Showing papers by "Tracey D. Wade published in 2002"

Variables associated with disturbed eating habits and overvalued ideas about the personal implications of body shape and weight in a female adolescent population.

Abstract: Objectives Few studies exist that examine risk factors for the overvalued ideas about the personal implications of body shape and weight that are viewed as the central cognitive substrate of eating disorders. Method In a female adolescent population (mean age = 14 years, SD = 0.7), we examine variables previously identified in the literature as risk factors for eating disorders, namely, self-esteem, comments from others about eating/weight/shape, perfectionism, childhood and parental weight/shape, and parental conflict. Results These variables were all correlated significantly with current (past 4 weeks) levels of overvalued ideas and disturbed eating patterns in the predicted directions. Self-esteem was found to mediate partially the relationship between the overvalued ideas and comments about weight and perfectionism. Self-esteem fully mediated the relationship between the overvalued ideas and parental conflict. A family index of body size had an independent influence on the overvalued ideas, that is, the bigger the size, the greater the overvalued ideas. Finally, the overvalued ideas fully accounted for the relationship between self-esteem and disturbed eating patterns. Discussion The cognitive model of bulimia nervosa is supported by the results of this study. Self-esteem represents an important gateway to the overvalued ideas that contribute substantially to disturbed eating patterns. © 2002 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 32:39–45, 2002.

Problem- versus Case-based Approaches in Teaching Medical Students about Eating Disorders: A Controlled Comparison.

Abstract: Fourth-year medical students were allocated randomly to either problem-based learning (PBL) or case-based learning (CBL) tutorials on the topic of eating disorders during their 6-week psychiatry attachment. All students were evaluated in terms of their tutorial performance and the factual knowledge they had acquired. In turn, students evaluated the performance of the tutors in both the PBL and the CBL process. No significant differences were found between the student groups with respect to their performance or acquired knowledge. Furthermore, there were no significant differences when comparing the PBL format with the CBL format with regard to group functioning or oral interaction between students. Finally, student ratings for tutor performance on feedback, group management skills and personal qualities showed no differences. Implications for education are discussed.

Enjoyment and Perceived Value of Two School-Based Interventions Designed To Reduce Risk Factors for Eating Disorders in Adolescents.

Abstract: Objective: To investigate the enjoyment and perceived value associated with two interventions designed to reduce risk factors for eating disorders in young adolescents. Method: Participants were 86 high school students (53 boys and 33 girls) with a mean age of 13.4 years (SD=0.4). Classes were randomly assigned to either a control condition or one of the two intervention conditions, a media literacy program or a self-esteem program. Measures: Students in the intervention groups were asked to evaluate the two programs in terms of enjoyment and perceived value. Results: The majority of students thought that the programs were enjoyable and valuable. Overall, the media literacy program was the intervention preferred by students. Students in both interventions said that they had learnt to accept themselves better. Conclusions: Both programs seemed relevant in the process of helping students to be happier with themselves. When media literacy is delivered within an interactive, student-centred framework it may potentially be a safe and effective way of reducing risk factors for eating disorders. Differences in the enjoyment and value between the two interventions may be due to the different way in which the programs were implemented.

An investigation of the relationship between responsibility and attention deficits characteristic of obsessive-compulsive phenomena

Abstract: Attention deficits and inflated perceptions of responsibility have been identified as characteristics of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The present study examined the relative importance of responsibility and attention in predicting non-clinical levels of obsessionality. Three hundred Australian university students were screened using the Maudsley Obsessional-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI), and students who scored in the top and bottom 10% of the distribution were selected for participation. The selected participants completed the Responsibility Attitude Scale (RAS) and the Test of Everyday Attention (TEA), along with measures of trait-anxiety and depression. High MOCI scorers exhibited a greater perception of responsibility, and poorer overall attention than low MOCI scorers. These differences remained significant after controlling for trait-anxiety and depression. Logistic regression analyses revealed that responsibility was a stronger predictor of non-clinical obsessionality than was attention. Moreover, attention did not make a significant contribution to the prediction of obsessionality once responsibility had been controlled. Correlations between responsibility and TEA visual selective attention subtests remained significant after controlling for obsessionality. These findings suggest that measures of attention (particularly measures of visual selective attention) may be confounded by responsibility attitudes, thus highlighting the importance of controlling for meta-cognitive variables such as responsibility when investigating attention in OCD.

Feasibility of a cognitive-behavioural group intervention for men experiencing psychological difficulties after myocardial infarction.

Abstract: BACKGROUND People experiencing psychological distress after a cardiac event may require special follow-up and targeted interventions in order to effectively decrease levels of distress. AIMS Men who were judged to be experiencing poor emotional adjustment post-myocardial infarction (MI) were invited to a cognitive behaviour therapy group. The current study examines the attendance at such a group and the consequent feasibility of such interventions. METHOD The content of the group aimed to help men deal with the uncomfortable psychosocial issues that had arisen since having a MI. RESULTS Of the 26 men approached only 30% were interested in attending and only 11% actually completed the group. Two men who were committed to attending the group could not complete all the sessions, as heart bypass operations became available to them. CONCLUSION Ways of involving men in interventions targeting psychological distress requires ongoing investigation.