Biomedical subjects

J A Leiferman

Publications and source records attributed to J A Leiferman.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Mothers' mental distress and parenting practices with infants and toddlers.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether maternal mental distress affects parenting practices related to monitoring activities (i.e. daily routines, enrichment activities). The nationally representative sample consisted of 1638 mothers. Maternal mental distress was assessed by the 5-item Mental Health Index (MHI). Logistic regression models were conducted, controlling for covariates (e.g. marital status, education level, etc.). Approximately 14% of the women reported high levels of mental distress and 25% of the women failed to engage in enrichment activities or consistent daily routines with their children. There was a significant adverse relationship between mental distress and routines, with women who were mentally distressed being more likely to not engage in daily routines. There was no significant relationship between mental distress and enrichment activities. Race differentials were evident among these relationships. These findings highlight the prevalence of maternal mental distress and its deleterious effects on select parenting behaviors.

Child, Preschool↗

PubMed2001

Differences in functional immune responses of high vs. low hardy healthy individuals.

An association between the personality trait of hardiness and immune responses was explored. Blood samples were collected from 21 healthy individuals under nonstressful conditions, who had either high or low levels of hardiness. Functional immune assays tested for natural killer (NK) cell activity and proliferation responses to Candida albicans (Candida), purified protein derivative from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (PPD), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), concanavalin A (Con A), and Staphylococcus enterotoxin A (Staph A). Differences between high and low hardy groups on these immune responses were examined using Bonferroni adjusted independent t-tests. Results revealed significant differences between the groups for Candida, PPD, Con A, and Staph A. In all instances, the high hardy group had larger mean proliferative responses than the low hardy group. Implications of the study as well as avenues for future research are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Temporal specificity in adaptations to high-intensity exercise training.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose was to test the hypothesis that time to exhaustion and oxygen deficit in high-intensity exercise at a particular time of day would be influenced by training regularly at that time of day. METHODS: Over a 5-wk period, 12 college-age women performed 20 high-intensity exercise training sessions. On Mondays, they performed four 2-min bouts of cycling at 2.5 W x kg(-1) with 4-min recoveries; on Tuesdays and Thursdays, eight 1-min bouts at 3.0 W x kg(-1) with 2-min recoveries; and on Wednesdays, three 3-min bouts at 2.2 W x kg(-1) with 2-min recoveries. Six participants (a.m.-trained group) were randomly assigned to train in the morning (a.m.) and six others (p.m.-trained group) trained in the afternoon (p.m.). Upon completion of training, all participants were tested in both the a.m. and p.m. (random order) at the same times as training sessions had been scheduled. Tests involved exhaustive efforts at 2.6 W x kg(-1). RESULTS: Results of a repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant time of day of training x time of day of testing interaction effect on time to exhaustion (F1,10=8.29, P=0.02). This suggested that the time of day of training affected the a.m.-p.m. pattern in time to exhaustion. Time to exhaustion for the a.m.-trained group was 398+/-258 s in the a.m. test and 351+/-216 s in the p.m. test (P=0.07). The p.m.-trained group had significantly higher values in the p.m. test compared with the a.m. test (422+/-252 s vs 373+/-222 s; P=0.03). There was also a significant interaction effect on oxygen deficit (F1,10=8.03, P=0.02). This suggested that the time of day of training affected the a.m.-p.m. pattern in anaerobic capacity. Oxygen deficit for the a.m.-trained group was 64+/-24 mL x kg(-1) in the a.m. test and 50+/-11 mL x kg(-1) in the p.m. test (P=0.10). The p.m.-trained group had significantly higher values in the p.m. tests (64+/-24 mL x kg(-1) vs 50+/-11 mL x kg(-1); P=0.01) compared to the a.m. tests. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that there is temporal specificity in training to increase work capacity in high-intensity exercise. Greater improvements can be expected to occur at the time of day at which high-intensity training is regularly performed.

Adaptation, Physiological↗