OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study aims to examine the present state of perceived control, self-management efficacy, and overall quality of life (QoL) in patients with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy, and gain insight into the dynamic trends and factors that influence the quality of life experienced by patients during the course of radiotherapy.
METHODS: Participants completed the Cancer Experience and Efficacy Scale (CEES), Strategies Used by People to Promote Health (SUPPH), and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy- Breast (FACT-B). The data was analyzed using the software SPSS26.0. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and mixed-effects linear models were used to analyze trends in perceived control, self-management efficacy, and QoL at three-time points, as well as factors affecting QoL during radiotherapy.
RESULTS: Perceived control and self-management efficacy were associated with QoL over the course of the radiotherapy. Self-management efficacy (β = 0.30, P < 0.001), presence of chemotherapy (β = 18.33, P = 0.024), and duration of illness (β = 2.25, P = 0.028) had a positive effect on the change in QoL, while time (β =  - 2.95, P < 0.001), cancer experience (β =  - 0.46, P < 0.001), and type of medical insurance (β =  - 2.77, P = 0.021) had the negative effect on the change in QoL.
CONCLUSIONS: The QoL, perceived control, and self-efficacy of patients with breast cancer show dynamic changes during radiotherapy. The higher the self-efficacy, the better the QoL, and the worse the QoL when the sense of disease control is poor. At the same time, more attention should be paid to the QoL of breast cancer radiotherapy patients with a long course of the disease, receiving chemotherapy, and different medical payment methods.

Experience during childbirth is an important predictor of mothers\' later well-being. Using the framework of Self-Determination Theory and, we hypothesized that the degree to which women felt autonomy over their choices during childbirth would be reflected in their later confidence as parents, termed Parental Self-Efficacy (PSE). We assessed PSE as well as depressive symptoms before birth (T1, approximately 36 weeks pregnant) and after birth (T2, approximately 5 weeks postpartum). Perceptions of autonomy during childbirth were measured at T2 using the Perceived Control in Childbirth scale. Using hierarchical linear regression, we found that mothers\' perceived autonomy during childbirth predicted their postpartum PSE, controlling for prenatal PSE, pre- and postnatal depression, number of childbirth interventions, and overall birth satisfaction. These data suggest that care providers\' support for women\'s autonomy in childbirth impacts how women feel about themselves as mothers in the postpartum months.

This prospective study examined the psychosocial adaptation of a community sample of newly resettled Syrian refugees in Canada (N = 235). Specifically, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and perceived control were collected in Arabic at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Two theory-informed, cross-lagged panel models demonstrated that higher baseline depressive symptoms predicted lower perceived self-efficacy and lower perceived control at 1-year follow-up. Similarly, baseline depressive symptoms were concurrently correlated with higher perceived helplessness, lower perceived self-efficacy, and lower perceived control. Secondary regression analyses further demonstrated that baseline depressive symptoms predicted lower perceived social support and higher anxiety symptoms, though neither were assessed at baseline. Empirical results identify a potentially broad, precipitating, and persistent effect of depressive symptoms on Syrian refugees\' psychosocial resources and adaptation post-migration, which is consistent with both the transactional model of stress and coping and the self-efficacy theory of depression, respectively. Clinically, the study results highlight the importance of early screening for depressive symptoms among refugee newcomers within a culturally and trauma-informed, integrated health setting. Furthermore, this study underscores the value and need for theoretically guided longitudinal studies to advance future research on refugee mental health and psychosocial adaptation.

OBJECTIVE: Higher levels of perceived control are important to maintain health. The difference in factors related to perceived control and preventive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic between Japanese and American nursing students remains unknown. This study aimed to compare factors related to perceived control and infection preventive behaviors between the two countries.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study included nursing students attending four universities in Japan and one in the United States. Using Google Forms, the participants answered a survey comprising sociodemographic data, the Perceived Control and Self-Efficacy Scale, the Perceived Health Competence Scale, and a preventive behavior questionnaire. The data were collected from November 2020 to May 2021. Linear and logistic regressions were used to analyze the factors related to perceived control and preventive behaviors, respectively.
RESULTS: Data from 878 students were analyzed. University/campus emerged as a strong predictor for perceived control and preventive behaviors in both countries, with a positive correlation between perceived control and preventive behaviors. Older age, less frequent alcohol consumption, higher perceived health competence, less frequent work in Japan; and chronic conditions in the United States were associated with frequent preventive behaviors. Younger age was correlated with higher perceived control in Japan, while religion and increased workload were potential factors for American students.
CONCLUSIONS: Individual factors were pivotal in Japan, whereas interpersonal factors were more likely related to perceived control in the United States. Additionally, in both countries, policy or organizational factors significantly influenced students\' preventive behaviors.

Healthcare students are more likely to become infected than other university students as they may encounter patients with COVID-19 during clinical training. Vaccination uptake is essential to prevent infection. This study explored factors related to COVID-19 vaccination uptake among healthcare students.
This cross-sectional study conducted online surveys of undergraduate and graduate nursing and healthcare graduate students from four medical universities in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area of Japan. Data were collected from June to August 2022, when the fourth vaccination program was initiated.
Data from 1,169 students were analyzed (response rate = 37.3%). The mean age was 25.1 ± 7.6 years, and most were female (82.3%). Academic majors included nursing (68.0%), medicine (16.3%), dentistry (9.3%), and others (6.4%). Thirty students (2.6%) were not vaccinated, one student (0.1%) had received one vaccination, 997 (85.3%) had received three, and 27 (2.3%) had received four. The major reason for not being vaccinated was insufficient confirmation of its safety (n = 25). Students who had received at least one vaccination (n = 1,139), 965 (84.7%) reported experiencing adverse side effects, the most frequent being pain at the injection site (76.2%), followed by fever (68.3%). In the logistic regression, a greater number of vaccinations (3-4 times) was associated with older age (odds ratio, OR = 1.53), working (OR = 1.67), and more frequent infection-preventive behaviors (OR = 1.05). Significantly fewer students were vaccinated at University B than at University A (OR = 0.46). Additionally, those majoring in subjects other than nursing (OR = 0.28), and students from non-Asian countries (OR = 0.30) were less likely to be vaccinated.
It is necessary to pay attention to and encourage the vaccination of students who engage in low levels of preventive behavior, students who are young, international, or unemployed, and those in non-healthcare professional majors.

Transdiagnostic approaches to psychopathology have postulated that factors related to perceived control are particularly relevant to mental health. Here we focused on a specific perceived control-related construct: metacognitive beliefs about uncontrollability. Evidence suggests that dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs play a role in the activation and maintenance of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and emotional distress. Metacognitive beliefs about the uncontrollability and danger of worry are the most strongly associated with psychopathology. In this multi-study research, we hypothesized that metacognitive beliefs about uncontrollability make a specific contribution to emotion regulation strategies and clinical symptoms. We tested our hypotheses in four different studies, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally (N = 2224). Participants completed measures of metacognitive beliefs, maladaptive strategies (e.g., worry, thought suppression), and clinical symptoms (e.g., generalized anxiety, emotional distress, depressive and anxiety symptoms). Our results showed that uncontrollability beliefs were the strongest variable associated with maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and clinical symptoms (cross-sectionally), and the only ones that predicted them in the long term. We discuss the theoretical and clinical implications of these results in the light of the metacognitive model and control-related theories.

UNASSIGNED: Medication adherence is a multi-faceted construct associated with several positive consequences in people with chronic conditions. However, non-adherence currently represents a major issue in Parkinson\'s, potentially due to low perceptions of control. This study investigated the predictive ability of several aspects of perceived control on adherence in people with Parkinson\'s, while accounting for previously established predictors such as depression and medication variables.
UNASSIGNED: An online cross-sectional survey was carried out with 1210 adults with Parkinson\'s from 15 English-speaking countries. Demographic and clinical questions, as well as measures of depression, aspects of perceived control, and medication adherence were included. Pearson\'s correlations and a 4-block hierarchical regression analysis were performed to assess the relationship between the variables.
UNASSIGNED: Perceived control explained a slightly higher amount of variance in medication adherence compared to medication variables when entered in the last block. Unexpectedly, depression was not significantly related with adherence. Internal locus of control was an independent negative predictor of adherence, while external dimensions of locus of control emerged as independent positive predictors.
UNASSIGNED: In people with Parkinson\'s, perceptions of control may have a larger impact on adherence compared to medication variables. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.Implications for RehabilitationPerceived control and depression are considered important constructs for medication adherence in Parkinson\'s, which in turn is often problematic for affected individuals.The specific predictive value of different aspects of perceived control on medication adherence in Parkinson\'s is currently unclear.This large-scale study found that perceptions of control may have a larger impact on adherence compared to medication variables, while depression was unrelated to it.A need for psychologically-informed interventions, person-centred approaches to medication management, and Parkinson-specific measures of adherence are highlighted.

Social isolation and loneliness are serious public health concerns. Music engagement can strengthen social connections and reduce loneliness in some contexts, although how this occurs is not well understood; research suggests that music\'s capacity to manipulate perceptions of time and space is relevant. This study adopted a qualitative perspective to examine how music engagement shaped the experiences of residents of Victoria, Australia, during conditions of restricted social contact during the lockdowns of 2020. Semi-structured interviews explored participants\' lived musical experiences while giving focus to perceptions of time and space (e.g., how music helped restructure home and workspaces in response to lockdown regulations, or punctuate time where older routines were no longer viable). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the interview transcripts identified five themes representing the key findings: (1) a super-ordinate theme of perceived control, which comprises four themes: (2) dynamic connection; (3) identity; (4) mobility; (5) presence. Each theme describes one generalised aspect of the way music engagement shaped participants\' perceptions of time and space during lockdown and supported their processes of adaptation to and coping with increased social isolation. The authors argue that these findings may inform the way music can be used to address loneliness in everyday life.

Fatigue, a distressing symptom in patients with heart failure (HF), is associated with progress and health outcomes. Fatigue has been identified as having multidimensions, but a few studies have used a multidimensional fatigue scale. Many factors related to HF, including physical, psychological, and situational factors, may impact fatigue. However, there is limited knowledge about how these HF-related factors are associated with multidimensional fatigue in outpatients with HF in Japan. The aim of this study was to identify HF-related factors [physical; clinical characteristics, New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class and physical function, psychological; depressive symptoms and anxiety, situational; health literacy and perceived control] associated with the five dimensions of fatigue in outpatients with HF.
Outpatients with HF (N = 165, mean age = 69.5 years, 78.8% male) completed the survey and physical assessment of gait speed. Fatigue was assessed using five dimensions of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted for each dimension of fatigue. General fatigue was predicted by age, NYHA, and perceived control. Physical fatigue was predicted by NYHA, depressive symptoms, and perceived control. Reduced activity was predicted by NYHA, gait speed, depressive symptoms, communicative health literacy, and critical health literacy. The reduced motivation was predicted by depressive symptoms and perceived control. Mental fatigue was predicted by depressive symptoms.
Different factors were significantly associated with each fatigue dimension. Further research is needed to alleviate fatigue in patients with HF.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are successfully used for stroke rehabilitation, but the training is repetitive and patients can lose the motivation to train. Moreover, controlling the BCI may be difficult, which causes frustration and leads to even worse control. Patients might not adhere to the regimen due to frustration and lack of motivation/engagement. The aim of this study was to implement three performance accommodation mechanisms (PAMs) in an online motor imagery-based BCI to aid people and evaluate their perceived control and frustration. Nineteen healthy participants controlled a fishing game with a BCI in four conditions: (1) no help, (2) augmented success (augmented successful BCI-attempt), (3) mitigated failure (turn unsuccessful BCI-attempt into neutral output), and (4) override input (turn unsuccessful BCI-attempt into successful output). Each condition was followed-up and assessed with Likert-scale questionnaires and a post-experiment interview. Perceived control and frustration were best predicted by the amount of positive feedback the participant received. PAM-help increased perceived control for poor BCI-users but decreased it for good BCI-users. The input override PAM frustrated the users the most, and they differed in how they wanted to be helped. By using PAMs, developers have more freedom to create engaging stroke rehabilitation games.