The Sense of Control in Midlife

1999 ◽  
pp. 181-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Clark-Plaskie ◽  
Margie E. Lachman
Keyword(s):  
2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Leahy

Abstract Educating students and informing clinicians regarding developments in therapy approaches and in evidence-based practice are important elements of the responsibility of specialist academic posts in universities. In this article, the development of narrative therapy and its theoretical background are outlined (preceded by a general outline of how the topic of fluency disorders is introduced to students at an Irish university). An example of implementing narrative therapy with a 12-year-old boy is presented. The brief case description demonstrates how narrative therapy facilitated this 12-year-old make sense of his dysfluency and his phonological disorder, leading to his improved understanding and management of the problems, fostering a sense of control that led ultimately to their resolution.


Author(s):  
Suzanne C. Thompson

A sense of personal control is an important resource that helps people maintain emotional stability and successfully negotiate their way through life. People foster their perceived control by focusing on reachable goals, creating new avenues for control, and accepting difficult-to-change circumstances. In general, perceived control need not be realistic in order to have beneficial effects, although in the area of health promotion, overestimating one's control can reduce the motivation to engage in protection. Research on ethnic differences in the benefits of a sense of personal control suggests that those from more collectivistic cultures or subcultures may be less benefited by a sense of personal control, relying instead on a socially derived sense of control. Successful interventions to enhance personal control include programs that bolster coping skills, give options and decisions to participants, and provide training that encourages attributions to controllable factors. Future research should further explore ethnic differences in the effects of personal control, the consequences of unrealistic control perceptions, and interventions to enhance the sense of control.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089826432110110
Author(s):  
Dana R. Riedy ◽  
Ashley MacPherson ◽  
Natalie D. Dautovich

Objective: The current study examined the association between role stress and using food to cope with stress in midlife women and examined sense of control as a potential underlying mechanism. Methods: An archival analysis was performed using data from 638 midlife women from the Midlife in the United States II study. Results: Hierarchical linear regression analyses demonstrated that work stress (β = .180, p < .001) and family stress (β = .138, p < .05) significantly predicted using food to cope with stress. Sense of control was a significant mediator between work stress and using food to cope with stress ( b = 0.02, 95% CI [.0014, .0314]). Discussion: Midlife women with higher role stress related to work and family are more likely to use food to cope with stress, and sense of control seems to be the link between work stress and using food to cope.


Author(s):  
Sofie Walming ◽  
Eva Angenete ◽  
David Bock ◽  
Mattias Block ◽  
Hanna de la Croix ◽  
...  

Abstract Patients with colorectal cancer may lack information about the disease and treatment. In 2017, a group consultation before start of surgery was introduced at a university hospital in western Sweden to inform about the disease, treatment, and ongoing scientific studies. The primary aim of this study was to explore the experience of the patients attending the group consultation. Based on semi-structured interviews with patients with colorectal cancer, a questionnaire was constructed and administered to patients, both those attending and those not attending the group consultation. In total, 124 patients were included and the response rate was 86%. A majority of patients attending the group consultation would recommend it to someone else with the same illness. Of the patients attending the group consultation, 81% (30/37) patients agreed, fully or partially, that attending the group consultation had increased their sense of control and 89% (33/37) that the information they received at the group consultation increased their feeling of participation in the treatment. Preoperative group consultation is a feasible modality for informing and discussing the upcoming treatment for colorectal cancer with the patients, and the patients who attended the group setting appreciated it. Attending the group consultation increased the patients’ feeling of active participation in their treatment and their sense of control, which could possibly both improve their experience of their illness and facilitate recovery. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03888313


Sexual Health ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Down ◽  
Garrett Prestage ◽  
Kathy Triffitt ◽  
Graham Brown ◽  
Jack Bradley ◽  
...  

Background In recent years, there has been increasing evidence that early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) may provide health benefits for those infected with HIV. There has also been significant discussion about the role of HIV treatment in preventing onward transmission of the virus. Early provision and uptake of ART to people recently diagnosed with HIV could achieve both individual and public health outcomes. The success of such an initiative relies, in part, on the preparedness of those recently diagnosed with HIV to engage with the therapy. Methods: The HIV Seroconversion Study collects both quantitative and qualitative data from people in Australia who have recently been diagnosed with HIV. During 2011–2012, 53 gay or bisexual men recruited across Australia took part in semistructured interviews as part of the study. The men were asked about their knowledge and experience of, and their decisions about whether or not to commence, HIV treatment. Results: The interviews identified differing levels of knowledge about HIV treatments and divergent views about the health and prevention benefits of ART. For some, treatments provided a sense of control over the virus; others were apprehensive and distrustful, and preferred to resist commencing treatments for as long as possible. Conclusions: If early initiation of treatment is to be encouraged, appropriate measures must be in place to ensure recently diagnosed individuals have access to the appropriate information and the support they need to enable them to make informed choices and, if necessary, to address their fears.


Facilities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shang Gao ◽  
Sui Pheng Low ◽  
Hua Qian Gong

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the activity-based workspace (ABW) on employee belonging. Place attachment theory (PAT) is used as a proxy to understand and measure the belongingness of employees to their physical workplaces. Design/methodology/approach A case study of a bank’s newly retrofitted ABW office is conducted, providing fresh perspectives on the effect of ABW on employee belonging. A questionnaire survey was used to understand employee belongingness. Surveys are conducted with employees of the bank (n = 100) who experienced the transition from the conventional open-plan office with designated seats to an ABW, to understand and compare the change in employee belonging after the transition, by studying the level of belonging achieved in the space before and after. Findings The results showed that there was a positive sense of belongingness amongst employees working in the ABW space, as per the PAT framework and an increased sense of belongingness compared with the previous conventional open-plan office. However, ABWs were found to also have a negative effect on employees’ sense of control and security. Originality/value Maslow’s hierarchy of needs indicates that a feeling of belonging is fundamental to humans. The need for belonging is also applicable in the workplaces of today’s progressive corporate organisations, where there is increased pressure and incentive to appeal to and retain talent. This research was conducted in response to the huge growth in interest in activity-based working across the corporate real estate community. As there has been no prior research done in the area of the emotional need for belongingness in ABW.


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