Attitude Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Despite suggestive early findings on the therapeutic use of hallucinogens in the treatment of substance use disorders, rigorous follow-up has not been conducted. To determine the safety and feasibility of psilocybin as an adjunct to... more

Despite suggestive early findings on the therapeutic use of hallucinogens in the treatment of substance use disorders, rigorous follow-up has not been conducted. To determine the safety and feasibility of psilocybin as an adjunct to tobacco smoking cessation treatment we conducted an open-label pilot study administering moderate (20 mg/70 kg) and high (30 mg/70 kg) doses of psilocybin within a structured 15-week smoking cessation treatment protocol. Participants were 15 psychiatrically healthy nicotine-dependent smokers (10 males; mean age of 51 years), with a mean of six previous lifetime quit attempts, and smoking a mean of 19 cigarettes per day for a mean of 31 years at intake. Biomarkers assessing smoking status, and self-report measures of smoking behavior demonstrated that 12 of 15 participants (80%) showed seven-day point prevalence abstinence at 6-month follow-up. The observed smoking cessation rate substantially exceeds rates commonly reported for other behavioral and/or ph...

Children with disabilities are facing many challenges in inclusive settings. Many barriers like attitudinal and infrastructural barriers are creating hindrances in avail quality inclusive education by children with disabilities. This... more

Children with disabilities are facing many challenges in inclusive settings. Many barriers like attitudinal and infrastructural barriers are creating hindrances in avail quality inclusive education by children with disabilities. This study primarily focuses (i) to compare general and special teachers on their attitudes towards inclusive education with reference to its barriers and facilitators according to their-(a) Gender (b) Locality and (ii) to compare general and special teachers on their attitudes towards inclusive education with reference to its barriers and facilitators according to their-(a) Teachers' category (b) School category (c) Teaching experience (d) Age (e) Academic qualifications (f) Professional qualifications. A total sample of 238 (145 general teachers) was chosen using a simple random sampling technique and (93 special teachers) were selected using the purposive sampling technique. A tool "Teacher Attitude Scale towards Inclusive Education" developed and standardised by Dr. Vishal Sood and Dr. Arti Anand (2011) was used to collect the data. Results of the study indicate that (i) Teachers were found significantly different on their attitudes towards inclusive education according to their gender (male and female), their category (general and special teachers), teaching experience, age, academic qualifications, and professional qualifications. (ii) Teachers were not found significantly different on their attitudes towards inclusive education according to their locality and school category (class I-V and Class VI-VIII) (iii) Male teachers expressed positive attitudes than that of their female counterparts; urban teachers also showed slightly positive attitudes as compared to their rural counterparts and similarly, primary school teachers showed a little higher level of attitudes towards inclusive education to their upper primary counterparts. Regular inclusive pedagogical training for general teachers and provision of adequate support services, infrastructural facilities, recruitment of required rehabilitation professionals, and availability of equipments in schools are recommended by the teachers.

US Latino adults are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic and experience disparities in access to HIV care. However, relatively little is known about how acculturation affects perceived barriers to engagement in care among... more

US Latino adults are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic and experience disparities in access to HIV care. However, relatively little is known about how acculturation affects perceived barriers to engagement in care among Latinos. This article examines factors that may be associated with engaging HIV-infected persons in primary care by using interview data from 651 Latino and non-Latino adults presenting for services at five agencies that participated in a multisite demonstration project Latinos (n=219) were more likely than non-Latino Whites (n=117) to be male, recently diagnosed with HIV, less educated, without health insurance, not on Medicaid, taking HIV medications, and in better physical health. In addition, Latinos were more likely to report facing numerous structural barriers, stigma-related worries/concerns, and belief barriers than were non-Latino Whites. Upon closer examination of the Latino subsample, acculturation (based on language) was associated with repo...

Using a sample of dental students (N=373) from four Canadian dental schools, this longitudinal study determined whether the new Canadian Dental Association (CDA) structured interview was a predictor of clinical and academic performance.... more

Using a sample of dental students (N=373) from four Canadian dental schools, this longitudinal study determined whether the new Canadian Dental Association (CDA) structured interview was a predictor of clinical and academic performance. The new interview predicted clinical performance in the third and fourth years of dental school, but not academic performance. The Canadian Dental Aptitude Test (DAT) continued to predict first- and second-year academic performance, but not clinical performance in the senior years. A personality factor, "Conscientiousness," predicted clinical and academic performance to various degrees across the four years of dental school. A second personality factor, "Openness to Experience," predicted third-year academic performance. The results suggest that a combination of scores from the DAT, a valid measure of personality, and a well-designed structured interview will provide the best prediction of those applicants who will do well in both...

The paper examined the effect of educational technology (computer-aided instruction CAI) in teaching on the attitude and performance of primary six pupils in mathematics in Jos metropolis. The aim was to examine how the use of... more

The paper examined the effect of educational technology (computer-aided instruction
CAI) in teaching on the attitude and performance of primary six pupils in mathematics in Jos metropolis.
The aim was to examine how the use of computer-aided instruction in the teaching of mathematics will
cause an improvement in the attitude and performance of pupils in mathematics. Four research questions
were raised and two hypotheses was formulated to guide the study. The sample consisted of 151 pupils
drawn from two public primary schools in Jos metropolis. The sample was divided into two groups called
control and experimental groups. Pupils in the experimental group were taught mathematics using CAI
while the central group was taught conventionally. Data for the study were elicited using a mathematics
attitude scale (MAS) and a mathematics achievement test (MAT) designed by the researchers. The means
score was used to answer all the research questions and t-test was used to test hypotheses. Results
obtained showed that the attitude of pupils towards mathematics was negative before the treatment; also
the pupils were below average in their performance in mathematics. After the treatment, pupils in the
experimental group were found to have a more positive attitude and better performance than those in
control group. It was recommended among other things that teachers of mathematics should endeavour to
use CAI in their teaching of mathematics. The study concluded therefore that the use of educational
technology (CAI) is effective in improving the attitude and performance of primary six pupils in
mathematics.

This longitudinal research aimed to determine the utility of psychosocial and eating characteristics in early teenage years in predicting eating attitudes and behaviors in early adulthood. Self-esteem, perfectionism, family function, and... more

This longitudinal research aimed to determine the utility of psychosocial and eating characteristics in early teenage years in predicting eating attitudes and behaviors in early adulthood. Self-esteem, perfectionism, family function, and eating attitudes were measured at 12 years and eating attitudes and behavior were assessed at 19 years. Sixty-three women (71.6%) remained in the study over the 7 years. Bulimic attitudes in early teenage years were related to subsequent bulimic features, while restrictive attitudes were more closely related to later purging behaviors. Self-esteem and perfectionism were only weakly linked with subsequent eating. However, different perceived family characteristics at the first stage were associated with specific aspects of eating in early adulthood. There is consistency of eating characteristics across time, but psychosocial characteristics have a more limited predictive power. Future longitudinal studies should begin earlier in childhood if psychoso...

As teacher quality becomes a central issue in discussions of children's literacy, both researchers and policy makers alike express increasing concern with how teachers structure and allocate their lesson time for literacy-related... more

As teacher quality becomes a central issue in discussions of children's literacy, both researchers and policy makers alike express increasing concern with how teachers structure and allocate their lesson time for literacy-related activities as well as with what they know about reading development, processes, and pedagogy. The authors examined the beliefs, literacy knowledge, and proposed instructional practices of 121 first-grade teachers. Through teacher self-reports concerning the amount of instructional time they would prefer ...

Introduction: Although recent advances in psychiatry have increased our understanding of psychiatric disorders, many people may be unaware about mental illness and its treatment. The negative attitude is known hindrance to providing... more

Introduction: Although recent advances in psychiatry have increased our understanding of psychiatric disorders, many people may be unaware about mental illness and its treatment. The negative attitude is known hindrance to providing quality service to mental ill people. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge and attitude about mental illness among nursing students. Method: The study was carried out in mental hospital, Lagankhel, Nepal. All one hundred eight nursing students posted for psychiatric posting for two weeks formed the study population. A structured standard questionnaire was supplied to the students at the first day of posting for their responses. Results: It was a purposive, descriptive study with 108 respondents of age group 15-20 (85.1%). The study revealed that 97.2% of the respondents thought that all mentally ill patients are not mad. The majority had showed their knowledge about cause of mental illness as genetic (78.6%) and biochemical disturbances (97.2...

Background: Attitude about mental illness determines health seeking of the people. Success of National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) is dependent on attitude about mental illness of various stakeholders in the programme. Material &... more

Background: Attitude about mental illness determines health seeking of the people. Success of National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) is dependent on attitude about mental illness of various stakeholders in the programme. Material & Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was carried out in Ballabgarh block of Faridabad district in Haryana. We aimed to study attitude about mental illness of various stakeholders of health care providers (HCP), community leaders in rural area of Haryana, north India. Study area consisting of five Primary Health Centers (PHCs) serving 2,12,000 rural population. All HCP working at PHCs, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) and community leaders in study area were approached for participation. Hindi version of Opinion about Mental illness Scale for Chinese Community (OMICC) was used to study attitude. Results: In total, 467 participants were participated in the study. Of which, HCP, ASHAs and community leaders were 81 (17.4%), 145 (31.0%) an...

Children's pro-ecological behaviors are usually registered using scales based on the idea of a simple connection between attitudes and behaviors. However, this relationship seems to be more complicated. The Children's Ecological... more

Children's pro-ecological behaviors are usually registered using scales based on the idea of a simple connection between attitudes and behaviors. However, this relationship seems to be more complicated. The Children's Ecological Behavior (CEB) Scale has been proposed as an alternative. Based on the Rasch model, it considers the different efforts needed to conduct a series of behaviors. This paper presents an improved adaptation of the CEB to Spanish population. We back-translated the CEB into Spanish, increased the number of behaviors and collected data from 6- to 12-year-olds, using a game format procedure. The scale can detect differences in the effort needed to perform various behaviors. Children's pro-ecological attitudes and behaviors are positively related. No relationship was found between parents' and children's pro-ecological attitudes and behaviors. The Spanish version of the CEB scale emerges as a reliable tool to measure children's pro-ecological ...

We investigated in the female inmate population whether they had and which were the foundations of hope for a better future after liberation. We created and applied a questionnaire structured on four general information chapters regarding... more

We investigated in the female inmate population whether they had and which were the foundations of hope for a better future after liberation. We created and applied a questionnaire structured on four general information chapters regarding health, attitude and spiritual life. In total, 67 questions with 293 items. For this study, we selected 62 items. Hope for better reintegration was layed on family support and (re)imployment. The majority considered that the length of the detention influences the chances for social reintegration. The family perception was clarified and the relationship with the parents and spouse was tightened. The spiritual questions reflected a moderate return to religion. The study proved that the female detainees have a positive perception on the role of education and that the efforts of different educational factors during detention was strongly positive. The development of moral, family, social and spiritual values was beneficial and raised the hopes of socia...

Dose-finding trials are essential to drug development as they establish recommended doses for later-phase testing. We aim to motivate wider use of model-based designs for dose finding, such as the continual reassessment method (CRM). We... more

Dose-finding trials are essential to drug development as they establish recommended doses for later-phase testing. We aim to motivate wider use of model-based designs for dose finding, such as the continual reassessment method (CRM). We carried out a literature review of dose-finding designs and conducted a survey to identify perceived barriers to their implementation. We describe the benefits of model-based designs (flexibility, superior operating characteristics, extended scope), their current uptake, and existing resources. The most prominent barriers to implementation of a model-based design were lack of suitable training, chief investigators' preference for algorithm-based designs (e.g., 3+3), and limited resources for study design before funding. We use a real-world example to illustrate how these barriers can be overcome. There is overwhelming evidence for the benefits of CRM. Many leading pharmaceutical companies routinely implement model-based designs. Our analysis iden...

The present study examined the role of attributions to discrimination and competence in predicting depression among a sample of 93 Latino/a adults. The major findings showed that attributions to discrimination were related to decreases in... more

The present study examined the role of attributions to discrimination and competence in predicting depression among a sample of 93 Latino/a adults. The major findings showed that attributions to discrimination were related to decreases in both general competence and intercultural competence, which were in turn associated with increases in depressive symptoms. This pattern of results suggests that general and intercultural competence partially mediated the relationship between attributions to discrimination and depression. The findings are discussed within the context of the cultural adaptation process and factors that ameliorate Latino/a mental health. In addition, theoretical and practical implications are outlined along with areas of future research.

The aim of this study was to assess Australian girls' beliefs and feelings about menarche and menstruation using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Eighty-seven Grade 6 girls were interviewed and completed questionnaires,... more

The aim of this study was to assess Australian girls' beliefs and feelings about menarche and menstruation using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Eighty-seven Grade 6 girls were interviewed and completed questionnaires, including both self-report and projective measures, relating to pubertal status, attitudes to and knowledge about menstruation. Results showed knowledge to be limited, with evidence of incorrect and negative myths about menstruation. Attitudes to menstruation were characterized by embarrassment, discomfort, and ambivalence about growing up. Themes in story completion tasks further reflected these attitudes, along with shame and anxiety, linked periods with incapacity or illness, and expressed the norm of periods as events which require the use of deception and denial as coping strategies. Mature problem-solving approaches to the hypothetical situations in the stories were rare. Factor analysis of the attitudinal and knowledge data revealed four factors — Comfort through Knowledge; Negative Feelings: Discomfort through Knowledge; and Independence — which were discussed in terms of the ambivalent social construction placed on menstruation.

Purpose . To estimate workforce participation characteristics and employees' attitudes regarding participation in workplace wellness programs. Design . Data from a statewide stratified random sample were used to compare small (<50... more

Purpose . To estimate workforce participation characteristics and employees' attitudes regarding participation in workplace wellness programs. Design . Data from a statewide stratified random sample were used to compare small (<50 employees) and larger (50+ employees) workplaces to estimate participation in screening programs and likelihood of participation in workplace wellness programs. Setting . A telephone survey of employed Iowans registered to vote. Subjects . Surveyed were 1171 employed Iowans registered to vote, ages 18 to 65. Measure . Among questionnaire survey modules were items from the Wellness Council of America Employee Needs and Interest Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau for employment documentation, and the World Health Organization Health and Work Performance Questionnaire for assessment of sickness absenteeism and presenteeism. Analysis . Prevalence of participation in screening and wellness programs was analyzed by employment size and levels of likeliness to ...

In this era of globalization, the world at large are looking towards integrating information and communication technologies into the education sector to promote economic and technological advancements and make education available to all.... more

In this era of globalization, the world at large are looking towards integrating information and communication technologies into the education sector to promote economic and technological advancements and make education available to all. It is against this backdrop this study examines Basic Technology Teachers ’ awareness and attitude towards ICT. The data for the study were collected through questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings showed that Basic Technology Teachers ’ have the right attitude towards ICT but lack adequate information integration methodologies.

Modern-day zoos and aquariums market themselves as places of education and conservation. A recent study conducted by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) (Falk et al., 2007) is being widely heralded as the first direct evidence... more

Modern-day zoos and aquariums market themselves as places of education and conservation. A recent study conducted by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) (Falk et al., 2007) is being widely heralded as the first direct evidence that visits to zoos and aquariums produce long-term positive effects on people’s attitudes toward other animals. In this paper, we address whether this conclusion is warranted by analyzing the study’s methodological soundness. We conclude that Falk et al. (2007) contains at least six major threats to methodological validity that undermine the authors’ conclusions. There remains no compelling evidence for the claim that zoos and aquariums promote attitude change, education, or interest in conservation in visitors, although further investigation of this possibility using methodologically sophisticated designs is warranted.

In this study, I consider variables associated with an individual’s most recent move into his or her current residence as predictors of neighborhood attachment. Using the 1978–1979 Seattle Community Attachment Survey, I find that elements... more

In this study, I consider variables associated with an individual’s most recent move into his or her current residence as predictors of neighborhood attachment. Using the 1978–1979 Seattle Community Attachment Survey, I find that elements of the mobility experience such as an individual’s past history of migration, the motivations for moving, the amount of time involved in the move, and the distance traveled during the move have an effect on shortand long-term neighborhood attachment patterns independent of residential stability and investment predictors. The findings imply that psychosocial factors such as familiarity with the environment, increased premove exposure to the new environment, and perceived control during instances of transition have some impact on individuals’ postmove attitudes and behaviors, and suggest that researchers should look beyond traditional “types of people” explanations of urban neighborhood attachment.