Objective: The present paper presents a brief overview on network analysis as a statistical approach for health psychology researchers. Networks comprise graphical representations of the relationships (edges) between variables (nodes). Network analysis provides the capacity to estimate complex patterns of relationships and the network structure can be analysed to reveal core features of the network. This paper provides an overview of networks, how they can be visualised and analysed, and presents a simple example of how to conduct network analysis in R using data on the Theory Planned Behaviour (TPB). Method: Participants (n = 200) completed a TPB survey on regular exercise. The survey comprised items on attitudes, normative beliefs, perceived behavioural control, and intentions. Data were analysed to examine the network structure of the variables. The EBICglasso was applied to the partial correlation matrix. Results: The network structure reveals the variation in relationships between the items. The network split into three distinct communities of items. The affective attitude item was the central node in the network. However, replication of the network in larger samples to produce more stable and robust estimates of network indices is required. Conclusions: The reported network reveals that the affective attitudinal variable was the most important node in the network and therefore interventions could prioritise targeting changing the emotional responses to exercise. Network analysis offers the potential for insight into structural relations among core psychological processes to inform the health psychology science and practice.

BackgroundDiabetes distress is a general term that refers to the emotional burdens, anxieties, frustrations, stressors and worries that stem from managing a severe, complex condition like Type 1 diabetes. To date there has been limited research on diabetes-related distress in younger people with Type 1 diabetes. This qualitative study aimed to identify causes of diabetes distress in a sample of young adults with Type 1 diabetes.MethodsSemi-structured interviews with 35 individuals with Type 1 diabetes (23–30 years of age).ResultsThis study found diabetes related-distress to be common in a sample of young adults with Type 1 diabetes in the second phase of young adulthood (23–30 years of age). Diabetes distress was triggered by multiple factors, the most common of which were: self-consciousness/stigma, day-to-day diabetes management difficulties, having to fight the healthcare system, concerns about the future and apprehension about pregnancy. A number of factors appeared to moderate distress in this group, including having opportunities to talk to healthcare professionals, attending diabetes education programmes and joining peer support groups. Young adults felt that having opportunities to talk to healthcare professionals about diabetes distress should be a component of standard diabetes care.ConclusionsSome aspects of living with diabetes frequently distress young adults with Type 1 diabetes who are in their twenties. Clinicians should facilitate young adults’ attendance at diabetes education programmes, provide them with opportunities to talk about their diabetes-related frustrations and difficulties and, where possible, assist in the development of peer-support networks for young adults with diabetes.

Background The study explores the experiences of parents of individuals with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs), and examines the influences of parent gender and child age on perceived stress, stress and coping, child-rearing involvement, support and information ⁄ education accessed. Methods and Materials Questionnaires assessed general perceived stress, involvement, stress and coping related to caregiving, social support, and amount of information ⁄ education accessed in 23 mothers and 19 fathers of 3-to 18-year-old individuals with ASDs. Results When compared with fathers, mothers were significantly more stressed, more involved, and reported higher levels of stress and coping related to caregiving. Differences were found according to child age, regarding helpfulness of support and access to information ⁄ education. Parent gender and child age moderated correlations between some variables. Content analyses identified factors contributing to parental stress and its alleviation. Conclusions The positive relationships between the amount of information accessed and the quality of support received by parents, and between parental stress and involvement vary according to the life stage of the child. Mothers experienced a greater caregiving burden when compared with fathers.Keywords: autistic spectrum disorder, information, involvement, parent, stress, support IntroductionAccording to Randall & Parker (1999), of all childhood developmental disabilities, autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) give rise to one of the most complex network of family stressors. A substantial amount of research on stress and parents of children with ASDs has found that these parents experience higher levels of stress than both the general population and parents of children with other developmental disabilities (McKinney & Peterson 1987;Weiss 2002). Providing effective and relevant support to these parents is critical; thus, factors that influence their mental health and stress levels must be explored.According to Lazarus & Folkman (1984), parents' coping strategies are related to the resources to which they have access. Without these resources, parents are vulnerable and more likely to be stressed. Social support is an important moderator of stress for parents of children with ASDs, as support can help parents cope by meeting their emotional, practical and informational needs (Beresford 1994). Schilling et al. (1984) identified two sources of social support: informal (e.g. family) and formal (e.g. health professionals). The perceived helpfulness of support has been shown to be an important aspect of its mitigating affect (Henderson & Vandenberg 1992). A study by Hastings & Johnson (2001) explored the issues of stress, coping and support in 141 UK parents conducting intensive home-based behavioural intervention with their children with autism. Although no comparative difference was found in the level of reported stress between parents utilizing the programme and other parents of children with autism, the research did find that adaptive coping st...

The pathological eating behaviors in Anorexia Nervosa (AN), Bulimia Nervosa (BN), and obesity are characterized by a preference for high immediate reward, despite higher future losses in terms of both physical and psychological outcomes. The present study compared the decision making profile of females with a diagnosis of AN (n = 22), BN (n = 17), obesity (n = 18), and a healthy weight comparison group (n = 20) using a standardized neuropsychological test, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). The three clinical groups (AN, BN, obesity) were significantly impaired on the IGT compared with the comparison group on both overall task performance and task learning; however, the three clinical groups were not significantly different from each other. Sixty-one percent to 77% of the clinical groups reached the threshold for impairment on the IGT, compared with 15% of the comparison group. The potential basis for this shared decision making profile is discussed.

Mood symptoms following acute stroke were associated with a poorer HRQoL one year later but only depression symptoms influenced functional recovery. Other clinical factors such as pre-morbid conditions may need to be taken into consideration when determining the effect of mood symptoms on stroke recovery.