Mastery Imagery Ability Is Associated With Positive Anxiety and Performance During Psychological Stress

A Study on the Current Situation and Related Factors of Personal Mastery in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure: A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose

To explore the status quo and influencing factors of personal mastery in Chinese patients with chronic heart failure, based on the analysis of patient characteristics.

Methods

The sample of the study comprised 249 chronic heart failure patients who visited a university hospital in China. We collected the data using general demographic Information, personal mastery scale, the Simple Coping Style Questionnaire and Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Quality of Life Questionnaire (MLHFQ). SPSS26.0 was used to describe the survey results statistically, and univariate analysis, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the influencing factors of personal sense of control.

Results

Chronic heart failure patients' total personal mastery scores were (20.63±4.486), which is in the medium level. Multiple linear regression analysis shows that Age group (β=-1.627, p=0.036), NYHA functional classification (β=-1.563, P<0.001), Positive coping style (β= 0.088, P=0.004) and MLHFQ (β= -0.121 P<0.001) significantly influenced patients' personal mastery (P<0.001).

Conclusion

Our study suggests that the personal mastery of patients with chronic heart failure is at a moderate level in China. Additionally, age group, NYHA functional classification, Positive coping style and MLHFQ emerged as significant influencing factors. Clinical staff should dynamically observe the changes in the level of personal mastery of patients with chronic heart failure, pay more attention to the elderly and patients with poor heart function according to the influencing factors, and encourage active responses to improve the level of personal mastery of patients with heart failure.

Development and Validation of the Ease of Imagery Questionnaire

The present series of studies aimed to develop and provide initial validation of the Ease of Imagery Questionnaire (EIQ)-a measure assessing ease of imaging different positive and negative imagery content reflective of valence and engaging or disengaging in adverse situations. Five studies were conducted to collectively examine the questionnaire's factor structure and concurrent validity. Study 1 (N = 336) and Study 2 (N = 207) informed the development of 16 items of the EIQ, with a four-factor structure supported in Studies 3 (N = 219), 4 (N = 135), and 5 (N = 184) using confirmatory factor analysis. Study 3 also supported concurrent validity with significant bivariate correlations (p < .05) with the similar Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire subscales, while studies 4 and 5 demonstrated criterion validity in the EIQ's prediction of challenge and threat appraisal tendencies, perceived stress, stress mindset, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Overall, the EIQ demonstrates a replicable four-factor structure and appears to assess ability to image content associated with positive and negative emotions as well as demanding stress-evoking situations.

Mastery imagery ability moderates the relationship between heart rate reactivity to acute psychological stress and perceptions of stress and physiological arousal

Imagery has been associated with cardiovascular and psychological responses to stress; however, the mechanisms underlying this association are not fully understood. The present study examined if the ability to image mastering challenging or difficult situations moderated the relationship between heart rate reactivity and perceptions of stress and physiological arousal experienced during acute stress. Four hundred and fifty-eight participants completed a standardized laboratory stress protocol with heart rate being measured throughout. After completing an acute psychological stress task, participants rated how stressed and physiologically aroused they felt (i.e., intensity) and whether they perceived the stress and physiological arousal as being helpful/unhelpful to performance (i.e., interpretation). Mastery imagery ability was assessed by questionnaire. Moderation analyses controlling for gender demonstrated that imagery ability moderated the relationship between heart rate reactivity and interpretation of stress (β = 0.015, p = .003) and perceived physiological arousal (β = 0.013, p = .004). Simple slope analysis indicated that in those with higher imagery ability, heart rate reactivity was associated with stress and arousal being perceived as more positive toward performance. Imagery ability did not moderate the relationship between heart rate reactivity and perceived stress intensity or physiological arousal intensity (p's > .05), but imagery ability did predict lower perceived stress intensity (β = -0.217, p < .001) and perceived physiological arousal intensity (β = -0.172, p < .001). Higher mastery imagery ability may possibly help individuals perceive responses to stress as more beneficial for performance and thus be an effective coping technique.

Does Imagery Ability Matter for the Relationship Between Temperament and Self-Confidence in Team and Individual Sport Disciplines?

The main purpose of our study was to investigate the relationship among temperamental traits, a general tendency to use imagery, and self-confidence in sport. The specific aim was to verify if general imagery mediates the relationship between temperament and self-confidence in sport, but also with respect to individual and team sport disciplines. The study involved 144 athletes aged 19-25 years (75 men and 69 women) with different lengths of training (from 1 month to 18 years) and presented different sports levels: international (n = 12), national (n = 46), and recreational (n = 86). They also represented individual (n = 73) and team (n = 68) sports. The Imagination in Sport Questionnaire (ISQ), Trait Sports Confidence Inventory (TSCI-PL), and Temperament Questionnaire (EAS) were all completed by the participants. Results indicate that self-confidence is explained in about 13% by temperament and general imagery, but only general imagery (b = 0.22; p < 0.05) and negative axes of the temperament-emotionality (b = -0.26; p < 0.05). The test of the indirect effect of the negative axes of the temperament on self-confidence through general imagery, conducted by Preacher and Hayes bootstrapping procedure, revealed significant mediation [b = 0.37; 95% CI = (0.09; 0.68); R 2 Med = 0.46] suggesting that about 46% of variance explained in self-confidence by emotionality is related to general imagery. The other 3% of variance explained in self-confidence by the positive temperament axes is related to general imagery, however, it was insignificant. The general imagery explains the relationship between emotionality and self-confidence only in individual sports athletes.