A incidência global de obesidade tem aumentado nas últimas décadas e o consumo excessivo de alimentos industrializados ricos em açúcar e gordura está entre suas principais causas. Pesquisas recentes têm mostrado que estes alimentos desencadeiam mecanismos neurais e comportamentos semelhantes à adicção a drogas. Sabe-se que hábitos e preferências alimentares de adultos são adquiridos na infância, mas intervenções efetivas para prevenção da obesidade e suas comorbidades em crianças e adolescentes ainda constituem um desafio para a saúde pública. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar os efeitos do consumo de dieta de cafeteria e retirada desta no comportamento alimentar, peso corporal, perfil lipídico, regularidade do ciclo estral, e comportamento de ansiedade e motivação. Ratas Wistar tiveram acesso limitado a itens alimentares de consumo humano de alta densidade energética por quatro semanas, ao final das quais foi realizada a retirada da dieta experimental de duas maneiras: para um grupo total e brusca, e para outro gradual durante uma semana. Após essa retirada, que simula dietas humanas de restrição, as ratas foram submetidas a testes comportamentais para avaliar ansiedade (labirinto em cruz elevado), e motivação para restabelecimento do acesso à dieta de cafeteria (modelo de restabelecimento). O grupo submetido à dieta de cafeteria apresentou maior consumo de gorduras totais e saturadas (p<0,05), e menor consumo de proteínas totais e fibras (p<0,05). Apesar disso, o consumo energético diário entre os grupos não atingiu diferença estatisticamente significativa, assim como o peso corporal das ratas. Após retirada da dieta de cafeteria, o consumo energético foi reduzido significativamente, porém, não acompanhado de perda de peso. Houve diferença significativa no perfil lipídico, sendo que ratas do grupo Cafeteria Sem Retirada tiveram os maiores valores de colesterol total e colesterol LDL (p<0,05). As ratas que sofreram retirada da dieta de cafeteria tiveram seus valores de colesterol similares às alimentadas somente com ração. A retirada completa da dieta de cafeteria e consequente diminuição do consumo energético foi responsável por irregularidade no ciclo estral das ratas. Os resultados no labirinto em cruz elevado não atingiram diferença estatisticamente significativa. O grupo Ração passou mais tempo no lado claro (p<0,05), conforme mostrado pelo teste de restabelecimento. A oferta limitada, de curto prazo, pós-desmame da dieta de cafeteria foi efetiva no desenvolvimento de compulsão alimentar em ratas adolescentes, porém sem evidências de vício alimentar. É provável que a obesidade seja condição necessária para o vício. Esperamos que os resultados deste estudo contribuam para o conhecimento da relação entre qualidade da dieta e comportamento alimentar e de adicção em ratas adolescentes. / The global incidence of obesity has steadily risen in the last decades and the excessive intake of industrialized food rich in sugar and fat is among its main causes. Recent researches have shown that these foods activate neural mechanism and behaviors similar to what is seen with drug addiction. It is known that adults eating habits and preferences are generally established during childhood, but effective preventive measures against obesity and its comorbities in children and adolescents are still a current public health challenge. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a cafeteria diet intake and withdrawal on eating behavior, body weight, lipid profile, estrous cycle regularity, and anxiety-like and motivational behavior. Female Wistar rats had limited access to energy-dense food items typically consumed by humans for four weeks, at the end of which, withdrawal from this diet occurred in one of two ways: for a group withdrawal was abrupt and total, and for another group, gradual for one week. After withdrawal, which attempts to mimic human restrictive dieting, we evaluated rats anxiety-like behavior through the elevated plus maze, and their motivation to reinstate access to the cafeteria diet through a reinstatement model. Daily energy intake between groups did not reach significant difference, as well as their body weight. Cafeteria fed rats did gain weight at a faster pace, and had a significant greater intake of total and saturated fat, and sodium (p<0.05); and a significantly lower intake of proteins and fibers (p<0.05). Groups that underwent withdrawal reduced their caloric intake significantly, but there was no weight loss. Rats with continuous access to cafeteria diet also had higher levels of total and LDL cholesterol (p<0.05), and rats from withdrawal groups had their cholesterol levels similar to chow-only animals. The total withdrawal of the cafeteria diet and resulting lower energy intake were also responsible for estrous cycle irregularities. There was no significant difference in rats performance in the EPM test. Chow only rats spent significantly more time in an aversive setting in order to gain access to an item from the cafeteria diet (p<0.05). The limited, short term, post-weaning offer of a cafeteria diet was effective in developing compulsive eating disorder, but without signs of food addiction. It is likely that obesity is precedent to the development of addiction. We expect that the results from this project contribute to the ongoing discussion and investigation on eating and addiction behavior in female adolescents rats.

A leptospirose bovina é uma das principais doenças reprodutivas que interfere diretamente nos índices de produção e produtividade da pecuária brasileira e mundial e por isso necessita de um aprimoramento do diagnóstico laboratorial. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi investigar a conveniência do emprego de estirpes de leptospiras autóctones isoladas no Brasil, na coleção de antígenos da microtécnica de soroaglutinação microscópica (SAM) aplicada a leptospirose. A coleção de antígenos de referência foi constituída pelos sorovares: Australis, Bratislava, Autumnalis, Butembo, Castellonis, Bataviae, Canicola, Whitcombi, Cynopteri, Grippotyphosa, Hebdomadis, Copenhageni, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Javanica, Panama, Pomona, Pyrogenes, Hardjo, Wolffi, Shermani, Tarassovi, Patoc e Sentot. As dez estirpes isoladas no Brasil incluíram os sorovares: Bananal (duas estirpes), Brasiliensis, Canicola (três estirpes), Copenhageni, Guaricura e Pomona (duas estirpes). Foram amostradas por conveniência, 109 propriedades e 9820 bovinos, fêmeas em idade de procriar, distribuídos em 84 municípios, dos Estados de: Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina e São Paulo. Dos 9820 animais examinados, 5806 (59,12%) foram reagentes na SAM para qualquer sorovar com a coleção de 23 sorovares de referência. Com a coleção de antígenos de referência e dez estirpes autóctones houve 6400 (65,17%) reagentes, a diferença observada foi significante (p= 0,001). O único Estado em que não houve diferença significante no número de animais reatores para qualquer sorovar foi o de Santa Catarina (p=0,522). Das 109 propriedades trabalhadas, 106 foram consideradas positivas com pelo menos um animal reagente na SAM. Não houve diferença no número de propriedades positivas segundo a coleção de antígenos empregada. Os sorovares mais prováveis identificados com a coleção de antígenos de referência foram Hardjo (43,03 %), Shermani (20 %), Wolffi (9,96%), Grippothyphosa (5,42%) e Pomona (4,28%). Com a coleção ampliada por dez estirpes isoladas no Brasil, os sorovares mais prováveis foram Hardjo (31,00%), Guaricura - M4/84 (22,50%), Shermani (15,43%), Wolffi (4,76%), Grippothyphosa (3,71%) e Autumnalis (3,24%). O sorovar Guaricura, estirpe M4/84, isolada de bovinos e búfalos no Estado de São Paulo, foi o primeiro colocado como sorovar mais provável no Estado de Mato Grosso, diferença significante do valor obtido para o sorovar Hardjo (p= 0,0001). No Mato Grosso do Sul a despeito do valor absoluto ter sido superior para o sorovar Guaricura, a diferença observada com o sorovar Hardjo foi destituída de significado estatístico (p=.0,753). Em São Paulo o Guraricura foi o segundo colocado e em Minas Gerais Goiás ocupou a terceira posição. Esta mesma estirpe foi a mais provável em 27 propriedades das 109 trabalhadas (24,77%). A introdução de estirpes autóctones na coleção de antígenos da SAM propiciou a confirmação do diagnóstico de leptospirose em 594 animais (6,00%) classificados como não reagentes pela coleção de referência (p=0,001) / Bovine leptospirosis is one of the main reproductive diseases which interferes economically on the livestock and thus it is needed the amelioration of the laboratory diagnostic procedures. The aim of this work is to investigate the adequacy to use autochthonous strains of leptospires isolated in Brazil, added into the antigen collection applied for the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). The reference antigen collection was constituted by the following serovars: Australis, Bratislava, Autumnalis, Butembo, Castellonis, Bataviae, Canicola, Whitcombi, Cynopteri, Grippothyphosa, Hebdomadis, Copenhageni, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Javanica, Panama, Pomona, Pyrogenes, Hardjo, Wolffi, Shermani, Tarassovi, Patoc and Sentot. The ten strains isolated in Brazil included the serovars: Bananal (two strains), Brasiliensis, Canicola (three strains), Copenhageni, Guaricura and Pomona (two strains). By means of non-probability sampling, 109 farms and 9,820 bovines, females at reproductive age were chosen from the 84 municipalities of the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina e São Paulo . Among the 9,820 examined animals, 5,806 (59.12%) were reactants to the MAT for any serovar using the 23 reference serovars. Using the collection of reference serovars and the ten autochthonous strains there were 6,400 (65.24%) reactants, and the difference found was significant (p=0.001). The only state with non-significant results in the number of reactants for any serovar was the State of Santa Catarina (p=0.522). Of the 109 properties analyzed, 106 were considered positive at least with one reactant animal by MAT. According to the antigens used, there was no significant difference among the properties. The most probable serovars identified by the collection of reference antigens were Hardjo (43.03%), Shermani (20.00%), Wolfi (9.96%), Grippothyphosa (5.42%) and Pomona (4.28%). With the collection amplified with the ten strains isolated in Brazil, the most probable serovars were Hardjo (31.00%), Guaricura M4/84 (22.50%), Shermani (15.43%), Wolffi (4.76%), Grippothyphosa (3.71%) and Autumnalis (3.24%). The serovar Guaricura, strain M4/84, isolated from bovines and buffaloes in the State of São Paulo, was ranked at the first place as the most probable serovar in the State of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, but the differences observed with the serovar Hardjo were significant only in Mato Grosso (p=0,0001). In São Paulo State, the Guaricura serovar was the second most probable and in the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás the third one. This same strain was the most probable in 27 properties among the 109 examined (24.77%). The addition of autochthonous strains into the MAT antigen collection provided the confirmation of the diagnosis of leptospirosis in 594 animals (6.00%) which have been classified as non-reactants by the reference collection

A incidência global de obesidade tem aumentado nas últimas décadas e o consumo excessivo de alimentos industrializados ricos em açúcar e gordura está entre suas principais causas. Pesquisas recentes têm mostrado que estes alimentos desencadeiam mecanismos neurais e comportamentos semelhantes à adicção a drogas. Sabe-se que hábitos e preferências alimentares de adultos são adquiridos na infância, mas intervenções efetivas para prevenção da obesidade e suas comorbidades em crianças e adolescentes ainda constituem um desafio para a saúde pública. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar os efeitos do consumo de dieta de cafeteria e retirada desta no comportamento alimentar, peso corporal, perfil lipídico, regularidade do ciclo estral, e comportamento de ansiedade e motivação. Ratas Wistar tiveram acesso limitado a itens alimentares de consumo humano de alta densidade energética por quatro semanas, ao final das quais foi realizada a retirada da dieta experimental de duas maneiras: para um grupo total e brusca, e para outro gradual durante uma semana. Após essa retirada, que simula dietas humanas de restrição, as ratas foram submetidas a testes comportamentais para avaliar ansiedade (labirinto em cruz elevado), e motivação para restabelecimento do acesso à dieta de cafeteria (modelo de restabelecimento). O grupo submetido à dieta de cafeteria apresentou maior consumo de gorduras totais e saturadas (p<0,05), e menor consumo de proteínas totais e fibras (p<0,05). Apesar disso, o consumo energético diário entre os grupos não atingiu diferença estatisticamente significativa, assim como o peso corporal das ratas. Após retirada da dieta de cafeteria, o consumo energético foi reduzido significativamente, porém, não acompanhado de perda de peso. Houve diferença significativa no perfil lipídico, sendo que ratas do grupo Cafeteria Sem Retirada tiveram os maiores valores de colesterol total e colesterol LDL (p<0,05). As ratas que sofreram retirada da dieta de cafeteria tiveram seus valores de colesterol similares às alimentadas somente com ração. A retirada completa da dieta de cafeteria e consequente diminuição do consumo energético foi responsável por irregularidade no ciclo estral das ratas. Os resultados no labirinto em cruz elevado não atingiram diferença estatisticamente significativa. O grupo Ração passou mais tempo no lado claro (p<0,05), conforme mostrado pelo teste de restabelecimento. A oferta limitada, de curto prazo, pós-desmame da dieta de cafeteria foi efetiva no desenvolvimento de compulsão alimentar em ratas adolescentes, porém sem evidências de vício alimentar. É provável que a obesidade seja condição necessária para o vício. Esperamos que os resultados deste estudo contribuam para o conhecimento da relação entre qualidade da dieta e comportamento alimentar e de adicção em ratas adolescentes. / The global incidence of obesity has steadily risen in the last decades and the excessive intake of industrialized food rich in sugar and fat is among its main causes. Recent researches have shown that these foods activate neural mechanism and behaviors similar to what is seen with drug addiction. It is known that adults eating habits and preferences are generally established during childhood, but effective preventive measures against obesity and its comorbities in children and adolescents are still a current public health challenge. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a cafeteria diet intake and withdrawal on eating behavior, body weight, lipid profile, estrous cycle regularity, and anxiety-like and motivational behavior. Female Wistar rats had limited access to energy-dense food items typically consumed by humans for four weeks, at the end of which, withdrawal from this diet occurred in one of two ways: for a group withdrawal was abrupt and total, and for another group, gradual for one week. After withdrawal, which attempts to mimic human restrictive dieting, we evaluated rats anxiety-like behavior through the elevated plus maze, and their motivation to reinstate access to the cafeteria diet through a reinstatement model. Daily energy intake between groups did not reach significant difference, as well as their body weight. Cafeteria fed rats did gain weight at a faster pace, and had a significant greater intake of total and saturated fat, and sodium (p<0.05); and a significantly lower intake of proteins and fibers (p<0.05). Groups that underwent withdrawal reduced their caloric intake significantly, but there was no weight loss. Rats with continuous access to cafeteria diet also had higher levels of total and LDL cholesterol (p<0.05), and rats from withdrawal groups had their cholesterol levels similar to chow-only animals. The total withdrawal of the cafeteria diet and resulting lower energy intake were also responsible for estrous cycle irregularities. There was no significant difference in rats performance in the EPM test. Chow only rats spent significantly more time in an aversive setting in order to gain access to an item from the cafeteria diet (p<0.05). The limited, short term, post-weaning offer of a cafeteria diet was effective in developing compulsive eating disorder, but without signs of food addiction. It is likely that obesity is precedent to the development of addiction. We expect that the results from this project contribute to the ongoing discussion and investigation on eating and addiction behavior in female adolescents rats.

Females have been discouraged from taking science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classes during high school and college, resulting in limited access to high-paying STEM careers. Therefore, these females could miss opportunities for these high-paying careers. The rationale of this research was to quantify the relationship between the number of STEM classes the sampled females took, the number of female role models they had during high school and college, their career choices, and salaries. The theoretical construct was based on Erikson's social developmental theory, which postulates a relationship between earlier life events and later life events, and Acker's masculinity theory, which postulates that females in traditionally male fields may be uneasy performing functions opposite to what they naturally perform. Key questions examined the relationships between STEM classes, role models, career choices, and salaries. The sample was a stratified random sample (n = 48) of female alumnae of 4 universities, born after 1980. Data were collected from a designed online instrument, validated by a pilot. The data were analyzed with a multiple regression and an analysis of variance. The findings revealed a significant relationship between the number of STEM classes, career choices and salary. However, there was no significance found between the numbers of role models, career choices and salary The implication for social change is that by making scholars in the fields of education and management aware about the relationship between the number of STEM classes taken, career choices, and salaries, females can be more encouraged to become interested in STEM courses earlier in life, making it more likely they will choose STEM careers This can be accomplished through scholarly journals, which hopefully will improve perceptions of the STEM abilities of females.

The human papilloma virus (HPV) is the most frequent cause of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and cancers for U.S. adults. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), enacted in 2010, eliminated copay expenses for childhood immunizations and expanded access to health care. The purpose of this secondary data analysis study was to determine if there was an association between ACA and the usage of HPV vaccine among adolescent females in Georgia. Data concerning HPV vaccinations from 2011 to 2015 were obtained from the National Immunization Survey-Teen dataset. Andersen's BM of health care use was applied to ascertain the factors that enhanced the usage of HPV vaccine. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine if there was any association between ACA and HPV vaccination. The study results showed a significant association between ACA and provider visit (p<.05). Also, provider visit was significantly associated with HPV vaccination rate (p<.05). Adolescent females with health insurance had a higher rate of provider visit after the passage of ACA. From 2011 to 2015, 87.2% of insured adolescent females visited their provider. The rate of HPV vaccination increased among the insured adolescent females who visited the provider from 35.3% in 2011 to 53.9% in 2015. Provider visit was identified as the most influencing factor that enhanced usage of HPV vaccine. The knowledge gained from the results contributed to social change by providing insight on how, through increased provider visits, ACA has improved the HPV vaccination rate among teenage females in Georgia. The conclusion will assist in developing effective strategies and policies that will achieve the Healthy People 2020 goal of 80% of herd immunity against HPV.

Teenage pregnancy is disproportionate between African American and Caucasian females. This disproportion is notable because African American teenagers are 3 times more likely to become pregnant than their Caucasian counterparts are. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists among major life events, sexual behaviors, and resultant teenage pregnancy among African American females in the United States. The theoretical framework for this study was social learning theory. Three key research questions focused on relationships among (a) major life events and initial sexual behavior, (b) ethnicity, and (c) teenage pregnancy. Independent variables were life event and ethnicity, and dependent variables were teenage pregnancy and initial sexual behavior. The population sample included a total of 12,284 data observations of African American and Caucasian females. Hypotheses were tested using logistic regression and independent sample t tests. The study used public domain data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Survey of Family Growth. Study results indicated that Research Question (RQ) 1 confirmed that life events are a statistically significant predictor of teen pregnancy. RQ2 confirmed that no significant relationship exists between Caucasian and African American adolescent females and the existence of teen pregnancy. RQ3 confirmed significant mean differences in the age of first sexual intercourse between Caucasians and African Americans. This study may contribute to positive social change by educating and empowering teenage African American women about teen pregnancy, enhancing their social competence, and potentially preventing unwanted pregnancy.

An association between persistent Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in women and cervical cancer has been established. Young women are particularly at risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections such as HPV because of risky sexual activity and physiological immaturity. While at risk though, young women have been shown to be amenable to health promoting initiatives. There are a small number of international studies concerning adolescent HPV infection and the risk factors associated with infection, but there is currently no evidence on the prevalence and risk factors for HPV in an Australian, sexually active female adolescent population. This study aimed to provide evidence of the prevalence of HPV, risk factors associated with infection and the patterns of sexual activity in a female sexually active, senior high school population in the Australian Capital Territory. Participants in this study were a convenience sample of 161 sexually active 16-19 year old females who had an HPV test who were attending a senior high school in the Australian Capital Territory. Nurses and doctors using a clinical record collected information about sexual and other risk behaviours. Self-obtained vaginal swabs were tested for HPV DNA using the polymerase chain reaction method and genotyping was undertaken. The HPV prevalence in this cohort of young women was 1 1.2%. High-risk genotypes were found in 55.5% and multiple genotypes were found in 38.8%. There was a significant association found between HPV infection and having had more than one male partner with whom vaginal intercourse had occurred in the previous six months. No statistically significant association was found between HPV and the age of coitarche, length of time young women had been sexually active, condom use, and smoking or alcohol intake. A young age at coitarche was common for this group. Smoking and alcohol use was seen in large proportions in this group. This is the first Australian study that has examined the prevalence and risk factors for genital HPV in this demographic group. The HPV prevalence is lower than in international studies in comparable groups, in similar age groups and much lower than in older women both in Australia and overseas. With the comparatively low prevalence comes an opportunity for important public health interventions for this group including routine Pap smears, vaccination against the high-risk types of HPV when this becomes available and strategies for young women to reduce their number of male sexual partners. A substantial amount of young women in this study were sexually active aged under 16 years. Whilst this was not identified as being a risk factor in this study, it is both a health and personal safety issue for these young women. There is a demonstrated need for health promotion strategies for this cohort about the consumption of safe levels of alcohol and for smoking cessation. Further research is recommended that includes a repetition of this study with a larger sample, the use of a prospective study design to identify trends in infection and examination of HPV prevalence and risk factors for a variety of populations.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2007. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-133).

Bakgrund: Vi lever idag i ett informationssamhälle där vi ständigt matas med ny kunskap och olika valmöjligheter. Ett område som har fått ökad plats på massmedias agenda på senare tid är hälsa och livsstil och dagligen exponeras vi människor av budskap över hur vi kan förbättra vår hälsa och ändra våra levnadsvanor. Syfte: Syftet med vår studie var att undersöka om en utvald grupp kvinnor mellan 17-65 år blir påverkade av massmedias hälsorapportering och de hälsobudskap de möter. Vi syftade även till att undersöka hur denna eventuella påverkan yttrar sig samt klargöra vilka eventuella skillnader det finns i påverkan mellan olika åldrar. Metod: För att få svar på våra frågor genomförde vi en kvalitativ studie med samtalsintervjuer som datainsamlingsmetod. Vi intervjuade 6 kvinnor i åldern 17-65 för att ta reda på deras upplevelser och tankar kring problemområdet. Slutsats: Resultatet av undersökningen visade att vår utvalda grupp kvinnor blir påverkade av massmedias hälsorapportering. Resultatet visade även att åldern har betydelse när det gäller hur och i vilken grad respondenterna blir påverkade av hälsobudskapen. Undersökningen visade att yngre kvinnor blir mer och lättare påverkade och denna påverkan har givit uttryck i bland annat ändrade mat- och motionsvanor. / Background: We are today living in an information society where we constantly are confronted with new knowledge and different options. An area that has got an increased place in the mass media agenda is health and lifestyle and we are daily exposed by messages about how we can improve our health and change our living habits. Aim: The aim with this study was to examine how a group of women between the ages 17-65 are being influenced by mass media health reports and the health messages they meet. A second aim was to examine how this conceivable influence appears in these women’s lives and elucidate which conceivable differences there are in influence between different ages. Method: We used a qualitative method to answer our questions. The study was based on interviews with 6 women between the ages 17-65 with hope to learn about their experiences and thoughts about the subject area. Conclusion: The result of our study showed that the group of women gets influenced by mass media health reports. The result also showed that age has an impact when it comes to how and how much the respondents are being influenced by the health messages. Our study showed that younger persons become more and easier influenced and this influence shows for example in a change of exercise- and eating habits.

The literature on clinical interventions for suicide prevention indicates that low-income, suicidal African American females are an historically underserved population. Contributing to this lack of service are the intersecting influences of race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and related oppressions (APA, 2007). In suicidal African American females, a higher level of reported symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder has been found in suicide attempters as compared to nonattempters (Kaslow et al., 2000), and PTSD has been shown to be associated with heightened risk of an ensuing suicide attempt (Wilcox, Storr, & Breslau, 2009). One factor affecting manifestation of PTSD symptoms is attachment style. When a person with an insecure attachment style experiences a traumatic event(s), they are more likely to develop PTSD (Dieperink, Leskela, Thuras, & Engdahl, 2001). However, if effective coping methods are learned, more severe symptoms of PTSD are less likely (e.g., DeRoma et al., 2003; Johnsen, Eid, Laberg, & Thayer, 2002). Multiple studies examining the relationship between attachment style and coping find insecure attachment linked to poor coping skills (e.g., Schmidt, Nachtigall, Wuethrich-Martone, & Strauss, 2002; Yih-Lan, 2003). Those with insecure attachment styles are more likely to employ less effective coping methods leading to increased distress and interpersonal problems. However, there is research to support the possibility of insecure attachment style shifting to a more secure form, potentially through learning coping skills that offset maladaptive coping. This study examined the mediating role of coping on the relationship between attachment style and PTSD symptoms. One hundred and fifty African American women enrolled in a project designed to understand the experiences of low income, African American women completed a Demographic Data Questionnaire, The Relationship Style Questionnaire (RSQ) (Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994), The Ways of Coping, Revised (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985), and The Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) (Foa, Cashman, Jaycox, & Perry, 1997). The relationships among factors were examined using Structural Equation Modeling. Results indicated a significant direct path between Insecure Attachment and PTSD Symptoms of moderately weak strength, between Insecure Attachment and Emotion-Focused Coping of moderate strength, and between Insecure Attachment and Problem-Focused Coping of moderately weak strength. However, neither Emotion-Focused nor Problem-Focused Coping mediated the relationship between Insecure Attachment and PTSD symptoms. Clinical implications, limitations of the study, and future directions are discussed in terms of these results.