PURPOSE We conducted a two phase, mixed methods study to develop a Parenting Concerns Questionnaire (PCQ) for adults with cancer. Limited information about this area of psychosocial distress highlights the need for a measurement tool that can identify adult oncology patients with heightened parenting concerns who could benefit from additional intervention. PATIENTS AND METHODS Telephone focus groups were conducted with 16 oncology patients who had children 18 years old and younger. Group interview transcripts were analyzed to generate qualitative themes and candidate items for the PCQ. A 38-item version of the questionnaire was completed by 173 oncology outpatients with children 18 years old and under. Participants also completed the Distress Thermometer, HADS, and FACT-G. Exploratory factor analyses revealed the emergence of 3 subscales of 5 items each, yielding a 15 item questionnaire. Associations between total PCQ scores, standardized measures of distress, depression, anxiety, quality of life, and demographic and illness characteristics were examined. RESULTS The 15 item PCQ demonstrates good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .83). PCQ scores were significantly associated (p<.01) with standardized measures of psychosocial distress (Distress Thermometer, HADS, and FACT-G) in the expected directions. Higher PCQ scores were associated with female gender, single parenthood, metastatic or recurrent cancer, subjective understanding of incurable disease, co-morbid chronic health condition, and current mental health treatment. CONCLUSIONS The Parenting Concerns Questionnaire proved a reliable and valid measure of parenting distress among cancer patients meriting further study.

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Variability in baseline groundwater methane concentrations and isotopic compositions was assessed while comparing free and dissolved gas sampling approaches for a groundwater monitoring well in Alberta (Canada) over an 8-year period. Methane concentrations in dissolved gas samples (n=12) were on average 4,380±2,452 μg/L, yielding a coefficient of variation (CV) >50 %. Methane concentrations in free gas samples (n = 12) were on average 228,756 ± 62, 498 ppm by volume, yielding a CV of 27 %. Quantification of combined sampling, sample handling and analytical uncertainties was assessed via triplicate sampling (CV of 19 % and 12 % for free gas and dissolved gas methane concentrations, respectively). Free and dissolved gas samples yielded comparable methane concentration patterns and there was evidence that sampling operations and pumping rates had a marked influence on the obtained methane concentrations in free gas. δ 13 C CH4 and δ 2 H CH4 values of methane were essentially constant (−78.6±1.3 and −300±3‰, respectively) throughout the observation period, suggesting that methane was derived from the same biogenic source irrespective of methane concentration variations. The isotopic composition of methane constitutes a robust and highly valuable baseline parameter and increasing δ 13 C CH4 and δ 2 H CH4 values during repeat sampling may indicate influx of thermogenic methane. Careful sampling and analytical procedures with identical and repeatable approaches are required in baseline-monitoring programs to generate methane concentration and isotope data for groundwater that can be reliably compared to repeat measurements once potential impact from oil and gas development, for example, may occur.

In this study, a prototype analysis of romantic missing was conducted. College‐age participants in the United States generated features of missing a partner (Study 1) and rated their centrality (Study 2). In a reaction time task, participants made category judgments for central features more quickly than for noncentral features (Study 3). In recognition and recall tasks, central features were more salient in participants’ memory, and participants evaluated individuals experiencing central features in vignettes as missing their partners more (Study 4). A prototype‐based measure of missing administered to individuals in long‐distance relationships (Study 5) correlated with commitment and attachment dimensions but only weakly with loneliness. Finally, level of missing differed based on whether individuals were in a geographically distant (vs. proximal) relationships (Study 6).

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