Health Psychology最新文献

Objective: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a significant public health concern, particularly among young men who have sex with men (YMSM). Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective in preventing HIV infection. However, PrEP does not protect against other sexually transmitted infections. Previous studies have shown unintended consequences following PrEP initiation, including increased sexual risk behaviors. Problematic alcohol use, to which YMSM are particularly vulnerable, may also play a role in increasing sexual risk. The present study examines the prospective relationship between PrEP initiation and alcohol-related sexual behaviors among YMSM.

Method: One hundred thirty-nine YMSM (M_age = 21.22) were enrolled in a longitudinal study examining PrEP initiation and alcohol-related sexual risk over 18 months. Participants completed a baseline assessment and follow-up assessments every 6 months. Data collection took place between 2016 and 2020.

Results: PrEP initiation was modeled at Time 1, Time 2, Time 3, and Time 4. Alcohol-related sexual risk behaviors were measured at Time 1 and Time 4. The trajectory of PrEP initiation was used to predict latent change in alcohol-related sexual behaviors. Consistent with our hypothesis, a combined latent change score and latent trajectory model revealed a positive association between PrEP initiation and alcohol-related sexual behaviors between baseline and 18-month follow-up.

Conclusion: These results are consistent with research identifying a potentially high-risk period following PrEP initiation among a vulnerable group (YMSM), with implications for risk assessment and interventions targeting alcohol-related sexual behaviors among YMSM. Findings may aid in reducing adverse sexual outcomes among YMSM who initiate PrEP and ultimately contribute to the minimization of sexual health disparities among YMSM. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Standard behavioral weight loss (SBT) is a first-line intervention for obesity, but its efficacy with Black adults is limited. Some preliminary work suggests that acceptance-based behavioral therapy (ABT), which integrates mindful decision making, experiential acceptance, and reflection on values, may be a better fit for the needs of Black adults. In this fully powered secondary data analysis, we compared the efficacy of SBT and ABT for Black adults.

Method: Black and non-Hispanic White adults (N = 737) with overweight or obesity (body mass index = 27-50 kg/m²) were enrolled in one of the five randomized controlled trials investigating the effectiveness of ABT versus SBT. Analyses assessed the impact of race, treatment condition, and their interaction on percent weight loss at posttreatment and first follow-up assessment while controlling for clinical trial.

Results: The interaction effects between race and treatment condition on weight loss were trending toward significance (p < .05) at posttreatment, F(1, 729) = 2.74, p = .089, but not at follow-up, F(1, 729) = .003, p = .957. Pairwise comparisons revealed that the disparity in posttreatment weight loss between Black and White participants in the SBT condition (M = 3.5%, p = .001) was attenuated in the ABT condition (M = 1.5%, p = .05).

Conclusions: ABT has promise for supporting Black adults in weight loss attempts, although weight regain after treatment remains persistent for Black and White adults alike. Future research is warranted to continue developing this treatment approach as a tool to reduce health disparities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Ambivalence in relationships is related to health-relevant biological outcomes. However, the antecedent processes that contribute to this association are unknown. The primary aim of this study was to test the prediction of the social ambivalence and disease model, which highlights the potential role of childhood trauma as an antecedent factor linking spousal ambivalence to inflammation.

Method: A sample of 107 heterosexual couples who had been married for at least 10 years was recruited. Participants completed the social relationship index to assess spousal ambivalence and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Blood was drawn to determine levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and interleukin-6 as measures of inflammation.

Results: Consistent with the social ambivalence and disease model, there was a significant indirect effect in which childhood trauma was related to greater spousal ambivalence which in turn was associated with higher hs-CRP levels. No evidence for the statistical mediational model was found for interleukin-6.

Conclusions: These results highlight the potential role of childhood trauma as an antecedent factor linking spousal ambivalence to hs-CRP. It also highlights potential pathways that might be targeted for interventions pending further work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: Proinflammatory cytokine production may be related to poor emotional adjustment in dementia spousal caregivers. People who display attachment insecurity may be at increased risk for adverse caregiving experiences and poor psychosocial outcomes.

Objective: This study aimed to understand whether proinflammatory cytokine production was associated with anticipatory grief, caregiver burden, and depressive symptoms and whether those relationships were stronger for caregivers higher on attachment anxiety or avoidance.

Method: A sample of 103 dementia spousal caregivers provided self-report data on demographics, health information, and psychosocial outcomes. We also determined lipopolysaccharide-induced whole-blood interleukin-6, interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-10 production and combined these cytokines into a composite score.

Results: Higher cytokine production was associated with increased anticipatory grief and depressive symptoms. Proinflammatory cytokine production was only associated with anticipatory grief, caregiver burden, and depressive symptoms for those high on attachment anxiety or avoidance.

Discussion: Targeting individuals who display a proinflammatory phenotype and report attachment insecurity may be a key first step in preventing poor caregiving adjustment in dementia spousal caregivers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Higher life satisfaction is associated with reduced risk of age-related morbidities and premature mortality. However, the degree to which life satisfaction moderates the physical and mental health-related outcomes of daily stressors remains understudied. In this study, we evaluated whether higher life satisfaction moderated the association between the experience of daily stressors and reports of positive affect, negative affect, and physical symptoms.

Method: We used data from a substudy of the Midlife in the United States Study (n = 2,022; conducted 2004-2009). Participants reported their life satisfaction and daily diary entries on stress, positive/negative affect, and physical symptoms. We used multilevel modeling to assess whether life satisfaction moderated stress-related variations in affect and physical symptoms when participants reported a particularly high number of stressors.

Results: Higher life satisfaction was associated with lower negative affect and fewer physical symptoms among participants who reported more frequent stressors (i.e., between-subjects). We did not observe associations with positive affect. Life satisfaction also moderated the impact of stressors within individuals, such that people reported higher negative affect and physical symptoms on days with more stressors but this association was reduced among those higher in life satisfaction.

Conclusion: The findings from this study advance our understanding of how life satisfaction might confer benefits for mental and physical health, primarily through moderating the effect of stress on poorer outcomes. We discuss the findings in the context of the mechanisms linking psychological well-being to physical health in the context of stress across the lifespan. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: To use a recently developed methodology, z-curve analysis, to estimate the likelihood of replication success for recently published studies in three leading health psychology journals with high impact factors that involved some form of a moderation analysis.

Method: Utilizing a z-curve analysis, we estimated the replicability, false positives, publication bias, and "file drawer ratio" of 124 independent tests of moderation with significant results published in recent issues of three leading journals in the field of health psychology. z-curve analyses were conducted for all the journals combined and each journal separately.

Results: The distribution of z scores derived from all 124 studies indicated that the estimation of the expected replication rate and false positive ratio were 46.0% and 8.3%, respectively. The estimated file drawer ratio was 1.6, indicating that for every statistically significant interaction reported, nearly two nonsignificant interactions go unreported. In comparing the three journals, Health Psychology had the best overall results (expected replication rate = 52.3%, Soric false discovery rate = 4.8%, file drawer ration = 0.9). Of the 124 studies examined, 23 conducted power analyses to determine sample size, seven preregistered hypotheses, and three conducted a replication analysis.

Conclusion: Results suggest a need for change regarding both the methodological practices used and the publication processes in place to improve the validity and efficacy of research regarding moderation effects in behavioral medicine-this includes preregistering hypotheses, using formalized methods to determine sample size, and utilizing attention checks. Journals can encourage or require these practices and foster acceptance of nonsignificant results to limit publication biases. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Social norms predict flu vaccination uptake. Social norms are also a shared reality phenomenon that may have epistemic underpinnings, although this possibility has not yet been tested. We examined whether the relationship between perceived social circle vaccine coverage and own vaccination behavior depends on one's need for closure (NFC), or discomfort with uncertainty.

Method: We recruited a national sample of 300 participants to complete a pair of brief online surveys, the first of which was administered in September 2021 (Wave 1) and the second of which was administered in November 2021 (Wave 2). Participants estimated their social circle's vaccination behavior for the 2020-2021 flu season and reported their own vaccination behavior for the 2021-2022 flu season. Participants also completed a measure of dispositional NFC, along with other measures.

Results: Social circle vaccine coverage reported at Wave 1 predicted participants' vaccination behavior reported at Wave 2, and this relationship was moderated by the NFC. As hypothesized, participants with a high NFC were more likely to adhere to their social circles' vaccination norms, as compared to participants with a moderate or low NFC. Additional analyses were conducted to explore other relevant associations.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that people's perception of their social circle's vaccination history interacts with their own desire for certainty in the process they use to make vaccination decisions. This raises the possibility that interventions should promote positive social norms and induce epistemic motivations in tandem to promote vaccine uptake. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Emotion dysregulation disrupts normal biological function by increasing inflammation, thus putting people at risk for long-term health issues. These risks are amplified through aging, and accelerated biological aging poses a significant threat to longevity. This pilot study examined several emotion regulation skills, as well as emotion dysregulation broadly, and their relationship with inflammation among physically healthy adults.

Method: Community members (N = 79, _Mage = 30.88, SD = 11.4) completed a laboratory visit where they had their blood drawn to test for inflammation (interleukin-6 [IL-6] and tumor necrosis factor-alpha). They also completed self-report questionnaires assessing mindfulness, emotion dysregulation, and rumination.

Results: All models adjusted for body mass index, medication use, gender, and race. Among middle-aged participants, greater mindfulness was related to lower IL-6 (b = -0.01, SE = 0.002, p = .03). Conversely, greater rumination corresponded to higher IL-6 (b = 0.03, SE = 0.02, p = .03). Emotion dysregulation was related to higher IL-6 (b = 0.004, SE = 0.002, p = .02). Across each of these models, the simple slopes for the younger participants were not significant (ps > .29), highlighting that relationships between emotion regulation and inflammation were only robust for middle-aged, but not young adult, participants. Age did not moderate the relationship between emotion regulation and tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

Conclusion: These data highlight how emotion regulation strategies, both adaptive and maladaptive, might influence inflammation. Given how inflammation increases with age, using these strategies may be protective against accelerated biological aging and promote greater overall wellness throughout adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Breast cancer patients suffer from depressive symptoms during treatments and may show different trajectories of depressive symptoms. The health ecology model provides an integrated perspective for explaining the factors influencing depressive symptoms. This study aimed to (a) analyze the trajectories of depressive symptoms that may occur in breast cancer patients and (b) explore their influencing factors by the health ecology model.

Method: A total of 236 participants (Mdn_age = 55 years) finally completed three valid surveys. The patients answered a personal information sheet, the Self-rating Depression Scale, the Family Environment Scale, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, and the Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form. Data were collected after surgery, 3 months after surgery, and 6 months after surgery. Latent Growth Mixture Modeling was used to identify distinct trajectories of depressive symptoms in patients. Influencing factors of trajectory memberships were identified using multinomial logistic regression.

Results: Three distinct trajectory groups ("slowly rising"; n = 210, 89%, "persistently low"; n = 13, 5.5%, and "fluctuating"; n = 13, 5.5%) were revealed for depressive symptoms. Life satisfaction, family environment, and fear of progression were associated with an increasing trend of depressive symptoms, and family environment was associated with a fluctuating trend.

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated the diversity of depressive symptoms changes, along with the impact of factors in psychological behaviors layer and interpersonal networks layer. It helps to identify breast cancer patients at higher risk of increasing or fluctuating depressive symptoms, thereby allowing for relevant psychological interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Given the high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and the established effectiveness of H. pylori prevention in reducing gastric cancer risk, efforts generally focus on promoting H. pylori screening and risk-reducing dining customs. This study aimed to identify effective fear appeal public service announcements (PSAs) capable of promoting intentions for H. pylori prevention.

Method: The participants in our experiments were recruited from an online survey platform in China. Experiment 1 employed a 2 (self-oriented threat: present vs. absent) × 2 (other-oriented threat: present vs. absent) × 2 (personal efficacy: present vs. absent) design to assess H. pylori screening intentions. A total of 312 participants were randomly assigned to eight conditions. Experiment 2 utilized a 2 (self-oriented threat: present vs. absent) × 2 (other-oriented threat: present vs. absent) × 2 (efficacy types: personal vs. collective) design to evaluate intentions to use separate serving chopsticks as the risk-reducing dining custom, with 293 participants randomly assigned to eight conditions.

Results: In Experiment 1, positive effects were observed for self-oriented threat, other-oriented threat, and personal efficacy in fear appeal PSAs on H. pylori screening intention. The three-way interaction effect revealed that the effects of fear appeal PSAs on H. pylori screening intentions depended on the presence of other-oriented threat. In Experiment 2, fear appeal PSAs with a collective efficacy message elicited higher intentions to use separate serving chopsticks than PSAs with a self-efficacy message.

Conclusions: Fear appeal PSAs aimed at promoting H. pylori prevention could highlight other-oriented threat and collective efficacy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).