Effect of Cultural Identification and Family Affection on Coping Abilities in Missionary Kids.

This exploratory study examined the role of missionary kids' (MKs) cultural identification and family affection on their abilities to cope with potentially traumatic events. A total of 156 MKs completed online questionnaires that assessed parental affection, cultural identification, and coping. The results demonstrated that greater verbal affection from mothers was related to increased coping for Western-identified MKs, whereas greater non-verbal forms of affection from mothers were related to increased coping for Asian-identified MKs.

Symptom Presentation in Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance With Attribution to Electromagnetic Fields: Evidence for a Nocebo Effect Based on Data Re-Analyzed From Two Previous Provocation Studies.

Individuals with idiopathic environmental illness with attribution to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) claim they experience adverse symptoms when exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from mobile telecommunication devices. However, research has consistently reported no relationship between exposure to EMFs and symptoms in IEI-EMF individuals. The current study investigated whether presence of symptoms in IEI-EMF individuals were associated with a nocebo effect.

Aggregated data from two double-blind base station provocation studies comparing individuals with idiopathic environmental intolerance with attribution to electromagnetic fields and controls.

Data from two previous studies were aggregated to provide a statistically powerful test of whether exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) produced by telecommunication base stations negatively affects well-being in individuals who report idiopathic environmental illness with attribution to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) and control participants. A total of 102 IEI-EMF and 237 controls participated in open provocation trials and 88 IEI-EMF and 231 controls went on to complete double-blind trials in which they were exposed to EMFs from a base station emitting either a Global System for Mobile Communication and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System or a Terrestrial Trunked Radio Telecommunications System signal. Both experiments included a comparison sham condition.

Cognitive and physiological responses in humans exposed to a TETRA base station signal in relation to perceived electromagnetic hypersensitivity.

Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) technology ("Airwave") has led to public concern because of its potential interference with electrical activity in the brain. The present study is the first to examine whether acute exposure to a TETRA base station signal has an impact on cognitive functioning and physiological responses. Participants were exposed to a 420 MHz TETRA signal at a power flux density of 10 mW/m(2) as well as sham (no signal) under double-blind conditions.

Do TETRA (Airwave) base station signals have a short-term impact on health and well-being? A randomized double-blind provocation study.

Background: "Airwave" is the new communication system currently being rolled out across the United Kingdom for the police and emergency services, based on the Terrestrial Trunked Radio Telecommunications System (TETRA). Some police officers have complained about skin rashes, nausea, headaches, and depression as a consequence of using their Airwave handsets. In addition, a small subgroup in the population self-report being sensitive to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in general.

Short-term exposure to mobile phone base station signals does not affect cognitive functioning or physiological measures in individuals who report sensitivity to electromagnetic fields and controls.

Individuals who report sensitivity to electromagnetic fields often report cognitive impairments that they believe are due to exposure to mobile phone technology. Previous research in this area has revealed mixed results, however, with the majority of research only testing control individuals. Two studies using control and self-reported sensitive participants found inconsistent effects of mobile phone base stations on cognitive functioning.

Does short-term exposure to mobile phone base station signals increase symptoms in individuals who report sensitivity to electromagnetic fields? A double-blind randomized provocation study.

Background: Individuals with idiopathic environmental illness with attribution to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) believe they suffer negative health effects when exposed to electromagnetic fields from everyday objects such as mobile phone base stations.

Objectives: This study used both open provocation and double-blind tests to determine if sensitive and control individuals experience more negative health effects when exposed to base station-like signals compared with sham.

Methods: Fifty-six self-reported sensitive and 120 control participants were tested in an open provocation test.

Focusing on fear: Attentional disengagement from emotional faces.

Evidence suggests that anxiety is associated with a shift of visual attention toward threatening stimuli in the environment, such as facial expressions (Mogg & Bradley, 1999). More recent evidence, however, indicates that anxiety may be better characterized by a failure to rapidly disengage the visual attention system away from threat-related facial expressions (Fox, Russo, Bowles, & Dutton, 2001). The present study further investigates this delayed disengagement hypothesis.

Development and evaluation of the electromagnetic hypersensitivity questionnaire.

Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) syndrome is usually defined as a condition where an individual experiences adverse health effects that he or she believes is due to exposure to objects that emit electromagnetic fields. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire that would identify the key symptoms associated with EHS and determine how often these symptoms occur in the general population of the United Kingdom. In the pilot study, an EHS questionnaire was developed and tested.

Selective target processing: perceptual load or distractor salience?

Perceptual load theory (Lavie, 1995) states that participants cannot engage in focused attention when shown displays containing a low perceptual load, because attentional resources are not exhausted, whereas in high-load displays attention is always focused, because attentional resources are exhausted. An alternative "salience" hypothesis holds that the salience of distractors and not perceptual load per se determines selective attention. Three experiments were conducted to investigate the influence that target and distractor onsets and offsets have on selective processing in a standard interference task.