Aims: A previous studies have reported that the long variant of the serotonin transporter-linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism is associated with problem solving style of stress coping among males (Wilhelm et al. 2007 ). However, the findings do not have been replicated. In addition, socioeconomic status, such as education, might interact with the genotype to determine stress coping style. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the interactive effect of education and the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism on coping style in a sample of Japanese workers. Methods: A total of 241 (80%) out of all employees of a manufacturing factory in Japan completed a mailed questionnaire which included a scale of stress coping, the Brief Scale for Coping Profile (BSCP) (Kageyama et al., 2004) . Genomic DNA abstracted from leukocyte in their peripheral venous blood samples. The 5-HTTLPR polymorphism region was amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and classified into short/short (s/s) (n=153), short/long (s/l) (n=¬78), and long/long (l/l) (n=6), excluding those who had extra long variants (n=4). The respondents were also classified into high school graduates and university graduates. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were applied to compare six subscales of BSCP among the three 5-HTTLPR groups, as well as test the interaction of the polymorphism and education, separately for men and women. Results: Compared to the s/s group, the s/l and l/l groups had a higher score of the subscale of "seeking help for solution" among male university graduates (p for trend=0.01); Subscale scores of "changing mood" were significantly different among three polymorphism groups, with a low score in the l/l group (p< 0.01). The interaction between the polymorphism and education was significant for the subscales of "seeking help for solution" and "changing mood" among men (p=0.08 and p=0.01, respectively). Discussion: The study replicated that long variant of 5-HTTLPR polymorphism was associated with problem solving (measured as "seeking help for solution" in this study) among men, while the l/ l group seems less likely to use "changing mood" coping. 5-HTTLPR polymorphism, education, and sex seem to interact to determine the problem solving stress coping. Int.J. Behav. Med. (2010) Background: Sociotropic cognition is a set of beliefs associated with social dependency and a high need for approval. Earlier studies with women found that high sociotropic cognition was associated with increased cardiovascular reactivity and sexual risk behavior. However, few studies have included men and the influence of sociotropy on other health risk behaviors has not been evaluated. Purpose: To examine the influence of need for approval, measured by sociotropic cognition, on health risk behaviors, including sexual risk, alcohol, drug, and tobacco use, and disordered eating in young men and women. Method: Participants were 236 college students who completed self-report measures of sociotropic cognition and health risk behaviors. It was hypothesized that higher sociotropic cognition would be associated with more alcohol, drug, and tobacco use, sexual risk behavior, and disordered eating. Multiple regression was used to examine these relationships. Results: Sociotropic cognition predicted sex-related alcohol expectancies (β=.16, t(201) = 2.24, p<.05) and negative consequences from drinking (β=.14, t(209) = 2.11, p<.05). Sociotropic cognition was associated with being pressured into having sex (t(227) = 2.19, p<.05), but not to recent intercourse or condom use. Sociotropic cognition predicted recent amphetamine (β=.21, t(229) = 3.26, p<.001) and inhalant use (β=.14, t(229) = 2.20, p<.05), but was negatively associated with alcohol (β=− .13, t(229) = -2.01, p<.05) and marijuana use (β=−.14, t(229) = -2.09, p<.05). There was no association with tobacco use. Sociotropic cognition predicted more body dissatisfaction (β=.32, t(225) = 5.09, p<.001) and more disordered eating behavior (β=.25, t(210) = 3.81, p<.001), and was not associated with BMI or physical activity. Conclusions: Sociotropic cognition appears to be an important correlate of interrelated health risk behaviors for men and women. Need for approval influences disordered eating behavior, drug use, problems with alcohol use, and some sexual risk behaviors. Cognitive and behavioral intervention strategies may be useful to address need for approval and its effect on these health risk behaviors. A meditational model was hypothesized. The three constructs of interest were significantly correlated (BMI and exercise avoidance, .47***; BMI and weight stigma, .50***; weight stigma and exercise avoidance, .51***). The primary model examined hypothesized that weight stigma would mediate the relationship between exercise avoidance and BMI. The model testing the relationship between the IV (BMI) and the DV (exercise avoidance) fit the data well. The models testing the relationship between the mediator (weight stigma) and the DV, and the relationship between the IV and the mediator, also fit the data well. The final model testing weight stigma's meditational role between BMI and exercise avoidance, found that weight stigma completely mediated the relationship between the IV and DV. The results indicated that as BMI increased exercise avoidance increased. Similar to other studies with college females, as BMI increased perceptions of weight stigma also increased. Not only were BMI, exercise avoidance, and weight stigma all related in college females, but weight stigma mediated the relationship between BMI and exercise avoidance, indicating that weight stigma may predict adverse health behaviors. Alternative models and implications will be discussed. Previous studies examining social determinants of health have found that individuals who tend to discount the future are more likely to engage in negative health behaviors such as smoking and substance use. Due to high rates and detrimental health consequences of negative health behaviors, it is important to identify factors influencing discounting rates. Personality dimensions and depressive symptoms have been identified as potential predictors of discounting rates, but past studies have utilized monetary discounting measures when examining health outcomes rather than health discounting measures. This study examined personal-ity and affective predictors of health discounting in a sample of 97 undergraduate students (41 women) who completed the following questionnaires as participants in a study for course credit: (1) a hypothetical health choice task (Chapman, 1996) , (2) Many studies have indicated that many people who experience psychological and interpersonal problems don't seek any help. Many researchers have tried to understand the reasons underlying people's decisions to seek or not to seek help. In these studies, measures of help-seeking intentions have been often used instead of measuring actual help-seeking behavior, because it is assumed that help-seeking intentions associate with actual help-seeking behavior. However, there is little evidence of this association. The purpose of this study is to examine whether help-seeking intentions can predict actual help-seeking behavior among Japanese university students. One hundred and eighty-five Japanese university students answered a questionnaire which included social support and help-seeking intentions (Time1). Four weeks later (Time2), participants answered another questionnaire which included psychological distress and actual help-seeking behavior. The correlation between help-seeking intentions at Time1 and actual help-seeking behavior at Time2 was moderate (r=.65 p<.01). The result of multiple regression analysis indicated that help-seeking intentions associated with actual help-seeking behavior (β=.42 p<.01). Social support at Time1 (β=.18 p<.05) and psychological distress at Time2 (β=.44 p<.01) also associated with actual help-seeking behavior. These variables accounted for 57.2% of the variance in actual help-seeking behavior. Thus, it was revealed that help-seeking intentions can predict actual helpseeking behavior among Japanese university students. Background: Suffering from infertility may cause significant stress both on a personal level as well as in the relationship. Expressive writing intervention (EWI) has been shown to be an efficient method for reducing psychological symptoms in both healthy and clinical populations. However, research using this method with infertile couples is limited. Our aim was to investigate the effects of EWI on infertility-related psychological symptoms in a small preliminary sample of patients undergoing In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Methods: 37 couples were included and 8 women were included without their partners (N=82). Participants were randomized to home-based EWI or a neutral-writing control group. Both groups completed repeated questionnaires measuring infertility-related stress, perceived relationship quality, and dispositional anxiety. Data were collected before the intervention, 3 weeks after the intervention and 6 weeks after the intervention. Despite strong intentions to improve their diet or engage in regular exercise, individuals frequently fail to achieve these health goals. According to Temporal Self-Regulation Theory (Hall & Fong, 2007) , executive function (including working memory and inhibitory control capacities) and prepotent behaviour (e.g., habits) may influence self-regulation abilities. The aim of this study was to replicate and extend initial evidence (Hall, Fong, Epp, & Elias, 2008) that, within the domains of diet and exercise, executive function moderates the intention-behaviour relationship. At baseline, university students and staff (N=123; ages 17-73; 33 men) completed an nback task (working memory), a Go/NoGo task (inhibitory control), and measures of dichotomous thinking and weight-cycling. They completed weekly measures of diet and exercise intentions and behaviours (including a modified version of the US National Cancer Institute Fruit and Vegetable screener over three weeks. Diet behaviours included eating five fruit and vegetables a day, low-fat foods, low-sugar foods, and a reduced-calorie diet. Regression analyses revealed interaction effects of executive function and intentions on reduced-calorie diet at Time 2 (β=.14, p<.05), and on fruit and vegetable intake and low-sugar intake at Times 2 and 3 (β's >.18, p's<.05). Intentions were more predictive of behaviour when executive functions was high than when it was low. Weight-cyclers (compared to those with no history of weight cycling) reported a higher dichotomous thinking style (t=2.09, p<.04) and exhibited lower levels of inhibitory control (t=2.14, p<.04). The findings support hypotheses that health goal achievement is influenced by self-regulation abilities with a significant biological basis. Research is needed to identify ways to increase these self-regulation capacities or develop alternative techniques for enabling individuals with low executive function to fulfil their health behaviour intentions. Background: Childhood sexual abuse has been associated with sexual risk behavior and alcohol abuse in adults. However, the relationship of other forms of childhood abuse and neglect to these health risk behaviors has been less studied. Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of childhood abuse on theoretical antecedents of health risk-taking, sexual risk behavior, and alcohol use. Methods: Participants (N=184) were recruited from a mid-sized northeast university and completed self-report questionnaires to assess childhood experiences with abuse and neglect. Outcome measures included alcohol use, drinking consequences, and sexual risk behavior. Theoretical antecedents to sexual risk behavior also were assessed, including attitudes, norms, self-efficacy, perceived behavioral control, and intentions to use condoms. Data were analyzed with hierarchical multiple regression. Tobacco use and physical inactivity are the leading causes of preventable death in the US, and persistent smokers tend to remain inactive. Most smokers who quit relapse within three months, suggesting that mainstream cessation assistance options do not work well for many smokers. Interventions using sustained, aerobic exercise as a smoking cessation technique have resulted in success rates comparable to conventional cessation methods. No trial to date has prescribed intermittent bouts of brief exercise in response to nicotine cravings, despite evidence suggesting its potential efficacy as a cessation tool. This randomized controlled trial attempts to replace smoking with exercise when cravings arise among generally healthy, inactive adult smokers who desire to quit. The first wave of participants (N=26; mean age 42.4[12.2] years; 50% female) were randomly assigned to a standard care Internet group (n=13) or an Internet+ exercise group (n=13) for the three-month intervention phase. The attrition rate (34.6%) was comparable to other smoking cessation trials and did not differ between groups. Self-reported quit rates among retained (29.4%) and total enrolled (19.2%) participants were higher than and comparable to, respectively, those attained by trials using traditional quit assist methods such as nicotine replacement therapy. Reduction rates among retained (49%) and total enrolled (37.4%) participants were substantial. Quit rates did not differ between groups, but reduction rates were twice as high among participants in the control (52%) vs. intervention (26%) group. From baseline to post-intervention, mean FTND scores ( Preliminary results from the first wave of participants in this lowcost, web-based trial are comparable to more resource-and timeconsuming cessation programs, suggesting that future iterations of this program may be quite promising. Further analyses will examine the potential roles of exercise adherence, selfmonitoring adherence, and self-efficacy, among other variables, in the smoking cessation and reduction rates associated with this program. With growing number of people diagnosed with diabetes, there is a lack of diabetic control among people with diabetes in Malaysia and we need to understand why this is. This study set out to explore the perspectives of patients' management of Type 2 diabetes and provide recommendations that aim to enhance adherence to treatment and help patients to improve their selfmanagement skills. In-depth interviews were carried out on a purposeful sample of patients and their health care professional (HCPs). Interviews were recorded, transcribed and audiotapes were analysed using NVivo software to identify emerging themes and code according to categories. Interviews were conducted in an Endocrinology clinic in Malaysia with 18 Malay patients (15-75 years, 9 males and 9 females) and 13 HCPs. Themes that emerged from interviews with patients' were problems with integrating the treatment regimen and difficulty developing coping skills to achieve the desired blood glucose level. Patients lacked knowledge about their medicines, dietary control, medicine taking, complexities of treatment, and side effects of medications. They needed to integrate many treatment requirements such as diet, medications, blood glucose monitoring and exercise into their daily routine posed problems. Other barriers such as ethnicity, beliefs (culture and financial) proved to be constraints in their ability to good control diabetes. Education and knowledge related to diabetes that influenced understanding of the disease were also reasons for non-adherence to treatment regimen. According to pharmacists, patients' ethnicity and education level played a substantial role in their attitudes toward diabetes management. Their beliefs, cultural and social needs shaped their attitudes in controlling or adherence to treatment management. Patients were willing to discuss their problems about self-managing diabetes if these barriers were addressed during consultations with the pharmacists. More positive approaches are needed in self-management of diabetes and health care professionals involved in the management of diabetes need to understand their patients' beliefs about their diabetes and their constraints to promote more awareness and to foster greater control of diabetes and improve health outcomes. Most major chronic diseases are caused by more than one behavioral risk factor and risk factors additively contribute to morbidity and mortality. Risk behaviors also tend to co-occur, but data on the prevalence of co-occurring mental and behavioral risk factors are scarce. Most prevalence reports focus on single risk factors. Better understanding the co-occurrence of risk factors, however, could help inform the feasibility and design of multiple risk factor (MRF) interventions, which potentially can be more cost-effective than delivering interventions targeted at single behaviors. We report on the co-occurrence of three primary disease risk factors (depression, low physical activity, and smoking) in a representative health plan population (n=66,901) in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Data was collected during an online health risk assessment offered to all health plan members. Twothirds of respondents (66.6%) were female and 86% were white. Mean age was 47 years. Approximately 9% reported current smoking, 8.2% were moderate to severely depressed based on the PHQ-8, and 24.5% reported low physical activity per the IPAQ. While 33.1% of smokers had low physical activity and 18.8% reported significant depressive symptoms, the overall prevalence of all three behaviors was much lower. As a proportion of the entire sample, <2% (n=1089) met criteria for smoking and depression; 2.5% (n=1695) met criteria for smoking and low physical activity; and 3.2% (n=2137) met criteria for depression and low physical activity. Fewer (0.6%; n=405) met criteria for all three behaviors. The results highlight a challenge of MRF interventions. While many people report single risk factors, far fewer meet criteria for MRF's, even for common risk factors such as smoking, depression, and inactivity. Given this, MRF interventions may need to be easily disseminable across large populations in order to be cost-effective and have maximum impact. Implications for MRF treatment design will also be discussed. Introduction: The theoretical framework of Raghubir and Menon (2005) suggests that intention to behave in the future will be more favourable when individuals recall positive experiences and these experiences are easy to retrieve (such as when experiences occur on a regular basis). The aim of this study is to verify if perceived regularity in the adoption of behaviour adds to the prediction of intention, taking into account the constructs of the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) and constructs of other relevant social cognitive theories that aim to explain intention. Method: This is a descriptive correlational design in which 385 college students in Quebec (Canada) volunteered to complete a self-administered questionnaire measuring psychosocial constructs (intention, attitude, subjective norm, descriptive norm, perceived behavioural control, self-efficacy) regarding the consumption of at least five portions of vegetables and fruit every day during the next three months. Consumption of vegetables and fruit in the last seven days and the regularity of this consumption were also measured. Objectives: We previously showed that a single intervention session had large effects on the objectively assessed walking behavior of N=130 English adult volunteers (d=0.90), mediated by self-efficacy. The present research aims to establish (a) whether this effect is generalisable (when delivered by a different person (namely the second author), and (b) whether either of the motivational or volitional components of the intervention are alone sufficient to alter walking behaviour, or whether both components are required. Methods: Adult volunteers (n=35) randomly received one of three interventions: (i) a "combined" intervention containing motivational and volitional components in the same session, (ii) a "motivation first" intervention, where the motivational components were followed by volitional components a week later, and (iii) a "volition first" intervention, where the volitional components were followed by the motivational components a week later. Results: The "combined" intervention produced a large (d=1.06) and significant (p=0.036) increase in walking behavior, in contrast to both other interventions (time x groups interaction, p=0.003).