Impact factor stories: Anxiety, Stress, & Coping

Anxiety, Stress, & Coping provides a forum for scientific, theoretically important, and clinically significant research reports and conceptual contributions. It deals with experimental and field studies on anxiety dimensions and stress and coping processes, but also with related topics such as the antecedents and consequences of stress and emotion. Welcome are papers contributing to the understanding of the relationship between psychological and physiological processes, specific for stress and anxiety. The journal’s Impact Factor has increased impressively over the past three Impact Factor years. It moved from 0.588 in the 2007 JCR® to 1.127 the subsequent year, with a further jump to 1.545 in the recently released 2009 JCR®. Below, we ask the editors for their thoughts on these increases

Implementation Intention and Action Planning Interventions in Health Contexts: State of the Research and Proposals for the Way Forward

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the literature on two planning intervention techniques in health behaviour research, implementation intentions and action planning, and to develop evidence-based recommendations for effective future interventions and highlight priority areas for future research. We focused our review on four key areas: (1) definition and conceptualisation; (2) format and measurement; (3) mechanisms and processes; and (4) design issues. Overall, evidence supports the effectiveness of planning interventions in health behaviour with advantages including low cost and response burden. There is, however, considerable heterogeneity in the effects across studies and relatively few registered randomised trials that include objective behavioural measures. Optimally effective planning interventions should adopt “if–then” plans, account for salient and relevant cues, include examples of cues, be guided rather than user-defined, and include boosters. Future studies should adopt randomised controlled designs, report study protocols, include fidelity checks and relevant comparison groups, and adopt long-term behavioural follow-up measures. Priority areas for future research include the identification of the moderators and mediators of planning intervention effects. Future research also needs to adopt “best practice” components of planning interventions more consistently to elucidate the mechanisms and processes involved

Good practice characteristics of diet and physical activity interventions and policies : an umbrella review

BACKGROUND: This umbrella review aimed at eliciting good practice characteristics of interventions and policies aiming at healthy diet, increasing physical activity, and lowering sedentary behaviors. Applying the World Health Organization's framework, we sought for 3 types of characteristics, reflecting: (1) main intervention/policy characteristics, referring to the design, targets, and participants, (2) monitoring and evaluation processes, and (3) implementation issues. This investigation was undertaken by the DEDPIAC Knowledge Hub (the Knowledge Hub on the DEterminants of DIet and Physical ACtivity), which is an action of the European Union's joint programming initiative. METHODS: A systematic review of reviews and stakeholder documents was conducted. Data from 7 databases was analyzed (99 documents met inclusion criteria). Additionally, resources of 7 major stakeholders (e.g., World Health Organization) were systematically searched (10 documents met inclusion criteria). Overall, the review yielded 74 systematic reviews, 16 position review papers, and 19 stakeholders' documents. Across characteristics, 25% were supported by ≥ 4 systematic reviews. Further, 25% characteristics were supported by ≥ 3 stakeholders' documents. If identified characteristics were included in at least 4 systematic reviews or at least 3 stakeholders' documents, these good practice characteristics were classified as relevant. RESULTS: We derived a list of 149 potential good practice characteristics, of which 53 were classified as relevant. The main characteristics of intervention/policy (n = 18) fell into 6 categories: the use of theory, participants, target behavior, content development/management, multidimensionality, practitioners/settings. Monitoring and evaluation characteristics (n = 18) were grouped into 6 categories: costs/funding, outcomes, evaluation of effects, time/effect size, reach, the evaluation of participation and generalizability, active components/underlying processes. Implementation characteristics (n = 17) were grouped into eight categories: participation processes, training for practitioners, the use/integration of existing resources, feasibility, maintenance/sustainability, implementation partnerships, implementation consistency/adaptation processes, transferability. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the proposed list of 53 good practice characteristics may foster further development of health promotion sciences, as it would allow for identification of success vectors in the domains of main characteristics of interventions/policies, their implementation, evaluation and monitoring processes

A theory-based approach for developing interventions to change patient behaviours:a medication adherence example from paediatric secondary care

In this article we introduce a Health Psychology approach to changing patient behaviour, in order to demonstrate the value of Health Psychology professional practice as applied within healthcare settings. Health Psychologists are experts in understanding, predicting and changing health-related behaviours at the individual, group and population level. They combine psychological theory, research evidence and service-user views to design interventions to solve clinically relevant behavioural problems and improve health outcomes. We provide a pragmatic overview of a theory and evidence-based Intervention Mapping approach for developing, implementing and evaluating interventions to change health-related behaviour. An example of a real behaviour change intervention designed to improve medication adherence in an adolescent patient with poorly controlled asthma is described to illustrate the main stages of the intervention development process

‘There is no choice apart from antibiotics…’: qualitative analysis of views on urinary infections in pregnancy and antimicrobial resistance

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a health risk as it can lead to life-threatening infections. There has been a rise in resistant urinary tract infections (UTIs) which is the most common infection in pregnancy. This can be challenging in pregnancy due to the additional need to safeguard foetal development. The study's aim was to explore views about AMR in women who experienced UTIs in pregnancy. Design: Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted in the UK and analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Results highlighted two themes: conceptualization of AMR and pregnancy as a deviation from the norm, with an overarching theme of ‘self-efficacy’. Results show that participants were concerned about AMR but uncertain about the effect on society compared to individual's taking antibiotics and about completing antibiotic courses. Participants reported an unsparing use of antibiotics was justified in pregnancy, and behaviours like drinking adequate water were ineffective at preventing UTIs. In summary, women had low self-efficacy regards tackling AMR and managing their health. Conclusion: Misconceptions about how AMR affects society vs the individual translated into viewing it as a future problem to be tackled by the health-care sector. Consequently, AMR requires reconceptualization as a current problem requiring collective action. This research also indicates women endorse a biomedical model of UTIs in pregnancy which attributes resolving illness to interventions such as medicines, implying an automatic reliance on antibiotics. Subsequently, there is a need for self-efficacy by focusing on a behavioural model which emphasizes behaviours for infection prevention, thus reducing the need for antibiotics

Recovery self-efficacy and intention as predictors of running or jogging behavior: a cross-lagged panel analysis over a two-year period

Objectives: The study investigates whether two kinds of self-efficacy and intention predict regular running or jogging behavior over 2 yr. Maintenance self-efficacy refers to beliefs about one's ability to maintain a behavior, whereas recovery self-efficacy pertains to beliefs about one's ability to resume a behavior after a setback. Design and methods: Longitudinal data from runners (N=139, 80% men) were collected twice with a time gap of 2 yr. Results: Cross-lagged panel analysis revealed that recovery self-efficacy and intention jointly predicted running/jogging behavior 2 yr later, whereas running/jogging behavior did not predict recovery self-efficacy and intention. No effects of maintenance self-efficacy were found. The majority of participants (n=120) experienced at least one 2-week period of decline in running or jogging behavior. Among those who experienced lapses, recovery self-efficacy remained the only significant social-cognitive predictor of behavior. Conclusions: Recovery self-efficacy is a crucial predictor of regular running or jogging behavior over 2 yr

Cultivation and Enabling Effects of Social Support and Self-Efficacy in Parent–Child Dyads

Background There are two alternative mechanisms, elucidating the reciprocal relationship between self-efficacy and social support when explaining health outcomes: self-efficacy beliefs may operate as the establisher of social support (the cultivation model) or social support may enable the formation of self-efficacy beliefs (the enabling model). Purpose In line with the cultivation hypothesis, it was tested if self-efficacy (measured in parents and children) would indirectly predict parental and child moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), via the mediator, social support (parent-provided, child-received). In line with the enabling hypothesis, it was tested if social support would predict MVPA indirectly, via the mediator, self-efficacy. Methods A total of 879 parent–child dyads (1758 individuals; 52.4% girls, aged 5–11 years old, 83.2% mothers) provided self-reports at the baseline (T1) and the 7- to 8-month follow-up (T2). Body weight and height were measured objectively. Manifest path analyses were performed, controlling for the baseline levels of the mediator and dependent variables. Results A similar number of significant simple indirect effects was found for the cultivation and the enabling model. Across the models, the indirect effects followed similar patterns: (a) within-individual indirect effects in children; (b) across-individual indirect effects, with the independent variable measured in children and the mediator/dependent variables measured in parents (e.g., child self-efficacy predicted parental support provision and, indirectly, parental MVPA); (c) across-individual indirect effects, accounting for self-efficacy and MVPA measured in children, combined with parental reports of social support. Conclusions The findings provide support for both cultivation and enabling models in the context of MVPA among parent–child dyads

Couples' daily self-regulation

Objective Regulating health behavior change often occurs in a dyadic context of romantic relationships. Dyadic approaches to standard health behavior change models are, however, barely considered. We investigated volitional processes of the Health Action Process Approach model for two health behaviors within a dyadic context of romantic couples. Specifically, we tested whether day-to-day volitional self-regulation predicted one's own and one's partner's cigarettes smoked (Study 1) and physical activity (Study 2). Methods In two dyadic intensive longitudinal studies (Study 1: 83 dual-smoker couples intending to jointly quit smoking; Study 2: 61 overweight couples intending to become physically active), heterosexual partners independently reported on intention, self-efficacy, action planning, and action control in end-of-day diaries. In Study 1, daily number of cigarettes smoked was assessed via self-report. In Study 2, daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was assessed objectively via accelerometers. In both studies, dyadic cross-lagged intensive longitudinal analyses based on the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model were applied. Results Across both studies, individual's own volitional self-regulation positively predicted one's own health behavior (less cigarettes smoked and more MVPA). One's partner's action control and intention also positively predicted one's own health behavior. A marginal partner effect for self-efficacy was found in the context of smoking only. Conclusions Behavioral self-regulation is not only relevant for individuals themselves, but some volitional processes may spill over to their partners. This highlights the need to specify couple-level processes involved in health behavior change, and to consider a social context of self-regulation

Life Around the Hyphen: Inherited Legacies and Their Impact on How We Teach, Write and Talk about Exile/Immigrant Experiences

The Exile Studies Program In Collaboration with: The Betsy-South Beach Hotel The Department of English The College of Arts, Sciences & Education Panel Discussionhttps://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cri_events/1327/thumbnail.jp