Perceptions of adolescent bullying: Attributions of blame and responsibility in cases of cyber‐bullying

Cyber‐bullying (where victims are targeted via online social networking or other electronic means) has gained increased attention in research and the broadcast media, but previous research has not investigated attribution of blame in such cyber‐bullying events. This experiment hypothesized that participants would assign higher ratings of blame to bullying perpetrators when the bullying situations were depicted as having highly foreseeable outcomes (vs. unforeseeable outcomes), and as occurring in school (vs. online). In addition, a significant interaction was predicted between outcome foreseeability and bullying situation, with highly foreseeable in‐school events being rated as the most predictable and attributable to the bully's actions. One‐hundred sixty‐three participants completed surveys containing demographic items, items regarding their past experiences of victimization, and one of four randomly‐assigned vignettes detailing a bullying situation (which participants rated). While hypotheses regarding outcome foreseeability were supported, no cyber‐bullying vs. in‐school main effects (or corresponding interaction effects) were detected. Implications for future research and practice, as well as study limitations, are discussed.     

Illness perceptions in dialysis patients and their association with quality of life

The present study explored illness perceptions of end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on both haemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) treatment, and their associations with quality of life. Leventhal's self-regulation model (SRM) was used as a theoretical framework. Illness perceptions and quality of life were assessed with the IPQ-R and the SF-36 in 91 HD and 42 PD patients participating in the NECOSAD-study. Compared to HD patients, PD patients experienced more personal control and had a better understanding of the illness. Illness perceptions explained from 17 to 51% of the variance in quality of life scores. Perception of more symptoms, more consequences and lower personal control were associated with lower well-being. The concept of illness perceptions is useful in understanding the impact of ESRD and of dialysis treatment on quality of life. Interventions aimed at providing more knowledge about ESRD and dialysis, and provision of skills to coping with the illness and its consequences may improve quality of life in dialysis patients.     

Adherence to pharmacological treatment of non-malignant chronic pain: The role of illness perceptions and medication beliefs

The objective was to identify the degree to which illness perceptions and medication beliefs explain variations in reported adherence to medication prescribed for the treatment of non-malignant chronic pain and to test the applicability of an extended version of the self-regulatory model to the chronic pain population. A cross-sectional design included 217 clinic patients completing validated questionnaires assessing their illness perceptions, medication beliefs and reported adherence to medication. Perceptions of illness (pain) as chronic, uncontrollable and unremitting were associated with greater adherence, fewer medication concerns and a belief that treatment was necessary. Structural equation modelling supports an extended SRM for chronic pain. It suggests that patients holding perceptions of serious consequences of pain and high emotion levels have more concerns about medication and are less adherent. Perceptions of serious illness consequences are also associated with stronger beliefs about the necessity of medicines and greater adherence. Beliefs about illness and medication are associated with adherence to treatment in chronic pain and this can be explained by an extended SRM. Results are preliminary and require replication. Further studies should explore the role that emotion has on coping strategies in chronic pain. Interventions should focus on altering unhelpful beliefs that reduce adherence.     

The illness perception questionnaire: A new method for assessing the cognitive representation of illness

Abstract

The Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) is a new method for assessing cognitive representations of illness. The IPQ is a theoretically derived measure comprising five scales that provides information about the five components that have been found to underlie the cognitive representation of illness. The five scales assess identity - the symptoms the patient associates with the illness, cause - personal ideas about aetiology, time-line - the perceived duration of the illness, consequences - expected effects and outcome and cure control - how one controls or recovers from the illness. The IPQ has a specific number of core items but allows the user to add items for particular patient groups or health threats. Data is presented supporting the reliability and validity of the IPQ scales in different chronic illness populations.     

The relation between risk perceptions and physical activity among older adults: A prospective study

Past studies have found that risk perceptions of suffering from diseases play an important role in the development of intentions to perform physical activity (PA). According to the behaviour motivation hypothesis, perceived risk could be positively and directly related to PA, but this possibility has been ignored and/or underestimated. Accounting for recent methodological developments on the importance of study design and risk perception assessment, the purpose of the present study was to examine the risk-perceptions–PA relationship among older adults. Participants (N?=?143) aged from 61 to 70 years initially underwent measurement of risk perceptions, baseline PA, socio-demographic and health factors. Six months later, they were asked about their PA participation. Multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived risk of suffering from diseases and conditions without regular PA participation was an independent positive predictor of later PA, over and beyond baseline behaviour, socio-demographic and health variables. This study fills a gap in the existing literature on the PAs of older adults and reveals that risk perceptions are directly linked to their participation. In addition, it extends existing knowledge in health psychology on the behaviour motivation hypothesis, and emphasises the necessity of methodological adjustments when assessing the risk-perception–behaviour relationship.     

End notes: two unpublished presentations by Michael Fordham

Following the publication in this journal of two of Fordham's unpublished papers selected by James Astor (2010, 55, 5), the editors have asked me to select a further two. I have chosen two clinical pieces, one clinical notes and the other notes that refine his previous thinking, which Fordham wrote at the end of his life. Both are examples of the way Fordham continued throughout his analytic work to turn to patients as his primary source of learning. Fordham presented the first piece, ‘A case study’, to Parkside Clinic in 1988. Its subject is his last child patient, a nine‐year‐old boy with behaviour problems that destroyed the analytic frame. The second is clearly for an SAP (Society of Analytical Psychology) audience and written probably around 1992–93. It is titled ‘Some comments on transference and countertransference’ and contains material from the patient who has become known through papers in this journal as ‘K’. The two pieces are presented together within a commentary rather than separately with footnotes, in order to provide some context for Fordham's thinking in his late years.     

Parents Think Their Sons Are Brighter Than Their Daughters: Sex Differences in Parental Self-Estimations and Estimations of Their Children's Multiple Intelligences

In this study, 156 participants, predominantly White British adults (M age = 44.3 years) rated themselves on overall IQ and on H. Gardner's (1983) 7 intelligence subtypes. Parents (n = 120) also estimated the intelligence of their children. Men's self-estimates were significantly higher than women's (110.15 vs. 104.84). Participants thought their verbal, mathematical, and spatial intelligence scores were the best indicators of their own overall intelligence. Parents estimated that their sons had significantly higher IQs than their daughters (115.21 vs. 107.49). Self-estimates and estimates of children's multiple intelligences were higher for men and sons, significantly so for logical-mathematical and spatial intelligence. Parents rated 2nd-born daughters as having significantly higher verbal and musical intelligence than their male counterparts. Higher parental IQ self-estimates corresponded with higher IQ estimates for children. Results for 1st-born children were clearest and showed the most significant differences. The findings are interpreted in terms of sociocultural and familial influences and the possibility of actual sex differences in particular abilities.     

How Big is My Neighborhood? Individual and Contextual Effects on Perceptions of Neighborhood Scale

Neighborhood is a social and geographic concept that plays an increasingly important role in research and practice that address disparities in health and well-being of populations. However, most studies of neighborhoods, as well as community initiatives geared toward neighborhood improvement, make simplifying assumptions about boundaries, often relying on census geography to operationalize the neighborhood units. This study used geographic information system (GIS) tools to gather and analyze neighborhood maps drawn by residents of low-income communities in 10 cities. The median resident map size was approximately 30 percent smaller than the median census tract, but 25 percent of residents viewed their neighborhood as quite small (less than one-fifth of the typical census tract). Multi-level modeling showed significant within context variation in perceived neighborhood scale. Longer term residents with higher education and income and who were more engaged in the neighborhood held more expansive views. But there were also contextual influences with higher density and mixed use areas associated with smaller perceived neighborhoods, and higher collective efficacy associated with larger neighborhood sizes. Artificially imposed neighborhood units may misrepresent resident experience, but GIS tools can be used to craft more authentic neighborhood definitions for research and practice.     

Incremental variance in indecisiveness due to cognitive failure compared to fluid intelligence and personality traits

This study investigated the role of fluid intelligence, personality traits and perceived cognitive failure in relation to indecisiveness. The Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM), the Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ) and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) were administered to 429 Italian high school students. The study revealed that perceived cognitive failure added a significant percentage of incremental variance in indecisiveness compared to variances due to fluid intelligence and personality traits thereby offering new research and intervention possibilities.     

Deformation and failure of a heterogeneous high explosive

The deformation and failure of the pristine PBX 9501 high explosive are studied experimentally by combining Brazilian disk compression with the digital image correlation (DIC) technique. The Brazilian disk specimen was loaded by a pair of compressive forces across the diameter. The full-field deformation on the surface of the disk, during the loading process, was obtained using DIC on a series of random speckle images acquired during the test. In this series of experiments, we focused on the effect of temperature while keeping the loading speed quasi-static. Tests were conducted under three different temperatures, ?15°C, 23°C, and 50°C. For all testing conditions, it was observed that as the applied load reaches maximum, localized deformation starts at the two regions near the loading points. The localized deformation then proceeds along an irregular path toward the center of the specimen and coalesces. Finally, deformation of the Brazilian disk subjected to cyclic compressive load at ambient temperature was also measured and studied.