<p> A strong understanding of the role of kissing has important theoretical implications; however little research has been done on kissing in romantic relationships. This study aimed to examine the role of kissing in (a) mate assessment, (b) initiating arousal and (c) maintenance of an emotional bond. Data were collected by surveying college students at a public university in the northeast. The first survey (n = 121) examined the memory of the first kiss compared to other sexual &ldquo;firsts&rdquo; as well as the relationship between the first kiss and relationship outcome. Memories of the first kiss were weaker than memories of first sex and quality of the first kiss was not associated with relationship outcome. The second survey (n= 67) asked participants to rate their first kiss with their current partner as well as their satisfaction with various aspects of their current relationship. Quality of the first kiss was positively correlated with current relationship satisfaction, particularly sexual satisfaction in men and emotional satisfaction in women. This relationship was much weaker in women on hormonal birth control. Satisfaction with kissing in the current relationship was also positively correlated with relationship satisfaction in women, but not men. In the third study (n = 55), respondents were asked to report which type of kiss was mostly likely in a variety of contexts. They were also asked to predict how likely a &ldquo;great kisser&rdquo; was to have a variety of other attributes. The results suggest that closed mouth kissing is primarily related to emotional intimacy and conflict resolution and open mouth kissing with tongue contact is most associated with sexual arousal and attraction. Overall, the results provide strong evidence that kissing is important in romantic relationships. Additional research should be done to further elucidate the exact role that kissing plays in mate assessment, relationship maintenance and sexual attraction and how it varies by gender.</p>

<p> &ldquo;Since the 1970s, one of the hallmarks of reforms of junior high and middle schools has been the recognition of social &lsquo;needs&rsquo; of young teens and the ways in which schools have failed to serve them&rdquo; (Juvonen, p. 197, 2007). If school climate is left to fail, adolescents are at a risk for developing mental health problems, anxiety, antisocial behaviors, and depression (Shortt, Alison, &amp; Spence, 2006). Unless discipline issues are at a minimum, instruction will be interrupted and teaching time will be lost (McIntosh, Bohanon &amp; Goodman, 2011).</p><p> The following research questions are a few of the questions that guided this study: 1. What are the students&rsquo; perceptions of school climate at the end of the school 2014 year? 2. What are the differences in the number of Office Disciplinary Reports (ODRs) from pre-implementation of the SWPBS in 2009 to post-implementation of the SWPBS in 2014 by grade level and gender? </p><p> This study employed a causal-comparative research design utilizing ex post facto data collected from ODRs and a School Climate Survey to determine feasibility and worthiness of a School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS). The students in this study (<i>N</i>=487) were from a small suburban middle school located in the Northeast.</p><p> Analyses of students&rsquo; perceptions of school climate were negative in the following three dimensions: <i>Order and Discipline</i>=41%, <i> Student-Interpersonal Relations</i>=49% and <i>Student-Teacher Relations </i>=78%. An analysis of ANOVAs revealed significant differences between grade levels 5 to 8 (<i>p</i>=&lt;.001). Findings for Office Disciplinary Reports (ODRs) at the end of a five-year implementation of a SWPBS system reported significant percent decreases ranging from 54% at pre-implementation of the SWPBS to 90% at post-implementation in grade levels 5 to 8.</p><p> Educational leaders can utilize the findings from this study to guide their instructional practice on building <i>Student-Teacher Relations </i> and implement the use of a School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) system, to help address the social emotional needs of students and minimize student behavioral problems to effect time spent on learning and the success of student learning in the classroom.</p>

<p> In the last decade there has been a rise in the availability of consumer focused physical activity and fitness tracking devices. Recently there has been interest in using these devices from the research community for data collection and as part of health behavior interventions. With millions of adults using activity trackers it is necessary to develop an understanding of how they are used, and to what extent different factors may affect physical activity outcomes. </p><p> The current study sought to explore the relationship between behavior change techniques (BCTs) used by long-term users of Fitbit activity tracking devices and change in physical activity over time. In-depth interviews were conducted with participants in order to obtain information about behavior change techniques connected to the use of the Fitbit system. Historical Fitbit data (steps and activity intensity) were also collected. </p><p> Thirty participants were recruited to take part in the study. Based on coding of the in-depth interviews, individuals who are long-term users of physical activity tracking devices were found to use a variety of techniques associated with their engagement with the devices and it&rsquo;s connected applications. On average participants took 9,695 steps (<i>SD</i> = 5,309) and participated in 33.90 minutes of MVPA (<i>SD</i> = 42.90) per day. An exploration of the relationship between technique use and physical activity outcomes using multi-level modeling indicated that there was limited support for the relationship between use of techniques included in the design the Fitbit system and positive change in physical activity over time. No support was found for a positive relationship between the use of additional BCTs not included in the design of the Fitbit system and physical activity outcomes. Additional qualitative analysis demonstrated that individuals think about and use the same techniques in different ways and apply them in different contexts. </p><p> This exploratory study is the first examination of BCT use by individuals who freely choose to use physical activity tracking devices, and provided a proof of concept for a systematic mixed methods approach. Results of the study highlight the importance of understanding context of behavior change technique use in relation to physical activity behavior change.</p>

<p> The literature supports that as leaders pursue personal and professional growth, they achieve a sense of well-being, become healthier, more engaged, and more productive. This study explores how Christian leaders who have a strong core spiritual identity experience growth toward their <i>best-self. </i> According to the literature, the best-self is a positive psychology approach to personal growth that utilizes a person&rsquo;s natural strengths and skills to describe one&rsquo;s personal best. Adult identity development is multifaceted and influenced by numerous factors. A spiritual identity built upon strong beliefs results in a salient identity that influences every part of one&rsquo;s life. Utilizing a generic qualitative methodology and a snowball sampling strategy, eight participants were interviewed. Multiple consistent themes were identified in the data: (a) an integration of spiritual identity (b) enhanced self-awareness (c) saliency of spiritual identity, (c) roles and motivations defined by faith, (d) altruism, (e) role identity as a calling, (f) faith-based decision-making, (g) intrapersonal and interpersonal prayer, a personal relationship with God, (h) the need to be supported by like-minded individuals, (i) the alignment of organizational values and personal values, and (j) personal growth defined by God. One unexpected finding was the way the participants defined best-self. Based on their narratives, the participants viewed their best-self, including their talents and abilities, as being defined by God, stating that to become the person that God designed them to be would be achieving best-self. The significance of spirituality in the workplace was discovered through the participants&rsquo; experiences. This was also supported in the literature. These themes are presented and explored along with recommendations for future research.</p>

<p>Although the current body of research on parent training is limited, research has shown parent training to be an effective way of producing naturalistic learning within the home. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether a language intervention could be taught to parents to increase independent manding responses in their children. Three naturally occurring family routines were chosen by the family, and the parent was trained to implement an echoic-to-mand procedure with her child to increase manding responses. Results indicated that the parent successfully implemented behavior analytic strategies during naturally occurring family routines, increasing her child&rsquo;s verbal behavior acquisition. </p>

<p> Globally, more than 1.9 billion people are overweight, and 600 million are obese (World Health Organization [WHO], 2016). The consequences are expensive: The associated costs to treat co- morbid illnesses in the United States amounted to $190.2 billion (Cawley &amp; Meyerhoefer, 2012). Elevated body mass index (BMI) is directly related to premature death, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, and cancers (WHO, 2016). Weight regain after weight loss has emerged as one of the most significant obstacles for weight management therapeutics, undoubtedly perpetuating the epidemic of excess weight that affects over 60% of American adults (Maclean, Bergouignan, Cornier, &amp; Jackman, 2011). Weight management is a complex and covert interplay between biology, psychology, and environment (Brownell, 2010; Moffitt, Haynes, &amp; Mohr, 2015). The majority of weight management treatments have demonstrated high prevalence of relapse after weight loss and failed long-term efficacy after diverse healthcare treatments (Dombrowski et al., 2012; Moffitt et al., 2015; Munsch, Meyer, &amp; Biedert, 2012). This dissertation examined the most effective forms of evidence-based psychotherapeutic and technological interventions for weight management treatment, focusing specifically on populations between the normal and overweight BMI range from peer-reviewed journals dated from 1950-2017. The objectives of this doctoral project were four-fold: (a) to conduct a systematic literature review and gather information from experts in the field regarding weight management, (b) to explore the biopsychosocial implications related to weight re-gain after loss, (c) to identify the most effective psychotherapeutic interventions and mHealth implications that aid long-term weight management, and (d) to disseminate these findings using a professional presentation.</p>

<p>ABSTRACT An Intervention to Change Attitudes and Physical Activities of Adult Foster Care Home Workers in Hawaii by Edna J. Smith Insufficient information is available in the medical literature to describe the physical activity habits of adult foster care home workers. Healthcare workers are notorious for lack of self-care. Being a health care worker is a mentally and physically demanding job. It stands to reason that physically fit health care workers are less likely to suffer injury or become ill. This study questions whether attitudes towards physical activity outside the workplace can be influenced the recommended downloading of a smartphone application (smart-phone app). The intervention of the smart phone application provides a free standardized way to manage physical activity. Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires survey attitudes and thoughts towards physical activity. Each participant was provided access to these questionnaires prior to downloading the smart phone application. Approximately six weeks after the initial questionnaires were returned from the study participants, the questionnaires were given again. The data analysis for this study reveals the responses of the 21 study participants to preand post-questionnaires. Interestingly, 19 of the 21 voluntary study participant identified as being of Filipino ethnicity. Filipinos are the second largest ethnic group in Hawaii (Inouye, Matsuura, Li, Castro, & Leake, 2014), where the study took place. Key Words: adult foster care homes, physical activity, exercise, Filipino healthcare workers

<p> The importance of understanding how individuals appraise and cope with stressors is essential in the overall effective management of stress, especially in high-stress professions such as law enforcement. This study focused on understanding the reasons behind the dissimilarities in the appraisal of stressors and subsequent employment of different coping strategies among a sample of law enforcement officers. Although different variables have been examined independently, there was no clear understanding of the potential relationships between variables such as personality characteristics and coping strategies, especially when considering the appraisal of stressors. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to examine the relationship among appraisal of occupational stressors, personality traits, and coping strategies for a sample of 97 law enforcement officers from the West Virginia State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy Associates. This study included the appraisals of occupational stressors and personality traits as predictor variables and coping strategy choices will serve as the criterion variable. Multiple regression analyses were planned in order to evaluate how stress appraisals and personality traits predict coping strategies. Data were collected by using questionnaires consisting of the Operational Police Stress Questionnaire to measure stress appraisals, the Brief COPE Inventory Questionnaire to identify coping strategies, and the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-3) to provide information on the Big Five Personality constructs. An insufficient number of officers completed the stress questionnaire to complete all of the planned analyses. However, results from multiple regression analyses using personality traits to predict coping suggested that certain personality traits are strongly associated with particular types of problem and emotion-focused coping. These findings have provided a better understanding of personalities and how those fit within the coping process for law enforcement officers.</p>

<p> This study explored the possibility that social connection is one element that can contribute to persistence in a simple meditation exercise using Beary, Benson, and Klemchuk&rsquo;s relaxation response exercise with the addition of a social element. Participants were 82 females, ages 30 to 65, with English as a first language, naive (less than 2 months experience) to meditation, who were drawn from the general population. They were screened to exclude hospitalized individuals and those who have been treated for a psychological condition within the last three years. Participants were randomized to two groups. Each group received written instructions, with the control group receiving generic instructions only and the experimental group receiving the same instructions with the addition of a social element. It was expected that the group receiving instructions with a social element would show greater persistence (i.e., participate more often in the exercise and continue to use the exercise over a longer time span) at a minimum p value of .05 and with at least a small effect size. It was expected that attachment type would moderate persistence, so attachment type was measured. The persistence data were not normally distributed, so a nonparametric equivalent to a <i> t</i> test, a Mann-Whitney <i>U,</i> was used to compare the persistence means for the experimental group and the control group. No significant effect was found. The sample obtained had too few individuals by attachment type per group to permit analysis of moderating effects of attachment type.</p>

<p> Breastfeeding has been identified as the perfect source of infant nutrition. Improving the rates and duration of breastfeeding is a global public health concern. Even though facilitators and barriers to successful breastfeeding have been identified in the literature, rates of breastfeeding fall below desired targets. Maternal characteristics such as body image and eating attitudes have been examined with respect to pregnancy and birth outcomes, yet have been less studied with respect to infant feeding choice. Based on existing literature it is possible that poor body image and /or disordered eating may affect the intention to breastfeed. The purpose of this study was to compare body image, eating attitudes, and breastfeeding intention of breastfeeding to non-breastfeeding mothers. A secondary aim was to determine if breastfeeding intention, body image, and/or eating attitudes predicted actual behavior. A two group, comparative design was used to analyze data for first time mothers (n = 66) recruited through a large pediatric practice with multiple offices. Instruments included the 34 item self-report Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire-Appearance Scales (MBSRQ-AS), the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), and items from a Demographic and History form. Data analysis revealed that there was no significant difference in the body image or eating attitudes between breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding mothers. Breastfeeding intention was a strong determinant of actual breastfeeding (p = 0.001). Neither body image and/or eating attitudes predicted infant feeding method. It has been well established that personal and contextual factors affect breastfeeding intention. As a result, body image and eating attitudes can have an impact on a woman's health during childbearing. The present study highlights the need for improved instruments designed for pregnant and lactating women that measure the cognitive and behavioral aspects of body image. Subsequently, women who display disordered eating tendencies or body image dissatisfaction during the perinatal period can be identified.</p>