Factors Predicting Adherence to Artistic-Singing Groups for Older Adults and their Role as Moderators of the Intervention Outcomes.

Objectives: Group singing (GS), as an art-based intervention, has demonstrated a wide range of biopsychosocial benefits in older adult participants. However, the factors that predict the adherence of older adults to these programs and that moderate the intervention outcomes were not yet studied, which is the aim of this study.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was developed to test the efficacy of a GS intervention, from which pre-post intervention data was collected and analyzed.

Judging Pharmaceutical Environmental Risk by its Cover? The Effects of Prescription Medication and Disease Severity on Environmental Risk Perception.

Recent wastewater analyses performed in care homes for the elderly showed high levels of water pollution resulting from pharmaceutical waste. The way people perceive the environmental risk of pharmaceuticals can contribute to reversing this problem, but the factors that influence risk perception remain relatively unknown. The aims of the study are two-fold.

Intervention and mediation effects of a community-based singing group on older adults' perceived physical and mental health: the Sing4Health randomized controlled trial.

ObjectiveTo examine short- and long-term effects of a group singing program on older adults' perceived physical and mental health levels, and also investigate subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive/negative affect and hedonic balance), body balance and serum biomarkers (C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate) as putative mediating mechanisms, controlling for the cognitive status of the participants. : The randomized controlled trial included 149 participants (60 to 95 years), allocated to an immediate intervention group (IG) or a wait-list active control group (WLG). The intervention comprised 34 sessions of group singing during 4-months.

Greener Schoolyards, Greener Futures? Greener Schoolyards Buffer Decreased Contact With Nature and Are Linked to Connectedness to Nature.

Children are spending less time in nature. They are not taking advantage of the benefits that are related to experiencing nature, such as the improvement of attentional capacity and stress reduction. Furthermore, they are also losing the opportunity to assess nature in a more positive way and to become more connected to nature, factors that appear to be fundamental to securing a greener future.

Sing4Health: protocol of a randomized controlled trial of the effects of a singing group intervention on the well-being, cognitive function and health of older adults.

Background: Singing is a multimodal activity that requires physical, cognitive and psychosocial performance, with benefits to various domains of well-being and health in older adults. In recent years, research has increasingly studied group singing as an important cost-effective intervention to promote active and healthy aging. However, the specific factors responsible for these benefits need further experimental support, as most studies do not allow for causal inferences.

Lay people and experts' risk perception of pharmaceuticals in the environment in Southwestern Europe.

This study aims to contribute to the risk management of pharmaceuticals in the environment, illustrating risk perceptions of lay people and experts from Southwestern Europe (Portugal, Spain, and France). The psychometric paradigm was applied to assess risk regarding four hazards: pharmaceuticals in the environment (i.e.

The importance of household pharmaceutical products disposal and its risk management: Example from Southwestern Europe.

The presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment is an emergent unknown environmental problem, linked to increased production and consumption of pharmaceuticals and, as such, understanding risk perception is fundamental. This study focuses on exploring causes (trust and knowledge) and effects (intention and proper individual disposal of pharmaceutical leftovers) of environmental and health risk perception. Survey data was collected in Portugal, Spain, and France (sample of 509 individuals).

Urban Green Space: Creating a Triple Win for Environmental Sustainability, Health, and Health Equity through Behavior Change.

Urbanization, costs of green space maintenance, and diminishing connection between people and nature all exert pressures on urban green space. This is regrettable as green space has the potential to create wins for environmental sustainability, health, and health equity. This paper explores this potential triple win and investigates how to increase the use of urban green space through behavior change.

Parents modelling, peer influence and peer selection impact on adolescent smoking behavior: A longitudinal study in two age cohorts.

Understanding the key factors that influence smoking behavior, especially during adolescence, has a meaningful impact on public health. This study examined the impact of parent modelling, peer influence and peer selection on adolescent smoking behavior in two Portuguese cohorts followed for three years. A questionnaire was delivered in classes and schools randomly selected, three times, one per year (cohort1: time1-7th, time2-8th, time3-9th; cohort2: time1-10th, time2-11th, time3-12th graders).

A Randomized Trial of the Close Reading and Creative Writing Program: An Alternative Educational Method for Adult Group Care Intervention in Type 2 Diabetes Management.

Objectives: Group care for individuals with diabetes is a recognized educational practice, but techniques from narrative medicine using of literary works have never been incorporated in these programs. We designed a new educational model (i.e.

Psychosocial drivers for change: Understanding and promoting stakeholder engagement in local adaptation to climate change in three European Mediterranean case studies.

Stakeholder engagement in the processes of planning local adaptation to climate change faces many challenges. The goal of this work was to explore whether or not the intention of engaging could be understood (Study 1) and promoted (Study 2), by using an extension of the theory of planned behaviour. In Study 1, stakeholders from three European Mediterranean case studies were surveyed: Baixo Vouga Lagunar (Portugal), SCOT Provence Méditerranée (France), and the island of Crete (Greece) (N = 115).

When Is Congruency Helpful? Interactive Effects of Frame, Motivational Orientation, and Perceived Message Quality on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption.

Health messages framed to be congruent with people's motivational orientation have been shown to be generally effective in promoting health behavior change, but some inconsistencies have been found. This study tested whether the perceived quality of a health message moderated the congruency effect in the domain of fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption. Undergraduate participants (N = 109) read a health message promoting FV intake in which the frame (gain vs.

All You Need Is Facebook Friends? Associations between Online and Face-to-Face Friendships and Health.

Positive social relations are known to have a beneficial impact on health, however, little is known about the links of health with online relationships. In this study, we compare face-to-face and virtual friendships in their association with health. By building on previous results of studies conducted on the well-being of college students, we expect to find stronger associations of face-to-face friendships with health than of those established through Facebook.

What do older people think that others think of them, and does it matter? The role of meta-perceptions and social norms in the prediction of perceived age discrimination.

Psychological theories of aging highlight the importance of social context. However, very little research has distinguished empirically between older people's perception of how others in their social context perceive them (personal meta-perceptions) and the shared perceptions in society (societal meta-perceptions). Drawing on theories of intergroup relations and stereotyping and using a multilevel perspective, this article examines how well older people's perceptions of age discrimination (PAD) are predicted by (a) older people's personal meta-perceptions, (b) societal meta-perceptions, and (c) social norms of intolerance toward age prejudice.

Lay perceptions of health and environmental inequalities and their associations to mental health.

Health inequalities are very well documented in epidemiological research: rich people live longer and have fewer diseases than poor people. Recently, a growing amount of evidence from environmental sciences confirms that poor people are also more exposed to pollution and other environmental threats. However, research in the social sciences has shown a broad lack of awareness about health inequalities.

Emphasizing the losses or the gains: Comparing situational and individual moderators of framed messages to promote fruit and vegetable intake.

Health messages are a commonly used way to promote changes in dietary habits but their efficacy could be enhanced by strategies such as the way in which the presented arguments are framed. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of framed messages (gain vs. loss) on behavioural intention and fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, comparing predictions based on prominent theoretical perspectives on message framing (function of the health behaviour and recipients' motivational orientation) and by further exploring the role of baseline intentions as a potential moderator of the framing effects.

Health messages to promote fruit and vegetable consumption at different stages: A match-mismatch design.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of matching health messages promoting fruit and vegetable intake to the Health Action Process Approach stages of change.

Design: In a randomised controlled trial, 205 undergraduate students (non-intenders n = 123; intenders n = 82) were exposed to one of three health messages, targeted at non-intenders, intenders and controls.

Main Outcome Measures: Three longitudinal assessments of stage, fruit and vegetable intake, and social-cognitive determinants were obtained.

'Being old and ill' across different countries: social status, age identification and older people's subjective health.

Objective: It has been suggested that the extent to which older adults identify with 'old-age' is associated with greater subjective ill-health. Based on social identity theory, we hypothesise that the societal social status of older people should moderate this relationship, such that the effect of age-identification on subjective health should be stronger in countries in which older people have lower social status.

Design And Main Outcome Measures: Subjective health, age identification and the perceived status of people over 70 were assessed in a subsample of older respondents (N = 6185) of the 2008/2009 European Social Survey.

Revisiting the paradox of well-being: the importance of national context.

Objectives: Despite age-related changes or declines in circumstances, health or income, many older people are able to maintain subjective well-being (SWB) in later life. This is known as the paradox of well-being. To date, much research has focused on either individual- (e.

Will is not enough: coping planning and action control as mediators in the prediction of fruit and vegetable intake.

Objectives: This study investigates the joint role of coping planning and action control as volitional predictors of changes in the daily consumption of fruit and vegetables.

Design: In a longitudinal online survey, 203 participants completed assessments at baseline (Time 1), 1 week (Time 2), and 2 weeks later (Time 3).

Methods: Structural equation modelling was used to test a series of three nested models.

Formative research on HAPA model determinants for fruit and vegetable intake: target beliefs for audiences at different stages of change.

Theoretically driven health communications are needed to promote fruit and vegetable intake among people at different stages of change. The Health Action Process Approach, a clearly specified model and good predictor of fruit and vegetable intake, was used as a framework to guide a formative research for the development of health messages targeting individuals at either a non-intentional or intentional stage of change. A mixed-method approach was used, combining eight focus groups (n = 45) and a questionnaire (n = 390).

Inpatients' and outpatients' satisfaction: the mediating role of perceived quality of physical and social environment.

This study analyses the processes through which the physical environment of health care settings impacts on patients' well-being. Specifically, we investigate the mediating role of perceptions of the physical and social environments, and if this process is moderated by patients' status, that is, if the objective physical environment impacts inpatients' and outpatients' satisfaction by different social-psychological processes. Patients (N=206) evaluated the physical and social environments of the care unit where they were receiving treatment, and its objective physical conditions were independently evaluated by two architects.

School Social Behavior Scales: an adaptation study of the Portuguese version of the social competence scale from SSBS-2.

This study analyses the psychometric proprieties of a Portuguese version of the social competence scale from the School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS-2, Merrell, 2002). It is a rating instrument of children and adolescents behavior, to be used by teachers and other school personnel. This scale includes 3 subscales: self-management/compliance, peer relations and academic behavior.