May 11, 2005 -- Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology Dean Lawrence Siegel called the student talent evident at YU’s second annual behavioral research conference “a well-kept secret” and said more people should be aware of it. The breadth of research is, indeed, impressive. Some student research project titles included "Relationship Between Anger Rumination and Cardiovascular Reactivity"; "The Effects of Acculturative Distress on Depression and Anxiety in Greek Immigrant Adolescents"; "Personality Disorders in Older Adults: Emerging Models"; and "Eating Disorders and Body Image Prevention Program in Single vs Coed Orthodox Jewish Elementary Schools." At the May 5 conference on the Resnick Campus, Dean Siegel joined YU President Richard M. Joel, Dr. Esther Joel, who earned her PhD from Ferkauf, Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Morton Lowengrub, Yeshiva College Dean Dr. Norman Adler, and Rabbi Arthur Schneier who endowed YU's Rabbi Arthur Schneier Center for International Affairs, a co-sponsor of the conference. President Joel, Dean Adler, and Rabbi Schneier all received awards of appreciation for their contributions to YU. Peter Kaufmann, PhD, director for behavioral medicine at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, presented the keynote address, “Perspectives on Behavioral Sciences in Health: A View from the Top.” Dr. Kaufmann’s talk focused on the behavioral, psychological, and biological factors affecting life expectancy in various countries. Dr. Kaufmann said a cardiovascular disease, in particular, has declined in the US due primarily to a reduction in smoking. He said factors that get less attention than smoking, such as personality type, depression, and stress also greatly impact overall health and life expectancy. Dr. Kaufmann also said he believes a strong public health policy leads to a healthy workforce, which leads to a stronger and more productive economy. The research conference itself featured nearly 50 research projects from students of Ferkauf, Stern College for Women, Yeshiva College, Wurzweiler School of Social Work, and Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration. The students’ work was displayed in poster form in the Max L. and Sadie Friedman Lounge of the Leo Forchheimer Medical Sciences Building on the Resnick Campus in the Bronx. Students were on hand to talk about their projects, some of which were research proposals and some actual results of studies. All addressed some aspect of behavioral sciences and covered a rich array of topics, from substance abuse to obesity, spirituality, and post-traumatic stress disorder. For her project, Michal Safier, a Stern College senior majoring in psychology, interviewed 35 multiple sclerosis patients to learn how they perceive their ability to administer their own medicine through injections. Michal said the research educates doctors and others on how to individually tailor the administration of certain medication. YC senior Jeff Kilstein’s proposed research project aimed to discover if physically attractive children with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) are more accepted by peers than less physically attractive children with ADHD. The goal is to learn, at least from a sample group, if physical attributes are valued more than social skills among adolescent boys. Jeff's anticipated conclusion is that initially physical attributes will, indeed, play a role in how boys treat each other but that ultimately social skills will be deemed by most boys as more important. Another SCW senior majoring in psychology, Leora D. Galian, researched the different ways that men and women respond to pain. She found that most men appear to manage pain better than most women. "Appear" is a key word here, for Leora said that men may be just as affected by the same pain as women but may not express it the same way. This apparent ability on the part of some people to manage their pain is cause for interest among researchers. If we learn how some people successfully manage their pain, then that ability may be taught to others. Joanne Camille, who earned her MA in Clinical Health Psychology at Ferkauf and is now pursuing her PhD there, conducted a study of 462 HIV-positive women of three different backgrounds: English-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and Creole (Haitian)-speaking. Joanne's goal was to learn from what groups these women received most of their non-medical support. Those groups consisted primarily of friends, relatives, partners, religious organizations, general support groups, and health care providers. Joanne said that among all three language groups most social support came from partners.