Search

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.04.026 Byline: Rodolfo de Castro Ribas (a), Alexander J. Tymchuk (b), Adriana F.P. Ribas (c) Keywords: Unintentional injuries; Mothers' knowledge; Home dangers; Safety precautions; Brazil Abstract: Worldwide, unintentional injuries are a major cause of emergency department visits, hospitalization, permanent disability, and death among children. Today, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death in children aged 1-14 years in South American countries, including Brazil and Argentina. The majority of unintentional injuries happen in or near the home, and researchers have pointed out that prevention efforts should include the active involvement of parents and caregivers. The ability to identify dangerous situations, products, and behaviors, and to provide suitable precautions, is important if parents are to provide a safe environment for their children as well as for themselves. Despite the overwhelming evidence concerning the relevance of the topic, few studies have focused on parenting knowledge about home safety. This is especially true in developing countries. The present work had three objectives. First, we evaluated the cultural adequacy of the illustrated version of the Home Inventory for Dangers and Safety Precautions (HIDSP-4) in a Brazilian context. Second, we evaluated Brazilian mothers' knowledge about home dangers and safety precautions (based on a convenience sample of 96 mothers resident in Rio de Janeiro). Finally, we analyzed associations between scores in the HIDSP-4 and sociodemographic variables (e.g., educational attainment, socioeconomic status (SES)). It was verified that the inventory suitably covers home dangers identified by Brazilian epidemiological studies on unintentional injuries, and presented satisfactory psychometric properties and cultural adequacy for Brazilian contexts. Brazilian mothers identified 62% of the dangers presented in the illustrations and provided suitable precautions for 26% of the dangers. These results indicate that mothers had some difficulty in identifying home dangers and even more difficulty providing suitable precautions for prevention or remediation of those dangers. Our correlation and regression analyses revealed that most of the variation of knowledge concerning dangers and safety precautions is not explained by variation in the educational attainment and SES of the mothers. Future directions are explored. Author Affiliation: (a) Institute of Psychology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (b) Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA (c) Estacio de Sa University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Locus of control (LOC) is a modifiable mediator of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among traumatized individuals and a potential target of intervention. Compared with studies involving adults, the potential mediation effect of LOC on PTSD symptoms among trauma-exposed children and adolescents is relatively under-explored. This study, therefore, assessed the mediation effects of LOC on the association between lifetime cumulative trauma and PTSD symptoms among a large cohort of adolescents from different cultural background. Cross-sectional study. LOC was determined using the Multi-Dimension Locus of Control Scale; Posttraumatic stress symptoms using the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index; and other significant negative life events using the Life Events Checklist. Among 3826 adolescents who completed the study, external LOC explained 24% of variance (R2 =.24; F2,3823 = 619.01; p <.01) in PTSD symptoms and had significant indirect effect on the relationship between self-reported cumulative traumatic event exposure and PTSD symptoms (ß =.14; 95% BC CI [.10,.20]). Moderated mediation results showed significant potentiation of the moderation effects among older adolescents; boys; and those from more affluent families. The study further strengthened the hitherto limited evidence that external LOC partially mediate the relationship between cumulative trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Psychotraumatology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Iniciação Científica Cesumar is the property of Iniciacao Científica Cesumar and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Surgery & Clinical Research is the property of Master Editora and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The present study sought to investigate the association between HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 genes and susceptibility or resistance to the different clinical manifestations of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in southern Brazil. Methods: The sample consisted of 169 patients with a diagnosis of ACL and 270 healthy subjects for comparison. HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 were typed by PCR-SSO reverse dot blot. Results: Results showed a trend towards susceptibility to cutaneous lesions for alleles HLA-DRB1"13 (P=0.0228; Pc=0.3420; OR=1.66; 95%CI=1.08 - 2.56), HLA-B"35 (P=0.0218; Pc=0.6758; OR=1.67; 95%CI=1.08 - 2.29) and HLA-B"44 (P=0.0290; Pc=0.8990; OR=1.67; 95%CI=1.05 - 2.64). Subjects with allele HLA-B"27 (P=0.0180; Pc=0.5580; OR=7.1111; 95%CI=1.7850 - 28.3286) tended towards susceptibility to mucocutaneous lesions, those with HLA-B"49 (P=0.0101; Pc=0.3131; OR=6.4000; 95%CI=1.8472 - 22.1743) to recurrent ACL, and HLA-B"52 (P=0.0044; Pc=0.1360; OR=12.61; 95%CI=3.08 - 51.66), to re-infection. Presence of HLA-B"45 (P=0.0107; Pc=0.3317) tended to provide protection against the cutaneous form of ACL. The most frequent haplotypes that may be associated with susceptibility to ACL were A"02 B"44 DRB1"07 (P = 0.0236) and A"24 B"35 DRB1"01 (P = 0.0236). Conclusion: Some Class I and Class II HLA genes appear to contribute towards susceptibility to and protection against different clinical manifestations of ACL. Other genetic marker studies may contribute toward future prophylactic and therapeutic interventions in ACL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A current research trend is the identification of psychosocial variables that moderate and/or mediate the association between stressors and psychopathological symptoms. Research has shown Locus of Control (LoC) is a key cognitive component of this psychological process in adolescents from individualist cultures. It is unclear whether this finding can be generalized to collectivist adolescents given that LoC is argued to be a culturally relative construct. The study examined the moderating and mediating effects of LoC on the relationship between negative events and psychopathological symptoms (anxiety and depressive symptoms) in adolescents from collectivist countries (n = 2800). Consistent with prior research, negative life events and external LoC were associated with more psychopathological symptoms. Unlike past studies with samples from individualist countries, the study did not produce clear evidence that LoC moderated or mediated this relationship. Results are discussed in terms of cultural differences in the (un)desirability of external control. • LoC has stress-mediating and stress-moderating effects in individualist cultures. • Such effects have not been tested in adolescents from collectivist cultures. • The study tested 2800 adolescents from 7 collectivist countries. • Replicating prior studies, external LoC was linked to more psychological symptoms. • However, there was no clear evidence of mediating or moderating effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]