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New survey results indicate that marketers are misrepresenting a large majority of Americans by claiming that Americans give out information about themselves as a tradeoff for benefits they receive. To the contrary, the survey reveals most Americans do not believe that ‘data for discounts’ is a square deal. The findings also suggest, in contrast to other academics’ claims, that Americans’ willingness to provide personal information to marketers cannot be explained by the public’s poor knowledge of the ins and outs of digital commerce. In fact, people who know more about ways marketers can use their personal information are more likely rather than less likely to accept discounts in exchange for data when presented with a real-life scenario. Our findings, instead, support a new explanation: a majority of Americans are resigned to giving up their data—and that is why many appear to be engaging in tradeoffs. Resignation occurs when a person believes an undesirable outcome is inevitable and feels powerless to stop it. Rather than feeling able to make choices, Americans believe it is futile to manage what companies can learn about them. Our study reveals that more than half do not want to lose control over their information but also believe this loss of control has already happened. By misrepresenting the American people and championing the tradeoff argument, marketers give policymakers false justifications for allowing the collection and use of all kinds of consumer data often in ways that the public find objectionable. Moreover, the futility we found, combined with a broad public fear about what companies can do with the data, portends serious difficulties not just for individuals but also—over time—for the institution of consumer commerce.

This study examined whether sensation seekers differ in the quantity and quality of information they seek about potential romantic partners. Young adults (N = 393) each evaluated nine written descriptions of potential partners. Partners were described with only attractive characteristics, with only risky characteristics, or with attractive and risky characteristics. Individuals higher in sensation seeking rated the potential partners as more attractive and gave higher likelihood ratings of going on a date and having sex, but lower likelihood ratings of becoming infected with an STD/HIV. Further, after exposure to the written partner descriptions, sensation seekers sought more additional information about the potential partners compared to lower sensation seekers, but were no more likely to specifically request information about partners’ risky characteristics.

5 ince 1988, when the first book-length study of Charles Tomlinson appeared, critics have developed a widely held set of propositions about his poetry.' Among these is the notion of Tomlinson as a writer intrigued by the act of perception itself, a poet more absorbed by physical surfaces than by psychological depths. A related proposition is that Tomlinson, who happens to be a graphic artist as well as a writer, is a highly visual poet whose work is aesthetically and ethically grounded in the notion of "right seeing"-a trust in the outward-looking, carefully disciplined eye rather than the inward-gazing mind (critics often cite the title of Tomlinson's 1958 collection, Seeing Is Believing, as emblematic of this concentration). Another well-established

This study examined the relationship between sensation seeking and evaluations of risk and attractiveness of potential romantic partners. We presented respondents with a series of computer-generated descriptions of potential romantic partners. The valence of the descriptions varied: some were composed only of positive attributes, some only negative, and others a mixture of positive and negative. Compared to low sensation seekers, high sensation seekers rated potential partners as more attractive, less risky and were more likely to want to date the individual described. However, they rated their likelihood of acquiring an STD infection after unprotected sex with the potential partner as lower than did the low sensation seekers. These differences between high and low sensation seekers were largest when the descriptions of potential partners contained only negative attributes and smallest when they contained only positive attributes. The findings demonstrate the importance of the sensation seeking trait in judgments of sexual risk and attractiveness in a romantic context and have implications for the development of effective health messages.

This paper reports on a study that identified which of 36 possible attributes of potential romantic partners were perceived as most important for selecting a romantic partner. It also quantified perceived risk and perceived attractiveness judgments for 159 partner characteristics (‘aspects’). Thus, it directly investigated the partner characteristics that reflect both risk and attractiveness as well as the correlation between these two concepts. Every one of the 36 attributes were viewed as important by at least some respondents and there was wide variance in the frequency with which they were chosen. While almost 80% of the respondents felt it was important to know something about the potential partner's ‘appearance’, less than 4% felt it was important to know about ‘accessories’. In addition to ‘appearance’, only 3 other attributes were selected as one of the 15 most important by at least 60% of respondents. The gamma association across aspects between average risk and average attractiveness was − 0.61,...

Items assessing perceived difficulty, i.e., the perception of the ease or difficulty of performing a given behaviour, are frequently used in health research. Unfortunately, they have been used to measure quite different constructs, suggesting confusion about the conceptual meaning of perceived difficulty. Building on research on perceived difficulty, this study used confirmatory factor analyses to compare a series of models that depicted different roles for perceived difficulty with respect to adolescents' marijuana use. Results demonstrated that models that view perceived difficulty as a measure of the affective component of attitude are significantly superior to models that view perceived difficulty as a measure of the evaluative component of attitude and/or as a measure of perceived behavioural control. It may well be that the conceptual mapping of perceived difficulty is a function of factors such as the behaviour under study or the extent to which a behaviour is perceived as controllable. Until there...

Women in American correctional facilities make up an at-risk group for STDs/HIV, both in terms of disease history and STD risk behaviors. Using a sample of incarcerated women in two southern states, a theoretically driven model of incarcerated women’s risk behaviors prior to and during incarceration was described and tested. The model is based on links among beliefs, attitudes, perceived behavioral control and norms, and behavioral intentions. Results indicated that beliefs related to condoms were associated with favorable attitudes toward condoms. Condom attitudes were related to positive behavioral intentions to use condoms and also mediated some belief/intention associations. Perceived behavioral control and norms were also associated with intentions; norms were especially strongly related. The model provides a structure for measuring the predicates of incarcerated women’s risk behaviors and for testing the efficacy of risk reduction interventions.

Behavioural theorists have identified attitudes, perceived norms and self-efficacy as the important determinants of people's intentions to engage in a given behaviour. Because intentions predict behaviour, these same variables also account for a considerable amount of the variation in behaviour. Nevertheless, there is often a substantial proportion of the population who do not act on their intentions. While a recently proposed integrative theory of behaviour suggests that these 'failures' are due either to a lack of skills and/or to the presence of environmental constraints, it has also been argued that the determinants of intention may have a direct, as well as in indirect, effect on behaviour. This paper uses data from a longitudinal study (Project RESPECT) to explore the extent to which attitudes, perceived norms and self-efficacy explain why some people do and others do not act on their intentions to engage in a health protective behaviour. Although the data provide further evidence that these three variables account for a significant proportion of the variance in intentions (and behaviour), they perform poorly when predicting behaviour for persons with pre-existing high intentions. It may be reasonable to ask whether a 'new' theory is needed to explain why some people do, and some people do not, act on their intentions.

Objectives - To assess the efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in patients with medically and surgically intractable complex partial seizures (CPS). Patients and methods - Sixteen patients with previous temporal [15] and frontal [one] resections were treated with VNS between 1994 and 1999 at King's College Hospital, London, UK. Post-operative video-electroencephalogram telemetry had shown that CPS started from the operated side in 12 patients, contralaterally in three and bilaterally independently in one. Results - Three patients (18.75%) had 50% or more reduction in seizure frequency, but one showed severe worsening of epilepsy, which remitted upon VNS discontinuation. The antiepileptic effect of VNS was not different with respect to the type of operation (anterior temporal lobectomy vs amygdalohippocampectomy), the side of operation, or the side of seizure onset. We observed psychotropic effects in two patients with post-ictal psychosis, in two others with depression, and in a child with severe behavioral disorder. Conclusions - VNS may have a rather limited antiepileptic role to play in patients with persistent seizures following epilepsy surgery, but may independently possess useful antipsychotic and mood-stabilizing properties.

This paper reports on a formative research study designed to elicit preferences for STD/HIV prevention programs from clients at a mid-western STD clinic. Eleven dimensions defined the hypothetical program descriptions: (1) types of participants in the prevention program, (2) specific intervention content, (3) associated medical procedures, (4) design of the study in terms of sessions and follow-up data collection, (5) compensation for participation, (6) availability of child care, (7) race/ethnicity of the program staff, (8) gender of the intervention counselor, (9) location of the intervention programs, (10) source of the program staff, and (11) funding source for the project. Results showed that potential participants preferred mixed groups or meeting individually with a counselor, extensive intervention design/data collection options were less favored than single sessions, incentives help to increase participation, homogenous ethnicity of staff decreases participation while ‘a mix of races and ethnicities’ increases the odds of participation.

Objectives. Because household smoking levels and adoption of domestic smoking rules may be endogenously related, we estimated a nonrecursive regression model to determine the simultaneous relationship between home smoking restrictions and household smoking. Methods. We used data from a May–June 2012 survey of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, households with smokers (n = 456) to determine the simultaneous association between smoking levels in the home and the presence of home restrictions on smoking. Results. We found that home smoking rules predicted smoking in the home but smoking in the home had no effect on home smoking restrictions. Conclusions. Absent in-home randomized experiments, a quasi-experimental causal inference suggesting that home smoking rules result in lower home smoking levels may be plausible.

This is a collection of the reports on the Annenberg national surveys that explored Americans' knowledge and opinions about the new digital-marketing world that was becoming part of their lives. So far we’ve released seven reports on the subject, in 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, and 2012. The reports raised or deepened a range of provocative topics that have become part of public, policy, and industry discourse. In addition to these reports, I’ve included three journal articles — from I/S, New Media & Society and the Journal of Consumer Affairs — that synthesize some of the findings and place them into policy frameworks. The journals have kindly allowed reproduction for this purpose.

This study investigates the semantic-differential item easy-difficult in order to evaluate whether it can be considered a measure of attitude or self-efficacy in relation to consistent condom use with sex partners. Using confirmatory factor analysis and comparing a set of logically nested models, our findings suggest that easy-difficult acts most like an attitude item in relation to this particular behavior, especially for males rating condom use with their main sex partners. However, for females and to a less extent males with nonmain sex partners, easy-difficult acts as a measure of both attitude and self-efficacy. Therefore, the use of easy-difficult items should be avoided or used with caution in this research context.

This paper is a review of past community-based medical experiments in light of the growing interest in similar projects focused on the prevention of alcoholrelated problems. It begins by questioning the appropriateness of the medical metaphor for designing alcohol prevention programs and suggests a few alternatives. The paper then discusses the logic of program design, implementation, and evaluation of alcohol problem prevention programs and suggests methods for the integration of program management and evaluation, functions that are usually considered as inherently contradictory in purpose and potential rivals for project resources. The paper concludes by reviewing what alcohol prevention program researchers can learn from the experience of their medical colleagues to take full advantage of the achievements made by these pioneers of the community intervention model.

Objective: To identify determinants of time spent on partner notification clients in four STD programmes in the United States. Methods: 11 disease intervention specialists (DIS) in each of three urban sites (n=33) and seven DIS in one rural site recorded their activities and clients for 14 working days. The total amount of time for partner notification activities was computed for each client. Data were analysed using random effects regression. Results: Across sites, 429 of 2506 (37.4%) recorded hours were spent on partner notification (PN) activities with 1148 clients. Client type, STD diagnosis, outcome, demographic characteristics, mileage, and study site explained 33.7% of the variance in the total time spent on partner notification clients. Clients who took significantly more time than the reference case included those who were both contacts and original patients, HIV/AIDS clients, non-primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis clients, STD clients who were infected and treated, and clients for whom travel was necessary. Demographic characteristics of both client and worker were not associated with the time spent on partner notification. Conclusions: These data document the labour intensive nature of partner notification, especially for HIV and non-P&S syphilis clients. STD programmes that have a higher number of these clients are probably dedicating more resources to partner notification. More research is needed on additional predictors so that programmes can better understand and allocate staff and financial resources to partner notification activities.

Sirs, A 31-year-old male with childhood diagnosis of undefined mild learning disability presented to the neurological services with a 3-week history of rapid cognitive decline, functional decompensation and progressive ataxia following a single, brief (\30 s), witnessed, generalised tonic– clonic seizure. Epilepsy was diagnosed 5-years prior to presentation following two generalised tonic–clonic seizures, after which he had remained seizure free with carbamazepine therapy. He was born after an uncomplicated full-term pregnancy and delivery. His parents were healthy and non-consanguineous. Speech and motor milestones were normal. Mild intellectual delay became apparent at 6 years of age when difficulty with schoolwork and inability to keep up with peers was noticed. He completed schooling thereafter in a special needs school. From 18 years of age he was in permanent employment and fully independent in activities of daily living (ADLs). In the 3-week period preceding presentation, he was unable to continue working or function independently, needing new assistance with most ADLs, e.g. dressing, bathing, etc. Throughout childhood he was noted to be clumsy, mildly unsteady and have difficulty playing sport. Preceding admission unsteadiness markedly deteriorated and slurring of speech developed, together with new tendency for repetitive speech. Short-term memory impairment also developed. Clinical examination revealed dysarthria, cerebellar ataxia, bilateral dysmetria, lower limb hypertonia, pathological hyper-reflexia with extensor plantar responses, sustained ankle clonus and frontal release signs. Muscle strength testing was normal. He had preserved registration but impaired 5-min recall (1/3), echolalia, perseveration and impaired Luria 3 step command testing. There was no dysmorphism or macrocephaly. MRI brain revealed marked subcortical leukoencephalopathy, subcortical white matter loss and cerebellar atrophy (Fig. 1). EEGs demonstrated symmetrical delta activity without epileptiform discharge, consistent with an encephalopathic/neurodegenerative process. Urinary organic acid testing demonstrated a marked increase in 2-hydroxyglutarate excretion. CSF organic acid testing revealed a 2-hydroxyglutarate peak. CSF amino acid analysis showed elevated lysine titres (82 lmol/L: Normal range 6–32 lmol/L), consistent with 2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria (2HGA). Urinary and CSF enantiomeric analysis showed an L-isomer of 2-hydroxyglutarate, confirming a diagnosis of L-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria (L2HGA). Treatment administered included riboflavin 150 mg twice daily and carnitine 1 g twice daily. Thereafter clinical status stabilized and no further deterioration occurred. Clinical examination 1 year later remains unchanged. 2-Hydroxyglutaric aciduria is a rare, neurometabolic, autosomal recessive disorder of lysine metabolism. There are less than 20 adult reports of L2HGA (average age at time S. Saidha (&) S. Murphy M. Hennessy Department of Neurology, University College Hospital, Galway, Ireland e-mail: shivsaidha@hotmail.com

The combination of programmatic theory and structural equation modeling (SEM) can act as the basic intellectual machinery for designing and evaluating behavioral interventions. As an example of the integration, we consider a case study of a randomized experiment to reduce sexual risk taking, the WINGS Project. Barriers to combining systematic use of SEM with programmatic theory for program improvement and assessing program effectiveness are also discussed.

This study examines the extent of childhood sexual abuse and its relationship to risky sexual and drug-using behaviors, condom use, and lifetime sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in women volunteering for the WINGS intervention in New York City, Baltimore, and Seattle. Responses to structured interviews from 825 eligible women recruited from the community, clinics, and drug programs in 1995 and 1996 were analyzed. Thirty-eight percent to 66% of women across sites reported childhood sexual abuse before age 18. Q statistics and t tests measured the bivariate relationships between sexual abuse and outcomes. Then regression analysis was used to control for ethnicity and race, age, age at first intercourse, and site in predicting the adjusted effects of sexual abuse. Compared to nonabused women, abused women reported more lifetime partners, more episodes of different STDs, lower odds of using condoms at most recent sexual intercourse with main partners, and increased odds of using drugs or alcohol before sex. Researchers need to develop and test STD and HIV interventions tailored for victims of early sexual abuse and compare them with more general interventions for at-risk women.

Booster sessions are often recommended to reestablish or reinforce the cognitive messages or behavior changes due to therapeutic and behavioral interventions. To plan intervention‐relevant booster sessions, researchers need to know the pattern(s) of individual change over time in outcome variables and for experimental groups. Growth curve analysis of repeated measures can estimate these patterns for different categories of intervention participants. This article demonstrates an application of this method using data from a recently completed multisite randomized experiment that compared 3 different counseling and testing methods for prevention of HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, Project RESPECT. Reported self‐efficacy for condom use with the main sexual partner is used as an illustrative example. For most experimental groups, self‐efficacy for condom use declined for both female and male respondents soon after the intervention and booster sessions should have been instituted within 3 ...

The threonine-glycine (Thr-Gly) encoding repeat within the clock gene period of Drosophila melanogaster is polymorphic in length. The two major variants (Thr-Gly)17 and (Thr-Gly)20 are distributed as a highly significant latitudinal cline in Europe and North Africa. Thr-Gly length variation from both wild-caught and transgenic individuals is related to the flies' ability to maintain a circadian period at different temperatures. This phenomenon provides a selective explanation for the geographical distribution of Thr-Gly lengths and gives a rare glimpse of the interplay between molecular polymorphism, behavior, population biology, and natural selection.

Objective We identified household, child, and demographic characteristics associated with not having a smoking ban and having a rule about smoking in the presence of children in an urban population. Method We conducted a cross-sectional random digit dial telephone survey (n = 456) of Philadelphia parents in June 2012. Results Forty-eight percent of homes reported a full smoking ban. In homes that allowed smoking, over half allowed smoking in front of children. Cigarettes smoked in the home decreased as the restrictiveness of the bans increased. Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that compared to having a full ban, banning smoking only in the presence of children was associated with being African-American, having a child > 5 years old, and having an asthma-free child. These characteristics, as well as having both parents as smokers and not having an outdoor space, were also associated with not having any restrictions. Conclusion It is possible that households attempt to reduce home smoking by limiting smoking in the presence of children. Health communication messages should be used to inform families about the lingering effects of SHS in the home even when smoking does not occur in the presence of a child.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of parental television viewing on children’s television viewing compared with traditional predictors such as household television access, parental rules, and demographic characteristics of the child, parent, and household. METHODS: An online survey using national samples of 1550 parents with children in 3 age groups (children ≤5 years, children aged 6–11 years, and adolescents aged 12–17 years), weighted to be representative of US parents with children in each age group. Adolescents (n = 629) of participating parents were also surveyed. RESULTS: Parent television time is associated with child television time and had a stronger relationship to child time than access to television in the home or the child’s bedroom, as well as parental rules about television viewing and coviewing. This pattern persisted across all age groups of children. CONCLUSIONS: Educating parents about the relationship between their own and their child’s viewing may be a useful strategy for interventions that aim to reduce children’s excessive television viewing. Additionally, health professionals can engage parents in a discussion about how family television time is associated with increased television time for children.

Background Scientific evidence demonstrates a link between viewing time and several poor health outcomes. We use a reasoned action approach to identify the determinants and beliefs associated with parents' intention to limit their children's television viewing.Methods We surveyed a random sample of 516 caregivers to children ages 3-16 in a large Northeastern city. Multiple regression analyses were used to test a reasoned action model and examine the differences across demographic groups.Results The intention to limit viewing (−3 to 3) was low among parents of adolescents (M: 0.05) compared with parents of 3-6 year olds (M: 1.49) and 7-12 year olds (M: 1.16). Attitudes were the strongest determinant of intention (β = 0.43) across all demographic groups and normative pressure was also significantly related to intention (β = 0.20), except among parents of adolescents. Relevant beliefs associated with intention to limit viewing included: limiting television would be associated with the child exercising more, doing better in school, talking to family more and having less exposure to inappropriate content.Conclusions Attitudes and normative pressure play an important role in determining parents' intention to limit their child's television viewing. The beliefs that were associated with parents' intention to limit should be emphasized by health professionals and in health communication campaigns.

This article reviews factorial surveys and highlights their utility in designing intervention programs. It then describes two instances in which factorial surveys were used to develop HIV/AIDS-related interventions: designing HIV vaccine trials that maximize participation and identifying optimal treatment regimes for HIV positive mothers and their babies to prevent perinatal HIV infection. We conclude that factorial survey applications of this kind have a great potential for use in the design (and redesign where necessary) of intervention programs.

The query, "What works in program evaluation" can be answered on the basis of information already known to many evaluators. Documentation of procedures needed to justify evaluative conclusions in summative evaluations of the impact of large, expensive social programs has led to four propositions proffered as reflective of what works in any such outcome evaluation.

Using data collected in a random-digit dial telephone survey in a northern California county, an examination of the impact of alcohol beverage container warning labels was conducted. In a broadly conceived approach to the possible impact of warning labels, we examined recall and content as well as risk assessment and the use of warning labels as public policy to combat drunk driving. In a repeated measures pre- and post-design, respondents reported significantly higher recall of labels and their content in the post-introduction period. Evidence from a multivariate analysis of post-introduction data indicate that both drinking drivers and impaired drivers (based on self-reports) were more likely to recall the labels and their content, an indication that warning labels are reaching "at risk" individuals. In addition, increases in the perceived risk of driving and drinking are consistent with the notion that warning labels, as one part of a larger social movement, are helping to create an atmosphere in which drinking and driving is less acceptable. However, our findings also indicate that, at least among at risk drinking and impaired drivers, increased use of public policies such as warning labels in an effort to reduce the negative consequences of drinking and driving may generate a public opinion backlash. Language: en

For a representative sample of adolescents, this article estimates the odds of various HIV risk behaviors for two groups: The General Risk Group reports behaviors indirectly related to HIV infection, and the HIV Risk Group engages in a variety of activities directly related to HIV infection. Multinomial logistic regression predicting risk group membership on the basis of demographic variables indicates heterogeneity in the combinations of risky behaviors relevant to HIV infection and the characteristics of adolescents engaging in these behaviors. The results highlight the weaknesses of behavioral risk factor studies and call into question the meaning-fulness of risk groups in public health assessments of social conditions. Finally, the article identifies the analytical process of decontextualization that operates to reduce our theoretical understanding of adolescent risk taking while also diminishing our practical ability to model and control the social causes of HIV infection.

When evaluating intervention programs designed to influence complex behavioral outcomes, researchers are often faced with confounding background variables that need to be controlled, as well as several intervening or mediating variables such as self‐efficacy or locus of control. However, because intervening variables are assumed to have a causal effect on program outcomes, their impact should be estimated and not controlled. We compare the difference between means using t tests, single‐equation multiple regression, and structural equation models for their ability to characterize accurately the causal pathways considered in behavioral interventions. We find that the mean difference accurately estimates the total effect of the treatment on the outcome of interest but does not allow for decomposition of treatment effects attributable to intervening variables. Multiple regression analysis defines the treatment effect as a unique component that does not consider relations among intervening variables. In contra...

We report on African American adolescents' (N=850;Mage = 15.4) contraceptive practices and type of contraception utilized during their last sexual encounter. Respondents completed measures of demographics, contraceptive use, sexual partner type, and ability to select “safe” sexual partners. 40% endorsed use of dual or multiple contraceptive methods; a total of 35 different contraceptive combinations were reported. Perceived ability to select “safe” partners was associated with not using contraception (OR = 1.25), using less effective contraceptive methods (OR = 1.23), or hormonal birth control (OR = 1.50). Female gender predicted hormonal birth control use (OR = 2.33), use of less effective contraceptive methods (e.g., withdrawal; OR = 2.47), and using no contraception (OR = 2.37). Respondents' age and partner type did not predict contraception use. Adolescents used contraceptive methods with limited ability to prevent both unintended pregnancies and STD/HIV. Adolescents who believed their partners posed low risk were more likely to use contraceptive practices other than condoms or no contraception. Reproductive health practitioners are encouraged to help youth negotiate contraceptive use with partners, regardless of the partner's perceived riskiness.

Published research demonstrates an association between exposure to media sexual content and a variety of sex-related outcomes for adolescents. What is not known is the mechanism through which sexual content produces this “media effect” on adolescent beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. Using the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction, this article uses data from a longitudinal study of adolescents ages 16 to 18 ( N = 460) to determine how exposure to sexual media content influences sexual behavior. Path analysis and structural equation modeling demonstrated that intention to engage in sexual intercourse is determined by a combination of attitudes, normative pressure, and self-efficacy but that exposure to sexual media content only affects normative pressure beliefs. By applying the Integrative Model, we are able to identify which beliefs are influenced by exposure to media sex and improve the ability of health educators, researchers, and others to design effective messages for health communication campaigns and messages pertaining to adolescents’ engaging in sexual intercourse.

A convergent total synthesis of 1α,25,28-trihydroxyergocalciferol (1), using an available A ring synthon and a CD synthon which was prepared via a thermodynamically controlled dipolar cycloaddition of methyl 3,3-dimethylacrylate and a C-23 nitrone followed by subsequent removal of the nitrogen function, is described.

This paper reports on the extent to which adolescents report actively seeking sexual content in media, identifies from which media they report seeking, estimates the association between seeking sexual information and romantic and sexual behavior, and shows that active seeking of sexual content in media sources is explained by an intention to seek such content using the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction, a reasoned action approach. The data are a national sample of 810 adolescents aged 13-18 years. Results show that fifty percent of adolescents reported actively seeking sexual content in their media choices, which included movies, television, music, internet pornography sites, and magazines. Males sought sex content more than females and gender differences were greatest for seeking from internet pornography sites, movies, and television. Path analysis demonstrate that seeking sexual content is well predicted by intentions to seek and intentions are primarily driven by perceived normative pressure to seek sexual content.

Using a longitudinal web-based survey of adolescents 14-16 years of age, we estimate regression models where self-reported sexual behavior and content analytic-based exposure to sex in the media are related cross-sectionally and longitudinally. We find evidence for both cross-sectional non-recursive and prospective longitudinal relationships even after adjusting for both established predictors of sexual behavior (e.g., physical development, having a romantic partner, parental monitoring, peer and parental norms, respondent's age) and of exposure to sexual media content (e.g., time the respondent goes to bed, extracurricular activities, television in the bedroom, total time spent with television, music, videogames, and magazines). Sexually active adolescents are more likely to expose themselves to sex in the media and those exposed to sex in the media are more likely to progress in their sexual activity. These findings are consistent with others in the literature that demonstrate a causal effect of exposure to sexual content on sexual behavior but extend established results by also looking at the causal effect of sexual behavior on exposure both cross-sectionally and over time.

Many studies of sexual messages in media utilize content analysis methods. At times, this research assumes that researchers and trained coders using content analysis methods and the intended audience view and interpret media content similarly. This article compares adolescents' perceptions of the presence or absence of sexual content on television to those of researchers using three different coding schemes. Results from this formative research study suggest that participants and researchers are most likely to agree with content categories assessing manifest content, and that differences exist among adolescents who view sexual messages on television. Researchers using content analysis methods to examine sexual content in media and media effects on sexual behavior should consider identifying how audience characteristics may affect interpretation of content and account for audience perspectives in content analysis study protocols when appropriate for study goals.

We present the clinical, electrophysiological and molecular genetic findings of a 58-year-old male with genetically confirmed Huntington's disease (HD) and concurrent clinically definite ALS by El Escorial criteria. The patient presented with asymmetric upper limb amyotrophy and weakness, and subsequently developed chorea and cognitive change. Genetic testing confirmed the presence of expanded trinucleotide repeats in huntingtin, consistent with a diagnosis of Huntington's disease. This case confirms the rare coexistence of Huntington's disease and motor neuron degeneration.

The purpose of this study is to estimate the association between adolescent sexual behavior and exposure to sexual media content. A three-wave, longitudinal survey sample (N = 506) of 14- to 16-year-olds at baseline is analyzed using growth curves. Growth trajectories are linear for sexual behavior but not for exposure to sexual media content. The signs of the exposure slopes are not uniformly positive: Hispanic and African American respondents show declines of exposure to sexual media content over the age range investigated here. Although changes in exposure to sex content are highly associated with changes in sexual behavior among Whites, there is little or no association between changes in these variables among Blacks.

This case report details an unusual, but preventable, error in surgical site marking.

A 64-year-old man had a dizzy spell lasting several minutes, followed by syncope. A loop recorder showed a sinus-node arrest lasting 25 seconds. A dual-chamber pacemaker was implanted. Despite normal pacemaker function, he had numerous confusional episodes during the subsequent days.

This nationally representative telephone (wire-line and cell phone) survey explores Americans' opinions about behavioral targeting by marketers, a controversial issue currently before government policymakers. Behavioral targeting involves two types of activities: following users' actions and then tailoring advertisements for the users based on those actions. While privacy advocates have lambasted behavioral targeting for tracking and labeling people in ways they do not know or understand, marketers have defended the practice by insisting it gives Americans what they want: advertisements and other forms of content that are as relevant to their lives as possible.Contrary to what many marketers claim, most adult Americans (66%) do not want marketers to tailor advertisements to their interests. Moreover, when Americans are informed of three common ways that marketers gather data about people in order to tailor ads, even higher percentages - between 73% and 86% - say they would not want such advertising. Even among young adults, whom advertisers often portray as caring little about information privacy, more than half (55%) of 18-24 years-old do not want tailored advertising. And contrary to consistent assertions of marketers, young adults have as strong an aversion to being followed across websites and offline (for example, in stores) as do older adults.This survey finds that Americans want openness with marketers. If marketers want to continue to use various forms of behavioral targeting in their interactions with Americans, they must work with policymakers to open up the process so that individuals can learn exactly how their information is being collected and used, and then exercise control over their data. We offer specific proposals in this direction. An overarching one is for marketers to implement a regime of information respect toward the public rather than to treat them as objects from which they can take information in order to optimally persuade them.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder characterised by clinical relapse and remission and pathological demyelination with varying inflammation. Because it is suggested that T-cells expressing natural killer cell receptors (NKR) play important roles in regulating human autoimmune diseases, we have quantified populations of T-cells expressing the NKR CD56, CD161 and CD94 in the peripheral blood of MS patients, in healthy control subjects (HS) and in patients with other neurological diseases (OND). CD161(+) T-cells and CD94(+) T-cells were significantly decreased in MS patients with primary progressive disease and secondary progressive disease respectively whereas CD56(+) T-cell numbers were unchanged. In contrast NKT-cells that express the invariant Valpha24-Jalpha18(+) T-cell receptor identified here by specific receptor antibody and CD1d-tetrameric PBS57-loaded complexes, were increased in MS patients compared with HS. Reductions in CD161(+) T-cells and CD94(+) T-cells relative to HS were also observed in the OND group and this was particularly prominent in Parkinsonian patients. A striking functional finding was that while NKT-cells in unfractionated peripheral blood from healthy subjects expanded in number and produced IFN-gamma upon stimulation with alpha-galactosylceramide, NKT-cells from MS patients did not. Thus we have identified alterations in a number of potentially important lymphocyte sub-populations warranting further investigation in the immune response in MS.

OBJECTIVES To examine how sources of sexual information are associated with adolescents' behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about having sexual intercourse using the integrative model of behavior change. METHODS Survey data from a quota sample of 459 youth. RESULTS The most frequently reported sources were friends, teachers, mothers, and media. Regression analyses indicated that learning about sex from parents, grandparents, and religious leaders was associated with beliefs likely to delay sex; friends, cousins, and media were associated with beliefs that increase the likelihood of having sexual intercourse. CONCLUSIONS Different sexual information sources were associated with different underlying beliefs.

Purpose To evaluate the test–retest reliability of self-reported sexuality-related data in a sample of African American adolescents residing in four U.S. cities. Methods Using audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI), 156 African American teens (mean age=15.5 years) provided data on lifetime and recent sexual behavior, HIV/sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing, and theoretical antecedents of sexual risk behavior on two occasions separated by 2 weeks. Results Most self-reports of lifetime sexual behavior and STD/HIV testing were stable across the two assessment points. Test–retest agreement was substantial for dichotomous indices of lifetime sexual behaviors and STD testing (kappas ranging from .61–.87), and for 3-month recall of vaginal sex (kappa = .72) and number of sexual partners (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = .68). Lower reliability estimates emerged for count data of unprotected vaginal sex occasions (ICC = .44). Test–retest reliability estimates for antecedents of sexual risk behavior were highest for a validated measure of HIV-related knowledge (r = .73), but somewhat lower for peer norms (r = .58) and condom use self-efficacy (r = .50). Conclusions Although variability in the stability of self-report data was observed, findings confirm that most sexual behavior, STD and HIV testing history, and psychosocial measures can be assessed reliably among adolescents. Research should continue to identify strategies to enhance the reliability of self-report sexual behavior data from youth at risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

Behavioral theory informs HIV prevention programs by identifying important predictors of the relevant behavior. Changes in those predictors brought about by program messages should theoretically translate into behavior change. Program evaluation, however, may examine only whether message exposure is associated with behavior change, assuming that if people changed their behavior, the intervention must have effectively changed the determinants. This practice obscures how intervention programs work in the field. We use data from the AIDS Community Demonstration Projects (ACDP) to illustrate this important idea. Earlier research found that the ACDP moved at-risk communities to more consistent condom use with both main and non-main partners. This study demonstrates that these behavioral effects are explained by the ACDP's ability to improve intention and self-efficacy for condom use with both main and non-main partners. We conclude that to understand how HIV prevention programs work, program evaluations need to assess how the intervention affected what it was designed to change: one or more critical behavioral determinants.

Using face-to-face interview data on a sample of young adults, this study investigates the perceived risk of alcohol consumption in drinking and driving, interactions with police and the probability of intoxication. Results show that beer is perceived as less risky than liquor in two risk situations, with men and drinkers in particular ranking beer as a lower risk beverage. When intoxication is considered, drinkers rank their preferred beverage as less risky than their alternative. Finally, an analysis of the relative riskiness of beer in comparison to liquor reveals that beer is perceived as less risky than liquor. This consensus does not vary significantly by sex or most other respondent characteristics.