Psychology & Health最新文献

Objective: Individuals seeking HIV protection can choose from various strategies (e.g. condoms, PrEP). Thus, individuals may engage in informed decision making, balancing risks and benefits with their values. This study examines how different levels of informed decision making affect the relationship between individuals' momentary prioritization of HIV safety and the perceived safety of their choices. Additionally, it investigates the relationship between informed decision-making levels and choice variability.

Methods and measures: 105 participants (104 cisgender men, 1 intersex man) provided safety evaluations for different sexual scenarios involving various HIV prevention strategies. Over six biweekly follow-ups, implemented strategies were reported and matched with safety evaluations, while assessing informed decision-making levels, impulsivity, and personal priority of safety.

Results: Higher levels of informed decision making were associated with a weaker positive relationship between momentary prioritization of HIV safety and perceived safety of the chosen strategy, suggesting that perceived safety was less dependent on momentary prioritization of HIV safety. Further, informed decision-making levels were not associated with choice variability.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that informed HIV prevention decisions are associated with higher perceived safety and act compensatory towards low personal safety prioritizations. This highlights the importance of supporting informed HIV prevention decisions.

Objective: This study examines the bidirectional dynamics of social support, role stress, and anxiety among middle-aged women, highlighting their interactions at both within-person and between-person levels over time.

Methods and measures: Using a nationally representative sample of 2,614 middle-aged women from the Longitudinal Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, data from four waves (1999-2004) were analyzed. Social support, role stress, and anxiety were assessed using validated scales, and Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models (RI-CLPM) were employed to explore longitudinal relations.

Results: Results revealed negative bidirectional relations between social support and role stress, with high role stress reducing social support over time. Social support generally decreased anxiety but inconsistencies emerged where inadequate support exacerbated anxiety. Role stress and anxiety demonstrated strong positive bidirectional associations, highlighting a reinforcing cycle across waves. Between-person analyses affirmed consistent patterns of negative associations between social support and anxiety and positive associations between role stress and anxiety.

Conclusion: The findings underscore the complex interplay of social support, role stress, and anxiety, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions that prioritize the quality and appropriateness of social support to reduce stress and anxiety. These insights inform strategies to enhance the mental health of middle-aged women.

Objective: Blood donations are essential for many routine medical procedures, but donor retention poses a major challenge for blood collection organisations. We argue that insufficient knowledge about heterogeneity in blood donor motivation limits our understanding of donor behaviour and the effectiveness of retention strategies. This study aims to identify types of blood and plasma donors based on factors that have been identified as central drivers of repeated blood donation behaviour, including constructs from an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour, prosocial values, and social network characteristics.

Methods and measures: We apply latent transition analysis to a large sample of blood and plasma donors in the Netherlands (N = 22,128).

Results: We identify four classes of donors: the moderately motivated donors (33%), the exceptionally motivated donors (18%), the unfulfilled donors (23%), and the confident habitual donors (26%). We identify socio-demographic predictors of class membership, show that donors often transition between these types over time, and that class membership is predictive of long-term donor lapse.

Conclusion: Future research and blood bank marketeers would be advised to take donor heterogeneity into account when studying donors or designing campaigns for recruitment and retention of donors, as not all donors are alike.

Objectives: Previous studies and theories have shown a bidirectional association between body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) symptoms, body image inflexibility, and appearance-related safety behaviors. Most previous studies are cross-sectional studies, lacking longitudinal studies. We aimed to explore the roles of body image inflexibility and appearance-related safety behaviors in BDD symptoms through a longitudinal study.

Methods and measures: A questionnaire-based method was employed to conduct three follow-up measurements with a three-month interval among 325 female college students in China.

Results: Cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) revealed that there are bidirectional associations between BDD symptoms and body image inflexibility, between BDD symptoms and avoidance behaviors, and between avoidance behaviors and body image inflexibility to some extent. The random intercept cross-lagged model (RI-CLPM) showed that at the within-individual level, avoidance behaviors at T1 can positively predict body image inflexibility at T2.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that the chronicity of BDD arises from the dynamic association between the trait vulnerability of body image inflexibility and the process of behavioral reinforcement. The treatment of BDD needs to block avoidance behaviors and modify such trait vulnerability.

Introduction: Mitigating occupational stress for professional dementia caregivers in residential aged care facilities is critical to workforce sustainability, care quality, health, and economic burden. This study examines the evidence to understand how occupational stress is experienced and how it may be mitigated by interventions.

Methods: A systematic review of CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed and MEDLINE databases was conducted to identify original research published in English between 1995 and March 2023. Two reviewers screened search results. Quality was appraised using the Downs and Black Checklist, CASP and MMAT. Framework synthesis was used to synthesise data.

Results: 52 studies were eligible for the review from 1,121 aged care facilities and involving 16,372 caregivers. Data synthesis resulted in a Conceptual Ecosystem of Professional Dementia Caregivers' Experience of Occupational Stress in Residential Aged Care Settings, which proposes a complex and active system with dependent factors. Stress is experienced psychologically, physically and relationally. Activators and mediators of stress occur every day and as singular events. Interventions that address multiple factors simultaneously appear most effective.

Conclusion: Professional caregiver occupational stress is systems-based and complex. Interventions are recommended that prevent stress activating events, reduce constant stress activators, and increase constant stress mediators. Practical implications are discussed.

The approach-avoidance motivation theory divides social withdrawal into three sub-types: Social avoidance, shyness, and unsociable. Behavioral patterns influence physiological health according to the mind-body medicine model. Previous studies had associated withdrawal sub-types with depression, and sleep problems are typical symptoms of depression. Therefore, it was reasonable to hypothesize that withdrawal sub-types predict sleep problems through depression. However, the association between withdrawal and sleep problems, and the possible mediating role of depression between them, was rarely explored. Thus, the present research (targeted Chinese college students) aimed to study the relationships of withdrawal sub-types, depression, and sleep problems, comprised comprising two questionnaire-survey studies: Study 1 (N = 494) explored the cross-sectional relationships with hierarchical multiple regression and cross-sectional mediating analysis. Study 2 (N = 233) examined the longitudinal relationships with three-wave longitudinal mediation models. The results of study 1 showed that both social avoidance and shyness significantly predicted sleep problems fully through depression, but unsociable was not associated with depression or sleep problems. The results of study 2 showed that social avoidance was the only sub-type longitudinally predicted sleep problems through depression. The conclusion was that social avoidance is may be the riskiest sub-type due to its significant associations with the two outcomes in both studies, the effects of shyness on the two outcomes are questionable due to its conflicted results of two studies, unsociable is may be the most benign sub-type due to its weak associations with the two outcomes. The different relationship-patterns of three sub-types implicate that socially avoidant college students are potentially at higher risk of depression and sleep problems and require special attention.

Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease that causes major disability and has a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, benefit finding even when suffering uncontrollable and unpredictable diseases such as MS has been associated with adjustment perhaps because of its relationship with more frequent use of emotion-focused coping strategies (CS). Therefore, using a two-time-point follow-up design, this study analysed the processes (use of emotion-focused CS in time 1 and anxiety in time 2) through which searching for benefits linked to MS at time 1 was associated with HRQoL at time 2.

Methods and measures: The sample comprised 72 Spanish adults diagnosed with MS who answered a survey with a 3 and half year time lapse.

Results: A multiple sequential mediation shows no direct relationship between benefit finding and HRQoL; however, benefit finding was indirectly associated with greater HRQoL using emotion-focused CS such as seeking emotional support and acceptance at time 1, strategies that reduce anxiety at time 2.

Conclusions: Results suggest the need for intervention programmes designed to enhance the search for benefits linked to the disease and include certain emotion-focused CS to improve mental health and HRQoL among people diagnosed with MS.

Objective: Establishing to what extent everyday behaviors are habitual will help intervention developers understand whether and which specific behaviors can become habitual or may require habit disruption to enable adoption of desired behaviors. Previous estimates of the prevalence of habit in everyday life have not distinguished between habitual instigation, whereby habit triggers action selection of a target action, and habitual execution, whereby habit facilitates smooth performance of action.

Methods and measures: Participants (N = 105) from the UK and Australia completed an ecological momentary assessment study, in which they self-reported their current behavior, and to what extent that behavior was habitually instigated, habitually executed and intentional, 6 times daily over 7 days.

Results: Most observed behaviors were habitually instigated (65%), habitually executed (88%), and aligned with intention (76%). Whether a person's behavior was generally habitual or aligned with intention did not vary as a function of demographics. Exercise behaviors were more commonly habitually instigated, and less habitually executed, than other action types.

Conclusion: Our findings illustrate the pervasive influence of habit on everyday life. We recommend that techniques conducive to forming new habits and disrupting old habits be built into behavior change interventions to maximize effectiveness.

Objective: In adults with asthma, intrapersonal psychological factors are important in asthma outcomes; however, the role of interpersonal factors, particularly within romantic relationships, remains unclear. This study aimed to systematically review the research involving couples and focusing on the associations of asthma outcomes with interpersonal factors (particularly partners' responses to asthma and dyadic factors).

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted across databases of PsycINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science. Manual searching was also conducted by screening the reference lists and citations. All results were narratively synthesised.

Results: Seven studies (N = 680 dyads) were included in the review. The evidence suggests that: (1) Better patient outcomes (better physical health and asthma quality of life and lower healthcare use) were associated with partners' lower psychological distress and partners' perceptions of better patient asthma self-management; (2) Asthma symptom severity was positively associated with dyadic factors (better marital functioning and higher relationship satisfaction).

Conclusions: This review highlighted that interpersonal factors are important for asthma outcomes in adults with asthma, noting that these factors remain understudied. Future research is needed to adopt a dyadic approach and investigate other interpersonal factors, such as partners' cognitive appraisals of the illness and behavioural responses.

Objectives: Midlife women are an important group to target for alcohol reduction, but there is a lack of research on drinking behaviour in this population. To address the gap, this study applied the Behaviour Change Wheel framework, and identified barriers and enablers to alcohol reduction to inform the development of a novel intervention.

Methods and measures: In a three round online Delphi study 310 women aged 40-65 years completed a survey including COM-B measures, and rated the acceptability of 12 clusters of BCTs; 33 women took part in focus group discussions, and 7 took part in a final workshop.

Results: Automatic motivation (habits) and social opportunity (other people's drinking) were the strongest correlates of current drinking behaviour. BCT clusters rated highly were substitution, goals and planning, and identity. Focus groups highlighted the challenges of being a non-drinker in an 'alcogenic' world. Workshop findings suggested an intervention should promote connection with others, and include real life stories from women to promote behaviour change.

Conclusions: Midlife women who choose to change their drinking behaviour may face social pressure and stigma. Interventions need to support women and reduce feelings of judgement: using storytelling may be a way to address these challenges.