Psychology & Health最新文献

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.

Objective: Anti-science sentiment has the potential to become a major societal problem, and research has started considering the psychological and ideological antecedents of science rejection of novel science and technologies. Precision Health (e.g. human genetic mapping, health data digitalisation and access, wearable devices and digital apps) aims to pre-empt disease onset through the development of proactive, personalised solutions to health problems.

Methods and measures: In a preregistered study using a national sample of adult Australians (N = 997) we predicted attitudes to 10 Precision Health science areas from socio-demographic and psychological variables.

Results: On average Australians were positive towards precision health technologies (Ms = 5.03-5.66, 7-point scale). Increased institutional trust in health, science, and medicine (B = 0.49, SE = 0.04) and being older (B = 0.004, SE = 0.002) significantly predicted positive attitudes. Institutional trust in governments, conspiracy belief, social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, tertiary-education level, importance of religion/spirituality and political ideology did not.

Conclusion: The majority of Australians were favourable towards Precision Health, with institutional trust playing a key role in positive attitudes. We note the importance of understanding the role of social and ideological antecedents of science opposition now, and going forward with the development of technologies.

Objective: This project used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in adults with a previous COVID-19 infection to examine the association of long covid with physical symptoms and the association of contextual factors with physical symptoms among adults with long covid.

Method: Adults who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 (N = 121) completed survey questions about COVID-19 history, long covid and mental and physical health followed by 7-days of EMA. During EMA, participants reported on physical symptoms and contextual factors five times across the day.

Results: Multilevel exploratory factor analyses found two within-subjects (i.e. aches/fatigue and respiratory symptoms) and one between-subjects physical symptom factor. Long covid was associated with more real-world aches/fatigue symptoms compared to those without long covid, and effects persisted after controlling for baseline mental health; long covid was unrelated to respiratory symptoms. Greater within-subjects aches/fatigue were concurrently associated with higher negative affect, higher interpersonal problems, and lower positive affect and prospectively associated with greater negative affect and lower positive affect.

Conclusion: Findings show that long covid diagnosis predicts real-world ache/fatigue symptoms, and this effect is not explained by baseline mental health. Furthermore, real-world ache/fatigue symptoms are associated with poor momentary psychosocial functioning and predict acute affective disturbance.

Objective: Somatic symptoms (SS) pose public health burdens, but it remains unclear whether SS should be defined by overall severity or specific symptoms. Therefore, we aimed to identify SS profiles and explore how psychosocial predictors shape these profiles based on the biopsychosocial model.

Methods and measures: From October to December 2020, Chinese college students (n = 598) completed three waves of survey on SS and psychosocial predictors. We used cluster analysis to identify SS profiles, classification and regression tree (CART) to examine psychosocial predictors, and the area under the receiver operator curve (AUC) to assess CART's predictive performance.

Results: Three profiles were identified: high severity and featured gastrointestinal symptoms (high, 23.6%), moderate severity and featured tiredness (moderate, 32.9%), and low in all symptoms (low, 43.5%). These profiles differed in rumination, anxiety symptoms, perceived stress, and peer attachment. Specifically, more rumination and higher anxiety symptoms predicted the membership of the high group. The CART models effectively distinguished the high group (AUC ≥ 0.84) and moderate group (AUC ≥ 0.70) from the low group.

Conclusion: The three symptom patterns enhance our understanding of similarities and differences in SS profiles. Key predictors will inform targeted prevention and intervention for those at higher risk.

Objective: Physical activity (PA) may offer health benefits for individuals undergoing substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, yet relapse, comorbidities, and motivational challenges often hinder PA maintenance. This study assessed the impact of a motivational intervention aimed at increasing PA motivation and maintenance in a residential SUD treatment setting.

Methods and measures: This non-concurrent multiple-baseline N-of-1 study consisted of a six-week baseline and a ten-week intervention period. The study was conducted with 17 participants from a male-only residential SUD treatment facility in Perth, Australia. Seven participants provided sufficient data for statistical analysis. Participants received ten weekly sessions of a motivational face-to-face intervention. Daily data on PA motivation, substance use cravings, and affect were collected through ecological momentary assessments. Non-overlap methods and randomisation tests, and piecewise regression analyses were employed to assess changes in all variables between study phases.

Results: No changes in PA were observed across study phases. However, measures of affect improved, and self-reported craving decreased over time. Notably, the intervention enhanced autonomous motivation in some participants, although its effects on controlled motivation were mixed.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that the motivational intervention may enhance autonomous motivation. Future studies should involve larger samples and diverse SUD treatment settings.

Objective: Risk-stratification should improve the benefits-to-harms ratio for breast screening, whereby higher-risk women receive additional screening and low-risk women are screened less. This study investigated the effects of healthcare context by comparing how women in England and France experienced risk-based breast screening.

Methods and measures: Fifty-two women were purposively sampled from participants who underwent risk-based screening in the MyPeBS trial. Women received objectively-derived 5-year breast cancer risk estimates (low = < 1%, average = 1-1.66%, high = ≥ 1.67 to <6%, very-high-risk = ≥ 6%). This determined future trial-related screening schedules and prevention options. Semi-structured interviews were transcribed for thematic framework analysis.

Results: Two overarching themes were produced: the importance of supported risk communication and accessibility of risk management. Overall, risk-based breast screening was viewed positively. However, trial procedures, especially in risk estimate provision, differed across sites. Women at increased risk were more reassured when appointments were with specialist healthcare professionals (HCP). When absent, this resulted in reduced satisfaction with risk communication and greater uncertainty about its personal relevance. Low-risk women's views on extended mammogram schedules seemed linked to how health services are organised differently.

Conclusions: Context is an important consideration regarding acceptability of healthcare innovations such as risk-stratified screening: it should not be assumed that findings from one country apply universally.

Objective: Adherence to healthy lifestyle advice is effective in prevention of non-communicable diseases like coronary heart disease (CHD). Yet patient disengagement is the norm. We take a novel discursive approach to explore patients' negotiation of lifestyle advice and behaviour change.

Method: A discourse analysis was performed on 35 longitudinal interviews with 22 heterosexual British people in a long-term relationship, where one had a diagnosis of CHD. The analysis examined the relationships between patients' constructions of expert knowledge and the implications of these accounts for patients' dis/engagement with lifestyle advice.

Results: Expert knowledge was constructed in four ways: (1) Expert advice was valued, but adherence created new risks that undermined it; (2) expert knowledge was problematised as multiple, contradictory, and contested and therefore difficult to follow; (3) expert advice was problematised as too generalised to meet patients' specific needs; and (4) expert advice was understood as limited and only one form of valued knowledge.

Conclusion: Patients and partners simultaneously valued and problematised expert knowledge, drawing on elaborate lay epistemologies relating to their illness which produced complex patterns of (dis)engagement with expert lifestyle advice. Recognition of the multiple and fluid forms of knowledge mobilised by CHD patients could inform more effective interventions.

Background: Hospital readmissions are costly for patients, their families and healthcare systems. Identifying and addressing risk factors can reduce the number of people who experience readmission. Few studies have explored modifiable risk factors such as health beliefs from patients' perspective to explore the complexity of risk factors for readmission. This study aimed to identify modifiable readmission risk factors from the perspectives of patients who have experienced readmission and their families.

Methods: Adults (≥18 years) readmitted within 30 days of discharge to a general medical or surgical ward at a large urban hospital in New Zealand were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview to explore their readmission experience. Interviews were conducted during the readmission and were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results: A total of 30 participants were interviewed. Six themes relating to readmission were identified: inadequate communication between health professionals and patients, misalignment between patient illness perceptions and treatment, unclear or missing information, poor health literacy, poor medication mismanagement, and health system factors.

Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of considering patient experiences, such as their expectations, illness and treatment beliefs, to reduce readmissions. Ensuring communication is patient centred and quality professional-patient relationships could reduce readmissions.

Background: Two experiments (E1 and E2; N = 44 and N = 52, respectively) investigated the effect of positive (PI) and neutral information (NI) about a dental procedure, and if the delivery of the information by the treatment team (open administration) or unbeknownst to the treatment team (hidden administration), affected pain.

Methods: Using a mixed design, patients undergoing drilling in a molar were randomized to the NI or PI groups. Before, during, and after treatment, patients reported their pain and stress levels. In E1 the treatment team delivered the information. In E2, an assistant not engaged in the treatment delivered the information.

Results: In the PI group in E1, pain was reduced by 50 % compared to the NI group, and the effects of stress on pain were mitigated. These effects were abolished in E2. The dentist reported having displayed positive nonverbal behaviours (e.g. smiling and longer eye contact) in the PI group in E1, but not in E2.

Discussion: Positive information reduced pain only when administrated openly. There was no effect of positive information administrated hidden from the treatment team. As information was similar in both experiments, factors other than the information most likely reduced pain in the PI group in E1.

Conclusion: Delivering positive information by the treatment team may generate behavioural cues which generate placebo effects.