Pálma Kriston

Self perceived health, as an indicator of psychological well-being: behavioural epidemiological analysis among the adolescent population

BACKGROUND Self rated health is a widely used measure in behavioural epidemiological studies which is a global, informative indicator of health status and quality of life. AIM The main goal of the present study was to examine the relationship between subjective health status of adolescents with individual, psychological protective and risk factors. METHOD The authors performed the study among youth in Szeged, Hungary in the autumn of 2010. Data collection was based on self-administered questionnaires. 656 high school students were included in the sample. Logistic regression analyses were applied to detect associations including the individual, psychological indicators as dependent variables and self perceived health as an independent variable. RESULTS It was found that adolescents with better self perceived health had higher scale points of optimism and satisfaction with life, whereas lower self rated health correlated with higher values of depression and emotional aggression. There were gender differences in both protective and risk factors. Internal locus of control was a protective factor while depression, emotional aggression, and external locus of control were risk factors of psychological health among girls. CONCLUSION Self rated health can be a possible indicator of subjective well-being that may open a way to prevention in behavioural medicine.

Associations Between a Sedentary Lifestyle and Negative Mood State and the Risk of Breast Cancer

Objective: The highly stressful nature of the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and the painful surgical procedures lead to a series of psychological problems among patients. Our primary aim was to examine the effect of pre- and postoperative psychological characteristics on postoperative pain, quality of life, and survival among women with breast cancer. Our secondary aim was to determine whether physical activity and positive emotions would decrease the size of the tumor among women with breast cancer. Methods: The study involved 90 breast cancer patients from the surgery clinic at the University of Szeged, Hungary. We tested patients with a combination of five instruments, before and after surgery: Spielberger’s State and Trait Anxiety Scale, Beck’s Depression Scale, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy—Breast Cancer Scale (FACT-B), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and Visual Analog Pain Scale (VAS). Futhermore, we assessed the physical activity of patients. Results: Anxiety disorders were present in 52% of women, 35% of the patients suffered from depression. Patients with higher perceived stress and anxiety had higher postoperative pain after surgery, which were associated with lower emotional, functional, and physical well-being and social support. Patients with lower physical activity had higher anxiety, depression, and perceived stress levels. Physical activity has been strongly linked to improved quality of life and decreased tumor size. Discussion: It seems that physical inactivity might reduce the chance for survival in women with breast cancer. Futhermore, the rates of psychosocial distress are very high. Our data present a challenge to clinical services to provide a comprehensive range of support services to reduce distress.

[The significance of the relationship between external/internal locus of control and adolescent substance use in behavioral medicine].

UNLABELLED Prevention and treatment of the addictions are key public health priorities in modern society. In medical practice, in relation to the biochemical processes, mapping the addiction-prone personality traits, like external/internal locus of control are getting more and more attention. Individuals with high level on internal locus of control, for example, tend to take care of their health behavior; the lack of it, on the other hand, may worsen the effectiveness of stress release which may increase the likelihood of turning to substance use. AIMS The main goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between adolescent substance use (both lifetime prevalence and the actual substance user status) and external/internal locus of control). METHOD The data collection of the questionnaire survey was going on among 656 high school students in Szeged (age range between 14-21 years, mean = 16.5 years, S.D. = 1.5 years of age, 49.1% of the sample was female). Associations between indicators of substance use (as dependent variables) and scale points of external/internal locus of control (as independent variables) were assessed using odds ratios calculated by logistic regression analyses, whereas gender was used as a controlling variable. RESULTS Among boys, scale points of external, among girls, those of internal locus of control showed higher values. External locus of control increased, whereas internal locus of control decreased the risk of substance use, however, the relative role of external/internal locus of control was different according to the type of substance use and the prevalence values. In terms of smoking, lifetime prevalence, whereas in terms of marijuana use, the actual user status was influenced. In addition, while the latter one was also affected by gender, it did not play a role at all in the previous one. CONCLUSIONS All these findings suggest that behavioral control may play a particularly important role in prevention of adolescent substance use. For developing this, methods of cognitive therapy would be effective to be completed with autogenic relaxation training as well.