Personality and health habits

Abstract

Four hundred and fifty-five males and 523 females from a community sample participated in a study on the relationship between seven health practices (sleeping; breakfasting; snacking; being at good weight; smoking; alcohol consumption and physical activity) and seven personality factors (Neuroticism; Social Inadequacy; Rigidity; Hostility; Self-sufficiency; Dominance and Self-esteem).

It was found that the seven health habits did not constitute a homogeneous operationalization of a construct “positive lifestyle.” The intercorrelations between the different health practices were typically low. The results of MANOVAs and subsequent ANOVAs revealed small, but statistically significant differences between subjects reporting positive and those reporting poor health habits. The failure to find significant interactions with sex indicated that the results for males and females were generally similar. Neuroticism and hostility discriminated best between the groups with poor or good health behaviors. This held for sleeping, exercising, breakfasting daily and smoking. In addition, sporting people scored lower on social inadequacy and higher on self-esteem. Further, individuals who do not have a daily breakfast were more self-sufficient. Snacking individuals were generally less rigid and less dominant, but more hostile. In conclusion, most negative health habits were found to be associated with personality attributes which are intimately related to symptom reporting (neuroticism, hostility). Given the generally weak associations, it is concluded that, in order to obtain a more complete picture of the individual's psychosocial risk profile, lifestyle data should be collected together with information on the person's stress and his or her coping qualities.     

The role of goal adjustment in symptoms of depression,anxiety and fatigue in cancer patients receiving psychosocial care: A longitudinal study

Objective: This study examined whether cancer patients reported increases in their goal adjustment capacities while receiving psychosocial care and whether these increases were related to changes in symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue. Goal adjustment was conceptualised as two independent capacities: goal disengagement (i.e. disengage from unattainable goals) and goal reengagement (i.e. reengage into new goals).

Design: This naturalistic, longitudinal study focused on 241 cancer patients receiving psychosocial care at one of the seven psycho-oncology institutions in the Netherlands. Data was collected before the start of psychosocial care (T1) and nine months thereafter (T2). Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the research questions.

Main Outcome Measures: Goal adjustment, symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue.

Results: At group level, patients reported small increases in goal disengagement (d = .22) but no significant change in goal reengagement (d = .09). At an individual level, 34% of cancer patients reported an increase in goal disengagement and 30% reported an increase in goal reengagement. Increases in goal reengagement were significantly associated with decreases in both depressive and anxiety symptoms, but not to changes in fatigue.

Conclusion: Findings indicate that particularly improvements in goal reengagement are beneficial for cancer patients’ psychological functioning.     

Beyond emotional benefits: Physical activity and sedentary behaviour affect psychosocial resources through emotions

Physical activity is known to improve emotional experiences, and positive emotions have been shown to lead to important life outcomes, including the development of psychosocial resources. In contrast, time spent sedentary may negatively impact emotional experiences and, consequently, erode psychosocial resources. Two studies tested whether activity independently influenced emotions and psychosocial resources, and whether activity indirectly influenced psychosocial resources through emotional experiences. Using cross-sectional (Study 1a) and longitudinal (Study 1b) methods, we found that time spent physically active independently predicted emotions and psychosocial resources. Mediation analyses suggested that emotions may account for the relation between activity and psychosocial resources. The improved emotional experiences associated with physical activity may help individuals build psychosocial resources known to improve mental health. Study 1a provided first indicators to suggest that, in contrast, sedentary behaviour may reduce positive emotions, which could in turn lead to decrements in psychosocial resources.     

Women's daily physical health symptoms and stressful experiences across adulthood

This study investigated the extent to which the experience of daily stressors was related to women's age and daily health symptomology, such as flu and cold symptoms. Respondents were 562 women (aged 25–74) who were a part of the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE), a telephone diary study examining daily stressful events. The respondents were interviewed by telephone on eight consecutive nights, which resulted in a total of 3978 days of information analysed. Overall, women had at least one physical symptom on 59% of the study days and at least one daily stressor on 40% of the study days. Results from a series of ANOVAs showed that young and middle-aged women reported more frequent physical symptoms than did the older women. This age pattern was similar to the incidence of daily stressful experiences. Furthermore, daily stressors, specifically interpersonal tensions, were shown to significantly mediate the age–symptom relationship. These findings suggest that women who are exposed to events that threaten their interpersonal relationships are at a greater risk for symptoms of ill-health.     

Psychoanalytic aspects of inpatient treatment

This paper looks at the experience of inpatient hospital treatment at the Cassel Hospital and how formal psychoanalytic psychotherapy, with its emphasis on the transference and the inner world, fits into that context and orientates itself to some of the realities of the setting. It outlines how psychotherapy and nursing can work to inform and enrich each other, and what is psychoanalytic about the overall work. A bridge of understanding is built using the patients' perceptions of, adjustment to and conflict about the inpatient setting, and the affective impact of the processes on patients and staff alike. Two clinical examples of severe child abuse family cases are given, the first of Munchhausen syndrome by proxy, the second in which a baby sibling had been killed. They show how in-depth psychoanalytic work with mother and child and individual psychotherapy of the child can be combined with psychotherapy of the parents and intensive work in the therapeutic community. Such a combination can contribute, even in cases of severe pathology, to the development of the relationship between mother and child and promote successful rehabilitation in the outside community.     

Risk factors of workplace bullying for men and women: The role of the psychosocial and physical work environment

Workplace bullying has been shown to be a severe social stressor at work, resulting in high costs both for the individuals and organizations concerned. The aim of this study is to analyze risk factors in a large, nationally representative sample of Finnish employees (n = 4,392). The study makes three important contributions to the existing literature on workplace bullying: first, it demonstrates the role of the physical work environment alongside the psychosocial work environment – employees with a poor physical work environment are more likely than others to report having been subjected to or having observed bullying. Second, contrary to common assumptions, the results suggest that performance‐based pay is associated with a lower, rather than higher risk of bullying. Third, the findings suggest that there are gender differences in risk factors, thereby constituting a call for more studies on the role of gender when identifying risk factors. Increased knowledge of risk factors is important as it enables us to take more effective measures to decrease the risk of workplace bullying.     

Politicised notions of professional identity and psychosocial practice among practitioners working with asylum seekers and refugees

This is the first study undertaken in the UK that investigates the notion of professional identity among practitioners who work with asylum seekers and refugees. Drawing on a social constructionist epistemology and a Foucauldian theoretical and methodological framework of power and discourse, I analysed extracts from semi-structured interviews that were conducted with eight specialist professionals who have worked with this population. The findings of this study suggest that the notion of professional identity among these practitioners envelops a social and political activist stance and a deep sense of commitment towards promoting social change within the wider community. Likewise, clinical work with refugees combines professional knowledge and values with a politicised involvement that fosters a psychosocial perspective on clients' distress and difficulties.     

未成年人心理社会能力量表编制

通过理论分析、开放式问卷调查及个案访谈编制未成年人心理社会能力初测量表。探索性因素分析(n=858)确定该量表共有31个项目,抽取5个因素:沟通协调、自我调控、科学想象、社会应对、自我防御。验证性因素分析(n=468)及信效度检验结果表明该量表结构合理,拟合良好,具有较好的结构效度及内部一致性信度,可以作为未成年人心理社会能力的测量工具。     

Tears,Bubbles and Disappointment—New Approaches for the Analysis of Affective-Discursive Practices: A Commentary on “Researching the Psychosocial”

This commentary welcomes the broadening of methods and theories in psychosocial studies evident in this special issue, “Researching the Psychosocial.” Three features are highlighted: the shift to synchronous investigation from the diachronic analysis of cultural sense-making, the focus on the intertwining of affect and discourse, and the opening of new routes to exploring participants’ investments and deep attachments. These new ways of working are briefly contrasted with the turn to affect in cultural studies, traditional psychobiological approaches, fine-grain discursive psychology, and psychoanalytic psychosocial research.     

肿瘤社会工作的发展背景、实践模式与挑战

21世纪以来,得益于医学模式转型,对患者多元需求的关注,以及国家政策和国际经验等方面的影响,我国肿瘤社会工作得到初步发展。基于生态系统理论,肿瘤社会工作从微观、中观、宏观三个层面开展心理社会干预,总结了一些本土化实践经验。然而由于政策规划、组织支持、自身建设等限制性因素,给肿瘤社会工作的可持续发展带来挑战。肿瘤社会工作需要坚持需求导向和家庭为本,关注患者的环境资源与支持系统,以优势与赋权为视角,坚持跨学科合作理念和全程管理,满足患者及其家庭的心理社会需求,提高患者生命质量。