An Interpretative Phenomenological Examination of Psychosocial Changes among Breast Cancer Survivors in their First Season of Dragon Boating

This study used an interpretative phenomenological perspective to qualitatively examine changes in body image and social support experienced by novice participants in breast cancer survivor dragon boating programs. Fourteen women were interviewed at the beginning and end of their first dragon boating season. The participants typically experienced increased perceptions of strength and fitness, and a shift towards discussing body image with respect to fitness, strength, and musculature rather than weight and appearance. Many women discussed an emerging athletic identity. Social benefits included connecting to women who understood the breast cancer experience and could share first-hand information. Some women also reported struggling with the constant reminder of being a survivor. Overall, breast cancer survivors experienced benefits, but further work should explore how they cope with challenges and how dragon boating could inform other physical activity contexts for this population.     

Prevalence and correlates of sexual morbidity in long-term breast cancer survivors

Objective: Breast cancer survivors report adverse sexual effects (sexual morbidity) such as disrupted sexual function, sexual distress and body dissatisfaction. However, most studies have failed to evaluate the persistence of these effects in long-term survivors. The present study comprehensively assessed the prevalence and predictors of sexual/body image problems among survivors three or more years post diagnosis.

Design/outcome measures: Eighty-three breast cancer survivors completed surveys a median of seven years post diagnosis. Survey items probed demographic, diagnostic and clinical information, in addition to sexual activity, sexual function (Female Sexual Function Index [FSFI]), body image, and distress regarding body changes and sexual problems (Female Sexual Distress Scale-revised; FSDS-R).

Results: Seventy-seven percent of all participants and 60% of sexually active participants qualified for sexual dysfunction based on the FSFI. Between 37 and 51% met criteria for female sexual dysfunction, based on two FSDS-R clinical cut-offs. Body satisfaction was worse than normative values, while body change stress was mid-range. Notable sexual morbidity predictors included mastectomy, which was associated with worse sexual/body change distress, and post-treatment weight gain, which predicted greater body dissatisfaction/body change stress.

Conclusions: Breast cancer survivors report substantial sexual morbidity years after treatment, especially after mastectomy or post-treatment weight gain. Breast cancer patients and their providers should be aware of these potential sexual effects.     

Factor structure and initial validation of a brief measure of perceived emotional and physical distress tolerance in post-9/11 US Veterans

Distress tolerance (i.e., perceived or actual capacity to tolerate aversive internal states) has received considerable research attention as a transdiagnostic risk-factor underlying the development and maintenance of psychopathology. Lower levels of emotional distress tolerance have been linked to psychopathology (e.g. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) within Military populations; however, the association of physical distress tolerance to psychopathology in this population has been under-researched. This research gap may be due in part to a paucity of comprehensive, temporally stable and brief measures of distress tolerance that have been validated within Military populations, which may hinder further examination and refinement of the construct. Addressing this problem, the current study evaluates the psychometric properties of a novel and brief measure of emotional and physical distress tolerance in a sample of United States post-9/11 Veterans. Participants were 307 Veterans (M_age = 38.9, 67.7% male) who completed the 10-item Distress Tolerance Inventory at baseline and annual follow-up. Exploratory structural equation modeling was used to examine the optimal latent factor structure and longitudinal invariance of the DTI measurement model, along with correlational analyses to examine the convergent properties of the DTI subscales. The DTI reflected a longitudinally invariant two-factor structure (emotional and physical distress tolerance), with excellent internal consistency and preliminary evidence of convergent validity. Thus, the DTI represents a brief, reliable and temporally stable measure of physical and emotional distress tolerance.     

Applicants' and Employees' Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility: The Moderating Effects of First‐Party Justice Perceptions and Moral Identity

This research explored individuals’ reactions to perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) using a multimotive framework. In 2 studies, the authors explored the boundary conditions of CSR effects among job applicants and internal employees. A scenario‐based experiment (N = 81) showed that the effect of CSR perceptions on job applicants’ job pursuit intentions was mitigated by applicants’ first‐party justice experiences, whereas it was amplified by their moral identity (Study 1). Survey data from 245 full‐time employees (Study 2) further supported the interactive effects revealed in Study 1. Specifically, first‐party justice perceptions attenuated the positive relationship between employees’ CSR perceptions and their organizational citizenship behavior (OCB); and the relationship between CSR perceptions and OCB was more pronounced among employees high (versus low) in moral identity. Our findings bridge the CSR and organizational justice literatures, and reveal that the effects of individuals’ CSR perceptions are more complicated than previously thought. The findings shed light on micro (employee)‐level CSR phenomena and offer implications for both research and practice.     

Incidental regulation of attraction: The neural basis of the derogation of attractive alternatives in romantic relationships

Although a great deal of research addresses the neural basis of deliberate and intentional emotion-regulation strategies, less attention has been paid to the neural mechanisms involved in implicit forms of emotion regulation. Behavioural research suggests that romantically involved participants implicitly derogate the attractiveness of alternative partners, and the present study sought to examine the neural basis of this effect. Romantically committed participants in the present study were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while indicating whether they would consider each of a series of attractive (or unattractive) opposite-sex others as a hypothetical dating partner both while under cognitive load and no cognitive load. Successful derogation of attractive others during the no cognitive load compared to the cognitive load trials corresponded with increased activation in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and posterior dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (pDMPFC), and decreased activation in the ventral striatum, a pattern similar to those reported in deliberate emotion-regulation studies. Activation in the VLPFC and pDMPFC was not significant in the cognitive load condition, indicating that while the derogation effect may be implicit, it nonetheless requires cognitive resources. Additionally, activation in the right VLPFC correlated with participants' level of relationship investment. These findings suggest that the RVLPFC may play a particularly important role in implicitly regulating the emotions that threaten the stability of a romantic relationship.     

Greeting skills: A systematic review of the literature

Individuals with disabilities often demonstrate difficulty in social communication skills such as greetings. Studies have shown that deficits in greetings may negatively affect social interactions and vocational opportunities. Therefore, previous research has evaluated a variety of teaching procedures to increase greetings for individuals with disabilities with varying efficacy. This review of the literature provides an overview of studies to date in which greetings were taught to individuals with intellectual disabilities. A variety of teaching procedures were identified, and implications of those procedures are discussed. Results suggest that multiple teaching procedures may be effective; however, component analyses, further replication, and modified generalization procedures are necessary. Implications for future researchers include identifying a technological definition of greetings and evaluating effective teaching procedures and generalization strategies. Implications for practitioners include teaching one greeting type at a time, limiting the number of social skills taught simultaneously, identification of effective teaching procedures and generalization considerations.     

Does Motivation Impact OCD Symptom Severity? An Exploration of Longitudinal Effects

Understanding the role of patient motivation in OCD treatment is of clinical importance given the requisite autonomous role of patients in Exposure and Response Prevention. The present study investigated state- and trait-like relations between three variables: two previously established motivational constructs, readiness to change (RTC) and committed action (CA), derived from the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment, and OCD symptom severity as measured by the self-report Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS-SR). Utilizing a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) design, we assessed autoregressive, within-time correlations, and cross-lagged effects of RTC, CA, and Y-BOCS-SR scores at admission, month 1 of treatment, and discharge from an intensive/residential treatment program for OCD. Results revealed significant autoregressive (i.e., state-like) effects for CA and Y-BOCS-SR, negative within-time correlations between state CA and Y-BOCS-SR across all time points, a positive within-time correlation between state CA and RTC at admission, and a cross-lagged effect between state Y-BOCS-SR at month 1 of treatment and state RTC at discharge. Results also demonstrated that the stability of the RTC variable was attributable to trait-like factors in the present sample. This study is novel in its use of RI-CLPM in an OCD sample and represents an important addition to the literature on the longitudinal impacts of dynamic constructs of motivation. Our findings may provide future researchers with strategies to supplement ERP with CA-driven motivational interviewing.