Affective and behavioural reactions to positive and negative health-related social control in HIV+men.

We examined associations between the receipt of positive and negative health-related social control (i.e. influence) from a primary network member, affective and behavioural reactions (i.

Spouses' use of pressure and persuasion to promote osteoarthritis patients' medical adherence after orthopedic surgery.

Objective: The authors investigated health-related effects of social control (influence) that spouses exert in relation to osteoarthritis patients' medical adherence after total knee replacement surgery. Patients' behavioral and emotional responses to control were examined as mediators of associations between spouses' use of two control strategies (pressure, persuasion) and patients' physical and psychological recovery.

Design: The authors used a three-wave panel design with assessments at one month before surgery, 1 month and 3 months after surgery.

Emotional support and affect: associations with health behaviors and active coping efforts in men living with HIV.

The present study represents a cross-sectional examination of the relationship between affect, social support and illness adjustment in men diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Positive and negative affect were examined as separate mediators of the relationship between emotional support received from a primary support provider and illness adjustment in 105 men living with HIV. Results suggested that depressive symptoms emerged as a mediator between emotional support and engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors (assessed by summary index).

Effects of spousal control and support on older adults' recovery from knee surgery.

The authors investigated associations between spousal control (influence) and support on the recovery outcomes for 70 men and women (mean age = 70) undergoing an increasingly common surgical treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Spouses' positive (motivating) and negative (pressuring) control and spouses' emotional (understanding) and problematic (dismissing) support were examined as predictors of patients' adherence and improvement in well-being. Positive control was associated with better adherence, but only among patients whose spouses provided little problematic support.

Older adults' recovery from surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee: psychosocial resources and constraints as predictors of outcomes.

The authors investigated psychosocial resources (positive support, active coping) and psychosocial constraints (negative support, avoidant coping) as predictors of improvement in the health of 63 older adults undergoing surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee. Following surgery, patients and social partners are motivated both to strive for the appetitive goal of recovery (approach), and to protect themselves from pain and impairment (avoidance). The authors assessed resources and constraints 6 weeks after surgery as predictors of outcomes (improvement in knee pain, knee functioning, and psychological well-being) 6 months after surgery.