Extending the Common Sense Model to Explore the Impact of the Fear of COVID-19 on Quality of Life in an International Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to use an extended common sense model (CSM) to evaluate the impact of fear of COVID-19 on quality of life (QoL) in an international inflammatory bowel disease cohort. An online study involving 319 adults (75% female, mean (SD) 14.06 (15.57) years of symptoms) completed the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, Brief Illness Perceptions Questionnaire, Fear of Contracting COVID-19 Scale, Brief-COPE, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, and the EUROHIS-QOL. The extended CSM had an excellent fit (χ² (9)?=?17.06, p?=?.05, χ²/N?=?1.90, RMSEA?=?0.05, SRMR?=?0.04, CFI?=?.99, TLI?=?.97, GFI?=?0.99), indicating the influence of gastrointestinal symptoms on QoL was mediated by illness perceptions, fear of COVID-19, adaptive and maladaptive coping, and psychological distress. Interventions targeting the fear of COVID-19 in the context of an individual’s perceptions will likely enhance QoL during the pandemic.

     

The effectiveness of a proactive coping intervention targeting self-management in diabetes patients

Objective: The study’s aim was to investigate psychological, behavioral and medical long-term outcomes of an existing self-management intervention targeting the development of proactive coping skills (e.g. goal setting and identifying barriers) in type 2 diabetes patients. The study aimed to replicate prior research showing the intervention’s effectiveness, and to extend it by (a) adding booster sessions and (b) prolonging the period of follow-up measurement to capture long-term effects.

Design/outcome measures: A total of 141 type 2 diabetes patients were included in the intervention. The intervention employed a 5-step approach to target proactive coping skills. Psychological (e.g. proactive coping and self-efficacy) and behavioural variables (e.g. self-care, diet and physical activity) were assessed at baseline (T1), after the initial phase of the intervention (T2), after the booster phase (T3) and at follow-up (T4), comprising a total period of 15 months. Medical variables were assessed at T1 and T4.

Results: Employing piecewise Latent Growth Curve Modelling, results showed that participants improved on all psychological and behavioural variables during the initial phase and maintained these improvements over 12 months. The booster phase yielded no further improvements. Mixed findings were obtained on medical outcomes.

Conclusion: The original intervention is effective, but the added value of the booster sessions is uncertain.     

"Instant success": turning temptations into cues for goal-directed behavior

Contrary to lay intuition, counteractive control theory posits that tempting food cues can help individuals to act in accordance with their long-term dieting goal. However, studies have shown that temptations trigger goal-directed behavior only in successful but not in unsuccessful self-regulators. The aim of the present study was to test whether it is possible to create facilitated temptation-goal associations in unsuccessful dieters using implementation intentions (e.g., "If I see or smell chocolate then I will follow my goal to diet") and whether this indeed stimulates more successful self-regulation. It was found that implementation intentions linking a temptation to a dieting goal lead to self-perceived improved resistance to (Study 1) as well as reduced consumption (Study 2) of tempting snacks compared to a control condition. Moreover, Study 2 revealed that the reduced snack consumption was indeed related to facilitated temptation-goal associations in participants who had formed implementation intentions.     

Teaching Theological Reflection Well,Reflecting on Writing as a Theological Practice

Abstract. In order to teach theological reflection well, it is necessary to teach students how to write it well. This paper probes the writing of theological reflection as a rhetorical process and a theological practice by (1) situating theological reflection broadly within a “correlation” model, adapted for theological writers; (2) identifying two “generic” styles of theological reflection papers, the pastoral reflection paper and the systematic reflection paper; (3) following a writer's progress as she writes a one‐page pastoral reflection paper and constructs a working theology in the process of writing it. In conclusion, the correlation‐based “Reflecting on Paper” process provides a pedagogical bridge between the writing and teaching of “pastoral” and “systematic” theological reflection, and exemplifies the dynamic interplay between teaching theological reflection and reflecting on writing as a theological practice.     

Why self‐regulation success is not the opposite of failure

Inspired by some of current Western societies' most pressing problems, much research attention has been devoted to understanding self‐regulation failure. While this has yielded some very valuable insights, the current paper underlines that understanding self‐regulation failure does not mean that we also understand self‐regulation success. Whereas failure and success are semantic antonyms, in terms of self‐regulation research, they should not be regarded as mere opposites. First, on the process level, self‐regulation success versus failure is not simply a matter of inverse explanatory factors (e.g., the capacity to inhibit impulses vs. a lack thereof). Second, on the outcome level, self‐regulation success versus failure is not strictly a matter of inverse behavioral action (e.g., abstaining from versus indulging in immediate gratification). This has significant implications, the most important one being that to understand self‐regulation success, researchers need to take a more holistic perspective rather than mainly considering single instances when studying self‐regulation.     

Self‐Control Success Revealed: Greater Approach Motivation Towards Healthy versus Unhealthy Food

Deviating from existing literature on self‐control failure the current research examines self‐control success and the role of motivation. Functional research suggests people visually perceive objects to be bigger when they are motivated to approach them. Using the size perception task, participants estimated the size of a healthy and an unhealthy food object that were identical in size. In the current research we simulated a reflective state vs. impulsive state using an ego‐depletion manipulation in Study 1 and a cognitive load manipulation in Study 2. Results from both studies revealed that participants in a reflective state (vs. impulsive state) assigned increased size estimations to the healthy food item compared to the unhealthy food item. Current findings demonstrate greater approach motivation towards a ‘virtue’ (i.e., healthy food) as a mechanism that underlies self‐control success, suggesting that successful self‐control involves initiating approach towards a virtue rather than inhibiting a vice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Overlapping stage models and reaction time additivity: Effects of the activation equation

Many experimental factors have been found to affect mean reaction time (RT) additively in factorial experiments. What sorts of RT models are compatible with this fact? Sternberg (1969) showed that serial, discrete-stage models are consistent with additivity, and as a result additivity has sometimes been regarded as evidence in favor of such models. However, McClelland (1979) showed that an alternative “cascade” model, which violates crucial assumptions of discrete-stage models, also predicts RT additivity in many cases. This article examines various modified versions of the cascade model, and shows that mean RT additivity arises from many overlapping stage models, including some with thresholds, information quantization, and nonlinear activation transformations. This suggests that other aspects of the data besides mean RT additivity should be examined to distinguish between serial and overlapping stage models.     

I’m still standing: A longitudinal study on the effect of a default nudge

Objective: This study assessed the effect of a default nudge to reduce sedentary behaviour at work over time.

Design and main outcome measures: A field study was conducted at a governmental organisation. In the present study, the default setting of sit–stand desks (SSDs) was changed from sitting to standing height during a two-week intervention. Stand-up working rates were calculated based on observations that were done prior to, during, two weeks after and two months after the intervention. Additionally, a pre-measure survey (n = 606) and post-measure survey (n = 354) were completed. Intention and social norms concerning stand-up working were compared for the 183 employees who completed both pre- and post-assessments (45.4% female, M_age = 44.21).

Results: Stand-up working rates raised from 1.82% in the baseline to 13.13% during the intervention. After the nudge was removed the percentage was 10.01% after two weeks and 7.78% after two months. A multilevel analysis indicated a significant increase in both intention and social norms after the nudge intervention.

Conclusions: This study shows that a default nudge can increase stand-up working rates in offices with SSDs at least until two months after the nudge intervention.