The cognitive contexts of beliefs about the healthiness of meat

Objective: The overall aim of this study was to examine a variety of belief and demographic factors that are associated with the perception that meat is intrinsically unhealthy.

Design: State-wide survey (written questionnaire) that included questions on meat and nutrition beliefs, perceived barriers and benefits of vegetarian diets, personal values, number of vegetarian friends and family members, and use and trust of health/nutrition/food information sources.

Setting: South Australia.

Subjects: Six hundred and one randomly selected South Australians and 106 non-randomly selected vegetarians and semi-vegetarians.

Results: For all respondents considered as a group, the most important predictors of the belief that meat is intrinsically unhealthy were the perceived benefits of vegetarian diets (all positive predictors). These included: (1) the perceived links between vegetarianism, peace and increased contentment; (2) animal welfare and environmental benefits; and (3) health benefits. There were differences between different dietary groups however. For non-vegetarians, social concerns about vegetarianism (positive) were most important, followed by health and non-health benefits (positive) of vegetarianism. Red meat appreciation was the strongest (positive) predictor for vegetarians, with health benefits of vegetarianism (positive) and education (negative predictor) also important.

Conclusions: The implications of the findings for health and other issues are discussed. Judgements about the healthiness of meat are likely to be related to moral and environmental beliefs and, for non-vegetarians, to social concerns about vegetarianism, in addition to health beliefs. These need to be considered if any attempts are made to influence meat consumption.

The role of alcohol expectancy and drinking refusal self-efficacy beliefs in university student drinking

Aims: University student alcohol misuse is a considerable problem. Alcohol expectancy research has contributed significantly to our understanding of problem drinking in young adults. Most of this research has investigated positive expectancy alone. The current study utilized two measures of alcohol expectancy, the alcohol expectancy questionnaire (AEQ) and the drinking expectancy profile [consisting of the drinking expectancy questionnaire (DEQ) and the drinking refusal self-efficacy questionnaire] to predict severity of alcohol dependence, frequency of drinking, and the quantity of alcohol consumed per occasion. Methods: Measures of drinking behaviour and alcohol expectancy were completed by 174 undergraduate university students. Results: Positive alcohol expectancy factors accounted for significant variance in all three drinking indices, with the DEQ adding additional variance to AEQ scores on frequency and severity of alcohol dependence indices. Negative expectancy did not add incremental variance to the prediction of drinking behaviour in this sample. Drinking refusal self-efficacy and dependence beliefs added additional variance over positive and negative expectancies in the prediction of all three drinking parameters. Conclusions: Positive expectancy and drinking refusal self-efficacy were strongly related to university student drinking. The incorporation of expectancy as a means of informing prevention approaches in tertiary education shows promise.

In dialogue with A.D. Hope: dialogue two: theatre of thought and creation of `being`

[Dialogue Two focuses on the main philosophical threads in Hope’s work and attitude in which he detaches himself from all beliefs, engaging with them only when he thinks such an engagement might open up a new way of seeing. Hope is adamant that there are no existing theories that provide an answer to life’s questions. His way of living in this world of uncertainties and shifting faiths and ideologies is to create ‘being’ poetically. This acceptance of knowledge’s provisionality does not however mean that he is not intensely interested in each theory that emerges in the theatre of thought.
See Dialogue One for details of the following exchange.]

Negative beliefs about low back pain are associated with high pain intensity and high level disability in community-based women

Background Although previous studies have investigated beliefs about back pain in clinical and employed populations, there is a paucity of data examining the beliefs of the broader community. We aimed to characterize the beliefs that community-dwelling women have about back pain and its consequences, and to determine whether those with varying levels of pain intensity and disability differ in their beliefs. Methods 542 community-dwelling women, aged 24 to 80 years, were recruited from a research database. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire that included detailed demographic information, the Chronic Pain Grade Questionnaire (CPG) and the Back Beliefs Questionnaire (BBQ). The CPG examined individuals' levels of pain intensity and disability, and the BBQ investigated their beliefs about back pain and its consequences. Results 506 (93.4%) women returned the study questionnaire. The mean (SD) BBQ score for the cohort was 30.7 (6.0), indicating generally positive beliefs about back pain. However, those women with high intensity pain and high level disability had a mean (SD) score of 28.5 (5.7) and 24.8 (5.7) respectively, which reflects greater negativity about back pain and its consequences. There was an association between negative beliefs and high pain intensity (OR = 0.94 (95% CI: 0.90, 0.99), p = 0.01) and high level disability (OR = 0.93 (95% CI: 0.89, 0.97), p = 0.001), after adjusting for confounders. Conclusion This study highlights that although women living in the community were generally positive about back pain, subgroups of women with high pain intensity and high level disability were identified who had more pessimistic views. While a causal relationship cannot be inferred from these cross-sectional data, the results suggest that negative beliefs individuals have about back pain may be predictive of chronic, disabling spinal pain.

Pain beliefs and pain management of oncology patients

Cancer pain is estimated to occur in 30% to 70% of patients with early-stage cancer and 60% to 95% with advanced cancer. Current research shows that cancer pain continues to be undertreated despite the availability of analgesics and established guidelines to maximize their effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to describe oncology patients' pain experience during an episode of hospitalization with particular emphasis on exploring the relationship between oncology patients' beliefs about pain and the treatment they received. Consecutive patients (n = 126) were interviewed 48 hours after admission to an urban and a regional hospital in Australia; 47.6% of patients had experienced moderate to severe pain in the previous 24 hours but had only received 40.4% of available analgesic. Patients held varying beliefs about pain and pain treatments in particular, 41% held strong beliefs about the potential for addiction to narcotics. Patients who held this belief reported higher current pain, worst pain intensity, and higher average pain intensity in the previous 24 hours. Effective pain management in the inpatient oncology setting continues to be an important clinical issue, and patients do not receive all available pain treatment. There may be an important association between patients' beliefs about pain and pain management and the pain management they receive.