What do tertiary level students in the U.S.A. and Northern Ireland (UK) worry about? An exploratory study

The purpose of this study is to determine the personal and social worries of samples of tertiary-level students in the U.S.A. and Northern Ireland (UK) using the Things I Worry About Scale (TIWAS). An online questionnaire, which included the TIWAS, was completed by two samples (U.S.A.?=?71 and Northern Ireland?=?187). Results indicate that students, in both locations, report worrying frequently about a similar broad range of issues, particularly the challenges of academic study and achievement, financial matters and future career possibilities. The needs of individual students who express frequent worrying about experiences ‘sometimes’ worried about by the majority are noted. The overall findings support perceptions that a majority of students are rather anxious, are under considerable pressure and worry very frequently.     

Exploring the mental health of circus artists: Circus factors,psychological resilience,and demographics predict disordered eating and exercise addictions

There are similarities in the performance demands of circus and other performance domains such as leanness sports and dance, yet little is known about the mental health of circus artists. We explored self-reported disordered eating and exercise addictions in a sample of 500 circus artists. The sample consisted of aerial acrobats (71%), floor acrobats (13%), object manipulators (9%), and equilibrists (6%) who participate in circus at a range of performance levels (amateur 50%, part/full-time professional 41%, student 6%, retired 3%). Similar to elite athletes in leanness sports, approximately 36% of the circus artists in our sample were classified as ‘at risk’ of an eating disorder. A binomial logistic regression model suggested that being ‘at risk’ of an eating disorder was negatively related to participants’ age and trait resilience, positively related to exercise addictions, and differences among circus categories were found (i.e., higher among equilibrium and aerial acrobatics). Using a Bayesian estimation procedure, a linear regression model suggested that exercise addiction scores were positively related to participants’ weekly training time and being ‘at risk’ for an eating disorder, negatively associated with their years of experience in circus, and differences between circus categories (high levels in equilibrium) and modality of engagement in circus (higher levels among amateurs) were identified. Consequently, these exploratory study findings indicate that a complex interaction of factors might impact the development of disordered eating and exercise addictions among circus artists. Implications for discipline-specific and experience-specific interventions to address these maladaptive behaviours are discussed.     

Fitness correlates of obligatory versus health motives for exercise: An examination of men in the military

Objectives

To examine quantity of exercise and motives for exercise as predictors of men in the military’s health and fitness level.

Design

Participants completed a survey to address research questions of interest.

Methods

One-hundred and fourteen men who were active duty Air Force members, with a mean age of 31.43 years (SD = 7.43) and an average military time in service of 10.66 years (SD = 7.75), completed a modified version of the Reasons for Exercise Inventory, a survey assessing their quantity of exercise, and reported their most recent score on their Air Force Fitness Test.

Results

Correlational analyses indicated a relation between quantity of exercise and men’s score on the Air Force Fitness Test and a relation between intrinsic motives for exercise and quantity of exercise. Intrinsic motivation was found to moderate the relation between quantity of exercise and men’s health and fitness score.

Conclusions

Men in the military who exercise because of their military obligation are less likely to score high on the Air Force Fitness Test than are men who are motivated to exercise for health benefits.     

Current issues and new directions in Psychology and Health : Theory,translation, and evidence-based practice

Health psychology has at least two masters; cognitive behavioral theory and clinical and public health practice. We are expected to contribute to theory by creating new models and adding to existent models of human behavior, and to contribute to improvements in health outcomes for the public. In this brief note, we propose that translating concepts from practice into theory to create interventions that meet the standards of evidence-based practice will satisfy both masters. However, the integration will require a re-examination of our current understanding of how to use theory, the process of translation, and the development of pragmatic evidence-based practice.     

Question–behaviour effect: A randomised controlled trial of asking intention in the interrogative or declarative form

Objective: This study investigated the question–behaviour effect of measuring intention in the interrogative or declarative form combined or not with a measure of moral norm.

Design: A sample of 762 participants was randomised according to a 2?×?2 factorial design.

Main outcome measures: Cognitions were assessed at the baseline, and physical activity behaviour was self-reported three weeks later. Results: At baseline, there were no significant differences on the studied variables. An ANOVA showed a significant interaction effect between the two experimental conditions (p?=?0.04). Post-hoc contrast analyses showed that the interrogative intention-only condition significantly differed from the declarative intention-only (d?=?0.21, p?=?0.03) and interrogative intention?+?moral norm (d?=?0.22, p?=?0.03) conditions.

Conclusion: Results suggest that self-posed questions about a future action increases the likelihood of doing it when these questions are not accompanied by measures of moral norm. This provides support for using introspective self-talk to favour the adoption of behaviour.     

Hospital restructuring and nursing staff well-being: The role of perceived hospital and union support

Abstract

This research examined the effects of perceived hospital and union support on work satisfaction and psychological well-being of nursing staff during a period of hospital restructuring and downsizing. Data were collected from 1363 hospital-based nurses using anonymous questionnaires. Respondents reported receiving moderate levels of both hospital and union support during this period. However nursing staff reporting higher levels of perceived hospital support indicated greater job satisfaction, more job security, lower levels of psychological burnout and fewer psychosomatic symptoms, controlling for personal and work situation factors and extent of restructuring and downsizing initiatives. Implications for organizational management during downsizing and reorganization are drawn.     

A Case-Control Study of Psychosocial and Aerobic Exercise Factors in Women With Symptoms of Depression

The study is an examination of specific aspects of psychosocial constructs and health-promoting behavior that may be related to symptoms of depression. The authors used a case-control design to investigate possible differences between provisional social support, hardiness dimensions, and exercise behavior and related perceptions in a sample of 94 White, middle-aged women with and without symptoms of depression. The results indicated that women with symptoms of depression have significantly fewer (p < .001) specific forms of social support resources (i.e., reassurance of worth, social integration, guidance, and attachment) and significantly lower (p < .0001) perceptions of control and commitment in their lives. The results also indicated no difference in perceptions and behaviors related to physical activity between women with and without symptoms of depression. Those results suggest that provisional social support, as well as specific dimensions of hardiness, should be the focus of interventions for women with symptoms of depression.     

An Examination of the Selection of Criterion Scores for the Study of Motor Learning and Retention

150 Ss were given 50 practice trials on the stabilometer over a period of 4 days (20 trials on Day 1 followed by a 1-day rest, 10 trials on Day 2, followed by a 7-day rest, 10 trials on Day 3 followed by a 14-day rest, and 10 trials on Day 4). A series of learning scores reflecting improvement in performance over the 4 days and retention scores reflecting loss of performance between days were obtained. The reliability of individual differences in these scores were calculated using the odd-even method and by progressively increasing the number of trials included in the measure of initial and final performance level. On the basis of the findings obtained it was concluded that using 4 – 6 trials in initial and final ability levels results in a difference (criterion) score which combines relatively high reliability with a relatively high estimate of the amount of change in performance.     

Psychological effects of deep-breathing: the impact of expectancy-priming

Outcome expectancy could mediate the psychological effects of exercise-related interventions, which implies that part of the psychological benefits of physical activity could be ascribed to placebo effects. In this framed field-experiment, 89 healthy participants were studied in three groups, (1) breathing-primed (deep-breathing with an exercise-related expectancy), (2) breathing-unprimed (deep-breathing with no exercise-related expectancy), and (3) control (no intervention). Deep-breathing lasted for three minutes. Before and after deep-breathing, or sitting quietly in the control group, participants completed two questionnaires assessing their positive- and negative affect (NA) and subjective well-being (WB). In contrast to the control group, both the breathing-primed and breathing-unprimed groups showed decreased NA and increased subjective WB. The breathing-primed group reported larger changes in WB than the breathing-unprimed group, in addition to also exhibiting significant increases in positive affect. These findings support the hypothesis of the work that expectations mediate the psychological effects of deep-breathing beyond the intervention’s specific effects. Therefore, future research should control for expectations related to an intervention when gauging psychological changes.