Showing papers in "Psychology & Health in 2006"
TL;DR: A systematic literature review was undertaken to identify published papers in the area of health psychology employing IPA and the lack of attention sometimes afforded to the interpretative facet of the approach is discussed.
Abstract: With the burgeoning use of qualitative methods in health research, criteria for judging their value become increasingly necessary. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is a distinctive approach to conducting qualitative research being used with increasing frequency in published studies. A systematic literature review was undertaken to identify published papers in the area of health psychology employing IPA. A total of 52 articles are reviewed here in terms of the following: methods of data collection, sampling, assessing wider applicability of research and adherence to the theoretical foundations and procedures of IPA. IPA seems applicable and useful in a wide variety of research topics. The lack of attention sometimes afforded to the interpretative facet of the approach is discussed.
1,457 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a review applied meta-analytic procedures to integrate research findings examining the impact of exercise on body image and found that exercise intervention participants reported a more positive body image compared to the nonexercising control participants.
Abstract: This review applied meta-analytic procedures to integrate research findings examining the impact of exercise on body image. We performed extensive literature searching strategies and located 121 published and unpublished studies that examined the impact of exercise on body image. Primary study results were coded, and meta-analytic procedures were conducted. Studies were grouped into intervention (i.e., exercise vs nonexercise group post-exercise intervention body-image scores), single group (i.e., pre vs post exercise intervention body-image scores), and correlational (i.e., exercisers vs nonexercisers body-image scores) effect sizes. Small effect sizes (that were weighted by sample size), that were significantly different from zero, indicated that: (a) exercisers had a more positive body image than nonexercisers; (b) exercise intervention participants reported a more positive body image post intervention compared to the nonexercising control participants; and (c) exercisers had a significant improvement ...
441 citations
TL;DR: The delayed effect of coping planning on enactment suggests that coping planning is important for long-term maintenance.
Abstract: Young, middle-aged, and older adults in orthopaedic outpatient rehabilitation (N = 373) were randomly assigned to either an interviewer-assisted or a standard-care self-administered planning intervention. Physical activity planning consisted of specifying action plans to facilitate action initiation, and coping plans to overcome barriers. The interviewer-assisted condition led to more complete action plans and a longer duration of physical activities up to six months after discharge. Regarding coping planning, older and middle-aged adults benefited more from interviewer-assisted planning while younger adults benefited more from self-administered planning. Planning as such was found to be an effective tool for enactment irrespective of chronological age. The delayed effect of coping planning on enactment suggests that coping planning is important for long-term maintenance.
255 citations
TL;DR: Patients’ experiences of having obesity surgery were explored and in-depth interviews were carried out with 15 men and women, who had had surgery in the past four years, and the central theme of control permeated all areas of the interviews.
Abstract: In light of the failure of psychological approaches to obesity some clinicians and patients are turning to surgery. The present qualitative study aimed to explore patients' experiences of having obesity surgery and in-depth interviews were carried out with 15 men and women, who had had surgery in the past four years. The data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The patients described their experiences in terms of four broad themes: personal weight histories; the decision-making process, which involved general motivations such as worries about health and specific triggers such as symptoms; the impact of surgery on eating behaviour and their relationship with food; the impact of weight loss on health status, self-esteem and relationships with others. The central theme of control permeated all areas of the interviews. The current clinical climate highlights the importance of self-control and patient choice as the path to patient empowerment. Obesity surgery illustrates that in contrast to this perspective, imposed control and limited choice can sometimes paradoxically result in a renewed sense of control.
155 citations
TL;DR: In this article, individual in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 30 HIV positive Black Africans were conducted in London, UK. The interviews focused upon experiential accounts of living with HIV.
Abstract: Individual in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 30 HIV positive Black Africans were conducted in London, UK. The interviews focused upon experiential accounts of living with HIV. The interviews were transcribed and analysed for recurrent themes using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The social context of being a Black African living in the UK emerged as an important framework within which the experience of being HIV positive was positioned. In terms of people's accounts of their own experiences of living with HIV, diagnosis figured as an important moment in people's lives. The majority of participants were surprised and upset upon receiving their positive antibody test results. Many reported a period of depression and social isolation. Stigma and prejudice associated with HIV also emerged as a major force shaping the daily lives of the participants. We discuss the role of identity and social context in disrupting the medical meaning of diagnostic tests.
120 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined whether worry is prospectively associated with somatic complaints and whether a worry reduction intervention can decrease these complaints and found that postponers reported fewer complaints than controls, controlled for baseline.
Abstract: This study examines whether worry is prospectively associated with somatic complaints and whether a worry reduction intervention can decrease these complaints. One hundred and seventy-one high school students (16–17 years old) kept a log of their worry duration and frequency for 6 days, of whom half were instructed to try to postpone worrying to a special 30-min worry period each day (‘postponers’). Somatic symptoms during ‘the last 3 days’ were assessed before and after the 6 days. At follow-up, postponers reported fewer complaints than controls, controlled for baseline. This reduction appeared to be mediated by worry duration, and pertained to, amongst others, lower back pain, neck pain, coughing/bronchitis, breathing difficulties and stomach pains. Thus, daily worry appears to be prospectively related to a broad set of somatic complaints, and its effect might be reversed by a simple intervention. Possible underlying mechanisms include prolonged physiological activity and illness-related perseverative c...
119 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effects of five different measurement scales on the variability and predictive validity of the TPB in the exercise domain, and concluded that the standard 7-point scale is still the optimal measurement scale for the planned behavior.
Abstract: Limited measurement variability may reduce the ability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict desirable health behaviors. The primary purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of five different measurement scales on the variability and predictive validity of the TPB in the exercise domain. A secondary purpose was to test the utility of the “two-component” TPB model (i.e., affective and instrumental attitudes, injunctive and descriptive norms, and perceived control and self-efficacy). We randomly assigned 422 undergraduate students to complete one of the five measurement scales. Results showed that the four experimental scales significantly increased the variability in most TPB measures but did not improve the model's predictive validity. Moreover, support was found for the “two-component” model for attitude and subjective norm but not for perceived behavioral control. It was concluded that the standard 7-point scale is still the optimal measurement scale for the TPB and that the ...
93 citations
TL;DR: The findings support Leventhal's Common-Sense Model of self-regulation delineating interactive influences of risk-related cognitions and emotions on information processing and behavior.
Abstract: This study assessed the unique associations of risk perceptions and worry with attitudes about genetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility. Women (general practitioner clinic attenders, university students, and first-degree relatives of breast cancer survivors; N = 303) read information about genetic testing and completed measures assessing perceived cancer risk, cancer worry, and genetic testing attitudes and beliefs. Worry was associated with greater interest in genetic testing, stronger beliefs that testing has detrimental emotional consequences, and positive beliefs about benefits of testing and risk-reducing surgeries. Perceived risk was unrelated to interest and associated with more skeptical beliefs about emotional consequences and benefits of testing and risk-reducing surgeries. At low worry levels, testing interest increased with more positive beliefs about testing benefits; at high worry levels, interest was high regardless of benefits beliefs. The findings support Leventhal's Common-Sense Model of self-regulation delineating interactive influences of risk-related cognitions and emotions on information processing and behavior.
91 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the relationship between time perspective (TP), cannabis use and risk perceptions associated to this substance and found that TP acted as a significant predictor of both psychoactive substance use and of cannabis consumption frequency.
Abstract: This study explores the relationship between time perspective (TP), cannabis use and risk perceptions associated to this substance. A sample of French students (n=198) were provided with a valid French version of the ZTPI scale. Risk perceptions linked to cannabis consumption were evaluated from a list of 22 items referring to different risks. Respondents were asked to declare how frequently they consumed this substance. Data analysis was based on firstly, ZTPI scores, secondly, declared consumption and finally, two risk perception indices which were established after factorial analysis. Results showed that TP acted as a significant predictor of both psychoactive substance use and of cannabis consumption frequency. Significant links between consumption and risk perception also appeared. A second series of analyses showed that TP acted as a moderating variable in this link between cannabis consumption and risk perception. These findings indicate that TP must be considered as a significant variable when analysing the complexity of contemporary cannabis use and suggests that further research in this area should be carried out.
91 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated an Internet-based exercise motivation and action support system (Test system), relative to a group receiving no intervention (Reference) and another receiving a less interactive version of the same system (Control), and found that the more interactive (test) system was more engaging, created higher expectations for exercise, greater satisfaction with motivation and increased self-perception of fitness.
Abstract: The benefits of Internet-based health promotion programmes are much discussed, yet the literature on their feasibility and utility is limited. Here, we evaluate an Internet-based exercise motivation and action support system (Test system), relative to a group receiving no intervention (Reference) and another receiving a less interactive version of the same system (Control). We report results from a 10-week pilot study with 75 participants aged 23–54 years. We found that, relative to the control system and reference group, the more interactive (test) system was more engaging (better user retention), created higher expectations for exercise, greater satisfaction with motivation and increased self-perception of fitness. Seven months after the intervention, participants who used the test system reported greater levels of increase in exercise than the control or reference groups. Our study adds to the growing body of evidence on the benefits of interactive systems and the role they could play in healt...
90 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the associations between anxiety, depression and insomnia and investigated whether anxiety and depression are related to future insomnia, and found that depression is associated with future insomnia.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between anxiety, depression and insomnia, and to investigate whether anxiety and depression are related to future insomnia. This study empl ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the impact of personal resilience on outcome measures in 67 Chinese coronary heart disease patients in response to an 8-week rehabilitation program and found that patients with high personal resilience achieved better outcomes than those low in personal resilience, as indicated by higher physical and mental summary measures in SF-36, lower cholesterol levels and better performance on the 6 min walk test.
Abstract: This study investigated the impact of personal resilience (a composite measure of optimism, perceived control and self-esteem) on outcome measures in 67 Chinese coronary heart disease patients in response to an 8-week rehabilitation programme. The effect of personal resilience on posttraumatic growth attributed to the onset of heart disease was also examined. Results indicated that coronary heart disease patients high in personal resilience achieved better outcomes than those low in personal resilience, as indicated by higher physical and mental summary measures in SF-36, lower cholesterol levels and better performance on the 6 min walk test. Moreover, personal resilience was demonstrated to be a significant predictor of the level of posttraumatic growth although the rehabilitation programme exerted a weak mediating effect on the link between personal resilience and posttraumatic growth. Findings were discussed in relation to clinical implications of the construct of personal resilience and the interventi...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors tested the ability of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to predict adolescents' intentions to reduce smoking and the subsequent behaviour one year later, using a prospective sample of 145 adolescents.
Abstract: This study tested the ability of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to predict adolescents’ intentions to reduce smoking and the subsequent behaviour one year later. In addition, past behaviour (PB), moral norms, self-identity as a smoker, group identification, group norms and action planning were assessed. A prospective sample of 145 adolescents (M = 14 years, Time 1) participated in the study. The TPB provided good predictions of intentions (adjusted R 2 = 0.28). An extended TPB model including self-identity, moral norms, and the group identification and group norm interaction accounted for 39% (adjusted R 2) of the variance in intentions. The TPB components did not have a direct impact on subsequent behaviour, while PB and the perceived behavioural control (PBC) intention interaction accounted for 35% of the variance in behaviour after one year. The practical implications of these results for the development of interventions to encourage adolescent smokers to reduce or quit smoking are outlined.
TL;DR: Benefit finding appeared effective in reducing pain levels for participants with high trait anxiety, whereas EW appeared effective for Participants with low trait anxiety; no significant group effects were found for psychological functioning or disability.
Abstract: An intriguing question within the expressive writing literature is whether writing interventions that focus on positive aspects of adverse experiences can produce health benefits, particularly among individuals with serious physical illness. Seventy-five adults with lupus or rheumatoid arthritis were randomly assigned to one of three 4-session writing interventions: benefit finding (BF), standard expressive writing (EW), or a control group. Follow-up questionnaires were completed one and three months later. At three months, fatigue was lower in the BF and EW groups than in the control group. BF appeared effective in reducing pain levels for participants with high trait anxiety, whereas EW appeared effective for participants with low trait anxiety. No significant group effects were found for psychological functioning or disability. Results are discussed with regard to the literature on BF and EW among medical patients.
TL;DR: In this article, associations between three constellations of somatic symptoms and SNA were examined in adults (N ¼ 781) queried on eight consecutive evenings, with models including both state and trait negative affect.
Abstract: The interplay between state negative affect (SNA) and somatic symptoms is well-established in daily life, but the nature of the association is unclear. Questions remain regarding the role, if any, that SNA plays apart from trait negative affect (TNA), the direction of the association, and whether the relationship with SNA varies according to symptom type. Associations between three constellations of somatic symptoms and SNA were examined in adults (N ¼ 781) queried on eight consecutive evenings. Inter- and intra-individual variation in temporal and concurrent associations were examined, with models including both state and trait negative affect. All symptoms were related to concurrent measures of SNA. Lagged associations varied by symptom type. No lagged analyses including respiratory symptoms were significant. Prior pain symptoms predicted SNA, and prior SNA predicted pain and gastrointestinal symptoms. TNA, however, mediated the association between prior pain symptoms and SNA.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined relations between stress and coping predictors and distress and positive outcomes in multiple sclerosis (MS) and found that personal health control, emotional release and physical assistance were related to positive outcomes, whereas avoidance was related to distress and acceptance was associated with the positive outcomes and distress.
Abstract: This study examined relations between stress and coping predictors and distress and positive outcomes in multiple sclerosis (MS). A total of 502 people with MS completed a questionnaire at Time 1 and, 3 months later, Time 2 (n = 404). Predictors included Time 1 illness (duration, number of symptoms, course), number of problems, appraisal and coping (acceptance, problem solving, emotional release, avoidance, personal health control, energy conservation). Dependent variables were Time 2 distress (anxiety, depression) and positive outcomes (life satisfaction, positive affect, benefits). Results indicated that as hypothesised, personal health control, emotional release and physical assistance were related to the positive outcomes, whereas avoidance was related to distress, and acceptance was associated with the positive outcomes and distress. Findings highlight the differential relations between coping strategies and positive and negative outcomes and the role of appraisal and coping in regulating distress an...
TL;DR: It is indicated that it is essential to increase awareness among adolescents that unexpected sexual situations may occur and to train them to take preparatory actions to mediate the intention–behaviour relationship.
Abstract: Condom use within steady and casual sexual relationships was examined among 14–16 year old Dutch adolescents from secondary school (N = 140). It was hypothesised that among adolescents sex and subsequently condom use with casual sex partners is less likely to be considered in advance, more context-dependent and less habitual; whereas the opposite is true for steady relationships. Therefore, preparatory behaviours (buying and carrying condoms and communicating about condom use) were expected to mediate the intention–behaviour relation in the context of steady relationships, but not in the context of casual sex. Results confirmed that condom use with steady sex partners was explained by preparatory behaviours, habits, and to some extent, behavioural willingness, and that preparatory behaviours mediated the intention–behaviour relationship. Condom use with casual sex partners was predicted by risk willingness and intentions, without any mediation by preparatory behaviours. The results indicate that it is ess...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the contribution of illness perceptions and coping mechanisms to the explanation of well-being of patients with Huntington's disease (HD) and found that both coping and illness perceptions made a major contribution to explaining variance in HD patients' psychosocial wellbeing.
Abstract: This study sought to investigate the contribution of illness perceptions and coping mechanisms to the explanation of well-being of patients with Huntington's disease (HD). We investigated the Leventhal et al. assumption of the Self-regulation Model that coping mediates the relationship between illness perceptions and patients’ well-being. Illness perceptions, coping, and well-being in 77 HD patients were assessed with validated questionnaires; motor performance and cognitive performance were assessed with Huntington's disease-specific measures. The assumption that illness perceptions influence HD patients’ well-being via coping was not supported. The results indicate that both coping and illness perceptions made a major contribution to the explanation of variance in HD patients’ psychosocial well-being. Variance in their physical well-being was explained by illness perceptions mainly. The need to conduct further research on the interrelationships between illness perceptions, coping, and well-being in this...
TL;DR: Appraisal and post-traumatic growth might be important constructs in accounting for differential outcomes in SARS survivors and treatment implications and limitations of the study are discussed.
Abstract: Being infected with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) can be a traumatic experience. Recent findings indicate that SARS survivors tend to report prominent distress after short-term recovery. This study aimed to examine the roles of appraisal and post-traumatic growth in explaining adjustment outcomes in SARS survivors. Fifty-seven Hong Kong Chinese SARS survivors completed self-administered questionnaires that assessed anxiety and depression symptoms, perceived health, appraisal, and post-traumatic growth. Results of regression analyses showed that factors of appraisal (‘perceived impact’ and ‘coping efficacy’) and of post-traumatic growth (‘personal growth’ and ‘relationship growth’) respectively accounted for a significant portion of variance in all of the outcome measures, after the effects of demographic and clinical features were controlled. Path analyses revealed that ‘perceived impact’ and ‘coping efficacy’ had direct and indirect effects on all outcome variables, whereas ‘personal growth’ o...
TL;DR: In this paper, individual differences in coping style and health optimism relate to the ways in which people respond to death-related cognitions in focal attention, finding that adaptive coping was associated with increased health behavioral intentions immediately after death thoughts were made salient, but not after a delay.
Abstract: Research derived from terror management theory (TMT) suggests that conscious contemplations of mortality instigate efforts to remove such threatening cognitions from focal attention. Though efforts to manage death concerns in focal attention can positively affect one's health (e.g., engaging in health conscious behavior), such efforts can also negatively affect one's health (e.g., denying vulnerability to disease). The current research explores how individual differences in coping style and health optimism relate to the ways in which people respond to death-related cognitions in focal attention. Study 1 found that adaptive coping was associated with increased health behavioral intentions immediately after death thoughts were made salient (i.e., when death thoughts were still in focal attention) but not after a delay. Study 2 found that immediately after death thoughts were made salient, health optimism was associated with increased disease-detecting behavioral intentions relating to breast cancer. Theoret...
TL;DR: Using a Protective Motivation Theory (PMT) framework, this article examined whether colon cancer is a meaningful source of exercise motivation and found that colon cancer was a meaningful motivation for teachers and school staff.
Abstract: Using a Protective Motivation Theory (PMT) framework, this study examined whether colon cancer is a meaningful source of exercise motivation. Participants were (N = 173) teaching and school staff randomly assigned into one of three treatment conditions: PMT present, PMT absent (attention control) and no information (non-contact control). Two separate DVD videos were developed (one incorporating the four major components of PMT; perceived vulnerability (PV), perceived severity (PS), response efficacy (RE) and self-efficacy (SE) featured colon cancer and exercise information while the other DVDs featured cancer and nutritional information). Following treatment, participants completed questionnaires which assessed their beliefs towards colon cancer and exercise as well as their intentions to do more exercise. Two weeks later (T1), self-reported measures of exercise behaviour were assessed and then repeated at 1 month (T2). Only physically inactive participants were used in subsequent analyses (n = 72). Resul...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined social support, appraisals, and coping as subsequent predictors of depression in a sample of 163 community-dwelling individuals with diagnosed congestive heart failure.
Abstract: Depression is a serious and pervasive concomitant of congestive heart failure (CHF). The aim of the present study was to expand on Holahan et al.'s model of social support and active coping as determinants of depression in individuals with cardiac illness. We examined social support, appraisals, and coping as subsequent predictors of depression in a sample of 163 community-dwelling individuals with diagnosed CHF. The results of structural equation analyses indicated that the satisfaction with social support and percentage of active coping employed were prospectively related to lower levels of depression, and that appraisals of one's illness as threatening were a strong predictor of higher levels of depression. These findings suggest that focusing on social support and coping processes may be a useful avenue for alleviating depression in those living with CHF.
TL;DR: The results suggest that people use complementary medicine Because they are attracted to it rather than because they are disillusioned with orthodox medicine, and that both treatment and illness beliefs have an important role in explaining why people useplementary medicine.
Abstract: This study investigated associations between complementary medicine use and treatment and illness beliefs. Previously validated questionnaire measures of treatment beliefs, illness beliefs, and complementary medicine use were presented and advertised online. Completed questionnaires were received from 247 participants. Logistic regression analysis showed that demographic characteristics, treatment beliefs, and illness beliefs accounted for approximately 36% of the variance in complementary medicine use. Separate analyses were conducted to predict use of different types of complementary medicine. The strength of associations between beliefs and complementary medicine use was related to the type of complementary medicine used. The results suggest that people use complementary medicine because they are attracted to it rather than because they are disillusioned with orthodox medicine, and that both treatment and illness beliefs have an important role in explaining why people use complementary medicine.
TL;DR: It is suggested that an intervention targeting patients who have high anxiety and negative illness perceptions prior to testing may improve reassurance and decrease disability and the subsequent use of medical care.
Abstract: Many patients are not reassured after receiving normal results following cardiac investigations. While previous studies have shown anxiety to be a contributing factor, little research has investigated the influence of patients’ illness perceptions on reassurance. In this study we investigated whether illness perceptions predicted patients’ reassurance following normal exercise stress test results. Sixty-two chest pain patients without prior diagnosed cardiac pathology completed questionnaires assessing anxiety and illness perceptions prior to exercise stress testing. Patients completed a reassurance questionnaire immediately following their appointment and again one month later. Illness perceptions (consequences, timeline, identity, illness concern, and emotional effect) but not anxiety, significantly predicted reassurance immediately following testing. We found both state anxiety and illness perceptions to predict reassurance one month later. After controlling for anxiety, longer timeline and lower treatment control beliefs predicted lower reassurance. The results suggest that an intervention targeting patients who have high anxiety and negative illness perceptions prior to testing may improve reassurance and decrease disability and the subsequent use of medical care.
TL;DR: This article examined the extent to which ambivalence moderated the relationship between attitudes and screening behavior in a clinical setting using an objective measure of behaviour, and they found that attitudes predicted intentions to undergo the test and screening behaviour.
Abstract: This study examined the extent to which ambivalence moderates the relationship between attitudes and screening behaviour in a clinical setting using an objective measure of behaviour. For this study 979 pregnant women eligible for prenatal Down syndrome screening completed questionnaire measures of attitudes, ambivalence and intentions towards undergoing the test. Screening behaviour, assessed by test uptake, was determined from medical records. Attitudes predicted intentions to undergo the test and screening behaviour. The correlations between attitudes and intentions and between attitudes and behaviour were greater in women with lower levels of ambivalence (r = 0.85 and r = 0.58, respectively) than in those with higher levels of ambivalence (r = 0.50 and r = 0.27, respectively). Regression analyses revealed that ambivalence moderated the relationships between attitudes and intention and between attitude and behaviour. In addition, a three-way interaction was found between ambivalence, attitudes and inte...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined to what extent proactive coping is influenced by situation-specific features as well as by personal characteristics, and found that proactive coping was highly variable within persons and that three situational factors (type of stressor, appraised threat and appraised control) affected the employment of proactive coping strategies.
Abstract: It seems likely that proactive coping is an important mechanism for dealing successfully with threats to personal goals, yet little empirical research has been conducted in relation to this concept. The aim of the present study is to examine to what extent proactive coping is influenced by situation-specific features as well as by personal characteristics. Three vignettes, each representing a potential decline in an important resource (health, social relationships and finance), were presented to 123 adults between 50 and 70 years old. Multilevel analyses show that proactive coping is highly variable within persons and that three situational factors (type of stressor, appraised threat and appraised control) affected the employment of proactive coping strategies. Future temporal orientation was identified as a significant, positive predictor of proactive coping, but none of the other personal factors were found to be relevant.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe accounts of health, well-being and place-identity associated with two inner-city locales within a southern English city, distinct in terms of the health of their populations, to advance psychosocial explanations of geographical inequalities in health.
Abstract: Psychological research on health inequalities has yet to consider the geographical dimension to these injustices. The study reported here is aimed to describe accounts of health, well-being and place-identity associated with two inner-city locales within a southern English city, distinct in terms of the health of their populations, to advance psychosocial explanations of geographical inequalities in health. Thirty participants, sampled using a combination of purposive and theoretical strategies, completed semi-structured interviews which were subsequently analysed using discourse analysis. The three key themes of pollution, space and community elucidate the material, psychological and social domains of place-identity in accounts of health, well-being and inequality. By centring upon the locatedness of human subjectivity, analysis of place-identity may be a useful tool in explicating how multiple dimensions of stratification interact within local contexts to reproduce geographical inequalities in health and social (dis)identification with place, without losing sight of the objective structural and material context of space.
TL;DR: The most prevalent social comparison strategy was downward contrast (a positive response to seeing others who were worse-off), followed by upward identification and upward contrast as mentioned in this paper, and downward contrast was particularly related to constructive coping, and upward identification to wishful thinking.
Abstract: The present study among 70 people with spinal cord injury examined the prevalence and correlates of identification (seeing others as a potential future) and contrast (seeing others in competitive terms) in social comparison as related to coping and depression. The most prevalent social comparison strategy was downward contrast (a positive response to seeing others who were worse-off), followed by upward identification (a positive response to perceiving better-off others as a potential future), downward identification (a negative response to perceiving worse-off others as a potential future), and upward contrast (a negative response to seeing others who were better-off). Those with less severe lesions reported the highest levels of upward contrast, coping through blaming others, and depression. Downward contrast was particularly related to constructive coping, and upward identification to wishful thinking. The less adaptive social comparison strategies, i.e., upward contrast and downward identification, we...
TL;DR: In this paper, a study was designed to examine hopeful thinking, depressive symptoms, and participation in meaningful activities and roles for survivors 3 months after stroke, and it was predicted that: (a) participation would predict lower depressive symptoms; (b) higher hopeful thinking (i.e., beliefs in one's goal pursuit abilities), and (c) higher optimistic thinking would predict better participation.
Abstract: This study was designed to examine hopeful thinking, depressive symptoms, and participation in meaningful activities and roles for survivors 3 months after stroke. It was predicted that: (a) participation would predict lower depressive symptoms; (b) higher hopeful thinking (i.e., beliefs in one's goal pursuit abilities) would predict lower depressive symptoms; and (c) higher hopeful thinking would predict better participation. Three months after stroke, 110 participants completed measures of disability, participation, depressive symptoms, and hopeful thinking. Contrary to the first hypothesis, participation did not independently predict depressive symptoms after controlling for more basic activity limitations (physical, memory, communication). As predicted, hopeful thinking was the strongest predictor of depressive symptoms. Hopeful thinking did not directly predict participation, but it moderated relationships of activity functioning to participation. Results suggest that participation and hopeful thinki...
TL;DR: An additional manner in which selective processing can affect health promotion efforts is illustrated, a motivation to maintain existing health beliefs may underlie the memory differences, and there may be value in developing efforts to ensure that people remember potentially threatening health recommendations are remembered.
Abstract: Behavior change is central to both prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases. Frequently, however, individuals do not initiate the behavior change recommendations suggested by health professionals. One explanation for low rates of compliance with such recommendations may be selective memory biases in favor of information supporting the idea that one is healthy. Two studies examined whether memory for health information would be biased by preexisting health beliefs. In the first study (N = 113), individuals' attitudes about the value of alcohol consumption influenced their memory for pro- versus anti-alcohol information. Participants showed better memory for information supporting their attitudes. In Study 2 (N = 50), memory for behavioral recommendations depended on participants' behavioral practices. Participants displayed better memory for behavioral recommendations consistent with the idea that they were healthy than for recommendations which challenged those beliefs. These findings illustrate an additional manner in which selective processing can affect health promotion efforts, suggest that a motivation to maintain existing health beliefs may underlie the memory differences, and demonstrate that there may be value in developing efforts to ensure that people remember potentially threatening health recommendations.