Molecular alterations of canalicular transport systems in experimental models of cholestasis: possible functional correlations

Ajzen's (1988) theory of planned behavior (TOPB) was used to examine psychological determinants of high-risk UV radiation exposure-related behaviors (sunbathing, tanning salon use, and sunscreen use). Undergraduates at a midsized southeastern university were assessed on their psychological and behavioral tendencies toward high-risk UV radiation exposure-related behaviors. The results generally supported the utility of the TOPB as an explanatory model for high-risk behavior. Attitudes were strongly associated with high-risk intentions (e.g., not utilize sunscreen, use salons), whereas subjective norms were less so. Perceived behavioral control was found to moderate the relationship among attitudes, norms, and intentions to sunbathe and tan at a salon. Implications for intervention strategies and future model building in this area are discussed.     

A psychosocial model of sun protection and sunbathing in young women: The impact of health beliefs, attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy for sun protection.

A psychosocial model of sun protection and sunbathing as distinct behaviors was developed on 202 young Caucasian women and replicated in an independent sample (n?=?207). Proximal outcomes were intention to sun protect and intention to sunbathe; distal outcomes included sun protection and sunbathing behavior measured 5 months later. Objective risk for skin cancer plus 4 classes of psychosocial variables (sun-protective health beliefs, self-efficacy for sun protection, attitudes toward sunbathing, and norms for sunbathing and sun protection) served as predictors. Sun-protective norms and self-efficacy for sun protection predicted only intention to sun protect; sunbathing norms predicted only intention to sunbathe. Susceptibility and advantages of tanning predicted both intention constructs, which, in turn, predicted behavior. These findings distinguish sun protection from sunbathing and provide a basis for intervention design. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward health risks and sunbathing behavior

Sunbathing confers the benefits of looking and feeling good but presents the long-term risk of skin cancer. In a disguised experiment exploring attitudes toward sunbathing by British adults, participants were asked to rate their willingness to take a hypothetical new drug (with different levels of risk) that would make them look and feel good. One aspect of the resulting risk profiles was significantly related to a positive attitude to open-air sunbathing but not to sunbed use, possibly because it was erroneously thought that using a sunbed is not risky. The well-established finding that women are more cautious was confirmed; the risk function for men was curvilinear, in contrast to women, who were willing to increase their risk linearly over their lifetime.     

Estimating individual influences of behavioral intentions: An application of random-effects modeling to the theory of reasoned action.

Methods are proposed and described for estimating the degree to which relations among variables vary at the individual level. As an example of the methods, M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen's (1975; I. Ajzen & M. Fishbein, 1980) theory of reasoned action is examined, which posits first that an individual's behavioral intentions are a function of 2 components: the individual's attitudes toward the behavior and the subjective norms as perceived by the individual. A second component of their theory is that individuals may weight these 2 components differently in assessing their behavioral intentions. This article illustrates the use of empirical Bayes methods based on a random-effects regression model to estimate these individual influences, estimating an individual's weighting of both of these components (attitudes toward the behavior and subjective norms) in relation to their behavioral intentions. This method can be used when an individual's behavioral intentions, subjective norms, and attitudes toward the behavior are all repeatedly measured. In this case, the empirical Bayes estimates are derived as a function of the data from the individual, strengthened by the overall sample data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ability and attitude correlates of academic achievement: Family-group differences.

In this study, I examined the proposition that for children from different family groups, there are variations in relations among their ability, attitudes toward school, and academic achievement. Data were collected from 928 11-year-old Australian children and their parents. In the analysis, the children were classified into four family groups that were defined conjointly by family social status and parents' getting-ahead or getting-by orientation. Within each family group, regression surfaces were constructed from models that included terms to account for possible linear, interaction, and curvilinear associations among the variables. The results indicated that (a) there are moderate family-group differences in children's word performance and more modest variations in their ability, attitudes toward school, and mathematics achievement and (b) ability and school attitudes had differential linear and curvilinear relations to academic achievement for boys and girls from different family groups. In general, the study indicated that the family may act as a critical substratum variable that influences the relations between children's attitudinal and cognitive attributes and their academic performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic habits and cognitive style processes in the deaf.

Several measures of associative patterns, cognitive styles, and attitudes toward self and others were obtained on 173 deaf adolescents and 178 normal controls. Results show reduced tendencies of the deaf to use evaluational concepts in association, but greater tendencies to devalue self and others. Deaf girls are much like deaf boys in associative and evaluational responses. Several possibilities for the study of implicit language processes in deaf and normal Ss are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Larsson, Kaldo, and Broberg (2009).

Reports an error in "Similarities and differences between practitioners of psychotherapy in Sweden: A comparison of attitudes between psychodynamic, cognitive, cognitive–behavioral, and integrative therapists" by Billy P. M. Larsson, Viktor Kaldo and Anders G. Broberg (Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 2009[Mar], Vol 19[1], 34-66). The results of the post hoc tests were printed illegibly. In order to make it possible for the reader to understand which of the effect sizes belong to which of the comparisons, the tables are clarified in this erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-03150-003.) This study focuses on similarities and differences between Swedish psychotherapists of four orientations: psychodynamic, cognitive, cognitive–behavioral, and integrative therapy. The aim is to describe similarities and differences regarding (a) background factors, (b) focus in psychotherapy, (c) attitudes toward psychotherapy as art/craftsmanship, (d) scientific outlook, (e) what characterizes a good psychotherapist, and (f) how psychotherapy ought to be pursued. The therapists had very similar attitudes about the therapeutic relationship and rather similar attitudes about which effects psychotherapy ought to obtain. The greatest differences were related to psychotherapeutic techniques and science. The results are discussed with emphasis on the distance or proximity between the orientations. The conclusion is that there are differences between psychodynamic psychotherapy compared with cognitive and cognitive–behavioral therapies, which imply difficulties in integrating these orientations. However, the differences between the cognitive and cognitive–behavioral therapists are not of such a magnitude that they necessarily present an obstacle to integration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impulses got the better of me: Alcohol moderates the influence of implicit attitudes toward food cues on eating behavior.

This study shows that alcohol consumption enhances the prediction of candy consumption by implicit attitudes and at the same time decreases the predictive validity of cognitive restraint standards. Female participants were assigned to either an alcohol or a control condition and were then given an opportunity to taste candies. For participants in the alcohol condition, candy consumption was uniquely predicted by previously assessed implicit attitudes toward the candy. In contrast, candy consumption was primarily predicted by cognitive restraint (Three Factor Eating Questionnaire) in the control condition. Moreover, participants who consumed alcohol ate significantly more candy at the group level. These results indicate that alcohol increases the behavioral impact of impulsive determinants on eating behavior while disrupting the behavioral impact of reflective determinants. They further demonstrate that measures of implicit attitudes toward tempting stimuli add incremental validity for the prediction of self-control outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Students' goal orientations and cognitive engagement in classroom activities.

We used structural equation analysis to test the validity of a goal mediational model for conceptualizing the influence of individual and situational variables on students' cognitive engagement in science activities. Fifth- and sixth-grade students (N?=?275) from 10 classrooms completed a set of questionnaires designed to assess their goal orientations and their use of high-level or effort-minimizing learning strategies while completing six different science activities. Results indicate that students who placed greater emphasis on task-mastery goals reported more active cognitive engagement. In contrast, students oriented toward gaining social recognition, pleasing the teacher, or avoiding work reported a lower level of cognitive engagement. The relative strength of these goals was related to differences in students' intrinsic motivation and attitudes toward science. Our analyses also suggested that these variables exerted a greater influence in small-group than in whole-class activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward depression among rehabilitation participants with acute stroke: Evidence of an age cohort effect.

Purpose/Objective: Depression is commonplace after acute stroke and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. No data exist regarding attitudes about depression among older persons with acute stroke and their potential impact on self-report of depressive symptoms. The objective of this study was to determine if attitudes toward depression affect depression symptom reporting. Research Method/Design: Cross-sectional using data from an inpatient rehabilitation unit. Seventy-two people with acute stroke were surveyed regarding their attitudes toward depression as part of a larger battery assessing their cognitive and emotional functioning. Results: Both age and cognitive status were significant predictors of attitudes toward depression. Older participants expressed significantly more negative attitudes about depression and seeking professional help compared with younger participants. Those with higher cognitive scores held more positive attitudes. However, attitudes about depression were unrelated to participants' responses on self-report measures of depression. Conclusions/Implications: Participants with stroke who were older were more likely to report negative attitudes about depressive symptoms than were younger participants. However, these attitudes do not appear to represent a barrier to their ability to accurately report the presence and severity of depressive symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in attitude change: Influences of cognitive resources and motivation on responses to argument quantity.

This study examined the influences of cognitive resources and motivation on how young and older adults process different quantities of persuasive arguments. In the first experiment session, both young and older adults rated their attitudes toward marijuana legalization and capital punishment. After a week, they read either 3 or 9 similar-quality arguments supporting marijuana legalization and capital punishment. Half of participants were assigned to the high-involvement condition (i.e., told that they were going to discuss the arguments later with the experimenter) and the other half were assigned to the low-involvement condition (i.e., given no instructions). After reading the arguments, participants rated their attitudes toward those 2 social issues again. Highly involved young adults changed their attitudes regardless of the quantity of arguments, whereas lowly involved young adults' attitude change was influenced by the argument quantity. Older adults in both high-involvement and low-involvement conditions changed their attitudes according to the argument quantity. Working memory was found to mediate the age effects on attitude change. This finding demonstrated the importance of a cognitive mechanism in accounting for age differences in attitude change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

White fears and native apprehensions: An integrated threat theory approach to intergroup attitudes.

Motivational and cognitive factors have been used to explain negative attitudes toward out-group members. According to the integrated threat theory of prejudice, negative intergroup attitudes are predicted by proximal factors consisting of perceived threats from out-group members; these threats, in turn, are predicted by distal factors such as perceived differences in group status or negative out-group contact. In the present study, White and First Nation people (adolescents and adults) completed measures assessing distal and proximal variables and attitudes toward members of the other ethnic group. Path analyses indicate that realistic and symbolic threats, intergroup anxiety, and negative stereotypes predicted negative out-group attitudes. Many of these threats, and in some cases ethnic attitudes, were associated with negative intergroup contact, strength of in-group identity, perceptions of intergroup conflict, and perceived status inequality. Theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of Norwegian adolescents' sunbathing and use of sunscreen.

A nationwide random sample of 15,169 Norwegian high school students completed a questionnaire about tanning habits, physical self-concept, attitudes, beliefs, and values. Although 90% of the adolescents did use sunscreen, less than 25% used an adequate sun-protection factor, and only 50% applied the sunscreen an adequate number of times when sunbathing. Multiple regression analyses identified these predictors of sunbathing: opportunity to sunbathe, tender skin, heavy smoking, playing down the risk for skin cancer, valuing physical appearance, friends' use of sunscreen (girls only), a positive attitude toward having a tan, favorable physical self-concept, friends' use of sunbeds, and friends' sunbathing. Sunscreen use was also predicted by opportunity to sunbathe and skin type. Furthermore, the effects of perceived risk for skin cancer and peers' use of sunscreen were particularly strong. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Similarities and differences between practitioners of psychotherapy in Sweden: A comparison of attitudes between psychodynamic, cognitive, cognitive–behavioral, and integrative therapists.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 19(3) of Journal of Psychotherapy Integration (see record 2009-16521-006). The results of the post hoc tests were printed illegibly. In order to make it possible for the reader to understand which of the effect sizes belong to which of the comparisons, the tables are clarified in this erratum.] This study focuses on similarities and differences between Swedish psychotherapists of four orientations: psychodynamic, cognitive, cognitive–behavioral, and integrative therapy. The aim is to describe similarities and differences regarding (a) background factors, (b) focus in psychotherapy, (c) attitudes toward psychotherapy as art/craftsmanship, (d) scientific outlook, (e) what characterizes a good psychotherapist, and (f) how psychotherapy ought to be pursued. The therapists had very similar attitudes about the therapeutic relationship and rather similar attitudes about which effects psychotherapy ought to obtain. The greatest differences were related to psychotherapeutic techniques and science. The results are discussed with emphasis on the distance or proximity between the orientations. The conclusion is that there are differences between psychodynamic psychotherapy compared with cognitive and cognitive–behavioral therapies, which imply difficulties in integrating these orientations. However, the differences between the cognitive and cognitive–behavioral therapists are not of such a magnitude that they necessarily present an obstacle to integration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial factors in sunbathing and sunscreen use.

Interviewed 120 sunbathing and nonsunbathing beachgoers about their health practices, knowledge about skin cancer, moods, and social rewards obtained through sunbathing. Ss also completed personality questionnaires. Data were considered using a theoretical perspective combining aspects of health belief, social influence, social learning, and risk-taking models. Results indicate that sunbathing was related to having a positive attitude toward risk taking, having little knowledge about skin cancer, reporting a relaxed mood, having friends who sunbathe, and engaging in activities related to maintaining a positive physical appearance. Sunscreen use was related to sex, having knowledge about skin cancer, knowing people who have had cancer, and reporting high levels of anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of racial identity attitudes to self-actualization and affective states of Black students.

The relation between racial identity attitudes derived from W. E. Cross's (1971) model of psychological nigrescence, or Black self-actualization, and various affective states hypothesized to be relevant to the racial identification process, were investigated through multiple regression analysis. Cross proposed a model of how a person converts from Negro to Black, a process consisting of 5 distinct psychological stages characterized by different racial identity attitudes. Ss were 166 Black university students, who completed the Personal Orientation Inventory, a racial attitude scale, the SCL-90, and a personal-data information sheet. Both pro-White–anti-Black (preencounter) and pro-Black–anti-White (immersion) attitudes were associated with greater personal distress, as indicated by negative relations between these attitudes and mentally healthy self-actualizing tendencies and by positive relations to feelings of inferiority, anxiety, and hostility. Awakening Black identity (encounter attitudes) was positively related to self-actualization tendencies and negatively related to feelings of inferiority and anxiety. The possibility that cognitive and affective components of racial identity attitudes may evolve via different models is explored. Recommendations for delivery of psychological services to Black populations are discussed. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An integrated model of self-harm: Identifying predictors of intent.

The present study was conducted to investigate a Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model, which integrated social–cognitive and symptom variables as predictors of self-harm intent. Participants were 62 young adults with a history of self-harm who completed a series of online questionnaires to investigate the role of depressive symptoms and TPB components as predictors of self-harm intent. Social–cognitive variables predicted unique variance in self-harm intent after controlling for depressive symptoms. Specifically, more favourable attitudes toward self-harm and a lack of perceived behaviour control at the time of self-harm were unique predictors of intent. In the context of more frequent self-harm, attitudes remained a significant and unique predictor of self-harm intent. Favourable attitudes toward self-harm and a lack of perceived control at the time it occurred partially mediate the relation between depressive symptoms and self-harm intent. Findings provide preliminary support for a self-harm model comprising symptom and social–cognitive variables. Results offer new avenues for future research, highlight conceptual issues, and suggest several clinical implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral enculturation and acculturation, psychological functioning, and help-seeking attitudes among Asian American adolescents.

The study examined behavioral enculturation to Asian culture and behavioral acculturation to the dominant European American culture and their possible relations to positive psychological functioning among Asian American adolescents. Positive psychological functioning was operationalized using measures of general self-efficacy, cognitive flexibility, collective self-esteem, and attitudes toward seeking help. Based on data from 112 Asian American high school students in Hawaii, the results did not support the hypothesis that both high behavioral enculturation and acculturation would be related to positive psychological functioning. However, post hoc examination of the results revealed that enculturation was positively associated with general self-efficacy, cognitive flexibility, and the collective self-esteem dimensions of membership, private, and importance-to-identity. Also, acculturation was negatively associated with the importance-to-identity dimension. Implications for research and practice with Asian American adolescents are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contributions of affect, attitudes, and behavior to marital satisfaction.

Examined the value of assessing affect and attitudes in addition to daily behavior in the prediction of marital satisfaction in 30 distressed couples, self-referred to marital therapy, and 25 community couples. Measures of positive feelings toward spouse, commitment, and exchange orientation were obtained along with 7 days of behavioral records. All of these variables were significantly associated with marital satisfaction. However, multiple regression analyses and semipartial correlations indicated that the affective and attitudinal variables accounted for more unique variance in marital satisfaction than did the behavioral variables. It is suggested that affective and attitudinal variables be addressed in marital therapy to better individualize treatments and optimize the ability to predict responsiveness to therapy. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)