A qualitative analysis of facilitators and barriers to physical activity among patients with moderate mental disorders

Aim The current study aims to qualitatively identify determinants, barriers and facilitators of physical activity among a population with mental health disorders. Subject and methods Seventeen participants with moderate mental disorders were recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify physical activity facilitators and barriers. Data were organized and analysed in ATLAS.ti, mainly based on a generic qualitative research approach. Results Most participants found physical activity important and expressed a positive attitude towards it. In general, higher self-efficacy and more social support were beneficial for participants’ physical activity levels. Reasons/facilitating factors to be more physically active were: having fun, good weather, progress, routine, self-compassion and a stimulating environment. Barriers were not having fun, being busy, mental complaints, lack of energy, procrastination and physical complaints. Conclusion Future interventions could promote physical activity among people with moderate mental disorders to help them identify and overcome barriers. The newly identified determinant ‘self-compassion’ could be an interesting target for promoting physical activity in this group of people with moderate mental disorders

Determinants of early breast cancer presentation: a qualitative exploration among female survivors in Indonesia

Objective: Early presentation with breast cancer symptoms is crucial to the effectiveness of treatment and the affected women’s long-term survival. However, in Indonesia, 60–70% of breast cancer patients first present themselves to the hospital in an advanced stage. Knowledge about the determinants of breast cancer early presentation could inform efforts to promote healthcare seeking at earlier symptomatic stages. In the current study, we explored the psychosocial determinants of early presentation among female breast cancer survivors. Methods: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 female breast cancer survivors in Surabaya, Indonesia (mean age ¼ 49.8 years). Directed content analysis approach was used to analyse the data. Results: Half of the respondents underwent breast cancer screening prior to onset of symptoms. Nine determinants of breast cancer early presentation were reflected in the women’s responses: (lack of) knowledge, perceived behavioural control, previous health related experiences and risk perceptions, attitudes and beliefs, norms, competing priorities, financial issues, instrumental factors, and health provider factors. Conclusion: Health promotion efforts should focus on both internal and external psychosocial determinants related to the breast cancer early presentation, and on involving women’s social environment as target for education. Additionally, providing accessible and affordable healthcare is important for early presentation

Waste Separation in Cafeterias: A Study among University Students in the Netherlands

Recycling waste is important to reduce the production of greenhouse gasses. The aim of this project was to understand determinants of cafeteria waste separation behavior among university students. First, the determinants of waste separation behavior among university students (n = 121) were explored using an online questionnaire. In study 2 (pre-/post-test design), the effect of a small intervention (based on study 1) on actual waste sorting behavior was observed. Finally, a semi-qualitative study in 59 students was conducted as process evaluation of the intervention. The following results were revealed: (1) Students have limited knowledge about waste separation, have a high intention to separate waste, are positive about waste separation in general, and believe that they can separate waste correctly. (2) Just over half of the waste is correctly recycled. An intervention with extra information had no significant effect on improving recycling behavior. (3) Students evaluated the intervention positively. Some students suggested that more information should be available where the actual decision making takes place. Ultimately, this paper concludes that although students have a positive attitude and are willing to behave pro-environmentally, there is a gap between intention and actual behavior. These results may also apply to other organizations and members of those organizations. New interventions are needed to trigger students to make correct waste separation decisions where the actual decision making takes place

Determinants of breast self-examination practice among women in Surabaya, Indonesia: an application of the health belief model

Background: Breast cancer has become one of the most common causes of mortality among Indonesian women. Many women in Indonesia present with late-stage breast cancer, negatively affecting prognosis and treatment outcomes. Better prognosis of breast cancer will be achieved if it is diagnosed in an earlier stage, thus efforts to detect breast cancer earlier are important. Breast Self-Examination (BSE) is considered as an important first step to encourage women to actively be responsible for their own health, especially for women in low-and middle-income countries with limited resources and access to other forms of preventive healthcare (e.g., screening programs). The present study aimed to predict BSE practice among women in Surabaya, Indonesia using the Health Belief Model (HBM). Methods: This investigation was a cross-sectional survey which was distributed among 1967 women aged 20–60 years. The Indonesian version of Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale (I-CHBMS) was used to explain self-reported BSE practice. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of HBM variables with BSE practice. Results: 44.4% of the respondents indicated they had performed BSE. Further, the results indicated that the HBM variables were significantly associated with BSE practice. Specifically, higher perceived benefits and self-efficacy, lower perceived barriers and less cues to action were unique correlates of BSE practice. The result also showed that perceived severity and susceptibility were not associated with BSE practice. Conclusion: This study indicated that several HBM constructs significantly associated with BSE practice among Indonesian women, suggesting that BSE health education programs should emphasize the perceived benefits of BSE, focus on increasing women’s self-efficacy to address and overcome perceived barriers in performing BSE, and help them in identifying personally relevant cues to action

An investigation of the relationship between body image and exercise motive in a sample of regular fitness center visitors

Previous research suggests that training for appearance-related reasons might influence body image negatively. This study investigated the relationship between exercise motives, exercise motivation and body image. Specifically, the exercise motives investigated were appearance- and strength-focused, and exercise motivation was defined and explained by self-determination theory. It was examined if focus on strength as opposed to appearance can predict an improved body image controlling for the exercise motivation in regular fitness center visitors. An online questionnaire was distributed and resulted in participation of primarily 109 students from the Netherlands and Germany. In the current study, the results showed an effect in the opposite direction rejecting the hypothesis. Placing more focus on appearance as compared to strength predicted a better body image when controlled for the exercise motivation. Additional analysis on the relationship between appearance-focus, exercise motivation and body image revealed that appearance can positively but also negatively influence body image. Additional analysis on the relationship between strength-focus, exercise motivation and body image revealed that placing focus on strength is of benefit for predicting a better body image if participants were extrinsically motivated but made no difference if they were intrinsically motivated. The results can be of help for developing potential interventions for people with body image concerns by introducing the concept of putting the focus on strength exercises and thus the functionality of the body to potentially increase body image when exercise motivation is extrinsic (i.e., low)

The relationship between compulsive exercise, selfesteem, body-image and body-satisfaction

Although there is a large body of literature on the link between compulsive exercise and eating disorders, there is a lack of research that explains this relationship. The aim of this study was to provide new insight on this relationship by testing the relationship between compulsive exercise and the well-known predictors of eating disorders: self-esteem, body-image, and body-satisfaction. It was hypothesized that individuals who scored above average on compulsive exercise measures would be significantly more likely to score below average on the self-esteem, body-satisfaction and body-image scales. To test this hypothesis, self-report measures of compulsive exercise beliefs and behaviors, self-esteem, body-image and body-satisfaction, were completed by 45 male and 120 female participants through an online questionnaire. The results of a multivariate analysis of variance revealed that individuals who scored higher than average on traits that point to behaviors or thoughts that belong to compulsive exercise were significantly more likely to score lower than average on self-esteem, body-satisfaction and body-image. As low self-esteem, body-image and body-satisfaction have been linked to above average levels of eating disorders, it might be that the relationship between compulsive exercise and eating disorders is mediated or moderated by the levels of selfesteem, body-image and body-satisfaction. These analyses were also performed separately for male and female participants. In this case, the male sample did not show any significant differences between groups in the levels of self-esteem, body-image and body-satisfaction. This could be due to the difference in size of the two samples or due to a deeper distinction between men and women. These differences in the results show that the results should be interpreted cautiously, and the need for further research to answer the new questions that have arose through this study

Violence typologies and sociodemographic correlates in South African adolescents: a three-wave cross-sectional study

Background: Violence victimisation and violence perpetration may co-occur in adolescents. Understanding the sociodemographic correlates of the independent and joint profiles of victimisation and perpetration may inform preventive interventions. This study examined the associations of sociodemographic factors with four violence typologies, namely, 1) non-involvement in both victimisation and perpetration, 2) victims only, 3) perpetrators only, and 4) victim-perpetrators. Trends in the prevalence of the four violence typologies over the three survey years were also examined. Methods: We used data from the three nationally representative South African Youth Risk Behaviour Surveys conducted in 2002, 2008, and 2011 and included a multi-ethnic sample of adolescents (n = 30,007; boy: 46.9%, girls: 53.1%; M age = 16 years, SD = .06). Results: The sample consisted of 8030 (30.8%) adolescents who had non-involvement in both victimization and perpetration, 8217 were victims only (29.8%), 2504 were perpetrators only (9.0%), and 7776 were victimperpetrators (24.6%). Logistic regression analyses showed that being a girl increased the odds of non-involvement (OR: 1.47, 99% CI: 1.36–1.58) and being victims only (OR: 1.90, 99% CI: 1.76–2.05). Being a boy increased the odds of being perpetrators only (OR: 0.42, 99% CI: 0.37–0.47) and victim-perpetrators (OR: 0.51, 99% CI: 0.47–0.55). Adolescents who did not have an absent mother had higher odds of non-involvement (OR: 0.78, 99% CI: 0.62–0.97). Lower monthly allowance increased the odds of victimisation only (OR: 0.99, 99% CI: 0.97–1.00), whereas higher monthly allowance increased the odds of perpetration only (OR: 1.05, 99% CI: 1.03–1.08). Trend analysis showed that between 2002 to 2011, there was an increase in the prevalence of non-involvement in adolescents (p .001), a decrease in the prevalence of victims only (p .05) and victim-perpetrators (p .001), and no changes in the prevalence of perpetrators only (p > .05). Conclusions: Sociodemographic factors are uniquely associated with different violence typologies suggesting the need for tailored interventions to target adolescents with differed risks to violence victimisation and perpetration. Strengthening family relations, particularly between mother and child, may protect adolescents from the experiences of victimisation and perpetration

The Role of Authoritarian Personality Syndrome in Quality of Communication (A Cultural Approach)

Objective: This study aims to examine the relationship between authoritarian personality syndrome and initial communication with strangers within two cultural conditions (intercultural and intracultural). Focusing on authoritarian personality traits as defined by the RWA (Right-Wing authoritarian) scale by Bob Altemeyer, this research measures their influence towards the quality of initial encounters with strangers, based on Uncertainty/Anxiety Management theory by William B. Gudykunst. Anxiety and uncertainty are examined in both cultural conditions, compounded by the cultural characteristics between the interlocutors. Also, aiming to examine possible correlations with the authoritarian personality traits, parenting styles are included with respect to the typologies of Diana Baumrind. Materials and Methods: In a study (N=111) conducted among Dutch and German Maastricht University FPN students, participants were asked to measure the levels of quality for their last communications with both an intercultural and an intracultural stranger, along with a personality trait questionnaire and a questionnaire about their personal experiences with parenting styles. Results: The authoritarian personality syndrome did not prove as a successful predictor of quality in communication, meanwhile correlations of different significances were observed for the levels of anxiety and uncertainty and this personality syndrome. The results provided partial support for the hypotheses of the study. Initially, the quality of communication was found lower with strangers from different cultures, as examined by measuring the difference between the scores in the two cultural conditions. Furthermore, authoritarianism demonstrated increased correlations with higher levels of uncertainty for both cultural conditions (p=0.053 and p=0.036 for intercultural and intracultural conditions respectively), in comparison to higher levels of anxiety (p=0.105 and p=0.304). The results of the study inspired a theoretical discussion on the relationship between authoritarianism as a personality syndrome and the cognitive/affective processes of communication. Finally, a weak correlation was found between authoritarian parenting styles and authoritarian personality traits

When do smartphones displace face-to-face interactions and what to do about it?

There is a public concern that smartphone communication undermines well-being by displacing face-to-face interactions. However, research on this “social displacement hypothesis” has provided mixed results. We examined when this hypothesis holds true (within-persons vs. between-persons) and tested an intervention to decrease smartphone communication. Participants (N = 109) reported daily on smartphone communication, face-to-face communication, and emotional well-being for fifteen days. At day six, participants were assigned to a mindfulness-treatment intervention group or a no-treatment control group. The social displacement hypothesis was confirmed at the within-person but not between-person level. Specifically, when someone communicates a lot using her smartphone during a particular day, that person engages in less face-to-face interactions during that same day. However, people who tend to spend a lot of time communicating on their smartphone do not engage in less face-to-face conversations than people who largely refrain from smartphone communication. The mindfulness-intervention reduced daily smartphone communication, which decreased negative emotions

“What can her body do?” Reducing weight stigma by appreciating another person’s body functionality

Objective: Weight stigma is prevalent across multiple life domains, and negatively affects both psychological and physical health. Yet, research into weight stigma reduction techniques is limited, and rarely results in reduced antipathy toward higher-weight individuals. The current pre-registered study investigated a novel weight stigma reduction intervention. We tested whether a writing exercise focusing on body functionality (i.e., everything the body can do, rather than how it looks) of another person leads to reductions in weight stigma. Method: Participants were 98 women (Mage = 23.17, Range = 16–63) who viewed a photograph of a higher-weight woman, “Anne,” and were randomised to complete a writing exercise either describing what “Anne’s” body could do (experimental group) or describing her home (active control group). Facets of weight stigma were assessed at pretest and posttest. Results: At posttest, the experimental group evidenced higher fat acceptance and social closeness to “Anne” compared with the active control group. However, no group differences were found in attribution complexity, responsibility, and likeability of “Anne”. Conclusions: A brief body functionality intervention effectively reduced some, but not all, facets of weight stigma in women. This study provides evidence that functionality-focused interventions may hold promise as a means to reduce weight stigma