Chronic stress and decreased physical exercise: impact on weight for African American women.

OBJECTIVE: African American women continue to have the highest prevalence of obesity in the United States and in the state of Maryland they are disproportionately affected by overweight and obesity. There are many contributing factors including chronic stress and the use of health behaviors such as physical exercise that play a role in increased weight for African American women. We examined the relationship of stress to weight and the role of physical exercise in African American paraprofessional women. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study SETTING: African American paraprofessionals were asked about their perspectives regarding association with chronic stress and physical exercise. RESULTS: The three most salient stressors for the women were finances (33%), work (28%) and family/friends (19%). Ninety percent of the women were overweight or obese. Significant predictors of increased BMI were lack of physical exercise (P = .004) and health compared to others (P = .006). Ethnic discrimination was a form of chronic stress (r = .319) but was not correlated with BMI (r = .095). Decreased physical exercise (P = .02) mediated the relationship between chronic stress and BMI. CONCLUSION: Findings regarding finance and work stress suggest the need for employers to consider the impact of job strain when implementing employee health programs to decrease stress and improve health. A focus on decreased physical exercise, unhealthy eating habits and misperceptions regarding increased risk for obesity related diseases with health status may be helpful to include in intervention strategies to decrease obesity for this population.

Substance use problems reported by historically Black college students: combined marijuana and alcohol use versus alcohol alone.

Using secondary data analysis,this study compares alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems experienced by African-American students attending a historically Black university who use alcohol only versus those who use alcohol plus marijuana. Results indicate that students who used marijuana plus alcohol experienced more AOD problems than their counterparts who used alcohol only. The current findings are similar to previous research with a majority White college student population.

Small islands, big problem: HIV/AIDS and youth in Trinidad and Tobago.

PROBLEM: In the Caribbean region, women and young girls are becoming infected with HIV at a 6:1 rate more than men. Our study investigated effective methods for reducing HIV/AIDS risks among adolescent girls in the Caribbean. METHODS: One hundred females, aged 15-21, were randomly assigned into a control or intervention group. Subjects were assessed at baseline and postintervention. FINDINGS: Analysis of variance revealed that items measuring feelings about self, perceived risk, and sexual attitudes had statistically significant postintervention increase. CONCLUSION: Sustainable HIV/AIDS prevention programs that address stigma, promote HIV testing, and reinforce safer sex practices are needed.

Does knowledge of college drinking policy influence student binge drinking?

The authors explored alcohol policies at 5 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to gain an understanding of how students' awareness of these policies might correlate with campus binge drinking rates. Findings indicated that male students who reported being unaware of certain alcohol policies were more likely to report binge drinking than their counterparts who reported they were aware of the policies. Gender differences in awareness of alcohol policy might be an important variable influencing binge drinking on HBCU campuses.

African-American undergraduates' perceptions and attributions of child sexual abuse.

This study examined perceptions of child sexual abuse and attributions of responsibility in a cross-sectional convenience sample of 384 African-American undergraduates using a scenario manipulating the age of the victim, gender of the victim, and gender of the perpetrator. Multiple interactions of respondent, victim, and perpetrator gender on perception of intrafamilial child sexual abuse and attributions of responsibility for victim, perpetrator, and parents were obtained. These results extended previous research conducted on primarily Caucasian samples and highlighted the moderating role of gender of the respondent for this ethnicity.