New Articles from Annals of Behavioral Medicine and Translational Behavioral Medicine

SBM's two journals, Annals of Behavioral Medicine and Translational Behavioral Medicine: Practice, Policy, Research (TBM), continuously publish online articles, many of which become available before issues are printed. Three recently published Annals and TBM articles are listed below.

SBM members who have paid their 2020 membership dues are able to access the full text of all Annals and TBM online articles via the SBM website by following the steps below.

1. Go to the Members Only section of the SBM website.
2. Log in with your username and password.
3. Click on the Journals link.
4. Click on the title of the journal which you would like to electronically access.

To check if you are a current SBM member, or if you are having trouble accessing the journals online, please contact the SBM national office at info@sbm.org or (414) 918-3156.

Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Moving in Sync: Hourly Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior are Synchronized in Couples

Theresa Pauly, Jan Keller, Nina Knoll, Victoria I Michalowski, Diana Hilda Hohl, Maureen C Ashe, Denis Gerstorf, Kenneth M Madden, Christiane A Hoppmann

Background
Overall time spent in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior are both correlated in couples. Knowledge about the nature and psychosocial correlates of such dyadic covariation could inform important avenues for physical activity promotion.
Purpose
The present study investigates hour-by-hour covariation between partners (i.e., synchrony) in MVPA and sedentary behavior as partners engage in their daily lives and links it with person-level MVPA/sedentary behavior, temporal characteristics, and relationship variables.
Methods
We used 7-day accelerometer data from two couple studies (Study 1, n = 306 couples, aged 18–80 years; Study 2, n = 108 couples, aged 60–87 years) to estimate dyadic covariation in hourly MVPA and sedentary behavior between partners. Data were analyzed using coordinated multilevel modeling.
Results
In both studies, hourly MVPA and sedentary behavior exhibited similarly sized dyadic covariation between partners in the low-to-medium range of effects. Higher MVPA synchrony between partners was linked with higher individual weekly MVPA and higher individual weekly sedentary levels, whereas higher sedentary synchrony between partners was associated with higher individual weekly MVPA but lower individual weekly sedentary levels. MVPA and sedentary synchrony were higher in the morning and evening, more pronounced on weekends, and associated with more time spent together, longer relationship duration, and time-varying perceptions of higher partner closeness.
Conclusions
This study demonstrates that MVPA and sedentary behaviors do not occur in a social vacuum. Instead, they are linked with close others such as partners. Thus, capitalizing on social partners may increase the effectiveness of individual-level physical activity interventions.

Socioeconomic Status Moderates the Effects of Health Cognitions on Health Behaviors within Participants: Two Multibehavior Studies

Benjamin Schüz, Cameron Brick, Sarah Wilding, Mark Conner

Background
Socioeconomic differences in health-related behaviors are a major cause of health inequalities. However, the mechanisms (mediation/moderation) by which socioeconomic status (SES) affects health behavior are a topic of ongoing debate.
Purpose
Current research on SES as moderator of the health cognitions–health behavior relation is inconsistent. Previous studies are limited by diverse operationalizations of SES and health behaviors, demographically narrow samples, and between-person designs addressing within-person processes. This paper presents two studies addressing these shortcomings in a within-person multibehavior framework using hierarchical linear models.
Methods
Two online studies, one cross-sectional and one 4 week longitudinal, assessed 1,005 (Study 1; Amazon MTurk; USA only) and 1,273 participants (Study 2; Prolific; international). Self-reports of multiple SES indicators (education, income, occupation status; ZIP code in Study 1), health cognitions (from the theory of planned behavior), and measures of six health behaviors were taken. Multilevel models with cross-level interactions tested whether the within-person relationships between health cognitions and behaviors differed by between-person SES.
Results
Education significantly moderated intention-behavior and attitude-behavior relationships in both studies, with more educated individuals showing stronger positive relationships. In addition, ZIP-level SES (Study 1) moderated attitude-behavior effects such that these relationships were stronger in participants living in areas with higher SES.
Conclusions
Education appears to be an important resource for the translation of intentions and attitudes into behavior. Other SES indicators showed less consistent effects. This has implications for interventions aiming at increasing intentions to change health behaviors, as some interventions might inadvertently increase health inequalities.

Bereaved Family Cancer Caregivers’ Unmet Needs: Measure Development and Validation

Youngmee Kim, Charles S Carver, Rachel S Cannady

Purpose/Background
Accumulating evidence shows that bereaved family caregivers report elevated distress for an extended period, which compromises their quality of life. A first step in the development of programs to enhance bereaved caregivers’ quality of life should be determining the needs they experience to manage the loss, and the needs that are not being satisfied. Thus, this study aimed to develop a new measure to assess unmet needs among bereaved family caregivers.
Method
The 20-item Needs Assessment of Family Caregivers-Bereaved to Cancer measure was developed and validated with bereaved cancer caregivers 5 (n = 159) and 8 (n = 194) years after the initial cancer diagnosis of the index patient, when stress in providing care to the patient was assessed.
Results
Exploratory factor analysis yielded two primary factors: unmet needs for reintegration and unmet needs for managing the loss. Bereaved caregivers who were younger and ethnic minority, and who had greater earlier perceived stress of caregiving, reported their needs were more poorly met (t > 2.33, p < .05). The extent to which bereaved caregivers’ needs to manage the loss were not perceived as being met was a consistent and strong predictor of poor adjustment to bereavement at both 5- and 8-year marks (t > 1.96, p < .05), beyond the effects of a host of demographic and earlier caregiving characteristics.
Conclusion
Findings support the validity of the Needs Assessment of Family Caregivers-Bereaved to Cancer and suggest that interventions to help bereaved caregivers manage the loss by assisting their transition to re-engagement in daily and social activities will benefit caregivers by mitigating bereavement-related distress years after the loss.

 

Translational Behavioral Medicine

Feasibility of implementing mobile technology-delivered mental health treatment in routine adult sickle cell disease care

Charles R Jonassaint, Chaeryon Kang, Kemar V Prussien, Janet Yarboi, Maureen S Sanger, J Deanna Wilson, Laura De Castro, Nirmish Shah, Urmimala Sarkar

Abstract
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a severe hemoglobinopathy characterized by acute and chronic pain. Sufferers of the disease, most of whom are underrepresented minorities, are at increased risk for mental health disorders. The purpose of this study is to test the acceptability and implementation of a computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (cCBT) intervention, Beating the Blues, to improve depression, anxiety, and pain in patients with SCD. Adults with SCD and significant symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9] score ≥ 10) or anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale [GAD-7] score ≥ 10) were eligible to participate and be randomized to either receive eight sessions of cCBT with care coach support or treatment as usual. Participants reported daily pain and mood symptoms using a mobile diary app. Depression, anxiety, and pain symptoms were assessed at 1, 3, and 6 months. Thirty patients were enrolled: 18 to cCBT, and 12 to control. The cCBT intervention was feasible to implement in clinical settings and acceptable to participants. Patients in the cCBT arm reported a marginally greater decrease in depression at 6 months (−3.82, SE = 1.30) than those in the control group (−0.50, SE = 1.60; p = .06). There were no significant effects of treatment on anxiety; however, cCBT was associated with improved daily pain reported via a mobile diary app (p = .014). cCBT, delivered via mobile device, is a feasible strategy to provide mental health care to adults living with SCD. cCBT was acceptable to the target population; was able to be implemented in real-world, nonideal conditions; and has the potential to improve patient-reported outcomes.

Considering religion and spirituality in precision medicine

Karen H K Yeary, Kassandra I Alcaraz, Kimlin Tam Ashing, Chungyi Chiu, Shannon M Christy, Katarina Friberg Felsted, Qian Lu, Crystal Y Lumpkins, Kevin S Masters, Robert L Newton, Jr, Crystal L Park, Megan J Shen, Valerie J Silfee, Betina Yanez, Jean Yi

Abstract
The emerging era of precision medicine (PM) holds great promise for patient care by considering individual, environmental, and lifestyle factors to optimize treatment. Context is centrally important to PM, yet, to date, little attention has been given to the unique context of religion and spirituality (R/S) and their applicability to PM. R/S can support and reinforce health beliefs and behaviors that affect health outcomes. The purpose of this article is to discuss how R/S can be considered in PM at multiple levels of context and recommend strategies for integrating R/S in PM. We conducted a descriptive, integrative literature review of R/S at the individual, institutional, and societal levels, with the aim of focusing on R/S factors with a high level of salience to PM. We discuss the utility of considering R/S in the suitability and uptake of PM prevention and treatment strategies by providing specific examples of how R/S influences health beliefs and practices at each level. We also propose future directions in research and practice to foster greater understanding and integration of R/S to enhance the acceptability and patient responsiveness of PM research approaches and clinical practices. Elucidating the context of R/S and its value to PM can advance efforts toward a more whole-person and patient-centered approach to improve individual and population health.

Behavioral and social scientists’ reflections on genomics: a systematic evaluation within the Society of Behavioral Medicine

Colleen M McBride, Kristi D Graves, Kimberly A Kaphingst, Caitlin G Allen, Catharine Wang, Elva Arredondo, William M P Klein

Abstract
Clinical and public health translation of genomics could be facilitated by expertise from behavioral medicine, yet genomics has not been a significant focus of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM). SBM convened a working group (WG) to lead a systematic exploration of members’ views on: (a) whether SBM should give a higher priority to genomic translation and (b) what efforts, if any, should be made to support this increased engagement. The WG used a stepped process over 2 years that began by gaining input from SBM leadership regarding key issues and suggestions for approach, engaging a cross section of membership to expand and record these discussions, followed by systematic qualitative analyses to inform priority action steps. Discussions with SBM leaders and members suggested that genomics was relevant to SBM, particularly for junior members. SBM members’ expertise in social and behavioral theory, and implementation study designs, were viewed as highly relevant to genomic translation. Participants expressed that behavioral and social scientists should be engaged in translational genomics work, giving special attention to health disparities. Proposed action steps are aligned with a “push–pull” framework of innovation dissemination. “Push” strategies aim to reach potential adopters and included linking members with genomics expertise to those wanting to become involved and raising awareness of evidence-based genomic applications ready for implementation. “Pull” strategies aim to expand demand and included developing partnerships with genomics societies and advocating for funding, study section modifications, and training programs.