Do positive childhood and adult experiences counter the effects of adverse childhood experiences on learned helplessness?

Introduction: Learned helplessness often arises when an individual feels that a challenging situation is inescapable. Childhood trauma can lead to feelings of learned helplessness in youth and adulthood. Resiliency theory suggests that positive experiences in childhood and adulthood may counteract traumatic experiences in childhood and reduce learned helplessness and promote learned optimism, the antithesis of learned helplessness.

Positive adult experiences as turning points for better adult mental health after childhood adversity.

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine whether positive adult experiences (PAEs) were associated with lower odds for anxiety and depression even in the presence of high adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) or low positive childhood experiences (PCEs).

Methods: The sample was comprised of 435 adults (48% female), ages 18-56 years and who were living in the United States. Participants completed a survey about their childhood experiences, PAEs, and mental health.

A Modified Menstrual Attitudes Scale: Heteronormative Attitudes, Sexism, and Attitudes Toward Menstruation in Male and Female Adults.

Social shame and stigma surround menstruation, which may compromise women's health and rights in various contexts. Men's attitudes are particularly important because men often hold positions of power that influence women's experience. This study examined factors associated with menstrual attitudes, including heteronormative attitudes, sexism, and family influences.

Life experience pathways to college student emotional and mental health: A structural equation model.

Previous research suggests that both adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), positive childhood experiences (PCEs), and current life experiences are associated with emotional wellbeing and mental health. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of these life experience and coping processes on college student emotional and mental health. College students ( 555) were recruited from a large western university.

Accessibility of Pharmacist-Prescribed Contraceptives in Utah.

Objective: To assess pharmacy participation in and accessibility of pharmacist-prescribed contraception after legislation effective in the state of Utah in 2019.

Methods: A secret-shopper telephone survey was used to assess participation in pharmacist-prescribed contraception. Geospatial analysis was used to map the distribution of participating pharmacies by population characteristics.

The effects of adverse and advantageous childhood experiences on adult health in a low-income sample.

Background: Previous studies have indicated the advantageous childhood experiences (counter-ACEs) may improve health in adulthood regardless of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) scores. However, these studies have primarily been conducted in low-risk communities, and little is known whether the results are similar in low-income settings.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of ACEs and counter-ACEs on mental and physical health in a low-income sample.

The Family Health Scale: Reliability and Validity of a Short- and Long-Form.

Families strongly influence the health of communities and individuals across the life course, but no validated measure of family health exists. The absence of such a measure has limited the examination of family health trends and the intersection of family health with individual and community health. The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Family Health Scale (FHS), creating a multi-factor long-form and a uniform short-form.

Political and personal reactions to COVID-19 during initial weeks of social distancing in the United States.

Objective: To examine perceptions, behaviors, and impacts surrounding COVID-19 early in the pandemic response.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 1,030 U.S.

The influence of adverse and advantageous childhood experiences during adolescence on young adult health.

Background: Research indicates that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can lead to poorer adult health, but less is known how advantageous childhood experiences (counter-ACEs) may neutralize the negative effects of ACEs, particularly in young adulthood.

Purpose: We examined the independent contributions of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Advantageous Childhood Experiences (counter-ACEs) that occur during adolescence on five young adult health indicators: depression, anxiety, risky sexual behaviors, substance abuse, and positive body image.

Participants And Setting: The sample included 489 adolescents from a large northwestern city in the United States who were 10-13 years at baseline (51 % female).

Family-Centered Health Promotion: Perspectives for Engaging Families and Achieving Better Health Outcomes.

Communities and populations are comprised of individuals and families who together affect the health of the community. The family unit is an unparalleled player for maintaining health and preventing disease for public health because members may support and nurture one another through life stages. Preliminary research confirms that family-oriented health promotion and disease prevention are promising strategies because the family unit is both a resource and a priority group needing preventative and curative services across the life course.

ACEs and counter-ACEs: How positive and negative childhood experiences influence adult health.

Background: Numerous studies over the past two decades have found a link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and worse adult health outcomes. Less well understood is how advantageous childhood experiences (counter-ACEs) may lead to better adult health, especially in the presence of adversity.

Objective: To examine how counter-ACEs and ACEs affect adult physical and mental health using Resiliency Theory as the theoretical framework.

Survey of Heteronormative Attitudes and Tolerance Toward Gender Non-conformity in Mountain West Undergraduate Students.

Introduction: Heteronormative attitudes are prevalent in the United States and may contribute to discrimination against individuals who do not conform to traditional gender roles. Understanding the attitudes of undergraduate students is of particular interest as they may represent emergent societal views toward gender non-conformity.

Materials And Methods: We conducted an online survey of Mountain West college students between the ages of 18-24 years to assess perceptions of personal gender conformity using the Traditional Masculinity-Femininity Scale (TMF), endorsement of heteronormative beliefs using the Heteronormative Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (HABS), and explicit tolerance of gender non-conformity on a seven-point Likert Scale.

Executive functions and health behaviors associated with the leading causes of death in the United States: A systematic review.

Research indicates that executive functioning may predict health behavior. This systematic review provides an overview of the relationship between domains of executive functioning and health behaviors associated with the leading causes of death in the United States. A total of 114 articles met the inclusion criteria (adult sample, published in English between 1990 and November 2016) and were reviewed and synthesized.

Attitudes of U.S. Hispanic and non-Hispanic women toward congenital CMV prevention behaviors: a cross sectional study.

Background: Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the most common intrauterine infection. The only way to protect against congenital CMV infection is to practice CMV prevention behaviors. CMV seroprevalence rates are high in Hispanic women.

Effectiveness of message framing on women's intention to perform cytomegalovirus prevention behaviors: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of message framing on women's intention to perform cytomegalovirus (CMV) prevention behaviors involving handwashing, not sharing food and eating utensils, not kissing a child on the lips and not placing a pacifier in the mouth after it was in a child's mouth.

Methods: An online panel of women 18-40 years, who were pregnant or planning a pregnancy were randomized in a 2 × 2 factorial design to receive 1 of 4 CMV fact sheets. The fact sheets were framed as either what could be gained or be lost by following (or not) the recommendations and the likelihood of being affected by CMV (i.

Growth in Adolescent Self-Regulation and Impact on Sexual Risk-Taking: A Curve-of-Factors Analysis.

Adolescent self-regulation is increasingly seen as an important predictor of sexual risk-taking behaviors, but little is understood about how changes in self-regulation affect later sexual risk-taking. Family financial stress may affect the development of self-regulation and later engagement in sexual risk-taking. We examined whether family financial stress influences self-regulation in early adolescence (age 13) and growth in self-regulation throughout adolescence (from age 13-17 years).

Media Agenda Setting Regarding Gun Violence before and after a Mass Shooting.

Gun violence is related to substantial morbidity and mortality with surrounding discussions framed and shaped by the media. This study's objective was to explore national news media's reporting of gun violence around a mass shooting. National news pieces were coded according to categories of gun violence, media frames, entities held responsible, responses, and reporting of the public heath approach.

Perceptions of Public Breastfeeding Images and Their Association With Breastfeeding Knowledge and Attitudes Among an Internet Panel of Men Ages 21-44 in the United States.

Background: Men's attitudes toward public breastfeeding may influence a woman's decisions about breastfeeding and her perceived comfort with public breastfeeding. Research aim: This study aimed to evaluate factors associated with men's visual perception of images of public breastfeeding.

Methods: A 95-item online survey was administered to 502 U.

Women's attitudes toward practicing cytomegalovirus prevention behaviors.

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection causes severe disabilities and developmental delays. Women's awareness of CMV is low. Only about half of healthcare providers report counseling women about behaviors to reduce CMV risk and public health education is limited.

Family Financial Stress and Adolescent Sexual Risk-Taking: The Role of Self-Regulation.

The ability to control one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviors is known as self-regulation. Family stress and low adolescent self-regulation have been linked with increased engagement in risky sexual behaviors, which peak in late adolescence and early adulthood. The purpose of this study was to assess whether adolescent self-regulation, measured by parent and adolescent self-report and respiratory sinus arrhythmia, mediates or moderates the relationship between family financial stress and risky sexual behaviors.

Health Education Specialists' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The changing landscape of health care as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) may provide new opportunities for health education specialists (HES). The purpose of this study was to survey HES in the United States on their knowledge and attitudes of the ACA and assess their perceptions of job growth under the law. A random sample of 220 (36% response rate) certified HES completed a 53-item cross sectional survey administered online through Qualtrics.

Comparison of Single-Point and Continuous Sampling Methods for Estimating Residential Indoor Temperature and Humidity.

Residential temperature and humidity are associated with multiple health effects. Studies commonly use single-point measures to estimate indoor temperature and humidity exposures, but there is little evidence to support this sampling strategy. This study evaluated the relationship between single-point and continuous monitoring of air temperature, apparent temperature, relative humidity, and absolute humidity over four exposure intervals (5-min, 30-min, 24-hr, and 12-days) in 9 northern Utah homes, from March-June 2012.

Age at first intercourse and subsequent sexual partnering among adult women in the United States, a cross-sectional study.

Background: Concurrency and serial monogamy may increase risk for STIs when gaps fall within the infectious period. This study examined the association between early sexual debut and concurrent or serial sexual partnering among heterosexual adult women.

Methods: We identified 6,791 heterosexually active women, ages 21-44, from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth, a multi-stage probability sample of women in the United States.

Attitudes Toward Breastfeeding Among an Internet Panel of U.S. Males Aged 21-44.

Lack of familial support, particularly from fathers or partners, has been identified by the U.S. Surgeon General as a barrier to breastfeeding.