Frontiers in Psychology最新文献

Objective: This study aims to explore the interactions between social capital, positive psychological capital, and health-promoting behaviors among elderly residents in nursing homes in the Xiangxi region of China.

Methods: A random cluster sampling method was employed to select elderly individuals from 27 nursing homes in the Xiangxi area. Data were collected using the general information questionnaire, the Social Capital Scale, the Positive Psychological Capital Scale, and the Health-Promoting Behaviors Scale. The mediating role of positive psychological capital between social capital and health-promoting behaviors was analyzed.

Results: A total of 341 questionnaires were collected from 27 nursing homes. The data reveals mean scores of 46.83 ± 10.26 for social capital, 72.48 ± 6.39 for positive psychological capital, and 68.25 ± 10.85 for health-promoting behaviors. Mediation analysis shows that the total effect of social capital on health-promoting behaviors was 0.800 (95% CI: 0.726, 0.873), with a direct effect of 0.478 (95% CI: 0.379, 0.577), accounting for 59.75% of the total effect. The indirect effect, mediated by positive psychological capital, was 0.321 (95% CI: 0.233, 0.409), contributing to 40.13% of the total effect.

Conclusion: Positive psychological capital acts as a mediating variable between social capital and health-promoting behaviors. Future interventions designed to enhance health-promoting behaviors must consider both social and psychological capitals to fully leverage their interplay and further promote healthy aging.

Introduction: In modern football, spatial and temporal pressure significantly influence player performance and tactical outcomes, particularly in youth competitions. This study aims to investigate the spatial pressure differences between Chinese and German U17 elite youth football teams, focusing on the ball-handler's distance to the nearest defender (D).

Methods: Video analysis was conducted to measure D across various match contexts, including scorelines (leading, tied, and trailing), game phases (passing and receiving), pass outcomes (successful and unsuccessful), and pitch zones. Statistical analyses were performed using non-parametric methods to compare the D under different conditions. The Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used to identify significant differences, with post hoc comparisons conducted where necessary.

Results: Results show that the German team consistently maintained greater D than the Chinese team (p < 0.001, d = 0.463), highlighting their superior spatial management and tactical adaptability.

Discussion: Greater D was associated with enhanced offensive flexibility and defensive stability, allowing the German team to create space effectively and maintain structural integrity under pressure. In contrast, the Chinese team's smaller D suggested limitations in spatial utilization and higher defensive engagement risks. These findings underscore the importance of tactical training emphasizing spatial awareness and balanced pressure management, providing valuable insights for youth football development.

How do arguments in public debates regarding same-sex marriage affect young people? The literature has suggested three possible effects. These debates may affect young people, regardless of their sexual identities, due to the fact that young people widely share a set of values pertaining to human rights and equality (H1). These debates may affect sexual minority individuals more strongly than heterosexual individuals because the arguments used in such debates are targeted at sexual minority individuals (H2). Alternatively, these debates may affect positive and negative outcomes in different ways depending on the nature of the arguments (H3). Two experimental studies (N = 92 and N = 411) were conducted in Taiwan with the goal of testing these three hypotheses. The evidence revealed by these studies largely supported the first hypothesis. The effects observed were similar across young people with different sexual identities and various types of outcomes: reading arguments in support of same-sex marriage increased positive emotions (in both studies) and reduced negative emotions (in Study 2) in comparison with a control condition. Further implications regarding young people's responses to social changes are discussed.

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an increasingly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder. However, the number of children who exhibit subthreshold levels of ASD symptoms, significant enough to experience functional and adaptive difficulties, is also substantial. These children require early interventions, similar to those diagnosed with ASD, due to their exhibited adaptive and behavioral challenges. PCIT offers a unique opportunity for children and their parents exhibiting subthreshold ASD to address such challenges through its practices and techniques.

Aim: This study aims to assess the initial result effectiveness of standard PCIT on the adaptive skills and school refusal behaviors of children exhibiting subthreshold ASD, as well as on the levels of parental stress and caregiving burden. The study intends to test these effects and report the outcomes.

Method: This study is a case study, and it involves three children with subthreshold ASD symptoms and their parents. The therapy processes were conducted for approximately 1 year.

Result: Results obtained from this study revealed that PCIT holds promising prospects for improving adaptive and interaction skills, reducing school refusal, and alleviating parental stress and caregiving burden among children exhibiting subthreshold ASD.

Discussion: PCIT is considered a functional approach for children and parents demonstrating subthreshold ASD symptoms, besides interventions addressing diagnosed ASD children. It is suggested that future studies should evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of PCIT through randomized controlled trials in the context of subthreshold ASD.

Background: Integrating mindfulness practices and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) into teacher education can significantly enhance educators' wellbeing, resilience, and effectiveness. However, the cultural specificity of such interventions, particularly in the Chinese educational context, requires careful adaptation and examination.

Objective: This study aims to design, implement, and evaluate a culturally adapted MBSEL curriculum for Chinese pre-service teachers. It investigates the program's effectiveness in improving mindfulness, self-compassion, and life satisfaction, contributing to the literature on integrating mindfulness and SEL in teacher education within a specific cultural setting.

Methods: Employing a quasi-experimental design, the study involved a sample of 41 Chinese pre-service teachers divided into an experimental group (n = 22) and a control group (n = 19). The MBSEL program's impact on participants' mindfulness, self-compassion, and life satisfaction was assessed using pre- and post-intervention measures.

Results: The results of repeated measures analyses of variance indicated significant improvements in mindfulness, self-compassion, and life satisfaction among participants in the experimental group compared to the control group. These outcomes underscore the effectiveness of the culturally adapted MBSEL program in enhancing key aspects of pre-service teachers' wellbeing and professional readiness.

Discussion: The study demonstrates that a culturally adapted MBSEL curriculum effectively enhances mindfulness, self-compassion, and life satisfaction among Chinese pre-service teachers. This emphasizes the necessity of cultural sensitivity in developing mindfulness and SEL interventions for teacher education. Moreover, the success of the MBSEL program suggests its potential for global integration, urging policymakers and educators to prioritize culturally tailored approaches to enhance teacher wellbeing and educational outcomes.

Parents' social comparison is a common phenomenon that occurs in China. It refers to the behavior of parents imagining other people's children as an excellent role model without shortcomings and comparing their own children with them. This behavior may affect their child's mood. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of parents' social comparison on adolescents' self-esteem through the mediating role of upward social comparison, and to explore the moderating role of optimism in upward social comparison and self-esteem. Parents' social comparison questionnaire, upward social comparison questionnaire, self-esteem questionnaire and life orientation questionnaire were distributed through online questionnaires, and 576 valid questionnaires were received. The results of the study found that upward social comparison plays a partial mediating role in the negative impact of parents' social comparison on self-esteem, and optimism plays a moderating role in the impact of upward social comparison on self-esteem. This study illustrates the harmful effects of parents' social comparison on adolescent mental health, but this harm can be mitigated through the teaching of optimism. This study shows that parents' social comparison is not advisable, and attention should be paid to maintaining the optimistic attitude of teenagers to ensure their healthy growth.

Introduction: Notwithstanding the fact that extensive studies focused on exploring generic structures in established disciplines, scant attention has been directed to macrostructures and rhetorical moves in RAs in some emerging disciplines.

Methods: Based on a self-compiled corpus of 50 research articles (RAs) from five top ranking journals in the field of Nanotechnology, we explored the macrostructures and rhetorical moves in RAs in Nanotechnology.

Results: It was found that (i) scientists in Nanotechnology have a propensity to employ a merged [R&D] structure to immediately discuss and contribute new knowledge tentatively in the specific contextualised situation after research results were presented, (ii) Even though RAs in Nanotechnology largely follows IMRD structure by abiding writing conventions in the research world, disciplinary variations were found regarding the rhetorical structures, specifically, scientists in Nanotechnology tend to employ more moves and steps in establishing research niche, detailed description of research methods, suggesting future research, but less moves and steps related to promotional strategies (M3S4, M3S5, M3S6).

Discussion: The research results have significant implications for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instructors to make informed choices by using disciplinary empirical-based decisions to guide novice writers and students at tertiary level to write RAs by following disciplinary conventions of research communities in Nanotechnology so as to avoid overgeneralization.

Introduction: Teaching English pronunciation in an English as a Second Language (ESL) context involves tailored strategies to help learners accurately produce sounds, intonation, and rhythm.

Methods: This study presents an innovative method utilizing advanced technology and algorithms to enhance pronunciation accuracy, fluency, and completeness. The approach employs multi-sensor detection methods for precise data collection, preprocessing techniques such as pre-emphasis, normalization, framing, windowing, and endpoint detection to ensure high-quality speech signals. Feature extraction focuses on key attributes of pronunciation, which are then fused through a feedback neural network for comprehensive evaluation. The experiment involved 100 college students, including 50 male and 50 female students, to test their English pronunciation.

Results: Empirical results demonstrate significant improvements over existing methods. The proposed method achieved a teaching evaluation accuracy of 99.3%, compared to 68.9% and 77.8% for other referenced methods. Additionally, students showed higher levels of fluency, with most achieving a level of 4 or above, whereas traditional methods resulted in lower fluency levels. Spectral feature analysis indicated that the amplitude of speech signals obtained using the proposed method closely matched the original signals, unlike the discrepancies found in previous methods.

Discussion: These findings highlight the effectiveness of the proposed method, showcasing its ability to improve pronunciation accuracy and fluency. The integration of multi-sensor detection and neural network evaluation provides precise results, outperforming traditional approaches.

Introduction: Nostalgia is a complex emotional experience involving fond memories of the past and mild sadness, characterized by positive emotions associated with reflecting on previous events. It can awaken emotional memories of loved ones or significant events, contributing to an increase in positive emotions. An unresolved question regarding nostalgia is whether different channels of nostalgia input exhibit distinct mechanisms.

Methods: This study examined the emotional and neural effects of nostalgia using various sensory channels through behavioral experiments and electroencephalography (EEG) measurements conducted with college students in China. Participants' emotions were elicited using nostalgic and non-nostalgic stimuli presented through three different sensory channels: auditory (sound only), visual (e.g., still images or synchronized lyrics related to music), and audiovisual (a combination of sound and visual elements, such as music videos).

Results: The results demonstrated that nostalgic stimuli elicited significantly higher levels of emotional arousal, pleasure, nostalgia, and dominance compared to non-nostalgic stimuli. At the neural level, nostalgic stimuli enhanced the connection strength, global and local efficiency, and diminished eigenpath length of brain networks in the alpha and gamma bands. Additionally, nostalgia through the auditory channel induced higher activity intensity in the theta and gamma bands and increased brainwave amplitudes in the alpha bands. The audiovisual channel was capable of triggering stronger alpha-wave responses than the visual channel alone.

Discussion: These findings suggest that nostalgia effectively triggers positive emotional states and enhances cognitive processing. The audiovisual channel, in particular, showed advantages in eliciting alpha-wave responses. Further research is needed to explore the potential of nostalgia as an adjunctive therapeutic tool.