Health Psychology Commons^™

The Relationships Among Competitiveness, Age And Ability In Distance Runners, Robert C. Eklund, Jeffrey J. Martin, Alan L. Smith

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships suggested by general achievement motivation literature and the popular literature in sport using the Sport Orientation Questionnaire (SOQ). The current study examined if faster runners are more competitive than slower runners, if older athletes were less competitive than younger athletes, and if faster runners were more goal oriented than slower runners. Distance runners (n=80), ranging from 10 to 61 years old completed race packets containing a cover letter, consent forms, the SOQ and a demographic questionnaire. Runners averaged 32.9 years of age and reported levels of competitiveness and goal …

Hiv Prevention And Heterosexual College Students: The Impact Of Video Instruction On The "Safer" Sexual Behaviors Of Sexually Active Men, Cheryl L. Knight

Dissertations

Despite increasing evidence of the heterosexual transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among young adults, research with college students has been primarily restricted to descriptions of the levels of risky behavior and the correlates of that behavior. To date, few experimentally validated HIV prevention programs have been reported. Furthermore, the existing experimental investigations have seldom based an intervention on a thorough analysis of the barriers to the practice of safer sex.

Experiment One surveyed 195 heterosexual college students to assess HIV risk factors, including sexual behavior, risk perception, knowledge and 10 barriers to the consistent practice of "safer" sex. …

Effects Of Caffeine Consumption On Cardiovascular Indices, Attention, Task Performance, And Memory Retention In Children, Suzanne L. Keller

Dissertations

Caffeine is one of the most commonly used drugs in the western world today. Average intake of caffeine in the United States has been estimated at greater than 200 mg daily per person. Although plagued by inconsistencies, and methodological problems, research suggests that this level of caffeine ingestion may have significant effects on cardiovascular functioning, and behavioral processes such as attention, cognitive processing, memory, and task performance.

Although children consume significant quantities of caffeine, very little research has been done on the effects of caffeine in children. The limited findings suggest that caffeine consumption may affect the cognitive and behavioral …

Nutrition, Fitness, Stress And Genital Herpes Recurrences, Carman E. Stark

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to extend the existing literature by assessing the relationship between several factors separately and combined, nutrition, fitness and stress, and herpes recurrence rates. It was hypothesized that the results from this study would indicate an inverse correlation between nutrition, fitness, and genital herpes recurrence rates and a positive correlation between stress and genital herpes. Each participant was asked to complete and return (a) two Computerized Nutrition Assessment Forms that provide a health history profile and a record of food choices and portions over two, three-day periods; (b) The Hassle Scale that provides a weekly …

Violence Prevention In The Schools, Deborah B. Prothrow-Stith

New England Journal of Public Policy

Violence and its consequent injury and death represent a major health problem in this country. The United States has one of the highest homicide rates in the industrialized world: ten times higher than that of England and twenty times higher than that of Spain. Fatalities from violence represent only the tip of the iceberg: nonfatal intentional injuries occur as many as one hundred times more frequently: assault and intentional injuries identified in medical studies can be four times those reported to the police, suggesting that medical institutions are a primary site for identification of individuals with violence-related problems. Violence and …

Framework For Support: Desired Relationships Between Self-Help-Groups And Professionals, Vicente Constantino

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In this study I sought to find out how self-help groups and professionals perceive and relate to one another. The stakeholders involved in this study were self-help group members (psychiatric consumers/survivors and families and friends of consumers/survivors) and community-based and hospital-based professionals. The research questions were as follows: 1. What are the experiences and views of consumers/survivors and family self- help group members with regard to community-based and hospital-based professionals? 2. What are the experiences and views of community-based and hospital-based professionals with regard to consumers/survivors and family self-help groups? 3. What kind of relationship with professionals do self-helpers want? …

The Use Of Dance In The Promotion Of Mental Health In Girls: An Exploratory Study, Irene E. Rossberg-Gempton

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study had two purposes: (1) to understand how girls experience dance and (2) to examine the idea of using dance as a venue to promote psychological well—being and artistic growth in young children. Fifteen girls between the ages of 3 1/2 and 10 years old participated in a dance program offering dance warm ups, dance techniques, sequential dance steps, pantomime explorations, and creative dance. Methods of data collection included journal notes, video—taped observations, parental interviews, and children's self—reports, drawings, and interviews. The formative evaluation of this dance program indicated that the participants of this small rural community had happy …