Do health beliefs about COVID-19 predict morbidity? A longitudinal study

In a highly powered (N ≈ 5000), six-months longitudinal study (December 2020-May 2021), we tested the assumption that beliefs concerning COVID-19 and the precautions against it predicted morbidity. Six months after having filled out a survey measuring beliefs about the disease and the precautions against it, participants reported if they were or had been ill with COVID-19. A lower likelihood of being or having been ill with COVID-19 was predicted by personal optimism concerning infection, perceived personal control over infection, perceived effectiveness of precautions, and self-reported personal or better-than-average adherence to the precautions. A higher likelihood of being or having been ill with COVID-19 was predicted by perceived personal control over a good outcome of an infection, egocentric impact perception concerning the impact of the disease, perceived difficulty of adherence to the precautions, and both personal and egocentric impact perception concerning the impact of the precautions. Comparative optimism did not predict morbidity, nor did personal optimism concerning severe disease or a good outcome, perceived personal control over severe disease, and moralization of the precautions. We discuss implications for public health communication.     

Links between rational and irrational beliefs,trait anxiety and fear of COVID 19

IntroductionOur beliefs and knowledge influence the way we act, react, or adapt to an aversive situation such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to explore factors that may influence perceived fear of COVID-19.MethodologyThree hundred and forty-two people from the general population participated in this study. The participants completed an online anamnestic questionnaire that included questions regarding feelings of vulnerability to illness, fear of COVID-19, rational and irrational beliefs about COVID-19, and trait anxiety.ResultsA stepwise regression analysis showed that trait anxiety, irrational and rational beliefs, and having comorbidities linked to severe forms of the disease were associated with perceived vulnerability concerning health and fear of COVID-19.DiscussionThis study seems to underline the importance of pre-existing vulnerabilities that were exacerbated during the pandemic.     

Beliefs about personality change and continuity

Lay conceptions of personality change and continuity were examined in a sample of 112 undergraduates. Participants rated their personal change over 5 years (past or future), the change they perceived to be normative over 10-year age spans between 15 and 65, their beliefs about whether personality is fixed or malleable (“lay theories”) and their beliefs about the causes of personality change and continuity. Beliefs about normative personality change generally corresponded to research evidence on adult trajectories of the Big Five factors, with some age bias, whereas recalled and anticipated personal change tended to be more positive than these norms. Participants tended to endorse environmental causes more for personality change than for continuity. Lay theories were not consistently associated with these causal beliefs, or with beliefs about personal and normative change.     

Adults' Efficacy and Control Beliefs Regarding Memory and Aging: Separating General from Personal Beliefs

This study examined beliefs about memory in 307 18-93 year-old community-dwelling adults. Two new questionnaires, the General Beliefs about Memory (GBMI) and the Personal Beliefs about Memory (PBMI) Instruments, were used to compare and contrast beliefs about memory in the general population of adults from beliefs about one's own memory. Both questionnaires used a graphic rating scale format to obtain more refined responses. The GBMI showed that, on average, all age groups perceived the average adult as experiencing curvilinear decline over the adult life span for multiple aspects of memory, with the greatest changes believed to occur after age 40. Beliefs about different specific types of memory were consistent with lay beliefs and with empirical results regarding aging and memory (e.g., memory for names was perceived to decline more rapidly than memory for faces). In contrast to earlier studies, small but significant age differences between young, middle-aged, and older respondents regarding beliefs about rates of memory aging were identified. Results for the PBMI indicated that personal beliefs were strongly related to, but distinct from, general beliefs. Older adults believed themselves to be lower in memory efficacy, to have declined more than younger adults, and to have less personal control over memory, as in earlier research.     

Gender differences in smoking: A longitudinal study of beliefs predicting smoking in 11–15 year olds

This longitudinal study investigated differences in beliefs and perceived behavioural control between smokers and non-smokers in a large sample of adolescents. Positive and negative instrumental beliefs, normative beliefs, perceived behavioural control (PBC) and smoking status were assessed in the same participants at 11, 13 and 15 years of age. Prospective analyses among non-smokers revealed that for boys, negative instrumental beliefs in non-smokers at age 11 predicted smoking at age 15 years. For girls, normative beliefs and PBC in non-smokers at age 11 predicted smoking status at age 13; normative beliefs at age 11 predicted smoking at age 15; and positive instrumental beliefs and normative beliefs at age 13 predicted smoking status at age 15. Cross-sectional data revealed that smokers were significantly more likely than non-smokers to endorse positive instrumental beliefs, less likely to agree with negative instrumental belief items, more likely than non-smokers to perceive social pressure to smoke, and less likely to report control over smoking, and that female smokers reported less control over smoking and fewer negative instrumental beliefs than all other groups including male smokers at age 13. The need for belief-based preventative interventions that are age- and gender-relevant is discussed.     

Young and older adults' beliefs about effective ways to mitigate age-related memory decline

This study investigated whether young and older adults vary in their beliefs about the impact of various mitigating factors on age-related memory decline. Eighty young (ages 18-23) and 80 older (ages 60-82) participants reported their beliefs about their own memory abilities and the strategies that they use in their everyday lives to attempt to control their memory. Participants also reported their beliefs about memory change with age for hypothetical target individuals who were described as using (or not using) various means to mitigate memory decline. There were no age differences in personal beliefs about control over current or future memory ability. However, the two age groups differed in the types of strategies they used in their everyday life to control their memory. Young adults were more likely to use internal memory strategies, whereas older adults were more likely to focus on cognitive exercise and maintaining physical health as ways to optimize their memory ability. There were no age differences in rated memory change across the life span in hypothetical individuals. Both young and older adults perceived strategies related to improving physical and cognitive health as effective means of mitigating memory loss with age, whereas internal memory strategies were perceived as less effective means for controlling age-related memory decline.     

A Longitudinal Investigation of Perceived Control and Cognitive Performance in Young,Midlife and Older Adults

ABSTRACT

Longitudinal associations between generalized control beliefs (one's perceived capacity to influence events) and cognitive test performance were examined in a population-based sample of young, midlife and older adults. Participants provided measures of perceived control, self-assessed health, education and depression and anxiety symptoms, and completed cognitive tests at two assessments, 4 years apart. For each age group, baseline (between-person) control was positively related to performance on tests of memory (immediate recall and digits backwards), speed (Symbol Digit Modalities Test and choice reaction time) and verbal intelligence (Spot-the-Word). Interaction effects indicated stronger associations of between-person control beliefs with indices of speed for the older age group relative to the younger groups. Within-person changes in control were not significantly associated with changes in cognitive test performance over the study interval. Implications of the findings for self-efficacy based interventions designed to promote cognitive functioning are discussed.     

Risk perception and behavior: Pessimism,realism, and optimism about aids-related health behavior

Abstract

This study investigates the perceived risk of becoming infected with HIV for heterosexuals with multiple sexual partners, examines cognitive and motivational antecedents of biases in risk perception, and relates these biases to behavior. We obtained a moderate degree of optimism in a longitudinal study based on a sample of 535 visitors of a STD clinic. Further analyses—after classifying subjects as “pessimists”, “realists”, or “optimists”—revealed that pessimists were extremely pessimistic and optimists remarkably optimistic. Optimism increased with perceived control and decreased with prior experience, supporting a cognitive explanation of optimism. The data also provided some support for a motivational explanation: optimists who scored higher on a defensive coping style were more optimistic about their risks. Contrary to other findings, we found a positive relation between optimism and intentions to reduce risks. Furthermore, results revealed that optimists showed lower levels of subsequent behavioral risk. It was concluded that optimists were not unrealistically optimistic about their personal vulnerability. but rather that pessimists were unrealistically pessimistic. Previous behavior was found to be the best predictor of subsequent behavior. Although measures of perceived risk were also related to subsequent behavior, their predictive power was rather modest.     

Lay beliefs about the efficacy of self-reliance,seeking help and external control as strategies for overcoming obesity,drug addiction,marital problems,stuttering and insomnia

Abstract

This study was concerned with peoples' beliefs about the importance of twenty-four different contributors towards overcoming five relatively common personal health problems, namely: obesity, drug addiction, marital difficulties, stuttering and insomnia. One hundred and twenty-two subjects completed a five-page questionnaire indicating how effective each of these contributors were to overcoming the problems as specified. Factor analysis revealed an interpretable structure similar to previous studies (Luk and Bond, 1992): the emerging three factors were labelled ^'self-reliance”, “seeking help” and “external control”. Multiple regression showed that few individual difference variables as measured were related to perceived relevance of the different contributors. The results were discussed in terms of subjects' beliefs concerning the value of self-reliance as opposed to seeking help, and in relation to the importance of understanding lay beliefs about the efficacy of different forms of intervention.     

Real and Illusory Control Over Exposure to HIV in College Students and Gay Men1

Reasons for unsafe sex were examined using an illusions of control framework. Heterosexual college students (N= 301) and gay men (N= 248) were surveyed regarding perceived control over exposure to HIV, of vulnerability to HIV, use of illusory control in chance situations, and real and illusory strategies for protection against HIV. As predicted, the use of illusory control in chance situations was associated with more illusory HIV protection in both samples. Illusory protection strategies were associated with feeling less vulnerable to HIV which was mediated by perceptions of control over exposure to HIV. Suggestions for intervention include providing information about the illusory nature of some protective strategies and a focus on failing to protect oneself from STDs.     

Revisiting the agentic shift: Weakening personal control increases susceptibility to social influence

What happens when people experience a reduced sense of personal control? Among the various strategies to defend against a perception of randomness, people may show an increased acceptance of external sources of control. Indeed, in one of the most classic studies in social psychology, Stanley Milgram referred to an “agentic shift”—the tendency to relinquish personal control to an external agent—to explain his dramatic obedience effects. We propose that his account is a specific manifestation of a more general phenomenon: the tendency for increased susceptibility to various forms of external social influence when perceived personal control is reduced. In a series of (lab and field) studies using a variety of perceived control manipulations, we demonstrate that a reduction in the sense of personal control increases people's vulnerability to the bystander effect, promotes obedience to authority and fosters compliance with behavioral requests. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Knowledge,beliefs, peer norms,and past behaviors as correlates of risky sexual behaviors among college students

Abstract

HIV/AIDS knowledge, age at onset of sexual activity, perceptions of personal risk and peer norms were explored as correlates for risky sexual behaviors among college students. Ninety-nine male and 185 female college students completed a 66-item questionnaire. A majority reported being sexually active with most in mutually monogamous relationships or not currently in a sexual relationship. Multiple regression correlation analyses showed knowledge about HIV/AIDS to be very high but that this knowledge did not independently relate to the extent of risky behaviors. Perceptions of risk were positively related to number of partners and single-time partners but not condom usage. In contrast to previous studies, perceived peer norms did not independently relate to behaviors. Instead, age at first intercourse was found to have substantial overlap with current perceptions, attitudes, and likelihood for engaging in risky behaviors. The necessity for including previous behaviors in analyses of the impact of attitudes and perceived norms on behavioral intentions is discussed.     

Predicting intended contraception in a sample of ethiopian female adolescents: The validity of the theory of planned behavior

Abstract

The purposes of the study were threefold. First, to test the validity of Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behavior (TPB) in predicting intended contraception in the Ethiopian cultural setting. Second, to examine the additional predictive roles of past behavior and perceived pregnancy risk in the TPB model. Third, to identify the salient contraceptive beliefs influencing intended contraception. Data stemmed from a community sample of 354 sexually active female adolescents aged 15 to 19 years. The findings of the study supported TPB as a robust model in Ethiopian cultural setting, with subjective norm being the strongest predictor of intended contraception. In addition, both past contraceptive behavior and perceived pregnancy risk demonstrated to have significant contributions in predicting intention over and above that explained by attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control elements of the TPB. Moreover, the study also identified salient and important contraceptive beliefs that need to be addressed in family life education and counseling programs designed for adolescents and the youth.     

Memories from the cradle

How far back can we, as adults, remember details of our life experiences? Current popular and scientific beliefs are contradictory, with the latter stipulating that personal memories do not begin until the late preschool years (age 4–5 years) and the former claiming that we not only remember being born, but can also remember in utero experiences. In this review, these beliefs are examined in a scientific context and evaluated in terms of empirical data about the development of early memory. The theory proposed here is that memories for personal experiences are not possible until the advent of the cognitive self, around the age of 18 to 24 months. This age is much earlier than that proposed as the age of the earliest memories in other scientific accounts and much later than that proposed in popular beliefs about early memory. New data from a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of early memory development and the emergence of the self clearly show the origins of personal memory coincide with the emergence of the early self.     

Understanding spirit possession in the Philippines: a social representations approach

ABSTRACT

Where there are diverse professionals and curers dealing with possession, differences in representations exist. This study uses social representations theory as a frame to examine both the representational overlaps and differences in possession among various Filipino health professionals and the lay distinctly socialised in Western biomedical and psychological lenses and in local religious and traditional folk beliefs. Themes were extracted from 12 individual interviews. Results showed five representational themes, namely: possession as sinakluban, as a vulnerability, as a disease, as kulam, and as being chosen. Findings were discussed in relation to the interface among religion, indigenous beliefs, psychopathological frame, and the Western biomedical model.     

Adolescent beliefs about AIDS prevention

Abstract

Four hundred and ten school children, aged between 13 and 16 years, were administered a questionnaire to investigate (a) their perceptions of AIDS and implications of the disease for the victim; (b) beliefs about how best to prevent the spread of disease; (c) sources of information and (d) AIDS relevant topics they would like to learn in school. The results suggested that there were few differences in knowledge or attitude as a function of age, but some significant differences due to sex. Boys were more likely to derogate the AIDS victim compared with girls. In terms of different strategies for prevention, boys were more in favour of “scare” approaches, and girls of information-giving. The success of any AIDS education package may be at least partly determined by individual beliefs about the disease, and preferences for different educational strategies.     

Control-related beliefs and sleep characteristics of posttraumatic stress disorder patients

To examine correlations among chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), control-related beliefs, and sleep difficulties 7 PTSD casualities and 7 non-PTSD matched subjects were compared in their laboratory sleep patterns as well as in their beliefs about personal control over external and internal events in general and over sleep-related events in particular. Analyses indicated that PTSD casualties had poorer sleep and reported more doubts regarding their ability to control external and internal events than control subjects. Further, we found a significant association between perceived control and sleep difficulties. Results were discussed in terms of Horowitz's conception of intrapsychic processes related to PTSD.     

The Developing Theory of Mental State Control: Changes in Beliefs about the Controllability of Emotional Experience from Elementary School through Adulthood

ABSTRACT

In everyday life, we use folk theories about the mind and behavior to understand ourselves and others. An important part of our folk theory of mind is our intuitions about the role of the self in mental functioning—namely, whether the self is able to control each mental operation. The current study explored beliefs about the nature of control over emotional aspects of mental experience from middle childhood through adulthood. Elementary school children (n = 46), middle schoolers (n = 46), 18-year-olds (n = 46), and adults (n = 104) were presented with vignettes depicting characters experiencing negative emotions. Participants evaluated the intentionality, changeability, and chronicity of the characters’ responses. Results showed that by elementary school, children share adults’ view that emotions are largely outside of volitional control. However, beliefs about the changeability and chronicity of emotions mature beyond middle childhood. Between elementary school and adulthood, participants decreased their endorsement of the ability to change one’s current negative emotions and increased their beliefs in the chronic, enduring nature of these responses. With age, these changeability and chronicity beliefs also came to differ depending on the emotional response (i.e., feeling grumpy, being nervous, acting mean). Together, these findings suggest that intuitions about the controllability of emotional experience become more differentiated and less optimistic across development.     

British Olympic hopefuls: The antecedents and consequences of implicit ability beliefs in elite track and field athletes

ObjectivesThis study provided an in-depth examination of the implicit ability beliefs held by elite British track and field athletes, including the antecedents and consequences of these beliefs.Design and MethodsA qualitative design was employed involving semi-structured interviews with 4 Olympic hopefuls in the sport of track and field athletics. Thematic analysis was utilised to interpret the results of the study, involving a combination of inductive and deductive approaches.ResultsThe core components of ability beliefs included beliefs that ability is stable, ability is malleable, and that it is possible to build on natural ability. A variety of personal, social and environmental antecedents appeared to influence the athletes' ability beliefs. The consequences of implicit beliefs encompassed three major themes, which were achievement motivation, setbacks and attributions for success and failure.ConclusionsThe results from the analysis indicated that the athletes' implicit beliefs were very specific, as their beliefs about ability appeared to underpin sport-specific performance. The belief that ability was malleable was universal amongst the athletes and this may be related to their age, experience, high perceived ability and the high level at which they compete. However, the athletes believed that although natural ability is useful, talent is only a small part of the equation as learning, improving and working hard are all necessary for success at the highest level.