摘要:

Objectives. To examine the relations between expectations of post‐treatment nausea (PTN) and experience of post‐treatment nausea beginning at the first infusion and continuing across a series of subsequent infusions in order to assess the influence of patients' expectations on a non‐volitional outcome in a clinical setting. Design. The study utilized a prospective, longitudinal design to capture the development of relations between expectations and experiences of post‐treatment nausea.Methods. Fifty‐two women with breast cancer scheduled to receive standard outpatient adjuvant chemotherapy were studied. Study questionnaires included measures of chemotherapy‐related side effects, patient expectations, emotional distress and mood disturbance.Results. Significant relations between expectations and incidence of post‐treatment nausea at Infusions 2‐7 were found (p<.05). To explore the possibility that expectations were simply based on patients' most recent experience of post‐treatment nausea, we statistically controlled for that experience. Expectations of post‐treatment nausea made a unique contribution to the prediction of post‐treatment nausea at Infusions 4‐7 (p<.05) in that analysis. No support was found for the possibility that the relations between expectations and post‐treatment nausea were due to patients' emotional distress at the time of the assessments.Conclusions. These results provide the first indication in the literature that the influence of expectations on post‐treatment nausea changes as patients gain e

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910700168801

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2000

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objectives. This study examined the application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to two dietary behaviours with a particular focus on the roles of perceived control and self‐efficacy as two components of the perceived behavioural control construct in the TPB. Methods. A total of 287 members of the general public completed questionnaires, one concerning the influence of TPB variables on intentions and behaviour for either eating five portions of fruit and vegetables per day (N= 144) or eating a low‐fat diet (N= 143), and the second concerning actual eating behaviour one month later. In addition, the individual components of perceived behavioural control (perceived control and self‐efficacy) and their determinant beliefs were examined. Results. For each behaviour, the TPB variables were found to be good predictors of intentions (fat intake, R2= .637; fruit and vegetable intake, R2= .572), although less good at predicting behaviour (fat intake, R2= .185; fruit and vegetable intake, R2= .321), with self‐efficacy being consistently more predictive than perceived control. In addition, examination of their determinant beliefs revealed self‐efficacy and perceived control to have difference bases. The conceptual and empirical distinctions between perceived control and self‐efficacy ar

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910700168810

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2000

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objective. To explore two issues involving the relationship between optimism and adaptation in chronically ill patients. The first issue involves the question whether the impact of optimism on adjustment is disease‐specific, that is whether patients who are confronted with extreme levels of uncontrollability and unpredictability generated by their condition benefit more from an optimistic attitude than those who are confronted with less high levels of those disease characteristics. The second issue relates to the question whether greater optimism produces better adjustment or whether, in contrast, a medium level of optimism plays a more adaptive role. Design. The cross‐sectional design involves 166 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) or multiple sclerosis (MS) recruited from patient's organizations. Method. Regression analyses were employed to test for a disease‐specific effect of dispositional optimism (measured by the Life Orientation Test) on coping (measured by the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations) and adjustment (measured by the Sickness Impact Profile) by introducing interactions between optimism and disease in the analysis. Curvilinear effects were tested by introducing a squared optimism variable. Results. These show that optimism has a disease‐specific effect on physical adjustment and on the use of emotion‐oriented and avoidant coping strategies. Although the study's cross‐sectional design does not allow for causal inferences, these data suggest that MS patients may benefit more from optimism than PD patients and also that, in comparison with PD patients, optimism in MS patients does not necessarily promote avoidant and emotion‐oriented coping. The results also show a medium level of optimism to promote the application of task‐oriented and avoidant coping strategies. Conclusion. It is concluded that context‐specific constraints associated with type of disease may affect the assumed beneficial role of optim

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910700168829

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2000

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objectives.This study longitudinally examines the relationships between psychological impact and coping in a cohort of 87 traumatic spinal cord injured individuals. Trieschmann (1988) emphasized the need to adopt a more longitudinal method of enquiry, elaborating not only on aspects of psychological impact following spinal cord injury (SCI), but exploring the relationship between psychological well‐being coping strategies and adjustment. Within the framework proposed by Folkman and Lazarus (1988), coping is conceptualized as a mediator of emotional reactions, and Leventhal, Nerenz, and Steele (1984) suggest an interaction between coping and emotional outcomes. Design. A prospective longitudinal multiple wave panel design was utilized. Methods. Repeated, standardized measures were collected across nine observational periods from onset of injury to community placement. Forward stepwise variable selection multiple regression analyses were employed to examine concurrent predictive factors and prediction over time. Results. At 6 weeks post‐injury, 64% of the variance in depression was predicted by the use or non‐use of three coping strategies. The coping measures collected at 6 weeks post‐injury predicted 67% of the variance in depression at 1 year post‐discharge. This study not only elaborates on the pattern of adjustment post‐traumatic SCI, but specifies the relationship between coping and adjustment. Moderating variables did not account for significant variance. Conclusions. This study demonstrates a predictive relationship between coping and adjustment and highlights a number of dispositional factors that require further

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910700168838

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2000

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objectives. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between HealthRelated Quality of Life (QOL) and dietary supplements. It was hypothesized that taking dietary supplements would lead to improvements in QOL. Design. A double blind placebo controlled trial was carried out, over an 8‐week period. Method. In a group of 313 healthy adults, QOL was examined at the beginning and end of the trial, through the Multi‐Modal Strain Questionnaire (MMSQ), Profile of Mood States (POMS) and the SF‐36 health survey questionnaire. The Dietary Instrument for Nutrition Education (DINE) questionnaire was used to examine quality of dietary intake, and the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) to examine levels of restrained eating. Results. While those taking dietary supplements showed greater improvements in QOL than those in the placebo group, these improvements were not statistically significant at the .05 level, with the exception of the confusion bewilderment scale on the POMS, and the behavioural strain scale on the MMSQ. There were no significant interactions between condition (supplements or placebo) and quality of dietary intake. However, significant interactions were found between restraint and condition for the tension anxiety, depression dejection, fatigue inertia and confusion bewilderment scales of the POMS; the behavioural strain, cognitive strain, physical strain and overall strain scales on the MMSQ; and the bodily pain, vitality and mental health scales of the SF‐36. Conclusion. It is concluded that for high restrained eaters, otherwise healthy individuals who restrict their food intake to lose weight, dietary supplements may impr

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910700168847

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2000

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objective. The written format has been found consistently to be the most effective medium for communicating relatively complex information (e.g. Furnham, Gunter,&Green, 1990). Looking at the communication of health information, Corston and Colman (1997) accounted for media differences by referring to the facts that reading a written presentation is self‐paced (the self‐pacing theory) and that a written presentation contains fewer distracting characteristics than either audio‐visual or auditory‐only presentations (the distraction theory). The present study sought to test these theories. Method. Female students (N= 175) between the ages of 16 and 18 from two secondary schools were exposed to a fictitious health warning and completed a questionnaire immediately afterwards, measuring communication effectiveness via recall. Participants were divided into seven treatment condition groups which varied in the medium of presentation (two written, three audio‐visual and three auditory‐only) and distraction level inherent to the design of the communication. Results. In line with previous literature, the written format was the most effective way to communicate a piece of health‐related information (p<.01). No evidence was provided for the ‘self‐pacing theory’. Substantial support, however, was found for the ‘distraction theory’. Conclusions. In general, minimally distracting communication proved maximally effective. A simple distraction effect, however, was not found within the audio‐visual medium. Here the presentation where the viewers see a reader conveying the message (the ‘talking head’ condition) proved most effective, even though it was not the least distracting. Being able to see someone reading the message appears to convey a special communication

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910700168856

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2000

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Objectives. To develop a reliable and valid self‐report scale which (1) will assess the distress and difficulties experienced in living with a problem of appearance; (2) can be used with clinical and non‐clinical populations; and (3) facilitates clinical decisionmaking and research through good standardization, sensitivity and discrimination. Design.Cross‐sectional survey designs using clinical and non‐clinical populations and a pre‐post intervention design using plastic surgery patients. Method. A large initial item set was refined through a controlled pre‐post surgery study and a cross‐sectional study of a plastic surgery waiting list (606). The resulting 59‐item scale was administered to 1740 patients with problems of appearance and to a representative general population sample (1001). Results. Principal component and factor analyses identified a stable five‐factor structure accounting for 63.5% of the variance, with a primary factor of self‐consciousness of appearance. Internal consistency was high (alpha= .98) and test‐retest reliabilities (three months) were good (.75 (general population); .86 (patients)). Correlations with existing tests showed appropriate criterion validity (.74‐.62). Good construct validity was evidenced in pre‐ and post‐operative changes, in differences between patients and controls and in convergent and divergent correlation patterns. The general population data reveal widespread concerns about appearance. Conclusions. The DAS‐59 provides a widely acceptable, psychometrically robust, factorial self‐report scale to assess distress and dysfunction in problems of appearance across the full range of ‘visibility’ and aetiologies. It is sensitive to therapeutic change and discri

ISSN:1359-107X    

DOI:10.1348/135910700168865

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2000

数据来源: WILEY