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The role of attachment style in relation to forgiveness was investigated in 2 betrayal interviews. Blood pressure and heart rate were assessed, along with attachment style, forgiveness, empathy, and emotional expressiveness. Securely attached individuals were more forgiving of the specific offense, had higher levels of trait forgiveness, and expressed more positive emotion. Securely attached adults had lower interview systolic blood pressure and exhibited greater blood pressure recovery. Attachment style may be an independent antecedent of forgiveness.

Objectives. We present a social marketing conceptual framework for Experience Corps Baltimore City (EC) in which the desired health outcome is not the promoted product or behavior. We also demonstrate the feasibility of a social marketing-based recruitment campaign for the first year of the Baltimore Experience Corps Trial (BECT), a randomized, controlled trial of the health benefits of EC participation for older adults. Methods. We recruited older adults from the Baltimore, MD, area. Participants randomized to the intervention were placed in public schools in volunteer roles designed to increase healthy behaviors. We examined the effectiveness of a recruitment message that appealed to generativity (i.e., to make a difference for the next generation), rather than potential health benefits. Results. Among the 155 participants recruited in the first year of the BECT, the average age was 69 years; 87% were women and 85% were African American. Participants reported primarily generative motives as their reason for interest in the BECT. Conclusions. Public health interventions embedded in civic engagement have the potential to engage older adults who might not respond to a direct appeal to improve their health. (Am J Public Health. 2010;100:727-734. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.169151)

The role of attachment style in relation to forgiveness was investigated in 2 betrayal interviews. Blood pressure and heart rate were assessed, along with attachment style, forgiveness, empathy, and emotional expressiveness. Securely attached individuals were more forgiving of the specific offense, had higher levels of trait forgiveness, and expressed more positive emotion. Securely attached adults had lower interview systolic blood pressure and exhibited greater blood pressure recovery. Attachment style may be an independent antecedent of forgiveness., The ability to create and maintain intimate, stable, and mutually satisfying relationships is one of the most important tasks in adult personality development (Blatt & Blass, 1995). The achievement of [...]

Abstract Background Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs are becoming increasingly common, but have not been studied in low income minority older populations. We sought to understand which parts of MBSR were most important to practicing MBSR members of this population, and to understand whether they apply their training to daily challenges. Methods We conducted three focus groups with 13 current members of an MBSR program. Participants were African American women over the age of 60 in a low-income housing residence. We tape recorded each session and subsequently used inductive content analysis to identify primary themes. Results and discussion Analysis of the focus group responses revealed three primary themes stress management, applying mindfulness, and the social support of the group meditation. The stressors they cited using MBSR with included growing older with physical pain, medical tests, financial strain, and having grandchildren with significant mental, physical, financial or legal hardships. We found that participants particularly used their MBSR training for coping with medical procedures, and managing both depression and anger. Conclusion A reflective stationary intervention delivered in-residence could be an ideal mechanism to decrease stress in low-income older adult's lives and improve their health.

The present study describes a possible method by which potentially meaningless responses to questionnaires can be easily identified. Given an inadvertent mistake in the design of a questionnaire packet, we found that 10% of respondents provided invalid responses to items.

Forgiveness research is a focus of interpersonal relationships in counseling. This phenomenological study investigated the role of an individual's support systems in forgiveness. The research design included semistructured interviews with 11 participants. Key findings revealed that participants primarily forgave for peace of mind. Several resources used by participants were helpful in forgiveness, but use of friends, family, and therapists showed mixed results. In addition, participants wanted support systems to listen and not to give advice, and support persons need to be objective or be trained in forgiveness therapy. Recommendations for counselors who work with people struggling to forgive are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs are becoming increasingly common, but have not been studied in low income minority older populations. We sought to understand which parts of MBSR were most important to practicing MBSR members of this population, and to understand whether they apply their training to daily challenges. Methods: We conducted three focus groups with 13 current members of an MBSR program. Participants were African American women over the age of 60 in a low-income housing residence. We tape recorded each session and subsequently used inductive content analysis to identify primary themes. Results and discussion: Analysis of the focus group responses revealed three primary themes stress management, applying mindfulness, and the social support of the group meditation. The stressors they cited using MBSR with included growing older with physical pain, medical tests, financial strain, and having grandchildren with significant mental, physical, financial or legal hardships. We found that participants particularly used their MBSR training for coping with medical procedures, and managing both depression and anger. Conclusion: A reflective stationary intervention delivered in-residence could be an ideal mechanism to decrease stress in low-income older adult's lives and improve their health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate over altruistic and egoistic motivations for helping has a long history and evidence supports both motives. Immediate and sustained helping following the September 11 attacks on the United States were examined. The three most commonly reported helping behaviors were donating money, praying, and donating blood. Six reported motivations for giving emerged: to relieve one's own distress, to relieve the other's distress, to show patriotism, to show civic responsibility, the desire for support in a similar situation, and knowing someone involved. Less giving was reported after 1 year than immediately following the event. The only motivation related to sustained giving was giving to relieve the other's distress. Results are discussed using two theories of helping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many conceptualizations of forgiveness currently exist in the forgiveness literature. The present study adds another perspective to the forgiveness discussion by investigating lay definitions of forgiveness, as well as reasons for forgiveness and nonforgiveness. In Study 1, undergraduate students completed a questionnaire packet in which they provided three narratives of interpersonal offense: a time when they had been hurt and then forgave the offender, a time when they had been hurt and did not forgive, and a time when they had hurt someone else and were forgiven. Respondents were also asked questions about their conceptualization of forgiveness and the factors that influence their decisions to forgive or not forgive. In Study 2, community adults participated in interviews during which they described a time when they had been betrayed or hurt. Following their story, participants answered questions about their definitions of and motivations for forgiveness. A number of important themes in forgiveness definition and motivation are identified, and important similarities and differences between the under- graduate and community samples are discussed. In particular, it is noted that primary motivations for forgiveness appear to be largely self-focused, rather than altruistic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the relationship of hostility to cardiovascular reactivity during stressful, interpersonal confrontations. Evaluation of each participant's level of hostility, methods of coping with stress, and perceived social support; Monitoring of blood pressure and heart rate; Personality correlates of hostility.

The Experience Corps®, a community-based intergenerational program, was developed to promote the health of older adults, while simultaneously addressing unmet social and academic needs in public elementary schools. The model was designed to draw on, and potentially activate, the wisdom of older adults. This paper explores the nature of wisdom-related knowledge and how older adults may apply such knowledge when tutoring and mentoring young children, as well as the potential for the intergenerational transmission of wisdom from the older adult volunteers to the school children being mentored by them. Developing an understanding of these issues may provide a basis for the creation of more extensive wisdom-generating opportunities for both older and younger generations.