Exploring the Differences in Stress Mindset between Former and Current College Student-Athletes

Stress is a universal experience, often believed to be negative, that has been linked with negative consequences. However, recent studies have shown that stress can lead to positive outcomes as well, including an increase in health and performance in a variety of domains. Research has also found one’s beliefs about the nature of stress (e.g., stress mindset) play a large role in the extent to which one experiences these beneficial outcomes of stress. Although two athletes may encounter the same stressor, their beliefs on stress impact whether they experience detrimental or enhancing outcomes resulting from the stressor. Given some athletes view pressures associated with sport participation as negative or harmful, sometimes resulting in the athlete terminating their sport participation, research is needed examining the stress mindset in current athletes and former athletes who retired or terminated their sport participation early. PURPOSE: To explore the differences, if any, in stress mindset and perceived amount of stress between current and former student-athletes. METHODS: A total of 113 students (n = 87 current athletes; n = 26 former athletes) participated in this study. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and the Stress Mindset Measure (SMM) administered via an online survey tool. The SMM is a self-report assessment of participants’ beliefs about stress. Mann-Whitney U tests were conducted to assess differences in stress mindset and perceived amount of stress between former and current college athletes. RESULTS: There was no significant difference observed between former and current student-athletes stress mindset scores (U = 1231.5, p = .494, η2 = .004). Likewise, there was no significant difference observed between current and former athletes on perceived amount of current stress (U = 884, p = .171, η2 = .025). CONCLUSION: No statistically significant differences between groups in stress mindset scores or perceived stress were observed, but both current and former athletes were found to have a stress-is-debilitating mindset (i.e., they held negative beliefs about the nature of stress). Current student-athletes did report a slightly lower SMM score (M = 1.65) than former athletes (M = 1.8) and given that stress mindset reflects one’s view of the process of stress itself and not simply an appraisal of any given stressor, there may be a difference in the way student-athletes appraise their sport or stress stemming from their sport participation. As burnout was not measured in the present study, it is possible the current student-athletes in this study may be experiencing burnout but have not terminated their sport participation yet. Future studies should examine burnout in athletes alongside the stress mindset and should continue to explore this construct with a larger sample of former athletes

Exploring Stress Mindset and Perceived Stress between College Student-Athletes and Non-Athletes

International Journal of Exercise Science 15(5): 1554-1562, 2022. One’s beliefs about the nature of stress (e.g., stress mindset) play a large role in the extent to which one experiences the detrimental or beneficial outcomes of stress. Stress mindset has been explored in college students, but there is limited research on stress mindsets in student-athletes. Sport can serve as a buffer to the negative impacts of stress for some student-athletes; however, pressures associated with sport participation increase stress in other student-athletes. Therefore, the purpose was to examine potential differences in stress mindset and perceived stress between non-athletes and college student-athletes. We hypothesized college student-athletes would report higher stress mindset scores but lower perceived stress scores. A total of 272 students (n = 87 student-athletes; n = 185 non-athletes) completed a demographic questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Stress Mindset Measure via an online survey. No significant differences were observed between student-athletes’ and non-athletes’ stress mindset scores; however, significant differences were observed between student-athletes’ and non-athletes’ perceived stress. Thus, student-athletes and non-athletes shared a similar view of stress, but student-athletes reported a lower level of perceived stress than non-athletes. While there appears to be no statistically significant differences in stress mindset between college non-athletes and student-athletes, both groups reported holding a stress-is-debilitating mindset. Implications for practitioners working with the college population are discussed

Is Caffeine Intake Associated With Urinary Incontinence in Japanese Adults?

Objectives: To investigate whether caffeine intake is associated with urinary incontinence (UI) among Japanese adults. Methods: A total of 683 men and 298 women aged 40 to 75 years were recruited from the community in middle and southern Japan. A validated food frequency questionnaire was administered face-to-face to obtain information on dietary intake and habitual beverage consumption. Urinary incontinence status was ascertained using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form. Results: Mean daily caffeine intake was found to be similar between incontinent subjects (men 120 mg, women 94 mg) and others without the condition (men 106 mg, women 103 mg), p=0.33 for men and p=0.44 for women. The slight increases in risk of UI at the highest level of caffeine intake were not significant after adjusting for confounding factors. The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.36 (0.65 to 2.88) and 1.12 (0.57 to 2.22) for men and women, respectively. Conclusions: No association was evident between caffeine intake and UI in middle-aged and older Japanese adults. Further studies are required to confirm the effect of caffeine in the prevention of UI

Evidence Based Review Workshop for Forestry: Introduction & practical guidance on systematic reviews

Systematic Evidence Based Review Workshop, May 7-9, 2013 (Corvallis, OR). Workshop materials and presentations.This workshop was held in 107 Richardson Hall on the Corvallis campus of Oregon State University with the intended goal of introducing participants to the skills required for evidence-based natural resource analysis. These skills include: framing answerable questions to address policy & practice concerns, finding the best available evidence to answer the question, recognizing the limitations of available studies and problems of bias, critically appraising the evidence for its validity and usefulness, planning a systematic review, and forming a systematic review team. The workshop explored guidance from a variety of fields that utilize an evidence-based approach, and related this to issues of high priority for natural resources regionally. The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Gillian Petrokofsky of Oxford University who has worked on related training programs for researchers at CIFOR. Files attached to this record include speakers’ presentation slides, handouts and the registration webpage with contact information. These are preserved as PDFs. Additional information is available on the OSU Library Guide created for this workshop at: http://guides.library.oregonstate.edu/2013serworksho

Wnt signaling in triple-negative breast cancer

Wnt signaling regulates a variety of cellular processes, including cell fate, differentiation, proliferation and stem cell pluripotency. Aberrant Wnt signaling is a hallmark of many cancers. An aggressive subtype of breast cancer, known as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), demonstrates dysregulation in canonical and non-canonical Wnt signaling. In this review, we summarize regulators of canonical and non-canonical Wnt signaling, as well as Wnt signaling dysfunction that mediates the progression of TNBC. We review the complex molecular nature of TNBC and the emerging therapies that are currently under investigation for the treatment of this disease

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

Background: Many patients with COVID-19 have been treated with plasma containing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Methods: This randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]) is assessing several possible treatments in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 177 NHS hospitals from across the UK. Eligible and consenting patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either usual care alone (usual care group) or usual care plus high-titre convalescent plasma (convalescent plasma group). The primary outcome was 28-day mortality, analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936. Findings: Between May 28, 2020, and Jan 15, 2021, 11558 (71%) of 16287 patients enrolled in RECOVERY were eligible to receive convalescent plasma and were assigned to either the convalescent plasma group or the usual care group. There was no significant difference in 28-day mortality between the two groups: 1399 (24%) of 5795 patients in the convalescent plasma group and 1408 (24%) of 5763 patients in the usual care group died within 28 days (rate ratio 1·00, 95% CI 0·93–1·07; p=0·95). The 28-day mortality rate ratio was similar in all prespecified subgroups of patients, including in those patients without detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at randomisation. Allocation to convalescent plasma had no significant effect on the proportion of patients discharged from hospital within 28 days (3832 [66%] patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 3822 [66%] patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·94–1·03; p=0·57). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at randomisation, there was no significant difference in the proportion of patients meeting the composite endpoint of progression to invasive mechanical ventilation or death (1568 [29%] of 5493 patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 1568 [29%] of 5448 patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·93–1·05; p=0·79). Interpretation: In patients hospitalised with COVID-19, high-titre convalescent plasma did not improve survival or other prespecified clinical outcomes. Funding: UK Research and Innovation (Medical Research Council) and National Institute of Health Research

Emerging adolescence: current status and potential advances in bioarchaeology

Adolescence is marked by a wide range of biological, social, and neurological changes. Adolescents are stereotypically viewed as reckless, impulsive, and troubled, but research across the social and biomedical sciences are demonstrating that this is a narrow view of a dynamic period of life. Now, research is showing that adolescents are frequently responsible for the creation and transmission of new ideas and practices and for the creation of new social bonds, which can contribute to personal and community growth. In short, adolescents are key to the development and success of a community. The bioarchaeological study of adolescence not only speaks to the experiences of adolescents, but captures the life of a community, especially as this period encapsulates early life experiences and lays the foundations for later adult health outcomes. Consequently, the study of adolescence in past populations provides deep-time insights into adolescence as a uniquely human experience. This special issue of Bioarchaeology International focuses on newly developing work within the bioarchaeological study of adolescence, demonstrating how researchers can use bioculturally informed research to advance our understanding of adolescence in the past. In doing so, we demonstrate where the study of adolescence has come from, where it is presently situated, and where we may take it moving forward, as the study of adolescence not only emerges, but flourishes

Child and Adolescent Diet in Late Roman Gaul: An investigation of incremental dietary stable isotopes in tooth dentine

International audienc

Pubertal timing as an indicator of early life stress in Roman Italy and Roman Gaul

International audienceObjectives: Puberty is a period of rapid growth and development, and the age ofonset and duration of puberty may serve as an indicator of developmental stressduring childhood. In this study, we compare pubertal timing and tempo in individualsfrom two Roman Imperial cemetery sites, integrating biological and social factors tobetter understand pubertal timing differences and their possible connection to EarlyLife Stress (ELS) and peri-pubertal stress.Materials and Methods: Osteological methods to estimate pubertal timing wereapplied to 264 individuals from Lisieux-Michelet (4th–5th centuries CE; France) andIsola Sacra (1st–4th centuries CE; Italy). Peptide analysis of tooth enamel was usedto assess sex in a sub-sample of pre-pubertal remains.Results: Individuals experienced puberty between 9 and 20 years of age, withfemales experiencing the acceleration stage earlier than males (p 1.2).Between the two sites, no significant differences were noted for age-at-death duringacceleration, peak height velocity, and deceleration (i.e., the active stages of puberty).Menarche occurred around 15 years of age.Discussion: The inter-site comparisons demonstrate similar patterns of pubertaltiming and tempo. For males, the pubertal timing aligns with ancient literary descrip-tions of key puberty milestones. Females entered puberty earlier than literary sourcessuggest and experienced puberty for an extended period, pointing to possiblegendered exposure to ELS and peri-pubertal stress, influenced by their social statusin the Roman Empire. These results demonstrate how pubertal timing and tempo canbe used to infer developmental stress in past populations