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Text-Messaging and Friendship

An article in the March issue of Psychology Today entitled "Drop Me a Line" asserts that friends who communicate via text-messaging and face-to-face communication have more intimate friendships than those who communicate via face-to-face communication only. The article states teh following: "Text-messaging makes for more intimate friendships." However, it seems likely to me that the opposite may just as easily be the case: More intimate friendships may make for text-messaging. Perhaps people are more likely to use text-messaging when communicating with those who are already intimate friends.

Comparing Two Forms of Depression?

An article in the February issue of Psychology Today entitled “Class Distinctions” states that: “Depressed people who earn a middle-class income respond better and more quickly to antidepressant medications than adults who are poor and live in low-income neighborhoods.” Perhaps the two groups in this study are not truly comparable, being, for example, that the individuals in the study suffer from different types of depression. For example, it may be that individuals in one groups experience more endogenous depression, while individuals in the other group experience mroe reactive depression. Depression may in some cases be largely associated with biological factors and in other cases be largely associated with negative life events. It seems possible that more of the individuals in the low-income group may have been exposed to greater life stress and may suffer from depression associated to a greater degree with negative life events, which may affect how they respond to antidepressant medication.

Tipping and Ethnicity

An article in the February issue of Psychology Today entitled "This Taxi Brakes for Tips" explored tipping behavior of cab passengers. Among other findings, according to the study, Caucasian passengers tipped drivers an average of $1.54, while African-American passengers tipped drivers an average of $1.02. The article makes the following statement: “Forty percent of African-American passengers and 34 percent of Hispanic passengers stiffed the driver, compared to 11 percent of Caucasian passengers.” This statement seems to imply that African-American and Hispanic passengers intentionally under-tipped drivers, and this may not be a fair statement. It may be that if socioeconomic status were controlled for, tipping behavior would be equivalent across ethnicities. Perhaps many of the African-American and Hispanic participants in this study had lower incomes than the Caucasian participants.    

Biased Sample

A recent study found on www.abcnews.com entitled “Rap’s Lyrics May Help Spur Violence” reports the results of a study which demonstrates an association between rap music and substance use and violence. The article acknowledges that the study does not answer the question of whether individuals who engage in these types of behavior are drawn to this type of music or whether this type of music leads to these behaviors. However, the research was conducted by surveying 1,056 community college students between the ages of 15 and 25 in California’s Central Valley. To begin with, as tends to be a problem in survey research, it is possible that participants were not entirely honest, particularly given the sensitive nature of the topics addressed in this research. In addition, the results obtained should not necessarily be generalized to the population as a whole. A sample of college students is not entirely representative of the general population. The sample was narrowed even further in that the students were all from colleges in California's Central Valley. In addition, being that rap music is popular among high school students, it seems that this age group should be included in a study of the effects of rap music. In fact, considering that the present study consisted of a sample of community college students, although the age range was from 15 to 25 the majority of the sample was probably 18 and over.

Misleading Headline

A recent article found on www.abcnews.com carries the following headline: “Scientists Narrow in on a Genetic Cause of Obesity.” This seems to me to be an example of a misleading headline, leading readers to believe that scientists may have found a genetic cause for obesity, while this is clearly not the case. The article clearly acknowledges that greasy food and couch-potato behavior have been contributors to the obesity problem in America. In addition, the article acknowledges an association between this particular genetic “misspelling” and obesity. According to statistics, nearly one third of Americans are obese. This genetic “misspelling” is apparently present in only 10% of the population, and in this 10%, there is a 30% to 50% increased risk of obesity. Clearly, looking at the statistics leads to the conclusion that while genes may play a role in obesity, other factors are involved. Individuals carrying this particular genetic code associated with obesity were at an increased risk of becoming obese. Association and risk do not equal cause. It appears that while these individuals may have a genetic vulnerability, lifestyle plays a key mediating role. In fact, the article states that scientists caution against looking at genetics as the single cause of obesity. It seems to me that in this case, the article and the headline are not in agreement. In some cases, readers may only glance at headlines, and when headlines are inaccurate, this may lead to misconceptions. Certainly, in this case, readers should not be led to believe that scientists have found a genetic cause for obesity, implying that lifestyle is unimportant.

Noisy environment and heart attack risk

An article on MSNBC reported that living or working in noisy surroundings may raise a person's risk of suffering a heart attack. The study included 4,115 men and women, mostly in their 50s, who had been treated for a heart attack in a Berlin hospital. They were compared with a control group of adults the same age without a heart attack history.

People who have suffered a previous heart attack, are at increased risk of suffering another heart attack. The findings from this study would have been more impressive if the control group also had a heart attack history.

Teenage Drug and Alcohol Use

An article on MSNBC reported that teenage girls are trying marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes at higher rates than boys. This is the first time that this kind of relationship between boys and girls drug and alcohol use has been reported. Dr. Warren Seigel, past president of the New York State chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, made a striking comment in the article:

Seigel said research has shown that girls may become addicted to nicotine faster than boys and even moderate drinking can disrupt their growth and the development of their reproductive systems. “It’s imperative that parents understand that these differences exist, and understand the differences between girls and boys, because it requires some different parenting skills,” he said.

Alcohol and drug use is bad for all teenagers. Parents should talk to both their teenage sons and daughter and the dangerous effects of taking drugs and drinking alcohol. While I understand that alcohol and drugs may have different effects on young girls and boys; I don’t understand why there should be a difference in parenting skills. The message, regardless of gender, should be: “Just say no!”

Diet that fights Alzheimer's Disease

In an article on MSNBC, it was reported that a Mediterranean-style diet that appears to cut the risk of heart disease also may help protect against Alzheimer’s disease.

Scarmeas and colleagues followed 2,258 elderly residents of northern Manhattan for an average of four years. The participants were asked in detail about their dietary habits and evaluated every 18 months or so for signs of dementia. None showed any dementia at the start of the study, but by the end, 262 had developed Alzheimer’s.To look for an effect of diet, the researchers gave each participant a score of 0 to 9 to nine on a scale that measured how closely they followed the Mediterranean diet. Compared to those showing the lowest adherence, those who scored 4 or 5 showed 15 percent to 25 percent less risk of developing Alzheimer’s during the study, while those with higher scores had about 40 percent less risk.

After reading the article, I was left with several questions. When should a person start this diet? What foods involved in the diet have the greatest effect of protecting against Alzheimer’s disease? Are there any foods that need to be avoided completely? These are important because people will follow a diet to a point, but almost always will stray away every now and then. However, if the main ingredients of the diet that fought off Alzheimer’s was identified, then people may be more likely to keep those specific foods in their diet even when they stray a little.

Everyone makes mistakes

I was watching "Your Weather Today" on the Weather Channel this morning and something I heard sounded odd. Nicole Mitchell was reporting that gas prices are rising, and she was quoting some of the highest and lowest gas prices across the country. After she reported the gas prices, she said something like, "but be aware, these prices are quoted by just people." I was so confused! I think she meant maybe the prices were quoted by private citizens, not gas companies. This just sounded strange to me.

More Fast-Food Ads Shown on Black Oriented TV

According to an article on MS NBC (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12137645/), more fast food ads are shown on television shows that are oriented to African-Americans.  Commercials aired on Black Entertainment Television were compared to the WB Network and the Disney Channel  The article posits that approximately (66%) percent of the fast-food ads were on BET, compared with (34%) on WB, and none on Disney.

The article suggests that there is a relationship between television fast-food ads and childhood obesity among African- Americans.  I would like to know the number of African-Americans who frequently view BET.  I would suggests a comparative study of African-Americans who frequently view BET and those that do not, to ascertain mean differences in the intake of fast-food.