XI. STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING DIABETES CARE D iabetes is a chronic illness that requires continuing medical care and patient self-management education to prevent acute complications and to reduce the risk of long-term complications. Diabetes care is complex and requires that many issues, beyond glycemic control, be addressed. A large body of evidence exists that supports a range of interventions to improve diabetes outcomes. These standards of care are intended to provide clinicians, patients, researchers, payors, and other interested individuals with the components of diabetes care, treatment goals, and tools to evaluate the quality of care. While individual preferences, comorbidities, and other patient factors may require modification of goals, targets that are desirable for most patients with diabetes are provided. These standards are not intended to preclude more extensive evaluation and management of the patient by other specialists as needed. For more detailed information, refer to Bode (Ed.): Medical Management of Type 1 Diabetes (1), Burant (Ed): Medical Management of Type 2 Diabetes (2), and Klingensmith (Ed): Intensive Diabetes Management (3). The recommendations included are diagnostic and therapeutic actions that are known or believed to favorably affect health outcomes of patients with diabetes. A grading system (Table 1), developed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and modeled after existing methods, was utilized to clarify and codify the evidence that forms the basis for the recommendations. The level of evidence that supports each recommendation is listed after each recommendation using the letters A, B, C, or E.

Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes

This study examines the relationship between use of Facebook, a popular online social network site, and the formation and maintenance of social capital. In addition to assessing bonding and bridging social capital, we explore a dimension of social capital that assesses one’s ability to stay connected with members of a previously inhabited community, which we call maintained social capital. Regression analyses conducted on results from a survey of undergraduate students (N = 286) suggest a strong association between use of Facebook and the three types of social capital, with the strongest relationship being to bridging social capital. In addition, Facebook usage was found to interact with measures of psychological well-being, suggesting that it might provide greater benefits for users experiencing low self-esteem and low life satisfaction.

/pdf/the-benefits-of-facebook-friends-social-capital-and-college-2j90l44gqu.pdf

The Benefits of Facebook “Friends:” Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites

Although the relationship metaphor dominates contemporary marketing thought and practice, surprisingly little empirical work has been conducted on relational phenomena in the consumer products domain, particularly at the level of the brand. In this article, the author: (1) argues for the validity of the relationship proposition in the consumer-brand context, including a debate as to the legitimacy of the brand as an active relationship partner and empirical support for the phenomenological significance of consumer-brand bonds; (2) provides a framework for characterizing and better understanding the types of relationships consumers form with brands; and (3) inducts from the data the concept of brand relationship quality, a diagnostic tool for conceptualizing and evaluating relationship strength. Three in-depth case studies inform this agenda, their interpretation guided by an integrative review of the literature on person-to-person relationships. Insights offered through application of inducted concepts to two relevant research domains — brand loyalty and brand personality — are advanced in closing. The exercise is intended to urge fellow researchers to refine, test, and augment the working hypotheses suggested herein and to progress toward these goals with confidence in the validity of the relationship premise at the level of consumers’ lived experiences with their brands.

Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer Research

Part 1. Introduction. N.B. Barenbaum, D.G. Winter, History of Modern Personality Theory and Research. Part 2. Theoretical Perspectives. D.M. Buss, Human Nature and Individual Differences: Evolution of Human Personality. D. Westen, G.O. Gabbard, K.M. Ortigo, Psychoanalytic Approaches to Personality. O.P. John, L.P. Naumann, C.J. Soto, Paradigm Shift to the Integrative Big Five Trait Taxonomy: History, Measurement, and Conceptual Issues. R.R. McCrae, P.T. Costa, Jr., The Five-Factor Theory of Personality. E.T. Higgins, A.A. Scholer, When Is Personality Revealed? A Motivated Cognition Approach. W. Mischel, Y. Shoda, Toward a Unifying Theory of Personality: Integrating Dispositions and Processing Dynamics within the Cognitive-Affective Processing System. D.P. McAdams, Personal Narratives and the Life Story. Part 3. Biological Bases. L.A. Clark, D. Watson, Temperament: An Organizing Paradigm for Trait Psychology. R.F. Krueger, W. Johnson, Behavioral Genetics and Personality: A New Look at the Integration of Nature and Nurture. T. Canli, Toward a "Molecular Psychology" of Personality. T.A.R. Weinstein, J.P. Capitanio, S.D. Gosling, Personality in Animals. Part 4. Developmental Approaches. E.M. Pomerantz, R.A. Thompson, Parents' Role in Children's Personality Development: The Psychological Resource Principle. B.W. Roberts, D. Wood, A. Caspi, The Development of Personality Traits in Adulthood. C.D. Ryff, Challenges and Opportunities at the Interface of Aging, Personality, and Well-Being. Part 5. Self and Social Processes. R.W. Robins, J.L. Tracy, K.H. Trzesniewski, Naturalizing the Self. W.B. Swann, Jr., J.K. Bosson, Identity Negotiation: A Theory of Self and Social Interaction. M.T. Gailliot, N.L. Mead, R.F. Baumeister, Self-Regulation. D.L. Paulhus, P.D. Trapnell, Self-Presentation of Personality: An Agency-Communion Framework. R.C. Fraley, P.R. Shaver, Attachment Theory and Its Place in Contemporary Personality Theory and Research. V. Benet-Martinez, S. Oishi, Culture and Personality. D.C. Funder, Personality, Situations, and Person-Situation Interactions. Part 6. Cognitive and Motivational Processes. J.F. Kihlstrom, The Psychological Unconscious. O.C. Schultheiss, Implicit Motives. R.A. Emmons, J.L. Barrett, S.A. Schnitker, Personality and the Capacity for Religious and Spiritual Experience. R.M. Ryan, E.L. Deci, Self-Determination Theory and the Role of Basic Psychological Needs in Personality and the Organization of Behavior. D.K. Simonton, Creativity and Genius. Part 7. Emotion, Adjustment, and Health. J.J. Gross, Emotion and Emotion Regulation: Personality Processes and Individual Differences. C.S. Carver, M.F. Scheier, D. Fulford, Self-regulatory Processes, Stress, and Coping. T.A. Widiger, G.T. Smith, Personality and Psychopathology. S.E. Hampson, H.S. Friedman, Personality and Health: A Lifespan Perspective. R.E. Lucas, E. Diener, Personality and Subjective Well-Being.

Handbook of Personality : Theory and Research

With the radical changes in information production that the Internet has introduced, we stand at an important moment of transition, says Yochai Benkler in this thought-provoking book. The phenomenon he describes as social production is reshaping markets, while at the same time offering new opportunities to enhance individual freedom, cultural diversity, political discourse, and justice. But these results are by no means inevitable: a systematic campaign to protect the entrenched industrial information economy of the last century threatens the promise of today's emerging networked information environment. In this comprehensive social theory of the Internet and the networked information economy, Benkler describes how patterns of information, knowledge, and cultural production are changing--and shows that the way information and knowledge are made available can either limit or enlarge the ways people can create and express themselves. He describes the range of legal and policy choices that confront us and maintains that there is much to be gained--or lost--by the decisions we make today.

/pdf/the-wealth-of-networks-how-social-production-transforms-4mt4ax3tfp.pdf

The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom

Kraut et al. (1998) reported negative effects of using the Internet on social involvement and psychological well-being among new Internet users in 1995–96. We called the effects a “paradox” because participants used the Internet heavily for communication, which generally has positive effects. A 3-year follow-up of 208 of these respondents found that negative effects dissipated. We also report findings from a longitudinal survey in 1998–99 of 406 new computer and television purchasers. This sample generally experienced positive effects of using the Internet on communication, social involvement, and well-being. However, consistent with a “rich get richer” model, using the Internet predicted better outcomes for extraverts and those with more social support but worse outcomes for introverts and those with less support.

/pdf/internet-paradox-revisited-613ne1mb4j.pdf

Internet Paradox Revisited

The authors conducted a meta-analysis to examine the relations of benefit finding to psychological and physical health as well as to a specific set of demographic, stressor, personality, and coping correlates. Results from 87 cross-sectional studies reported in 77 articles showed that benefit finding was related to less depression and more positive well-being but also more intrusive and avoidant thoughts about the stressor. Benefit finding was unrelated to anxiety, global distress, quality of life, and subjective reports of physical health. Moderator analyses showed that relations of benefit finding to outcomes were affected by the amount of time that had passed since stressor onset, the benefit finding measured used, and the racial composition of the sample.

A meta-analytic review of benefit finding and growth.

We used meta-analysis to examine recent studies of sex differences in coping. Women were more likely than men to engage in most coping strategies. The strongest effects showed that women were more likely to use strategies that involved verbal expressions to others or the self—to seek emotional support, ruminate about problems, and use positive self-talk. These sex differences were consistent across studies, supporting a dispositional level hypothesis. Other sex differences were dependent on the nature of the stressor, supporting role constraint theory. We also examined whether stressor appraisal (i.e., women's tendencies to appraise stressors as more severe) accountedfor sex differences in coping. We found some support for this idea. To circumvent this issue, we provide some data on relative coping. These data demonstrate that sex differences in relative coping are more in line with our intuitions about the differences in the ways men and women cope with distress.

Sex Differences in Coping Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review and an Examination of Relative Coping

Relation of agency and communion to well-being: Evidence and potential explanations.

Several research literatures are reviewed that address the associations of emotional, informational, and instrumental social support to psychological adjustment to cancer. Descriptive studies suggest that emotional support is most desired by patients, and correlational studies suggest that emotional support has the strongest associations with better adjustment. However, the evidence for the effectiveness of peer discussion groups aimed at providing emotional support is less than convincing. Moreover, educational groups aimed at providing informational support appear to be as effective as, if not more effective than, peer discussions. Reasons for inconsistencies between the correlational and intervention literatures are discussed, and future directions are outlined.

Vicki S. Helgeson

Papers

Internet Paradox Revisited

A meta-analytic review of benefit finding and growth.

Sex Differences in Coping Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review and an Examination of Relative Coping

Relation of agency and communion to well-being: Evidence and potential explanations.

Social Support and Adjustment to Cancer: Reconciling Descriptive, Correlational, and Intervention Research