Showcasing health psychology postgraduate research: contemporary theory and methods

This article describes a conference workshop organised by the author which showcased the breadth of current postgraduate research within the area of Health Psychology

Psychology as a STEM discipline

Psychology is a science that contributes greatly to a number of other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Unfortunately, it is not often recognised as a STEM discipline. This discussion paper considers psychology’s membership as a STEM subject and the impact that it has had on our everyday lives. The author suggests that postgraduate students working on innovative, inter-disciplinary research can not only contribute to psychology’s standing, but can also help to communicate the value of what psychologists do. Reflections from the author’s experiences as a STEM Ambassador are also included, with reference to The University of Northampton’s unique STEM Steering Group and STEM Champions programme

Types of fruits and vegetables used in commercial baby foods and their contribution to sugar content

Fruits and vegetables (F&V) are often featured in names of commercial baby foods (CBFs). We aimed to survey all available CBFs in the UK market with F&V included in the food name in order to describe the amount and types of F&V used in CBF and their contribution to total sugar content. Food labels were used to identify F&V and total sugar content. Fruits were more common than vegetables in names of the 329 CBFs identified. The six most common F&V in the names were all relatively sweet: apple, banana, tomato, mango, carrot and sweet potato. The percentage of F&V in the foods ranged from a median of 94% for sweet-spoonable to 13% for dry-savoury products. Fruit content of sweet foods (n = 177) was higher than vegetable content of savoury foods (n = 152) with a median (IQR) of 64.0 g/100 g (33.0–100.0) vs. 46.0 g/100 g (33–56.7). Fruit juice was added to 18% of products. The proportion of F&V in CBF correlated significantly with sugar content for all the food types except dry-savoury food (sweet-spoonable r = 0.24, P = 0.006; savoury-spoonable r = 0.65, P < 0.001; sweet-dry r = 0.81, P < 0.001; savoury-dry r = 0.51, P = 0.06) and explained up to two-thirds of the variation in sugar content. The F&V content of CBFs mainly consists of fruits and relatively sweet vegetables which are unlikely to encourage preferences for bitter-tasting vegetables or other non-sweet foods. F&V contribute significantly to the total sugar content, particularly of savoury foods

Disparities in Childhood Obesity in Low Socioeconomic Status and Racial/Ethnic Populations: An analytical literature review

Since childhood obesity is linked with an increased risk of obesity in adulthood, obesity inchildren and adolescence brings a multitude of adverse health outcomes including, but notlimited to cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, diabetes, some forms of cancer, hypertension,and death. This study focuses on analytical evaluation of disparities of childhood obesity inlow socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic populations. The analytical review was conductedon the literature available online focusing five dimensions for the analysis is expressed in thefollowing points: (1) What is evel of incidence of childhood obesity in the United States, (2)What is definition of childhood obesity? (3) What are the factors that impact obesity? (4) Whatis the appropriate theoretical framework for research on childhood obesity? (5) What are theknowledge gaps and the recommended future research? The prevalence of obesity in childrenand adolescents is very alarming and needs to be addressed because this health status, beingoverweight/obese, has a significant and unfavorable impact on not only the health of youngAmericans today but also the future health of young Americans. Using the percentile categoriesto determine childhood obesity, there are noteworthy differences when comparing obesity ratesby race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. There was no significant correlationbetween race/ethnicity and overweight/obese when controlling the income. When addressingdisparities in childhood obesity it is important to understand not only the causes of obesity, butalso other factors which may amplify the causes of obesity. Socioeconomic status duringchildhood, being male, white, has a high possibility of adiposity in adolescence. Exposure tomedia and marketing, the reduced access and availability of quality and affordable foodproducts is an example of a factor that may amplify the cause of obesity

Understanding drinking behaviour; affordances and an ecological approach to cognition

Alcohol misuse is a public health concern. Many social cognition models explain drinking behaviour using a limited representational model of cognition. Gibson’s Ecological approach does not require representation. Meaning exists at the interplay of brain, body and environment in terms of affordances. Contemporary ideas about Ecological psychology and affordances could be used to understand how individual-environment relations extend and constrain opportunities for consuming alcohol. This research programme comprised three studies: i. Affordances for Drinking Behaviour: A Non-Participant Observation Study in Licensed Premises. A functional, affordance-based approach was used to identify the array of affordances, or action opportunities, observed to be relevant to alcohol consumption in seven UK licensed premises. This study illustrated the normative and functional qualities of these drinking environments for drinking behaviour from the perspective of an independent observer. ii. Individual Perceptions of Alcohol-Related Affordances: Photo- Elicitation Interviews and Phenomenology. Twelve students viewed fifty photographs of a range of licensed premises, describing the function that occurrences had for their drinking behaviour. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis provided an insight into first-person drinking experiences, supporting the alcohol-related affordances identified by the first study and providing an insight into why these were taken up by participants. iii. Alcohol-Related Affordances and Group Subjectivities: A Q- Methodology Approach. 40 students participated in a Q-Methodology study which combined statements from the previous two studies. Four patterns of subjectivity were uncovered. Most participants were aware of alcohol-related affordances, but believed their drinking behaviour to be autonomous. Others were conscious of influences, but compliant to these effects. Some were unaware, acting unanimously with the group, while others were concerned with carrying out behaviour considerate for the context. The findings of this research programme have implications for psychology and, as a global theory of behaviour, provide a more robust theoretical perspective on behavioural determinants for a range of health behaviours

Anionic salts in the prepartum diet and addition of sodium bicarbonate to colostrum replacer and their effects on IgG absorption in the neonate

Forty Holstein cows were assigned to a 2 X 2 factorial arrangement of treatments in a completely randomized block design to one of four treatments: basal diet and no sodium bicarbonate in the colostrum replacer; basal diet and supplemental sodium bicarbonate in the colostrum replacer; anionic salts and no sodium bicarbonate in the colostrum replacer; anionic salts and supplemental sodium bicarbonate in the colostrum replacer. Calves received two doses of colostrum replacer +/- sodium bicarbonate at 0 h, 1 dose of colostrum replacer +/- sodium bicarbonate at 6 hours and milk replacer at 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours. Calves receiving sodium bicarbonate had higher serum IgG levels at 24 hours, and higher apparent efficiency of absorption values as compared to calves that did not receive supplemental sodium bicarbonate. Feeding anionic salts during the pre-fresh period did not affect IgG absorption in calves

Psychological Need Thwarting in the Sport Context: Assessing the Darker Side of Athletic Experience

Research in self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2002) has shown that satisfac­tion of autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs in sport contexts is associated with enhanced engagement, performance, and well-being. This article outlines the initial development of a multidimensional measure designed to assess psychologi­cal need thwarting, an under-studied area of conceptual and practical importance. Study 1 generated a pool of items designed to tap the negative experiential state that occurs when athletes perceive their needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness to be actively undermined. Study 2 tested the factorial structure of the questionnaire using confirmatory factor analysis. The supported model comprised 3 factors, which represented the hypothesized interrelated dimensions of need thwarting. The model was refined and cross-validated using an independent sample in Study 3. Overall, the psychological need thwarting scale (PNTS) demonstrated good content, factorial, and predictive validity, as well as internal consistency and invariance across gender, sport type, competitive level, and competitive experi­ence. The conceptualization of psychological need thwarting is discussed, and suggestions are made regarding the use of the PNTS in research pertaining to the darker side of sport participation