Objective: Relying on anthropomorphism research, Illness Personification Theory (ILL-PERF) posits that individuals living with a chronic illness ascribe human-like characteristics to their illness. Herein we examine the personification of chronic pain using a new measure: the Ben-Gurion University Illness Personification Scale (BGU-IPS). Method: Three samples of chronic pain patients (Sample 1 and 2 are distinct samples sharing similar characteristics, collected in the context of a cross-sectional design, Ns = 259, 263; Sample 3: a 2-waves longitudinal, N =163) completed the 12-item BGU-IPS, and measures of pain and related factors. Results: An orthogonal, two-factor structure was revealed for the BGU-IPS pertaining to negative vs. positive personifications. Negative personification was associated with pain intensity and illness-related distress (e.g., depression and low adjustment to pain). Positive personification was correlated with hope, pain-related sense of control, and low depression. However, positive personification also augmented the associations between negative personification and several risk factors. Conclusions: Pain personification, particularly as assessed via the BGU-IPS, plays a major role in (mal)adaptation to chronic pain.
Objective: The purpose was to examine five types of adversity and their associations with separating from military service among a nationally representative sample of U.S. National Guard and Reserve (NGR) service members.
Methods: Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between separating from the service and adversities, and demographic differences in adversities experienced among those who had separated from the service and those who stayed in the service.
Results: Those who left the military were more likely to report financial (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.01-2.70) and healthcare access problems (OR = 2.21, 95% CI = 1.10-4.46). Among those who left the military, female service members were more likely to experience interpersonal adversity (OR = 4.28, 95% CI = 1.15-15.87), and Army and Marine service members were more likely to experience job-employment adversity (OR = 4.92, 95% CI = 1.50-16.12) and financial adversity (OR = 6.46, 95% CI = 1.22-34.33).
Conclusion: Separating service members experience financial adversity and challenges with healthcare access. Interpersonal difficulties are particularly experienced by female service members, and job/employment difficulties experienced by Army and Marine veterans. Continued efforts are needed to facilitate service delivery for NGR separating service members who need them.
Objective: Drawing upon the identity disruption model, we investigated the association between child abuse experiences (emotional, physical, and sexual) and intolerance of uncertainty. We also addressed demographic differences in uncertainty intolerance in this study. Methods: Using online survey questionnaires, we collected data from a sample of 302 young adults in Turkey. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, one-way analysis of variance, and independent samples t-test. Results: The results showed that of the three types of child abuse analyzed, only emotional abuse was significantly and positively associated with intolerance of uncertainty. In contrast, age was negatively associated with intolerance of uncertainty. Regarding demographic differences, we found that the level of intolerance of uncertainty differed based on young adults' gender, psychiatric diagnosis, and education. Specifically, our findings indicated that intolerance of uncertainty is significantly higher in females compared to males. It is also significantly higher in young adults with a diagnosis for psychiatric disorders than those without. Moreover, intolerance of uncertainty is significantly higher in young adults who have a high school graduate degree than their undergraduate and graduate counterparts. We discussed how child abuse is associated with heightened intolerance of uncertainty in young adulthood as well as why demographic differences may exist in uncertainty intolerance. Conclusions: The present study expanded the existing research on the psychological consequences of childhood abuse experiences by linking child abuse to intolerance of uncertainty. Particularly, exposure to emotional abuse in early life can be a risk factor to cope with uncertainty in later life.
While mass panic (and/or violence) and self-preservation are often assumed to be the natural response to physical danger and perceived entrapment, the literature indicates that expressions of mutual aid are common and often predominate, and collective flight may be so delayed that survival is threatened. In fact, the typical response to a variety of threats and disasters is not to flee but to seek the proximity of familiar persons and places; moreover, separation from attachment figures is a greater stressor than physical danger. Such observations can be explained by an alternative "social attachment" model that recognizes the fundamentally gregarious nature of human beings and the primacy of attachments. In the relatively rare instances where flight occurs, the latter can be understood as one aspect of a more general affiliative response that involves escaping from certain situations and moving toward other situations that are perceived as familiar but which may not necessarily be objectively safe. The occurrence of flight-and-affiliation depends mainly on the social context and especially the whereabouts of familiar persons (i.e., attachment figures); their physical presence has a calming effect and reduces the probability of flight-and-affiliation, while their absence has the opposite effect. Combining the factors of perceived physical danger and the location of attachment figures results in a four-fold typology that encompasses a wide spectrum of collective responses to threat and disaster. Implications of the model for predicting community responses to terrorist attacks and/or use of weapons of mass destruction are briefly discussed.
Objective: In this report, we tested ChatGPT's ability to think abstractly and to integrate information about two seemingly disparate topics by requesting a well-articulated, intellectually stimulating essay in response to a complex and somewhat paradoxical task. Method: We asked ChatGPT to write a satirical essay comparing SpongeBob Squarepants to Shakespeare's Hamlet and examined its ability to create a cohesive essay using abstract thinking. Findings: ChatGPT's comparison of Hamlet and SpongeBob was successful, comprehensive, and convincing, demonstrating the ability to make judgments and to use appropriate metaphors and idioms. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that ChatGPT can respond to complex tasks using abstract thinking.
Objective: Alcohol use continues to be prevalent and problematic among young adult samples. Protective behavioral strategies (PBS), which are harm reduction strategies utilized while drinking, have been linked to decreased alcohol use and subsequent alcohol-related problems. An individual's likelihood of adopting PBS and other health behaviors, according to The Health Belief Model (HBM), is dependent on perceived susceptibility to and severity of adverse health outcomes, as well as perceived benefits and barriers related to implementing those behaviors. The present study examined whether the perceived effectiveness of PBS in the context of the HBM leads to an increase in PBS use. Method: The analytic sample (n =694 college students, Mage =20.21, SD =4.37, 63.26% female, 72.05% Caucasian) self-reported demographics, weekly alcohol consumption (i.e., frequency, intensity, and quantity), alcohol-related problems, use of PBS, and perceived effectiveness of PBS use. A latent variable model was used to test the effect of perceived PBS effectiveness on PBS use, alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related problems. Results: Perceived PBS effectiveness was associated with a higher likelihood of using PBS subtypes (Manner of Drinking, Stopping/Limiting Drinking, and Serious Harm Reduction), which in turn was associated with reductions in alcohol consumption and problems. Conclusions: These findings suggest that increasing perceptions of PBS effectiveness may lead to more PBS use, decreased alcohol consumption, and fewer alcohol-related problems. Future research could implement longitudinal methodology to assess attempts to increase perceived effectiveness of PBS use and potentially establish a causal link between these perceptions, PBS use, and alcohol-related outcomes.
Objective: School-behavior-health difficulties (SBHDs) may alter physical/mental capabilities and consequently increase injury risk during daily activities. This study assessed the associations of potential SBHDs and their cumulative number (SBHDcn) with various injury types among younger adolescents. Methods: The study population included 1,559 middle-school adolescents in France (10-18 years, 98% under 16,778 boys and 781 girls). They completed a questionnaire at school-year end collecting socioeconomic features (nationality, family structure, parents' education/occupation/income), school/out-of-school injuries during the school-year (dependent variables), and SBHDs starting before the school-year (low academic performance, alcohol/tobacco/cannabis/other-illicit-drugs use, physical/verbal violence, sexual abuse, perpetrated violence, poor social support, poor general health status, sleep difficulty, depressive symptoms, and suicide attempt). Data were analyzed using logistic regression models and Kaplan-Meier estimates. Results: Injuries were frequent during school-physical/sports-training (10.9%), other-school-training (4.7%), school-free-time (7.4%), out-of-school-sports-activity (16.5%), and traffic (2.2%). Single injury (one injury all injury types combined) and ≥2 injury types affected 23.3 and 7.9% of subjects, respectively. The proportion of adolescents without SBHDs decreased with age more quickly among those with each injury type than among those without injury. Various SBHDs were associated with most injury types, single injury, and ≥2 injury types (sex-age-adjusted odds/relative-risk ratios reaching 11, p < .001). A dose-effect association was found between SBHDcn 1-2/3-5/≥6 and both single injury and ≥2 injury types (sex-age adjusted relative risk ratios reaching 12.66, p < .001, vs. SBHDcn = 0). Socioeconomic features had a moderate confounding role in these associations. Conclusions: SBHDs strongly predict injuries among adolescents. Our findings may inform healthcare providers about their prominent role in detecting/reducing SBHDs and injuries.