The authors investigated the association between maternal psychological and fetal neurobehavioral functioning. Data were provided by 52 maternal-fetal pairs at 24, 30, and 36 weeks gestation. The relations between maternal measures and fetal heart rate, variability, and motor activity were statistically modeled. Fetuses of women who were more affectively intense, appraised their lives as more stressful, and reported more frequent pregnancy-specific hassles were more active across gestation. Fetuses of women who perceived their pregnancy to be more intensely and frequently uplifting and had positive emotional valence toward pregnancy were less active. Associations with fetal heart-rate measures were detected at 36 weeks gestation. These data provide evidence for proximal effects of maternal psychological functioning on fetal neurobehavior.

The ontogeny of fetal autonomic, motoric, state, and interactive functioning was investigated longitudinally in a sample of 31 healthy fetuses from 20 weeks through term. Fetal heart rate and movement data were collected during 50 min of doppler-based fetal monitoring at 6 gestational ages. Measures of fetal heart rate and variability, activity level and vigor, behavioral state, and reactivity were derived from these digitized data. Weighted least squares analyses were conducted to model the developmental patterns and to examine the role of maternal and fetal covariates. With advancing gestation, fetuses displayed slower heart rate, increased heart rate variability, reduced but more vigorous motor behavior, coalescence of heart rate and movement patterns into distinct behavioral states, and increasing cardiac responsivity to stimulation. Male fetuses were more active than female fetuses, and greater maternal stress appraisal was associated with reduced fetal heart variability. An apparent period of neurobehavioral transition exists between 28 and 32 weeks. Fetal research methods are evaluated.

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In addition to student learning, positive student attitudes have become an important course outcome for many introductory statistics instructors. To adequately assess changes in mean attitudes across introductory statistics courses, the attitude instruments used should be invariant by administration time. Attitudes toward statistics from 4,910 students enrolled in an introductory statistics course were measured using the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics (SATS) both at the beginning and at the end of the semester. Confirmatory factor analysis on the covariance structure was used to determine the gender and time invariance properties of the SATS. Results indicate that the SATS is gender, time, and Gender × Time invariant with respect to factor loadings and factor correlations. Gender was invariant with respect to 3 of the 4 factor variances; variances from these same 3 factors were larger at the end than at the beginning of the course. Having established that the SATS is factorially invariant with respect to gender, time, and Gender × Time, its component scores can be used appropriately to examine mean attitude differences for these 2 variables and their interaction.

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Responsive feeding, defined as the positive environment and caregiving behaviors that encourage children to eat, is critical to their physical, mental, and social development. However, research and programs designed to foster responsive feeding have been limited. This research tested the hypothesis that caregiver encouragement, caregiver and child behaviors, and other feeding characteristics were associated with acceptance of food. A total of 91 mother/child pairs in rural, northern Vietnam were videotaped during 2 2-h feeding episodes. Children were 12 and 17 mo of age at the time of study. Caregiver and child behaviors were coded at the level of the "intended bite" (7135 bites total). Feeding episodes were marked by few physical actions and minimal verbal encouragement by caregivers. Results from generalized linear mixed models suggest that when caregivers provided children with positive comments, children were 2.4 times as likely to accept bites compared with when no comments were given. Twelve-mo-olds who were in the caregiver's arms [odds ratio (OR) = 0.5] or lap (OR = 0.5) were significantly less likely than those who stood to accept bites. The 17-mo-olds who played were less likely than those with no physical action to accept bites. Play appeared to distract boys more than girls. In Vietnam, programs should help caregivers provide positive verbal encouragement to eat. Program planners and implementers may want to encourage caregivers to avoid force feeding and other forms of physical pressure. Further, mealtime should be seen as an opportunity to develop long-term feeding skills and encourage a healthy appetite.

Previous studies have used population data to demonstrate an inverse association between suicide rates and religious commitment. This report examines Utah suicide rates for young men aged 15-34 years, stratified by their membership in and commitment to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), the predominant religion in Utah. All state death records for males from 1991 to 1995 were obtained and linked to LDS church deceased membership records to obtain a measure of religious commitment that is not self-reported. Religious commitment for LDS church members was determined by age-appropriate priesthood office. Of the 27,738 male deaths reported, 15,555 (56%) linked to an LDS church record using a probabilistic linking program. Using active (high religious commitment) LDS as the reference group, the less-active (low religious commitment) LDS group had relative risks of suicide ranging from 3.28 (ages 15-19 years) to 7.64 (ages 25-29 years); nonmembers of the LDS church had relative risks ranging from 3.43 (ages 15-19 years) to 6.27 (ages 20-24 years). Although the mechanism of the association is unclear, higher levels of religiosity appear to be inversely associated with suicide.

There are few treatment options in managing restless legs syndrome (RLS); the most frequently used are dopaminergic drugs and movement. New treatment options are highly sought after. This study evaluated the effectiveness of monochromatic near-infrared light treatment in decreasing symptoms associated with RLS. The design used was 2×6 repeated-measures design with two groups (treatment and control) and six repeated measures (baseline, weeks 1-4, and posttreatment). Data collection took place in the university modalities laboratory. Thirty-four volunteers with symptoms of RLS were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group. Over a 4-week period subjects underwent twelve 30-min treatments to their lower legs with near-infrared light. The International RLS rating scale (IRLS) was used to assess and track patient symptoms. There was a steady decrease in symptoms associated with RLS over the 4 weeks in the treatment group. After 4 weeks of treatment the treatment group had a significantly greater improvement in restless legs syndrome symptoms than the control group (p<0.001); improvement was still significant after 4 weeks posttreatment compared to baseline (p<0.001). Treatment with near-infrared light does decrease symptoms associated with RLS as demonstrated in lower IRLS scores. This new noninvasive method of treating RLS might become a valuable new management option. More research is needed to determine the mechanism(s) behind infrared light treatment and RLS.