Showing papers in "Psychological topics in 2016"

Severe fear of childbirth : Its features, assesment, prevalence, determinants, consequences and possible treatments

Abstract: The review summarizes the relevant literature regarding fear of childbirth. A substantial number of (pregnant) women are more or less afraid of childbirth and a significant minority; report a severe fear of childbirth. The focus will be on definition problems, its features, prevalence, assessment methods and measurements, determinants, consequences and treatment methods. To date, there is still no consensus about the exact definition of severe fear of childbirth. However, there is agreement that women with severe fear of childbirth are concerned about the well-being of themselves and their infants, the labor process, and other personal and external conditions. In studies on prenatal anxiety and fear of childbirth, various kinds of diagnostic methods have been used in the past. Recently, there is a consensus to determine severe fear of childbirth by using the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire. The aetiology of fear of childbirth is likely to be multi-factorial and may be related to more general anxiety proneness, as well as to very specific fears. Furthermore, pregnant women are influenced by the many healthcare professionals, such as midwives, nurses, gynaecologists, therapists and pregnancy counselors and the interactions with them. Trying to design a universal treatment for fear of childbirth will not likely be the ultimate solution; therefore, future research is needed into multidisciplinary treatment and predictors to establish which therapies at the individual level are most effective and appropriate.

Modelling management of chronic illness in everyday life: A common-sense approach

Abstract: The Commonsense Model of Self-Regulation (CSM) has a history of over 50 years as a theoretical framework that explicates the processes by which individuals form cognitive, affective, and behavioral representations of health threats. This article summarizes the major components of individuals' "commonsense models", the underlying assumptions of the CSM as a theory of dynamic behavior change, and the major empirical evidence that have developed these aspects of the CSM since its inception. We also discuss ongoing changes to the theory itself as well as its use in medical practice for optimizing patients' self-management of chronic health threats. The final section focuses on future directions for the theory and its application.

Dark triad traits and health outcomes: An exploratory study

Abstract: On the sample of 637 participants (358 women and 279 men) we explored the relationshipbetween Dark Triad traits (psychopathy, Machiavellianism and Narcissism) and various healthindicators including subjective (positive and negative mood and perceived physical symptoms),protective health behaviors as well as some more objective health indicators (number ofhospitalizations, number of diseases, having specific chronic diseases, injuries and addictions).Because of the moderate relations between Dark Triad and broad personality traits that also exerttheir influence on various health-related indices, we examined the unique effects of Dark Triad traitson health indicators above and beyond five-factor personality traits as well as sociodemographicvariables related to health (gender, age and education).When sociodemographic variables, as well as five-factor personality traits were controlled inhierarchical regression analyses, Dark Triad traits significantly improved the prediction of almostall subjective health indicators, protective health behaviors, number of hospitalizations and numberof diseases. The effect sizes obtained were relatively low, and psychopathy was the most consistentpredictor.Regarding chronic diseases, injuries and addictions, the results of hierarchical binary logisticregressions showed that when sociodemographic variables were controlled, psychopathy was apositive predictor of the risk of digestive diseases, tobacco use and injuries, Machiavellianismnegatively predicted the risk of injuries, while Narcissism negatively predicted the risk of skindiseases and tobacco use. When five-factor personality traits were controlled, psychopathy was alsoa positive predictor of digestive diseases, tobacco use and injuries. Machiavellianism was a positivepredictor of high blood pressure, and negative predictor of cancer, spine and back diseases andinjuries, while Narcissism was a negative predictor of skin diseases.The results obtained are discussed in the context of possible mechanisms through which DarkTriad traits may exert negative, but also positive effects on various health outcomes.

Somatic complaints in adolescence: Prevalence patterns across gender and age

Abstract: The aim of the study was to determine the age- and gender-specific prevalence, at symptom level and cluster level, of somatic symptoms in a sample of 1512 participants (52.7% females) aged 10 to 25 years old.Somatic complaints were measured with the Psychosomatic Symptoms Scale (PSS), a 35-item scale that inquires about 35 somatic symptoms and sensations in the last 3 months. PSS shows acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach alpha=.89), and factor analysis resulted in 5 meaningful factors: Pain-Musculoskeletal, Pseudoneurological, Gastrointestinal, Cardiovascular-Respiratory and Dermatological. The most commonly reported symptoms were upper respiratory symptoms, lack of energy and fatigue, headaches and back pain. Gender differences were found in 22 of the 35 symptoms, with males having only one symptom (pain in the joints) more prevalent than females.Four age-specific prevalence patterns were established: increasing, decreasing, curvilinear and stable shape. Most of the somatic symptoms show stable shape across different age groups. At the cluster level, females achieved significantly higher scores on all five somatic symptom clusters. With regard to age-specific pattern shape, mostly stable and curvilinear patterns are observed in the various clusters.The article emphasizes the necessity of taking a multilevel view of somatic symptoms.

Psychometric assessment of human life history predicts health related behaviors

Abstract: Life History Theory is a powerful framework that can help promote understanding of variation in health-related behavioral patterns and why they vary consistent with environmental conditions. An organism's life history reflects tradeoffs made in the allocation of effort towards specific aspects of survival and reproduction across the lifespan. This study examines the relationship between psychological indicators of life history strategy and health related behaviors in a demographically representative sample in the Midwestern USA. Slower life histories predicted higher levels of health promoting behaviors and lower levels of health adverse behaviors, even when controlling for relevant socio-demographic factors. The analyses provide a strong test of the hypothesized relationship between life history and health behavior indicators, as life history variation co-varies with these socio-demographic factors. Traditional public health efforts may be reaching their limits of effectiveness in encouraging health-promoting behaviors. Integrating an evolutionary framework may revitalize behavioral health promotion efforts.

Influence of the Probability Level on the Framing Effect

Abstract: Research of the framing effect of risky choice mostly applies to the tasks where the effect of only one probability or risk level on the choice of non-risky or risky options was examined. The conducted research was aimed to examine the framing effect in the function of probability level in the outcome of a risk option in three decision-making domains: health, money and human lives. It has been confirmed that the decision-making domain moderates the framing effect. In the monetary domain, the general risk aversion has been confirmed as registered in earlier research. At high probability levels, the framing effect is registered in both frames, while no framing effect is registered at lower probability levels. In the domain of decision-making about human lives, the framing effect is registered at medium high and medium low probability levels. In the domain of decision-making about health, the framing effect is registered almost in the entire probability range while this domain differs from the former two. The results show that the attitude to risk is not identical at different probability levels, that the dynamics of the attitude to risk influences the framing effect, and that the framing effect pattern is different in different decision-making domains. In other words, linguistic manipulation representing the frame in the tasks affects the change in the preference order only when the possibility of gain (expressed in probability) is estimated as sufficiently high.

Stress and Perception of School Satisfaction on a Sample of Slovene Primary School Students

Abstract: The aim of our research was to determine the relationships between experiencing stress, coping strategies, coping self-efficacy and primary school students' school satisfaction. We were also interested in the predictive power of these variables on school satisfaction. A total of 512 students from the seventh, eighth and ninth grades participated in this study and the results show that primary school students which are feeling stressed are less satisfied with school. There is a negative correlation between stress and coping self-efficacy and a positive correlation between coping self-efficacy and instrumental-interactive coping strategies. Palliative coping strategies are negatively correlated with coping self-efficacy and school satisfaction, while instrumentalinteractive coping strategies are positively correlated with school satisfaction. Results showed that instrumental-interactive and palliative coping strategies, as well as physical stressors, are very important predictors of school satisfaction. All the results have both theoretical and practical implications for coping with stress in primary school.

The role of stress in IBS symptom severity

Abstract: Irritable bowel syndrome is regarded as a biopsychosocial disorder, the result of a complex combination of predisposing, precipitating and perpetuating factors. Personality traits, affective status and stress are some of the relevant factors contributing to lower quality of life and symptom exacerbation in IBS patients. In order to examine the role of stress in IBS symptom exacerbation, the aims of this study were to explore the relationship of daily stressful events and symptom severity in a prospective manner and to explore the roles of neuroticism, anxiety, depression and stress in the vicious circle of symptom perpetuation. A total of 49 patients with IBS reported their symptom severity and daily stressful events intensity each day for 14 consecutive days. They also completed the Big five personality inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory and the State-trait anxiety inventory. Cross-correlation analyses were performed on the time series data for daily stress and symptom severity for each participant separately. Four different patterns of relationships were found in different subgroups of participants: positive cross-correlations of symptom severity and stress intensity on the same day; higher symptom severity on days following stressful days; lower symptom severity on days following stressful days; and lower stress intensity on days following severe symptoms. Using average scores for daily stress and symptom severity, as well as scores for neuroticism, anxiety and depression, we performed a path analysis to test a model of symptom exacerbation. It showed that, on the group level, average stress intensity predicts average symptom severity. Neuroticism and anxiety were not significant predictors of symptom severity, while depression showed a marginally significant relationship with symptom severity, mediated by stress intensity. In conclusion, depression and daily stress seem to be important contributors to the vicious circle of IBS symptom perpetuation.

I Want to Watch this! An Evolutionary Perspective on the Popularity of Sports

Abstract: There are many different sports, and some are more popular for watching than others. The present paper attempts to address the question why sports vary in popularity. To this end, an evolutionary framework is employed that indicates that sports have evolved to enable the reliable exchange of information of unobserved traits. Six of these traits are nominated, namely, physical strength, stamina, speed, dexterity, aggression and team spirit. On this basis, it is predicted that sports which require higher competence in these traits, and thus are better in transferring information on these dimensions, are more popular than sports which require less competence. Analysis on data based on 34 different sports supports this prediction. The implications of these finding are further discussed.

Personality correlates of type 1 diabetes in a national representative sample

Abstract: We examined cross-sectional relationships between personality traits and type 1 diabetes. The sample ( n =8490) was taken from the 1982-84 wave of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiological Follow-up Study. We fit three logistic regression models to test whether neuroticism, extraversion, openness, or the Type A behavior pattern were associated with type 1 diabetes. Model 1 included sex, age, race/ethnicity and all four personality traits. Model 2 added depressive symptoms. Model 3 added body mass index, hypertension, and cigarette smoking status. Results regarding personality traits were consistent across all three models: higher neuroticism was associated with 39% higher chance of having type 1 diabetes per standard deviation increase and openness was associated with 26% decrease in that chance per standard deviation increase. Extraversion, and Type A personality were not associated with type 1 diabetes in our models.

Angry and Beautiful: The Interactive Effect of Facial Expression and Attractiveness on Time Perception

Abstract: Time perception is an adaptive phenomenon that enables everyday functioning, although many of its aspects remain unknown. Previous studies have resulted in new insights regarding this phenomenon, indicating an overestimation of emotional faces presentations, compared to neutral ones. The aim of the present study was to explore if this effect due to emotional expression would be modulated by the attractiveness of the perceived face. Female participants performed a temporal bisection task during which they evaluated elapsed time of female faces presentation differing in facial expression (angry and neutral expression) and attractiveness (attractive and unattractive face) for seven different stimuli durations (400-1.600 ms). Results indicate a systematic overestimation of angry faces duration compared to neutral ones, but only for the attractive face condition, the effect that did not occur for the unattractive face. These findings support the arousal-based models of time perception, indicating that arousal affects time perception mechanism resulting in an overestimation of the perceived time.

Konstrukcija i validacija Testa razumijevanja emocija u okviru Rosemanova modela emocija

Abstract: Rosemanov strukturalni model emocija pretpostavlja da se svaka situacija procjenjuje na temelju sedam relevantnih dimenzija (neocekivanost, željenos

Promocija mentalnog zdravlja: Temeljni koncepti i smjernice za roditeljske i školske programe

Abstract: Good mental health is an integral part of population's general health and well-being that contributes to the quality of functioning of individuals, families and communities. In newer European Union documents, mental health is perceived as a prerequisite for the social and economic growth of each society. According to that, the role of the decision makers and the responsibility of various helping professions is to act towards social determinants which influence mental health. The aim of this paper is to present modern interdisciplinary area of mental health promotion through the review of the literature, starting from the historical development of the area, basic concepts and guidelines for program development. The paper highlights the differences between mental health promotion and prevention of mental disorders. Promotion is connected with positive mental health, and its main goal is strengthening protective factors and competencies. Prevention, on the other hand, aims to reduce risk factors and specific disorders to diminish incidence, prevalence, and seriousness of problems. Regarding recent international developments, which state that mental health should concern various sectors and social policies, not just health sector, this paper brings basic models to contribute to the mutual understanding of the terminology within different professions. Multi-sectoral mental health promotion involves activities and programs for supporting parenthood, and children and youth in the education system, while the area of social welfare and healthcare concerns with the quality of life in a community and within a work place settings. Regarding the interdisciplinary nature of the area, this paper wants to contribute to the scientific and professional discussion of various disciplines which are included.

Of Rape and Other Demons: The Impact of the Victim's Eye Size and Observer's Gender on the Attributions of Responsibility

Abstract: This study examined the influence of the victim's eye size and observer's gender on the observers' perception of initial attraction and honesty of the victim, identification of the observer with a female target, and observers' attribution of victim's and perpetrator's responsibility for rape. A 3 (victim's eye size: small vs. normal vs. large) x 2 (observer's gender: female vs. male) experimental design was used. Participants (45 females and 45 males) observed one of three randomly assigned female faces (with eye size manipulation) and rated initial attraction, honesty, and identification. They were then asked to read a rape scenario (with a non-traditional woman) and to rate the victim's and offender's responsibility. The victim's eye size was shown a significant effect on all variables, except for perpetrator's responsibility. The female face with large eyes was perceived as more attractive and honest, elicited higher identification, and was attributed less responsibility. No significant effects were identified for observer's gender. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Examining the Reliability, Validity and Factor Structure of the DRS-15 with College Athletes

Abstract: Hardiness, comprising feelings of commitment, control and challenge, is most frequently measured with the Dispositional Resiliency Scale (DRS), but little work has been done with the brief 15-item version. To examine the factor structure, reliability, validity, and item functioning for gender invariance of the 15-item DRS with 525 collegiate athletes from a wide range of sports. Convergent and divergent validity were examined through relationships with mental toughness, grit and competitive anxiety. Participants completed measures of mental toughness, optimism, grit, competitive anxiety, and the DRS-15. Confirmatory Factor Analysis revealed a poor fit for the three-factor hardiness model, and subsequent exploratory factor analysis yielded a four-factor model with better fit than the three-factor structure. Additionally, several items appear to be biased towards males or females. The fourth factor may be unique to the collegiate athlete population, and related to perceived lack of control in future life directions. Convergent and divergent validity were supported through correlations of DRS scores with related measures. The four-factor model should be tested with different samples to determine if these changes should be adapted when using the DRS-15 in collegiate athletics or other settings.

Od mušica do ljudi: Cirkadijalni geni u neurogenetici ovisnosti

Abstract: Drug addiction is a persistent brain disease with severe and sometimes fatal consequences. Addictive drugs induce long-lasting neuroadaptations in the functioning of the nervous system and currently there is no efficient pharmacological treatment that can successfully prevent or reverse these changes. As a consequence, addicted individuals often suffer from recurrent relapses, sometimes triggered by environments, situations or stressors that have previously been associated with drug taking.Behavioral neuroscience uses animal models to understand the neurobiological mechanisms which cause and correlate with the development of addiction, and recently the emphasis is on animals that are genetically tractable, such as mice (Mus musculus) and fruit flies, (Drosophila melanogaster). In spite of many obvious differences between humans and Drosophila, similarities at the genetic level and in the basic neuronal physiology, make Drosophila an excellent model organism for the study of many complex human behaviors, including addiction. Discovery that circadian genes influence the development of behavioral sensitization to cocaine in Drosophila led to numerous studies about the role of circadian genes in the regulation of drug-induced behaviors in laboratory mammals and humans. Results show that circadian genes are involved in regulating the behavioral and molecular response to different classes of drugs of abuse. Furthermore, studies in humans show the interconnectivity between the regulation of circadian behavior, mental diseases and addiction, and suggest that behavioral interventions aimed at improving the quality of the circadian behavior will be important in prevention and treatment of addictive behaviors.

Komparativna analiza metoda istraživanja dvojezičnoga semantičkog pamćenja

Abstract: Motivacija za ovaj rad proizlazi iz spoznaje da je sve veci broj ljudi dvojezican i da dvojezicni govornici funkcioniraju drugacije od jednojezicnih. Takva saznanja zahtijevaju i od istraživaca razlicitih struka da dvojezicnost uzmu u obzir kao jednu od varijabli u svojim istraživanjima, cak i kada dvojezicnost nije glavni predmet istraživanja. U posljednjih je 30-ak godina zabilježen znacajan porast broja radova na temu dvojezicnosti, posebno onih vezanih za organizaciju mentalnog rjecnika, tj. leksikona. U ovom se radu daje pregled najcesce koristenih istraživackih paradigmi s njihovim prednostima i nedostacima, kao i nalaza iz tog podrucja. Rad je koncipiran u tri glavna dijela. U prvom ce dijelu biti kratko definirani glavni pojmovi vezani uz istraživanje dvojezicnosti te ce biti prikazana najvažnija istraživacka pitanja koja se vežu uz to podrucje istraživanja. U drugom ce se dijelu rada prikazati najvažnije metode kojima se pokusava odgovoriti na istraživacka pitanja te ce se napraviti evaluaciju metoda, odnosno dat ce se odgovor na pitanje u kojoj mjeri pojedine metode mogu odgovoriti na postavljene probleme. Također, u nastavku ce biti dane preporuke koje metode koristiti za koje istraživacke probleme. Treci se dio rada odnosi na kljucne metodoloske faktore o kojima istraživac mora voditi racuna prilikom koncipiranja istraživanja i konstrukcije istraživackog nacrta. Također, dane su preporuke kako kontrolirati te faktore ili ako ih nije moguce kontrolirati, kako umanjiti njihov ucinak na zavisnu varijablu.

Blood pressure levels and longitudinal changes in relation to social network factors

Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between social network variables and levels of and longitudinal changes in blood pressure in a middle-aged/older sample. The participants (50-7 ...

Efekti i mehanizmi djelovanja čvrstoće ličnosti na zdravlje

Abstract: Cilj je ovoga rada bio prikazati odnos cvrstoce licnosti s razlicitim zdravstvenim ishodima i opisati potencijalne mehanizme kojima se to ostvaruje. U prvom su dijelu opisani koncept cvrstoce i njegove komponente, nacini njegove operacionalizacije i osnovni problemi koji se javljaju pri njegovu mjerenju, posebno oni koji proizlaze iz njegova djelomicnog preklapanja s crtom neuroticizma. Zatim su navedeni najvažniji rezultati koji govore o efektima cvrstoce na razlicite zdravstvene ishode, posebno one koji upucuju na njezinu zastitnu ulogu pri stetnom djelovanja stresa. Pregledom nalaza istraživanja predloženo je nekoliko potencijalnih mehanizama kojima cvrstoca licnosti može djelovati na zdravstvene ishode: djelovanjem na imunolosko funkcioniranje, kognitivnu procjenu, suocavanje, fiziolosko uzbuđenje te zdravstvena ponasanja. U nastavku su rada prikazani navedeni mehanizmi, kao i glavni nalazi koji pokazuju kakva je uloga cvrstoce licnosti u svakom od njih. Na kraju su navedeni najvažniji teorijski i metodoloski problemi koji se javljaju u istraživanjima odnosa cvrstoce licnosti i zdravstvenih ishoda, cije je rjesenje preduvjet za iskorak u razumijevanju tog odnosa.