Combined Effects of Physical Inactivity and Sedentary Behaviour on Psychological Distress Among University-Based Young Adults: a One-Year Prospective Study

Psychiatric Quarterly - Insufficient physical activity (PA) and prolonged sedentary behaviour (SB) may have deleterious psychological health consequences. Using one-year prospective data, this...     

Individual Factors and the Context of Physical Activity in Exercise Dependence: A Prospective Study of ‘Ultra-Marathoners’

Although there is a growing body of literature examining determinants and correlates of exercise dependence, there has been a lack systematic measures of individual factors combined with the context of physical activity characteristics. The aim of this prospective study was therefore to examine the relative influence of individual factors and environmental context of physical activity on exercise dependence. This study examined a group of 95 ‘ultra-marathoners’ of a 100 km race. Each participant completed a questionnaire that assessed individual factors (e.g., sex, age, BMI, marital status, etc.), context of the physical activity (e.g., environmental and social context of practice), and the effect on the body as a result of physical activity (e.g., body control and modification). For participants in this study, the strongest predictors of exercise dependence were individual factors (age and BMI), and exercising in the city in an unstructured space. It is concluded that an ecological model of physical activity could be applied to exercise dependence, and that exercise dependence could provide interesting insights into the promotion of physical activity as a health-related behaviour.     

Healthy for Life: A Randomized Trial Examining Physical Activity Outcomes and Psychosocial Mediators

Background

Researchers theorize that interventions increase physical activity by influencing key theory-based mediators (e.g., behavioral processes). However, few studies have been adequately powered to examine the importance of mediators.

Purpose

This study examined both physical activity behavior and psychosocial mediators in a randomized trial specifically powered to detect mediation.

Methods

Healthy, sedentary adults (n?=?448; 70 % Caucasian, 87 % women, mean age was 43) were randomly assigned to either a 6-month print-based theory tailored physical activity intervention (n?=?224) or a 6-month health/wellness contact control arm (n?=?224).

Results

The print intervention arm exhibited greater increases in physical activity than the control arm at 6 and 12 months (p?<?.05). Additionally, behavioral processes were found to be an important mediator of physical activity behavior.

Conclusions

It is important for researchers and practitioners to focus on increasing behavioral strategies for physical activity adoption. Future studies should examine other potential mediators of physical activity.     

Social Inequalities in Psychological Well-Being: A European Comparison

The objective was to explore the educational differences in psychological well-being, measured using the WHO-5 Index, among 15,362 men and 20,272 women in 31 European countries. Relative Index of Inequality, multilevel logistic regression analyses and interaction tests were performed. Within Europe, large cross-national differences in the prevalence of poor well-being were observed. In almost all countries, the prevalence of poor well-being was higher in low educational groups, but the magnitude of these inequalities was much larger in some countries than in others. The highest social differences in well-being were observed in the European Union candidates countries among both genders. Future health promotion programs should consider strategies that target lower educational groups.     

Assessing the Effects of Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Behavior Change Strategies on Physical Activity in Older Adults: a Factorial Experiment

Background

Little is known about which behavior change strategies motivate older adults to increase their physical activity.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to assess the relative effects of two sets of behavior change strategies to motivate increased physical activity among older adults: interpersonal and intrapersonal.

Methods

Community-dwelling older adults (N = 102, mean age = 79) were randomized in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment to receive interpersonal (e.g., social support, friendly social comparison; no, yes) and /or intrapersonal (e.g., goal setting, barriers management; no, yes) behavior change strategies, combined with an evidence-based, physical activity protocol (Otago exercise program) and a physical activity monitor (Fitbit One?).

Results

Based on monitor data, participants who received interpersonal strategies, compared to those who did not, increased their average minutes of total physical activity (light, moderate, vigorous) per week, immediately (p = .006) and 6 months (p = .048) post-intervention. Similar, increases were observed on measures of functional strength and balance, immediately (p = .012) and 6 months (p = .003) post-intervention. The intrapersonal strategies did not elicit a significant increase in physical activity or functional strength and balance.

Conclusions

Findings suggest a set of interpersonally oriented behavior change strategies combined with an evidence-based physical activity protocol can elicit modest, but statistically and clinically significant, increases in older adults’ physical activity and functional strength and balance.Future research should replicate these findings and investigate the sustained quantity of physical activity elicited by these strategies and their impact on older adults’ quality of life and falls. Trial Registration The ClinicalTrials.gov registration identifier is NCT02433249.

     

The Relationships Between Cognitive Reserve and Psychological Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Study in Healthy Individuals

ObjectivesLow levels of cognitive reserve (CR), depressive symptomatology, and apathy are considered risk factors for cognitive decline. The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between these factors across the lifespan in healthy adults.MethodsThis study included 429 Italian participants with no cognitive impairment, divided in three age subgroups: young adults, adults, and elderly. Participants were categorized as having low- or high CR based on the median of the Cognitive Reserve Scale, a self-rated questionnaire evaluating engagement in several leisure and social activities. Depressive symptomatology and severity of apathy were assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory – second edition (BDI-II) and the Dimensional Apathy Scale (DAS), respectively. Analysis of variance and regression served to explore the association between CR, apathy, and depression in the whole sample and in the three age subgroups.ResultsThe analyses of variance and regression analyses revealed that DAS was associated with I-CRS scores in all age groups, as people with high levels of lifetime CR showed a lower level of apathy, whereas no association was found between BDI-II and I-CRS scores.ConclusionLifetime CR is associated with levels of apathy, but not of depressive symptomatology. Low CR is strongly associated with high levels of apathy and might indicate the need for psychoeducational interventions in order to prevent development of cognitive deterioration.     

A Prospective Examination of Exercise and Barrier Self-efficacy to Engage in Leisure-Time Physical Activity During Pregnancy

Background

Pregnant women without medical contraindications should accumulate 30 min of moderate exercise on most days of the week, yet many pregnant women do not exercise at recommended levels.

Purpose

The purpose the study was to examine barriers to leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and investigate barrier and exercise self-efficacy as predictors of self-reported LTPA during pregnancy.

Methods

Pregnant women (n?=?160) completed questionnaires eliciting barriers to LTPA, measures of exercise and barrier self-efficacy, and 6-week LTPA recall at gestational weeks 18, 24, 30, and 36.

Results

A total of 1,168 barriers were content-analyzed, yielding nine major themes including fatigue, time constraints, and physical limitations. Exercise self-efficacy predicted LTPA from gestational weeks 18 to 24 (β?=?0.32, R ²?=?0.26) and weeks 30 to 36 (β?=?0.41, R ²?=?0.37), while barrier self-efficacy predicted LTPA from weeks 24 to 30 (β?=?0.40, R ²?=?0.32).

Conclusions

Pregnant women face numerous barriers to LTPA during pregnancy, the nature of which may change substantially over the course of pregnancy. Higher levels of self-efficacy to exercise and to overcome exercise barriers are associated with greater LTPA during pregnancy. Research and interventions to understand and promote LTPA during pregnancy should explore the dynamic nature of exercise barriers and foster women's confidence to overcome physical activity barriers.     

Linking Amygdala Persistence to Real-World Emotional Experience and Psychological Well-Being

Neural dynamics in response to affective stimuli are linked to momentary emotional experiences. The amygdala, in particular, is involved in subjective emotional experience and assigning value to neutral stimuli. Because amygdala activity persistence following aversive events varies across individuals, some may evaluate subsequent neutral stimuli more negatively than others. This may lead to more frequent and long-lasting momentary emotional experiences, which may also be linked to self-evaluative measures of psychological well-being (PWB). Despite extant links between daily affect and PWB, few studies have directly explored the links between amygdala persistence, daily affective experience, and PWB. To that end, we examined data from 52 human adults (67% female) in the Midlife in the United States study who completed measures of PWB, daily affect, and functional MRI (fMRI). During fMRI, participants viewed affective images followed by a neutral facial expression, permitting quantification of individual differences in the similarity of amygdala representations of affective stimuli and neutral facial expressions that follow. Using representational similarity analysis, neural persistence following aversive stimuli was operationalized as similarity between the amygdala activation patterns while encoding negative images and the neutral facial expressions shown afterward. Individuals demonstrating less persistent activation patterns in the left amygdala to aversive stimuli reported more positive and less negative affect in daily life. Further, daily positive affect served as an indirect link between left amygdala persistence and PWB. These results clarify important connections between individual differences in brain function, daily experiences of affect, and well-being.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT At the intersection of affective neuroscience and psychology, researchers have aimed to understand how individual differences in the neural processing of affective events map onto to real-world emotional experiences and evaluations of well-being. Using a longitudinal dataset from 52 adults in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, we provide an integrative model of affective functioning: less amygdala persistence following negative images predicts greater positive affect (PA) in daily life, which in turn predicts greater psychological well-being (PWB) seven years later. Thus, day-to-day experiences of PA comprise a promising intermediate step that links individual differences in neural dynamics to complex judgements of PWB.     

Maternal Smoking in Pregnancy and Externalizing Behavior in 18-Month-Old Children: Results From a Population-Based Prospective Study

ObjectiveThe relation between prenatal smoking and child behavioral problems has been investigated in children of school age and older, but prospective studies in younger children are lacking. Using the population-based prospective Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, we examined the risk for externalizing behaviors among 18-month-old children after exposure to maternal smoking during pregnancy.MethodParticipants were 22,545 mothers and their 18-month-old children. Mothers reported their smoking habits at the 17th week of gestation and their child's externalizing behavior at 18 months of age by means of standardized questionnaires. Data were analyzed using logistic regression, with scores of externalizing behavior above the 88.6th percentile as the dependent variable and self-reported smoking as the independent variable. We examined the child's sex as a possible moderator.ResultsWe documented a threshold effect of smoking 10 cigarettes or more per day during pregnancy on subsequent externalizing behaviors among 18-month-old children, even after adjusting for relevant confounders (odds ratio 1.32, 95% confidence interval 1.03–1.70). The child's sex did not moderate these effects (odds ratio 0.98, 95% confidence interval 0.83–1.16).ConclusionsMaternal smoking during pregnancy increases offspring's subsequent risk for externalizing behavior problems at 18 months of age. The pattern of risk does not differ between boys and girls. Our findings suggest a population attributable risk of 17.5% (i.e., the proportion of externalizing cases that could potentially be avoided if prenatal smoking was eliminated or reduced to fewer than 10 cigarettes per day).     

Suicidal Behavior and Psychological Distress in University Students: A 12-nation Study

This study investigated the prevalence of suicidal behavior and psychological distress in university students across 12 nations. A total of 5,572 university students from 12 countries were surveyed about suicide ideation, suicide attempts, and psychological distress by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Almost 29% of the samples reported having contemplated suicide and 7% reported attempting suicide. Of the total sample, 51.1% scored above the General Health Questionnaire-12 ≥ 3 cut-off points, 41.6% above the GHQ-12 ≥ 4 cut-off points, and 33.8% scored above the GHQ-12 ≥ 5 cut-off points. While odds of suicide ideation were elevated in Austria and the UK, reduced ORs were detected for China, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Turkey. Similarly, while odds of suicide attempt were high in Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and to some extent in Turkey, reduced ORs were observed for Austria, China, Italy, Japan and the United States. Elevated ORs for psychological distress were seen in Japan, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Turkey but reduced ORs were noted in Austria, China, Iran, Italy, and the United States. Psychological distress was strongly associated with reports of suicide ideation and attempts. Suicide ideation, suicide attempt, and psychological distress are common in university students but their rates vary depending on the sociocultural context. Due attention should be devoted to the mental health needs of young adults enrolled in higher educational institutions and more cross-cultural research is warranted to better understand the etiology of the observed intersocietal variations in suicidal behavior and psychological distress.     

Physical Exercise and Psychological Wellness

The relationship between regular physical exercise and psychological wellness among gym members was investigated. Regular exercise was defined as exercising for an average of thirty minutes a day at least three times per week. A wellness profile was constructed from various questionnaires chosen on the basis of their relationship with the general construct of mental health and/or psychological well-being as conceptualised in this paper and as established in previous research. Wellness profile components consisted of assessments of mood, lifestyle, satisfaction with life, sense of coherence, fortitude, stress and coping with stress. The wellness profile was administered to 106 exercisers from four local gyms in the Richards Bay area of South Africa. Respondents were given feedback, and further counselling if needed, with regard to their scores on the various components as wellness and a global wellness percentage score. The correlations among wellness components were almost all highly significant. Findings also indicated a highly significant influence of regular exercise on the various components of wellness as operationally defined by various scores on the wellness profile and the final composite wellness percentage itself. Findings provide further support for the vital role that regular exercise plays in the promotion of mental health and wellness.     

The Healthy Brains and Behavior Study: objectives,design, recruitment,and population coverage

Violence is increasingly viewed as a public health issue that may be ameliorated by health‐based interventions. The Healthy Brains and Behavior Study (HBBS) aims to identify environmental and biological risk factors for aggression in late childhood and to reduce aggression through psychological and nutritional treatments. Utilizing a cross‐disciplinary collaborative research approach, the HBBS has both human and animal components. The human component has two stages consisting of risk assessment followed by treatment. The risk assessment is based on 451 community‐residing children aged 11–12 years and their caregivers, during which genetic, brain imaging, neuroendocrine, psychophysiology, environment toxicology, neurocognitive, nutrition, psychological, social and demographic risk variables are collected. Children who met criteria (N = 219) for problematic aggressive behaviors were assigned to one of four treatment groups: cognitive‐behavior therapy (CBT) alone, nutritional supplements alone, both CBT and nutrition, or treatment‐as‐usual. Treatment duration was 12 weeks and all children whether in treatment or not were followed‐up at three, six, and 12 months. The animal component assessed the effects of dietary omega‐3 fatty acids on the development of aggression. This study contributes knowledge on how biological factors interact with social factors in shaping proactive and reactive aggression and assesses the efficacy of treatment approaches to reduce childhood aggression. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

体力活动与卒中

卒中作为一种慢性疾病,严重危害着人类健康.现代医学认为,卒中的危险因素与人们的日常生活方式、行为习惯及体力活动情况等诸多因素密切相关.……     

A Prospective Study of Psychological Distress and Weight Status in Adolescents/Young Adults

Background  

The obesity–psychological distress relationship remains controversial.     

Integrated Social- and Neurocognitive Model of Physical Activity Behavior in Older Adults with Metabolic Disease

Background

Despite the proven benefits of physical activity to treat and prevent metabolic diseases, such as diabetes (T2D) and metabolic syndrome (MetS), most individuals with metabolic disease do not meet physical activity (PA) recommendations. PA is a complex behavior requiring substantial motivational and cognitive resources. The purpose of this study was to examine social cognitive and neuropsychological determinants of PA behavior in older adults with T2D and MetS. The hypothesized model theorized that baseline self-regulatory strategy use and cognitive function would indirectly influence PA through self-efficacy.

Methods

Older adults with T2D or MetS (M _age = 61.8 ± 6.4) completed either an 8-week physical activity intervention (n = 58) or an online metabolic health education course (n = 58) and a follow-up at 6 months. Measures included cognitive function, self-efficacy, self-regulatory strategy use, and PA.

Results

The data partially supported the hypothesized model (χ² = 158.535(131), p > .05, comparative fit index = .96, root mean square error of approximation = .04, standardized root mean square residual = .06) with self-regulatory strategy use directly predicting self-efficacy (β = .33, p < .05), which in turn predicted PA (β = .21, p < .05). Performance on various cognitive function tasks predicted PA directly and indirectly via self-efficacy. Baseline physical activity (β = .62, p < .01) and intervention group assignment via self-efficacy (β = ?.20, p < .05) predicted follow-up PA. The model accounted for 54.4 % of the variance in PA at month 6.

Conclusions

Findings partially support the hypothesized model and indicate that select cognitive functions (i.e., working memory, inhibition, attention, and task-switching) predicted PA behavior 6 months later. Future research warrants the development of interventions targeting cognitive function, self-regulatory skill development, and self-efficacy enhancement.

Trial Registration Number

The trial was registered with the clinical trial number NCT01790724.

     

Media Use Is Linked to Lower Psychological Well-Being: Evidence from Three Datasets

Adolescents spend a substantial and increasing amount of time using digital media (smartphones, computers, social media, gaming, Internet), but existing studies do not agree on whether time spent on digital media is associated with lower psychological well-being (including happiness, general well-being, and indicators of low well-being such as depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts). Across three large surveys of adolescents in two countries (n =?221,096), light users (<1 h a day) of digital media reported substantially higher psychological well-being than heavy users (5+ hours a day). Datasets initially presented as supporting opposite conclusions produced similar effect sizes when analyzed using the same strategy. Heavy users (vs. light) of digital media were 48% to 171% more likely to be unhappy, to be in low in well-being, or to have suicide risk factors such as depression, suicidal ideation, or past suicide attempts. Heavy users (vs. light) were twice as likely to report having attempted suicide. Light users (rather than non- or moderate users) were highest in well-being, and for most digital media use the largest drop in well-being occurred between moderate use and heavy use. The limitations of using percent variance explained as a gauge of practical impact are discussed.