Registered Reports in Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine: To Infinity and Beyond.

In April 2023, Psychosomatic Medicine, now renamed Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine, introduced registered reports as a new article format. Registered reports are a type of scientific article in which the research methods and proposed analyses are preregistered and peer-reviewed before the data are collected or analyzed. We were excited to be joining a growing number of journals internationally to offer this format and to be aligning with the Behavioral Medicine Research Council's statement on open science, recognizing the value of publishing registered reports in our field.

Utilisation of a think-aloud protocol to validate a self-reported periodontitis questionnaire.

Objectives: The gold standard approach to diagnose periodontitis is based on clinical examination and radiographic investigations. This, however, is expensive, tedious, and not feasible in population-level assessments. The self-reported periodontitis questionnaire offers great benefit to facilitate larger epidemiological surveys.

Development and initial validation of a hospital stress questionnaire.

Background: Hospitalisation can be a traumatic experience, where inpatients are exposed to an abundance of physical and psychological stressors. Evidence suggests that these hospital-related stressors negatively impact health: a phenomenon known as post-hospital syndrome. The current study aimed to identify hospital-related stressors, and to develop and provide initial validation for a new measure of in-hospital stress.

Loneliness, sleep and daily stress: Evidence of direct and indirect effects.

This study investigated: i) the effects of loneliness on self-reported sleep outcomes and daily stress/hassles, ii) whether the effects of loneliness on sleep outcomes were mediated through prior-day stress/hassles and iii) if the effects of loneliness on daily stress/hassles were mediated through prior-night sleep measures. Using a 7-day diary design, this study aimed to investigate relationships between loneliness, daily sleep outcomes and daily stress/hassles. Participants (N = 174, M 19.

Could breaks reduce general practitioner burnout and improve safety? A daily diary study.

Background: Rates of burnout are currently at record high levels, and GPs experience higher burnout than many other specialties. Organisational interventions may reduce burnout, but few studies have investigated these in primary care.

Aim: The current study investigated whether breaks, both with and without social interactions, were associated with burnout and patient safety perceptions in GPs.

Exploring the Religious Practice of Langar as a Route to Health Promotion in the Sikh Community in Northern England: A Qualitative Study.

Cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes are prevalent among UK South Asians. Langar is a Sikh religious food practice that could be important in dietary health promotion. This study explored perceptions of langar, its role in health, readiness and strategies for change and whether Gurdwaras (Sikh place of worship) are able to support change.

Selective outcome reporting in trials of behavioural health interventions in health psychology and behavioural medicine journals: a review.

Selective outcome reporting can result in overestimation of treatment effects, research waste, and reduced openness and transparency. This review aimed to examine selective outcome reporting in trials of behavioural health interventions and determine potential outcome reporting bias. A review of nine health psychology and behavioural medicine journals was conducted to identify randomised controlled trials of behavioural health interventions published since 2019.

A registered report survey of open research practices in psychology departments in the UK and Ireland.

Open research practices seek to enhance the transparency and reproducibility of research. While there is evidence of increased uptake in these practices, such as study preregistration and open data, facilitated by new infrastructure and policies, little research has assessed general uptake of such practices across psychology university researchers. The current study estimates psychologists' level of engagement in open research practices across universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland, while also assessing possible explanatory factors that may impact their engagement.

Effects of a self-affirmation intervention on responses to bowel cancer screening information.

Objective: To investigate the effect of two brief self-affirmation interventions, immediately prior to reading standard information about bowel cancer screening, on state anxiety, message acceptance and behavioural intention to screen for bowel cancer.

Methods: 242 adults aged 49 were randomised to one of two self-affirmation interventions (health or values) or one of two control conditions, before reading an NHS England bowel cancer screening leaflet. Participant friend and family history of bowel cancer, state anxiety, message acceptance, behavioural intention to screen, trait self-esteem and spontaneous self-affirmation were measured.

Social network size moderates the association between loneliness and cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress.

Loneliness and objective measures of social isolation (e.g., social network size) have been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Social Norms in Cervical Cancer Screening.

Cancer screening aims to check the body for cancer before symptoms develop. Social norms theory suggests people falsely perceive the attitudes and/or behaviours of similar others to be different from their own and correcting these perceptions can lead to behaviour change. Across two studies, we tested if women underestimate peer levels of cervical screening behaviour and whether a social norms manipulation increases intention to attend cervical cancer screening.

Effects of childhood trauma on sleep quality and stress-related variables in adulthood: evidence from two multilevel studies.

Childhood trauma has been found to have serious negative consequences for mental and physical health. However, the precise mechanisms through which trauma influences health outcomes are unclear. Childhood trauma-related disruptions to sleep in adulthood represent an important potential mechanism.

Effects of a modified invitation letter to follow-up colonoscopy for bowel cancer detection.

Objective: To investigate whether modifications made to the current National Health Service (NHS) invitation letter for follow-up colonoscopy examination affect participant state anxiety and behavioural intentions to attend.

Methods: Five hundred and thirty-eight adults of bowel cancer-eligible screening age (56-74) were randomized to receive the current NHS invitation letter or the modified version of the letter as a hypothetical scenario. Modifications to the letter included fewer uses of the term cancer and awareness of alternative screening options.

Effectiveness of stress management interventions to change cortisol levels: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Stress has a damaging impact on our mental and physical health, and as a result, there is an on-going demand for effective stress management interventions. However, there are no reviews or meta-analyses synthesising the evidence base of randomised controlled trials testing the effectiveness of psychological interventions on changing cortisol levels (the stress hormone) in non-patient groups. Therefore, the primary aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to address this gap.

COVID Protection Behaviors, Mental Health, Risk Perceptions, and Control Beliefs: A Dynamic Temporal Network Analysis of Daily Diary Data.

Background: To control infections, behavioral non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as social distancing and hygiene measures (masking, hand hygiene) were implemented widely during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, adherence to NPIs has also been implied in an increase in mental health problems. However, the designs of many existing studies are often poorly suited to disentangle complex relationships between NPI adherence, mental health symptoms, and health-related cognitions (risk perceptions, control beliefs).

Evaluation of the reboot coaching workshops among urology trainees: A mixed method approach.

Background: Urology trainees experience high burnout, and there is an urgent need for acceptable and effective interventions. The current study evaluated Reboot coaching workshops (Reboot-C), a tailored intervention based on cognitive-behavioural principles, with urology trainees.

Objective: Our primary objective was to evaluate the acceptability of Reboot-C among urology trainees.

Digital home monitoring for capturing daily fluctuation of symptoms; a longitudinal repeated measures study: Long Covid Multi-disciplinary Consortium to Optimise Treatments and Services across the NHS (a LOCOMOTION study).

Introduction: A substantial proportion of COVID-19 survivors continue to have symptoms more than 3 months after infection, especially of those who required medical intervention. Lasting symptoms are wide-ranging, and presentation varies between individuals and fluctuates within an individual. Improved understanding of undulation in symptoms and triggers may improve efficacy of healthcare providers and enable individuals to better self-manage their Long Covid.

Understanding a constellation of eight COVID-19 disease prevention behaviours using the COM-B model and the theoretical domains framework: a qualitative study using the behaviour change wheel.

Background: The use of behavioural science and behaviour change within local authorities and public health has supported healthful change; as evidenced by its importance and contribution to reducing harm during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can provide valuable information to enable the creation of evidence-based intervention strategies, co-created with the people they are aimed at, in an effective and efficient manner.

Aim: This study aimed to use the COM-B model to understand the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation of performing a constellation of eight COVID-19 disease prevention behaviours related to the slogans of 'Hands, Face, Space, Fresh Air'; 'Find, Isolate, Test, (FIT), and Vaccinate' in those employed in workplaces identified as high risk for transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) to support intervention development.

Curb the spread: Leveraging intensive longitudinal data to unravel within- and between-person processes in adherence to nonpharmaceutical interventions during COVID-19.

Objectives: Adhering to behavioral recommendations and nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) is a key to control COVID-19 infection rates. However, rates have decreased globally, and potentially modifiable determinants of ongoing adherence and their interaction with social and physical momentary environments are still poorly understood. Here, we comprehensively examine within-person variations and between-person differences in known behavioral determinants (capability and motivation), as well as the moderating role of situational variable environmental factors (opportunity) in predicting adherence to hygiene and social distancing behaviors.

Do British and Chinese adolescents snack for different reasons? A cross-country study using the Theory of Planned Behaviour and eating styles.

Snacking is prevalent in adolescents and can have significant health impacts, but there is considerable individual and cross-country variation in determinants on adolescent snacking. The present study examined the role of eating styles (i.e.