Biomedical subjects

R S DeFrank

Publications and source records attributed to R S DeFrank.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1990

Anomie, alcohol abuse and alcohol consumption: a prospective-analysis.

Cross-sectional and 36-month prospective analyses of the relationships among anomie and both alcohol abuse and alcohol consumption patterns provided little support that anomie was directly associated with ethanol ingestion patterns in a sample of 302 male air traffic controllers. This lack of association was observed for self-reported alcohol consumption, interview-established alcohol abuse and biochemical markers of alcohol intake. In addition, anomie was not predictive of change in alcohol use/abuse over 36 months, controlling for baseline levels of alcohol use and abuse and for relevant demographic factors. Measurement of anomie and alcohol use/abuse, the relative importance of anomie in various socioeconomic groups and issues related to prospective research on this topic are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Teacher stress and health; examination of a model.

Stress in teaching derives from a variety of sources, and evidence exists linking such stress to physical and mental health concerns. Detailed examination of the linkages among personal factors, job stress, job satisfaction and symptomatology have not been done in this occupation, however, and the present study examines a model interrelating these variables. A survey of 245 predominantly female elementary school teachers in southeast Texas suggested that demographic factors and teaching background do not influence stress, satisfaction or health concerns. However, while job stress was the strongest predictor of job satisfaction, this stress had no direct relationship with health problems, an unexpected finding. Write-in responses by teachers indicated additional sources of stress, many of which were environmental or policy-based in nature. The implications of these findings for future research and stress management interventions for teachers are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Job stress and mental well-being: similarities and differences among American, Japanese, and Indian managers.

The sources and mediators of occupational stress have been assessed frequently but rarely from a cross-cultural perspective. The present study examined responses to a number of stress, social support, job satisfaction, and personal characteristics measures and their relationships to mental well-being among samples of lower-, middle-, and upper-level managers in the United States, Japan, and India. These data suggested basic similarities between 178 U.S. and 306 Indian managers; the 222 Japanese managers tended to report more negative reactions than the other two groups. Variability among these groups was seen, however, in the relative weights given to the factors of the mental well-being measure and in the association of these factors with the various independent variables. Implications and shortcomings of these results are discussed, along with suggestions for future research priorities.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1988

Interrelationships among self-reported alcohol intake, physiological indices and alcoholism screening measures.

The interrelationships among alcohol screening measures, self-reported drinking and laboratory markers of alcohol consumption were analyzed in a nonalcoholic sample. The results confirmed high interrelatedness among the MAST and two shorter versions derived from that scale. These measures showed little relationship to the CAGE, self-reported drinking and biochemical markers. Self-reported drinking and the CAGE, however, were significantly correlated with these markers. One difference by gender was noted in the correlation between the CAGE and self-reported drink, with a stronger association found in men. The importance for investigators of considering the characteristics of these measures in light of their specific research questions is emphasized.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Ethical and philosophical issues in developing a health promotion consortium.

This case study describes the establishment and operation of a community-based health promotion consortium. The ethical implications of membership criteria, use of mailing lists, public education and policy, and communications are examined. The organization's responses to questions raised in these areas are discussed. Increased communication and sharing of ideas and experiences among health promotion consortia are recommended. Issues in the activities of health promotion consortia which require further philosophical and sociological examination are identified.

Communication↗

PubMed1981

Sexual functioning in stroke survivors.

Investigation of sexual interest, function and attitudes of 35 patients (24 men and 11 women) before and after stroke showed no significant changes in sexual interest or desire for either men or women. However, men experienced significant decrease in ability to achieve erection and to ejaculate, and all of the 5 women who were premenopausal at the time of stroke reported major alterations in menses. Only 1 woman reported orgasm following stroke. Nineteen (79%) of the men and eight (73%) of th women reported sexual function to be of importance to themselves while all of the men and eight (73%) of the women believed it to be of importance to others of their age. The findings from this small sample indicate that although the majority of stroke survivors maintain consistent levels of sexual desire and believe that sexual function is important, most will experience sexual dysfunction following stroke. The sexual problems experienced by post-stroke patients appear to be of sufficient magnitude and frequency to warrant further investigation.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A longitudinal investigation of the relationships among alcohol consumption, psychosocial factors, and blood pressure.

Although a number of studies have demonstrated a link between alcohol intake and blood pressure, virtually no research has examined this relationship or the relevance of psychosocial variables in this context over time. This study utilized data from 416 subjects in the Air Traffic Controller Health Change Study to track these associations across five examinations over a 3-year period. Following obesity, alcohol consumption was consistently the second-best predictor of blood pressure. Alcohol intake rose among those subjects who developed sustained elevated blood pressure during the course of the study. Further, obesity became less important in predicting blood pressure at higher levels of alcohol intake. Factors predictive of alcohol use were also studied, and the suggestion is made that psychosocial variables may be linked primarily to alcohol use, which in turn combines with obesity to influence blood pressure levels.

Adult↗