Despite a rise in the number of studies looking at the relationship of psychosocial factors (coping style, personality type, and social support) on HIV/AIDS severity, there remains a lack of conclusive answers about the specific association between these factors. This study used a meta-analytic method of analysis to address these issues in the post anti-retroviral treatment modality world. A systematic search of major psychology and medical computerized databases led to 110 studies used in the meta-analysis. Social support was found to have the strongest relationship with HIV progression. Structural social support had greater protective effect on HIV progression than functional social support. A significant relationship between coping type and HIV severity was found, with a greater protective benefit seen in studies that utilized CD4 count as the outcome variable. Positive coping had a beneficial effect on HIV progression while passive and negative coping had a detrimental effect on disease progression. Among studies of personality, a weak relationship was found between personality type and HIV severity. In conclusion, the meta-analytical review found significant associations between psychosocial factors and HIV severity that could be used to refine individual treatment plans for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Autism has just recently become a widely researched field and due to the sudden pique of interest, there has been little research conducted in regards to the effect children with autism have on their families, in particular on the siblings. Through the limited research that has been conducted, evidence has surfaced for both positive and negative effects on the relationships between children with autism and their typically developing siblings. By taking a deeper look into the social, emotional and academic aspects that are affected in typically developing siblings of children with autism, I hypothesize that having a sibling with autism will lead to internal emotional damage and restrict the non-autistic siblings’ social capabilities. There will be no significant results in regards to the normal sibling’s academic behavior. This paper aims to review the literature in hopes of exploring possible ways to treat or prevent the negative effects children with autism have on their typically developing sibling, in hopes of creating a healthier environment for the family.

The role of mainstream media in women’s views of female beauty and body image has been well documented. However, few published studies have observed ethnic differences in physiological stress reactivity that may occur from pressures to comply with a particular image of beauty. This study examined whether the exposure to the mainstream ideal body image would negatively affect Latina women’s physiological and psychological functioning, and how their responses differed in comparison to their White counterparts. Participants included college-aged female students from Pitzer College who self-identified as Latina or Caucasian. Participants completed questionnaires assessing, body esteem (MSBRQ-AS; SATAQ; CDFRS), ethnic identity (SEE), state anxiety (STAI-State) and affect (PANAS) prior to and following exposure to Victoria’s Secret or Chrysler automobile commercials. Physiological stress reactivity was assessed through changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as salivary cortisol. 3-way ANOVA tests indicated a significant 2-way interaction between condition and time on participants’ levels of diastolic blood pressure, F(1, 27) = 4.266, MSe = 29.803, p =.049, η2 =.136, as well as ratings of appearance evaluation, F(1,36) = 5.733, MSe = 3.692, p =.022, η2 =.137, and body satisfaction F(1,36) = 4.27, MSe = 4.747, p = .046, η2 =.106. Women who viewed the Victoria’s Secret commercials demonstrated increased levels of diastolic blood pressure and reported lower ratings of body esteem in comparison to women who viewed the Chevy Sonic commercials. Potential trends in anxiety reactivity and the internalization of mainstream female beauty in Latina women following exposure to the stimuli are further discussed.

While there are studies linking positive psychological outcomes with exercise, few have focused on choice as a moderating factor. The research that has examined choice as a moderator yielded mixed results. Currently no research has looked at the impact of choice of exercise intensity on the psychological benefits of acute exercise; specifically, affective and cognitive gains. According to Landers (2008), acute exercise refers to a single bout of exercise usually lasting a short duration, whereas chronic exercise refers to long term repeated bouts of exercise (e.g., weeks, months, or years). Participants in this study consisted of 117 collegiate psychology students. The study consisted of two trials. The first trial was used to establish a baseline. Next, students were randomly assigned to one of four conditions for the second trial. Everything stayed consistent from the first trial to the second trial, except the extent of choice given with regard to exercise intensity. Affect and cognition measures were given to all participants on both days. For trial two, group 1 was given full choice, e.g., they were able to exercise at their own pace. Group 2 had to exercise at the average pace from their first session, group 3 exercised at a pace equivalent to two rate of perceived exertion (RPE) levels above their average pace from the first session, and group 4 exercised at a pace two RPE levels below their average pace from the first session. A mixed model MANOVA was used to analyze the participants’ cognitive and affective data. Although the outcomes of the study were limited, Group 1 (choice) performed better on two of the executive function measures (Trail Making Test, Letter Number Sequence) for the second trial than the other experimental groups.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2000. / Bibliography: leaves 257-295.

Aim: This study aims to provide a qualitative understanding of the health-seeking behaviour of adult in-patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in a public health sector setting. Methodology: A qualitative methodological approach was used in this study since it allows for an in-depth investigation and understanding of the health-seeking behaviour of MDR-TB patients. The study is seated in the arena of ethnographic inquiry, since ethnography investigates human behaviour as it is understood and experienced within a particular subtext and given reality, as it is created by the people of concern. In this regard, ethnography deals with developing an understanding of shared systems of meaning in societies that share similar social and cultural characteristics and can be applied to the study of any isolated group who have something in common. A total of four (4) 90-minute focus groups discussions were conducted with adult MDR-TB in-patients, comprising two male and two female groups. The data transcripts were analysed thematically in order to identify commonalties and variances among the responses of participants. Comparative analyses were made across the variable gender. Findings: The findings are discussed within the context of relevant empirical literature and theory, including the Health Belief Model, Health Locus of Control Theory and the Theory of Reasoned Action. These findings were constructed temporally in terms of pre-admission, admission and post-admission behaviour. What has emerged in this study is that health-seeking behaviours that are traditionally defined as "poor patient adherence" and " treatment delay" are mediated by a number of variables operating in both institutional and community contexts. At a community level, large-scale community ignorance and lack of knowledge of MDR-TB, social stigma, conflation of TB and MDR-TB and the lack of recognition of symptoms coalesce to produce poor treatment adherence and treatment delays. This situation is exacerbated by cultural practices that result in patients using dual healing systems and multiple remedies. The net result for TB sufferers is the advent of MDR-TB. At an institutional level a hierarchical biomedical bureaucracy conspires to produce a hostile, disempowering and inhumane experience for MDR-TB in-patients, which further compromises adherence behaviour and positive health actions. Recommendations: Within the context of a number of systemic recommendations, a range of practical patient-centered and staff centered interventions are suggested, followed by recommendations for future research and an appraisal of the limitations of this study. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2000.

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<p> Depression and abnormal salivary cortisol levels have been related to poor health outcomes for both mothers and their children. However, few studies have examined whether protective factors, such as optimism, resilience, or coping styles are associated with depression and cortisol during pregnancy. The current study examined whether these protective factors were associated with depressive symptomology (current and lifetime depression) and salivary cortisol patterns among 100 low-income pregnant women. Hierarchical regression analyses found that: (a) greater levels of optimism and resilience were associated with lower levels of depression (<i>R²</i> = .17 to .46, <i>p</i> &lt; .05); (b) women low in resilience reported more depressive symptoms when using more positive reinterpretation coping (<i>R²</i> = .36, <i>p</i> &lt; .05); and (c) women high in resilience reported more depressive symptoms when using more avoidance coping (<i>R²</i> = .20, <i> p</i> &lt; .05). Results suggest that coping processes may be important in understanding the mental and physical experience of depression.</p>

<p> This thesis examines how the current psychological collective conceptualizes, addresses, and makes clinical use of the wounded healer archetype as it occurs in and influences the vocation of psychotherapy. The universal, historic significance of the wounded healer archetype is explored as well as its manifestation in the psychotherapist, the degree to which the therapist&rsquo;s wounds define countertransference, and the effect on client therapy outcome. Research on the psychological community&rsquo;s recognition and encouragement of exploration of the psychotherapist&rsquo;s woundedness is included. A heuristic approach applied to unraveling the mythological wounded healer archetype finds that it may dwell in the psyche of any human. The author concludes that wounded healers who&mdash;for myriad unpredictable reasons&mdash;follow the vocation of psychotherapy may benefit the psychological community by understanding the clinical and neuroscientific evidence suggesting that their own wounds underwrite countertransference and can be accessed and used as a potent tool in their practice.</p>

In the health psychology literature there has been a proliferation of research linking forms of self-attention to psychological distress, especially to depression. The broad conclusion that self-attention is harmful, however, challenges the central premise of self-regulation theory - a theory detailing the role of self-attention as the engine of an adaptive regulating system that enables people to achieve their goals. In an attempt to reconcile these perspectives, I conducted two studies to distinguish the forms and states of self-attention that serve an adaptive self-regulation function from those that create a vulnerability to depression. Both studies included a pretest and a daily diary component. Participants were pretested on trait self-attention, trait negative affectivity (Study 1), depression (Study 2), and a goal inventory. Study 2 included a follow-up session where participants again completed the depression inventory. For the diary component, participants described and rated the most negative event they experienced during the rating period (twice daily for 2 weeks in Study 1; once daily for 4 weeks in Study 2). Diary self-report measures of self-attention included: level of rumination (Study 1), initial self-analysis (Study 2), and multi-day-protracted attention (Study 2). After the diaries were completed, participants' event descriptions were coded for goal-relevance and level of self-focused attention (SFA). Consistent with self-regulation theory, participants' goal-related events elicited stronger self-attentional responses (higher levels of SFA, rumination, initial self-analysis, and protracted attention) than did their goal-unrelated events. These within-person effects were not moderated by the pretest measures, nor did they predict levels of emotional distress. Thus, in daily life it appears to be typical and not harmful for people to respond to goal-setbacks by engaging in elevated levels of introspection, self-analysis, and even negative, symptom-focused rumination. With respect to individual differences, people higher in pretest rumination and in chronic daily rumination, initial self-analysis and protracted attention experienced higher levels of emotional distress. Chronic daily levels of initial self-analysis and rumination predicted emotional distress after controlling for pretest levels of distress. Thus, self-attention appears to create a vulnerability to depression only when people have chronic difficulty containing initial levels of self-analysis and rumination in response to negative events.