Frederick X. Gibbons

Health, coping, and wellbeing: Perspectives from social comparison theory

Contents: B.P. Buunk, F.X. Gibbons, M. Reis-Bergan, Social Comparison in Health and Illness: An Overview. W.M. Klein, N.D. Weinstein, Social Comparison and Unrealistic Optimism About Personal Risk. F.X. Gibbons, M. Gerrard, Health Images and Their Effects on Health Behavior. S.J. Misovich, J.D. Fisher, W.A. Fisher, Social Comparison Processes and AIDS Risk and AIDS Preventive Behavior. L.G. Aspinwall, Future-Oriented Aspects of Social Comparisons: A Framework for Studying Health-Related Comparison Activity. T.A. Wills, Modes and Families of Coping: An Analysis of Social Comparison and Other Cognitive and Behavioral Mechanisms. J. Suls, R. Martin, H. Leventhal, Social Comparison, Lay Referral, and the Decision to Seek Medical Care. J.A. Kulik, H.I.M. Mahler, Social Comparison, Affiliation, and Coping With Acute Medical Threats. H. Tennen, G. Affleck, Social Comparison as a Coping Process: A Critical Review and Application to Chronic Pain Disorders. J.V. Wood, K. VanderZee, Social Comparisons Among Cancer Patients: Under What Conditions Are Comparisons Upward and Downward? E. Diener, F. Fujita, Social Comparisons and Subjective Well-Being. B.P. Buunk, J.F. Ybema, Social Comparisons and Occupational Stress: The Identification-Contrast Model. A.H. Ahrens, L.B. Alloy, Social Comparison Processes in Depression. H. Leventhal, S. Hudson, C. Robitaille, Social Comparison and Health: A Process Model.

Using Images to Increase Exercise Behavior: Prototypes Versus Possible Selves

This study investigated the impact of health-related prototypes and possible selves on exercise behavior. In addition, this study examined if these effects might be moderated by individual differences—specifically social comparison (SC) and consideration of future consequences (CFC). One hundred and fifty-two students participated in all three waves of the study—premanipulation, manipulation, and follow-up. As expected, results indicated that individuals who were high on SC and exposed to a prototype manipulation increased their exercise behavior at follow-up. Furthermore, individuals who were future-oriented and exposed to a possible selves manipulation increased their exercise behavior at follow-up. Overall, results revealed that health images have an important impact on health behavior. Implications for behavior change are discussed.

Effects of UV Photographs, Photoaging Information, and Use of Sunless Tanning Lotion on Sun Protection Behaviors

OBJECTIVES To delineate the natural history of pityriasis rosea in black children and to compare our findings with those of the American, European, and African literature on pityriasis rosea. Textbook and journal article descriptions of pityriasis rosea usually offer information about the presentation and clinical course of this condition in white patients. DESIGN Prospective observational study. SETTING The general pediatric clinic, adolescent clinic, and emergency department of Childrens Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, from June 2003 through May 2005. PATIENTS We followed up 50 black children with pityriasis rosea from the time of diagnosis through follow-up visits at 1, 2, and 4 weeks. Detailed observations were made and digital photographs taken at each visit. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Duration of illness and pigmentary sequelae. RESULTS Similarities with the medical literature were found regarding season of onset and prevalence of pruritus and of a herald patch. Our patients had more frequent facial involvement (30%) and more scalp lesions (8%) than usually described in white populations. One third had papular lesions. The disease resolved in nearly one half of patients within 2 weeks. Residual hyperpigmentation was seen in 48% of patients. Hypopigmentation developed in 29% of patients with purely papular or papulovesicular lesions. CONCLUSIONS Pityriasis rosea in black children differs in several ways from textbook descriptions. Physicians may use this information to better counsel patients about the course and potential sequelae of this condition.

Self-directed attention, awareness of bodily states, and suggestibility

Two studies tested the hypothesis that self-directed attention would cause increased awareness of internal states and would thus reduce suggestibility effects. Experiment 1 applied this reasoning to the experience of an emotion. Males viewed moderately arousing slides of female nudes after being led to expect the slides to be either highly arousing or nonarousing. As predicted, ratings of the slides corresponded less with these experimentally-manipulated anticipations when self-focus was heightened by the presence of a mirror than when it was not. Experiment 2 examined a different internal experience: the perception of taste. Some subjects were led to expect a strong flavor as part of a test series, and other subjects were led to expect a weak flavor. Subjects high in private self-consciousness were less affected by this expectancy manipulation and more accurate in reporting their actual internal state than were subjects low in private self-consciousness. Discussion centers on the theoretical implications of the findings.

Social Environmental Variation, Plasticity Genes, and Aggression: Evidence for the Differential Susceptibility Hypothesis

Although G×E studies are typically based on the assumption that some individuals possess genetic variants that enhance their vulnerability to environmental adversity, the differential susceptibility perspective posits that these individuals are simply more susceptible to environmental influence than others. An important implication of this model is that those persons most vulnerable to adverse social environments are the same ones who reap the most benefit from environmental support. The present study tested several implications of this proposition. Using longitudinal data from a sample of several hundred African Americans, we found that relatively common variants of the dopamine receptor gene and the serotonin transporter gene interact with social environmental conditions to predict aggression in a manner consonant with differential susceptibility. When the social environment was adverse, individuals with these genetic variants manifested more aggression than other genotypes, whereas when the environment was supportive they demonstrated less aggression than other genotypes. Further, we found that these genetic variants interact with environmental conditions to foster various cognitive schemas and emotions in a manner consistent with differential susceptibility and that a latent construct formed by these schemas and emotions mediated the effect of gene by environment interaction on aggression.Although gene by environment studies are typically based on the assumption that some individuals possess genetic variants that enhance their vulnerability to environmental adversity, the differential susceptibility perspective posits that these individuals are simply more susceptible to environmental influence than others. An important implication of this perspective is that individuals most vulnerable to adverse social environments are the same ones who reap the most benefit from environmental support. Using longitudinal data from a sample of several hundred African Americans, we found that relatively common variants of the dopamine receptor gene and the serotonin transporter gene interact with social conditions to predict aggression in a manner consonant with the differential susceptibility perspective. When social conditions were adverse, individuals with these genetic variants manifested more aggression than other genotypes, whereas when the environment was favorable they demonstrated less aggression than other genotypes. Furthermore, we found that these genetic variants interact with environmental conditions to foster schemas and emotions consistent with the differential susceptibility perspective and that a latent construct formed by these schemas and emotions mediates the gene by environment interaction on aggression.

Longitudinal study of e-cigarette use and onset of cigarette smoking among high school students in Hawaii

Objective Use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) is prevalent among adolescents, but there is little knowledge about the consequences of their use. We examined, longitudinally, how e-cigarette use among adolescents is related to subsequent smoking behaviour. Methods Longitudinal school-based survey with a baseline sample of 2338 students (9th and 10th graders, mean age 14.7 years) in Hawaii surveyed in 2013 (time 1, T1) and followed up 1 year later (time 2, T2). We assessed e-cigarette use, tobacco cigarette use, and psychosocial covariates (demographics, parental support and monitoring, and sensation seeking and rebelliousness). Regression analyses including the covariates tested whether e-cigarette use was related to the onset of smoking among youth who had never smoked cigarettes, and to change in smoking frequency among youth who had previously smoked cigarettes. Results Among T1 never-smokers, those who had used e-cigarettes at T1 were more likely to have smoked cigarettes at T2; for a complete-case analysis, adjusted OR=2.87, 95% CI 2.03 to 4.05, p<0.0001. Among ever-smokers at T1, using e-cigarettes was not related to significant change in their frequency of smoking at T2. Uptake of e-cigarette use among T1 never-users of either product was predicted by age, Caucasian or Native Hawaiian (vs Asian-American) ethnicity, lower parental education and parental support, higher rebelliousness, and perception of e-cigarettes as healthier. Conclusions Adolescents who use e-cigarettes are more likely to start smoking cigarettes. This result together with other findings suggests that policies restricting adolescents’ access to e-cigarettes may have a rationale from a public health standpoint.

The effect of smoking on DNA methylation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from African American women

BackgroundRegular smoking is associated with a wide variety of syndromes with prominent inflammatory components such as cancer, obesity and type 2 diabetes. Heavy regular smoking is also associated with changes in the DNA methylation of peripheral mononuclear cells. However, in younger smokers, inflammatory epigenetic findings are largely absent which suggests the inflammatory response(s) to smoking may be dose dependent. To help understand whether peripheral mononuclear cells have a role in mediating these responses in older smokers with higher cumulative smoke exposure, we examined genome-wide DNA methylation in a group of well characterized adult African American subjects informative for smoking, as well as serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 receptor (IL6R) levels. In addition, complementary bioinformatic analyses were conducted to delineate possible pathways affected by long-term smoking.ResultsGenome-wide DNA methylation analysis with respect to smoking status yielded 910 significant loci after Benjamini-Hochberg correction. In particular, two loci from the AHRR gene (cg05575921 and cg23576855) and one locus from the GPR15 gene (cg19859270) were identified as highly significantly differentially methylated between smokers and non-smokers. The bioinformatic analyses showed that long-term chronic smoking is associated with altered promoter DNA methylation of genes coding for proteins mapping to critical sub-networks moderating inflammation, immune function, and coagulation.ConclusionsWe conclude that chronic regular smoking is associated with changes in peripheral mononuclear cell methylation signature which perturb inflammatory and immune function pathways and may contribute to increased vulnerability for complex illnesses with inflammatory components.

From Willingness to Intention: Experience Moderates the Shift From Reactive to Reasoned Behavior

Three studies compared the predictive validity of three proximal antecedents to risk behavior: behavioral intention (BI), behavioral expectation (BE), and behavioral willingness (BW). In Study 1, BW was the only significant predictor of change in substance use in early adolescence (age 13), whereas only BI was significant in middle adolescence (age 16). In Study 2, BW was a better predictor of change in smoking among young adolescents than was BE, but BE became predominant by middle adolescence. By late adolescence, previous behavior surpassed both BE and BW. When only smoking initiation was examined, BW was a better predictor than was BE. In Study 3, BI, BW, and BE independently predicted class skipping. However, BI was a better predictor for students more experienced with the behavior, whereas BW was superior for less experienced students. The findings provide evidence of a developmental shift from more reactive to more reasoned processing, as experience with the behavior increases.

Racial Discrimination, Ethnic- Racial Socialization, and Crime: A Micro-sociological Model of Risk and Resilience

Dominant theoretical explanations of racial disparities in criminal offending overlook a key risk factor associated with race: interpersonal racial discrimination. Building on recent studies that analyze race and crime at the micro-level, we specify a social psychological model linking personal experiences with racial discrimination to an increased risk of offending. We add to this model a consideration of an adaptive facet of African American culture: ethnic-racial socialization, and explore whether two forms—cultural socialization and preparation for bias—provide resilience to the criminogenic effects of interpersonal racial discrimination. Using panel data from several hundred African American male youth from the Family and Community Health Study, we find that racial discrimination is positively associated with increased crime in large part by augmenting depression, hostile views of relationships, and disengagement from conventional norms. Results also indicate that preparation for bias significantly reduces the effects of discrimination on crime, primarily by reducing the effects of these social psychological mediators on offending. Cultural socialization has a less influential but beneficial effect. Finally, we show that the more general parenting context within which preparation for bias takes place influences its protective effects.

The Role of Religiosity in the Relationship Between Parents, Peers, and Adolescent Risky Sexual Behavior

Research has documented a negative relationship between religion and risky sexual behavior. Few studies, however, have examined the processes whereby religion exerts this effect. The present study develops and tests a model of various mechanisms whereby parental religiosity reduces the likelihood of adolescents’ participation in risky sexual behavior (early sexual debut, multiple sexual partners, and inconsistent condom use). Structural equation modeling, using longitudinal data from a sample of 612 African American adolescents (55% female), provided support for the model. The results indicated that parental religiosity influenced adolescent risky sexual behavior through its impact on authoritative parenting, adolescent religiosity, and adolescent affiliation with less sexually permissive peers. Some mediating mechanisms differed by the gender of the respondent, suggesting a “double-standard” for daughters but not for sons. Findings also indicated the importance of messages about sexual behavior that are transmitted to adolescents by their peers. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.