Biomedical subjects

L G Aspinwall

Publications and source records attributed to L G Aspinwall.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Introduction of section: persuasion for the purpose of cancer risk reduction: understanding responses to risk communications.

Risk behaviors and responses to risk communications are complex and multifaceted. Two target articles (1,2) conclude that little longitudinal evidence shows that risk perceptions predict precautionary behaviors. This paper focuses on several questions raised by these perplexing findings that have implications for future research on risk communications. A pressing need exists to understand how people process risk information over time and how such processing may differ as a function of risk status, individual differences, social context, and other factors. I will review evidence and methods from the study of persuasion and attitude change that suggest several ways to study message processing to understand what kinds of thoughts are brought to mind following a persuasive communication, as well as how such thoughts may be related to subsequent beliefs and behaviors as people encounter new information and make risk-relevant choices.

Cognition↗

PubMed1997

A stitch in time: self-regulation and proactive coping.

In a conceptual and temporal framework, derived from research on social cognition, social interaction, and stress and coping, the authors analyze the processes through which people anticipate or detect potential stressors and act in advance to prevent them or to mute their impact (proactive coping). The framework specifies five stages in proactive coping: (1) resource accumulation, (2) recognition of potential stressors, (3) initial appraisal, (4) preliminary coping efforts, and (5) elicitation and use of feedback concerning initial efforts. The authors detail the role of individual differences skills, and resources at each stage. They highlight the unique predictions afforded by a focus on proactive coping and the importance of understanding how people avoid and offset potential stressors.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1993

Effects of social comparison direction, threat, and self-esteem on affect, self-evaluation, and expected success.

Two studies explored the conditions under which social comparisons are used to manage negative affect and naturalistic threats. Study 1 examined induced mood and dispositional self-esteem as determinants of affective responses to upward and downward comparisons. Consistent with a mood repair prediction, only low-self-esteem Ss in whom a negative mood had been induced reported improved mood after exposure to downward comparison information. Study 2 examined the impact of naturalistic threats on responses to comparison information. Relative to a no-comparison baseline, low-self-esteem Ss who had experienced a recent academic setback reported more favorable self-evaluations and greater expectations of future success in college after exposure to downward comparison information. These results remained significant after controlling statistically for general distress. Implications for downward comparison theory are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1992

Optimism, coping, psychological distress, and high-risk sexual behavior among men at risk for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

In a cohort of gay men responding to the threat of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), dispositional optimism was associated with less distress, less avoidant coping, positive attitudes as a coping strategy, and fewer AIDS-related concerns. Men who knew they were seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were significantly more optimistic about not developing AIDS than men who knew they were seronegative for HIV. This AIDS-specific optimism was related to higher perceived control over AIDS and to active coping among seropositive men only and to health behaviors in both serostatus groups. There was no relation of optimism to risk-related sexual behavior. It is concluded that optimism is psychologically adaptive without necessarily compromising health behavior. It is also concluded that it is useful to distinguish between event-based optimistic expectations and dispositional optimism.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗

PubMed1992

Modeling cognitive adaptation: a longitudinal investigation of the impact of individual differences and coping on college adjustment and performance.

Drawing on cognitive adaptation theory, optimism, psychological control, and self-esteem were explored as longitudinal predictors of adjustment to college in a sample of 672 freshmen. Although a direct effect of optimism on adjustment was found, most of the predicted effects were mediated by coping methods. Controlling for initial positive and negative mood, the beneficial effects of optimism, control, and self-esteem on adjustment were mediated by the nonuse of avoidance coping, greater use of active coping, and greater seeking of social support. Alternative models of the causal relations among these variables did not fit the data as well as the a priori mediational model. The results of a 2-year follow-up indicated that self-esteem and control predicted greater motivation and higher grades, controlling for college entrance exam scores. Implications for cognitive adaptation theory and for interventions with populations under stress are discussed.

Achievement↗

PubMed1991

Psychosocial predictors of gay men's AIDS risk-reduction behavior.

Used psychosocial variables derived from the health belief model (Rosenstock, 1974), Bandura's (1986) self-efficacy framework, and protection motivation theory (Rogers, 1984) to predict self-reported AIDS risk-reduction behaviors in a sample of 389 homosexual men who participated in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study in Los Angeles and who knew their HIV antibody status. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that self-efficacy, perceived risk, response efficacy, and prior sexual behavior accounted for approximately 70% of the variance in the total number of sexual partners and the number of anonymous partners over a 6-month interval, controlling for demographic variables, HIV antibody status, and presence of a primary partner. A logistic regression analysis showed that barriers to change predicted increased unprotected anal receptive intercourse over a 6-month interval, controlling for prior behavior. The relation of health beliefs to risk-reduction behavior was substantially different for HIV-seropositive men without primary partners than for other groups of gay men. Implications for interventions are discussed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗