The influence of socio-demographic, psychological and knowledge-related variables alongside perceived cooking and food skills abilities in the prediction of diet quality in adults: a nationally representative cross-sectional study

Background: Interventions to increase cooking skills (CS) and food skills (FS) as a route to improving overall diet are popular within public health. This study tested a comprehensive model of diet quality by assessing the influence of socio-demographic, knowledge- and psychological-related variables alongside perceived CS and FS abilities. The correspondence of two measures of diet quality further validated the Eating Choices Index (ECI) for use in quantitative research.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a quota-controlled nationally representative sample of 1049 adults aged 20–60 years drawn from the Island of Ireland. Surveys were administered in participants’ homes via computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) assessing a range of socio-demographic, knowledge- and psychological-related variables alongside perceived CS and FS abilities. Regression models were used to model factors influencing diet quality. Correspondence between 2 measures of diet quality was assessed using chi-square and Pearson correlations.
Results: ECI score was significantly negatively correlated with DINE Fat intake (r = -0.24, p < 0.001), and ECI score was significantly positively correlated with DINE Fibre intake (r = 0.38, p < 0.001), demonstrating a high agreement. Findings indicated that males, younger respondents and those with no/few educational qualifications scored significantly lower on both CS and FS abilities. The relative influence of socio-demographic, knowledge, psychological variables and CS and FS abilities on dietary outcomes varied, with regression models explaining 10–20 % of diet quality variance. CS ability exerted the strongest relationship with saturated fat intake (β = -0.296, p < 0.001) and was a significant predictor of fibre intake (β = -0.113, p < 0.05), although not for healthy food choices (ECI) (β = 0.04, p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Greater CS and FS abilities may not lead directly to healthier dietary choices given the myriad of other factors implicated; however, CS appear to have differential influences on aspects of the diet, most notably in relation to lowering saturated fat intake. Findings suggest that CS and FS should not be singular targets of interventions designed to improve diet; but targeting specific sub-groups of the population e.g. males, younger adults, those with limited education might be more fruitful. A greater understanding of the interaction of factors influencing cooking and food practices within the home is needed.

Reciprocal Modulation of Cognitive and Emotional Aspects in Pianistic Performances

Background: High level piano performance requires complex integration of perceptual, motor, cognitive and emotive skills. Observations in psychology and neuroscience studies have suggested reciprocal inhibitory modulation of the cognition by emotion and emotion by cognition. However, it is still unclear how cognitive states may influence the pianistic performance. The aim of the present study is to verify the influence of cognitive and affective attention in the piano performances. Methods and Findings: Nine pianists were instructed to play the same piece of music, firstly focusing only on cognitive aspects of musical structure (cognitive performances), and secondly, paying attention solely on affective aspects (affective performances). Audio files from pianistic performances were examined using a computational model that retrieves nine specific musical features (descriptors) - loudness, articulation, brightness, harmonic complexity, event detection, key clarity, mode detection, pulse clarity and repetition. In addition, the number of volunteers' errors in the recording sessions was counted. Comments from pianists about their thoughts during performances were also evaluated. The analyses of audio files throughout musical descriptors indicated that the affective performances have more: agogics, legatos, pianos phrasing, and less perception of event density when compared to the cognitive ones. Error analysis demonstrated that volunteers misplayed more left hand notes in the cognitive performances than in the affective ones. Volunteers also played more wrong notes in affective than in cognitive performances. These results correspond to the volunteers' comments that in the affective performances, the cognitive aspects of piano execution are inhibited, whereas in the cognitive performances, the expressiveness is inhibited. Conclusions: Therefore, the present results indicate that attention to the emotional aspects of performance enhances expressiveness, but constrains cognitive and motor skills in the piano execution. In contrast, attention to the cognitive aspects may constrain the expressivity and automatism of piano performances.

Parent training skills and methadone maintenance: clinical opportunities and challenges

Children raised in substance abusing families show high rates of behavioural and emotional problems, in particular oppositional, defiant and non-compliant behaviours. While a range of social and individual factors correlate with poor parenting, it is often the quality of the parent-child relationship that mediates the effects of most other risk factors on child development. By addressing this relationship using behavioural family interventions, child behaviour problems have been reduced in multiple problem families. However, there has been little attempt to systematically evaluate such programs in substance abusing families. It is argued that methadone replacement programs provide a window of opportunity to deliver well-validated parent training programs that enhance the quality of parent-child relations. However, it is likely that such programs would need to be medium to long term and address issues beyond parent child relationships. How such interventions may be delivered and evaluated is discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teen Triple P: A universal approach to reducing risk factors for behavioural and emotional problems in adolescents at the transition to high school

Teen Triple P is a multilevel system of intervention that is designed to provide parents with specific strategies to promote the positive development of their teenage children as they make the transition into high school and through puberty. The program is based on a combination of education about the developmental needs of adolescents, skills training to improve communication and problem-solving, plus specific modules to deal with common problems encountered by parents and adolescents that can escalate into major conflict and violence. It is designed to increase the engagement of parents of adolescent and pre-adolescent children by providing them with easy access to evidencebased parenting advice and support. This paper presents data collected as part of a survey of over 1400 students in first year high school at 9 Brisbane schools. The survey instrument was constructed to obtain students' reports about behaviour which is known to be associated with their health and wellbeing, and also on the extent to which their parents promoted or discouraged such behaviour at home, at school, and in their social and recreational activities in the wider community. Selected data from the survey were extracted and presented to parents at a series of parenting seminars held at the schools to promote appropriate parenting of teenagers. The objectives were to provide parents with accurate data about teenagers' behaviour, and about teenagers' reports of how they perceived their parents' behaviour. Normative data on parent and teenager behaviour will be presented from the survey as well as psychometric data relating to the reliability and validity of this new measure. Implications of this strategy for increasing parent engagement in parenting programs that aim to reduce behavioural and emotional problems in adolescents will be discussed.

Literacia familiar: contributos para a promoção e desenvolvimento de boas práticas literácitas em contexto socio económico desfavorecido

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para a obtenção de grau de Mestre em Didática da Língua Portuguesa no 1.º e 2.º Ciclos do Ensino Básico

Emotional aspects of childhood career development: importance and future agenda

Childhood is a central period for career and social-emotional development. However, the literature covering childhood career development and the role of emotions in careers is scarce. In this article, we advocate for the consideration of emotions in childhood career development. Emotional aspects of children’s career exploration, key-figures and interests, as well as of childhood antecedents of lifelong career processes are presented. Relations between childhood emotion, behavior, functioning and learning are also presented. Conclusions center on a call for focused study of the role of emotion in childhood career development and how such an agenda will advance the literature.

Mother-to-infant emotional involvement at birth

Objectives. To study mother-to-infant emotional involvement at birth, namely factors (socio-demographics, previous life events, type of delivery, pain at childbirth, support from partner, infant characteristics, early experiences with the newborn, and mother’s mood) that interfere with the mother’s positive, negative and not clear emotions toward the newborn. Methods. The Bonding Scale (an extended Portuguese version of the ‘New Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale’) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale were administrated during the first after delivery days to 315 mothers recruited at Ju´lio Dinis Maternity Hospital (MJD, Porto, Portugal). Results. A worse emotional involvement with the newborn was observed when the mother was unemployed, unmarried, had less than grade 9, previous obstetrical/psychological problems or was depressed, as well as when the infant was female, had neonatal problems or was admitted in the intensive care unit. Lower total bonding results were significantly predicted when the mother was depressed and had a lower educational level; being depressed, unemployed and single predicted more negative emotions toward the infant as well. No significant differences in the mother-to-infant emotional involvement were obtained for events related to childbirth, such as type of delivery, pain and partner support, or early experiences with the newborn; these events do not predict mother’s bonding results either. Conclusion. The study results support the need for screening and supporting depressed, unemployed and single mothers, in order to prevent bonding difficulties with the newborn at birth.

Oncology clinicians' defenses and adherence to communication skills training with simulated patients: an exploratory study.

The aim of this exploratory study was to assess the impact of clinicians' defense mechanisms-defined as self-protective psychological mechanisms triggered by the affective load of the encounter with the patient-on adherence to a communication skills training (CST). The population consisted of oncology clinicians (N = 31) who participated in a CST. An interview with simulated cancer patients was recorded prior and 6 months after CST. Defenses were measured before and after CST and correlated with a prototype of an ideally conducted interview based on the criteria of CST-teachers. Clinicians who used more adaptive defense mechanisms showed better adherence to communication skills after CST than clinicians with less adaptive defenses (F(1, 29) = 5.26, p = 0.03, d = 0.42). Improvement in communication skills after CST seems to depend on the initial levels of defenses of the clinician prior to CST. Implications for practice and training are discussed. Communication has been recognized as a central element of cancer care [1]. Ineffective communication may contribute to patients' confusion, uncertainty, and increased difficulty in asking questions, expressing feelings, and understanding information [2, 3], and may also contribute to clinicians' lack of job satisfaction and emotional burnout [4]. Therefore, communication skills trainings (CST) for oncology clinicians have been widely developed over the last decade. These trainings should increase the skills of clinicians to respond to the patient's needs, and enhance an adequate encounter with the patient with efficient exchange of information [5]. While CSTs show a great diversity with regard to their pedagogic approaches [6, 7], the main elements of CST consist of (1) role play between participants, (2) analysis of videotaped interviews with simulated patients, and (3) interactive case discussion provided by participants. As recently stated in a consensus paper [8], CSTs need to be taught in small groups (up to 10-12 participants) and have a minimal duration of at least 3 days in order to be effective. Several systematic reviews evaluated the impact of CST on clinicians' communication skills [9-11]. Effectiveness of CST can be assessed by two main approaches: participant-based and patient-based outcomes. Measures can be self-reported, but, according to Gysels et al. [10], behavioral assessment of patient-physician interviews [12] is the most objective and reliable method for measuring change after training. Based on 22 studies on participants' outcomes, Merckaert et al. [9] reported an increase of communication skills and participants' satisfaction with training and changes in attitudes and beliefs. The evaluation of CST remains a challenging task and variables mediating skills improvement remain unidentified. We recently thus conducted a study evaluating the impact of CST on clinicians' defenses by comparing the evolution of defenses of clinicians participating in CST with defenses of a control group without training [13]. Defenses are unconscious psychological processes which protect from anxiety or distress. Therefore, they contribute to the individual's adaptation to stress [14]. Perry refers to the term "defensive functioning" to indicate the degree of adaptation linked to the use of a range of specific defenses by an individual, ranging from low defensive functioning when he or she tends to use generally less adaptive defenses (such as projection, denial, or acting out) to high defensive functioning when he or she tends to use generally more adaptive defenses (such as altruism, intellectualization, or introspection) [15, 16]. Although several authors have addressed the emotional difficulties of oncology clinicians when facing patients and their need to preserve themselves [7, 17, 18], no research has yet been conducted on the defenses of clinicians. For example, repeated use of less adaptive defenses, such as denial, may allow the clinician to avoid or reduce distress, but it also diminishes his ability to respond to the patient's emotions, to identify and to respond adequately to his needs, and to foster the therapeutic alliance. Results of the above-mentioned study [13] showed two groups of clinicians: one with a higher defensive functioning and one with a lower defensive functioning prior to CST. After the training, a difference in defensive functioning between clinicians who participated in CST and clinicians of the control group was only showed for clinicians with a higher defensive functioning. Some clinicians may therefore be more responsive to CST than others. To further address this issue, the present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the level of adherence to an "ideally conducted interview", as defined by the teachers of the CST, and the level of the clinician' defensive functioning. We hypothesized that, after CST, clinicians with a higher defensive functioning show a greater adherence to the "ideally conducted interview" than clinicians with a lower defensive functioning.

Quality of life of caregivers for patients of cerebrovascular accidents: association of (socio-demographic) characteristics and burden

OBJECTIVE Investigating the association between quality of life with socio-demographic characteristics and the burden of caregivers for individuals with cerebrovascular accident sequelae. METHOD A descriptive, cross-sectional study with a sample composed of 136 caregivers. For data collection, a semi-structured questionnaire, the Barthel, Burden Interview and Short-Form-36 scales were used. Correlation analysis, t-Student test and F-test were used for the analysis in order to compare averages. RESULTS Significant averages in quality of life were demonstrated in association with female caregivers and those over 60 years in the field 'functional capacity,' and in the domains of 'mental health' and 'vitality' for those with higher income. Regarding burden association, the highlighted areas were 'functional capacity,' 'physical aspects,' 'emotional aspects' and 'pain.' CONCLUSION The creation of public policies and social support to effectively reduce the burden on caregivers is a necessity.

Socio-cultural determinants of adiposity and physical activity in preschool children: a cross-sectional study.

Both individual socio-cultural determinants such as selected parental characteristics (migrant background, low educational level and workload) as well as the regional environment are related to childhood overweight and physical activity (PA). The purpose of the study was to compare the impact of distinct socio-cultural determinants such as the regional environment and selected parental characteristics on adiposity, PA and motor skills in preschool children. Forty preschools (N = 542 children) of two culturally different urban regions (German and French speaking part of Switzerland) participated in the study (Ballabeina Study). Outcome measures included adiposity (BMI and skinfold thickness), objectively measured sedentary activities and PA (accelerometers) and agility performance (obstacle course). Parental characteristics (migrant status, educational level and workload) were assessed by questionnaire. Children from the French speaking areas had higher adiposity, lower levels of total and of more intense PA, were more sedentary and less agile than children from the German speaking regions (percent differences for all outcome parameters except for BMI ≥10%; all p ≤ 0.04). Differences in skinfold thickness, sedentary activities and agility, but not in PA, were also found between children of Swiss and migrant parents, though they were ≤8% (p ≤ 0.02). While paternal workload had no effect, maternal workload and parental education resulted in differences in some PA measures and/or agility performance (percent differences in both: ≤9%, p ≤ 0.008), but not in adiposity or sedentary activities (p = NS). Regional differences in skinfold thickness, PA, sedentary activities and agility performance persisted after adjustment for parental socio-cultural characteristics, parental BMI and, where applicable, children's skinfolds (all p ≤ 0.01). The regional environment, especially the broader social environment, plays a prominent role in determining adiposity, PA and motor skills of young children and should be implicated in the prevention of obesity and promotion of PA in children. clinicaltrials.gov NCT00674544.

Communication skills training and clinicians' defenses in oncology: an exploratory, controlled study.

Objective: The underlying mechanisms modifying clinician's communication skills by means of communication skills training (CST) remain unknown. Defense mechanisms, defined as psychological processes protecting the individual against emotional stress, may be a mediating factor of skills improvement.Methods: Using an adapted version of the Defense Mechanism Rating Scale-Clinician, this study evaluated clinicians' defense mechanisms and their possible modification after CST. Interviews with simulated patients of oncology clinicians (N=57) participating in CST (pre-/post-CST with a 6-month interval) were compared WITH interviews with the same simulated patients of oncology clinicians (N=56) who did not undergo training (T1 and T2 with a 6-month interval).Results: Results showed (i) a high number (mean=16, SD=6) and variety of defenses triggered by the 15-min interviews, (ii) no evolution difference between groups, and (iii) an increase in mature defenses after CST for clinicians with an initial higher level of defensive functioning.Conclusions: This is the first study describing clinicians' defensive functioning; results indicate a possible mediating role of defenses in clinician-patient communication.

On Automatic Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease based on Spontaneous Speech Analysis and Emotional Temperature

Alzheimer's disease is the most prevalent form of progressive degenerative dementia; it has a high socio-economic impact in Western countries. Therefore it is one of the most active research areas today. Alzheimer's is sometimes diagnosed by excluding other dementias, and definitive confirmation is only obtained through a post-mortem study of the brain tissue of the patient. The work presented here is part of a larger study that aims to identify novel technologies and biomarkers for early Alzheimer's disease detection, and it focuses on evaluating the suitability of a new approach for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease by non-invasive methods. The purpose is to examine, in a pilot study, the potential of applying Machine Learning algorithms to speech features obtained from suspected Alzheimer sufferers in order help diagnose this disease and determine its degree of severity. Two human capabilities relevant in communication have been analyzed for feature selection: Spontaneous Speech and Emotional Response. The experimental results obtained were very satisfactory and promising for the early diagnosis and classification of Alzheimer’s disease patients.