How does education lead to healthier behaviours? Testing the mediational roles of perceived control,health literacy and social support

Abstract

Objectives: Educational attainment is increasingly recognised as a unique dimension of socioeconomic status (SES) and a powerful determinant of health behaviour—and thus physical health and mortality. However, very little is known about the specific pathways through which education influences these health behaviours. Design: The present study used a nationally representative US survey to test three potential psychosocial pathways (perceived control, health literacy and social support) through which education might influence intake of fruits and vegetables (FV), physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB), controlling for other aspects of SES (income, health insurance status) and demographics (age, gender, race/ethnicity). Results: Both aspects of perceived control (locus of control, cancer fatalism) mediated the impact of education on FV and PA while only locus of control mediated the impact of education on SB. Further, only one aspect of health literacy (ability to understand recommendations) mediated education’s effect on any health behaviour (FV). Social support did not mediate any of the effects of education on health behaviors. Conclusion: Future work explicitly assessing and testing these mediational pathways is needed to better understand how education influences people’s health behaviours throughout their lives.     

How does social essentialism affect the development of inter‐group relations?

Psychological essentialism is a pervasive conceptual bias to view categories as reflecting something deep, stable, and informative about their members. Scholars from diverse disciplines have long theorized that psychological essentialism has negative ramifications for inter‐group relations, yet little previous empirical work has experimentally tested the social implications of essentialist beliefs. Three studies (N = 127, ages 4.5–6) found that experimentally inducing essentialist beliefs about a novel social category led children to share fewer resources with category members, but did not lead to the out‐group dislike that defines social prejudice. These findings indicate that essentialism negatively influences some key components of inter‐group relations, but does not lead directly to the development of prejudice.     

(How) does positive and negative extended cross‐group contact predict direct cross‐group contact and intergroup attitudes?

Knowing that fellow ingroup members have cross‐group contact can affect how people think, feel, and behave towards an out‐group. Previous research on extended contact focused almost exclusively on positive cross‐group interactions, neglecting the fact that extended contact can also be negative. In this contribution, we introduce negative extended contact and investigate how both forms of extended contact predict direct cross‐group contact and intergroup attitudes. In two cross‐sectional studies (N₁ = 286, N₂ = 237), we found evidence that positive and negative extended contact uniquely predict intergroup attitudes, and that direct cross‐group contact mediates this effect. In Study 2 , we also provide initial evidence that extended contact might either prepare for or impair direct contact by changing ingroup norms and intergroup self‐efficacy, which in turn influence feelings of intergroup anxiety.     

Self,in‐group,and out‐group evaluation: bond or breach?

A number of studies have looked at causes of in‐group bias, but few studies have actually investigated whether the two components of in‐group bias, i.e. in‐group and out‐group evaluation, are related to each other and whether they have similar or different predictors. In the Fiji Islands, self‐, in‐group, and out‐group evaluations were obtained using within‐subject correlations from a sample of 336 indigenous and Indian Fijians. Self‐evaluation was positively related to in‐group evaluation, and both were positively related to out‐group evaluation, supporting a spillover model. After controlling for background variables and the other evaluation variables, regression analyses showed that in‐group identification was positively related to in‐group evaluation, and social distance and political ethnocentrism were negatively related to out‐group evaluation. Additionally, ethnicity interacted with collective self‐esteem in determining both in‐group favouritism and out‐group derogation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Kill or cure? Different types of social class identification amplify and buffer the relation between social class and mental health

The present research investigated different types of social class identification as moderators of the negative relation between social class and mental health problems. Psychology undergraduates (N = 355) completed an online survey that included measures of social class, mental health and well-being, and three aspects of social class identification: importance of identity, salience of identity, and perceived self-class similarity. Perceived self-class similarity buffered the negative association between social class and depressive symptoms. However, importance and salience of social class identity amplified the associations between social class and anxiety and life satisfaction. These findings contribute to a more sophisticated understanding of the way in which social identification may operate as a social cure.     

Do terrorist threat alerts increase perception of threat and legitimization of in‐group's wars? The moderating role of perceived in‐group homogeneity

This study examined the impact of external cues of (experimentally induced) terrorist threat or security on perceived threat and legitimization of the U.S.'s war in Iraq as a function of perceived in‐group homogeneity and in‐group identification. In‐group identification did not moderate the effects of external cues of threat or security. External cues of threat resulted in higher legitimization of war via heightened perceived threat, but only among participants who rated low or moderate in perceived in‐group homogeneity. By contrast, cues affirming the security of the in‐group resulted in lower legitimization of war among group members who viewed their in‐group to be homogeneous. These results draw attention to in‐group homogeneity's role in increasing perceived group's agency to cope with threats.     

The benefits of frequent positive affect: does happiness lead to success?

Numerous studies show that happy individuals are successful across multiple life domains, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health. The authors suggest a conceptual model to account for these findings, arguing that the happiness-success link exists not only because success makes people happy, but also because positive affect engenders success. Three classes of evidence--crosssectional, longitudinal, and experimental--are documented to test their model. Relevant studies are described and their effect sizes combined meta-analytically. The results reveal that happiness is associated with and precedes numerous successful outcomes, as well as behaviors paralleling success. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that positive affect--the hallmark of well-being--may be the cause of many of the desirable characteristics, resources, and successes correlated with happiness. Limitations, empirical issues, and important future research questions are discussed.     

How many roads lead to Rome? Equifinality set‐size and commitment to goals and means

Four studies examined the relation between the number of equifinal means to a goal, actors' commitment to that goal, and their commitment to the means. In Study 1, participants freely generated varying number of means to two of their work goals. In Study 2, they generated social means to their goals (people they viewed as helpful to goal attainment). In Studies 3 and 4, the number of means to participants' goals was experimentally manipulated. All four studies found that means commitment is negatively related, whereas goal commitment is positively related, to means number. Consistent support was also obtained for the notion that the relation between means number and goal commitment is mediated by the expectancy of goal attainment, and by goal importance. Conceptual and practical implications of the findings were considered that link together the notions of substitutability and dependency within a goal systemic framework. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When does goal discrepancy induce compensatory effort? An application of self‐completion theory to social issues

The authors review research that applies self‐completion theory to goals targeting other people (as in the case of stereotyping and prejudice), goals that aim at the achievement of a certain social identity and goals based on the social identity. It is demonstrated that goal discrepancies lead to compensation for social as well as for non‐social goals. Based on self‐completion theory it is proposed that the identity‐relevance of the respective goal as well as the goal relevance of the subsequent task are of major importance considering the individuals’ compensation. The authors argue that the consideration of these factors advance our understanding of social phenomena.     

Stress,self-esteem,and mental health: How does gender make a difference?

Questionnaire responses of 804 women and 127 men were compared to assess sex differences in college students' stress levels and reactions to stress, and the extent to which their self-esteem, interpersonal self-confidence, and self-concepts are associated with their experiences with stress. The men and women reported similar stress levels in most areas of life, but the women reported greater stress regarding family relationships and concern about their mental health. The women reported that when they are under stress, they experience more symptoms of depression and anxiety, and are more likely to express their anger and feelings, whereas the men reported that they become more active in response to stress. For both men and women, levels of stress and reactions to stress were associated with self-esteem, interpersonal self-confidence, and self-concepts. The results indicate that sex differences in dysfunctional reactions to stress can be explained by sex differences in self-concept more persuasively than can differences in areas of stress.The author wishes to thank the presidents of the seven colleges for their support and encouragement; the Seven College Study Advisory Board, campus coordinators, and staff for their contributions; and the students for their interest and participation. The author also expresses her appreciation for the support of the Henry A. Murray Research Center of Radcliffe College. This research was supported in part by a grant from the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation.     

Are support and social comparison compatible? Individual differences in the multiplexity of career‐related social networks

Social networks are crucial for helping people in their careers. Moreover, social identity is reflected in and influenced by individuals’ networks. To date, there is little knowledge on how these different functions of networks might interact. A survey in which 450 individuals provided information on 2,499 contacts in their social networks indicated both multiplexity and segmentation in networks. Contacts tended either to provide psychosocial support only or to provide instrumental support and serve as a standard for social comparison. The segmentation was stronger for individuals with an independent career orientation than for promotion‐oriented individuals. These findings contribute to the literature on social networks and careers by providing insights into how career orientation affects the multiplexity in career‐related social networks.     

The role of state self‐esteem in positive mood effects on person impression: When does a positive mood lead to a favorable view of others?

Subjects in a positive or a neutral mood were engaged in an impression formation task (Experiment 1), and in a word fragment completion task (Experiment 2). A self‐referent versus other‐referent sentence completion task was used to induce a positive mood state. As a result, the subjects exhibited mood congruent effects on impression ratings in the self‐referent but not in the other‐referent mood induction condition. Word completion data, however, indicated that relevant traits (i.e., friendly traits) had been equally activated across the two mood induction conditions. It was also demonstrated that the self‐referent induction procedure was effective in enhancing the level of self‐esteem, whereas the other‐referent one was not. The results converged to suggest that the enhancement in state self‐esteem accompanying the self‐referent procedure might be relevant to positive mood effects on person impression. This indicates the limitation of the mood priming model.     

Getting “SMART” about implementing multi-tiered systems of support to promote school mental health

With the growing adoption and implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) in school settings, there is increasing need for rigorous evaluations of adaptive-sequential interventions. That is, MTSS specify universal, selected, and indicated interventions to be delivered at each tier of support, yet few investigations have empirically examined the continuum of supports that are provided to students both within and across tiers. This need is compounded by a variety of prevention approaches that have been developed with distinct theoretical foundations (e.g., Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, Social-Emotional Learning) that are available within and across tiers. As evidence-based interventions continue to flourish, school-based practitioners greatly need evaluations regarding optimal treatment sequencing. To this end, we describe adaptive treatment strategies as a natural fit within the MTSS framework. Specifically, sequential multiple assignment randomized trials (SMART) offer a promising empirical approach to rigorously develop and compare adaptive treatment regimens within this framework.     

Why and when do motives matter? An integrative model of motives,role cognitions,and social support as predictors of OCB

We extend prior thinking about citizenship behavior by integrating employee motives, social support, and role cognitions as predictors of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Drawing on trait activation and situated self theories, we provide insights into why and when motives predict OCB using multi-source data from two field samples. In Study 1, we demonstrate that the quality of social support functions as a boundary condition that qualifies relations of motives with OCB. In Study 2, we introduce role cognitions as a proximal motivational factor that mediates the motives by social support interactions with OCB. Our results support the hypothesized moderated mediated model and enhance understanding of OCB by integrating the OCB motive and role cognition literatures, which to date have developed separately. As our results demonstrate, role cognitions, which are domain-specific felt obligations to perform OCB, mediate relations of more distal predispositions to perform OCB with helping and voice citizenship behaviors.     

When does procedural justice influence perceived legitimacy? The role of standing uncertainty and group identification

Many empirical studies have shown that procedural justice is the key determinant of whether an individual perceives an authority figure as legitimate. However, based on relational models of procedural justice and the uncertainty management model, there is reason to believe that the association between procedural justice and perceived legitimacy may be stronger for individuals who are uncertain about their standing as group members (moderation); this interaction might predict group identification and, in turn, perceived legitimacy (mediation). We tested this mediated moderation model in two experiments (Studies 1a and 1b) and a field study (Study 2) using different operationalizations of standing uncertainty across studies. The results of Studies 1a and 1b demonstrated that the association between procedural justice and perceived legitimacy was stronger for participants with high (vs. low) standing uncertainty. Study 2 showed that group identification mediated the association between this interaction effect and perceived legitimacy. Together, the results of the mediated moderation analysis showed that procedural justice was positively associated with perceived legitimacy through high group identification when standing uncertainty was high. The theoretical contributions and practical implications of our findings are discussed.     

The role of intimacy and social support in health outcomes: Two processes or one?

That intimacy and social support are related to an individual's health and well-being has often been noted. The present study had two goals. First, we intended to establish whether intimacy and social support were related to mental and physical health in a large, representative community sample. Second, we sought to determine whether intimacy and social support make unique contributions to predicting health, as a step toward developing a model of the relation between these processes. Results strongly supported the initial hypothesis that intimacy and social support were both related to health status. We also found that the effects of intimacy on well-being were mediated by social support, but that the effects of social support were not mediated by intimacy. We therefore concluded that the health-promoting benefits of intimacy most likely occur because intimate relationships are likely to engender higher levels of social support. Distinguishing unique and shared prediction effects is a generic concern for disciplines that study variables that are naturally correlated in real life, such as in the field of personal relationships.     

When does dual identity predict protest? The moderating roles of anti‐immigrant policies and opinion‐based group identity

Dual identities are defined as immigrants' identification with their ethnic ingroup as well as the national community in their country of residence. Dual identities have been argued to increase protest, because they make immigrants feel entitled to advocate for their disadvantaged ethnic group as part of a larger national community. In a study of Latino immigrants to the United States, however, we found that dual identities no longer predict protest when immigrants learn that other members of the national community have passed laws or enacted policies that would exclude immigrants or restrict their rights, through deportation and detention. Further, we found that immigrants who identify with those fighting to change such anti‐immigrant policies support protest regardless of the level of their dual identity and regardless of policy salience. We argue that these results point to the importance of dual identity recognition for research on immigrant protest. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.