Sharon Danoff-Burg

The yellow brick road and the emerald city: Benefit finding, positive reappraisal coping, and posttraumatic growth in women with early-stage breast cancer

Predictors and outcomes of benefit finding, positive reappraisal coping, and posttraumatic growth were examined using interviews and questionnaires from a longitudinal study of women with early-stage breast cancer followed from primary medical treatment completion to 3 (n=92) and 12 months (n=60) later. Most women (83%) reported at least 1 benefit of their breast cancer experience. Benefit finding (i.e., identification of benefits, number of benefits), positive reappraisal coping, and posttraumatic growth had distinct significant predictors. Positive reappraisal coping at study entry predicted positive mood and perceived health at 3 and 12 months and posttraumatic growth at 12 months, whereas benefit finding did not predict any outcome. Findings suggest that benefit finding, positive reappraisal coping, and posttraumatic growth are related, but distinct, constructs.

Expressive disclosure and benefit finding among breast cancer patients: mechanisms for positive health effects.

A randomized trial (n = 60; A. L. Stanton, S. Danoff-Burg, L. A. Sworowski, et al., 2002) revealed that 4 sessions of written expressive disclosure or benefit finding produced lower physical symptom reports and medical appointments for cancer-related morbidities at 3-month follow-up among breast cancer patients relative to a fact-control condition. The goal of this article is to investigate mechanisms underlying these effects. Within-session heart rate habituation mediated effects of expressive disclosure on physical symptoms, and greater use of negative emotion words in essays predicted a decline in physical symptoms. Postwriting mood and use of positive emotion and cognitive mechanism words in essays were not significant mediators, although greater cognitive mechanism word use was related to greater heart rate habituation and negative emotion word use.

Mindfulness and Health Behaviors: Is Paying Attention Good for You?

Abstract Objective: The investigators examined relations between mindfulness and health behaviors in college students, as well as the role of stress in mediating these effects. Participants: Participants were 553 undergraduates (385 females; mean age = 18.8 years, SD = 2.1) recruited from a university in the northeastern United States. Methods: Participants completed questionnaires assessing mindfulness, perceived health, health behaviors, health-related activity restriction, and stress. Data were collected from September 2007 through December 2007. Results: Overall perceived health and health-related activity restriction, as well as some health behaviors (eg, binge eating, sleep quality, and physical activity) were related to the Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire and were partially mediated by stress. Conclusions: These results suggest that mindfulness is related to decreased stress, which in turn contributes to increased positive health perceptions and health behaviors. The findings support the utility of mindfulness in promoting physical and psychological health in college students.

A review of age differences in psychological adjustment to breast cancer

Abstract This article reviews recent literature on age differences in psychological adjustment to breast cancer. Overall, studies have shown that older women experience less psychological distress in terms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Age differences in health status, treatment provision, social support, and other life circumstances may contribute to differential patient adjustment. Coping also may mediate the relationship between age and affective responses, but the confounding of coping and distress in widely used inventories precludes definitive conclusions. Future research should explore the contextual mechanisms underlying age differences in adjustment.

Addiction to Indoor Tanning: Relation to Anxiety, Depression, and Substance Use

OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence of addiction to indoor tanning among college students and its association with substance use and symptoms of anxiety and depression. DESIGN Two written measures, the CAGE (Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye-opener) Questionnaire, used to screen for alcoholism, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition, Text Revision) (DSM-IV-TR) criteria for substance-related disorders, were modified to evaluate study participants for addiction to indoor tanning. Standardized self-report measures of anxiety, depression, and substance use also were administered. SETTING A large university (approximately 18 000 students) in the northeastern United States. PARTICIPANTS A total of 421 college students were recruited from September through December 2006. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Self-reported addiction to indoor tanning, substance use, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. RESULTS Among 229 study participants who had used indoor tanning facilities, 90 (39.3%) met DSM-IV-TR criteria and 70 (30.6%) met CAGE criteria for addiction to indoor tanning. Students who met DSM-IV-TR and CAGE criteria for addiction to indoor tanning reported greater symptoms of anxiety and greater use of alcohol, marijuana, and other substances than those who did not meet these criteria. Depressive symptoms did not significantly vary by indoor tanning addiction status. CONCLUSION Findings suggest that interventions to reduce skin cancer risk should address the addictive qualities of indoor tanning for a minority of individuals and the relationship of this behavior to other addictions and affective disturbance.

Hope and Life Satisfaction in Black College Students Coping With Race-Related Stress

This exploratory study examined the effects of hope and coping with race-related stress on life satisfaction in Black college students. Findings indicated that students with high hope had greater coping efficacy and used more problem-focused coping than students with low hope. Neither coping nor hope had a direct effect on life satisfaction. However, six of the nine Coping × Hope interactions were significant. Contrary to expectations, the pattern of interactions suggested that for students with high hope, life satisfaction was associated with less frequent use of active coping strategies, and for students with low hope, life satisfaction was associated with greater use of active coping strategies. We suggest future directions for research on the role of hope and coping in Black individuals dealing with race-related stress.

Benefit finding and expressive writing in adults with lupus or rheumatoid arthritis

An intriguing question within the expressive writing literature is whether writing interventions that focus on positive aspects of adverse experiences can produce health benefits, particularly among individuals with serious physical illness. Seventy-five adults with lupus or rheumatoid arthritis were randomly assigned to one of three 4-session writing interventions: benefit finding (BF), standard expressive writing (EW), or a control group. Follow-up questionnaires were completed one and three months later. At three months, fatigue was lower in the BF and EW groups than in the control group. BF appeared effective in reducing pain levels for participants with high trait anxiety, whereas EW appeared effective for participants with low trait anxiety. No significant group effects were found for psychological functioning or disability. Results are discussed with regard to the literature on BF and EW among medical patients.

Predictors of tanning salon use: Behavioral alternatives for enhancing appearance, relaxing and socializing

This study investigated cognitive predictors of tanning salon use, based on Jaccard’s Theory of Alternative Behavior. A total of 164 undergraduates completed questionnaires that assessed tanning salon use, attitudes toward tanning salon use and attitudes toward behavioral alternatives for enhancing appearance, relaxing and socializing. Results indicated that attitudes toward alternatives for enhancing appearance were not significantly related to tanning salon use. However, favorable attitudes toward engaging in a hobby to relax and going to the gym to socialize were inversely related to frequency of tanning salon use. Findings suggest that interventions for reducing skin cancer risk should focus not only on decreasing favorable attitudes toward tanning, but also on increasing favorable attitudes toward healthier alternatives to tanning salon use.

Indoor tanning, mental health, and substance use among college students: The significance of gender

This study examined relations among indoor tanning frequency, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and substance use. A total of 421 college students (68% female) completed self-report measures on one occasion. Among men, indoor tanning was positively associated with symptoms of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, whereas indoor tanning was unrelated to these symptoms among women. Among women, indoor tanning was positively associated with the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances. Further research is needed to explore contextual and coping processes that may underlie these gender differences.

Comparing brief stress management courses in a community sample: mindfulness skills and progressive muscle relaxation.

This study sought to compare a five-week mindfulness meditation (MM) course to a five-week course that taught progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). Forty-three adults from the community were randomly assigned to either MM (n = 19) or PMR (n = 24) courses after responding to flyers and other advertisements for a free stress management course. Mindfulness meditation participants practiced meditation significantly more often than PMR participants practiced relaxation during the intervention period (F[1, 43] = 7.42; P < .05). Interestingly, the two conditions did not differ significantly in their posttreatment levels of relaxation or mindfulness. Although there were no differences between groups on any of the primary outcome measures, across both treatment conditions there were statistically significant reductions from pretreatment to posttreatment in general psychological distress. Thus, although MM did not emerge as clearly superior to PMR, results of this study suggest that a brief mindfulness skills course may be effective for stress management.