Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pittsburgh, 1994. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 171-183).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1988.

The transition from professional sport marks the beginning of what has been found to be a difficult and stressful experience (Park, Lavallee, & Todd, 2013). Exiting a career serves as a major life change that requires one to adjust to numerous changes (Erpic, Wylleman, & Zupancic, 2004). Research has highlighted a number of personal and contextual factors that affect the quality of the transition experience (Knights, Sherry, & Ruddock-Hudson, 2016; Park et al., 2013); however, no studies to date have examined players who are in the midst of the transition. This qualitative, phenomenological study was undertaken to address the research question: What is the lived experience of NFL free-agent players as they transition from an active NFL player to a retired NFL player? In-depth interviews completed with 12 NFL free-agent players found a three-phase process of transitioning, consisting of the initial reaction, “no-man’s land,” and the final realization. Six themes emerged that described the players’ experience: (1) participants identified a trigger event prior to deselection; (2) being deselected was sudden, leaving participants shocked, isolated, and angry; (3) the subsequent period was dynamic, emotionally, cognitively, and behaviorally; (4) players reached a point of realization about their future; (5) the loss of the NFL community was a significant challenge; and (6) four protective factors helped participants. The study offers recommendations related to theory, practice, and future research.

Health Risk Behavior (HRB) is defined as behavior that increases the likelihood of adverse outcomes: injury, morbidity, or mortality. University students are particularly susceptible to HRB due to their age, academic pressures, social environment, and newly unsupervised lifestyle. Despite major efforts by university campaigns to make students aware of the potential health risks of HRB, students continue to consistently engage in behavior that risks both their short-term and long-term health. Previous literature indicates the importance of self-esteem in positive decision-making and the inhibiting role of shame in increasing withdrawal and social isolation. Shame and guilt are distinct self-conscious emotions often evoked in similar circumstances: shame often debilitative, and guilt adaptive. This study utilizes a cross-sectional design to examine the associations between HRB and the affective emotions of shame, guilt, and self-esteem to better understand HRB determinants. Data was collected from students using a Qualtrics form containing demographic and HRB questions. The Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ2) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) assessed shame and guilt proneness, and global self-esteem, respectively. Mean data analyses, frequency tests, and one-way ANOVA analyses revealed associations between HRB and the three tested affective emotions. Results of this study indicated HRB is associated with higher negative emotion: higher shame and guilt proneness and lower self-esteem. With further research, this information can guide more effective clinical and educational interventions in reducing HRB and subsequent preventable diseases by targeting emotional risk factors in the university population.

No description available.

Emerging adulthood is a developmental period associated with increased engagement in health risk behaviors, particularly in college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a disorder characterized by low distress tolerance and significant difficulty managing emotions. However, research has not examined how these factors impact propensity to engage in health risk behaviors in college students with ADHD. Thus, this study examined the independent and joint effects of ADHD status, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance on the propensity of college students to engage in health risk behaviors (alcohol use, impulsive eating, and drug behaviors). Participants included 143 undergraduate students (81.8% female; 44.1% with ADHD) who completed an online questionnaire via REDCap. Individuals with ADHD reported significantly higher use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and lower levels of distress tolerance than the comparison sample. Moderation models using the PROCESS macro for SPSS examined whether the associations between emotion regulation abilities and distress tolerance with health risk behavior engagement were moderated by ADHD diagnostic history. The relation between distress tolerance and engagement in drug use behaviors was moderated by ADHD status, such that for individuals with ADHD, poorer distress tolerance was associated with more drug use. ADHD status also moderated the association between maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and cognitive restraint in eating. For individuals without ADHD, more maladaptive emotion regulation was marginally predictive of less engagement in cognitive restraint around food, but this relation, was not significantly for college students with ADHD. Findings from this study provide insight into intervention targets for college students with ADHD, ultimately resulting in significantly decreased societal and personal health costs. / M.S. / Emerging adulthood is a developmental period associated with increased engagement in health risk behaviors, particularly in college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a disorder characterized by low distress tolerance and significant difficulty managing emotions. However, research has not looked at how these factors impact odds of engaging in health risk behaviors in college students with ADHD. Thus, this study examined the independent and combined effects of ADHD status, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance on the propensity of college students to engage in health risk behaviors (alcohol use, impulsive eating, and drug behaviors). Participants included 143 undergraduate students (81.8% female; 44.1% with ADHD) who completed an online questionnaire via REDCap. Individuals with ADHD reported higher use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and decreased ability to tolerate distress than the comparison sample. The relation between distress tolerance and engagement in drug use behaviors was moderated by ADHD status, such that for individuals with ADHD, poorer ability to tolerate distress was associated with more drug use. ADHD status also moderated the association between maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and cognitive restraint in eating. For individuals without ADHD, more maladaptive emotion regulation was slightly predictive of less cognitive restraint around food, but this relation was not significant for college students with ADHD. Findings from this study provide insight into intervention targets for college students with ADHD, ultimately resulting in significantly decreased societal and personal health costs.

The aims of this thesis are to investigate the factors influencing treatment fidelity of health behaviour change (HBC) interventions. The thesis will focus on HBC interventions delivered by practice nurses (PNs) and health care assistants (HCAs) to patients within general practice, although the findings will be explored within the context of the wider treatment fidelity literature. The thesis comprises five studies, focussed on exploring, enhancing and assessing fidelity of delivery and receipt of HBC interventions. Through developing an enhanced understanding of these areas of treatment fidelity, the thesis will also make recommendations for strategies to enhance and assess fidelity of delivery and receipt of future HBC interventions. Study one is a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies that explored the views and experiences of nurses who had delivered HBC interventions with a focus on how this can inform future delivery of HBC interventions. Study two is an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of PNs’/HCAs’ experiences of helping patients to change their health behaviours within the context of their routine care, and before and after delivery of an intervention to facilitate increased walking. Study three reports a quantitative assessment of delivery of intervention techniques to facilitate increased walking, as specified in an intervention protocol, by PNs/HCAs. Study four explores PNs’/HCAs’ views and experiences of the factors that influenced their delivery of the walking intervention. Study five investigates treatment receipt, by exploring patients’ understanding of, and experiences of receiving the walking intervention. The key findings from this research are that delivery and receipt of HBC interventions within general practice are influenced by a range of factors that include the providers’ confidence and skills, the patients’ expectations and/or engagement with the intervention and the general practice within which the intervention is delivered. A number of these factors are difficult to influence and so research teams need to develop a range of strategies to enhance delivery and receipt of HBC interventions. These may include appropriate preparation for providers to deliver the intervention, the provision of a simple intervention resource to support delivery of the intervention and the development of strategies to enhance patients’ understanding of intervention techniques.

Syftet med studien är att analysera och beskriva äldre personers (65 +) syn på hälsa och hälsobeteende. Studien avser också att undersöka huruvida kunskap om hälsofrämjande levnadsvanor styr deras hälsobeteende. Till sist görs jämförelsen om äldre personer (65 +) tänker och agerar på annat sätt än andra vuxna (18 - 64 år) när det gäller hälsa och hälsofrämjande levnadsvanor. Mixad metod har använts för att analysera enkäter och strukturerade intervjuer från studien ”Hälsa och Ansvar”, som utgick från Jönköpings universitet 2011 - 2012. Resultatet visar att möjlighet att fungera i vardagen blir en viktig hälsofaktor för äldre personer men att äldre och andra vuxna inte beskriver hälsa på annat sätt i övrigt. Äldre personer lägger större vikt vid hur de mår än om de har sjukdomar när de bedömer sin hälsa. Det ser inte ut att finnas något samband mellan hur hälsofrämjande levnadsvanor beskrivs och hur kunskapen används i det dagliga livet i någon av åldersgrupperna. Slutsatser: det föreligger en liten skillnad mellan hur äldre och andra vuxna ser på hälsa. Kunskap om hälsofrämjande levnadsvanor ser inte ut att styra hälsobeteende i det dagliga livet. / The purpose of the study is to analyze and describe how elderly people (65+) perceive health and health behaviors. The study also intends to explore whether knowledge about healthy living habits controls their health behaviors. Finally, a comparison is made between how elderly people (65+) think and act as opposed to younger adults (18 - 64 years old) in terms of health and healthy lifestyles. The Mixed Method has been used to analyze the questionnaires and structured interviews from the study "Health and Responsibility" which emanated from the Jönköping University 2011 - 2012. The results show that the ability to function in everyday life becomes an important health factor for elderly people, but elderly and younger adults do not otherwise describe health differently. When assessing their health, the elderly put more emphasis on how they feel than whether they suffer from any diseases.  There does not appear to be any correlation between how healthy lifestyles are described and how the knowledge is used in daily life in any of the age groups. Conclusions: there is a slight difference between how younger and older adults describe health. Knowledge of healthy lifestyles does not seem to control health behavior in daily life.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(情報学) / 甲第23315号 / 情博第751号 / 新制||情||128(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院情報学研究科社会情報学専攻 / (主査)教授 緒方 広明, 教授 黒田 知宏, 教授 楠見 孝 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Informatics / Kyoto University / DFAM

abstract: Access to testing for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as well as other care services related to HIV/AIDS, have greatly improved in Tanzania over the last decade. Despite the country’s efforts to increase the number of individuals who get tested for HIV annually, it is estimated that only 52.2-70.0% of people living with HIV (PLWH) knew their HIV positive status at the end of 2017. In addition, research in Tanzania has shown that HIV-related stigma and discrimination are widespread and contribute to low uptake of HIV testing and non-adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART). In order to achieve the goals set forth by the Government of Tanzania and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), as well as move towards an AIDS-free generation, a deeper understanding of the stigma-related barriers to seeking an HIV test is necessary. This research aims to better understand the relationship between HIV-related stigma and attitudes towards HIV testing among community members in Northern Tanzania. In addition, it looked at the specific barriers that contribute to low uptake of HIV testing, as well as the impact of social networks on an individual’s motivation and willingness to get tested for HIV. In this research, community members in Meru District (N = 108, male = 69.4%, female = 28.7%) were surveyed using various validated instruments that covered a range of topics, including knowledge of HIV/AIDS, testing attitudes, and perceived risk of HIV infection. The mean overall score for correct answers on the knowledge measure was 69.8% (SD = 16.4). There were no significant group differences between individuals who had ever tested and individuals who had not tested in relation to HIV/AIDS knowledge or HIV testing attitudes. The factors that were significantly associated with getting an HIV test were knowing someone who had previously tested (p = 0.003), as well as openly discussing HIV testing within one’s social group (p = 0.017). Participants also provided qualitative responses for barriers to receiving an HIV test, motivations for getting tested, and suggested interventions for improving HIV testing uptake. The goal of this research is to develop recommendations for interventions that are better informed by attitudes and motivations for testing. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Biology 2019