Self-Esteem and Psychological Distress in Later Life

The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between self-esteem and psychological distress in later life. The majority of researchers who have assessed this relationship assume that greater self-esteem is associated with a reduced risk of distress. However, other investigators propose that this relationship may be more complex and that individuals with extremely high as well as extremely low self-esteem are more likely to experience psychological distress than persons with a more moderate sense of self-worth. Findings from a nationwide survey of older adults tend to support the more complex view. It is further hypothesized that people with extremely high self-esteem are at risk because they tend to be isolated from their social network members. This hypothesis is also supported by the data. The implications of the findings are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68013/2/10.1177_089826439000200401.pd

Diet and the evolution of ADH7 across seven orders of mammals

Dietary variation within and across species drives the eco-evolutionary responsiveness of genes necessary to metabolize nutrients and other components. Recent evidence from humans and other mammals suggests that sugar-rich diets of floral nectar and ripe fruit have favoured mutations in, and functional preservation of, the ADH7 gene, which encodes the ADH class 4 enzyme responsible for metabolizing ethanol. Here we interrogate a large, comparative dataset of ADH7 gene sequence variation, including that underlying the amino acid residue located at the key site (294) that regulates the affinity of ADH7 for ethanol. Our analyses span 171 mammal species, including 59 newly sequenced. We report extensive variation, especially among frugivorous and nectarivorous bats, with potential for functional impact. We also report widespread variation in the retention and probable pseudogenization of ADH7. However, we find little statistical evidence of an overarching impact of dietary behaviour on putative ADH7 function or presence of derived alleles at site 294 across mammals, which suggests that the evolution of ADH7 is shaped by complex factors. Our study reports extensive new diversity in a gene of longstanding ecological interest, offers new sources of variation to be explored in functional assays in future study, and advances our understanding of the processes of molecular evolution

Providing Risk of the Environment’s Changing Climate Threats for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, & Museums (PROTECCT-GLAM) Data File

The data file was created as part of the IMLS-funded project, PROTECCT-GLAM: Risk of The Environment’s Changing Climate Threats for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums in an effort to gather the identities and georeferences of all galleries, libraries, archives, and museums located within the United States. The data file includes 22,388 archives, 21,189 libraries, and 29,781 museums

Family Caregiving for Persons with Heart Failure at the Intersection of Heart Failure and Palliative Care: A State-of-the-Science Review

Many of the 23 million individuals with heart failure (HF) worldwide receive daily, unpaid support from a family member or friend. Although HF and palliative care practice guidelines stipulate that support be provided to family caregivers, the evidence base to guide care for this population has not been comprehensively assessed. In order to appraise the state-of-the-science of HF family caregiving and recommend areas for future research, the aims of this review were to summarize (1) how caregivers influence patients, (2) the consequences of HF for caregivers, and (3) interventions directed at HF caregivers. We reviewed all literature to December 2015 in PubMed and CINAHL using the search terms “heart failure” AND “caregiver.” Inclusion criteria dictated that studies report original research of HF family caregiving. Articles focused on children or instrument development or aggregated HF with other illnesses were excluded. We identified 120 studies, representing 5700 caregivers. Research on this population indicates that (1) caregiving situations vary widely with equally wide-ranging tasks for patients to help facilitate their health behaviors, psychological health and relationships, and quality of life (QoL); (2) caregivers have numerous unmet needs that fluctuate with patients’ unpredictable medical status, are felt to be ignored by the formal healthcare system, and can lead to distress, burden, and reduced QoL; and (3) relatively few interventions have been developed and tested that effectively support HF family caregivers. We provide recommendations to progress the science forward in each of these areas that moves beyond descriptive work to intervention development and clinical trials testing

Demographic, clinical, and service-use characteristics related to the clinician’s recommendation to transition from child to adult mental health services

International audiencePurpose: The service configuration with distinct child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and adult mental health services (AMHS) may be a barrier to continuity of care. Because of a lack of transition policy, CAMHS clinicians have to decide whether and when a young person should transition to AMHS. This study describes which characteristics are associated with the clinicians’ advice to continue treatment at AMHS. Methods: Demographic, family, clinical, treatment, and service-use characteristics of the MILESTONE cohort of 763 young people from 39 CAMHS in Europe were assessed using multi-informant and standardized assessment tools. Logistic mixed models were fitted to assess the relationship between these characteristics and clinicians’ transition recommendations. Results: Young people with higher clinician-rated severity of psychopathology scores, with self- and parent-reported need for ongoing treatment, with lower everyday functional skills and without self-reported psychotic experiences were more likely to be recommended to continue treatment. Among those who had been recommended to continue treatment, young people who used psychotropic medication, who had been in CAMHS for more than a year, and for whom appropriate AMHS were available were more likely to be recommended to continue treatment at AMHS. Young people whose parents indicated a need for ongoing treatment were more likely to be recommended to stay in CAMHS. Conclusion: Although the decision regarding continuity of treatment was mostly determined by a small set of clinical characteristics, the recommendation to continue treatment at AMHS was mostly affected by service-use related characteristics, such as the availability of appropriate services