Perceived positive and negative consequences after surviving cancer and their relation to quality of life

Surviving childhood cancer has multiple implications on both physical and psychological domains of the individual. However, its study and possible effects on health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes of adolescent survivors has been understudied. The objective of this study was twofold; to assess positive and negative cancer‐related consequences (psychosocial and physical) in a sample of adolescent cancer survivors and to explore their relationship with HRQoL outcomes. Forty‐one participants answered two questions about positive and negative consequences in the aftermath of cancer and filled in the KIDSCREEN‐52 self‐reported version. Data were analysed using mixed methods approach. Overall, 87.8% of the studied sample identified positive consequences and 63.4% negative consequences in survivorship. Four positive categories and five negative categories with regard to cancer‐related consequences were found. Changed perspectives in life narratives seem to be the positive consequence more related to HRQoL (physical well‐being, mood & emotions, autonomy, social support & peers), followed by useful life experience (physical well‐being, autonomy, social support & peers). Psychological impact was the most referred negative consequence with a significant detrimental effect on social support and peers HRQoL dimension. Even if the majority of survivors reported benefit finding in the aftermath of cancer, concomitant positive and negative consequences have been found. However, findings only reveal a significant relationship between positive narratives and HRQoL, and negative consequences do not seem to have a significant influence on overall HRQoL in survivorship.     

Task difficulty and risk in the determination of driver behaviour

The task–capability interface (TCI) model provides a theoretical formulation that enables integration of the competing concepts of Wilde’s risk homeostasis theory (Wilde, G.J.S., 1982. The theory of risk homeostasis: implications for safety and health. Risk Analysis 2, 209-225) and the zero risk theory of Näätänen and Summala (1976). The model proposes that drivers opt for a range of task difficulty they are prepared to accept and modify their speed in particular to maintain that level. Three predictions from the TCI model are that perceived difficulty should be systematically related to speed, that ratings of the likelihood of collision (i.e. statistical risk) should be independent of speed until task demand approaches capability and that feelings of risk should correlate with ratings of statistical risk. These predictions were tested in two experiments using 70 licensed participants (M = 24.7 years) who rated segments of three types of road driven at different speeds in a video simulation of the driving task, filmed from the driver’s perspective. The results of both experiments supported predictions from the TCI model that task difficulty ratings would be highly correlated with speed and that estimates of statistical risk would be independent of speed until the driving task became more demanding. However, ratings of perceived risk were completely independent of estimates of statistical risk at lower speeds, but were highly correlated with ratings of task difficulty throughout the range of speeds studied. Thus the experience of risk is not the same as subjective estimates of the probability of collision. It was concluded that feelings of risk may provide the motivational dimension for avoiding taking on a level of task difficulty which is too high.     

Cultural theory and quality of life

Sustainable development has been conceptualised as a “commonwealth of values” lying at the intersection of environmental, economic and social goals (Alternatives 17 (3) (1990) 14). This captures well the approach taken by the present study, which examines the cultural, environmental and economic components of sustainable development and framed within cultural theory. People do not perceive the world through clear eyes, but through perceptual lenses coloured by their worldview. Cultural theory provides an alternative to the conventional attitude-driven approaches to environmental perceptions. This study sought to test the relationship between the four worldviews of cultural theory (hierarchy, egalitarianism, individualism and fatalism) in the context of their cultural, environmental and economic domains, with particular reference to the costs and benefits of car use. Questionnaires, designed to measure cultural, environmental and economic worldviews, attitudes towards car use and socio-demographic indices (A theoretical and methodological examination of cultural theory applied to environmental issues. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey (2002)) were sent to residents of a prosperous town in the south-east of England and where car ownership levels are significantly higher than the national average. The findings of this study support the predictions of cultural theory. The results are discussed in terms of their significance both for future research on understanding the predictors of environmental perceptions, attitudes and behaviour, as well as environmental interventions.     

Functions of reminiscence in later life: proposition of a model and applications

Our objective is to draw some practical implications from current research on the functions of reminiscence in later life. In the first part, based on a consensual typology of reminiscence functions, a comprehensive model of reminiscence functions is presented as a theoretical framework. This model groups the various functions of reminiscence under three overarching categories: self-functions, guidance functions, and social bonding functions. In the second part, practical suggestions for using reminiscence in the realm of mental health are drawn from empirical research on possible antecedents and consequences of the various forms of reminiscence.     

The impact of age on useful visual field deterioration and risk evaluation in a simulated driving task

The primary goal of this study is to evaluate whether the driver can estimate his performance and the deterioration of his state of alertness during a simulated driving task. The second goal is to study the relation between useful visual field (UVF) deterioration and the capacity to estimate performance in a visual task and the decrease of level of alertness as a function of age. In our experiment, two groups of subjects: 10 drivers between 21 and 34 years old and nine drivers between 46 and 57 years old were required to follow a vehicle in a simulated road traffic situation for 2 hours. In addition, the driver had to detect the change of colour of a signal located in the central part of his visual field or a peripheral signal appeared on the rear light of one of the vehicles in the traffic. The analysis of data collected during this visual task confirms that UVF deteriorates with the duration of the driving task and with the driver's age. The analysis of subjective data related to the state of alertness highlights an effect both of age and of the moment when this self-evaluation was carried out. However, self-evaluation of the subject's performance does not depend on driver's age. Finally, the study shows that the correlation between objective data (performance of visual task) and subjective data (state of drowsiness and self-evaluation of performance of the visual task) is low, and the implications with regard to road safety are discussed.     

Examining the relationship between use of sexually explicit media and sexual risk behavior in a sample of men who have sex with men in Norway

The purpose of this study was to investigate consumption patterns of gay‐oriented sexually explicit media (SEM) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Norway, with a particular emphasis on a possible relationship between gay SEM consumption and HIV risk behavior. Participants included 529 MSM living in Norway recruited online to complete a SEM consumption and sexual risk survey. Of the 507 participants who responded to the all items measuring exposure to SEM, 19% reported unprotected anal intercourse with a casual partner (UAI) in last 90 days, and 14% reported having had sero‐discordant UAI. Among those with UAI experience, 23% reported receptive anal intercourse (R‐UAI) and 37% reported insertive anal intercourse (I‐UAI). SEM consumption was found to be significantly associated with sexual risk behaviors. Participants with increased consumption of bareback SEM reported higher odds of UAI and I‐UAI after adjusting for other factors using multivariable statistics. MSM who started using SEM at a later age reported lower odds of UAI and I‐UAI than MSM who started earlier. Future research should aim at understanding how MSM develop and maintain SEM preferences and the relationship between developmental and maintenance factors and HIV sexual risk behavior.     

Engagement With Novel Virtual Environments: The Role of Perceived Novelty and Flow in the Development of the Deficient Self‐Regulation of Internet Use and Media Habits

This article extends theory on the deficient self‐regulation (DSR) of Internet use and media habits by integrating predictors relevant to technology use. It introduces novelty perceptions of a technology and flow as conditions that increase the likelihood of experiencing DSR and media habits. An experiment, with between‐ and within‐subjects components, was undertaken to test whether the relationships of DSR hypothesized at various stages of technology use are substantiated. Results demonstrated that the perceived novelty of a technology initiated flow, which in turn predicted growth of DSR during initial engagement with virtual environments. Growth of DSR in familiar stages of technology use corresponded to the formation of media habits over time.     

Accurately locating one's spatial position in one's environment during a navigation task: Adaptive activity for finding or setting control flags in orienteering

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to compare orienteers' modes of adaptation to different environments. Emphasis is placed on characterizing their concerns in relation to the need to accurately locate one's spatial position during orienteering.Design and methodsThe activity of eight orienteers was studied on two navigation tasks: (a) a classic orienteering task, and (b) a setting-orienteering task. The data were collected and processed using a procedure defined for course-of-action analysis. The methodology used video recordings of the orienteers in natural settings made by a glasses camera, and verbalizations during self-confrontation interviews conducted with four participants. Processing the qualitative data consisted of reconstructing the orienteers' course of experience. A further statistical analysis enabled us to identify events pertaining to map reading and pace.ResultsThe analysis uncovered similarities and differences in the sequential organization of the orienteers' activity classic and setting tasks that were related to particular phases of the two courses and to time pressure. The results stress two fundamentally different modes of navigating and locating one's spatial position in one's environment.ConclusionsThe navigation activity and its adaptive nature are discussed in relation to the significant structural characteristics of the environment. The results are put in perspective in reference to the fast-and-frugal-heuristics approach, and several perspectives for skill acquisition are examined. It is suggested that this study could have broader implications for sport psychologists and sport instructors, in various sports requiring navigational skills in complex and dynamic environments.