Negative Outcome Expectancies Research Articles

Social anxiety and alcohol use: The role of alcohol expectancies about social outcomes

Though social anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorders commonly co-occur, the mechanisms involved in social anxiety and hazardous drinking among college students are not well understood. The current study contributes to the emerging literature on social anxiety and college drinking as the first known study to test how positive (e.g. “I would feel at ease in social situations”) and negative (e.g. “I would make a fool out of myself”) alcohol outcome expectancies (AOE) specific to social situations (social AOE) impact the association between social anxiety and hazardous alcohol use among 718 undergraduates (61% women; Mage = 19.50, SD = 1.45; 85% White). Results supported the mediation, but not the moderation models. There were positive indirect effects of social anxiety through positive social AOE and negative indirect effects of social anxiety through negative social AOE on both hazardous drinking outcomes (i.e. alcohol consumption and alcohol problems). Findings suggest that there could be competing pathways for increasing (positive social AOE) and decreasing (negative AOE) risk for hazardous alcohol use in socially anxious college students.

The Association between Scholastic Measures, Alcohol Outcome Expectancies and Alcohol Use: A Cross-sectional Study in Northern Ireland

Alcohol use among adolescents is associated with both short-term (truancy, illness, trouble with police) and long-term (dependence, unemployment) negative consequences. Moreover, because of its developmental nature, adolescent drinking behaviour is difficult to accurately assess. Individual-level scholastic variables and alcohol outcome expectancies have been found to be associated with drinking behaviours. This study used a cross-sectional design to investigate: the relationship between alcohol use and individual-level scholastic variables, namely academic motivation and academic self-efficacy; and the relationship between alcohol use and alcohol outcome expectancies, while controlling for a wide range of other variables. Participants were post-primary (high) school pupils in the greater Belfast area of Northern Ireland. They completed a range of questionnaires including measures assessing academic self-efficacy, academic motivation, alcohol outcome expectancies, and a composite measure of alcohol use. Results showed that, controlling for the hierarchical nature of the data, socio-demographic variables and other possible confounders, lower reported scores on the individual-level scholastic measures, higher reported scores on positive alcohol outcome expectancies, and lower reported scores on negative alcohol outcome expectancies remained significantly associated with more problematic drinking. Results are discussed in the context of contemporaneous school-related research.

Preschool children's self-reports of fruit and vegetable knowledge, preference, and messages encouraging consumption.

Fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC) is associated with a reduced risk of diabetes, obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Only one third of children aged 4-8years consume the recommended 5 servings a day. Studies involving school-aged children (6-11 years) demonstrate that positive outcome expectancies can mediate FVC. There is a lack of similar studies involving preschool-aged (<5 years) children. The purpose of this study was to assess preschool children's knowledge and preference of fruits and vegetables, messages they recall hearing related to FVC, and how they perceive these messages. Children (N = 192) were individually interviewed with a play-based picture card game followed by a mealtime environment reenactment open-ended interview. Fruit and vegetable messages were operationalized using Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). Descriptive statistics and associations are reported. Each child recalled an average of 2.27 messages associated with FVC. Positive outcome expectancies, negative outcome expectancies, and prompts were most frequently recalled. Statistically significant differences in knowledge, preference, and messages were observed based on income. Children as young as age 4 years understand positive outcome expectancies. Experimental trials are warranted to determine if tailored expectancy messages mediate FVC among preschool children.

Where Does It Begin? Exploring Gender Differences in Student-Athletes’ Perceptions of Entering the Coaching Profession

The current study sought to trace the origin of gender disparity in the coaching landscape from student-athletes’ perceptions, framed through Social Cognitive Career Theory. To examine the cognitive-person variables in line with previous coaching and SCCT research, scales were derived for perceived social supports and barriers, perceptions of positive and negative outcome expectations, and perceived self-efficacy in coaching. Student-athletes were randomly selected online from 23 institutions across three Bowl Championship Series conferences, while data were coded into a MANCOVA. Results indicated male student-athletes reported greater levels for perceived barriers to enter the coaching profession, perceptions of positive outcome expectations, and for coaching self-efficacy than did their female counterparts. These findings suggest that gender differences within the college coaching profession may be, in part, due to perceptions formed before entry.

Children's Food Allergies: Development of the Food Allergy Management and Adaptation Scale.

Develop a measure that evaluates effective pediatric food allergy (FA) management, child and parent FA anxiety, and integration of FA into family life. A semistructured family interview was developed to evaluate FA management using a pilot sample (n = 27). Rating scales evaluated eight dimensions of FA management (FAMComposite), child anxiety, parent anxiety, and overall balanced integration (BI). Families of children with IgE-mediated food allergies (n = 60, child age: 6-12) were recruited for interview and rating scale validation. FAMComposite was correlated with physician ratings for families' food avoidance and reaction response readiness. FA anxiety was correlated with general anxiety measures for children, but not parents. Parents' FA anxiety was correlated with expectations of negative outcomes from FA. Low BI was associated with poor quality of life and negative impact on family functioning. Preliminary analyses support Food Allergy Management and Adaptation Scale validity as a measure of family adaptation to pediatric FA.

Alcohol warning labels formulated as questions change alcohol-related outcome expectancies: A pilot study

Alcohol consumption is a leading risk factor for major diseases, particularly among young adults who increasingly engage in binge drinking. Since positive outcome expectancies play a pivotal role in alcohol consumption, we designed alcohol warning labels tailored toward young adults’ outcome expectancies. The warnings were formulated as questions or as statements that were accompanied by a picture. We implemented the warning labels on young adults’ favorite alcohol beverages (beer and alcopops) and presented them in the laboratory. One-hundred twenty-two young adults participated in the study. One third of the sample received the warning labels in question form, one third in statement form, and the final third received no warning labels. We assessed general outcome expectancies, individual outcome expectancies derived from a pre-study, and drinking intentions. The results of this experiment revealed that warning labels presented as statements had no influence on individual and general outcome expectancies and drinking intentions. Warnings posed in the form of questions showed some effectiveness as they increased individual negative outcome expectancy perception. Although only partially effective, the warning labels seem promising for future research.

Evaluation of the Current Opioid Misuse Measure Among Substance Use Disorder Treatment Patients

The Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM) has demonstrated promising psychometric properties among pain clinic and primary care patients. Given the high prevalence of the nonmedical use of prescription opioids among substance use disorder patients, the COMM may also be useful in substance use disorder treatment settings. The purpose of this study was to assess the factor structure and validity of the COMM in a sample of substance use disorder patients. Participants (n=351) were recruited from a large residential substance use disorder treatment center and completed the COMM and several questionnaires assessing various substance use and health functioning characteristics. Factor analyses yielded a two-factor solution; however, each of the items in the second factor cross-loaded onto the first factor and just one factor was retained. To provide support for this new 11-item COMM, we found that higher scores on this COMM were associated with greater drug use severity, greater endorsement of positive, negative, and pain relief outcome expectancies related to opioid use, increased pain intensity, and decreased physical and mental health functioning. These findings provide initial support for the psychometric properties of this version of the COMM adapted for substance use disorder treatment settings. Given its promising psychometric properties, the 11 items of the COMM to evaluate the nonmedical use of prescription opioids have potential utility among substance use disorder patients. The COMM could be used to examine nonmedical use over the course of treatment and to aid treatment planning. It could also be used in research as an outcome measure.

Cognitive factors related to drug abuse among a sample of Iranian male medical college students.

Backgrounds:Drug abuse is one of the most serious social problems in many countries. College students, particularly at their first year of education, are considered as one of the at risk groups for drug abuse. The present study aimed to determine cognitive factors related to drug abuse among a sample of Iranian male medical college students based on the social cognitive theory (SCT).Method:This cross-sectional study was carried out on 425 Iranian male medical college students who were randomly selected to participate voluntarily in the study. The participants filled out a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed by the SPSS software (ver. 21.0) using bivariate correlations, logistic and linear regression at 95% significant level.Results:Attitude, outcome expectation, outcome expectancies, subjective norms, and self-control were cognitive factors that accounted for 49% of the variation in the outcome measure of the intention to abuse drugs. Logistic regression showed that attitude (OR=1.062), outcome expectancies (OR=1.115), and subjective norms (OR=1.269) were the most influential predictors for drug abuse.Conclusions:The findings suggest that designing and implementation of educational programs may be useful to increase negative attitude, outcome expectancies, and subjective norms towards drug abuse for college students in order to prevent drug abuse.

Pain, anxiety, and negative outcome expectations for activity: do negative psychological profiles differ between the inactive and active?

Adherence to physical activity at ≥150 minutes/week has proven to offer disease management and health-promoting benefits among adults with arthritis. While highly active people seem undaunted by arthritis pain and are differentiated from the moderately active by adherence-related psychological factors, knowledge about inactive individuals is lacking. This knowledge may identify what to change in order to help inactive people begin and maintain physical activity. The present study examined the planned, self-regulated activity of high, moderate, and inactive individuals to determine if differences existed in negative psychological factors. Adults with a medical diagnosis of arthritis completed online measures of physical activity, perceived pain intensity, pain anxiety, and negative disease-related outcome expectations from being active. High active (n = 94), moderately active (n = 77), and inactive (n = 104) groups were identified. A significant multivariate analysis of covariance revealed group differences (P < 0.001). Followup analyses indicated that inactive participants had the most negative psychological profile. Inactive participants reported that negative disease-related outcomes expectancies were more distressing and likely to occur than either group of active participants and expressed greater pain intensity and pain anxiety than the highly active participants (P < 0.05 for all). Identifying differences in negative psychological factors aids in the understanding of differential adherence between activity groups and highlights possible factors to change in future intervention and research.

Promoting responsible drinking? A mass media campaign affects implicit but not explicit alcohol‐related cognitions and attitudes

Rigorous tests are not usually applied to determine whether mass media campaigns that promote responsible drinking are useful, that is whether they lead to responsible drinking or not. In two experiments, we investigated the effectiveness of a mass media campaign that runs in Germany since 2009. This campaign used posters, which emphasized negative alcohol-related outcome expectancies and challenged the positive expectancies. Based on models of alcohol use, we investigated the influence of the campaign on alcohol-related outcome expectancies, implicit and explicit attitudes, and drinking intentions. In Experiment 1, we investigated alcohol-related outcome expectancies via ratings and response latencies among 81 young adult light drinkers. Employing an affective priming task, Experiment 2 was designed to assess implicit attitudes before and after mass media campaign exposure among 83 young adult light drinkers. In both experiments, the effects of the posters were investigated before and after poster exposure as well as compared to a control group. Experiment 1 revealed that the campaign affected only the implicit associations of young adult drinkers, whereas explicit outcome expectancies remained unaffected. Experiment 2 showed that implicit attitudes towards alcohol were turned into more negative ones, but explicit attitudes as well as drinking intentions were not influenced. The mass media campaign was deemed effective even though its influence occurred on an implicit level. This research highlights the need for experimental investigations of mass media campaigns. Reasons that the findings were obtained on an implicit but not on an explicit level are discussed.

Understanding perfectionism and depression in an adult clinical population: Is outcome expectancy relevant to psychological functioning?

Perfectionism is a personality trait defined by high standards of performance, which has been identified as a risk factor for major depressive disorder (MDD). The present study examined if outcome expectancy involved in perfectionism differs for individuals with depression compared to non-depressed controls, and how outcome expectancy relates to depression symptoms. This study included 49 depressed and 42 non-depressed participants. Perfectionism and depression severity were measured via self-report instruments. This study is the first to provide preliminary evidence that outcome expectancies involved in perfectionism may be related to psychological functioning in depression. Individuals with depression demonstrated higher negative and lower positive outcome expectancies associated with perfectionism compared to non-depressed participants. Perfectionism outcome expectancies are also related to depression severity and symptoms. Future research should prospectively investigate relationships of outcome expectancy involved in perfectionism in individuals at risk for depression.

The Habenulo-Raphe Serotonergic Circuit Encodes an Aversive Expectation Value Essential for Adaptive Active Avoidance of Danger

Anticipation of danger at first elicits panic in animals, but later it helps them to avoid the real threat adaptively. In zebrafish, as fish experience more and more danger, neurons in the ventral habenula (vHb) showed tonic increase in the activity to the presented cue and activated serotonergic neurons in the median raphe (MR). This neuronal activity could represent the expectation of a dangerous outcome and be used for comparison with a real outcome when the fish is learning how to escape from a dangerous to a safer environment. Indeed, inhibiting synaptic transmission from vHb to MR impaired adaptive avoidance learning, while panic behavior induced by classical fear conditioning remained intact. Furthermore, artificially triggering this negative outcome expectation signal by optogenetic stimulation of vHb neurons evoked place avoidance behavior. Thus, vHb-MR circuit is essential for representing the level of expected danger and behavioral programming to adaptively avoid potential hazard.

Do positive alcohol expectancies have a critical developmental period in pre-adolescents?

Positive outcome expectancies have been shown to predict initiation of alcohol use in children and to mediate and moderate the relationship between dispositional variables and drinking behavior. Negative outcome expectancies for alcohol appear to weaken as children progress to middle adolescence, but positive expectancies tend to increase during this time. Positive alcohol expectancies have been found to increase in children in third and fourth grades, indicating what some investigators have termed a possible critical period for the development of positive expectancies. In the present study, we assessed alcohol expectancies at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months in 277 second-through sixth-grade students. Children completed the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire-Adolescent. Univariate analyses of covariance were conducted. There were significant main effects for grade on positive alcohol-expectancy change for Global Positive Transformations at 12 and 18 months, Social Behavior Enhancement or Impediment at 6 and 12 months, and Relaxation/Tension Reduction at 6 and 18 months, whereby a consistent pattern emerged in that lower grades did not differ from each other, but they differed significantly from the higher grades. Data support a critical developmental period for positive alcohol expectancies, with the greatest change observed between third and fourth grade and between fourth and fifth grade, and only in those expectancies clearly describing positive outcomes (e.g., Relaxation/Tension Reduction) via positive or negative reinforcement versus those with either combined or ambiguous outcomes (e.g., Social Behavior Enhancement or Impediment).

Canine sense and sensibility: tipping points and response latency variability as an optimism index in a canine judgement bias assessment.

Recent advances in animal welfare science used judgement bias, a type of cognitive bias, as a means to objectively measure an animal's affective state. It is postulated that animals showing heightened expectation of positive outcomes may be categorised optimistic, while those showing heightened expectations of negative outcomes may be considered pessimistic. This study pioneers the use of a portable, automated apparatus to train and test the judgement bias of dogs. Dogs were trained in a discrimination task in which they learned to touch a target after a tone associated with a lactose-free milk reward and abstain from touching the target after a tone associated with water. Their judgement bias was then probed by presenting tones between those learned in the discrimination task and measuring their latency to respond by touching the target. A Cox's Proportional Hazards model was used to analyse censored response latency data. Dog and Cue both had a highly significant effect on latency and risk of touching a target. This indicates that judgement bias both exists in dogs and differs between dogs. Test number also had a significant effect, indicating that dogs were less likely to touch the target over successive tests. Detailed examination of the response latencies revealed tipping points where average latency increased by 100% or more, giving an indication of where dogs began to treat ambiguous cues as predicting more negative outcomes than positive ones. Variability scores were calculated to provide an index of optimism using average latency and standard deviation at cues after the tipping point. The use of a mathematical approach to assessing judgement bias data in animal studies offers a more detailed interpretation than traditional statistical analyses. This study provides proof of concept for the use of an automated apparatus for measuring cognitive bias in dogs.

Alcohol and Marijuana Use in Middle School: Comparing Solitary and Social-Only Users

PurposeMiddle school students with a history of solitary substance use are at elevated risk for substance problems by young adulthood. Understanding how these students differ from social-only users on substance use behaviors and consequences, normative beliefs, social influences, and attitudes can inform efforts to reduce solitary use and its related negative consequences. MethodsSixth- to seventh-grade students completed an in-school survey. We compared those with a history of solitary versus social-only alcohol use (n = 202 and n = 616, respectively) and marijuana use (n = 92 and n = 208, respectively) on a range of substance use–related characteristics. ResultsAny solitary use was reported by 25% of lifetime alcohol users and 31% of lifetime marijuana users. Those with a history of solitary use of either substance were more likely to hold positive expectancies about their use but also reported more negative consequences during the past year. Solitary users tended to have greater exposure to substance-using peers and more difficulty resisting offers to use. Compared with social-only drinkers, those with a history of solitary drinking perceived that more of their peers were alcohol users. Significant group differences were not found on negative outcome expectancies or attempts to cut down on substance use. ConclusionsSolitary use is an important, yet, overlooked problem among middle school students who have just begun drinking or using marijuana. Results suggest that positive expectancies, peer influences, resistance self-efficacy, and normative beliefs may be important areas to target in reducing solitary use and the risk it poses for problematic use in young adulthood.

Depression and anxiety symptoms moderate the relation between negative reinforcement smoking outcome expectancies and nicotine dependence.

Smoking reinforcement expectancies-expectations that smoking modulates mood-can be powerful motivators to smoke, resulting in increased nicotine dependence. The impact of smoking reinforcement expectancies on nicotine dependence may be particularly strong in individuals with increased mood or anxiety symptoms because they may be more likely to act on expectancies with smoking behavior in order to offset their affective symptoms. This study examined levels of emotional symptom dimensions as moderators of the relation between positive and negative smoking reinforcement expectancies and nicotine dependence severity in a community sample. In a cross-sectional design, 317 daily cigarette smokers (215 men) completed self-report measures of smoking reinforcement expectancies, mood and anxiety symptoms, and nicotine dependence. Increasing levels of negative affect and anxiety symptoms strengthened associations between negative reinforcement smoking expectancies and nicotine dependence severity (moderation effects; (βs > .13; ps < .03) but did not moderate relations between positive reinforcement expectancies and dependence. Anhedonia did not moderate relations involving either positive or negative reinforcement smoking expectancies. Distinct components of anxiety and depressive symptoms interact differently with smoking reinforcement expectancies. Emotional symptoms characterized by excesses in aversive (but not deficits in appetitive) functioning may amplify tendencies to compulsively act on negative reinforcement expectancies by smoking. Cessation treatments that target negative reinforcement expectancies may be particularly salient for emotionally distressed smokers.

How important are positive and negative outcome expectancies in the treatment of addiction: a narrative review of the literature

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the substance misuse literature on how outcome expectancies are measured, how they are related with the level of use and other factors as well as their role into treatment and recovery. Design/methodology/approach – A narrative review of the literature for all major substances of abuse was undertaken. Findings – Existing measurement tools are substance specific. Most research has been in the field of alcohol, and involved students or light and moderate drinkers. Positive expectancies have been found to be related to initiation and level of alcohol, nicotine and cannabis use and also to be modifiable with repeated cue exposure. Negative expectancies have been found to be associated with prevention of smoking, positive changes in drinking and positive effect on treatment outcome for alcohol. Research limitations/implications – Both positive and negative outcome expectancies have been found to predict development of substance misuse and recovery from it respectively, but cross-substance comparisons are hindered by lack of appropriate measures. Originality/value – The concept of outcome expectancies is present in several theories of addiction. To date there has been no comprehensive review of the extent to which different types of expectancy play a role in different substances and their treatment.

Posttraumatic stress symptoms and tobacco abstinence effects in a non-clinical sample: evaluating the mediating role of negative affect reduction smoking expectancies.

The relation between posttraumatic stress symptoms and smoking is well documented but poorly understood. The present investigation sought to evaluate the impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms on subjective and behavioral tobacco abstinence effects both directly and indirectly through negative affect reduction smoking outcome expectancies. Participants included 275 (68.7% male; Mage =43.9, 10+ cig/day) adult non-treatment seeking smokers, who attended two counterbalanced laboratory sessions (16 h of smoking deprivation vs ad libitum smoking), during which they completed self-report measures of withdrawal symptoms and mood followed by a smoking lapse task in which they could earn money for delaying smoking and purchase cigarettes to smoke. Results supported a mediational pathway whereby higher baseline symptoms of posttraumatic stress predicted greater endorsement of expectancies that smoking will effectively reduce negative affect, which in turn predicted greater abstinence-provoked exacerbations in nicotine withdrawal symptoms and negative affect. Posttraumatic stress symptoms also predicted number of cigarettes purchased independent of negative affect reduction expectancies, but did not predict delaying smoking for money. Findings highlight tobacco abstinence effects as a putative mechanism underlying posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-smoking comorbidity, indicate an important mediating role of beliefs for smoking-induced negative affect reduction, and shed light on integrated treatment approaches for these two conditions.

The explicit and implicit outcome expectancies of Internet games and their relationships with Internet gaming behaviors among college students

Although previous research has noted that outcome expectancies have played an important role in young people’s risk-taking behaviors, few studies have focused on the characteristics of Internet gaming outcome expectancies and their relationships with college students’ Internet gaming behaviors. This study combined self-report questionnaires and the go/no-go association task in examining the characteristics of the explicit and implicit Internet gaming outcome expectancies of 64 college students and their relationships with Internet gaming behaviors. The results indicated that Internet gaming-addicted college students explicitly reported more negative Internet gaming outcome expectancies than positive Internet outcome expectancies, while they unconsciously associated Internet games with positive and negative outcomes simultaneously in daily life. In contrast, the non-addicted group reported a neutral attribute toward Internet gaming outcome expectancies, while they implicitly associated Internet games more with negative outcomes than with positive outcomes in daily life. Moreover, explicit and implicit outcome expectancies did not exhibit significant correlations. Explicit outcome expectancies were correlated with present levels of addiction and indulgence, whereas implicit outcome expectancies were related to the length of time that an individual maintained Internet gaming behavior. Our findings have clinical implications. The findings can be applied to the diagnosing and intervention of Internet gaming addicts.

Type 2 diabetes: negative thoughts to physical activity

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between negative thoughts and self-reported physical activity in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), after controlling for social support. Physical activity is key to prevention and management of T2DM and its related morbidities. Numerous barriers have been studied in association with failure to adoption or maintenance of physical activity in T2DM (e.g. poor self-efficacy, low motivation). In other chronic diseases, the negative thoughts have shown to modulate the physical activity levels. Negative thoughts hinder the decision to carry out planned physical activity (negative outcome expectations, cons, barriers). A sample of 308 (172M, 136F, mean age 65.24 ± 8.31 years) people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (diabetes duration 9.47 ± 8.21 years) participated in this study. We measured thoughts for avoiding exercise and social support using the Exercise Thoughts Questionnaire and the social scale of Ageing-Well Profile. The results showed an inverse relationship between negative thoughts and self-reported physical activity. Negative thoughts increased significantly with decreasing levels of physical activity. Data suggest that negative thoughts may not only hinder those engaged in regular physical activity and should plan it day-to-day, but also those inactive people who should engage regularly in the physical activity as diabetes therapy.