Karla Klein Murdock

Complementary and Alternative Medication (CAM) Use and Asthma Outcomes in Children: An Urban Perspective

Asthma is a disease of significant social magnitude that disproportionately affects children from minority and low-income backgrounds. Poor asthma management is one of the leading causes for high morbidity and mortality rates. In addition to conventional medications, many parents use complementary and alternative medication (CAM) to treat their childs asthma symptoms. This study explored the impact of CAM use on asthma control and risks for nonadherence to conventional medications in 66 parents of children with asthma. Positive parental beliefs about CAM were significantly associated with greater risks for nonadherence and poorer asthma control. Future research should assess the specific pathways that may account for these associations among CAM use and asthma outcomes.

Risk and Resilience in Urban Children With Asthma: A Conceptual Model and Exploratory Study

In this article we present (a) a definition and conceptual model of asthma-related resilience for urban children with asthma and (b) a study testing an example of such a model. Preliminary analyses explored associations between risk factors (neighborhood disadvantage and asthma symptoms), childrens individual characteristics (adaptability and perceived control), and asthma management behaviors across 2 years of middle childhood. Higher levels of adaptability at baseline were significantly associated with more optimal asthma management strategies at follow-up despite the presence of neighborhood disadvantage and asthma symptoms. Statistical support did not emerge for the relation between perceptions of self-control abilities and asthma management behaviors. Results suggest that individual, familial, and contextual risk and protective factors should be further explored in studies including larger samples of urban children with asthma, to help guide the development of preventive interventions.

Self-Competence and Coping in Urban Children With Asthma

This study examines associations among self-competence, asthma coping strategies, and asthma-related functioning in school-aged children with asthma. Thirty 8- to 10-year-old children and their mothers from inner-city neighborhoods were interviewed. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that higher levels of childrens self-competence were significantly related to more accurate asthma knowledge. Higher levels of active and avoidance asthma coping strategies were significantly related to higher levels of participation in activities and recommended asthma management behaviors. Implications for future research and culturally sensitive clinical supports for urban families are discussed.

The Mediating Role of Early Maladaptive Schemas in the Relation between Co-Rumination and Depression in Young Adults.

Research on co-rumination has investigated its relationship with internalizing symptoms, but few studies have addressed underlying maladaptive cognitive-affective processes that may play an important role in the maintenance of this relation. This study examines if Young’s schema domains mediate the relation between co-rumination and depression in a community sample of non-clinical young adults. Participants completed the Co-Rumination Questionnaire, Young Schema Questionnaire-L3, and Teate Depression Inventory. Correlations and path analysis were calculated for the full sample and separately by gender. The schema domains of Overvigilance/Inhibition and Other-Directedness fully mediated the relation between co-rumination and depression. When analyses were performed separately for males and females, mediation persisted only for females. Findings suggest that among young women, co-rumination with a friend may be associated with depressive symptoms because of its activation of specific maladaptive cognitive schemas. Better understanding of the content and processes underpinning co-rumination may have important implications for the prevention and treatment of depression.

Multidimensional control beliefs, socioeconomic status, and health.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the role of control beliefs in the relationship between SES and health. METHODS Two different aspects of perceived control - contingency beliefs (locus of control) and competence beliefs (self-efficacy) - were examined in relation to subjective SES and physical health outcomes (subjective health, functional impairment, chronic health problems, and acute health symptoms) in a diverse sample of undergraduates (N=231). RESULTS Low self-efficacy was directly associated with poorer health outcomes and mediated the relationship between low SES and health, whereas locus of control did not. CONCLUSIONS Health behavior interventions targeting generalized competence beliefs may benefit individuals from low SES backgrounds.

The Puzzle of Problem-Solving Efficacy: Understanding Anxiety Among Urban Children Coping with Asthma-Related and Life Stress

Abstract Children with asthma living in urban environments are at risk for experiencing anxiety by virtue of both social context and health-related stressors. Although the use of active coping strategies is generally associated with more optimal psychosocial functioning, there is evidence that active coping is less helpful in response to uncontrollable or severe stress. Expectations that one can fix a problem that is uncontrollable or insurmountable may create distress. Problem-solving efficacy was examined as a moderator of the association between stress and anxiety among children residing in inner-city neighborhoods. It was hypothesized that childrens perceptions of high problem-solving efficacy would exacerbate their vulnerability to stress. Forty-five parent–child dyads were recruited from urban community health centers. Most participants were members of ethnic minority groups. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed main effects of asthma-related stress and life stress on childrens anxiety. However, these effects were moderated by problem-solving efficacy. Asthma-related stress and life stress were positively associated with anxiety only for children who had the highest levels of problem-solving efficacy. In other words, positive expectations about the ability to solve problems functioned as a liability for highly stressed children. Implications for psychosocial interventions with at-risk children are discussed.

Family—school connections and internalizing problems among children living with asthma in urban, low-income neighborhoods

Children with asthma living in urban environments are at risk for experiencing internalizing problems and difficulties at school due to social context and health-related stressors. Parent confidence and participation in the school and children’s attitudes about school were explored in association with children’s depressed mood and school anxiety. Forty-five parent—child dyads were recruited from urban community health centers. Most participants were members of ethnic minority groups. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that higher levels of parent confidence in the school were associated with fewer symptoms of school anxiety in children. Children’s attitudes toward school moderated the relation between parent participation in the school and children’s depressed mood. Specifically, lower levels of parent participation were associated with higher levels of depressed mood only for children with the least positive school attitudes. Although preliminary, these results suggest the importance of attending to family—school connections to optimize the school-related psychological functioning of children living with asthma in urban environments.

Coping With Illness-Related Stress Among Urban Children With Asthma

The effect of problem-focused and avoidant coping on social withdrawal was investigated among a sample of 31 urban children with asthma experiencing varied levels of illness-related stress. Two main and two moderating effects were examined. Neither problem-focused nor avoidant coping was significantly associated with withdrawal when the childs asthma symptoms and stressors were controlled. However, a pattern emerged in analyses of the interaction between coping and stress level. Higher levels of both problem-focused and avoidant coping were associated with lower levels of social withdrawal, but only for children with low levels of asthma-related stress.

Emerging Adults’ Text Message Use and Sleep Characteristics: A Multimethod, Naturalistic Study

Emerging adults use text messaging as a principal form of social communication, day and night, and this may compromise their sleep. In this study, a hypothetical model was tested linking daytime and nighttime text message use with multiple sleep characteristics. Subjective and objective measures of texting and sleep were utilized to assess 83 college students over a seven-day period during an academic term. Greater number of daily texts, awareness of nighttime cell phone notifications, and compulsion to check nighttime notifications were significantly associated with poorer subjective sleep quality. Awareness of nighttime notifications was significantly associated with higher self-reported global sleep problems and more sleep disruptions. Results suggest potential benefits of targeting nighttime texting habits in health promotion efforts for emerging adults.

Nighttime Notifications and Compulsivity Illuminate the Link Between Emerging Adults’ Cellphone Use and Sleep-Related Problems.

Although higher levels of cellphone use have been correlated with sleep problems, few studies have investigated specific qualities of cellphone use that may account for this relationship. Recently, significant associations among nighttime cellphone use, compulsive orientation toward cellphone use, and multiple characteristics of compromised sleep were found in a sample of undergraduate students enrolled at a small liberal arts college (Murdock, Horissian, & Crichlow-Ball, 2016). The current study expands upon these findings. Data were collected from 2 samples of undergraduates: 273 students enrolled at a midsized state university and 152 self-identified students recruited through Mechanical Turk. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses that nighttime cellphone notifications and qualities of compulsive cellphone use would predict sleep problems and daytime sleepiness, even after taking into account the overall frequency of cellphone use. Full support for hypotheses was found for both domains of sleep-related functioning in both samples. Findings suggest that contextual aspects of cellphone use, such as its timing and compulsivity, may be more important to emerging adults’ sleep than aspects of cellphone use such as the number of texts or time spent on calls. Sleep promotion programs for emerging adults should target specific cellphone use qualities—that is, the when, where, and how of cellphone use—to promote behavior change and improved sleep.