Headache triggers: To avoid or not to avoid,that is the question

Abstract

Traditional clinical advice in the management of headaches is to avoid trigger factors. There is a danger, however, that avoidance of triggers results in a sensitisation process whereby tolerance for the triggers decreases, in a manner analogous to increments in anxiety arising from avoidance of anxiety-eliciting stimuli. Reported here are six single-case experiments in which the aim was to desensitise headache sufferers to an experimentally validated trigger, namely “visual disturbance”. The results demonstrated that repeated, prolonged exposure to a headache trigger led to desensitisation with participants experiencing less visual disturbance, less negative affect and less head pain in response to the trigger. These findings have theoretical significance as they speak to the issue of the aetiology of chronic headache, and practical significance as they suggest that a key aspect of current management may contribute to the disorder becoming worse rather than better.     

A qualitative investigation into the online counselling relationship: To meet or not to meet,that is the question

Background and aim: Online counselling, as a psychotherapeutic approach, provokes debate amongst practitioners and researchers concerning its efficacy and validity. This reflexive study extends existing research into the nature of the online counselling relationship when it is conducted asynchronously (by email) and explores the possibility this approach may facilitate both online and face‐to‐face therapeutic engagement. Method: Semi‐structured interviews were conducted electronically with ten former email counselling clients of a university counselling service and six counsellors delivering email counselling in other higher education settings, to explore, in depth, their experiences of the online therapeutic relationship and its impact on the counselling process and outcomes. These were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Findings: Four areas of focus emerged relating to: (1) the importance of the structure and processes involved; (2) their impact on thinking and feeling; (3) their impact on self and relationships (within and outside counselling), and (4) changes that followed email counselling. Having ‘time to think’ within the asynchronous exchanges, the anonymity and disinhibition afforded by the online medium, the creation of transitional space and the rich use of metaphor, visualisation and imagery all contributed to a sense of empowerment and relational depth for individuals who might have otherwise avoided seeking help. This led to positive change in many cases and for some, facilitated subsequent face‐to‐face counselling. Implications: The findings support the provision of counselling and therapy online and particularly its integration within existing face‐to‐face services.     

To belong or not to belong,that is the question: terror management and identification with gender and ethnicity

The terror management prediction that reminders of death motivate in-group identification assumes people view their identifications positively. However, when the in-group is framed negatively, mortality salience should lead to disidentification. Study 1 found that mortality salience increased women's perceived similarity to other women except under gender-based stereotype threat. In Study 2, mortality salience and a negative ethnic prime led Hispanic as well as Anglo participants to derogate paintings attributed to Hispanic (but not Anglo-American) artists. Study 3 added a neutral prime condition and used a more direct measure of psychological distancing. Mortality salience and the negative prime led Hispanic participants to view themselves as especially different from a fellow Hispanic. Implications for understanding in-group derogation and disidentification are briefly discussed.     

“To work,or not to work,that is the question” – Recent trends and avenues for research on presenteeism

ABSTRACT

This position paper brings together recent and emerging developments in the field of presenteeism. A critical synthesis of the evidence is needed due to persisting conceptual and methodological challenges as well as the increased volume of research in the field. This paper integrates emerging evidence and critical thinking into three areas: (1) concept, (2) measurement and methodological issues, and (3) the context of presenteeism. First, due to the variety of existing definitions, competing understandings, as well as the notion of positive presenteeism, it is important to reconsider the notion of presenteeism. Second, it is important to reflect on the measurement of the act of presenteeism and the productivity loss associated with that. Third, following the call to investigate presenteeism in specific contexts, it is important to explain the social, occupational, cross-cultural aspects, as well as the contemporary workplace changes. Based on this critical synthesis, we conclude by identifying recommendations for future research on presenteeism.     

To think or not to think,that is the question: Individual differences in suppression and rebound effects in autobiographical memory

Two studies explored the effects of forget instructions on autobiographical memory at immediate test and following delays of either 12–13 months, or 3–4 months. Using the Autobiographical Think/No-Think procedure (cf., Noreen & MacLeod, 2013), 24 never-depressed participants (Study 1) first generated 12 positive and 12 negative autobiographical memories and associated cues. Participants were then asked to recall the memory associated with some of the cues (i.e., ‘think’ condition), or to avoid saying or thinking about the memory associated with other cues (i.e., ‘no-think’ condition). Participants were then asked to recall the memories associated with all the cues at immediate test and following a delay of 12–13 months. Participants were found to be successful at forgetting both positive and negative autobiographical memories following ‘no-think’ instructions at immediate test but this forgetting effect did not persist following a 12–13 month delay. This pattern of remembering and forgetting was replicated in a second study (using 27 never-depressed participants) following a 3–4 month delay. Participants who had been less successful at forgetting ‘no-think’ memories at immediate test, were more likely to show rebound effects for those memories following a delay compared to memories which received neither ‘think’ nor ‘no-think’ instructions. Individual differences in inhibitory control and the efficacy of potential therapeutic interventions of ‘no-think’ instructions are considered.     

Yielding to (cyber)-temptation: Exploring the buffering role of self-control in the relationship between organizational justice and cyberloafing behavior in the workplace

Guided by the Strength Model of Self-control (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000) and the General Theory of Crime (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990), we examined the role of self-control in buffering the negative relationship between perceived organizational justice and cyberloafing behavior. Two hundred thirty-eight employee and co-worker dyads participated in the study. Organizational justice negatively predicted cyberloafing behavior, though this relationship had ceased to be statistically significant after controlling for gender, age, and hours of internet use for work-related activities. In addition, self-control moderated this relationship. Specifically, there was a stronger negative relationship between perceived organizational justice and cyberloafing for employees with high as opposed to low levels of self-control.     

To Flourish or Languish,that is the question: Exploring the mental health profiles of Danish elite athletes

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was (a) to investigate mental well-being and the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in Danish male and female elite athletes, (b) to identify latent profiles in athletes based on their mental health and ill health, and (c) to examine whether the different profiles vary in selected protective and risk factors concerning mental health.MethodsA total of 612 Danish athletes (M = 18.99, SD = 4.29) from 18 different sports completed an online version of the Holistic Athlete Mental Health Survey that assessed well-being, depression, and anxiety together with potential risk and protective factors (e.g., injuries, stress, sleep, social support, sport environment).ResultsOverall, 13.9% of athletes reported moderate or severe anxiety symptoms while 21.1% reported moderate or severe depressive symptoms. Female athletes had a significantly higher prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms and lower mental well-being scores than male athletes. Through a latent profile analysis, three distinctive mental health profiles (flourishing, moderate mental health, languishing) were discovered. MANOVA following Kruskal-Wallis tests revealed substantial differences between these profiles regarding their perception of social support, sport environment, and stressors from different life domains.Conclusions: Danish elite athletes display similar levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms as the Danish general population. Flourishing athletes report lower stress levels, receive higher support from the private and sport domain, and perceive their sport environment as more supportive than athletes who are languishing. A tailored approach is proposed to support athletes' mental health.     

Forewarned is forearmed: Conserving self-control strength to resist social influence

Recent research has shown that resisting persuasion involves active self-regulation. Resisting an influence attempt consumes self-regulatory resources, and in a state of self-regulatory resource depletion, people become more susceptible to (unwanted) influence attempts. However, the present studies show that a forewarning of an impending influence attempt prompts depleted individuals to conserve what is left of their regulatory resources and thus promotes self-regulatory efficiency. As a result, when these individuals are subsequently confronted with a persuasive request, they comply less (Experiments 1 and 3), and generate more counterarguments (Experiment 2) than their depleted counterparts who were not forewarned and thus did not conserve their resources, and they are as able as non-depleted participants to resist persuasion.     

And deplete us not into temptation: Automatic attitudes, dietary restraint, and self-regulatory resources as determinants of eating behavior

Linking contemporary models of self-regulation to recent research on automatic attitudes, the present study investigated the impact of automatic candy attitudes, dietary restraint standards, and self-regulation resources on eating behavior. Participants were assigned to either an emotion suppression task (low self-regulation resources) or an emotion flow task (high self-regulation resources), and were then given an opportunity to taste candies. When self-regulation resources were high, candy consumption was uniquely related to dietary restraint standards (but not automatic candy attitudes). In contrast, when self-regulation resources were low, candy consumption was primarily predicted by automatic candy attitudes, with dietary restraint standards showing a tendency for counterintentional effects. These results indicate that the behavioral impact of automatic attitudes and personal standards depends on available control resources. Implications for research on automatic attitudes and self-regulation are discussed.     

To pass or not to pass: More a question of body orientation than visual cues

This study investigated the influence of pitch body tilt on judging the possibility of passing under high obstacles in the presence of an illusory horizontal self-motion. Seated subjects tilted at various body orientations were asked to estimate the possibility of passing under a projected bar (i.e., a parking barrier), while imagining a forward whole-body displacement normal to gravity. This task was performed under two visual conditions, providing either no visual surroundings or a translational horizontal optic flow that stopped just before the barrier appeared. The results showed a main overestimation of the possibility of passing under the bar in both cases and most importantly revealed a strong influence of body orientation despite the visual specification of horizontal self-motion by optic flow (i.e., both visual conditions yielded a comparable body tilt effect). Specifically, the subjective passability was proportionally deviated towards the body tilt by 46% of its magnitude when facing a horizontal optic flow and 43% without visual surroundings. This suggests that the egocentric attraction exerted by body tilt when referring the subjective passability to horizontal self-motion still persists even when anchoring horizontally related visual cues are displayed. These findings are discussed in terms of interaction between spatial references. The link between the reliability of available sensory inputs and the weight attributed to each reference is also addressed.     

Differentiating the effects of self-control and self-esteem on reactions to mortality salience

Whereas many previous studies suggest that self-esteem may buffer against the psychological threat of death, recent research has begun to suggest that self-control also may serve as a buffer. Two studies examined the possibility that dispositional self-control uniquely predicts responses to mortality salience, above and beyond self-esteem. In Study 1, an initial exercise in emotion regulation increased subsequent accessibility of death thoughts. In Study 2, mortality salience increased worldview defense. Both of these effects were moderated by dispositional self-control, such that the effects occurred among participants with low but not high self-control. More importantly, these moderating effects were observed over and above the moderating effects of self-esteem. Findings suggest that self-control may serve as an important and unique buffer against thoughts of death.     

Examining the unique and combined effects of grit,trait self-control,and conscientiousness in predicting motivation for academic goals: A commonality analysis

The purpose of the present research was to examine the predicative ability of both the unique and combined components of grit, trait self-control, and conscientiousness in the context of academic goal pursuit. Participants (n₁ = 163, n₂ = 551) were asked to complete assessments of each self-regulatory trait and reported their motivation for an academic goal. Together, grit, trait self-control, and conscientiousness explained 9.9% of the variance in academic goal motivation across both samples. Using commonality analysis, we found that the overlapping components of grit, trait self-control, and conscientiousness accounted for 49.6% of the explained variance (4.9% of the total variance), with the individual components each accounting for less than 20% (2% of the total variance). Implications for research on self-regulatory traits are discussed.     

To stay or to go, to speak or stay silent, to act or not to act: moral distress as experienced by psychologists

The moral distress of psychologists working in psychiatric and mental health care settings was explored in an interdisciplinary, hermeneutic phenomenological study situated at the University of Alberta, Canada. Moral distress is the state experienced when moral choices and actions are thwarted by constraints. Psychologists described specific incidents in which they felt their integrity had been compromised by such factors as institutional and interinstitutional demands, team conflicts, and interdisciplinary disputes. They described dealing with the resulting moral distress by such means as silence, taking a stance, acting secretively, sustaining themselves through work with clients, seeking support from colleagues, and exiting. Recognizing moral distress can lead to a significant shift in the way we perceive moral choices and understand the moral context of practice.