The Perseverative Cognition Hypothesis: Testing the Effects of Worry and Rumination on Eating and Alcohol Consumption

在压力文献中，最近的一系列重要研究表明，即使在没有物理压力源的情况下，认知表征本身也足以引起生理压力反应，当时间延长时，已被证明会增加与压力有关的疾病的可能性。这种认知倾向，创造了防腐认知假说，现在已经受到了学术界的关注，导致最近的荟萃分析报告它对身体健康和福祉的显着影响。然而，尽管如此，很少有研究试图对抗持续对健康结果的负面影响，迄今为止还没有人试图开发一种干预措施来帮助这一过程。此外，令人惊讶的是，迄今为止发表的这些研究中，很少有（如果有的话）考虑到行为改变模型中既定人格特征的影响。因此，该项目旨在进行一系列新颖的研究，以揭示将防腐认知与健康行为联系起来的理论基础，同时也考虑到可能缓和行为变化的个性因素。最终，在压力与健康实验室以前的工作基础上，博士旨在开发一种压力管理支持工具，以帮助减少日常防腐认知，推迟认知担忧及其对负面健康结果（过度/不足饮食和饮酒）行为的相应影响。

Within the stress literature, an important string of recent studies have revealed that, even in instances where a physical stressor is absent, the cognitive representation alone can be enough to induce a physiological stress response, which, when prolonged, has been shown to increase the likelihood of stress-related diseases. This cognitive tendency, coined the preservative cognition hypothesis, has now been subject to much academic attention resulting in recent meta-analyses which report it as a significant influence on somatic health and wellbeing. However, despite this, few studies have attempted to combat the negative effects of perseveration on health outcomes and none thus far have attempted to develop an intervention that may aid this process. In addition, it appears surprising that those studies published to date, few, if any, consider the impact of well-established personality traits in behaviour change models. Therefore, the project aims to conduct a series of novel studies to unpick the theoretical underpinnings linking preservative cognition and health behaviours while also accounting for personality factors that may moderate behaviour change. Ultimately, built upon previous work within the Laboratory for Stress and Health, the PhD aims to develop a stress management support tool to help reduce daily preservative cognition and postpone cognitive worry and their corresponding effects on behaviours that have been liked to negative health outcomes (over/under eating & alcohol consumption).