Abstract Despite a decreasing trend in incidence
and mortality, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) st... more Abstract Despite a decreasing trend in incidence and mortality, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) still represent important causes of death and disability in developed countries, significantly affecting individuals’ quality of life and healthcare costs . Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, such as poor diet, lack of physical activity and smoking status, constitute a challenge in contrasting the disease. Alternatively to the medical model, which rely on the traditional approach of information and advicegiving, evidence to date indicate the need of psychological actions able to address patients’ beliefs and concerns about their health status as well as to enhance confidence in their abilities to overcome barriers to adherence and achieve life‐style modifications in the long term. Even if the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee stated that Cognitive‐Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an important component of Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) programs, it does not specifically focus on eliciting patients’ motivation, leading to the development of interventions aimed at enhancing health behavior change and among which Motivational Interviewing (MI) has obtained varying degrees of success. Also, the new mHealth (mobile health) approach could represent an important strategy in order to move motivational psychological support where necessary (outpatient settings), maximizing the results obtained from the CR in a long term among people suffering from CVD and other chronic conditions.
The contemporary individual is immersed in a reality characterized by a rapid sequence of stimuli... more The contemporary individual is immersed in a reality characterized by a rapid sequence of stimuli and actions and he is often unable to fully live the present moment. Several authors in the fi eld of psychology have discussed on the individual's ability to live his own experience in the present moment, each highlighting some peculiar aspects and potential of this concept within their models. The major aim of the present article is to discuss these different psychological perspectives moving from more traditional models such ad Gestalt psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis to contemporary approaches such as Mindfulness-based Cognitive therapy (Kabat-Zinn) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Hayes), and to highlight some points of convergence between such approaches and Chiara Lubich's thought. In fact Lubich investigated the concept of the present moment from a spiritual perspective, drawing on the life experience inspired by the charisma of unity.
Psychological inflexibility refers to the attempt to decrease internal distress even when doing s... more Psychological inflexibility refers to the attempt to decrease internal distress even when doing so is inconsistent with life values, and has been identified as a potential barrier to making and maintaining health behavior changes that are consistent with a heart-healthy lifestyle. Disease-and behavior-specific measures of psychological inflexibility have been developed and utilized in treatment research. However, no specific measure has been created for patients with heart disease. Thus, the CardioVascular Disease Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (CVD-AAQ) was developed. The present study is aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the CVD-AAQ and to explore its association with measures of psychological adjustment and cardiovascular risk factors in an Italian sample of 275 cardiac patients. Exploratory factor analysis showed a structural one-factor solution with satisfactory internal consistency and test–retest reliability.The relation with other measures was in the expected direction with stronger correlations for the theoretically consistent variables, supporting convergent and divergent validity. CVD-AAQ scores were associated with general psychological inflexibility, anxiety and depression and inversely correlated with psychological well-being. Moreover, the results showed that CVD-AAQ scores are associated with two relevant risk factors for cardiac patients, namely low adherence to medication and being overweight. In sum, results suggest that the CVD-AAQ is a reliable and valid measure of heart disease-specific psychological inflexibility with interesting clinical applications for secondary prevention care.
Abstract Despite a decreasing trend in incidence
and mortality, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) st... more Abstract Despite a decreasing trend in incidence and mortality, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) still represent important causes of death and disability in developed countries, significantly affecting individuals’ quality of life and healthcare costs . Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, such as poor diet, lack of physical activity and smoking status, constitute a challenge in contrasting the disease. Alternatively to the medical model, which rely on the traditional approach of information and advicegiving, evidence to date indicate the need of psychological actions able to address patients’ beliefs and concerns about their health status as well as to enhance confidence in their abilities to overcome barriers to adherence and achieve life‐style modifications in the long term. Even if the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee stated that Cognitive‐Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an important component of Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) programs, it does not specifically focus on eliciting patients’ motivation, leading to the development of interventions aimed at enhancing health behavior change and among which Motivational Interviewing (MI) has obtained varying degrees of success. Also, the new mHealth (mobile health) approach could represent an important strategy in order to move motivational psychological support where necessary (outpatient settings), maximizing the results obtained from the CR in a long term among people suffering from CVD and other chronic conditions.
The contemporary individual is immersed in a reality characterized by a rapid sequence of stimuli... more The contemporary individual is immersed in a reality characterized by a rapid sequence of stimuli and actions and he is often unable to fully live the present moment. Several authors in the fi eld of psychology have discussed on the individual's ability to live his own experience in the present moment, each highlighting some peculiar aspects and potential of this concept within their models. The major aim of the present article is to discuss these different psychological perspectives moving from more traditional models such ad Gestalt psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis to contemporary approaches such as Mindfulness-based Cognitive therapy (Kabat-Zinn) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Hayes), and to highlight some points of convergence between such approaches and Chiara Lubich's thought. In fact Lubich investigated the concept of the present moment from a spiritual perspective, drawing on the life experience inspired by the charisma of unity.
Psychological inflexibility refers to the attempt to decrease internal distress even when doing s... more Psychological inflexibility refers to the attempt to decrease internal distress even when doing so is inconsistent with life values, and has been identified as a potential barrier to making and maintaining health behavior changes that are consistent with a heart-healthy lifestyle. Disease-and behavior-specific measures of psychological inflexibility have been developed and utilized in treatment research. However, no specific measure has been created for patients with heart disease. Thus, the CardioVascular Disease Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (CVD-AAQ) was developed. The present study is aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the CVD-AAQ and to explore its association with measures of psychological adjustment and cardiovascular risk factors in an Italian sample of 275 cardiac patients. Exploratory factor analysis showed a structural one-factor solution with satisfactory internal consistency and test–retest reliability.The relation with other measures was in the expected direction with stronger correlations for the theoretically consistent variables, supporting convergent and divergent validity. CVD-AAQ scores were associated with general psychological inflexibility, anxiety and depression and inversely correlated with psychological well-being. Moreover, the results showed that CVD-AAQ scores are associated with two relevant risk factors for cardiac patients, namely low adherence to medication and being overweight. In sum, results suggest that the CVD-AAQ is a reliable and valid measure of heart disease-specific psychological inflexibility with interesting clinical applications for secondary prevention care.
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Papers by Emanuele AM Cappella
and mortality, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) still
represent important causes of death and disability in
developed countries, significantly affecting individuals’
quality of life and healthcare costs . Unhealthy lifestyle
behaviors, such as poor diet, lack of physical activity and
smoking status, constitute a challenge in contrasting the
disease. Alternatively to the medical model, which rely
on the traditional approach of information and advicegiving,
evidence to date indicate the need of
psychological actions able to address patients’ beliefs and
concerns about their health status as well as to enhance
confidence in their abilities to overcome barriers to
adherence and achieve life‐style modifications in the long
term. Even if the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert
Committee stated that Cognitive‐Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
is an important component of Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR)
programs, it does not specifically focus on eliciting patients’
motivation, leading to the development of interventions aimed
at enhancing health behavior change and among which
Motivational Interviewing (MI) has obtained varying degrees
of success. Also, the new mHealth (mobile health) approach
could represent an important strategy in order to move
motivational psychological support where necessary
(outpatient settings), maximizing the results obtained from the
CR in a long term among people suffering from CVD and
other chronic conditions.
and mortality, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) still
represent important causes of death and disability in
developed countries, significantly affecting individuals’
quality of life and healthcare costs . Unhealthy lifestyle
behaviors, such as poor diet, lack of physical activity and
smoking status, constitute a challenge in contrasting the
disease. Alternatively to the medical model, which rely
on the traditional approach of information and advicegiving,
evidence to date indicate the need of
psychological actions able to address patients’ beliefs and
concerns about their health status as well as to enhance
confidence in their abilities to overcome barriers to
adherence and achieve life‐style modifications in the long
term. Even if the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert
Committee stated that Cognitive‐Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
is an important component of Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR)
programs, it does not specifically focus on eliciting patients’
motivation, leading to the development of interventions aimed
at enhancing health behavior change and among which
Motivational Interviewing (MI) has obtained varying degrees
of success. Also, the new mHealth (mobile health) approach
could represent an important strategy in order to move
motivational psychological support where necessary
(outpatient settings), maximizing the results obtained from the
CR in a long term among people suffering from CVD and
other chronic conditions.