The Development and Initial Validation of the Child Perceived Discrimination Questionnaire.

Perceived discrimination can affect psychological and physical health, starting in childhood. Yet, the measures that exist for measuring perceived discrimination among children have methodological limitations and structural/theoretical inconsistencies. The Child Perceived Discrimination Questionnaire (CPDQ) fills the gaps of the current measures by assessing two dimensions of everyday discrimination from both child and adult sources. To assess the reliability and validity of the CPDQ, we examined data from 163 participants, aged 9-11, 52.15% female, 57.67% Black. Results indicated that the CPDQ has good to excellent internal consistency and provided preliminary support for an a priori hypothesized factor structure. The CPDQ also discriminated between different race groups and demonstrated construct validity. Future research should seek additional evidence of reliability and validity for the CPDQ, though this preliminary evidence suggests that the CPDQ is appropriate for assessing perceived discrimination in children.

Introspectiveness and adolescent development.

This study introduces a measure of introspectiveness for adolescents aged 12-18 and investigates its association with several aspects of adolescent development. Introspectiveness-the tendency to deveote diffuse attention to thoughts and feelings about the self-increased during adolescence, and may be stimulated by discontinuities associated with adolescent development, other kinds of discontinuities, and parental introspectiveness. Also, introspectiveness was positively associated with depression, anxiety, and physical symptoms, and may help explain the increase in symptom reporting during this developmental period. Highly introspective adolescents participated in more artistic activities and spent more time alone than those low on introspectiveness. Finally, highly introspective college students chose self-oriented academic majors, which may have implications for future occupational development. Together these results suggest that the concept of introspectiveness may increase our understanding of several important aspects of this developmental period.

Effects of aerobic conditioning on cardiovascular sympathetic response to and recovery from challenge.

Exercise has widely documented cardioprotective effects, but the mechanisms behind these effects are still poorly understood. Here, we test the hypothesis that aerobic training lowers cardiovascular sympathetic responses to and speeds recovery from challenge. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial contrasting aerobic versus strength training on indices of cardiac (pre-ejection period, PEP) and vascular (low-frequency blood pressure variability, LF-BPV) sympathetic responses to and recovery from psychological and orthostatic challenge in 149 young, healthy, sedentary adults. Aerobic and strength training did not alter PEP or LF-BPV reactivity to or recovery from challenge. These findings, from a large randomized, controlled trial using an intent-to-treat design, show that moderate aerobic exercise training has no effect on PEP and LF-BPV reactivity to or recovery from psychological or orthostatic challenge. In healthy young adults, the cardioprotective effects of exercise training are unlikely to be mediated by changes in sympathetic activity.

Influencing medication adherence among women with AIDS.

This study examined the effects of a ten-session cognitive-behavioural stress management/expressive supportive therapy (CBSM+) intervention on adherence to antiretroviral medication. Although the intervention was not designed to influence adherence, it was theorized that improved coping and social support could enhance adherence. Women with AIDS (N = 174) in Miami, New York and New Jersey, USA, were randomized to a group CBSM+ intervention or individual control condition. Participants were African American (55%), Latina (18%) and Caribbean (18%) with drug (55%) and/or alcohol (32%) histories. Participants were assessed on self-reported medication adherence over seven days, HIV-related coping strategies and beliefs regarding HIV medication. Baseline overall self-reported adherence rates were moderate and related to coping strategies and HIV medication beliefs. Low adherent (80%) participants in the intervention condition increased their mean self-reported medication adherence (30.4% increase, t44 = 3.1, p < 0.01), whereas low adherent women in the control condition showed a non-significant trend (19.6% increase, t44 = 2.0, p > 0.05). The intervention did not improve adherence in this population; conditions did not differ significantly on self-reported adherence. Low adhering intervention participants significantly decreased levels of denial-based coping (F1,88 = 5.97, p < 0.05). Results suggest that future interventions should utilize group formats and address adherence using coping and medication-knowledge focused strategies.

A brief sexual barrier intervention for women living with AIDS: acceptability, use, and ethnicity.

Interventions aimed at reducing sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus/sexually transmitted diseases (HIV/STDs) have focused primarily on male condom use among seronegative men and women. However, female-controlled sexual barriers (female condoms and vaginal microbicides) offer women living with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) alternative methods to protect themselves and others from disease transmission. A pilot behavioral intervention was conducted to increase sexual barrier use and enhance and assess factors related to acceptability. Participants (N = 178) were drawn from the Stress Management and Relaxation Training with Expressive Supportive Therapy (SMART/EST) Women's Project, a multisite phase III clinical trial for women living with AIDS (Miami, FL; New York City, NY; Newark, NJ). Intervention participants (n = 89) were matched for age and ethnicity with control condition participants (n = 89). Women were African American (52%), Haitian (15%), Hispanic (19%), Caucasian (10%), and other ethnicities (4%). The intervention condition received barrier products (male and female condoms and spermicides based on nonoxynol-9 in the form of vaginal gel, film, and suppositories) during three sessions held over 3 months. Data on barrier use and acceptability were analyzed at baseline and 3 and 9 months postintervention. Use of N-9 spermicides on a trial basis increased significantly by 3 months in the intervention conditions (22%-51%, P <.05). Cultural differences in acceptability were greatest between Haitian women and women in other ethnic groups. Exposure to this pilot behavioral intervention was associated with increased acceptability and use of chemical barriers without decreased use of male condoms.

Vulvodynia: an introduction and critical review of a chronic pain condition.

Vulvodynia, or chronic vulvar discomfort, has become an increasingly recognized complaint in the medical literature. However, classification, assessment, and treatment for vulvodynia have not been universally established. There is a serious need for greater understanding of this disorder since evidence suggests, although not life-threatening, vulvodynia appears to have a significant impact on quality of life. This article reviews the medical and psychological literature on vulvodynia published since 1983, the first year vulvodynia was recognized as a diagnosis in the medical literature. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the literature on diagnostic issues, treatment options, and psychosocial sequelae with the aim of highlighting areas in need of future research. Finally, suggestions are made for considering vulvodynia from a multidimensional, chronic pain perspective.

Shame and its psychopathologic correlates in two women's health problems: binge eating disorder and vulvodynia.

Shame is thought to be a ubiquitous and destructive psychological process associated with psychiatric and medical conditions. This study examined its nature in two contrasting health problems that influence women's self-evaluations of their bodies and attractiveness, namely an eating disorder (a psychiatric disorder with medical implications) or vulvodynia (i.e., vulvar pain; a newly identified medical condition with psychiatric implications). A community sample of adult women without medical conditions served as an additional comparison group. Participants were 203 adult females: 72 with DSM-IV-defined Binge Eating Disorder (BED), 57 with vulvodynia, and 74 non-patient controls. The three study groups differed significantly: the BED group reported greater shame than the vulvodynia group, and the BED and vulvodynia groups reported greater shame than the control group. Higher levels of shame were associated with higher levels of symptomatic functioning within each group.

Relationship of physical symptoms and mood to perceived and actual blood pressure in hypertensive men: a repeated-measures design.

OBJECTIVE: Noncompliance with antihypertensive treatment is a significant health concern. Researchers have suggested that the absence of definable symptoms associated with elevated blood pressure (BP) attenuates patients' motivation to use medication. The current study evaluated the relation of psychological variables, including symptoms, perceptions of BP, and perceptions of medication efficacy, to physiological variables, including actual BP and the use of active antihypertensive medication vs. placebo. METHODS: Participants included 54 mildly hypertensive men who were participating in a placebo-controlled, double-blind study of the quality-of-life effects of antihypertensive therapies. Survey data and BP measurements were obtained during a series of clinic visits. RESULTS: Mixed-model analysis of variance was used to evaluate both between- and within-person relations of psychological to physiological state. Results revealed significant within-person associations between predicted and actual BP. Negative mood was closely related to predicted, but not actual, BP. Participants were also relatively accurate in rating active medications as more effective than placebo. Between-persons analyses did not show relations of symptoms or moods to actual BP. CONCLUSIONS: The significant within-person relations of estimated to actual BP suggest that some individuals may be able to estimate their own BP, although the accuracy of these estimates is limited. The findings may explain patients' belief that they can self-monitor BP. The results have implications for theories of the mental representation of illness and for efforts to improve compliance with antihypertensive therapy.

Workday communication and ambulatory blood pressure: implications for the reactivity hypothesis.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was used to investigate the cardiovascular correlates of naturally occurring interpersonal interactions. Participants were New York City traffic agents, who routinely engage in conflict-prone communication with the public under relatively fixed conditions. Talking with the public, supervisors, or coworkers was associated with levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate that exceeded a resting baseline. Blood pressure was higher when agents were talking to the public than when they were talking to coworkers or engaged in a noncommunicative work task. Systolic blood pressure response during communication was associated with the agent's mood. Blood pressure effects associated with communication appear to persist after the communication has ceased. Implications of these data for the reactivity hypothesis of the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease are discussed.

Internalized homophobia in a sample of HIV+ gay men, and its relationship to psychological distress, coping, and illness progression.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether internalized homophobia is related to psychological distress and coping style and whether these relationships are moderated by illness stage. A sample of gay men, most of whom were HIV+, Caucasian, and well educated, were administered assessments at both baseline and 2-year follow-up, which allowed for the assessment of change over time in the context of HIV illness progression and to determine whether internalized homophobia predicts psychological distress and coping over time. Greater internalized homophobia at baseline, specifically among those who were HIV+ asymptomatic, predicted higher levels of distress at follow-up. In contrast, internalized homophobia had, at best, a weak association with coping. No relationship was found between illness stage and internalized homophobia, psychological distress, or coping. Mental health professionals working with HIV+ gay men may be more effective in targeting resources and interventions aimed at improving mental health and quality of life if they address issues related to internalized homophobia.

Superiority of nonpharmacologic therapy compared to propranolol and placebo in men with mild hypertension: a randomized, prospective trial.

We compared the effects of nonpharmacologic therapy, propranolol monotherapy, and placebo on blood pressure, metabolic, exercise, and quality of life variables in a 12-week, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 79 male patients with hypertension. A significant reduction in diastolic blood pressure was observed with both nondrug therapy (-8.0 +/- 1.08 mm Hg) and propranolol (-9.5 +/- 1.46 mm Hg) compared to placebo (-0.1 +/- 2.01 mm Hg). However, only patients receiving nonpharmacologic therapy showed a reduced body mass index, lower total and low-density lipoprotein serum cholesterol levels, and increased exercise tolerance compared to both propranolol and placebo. Patients receiving propranolol felt less anxious and unsure but showed a significant decrement in nocturnal penile tumescence compared to both placebo and nondrug therapy. Patients receiving nondrug therapy felt more energetic and reported improved sexual arousal and greater sexual satisfaction after treatment. Reductions in blood pressure in the nondrug treatment group were related to both weight reduction and improved fitness. We conclude that nondrug therapy is effective in controlling blood pressure in men with mild hypertension and is associated with improvements in weight, lipoprotein levels, and exercise tolerance compared to both propranolol and placebo. Quality of life assessments further support the use of nondrug therapy in this context.

Nondrug treatment approaches for hypertension.

A rational approach for nondrug therapy of hypertension in elderly persons is presented. Dietary change, exercise, and stress management are elements of combined therapy that may be of considerable value in controlling high blood pressure. Specific disadvantages of nondrug therapy are also discussed.