External Chance Research Articles

A Survey of Breastfeeding Attitudes and Health Locus of Control in the Nigerian Population

ObjectivesBreastfeeding is important to infant health and survival in sub-Saharan Africa. To promote breastfeeding effectively, understanding of psychological factors associated with infant feeding choices is required. This study investigated breastfeeding attitudes and health locus of control (HLoC) in a Nigerian community sample.MethodsMen and women (N = 400) (71% female; mean age 34.2 years/ range 18–86 years) were recruited through community groups in Nigeria. Self-report survey by questionnaire measured breastfeeding attitudes using the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) and health locus of control using the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale (MHLoCs).Results MeanIIFAS scores (mean = 57.7; sd = 7.8) became less favourable with increasing age (p = 0.02). Men had higher IIFAS scores (mean = 58.6; sd = 7.6) than women (mean = 56.6; sd = 8.0) indicating more favourable attitudes toward breastfeeding (p = 0.02). Women scored higher than men on external chance HLoC (ECHLoC) (p = 0.003) and external powerful others HLoC (EPHLoC) (p = 0.02). Increasing age was associated with higher scores on ECHLoC (p < 0.01) and EPHLoC (p < 0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis was significant (p < 0.001) and explained 7.8% of variance in breastfeeding attitude. Lower IIFAS scores, reflecting more negative attitudes to breastfeeding, were associated with higher ECHLoC (p < 0.01) and EPOHLoC (p < 0.05). Higher IIFAS scores, reflecting more positive attitudes to breastfeeding, were associated with greater IHLoC (p < 0.01). Neither age nor gender were associated with IIFAS scores in the final model.ConclusionsThis implies a need to explore health locus of control when promoting positive attitudes to breastfeeding and supporting families in breastfeeding advocacy.

Validation of Psychosocial Measures Assessing American Indian Parental Beliefs Related to Control over Their Children's Oral Health.

Objectives: To validate questionnaire items assessing American Indian (AI) parental beliefs regarding control over their children’s oral health within the context of psychosocial measures and children’s oral health status. Methods: Baseline questionnaire data were collected as part of a randomized controlled trial (n = 1016) addressing early childhood caries. Participants were AI parents with preschool-age children in the Navajo Nation Head Start program. Questionnaire items assessed parental oral health locus of control (OHLOC) and agreement with beliefs indicating that they were in control of their children’s oral health (internal), the dentist was in control (external powerful others), or children’s oral health was a matter of chance (external chance). Exploratory factor analysis was conducted, and convergent validity was assessed using linear regression. Results: Parents with more education (p < 0.0001) and income (p = 0.001) had higher scores for internal OHLOC. Higher internal OHLOC scores were associated with higher scores on knowledge (p < 0.0001), perceived seriousness and benefits (p < 0.0001), higher self-efficacy, importance, sense of coherence (p < 0.0001 for all), and lower scores for perceived barriers (p < 0.0001) and distress (p = 0.01). Higher scores for both types of external OHLOC were associated with lower scores on knowledge (p < 0.0001), perceived seriousness (p < 0.0001), and higher scores on perceived susceptibility (p = 0.01 external chance; <0.0001 powerful others) and barriers (<0.0001). Higher scores for external powerful others were associated with lower scores for importance (p = 0.04) and sense of coherence (p = 0.03). Significant associations were not found for OHLOC beliefs and children’s oral health status. Conclusions: Questionnaire items addressing OHLOC functioned in accordance with the theoretical framework in AI participants.

Internal Versus External Frame of Reference in Functional Movement Disorders.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether patients with functional movement disorders (FMDs) differ in their internal versus external locus of control (LOC) and whether LOC in these patients affected disease severity, quality of life, and functional impairment compared with control subjects with degenerative (Parkinson's disease) and nondegenerative (focal dystonia) neurological conditions. A total of 156 patients with FMD (N=45), Parkinson's disease (N=64), and focal dystonia (N=47) were recruited between June 2015 and August 2017. The authors administered the general Levenson Multidimensional LOC (LOC-G) and health-specific Multidimensional Health LOC (LOC-H) scales. An internal LOC was represented similarly in both scales: the external LOC included "chance" and "powerful others" in the LOC-G measure and chance, "other people," and "doctors" in the LOC-H measure. Quality of life, functional impairment, and FMD severity were assessed. One-way analysis of variance and adjusted logistic regressions were used, as well as ordinary least-squares between and within groups, respectively. Patients with FMD had lower external chance LOC-G scores compared with patients in the Parkinson's disease group (odds ratio=0.90, p=0.03) and higher internal (odds ratio=1.22, p=0.01) and lower external (odds ratio=0.77, p=0.02) doctors LOC-H scores compared with patients in the focal dystonia group. External powerful others LOC-G score was associated with functional impairment (regression coefficient=-0.04, p=0.02). There were no effects of LOC on quality of life or disease severity. Patients with FMD exhibited high "within our control" internal general and health-specific frame of reference. LOC had no influence on quality of life or disease severity in this patient population.

The Role Of Locus Of Control Toward Arousal Procrastination Among Students

This study aims to determine the role of locus of control toward arousal procrastination among students. This study involved 400 students from Universitas Brawijaya. The sampling technique used accidental sampling.The measuring instrument used in this study is The Multidimensional Locus of Control IPC Scale (1981) to measure students' locus of control and the measuring instrument for arousal procrastination is adapted from General Procrastination Scale (GPS) Lay (1986). Data analysis using multiple linear regression analysis. Research result shows locus of control simultanneously contribute to arousal procrastination with signinificance of 0,001 (p < 0,05). Where the locus of control takes effect as much as 3,6 % toward arousal procrastination, the other 96,4 % is explained by other factors. According to the partial test, there are not found any role of the internal locus of control and external chance toward the arousal procrastination, however, a significant positive role is found on the external powerfull other toward arousal procrastination among students.

Protective psychosocial factors and dental caries in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Psychosocial protective factors include dispositional and family attributes that may reduce the occurrence of dental caries. This review analysed the evidence on the relationship between protective psychosocial factors and dental caries in children and adolescents. Primary studies involving children and adolescents were searched in the following electronic databases: Medline, SCOPUS, LILACS, SciELO, and Web of Science. The reference lists were also screened. Protective psychosocial factor descriptors were in accordance with the salutogenic theory. The outcome was clinical measure of dental caries. Quality assessments were performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. The final search resulted in 35 studies, including 7 cohort, one case-control, and 27 cross-sectional studies. Most studies were of moderate quality. Meta-analyses revealed that low parental internal locus of control (cohort studies: OR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.20-1.64; cross-sectional studies: OR=1.30, 95% CI: 1.19-1.41), high parental external chance (OR=1.20, 95% CI: 1.10-1.29), and high maternal sense of coherence (OR=0.77, 95% CI: 0.62-0.93) were associated with dental caries in children. High social support (OR=0.81, 95% CI: 0.68-0.93) and greater self-efficacy (OR=1.50, 95% CI: 1.12-1.22) were also associated with dental caries in adolescents. The current evidence suggests that some salutogenic factors are important protective factors of dental caries during childhood and adolescence.

Functional disability in patients with low back pain: the mediator role of suffering and beliefs about pain control in patients receiving physical and chiropractic treatment

BackgroundLow back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. There is evidence that depression, anxiety, and external locus of control are negative predictors of functional disability in low back patients. MethodsThis study focused on the mediator role of suffering and beliefs about pain control in the relationship between psychological morbidity and functional disability in patients receiving physical therapy and chiropractic treatment for chronic low back pain. The sample included 213 patients receiving chiropractic treatment and 125 receiving physical therapy, who answered the following instruments: Beliefs about Pain Control Questionnaire; Inventory of Subjective Experiences of Suffering in Illness; Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire; and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales. ResultsSuffering was a mediator in the relationship between depression and functional disability in both treatment groups. Only beliefs related to external chance events mediated the relationship between depression and functional disability in the physical therapy group, but not in the chiropratic teratment group. ConclusionIntervention should focus on suffering regardless of the type of treatment and target beliefs about pain control, in patients receiving physical therapy treatment since they seem to play a key role in functional disability in patients with low back pain.

Predicting Degradation Half-life of Organophosphorus Pesticides in Soil Using Three-Dimensional Molecular Interaction Fields

A simple and strong model, based on an alignment independent three-dimensional quantitative- structure activity relationships (3D-QSAR), is developed for prediction of degradation half-life (DT50) of 47 organophosphorus pesticides in soil. Molecular descriptors derived from 3D molecular interaction fields (MIF) were calculated using the GRIND methodology. Fractional factorial design (FFD) applied to feature selection and modeling of the relationship between selected descriptors and DT50 data was achieved using partial least squares regression. Validation and reliability of the obtained model were checked by the prediction of external test set cross-validation and chance correlation. The value of the determination coefficient (R2) was 0.817 for leave-one-out cross-validation procedure. The R2 values for the training and test sets were 0.951 and 0.893 respectively. The obtained model confirmed that size and shape of the molecules as well as hydrophobic interactions are the main parameters influencing the degradation half-life of organophosphorus pesticides in soil.

Career and work attitudes of blue-collar workers, and the impact of a natural disaster chance event on the relationships between intention to quit and actual quit behaviour

Despite being part of a highly visible and important occupational group, blue-collar workers have, to date, been under-represented in careers research. We explore the relevance and applicability of new career concepts to blue-collar employees, specifically, bus drivers. Based on a survey of 112 bus drivers, we test a model specifying the relationship between career attitude, perceived organizational support, psychological contract, and job satisfaction, as well as intention to quit. Employing a two-phase data collection process, we also test relationships between intentions and actual quit behaviour. Our results support the validity of career theories for blue-collar workers but with notable exceptions, such as lack of relationships between protean career and intention to quit. Contrary to intention-behaviour theory we find that actual quit behaviour was not related to intention to quit, which we attribute to a significant external chance event, a devastating earthquake, which took place during the study period. In addition, we identify relationships that appear to be unique to blue-collar workers.

Dance Talent Development: Case Studies of Successful Dancers in Finland and Singapore

Though anchored in cross-cultural comparisons, this study aims to identify the key factors that impacted the talent development of successful dancers from childhood through adulthood. Case studies of eight Finnish and Singaporean ballet and contemporary dancers exemplify the qualities of successful dancers in terms of their career achievements and awards. The talent-development mega-model frames the discussion. First, results are presented in thick description of four dancers’ stories: “nonconformist,” “exemplary dancer,” “go-getter,” and “trailblazer.” Next, the analysis reveals that (a) a high level of abilities, (b) developed psychosocial skills, and (c) external factors and chance are integral to all the eight dancers’ success. The findings generally supported the chosen model and offered observations about pedagogy, implicit theories, and academic achievement.

Factors Associated with Oral Health Status in American Indian Children.

The literature reports psychosocial, environmental, and cultural factors related to Early Childhood Caries (ECC), but few studies have included American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations. AI/AN children have the highest prevalence of ECC among any population group in the United States. This study examined socio-demographic characteristics of children and their parents/caregivers and psychosocial characteristics of parents/caregivers as risk factors for baseline oral health status of preschool children in the Navajo Nation, as part of a 3-year cluster randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of trained community workers providing a fluoride varnish and oral health promotion intervention to. The study recruited 1,015 children at 52 Head Start Centers. Baseline ECC data were collected by calibrated dental hygienists for 981 of the children ages of 3-5 years, and a Basic Research Factors Questionnaire (BRFQ) was completed by their parents/caregivers. Bivariable analysis revealed that dmfs was higher in older children; in males; in children with male parents/caregivers; and when the parent/caregiver had less education and income, worse oral health behavior in caring for their children's teeth, and higher scores for external powerful others and external chance locus of control, greater perceived susceptibility and barriers, and lower scores for community risky behavior. In a multiple linear regression model, the variables that remained statistically significant were child's age and gender, and oral health behavior score of the parent/caregiver. Intervening to improve parent/caregiver oral health behavior in caring for the teeth of children potentially could in AI/AN children.

Health-related Quality of Life in Psoriasis: Important Role of Personal Resources

Many patients with psoriasis demonstrate psychological disturbances, including decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of this study was to evaluate selected personal resources and HRQoL in 168 in-patients with psoriasis vulgaris. The following questionnaires were used: Skindex-29, General Health Questionnaire, Coping with Skin Disease Scale, Acceptance of Illness Scale, Life Orientation Test, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale and General Self-Efficacy Scale. It was demonstrated that younger patients experienced fewer problems in psychosocial functioning, and that they showed a correlation between worse HRQoL and both external powerful others and external chance domains in locus of health control. Subjective self-evaluation of health correlated with HRQoL irrespective of patient's age. Coping with stress strategies hopelessness/helplessness and distraction/catastrophization correlated with worse overall HRQoL, whereas fighting spirit strategy correlated with better overall HRQoL. Hopelessness/helplessness coping strategy, somatic symptoms, disease acceptance, psoriasis severity and patient's age explained 61% of overall HRQoL variance. Psychomedical interventions designed for psoriatic patients should take into account the above variables.

Analyzing the role of Bavan Valley in Mamasani as tourists attraction

Article history: Received April 28, 2012 Accepted 22 July 2012 Available online July 26 2012 Tourism industry plays an important role on developing economy especially in regions where there are different historical, landscape and other natural attractions. Bavan Valley located in Nur Abad Mamasani city in Iran is one of the well-known places among tourists. The region has outstanding natural landscapes, moderate weather especially in spring and summer, low distance from the major road locating between different local regions such as Fars, Bushehr, Khuzestan, and Kohkiluye Boyer Ahmad Province. These regions provide appropriate accessibility for the citizens of highly populated cities of this province and it plays essential role of a major attractive pole in southern part of the country. The primary objective of this research is to recognize the present barriers for attracting tourists and to analyze the tourists’ satisfactions associated with the facilities and tourist services. The statistical population of this research includes all the tourists of Bavan Valley in which 381 individuals were chosen as the sample of this research, using Cochran's formula. The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between the absence of advertisement about Bavan Valley and the number of tourists in this zone (P<0.05). The findings also show that there is a significant relationship between lack of infrastructural equipments and un-development in tourism industry (P<0.05). Moreover, the findings of SWOT analysis indicates that 9 internal strength versus 10 internal weaknesses and 7 external chance versus 8 external threat were recognized and analyzed with regard to ecotourism in this zone. Thus, generally 16 strength and chances as the advantages and 18 weaknesses and threats as the obstacles about the Bavan Valley’s tourism were recognized in order to develop tourism. © 2012 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Career Attitudes and Outcomes of Blue-Collar Workers: The Impact of Chance Event

Despite being a highly visible and important occupational group, blue-collar workers have to date been underrepresented in HRM research. We explore the relevance and applicability of traditional and new career concepts to blue-collar employees, namely bus drivers. We also use a longitudinal design to test relationships between intentions and actual behavior. Based on a survey of 112 bus drivers we test a model specifying the relationship between career attitude, perceived organizational support, psychological contract and job satisfaction as well as intention to quit. Two years later we tested actual quit behavior. Our results support the validity of career theories for blue-collar workers with notable exceptions such as lack of relationships between protean career and intention to quit. Yet, actual quit behavior was not related to intention to quit, possibly due to significant external chance event which took place during the study period. In addition we identify relationships that appear to be unique to blue-collar workers.

The Effects of Self-Construal and Perceived Control on Argumentativeness and Communication Apprehension

This study investigates the relationships between self-construal, perceived control in communication interaction, and communication predispositions (e.g., argumentativeness and communication apprehension [CA]). The results indicate that the independent self-construal constitutes a significant predictor of perceived internal control in interaction, whereas the interdependent self-construal constitutes a significant predictor of perceived external (chance and powerful others) control in interaction. Moreover, the findings of this research indicate that perceived internal control constitutes a significant predictor of argumentativeness, whereas perceived external control is a significant predictor of CA. Contrary to expectations, the interdependent self-construal also constitutes a predictor of perceived internal control, which in turn constitutes a significant predictor of CA.

Health locus of control and preventive behaviour among students of music

The present study investigated health locus of control, preventive behaviour and previous playing-related health problems of music students; 326 students of music (58% female, mean age 22 years) filled in the Locus of Control Inventory for Illness and Health (Lohaus and Schmitt, 1989) and the Epidemiological Questionnaire for Musicians (Spahn, 1998). It was shown that previous playing-related problems, being a string instrumentalist or a singer as well as high powerful others locus of control (LOC) and low external chance LOC, were predictive factors for the utilizing of preventive measures. It was not possible to confirm that a high internal LOC, in and of itself, furthers preventive behaviour. For prevention programmes at universities of music, it would seem important that previous health problems are actively ascertained at the commencement of the course of study, as they are an important point of departure for further, differentiated preventive counselling measures.

Chance: A Major Factor in the Causation of Mental Illness

This paper questions the adequacy of traditional models of human behaviour, including models of functional mental illness. It is proposed that random (chance) variation is an invariable rule of nature which must apply to neurophysiological processes. Because of this, internal chance (random variation in neurophysiological processes) must be an important factor in determining the course and onset of mental illness. It is proposed that external chance - fortuitous changes in the complex pattern of interaction between physical and functional factors influencing behaviour - is also an important determinant of mental illness. It is proposed that many of the key characteristics of mental illness are explicable in terms of the properties of complex interactional systems.

Chance: A Major Factor in the Causation of Mental Illness

This paper questions the adequacy of traditional models of human behaviour, including models of functional mental illness. It is proposed that random (chance) variation is an invariable rule of nature which must apply to neurophysiological processes. Because of this, internal chance (random variation in neurophysiological processes) must be an important factor in determining the course and onset of mental illness. It is proposed that external chance--fortuitous changes in the complex pattern of interaction between physical and functional factors influencing behaviour--is also an important determinant of mental illness. It is proposed that many of the key characteristics of mental illness are explicable in terms of the properties of complex interactional systems.