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At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Perception of illness among secondary school pupils in South Africa: malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and alcoholism.

The study investigated beliefs of 121 high school students in Grade 11 about people who are ill with malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and alcoholism. The sample of Black pupils were chosen at random from two rural secondary schools in one region in the Northern Province of South Africa. Analysis indicated that HIV/AIDS was clearly distinguished from the other three illnesses by being seen as the least easily cured, having the most gradual onset, being the most contagious, showing the least look of illness, and the patients being likely those most blamed for their illness.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2002

Perception of illness: nonspecificity of postconcussion syndrome symptom expectation.

A growing number of studies show postconcussion syndrome (PCS) symptom report is influenced by factors other than head injury, suggesting symptoms typically associated with PCS may not be specific to head injury. Given the role that symptom expectation has been hypothesized to play in PCS symptom etiology, a comparison of symptoms expected for various disorders seems overdue. The present study asked 82 undergraduates to report the symptoms they currently experience, and then to report the symptoms they would expect to experience if they had had suffered either a head injury, an orthopedic injury, posttraumatic stress, or depression. No current differences in overall symptoms or in symptom subscales emerged. Results showed individuals portraying head injury, posttraumatic stress, and depression expected an increase in total symptoms, though individuals portraying an orthopedic injury did not expect such an increase. Results also showed simulators of head injury, posttraumatic stress, and depression expected equivalent rates of overall symptoms, memory/cognitive complaints, somatic concerns, and distracter symptoms, though head-injured individuals reported fewer affective symptoms than those portraying psychological disorders. In all, these findings suggest that individuals have a relative lack of specificity in symptom expectation for various disorders, with the implication that symptom checklists for "PCS" may not be useful for diagnosis.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2004

Targeting cognitive-behaviour therapy to patients' implicit model of psoriasis: results from a patient preference controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a cognitive-behavioral psoriasis symptom management programme (PSMP) on patient-held perceptions about their condition and patients' use of self-reported coping strategies, and to examine the influence of alexithymia scores at induction on response to treatment. DESIGN: Age- and sex-matched case-controlled prospective study. METHODS: A total of 40 patients with psoriasis were treated in the PSMP, and an age- and sex-matched cohort received standard pharmacological care only. The Illness Perception Questionnaire was used to assess patients' beliefs about illness identity, time-line, consequences, cure/control and perceptions of the cause of their psoriasis. Participants also completed the COPE questionnaire and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). RESULTS: Results suggested that at 6-month follow-up, patients who chose the PSMP showed significant reductions in illness identity (the frequency and severity of symptoms that patients associate with their condition), the strength of belief in severity of consequences of their illness, and their attributions for emotional causes of their psoriasis. Perceptions about the anticipated course of the disease (time-line), its cure or controllability, ideas about physical agents of causation, and coping strategies did not differ between PSMP patients or controls at 6-week or 6-month follow-up. Alexithymia had no effect on response to treatment. Regression analyses demonstrated the importance of both participation in the PSMP and demographic/clinical history variables in accounting for significant variance in illness-perception-change scores. CONCLUSION: The findings are generally supportive of multivariate models of intervention, but the lack of a demonstrated effect of the intervention on coping may have implications for both the assessment of coping in psoriasis and the nature of psychological interventions proposed for its management.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1991

Parental perceptions of childhood illness.

This article takes parental perception as the starting point of an analysis of the relationship between ill children, their families, and their doctors in the handling of a child's illness. A modified version of Creer, Marion, and Creer's Asthma Problem Behavior Checklist, adapted to suit Italian conditions, was used. The questionnaire was given to a sample of 460 parents of 230 preadolescent children. The sample was divided into two groups: The first sample was comprised of 84 parents of 42 preadolescent children with atopic symptoms (asthma, bronchitis, or hay fever), and the second sample was comprised of 376 parents of 188 preadolescents who had never had either atopic disturbances or any other serious disease. The results showed that both groups of parents felt their children were capable of autonomously managing their disease, and that they see medical facilities as their primary resource. Children were not perceived as being altered by their illness, although their illness undoubtedly affected family relationships; this was particularly true in the case of families with members who experience atopic problems. The factors causing the greatest difficulties were: disagreements over treatment, anxiety caused by the disease, and the sacrifices made by family members as a result of illness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Hypochondriacal traits in medical inpatients.

Hypochondriacal traits were examined in 100 general medical inpatients, and correlates of these traits were examined from four perspectives: (1) emotional distress; (2) affective inhibition; (3) learned social behavior; and (4) symptom misinterpretation. In contrast to previous studies of hypochondriasis in general medical populations, this study examined patients' illness perceptions and presentation in relationship to objective health status as assessed by their treating physicians. Data concerning the illness being treated and associated illness behavior were obtained from patients and their treating physicians. Results suggested that hypochondriacal traits of "disease phobia," disease conviction, bodily preoccupation, perceptions that one's illness is more severe than the physician's assessment, and illness presentation disproportionate to demonstrable organic disease were quite prevalent. On multiple regression analyses, correlates pertaining to emotional distress appear to be preeminent in the prediction of hypochondriacal traits. However, variables pertaining to learned social behavior also provided further understanding of hypochondriacal traits in medical inpatients beyond that explained by emotional distress.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Assessing illness representations of breast cancer: a comparison of patients with healthy and benign controls.

OBJECTIVE: Illness representations of cancer may comprise inaccurate information, misconceptions, or negative conceptualizations of the disease, which may influence screening behaviors. This study examined the differences between healthy women's and breast cancer patients' representations of breast cancer. METHODS: The cross-sectional design involved 147 consecutive women free from breast diseases, or with benign breast conditions, and 102 patients with breast cancer recruited from the outpatient breast clinic of a public cancer hospital. Respondents completed a modified version of the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) that assessed six dimensions of illness representations of breast cancer. RESULTS: Multiple comparison tests revealed that nonmalignant women's illness representations were characterized by weak beliefs concerning breast cancer curability/controllability, combined with an overestimation of the negative physical, social, and economic consequences of breast cancer. Moreover, these women held stronger beliefs about the role of environmental factors (radiation exposure, diet, and pollution) in breast cancer causation and expressed greater disagreement on the role of chance in the onset and course of the illness. CONCLUSION: Illness representations of breast cancer appear to play a significant role in determining the unfavorable and exaggerated way in which laywomen perceive breast cancer. This is discussed within the framework of the social construction of the disease, which portrays breast cancer as a fatal and disfiguring disease, and the strong influence lay literature and the media exert on it.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Gender role nonconformity and perception of mental illness.

The hypothesis that clinicians' perceptions of psychological maladjustment are related to the deviation of symptoms from prevailing gender role stereotypes was explored. Case history descriptions were sent to a random sample of practicing psychologists. These clinicians viewed female patients with "masculine" symptoms (e.g., alcoholism or antisocial behavior) as more psychologically disturbed than males with the same symptoms; they also perceived male patients with "feminine" symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety) as more psychologically disturbed than their female counterparts. Significant main effects for psychologists' sex were found for both the perceived usefulness of drug treatment and prognostic outlook ratings.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1987

Health status, perceptions of risk, and prevention interest for health and nonhealth problems.

Healthy and acutely ill college students indicated their risk compared to their peers for 10 health and nonhealth problems. Participants as a whole showed clear evidence of optimistic bias. However, whereas healthy participants showed an equal tendency to be biased optimistically for health and nonhealth problems, ill participants felt significantly more vulnerable to future health relative to nonhealth problems. This was the case even though the future health problems were objectively unrelated to their current illnesses. Perceptions of the preventability of the health and nonhealth problems paralleled the comparative risk judgments. Finally, those who were ill expressed relatively little interest in receiving prevention information. Possible mechanisms and implications are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Illness representations in depression.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Illness representations in physical health problems have been studied extensively using the Self-regulation Model (SRM) focusing on five dimensions of illness beliefs (identity, consequences, causes, timeline and control, or cure). Associations have been found between beliefs about illness and a range of health outcomes. This study aimed to examine models of depression, to assess whether the five dimensions of the SRM are relevant, to compare depression models with those for physical illness, and to examine the psychometric properties of the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) when used with depression. DESIGN AND METHOD: A sample of 101 women either currently depressed or with a history of depression was asked to write about their experiences of physical sickness and depression. Their responses were analysed in terms of the dimensions of beliefs expressed and the two experiences were compared. The IPQ was also administered to assess the women's perceptions of depression. RESULTS: The women used the same five dimensions of illness as identified in the SRM in describing both their experience of depression and physical sickness. There was evidence of some consistency across the models of the two illnesses in terms of their content and structure. The IPQ was a reliable measure for depressed experiences and discriminated between women who were currently depressed or not. Comparing the women's descriptions of their depression with their IPQ scores showed some relationships between their responses on the two different measures, at least for the consequences and cause dimensions. CONCLUSION: The SRM model and associated methodology may provide an appropriate framework to further explore illness representations in depression. Problems inherent in the study of illness models in depression including the influence of mood on the model are described. Applications of this research area to the understanding of treatment preferences and adherence to treatment in mood disorders are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Experience of caring for someone with anorexia nervosa: qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Caring for someone with anorexia nervosa is distressing. AIMS: To gain a detailed understanding of carers' illness models and caregiving experiences. METHOD: Qualitative analysis and computerised text analysis were conducted on narratives written by parents as part of a family intervention at a specialist in-patient unit (20 mothers, 20 fathers). RESULTS: Themes concerned illness perceptions, impact on the family, and carers'emotional, cognitive and behavioural responses towards the illness. Parents perceived anorexia nervosa to be chronic and disabling. Carers blamed themselves as contributing to the illness and perceived themselves as helpless in promoting recovery. Mothers illustrated an intense emotional response, whereas fathers produced a more cognitive and detached account. CONCLUSIONS: Part of the distress in living with anorexia nervosa may be explained by unhelpful assumptions and maladaptive responses to the illness. Training parents in skills to manage the illness may improve outcome by reducing interpersonal maintaining factors.

Adaptation, Psychological↗