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Purpose: Social constraints are interactions between individuals that result in preventing one's disclosure of thoughts and emotions needed to facilitate cognitive processing of a traumatic event such as a breast cancer diagnosis. This study explored women's perceived social constraints from spouse/partners (S/P) and family/friends (F/F) in the first months after diagnosis while engaged in a study of CaringGuidance™ After Breast Cancer Diagnosis, a web-based, psychoeducational, self-management intervention aimed at women's psychological adjustment. Design: Randomized, controlled, pilot study. Sample: 100 women within 0–3 months of first, stage 0–II breast cancer diagnosis. Methods: Subjects were randomized to self-guided use of CaringGuidance™ for three months plus usual care or usual care alone. Social constraints (S/P) and (F/F), distress, depressive-symptoms, intrusive/avoidant thoughts, and coping were measured at baseline, 1, 2, and 3 months. Findings: The CaringGuidance™ group experienced a significantly greater decrease in perceived social constraints from S/P and F/F over three months than the usual care group. Change in social constraints from F/F significantly moderated change in depressive-symptoms and intrusive/avoidant thoughts, but the same was not true for change in S/P constraints. Conclusions: CaringGuidance™ holds promise as an intervention for newly diagnosed women to self-manage perceptions of social constraints. Implications for Psychosocial Providers: Providers should assess newly diagnosed women's perceptions of social constraining behavior from F/F, recognizing the potential significant impact of these interactions on psychological adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults manage multiple medications for chronic disease and those living in rural areas are impacted by health care disparities due to health provider shortages and fewer pharmacies. The use of downloadable medication reminder apps on smartphones may serve as a strategy for medication self-management of chronic diseases. In this feasibility study, thirteen rural older adult participants downloaded Medisafe® and used the app to manage their daily medications. The community-dwelling aging adults in this pilot perceived the Medisafe® as not difficult to use, useful for medication tracking and providing reminders for the self-management of multiple medications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although clinicians and researchers are interested in the phenomenon of resilience, there is no agreedupon definition of resilience. Scientific evidence suggests that resilience is influenced by intrapersonal (e.g. personality traits) and environmental (e.g. social support) variables. A concept analysis was conducted to better understand the meaning of resilience. In this analysis, the antecedent of resilience was a potentially traumatic event; the defining attributes were ego-resiliency, emotion regulation, social support, and heredity; and the consequenceswere none to mild psychopathological symptoms and positive adaptation. This analysis can help nurses better understand resilience and its relationships to both intrapersonal and environmental variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess college students' knowledge and perception of cardiovascular risk factors and to screen for their cardiovascular risks. Participants: The final sample that responded to recruitment consisted of 158 college students from a midwestern university. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was performed using convenience sampling. Results: College students were knowledgeable about cardiovascular risk factors but did not perceive themselves at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors was correlated with the lifetime risk estimates (ρ =.17, p =.048), and perception of cardiovascular risk was positively associated with 30-year CVD risk estimates (ρ =.16, p =.048). More than 50% of the participants had 1 or more cardiovascular risk factors. Conclusions: High knowledge level of cardiovascular risk factors was not sufficient to lower cardiovascular risks within this study population, but changing perception of cardiovascular risk factors may play a bigger role in reducing long-term cardiovascular risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood sexual abuse increases risk for adult obesity. A potential contributing factor is altered cortisol secretion. In this pilot study, relationships among childhood sexual abuse, diurnal salivary cortisol secretion, and weight loss were explored in 17 bariatric surgery patients. Measurement points were before surgery (baseline) and 3 and 6 months after surgery. Childhood sexual abuse was measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. The results showed moderate but nonsignificant positive correlations between the childhood sexual abuse subscale score and baseline morning cortisol, evening cortisol, and daily mean cortisol. An unexpected positive correlation was noted between the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire total score and weight loss at six months. Diurnal cortisol secretion did not change over time after surgery nor correlate significantly with weight loss at six months. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study applied three family measures (ratings of service adequacy or implementation, satisfaction with the family-professional partnership, and family quality of life) to a sample of families of young children in one Midwestern U.S. state. The results suggest that: (a) families more often believe they are receiving adequate amounts of services for their child, but tend to believe they are not receiving adequate amounts of services for their family; (b) respondents tend to be satisfied with their partnerships with their primary service provider, with lower satisfaction ratings for the provider's ability to meet their child's individual needs and to provide information about services; and (c) respondents tended to be more satisfied with their family's material well-being and less so with their family's emotional well-being. Finally, we found that service adequacy ratings were a significant predictor of family quality of life, and that partnerships partially mediated this effect. We discuss the research, service, and policy implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]