Frequency Of Specific Behaviors Research Articles

Validation of a Questionnaire for Equine Personality Assessement

ABSTRACT We propose a practical method of assessing the personality of horsesusing five personality axes. Four evaluators empirically judged 19 horseindividuals on specific adjectives for each axis. To validate thequestionnaire, four behavioral tests were conducted with these same animals(social interactions, novel object test, bridge test,and arena test). In this tests, the frequencyof specific behaviors were evaluated to create a scale related to the samepersonality adjectives and judge the animals based on their reactions.The questionnaire was reliable in determiningthe personality of horses, since the results were consistent with thoseobtained through behavioral tests. Additionally, in this group of horsesattention reactions were more frequent than fear reactions, but significantdifferences occurred among tests. This study proposes a practical questionnairefor owners and trainers to assess the personality of their horses. Theapplication of this tool can improve the relationship between humans andhorses, directing a more empathic approach in the everyday routine with theseanimals

The Social Distance Scale (v1): A Screening Instrument to Assess Patient Adherence to Prevention Strategies during Pandemics.

Background: This paper describes the development of a brief self-report screening measure of adherence to social distancing and self-protective behaviors in pandemic situations. Items measured behaviors currently established as primary strategies to prevent and reduce the spread of the COVID-19 infection. Methods: An item pool of 29 questions was generated with the aim of estimating the frequency of specific behaviors and were written to avoid confounding the description of behavioral actions with evaluative judgements. Responses were collected from 401 young adults using an anonymous online survey. Results: An Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted with the purpose of item reduction and subscale development. A 14-item Social Distance Scale emerged, consisting of four subscales: Isolation from Community (IC), Work from Home (WH), Family Contact (FC), and Protective Behaviors (PB). The initial psychometric evaluation of the scales indicated adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. (4) Conclusions: The Social Distance Scale (v1) is a promising new instrument which may be applied at the population or individual level. It may be used in conjunction with COVID-19 testing to measure interactions between social distancing factors and transmission. In addition, a reliable screening measure has utility for health service providers to assess patient risk and to provide educational/counseling.

Childhood Experiences and Intimate Partner Violence Among Kenyan Males: Mediation by Self-Esteem and Impulsivity.

This study evaluates associations between childhood social environments and current intimate partner conflict tactics in early adulthood. The subsample for this study (n = 251 men) were participants in a larger community-based study of men's mental and behavioral health in semirural Kenya. A survey questionnaire was administered by trained interviewers, including validated recall measures from childhood, collective self-esteem and impulsivity, and the conflict tactics scale short form. Analyses utilized regression and mediation methods. The recall measures evaluated the degree of relational warmth and safety recalled from early childhood and forms of abuse, neglect and dysfunction present in the childhood home. Collective self-esteem assessed the perceived value of one's social groups and one's value as a member of these groups. Impulsivity measured the propensity to act without thinking. The conflict tactics scale evaluates the presence and frequency of specific behaviors following intimate partner conflict, which lead to two factors-negotiation-based tactics and violence tactics. More early memories of relational warmth, responsiveness, and safety during childhood predict fewer violent intimate conflict tactics. More adverse childhood experiences predict more violent conflict tactics and fewer negotiation-based conflict tactics. Self-esteem and impulsivity mediated associations between recalled childhood experiences and conflict tactics. Further research is required to explore other predisposing factors, psychological processes, and cultural and social norms surrounding the use of violent and nonviolent intimate partner conflict resolution by young men in Sub-Saharan Africa. Violence prevention strategies and policies should explicitly link intimate partner violence prevention with prevention of violence against boys. Interventions should recognize men who perpetrate intimate partner violence are more likely victims of violent childhoods than men who do not perpetrate intimate partner violence. Promoting collective self-esteem and reducing impulsivity among young men may reduce violence against women.

The Selfie Generation: Examining the Relationship Between Social Media Use and Early Adolescent Body Image

Social media use among adolescents continues to increase each year. This cross-sectional study explored how the amount of time spent using social media and the frequency of specific behaviors on social media, namely, behaviors that involve self-objectification, were related to body surveillance and body shame among a sample of early adolescents ( N = 142; 43 boys and 99 girls, [Formula: see text] = 12.44 years, SDage = 0.61). Utilizing self-report measures, three types of social media were examined: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Analyses indicated that greater levels of self-objectifying social media use predicted greater body shame among youth, and this was mediated by an associated increase in body surveillance. This mediation was moderated by self-monitoring and gender, such that the mediating role of body surveillance was stronger among girls and adolescents who are particularly focused on others for approval (i.e., high in self-monitoring). Implications of these findings are discussed.

A novel set of behavioural indicators for measuring perception of food by cats

Behavioural indicators provide a promising approach for objective assessment of the perceptions of animals. In cats, the frequency of specific behaviours as indicators of perception has been studied in connection with food palatability. The aim of this study was to expand that knowledge by identifying behavioural indicators correlating with three degrees of palatability. Thirty-four pet cats were presented with three types of items: favoured food (FF), favoured food with a placebo mini-tablet hidden inside (TFF) and non-favoured food (NFF). The items were presented in a pseudo-randomised sequence, with six trials per item and 18 trials per cat. The behaviour of cats before, during and after eating, or refusing to eat, was video-recorded. Two trained observers, blinded to the types of food items, independently determined the frequency of 16 behavioural patterns on the video recordings. The data were analysed using a mixed logistic regression model. Five behavioural patterns differentiated FF from NFF; ‘flick ears backwards’, ‘lick nose, not eaten’, ‘flick tail’ and ‘groom body’ were more frequent with NFF, whereas ‘lick lips’ was more frequent with FF. One indicator, ‘drop item’, was more frequent with TFF than FF. These findings provide evidence of new behavioural indicators for objective assessment of food perception in cats. The findings also have practical applicability in designing a novel palatability test to be utilised in developing veterinary pharmaceuticals with improved palatability for cats.

Family Meal- and Related-Practices in Families of Preschoolers: Differences by Family Income

The present study asked parents of preschool-aged children from differing socioeconomic groups to complete a questionnaire regarding the frequency of specific behaviors that comprise the food environment. Participants were 94 mothers of preschool-age children who attended either Day Care (middle-income) or Head Start (low-income) programs. Many of the items tested showed similar characteristics for the food environment between the Head Start and Day Care centers, including the frequency that children were involved in meal preparation, the frequency that children were encouraged to finish the food on their plate, the frequency that a parent ate a meal at the table with the child, and the frequency of opportunities to try foods that the parents disliked themselves. Relative to the Head Start children, however, children attending Day Care were more restricted from eating desserts and salty snacks, more encouraged to try new foods, and more often consumed breakfast. Aside from characteristics of the food environment, children in Day Care spent more minutes in outdoor play and slept nearly an hour more each night, while those who attended Head Start spent more time watching television and playing video games. It is recommended that families make a better effort to create an optimal food environment for their children.

Assessment of upper‐limb capacity, performance, and developmental disregard in children with cerebral palsy: validity and reliability of the revised Video‐Observation Aarts and Aarts module: Determine Developmental Disregard (VOAA‐DDD‐R)

To investigate the validity and reliability of the revised Video-Observation Aarts and Aarts module: Determine Developmental Disregard (VOAA-DDD-R). Upper-limb capacity and performance were assessed in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (CP) by measuring overall duration of affected upper-limb use and the frequency of specific behaviours during a task in which bimanual activity was demanded ('stringing beads') and stimulated ('decorating a muffin'). Developmental disregard was defined as the difference in duration of affected upper-limb use between both tasks. Raters were two occupational and one physical therapist who received 3 hours of training. Construct validity was determined by comparing children with CP with typically developing children. Intrarater, interrater, and test-retest reliability were determined using the intraclass correlation coefficient. Standard errors of measurement and smallest detectable differences were also calculated. Twenty-five children with CP (15 females, 10 males; mean age 4 y 9 mo [SD 1 y 7 mo], range 2 y 9 mo-8 y; Manual Ability Classification System levels I-III) scored lower on capacity (p=0.052) and performance (p<0.001), and higher on developmental disregard (p<0.001) than 46 age- and sex-matched typically developing children (23 males; mean age 5 y 3 mo [SD 1 y 5 mo], range 2 y 6 mo-8 y). The intraclass correlation coefficients (0.79-1.00) indicated good reliability. Absolute agreement was high, standard errors of measurement ranged from 4.5 to 6.8%, and smallest detectable differences ranged from 12.5 to 19.0%. The VOAA-DDD-R can be reliably and validly used by occupational and physical therapists to assess upper-limb capacity, performance, and developmental disregard in children (2 y 6 mo-8 y) with CP.

Oviposition Behavior of the Wheat Stem Sawfly When Encountering Plants Infested With Cryptic Conspecifics

Insect herbivores typically oviposit on the most suitable hosts, but choices can be modulated by detection of potential competition among conspecifics, especially when eggs are deposited cryptically. Larvae of the wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton, developing within an already infested stem, experience elevated risk when only one will survive because of cannibalism. To increase our understanding of host selection when the choices made by females can lead to severe intraspecific competition, females were presented with either uninfested wheat plants or with plants previously exposed to other females in laboratory choice tests. The oviposition behavior of this insect was described by recording the behavioral sequences that lead to and follow the insertion of the ovipositor in both previously infested and uninfested stems. No significant differences were found in frequencies of specific behaviors or behavioral transitions associated with oviposition. In choice tests, there was no difference in the numbers of eggs laid in infested and uninfested plants. Taller plants received more eggs, irrespective of infestation. Females neither preferred nor avoided previously infested hosts. Other characteristics of the host, such as stem height, may be more important in determining suitability for oviposition. These findings support the use of management tactics relying on the manipulation of oviposition behavior, such as trap cropping. Given that there is no evidence for response to previously infested hosts, the infested plants in a trap crop would remain as suitable as they were when uninfested, which could also lead to an increase in mortality caused by intraspecific competition.

Effects of prey type on suspension-feeding behavior in Nile tilapia

Quantitative analysis of feeding behavior in the Nile tilapia,Oreochromis niloticus(Linn.), assessed the frequencies and functions of five behaviors (long pumps, short pumps, benthic pumps, reversals, spits) during suspension feeding on four prey types (whole TetraMin flakes, crushed TetraMin flakes, brine shrimp, bacteria). We tested the hypothesis that suspension-feeding behavior is affected by prey type. Long pumps occurred significantly more frequently (p= 0.01) during feeding on bacteria (2–8 ×105 cells ml−1) than on other prey. Short pumps, with a substantially reduced gape and significantly shorter duration (p < 0.0001) relative to long pumps, appeared to separate organic particles from inorganic material such as gravel. Benthic pumps were directed at food that had settled on the substrate, which also resuspended organic particles into the aquarium water due to substrate disturbance. Reversals, shown previously to generate a posterior to anterior water flow within the oral cavity, function both to separate organic from inorganic particles by resuspension within the oral cavity and to transport prey retained in mucus. Spits expelled inorganic material through the mouth, and occurred significantly less frequently (p = 0.04) during feeding on brine shrimp versus whole or crushed flakes. Prey type affects the frequency of specific behaviors for prey collection and processing during suspension feeding, providing insight into the functions of these behaviors.

Reactions of nuclear-family-reared rhesus macaques to the births of younger siblings.

A group of juvenile rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) living in a nuclear-family laboratory environment was studied to determine their responses to the births of siblings. The frequencies of interactions with family members (mothers, fathers, and new siblings) and nonfamily (peers, unrelated infants, and unrelated adults) were studied over both the year preceding and the year following sibling birth. The frequencies of specific behaviors in each of those interactions and the frequencies of interactions in each area of the nuclear-family unit (home cage, play area, or other families' cage) were also examined. After new siblings arrived, several measures of interactions with mothers, fathers, and new siblings increased significantly; by contrast interactions with peers decreased substantially over the post-birth year. Although the frequency of interactions in home cages remained stable over the 2-year period, interactions outside of the subjects' home cages decreased significantly after siblings were born. An additional subject group whose mothers became pregnant but failed to deliver viable offspring showed no significant changes in total levels of interactions with peers; they did, however, exhibit increases in some interactions with unrelated infants and adults. Female juveniles interacted with new siblings significantly more often than did males when siblings were less than 6 months old, but as siblings grew older (6-12 months), females' levels of interaction with them fell to a level equal to that of males. In the nuclear-family social structure, the birth of a sibling resulted in an increased emphasis on family interactions at the expense of peer interactions.

Interactions between oncologists and patients during rounds.

Physician behavior during inpatient rounds was observed and quantified for 394 interactions between patients with cancer and physicians. Most patients had solid tumors (90%) and a limited prognosis despite treatment (61%). The physicians spent 1.45 +/- 0.58 h on morning rounds seeing an average of 9.3 +/- 3.39 patients. For each patient an average of 3.61 +/- 2.83 min was spent in the room. The rest of the time was involved in reviewing the results of diagnostic tests, discussing treatment plans, and updating patient's charts. Time spent in the room was significantly related to the patient's sex and diagnosis. Physicians spent more time with patients having the poorest prognosis (p = 0.009). Specific behaviors were analyzed using a Physician Behavior Check List that allows accurate recording of behavior during a brief patients-physician encounter. Factor analysis of responses to the check list resulted in four factors that explained 58.7% of the variance. The physician behavior factor scores failed to correlate with factor scores from the responses of the same physicians to the Cancer Attitude Survey. In addition, the physicians were unable to accurately estimate the time they actually spent with patients or the frequency of specific behaviors that occurred during these interactions.

Mastectomy and sexual behavior: A pilot study

A retrospective pilot study was undertaken to examine the relationship between mastectomy and changes in sexual behavior. Sixty women who had had mastectomies an average of eight years prior to testing responded anonymously to a written questionnaire which elicited specific information about sexual behavior, attitudes about self, and the respondent's perceptions about attitudes others have toward her. The data, although preliminary, suggest that mastectomy interfered with sexual activity, resulting in qualitative and quantitative changes (decreases) in the types and frequencies of specific behaviors, such as intercourse position, breast stimulation, and achieving orgasm. The data further suggest that sexual counseling should be routinely presented to the mastectomy patient and her partner.