The impact of premarital cycling on early marriage

Using a sample of 564 newlywed couples and the enduring dynamics model of marriage (Caughlin, Huston, & Houts, 2000), we examined the impact of premarital cycling (breaking up and renewing) on the entrance into marriage and relationship dynamics over the first five years. Consistent with the enduring dynamics model, results demonstrated cyclical couples (compared to non-cyclical couples) exhibited worse adjustment on a variety of relationship indicators at the entrance to marriage and were more likely to experience a trial separation over the first five years. Dyadic parallel process growth curve analysis further revealed that premarital cycling predicted lower initial relationship satisfaction that was sustained over the first five years of marriage. Implications for theory, research, and intervention with premarital couples are discussed. These results provide evidence that courtships characterized by breakups and renewals represent a relational vulnerability with negative implications extending years into the future

The action of selection on codon bias in the human genome is related to frequency, complexity, and chronology of amino acids

BACKGROUND: The question of whether synonymous codon choice is affected by cellular tRNA abundance has been positively answered in many organisms. In some recent works, concerning the human genome, this relation has been studied, but no conclusive answers have been found. In the human genome, the variation in base composition and the absence of cellular tRNA count data makes the study of the question more complicated. In this work we study the relation between codon choice and tRNA abundance in the human genome by correcting relative codon usage for background base composition and using a measure based on tRNA-gene copy numbers as a rough estimate of tRNA abundance. RESULTS: We term major codons to be those codons with a relatively large tRNA-gene copy number for their corresponding amino acid. We use two measures of expression: breadth of expression (the number of tissues in which a gene was expressed) and maximum expression level among tissues (the highest value of expression of a gene among tissues). We show that for half the amino acids in the study (8 of 16) the relative major codon usage rises with breadth of expression. We show that these amino acids are significantly more frequent, are smaller and simpler, and are more ancient than the rest of the amino acids. Similar, although weaker, results were obtained for maximum expression level. CONCLUSION: There is evidence that codon bias in the human genome is related to selection, although the selection forces acting on codon bias may not be straightforward and may be different for different amino acids. We suggest that, in the first group of amino acids, selection acts to enhance translation efficiency in highly expressed genes by preferring major codons, and acts to reduce translation rate in lowly expressed genes by preferring non-major ones. In the second group of amino acids other selection forces, such as reducing misincorporation rate of expensive amino acids, in terms of their size/complexity, may be in action. The fact that codon usage is more strongly related to breadth of expression than to maximum expression level supports the notion, presented in a recent study, that codon choice may be related to the tRNA abundance in the tissue in which a gene is expressed

Parent Adjustment Over Time in Gay, Lesbian, and Heterosexual Parent Families Adopting From Foster Care

Although increasing numbers of gay and lesbian individuals and couples are adopting children, gay men and lesbian women continue to face increased scrutiny and legal obstacles from the child welfare system. To date, little research has compared the experiences of gay or lesbian and heterosexual adoptive parents over time, limiting conceptual understandings of the similarities they share and the unique challenges that gay and lesbian adoptive parents may face. This study compared the adoption satisfaction, depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and social support at 2, 12, and 24 months postplacement of 82 parents (60 heterosexual, 15 gay, 7 lesbian) adopting children from foster care in Los Angeles County. Few differences were found between heterosexual and gay or lesbian parents at any of the assessments or in their patterns of change over time. On average, parents in both household types reported significant increases in adoption satisfaction and maintained low, nonclinical levels of depressive symptoms and parenting stress over time. Across all family types, greater parenting stress was associated with more depressive symptoms and lower adoption satisfaction. Results indicated many similarities between gay or lesbian and heterosexual adoptive parents, and highlight a need for services to support adoptive parents throughout the transition to parenthood to promote their well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)

Mental health profiles of depressive symptoms and personal well‐being among active‐duty military families

Although some research has examined the mental health of individual family members in military families, additional research is needed that considers mental health among multiple members of the family system simultaneously and that characterizes subsets of families with distinct patterns. Mental health patterns of depressive symptoms and well-being in and among families were identified using latent profile analysis with a community sample of 236 military families with a service member (SM) parent, civilian partner, and adolescent. Drawing from the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response model, we examined several military-related family demands (e.g., relocations, deployments) and capabilities (e.g., family cohesion, social support outside the family) as correlates of the family profiles. Three profiles emerged: thriving families (62.3% of the sample where all three family members reported relatively low depressive symptoms and high personal well-being), families with a relatively distressed SM (24.2%), and families with a relatively distressed adolescent (13.5%). Overall, there were no differences between the groups of families regarding military-related demands, yet there were differences between the groups regarding their capabilities, namely family cohesion and social support. In general, families in the thriving profile tended to have higher family cohesion and social support as reported by multiple family members compared to the other two profiles. Findings can inform the development of family needs assessments and tailored interventions (and intervention points) based on family profiles and current capabilities

Does Couples' Communication Predict Marital Satisfaction, or Does Marital Satisfaction Predict Communication?

The quality of communication between spouses is widely assumed to affect their subsequent judgments of relationship satisfaction, yet this assumption is rarely tested against the alternative prediction that communication is merely a consequence of spouses’ prior levels of satisfaction. To evaluate these perspectives, newlywed couples’ positivity, negativity, and effectiveness were observed four times at 9-month intervals and these behaviors were examined in relation to corresponding self-reports of relationship satisfaction. Cross-sectionally, relatively satisfied couples engaged in more positive, less negative, and more effective communication. Longitudinally, reliable communication-to-satisfaction and satisfaction-to-communication associations were identified, yet neither pathway was particularly robust. These findings raise important doubts about theories and interventions that prioritize couple communication skills as the key predictor of relationship satisfaction, while raising new questions about other factors that might predict communication and satisfaction and that strengthen or moderate their association

Biography of Leann L Birch, PhD, 25 June 1946 – 26 May 2019

On 26 May, 2019, the nutrition community lost a visionary ambassador, trusted advisor, and cherished mentor. Leann Birch was a pioneer in bringing a developmental psychology perspective to the study of children\u27s nutrition as a means to respond to real-world questions raised by parents. Leann Elsie Traub was born in Owosso, Michigan 25 June, 1946. She grew up primarily in Southern California and received a bachelor\u27s degree in psychology from California State University, Long Beach, in 1971. She completed her graduate studies at the University of Michigan where she received a master\u27s degree in 1973 and a doctorate in 1975, both in psychology. She subsequently held faculty appointments reflecting affiliations with nutrition as well as human development at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (1976–1992), the Pennsylvania State University (1992–2014), and the University of Georgia (2014–2019). Over this time, Leann was a prolific scientist, publishing \u3e250 publications (with \u3e51,000 citations) and receiving \u3e$30 million in federal research funding. The public health impact and reach of Leann\u27s work is profound. References to her work can be found everywhere: federal dietary guidance, position statements from leading professional organizations, early-childhood education policies, anticipatory guidance given in the pediatrician\u27s office, and popular books on feeding children

Translational selection on SHH genes

Codon usage bias has been observed in various organisms. In this study, the correlation between SHH genes expression in some tissues and codon usage features was analyzed by bioinformatics. We found that translational selection may act on compositional features of this set of genes