Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
closed access
Mobile applications with a virtual coach providing real-time relapse-prevention support may be useful to aid smoking cessation as they are easily accessible, cost-effective, and can be utilized...Show moreMobile applications with a virtual coach providing real-time relapse-prevention support may be useful to aid smoking cessation as they are easily accessible, cost-effective, and can be utilized directly in situations where the risk of relapse is high. This study aimed to examine the effect of three types of relapse-prevention support on tobacco craving to inform the development of a mobile application with a virtual coach. The three types of support focused on (A) motivation and self-efficacy; (B) one’s future self and implementation intentions; and (C) identity-related positive self-talk. Secondly, the study aimed to explore how physical nicotine dependence related to the effect of relapse-prevention support on tobacco craving. A virtual reality experiment with a within-participant design was conducted where 25 participants intending to quit smoking were immersed in a virtual high-risk-of-smoking environment. The participants had four conversations in a randomized order with a concept version of a virtual coach on a simulated mobile phone: three conversations containing a type of relapse-prevention support and one neutral conversation. Physical nicotine dependence was measured at baseline and craving was measured after each conversation. Participants indicated that they would find it reasonably difficult to refrain from smoking in the VR environment and sense of presence was sufficient. Results indicated that the relapse-prevention support did not decrease craving compared to neutral contact with the coach. Furthermore, no association was found between physical nicotine dependence and effect of relapse-prevention support. These results stress the need for evaluations of effectiveness in order to inform the further development and improvement of the relapse prevention support prior to finalizing a mobile application with a virtual coach.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
closed access
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociative symptoms often co-occur. Yet, the symptom interrelations between PTSD and dissociation have not been disentangled. The timing and type of...Show morePosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociative symptoms often co-occur. Yet, the symptom interrelations between PTSD and dissociation have not been disentangled. The timing and type of traumatic events have been suggested to play crucial roles in the comorbidity between PTSD and dissociative symptoms. Therefore, partial correlations between PTSD, dissociative symptoms, and adverse childhood maltreatment (ACE) were investigated in two regularized partial correlation networks. Online self-report responses from participants (N = 495) of an overarching study on domestic violence were used. Symptoms and maltreatment types were assessed with the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist DSM-5, the Dissociation Experience Scale-II, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form. The first network analysis included nine nodes (four PTSD symptoms, three dissociation symptoms, two assumed confounders). The second analysis additionally considered five ACE types. The network exploration revealed few and weak connections between PTSD and dissociation. Regardless of the bridge strength, absorption/imagination and hyperarousal showed to be hubs linking PTSD and dissociative symptoms. Adding ACE barely changed the bridges between PTSD and dissociative symptoms. Amnesia appeared to be a hub for connecting dissociative symptoms to ACE. Emotional abuse was the only maltreatment type connected to the PTSD symptoms. These preliminary findings suggest that PTSD and dissociation are largely independent constructs and hint towards separate diagnostic entities. The study was limited by the sample’s subclinical symptoms and maltreatment scores. This limitation may also be partly responsible for the poorly connected network. Prospective studies with clinical samples are needed to further investigate the interplay between PTSD, dissociation, and ACE.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
under embargo until 2025-08-31
2025-08-31T00:00:00Z
Background: An innovative approach to improving poor psychological outcomes in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy is via clinician-patient communication strategies such as educating...Show moreBackground: An innovative approach to improving poor psychological outcomes in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy is via clinician-patient communication strategies such as educating patients about the nocebo effect (i.e., nocebo information) and using reassurance of non-abandonment (i.e., clinician-expressed empathy). Research suggests that nocebo information may improve some outcomes in non-cancer settings, but its effectiveness on psychological outcomes in cancer settings remains uncertain. Clinician-expressed empathy has repeatedly been shown to improve short-term psychological outcomes in cancer patients, although the long-term effects require further investigation. Moreover, potential interaction effects between nocebo information and clinician-expressed empathy observed in non-cancer settings warrant exploration in cancer care. Objective: To investigate the distinct and combined effects of nocebo information and clinician-expressed empathy on breast cancer patients’ psychological outcomes (main outcome: state anxiety) over time and at short term when undergoing chemotherapy. Methods: In this 2x2 clinical proof-of-principle randomized controlled trial, female breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy for the first time viewed 1 out of 4 role-played information videos, wherein the levels of nocebo information (present vs. absent) and empathy (present vs. absent) were varied. Using stepwise multilevel analyses and two-way analyses of variance, we investigated the videos’ effects on participants’ psychological outcomes over time and at short term. Results: Among the 19 participants, over time, nocebo information showed trends (p > .05) to improve state anxiety but worsen self-efficacy and distress, and empathy showed trends to worsen state anxiety, self-efficacy, as well as distress. When combined, nocebo information and empathy significantly and largely worsened self-efficacy (β = -3.21; p = .009). At short term, both nocebo information and empathy showed trends (p > .05) to worsen feelings of satisfaction and trust. Conclusion: Although these unexpected and mixed findings are preliminary, they highlight the need to fully understand the potential benefits and risks associated with clinician-patient communication strategies in cancer care.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
open access
Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is a data collection method that utilizes phone apps to gather data in daily life. EMA has many advantages, such as ecological validity. However, data...Show moreEcological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is a data collection method that utilizes phone apps to gather data in daily life. EMA has many advantages, such as ecological validity. However, data collection protocols are often intense, with multiple measurements per day, which can interrupt participants’ everyday activities and place a burden on them. This can reduce compliance. One way to tackle this is to provide participants with personalized data reports as an intrinsic reward. However, current frameworks to generate such reports are focused on single individuals in treatment, and not suitable for large-scale studies. Here we introduce a software to fill this gap, FRED (Feedback Reports on EMA Data), and showcase FRED by generating reports for 428 participants who took part in the WARN-D study. Participants were followed for 85 consecutive days, and received four daily and one weekly survey, resulting in up to 352 observations. We provided feedback to participants in the form of downloadable HTML-files, which were generated using the R programing environment. Reports included descriptive statistics, timeseries visualizations, and network analyses on selected variables. Furthermore, we assessed participants’ perceptions of the created reports (n=54), who judged reports mostly as understandable, insightful, and that reports resonated well with them. Given that FRED is flexible and can be adjusted to the needs of a particular research project, it provides a good basis to generate large numbers of personalized data reports.Show less
