Positive Psychological and Religious Characteristics as Moderators of Negative Life Events and Depressive Symptoms: A Multiethnic Comparison.

Hope, optimism, and several markers of religiosity and spirituality were examined as potential moderators of the association between negative life events and depressive symptoms in a secondary data analysis of an ethnically diverse sample. Participants (267 female, 119 male) were college students enrolled at an urban Northeastern university. It was hypothesized that negative life events would be associated with increased depressive symptoms and that higher levels of hope, optimism, and religious and spiritual variables would attenuate this relationship. Ethnically-stratified moderation analyses were conducted to assess for differences in moderation between Blacks, Hispanics, Whites, and Asians. Hypotheses were generally supported, with some ethnic variation in findings. Although hope and optimism predicted decreased depressive symptoms in Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites, optimism was a significant moderator in Whites only. Measures of religiosity were significant moderators among Blacks as well as Whites. Clinical and research implications are explored based on the extant literature

Health-Related Quality of Life in the Working Uninsured: Conditional Indirect Effects Of Perceived Stigma via Vitality and Interpersonal Needs

Stigmatization involves the application of labels to individuals in social contexts, leading to impaired access to social, economic, and political power. Although actual stigmatizing beliefs that society holds about particular groups are important, the extent to which individuals themselves perceive stigma from others and internalize stigmatizing beliefs is being increasingly recognized as a cause of psychological and physical distress. Little research has been done on explanatory mechanisms of the relations between perceived stigma and health outcomes, particularly in the area of stigma related to finances. Two important dimensions of overall health include depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life. According to Self-Determination Theory feeling controlled by external forces decreases subjective vitality, a measure of energy that is available to self for engaging in life pursuits. Changes in subjective vitality may, in turn, affect health outcomes. Interpersonal variables including how connected one feels with others and whether or not one feels like a burden may affect the manner in which stigma relates to subjective vitality and health. In the current study a sample of 100 individuals receiving medical treatment from a primary clinic that targets the working uninsured population in a region of Appalachia completed questionnaires assessing for perceived stigma of finances, depressive symptoms, health-related quality of life, subjective vitality, thwarted belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness. Results confirmed that experienced and internalized perceived stigma were moderately associated with poorer health outcomes and lower subjective vitality. Thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness were, likewise, associated with worse health outcomes. In mediation analyses subjective vitality significantly explained the relations between each dimension of stigma and each outcome. Subsequent conditional indirect effect analyses found that thwarted belongingness moderated the mediation effect for some of the models by impacting the relation between stigma and subjective vitality or by moderating the relation between subjective vitality and the dependent variable. The findings suggest the importance of subjective vitality and feelings of belongingness in understanding how perceived stigma negatively affects health. Results and implications are discussed along with considerations for future research and interventions

EGG PRICES REVISITED

Recent egg price quotes are evaluated in a vector autoregression. The results indicate that empirical relationships observed over the period 1975-1976 differ from those observed over the period 1979-1982.Demand and Price Analysis,

Symmetry and Surface Symmetry Energies in Finite Nuclei

A study of properties of the symmetry energy of nuclei is presented based on density functional theory. Calculations for finite nuclei are given so that the study includes isospin dependent surface symmetry considerations as well as isospin independent surface effects. Calculations are done at both zero and non-zero temperature. It is shown that the surface symmetry energy term is the most sensitive to the temperature while the bulk energy term is the least sensitive. It is also shown that the temperature dependence terms are insensitive to the force used and even more insensitive to the existence of neutron skin. Results for a symmetry energy with both volume and surface terms are compared with a symmetry energy with only volume terms along the line of $\beta$ stability. Differences of several MeV are shown over a good fraction of the total mass range in $A$. Also given are calculations for the bulk, surface and Coulomb terms.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, Added a new tabl

An analysis of life expectancy and economic production using expectile frontier zones

The wealth of a country is assumed to have a strong non-linear influence on the life expectancy of its inhabitants. We follow up on research by Preston and study the relationship with gross domestic product. Smooth curves for the average but also for upper frontiers are constructed by a combination of least asymmetrically weighted squares and P-splines. Guidelines are given for optimizing the amount of smoothing and the definition of frontiers. The model is applied to a large set of countries in different years. It is also used to estimate life expectancy performance for individual countries and to show how it changed over time

Innovative, off-campus educational programs of Colorado State University

CER71-72LVB43.April, 1972.Includes bibliographical references (pages 33-34).Special Report to the President's Science Advisory Committee, Panel on Educational Research and Development