Health Psychology Commons^™

Modeling Bmi, Dietary Habits, And Physical Activity Among Ethnically Diverse Urban College Students, Hollie Jones, Nicholas Freudenberg, Lorraine Mongiello

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Objectives The objective of this research study was to examine the relationship between BMI, physical activity, dietary habits, and student demographic factors (age, ethnicity, income, immigration, and sex). Given the association between overweight and obesity and the inequitable burden of chronic health conditions among ethnic minority populations, a deeper understanding of the socioeconomic, gender, age, and racial/ethnic variation in BMI, physical activity, and dietary habits is needed. The shifting demographics of urban college populations make urban college campuses an important setting for addressing the lifetime health needs of ethnically diverse urban populations.

Methods In this cross-sectional non-experimental study, we used …

Psychosocial Correlates Of Perceived Stress And Depressive Symptoms Among Help-Seeking Hispanic Smokers, Monica Webb Hooper Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Objectives: Research has demonstrated robust associations between perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and cigarette smoking. The extent to which these findings from the general population generalize to Hispanic smokers is unknown. The present study examined (a) correlates of perceived stress and depressive symptoms among help-seeking Hispanic smokers and (b) whether maladaptive coping and social support were related to stress and depressive symptoms. Design: Hispanic smokers (N=123) enrolled in an RCT completed demographic and smoking history, perceived stress, depressive symptoms, perceived social support, and maladaptive coping measures. Results: Bivariate associations indicated that perceived stress was positively correlated with depressive symptoms …

Dramatic Plays As A Tool To Educate Young African-American Females About Hiv/Aids, Jonathan N. Livingston, James Merryweather, Jessica Mohabir, Che' Smith, Nina Smith, Jacqueline Madry, Travis Knight, Dorothy M. Singleton, Seronda A. Robinson, Lisa Cothran, Dwayne Brandon, Alexis L. Slay, Camille Brown

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Rates of HIV/AIDS transmission have increased substantially, particularly among young African American women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HIV/AIDS is the number one killer for African American women aged 25 to 34. Given that many of these young women are contracting the disease in their late teens and early twenties, there is a need to develop interventions that directly address the needs of this group. The current study sought to assess the effectiveness of theater in increasing knowledge of HIV/AIDS and the likelihood of healthier sexual behavior and choices among 219 young African American women …

Parental Discussions About Sexual Risk With African American Sons: The Role Of Religiosity., Wadiya A. Udell, Geri R. Donenberg

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The current study investigated the relationship between parental religiosity (i.e., parent church attendance), and frequency of parent-youth communication about sexual risk (i.e., discussion about sex, and discussion about condom use) with African American boys. Participants were 65 parents of African American boys between the ages of 11 and 17 years. Results indicated no relationship between age and parent-son discussion about sexual risk. However, parental religiosity was negatively associated with frequency of communication with sons about sex and condom use. Parents who attended church more frequently reported fewer discussions about sex and condom use than parents who attended church less frequently. …

Are There Gender Differences In Perceived Sexual Self-Efficacy Among African-American Adolescents?, Michelle L. Redmond, Rhonda K. Lewis

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: African American adolescents accounted for more than half of all HIV/AIDS cases in 2009. Behavioral Strategies are needed to help lessen the incidence of HIV/AIDS among this population.

Purpose: The aim of his study was to examine sexual self-efficacy practices and beliefs among African American adolescents. We also examined gender differences between African American adolescents to better understand their perceptions of sexual self-efficacy, condom use intention, and other safer sex practices and beliefs.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 214 African American adolescents using survey instruments to examine their beliefs, perception and intentions on the use of condoms, …

To Test Or Not To Test: Barriers And Solutions To Testing African American College Students For Hiv At A Historically Black College/University, Naomi M. Hall-Byers, Jennifer Peterson, Malynnda Johnson

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Young African Americans are disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The purpose was to identify reasons that African American college students at a historically Black college/university (HBCU) identified as barriers to HIV testing, and how these barriers can be removed. Fifty-seven heterosexual-identified undergraduate students (ages 18-25) attending an HBCU in the southeastern US participated in the study. Latent content analytic techniques were used to code the transcripts for themes and categories, and representative quotations were used in the findings. Qualitative data indicates three main themes used to avoid testing and three themes to encourage testing. Students were forthcoming …

The Relationship Between Sex-Typing And Help-Seeking Behaviors In Adults, Joshua Juvrud

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The process of expressing what is masculine promotes attitudes and behaviors that can discourage men from seeking help, contributing to numerous health issues in males. The purpose of this study was to explore how personally endorsed gender stereotypes vs. gender stereotyped attitudes impacted help-seeking behavior. In the current study, female and male adults completed challenging puzzle tasks, recalled previous health help-seeking behavior, and completed sex-typed measures. Females utilized personally endorsed gender stereotypes more during the puzzle tasks, while males utilized both personally endorsed gender stereotypes as well as gender stereotyped attitudes. When males recalled health-related events, however, personally endorsed feminine …

Interactive Video Gaming: Do We Feel Like We Are Exercising?, Antonio Santo, Shaelee Allen, Janet Dufek, Paul Hafen, Michael Jarrett, Krystina Moschella, Robert Rietjens, James Navalta, Richard Tandy, Jacob E. Barkley

Interdisciplinary Research Scholarship Day

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and hedonics (liking or enjoyment) changed during 30 contiguous minutes of playing select, interactive video games on the Nintendo Wii system. A secondary purpose was to determine if RPE and liking differed among games.These data suggest that individuals do perceive difference in the amount of work they are performing during extended play of the same game or among sedentary and physically interactive games. Additionally, liking was similar during extended game play and among games suggesting that the physical interaction with the game may be …

Still In The Shadows: A Content Analysis Of Sexual Addiction In Couple Therapy, Austin Ellis, Quintin Hunt, Tod Young, Rebecca Nemecek, Jordan Staples, Stephen Fife, Colleen Peterson

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

There is no universally accepted definition of “sex addiction” in the literature, though it is generally understood as persistent patterns of sexual behaviors acted out despite negative consequences to self or others (Kafka, 2010; Levine, 2010). Though sexual addictions are often addressed individually, most take place within a social context that includes family members and/or intimate relationships. The purpose of this presentation is to present the results of a content analysis of M/CFT peer-reviewed journals and summarize the extent to which this literature addresses sexual addictions and couples therapy. The content analysis adds to the existing literature by examining the …

Binge Eating Disorder Mediates Links Between Symptoms Of Depression And Anxiety And Caloric Intake In Obese Women, Roseann E. Peterson, Shawn J. Latendresse, Lindsay T. Bartholome, Cortney S. Warren, Nancy C. Raymond

Psychology Faculty Research

Despite considerable comorbidity between mood disorders, binge eating disorder (BED), and obesity, the underlying mechanisms remain unresolved. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine models by which internalizing behaviors of depression and anxiety influence food intake in overweight/obese women. Thirty-two women (15 BED, 17 controls) participated in a laboratory eating-episode and completed questionnaires assessing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Path analysis was used to test mediation and moderation models to determine the mechanisms by which internalizing symptoms influenced kilocalorie (kcal) intake. The BED group endorsed significantly more symptoms of depression (10.1 versus 4.8, P=0.005 ) and anxiety (8.5 …

Health Effects Associated With Foreclosure: A Secondary Analysis Of Hospital Discharge Data, Nancy N. Menzel, Sheniz Moonie, Melva Thompson-Robinson

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the health effects of high home foreclosure rates in an area of the United States of America and the utility of hospital discharge data for this purpose.

Methods: We analyzed hospital discharge data from three postal zip codes using the principal diagnosis for 25 Diagnostic Related Groups associated with stress. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize hospital discharge rates for each condition by year and zip code. To test for differences across time, the Cochran-Armitage trend test was performed.

Results: Most conditions did not demonstrate a statistical change between 2005 and …

The Influence Of Ethnic Identity And Family Support On Posttraumatic Symptoms In Maltreated Youth, Harpreet Kaur

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Maltreated children are at greater risk of developing PTSD than nonmaltreated children (Ackerman et al., 1998; Epstein et al., 1997; Famularo et al., 1996; Kilpatrick et al., 2003; Widom, 1999). This study sought to assess the role of ethnicity, ethnic identity, and family support on the effects of maltreatment and trauma in adolescents. Participants (n=145) included adolescents from Child Haven, a Department of Family Services (DFS)-related site in Las Vegas, and youths in foster care assessed at the offices of Dr. Stephanie Holland. The first hypothesis was that non-Caucasian youth would have higher levels of PTSD-related symptoms than Caucasian youth. …

Pain Tolerance And Thresholds In Women With Dyspareunia: Do Pain And Sex Primes Have Differential Effects?, Lea Thaler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Dyspareunia, defined as recurrent pain in the genital/pelvic region during sexual intercourse, is one of the most common types of female sexual dysfunction, affecting approximately 15% of women between the ages of 18 and 24. Women with dyspareunia display similar cognitive and emotional styles evidenced in other chronic pain conditions (e.g. hypervigilance for pain information, catastrophization, and negative affect); however, dyspareunia is a unique pain disorder in that it directly involves sexual functioning. This pairing of pain and sex raises the issue of conditioning. Is it possible that because intercourse is painful for women with dyspareunia, the presentation of any …

Examining The Experience Of Recent War Veterans Who Report Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Neda C. Raymond

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder that develops following exposure to a traumatic event, has long been associated with military combat. Despite the well-documented negative effects of PTSD, careful, in-depth accounts of the experience of those suffering from PTSD are rare. The present study employed Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES) to explore the inner experience of seven Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans with combat-related PTSD. Potential participants completed the PTSD Checklist - Military Version to determine the presence and severity of PTSD symptomatology. Participants who reported significant symptoms of combat-related PTSD participated in DES. A …

To Consult Or Not To Consult? Investigating Barriers To Dysparenia Treatment-Seeking In Young Women, Robyn L. Donaldson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Little is known about mediators of treatment-seeking in dyspareunia. The general health belief literature as well as some existing qualitative data specific to dyspareunia, however, suggests a number of potentially significant barriers that may delay or prevent women from enlisting the aid of health care professionals. The aim of this study was to investigate influences on dyspareunia treatment-seeking behavior in young women, for whom the consequences of treatment avoidance are hypothesized to be the greatest. Given the lack of standardized health behavior measures relevant to intercourse pain, we constructed a measure assessing potential barriers to dyspareunia treatment-seeking. An exploratory principal …

Relative Deprivation, Relative Gratification, Status, And Health, Samuel A. Holland

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The role of perceived inequity in health was assessed and compared to other social constructs predicted to be relevant in the relationship between inequity and health. Four studies were conducted that demonstrated that a social comparison-based measure of relative deprivation (RD) and relative gratification (RG) can predict health and continues to do so even after accounting for perceived stress, personal income, perceived control, and social participation. A measure of RD/RG was developed that was based on prominent social comparisons and objects of comparison. This measure was reliable and predictive of health in two samplings of different populations. Comparisons of the …

Descriptive Experience Sampling Of Individuals With Bulimia Nervosa, Sharon Jones-Forrester

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Despite 30 years of research, much remains unknown about inner experience in individuals with bulimia nervosa (BN); yet attaining a clearer understanding of inner experience in BN may prove to be crucial in uncovering the nature of this profoundly disruptive disorder. The present study used Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES) to examine inner experience in 13 participants with BN, replicating to some degree Doucette (1992) and Jones-Forrester (2006). Results in the present study were largely consistent with Doucette (1992) and Jones-Forrester (2006) but substantially different from beliefs about inner experience from the extant non-exploratory DES BN literature. Specifically, the present study …

Asthma Severity In School-Children And The Quality Of Life Of Their Parents, Noelle S. Cerdan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background . The everyday management of a child with asthma can affect the parent's quality of life. Past studies which examined the effects of asthma characteristics of the child on parental quality of life have not reached a consensus over findings. Few studies examine parent characteristics such as mental health and sociodemographics on the quality of life of parents of asthmatic children.

Purpose . To examine the effect of asthma severity of school-children and sociodemographic characteristics onthe caregiver's quality of life. It also investigates whether agreement exists between the caregiver's perception of asthma severity and physician-diagnosed asthma severity.

Methodology . …

Advance Practice Nurses Readiness To Change Assessment Methods In Parents Of Obese Children, Carolyn Leach

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The worldwide epidemic of child and adolescent overweight and obesity continues to increase at disturbing rates. Unhealthy dietary practice is one of multiple causative behaviors leading to child and adolescent overweight and obesity. This behavior can contribute to short and long-term health consequences. Parents are modulators in the development of children's dietary behavior practices. It is recommended clinical practice that pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) assess readiness to change behavior in parents of overweight or obese children. The components of the Prochaska and DiClemente's Transtheoretical Model (TTM) in correlation with the counseling style of Rollnick, Miller and Butler's methods of Motivational …

What Makes Women Tired? A Community Sample, Donna E. Stewart, Susan Abbey, Marta Meana, Katherine M. Boydell

Psychology Faculty Research

We aimed to determine the major health concerns or problems of women and their personal attributions for the causes of their primary health concerns. We used a survey of women from the Toronto area attending a women's health symposium. Completed questionnaires were returned by 153 (85%) of 180 women attendees. Persistent fatigue was the primary and most commonly cited health concern. Fatigue was ranked first by 42 (27.5%) women and among the top 10 concerns by 123 (80.4%) women. Women attributed their fatigue to a combination of home and outside work (63.4%), poor sleep (38.2%), lack of time for self …

Chronic Pain: The Extra Burden On Canadian Women, Marta Meana, Robert Cho, Marie Desmeules

Psychology Faculty Research

Health Issue

Chronic pain is a major health problem associated with significant costs to both afflicted individuals and society as a whole. These costs seem to be disproportionately borne by women, who generally have higher prevalence rates for chronic pain than do men.

Key findings

Data obtained from 125,574 respondents to the Canadian Community Health Survey (2000–2001) indicated that 18% of Canadian women suffered from chronic pain, compared to 14% of men. This gender discrepancy, however, seemed to be linked primarily to differences in age, income, and education between adult men and women in this large sample. Age, income, depression …

Chronic Pain: The Extra Burden On Canadian Women, Marta Meana, Robert Cho, Marie Desmeules

Psychology Faculty Research

Health Issue: Chronic pain is a major health problem associated with significant costs to both afflicted individuals and society as a whole. These costs seem to be disproportionately borne by women, who generally have higher prevalence rates for chronic pain than do men.

Key findings: Data obtained from 125,574 respondents to the Canadian Community Health Survey (2000–2001) indicated that 18% of Canadian women suffered from chronic pain, compared to 14% of men. This gender discrepancy, however, seemed to be linked primarily to differences in age, income, and education between adult men and women in this large sample. Age, income, depression …

Physician-Related Determinants Of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Caribbean Women In Toronto, Ilene Hyman, Punam Mony Singh, Marta Meana, Usha George, Lilian M. Wells, Donna E. Stewart

Psychology Faculty Research

BACKGROUND: Minority women in Canada are less likely to be screened for cervical cancer than their counterparts in the general population, despite the fact that the proportion of these women who consult a general practitioner about their health each year is similar to minority women. This study examined the physician and practice characteristics associated with Pap testing and perceived barriers to Pap testing of family physicians serving the Caribbean community of Toronto.

METHODS: A mail-back questionnaire was sent to Toronto family physicians practicing in neighborhoods with a high proportion of Caribbean Canadians.

RESULTS: Although 79.7% of the 64 participating physicians …

Patient Preference For The Management Of Mildly Abnormal Papanicolau Smears, Marta Meana, Donna E. Stewart, Gordon M. Lickrish, Joan Murphy, Barry Rosen

Psychology Faculty Research

The article provides information on a study that investigated management preference and desire for decision-making involvement in women who have received a first mildly abnormal Papanicolaou smear. The majority of women in this highly educated sample preferred active management of their mildly abnormal Pap smears, although a substantial minority either opted for the surveillance strategy or reported no strong preference. Furthermore, management preference in this sample was not related to knowledge but rather to level of state anxiety. This indicates that these decisions may be guided more by emotions than by facts. Research has shown repeatedly that abnormal Pap smears …

The Meeting Of Pain And Depression: Comorbidity In Women, Marta Meana

Psychology Faculty Research

The higher prevalence of depression in women is coupled with a higher prevalence of pain complaints. Growing evidence suggests that the comorbidity of these conditions is also proportionately higher in women than men. This paper critically reviews the empirical findings relating to gender differences in comorbid pain and depression as well as findings in support of hypothesized etiologic factors that could explain why women may be more susceptible than men to comorbidity. The empirical evidence for biogenic, psychogenic, and sociogenic explanatory models is presented, and an integration of these models is proposed as a guideline to both research and clinical …

Cardiac Rehabilitation: Gender Differences In Factors Influencing Participation, Lani Lieberman, Marta Meana, Donna E. Stewart

Psychology Faculty Research

This study investigates gender differences in the barriers and incentives that are most influential in the coronary patient's decision to participate in cardiac rehabilitation (CRPs) and suggests strategies to counter these barriers. Patient surveys were administered to consecutive English-speaking attenders and referred nonattenders to a cardiac rehabilitation center at a university healthcare system in Toronto, Canada. A survey questionnaire, constructed from a literature review and advice from key informants, examined potential factors affecting decisions to engage in CRPs. One129 attenders at a CRP and 61 referred nonattenders completed the questionnaire. Physician recommendation was reported to be the most important factor …

Affect And Marital Adjustment In Women’S Rating Of Dyspareunic Pain, Marta Meana, Irv Binik, Sainir Khalife, Deborah Cohen

Psychology Faculty Research

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the extent to which depressive symptomatology, anxiety, and marital adjustment mediate pain ratings in women suffering from dyspareunia.

METHOD: Seventy-six women with dyspareunia were administered the depression and anxiety scales of Derogatis's Brief Symptom Inventory and the McGill Pain Questionnaire. They also underwent a manual-visual gynecological examination, an ultrasound, and a colposcopy in an attempt to identify potential evidence and type of organicity.

RESULTS: Depressive symptomatology, anxiety, and marital adjustment together accounted for a significant amount of the variance in pain ratings, although only anxiety and marital adjustment were independent predictors of pain ratings in the entire …