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Mediating and moderating effects of stress perception and situation type on coping responses in women with disordered eating.

Effects of stress perception and situation type on coping behavior were assessed in undergraduate females. Women with high (n=28) and low (n=28) Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) scores listened to audiotaped scenes representing two different situation types and two levels of stress. As predicted, the High EAT group rated scenes as more stressful and endorsed more of the maladaptive emotion-oriented coping, compared to the low EAT condition. Importantly, analyses revealed that stress perception mediated the relationship between group membership and emotion-oriented coping. Scene type appeared to moderate the effect of group on emotion-oriented coping. However, stress perception was shown to mediate, or account for, the moderating effect of situation type; a relationship termed mediated moderation. So although the two groups appeared to differ in the effect of situation type on coping, this apparent interaction effect can be attributed to differences in their perception of stress. Finally, women with High EAT scores did not exhibit a deficit in the more productive task-oriented coping behaviors, nor did they exhibit an avoidant coping style. In sum, the maladaptive coping used by women with disordered eating may represent characteristic emotional responses to exaggerated perceptions of stress and a preoccupation with issues specific to body image and food, rather than deficits in productive coping skills or an avoidant coping style.

Journal Article↗

Food safety knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors among middle school students.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the level of food safety knowledge, perceptions, and self-reported food-handling behaviors among middle school students. DESIGN: Baseline questionnaire administered in class that assessed background characteristics, knowledge, behaviors, and perceptions related to food safety. PARTICIPANTS: 178 seventh and eighth grade students from 4 schools in central Pennsylvania. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Food safety knowledge, perceptions, and self-reported food-handling behaviors. ANALYSIS: Independent samples t test tested differences between genders and bivariate correlation analysis explored associations among knowledge, perceptions, and behavior (P <.05). RESULTS: Food safety knowledge score was 7.2 +/- 1.6 of a maximum of 10 points. Perceived self-efficacy and severity of a foodborne illness were high, but perceived susceptibility was low. Girls scored higher on the self-efficacy and severity scale (P <.01). Self-efficacy correlated positively with knowledge and behavior (P <.0001) and severity with knowledge (P <.01). One fifth reported taking risks in food handling and one fifth reported having been sick because of something they ate. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: There is a disconnection between middle school students' food safety knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors. A need for relevant and motivating food safety education exists in this group.

Adolescent↗

Role perceptions of freshman and senior nursing and medical students and attitudes toward collaborative decision making.

David Kolb's (1981) experiential learning theory was used to examine differences between first- and fourth-year nursing and medical students' perceptions of competencies important for nursing and medicine. A convenience sample of nursing (n = 109) and medical (n = 108) students from a large Canadian research university was surveyed. Respondents completed the Environmental Press Questionnaire, the Adaptive Competency Scale, and a 6-item measure of attitudes toward collaborative nurse-physician patient care decision making. Nursing students' perceptions of competencies important for medicine were found to be more congruent with medical students' perceptions of these competencies than were medical students' perceptions of competencies important for nursing as seen by nursing students. Gaps in perceptions of each others' roles were significantly negatively related to attitudes toward collaborative patient care decision making.

Adult↗

Personality and the perception of health in the general population.

BACKGROUND: Several population-based studies have shown that self-perceived health is a powerful predictor of health outcomes. The extent to which self-perceived health is associated with personality characteristics is, however, largely unknown. We aimed to study the relationship between self-perceived health and personality among adults in the community. METHOD: Data were drawn from the Midlife Development in the United States Survey, a representative sample of adults age 25-74. MANOVA was used to determine the relationship between self-perception of health and personality using the five-factor model. RESULTS: Personality factors were significantly associated with perception of poor health. Among those without self-reported medical problems (N = 834), openness to experience, extraversion and conscientiousness were associated with perception of good health, while neuroticism was associated with the perception of poor health. In subjects with self-reported medical problems (N = 2772), high scores on agreeableness, openness to experience, extraversion and conscientiousness, and low neuroticism scores were associated with perception of good health. These associations remained significant after adjustments for age, gender, race, marital status and education. CONCLUSIONS: Self-perceived health is strongly associated with personality characteristics, both in subjects with and without self-reported medical problems. It is suggested that personality characteristics could contribute to the previously reported associations between self-perceived health and health outcomes.

Adult↗

Self-perception of poor health and suicidal ideation in medical patients.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between self-perceived health and suicidal ideation among patients in general internal medicine practice settings. METHOD: A representative sample of 4007 patients was assessed for current suicidal ideation, self-perception of health, current medical disorders and current mental disorders (major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks and alcohol use disorder) with the PRIME-MD Patient Health Questionnaire. RESULTS: Patients with self-perception of poor health, compared with those who reported more favourable health perception, were significantly more likely to report current suicidal ideation (35.2% v. 8.3%; chi2 = 97.4, df = 1, P < 0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that the perception of poor health was associated with a significantly increased risk of suicidal ideation (OR = 3.1, CI 1.9, 5.0), even after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, mental disorders and common physical illnesses. CONCLUSION: Self-perception of poor health is associated with a significantly increased risk of suicidal ideation among general medical patients, even in the absence of common mental and physical disorders. These findings add to a growing literature on the importance of self-perceived health in the treatment and outcomes of mental and physical well-being by documenting self-perceived poor health as a risk factor for suicidal ideation in medical patients.

Adolescent↗

Emotional dysfunction in schizophrenia spectrum psychosis: the role of illness perceptions.

BACKGROUND: Assessing illness perceptions has been useful in a range of medical disorders. This study of people with a recent relapse of their psychosis examines the relationship between illness perception, their emotional responses and their attitudes to medication. METHOD: One hundred patients diagnosed with a non-affective psychotic disorder were assessed within 3 months of relapse. Measures included insight, self-reported illness perceptions, medication adherence, depression, self-esteem and anxiety. RESULTS: Illness perceptions about psychosis explained 46, 36 and 34% of the variance in depression, anxiety and self-esteem respectively. However, self-reported medication adherence was more strongly associated with a measure of insight. CONCLUSIONS: Negative illness perceptions in psychosis are clearly related to depression, anxiety and self-esteem. These in turn have been linked to symptom maintenance and recurrence. Clinical interventions that foster appraisals of recovery rather than of chronicity and severity may therefore improve emotional well-being in people with psychosis. It might be better to address adherence to medication through direct attempts at helping them understand their need for treatment.

Adult↗

Moral perception and the pursuit of medical philosophy.

This paper begins by examining the claim that the practice of medicine is essentially a moral endeavor. According to this view, all clinical practice has moral content, and each clinical situation has a moral dimension. I suggest that in order to recognize this moral dimension, clinicians must engage in an interpretive process, and that they must be able to interpret clinical data in ethical terms. However, clinicians often lack the 'moral perception' required to appreciate this moral dimension. I will argue that physicians lack moral perception when the clinical data they are given do not offer sufficient opportunity for interpretation. This paper draws on the work of Merleau-Ponty to suggest that this loss of interpretation is, paradoxically, the result of the way that patients experience illness. This thesis may be productive, first, because it suggests opportunities to explore the process of moral perception. This thesis also suggests ways for ethicists and educators to enhance clinicians' perception of the ethical dimensions of clinical practice. Finally, the concept of moral perception, when grounded in the patient's experience of illness, creates a fruitful area of inquiry that warrants inclusion in what may someday be the philosophy of medicine's canon.

Decision Making↗

Perceptions of parenting: individual differences and the effect of community.

Neighborhood norms are an important determinant of beliefs and attitudes about parenting, and measuring changes in community norms is an important component of evaluating community-based programs for improving child outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not a survey of community residents' perceptions of parenting could be used to measure community parenting norms and whether these perceptions differed by individual or community characteristics. Two community surveys with 870 and 914 respondents, respectively, were conducted in 3 low-income neighborhoods. Results indicated that perceptions of parenting could be measured reliably at the community level although it is important to consider the presence of multiple norms when using such measures. Furthermore, differences in perceptions of parenting associated with individual characteristics were markedly decreased when neighborhood characteristics were considered, suggesting that the association of individual characteristics with perceptions of parenting is confounded by neighborhood characteristics.

Adult↗

Effect of technical and functional quality on patient perceptions of pharmaceutical service quality.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the relative importance of functional quality (how services were provided) and technical quality (what was received for those services) on patient perceptions of pharmaceutical service quality. METHODS: A scenario-based experimental design was chosen to manipulate functional (FQ) and technical quality (TQ). Subjects were asked to read one of four scenarios describing a pharmacy service experience and imagine that he or she were in the situation described. High and low TQ were manipulated by describing the presence or absence of a prescription medication dispensing error made by the pharmacist in the scenario. Each subject completed a survey about their evaluations of the service provided in the scenario. An ANOVA using a 2 x 2 completely randomized factorial design was conducted to compare the effects of TQ, FQ, and their interaction on perceptions of service quality and behavioral intention. Effect sizes were measured with the calculation of omega-square. RESULTS: FQ had the greatest impact on patient perceptions of service quality and behavioral intentions. FQ explained 44% of the variance in service quality and 39% in intention to return. TQ and the interaction accounted for a significant but much lesser effect. The interaction showed that the effect of FQ was greatest under conditions of high TQ. There were no significant associations between any demographic characteristics and responses to service quality. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that FQ has the greatest impact on consumer perceptions of pharmaceutical service quality even under conditions of an obvious example of low TQ which respondents perceive as serious and possibly harmful. This study underscores the limitations of relying on patient perceptions in evaluating pharmaceutical services. Although patient evaluations are important, they can be inadequate for assessing the professional quality of services.

Adult↗

Academic achievement of African American preadolescents: the influence of teacher perceptions.

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors associated with the academic success of predominantly, middle-class African American preadolescent students. This study proposed an ecological model that considered the interaction of family environment, teacher perceptions of social skills, and student characteristics. The estimated model explained 58% of the variance in grade point average. Path analysis revealed three direct effects on grade point average, (a) grade level (negative), (b) teacher perceptions of social skills, and (c) academic ability. Findings revealed that teacher perceptions of social skills was a stronger predictor of grade point average than academic ability. Two indirect effects on grade point average were found. The first indirect effect was negative: gender predicted academic ability, which predicted teacher perceptions of social skills, which predicted grade point average. The second indirect effect was positive and it was from ability to teacher perceptions to grade point average. Implications for policy and practice are made that suggest a collaborative model of school counseling designed to "promote" the social and academic competence of African American students. Interventions that enhance teacher practices are also suggested.

Achievement↗

Perceptions of hormonal contraceptive safety and side effects among low-income Latina and non-Latina women.

OBJECTIVES: We explored perceptions of the safety and side effects of oral and injectable hormonal contraceptives among low-income women at high risk of unintended pregnancy. METHODS: Overall safety perceptions, specific health concerns, and the relationship between these safety perceptions and contraceptive choices were determined by focus groups and questionnaires obtained from white non-Latina (n = 19), English-speaking (n = 21), and Spanish-speaking Latina women (n = 19). RESULTS: Uncertainty or ambivalence about the safety of oral and injectable contraceptives was reported by 41% and 70% of respondents respectively, while 20% considered these methods to be mostly harmful. Personal experiences and stories from social networks proved to be more salient than medical opinions in shaping safety perceptions. Side effects and concerns about long-term health effects were common themes. While white non-Latina women focused predominantly on physical side effects, emotional side effects also contributed to Latinas' decisions about contraceptive switching. Spanish-speaking Latinas differed from English-speaking Latinas in other attitudinal dimensions, contraceptive use prevalence, and access to contraceptive services. CONCLUSION: Low-income mothers lacked confidence in method safety and had many concerns about the side effects of oral and injectable contraceptives. Because such concerns can be a barrier to contraceptive use, these perceptions need to be corrected to encourage more effective use of hormonal methods and to prevent unintended pregnancies. Culturally appropriate interventions should focus on client-provider interactions, social networks, and access to care.

Adult↗

More evidence for generalized poor performance in facial emotion perception in schizophrenia.

Previous studies showing that schizophrenic patients have a deficit in the ability to perceive facial expressions of emotion in others often have not used a differential deficit design and standardized measures of emotion perception. Using standardized and cross-validated measures in a differential deficit design, S. L. Kerr and J. M. Neale (1993) found no evidence for a deficit specific to emotion perception among unmedicated schizophrenic patients. The present study replicated and extended the findings of Kerr and Neale in a sample of medicated schizophrenic patients. Results showed that medicated patients performed more poorly than controls overall; however, they performed no worse on facial emotion perception tasks than on a matched control task. These findings support Kerr and Neale's conclusion that schizophrenic patients do not have a differential deficit in facial emotion perception ability. Future research should examine the nature of schizophrenic patients generalized poor performance on tests of facial emotion perception.

Adult↗

General and relationship-based perceptions of social support: are two constructs better than one?

Two hypotheses derived from a theory of perceived social support were investigated: (a) relationship-based perceptions of social support are distinct from general perceptions of support, and (b) measures of each construct contribute uniquely to the prediction of loneliness. Ninety-four male and 116 female undergraduates completed measures of loneliness and general perceived social support and the Quality of Relationships Inventory, a new instrument to assess relationship-based perceptions of social support, conflict, and depth in specific relationships. General and relationship-based perceptions of social support were found to be related, but empirically distinct, constructs. Relationship-based perceptions of support and conflict from mothers and friends each added to the prediction of loneliness after considering the contribution of general perceived social support. Implications of these findings for understanding the perceived social support construct are discussed.

Adult↗

The impact of mothers' gender-role stereotypic beliefs on mothers' and children's ability perceptions.

The focus of this study is the relation between mothers' gender stereotypic beliefs, their perceptions of their children's abilities, and their children's self-perceptions in 3 activity domains. Approximately 1,500 mothers and their 11- to 12-year-old children responded to questions about the children's abilities in the math, sports, and social domains. It was predicted that mothers' beliefs about their children would be moderated by their gender stereotypic beliefs about the abilities of female and male people in general. As predicted, path analyses revealed that mothers' gender stereotypic beliefs interact with the sex of their child to influence their perceptions of the child's abilities. Mothers' perceptions, in turn, mediate the influence of past performance on children's self-perceptions in each domain.

Adolescent↗

Ideals, perceptions, and evaluations in early relationship development.

This research examined partner and relationship perceptions and ideal standards in 100 individuals over time, from the 1st to the 12th month of their dating relationships. As expected, the results revealed that (a) individuals evaluated their relationships on both distinct evaluative components and global evaluative dimensions, (b) higher ideal-perception consistency was associated with higher perceived quality of relationships and partners, (c) more positive perceptions of partners and relationships at earlier points in time were associated with more importance being placed on relevant ideals over time but not vice versa, and (d) higher levels of ideal-perception consistency predicted lower rates of relationship dissolution but were mediated through perceptions of relationship quality. These results support the ideal standards model (Fletcher & Simpson, in press).

Adolescent↗

Racial subgroup differences in predictive validity perceptions on personality and cognitive ability tests.

The relationships between examinees' racial subgroup membership and their perceptions of the predictive validity of a widely used personality test (NEO Five Factor Inventory; P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992) and a widely used cognitive ability test (Wonderlic Personnel Test; E. F. Wonderlic, 1984) were examined. Results from 241 undergraduates showed that Black examinees perceived the cognitive ability test as less valid than White examinees, whereas no significant Black-White difference in predictive validity perceptions was observed on the personality test. Results also indicated a significant but small positive association between performance on the cognitive ability test and predictive validity perceptions of the cognitive ability test. Contrary to predictions, there was little evidence that test performance mediated the relationship between race and predictive validity perceptions on the cognitive ability test. Conversely, predictive validity perceptions did not appear to account for any substantial portion of the racial subgroup differences in test performance.

Adult↗

Knowing your place: self-perceptions of status in face-to-face groups.

Status is the prominence, respect, and influence individuals enjoy in the eyes of others. Theories of positive illusions suggest that individuals form overly positive perceptions of their status in face-to-face groups. In contrast, the authors argue that individuals' perceptions of their status are highly accurate--that is, they closely match the group's perception of their status--because forming overly positive status self-perceptions can damage individuals' acceptance in a group. Therefore, the authors further argue that individuals are likely to refrain from status self-enhancement to maintain their belongingness in a group. Support for their hypotheses was found in 2 studies of status in face-to-face groups, using a social relations model approach (D. A. Kenny & L. La Voie, 1984). Individuals showed high accuracy in perceiving their status and even erred on the side of being overly humble. Moreover, enhancement in status self-perceptions was associated with lower levels of social acceptance.

Adolescent↗

Effects of direct and averted gaze on the perception of facially communicated emotion.

Research has largely neglected the effects of gaze direction cues on the perception of facial expressions of emotion. It was hypothesized that when gaze direction matches the underlying behavioral intent (approach-avoidance) communicated by an emotional expression, the perception of that emotion would be enhanced (i.e., shared signal hypothesis). Specifically, the authors expected that (a) direct gaze would enhance the perception of approach-oriented emotions (anger and joy) and (b) averted eye gaze would enhance the perception of avoidance-oriented emotions (fear and sadness). Three studies supported this hypothesis. Study 1 examined emotional trait attributions made to neutral faces. Study 2 examined ratings of ambiguous facial blends of anger and fear. Study 3 examined the influence of gaze on the perception of highly prototypical expressions.

Adult↗