The concept of stress has been identified as being a major protagonist of ill health and poor sense of wellbeing amongst all ages groups. For example stress has been identified as being a strong correlate of anxiety and school refusal in primary aged children; depression, suicidal ideation and physical malaise in adolescents and poor general health (i.e., colds, headaches, pain and sensitivity, depression, suicidal ideation, cardiac events, stroke etc.) in older groups. One group which has been identified as being particularly vulnerable to high levels of stress is male tertiary students. The identified increase in stress amongst this population has been purportedly associated to the ever increasing demands and extra pressures that are placed on young men in relation to tertiary education. The purpose of this study was to test the relationships among stress and specificity of academic concerns amongst tertiary males. The current study sought to elucidate what were the particular avenues of concern which resulted in high levels of stress amongst these young men. Moreover, in order to extrapolate information on how best to address stress related concerns amongst these young men, a secondary purpose of the study was to examine the health-promoting behaviors utilized by young men, and identify areas which may be pertinent to future educational and clinical intervention and health promotion programs. The participants for this study comprised a cohort of 226 male students from four universities in Melbourne. The theoretical framework for this study was Pender's health-promotion model and Lazarus' stress adaptation model. Instrumentation included the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II) and the Daily Stress Inventory (DSI). Only two demographic factors, nationality and language spoken at home, were found to differentiate between levels of stress and impact. Students from non-Australian backgrounds and non-English speaking homes were found to report significantly more stress events in their daily lives. They were also found to report these events had a higher impact on them than Australian and English speaking students. Male students in the current study were also found to report a higher level of stressful events and greater sense of impact comparable to the normative data. The major factors identified by these young men were varied stressors and environmental hassles. Whilst issues such as academic stress associated with specific academic issues examinations and assessment were cited as sources of stress, these students also indicated that many sources of stress were also related to self imposed or other influenced pressures such as pressure to succeed, future career concerns, frustration over services, status and financial concerns were also major sources of stress which impacted on them strongly. Analysis indicated that there are two factors related to health-promoting behaviors namely cognitive/emotional and physical health-promoting behaviors. The results also indicated that there was an inverse relationship between increases in the reported experience of stress and health-promoting behaviors, such that those young men who engaged in positive health-promoting behaviors, such as exercise, good nutrition, expression of emotions and social collaboration, were less likely to report a high incidence of impact from sources of stress. Of particular importance, a small proportion of students who reported higher impact of stress also reported having engaged in suicidal ideation. Interestingly, a majority of the stresses reported by students were not specific to academic life; rather they emanated from interpersonal dysfunction, specifically familial disruption and intimate relationship breakdown. Similarly, several behavioral methods identified as coping mechanisms, such as alcohol use, cigarette smoking and drug ingestion, by these young men, whilst considered normative behavior, are in-fact contributing to their current identified stressful experiences. The outcomes of the current study indicate that whilst attention needs to be placed on the promotion of study and academic related skills, young men require additional educational and social support in developing health promotion behaviors which are not deleterious, such as good nutrition, exercise, communication, and interpersonal skills. Ideologically the emphasis should be placed on prevention where possible, however the outcomes of the current study indicate that the majority of these issues are not specific to the individual but require a broader application of health promotion behavior across the community. Ongoing counseling throughout the education years is desirable, as are various programs, which address student concerns in relation to their tertiary studies. Similarly, more public health promotion is required in order to address specific issues related to interpersonal, gendered and in particular familial issues, which appear to be a major source of stress for these young men.

Through the use of Coroner's records the research has demonstrated that people who die in residential fires display a number of environmental, demographic and/or behavioural risk characteristics. The current research has been organised into two studies. Study one had two aims with the first aim to develop the Victoria University (VU) Coroner's Accidental Fire Fatality Database. This would then provide a comprehensive record of all adult fire deaths that occurred in Victoria, Australia between January 1998 and February 2005. The second aim was to use this database to examine risk factors for the overall adult accidental fire fatality population (N = 101). Study two focused on the mentally ill and the aim was to examine whether the mentally ill (MI) (n = 55) compared to the non-mentally ill (NMI) (n = 46) exhibited different risk characteristics. Results indicated this fire death population was overrepresented by males, cigarette smokers, the mentally ill, people not in paid employment, and those aged over 80 years when compared to their proportion of the general Victorian population. When relative risk ratios were calculated it was found that the MI group were 7.9 (CI 95% 2.0-31.8) times more likely than the NMI group to have combined alcohol and drugs prior to their death. The MI were 5.9 (CI 95% 1.9-18.4) times more likely to have a history of careless smoking, a 2.2 (CI 95% 1.4-3.5) increased chance of having a cigarette as an ignition factor and were 3.6 (CI 95% 1.7-7.8) times more prone to have been acting abnormally prior to the fire than the NMI group. Future fire safety measures can be improved by taking into account these risk factors to target campaigns or to tailor interventions that have an effect on the most vulnerable in our community in the context of their environment.

Community interventions are a recent development in the field of prevention. This study sought to address the current gap in this area, between scientific knowledge and community practice, through an understanding of practitioners’ experiences of implementation. A case study was undertaken to explore the context and complexity of implementation processes. Data was collected concurrently with the implementation of a community intervention located in rural Victoria, Australia, which aimed to reduce early school leaving. Implementers’ perspectives on a guide to best practice, developed from the academic literature, were sought. Concepts from systems theory and ecological approaches were combined to create a framework suitable for the analysis of the data. The intervention was viewed as an open system. Its progression from being a subsystem of the funded organization to a subsystem of both the funded organization and the community was examined. Factors such as meeting community needs and community members as program staff were found to facilitate community acceptance. The interactions within and between the subsystems of the intervention and the community were also explored. School retention rates were suggestive of some level of impact on school leaving. Additional positive outcomes were the facilitation and/or strengthening of links between community subsystems, and a perceived change within the funded organization. This thesis goes some way towards bridging the gap between science and practice in this field. Findings contribute to the debate regarding flexibility versus fidelity and a greater understanding of the unique challenges faced by rural interventions.

Recent decades have seen an expansion of the early intervention field, particularly with children who are deemed at risk of adverse outcomes due to socio-economic or other disadvantage. Early educational intervention has taken many forms, but those involving both the child and parent together have been shown to have the strongest effects. Additionally, intervention in the early years, enhancing the child’s ability to engage with formal schooling, has been found to have a lasting impact not just on the educational trajectory of the individual, but also on the life opportunities which become available. This thesis reports an investigation of the implementation of the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program in a regional city in Victoria, Australia. Here, for the first time, this intensive, graduated, two-year program was delivered to a group of Australian-born families experiencing trans-generational poverty and educational disadvantage. The administering agency trained para-professionals from the community who undertook fortnightly home visits to instruct parents in a standard curriculum designed to enhance the learning readiness of their children. Parents, in turn, delivered the program in daily sessions to their children aged four and five. On alternate fortnights this instruction was provided at group meetings for parents. Following previous research, it was expected that HIPPY would result in positive outcomes in terms of cognitive and socio-emotional functioning for children. The experience of parents and staff were also explored as part of the process evaluation. Implementation issues were documented, and their relevance to program outcomes was considered. Analysis of complementary qualitative and quantitative data showed that children made substantial gains in several areas. Interviews with parents revealed that HIPPY was enjoyable and achievable, and contributed to children’s increased confidence, early learning, and familiarity with schoolwork. Formal psychological testing demonstrated clear gains for children in terms of their early school skills and socioemotional development, although results in the areas of general cognitive development, school readiness, and academic self-esteem were inconclusive. Process evaluation found that HIPPY was relevant and feasible in this population and highlighted several key aspects of program implementation. Findings are discussed in the light of international literature in the early intervention area, and implications for future practice and research are drawn out.

Little research has examined the effects of weight management on jockey’s wellbeing. However, there is a consensus that pervasive weight-loss practices (WLP) in the racing industry negatively impact on jockey’s physical, psychological and social wellbeing. The research reported herein examined the effects of the WLP used by flat-race jockeys on their physical, psychological and social wellbeing. In Study 1, 42 jockeys (10 women and 32 men) completed questionnaires examining eating behaviour, WLP and their physical, psychological and social effects of WLP. In Study 2, six male jockeys completed race day and non-race day assessments of WLP and mood and were interviewed about their experiences. In Study 3, eight jockeys (two women and six men); five family members (three wives and two fathers); and six industry professionals were interviewed about their perceptions and experiences of the lives of jockeys. Together the results of the studies showed that the WLP of jockeys have serious negative effects on their physiological, psychological and social wellbeing. Jockeys experience symptoms of life-threatening heat illness, negative mood, limited social interactions and strained relationships. Disordered eating behaviour was common and many jockeys reported symptoms consistent with DSM IV-TR disorders including Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Depression, General Anxiety Disorder and Social Phobia. Weight restriction symbolised a range of other restrictions that characterise jockeys’ lives. The term, Occupational Weight-Loss Disorder (OWLD) was coined to describe and explain the findings. Recommendations to reduce the harms documented included determining minimum weights, increasing time off, professional advice and profession suitability.

There has been increasing social debate in recent times surrounding men’s identities, men’s health and wellbeing, and men’s place within contemporary western society. The purpose of this thesis was to contribute to new knowledge of these issues through an ethnographic exploration of two small sub-cultures of young adults. Utilising participant observation the researcher described in detail the ways in which masculinities were constructed in everyday life. The researcher spent over 2 years as a participant observer of a small group of men from a gymnasium in Melbourne, which followed a briefer but still illuminating period spent with a group of men from a small community in Australia. An ethnographic approach and a non-clinical and nondeviant sample were used to build in-depth knowledge from a neutral lens that did not assume an existing male deficit or crisis. The major findings revolved around the complexity of the male social networks, including the men’s need for belonging and in particular same sex friendships, the implicit and explicit rules of engagement, rational reflective discussion, and male engagement in their social worlds. In addition this thesis illuminated the salient masculine discourses for constructing and negotiating identities, which included heterosexual attraction, competition and social comparison, and biological predispositions and simplicity. This thesis also presents a dynamic psychosocial theory of male identity, and illustrates the relevance of this theory to the everyday lives of men. The men were shown to both collectively and individually negotiate and construct their identities by utilising the key processes of identification, sublimation, and reflection. By combining both phenomenological and discursive research methods the researcher was able to illustrate in everyday life the dialectic between the social and subjective elements of identity. The researcher also discusses the challenges he faced as an ethnographic fieldworker, and contributes to the development of improved understandings of the practical requirements of fieldwork, such as time, support, and flexibility.

Alcohol intoxication is known to considerably increase the probability of death from fire across the lifespan, to the extent that it has been isolated as the single most significant risk factor. The study investigated the combined effects of sleep inertia and alcohol impairment on fire emergency-relevant cognitive performance indicators in a young adult population. Mental tracking, visual scanning, psychomotor speed, working memory and sustained, selective, and divided attention functions were assessed for performance decrements and reference to speed-accuracy trade-off effects. Participants were 24 young adults (18-26 years) who participated in a repeated-measures study over 2 nonconsecutive nights; 1 night with alcohol administration and 1 ‘sober’ night. During the alcohol administration night, 10-minute testing blocks occurred under (1) baseline sober and (2) baseline 0.05 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) conditions. Subsequently, subjects were awoken from stage 4 sleep and assessed in two consecutive 10-minute blocks (3) and (4). Self-reports of sleepiness and clearheadedness were also taken. The same procedure was used during the sober night (with condition (2) excluded). All cognitive functions assessed showed an alcohol effect (i.e., decrements between sober baseline (1) and conditions of alcohol (2)), and an even larger sleep inertia effect (i.e., greater decrements between sober baseline (1) and conditions of sleep inertia alone (3) and (4)). Sleep inertia selectively affected performance speed on the working memory task, whilst performance accuracy on this task was affected by conditions of alcohol impairment only. When the sober and alcohol nights were compared, there was no combined or synergistic interaction between sleep inertia and alcohol impairment on the cognitive tasks or subjective measures during the first 10 minutes of sleep inertia. Conditions of combined sleep inertia and alcohol impairment produced cognitiveperformance decrements that were greater than those produced by alcohol administrationalone, but not those produced by sleep inertia alone. Indeed, sleep inertia effectsappeared to ‘override’ alcohol effects. At 10-20 minutes post-awakening, however, sleepinertia effects began to dissipate, thus ‘unmasking’ alcohol effects on some tasks,including accuracy of working memory performance, selective/sustained attention and subjective sleepiness. Divided attention performance demonstrated a complex and unpredictable pattern at 10-20 minutes post-awakening whereby performance under conditions of sleep inertia and alcohol intoxication combined became significantly worse than either condition alone, indicating that alcohol effects were also possibly being unmasked for this measure. Other measures (speed of working memory performance and subjective clearheadedness) showed no difference between conditions at 10-20 minutes post-awakening. The results suggest that (1) moderate alcohol impairment and sleep inertia do not combine to produce further decrements in neurocognitive functioning than those caused by the effects of alcohol or sleep inertia alone and (2) sleep inertia poses a greater risk to fire emergency escape than moderate alcohol impairment. Moreover this data suggests that when awoken abruptly in an emergency situation, prior alcohol consumption to 0.05 BAC will not further impede cognitive functioning that is already compromised by a state of sleep inertia. The study considers the importance of the arousing effects of task complexity, the BAC curve (particularly the descending limb), and speed-accuracy trade-off effects in predicting the effects of sleep inertia and alcohol on cognitive performance.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 260-269).

M. Ed.

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