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Variables Specific (variable + specific)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	40%

Selected Abstracts

Asking fathers: a study of psychosocial adaptation

HAEMOPHILIA, Issue 5 2004
E. K. Herrick
Summary., Although few contemporary studies specifically address paternal adaptation, the theme of paternal estrangement from medical care and from family relationships is pervasive in the psychosocial literature on haemophilia. This estrangement has been shown to have a negative effect on fathers' psychological well-being, marital relationships and the adaptive outcome of their sons who have haemophilia. The goals of this study were to provide contemporary data on the psychosocial adaptation of fathers of boys with haemophilia and to examine specific variables that might influence their adjustment. Eighty-three eligible fathers returned a survey instrument that collected demographic and medical information, as well as scores on self-measures of adaptation in marital and parenting roles. Statistically significant direct correlations (P < 0.01) were found between fathers' scores on the Marital Adjustment Test and the Parenting Sense of Competence subscales (parenting efficacy and satisfaction). Variables specific to rearing a son with haemophilia that negatively affected fathers' marital adjustment scores included: feeling left out of medical decision making by their wives or partners, worry about their sons' having limited activity, and the presence of a secondary diagnosis in the affected child. Scores on the parenting efficacy subscale of the PSOC were statistically significantly reduced (i.e. fathers felt less effective in the parenting role) in men who ,rarely' or ,never' infused their sons (42/80, 53%). Variables that negatively affected scores on the parenting satisfaction subscale included frustrating interactions with medical staff and concern about their sons' potential to contract an infection or secondary diagnosis. This paper presents a model to examine the interrelationships among the data and discusses the clinical implications. [source]

Comparative ecology of seed mass in Psychotria (Rubiaceae): within- and between-species effects of seed mass on early performance

FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2005
H. PAZ
Summary 1Experimental field data and interspecific comparative analyses were used to detect effects of seed mass on seedling performance within and among seven species of Psychotria sown in gaps and shaded rainforest sites. In addition we compared the effects of seed mass within and among species to detect concordance between the two ecological scales. We used two comparative methods: phylogenetically independent contrasts and cross-species correlations. 2Among species, we detected weak evidence of a positive correlation between seed mass and the probability of emergence in the shaded forest, and no effects of seed mass in gaps. 3Among species, no significant correlations between seed mass and either seedling survival or seedling recruitment were found in any habitat. Other variables specific to each subgenus appear to be more important than seed mass in determining survival in the shaded forest. 4There was a negative correlation between seed mass and relative growth rate (RGR) in both habitats. In gaps, small-seeded taxa exhibited particularly high RGR, compensating for the initial advantages of higher seed mass. 5All species studied exhibited recruitment in gaps equal to or higher than that in the shaded forest. However, recruitment success in shaded forest relative to gaps increased with seed mass, indicating a higher affinity for shaded forest among larger-seeded taxa, but this relationship was only detected using PICS analysis. 6.,Correlations between seed mass and seedling mass are similar within and among species, indicating a simple principle of mass transference. In contrast, correlations between seed mass and seedling emergence, seedling survival, seedling recruitment and RGR depend on the scale at which they are observed. [source]

Security Theory in the "New Regionalism",

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 2 2007
Robert E. Kelly
The relevance of regional security theories has grown in the wake of the Cold War. The global system has more participants,is less Eurocentric with Third World states having greater autonomy and involvement,and clearly unipolar, shifting the locus of conflict down from the global level. A new wave of regionalist scholarship has arisen in response. This review identifies this literature's central themes and suggested new variables. Its foundational and most contested challenge to international relations (IR) theory revolves around the autonomy of a regional level of analysis between the state and the globe. Accepting such autonomy, the literature broadly settles on three variables specific to regional structures. First, regional subsystems are porous. Intervention from above can overlay local dynamics. Second, proximity qualifies the security dilemma dramatically. Most states only threaten their neighbors, thus creating meaningful and distinct regional dynamics. Third, weak state-dominant regional complexes generate a shared internal security dilemma that trumps the external one. Regional organizations serve to repress shared centrifugal threats through pooled rather than ceded sovereignty. [source]

Practitioner Review: Bridging the gap between research and clinical practice in pediatric obesity

THE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 2 2007
Elissa Jelalian
Background:, Pediatric obesity is a significant public health concern, with rising prevalence rates in both developed and developing countries. This is of particular significance given that overweight children and adolescents are at increased risk for multiple medical comorbidities, as well as psychosocial and behavioral difficulties. The current review highlights findings from the empirical pediatric obesity treatment literature, with particular attention to diet, physical activity, and behavior interventions. Evaluation and treatment considerations relevant to working with overweight children and adolescents with psychiatric comorbidities are reviewed. Methods:, Review of the relevant treatment literature, with a focus on randomized clinical trials, was conducted. Recommendations regarding treatment of children and adolescents with psychiatric comorbidities are based on relevant prospective studies of the relationship between weight status and psychological variables and studies with adult populations. Results:, Well-established pediatric weight control interventions have been conducted in research settings. These studies provide a starting point, but are limited by homogeneous samples that may exclude participants with psychiatric comorbidities. Practitioners treating obese children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders are encouraged to assess individual, familial, and contextual variables specific to weight (e.g., motivation and existing support to change current eating and physical activity patterns, extent of weight-related conflict within family, impact of weight on current functioning) in order to prioritize treatment objectives. Conclusions:, The review concludes with a discussion of current empirical and practical challenges, including explicitly targeting obese children and adolescents with psychiatric concerns and determining appropriateness of pursuing weight control interventions in this population. [source]

The Presidential and Parliamentary Elections of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela: Change and Continuity (1998,2000)

BULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH, Issue 2 2002
José E. Molina V
The paper examines to what extent electoral behaviour in Venezuela, as it appeared in the elections of 1998 and 2000, is different from that observed between 1958 and 1988. The paper reaches the conclusion that given the decline in party identification (dealignment), the short-term variables specific to each election, in particular the attitude towards government performance and personalities, have grown in weight vis-à-vis the structural factors (party identification, institutions, long-standing political predispositions). However, the latter were still relevant and important in the 1998 and 2000 elections and it is very likely they will carry on as such for the future. It is also concluded that, even though the party system has become unstable due to the decline in identification with the traditional government parties, new stabilising factors seem to have appeared and should be taken into account. These are ideology and negative party identification. [source]