Psychology & Health最新文献

Objective: Beliefs about the genetic contribution to chronic disease risk may be associated with lower levels of physical activity, but this relationship has yet to be tested in young healthy adults. We examined genetic causal beliefs about disease and self-reported moderate or vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) among young healthy US adults.

Methods and measures: Data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 5, Cycle 4; 2020) were analysed. The analytic sample was aged 18-39 years, with no history of cardiometabolic or lung disease and good/very good/excellent self-rated health (n = 439). Participants reported how much they think genetics determine risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Results: Young healthy US adults with low genetic beliefs about diabetes were less likely to be inactive (aOR = 0.1, 95% CI: 0.04-0.5) or somewhat active (aOR = 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1-0.7) than those with moderate genetic beliefs. Those with low genetic beliefs about obesity were less likely to be somewhat active (aOR = 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.9) than those with moderate genetic beliefs. Genetic causal beliefs about CVD were not related to MVPA.

Conclusion: Additional research is needed to understand the complex interplay between beliefs about the heritability of cardiometabolic health and MVPA levels in young healthy US adults.

Objective: Romantic partners influence each other's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) through social control (intentional influence). Non-autonomy-limiting strategies (persuasion) may yield favourable outcomes, whereas autonomy-limiting strategies (pressure) may provoke reactance and fail. Although strategies likely lie on a continuum of how autonomy-limiting they are, research typically treats them dichotomously. We introduce plan-related pushing as an intermediate strategy. We examine daily dyadic associations of control with MVPA, mood, and reactance.

Methods: Thirty-eight inactive couples attempting to increase MVPA wore accelerometers and completed daily questionnaires for 55 days. We employed dyadic Bayesian multilevel modelling.

Results: When individuals experienced more persuasion, they were more likely to engage in (self-reported) MVPA. When individuals experienced more pressure or plan-related pushing, reactance was more likely. When individuals' partners experienced more control (any type), individuals were more likely to engage in MVPA, but these links disappeared when accounting for social support. No robust associations for mood emerged.

Conclusions: While persuasion may promote MVPA, both pressure and plan-related pushing may backfire. Future studies should further evaluate the utility of conceptualising control strategies along a continuum of autonomy-limitation. Moreover, future research should continue to disentangle dyadic effects of support and control on health behaviour change in close relationships.

Objective: This study aimed to unravel micro-processes that link information seeking to subsequent affective well-being (i.e., positive and negative affect) at the within-person level, as well as the role of worry as a mediator in this relationship.

Methods and measures: Within the initial weeks following the Chinese government's relaxation of its epidemic control measures, 184 participants completed experience sampling methods on information seeking, COVID-related worry, and affective well-being three times a day for 14 days.

Results: According to dynamic structural equation models, information seeking was associated with high negative affect but not with low positive affect. COVID-related worry acted as a full mediator between information seeking at the previous time point (approximately 5 h ago) and the current negative affect, but not in positive affect.

Conclusion: These findings suggested that the impact of information seeking on affective well-being was different for the two dimensions of affect. Furthermore, the persistent impact of information seeking on negative affect was attributed to the indirect effect of worry, suggesting that worry should be a point of focus for intervention to mitigate the potentially negative effects of information seeking within the context of the public health crises.

Objective: Informational social support can have both positive and negative effects on employees. This research aims to examine the curvilinear relationship between informational social support and employees' cognitive processes, specifically cognitive depletion and creativity. Additionally, we investigate the moderating role of emotional stability on this curvilinear relationship, particularly regarding cognitive depletion.

Methods: A total of 108 male employees in South Korea participated in the study, completing 864 two-wave, time-lagged daily diary questionnaires. The surveys measured informational social support, cognitive depletion, creativity, and emotional stability.

Results: The findings reveal that informational social support enhances employees' cognitive processes up to a certain threshold, after which its effects become detrimental, demonstrating a curvilinear pattern. Furthermore, emotional stability moderates this relationship: emotionally stable employees show a linear relationship between informational social support and cognitive depletion, while emotionally unstable employees exhibit a curvilinear relationship.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that excessive informational social support may harm employees' cognitive processes, indicating that there is an optimal level of support, beyond which the effects become counterproductive.

Objective: While the stigma experienced by non-drinkers is well-documented, little is known about the factors that influence it. This study aims to test a sequential mediation model in which the amount of alcohol consumed by a drinker, predicts their experienced alcohol-related harm, which in turn predicts the concern they have for drinking and their negative attitudes towards non-drinkers.

Methods: A sample of 787 Australian drinkers (M_age = 38.4 years, SD = 11.4) completed online measures of alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harms, concern for drinking and the Cheers Attitudes towards Non-drinker Scale (CANS): a scale that measures the negative attitudes toward non-drinkers via three threats non-drinkers are perceived to pose to drinkers (Threat to Fun, Connection, and Self).

Results: The model was shown to be a good fit and demonstrated a sequential mediation with significant indirect effects from alcohol consumption via experienced alcohol-related harms and concern, to each CANS subscale: Threat to Self (β = 0.402, p < 0.001), Fun (β = 0.096, p = 0.006) and Connection (β = 0.165, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The findings suggest that the stigma directed at non-drinkers may be enacted as a defence against an unwanted self-reflection from a drinker's concern for their own drinking.

Objective: Self-esteem may be adversely affected in adults with overweight or obesity, particularly women and those showing higher BMIs, although there is no consensus in the literature. The objective of the current study, based on reported cross-sectional associations, was to clarify the relationship between global self-esteem and overweight/obesity in adults.

Methods: Four databases were searched to identify eligible literature published prior to June 2024, and a systematic review was conducted of the 120 articles identified. Meta-analytic processing of 38 eligible articles at the study level and of the participant data obtained from 16 studies (n = 2,972) was conducted for quantitative synthesis. Potential moderators, such as gender, age, BMI, type of assessment, and treatment-seeking status, were tested.

Results: The summary correlation between BMI and self-esteem across studies was r = -0.11, 95% CI [-0.17, -0.05], z = -3.70, p < .001. None of the tested moderators affected this association, although the meta-analysis of the individual participant data provided by the authors revealed a small effect of gender and a non-linear evolution of self-esteem linked to BMI.

Conclusion: The present study found a negative relationship between global self-esteem and overweight/obesity in adults, which suggests a negative, although weak, effect of excess weight on self-perception.

Objective: As advances in breast cancer treatment have bolstered survival rates, post-treatment self-management has become crucial for survivors' well-being.

Methods: In the current qualitative research, conducted via content and form analysis of 12 in-depth interviews, the authors explored self-management strategies in the narratives of female breast cancer survivors who underwent mind-body therapy.

Results: Three coping models emerged: (1) an illness-focused story overshadowing the body, (2) a coexistence of illness and body stories, and (3) an embodied illness-story. These self-management models showcase a developmental sequence, reflecting the evolution of coping mechanisms.

Conclusion: The study underscores embodiment's significance in fostering agency and well-being, particularly in a societal and medical context where body attention tends to be marginalized.

Objective: Studies have shown that healthcare innovation adoption is complex. Using Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), an innovation for malaria prevention, the study aimed to understand factors considered in the adoption of healthcare innovations in Africa.

Methods and measures: Using qualitative methods, we interviewed 10 household heads in Ghana who had freely received LLINs during a malaria campaign. We analyzed our data using a deductive thematic analysis approach utilizing the protection motivation theory (PMT) as our framework.

Results: We found that the constructs of PMT: perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, perceived response efficacy, and perceived self-efficacy influenced the adoption of healthcare innovation (i.e. LLINs). We also found that misconceptions about malaria infection and prevention influenced the perceived response efficacy of LLINs which could undermine LLINs usage.

Conclusion: The constructs of PMT are important in the decision to use LLINs. Misconceptions about malaria infection and prevention could undermine the decision to use LLINs. Future studies should investigate ways to address these misconceptions.

Objective: While there have been substantive advances in the conceptualisation, measurement, and effects of habit as a psychological construct, there is limited research on individuals' beliefs and perspectives on habit. The current investigation reports the findings of two studies purposed to explore individuals' lay representations of habit which further inform habit theory and measurement, and interventions designed to promote habits. Methods: Study 1 (N = 158) used an online, open-ended questionnaire to elicit lay beliefs on the salient features of habit. Study 2 (N = 27) involved a series of interviews and focus groups to further explore individuals' representations of habit. Results: Thematic content analysis revealed that participants described habit in terms of its content, salient features or characteristics, and function or consequences. The results also indicated that while collective knowledge converged on expert perspectives, few individuals identified all or most features of habit, suggesting individuals' beliefs are incomplete. Conclusions: Current findings indicate that lay people as a collective hold consistent but largely 'patchy' beliefs about habit. Future research should focus on integrating the beliefs identified in this research with new measures of habit and habit interventions.

Objective: This study investigates the impact of workaholism on burnout and cynicism in the healthcare sector, using the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory. It also examines the mediating role of psychological distress (PSYDST) and the moderating effect of psychological capital (PSYCAP) on the relationships between workaholism (WRKHOL), burnout (BRNOUT), and cynicism.

Methods: Data were collected from 357 healthcare workers in Taxila and Wah Cantt, Pakistan, across three time waves. At Time 1, workaholism and psychological capital were measured. At Time 2, psychological distress was assessed after a three-week lag, and at Time 3, burnout and cynicism were measured.

Results: The findings reveal that workaholism significantly and positively influences both burnout and cynicism. Psychological distress mediates this relationship, while psychological capital moderates the effect of workaholism on psychological distress.

Conclusion: The cross-sectional nature of the data limits the ability to determine causality, suggesting the need for future longitudinal studies to confirm these results across different regions or industries. The study offers valuable implications for healthcare organizations, emphasizing the need for strategies to manage workaholism and its adverse effects. By exploring the combined effects of workaholism on burnout and cynicism, as well as the roles of psychological distress and psychological capital, this research makes a significant contribution to the literature on employee well-being in healthcare settings.