Avoiding piecemeal research on participation in cervical cancer screening : the advantages of a social identity framework

Background  Cervical cancer screening research has predominantly focused on one type of participation, namely compliance with medical recommendations, and has largely ignored other types of participation. While there is some research that has taken a different approach, findings in this research area are not well integrated under a theoretical framework.

Objective  The aim of this study is to show how consideration of a broader definition of participation and better integration of the theoretical conceptualization of participation in cervical cancer screening are both possible and desirable to enable a better understanding of women’s experiences of cervical cancer screening specifically and to improve women’s health generally.

Main Conclusion  It is suggested that alternative types of participation in cervical cancer screening warrant further investigation and that a social identity theoretical approach offers one way of integrating such conceptualizations of participation. The paper also argues for more explicit consideration of the role of social processes and of the variables, such as power, social identity and relational justice, which are involved in participation in cervical cancer screening.

Visualizing the core-periphery distinction in theory domains

As specific parts of a theory are refined over time, the aggregated set of variables and associations of multiple theory instances provide the identity of a theory domain. This research applies a meta-theoretical analysis to the problem of theory identity and the core-periphery distinction. The theoretico-empirical network for quantitative publications over a 20 year span of two top Information Systems journals is analysed and visualized to illustrate these aspects of theory. The analysis provides insight into the density of research in specific theory domains, the verisimilitude and explanatory ubiquity of core versus peripheral postulates, and suggests opportunities for increasing explanatory depth and integration in select theory domains.

Understanding the link between body dissatisfaction and binge eating: a model comparison approach

 This thesis explored the association between body dissatisfaction and binge eating by comparing three competing theoretical frameworks. Study I utilised a cross-sectional design and collectively these findings suggest the superiority of the dual pathway model (dietary restraint and negative affect) over the objectification theory and the escape model. The purpose of Study II was then to extend on the findings from Study I by further examining in real-time the model/theory that most strongly explained the body dissatisfaction-binge eating relationship. Participants were prompted at random intervals seven times daily across the course of a week to self-report their state body dissatisfaction, current mood experiences, and eating practices. Results revealed that negative mood, but not dietary restraint, significantly mediated the state body dissatisfaction-binge eating relationship. These results highlight that the dual pathway model is robust, but raise the possibility that the dietary restraint path in the model is not well operationalized. In light of the non-significant mediating effect of dietary restraint, this led the researcher to identify various modeling alternatives to further understand the mediating influences of the pathways of negative affect and dietary restraint.