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- The impact of informal care provision on the quality of life of adults
caring for persons with mental health problems: A cross-sectional
assessment of caregiver quality of life
Authors: Leonarda G M Bremmers, Isabelle N Fabbricotti, Eleonora S Gräler, Carin A Uyl-de Groot, Leona Hakkaart-van Roijen
Abstract: Health Psychology Open, Volume 11, Issue , January-December 2024.
This study assessed the quality of life of informal caregivers for individuals with mental health problems in the Netherlands. An online survey was administered to a panel of informal caregivers in June 2020 (n = 261). Informal caregivers of persons with mental problems were found to have an exceptionally low quality of life. A high subjective burden (p < .001), lower perseverance time (p = .016), low caregiver overall health status (p = .004) and psychological wellbeing (p = .008), younger caregiver age (p = .011), child caregiving responsibilities (p = .025), and no social support network (p = .038) were associated with worse quality of life scores. These findings shed light on the significant challenges faced by informal caregivers of persons with mental health problem. This raises concerns about the long-term sustainability of informal care and mental healthcare reform.
Citation: Health Psychology Open
PubDate: 2024-08-06T02:44:05Z
DOI: 10.1177/20551029241262883
Issue No: Vol. 11 (2024)
- Italian validation of a short version of the Dutch eating behavior
questionnaire: Psychometric properties and relationships with self-esteem,
eating self-efficacy, and snacking habits in university students
Authors: Luigina Canova, Andrea Bobbio, Angela Benincà, Anna Maria Manganelli
Abstract: Health Psychology Open, Volume 11, Issue , January-December 2024.
Background: The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) is a widely used self-report measure of eating styles, i.e., emotional, restrained, and external. A short and reliable version is useful for screening, routine assessments, and multipurpose surveys. Objective: The short version of the DEBQ by Bailly et al. (2012) was validated in the Italian context in two studies. Concurrent criterion validity was tested by considering gender, body mass index, self-esteem, eating self-efficacy, and snacking habits. Method: Data were collected via online questionnaires administered to two convenience samples of university students (n = 613, n = 856). Results: The three-factor structure of the short version of the DEBQ was supported and was invariant across genders. Correlations among the three eating styles, gender, body mass index, self-esteem, eating self-efficacy, and snacking habits followed the expected pattern. Conclusion: The short form of the DEBQ is psychometrically sound and can be used to investigate eating styles among Italian university students.
Citation: Health Psychology Open
PubDate: 2024-06-18T11:30:33Z
DOI: 10.1177/20551029241262665
Issue No: Vol. 11 (2024)
- Healthcare professional communication behaviours, skills, barriers, and
enablers: Exploring the perspectives of people living with Inflammatory
Bowel Disease
Authors: Rachel L Hawkins, Eleanor Bull
Abstract: Health Psychology Open, Volume 11, Issue , January-December 2024.
This qualitative study conceptualised effective communication behaviours of healthcare professionals (gastroenterologists, surgeons, nurses, and general practitioners) and explored communication barriers and facilitators from the perspective of adults with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Seventeen qualitative interviews were conducted with people living with IBD in the UK or USA (n = 17) and their spouses (n = 4). An inductive content analysis was firstly applied to participants’ accounts to define which healthcare professionals’ behaviours and skills were perceived as essential for effective communication. An inductive reflexive thematic analysis elucidated themes of perceived barriers and facilitators experienced when communicating with their IBD healthcare professionals. Thirty-three provider communication behaviours were grouped into nine healthcare professional skills. Five themes encompassed 11 barriers and facilitators: professionals’ knowledge and behaviour, unequal power, patient navigation skills, time constraints and demand, and continuity and collaboration of care. For patients and some spouses, enhancing communication in IBD services means increasing patient, family, and health professional knowledge, encouraging collaborative partnership working, and promoting healthcare professional skills to communicate effectively within the reality of time restraints.
Citation: Health Psychology Open
PubDate: 2024-05-22T10:48:10Z
DOI: 10.1177/20551029241257782
Issue No: Vol. 11 (2024)
- Health anxiety by proxy among parents: Measuring health anxiety for self,
child and partner and its associations with family functioning
Authors: Christian Kubb, Heather M Foran
Abstract: Health Psychology Open, Volume 11, Issue , January-December 2024.
Health-related worries can be either self-directed or occur in close relationships by proxy (e.g., among parents, couples, or pet owners). Our aim was to test the feasibility of assessing health anxiety by proxy in parents and to examine the relationship of health anxiety with family well-being. Health anxiety by proxy was measured between parent-child and parent-partner relationships with adapted versions of the modified Short Health Anxiety Inventory. Parents reported significantly higher levels of health anxiety by proxy regarding their child than for themselves, t (585) = −3.61, p < .001. Exploratory factor analysis showed that each health anxiety questionnaire formed a distinct latent factor. Parenting stress and poorer family functioning had small associations with health anxiety towards one’s self, child, and partner (r = 0.15 to r = 0.20). Further research is needed to determine clinical relevance and its impact on health behaviors and functioning within the family unit.
Citation: Health Psychology Open
PubDate: 2024-05-18T04:53:01Z
DOI: 10.1177/20551029241251995
Issue No: Vol. 11 (2024)
- Illness intrusiveness, health locus of control, and anxiety symptoms among
veterans with congestive heart failure
Authors: Laura Jean Priorello, Consuelo Arbona
Abstract: Health Psychology Open, Volume 11, Issue , January-December 2024.
Disease severity, illness intrusiveness, and health locus of control (HLC) each contribute to psychosocial wellbeing in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). To better understand the relationships between these variables regarding anxiety symptoms, we analyzed data from 116 adult male veterans with comorbid CHF and anxiety. Results suggested that illness intrusiveness significantly mediated the relation of CHF severity to anxiety symptom severity, and that the illness intrusiveness domains of physical well-being/diet, work/finances, and other aspects of life (religious/spirituality, community/civic, self-improvement/expression) were also significant mediators of that relationship. The relation of illness intrusiveness to anxiety was not moderated by internal HLC. Findings highlight the importance of assessing and treating various aspects of illness intrusiveness to manage anxiety symptoms in CHF patients.
Citation: Health Psychology Open
PubDate: 2024-05-08T11:20:59Z
DOI: 10.1177/20551029241250311
Issue No: Vol. 11 (2024)
- Alike but not the same: Psychological profiles of COVID-19 vaccine
skeptics
Authors: Ursula Voss, Karin Schermelleh-Engel, Leana Hauser, Mira Holzmann, Diana Fichtner, Sonja Seifert, Ansgar Klimke, Sabine Windmann
Abstract: Health Psychology Open, Volume 11, Issue , January-December 2024.
One of the challenges of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was a widespread skepticism about vaccination. To elucidate the underlying mental and emotional predispositions, we examined a sample of 1428 participants using latent profile analysis (LPA) on selected personality trait variables, mental health status, and measures of irrational beliefs. LPA revealed five distinct profiles: two classes of non-skeptics and three of skeptics. The smaller non-skeptic class reported the highest rates of mental health problems, along with high levels of neuroticism, hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, and external locus of control. The larger non-skeptic class was psychologically well-balanced. Conversely, the skeptic groups shared strong distrust of COVID-19 vaccination but differed in emotional and mental profiles, leading to graded differences in endorsing extreme conspiracy beliefs. This suggests that vaccine skepticism is not solely a result of mental illness or emotional instability; rather extreme skepticism manifests as a nuanced, graded phenomenon contingent on personality traits and conspirational beliefs.
Citation: Health Psychology Open
PubDate: 2024-04-26T03:49:03Z
DOI: 10.1177/20551029241248757
Issue No: Vol. 11 (2024)
- Cardiovascular risk, social vigilance, and stress profiles of male law
enforcement officers versus civilians
Authors: Shannon C White, John M Ruiz, Matthew Allison, Bert N Uchino, Timothy W Smith, Daniel J Taylor, Dusti R Jones, Michael A Russell, Emily B Ansell, Joshua M Smyth
Abstract: Health Psychology Open, Volume 11, Issue , January-December 2024.
This study examined the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profiles of male law enforcement officers (LEOs) and civilians. CVD risk profiles were based on data collected using traditional objective (e.g., resting BP, cholesterol), novel objective (e.g., ambulatory BP) and self-report measures (e.g., EMA social vigilance). A subset of male LEOs (n = 30, M age = 41.47, SD = 8.03) and male civilians (n = 120, M age = 40.73, SD = 13.52) from a larger study were included in analyses. Results indicated LEOs had significantly higher body mass index [BMI], 31.17 kg/m2 versus 28.87 kg/m2, and exhibited significantly higher trait and state social vigilance across multiple measures, whereas perceived stress was higher among civilians. Findings highlight the need for future research examining CVD risk associated with occupational health disparities, including attributes of individuals entering certain professions as well as experiential and environmental demands of the work.
Citation: Health Psychology Open
PubDate: 2024-04-04T07:50:40Z
DOI: 10.1177/20551029241244723
Issue No: Vol. 11 (2024)
- The social process of involuntary separation and the search for connection
Authors: Willow Glasier, Kelly Arbeau, Mihaela Launeanu, Janelle Kwee
Abstract: Health Psychology Open, Volume 11, Issue , January-December 2024.
Placing a loved one in care does not relieve informal caregivers’ physical and emotional stresses. This study identified the unique psycho-social-spiritual processes of involuntary separation among spouses following long-term care admission. Participants were 17 spouse-caregivers (12 women and 5 men) with a mean age of 84 years who had been involuntarily separated for an average of 20 months. The basic psycho-social-spiritual process of spouse-caregiver involuntary separation was connecting in disconnection, which had three distinct stages: (1) Initial coping, (2) Adjusting to the new situation, and (3) Moving forward. Movement through the three stages was influenced by individuals’ capacity and willingness to reach out for connection and by the abilities of others to extend accurate empathy and practical help. The implications of this study highlight spouse-caregivers’ needs for connection and support not only during the crisis of separation, but in the months and years that follow.
Citation: Health Psychology Open
PubDate: 2024-02-09T08:27:01Z
DOI: 10.1177/20551029231224368
Issue No: Vol. 11 (2024)
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