Negative Impact Of Fear Research Articles

Anti-immigrant Rhetoric and the Experiences of Latino Immigrants in the Emergency Department.

IntroductionAnti-immigrant rhetoric and increased enforcement of immigration laws have induced worry and safety concerns among undocumented Latino immigrants (UDLI) and legal Latino residents/citizens (LLRC), with some delaying the time to care.1 In this study, we conducted a qualitative analysis of statements made by emergency department (ED) patients – a majority of whom were UDLI and LLRC – participating in a study to better understand their experiences and fears with regard to anti-immigrant rhetoric, immigration enforcement, and ED utilization.MethodsWe conducted a multi-site study, surveying patients in three California safety-net EDs serving large immigrant populations from June 2017–December 2018. Of 1684 patients approached, 1337 (79.4%) agreed to participate; when given the option to provide open-ended comments, 260 participants provided perspectives about their experiences during the years immediately following the 2016 United States presidential election. We analyzed these qualitative data using constructivist grounded theory.ResultsWe analyzed comments from 260 individuals. Among ED patients who provided qualitative data, 59% were women and their median age was 45 years (Interquartile range 33–57 years). Undocumented Latino immigrants comprised 49%, 31% were LLRC, and 20% were non-Latino legal residents. As their primary language, 68% spoke Spanish. We identified six themes: fear as a barrier to care (especially for UDLI); the negative impact of fear on health and wellness (physical and mental health, delays in care); factors influencing fear (eg, media coverage); and future solutions, including the need for increased communication about rights.ConclusionAnti-immigrant rhetoric during the 2016 US presidential campaign contributed to fear and safety concerns among UDLI and LLRC accessing healthcare. This is one of the few studies that captured firsthand experiences of UDLI in the ED. Our findings revealed fear-based barriers to accessing emergency care, protective and contributing factors to fear, and the negative impact of fear. There is a need for increased culturally informed patient communication about rights and resources, strategic media campaigns, and improved access to healthcare for undocumented individuals.

National Social Benefit Systems and Entrepreneurial Intentions: A Cross-National and Cross-Level Analysis

In this study, we examine how social benefit systems (public and private social expenditure) may influence entrepreneurial intentions, and how it may moderate the relationship between fear of failure and entrepreneurial intentions. Our cross-level model of 97,012 people from 32 countries demonstrates that individuals in countries with high levels of public social expenditure are less likely to show entrepreneurial intentions because they compare and contrast the safety net provided by social systems versus risk associated with starting a business. In addition, the results show that higher levels of private social spending weaken the negative impact of fear of failure on entrepreneurial intentions.

Attention Modulates Neural Responses to Unpredictable Emotional Faces in Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex.

Unpredictability about upcoming emotional events disrupts our ability to prepare for them and ultimately results in anxiety. Here, we investigated how attention modulates the neural responses to unpredictable emotional events. Brain activity was recorded using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while participants performed a variation of the emotional task. Behaviorally, we reported a fear-unpredictable effect and a happy-unpredictable effect. The fMRI results showed increased activity in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) for unpredictable fear faces (Experiment 1) and decreased activity in the left dlPFC for unpredictable happy faces (Experiment 2) when these faces were unattended, probably reflecting that unpredictability amplifies the negative impact of fear faces and reduces the positive impact of happy faces. More importantly, it was found that the right dlPFC activity to unpredictable fear faces was diminished (Experiment 1) and the left dlPFC activity to unpredictable happy faces was enhanced (Experiment 2) when these faces were attended. These results suggest that attention may contribute to reducing the unpredictability about future emotional events.

Fear, Knowledge, and Efficacy Beliefs Differentially Predict the Frequency of Digital Rectal Examination Versus Prostate Specific Antigen Screening in Ethnically Diverse Samples of Older Men

Emotional and cognitive characteristics have been studied in the context of women's cancer screening but have received scant attention in the study of men's screening behavior. Researchers know little about how such factors interact to predict screening or whether digital rectal examination (DRE) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) screens are predicted by the same characteristics. This study examines the relevance of emotional and cognitive characteristics to DRE and PSA screening among 180 U.S.-born African American, U.S.- born European American, and immigrant Jamaican men. The study identifies the expected effects in which fear is negatively related and efficacy beliefs positively related to DRE and PSA screening. Greater efficacy and (marginally) knowledge appear to "offset" the negative impact of fear on screening, and fear appears particularly relevant to DRE frequency. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the development of health belief and self-regulatory models in the context of prostate cancer screening among minority men.