Cardiovascular risk: gender differences in lifestyle behaviors and coping strategies.

BACKGROUND: Although cardiovascular disease (CVD) does not occur until mid to late life for most adults, the presence of risk factors, such as high blood pressure (BP) and cholesterol, has increased dramatically in young adults. PURPOSE: The present study examined the relationships between gender and coping strategies, lifestyle behaviors, and cardiovascular risks. METHOD: The sample consisted of 297 (71% female) university students. Participants completed a survey to assess demographics, lifestyle behaviors, and coping strategies, and a physiological assessment including lipid and blood pressure (BP) measurements. Data collection occurred from January 2007 to May 2008. RESULTS: Analyses revealed that age, ethnicity, greater body mass index (BMI), greater use of social support, and less frequent exercise were associated with higher cholesterol, while gender, age, greater BMI, and less frequent exercise were associated with higher systolic BP. There were two significant interactions: one between gender and avoidant coping and the other between gender and exercise on systolic BP, such that for men greater use of avoidant coping or exercise was associated with lower systolic BP. CONCLUSION: Understanding how young adults manage their demands and cope with stress sets the stage for understanding the developmental process of CVD. Both coping strategies and lifestyle behaviors must be considered in appraising gender-related cardiovascular risk at an early age before the disease process has begun.

Women's rape fantasies: an empirical evaluation of the major explanations.

This study evaluated explanations of rape fantasy in a sample of female undergraduates (N = 355) using a sexual fantasy checklist which included eight types of rape fantasy, participants' detailed descriptions of a rape fantasy they have had, a rape fantasy scenario audio presentation, and measures of personality. Three explanations of rape fantasy were tested: openness to sexual experience, sexual desirability, and sexual blame avoidance. Women who were higher in erotophilia and self-esteem and who had more frequent consensual sexual fantasies and more frequent desirability fantasies, particularly of performing as a stripper, had more frequent rape fantasies. Women who were higher in erotophilia, openness to fantasy, desirability fantasies, and self-esteem reported greater sexual arousal to rape fantasies. Sexual blame avoidance theory was not supported; sexual desirability theory was moderately supported; openness to sexual experience theory received the strongest support.

Mindfulness and its Role in Physical and Psychological Health.

This study examined the relationships of mindfulness, a form of focused self-awareness, with physical and psychological health. Mindfulness was measured in terms of four stable forms of awareness: Observe, an awareness of internal and external stimuli; Describe, an ability to verbally express thoughts clearly and easily; Act with Awareness, the tendency to focus on present tasks with undivided attention; and Accept without Judgment, the tendency to take a nonjudgmental attitude toward one's own thoughts and emotions. These aspects of mindfulness were explored in relation to both physical health, which consisted of heart rate variability, a measure of overall cardiovascular health, and psychological health, which consisted of flourishing, existential well-being, negative affect, and social well-being in a sample of 506 undergraduate students. Individuals high in mindfulness showed better cardiovascular health and psychological health.

Ethnicity and Type D personality as predictors of heart rate variability.

This study examined the relationship between Type D personality and heart rate variability (HRV) during three guided imagery experiences (baseline, stressful, and uplifting) in a non-medical sample. The interaction between African-American ethnicity and Type D personality was predictive of both low and high frequency HRV during stressful imagery experiences. The importance of identifying group influences when assessing psychological and cardiovascular health was discussed.

The nature of women's rape fantasies: an analysis of prevalence, frequency, and contents.

This study evaluated the rape fantasies of female undergraduates (N = 355) using a fantasy checklist that reflected the legal definition of rape and a sexual fantasy log that included systematic prompts and self-ratings. Results indicated that 62% of women have had a rape fantasy, which is somewhat higher than previous estimates. For women who have had rape fantasies, the median frequency of these fantasies was about 4 times per year, with 14% of participants reporting that they had rape fantasies at least once a week. In contrast to previous research, which suggested that rape fantasies were either entirely aversive or entirely erotic, rape fantasies were found to exist on an erotic-aversive continuum, with 9% completely aversive, 45% completely erotic, and 46% both erotic and aversive.

Women's erotic rape fantasies: an evaluation of theory and research.

This article is the first systematic review of the research literature on women's rape fantasies. Current research indicates that between 31% and 57% of women have fantasies in which they are forced into sex against their will, and for 9% to 17% of women these are a frequent or favorite fantasy experience. Erotic rape fantasies are paradoxical: they do not appear to make sense. Why would a person have an erotic and pleasurable fantasy about an event that, in real life, would be abhorrent and traumatic? In this article, the major theories of women's rape fantasies are evaluated both rationally and empirically. These theories explain rape fantasies in terms of masochism, sexual blame avoidance, openness to sexuality, sexual desirability, male rape culture, biological predisposition to surrender, sympathetic physiological activation, and adversary transformation. This article evaluates theory and research, makes provisional judgments as to which theories appear to be most viable, and begins the task of theoretical integration to arrive at a more complete and internally consistent explanation for why many women engage in erotic rape fantasies. Methodological critiques and programs for future research are presented throughout.