Sexual and physical abuse history and adult sexual risk behaviors: relationships among women and potential mediators

OBJECTIVE: While research has supported associations between experiencing abuse and engaging in risky sexual behaviors during adolescence, research regarding these associations among adult women is much more equivocal. In addition, few studies have attempted to identify potential pathways from abuse experiences to sexual risk behaviors. The current study examined the associations between a history of physical or sexual abuse and recent sexual risk behaviors among adult women. Additionally, this study evaluated binge drinking and depressive symptomatology as potential mediators of any relationships between abuse history and sexual risk behaviors. METHODS: A total of 1,428 women between 18 and 40 years of age attending family planning clinic appointments completed a self-report survey regarding their recent sexual behaviors and sexual and physical abuse history. Logistic regressions using backward elimination were conducted to identify factors associated with sexual risk behavior. RESULTS: A history of physical abuse by a romantic partner was associated with several sexual risk behaviors. Few significant associations between intrafamilial physical or sexual abuse and recent sexual risk behaviors were found. Additionally, there was no evidence that these relationships were mediated by binge drinking or depressive symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: Familial abuse experiences are not necessarily associated with recent sexual risk behaviors among adults. In contrast, physical abuse experiences, particularly those perpetrated by a romantic partner, are associated with engaging in adult sexual risk behaviors among women. However, these associations are not mediated by alcohol use or depressive symptomatology.     

Education,age and skills: An analysis using PIAAC data

The main aim of this article is to analyse the change of adult skills, as captured by cognitive skills assessed in PIAAC, across age cohorts, taking into account that the quality of schooling may change from one cohort to another. We estimate a model that relates numeracy and literacy skills to age, schooling, gender and variables related to both family background and labour market performance. The specification allows us to control for changes in the efficiency of the transformation of schooling into skills when drawing age‐skill profiles. Our results show that the effect of ageing on skills, once isolated from cohort effects related to schooling, decreases monotonically across consecutive cohorts. The change of the efficiency of the transformation of schooling into both numeracy and literacy skills shows a remarkably similar pattern. Nonetheless, this change differs substantially between education levels, with the efficiency of the transformation of schooling into skills showing a steadier profile for intermediate than for higher education. Finally, empirical evidence is provided for the decomposition of the differences in the skill levels of the older vs. the prime age generations. The results suggest that the progressive expansion of schooling across younger generations partially offsets the negative effect of the irrepressible ageing of society on skills.     

Pedagogy and Curricular Choice in Community College Accelerated Writing Courses

To improve students’ outcomes and retention rates, community colleges have implemented acceleration strategies which hasten the completion of educational requirements (Edgecombe, 2011). The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of an accelerated freshmen writing course on teachers’ curricular decisions and pedagogical practices at a large urban community college. We conducted semi-structured interviews with the 11 faculty members teaching different sections of this accelerated writing course. All interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Our findings reveal that while instructors embrace the structural changes that come with accelerated courses and demonstrate a new appreciation for struggling students in their traditional English 101 class, they report on significant challenges in teaching due to the students’ lack of academic and personal maturity, as well as a need to lower their expectations and simplify the curriculum. This research raises questions about the unintended positive and negative effects of accelerated courses on teaching. More qualitative research is needed that focuses on the teachers’ experiences and their capacity to help students benefit from an accelerated course.     

Teachers' attitudes and policies regarding play in elementary schools

Research and theory concerning the value of play for children's development as well as current factors reducing the amount of play time that children experience are discussed. To ascertain play opportunities occurring in the schools, teachers' attitudes toward play, and provision of play for children in grades 1–6 were surveyed. The amount of recess time provided ranged from 0 to 65 min., with a mean of almost 19 min. Findings indicated that teachers from rural areas provided more play time than teachers from suburban areas, who in turn provided more play time than teachers in urban areas. Further, the amount of play time provided was influenced by the teachers' attitudes. That is, teachers who indicated generally positive attitudes toward play tended to allot more time for play in school. However, teachers from upper grade levels, who were more likely to perceive greater pressure to provide highly structured academic instructional programs, tended to de-emphasize the role and value of play and in turn allotted less time for play in school. The results of the present investigation demonstrate that children who are given less recess time are also likely to have teachers who report less positive attitudes toward play. It is recommended that school psychologists be aware of the adverse impact that restricted play opportunities may have on children's development. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Concurrent and predictive validity of the LET-II for average children

Memory tests, such as the Learning Efficiency Test-II (LET-II), have frequently been used to describe the memory characteristics of special populations such as persons with learning disabilities, brain damage, or Alzheimer's disease. Yet, few research studies have examined the memory characteristics of normally functioning children and compared these characteristics to their performance on ability tests or real-life achievement criteria. This study investigates the predictive and concurrent validities of the LET-II for performance on the Kuhlmann-Anderson Tests (K-A), class grades, and actual grade level functioning in reading and mathematics for third and fourth grade children of average intelligence. The LET-II memory factor scores correlated significantly with the K-A scores, class grades and actual grade level functioning in reading. The relevance of these findings for norm-referenced psychological tests, and in particular memory tests, in real-life settings is examined. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Curriculum bias and reading achievement test performance

The overlap of words specifically taught in reading textbooks with the contents of standardized reading achievement tests may be a source of bias that is frequently overlooked in psychoeducational assessments. This study compares the standardized achievement test performance of 62 second graders receiving instruction in two different reading curricula (Open Court and Houghton-Mifflin) to determine whether either curriculum generates different quantitative estimates of reading achievement. Reading subtest scores derived from the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement-Brief Form (K-TEA), the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R), and the Reading Recognition and Reading Comprehension subtests from the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) were examined. Grade level equivalents and scaled scores from the California Achievement Test (CAT) were also examined. Three Curriculum × Test repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted using grade level scores (2×7), standard scores (2×4), and CAT scaled scores (2 × 5) as dependent measures. A significant Curriculum × Test interaction was identified, suggesting differences among tests in estimates of reading ability as a function of the reading program.     

Factorial Invariance of the Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale among Senior Women in the Nurses’ Health Study Cohort

The purpose of this study was to examine the factorial invariance of the Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS-A) across subgroups based on demographic, health-related, behavioral, and environmental characteristics among Nurses’ Health Study participants (N = 2,919; age M = 73.0, SD = 6.9 years) living in California, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. A series of multigroup confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to evaluate increasingly restrictive hypotheses of factorial invariance. Factorial invariance was supported across age, walking limitations, and neighborhood walking. Only partial scalar invariance was supported across state residence and neighborhood population density. This evidence provides support for using the NEWS-A with older women of different ages, who have different degrees of walking limitations, and who engage in different amounts of neighborhood walking. Partial scalar invariance suggests that researchers should be cautious when using the NEWS-A to compare older adults living in different states and neighborhoods with different levels of population density.     

The Evidence Regarding Exercise Training in the Management of Cystic Fibrosis: A Systematic Review

Purpose: To conduct a systematic review of the evidence regarding the efficacy of exercise training in the management of cystic fibrosis (CF).Methods: Articles were found by searching PEDRO, MEDLINE, and CINAHL databases. Included articles involved exercise-related interventions for long-term adaptations (ie, not acute effects of exercise). Articles were excluded if the language was other than English or if other non-exercise interventions were used. Date of publication was not a factor for exclusion. Two independent reviewers evaluated the included articles using Sackett''s levels of evidence and select scoring criteria.Results: Twelve articles were eligible for inclusion. Interventions studied included various aspects of exercise training: anaerobic, aerobic, or resistance training. Study end-points included pulmonary function, aerobic capacity, strength, and health-related quality of life (HRQL).Conclusions: Exercise training in individuals with CF is beneficial, with aerobic and resistance training having the greatest support in the literature for improved aerobic capacity and strength, respectively. Exercise training does not appear to have an effect of improving pulmonary function, but may have a preservation effect. Strong conclusions about improvement in HQRL from exercise training cannot be made. However, greater consistency in measuring this outcome is needed in future trials. There is a paucity of evidence regarding the role of exercise training in reducing hospitalization and health care utilization, and questions raised by this review should be considered in the design of future trials.Key Words: cystic fibrosis, aerobic exercise, review