Risk perceptions,worry, and attitudes about genetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility

This study assessed the unique associations of risk perceptions and worry with attitudes about genetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility. Women (general practitioner clinic attenders, university students, and first-degree relatives of breast cancer survivors; N?=?303) read information about genetic testing and completed measures assessing perceived cancer risk, cancer worry, and genetic testing attitudes and beliefs. Worry was associated with greater interest in genetic testing, stronger beliefs that testing has detrimental emotional consequences, and positive beliefs about benefits of testing and risk-reducing surgeries. Perceived risk was unrelated to interest and associated with more skeptical beliefs about emotional consequences and benefits of testing and risk-reducing surgeries. At low worry levels, testing interest increased with more positive beliefs about testing benefits; at high worry levels, interest was high regardless of benefits beliefs. The findings support Leventhal's Common-Sense Model of self-regulation delineating interactive influences of risk-related cognitions and emotions on information processing and behavior.     

Smoking cross-culturally: Risk perceptions among young adults in Denmark and the United States

Research examining smokers’ understanding of their smoking risk reveals that smokers acknowledge some risk but often deny or minimize personal risk. We examined risk perceptions of lung cancer among smokers and non-smokers in a smoking-lenient (Denmark) and a smoking-prohibitive (the United States) culture. Participants were 275 Danish students attending trade schools (mean age 22.6 years) and 297 US students attending community colleges in Florida (mean age 23.6 years). Results revealed cross-cultural differences suggesting that Danish smokers showed greater risk minimization than US smokers. In addition, in both countries the risk of a typical smoker was rated as lower by smokers than non-smokers, and smokers rated their personal risk as lower than they rated the risk of the typical smoker. Cross-cultural differences in moralization of smoking might be one explanation for these findings.     

Type a behaviour pattern as a risk factor after myocardial infarction: A review

Abstract

This paper is a response to Eiser's (1996) call for a unifying theoretical perspective that would bridge the gap between 'individualistic and ‘social’ approaches to studying human social behaviour in general, and health behaviour in particular. While agreeing with Eiser's premise that it makes no sense to study cognition, affect, and behaviour independently of social context, the present paper takes issue with certain features of his argument that a connectionist approach provides the needed unifying theoretical framework. It is suggested that if connectionism can describe the psychological processes underlying social behavior better than non-connectionist theories, this would provide more compelling evidence of its value than claims that it affords new theoretical insights.     

The influence of external stimulation on airflow detection by children with asthma

Abstract

The relevance and significance of the concept of a ‘competition of cues’ for the understanding of symptom perception in childhood asthma was investigated during detection of externally applied resistive loads on breathing. The concept predicts that subjects would respond less frequently and less accurately during external stimulation. The sample consisted of 36 children with and 36 without asthma, aged 7-18 years. Detection of airflow was measured in a neutral and in an external stimulation condition. The children breathed through a facemask and responded to changes in airflow by pressing a button. The stimulus presented and withdrawn was analogous to a decrease in lung function (Forced Expiratory Volume in one second) of 39%. Accuracy of detection of airflow was defined as correct minus false positive responses to load stimuli.

The results showed that children with and without asthma responded significantly less frequently during external stimulation than in the neutral condition. However, the accuracy of detection among non-asthmatics was not affected by external stimulation. Children with asthma responded significantly more accurately during external stimulation. The results are discussed in the light of children's accuracy to perceive actual airways obstruction.     

When the risks are low: the impact of absolute and comparative information on disturbance and understanding in US and UK samples

When Klein, W. M. gave participants absolute and comparative risk information (crossed experimentally) they were more disturbed by being above than below average, but not by being at higher rather than lower risk. The current experiment tests whether Klein's findings extend to situations involving lower risk figures more typical of genuine health risks, assesses participants’ understanding of the information, and directly compares responses of US and UK samples. Participants were presented with hypothetical information about comparative and absolute risks of deep vein thrombosis. There was a main effect of absolute risk information on disturbance and precaution intentions in the US sample, but no effects of comparative information on these measures in either sample. Understanding was poor among participants receiving both pieces of risk information. Future studies should include measures of understanding to establish whether people are failing to understand what they are told or failing to respond systematically to what they understand. Practically, the findings caution against providing comparative risk information when communicating low risk figures.     

Individuals with Autism can Categorize Facial Expressions

The ability of high-functioning individuals with autism to perceive facial expressions categorically was studied using eight facial expression continua created via morphing software. Participants completed a delayed matching task and an identification task. Like undergraduate male participants (N = 12), performance on the identification task for participants with autism (N = 15) was predicted by performance on the delayed matching task for the angry-afraid, happy-sad, and happy-surprised continua. This result indicates a clear category boundary and suggests that individuals with autism do perceive at least some facial expressions categorically. As this result is inconsistent with findings from other studies of categorical perception in individuals with autism, possible explanations for these findings are discussed.     

Visual Perception and Memory Impairments in Children at Risk of Nonverbal Learning Disabilities

Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) and visual perception were examined in two groups aged 11–13, one with children displaying symptoms of nonverbal learning disability (NLD) (n = 18) and the other a control group without learning disabilities (n = 18). The two groups were matched for general verbal abilities, age, gender, and socioeconomic level. The children were presented with VSWM tests involving visual and spatial-simultaneous processes, and also with a classical visual illusion, a classical ambiguous figure, as well as visual perception tests specifically devised for the present study. Results revealed that performance of children at risk of NLD was worse than controls in some VSWM and in visual perception tests without memory involvement; these latter required comparisons of visual stimuli and locations in space with distractors. Moreover, the two groups differed in perceiving the classical ambiguous figure. Findings are discussed in the light of both theoretical and clinical implications.     

Perceiving vocal age and gender: An adaptation approach

Aftereffects of adaptation have revealed both independent and interactive coding of facial signals including identity and expression or gender and age. By contrast, interactive processing of non-linguistic features in voices has rarely been investigated. Here we studied bidirectional cross-categorical aftereffects of adaptation to vocal age and gender. Prolonged exposure to young (~ 20 yrs) or old (~ 70 yrs) male or female voices biased perception of subsequent test voices away from the adapting age (Exp. 1) and the adapting gender (Exp. 2). Relative to gender-congruent adaptor-test pairings, vocal age aftereffects (VAAEs) were reduced but remained significant when voice gender changed between adaptation and test. This suggests that the VAAE relies on both gender-specific and gender-independent age representations for male and female voices. By contrast, voice gender aftereffects (VGAEs) were not modulated by age-congruency of adaptor and test voices (Exp. 2). Instead, young voice adaptors generally induced larger VGAEs than old voice adaptors. This suggests that young voices are particularly efficient gender adaptors, likely reflecting more pronounced sexual dimorphism in these voices. In sum, our findings demonstrate how high-level processing of vocal age and gender is partially intertwined.     

Changes in illness-related cognitions rather than distress mediate improvements in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms and disability following a brief cognitive behavioural therapy intervention

Objective

A previous randomised controlled trial demonstrated that a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) self-management intervention significantly improved irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms and disability compared to treatment as usual (TAU). The current study analysed additional data to establish whether; 1) cognitive, behavioural and emotional factors hypothesized to perpetuate IBS symptoms and disability changed following CBT and, 2) ascertain if changes in these factors over the intervention period mediated treatment effects 6-months later.

Method

IBS patients (CBT = 31, TAU = 33) completed measures pre-and-post intervention including: Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale and Cognitive and Behavioural Responses to Symptoms Questionnaire. Path models were evaluated to determine whether changes in cognitive and behavioural factors over the treatment period mediated treatment effects.

Results

Compared to TAU, CBT patients showed significant positive changes on several cognitive variables but not anxiety and depression following intervention. Positive change in illness perceptions following intervention mediated the treatment effect on improved IBS symptom severity and social adjustment six months later. Changes in damaging beliefs mediated the effect on social adjustment.

Conclusions

Change in cognition rather than mood mediated treatment related improvements. Changing negative perceptions of IBS appears to be a particularly important treatment mechanism.     

An appreciative response to Niels Henrik Gregersen's JKR research conference lecture

Abstract

Using human embryos in research remains a controversial issue, especially in Christian bioethics. Although the official Catholic stance rejects human embryonic stem cell research, Christian thinkers T. Peters, K. Lebacqz and G. Bennett support it. They endorse the 14-day Rule and argue that ex vivo embryos lack moral worth. I examine and challenge the 14-day Rule and location argument (in vivo/ex vivo). I develop a theory of holistic anthropology and intrinsic moral value for human embryos. I conclude that intrinsic moral value is not equal to full moral value, and therefore use of embryos in biomedical research is morally permissible.