Browsing by Author "Danoff-Burg, Sharon"

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    Addiction to indoor tanning: Relation to anxiety, depression, and substance use
    (AMA, 2010-04-01) Mosher, Catherine E.; Danoff-Burg, Sharon
    To assess the prevalence of addiction to indoor tanning among college students and its association with substance use and symptoms of anxiety and depression.Two written measures, the CAGE (Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye-opener) Questionnaire, used to screen for alcoholism, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(Fourth Edition, Text Revision) (DSM-IV-TR) criteria for substance-related disorders, were modified to evaluate study participants for addiction to indoor tanning. Standardized self-report measures of anxiety, depression, and substance use also were administered.A large university (approximately 18 000 students) in the northeastern United States.A total of 421 college students were recruited from September through December 2006.Self-reported addiction to indoor tanning, substance use, and symptoms of anxiety and depression.Among 229 study participants who had used indoor tanning facilities, 90 (39.3%) met DSM-IV-TR criteria and 70 (30.6%) met CAGE criteria for addiction to indoor tanning. Students who met DSM-IV-TR and CAGE criteria for addiction to indoor tanning reported greater symptoms of anxiety and greater use of alcohol, marijuana, and other substances than those who did not meet these criteria. Depressive symptoms did not significantly vary by indoor tanning addiction status.Findings suggest that interventions to reduce skin cancer risk should address the addictive qualities of indoor tanning for a minority of individuals and the relationship of this behavior to other addictions and affective disturbance.
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    Cancer Patients Versus Cancer Survivors: Social and Emotional Consequences of Word Choice
    (SAGE, 2009-03-03) Mosher, Catherine E.; Danoff-Burg, Sharon
    Two studies examined the social and emotional implications of different linguistic classifications of individuals with cancer. Undergraduates were randomly assigned to rate their reactions to either cancer patients or cancer survivors. Across studies, participants held more favorable perceptions of the character of cancer survivors relative to cancer patients and displayed more positive attitudes toward the former group. In addition, participants in Study 1 reported greater willingness to interact with cancer survivors compared with cancer patients. Positive perceptions of prognosis did not appear to account for favorable attitudes toward cancer survivors; most participants in Study 2 did not assume that cancer survivors were beyond the treatment phase of their illness or cured of their disease. Findings point to a potentially powerful effect of word choice on reactions to individuals with cancer.
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    Does narrative writing instruction enhance the benefits of expressive writing?
    (Elsevier, 2010-05-01) Danoff-Burg, Sharon; Mosher, Catherine E.; Seawell, Asani H.; Agee, John D.
    We examined whether instructing participants to write in a narrative fashion about stressful life events would produce superior physical and psychological health benefits relative to standard expressive writing instructions that do not specify the essay's structure. Undergraduates (N=101) were randomly assigned to engage in two, 20-minute narrative writing, standard expressive writing, or control writing tasks. Follow-up data were obtained one month later. The essays of the narrative writing group evidenced higher levels of narrative structure than did those of the expressive writing group. Greater narrative structure was associated with mental health gains, and self-rated emotionality of the essays was associated with lesser perceived stress at follow-up. In addition, the narrative and expressive writing groups reported lower levels of perceived stress and depressive symptoms relative to controls but did not differ from each other with regard to these outcomes. Health care utilization at follow-up did not vary by group assignment. Findings suggest that both emotional expression and narrative structure may be key factors underlying expressive writing's mental health benefits. Results also suggest that, among college students, instruction in narrative formation does not increase the positive effects of expressive writing relative to standard expressive writing instructions.
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    Indoor tanning, mental health, and substance use among college students: The significance of gender
    (SAGE, 2010-09-01) Mosher, Catherine E.; Danoff-Burg, Sharon
    This study examined relations among indoor tanning frequency, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and substance use. A total of 421 college students (68% female) completed self-report measures on one occasion. Among men, indoor tanning was positively associated with symptoms of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, whereas indoor tanning was unrelated to these symptoms among women. Among women, indoor tanning was positively associated with the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances. Further research is needed to explore contextual and coping processes that may underlie these gender differences.
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    The role of anticipated regret and health beliefs in HPV vaccination intentions among young adults
    (Springer, 2016-06) Christy, Shannon M.; Winger, Joseph G.; Raffanello, Elizabeth W.; Halpern, Leslie F.; Danoff-Burg, Sharon; Mosher, Catherine E.; Department of Psychology, School of Science
    Although cognitions have predicted young adults' human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine decision-making, emotion-based theories of healthcare decision-making suggest that anticipatory emotions may be more predictive. This study examined whether anticipated regret was associated with young adults' intentions to receive the HPV vaccine above and beyond the effects of commonly studied cognitions. Unvaccinated undergraduates (N = 233) completed a survey assessing Health Belief Model (HBM) variables (i.e., perceived severity of HPV-related diseases, perceived risk of developing these diseases, and perceived benefits of HPV vaccination), anticipatory emotions (i.e., anticipated regret if one were unvaccinated and later developed genital warts or HPV-related cancer), and HPV vaccine intentions. Anticipated regret was associated with HPV vaccine intentions above and beyond the effects of HBM variables among men. Among women, neither anticipated regret nor HBM variables showed consistent associations with HPV vaccine intentions. Findings suggest that anticipatory emotions should be considered when designing interventions to increase HPV vaccination among college men.