OBJECTIVE This exploratory study examined the role that illness representations and personality play in the various adherence behaviors of adolescents diagnosed with essential hypertension. METHODS The participants were 97 hypertensive adolescents. They completed self-report questionnaires pertaining to (1) demographic and medical data, (2) adherence, (3) illness representations, and (4) pers...

OBJECTIVE Alexithymia and depressive mood have been described as important dimensions of several medical diseases. Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic condition characterized by unpredictable clinical manifestations. The relationships between alexithymia, depression, and illness perception were examined in systemic lupus erythematosus patients. The interrelationships between psychological...

Although decisional incapacity can be caused by various medical conditions, incapacity due to mental illness is often singled out for scrutiny in research ethics policy debates. We assessed whether there is a general discriminatory perception of mental illness research and, if so, aimed to characterize the nature of that perception. We conducted an experimental, randomized Internet survey of th...

BACKGROUND Lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) is a common presentation in primary care, but little is known about associated patients' illness perception and related behaviour. OBJECTIVE To describe illness perceptions and related behaviour in patients with LRTI visiting their general practitioner (GP) and identify differences between European regions and types of health care system. ...