No description available.

Asthma is a prevalent, costly, and potentially deadly disease. Despite advances in the pharmacological treatment of asthma, many asthma sufferers do not benefit from their medication the way they should because they fail to take it as prescribed. The noncompliance rate for asthma is about 30% to 40%. In this study, I describe the theoretical and practical rationale for, as well as the development of, a brief self-report measure (called the Multidimensional Asthma Questionnaire $\{$MAQ$\}$) for assessing medication compliance in asthma sufferers. Results of the study showed that the MAQ had adequate internal validity and a four factor structure that was designated belief, threat, use, and knowledge respectively. Although it was hypothesized that scores on the MAQ would correlate positively with an independent measure of compliance that was based on pharmacists' medication refill records, this hypothesis was not supported. Neither the MAQ, nor two other measures for assessing the attitudes and beliefs of asthma patients, had any relationship to medication compliance as estimated by pharmacists' refill records. In fact, when scores on the three questionnaires were entered into a multiple regression analysis, the results showed that minimal patient identifying information (gender, marital status, and SES) did a better job of predicting compliance. These results underscore the complexities of accurately assessing and measuring compliance in asthma sufferers. Suggestions for future research are described.

This study assessed the effectiveness of an HIV/AIDS psychoeducational intervention and skills training package for a high-risk group for HIV/AIDS, the chronic mentally ill. Twenty-seven participants were randomly assigned to either a treatment or no treatment control group. Elements of the intervention were (a) education about HIV transmission and high risk groups, (b) problem-solving skills training, and (c) behavioral skills training based on education needs identified in a previous study of the same population. Pretest and posttest measures were administered to both the treatment and control groups in order to assess differences and improvement. Results showed improvements from pretest to posttest in the treatment group's HIV/AIDS knowledge, behavioral and role-play skills in high-risk situations, self-efficacy in utilizing learned skills, and intention to use these skills. The same improvement did not occur in the control group. Follow-up data and implications of the study are discussed.

Nonadherence with blood glucose testing is a prevalent and potentially dangerous problem for patients with diabetes. Unit dose packaging has been shown to increase medication adherence in several populations. However, this technique has not been applied to products other than pills, and has not been used with diabetes patients. The present study used unit dose packaged blood testing and injection materials and a brief telephone prompt to increase the frequency with which diabetes patients test their blood glucose. In a combined multiple baseline A-B-BC-A design, baseline was established for at least 3 weeks (A) followed by special packaging for at least 2 weeks (B) special packaging plus a telephone prompt (BC), and then a 3 week return to baseline (A). Adherence was measured with self-report forms, trace measures of used testing materials, and the Wagner's Blood Testing Questionnaire. Results show that overall, there was a difference between baseline and treatment, with treatment, either B or BC, yielding the highest overall adherence for all 5 participants.

The present study compared levels of cigarette smoking refusal skills, and assessed generalization to a novel behavior domain among three groups of fifth grade students. A total of 32 students where randomly assigned to one of three groups: (a) a smoking refusal skills group; (b) a multiple domain (smoking, drug and alcohol, and gang activity) refusal skills group; and (c) a group that only discussed the negative health effects of smoking. It was predicted that both skill training groups, in relation to the discussion group, would score significantly higher for refusing cigarettes on self-efficacy and skill performance dependent variables. It was also predicted that the group receiving training in multiple high risk domains would perform best on the untrained measure of refusing an offer to get into a car with a drunk driver. Results did not support either of the two hypotheses. The reasons for this are discussed.

Current Type A research emphasizes cognitive variables which may predispose negative emotions, maladaptive behavioral coping, autonomic arousal, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Hostility and the Type A belief style delineated by Price exemplify pervasive, cross-situational cognitive styles. Hostile cognitions (e.g., "Someone has it in for me") reflect cynicism and distrust. Price's construct is somewhat similar: (a) External achievements define self-worth, (b) no universal moral principles exist (i.e., "Nice guys finish last"), and (c) all resources are scarce (i.e., "Your loss is my gain"). Using male college basketball coaches as practice partners, I attempted to answer two primary questions with the present study. First, are Type A beliefs, hostility, perceived stress, and the experience and expression of anger related in basketball coaches? Second, is there a relationship between the experience and expression of anger (self-reported and observed) and the self-reported risk of cardiovascular disease in basketball coaches?

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The research in this study examined the nature of college student gambling (N=201) and whether general gaming education can influence meaningful changes in college students’ gambling attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions. A group of college students from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Casino Management class, received general gaming education while two comparison groups, one from the same university and one from Worcester State College, Massachusetts, did not. Assessment of the participants’ attitudes toward gambling, gambling fallacy perceptions, ability to calculate gambling odds, and gambling behaviors were examined before and after exposure to gaming education. Seventy five percent of the students surveyed as the baseline group reported gambling within the past 12 months, with a minority gambling weekly or more, or gambling large amounts of money. At the semester end, follow-up findings showed that the students who received the gaming education intervention demonstrated significant improvement in their ability to calculate gambling odds and resist common gambling fallacies. Unexpectedly however, this improved knowledge was not associated with any decreases in their gambling attitudes or time and money spent on gambling activities. The implication drawn from this research is that knowledge gained from a general gaming class, including gaining improvements in odds calculations and fallacy perceptions, may not be enough of a factor to effect significant changes in college students’ gambling attitudes and behaviors.