BMC Psychology最新文献

Background: Attentional bias is a salient manifestation of insomnia. Digital cognitive therapy for insomnia (dCBT-I) has been validated as effective in alleviating this cognitive dysfunction. However, the effect of dCBT-I on attentional bias among Chinese individuals with insomnia remains undiscussed. This research sought to investigate this effect via a pictorial dot-probe task.

Methods: In Study 1, the pattern of attentional bias among poor sleepers (N = 52) and normal sleepers (N = 56) was assessed by the dot-probe task. In study 2, dCBT-I and conventional education were received by the experimental group (N = 42) and control group (N = 25), respectively. The dot-probe tasks and sleep quality assessments were completed at baseline and post-test.

Results: The results of Study 1 indicated that poor sleepers exhibited significant attentional bias, characterized by increased attentional vigilance. Compared to normal sleepers, they showed heightened attentional vigilance toward sleep-related cues. The results of Study 2 showed that both dCBT-I and conventional education led to improvements in PSQI scores. However, only dCBT-I training alleviated attentional vigilance toward sleep-related cues. Additionally, dCBT-I was uniquely effective in reducing feelings of fatigue.

Conclusions: Poor sleepers had a significant attentional bias, marked by heightened vigilance toward sleep-related cues. Digital CBT-I effectively reduced attentional vigilance and fatigue, suggesting that dCBT-I targets the cognitive distortions associated with insomnia.

Trial registration: ChiCTR2100053172 (registered 13/11/2021).

Background: Father involvement, defined in terms of both the quantity and quality of ways in which fathers may be involved, affects the child's development. How specifically father involvement links to emotion regulation during early childhood (0-5 years) is, however, less clear.

Methods: This literature review synthesizes research on the links between father involvement and emotion regulation during early childhood, as well as the measurement methods used to assess them. Ten relevant studies were identified via four databases (up to August 2023).

Results: Results showed no significant direct links, but significant links appeared between high father involvement and more adaptive emotion regulation when moderated by variables related to the assessment of father involvement and emotion regulation, as well as the characteristics of the father and the child.

Conclusions: Future research should continue to use observational measures of father behaviors and child emotion regulation, increase the use of physiological measures of emotion regulation, and consider the influence of maternal and family variables.

The present study adopted a meta-analysis design that incorporated structural equation modeling to explore the relationships between emotional labor (EL), job burnout (JB), and emotional intelligence (EI), and enable model validation. The results revealed that EL and JB were significantly and positively correlated, that EI was significantly and positively correlated with EL, and that EI was significantly and negatively correlated with JB. The SEM parameter estimation values were all positive, reaching the level of significance and meeting the basic fit criteria. The total effect size of EL on JB was 0.289, which was equal to the sum of the direct and indirect effect sizes (0.371-0.082). This result indicated that EL affected JB through EI, validating the presence of a moderating effect. Finally, the results were discussed, and practical suggestions were proposed.

The proliferation of fake news on social media platforms has become a significant concern, influencing public opinion, political decisions, and societal trust. While much research has focused on the technological and algorithmic factors behind the spread of misinformation, less attention has been given to the psychological drivers that contribute to the creation and dissemination of fake news. Cognitive biases, emotional appeals, and social identity motivations are believed to play a crucial role in shaping user behaviour on social media, yet there is limited systematic understanding of how these psychological factors intersect with online information sharing. Existing studies tend to focus on individual aspects of fake news consumption, such as susceptibility to misinformation or partisan biases, leaving a gap in understanding the broader psychological mechanisms behind both the creation and dissemination of fake news. This systematic review aims to fill this gap by synthesizing current research on the psychological factors that influence social media users' involvement in dissemination and creation of fake news. Twenty-three studies were identified from 2014 to 2024 following the PRISMA guidelines. We have identified five themes through critical review and synthesis of the literature which are personal factors, ignorance, social factors, biological process, and cognitive process. These themes help to explain the psychological factors contributing to the creation and dissemination of fake news among social media users. Based on the findings, it is evident that diverse psychological factors influence the dissemination and creation of fake news, which must be studied to design better strategies to minimize this issue.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between internet use, physical activity, social adaptability, and depressive tendencies of college students, and to reveal the "advantages" and "disadvantages" of internet use around the "dose-effect".

Method: The Revised Chinese Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS-R), Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), Chinese College Student Social Adjustment Scale (CCSAS), and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) were used to conduct a random sampling survey among 3008 college students in China.

Results: (1) Internet use could directly and positively predict the depressive tendencies of college students. (2) Physical activity and social adaptability have a significant chain mediating effect between internet use and depressive tendencies. (3) There was a "U-shaped" dose-effect relationship between internet use and depression tendencies, indicating that normal internet use could directly and negatively predict depressive tendencies, and through the chain mediating effect of physical activity and social adaptability negatively predict depressive tendencies. In contrast, internet use dependence and addiction could directly predict depressive tendencies, and through the chain mediating effect of physical activity and social adaptability positively predict it.

Conclusion: Therefore, normal or moderate internet use has potential protective benefits on the physical and mental health of college students and can promote the positive development of physical activity and social adaptability to a certain extent, and prevent or reduce depressive tendencies, otherwise, it is not conducive to the healthy development of related behaviors and psychology.

Background: In this study, we explored the relationship between social isolation, loneliness, and functional impairment in 50-year-old participants, by sex.

Methods: Using longitudinal data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2018 and 2020), 6,524 participants meeting the inclusion criteria were analyzed. A cross-lag model was established to explore the associations between social isolation, loneliness, activities of daily living (ADL), and instrumental ADL (IADL) disability over time, with results stratified by sex.

Results: Social isolation was not significantly associated with ADL and IADL disability, but loneliness was. Autoregressive associations indicated that social isolation, loneliness, and functional disability in 2018 predicted their exacerbations in 2020 (p < 0.001). Cross-lag analysis showed that the time-lagged effect of loneliness on ADL disability was greater in women (β = 0.27) than in men (β = 0.06); the time-lagged effect of ADL disability on loneliness was greater in men (β = 0.16) than in women (β = 0.05). The bidirectional time-lagged effects of loneliness and IADL disability showed opposite patterns between the sexes.

Conclusion: Functional disability in China was significantly associated with loneliness but not with social isolation. Sex differences were observed in the time-lagged effect of loneliness on functional disability. These findings extend our understanding of the association between social relationships and functional disability in non-Western populations.

Background: This study had two main objectives: firstly, to assess the suitability of the Spanish translation of the Young Person's Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation (YP-CORE) for use in Latin America, and secondly, to investigate its psychometric properties specifically with Ecuadorian adolescents.

Methods: The research consisted of two phases. In Phase 1, insights were gathered from 19 adolescents and 12 experts regarding their comprehension of the YP-CORE. Based on the feedback received during this phase, a revised version of the YP-CORE was developed. In Phase 2, a psychometric assessment of this modified version was conducted with 298 adolescents in Ecuador, aged 11 to 17 years.

Results: The psychometric analysis revealed that this adapted version of the YP-CORE demonstrated satisfactory levels of acceptability, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. The factor analysis favored a two-factor model over a single factor, yet the minimal substantive distinctions between these two factors do not justify the use of subscale scoring. Furthermore, the scores indicated age-related differences, with older adolescents (aged 14 to 17 years) obtaining higher scores, and gender-related variations, with females scoring higher.

Conclusions: This study addresses the need for, and provides, a Spanish-adapted YP-CORE tailored for use in Latin America. This freely available version has the potential to offer valuable insights into interventions for adolescents in the region and to enhance our understanding of their psychological distress.

Background: Previous studies had found the effects of stress on eating behaviors. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of perceived stress on dietary quality by sexes in Chinese adults.

Methods: The study population consisted of individuals aged 18 to 59 years participating in the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Perceived stress levels were measured using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), with scores ranging from 0 to 40. Dietary quality was evaluated by Chinese Dietary Guidelines Index (CDGI) ranging 0-110. Using a two-level mixed effects model with community as level 2 and individual as level 1, the study analyzed the impact of PSS-10 scores on CDGI. Additionally, a two-level mixed effects structural equation model was employed to explore the effects of distress factor scores and coping stressor factor scores on dietary quality among different sexes within the population.

Results: This study involved in 2515 males and 3165 females, and the average age was 45.9 ± 9.6.The PSS-10 score and CDGI were 14.6 ± 5.1 and 44.8 ± 11.6, separately. After adjusting for confounders, there were no effects of PSS-10 score, distress factor score, and coping stressors factor score on CDGI in males. After adjusting for confounders, CDGI in the highest tertile of PSS-10 score group was 1.64 lower than that in the lowest tertile group in females(P = 0.001). The distress factor score was not associated with CDGI (standardized β=-0.164, P = 0.488), while the coping with stressors factor score was significantly negative with CDGI (standardized β=-0.834, P < 0.001) in females. CDGI in the highest tertile of coping with stressors factor score group was 4.36 lower than that in the lowest tertile group (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions: There was no association between perceived stress and dietary quality in adult males. The perceived stress, especially the insufficient capacity to cope with stressors, was negatively associated with dietary quality in adult females.

Background: Exposure to pesticides in the living environment can be associated with the prevalence of health symptoms. This study investigates associations between health symptoms among residents in areas with fruit crop fields where pesticides are applied, and psychological perceptions and attitudes about environmental aspects and exposures.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey combined with routine primary care electronic health records (EHR) data was conducted in 2017 in rural areas of the Netherlands with high concentration of fruit crops (n = 3,321, aged ≥ 16 years). Individual exposure to pesticides was estimated using geocoded data on fruit crops around the home. Validated instruments were used to assess symptom report and psychological perceptions and attitudes. Annual prevalence of various health symptoms was derived from EHRs. Multilevel regression models were used to analyze associations between health symptoms (outcome), fruit crops, and multiple psychological perceptions and attitudes (confounders).

Results: Living in the vicinity of fruit crop fields was generally not associated with self-reported symptom duration and general practitioner (GP) registered symptoms. For self-reported symptoms, symptom prevalence decreased when crop density within 250 m and 500 m from the home increased. No associations were found at other distances. Furthermore, higher levels of environmental worries, perceived exposure, and perceived sensitivity to pesticides and attribution of symptoms to environmental exposures were generally associated with a higher number of self-reported symptoms, and longer symptom duration. Symptoms reported to GPs were not associated with psychological perceptions and attitudes, except for perceived sensitivity to pesticides.

Conclusion: Psychological perceptions and attitudes appear to be related to self-reported symptoms, but not to GP-registered symptoms, independent of the actual levels of exposure as measured by the size of the area of crop fields. Perceptions about environmental factors should be taken into account in environmental health risk assessment research when studying health symptoms.

Given the increasing global concerns about aggressive behaviors and the pressing need for effective psychological interventions, this study delves into the potential of a concept deeply rooted in positive and Buddhist psychology but largely researched in Western contexts, as a mitigating factor against aggression in Chinese adults. Through three core studies involving 652 participants (age: 30.52±8.16), our research illuminated the intricate relationship between self-compassion, perceived stress, and aggression. Study 1 identified a negative correlation among these variables, setting the empirical foundation. In Study 2, participants exposed to a self-compassion exercise reported enhanced self-compassion and reduced aggression. Study 3 further consolidated these findings, with participants in the self-compassion writing group, showing notable increases in self-compassion and decreases in aggression compared to a control group. Critically, perceived stress emerged as a significant mediator between self-compassion and aggression, elucidating its central role in this dynamic. Together, our findings underscore the promise of self-compassion as a strategy to curb aggression tendencies, especially in light of its influential relationship with perceived stress, suggesting vital implications for future mental health interventions.