The experience of receiving a kidney transplant from a deceased donor: Implications for renal services

Objective: The study aimed to explore the psychological experiences of receiving a kidney transplant from a deceased donor and to examine resulting implications for renal services.

Design: A qualitative design was utilised within an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) framework.

Main outcome measures: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six adults (male = 5, mean age = 45 yrs) on their experiences of receiving a kidney transplant from a deceased donor. All participants had their transplant within the preceding 21 months. Data were analysed using IPA.

Results: The four elicited themes incorporate recipients’ positive feelings about receiving a transplant, mainly arising from the newfound freedom that this entails, in addition to strong feelings of gratitude towards their donors. They also capture challenges, such as the uncertainty of living with a transplanted kidney, and highlight the increased dependence on others throughout the transplant process.

Conclusion: The findings indicate a range of psychological, social and occupational experiences for participants. It is concluded that optimal care in renal services would incorporate a holistic approach to pre and post-transplant care; identifying and supporting the needs of transplant recipients. A biopsychosocial model of care may enhance service user well-being. Potential areas of future research are explored.     

Familiarity breeds contempt: perceived service and sales complacency in business-to-business relationships

Relationship marketing and its strategic focus on long-term exchanges is an engrained practice in today’s business-to-business (B2B) environment. B2B relationships are important given the reciprocating benefits they offer to offset the resource-intensive investments necessary for relationship initiation and maintenance. However, the reality of the marketplace shows customer defection rates remain a concern, dark side relationship mechanisms emerge as exchanges persist, and suppliers shirk on investing the effort necessary to service their customers. Research is needed to better understand customer defections and the nuanced assessment of perceived supplier complacency in B2B service relationships. To inform this research agenda, the authors assess depth interviews with 56 executive participants across 35 post-mortem customer defection cases. Findings identify thematic representations of perceived supplier complacency within the customer-supplier service provision (i.e. service complacency), as well as during the sales renewal process (i.e. sales complacency).     

Betrayal Trauma,Health Care Relationships,and Health in Patients with a Chronic Neurovascular Condition

Individuals who have been exposed to trauma are at a greater risk of developing a chronic physical health condition and use health services more frequently than individuals who have not experienced trauma. The mechanism by which trauma affects health is not fully understood, but relationships with health care providers could be important in understanding this association. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among betrayal trauma, health care relationships, and physical and mental health in a chronic medical population. Participants (N = 272) diagnosed with a chronic neurovascular condition (cavernous malformation) completed an online survey. Questionnaires assessed self-rated health, instances of betrayal trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms, income, and other demographic factors, and health care relationships. Level of income and the experience of betrayal trauma predicted mental health symptoms (depression, PTSD, or both) and also predicted health care relationships. After controlling for income and previous trauma, mental health symptoms significantly predicted health care relationships. Finally, mental health symptoms, health care relationships, and income predicted self-rated health, although the associations were not straightforward. These results suggest complex interrelations among trauma, mental health, income, health care relationships, and physical health, and a model is proposed for explaining these associations.     

Attributional retraining and achievement goals: An exploratory study on theoretical and empirical relationship

IntroductionAchievement goals and attribution theory are theoretically and empirically linked, but existing literature lacks to explore the link between achievement goals and attributional retraining (AR), a motivational intervention based on the causal attribution theory.Objective(s)The aims of this field study were to determine the effectiveness of an AR treatment aimed to restructure college students’ dysfunctional causal explanations of poor performance and to explore whether achievement goals are predictive of the use of adaptive causal attributions.MethodsStudents’ achievement goals orientation and causal attributions were assessed and AR treatment was provided to a sample of second-year college students with maladaptive attributional schemas.ResultsFindings confirmed the effectiveness of AR treatment in restructuring self-defeating stable attributional explanations and suggested that achievement goals are implicated in the adoption of adaptive causal dimensions.ConclusionThe importance of integrating the two discussed theoretical models in order to provide efficacious AR interventions with students at risk is discussed.     

Exhausted,mistreated, or indifferent? Explaining deviance from emotional display rules at work

This article explores different theoretical explanations for deviance from display rules (DDR), which occurs when employees consciously display emotions to customers that are unsanctioned by the organization. DDR is an important outcome in service organizations because it triggers strong negative reactions from customers, such as negative reputation and business losses. To better explain why DDR occurs, the author compared predictors drawn from organizational justice theory, conservation of resources theory and goal-setting theory in a comprehensive model to explore complementary and competing effects. The model was tested using hierarchical linear modelling with data from 1146 transactions performed by 51 service employees who participated in an experience sampling study over several weeks. Results demonstrated that emotional valence mediated the transaction-level relationship between customer interpersonal injustice and DDR. Similarly, negative emotions mediated the transaction-level relationship between mental exhaustion and DDR. However, person-level differences in goal commitment to organizational display rules had a buffering effect on the relationship between negative emotions and DDR. Overall, the results demonstrate that unfair treatment from customers and mental exhaustion can promote the expression of unsanctioned emotions to customers via negative emotional experiences, but employees who are committed to emotional labour goals are more resistant to engaging in DDR.     

重复知盲效应的理论之争及脑机制

重复知盲现象自被发现至今已走过四分之一世纪, 这期间重复知盲的产生机制一直是争论的焦点, 并有标记个体化理论、类型节点不应期理论、竞争理论、提取失败理论和建构/归因理论等多种理论解释。大量研究证明, 重复知盲是一种视知觉失败现象, 但也有研究认为它是一种记忆失败现象。很多研究还发现, 重复知盲不仅受到呈现时间和间隔刺激个数的限制, 还受到实验材料的性质、刺激的空间位置及人们的反应方式等多种因素的影响。近些年来, 随着ERP和fMRI等技术的利用, 从更深层次揭示了重复知盲产生的脑机制。同时, 重复知盲也作为一种实验范式应用于视觉加工领域的研究中。目前关于重复知盲仍然有很多问题值得探索。     

负压封闭引流技术在慢性创面处理中的实践与认识

自古至今,慢性创面的治疗是困扰人们的一大问题,在不断探索中,有学者提出负压吸引理论,并付诸实践,在应用中认识到负压封闭引流技术（vacuum sealing drainage,VSD）的作用机制及优缺点,并对其改进,以有效治疗慢性创面。纵观其出现、挫折、成熟和完善的发展历程,与其他客观事物一样,VSD经历了“实践-认识...     

不同归因取向的表扬对儿童失败后的影响效应

以103名小学五年级的儿童为被试,考察不同归因取向的表扬对儿童遭遇失败后的影响效应。结果发现：（1）接受能力取向表扬的儿童在遭遇失败后表现出无助取向的反应模式,接受努力取向表扬的儿童表现出掌握取向的反应模式;（2）接受能力取向表扬的儿童倾向于采取防御性的失败归因策略,将失败更多地归因于测试焦虑,但其对能力因素的归因仍高于努力组和控制组,接受努力取向表扬的儿童更多地将失败归因于努力因素;（3）接受能力取向表扬的儿童表现出自我设限倾向,他们报告更多的测试焦虑,并缩短后测的做题时间和更低的后测成绩。     

Early maladaptive schemas in Finnish adult chronic pain patients and a control sample

Engel (1959) suggested that negative physical or emotional experiences in childhood predispose to the development of chronic pain. Studies have shown that physical and sexual abuse in early life is connected with chronic pain. Emotional adversities are much less studied causes contributing to the development of chronic pain and disability. Early emotional abuse, neglect, maltreatment and other adversities are deleterious childhood experiences which, according to Young's schema theory (1990), produce early maladaptive schemas (EMSs). The primary goal of this study was to examine whether early adversities were more common in chronic pain patients than in a control group. A total of 271 (53% women) first-visit chronic pain patients and 331 (86% women) control participants took part in the study. Their socio-demographic data, pain variables and pain disability were measured. To estimate EMSs the Young Schema Questionnaire was used. Chronic pain patients scored higher EMSs reflecting incapacity to perform independently, catastrophic beliefs and pessimism. The most severely disabled chronic pain patients showed an increase in all the EMSs in the Disconnection and Rejection schema domain, namely Abandonment/Instability, Mistrust/Abuse, Emotional Deprivation, Defectiveness/Shame and Social Isolation/Alienation EMSs. The results of the study suggested that chronic pain patients had suffered early emotional maltreatment.