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Commonwealth Times 2013-04-08

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Applying The Multiple Constituents’ Model And Social Justice Variables To Determine The Constituents’ Perception Of The Virginia Putative Father Registry, Tracey Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

A putative father registry represents a legal option for unmarried males who wish to secure legal notice regarding an adoption proceeding for a child they may have fathered. Putative father registries must balance the interests of the putative father against those of the child, the birth mother, and the adoptive parents. This study utilized a framework adapted from the Multiple Constituency Model and used social justice, as indicated by distributive justice and procedural justice, to determine the perceptions among primary constituency groups of the Virginia Putative Father Registry. This research utilized a mixed-methods approach to analyze qualitative data from focus …

Hospital Electronic Health Record Adoption And Its Influence On Postoperative Sepsis, Naleef Fareed

Theses and Dissertations

Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems could make healthcare delivery safer by providing benefits such as timely access to accurate and complete patient information, advances in diagnosis and coordination of care, and enhancements for monitoring patient vitals. This study explored the nature of EHR adoption in U.S. hospitals and their patient safety performance in relation to one hospital acquired condition: postoperative sepsis – a condition that complicates hospitalizations, increases lengths of stay, and leads to higher mortality rates. Administrative data from several sources were utilized in order to obtain comprehensive information about the patient, organizational, and market characteristics of hospitals, their …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Latina Adolescents' And Their Mothers' Perspectives On Adolescent Dating Violence, Carla Shaffer

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent dating violence is a prevalent and disconcerting reality for many adolescents. Communication with others (e.g., parents, older siblings, friends) about dating violence may buffer some negative outcomes associated with experiencing dating violence. Although researchers are attending more to this public health problem, what we know about the messages that adolescents receive about dating violence is limited, especially for Latina teens. To address this gap in the literature, 18 Latina adolescents (14-17 years) and their mothers participated in semi-structured interviews to explore their beliefs about what dating violence means to them, messages that are shared about dating violence with mothers …

Correlates And Predictors Of Risky Sexual Partnering, Jennifer Nield

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Sexually Transmitted Diseases, including HIV/AIDS, continue to be a major burden in the United States. Sexual partnering behaviors contribute to the spread of STDs. Sexual concurrency has been shown to exponentially increase STD prevalence in populations. Serial monogamy with short periods between sexual partners also introduces risk. Methods: We identified sexually active men and women from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) and used sub sets for each particular study. Sexual partnering was defined as being concurrent, serially monogamous or monogamous in the previous year. Polytomous logistic regression models were developed to evaluate the associations between age …

The Contribution Of Partner Investments To Romantic Relationship Commitment, Anthony Coy

Theses and Dissertations

Interdependence theory (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978), one of the most widely used theories in the literature on interpersonal relationships, posits that both partners in a romantic relationships play integral roles in maintaining their relationship. Based in interdependence theory, research on the investment model of commitment (Rusbult, 1980) has revealed that individuals’ greater satisfaction and investments and lower alternatives predict greater commitment to their relationships, and commitment in turn promotes a variety of relationship-maintenance behaviors. However, no past research had examined the role of partners. Across three studies, I examined the notion that partner investments would predict individuals’ commitment above and …

Applying The Social Norms Approach To Help Seeking Behavior In The Military, Janette Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVE: The study assessed the applicability of the social norms approach to help-seeking behavior in the military by exploring whether Service Members are affected by perceptions of peers’ beliefs about stigma related barriers to mental health care. METHOD: Data were collected from members of the Virginia National Guard (N= 84) during Yellow Ribbon events. Using surveys, Service Members’ own perceptions and their perceptions of their peers’ beliefs about barriers to seeking psychological care were gathered. RESULTS: Participants’ own beliefs about barriers to care were positively correlated with perceptions of peers’ beliefs. Variance in help-seeking status was better accounted for by …

Primary Caregivers Of Children With Williams Syndrome: Posttraumatic Growth And Related Health Outcomes, Laura Slosky

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Current literature on caregivers of children with chronic illnesses and developmental disabilities primarily focuses on negative aspects of adjustment, with maternal stress and depression as common outcome variables (Duvdevany & Abboud, 2003; Shin and Crittenden, 2003). While these pediatric caregivers have been shown to struggle more than caregivers of typically developing children, the possibility of positive psychological outcomes from such an experience is only beginning to be explored (Kim, Greenberg, Seltzer & Krauss, 2003; Scallan, Senior & Reilly, 2010). One such positive outcome is the idea of Posttraumatic Growth (PTG), a construct for which a widely accepted theoretical model …

Sensory Modulation Disorder: Impact On Coping And Occupational Performance, Audrey E. Kane

Theses and Dissertations

Occupational therapists theorize that behavioral responses to sensory stimuli are reflective of a child’s underlying ability to process sensory information in a manner that allows the child to engage in childhood occupations meaningfully. If a child’s ability to process sensory information is compromised, then occupational performance is compromised. Similarly if coping skills are less than adequate, successful engagement in occupations is limited. What is less clear is how sensory modulation and coping interact to influence occupational performance. This study examined the interplay between sensory modulation, coping, and occupational performance in a sample of children referred for sensory processing difficulties. Two …

Examining Caregiver Appraisal Of Functional Capacity In Family Members With Dementia, Catherine Verrier Piersol

Theses and Dissertations

The vast majority of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias live at home and are cared for by families or close friends/neighbors. An essential element to daily care decisions is the caregiver’s appraisal of function in the family member with dementia. This dissertation comprises three separate papers exploring caregiver appraisal of functional capacity, using secondary data from a study conducted at Thomas Jefferson University of 88 patient-caregiver dyads, funded by the Alzheimer’s Association (L. Gitlin, PhD, principal investigator; Grant # IIRG-07-28686). The caregivers were primarily female (88.6%), white (77.3%), and spouses (55.7%), with a mean age of 65.8. All …

Bridging The Gap: Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Predict Hpv Vaccination Intentions In Men, Daniel Snipes

Theses and Dissertations

Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the US, with an estimated incidence rate of 6.2 million new cases each year. Men have higher instances of certain HPV related outcomes (e.g., head/neck cancers) when compared to women, so male vaccination with the HPV vaccine is also paramount to preventing cancer. The present study examined the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a model for predicting HPV vaccination intentions among men. Results suggest the TPB was a well-fitting model to the data, but not all aspects of the TPB model were predictive of HPV vaccination …

Rehabilitation Service Utilization Among African American Women Living With Hiv/Aids: Using The Behavioral Model For Vulnerable Populations, Aisha Shamburger-Rousseau

Theses and Dissertations

African American women represent one of the largest groups disproportionately living with and affected by HIV/AIDS yet African American women have largely been unrepresented in the federal-state rehabilitation system. As pharmaceutical treatment options improve and individuals with HIV/AIDS are living longer and healthier lives, research exploring the appropriateness of rehabilitation services has increased. Accordingly, it has become more necessary to address the needs of this population. As the largest service provider for people with disabilities, the state-federal rehabilitation system has the potential to be a vital resource for African American women living with HIV/AIDS. The purpose of this study is …

Uncovering The Molecular Pathways Of Mbd5 In Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Sureni Mullegama

Theses and Dissertations

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs) are a growing public health concern. These complex disorders cause failure of normal brain development, which leads to intellectual disability (ID) or autism in 3% of children. Accurate diagnosis of NDs is difficult due to complex overlapping phenotypes. Moreover, associations between phenotypically similar NDs and their overlapping molecular mechanisms remain unidentified. The chromosome 2q23.1 region is a newly discovered disease region. We have recently identified a novel ND, 2q23.1 deletion syndrome. The phenotype includes severe ID, significantly delayed speech, behavioral problems, seizures and short stature. This syndrome shares characteristics in common with other genetic syndromes, including Smith-Magenis …

Organizational Culture, Job Satisfaction And Turnover Intentions: The Mediating Role Of Perceived Organizational Support, David Emerson

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates how the culture of an organization is related to the job satisfaction and turnover intentions of government accountants. I show that perceived organizational support serves as a mediator between organizational culture and both turnover intentions and job satisfaction. I evaluate how cultural effects have changed over time, and assess how the relations between the hypothesized associations differ between supervisory and staff accountants. I also look for differences in how accountants and primary care nurses may perceive organizational culture. I develop the constructs of interest, describe the proposed relationships, develop hypotheses, describe the sample frame, provide a detailed …

Youth Drug Use In Turkey: A Test Of The General Strain Theory, Fatih Cipil

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the effect of strain on youth drug use in Turkey. With its many unexplored fields, Turkey is a haven for social researchers. Adolescent crime and especially drug use is an important yet poorly studied subject in Turkey. Of the many correlates of youth drug use, strain as asserted by the General Strain Theory of Agnew (1985) is chosen as the main explanatory variable in this research. Using Youth in Europe (YIE) survey data administered to a representative sample of high school students in Istanbul City, correlates of marijuana, LSD, amphetamine and ecstasy use among adolescents are analyzed …

The Impact Of Perpetrator Gender On Child Protective Services Sexual Abuse Cases: A National Picture, David Axlyn Mcleod

Theses and Dissertations

Child sexual assault is a problem of epidemic proportions in the United States with some research suggesting up to one fifth of our nations children being victimized before reaching adulthood. Research has suggested females could be responsible for up to 20% of child sexual abuse cases, and at the same time only represent only 1% of sexual offenders incarcerated the US. This creates a situation where a large group of relatively under-researched offenders are evading detection. Numerous calls for further research have been made, but relatively few studies have had the ability to shed significant light on this phenomenon on …

Antisocial Behavior From Adolescence To Early Adulthood: Heritability, Stability, And Correlates Using A Longitudinal Twin Sample, Ashley Dibble

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the heritability, stability, and outcomes of antisocial behavior from adolescence into adulthood in a longitudinal twin sample. Specifically, the genetic and environmental influences on conduct disorder, adult antisocial behavior, and alcohol dependence were examined. The influence of genes and environment on the relationship between these disorders was also examined. The study utilized a subset of FinnTwin12, a population-based twin study that consists of five consecutive birth cohorts. The subsample consisted of 1035 twin pairs (N = 2070) and of that 2070, 1854 completed the intensive interview at age 14. At age 22, …

Commonwealth Times 2013-02-14

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Marital Status And Psychological Resilience In Chronic Pain, James B. Wade, Robert P. Hart, James H. Wade, Jasmohan S. Bajaj, Donald D. Price

Psychiatry Publications

We examined the relationship between marital status and a 2-stage model of pain-related effect, consisting of pain unpleasantness and suffering. We studied 1914 chronic pain patients using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) to clarify whether marital status was a determinant factor in the emotional or ideational suffering associated with chronic pain after controlling for pain sensation intensity, age, and ethnicity. Marital status was unrelated to immediate unpleasantness (). We found a strong association with emotional suffering () but not with negative illness beliefs (). Interestingly, widowed subjects experienced significantly less frustration, fear, and anger than all other groups (married, divorced, …

Improved Detection Of Common Variants Associated With Schizophrenia And Bipolar Disorder Using Pleiotropy-Informed Conditional False Discovery Rate, Ole A. Andreassen, Wesley K. Thompson, Andrew J. Schork, Stephan Ripke, Morten Mattingsdal, John R. Kelsoe, Kenneth S. Kendler, Michael C. O'Donovan, Dan Rujescu, Thomas Werge, Pamela Sklar, J. Cooper Roddey, Chi-Hua Chen, Linda Mcevoy, Rahul S. Desikan, Srdjan Djurovic, Anders M. Dale

Psychiatry Publications

Several lines of evidence suggest that genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have the potential to explain more of the “missing heritability” of common complex phenotypes. However, reliable methods to identify a larger proportion of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that impact disease risk are currently lacking. Here, we use a genetic pleiotropy-informed conditional false discovery rate (FDR) method on GWAS summary statistics data to identify new loci associated with schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorders (BD), two highly heritable disorders with significant missing heritability. Epidemiological and clinical evidence suggest similar disease characteristics and overlapping genes between SCZ and BD. Here, we computed conditional …

Physical Activity And Sedentary Behavior Of Cancer Survivors And Non-Cancer Individuals: Results From A National Survey, Roy B. Kim, Allison Phillips, Kirsten Herrick, Marieka Helou, Carlin Rafie, Mitchell S. Anscher, Ross B. Mikkelsen, Yi Ning

Anatomy and Neurobiology Publications

Increasing physical activity and decreasing sedentary behavior are associated with a higher quality of life and lower mortality rates for cancer survivors, a growing population group. Studies detailing the behavior of cancer survivors are limited. Therefore, we investigated physical activity and sedentary behavior of cancer survivors using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2010. Participants were those who provided physical activity and sedentary behavior data. Those who were pregnant,old, or10,472 non-cancer participants. After adjustment for age, race, gender, education status, body mass index, and smoking status, cancer survivors (n = 10,472) reported significantly longer duration of …

Recruiting For Epigenetic Research: Facilitating The Informed Consent Process, Nancy Jallo, Debra E. Lyon, Patricia Anne Kinser, Debra Lynch Kelly, Victoria Menzies, Colleen Jackson-Cook

School of Nursing Publications

Because the effects of epigenetic (gene-environment interaction) changes have been associated with numerous adverse health states, the study of epigenetic measures provides exciting research opportunities for biobehavioral scientists. However, recruitment for studies focusing on any aspect of genetics poses challenges. Multiple factors, including lack of knowledge regarding a research study, have been identified as barriers to recruitment. Strengthening the informed consent process through extended discussion has been found to be effective in recruiting for research studies in general, yet there is a paucity of information that focused on such a recruitment strategy for epigenetic studies. In this paper, we share …

Psychoneuroimmunology-Based Stress Management During Adjuvant Chemotherapy For Early Breast Cancer, Jo Lynne W. Robins, Nancy L. Mccain, R. K. Elswick Jr., Jeanne M. Walter, D. Patricia Gray, Inez Tuck

School of Nursing Publications

Objective. In a randomized trial of women with early stage breast cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy, two stress management interventions, tai chi training and spiritual growth groups, were compared to a usual care control group, to evaluate psychosocial functioning, quality of life (QOL), and biological markers thought to reflect cancer- and treatment-specific mechanisms. Method. The sample consisted of 145 women aged 27–75 years; 75% were Caucasian and 25% African American. A total of 109 participants completed the study, yielding a 75% retention rate. Grounded in a psychoneuroimmunology framework, the overarching hypothesis was that both interventions would reduce perceived stress, enhance QOL …

Control Group Design: Enhancing Rigor In Research Of Mind-Body Therapies For Depression, Patricia Anne Kinser, Jo Lynne W. Robins

School of Nursing Publications

Although a growing body of research suggests that mind-body therapies may be appropriate to integrate into the treatment of depression, studies consistently lack methodological sophistication particularly in the area of control groups. In order to better understand the relationship between control group selection and methodological rigor, we provide a brief review of the literature on control group design in yoga and tai chi studies for depression, and we discuss challenges we have faced in the design of control groups for our recent clinical trials of these mind-body complementary therapies for women with depression. To address the multiple challenges of research …

Epigenetic Alterations And An Increased Frequency Of Micronuclei In Women With Fibromyalgia, Victoria Menzies, Debra E. Lyon, Kellie J. Archer, Kimberly Jones, Guimin Gao, Timothy P. York, Colleen Jackson-Cook

School of Nursing Publications

Fibromyalgia (FM), characterized by chronic widespread pain, fatigue, and cognitive/mood disturbances, leads to reduced workplace productivity and increased healthcare expenses. To determine if acquired epigenetic/genetic changes are associated with FM, we compared the frequency of spontaneously occurring micronuclei (MN) and genome-wide methylation patterns in women with FM () to those seen in comparably aged healthy controls ( (MN); (methylation)). The mean (sd) MN frequency of women with FM (51.4 (21.9)) was significantly higher than that of controls (15.8 (8.5)) (; df = 1; ). Significant differences ( sites) in methylation patterns were observed between cases and controls considering a 5% …

Being In The Moment, Edward F. Ansello

Director's Editorials from Age in Action

There seems to be a disconnect between the moment in time and really experiencing it. In the past, if one were privileged to reach late life, one would take time to be in that moment, rather than trying to avoid it. This returns us to the observations of being in the moment and having the full experience of it. Reflection is a gift to be opened in late life.

Increased Frequency Of Micronuclei In Adults With A History Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Discordant Monozygotic Twin Study, Timothy P. York, Jenni Brumelle, Jane Juusola, Kenneth S. Kendler, Lindon J. Eaves, Ananda B. Amstadler, Steven H. Aggen, Kimberly H. Jones, Andrea Ferreira-Gonzalez, Colleen Jackson-Cook

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

Background

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a traumatic life event associated with an increased lifetime risk for psychopathology/morbidity. The long-term biological consequences of CSA-elicited stress on chromosomal stability in adults are unknown. The primary aim of this study was to determine if the rate of acquired chromosomal changes, measured using the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay on stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes, differs in adult female monozygotic twins discordant for CSA.

Methods

Monozygotic twin pairs discordant for CSA were identified from a larger population-based sample of female adult twins for whom the experience of CSA was assessed by self-report (51 individuals including a …

Physical Activity And Sedentary Behavior Of Cancer Survivors And Non-Cancer Individuals: Results From A National Survey, Roy B. Kim, Allison Phillips, Kirsten Herrick, Marieka Helou, Carlin Rafie, Mitchell S. Anscher, Ross B. Mikkelsen, Yi Ning

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

Increasing physical activity and decreasing sedentary behavior are associated with a higher quality of life and lower mortality rates for cancer survivors, a growing population group. Studies detailing the behavior of cancer survivors are limited. Therefore, we investigated physical activity and sedentary behavior of cancer survivors using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2010. Participants were those who provided physical activity and sedentary behavior data. Those who were pregnant,old, or10,472 non-cancer participants. After adjustment for age, race, gender, education status, body mass index, and smoking status, cancer survivors (n = 10,472) reported significantly longer duration of …

Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Diagnosis Of Cancer, Monique J. Brown, Leroy R. Thacker, Steven A. Cohen

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

Objective

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to multiple adverse health outcomes. This study examined the association between ACEs and cancer diagnosis.

Methods

Data from the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey were used. The BRFSS is the largest ongoing telephone health survey, conducted in all US states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and provides data on a variety of health issues among the non-institutionalized adult population. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to derive components for ACEs. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to provide adjusted odds ratios (OR) and …

Virginia Commonwealth University Fall Commencement Program [Corrected Copy] [2013], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.