Kent F. Burnett

Conservation of resources and coping self-efficacy predicting distress following a natural disaster: A causal model analysis where the environment meets the mind

Abstract Disaster research has increasingly examined how personal characteristics mediate emotional recovery following disaster exposure. We investigated the importance of lost resources, coping self-efficacy, and coping behavior as important variables in acute disaster reaction and medium range disaster recovery following Hurricane Andrew. One hundred and eighty participants living in southern Dade county completed the initial phase of the study (1–4 months post-hurricane), with 135 individuals completing the second wave (8–12 months post-hurricane). Results confirmed that lost resources, coping self-efficacy, and coping behavior are important in understanding psychological reactivity following a natural disaster. These variables together provided the best fitted causal model for describing psychological reactions to the hurricane over time. Results are discussed in relation to how coping self-efficacy may serve as an important intra-personal factor that mediates how lost resources are managed and how ef...

Developing computer-assisted therapy for the treatment of obesity

Ninety mild to moderately overweight women participated in a study examining the potential utility of a hand-held computer in the treatment of overweight. The study compared the use of a computer with one introductory session; computer therapy with four additional group support sessions; and a therapist conducted weight loss program, in a randomized design. The weight losses in all three groups were modest being approximately half of that expected. No differences in weight losses were found between groups to one-year follow-up, nor were differences found on process measures, suggesting that ambulatory computer treatment is as effective, in terms of education and outcome, as therapist conducted treatment. The computer without group support was significantly more cost-effective at immediate outcome than the other two groups. There was some indication, however, that group support may enhance long-term maintenance of weight loss, thus the cost advantage for the computer alone group declined over the follow-up period. Further developmental work is needed to ascertain whether robust weight losses can be achieved with a hand-held computer or whether this method has inherent limitations.

Dose-response effect of walking exercise on weight loss. How much is enough?

OBJECTIVE: Exercise is the cornerstone of behavioral weight loss programs. The total volume of exercise needed to both promote weight loss and elicit health benefits has not been sufficiently investigated. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of two different volumes of walking ‘metabolic fitness’ exercise prescriptions, in combination with a low-fat, ad libitum diet (LFAL) on weight loss and additional modifiable health-related variables (HRV) in an ethnically diverse sample of overweight premenopausal women.DESIGN: Clinical 12 week weight loss intervention study with a 5.0–5.8 MJ diet daily with (a) participants walking 30 min, 5 days per week (DEX1), (b) participants walking 60 min, five times per week (DEX2) or (c) a diet only control group (DO).SUBJECTS: A mixed racial sample (predominantly Hispanic) of 56 subjects (mean BMI=34.26±6.61, mean age= 39.45±7.34) completed the 12 week program.MEASUREMENTS: Various body weight, body composition and fat distribution variables, dietary intake and additional HRV such as blood lipids, blood pressure and an estimate of cardiorespiratory fitness at baseline and after 3 months.RESULTS: All groups showed similar and significant (P<0.001) declines in body weight, percentage body fat, BMI, WHR, fat mass, fat-free mass and diastolic blood pressure following the program. In addition, total cholesterol, triacylglycerol and the TC:HDL ratio displayed a significant time effect (P<0.05). Significant interactions (P<0.05) were found for waist circumference, sagittal diameter, estimated VO2max and LDL-C, with both exercise groups showing similar and significantly greater (P<0.05) improvements than DO. Significant interactions (P<0.05) were also observed for several dietary variables.CONCLUSION: Our study showed no dose–response effect of walking exercise on weight loss over diet alone. Both lower and higher volume metabolic fitness prescriptions resulted in similar and significant beneficial changes in several HRV. This data suggests that 30 min of walking on most days of the week may be as beneficial as 60 min (in combination with diet) in promoting numerous additional healthful outcomes over diet alone following a 12 week weight loss program.

The Clinical and Adaptive Features of Young Offenders with Histories of Child-Parent Violence

This study compared the clinical and adaptive features of juvenile offenders (N = 223) who were violent towards their parents (CPV) with those who had no history of violence against their parents (NCPV). These two groups were also examined on demographic data, arrest findings, mental health issues, relationship findings, intellectual abilities, and school performance. Youths in the CPV group were more likely to (a) associate with peers who own guns, (b) affiliate with gang members, (c) belong to a gang, (d) have been psychiatrically hospitalized and medicated, (e) have attempted suicide, (f) come from a non-intact home, and (g) have trouble relating to their parents and other household members. The CPV group also committed a greater number of nondomestic violent offenses, while those in the NCPV group committed a greater number of property offenses. Analyses revealed no significant group differences on the Emotional Symptom Index and Personal Adjustment Composite of the Behavior Assessment System for Children; however, interaction effects were detected by gender and race.

Improving the effectiveness of computer-assisted weight loss

The purpose of this study was to invetigate factors that might produce greater weight loss using computer-assisted therapy. Fifty-seven overweight women were randomized to a weight loss program using a pocket computer only (CAT group) or a guided 1200 calorie weight loss diet followed by the use of the pocket computer after a weight loss of 3.5 to 4.5 kg (FFF+ group). All subjects met for four, 1.5 hour group meetings to review their progress. There was a significant weight loss in both groups from preto post-treatment twelve weeks later, with the FFF+ group losing significantly more weight than the CAT only group (5.3 vs. 3.1 kg, respectively). The pretreatment to six-month follow-up weight loss was 3.8 and 0.9 kg for the FFF+ and CAT groups, respectively. Both groups exhibited significant reduction in serum lipids.

Ambulatory computer-assisted behavior therapy for obesity: An empirical model for examining behavioral correlates of treatment outcome

Abstract A behavioral treatment program for obesity was implemented in the natural environment through the use of hand-held computers. Participants were 40 mild-to-moderately overweight females, randomly assigned either to computer-assisted behavior therapy alone or to computer-assisted behavior therapy augmented by participation in a support group. Participants in the computer-assisted behavior therapy alone condition were given varying instructions regarding how many days per week to use the computer program (either 4 or 7 days per week). In addition to implementing treatment, the computer program was used to unobtrusively conduct a “behavioral audit” of each participants frequency of utilization of each program feature, and to maintain a log of all self-report data on caloric intake and exercise. The treatment outcome data showed that participants who were instructed to use the program 7 days per week lost the most weight and that participation in a support group was not critical to treatment effectiveness. Also of interest was the fact that behavioral indicators of adherence to the treatment regimen had much higher correlations with total weight loss than did self-reported caloric intake or self-reported exercise. The behavioral indicators most highly correlated with weight loss were daily frequency of making self-reports, daily frequency of viewing motivational statements, daily frequency of viewing goal-related feedback, and total days of program use. Computer-assisted behavior therapy conducted in the natural environment is viewed as providing a powerful means for examining behavioral correlates of treatment outcome.

Predictors of Appraisal and Psychological Well-Being in Alzheimer's Disease Family Caregivers

The objective of this study was to test a model of stress, appraisal, and adaptation in 114 family caregivers of patients diagnosed with dementia of the Alzheimers type (white non-Hispanic, N = 64; Hispanic-American, N = 50). Results of structural equation analysis show that appraised caregiver burden played a central role in determining the psychological well-being of family caregivers. The findings indicate that this mediating variable, negative caregiver appraisal, was predicted by increased functional limitations and behavioral disturbances in the patient, poorer perceived physical health, and lower levels of perceived emotional support. Contrary to a priori hypotheses, functional limitations in the patient also exhibited a direct association with caregiver depression. Further, patient cognitive impairment and caregiver ethnicity were not related to caregiver appraisal. Overall, these results support the role of appraised burden in mediating the relationships between caregiving factors and the adaptational outcome of depression. The implications of these findings, limitations of the study, and future directions are discussed.

Acculturation and Drug Use Among Dually Diagnosed Hispanic Adolescents

SUMMARY With drug abuse among Hispanic youth on the rise, examining cultural factors such as acculturation may provide insight into understanding and addressing this problem. This study examined the relationship between acculturation and severity of drug use among a sample of severely impaired Hispanic adolescents referred for residential substance abuse treatment. As recent studies with clinical samples have found, it was hypothesized that lower levels of acculturation would be associated with higher levels of substance use. Results indicated that youth born outside the United States reported greater frequency of drug use at intake into treatment than those born in the United States, supporting the hypothesis.

Assessment of prescribed increases in physical activity: Application of a new method for microprocessor analysis of heart rate

A portable solid-state recorder-display system was used to measure and analyze heart rate during the waking hours of 3 consecutive days in free-living sedentary normal middle-aged men who were randomized to undergo 3 regimens of physical activity during a 12-week period: low-intensity exercise training at home (n = 21), high-intensity exercise training at home (n = 23) and customary activity (n = 20). This was done to determine whether the system could detect changes in heart rate and, indirectly, in physical activity within the 3 groups. In both training groups the percentage of total recorded time spent within the prescribed high or low heart rate range recorded at 6 or 12 weeks increased significantly (p less than 0.05), whereas control subjects showed no increase above baseline values. Peak oxygen consumption increased by 8% and 17% in men undergoing low- and high-intensity training, whereas in control subjects it did not change. This solid-state system reliably measures prescribed increases in heart rate and provides an indirect measure of physical activity in normal sedentary men undergoing exercise training at home.

Intellectual, behavioral, and personality correlates of violent vs. non-violent juvenile offenders

The overall aim of this study was to examine the relationship between offender status (violent vs. nonviolent) and selected predictor variables from personality, behavioral, and intellectual domains. The two main sub goals were (a) to determine which variables from these domains were most closely associated with offender status, and (b) to construct a stepwise logistic regression model that could help identify which juveniles were more likely to be incarcerated for violent vs. nonviolent offenses. The participants for this investigation were juvenile offenders referred to the Juvenile Court Assessment Center by the Juvenile Justice Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. The court-ordered assessment included the following measures: (a) The Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI), (b) the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC), (c) the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition (PPVT-III), (d) the Wide Range Achievement Test-Third Edition (WRAT-III), (e) the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT), and (f) records of school achievement. The ten variables that had the strongest association with offender status were entered into the stepwise logistic regression analysis; five of these strategically chosen predictor variables accurately differentiated violent from nonviolent offenders 86.3% of the time. Reading Percentile (β=-.051), PPVT-III (β=-.059), MACI-Inhibition (β=-.033), MACI-Eating Dysfunction (β=.051), and BASC-Sense of Inadequacy (β=-.072). Gender differences were explored.