Characteristics of Patients Reporting Presumed Problematic Drinking Behavior After Gastric Bypass: Exploring Long-Term Data From the BAROBS Study

ObjectiveTo explore patients’ long-term experiences with drinking alcohol after Roux-n-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) for conceptualizing what may indicate problematic drinking behavior after bariatric surgery.Study DesignThree-center, observational study.Patients546 adult patients undergoing RYGB in the period 2003-2009 in Norway.Main Outcome MeasuresSelf-reported data on drinking behavior and experiences related to alcohol collected 10-15 years after surgery.ResultsOut of the 959 patients undergoing RYGB in the period, 29 were diseased and 546 participated in this follow-up study (58.7%). Focusing on suspicious changes in drinking behavior, 8.8% reported drinking more, 11.5% consumed alcohol at least twice a week, and 10.6% consumed at a minimum of 6 units of alcohol at a frequency of at least once monthly. The nature of hangovers had changed for about a third of the patients, with 21.6% reporting these to feel weaker or absent. Repeated alcoholic blackouts were reported by 11.9%. A subgroup of the patients were categorized as displaying presumed problematic drinking behavior(PPDB). Among the PPDB-men there was a significant association to having had a fall last year (6 (100.0%) PPDB-patients vs. 30 (29.7%) non-PPDB, p<.001). Among the PPDB-women, there was a significant association to having had alcohol problems prior to surgery (7 (70.0%) PPDB-patients vs. 67 (17.7%) non-PPDB, p<.001). Less significant associations to PPDB reported for explorative purposes were lack of patient education (men) (16 (26.2%) PPDB-patients vs. 8 (61.5%) non-PPDB, p=.014); more than 3 months persistent musculoskeletal pain (women) (45 (15.3%) PPDB-patients vs. 29 (24.6%) non-PPDB, p=.026); subjective problems with memory (women) (58 (20.7%) PPDB-patients vs. 10 (9.1%) non-PPDB, p=.006); and, receiving professional help for mental problems last 12 months (women) (29 (22.7%) PPDB-patients vs. 45 (14.7%) non-PPDB, p=.043).ConclusionA subset of patients display drinking behaviors that may be consistent with postsurgical alcohol problems. Screening instruments like AUDIT may not be sufficiently specific to capture several risk behaviors occurring after bariatric surgery

Individual differences in acceptance of direct load control

Consumer acceptance of direct load control is becoming increasingly important as energy systems transition towards greater reliance on intermittent renewable energy sources. Testing a comprehensive model of attitudinal and socio-economic determinants of direct load control acceptance across Europe (survey sample N = 5,970) reveals that attitudes and beliefs specific to direct load control acceptance (social and personal norms, anticipated emotions, and outcome efficacy beliefs) predict acceptance, whereas more general attitudinal variables and socio-economic characteristics play no or only a secondary role. These findings substantially improve our understanding of direct load control acceptance and ultimately provide new directions for the design of soft policy measures to encourage uptake of direct load control services

Specific barriers and drivers in different stages of decision-making about energy efficiency upgrades in private homes

Energy efficiency upgrades of privately owned homes like adding to the insulation layers in the walls, roof or floor, or replacing windows with more efficiently insulated versions can contribute significantly to reducing the energy impact of the building sector and thus also the CO2 footprint of a household. However, even in countries like Norway that have a rather high rate of renovation, energy upgrades are not always integrated into such a refurbishment project. This study tests which structural and internal psychological barriers hinder and which drivers foster decision-making to implement such measures, once a renovation project is planned. With a theoretical background in stage-based models of decision-making 24 barriers and drivers were tested for their specific effect in the stages of decision-making. The four stages of decision-making assumed in this study were (1) not being in a decision mode, (2) deciding what to do, (3) deciding how to do it, and (4) planning implementation. Based on an online survey of 3,787 Norwegian households, it was found that the most important barriers towards deciding to implement energy efficiency upgrades were not owning the dwelling and feeling the right time had not come yet. The most important drivers of starting to decide were higher expected comfort levels, better expected living conditions, and an expected reduction of energy costs. For the transition from deciding what to do to how to do it, not managing to make a decision and feeling the right point in time has not come yet were the strongest barriers, easily accessible information and an expected reduction of energy costs were the most important drivers. The final transition from deciding how to do the upgrades to planning implementation was driven by expecting a payoff within a reasonable time frame and higher expected comfort levels; the most important barriers were time demands for supervising contractors and – again – a feeling that the right point in time has not come yet. Implications for policy-making and marketing are discussed

Visual art inspired by climate change-An analysis of audience reactions to 37 artworks presented during 21st UN climate summit in Paris.

This paper suggests and tests a psychological model of environmental art perception and subsequent support for climate change policies. The model is based on findings from art perception and environmental psychology, which indicate that the response of the viewer to the artwork is (1) first an emotional reaction, which can be positive and/or negative. The emotional activation leads to (2) evaluation of the perceived quality of the artwork. This forms the first impression of the artwork the viewer gets, which then triggers (3) reflections on the artwork that are finally related to support for climate policies. The model test uses data collected at the ArtCOP21 that accompanied the 21st UN climate summit in Paris. At 37 connected events, the research team collected 883 audience responses with a brief quantitative paper-pencil questionnaire. The data were analyzed using a multilevel-structural equation modeling approach. Results support the suggested theoretical model. Moreover, the effect of reflections on the artwork on support for climate policies is moderated by environmental attitudes, meaning the lower the environmental attitudes, the higher the effect of reflections on policy support. Finally, artwork features like color, size, displaying something personal, etc., could be identified that had a significant relation to differences on the artwork level regarding the first impression of the artwork and the reflections elicited. The study shows that being confronted with climate change-related artwork relates at least in the short run to increased climate policy support, which is mostly channeled through an emotional activation with following cognitive processing. Features of the artwork relate to how strongly and which emotions are activated

Understanding users of online energy efficiency counselling: Comparison to representative samples in Norway

Substantial energy efficiency improvement as part of a deep renovation of the privately owned building stock is one of the key pathways to reaching climate and energy transition targets. Meanwhile, it is important to communicate with potential renovators at the right point in time and provide them with targeted information to strengthen their renovation ambition. The European Union recommends using one-stop-shops (OSSs) as a measure to remove unnecessary barriers. OSSs are institutions or websites that provide information and support throughout the whole process from planning to acquisition of funding, implementation, and evaluating. For this paper, we surveyed 437 visitors of two Norwegian websites with OSS characteristics. The visitors were asked about their renovation plans and energy efficiency ambitions. They also rated a range of psychological drivers, facilitators and barriers to including energy upgrades in a renovation project. Their answers were compared to data from representative samples of Norwegian households regarding home renovation in 2014, 2018, and 2023, as well as data from a sample of people who were engaged in renovation projects in 2014. Furthermore, 78 visitors completed a follow-up survey one year later to report the measures they implemented. We found that visitors of the websites are involved in more comprehensive renovation projects and have substantially higher ambitions for the upgrade of energy efficiency compared to the representative samples. They also perceive stronger personal and social norms, as well as have a different profile of facilitators and barriers. The findings suggest that OSSs attract initially motivated people who lack information and are unable to implement their plans alone. Their visit of the websites seems to amplify their ambitions to upgrade energy efficiency of their dwellings

Exploring the Interplay between Structural Factors, Environmental Concern, Personal Norm, and Household Electricity Consumption

Background and Aims: In the context of the ENCHANT project, we conducted a clustering analysis to categorize Norwegian participants in an electricity-saving program based on environmental concerns, personal norms, gender, educational level, social status, age, family size, and the ages of their children. Subsequently, we examined variations in Electricity Consumption per person normalized to seven days (EC), the access to Electricity Assets in the Household (EAH), Perceived Behavioral Control of electricity-saving tips (PBC), and Energy Poverty Risk (EPR) across different clusters. Participants: A sample of 1,135 Norwegians (508 females; mean age = 49.14, SD age = 12.86; age range = 23–86) participated in the study. Results: Two-step cluster analysis resulted in five distinct clusters: (i) multi-generational households with moderate concern, (ii) eco-ease in midlife, (iii) middle-aged females in medium-sized households, (iv) growing families with moderate concerns, and (v) moderate advocates with adolescents. Analysis of variance indicated significant variations in mean scores of EC, access to EAH, and PBC across clusters (p < .01), with no significant difference in terms of the REP among the clusters (p > .05). Discussion: Discernible pattern indicated that families with teenagers, characterized by a lower environmental concern, tend to exhibit higher electricity usage per person compared to their counterparts with moderate and high environmental concern, even in instances where there are old-aged parents present. This information can guide targeted strategies to promote electricity efficiency, especially for younger families and those with teenagers, who may face distinct challenges in adopting electricity-saving practices. Building on these findings, future research could delve deeper into the specific challenges that younger families and households with teenagers encounter in adopting electricity-saving practices. Key messages: 1. Our finding highlights the predominant influence of structural factors, such as household size and the number and age of children, on electricity consumption patterns. 2. Clusters with moderate environmental concern displayed variations in electricity use, challenging the assumption that higher environmental concern necessarily leads to lower energy consumption. 3. The identified clusters, each with distinct profiles and behaviors, suggest the need for tailored interventions

Positive and negative spillover effects from electric car purchase to car use

This study reports the results of two online surveys conducted on buyers of conventional combustion engine cars compared to those of electric vehicles in Norway. The results show that electric cars are generally purchased as additional cars, do not contribute to a decrease in annual mileage if the old car is not substituted, and that electric car buyers use the car more often for their everyday mobility. Psychological determinants derived from the theory of planned behavior and the norm-activation theory show a high correlation between the purchase and use stages. Electric car buyers, have lower scores on many determinants of car use, especially awareness of consequences and close determinants of car use.<p>2013 Elsevier Ltd.All rights reserved</p

Development and validation of Emotional Climate Change Stories (ECCS) stimuli set

Climate change is widely recognized as an urgent issue, and the number of people concerned about it is increasing. While emotions are among the strongest predictors of behaviour change in the face of climate change, researchers have only recently begun to investigate this topic experimentally. This may be due to the lack of standardised, validated stimuli that would make studying such a topic in experimental settings possible. Here, we introduce a novel Emotional Climate Change Stories (ECCS) stimuli set. ECCS consists of 180 realistic, short stories about climate change, designed to evoke five distinct emotions - anger, anxiety, compassion, guilt, and hope - in addition to neutral stories. The stories were created based on qualitative data collected in two independent studies: one conducted among individuals highly concerned about climate change, and another one conducted in the general population. The stories were rated on the scales of valence, arousal, anger, anxiety, compassion, guilt, and hope in the course of 3 independent studies. First, we explored the underlying structure of ratings (Study 1; n = 601). Then we investigated the replicability (Study 2; n = 307) and cross-cultural validity (Study 3; n = 346) of ECCS. The collected ratings were highly consistent across the studies. Furthermore, we found that the level of climate change concern explained the intensity of elicited emotions. Altogether, the ECCS dataset is available in Polish, Norwegian and English and can be employed for experimental research on climate communication, environmental attitudes, climate action taking, or mental health and wellbeing

Emotional responses to climate change in Norway and Ireland: cross-cultural validation of the Inventory of Climate Emotions (ICE)

There is an increasing research interest in emotional responses to climate change and their role in climate action and psycho-social impacts of climate change. Recently, addressing a gap in methods, Marczak et al. (2022) developed the Inventory of Climate Emotions (ICE), a measure of eight distinct emotional responses to climate change. Yet, the ICE was developed in a single cultural context only (Poland), and its concurrent validity was tested using a limited set of variables. Here, we contribute to the scientific debate about emotional responses to climate change with original quality-controlled data from the general populations in Norway (N = 491) and Ireland (N = 485). We first confirm the 8-factor structure of the Norwegian and English versions of the ICE via confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). Next, we demonstrate a high degree of cross-cultural measurement invariance of the ICE across Norway, Ireland and Poland. In the final step, we corroborate and extend the nomological span of climate emotions, showing that they are differentially linked to climate change perceptions, mitigation policy support, various socio-demographics, loneliness and alienation, as well as to environmental activism and the willingness to renounce one’s own immediate self-interests in favour of the natural environment. Overall, this research presents evidence for the structural, cross-cultural and concurrent validity of the ICE. Moreover, it provides tools and an informed basis for cross-cultural research on emotional responses to climate change