1,721,020 research outputs found
Investigating the Impact of Loneliness on Initial Motivations for Weight Loss and Health Behavior Intentions
No full textLoneliness is a pervasive concern with profound implications for public health. It has been linked to a spectrum of negative health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease and Type II diabetes. This study aims to bridge the gap between our current understanding of these significant health outcomes and the health behaviors that may underlie them. While loneliness is associated with maladaptive health behaviors, such as emotional eating, sedentary lifestyles, and disrupted sleep patterns, it is not clear if loneliness is a cause, an outcome, or merely a correlate of negative health behaviors. To address this, this study aims to investigate how loneliness affects motivations for exercise, health behavior intentions, and determination to achieve health maintenance goals. Our research employs an experimental approach to induce loneliness, allowing for a rigorous examination of the causal relationship between loneliness and health behaviors. By comparing conditions (future interpersonal failure & future individual failure) with a control condition, our study isolates the effects of loneliness on motivations for exercise and health behavior intentions. This research will advance our understanding of how loneliness influences health behaviors, providing stronger evidence than observational studies alone. This, in turn, may inform targeted interventions to address loneliness and improve health outcomes, benefiting individuals at risk for health issues associated with loneliness.Psychology, Department ofHonors Colleg
Can Familiar Fictional Worlds Promote Health Through Buffering Belongingness Threats?
No full textExperiencing a threat to belonging increases the desire to engage in negative health behaviors. Past research on symbolic social bonds has demonstrated that visual narratives can provide the experience of belonging and buffer against relationship threats. Accordingly, the current study investigates whether writing and thinking about favorite TV programs/movies decreases the desire to participate in negative health behaviors (e.g., eating unhealthy foods, drinking alcohol, and using marijuana and non-prescribed drugs) and increases the desire to engage in healthy habits (e.g., exercising) through buffering belongingness threats. We will adopt a 2 (Reliving Essay: Rejection vs. Recent Meal) X 2 (Symbolic Social Bonds Essay: Favorite vs. Non-favorite TV Program/Movie) between-subjects design. Approximately 240 undergraduates will be recruited and randomly assigned to condition. We predict that engaging with a favorite television program/movie will mitigate the negative effects of a rejection experience on the intention to engage in healthy and unhealthy behaviors. The results of the current study will contribute to the existing literature on symbolic social bonds and will provide practical implications for public health interventions.Biology and Biochemistry, Department ofHonors Colleg
BLAME IT ON THE ALCOHOL: CONTEXTUAL ACTIVATION OF RELATIONSHIP-SPECIFIC ALCOHOL EXPECTANCIES
No full textAlcohol expectancies (i.e., beliefs about the effects of alcohol) have been shown to influence drinking behavior. However, this effect only seems to occur in particular contexts, such as the romantic relationship. Previous research has found that relationship-specific alcohol expectancies (RSAE) are alcohol expectancies directly pertaining to the romantic partner. They can exist in four domains – intimacy, social pleasure/fun, sexual enhancement, and power – and have been found to impact relationship satisfaction. The current study provides the first attempt to understand what contexts activate RSAE. Participants first completed a baseline assessment of RSAEs. Next, they wrote an essay in response to one of four randomly assigned prompts: drink alcohol/coffee with partner/friend. Finally, participants completed a lexical decision task in which the target words represented the four RSAE domains: intimacy, fun, sexual enhancement, and power. ANCOVA analyses revealed significant main effects of condition on intimacy RSAEs. There was also a significant two-way Sexual RSAE X Partner Cue interaction predicting reaction times to sexual target words. Those with high baseline sexual RSAEs demonstrated response time speeding when responding to sexual words after being primed with partner cues. Finally, there was a significant three-way Intimacy RSAEs X Alcohol Cue X Partner Cue interaction predicting reaction times to intimacy target words. Those with high baseline intimacy RSAEs demonstrated response time slowing, or task interference, when responding to intimacy words after being primed with alcohol and/or partner cues. Those with low baseline intimacy RSAE did not show this effect. These results demonstrate that sexual words are semantically linked to the partner but intimacy words are motivationally relevant to those with pre-existing intimacy RSAEs when either alcohol cues or partner cues are present.Psychology, Department o
Social Media Posts Depicting Hyper-Masculine or Feminine Dominant Ideals: Does It Influence the Well-Being of Young Adults Romantic Relationships?
No full textLove, closeness, and intimacy-or relatedness-are significant in the maintenance of an individual's well-being. Accordingly, the development of social media, in theory, promotes the continuation of constant connection, a grand change from an era that lacked technology. Despite this, younger adults are reporting higher rates of loneliness than previous generations. A contributing factor, despite its ideology, is social media. The purpose of the study is to investigate how social media posts depicting hypermasculine ideals and/or female domination contribute to maladaptive cognitions and poor relationship functioning among young adults in romantic relationships. Specifically, this study is examining the impact of exposure to such social media content on personal outcomes (e.g., basic needs satisfaction and mood) and indicators of relationship functioning (e.g., relationship satisfaction and positive regard). Additionally, the study explores whether young adults with low trait self-esteem are especially vulnerable to the negative effects of such social media exposure.Psychology, Department ofHonors Colleg
Sexual Minority Relationships Buffer Against Minority Stress And Substance Use
No full textSexual minorities experience unique stressors known as minority stress: the additional stress members of stigmatized groups experience solely because of their minority group membership. Added stress usually comes in the form of discrimination, from refusal of service and employment discrimination to hate crimes. Sexual minorities potentially respond to this discrimination by protecting themselves through concealing their identity. Concealment is likely to be detrimental to people’s self-regulation and health behaviors, which can put sexual minorities at higher risk of substance use. However, sexual minorities in relationships could be at lower risk than those not in relationships because of the support from a partner. The current study used an experimental analog to examine the hypothesis that concealing one’s sexual identity leads to self-control depletion and increases alcohol and cannabis abuse. The final sample was comprised of 238 MTurk workers. There were no effects of condition on self-control depletion or the alcohol purchasing task indices. Concealment condition had a significant effect on the relative value of both cannabis and gasoline, but there were no effects of partner salience condition. The discussion focuses on the implications of identity concealment on substance use.Psychology, Department o
EATING AWAY AT PERSONAL PREJUDICE: EXAMINING ASSIMILATION OF BLACKS AND ASIANS USING CHARACTERS FROM AMC'S THE WALKING DEAD
No full textParasocial intergroup contact has been shown to influence beliefs about stigmatized groups, such as racial minorities. Previous work has demonstrated that affective factors, such as perspective taking, can account for the reductions in prejudice following parasocial interactions. The current study provides the first test of a cognitive factor (i.e., assimilation) that was expected to function in the same way. Specifically, it was expected that following the priming of a parasocial relationship with a Black or Asian character from the television show The Walking Dead, White participants would assimilate, or identify more closely with, the target characters racial group (i.e., Blacks or Asians). This assimilation was expected to lead to subsequent reduction in prejudice toward those racial groups, respectively. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that there would be individual differences that moderated this effect, such that it would only be observed for people low in avoidance of intimacy, as they are comfortable forming and maintaining close relationships. The final sample was comprised of 62 UH students and 148 MTurk workers. Significant findings were only observed for UH participants, and all observed effects were in the opposite direction of predictions. The discussion centers on explanations for the unexpected effects on assimilation, the null effects for prejudice, and general sample limitations. Implications and future directions are discussed.Psychology, Department o
Prayer Objects Provide the Experience of Belonging
No full textExisting literature on social surrogacy demonstrates that reminders of others with whom people have secure relationships can provide the experience of belonging. Additionally, it has been shown that God can be seen as an alternate attachment figure who can fulfill social needs for connection. Accordingly, this study hypothesizes that objects that remind people of their relationship with God (i.e., prayer objects) can fulfill connection needs and buffer against belongingness threats. Two hypotheses examined whether (1) belongingness threats can increase the desire to use a prayer object, and (2) using a prayer object alleviates the negative feelings caused by a rejection experience. The final sample consisted of 252 UH undergraduate students. Unexpectedly, participants spent more time describing a prayer object than a grocery object independent of belongingness threat. Consistent with the second hypothesis, thinking about a prayer object (but not a grocery object) buffered against the typical negative outcomes of a rejection experience. Explanations for the unexpected results regarding the first hypothesis, limitations of the current study, and future directions are discussed.Psychology, Department o
Benefit Finding and Resiliency in the Wake of Hurricane Harvey and Cancer
No full textAdverse life events such as cancer or exposure to a hurricane have profound and lasting impacts on the individual. The psychological and social costs of undergoing such events can be devastating. While many individuals report adverse psychological effects in response to these adverse life events, some report positive psychological growth and adaptive responses, such as proactive attempts to process the experience. Benefit finding, or finding the benefits from adversity, is a potentially important mechanism in helping relieve the impact of these events on psychological health. However, little is known about the relationship between benefit finding and physiological health. Benefit finding may be particularly relevant to writing interventions, which have been effective in improving psychological and physical health among individuals who have undergone adversity. The current paper reviews two studies, (1) one that tests the efficacy of a writing intervention for those exposed to Hurricane Harvey and the role of benefit finding as a mediator and moderator, and (2) another examining the relationship between benefit finding and cortisol profiles of Chinese American breast cancer survivors. In Study 1, participants completed baseline assessments and one writing session. Participants were randomized to either an emotional disclosure group, gratitude writing group, choice of writing prompt, or to a control group and completed one-week, one-month, and four-month follow-up assessments. Analyses were conducted using multilevel modeling. Those in the choice of writing prompt group reported significant improvement in their satisfaction with life, over time, compared to the control group. No support was found for positive or negative affect as mediators and benefit finding and hurricane exposure as moderators. The lack of evidence supporting the hypotheses, specifically, the mediators and moderators, was largely due to the study’s high attrition rate which rendered not enough power to sufficiently detect an effect. Nevertheless, the results are discussed in the context of existing expressive writing theories and recommendations are provided for future studies. In Study 2, we sought to explore the relationship between benefit finding and cortisol markers among cancer survivors. No support was found for the hypotheses that benefit finding would be positively related to cortisol indices. Alternate explanations will be provided to explain the null findings. There were some notable strengths including the sample size and number of days sampled. This is the first study examining the link between benefit finding and diurnal cortisol among minority cancer survivors. The findings of these studies add to the research on writing interventions and benefit finding, and underscores the need for further research to examine the effects of benefit finding on psychological and physical health.Psychology, Department o
NEGATIVE MOOD REGULATION AS A MODERATOR OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SYMPTOMS OF PTSD AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
No full textSymptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), particularly emotion dysregulation, have been associated with both perpetration and victimization of partner violence. The present study explored the relations between symptoms of PTSD, negative mood regulation and physical violence victimization in the dyadic context using a moderated actor partner interdependence model (APIMoM). Both actor and partner main effects of PTSD on IPV victimization in men and women were significant. However, men’s negative mood regulation was not a significant moderator of the model. Men’s symptoms of PTSD were significantly correlated with their negative mood regulation. PTSD symptoms of men and women and error within the outcome variables were significantly correlated with one another. These results are consistent with previous literature and provide additional evidence for the importance of dyadic analyses in IPV research. The current findings suggest men’s and women’s symptoms of PTSD should be considered when providing treatment to violent couples.Psychology, Department o
Gender Role Strain and Loneliness of Men in Online Spaces
No full textMen who are chronically lonely tend to attribute feelings of loneliness to being unable to meet the hegemonic masculine standard. In striving to achieve this unattainable standard, these men are emasculated as they are "not enough," thus heightening their masculine gender role strain. To examine how men are affected by the rigid definitions of hegemonic masculinity with loneliness, this study investigates how different rejection conditions (emasculation rejection condition, gender-neutral rejection condition, and control condition) influence variables such as perceived online social support, state self-esteem, risky behavioral intentions, mood, and loneliness. Additionally, masculine gender role strain was used as a moderator to observe how responses to these factors were affected by the stress of upholding masculine gender roles. The analysis of these responses suggests that participants in the emasculation rejection condition reported higher online social support and a marginally greater propensity to engage in risky behaviors. While condition alone did not have a significant effect on mood and loneliness, the modifying effect of masculine gender role strain indicated that higher strain exacerbated the effects of condition on feelings of loneliness and mood.Psychology, Department ofHonors Colleg
- …
