AN EXAMINATION OF THE TECHNICAL AND RELATIONAL HYPOTHESES OF MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING IN A SAMPLE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENT GIRLS SEEKING OBESITY TREATMENT

Adolescent obesity has increased exponentially over the past three decades in the United States. In response, behavioral interventions have been developed and implemented to address this epidemic; however, treatment adherence is often suboptimal. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a directive, person centered approach to reducing patient ambivalence about change, which has been shown to increase engagement in obesity interventions. The current study investigated the underlying process of MI by exploring two different, but related pathways that explain how change happens (e.g., the technical and relational hypotheses) in the context of a multidisciplinary obesity intervention with African American adolescent girls (N = 30). Results demonstrated that MI-consistent skills were associated with client “change talk,” or language consistent with their desire, ability, reasons, need, taking steps or commitment to change. Specifically, clinician reflection of client change language and support of client autonomy were especially important for increasing change language. Furthermore, client language related to change was associated with three-month treatment adherence, and increased fruit and vegetable intake. However, the clinician’s ability to embody the MI “spirit” was not related to either client language or three-month treatment adherence. Findings suggest that the technical aspect of MI helps explain this approach\u27s effects on treatment adherence among African American girls with obesity

For I Know the Plans I Have for You: God Locus of Control, Spiritual Change, and Death Anxiety in Primary Brain Tumor Patients

Background/Purpose. Primary brain tumor (PBT) patients risk experiencing death anxiety given the high mortality rate of their diagnosis. In line with Terror Management Theory (TMT), many diagnosed with cancer utilize religion as a method of coping with the disease. However, previous literature on the relation between death anxiety and religion in cancer patients indicates mixed findings of either a negative relationship or no association. To the authors’ knowledge, no study has analyzed these two constructs together in PBT patients. The current study sought to address this gap by investigating the relationship between religiosity and death anxiety in an understudied population. Methods. Adult PBT patients (N = 56, Mage = 49.38, 51.8% female, 71.4% Caucasian, Mmonths since diagnosis = 55.34) completed measures of religiosity and death anxiety at their routine medical appointment at an academic medical center, including: The God Locus of Health Control Scale (GLHCS), Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), Death and Dying Distress Scale (DADDS), and the Death Distress Scale (DDS). Descriptives and Pearson correlations were utilized. Results. The results revealed that while the GLHCS was not significantly related to either measure of death anxiety, the Spiritual Change subscale of the PTGI was positively correlated to both the DADDS (r = .56, p \u3c .001) and the DDS (r = .41, p = .01). Conclusions and Implications. Results suggest that certain proxies of religiosity may be more closely associated with death anxiety than others. Although there was no evidence in our sample that PBT patient’s God locus of control was related to death anxiety, those who reported higher levels of death anxiety endorsed greater spiritual change (i.e., I have a stronger religious faith). Considering TMT, perhaps feelings of death anxiety prompt one to strengthen their religious beliefs. Future longitudinal analyses addressing the direction and course of these relationships are warranted. Acknowledgement of Funding: The current study was funded on behalf of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Learning Objective. Participants will learn about the relationship between religiosity and death anxiety in oncology patients. Further, participants will consider how these findings may or may not differ for PBT patients and across various measures of religiosity.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1049/thumbnail.jp

Black Women and Body Image: Implications of the Racialized Beauty Aesthetic

Black women have the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity relative to any other demographic group in the United States, however current weight management interventions appear least effective for them. Although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain these outcomes, few studies have collected data to evaluate how well they fit the lived experiences of Black women. In particular, the potential roles of body image and body dissatisfaction in the development and maintenance of overweight and obesity in Black women are not well understood. Extant literature largely reports that Black women are inoculated from body dissatisfaction due to cultural factors, such as preference for larger body sizes, broader conceptions of beauty, higher levels of body appreciation, and less comparison with the (predominantly White) beauty ideals presented in the mass media. However, recent studies demonstrate that Black women are vulnerable to body dissatisfaction and the associated eating and weight related behaviors. More research is needed to enhance understanding of the unique vulnerabilities and strengths of this group, as they relate to body image and weight management. The current study used a constructivist grounded theory approach and conducted eight focus groups with 30 Black women aged 18-29. Results indicate that not only do Black women suffer from body image dissatisfaction, but because of gendered racism, body dissatisfaction is central to understanding Black women’s physical and emotional wellbeing. Black women’s body image concerns were conceptualized as uniquely related to their intersectional identities as Black and female in two conceptual models. Specifically, many body image concerns were described as what we term racialized body dissatisfaction. In addition to the established negative health outcomes linked to body dissatisfaction, these data suggest that many of the behaviors Black women might engage in to manage racialized body dissatisfaction could actually elicit further psychological and physical harm. Current and future interventions must seriously consider the influence of gendered racism on Black women’s health and design interventions from an intersectional lens. Further, participants recommended that interventions to address weight and eating should target overall health, rather than weight specifically, and explore the influence of body image in Black women’s health and health behaviors

Exopolysaccharide production in Caulobacter crescentus: A resource allocation trade-off between protection and proliferation

Complex and interacting selective pressures can produce bacterial communities with a range of phenotypes. One measure of bacterial success is the ability of cells or populations to proliferate while avoiding lytic phage infection. Resistance against bacteriophage infection can occur in the form of a metabolically expensive exopolysaccharide capsule. Here, we show that in Caulobacter crescentus, presence of an exopolysaccharide capsule provides measurable protection against infection from a lytic paracrystalline S-layer bacteriophage (CR30), but at a metabolic cost that reduces success in a phage-free environment. Carbon flux through GDP-mannose 4,6 dehydratase in different catabolic and anabolic pathways appears to mediate this trade-off. Together, our data support a model in which diversity in bacterial communities may be maintained through variable selection on phenotypes utilizing the same metabolic pathway