Robert G. Kent de Grey

Dispositional optimism and sleep quality: a test of mediating pathways

Abstract Dispositional optimism has been related to beneficial influences on physical health outcomes. However, its links to global sleep quality and the psychological mediators responsible for such associations are less studied. This study thus examined if trait optimism predicted global sleep quality, and if measures of subjective well-being were statistical mediators of such links. A community sample of 175 participants (93 men, 82 women) completed measures of trait optimism, depression, and life satisfaction. Global sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Results indicated that trait optimism was a strong predictor of better PSQI global sleep quality. Moreover, this association was mediated by depression and life satisfaction in both single and multiple mediator models. These results highlight the importance of optimism for the restorative process of sleep, as well as the utility of multiple mediator models in testing distinct psychological pathways.

The quality of social networks predicts age-related changes in cardiovascular reactivity to stress.

Although existing life span models suggest that positivity in relationships should benefit the health of older adults, much less is known about how relationships that contain both positive and negative aspects (i.e., ambivalent ties) might influence age-associated cardiovascular risk. Given the increased interpersonal stress associated with ambivalent ties, the SAVI model would predict that older adults might be more negatively influenced given age-related changes in physiological flexibility. In this study, the quality of an individuals social network (i.e., supportive, ambivalent, aversive) was used to predict cardiovascular reactivity during laboratory stress across a 10-month follow-up period in 108 participants between the ages 30 to 70. Results revealed evidence that the number of ambivalent network ties predicted greater increases in diastolic blood pressure reactivity. Importantly, there was an Age × Ambivalent Ties interaction in which the number of ambivalent ties was related to greater increases in systolic blood pressure reactivity primarily in older adults. These data are discussed in terms of the health implications of social networks across the life span. (PsycINFO Database Record

Social Support and Physical Health: Models, Mechanisms, and Opportunities

Social support is defined as the perceived or actual receipt of social resources (e.g., tangible, emotional) and is one of the most reliable predictors of disease morbidity and mortality. In this chapter, the evidence linking social support to disease is reviewed along with the presentation of a theoretical model which highlights the social, psychological, behavioral, and biological pathways potentially responsible for such links. Important unresolved issues are also raised such as the distinction between perceived and received support, the importance of modeling antecedent processes and change over time, and cultural/technological influences on support processes. Studies attempting to utilize the epidemiological evidence to produce effective support intervention that impact health are also reviewed. Finally, the future of social support research/interventions along with their policy implications is discussed and highlights the tremendous progress in the field and potential impact of social support to help individuals live healthier and happier lives.

A multivariate dynamic systems model for psychotherapy with more than one client.

The dynamics of the give and take between therapist and client(s) is frequently of interest to therapy process researchers. Characterizing the ways that therapists respond to clients and clients respond to therapists can be challenging in therapeutic encounters involving a single therapist and a single client. The complexity of this challenge increases as the number of people involved in a therapeutic encounter increases not only because there are more people responding to one another but also because the patterns of responding can become more complex. This manuscript demonstrates how dyadic cross-lagged panel models can be extended to psychotherapeutic encounters involving 3 people and used to test processes that exist between dyadic subsets of the larger group as well as the group as one cohesive unit. Three hundred seventy-nine talk turns of fundamental frequency from a couple therapy session were modeled using 3 dyadic cross-lagged panel models, and each individual’s respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was treated as a moderator. Although the regression coefficients for each dyadic subset (e.g., therapist–husband) were nonsignificant, an eigenvalue/eigenvector decomposition of the regression coefficients from the 3 dyadic cross-lagged panel models suggests that interdependence exists at the level of the whole group (i.e., therapist–husband–wife) rather than between pairs of individuals within the group (e.g., husband–wife). Further, an interaction involving husband’s RSA suggested that interdependence involving the husband ceased when the husband displayed greater regulatory effort. This combination of statistical methods allows for clearly distinguishing between dyadic therapeutic processes and group-level therapeutic processes.

Brief guided group discussion and classroom lights: normative influence can be limited with a public request for commitment / Breve discusión guiada en grupo e iluminación del aula: la influencia normativa se puede limitar con una petición pública de compromiso

Abstract An initial survey indicated university students were reluctant to turn off classroom lights in part because of concerns they were not allowed to do so. An intervention was designed to teach students they had the right and responsibility to turn off lights. Short (3–5 min) guided discussions just prior to class periods emphasized that the university requested their help to save money and energy by turning off classroom lights. Classroom lights were observed during baseline, a two-week intervention and a seven-week follow-up period. Results replicated a previous study in that lights were turned off more often in guided-discussion than in no-discussion classrooms, p < .005. In separate analyses, asking students to nod their heads if they supported the programme was associated with significantly more lights left on, compared to the same guided discussion without the head nods request, p < .02. This suggests that rather than enhancing normative influence, asking for public head nods reduced participation, perhaps through diffusion of responsibility, psychological reactance or self-validation processes.

(Too) Anxious to help? Social support provider anxiety and cardiovascular function

Provider factors, such as anxiety, may be important in understanding effects of received social support (SS), which are less consistently positive than those of perceived SS. Due to the dyadic nature of support, anxiety on the part of the provider was predicted to influence the effectiveness of received SS. This laboratory study examined effects of SS provider anxiety within unacquainted dyads on cardiovascular reactivity during acute stress. 148 participants were assigned to support roles, and each dyad was randomized to low or high provider anxiety. Results include that SS provider anxiety resulted in greater blood pressure reactivity and less recovery toward baseline diastolic blood pressure within the dyad. Overall, it appears provider anxiety contributes to less effective SS for recipients and that health costs may accompany providing and receiving support under nonoptimal conditions.

Social Support and Sleep: A Meta-Analysis

Objective: While the implications of social support are increasingly well understood, no meta-analytic review to date has examined the intersection of the social support and sleep literatures. The aims of this meta-analysis were primarily to review the association between social support and sleep and additionally to test several proposed moderators from prior work. Method: Using a literature search and the ancestry approach, the review identified 61 studies with a total of 105,437 participants. Results: Random-effects modeling showed that greater social support was significantly related to improved sleep outcomes (Zr = −.152). These results were not moderated by the operationalization of support, study design, or chronic conditions. Conclusions: These data indicate a robust association between social support and favorable sleep outcomes.

Social support, social integration, and inflammatory cytokines: A meta-analysis

Objective: Social support and social integration have been linked to lower rates of morbidity and mortality. However, the biological mechanisms responsible for such links need greater attention to advance theory and unique intervention opportunities. The main aim of this article was to conduct a meta-analytic review of the association between social support–social integration and inflammatory cytokines (e.g., interleukin-6, C-reactive protein) and test several proposed moderators from prior qualitative reviews. Method: A literature search was conducted using the ancestry approach and with databases PsycInfo, Medline, and EMBASE by crossing the exact keywords social support or social integration with inflammation. The review identified 41 studies with a total of 73,037 participants. Results: The omnibus meta-analysis showed that social support–social integration were significantly related to lower levels of inflammation (Zr = −.073). These results were not moderated by the operationalization of social relationships or the type of population, cytokine, and design. Conclusions: These data suggest that inflammation is at least one important biological mechanism linking social support and social integration to the development and course of disease. Future work should continue to build on this review and address next-generation questions regarding antecedent processes, mechanisms, and other potential moderators.