Description: This study examined whether religious coping moderated the effects of thin-ideal images on body satisfaction among college women. Religious (N = 178) participants met for a pre-test to complete religiosity measures. A week later, the participants reconvened and were assigned to one of two conditions: before (n = 83) or after (n = 95). Within each of these two groups, participants were randomly assigned to read a list of statements: positive religious statements, positive nonreligious statements, negative religious statements, positive body neutral religious statements, and neutral statements. Each participant was exposed to a task that included 10 images of thin-ideal models, read her list of statements, and completed the Body Dissatisfaction Scale of the EDI-3. The results revealed no significant main effect of placement, type of statement and no significant Placement X Statement Type interaction. However, when religious statements were collapsed and a subsequent 2 (Placement) X 3 (Statement type) analysis was conducted the results indicated a significant main effect for type of statement. Reading religious statements resulted in less body dissatisfaction than non-religious statements. There was no main effect for placement and no Placement X Statement Type interaction. Ethnic differences in religiosity were noted (all p’s <.05). Implications and ...

Description: The most effective and useful way to diagnose and subtype depression has been a long debated topic which even now does not have a definite answer. The biopsychosocial approach to diagnosis may be a solution to this problem by linking various etiologies to symptom presentation. The biopsychosocial model, in regard to depression, takes into account biological risk factors/contributors, psychological or cognitive risk factors/contributors, and social risk factors/contributors to depression when making diagnosis and subtyping determinations. However, the most effective way to use this model in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of depression is not yet clear. In this study, the utility of the biopsychosocial model as an effective approach to conceptualizing and treating depression was assessed by testing hypotheses that showed that etiological contributors are related to the presence and differential presentation of depression, and that these etiologically-based subtypes of depression respond differently to different forms of treatment. These hypotheses were tested using data from the National Comorbidity Survey - Replication (NCS-R). Results showed that the biopsychosocial model can effectively predict the presence, severity and chronicity of depression, and may inform specific biopsychosocially-based subtypes. No conclusions could be drawn regarding success in treatment based on the biopsychosocial model. Future directions ...

Description: Many substance users deny their substance use to avoid negative consequences, thus diluting the accuracy of assessment. To address this issue, indirect items are often included on substance use measures to identify those who deny their use. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of complete denial and partial denial on substance use measures. Partial denial, also termed denial of effects, is the denial of substance use interfering in multiple domains of a person's functioning. The study used a mixed within- and between-subjects design with participants from a dual diagnosis inpatient unit. Each participant completed the study under two different conditions which include an honest condition and an experimental condition (either complete denial or partial denial). Results show that partial denial is distinctly different from complete denial across three self-report substance use measures. Importantly, substance users engaging in these denial conditions were often undetected by these measures.

Description: Diabetes mellitus affects 7.8% of the American population. National health statistic data and other research shows that racial/ethnic disparities exist in terms of prevalence and treatment outcomes. The present study investigated the role of patient health beliefs (i.e., locus of control, self-efficacy) and the doctor-patient relationship (e.g., satisfaction and collaboration with health care provider), as relative predictors of diabetic control (i.e., HbA1c levels) and overall satisfaction with diabetes care, in older adult participants with diabetes. Demographic, psychosocial, and diabetes-related data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) 2003 Diabetes Study were analyzed to compare treatment outcomes among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic individuals with various types of diabetes. Non-Hispanic White individuals exhibited better diabetic control than their minority counterparts (F(2, 592) = 7.60, p < .001); however, no significant group differences were noted in terms of psychosocial factors. Diabetic control was best predicted by time since diagnosis (&#946; = -.21, p < .001), satisfaction with diabetes self-care (&#946; = .19, p < .001) and age (&#946; = .12, p < .01). In addition, satisfaction with provider care was best predicted by perceived collaboration with provider (&#946; = .44, p < .001), satisfaction with diabetes self-care (&#946; = .22, p ...

Description: Despite high levels of exposure, firefighter posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rates are unclear. Likewise, questions remain regarding how social interactions and beliefs about emotion might interact to influence PTSD in firefighters. In this study, U.S. urban firefighters (N = 225) completed measures of social support, negative social interactions, and fear of emotion which were then used via regression analyses to predict PTSD symptoms. Each independent variable predicted PTSD beyond variance accounted for by demographic variables. Additionally, fear of emotion emerged as the strongest individual predictor of PTSD and a moderator of the relation between social interactions and PTSD symptoms. These findings emphasize the importance of beliefs about emotion; both in how these beliefs might influence the expression of PTSD symptoms, and in how the social networks of trauma survivors might buffer distress.