scholarly journals Episodic future thinking and compassion reduce public health guideline noncompliance urges: A randomised controlled trial

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Thomas van Baal ◽  
Antonio Verdejo-García ◽  
Jakob Hohwy
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Guideline Adherence ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Randomised Trial ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Episodic Future Thinking ◽  
Future Thinking ◽  
Wide Range

Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health departments have issued guidelines to limit viral transmission. In this environment, people will feel urges to engage in activities that violate these guidelines, but research on guideline adherence has been reliant on surveys asking people to self-report their typical behaviour, which may fail to capture these urges as they unfold. Guideline adherence could be improved through behaviour change interventions, but considering the wide range of behaviours that COVID-19 guidelines prescribe, few methods allow observing changes of aggregate guideline adherence in the wild. Methods To administer interventions and to obtain contemporaneous data on a wide range of behaviours, we use ecological momentary assessment. In this preregistered parallel randomised trial, 95 participants aged 18-65 from the UK were assigned to three conditions using blinded block randomisation, and engage in episodic future thinking (n = 33), compassion exercises (n = 31), or a sham procedure (n = 31) and report regularly on the intensity of their occurrent urges (min. 1, max. 10) and their ability to control them. We investigate whether state impulsivity and vaccine attitudes predict guideline adherence while assessing through which mechanism these predictors affect behaviour. Results We found that episodic future thinking (b = -1.60) and compassion exercises (b = -1.40) reduce the intensity of urges. State impulsivity is associated with stronger urges, but we found no evidence that vaccine hesitancy predicts lesser self-control. Conclusions We conclude that episodic future thinking exercises and compassion training may be used to stimulate compliance of individuals who are a risk for the community, such as those in voluntary self-isolation.

scholarly journals Improving patient experiences of mental health inpatient care: a randomised controlled trial

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 488-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Wykes ◽  
E. Csipke ◽  
P. Williams ◽  
L. Koeser ◽  
S. Nash ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Staff Training ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Randomised Trial ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Cluster Randomised Trial ◽  
Therapeutic Environment ◽  
Training Costs ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
The Uk

BackgroundPoorer patient views of mental health inpatient treatment predict both further admissions and, for those admitted involuntarily, longer admissions. As advocated in the UK Francis report, we investigated the hypothesis that improving staff training improves patients’ views of ward care.MethodCluster randomised trial with stepped wedge design in 16 acute mental health wards randomised (using the ralloc procedure in Stata) by an independent statistician in three waves to staff training. A psychologist trained ward staff on evidence-based group interventions and then supported their introduction to each ward. The main outcome was blind self-report of perceptions of care (VOICE) before or up to 2 years after staff training between November 2008 and January 2013.ResultsIn total, 1108 inpatients took part (616 admitted involuntarily under the English Mental Health Act). On average 51.6 staff training sessions were provided per ward. Involuntary patient's perceptions of, and satisfaction with, mental health wards improved after staff training (N582, standardised effect −0·35, 95% CI −0·57 to −0·12, p = 0·002; interaction p value 0·006) but no benefit to those admitted voluntarily (N469, −0.01, 95% CI −0.23 to 0.22, p = 0.955) and no strong evidence of an overall effect (N1058, standardised effect −0.18 s.d., 95% CI −0.38 to 0.01, p = 0.062). The training costs around £10 per patient per week. Resource allocation changed towards patient perceived meaningful contacts by an average of £12 (95% CI −£76 to £98, p = 0.774).ConclusionStaff training improved the perceptions of the therapeutic environment in those least likely to want an inpatient admission, those formally detained. This change might enhance future engagement with all mental health services and prevent the more costly admissions.

scholarly journals Uncovering the Longitudinal and Physiological Associations between Self-Control, Delay of Gratification and Future Thinking

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Samantha J. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Delay Of Gratification ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Temporal Orientation ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Future Thinking ◽  
Consideration Of Future Consequences ◽  
Control Delay ◽  
Low Self Control ◽  
Future Consequences

<p>High self-control, better delay of gratification, and future thinking have long been linked theoretically and, more recently, empirically, yet evidence of the causal relationships between them is non-existent. The present research aimed firstly to elucidate the nature of the relationships between self-control, delay of gratification and future thinking, and secondly to investigate whether they are rooted in our physiology. In Study 1, a sample of 174 undergraduates completed a self-report survey three times with 2-month intervals in between. Longitudinal mediation path models were constructed to determine whether and how self-control would function as a mediator between delay of gratification at Time 1 and consideration of future consequences at Time 3. Results showed that delay of gratification predicted higher self-control, which in turn predicted higher concern for future consequences (CFC-F) and a lower concern for immediate consequences (CFC-I). Study 2 further explored this relationship by investigating whether temporal orientation grouping – high- vs. low-CFC – would predict subsequent levels of self-control and delay of gratification in a study of 71 undergraduates. Heart rate variability and cortisol were also examined. Results showed that by grouping participants in terms of CFC it was possible to predict subsequent levels of self-control and gratification delay abilities as expected. While there were no between-groups physiological differences, the methodology allowed for the novel discovery that cortisol was related to cognitive facets of self-control, while HRV was related to emotional functions associated with low self-control (i.e., worry and rumination). These results further highlight the importance of self-control in both our psychological and physiological functioning.</p>

Stressing the personal benefits of the covid-19 vaccine might encourage more people to accept it

BMJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. n2923
Author(s):  
Helen Saul ◽  
Deniz Gursul
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Parallel Group ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Single Blind

The study Freeman D, Loe BS, Yu LM, et al. Effects of different types of written vaccination information on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the UK (OCEANS-III): a single-blind, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial. Lancet Public Health 2021;6:416-27. To read the full NIHR Alert, go to: https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/stressing-personal-benefits-of-covid-vaccine-could-reduce-hesitancy

scholarly journals Uncovering the Longitudinal and Physiological Associations between Self-Control, Delay of Gratification and Future Thinking

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Samantha J. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Delay Of Gratification ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Temporal Orientation ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Future Thinking ◽  
Consideration Of Future Consequences ◽  
Control Delay ◽  
Low Self Control ◽  
Future Consequences

<p>High self-control, better delay of gratification, and future thinking have long been linked theoretically and, more recently, empirically, yet evidence of the causal relationships between them is non-existent. The present research aimed firstly to elucidate the nature of the relationships between self-control, delay of gratification and future thinking, and secondly to investigate whether they are rooted in our physiology. In Study 1, a sample of 174 undergraduates completed a self-report survey three times with 2-month intervals in between. Longitudinal mediation path models were constructed to determine whether and how self-control would function as a mediator between delay of gratification at Time 1 and consideration of future consequences at Time 3. Results showed that delay of gratification predicted higher self-control, which in turn predicted higher concern for future consequences (CFC-F) and a lower concern for immediate consequences (CFC-I). Study 2 further explored this relationship by investigating whether temporal orientation grouping – high- vs. low-CFC – would predict subsequent levels of self-control and delay of gratification in a study of 71 undergraduates. Heart rate variability and cortisol were also examined. Results showed that by grouping participants in terms of CFC it was possible to predict subsequent levels of self-control and gratification delay abilities as expected. While there were no between-groups physiological differences, the methodology allowed for the novel discovery that cortisol was related to cognitive facets of self-control, while HRV was related to emotional functions associated with low self-control (i.e., worry and rumination). These results further highlight the importance of self-control in both our psychological and physiological functioning.</p>

scholarly journals On the art of doing surveys among adolescents

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
P Due ◽  
A M Arnarsson ◽  
N Lyyra ◽  
P Löfstedt ◽  
K R Madsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Measurement Instrument ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Measurement Tools ◽  
Cross Sectional Design ◽  
Biased Reporting

Abstract The aim is to discuss methodological challenges for research on adolescent positive mental health. A first consideration is which questions should the measurement instrument answer. In the clinical context it should have the properties of giving enough information for making a diagnosis of high quality. In the public health context, its objective may be to give information that enables the researcher to describe trends at the population level and provide guidance on areas of intervention. The HBSC study is monitoring the health and health behaviour of school-aged children in a public health context. It is a population survey, defined by the form of data collection and the method of analysis. The data is collected by questionnaire from a representative sample of school-aged children. It tries to answer descriptive questions (What, who, when?), but also tries to explore causal associations (Why?), given the limitations of the cross-sectional design. Surveys have advantages: Good for gathering descriptive data; Can cover a wide range of topics. Are relatively inexpensive to use; Can include large number of respondents; and Can be analysed using a variety of existing software. Among the disadvantages can be mentioned: Self-report may lead to biased reporting; Data may provide a general picture but lack depth; Difficult to obtain adequate information on context; and Differences in understanding: it is difficult to formulate questions in such a way that it will mean exactly same thing to each respondent. The choice of measurement tools or indicators involves both theoretical and practical issues. Multidisciplinary research teams may include different theoretical traditions, which is an asset but also make it necessary to be explicit regarding overall aims of the study. Most often the theoretical issues focus one of three topics: the value of the types of data; the relative scientific rigor of the data; or basic, underlying philosophies of evaluation.

scholarly journals Second Generation Antipsychotics Improve Sexual Dysfunction in Schizophrenia: A Randomised Controlled Trial

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Mahmoud ◽  
Karen P. Hayhurst ◽  
Richard J. Drake ◽  
Shôn W. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Sexual Function ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Randomised Trial ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Second Generation Antipsychotics ◽  
Quality Of Life Scale ◽  
The Impact

The impact of antipsychotic drug treatment on sexual function was investigated during a randomised trial comparing first generation antipsychotics (FGAs) to (nonclozapine) second generation antipsychotics (SGAs). Sexual function and quality of life were (rater-blind) assessed in 42 patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia (aged 18–65) using the self-report version of the Derogatis Interview for Sexual Function (DISF-SR) and the Heinrichs Quality of Life Scale (QLS), prior to, and 12 weeks following, a change in medication from an FGA drug to either an FGA or SGA drug. SGAs significantly improved sexual function compared to FGAs. Change in sexual function was associated with change in quality of life. Where impaired sexual functioning is a distressing adverse effect of treatment with an FGA agent, consideration should be given to switching to an SGA.

Promoting the Community's Ability to Detect and Respond to Suicide Risk Through an Online Bystander Intervention Model-Informed Tool

Crisis ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Karien Hill ◽  
Shawn Somerset ◽  
Ralf Schwarzer ◽  
Carina Chan
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Bystander Intervention ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Intervention Model ◽  
Standard Material

Abstract. Background: The public health sector has advocated for more innovative, technology-based, suicide prevention education for the community, to improve their ability to detect and respond to suicide risk. Emerging evidence suggests addressing the bystander effect through the Bystander Intervention Model (BIM) in education material may have potential for suicide prevention. Aims: The current study aimed to assess whether BIM-informed tools can lead to improved readiness, confidence and intent in the community to detect and respond to suicide risk in others. Method: A sample of 281 adults recruited from the community participated in a randomized controlled trial comprising a factsheet designed according to the BIM (intervention group) and a standard factsheet about suicide and mental health (control group). Participants' self-reported detecting and responding to suicide risk readiness, confidence, and intent when presented with a suicidal peer was tested pre- and postintervention and compared across time and between groups. Results: The intervention group had significantly higher levels of detecting and responding to suicide risk readiness, confidence, and intent than the control group at postintervention (all p < .001) with moderate-to-large effect sizes. Limitations: The study was limited by a homogenous sample, too low numbers at follow-up to report, and self-report data only. Conclusion: This study demonstrates BIM-informed suicide prevention training may enhance the community's intervention readiness, confidence, and intent better than current standard material. Further testing in this area is recommended. While results were statistically significant, clinical significance requires further exploration.

Inhibition tasks are not associated with self-regulation outcomes in healthy college students

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Curtis David Von Gunten ◽  
Bruce D Bartholow ◽  
Jorge S. Martins
Keyword(s):  
Latent Variable ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Variable Level ◽  
Cast Doubt ◽  
The Individual

Executive functioning (EF) is defined as a set of top-down processes used in reasoning, forming goals, planning, concentrating, and inhibition. It is widely believed that these processes are critical to self-regulation and, therefore, that performance on behavioral task measures of EF should be associated with individual differences in everyday life outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to test this core assumption, focusing on the EF facet of inhibition. A sample of 463 undergraduates completed five laboratory inhibition tasks, along with three self-report measures of self-control and 28 self-report measures of life outcomes. Results showed that although most of the life outcome measures were associated with self-reported self-control, none of the life outcomes were associated with inhibition task performance at the latent-variable level, and few associations were found at the individual task level. These findings challenge the criterion validity of lab-based inhibition tasks. More generally, when considered alongside the known lack of convergent validity between inhibition tasks and self-report measures of self-control, the findings cast doubt on the task’s construct validity as measures of self-control processes. Potential methodological and theoretical reasons for the poor performance of laboratory-based inhibition tasks are discussed.

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