Abernathy, Barbara E.

Free-ranging manatees wintering in the warm water of Kings Spring, Crystal River, Florida, were studied to determine the relationships between human presence and their sexual behaviors. The manatees of Crystal River are unique because of frequent exposure to large numbers of snorkelers and divers. Quantitative knowledge of such relationships are becoming increasingly important as preservation measures are reviewed to ensure that the human activity at the Spring does not pose a threat to manatee reproduction. Focal animal sampling provided sexual behavioral data of manatees during randomly selected 30 min sampling periods. Frequencies of four of the eight observed sexual behaviors increased significantly in the presence of humans. Differences were also found between the types of sexual behaviors manatees exhibited while interacting with conspecifics, and the behaviors displayed with humans. Manatees appeared to be hyperstimulated in the presence of humans. No conclusions could be made about the effects of human interaction on manatee reproductive success because of the relatively short duration of the study.

This mixed methods sequential research study was performed to explore the role of identity in posttraumatic growth and psychological adjustment for adults with cancer. One hundred nineteen individuals participated in an online survey which included items from Brief COPE, Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer (Mini-MAC), Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ), Sense of Coherence Scale - 3 items (SOC-3), Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), Illness Intrusiveness Ratings Scale (IIRS), and Centrality of Event Scale (CES). A two-step cluster analysis divided the sample into two clusters based on the integration of cancer into identity: High Cancer Identity Cluster (cancer identity scores above M) with strong cancer identity and Low Cancer Identity Cluster (scores below the M) with a weak or absent cancer identity. HCIC yielded positive and negative subgroups. A discriminant analysis revealed which variables are significant predictors of group membership: PTG factor New Possibilities (Wilks'l = .781, F (1, 119) = 32.834, p = .000), Psychological Adjustment factor Anxious Preoccupation (Wilks' l= .863, F (1, 119) = 18.612, p = .000), Illness Intrusiveness factor Intimate Relationships (Wilks' l= .794, F (1, 119) = 30.348, p = .000), and Illness Perception factor Perceived Life Impact of Cancer (Wilks' l= .783, F (1, 119) = 32.412, p = .000). From the sample, 17 individuals and spouses/partners were interviewed to obtain a deeper understanding of the lived experience of cancer. Qualitative themes of suffering, woundedness, and uncertainty were found. Narrative data corroborated the quantitative data and contributed depth to the analysis. A new Cancer Identity Process Model was offered in which assimilative and accommodative efforts are informed by identity structures.