: Mental health professionals are important actors in implementing public mental health policies and in shaping lay representations of mental illness. The research reported in this paper focuses on the social representations of mental illness held by these professionals in Britain and France. In interviews conducted with sixty mental health workers from a range of professional backgrounds the d...

OBJECTIVES The main aims of the present study were to explore the illness representations of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) and investigate the relationship of these beliefs to outcome. Based on Leventhal et al.'s self-regulation model, the commonly accepted generic five-component structure of illness representations including identity, time-line, consequences, cause, and cure/control...

In this study, the relations between illness representations, coping behavior, and adaptive outcomes in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients (N=98) were examined. Following Leventhal's self-regulation model, it was hypothesized that illness representations would be directly related to coping and, via coping, to adaptive outcome. The results showed patients who considered their illness to be ...

Background and Objectives: Due to the high prevalence of breast cancer, as well as the improved survival of the patients affected with this disease, management and adaptation to this disease are very important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of spiritual/religious intervention on the illness perception of women with breast cancer. Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on...

OBJECTIVE There is accumulating evidence to indicate that the illness representations of significant others are important for understanding patients' responses to chronic disease. The aims of the present study were to (a) assess the illness representations of patients with type 2 diabetes and their partners, (b) determine the extent of agreement between patient and partner representations, and ...

OBJECTIVE The eight-item Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) supposedly evaluates cognitive and emotional representations of illness. This study examined the validity and reliability of a traditional Chinese version of the B-IPQ in Hong Kong Chinese breast cancer survivors. METHODS 358 Chinese breast cancer survivors who had recently ended their primary treatment completed this B-I...

Illness representations are cognitive structures that individuals rely on to understand and explain their illnesses and associated symptoms. The Representational Approach (RA) to patient education offers a theoretically based, clinically useful model that can support oncology nurses to develop a shared understanding of patients' illness representations to collaboratively develop highly personal...