Adherence to pharmacological treatment of non-malignant chronic pain: The role of illness perceptions and medication beliefs

The objective was to identify the degree to which illness perceptions and medication beliefs explain variations in reported adherence to medication prescribed for the treatment of non-malignant chronic pain and to test the applicability of an extended version of the self-regulatory model to the chronic pain population. A cross-sectional design included 217 clinic patients completing validated questionnaires assessing their illness perceptions, medication beliefs and reported adherence to medication. Perceptions of illness (pain) as chronic, uncontrollable and unremitting were associated with greater adherence, fewer medication concerns and a belief that treatment was necessary. Structural equation modelling supports an extended SRM for chronic pain. It suggests that patients holding perceptions of serious consequences of pain and high emotion levels have more concerns about medication and are less adherent. Perceptions of serious illness consequences are also associated with stronger beliefs about the necessity of medicines and greater adherence. Beliefs about illness and medication are associated with adherence to treatment in chronic pain and this can be explained by an extended SRM. Results are preliminary and require replication. Further studies should explore the role that emotion has on coping strategies in chronic pain. Interventions should focus on altering unhelpful beliefs that reduce adherence.     

Are smokers interested in genetic testing for smoking addiction? A socio-cognitive approach

Genetic advances have made genetically tailored smoking cessation treatments possible. In this study, we examined whether smokers are interested in undergoing a genetic test to identify their genetic susceptibility to nicotine addiction. In addition, we aimed to identify socio-cognitive determinants of smokers’ intention to undergo genetic testing. Following the protection motivation theory (PMT), we assessed the following constructs using an online survey among 587 smokers: threat appraisal (i.e. susceptibility and severity), fear, coping appraisal (i.e. response efficacy and self-efficacy), response costs and intention. In addition, knowledge, social norms and information-seeking behaviour were measured. Mean intention rates were 2.57 on a 5-point scale. Intention was significantly associated with threat appraisal and coping appraisal, as predicted by the PMT. Fear of the outcome was negatively associated with the intention to undergo genetic testing, but response costs, knowledge and social influence were not. Intention to undergo genetic testing in turn was positively related to seeking information about genetic testing and genetically tailored smoking cessation treatments. Smokers seem ambivalent or ‘on the fence’ with regard to undergoing a genetic test for smoking addiction. Socio-cognitive concepts such as susceptibility, severity, response efficacy and self-efficacy may be used to inform or educate smokers about the value of genetically tailored smoking cessation treatments.     

The relationship between multidimensional health locus of control and perceived behavioural control: How are distal perceptions of control related to proximal perceptions of control?

The present article tests the predictive and convergent validity of distal and proximal indices of perceived control, as measured by multidimensional health locus of control (MHLC) and perceived behavioural control (PBC), across 12 health behaviours. The study (n = 235) employed a cross-sectional design and examined 12 health-related behaviours: binge drinking, fruit and vegetable consumption, exercise, eating junk food, safe sex (condom use), teeth brushing, teeth flossing, cigarette smoking, blood donation, taking vitamin supplements, using marijuana, and attending health screening. Respondents completed questionnaire measures of MHLC, health value, PBC, and behavioural intention. The data were analysed using a combination of between- and within-persons correlations and hierarchical multiple regression. Between-persons analyses showed that although MHLC accounted for 4% of the variance in behavioural intentions whereas PBC accounted for 21%, PBC did not fully mediate the effects of MHLC on intention. Within-persons analyses demonstrated that internal health locus of control was predictive of the within-persons correlation between PBC and intention, suggesting there may be a dispositional basis to perceived control. Further work that examines the relationship between distal and proximal perceptions of control is required.     

The contribution of executive function and social understanding to preschoolers’ letter and math skills

The influence of executive function and social understanding on letter and math skills was examined in 129 3–5-year-olds. Tasks were administered to measure working memory, inhibition, social understanding, letter and math skills, and vocabulary. Using latent variable analyses, multiple models were compared in order to examine the influence of executive function and social understanding on participants’ emerging academic skills. In the best-fitting model, working memory contributed to letter and math skills, over and above inhibition, social understanding, age, and vocabulary. Inhibition and social understanding did not uniquely contribute to letter and math skills, but significant relations were found among working memory, inhibition, and social understanding. Findings are discussed with respect to improving ways to examine the complex relations among preschoolers’ executive function, social understanding, and school readiness skills.     

The Appeal of Personal Selling as a Career: A Decade Later

While students' attitudes and perceptions toward personal selling as a career have been discussed at length, the literature reflects remarkably little effort to understand students' preferences for sales careers. The authors synthesize extant knowledge on the subject and extend the knowledge base by conducting a time-series replication of an earlier study and by examining the relative importance of marketing-related career characteristics. Managerial implications of this research are discussed.     

Alcohol-specific parenting,adolescent alcohol use and the mediating effect of adolescent alcohol-related cognitions

Objectives : Previous research indicated that alcohol-specific parenting is an important precursor of adolescent alcohol use, but failed to define the underlying mechanism. Based on social cognitive theory, alcohol-related cognitions such as alcohol refusal self-efficacy and alcohol-related expectancies were hypothesised to mediate this link.

Design : A cross-sectional survey included 1349 mothers and their sixth grade (11–12?years old) adolescent offspring. Structural equation modelling was employed to test the association between alcohol-specific parenting and adolescent alcohol use, mediated by adolescent alcohol-related cognitions.

Main outcome measures : Adolescent alcohol use, drinking refusal self-efficacy and alcohol expectancies.

Results : The associations between frequency of communication, maternal alcohol use and adolescent alcohol use were mediated by negative alcohol-related expectancies. The associations between quality of communication, rules and disclosure and adolescent alcohol use were mediated by self-efficacy.

Conclusions : The present study provides a first indication that the underlying mechanism of the association between the most important alcohol-specific parenting practices and adolescent alcohol use can be contributed to the mediating effect of alcohol-refusal self-efficacy.     

A generalized linear factor model approach to the hierarchical framework for responses and response times

We show how the hierarchical model for responses and response times as developed by van der Linden (2007), Fox, Klein Entink, and van der Linden (2007), Klein Entink, Fox, and van der Linden (2009), and Glas and van der Linden (2010) can be simplified to a generalized linear factor model with only the mild restriction that there is no hierarchical model at the item side. This result is valuable as it enables all well‐developed modelling tools and extensions that come with these methods. We show that the restriction we impose on the hierarchical model does not influence parameter recovery under realistic circumstances. In addition, we present two illustrative real data analyses to demonstrate the practical benefits of our approach.     

A test of the inventory of attitudes towards seeking mental health services

This study investigates the construct validity, composite reliability and concurrent validity of the Inventory of attitudes towards seeking mental health services (IASMHS). A large sample of Irish police officers (N = 331) participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor structure of the scale, while composite reliability results demonstrated that the IASMHS possessed excellent internal reliability. Structural equation modelling indicated that help-seeking propensity was the strongest predictor of intentions to engage in psychological counselling followed by psychological openness. Neuroticism was a weak, significant predictor of intentions. Implications of these results are discussed in relation to improving utilisation rates of mental health services.     

Dynamics of upconversion photoluminescence in Ge–Ga–S: Er3+: application of quadrature frequency resolved spectroscopy

Quadrature frequency resolved spectroscopy (QFRS) on green (~550 nm) upconversion photoluminescence (UCPL) of Ge–Ga–S: Er³⁺ glasses pumped at 975 nm revealed double-peaked spectra with long lifetime τ₁ ranging from 0.2 to 2 ms and short lifetime τ₂ ≈ several tens of μs. The results are analysed in terms of the transfer function derived by linearizing rate equations for a three-level model. The τ₁ component is attributed to the relaxation at the intermediate level ⁴I_11/2 of Er³⁺ ions and the τ₂ component, to that at the upper ⁴S_3/2 manifold. The dominance of energy transfer upconversion over excited state absorption in the UCPL manifest itself as a greater dependence of τ₁ on the pump power and a lower ratio of the components of τ₂ to τ₁ in the QFRS spectra of a heavily Er-doped sample.     

Associations Between Preschoolers' Social–Emotional Competence and Preliteracy Skills

Identifying and understanding the predictors of preliteracy skills can set the stage for success in a child's academic career. Recent literature has implicated social–emotional competence as a potential component in helping children learn preliteracy skills. To further understand the role of social–emotional competence in preliteracy, the associations between various social–emotional competencies and preliteracy skills in 91 preschool children attending seven Head Start classrooms were examined. Results of structural equation modelling indicated that preschoolers' expressiveness/regulation (angry/aggressive, cooperative/sensitive or anxious/withdrawn) and emotion knowledge predicted preliteracy performance (alphabet knowledge and print and phonological awareness), above and beyond gender, age, maternal education, attentional abilities and classroom emotional support. These findings serve to broaden the research surrounding social–emotional competence and highlight its association with academic readiness. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.