Prayer to the Saints or the Virgin And Health Among Older Mexican Americans

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a conceptual model that assesses whether praying to the saints or the Virgin is associated with the health of older Mexican Americans. A survey was conducted of 1,005 older Mexican Americans (Mean age = 73.9 years; SD = 6.6 years). Data from 795 of the Catholic respondents are presented in this study. The findings support the following relationships that are embedded in the conceptual model: (1) older Mexican Americans who attend church more often are more likely to believe in the efficacy of prayer to the saints or the Virgin; (2) stronger beliefs in the efficacy of intercessory prayer are associated with more frequent prayer to the saints or the Virgin; (3) frequent prayer is to the saints or the Virgin is associated with greater God-mediated control beliefs; (4) stronger God-mediated control beliefs are associated with greater optimism; and (5) greater optimism is associated with better self-rated health.     

Adherence to pharmacological treatment of non-malignant chronic pain: The role of illness perceptions and medication beliefs

The objective was to identify the degree to which illness perceptions and medication beliefs explain variations in reported adherence to medication prescribed for the treatment of non-malignant chronic pain and to test the applicability of an extended version of the self-regulatory model to the chronic pain population. A cross-sectional design included 217 clinic patients completing validated questionnaires assessing their illness perceptions, medication beliefs and reported adherence to medication. Perceptions of illness (pain) as chronic, uncontrollable and unremitting were associated with greater adherence, fewer medication concerns and a belief that treatment was necessary. Structural equation modelling supports an extended SRM for chronic pain. It suggests that patients holding perceptions of serious consequences of pain and high emotion levels have more concerns about medication and are less adherent. Perceptions of serious illness consequences are also associated with stronger beliefs about the necessity of medicines and greater adherence. Beliefs about illness and medication are associated with adherence to treatment in chronic pain and this can be explained by an extended SRM. Results are preliminary and require replication. Further studies should explore the role that emotion has on coping strategies in chronic pain. Interventions should focus on altering unhelpful beliefs that reduce adherence.     

Health Beliefs and Illness Perceptions as Related to Mammography Uptake in Randomly Selected Women in Greece

Previous research has shown that, although routine mammography screening can reduce mortality from breast cancer, the use of annual mammography screening remains well under 65%. In an effort to determine the factors that are associated with women’s mammography behaviors, this study used the health belief model and the common-sense model of self-regulation as the theoretical frameworks to explore health beliefs, illness representations, and women’s mammography practice. Data were obtained from a nationally representative sample of 408 Greek women, 40 years of age or older, with no personal history of cancer. Three dependent variables were considered: recent mammography, repeat mammography, and no mammogram during lifetime. Predictors included socio-demographic and medical variables, perceived benefits of mammography screening, perceived barriers to mammography screening, self-efficacy, as well as illness perceptions. Multivariate analyzes indicated that never having had a mammogram was more likely for women who perceived fewer benefits and more barriers to mammography screening, had more negative emotional representations of breast cancer, and had no private health insurance coverage. Factors associated with recent mammography were younger age, a good knowledge of the recommended mammography screening interval, a family history of breast cancer, and use of patient reminders for next mammogram. Adequate knowledge about the recommended mammography screening interval and higher values for breast cancer worry were associated with an increased number of repeat lifetime mammograms. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are outlined.     

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.     

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Severity and Depression: The Role of Secondary Beliefs

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a poorly understood illness that is characterized by profound and prolonged exhaustion and has no clear pathological marker. This study investigated the role of illness severity and secondary beliefs in depression among a CFS cohort, using the A–B–C framework of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy. Empirical research has consistently found that CFS patients tend to hold more negative cognitions about their illness, which could be associated with greater severity and emotional deficits. Specifically, secondary beliefs were explored as a mediating factor; as evidence suggests that secondary beliefs can result in dysfunctional emotions and/or behaviors, such as depression. Furthermore, it is estimated that up to 80% of CFS patients concurrently have depression. There were 156 participants with CFS who completed a questionnaire pack, which included the revised version of the Illness Perception Questionnaire, the Secondary Beliefs Scale (SBS), and the Cardiac Depression Scale. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that secondary beliefs mediated the relationship between illness severity and depression. Specifically, the approval and comfort subscales of the SBS were significantly associated with depression. The current findings indicated that secondary beliefs could be an important focus in treatment of depression in chronic illness. As the mediating role of secondary beliefs is a new research finding, it is advised that further exploratory research is required.     

Neuropsychological mediators of the links among age, chronic illness, and everyday problem solving

Reductions in everyday problem solving (EPS) are often reported in older age, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The authors examined the role of 2 variables predicted to mediate (neuropsychological abilities and health status) or moderate (health status) the relationship between age and EPS performance. Toward these ends, they compared EPS and neuropsychological performance in 50 functionally independent adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and 64 control participants matched on age and education. Both older age and CKD were associated with worse performance on measures of EPS and memory/executive abilities. Neuropsychological abilities were positively associated with EPS performance. In both the full sample and control participants only, memory/executive functioning mediated the association between presence of chronic illness and EPS. Furthermore, memory/executive functioning partially mediated the link between age and EPS. Findings indicate that relations among age, health status, and EPS are not straightforward. Although performance on neuropsychological measures appeared to underlie EPS declines in chronic illness, increasing age remained independently associated with reduced EPS. The authors discuss implications for models of adult developmental changes in everyday cognition.     

Factors associated with self-efficacy in persons with chronic illness

Change of lifestyle may be necessary for persons with chronic illnesses in order to manage their health situation and reduce symptom distress. Success in changing lifestyle partly depends on a person's self-efficacy beliefs. This cross-sectional study explores social support, physical activity, and illness perceptions in relation to self-efficacy in a sample with morbid obesity and in a sample with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The linear regression analyses showed that higher physical activity and less emotional response to illness were directly associated with higher self-efficacy among persons with obesity, while more social support; fewer perceived consequences from illness; and more understanding of the illness were directly associated with higher self-efficacy among persons with COPD. The results indicate that obese persons are likely to benefit from increasing physical activity and from receiving emotional support. Persons with COPD may be empowered by being able to utilize cognitive coping strategies and by receiving social support.     

Causal attributions and strategy use in relation to memory performance differences in younger and older adults

A metacognitive hypothesis to explain age differences in adult memory is explored here–that younger and older adults differ in beliefs about memory and strategic processing. The motivational beliefs that adults make for their own memory performances were examined across tests of recall, recognition, face–name learning, and appointment-keeping. Forty-eight older and 48 younger community-living adults were required to report the factors they believed influenced their performance and the memory strategies used for each task. A final questionnaire required subjects to rank order the importance of a list of causal factors. There were significantly more younger adults as compared to older adults who attributed performance to controllable factors (i.e. strategy use), although age differences in beliefs on a more familiar memory task were smaller than on other tasks. Moreover, within age groups, attributions to controllable factors were associated with increased memory performance compared to when memory was attributed to uncontrollable factors (i.e. ability, age). Believing that memory is uncontrollable may undermine the efficient use of effort in cognition, consistent with current metacognitive theory.     

Illness perception in individuals with atopic dermatitis

Accumulating evidence suggests that in order to understand and respond to the difficulties presented by illness, patients construct their own "common sense" cognitive model of illness. This study set out to examine self-help group members, and students' beliefs about their atopic dermatitis (AD) and to investigate their relationship with symptom report and clinical and demographic variables. A total of 284 participants with AD undertook a self-assessment of their disease severity and completed the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire. The most frequent symptoms associated with AD were itching, sleep difficulties and pain. The most commonly reported triggers of AD were stress, hereditary factors and emotional state. Over 75% of participants believed that their condition would be chronic. Self-help group members reported more significant consequences of the condition, a greater emotional impact, while the student group felt they had more personal control of their AD. Multiple regression analyses indicated that illness beliefs, in particular perceived consequences associated with AD and personal control, accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in emotional response to the condition. This study suggests that participants' beliefs and emotional response are more strongly associated with the meaning they ascribe to their condition rather than its severity.     

Health Locus of Control Beliefs in Low Back Pain Patients

Abstract

Associations between health locus of control (HLC) beliefs, illness characteristics, psychological distress and self-care behaviour were studied in a group of subjects (n=459) aged 35 to 54 years suffering from chronic or recurrent low back pain (LBP). The results showed that younger subjects and men were more internal in their beliefs, and that duration and severity of LBP, psychological distress, and back care were associated with the individual's beliefs in his/her control over illness. The associations found were, however, of a low magnitude. More conclusive evidence on the development and modification of HLC beliefs are required before practical applications are possible.     

Attributions for physical activity in very old adults: predicting everyday physical activity and mortality risk

Objectives: Although physical activity is recognised as a health-promoting behaviour for older adults, notable barriers exist that may reduce physical activity in this age group. Limited research has explored causal beliefs (attributions) as a barrier to physical activity. Our study assessed associations between older adults’ attributions about physical activity and objective health outcomes. Methods: We examined the role of attributions as a predictor of everyday physical activity (EPA) and subsequent mortality risk over a 10-year period (2006–2016) in a sample of older adults (M_age?=?87, N?=?261). Results: OLS and Cox proportional hazard regression analyses revealed older adults who endorsed more internal and uncontrollable attributions for limited activity (physical incapacity) when feeling unwell had lower subsequent EPA (β?=??0.18), and higher 10-year mortality risk (HR?=?1.46). Other attributions with different dimensional properties (e.g. internal and controllable) were not associated with EPA or mortality. Discussion: Findings suggest that causal beliefs older adults have about their physical activity can influence their future behaviour and longevity. Psychological treatments designed to discourage maladaptive attributional thinking for older populations who face barriers to physical activity may be an important avenue for future research.     

The Role of Religious Beliefs in Coping With Chronic Illness

The authors examined the ways in which 40 women with chronic illnesses (rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, or a combination of these disorders) used religious beliefs as a means of coping with their illnesses, The participants, all between the ages of 28 and 79 years, were interviewed about the role religious beliefs played in their experiences and the ways in which they made meaning in their lives or coped with their illnesses. The majority of the women reported that religious beliefs were important in living with a chronic illness. In addition, more women who were identified as coping well with their illness reported strong religious beliefs, whereas the majority of women identified as poor copers reported that religion was unimportant or that they had no religious beliefs.     

Beliefs of teachers versus non-teachers about people who stutter

PurposeAlthough prior research has investigated teachers’ beliefs about people who stutter (PWS), this work has not indicated how these beliefs compare with those of the general public or taken into account key demographic variables that may be related to these beliefs. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate whether beliefs about PWS in teachers are different from those in the general public. The second purpose of this study was to examine whether gender is related to beliefs about PWS for teachers, who are more frequently women.MethodsAnalyses were based on questionnaire responses regarding beliefs about PWS from 269 teachers and 1388 non-teachers in the United States. Due to their potential link to beliefs about PWS, familiarity with PWS and sociodemographic variables were included in the statistical model for this study.ResultsTeachers’ beliefs about PWS are no different than those of people in non-teaching professions. Findings also indicated that, regardless of whether respondents were teachers, women had more accurate beliefs about PWS than men. The statistical model tested indicated that beliefs about PWS were more accurate when the respondents were older, had more education, and had familiarity with a PWS.ConclusionIn the first study to compare teachers’ beliefs about PWS to the general public, findings indicated that teachers are no more accurate than the public in their beliefs about PWS. Associations found between these beliefs and several variables may indicate some promising mechanisms for improving beliefs, such as increased familiarity with individuals who stutter.Educational Objectives: Readers should be able to: (a) describe stuttering's potential effects on children's participation in the school setting; (b) identify actions teachers can take to improve the school experience of their students who stutter; (c) summarize findings regarding teachers’ beliefs about people who stutter (PWS); (d) identify key variables that are associated with beliefs about PWS.     

Racial Differences in Beliefs About the Effectiveness and Necessity of Mental Health Treatment

Members of racial/ethnic minority groups are less likely than Caucasians to access mental health services despite recent evidence of more favorable attitudes regarding treatment effectiveness. The present study explored this discrepancy by examining racial differences in beliefs about how the natural course and seriousness of mental illnesses relate to perceived treatment effectiveness. The analysis is based on a nationally representative sample of 583 Caucasian and 82 African American participants in a vignette experiment about people living with mental illness. While African Americans were more likely than Caucasians to believe that mental health professionals could help individuals with schizophrenia and major depression, they were also more likely to believe mental health problems would improve on their own. This belief was unrelated to beliefs about treatment effectiveness. These findings suggest that a belief in treatment effectiveness may not increase service utilization among African Americans who are more likely to believe treatment is unnecessary.     

老年夫妻的老化刻板印象对死亡焦虑的行动者效应和对象效应

目的：考察老年人的老化刻板印象对自身及配偶的死亡焦虑的影响。方法：145对老年夫妻完成老化印象量表和死亡焦虑量表,并运用行动者-对象互依模型进行数据分析。结果：（1）老化刻板印象和死亡焦虑在夫妻内部分别具有一致性;（2）老化刻板印象对自身死亡焦虑的行动者效应显著;（3）丈夫的积极老化刻板印象对妻子死亡焦虑的对象效应显著,妻子的消极老化刻板印象对丈夫死亡焦虑的对象效应显著。结论：老年人的老化刻板印象不仅影响自身而且影响配偶的死亡焦虑,但夫妻之间的影响存在性别差异。     

Quality of Life (QoL) in a Brazilian Sample of Older Adults: The Role of Sociodemographic Variables and Depression Symptoms

The aim of the present study was to identify relevant variables associated with Quality of Life (QoL) in older adults. Older adults, up to 60 years old, were interviewed. Subjects were recruited through convenience sampling. 339 paticipants, who were stratified by gender, age, and subjective perception of health and illness, answered questions on sociodemographic issues, QoL (WHOQOL-100) and depressive symptomathology (Beck Depression Inventory—BDI). The multiple linear regression analysis showed associations of overall perception of QoL with depression levels, subjective perception of health status and gender. The individual analysis of each domain concluded that depression levels are correlated to all QoL domains, while health status was associated with physical, psychological, independence level and social relationship domains. Other variables were also assessed. The assessment of older adults concerning their QoL perceptions is associated with gender, age, marital status, social class, literacy rate, perception of health, and more substantially associated with depressive symptoms levels. Nevertheless, some limitations of this study and further ones are suggested.     

Impact of health beliefs, quality of life, and the physician-patient relationship on the treatment intentions of inflammatory bowel disease patients.

The research tested a model of treatment decision making in chronic illness that includes health beliefs, quality of life, and relationship with the physician (shared or not). Inflammatory bowel disease patients (N = 218) reported on their physician-patient relationship, general and disease-specific quality of life, and intentions to take a drug, for which perceived benefits and costs were manipulated. For more symptomatic patients, both costs and benefits predicted intentions; however, for less symptomatic patients, costs played a more important role. Physician recommendation predicted intention primarily among those who shared a decision-making relationship with their physician. Overall, the model accounted for 57.8% of the variance in medication-taking intention. Findings suggest that an integrative consideration of relationship factors, health beliefs, and health status may help explain treatment intentions among the chronically ill.     

The Perceived Benefits of Religious and Spiritual Coping Among Older Adults Living with HIV/AIDS

Although religious and spiritual beliefs and practices have been frequently associated with greater psychological well-being among illness populations, little is known about the specific benefits individuals perceive they receive from these beliefs and practices. This issue was examined in interviews with 63 older HIV-infected adults. Participants reported a variety of benefits from their religious and spiritual beliefs and practices, including: (1) evokes comforting emotions and feelings; (2) offers strength, empowerment, and control; (3) eases the emotional burden of the illness; (4) offers social support and a sense of belonging; (5) offers spiritual support through a personal relationship with God; (6) facilitates meaning and acceptance of the illness; (7) helps preserve health; (8) relieves the fear and uncertainty of death; (9) facilitates self-acceptance and reduces self-blame. These perceived benefits suggest potential mechanisms by which religion/spirituality may affect psychological adjustment.