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There has been much talk in sociological circles of bodies as 'projects' or 'choices,' but surprisingly little examination of how these projects and choices are experienced. Consumer culture has been described as heralding a new era in body-self relations, but few have explored the experience of body-self relations. Body-self relations emerged as central to understanding in this study of the experience of the body at different ages (20-30, 45-55 and 70+ years), demonstrating the utility of empirical investigations in this area. This paper describes an orientation to the body that was common to the sample of 20 young people (aged 20-30 years) interviewed as part of this study. This orientation informed their health-related behaviours such as diet and exercise, but some participants found it to be problematic. Their voices demonstrate that bodily 'choices' may actually be experienced as irrational and even psychopathological compulsions. This experiential perspective suggests that normality may be continuous with pathology, and that differences are of degree rather than kind. The findings have implications for the treatment and prevention of eating disorders and obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the current study was to test whether behavioural automaticity and intention mediated the effects of past behaviour on a particular type of vigorous physical exercise: bootcamp attendance. A community sample (N = 69) who had previously attended a bootcamp class was recruited from Queensland, Australia. Participants were asked to complete measures of their previous bootcamp attendance, behavioural automaticity, and intention to attend bootcamps (Time 1). One month later (Time 2), participants were asked to report their bootcamp attendance and behavioural automaticity in the previous month. Data were fitted to a Partial Least Squares-SEM model. Past behaviour predicted both intention and behavioural automaticity. However, while behavioural automaticity significantly predicted prospectively measured behaviour and mediated the past-future behaviour relationship, there was no significant relationship between intention and bootcamp attendance. Past behaviour still predicted future behaviour beyond both behavioural automaticity and intention. Current results support dual process and habit theory in that behavioural automaticity accounts for a portion of the residual effect of past behaviour on future behaviour which is not accounted for by intentional processes. The lack of significant effect by intention may also support these theories, as bootcamp classes likely occur in a stable context (e.g., at a prescribed time and in a regular location), encouraging habitual responding over considered decision-making. What is already known about this topic: (1) Engaging in regular physical activity, especially vigorous intensity exercise, provides benefits to health and wellbeing. (2) Extending social cognition theories, dual-process models posit that behaviour is enacted predominately through deliberative or automatic pathways, depending on contextual and situational factors. (3) A common hypothesis in dual process and habit theory is that automaticity is likely to exhibit strong effects when the behaviour occurs in stable contexts. What this topic adds: (1) This research tests the effects of behavioural automaticity and intention on physical activity in a seldom examined yet common type of exercise, bootcamp attendance. (2) Behavioural automaticity mediated the relationship between past behaviour and future bootcamp attendance, but the intention did not predict bootcamp attendance. (3) Given the stable context of bootcamp classes (i.e., at a prescribed time and place), current findings support dual process and habit theory that behaviours more likely to be stable are more likely to be enacted automatically rather than deliberatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin cancer is highly burdensome, but preventable with regular engagement in sun protective behaviors. Despite modest effectiveness of sun-protective behavior promotional efforts thus far, rates of engagement in sun-protective behaviors remain low. More is needed to understand motivation for using sunscreen, wearing sun-protective clothing, and seeking shade. This study tested whether the links of intention and habit strength with behavior differed between sun-protective behaviors. It was hypothesized that sun protective behaviors would be predicted by both habit and intention and that intention-behavior associations would be weaker for people with stronger habits. Participants residing in Queensland, Australia (N = 203; 75.96% female; M age = 37.16 years, SD = 14.67) self-reported their intentions and habit strength about sun-protective behavior for the next 7 days. Participants were followed-up 7 days later to self-report their sun-protective behavior. Multilevel modeling, accounting for nesting of multiple behaviors within-person, revealed that habit moderated the intention strength – behavior association and this moderation effect did not differ as a function of which behavior was being predicted. People with strong or moderate habit strength tended to act in line with their intentions; however, for people with very weak habits (2 SD < M), there was less alignment between their intention and behavior. These findings suggest that habit plays a facilitative role in the implementation of strong sun protective behavior intentions. Interventions should consider how to encourage intention and habit to enhance sun-protective behaviors and reduce the burden of skin cancer from sun exposure. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/08964289.2021.1903380. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence and severity of dysphagia in people treated non-surgically for primary head and neck cancer (HNC) is well documented. However, few studies have looked beyond the physiological impairment to explore the lived experience of dysphagia in the post-treatment period of HNC. The current study adopted a person-centred, qualitative approach to describe the experiences of people living with dysphagia in the months and years following non-surgical treatment for HNC. Using maximum variation sampling, 24 participants who had undergone radiotherapy treatment for HNC were recruited. Individual interviews were conducted to explore the impact of dysphagia on participants' everyday lives. The themes identified included: (1) physical changes related to swallowing; (2) emotions evoked by living with dysphagia; (3) altered perceptions and changes in appreciation of food; and (4) personal and lifestyle impacts. The data revealed the breadth and significance of the impact of dysphagia on the lives of people treated curatively for HNC. Assessment and management in the post-treatment period must be sufficiently holistic to address both the changing physical states and the psychosocial needs of people with dysphagia following HNC. Rehabilitation services which focus only on impairment-based management will fail to fully meet the support needs of this clinical population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study of beliefs statistically predictive of mosquito control behaviours and self protective behaviours with respect to dengue fever management. The study involved 122 students at James Cook University in Cairns, Queensland and used the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a framework. Results show that the HBM can be effective in understanding mosquito control rather than self protective behaviours. Also noted is the importance of optimism reduction in generating perceived threat of dengue fever.

Approximately 10% of the global population is left-handed. Much research has been directed at handedness and health, with reports of left-handers suffering higher rates of numerous health conditions, accidents, injuries and ultimately, significantly reduced lifespans. Most previous research focused on 'well' or general-population samples; no previous investigations of the effects of handedness on injecting drug users' (IDUs) health are known. Aim: To investigate associations between handedness and health outcomes among IDUs-a marginalized population subgroup with significantly worse health than average. Methods: A total of 346 self-identified left- (9.5%) or right-handed current IDUs were recruited in the Australian states of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria in late 2006 and interviewed about their health and behaviour. Findings: Many socio-demographic, health status and injury occurrence variables were evaluated univariately, but only two were significantly associated with handedness. Left-handers were significantly less likely to report recent scarring or bruising, and significantly more likely to report accidentally penetrating an artery; these variables were also significantly and independently associated (negatively and positively, respectively) with handedness in binary logistic regression. Conclusions: The lack of biological plausibility of the aforementioned variables' associations with handedness, and the contradiction in their directions of association, suggest that left-handedness among IDUs is not associated with significantly worse health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]