The Relationship between Korean Adolescents' Sports Participation, Internal Health Locus of Control, and Wellness during COVID-19

This study was aimed at providing practical information to improve Korean adolescents' wellness by empirically identifying its correlation with sports participation and having an internal health locus of control (IHLC) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study comprised both a pilot test and a main study. We recruited 844 Korean adolescents as subjects in January 2021 to participate in an online self-reported survey. The reliability and validity of the scales used (sports participation, IHLC, and wellness) were verified through a pilot test. In the main study, we verified the differences between all variables according to adolescents' demographic characteristics and the structural relationship of sports participation, IHLC, and wellness. Sports participation had a positive effect on IHLC (p < 0.001) and wellness (p < 0.001). Additionally, IHLC had a positive effect on wellness (p < 0.001). In juvenile educational institutions, there is a need to develop strategies to increase wellness, sports participation, and IHLC among adolescent students, which can improve their wellness in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attributions, affect, and behavior in abuse-risk mothers: a laboratory study

OBJECTIVE

There were two main aims: first, to assess parental attributions about child behavior in abuse-risk and nonclinic parents. Second, to assess how attributions predict affective and behavioral reactions to child behavior.

METHOD

Internal-external attributions relating to the causes of child behavior were compared across mothers at-risk of child abuse (n = 40) and mothers who reported no significant parental or child conduct or behavior problems (n = 20). Mothers' attributions about the causes of the behavior of their own child and an unfamiliar child were recorded in response to the presentation of videotaped excerpts of the behavior.

RESULTS

Results highlighted that compared with nonclinic mothers, abuse-risk mothers had a tendency to attribute positive child behavior to more external causes and negative child behavior to more internal causes. Differences were also found between parental cognitions about clearly positive, clearly naughty, and ambiguous child behavior. In the abuse-risk group, positive child behavior predicted coercive parenting when it elicited angry feelings in the mother; ambiguous and naughty child behavior led to coercive parenting through valence ratings of "deviant" and attributions of "internality." Analyses within the abuse-risk group showed that parental attributions are predictive of parental coerciveness for unfamiliar behavior. As behavior becomes more familiar, ratings of its valence and the affect it elicits override attributional activity.

CONCLUSIONS

Parental attributions about the causes of child behavior differ according to the valence and familiarity of that behavior, and discriminate between parents at risk for child abuse. Further, attributions are predictive of the affective and behavioral responses the parent makes to the child's behavior for ambiguous or unfamiliar behavior. Evidence was found for the validity of using videotaped stimuli of the behavior of known and unknown children as a method of assessing parental attributions.

Networking, coping, and communicating about a medical crisis: a phenomenological inquiry of transplant recipient communication

Through a phenomenological framework, the authors attempt to shed light on the communication processes of organ transplant recipients when discussing transplantation and related topics. Eight essential themes (awareness, support, commitment, pride, education, mentoring, comparison, and community) emerged from 37 participants as central to the communicative experiences of transplant recipients and their families. Additional insight was generated through a 2nd tier of focus group discussions resulting in a proposed model of transplant recipient communication. An interpretation of the model, implications for future research, and implications for praxis are presented.

Experiences of micturition problems, indwelling catheter treatment and sexual life consequences in men with prostate cancer

Men with prostate cancer (n=25) were interviewed, focusing on experiences of micturition problems, indwelling catheter treatment and sexual life consequences. Narrations were found to be practical and technical descriptions rather than emotional, and experiences were described with reduction and negligence regarding personal well-being and the impact of problems. Phenomenological-hermeneutic analysis was used and findings ordered in subthemes and themes of meaning. Micturition problems, catheter treatment and sexual life problems were all phenomena that radically affected the clients' autonomy and life quality and changed the life continuum. Impact from the disease was either accepted or not and related to what had already been borne in life. Experiences were linked together, each of them giving rise to feelings of physical deterioration and fear of ridicule, and hidden from others. Maintaining self-image and social role was important and connected with the degree of perceived deprivation of life content. Responsibility for medical decisions was left to professionals while everyday problems with micturition, catheters and sexual life were regarded as the men's sole responsibility. Findings were interpreted to mean that comparing the personal situation with that of others worse off made the life situation look better. The clinical implication of this study was that because the men came forward with their problems when given time to talk in their own way these areas should be given time and interest in the nursing care. Interpretation did not provide a unified picture of problems. Thus, nurses will have to seek men's individual experience actively and give legitimacy to patients' problems by opening up opportunities to speak about otherwise concealed problems. Then it may be possible to provide solutions that may ease the men's burdens.

Major concerns and needs of breast cancer patients

Between 1989 and 1991, 102 breast cancer patients completed a questionnaire survey on concerns and needs at their first visit to the University Clinic after they were diagnosed or treated for breast cancer at other clinics. Their major concerns and needs were health, family, finances, work, the future, self-esteem, counseling and support for themselves and their family. Married women and those younger than 50 years were more likely to have concerns about their family. Nonwhites had more concerns about finances and work than white women, with an odds ratio (OR) of 6.58. Older women and those married, however, had less concerns about finances and work than younger women and those not married, with ORs of 0.96 and 0.34, respectively. Fewer nonwhite than white patients expressed concerns about their future (OR = 0.31). Young women were more concerned about self-esteem than older women. More nonwhites than whites and more married than unmarried women expressed needs for family counseling and support (OR = 3.58 and 3.68, respectively). Help for interpreting information was required more frequently by nonwhites than whites (OR = 7.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.19-24.00). Nonwhite women also tended to require more referrals than whites. In summary, major concerns and needs varied among patients of different demographic characteristics, especially those of age, race, and marital status.

Personality correlates of the Five-Factor Model for a sample of business owners/managers: associations with scores on Self-Monitoring, Type A Behavior, Locus of Control, and Subjective Well-being

Bivariate relationships were examined between scores on the Five-Factor Model of personality and four personality dimensions including Self-monitoring, Locus of Control, Type A Behavior, and Subjective Well-being. Data were collected from 307 franchise business owner/managers from four different industries. Scores for Self-monitoring were positively related to those on Extraversion; Self-monitoring was the only personality measure significantly correlated with scores on Openness to Experience. Scores for Type A Behavior, measured by the Jenkins Activity Survey, were negatively correlated with Agreeableness and positively correlated with those for Extraversion. Somewhat surprisingly, the score for Type A Behavior had a relatively low correlation with the score for Conscientiousness. Scores for Subjective Well-being and Locus of Control were most strongly correlated with the positive pole of Neuroticism (Emotional Stability), Conscientiousness, and Extraversion. Possible explanations for the observed relationships are discussed.

Causal attributions, coping strategies, and adjustment to breast cancer

In this retrospective questionnaire study of a convenience sample of 244 Australian women, type of causal attributions and their impact on coping strategies adopted by women with breast cancer were studied in relation to women's adjustment to their illness. Although 70% of the women made attributions about their cancer's origins, these women were not significantly better adjusted than women who had not make an attribution. Of those women who had made a causal attribution, type of attribution, whether controllable or uncontrollable (based on perceptions as to the controllability/uncontrollability of the cause of the disease), determined the extent to which exhibited information-seeking behavior. In the present study, women who perceived the cause of their cancer as emanating from uncontrollable circumstances were more active in seeking information about breast cancer than women who perceived the cause of their cancer as emanating from controllable circumstances. Different types of coping strategies adopted by women were associated with adjustment. Women who rated their adjustment as excellent displayed lower levels of helplessness, made fewer changes to their social behavior, were more anxiously preoccupied with their illness, sought more alternatives to medical therapy, and exhibited more information-seeking behavior than did their less-well-adjusted counterparts. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Cognitive beliefs following severe traumatic brain injury: association with post-injury employment status

In this exploratory study, the cognitive beliefs of 19 severely traumatically brain-injured (TBI) patients were assessed to determine their association with post-injury employment status (that is, full-time, part-time or unemployed). Cognitive measures included the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) scale, the Revised Internal-External Scale (RIES) and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). Patients who did not return to their pre-injury level of employment (n = 10) were found to have lower MHLC Internal, higher RIES Powerful Others locus of control beliefs, and higher BHS scores as compared with a group of patients who returned to their pre-injury employment status (n = 9). In addition, longer lengths of post-traumatic amnesia, longer hospital stays and lower-prestige occupations post-injury were associated with poorer employment status. No differences were present between the groups in age, years of education, Glasgow Coma Scale on admission, length of coma, months post-injury, or pre-injury occupation. These results suggest that cognitive beliefs are a potential target for further research in TBI outcome.

Quality of life in breast cancer patients: the contribution of data to the care of patients

A primary test of the usefulness of quality of life research is the extent to which it has been helpful in informing clinical practice and in minimising or preventing psychosocial distress among patients and their families. Clinical applications of quality of life data in five areas are summarised: alerting physicians and nurses to common patient concerns, informing patients of common reactions to breast cancer, aiding patients and physicians in decision-making, developing training programmes for medical personnel, and designing interventions for patients and their families. Although substantial progress has been made in applying quality of life data to improve clinical practice, further progress is possible. As with many other areas of medical practice, we must work towards developing more effective means of disseminating this information to clinicians and encouraging them to integrate it into their practice.

Underreporting by cancer patients: the case of response-shift

There are a lot of studies in which self-report questionnaires are used, showing that cancer patients do not have a lower quality of life than the normal healthy population. This seems to be in contrast with the results of studies in which more extensive interviews have been used and to the everyday experience of physicians, nurses and other caretakers. This phenomenon of underreporting seems to hold true also for other patient groups. Judgment theories explain how the perception of quality of life arises. These theories indicate how the conceptualization of the dimension to be measured, changes under the influence of a (highly significant) life event, such as getting a life threatening disease. These theories hold that there will be a concurrent change in the internalized standard on which the patients base their perception. Thus a real effect, for example a decrease in quality of life as a result of cancer, can be obscured totally. Until an empirically proven solution to this problem has been found, we recommend that answers in questionnaires concerned with quality of life, psychological distress and the like should be approached with due caution.

Emotions and cancer. New perspectives on an old question

This article outlines current issues in the study of psychological factors and cancer: (1) the role of psychological factors in disease promotion and progression, (2) the impact of neoplastic disease and its treatment on psychosocial functioning, and (3) the long-term impact of cancer and cancer treatment on the survivor and issues of family bereavement following the death of a cancer patient. The discussion ends with a consideration of future directions for research.

Lay people's and health care personnel's perceptions of cancer, AIDS, cardiac, and diabetic patients

Although some writers assume that negative attitudes toward cancer and other chronic disease patients are prevalent, systematic data have been scarce. Perceptions of patients and their illnesses were assessed for college students, nurses, medical students, and chiropractic students. Subjects rated cancer, AIDS, diabetes, and heart disease patients, as well as the nonill, on 21 bipolar trait items, selected to measure competence, moral worth, dependence, depression, and morbidity. There were also measures of social distance, cancer anxiety, disease beliefs, and ascribed illness responsibility. With minor exceptions, all subsamples perceived cancer victims less favorably than diabetics, heart patients, and the nonill on competence, dependence, depression, and morbidity. Cancer patients were always seen as even more depressed than AIDS sufferers but were rated just as favorably as well people on moral worth. People with AIDS were generally the most negatively evaluated and most rejected group. Cancer was consistently described as the most painful condition and, next to AIDS, the least understood medically and most deadly. Cancer anxiety was moderately predictive of perceptions of cancer victims, and ratings of illness responsibility were moderately predictive of moral worth ratings for the cancer and AIDS groups. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Implicit models of illness

This study was designed to be an initial investigation of implicit models of illness, that is, the dimensional structure that organizes an individual's common-sense illness schema. Nurses, college students, and diabetics rated the qualities of two different diseases, one that was personally salient (i.e., flu or diabetes) and one with which they were familiar but did not have direct experience (i.e., cancer), on a 38-item Implicit Models of Illness Questionnaire (IMIQ). An exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-dimensional structure of illnesses composed of Seriousness, Personal Responsibility, Controllability, and Changeability. The stability of this four-dimensional model was established using confirmatory factor analysis to test the fit of this structure to the IMIQ data of another sample of subjects drawn from the same populations. The structure of this implicit model proved stable for judgments of different diseases and across groups of subjects, even though they differed in their physical-health status and occupational roles. The dimensions identified in the present study were compared to those described in other papers. Our dimensions seemed to be both personally and psychologically meaningful. The implications of this preliminary "generic" implicit illness model for future work in the field of health cognition are discussed.

Illness attributions and the health belief model

This paper proposes an attributional approach to the traditional Health Belief Model (HBM). It is argued that this approach has two purposes: (1) health beliefs might themselves be determined by attribution and (2) the prediction of health behavior might be significantly improved by combining health beliefs with illness attributions. The theoretical framework for this approach is adapted from models of causal attribution and relevant literature on illness attributions is reviewed. Two empirical studies are described testing the plausibility of an attributional approach to health behavior. A preliminary study investigates the relationship between health beliefs and illness attributions of heart patients. Health beliefs were found to be significantly related to causal explanations of heart disease. The main study is a prospective investigation of the impact of attributions and health beliefs on health behavior--in this case attendance at screening for high blood pressure. Discriminant analysis revealed a combination of health beliefs and attributions of high blood pressure that produced a highly significant prediction of the decision to participate in the screening. The final discussion is devoted to the theoretical and practical implications of an attributional approach for health and medical education, particularly within the medical consultation.