Health Psychology Commons^™

The Relationship Between Sex-Typing And Help-Seeking Behaviors In Adults, Joshua Juvrud

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The process of expressing what is masculine promotes attitudes and behaviors that can discourage men from seeking help, contributing to numerous health issues in males. The purpose of this study was to explore how personally endorsed gender stereotypes vs. gender stereotyped attitudes impacted help-seeking behavior. In the current study, female and male adults completed challenging puzzle tasks, recalled previous health help-seeking behavior, and completed sex-typed measures. Females utilized personally endorsed gender stereotypes more during the puzzle tasks, while males utilized both personally endorsed gender stereotypes as well as gender stereotyped attitudes. When males recalled health-related events, however, personally endorsed feminine …

Efinancial Health: Discovering Synergies In The Promotion Of Physical, Mental, And Financial Health, Nan Taylor

Cornerstone 1 Reports : Expansion and Enhancements of the Thinkfinity Platform

No abstract provided.

Activating Health Goals Reduces (Increases) Hedonic Evaluation Of Food Brands For People Who Harbor Highly Positive (Negative) Affect Toward Them, Lauren F. Mayor, Paul M. Connell

Faculty of Marketing & International Business Publications

Associations of pleasure and fun with junk foods have the potential to create considerable challenges for efforts to improve diets. The aim of this research was to determine whether activating health goals had the potential to exploit mixed motivations (i.e., health and pleasure) that people have related to food, and subsequently strip junk foods of the expected pleasure derived from them. In study 1, 98 participants evaluated a soft drink brand after being primed (not primed) for health. In study 2, 93 participants evaluated a presweetened breakfast cereal brand after being primed (not primed) for health. In both studies, participants …

Independent Living Oldest-Old And Their Primary Health Provider: A Mixed Method Examination Of The Influence Of Patient Personality Characteristics, Lee Stadtlander, Martha Giles, Amy Sickel, Emma Brooks, Cherri L. Brown, Melissa Cormell, Lara Ewing, Delores Hart, Dawn Koons, Christie Olson, Pamela Parker, Veronica Semenova, Shawna Stoneking

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

This convergent mixed methods study examined 35 healthy, independent living individuals' (over 85 years) perceptions of their relationship with their primary health provider (PHP) and health practices. The relationship between PHP relationship perceptions and locus of control (LOC), resilience, and self-efficacy was explored through surveys and interviews. The majority indicated they visited their PHP just for preventative care; the number of PHP visits per year was significantly lower than reported for individuals over 85 by the CDC, possible reasons for this finding are provided. A positive relationship between LOC, resiliency, and self-efficacy for the oldest-old was found. Few participants indicated …

From College Student To Change Agent: A Triadic Model Of Self-Efficacy, Attribution, And Appraisal, Joshua M. Garrin

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Beyond their newfound emancipation and opportunities for self-discovery, college students in the young adult stage of development are expected to achieve balance between their autonomous new world and the impending pressures of postgraduation life. The college student must not only reconcile issues related to identity formation, goal pursuits, and career exploration, but is expected to begin the process of identifying and developing the skills required to address salient social themes. How students establish competency beliefs, negotiate controllability over future outcomes, and appraise challenges have deep implications in their capacity to discover their social change “voice.” The following discussion proposes a …

A Practical Scale For Multi-Faceted Organizational Health Climate Assessment, Zandra M. Zweber

Master's Theses

The current study sought to develop a practical scale to measure workplace health climate in a way that has not previously been conceptualized – as a three-faceted approach from the employee perspective serving as an indicator of a healthy organization. The goal was to create a short, useable yet comprehensive scale that could translate into practical use by organizations and occupational health professionals planning workplace interventions. To accomplish this, the proposed multi-faceted organizational health climate scale (MOHCA) assesses three-facets which match up with three organizational levels: 1) organization 2) supervisor and 3) workgroup. Ten items were developed and tested on …

Self-Regulation: An 'Active Ingredient' In The Spirituality-Health Relationship, Claire Ellyn Brownson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Recent research suggests that spirituality promotes physical well-being. Explaining this relationship proves difficult. This cross-sectional study was conducted to test whether self-regulatory ability acts as a mediator between spirituality and health. It has been proposed that high levels of spirituality are related to strong self-regulation, which in turn should be related to better physical well-being. To address this hypothesis, a questionnaire containing validated measures of the targeted constructs was administered to a sample of 78 Butler students. Additionally, some ancillary data were collected concerning participants' level of religiosity. Regression-based mediational analyses indicated that self-regulatory ability does indeed function as a …

Ethnic And Immigration Status Differences On Child Indicators Of Health For European Americans And Latinos, Christina Granillo, David V. Chavez, Donna M. Garcia, Kelly Campbell

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examined the effects of ethnicity and immigration status on subjective and objective health (Body Mass Index; BMI) for Latino and European American children. Social identity and comparison theories were used to frame the investigation. Southern California parents were randomly selected to complete a telephone interview about their children’s health yielding a sample of 165 European American and 152 Latino participants. Compared to European Americans, Latinos evidenced poorer subjective and objective health. Latino children who had a caregiver who was a citizen had better subjective health than Latino children whose caregiver was not a citizen. BMI was correlated with …

Exploring The Latino Paradox: How Economic And Citizenship Status Impact Health, Kelly Campbell, Donna M. Garcia, Christina V. Granillo, David V. Chavez

Psychology Faculty Publications

We examined the contributions of economic status (ES) and citizenship status to health differences between European Americans, Latino Americans, and non-citizen Latinos. The investigation was framed using social identity and comparison theories. Southern California residents (N = 2164) were randomly selected to complete a telephone interview. Increases in ES predicted health improvements for European Americans across ES levels. For Latino citizens and non-citizens, ES improvements had no effect on objective health. For subjective health, the Latino paradox existed at the lowest ES level for Latino Americans, and did not exist for non-citizens. For objective health, the paradox existed in both …

An Examination Of The Interactive Effects Of Mindfulness And Stress On Negative Health Habits In A Primary Care Population, Christina J. Dichiara

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The overarching goal of this study was to better understand relationships between health habits, stress, and mindfulness. In doing so, this research examined the interaction of mindfulness with responses to stress as it affects negative health habits. There was also a psychometric development study conducted, using confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) to test the applicability of the two-factor model of the PHLMS to a primary care population. Data were collected from 198 adult patients in a primary care medical practice. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 89 years old, were 51% female, and 92% Caucasian. For CFA analyses, three fit …

Health Effects Associated With Foreclosure: A Secondary Analysis Of Hospital Discharge Data, Nancy N. Menzel, Sheniz Moonie, Melva Thompson-Robinson

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the health effects of high home foreclosure rates in an area of the United States of America and the utility of hospital discharge data for this purpose.

Methods: We analyzed hospital discharge data from three postal zip codes using the principal diagnosis for 25 Diagnostic Related Groups associated with stress. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize hospital discharge rates for each condition by year and zip code. To test for differences across time, the Cochran-Armitage trend test was performed.

Results: Most conditions did not demonstrate a statistical change between 2005 and …

Changes In Mindfulness, Well-Being, And Sleep Quality In College Students Through Taijiquan Courses: A Cohort Control Study, Karen Caldwell, Lisa Emery, Mandy Harrison, Jeffrey M. Greeson

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

Objectives: This study sought to determine whether participants in taijiquan classes would report increases in mindfulness greater than that of a comparison group, and whether changes in mindfulness were associated with improvements in mood, perceived stress, self-regulatory self-efficacy, and sleep quality.

Design: The study design was quasi-experimental with repeated measures.

Settings/location: The study was set in a midsized public university.

Subjects: Students aged 18–48 years old enrolled in 15-week courses of either taijiquan (n = 76) or special recreation (control group, n = 132).

Intervention: Chen-style taijiquan classes were offered 2 times per week for 50 minutes each time.

Outcome …

Using Social Cognitive Theory To Predict Physical Activity In Inner-City African American School Children, Jeffrey J. Martin, Nate Mccaughtry

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Researchers using social cognitive theory and employing built environment constructs to predict physical activity (PA) in inner-city African American children is quite limited. Thus, the purpose of our investigation was to evaluate the ability of important social cognitive variables (e.g., self-efficacy) and built environment constructs (e.g., neighborhood hazards) to predict African American children’s PA. Children (N = 331, ages 10–14) completed questionnaires assessing social cognitive theory constructs and PA. Using multiple regression analyses we were able to account for 19% of the variance in PA. Based on standardized beta weights, the best predictors of PA were time spent outside …

Predicting Physical Activity In Arab American School Children, Jeffrey J. Martin, Nate Mccaughtry, Bo Shen

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Theoretically grounded research on the determinants of Arab American children's physical activity is virtually nonexistent. Thus, the purpose of our investigation was to evaluate the ability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and social cognitive theory (SCT) to predict Arab American children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Children (N = 348, ages 10–14) completed questionnaires assessing the TPB and SCT constructs as well as MVPA. Using multiple regression analyses we were able to account for 9% of the variance in MVPA. Based on standardized beta-weights, variance accounted for, and the significance of F change, we concluded that SCT variables …

The Theory Of Planned Behavior: Predicting Physical Activity In Mexican American Children, Jeffrey J. Martin, Kimberly L. Oliver, Nate Mccaughtry

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Theoretically grounded research on the determinants of Mexican American children's physical activity and related psychosocial variables is scarce. Thus, the purpose of our investigation was to evaluate the ability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict Mexican American children's self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Children (N = 475, ages 9–12) completed questionnaires assessing the TPB constructs and MVPA. Multiple regression analyses provided moderate support for the ability of the TPB variables to predict MVPA as we accounted for between 8–9% of the variance in MVPA. Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control accounted for 45% of the …

The Theory Of Planned Behavior: Predicting Physical Activity And Cardiorespiratory Fitness In African American Children, Jeffrey J. Martin, Pamela Hodges Kulinna, Nate Mccaughtry, Donetta Cothran, Joe Dake, Gail Frances Fahoome

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the ability of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict African American children’s moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and cardiorespiratory fitness. Children (N = 548, ages 9–12) completed questionnaires assessing the TPB constructs and MVPA and then had their cardiorespiratory fitness assessed with the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) test. Commonly used Structural Equation Modeling fit indices suggested the model was an adequate representation for the relationships within the data. However, results also suggested an extended model which was examined and supported. Tests of direct paths from subjective …

The Development Of A Physical Education Teachers' Physical Activity Self-Efficacy Instrument, Jeffrey J. Martin, Pamela Hodges Kulinna

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

In the present investigation a questionnaire was developed to assess physical education teachers' self-efficacy for teaching classes in which their students were engaged in high levels of physical activity (i.e., at least 50% of class time). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses resulted in the development of a 16-item, 4-factor, multidimensional physical education teachers' physical activity self-efficacy scale (PETPAS) that produced reliable and valid scores. The Student factor reflected teachers' efficacy for managing students who didn't enjoy or value physical activity. The Time factor was indicative of teachers' efficacy when they didn't have enough time to teach. The Space factor reflected …

Faith And Health: What Do We Know?, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

There has been a great deal of interest in the relationship between religious faith and health for thousands of years. Regardless of religious tradition, many have sought religious guidance and spiritual support to help prevent, recover from, or cope with both mental and physical health problems. In fact, it was the healing miracles of Jesus that resulted in so much commotion during the early part of his ministry. "The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk…" clearly highlights the relationship between faith and health.

Research On Faith And Health: New Appoaches To Old Questions, Thomas G. Plante, Allen C. Sherman

Psychology

Does religious faith influence health? Are religious practices associated with altered risks for morbidity or mortality? Do religious or spiritual individuals tend to enjoy better well-being or mental health across the lifespan? Does spiritual or religious involvement change the way individuals adapt to the demands of chronic illness? This volume brings together some of the leading investigators who have explored these intriguing questions. Though research is in its early phases, the chapters that follow review some of what we have learned and begin to trace the outlines of the many mysteries that remain.

Religious Faith And Mental Health Outcomes, Thomas G. Plante, Naveen K. Sharma

Psychology

In this chapter we review recent research regarding the relationship between religious faith/spirituality and mental health outcomes, as well as provide directions for future research and discussion. The specific aspects of mental health and illness that we focus on include well-being, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and schizophrenia. We also briefly discuss research pertaining to religious faith and personality disorders, eating disorders, somatoform disorders, and bipolar disorder.