摘要:

Objective.  This pilot study investigated the effectiveness of a team‐based sport/psychosocial intervention (Back of the Net, BTN) with an individual exercise (IE) and a control condition for the mental health of young men.Design.  Ten‐week randomized control trial and eight‐week post‐intervention follow‐up.Methods.  A total of 104 sedentary males aged between 18 and 40 years were recruited and randomly assigned to the BTN, IE, or a control condition. The BTN programme integrated team sport (i.e., football) and cognitive‐behavioural techniques. IE sessions included aerobic and resistance training. The control group refrained from exercise. Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory – 2nd Edition (BDI‐II), the Social Provisions Scale (SPS) and a short qualitative questionnaire at pre‐intervention, week 5, post‐intervention and at 8‐week follow‐up.Results.  Participants in both the BTN and the IE condition demonstrated a significant decrease in BDI‐II scores compared to the control condition at post‐intervention and at 8‐week follow‐up. The IE condition demonstrated significantly greater perceived social support than the BTN condition at week 5 and the control group at 8‐week follow‐up. Qualitative data support the main empirical findings.Conclusion.  Exercise‐based interventions were effective in reducing symptoms of depression in a non‐clinical community sample of young men. The BTN programme demonstrated potential for improving the mental health of young men however larger scale community‐based research is warranted to further exa

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910710X522734

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2011

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objectives.  Four domains of predictors of support provision were tested in couples facing an illness‐related stress context. Predictor domains of partners' support provision to patients adapting to incontinence following prostatectomy included stress factors, recipient factors, provider factors, and relationship factors.Methods.  Data from 109 patients and their female partners were analysed. Couples provided data on five measurement occasions from 2 weeks to 1 year postsurgery. Predictors included patient's incontinence (stress factor), patient's support mobilization, affect and general self‐efficacy (recipient factors), partner's affect and general self‐efficacy (provider factors), partners' average waking time spent together, both partners' relationship satisfaction and partner's received support from patient (as an indicator of reciprocal support; relationship factors).Results.  Provider factors were not reliably associated with support provision, neither was patient negative affect. Stress and relationship factors accounted for outcome variance in the expected directions. Among recipient factors, mobilization of support and patient self‐efficacy were positively related with the outcome, whereas patient positive affect was negatively associated with support provision by partners.Conclusions.  Findings on predictor domains are in line with other couple studies that used non‐illness‐related stress contexts. Resemblance of findings points to generalizability of predictions across stress contexts varying in content, controllab

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910710X522860

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2011

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objectives.  Negative body image has a significant impact on self‐esteem, disordered eating, and general health. Writing about distressing events and experiences has been found to have beneficial effects on psychological and physical health outcomes. This study investigated whether a written self‐disclosure intervention, compared to a writing about body image success stories (WSS) intervention, had beneficial effects on self‐esteem and body image.Design and methods.  One hundred and fifty‐eight women (aged 18–22 years) were allocated to either: written emotional disclosure (WED); WSS; or a control, non‐emotional writing condition. All measures were completed at baseline and at follow‐up 4 weeks later.Results.  A condition by time interaction was observed for implicit self‐esteem, such that levels of self‐esteem were improved 4 weeks later in the WED condition. Implicit self‐esteem was also found to be greater following WED compared to the control condition, but not following WSS.Conclusions.  This is the first study to demonstrate that WED has beneficial effects on implicit outcome measures such as self‐esteem indicating that the positive effects of expressive writing may initially operate by influencing automatically activated attitudes towards the self. The impact of WED on implicit self‐esteem may have

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910710X523210

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2011

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objectives. Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is the second most common reason for liver transplants among women in the USA. While survival rates are high, there is evidence of persistent problems post‐transplant. This study aimed to identify significant contributors to quality of life (QOL) for women with PBC on waiting list (WL) and post‐transplant (PT) and compare QOL in each group with US population norms.Design. A cross‐sectional, two‐group study design was used.Methods. WL and PT participants were recruited through medical centres and on‐line. QOL was measured by the Short Form‐36 and an indicator of Social QOL created for this study. A biopsychosocial model incorporating demographic, biomedical, psychological, and sociological factors guided choice of variables affecting QOL. Analyses examined (1) all factors for differences between WL and PT groups, (2) association between factors and QOL outcomes within each group, (3) multivariate regression of QOL on factors in the model for the sample as a whole, and (4) comparison of QOL outcomes with national norms.Results. One hundred women with PBC participated in the study, 25 on WL and 75 PT. Group comparisons showed improvement for PT participants in most biomedical and psychological variables and in QOL outcomes. QOL was related to many, but not all, of the variables in the model. In multivariate analysis, Fatigue, Depression, Coping, and Education – but not Transplant Status – were identified as indicators of QOL. Physical QOL improved significantly after 5 years PT, when it was no longer worse than national norms. Mental QOL remained worse than national norms despite distance in time from transplant.Conclusions. The model proved useful in identifying a range of factors that contributed to QOL for women with PBC before and after transplant. Recommendations were made for clinical practice to improve QOL through a combination of trea

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910710X527964

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2011

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objective.  In sub‐Saharan African countries, there are unique cultural factors and adverse physical conditions that contribute to women's experiences of pregnancy and birth. The objective of this study was to qualitatively explore women's experiences of pregnancy, childbirth, the postnatal period, and maternal psychological distress in The Gambia.Design and methods.  Semi‐structured interviews were carried out with 55 women who had given birth within the previous year.Results.  Thematic analysis identified five themes: (1) transition to adulthood, (2) physical difficulties, (3) value of children in relation to others, (4) children as a strain, and (5) going through it alone. The results suggest that having a child is a defining point in women's lives associated with happiness and joy. However, women also described situations which could lead to unhappiness and distress in the perinatal period. A child conceived out of wedlock or a baby girl can be sources of distress because of negative cultural perceptions. The strain of having a child, particularly the additional financial burden, and minimal support from men were also a concern for women. Finally, women recognized the danger associated with delivery and expressed recurrent worries of complications during childbirth which could result in the death of them or the baby.Conclusions.  Further research is needed to identify women vulnerable to psychological distress so that health services and target interventions can be developed

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910710X528710

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2011

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objectives.  The study investigated the lived experiences of adults over 30 years old living with sickle cell disorder (SCD) and sought to develop a model understanding participants' ability to function.Design.  Over a period of 10 months, in‐depth individual interviews were held with nine participants and three focus groups were held with six further participants.Methods.  Grounded theory, a qualitative methodology, was chosen to explore functioning across domains of experience in order to build an explanatory model.Results.  Physical, psychological, and social functioning were adversely effected by SCD. Access to and quality of resources including friends, family, and finances formed the context in which participants attempted to manage the disorder. Management of SCD improved over time as participants moved to acceptance of the condition. This allowed participants to strengthen their resilience by creating meaning, developing their identity, and actively coping with the effects of SCD, thus improving their ability to function and to appreciate life.Conclusions.  The study demonstrates the considerable resilience of people over 30 with SCD, providing a positive and hopeful model which can be utilized clinically to support the functioning of peop

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910710X529278

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2011

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objectives.  Although embarrassment may be among the most easily modified discrete emotional barriers to patients seeking health care or testing, work in the area of colorectal cancer (CRC) has been restricted by the absence of suitable instrumentation. The current report describes the development and validation of a self‐report instrument assessing two specific aspects of CRC screening embarrassment and their links to screening outcomes.Design.  Convenience sampling was used to recruit 245 European American, African‐American, and immigrant Caribbean community‐dwelling men and women (aged 45–75 years) living in Brooklyn, New York.Methods.  Participants completed the measure of CRC screening embarrassment, an array of convergent and divergent validity measures including dispositional embarrassment, general medical embarrassment, neuroticism, trait emotion, social desirability, previous treatment avoidance because of embarrassment, relevant health characteristics, and a brief CRC screening history.Results.  As expected, CRC screening embarrassment was not unidimensional and had two reliable and distinct components, one concentrated on faecal/rectal embarrassment and the other on embarrassment arising from unwanted intimacy during examinations. In addition to demonstrating patterns of convergent and divergent validity consistent with their separation, multivariate analyses indicated that faecal/rectal embarrassment (but not intimacy concerns) predicted CRC screening frequency.Conclusions.  The current report extends current understanding by identifying the specific sources of embarrassment that may contribute to patients' avoidance of CRC screening. Directions for future study and implications for clinical practice and interventi

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910710X530942

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2011

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objectives.  Ambivalence can be viewed as a normal temporary psychological state in a decision process, for example, on quitting smoking. However, when ambivalence is still present after the decision has been made, it may undermine the motivation to stick to the decision. In smoking cessation, ambivalence can be expected to increase the risk for relapse.Design.  In a cohort of 352 ex‐smokers, felt ambivalence measured at baseline was used to predict relapse after 1 month.Results.  Firstly, felt ambivalence was a predictor of relapse. Secondly, felt ambivalence moderated the strength of the relation between a psychological determinant of behaviour and actual behaviour: anticipated negative self‐evaluative emotions only predicted relapse when felt ambivalence was low. Thirdly, the relation of felt ambivalence with relapse was partly mediated by ex‐smokers' evaluations of risk situations (situations in which they used to smoke in the past).Conclusion.  Ambivalence is related to relapse in different ways and in ex‐smokers it may be conceptualized as a non‐optimal decision process. Although the role of felt ambivalence needs further study, the data suggest that ambivalence must be taken into account in the practice of r

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910710X533219

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2011

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objectives.The aim of this study was to investigate factors that may explain variance in adherence to medication in stroke patients.Design.A qualitative comparison of high and low adherers to medication.Methods.Thirteen participants, selected from a sample of 180 stroke survivors because they self‐reported the lowest adherence to medication regimes, were matched with 13 reporting maximal adherence. All took part in semi‐structured qualitative interviews.Results.Thematic analysis revealed that those with poor adherence to medication reported both intentional and non‐intentional non‐adherence. Two main themes emerged: the importance of stability of a medication routine and beliefs about medication and treatment. High adherers reported remembering to take their medication and seeking support from both family and health professionals. They also had a realistic understanding of the consequences of non‐adherence, and believed their medicine did them more good than harm. Low adherers reported forgetting their medication, sometimes intentionally not taking their medication and receiving poor support from medical staff. They disliked taking their medication, had limited knowledge about the medication rationale or intentions, and often disputed its benefits.Conclusions.Our findings suggest that appropriate medication and illness beliefs coupled with a stable medication routine are helpful in achieving optimal medication adherence in stroke patients. Interventions designed to target both intentional and non‐intentional adherence may help maximize medication adherence in stro

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/2044-8287.002000

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2011

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objective.  Compensatory health beliefs (CHBs) are defined as beliefs that negative consequences of unhealthy behaviours can be compensated for by engaging in other health behaviours. CHBs have not yet been investigated in detail regarding smoking. Smoking might cause cognitive dissonance in smokers, if they are aware that smoking is unhealthy and simultaneously hold the general goal of staying healthy. Hence, CHBs are proposed as one strategy for smokers to resolve such cognitive dissonance. The aim of the present study was to develop a scale to measure smoking‐specific CHBs among adolescents and to test whether CHBs are related to a lower readiness to stop smoking.Design.  For the main analyses, cross‐sectional data were used. In order to investigate the retest‐reliability follow‐up data, 4 months later were included in the analysis.Method.  A newly developed scale for smoking‐specific CHBs in adolescents was tested for its validity and reliability as well as its predictive value for the readiness to stop smoking in a sample of 244 smokers (15–21 years) drawn from different schools. Multilevel modelling was applied.Results.  Evidence was found for the reliability and validity of the smoking‐specific CHB scale. Smoking‐specific CHBs were significantly negatively related to an individual's readiness to stop smoking, even after controlling for other predictors such as self‐efficacy or conscientiousness.Conclusions.  CHBs may provide one possible explanation for why adole

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/2044-8287.002001

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2011

数据来源: WILEY