Role of affect, expectancies and dual processes of cognition in predicting adult cigarette smoking
This study examined the role of affect, smoking expectancies and mode of cognition in predicting cigarette use in a sample of 185 Australian adults. Mediation analysis indicated that the relationship between respondents' affective associations about smoking and their cigarette use was partially mediated by smoking expectancies. The present results also indicated that preferred mode of cognition (rational vs. experiential) moderated the relationship between affective associations and cigarette use. Affect was a significant predictor of cigarette use for all respondents except those with a strong, exclusive preference for rational cognition. No evidence was found to support the hypothesis that preferred mode of cognition moderated the relationship between smoking expectancies and cigarette use. The results of the study are discussed in the context of Epstein's (1994) cognitive experiential self theory and Slovic, Finucane, Peters, and MacGregor's (2002) affect heuristic model.
Development and validation of a revised measure of codependency
This study assessed the factor structure, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of a revised instrument, the Composite Codependency Scale (CCS), a 19-item measure designed to assess codependent traits. Exploratory factor analysis of the CCS, using data from 301 adults from the general population and 49 attending members of Codependents Anonymous (CoDA), yielded three factors: self-sacrifice, interpersonal control, and emotional suppression. The scale and its subscales exhibited good internal consistency. Consistent with the tenets of the codependency model, higher codependency scores were significantly associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and familial dysfunction and lower levels of narcissistic tendencies, self-esteem, and emotional expressivity. Furthermore, the revised measure effectively discriminated members of CoDA from those in the general population.
Differentiating Subtypes of Postnatal Depression Based on a Cluster Analysis of Maternal Depressive Cognitions
Based on the analysis of cognitive style, this study demonstrated that women experiencing postnatal depression (PND) fall into two categories: (a) those with a general cognitive vulnerability to depression and for whom childbirth is a non-specific stressor; and, (b) those whose depression is directly related to the stressful demands of motherhood. Studying an Australian sample of 406 postnatal women who completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS-24), and the Maternal Attitudes Questionnaire (MAQ), hierarchical cluster analysis identified three groups distinguished on the basis of depressive symptomatology and/or the nature and strength of maladaptive cognitions.
Keeping the home fires burning: The affect heuristic and wood smoke pollution
This study examined the role of affect and risk perceptions in maintaining wood burning behavior in 256 residents of a small Australian city characterized by high levels of winter wood smoke pollution. Our analyses revealed that users of wood heaters, relative to non-users, had more positive affective associations with wood heating, perceived fewer health risks from wood smoke, and exhibited less support for wood smoke control policies. Moderation analyses revealed that the predictive effects of risk perceptions on policy support and switching behavior were weaker for respondents who had more positive affective associations with wood heating and stronger for those with more negative affective associations. Theoretical implications relating to the role of affect in decision-making are discussed, together with practical implications for developing more effective interventions to reduce wood smoke pollution.
Why Do Some Men Go Too Far? Arousal, Working Memory Capacity, and Sexual Decision-Making
Decisions to pursue risky sexual encounters, despite the clear potential negative consequences, have long intrigued researchers. A host of explanations have been proposed (e.g., the effects of sexual arousal and/or substance intoxication on decision-making, an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms in sexual response). However, the role of working memory capacity in sexual decision-making has received relatively little attention. The current study investigated whether working memory capacity (WMC) moderates the relationship between arousal and sexual aggression. Fifty-nine male volunteers viewed 20 consensual and 20 non-consensual images of heterosexual interaction while their physiological arousal levels were recorded using skin conductance response. Participants also completed an assessment of working memory capacity, Towse's Sentence Completion Task (Towse, Hitch, & Hutton, 2000) and a date-rape analogue task (developed by Bernat, Calhoun, & Adams, 1999) for which they had to identify the point at which an average Australian male would cease all sexual advances in response to verbal and/or physical resistance from a female partner. Participants who were more aroused by and spent more time viewing the non-consensual sexual imagery nominated significantly later stopping points on the date-rape analogue task. Consistent with our predictions, the relationship between arousal and nominated stopping point was strongest for participants with lower working memory capacity. For participants with high working memory capacity, arousal was unrelated to nominated stopping point. Results of the current study support the role of working memory capacity as a moderator of the relationship between arousal and sexual decision-making/behavior. Deficits in working memory capacity have been shown to be related to other types of dysregulated behavior (e.g., problematic alcohol use, aggression), suggesting that problems with attentional control make it challenging for individuals to both look beyond immediate rewards and gratification and to consider the often very real likelihood of significant negative outcomes in the future. This may be especially true with stimuli that are highly salient and very rewarding (e.g., sex), leaving these individuals vulnerable to engaging in sexually risky behavior. Future research could explore further whether high working memory capacity may serve as a protective factor by directing decision-making toward less risky behavior even when a person is highly aroused. Results should be replicated on clinical populations. Limitations and additional future directions are discussed.
Smoking Status and Intention to Quit: The Role of Affective Associations and Expectancies
The purpose of this research was to examine how affective associations with smoking and outcome expectancies regarding smoking are related to smoking status and intention to quit among smokers. Researchers and practitioners can draw on findings regarding affective associations and outcome expectancies to provide a further basis for smoking prevention and intervention efforts. Four-hundred and one participants, half of whom were current smokers, from the United States and Australia completed measures of affective associations with smoking and outcome expectancies relating to smoking. Current smokers also indicated their readiness to quit. Participants with more positive affective associations were more likely to be smokers. Current smokers with more positive affective associations expressed less readiness to quit smoking. Outcome expectancies regarding reinforcement stemming from smoking and consequences stemming from smoking were related to smoking status and intention to quit. Outcome expectancies related to smoking significantly mediated the relationship between affective associations and smoking status. Among smokers, outcome expectancies related to smoking significantly mediated the relationship between affective associations and readiness to quit. Implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed.
Development and Validation of the Smoking Expectancy Scale for Adolescents
This study assessed the factor structure, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of the Smoking Expectancies Scale for Adolescents (SESA) using 717 Australian adolescents (87% nonsmokers, 11% current smokers, and 2% ex-smokers). Exploratory factor analysis of SESA yielded 8 factors. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 8-factor model, and also a 2nd-order cost– benefit model, fit the data significantly better than 4 alternatives. Validation analyses revealed the 8-factor model explained 26% to 32% of the variance in adolescent cigarette use, smoking intentions, smoking subjective norms, and peer smoking. The 2nd-order model explained 12% to 17% of the variance in these same variables.
Smoking cessation in adults: A dual process perspective
This study applied Cognitive Experiential Self Theory to investigate the role of smoking expectancies and experiential associations with cigarette use in predicting smoking cessation in a sample of 155 Australian adults. Two discrete changes in the cessation process were investigated. The first involved a cognitive transition from not intending to quit smoking to intending to quit, and the second involved a behavioral transition from intending to quit to successful cessation. Multinomial logistic regression analyses suggested that experiential associations played no role in the transition from not intending to intending to quit, but moderated the effects of three types of smoking expectancies (negative consequences, positive reinforcement, and negative reinforcement) on the transition from intending to quit to successful cessation. The facilitative effects of smoking expectancies on cessation were substantially attenuated in participants who possessed more positive experiential associations with smoking.
Do dispositional rumination and/or mindfulness moderate the relationship between life hassles and psychological dysfunction in adolescents?
Objective: This study examined the moderating effects of dispositional rumination and mindfulness on the relationship between recent life hassles and adolescent mental health (operationalized as symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress). Method: Data collected from a sample of 317 Australian high school students comprised an inventory of recent life hassles, measures of dispositional rumination and dispositional mindfulness and an assessment of current symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Results: An increased incidence of recent life hassles was reliably associated with increased depressive symptoms, anxiety and stress. However, moderation analyses revealed that dispositional rumination exacerbated the relationship between life hassles and symptoms of depression and anxiety, whereas dispositional mindfulness attenuated the relationship between life hassles and symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Conclusions: Interventions to increase dispositional mindfulness in childhood are proposed as a method of protecting the psychological well-being of adolescents confronted by inevitable everyday life stress.
Arousal, Working Memory Capacity, and Sexual Decision-Making in Men
This study investigated whether working memory capacity (WMC) moderated the relationship between physiological arousal and sexual decision making. A total of 59 men viewed 20 consensual and 20 non-consensual images of heterosexual interaction while their physiological arousal levels were recorded using skin conductance response. Participants also completed an assessment of WMC and a date-rape analogue task for which they had to identify the point at which an average Australian male would cease all sexual advances in response to verbal and/or physical resistance from a female partner. Participants who were more physiologically aroused by and spent more time viewing the non-consensual sexual imagery nominated significantly later stopping points on the date-rape analogue task. Consistent with our predictions, the relationship between physiological arousal and nominated stopping point was strongest for participants with lower levels of WMC. For participants with high WMC, physiological arousal was unrelated to nominated stopping point. Thus, executive functioning ability (and WMC in particular) appears to play an important role in moderating men's decision making with regard to sexually aggressive behavior.