Brooke N. Jenkins

Height and Body Mass on the Mating Market Associations With Number of Sex Partners and Extra-Pair Sex Among Heterosexual Men and Women Aged 18–65

People with traits that are attractive on the mating market are better able to pursue their preferred mating strategy. Men who are relatively tall may be preferred by women because taller height is a cue to dominance, social status, access to resources, and heritable fitness, leading them to have more mating opportunities and sex partners. We examined height, education, age, ethnicity, and body mass index (BMI) as predictors of sexual history among heterosexual men and women (N = 60,058). The linear and curvilinear associations between self-reported height and sex partner number were small for men when controlling for education, BMI, and ethnicity (linear β = .05; curvilinear β = −.03). The mean and median number of sex partners for men of different heights were: very short (9.4; 5), short (11.0; 7), average (11.7; 7), tall (12.0; 7), very tall (12.1; 7), and extremely tall (12.3; 7). Men who were “overweight” reported a higher mean and median number of sex partners than men with other body masses. The results for men suggested limited variation in reported sex partner number across most of the height continuum, but that very short men report fewer partners than other men.

Development of a short version of the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale.

BACKGROUND:The modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (mYPAS) is the current “criterion standard” for assessing child anxiety during induction of anesthesia and has been used in >100 studies. This observational instrument covers 5 items and is typically administered at 4 perioperative time points. Application of this complex instrument in busy operating room (OR) settings, however, presents a challenge. In this investigation, we examined whether the instrument could be modified and made easier to use in OR settings. METHODS:This study used qualitative methods, principal component analyses, Cronbach &agr;s, and effect sizes to create the mYPAS-Short Form (mYPAS-SF) and reduce time points of assessment. Data were obtained from multiple patients (N = 3798; Mage = 5.63) who were recruited in previous investigations using the mYPAS over the past 15 years. RESULTS:After qualitative analysis, the “use of parent” item was eliminated due to content overlap with other items. The reduced item set accounted for 82% or more of the variance in child anxiety and produced the Cronbach &agr; of at least 0.92. To reduce the number of time points of assessment, a minimum Cohen d effect size criterion of 0.48 change in mYPAS score across time points was used. This led to eliminating the walk to the OR and entrance to the OR time points. CONCLUSIONS:Reducing the mYPAS to 4 items, creating the mYPAS-SF that can be administered at 2 time points, retained the accuracy of the measure while allowing the instrument to be more easily used in clinical research settings.

Postoperative Pain Management in Children of Hispanic Origin: A Descriptive Cohort Study

BACKGROUND:It has been established that pain is frequently undertreated in children following outpatient surgery. Very few studies, however, have investigated this phenomenon in ethnically diverse populations. METHODS:This study included 105 families of children aged 2 to 15 years of Hispanic origin and low income undergoing outpatient tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy surgery. Participating parents completed baseline and demographic packets. Recorded postoperative pain ratings and administration of analgesics at home for 1 week were collected during home visits. RESULTS:Despite the high (70%; 99% confidence interval [CI], 57%–82%) incidence of significant pain in the first 24 hours home, 32% (95% CI, 20%–45%) of the children received 0 to 1 dose of analgesia. Overall, 21% children (99% CI, 11%–35%) received 4 or less total doses of pain medication over the entire week after surgery. Of the total analgesic doses administered to children in the week after surgery, only 44% (99% CI, 40%–47%) were in accepted ranges. CONCLUSIONS:Despite experiencing significant postoperative pain, Hispanic children assessed in this study received suboptimal analgesic therapy at home.

The Whole is Not the Sum of Its Parts: Specific Types of Positive Affect Influence Sleep Differentially

Given the known detrimental effects of poor sleep on an array of psychological and physical health processes, it is critical to understand the factors that protect sleep, especially during times of stress when sleep particularly suffers. Positive affect (PA) arises as a variable of interest given its known associations with health and health behaviors and its ability to buffer stress. In 2 studies, we examined which types of PA (distinguished by arousal level and trait/state measurement) were most beneficial for sleep and whether these associations varied depending on the stress context. In Study 1, college students (N = 99) reported on their PA and sleep during the week of a major exam. In Study 2, 2 weeks of daily PA and sleep data were collected during a period with no examinations in a similar sample of students (N = 83). Results indicated that high trait vigor was tied to better sleep efficiency and quality, especially during high stress. Trait calm was generally unhelpful to sleep, and was related negatively to sleep duration. State calm, on the other hand, interacted with stress in Study 2 to predict more efficient day-to-day sleep on days with higher average stress. These findings illustrate the importance of considering arousal level, affect duration, and the stress context in studies of PA and health.

Revisiting a measure of child postoperative recovery: development of the Post Hospitalization Behavior Questionnaire for Ambulatory Surgery.

The Post Hospitalization Behavior Questionnaire (PHBQ) was designed for assessing childrens posthospitalization and postoperative new‐onset behavioral changes. However, the psychometric properties of the scale have not been re‐evaluated in the past five decades despite substantial changes in the practice of surgery and anesthesia. In this investigation, we examined the psychometric properties of the PHBQ to potentially increase the efficacy and relevance of the instrument in current perioperative settings.

Developmental and cultural perspectives on children's postoperative pain management at home

Outpatient surgery is extremely common in children, and approximately 4 million children experience significant pain after surgery in the USA each year. Management of childrens postoperative pain in the home setting is suboptimal and is impacted by characteristics of children and parents, as well as the larger family and cultural context. In particular, developmental status of the child, parental beliefs regarding pain expression and analgesic use in children, cultural values and language barriers can affect management of childrens postoperative pain. Targeting the myriad barriers to childrens pain management by capitalizing upon the use of tailored interventions may help bridge the gap between the translation of pain management guidelines to the home setting.

When is affect variability bad for health? The association between affect variability and immune response to the influenza vaccination

OBJECTIVES This study addresses methodological and theoretical questions about the association between affect and physical health. Specifically, we examine the role of affect variability and its interaction with mean levels of affect to predict antibody (Ab) levels in response to an influenza vaccination. METHODS Participants (N=83) received the vaccination and completed daily diary measures of affect four times a day for 13days. At one and four months post-vaccination, blood was collected from the participants to assess Ab levels. RESULTS Findings indicate that affect variability and its interaction with mean levels of affect predict an individuals immune response. Those high in mean positive affect (PA) who had more PA variability were more likely to have a lower Ab response in comparison to those who had high mean PA and less PA variability. Although it did not interact with mean negative affect (NA), NA variability on its own was associated with Ab response, whereby those with less NA variability mounted a more robust immune response. CONCLUSION Affect variability is related to immune response to an influenza vaccination and, in some cases, interacts with mean levels of affect. These oscillations in affective experiences are critical to consider in order to unpack the intricacies of how affect influences health. These findings suggest that future researchers should consider the important role of affect variability on physical health-relevant outcomes as well as examine the moderating effect of mean affect levels.

Differences in referral and use of complementary and alternative medicine between pediatric providers and patients

OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to compare pediatric complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use and pediatric health care provider CAM referral as well as identify predictors of use and referral. DESIGN Surveys were administered to 283 parents/caregivers of pediatric patients and 200 pediatric health care providers (HCP). SETTING This study took place at the Childrens Hospital of Orange County (CHOC Childrens) in Orange, CA. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Caregivers and HCP were provided a list of 32 CAM interventions and asked to indicate which treatments their child had ever used or which they would consider using for their child and which treatments they had ever referred or which they would consider referring, respectively. The main outcome variables were the number and type of CAM therapies endorsed by participants. RESULTS Providers referred the majority of CAM therapies significantly more often than patients used each therapy and more often than caregivers would consider each therapy for their child. In addition, children from families with higher incomes, whose parents were older and had more education, who were White, and whose primary language spoken at home was English were more likely to use CAM therapies, all ps<0.05. HCP CAM referral was not significantly predicted by number of years a health care provider practiced or health care profession, all ps<0.05. CONCLUSIONS HCP referred CAM therapies more often than parents reported use for their children. Findings may imply that parents/caregivers are underutilizing CAM therapies for their children. Potential barriers to CAM use in pediatric patients needs to be explored.

A randomized trial examining preoperative sedative medication and postoperative sleep in children

STUDY OBJECTIVE Midazolam has been found to have beneficial effects on anxiety in children in the preoperative setting. Prior studies have examined various postoperative behaviors of children, but little research has examined the effects of preoperative use of midazolam with postoperative sleep. The purpose of this investigation was to compare postoperative sleep in children as a function of preoperative sedative medication use. DESIGN This study was a 2-group randomized controlled trial. SETTING Participants were recruited from Yale-New Haven Childrens Hospital. PATIENTS Participants included a convenience sample of 70 children between the ages of 3 to 12 years undergoing ambulatory tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. INTERVENTIONS Children were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: a control group who received preoperative acetaminophen only (n = 32) and an experimental group who received both acetaminophen and midazolam preoperatively (n = 38). MEASUREMENTS Parents completed measures of postoperative behavioral recovery and a subset of children wore actigraphs to examine objective sleep data. MAIN RESULTS Children who received midazolam experienced similar sleep changes compared to children in the control group. The actigraph data revealed that children who received midazolam were awake significantly less during the night compared to the control group (P= .01). CONCLUSION Children who received midazolam before surgery had similar postoperative sleep changes compared to children who did not receive midazolam. Further understanding of the postoperative behavioral effects of midazolam on children will help guide healthcare providers in their practice.

Positive Affect and Health: What Do We Know and Where Next Should We Go?

Positive affect (PA) is associated with better health across a wide range of physical health outcomes. This review reflects on why the study of PA is an essential component of our understanding of physical health and expands on pathways that connect these two variables. To encourage forward movement in this burgeoning research area, measurement and design issues in the study of PA and health are discussed, as are the connections between PA and a range of different health outcomes. Plausible biological, social, and behavioral pathways that allow for positive feelings to get under the skin and influence physical wellness are detailed and framed in the context of several theoretical models. Finally, new directions for the field and important methodological and interpretative considerations that are essential to moving this important research area forward are explored.