OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between maternal stress exposure, stress coping styles, and pregnancy complications. DESIGN Quantitative, cross-sectional, and prospective study. SETTING Tulane-Lakeside Hospital, New Orleans, LA and Women's Hospital, Baton Rouge, LA. PARTICIPANTS The study included 146 women (122 from New Orleans and 24 from Baton Rouge), who were pregnant during or ...

Human emotions, such as anxiety, depression, fear, joy, and laughter, profoundly affect psychological and physiological processes. These emotions form a set of basic, evolved functions that are shared by all humans. Laughter is part of a universal language of basic emotions that all humans recognize. Health care providers and educators may utilize the power of laughter to improve health and enh...

Identifying social gaffes is important for maintaining relationships. Older adults are less able than young to discriminate between socially appropriate and inappropriate behavior in video clips. One open question is how these social appropriateness ratings relate to potential age differences in the perception of what is actually funny or not. In the present study, young, middle-aged, and older...