Not available / text

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to explore how level of cultural identity was related to help-seeking attitudes among Asian students and to compare between Asian and Caucasian students. A total of 367 undergraduate university students participated in this study, of whom 184 (127 female and 57 male) were Asians and 183 (137 female, 44 male and 2 unspecified gender) were Caucasians. A weak positive correlation was found between Asian cultural identity and positive help-seeking attitudes (r = .158, p = .034, n = 181) (2-tailed); no significant correlation existed between cultural identity and negative help-seeking attitudes (r = .077, p = .305, n = 178) (2-tailed); no significant differences were found among: (a) high Caucasian cultural identity, (b) low Caucasian cultural identity Asian groups, and (c) Caucasian group for both positive help-seeking attitudes (F(2, 186) - .612), p = .544). Mixed results were found indicating that there was no easily identifiable trend between cultural identity and positive and negative help-seeking attitudes. Theoretical, clinical, and research implications are discussed.

Over the past decade results from a series of research studies have contributed to the development and evaluation of the Arthritis Self-Management Program (ASMP), a volunteer-led patient education program for persons with arthritis. To date, these studies have primarily focussed on program effectiveness, process, implementation, and dissemination. In these studies self-efficacy was identified as an important construct contributing to the program's effectiveness, however, the exact relationship between self-efficacy and health outcomes has not been determined. In this dissertation research I investigate the evidence of a causal relationship between self-efficacy and three program outcomes (a decrease in depression, less pain, and a higher self-rating of overall health status), and attempt to determine the nature of that relationship. The research methodology involved the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) with two longitudinal samples, one (n=122) of 1991 ASMP participants in British Columbia, the other (n=189) of 1992 ASMP participants in Ontario. In the analysis self-efficacy was paired separately with depression, pain and perceived health status. The results of the SEM failed to confirm a dominant causal relationship from self-efficacy to depression, or to pain. This may indicate that these variables have a reciprocal or "spiral" relationship or that both sets of variables may be caused by factors not considered in the analysis. The results of the SEM between self-efficacy and perceived health status did, however, show that higher self-rated health status leads to higher self-efficacy at a later time. The data did not show statistical significance for other causal patterns among these variables. The findings suggest that self-efficacy may play a moderator role in the complex relationship involving individuals with arthritis, their behaviors, and health outcomes. As well, the findings have implications for health promotion planning and research in that they reinforce the complex interplay of psychological and behavioral variables (probably influenced by social variables) in programs which attempt to give individuals greater control over their health. The efficacy and effectiveness of the ASMP has been established in previous studies. This study in no way calls these into question. It does, however, suggest that the mechanism by which these effective outcomes are achieved warrants further investigation.

No description available.

There is a discrepancy between men and women in regards to utilization of professional psychological services. It has been estimated that two-thirds of all individuals seeking professional psychological services are women. One reason that has been suggested to explain this underutilization of services by men is negative attitudes toward seeking psychological services and an inability to express emotion. The current investigation examined the relationship between men’s emotional expression, their attitudes toward expressing emotion, attitudes toward seeking professional psychological services, and their perceived barriers to seeking help. Participants were 228 men from a large, Midwestern university. Their age ranged from 18 to 50 years with a mean age of 23.34 years. Level of education ranged from freshmen undergraduate students to Master’s level graduate students. Eighty six percent identified as Caucasian and 90% identified as straight, and 6.6% identified as gay. To assess the relationship between the variables canonical correlation analysis was performed. Results demonstrated that men’s actual emotional expression and attitudes toward expressing emotion were related to stigma associated with and barriers to seeking professional psychological services. In particular, the more negative attitudes men had toward expressing emotion and the less emotional expressive they were, the greater their stigma beliefs associated with seeking professional psychological services and the more barriers they perceived with seeking said services. Findings from this investigation offer areas for future research, including further investigations of the relationship between attitudes toward expressing emotion and stigma associated with seeking professional psychological services. In addition, clinical applications are discussed, including methods to decrease stigma associated with seeking professional psychological services and means to address emotional expression with men in therapeutic settings. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This report is the result of a field study conducted in the southern part of Zambia, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how self-help facilitation provided by the organisation Response Network can contribute to the empowerment of people living with disabilities in the context of rural Zambia. We interviewed four people working for the organisation as well as the principal responsible of youth with disabilities in a rural high school. We also conducted two focus group interviews with two disability support groups in a rural village. The results of this study were analysed using empowerment theory and systems theory. Our findings showed that self-determination, education and participation were contributing to the empowerment of people with disabilities. Level of attitudes, understanding and motivation were shown to be important factors which impact the empowerment of people with disabilities.

No description available.

Die Präeklampsie als schwangerschaftsspezifische Erkrankung zählt unverändert weltweit zu den Hauptursachen fetaler und maternaler Morbidität und Mortalität. Ungeachtet vieler Forschungsbestrebungen fehlt bisher vor allem eine effiziente Früherkennung sowie daraus ableitbare kausale Therapieoptionen. Obgleich Ätiologie und Pathogenese nach wie vor als ungeklärt gelten, existieren zunehmend überzeugende Hinweise, welche einer Dysbalance von angiogenen Faktoren, wie VEGF und PlGF, und antiangiogenen Faktoren, wie sFlt1 und sEng, eine zentrale Rolle in der Entstehung der Erkrankung zuschreiben. Mehrere Studiengruppen konnten in diesem Zusammenhang veränderte Plasmakonzentrationen antiangiogener Proteine noch vor der eigentlichen Manifestation der Erkrankung nachweisen. Ziel dieser Studie war es zu klären, ob eine pathologisch uterine Perfusion im 2. Trimenon mit erhöhten sFlt1-Werten assoziiert ist und in einem prospektiven Ansatz die prädiktive Wertigkeit der antiangiogenen Faktoren sFlt1 und sEng, in einem durch Dopplersonografie vorselektierten Risikokollektiv zu bestimmen. Dazu wurden im retrospektiven Teil von 39 und im prospektiven Teil von 77 Einlingsschwangerschaften im 2. Trimester in venös entnommenen Blutproben mit Hilfe des ELISA - Tests die maternalen sFlt1- und sEng- Konzentrationen gemessen. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass in einem durch Dopplersonografie vorselektierten Patientenkollektiv die maternale sFlt1-Konzentration bei Patientinnen mit späteren Schwangerschaftskomplikationen signifikant erhöht ist. Zusätzlich konnte belegt werden, dass die sEng - Konzentration in einem dopplersonografisch vorselektierten Risikokollektiv ebenfalls als unabhängiger prädiktiver Marker zur Vorhersage einer späteren Präeklampsie genutzt werden kann. Vielmehr ist es sogar möglich, Hochrisikopatientinnen mit Manifestation der Erkrankung vor der 34. SSW durch ausgesprochen hohe Sensitivität und Spezifität zu identifizieren.

This thesis combines a play, Getting Betterer all the Time, a satire about self-help, and an exegesis examining the possibilities that self-help offers for satire and why. The self-help industry has evolved into a massive social and economical phenomenon. The scope of self-help is constantly expanding, indicating a society of individuals desperate for help in all facets of life. As this movement has become more prevalent, self-help has attracted criticism for the way it thrives on the exploitation of people's insecurities. By playing to people's aspirations, many self-help practitioners have become wealthy, but there is a danger that some self-help products can have a harmful effect on people, and at best give rise to an insufferable hubris. Consequently, we have witnessed a rise in popular texts that spoof the self-help industry. The excesses of the self-help industry make it an easy target for satire. Self-help is well matched to satire's function to provide social commentary by ridicule of targets causing harm to the well-being of society. Self-help is an appropriate subject for satire because of its focus on social behavior such as modern parenting, consumerism and status anxiety. Self-help, in addition to providing these opportunities for social commentary, also offers much comedic potential.