Prospectively assessed posttraumatic stress disorder and associated physical activity.

OBJECTIVES: We examined the association of physical activity with prospectively assessed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a military cohort. METHODS: Using baseline and follow-up questionnaire data from a large prospective study of U.S. service members, we applied multivariable logistic regression to examine the adjusted odds of new-onset and persistent PTSD symptoms associated with light/moderate physical activity, vigorous physical activity, and strength training at follow-up. RESULTS: Of the 38,883 participants, 89.4% reported engaging in at least 30 minutes of physical activity per week. At follow-up, those who reported proportionately less physical activity were more likely to screen positive for PTSD. Vigorous physical activity had the most consistent relationship with PTSD. Those who reported at least 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity twice weekly had significantly decreased odds for new-onset (odds ratio [OR] = 0.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.49, 0.70) and persistent (OR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.42, 0.83) PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Engagement in physical activity, especially vigorous activity, is significantly associated with decreased odds of PTSD symptoms among U.S. service members. While further longitudinal research is necessary, a physical activity component may be valuable to PTSD treatment and prevention programs.

Integrating Arts with STEM to Foster Systems Thinking.

Interest is growing among out-of-school time (OST) educators in integrating the arts into STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programming (e.g., Kelton & Saraniero, 2018). Arts-integrated STEM-or STEAM-programming now takes place in a wide variety of OST environments, from relatively institutional learning settings, such as a library, to emergent or fluid settings, such as a pop-up program in a housing development community room.

Exploratory factor analysis of self-reported symptoms in a large, population-based military cohort.

BACKGROUND: US military engagements have consistently raised concern over the array of health outcomes experienced by service members postdeployment. Exploratory factor analysis has been used in studies of 1991 Gulf War-related illnesses, and may increase understanding of symptoms and health outcomes associated with current military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The objective of this study was to use exploratory factor analysis to describe the correlations among numerous physical and psychological symptoms in terms of a smaller number of unobserved variables or factors. METHODS: The Millennium Cohort Study collects extensive self-reported health data from a large, population-based military cohort, providing a unique opportunity to investigate the interrelationships of numerous physical and psychological symptoms among US military personnel. This study used data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a large, population-based military cohort. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the covariance structure of symptoms reported by approximately 50,000 cohort members during 2004-2006. Analyses incorporated 89 symptoms, including responses to several validated instruments embedded in the questionnaire. Techniques accommodated the categorical and sometimes incomplete nature of the survey data. RESULTS: A 14-factor model accounted for 60 percent of the total variance in symptoms data and included factors related to several physical, psychological, and behavioral constructs. A notable finding was that many factors appeared to load in accordance with symptom co-location within the survey instrument, highlighting the difficulty in disassociating the effects of question content, location, and response format on factor structure. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the potential strengths and weaknesses of exploratory factor analysis to heighten understanding of the complex associations among symptoms. Further research is needed to investigate the relationship between factor analytic results and survey structure, as well as to assess the relationship between factor scores and key exposure variables.

Assessing Science Learning and Systems Thinking Through Arts.

We present two interventions aimed at promoting science learning. We utilize arts-based assessments alongside traditional measures to examine systems thinking. Taking place in rural communities in Washington State and focusing on students in third through fifth grades, our results indicate that arts-based assessment in STEM can support demonstration of systems thinking about socio-scientific issues. We conclude by illustrating the viability of arts-based approaches for assessment and how these methods can complement and extend more traditional measures of learning in and out of the classroom.