Ann-Marie Creaven

University of Limerick | UL · Department of Psychology

Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of associations between loneliness, social isolation, and living alone and risk of mortality among individuals with established Cardiovascular Disease (CVD). Methods: Five electronic databases were searched [MEDLINE (Ovid), PsycINFO, EMBASE, PubMed and SCOPUS] from inception to 25th Nove...

Objective: Anxiety is highly prevalent following myocardial infarction (MI) and is linked with adverse effects on a person's recovery, quality of life, physical health, and life expectancy. The primary objective of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of psychological interventions for anxiety following MI. Method: CINAHL, Medl...

In recent years, the scientific community has called for improvements in the credibility, robustness, and reproducibility of research, characterized by higher standards of scientific evidence, increased interest in open practices, and promotion of transparency. While progress has been positive, there is a lack of consideration about how this approa...

Loneliness has been linked to cardiovascular health outcomes in older adulthood. One proposed mechanism by which loneliness influences cardiovascular health is through atypical cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to stress. This study is an examination of loneliness and CVR in older adults, comparing associations across two stressors and two commonly u...

Background This article describes a protocol for a qualitative study to explore experiences and views and experiences of loneliness and social isolation in young adults, in Ireland. Methods A youth Research Advisory Group will be consulted on the development of study materials. Our data collection methods will be guided by participant preferences,...

Background During the COVID-19 pandemic increased risk of poor mental health has been evident across different cultures and contexts. This study aims to examine whether allostatic load (AL) prior to the pandemic was predictive of poor mental health during the pandemic, and if any associations were moderated by neuroticism. Methods Data were extrac...

Introduction: The undergraduate research dissertation in psychology is the capstone demonstration of research skills including project planning and design, considering and resolving ethical issues, and the analysis and dissemination of findings. The dissertation can simultaneously represent an opportunity for learning and an opportunity to contribu...

The pathways linking gratitude to cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to acute stress are not fully understood. We examine whether this association is mediated by social support. Healthy adults (N = 178) completed measures of trait gratitude and perceived social support and participated in a standardised mental arithmetic and speech stress testing prot...

Background Loneliness refers to the distressing feeling that accompanies the experience of perceiving the quantity or quality of one’s social relationships as inadequate (1). There is increasing recognition of the prevalence of loneliness in young adults. Despite this, there is no existing scoping review on loneliness in young adulthood. Young adul...

Background Loneliness refers to the distressing feeling that accompanies the experience of perceiving the quantity or quality of one’s social relationships as inadequate (1). There is increasing recognition of the prevalence of loneliness in young adults. Despite this, there is no existing scoping review on loneliness in young adulthood. Young adul...

While the benefits of social support for physiological health are well established, the underlying pathways by which support can influence cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) are still being elucidated. In the present study, we adapted an attachment framework to further explore the support-CVR link. Specifically, we experimentally tested the effect of...

Parental incarceration (PI) is negatively associated with emotional, educational, and psychological child outcomes. However, few studies explore potential mechanisms through which these outcomes are transmitted or the means by which prosocial outcomes might develop. This study used data from two waves of a population cohort study of children aged 9...

This study tested two hypotheses of associations between dimensions of social connectedness and cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress: (1) high social support predicts diminished cardiovascular responses to stress (i.e., the stress-buffering model of social support), and (2) diminished cardiovascular responses predict lower social participation...

It is well established that stressful life events (e.g., family bereavements or moving to a new country) are damaging to psychological health and well‐being. Indeed, social relationships are often noted as an important factor that can influence well‐being and buffer the negative effects of stress. However, the quality and source of these relationsh...

The present thesis examines the influence of individual differences in emotion regulation style on stress responsivity. Three key methodological refinements were incorporated to help elucidate if individual differences in emotion regulation influences cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to psychological stress. First, a standardised laboratory stress p...

Background. Parental incarceration (PI) is associated with adverse outcomes for children affected. However, research in this area often reports conflicting results with few studies following children across time in non-US populations. Additionally, more research is called for using multi-informant perspectives rather than relying on adult reports o...

Recent research has suggested that diminished, as well as elevated reactivity to acute psychological stress is maladaptive. These differences in stress reactions have been hypothesised to relate to the Big Five personality traits, which are said to be biologically-based and stable across adulthood; however, findings have been inconclusive. This stu...

To understand the influence of social relationships on cardiovascular responses to stress, the present study investigated perceived affectionate support as a mediating variable explaining the association between specific attachment bonds (i.e., mother, father, partner, best friend) and cardiovascular reactivity (CVR). Utilizing a standardized stres...

Unemployment has been associated with poorer health, but few studies have examined the biological mechanisms that confer these health decrements. Further, no studies to date have examined differences across employment groups to consider whether employment (in whatever means) is preferential in terms of health. The present study utilised secondary d...

University poses unique challenges surrounding disclosure for students living with type 1 diabetes, with implications for social support and self-management. Semi-structured interviews with students and peer interviewers living with type 1 diabetes explored university experiences of disclosure and social support. Thematic analysis identified three...

Loneliness is connected to poorer health outcomes with stress reactivity proposed as an underlying mechanism. The present study explored whether the relationship between loneliness and cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) varies across acute psychological stress tasks. Eighty-eight healthy younger adults completed a psychometric measure of loneliness an...

The present study investigated the possible interaction between life events stress and personality in predicting cardiovascular stress responses. Participants (N = 184) completed psychometric measures of life event stress and personality styles and had cardiovascular responses monitored during a standardised stress testing protocol. In adjusted mod...

Physiological reactivity to acute stress has been proposed as a potential biological mechanism by which loneliness may lead to negative health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease. This review was conducted to investigate the association between loneliness and physiological responses to acute stress. A series of electronic databases were systema...

In this study we tested whether drawing and coloring influence cardiovascular recovery and perceived stress following exposure to a stressor. In a mixed experimental design, participants (N = 62) completed an acute stress task before being randomly assigned to one of three brief activities: free-form drawing (full creative control), coloring (limit...

Few studies have investigated the role of disenfranchisement and denial of agency in women’s sexual health. To address this, a cross-sectional study of disenfranchisement, control (general and reproductive control) and health was conducted in Ireland, where abortion is severely restricted. Multiple mediation models (N = 513 women) indicated that ge...

The associations between volunteering and health outcomes are well established. However, little research has identified the unique association between volunteering and health outcomes over and above the contribution of related social connectedness factors, such as social contact, group or organization membership, and social support provision; varia...

The benefits of perceived social support for physical and psychological health are well-established. However, little research has explored associations between perceived social support and cardiovascular reactivity in older adults. This exploratory study recruited a sample of older adults (Mage = 69 years, SD = 5.62) and examined quality and quanti...

Background and Objectives: This study sought to examine the effects of performance feedback and individual differences in self-esteem on cardiovascular habituation to repeat stress exposure. Methods: Sixty-six university students (n = 39 female) completed a self-esteem measure and completed a cardiovascular stress-testing protocol involving repeate...

Loneliness is the distressing feeling accompanying the perception that one's social needs are not being met by one's social relationships. Conceptual models point to a role for cognitive factors in this experience. Because research on determinants of loneliness is sparse, this study investigates associations between individual differences in emotio...

Purpose: Because symptoms are not immediately visible to others, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is often considered an invisible illness. This invisibility can reduce the social support received from network members and adversely affect the quality of life. In the light of this, social support from formal support groups and from medical profes...

Previous research has investigated the endocrinological consequences of unemployment as a likely pathway behind chronic stress and negative health outcomes. Despite these early attempts at delineating the neuroendocrine consequences of the chronic stress experienced by the unemployed, identifying a consistent and stable effect has remained elusive....

This study examined concordance in heart rate (HR) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in a sample of 104 child-maltreating (CM) and nonCM mother-preschooler dyads (208 individuals). In a laboratory setting, mother and child cardiac physiology was simultaneously monitored via ECG in a 5-min resting period. Mothers ranged in age from 20 to 49 yea...

Objectives: Social support is thought to positively influence appraisals of stressors and coping resources, thereby attenuating the harmful effects of stress. Notably, perceived available support (rather than actually received support) is believed to benefit well-being independent of the sense of obligation or threats to self-esteem that receiving...

While perceived social support appears to be associated with buffered cardiovascular reactivity to short-term stressors, its impact on cardiovascular recovery is less clear. This relationship might be affected by trait hostility, with hostile individuals benefiting less from social support. However, despite the possibility that support provision mi...