The purpose of this study was to determine if significant relationships exist among terminal values, demographic variables and health care preferences for information and behavioral involvement for graduate students from the People's Republic of China and Taiwan. The Rokeach Value Survey and the Krantz Health Opinion Survey were used to collect data from graduate students at Oregon State University. The data derived from 161 returned questionnaires (91 from the People's Republic of China and 70 from Taiwan) were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test, multiple regression, and the t-test. Results showed subjects from the People's Republic of China and Taiwan differed significantly on two terminal values. Students from the People's Republic of China valued more a comfortable life and a world of beauty than the students from Taiwan. The terminal value of health was ranked in the lower half of the 18 terminal values by both groups of students which contradicts the literature. Respondents from the People's Republic of China had a significantly higher preference for information than Taiwan students who had a significantly higher health care preference for active participation and behavioral involvement. Preferences may be related to the political community and institutional differences in the health care delivery in the two countries. The value for an exciting life and use of a community physician or hospital were significant predictors of a health care preference for information. The values a world of beauty and social recognition were significantly related to a health care preference for behavioral involvement. / Graduation date: 1991

Today in the United States, herbal supplements are growing increasingly popular, however, little is known about the safety and efficacy of these products. This study contributes to the growing body of information about the prevalence of herbal supplement use among young adults (18 to 24 years) and the beliefs young adults hold about herbal supplements in relation to their dietary attitudes and behaviors. A self-administered, four-part questionnaire was mailed to a geographically representative sample of 298 young adults (18 to 24 years) residing in Oregon; 205 questionnaires were usable (69% response rate). There was an equal ratio of male and female respondents, half students and half non-students, the majority being Caucasian (93%), with a mean age of 21.5 years. Nearly 60% of the sample reported using herbal supplements (n=122). Thirty-seven percent were sometime users (less than weekly) and 22% were regular users (at least weekly). More female respondents reported using herbal supplements (69%) than did male respondents (49%). Respondents who were White or Asian/Pacific Islander were the only ethnic groups that reported using herbal supplements regularly. Users were more educated than non-users, however use was very similar among students and non-students. Herbal supplement use also was very similar between respondents having different residencies. Familiarity with different herbs was positively related to level of herbal supplement use. Regular users were familiar with the greatest number of herbs, followed by sometime users. Herbal supplement users tended to have more healthful lifestyle characteristics than non-users. Frequency of fast food patronage was negatively related to level of herbal supplement use. The median number of times a fast food restaurant was patronized was lower among regular users of herbal supplements than among those who did not use supplements or used them less often. The median number of times breakfast was eaten also seemed to be slightly higher among regular users than other groups. Other healthful lifestyle characteristics, such as BMI and drinking in moderation, did not tend to be more healthful among herbal supplement users. The results were mixed on smoking behavior. Regular users of herbal supplements were no more or less likely than non-users to smoke, but non-users were less likely than sometime users to smoke. Regular users of herbal supplements tended to think herbal supplements are useful for certain health parameters more often than sometime users and non-users. Most regular users of herbal supplements agreed herbs are useful for maintaining good health (89%) and preventing/treating common illnesses like colds (85%). Almost two-thirds also thought herbs are useful for preventing serious chronic illnesses (61%) and insuring a well-balanced diet (65%). Attitudes toward the effectiveness, convenience, and expense of taking herbal supplements in comparison to eating a balanced diet as ways of staying healthy were related to herbal supplement use. Herbal supplement users did not appear to have positive attitudes towards herbs when comparing herbs to a well-balanced diet. Only 11% of users thought that herbs are more effective than diet as ways to stay healthy, and users were more likely than non-users to think herbs are more expensive ways to stay healthy. However, both levels of users were more likely to think herbal supplements are more convenient than diet. Attitudes about the effectiveness, safety, expense, naturalness, potency, and personal control of taking herbal supplements in comparison to prescription medications was related to level of herbal supplement use. In general the trend was for users to be more likely to have positive attitudes toward herbs and less likely to give a "don't know" answer. Eating the recommended number of food guide pyramid servings of fruits and vegetables as well as eating a greater number of nutrient rich vegetables was not related to herbal supplement use. However, a somewhat higher percentage of herbal supplement users tended to meet the fruit and vegetable recommendations than nonusers of herbal supplements. Stage of change in relation to vegetable intake was related to herbal supplement use. As respondents' herbal supplement use increased, so did the likelihood of classifying themselves into one of the action stages of change for vegetable consumption. Stage of change for fruit consumption was not related to herbal supplement use. Choice to stop using herbs if they were pronounced unsafe by a governmental agency was not related to level of herbal supplement use. However, 17% of sometime users and 16% of regular users reported that they would continue to use herbs even after they were pronounced unsafe by a governmental agency. The results of this study clearly show that there is a high prevalence of herbal supplement use among young adults in Oregon, and those who are using herbal supplements seem to have a strong belief in the herbs they are taking. With the limited knowledge on herbs' safety and efficacy, young adults need to be educated about the herbs they are using. Hopefully, the information from this study can help health professionals identify which young adults might be using herbal supplements in order to educate them on making smart choices about herbs, and smart choices about their overall health. To inform young adults about the herbs they are using, additional research on herbal supplements' potential benefits and harmful side effects is needed. / Graduation date: 2002

Optimal aging is strongly related to personality factors along with health-behavior habits. Personality has played a key role in understanding the interactions between human behavior and the environment and as a vital predictor in determining health outcomes of individuals. Although previous studies have found links between personality traits and health, less is known about more process-oriented personality constructs, such as goals and self-regulatory strategies as linkages between traits and health outcomes. The purpose of this study is to explore the dynamic linkages of personality and health by examining how daily health-goal progress is associated with daily positive and negative affect as well as whether the association between health-goal progress and positive and negative affect can be predicted by personality traits of neuroticism and conscientiousness. Main research questions are: 1) Are daily positive and negative affect associated with daily health-goal progress? 2) To what extent are the traits of neuroticism and conscientiousness related to the overall levels of daily health-goal progress over a 100-day time period? 3) Do neuroticism and conscientiousness moderate the relationships between daily positive affect and daily health-goal progress as well as between negative affect and daily health-goal progress? This study was guided by developmental systems theory (Ford & Lerner, 1992) and the six-foci model of personality (Hooker & McAdams, 2003). This study utilized data from the "Personal Understanding of Life and Social Experiences" (PULSE) project that was a 100 day internet-based, daily study of Oregon residents over the age of 50. The sample for this study (N = 76) included participants who have participated at both baseline (initial survey) and the microlongitudinal phase (over 100 days). Personal health goals, neuroticism, and conscientiousness were measured at baseline. Daily health-goal progress, daily positive affect, and negative affect were measured over 100 days. Multilevel modeling analysis was used to examine within-person variations and between-person differences in daily health-goal progress and daily positive and negative affect by estimating an intercept (initial status) and slope (change) for each individual. The results of this study show that first, daily health-goal progress was positively coupled with daily positive affect and negatively coupled with daily negative affect within persons. Second, the associations between daily positive affect and daily health-goal progress and between daily negative affect and daily health-goal progress varied between individuals. Third, health-goal progress on the previous day was positively related to concurrent positive affect and negatively related to concurrent negative affect. Fourth, individuals high in neuroticism and individuals high in conscientiousness were only marginally likely to experience higher levels of health-goal progress over the 100-day period compared to those with low scores. Fifth, individuals high in neuroticism when experiencing high levels of negative affect tended to report lower levels of daily health-goal progress. These findings may provide enhanced knowledge of patterns of day-to-day variability within persons and lead to better health care. Moreover, the findings of the current study suggest that health-improving interventions could be targeted individually to participants based on knowledge of the linkages between daily goal progress and daily affect and personality traits. Ultimately, the personality of older adults may act as risk factors and/or protective factors in the processes of aging during the second half of life. / Graduation date: 2013