Psychology Commons^™

Psychological Factors In End-Stage Renal Disease: An Emerging Context For Behavioral Medicine Research, Alan Christensen, Shawna Ehlers

Alan J. Christensen

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a chronic, life-threatening condition afflicting over 300,000 Americans. Patient nonadherence and psychological distress are highly prevalent among ESRD patients, and both have been found to contribute to greater morbidity and earlier mortality in this population. A range of factors have been examined as potential determinants of adherence and adjustment. Evidence suggests that adherence and adjustment are maximized when a patient's preferred style of coping is consistent with the contextual features or demands of the renal intervention the patient is undergoing. Challenges for future clinical research include refining methodologies for the assessment of depression and adherence, …

An Interactive Framework For Patient Adherence Research, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

Personality Characteristics Among Cardiothoracic Transplant Recipients, Carol Stilley, Mary Dew, Paul Pilkonis, Ann Bender, Mary Mcnulty, Alan Christensen, Kenneth Mccurry, Robert Kormos

Alan J. Christensen

Personality characteristics are clinically believed to predict posttransplant adherence and outcome; however, data, as to the prevalence and type of personality disorders (PDs) and distribution of personality traits among transplant (txp) populations, are sparse and inconclusive. This paper reports on the prevalence and type of PD and range of personality traits, according to the Five-Factor model, among 73 adult cardiothoracic txp recipients. It represents the first systematic assessment of PDs and traits in a sample of txp recipients. Personality disorders were assessed with a semistructured diagnostic interview; personality traits were assessed with a self-report instrument. Thirty-three percent of the sample …

Patient Treatment Adherence Research In Chronic Disease: The Action Is In The Interaction, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

Chronic Physical Disorders: Behavioural Medicine's Perspective, Alan Christensen, M. Antoni

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

Public And Private Self-Consciousness And Smoking Behavior In Head And Neck Cancer Patients, Katharine Raichle, Alan Christensen, Shawn Ehlers, Patricia Moran, Lucy Karnell, Gerry Funk

Alan J. Christensen

Patients who continue to use tobacco following treatment for head and neck cancers are at a greater risk for cancer recurrence and earlier mortality. This study examined the unique effects of public and private self-consciousness and negative affect on smoking behavior in a sample of 40 patients with cancers of the head and neck. Measures of public and private self-consciousness and negative affect were administered and assessments of past and current smoking behavior were obtained. Only public self-consciousness was a significant predictor of continued smoking following oncologic treatment. Specifically, individuals with low levels of public self-consciousness were nearly 13 times …

"Psychosocial Processes And Survival In Chronic Renal Insufficiency, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

Patient Adherence With Prescribed Treatment Regimens: Congruency, Control, And Conditioning, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

Predicting Change In Depression Following Renal Transplantation: Effect Of Patient Coping Preferences, Alan Christensen, Shawna Ehlers, Katherine Raichle, Andrew Bertolatus, William Lawton

Alan J. Christensen

Improvement in patient quality of life is a central goal of renal transplantation. This study examined the hypothesis that change in depression following transplantation would vary as a function of patient coping preferences. Sixty patients were assessed with the Krantz Health Opinion Survey and the Beck Depression Inventory while on the waiting list for a cadaveric renal transplant. Patients were reassessed approximately 12 months later. Among the 33 patients receiving a transplant during the follow-up period, those with a high preference for health-related information exhibited a substantial reduction in depression. In contrast, patients low in preference for information showed a …

Patient Individual Differences, Contextual Features, And Adaptation To Chronic Disease, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

Patient-By-Treatment Context Interaction In Chronic Disease: A Conceptual Framework For The Study Of Patient Adherence, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

Previous reviews have concluded that there is little or no evidence supporting a predictable association between patient characteristics and regimen adherence in chronic illness. The primary objective of this article is to propose an alternative conceptual framework for the interpretation and design of adherence research.

Smoking And Drinking Behavior In Patients With Head And Neck Cancer: Effects Of Behavioral Self-Blame And Perceived Control, Alan Christensen, Patricia Moran, Shawna Ehlers, Katherine Raichle, Lucy Karnell, Gerry Funk

Alan J. Christensen

Patients who continue to use tobacco or alcohol following treatment for head and neck cancers are at greater risk for cancer recurrence and mortality. The present study examined the effects of behavioral self-blame and perceived control over health on smoking and alcohol use in a sample of 55 patients with cancers of the head and neck. Measures of self-blame, perceived control, and depression were administered and an assessment of past and current smoking and drinking behavior was obtained. As anticipated, continued smoking after completion of oncologic treatment was predicted by the interaction of behavior specific self-blame and perceived control. Patients …

"Patient Compliance In End-Stage Renal Disease, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

Psychological Influences On Patient Compliance With Treatment, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

"Patient X Treatment Interaction And Adherence In Chronic Disease: Osler Revisited, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Irrational Health Beliefs: Relation To Health Practices And Medical Regimen Adherence, Alan Christensen, Patricia Moran, John Wiebe

Alan J. Christensen

The purpose of the present research was to provide initial validation of the 20-item Irrational Health Belief Scale (IHBS). Study 1 included 392 undergraduate psychology students. Results from Study 1 suggested that the IHBS total score is internally consistent and stable over an 18-month time period. Greater health-related cognitive distortion (higher IHBS scores) was associated with weaker internal health locus of control beliefs, lower positive affectivity, stronger chance health locus of control beliefs, and greater negative affectivity. Most important, greater cognitive distortion was uniquely and significantly associated with a less positive pattern of health practices. Study 2 involved 107 individuals …

Social Environment And Longevity In Schizophrenia, Alan Christensen, Rachel Dornink, Shawna Ehlers, Susan Schultz

Alan J. Christensen

The role of social support as a predictor of long-term survival among patients with schizophrenia was examined

Health States Following Head And Neck Cancer Treatment: Patient, Health-Care Professional, And Public Perspectives, Vishram Jalukar, Gerry Funk, Alan Christensen, Lucy Karnell, Patricia Moran

Alan J. Christensen

Background This study investigated the assignment of preference values to health states which may follow head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment. Preference values for these health states were provided by HNC patients, HNC health-care providers, and a group of college students representing individuals with little knowledge of HNC.

Methods A time trade-off technique was used by participants to assign preference values to four health states in the domains of appearance, eating, speech, breathing, pain, and work/social functioning.

Results Patients' and health-care professionals' rank-ordered preference value scores for health states in appearance, breathing, eating, and speech were not significantly different (p …

Patient Adaptation In Chronic Physical Illness: A Person By Context Interactive Framework, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

Psychosomatic Research In End-Stage Renal Disease: A Framework, Alan Christensen, Patricia Moran

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

Patient Adherence And Adjustment In End-Stage Renal Disease: Personality And Coping In Context, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

"Patient Adaptation In Chronic Physical Illness: A Person By Context Interactive Framework, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

Monitoring Attentional Style And Medical Regimen Adherence In Hemodialysis Patients, Alan Christensen, Patricia Moran, William Lawton, Deanna Stallman, Anne Voigts

Alan J. Christensen

Previous research involving individuals facing chronic health problems suggests that an attentional style characterized by pronounced monitoring of threat-relevant information is associated with poorer behavioral and emotional adjustment. This study examined the hypothesis that a pronounced monitoring style would be associated with poorer medical regimen adherence in a sample of 51 chronic hemodialysis patients. Hierarchical regression analyses (controlling for demographic factors and trait anxiety) revealed that "high monitors" exhibited higher interdialysis weight gains and higher serum K values reflecting poorer adherence to fluid-intake and dietary restrictions. However, monitoring was not associated with a measure of medication adherence. Partial support was …

Health Beliefs, Personality, And Adherence In Hemodialysis Patients: An Interactional Perspective, John Wiebe, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

Research examining the main effects of health beliefs and personality on medical regimen adherence has yielded inconsistent results. This study tested the hypothesis that health beliefs and personality predict adherence in an interactive manner. Components of the Health Beliefs Model, Conscientiousness (C) from the NEO-Five Factor Inventory, and regimen adherence were assessed in a sample of 70 in-center hemodialysis patients. In a hierarchical regression analysis, the interaction of health beliefs and C failed to explain a significant portion of the variance in interdialysis weight gain, a measure of adherence to fluid restrictions, after controlling for demographic characteristics. The interaction did …

Cynical Hostility, Powerful Others Control Expectancies, And Patient Adherence In Hemodialysis, Alan Christensen, J. Wiebe, W. Lawton

Alan J. Christensen

The present study examined the joint role of cynical hostility and powerful others health locus of control expectancies in predicting regimen adherence in a sample of center hemodialysis patients. METHOD: Forty-eight hemodialysis patients completed the Cook-Medley Hostility (Ho) Scale and the Powerful Others Health Locus of Control (PHLC) scale. Adherence to the fluid-restriction and phosphorus reduction components of the treatment regimen was assessed by examining patients' interdialysis session weight gains and serum phosphorus (P) levels. RESULTS: In a hierarchical regression analysis, higher hostility was associated with significantly higher serum P levels indicating poorer dietary and medication adherence. The main effect …

Recognition And Implications Of Depression In Renal Dialysis Patients, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.

Patient Adherence In Chronic Illness: Personality And Coping In Context, John Wiebe, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

Previous reviews have concluded that there is no evidence for a predictable association between person factors and regimen adherence in chronic illness. The brief current review of the literature reveals that past work has been limited by the lack of a common structural theory of personality and the failure to consider the interaction of person factors with disease and treatment context. Application of the five-factor model of personality to adherence research will reduce divergence in the field and and in the orientation and interpretation of future work. Evidence suggests that an interactive perspective recognizing the moderating influence of contextual factors …

Perceived Health Competence, Health Locus Of Control, And Patient Adherence In Renal Dialysis, Alan Christensen, John Wiebe, Eric Benotsch, William Lawton

Alan J. Christensen

An emerging view in the literature regarding health locus of control (HLC) and health behavior suggests that HLC beliefs might affect behavior only through the interaction of HLC with other health-related expectancies. We examined internal and powerful others HLC beliefs as moderators of the relationship between a recently developed measure of perceived health competence and medical regimen adherence in 81 renal dialysis patients. The hypothesized interaction was significant, suggesting a moderating role for HLC. The pattern of the interaction differed from prediction. Greater perceived health competence was associated with more favorable adherence only for those patients scoring low on internal …

Positive And Negative Affect In Rheumatoid Arthritis: Increased Specificity In The Assessment Of Emotional Adjustment, Timoth Smith, Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

Because most patients with chronic medical illness do not suffer from diagnosable depressive conditions, models of normal emotional functioning might be useful in assessing the emotional consequences of physical illness. In this study of 72 male and female patients with rheumatoid arthritis, we examined the Watson and Tellegen (1985) two-dimensional model in this regard. Depression scores were associated, independently, with both positive and negative affect. Pain, daily hassles, and cognitive distortion were associated with depression and negative affect but not with positive affect. Positive daily events were associated with positive affect but not negative affect. This suggests that the routine …

Understanding Patient Nonadherence In Renal Dialysis.", Alan Christensen

Alan J. Christensen

No abstract provided.