Contingent therapist contact in a behavioral weight control program.
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Adult↗
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Controllability, coping behavior, and stress-induced analgesia in the rat.
Exposure to painful or stressful stimuli produces an analgesic reaction which can persist for 1-2 h post-stress. In the typical stress-induced analgesia study the subject is not permitted to alter or exert control over the aversive event to which it is exposed. That is, its behavior affects neither the duration or intensity of the event. The experiments reported here attempted to determine whether this inability of the subject to control the aversive event is an important determinant of stress-induced analgesia, or whether simple exposure to painful events is a sufficient condition for its production. In the first experiment rats were given either escapable electric shocks (the subject's behavior could terminate the shock), equal amounts of inescapable shock, or no shock. Tail-flick to radiant heat was assessed 30 min later. The group given inescapable shock was strongly analgesic, while the group given an equal amount of escapable shock was only mildly analgesic. Thus the controllability of the shock or the availability of a coping response determined the antinociceptive reaction which followed. The second experiment revealed that this differential effect of controllability on tail-flick responding is masked, shortly after the end of the shock session, by a transient analgesic effect of shock which is not sensitive to the controllability dimension. The implications of these results for stress-induced analgesia and the activation of opioid systems are discussed.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Determinants of exercise during colorectal cancer treatment: an application of the theory of planned behavior.
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To examine determinants of exercise during colorectal cancer treatment using the theory of planned behavior. DESIGN: A retrospective survey. SETTING: Cancer Registry of Alberta, Canada. SAMPLE: Randomly selected survivors of colorectal cancer (N = 110) diagnosed between 1992 and 1995 who had undergone adjuvant therapy. Participants' ages ranged from 26 to 77 years (mean = 61 years; SD = 11), 63% were male, and 85% were disease stage II or III. METHODS: Initial open-ended elicitation questionnaire to determine salient beliefs, a mailed main questionnaire, a postcard reminder one week later, and a second questionnaire three weeks later. Exercise was assessed by the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Exercise during cancer treatment, intention, perceived behavioral control, attitude, subjective norm, and salient beliefs. FINDINGS: Exercise during cancer treatment was determined by intention and perceived behavioral control. Intention was determined solely by attitude. Salient beliefs about exercise were different for patients with cancer as compared to a healthy population. CONCLUSIONS: The theory of planned behavior may be a viable framework on which to base interventions to promote exercise in patients with colorectal cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Oncology nurses need to have an understanding of motivational factors related to exercise during cancer treatment to be able to assist patients with cancer to initiate and maintain exercise.
Adult↗
A dose-response analysis of the effects of methylphenidate on the peer interactions and simulated classroom performance of ADD children with and without conduct problems.
To examine the social effects of methylphenidate, groups of 15 attention-deficit disordered boys with (ADD) and 15 ADD boys without conduct problems (ADD/CP) were paired with normal peers. ADD and ADD/CP children showed a different pattern of responses to methylphenidate. While on task behavior in ADD/CP dyads increased at 0.15 mg/kg doses, increases in ADD dyads were not observed until doses reached 0.50 mg/kg. Although controlling interaction in ADD children decreased at 0.15 mg/kg, the controlling behavior of ADD/CP children did not decline at either dose. Peers of both ADD and ADD/CP children showed reciprocal declines in controlling behavior. In both free play and cooperative task situations, 0.15 mg/kg increased social interaction in ADD boys and decreased social interaction in ADD/CP boys.
Achievement↗
Behavioral weight control for obese adolescents: preliminary findings and future considerations.
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Adolescent↗
Psychosocial predictors of healthful dietary behavior in adolescents.
OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors of healthful dietary practices in adolescents using the Theory of Planned Behavior and determine how gender and ethnicity influence the relationship among the theoretical constructs. DESIGN: Initial and 1-month follow-up questionnaires, designed to measure the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior and select demographic items, were administered to the participants in the spring of 1997 to gather data for this descriptive research. SETTINGS/PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 780 adolescents, aged 14 to 19 years, was recruited from randomly selected science classes at 4 public high schools in San Bernardino, California. Seven hundred and fifty participants (96%) completed the initial questionnaire and 672 (86%) completed the follow-up questionnaire. ANALYSIS: A 5-step hierarchical multiple regression procedure, general linear model analysis, and Tukey's honestly significant difference post hoc test were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Intention to eat a healthful diet was a predictor of healthful dietary behavior. Intention was influenced most by attitude and then by perceived behavioral control and subjective norm. Those with positive attitudes toward healthful eating believed that they would like the taste of healthful foods, feel good about themselves, tolerate giving up foods that they like to eat, and lose weight or maintain a healthful weight. Mother, siblings, and friends were identified as important predictors of subjective norm. Knowledge about how to eat a healthful diet, availability of healthful foods, motivation, and access to enough money were salient facilitating factors related to perceived behavioral control. Interesting contrasts among gender and ethnic groups also were noted. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The findings indicate that multiple attitudinal, normative, and control factors influence healthful dietary behavior in adolescents. The synergistic use of these factors in the development and implementation of nutrition education interventions may assist in the promotion of healthful eating among teens from culturally diverse communities.
Adolescent↗
An alcohol model of impaired inhibitory control and its treatment in humans.
This study developed a model of impaired inhibitory control in humans to test the efficacy of treatments for this deficit. Male social drinkers (N = 35) practiced a "go-stop" task that measured response inhibition. They then were assigned to 1 of 5 groups (n = 7) that performed the task under a different treatment. The model of impaired inhibitory control was provided by administering 0.62 g/kg alcohol to 1 group (A), whose response inhibition was compared with a placebo group (P). The other 3 groups received 0.62 g/kg alcohol plus a treatment designed to ameliorate alcohol impairment of inhibitory control: behavioral reinforcement (B), or 4.4 mg/kg caffeine (C), or a combination of both (B + C). Alcohol impaired inhibitory control, and all 3 treatments (B, C, and B + C) counteracted the impairment. The findings indicate that alcohol impairment of response inhibition may provide a useful human model to test conditions that may ameliorate or exacerbate deficits in behavioral control induced by drugs or other factors.
Adult↗
Marihuana and social behavior; a controlled study.
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Adult↗
Specificity of hypothalamic peptides in the control of behavioral and physiological processes.
This review summarizes two model systems for understanding how brain neurochemicals, in conjunction with peripheral endocrine and metabolic processes, may be active in controlling very different functions in relation to energy and nutrient balance. As proposed, these systems are unquestionably oversimplified; however, they generate testable hypotheses for future investigations that will help to advance and revise these working models, as well as those of other peptide systems in the brain. Under normal conditions, these peptide systems are behaviorally and endocrinologically specific, and they are activated at very different periods of the daily cycle and at different stages of development. However, under pathologic conditions, their specificity and rhythmicity may be greatly disturbed. This occurs in states involving hypercortisolemia along with hyperinsulinemia or insulin deficiency, when these peptide systems become chronically activated. To determine whether this increased activity actually contributes to conditions of hyperphagia and obesity, and, thus, whether a reversal of this neurochemical activity may help in the treatment of these conditions, critical studies with various pharmacological manipulations are required. Of equal importance are investigations examining the development of these pathologic conditions, from birth to maturity, and their associated disturbances in neurochemical and endocrine processes. A thorough understanding of gene expression in localized brain areas and the contribution of various transcription factors to this process should allow the identification and development of methods that are useful in the treatment, as well as prevention, of disturbed patterns of nutrient intake, fat deposition, and body weight gain.
Animals↗
Effectiveness of a behavioral weight control program for blacks and whites with NIDDM.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the weight losses of black and white patients with NIDDM treated in a year-long behavioral weight loss program. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Subjects were randomly assigned to a behavioral program that either used a low-calorie diet throughout or included two 12-week periods of a very-low calorie diet (VLCD). Weight, dietary intake, and exercise were measured at 0, 6, and 12 months of treatment, and attendance and self-monitoring records were assessed weekly throughout the year. RESULTS: Blacks had smaller weight losses than whites regardless of treatment condition. Overall weight losses (baseline to 1 year) were 7.1 kg in blacks vs 13.9 kg in whites. The differences in overall outcome resulted primarily from greater weight regain in blacks during months 6-12 than in whites. There was a trend for blacks to have poorer attendance than whites during the latter half of the program and for blacks to report smaller changes in calorie intake from baseline to 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm prior studies with nondiabetic patients showing smaller weight losses in blacks than in whites and suggest that these differences may result primarily from faster weight regain in blacks. Further research is needed to more carefully examine the variables that may explain this difference and to develop more effective programs for blacks with NIDDM.
Adult↗
[Prediction of goal-directed behavior: attitude, subjective behavioral competence and emotions].
Ajzen's (1985) theory of planned behavior explaining and predicting goal-directed behavior is extended by an emotional component. The extended theory of planned behavior is tested experimentally. N = 64 subjects play with two video games (a speed- and a problem-oriented game) under an achievement-motivational orientation. One half of the subjects plays both games in an easy version, the other half in a difficult version. The verbal emotional reactions to playing video games are grouped factor-analytically into an "activity emotion" and a "security emotion". Subjects playing video games in the difficult condition feel significantly more insecure, and perceive their behavioral control as significantly lower than subjects playing in the easy condition. Tests of the extended theory of planned behavior lead to significant squared multiple correlations for the dependent variables within the range of R2 = .20 to .58. The activity emotion accounts predominantly for a significant part of the variance of the attitude and the security emotion accounts for a significant part of the variance of the perceived behavioral control. No predictive power was found for the intention to play the games successfully.
Achievement↗
Predicting the stages of smoking acquisition according to the theory of planned behavior.
PURPOSE: The goal of the present study was to determine the variables from the theory of planned behavior that are responsible for differentiating the stages of smoking acquisition. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 360 secondary I level students from a possible population of 500 students. This questionnaire was designed by the researchers according to Ajzen and Fishbein's and Ajzen's recommendations regarding the predictive model variables. It also contained sociodemographic and personal variables. Data from this cross-sectional study were analyzed using multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The multivariate analysis of variance indicated an overall significant difference in terms of the three psychosocial variables (Pillais approximation F12,867 = 25.22; p < or = 0.000). The analyses of variance showed that the variables attitude (F4,289 = 112.25; p = 0.0001), subjective norm (F4,289 = 23.48; p = 0.0001), and perceived behavioral control (F4,289 = 87.92; p = 0.0001) contributed to differentiating the stages of smoking acquisition. The discriminant function analysis indicated that attitude (0.826) and perceived behavioral control (0.725) dominate the construct; the contribution of the subjective norm (0.375) is less important. Finally, these variables from the theory of planned behavior permitted the correct classification of 68.4% of adolescents into the stages of smoking acquisition. CONCLUSION: The application of the theory of planned behavior seems to increase understanding of the stages of smoking acquisition. The distribution of students in the five stages shows that in the advanced stages, refraining from smoking is more difficult, and that smoking advantages surpass disadvantages. These findings represent only a step toward the development of interventions aimed at warning adolescents against smoking.
Adolescent↗
The theory of planned behavior applied to cigarette smoking in African-American, Puerto Rican, and non-Hispanic white teenage females.
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the adequacy of Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior to predict cigarette-smoking intention in three groups of teenage females. Participants were 141 African-Americans, 146 Puerto Ricans, and 143 non-Hispanic whites, 13 to 19 years of age. Consistent with the Theory of Planned Behavior, path analysis revealed direct relationships among attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and smoking intention for African-Americans. For Puerto Ricans and non-Hispanic whites, only the relationships among attitude, perceived behavioral control, and smoking intention were supported. Subjective norm was not found to be a significant predictor of smoking intention for these two groups. The results suggest that the Theory of Planned Behavior provides an empirically adequate explanation of cigarette smoking among female African-American teenage women.
Adolescent↗
Some central neural mechanisms governing resting and behaviorally coupled control of blood pressure.
Systems in the brain control blood pressure by maintaining life-sustaining, resting (tonic) levels and adjusting blood pressure in association with changes in regional blood flow appropriately coupled to behavior or environmental stimulation. Tonic levels of blood pressure are mediated by neurons in the medulla oblongata. The critical neurons appear to correspond to the epinephrine-containing cells of the so-called C1 group located in the rostral ventral lateral medulla. These also mediate baroreceptor reflex responses. Behaviorally coupled changes in blood pressure are often highly stereotyped and vary depending on the behavior being performed in both animals and humans. These reactive circulatory adjustments are largely mediated by forebrain regions working in concert with the medullary centers. Some of the largest increases in blood pressure occur in response to aversive emotional arousal. In hypertensive animals and humans, such changes, which are normally buffered by reflex mechanisms in the brainstem, are exaggerated. In the rat, the neural pathway mediating the coupling, through aversive emotional conditioning, of blood pressure responses to acoustic stimuli involves the transmission of sensory signals through the primary auditory projection system to the medial geniculate body, where the input is then relayed subcortically to the amygdala. The amygdala, presumably by way of connections with the hypothalamus, and from there to the brainstem or spinal cord, controls the learned emotional response. These findings, which implicate a largely unrecognized sensory relay to the amygdala in emotional learning, represent the first demonstration of a direct link between primary sensory system and autonomic control regions in the mammalian brain.
Animals↗
Effect of behavioral variables on cooling rate of man in cold water.
Five different behaviors of man while in cold ocean water (9-10 degrees C) were assessed for their effect on rate of progress into hypothermia. With subjects wearing lifejackets, two thermally protective behaviors were studied which reduce exposure to the water of areas of body surface with high relative heat loss potential. One was huddling of three persons and the other a self-huddle behavior (HELP or Heat Escape Lessening Posture). These two behaviors resulted in significant reductions of rectal temperature cooling rate of 66 per cent and 69 per cent, respectively, of that of a control behavior. With no flotation available, two survival swimming behaviors (treading water and drownproofing) were shown to result in significant increases in cooling rate to 134 per cent and 182 per cent, respectively, of the control behavior. Potential swimming distance of subjects wearing a life-jacket was 0.85 miles in water near 12 degrees C before predicted incapacitation by hypothermia. It was concluded that behavioral variables can be of major importance in determining survival time in cold water through modulation of cooling rate associated with other variables such as fatness, body size, and clothing.
Adult↗
[The attitude of the 11th grade school girls to their bodies and weight control].
OBJECTIVE: Of the study was to detect the girls of 11th grade attitude towards their bodies and weight control. METHODS: The girls attitude towards their bodies and weight control was determined by anonymous 48-item questionnaire. The percentage of body fat (Durnin & Womersley, 1974) of each girl was estimated as well. RESULTS: Showed that a large part of the normal weight girls (58.5%) considered their weight too high. The girls with higher body fat and those who considered their weight to be too high judged their bodies and separate body parts more negative; their weight control behavior was more negative as well. The bigger difference between actual and desirable body weight was related with more negative weight control behavior and higher fear of weight gain. The attitude of the girls involved and not involved in leisure sports activities towards their bodies showed no significant difference while more dieting cases in sport involved group was determined. CONCLUSIONS: Attitude towards body weight was a higher predictor of negative weight control aspects than the actual percentage of body fat. The problem needs future examination.
Adolescent↗
Three-year results of a behavioral fear control program in a private dental office.
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Attitude to Health↗
Perceived control of nutrition behavior: a study of the locus of control theory among healthy subjects.
This study was conducted to gain insight into individuals' perceptions of their willingness and ability to change their nutrition behavior. As eating habits are primarily socially learned, the locus of control theory, a social learning theory, was applied to the understanding of nutrition behavior. Responses from 105 young male and female subjects to a questionnaire devised to examine individuals' beliefs about the internal and external factors which control, or determine, dietary habits and health were analyzed. Individual values and assessment of personal health and diet were measured, and demographic data were collected. Two major findings were obtained. First, the locus of control theory was too narrow a construct to explain the subjects' responses and beliefs. The data suggested six categories which differentiated between individuals' expectations about factors controlling outcomes of behavior and those controlling actual personal behaviors. Second, there were significant differences in responses to locus of control statements on the basis of certain demographic variables, especially religious affiliation. Religious/traditional Jewish subjects tended to be more internally oriented than nonreligious/nontraditional Jewish subjects, independent of other demographic variables. Subjects with greater willingness and perceived ability to change their nutrition behavior appeared to take responsibility for choosing what is "right" or "better" and had firmly established personal guidelines for what is, or is not, acceptable.
Adolescent↗