Behavioral Science Research Research Articles

Sleep Quality Among Informal Caregivers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Sleep is an integral component of health. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep quality among informal caregivers, individuals who provide unpaid care or assistance to family members or friends, assisting older adults is not well understood. Therefore, informal caregivers in the United States providing care for individuals aged 50+ were recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, an online platform for enrolling study participants into social and behavioral science research, to complete an online survey. The sample of informal caregivers (n = 835) was 69% male and 55% non-Hispanic. Multivariable linear regression models were constructed to assess the associations between sleep disturbance scores (SDS) and sleep-related impairment scores (SIS) and caregiving-related measures (hours caregiving/week, length of time spent caregiving, and caregiver burden), demographics, and region of the United States. The analysis determined that Black (β = 2.6, 95% CI [−4.3, −0.9]) and Asian informal caregivers (β = −1.8, 95% CI [−3.4, −0.3]) had lower mean SIS than White caregivers, the referent group. In addition, increasing caregiver burden was associated with increased SDS (β = 0.8, 95% CI [0.6, 1.0]) and SIS (β = 1.3, 95% CI [0.7, 1.6]). In conclusion, higher caregiver burden was associated with higher SIS and SDS, suggesting that informal caregivers' sleep should be assessed, and when needed interventions should be offered.

Behavioural Challenges Associated With Risk-Adapted Cancer Screening.

Cancer screening programmes have a major role in reducing cancer incidence and mortality. Traditional internationally-adopted protocols have been to invite all ‘eligible individuals’ for the same test at the same frequency. However, as highlighted in Cancer Research UK’s 2020 strategic vision, there are opportunities to increase effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, and reduce harms of screening programmes, by making recommendations on the basis of personalised estimates of risk. In some respects, this extends current approaches of providing more intensive levels of care outside screening programmes to individuals at very high risk due to their family history or underlying conditions. However, risk-adapted colorectal cancer screening raises a wide range of questions, not only about how best to change existing programmes but also about the psychological and behavioural effects that these changes might have. Previous studies in other settings provide some important information but remain to be tested and explored further in the context of colorectal screening. Conducting behavioural science research in parallel to clinical research will ensure that risk-adapted screening is understood and accepted by the population that it aims to serve.

Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection

Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection is a primarily full-text journal database published by EBSCO Publishing Inc. for use by mental health practitioners, behavioral science researchers, and students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Holdings include nearly 600 titles of which the vast majority are peer-reviewed and/or full-text. This database is touted for offering 290 full-text journals which are indexed in APA PsycInfo and which have the capability of being linked to results in PsycInfo for subscribing institutions. The EBSCOhost platform is intuitive and user-friendly with a variety of authentication methods and compatible browsers. In comparison to such competitive products as APA PsycArticles and ProQuest Psychology Database, Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection offers sufficient unique content and number of full-text journals indexed in PsycInfo to justify its purchase either in addition to these products or as a standalone database. All three products are cross-searchable with PsycInfo with a subscription. Those institutions seeking more extensive historical content, greater depth of coverage of a range of subjects in the behavioral sciences, access to APA published journals or the specialized Thesaurus of Psychologist Index Terms, or who prefer the ProQuest or APA PsycNet platform may consider PsycArticles and/or Psychology Database as alternative subscription options.

Validity and Reliability: The Functionality of Knowledge Seeking Behaviour and Theory Building

The scientific approach to knowledge generation hinges in the collection of valid and reliable data about the phenomenon being investigated. These quests for knowledge claims not only satisfy the human curiosity in the need to know but also emphasize the systematic application of science in the investigation of social phenomenon. However, the functionality of knowledge seeking behaviour rests on the sustenance of the human quest for valid and reliable knowledge. These knowledge only become meaningful when they stand to explain the purpose, nature, meaning and shortfalls of the human element which is the centre of inquiry in the behavioural science research. Thus, an understanding of this phenomenon gives insightful knowledge into the kind of data to be collected that would aid in theory building which is the tool for explaining the knowledge that researchers anchors their philosophical assumptions upon. And since theory building in the behavioural science domain requires the collection of accurate and reliable data in order to make salient epistemic claims and generalization, researchers need to uncover the phenomenon under investigation and such understanding must be taken into consideration. These considerations would inform researchers on the approach to be adopted. Based on these the paper concluded that researchers need to understand the human ontological nature which gives rise to epistemological consideration because human behavior is unpredictable.

Formulating the direction of a study: Variations across three epistemological traditions in Information Systems

One major purpose of the Introduction of a research text is to announce the direction of the study (DoS). Yet, formulating a DoS can be quite a demanding task for the novice writer. This explains why it is a common topic covered in research manuals and guidebooks of English for research and publication purposes (ERPP), with both offering advice on the use of three generic linguistic resources: the purpose statement, the research question and/or the hypothesis - collectively referred to by Lim (2018) as directional determinants (or the determinants hereafter). The coverage of the trio, however, varies greatly between the two types of literature. research manuals often emphasize the epistemological orientation of an inquiry as a key shaper of the use of the determinants, paying little attention to their textual realizations. In contrast, ERPP guidebooks tend to provide instructions concerning often overly-general linguistic conventions while downplaying how they may be constrained by epistemological considerations. Both lacunae have resulted from a lack of systematic inquiries of the determinants from which empirical insights can be drawn. Addressing these gaps, this paper presents a study that compares the use of the determinants in the Introductions of three types of research articles published in Information Systems: behavioural science research, interpretivist research and design science research. results indicate marked differences in the use of the determinants across the three types of writing in terms of their choices, propositional content and linguistic realizations. Drawing on these observations, the paper also discusses how to instruct novice writers in formulating epistemologically-specific directional determinants.

A 10-Year Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Agenda for ADRD: Reflection on a New National Academies Report

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) was charged with developing a ten-year agenda for research in the behavioral and social sciences that would substantially contribute to reducing the impact of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). The report, expected to be publicly released in June 2021, has been developed by a committee of individuals with expertise across a range of disciplines and fields, including dementia research. The committee was charged with assessing the role of the social and behavioral sciences in reducing the impact of dementia. The committee held several evidence-gathering sessions, reviewed published literature, commissioned several papers, and engaged individuals living with dementia and caregivers as a part of an Advisory Panel to the committee. This presentation will engage attendees in a discussion about the ten-year behavioral and social science research agenda related to dementia produced by this NASEM committee.

Risk perception, decision-making, and risk communication in the time of COVID-19.

After first being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization [WHO], (2020) in March 2020, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread rapidly and in the process altered our very way of life. At the same time, it became increasingly clear that a wide range of new behavioral science research was necessary to understand fully how people comprehend and respond to such an unprecedented and long lasting health threat as COVID-19. One of the primary aims for this Special Issue was to gather and publish that research. The studies contained in this Special Issue, conducted between April 2020 and March 2021, were selected to represent experimental research that is relevant to this unique situation and that also inform and extend existing theory. These studies investigate three broad topics: Risk perception, decision-making under risk, and risk communication in the context of COVID-19. Collectively, they advance our knowledge of risk calibration, health communication interventions, and decisions about behaviors that address risk in the context of a global health threat. Perhaps most importantly they also make a practical contribution to how we approach these issues going forward. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

An introduction to the special issue: From ideas to efficacy in health psychology.

The impetus for the special issue, "From Ideas to Efficacy" was the perceived need to stimulate and support a more vibrant research base that translates basic behavioral and social science research (bBSSR) discoveries to clinical and public health interventions. This special issue presents novel research that advances translational behavioral science, focusing primarily on the early phases of behavioral translation that are not as well recognized as later-phase translational science (e.g., dissemination and implementation research). The special issue includes a series of empirical, conceptual, and methodological papers, and a shining example of translational research that has had important clinical implications for the treatment of obesity and prevention of people with prediabetes from transitioning to Type II diabetes. In this introduction we will first set the context of the special issue and briefly comment on the papers. We end with several ideas in the areas of funding, training and publication of early phase translational behavioral science that can accelerate the process through which new ideas from our deepening understanding of human behavior can be more rapidly and fully brought to bear on the pressing health problems facing our nation and our world. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

A 10‐year behavioral and social sciences research agenda for ADRD: Reflections on a new national academies report

AbstractBackgroundThe National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was charged with developing a ten‐year agenda for research in the behavioral and social sciences that would substantially contribute to reducing the burden of ADRD.MethodThe report was developed by a committee of individuals with expertise across a range of disciplines and fields, including dementia research. The committee was charged with assessing the role of the social and behavioral sciences in reducing the burden of dementia. The committee held several evidence‐gathering sessions, reviewed published literature, commissioned several papers, and engaged individuals living with dementia and caregivers as a part of an Advisory Panel to the committee.ResultThe committee’s report will be published in spring 2021, after undergoing the National Academies' rigorous review process. The report will include conclusions and recommendations about the following topics: (1) research using the methods of behavioral and social sciences on the burden of AD/ADRD on individuals, families, medical and long‐term care systems; (2) challenges associated with AD/ADRD care; (3) intervention development for persons with dementia and their caregivers at different stages of illness; (4) cognitive and AD/ADRD epidemiology; (5) factors affecting AD/ADRD prevention, leveraging basic and translational research on behavioral and social pathways to AD/ADRD and cognitive decline; (6) detection of AD/ADRD‐related change; (7) causes and consequences of AD/ADRD health disparities; and (8) AD/ADRD data infrastructure needs.ConclusionThe report will include conclusions and recommendations to guide behavioral and social science research in the coming decade that could reduce the burden of ADRD.

Basic behavioral science research priorities in minority health and health disparities.

Achieving health equity among disparity populations has been a national, regional, and local priority for several years. Health promotion and disease prevention behaviors play an important role in achieving health equity; the first generation of behavioral science studies in minority health and health disparities have provided important insights about the nature and distribution of risk exposure behaviors in disparity populations. Interventions have also been developed to enhance health promotion and disease prevention behaviors using behavioral counseling, tailored health communications, and interventions that are developed collaboratively with community stakeholders. Although intervention development and evaluation are components of transdisciplinary translational behavior research, discovery science is a critical first step in translational research. Consistent with this, conceptual models and frameworks of minority health and health disparities have evolved to include multilevel determinants that include basic behavioral mechanisms such as stress responses and stress reactivity that have physiological, psychological, and behavioral components that are relevant to minority health and health disparities. This report describes priorities, opportunities, and barriers to conducting transdisciplinary translational behavioral research during the next generation of minority health and health disparities research.

The Dismal State of Federal Funding for Experimental Evaluations of Interventions to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

The threats of climate change to human well-being are well-documented and are growing in number and intensity. Despite the international community investing heavily in technological innovation and policy initiatives to solve the problem, emissions continue to rise. Experts are recognizing that eliminating emissions cannot be achieved without modifying the human behavior of which emissions are a function. However, little attention has been allocated to expanding the use of strategies developed by the behavioral-science community to reduce emissions on large scales. One possible reason is that federal funding has not been arranged to select such research. Therefore, we conducted an analysis of six sources of information about federal funding to fight climate change (the Government Accountability Office, the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, and the Center for Disease Control) and examined the extent to which they are funding behavioral science research to reduce emissions. Our results show an appalling lack of funding for behavioral science research to reduce emissions, especially experimental evaluations of strategies for reducing them. Implications and recommendations for funding of future research are discussed.

Training LEADers to Accelerate Global Mental Health Disparities Research (LEAD) Program: A Research Training Program Protocol.

Background: There is a critical need to address mental health needs across the globe, especially in low and middle-income countries where mental health disparities are pervasive, including among children. The global mental health disparities suggest an imperative for culturally and contextually-congruent mental health services models that expand upon the existing services and interventions for these groups. Rigorous research is a key tool in providing the scientific evidence to inform public policy and practice efforts to effectively address these needs. Yet, there is a limited number of researchers, especially those from diverse backgrounds, who study these issues. In this paper, we describe the “Training LEADers to Accelerate Global Mental Health Disparities Research” (LEAD) program, a research training program funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and focused on global mental health disparities research for early career researchers from under-represented minority groups.Methods: The LEAD program is designed as a two-phase training program for advanced pre-doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty from diverse backgrounds in the U.S., including groups underrepresented in biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social sciences research, interested in global mental health disparities research. Trainees are matched with mentors and participate in an intensive 12-week program.Discussion: The LEAD program seeks to provide a robust platform for the development, implementation and expansion of evidence-based culturally and contextually-congruent interventions and services models addressing global mental health disparities across the life cycle, especially in low-resource communities in the global context. By producing a sustainable network of well-trained investigators from underrepresented backgrounds, LEAD will potentially contribute to the shared lessons and efforts relevant to addressing global mental health disparities and improving care for vulnerable populations in low-resource settings.

Behavioural and social science research opportunities

Behavioural and social science research opportunities

Diabetes Mellitus Type-1 and Psychosocial Intervention to Improve Quality of Life

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is the most common chronic endocrine pathology among children. Data from the Indonesian Pediatric Association (IDAI) states that the incidence of DM in children aged 0-18 years has increased by 700% over a period of 10 years. Treatment includes diet, physical activity, insulin medication, and proper self-control. The necessary changes in habits and lifestyles can lead to psychosocial problems, including anxiety, depression and eating disorders. Subsequently, the child or adolescent and his or her family group may move into new balance characterized by good self-control and adherence to treatment, or deepen individual and group disorders which may reappear, especially in adolescence. The comprehensive treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus requires addressing these aspects through multidisciplinary teams which include medical and psychosocial professionals. This review analyses the main aspects related to the psychosocial impact of diabetes mellitus type 1 among children, adolescents and their families mental. A substantial amount of behavioral science research has demonstrated that psychosocial factors play an integral role in the management of diabetes in both children and adults. Research has also shown how psychosocial therapies that can improve regimen adherence, glycemic control, psychosocial functioning, and quality of life.

Leveraging the synergies between design science and behavioral science research methods

For over two decades, information systems researchers have grappled with defining what constitutes good design science research. With too many older papers simply documenting the development of systems without a clear message of the contribution to science, design science fell out of favor with the information systems discipline. With the emergence of intelligent systems and the re-shaping of knowledge work, substantial effort has recently focused on articulating what constitutes a design science research contribution. In recent years, however, the discussion on the role of behavioral theory and behavioral research in complementing design science research has faded away. In this paper, we argue for a broader view on the synergies of behavioral and design science research with an emphasis on the greater role that behavioral science can take in shaping and validating design science research and motivating future research. We use the INSOLVE program of research as a proof of concept for how this synergistic relationship can be leveraged.

Explaining Predictive Model Performance: An Experimental Study of Data Preparation and Model Choice.

Although confirmatory modeling has dominated much of applied research in medical, business, and behavioral sciences, modeling large data sets with the goal of accurate prediction has become more widely accepted. The current practice for fitting predictive models is guided by heuristic-based modeling frameworks that lead researchers to make a series of often isolated decisions regarding data preparation and cleaning that may result in substandard predictive performance. In this article, we use an experimental design to evaluate the impact of six factors related to data preparation and model selection (techniques for numerical imputation, categorical imputation, encoding, subsampling for unbalanced data, feature selection, and machine learning algorithm) and their interactions on the predictive accuracy of models applied to a large, publicly available heart transplantation database. Our factorial experiment includes 10,800 models evaluated on 5 independent test partitions of the data. Results confirm that some decisions made early in the modeling process interact with later decisions to affect predictive performance; therefore, the current practice of making these decisions independently can negatively affect predictive outcomes. A key result of this case study is to highlight the need for improved rigor in applied predictive research. By using the scientific method to inform predictive modeling, we can work toward a framework for applied predictive modeling and a standard for reproducibility in predictive research.

The behavioral agency model: Revised concepts and implications for operations and supply chain research

ABSTRACTThe COVID 19 crisis and geopolitical ruptures of recent years have highlighted the importance of operations and supply chain management (OSCM) to firms and society. How do OSCM executives make decisions under uncertainty, and how do they balance the competing needs of various stakeholders? The behavioral agency model (BAM), which has been widely used in the management literature, focuses on the executive as the unit of analysis, like the behavioral science research in which it is embedded; by contrast, much of the supply chain risk management research has examined risk at the level of the firm. We review BAM literature and its core constructs, refine its original predictions, identify OSCM executive decision contexts that could take advantage of BAM, and highlight research opportunities using BAM. We aim to provide a platform for further risk research applying BAM in the domain of OSCM executive decision‐making.

The Mid-Atlantic Centers for AIDS Research Consortium: Promoting HIV Science Through Regional Collaboration.

The Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) program was established by the National Institutes of Health in 1988 to catalyze and support high-impact HIV research and to develop the next generation of HIV investigators at academic institutions throughout the United States. In 2014, the Penn CFAR, the Johns Hopkins University CFAR and the District of Columbia CFAR developed a partnership-the Mid-Atlantic CFAR Consortium (MACC)-to promote cross-CFAR scientific collaboration, mentoring, and communication and to address the regional HIV epidemic. Over the past 6 years, the creation of the MACC has resulted in a rich web of interconnectivity, which has fostered scientific collaboration through working groups on the black men who have sex with men (MSM) and Latinx regional HIV epidemics, joint peer-reviewed publications, and successful collaborative grant applications on topics ranging from HIV prevention in young MSM, transgender women, implementation science, and clinical epidemiology; supported developmental activities through the MACC Scholars program, cross-CFAR mentoring, joint symposia, cross-CFAR seminar participation, and keynote speakers; and promoted strategic communication through advisory committees, best practices consultations, and the social and behavioral science research network. The MACC has been highly impactful by promoting HIV science through regional collaboration, supporting a diverse network of scholars across three cities and focusing on the epidemic in underrepresented and marginalized communities. Lessons learned from this consortium may have implications for scientific research centers beyond the field of HIV.

Diabetes Mellitus Type-1 and Psychosocial Intervention to Improve Quality of Life

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is the most common chronic endocrine pathology among children. Data from the Indonesian Pediatric Association (IDAI) states that the incidence of DM in children aged 0-18 years has increased by 700% over a period of 10 years. Treatment includes diet, physical activity, insulin medication, and proper self-control. The necessary changes in habits and lifestyles can lead to psychosocial problems, including anxiety, depression and eating disorders. Subsequently, the child or adolescent and his or her family group may move into new balance characterized by good self-control and adherence to treatment, or deepen individual and group disorders which may reappear, especially in adolescence. The comprehensive treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus requires addressing these aspects through multidisciplinary teams which include medical and psychosocial professionals. This review analyses the main aspects related to the psychosocial impact of diabetes mellitus type 1 among children, adolescents and their families mental. A substantial amount of behavioral science research has demonstrated that psychosocial factors play an integral role in the management of diabetes in both children and adults. Research has also shown how psychosocial therapies that can improve regimen adherence, glycemic control, psychosocial functioning, and quality of life.

Alcohol-related Behavioral Research and its Integration into Primary and Secondary HIV Preventive Interventions: Introduction.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief introduction to and description of the contents of this special issue of AIDS and Behavior. The article begins with a description of the rationale for the special issue and the origin of its compilation. This background information is followed by a brief description of the main articles that are included in the special issue, which is structured by Gaist and Stirrat's [4] definitions of types of behavioral and social science research for HIV-AIDS research. The "bookend" article to this introduction is by Robert Freeman and identifies future directions for research and clinical practice that the special issue articles' content suggests.