Lauren A. Monds

Reasoned versus reactive prediction of behaviour: a meta-analysis of the prototype willingness model

The prototype willingness model (PWM) was designed to extend expectancy-value models of health behaviour by also including a heuristic, or social reactive pathway, to better explain health-risk behaviours in adolescents and young adults. The pathway includes prototype, i.e., images of a typical person who engages in a behaviour, and willingness to engage in behaviour. The current study describes a meta-analysis of predictive research using the PWM and explores the role of the heuristic pathway and intentions in predicting behaviour. Eighty-one studies met inclusion criteria. Overall, the PWM was supported and explained 20.5% of the variance in behaviour. Willingness explained 4.9% of the variance in behaviour over and above intention, although intention tended to be more strongly related to behaviour than was willingness. The strength of the PWM relationships tended to vary according to the behaviour being tested, with alcohol consumption being the behaviour best explained. Age was also an important moderator, and, as expected, PWM behaviour was best accounted for within adolescent samples. Results were heterogeneous even after moderators were taken into consideration. This meta-analysis provides support for the PWM and may be used to inform future interventions that can be tailored for at-risk populations.

Examining the predictive utility of an extended theory of planned behaviour model in the context of specific individual safe food-handling

BACKGROUND In order to minimise the occurrence of food-borne illness, it is recommended that individuals perform safe food-handling behaviours, such as cooking food properly, cleaning hands and surfaces before preparing food, keeping food at the correct temperature, and avoiding unsafe foods. Previous research examining the determinants of safe food-handling behaviour has produced mixed results; however, this may be due to the fact that this research examined these behaviours as a totality, rather than considering the determinants of each behaviour separately. As such, the objective for the present study was to examine the predictors of the four aforementioned safe food-handling behaviours by applying an extended theory of planned behaviour to the prediction of each distinct behaviour. METHOD Participants were 170 students who completed theory of planned behaviour measures, with the addition of moral norm and habit strength at time 1, and behaviour measures one week later. RESULTS While the influence of injunctive and descriptive norm and perceived behavioural control differed between behaviours, it appeared that moral norm was an important predictor of intention to engage in each of the four behaviours. Similarly, habit strength was an important predictor of each of the behaviours and moderated the relationship between intention and behaviour for the behaviour of avoiding unsafe food. CONCLUSION The implication of these findings is that examining safe food-handling behaviours separately, rather than as a totality, may result in meaningful distinctions between the predictors of these behaviours.

Do distress responses to a traumatic film predict susceptibility to the misinformation effect

The misinformation effect is defined as an impairment in memory for past events due to exposure to misleading information (E. F. Loftus, 2005). Some people may be more susceptible to the misinformation effect than others, and this may also depend on their response to a distressing event. The purpose of the current study was to investigate several key factors that may contribute to misinformation susceptibility for distressing events, namely posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms such as avoidance, intrusions, and dissociation. Participants watched either a neutral or trauma film, rated their level of distress, and completed measures of trait and state dissociation. When participants returned a week later, misinformation was introduced via an eyewitness statement and free recall was assessed. Findings indicated that dissociation was related to higher distress ratings following the film but was not related to acceptance of misinformation. However, avoidance scores were related to increased recall of misinformation items, and reported experiences of intrusions were related to greater accuracy. These results are discussed in light of the paradoxical negative emotion hypothesis.

Individual Differences in Susceptibility to False Memories for Neutral and Trauma-Related Words

People with a known propensity towards false memories may be considered less credible eyewitnesses. It is therefore important to investigate individual factors related to susceptibility to false memory development. The Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) procedure involves participants remembering lists of related words. The tendency to produce critical lures – words not originally presented, but strongly related to the studied words – is considered a measure of susceptibility to false memories. Participants completed the DRM using neutral and trauma-related words along with measures of dissociation, post-traumatic cognitions and the looming cognitive style. Analyses indicated that dissociation was related to false recall for traumatic stimuli; higher levels of post-traumatic cognitions were associated with a decrease in false recognition; and looming cognitive style was related to an increase in confabulations but a decrease in false recognition. The implications of this research are discussed.

The long-term impact of oxaliplatin chemotherapy on rodent cognition and peripheral neuropathy.

Chemotherapy treatment is associated with cognitive dysfunction in cancer survivors after treatment completion. The duration of these impairments is unclear. Therefore this paper aims to evaluate the lasting impact of varying doses of the chemotherapy oxaliplatin (OX) on cognition and peripheral neuropathy. In Experiment 1 rats were treated once a week for 3 weeks with either physiological saline (control) or 6 mg/kg OX i.p. and were assessed for peripheral neuropathy, using von Frey filaments, and cognitive function, using novel object and location recognition, up to 2 weeks after treatment completion. For Experiment 2 rats received 3 weekly i.p. injections of either physiological saline (control), 0.6 mg/kg, 2mg/kg or 6 mg/kg OX and assessed for peripheral neuropathy and cognitive function up to 11 months after treatment completion. Systemic OX treatment induced lasting effects on cognitive function at 11 months after treatment, and peripheral neuropathy at 1 month after treatment and these were dose dependent; higher doses of OX resulted in worse cognitive outcomes and more severe peripheral neuropathy.

Alprazolam use and related harm among opioid substitution treatment clients – 12 months follow up after regulatory rescheduling

BACKGROUND Alprazolam, has been associated with disproportionate harms compared to other benzodiazepines, especially among people in opioid substitution treatment (OST). We examine the effect of the rescheduling of alprazolam in Australia, from Schedule 4 to Schedule 8 in February 2014 amongst a high-risk population of clients in OST. METHODS OST participants who reported recent (last month) alprazolam use were recruited from three Sydney clinics. Participants (n=57) were interviewed immediately prior to rescheduling and again three months and 12 months after rescheduling. We examined self-reported patterns of drug use, drug availability, mental and physical health. A linear mixed models approach was used to analyse changes in alprazolam and other benzodiazepine use. RESULTS Mean days of alprazolam use in the past 28 days decreased from 13.7 to 7.1 days, and mean weekly alprazolam dose decreased from 15.1mg to 6.1mg at 12 months follow-up (p=0.001). Total weekly benzodiazepine use also reduced from a mean of 222mg diazepam equivalent to 157mg (p=0.044). Other substance use did not change significantly. Reported mode of cost price of street alprazolam doubled from

Substance use, health status and service utilisation of older clients attending specialist drug and alcohol services

5 to

Personality and Memory Conformity

10 over the 12-month period. CONCLUSION Alprazolam rescheduling resulted in an overall reduction in alprazolam and total benzodiazepine use, without substitution with other drugs, in the short term. Unintended harms were not observed. Rescheduling appears to have been effective in reducing alprazolam use in this high-risk population.

Cognition and adaptive functioning in older people attending drug and alcohol services

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS The number of older clients attending drug and alcohol (D&A) services is increasing, although there is insufficient knowledge regarding service needs for this group. The aim of this study was to document the patterns of substance use, health status, cognition, social conditions, and health service utilisation of older clients in D&A treatment. DESIGN AND METHODS A cross-sectional observational study of 99 clients aged ≥50 years (M = 55, SD = 4.5; 77% male) attending specialist D&A services (N = 30 alcohol treatment, N = 69 opioid treatment) in Sydney, Australia. Participants completed a confidential research interview. Findings were compared to aggregated data from younger opioid substitution treatment (OST) clients attending the same services (N = 214). RESULTS Alcohol (46%), benzodiazepines (40%) and cannabis (38%) were the most commonly reported substances used in the past 4 weeks; 23% reported no recent substance use, and 17% reported using three or more drugs. Participants reported high levels of physical and mental health problems, social isolation, low levels of employment, and a third reported difficulties with daily living activities. Forty percent had been injured in a fall in the past 12 months. The mean Addenbrookes Cognitive Examination-R score was 82.4 ± 9.6, with 40% performing at a level consistent with severe cognitive impairment. A significantly higher proportion of older participants used alcohol and benzodiazepines than younger clients, and older participants had significantly poorer psychological health, physical health and quality of life. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS D&A services will require strategies to address the complex physical, mental, cognitive and social problems of older clients.

Cortisol response and psychological distress predict susceptibility to false memories for a trauma film

When an individual’s memory for an event is altered by post-event information (PEI) provided by a co-witness, this is known as memory conformity (Wright, Self, & Justice, 2000). The aim of this study was to investigate whether personality characteristics are associated with memory conformity. Ninety-nine participants viewed a crime film and then completed the Ten-Item Personality Questionnaire (TIPI; Gosling, Rentfrow, & Swann, 2003), a measure of extraversion, openness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and conscientiousness. Participants then discussed the film with a co-witness who contributed 12 items of post-event information (6 correct, 6 incorrect). Finally, participants completed a film recall questionnaire individually. Significant correlations between personality and memory conformity were found, with decreased openness, extraversion, and neuroticism related to increased reporting of post-event misinformation, increased agreeableness related to increased reporting of accurate post-event information, and decreased conscientiousness and neuroticism related to increased fabrications. These findings suggest that some individuals may be more susceptible to accepting misinformation and reporting errors than others.