Temporal dimensions of the self-concept: Entrapped and possible selves in chronic pain

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore temporal aspects of chronic pain patients' conceptions of their selves; what they were in the past, how they were functioning at the present and what they thought about their potential and future. In-depth interviews with 21 chronic pain patients were performed and analysed. The main results of the analysis included four higher-order conceptual patterns: “the body and I”, “maintaining the consistency of past self”, the “entrapped self”, and “projected selves, defined by others”. These results are presented in a systems-oriented model illustrating the temporal dynamic between the perceived functioning self, the body and others, such as health care personnel and significant others. The mechanisms of the process of how selves are developing in the chronisation or healing process of pain are finally discussed. A clinical implication of these findings might be that with an enlarged insight of the temporal dynamic and the importance of interactive and social factors in shaping positive possible selves, health care personnel can contribute more effectively in stew-arding the chronic pain patient toward health-promotive ends and a concomitantly higher quality of life.     

A longitudinal study of psychosocial distress in breast cancer: Prevalence and risk factors

This longitudinal study was conducted among 102 women with non-metastasic breast cancer to identify the time evolution and prevalence of distress at specific times through diagnosis and treatment of disease: preliminary diagnosis, surgery, definitive diagnosis and chemotherapy. Additionally, the study aimed to examine the role of demographic, medical and psychosocial factors on distress. The results indicated that prevalence of distress was higher at initial diagnosis (25%) than the following time points (approximately 17%). The differences inter-individuals in the levels of distress were observed over the four assessments. No relation between distress and demographic and medical factors was found. However, psychosocial aspects were significant risk factors. Patterns of emotional suppression and specific coping responses like helplessness/hopelessness, anxious preoccupation, cognitive avoidance and fatalism were positively related to distress, whereas fighting spirit and perceived social support showed a protective role. Moreover, helplessness/hopelessness and anxious preoccupation jointly predicted 75% of cases and 98% non-cases of distress. Finally, a mediational model between emotional suppression and distress through helplessness/hopelessness was tested. Results support the necessity of routine distress screening all through the illness. Implications of data for psychosocial interventions with breast cancer patients are highlighted.     

The Impact of Rumination on State Paranoid Ideation in a Nonclinical Sample

Cognitive-behavioral models of paranoia have emphasized the potential role of perseverative thinking styles, such as rumination or worry, in the development, maintenance and exacerbation of paranoid beliefs. This study aimed to experimentally test the hypothesis that rumination may play a role in the maintenance or exacerbation of state paranoid ideation. Following a paranoia induction, 37 nonclinical participants were randomly assigned to either a rumination task or a distraction control condition. In accord with main hypothesis, rumination was associated with maintained levels of paranoia, whereas distraction was associated with a decrease in levels of paranoia. These findings suggest that perseverative thinking may play a role in the maintenance of paranoid ideas, which may have implications for our understanding of the maintenance of paranoia and persecutory delusions in the clinical population. Furthermore, the study used a novel experimental paradigm for inducing paranoia, which may prove valuable for future research aiming to elicit paranoid thoughts and feelings in vivo.     

The Assessment and Treatment of Post-Abortion Syndrome: A Systematic Case Study From Southern Africa

This article reports a clinical case study of “Grace”, a black Zimbabwean woman with post-abortion syndrome (PAS), a form of post-traumatic stress disorder precipitated by aborting an unwanted pregnancy. She was treated by a middle class white South African trainee Clinical Psychologist. The case narrative documents the assessment and the course of treatment which was guided by ongoing case formulation based on current evidence-based models. Factors that made her vulnerable to developing PTSD included active suppression of the memory of the event and lack of social support. An understanding of these factors was used to guide an effective intervention. In spite of the differences in culture and background between client and therapist, there was considerable commonality in their experience as young women and students who each had to balance personal and occupational priorities. The narrative also highlights the commonalities of Grace's experiences with those reported in the literature on post-abortion syndrome, which is mostly from the U. S. A. and Europe.     

Sense of meaning and study perseverance and completion: a brief report

The study examines sense of meaning influences on study perseverance and course completion among students within a faculty of management sciences at a South African university (n = 40). Participants were selected for high scores on the Purpose in life (PIL) scale (n = 20; 50%) and contrasting low scores on the same (n = 20; 50%) (age range = 27 to 30 years, females = 73%, majority ethnicity = 70% Sotho speaking). Data were analysed using independent-samples t-test group comparison procedure. The results suggest that a high sense of meaning can explain study perseverance and completion.     

“I control my own emotions for the sake of the team”: Emotional self-regulation and interpersonal emotion regulation among female high-performance curlers

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine emotional self-regulation and interpersonal emotion regulation within a team of competitive athletes.DesignInstrumental case study approach (Stake, 1995).MethodData collection involved multiple semi-structured interviews with all four members of a female high-performance curling team, as well as observation of team meetings, practices, and games over the entire season.ResultsAnalyses produced the main themes of emotional self regulation (body language and self-censorship) and interpersonal emotional regulation (providing positive and/or technical feedback, humour, cueing teammates about their emotions, prosocial actions and indirect actions). We also identified factors influencing emotional regulation (length of time together, team dynamics/cohesion, context, social norms and team roles, and seeking support outside the team).ConclusionsAthletes were aware of and took into account social and contextual factors (e.g., social norms and role on team) when regulating emotions in a team context, and they also identified challenges associated with emotional regulation within the team. Findings highlight the complex interplay between athletes' emotions, emotional expression, and self-regulation to achieve multiple goals (e.g., positive performances, positive social relationships), as well as the importance of examining interpersonal processes related to emotion and emotion regulation within team sports.     

The Acquisition and Function of Religious Beliefs: A Review and Synthesis of Proximate and Ultimate Perspectives

ABSTRACT

Two main scientific approaches have renewed in the last decade the scientific study of religion: the cognitive and the adaptationist. The former is focused on proximate causes, the latter is looking for ultimate causes of religious beliefs and behaviours. Both approaches are useful and promising. However, in both cases, various important aspects and contexts associated with the origin, acquisition, and transmission of religious beliefs have been neglected. The present paper offers an approach that conjoins both models after reviewing several critical issues, to highlight a distinction between cognitive conditions and structures, on one side; and developments or applications, on the other. As a result greater attention needs to be paid to religious functions and their cultural framework to better understand religion and to explain some current processes, like massive secularization in several areas.     

Combining Explicit Timing with an Interdependent Group Contingency Program to Decrease Transition Times

ABSTRACT

A sixth-grade teacher and consultant serving as a behavioral specialist developed, implemented, and evaluated the Timely Transitions Game (TTG), a procedure designed to reduce room-to-room transition times. The TTG combined several procedures that have been shown to alter student behavior including explicit timing procedures and an interdependent, group-oriented reward program with randomly selected criteria. Five transition times were measured and recorded each day. At the end of the school day, the teacher randomly selected a transition and a criterion (seconds taken to transition). If the class completed the randomly selected transition in less time than the randomly selected criterion, they earned a letter. When students earned enough letters (e.g., the five letters that spell M-U-S-I-C), they received access to the reward (e.g., listening to music during independent seat-work). Results indicated immediate and sustained decreases in transition times following the implementation of the intervention. Although methodological concerns prevent drawing cause-and-effect conclusions, the current study shows how educators can adapt and combine empirically validated strategies and procedures to remedy presenting problems.     

Dwelling and Seeking in Late Adulthood: The Psychosocial Implications of Two Types of Religious Orientation

SUMMARY

This article summarizes quantitative findings and presents two illustrative case studies showing how religious dwelling and spiritual seeking evolve over the adult life course and relate to psychosocial functioning in late adulthood. The data come from the Institute of Human Development (IHD) longitudinal study of men and women. Religious dwellers tend to emphasize traditional forms of religious behavior whereas spiritual seekers emphasize innovative religious practices. In the IHD study, the religious involvement of the dwellers tended to be highly stable over the life course whereas spirituality gained in salience in the second half of adulthood. In late adulthood, religious dwelling was associated with maintaining close and warm relations with others and communal involvement, and during times of adversity, religiousness served as a buffer against the loss of life satisfaction. Spiritual seeking was associated with an emphasis on personal growth, creativity, and acquiring new knowledge. Spiritual growth was particularly characteristic of introspective individuals who in early adulthood experienced stressful life events.     

Experimentally testing Taylor's stress,coping and adaptation framework

Abstract

Taylor (1995) constructed a comprehensive framework of stress and adaptation, which considers internal and external resources/impediments as moderators, based on previous studies and models. However, most past research used correlation designs and has not taken into account all of the framework's components within one study. This study tested the effects of the event (minor, major), primary appraisal (benign, severe), coping (problem-focused coping (PFC) versus emotion-focused coping), external resources (with/without social support), and internal impediments (hostility), on estimated distress (dependent variable) in written imagined stressful daily scenarios. All components except hostility were experimentally manipulated within subjects in the scenarios. The scenarios were rated by 281 Dutch students. The variables event, appraisal, and social support significantly and independently affected estimated distress. Event and appraisal synergistically interacted in relation to estimated distress. Finally, appraisal interacted with coping such that the distress-reducing effects of PFC occurred only in benign events, while coping did not affect estimated distress in severely appraised events. This study experimentally tested most components of Taylor's framework, and showed that events, appraisal, and social resources were independent determinants of estimated distress, and that appraisal interacts in a complex manner with the event and with coping.