Tracey A. Revenson

Handbook of health psychology

T.A. Revenson, Introduction. Part 1. Overarching Frameworks and Paradigms. H. Leventhal, S. Bodnar-Deren, J.Y. Breland, J. Hash-Converse, L.A. Phillips, E.A. Leventhal, L.D. Cameron, Modeling Health and Illness Behavior: The Approach of the Common Sense Model. J.R. Jennings, V. Egizio, How Psychophysiology Contributes to Health Psychology. A. Luegey Dougall, A. Baum, Stress, Health and Illness. M.F. Scheier, C.S. Carver, G.H. Armstrong, Behavioral Self-regulation, Health and Illness. K. Glanz, M.C. Kegler, Processes of Health Behavior Change. L.S. Aiken, M.A. Gerend, K.M. Jackson, K.W. Ranby, Subjective Risk and Health Protective Behavior: Prevention and Early Detection. Part 2. Cross-cutting Issues. D. Turk, H.D. Wilson, K.S. Swanson, Psychological and Physiological Bases of Chronic Pain. J. Smyth, J.W. Pennebaker, D. Arigo, What are the Health Effects of Disclosure? T.A. Revenson, S.J. Lepore, Coping in Social Context. M.A. Hoyt, A. Stanton, Adjustment to Chronic Illness. S.I. McClelland, Measuring Sexual Quality of Life: Ten Recommendations for Health Psychologists. J Dunbar-Jacob, E. Schlenk, M. McCall, Patient Adherence to Treatment Regimens. L.M. Martire, R. Schulz, Caregiving and Care-receiving in Later Life: Health Effects and Promising Interventions. Part 3. Risk and Protective Factors. N.E. Grunberg, S. Shafer Berger, A.K. Starosciak, Tobacco Use: Psychology, Neurobiology, and Clinical Implication. R. Wing, S. Phelan, Obesity. G. Brassington, E.B. Hekler, Z. Cohen, A.C. King, Health Enhancing Physical Activity. T.W. Smith, L.C. Gallo, S. Shivpuri, A.L. Brewer, Personality and Health: Current Issues and Emerging Perspectives. C. Park, Meaning, Spirituality, and Growth: Protective and Resilience Factors in Health and Illness. C. Dunkel Schetter, M. Lobel, Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes: A Multi-level Analysis of Prenatal Maternal Stress and Birth Weight. T. Wills, M.G. Ainette, Social Networks and Social Support. M.A. Alderfer, C.M. Stanley, Health and Illness in the Context of the Family. Part 4. Macro-level and Structural Influences on Health. V.S. Helgeson, Gender and Health: A Social Psychological Perspective. J.M. Ruiz, C.C. Prather, P. Steffen, Socioeconomic Status and Health. E. Brondolo, S. Lackey, E. Love, Race and Health: Racial Disparities in Hypertension and Links Between Racism and Health. I.H. Meyer, The Health of Sexual Minorities. I. Siegler, M.F. Elias, H.B. Bosworth, Aging and Health. Part 5. Applications of Health Psychology. J.D. Betensky, R.J. Contrada, D.C. Glass, Psychosocial Factors in Cardiovascular Disease: Emotional States, Conditions, and Attributes. S.P. Newman, S.P. Hirani, J. Stygall, T. Fteropoulli, Treatment in Cardiovascular Disease. N. Schneiderman, K. Orth-Gomer, Randomized Clinical Trials: Psychosocial-behavioral Interventions for Cardiovascular Disease. L.A. Faul, P.B. Jacobsen, Psychosocial Interventions for People with Cancer. A.L. Marsland, E.A. Bachen, S. Cohen, Stress, Immunity and Susceptibility to Upper Respiratory Infectious Disease. S. Danoff-Burg, A.H. Seawell, Psychological Processes in Rheumatic Disease. M.H. Antoni, A.W. Carrico, Psychological and Bio-behavioral Processes in HIV Disease. V. Mays, R.M. Maas, J. Ricks, S.D. Cochran, HIV and African American Women in the U.S. South: A Social Determinants Approach to Population-level HIV Prevention and Intervention Efforts.

Coping with chronic illness: a study of illness controllability and the influence of coping strategies on psychological adjustment.

Longitudinal data on the coping strategies used by middle-aged and older adults faced with one of four different chronic illnesses (N ~ 151) were used to evaluate the role of coping in the explanation of psychological adjustment. The study distinguished between illnesses that offer few opportunities for control (rheumatoid arthritis and cancer) and those more responsive to individual and medical efforts at control (hypertension and diabetes) and evaluated the emotional consequences of two coping strategies, information seeking and wish-fulfilling fantasy, expected to play different roles in adjustment. Results showed information seeking to have salubrious effects on adjustment and wish-fulfilling fantasy to have deleterious consequences; contrary to expectation, neither strategys effects were modified by illness controllability. Analyses of the direction of causation between coping and adjustment suggest that wish-fulfilling fantasy is linked to poor adjustment in a mutually reinforcing causal cycle. The modesty of the effects of coping, however, demand replication of results to confirm the conclusions drawn here. Physical health is closely related to emotional and mental health, particularly among middle-aged and older adults, a fact documented by a multitude of studies (see reviews by Larson, 1978; Palmore & Luikart, 1972). Individuals differ in their adjustment to both acute and chronic illness, however. Coping efforts have been proposed as one means of accounting for these differences in adaptation, and numerous studies have documented the importance of individual coping efforts in helping ill adults maintain reasonable levels of emotional well-being (e.g., Cohen & Lazarus, 1979; Moos, 1982). These studies have found typical coping strategies to include: denial, selective ignoring, information seeking, taking refuge in activity, avoidance, learning specific illness-related procedures, engaging in wish-fulfilling fantasy, blaming others, and seeking comfort from others. Unfortunately, many of the studies arguing the importance

Social support as a double-edged sword: The relation of positive and problematic support to depression among rheumatoid arthritis patients.

This study considers social network interactions as a potential source of both stress and support for individuals coping with a chronic illness. The sample consisted of 101 recently-diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis patients. Symptoms of depression were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses examined the conjoint effects of social support and problematic interactions on symptoms of depression. Receipt of positive or helpful support from close friends and family was related to lower depression; receipt of problematic support was related to increased depression. A positive x problematic support interaction suggested that the costs of problematic support do not cancel out the benefits of positive support. Patients who reported both little support and a greater degree of problematic interactions experienced the highest level of symptoms. The findings emphasize the need to consider positive and negative aspects of support transactions conjointly in assessing their stress-reducing and health-protective potential.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN COPING WITH INFERTILITY: A META – ANALYSIS

Infertility is a stressor that affects both husbands and wives. The literature suggests that infertility is more stressful for women, although most studies have not included men/husbands. If the experience of infertility is different for women and men, the next question is whether women and men cope differently. Meta-analytic procedures were used to review the empirical evidence (1966-1995) on gender differences in coping with infertility among heterosexual married couples; all studies used a standardized coping measure [The Ways of Coping Checklist - Revised (Folkman et al., 1986)]. Significant gender differences were found for half the strategies studied: Women used the strategies of Seeking Social Support, Escape-Avoidance, Planful Problem-Solving, and Positive Reappraisal to a greater degree than their partners. The findings suggest that coping at both the individual and the couple level be considered in the treatment of infertile couples and that gender be considered before planning an intervention.

Disability and coping as predictors of psychological adjustment to rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have been identified as a medical population at risk for psychological disorder, largely because of the pain and functional disability that are the hallmarks of the disease. This study examined the degree to which self-reported functional disability and coping efforts contribute to psychological adjustment among adult RA patients over a 6-month period. Adaptive outcomes included maintaining a sense of worth, mastery, and positive affect despite the illness. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that increases in disability were related to decreased acceptance of illness and increased negative affect. Coping efforts were related to increases in positive affect. The findings provide modest support for the role individual coping efforts play in shaping illness-related outcomes. Although disability is not easily reversed, knowledge about coping strategies that moderate its psychological impact may provide a useful basis for designing psychological interventions to promote adjustment.

Social supports as stress buffers for adult cancer patients.

&NA; Although a growing body of research evidence suggests that persons encountering stressful life circumstances are protected from potential declines in health and well‐being by supportive relationships, the evidence for the stress‐buffering qualities of social support for cancer patients is equivocal. This study examines the relationship between naturally occurring, supportive behaviors and psychological adjustment to the illness for 32 nonhospitalized adult cancer patients, and includes follow‐up data collected 7 months after the initial interview. Results indicated that although support appeared to have few effects on adjustment at either time point for the sample as a whole, social support was related to poorer adjustment for patients not undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatments, or for those with many limitations on physical functioning. These findings, though tentative because of the sample size, point to the need to consider the specific contextual stresses the cancer patient is experiencing in evaluating psychosocial adjustment to the illness, and suggest caution in assuming social supports to be a universal boon.

Reviewing Manuscripts for Peer-Review Journals: A Primer for Novice and Seasoned Reviewers

BackgroundThe importance of peer review in the furthering of science cannot be overstated. However, most doctoral students and early career professionals receive little formal or informal training in conducting peer reviews.PurposeIn recognition of this deficit in peer reviewer training, the present article was developed to provide an overview of the peer-review process at Annals of Behavioral Medicine and describe the general and specific elements that should be included in a high-quality review for the journal.ConclusionWe conclude by offering exemplar reviews of a manuscript that was ultimately accepted for publication in the journal and provide commentary on specific aspects of these reviews.

How Changes in Population Demographics Will Impact Health Psychology: Incorporating a Broader Notion of Cultural Competence Into the Field.

U.S. population demographics are undergoing striking changes that will impact health care and the research and practice of health psychology. An increase in the number of people who are older; belong to an ethnic minority group; have disabilities; identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered; or live in poverty will influence definitions of aging, health, and illness, and will challenge current psychological and medical treatment models. The authors argue that health psychologists need to become context competent for the field to be relevant and viable over the course of this new century. Health psychologists need to become aware of the multiple, overlapping contexts in which people live and apply this knowledge on a regular basis to research, practice, education and training, and policy in health psychology.

Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: Examining Survivor Burden and Unmet Needs

PURPOSE Although improvements in perioperative care have decreased surgical morbidity after radical cystectomy for muscle invasive bladder cancer, treatment side effects still have a negative impact on patient quality of life. We examined unmet patient needs along the illness trajectory. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 30 patients (26.7% women) treated with cystectomy and urinary diversion for muscle invasive bladder cancer participated in the study. Patients were recruited from the Department of Urology at Mount Sinai and through advertisements on the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN) website between December 2011 and September 2012. Data were collected at individual interviews, which were audiotaped and transcribed. Transcribed data were quantitatively analyzed to explore key unmet needs. RESULTS At diagnosis unmet informational needs were predominant, consisting of insufficient discussion of certain topics, including urinary diversion options and their side effects, self-care, the recovery process and medical insurance. Unmet psychological needs related to depression, and worries about changes in body image and sexual function were reported. Postoperative unmet needs revolved around medical needs (eg pain and bowel dysfunction) and instrumental needs (eg need of support for stomal appliances, catheters and incontinence). During survivorship (ie 6 to 72 months postoperatively) unmet needs centered around psychological support (ie depression, poor body image and sexual dysfunction) and instrumental support (eg difficulty adjusting to changes in daily living). CONCLUSIONS Meeting patient needs is imperative to ensure adequate patient involvement in health care and enhance postoperative quality of life. An effective support provision plan should follow changes in patient needs.

A contextual approach to treatment decision making among breast cancer survivors.

This article presents a contextual model of adjustment to cancer that frames research inquiry on treatment decision making among long-term breast cancer survivors. Psychosocial adaptation, of which treatment decision making is a part, is viewed within a social ecological framework (T. A. Revenson, 1990, 2003) that encompasses 4 contexts: the situational context, the interpersonal context, the sociocultural context, and the temporal context. Examples of how each context may influence decision-making processes are described, and guidelines for future research are provided.