strong or weak arguments formed either a global evaluation or a detailed representation of the message. Positive, negative, or neutral mood was then induced. Ss in a good mood were most likely and Ss in a negative mood least likely to base their reported attitudes on global evaluations.

  15. Attitudes of Young Adult Men Toward Domestic Violence and Factors Affecting Their Attitudes in Turkey.

    PubMed

    Adıbelli, Derya; Ünal, Ayşe Sevim; Şen, Tülay

    2016-10-01

    Domestic violence is commonly observed worldwide; however, exposure to violence is not often mentioned directly. Prevention of domestic violence may be one of the most important social problems and requires much time and effort to resolve. This study was conducted to determine the attitudes toward domestic violence of Turkish males who are young adult and undertake military service, and the factors that affect these attitudes. A cross-sectional study design was used. This study was conducted with 221 young adult men who applied to Sarıkamış Military Hospital between December 2012 and February 2013. A questionnaire and the Attitude Toward Domestic Violence Scale were used for the collection of data. One-way ANOVA, T test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used in the process of analyzing the data. In the study, it was found that 10% of the young adult men were exposed to violence within their own family and the average of their total scores from the Attitude Toward Domestic Violence Scale was 49.41 ± 7.27. It was confirmed that undereducated men have more negative attitudes toward domestic violence than other groups. The present study determined that men who have negative attitudes toward domestic violence and who have a low education level affected attitudes toward domestic violence negatively. It is important that violence is prevented before it occurs. In this respect, health professionals, politicians, teachers, academics, and all community leaders have an important role in preventing initiatives on violence.

  16. Teacher Factors Affecting the Implementation of Early Childhood Development Education in Kericho Municipality, Kericho County

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mutindi, Koech Zipporah; Chepngeno, Kabwos Rebecca; Jeruto, Beatrice

    2016-01-01

    Childhood education is crucial in the life of a child because it lays the foundation of intellectual and physical development. Concerns have been raised over the state of the ECDE programmes with regard to the negative teacher attitudes towards selection and use of instructional resources due to low remuneration, lack of time and demotivation. The…

  17. Impact of Teenage Motherhood on the Academic Performance in Public Primary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barmao-Kiptanui, Catherine; Kindiki, Jonah Nyaga; Lelan, Joseph K.

    2015-01-01

    Teenage pregnancy and motherhood is a concern in both developed and developing countries and is a complex reality of contemporary society however the re-entry of teenage mothers into the school system continues to demand attention as society's negative attitude towards pregnant girls and teenage mothers persists. Those who do return to school…

  18. US female college students' breast health knowledge, attitudes, and determinants of screening practices: new implications for health education.

    PubMed

    Early, Jody; Armstrong, Shelley Nicole; Burke, Sloane; Thompson, Doris Lee

    2011-01-01

    This study examined female college students' knowledge, attitudes, and breast cancer screening and determined significant predictors of breast self-examination, clinical breast examination, and mammography among this population. A convenience sample of 1,074 college women from 3 universities participated in the research. Respondents completed an online version of the Toronto Breast Self-examination Instrument as well as questions developed by the authors. Descriptive statistics showed gaps in college women's knowledge of breast health and negative attitudes toward screening that were relative to age. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses revealed that knowledge, attitudes, and copay were significant predictors of screening, whereas family history and ethnicity were not. This study supported previous smaller-sample studies that showed college women to be a priority population for breast health education and revealed new significant factors that should be addressed in health education for this group.

  19. Community Attitude and Associated Factors towards People with Mental Illness among Residents of Worabe Town, Silte Zone, Southern Nation's Nationalities and People's Region, Ethiopia.

    PubMed

    Bedaso, Asres; Yeneabat, Tebikew; Yohannis, Zegeye; Bedasso, Kufa; Feyera, Fetuma

    2016-01-01

    Mental illnesses worldwide are accompanied by another pandemic, that of stigma and discrimination. Public understanding about mental illnesses and attitudes towards people with mental illness play a paramount role in the prevention and treatment of mental illness and the rehabilitation of people with mental illness. To assess community attitude and associated factors towards people with mental illness. Community based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 28 to May 28, 2014. Quantitative data were collected through interview from 435 adults selected using simple random sampling. Data were collected using community attitude towards mentally ill (CAMI) tool to assess community attitude towards people with mental illness and associated factors. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of community attitude towards people with mental illness and the level of significance association was determined by beta with 95% confidence interval and P less than 0.05. The highest mean score was on social restrictiveness subscale (31.55±5.62). Farmers had more socially restrictive view (β = 0.291, CI [0.09, 0.49]) and have less humanistic view towards mentally ill (β = 0.193, CI [-0.36, -0.03]). Having mental health information had significantly less socially restrictive (β = -0.59, CI [-1.13, -0.05]) and less authoritarian (β = -0.10, CI [-1.11, -0.06]) view towards mentally ill but respondents who are at university or college level reported to be more socially restrictive (β = 0.298, CI [0.059, 0.54]). Respondents whose age is above 48 years old had significantly less view of community mental health ideology (β = -0.59, CI [-1.09, -0.08]). Residents of Worabe town were highly socially restrictive but less authoritarian. There was high level of negative attitude towards people with mental illness along all the subscales with relative variation indicating a need to develop strategies to change negative attitude attached to mental illness in Worabe town at community level.

  20. Modeling Participation Intention of Adults in Continuing Education--A Behavioral Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lau, Chiu Ming; Chen, Qijie

    2012-01-01

    The study examined how attitudes and subjective norms could be used to predict participation intention of adults in continuing education. In this research, attitudes comprised the two variables of positive attitude and negative attitude and subjective norms included normative belief and motivation to comply. Structural equation modeling using a…

  1. Evangelical Christian College Students and Attitudes toward Gay Rights: A California University Sample

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolff, Joshua R.; Himes, Heather L.; Kwon, Ellen Miller; Bollinger, Richard A.

    2012-01-01

    Research demonstrates that Evangelical Christians generally hold more negative attitudes toward gays and lesbians, and are less supportive of gay rights than the general U.S. population. To assess these attitudes, undergraduate students at an Evangelical Christian university in California (N = 319) completed the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay…

  2. Euthanasia: A National Survey of Attitudes toward Voluntary Termination of Life.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jorgenson, David E.; Neubecker, Ron C.

    1980-01-01

    A study on the attitudes of adults related to the voluntary termination of life showed that those persons with favorable attitudes toward suicide were also favorable toward euthanasia. Religiosity was negatively associated with pro-euthanasia attitudes. Whites and males were more favorable toward euthanasia than Blacks and females. (Author)

  3. Prospective Elementary Teachers' Perceptions of Gender Differences in Children's Attitudes toward Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schwartz, Catherine S.; Sinicrope, Rose

    2013-01-01

    Prospective elementary teachers hold preconceived ideas about elementary school students' attitudes toward mathematics. We found that there exists a gender bias with prospective teachers expecting girls to have negative attitudes toward mathematics and boys more likely to have positive attitudes toward mathematics. We found that these…

  4. Promoting Positive Attitudes towards Science "and" Religion among Sixth-Form Pupils: Dealing with Scientism and Creationism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Astley, Jeff; Francis, Leslie J.

    2010-01-01

    A sample of 187 female students, attending a sixth-form study day on religious studies, completed a questionnaire containing four scales concerned with assessing: attitude towards theistic religion, attitude towards science, scientism and creationism. The data demonstrated a negative correlation between attitude towards religion and attitude…

  5. Associations between sociocultural home environmental factors and vegetable consumption among Norwegian 3-5-year olds: BRA-study.

    PubMed

    Kristiansen, Anne Lene; Bjelland, Mona; Himberg-Sundet, Anne; Lien, Nanna; Frost Andersen, Lene

    2017-10-01

    The home environment is the first environment to shape childhood dietary habits and food preferences, hence greater understanding of home environmental factors associated with vegetable consumption among young children is needed. The objective has been to examine questionnaire items developed to measure the sociocultural home environment of children focusing on vegetables and to assess the psychometric properties of the resulting factors. Further, to explore associations between the environmental factors and vegetable consumption among Norwegian 3-5 year olds. Parents (n 633) were invited to participate and filled in a questionnaire assessing the child's vegetable intake and factors potentially influencing this, along with a 24-h recall of their child's fruit and vegetable intake. Children's fruit and vegetable intakes at two meals in one day in the kindergarten were observed by researchers. Principal components analysis was used to examine items assessing the sociocultural home environment. Encouragement items resulted in factors labelled "reactive encouragement", "child involvement" and "reward". Modelling items resulted in the factors labelled "active role model" and "practical role model". Items assessing negative parental attitudes resulted in the factor labelled "negative parental attitudes" and items assessing family pressure/demand resulted in the factor labelled "family demand". The psychometric properties of the factors were for most satisfactory. Linear regression of the associations between vegetable intake and the factors showed, as expected, generally positive associations with "child involvement", "practical role model" and "family demand", and negative associations with "negative parental attitudes" and "reward". Unexpectedly, "reactive encouragement" was negatively associated with vegetable consumption. In conclusion, associations between sociocultural home environmental factors and children's vegetable consumption showed both expected and unexpected associations some of which differed by maternal education - pointing to a need for further comparable studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Comparative validation of self-report measures of negative attitudes towards Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders.

    PubMed

    Skinner, Timothy C; Blick, Julie; Coffin, Juli; Dudgeon, Pat; Forrest, Simon; Morrison, David

    2013-01-01

    This study sought to determine the construct validity of two self-report measures of attitudes towards Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders against an implicit measure of attitude. Total of 102 volunteer participants completed the three measures in a randomized order. The explicit measures of prejudice towards Aboriginal Australians were the Modern Racism Scale (MRS) and the Attitudes Towards Indigenous Australians Scale (ATIAS). The implicit attitudes measure was an adaptation of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and utilised simple drawn head-and-shoulder images of Aboriginal Australians and White Australians as the stimuli. Both explicit measures and implicit measure varied in the extent to which negative prejudicial attitudes were held by participants, and the corresponding construct validities were unimpressive. The MRS was significantly correlated with the IAT, (r =.314;p<.05) where the ATIAS was not significantly correlated with IAT scores (r =.12). Of the two self-report measures of attitudes towards Aboriginal Australians, only the MRS evidenced validity when compared with the use of an implicit attitude measure.

  7. Explicit and Implicit Stigma of Mental Illness as Predictors of the Recovery Attitudes of Assertive Community Treatment Practitioners.

    PubMed

    Stull, Laura G; McConnell, Haley; McGrew, John; Salyers, Michelle P

    2017-01-01

    While explicit negative stereotypes of mental illness are well established as barriers to recovery, implicit attitudes also may negatively impact outcomes. The current study is unique in its focus on both explicit and implicit stigma as predictors of recovery attitudes of mental health practitioners. Assertive Community Treatment practitioners (n = 154) from 55 teams completed online measures of stigma, recovery attitudes, and an Implicit Association Test (IAT). Three of four explicit stigma variables (perceptions of blameworthiness, helplessness, and dangerousness) and all three implicit stigma variables were associated with lower recovery attitudes. In a multivariate, hierarchical model, however, implicit stigma did not explain additional variance in recovery attitudes. In the overall model, perceptions of dangerousness and implicitly associating mental illness with "bad" were significant individual predictors of lower recovery attitudes. The current study demonstrates a need for interventions to lower explicit stigma, particularly perceptions of dangerousness, to increase mental health providers' expectations for recovery. The extent to which implicit and explicit stigma differentially predict outcomes, including recovery attitudes, needs further research.

  8. Pharmacy Student Attitudes and Willingness to Engage in Care with People Living with HIV/AIDS

    PubMed Central

    Furtek, Kari J.; Malladi, Ruthvik; Ng, Eric; Zhou, Maria

    2016-01-01

    Objective. To describe the extent to which pharmacy students hold negative attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and to determine whether background variables, student knowledge, and professional attitudes may affect willingness to care for PLWHA. Methods. An online survey tool was developed and administered to 150 pharmacy students in their third professional year. Descriptive and stepwise multivariate regressions were performed. Results. While descriptive results showed a majority of respondents had favorable professional attitudes towards caring for PLWHA, most pharmacy students expressed discomfort with specific attitudes about being in close physical contact and receiving selected services from PLWHA. Multivariate results revealed that: (1) being a minority predicted greater knowledge; (2) having received prior HIV instruction and greater HIV knowledge predicted more positive professional attitudes caring for PLWHA; (3) being more socially liberal, having more positive professional attitudes caring for PLWHA, and having greater empathy towards PLWHA predicted student willingness to provide services. Conclusion. Future educational interventions specifically targeted toward socially conservative whites may impact greater student willingness to care for PLWHA. Additional research should also explore the generalizability of the present findings and modeling to pharmacy students in other regions of the country. PMID:27170816

  9. Attitude toward psychiatrists and psychiatric medication: A survey from five metropolitan cities in India.

    PubMed

    Zieger, Aron; Mungee, Aditya; Schomerus, Georg; Ta, Thi Minh Tam; Weyers, Aino; Böge, Kerem; Dettling, Michael; Bajbouj, Malek; von Lersner, Ulrike; Angermeyer, Matthias C; Tandon, Abhinav; Hahn, Eric

    2017-01-01

    Stigmatization and overall scarcity of psychiatrists and other mental health-care professionals remain a huge public health challenge in low- and middle-income countries, more specifically in India. Most patients seek help from faith healers, and awareness about psychiatrists and treatment methods is often lacking. Our study aims to explore public attitudes toward psychiatrists and psychiatric medication in five Indian metropolitan cities and to identify factors that could influence these attitudes. Explorative surveys in the context of public attitudes toward psychiatrists and psychiatric medication were conducted using five convenience samples from the general population in Chennai ( n = 166), Kolkata ( n = 158), Hyderabad ( n = 139), Lucknow ( n = 183), and Mumbai ( n = 278). We used a quota sample with respect to age, gender, and religion using the census data from India as a reference. Mean scores indicate that attitudes toward psychiatrists and psychiatric medication are overall negative in urban India. Negative attitudes toward psychiatrists were associated with lower age, lower education, and strong religious beliefs. Negative attitudes toward psychotropic medication were associated with lower age, male gender, lower education, and religion. In line with the National Mental Health Policy of India, our results support the perception that stigma is widespread. Innovative public health strategies are needed to improve the image of psychiatrists and psychiatric treatment in society and ultimately fill the treatment gap in mental health.

  10. Introducing a gender-neutral pronoun in a natural gender language: the influence of time on attitudes and behavior

    PubMed Central

    Gustafsson Sendén, Marie; Bäck, Emma A.; Lindqvist, Anna

    2015-01-01

    The implementation of gender fair language is often associated with negative reactions and hostile attacks on people who propose a change. This was also the case in Sweden in 2012 when a third gender-neutral pronoun hen was proposed as an addition to the already existing Swedish pronouns for she (hon) and he (han). The pronoun hen can be used both generically, when gender is unknown or irrelevant, and as a transgender pronoun for people who categorize themselves outside the gender dichotomy. In this article we review the process from 2012 to 2015. No other language has so far added a third gender-neutral pronoun, existing parallel with two gendered pronouns, that actually have reached the broader population of language users. This makes the situation in Sweden unique. We present data on attitudes toward hen during the past 4 years and analyze how time is associated with the attitudes in the process of introducing hen to the Swedish language. In 2012 the majority of the Swedish population was negative to the word, but already in 2014 there was a significant shift to more positive attitudes. Time was one of the strongest predictors for attitudes also when other relevant factors were controlled for. The actual use of the word also increased, although to a lesser extent than the attitudes shifted. We conclude that new words challenging the binary gender system evoke hostile and negative reactions, but also that attitudes can normalize rather quickly. We see this finding very positive and hope it could motivate language amendments and initiatives for gender-fair language, although the first responses may be negative. PMID:26191016

  11. Fathers, daughters, and self-objectification: does bonding style matter?

    PubMed

    Miles-McLean, Haley; Liss, Miriam; Erchull, Mindy J

    2014-09-01

    As women are exposed to objectification and the "male gaze," they self-objectify, which predicts negative psychological outcomes. Given the centrality of the "male gaze," positive father/child relationships may have a buffering effect. In this study, women (N=447) completed a survey measuring paternal bonding (care and overprotection), self-objectification, negative eating attitudes, and depression. Women were categorized into four groups based on bonding style. Analyses indicated an interaction such that women who reported high care and low overprotection reported the fewest negative eating attitudes. A path model was tested for each group. The fit of the high care/high overprotection group's model significantly differed from that of the high care/low overprotection group. The relationships between body surveillance and shame as well as between shame and negative eating attitudes were stronger in the former group. These findings suggest that caring but overprotective fathers may exacerbate the negative effects of body surveillance and shame. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Alternatives to Social Promotion and Retention

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lynch, Matthew

    2013-01-01

    Studies indicate that retention negatively impacts students' behavior, attitude, and attendance, but it is still practiced in schools around the country. Social promotion undermines students' futures when they fail to develop critical study and job-related skills; however, it too is still practiced in many schools throughout the United…

  13. The Communalism Scale and Collectivistic-Individualistic Tendencies: Some Preliminary Findings.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jagers, Robert J.; Mock, Lynne O.

    1995-01-01

    Provides data on the construct validity of a newly developed Communalism Scale (CS) by exploring its relationship with indexes of collectivistic and individualistic tendencies. Results from 86 college students show that the CS scores were negatively correlated with individualistic attitudes. Positive relationships were found between communalism…

  14. The Hannibal Community Survey; A Case Study in a Community Development Technique.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Croll, John A.

    Disturbed by the community's negative attitude toward its prospects for progress, the Hannibal (Missouri) Chamber of Commerce initiated a community self-survey to improve the situation. The questionnaire survey concentrated on felt needs relationg to city government, retail facilities and services, recreation, religion, education, industrial…

  15. Reflections on Developing an Employment Mentoring Program for College Students Who Are Blind

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Mally, Jamie; Steverson, Anne

    2017-01-01

    In a competitive employment climate, college graduates with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) face challenges securing work. Employment barriers among visually impaired individuals include: limited early work experience, negative employer attitudes, transportation issues, lack of exposure to successful role…

  16. The Attitude of Iranian Nurses About Do Not Resuscitate Orders

    PubMed Central

    Mogadasian, Sima; Abdollahzadeh, Farahnaz; Rahmani, Azad; Ferguson, Caleb; Pakanzad, Fermisk; Pakpour, Vahid; Heidarzadeh, Hamid

    2014-01-01

    Background: Do not resuscitate (DNR) orders are one of many challenging issues in end of life care. Previous research has not investigated Muslim nurses’ attitudes towards DNR orders. Aims: This study aims to investigate the attitude of Iranian nurses towards DNR orders and determine the role of religious sects in forming attitudes. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-comparative study, 306 nurses from five hospitals affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (TUOMS) in East Azerbaijan Province and three hospitals in Kurdistan province participated. Data were gathered by a survey design on attitudes on DNR orders. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) software examining descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Participants showed their willingness to learn more about DNR orders and highlights the importance of respecting patients and their families in DNR orders. In contrast, in many key items participants reported their negative attitude towards DNR orders. There were statistical differences in two items between the attitude of Shiite and Sunni nurses. Conclusions: Iranian nurses, regardless of their religious sects, reported negative attitude towards many aspects of DNR orders. It may be possible to change the attitude of Iranian nurses towards DNR through education. PMID:24600178

  17. The attitude of Iranian nurses about do not resuscitate orders.

    PubMed

    Mogadasian, Sima; Abdollahzadeh, Farahnaz; Rahmani, Azad; Ferguson, Caleb; Pakanzad, Fermisk; Pakpour, Vahid; Heidarzadeh, Hamid

    2014-01-01

    Do not resuscitate (DNR) orders are one of many challenging issues in end of life care. Previous research has not investigated Muslim nurses' attitudes towards DNR orders. This study aims to investigate the attitude of Iranian nurses towards DNR orders and determine the role of religious sects in forming attitudes. In this descriptive-comparative study, 306 nurses from five hospitals affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (TUOMS) in East Azerbaijan Province and three hospitals in Kurdistan province participated. Data were gathered by a survey design on attitudes on DNR orders. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) software examining descriptive and inferential statistics. Participants showed their willingness to learn more about DNR orders and highlights the importance of respecting patients and their families in DNR orders. In contrast, in many key items participants reported their negative attitude towards DNR orders. There were statistical differences in two items between the attitude of Shiite and Sunni nurses. Iranian nurses, regardless of their religious sects, reported negative attitude towards many aspects of DNR orders. It may be possible to change the attitude of Iranian nurses towards DNR through education.

  18. Violence against Women in Video Games: A Prequel or Sequel to Rape Myth Acceptance?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beck, Victoria Simpson; Boys, Stephanie; Rose, Christopher; Beck, Eric

    2012-01-01

    Current research suggests a link between negative attitudes toward women and violence against women, and it also suggests that media may condition such negative attitudes. When considering the tremendous and continued growth of video game sales, and the resulting proliferation of sexual objectification and violence against women in some video…

  19. On the Negative Attitude towards Left-Handedness of Pupils

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Makashvili, Malkhaz; Taliashvili, Tamar

    2009-01-01

    Present study was aimed to determine the reasons behind negative attitude of some teachers to the left-handed writing of their pupils. Total of 745 primary school teachers of both sexes, mean age 34, Caucasians, citizens of the Republic Georgia, served as respondents in the study presented. Teachers were requested to answer in writing the…

  20. External Insect Morphology: A Negative Factor in Attitudes toward Insects and Likelihood of Incorporation in Future Science Education Settings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wagler, Ron; Wagler, Amy

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated if the external morphology of an insect had a negative effect on United States (US) preservice elementary teacher's attitudes toward insects and beliefs concerning the likelihood of incorporating insects into future science education settings. 270 US kindergarten through sixth grade preservice elementary teachers…

  1. Negative Affect in Victimized Children: The Roles of Social Withdrawal, Peer Rejection, and Attitudes toward Bullying

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dill, Edward J.; Vernberg, Eric M.; Fonagy, Peter; Twemlow, Stuart W.; Gamm, Bridget K.

    2004-01-01

    This study evaluated the validity of mediating pathways in predicting self-assessed negative affect from shyness/social withdrawal, peer rejection, victimization by peers (overt and relational), and the attitude that aggression is legitimate and warranted. Participants were 296 3rd through 5th graders (156 girls, 140 boys) from 10 elementary…

  2. The theory of "truth": how counterindustry campaigns affect smoking behavior among teens.

    PubMed

    Hershey, James C; Niederdeppe, Jeff; Evans, W Douglas; Nonnemaker, James; Blahut, Steven; Holden, Debra; Messeri, Peter; Haviland, M Lyndon

    2005-01-01

    This study used structural equation modeling to test a theory-based model of the pathways by which exposure to the "truth" counterindustry media campaign influenced beliefs, attitudes, and smoking behavior in national random-digit-dial telephone surveys of 16,000 12- to 17-year-olds before, 8 months after, and 15 months after campaign launch. Consistent with concepts from the theory of reasoned action, youth in markets with higher levels of campaign exposure had more negative beliefs about tobacco industry practices and more negative attitudes toward the tobacco industry. Models also provided support for a social inoculation effect, because negative industry attitudes were associated with lower receptivity to protobacco advertising and with less progression along a continuum of smoking intentions and behavior.

  3. Training tomorrow's doctors to explain 'medically unexplained' physical symptoms: An examination of UK medical educators' views of barriers and solutions.

    PubMed

    Joyce, Emmeline; Cowing, Jennifer; Lazarus, Candice; Smith, Charlotte; Zenzuck, Victoria; Peters, Sarah

    2018-05-01

    Co-occuring physical symptoms, unexplained by organic pathology (known as Functional Syndromes, FS), are common and disabling presentations. However, FS is absent or inconsistently taught within undergraduate medical training. This study investigates the reasons for this and identifies potential solutions to improved implementation. Twenty-eight medical educators from thirteen different UK medical schools participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis proceeded iteratively, and in parallel with data production. Barriers to implementing FS training are beliefs about the complexity of FS, tutors' negative attitudes towards FS, and FS being perceived as a low priority for the curriculum. In parallel participants recognised FS as ubiquitous within medical practice and erroneously assumed it must be taught by someone. They recommended that students should learn about FS through managed exposure, but only if tutors' negative attitudes and behaviour are also addressed. Negative attitudes towards FS by educators prevents designing and delivering effective education on this common medical presentation. Whilst there is recognition of the need to implement FS training, recommendations are multifaceted. Increased liaison between students, patients and educators is necessary to develop more informed and effective teaching methods for trainee doctors about FS and in order to minimise the impact of the hidden curriculum. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Attitudes towards suicidal behaviour and associated factors among nursing professionals: A quantitative study.

    PubMed

    Giacchero Vedana, K G; Magrini, D F; Zanetti, A C G; Miasso, A I; Borges, T L; Dos Santos, M A

    2017-11-01

    WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Self-confident health professionals with positive and understanding attitudes can take better care of people with suicidal behaviour, but the factors associated with these attitudes are not known. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: The majority of nursing professionals had no experience or training in mental health or suicide. They were less self-confident and had more negative attitudes. Nurses and nursing assistants who worked before in mental health services were more understanding with people with suicidal behaviour. Nurses and nursing assistants who were working in prehospital services were less self-confident to taking care of people with suicidal behaviour. Some members of the nursing team had already seriously considered committing suicide. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: The practicing, support and training in mental health may improve the nurses' attitudes and emotional competencies. It is important to know why few nurses had suicide-related training, despite the relevance of this issue. Training in mental health or suicide need to include attitudinal and emotional competencies. It is important to offer emotional support to emergency nursing professionals. Background The attitudes towards suicide of emergency nurses may affect the care provided. However, the factors associated with these attitudes remain unclear. Objective To investigate attitudes towards suicidal behaviour and associated factors among nursing professionals working in emergency settings. Methods A cross-sectional observational study including 28 nurses and 118 who were nursing assistants employed at two emergency services in Brazil was conducted. Data were collected in 2015 using a self-administered sociodemographic questionnaire and the Suicide Behavior Attitude Questionnaire (SBAQ). Results The majority of participants reported having no experience or training in mental health or suicide. They reported more negative feelings towards the patient and a lower self-perception of professional competence regarding suicidal behaviours, and these attitudes seemed to reinforce each other. Nurses who worked in mental health services reported less moralistic/judgemental attitudes. Working in prehospital services was associated with having a lower self-perception of professional competence. There were professionals who reported thinking seriously about committing suicide. Conclusion When combined with support and training, practicing mental health nursing may serve as an opportunity to develop favourable attitudes and emotional competences, and these issues need to be addressed in suicide education strategies. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Environmental education and its effect on the knowledge and attitudes of preparatory school students.

    PubMed

    Abd El-Salam, Magda M; El-Naggar, Hesham M; Hussein, Rim A

    2009-01-01

    Considering the serious environmental threats facing Egypt, environmental education (EE) that provides the knowledge, skills, and motivation to take individual or collective action is needed to create a sustainable quality of life. This study was carried out aiming at measuring the level of environmental knowledge among preparatory school students in Alexandria, determining their attitudes towards some environmental concepts, and assessing the effect of EE on these knowledge and attitudes. The study sample was selected by stratified random method, and the assessment was conducted using a questionnaire. Results of the study revealed that 77% of the students had poor level of environmental knowledge and that 23% had fair level. In addition, 80% of the students were found to have negative attitude toward the environment and the remainder 20% were indifferent. Such knowledge and attitudes were positively correlated to their socio-economic levels. Following six EE sessions, an improvement in their knowledge and attitudes was observed where 69% of the students had a satisfactory level of knowledge and 88% had positive attitude toward the environment. Attitude was found to be positively correlated to their level of knowledge prior to and following the EE sessions. These results support the need for development and implementation of environmental education programs as part of the regular school curriculum.

  6. Relationship Between Concussion History and Concussion Knowledge, Attitudes, and Disclosure Behavior in High School Athletes.

    PubMed

    Register-Mihalik, Johna K; Valovich McLeod, Tamara C; Linnan, Laura A; Guskiewicz, Kevin M; Marshall, Stephen W

    2017-05-01

    Examine the association between self-reported concussion history and measures of concussion knowledge, attitude, and disclosure behavior. Cross-sectional survey. Classroom. A convenience sample of high school athletes (n = 167; mean age = 15.7 years) from multiple sports completed a validated survey. Concussion history (main predictor) was defined as the number of self-recalled concussions during participants' high school career. The outcomes were recalled concussion disclosure behavior (3 measures) and scales assessing both concussion knowledge and concussion attitude. A greater number of previous concussions was associated with worse attitude to concussion and negative concussion disclosure behavior. For every 3 additional self-recalled concussions, there was a mean decrease of 7.2 points (range of possible scores = 14-98) in concussion attitude score (P = 0.002), a 48% decrease in the self-reported proportion of concussion events disclosed (P = 0.013), and an increased prevalence of self-reported participation in games (67%) and practices (125%) while experiencing signs and symptoms of concussion (P < 0.001). Increased concussion history did not affect concussion knowledge score (P = 0.333). Negative trends in concussion disclosure behavior were identified in youth athletes with a positive history of concussion. Improving disclosure in this subgroup will require targeted efforts addressing negative attitude to concussion.

  7. 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).

  8. Is menopausal status related to women's attitudes toward menopause and aging?

    PubMed

    Dasgupta, Doyel; Ray, Subha

    2017-03-01

    The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between menopausal status and attitudes toward menopause and aging. We identified 1,400 Bengali Hindu women aged 40-55 years (early perimenopausal n = 445; late perimenopausal n = 240; early postmenopausal n = 285; late postmenopausal n = 430) from West Bengal, India. Information on attitudes toward menopause and aging was collected from March 2009 to July 2012 using ten agree/disagree statements, of which three were positive, four were negative, and the rest were neutral. We used only the positive and negative statements in the analyses. The participants were given three response options for each statement: (1) agreed, (2) disagreed, and (3) felt neutral. Agreement with positive statements and disagreement with negative statements were scored as 3. The converse responses were scored as 1. Neutral responses were not scored. Thus, the total attitude score for each participant ranged from 7 to 21. Additionally, data on sociodemographic and reproductive variables, menopausal symptoms, and perceptions toward menopause were also collected. Multivariable analyses (ANCOVA) showed that postmenopausal women had more positive attitudes toward menopause and aging than perimenopausal women. Providing balanced information about menopause and aging might help to foster positive attitudes toward menopause.

  9. Attitudes towards schizophrenia on YouTube: A content analysis of Finnish and Greek videos.

    PubMed

    Athanasopoulou, Christina; Suni, Sanna; Hätönen, Heli; Apostolakis, Ioannis; Lionis, Christos; Välimäki, Maritta

    2016-01-01

    To investigate attitudes towards schizophrenia and people with schizophrenia presented in YouTube videos. We searched YouTube using the search terms "schizophrenia" and "psychosis" in Finnish and Greek language on April 3rd, 2013. The first 20 videos from each search (N = 80) were retrieved. Deductive content analysis was first applied for coding and data interpretation and it was followed by descriptive statistical analysis. A total of 52 videos were analyzed (65%). The majority of the videos were in the "Music" category (50%, n = 26). Most of the videos (83%, n = 43) tended to present schizophrenia in a negative way, while less than a fifth (17%, n = 9) presented schizophrenia in a positive or neutral way. Specifically, the most common negative attitude towards schizophrenia was dangerousness (29%, n = 15), while the most often identified positive attitude was objective, medically appropriate beliefs (21%, n = 11). All attitudes identified were similarly present in the Finnish and Greek videos, without any statistically significant difference. Negative presentations of schizophrenia are most likely to be accessed when searching YouTube for schizophrenia in Finnish and Greek language. More research is needed to investigate to what extent, if any, YouTube viewers' attitudes are affected by the videos they watch.

  10. Knowledge of and attitudes toward electroconvulsive therapy among medical students, psychology students, and the general public.

    PubMed

    Aki, Ozlem Erden; Ak, Sertac; Sonmez, Yunus Emre; Demir, Basaran

    2013-03-01

    Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is safe and effective for the treatment of various psychiatric disorders. Despite being a well-known treatment method among health care professionals, lay people generally have a negative opinion of ECT. The present study aimed to examine knowledge of and attitudes toward ECT among medical students, psychology students, and the general public. Psychology students were included because they are among the important groups in mental health care in Turkey. A Likert-type questionnaire was administered to fifth-year medical students (n = 28), master of science and doctor of philosophy clinical psychology students (n = 35), and a sample of the general public (n = 26). The questionnaire included questions about the general principles of and indications for ECT, and sources of knowledge of and attitudes toward ECT. The medical students were the most knowledgeable about ECT, as expected. The medical students also had a more positive attitude toward ECT than the other 2 groups. More psychology students had negative attitudes on some aspects than general public sample, despite being more knowledgeable. Medical school theoretical and practical training in ECT played an important role in increasing the level of knowledge of and decreasing the prevalence of negative attitudes toward ECT among the medical students; similar training for psychology students is required to achieve similar results.

  11. Perceptions of affectionate communication among people with unfavorable and favorable attitudes toward homosexuality.

    PubMed

    Brantley-Hill, Stacia M; Brinthaupt, Thomas M

    2014-01-01

    People are sometimes hesitant to communicate affection if it might be misinterpreted by the intended receiver or an audience. We hypothesized that anti-gay/-lesbian attitudes might negatively affect the perceived appropriateness of expressing affection. One hundred and twenty male and female undergraduates with either very high or very low levels of anti-gay/-lesbian attitudes participated in the study. They rated the appropriateness of expressing affection toward same- and other-sex targets in a set of 2 (public or private setting) × 3 (positive, neutral, or negative valence) scenarios. Results supported a "generalized inhibition" effect, with high levels of anti-gay/-lesbian attitudes associated with a reluctance to express affection regardless of target, setting, valence, or current relationship status. Implications for research on affectionate expression and anti-gay/-lesbian attitudes are presented.

  12. Predictors of nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward postoperative pain in Greece.

    PubMed

    Kiekkas, Panagiotis; Gardeli, Panagiota; Bakalis, Nick; Stefanopoulos, Nikolaos; Adamopoulou, Katerina; Avdulla, Christos; Tzourala, Georgia; Konstantinou, Evangelos

    2015-02-01

    Undertreatment of postoperative pain can aggravate patient outcomes and is associated with attending nurses' knowledge deficits or negative attitudes toward pain. The aim of this study was to investigate knowledge and attitudes toward postoperative pain of surgical department nurses and to identify predictors of their knowledge and attitudes. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional survey that took place in the departments of general surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery, ear-nose-throat surgery, and obstetrics/gynecology at five Greek hospitals. Participants were a convenience sample of registered and assistant nurses. Nurses were asked to complete a three-section questionnaire, which included demographics, a Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) tool modified for postoperative pain, and seven questions capturing personal characteristics, working conditions, and feelings about work. One hundred eighty-two questionnaires were completed. Average scores were 45.35% for modified KASRP tool; 28.57% for pain assessment; 55.44% for general pain management; and 47.13% for use of analgesics. Four of the five most commonly missed items referred to use of analgesics. More previous personal experience of postoperative pain (p = .002) and being a registered nurse (p = .015) predicted higher modified KASRP tool score. Participation in continuing education programs and department of employment were also associated with differences in the modified tool score. The knowledge deficits and negative attitudes of the nurses toward postoperative pain highlight the role of pregraduate and continuing education, appropriately specialized for each surgical department, in the development of empathy toward patients in pain and of clinical competency regarding pain assessment and administration of analgesics. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Attitudes and burden in relatives of patients with schizophrenia in a middle income country

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Most studies of family attitudes and burden have been conducted in developed countries. Thus it is important to test the generalizability of this research in other contexts where social conditions and extended family involvement may be different. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the attitudes of caregivers and the burden they experience in such a context, namely Arica, a town located in the northernmost region of Chile, close to the border with Peru and Bolivia. Methods We assessed attitudes towards schizophrenia (including affective, cognitive and behavioural components) and burden (including subjective distress, rejection and competence) in 41 main caregivers of patients with schizophrenia, all of whom were users of Public Mental Health Services in Arica. Results Attitude measures differed significantly according to socio-demographic variables, with parents (mainly mothers) exhibiting a more negative attitude towards the environment than the rest of the family (t = 4.04; p = 0.000).This was also the case for caregivers with a low educational level (t = 3.27; p < 0.003), for the oldest caregivers (r = 0.546; p = 0.000) and for those who had spent more time with the patient (r = 0.377; p = 0.015). Although attitudes had significant association with burden, their explanatory power was modest (R2 = .104, F = 4,55; p = .039). Conclusions Similar to finding developed countries, the current study revealed a positive and significant relationship between the attitudes of caregivers and their burden. These findings emphasize the need to support the families of patients with schizophrenia in this social context. PMID:21943329

  14. 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.

  15. Pupils' Attitudes toward Chemistry in Two Types of Czech Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kubiatko, Milan; Balatova, Kristyna; Fancovicova, Jana; Prokop, Pavol

    2017-01-01

    Chemistry is a school subject that is not viewed favorably among pupils. Before we can improve pupils' attitudes toward chemistry, it is important to find out the problem as to why the attitudes are relatively negative. The research was focused on Czech lower secondary and secondary grammar school pupils' attitudes to the subject of chemistry.…

  16. Predicting Educational Outcomes and Psychological Well-Being in Adolescents Using Time Attitude Profiles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andretta, James R.; Worrell, Frank C.; Mello, Zena R.

    2014-01-01

    Using cluster analysis of Adolescent Time Attitude Scale (ATAS) scores in a sample of 300 adolescents ("M" age = 16 years; "SD" = 1.25; 60% male; 41% European American; 25.3% Asian American; 11% African American; 10.3% Latino), the authors identified five time attitude profiles based on positive and negative attitudes toward…

  17. Comparing three experiential learning methods and their effect on medical students' attitudes to learning communication skills.

    PubMed

    Koponen, Jonna; Pyörälä, Eeva; Isotalus, Pekka

    2012-01-01

    Despite numerous studies exploring medical students' attitudes to communication skills learning (CSL), there are apparently no studies comparing different experiential learning methods and their influence on students' attitudes. We compared medical students' attitudes to learning communication skills before and after a communication course in the data as a whole, by gender and when divided into three groups using different methods. Second-year medical students (n = 129) were randomly assigned to three groups. In group A (n = 42) the theatre in education method, in group B (n = 44) simulated patients and in group C (n = 43) role-play were used. The data were gathered before and after the course using Communication Skills Attitude Scale. Students' positive attitudes to learning communication skills (PAS; positive attitude scale) increased significantly and their negative attitudes (NAS; negative attitude scale) decreased significantly between the beginning and end of the course. Female students had more positive attitudes than the male students. There were no significant differences in the three groups in the mean scores for PAS or NAS measured before or after the course. The use of experiential methods and integrating communication skills training with visits to health centres may help medical students to appreciate the importance of CSL.

  18. Pressure ulcers: development and psychometric evaluation of the attitude towards pressure ulcer prevention instrument (APuP).

    PubMed

    Beeckman, D; Defloor, T; Demarré, L; Van Hecke, A; Vanderwee, K

    2010-11-01

    Pressure ulcers continue to be a significant problem in hospitals, nursing homes and community care settings. Pressure ulcer incidence is widely accepted as an indicator for the quality of care. Negative attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention may result in suboptimal preventive care. A reliable and valid instrument to assess attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention is lacking. Development and psychometric evaluation of the Attitude towards Pressure ulcer Prevention instrument (APuP). Prospective psychometric instrument validation study. A literature review was performed to design the instrument. Content validity was evaluated by nine European pressure ulcer experts and five experts in psychometric instrument validation in a double Delphi procedure. A convenience sample of 258 nurses and 291 nursing students from Belgium and The Netherlands participated in order to evaluate construct validity and stability reliability of the instrument. The data were collected between February and May 2008. A factor analysis indicated the construct of a 13 item instrument in a five factor solution: (1) attitude towards personal competency to prevent pressure ulcers (three items); (2) attitude towards the priority of pressure ulcer prevention (three items); (3) attitude towards the impact of pressure ulcers (three items); (4) attitude towards personal responsibility in pressure ulcer prevention (two items); and (5) attitude towards confidence in the effectiveness of prevention (two items). This five factor solution accounted for 61.4% of the variance in responses related to attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention. All items demonstrated factor loadings over 0.60. The instrument produced similar results during stability testing [ICC=0.88 (95% CI=0.84-0.91, P<0.001)]. For the total instrument, the internal consistency (Cronbachs alpha) was 0.79. The APuP is a psychometrically sound instrument that can be used to effectively assess attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention in patient care, education, and research. In further research, the association between attitude, knowledge and clinical performance should be explored. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Public Attitudes Toward Ecological Restoration

    Treesearch

    Alan D. Bright; Susan C. Barro; Randall T. Burtz

    2002-01-01

    We examined the relationship between attitudes toward urban ecological restoration and cognitive (perceived outcomes, value orientation, and objective knowledge), affective (emotional responses), and behavioral factors using residents of the Chicago Metropolitan Region. Positive and negative attitudes were both related to perceived outcomes of ecological restoration....

  20. Predictors of Saudi nursing students' attitudes towards environment and sustainability in health care.

    PubMed

    Cruz, J P; Alshammari, F; Felicilda-Reynaldo, R F D

    2018-02-09

    This study aimed to investigate the predictors of Saudi nursing students' attitudes towards the environment and sustainability in health care. With rising temperature and decreasing annual rainfall, Saudi Arabia is threatened by the harmful effects of climate change on its population. In response to these threats, the Ministry of Health adapted sustainable development and environmental preservation in their National E-Health strategy. To implement these policies successfully, healthcare practitioners should be educated on how climate change could impact human health negatively. A secondary analysis of 280 questionnaires from baccalaureate nursing students of a university in Hail City, Saudi Arabia, was completed. The New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale and Sustainability Attitudes in Nursing Survey 2 (SANS-2) were used to investigate the predictors of student attitudes towards the environment and sustainable development in health care. The NEP score indicated moderate pro-environment attitudes, whereas the SANS-2 mean score showed very positive attitudes towards sustainability in health care. Learning about the environment and related issues in the nursing programme, raising climate change awareness and attending environment-related seminars and training positively influenced the environmental and sustainability attitudes of nursing students. Saudi nursing students moderately manifested pro-environment attitudes but exhibited extremely positive attitudes towards sustainability in health care. The results support the need to strengthen the education of nursing students about environmental and sustainability concepts and the inclusion of these topics in the nursing curricula. The study underscores the critical role of enriching the awareness of nursing students on environmental issues and concerns and sustainability in health care. The findings of this study can support the inclusion of course contents, which deal specifically with environmental health and sustainability practices, in the creation of new policies directed towards curricular revision. © 2018 International Council of Nurses.

  1. Evaluation of an antiretroviral medication attitude scale and relationships between medication attitudes and medication nonadherence.

    PubMed

    Viswanathan, Hema; Anderson, Rodney; Thomas, Joseph

    2005-05-01

    The objectives of this study were to refine a scale designed to assess attitudes toward antiretroviral medication, to examine variation in medication attitudes across clinical and demographic characteristics, and to assess relationships between medication attitudes and medication nonadherence. A cross-sectional design was used to survey individuals at least 18 years of age, currently on antiretroviral therapy, and served by a regional HIV/AIDS center. The survey was administered by pharmacy students using convenience sampling between February 2002 and August 2002. Nonadherence was measured using a nine-item scale with a higher score indicative of higher nonadherence. An antiretroviral medication attitude scale was developed based on revision of a zidovudine attitude inventory. The sample of 99 patients was predominantly male (79.8%), had an annual income of less than $10,000 (74%), and was comprised of 50% whites and 40.8% blacks. Participants were between 18 and 70 years old. Item reduction using item-total correlations and factor analytic techniques resulted in a 15-item medication attitude scale with good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha coefficient = 0.84). A multiple regression model showed a significant negative relationship between attitude toward medication and medication nonadherence after controlling for covariates including age, education, gender, ethnicity, work status, social support, CD4 cell count and number of antiretroviral medications, suggesting that more positive the attitude toward medication, lower the medication nonadherence. Findings underscore the importance of attitude toward medication as a modifiable factor that can be targeted to improve medication adherence.

  2. Attitudes and experiences of nurses toward death and caring for dying patients in Turkey.

    PubMed

    Cevik, Banu; Kav, Sultan

    2013-01-01

    Caring of the dying patients and facing the death can be a stressful and difficult experience for nurses. Besides personal and professional experiences, nurses' own attitudes toward death may affect the care given to dying individuals. The aim of this study was to examine Turkish nurses' attitudes toward and experiences with death and caring for dying patients. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted at 2 university hospitals and 1 state hospital located in Ankara, Turkey. Data were collected via sociodemographics form, the Death Attitude Profile-Revised, and Frommelt's Attitude Toward Caring for Dying Patients. The attitudes of Turkish nurses toward death and caring for dying patients are less positive than the reported attitudes of nurses in other studies. Significant relationships were found among level of education, willingness to care for dying patients, and scores on Frommelt's Attitude Toward Caring for Dying Patients and on Death Attitude Profile-Revised subscales (P < .05). Although the majority of nurses (85%) stated that they had received education on end of life, most of them (82%) were not comfortable talking about death. A lack of education and experience may contribute to the negative attitudes. Providing a reflective narrative environment in which nurses can express their personal feelings about death and dying could be a potentially effective approach. This study highlights the need for further educational research and development of better educational programs to help nurses to explore and understand their attitudes toward death, overcome fears, increase communication skills, and enhance coping strategies.

  3. Attitudes and intentions to smoke: a study of young Brazilian children.

    PubMed

    Pires, P P; Ribas, R C; Borzekowski, D L G

    2015-11-01

    Children at earlier stages tend to be more susceptible towards different types of tobacco messages. These are able to influence attitudes and behaviours around smoking. This study examined how these messages are able to influence 5- and 6-year olds' attitudes about smokers and their smoking intentions. Researchers worked one-on-one with 5- and 6-year olds (n = 398) in Brazil. Children could attribute positive and negative characteristics to two different persons in photos as smoker/non-smoker. Children could indicate the attribute as of a smoker, a non-smoker, both or none. Children were asked also about their smoking intentions. Analysis considered parental smoking, sex, age, cigarette and alcohol brand logos, children's location and media characters from cartoons. We conducted a path analysis for a multivariate model of children's attitudes and intentions about smoking. Overall, children had negative attitudes about smokers (M = -4.58, SD = 4.08) and a total of 32 (8.0%) of them reported intentions to smoke. The resulting multivariate model indicates that parental smoking is a source for a positive image of smokers, while being 6 years old, living in rural areas, being aware of alcohol brands and recognizing educational cartoons tended to be negatively correlated to children's attitudes. Further, 6 year olds were found to be less likely to have smoking intentions, while attitude about smokers was positively related with intentions. One's attitudes served as a mediator for all of the variables in the model towards smoking intentions. The path models differed for each sex. Shaped by social and environmental influences, very young children have opinions about smokers. In turn, these attitudes significantly predict children's smoking intentions. To corroborate this research, we recommend that longitudinal designs be employed to help model why Brazilian children become smokers. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Source Credibility and E-Cigarette Attitudes: Implications for Tobacco Communication.

    PubMed

    Case, Kathleen R; Lazard, Allison J; Mackert, Michael S; Perry, Cheryl L

    2018-09-01

    As there are many conflicting sources of e-cigarette information, research is needed to determine the impact of these sources on e-cigarette attitudes to inform future communication campaigns. Source credibility is important in shaping attitudes toward other health topics; however, no study has examined its role in influencing e-cigarette attitudes. Data from the 2015 Health Information National Trends Survey-FDA (HINTS-FDA) were utilized to assess differences in trust in different sources by e-cigarette user status and to investigate the associations between trust in sources and e-cigarette attitudes (n = 3,738). Differences in trust in sources were examined using weighted linear regression. Associations between trust in sources of e-cigarette health effects and attitudes toward e-cigarettes were assessed using weighted logistic regression. Overall, e-cigarette ever users reported significantly lower trust in governmental agencies as compared to never users. Trust in e-cigarette companies was negatively associated with perceived addictiveness of e-cigarettes (AOR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.58, 1.00), while trust in doctors/pharmacists/healthcare providers was negatively associated with harm perceptions of e-cigarettes relative to conventional cigarettes (AOR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.55, 0.95). Trust in tobacco companies and trust in e-cigarette companies were negatively associated with absolute perceived harm of e-cigarettes (AOR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.51, 0.95; AOR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.46, 0.79, respectively). Results from this study indicate that the associations between trust in sources of e-cigarette health effects and e-cigarette attitudes differ both by source and specific attitude assessed. Ultimately, future campaigns should incorporate messaging to discredit industry sources of information and utilize non-governmental sources to effectively influence e-cigarette attitudes.

  5. Influence of newspaper reporting on adolescents' attitudes toward people with mental illness.

    PubMed

    Dietrich, Sandra; Heider, Dirk; Matschinger, Herbert; Angermeyer, Matthias C

    2006-04-01

    Numerous studies have established proof of selective media reporting about the mentally ill, with the majority of the reports focusing almost exclusively on violence and dangerousness. A handful of studies found that there is an association between negative media portrayals and negative attitudes toward people with mental illness. However, empirical evidence of the impact of newspaper reports about mentally ill people on readers' attitudes is very scarce. To examine the impact of a newspaper article linking mentally ill persons with violent crime and the impact of an article providing factual information about schizophrenia on students' attitudes toward people with mental illness. A total of 167 students aged 13-18 years were randomly assigned one of two articles. A period of 1 week before and 3 weeks after reading the newspaper article, they were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire for the assessment of their attitudes toward mentally ill people. Respondents who read the article linking mentally ill persons with violent crime displayed an increased likelihood to describe a mentally ill person as dangerous and violent. Conversely, respondents who read the informative article used terms like 'violent' or 'dangerous' less frequently. The desire for social distance remained virtually unchanged at follow-up in both groups. Two potential approaches to break the unwanted link between negative media reporting and negative attitudes are suggested. First, an appeal to media professionals to report accurate representations of mental illness. And second, an appeal to the adults living and working with adolescents to provide opportunities to discuss and reflect on media contents.

  6. Communication that builds teams: assessing a nursing conflict intervention.

    PubMed

    Nicotera, Anne Maydan; Mahon, Margaret M; Wright, Kevin B

    2014-01-01

    Quality communication is essential for building strong nursing teams. Structurational divergence (SD) theory explains how institutional factors can result in poor communication and conflict cycles; the theory has been developed in nursing context, although it is applicable to all organizational settings. We describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of an intervention to reduce SD and improve nurses' work life and team-member relationships. An intensive 9-hour course provided training in conflict/SD analysis and dialogic conflict/SD management to 36 working nurses from a variety of settings. Quantitative pre- and posttests were administered, with a comparison sample. The course reduced measures of negative conflict attitudes and behaviors: direct personalization, persecution feelings, negative relational effects, ambiguity intolerance, and triangulation (gossiping and complaining to uninvolved third parties). The course also increased important attitudes necessary for productive dialogue and conflict management: perceptions of positive relational effects, conflict liking, and positive beliefs about arguing. As compared with nonparticipants, participant posttests showed lower conflict persecution; higher recognition of positive relational effects; lower perceptions of negative relational effects; higher conflict liking; lower ambiguity intolerance; and lower tendency to triangulate. Qualitatively, participants perceived better understanding of, and felt more empowered to manage, workplace conflicts and to sustain healthier workplace relationships. This intervention can help nurses develop tools to improve system-level function and build productive team relationships.

  7. College students' intentions to seek help for suicidal ideation: accounting for the help-negation effect.

    PubMed

    Yakunina, Elena S; Rogers, James R; Waehler, Charles A; Werth, James L

    2010-10-01

    Prior research has identified a negative association between suicidal ideation and help-seeking, a phenomenon called "help-negation." Help-negation has been documented to occur for both professional and nonprofessional sources of help. In this study help-seeking attitudes, stigma concerns, and perceptions of social support were examined as possible mediators of help-negation. Data were collected from a nonclinical sample of college undergraduates at a midwestern university (N = 321). Findings provided partial support for the mediation hypotheses. Help-seeking attitudes and stigma were significant predictors of help-seeking intentions (β = .34 and β = -.17, p < .05, respectively), but did not mediate help-negation for professional sources. Perceptions of social support, on the other hand, fully mediated help-negation for nonprofessional sources (β = .27, p < .05).

  8. Ageism and Autonomy in Health Care: Explorations Through a Relational Lens.

    PubMed

    Pritchard-Jones, Laura

    2017-03-01

    Ageism within the context of care has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Similarly, autonomy has developed into a prominent concept within health care law and ethics. This paper explores the way that ageism, understood as a set of negative attitudes about old age or older people, may impact on an older person's ability to make maximally autonomous decisions within health care. In particular, by appealing to feminist constructions of autonomy as relational, I will argue that the key to establishing this link is the concept of self-relations such as self-trust, self-worth and self-esteem. This paper aims to demonstrate how these may be impacted by the internalisation of negative attitudes associated with old age and care. In light of this, any legal or policy response must be sensitive to and flexible enough to deal with the way in which ageism impacts autonomy.

  9. The Role of Sexual Abuse and Dysfunctional Attitudes in Perceived Stress and Negative Mood in Pregnant Adolescents: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

    PubMed Central

    Walsh, Kate; Basu, Archana; Monk, Catherine

    2014-01-01

    Study Objective Latinas have the highest rates of adolescent pregnancy in the US. Identifying means to improve the well-being among these young women is critical. The current study examined whether a history of child sexual abuse — itself a risk factor for adolescent pregnancy — was associated with more perceived stress and negative mood over the course of pregnancy and whether dysfunctional attitudes explained these associations. Design and Setting This mixed methods study involved lab-based assessments of perceived stress, sexual abuse history, and dysfunctional attitudes as well as Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMA) of mood states every 30 minutes during a 24-hour period once during each trimester of pregnancy. Participants Pregnant adolescents (n = 204, 85% Latina). Main Outcome Measures EMA mood states and lab-based retrospective self–reports of perceived stress. Results One in four pregnant adolescents had a history of sexual abuse. Sexually abused adolescents reported greater perceived stress during the first trimester relative to those without, though the groups did not differ on EMA negative mood ratings. Dysfunctional attitudes explained associations between sexual abuse and perceived stress. Sexual abuse was indirectly associated with the intercept and slope of negative mood through dysfunctional attitudes. Findings were circumscribed to sexual abuse and not other types of child abuse. Conclusions Identifying sexually abused pregnant adolescents and providing support and cognitive therapy to target dysfunctional beliefs may decrease stress during the first trimester as well as negative affect throughout pregnancy. PMID:26130137

  10. Cancer diagnosis disclosure preferences of family caregivers of cancer patients in Egypt.

    PubMed

    Alsirafy, Samy A; Abdel-Kareem, Shady S; Ibrahim, Noha Y; Abolkasem, Mohamed A; Farag, Dina E

    2017-11-01

    Family caregivers (FCs) of cancer patients are frequently seen as a barrier to honest communication with patients in Egypt. This study was conducted to investigate the attitude of FCs of cancer patients toward cancer diagnosis disclosure (CDD) and its determinants. A structured interview was used to assess the preferences of 288 FCs regarding CDD. According to the FCs, 85% of patients were aware of their diagnosis. The majority (81%) of FCs preferred CDD to patients. In case they developed cancer, 92% of FCs wanted to know their diagnosis and 88% wanted to inform their families. In a univariate analysis, factors associated with FCs' negative attitude toward CDD to patients were as follows: patient's lower level of education (P = .001), patient's rural residence (P < .001), hematological malignancies (P < .001), FC's belief that the patient is unaware of diagnosis (P < .001), FC's unwillingness to know his/her own cancer diagnosis (P < .001), and FC's unwillingness to inform his/her family about his/her cancer diagnosis (P < .001). Only 2 factors predicted independently the negative attitude of FCs toward CDD, the FC's belief that the patient is unaware of diagnosis (P < .001), and the FC's unwillingness to know his/her own cancer diagnosis (P = .049). The results suggest that the majority of FCs of Egyptian cancer patients prefer CDD to patients. The finding that the vast majority of FCs of aware patients preferred CDD suggests that the reaction of Egyptian patients to CDD is acceptable by FCs. Family caregivers with a negative attitude toward CDD may be reflecting their own fears. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  11. Attitudes and self-reported behavior of patients, doctors, and pharmacists in New Zealand and Belgium toward direct-to-consumer advertising of medication.

    PubMed

    Dens, Nathalie; Eagle, Lynne C; De Pelsmacker, Patrick

    2008-01-01

    Patients', doctors', and pharmacists' attitudes toward direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) for medication and their perceptions of its impact on patient self-reported behavior in terms of request for, and consumption of, advertised medication were investigated. Data were obtained in New Zealand, 1 of only 2 countries that allow mass-media DTCA for prescription medication, and in Belgium, which does not. Attitudes were relatively negative in both countries, but significantly more positive in New Zealand than in Belgium. The impact of DTCA (both in a positive and a negative sense) on self-reported patient behavior and patient interaction with doctors and pharmacists was limited in both countries. Although -- as already established in previous work -- the informativeness and reliability of DTCA can be much improved, and the attitude of medical professionals toward DTCA is negative in both countries, from the point of view of medical professionals and patients, DTCA does not harm the self-reported relationship between doctors, pharmacists, and patients.

  12. Predictors of Attitudes toward Disability and Employment Policy Issues among Undergraduate Students at the University of Nairobi

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mamboleo, George Isaboke

    2009-01-01

    Disability rights issues are an emerging area of discourse in Kenya. Persons with disabilities in Kenya face many barriers to integration into the larger Kenyan society possibly due to barriers such as societal negative attitudes. Research has indicated that the greatest barrier to rehabilitation of persons with disabilities is negative attitudes…

  13. Educating Tomorrow's Men: Perceived School Support, Negative Youth Experiences, and Bravado Attitudes in African American Adolescent Males

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Corprew, Charles S., III; Cunningham, Michael

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore the association between negative youth experiences and bravado attitudes in African American urban males. In addition, an examination of positive factors, such as school social support, was examined to understand potential resilient pathways. Data were collected at two sites, a science and math center (n =…

  14. Client Violence and Its Negative Impacts on Work Attitudes of Child Protection Workers Compared to Community Service Workers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shin, Junseob

    2011-01-01

    This study investigated the prevalence of client violence toward child protection workers and its negative impacts on the work attitudes of those workers compared with community service workers in South Korea. This study is based on the assumption that child protection workers are more vulnerable to violence than are community service workers…

  15. Stability of Cognitive Vulnerabilities to Depression: A Short-Term Prospective Multiwave Study

    PubMed Central

    Hankin, Benjamin L.

    2009-01-01

    The stability of 3 cognitive vulnerabilities—a negative cognitive style, dysfunctional attitudes, and rumination—as well as depressive symptoms as a benchmark were examined to investigate whether cognitive vulnerabilities are stable, enduring risks for depression. A sample of adolescents (6th–10th graders) completed measures of these 3 cognitive vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms every 5 weeks for 4 waves of data across 5 months. Mean-level and differential stability were examined for the sample overall and by age subgroups. A negative cognitive style exhibited mean-level stability, whereas rumination and dysfunctional attitudes showed some mean-level change. Absolute magnitudes of test–retest reliabilities were strong for depressive symptoms (mean r = .70), moderately high for a negative cognitive style (mean r = .52), and more modest for rumination (mean r = .28) and dysfunctional attitudes (mean r = .26). Structural equation modeling showed that primarily enduring processes, but not contextual forces, contributed to the patterning of these test–retest reliabilities over time for a negative cognitive style and dysfunctional attitudes, whereas both enduring and contextual dynamics appeared to underlie the stability for rumination. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed. PMID:18489208

  16. Screening migrants for tuberculosis - a missed opportunity for improving knowledge and attitudes in high-risk groups: A cross-sectional study of Swedish-language students in Umeå, Sweden.

    PubMed

    Nkulu, Faustine K K; Hurtig, Anna-Karin; Ahlm, Clas; Krantz, Ingela

    2010-06-17

    Migrants from countries with a high-burden of tuberculosis (TB) are at a particular risk of contracting and developing the disease. In Sweden, new immigrants are routinely offered screening for the disease, yet very little is known about their beliefs about the disease which may affect healthcare-seeking behaviours. In this study we assessed recent immigrant students' knowledge of, and attitudes towards TB, and their relationship with the screening process. Data were collected over a one-year period through a survey questionnaire completed by 268 immigrants consecutively registered at two Swedish-language schools in Umeå, Sweden. Participants originated from 133 different countries and their ages varied between 16-63 years. Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses were then performed. Though most of them (72%) were screened, knowledge was in general poor with several misconceptions. The average knowledge score was 2.7 +/- 1.3 (SD), (maximum = 8). Only 40 (15 %) of the 268 respondents answered at least half of the 51 knowledge items correctly. The average attitude score was 5.1 +/- 3.3 (SD) (maximum = 12) which meant that most respondents held negative attitudes towards TB and diseased persons. Up to 67% lacked knowledge about sources of information while 71% requested information in their vernacular. Knowledge level was positively associated with having more than 12 years of education and being informed about TB before moving to Sweden. Attitude was positively associated with years of education and having heard about the Swedish Communicable Disease Act, but was negatively associated with being from the Middle East. Neither knowledge nor attitude were affected by health screening or exposure to TB information after immigration to Sweden. Though the majority had contact with Swedish health professionals through the screening process, knowledge about tuberculosis among these immigrants was low with several misconceptions and negative attitudes. Information may currently be inaccessible to most of these immigrants due to the language barrier and unfamiliarity with the Swedish healthcare system. If TB education was included as a component of screening programmes, ensuring that it was tailored to educational background, addressed misconceptions and access problems, it could well help improve TB control in these communities.

  17. Visual attitude propagation for small satellites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rawashdeh, Samir A.

    As electronics become smaller and more capable, it has become possible to conduct meaningful and sophisticated satellite missions in a small form factor. However, the capability of small satellites and the range of possible applications are limited by the capabilities of several technologies, including attitude determination and control systems. This dissertation evaluates the use of image-based visual attitude propagation as a compliment or alternative to other attitude determination technologies that are suitable for miniature satellites. The concept lies in using miniature cameras to track image features across frames and extracting the underlying rotation. The problem of visual attitude propagation as a small satellite attitude determination system is addressed from several aspects: related work, algorithm design, hardware and performance evaluation, possible applications, and on-orbit experimentation. These areas of consideration reflect the organization of this dissertation. A "stellar gyroscope" is developed, which is a visual star-based attitude propagator that uses relative motion of stars in an imager's field of view to infer the attitude changes. The device generates spacecraft relative attitude estimates in three degrees of freedom. Algorithms to perform the star detection, correspondence, and attitude propagation are presented. The Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) approach is applied to the correspondence problem to successfully pair stars across frames while mitigating falsepositive and false-negative star detections. This approach provides tolerance to the noise levels expected in using miniature optics and no baffling, and the noise caused by radiation dose on orbit. The hardware design and algorithms are validated using test images of the night sky. The application of the stellar gyroscope as part of a CubeSat attitude determination and control system is described. The stellar gyroscope is used to augment a MEMS gyroscope attitude propagation algorithm to minimize drift in the absence of an absolute attitude sensor. The stellar gyroscope is a technology demonstration experiment on KySat-2, a 1-Unit CubeSat being developed in Kentucky that is in line to launch with the NASA ELaNa CubeSat Launch Initiative. It has also been adopted by industry as a sensor for CubeSat Attitude Determination and Control Systems (ADCS). KEYWORDS: Small Satellites, Attitude Determination, Egomotion Estimation, RANSAC, Image Processing.

  18. Workplace ageism: discovering hidden bias.

    PubMed

    Malinen, Sanna; Johnston, Lucy

    2013-01-01

    BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Research largely shows no performance differences between older and younger employees, or that older workers even outperform younger employees, yet negative attitudes towards older workers can underpin discrimination. Unfortunately, traditional "explicit" techniques for assessing attitudes (i.e., self-report measures) have serious drawbacks. Therefore, using an approach that is novel to organizational contexts, the authors supplemented explicit with implicit (indirect) measures of attitudes towards older workers, and examined the malleability of both. This research consists of two studies. The authors measured self-report (explicit) attitudes towards older and younger workers with a survey, and implicit attitudes with a reaction-time-based measure of implicit associations. In addition, to test whether attitudes were malleable, the authors measured attitudes before and after a mental imagery intervention, where the authors asked participants in the experimental group to imagine respected and valued older workers from their surroundings. Negative, stable implicit attitudes towards older workers emerged in two studies. Conversely, explicit attitudes showed no age bias and were more susceptible to change intervention, such that attitudes became more positive towards older workers following the experimental manipulation. This research demonstrates the unconscious nature of bias against older workers, and highlights the utility of implicit attitude measures in the context of the workplace. In the current era of aging workforce and skill shortages, implicit measures may be necessary to illuminate hidden workplace ageism.

  19. If Only my Leader Would just Do Something! Passive Leadership Undermines Employee Well-being Through Role Stressors and Psychological Resource Depletion.

    PubMed

    Barling, Julian; Frone, Michael R

    2017-08-01

    The goal of this study was to develop and test a sequential mediational model explaining the negative relationship of passive leadership to employee well-being. Based on role stress theory, we posit that passive leadership will predict higher levels of role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload. Invoking Conservation of Resources theory, we further hypothesize that these role stressors will indirectly and negatively influence two aspects of employee well-being, namely overall mental health and overall work attitude, through psychological work fatigue. Using a probability sample of 2467 US workers, structural equation modelling supported the model by showing that role stressors and psychological work fatigue partially mediated the negative relationship between passive leadership and both aspects of employee well-being. The hypothesized, sequential indirect relationships explained 47.9% of the overall relationship between passive leadership and mental health and 26.6% of the overall relationship between passive leadership and overall work attitude. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Impact of a Nursing in Psychiatry Course on Students' Attitudes Toward Mental Health Disorders.

    PubMed

    Arbanas, Goran; Bosnjak, Dina; Sabo, Tamara

    2018-03-01

    Negative attitudes toward patients with mental illnesses are not uncommon among health professionals, and lead to poorer quality and outcomes of care. Because attitudes are formed early in life, the current study aimed to investigate if teaching psychiatry in secondary school nursing students (i.e., adolescents) changes attitudes toward three prevalent psychiatric disorders: schizophrenia, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression. A pilot quasi-experimental study was conducted with 51 fourth-year students in secondary nursing school who completed a questionnaire regarding attitudes toward these disorders on the first and last day of their Nursing in Psychiatry course. Results show that the stigma attached to all three disorders was significantly reduced after students completed the course. Students attached greater stigma to schizophrenia than PTSD, and to PTSD than depression, before and after the course. The study indicates that education in psychiatry helps reduce negative attitudes toward PTSD, schizophrenia, and depression. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 56(3), 45-51.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

  1. Attitudes Toward Nursing Students With Disabilities: Promoting Social Inclusion.

    PubMed

    Shpigelman, Carmit-Noa; Zlotnick, Cheryl; Brand, Rachel

    2016-08-01

    Nursing education programs rarely refer to individuals with disabilities as potential nursing students; more often, the assumption is that they are patients. Thus, this study aimed to capture nursing students' perspectives of social inclusion through examination of their attitudes toward nursing student colleagues with disabilities. Paper-and-pencil structured surveys containing two validated scales were collected from Israeli nursing students (N = 270). Analyses included measuring associations using Pearson's correlation coefficient and general linear regression models. Nursing students held relatively negative attitudes toward colleagues with disabilities, and these negative attitudes were correlated to attitudes toward people with disabilities in general, even after adjusting for noted confounders. Nurse educators and nursing students should be aware of prejudicial attitudes with their respective communities toward nursing student colleagues with disabilities, and they should work toward a better understanding that cultural competence and awareness extends not only to patients but also to one's colleagues. [J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(8):441-449.]. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

  2. Stereotypes and attitudes toward older people among children transitioning from middle childhood into adolescence: Time matters.

    PubMed

    Teater, Barbra; Chonody, Jill M

    2017-01-01

    Ageism is fueled by stereotypes and negative attitudes about aging and older adults, which can lead to individual-level prejudice and discrimination. Through survey methodology, this study explored stereotypes and ageist beliefs of youth transitioning from middle childhood into adolescence (age 11-13 years) (N = 69) in the southwest of England. The results indicate that positive more than negative stereotypes were acknowledged, and more positive stereotyping was positively correlated with more positive attitudes toward older adults. Contact with older adults and age that one considers "old" were significant in predicting attitudes toward older people. The results suggest that time matters, in terms of contact with an older adult and time to reach "old age" in shaping youths' attitudes and stereotypes. Intergenerational and educational programs that seek to address aging myths and increase contact between youth and older adults are discussed as ways to improve attitudes amongst youth transitioning from middle childhood into adolescence.

  3. Attitudes towards same-sex parenting in Italy: the influence of traditional gender ideology.

    PubMed

    Ioverno, Salvatore; Baiocco, Roberto; Lingiardi, Vittorio; Verrastro, Valeria; D'Amore, Salvatore; Green, Robert-Jay

    2018-04-20

    This study aimed to examine the role of gender ideology, religiosity and political conservatism on attitudes toward same-sex parenting in Italy at a time when same-sex parent families are undergoing attacks from ideological campaigns opposing non-traditional gender roles and families. We collected data from 4,187 heterosexual respondents about attitudes towards two-father and two-mother parenting, homonegativity, attitudes toward traditional masculinity and femininity, religious involvement and political conservatism. We conducted multiple group structural equation model analyses to test whether sex moderated any of the estimated associations among variables. Results showed that traditional beliefs about femininity were directly associated with negative attitudes towards two-mother and two-father parenting, while traditional beliefs about masculinity had a significant direct effect only on two-father parenting. Homonegativity partially mediated the association between religiosity, political conservatism and traditional beliefs about masculinity and femininity on negative attitudes toward both types of same-sex parenting. Gender differences were found for the indirect effects of political conservatism and religiosity on attitudes towards same-sex parenting. The theoretical contributions and implications of the findings are discussed.

  4. Attitudes to Mental Illness and Its Demographic Correlates among General Population in Singapore

    PubMed Central

    Yuan, Qi; Abdin, Edimansyah; Picco, Louisa; Vaingankar, Janhavi Ajit; Shahwan, Shazana; Jeyagurunathan, Anitha; Sagayadevan, Vathsala; Shafie, Saleha; Tay, Jenny; Chong, Siow Ann; Subramaniam, Mythily

    2016-01-01

    Background Public attitudes to mental illness could influence how the public interact with, provide opportunities for, and help people with mental illness. Aims This study aims to explore the underlying factors of the Attitudes to Mental Illness questionnaire among the general population in Singapore and the socio-demographic correlates of each factor. Methods From March 2014 to April 2015, a nation-wide cross-sectional survey on mental health literacy with 3,006 participants was conducted in Singapore. Results Factor analysis revealed a 4-factor structure for the Attitudes to Mental Illness questionnaire among the Singapore general population, namely social distancing, tolerance/support for community care, social restrictiveness, and prejudice and misconception. Older age, male gender, lower education and socio-economic status were associated with more negative attitudes towards the mentally ill. Chinese showed more negative attitudes than Indians and Malays (except for prejudice and misconception). Conclusions There is a need for culture-specific interventions, and the associated factors identified in this study should be considered for future attitude campaigns. PMID:27893796

  5. Attitudes of children and adolescents toward persons who are deaf, blind, paralyzed or intellectually disabled.

    PubMed

    de Laat, Stijn; Freriksen, Ellen; Vervloed, Mathijs P J

    2013-02-01

    This study aimed to explore Dutch students' attitudes toward deaf, blind, paralyzed or intellectually disabled persons and to determine whether age, self-esteem, gender, religion and familiarity with a disabled person have a significant effect on these attitudes. The attitudes of 200 high school and 144 university students were determined with two questionnaires, the CATCH and MAS. Only the CATCH was applicable with all four disabled groups. Two factors were found: behavior-positive affect and cognition-negative affect. With regard to the first factor respondents had more positive attitudes toward deaf, blind and paralyzed persons than toward intellectually disabled persons. The cognition and negative affect factor showed that respondents had more positive attitudes toward deaf and blind persons than toward paralyzed and intellectually disabled persons. Being older and familiarity with a disabled person had a significant positive effect on attitudes, while self-esteem and gender had only a partial effect and having religious beliefs was not a significant predictor in this study. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Parental Childrearing Attitudes as Correlates of Father Involvement During Infancy

    PubMed Central

    Gaertner, Bridget M.; Spinrad, Tracy L.; Eisenberg, Nancy; Greving, Karissa A.

    2007-01-01

    Using daily diary data to document involvement with infants at 6 – 8 months of age (n = 142) and 6 months later (n = 95), we examined relations between reported childrearing attitudes and resident fathers' relative (as compared to mothers') involvement with children. Fathers' authoritarian views related negatively to their relative involvement on weekdays, and this relation held over time for caregiving and playing activities. Mothers' protective attitudes had concurrent negative associations with fathers' relative weekend involvement. Findings suggest that fathers' authoritarian and mothers' protective attitudes relate to how parenting responsibilities are shared within families and may be detrimental to how much fathers become, or choose to become, directly involved in the care of their infants in comparison to mothers. PMID:18174913

  7. Capturing doping attitudes by self-report declarations and implicit assessment: A methodology study

    PubMed Central

    Petróczi, Andrea; Aidman, Eugene V; Nepusz, Tamás

    2008-01-01

    Background Understanding athletes' attitudes and behavioural intentions towards performance enhancement is critical to informing anti-doping intervention strategies. Capturing the complexity of these attitudes beyond verbal declarations requires indirect methods. This pilot study was aimed at developing and validating a method to assess implicit doping attitudes using an Implicit Associations Test (IAT) approach. Methods The conventional IAT evaluation task (categorising 'good' and 'bad' words) was combined with a novel 'doping' versus 'nutrition supplements' category pair to create a performance-enhancement related IAT protocol (PE-IAT). The difference between average response times to 'good-doping' and 'bad-doping' combinations represents an estimate of implicit attitude towards doping in relation to nutritional supplements. 111 sports and exercise science undergraduates completed the PE-IAT, the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS) and answered questions regarding their beliefs about doping. Results Longer response times were observed in the mixed category discrimination trials where categories 'good' and 'doping' shared the same response key (compared to 'bad-doping' combination on the same key) indicating a less favourable evaluation of doping substances. The PE-IAT measure did not correlate significantly with the declared doping attitudes (r = .181, p = .142), indicating a predictable partial dissociation. Action-oriented self-report expressed stronger associations with PE-IAT: participants who declared they would consider using doping showed significantly less implicit negativity towards banned substances (U = 109.00, p = .047). Similarly, those who reported more lenient explicit attitudes towards doping or expressly supported legalizing it, showed less implicit negativity towards doping in the sample, although neither observed differences reached statistical significance (t = 1.300, p = .198, and U = 231.00, p = .319, respectively). Known-group validation strategy yielded mixed results: while competitive sport participants scored significantly lower than non-competitive ones on the PEAS (t = -2.71, p = .008), the two groups did not differ on PE-IAT (t = -.093, p = .926). Conclusion The results suggest a potential of the PE-IAT method to capture undeclared attitudes to doping and predict behaviour, which can support targeted anti-doping intervention and related research. The initial evidence of validity is promising but also indicates a need for improvement to the protocol and stimulus material. PMID:18426575

  8. Perspectives on death and an afterlife in relation to quality of life, depression, and hopelessness in cancer patients without evidence of disease and advanced cancer patients.

    PubMed

    van Laarhoven, Hanneke W M; Schilderman, Johannes; Verhagen, Constans A H H V M; Vissers, Kris C; Prins, Judith

    2011-06-01

    It is unknown whether cancer patients with different life expectancies have different attitudes and emotions toward death and an afterlife. Also, it is unclear whether these attitudes and emotions toward death and afterlife influence patients' distress. To assess the relationship of attitudes and emotions towards death and an afterlife with quality of life, depression and hopelessness in cancer patients without evidence of disease and advanced cancer patients facing death. Ninety-one cancer patients without evidence of disease and 57 advanced cancer patients completed the Dutch Attitudes Toward Death and Afterlife Scale. Emotions toward death were measured using the Self-Confrontation Method. Quality of life was measured with the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality-of-Life Questionnaire. Depression and hopelessness were measured with the Beck Depression Inventory for Primary Care and the Beck Hopelessness Scale. Average scores on attitudes and emotions toward death and an afterlife were not significantly different between the two groups. However, in the no evidence of disease group, a negative association between negative emotions and social functioning was observed, which was not present in the advanced cancer group. In the advanced cancer group, associations were observed that were not present in the no evidence of disease group: positive associations between an explicitly religious attitude and global health status and between reincarnation belief and role and cognitive functioning, and a negative association between other-directed emotions and social functioning. Patients without evidence of disease and advanced cancer patients do not differ in attitudes or emotions toward death, but the relationship between these attitudes and emotions and aspects of quality of life varies. When there is no evidence of disease, negative emotions play the most important role, whereas in the advanced cancer situation, attitudes toward death and an afterlife, which may provide meaning and value, become more prominent. Copyright © 2011 U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Association between attitudes towards Internet usage and health practices in high-school students in 2 schools in Turkey: a cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Kaya, N; Aşti, T; Kaya, I; Yaylaci, S; Kaya, H; Turan, N; Aydin, G Özdemir

    2017-02-01

    Excessive usage of the Internet can negatively affect health and health practices especially among youth. To examine the issue among Turkish students, this study determined the association between high-school students' attitudes towards Internet usage and their health behaviour. The sample (n = 2043) was randomly drawn from all students at two high schools in Turkey: one in Anatolia and one (a vocational school) in Istanbul. Data were collected using the Structured Questionnaire, Attitude Scale towards Internet Usage (ASTIU) and Adolescent Lifestyle Profile (ALP). The mean age of the students was 16.3 years, 77.7% were male and 96.9% used the Internet; mean duration of Internet use was 18.8 h/week. Female students had more positive attitudes towards Internet usage. Mean scores for ASTIU and ALP were 72.58 (SD 17.64) and 111.34 (SD 16.61) respectively, which were average levels. There was a statistically significant but weak overall negative correlation between adolescents' attitudes towards Internet usage and their health behaviour. Our results concur with studies in different cultures which suggest some negative effects, of heavy Internet use.

  10. School, Friends, and Substance Use: Gender Differences on the Influence of Attitudes Toward School and Close Friend Networks on Cannabis Involvement.

    PubMed

    Zaharakis, Nikola; Mason, Michael J; Mennis, Jeremy; Light, John; Rusby, Julie C; Westling, Erika; Crewe, Stephanie; Flay, Brian R; Way, Thomas

    2018-02-01

    The school environment is extremely salient in young adolescents' lives. Adolescents who have unfavorable attitudes toward school and teachers are at elevated risk for dropping out of school and engaging in behavioral health risks. Peer network health-a summation of the positive and negative behaviors in which one's close friend group engages-may be one way by which attitudes toward school exert influence on youth substance use. Utilizing a sample of 248 primarily African-American young urban adolescents, we tested a moderated mediation model to determine if the indirect effect of attitude to school on cannabis involvement through peer network health was conditioned on gender. Attitude toward school measured at baseline was the predictor (X), peer network health measured at 6 months was the mediator (M), cannabis involvement (including use, offers to use, and refusals to use) measured at 24 months was the outcome (Y), and gender was the moderator (W). Results indicated that negative attitudes toward school were indirectly associated with increased cannabis involvement through peer network health. This relationship was not moderated by gender. Adolescents in our sample with negative attitudes toward school were more likely to receive more offers to use cannabis and to use cannabis more frequently through the perceived health behaviors of their close friends. Implications from these results point to opportunities to leverage the dynamic associations among school experiences, friends, and cannabis involvement, such as offers and use.

  11. The Marine Corps Basic Training Experience: Stresses, Leadership, and Group Cohesion as Predictors of Attitudes, Health, and Performance.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1982-11-01

    related to better attitudes toward the Marine Corps and greater feelings of self-improvement. (c) Negative stresses... attitudes toward the Marine Corps and higher perceived self-improvement scores. (e) Group cohesion had very little relation to attitudes toward the ...Predictors of Attitudes toward the M-ri n• C-rps. The stonificant associations between leadersnip and qroup co- hesion inl aI ttitudes toward the

  12. Genetic and Environmental Influences on Individual Differences in Attitudes Toward Homosexuality: An Australian Twin Study

    PubMed Central

    Shekar, Sri N.; Zietsch, Brendan P.; Eaves, Lindon J.; Bailey, J. Michael; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Martin, Nicholas G.

    2008-01-01

    Previous research has shown that many heterosexuals hold negative attitudes toward homosexuals and homosexuality (homophobia). Although a great deal of research has focused on the profile of homophobic individuals, this research provides little theoretical insight into the aetiology of homophobia. To examine genetic and environmental influences on variation in attitudes toward homophobia, we analysed data from 4,688 twins who completed a questionnaire concerning sexual behaviour and attitudes, including attitudes toward homosexuality. Results show that, in accordance with literature, males have significantly more negative attitudes toward homosexuality than females and non-heterosexuals are less homophobic than heterosexuals. In contrast with some earlier findings, age had no significant effect on the homophobia scores in this study. Genetic modelling showed that variation in homophobia scores could be explained by additive genetic (36%), shared environmental (18%) and unique environmental factors (46%). However, corrections based on previous findings show that the shared environmental estimate may be almost entirely accounted for as extra additive genetic variance arising from assortative mating for homophobic attitudes. The results suggest that variation in attitudes toward homosexuality is substantially inherited, and that social environmental influences are relatively minor. PMID:18347968

  13. Relationship between the stockperson's attitudes and dairy productivity in Japan.

    PubMed

    Fukasawa, Michiru; Kawahata, Masatoshi; Higashiyama, Yumi; Komatsu, Tokushi

    2017-02-01

    The aim of this study is to identify the factors that comprise farmer attitudes toward dairy cows and jobs in Japan, and examine the relationship between these attitudes and dairy productivity. At first, we executed a questionnaire survey to determine factors that comprise attitudes of farmers toward their jobs and dairy cows, and three factors were extracted. These were named as 'Positive beliefs to cows', 'Negative beliefs to cows' and 'Job satisfaction', respectively. Second, we examined the relationships between attitude and dairy productivity in 35 dairy farms. The positive beliefs scores correlated positively both with milk yield and milk urea nitrogen concentration. We found there to be three farm groups by cluster analysis using three attitude score. The group B farms showed significantly higher positive beliefs scores and job satisfaction scores; on the other hand, the group C farms showed significantly lower positive beliefs scores and higher negative belief scores. The milk yield in group B was significantly higher than that in group C. This study showed that Japanese farmers' attitudes toward cows considerably resemble those seen in previous studies in Western cultures. Positive attitudes toward cows could enhance stockmanship, and could improving animal welfare and productivity. © 2016 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

  14. Professional attitudes to patient participation groups: an exploratory study

    PubMed Central

    Wood, J.; Metcalfe, D. H. H.

    1980-01-01

    An exploratory study of the development of patient participation groups in general practice and general practitioners' attitudes towards them suggests that many general practitioners may not yet be aware of this innovation and may at first react negatively to the idea. This response stems in part from misconceptions about the origins and functions of these groups, a failure to see their relevance to professional objectives, and a fear that they will threaten general practitioners' autonomy and status. In contrast, general practitioners who have formed groups believe they have an important contribution to make to their developing role and have been encouraged by their experience so far. Therefore, at present, patient participation groups should neither be rejected out of hand, nor welcomed as a panacea. PMID:7452590

  15. University of Venda’s male students’ attitudes towards contraception and family planning

    PubMed Central

    Morwe, Keamogetse G.; Tshitangano, Takalani

    2016-01-01

    Background Many young men continue to disregard the importance of contraception and family planning in South Africa. The fact that even university students also do not take contraception and family planning seriously poses a serious threat to their own health and well-being. Aim This paper aims at investigating the attitudes of male students towards contraception and the promotion of female students’ sexual health rights and well-being at the University of Venda. Methods Quantitative research method is used to determine how attitudes of 60 male students towards contraception can jeopardise the health and well-being of both male and female students. Results This study reveals that the majority of 60 male students at the University of Venda have a negative attitude towards contraceptives. As a result, male students at the University of Venda are not keen on using contraceptives. Male students’ negative attitude and lack of interest in contraceptives and family planning also limit progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals on primary health care, especially with regard to sexual and reproductive health and well-being of female students at the University of Venda. Conclusion The fact that more than half of the male students interviewed did not take contraception and family planning seriously poses a serious threat to health and well-being of students, including violation of female students’ sexual and reproductive health rights in South Africa. This calls for radical health promotion and sexual and reproductive rights programmes which should specifically target male students at the University of Venda. PMID:27542288

  16. Obstetricians' attitudes, subjective norms, perceived controls, and intentions on antibiotic prophylaxis in caesarean section.

    PubMed

    Liabsuetrakul, Tippawan; Chongsuvivatwong, Virasakdi; Lumbiganon, Pisake; Lindmark, Gunilla

    2003-11-01

    Over 10% of current births in all countries of the world are delivered by caesarean section. Single-dose ampicillin or cefazolin administered after cord clamping has been proven to be effective for the prevention of post-caesarean infections as indicated in many randomised trials and reviews in the Cochrane Library. This study aimed to determine three determinants of behavioural intention using the theory of planned behaviour: attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived controls. Intentions were examined for five aspects of the use of antibiotic prophylaxis, namely whether or not antibiotics were used, used in all caesarean sections, after rather than before cord clamping, whether ampicillin/cefazolin or broader-spectrum antibiotics were used, and whether single or multiple doses were given. Fifty obstetricians selected from university, regional, and general hospitals in southern Thailand, were surveyed using a questionnaire and in-depth interview. Their intentions to use a single dose and to use in all cases were low, and this was related to negative attitudes and reference groups who did not approve of the single dose. The negative attitude was based on scepticism concerning the applicability of well-equipped trials from the developed world and fear of consequences of post-caesarean infections. Norms carried over from residency training had more long-term influence in their practice than newer information from books or journals. Perceived external controls on their practice were less predictive of intentions. Intentions were only partly predictive of behaviour. Changing attitudes, introducing evidence-based information into residency training and strengthening control systems in the hospital are essential to improve intentions.

  17. Violence against women in video games: a prequel or sequel to rape myth acceptance?

    PubMed

    Beck, Victoria Simpson; Boys, Stephanie; Rose, Christopher; Beck, Eric

    2012-10-01

    Current research suggests a link between negative attitudes toward women and violence against women, and it also suggests that media may condition such negative attitudes. When considering the tremendous and continued growth of video game sales, and the resulting proliferation of sexual objectification and violence against women in some video games, it is lamentable that there is a dearth of research exploring the effect of such imagery on attitudes toward women. This study is the first study to use actual video game playing and control for causal order, when exploring the effect of sexual exploitation and violence against women in video games on attitudes toward women. By employing a Solomon Four-Group experimental research design, this exploratory study found that a video game depicting sexual objectification of women and violence against women resulted in statistically significant increased rape myths acceptance (rape-supportive attitudes) for male study participants but not for female participants.

  18. Nutrition knowledge, attitudes and fat intake: application of the theory of reasoned action.

    PubMed

    Shepherd, R; Towler, G

    2007-06-01

    Validated questionnaires eliciting information on nutrition knowledge and attitudes, related to fat intake from meat, meat products, dairy products and fried foods, were completed by 538 subjects. There were high correlations (ranging from 0.40 to 0.77) between the sums of belief-evaluations, attitudes, intention and self-reported behaviour, with similar correlations for a subgroup of males aged 35-54 years. Nutrition knowledge, showed some statistically significant (but small) negative correlations with components of attitudes. Females had higher nutrition knowledge scores and more negative views of the foods than did males. Fat intake, measured using 3 day weighed intakes, correlated with self-reported behaviour (r = 0.55, p<0.01) in a subsample of 30 males, aged 35-54 years. Thus, nutrition knowledge seems less clearly related to consumption of these foods than are more specific beliefs and attitudes.

  19. Ethnicity, gender socialization, and children’s attitudes towards gay men and lesbian women

    PubMed Central

    Bos, Henny M.W.; Picavet, Charles; Sandfort, Theo G. M.

    2011-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to assess whether children’s attitudes towards gay men and lesbian women differ in relation to their ethnic backgrounds, and whether ethnic differences are a result of perceived differential gender socialization practices. Data were collected from children in eight Dutch elementary schools by means of a paper-and-pencil questionnaire administered in the classroom. All children (mean age 11.47; N = 229) lived in the Netherlands; 50.2% had non-Western and 49.8% Western ethnic backgrounds. Children with non-Western ethnic backgrounds reported more negative attitudes towards gays and lesbians. These children perceived more parental pressure to behave in accordance with their gender and showed more negative attitudes towards gender-nonconforming behaviour by peers. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that cultural differences in attitudes towards gay men and lesbian women are partly mediated by differentially perceived parental pressure to behave in accordance with their gender. PMID:23162164

  20. I Like You More if I Think You Like Me: The Effect of Metastereotypes on Attitudes Toward People With Deafness.

    PubMed

    Matera, Camilla; Dalla Verde, Sara; Meringolo, Patrizia

    2015-01-01

    In the present article we aimed at investigating the role of metastereotypes and gender on hearing people's attitudes towards people with deafness. Ninety-six Italian hearing adults participated in a 2 × 2 experimental study. Participants were presented with the results of a fictitious but apparently real survey concerning the opinions people with deafness have of hearing people. Metastereotypes (positive vs. negative) were manipulated through this presentation. Results showed that metastereotypes interacted with participants' gender in determining their attitudes towards people with deafness: when positive metastereotypes were activated, women's attitudes appeared more favorable toward people with deafness if compared to the negative metastereotypes condition. No effect of metastereotypes was observed among male participants. In conclusion, the activation of metastereotypes can be a useful means in intervening to improve attitudes toward people with deafness.

  1. Client and Counselor Attitudes Toward the Use of Medications for Treatment of Opioid Dependence

    PubMed Central

    Rieckmann, Traci; Daley, Marilyn; Fuller, Bret E.; Thomas, Cindy P.; McCarty, Dennis

    2009-01-01

    Attitudes, perceived social norms and intentions were assessed for 376 counselors and 1083 clients from outpatient, methadone and residential drug treatment programs regarding four medications used to treat opiate dependence: methadone, buprenorphine, clonidine, and ibogaine. Attitudes, social norms and intentions to use varied by treatment modality. Methadone clients and counselors had more positive attitudes toward the use of methadone, while their counterparts in residential and outpatient settings had neutral or negative assessments. Across modalities, attitudes, perceived social norms, and intentions toward the use of buprenorphine were relatively neutral. Assessments of clonidine and ibogaine were negative for clients and counselors in all settings. Social normative influences were dominant across settings and medications in determining counselor and client intentions to use medications, suggesting that perceptions about beliefs of peers may play a critical role in use of medications to treat opiate dependence. PMID:17306729

  2. A Measure of Staff Burnout among Health Professionals.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, John W.

    Staff burnout among health professionals refers to a syndrome of physical and emotional exhaustion involving the development of negative job attitudes, a poor professional self-concept, and a loss of empathic concern for clients. The Staff Burnout Scale for Health Professionals (SBS-HP) is a 20-item inventory assessing cognitive, affective,…

  3. Development of the Construction Training Attitudes and Intentions Scale

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elliott, Jonathan W.

    2013-01-01

    The events of the Great Recession (2007-2009) have resulted in high unemployment and underemployment rates in the United States and abroad. The plight of domestic young adults, particularly young men with few work-related skills, is evident. Failing to receive a first job has long-term negative consequences for these individuals and their…

  4. Evaluating Self-Concept and Ego Status in Erikson's Last Three Psychosocial Stages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamachek, Don

    1990-01-01

    Suggests behavioral criteria that can be used for assessing the status of self-concept and ego development in Erikson's last three psychosocial stages. Presents three tables of different behavioral expressions, each providing examples of possible behaviors and implicit attitudes related to positive and negative ego resolutions associated with last…

  5. Metacognition and Meta-Affect in Young Students: Does It Make a Difference in Mathematical Problem Solving?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tzohar-Rozen, Meirav; Kramarski, Bracha

    2017-01-01

    Mathematical problem solving is one of the most valuable aspects of mathematics education and the most difficult for elementary school students. Cognitive and metacognitive difficulties in this area cause students to develop negative attitudes and emotions as affective reactions, hampering their efforts and achievements. These metacognitive and…

  6. Evaluation of Project Chrysalis: A School-based Intervention To Reduce Negative Consequences of Abuse.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Kelly J.; Block, Audrey J.

    2001-01-01

    Evaluated a school-based program that served female adolescents with histories of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. Found that participation produced healthier beliefs and attitudes about alcohol and other drug use and reduced initiation of tobacco and marijuana use. Findings support enrolling younger girls before they develop negative…

  7. Motivating Mathematics Learning through an Integrated Technology Enhanced Learning Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Samuels, Peter

    2010-01-01

    Many developed nations have a serious problem with a shortage in the supply of numerate graduates, fuelled by their school students' negative attitudes towards their future study of mathematics. At the same time, the smart phone and other personal sensing technological devices are becoming commonplace amongst students in schools and universities.…

  8. The Impact of a Science Education Game on Students' Learning and Perception of Inhalants as Body Pollutants.

    PubMed

    Klisch, Yvonne; Miller, Leslie M; Wang, Shu; Epstein, Joel

    2012-04-01

    This study investigated the knowledge gains and attitude shifts attributable to a unique online science education game, Uncommon Scents. The game was developed to teach middle school students about the biological consequences of exposure to toxic chemicals in an environmental science context, as well as the risks associated with abusing these chemicals as inhalants. Middle school students ( n = 444) grades six through eight participated in the study consisting of a pre-test, three game-play sessions, and a delayed post-test. After playing the game, students demonstrated significant gains in science content knowledge, with game usability ratings emerging as the strongest predictor of post-test content knowledge scores. The intervention also resulted in a shift to more negative attitudes toward inhalants, with the most negative shift occurring among eighth grade students and post-test knowledge gains as the strongest predictor of attitude change across all grade levels. These findings suggest that the environmental science approach used in Uncommon Scents is an efficacious strategy for delivering both basic science content and influencing perceived harm relating to the inhalation of toxic chemicals from common household products.

  9. The Impact of a Science Education Game on Students' Learning and Perception of Inhalants as Body Pollutants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klisch, Yvonne; Miller, Leslie M.; Wang, Shu; Epstein, Joel

    2012-04-01

    This study investigated the knowledge gains and attitude shifts attributable to a unique online science education game, Uncommon Scents. The game was developed to teach middle school students about the biological consequences of exposure to toxic chemicals in an environmental science context, as well as the risks associated with abusing these chemicals as inhalants. Middle school students (n = 444) grades six through eight participated in the study consisting of a pre-test, three game-play sessions, and a delayed post-test. After playing the game, students demonstrated significant gains in science content knowledge, with game usability ratings emerging as the strongest predictor of post-test content knowledge scores. The intervention also resulted in a shift to more negative attitudes toward inhalants, with the most negative shift occurring among eighth grade students and post-test knowledge gains as the strongest predictor of attitude change across all grade levels. These findings suggest that the environmental science approach used in Uncommon Scents is an efficacious strategy for delivering both basic science content and influencing perceived harm relating to the inhalation of toxic chemicals from common household products.

  10. Lesbians, gays and religion.

    PubMed

    Newmanxy, Bernie Sue

    2002-10-01

    SUMMARY This study measured the effects of religious affiliation and gender on attitudes about lesbians and gay men among 2,846 college graduates who were beginning graduate study in social work or counseling. Males were more negative than females in their attitudes toward both lesbians and gay men. Conservative Protestants were the most negative in their attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, while those who were Atheist, Agnostic, Jewish or claimed no religion were most positive. Beliefs that the Bible forbids homosexuality are discussed and readings and arguments challenging this belief that can be used as class content are presented.

  11. Gender Effects in Young Road Users on Road Safety Attitudes, Behaviors and Risk Perception

    PubMed Central

    Cordellieri, Pierluigi; Baralla, Francesca; Ferlazzo, Fabio; Sgalla, Roberto; Piccardi, Laura; Giannini, Anna Maria

    2016-01-01

    In the present study, we investigated gender-related effects on road safety attitudes in 2681 young drivers (1458 males, 54.4%; aged 18–22) who filled out several scales assessing attitudes toward road safety issues, driving behavior in specific hypothetical situations, accident risk perception, and concerns about such a risk. We focused only on young drivers to better understand the role of gender in road safety attitudes in a period of life in which risky behaviors are widespread for males and females. Indeed, there is still no agreement as to the nature of these gender differences. According to some authors, the effects of gender on being involved in a crash due to driving skills are either non-existent or largely explained by differences in alcohol consumption. In our study, we found gender differences in road safety attitudes (i.e., “negative attitude toward traffic rules and risky driving”; “negative attitude toward drugs and alcohol” and “tolerance toward speeding”) and in driver behavior (i.e., “errors in inattentive driving” and “driving violations”). This result is consistent in all drivers coming from nine different European countries. Our analyses yielded an important finding concerning risk perception. The results indicate that the level of risk perception during driving is the same for males and females. However, these two groups differ in the level of concern about this risk, with males being less concerned about the risk of a road accident. This suggests that the main difference between these two groups is not strictly related to judgment of the perceived risk probability but rather to the level of concern experienced about the consequences of the risk. This difference between risk perception and worry could explain differences in the frequency of car accidents in the two groups. The present findings may provide new insights for the development of gender-based prevention programs. PMID:27729877

  12. Attitudes and barriers to evidence-based practice in optometry educators.

    PubMed

    Suttle, Catherine M; Challinor, Kirsten L; Thompson, Rachel E; Pesudovs, Konrad; Togher, Leanne; Chiavaroli, Neville; Lee, Adrian; Junghans, Barbara; Stapleton, Fiona; Watt, Kathleen; Jalbert, Isabelle

    2015-04-01

    Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an essential component of good quality, patient-centered health care. This requires practitioners to acquire EBP skills and knowledge during undergraduate and continuing education. Evidence-based practice education exists in a range of health care disciplines, including optometry. Evidence-based practice education, however, depends on relevant skills and knowledge in educators. Courses and workshops exist for the development of EBP teaching skills in some areas of health care but not in optometry. Here, we describe a pilot workshop designed to enhance the teaching of EBP and to investigate the perspectives of optometric educators on EBP including their attitudes and perceived barriers to EBP and its teaching. Twenty-seven optometric educators including 8 facilitators participated. Of these, 14 were academics (including the 8 facilitators) and 13 were practitioners. Evidence-based practice attitudes were assessed using the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale-50 with appropriate modifications for optometry. Workshop design incorporated strategies to trigger discussion among participants. A nominal group technique was used to identify, prioritize, and reach consensus on barriers to EBP. Although some participants expressed reservations about EBP, a common understanding of the contemporary definition of EBP emerged in educators. Thirty-five barriers to EBP were identified; "time" was selected in the top five barriers by most participants and attracted the highest total score, well above any other barrier (negative attitude to EBP, volume of evidence, integration with clinical practice, and lack of lifelong learning mind-set). Attitudes toward EBP were generally positive and negatively correlated with age and time since graduation, respectively. A group of optometrists and academics new to implementing education in EBP displayed positive attitudes to EBP but considered that its application and teaching could be significantly hindered by a lack of time to access and appraise the large volume of available research evidence in the field of eye care.

  13. Differential Attitudes toward an Adult Education Program for Pharmacists

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kotzan, Jeffrey A.; Jowdy, Albert W.

    1970-01-01

    The study measured post exposure attitude differences toward a series of continuing education programs for registered pharmacists. Analysis of variance revealed that hospital pharmacists held more negative general attitudes toward the series than community pharmacists. Graduation date (year since pharmacy school) showed no relationship to…

  14. Multidimensional attitudes of emergency medicine residents toward older adults.

    PubMed

    Hogan, Teresita M; Chan, Shu B; Hansoti, Bhakti

    2014-07-01

    The demands of our rapidly expanding older population strain many emergency departments (EDs), and older patients experience disproportionately high adverse health outcomes. Trainee attitude is key in improving care for older adults. There is negligible knowledge of baseline emergency medicine (EM) resident attitudes regarding elder patients. Awareness of baseline attitudes can serve to better structure training for improved care of older adults. The objective of the study is to identify baseline EM resident attitudes toward older adults using a validated attitude scale and multidimensional analysis. Six EM residencies participated in a voluntary anonymous survey delivered in summer and fall 2009. We used factor analysis using the principal components method and Varimax rotation, to analyze attitude interdependence, translating the 21 survey questions into 6 independent dimensions. We adapted this survey from a validated instrument by the addition of 7 EM-specific questions to measures attitudes relevant to emergency care of elders and the training of EM residents in the geriatric competencies. Scoring was performed on a 5-point Likert scale. We compared factor scores using student t and ANOVA. 173 EM residents participated showing an overall positive attitude toward older adults, with a factor score of 3.79 (3.0 being a neutral score). Attitudes trended to more negative in successive post-graduate year (PGY) levels. EM residents demonstrate an overall positive attitude towards the care of older adults. We noted a longitudinal hardening of attitude in social values, which are more negative in successive PGY-year levels.

  15. Multidimensional Attitudes of Emergency Medicine Residents Toward Older Adults

    PubMed Central

    Hogan, Teresita M.; Chan, Shu B.; Hansoti, Bhakti

    2014-01-01

    Introduction The demands of our rapidly expanding older population strain many emergency departments (EDs), and older patients experience disproportionately high adverse health outcomes. Trainee attitude is key in improving care for older adults. There is negligible knowledge of baseline emergency medicine (EM) resident attitudes regarding elder patients. Awareness of baseline attitudes can serve to better structure training for improved care of older adults. The objective of the study is to identify baseline EM resident attitudes toward older adults using a validated attitude scale and multidimensional analysis. Methods Six EM residencies participated in a voluntary anonymous survey delivered in summer and fall 2009. We used factor analysis using the principal components method and Varimax rotation, to analyze attitude interdependence, translating the 21 survey questions into 6 independent dimensions. We adapted this survey from a validated instrument by the addition of 7 EM-specific questions to measures attitudes relevant to emergency care of elders and the training of EM residents in the geriatric competencies. Scoring was performed on a 5-point Likert scale. We compared factor scores using student t and ANOVA. Results 173 EM residents participated showing an overall positive attitude toward older adults, with a factor score of 3.79 (3.0 being a neutral score). Attitudes trended to more negative in successive post-graduate year (PGY) levels. Conclusion EM residents demonstrate an overall positive attitude towards the care of older adults. We noted a longitudinal hardening of attitude in social values, which are more negative in successive PGY-year levels. PMID:25035760

  16. Condom attitudes of heterosexual men ages 50 and older using prescribed drugs (Viagra, Cialis, Levitra) to treat erectile dysfunction.

    PubMed

    Jones, Sande Gracia; Fenkl, Eric A; Patsdaughter, Carol A Pat; Chadwell, Katherine

    2013-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes about condoms that may affect condom use by heterosexual men ages 50 and older who were sexually active and currently using prescribed oral phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor medications (Viagra(®), Cialis(®), or Levitra(®)) for treatment of erectile dysfunction. The study was part of a larger study that explored the need for safer-sex health promotion and education for these men. Fifty men completed factor subscales of the Condom Attitude Scale. Subscales were scored and analyzed. Positive factors were found with regard to the Interpersonal Impact, Inhibition, Perceived Risk, Perceived Seriousness, and Global Attitudes subscales. Factors with negative or neutral responses included the Effect on Sexual Experience, Relationship Safety, and Promiscuity subscales. Independent t tests revealed no differences between married and nonmarried men for the mean score on any of the subscales, but there was a difference on the Global Attitude Scale, with younger men having a more positive global attitude than older men. Study findings can be used in the development of health promotion educational activities on condom use as a safer-sex practice.

  17. Attitudes toward direct-to-consumer advertisements and online genetic testing among high-risk women participating in a hereditary cancer clinic.

    PubMed

    Perez, Giselle K; Cruess, Dean G; Cruess, Stacy; Brewer, Molly; Stroop, Jennifer; Schwartz, Robin; Greenstein, Robert

    2011-07-01

    Genetic testing for the breast cancer genes 1/2 (BRCA 1/2) has helped women determine their risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. As interest in genetic testing has grown, companies have created strategies to disseminate information about testing, including direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) and online genetic testing. This study examined attitudes toward DTCA and online testing for BRCA among 84 women at a high-risk clinic as well as additional factors that may be associated with these attitudes, such as personal and familial cancer history, cancer worry and risk perception, and history with genetic testing/counseling. Results showed that the majority of the women held favorable attitudes toward DTCA for BRCA testing but did not support online testing. Factors such as familial ovarian cancer, cancer worry, and satisfaction with genetic counseling/testing were associated with positive attitudes toward DTCA, whereas personal breast cancer history was related to negative attitudes. The findings suggest that women may view DTCA as informational but rely on physicians for help in their decision to undergo testing, and also suggest that cancer history may affect women's acceptance of DTCA and genetic testing.

  18. [Questionnaire on parental attitudes and rearing practices (FEPS)].

    PubMed

    Richter-Appelt, Hertha; Schimmelmann, Benno Graf; Tiefensee, Jutta

    2004-01-01

    A positive parent-child relationship is one of the most important determinants of a healthy cognitive, emotional and social development. The relationship from parent to child is determined by parenting styles. Parenting styles are characterised by the two dimensions parental attitudes and rearing practices. The development and the psychometric properties of a questionnaire on parental attitudes and rearing practices (FEPS), which contains an extended version of the Parental Bonding Instrument by Parker et al. (PBI, 1979) and two scales on parental reinforcement and punishment behaviour, is presented. In a sample of 457 women and 159 men factorial and item analysis revealed four scales (care, autonomy, low punishment and low material reinforcement). The care dimension contained items of immaterial reinforcement on the positive pole and items of coldness and ignorance as means of punishment on the negative pole. Based on findings from its first application in a clinical study it can be assumed that the FEPS differentiates between clinical and non-clinical populations. Additionally, varying patterns of the four scales may emerge as risk factors for the development of certain psychiatric/psychological problems.

  19. The effects of the Malaysian Department of Wildlife and National Parks' environmental education program on the environmental knowledge and attitudes of 13--17 year old students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yusof, Ebil

    The study focused on the effects of the Malaysian Department of Wildlife and National Park's (DWNP) environmental education program on the environmental knowledge and attitudes of the secondary school students. Conducted between May 11, 1998 and August 11, 1998, this study was designed to reflect three objectives: (1) to determine the effect of participation in the DWNP's environmental education program on environmental knowledge and attitudes of 13--17 year old Malaysian students, (2) to identify demographic factors that contribute to the change of environmental knowledge and attitudes, and (3) to establish base line data for future evaluation of the effectiveness of DWNP's environmental education program. The sample was comprised of 806 randomly selected students from 10 different schools, with 402 randomly assigned to the experimental grouped and 404 to the control group. Pretest and post-tests were administered at the schools. The experimental group was exposed to the Environmental Education Program (EEP) at the Environmental Education Center (EEC) at Bukit Rengit, Lanchang, Pahang, Malaysia sometime between May 14, 1998 and August 8, 1998. At the EEC, the experimental group was again divided, with half receiving the pretest and post-test, while the other half were given only the post-test. The instrument used in this study was a modification of the Children's Environmental Attitudes and Knowledge Scale (CHEAKS) developed by Leeming, et al. (1995). This instrument had sound psychometric properties suitable for this research setting, and allowed comparisons of results with previous studies. T-tests, ANOVA, and ANCOVA were used to determine group differences. Overall, secondary school students in the experimental group showed a significantly greater change in environmental knowledge than did students in the control group. Significant differences were also found on the Attitude sub-scale, with the control group exhibiting negative change in attitude, and slightly change occurring in the attitudes of the experimental group. There were no significant differences of the change in environmental knowledge and attitude across age and place of residence than did gender of the EEP participants. The trend of changes in environmental knowledge and attitude between school and EEC were shown negatively. Changes in both environmental knowledge and attitude began to increase but change in knowledge exceeded the change in attitude when measured between the pre and post-tests at the EEC. However, there was slightly increased in attitude toward environmental matters as compared to the change in environmental knowledge after the participants had been measured between the EEC and the school.

  20. Effects of technology on nursing care and caring attributes of a sample of Iranian critical care nurses.

    PubMed

    Bagherian, Behnaz; Sabzevari, Sakineh; Mirzaei, Tayebeh; Ravari, Ali

    2017-04-01

    To examine the association between attitudes of critical care nurses about influences of technology and their caring attributes. In a cross-sectional study, firstly the psychometric properties of caring attributes questionnaire, which was developed to examine caring attributes of a sample of international nurses, was refined in a sample of 200 critical care nurses working in educational hospitals of a city in the southwest of Iran. Results of factor analysis with Varimax rotation decreased 60 items of caring attributes to 47 items which loaded under five subscales of caring negation, caring compassionate, caring advocacy, caring essence and caring communication. Secondly, attitudes of these nurses toward influences of technology on nursing care were assessed using a 22-item questionnaire, developed by the study researchers. Finally, the association between scores of caring attributes and attitudes toward influences of technology of this sample was determined. There was a positive association between caring attributes and influences of technology among our study nurses. Caring attributes scores were higher in female single nurses. Although caring attributes' scores had decreased along with age and work experience, caring commitment was higher in older more experienced nurses. Furthermore, female nurses had a better attitude toward influences of technology on their care. In contrast, younger and less experienced nurses had negative views on the effects of technology on nursing care. Continuing education and life-long learning on application of new technological equipment in nursing care and harmonising their use with caring values are necessary for nursing students and registered nurses to ensure delivering a patient-centred care, in a technologically driven environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Health- and Taste-Related Attitudes Associated with Dietary Patterns in a Representative Sample of Polish Girls and Young Women: A Cross-Sectional Study (GEBaHealth Project).

    PubMed

    Kowalkowska, Joanna; Lonnie, Marta; Wadolowska, Lidia; Czarnocinska, Jolanta; Jezewska-Zychowicz, Marzena; Babicz-Zielinska, Ewa

    2018-02-23

    Attitudes can be predictors of certain health-related behaviours. The attitudes of young females towards health and taste have not been yet fully examined and their associations with dietary behaviours remain unclear. The aim of the study was to investigate if attitudes are associated with dietary patterns in a representative sample of Polish girls. The study population consisted of 1107 girls, aged 13-21 and living in Poland. Attitudes were assessed using the Health and Taste Attitudes Scale (HTAS) and categorised as negative, neutral or positive. Dietary data was obtained using a Food Frequency Questionnaire. Dietary patterns (DPs), derived previously with a Principal Component Analysis (PCA), were 'Traditional Polish', 'Fruit and vegetables', 'Fast food and sweets' and 'Dairy and fats'. The associations between attitudes and DPs were assessed using Spearman's correlation coefficients and logistic regression. The reference group were girls with neutral attitudes. Odds ratios (ORs) were adjusted for age, socioeconomic status (SES), and body mass index (BMI). The correlations between attitudes and DPs ranged from -0.28 for attitudes towards health and 'Fast food and sweets' and 'Traditional Polish' DPs to 0.33 for attitudes towards health and the 'Fruit and vegetables' DP ( p < 0.05). In the logistic regression analysis, the strongest associations within health-related HTAS subscales were observed between negative attitudes towards natural products and the 'Fast food and sweets' DP (OR: 10.93; 95% CI: 3.32-36.01) and between positive attitudes towards health and the 'Fruit and vegetables' DP (OR: 5.10; 3.11-8.37). The strongest associations within taste-related HTAS subscales were observed between positive attitudes towards craving for sweet foods and the 'Traditional Polish' DP (OR: 1.93; 1.43-2.61) and between positive attitudes towards using food as a reward and the 'Dairy and fats' DP (OR: 2.08; 1.22-3.55) as well as the 'Fast food and sweets' DP (OR: 2.07; 1.14-3.74). Positive attitudes towards health were associated with a pro-healthy dietary pattern characterised by the consumption of fruit and vegetables, while negative attitudes towards natural products as well as a strong craving for sweets and using food as a reward were associated with less healthy dietary patterns. To improve the dietary habits of girls and young women, positive attitudes towards health should be strengthened and supported by emphasizing the sensory values of pro-healthy foods.

  2. The impact of a psychiatry clinical rotation on the attitude of Nigerian medical students to psychiatry.

    PubMed

    Adebowale, T O; Adelufosi, A O; Ogunwale, A; Abayomi, O; Ojo, T M

    2012-05-01

    Undergraduate medical students have ingrained and often negative attitudes towards psychiatry as a field and as a career. This in turn has affected recruitment of graduate medical students into the specialty. Little is known about the impact of psychiatry rotations during undergraduate medical training on students' attitudes about psychiatry and eventual specialty choice in developing countries. This study examined the impact of a psychiatry clinical rotation on medical students' attitudes to psychiatry and possible career choice. Eighty-one and one hundred and six fifth year medical students completed the ATP-30, socio-demographic and career choice questionnaires at the beginning and the end of a four week clinical rotation respectively. The overall attitude of the students to psychiatry was favourable at the beginning of the rotation with significant improvement following the rotation (p = 0.003). Significant improvement in attitude was observed among female and younger students. Students who indicated preference for specialties other than psychiatry showed a greater improvement in their attitude to psychiatry following the rotation (p = 0.011). The rotation however did not enhance students' preference for psychiatry as a future career. The four-week clinical rotation in psychiatry resulted in increased mean attitudinal score, but not in enhanced preference for psychiatry as a career.

  3. Hospital nurses' attitudes, negative perceptions, and negative acts regarding workplace bullying.

    PubMed

    Ma, Shu-Ching; Wang, Hsiu-Hung; Chien, Tsair-Wei

    2017-01-01

    Workplace bullying is a prevalent problem in today's work places that has adverse effects on both bullying victims and organizations. To investigate the predictors of workplace bullying is an important task to prevent bullying victims of nurses in hospitals. This study aims to explore the relationships among nurses' attitudes, negative perceptions, and negative acts regarding workplace bullying under the framework of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). A total of 811 nurses from three hospitals in Taiwan were surveyed. Nurses' responses to the 201 items of 10 scales were calibrated using Rasch analysis and then subjected to path analysis with partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The instrumental attitude was significant predictors of nurses' negative perceptions to be bullied in the workplace. Instead, the other TPB components of subjective norm and perceived behavioral control were not effective predictors of nurses' negative acts regarding workplace bullying. The findings provided hospital nurse management with important implications for prevention of bullying, particularly to them who are tasked with providing safer and more productive workplaces to hospital nurses. Awareness of workplace bullying was recommended to other kinds of workplaces for further studies in future.

  4. Parent Attitudes Toward Pain Management for Childhood Immunizations.

    PubMed

    Connelly, Mark; Wallace, Dustin P; Williams, Kristi; Parker, JoLynn; Schurman, Jennifer V

    2016-08-01

    Evidence-based pain-limiting strategies for pediatric immunizations remain underutilized, with barriers identified to date mostly pertaining to health care providers and systems of care. The present study sought to quantify and investigate parent attitudes toward pain management as another potential barrier to the routine use of pain-mitigating strategies during immunizations. Questionnaires measuring parent attitudes, willingness to pay, and perceived barriers for using pain management for immunizations were completed by 259 parent/guardians of children ages 0 to 5 years attending appointments at an urban primary care clinic in the Midwestern United States. Parent attitudes toward pain management for immunization were relatively normally distributed and varied from strongly positive to negative, with 33% of parents disagreeing that they were concerned about the pain their child may experience and 50% agreeing that there are no lasting negative effects from immunization pain. Negative parent attitudes were associated with willingness to spend less in money or time for pain management and with greater perceived significance of cost, time, and other barriers for using pain-mitigating strategies. Some parents perceive limited value in trying to reduce pain during immunizations such that they may be hesitant to invest much time or effort in interventions. Greater success of translating evidence-based pain management into practice therefore may require accounting for differences in parent attitudes by tailoring educational efforts and pain management options accordingly.

  5. Assessing Second Phase High School Learners' Attitudes towards Technology in Addressing the Technological Skills Shortage in the South African Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muller, H.; Gumbo, M. T.; Tholo, J. A. T.; Sedupane, S. M.

    2014-01-01

    This article argues the case that the decline in the numbers of school leavers entering science, technology, engineering and mathematics study courses worldwide and in South Africa in particular, is linked to negative attitudes towards Technology. The issue is regarded as critical since a negative trend in new entrants into the technology sector…

  6. First- and Third-Person Perceptions of Images of Older People in Advertising: An Inter-Generational Evaluation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robinson, Tom; Umphery, Don

    2006-01-01

    With the baby boomers increasing in age, the number of older Americans is projected to increase to 82 million by 2050, an increase of 225% from the year 2000. But despite their growing numbers, older individuals continue to face negative attitudes toward them, their way of thinking, and their abilities. These negative attitudes result from the…

  7. Nurses' attitudes to terminally ill patients.

    PubMed

    Román, E M; Sorribes, E; Ezquerro, O

    2001-05-01

    The care of terminally ill patients is a challenge for nurses that has raised special interest in recent years. Several studies have shown a stereotyped negative attitude in nurses towards terminally ill patients. However, all have used methods with several limitations. The aim of the study presented in this paper was to identify the nurses' attitude to the terminally ill patient in Catalonia, Spain, and the relationship of this attitude to different socio-demographic data (type of centre, shift, years of experience, age and sex) by means of a new quantitative method based on the free word-association test. One hundred and seventy-five nurses working in 18 hospitals and hospices in Catalonia, Spain were included in the study. Data were analysed by the Associative Semantic Field Differential method by means of the computer programme CONTEXT and a quantitative evaluation of the degree of attitudes positivity was obtained. The study revealed a general slight negative trend in attitudes towards the terminally ill patient. A more positive attitude was observed in older caregivers and in women. The positivity in attitude decreased from morning to night shift. No differences were observed between nurses working in hospitals and those working in hospices. We conclude that nursing attitudes can be analysed by methods such as that used in this study. Attempts can be made to modify this attitude in caregivers by means of training programmes and stimulating awareness of an adequate professional approach.

  8. Open and Positive Attitudes toward Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hsu, Chia-Fang

    2014-01-01

    This chapter argues that the most important thing for a nonnative English-speaking teacher is to have an open and positive attitude toward students. A teacher's willingness to work out problems with individual students, coupled with openness to students' ideas and criticism, should help improve students' negative attitudes toward…

  9. Judgmental Bias in the Rating of Attitude Statements

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bruvold, William H.

    1975-01-01

    Judges holding divergent attitudes rated two sets of statements regarding uses of water reclaimed from sewage. Results showed a close linear relationship between item scale values obtained from positive and negative attitudinal groups, and a somewhat reduced rating range for judges holding unfavorable personal attitudes toward reuse. (Author/RC)

  10. Library Automation: A Measure of Attitude.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Molholt, Pat A.

    Findings of the study described in this report indicate that the attitudes of library school students toward library automation were not changed significantly by a semester of relevant coursework. It has been hypothesized that these students would have a somewhat negative attitude toward automation, but that through relevant course instruction…

  11. Perceived Disgust and Personal Experiences are Associated with Acceptance of Dissections in Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fancovicova, Jana; Prokop, Pavol; Leskova, Andrea

    2013-01-01

    Animal dissections are essential parts of anatomy/zoology courses, but their effectiveness is influenced by student attitudes and emotions. Here we examined attitudes toward dissections in 397 prospective biology teachers enrolling two Slovak universities. Perceived disgust of dissections negatively correlated with other attitudes toward…

  12. Drug Use and Attitudes Toward Social and Legal Aspects of Marijuana in a Large Metropolitan University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martino, Edward R.; Truss, Carroll V.

    1973-01-01

    Attitude toward marijuana shifted from strongly negative to strongly positive as frequency of marijuana use increased. With frequency of use controlled, attitude toward marijuana was even more favorable when other drugs had been tried, and also among students who were religiously inactive. (Author)

  13. California's hardwood resource: status of the industry and an ecosystem management perspective

    Treesearch

    Philip M. McDonald; Dean W. Huber

    1994-01-01

    In an earlier publication on California’s forest-zone hardwoods, 22 reasons were offered for the failure of a sustained hardwood industry to develop. This report presents knowledge developed over the past 18 years on each of these reasons. Progress is reflected in society’s shift from a negative to a positive attitude towards the hardwood industry, better estimates of...

  14. Ethnic Diversity, Inter-group Attitudes and Countervailing Pathways of Positive and Negative Inter-group Contact: An Analysis Across Workplaces and Neighbourhoods.

    PubMed

    Laurence, James; Schmid, Katharina; Hewstone, Miles

    2018-01-01

    This study advances the current literature investigating the relationship between contextual out-group exposure, inter-group attitudes and the role of inter-group contact. Firstly, it introduces the concept of contact-valence into this relationship; that is, whether contact is experienced positively or negatively. Secondly, it presents a comparative analysis of how processes of out-group exposure and frequency of (valenced) contact affect prejudice across both neighbourhoods and workplaces. Applying path analysis modelling to a nationally-representative sample of white British individuals in England, we demonstrate, across both contexts, that increasing out-group exposure is associated with higher rates of both positively- and negatively-valenced contact. This results in exposure exhibiting both positive and negative indirect associations with prejudice via more frequent inter-group mixing. These countervailing contact-pathways help explain how out-group exposure is associated with inter-group attitudes. In neighbourhoods, increasing numbers of individuals experiencing positive-contact suppress an otherwise negative effect of neighbourhood diversity (driven partly by increasing numbers of individuals reporting negative contact). Across workplaces the effect differs such that increasing numbers of individuals experiencing negative-contact suppress an otherwise positive effect of workplace diversity (driven largely by increasing numbers of individuals experiencing positive contact).

  15. Protective Role of Parenting Attitude on the Behavioral and Neurocognitive Development of the Children from Economically Disadvantaged Families.

    PubMed

    Jung, Da-Eun; Bhang, Soo-Young; Lee, Won-Hye; Yoon, Hae-Joo; Jung, Hee-Yeon; Kim, Yeni

    2018-06-01

    Association between home environment and the behavioral and neurocognitive development of children from a community childcare center for low-income families was examined (aged 6 to 12 years, n=155). The parents performed a questionnaire on home environment (K-HOME-Q) to assess home environment including parenting attitude and the Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL). The children performed the Wechsler Intelligence (IQ) Scale, Stroop interference test (Stroop), word fluency test (WF), and design fluency test (DF) to assess their neurocognitive development. 'Nurturing of Development' and 'Variety of Language Interaction' scores from the K-HOME-Q, were inversely associated with total behavior problems, externalization, rule-breaking, and aggressive behavior subscales of K-CBCL, and 'Emotional atmosphere' and 'Tolerance toward the child' scores showed inverse associations with the total behavior problems, rule-breaking, aggressive behavior, and withdrawn/depressed subscales. Despite economic hardship, the mean scores of the neurocognitive tests were comparable to the average level of Korean children's normative sample. However, 'Nurturing of Development' and 'Tolerance toward the Child' score of K-HOME-Q were associated with better executive function (IQ, WF, DF). These results suggest that parental stimulation of development and tolerant parenting attitude may offer protection against the negative effects of suboptimal economic environment on children's behavior and neurocognitive development.

  16. Validation of the Catalan version of the communication skills attitude scale (CSAS) in a cohort of south European medical and nursing students.

    PubMed

    Molinuevo, Beatriz; Torrubia, Rafael

    2011-04-01

    The relevance of healthcare student training in communication skills has led to the development of instruments for measuring attitudes towards learning communication skills. One such instrument is the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS), developed in English speaking students and adapted to different languages and cultures. No data is available on the performance of CSAS with South European students. The aims of the present study were to translate the CSAS into the Catalan language and study its psychometric properties in South European healthcare students. A total of 569 students from the School of Medicine of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) participated. Students completed a Catalan version of the CSAS and provided demographic and education information. Principal component analysis with oblimin rotation supported a two-factor original structure with some modifications. In general, internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the scales were satisfactory, especially for the factor measuring positive attitudes. Relationships of student responses on the two factors with demographic and education variables were consistent with previous work. Students with higher positive attitudes tended to be female, to be foreign students and to think that their communication skills needed improving. Students with higher negative attitudes tended to be male and to have parents that were doctors or nurses. These data support the internal validity of a Catalan version of the CSAS and support its use in future research and educational studies related to attitudes towards learning communication skills for South European students who speak Catalan.

  17. Attitude of physiotherapy students in Nigeria toward persons with disability.

    PubMed

    Vincent-Onabajo, Grace O; Malgwi, Wasinda S

    2015-01-01

    Attitudes of students of health care professions, such as physiotherapy, toward persons with disability may influence their attitude and practice post-qualification. To examine attitudes toward persons with disability among undergraduate physiotherapy students in Universities in Nigeria. The 30-item Attitudes toward Disabled Persons--Form A (ATDP-A) scale was used to assess the attitudes of penultimate and final year physiotherapy students in 3 Nigerian universities. Overall and item-by-item analyzes of responses to the ATDP-A scale were carried out. Differences in attitude by sex, age, year and university of study were also examined using independent t-test and one-way ANOVA. One hundred and sixty-nine students with a male majority (56.2%) participated in the study. Mean score on the ATDP-A was 94.95 ± 17.50 with more students (60.4%) having a score >90 which depicts positive attitude. Item-by-item analysis of responses to the 30 items on the ATDP-A showed that negative attitudes were preponderant on items relating to the emotional component of the personality of persons with disability. Only age of students and their university of study however resulted in statistically significant differences in attitudes and older students reported better attitudes toward persons with disability. Although the overall attitude of the physiotherapy students was positive, negative stereotypes and discriminatory tendencies were observed in issues relating to the perceived emotional capacity of persons with disabilities. Educational strategies capable of effecting more positive attitudes in physiotherapy students in Nigeria toward persons with disability are urgently needed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Know thy enemy: Education about terrorism improves social attitudes toward terrorists.

    PubMed

    Theriault, Jordan; Krause, Peter; Young, Liane

    2017-03-01

    Hatred of terrorists is an obstacle to the implementation of effective counterterrorism policies-it invites indiscriminate retaliation, whereas many of the greatest successes in counterterrorism have come from understanding terrorists' personal and political motivations. Drawing from psychological research, traditional prejudice reduction strategies are generally not well suited to the task of reducing hatred of terrorists. Instead, in 2 studies, we explored education's potential ability to reduce extreme negative attitudes toward terrorists. Study 1 compared students in a college course on terrorism (treatment) with wait-listed students, measuring prosocial attitudes toward a hypothetical terrorist. Initially, all students reported extremely negative attitudes; however, at the end of the semester, treatment students' attitudes were significantly improved. Study 2 replicated the effect within a sample of treatment and control classes drawn from universities across the United States. The present work was part of an ongoing research project, focusing on foreign policy and the perceived threat of terrorism; thus classes did not explicitly aim to reduce prejudice, making the effect of treatment somewhat surprising. One possibility is that learning about terrorists "crowds out" the initial pejorative associations-that is, the label terrorism may ultimately call more information to mind, diluting its initial negative associative links. Alternatively, students may learn to challenge how the label terrorist is being applied. In either case, learning about terrorism can decrease the extreme negative reactions it evokes, which is desirable if one wishes to implement effective counterterrorism policies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  19. Effect of health education on trainee teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and first aid management of epilepsy: An interventional study.

    PubMed

    Eze, Christian N; Ebuehi, Olufunke M; Brigo, Francesco; Otte, Willem M; Igwe, Stanley C

    2015-12-01

    High rates of poor knowledge of, and negative attitudes towards people with epilepsy (PWE) are generally found among school teachers. Their first aid epilepsy management skills are poor. It remains unknown if this is different among trainee teachers and whether educational intervention might reduce these rates. We examined the effect of health education on the knowledge, attitudes, and first aid management of epilepsy on trainee teachers in Nigeria. Baseline data and socio-demographic determinants were collected from 226 randomly selected trainee teachers, at the Federal College of Education, Lagos, Nigeria, with self-administered questionnaires. They received a health intervention comprising an hour and half epilepsy lecture followed by a discussion. Baseline knowledge of, and attitudes towards PWE and their first aid epilepsy management skills were compared to post-interventional follow-up data collected twelve weeks later with similar questionnaires. At baseline the majority (61.9%) and largest proportion (44.2%) of respondents had negative attitudes and poor knowledge of epilepsy, respectively. The knowledge of, and attitudes towards epilepsy, and the first aid management skill increased in most respondents, post-intervention. The proportion of respondents with poor knowledge and negative attitudes dropped by 15.5% (p<0.0001) and 16.4% (p<0.0001) respectively. Correct knowledge concomitantly increased by 29.6% (p<0.0001) and good first aid management skills increased by 25.0% (p<0.0001) from baseline. Epilepsy health education could increase trainee teachers' knowledge of, and attitudes towards epilepsy and facilitate correct first aid management. This emphasizes the potential benefit of incorporating an epilepsy tailored intervention programme into teachers' training curricula. Copyright © 2015 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Beliefs and Attitudes about Science and Mathematics in Pre-Service Elementary Teachers, STEM, and Non-STEM Majors in Undergraduate Physics Courses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Michaluk, Lynnette; Stoiko, Rachel; Stewart, Gay; Stewart, John

    2018-04-01

    Elementary teachers often hold inaccurate beliefs about the Nature of Science (NoS) and have negative attitudes toward science and mathematics. Using a pre-post design, the current study examined beliefs about the NoS, attitudes toward science and mathematics, and beliefs about the teaching of mathematics and science in a large sample study ( N = 343) of pre-service teachers receiving a curriculum-wide intervention to improve these factors in comparison with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and non-STEM majors in other physics courses ( N = 6697) who did not receive the intervention, over a 10-year period. Pre-service teachers evidenced initially more negative attitudes about mathematics and science than STEM majors and slightly more positive attitudes than non-STEM majors. Their attitudes toward mathematics and science and beliefs about the NoS were more similar to non-STEM than STEM majors. Pre-service teachers initially evidenced more positive beliefs about the teaching of mathematics and science, and their beliefs even increased slightly over the course of the semester, while these beliefs in other groups remained the same. Beliefs about the NoS and the teaching of mathematics and science were significantly negatively correlated for STEM and non-STEM majors, but were not significantly correlated for pre-service teachers. Beliefs about the NoS and attitudes toward mathematics and science were significantly positively correlated for both pre-service teachers and STEM students pursing the most mathematically demanding STEM majors. Attitudes toward science and mathematics were significantly positively correlated with accurate beliefs about the teaching of mathematics and science for all student groups.

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