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Measurement of compulsive exercise is important for the study of eating pathology in individuals who regularly participate in sport and exercise. The current study examined the factor structure, internal consistency and validity of the compulsive exercise test (CET) in regular exercisers. Participants were recruited via the internet and from sport clubs (n = 313 adults; M = 32 years; 57% female). A three-factor model for the CET was supported which included the weight control exercise, avoidance and rule-driven behaviour, and mood improvement subscales (fit statistics for the three-factor model: χ2SB= 4.39; CFI =.95; NNFI =.94, RMSEA =.100, 95% CI:.093—.110, AIC = 656.92). The subscales lack of exercise enjoyment and exercise rigidity were not retained. All factors demonstrated acceptable internal consistency with Cronbach's α =.77 to.91. The weight control exercise and avoidance and rule-driven behaviour subscales were significantly related to eating disorder symptoms. Given the association between CET subscales and eating disorder symptoms, the CET three-factor model may be informative when assessing eating pathology in individuals who regularly exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Advanced Nursing (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 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: Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) demonstrate poor oral inferential comprehension. Research investigating the skills that underpin oral inferential comprehension in young children with DLD is necessary in order to better understand and improve inferential comprehension in this population. Aims: To profile the language and cognitive skills that contribute to oral inferential comprehension in young children with DLD. Methods & Procedures: Seventy‐six children aged 5–6 years with a diagnosis of DLD were assessed on a wide range of language and cognitive measures. Oral inferential comprehension of narrative was the primary outcome measure. Outcomes & Results: Narrative macrostructure and microstructure, literal comprehension, vocabulary, phonological loop, and theory of mind were significant predictors of inferential comprehension in bivariate analyses. However, multivariate regression analysis indicated that only narrative retell macrostructure and theory of mind contributed a significant amount of unique variance to inferential comprehension. Conclusions & Implications: This study profiled the skills contributing to oral inferential comprehension in young children with DLD, to support the clinical and theoretical understanding of the ability in this population. The findings have implications for future intervention studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social support is one of the strongest determinants of bereavement outcomes, yet little is understood about the community’s recognition of grief and intentions to provide social support to grieving persons. A total of 476 adults responded to an online vignette and questionnaire measuring grief norms and supportive intentions. Respondent gender, age, and bereavement status all had some association with expectations of grief, intentions to support, perceived helpfulness of support attempts, and opinions toward the diagnostic classification of grief. Given that most bereavement support is informal, this study informs the development of community capacity to provide constructive, timely bereavement support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study was conducted to test whether the weight outcomes in an online social networking group were mediated by changes to psychological outcome measures in overweight and obese individuals, following a weight management programme delivered via Facebook. The data analysed in this study were collected during a three‐armed, randomised, controlled clinical weight management trial conducted with overweight and obese adults over 24 weeks. Two intervention groups were given the same weight management programme: one within a Facebook group, along with peer support from other group members (the Facebook Group); the other group received the same programme in a pamphlet (the Pamphlet Group). A Control Group was given standard care. The primary outcome was weight; secondary outcomes included the following domains from self‐reported questionnaires: energy intake and expenditure; psychological health, social relationships, physical health, quality of life, depression, anxiety, stress, health anxiety, happiness, as well as Facebook Group participants’ opinion of this group. The Facebook Group experienced a reduction in their baseline weight measurement by week 24, significantly compared to the Control Group (p = .016). The Facebook Group recorded a significant increase in the psychological health domain during the trial (at week 12) relative to their baseline measurement, and significant compared to the Control Group (p = .022). Mediation analysis indicated a statistical trend, but not statistical significance, for psychological health as a mediator to weight loss in the Facebook Group. While both intervention groups showed significant changes in psychological outcome measures, the Facebook Group was the only group to experience statistically significant weight loss by the end of the 24 weeks. Therefore, an examination of other psychological and/or behavioural outcome measures undertaken in larger studies in the future may help to identify significant mediators to improved weight loss outcomes in online social networking groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Using connected speech to assess progressive language disorders is confounded by uncertainty around whether connected speech is stable over successive sampling, and therefore representative of an individual’s performance, and whether some contexts and/or language behaviours show greater stability than others. Method: A repeated measure, within groups, research design was used to investigate stability of a range of behaviours in the connected speech of six individuals with primary progressive aphasia and three individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. Stability was evaluated, at a group and individual level, across three samples, collected over 3 weeks, involving everyday monologue, narrative and picture description, and analysed for lexical content, fluency and communicative informativeness and efficiency. Result: Excellent and significant stability was found on the majority of measures, at a group and individual level, across all genres, with isolated measures (e.g. nouns use, communicative efficiency) showing good, but greater variability, within one of the three genres. Conclusion: Findings provide evidence of stability on measures of lexical content, fluency and communicative informativeness and efficiency. While preliminary evidence suggests that task selection is influential when considering stability of particular connected speech measures, replication over a larger sample is necessary to reproduce findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background There is a general belief that the markers of nursing home quality do not aggregate easily. Identifying consistent and coherent dimensions of quality that usefully summarize the multiplicity of nursing home quality measures is an important goal. It would simplify interpretation and help consumers, their families and advocates to choose nursing facilities. Objectives This study uses quality indicators ( QIs) from a state nursing home report card to explore the dimensionality of quality in nursing homes and to determine whether aggregation at the resident versus facility level yields the same underlying dimensions. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting 382 Medicare- and/or Medicaid-certified nursing homes in Minnesota. Participants Residents admitted to the nursing homes during 2011-2012. Measurements 16 QIs obtained from the Minimum Data Set 3.0 assessment instrument between 2011 and 2012 were used in the exploratory factor analysis. Results Factor analysis results suggest four main factors or dimensions to characterize facility performance: continence care (including 4 QIs), restraints and behavioral symptoms (including 3 QIs), care for specific conditions (including 6 QIs), and physical functioning (including 3 QIs). The resident-level and facility-level results generally agreed for 11 QIs. Conclusion Nursing home quality of care can be captured in summary measures, which can be used by consumers, providers and researchers. Reporting at the resident or facility level will depend on the purpose. These summary measures can be used by policy-makers to identify and reward high-performing facilities and by families to choose nursing facilities for care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Eating Disorders is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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.)

Importance: All intravenous (IV) iron products are associated with anaphylaxis, but the comparative safety of each product has not been well established.Objective: To compare the risk of anaphylaxis among marketed IV iron products.Design, Setting, and Participants: Retrospective new user cohort study of IV iron recipients (n = 688,183) enrolled in the US fee-for-service Medicare program from January 2003 to December 2013. Analyses involving ferumoxytol were limited to the period January 2010 to December 2013.Exposures: Administrations of IV iron dextran, gluconate, sucrose, or ferumoxytol as reported in outpatient Medicare claims data.Main Outcomes and Measures: Anaphylaxis was identified using a prespecified and validated algorithm defined with standard diagnosis and procedure codes and applied to both inpatient and outpatient Medicare claims. The absolute and relative risks of anaphylaxis were estimated, adjusting for imbalances among treatment groups.Results: A total of 274 anaphylaxis cases were identified at first exposure, with an additional 170 incident anaphylaxis cases identified during subsequent IV iron administrations. The risk for anaphylaxis at first exposure was 68 per 100,000 persons for iron dextran (95% CI, 57.8-78.7 per 100,000) and 24 per 100,000 persons for all nondextran IV iron products combined (iron sucrose, gluconate, and ferumoxytol) (95% CI, 20.0-29.5 per 100,000) , with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 2.6 (95% CI, 2.0-3.3; P < .001). At first exposure, when compared with iron sucrose, the adjusted OR of anaphylaxis for iron dextran was 3.6 (95% CI, 2.4-5.4); for iron gluconate, 2.0 (95% CI 1.2, 3.5); and for ferumoxytol, 2.2 (95% CI, 1.1-4.3). The estimated cumulative anaphylaxis risk following total iron repletion of 1000 mg administered within a 12-week period was highest with iron dextran (82 per 100,000 persons, 95% CI, 70.5- 93.1) and lowest with iron sucrose (21 per 100,000 persons, 95% CI, 15.3- 26.4).Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients in the US Medicare nondialysis population with first exposure to IV iron, the risk of anaphylaxis was highest for iron dextran and lowest for iron sucrose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of the Study: (a) Identify the prevalence of nursing homes providing Medicare supported restorative care programs and of long stay participants, (b) compare characteristics between restorative care participants and nonparticipants, and (c) assess restorative care’s effect on change in activities of daily living (ADL) dependency. Design and Methods: Longitudinal analysis of Minimum Data Set assessments linked to the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey using a sample of 7,735 residents, age ≥ 65 years living in 1,097 nursing homes for at least 6 months. Receipt of any restorative care was used as a time varying predictor to estimate change in ADL dependency over 18 months using linear mixed models. Results: The sample was 75% female, 89% non-Hispanic White, with a mean age of 85 ± 8, and average length of stay of 3.2 ± 3.4 years. Most nursing homes had restorative care programs (67%), but less than one-third of long-stay residents participated. After controlling for resident and nursing home characteristics, the predicted mean ADL dependency score (range 0-28) at baseline was 18 for restorative care participants and 14 for nonparticipants. Over 18 months, ADL dependency increased 1 point for both participants and nonparticipants (p = .12). Implications: A minority of long-stay residents participated in Medicare supported restorative care programs despite their availability and potential benefits. Even though participants had greater vulnerability for deterioration in physical, mental, and functional health than nonparticipants, both groups had similar rates of ADL decline. Future research is needed to determine if providing restorative care to less dependent long-stay residents is effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this applied study was to explore the outcomes of a parent-child relationship intervention for enhancing maternal sensitivity to the infant's needs and increasing maternal emotional wellbeing in the parenting situation. Whilst there is extensive support established for interventions with high-risk and at-risk populations, there is limited evidence from programs that target low risk parents who on presentation are often identified to have symptoms of depression, anxiety, or stress. A mixed methods research design was utilised to present quantitative and qualitative outcomes at pre- and post-intervention from 14 participants in the Tuned In Parenting program at a community health organisation. Self-report measures were summarised to provide a descriptive profile of participants. Recorded mother-child semi-structured play interactions were analysed using a behaviour rating scale. Transcripts of audio recordings from semi-structured interviews were analysed using a thematic and content approach. Participants demonstrated enhanced maternal sensitive responsiveness and a reduction in symptoms of maternal depression following program completion. The preventative relationship based intervention holds considerable promise in improving maternal wellbeing and transforming relationships between mothers and their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives To examine whether and how stigma influences attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence, and whether its effect varies by symptom severity. Background Urinary incontinence is prevalent among women, but few seek treatment. Negative attitudes towards urinary incontinence treatment inhibit from seeking care. Urinary incontinence is a stigmatised attribute. However, the relationship between stigma and attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence has not been well understood. Design This was a cross-sectional community-based study. Methods We enrolled a sample of 305 women aged 40-65 years with stress urinary incontinence from three communities in a Chinese city between May-October in 2011. Data were collected on socio-demographic characteristics, urinary incontinence symptoms, stigma and attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence using a self-reported questionnaire. Effects of stigma were analysed using path analysis. Results Attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence were generally negative. For the total sample, all the stigma domains of social rejection, social isolation and internalised shame had direct negative effects on treatment-seeking attitudes. The public stigma domain of social rejection also indirectly affected treatment-seeking attitudes through increasing social isolation, as well as through increasing social isolation and then internalised shame. The final model accounted for 28% of the variance of treatment-seeking attitudes. Symptom severity influenced the strength of paths: the effect of internalised shame was higher in women with more severe urinary incontinence. Conclusions Stigma enhances the formation of negative attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence; public stigma affects treatment-seeking attitudes through internalisation of social messages. Relevance to clinical practice Stigma reduction may help incontinent women to form positive treatment-seeking attitudes and engage them in treatment. Interventions should specifically target the self-stigma domains of social isolation and internalised shame in women with urinary incontinence to most efficiently increase their use of health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Dignity therapy is a brief psychotherapy that has been shown to enhance the end of life experience. Dignity therapy often involves family carers to support patients weakened by illness and family carers are also the usual recipients of the legacy documents created. No research to date has examined the impact of dignity therapy on family carers at the time of the intervention. This study examined the effects of dignity therapy on family carers of people with motor neurone disease (MND). Methods This is a cross-sectional study utilizing a one-group pre-test post- test design with 18 family carers of people diagnosed with MND. Outcomes measured caregiver burden, anxiety, depression, and hopefulness. Acceptability was measured with a questionnaire. Feasibility was assessed by examining family carers' involvement in the therapy sessions, time taken to conduct sessions, and any special accommodations or deviations from the dignity therapy protocol. Results There were no significant pre-test post-test changes on the group level, but there were decreases in anxiety and depression on the individual level. Baseline measures indicate that 50% of family carers had moderate to severe scores for anxiety prior to dignity therapy. MND family carers saw benefits to the person with MND and to themselves after bereavement, but acceptability of dignity therapy at the time of the intervention was mixed with some family carers indicating it was helpful, some indicating it was harmful, and many expressing ambivalence. Dignity therapy involving MND family carers is feasible and the involvement of family carers has minimal impact on the therapy. Conclusion Dignity therapy is not likely to alleviate caregiver burden in MND family carers, but it may have the ability to decrease or moderate anxiety and depression in distressed MND family carers. Dignity therapy is feasible and generally acceptable to MND family carers. Dignity therapists may provide a better experience for family carers when they are aware of acceptance levels and the quality of partner relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To compare hospitalizations of dually eligible older adults who had an extended Medicaid nursing home ( NH) stay and transitioned out to receive Medicaid home- and community-based services ( HCBS) with hospitalizations of those who remained in the NH. Design Retrospective matched cohort study using Medicaid and Medicare claims and NH assessment data. Setting Community (receiving Medicaid HCBS) or NH. Participants Dually eligible fee-for-service beneficiaries aged 65 and older in Arkansas, Florida, Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas, Vermont, and Washington from 2003 to 2005. Individuals who had a Medicaid NH stay of at least 90 days and transitioned to Medicaid HCBS (N = 1,169) were matched to individuals who had a Medicaid NH stay of at least 90 days and remained in the NH (N = 1,169). Measurements Potentially preventable hospitalizations (defined according to ambulatory-care-sensitive conditions) and all hospitalizations were examined. Results Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare the risk of hospitalization between the groups, accounting for the differing time at risk and censoring. Being a NH transitioner increased the hazard of experiencing a potentially preventable hospitalization by 40% (95% confidence interval ( CI) = 1.01-1.93) over remaining in the NH. NH transitioners had a 58% (95% CI = 1.32-1.91) greater risk of experiencing any type of hospitalization than NH stayers. Conclusion Individuals who transitioned from the NH to HCBS had a greater risk of hospitalization. Most of the attention in long-term care transition programs has been focused on NH readmission, but programs encouraging NH transition should recognize that individuals may be at greater risk for hospitalization after returning to the community. Planning for the medical needs of individuals who transition from an extended NH stay may improve their posttransition outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives:This short report relied on multiyear data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center – Uniform Data Set (NACC-UDS) to examine whether significant changes occurred in functional status, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and depressive symptoms in the years before receiving an Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis. Method:The secondary analysis used a retrospective cohort design. The NACC-UDS is a publicly accessible, longitudinal database that includes standardized data on neuropsychiatric symptoms, functional status, and depressive symptoms for Alzheimer's Disease Center (ADC) participants in the USA based on their annual visits from 2005 to 2011. ADC participants were considered diagnosed with AD if a follow-up data form indicated an affirmative response to whether the ADC participant had ‘probable AD (National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke (NINCDS)/Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (ADRDA))’ or ‘possible AD (NINCDS/ADRDA).’ This yielded an analytic sample of 2478 individuals (139 with an eventual probable AD diagnosis, 109 individuals with an eventual possible AD diagnosis, and 2230 without any AD diagnosis) representing a total of 11,358 visits/points of data. Results:Multilevel linear models revealed significant decreases (p< 0.05) in functional status prior to a probable or possible AD diagnosis and significant increases in depressive symptoms prior to a probable AD diagnosis. Discussion:Changes in functional and depressive symptoms were partly independent of cognitive decline. The longitudinal results lend additional support to conceptual and empirical models of pre-diagnosis declines in AD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Among adults, personality traits have been implicated in the development and maintenance of eating disorders ( EDs); whether these findings extend to youth is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate personality traits of adolescents with EDs. Methods A case-control approach was performed by comparing a clinical group of female adolescents with EDs ( n = 23) to a control group of adolescents in the general community ( n = 26) on personality traits of inhibited, self-demeaning, and borderline tendency. Controls were frequency-matched to cases on age and sex, were drawn from a similar geographic catchment area, and observed in the same year as clinical cases. Results The clinical group demonstrated significantly higher scores on self-demeaning ( F(1,47) = 41.39, p < .001, η2 = .075), borderline ( F(1,47) = 24.50, p < .001, η2 = .093), and inhibited ( F(1,47) = 13.33, p = .001, η2 = .014) personality styles. Adjustment for affective symptomatology diminished the strength of these relationships, but personality pathology still demarcated the group with clinical EDs. Conclusions The well-established link between personality pathology and EDs in adults generalised to adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI) is frequently used following breast cancer diagnosis, routine use of breast MRI for preoperative evaluation remains contentious. We identified factors associated with preoperative breast MRI utilization and investigated the variation among physicians. We used the surveillance, epidemiology, and end Results ( SEER)-Medicare linked database to analyze the preoperative breast MRI utilization among patients with stage 0, I, or II breast cancer diagnosed between 2002 and 2007. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to identify patient- and physician-level predictors of preoperative MRI utilization. Of 56,743 women with early-stage breast cancer who were treated with surgery and evaluated by a preoperative mammogram and/or ultrasound during the study period, 8.7% ( n = 4,913) received preoperative breast MRI. While patient and tumor characteristics did predict preoperative breast MRI utilization, they explained only 15.4% of the variation in utilization rates. Differences in preoperative breast MRI utilization across physicians were large, after controlling patient-level factors and physicians' volumes. Accounting for clustering of patients within individual physicians ( n = 3,144), the multilevel logistic regression models explained 36.4% of variation. The median odds ratio of 3.2, corresponding with the median value of the relative odds of receiving preoperative breast MRI between two randomly chosen physicians, indicated a large individual physician effect. Our study found that preoperative breast MRI has been adopted rapidly and variably. Although patient characteristics were associated with preoperative breast MRI utilization, physician practice was a major determinant of whether women received preoperative breast MRI. Future studies should evaluate whether routine use of preoperative breast MRI in newly diagnosed early-stage breast cancer improves clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To evaluate the effect of urinary incontinence ( UI) on elderly nursing home ( NH) residents' self-reported quality of life ( QOL), especially on the specific QOL domains most closely associated with UI. Design Retrospective cross-sectional study using the Minimum Data Set ( MDS) and Minnesota Nursing Home Report Card data in 2010 to compare overall QOL and its domains of residents with and without UI using propensity scores and inverse probability weighting ( IPW) adjustments to reduce selection bias. Setting All Medicare- or Medicaid-licensed NHs in Minnesota. Participants All residents aged 65 and older except those with conditions that could readily overwhelm the effect of UI on QOL, such as coma and cerebral palsy. Measurements Urinary incontinence ( UI) was defined as leakage two or more times a week (score ≥2 on MDS 5-point scale), and continence was defined as continent or usually continent (score 0 or 1 on MDS 5-point scale). QOL was assessed using a self-reported QOL questionnaire that measured general QOL, not QOL specific to UI symptoms. Results Urinary incontinence ( UI) prevalence was 65.8% in 10,683 older NH residents. Self-reported QOL was good (>0.7 on a scale from 0 to 1) in 8,620 eligible residents in 371 NHs. Mood and meaningful activity domains had lower scores; dignity had the highest score. UI was associated with being older and female, ADL dependence, impaired cognitive ability, Alzheimer's disease, non- Alzheimer's dementia, bowel incontinence, diabetes mellitus, and long-term NH stay. Bivariate analysis found that residents with UI had lower QOL than those without. Using IPW to reduce selection bias, it was found that, although UI was not associated with overall QOL, it decreased the QOL domains of dignity, autonomy, and mood. Conclusion To improve the QOL of residents with UI, attention should be paid to dignity, autonomy, and mood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objective In light of prior inconsistent findings, this study revisits the relationship between weight suppression and treatment outcome in bulimia nervosa. Aside from differences in methodology, we propose that moderator effects may assist the field in interpreting previous inconsistency. In this study, we considered moderators that might place individuals at risk of broad cognitive and biobehavioral mechanisms implicated in weight (dys)regulation and binge eating, and that within the context of a history of weight suppression, might be associated with especially poor outcomes. Method Participants were 117 female outpatients aged 16-54 years ( M = 25.5) with bulimic disorders treated with enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy. Results Logistic regression indicated that higher pretreatment weight suppression did not predict drop-out or poor treatment outcome (nonabstinence from binging and purging). Moderators of parental history of overweight, childhood body shape, pretreatment body mass index, and the difference between highest and lowest ever adult body weight were analyzed, but no moderator effects were apparent. Discussion This study, along with other negative studies, calls into question the association between weight suppression and treatment outcome. We maintain that moderators may account for inconsistencies, but no candidates were identified in this study. Moderator models could assist us to refine conceptualizations of why some patients high in weight suppression may be vulnerable to poor treatment adherence and outcome and to establish clinical interventions that enhance prognosis. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2013; 46:586-593) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a paucity of studies evaluating the psychometric properties of the Locus of Control of Behaviour Scale ( LCBS), it continues to be widely used in behavioural research. The present study sought to redress this gap in the literature. The 17-item LCBS was administered to 373 Australians attending Alcohol and Other Drug ( AOD) treatment agencies in the northern metropolitan region of Perth. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted in order to determine which of several plausible measurement models provided the best fit for the data. A unidimensional model, recommended by the authors of the LCBS, and a two-dimensional (Internal Locus of Control vs External Locus of Control) model provided poor fits. Other multidimensional models, differing only in the dimensionality of the externality factor, were also tested. A multidimensional model consisting of an Internal Locus of Control factor and four component External Locus of Control factors provided the best fit; however, the fit is probably best described as 'reasonable' rather than 'good.' A subsequent exploratory factor analysis using parallel analysis indicated a cohesive internality factor; however, the externality factor showed a tendency to fragment into smaller components. Results were discussed in terms of the problematic externality factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impaired motor development can deprive a child of constructive engagement in early motor activities and thus diminish opportunities for the acquisition of key cognitive, social and emotional abilities. The aim of the current study was to test a model where social skills mediate the relationship between motor ability and internalizing symptoms in pre-primary children. A cross-sectional research design was employed to assess the mediation model using data from 234 boys and 241 girls aged 4 to 6 years. Structural equation modelling provided support for the mediating role of social skills as assessed by the child's teacher. Replication of these findings in longitudinal studies, elucidating how social skills relate to motor impairment, could have implications for the prevention of psychopathology in young children with motor impairment. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present research was to develop a measure that assessed the level of ethnic identification of adults from diverse ethnic backgrounds, as well as individuals' level of ethnic identification with a host culture following migration. In the first study, an ethnically diverse sample of 275 people (138 males and 137 females) responded to a range of new items, as well as items drawn from related scales. Factor analysis revealed three dimensions of ethnic identity that were labelled, 'Pride in Ethnic Background and Language,''Liking for Traditional and Social Activities of my Ethnic Group,' and 'Sense of Belonging to This (host) Country.' This factor structure was evaluated in a second study with 1,007 (552 males, 455 females) adults from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. A two-factor structure provided the most parsimonious fit to the data but further investigation of the factor structure within ethnically diverse samples was recommended. The results are discussed in relation to theories of social identity as well as research on ethnic identification and adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical research that is incomplete and unreported can lead to bias in health care decisions. Selective reporting of outcomes in clinical research overestimates the benefits and safety of treatments and threatens the integrity of systematic reviews of health care interventions. The Common Rule does not require that results be made available from clinical studies to research subjects and the scientific community. Methods: We analyzed all closed studies (i.e., no longer recruiting) registered in the online database ClinicalTrials.gov as of May 2010 to identify the number, length, and characteristics of complete and incomplete (terminated, suspended, or withdrawn) studies. Random samples of terminated studies, which were defined as studies in which the recruitment or enrollment of participants has been halted prematurely and will not resume, were analyzed to identify the reasons for termination and availability of the results in ClinicalTrials.gov or in published articles. Results: We identified 3,554 (6.2%) terminated studies among 57,233 closed studies. Reasons for termination were unknown in 34% and safety-related in 11% of terminated studies. Industry-funded studies omitted termination reasons less often than National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded studies (OR 0.3, 95%CI: 0.1, 0.9). Drug studies omitted termination reasons more often than all other intervention studies. (OR 2; 95% CI: 1.1, 3.7) and also cited safety as the termination reason (OR 8.6; 95%CI: 1.9, 36.8) more often than other intervention studies. Terminated studies lasted on average 2.2 ± 1.9 years, and results were available for 5% in ClinicalTrials.gov and for 8% in peer-reviewed journals. Conclusions: Existing clinical research policies should mandate registration of all clinical trials in ClinicalTrials.gov as a condition of studies approval by institutional review boards. Mandatory posting of the results in ClinicalTrials.gov for all terminated studies, along with the exact reasons for termination irrespective of study funding and market or publication status, would enhance comprehensive evidence analysis by clinicians and policymakers, as well as public trust in clinical research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The trigger for human labor is a scientific mystery. This research examined Rubus idaeus (RI), commonly referred to as red raspberry, which is widely purported to be efficacious in promoting parturition processes and favorable birth outcomes. This randomized controlled trial sought to determine the influence of RI consumption during gestation on C57BL/6N Tac mice and their offspring. The aims of this study were to (1) determine differences in the length of gestation, gestational weight gain, and litter size where RI is consumed daily at varied strengths and (2) determine differences in offspring characteristics and behavior where maternal RI consumption occurred. Once paired, mice were randomly assigned to one of three groups: placebo (n = 10) receiving plain water, RI aqueous extract fluid of 1.78 mg/mL (n = 10), or RI aqueous extract fluid of 2.66 mg/mL (n = 10). All received the same standardized diet throughout gestation. Pregnant mice were weighed with chow intake and fluid consumption determined daily. Gestation length and litter size were recorded at the time of birth. Differences in offspring characteristics were also determined and included physical characteristics (weight, physical development) and neuromotor reflexes and behaviors (locomotive abilities, geotaxis reflex, cliff avoidance reflex, and swimming development). When compared with controls, high-dose RI ingestion resulted in shorter length of gestation and smaller litter size (P ≤ .05). There was also an increase in fluid consumption and a decrease in pup weights on postnatal day 4 and 5 with RI treatment (P ≤ .05). Altogether, results suggest that RI influences parturition and fecundity processes with transplacental exposure impacting offspring characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]