Investigating the ‘placebo personality’ outside the pain paradigm

Aim

To identify personality traits related to placebo responding outside the context of pain.

Methods

Sixty three healthy volunteers completed the study. Personality traits were measured online one week prior to a laboratory session in which two psychosocial stress tests were administered. Prior to the second test, the placebo group received an intranasal spray of ‘serotonin’ (placebo) with the suggestion that it would enhance recovery. Subjective stress, heart rate and heart rate variability were measured. Self reported and physiological responses to the placebo suggestion were assessed against personality variables.

Results

Placebo effects were demonstrated in both self reported and physiological stress metrics. Lower optimism and less empathic concern predicted greater perceived benefits from the placebo treatment; and lower drive, fun, and sensation seeking were related to a greater physiological response to the manipulation. Multivariate analyses revealed lower optimism and behavioural drive to be predictive of responding to the placebo manipulation.

Conclusion

Findings are in contrast with prior work in pain paradigms which found higher levels of the same traits to be related to greater placebo analgesic responses. A cluster of traits characterised by behavioural drive, extraversion, optimism and novelty or fun seeking appears to be germane to placebo responsiveness, but contextual stimuli may generate different patterns of responding. A new conceptualisation of placebo responsiveness may be useful. Rather than a ‘placebo personality’ it may be that responsiveness is better typified by a two faceted transactional model, in which different personality facets respond to different contextual contingencies.     

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Effects of Yoga With an Active Control on Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Individuals With Prehypertension and Stage 1 Hypertension

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of yoga with an active control (nonaerobic exercise) in individuals with prehypertension and stage 1 hypertension. A randomized clinical trial was performed using two arms: (1) yoga and (2) active control. Primary outcomes were 24‐hour day and night ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Within‐group and between‐group analyses were performed using paired t tests and repeated‐measures analysis of variance (time × group), respectively. Eighty‐four participants enrolled, with 68 participants completing the trial. Within‐group analyses found 24‐hour diastolic, night diastolic, and mean arterial pressure all significantly reduced in the yoga group (?3.93, ?4.7, ?4.23 mm Hg, respectively) but no significant within‐group changes in the active control group. Direct comparisons of the yoga intervention with the control group found a single blood pressure variable (diastolic night) to be significantly different (P=.038). This study has demonstrated that a yoga intervention can lower blood pressure in patients with mild hypertension. Although this study was not adequately powered to show between‐group differences, the size of the yoga‐induced blood pressure reduction appears to justify performing a definitive trial of this intervention to test whether it can provide meaningful therapeutic value for the management of hypertension.     

The demographic, system, and psychosocial origins of mammographic screening disparities: prediction of initiation versus maintenance screening among immigrant and non-immigrant women

Disparities in breast screening are well documented. Less clear are differences within groups of immigrant and non-immigrant minority women or differences in adherence to mammography guidelines over time. A sample of 1,364 immigrant and non-immigrant women (African American, English Caribbean, Haitian, Dominican, Eastern European, and European American) were recruited using a stratified cluster-sampling plan. In addition to measuring established predictors of screening, women reported mammography frequency in the last 10 years and were (per ACS guidelines at the time) categorized as never, sub-optimal (<1 screen/year), or adherent (1+ screens/year) screeners. Multinomial logistic regression showed that while ethnicity infrequently predicted the never versus sub-optimal comparison, English Caribbean, Haitian, and Eastern European women were less likely to screen systematically over time. Demographics did not predict the never versus sub-optimal distinction; only regular physician, annual exam, physician recommendation, and cancer worry showed effects. However, the adherent categorization was predicted by demographics, was less likely among women without insurance, a regular physician, or an annual exam, and more likely among women reporting certain patterns of emotion (low embarrassment and greater worry). Because regular screening is crucial to breast health, there is a clear need to consider patterns of screening among immigrant and non-immigrant women as well as whether the variables predicting the initiation of screening are distinct from those predicting systematic screening over time.     

Negative Affectivity,Emotion Regulation,and Coping in Migraine and Probable Migraine: A New Zealand Case–Control Study

Background

Migraine is a prevalent and disabling health condition. While there have been some suggestions that personality may be linked to migraine incidence, dose–response links to disability or impact are yet to be conducted and multivariate analyses are uncommon.

Purpose

The purposes of this study are to evaluate the personality characteristics differentiating migraine and probable migraine sufferers from matched controls in multivariate models and assess the possibility of a dose–response relationship.

Methods

Fifty migraine sufferers and 50 age-, sex-, and ethnicity-matched controls in New Zealand completed personality measures including negative affectivity, coping, and monitoring–blunting.

Results

Logistic regressions indicated that migraine status was concurrently predicted by Type D negative affectivity, more frequent venting and planning coping, and lower monitoring. There was little evidence to suggest a consistent dose-response type effect of personality on migraine; lower impact and disability were associated with greater openness to experiences, acceptance, and behavioural disengagement.

Conclusions

A personality profile characterised by moderate levels of negative emotion and irritability together with failures in inhibitory self-regulation may be associated with an increased risk of strict and probable migraine.     

Does a brief state mindfulness induction moderate disgust-driven social avoidance and decision-making? An experimental investigation

Journal of Behavioral Medicine - In this experimental study, we evaluated whether manipulated disgust and mindfulness predicted social avoidance in bowel health contexts. Community participants...     

The uncharted waters of emotion: Ethnicity, trait emotion and emotion expression in older adults

Emotions are central to contemporary theories of health, and a growingbody of psychological research has shown emotion and emotion regulatorystyles to be predictive of health outcomes. Yet despite these clear links andthe fact that patterns of emotion and expression are partially a product ofculture, there is a meager literature on the emotional characteristics ofdifferent ethnic groups. Even where ethnicity has been investigated inemotions research, it has typically been operationalized in such a way thatwithin-group differences are obscured with most individuals assigned tobroad ethnic categories, such as non-Hispanic White, or Black. In thepresent study we draw on data from a multi-ethnic sample of 755community-dwelling older adults to parse a picture of the emotionalcharacteristics of three of the largest and most culturally distinct ethnicgroups in the Northeastern United States: African Americans, West Indians (Jamaicans), andEastern Slavs (Russians and Ukrainians) from the former Soviet Republic,as well as a comparison group of US-born European Americans. Aspredicted, there were striking differences in nine of 10 trait emotions aswell as in levels of emotion expressed during conflict. The findings arediscussed in terms of emotion socialization and implications for predictionand intervention in psychosocial models of emotions, emotion regulation,and health in older ethnic populations.     

Physician,affective, and cognitive variables differentially predict initiation versus maintenance PSA screening profiles in diverse groups of men

Objectives To evaluate the relevance of demographic, physician, and psychological characteristics to PSA screening in ethnic subpopulations and ascertain whether the same characteristics distinguish men who have never had a PSA from those who screen infrequently and those who screen yearly (adhere). Design and methods Stratified cluster‐sampling was used to recruit 533 men (45–70 years) from four ethnic groups: African‐American; European‐American; immigrant Jamaican; and immigrant men from Trinidad and Tobago. Men provided demographic and structural (insurance, regular physician, annual exam, and physician recommendation), cognitive (risk and efficacy perceptions, knowledge), and emotional variables (cancer worry and embarrassment), and reported on PSA screening history. Multinomial logistic regression used these variables to predict three screening classifications (never screened, partially adherent, and adherent). Results Multinomial logistic regression showed that minority men were less likely to report either never screening or yearly screening, while younger men were more likely. Lack of a regular physician (OR=2.87, 95% CI 1.39–5.84), an annual exam (OR=1.73, 95% CI 0.91–3.28), and low recommendation (OR=3.76, 95% CI 2.13–6.66) were associated with being categorized as a never (vs. partially adherent) screener, but only annual exam (OR=0.26, 95% CI 0.10–0.63) was associated with yearly screening. Lower cancer worry was marginally associated with never screening (OR=0.59, 95% CI 0.38–1.04), while knowledge was associated with screening yearly over time (OR=0.46, 95% CI 0.28–0.77). Conclusions Demographic, physician, and psychological variables are differentially associated with never, less than yearly, and yearly screening classifications. Minority men were unlikely to have never screened, but were also less likely to screen yearly. Physician variables were associated with the difference between not screening and partially adherent, but not between partially adherent and yearly screening suggesting that the role of physicians in PSA behaviour over time would benefit from further study.     

The association of family support and wellbeing in later life depends on adult attachment style

The current study examines the association between family support and wellbeing in the elderly, paying particular attention to the possible moderating role of attachment style. Data from a community-dwelling, ethnically diverse, elderly sample (N = 1118) were analyzed to determine the best linear combination of emotional support, instrumental support, and attachment styles predicting wellbeing. Emotional support generally was associated with higher wellbeing whereas instrumental support was related to decreased wellbeing. As expected, however, these associations were qualified by attachment style. Receiving emotional support had stronger positive and instrumental support less negative effects on the wellbeing of elderly individuals with higher attachment security. Given increased longevity, family networks may become important sources of support for the elderly. Work detailing when, how, and for whom particular types of family support are beneficial is a key agenda within developmental psychology and social gerontology.     

Altruism relates to health in an ethnically diverse sample of older adults

The existing literature indicates links between aspects of social network functioning and health outcomes. It is generally believed that networks that are larger or provide greater instrumental and emotional support contribute to improved health and, perhaps, greater longevity. Recently, it has been suggested that giving as well as receiving social support may be of benefit. On the basis of evolutionary theories of emotion and altruism, the current study sought to test this thesis in a large, ethnically diverse sample of community-dwelling older adults. As expected, levels of social support given were associated with lower morbidity, whereas levels of receiving were not. It is important that these relations held even when (a) socioeconomic status, education, marital status, age, gender, ethnicity, and (b) absolute network size and activity limitation were controlled for. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for theory regarding the relations among social exchanges, giving, and later life adaptation among older adults.