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Biomedical subjects

H K O'Neill

Publications and source records attributed to H K O'Neill.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Do nonclinical checkers exhibit deficits in cognitive control? Tests of an inhibitory control hypothesis.

We tested the hypothesis that persons who engage in compulsive checking may do so to compensate for cognitive errors produced by deficient inhibitory control. In two experiments, undergraduates were classified by scores on the MOCI checking subscale as checkers or noncheckers. On self-report measures, checkers were significantly more depressed, more anxious, more prone to cognitive slips, and more likely to engage in obsessive-compulsive behaviors. However, checkers performed similarly to noncheckers on laboratory tests of inhibitory control of cognition. Checkers and noncheckers were equally able to (1) ignore distractors in a selective attention task, (2) suppress inappropriate word meanings in a sentence comprehension task, and (3) inhibit retrieval of to-be-forgotten items in a memory task. These results suggest that compulsive checking does not arise from failures of inhibitory control of cognition.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The problem of creating habits: establishing health-protective dental behaviors.

We describe three experiments testing treatments to promote the performance of health-protective dental behaviors. Subjects included 55 women from an introductory psychology course (Experiment 1), 45 men and women (Experiment 2), and 81 older-than-average students identified as at risk for gum disease (Experiment 3). The interventions, derived from social cognitive theory, included health education, skills training, and self-monitoring. In each study, we examined the contribution of additional treatment components, including social support (Experiment 1), intensive contact (Experiment 2), and flexible goal setting (Experiment 3). Across experiments, the behavioral results were remarkably similar: Subjects exhibited excellent adherence while in the study but, at follow-up, reported behavior that differed little from baseline. We discuss parallels between attempts to promote health-protective dental behaviors and other health-promotion programs, and we describe different perspectives from which to address the problem of creating healthy habits.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Programming social support for smoking modification: an extension and replication.

In an extension and replication of previous work on social support in worksite smoking programs, 29 employees were assigned to either a basic smoking control program or to a basic treatment plus significant other support condition. Within a multiple baseline across behaviors design, all subjects received a 6 week treatment program that focused on achieving sequential reductions in nicotine content of brand smoked, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and percent of the cigarette smoked. Both treatment conditions were equally successful in producing abstinence (verified by biochemical analyses) and in producing reductions in smoking behavior among nonabstinent subjects at both posttest and 6-month follow-up assessments. In contrast to previous research with this program, there was considerable relapse in both conditions by follow-up. Consistent with previous findings, supportive social interactions were not related to treatment outcome, but the level of negative (nonsupportive) social interactions was inversely correlated with treatment success. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Co-worker social support in a worksite smoking control program.

We evaluated the effects of adding a social support component to a worksite controlled smoking treatment program. Twenty-four participants were randomly assigned to either a controlled smoking or a controlled smoking plus partner support condition. Within a multiple baseline across behaviors design, smokers in both conditions made efforts to achieve sequential 50% reductions in: nicotine content of brand smoked, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and percentage of each cigarette smoked. Self-monitoring records, laboratory analyses of spent cigarette butts, and carbon monoxide determinations indicated that both conditions were effective in producing significant reductions in each of the three target behaviors and in carbon monoxide levels. All participants who quit smoking during the program maintained their abstinence at a 6-month follow-up, and those who did not quit were smoking less at follow-up than they had at pretest on all dependent variables. However, few differences were observed between controlled smoking and controlled smoking plus partner support conditions either during treatment or at the 6-month follow-up. Results are discussed with regard to previous worksite studies, future directions for research on social support, and variables that may have mediated treatment outcome.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Component analysis in smoking prevention research: effects of social consequences information.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of information about the negative social consequences of cigarette smoking on adolescents' beliefs and intentions to smoke. In contrast to the large-scale, multiple component interventions most commonly conducted, this study compared two brief videotaped messages that contained either social consequences or control information. Fifty-four seventh graders enrolled in health education classes participated. Measures collected immediately after the intervention and at a one month follow-up indicated that the social consequences information successfully altered subjects' smoking-related beliefs. The social consequences information also affected intentions to smoke in the future, but only for subjects who had previously experimented with smoking. Female smokers' intentions to continue smoking were reduced, but the intervention had the opposite effect on male smokers. The discussion addresses the importance of examining the effects of prevention program components on different subsamples of adolescents in small-scale process evaluations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Predicting adolescent smoking.

Two hundred and ninety-seven seventh grade students (143 males and 154 females) participated in a prospective study to predict adolescent cigarette smoking behavior one year later. Predictor variables included 10 survey items assessing the smoking behavior of students' friends and family, students' school behavior and beliefs about smoking and students' intentions to smoke in the future. The one-year follow-up survey was administered under "bogus pipeline" conditions to enhance the validity of self-reported smoking status by including the collection of saliva thiocyanate samples. Univariate analyses indicated that smokers differed from nonsmokers on a number of measures and that there were few sex differences on either the survey variables or on smoking status. Stepwise discriminant function analyses revealed that it was possible to accurately predict the onset of adolescent cigarette smoking by combining the survey variables. The three variables that consistently accounted for the greatest proportion of te variance were number of friends who smoke, intentions to smoke in the future and percent of older siblings who smoke. The implications of this work for programs intended to prevent adolescent smoking are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alcohol expectancies and social deficits relating to problem drinking among college students.

Standardized questionnaires were administered to 116 male and female undergraduates to examine how social deficits and alcohol expectancies relate to alcohol use. Participants were classified as either problem or nonproblem drinkers based on the Rutgers Collegiate Substance Abuse Screening Test. Problem drinkers reported experiencing social anxiety, shyness, and lower self-esteem to a greater extent than nonproblem drinkers. Problem drinkers also held more positive alcohol expectancies than nonproblem drinkers. Contrary to our hypotheses, however, particular types of alcohol expectancies did not interact with specific areas of social functioning to influence problem drinking. Overall, these findings suggest that problem drinkers have positive expectations about the immediate effects of alcohol consumption even though drinking is linked to long-term impairment in social functioning.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Stages of change and smoking cessation: a computer-administered intervention program for young adults.

Sixty-five college-student smokers were randomly assigned to a four-week computer-administered, stage-based smoking control program or a four-week computer-administered general health education control condition. At post-test, the percentage of students advancing to a higher stage of readiness to change was slightly higher among those in the stage-based program compared to the control condition. At seven month follow-up, both groups reported abstinence rates of approximately 30%. Continuous abstinence for 6 months was 19% for the stage-based group and 14% for the control group at the final follow-up.

Adolescent↗