Biomedical subjects

Michael R Levenson

Publications and source records attributed to Michael R Levenson.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Coping, affect, and the metabolic syndrome in older men: how does coping get under the skin?

The metabolic syndrome is a complex construct with interrelated factors of obesity, blood pressure, lipids, and glucose. It is a risk factor for a number of chronic diseases in late life. This study tested a model in which the relationship between stress and the metabolic syndrome was mediated by appraisal, coping, and affect. Data were collected from 518 male participants in the Normative Aging Study (X(age) = 68.17 years). The model was partially confirmed. Relationships among stress, appraisal, coping, and affect were valenced along positive and negative pathways. However, affect was not directly related to the metabolic syndrome. The metabolic syndrome was related to positive coping as operationalized by self-regulatory strategies. The results of this study suggest that the influence of coping on physical health may occur through emotional regulation.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2005

Self-transcendence: conceptualization and measurement.

Self-transcendence has been hypothesized to be a critical component of wisdom (Curnow, 1999) and adaptation in later life (Tornstam, 1994). It reflects a decreasing reliance on externals for definition of the self, increasing interiority and spirituality, and a greater sense of connectedness with past and future generations. The Adult Self-Transcendence Inventory was administered to 351 individuals along with the NEO-FFI Personality Scale (McCrae & Costa, 1989). A principal axis factor analysis identified two factors: self-transcendence and alienation. The relationships between self-transcendence and neuroticism, openness to experience, extraversion, and agreeableness were significant, although modest, suggesting that self-transcendence cannot be accounted for in terms of positive personality traits alone. As expected, a multiple regression analysis indicated that self-transcendence was negatively related to neuroticism and positively related to meditation practice. The present study appears to lend support to the construct of self-transcendence.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2002

Drinking to cope among college students: prevalence, problems and coping processes.

OBJECTIVE: To examine four issues regarding college-student drinking to cope: (1) The prevalence of drinking to cope among students in a medium-sized Midwestern state university; (2) the relationships among drinking to cope and alcohol-related outcomes; (3) the use of drinking to cope within the larger context of students' coping processes; and (4) gender differences in drinking to cope. METHOD: Data were drawn from a sample of 275 undergraduates (164 women, 104 men, 7 subjects of unreported gender) in a cross-sectional sample. Of the 275 students assessed, data were analyzed from the 260 who reported ever having consumed alcohol. Drinking to cope was examined both as a style and in response to a specific situation identified by the participant. RESULTS: Drinking to cope is very common among college students and is related to much higher levels of alcohol consumption, episodes of heavy drinking, and levels of both negative and positive alcohol-related consequences. In examining the relative influence of drinking to cope and other variables on alcohol use, regression analyses indicated that positive alcohol expectancies were strongly related to alcohol use and that, even when considering other variables, situational drinking to cope remained a fairly strong predictor of most of the alcohol-use indicators. Analysis of gender differences suggested that men rely on alcohol to cope more than women do. CONCLUSIONS: Drinking to cope is a significant and highly problematic factor in college student alcohol use. Implications for interventions are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Positive emotional change: mediating effects of forgiveness and spirituality.

We evaluated the efficacy of an emotional education program that seeks to reduce the intergenerational transmission of negative interaction patterns by increasing forgiveness and spirituality. We examined both reduction of psychological symptoms and increase in positive psychological outcomes over the course of a year, as well as the mediators of this change. At baseline, the sample consisted of 99 participants and 47 waiting list controls. Comparisons of scores from baseline (Time 1) to one week after the Hoffman Quadrinity Process (Time 2) showed large declines in negative affect (depressive symptoms) and increases in both positive outcomes (mastery, empathy, emotional intelligence, life satisfaction, forgiveness, and spiritual experience) and health and well-being. Over the course of a year, most of these gains were sustained, in comparison with the control group. Further, increases in forgiveness and spirituality mediated the effect of program participation on depressive symptoms.

Adult↗