Thémis Apostolidis

Cannabis use, time perspective and risk perception: Evidence of a moderating effect.

This study explores the relationship between time perspective (TP), cannabis use and risk perceptions associated with this substance. A sample of French students (n = 198) were provided with a valid French version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) scale. Risk perceptions linked to cannabis consumption were evaluated from a list of 22 items referring to different risks. Respondents were asked to declare how frequently they consumed this substance. Data analysis was based firstly on ZTPI scores, secondly on declared consumption and finally on the two risk perception indices which were established after factorial analysis. Results showed that TP acted as a significant predictor of both psychoactive substance use and of cannabis consumption frequency. Significant links between consumption and risk perceptions also appeared. A second series of analyses showed that TP moderated the link between cannabis consumption and risk perceptions. These findings highlight the importance of TP when analyzing the complexity of contemporary cannabis use. †This is a revised version of a poster communication presented at the 18th Annual Conference of the European Health Psychology Society, University of Helsinki (Finland) in June 2004.

Representations sociales et triangulation: une application en psychologie sociale de la sante

The relationship between social context and health represents an important research issue, which is at the centre of current developments of social psychology of the health. The social representational approach offers a frame to analyze common sense thinking about illness. This approach breaks with the cognitive and individualistic tradition that dominated the social psychological analysis of health risks. Concerning theory and methodology this approach enables a contextualized study of the socio-cognitive processes that intervene in the construction of risks through the operationalisation of the double nature -product/process- of the representation. Thus, triangulation as an inductive strategy of research constitutes a privileged approach. We present an application of this strategy through a research program concerning the representations of sexual relationships and AIDS-related risks of young adults in France and Greece. The pertinence of triangulation for the analysis of risks construction within approaches that seek a multilevel explanation is discussed.The relationship between social context and health represents an important research issue, which is at the centre of current developments of social psychology of the health. The social representational approach offers a frame to analyze common sense thinking about illness. This approach breaks with the cognitive and individualistic tradition that dominated the social psychological analysis of health risks. Concerning theory and methodology this approach enables a contextualized study of the socio-cognitive processes that intervene in the construction of risks through the operationalisation of the double nature -product/process- of the representation. Thus, triangulation as an inductive strategy of research constitutes a privileged approach. We present an application of this strategy through a research program concerning the representations of sexual relationships and AIDS-related risks of young adults in France and Greece. The pertinence of triangulation for the analysis of risks construction within approaches that seek a multilevel explanation is discussed.

Intensive care nurses' practice related to experience and shift worked.

OBJECTIVE To analyse the social representations of nurses about intensive care practices comparing the variables 1) time since graduation and 2) shift worked. METHOD Qualitative field research using social representation theory. Individual interviews were conducted and lexical analysis was applied. STUDY SETTING Intensive Care Unit of a federal hospital with 21 clinical nurses. FINDINGS Day shift nurses are more pragmatic and operationally oriented because they deal directly with the general functioning of the unit. Less experienced nurses face difficulties dealing with intensive care contexts, but have a critical view of their practices, while more experienced nurses apply practical knowledge in their decision-making and actions. CONCLUSION The relationship of proximity or distance from patients, mediated by technology, is related to the domains of knowledge that are required to manage technology and to the role technology plays in intensive care.

Precariousness as time horizon : How poverty and social insecurity shape individuals' time perspectives

Time perspective, as defined by Lewin (Time perspective and morale. In: Watson G (ed) Civilian morale. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, pp 48–70, 1942a, Time perspective and morale. In: Lewin GW (ed) Resolving social conflicts. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, pp 103–124, 1942b) is deeply rooted in the social contexts individuals live in. When facing poverty, social exclusion or socioeconomic insecurity, people are prone to psychologically leave out the future, and to restrain their time perspective to present or past. Drawing from the Lewin’s field theory, this chapter reviews research findings on the influence of socioeconomic status on time perspective, and present original findings showing that time perspective acts as an intervening factor in the relation between socioeconomic status and a wide range of behavioral or psychological consequences. The shrinking of the temporal dimension of the psychological field when facing danger and uncertainty is an avenue for a better understanding of how people deal with crisis situations and the risk society. We claim for a better consideration of psychological time in policy making and collective action against poverty.

Quality of life and time perspective in inflammatory bowel disease patients

PurposeNumerous studies have shown the impact of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on patient quality of life (QoL), but no research has yet examined the impact of time’s experience in the assessment of QoL in IBD. Our goal is to explore the links between QoL and time perspective (TP) and the role of TP as a determinant of QoL.MethodsData were collected from 156 patients who completed a questionnaire comprising a generic measure (SF-12) and a specific measure (Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire) of QoL, a measure of TP (ZTPI) and a collection of socio-demographic and medical data.ResultsCorrelational analyses illustrated the links between TP and QoL. Regression analyses revealed that records of Past-negative and Present-hedonistic perspectives predicted QoL. Past-negative time perspective seemed to have a deleterious impact, while a Present-hedonistic time perspective predicted a better QoL, and this was irrespective of the level of severity of the disease.ConclusionsThese results suggest the importance of considering TP as a determinant of psychological QoL. They corroborate earlier findings on the relationship between TP and QoL associated with other pathologies. The past-negative register, which indicates rumination, tells us about the importance of considering the psychological experience of time in order to improve the QoL of patients.

Representations and experiences of well-being among diabetic adolescents: Relational, normative, and identity tensions in diabetes self-management

We explore representations of well-being in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes in order to better understand their expectations and needs in therapeutic patient education. In total, 28 interviews were performed and then submitted to thematic content analysis and lexicometric analysis. Results show the intervention of psychosocial processes in the relationship that adolescents maintain with well-being and self-management. More specifically, we observed that well-being is impacted by areas of tension between the expectations of adolescents and the therapeutic objectives expressed by health professionals. These tensions should be taken into account in the conception, implementation, and evaluation of therapeutic education programs.

Patients’ Non-Medical Characteristics Contribute to Collective Medical Decision-Making at Multidisciplinary Oncological Team Meetings

Background The contribution of patients’ non-medical characteristics to individual physicians’ decision-making has attracted considerable attention, but little information is available on this topic in the context of collective decision-making. Medical decision-making at cancer centres is currently carried out using a collective approach, at MultiDisciplinary Team (MDT) meetings. The aim of this study was to determine how patients’ non-medical characteristics are presented at MDT meetings and how this information may affect the team’s final medical decisions. Design Observations were conducted at a French Cancer Centre during MDT meetings at which non-standard cases involving some uncertainty were discussed from March to May 2014. Physicians’ verbal statements and predefined contextual parameters were collected with a non-participant observational approach. Non numerical data collected in the form of open notes were then coded for quantitative analysis. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were performed. Results In the final sample of patients’ records included and discussed (N = 290), non-medical characteristics were mentioned in 32.8% (n = 95) of the cases. These characteristics corresponded to demographics in 22.8% (n = 66) of the cases, psychological data in 11.7% (n = 34), and relational data in 6.2% (n = 18). The patient’s age and his/her “likeability” were the most frequently mentioned characteristics. In 17.9% of the cases discussed, the final decision was deferred: this outcome was positively associated with the patients’ non-medical characteristics and with uncertainty about the outcome of the therapeutic options available. Limitations The design of the study made it difficult to draw definite cause-and-effect conclusions. Conclusion The Social Representations approach suggests that patients’ non-medical characteristics constitute a kind of tacit professional knowledge that may be frequently mobilised in physicians’ everyday professional practice. The links observed between patients’ attributes and the medical decisions made at these meetings show that these attributes should be taken into account in order to understand how medical decisions are reached in difficult situations of this kind.

Entre o aborto e a pesquisa: o embrião na imprensa Brasileira

After many debates in the public sphere, in 2005 Brazil approved embryo research. However, the polemic on the handling of the embryo remains in the center of a social agenda and causes controversies anchored in vast systems of values and thoughts. This work aims to analyze the social construction of the embryo object via social communication in the light of the theory of the social representations. 447 articles published in two Brazilian newspapers published in 2005 were analyzed by the software ALCESTE. The various standpoints seem to be anchored in a field of representations related to the question of the right to life. The data do not show a difference in approach between the two publications.

Time perspective, socioeconomic status, and psychological distress in chronic pain patients

Time perspective (TP) is a fundamental dimension of the psychological construction of time. It refers to a subjective experience and can be defined as the relationship that individuals and groups have with the present, past, and future. Studies have shown that it is interesting to take into account TP in the field of health, especially for the study of the psychological distress (PD) of individuals faced with aversive situations. We conducted a research, which aimed to explore the relationship between TP and PD in patients with chronic pain. A total of 264 first-time patients (72.3% women; mean age = 49 years) at CHU Timone (Marseille) pain center answered a questionnaire included TP, socioeconomic status, pain beliefs (PB), pain characteristics, and sociodemographic characteristics. Using hierarchical regression analyses adjusted to the characteristics of pain, sociodemographic characteristics, and PB, we can observe significant relationships between different components of TP, socioeconomic status, and PD. These results emphasize the importance of TP as psychosocial variable in the analysis of PD in patients with chronic pain. These results also lead us to point out the role of the socioeconomic status that predicts levels of PD.

Práticas de cuidado dos enfermeiros intensivistas face às tecnologias: análise à luz das representações sociais

The aim was to analyze the social representations of nursescare practices in the face of the technologies applied to the clients hospitalized in intensive therapy. Qualitative field research in the framework of the social representations theory. Semi- structured interviews were held with 21 nurses of an intensive therapy unit at a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro. Thematic content analyses were applied, which showed that the technologies are devices that translate the signs from the clients body, which nurses base themselves on for care. The ways of assisting indicate bureaucratic and care actions demanded by the technologies, which imply detachment from and proximity to the client. It was concluded that there is an idealized image of the intensive therapy client linked to the technologies, organized in the professional training and supported by the clinic practice of the intensive therapy unit.Se objetivo analizar las representaciones sociales de las practicas de atencion de los enfermeros frente a las tecnologias aplicadas al cliente hospitalizado en la terapia intensiva. Investigacion de campo, cualitativa, cuyo referencial fue la teoria de las representaciones sociales. Se realizo entrevista semi-estructurada con 21 enfermeros de una unidad de terapia intensiva, de un hospital publico de Rio de Janeiro. Se aplico analisis de contenido tematico, la cual evidencio que las tecnologias son dispositivos traductores de los senales del cuerpo del cliente, en las cuales los enfermeros se apoyan para cuidar. Las maneras de asistir denotan acciones burocraticas y de atencion demandadas por las tecnologias, que implican en el distanciamiento y en la proximidad del cliente. Se concluye que hay una imagen idealizada del cliente de la terapia intensiva que se relaciona a las tecnologias, organizada en la formacion profesional y sustentada en la practica clinica de la unidad de terapia intensiva.