Corrigendum to "A Longitudinal Examination of the Hopelessness Theory of Depression in People Who Have Multiple Sclerosis".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2015/190405.].

A mixed methods process evaluation of a print-based intervention supported by internet tools to improve physical activity in UK cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVE: A waiting list randomised control trial has shown the Move More Pack, a print-based intervention supported by Internet tools, to improve physical activity levels in cancer survivors; however, one-third of them do not improve from the intervention. The objective of this process evaluation is to understand intervention use, the mechanisms of impact, the perceived benefits and the contextual factors influencing these, identifying for whom it is a useful resource. METHODS: The process evaluation used mixed methods, based on guidance from the UK Medical Research Council, including 181 questionnaire responses on intervention use and physical activity improvement over 12 weeks, 56 open-text responses and 17 semistructured interviews. RESULTS: The Move More Pack was suggested to be most useful when delivered towards the start of the cancer journey to those with a positive attitude to fight cancer but with a low level of physical activity, capitalising on a teachable moment. It was suggested that healthcare professionals could support the effective distribution of the Move More Pack. The intervention's printed components were more popular and well used than the Internet tools. Use of the printed intervention components was positively correlated with physical activity improvement but use of the Internet tools was not. Women were more likely to use the intervention's printed components than men. Cancer survivors using the intervention reflected that they had increased confidence and motivation for physical activity and other lifestyle behaviours. CONCLUSION: The Move More Pack should be offered by healthcare professionals, during cancer treatment, when health is salient, to those with a positive attitude to fight cancer but with low levels of physical activity. Use of the intervention's printed components is more likely to improve physical activity than the Internet tools, and the components are more likely to be used by women. The use of Internet tools to support physical activity improvement in cancer survivors requires further investigation.

A randomised control trial and cost-consequence analysis to examine the effects of a print-based intervention supported by internet tools on the physical activity of UK cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a print-based intervention supported by Internet tools at improving physical activity in cancer survivors compared with a standard letter recommendation. Prediagnosis physical activity and self-efficacy were hypothesised to predict physical activity improvement. STUDY DESIGN: Waiting list randomised control trial and cost-consequence analysis. METHODS: Adult cancer survivors who could become physically active without prior medical approval were randomised to receive either a print-based intervention supported by Internet tools (intervention, n = 104) or a standard letter recommendation (control, n = 103). Physical activity was assessed at 12 weeks with maintenance assessed at 24 weeks in the intervention arm. The number needed to treat was calculated, and a cost-consequence analysis completed. RESULTS: Participants in receipt of a print-based intervention supported by Internet tools improved their physical activity by 36.9% over 12 weeks compared with 9.1% in the control arm. Physical activity was maintained at 24 weeks in the intervention arm. A total of 6.29 cancer survivors needed to receive the intervention for one cancer survivor to improve their physical activity over a standard letter recommendation. Intervention delivery cost £8.19 per person. Prediagnosis physical activity and self-efficacy did not predict physical activity improvement. CONCLUSION: A print-based intervention supported by Internet tools offers a promising low-cost means to intervene to improve physical activity in cancer survivors. The study was registered with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trials Number registry (registration number: 66418871), and ethical approval was received from the University of Surrey (reference: UEC/2017/023/FHMS).

Interventions for sleep difficulties in adults with an intellectual disability: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Current literature highlights higher prevalence rates of sleep difficulties amongst adults with an intellectual disability. However, no synthesis has been conducted to assess the effectiveness of existing interventions in this population. Thus, the aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of sleep interventions in adults with an intellectual disability (ID). METHOD: Eight databases were searched to identify interventions for sleep difficulties amongst adults with an ID. The study quality was assessed with the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies - of Interventions. Nine studies (n = 97) were eligible for inclusion in the review. RESULTS: There was a notable study on heterogeneity in terms of the population, study design, intervention studied, sleep assessment and outcome assessments used. Eight of the nine studies reported improvement in sleep following intervention. However, these findings need additional support as only 97 participants involving a variety of interventions and measurement systems were used across all studies. Furthermore, eight of the nine studies had serious to critical risk of bias. The only study identified as having low risk of bias was a placebo-controlled randomised controlled trial for the use of melatonin. CONCLUSIONS: This review highlights the need for objective measures such as actigraphy and studies with greater experimental control investigating sleep interventions in adults with ID.

A Longitudinal Examination of the Hopelessness Theory of Depression in People Who Have Multiple Sclerosis.

PURPOSE: Hopelessness theory predicts that negative attributional style will interact with negative life events over time to predict depression. The intention of this study was to test this in a population who are at greater risk of negative life events, people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). METHOD: Data, including measures of attributional style, negative life events, and depressive symptoms, were collected via postal survey in 3 phases, each one a year apart. RESULTS: Responses were received from over 380 participants at each study phase. Negative attributional style was consistently able to predict future depressive symptoms at low to moderate levels of association; however, this ability was not sustained when depressive symptoms at Phase 1 were controlled for. No substantial evidence to support the hypothesised interaction of negative attributional style and negative life events was found. CONCLUSIONS: Findings were not supportive of the causal interaction proposed by the hopelessness theory of depression. Further work considering other time frames, using methods to prime attributional style before assessment and specifically assessing the hopelessness subtype of depression, may prove to be more fruitful. Intervention directly to address attributional style should also be considered.

No effect of cigarette smoking on attention or mood in non-deprived smokers.

AIM: This study aimed (a) to assess whether smoking reduces anxiety when paired with a pleasant distractor and (b) to investigate the effect of smoking a cigarette on cognitive performance in non-deprived smokers. DESIGN: Participants were allocated randomly to four conditions in a 2 x 2 factorial design: 1, Smoke + Distractor; 2, Smoke + No Distractor; 3, No Smoke + Distractor; 4, No Smoke + No Distractor. SETTING: University psychology department (University of Surrey, UK). PARTICIPANTS: Forty-five volunteer cigarette smokers (mean consumption = 16 cigarettes per day) allowed to smoke normally prior to the study. INTERVENTION: Participants were either allowed to smoke a cigarette of their choice in a manner of their choosing or not allowed to smoke, either with or without a concurrent distractor (a music video). MEASUREMENTS: Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVIP) performance was measured via computer before and after a 10-minute break (during which the interventions took place). Mood was measured by (a) State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) and (b) Feeling State Questionnaire (FSQ), before and after the first RVIP task and then immediately after the break/cigarette. FINDINGS: The RVIP task produced a significant increase in both measures of anxiety (SAI and FSQ stress subscale). Smoking, when paired with a distractor, did not decrease anxiety compared with when no distractor was present. Furthermore, smoking did not decrease anxiety or increase attentional (RVIP) performance compared with not smoking. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study failed to support the idea that smoking has anxiety-reducing or attention-enhancing properties in non-abstinent smokers.

Commentary on Joffe (1996) AIDS research and prevention: a social representation approach.

Hélène Joffe's (1996) article provides us with a well-presented argument detailing the failings of Knowledge, Attitude, Belief and Practice (KABP) approaches in the domain of AIDS/HIV prevention behaviours and argues that the Theory of Social Representations (Moscovici, 1984) offers a useful alternative perspective. In this commentary I would like to expand on some of the issues she raises and to counter-argue that the case for adopting social representations theory as an alternative to KABP approaches has yet to be made convincingly. To do this I will first consider the problems surrounding traditional KABP approaches, then discuss social representations theory as an alternative and consider alternatives on the way.

Young people's representations of others' views of smoking: is there a link with smoking behaviour?

This paper reports a large-scale survey (n = 1985) of 9-12-year-olds' representations of parents' and friend's views about the nature of smoking. Taking the perspective of Social Representations theory, consensual representations of respondents' views of significant others are identified using cluster analysis without reference to smoking behaviour. Resulting clusters of individuals map on to self-reported behavioural groups at above chance level. These relationships indicate young smokers have access to sets of beliefs about others' smoking views that may differ systematically from those available to nonsmokers. This suggests an additional social psychological mechanism that may be implicated in early onset of smoking in adolescence.

Public perceptions of everyday food hazards: a psychometric study.

In this paper, we discuss the conduct and results of a study aimed at eliciting public perceptions of food-related hazards. This study employs the psychometric approach of Paul Slovic and colleagues and aims to extend the recent work of Sparks and Shepherd on defining the primary dimensions of food-related risk perceptions. The study surveyed a nationally representative sample of the general public (respondents = 293; adjusted response rate = 30.1%). Respondents provided ratings on subsets of 22 potential food hazards (e.g., food irradiation and presence of listeria) on a total of 19 risk characteristics (e.g., "perceived severity of risk" and "adequacy of governmental regulations"). In spite of the use of a number of new characteristics and food hazards, Principal Components Analysis revealed a broadly similar factor structure to that obtained by Sparks and Shepherd, suggesting the generalizability of the key dimensions (concerning the severity and awareness of hazards). Interestingly, the positioning in the factor space of potential hazards about which little was generally known (e.g., campylobacter) as being serious and in need of regulation, may suggest a possible "starting position" in the perception of new hazards that have not previously been the subject of risk communications.

Sexual activities and preferences in a United Kingdom sample of 16 to 20-year-olds.

Data are reported on the sexual behavior of a random sample of 2171 youth, 16-20 years old, in two locations in the U.K. Lower bound prevalence estimates for a range of specific sex acts are presented with discussion of the likely biases in the data. Given concerns about the spread of HIV through the heterosexual population, emphasis is given to the nontrivial estimates of a number of potential transmission risk behaviors, in particular, heterosexual anal penetration. Data are also presented suggesting that experience with particular sexual acts is associated with maintenance of a desire to do these acts in the future. The implications of these findings for health education policy are discussed.

Estimating sexual behaviour parameters in the light of AIDS: a review of recent UK studies of young people.

This paper reviews UK surveys of the sexual behaviour of young people since the advent of AIDS. The studies, which are restricted to those whose samples were intended to be representative of the general population, reveal broadly similar estimates of key sexual behaviours (numbers with sexual experience, numbers of partners, frequency of intercourse, condom use and anal penetration). In spite of these similarities and the usefulness of such information for estimating the potential rate of transmission of HIV a number of methodological issues continue to afflict this kind of research. The paper calls for standardized question formats and a centralized body to monitor changes in these parameters of sexual behaviour.

PIP: This paper reviews surveys of sexual behavior of young people in the United Kingdom since the advent of AIDS, an effort to estimate sexual behavior parameters and identify methodological problems affecting this type of research. The study reviews interviews, postal questionnaires and telephone surveys of randomly chosen samples from population listings or samples drawn from school populations. The paper focuses on the following key sexual behavior parameters relevant to HIV/AIDS transmission: the number of sexually experienced persons in each age group, the number of sexual partners, the frequency of sexual intercourse, condom use, and anal intercourse. The study finds that despite the surveys' varied methodologies, geographical locations, and levels of specific information requested, they generally exhibit similar results. For example, the surveys generally point to higher rates of sexual experience (nearly 50% of both male and female 16-year-olds) now than prior to the advent AIDS. The surveys also indicate that condom use declines with age, presumably because older respondents have formed monogamous relationships. While the study finds similar results, it also uncovers important methodological problems with the surveys. A key problems is the lack of well-defined terms: What constitutes sexual experience? Does anal intercourse imply homosexuality? The study recommends establishing standardized question formats and a centralized body to monitor changes in the parameters of sexual behavior.