The purpose of this study was to develop the Japanese Version of Body Image Concerns Inventory (J-BICI), which is a brief selfrating scale to assess a body dysmorphic concerns. We evaluated the factor structure, reliability and validity of J-BICI. Subjects were 1218 normal undergraduate (male=709, female=518) students. They completed the J-BICI and some other related questionnaires (Dysmorphic concerns Examination; DCE, Selfrating Depression Scale; SDS, Drive for Thinness and Bulimia subscale of Eating Disorder Inventory-91; abbreviated EDI-91, Japanese 32item short version of Padua Inventory; J-PI32). Factor analysis using promax lotation method was carried out and identified three interpretable factors. These factors were as follows: safety behavior for one's own appearance flaws (factor1), avoidant behavior from one's own appearance flaws (factor2), negative evaluation for one's own appearance (factor3). These factors had high degrees of internal consistency (α=.84-.91) and good test-retest reliability (r=.79-88, p<.01; 3 weeks interval). Female participants scored significantly higher on these three factors than male ones (factor1: t(1225) = −17.69, p<.001; factor2: t(1225) = −2.23, p<.05; factor3: t(1225)=−8.60, p<.001). In addition, there were significantly correlation and discrimination between J-BICI and other related questionnaires. In this study, it was shown that J-BICI had good reliability and validity as a measure of body dysmorphic concerns. Background: To investigate non-patient irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) change to IBS and to determine factors predictive of the onset of IBS, individual biological factors, psychological factors, behavioral factors, and environmental factors were examined. Methods: The subjects were 97 non-patient IBS (male=49, female= 48, average age:22.31 ±2.32), including 62 of the diarrheapredominant type and 35 of the constipation-predominant type selected from 1,409 university and technical college students by use of a questionnaire based on the Rome II diagnostic criteria. The subjects were followed for 7 years, and various characteristics and IBS symptoms were serially observed (28 times). The IBS incidence rate was calculated. Results: During the 7 years, 61 non-patient IBS (59.17%) changed to IBS: 42 diarrhea-predominant types and 19 constipationpredominant types. All IBS symptoms disappeared in 35 nonpatient IBS subjects (33.95%). According to quantification method II (discriminant analysis), seven factors (cognitive appraisal, stressor, stress coping style, three kinds of lifestyle habits and psychologically abuse) were adopted as a predictive model for IBS incidence and were confirmed as predictive of IBS. Conclusions: The results of this research show that non-patient IBS is a changeable state that can change into IBS or persons without symptoms. Most of the non-patient IBS subjects who became asymptomatic had had symptoms for six months or less. Furthermore, the longer a non-patient IBS subject had symptoms, the higher the risk of a change to IBS became. The findings suggest the usefulness of identifying and approaching non-patient IBS as early as possible to prevent the onset of IBS. It must be noted that the persons surveyed in the present study had only the diarrhea-predominant and constipation-predominant types. Therefore, the findings of the present study are limited only these two types. Further study including the mixed type is needed. While placebo controlled trials are common in the evaluation of novel drugs, they have been questioned because of the ethical problems of withholding effective treatment in (pain) patients. As alternative, comparator controlled trials ave been proposed. Both however, differ in the likelihood of providing effective treatment: 50% and 100%, resp. Methods: We investigated whether the likelihood of receiving drug or placebo determines the size of the drug response and the size of the placebo response (DR, PR) in treatment studies of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Results: In 92 published randomized placebo-controlled trials with more than 22.000 patients with IBS, 16 had a drug:placebo ratio of 2:1 or greater while the remaining were powered 1:1. Computing the overall DR and PR, both responses were lower with higher likelihood of receiving the drug (ratio 2:1 or higher), but the difference between DR and PR ("therapeutic gain") decreased. Ten of the 16 studies (4 with a 2:1 ratio, 3 with 3:1, and 3 with 4:1; total n=6484) were compared to 10 studies (n=3782) of similar size (>80 patients per study arm) and design (drug trials with novel compounds) based on a standardized patient definition (according to Rome criteria), and with comparable (dichotomous) endpoints. Again, the placebo response decreased with increasing likelihood of receiving a drug from 37.6% (1:1) to 29.1% (4:1). Similarly, the drug response dropped from 49.8% (1:1) to 42.4% (4:1) (significant decrease for DR (p=.035), but not for PR). Discrimination between DR and PR was best for 1:1 trials. Correlation between the drug response and the placebo response across all 20 trials was significant (Pearsons r=.781, p<.001), but was higher in 1:1 trials (n=10; r=.91, p<.001) than in trials with a higher drug-to-placebo ratio (n=10, r=.69, p=.027). Conclusion: The higher the likelihood of receiving active treatment (a drug as compared to a placebo), the lower the response rate to both placebo and the drug in IBS, at the expense of a poorer discrimination between DR and PR. This is contrary to respective data from depression trials. (Supported by a grant from DFG, En 50/25). Background: Much of public health research focuses on individual mechanisms of health (e.g., behavior, genetics), while few studies look at broader contexts of health behavior such as dyadic influences. Romantic partners and relationship factors can influence one's health and well being above and beyond individual factors. Methods: Preliminary analyses were conducted among 200 couples (N=400) from low income OB-GYN clinics in the U.S. Women and men were 18.7 and 21.3 years on average, and the average relationship length was 2.3 years. 77% of participants were Black or Hispanic. We assessed relationship satisfaction, mental health and physical health for both members of a couple. Dyadic analyses using multiple regression assessed actor and partner effects for both men and women. All analyses controlled for confounders. Results: Men and women shared predictors of relationship satisfaction, including greater relationship equity (Bm =.28, Bw=.44, ps<.05), less avoidant attachment (Bm=−.32, Bw=−.22, ps<.05), greater feelings of love (Bm=.31, Bw=.14, ps<.05), and less partner anxiety attachment (Bm=−.14, Bw=−.14, ps<.05). Among both men and women, relationship satisfaction related to less depression (Bm=−.38, Bw=−.52, ps<.05), less stress ps<.05) , and greater mental quality of life (Bm=.39, Bw=.37, ps<.05) . Relationship satisfaction related to greater physical quality of life for men (B=.18, p<.05), but not for women (B=.08, p = ns). Comparisons showed a stronger association between relationship satisfaction and depression for women (B=−.52 vs. −.38, p<.05 ) and physical quality of life for men (B=.18 vs. .08, p<.05) . No partner effects were significant for mental and physical outcomes. Conclusion: Relationship satisfaction was associated with better mental health outcomes for men and women, and better physical health outcomes for men. While relationship satisfaction had a greater influence on depression among women, it had a greater influence on the physical quality of life for men, suggesting that relationship factors may play a different role in mental and physical functioning across gender. Fear of childbirth in pregnant women has been associated with prior and future complicated deliveries, difficulties in the motherinfant relationship and risk of postpartum depression. The aim of this study was to investigate pre-and postpartum levels of childbirth fear in a cohort of pregnant women and examine factors associated with elevated fear. Three hundred sixty-one pregnant women (mean age=32, SD=4.5) completed questionnaires measuring: anxiety sensitivity, state-anxiety, fatigue, depression, social support, life events and parental self-efficacy in the third trimester of pregnancy. The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ) was used to assess childbirth fear at the preand postpartum assessment. Two-hundred sixty-three women returned their questionnaires at the 4-6 weeks postpartum assessment. Demographic variables (i.e. parity, education) and complications in the current pregnancy or in previous deliveries were also collected. Low levels of childbirth fear during pregnancy was reported by 25.8% (n=93) of the women, with 48.8% (n=176) moderately fearful and 25.5% (n=92) highly fearful. At the postpartum assessment 37.6% (n=99) reported low levels of fear, 44.1% (n=116) reported moderate fear levels and 18.3% (n=48) were highly fearful. Overall, fear levels in the postpartum decreased significantly by a mean of 6 points compared to the prepartum assessment (t (262) = 4.5, p<.001). The regression model examining prepartum childbirth fear showed that lower parental self-efficacy (p<0.001), higher state-anxiety (p<0.001), more life events (p=0.001) and greater anxiety sensitivity (p=0.003) were significant independent predictors of higher prepartum W-DEQ, explaining 44% of the variance. In addition to prepartum WEQ scores (p <0.001), postpartum childbirth fear was associated with greater anxiety sensitivity (p=0.001), lower parental self-efficacy (p=0.005) and delivery by caesarean section (p=0.014), together explaining 36% of the variance. Our findings underscore the importance of routine assessment of childbirth fear during pregnancy and highlights areas which can be targeted in order to manage childbirth fear. Women expressing fears may benefit from interventions aimed at improving self-efficacy and reducing stress to enhance the pregnancy and childbirth experience. Introduction: Recent studies show Female Sexual Dysfunction can be caused by an overemphasis on secondary self-analysis rather than direct experience of arousal. Training in mindfulness has been associated with decreases in self-judgment and enhanced body awareness. This controlled study assesses the impact of mindfulness training on reaction time for ratings of arousal to erotic stimuli and related psychological barriers to female sexual function. Methods: Fifty-six college students (female=29) participated in either a 15-week course with mindfulness "meditation labs" in addition to didactic class time (n=35) or an active control class (n=21) with a similar format (didactic and experiential laboratory sessions). All participants engaged in computerized neuropsychological performance batteries pre-and post-intervention where they rated erotic and non-erotic photographs in terms of arousal and valence. Scores and reaction times of ratings were recorded. Participants also completed the Five Factors of Mindfulness Questionnaire (Baer et al., 2006) , Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (Brown et al., 2003) , the Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis et al., 1983 ) and The Self Compassion Scale (Neff, 2003) at the beginning and end of the semester. Results: At baseline, female participants had a significantly slower reaction time in response to erotic photographs than males, t (52) = 2.5, p=.013. At post-intervention testing, females who participated in the meditation labs significantly faster reaction times, t (12) = 2.8, p=.016. This change was more than twice that of females in the control group (723.0 vs. 306.7 milliseconds). Scores related to selfjudgment also decreased significantly more in female meditators than controls, F (1,15)=4.8, p=.045. The faster reaction times were correlated with this decrease in self-judgment (r=.70, p=.012 ) as well as an increase in self-kindness (r=.84, p=.001). Additionally, female meditators showed improved scores in mindfulness, depression, anxiety, and combined clinical symptoms measures (all p<.05), but controls did not. Conclusions: These results suggest that mindfulness training is associated with improvements in many of the psychological barriers to female desire, arousal, and satisfaction. Most notably, it was associated with faster reaction times when reporting arousal that correlated with decreases in self-judgment. Female meditators were ostensibly enabled to react to erotic stimuli with decreased judgment and self-evaluation, thus becoming more engaged in the direct experience of their own arousal. These data strongly support mindfulness as a promising treatment for FSD. Purpose: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the association between key psychosocial factors and aberrant crypt foci (ACF), a measure of colonic mucosa and perhaps a putative biomarker of colon cancer risk. We hypothesized that higher levels of depression, stress, and colon cancer worry (and lower levels of social support) would be associated with greater numbers of ACF among individuals at heightened risk for colon cancer. Sample and Methods: Participants were self-referred or referred by physicians from the Gastroenterology Clinic or Colon Cancer Prevention Program at the University of Connecticut Health Center for routine colonoscopy. A total of 93 individuals were consented (51% women; 49% men). Within two weeks prior to colonoscopy, participants completed measures assessing the psychosocial factors noted above. Individuals were also examined for ACF detection at colonoscopy. Regression beta weights were used to examine the association between the psychosocial variables and ACF. Results: Among women, higher levels of depression were associated with greater numbers of ACF (β=.731, p=.032) after controlling for age, race/ethnicity, stress, social support, and colon cancer worry. Among men, lower levels of social support were associated with greater numbers of ACF (β=-.398, p=.050) after controlling for age and race/ethnicity. These results suggest that although colon cancer affects men and women equally with regards to morbidity and mortality rates, there are important gender differences in how psychosocial factors impact colonic mucosa and perhaps colon cancer risk. Psychosocial interventions aimed at targeting these types of factors are warranted but need to consider the role of gender. Background: Gender differences in premature mortality rates and in the size of socioeconomic inequities in mortality vary across countries. We aimed to quantify the gender-socioeconomic status (SES) interaction on premature mortality and to analyse which psychosocial characteristics might explain the different gender patterns of socioeconomic inequalities in premature mortality in this respect in Hungary. Methods: Men (n=1130) and women (n=1529), aged 40-69 years, participants in the Hungarian Epidemiological Panel (2002) were followed for 3.5 years for total mortality. Cox-proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the association between several socioeconomic measures and death. Results: During the follow-up 99 men (8.8%) and 53 women (3.5%) died. The age-adjusted hazard ratios and the Rothman's synergy indexes showed that socioeconomic factors (education, blue collar work, personal and family income, subjective social status, lack of car and computer) were more deleterious in men compared to women. Adjustment for severe depression resulted in the highest decrease in the regression coefficients for the association between socioeconomic factors and male premature mortality. There was no indication that depression would mediate between low SES and mortality in women. Work stress measures might partly mediate the effect of socioeconomic deprivation on male mortality, while social support seems to counterbalance the negative aspects of socioeconomic deprivation among women. Conclusions: Middle-aged Hungarian men seem to be considerably more vulnerable to the chronic stress of material deprivation than women. This effect modification by gender might partly be explained by a stronger connection between low SES and depressive symptoms in men. While the effects on body image of unrealistically thin female fashion models have been extensively investigated, there is very little research on the effects of unrealistically muscular male models. We examined the impact of average-size and muscular male fashion models on men's and women's body image, and on perceived advertising effectiveness. A sample of 619 Australian university students (330 men and 289 women, aged 17-25 years) were systematically assigned to four image exposure conditions: no models, muscular models, average-slim models, and averagelarge models. In each condition, participants viewed eight glamour advertisements created for the purpose of the study, rated the effectiveness of each advertisement, and then completed standardised measures of body image state. Advertisements were matched across conditions for product and general style. Men and women rated average-size male models as equally effective in advertisements as muscular models. Amongst the men, those exposed to average-size models had more positive body image than those viewing no models, with no difference from those viewing muscular models. Similar results were found for women. These findings suggest that average-size male models can promote positive body image and appeal to consumers. Background: Mental health problems are often found to be more common among women than among men. We examined physical working conditions, psychosocial working conditions and familyrelated factors as explanations for gender differences in the use of psychoactive medication in an ageing employee cohort. Methods: Data on the explanatory factors were derived from mail surveys conducted in 2000-2002 among municipal employees of the City of Helsinki aged 40-60 (N=8960, response rate 67%). These data were linked with the prescription register of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. Cox regression analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for women as compared to men for the use of all psychoactive drugs (ATC codes in classes N05 and N06, excluding medication for dementia), antidepressants (N06A) and sleeping pills and sedatives (N05B and N05C) among younger (40-50 y) and older (>50 y employees) during three subsequent years. Results: Among younger women the risk for using psychoactive drugs was only slightly larger than in men (HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.01-1.54). Adjusting for physical working conditions or psychosocial working conditions somewhat increased the difference.