Frontiers in Psychology最新文献

The image attributes of sports star athletes demonstrate positive effects on sports fans' psychological factors. In the context of golf, fans are also influenced by the players they support, experiencing a range of emotions. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effects of the image attributes of golf star athletes-supported by adult amateur golfers-on the desire for sports participation and the intention to continue. This study involved 356 adult amateur golfers in Korea (253 male, 103 female). Questionnaires were used to measure participants' perceptions of image attributes, their desire for sports participation, and their intention to continue participating in the sport. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, validity and reliability, and multiple regression analyses. First, the image attributes factors (physical appearance, performance ability, and moral image) all had a significant effect on both the desire for sports participation and the intention to continue participating in the sport. However, performance ability did not impact affective desire. Second, while cognitive and behavioral desires significantly influenced the intention to continue participating, affective desire did not have an effect. In conclusion, fans identify diverse athletes' images (e.g., physical appearance, performance, and personality) through attending or watching sports games, and positive sports star image attributes enhance sports fandom, participation desire, and continuation intention. The results of this study indicate a close relationship between golf fans' perceptions of players' image attributes and their psychological factors. These findings could help improve fans' quality of life and provide valuable insights for understanding their fandom.

Introduction: Executive functions are higher cognitive skills involved in planning, organization, decision-making, impulse control, and working memory. It is essential to have tools that allow for the accurate and reliable assessment of this construct in university students. This study aims to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Executive Functions Scale for University Students (UEF-1) in the Cuban population.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in which an online survey was administered to 1,092 Cuban university students representing 14 of the country's 16 provinces. Descriptive analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, and Pearson correlation analyses were used to assess the psychometric properties of the scale.

Results: Significant correlations were obtained between the scale factors, and the original seven-factor structure was confirmed. The scale demonstrated good internal consistency and overall reliability (α = 0.91, ω = 0.91).

Conclusion: The study provided evidence that the UEF-1 is a reliable and valid tool for assessing executive functions in Cuban university students. This measure provides a comprehensive understanding of the cognitive abilities and functioning of Cuban university students, allowing for the identification of specific areas of executive functioning that may benefit from additional support or intervention.

Introduction: Do playful people perceive, approach, and respond to their environment and life events differently than less playful individuals? While playfulness has been theorized to affect how individuals frame or reframe situations, this widely accepted premise lacks theoretical specification and empirical validation. This study examined playfulness as a perceptual lens and its potential broader (re)framing effects spanning cognition, emotion, and behavior in the disruptive pandemic context.

Methods: Two groups with contrasting levels of playfulness (high vs. low as measured by the Adult Playfulness Trait Scale) were derived from a nationwide US adult sample (n = 503) and compared across 19 criterion variables representing diverse perceptual, emotional, and behavioral responses during COVID-19. Sequential analyses including MANOVA, ANOVA, and ANCOVA were performed to examine overall, univariate, and adjusted group differences, respectively, validated by sensitivity analysis across three group categorization methods.

Results: Three sets of contrasting findings evidenced selective playful (re)framing effects, wherein more playful individuals (1) shared similar perceptions of current risk and protective factors while adopting a more optimistic future outlook, (2) perceived similar levels of vulnerability and isolation but engaged in significantly higher levels of resilient coping and adaptive leisure, and (3) participated in similar categories and frequencies of leisure activities but with higher experiential quality, marked by greater immersion, activeness, and positive affect.

Discussion: Playfulness functions as a "color spotlight" rather than "rose-tinted glasses," with selective influence through "lemonading"-creatively imagining and pursuing positive possibilities to cultivate adaptive, enjoyable experiences while maintaining a clear-eyed realism about challenges. This advances a nuanced understanding of playful (re)framing as operating primarily through intrinsic goal-oriented cognitive and behavioral redirecting, underscoring playfulness' potential as an integrative resilience factor, experiential quality amplifier, and character strength for promoting individual flourishing.

Introduction: Although emotional rejection, a core concept of bonding disorders, and pathological anger, which may harm the baby, can coexist, they have different clinical features and require different intervention strategies. Only limited reports have been published on the recurrence and chronicity of emotional rejection. To clarify this, in-depth investigations that utilize structured interviews rather than self-reported questionnaires are required.

Methods: The participant was a 29-year-old woman at the first stage of delivery who had experienced three childbirths with different degrees of bonding disorders. We applied a section named "Mother-infant relationship" within the 6th Stafford interview developed by Brockington, which was used to assess bonding disorders, to report this case systematically. We also used the criteria for disorders of the mother-infant relationship developed alongside the interview.

Results: Bonding disorders were diagnosed for this participant, with the first child as "threatened rejection" and the second and third as "mild disorders" (delayed positive feelings). Each improved with treatment within approximately 1 year; however, rejections recurred at different degrees when the next child was born. She was also diagnosed with pathological anger towards her first child, episodes of postpartum depression, and complaints of insomnia after the birth of all three children.

Conclusion: Emotional rejection, pathological anger towards the baby, and infant-focused anxiety, in this case, should be diagnosed individually and appropriate care should be provided for each. Cases systematically documented using the Stafford Interview should be accumulated to facilitate clinical and research work on bonding disorders.

Introduction: Living alone was reported to be associated with a higher risk of depression. Social support may play a crucial role in mediating this association. However, data are limited.

Methods: Data for wave 5 (2020) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were extracted. Associations between living arrangements and social support or depression were assessed by multivariable logistic regression models. Causal mediation analysis under a counterfactual framework was employed to evaluate the mediation effect of social support in the association between living arrangements and depression, which was performed by fitting two logistic regression models. The mediation effect is measured by the percentage mediated.

Results: A total of 17,418 participants were included in this study, of which 208 (1.2%) lived alone. Compared to participants not living alone, those living alone were associated with a higher risk of low social support (10.6% vs. 3.9%; adjusted OR [aOR], 1.75; 95% CI, 1.10-2.80) and depression (15.4% vs. 7.2%; adjusted OR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.02-2.28). Mediation analyses revealed that 2.7% (95% CI, -1.1% to 6.5%) of the relationship between living arrangements and depression was mediated by social support. Sensitivity analyses by varying definitions of living alone or limiting analysis in the elderly population yielded consistent results.

Conclusions: Low social support did not mediate the association between living status and depression. Tailored strategies for improving living arrangements may needed to improve the mental health of living alone older adults.

Background: Body awareness (BA) and proprioception, which are essential components of the sense of agency (SA), are often altered in various mental disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the relationship between BA, proprioception, and SA, as well as the methods to manipulate them, remain unclear. This study explored using real-time gesture sonification (GS), i.e., wearable technology transforming body movements into sounds, to enhance proprioception, BA, and thus the SA.

Methods: In this within-subjects design, 17 healthy adults (mean age = 25.5 years) with varying dance expertise (novice, amateur, expert) improvised movements to match sounds with and without auditory feedback from motion sensors on wrists/ankles modulated by their gestures. BA, immersion, pleasure, and self-efficacy were measured.

Results: Sonification significantly increased body awareness, reward, and immersion (all p < 0.05).

Conclusion: GS can enhance BA and the SA, pleasure, and control during physical activity. This highlights potential mental health applications, such as agency-based therapies for PTSD. Manipulating bodily perception could improve symptoms and embodiment. Further research should replicate this in clinical populations and explore neurocognitive mechanisms.

Muscle hypertrophy is often a desired goal of resistance training, and strategies that extend training beyond momentary failure may enhance muscular adaptations. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess whether performing additional past-failure partial repetitions beyond momentary failure increased muscle hypertrophy. A total of 23 untrained men completed a 10-week within-participant intervention study. This study comprised two weekly resistance training sessions of four sets of standing Smith machine calf raises. One limb was randomly allocated to the control condition performing sets to momentary failure (PLANTAR_MF), and the other limb was allocated to the test intervention that included additional past-failure partial repetitions in the lengthened position (DORSI_vf). Muscle thickness of the medial gastrocnemius muscle was measured both pre- and post-intervention via ultrasound. Data were analysed within a Bayesian framework using a mixed-effect model with random effects to account for the within-participant design. The average treatment effect (ATE) was measured to assess any difference in condition and inferences made based on the ATE posterior distribution and associated Bayes Factor (BF). The main findings were that the PLANTAR_MF and DORSI_VF legs increased medial gastrocnemius hypertrophy by 6.7 and +9.6%, respectively. The results identified an ATE favouring the inclusion of additional partial repetitions (0.62 [95%CrI: 0.21-1.0 mm; p(>0) = 0.998]) with 'strong' evidence (BF = 13.3) supporting a priori hypothesis. Therefore, when the goal is to train for maximum gastrocnemius hypertrophy over a relatively short time period, we suggest performing sets beyond momentary failure as a likely superior option.

In the Department of Neuroscience in Clinical Neurological unit of our hospital, between 2020 and 2024, 58 adult patients were diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND). Out of these, 42 patients agreed to participate in a structured intervention consisting of 10 sessions of psychotherapy. This study aimed to investigate the demographic and clinical characteristics of the patient cohort, examine their reported symptoms, and evaluate the effectiveness and adherence to the psychotherapy program. The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) were administered to assess the affective states of the patients, while the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP-200) was used to evaluate their main personality style. A central objective of the research was to explore patterns or correlations between self-reported data from the patients and the evaluations completed by their therapists. This comparison sought to identify any alignment or discrepancies in the perception of symptoms and therapeutic progress, as measured by both the ANPS and SWAP-200 scales. The study's preliminary findings are reported to provide valuable insights into the impact of psychotherapeutic interventions for FND, including an understanding of the degree to which patient self-reports correspond with clinical assessments. These results will inform the optimization of treatment strategies and enhance patient outcomes by integrating patient feedback with clinical evaluations. The research contributes to the broader knowledge of FND management, emphasizing the importance of aligning patient and therapist perspectives in the therapeutic process.

Monoamine oxidase (MAO) is an enzyme in the brain responsible for breaking down neurotransmitters. MAO levels can be measured in humans by collecting blood platelets. Low platelet MAO levels in healthy individuals are associated with personality differences, such as increases in sensation seeking. In this meta-analysis, we investigated the association between low platelet MAO activity and sensation seeking behavior, as measured by Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS). To identify studies to include in this meta-analysis, a preliminary database was produced by searching PsycInfo, Medline, PubMed, ProQuest, and ScienceDirect, from the time period of January 01, 1970 through August 01, 2022. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed for study inclusion. Fourteen studies with a total of 24 correlations and 1,470 participants were included in the analyses. Across 24 independent effect sizes, the correlations ranged from -0.74 to 0.40. The Random Effects Model (REM) yielded a weighted average correlation of -0.22 (95% CI = -0.31, -0.13), indicating an inverse relationship where lower levels of MAO tend to be associated with higher levels of SSS. A subgroup analysis was used to examine the effects of gender. The REM yielded a weighted average correlation of -0.22 (95% CI = -0.33, -0.10) for the effect sizes of males, -0.22 (95% CI = -0.47, 0.06) for the effect sizes of females, and -0.23 (95% CI = -0.38, -0.06) for the effect sizes that included both males and females. The subgroup analysis did not reveal differences between males and females on the association between human blood platelet MAO levels and SSS. Our hypothesis that there is a negative association between MAO levels and SSS was supported. These findings have potential clinical implications suggesting that MAO platelet concentrations could be used as a potential biomarker for identifying maladaptive behaviors.

In the latest autism observation, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more frequently diagnosed in males than in females. Efforts have been made in recent years to detect specific clinical patterns in females, improving their detection and diagnosis. Despite advancements, there are still challenges in detecting ASD in females. This preliminary study explores whether the age at the time of diagnosis of ASD in females is related to a higher severity index compared to male participants. A total of 202 participants (52 females; M = 5.51) in Spain underwent ADOS-2 assessment for ASD clinical severity. The results indicate a significant inverse association between the severity index and the age of diagnosis, which was independent of sex. Despite this, the present results revealed that the age at diagnosis was higher in females compared to males. Further analyses also revealed a tendency toward higher severity levels in females. Factors contributing to this difference in the age of diagnosis of ASD between females and males are discussed concerning the presumed differential characteristics of ASD in females.