The purpose of this study was to examine the cross-sectional association between quality of life (QOL) in older adults and their interest in and standard of selection of clothing. The QOL of older adults in this study was assessed by the sense of life worth living (in Japanese, Ikigai). We hypothesized that having an interest in clothing and dressing behaviors may help maintain and enhance the QOL of older adults. In January 2010, a questionnaire survey including demographic factors (age, sex, and activities of daily living), interest in clothing, standard of selection of clothing, and sense of life worth living was distributed to 850 older Japanese people (aged 70–95 years) who were registered with a survey company. Responses from 499 people (256 men and 243 women; response rate, 58.7%) were analyzed. For standard of selection of clothing, all scores for women were higher than they were for men; no significant age-group differences were observed, however. Furthermore, scores for interest in one's own and others' dressing behavior and interest in fashion were significantly greater in those who were younger or independent. The hierarchical multiple regression analyses also showed that the clothing-related variables significantly explained variance of the sense of life worth living (Ikigai) in older people (from 10% to 23%). We suggest that selecting personal taste in dress and/or an interest in clothing contribute to maintaining and enhancing QOL in older adults.

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The progress of urbanization has drawn renewed attention to the importance of contact with nature. This study investigated the effects of contact with nature on five dimensions of subjective well-being. Participants were residents in a suburb of Yokohama. They responded to a questionnaire with items regarding the extent of their contact with nature, activity in the community, sense of community, place attachment, and five dimensions of subjective well-being. Both contact with nature and positive recognition of community were significantly correlated with all five dimensions of subjective well-being. A simple linear regression analysis with contact with nature as the independent variable indicated significant partial regression coefficients for all five dimensions of subjective well-being. A multiple linear regression analysis with contact with nature and positive recognition of the community as independent variables indicated significant partial regression coefficients of contact with nature on one dimension, and positive recognition on four dimensions of subjective well-being respectively. It is concluded that contact with nature contributes to subjective well-being among residents, mainly through the enhanced positive recognition of the community.

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Self-focused attention can contribute to increasing depressive moods. It is known that attending to self-referential stimuli that direct attention inward might induce self-focused attention. Distractions help to disengage attention from self-referential stimuli. However, the effects of distractions in attenuating the detrimental influences of self-focused attention on cognitive appraisal, depressive mood, and attentional resources, while attending to self-referential stimuli have not been investigated. This study examined whether walking exercise, which is a behavioral distraction technique, would attenuate the effects of self-focused attention. Undergraduate and graduate students (N=42) participated in walking exercise, while attending to self-referential stimuli. Then, they completed the Cognitive Appraisal Rating Scale (CARS), the depressive mood subscale of the Mood Inventory, and a digit span task, for assessing cognitive appraisal, depressive mood, and attentional resources, respectively. Results indicated that the walking exercise reduced the scores for appraisal for effect, which is a subscale of CARS, and lowered depressive mood scores. However, walking exercise had no effect on attentional resource scores. These results suggest that walking exercise modified the appraisal for effect and reduce depressive mood while attending to self-referential stimuli.

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A system of classifying the pre-contemplation stage of smoking acquisition was developed, based on participants' responses to passive smoking. Japanese undergraduate students (N=390) participated in the study. They responded to questionnaires inquiring their stage of smoking acquisition, self-efficacy and temptation to smoke, decisional balance for smoking acquisition, and impressions about scenes depicting smoking. Responses of non-smokers clearly indicated four-stages of pre-contemplation about smoking that consisted of high, intermediate, and low antipathy to smoking, and the acceptance of passive smoking. The results also showed that measures of self-efficacy decreased, whereas temptation increased as smoking related activities advanced. Moreover, the acceptance of pros of smoking behavior increased as participants progressed toward smoking, whereas their concern for cons of smoking decreased. Furthermore, negative responses to pictures showing smoking scenes were strongest in non-smokers with a high antipathy to smoking, and participants' impressions of the scenes became increasingly positive as they progressed toward smoking. This study demonstrated the validity of the new classification of the pre-contemplation stage of smoking acquisition designed for developing preventive measures against smoking among young people.

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Relationships among spirituality, benefit finding from illness experiences, anxiety, depression, and level of physical symptoms were investigated in cancer patients, and predictors of spirituality were examined. Cancer patients (N=30) in an oncology ward of a general hospital completed the Japanese Benefit Finding Scale (JBFS) to assesses benefits, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Sp (FACIT-Sp) to assess spiritual well-being, the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) to assess anxiety and depression, and the Anderson Symptom Inventory (ASI) to assess symptom levels. Results indicated that the FACIT-Sp score was positively correlated with each subdomain of the JBFS, and negatively correlated with ASI and HADS. Moreover, “Role and Priority” was the most important predictor of FACIT-Sp. These results suggest that support by medical staff for benefit finding from illness experiences contribute to promoting spirituality. Moreover, “Role and Priority” might be particularly important for spirituality.

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Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is known as the most common type of Anxiety Disorder. In the cognitive and behavioral model of SAD, cost bias and perceived anxiety control are factors maintaining and mediating SAD symptoms. The relationship between cost bias and perceived anxiety control in social anxiety was investigated in present study. Undergraduate students (n=341) were administered self-report measures assessing each component of SAD symptoms. Path analysis was conducted to identify relationships between these components. The result indicated the high validity of the model (Goodness of Fit Index=.972, Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index=.929, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation=.083). These findings suggest that SAD symptoms could be improved by changing the cost bias and perceived anxiety control.

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