Narcissism, national narcissism, COVID-19 conspiracy belief, and social media use as predictors of compliance with COVID-19 public health guidelines.

Understanding health belief models, and the variables that influence adherence to public health measures imposed by local governments and international health bodies, is crucial to slowing down the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Conspiracy theories about the virus have quickly spread on social media and have been linked to reluctance to comply with COVID-19 regulations. Personality traits such as narcissism and collective national narcissism have also been associated with the way we perceive severity and susceptibility to the disease. To examine this further, participants (N = 183) completed an online questionnaire measuring belief in COVID-19 conspiracies, trait narcissism, national narcissism, and social media usage. A model containing these variables was able to significantly predict adherence to COVID-19 preventative health behaviours, with higher levels of COVID-19 conspiracy belief, narcissism, and social media usage all contributing to reduced adherence to recommended COVID-19 health behaviours. The findings suggest conspiracy beliefs, narcissism, and social media play a key role in adherence to behaviours orientated towards stopping the spread of COVID-19. Governments and social media companies need to demonstrate greater awareness of the negative effects of conspiracy theories spread through social media, in addition to awareness of how these effects may be greater in more narcissistic individuals.

An International Validation of a Clinical Tool to Assess Carers' Quality of Life in Huntington's Disease.

Family carers of individuals living with Huntington's disease (HD) manage a distinct and unique series of difficulties arising from the complex nature of HD. This paper presents the validation of the definitive measure of quality of life (QoL) for this group. The Huntington's Disease Quality of Life Battery for Carers (HDQoL-C) was expanded (n = 47) and then administered to an international sample of 1716 partners and family carers from 13 countries. In terms of the psychometric properties of the tool, exploratory analysis of half of the sample demonstrated good internal consistency and reliability. Some items on the full version did not meet psychometric thresholds and a short version (HDQoL-Cs) (n = 23) was developed based on more stringent criteria. This was achieved using standard psychometric item reduction techniques to both increase reliability and reduce the burden of carers completing the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis of the model structure showed a good fit for all factors and indicated that the HDQoL-C and HDQoL-Cs are psychometrically robust measures of QoL. We found that carers who lived with and looked after their spouse/partner had reduced sense of coping, hope for the future, and overall QoL. Carers with children who were at risk carried the gene or were symptomatic also had poorer QoL outcomes. Findings indicated the HDQoL-C and HDQoL-Cs are valid in multiple languages and across varied cultures as measures of self-reported QoL in family carers of individual's living with HD. These psychometrically validated tools can aid and guide the implementation of therapeutic interventions to improve life quality in this population and research into international and cross-cultural carer experiences. The HDQoL-Cs is recommended as the definitive international measure of HD carer QoL.

Development and validation of the Satisfaction with Treatment for Pain Questionnaire (STPQ) among patients with sickle cell disease.

A brief measure of patient satisfaction with treatment for pain is needed to help improve the treatment of painful episodes caused by sickle cell disease (SCD), especially during and after the transition from paediatric to adult care. Focus groups of 28 adolescent and adult patients were consulted about the content, clarity and relevance of 30 potential items, resulting in an 18-item version. This was validated by analysing questionnaire responses from 120 patients aged 12-53 years. Confirmatory factor analysis and item analysis indicated five subscales with high internal reliability: 'Communication and Involvement' (6 items, α = 0·87); 'Respect and Dignity' (3 items, α = 0·82); 'Pain Control' (3 items, α = 0·91); 'Staff Attitudes and Behaviour' (4 items, α = 0·88); and 'Overall Satisfaction' (2 items, α = 0·85) plus a Total Satisfaction score (18 items, α = 0·96). High negative correlations with the Picker Patient Experience Questionnaire, a measure of problem experiences, indicated good convergent validity. Lower satisfaction scores among patients aged over 18 years, those admitted via the emergency department, those treated by non-specialist hospital staff, and those reporting more breakthrough pain indicated good concurrent validity. The questionnaire provides a convenient brief measure that can be used to inform and evaluate improvements in healthcare for adolescent and adult patients with SCD, and could potentially be adapted for other painful conditions.

Development and validation of a short-form Pain Medication Attitudes Questionnaire (PMAQ-14).

Attitudes to pain medication are important aspects of adjustment to chronic pain. They are measured by the 47-item Pain Medication Attitudes Questionnaire (PMAQ). To measure those attitudes more quickly and easily, we developed and evaluated a 14-item PMAQ using data from 3 separate surveys of people with pain in the general population. In survey 1, participants (n = 295) completed the 47-item PMAQ and measures of pain, analgesic use, analgesic dependence, and attitudes to self-medication. For each of the 7 PMAQ scales, the 2 items that best preserved the content of the full parent scales were identified using correlation and regression. The 2-item and full parent scales had very similar relationships with other measures, indicating that validity had been maintained. The resulting 14-item PMAQ was then completed by participants in survey 2 (n = 241) and survey 3 (n = 147), along with the same other measures as in survey 1. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the 14-item PMAQ retained the 7-factor structure of the 47-item version, and correlations with other measures showed that it retained the validity of the 47-item version. The PMAQ scale Need was the most significant independent predictor of analgesic dependence in each of 4 separate multiple regression analyses. This short form of the PMAQ allows attitudes to pain medications to be measured in a valid and more efficient way.