A comparison of health behaviours in lonely and non-lonely populations

Loneliness can be defined as perceived social isolation and appears to be a relatively common experience in adults. It carries a significant health risk and has been associated with heart disease, depression and poor recovery after coronary heart surgery. The mechanisms that link loneliness and morbidity are unclear but one of the mechanisms may be through poor health beliefs and behaviours. The aims of this cross-sectional survey of 1289 adults were to investigate differences in health behaviours (smoking, overweight, BMI, sedentary, attitudes towards physical activity) in lonely and non-lonely groups. Lonely individuals were more likely to be smokers and more likely to be overweight - obese. The lonely group had higher body mass index scores controlling for age, annual income, gender, employment and marital status. Logistic regression revealed no differences in sedentary lifestyles. Lonely individuals were significantly less likely to believe it was desirable for them to lose weight by walking for recreation, leisure or transportation. The findings provide support for an association between health behaviours, loneliness and excess morbidity reported in previous studies.     

Emotional experiences in everyday life: A survey approach

As part of a telephone survey, respondents were asked to report the most recent situation that evoked strong emotional feelings in them and to describe the pattern of their reactions. The majority of the situations reported had evoked negative emotions. Most of the emotion-antecedent events are connected to relationships with family and friends or to work-related situations. Only happiness and anger are reported as relatively pure feeling states; most others are emotion blends, with anger/sadness and sadness/fear occurring most frequently. Facial expression changes as well as heart and muscle symptoms are reported as the most frequent reactions across all emotions, whereas other nonverbal and physiological reactions are more specific for particular emotions. By the use of factor analysis, response patterns across various components of emotional state, including affect control, are explored.The first author gratefully acknowledges support from the Stiftung Volkswagenwerk for a sabbatical leave to the University of California at Berkeley.     

The systematic identification of content and delivery style of an exercise intervention

Objective: This study explored the utility of using behaviour change taxonomies and checklists to systematically assess the content and delivery of behavioural support for physical activity delivered through an established exercise-referral scheme.

Design: An observation study was conducted whereby 22% of initial consultations were observed and audio-recorded, using quota sampling stratified by exercise-referral advisor.

Main outcome measures: Content was independently coded by two researchers, to assess; (i) completeness in delivering the programme protocol, (ii) behaviour change techniques delivered (defined using the CALO-RE taxonomy) and (iii) delivery style according to the Behaviour Change Counselling Index (BECCI).

Results: Protocol completeness was 63.6% (range 35.6–74.6%). The behaviour change techniques delivered most consistently were ‘providing information about where and when to perform the behavior’ (86%) and ‘setting outcome goals’ (82%). Other evidence-based techniques such as self-monitoring were infrequently observed. Variation in BECCI scores indicated that advisors could, but did not consistently, provide a client-centred service.

Conclusion: This study highlights how theoretically informed taxonomies can be useful in evaluating service delivery within applied practice, providing a meaningful way of assessing the completeness of protocol delivery relative to evidence. The provision of feedback to practitioners based on such objective criteria also facilitated positive academic-practitioner communication.     

Cognition and native-language grammar: The organizational role of adjective-noun word order in information representation

In the present research, we investigated the influence of native-language adjective-noun word order on category accessibility for nouns and adjectives by comparing Portuguese speakers (in whose language nouns precede adjectives) with English speakers (in whose language adjectives precede nouns). In two studies, we presented participants with different numbers of verbal or pictorial stimuli, and subsequently they answered questions about noun- and adjective-conditioned frequencies. The results demonstrated a primacy effect of nativelanguage word order. Specifically, although both populations showed a speed advantage for noun-conditioned questions, this tendency was significantly stronger for Portuguese than for American participants. We discuss the important role of native-language syntax rules for the categorization and representation of information.     

'Psychodynamic and Religious?' Religiously committed psychodynamic counsellors,in training and practice

This article supports a case for an increased research focus upon and within counsellor training with consideration of the counsellor's religious orientation. This aspect of professional diversity was investigated via in-depth interviews with eight religiously-committed psychodynamic counsellors. Their accounts of experiences in training, supervision, personal therapy and professional practice were subjected to qualitative analysis using grounded theory methods. Three major themes were identified: changes occurring in participants' religiosity; aspects of disclosure of personal religious commitment; and the non-inclusion of religious issues within the counsellor training process. The latter theme emerged considerably more forcefully than the others, and produced an array of questions to stimulate further research.     

The interplay between psychological need satisfaction and psychological need frustration within a work context: A variable and person-oriented approach

A plethora of empirical data support a positive (or “brighter”) pathway to optimal human functioning as specified within Basic Psychological Needs Theory (Ryan and Deci in Psychol Inq 11(4):319–33, 2000). Yet, far less is known about the negative (or “darker”) pathway, a process evoking of human dysfunction and ill-being (cf. Vansteenkiste and Ryan in J Psychother Integr 23(3):263, 2013). Further, debate surrounds the independence and interplay between psychological need satisfaction and psychological need frustration and how these dynamic constructs are experienced within individuals. In this work, variable and person-oriented analyses were employed to: (i) investigate the relationships between the basic psychological needs and symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety as well as with life satisfaction; and (ii) identify different psychological need profiles and their relationship with psychological function. Participants (N?=?2236; M Age?=?42.16 years; SD?=?7.8) were UK-based operational firefighters who completed an online survey. Results of regression analyses showed a moderating effect of psychological need satisfaction on the relationship between need frustration and negative psychological symptoms. Latent profile analyses revealed five distinct basic psychological need profiles that carry implications for human psychological functioning. Some support for an asymmetrical relationship between need satisfaction and need frustration emerged (Vansteenkiste and Ryan in J Psychother Integr 23(3):263, 2013), yet, examples of above average need satisfaction and frustration scores were also observed. Worker profiles where psychological need frustration prevailed over need satisfaction had the poorest psychological health.

     

Perceived variety,psychological needs satisfaction and exercise-related well-being

Objective: Perceived variety represents a psychosocial experience that gives rise to, and supports the maintenance of, an individual’s well-being. In this study, we developed an instrument to measure perceived variety in exercise (PVE), and examined whether ratings of PVE predict unique variance in indices of exercise-related well-being in addition to that explained by satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs (for competence, relatedness and autonomy) embedded within self-determination theory (SDT). We also examined the extent to which variance in perceived variety is empirically distinct from (or subsumed by) competence, relatedness and autonomy in the context of exercise.

Methods: A convenience sample of community adults (N?=?507) completed online surveys twice over a six-week period (n?=?367).

Results: PVE was found to prospectively predict unique variance in indices of exercise-related well-being, in addition to that explained by perceived competence, relatedness and autonomy. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic procedures, perceived variety was found to be empirically distinct from perceived competence, relatedness and autonomy.

Conclusion: Results from this work suggest that perceived variety holds potential for theoretical and applied advancements in understanding and predicting well-being in exercise settings.     

The Survey of Achievement Responsibility (SOAR): Reliability and Validity Data on an Academic Attribution Scale

The Survey of Achievement Responsibility (SOAR) was designed to assess students' causal attributions of success and failure in school-related situations. Unlike other measures of locus of control and attributions, the SOAR simultaneously distinguishes among three broad subject areas—math/science, language arts/ social studies, and physical education-and between two possible outcomes—success and failure. Data on the psychometric characteristics of the SOAR came from two samples from each of two large school districts, one suburban and one metropolitan. A five-stage study of the psychometric qualities of this new instrument revealed: (a) Content validity is high—judges independently classified items into the attribution categories intended by the authors; (b) internal consistency reliabilities are in a range adequate for group research purposes and are comparable to the reliabilities of other measures of attributions; (c) test-retest reliabilities showed attribution profiles to be stable over a 2-month interval; (d) correlations between the SOAR scales and students' self-reports of ability in various subject areas showed differential relationship in the theoretically predicted directions; and (e) correlations between the SOAR scales and achievement tests were statistically significant, though low in magnitude, consistent with reports on other instruments. Finally, use of the SOAR in a spectrum of studies has demonstrated its research utility and indicated directions for further instrument development and research.