Biomedical subjects

Linda D Cameron

Publications and source records attributed to Linda D Cameron.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Changes in emotion regulation and psychological adjustment following use of a group psychosocial support program for women recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

This study assesses the efficacy of a group intervention in altering emotion regulation processes and promoting adjustment in women with breast cancer. Using a design with 10 alternating phases of availability of the intervention versus standard care, we assessed women participating in one of three conditions: a 12-week group intervention (N = 54); a decliner group who refused the intervention (N = 56), and a standard care group who were not offered the intervention (N = 44). The intervention included training in relaxation, guided imagery, meditation, emotional expression, and exercises promoting control beliefs and benefit-finding. Emotion regulation processes and adjustment were assessed at baseline (following diagnosis), 4 months (corresponding with the end of the intervention), 6 months, and 12 months. At 4 months, intervention participants (compared to decliners and standard care participants) reported greater increases in use of relaxation-oriented techniques, perceived control, emotional well-being, and coping efficacy, and, greater decreases in perceived risk of recurrence, cancer worry, and anxiety. Intervention participants also reported relatively greater decreases in emotional suppression from baseline to 12 months, suggesting that the intervention had a delayed impact on these tendencies. The findings suggest an emotion regulation intervention can beneficially influence emotional experiences and regulation over the first year following diagnosis.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

Comprehensive assessment of peri-operative fatigue: development of the Identity-Consequence Fatigue Scale.

OBJECTIVE: Fatigue is one of the complaints most widely reported during peri-operative periods. However, despite its prevalence, the aetiology of this fatigue remains poorly understood. Recent meta-analysis suggests that the limited applicability of existing fatigue measures is contributing to the current lack of understanding. This research therefore sought to use a rigorous analytic process to develop a comprehensive measure of fatigue suitable for use with recovering surgical patients. METHODS: Content analysis was undertaken to investigate the structure of 55 items initially generated. Self-report questionnaires were then distributed to surgical out-patients, and the 177 responses analysed using principal components analysis. Once item selection was finalized, the convergent and discriminant validity of the new measure was assessed. RESULTS: The new measure, the Identity-Consequence Fatigue Scale (ICFS), has 28 items and five subscales. All subscales show high internal reliability, and reentry of deleted items showed that the finalized items form a robust component structure. Discriminant validity analysis confirmed that all ICFS subscales are distinctive from depression and anxiety. Convergent validity analysis confirmed the extent to which the ICFS assesses Fatigue-Consequences is a unique feature of the new measure. CONCLUSION: The ICFS has a clear and stable structure that offers more comprehensive assessment of fatigue than provided by the measures most widely used in postsurgical fatigue (PSF) literature to date.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

A randomized, controlled trial of massage therapy as a treatment for migraine.

BACKGROUND: Migraine is a distressing disorder that is often triggered by stress and poor sleep. Only one randomized controlled trial (RCT) has assessed the effects of massage therapy on migraine experiences, which yielded some promising findings. PURPOSE: An RCT was designed to replicate and extend the earlier findings using a larger sample, additional stress-related indicators, and assessments past the final session to identify longer-term effects of massage therapy on stress and migraine experiences. METHODS: Migraine sufferers (N = 47) who were randomly assigned to massage or control conditions completed daily assessments of migraine experiences and sleep patterns for 13 weeks. Massage participants attended weekly massage sessions during Weeks 5 to 10. State anxiety, heart rates, and salivary cortisol were assessed before and after the sessions. Perceived stress and coping efficacy were assessed at Weeks 4, 10, and 13. RESULTS: Compared to control participants, massage participants exhibited greater improvements in migraine frequency and sleep quality during the intervention weeks and the 3 follow-up weeks. Trends for beneficial effects of massage therapy on perceived stress and coping efficacy were observed. During sessions, massage induced decreases in state anxiety, heart rate, and cortisol. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide preliminary support for the utility of massage therapy as a nonpharmacologic treatment for individuals suffering from migraines.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2005

The influence of smoking imagery on the smoking intentions of young people: testing a media interpretation model.

PURPOSE: To assess a theoretical model of adolescents' exposure to films, perceptions of smoking imagery in film, and smoking intentions. METHODS: A structured questionnaire was completed by 3041 Year 8 (aged 12 years) and Year 12 (aged 16 years) students from 25 schools in Auckland, New Zealand. The survey assessed the relationships among exposure to films, attitudes about smoking imagery, perceptions of smoking prevalence and its acceptability, and expectations of smoking in the future. Measures included exposure to films, perceived pervasiveness of, and nonchalant attitudes about smoking imagery, identification of positive smoker stereotypes in films, perceived smoking prevalence, judgment of smoking acceptability, and smoking expectations. Path analytic techniques, using multiple regression analyses, were used to test the pattern of associations identified by the media interpretation model. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that film exposure predicted higher levels of perceived smoking prevalence, perceived imagery pervasiveness, and nonchalant attitudes about smoking imagery. Nonchalant attitudes, identification of positive smoker stereotypes, and perceived smoking prevalence predicted judgments of smoking acceptability. Acceptability judgments, identification of positive stereotypes, and perceived smoking prevalence were all positively associated with smoking expectations. The media interpretation model accounted for 24% of the variance in smoking expectations within the total sample. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking imagery in film may play a role in the development of smoking intentions through inflating the perception of smoking prevalence and presenting socially attractive images.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Symptom experiences, symptom attributions, and causal attributions in patients following first-time myocardial infarction.

We examined symptom experiences, symptom attributions, and causal attributions reported by patients hospitalized for a first-time myocardial infarction (MI). We also explored the roles of symptoms, negative affect, and risk factors in promoting stress and other causal attributions. Patients (N = 65) completed measures of symptom experiences and attributions, perceived causes of their MI, state and trait negative affect, and risk factors. Patients attributed most of their symptoms to the heart condition, although rates varied from 48% (headaches) to 97% (nausea). The most common causal attribution was stress, followed by high cholesterol, heredity, fat consumption, and hypertension. Stress attributions were positively associated with state anxiety and specific, stress-related symptoms (e.g., fatigue and breathlessness). Anxious mood and stress-related symptoms appear to enhance the plausibility of stress as a cause of MI. Risk factors were moderately correlated with associated causal attributions. For many patients, however, attributions to hypertension, cholesterol, and family history of heart disease were discordant with their clinical data. Causal attributions remained stable over the subsequent 6 months.

Affect↗

PubMed2003

Interpretations of smoking in film by older teenagers.

Research testifies that images of tobacco use in popular films are highly pervasive and typically glamorised. There are concerns that these images may promote motivations to smoke in adolescents, but little is known about how these images are interpreted by members of this age group. A qualitative study was conducted to explore how older teenagers interpret and decode smoking imagery in film. This study builds on earlier work with a younger age group (12 and 13 years) to explore how various interpretations of smoking imagery shape and support common understandings about smoking among older teenagers. Data were collected through focus groups. Eighty-eight 16 and 17 year old students were interviewed at school. Participants discussed their recollections of and responses to recently viewed films. Older teens were receptive to smoking imagery when it was used in a credible manner to portray an emotional state, sub-culture affiliation, and lifestyle. Experience as a smoker appeared to inflate the credibility of realistic smoking images, particularly those presented in gritty realism/drama film. Older teens perceived realistic images, as opposed to stereotypical images, as a salient reference to their own lives. Stereotypical images were also readily recalled and appeared to perform an important role in supporting misconceptions about smoking and contributing to popular ideologies about tobacco use. Stereotypical images presented in comedy and action genre also serve to present paradoxical and contradictory messages about tobacco use. In particular, participants recalled tobacco use in film as associated with stress and anxiety, drug use, and seduction. Film images of tobacco use in specific contexts appear to hold specific and significant meanings for older teens. Realistic images offered salient representations of the perceived reality of smoking for this group. Pervasive and credible smoking scenes in film may offer support and reassurance to older teens who currently smoke or hold ambivalent views about smoking. Consistent with younger adolescents, older teens presented a predominantly nonchalant response to smoking imagery in film, which is a powerful indicator of the pervasiveness and acceptability of smoking in general. In contrast with younger adolescent, older teens tend to draw upon their own experience with tobacco use when interpreting smoking images in film.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Changing illness perceptions after myocardial infarction: an early intervention randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to examine whether a brief hospital intervention designed to alter patients' perceptions about their myocardial infarction (MI) would result in a better recovery and reduced disability. DESIGN: In a prospective randomized study, 65 consecutive patients with their first MI aged were assigned to receive an intervention designed to alter their perceptions about their MI or usual care from rehabilitation nurses. Patients were assessed in hospital before and after the intervention and at 3 months after discharge from hospital. RESULTS: The intervention caused significant positive changes in patients' views of their MI. Patients in the intervention group also reported they were better prepared for leaving hospital (p<.05) and subsequently returned to work at a significantly faster rate than the control group (p<.05). At the 3-month follow-up, patients in the intervention group reported a significantly lower rate of angina symptoms than control subjects (14.3 vs. 39.3, p<.03). There was no significant differences in rehabilitation attendance between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: An in-hospital intervention designed to change patients' illness perceptions can result in improved functional outcome after MI.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Trait anxiety and tamoxifen effects on bone mineral density and sex hormone- binding globulin.

OBJECTIVE: Tamoxifen therapy preserves BMD of the lumbar spine and increases levels of SHBG. We assessed whether trait anxiety, a factor linked with a reactive endocrine system, is associated with differential changes in BMD and SHBG levels in response to tamoxifen therapy. METHODS: Postmenopausal women (N= 140) with axillary-node-negative breast cancer participated in a 2-year randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of tamoxifen (10 mg twice a day). Levels of BMD and SHBG were assessed at baseline and at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. RESULTS: Trait anxiety predicted tamoxifen-induced changes in lumbar spine BMD; high levels of trait anxiety were associated with significantly greater lumbar spine BMD at 3, 12, and 24 months (p values <.05) for women on tamoxifen therapy. High anxiety also was associated with lower levels of SHBG for women using tamoxifen at 3, 12, 18, and 24 months (p values <.05). CONCLUSIONS: Trait anxiety is associated with greater preservation of lumbar spine BMD in response to tamoxifen and with a suppression of tamoxifen-induced increases in SHBG. Trait anxiety and other affective traits may serve as indicators of underlying physiological processes that moderate the effects of estrogen receptor modulators (such as tamoxifen) in clinical trials. Such data may help to elucidate the physiological mechanisms responsible for some of the variation in individual responses to treatment.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cognitive and affective determinants of decisions to attend a group psychosocial support program for women with breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: This prospective study assesses the roles of illness beliefs, emotion regulation factors, and sociodemographic characteristics in decisions to participate in a group support program for women recently diagnosed with breast cancer. METHOD: Women recruited during clinic visits 2 to 4 weeks after diagnosis completed measures of affective and cognitive factors identified by Leventhal's Common-Sense Model of illness self-regulation: cancer-related distress, avoidance tendencies, beliefs that the breast cancer was caused by stress and altered immunity, and personal control beliefs. Measures of general anxiety and depression, social support, and demographic characteristics were also completed; prognostic status information was obtained from medical records. All women were encouraged to participate in a free, 12-week program offering coping skills training and group support. Participation was recorded by program staff. RESULTS: Of the 110 women, 54 (49%) participated in the group support program and 56 (51%) did not. Logistic regression analyses revealed that participation was predicted by stronger beliefs that the cancer was caused by altered immunity, higher cancer-related distress, lower avoidance tendencies, and younger age. CONCLUSIONS: Participation in the group psychosocial support program appeared to be guided by cognitive and affective factors identified by the Common-Sense Model. Psychosocial support programs and informational materials promoting their use may attract more participants if they are tailored to focus on resolving cancer-related distress rather than on general anxiety or depression, appeal to those with high avoidance tendencies, address the role of immune function in cancer progression, and meet the needs of older participants.

Adaptation, Psychological↗