Psychology & Health最新文献

Context: The ballet institution is known for its aesthetic and performative standards. In professional dancers' everyday lives, self-improvement and body awareness entwine with striving for artistic excellence. In this context, 'health' has primarily been explored in relation to eating disorders, pain, and injuries.

Aim: This paper explores dancers' health practices, namely how they are shaped by the ballet institution and how they relate to broader health discourses.

Methodology: A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted upon interviews with nine dancers (each interviewed twice) using a theoretical framework based on the concepts of greedy institutions and biopedagogies.

Analyses: Two themes were developed: What it takes to be an 'insider' of the ballet institution and Learning to develop an acute embodied self-awareness. Dancers described ballet as a 'lifestyle' rather than a 'job'; practices of self-care defined by continuous self and body work were framed as necessary to meet the demands of this lifestyle. Participants 'played with' institutional and societal norms, often resisting docile bodies promoted within the ballet institution.

Conclusion: Dancers' constructions of health and the art of ballet as not fitting neatly into 'good' nor 'bad' make room to consider the tensions between adopting and resisting dominant health discourses in this institution.

Objective: Childhood obesity is a public health challenge with health, economic and psychosocial consequences. The design of interventions addressing childhood obesity seldom considers children's perspectives on the topic. Weiner's causal attribution framework was used to explore children's perspectives on enablers of obesity.

Methods and measures: Children (N = 277) responded to a vignette with an open-ended question. Data were analyzed using content analysis.

Results: Children perceived internal, unstable and controllable causes (e.g. dietary intake, self-regulation and emotionality) as the main enablers (76.53%) of obesity, while some (11.91%) highlighted external, unstable and controllable causes (e.g. parent food restrictions). A focus on children with healthy body weight showed that they mentioned more internal, stable and controllable causes for obesity than children with unhealthy body weight/obesity did. The latter mentioned more external, unstable and controllable causes than their counterparts.

Conclusions: Understanding children's causal attributions for obesity is expected to deepen our knowledge of obesity enablers and help design interventions matching children's perspectives.

Objective: Research showed that ovarian cancer poses unique challenges to patients' care experiences and that patients' social networks could affect their care path significantly. The present study aimed to analyse the metaphors that patients used to signify the impact of the illness on their social relationships and the role of relationships in dealing with cancer.

Design: Following a qualitative description approach we conducted 38 semi-structured interviews with Australian (14) and Italian (24) women diagnosed at different stages of ovarian cancer.

Results: The analysis identified four themes bringing together the meanings expressed by participants' metaphors: Lack of comprehension and communication; Isolation, marginalisation, and self-isolation; Discrepancy between the private and public self; and Social relationships as empowerment resources.

Conclusion: The polysemic nature of patients' metaphors captures both the empowering and especially disempowering role of social relationships in dealing with ovarian cancer. Results also show that metaphors are used to make sense of the impact of ovarian cancer on social relationships and to express different strategies for managing patients' networks.

Objective: In the context of infertility, women's bodies have a central physical, psychological, and social role. Medically assisted reproduction (MAR) treatment includes highly intrusive procedures targeting women's bodies. This study aimed to develop a preliminary understanding of women's core meanings around their bodies within their experiences of medicalized infertility in Italy.

Design: 104 Italian women dealing with infertility and MAR treatments answered open-ended questions, which were part of a broader online survey. A reflexive thematic analysis was performed.

Results: Three themes were identified: (a) the paradox of the body: 'I feel like I was born for something that my body can't do'; (b) 'Something only mothers can do': meanings attributed to the physical body; (c) Internalized 'clinical gaze': medicalized body representations.

Conclusions: This work provides insights into the meanings assigned to their bodies by Italian women dealing with MAR. This study outlined women's ambivalence towards their bodies, describing them as 'fragmented' into parts and as 'deposits' of their reproductive hopes. Results suggest that Italian pronatalist culture may have potential fallouts for women's gendered sense of self and the integration between their biological and psychosocial body experiences. Study limitations, future research directions, and clinical implications are presented.

Objective: This study investigated (i) factors predicting the seeking and sharing of vaccinerelated information, and (ii) the effect of an accuracy-sensitisation prime on sharing intentions. Design:This was a preregistered online survey with 213 participants. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (who were exposed to an accuracy-sensitisation prime) or a control group.

Design: This was a preregistered online survey with 213 participants. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (who were exposed to an accuracy-sensitisation prime) or a control group.

Main outcome measures: Measures included decision-making style, COVID-19 anxiety, and percentages of pro and anti-vaccine friends. We also measured preferences to seek pro or anti-vaccine-related information and sharing intentions with respect to this information.

Results: Compared with those seeking both pro and anti-vaccine information, participants seeking only pro-vaccine information had lower hypervigilance and buck-passing and higher COVID-19 anxiety. The likelihood of sharing anti-vaccine information was positively predicted by the percentage of one's anti-vaccine friends, the size of one's social network, and conservative political orientation. Conversely, the likelihood of sharing pro-vaccine information was positively predicted by the percentage of one's pro-vaccine friends, and liberal political orientation. Participants sensitised to accuracy were significantly more likely to share provaccine information; however, accuracy-sensitisation had no effect on anti-vaccine information sharing.

Conclusions: Individuals who seek anti-vaccine information have a tendency towards disorganised and impulsive decision-making. Accuracy-sensitisation may prime people to internalise a norm promoting truth-sharing.

Objective: Type 2 Diabetes is highly prevalent across Aotearoa New Zealand, and South Asian people have a disproportionately high burden of disease. This research aimed to improve understanding of South Asian Muslim people's experiences navigating New Zealand's diabetes healthcare to promote cultural responsiveness and equitable outcomes.

Method: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 South Asian Muslim individuals with Type 2 Diabetes. Interviews explored how participants made sense of their diabetes in relational and cultural contexts, and the healthcare barriers and facilitators they experienced. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to develop themes from the interview transcripts.

Results: Three key themes were developed: the feeling, managing, and reflecting on diabetes worry in relational contexts; the cultural and relational challenges of enacting self-control and discipline; and how diabetes is a family experience, for better or for worse.

Conclusion: These themes illustrated the multifaceted relational dynamics of navigating diabetes healthcare. Several avenues to consider for developing culturally sensitive diabetes care were suggested. This included: practitioners exploring dynamics of worry, shame and self-blame, building upon family supports, supporting reducing family-facilitated health barriers, addressing power dynamics which facilitate institutional distrust, and funding culturally appropriate, accessible community health interventions.

Objective: Although linked with subjective wellbeing, little research has examined relations of values with health behaviors and health. Because values are principles that guide behavior across situations, this exploratory retrospective study examined how individuals' highest value relates to their health behaviors and health.

Methods and measures: Participants were 3865 (aged 18-89 years) adults who completed the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), a nationally-representative survey administered by the US National Cancer Institute. HINTS 5 Cycle 4 data were collected early in 2020. Participants selected the value most important to them in their day-to-day life from a set of seven values. Five categories of health-related measures were assessed in relation to values: substance use, physical activity, cancer screening, general health, and coping.

Results: Top values were safety of family (29.9%), happiness (20.9%), and autonomy (14.1%). Findings indicated that some top values, such as health and religion, were associated favorably with some health behaviors, while other top values, such as happiness or autonomy, were in some instances associated with poorer health behaviors.

Conclusion: These results, while exploratory, suggest that individuals' highest value may be meaningfully related to their health behaviors and self-reported health status. Future research into values and health appears warranted.

Objective: This study explored children's post-pandemic articulations regarding the coronavirus along with their lived experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: A qualitative survey featuring drawings, comments, questions and follow-up interviews was employed to gather data from 108 infected children aged 13 to 14 from two middle schools in China. This multimodal approach allowed for a rich capture of the children's articulations of their pandemic experiences.

Results: Children's multimodal articulations conveyed not only the biological features of, but also their emotional reactions to the coronavirus. The pandemic had disrupted children's lives, making online learning, sleep and screen engagement dominant in their daily routines, while also compounding children's unhappiness primarily due to restrictions on social interactions. Children associated the coronavirus with biological, medical, psychological and social aspects. Increased sanitisation and hygiene habits featured their pre-to-post pandemic changes. Furthermore, children exhibited an awareness regarding preventive measures and transmission modes, albeit with certain biases or gaps. Their misunderstandings about recuperative strategies merit clarification.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound and multifaceted impacts on children's emotional well-being, daily routines, social interactions, education, and health-related behaviors. Children's multimodal articulations revealed a spectrum of adverse effects caused by the pandemic, calling for targeted health interventions to mitigate these negative effects while also equipping children with resilience and coping skills for navigating future health crises. Incorporating children's perspectives and experiences into future pandemic preparedness and health promotion strategies is essential for addressing their vulnerabilities and ensuring their overall well-being during public health crises.

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.