Friederike Zimmermann

Young adults' images of abstaining and drinking: Prototype dimensions, correlates, and assessment methods

This research investigated contents of actor and abstainer prototypes with regard to young adults’ social drinking combining quantitative and qualitative approaches (adjective ratings, N = 300; open answers, N = 90). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded two factors (sociability/hedonism, responsibility) in both prototypes, confirmed by qualitative data. Given the importance for intention and willingness to drink alcohol, interventions should focus on the factor ‘sociability/hedonism’ of the actor and the abstainer prototype to reduce heavy drinking; addressing ‘responsibility’ may be ineffective. Participants’ evaluations appeared to be less prone to mean tendencies subsequent to open answers compared with adjective scales.

Factors associated with health-related quality of life, anxiety and depression among young adults with epilepsy and mild cognitive impairments in short-term residential care

INTRODUCTION This study examined associations of health-related quality of life (HRQOL), anxiety, and depression with medical and psychosocial variables. Participants were young adults with epilepsy and additional mild cognitive impairments in short-term residential care of the Bethel Institute, Germany. METHODS Thirty-six individuals were interviewed using the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory 31 (QOLIE-31), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the neuroticism scale of the Neo-Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Medical as well as socio-demographic data were assembled from client files. RESULTS Regression analyses revealed neuroticism as the strongest predictor of HRQOL, anxiety and depression. The only variables that additionally explained a substantial proportion of variance counting for 6-10% in the three criteria were age at epilepsy onset and sex: epilepsy onset after the age of 10 years was associated with lower HRQOL and higher anxiety, men suffered from more depression than women. DISCUSSION Neuroticism as a personality disposition seems to be most influential on HRQOL and anxiety in people with epilepsy and mild cognitive impairment. The impact of sex and age at epilepsy onset on HRQOL, anxiety and depression of this epilepsy subpopulation should be further clarified.

Information About Low Participation in Cancer Screening Demotivates Other People

Health education campaigns that aim to increase rates of attendance at preventive health screenings often present information about low participation rates. An example from the United States reads, “A new survey . . . found that 89% of women still do not think or are not sure that they are at risk for infection with the virus” (Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, 2009). One from Germany states, “Only every second woman and every fifth man in Germany makes use of these cancer screening examinations” (Deutsche Krebshilfe e.V., n.d.). Does information about low rates of participation motivate or demotivate individuals who have not yet made use of a preventive health service? Two main types of social influences on human behavior are distinguished (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955): normative social influence (what is commonly approved) and informational social influence (what is commonly done). The latter type of social influence has recently been referred to as the “Cialdini effect” (Keizer, Lindenberg, & Steg, 2008): “If everyone is doing it, it must be a sensible thing to do” (Cialdini, Reno, & Kallgren, 1990, p. 1015). Norms based on what is commonly done, or descriptive norms, were first convincingly demonstrated in field studies on littering behavior, but they influence health-related behavior as well (Rivis & Sheeran, 2003). People may infer such norms from information on the proportion of people who engage in a particular behavior (Jemmott, Ditto, & Croyle, 1986). Buunk, van den Eijnden, and Siero (2002) found an indirect effect of (bogus) prevalence information regarding safe-sex practices among students. The effect on students’ intention to use condoms was the result of a change in perceived social norms. A study of 2,426 German men detected large differences in their estimations of the prevalence of participation in cancer screening, and these estimates varied as a function of the men’s own participation (Sieverding, Matterne, & Ciccarello, 2010). Nonattenders estimated that only 28% of other men would undergo cancer screening, whereas irregular attenders estimated that 36% would, and regular attenders estimated that 45% would. Here, we report a study in which we tested the hypothesis that prevalence information about cancer screening is causally linked to intention to participate in cancer screening. Method

El sol - die Sonne

Zusammenfassung. In der Forschungstradition der Sapir-Whorf Hypothese thematisiert die vorliegende Studie den Einfluss von Sprache auf Denken am Beispiel der Beziehung zwischen grammatischem und naturlichem Geschlecht. Untersucht wurde der Einfluss der grammatischen Geschlechtskongruenz von Objektbezeichnungen und Vornamen auf die Erinnerungsleistung sowie die Beurteilung der Objektbezeichnungen auf der Potenzdimension eines Semantischen Differentials. Dreiundvierzig spanische und 50 deutsche Teilnehmende einer Online-Studie sollten genuskongruente und -inkongruente Objekt-Vornamens-Paare in ihrer Muttersprache oder im Englischen lernen und erinnern (z.B. Sonne - Paula; Sonne - Paul; vgl. Boroditsky & Schmidt, 2000). Zwei Drittel der 36 Objektbezeichnungen hatten im Spanischen und Deutschen gegenlaufiges Genus. In der spanischen Substichprobe, nicht jedoch in der deutschen, wurden mehr kongruente als inkongruente Begriffspaare erinnert, unabhangig davon, ob die Studie in der Muttersprache oder auf Englisc...

Do Psychological Variables Mediate Sex Differences in Young Adults' Alcohol Use?

This study applied an extended theory of planned behavior to test whether psychological variables mediate sex differences in alcohol consumption in social contexts. Questionnaires of 300 young adults (urban, mean age 25 years, 49% female) were collected in 2007 prior to a sociable drinking occasion; consumption data were obtained through telephone interviews thereafter. The multiple-path mediation model was analyzed using structural equation modeling. Sex differences in alcohol consumption, which were considerable, were partly mediated by the significant specific indirect effects of subjective norms through intention and of self-efficacy through both intention and willingness. Body weight was not a significant mediator. Limitations are noted and implications for future research are discussed.