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Physical Activity and Nutrition
Marquez & McAuley (2001)
- When in a high physical evaluation setting (e.g., fitness centers), individuals experience high levels of anxiety; and this is especially true for females
- However, if one feels efficacious regarding his/her performance in that setting, anxiety is reduced
Groessl, Kaplan, Ganiats, & Barrett-Conner (2001)
- Overweight and underweight individuals have lower health-related quality of life than people who are not over- or underweight.
Collins, Hoffman, O'Brien, & Carels (2001)
- Women who demonstrated perfectionist characteristics reported higher frequency of exercise, greater restrictive eating behaviors, and higher general activity level. Men who had an internal locus of control toward eating (i.e., the belief that one's weight is largely determined by one's actions) had greater activity level.
Chiros, Foster, Perez-Benitez, Cacciapaglia, Frutchey, Phillips, Kenholm, Carels, & O'Brien (2001)
- College students engage in many dieting practices in addition to restrained eating, including exercise, taking weight-loss supplements, and monitoring food intake. However, students who indicated satisfaction with their body exercised more and were less likely to monitor or restrict food intake and take weight loss supplements. Further, students who placed a high value on physical appearance were more likely to practice extreme dieting measures (e.g., skipping meals).
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Stress
Yatko, Grunberg, Stine, & Klein (2001)
- Participants who believed time passes very quickly or very slowly reported higher perceived stress than those who reported a moderate subjective time rate.
Chafin, Roy, Christenfeld, & Gerin (2001)
- Participants who listened to classical music after becoming stressed demonstrated a faster return to pre-stress blood pressure and heart rate levels.
Greeson, Reibel, Rosenzweig, & Brainard (2001)
- Medical students who participated in "mindful meditation", a relaxation training program, reduced their psychological distress and enhanced overall mood state after the 10-week intervention.
Matacin, Hoover, & Sergautis (2001)
- These authors found that it was physiologically stressful for women to talk about their bodies, which demonstrates evidence for the possible long term health effects of body image concerns.
Pelletier & Waldstein (2001)
- Severe or extremely positive daily events in women's lives can influence (and even increase) their levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the bad kind).
Thompson (2001)
- · Undergraduate students who held an integrated worldview (a conceptual system which emphasizes positive interpersonal relationships and harmony) reported fewer stressors and engaged in more stress management practices than students with segmented beliefs (emphasize competition, acquisition of objects, and individualism).
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Mood
Gehricke, Jamner, Whalen, Lozano, Jamia, & Luna (2001)
- These authors found that being with friends reduced sadness, stress, and fatigue compared to being alone. Further, if someone was depressed to begin with, being with friends had an even bigger effect on improving happiness, well-being, and alertness.
Edwards, Applegate, Webster, Studts, Scales Gunnarsdottir, & Dunn (2001)
- Participants who were depressed and reported suffering from headache pain demonstrated social and psychological reactions to their pain, which were influenced by their depression.
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HIV
Catz, Meredith, & Mundy (2001)
- Of HIV+ women surveyed, 40% believed that AIDS is now a less serious threat since the advent of new HIV treatments, and 15% indicated that they now practice safe sex less often.
Weinhardt & Crumble (2001)
- Individuals who were engaged in high-risk sexual behaviors who participated in a detailed health behavior interview, causing them to examine their high-risk behaviors, reported increased motivation to practice safe sex.
Gore-Felton, Koopman, & Spiegel (2001)
- Individuals who experienced some type of traumatic event were more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors than individuals who reported no trauma in their lives. Those who experienced trauma were also more likely to have a greater number of sexual partner and have contracted a sexual transmitted disease.
Skolnik, Phillips, Binson, & Dilley (2001)
- These authors investigated what people want most out of an HIV testing center. It was found that 2/3 of participants favored free public clinic tests as opposed to home tests. Further, accuracy/timeliness, privacy of test disclosure, and linking of test results received high ratings by most participants. Price and convenience were also significant.
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Relationships
Lepore, Greenberg, & Bruno (2001)
- Individuals who had experienced a relationship break-up in the past year and participated in an expressive writing exercise, asking them to write an accurate emotional essay about their past relationship, experienced health benefits as compared to a control group who wrote non-emotional essays. It was believed that writing in an emotional, expressive manner desensitized participants to stress-related thoughts and feelings.
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