PSI CHI JOURNAL

Correlating Barriers to Medication Adherence With Trait Anxiety, Social Stigma, and Peer Support in College Students With Chronic Illness

Christina Curtis and Astrida S. Kaugars
Department of Psychology, Marquette University

ABSTRACT: Taking one’s prescribed medication is an important aspect of chronic illness management. It is important to better understand individual and community factors that may be associated with barriers to medical adherence. Eighty-three undergraduate students with a chronic illness took an online survey assessing perceived barriers to medication adherence, levels of anxiety, social stigma, and peer support. Participants reported on their chronic illness diagnosis. Anxiety and social stigma were positively correlated with barriers to medication adherence, p < .001, and peer support was negatively correlated with barriers to medication adherence, p = .02. Participants with a psychological illness reported statistically significantly higher levels of anxiety, p = .007, and social stigma, p = .002, than participants with a medical illness. This study contributes to the growing literature examining factors that may be associated with college students’ medication adherence.

KEYWORDS: barriers, medication adherence, college students, chronic illness

https://doi.org/10.24839/2325-7342.JN27.3.178

Well-Being and the Outdoors: An Environmentalism Study Among a Religious Student Population

Laura Pires-Gifford, Shaylee Hoffmann, Edmond Arroyo, Nathan Jones, Bethany Waite, and Robert R. Wright
Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University-Idaho

ABSTRACT: Environmental attitudes (EAs, i.e., overall responsibility or general attitudes toward the environment), environmental behaviors (EBs, i.e., willingness to engage in or change behaviors relating to the environment), and environmental concerns (ECs, i.e., concern about environmental issues) are important variables related to outdoor recreation, health behaviors, mental health, and even religion. For the present study, we aimed to examine the relationship between these variables using an online survey of introductory-level students attending a religious university consisting primarily of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Results were then assessed using linear and stepwise regression analysis. Results indicate a significant positive correlation between EAs with diet quality (i.e., whole grains, vegetables, and fruits: p < .001) and life satisfaction (p = .02) and a negative correlation between EAs and negative affect (p < .001). EBs were correlated positively with having a high-quality diet (i.e., whole grains, vegetables, and fruits: p < .001), exercise behaviors (p = .01), life satisfaction (p = .024), and low levels of negative affect (p = .01). Interestingly, ECs were correlated with high levels of anxiety (p = .001), depressive symptoms ( p = .002), perceived stress (p < .001), diet quality (i.e., whole grains: p = .02; vegetables: p = .005; fruits: p < .001), and low levels of life satisfaction (p = .011). Although EAs and EBs tended to correlate mostly with positive outcomes, ECs had several negative results implicating differences between EAs, EBs, and ECs. Thus, religious students were more willing and likely to engage in pro-EBs than previous studies have suggested.

KEYWORDS: environmental attitudes, environmental behaviors, environmental concerns, outdoor recreation, religion

https://doi.org/10.24839/2325-7342.JN27.3.185

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Produces Anxiogenic Effects in the Rat Light/Dark Test and Elevated Plus Maze

Catherine N. Conway and Lisa E. Baker
Department of Psychology, Western Michigan University

ABSTRACT: Recent clinical trials indicate favorable therapeutic outcomes of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety and treatment-resistant depression. Whereas the neurobiological systems underlying these effects are not well understood, animal behavioral models can serve to investigate these mechanisms. For the current study, we implemented 2 rodent models predictive of anxiolytic drug effects, a light/dark test and an elevated plus maze (EPM), to investigate the acute and subchronic effects of LSD, respectively. Forty-eight, adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to receive LSD (0.00, 0.02, 0.04, 0.08 mg/kg) and assessed in the light/dark test 15 min after the first injection. Five additional injections were given, once every 48 hours, after which rats were assessed in the EPM either 48 (n = 24) or 72 hours (n = 24) after the last injection. A dose-dependent and statistically significant decrease was observed in number of entries into, F(3, 44) = 12.79, p < .001,η² = .47, and time spent, F(3, 48) = 14.15, p < .001, η_p² = .47, in the brightly lit compartment. In the EPM, closed arm entries, F(1, 17) = 28.85, p < .001, η_p² =.36, and time spent in closed arms, F(1, 17) = 20.14, p < .001, η_p²=.99, were significantly higher compared to entries or time in open arms by rats assessed 48 hours after the last LSD injection, but not by rats tested 72 hours after the last injection. These findings indicate that acute and subchronic LSD treatment produce transient anxiogenic effects. In consideration of positive therapeutic outcomes of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, alternative preclinical models may be warranted to discern the mechanisms underlying the putative therapeutic effects of serotonergic hallucinogens.

KEYWORDS: Lysergic acid diethylamide, elevated plus maze, light/dark test, anxiety, rats

https://doi.org/10.24839/2325-7342.JN27.3.197

There Is Crying in Football: Reactions to an Athlete’s Weeping

Brandon C. Martin, William Hill, Grace McIntosh, Nelson Peterson, Olivia Sanborn, and Karol Maybury
Division of Psychology and Human Development, University of Maine at Farmington

ABSTRACT: The current study hypothesized that the status of a professional American football player would influence how observers perceived his weeping after losing a game. It was also predicted that the importance of the game (the NFL Super Bowl vs. a regular season game) would influence perceptions of his tears. Two hundred twenty-two adults, recruited nationally, read 1 of 4 vignettes in a 2 (player status: high- or low-performing) x 2 (game status: Super Bowl or regular season game) between-subjects design. The vignette describes a close game that is ultimately lost by the target’s team, with the target weeping at its conclusion. Participants (N = 213) rated his postgame weeping as more appropriate and justifiable, using an allowance composite score, as it was found that there was a significant difference for both player, F(2, 196) = 10.13, p < .001; Wilks’ Lambda=. 91; η² = .09, and game, F(2, 196) = 4.27, p = .02; Wilks’ Lambda = .96; η² = .04, status. There were also significant differences found in analyses for player status on perceived emotional stability, F(1, 202) = 20.22, p < .001, η² = .09, and game status on perceived competency, F(1, 200) = 173.63, p < .001, η² = .47. The ramifications of these findings, that situational details and personal attributes of the target influence observers’ judgments of emotional appropriateness, are discussed.

KEYWORDS: football, masculinity, gender norms, crying behavior

ABSTRACT0: El estudio actual planteó la hipótesis de que el estado de un jugador profesional de fútbol americano influiría en cómo los observadores percibían el llanto del jugador después de perder un partido. También se predijo que la importancia del juego (el Super Bowl de la NFL frente a un juego de la temporada regular) influiría en la percepción de las lágrimas del jugador. Doscientos veintidós adultos, reclutados a nivel nacional, leyeron uno de las cuatro viñetas en un diseño entre sujetos de 2 (estado del jugador: alto o bajo rendimiento) x 2 (estado del juego: Super Bowl o juego de temporada regular). La viñeta describía un juego cerrado que finalmente pierde el equipo del objetivo, con el objetivo llorando al final. Los participantes (N = 213) calificaron llanto del jugador posterior al juego como más apropiado y justificable, utilizando una puntuación compuesta de tolerancia, ya que que habían diferencias significativas para jugador, F(2, 196) = 10.13, p < . 001; Lambda de Wilks=. 91; η² = .09, y tipo del juego, F(2, 196) = 4.27, p = .02; Lambda de Wilks = .96; η² = .04. También se encontraron diferencias significativas en los análisis del estatus social del jugador sobre la estabilidad emocional percibida, F(1, 202) = 20.22, p < .001, η² = .09, y el tipo del juego sobre la competencia percibida, F(1, 200) = 173.63, p < .001, η² = .47. Se discuten las ramificaciones de estos resultados, que los detalles situacionales y los atributos personales del objetivo influyen en los juicios de adecuación emocional de los observadores.

PALABRAS CLAVE: fútbol, masculinidad, normas de género, conducta de llanto

https://doi.org/10.24839/2325-7342.JN27.3.205

Imagining the Hangover: Anticipated Regret and Binge Drinking

Erika J. Koch
Department of Psychology, St. Francis Xavier University

ABSTRACT: The present research tested whether anticipated regret uniquely predicts and influences intention to avoid binge drinking, and whether intention, in turn, negatively predicts binge drinking behavior. Study 1 pilot-tested a measure with Canadian undergraduates and found that anticipated regret uniquely predicted intention to avoid binge drinking, β = .64, B = 0.58, 95% CI (0.45, 0.71), p < .001. Study 2 modified the measure and assessed binge drinking one month later; results replicated those of Study 1, β = .24, B = 0.24, 95% CI [0.13, 0.34, p < .001, and revealed that intention uniquely, negatively predicted binge drinking behavior, β = –.50, B = –0.66, 95% CI [–1.12, –0.20], p = .005. Study 3 randomly assigned whether participants responded to anticipated regret items, and, unexpectedly, found that exposing participants to anticipated regret items lowered intention to avoid binge drinking, Hedge’s g = –.29, 95% CI [–0.56, –0.02], p = .033. Results suggest anticipated regret as a promising intervention target; however, results also suggest caution in designing an anticipated regret intervention.

KEYWORDS: binge drinking, drinking behavior, health behavior, Theory of Planned Behavior

https://doi.org/10.24839/2325-7342.JN27.3.212

INVITED EDITORIAL: Sharing Effective Models of Student Research Mentoring: Stories From Associate Editors

Robert Wright ¹, Kimberli R. H. Treadwell ², and Jennifer L. Hughes ^3
1Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University – Idaho
²Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut
³Department of Psychology, Agnes Scott College

https://doi.org/10.24839/2325-7342.JN27.3.223