Health Psychology最新文献

Objective: Advances in the use of biological assessments in Health Psychology have been impressive. Less appreciated is the critical role that strong inference plays in turning these advances into meaningful scientific progress. In this article, I argue for the importance of a multilevel, strong inference perspective informed and inspired by the writings of John Cacioppo, Gary Berntson, and Louis Tassinary in the 1990s.

Method: Metatheoretical review of strong inference issues as applied to health psychology.

Results: This article delineates at least two separable ways in which biological measures are used in health psychology: (a) an index of a psychosocial factor and (b) a mechanism for disease risk. It highlights the inference issues that arise with these questions via a focus on the specificity and generalizability of links between psychosocial factors and biology, as well as the orderly complexity added by a multilevel perspective on strong inference.

Conclusions: Inference issues are of critical importance to our field and have implications for scientific progress and guiding a program of research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Using a hybrid closed-loop system predicts higher time in target glucose range (TIR) for adolescents and young adults with type I diabetes (T1D). However, patients do not always use these systems effectively for self-management. Based on Two Minds Theory, we hypothesized that more automatic and proactive ways of interacting with the system would be associated with higher TIR, whereas more reactive responses to system prompts would not.

Method: We recruited 20 patients with T1D from a diabetes clinic. Participants used the Tandem t:slim X2 with Control-IQ technology (Control-IQ) hybrid closed-loop system. For 2 weeks, they also completed daily surveys about T1D self-management, plus triggered surveys each time they interacted with Control-IQ about their reasons and perceived automaticity.

Results: Proactive reasons for interacting with Control-IQ, such as planning to eat, predicted higher TIR. Reactive interactions, for example, responding to system alerts, did not. In fact, participants had higher TIR when they interacted less often with Control-IQ and administered fewer manual boluses. Self-reported automaticity did not predict TIR, but perceived self-management did. Suspecting high glucose was associated with higher TIR regardless of accuracy.

Conclusions: Adolescents who interacted less intensively and more proactively with a hybrid closed-loop system had better glucose control. Accurate perception of glucose mattered less than believing one's glucose might be too high; it is possible that situationally aware participants detected increases before their glucose went out of range. Better measures of automaticity are needed. Hybrid closed-loop systems help adolescents and young adults self-manage T1D when used in a situationally aware way. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine whether the association between happiness and all-cause mortality persists after adjustment for health status and sociodemographic factors in Japanese adults. The study addressed the gap in understanding the relationship between happiness and mortality in Japanese populations.

Method: A total of 3,187 adults from Minami-Izu, Japan, were included in a prospective study tracking all-cause mortality from October 2016 to October 2023. Happiness was assessed using a single-item, self-report measure of state emotional well-being. Sociodemographic factors (age, sex, marital status, education, and economic status) and health status (body mass index and physical function) were considered as covariates. Binary logistic regression models were used to examine the association between happiness and mortality, adjusted for these factors.

Results: During the follow-up, 277 participants died. The risk of all-cause mortality was higher in those who reported being unhappy compared with those who reported being happy after adjustment for age and sex (OR: 2.69, 95% CI: 1.63-4.44) and also significantly higher in those who reported being unhappy compared with those who reported being happy after adjustment for age, sex, all socioeconomic factors and health status (OR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.09-3.16). Sensitivity analyses excluding deaths within the first year showed consistent results.

Conclusions: Happiness is independently associated with reduced mortality risk, even after adjustment for sociodemographic and health status factors. These findings highlight the importance of promoting positive well-being in Japanese populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Approximately one in five Black women report experiencing pain during their last sexual encounter (Townes et al., 2019). Although Black women experience dyspareunia more frequently and intensely than their White counterparts, they are less likely to receive a proper diagnosis and treatment (Carter et al., 2019). Despite advancements in genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder (GPPPD) research, the continued omission of Black women and the failure to consider their lived experiences perpetuate the exclusion of Black women's pain experiences and exacerbate inequities in vulvar pain research. Using an intersectional and Black feminist approach, this socioecological conceptual article explores the sociohistorical, sociostructural, sociocultural, and interpersonal factors that uniquely place Black women at risk of experiencing vulvar pain, developing GPPPD, ignoring their GPPPD symptoms, and receiving misdiagnoses. Theoretical frameworks, methodologies, and interventions that should be implemented in future research with Black women experiencing GPPPD symptoms are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: This study aimed to describe the child- and parent-centered lived experience of chronic sickle cell pain and its management among children and adolescents living with sickle cell disease (SCD). A secondary aim was to examine culturally relevant treatment preferences to inform clinically meaningful end points for nonpharmacological behavioral treatments and identify facilitators and barriers to behavioral treatments to enhance the feasibility and acceptability of future chronic sickle cell pain treatment programs.

Method: Participants were 14 dyads of children and adolescents with SCD and their parents. A qualitative, participatory approach was used to conduct individual semistructured interviews with iterative refinement of the interview guide, coding, and analysis throughout.

Results: Child and parent experiences described three overarching themes: (a) the experience of chronic sickle cell pain and its management, including the negative impact and increased stress from frequent school absences, hospitalizations, peer socialization, and changes in autonomy with age; (b) the impact on parent and family functioning, including parenting stress, needing community support, protecting each other from impacts of pain, and parents feeling guilt for the genetics of SCD; and (c) preferences for treatment and interventions, including expertise and trust in treating providers and skill acquisition to support living a full, valued life.

Conclusions: Children with chronic SCD pain and their caregivers conceptualize children's pain experiences as complex, dynamic, and shaped by the surrounding context. Adapting interventions to address the unique individual and family experiences and needs may enhance behavioral pain interventions, treatment engagement, and optimize the health of children with chronic SCD pain. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

As the gatekeepers of scientific knowledge, journal editors, reviewers, and study section members hold a profound responsibility for shaping what is valued and disseminated in our field. Achieving equity in pain science requires a critical reevaluation of how rigor is defined and applied, as well as a commitment to dismantling the biases embedded in academic publishing and peer review. The priorities described in this joint call to action paper outline a path toward a more inclusive and representative scientific record. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objectives: Pediatric chronic pain is a global health problem associated with psychological comorbidities and declines in functioning. Recent research indicates a large number of autistic youth experience chronic pain, and a significant number of autistic youth identify as gender-diverse. While the exact prevalence is unknown, there is growing recognition that a number of youth with chronic pain identify as gender-diverse. To date, little is known about the experiences of youth with these intersecting identities. This study sought to understand the lived experiences of youth with chronic pain who identify as gender-diverse and autistic.

Method: Semistructured interviews with youth with chronic pain who identified as gender-diverse (N = 6) and self-reported the identity of autism were conducted to understand the individual, lived experiences of these youth. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Results: Interpretative phenomenological analysis produced four group experiential themes consisting of nine personal experiential themes. Group experiential themes included: The compounding impact of identities, wrestling with labels, health care as a maze to be navigated, and the impact of society as the additional identity in the room.

Conclusions: Youth with chronic pain who are autistic and gender-diverse experience unique stressors in the context of their identities. Understanding the experiences of these youth is essential for providing equitable and inclusive pain care. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Although racial and ethnic pain disparities are well-documented, fewer studies have examined rural and socioeconomic disparities or investigated how identities might intersect to predict pain outcomes. Moreover, little research has explored the protective role resilience may play in mitigating disparities. Guided by Booker's Hierarchy of Health Disparities Research framework, this study aimed to (a) investigate intersectional racial, ethnic, rural, and socioeconomic pain disparities and (b) examine the role of resilience in reducing pain disparities.

Method: We sampled a diverse group of 498 Veterans with osteoarthritis who were scheduled for total knee arthroplasty and were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. Participants completed a battery of validated instruments to assess demographics, pain outcomes, and resilience (pain acceptance, values-aligned behaviors).

Results: Participants were primarily older adult males from diverse backgrounds (25% Black; 8% Hispanic; 26% rural; 70% >50th national percentile for socioeconomic disadvantage). Only race was significantly associated with pain outcomes across intersectional groups. There was no evidence of rural pain disparities. Socioeconomic status moderated the relationship between race, physical functioning, and psychological distress, such that racial disparities decreased as socioeconomic disadvantage increased. No other significant socioeconomic disparities emerged. Resilience did not moderate the relationship between race and pain. Rather, resilience was associated with better pain outcomes across racial groups.

Conclusions: Findings highlight the robust connection between race and pain. They also suggest that socioeconomic and rural and pain disparities may be less prevalent in Veterans. Resilience may be a modifiable factor that can improve pain outcomes in Black patients. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Research suggests that high life satisfaction is related to better health outcomes, but its relationship with blood pressure, a key indicator of cardiovascular health, remains inconclusive. We conducted a comprehensive cross-sectional investigation of the association between life satisfaction and blood pressure.

Method: We analyzed data from 16 cohorts, each including life satisfaction assessments and blood pressure measurements. We meta-analyzed associations between life satisfaction and (a) continuous levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and (b) presence of high blood pressure, inferred based on measured blood pressure of ≥140/90 mmHg and self-reported medication use. We also conducted parallel analyses, predicting hypertension status operationalized based solely on self-reported diagnosis and medication use, as in previous research. Finally, we examined the role of depressive symptoms in these relationships.

Results: Meta-analytic results revealed no consistent association between life satisfaction and either measured blood pressure levels or the presence of high blood pressure. These associations did not differ by the type of life satisfaction measure used or by the economic conditions of the studied countries. However, when considering self-reported hypertension, higher life satisfaction was related to a lower hypertension risk, consistent with previous findings. More depressive symptoms were related to both lower measured blood pressure and a higher risk of self-reported hypertension.

Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between self-reported and objectively measured health outcomes when understanding and investigating the relationship between psychological and physical well-being. We discuss caveats in relying on single-day blood pressure assessments or recalled diagnoses to infer hypertension status. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

ER diversity and global ER ability significantly moderated the prospective association between stress and interleukin-6Objective: Identifying psychosocial factors that promote health in the context of stress and aging is needed. Emotion regulation (ER) may be one such protective factor. The current study tested three forms of ER-use of individual ER strategies, diversity of ER strategies, and global ER ability-as moderators of the prospective association between perceived stress and inflammation in older adults.

Method: Adults (N = 162) aged 60+ completed baseline measures of perceived stress, ER strategies (situation selection, situation modification, reappraisal, and emotional acceptance) tested individually, and combined into an ER diversity metric, and a measure of global ER ability. Inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α) were assessed at baseline and follow-up (average 6.8 months later). Residualized change models tested ER measures as moderators of the association between stress and inflammation, adjusting for baseline inflammation and demographic and health covariates. Analyses were corrected for testing multiple inflammatory outcomes per form of ER.

Results: No one ER strategy moderated the prospective association between stress and inflammation (ps > .48). ER diversity and global ER ability significantly moderated the prospective association between stress and interleukin-6 (B = -.13, p_adjusted = .047) and C-reactive protein (B = .14, p_adjusted = .019), respectively. Higher ER diversity and lower deficit in global ER ability were protective and attenuated stress-inflammation associations.

Conclusions: Older adults experiencing higher stress who employ a diversity of ER strategies and have higher global ER ability had lower levels of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein, respectively, but not of other markers. Initial results suggest ER approaches other than individual strategies may promote healthy immune aging in the context of stress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).