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BACKGROUND: Negative interpersonal interactions are associated with acute increases in ambulatory blood pressure (ABP). Yet, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are unclear. PURPOSE: This study tested whether negative interpersonal interactions predict higher ABP both in the moment and during subsequent observations, and whether increases in negative mood mediate these relations. These associations were tested among Black and Hispanic urban adults who may be at higher risk for negative interpersonal interactions as a function of discrimination. Race/ethnicity and lifetime discrimination were tested as moderators. METHODS: Using a 24-hr ecological momentary assessment (EMA) design, 565 Black and Hispanic participants (aged 23-65, M = 39.06, SD = 9.35; 51.68% men) had their ABP assessed every 20 min during daytime accompanied by an assessment of negative interpersonal interactions and mood. This produced 12,171 paired assessments of ABP and self-reports of participants interpersonal interactions, including how much the interaction made them feel left out, harassed, and treated unfairly, as well as how angry, nervous, and sad they felt. RESULTS: Multilevel models revealed that more intense negative interpersonal interactions predicted higher momentary ABP. Mediation analyses revealed that increased negative mood explained the relationship between negative interpersonal interactions and ABP in concurrent and lagged analyses. Discrimination was associated with more negative interpersonal interactions, but neither race/ethnicity nor lifetime discrimination moderated findings. CONCLUSIONS: Results provide a clearer understanding of the psychobiological mechanisms through which interpersonal interactions influence cardiovascular health and may contribute to health disparities. Implications include the potential for just-in-time interventions to provide mood restoring resources after negative interactions.

Sleep problems and poorer well-being may be particularly salient for Latino/a college students as they tend to experience sociocultural adjustments during this transitory time. Social connections, a correlate of health, change moment-to-moment for college students and may be experienced differently for people who more strongly endorse horizontal collectivist cultural values. We used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine how in-the-moment social connections influence in-the-moment health, and how horizontal collectivism moderates the moment-to-moment associations. Self-identified Latino/a college students (n = 221) completed a demographic information and cultural values questionnaire and then responded to EMA measures on their social connections, affective and subjective well-being, and sleep for 14 consecutive days. Better in-the-moment social connections associated with better health. Horizontal collectivism moderated some, but not all associations between social connections and health. Social connections are multidimensional and differently predict in-the-moment health among Latino/a college students who more strongly endorse horizontal collectivistic values. We discuss implications for identifying vulnerable well-being moments among this understudied population.

Research implicates experiences of discrimination in exacerbating cardiometabolic disease (CMD) risk. Belongingness has been suggested as a buffer against the adverse effects of discrimination. However, when discrimination occurs in an environment to which one feels they belong, then the potential benefits of belongingness may dissipate or even exacerbate the effects of discrimination. In the present study, we examined these competing hypotheses on how campus belonging might moderate the relationship between discrimination experienced on campus and CMD risk. College students (n = 160, 60.9% Latino/a/x) reported the frequency of on-campus discrimination and campus belongingness, and then completed items assessing risk for CMD. More frequent discrimination related to higher comparative CMD risk among those who reported high campus belongingness, even after adjusting for relevant covariates. These findings highlight the complicated nature of belongingness in the context of physical health. Future research is needed to better understand the role of environment when considering morbidity among college students.

The objective of this study was to examine the link between systemic and general psychosocial stress and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in a group of U.S. Latinos as a function of acculturation and education within the blended guiding conceptual framework of the biopsychosocial model of the stress process plus the reserve capacity model. We analyzed data from self-identifying Mexican-origin adults (n = 396, 56.9% female, Mage = 58.2 years, 55.5% < 12 years of education, 79% U.S.-born) from the Texas City Stress and Health Study. We used established measures of perceived stress (general stress), neighborhood stress and discrimination (systemic stress) to capture psychosocial stress, our primary predictor. We used the atherosclerotic CVD calculator to assess 10-year CVD risk, our primary outcome. This calculator uses demographics, cholesterol, blood pressure, and history of hypertension, smoking, and diabetes to compute CVD risk in the next 10 years. We also created an acculturation index using English-language use, childhood interaction, and preservation of cultural values. Participants reported years of education. Contrary to expectations, findings showed that higher levels of all three forms of psychosocial stress, perceived stress, neighborhood stress, and perceived discrimination, predicted lower 10-year CVD risk. Acculturation and education did not moderate the effects of psychosocial stress on 10-year CVD risk. Contextualized within the biopsychosocial and reserve capacity framework, we interpret our findings such that participants who accurately reported their stressors may have turned to their social networks to handle the stress, thereby reducing their risk for CVD. We highlight the importance of examining strengths within the sociocultural environment when considering cardiovascular inequities among Latinos.

Experiences of discrimination and bias are detrimental to the sense of belonging of students of color in higher education. Research has shown the positive benefits of interacting with diverse peers on sense of belonging for students of color attending a primarily White institution (PWI). Additionally, some research has indicated that when students of color perceive their institution to be unsupportive of them, they have a diminished sense of belonging. Therefore, this study examined the buffering effects of diverse peer interactions and institutional commitment to diversity on the relationship between discrimination-bias and sense of belonging for students of color at a 4-year PWI. Moderated regressions were conducted on the Diverse Learning Environments Survey (n = 626). Findings show that more diverse peer interactions and positive perceptions of institutional commitment to diversity buffer against the negative effects of discrimination and bias on sense of belonging for students of color attending a PWI. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Background: The link between the pre‐diagnostic use of statins and testosterone replacement therapy and their impact on hormone‐related cancers, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, and male breast cancer survival remains a topic of controversy. Further, there is a knowledge gap concerning the joint effects of statins and testosterone replacement therapy on hormone‐related cancer survival outcomes. Objective: To examine the independent and joint effects of pre‐diagnostic use of statins and testosterone replacement therapy on the risk of all‐cause and cause‐specific mortality among older men diagnosed with hormone‐related cancers, including prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, and male breast cancer. Methods: In 41,707 men (≥65 years) of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results‐Medicare 2007–2015, we identified 31,097 prostate cancer, 10,315 colorectal cancer, and 295 male breast cancer cases. Pre‐diagnostic prescription of statins and testosterone replacement therapy was ascertained and categorized into four groups (Neither users, statins alone, testosterone replacement therapy alone, and Dual users). Multivariable‐adjusted Cox proportional hazards and competing‐risks (Fine‐Gray subdistribution hazard) models were conducted. Results: No significant associations were found in Cox‐proportional hazard models for hormone‐related cancers. However, in the Fine‐Gray competing risk models among high‐grade hormone‐related cancers, statins alone had an 11% reduced risk of hormone‐related cancer‐specific death (hazard ratio: 0.89; 95% confidence interval: 0.81–0.99; p 0.0451). In the prostate cancer cohort with both statistical models, the use of testosterone replacement therapy alone had a 24% lower risk of all‐cause death (hazard ratio: 0.76; 95% confidence interval: 0.59–0.97; p 0.0325) and a 57% lower risk of prostate cancer‐specific death (hazard ratio: 0.43; 95% confidence interval: 0.24–0.75; p 0.0029). Similar inverse associations were found among aggressive prostate cancer cases with testosterone replacement therapy alone and statins alone. No significant associations were found in the colorectal cancer and male breast cancer sub‐groups. Conclusion: Pre‐diagnostic use of statins and testosterone replacement therapy showed a survival benefit with reduced mortality in high‐grade hormone‐related cancer patients (only statins) and aggressive prostate cancer patients in both statistical models. Findings of testosterone replacement therapy use in aggressive prostate cancer settings could facilitate clinical trials. Further studies with extended follow‐up periods are needed to substantiate these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary goal of this study was to investigate whether college students' academic time management could be used to understand their engagement in traditional and active forms of procrastination within a model of self-regulated learning. College students (N = 446) completed a self-report survey that assessed motivational and strategic aspects of self-regulated learning, time management, and procrastination. Results of regression analyses indicated that self-efficacy and metacognitive strategies initially were significant predictors of traditional and active forms of procrastination. Incorporating time management in the analyses increased the amount of the variance explained and, even in the presence of the motivation and strategy variables, time management emerged as an important predictor of both traditional and active forms of procrastination. Findings support the conclusion that academic time management is a key aspect of self-regulated learning and, as such, it can be useful for understanding the extent to which college students procrastinate when doing their academic work.

COVID-19 has significantly affected people with pre-existing conditions, particularly those suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), as it increases the risk of complications and mortality. The dysregulated inflammatory response in T2DM patients is a critical factor contributing to severe disease progression in these individuals. Recent research suggests that genetic variations, such as Rs657152 polymorphisms, could influence inflammatory markers and immune responses in T2DM patients infected with COVID-19. Understanding this genetic relationship is crucial for improving treatment strategies and predicting outcomes in this high-risk group. The present was designed to evaluate the correlation of Rs657152 gene polymorphisms with inflammatory markers in COVID-19 patients with T2DM. This study enrolled 91 participants, including 31 healthy individuals, 30 COVID-19 patients with T2DM, and 30 non-diabetic COVID-19 patients. Inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-6, D-dimer, and ferritin) were measured, and Rs657152 polymorphisms were genotyped. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS version 23. COVID-19 patients with T2DM showed significantly higher BMI, greater severity of COVID-19, and increased levels of inflammatory markers compared to non-diabetic patients. A significant correlation was observed between the Rs657152 polymorphisms and elevated levels of IL-6, D-dimer, and ferritin in T2DM patients (P<0.05). The polymorphisms of the Rs657152 gene may exacerbate the inflammatory response in COVID-19 patients with T2DM, contributing to increased severity of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarship on international students shows that despite university policies designed to create a welcoming atmosphere, international students still face social challenges. This paper applies the capabilities approach to reveal mechanisms that facilitate or constrain the social inclusion of married international graduate students. For married international graduate students, the personal factors (their level of study and marital status) bring with structural factors (e.g., visa policies, healthcare policies, cultural and linguistic barriers), which in combination lead to social exclusion. With one university case study, including original survey and interview data, we unpack these intertwined processes and find that married graduate students' social relation and network patterns significantly differ from single graduate students and undergraduate students. They are less likely to attend campus events, interact with their colleagues, and interact with friends from other countries. As such, we challenge the conventional wisdom that access to higher education alone leads to social inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated grit and its relations with students' self-regulated learning (SRL) and academic achievement. An ethnically diverse sample of 213 college students completed an online self-report survey that included the Grit Short scale (Duckworth and Quinn "Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(2)," 166-174, 2009), seven indicators of SRL and their past and present academic achievement. Results indicated that one aspect of grit, perseverance of effort, was a consistent and adaptive predictor for all indicators of SRL including value, self-efficacy, cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, time and study environment management strategies, and procrastination. A second aspect of grit, consistency of interest, was associated only with the latter two facets of SRL. Perseverance of effort predicted achievement before, but not after, accounting for SRL; hence, students' engagement in SRL may serve as a mediating pathway through which this aspect of grit is associated with improved academic outcomes. In contrast, consistency of interest showed no relation to achievement. Implications of the findings for additional research and instruction are discussed.