TY - JOUR
T1 - Asthma expectations predict symptoms over time: a longitudinal cohort study
AU - Pagnini, Francesco
AU - Volpato, Eleonora
AU - Poletti, Valentina
AU - Cavalera, Cesare Massimo
AU - Graziano, F
AU - Spina, Francesca
AU - Banfi, P
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Background: Illness expectations are cognitive schemas, both explicit and implicit, describing
how symptoms are expected to be in the future. They can be particularly relevant to
disease in a mind/body framework. Asthma is a condition in which the psychological aspects
can highly influence the body, but no study has directly explored these specific expectations,
and no dedicated assessment tools are available.
Methods: We developed a questionnaire to assess the illness expectations, together with an
ad hoc version of the Implicit Association Test (IAT). We tested its factorial structure, and
the internal and test–retest validity, recruiting a sample of 183 asthmatic people. We also
explored the convergent validity and the correlations with objective and subjective clinical
assessments.
Results: Data suggested a three-factorial structure of the questionnaire into expectations
about future symptoms, change in current health status, and rigidity of these expectations.
The questionnaire showed good psychometric properties and strong associations with the
other considered outcomes, including implicit expectations. The implicit evaluation, however,
lacked test–retest reliability.
Conclusion: The questionnaire is a valid tool to assess illness expectations in people with
asthma. The two expectation scales are highly related, and the implicit expectations are
moderately associated with the explicit ones. The lack of stability related to IAT results may
reflect a lack of stability of the implicit expectations. The implications for the mind/body
framework still need to be fully explored.
AB - Background: Illness expectations are cognitive schemas, both explicit and implicit, describing
how symptoms are expected to be in the future. They can be particularly relevant to
disease in a mind/body framework. Asthma is a condition in which the psychological aspects
can highly influence the body, but no study has directly explored these specific expectations,
and no dedicated assessment tools are available.
Methods: We developed a questionnaire to assess the illness expectations, together with an
ad hoc version of the Implicit Association Test (IAT). We tested its factorial structure, and
the internal and test–retest validity, recruiting a sample of 183 asthmatic people. We also
explored the convergent validity and the correlations with objective and subjective clinical
assessments.
Results: Data suggested a three-factorial structure of the questionnaire into expectations
about future symptoms, change in current health status, and rigidity of these expectations.
The questionnaire showed good psychometric properties and strong associations with the
other considered outcomes, including implicit expectations. The implicit evaluation, however,
lacked test–retest reliability.
Conclusion: The questionnaire is a valid tool to assess illness expectations in people with
asthma. The two expectation scales are highly related, and the implicit expectations are
moderately associated with the explicit ones. The lack of stability related to IAT results may
reflect a lack of stability of the implicit expectations. The implications for the mind/body
framework still need to be fully explored.
KW - illness expectations, mind/body connection, asthma, placebo, nocebo
KW - illness expectations, mind/body connection, asthma, placebo, nocebo
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/236975
U2 - 10.1183/13993003.congress-2022.1616
DO - 10.1183/13993003.congress-2022.1616
M3 - Article
SN - 0903-1936
VL - 60
SP - 1616
EP - 1622
JO - European Respiratory Journal
JF - European Respiratory Journal
ER -