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Journal of Behavioral Medicine Dec 2017Two studies investigated situational and dispositional influences on rejection of a sleep deprivation warning message for young adults. The hassle of protection (Study...
Two studies investigated situational and dispositional influences on rejection of a sleep deprivation warning message for young adults. The hassle of protection (Study 1) and the self-relevance of the problem (Study 2) were manipulated; the disposition to use denial (threat orientation) for warning messages was measured. In both studies, it was found that both dispositional denial and the situational manipulation (more protection-hassle or self-relevance) showed at least one denial effect by reducing perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, or credibility. Indirect (mediational) effects were tested with the bootstrap method. In Study 1, judgments of credibility and severity mediated the effects of the hassle manipulation and denial orientation on message outcomes. In Study 2, credibility mediated the effects of the self-relevance manipulation and denial orientation on message outcomes of intentions to change and priority given to sleep. These studies show that both situational and dispositional sources of denial work in similar ways by lowering key message judgments and that the lower judgments lead to less priority given to a health risk and lower intentions to protect oneself.
Topics: Attitude to Health; Denial, Psychological; Female; Humans; Intention; Male; Sleep Deprivation; Young Adult
PubMed: 28516391
DOI: 10.1007/s10865-017-9859-6 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2022People often deny having meant what the audience understood. Such denials occur in both interpersonal and institutional contexts, such as in political discourse, the...
People often deny having meant what the audience understood. Such denials occur in both interpersonal and institutional contexts, such as in political discourse, the interpretation of laws and the perception of lies. In practice, denials have a wide range of possible effects on the audience, such as conversational repair, reinterpretation of the original utterance, moral judgements about the speaker, and rejection of the denial. When are these different reactions triggered? What factors make denials credible? There are surprisingly few experimental studies directly targeting such questions. Here, we present two pre-registered experiments focusing on (i) the speaker's incentives to mislead their audience, and (ii) the impact of speaker denials on audiences' moral and epistemic assessments of what has been said. We find that the extent to which speakers are judged responsible for the audience's interpretations is modulated by their (the speakers') incentives to mislead, but not by denials themselves. We also find that people are more willing than we expected to revise their interpretation of the speaker's utterance when they learn that the ascribed meaning is false, regardless of whether the speaker is known to have had incentives to deceive their audience. In general, these findings are consistent with the idea that communicators are held responsible for the cognitive effects they trigger in their audience; rather than being responsible for, more narrowly, only the effects of what was "literally" said. In light of our findings, we present a new, cognitive analysis of how audiences react to denials, drawing in particular on the Relevance Theory approach to communication. We distinguish in particular: (a) the spontaneous and intuitive re-interpretation of the original utterance in light of a denial; (b) the attribution of responsibility to the speaker for the cognitive effects of what is communicated; and (c) the reflective attribution of a particular intention to the speaker, which include argumentative considerations, higher-order deniability, and reputational concerns. Existing experimental work, including our own, aims mostly at (a) and (b), and does not adequately control for (c). Deeper understanding of what can be credibly denied will be hindered unless and until this methodological problem is resolved.
PubMed: 36687811
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1073213 -
BMC Psychology Apr 2019The denial of pregnancy is the non-recognition of the state of the current pregnancy by a pregnant woman. It lasts for a few months or for the whole pregnancy, with... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
BACKGROUND
The denial of pregnancy is the non-recognition of the state of the current pregnancy by a pregnant woman. It lasts for a few months or for the whole pregnancy, with generally few physical transformations. In this study, we will consider the denial of pregnancy as a late declaration of pregnancy (beyond 20 weeks of gestation) as well as a lack of objective perceptions of this pregnancy. The main objective of this study is to explore the relationship between pregnancy denial and the development of the infant (attachment pattern of the infant, early interactions of mother-infant dyads, and early development of the infant).
METHODS
The design is a case-control prospective study, which will compare two groups of mother-infant dyads: a "case" group with maternal denials of pregnancy and a "control" group without denials of pregnancy. A total of 140 dyads (mother + infant) will be included in this study (70 cases and 70 controls) and followed for 18 months. The setting is a national recruitment setting with 10 centers distributed all over France. The follow-up of the "cases" and the "controls" will be identical and will occur over 5 visits. It will include measures of the infant attachment pattern, the quality of early mother-infant interaction and infant development.
DISCUSSION
This study aims to examine the pathogenesis of pregnancy denial as well as its consequences on early infant development and early mother-infant interaction.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
Clinical Trial Number: NCT02867579 on the date of 16 August 2016 (retrospectively registered).
Topics: Case-Control Studies; Child Development; Clinical Protocols; Denial, Psychological; Female; Follow-Up Studies; France; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Mother-Child Relations; Object Attachment; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Prospective Studies; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 30971319
DOI: 10.1186/s40359-019-0290-3 -
Journal of Huntington's Disease 2023Families in which a parent has Huntington's disease (HD) are faced with significant stressors that can contribute to difficulties in communicating together about...
BACKGROUND
Families in which a parent has Huntington's disease (HD) are faced with significant stressors that can contribute to difficulties in communicating together about illness-related concerns. Family members who use more disengagement coping strategies, including denial and avoidance, to deal with illness-related stressors may have the greatest challenges to effective communication.
OBJECTIVE
The current study examined the associations of intrapersonal and interpersonal disengagement coping responses with observed and reported emotions of adolescents and young adults (AYA) at genetic risk for HD.
METHODS
Families included 42 AYA (n = 26 females) ages 10 to 34 (M = 19 years, 11 months; SD = 7 years, 6 months) and their parent with HD (n = 22 females, M age = 46 years, 10 months; SD = 9 years, 2 months). Dyads participated in observations of communication and completed questionnaires about disengagement coping and internalizing symptoms.
RESULTS
Disengagement coping of AYA was unrelated to their observed and reported emotional difficulties (intrapersonal coping). However, there was evidence for the importance of interpersonal disengagement coping, as AYA's negative affect was observed and reported to be highest when both AYA and their parents reported using high levels of avoidance, denial, and wishful thinking to cope with HD-related stress.
CONCLUSION
The findings underscore the importance of a family-oriented approach to coping and communication in families affected by HD.
Topics: Female; Young Adult; Humans; Adolescent; Middle Aged; Huntington Disease; Emotions; Adaptation, Psychological; Family; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 37334612
DOI: 10.3233/JHD-230566 -
Iranian Journal of Nursing and... 2022As the 2019 coronavirus spreads rapidly around the world, it has caused widespread fear and anxiety in various populations. This study aimed to explore the psychological...
BACKGROUND
As the 2019 coronavirus spreads rapidly around the world, it has caused widespread fear and anxiety in various populations. This study aimed to explore the psychological effects of COVID-19 on patients with this disease.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A qualitative study was conducted with a phenomenological approach. A purposive sample of 11 patients with COVID-19 was recruited. Data were collected from the beginning of March to the beginning of June 2020 using semi-structured interviews and they were analyzed according to Van Manen's method. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis.
RESULTS
Initially, 315 codes were extracted. During data analysis and comparisons, the codes were reduced to 108. Ultimately, 10 categories, 38 subcategories, and 3 themes emerged. The theme of "behavioral responses" including 5 categories (Remorse, Fear and despair, Death anxiety, Growth, Support), "disease-caused helplessness" including two categories (Failure, Denial), and "decline of social networks" including three categories (Rejection, Stigma, Feeling guilty).
CONCLUSIONS
After understanding the findings of this research, nurses working in the wards of patients with COVID-19 can better consider the importance of assessing and analyzing the psychological challenges and experiences of these patients during the course of illness and quarantine. Findings also enhance the identification and organization of training needs during such a pandemic and the design of nursing programs to meet them.
PubMed: 35419267
DOI: 10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_382_20 -
Annals of General Psychiatry Mar 2021The present study investigated associations between defense mechanisms and life satisfaction among North Korean refugees living in South Korea.
BACKGROUND
The present study investigated associations between defense mechanisms and life satisfaction among North Korean refugees living in South Korea.
METHODS
A total of 178 North Korean refugees completed the Korean version of the Defense Style Questionnaire, a revised version of the Ways of Thinking of North Korean Defectors scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Multiple stepwise regression analysis was performed to investigate the defense mechanisms associated with North Korean refugees' life satisfaction in South Korea.
RESULTS
Among defense mechanisms, denial most strongly predicted higher overall and economic satisfaction among North Korean refugees living in South Korea (β = 0.145, p < 0.01; β = 0.137, p = 0.03, respectively) after controlling for age, gender, anxiety, depression, and number of traumatic events experienced. Furthermore, resignation predicted lower overall (β = -0.206, p < 0.001) and economic satisfaction (β = -0.134, p = 0.02). However, the association between resignation and life satisfaction was not significant after controlling for depression, anxiety, and number of traumatic events experienced.
CONCLUSIONS
Specific defense mechanisms such as high denial and low resignation were associated with life satisfaction in South Korea among North Korean refugees. Our findings suggest that refugees' psychological defense mechanisms may affect their satisfactory resettlement.
PubMed: 33750410
DOI: 10.1186/s12991-021-00339-1 -
Health Psychology Report 2022This study assessed the indirect effect of body image in the relationship between illness duration, optimism, coping strategies and psychological distress as well as the...
BACKGROUND
This study assessed the indirect effect of body image in the relationship between illness duration, optimism, coping strategies and psychological distress as well as the moderator role of being or not submitted to surgery and type of surgery, in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy.
PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE
This cross-sectional study included eighty-seven women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy, who answered instruments that assessed sociodemographic and clinical issues, optimism, coping, concerns with body image and psychological distress. Bayesian statistics were performed to test the indirect effect model that included also the moderator effects.
RESULTS
Lower optimism, lower use of humor, and higher denial and illness duration predicted lower body image and higher distress. Longer illness duration was associated with higher distress. Body image had an indirect effect in the relationship between optimism and distress; between denial coping and distress; between humor coping and distress and between illness duration and distress. Being submitted to surgery but not the type of surgery was a moderator in the indirect effect model.
CONCLUSIONS
Body image is critical to psychological distress. Future interventions for women with breast cancer should consider body image as a target, in order to promote adaptive coping strategies specially when women have had surgery.
PubMed: 38084367
DOI: 10.5114/hpr.2022.113381 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Feb 2023In online content moderation, two key values may come into conflict: protecting freedom of expression and preventing harm. Robust rules based in part on how citizens...
In online content moderation, two key values may come into conflict: protecting freedom of expression and preventing harm. Robust rules based in part on how citizens think about these moral dilemmas are necessary to deal with this conflict in a principled way, yet little is known about people's judgments and preferences around content moderation. We examined such moral dilemmas in a conjoint survey experiment where US respondents ( = 2, 564) indicated whether they would remove problematic social media posts on election denial, antivaccination, Holocaust denial, and climate change denial and whether they would take punitive action against the accounts. Respondents were shown key information about the user and their post as well as the consequences of the misinformation. The majority preferred quashing harmful misinformation over protecting free speech. Respondents were more reluctant to suspend accounts than to remove posts and more likely to do either if the harmful consequences of the misinformation were severe or if sharing it was a repeated offense. Features related to the account itself (the person behind the account, their partisanship, and number of followers) had little to no effect on respondents' decisions. Content moderation of harmful misinformation was a partisan issue: Across all four scenarios, Republicans were consistently less willing than Democrats or independents to remove posts or penalize the accounts that posted them. Our results can inform the design of transparent rules for content moderation of harmful misinformation.
Topics: Humans; Speech; Communication; Morals; Emotions; Politics; Social Media
PubMed: 36749721
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210666120 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2022In this paper, we propose to account for the blame addressed to vaccine skeptics and "anti-vax" (VS and AV) by considering their attitude as the result of the...
In this paper, we propose to account for the blame addressed to vaccine skeptics and "anti-vax" (VS and AV) by considering their attitude as the result of the psychological mechanism of denial, understood in a psychodynamic manner. To that effect, we draw on a secondary account of our clinical experience in two hospital units (psychiatry and intensive care unit), and on openly available media material. First, we lay out how VS and AV can be understood as the result from fetishist risk denial, a specific psychological transaction with an object by which VS and AV people feel intimately protected; this object is viewed as so powerful that its protection makes the vaccine appear irrelevant. Second, we show how this mechanism can explain the specific content of the blame frequently addressed to VS and AV, who are reproached with being selfish by vaccinated people and caregivers. We contend that, contrary to common belief, they are thus blamed because they force others (and especially caregivers) to compensate their lack of self-protection and preservation, which derives from their exclusive relation to an almighty object. While such a relation accounts for the unwillingness to consider vaccination, it also explains the harshness of the blame voiced by caregivers, who feel helpless in most situations as they cannot effectively force VS and AV to take care of themselves and others.
PubMed: 35910972
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.886368 -
Nursing Open Feb 2023The aim of this meta-synthesis was to identify and synthesize qualitative research evaluating the real feelings, inner needs and emotional experience of women undergoing... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
AIM
The aim of this meta-synthesis was to identify and synthesize qualitative research evaluating the real feelings, inner needs and emotional experience of women undergoing hysterectomy.
DESIGN
Meta-synthesis.
METHODS
The PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, Ovid Medline and Sino Med were systematically searched until November 2021 and updated until June 2022. Two reviewers independently extracted data into a Microsoft Excel sheet. Qualitative meta-synthesis was performed by coding relevant citations, organizing codes into descriptive themes and developing analytical themes.
RESULTS
Qualitative meta-synthesis yielded three themes and nine sub-themes: comprehensive consideration before hysterectomy (a. disease factors; b. fertility factors; c. opinions of others); emotions and experience after hysterectomy (a. postoperative physical condition; b. psychological resilience to the loss of the uterus; c. changes in the couple's relationship); coping strategies (a. self-denial and avoidance; b. change of perception and self-adjustment; c. seek help from others).
Topics: Female; Humans; Adaptation, Psychological; Hysterectomy; Qualitative Research; Resilience, Psychological
PubMed: 36071582
DOI: 10.1002/nop2.1348