A theory-driven organ donation campaign: a field intervention among university students in Iran.

Background: This study conducted an empirical evaluation of an intervention derived from the theory of planned behavior (TPB) aimed at implementing a health campaign among medical students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this interventional study, a valid and reliable TPB-based questionnaire was administered before launching a health campaign titled "Organ Donation=Life Donation" among 260 medical students. The campaign was structured around nine steps: situation analysis, goal identification, target audience identification, strategy development, tactics establishment, media selection, timetable creation, budget planning, and program evaluation. Two months after the campaign, participants completed a posttest and were offered an organ donation card. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS ver. 16, employing descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and tests such as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the paired-samples t-test. Results: All participants adopted more prodonation stances across all constructs measured, both immediately and 2 months after exposure to the health campaign, compared to their pretest scores. These results indicate that the health campaign had a significant impact on psychological variables such as attitudes (P<0.001), subjective norms (P<0.001), and perceived behavioral control (P<0.038), as well as on the actual acceptance of an organ donor card. Conclusions: Effective health education and promotion interventions, including health campaigns, are essential to encourage the use of organ donation cards. Additionally, current experiences indicate that the TPB serves as a suitable theoretical framework for designing organ donation interventions.

Participation in a Yoga Study Decreases Stress and Depression Scores for Incarcerated Women.

Incarcerated individuals exhibit a high incidence of stress-related disorders, including addiction and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as the added stress of captivity. Access to stress-reduction tools is limited for these individuals. One possible approach may be regular structured yoga classes. Using two approaches, we tested the effectiveness of a brief, intensive yoga intervention in a population of incarcerated women in a county jail. The first approach was an examination of archival data collected as part of a program analysis. Individuals showed considerable reduction in self-reported stress following a single yoga session. The second approach was an experimental study using a week-long yoga intervention. Thirty-four participants were assigned to either the yoga or control group for the first week. In the second week, the conditions were reversed. Participants were assessed weekly, before and after intervention. Baseline scores revealed high rates of depression, stress, and exposure to traumatic life events compared to normative data. Stress and depression were assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale and Beck Depression Inventory, respectively. Compared to controls, participants reported less depression after a week of daily yoga sessions. Perceived stress declined under both control and yoga conditions. Due to the transient nature of the jail institution, it is important to examine interventions that can be provided on a short-term basis. Although there were limitations in this study, the results support the conclusion that the brief yoga intervention had a positive effect on participants' well-being.

Perceived stress and ADHD symptoms in adults.

OBJECTIVE: Given that ADHD has been linked to dysfunction across development and in many life domains, it is likely that individuals experiencing these symptoms are at increased risk for experiencing stress. The current study examines the association between ADHD and other psychiatric symptoms and perceived stress in a community sample of adults. METHOD: Perceived stress data collected from 983 participants (M(age) = 45.6 years) were analyzed primarily via hierarchical multiple regression using ADHD symptom clusters, demographic variables, and anxiety and depression scale variables as predictors. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: ADHD symptoms positively associated with perceived stress. Inattention and sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT), as opposed to hyperactivity-impulsivity and newly proposed executive dysfunction symptoms, were the most consistent predictors. These findings reinforce that the experience of ADHD symptoms in adulthood is associated with stress and suggest that SCT could play an important role in assessing risk for negative adult outcomes.

Social likeability, conformity, and body talk: Does fat talk have a normative rival in female body image conversations?

Fat talk, dialogues among women involving negative body-focused discussions, was studied as a function of conformity and social likeability through the use of four vignettes depicting young women in conversation. Using a 2 (body presentation style of the group: negative or positive)x2 (body presentation style of the target, Jenny: negative or positive) factorial design, 215 college women (92.1% non-Hispanic Caucasian) read one of four vignettes in a classroom setting and made ratings on a social likeability scale. Participants' personal ratings of Jenny's likeability were higher when she spoke positively about her body, whereas they expected the other group members in the vignette to like Jenny more when she conformed to the group's body presentation style. This study is the first to support two competing norms for women's body image-the existing norm to fat talk versus a newly documented norm that some women like others who express body acceptance.

Exploring the relationship of hospital and market characteristics and organ donation in U.S. hospitals.

Unmet demand for organ transplantation is, in part, a result of low rates of organ donation. While the transplant community works diligently to improve rates of organ donation, patients on waiting lists for transplantation continue to die. This article reviews factors that are associated with rates of organ donation at U.S. hospitals. We analyzed two years of data on the numbers of actual and potential donors at U.S. hospitals to discern whether hospital or market attributes are directly related to a hospital's rate of securing organ donations. We found that certain hospital characteristics are related to higher donation rates. Further research and a deeper understanding of organizational and environmental influences on the complex nature of securing organ donations are needed to help alleviate transplantation waiting lists.

Condom use among high-risk adolescents: testing the influence of alcohol use on the relationship of cognitive correlates of behavior.

The goal of this study was the exploration of distal effects of alcohol use on condom use. Criminally involved adolescents completed an initial measure of attitudes, beliefs, and prior behavior. Of the 300 who completed the initial measurement, 267 (89%) completed a behavioral assessment 6 months later. Analyses validated a theoretical model of condom use intentions and indicated that intentions and attitudes measured at baseline were significant predictors of condom use behavior 6 months later. Neither alcohol use nor alcohol problems moderated relationships among model variables or the influence of intentions and attitudes on behavior. The findings do not support a distal role for alcohol use in altering the cognitive correlates of condom use intentions and behavior among high-risk adolescents.

Predicting aerobic versus resistance exercise using the theory of planned behavior.

OBJECTIVE: To test the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in aerobic versus resistance training in a prospective design. Relationships between TPB variables, extroversion, and perceived health were examined. METHODS: College students (210) completed an initial measurement and a 3-month follow-up assessment. Reasons for exercising were assessed. RESULTS: TPB variables, extroversion, and perceived health collectively accounted for substantial variance in aerobic (19%) and resistance exercise (40%). Reasons for exercise included physical, psychological, and social concerns. CONCLUSION: Differences in the predictive validity of model constructs suggest potential differential intervention foci for aerobic versus resistance exercise.