Mock Interdisciplinary Staffing: Educating for Interprofessional Collaboration

Training for interprofessional collaboration is important because professionals are increasingly required to work together in a coordinated and collaborative manner to meet the complex needs of clients. However, few published reports exist on interprofessional training for community counselors and marriage and family therapists. The authors discuss the use of a mock interdisciplinary staffing with students who are training to be counselors and marriage and family therapists. This method of instruction holds promise as an effective means of introducing students to a range of issues, including the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for interprofessional practice.     

Need for approval and children's well-being

This research examined the hypothesis that a tendency to base one's self-worth on peer approval is associated with positive and negative aspects of children's well-being. A sample of 153 fourth through eighth graders (9.0 to 14.8 years) reported on need for approval, global self-worth, social-evaluative concerns, anxiety and depression, and exposure to victimization. Teachers reported on social behavior. Results confirmed that need for approval is a two-dimensional construct composed of positive (enhanced self-worth in the face of social approval) and negative (diminished self-worth in the face of social disapproval) approval-based self-appraisals. Need for approval had trade-offs for well-being that depended on the dimension (positive vs. negative), the psychological domain (emotional vs. social adjustment), children's sex and age, and children's social context (high vs. low peer victimization).     

Response to: Caution needed when interpreting muscle activity patterns during extremely low pedaling cadence

Background:One-legged pedaling is of interest to elite cyclists and clinicians.However,muscular usage in 1-legged vs.2-legged pedaling is not fully understood.Thus,the study was aimed to examine changes in leg muscle activation patterns between 2-legged and 1-legged pedaling.Methods:Fifteen healthy young recreational cyclists performed both 1-legged and 2-legged pedaling trials at about 30 Watt per leg.Surface electromyography electrodes were placed on 10 major muscles of the left leg.Linear envelope electromyography data were integrated to quantify muscle activities for each crank cycle quadrant to evaluate muscle activation changes.Results:Overall,the prescribed constant power requirements led to reduced downstroke crank torque and extension-related muscle activities(vastus lateralis,vastus medialis,and soleus)in 1-legged pedaling.Flexion-related muscle activities(biceps femoris long head,semitendinosus,lateral gastrocnemius,medial gastrocnemius,tensor fasciae latae,and tibialis anterior)in the upstroke phase increased to compensate for the absence of contralateral leg crank torque.During the upstroke,simultaneous increases were seen in the hamstrings and uni-articular knee extensors,and in the ankle plantarflexors and dorsiflexors.At the top of the crank cycle,greater hip flexor activity stabilized the pelvis.Conclusion:The observed changes in muscle activities are due to a variety of changes in mechanical aspects of the pedaling motion when pedaling with only 1 leg,including altered crank torque patterns without the contralateral leg,reduced pelvis stability,and increased knee and ankle stiffness during the upstroke.     

Social Integration and the Mental Health of Black Adolescents

The influence of family, school, and religious social contexts on the mental health of Black adolescents has been understudied. This study used Durkheim's social integration theory to examine these associations in a nationally representative sample of 1,170 Black adolescents, ages 13–17. Mental health was represented by positive and negative psychosocial well‐being indicators. Results showed that adolescents' integration into family and school were related to better mental health. In addition, commitment to religious involvement positively influenced mental health. Although the direct effect of religious involvement was inversely related to mental health, mediation analyses revealed a positive influence through religious commitment. Findings suggest a greater emphasis on all three social contexts when designing strategies to improve the mental health of Black adolescents.     

The Role of Social Support in Moderating the Relationship Between Psychological Distress and Willingness to Seek Psychological Help Among Black and Latino College Students

This study examined the role of social support in moderating the relationship between psychological distress and willingness to seek psychological help in 158 Black and Latino college students from a large, predominantly White university. The authors found that a social support network served as a significant moderator for Black college students but not for their Latino counterparts. Implications of the findings are presented.