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Biomedical subjects

V J Callan

Publications and source records attributed to V J Callan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Cigarette use by adolescents: attitude-behavior relationships.

Structural equation models were used to test the effectiveness of various theories in predicting cigarette smoking among adolescents. Maximum-likelihood estimation, as implemented in LISREL for Windows 8.12, was used to compare the theory of reasoned action (TRA), the theory of planned behavior, and a modified version of the theory of reasoned action incorporating past behavior. Respondents consisted of 225 high school students who were questioned in 1994 about their attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, past behavior, intentions, and actual behavior relating to the use of cigarettes. Results indicated that the modification of the TRA incorporating past behavior provided a marginally better fit than the other models. For this group of high school students, attitudes toward smoking, past behavior in relation to smoking, and perceptions of what significant others think they should do were significant predictors of their intentions to smoke. Intentions, together with past behavior, predicted their actual behavior. The models used in the present research show that this behavior can be explained with reference to a small number of key variables which are useful for furthering our understanding of the structure of adolescent smoking.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Effects of coping strategies, social support and work-nonwork conflict on shift worker's health.

OBJECTIVES: This study examines the direct and mediated effects of shift workers' coping strategies and social support on structural work-nonwork conflict and subjective health. METHODS: The participants were 172 registered female nurses, aged 21 to 40 years. They all worked full-time, on rapidly rotating, 8-hour shifts in metropolitan general hospitals. All the respondents completed a self-administered questionnaire requesting demographic information and data on sources of social support, work-nonwork conflict, and coping strategies. RESULTS: A path model with good fit (chi2=28.88, df=23, P>.23, CFI=0.97) demonstrated complex effects of social support and coping on structural work-nonwork conflict and health. CONCLUSIONS: Structural work-nonwork conflict mediated the effects of social support from supervisors and emotionally expressive coping on psychological symptoms. Control of shifts mediated the effect of social support from supervisors on structural work-nonwork conflict. Disengagement coping had direct and mediated effects on psychological and physical health. However, it also had mediated effects, with the effect on psychological health being mediated by support from co-workers and the effect on physical symptoms being mediated by family support. Co-worker support mediated the effect of social support from supervisors on psychological symptoms. Overall, these findings support previous research and clarify the process by which coping strategies and social support affect structural work-nonwork conflict and health in shift work.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Models of alcohol use by young adults: an examination of various attitude-behavior theories.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of various attitude-behavior theories in explaining alcohol use among young adults. The theory of reasoned action (TRA), the theory of planned behavior and an extension of the TRA that incorporates past behavior were compared by the method of maximum-likelihood estimation, as implemented in LISREL for Windows 8.12. METHOD: Respondents consisted of 122 university students (82 female) who were questioned about their attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, past behavior and intentions relating to drinking behavior. Students received course credit for their participation in the research. RESULTS: Overall, the results suggest that the extension of the theory of reasoned action which incorporates past behavior provides the best fit to the data. For these young adults, their intentions to drink alcohol were predicted by their past behavior as well as their perceptions of what important others think they should do (subjective norm). CONCLUSIONS: The main conclusions drawn from the research concern the importance of focusing on normative influences and past behavior in explaining young adult alcohol use. Issues regarding the relative merit of various alternative models and the need for greater clarity in the measure of attitudes are also discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Effect of television advertising of alcohol on alcohol consumption and intentions to drive.

The alcohol consumption of 120 male and female college students was measured as they viewed a 90-min videotape of popular prime-time television programmes. Independent measures were the sex of the student, their drinker classification (light or moderate-heavy) and the number of alcohol advertisements (0, 6, 12) shown during the screening of the television programmes. Dependent measures were the number of drinks consumed, and the intentions of students to drive a motor vehicle after viewing the videotaped programmes. As predicted, males consumed more alcohol than females, and moderate-heavy drinkers consumed more than light drinkers. Male and female students who viewed six alcohol advertisements consumed more alcohol than students shown no alcohol advertisements or 12 alcohol advertisements. Analysis of intentions to drive after viewing the programmes revealed that the number of drinks consumed was not a significant covariate of driving intentions. Rather light drinkers of both sexes were less likely to intend to drive than moderate-heavy drinkers. Males exposed to alcohol advertisements were less likely to intend to drive than males who did not view alcohol advertisements. Different levels of exposure to alcohol advertisements did not influence the driving intentions of college females.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1992

Alcoholism and family interaction.

In 16 families, half of which had an alcoholic parent, both parents and an adolescent were videotaped interacting with each other. Mothers, fathers and the adolescent in each family viewed the videotaped interaction and completed ratings of themselves and the other two family members on levels of anxiety, involvement, dominance and friendliness. In families with an alcoholic parent, adolescents and their mothers rated family members as less anxious than did adolescents and mothers in families without a drinking problem. Also mothers in the alcoholic families rated family members as being more involved, and their ratings were higher than mothers in other families. Alcoholic families rated parent-adolescent interactions as more dominant and friendlier. At least in these videotaped interactions where alcohol was not being consumed, mothers in alcoholic families adopted a more positive view of family members than mothers in other families. In addition, possibly due to the efforts of fathers not to drink and memories of interactions when he was drunk, alcoholic families perceived their family interactions as more dominant and friendlier than families without an alcohol-related problem.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1992

Young adult drinking behaviour: a comparison of diary and quantity-frequency measures.

One hundred and twenty-two college students over a 2-week period completed a diary of their drinking habits and reasons for drinking, as well as a structured questionnaire about drinking attitudes and habits. Daily consumption based on the diary was compared with consumption based on a quantity-frequency measure within the questionnaire. There were no significant differences between estimates of consumption based on the two measures, and both measures were highly correlated. The questionnaire was more accurate in classifying drinkers and non-drinkers and led to better identification of those classified as hazardous and harmful drinkers. Sex differences in beliefs about drinking, as well as differences according to drinker classification, were found. Unsafe drinkers rated their drinking episodes as significantly more satisfying, comforting and exciting than other drinkers and were more likely to drink in order to get drunk and to relax. Their beliefs, attitudes and intentions also were more favourable towards the consumption of alcohol. Hotels or clubs were the most preferred locations for beer and spirits consumption while wine was consumed mainly at home. Most drinking took place within a mixed group or with close friends. Findings are discussed in terms of the relative advantages of both diary and quantity-frequency/questionnaire methods.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The psychological well-being of infertile women after a failed IVF attempt: the effects of coping.

One hundred infertile women and 73 female controls completed three measures of psychological well-being (depression, self-esteem and self-confidence) on two occasions (Times 1 and 2), coinciding with the beginning and end of a failed IVF attempt by the infertile women. At Time 2, the IVF women were also asked to indicate whether they had used a number of different coping responses, in relation to dealing with their failed IVF attempt. As predicted, IVF women were more depressed and had lower self-esteem than controls prior to the treatment cycle, and both before and after the treatment cycle they were less self-confident. After the failed IVF procedure, IVF women were more depressed and had lower levels of self-esteem than they did prior to the treatment cycle. In terms of the effects of coping on the post-attempt well-being of the IVF women, the use of problem-focused coping was associated with high levels of well-being, while the use of avoidance coping and seeking social support was associated with low levels of well-being.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

A diary approach to analysing young adults' drinking events and motivations.

Completing a diary over two weeks, 201 young adults recorded each of their drinking events, and information about the context and their motivations for alcohol use. Males reported almost twice as many drinking events and three times the number of drinks over the two-week period. At the same time, males and females mostly drank from Wednesdays to Sundays, with the majority of beer, wine and spirit consumption being between 4 p.m. and midnight. Most drinking occurred in mixed-sex peer groups, and the next greatest in family gatherings. Males mostly drank beer, while females chose either wine or spirits. Most drinking was in bars or at home. Males tended to drink for a wider range of reasons. The advantages of using prospective diaries in studies of young adults' alcohol use are discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Extending upon student drinking patterns in an Australian population.

One hundred and twenty-two students from the University of Queensland were surveyed regarding their attitudes and behaviour toward alcohol. As an extension of earlier investigations at the same university the study provides some monitoring of drinking levels over 8 years. Results indicate that the quantity and frequency of male consumption continues to be greater than that of females. Sex differences were also evident in beverage preferences. An increase in the proportion of males drinking more than 40 grams of alcohol per day was noted. The implications of this finding are discussed within the broader context of comparisons across studies and with reference to National Health and Medical Research Council recommendations for alcohol consumption.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Perceptions of legal and illegal drugs: comparisons of parents, adolescents, and best friends.

The topic of drugs is a sensitive issue and an area where considerable conflict and disagreement may exist between parents and children. In this study, 50 family groups (consisting of father-mother-adolescent-adolescent's friend) responded to questions about a range of legal and illegal drugs used in Australia. A multidimensional scaling analysis revealed that parents, adolescents, and adolescents' best friends had similar perceptions about drugs, especially distinctions between legal and illegal substances, and drugs used more by younger people. LSD, cocaine and heroin were judged by all groups as causing personal and family problems, being strong and dangerous, not socially acceptable, bad for one's health and associated with crime. Marihuana, tobacco and alcohol were judged in opposite terms, as well as being perceived as popular, widespread and used by youth. Subjects' perceptions of drugs were very similar to representative state and national community samples, but were inaccurate when compared to official figures for drug prevalence and morbidity. In particular, respondents showed little appreciation of the problems associated with widely available legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1989

Parent, peer and personal determinants of adolescent drinking.

This study examined direct and indirect influences of parents and peers on adolescent drinking. One hundred and six adolescents, their parents and a same-sex best friend of the adolescent each completed measures that tapped actual and perceived drinking behaviour, and normative standards for alcohol use. Of methodological interest was that adolescents of both sexes provided accurate reports of their parents' and peer's drinking, as well as drinking norms. Path analyses revealed different effects for male and female adolescents. Strongest predictors of alcohol use for males were their perceptions of their father's and mother's drinking, and their father's actual drinking. Best friend's drinking was positively related to the adolescent males' perceptions of themselves as a drinker. The single predictor of their internalized norms was the perception adolescent males had of their friend's drinking. Significantly, the adolescent male's own norms predicted how much and what they drank. For adolescent females, how much they believed their best friend drank, and their friend's normative standards, were the strongest predictors of alcohol use. Father's drinking also influenced the drinking practices of daughters, but mothers had no impact on their daughters' alcohol use. In contrast to young males, females' personal preferences or liking of alcohol successfully predicted most of their drinking behaviour.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Strategies for coping with infertility.

Cognitive models of coping point to the use by individuals of appraisal-focused, problem-focused and emotion-focused coping, as well as the need to consider an individual's coping response in terms of their intrapersonal and interpersonal resources. This cognitive approach was applied to organizing findings from research into the experience of infertility. At least nine coping strategies are identified that can be employed by couples. Discussion also raises several research questions about the personal crisis of infertility that need to be further investigated.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1988

Toward understanding women's decisions to continue or stop in vitro fertilization: the role of social, psychological, and background factors.

Two hundred fifty-four infertile women, all of whom had at least one in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) cycle, completed a structured questionnaire in which they provided background information and rated their beliefs about the outcomes of continuing on an IVF-ET program. Women not intending to continue IVF had older husbands, a larger proportion was mothers, and more of them had an IVF pregnancy. Those stopping and continuing, however, did not differ in their ages, the length of their infertility, or their number of IVF attempts. Women's intentions about IVF were best predicted by their attitudes toward another attempt and their perceptions of social pressures. While women intending to continue or discontinue IVF had similar beliefs about the value of motherhood, the satisfactions in having children, the importance of happy marriages, and the need to be well adjusted; discontinuers were less optimistic about another attempt making them mothers, making their marriages happier, or improving the quality of their lives. Both groups of women, however, judged another IVF attempt as likely to involve some stress, disappointment, and financial strain. In terms of their perceptions of social pressures, discontinuers also believed that their husbands, family, friends, and doctors did not think that they should have another IVF attempt. Finally, infertile women's attitudes about having another attempt and their perceptions of social pressures to try again or to stop were better predictors of their decisions about IVF than the background characteristics and fertility histories of women and their husbands. At the same time, together these variables explained only half of the variance in women's IVF decisions, and many other factors need to be considered in future research.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Emotional aspects and support in in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer programs.

Little is known about the emotional demands upon women of the step-by-step procedures characteristic of involvement in an in vitro fertilization/embryo transfer (IVF-ET) program. In this study, 77 women provided their perceptions of the emotional demands of IVF-ET and explanations for failed attempts, as well as describing their coping strategies and sources of emotional support. Nominated as the two most difficult stages of IVF were the wait for a possible pregnancy after the procedure and the blood tests and injections prior to hospitalization. Women were overly optimistic with a first attempt, with 70% being moderately to highly optimistic about success. Levels of optimism, however, generally declined across attempts. About half of the women intended to stop after four attempts, and almost all would stop after six treatment cycles. Women attributed their lack of success to a wide range of factors, including the low success rate, being anxious or stressed, bad luck, or problems associated with their condition and the procedure. Asked how they coped with the program, the women reported that the major strategy was to adopt the attitude that they might be successful in the long term. Other coping strategies involved keeping busy, staying calm, and seeking the support of other IVF women and husbands. Husbands were listed as the major source of emotional support, followed by other infertile women and nurses, counselors, and doctors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1988

The psychological adjustment of women experiencing infertility.

A comparison of 53 infertile women and 24 mothers who now experienced infertility revealed that infertile women reported less satisfaction with their lives as a whole. In contrast to mothers they rated life as less interesting, less rewarding, emptier, more lonely and they were less content.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1988

Predicting adjustment to perinatal death.

One hundred and thirty parents who had experienced a perinatal death completed a self-administered questionnaire that examined the demographic characteristics of parents, factors associated with the loss, and their levels of satisfaction with the amount of support they received. In addition, they completed scales measuring current levels of depression, self-esteem and psychological well-being. Comparisons with available norms revealed that, while parents were more depressed than general members of the community, they showed fewer symptoms of depression than did depressed patients. In addition, results revealed that less depressed parents were more satisfied with the level of support and comfort they received from doctors and nurses after the loss of their infant. Greater satisfaction with the support from hospital staff also predicted higher levels of self-esteem, as did being satisfied with opportunities to be with the baby. Being more pleased with support from hospital staff and partners also predicted higher levels of psychological well-being. Parents who reported higher well-being were more likely to have experienced a neonatal death, and were satisfied with the opportunities they had had to create special memories of their baby. In the case of happier parents more time had elapsed since the loss of the child.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Cross-cultural perspectives on teenage alcohol use.

Alcohol use by teenagers is a widespread and well-documented behavior in many Western nations. In contrast, very little is known about the drinking habits and attitudes toward alcohol of teenagers in the world's developing countries. In this paper we propose that adolescents learn about alcohol as part of the socialization process, just as they learn other social behaviors. Central to this learning is the development of a set of expectancies within one's culture about the effects of alcohol upon the user. These expectancies are important determinants of subsequent drinking behavior. An understanding of the sociocultural environment in which these expectancies develop, and in which teenage drinking occurs, is essential for developing intervention strategies aimed at promoting responsible alcohol use and avoiding alcohol-related problems among young people.

Adult↗