Self-presentational determinants of health risk behavior among college freshmen

Abstract

This study examined adolescents' use of unhealthy and potentially dangerous behaviors for self-presentational reasons. At the start of their first semester at college, 110 freshmen (M age = 18.2) completed trait measures of self-presentational concern. At the end of the semester they were asked about their use of health risk behaviors as impression management tactics. Seventy-five percent of respondents reported performing at least 1 risky behavior for self-presentational reasons during their first college semester. The most common behaviors were smoking, drinking, driving recklessly and performing dangerous stunts. The desire to be perceived as “cool” or a “risk-taker” often prompted healdi risks. Modest correlations between the trait measures and health risk behaviors provided additional evidence that self-presentational motives sometimes play a role in adolescent health risk behavior.     

The Job Demand-Control-Social Support Model and Wellness/Health Outcomes: A European Study

The EUROTEACH study which is reported here, comprised 2796 secondary school teachers from 13 European countries. The study firstly aimed at testing an extended Job Demand-Control-Social support (JDCS) model and checking its gender specificity. While this study failed to provide evidence for the buffer hypothesis derived from the JDCS-model, the strain hypothesis was mostly supported. Additional job conditions tested in this study proved to be important predictors of the outcome variables (emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, personal accomplishment, somatic complaints and job satisfaction) and standard of living indicators also added explained variance in these outcomes. The study proved that the JDCS model cannot be called a male model. Secondly the study looked at the comparability of 3 European regions (South, West, East). Apart from important regional differences in job conditions, standard of living indicators and outcomes, the most important finding is that the JDCS model explains most variance in outcome variables in Western Europe, and the least in Eastern Europe, and thus seems to suffer from a Western bias.     

Direct and Indirect Effects of Adolescent Self-Control of Emotions and Behavioral Expression on Adult Health Outcomes

In the ongoing Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development, we examined the direct and indirect effects of self-control of emotions and behavioral expression, as rated by teachers at age 14, on various self-reported health outcomes at age 36 in 123 women and 129 men. The relation between independent and dependent variables was expected to be mediated by health-related behaviors at age 36 (exercise, tobacco use, heavy drinking). Path analysis showed that, in men, low self-control of emotions was linked to self-assessed poor health and physical symptoms indirectly via health-risk behaviors, but directly to disabilities. Behavioral expression at age 14, indexed by social activity, was directly linked to disabilities. In women, behavioral expression was unrelated to health outcomes, but low self-control of emotions was indirectly linked to self-assessed poor health, physical symptoms, and disabilities via health-risk behaviors.     

The Relation of Social Support and Coping to Positive Adaptation to Breast Cancer

Survivors of childhood cancer are at risk of compromised physical and psychological functioning as a result of disease and treatment. However, survivors experiencing similar physical problems vary considerably in their self-reported Quality of Life (QOL) raising questions about the processes underlying adjustment and maintenance of QOL. Seventy seven survivors of either Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) or tumours of the Central Nervous System (CNS) completed a standardised measure of QOL and semi-structured interview. Based on theoretical assumptions that QOL reflects a difference between what survivors can, and would like to be able to do, interviews were coded for reports of discrepancies and any coping strategy employed. Survivors of tumours of the CNS reported worse QOL and more discrepancies than survivors of ALL. A significant relationship was found between QOL measured by questionnaire and number of reported discrepancies. Five kinds of strategies to reduce discrepancies were identified: changing activity, devising a “plan of action”, emotional denial, making social comparisons, and seeking social support. Survivors who reported neither discrepancies nor strategies had better QOL than those who reported both discrepancies and strategies or discrepancies but no strategies. Data are discussed in terms of rehabilitation of survivors of childhood cancer.     

Using the theory of planned behaviour to predict screening uptake in two contexts

Given current policy that decisions about screening should be based on informed choice, such decisions should reflect people's values and attitudes. This prospective study compares the attitudes and other cognitive predictors of screening uptake in two contexts: when conducted as part of a routine visit and when it is conducted at a separate, test-specific visit. It was conducted in two hospitals in England, differing in method of screening organisation. 1499 pregnant women offered serum screening for Down Syndrome completed a questionnaire assessing theory of planned behaviour constructs: attitude towards undergoing the test, subjective norms of others, perceived behavioural control and intention to undergo the test.

Intention predicted screening uptake in both screening settings, but more strongly when screening was part of a routine visit. Perceived behavioural control was not predictive of uptake, and only weakly predictive of intention in both settings. Subjective norm predicted intention more strongly when it referred to partner and friends than when it referred to health professionals, in both settings.

Attitude was more strongly predictive of intention to attend screening when screening was organised as a part of routine screening, rather than requiring a separate visit. These results suggest that offering a screening test at a routine visit compared with a separate visit is more likely to facilitated uninformed choices, given the stronger association between attitudes and intention and the absence of an association with the perceived influence of health professionals.     

Comparing Paper-and-Pencil and Internet Survey Methods Conducted in a Combat-Deployed Environment

The Unit Behavioral Health Needs Assessment Survey (UBHNAS) is a tool used to aid behavioral health providers in assessing the needs of service members of a military unit. Traditionally, the survey has been administered by paper-and-pencil; however, implementing the survey via the Internet may be a faster and easier way to administer the survey. There are, however, potential drawbacks to Internet survey administration, and previous studies comparing the 2 methods have yielded inconsistent findings. Using a between-subjects design with a combat-deployed military sample, the present study compared the 2 survey administration methods. Specifically, we assessed comparability for (a) psychological constructs, (b) auxiliary measures (such as completion time, frequency of missing data, and length of written comments), and (c) ratings and perceptions of the UBHNAS, and preference in methodology. The method of survey administration did not predict differences in the psychological outcome variables. However, participants in the paper-and-pencil condition reported higher rates of comfort answering questions, belief that responses would remain anonymous, and frankness and honesty in answering questions. Nevertheless, participants in both conditions preferred to take the survey via the Internet as opposed to paper-and-pencil in the future. Finally, participants in the Internet condition completed the survey faster and tended to write longer comments, although in terms of the comments being informative, there was no difference between the groups. Based on our findings, we recommend the use of the Internet for administering the UBHNAS; however, we caution that there may be tradeoffs regarding concerns about comfort, honesty, and anonymity.     

Unit Cohesion,Resilience, and Mental Health of Soldiers in Basic Combat Training

Military unit cohesion has been shown to correlate with physical and psychological outcomes. However, little is known about the development of cohesion in the early days of military service during Basic Combat Training (BCT) and how it relates to positive support and the negative stressors of training. The current study assessed the development of unit cohesion across the 10-week BCT period (N = 1,939), and the relation of cohesion to stress, resilience, mental health measures, and BCT outcomes (graduation, passing the Army Physical Fitness Test, and final Basic Rifle Marksmanship scores). The sample was primarily male (62%), under age 25 (88%), and unmarried (88%). All putative mediators showed significant change over time. Unit cohesion increased over time (slope 0.22; p < .001), and these increases were associated with decreases in psychological distress (p < .001), sleep problems (p < .001), and tolerance of BCT stressors (p < .001), as well as increases in resilience (p < .001), confidence managing stress reactions (p < .001), and positive states of mind (p < .001). Unit cohesion was indirectly associated with successful graduation and passing the Army Physical Fitness Test through cohesion-related improvement in psychological distress, resilience, and confidence managing reactions to stress. Sleep problems also mediated BCT graduation. Cohesion effects on the Basic Rifle Marksmanship scores were mediated by psychological distress and tolerance of BCT stressors only. These results suggest that unit cohesion may play a key role in the development of psychological health among new soldiers.     

Expanding the study of U.S. religion: Reflections on the state of a subfield

The study of U.S. religion, which dates from the 19th century, expanded its sources, methods, and scope during the last quarter of the 20th century, as specialists offered more inclusive historical narratives. That methodological expansion never went far enough, however, and the impulse toward narrative inclusiveness has been restrained in recent years. The subfield, I argue, now faces a number of challenges that also confront other specializations in the study of religiondcontraction, overspecialization, fragmentation, and parochialism. After a focused overview of the subfield's history, I discuss those challenges. Proposing a tentative response, I suggest that specialists celebrate methodological diversity and theoretical sophistication, encourage comparative and translocative studies, and increase collaboration across disciplinary boundaries and national borders. Finally, I suggest that we expand the subfield's temporal span and geographical scope and reframe the study of U.S. religion in terms of the Atlantic World, the Pacific World, and the Western Hemisphere     

Overcoming action crises in personal goals – Longitudinal evidence on a mediating mechanism between action orientation and well-being

An action crisis is defined as an intra-psychic conflict between further goal pursuit and disengagement from the goal and frequently signifies the beginning of disengagement processes. By analyzing dispositional predictors of the development of goal-related action crises over time, we applied a process-based approach to goal disengagement. In two longitudinal studies, we evaluated the effect of action (vs. state) orientation on the development of action crises. Using change-regression models, the hypothesis could be confirmed that action orientation enables individuals to overcome action crises in personal goals. Furthermore, in two cross-sectional studies, previously reported effects of action orientation on health and well-being could be replicated and shown to be partially mediated by a decreased overall prevalence of action crises.     

Intelligence is associated with criminal justice processing: Arrest through incarceration

Findings flowing from empirical research consistently indicate that IQ is associated with criminal involvement, with persons of relatively lower IQ being more likely to engage in various types of crime when compared with persons of relatively higher IQ. As with all research, however, there are a number of limitations with the existing literature that may bias the IQ–crime connection in unknown ways. Specifically, previous research has generally analyzed sub-samples drawn from non-nationally representative samples, has relied on a narrow range of criminal justice measures, has not fully examined whether the IQ–crime link is observed across demographic subgroups, and has not always ruled out the effects of potential confounds. The current study is designed to overcome the most serious of these limitations and offer new evidence of the link between IQ and criminal involvement. Analysis of data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) provides strong evidence indicating that IQ and crime are linked even after addressing various shortcomings of previous research. Limitations of the study are discussed and directions for future research are offered.