Practice Abstract Questions

(Answers listed at the bottom.)

Abstract #1

Steptoe, Andrew; Wardle, Jane; Pollard Tessa M,; Canaan, Lynn.

U London, St George's Hosp Medical School, Dept of Psychology, England.

Stress, social support and health-related behavior: A study of smoking, alcohol consumption and physical exercise.  Journal of Psychosomatic Research. Vol 41(2) 171-180, Aug 1996.

Assessed the effects of academic examination stress on health behavior in university students. It was hypothesized that the anticipation of examinations would lead to increases in cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption, and to decreases in physical activity, and that effects would be particularly salient in students with low social supports. 180 Ss were divided into exam-stress and control groups, and were assessed at baseline and then within 2 wks of exams, or an equivalent point for the control group. Perceived stress, emotional well-being and health behaviors were assessed by questionnaire and interview. The exam-stress group reported significant increases in perceived stress and emotional distress between baseline and exam sessions, but responses were not affected by social support availability. Controls showed no systematic changes in health behaviors. In the exam-stress group, smoking increased by an average of 54.7% between sessions in women with few social supports, but remained stable in men. There was a decrease in alcohol consumption of 17.5% in Ss with high social support between sessions, while those with low social supports showed an average increase of 18.5%. Physical activity decreased between baseline and exam sessions in the exam-stress group. (PsycINFO Database Copyright 1997 American Psychological Assn, all rights reserved).

Q1. Which of the following can we conclude from the abstract?

• I. the level of physical activity decreased in the exam-stress group between the two assessments
• II. the level of physical activity did not change in the control group between the two assessments
• III. we are not given any information concerning the levels of physical activity in the control group

• a. I only
• b. I and II
• c. I and III
• d. II only

Q2. What can we conclude about alcohol consumption and social support?

• a. People with low social support reported consuming more alcohol at the time of the second assessment than at the time of the first
• b. People with low social support consumed 18.5% more alcohol than those with high social support
• c. People with high social support reported consuming the same amount of alcohol at both times of assessment
• d. none of the above

Q3. If the average number of cigarettes smoked per person per day in women with low social support in the exam-stress group at the first assessment was 10, what was the average number (to the nearest cigarette) smoked per person per day at the time of the second assessment?

• a. 10
• b. 15
• c. 8
• d. the information needed to calculate this is not given

Abstract #2

Anshel, Mark H. U Wollongong, Dept of Psychology, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.

Effect of chronic aerobic exercise and progressive relaxation on motor performance and affect following acute stress.  Behavioral Medicine. Vol 21(4) 186-196, Win 1995.

Examined the effect of a 10-wk aerobic exercise and progressive relaxation training program on somatic, emotional, and behavioral responses to acute stress. 60 unfit male undergraduate students with no previous training in stress management were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment conditions: moderate aerobic exercise, progressive relaxation, group discussion, or experimental control. Acute stress consisted of "losing" against a competitor of the opposite sex on a motor task while receiving unpleasant information about their performance over 30 preintervention and 30 postintervention trials. Analyses indicate that aerobic exercisers, in comparison with the other groups, responded to acute stress with more positive affect, lower stressor task heart rate, reduced systolic blood pressure (BP), and superior motor performance. Progressive relaxation reduced systolic BP but did not influence performance or affect in response to acute stress. (PsycINFO Database Copyright 1996 American Psychological Assn, all rights reserved)

Q4. Which of the following can be concluded from the above abstract?

• a. Systolic blood pressure levels after acute stress did not vary between the different groups
• b. People in the group discussion group had superior motor perfomance compared to people in the progressive relaxation group
• c. The unfit male undergraduates were no longer unfit after the study
• d. People in the aerobic exercise group had lower heart rates during the stressor task than people in the progressive relaxation group

Q5. In the above abstract, the stressor was _______ and the strain was ________.

Abstract #3

Bell, Rick; Wechsler, Henry; Johnston, Lloyd D.

Harvard School of Public Health, Dept of Health & Social Behavior,Boston, MA, US.

Correlates of college student marijuana use: Results of a US national survey. Addiction. Vol 92(5) 571-581, May 1997.

Examined which personal student background and college characteristics are associated with marijuana use. A self-administered survey was mailed to a national representative sample of 17,592 students at 140 American colleges. One of four (24.8%) students reported using marijuana within the past year. Rates of use among the colleges ranged from 0% at the lowest use schools to 54% at the highest use schools. Multiple regression models constructed to determine the college and student characteristics predicting marijuana use suggest that use was higher among students at non-commuter colleges and at colleges with pubs on campus. Student characteristics associated with marijuana use included being single, white, spending more time at parties and socializing with friends, and less time studying. Marijuana use was higher among students who participate in other high risk behaviors such as binge drinking, cigarette smoking and having multiple sexual partners, and among students who perceived parties as important, and religion and community service as not important. The study points to the social nature of drug use in college, and demonstrates that this behavior is of continuing concern for public health. (PsycINFO Database Copyright 1998 American Psychological Assn, all rights reserved).

Q6. Which of the following can be concluded from the above abstract?

• a. Smoking marijuana causes you to want to have multiple sexual partners
• b. Students who smoke and binge drink are more likely to smoke marijuana than students who do not smoke and binge drink
• c. Smoking marijuana makes you believe that community service is not important
• d. The most common place to smoke marijuana is at parties

Q7. According to the above abstract, ______ is an example of a college characteristic while ______ is a student characteristic.

• a. having a pub near campus; cigarette smoking
• b. being white; commuter campus
• c. religion not important; multiple sexual partners
• d. many parties; binge drinking

Anwers:

• Q1 b
• Q2 a
• Q3 b
• Q4 d
• Q5 stress = losing on motor task; strain = change in affect, heart rate, blood pressure, motor performance
• Q6 b
• Q7 a