Features of sports bras that deter their use by Australian women

ObjectivesThis study aimed to identify features of commercially available sports bras that deter women from wearing them while participating in physical activity.DesignStudy results were obtained from a self-administered mail survey, which was posted to participants after gaining their verbal consent via random telephone recruitment.MethodsFour hundred and thirteen women aged 20–35 years were recruited from New South Wales, Australia, with 267 (65%) surveys returned.ResultsIt was found that the shoulder straps slipping or cutting into the shoulder were the two most disliked features of current sports bras, with 23% of respondents also indicating that the shoulder straps were the first bra feature to fail. Respondents also indicated that the perceived tightness of the sports bra around the chest was a deterrent for their use.ConclusionsAlthough previous research has found that a correctly fitted sports bra does not impede athletic performance, further research is required to investigate sports bra shoulder strap designs to improve wearer comfort without negatively affecting the ability of a sports bra to reduce breast motion and/or associated breast pain during participation in physical activity.     

The Neuro-Environmental Loop of Plasticity: A Cross-Species Analysis of Parental Effects on Emotion Circuitry Development Following Typical and Adverse Caregiving

Early experiences critically shape the structure and function of the brain. Perturbations in typical/species-expected early experiences are known to have profound neural effects, especially in regions important for emotional responding. Parental care is one species-expected stimulus that plays a fundamental role in the development of emotion neurocircuitry. Emerging evidence across species suggests that phasic variation in parental presence during the sensitive period of childhood affects the recruitment of emotional networks on a moment-to-moment basis. In addition, it appears that increasing independence from caregivers cues the termination of the sensitive period for environmental input into emotion network development. In this review, we examine how early parental care, the central nervous system, and behavior come together to form a ‘neuro-environmental loop,'' contributing to the formation of stable emotion regulation circuits. To achieve this end, we focus on the interaction of parental care and the developing amygdala–medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) network—that is at the core of human emotional functioning. Using this model, we discuss how individual or group variations in parental independence, across chronic and brief timescales, might contribute to neural and emotional phenotypes that have implications for long-term mental health.     

Effects of Framing Health Messages in Terms of Benefits to Loved Ones or Others: An Experimental Study

Many health officials believe the future of public health is in prevention of infectious diseases like pandemic influenza. Vaccine promotion is becoming an increasingly important area for health communication researchers. One strategy health promoters can consider is to emphasize that getting vaccinated protects not only the self, but also loved ones, and unknown others to whom the disease could be spread. The set of experiments described here tested whether such a strategy (called “benefit-target framing”) could prove useful in promoting vaccine intentions. In two experiments, subjects from an online panel were randomized to receive a vaccination message focused on the benefits either to the self, to loved ones, or to society as a whole. Outcome measures included intentions to receive the vaccine and intentions to seek more information (n = 495). Results from two virtually identical studies were pooled to maximize power. Results suggest that messages framed in terms of benefits to society were more successful than those focused on the self, but messages focused on loved ones were not different from either of the others. Possible explanations for the findings, and implications for future research, are discussed.