Browsing by Author "Mehok, Lauren E."

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    The Direct and Indirect Influences of Parenting: The Facets of Time-Perspective and Impaired Control along the Alcohol-Related Problems Pathway
    (Taylor & Francis, 2019) Patock-Peckham, Julie A.; Walters, Kyle J.; Mehok, Lauren E.; Leeman, Robert F.; Ruof, Ariana K.; Filson Moses, Jennifer; Psychology, School of Science
    Background: Social Learning Theory suggests how one conceptualizes time will be passed from parent to child (Bandura & Walters, 1963). Through the lens of Behavioral Economics Theory (Vuchinich & Simpson, 1998), impaired control may be characterized as consuming alcohol as a form of immediate gratification as a choice over more distal rewards. Because impaired control reflects a self-regulation failure specific to the drinking situation, it may be directly related to time-perspectives. Objectives: This investigation explored whether or not the indirect influences of perceived parenting styles on alcohol use and related problems is mediated by both facets of time-perspective (e.g. hedonism, present-fatalism, future, past-positive, past-negative) and impaired control over drinking. Methods: We examined a structural equation model with 391 (207 women; 184 men) college student drinkers. We used an asymmetric bias-corrected bootstrap technique to conduct mediational analyses (MacKinnon, 2008). Results: Higher levels of past-positive time-perspective were indirectly linked to both less alcohol use and fewer alcohol-related problems through less impaired control. In contrast, higher levels of present-fatalism were indirectly linked to more alcohol use through more impaired control. Higher levels of father permissiveness and mother authoritarianism were indirectly linked to both more impaired control and alcohol use through more present-fatalism. In addition, higher levels of father authoritarianism were indirectly linked to more alcohol use through more hedonism. Conclusions/Implications: Our results support the notion that drinking beyond one’s self-prescribed limits is associated with time-perspectives related to negative aspects of the parent-offspring socialization process, such as fatalism.
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    Do beliefs about race differences in pain contribute to actual race differences in experimental pain response?
    (2018-12) Mehok, Lauren E.; Hirsh, Adam T.; Mosher, Catherine E.; Stewart, Jesse C.
    Chronic pain is a costly health problem that affects more than 100 million people in the United States. Race differences exist in the way that pain is experienced and in how it is treated. Many biopsychosocial factors contribute to race differences in pain tolerance. Beliefs about race differences in pain sensitivity may be one of these factors. Previous research has identified that individuals’ explicit beliefs about their gender group influence their own pain tolerance on a cold pressor task. Explicit beliefs about race and pain sensitivity have also been identified but have yet to be linked to actual pain tolerance. Implicit beliefs about race are well documented; however, little is known about the extent to which individuals hold implicit beliefs about race differences in pain sensitivity or whether these beliefs contribute to actual race differences in pain. My thesis examined explicit and implicit beliefs about race and pain and explored whether these beliefs moderated race differences in pain tolerance. I found that White participants had a higher pain tolerance than Black participants on the cold pressor task, U=1165.50, p<.01. Participants held the explicit, t(131)=-6.83, p<.01, and implicit, t(131)=6.35, p<.01, belief that White people are more pain sensitive than Black people. Both explicit, b=-0.37, p=.71, and implicit, b=-21.87, p=.65, beliefs failed to moderate the relationship between race and pain tolerance. Further exploration indicated that participants’ comparisons of their own pain sensitivity to that of their race group moderated the relationship between race and pain tolerance, ⍵=4.40, p=.04. These results provide further insight into race differences in pain tolerance. Researchers may consider examining explicit and implicit beliefs about race differences in pain in health care providers to better understand disparities in pain related recommendations.
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    Pain Intensity And Attribution Mediate The Impact Of Patient Weight And Gender On Activity Recommendations For Chronic Pain
    (Dovepress, 2019-09-19) Mehok, Lauren E.; Miller, Megan M.; Trost, Zina; Goubert, Liesbet; De Ruddere, Lies; Hirsh, Adam T.; Psychology, School of Science
    Background and purpose: Despite the notable benefits of physical activity for chronic pain, a large proportion of patients with chronic pain report that they do not receive activity-related recommendations from their providers. Research suggests that patient factors such as weight and gender influence activity-related recommendations for chronic pain. Research also suggests that appraisals of the intensity and cause of pain may explain these weight and gender effects. We investigated the influence of patient weight and gender on observers' likelihood of recommending activity-related treatments for pain. We also explored the mediating effects of observers' ratings of pain severity and the extent to which pain was due to medical and lifestyle factors (pain attribution). Patients and methods: Healthy young adults (N=616; 76% female) viewed videos (Ghent Pain Videos of Daily Activities) and vignettes of 4 patients with chronic back pain performing a standardized functional task. Patients varied by gender (female, male) and weight (normal, obese), but were otherwise equivalent on demographic characteristics and pain behaviors. Participants rated how much pain they perceived the patients to be experiencing, the extent to which they attributed the pain to medical and lifestyle factors, and their likelihood of recommending exercise, physical therapy (PT), and rest. Results: Patient weight and gender significantly interacted to influence exercise, PT, and rest recommendations. Both pain intensity and pain attribution mediated the relationships between patient weight and activity recommendations; however, these mediation effects differed across gender and recommendation type. Conclusion: Patient weight and gender influenced laypeople's activity recommendations for chronic pain. Moreover, the results suggest that observers' perceptions of pain intensity and pain attributions are mechanisms underlying these effects. If these findings are replicated in providers, interventions may need to be developed to reduce provider biases and increase their recognition of the benefits of physical activity for chronic pain.
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    The Role of Observer Gender and Attitudes Towards Emotional Expression in the Provision of Emotional and Instrumental Support for Peers with Pain
    (2022-08) Mehok, Lauren E.; Hirsh, Adam; Cyders, Melissa; Rand, Kevin; Matthias, Marianne
    Chronic pain is a health problem that impacts at least 10% of the world population. Social support has beneficial effects for those who have chronic pain. Social support can be emotional, where a supporter is present, validating, and assuring; or instrumental, where a supporter provides services to address an imbalance in needs. Despite the benefits of social support, relatively little attention has been given to willingness to provide support to people with pain during transition to adulthood. The current study explored gender differences and the role of attitudes towards emotional expression in young adults’ willingness to provide emotional and instrumental support to a virtual human peer with pain. Participants (N=234, mean age=20) viewed videos/vignettes of a male or female peer with pain and responded to questions about willingness to provide support and attitudes towards emotional expression. Female participants were more willing to provide support than male participants, F(1,218) = 27.37, p < 0.01, and participants were more willing to provide emotional support compared to instrumental support, F(1,218) = 6.72, p = 0.01. Attitudes towards emotional expression mediated the relationship between participant gender and emotional and instrumental support (total indirect effect = 0.05; 95% CI [.01-.12]; total indirect effect = 0.05; 95% CI [.01-.12]). There was not an interaction between participant and peer gender for emotional, P = 0.26, or instrumental, P = 0.47, support. The results suggest that women are more willing to provide emotional and instrumental support and that fewer negative attitudes about emotional expression help explain the relationship. The findings also suggest that the gender of the peer does not impact willingness to provide support.