McGill Health Psychology Laboratory

Health Psychology Laboratory - Recent and Present Projects

Eating and Dieting:
Compensatory Beliefs, Intentions, and Behaviours

People can often be observed engaging in what could be called “compensatory beliefs”: Subjective beliefs that the negative effects of certain “bad” health behaviors (e.g., eating a large piece of cake) can be compensated for by previously or subsequently engaging in “good” health behaviors (e.g., jogging an extra mile that day). Examining the role of such beliefs might help in understanding why people often fail to successfully engage in protective health behaviour over extended periods of time. We developed a model that integrates compensatory beliefs into a general framework of health behaviours (Rabiau et al., 2005) and have developed a psychometric scale to measure these beliefs (Knäuper et al., 2004). We are currently studying the role of compensatory beliefs and intentions in the adherence to diabetes treatment in adolescents and to successes and failures in weight loss attempts:

Publications:

<>Rabiau, M., Knäuper, B., & Miquelon, P. (2006). The eternal quest for optimal balance between
maximizing pleasure and minimizing harm: The compensatory health beliefs model. British Journal of Health Psychology, 11, 139-153.

<>Knäuper, B., Rabiau, M., Cohen, O., & Patriciu, N. (2004). Compensatory health beliefs: Theory and
measurement. Psychology & Health, 19(5), 607-624.

Compensatory Beliefs in Dieters: Experience-Sampling Study (ongoing)
Christine Stich, Bärbel Knäuper, & Ilana Kronick

Funding: SSHRC (operating grant) and CFI (infrastructure grant)

This project investigates how weightloss dieters use compensatory beliefs to regulate temptations using experience sampling methodology. Dieters report about their eating and temptation-related thoughts up to 7 times per day over a period of 7 days.

Compensatory Beliefs in Adolescents with Diabetes Type I (completed)
Marjorie Rabiau, Thien-Kim Nguyen, & Bärbel Knäuper

Funding: FRSQ (doctoral fellowship to Marjorie Rabiau)

In this project, we investigate the hypothesis that diabetes-specific compensatory beliefs hinder adolescents with type 1 diabetes to fully adhere to their treatment. Compensatory beliefs might be an important construct to target in interventions to improve adherence to treatments.

Publication:
<>
Rabiau, M., Knäuper, B., Nguyen, T.-K., Sufrategui, M., & Polychronakos, C. (2009[accepted pending minor revisions]). Compensatory beliefs about glucose testing are associated with low adherence to treatment and poor metabolic control in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Health Education Research.

Compromising and Compensating Behaviours in Individuals with Diabetes Type II (ongoing)
Paule Miquelon & Bärbel Knäuper

Funding: Canadian Diabetes Association (post-doctoral fellowship to Paule Miquelon)

This project examines in individuals with type II diabetes the hypothesis that stress leads to behaviours that interfere with blood glucose control (e.g., overeating, failing to test blood glucose level) and in turn to efforts to compensate for these compromising behaviours. We are in the planning stages for two studies to test these predictions. First, we will design and validate a scale measuring diabetes self-management compromising behaviors (e.g., overeating) and a scale measuring diabetes self-management compensatory behaviors (e.g., exercising to compensate for overeating). Then, we will use Ecological Momentary Assessment to measure the relationship between perceived stress, diabetes self-management adherence, compromising and compensatory behaviors, and blood glucose control (an “objective” health outcome of regulatory success). A sample of males and females aged 20 to 70 diagnosed with type II diabetes will be recruited from the seven affiliated associations of the Quebec Diabetes Association based in Montreal. Participants will be provided with palmtop computers and will be asked to respond over a two-week period to questions assessing their daily stress as well as to report their diabetes self-management adherence and compromising and compensatory behaviours several times during the day. Participants will be signalled at random times, three times per day, and will answer specific questions with respect to the stressors they encountered (e.g., interpersonal and work related stressors), the compromising and compensatory behaviours they engaged in, and the requisite behaviours they did perform or failed to perform during the last two hours. Participants will also be provided with special glucometers that store the results automatically and will be asked to test their blood glucose after each measurement session. It is hypothesized that perceived stress will negatively influence diabetes self-management adherence while it will positively influence compromising behaviours, both of which, in turn, will increase compensatory behaviours and result in poorer blood glucose control.

Eating and Dieting:
Changing Eating Habits

Turning Temporarily Salient Health Threats into Catalysts for Healthier Lifestyle: The Case of Women with Benign Outcome to Breast Cancer Screening (ongoing)
Laurette Dubé, Bärbel Knäuper, Carmen Loiselle, & Marianne Pelletier

Funding: CIHR (operating grant)

In this research we propose that using an emotional appeal in health information to adult women who have just received a benign outcome from breast cancer anomaly screening is more effective in: (1) assisting the women to recover psychologically from the temporary salient health threat and (2) inducing healthier lifestyle behaviours and enduring intent to perform early detection behaviours, after having enticed women to attend more to health information in the first place. We expect that both cognitive and motivational processes underlie these effects, with the relative timing and contribution of each process to vary and be moderated by individual differences in the style of information processing of potentially threat-evoking material (i.e. monitoring/blunting). We are using experimentally manipulated webpages (landscape pictures of different emotional value) to test these hypotheses.

Sexual Health:
Tolerance for Uncertainty and Health Monitoring Behaviors
(completed)

Does Tolerance for Uncertainty Predict Monitoring? (completed)
Natalie O. Rosen, & Bärbel Knäuper

Funding: FQRSC and PORT (doctoral fellowships to Natalie Rosen)

In this line of research, consisting of three studies, we investigated whether tolerance for uncertainty predicts health monitoring. Results of our first study showed that having a lower tolerance of uncertainty (TU) is associated with increased health monitoring behaviour (e.g., intentions to get tested for HPV, intentions to get more information about HPV) in college aged women. In Study 2 we experimentally manipulated TU to ensure that the association is not due to other related constructs such as anxiety or worry. Results showed that inducing low TU led to increased monitoring as reflected by higher scores on the Miller Behavioral Styles Scale (Miller, 1980), and an increased likelihood of taking an information brochure about a fictitious sexually transmitted infection (STI) with similar uncertain properties to HPV. Wanting information about the STI in order to reduce their uncertainty was an independent predictor of monitoring and did not mediate the relationship between TU and monitoring. Findings suggest that low TU induces people to increase their monitoring; an adaptive strategy when a health threat, such as cervical cancer, can be reduced through this behaviour (Rosen, Knäuper, & Sammut, 2007, Psychology & Health). Study 3 aimed to replicate Study 2 and incorporated measures of anxiety and worry pre- and post-manipulation to better control for these factors. In addition, this study manipulated the uncertainty of the situation in addition to TU to examine the interaction between situational and trait differences in uncertainty and its effect on monitoring (Rosen & Knäuper, in press, Psychology & Health).

The results of this research may have implications for HPV testing as a screen for cervical cancer because it suggests individual differences in tolerance for uncertainty may limit people’s ability to take effective measures when faced with a health threat (e.g., getting tested).

Publications:

<>Rosen, N. O., & Knäuper, B. (2009[in press]). A little uncertainty goes a long way: State and trait differences in uncertainty interact to increase information-seeking, but also increase worry. Health Communication.

Rosen, N. O., Knäuper, B., & Sammut, J. (2007). Do individual differences in tolerance of uncertainty affect health monitoring? Psychology & Health, 22(4), 413-430.

The Psychosocial Impact of Pap versus HPV Testing on Canadian Women Screened for Cervical Cancer (completed)
Zeev Rosberger, Pasqualina Di Dio, Eduardo Franco, Bärbel Knäuper, M.-H. Mayrand, & Natalie Rosen

Funding: CIHR (operating grant)

This investigation seeked to complement the ongoing Canadian Cervical Cancer Screen Trial (CCCaST) study by examining the psychosocial impact of being screened for cervical cancer using an HPV test in addition to the standard Pap smear. The central goals were to (a) examine women’s level of psychological distress over time and as a function of both their Pap and HPV test results, (b) identify personality and psychosocial predictors of psychological distress in women who receive Pap and HPV test results, and (c) explore predictors of adherence to follow-up appointments.

Publications:

Rosen, N. O., Knäuper, B., Di Dio, P., Morrison, E., Tabing, R., Feldstain, F., Amsel, R., Mayrand, M.-H., Franco, E. L., & Rosberger, Z. (2009[in press]). The impact of an intolerance of uncertainty on anxiety after receiving an informational intervention about HPV: A randomized controlled study. Psychology & Health.

Rosen, N. O., Knäuper, B., Page, G., Di Dio, P., Morrison, E., Mayrand, M.-H., Franco, E. L., & Rosberger, Z. (2009[in press]). Uncertainty-inducing and reassuring facts about HPV: A descriptive study of French Canadian women. Health Care for Women International.