Father\u27s Parenting Style and Childhood Mealtime Experiences: Predictors of Bulimia

Although many factors may contribute to the etiology of bulimia (Killian, 1994; Root et al., 1986; Striegel-Moore et al., 1986; Weiss et al., 1994), only a few factors differentiate between individuals who will or will not develop bulimia nervosa. There is a need to further explore and narrow the determinants of bulimia nervosa in order to develop a universal model to understand and treat the disorder. This study investigates the extent that childhood mealtime experiences and father\u27s parenting style contribute to the manifestation of bulimic symptoms. The Bulimia Test-Revised (Thelen & Farmer, 1991) is used to classify 146 college-age females and 22 eating disordered patients along a continuum of bulimic symptoms. To measure perceived childhood mealtime experiences and the degree of care and protection received from their fathers, participants completed the Childhood Family Mealtime Questionnaire (CFMQ) (Miller 1989, 1993) and the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) (Parker et al., 1979). Nine of the eating disorder patients (40.9%) and five of the college students (3.4%) scored within the diagnosable range of bulimia nervosa. The extent to which one exhibits bulimic symptoms correlated significantly with the participants\u27 perceptions that their fathers were rejecting and overprotective. That is, young women with bulimic symptoms perceived their fathers as both less caring and more controlling. In addition, the extent to which one exhibits bulimic symptoms correlated significantly with the following childhood mealtime measures: General Stress, Weight and Health, Importance of Food and Meals, and Food Specific Stress. More specifically, it was found that among the therapy group of bulimics (n = 9), bulimic symptoms were significantly correlated with Food Specific Stress. In predicting bulimic symptoms, the best one-variable risk model is childhood mealtime experiences. Further exploration indicated that subscales of the CFMQ were significantly intercorrelated; therefore, further multiple regression analyses were inappropriate. Recommendations were made for refining the CFMQ and using it with other populations, such as anorexic and substance abuse disorders. This study\u27s findings support the hypothesis that bulimic symptoms are arranged along a continuum and recommendations are made accordingly. Implications are discussed for understanding, preventing, and treating bulimia

Father\u27s Parenting Style and Childhood Mealtime Experiences: Predictors of Bulimia

Although many factors may contribute to the etiology of bulimia (Killian, 1994; Root et al., 1986; Striegel-Moore et al., 1986; Weiss et al., 1994), only a few factors differentiate between individuals who will or will not develop bulimia nervosa. There is a need to further explore and narrow the determinants of bulimia nervosa in order to develop a universal model to understand and treat the disorder. This study investigates the extent that childhood mealtime experiences and father\u27s parenting style contribute to the manifestation of bulimic symptoms. The Bulimia Test-Revised (Thelen & Farmer, 1991) is used to classify 146 college-age females and 22 eating disordered patients along a continuum of bulimic symptoms. To measure perceived childhood mealtime experiences and the degree of care and protection received from their fathers, participants completed the Childhood Family Mealtime Questionnaire (CFMQ) (Miller 1989, 1993) and the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) (Parker et al., 1979). Nine of the eating disorder patients (40.9%) and five of the college students (3.4%) scored within the diagnosable range of bulimia nervosa. The extent to which one exhibits bulimic symptoms correlated significantly with the participants\u27 perceptions that their fathers were rejecting and overprotective. That is, young women with bulimic symptoms perceived their fathers as both less caring and more controlling. In addition, the extent to which one exhibits bulimic symptoms correlated significantly with the following childhood mealtime measures: General Stress, Weight and Health, Importance of Food and Meals, and Food Specific Stress. More specifically, it was found that among the therapy group of bulimics (n = 9), bulimic symptoms were significantly correlated with Food Specific Stress. In predicting bulimic symptoms, the best one-variable risk model is childhood mealtime experiences. Further exploration indicated that subscales of the CFMQ were significantly intercorrelated; therefore, further multiple regression analyses were inappropriate. Recommendations were made for refining the CFMQ and using it with other populations, such as anorexic and substance abuse disorders. This study\u27s findings support the hypothesis that bulimic symptoms are arranged along a continuum and recommendations are made accordingly. Implications are discussed for understanding, preventing, and treating bulimia

State of Montana v. Ronald Dwight Tipton: On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court of the State of Montana

Montana’s pending certiorari petition in Montana v. Tipton provides the Supreme Court with an opportunity to review the important issue of when States are permitted to revive criminal cases based on newly discovered DNA evidence. Until recently, many states have had child sex abuse statutes of limitation that have made it difficult for prosecution to occur. In Stogner v. California, 539 U.S. 607 (2003), the Supreme Court addressed California’s attempt to address the injustice by reviving expired criminal statutes of limitations in all cases of child sex abuse. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that the California law violated the Ex Post Facto Clause. For a narrow majority of the Court, the blanket revival of criminal claims went too far. Since Stogner, the science of DNA evidence in sex assault cases has become increasingly sophisticated and reliable and states have begun to enact laws to permit prosecution of child rape where conclusive DNA evidence becomes available. This deeply reliable evidence justifies the reopening of a child sexual abuse case even when the statute of limitations previously expired, because it does not raise the risk of unfairness to the perpetrator. It is also necessary to prevent further abuse by the now-identified perpetrator. In this case, eight-year-old L.T. was raped in her home in the middle of the night. Evidence was gathered immediately. The wrong man served a decade in prison due to a false conviction. It is now possible, due to a later-discovered DNA match with the actual perpetrator, to hold the right man accountable. This case is a proper vehicle for the Supreme Court to consider the appropriate interpretation and limits of Stogner v. California. By permitting prosecution of child abuse perpetrators, this Court would not only be providing particular victims access to much-needed justice but would also be aiding in the incarceration of dangerous sexual predators before they could abuse more children. Nothing in the Constitution forbids these laudable conclusions

Problematic Internet Use in early adolescence: The role of attachment and negative beliefs about worry

AbstractBackground and aimsProblematic Internet Use (PIU) might be a potential mental health problem. Few studies have investigated the relative contribution of individual and family factors in the development of PIU in early adolescence. The aim of the current study was to model the relationship between attachment styles, negative beliefs about worry, and PIU in early adolescence.MethodsFive hundred and thirty-eight Italian early adolescents (51% females, M age = 12.7 years, SD = 0.87) were included in this study. The pattern of relationships specified by the theoretical model was examined through path analysis.ResultsResults showed that avoidance (mother) and anxiety (father) were directly associated with PIU. Anxiety (mother) and avoidance (father) were indirectly associated with PIU via negative beliefs about worry.Discussion and conclusionsOverall, our findings show that attachment toward mother and father are differently linked to PIU and that negative beliefs about worry may play a mediating role in the association between attachment and PIU. Findings are discussed within clinical and preventive implications

Adhesive and Rheological Features of Ecofriendly Coatings with Antifouling Properties

In this work, formulations of "environmentally compatible" silicone-based antifouling, synthesized in the laboratory and based on copper and silver on silica/titania oxides, have been characterized. These formulations are capable of replacing the non-ecological antifouling paints currently available on the market. The texture properties and the morphological analysis of these powders with an antifouling action indicate that their activity is linked to the nanometric size of the particles and to the homogeneous dispersion of the metal on the substrate. The presence of two metal species on the same support limits the formation of nanometric species and, therefore, the formation of homogeneous compounds. The presence of the antifouling filler, specifically the one based on titania (TiO2) and silver (Ag), facilitates the achievement of a higher degree of cross-linking of the resin, and therefore, a better compactness and completeness of the coating than that attained with the pure resin. Thus, a high degree of adhesion to the tie-coat and, consequently, to the steel support used for the construction of the boats was achieved in the presence of the silver-titania antifouling

Exposure to Endocrine Disruptors and Nuclear Receptors Gene Expression in Infertile and Fertile Men from Italian Areas with Different Environmental Features

Internal levels of selected endocrine disruptors (EDs) (i.e., perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), di-2-ethylhexyl-phthalate (DEHP), mono-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (MEHP), and bisphenol A (BPA)) were analyzed in blood/serum of infertile and fertile men from metropolitan, urban and rural Italian areas. PFOS and PFOA levels were also evaluated in seminal plasma. In peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of same subjects, gene expression levels of a panel of nuclear receptors (NRs), namely estrogen receptor α (ERα) estrogen receptor β (ERβ), androgen receptor (AR), aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and pregnane X receptor (PXR) were also assessed. Infertile men from the metropolitan area had significantly higher levels of BPA and gene expression of all NRs, except PPARγ, compared to subjects from other areas. Subjects from urban areas had significantly higher levels of MEHP, whereas subjects from rural area had higher levels of PFOA in both blood and seminal plasma. Interestingly, ERα, ERβ, AR, PXR and AhR expression is directly correlated with BPA and inversely correlated with PFOA serum levels. Our study indicates the relevance of the living environment when investigating the exposure to specific EDs. Moreover, the NRs panel in PBMCs demonstrated to be a potential biomarker of effect to assess the EDs impact on reproductive health

Stock assessment of Pacific sardine for 1998 with management recommendations for 1999

The primary goal of sardine management as directed by the California Fish and Game Code is rehabilitation of the resource with an added objective of maximizing sustained harvest. Accordingly, the Code states that the annual sardine quota can be set at an amount greater than 1,000 tons, providing that the level of take allows for continued increase in the spawning population. We estimated the sardine population size within the range of the fishery and survey data (Ensenada, Baja California to San Francisco, California) to have been 1,182,881 short tons on July 1, 1998. Our estimate was based on output from a modified version of the integrated stock assessment model called CANSAR (Deriso et al. 1996). CANSAR is a forward-casting, age-structured analysis using fishery-dependent and fishery-independent data to obtain annual estimates of sardine abundance, year-class strength and age-specific fishing mortality for 1983 through the first semester of 1998. Non-linear least-squares criteria are used to find the best fit between model estimates and input data. Questions about stock structure and range extent remain major sources of uncertainty in assessing current sardine population biomass. Recent survey results and anecdotal evidence suggest increased sardine abundance in the Pacific Northwest and areas offshore from central and southern California. It is difficult to determine if those fish were part of the stock available to the California fishery. Last year, in an attempt to address this problem, the original CANSAR model was reconfigured into a Two-Area Migration Model (CANSAR-TAM; Hill et al. 1998) which accounted for sardine lost to the areas of the fishery and abundance surveys due to population expansion and net emigration. While the model includes guesses and major assumptions about net emigration and recruitment, it provides an estimate which is likely closer to biological reality than original CANSAR assessments. Corroborative results from a new, preliminary sardine stock assessment model, 'SAM', are also presented in this report. Based on the 1998 estimate of age 1+ biomass within the range of the fishery and survey data, and a proposed harvest formula in the draft Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan (Amendment 8), we recommend a 1999 sardine harvest quota of 132,800 tons for the California fishery. The 1999 quota is a significant increase from the final 1998 sardine harvest quota for California of 48,000 tons. (93pp.