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Biomedical subjects

Steven D Barger

Publications and source records attributed to Steven D Barger.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Do induced moods really influence health perceptions?

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether induced mood alters health reports. DESIGN: Randomized experiments testing a) mood influence on two global self-rated health (SRH) assessments (Study 1; N = 168) and b) testing whether illness relevant thinking moderates the influence of induced negative mood on SRH and physical symptom reports (Study 2; N = 143). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Two global SRH items. Results. Effect sizes for induced mood were near zero across both studies (r's = 0.00-0.07). Aggregate analyses of induced mood studies showed a small adverse effect of induced negative mood on SRH, but these analyses masked roughly equal instances of better SRH among groups with worse mood. CONCLUSION: Published experimental research shows no consistent pattern of poorer SRH following negative mood induction in college-aged samples. Sample size and gender may account for variation in health ratings among induced mood groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

How well do people recall risk factor test results? Accuracy and bias among cholesterol screening participants.

The authors conducted a community-based cholesterol screening study to examine accuracy of recall for self-relevant health information in long-term autobiographical memory. Adult community residents (N = 496) were recruited to participate in a laboratory-based cholesterol screening and were also provided cholesterol counseling in accordance with national guidelines. Participants were subsequently interviewed 1, 3, or 6 months later to assess their memory for their test results. Participants recalled their exact cholesterol levels inaccurately (38.0% correct) but their cardiovascular risk category comparatively well (88.7% correct). Recall errors showed a systematic bias: Individuals who received the most undesirable test results were most likely to remember their cholesterol scores and cardiovascular risk categories as lower (i.e., healthier) than those actually received. Recall bias was unrelated to age, education, knowledge, self-rated health status, and self-reported efforts to reduce cholesterol. The findings provide evidence that recall of self-relevant health information is susceptible to self-enhancement bias.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Do psychological characteristics explain socioeconomic stratification of self-rated health?

This study evaluated whether negative emotions explain socioeconomic status (SES) stratification of self-rated health (SRH) and whether this putative relation is independent of established SRH determinants. Mood disorders, trait negative affect and health status indices were assessed in a representative cross-sectional survey of 3032 adults in the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS). Adjustment for health behaviors and health status appreciably reduced SES influence on SRH, but adjustment for negative emotions did not. However, both psychological resources (e.g. social support, extraversion) and negative emotions independently predicted SRH. Detection of SRH determinants was sensitive to binary versus ordinal SRH definitions.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Does generalized anxiety disorder predict coronary heart disease risk factors independently of major depressive disorder?

BACKGROUND: Anxiety symptoms are associated with elevated coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, but it is not known whether such associations extend to anxiety disorders or if they are independent of depression. We sought to determine if generalized anxiety disorder is associated with elevated CHD risk, and whether this association is independent of or interacts with major depressive disorder. METHODS: Generalized anxiety and major depressive disorders were assessed in a cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of U.S. adults aged 25-74 (N=3032). Coronary heart disease risk was determined by self-reported smoking status, body mass index, and recent medication use for hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes. RESULTS: Generalized anxiety disorder independently predicted increased CHD risk (F(1,3018)=5.14; b=0.39; 95% confidence interval (0.05-0.72)) and tended to denote the greatest risk in the absence of major depressive disorder. LIMITATIONS: The cross-sectional design cannot determine the causal direction of the association. CONCLUSIONS: Generalized anxiety disorder appears to be associated with elevated CHD risk in the general population. It may denote excess CHD risk relative to major depressive disorder, and clinicians should consider CHD risk when treating generalized anxiety disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The Marlowe-Crowne affair: short forms, psychometric structure, and social desirability.

The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960) is widely used to assess and control for response bias in self-report research. Several abbreviated versions of the Marlowe-Crowne scale have been proposed and adopted in psychology and medicine. In this article I evaluate the adequacy of 9 short forms using confirmatory factor analysis across 2 samples (combined N = 867). There was some evidence for the adequacy of different short forms, but model adequacy was not consistent across samples. Supplementary analyses revealed a multidimensional structure to the full Marlowe-Crowne scale and indicated that the apparent adequacy of model fit for some short forms might be a statistical artifact. Using the Marlowe-Crowne scale or its various short forms as a control for response bias is discouraged on empirical and conceptual grounds.

Adolescent↗