Correlates of dietary intake among men involved in the MAN for Health study.

The clustering of diet and other lifestyle behaviors and their psychosocial correlates were examined among 455 Latino and African American men in the U.S. Southeast. Men were recruited by male community health workers and surveys were self-administered in a group format. Latino men were younger, less educated, and more likely to be employed than African American men and reported a lower household income and larger household size. Fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with physical activity (p < or = .001). A more positive attitude toward health was associated with meeting vegetable dietary guidelines (p < or = .05) and consuming fast food less frequently (p < or = .01). Active coping was associated with meeting fruit and vegetable dietary guidelines (p < or = .01 and p < or = .001, respectively), and avoidant coping was associated with greater fast-food consumption (p < or = .001). Latino fast-food consumption was associated with binge drinking (p < or = .001). This research provides evidence for tailoring dietary intervention for men of color.

Effects of racial discrimination and health behaviors on mental and physical health of middle-class African American men.

This research is an examination of the effects of racial discrimination and health-promoting behaviors on the physical and mental health of a sample of 399 well-educated African American men. One would think that the attainment of higher education would increase health-promoting behaviors and might decrease discriminatory experiences that impact health. However, regression analysis indicated a more complex picture. Health-promoting behaviors were positively related to mental health, whereas experiences of racial discrimination contributed to poorer mental health. Relationships between health-promoting behaviors and that of racial discrimination to physical health were found to be nonsignificant. In conclusion, the authors discuss the importance of culturally appropriate health-promotion efforts.

Children's behavioral styles at age 3 are linked to their adult personality traits at age 26.

We observed 1,000 3-year-old children who exhibited five temperament types: Undercontrolled, Inhibited, Confident, Reserved, and Well-adjusted. Twenty-three years later, we reexamined 96% of the children as adults, using multiple methods of comprehensive personality assessment, including both self- and informant-reports. These longitudinal data provide the longest and strongest evidence to date that children's early-emerging behavioral styles can foretell their characteristic behaviors, thoughts, and feelings as adults, pointing to the foundations of the human personality in the early years of life.