Frontiers in Psychology最新文献

Background: Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is an established approach in medical education, yet variability in teaching quality persists when peer tutors lack structured pedagogical support. This study examined whether integrating a structured formative assessment framework could enhance peer tutors' teaching performance, teaching self-efficacy, and reduce teaching anxiety, as well as improve first-year students' knowledge, academic motivation, and self-efficacy.

Methods: A quasi-experimental, parallel- group study was conducted in three medical universities in Guangdong, China (2024-2025). Final-year medical students (n = 122) served as peer tutors and were allocated to an intervention (n = 61) or control groups (n = 61), each supervising 6-8 first-year students (total first-year students initially = 850; final analytic sample = 820) (intervention n = 411; control n = 409). The intervention integrated validated formative assessment tools-Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX), Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS), and Reflective Teaching Journals-alongside faculty feedback and self-reflection. Data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models (LMM) accounting for student-tutor nesting. False discovery rate (FDR) correction was applied to control for multiple testing.

Results: Significant group × time interactions favored the intervention group across all outcomes. Students taught by intervention-group tutors showed higher post-test knowledge (7.93 ± 0.31 vs. 5.28 ± 1.10; F = 54.9, p < 0.001, η² = 0.18) and greater academic motivation and self-efficacy (both p < 0.001). Peer tutors demonstrated higher teaching self-efficacy (72.48 ± 5.73 vs. 69.13 ± 5.91; F = 22.3, p < 0.001, η² = 0.15) and lower teaching anxiety (2.34 ± 0.33 vs. 2.65 ± 0.39; F = 17.1, p < 0.001, η² = 0.14). Post-test performance measures (PES-TBL, Mini-CEX, DOPS) were consistently higher in the intervention group (all p < 0.001). Qualitative reflections revealed challenges in communication and confidence but documented progressive improvements in interaction and teaching clarity.

Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence that integrating structured formative assessment into peer-assisted learning enhances tutors' instructional competence, strengthens self-efficacy, and reduces teaching anxiety, while simultaneously improving students' motivation and learning outcomes. Embedding formative assessment within PAL may represent a feasible and scalable strategy to improve teaching quality in medical education.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed workplaces, creating opportunities for innovation but also heightening job insecurity (JIN) among employees. This study examines the impact of Co-Skilling dimensions-participation, engagement, peer collaboration, and learning effectiveness (LE)-on mitigating JIN through perceived organizational support (POS), mental wellbeing (MEW), and skill confidence (SC). Using the Social Learning Theory (SLR) and the JD-R model as theoretical underpinnings, the research highlights the moderating role of employee readiness (ER) for AI in shaping these dynamics. A cross-sectional quantitative design with stratified random sampling was employed, involving 437 responses from employees across manufacturing, healthcare, technology, banking, and retail industries in China. Results demonstrate the significant mediating effects of POS, MEW, and SC, with POS emerging as a critical buffer against insecurity. However, nonsignificant findings in certain SC-related pathways and moderation effects of ER underscore the complexity of addressing JIN in technologically dynamic environments. This study contributes to theory by expanding the applications of SLR and the JD-R model and offers practical implications for organizations to design tailored Co-Skilling initiatives. Future research should explore additional contextual and psychological factors to enhance workforce adaptability in AI-integrated workplaces.

Background: Organ transplantation profoundly affects not only patients' physical health but also their psychological, emotional, and social well-being. Psychological interventions may support treatment adherence, emotional adjustment, and quality of life, yet the existing literature remains fragmented and methodologically heterogeneous.

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to examine the available evidence on the effectiveness of psychological interventions in solid organ transplant recipients, with particular attention to outcomes related to anxiety, depression, stress, adherence, and quality of life.

Methods: Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and with the protocol registered on PROSPERO (ID 1165280), a comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Inclusion criteria targeted studies involving adult solid organ transplant recipients receiving validated psychological or psychosocial interventions. Twenty-four studies met the eligibility criteria. Data extraction included demographic characteristics, organ type, psychological outcomes, intervention type, and duration. Relevant data, including quantitative findings and effect sizes where available, were extracted and synthesized.

Results: The included studies revealed a heterogeneous yet coherent body of evidence supporting the relevance of psychological interventions in transplant care. Various approaches-including cognitive-behavioral, psychoeducational, mindfulness-based, expressive, and psychodynamic interventions-were associated, to different extents, with improvements in emotional well-being, adherence, and quality of life. The diversity of designs and outcomes, however, limits direct comparisons and precludes firm conclusions about relative effectiveness.

Conclusion: Psychological interventions represent a key component of comprehensive transplant care, contributing to patients' emotional adjustment, adherence, and overall quality of life. Nonetheless, current evidence is constrained by small sample sizes, methodological heterogeneity, and short follow-ups. Future research should prioritize multicenter and longitudinal studies using standardized psychological and clinical outcomes, in order to strengthen the current evidence base and support the systematic integration of psychological interventions into transplant care.

Systematic review registration: Identifier PROSPERO (ID1165280).

The widespread use of social media among university students has raised concerns about its potentially addictive nature and psychological impact. This study examined usage patterns, indicators of addictive behavior, and dimensions of problematic use among 526 Spanish university students (68.8% female; aged 17-25). Participants completed an ad hoc questionnaire and the Problematic Smartphone and Social Media Use Scales (PSSNUS). The results showed an average of 3.13 h per day spent on social media, with WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok being the most frequently used platforms. More than 75% of the participants reported tolerance, and 43.4% of the total participants experienced a relapse (representing 230 individuals out of the 326 who uninstalled a social media platform). Psychological dependence and loss of productivity were the most affected dimensions (especially among women). Correlational analyses revealed associations between problematic use and time spent on mobile devices, number of platforms used, and TikTok consumption. These findings identify a profile of use consistent with addictive indicators of social media use among college students and highlight the need for targeted prevention strategies and further research.

Objective: Based on the PAD temperament model, this study aims to systematically reveal the influence path of living environment quality in traditional villages on residents' cultural heritage responsibility behaviors, and verify the individual mediating effects and sequential mediating effect of place attachment and pride, so as to provide empirical support for the theoretical system of cultural heritage protection.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 425 residents from 4 traditional villages in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China to collect data. Core variables were measured using mature scales, and the reliability and validity of the scales were tested through a pilot survey (Cronbach's α=0.958) and CFA. SEM was constructed using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 24.0, and the Bootstrap method was adopted to verify the mediating effects.

Results: Living environment quality had no direct significant impact on cultural heritage responsibility behaviors (β = -0.073, p > 0.05), but significantly positively predicted place attachment (β = 0.958, p < 0.001) and pride (β =0.765, p < 0.001). Both place attachment and pride significantly positively influenced cultural heritage responsibility behaviors (β = 0.471, 0.455; both p < 0.001), and place attachment positively predicted pride (β = 0.391, p < 0.001). The mediating effect test showed that the individual mediating effect of place attachment (Estimation=0.451, 95%CI = [0.240,0.687]), the individual mediating effect of pride (Estimation=0.348, 95%CI = [0.179,0.590]), and the sequential mediating effect (Estimation=0.171, 95%CI = [0.073,0.324]) were all significant, forming a complete mediation model.

Conclusion: This study expands the application boundary of the PAD model in the field of cultural heritage protection in traditional villages, and clarifies the sequential mediating mechanism of "living environment quality → place attachment → pride → cultural heritage responsibility behaviors". The research conclusions provide a scientific basis for the protection practice of traditional villages, and can indirectly promote the sustainable inheritance of cultural heritage by optimizing the living environment and cultivating residents' emotional identification.

This paper investigates the identity disruptions and emotional labor experienced by postpartum working and once-working mothers in Chennai, South India, through an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of five in-depth narrative interviews, selected from a broader pool of 62 respondents in the screening test. While postpartum distress is typically conceptualized within a framework of clinical or psychological diagnosis, this research situates maternal suffering in socio cultural and gendered ways that shape women's lived experiences. The five participants included women 25-35 years of age, who provided detailed and raw accounts that illustrated how early motherhood ruptured their self concept, affected their professional aspirations, and resulting emotional incongruence, even when there appeared to be family supports or accommodating workplaces in place. Across the narratives, themes of guilt, role overload, emotional invisibility, and internalized ideals of "perfect motherhood" emerged as dominant. Although some tried to cope by engaging in flexible work or family arrangements, most described ongoing frustrations in managing unequal domestic responsibilities and being displaced from their sense of self. The findings demonstrated how early motherhood when placed in unequal domestic and institutional systems can produce long-lasting identity loss and psychosocial strain. The study urges the need for a culturally relevant reframing of maternal mental health, moving beyond biomedical perspective toward structural awareness and subsequent policy reform. The findings highlight the necessity for reforming policy that not only addresses structural inequities in care giving but to promote maternal mental health as an essential component of public health strategy that aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 3.4, which seeks to improve mental well-being, and supports the World Health Organization's emphasis on integrating perinatal mental health into maternal and child health services.

Introduction: A balanced psychological wellbeing and healthy lifestyle-which includes regular physical activity and the prevention of alcohol and tobacco use-are relevant for neuropsychological functioning. We aimed to analyze the association between adolescent psychological wellbeing, physical activity, and ever having used alcohol and tobacco with neuropsychological principal components (PC).

Method: This cross-sectional research used the baseline data from a sample of 523 healthy adolescents enrolled in the Walnuts Smart Snack Dietary Intervention Trial from Barcelona. We performed principal components analysis (PCA) to determine neuropsychological PC using working memory, fluid intelligence, emotional recognition, risky decision-making and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the relationship between psychological wellbeing, physical activity, and ever used alcohol and tobacco with neuropsychological PC. Regression models were adjusted by child sex, age, maternal education, and socioeconomic status.

Results: Two neuropsychological PC, "ADHD symptoms" and "hot executive function," were identified in PCA analyses (eigenvalues > 1.0). Psychological wellbeing showed an inverse association with the "ADHD symptoms" PC (β₁ = -0.04, CI = -0.07, -0.02, p-value = < 0.001). Ever having consumed alcohol (β₁= 0.26, CI = 0.07, 0.44, p-value = 0.006) and ever having smoked (β₁ = 0.66, CI = 0.42, 0.90, p-value = < 0.001) were positively associated with "ADHD symptoms" PC. Moderate to vigorous physical activity during leisure time was positively associated with the "hot executive functions" PC (β₁ = 0.09, 95% CI = 0.00, 0.17, p-value = 0.041).

Conclusion: Our main results suggest that less psychological wellbeing, as well as ever having used alcohol or tobacco, was associated with "ADHD symptoms" PC. Physical activity might have a direct association with "hot executive functions" PC in a healthy adolescent sample.

Introduction: The attraction effect (AE), or asymmetric dominance effect, occurs when the presence of a clearly inferior decoy increases the choice of a target over a competitor. While robust in value-based domains, findings with perceptual stimuli have been inconsistent, with some studies even reporting reversals in triangular arrangements of stimuli.

Methods: Across four experiments and a reanalysis of prior data, we investigated whether these inconsistencies are attributable to the presence or absence of genuine item-wise dominance asymmetry. We utilized novel star-shaped stimuli and traditional rectangle stimuli to test the dominance asymmetry.

Results: Experiment 1 established that the star-shaped stimuli reliably produced strong target-decoy (TD) dominance over competitor-decoy (CD) dominance, whereas traditional rectangles showed weaker but still positive asymmetry. Experiment 2 provided the first robust demonstration of a positive AE with perceptual stimuli in a triangular layout using stars, while Experiment 3 showed that rectangle stimuli, when presented in a triangular layout, produced an aggregate null rather than a negative effect. Similarly, the reanalysis of data from a previous triplet experiment involving bars stimuli pointed toward a null effect. Experiment 4 again linked inconsistent findings from linear vs. triangular alignment of triplet rectangles to the presence of asymmetric dominance, while also demonstrating an interaction between the differential ease of comparison in pairs and presentation format.

Discussion: Together, these results demonstrate that AE is a robust phenomenon that emerges whenever decoys create strong item-level dominance asymmetry. Apparent inconsistencies with perceptual stimuli reflect stimulus-specific dominance structures. This work clarifies the boundary conditions of the AE, reinforces its domain generality, and provides methodological guidance for future research on context effects in perceptual decision-making.

Social media has transformed how Chinese women present themselves and provided templates for constructing self-identity; female users engage in self-representation by sharing photos, videos, and other content, and they form self-perceptions based on external feedback such as real-time interactions and virtual social engagement. This study employed semi-structured in-depth interviews with 23 Chinese female social media users aged 18-35 (20 of which were included in the final analysis), supplemented by non-participant observation across Little Red Book, Douyin, WeChat, and Weibo to examine platform recommendation logics and visual practices. Application of beautification tools and filters has increased on social media platforms, and the normalization of these technologies further alienates women's aesthetic subjectivity, rendering self-objectification a routine part of everyday practice; this imposes an "imaginary tax," that is, the expenditure of time, money, and effort to conform to dominant beauty ideals, and factors such as occupational background and frequency of social media use play a significant role in reinforcing aesthetic objectification by deepening self-surveillance and comparison among female users. Chinese young women should therefore recognize the disciplinary logic embedded in platform algorithms and visual mechanisms, and reconstruct a healthy model of self-identification based on subjectivity and intrinsic value.

Introduction: This study investigates sex differences in three widely used mental health instruments: the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL)-5, and HSCL-10. The psychometric properties and differential item functioning (DIF) of the instruments were explored using measurement invariance tests and multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) models to more fully inspect potential indicator-level differences that may lead to bias.

Methods: There were two adolescent samples in this study. One sample was in grade 8 (ages range: 13-14; 49% females), and the other was in grade 11 (age range: 16-17; 45% females).

Results: The results indicate (1) a dissimilar contribution of some indicators to their latent construct across sexes or a mean sex difference in indicators that are not captured by the construct, and (2) that several indicators of the instruments might be biased regarding sex.

Discussion: This study contributes to our knowledge of the complexity of sex differences in the measurement of adolescent mental health.