Trajectories of Purpose in Life Across Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease or Related Dementias in Older Adulthood.

Objectives: Sense of purpose serves as a psychological resource for late-life health. Limited research has examined how purpose changes across chronic illness diagnoses, including a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD).Method: This study leverages data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS; N = 831) to establish trajectories of purpose across ADRD diagnosis using three-year (pre-diagnosis, year of diagnosis, post-diagnosis) timespans and two comparison groups (heart disease diagnosis, no diagnosis). Results: We observed a longitudinal decrease in purpose in the ADRD diagnosis group, t = 3.85, p = .003, d = -0.258. This contrasts with heart disease diagnosis and no diagnosis groups, where purpose did not change over time. Discussion: Older adults who receive an ADRD diagnosis may be vulnerable to a decreasing sense of purpose across their diagnosis experience. We consider social, psychological, and clinical antecedents for this trend.

Expanding Behavioral and Occupational Health Research in Military Police.

INTRODUCTION: It is important to understand the behavioral and occupational health needs of military police personnel, a high-risk and understudied population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The incidence rates of behavioral and occupational conditions were examined from the years of 2005 to 2021 from the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database. Single-sample chi-square analyses were performed to analyze the differences in the incidence rates across demographic groups relative to population density. RESULTS: There were moderate-to-large increases in sleep-related disorders and mood or stress-related disorders. There were also patterns of overrepresentation or underrepresentation in diagnoses of various conditions by sex, age group, marital status, race, service branch, and pay grade. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to provide tailored resources and programming to employees in high-stress settings to help prevent or manage behavioral and occupational health conditions and reduce the stigma surrounding the utilization of such resources and programs.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Suicidal ideation, and Stress: The Moderating Role of Dysfunctional and Recovery Cognitions.

OBJECTIVE: Trauma and stressor-related behavioral health conditions are prevalent in military populations and have become a major public health concern in recent years. Individuals who commonly report suicidal ideation often have comorbid mental health diagnoses (i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder; PTSD). However, the mechanisms associated with stress, suicidal ideation, and PTSD are unclear. METHOD: The present study examined the moderating role of dysfunctional and recovery cognitions between (i) PTSD and suicidal ideation, and (ii) stress and suicidal ideation in two distinct samples. Sample 1 was composed of civilians and military personnel (N = 322). Sample 2 was composed of (N = 377) student service members and veterans (SSM/Vs). RESULTS: In Study 1, we found that low recovery cognitions at higher and moderate levels of PTSD symptoms were significantly associated with increased suicidal ideation. High dysfunctional cognitions were significantly associated with suicidal ideation at higher levels of PTSD symptoms. In Study 2, we found no differences in any level of recovery cognitions at low and moderate stress levels with suicidal ideation. Higher levels of stress were associated with high dysfunctional cognitions and suicidal ideation. CONCLUSION: Promoting higher levels of recovery cognitions and reducing dysfunctional cognitions are important in addressing stress, suicidal ideation, and comorbid conditions such as PTSD. Future research should focus on examining the clinical utility of the Dispositional Recovery and Dysfunction Inventory (DRDI) in other populations (i.e., firefighters and paramedics). This could contribute to efforts of suicide prevention and the promotion of the well-being of individuals experiencing suicidal ideation.HIGHLIGHTSPromoting recovery cognitions may serve as a protective factor against stress.Dysfunctional cognitions contribute to worsening behavioral health conditions.Suicide prevention efforts should target dysfunctional and recovery cognitions.

Examining student well-being: Development and initial validation of the perceived vulnerability and hardiness scale.

OBJECTIVES: The primary aim was to assess the factor structure and establish measurement invariance across sex for the Perceived Vulnerability and Hardiness Scale. PARTICIPANTS: Sample 1 (N = 377) and Sample 2 (N = 401) were volunteers from six large southern universities. METHODS: Iterative and collaborative survey-based focus groups were used to create the final version of the PVHS. RESULTS: A two-factor model was identified through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The psychological hardiness subscale was found to positively correlate with hardiness and resilience, and negatively correlate with psychosocial functioning, depression, and anxiety. The vulnerability subscale was found to positively, strongly correlate with the anxiety, psychological vulnerability, and psychosocial functioning, and negatively correlate with the hardiness and resilience. Men and women interpreted the PVHS in an equivalent manner. CONCLUSIONS: This brief measure provides researchers, counselors, and administrations a method for general assessment, intervention effectiveness, and evaluation of campus climates.

A Retrospective, Epidemiological Review of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in a Military Population.

OBJECTIVE: Examine incidence rates of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in a military population over a tenyear period and whether demographic characteristics differ within the same population. METHODS: Diagnostic data and demographic variables from 23,821 active duty service members between 2006 and 2015 were analyzed from the Defense Medical Epidemiological Database. RESULTS: The incidence rates of new onset cases ranged from .22 (per 1,000 service members) in 2015 to a high of 1.46 (per 1,000 service members) in 2006 for T2DM without complications and .00 (per 1,000 service members) in 2007 to a high of .29 (per 1,000 service members) in 2015 for T2DM with complications. The one-sample chi-square test showed the observed, and expected frequencies differed significantly for all demographic variables tested. CONCLUSIONS: Although there was a significant increase in the diagnosis of T2DM with complications in 2015, the overall downtrend is similar to that of the general US population. Older age and higher rank were more likely to be associated with the diagnosis of T2DM with and without complications, again suggestive of similar trends with the general US population. Continued efforts towards early diagnosis and treatment of these service members are needed to address this problem regarding military readiness.

Incidence Rates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Over a 17-Year Period in Active Duty Military Service Members.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects approximately 8% of the general population. The prevalence of PTSD is twice as high in active duty service members and military veterans. Few studies have investigated the incidence rates of PTSD in active duty military personnel. The present study evaluated the incidence of PTSD diagnoses and the differences between demographic factors for service members between 2001 and 2017. Data on 182,400 active duty service members between 2001 and 2017 were drawn from the Defense Medical Epidemiological Database and examined by sex, age, service branch, military pay grade, marital status, and race. From 2001 to 2017, the incidence rates of PTSD in the active force (per 1,000 service members) steadily climbed, with a low of 1.24 in 2002 to a high of 12.94 in 2016. Service members most often diagnosed with PTSD were in the U.S. Army, with the enlisted pay grades of E-5-E-9, White, married, male, and between 20 and 24 years old. Statistically significant differences, ps < .001, were found between observed and expected counts across all examined demographic variables. The present study is the first to our knowledge to provide a comprehensive examination of PTSD incidence rates in an active duty military population.

Quantitative Cross-Cultural Similarities and Differences in Social Discounting for Gains and Losses.

Social discounting is when resource allocation decreases as social distance increases. Studies fitting different quantitative models to social discounting data have shown that a q-exponential function based on Tsallis' statistics best fits loss data, whereas a hyperbolic power function best fits gain data. However, a social discounting sign effect, where losses are discounted less than equivalent gains, has not been consistently found. This study fit four different quantitative social discounting models to gain and loss data for 40 United States (US) participants. We compared quantitative model fits to previous studies collected with Japanese and German participants to determine if (1) different quantitative social discounting models best fit loss and gain data, (2) US participants discounted less gains than Japanese participants, but not losses, and (3) US participants showed the sign effect. Results showed that the q-exponential function and the hyperbolic power function best fit median loss and gain data, respectively. There were no significant absolute differences between cultures for gains or losses, and US participants showed a robust sign effect. While most results for US participants were consistent with previous data, future cross-cultural social discounting studies are needed that manipulate sign as well as reward magnitude to determine best quantitative model fits. Social discounting results are also discussed in relation to their application to important health behaviors such as smoking and obesity.