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Biomedical subjects

G M Breakwell

Publications and source records attributed to G M Breakwell.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Risk perception and experience: hazard personality profiles and individual differences.

The dominance of the "psychometric" paradigm and the consequent emphasis on personality profiles of hazards has resulted in little attention being given to individual variability in risk judgments. This study examines how far differences in experience of risk activities can explain individual variability in risk assessments. A questionnaire study (n = 172) was used to explore the relationships between experience and risk perceptions in relation to 16 risk activities. It was expected that these relationships would differ for voluntary and involuntary activities. Measures of experience included assessments of "impact" and "outcome" valence as well as "frequency." These three aspects of experience each related to risk assessment but their relationship depended on whether the risk experiences were voluntary or not. The results indicate the importance of developing more fine-grained ways of indexing risk experience.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Risk communication: factors affecting impact.

The impact of risk communication depends upon a complex interaction between the characteristics of the audience, the source of the message, and its content. Audience perception of risk is influenced by demographic factors (e.g. age, gender), personality profile, past experience, and ideological orientation. It is also affected by cognitive biases (e.g. unrealistic optimism) and lay 'mental models' of the hazard. For food hazards, the important dimensions of risk are controllability, novelty and naturalness. The source must be trusted for a risk message to be effective. Trust is associated with believing the source is expert, unbiased, disinterested, and not sensationalising. To maximise impact, risk communications must have a content which triggers attention, achieves comprehension and can influence decision-making. It must be unambiguous, definitive and easily interpretable--rarely achievable particularly when risk is shrouded in scientific uncertainty. Risk messages initiate social processes of amplification and attenuation, consequently their ramifications are rarely controllable.

Communication↗
PubMed1997

Sexual self-concept and sexual risk-taking.

Data are presented from a postal survey of 474 randomly selected 16-19-year-olds from one U.K. suburban area. A 14-item Sexual Self-Concept Checklist was used to explore the structure of the differences between male and female sexual identities. Two main dimensions in male sexual self-concept emerged: the socio-emotional (romance, sensitivity, eroticism) and the relational (exploitative, seductive, experimental). Female sexual self-concept revolved around concerns with assertiveness (unwillingness to have sex before marriage, controlling when sex occurs, pretending to enjoy sex). Internally reliable scales were constructed for these aspects of the sexual self-concept and were found to relate to both sexual and other forms of risk-taking likely to endanger health. Males with a high relational emphasis in their sexual self-concept were less likely to have had sex and less likely to use alcohol or tobacco. Females with a greater assertiveness score were less likely to be virgins, had had more sexual partners and consumed more alcohol and tobacco. They were not, however, less likely to use condoms. It is concluded that models seeking to explain health behaviours in adolescence should incorporate estimates of the significance of the behaviour for stable aspects of the self-concept. It is further argued that the structure of the sexual self-concept is significantly influenced by dominant social representations of gender differences and relationships. Both identity and social representational processes need to be considered if a comprehensive model of health behaviour is to be evolved.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Young people's representations of others' views of smoking: is there a link with smoking behaviour?

This paper reports a large-scale survey (n = 1985) of 9-12-year-olds' representations of parents' and friend's views about the nature of smoking. Taking the perspective of Social Representations theory, consensual representations of respondents' views of significant others are identified using cluster analysis without reference to smoking behaviour. Resulting clusters of individuals map on to self-reported behavioural groups at above chance level. These relationships indicate young smokers have access to sets of beliefs about others' smoking views that may differ systematically from those available to nonsmokers. This suggests an additional social psychological mechanism that may be implicated in early onset of smoking in adolescence.

Child↗
PubMed1992

Sexual activities and preferences in a United Kingdom sample of 16 to 20-year-olds.

Data are reported on the sexual behavior of a random sample of 2171 youth, 16-20 years old, in two locations in the U.K. Lower bound prevalence estimates for a range of specific sex acts are presented with discussion of the likely biases in the data. Given concerns about the spread of HIV through the heterosexual population, emphasis is given to the nontrivial estimates of a number of potential transmission risk behaviors, in particular, heterosexual anal penetration. Data are also presented suggesting that experience with particular sexual acts is associated with maintenance of a desire to do these acts in the future. The implications of these findings for health education policy are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Estimating sexual behaviour parameters in the light of AIDS: a review of recent UK studies of young people.

This paper reviews UK surveys of the sexual behaviour of young people since the advent of AIDS. The studies, which are restricted to those whose samples were intended to be representative of the general population, reveal broadly similar estimates of key sexual behaviours (numbers with sexual experience, numbers of partners, frequency of intercourse, condom use and anal penetration). In spite of these similarities and the usefulness of such information for estimating the potential rate of transmission of HIV a number of methodological issues continue to afflict this kind of research. The paper calls for standardized question formats and a centralized body to monitor changes in these parameters of sexual behaviour.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗