Specifying dysfunctional mismatches between different control dimensions

Neighborhood disadvantage, race/ethnicity and neural sensitivity to social threat and reward among adolescents

Experiences within one's social environment shape neural sensitivity to threatening and rewarding social cues. However, in racialized societies like the USA, youth from minoritized racial/ethnic backgrounds can have different experiences and perceptions within neighborhoods that share similar characteristics. The current study examined how neighborhood disadvantage intersects with racial/ethnic background in relation to neural sensitivity to social cues. A racially diverse (59 Hispanic/Latine, 48 White, 37 Black/African American, 15 multi-racial and 6 other) and primarily low to middle socioeconomic status sample of 165 adolescents (88 female; Mage = 12.89) completed a social incentive delay task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning. We tested for differences in the association between neighborhood disadvantage and neural responses to social threat and reward cues across racial/ethnic groups. For threat processing, compared to White youth, neighborhood disadvantage was related to greater neural activation in regions involved in salience detection (e.g. anterior cingulate cortex) for Black youth and regions involved in mentalizing (e.g. temporoparietal junction) for Latine youth. For reward processing, neighborhood disadvantage was related to greater brain activation in reward, salience and mentalizing regions for Black youth only. This study offers a novel exploration of diversity within adolescent neural development and important insights into our understanding of how social environments may 'get under the skull' differentially across racial/ethnic groups.

Curvilinear Relations Between Preschool-Aged Children's Effortful Control and Socioemotional Problems: Racial-Ethnic Differences in Functional Form

The majority of studies of preschool-aged children's self-regulation presume that their higher levels of self-regulation are concurrently and prospectively associated with fewer externalizing and internalizing problems. This assumes their relations are only linear in form and negative, but studies with community samples of mostly non-Hispanic White children have found curvilinear or positive relations between self-regulation and socioemotional problems in early childhood. This cross-sectional study tests linear and quadratic relations between children's behavioral battery assessed effortful control and parent rated externalizing and internalizing problems, and whether their functional forms differ across racial-ethnic groups in a diverse sample of 2.5- to 3.5-years-olds (N = 72) from highly educated two-parent households. Child effortful control was negatively related to externalizing, quadratically related to internalizing (albeit marginally), and an interaction between effortful control and race-ethnicity indicated opposite linear relations between effortful control and internalizing problems for different racial-ethnic groups. By integrating tests of curvilinearity and interactions, this study builds on theoretical and empirical work indicating complex relations between the development of self-regulation and psychopathology.

Desirability of control: psychometric properties and relationships with locus of control, personality, coping, and mental and somatic complaints in three Dutch samples

Desire for control (DC) or need for control has frequently been proposed as an important personality characteristic and as a possible crucial moderator within the fields of achievement, psychological adaptation, stress, and health. However, unlike locus of control, hardly any effort has been undertaken to assess the construct. An exception is the work of Burger and Cooper on the Desirability of Control Scale (1979). In the present study, the psychometric properties of a Dutch version of the DC scale were tested in three different samples (total N = 1044). Furthermore, relationships between DC, its subscales, and various psychological personality and outcome measures were examined.

The results show that the psychometric properties of the original DC scale could be successfully transposed to the Dutch version. Furthermore, factor analyses (PCA) led to the construction of three reliable subscales: ‘control others’ (desire to be in charge of and control others), ‘control self’ (desire to control one's own life), and ‘relinquish control’ (desire to leave others in control). The pattern of relationships with convergent and outcome variables supports the interpretation of these subscales. For ‘control others’, as for the total DC scale (i.e. a total of all 20 items), the emphasis of these relationships was on dominance, active coping, and psychological adjustment. ‘Control self’ was mainly related to self‐sufficiency and independence, while ‘relinquish control’ was clearly associated with passive coping and poor psychological adjustment. In summary, the DC scale appears to be a psychometrically sound instrument to assess desire for control and its subdimensions. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

General Self-Efficacy and Mortality in the USA; Racial Differences

PURPOSE

General self-efficacy has been historically assumed to have universal health implications. However, less is known about population differences in long-term health effects of general self-efficacy across diverse populations. This study compared black and white American adults for (1) the association between psychosocial and health factors and general self-efficacy at baseline, and (2) the association between baseline self-efficacy and long-term risk of all-cause mortality over 25 years.

METHODS

The Americans' Changing Lives (ACL) study, 1986-2011, is a nationally representative longitudinal cohort of US adults. The study followed 3361 black (n = 1156) and white (n = 2205) adults for up to 25 years. General self-efficacy as well as demographics, socioeconomics, stressful life events, health behaviors, obesity, depressive symptoms, and self-rated health were measured at baseline in 1986. The outcome was time to all-cause mortality since 1986. Race was the focal moderator. Logistic regression and proportional hazards models were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

Although blacks had lower general self-efficacy, this association was fully explained by socioeconomic factors (education and income). Our logistic regression suggested interactions between race and education, self-rated health, and stress on general self-efficacy at baseline. Baseline general self-efficacy was associated with risk of mortality in the pooled sample. Race interacted with baseline general self-efficacy on mortality risk, suggesting stronger association for whites than blacks.

CONCLUSION

Black-white differences exist in psychosocial and health factors associated with self-efficacy in the USA. Low general self-efficacy does not increase mortality risk for blacks. Future research should test whether socioeconomic status, race-related attitudes, world views, attributions, and locus of control can potentially explain why low self-efficacy is not associated with higher risk of mortality among American blacks.

Cortisol response to challenge involving low controllability: the role of control beliefs and age

Cortisol responses are typically more pronounced under low controllability conditions, yet little is known about the role of individual differences. This study examined whether cortisol response to a situation with low controllability differs as a function of preexisting control beliefs and age. We manipulated level of controllability using a driving simulator. Control beliefs were assessed prior to the lab session. Salivary cortisol was measured before and after the driving simulation. Participants were 152 adults aged 22-84 from a Boston area sample. In comparison to the normal controllability condition, those in the low controllability condition reported less perceived control over driving, supporting the effectiveness of the manipulation. In the low controllability condition those with higher control beliefs showed a greater cortisol response than those with low control beliefs. Older adults showed a greater cortisol response than younger adults during the challenge. Implications of acute cortisol responses for performance outcomes are discussed.

Obsessive-compulsive behaviours in specific situations: The relative influence of appraisals of control, responsibility and threat

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by repeated and persistent attempts by the individual to control their thoughts and by taking action through rituals in order to prevent feared or personally distressing outcomes. While cognitive theories of OCD have generated supportive research findings and effective treatments, they have not considered broader control beliefs that may motivate aspects of OC-phenomenology. We have previously proposed that broader control beliefs, specifically desire for control and sense of control, may play a role in OC-symptoms (Moulding & Kyrios, 2006). In the present study, non-clinical participants (N=219) were presented with four hypothetical scenarios relevant to an OCD-checking concern, and using a manipulation paradigm, the relationship between control constructs and appraisals hypothesized to be relevant to OCD (threat, responsibility) was examined. Desire for control was moderately affected to responsibility and threat appraisals, while sense of control did not relate to these constructs. The relationship between aspects of OC-phenomenology and appraisals of control, responsibility and threat were also investigated. Higher desire for control predicted both affect and action, while a lower sense of control predicted higher distress and action, over-and-above appraisals of threat and responsibility. Control appraisals were particularly relevant to use of action, and to affect in the low responsibility situations. A possible interactive model of desire for control, threat and responsibility is discussed.

Anxiety disorders and control related beliefs: the exemplar of Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Beliefs about control have been postulated to be important to anxiety and mood disorders. In particular, the phenomenology of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) suggests that it may be an exemplar of an anxiety disorder where control issues related to the self (behavior and thoughts) and world (the external environment) are particularly important. However, only beliefs concerning the need to control thoughts have been incorporated into contemporary theories of OCD. This article summarizes the theoretical and empirical research relevant to control-related beliefs in OCD. It is suggested that discrepancies between an individual's desired level of control and their perceived level of control could contribute to OCD symptoms, and exacerbate the tendency for individuals with OCD to engage in magical ideation and superstitious rituals. Overall, this review demonstrates how consideration of control cognitions could enhance our understanding of OCD and further improve its treatment.

A psychosocial view of anxiety and depression in epilepsy

The aim of this study was to study anxiety and depression in patients with epilepsy and evaluate their relationships with neuroepilepsy and psychological variables. neuroepilepsy and psychological variables. Sixty patients and 60 healthy subjects were interviewed at the outpatient clinic for epilepsy, using the Beck Depression Inventory and State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory. The objective of the semistructured interview was to identify the patients' perception of the disease, self-concept, personal strategies, and perception of seizure control. There was a significant difference in anxiety and depression between the groups, as well as a strong relationship between perception of seizure control and depression and anxiety, independently assessed. Epilepsy was associated with disease (63.4%), mental problems (11.6%), feelings of shame, fear, worry, and low self-esteem (56.6%), and perception of stigma (26.6%). The strategies were: looking for social support, seeking medical treatment, withdrawal, denial, and spiritual support. There was a significant association between psychological symptoms and perception of seizure control, which reinforces the importance of subjective aspects involved in epilepsy.

You Can't Always Get What You Want: Educational Attainment, Agency, and Choice

Using educational attainment to indicate socioeconomic status, the authors examined models of agency and effects of choice among European American adults of different educational backgrounds in 3 studies. Whereas college-educated (BA) participants and their preferred cultural products (i.e., rock music lyrics) emphasized expressing uniqueness, controlling environments, and influencing others, less educated (HS) participants and their preferred cultural products (i.e., country music lyrics) emphasized maintaining integrity, adjusting selves, and resisting influence. Reflecting these models of agency, HS and BA participants differently responded to choice in dissonance and reactance paradigms: BA participants liked chosen objects more than unchosen objects, but choice did not affect HS participants' preferences. Results suggest that HS and BA models of agency qualitatively differ, despite overlap between HS and BA worlds.

Psychological Explanations and Interventions for Indifference to Greening Hospitals

Attention has increasingly been given to "greening" the environment, that is, to engaging in environmentally responsible behavior. Applied to hospitals, greening is collective interdisciplinary organizational behavior that reduces environmental hazards and overconsumption. An environmental crisis in hospitals is described. A number of individual and group psychological phenomena are detailed to explain the current absence of widespread greening in hospitals. Social and environmental psychology concepts for behavior change are combined to provide a model consisting of hospital administration and staff interventions to green this setting. Successful examples of these interventions are provided.

Metabolic control and psychological sense of control in women with diabetes mellitus. Alternative considerations of the relationship

PURPOSE

Identifying psychological strategies to buffer the adverse outcomes in people with diabetes mellitus (DM) remains a priority for many health professionals. While 'locus of control' (LOC) has been repeatedly investigated to this end, research findings are contradictory. The development of more complex appraisals of psychological control, and the utilization of control inventories deriving from such analyses, presents a way forward from such contradictions.

METHODS

Employing such a measure, this study examines the relationship between metabolic control and psychological sense of control in 96 women with DM.

RESULTS

Optimal metabolic control is significantly associated with overall sense of control, while poor metabolic control was significantly associated with experiences of loss of psychological control and feelings of inadequacy. Furthermore, poor metabolic control was significantly associated with reduced control in the specific domains of interpersonal relationships and bodily functions.

CONCLUSIONS

Multidimensional control inventories enable a more complex appraisal of the relationship between metabolic control and psychological control, and in doing so, provide a way forward from problems arising from reliance on LOC constructs. Interventions for DM management relying on aspects of psychological control need to target domains beyond traditional issues of self and bodily functions.

Psychosocial resources and the SES-health relationship

Psychosocial resources, which include optimism, coping style, a sense of mastery or personal control, and social support, influence the relationship between SES and health. To varying degrees, these resources appear to be differentially distributed by social class and related to health outcomes. Such resources may partially mediate the impact of SES on health. For example, environments that undermine personal control may have an impact on chronic arousal and the corresponding development of disease, such as CHD. Psychosocial resources may also moderate the impact of SES on health. For example, a large number of positive social relationships and a few conflictual ones may buffer individuals against the adverse effects of SES-related stress. These psychosocial resources are moderately intercorrelated, and so a research strategy that explores their coherence as a psychosocial profile that promotes resilience to stress is tenable and merits empirical examination. The erosion of these resources as one moves lower on the SES scale and specific factors that contribute to such erosion are discussed.

Sense of control and adjustment to breast cancer: the importance of balancing control coping styles

The relationship of modes of control and desire for control to psychosocial adjustment in women with breast cancer was examined. Fifty-eight women with stage I or stage II breast cancer were surveyed shortly after their diagnosis and again 4 and 8 months later. The authors hypothesized that a control profile in which individuals use a positive yielding (i.e., accepting) mode of control in conjunction with an assertive mode results in better adjustment than relying exclusively or primarily on an assertive mode. Results lend preliminary support to this hypothesis. At 8-month follow-up, those women who had a high desire for control and were low in positive yielding control showed the poorest adjustment, whereas those high in desire and the positive yielding mode showed the best psychosocial adjustment. The findings suggest that balanced use of active and yielding control efforts may lead to optimal psychosocial adjustment and quality of life in the face of life-threatening illnesses.

Aging and sense of control

Three groups representing different phases of the developmental lifecycle--12 senior citizens, 67 young adults, and 14 healthy middle-aged normal adults--were assessed using a multidimensional control inventory. Senior citizens had a healthy over-all sense of control comparable to those of the other two groups and a significantly lower (healthier) negative sense of control. They also were significantly more likely to endorse acceptance as a way of addressing areas of concern and to complement self as a source of control with a sense of control coming from others (including God, belief in a higher power).