Asthma-specific cognitions,self-focused attention,and fear of negative evaluation in adolescents and young adults diagnosed with childhood-onset asthma |
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| Authors: | Ashley N Junghans-Rutelonis Alayna P Tackett Kristina I Suorsa John M Chaney Larry L Mullins |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Pain, Palliative Care and Integrative Medicine, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA;2. Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA;3. Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA |
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| Abstract: | The present study examined the impact of asthma-specific thought intrusion (TI) and thought suppression (TS) on two cognitive-affective variables (self-focused attention and fear of negative evaluation) among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) diagnosed with childhood-onset asthma. Participants were 290 AYAs who completed assessment questionnaires and participated in a written exercise electronically. Asthma-TI and TS were reported by participants following participation in a writing assignment. Asthma-TI was associated with increased private, public, and social anxiety self-focused attention, and greater fear of negative evaluation. Interestingly, asthma-TS was not associated with these same outcome variables. Findings suggest illness-specific cognitions are associated with cognitive-affective variables and it may be important to assess for illness-specific intrusive thoughts following asthma-focused medical appointments. Additionally, findings suggest the importance of assessing asthma-TI and TS separately in order to better understand thoughts about health and psychological functioning. |
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| Keywords: | Adolescence young adult asthma illness perception illness representations |
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