Abbey R. Roach

Executive Functions, Self-Regulation, and Chronic Pain: A Review

BackgroundChronic pain conditions are complicated and challenging to live with. Capacity to adjust to such conditions may depend on the ability to self-regulate, that is, the ability to alter thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Self-regulation appears to rely on executive cognitive functions, and the current review, therefore, sought to draw attention to the impact of self-regulatory capacity and executive functions on chronic pain.DiscussionChronic pain conditions present with complex interactions of cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physiological components for which self-regulatory ability is crucial. The ability to self-regulate varies, and self-regulatory strength appears to be a limited resource that can be fatigued. The many challenges of chronic pain conditions could, therefore, tax self-regulatory strength, leading to self-regulatory deficits.ConclusionThe current review proposes a relationship among pain, self-regulatory capacity, self-regulatory demands, executive functions, and self-regulatory fatigue, suggesting that executive functions and self-regulatory deficits are indeed part of the etiology and maintenance of chronic pain conditions.

The Dynamics of Quality of Life in ALS Patients and Caregivers

BackgroundQuality of life (QOL) in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their caregivers may depend on disease progression, premorbid characteristics (e.g., personality or demographics), or idiosyncratic effects (e.g., life events unrelated to the disease). Furthermore, effects may differ for patients and caregivers; physical decline may impact the caregiver more than the patient.PurposeThe present study examined QOL in ALS patients and their caregivers over the course of the illness.MethodsLongitudinal data from ALS patients (N = 55) and caregivers (N = 53) yielded estimates of the sources of and changes over time in total QOL as well as individual domains (psychological existential, physical, and social) as measured by the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire.ResultsFor both patients and caregivers, about half of QOL variance emerged from stable individual differences. Passage of time did not affect QOL in patients, but total QOL and particularly QOL related to physical symptoms declined over time in caregivers. Gender was mostly unrelated to QOL in patients and caregivers, but younger caregivers had lower QOL across a number of domains.ConclusionsLow QOL among ALS patients is likely due to pre-existing individual differences, whereas both individual differences such as demographics (e.g., age) and disease progression are likely to affect QOL among caregivers.

Beliefs about cancer causation and prevention as a function of personal and family history of cancer: a national, population-based study.

Objective: Research suggests individuals possess multifaceted cognitive representations of various diseases. These illness representations consist of various beliefs, including causal attributions for the disease, and are believed to motivate, guide, and shape health‐related behavior. As little research has examined factors associated with beliefs about cancer causation, this study examined the relationship between personal and family history of cancer and beliefs about the causes and prevention of malignant disease.

Differences in cancer information-seeking behavior, preferences, and awareness between cancer survivors and healthy controls: a national, population-based survey.

Background. No research has examined how cancer diagnosis and treatment might alter information source preferences or opinions. Methods. We examined data from 719 cancer survivors (CS group) and 2012 matched healthy controls (NCC group) regarding cancer-related information-seeking behavior, preferences, and awareness from the population-based 2003 Health Information National Trends Survey. Results. The CS group reported greater consumption of cancer-related information, but the CS and NCC groups did not differ in information source use or preferences. The CS group was more confident of their ability to get cancer information, reported more trust in health care professionals and television as cancer information sources, but evaluated their recent cancer information-seeking experiences more negatively than the NCC group. Awareness of cancer information resources was surprisingly low in both the CS and NCC groups. Conclusions. Cancer diagnosis and treatment subtly alters cancer information-seeking preferences and experience. However, awareness and use of cancer information resources was relatively low regardless of personal history of cancer.

Episodic Repetitive Thought: Dimensions, Correlates, and Consequences

Repetitive thought (RT) – attentive, prolonged, or frequent thought about oneself and ones world – plays an important role in many models of psychological and physical ill health (e.g., rumination and worry), as well as models of recovery and well-being (e.g., processing and reminiscing). In these models, repetitive thought is typically treated as stable or trait-like. In contrast, episodic RT reflects what people have “on their minds” at a particular point in time. In four studies, young women (N=94), college students (N=166), first-year law students (N=73), and older adults (N=174) described their episodic RT, which was then rated for qualities including valence, purpose, and theme. Episodic RT valence was associated with mood and depressive symptoms both between (Studies 1–4) and within people (Studies 3–4), and it mediated the effects of dispositional coping through emotional approach (Study 1). The effect of episodic RT valence in turn was moderated by other properties of episodic RT, including purpose, “trait” valence, and theme (Studies 1–4). The study of episodic RT complements that of trait RT and allows for observations of how RT and psychological adjustment change in concert and in context, as well as examining how the RT qualities that are not reflected in trait measures affect adjustment.