When, why, and how do People Deviate from Physical Distancing Measures During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study

in Psychologica Belgica (2021)

To limit the spread of COVID-19, many countries, including Belgium, have installed physical distancing measures. Yet, adherence to these newly installed behavioral measures has been described as ... [more ▼]

To limit the spread of COVID-19, many countries, including Belgium, have installed physical distancing measures. Yet, adherence to these newly installed behavioral measures has been described as challenging and effortful. Based on the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) model, this study performed an in-depth evaluation of when, why, and how people deviated from the physical distancing measures. An online mixed-method study was conducted among Belgian adults (N = 2055) in the beginning of May 2020. Participants were recruited via an open call through email and social media platforms, using snowball sampling. Conditions wherein people deviated from the physical distancing measures were assessed by means of an open-ended question. HAPA determinants were assessed in a quantitative way. Half of the sample reported to deviate from the measures. Further, deviation from the measures was associated with each determinant outlined by the HAPA. Findings highlight that many people deviated from the measures because of their need for social contact. The majority of the people who deviated from the measures stated that they carefully weighed the risks of their behavior. Need for social contact pushed people to deviate from physical distancing measures in a deliberate manner. Potential areas for future interventions aimed at promoting adherence to physical distancing measures and enhancing psychosocial well-being are discussed. [less ▲]

Altered regulation of negative affect in patients with fibromyalgia : a diary study

in EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PAIN (2021)

Background Fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and often accompanied by cognitive and emotional problems. Adaptation to fibromyalgia may therefore also rely on one's ability ... [more ▼]

Background Fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and often accompanied by cognitive and emotional problems. Adaptation to fibromyalgia may therefore also rely on one's ability to regulate emotional problems. In this study, we examined two indices of emotion regulation, that is, (a) affective instability, involving frequent large fluctuations in self-reported affect, and (b) resting heart rate variability (HRV). 45.4 years; 39 females) and 46 matched healthy controls (M-age = 44.9 years; 37 females). Heart rate was monitored under resting conditions to derive HRV. Subsequently, participants completed an electronic end-of-day diary for 14 consecutive days assessing daily levels of pain, disability, negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA). Affective instability was operationalized as the mean square of successive differences in daily mood. Results Results indicate increased levels of NA instability and reduced levels of HRV in patients with fibromyalgia in comparison with healthy controls. Furthermore, HRV and NA instability were inversely related. Finally, in patients, higher NA instability was related to increased pain disability. Conclusions Current findings support the idea that patients with fibromyalgia are confronted with fluctuating emotions. These results may have important implications for treatment as they provide support for the use of emotion regulation skills training in patients with fibromyalgia to impact upon NA instability. Significance This study provides novel insight in the link between emotion regulation indices,that is, heart-rate variability and negative affective (NA) instability, in patients with fibromyalgia, and presents evidence for differences in both emotion regulation indices between patients with fibromyalgia and healthy people. Furthermore, results link increased NA instability with increased levels of daily disability in patients with fibromyalgia. Together, these findings offer support for a key role of emotion regulation in fibromyalgia outcomes, providing pathways for clinical practice. [less ▲]

Let’s talk about pain catastrophizing measures: an item content analysis

in PeerJ (2020)

Background. Concerns have been raised about whether self-report measures of pain catastrophizing reflect the construct as defined in the cognitive-behavioral literature. We investigated the content of ... [more ▼]

Background. Concerns have been raised about whether self-report measures of pain catastrophizing reflect the construct as defined in the cognitive-behavioral literature. We investigated the content of these self-report measures; that is, whether items assess the construct ‘pain catastrophizing’ and not other theoretical constructs (i.e., related constructs or pain outcomes) using the discriminant content validity method. Method. Items (n = 58) of six pain catastrophizing measures were complemented with items (n = 34) from questionnaires measuring pain-related worrying, vigilance, pain severity, distress, and disability. Via an online survey, 94 participants rated to what extent each item was relevant for assessing pain catastrophizing, defined as ‘‘to view or present pain or pain-related problems as considerably worse than they actually are’’ and other relevant constructs (pain-related worrying, vigilance, pain severity, distress, and disability). Results. Data were analyzed using Bayesian hierarchical models. The results revealed that the items from pain-related worrying, vigilance, pain severity, distress, and disability questionnaires were distinctively related to their respective constructs. This was not observed for the items from the pain catastrophizing questionnaires. The content of the pain catastrophizing measures was equally well, or even better, captured by pain-related worrying or pain-related distress. Conclusion. Based upon current findings, a recommendation may be to develop a novel pain catastrophizing questionnaire. However, we argue that pain catastrophizing cannot be assessed by self-report questionnaires. Pain catastrophizing requires contextual information, and expert judgment, which cannot be provided by self-report questionnaires. We argue for a person-centered approach, and propose to rename ‘pain catastrophizing’ measures in line with what is better measured: ‘pain-related worrying’ [less ▲]

A componential emotion approach for the assessment of emotional awareness in youth.

in Psychological assessment (2016), 28(11), 1416-1426

The Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale for Children (LEAS-C) is a performance-based instrument that assesses emotional awareness in the structure of written responses to a set of real-life scenarios ... [more ▼]

The Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale for Children (LEAS-C) is a performance-based instrument that assesses emotional awareness in the structure of written responses to a set of real-life scenarios. While it is theoretically expected that emotional awareness develops with age, virtually no age differences have been established with the LEAS-C. The present study investigated whether an adaptation of the instructions and scoring procedure on the basis of the componential emotion approach could improve the validity of the LEAS-C and reveal the theoretically expected age differences. An adapted LEAS-C was administered to a sample of 574 children and adolescents and scored with the original and a new componential scoring procedure. An acceptable reliability for the original and a good reliability and a high interrater reliability for the componential scoring procedure were observed. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses showed measurement invariance of factor loadings and intercepts across children (8 to 12 years) and adolescents (13 to 16 years) for all tested models, for both scoring procedures. A one-factor model fitted well for the total scores and self and other scores for both scoring procedures. The pattern of relationships with alexithymia, emotional intelligence, intelligence, personality, and social and emotional impairment as well as gender differences were comparable with prior research. Furthermore, the expected relationship with age was found, with stronger correlations for the componential than the original scoring procedure. In conclusion, analyses of the reliability, internal structure, and nomological network supported the adaptations of the LEAS-C on the basis of the componential emotion approach. (PsycINFO Database Record [less ▲]