Biomedical subjects

Aleksandra Luszczynska

Publications and source records attributed to Aleksandra Luszczynska.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

Are There Any Effective Behavior Change Strategies for Communicating Genetic Risk in Obesity Prevention and Body Weight Reduction Interventions?

This systematic review examined how differences in intervention components may contribute to inconsistent findings in genetic risk communication studies, addressing obesity-related outcomes (e.g., weight reduction, nutrition behavior, exercise). The review was preregistered (PROSPERO #CRD42024524026) and followed PRISMA guidelines. Searches across eight databases identified 23 randomized controlled trials, covering 18 intervention trials. Risk of bias was assessed using the Risk of Bias 2 tool. A narrative synthesis was used to cluster studies by the content of intervention and control groups. Genetic risk communication alone (no behavioral counseling, addressing nutrition and exercise) or combined with phenotype-based risk was ineffective and sometimes counterproductive among low-risk individuals. When combined with personalized behavioral counseling, effectiveness improved, but only when compared to waitlist control groups or non-personalized behavioral counseling. Significant effects emerged in high-genetic risk subgroups within personalized behavioral counseling, using behavior change techniques such as problem-solving, feedback on behavior, self-monitoring, and environmental changes. The most promising results emerged from complex interventions integrating genetic risk communication into multiple sessions and combining numerous additional behavioral change techniques, such as social reward, cues/prompts, self-reward. Complex personalized interventions combining multiple behavior change techniques and prompting experiential genetic risk awareness show promise for improving weight, nutrition, and exercise-related outcomes.

Humans↗

PubMed2006

Received social support, self-efficacy, and finding benefits in disease as predictors of physical functioning and adherence to antiretroviral therapy.

OBJECTIVE: The study investigated whether received social support, self-efficacy, and finding benefits in disease are related to physical functioning and adherence to antiretroviral medication among men and women infected with HIV. METHODS: Data were collected among 104 patients of three HIV clinics in India. The measures included general self-efficacy scale, Berlin social support scales, questionnaire on taking antiretroviral medication, and SF-20 (physical functioning). RESULTS: The results of path analysis and mediation analysis revealed that finding benefits and self-efficacy were directly related to both adherence and physical functioning. Additionally, finding benefits mediated the relation between patients' self-efficacy and adherence as well as physical functioning. Although received support was unrelated to adherence directly, effects of received support on adherence were mediated by self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Besides personal and social resources, benefit finding was related to better adherence to antiretroviral medication. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Identifying patients receiving low social support, with weak general self-efficacy and finding no benefits in being diagnosed with HIV may help to elicit those people who are at risk for poorer adherence and physical functioning.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2006

Improving fruit and vegetable consumption: a self-efficacy intervention compared with a combined self-efficacy and planning intervention.

Effects of interventions targeting self-efficacy alone or combined with action plans were examined in the context of fruit and vegetable consumption. E-mail messages were sent to a self-efficacy group, a combined self-efficacy and action planning group and a control group. At a 6-month follow-up, 200 adults reported their fruit and vegetable consumption, along with current levels of self-efficacy and planning. The two experimental groups gained equally from the interventions, as documented by changes in behavior. In both intervention groups, change in respective cognitions predicted change in fruit and vegetable consumption. Parsimonious interventions might contribute to health behavior change.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Changes in finding benefit after cancer surgery and the prediction of well-being one year later.

Critical life events, such as cancer surgery, may result in finding some benefit in one's fate. In this longitudinal study with 117 cancer patients (73 men, 44 women) in hospitals in Berlin, we addressed three questions. (1) Do patients report benefit finding after surgery? (2) Are changes in benefit finding related to patients' well-being? (3) Is social support associated with finding benefits in cancer? Patients were interviewed and completed a questionnaire in the week before cancer surgery. They were invited to participate in the follow-up by letter with a questionnaire at one month and again at 12 months postsurgery. Benefit finding was measured by a seven-item scale assessing different facets of positive changes attributed to experiencing grave illness. Although benefit finding increased over one year, change was substantial only for those who started off at a low level. Well-being was not associated with benefit finding at any point in time. However, changes in benefit finding predicted subsequent well-being. Received support was associated with benefit finding. Changes in benefit finding as well as initial support emerged as joint predictors of well-being.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

Two kinds of items in quality of life instruments: 'indicator and causal variables' in the EORTC qlq-c30.

Two kinds of variables may be differentiated within instruments measuring health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Physical symptoms may be called causal variables because their occurrence can cause a change in HRQOL, but poor HRQOL need not necessarily imply that a patient suffers from these symptoms. Other items can be regarded as indicator variables. They reflect the level of HRQOL and a patient with a poor HRQOL is likely to have low scores on all indicator variables. The aim of this study was to test the relationship of the latent HRQOL construct to items and domains on the EORTC QLQ-C30. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on EORTC QLQ-C30 data from 205 gastrointestinal cancer patients assessed one month after surgery. Functioning scales were established as variables indicating the level of HRQOL whereas all other subscales and items were established as variables causing a change in HRQOL. The model-data fit was satisfactory. Results support the hypothesis that two kinds of variables may be differentiated within HRQOL instruments. Further research should investigate whether both kinds of variables could be combined into a higher order, aggregate score for HRQOL.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2005

An implementation intentions intervention, the use of a planning strategy, and physical activity after myocardial infarction.

The paper investigates the relations between involvement in an implementation intention intervention programme, frequency of the use of a self-regulatory physical activity planning strategy, and moderate physical activity among patients who had suffered myocardial infarction (MI). It examines whether effects of the implementation intention intervention on behavior change was mediated by change in the use of a planning strategy. A total of 114 patients from central and northern Poland took part in the study after their first uncomplicated MI. Data were collected individually at approximately 1 week after MI (Time 1), 2 weeks after short-term rehabilitation (about 8 weeks after MI: Time 2), and 8 months after MI (Time 3). After data collection at Time 2, patients were randomly assigned to the control group or the intervention group. Patients who participated in the implementation intention intervention maintained the same number of sessions of moderate physical activity at 8 months after MI (Time 3) as at 2 weeks after rehabilitation (Time 2). By contrast, patients from the control group performed significantly fewer sessions of moderate physical activity at Time 3, compared to Time 2. The intervention resulted in the more frequent use of a planning strategy at 8 months after MI. Change in the frequency of the use of a planning strategy completely mediated effects of the intervention on change in physical activity. Only patients who participated in the implementation intention intervention and increased their use of a planning strategy adhered to the recommended three or more sessions of moderate physical activity per week.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

A culture-based study of personal and social influences of adolescent smoking.

BACKGROUND: A range of factors have been found to influence the onset and maintenance of smoking among adolescents. The aim was to explore interrelationships among adolescent smoking and certain personal influences (academic achievement, life satisfaction and future-orientedness) and social influences (hostility, social comparison and perceived friends' smoking) using a cultural perspective. METHODS: The study surveyed high school students aged 13-20, a total sample of 2387 adolescents from randomly selected classes in urban and metropolitan areas from Szeged (Hungary), Lublin and Warsaw (Poland), Izmir (Turkey) and Ames, Iowa (USA). The self-administered questionnaire contained items on smoking, sociodemographics, life satisfaction, future-orientedness, academic achievement, hostility, social comparison and perceived friends' smoking. RESULTS: The frequency of smoking proved to be the highest among Hungarian (58.7%) and Polish (57.6%) adolescents, while the occurrence was 22.1% among US and 23.6% among Turkish adolescents. Across the countries, high life satisfaction, academic achievement, future orientedness and social comparison were related to lower rates of smoking. Perceived friends' smoking was a strong influence of adolescent smoking in all samples. Only paths from academic achievement and perceived peers' smoking differed across the countries. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that interrelationships between adolescents' smoking and its social and personal influences are similar across all countries as a part of the developmental processes of adolescence. These findings point to the importance of both personal and social influences of adolescent smoking, which interact in a complex model, regardless culture or smoking rates.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Multidimensional health locus of control: comments on the construct and its measurement.

In the present commentary, the theoretical construct of Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) is described and evaluated in terms of its contributions to health psychology. This concept is compared to other control beliefs, in particular to perceived self-efficacy. It is argued that MHLC has supplied health psychology with essential insights and has offered a great deal of intellectual stimulation. Nevertheless, for some applications, different constructs might be more promising, in particular when it comes to predicting health behavior change. MHLC measurement, specifically its factorial structure, its proximity to health outcomes and health behaviors and its cultural sensitivity are addressed. Further refinement of the instrument is recommended, and the range of promising applications needs to be clearly defined.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed2005

Discontinuity patterns in stages of the precaution adoption process model: meat consumption during a livestock epidemic.

OBJECTIVES: Patterns of changes in social-cognitive variables were investigated in order to test selected stages of the precaution adoption process model (PAPM). It was hypothesized that non-linear trends (discontinuity patterns) in perceived vulnerability, positive and negative outcome expectancies, procrastination, and self-efficacy might be observed across the stages. DESIGN: Cross-sectional data from 808 respondents were employed. METHOD: Questionnaire data were collected in an on-line study on meat consumption during a livestock epidemic in Germany. Polynomial trends and analyses of variance with post-hoc-contrasts were used to examine the patterns of change. RESULTS: Discontinuity patterns were found for perceived vulnerability, negative outcome expectancies, and procrastination. The data provided partial support for discontinuity patterns in self-efficacy. Continuity patterns were found for positive outcome expectancies. CONCLUSIONS: Results provide support for a stage model rather than a pseudo-stage model.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

The general self-efficacy scale: multicultural validation studies.

General self-efficacy is the belief in one's competence to cope with a broad range of stressful or challenging demands, whereas specific self-efficacy is constrained to a particular task at hand. Relations between general self-efficacy and social cognitive variables (intention, implementation intentions, outcome expectancies, and self-regulation), behavior-specific self-efficacy, health behaviors, well-being, and coping strategies were examined among 1,933 respondents in 3 countries: Germany (n = 633), Poland (n = 359), and South Korea (n = 941). Participants were between 16 and 86 years old, and some were dealing with stressful situations such as recovery from myocardial events or tumor surgery. Perceived self-efficacy was measured by means of the General Self-Efficacy Scale (R. Schwarzer & M. Jerusalem, 1995). Meta-analysis was used to determine population effect sizes for four sets of variables. Across countries and samples, there is consistent evidence for associations between perceived self-efficacy and the variables under study confirming the validity of the psychometric scale. General self-efficacy appears to be a universal construct that yields meaningful relations with other psychological constructs.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2004

Change in breast self-examination behavior: effects of intervention on enhancing self-efficacy.

This study evaluated a breast self-examination intervention to increase phase-specific self-efficacy and positive outcome expectancies. The role of social cognitive predictors in the process of behavior change was investigated. Using cluster randomization, participants were assigned to an intervention (n = 244) or to a control (n = 173) group. Controls were measured twice, with 13 weeks between the assessments. Respondents from the intervention group received the intervention before the 1st measurement. The increase in the number of self-examination components was significantly higher in the intervention group than among controls. Women who had never performed self-examinations before the intervention, as well as those who did it irregularly or incompletely, changed their behavior significantly. Results of structural equation modeling for a 2-group model showed that phase-specific self-efficacy was a significant predictor of intention, planning, and behavior change in the intervention group. In the control group, these relations were weaker or remained nonsignificant. Social cognitive variables measured in this study explained 15% of variance of behavior change in the control group and 29% of breast self-examination change in the intervention group.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Sense of coherence and smoking in a sample of abused women.

The Antonovsky thesis (1987) of the relationship between sense of coherence and smoking, a health-related behavior, was investigated in a group of 83 raped and battered women. Analysis indicated that the simple model of "sense of coherence-health-related behavior' relationship (the higher the sense of coherence or its components the healthier behaviors, i.e., lower rates of smoking) cannot be accepted for this sample.

Adaptation, Psychological↗