Rationale: Biopsychosocial models of asthma have been proposed in the literature, but few empirical tests of social factors at various levels of influence have been conducted. Objectives: To test associations of neighborhood, peer, and family factors with asthma outcomes in youth, and to determine the pathways through which these social factors operate. Methods: Observational study of youths with asthma (n 5 78). Measurements and Main Results: Youths completed questionnaires about neighborhood problems, peer support, and family support. Biological (IgE, eosinophil count, production of IL-4) and behavioral ( youth smoking, exposure to smoke, adherence to medications) pathways were measured. Asthma symptoms and pulmonary function were assessed in the laboratory and at home for 2 weeks. Lower levels of family support were associated with greater symptoms (b coefficients: 20.26 to 20.33, P , 0.05) and poorer pulmonary function (b: 0.30, P , 0.05) via biological pathways (Z statistics from 1.19 to 1.51, P , 0.05). Higher levels of neighborhood problems were associated with greater symptoms (b coefficients: 0.27-0.33, P , 0.05) via behavioral pathways related to smoking (Z statistics 5 1.40, P , 0.05). Peer support was not associated with symptoms or pulmonary function. Conclusions: This study indicates that family factors may affect youths' asthma via physiologic changes, whereas community factors may help shape the health behaviors of youths with asthma.Keywords: support; behaviors; inflammatory markers; children; adolescentsThe social environment has long been viewed as an important determinant of asthma outcomes in youth. Consistent with biopsychosocial approaches to conceptualizing the onset and course of asthma (1, 2), research indicates that factors such as exposure to violence (3), abrasive family relationships (4, 5), and psychological stress (6-8) all relate to adverse outcomes in youths with asthma.However, most previous studies have focused on social factors at a single level (e.g., the family). At the broadest level of social influence, the neighborhood, factors such as greater violence in the neighborhood and lower socioeconomic status of neighborhoods have been associated with greater asthma morbidity and heightened allergic inflammatory responses (9-11). At a more circumscribed level of social influence, one's peers, high stress in combination with low levels of social support increases risk for asthma exacerbations (12). At the most proximal level of social influence, the family, parenting difficulties and parental stress have been associated with markers of inflammation and high risk for onset of childhood asthma (5, 6, 13).By contrast, fewer studies have provided a more complete picture of the relative contributions of neighborhood, peer, and family factors, or asked whether they influence asthma through similar versus different mechanisms. Understanding these contributions has important implications for interventions. For example, associations between neighborhood factors and asthma may suggest the...

While significant research has demonstrated that people's beliefs about a group shape how they judge members of that group, few studies have examined whether people's beliefs and values regarding emotion (their "ideal affect") shape how they socially judge people's emotional facial expressions. We predicted that the more people valued and ideally wanted to feel excitement and other high arousal positive states (HAP), the more affiliative (extraverted, agreeable) they would judge excited (vs. calm) faces. Moreover, because European Americans typically value HAP more than Hong Kong Chinese do, we predicted that European Americans would rate excited (vs. calm) targets as more affiliative than would Hong Kong Chinese. We found consistent support for these hypotheses in four studies. In Studies 1a and 1b, these effects held regardless of target race (White, Asian) and target sex (male, female); emerged for human as well as computer-generated faces; and did not consistently emerge for nonaffiliative social judgments (i.e., dominance, competence). In Studies 2 and 3, we replicated these findings in more realistic contexts. In Study 2, culture and ideal affect predicted participants' extraversion judgments of excited Facebook profiles. In Study 3, culture and ideal affect predicted participants' extraversion and agreeableness judgments of an excited job applicant, which increased their likelihood of hiring that applicant. Together, these findings suggest that people's culture and ideal affect shape how affiliative they judge excited (vs. calm) smiles. We discuss the role these processes may play in perpetuating biases in multicultural settings. (PsycINFO Database Record

European Americans value excitement more and calm less than Chinese. Within cultures, European Americans value excited and calm states similarly, whereas Chinese value calm more than excited states. To examine how these cultural differences influence people's immediate responses to excited vs calm facial expressions, we combined a facial rating task with functional magnetic resonance imaging. During scanning, European American (n = 19) and Chinese (n = 19) females viewed and rated faces that varied by expression (excited, calm), ethnicity (White, Asian) and gender (male, female). As predicted, European Americans showed greater activity in circuits associated with affect and reward (bilateral ventral striatum, left caudate) while viewing excited vs calm expressions than did Chinese. Within cultures, European Americans responded to excited vs calm expressions similarly, whereas Chinese showed greater activity in these circuits in response to calm vs excited expressions regardless of targets' ethnicity or gender. Across cultural groups, greater ventral striatal activity while viewing excited vs. calm expressions predicted greater preference for excited vs calm expressions months later. These findings provide neural evidence that people find viewing the specific positive facial expressions valued by their cultures to be rewarding and relevant.

Do people derive more enjoyment from activities that match how they ideally want to feel (their "ideal affect")? Affect valuation theory (AVT) predicts that they do; however, no study has directly examined whether this is the case. Therefore, the authors conducted 4 studies that examined whether valuing calm and other low arousal positive states (LAP) increased enjoyment of calming (vs. exciting) activities. In Study 1, the more participants valued LAP, the more enjoyment they recalled during calming (vs. exciting) episodes from their lives. In Studies 2-3, the more participants valued LAP, the more enjoyment they experienced during calming (vs. exciting) amusement park rides, both in the United States and Hong Kong. To assess causality, in Study 4, participants were randomly assigned to either a "value LAP" or control condition and then engaged in either low or high intensity exercise. Participants in the value LAP condition who engaged in low intensity exercise reported greater enjoyment than those who engaged in high intensity exercise; these differences did not emerge in the control condition. People's trait levels of experienced LAP ("actual LAP") were not related to their enjoyment of calming (vs. exciting) activities. Together, these findings provide evidence that people derive more enjoyment from activities that match their ideal affect. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for AVT as well as interventions aimed at enhancing well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record

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