BMC Psychology最新文献

Seasonal influenza is still a challenge in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). There is consensus that the most effective way to address this problem is through yearly vaccination campaigns. Despite governmental efforts to make the influenza vaccine available, there remains some hesitancy among the population. Previous research has focused on the conspiratorial and disinformation aspects of vaccine hesitancy. In this article, we posit that, apart from those factors, moral psychology considerations also play a role in determining whether people accept the influenza vaccine. University students in the UAE were assessed in their knowledge of how vaccines work. They were also assessed in their level of adherence to utilitarian moral psychology. Results came out showing that while vaccine knowledge plays a role in the decision to receive the seasonal influenza shot, impartial beneficence (as a dimension of utilitarian psychology) plays a greater role. This has implications for moral education, communication and public policy in the UAE, as an introduction to utilitarian principles may serve the purpose of curbing vaccine hesitancy in the nation.

Reducing loneliness and enhancing subjective well-being are key topics in psychological research. However, few studies have explored the impact of cultural factors on loneliness and subjective well-being from a cultural perspective. Moreover, there has been few research examining the underlying mechanisms through which sociocultural factors influence individual loneliness and well-being. This study aims to explore the influence of a personality trait rooted in Chinese Confucian culture-Junzi personality-on subjective well-being among Chinese, specifically examining the mediating roles of self-reflection and self-control. A sample of 693 Chinese college students were surveyed on their Junzi personality, self-reflection, self-control, loneliness, and subjective well-being in three stages over 6 months. Correlation analysis and a multiple mediation model were conducted using SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 23.0. Results revealed that Junzi personality positively predicted subjective well-being and negatively predicted loneliness. Additionally, self-reflection, self-control, and loneliness sequentially mediated the effect of Junzi personality on subjective well-being. This study highlights the significant role of cognitive factors in the process through which sociocultural factors influence well-being.

Background: Problematic smartphone use is a prevalent issue addressed in this study. The research delves into factors associated with problematic smartphone use, employing the self-determination theory. Specifically, the study analyzes the relationship between parental psychological control and problematic smartphone use and investigates psychological reactance as a mediating factor. Moreover, psychological resilience is considered a moderating factor in the relationship between parental psychological control and problematic smartphone use, based on the diathesis-stress model and cognitive model of resilience.

Methods: A total of 1300 (M = 14.22, SD = 1.29) Chinese adolescents were surveyed in a cross-sectional study. They completed self-report questionnaires including the Parental Psychological Control Questionnaire, the Smartphone Addiction Scale, the Psychological Resistance Scale, and the Adolescent Resilience Scale. A moderated mediation model was examined to test predictions.

Results: Correlation analysis reveals a positive correlation between parental psychological control, psychological reactance, and problematic smartphone use, and a negative correlation with psychological resilience. Moderation mediation analysis demonstrates that psychological resilience diminishes the direct association between parental psychological control, psychological reactance, and problematic smartphone use, thereby mitigating their relationship.

Conclusions: The findings support the moderation mediation model, indicating that psychological resilience plays a crucial role in safeguarding adolescents from the adverse effects of problematic smartphone use induced by parental psychological control.

Parental adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may represent a risk for offspring school readiness. Previous studies suggested that children's psychological resilience may mediate between the intergenerational transmission of parental ACEs and offspring school readiness. Using structural equation modeling, our study aimed to explore the role of psychological resilience in the association between parental ACEs and preschool readiness. A sample of 711 Chinese parents of preschool children aged three (53.3% boys) and their kindergarten teachers participated in this research. Parents reported their ACEs and their children's psychological resilience, whereas teachers reported children's preschool readiness. Parental ACEs directly affect children's social competence, learning disposition, and classroom rules. Psychological resilience mediated the pathways from parental ACEs to self-care abilities, emotional maturity, cognitive and communicative skills, and social competence learning dispositions. This study highlights the importance of parental ACEs and psychological resilience in preschool readiness. Specific interventions related to children's psychological resilience should help break the intergenerational cycle of ACEs in preschool readiness.

Understanding the factors that determine teachers' organizational commitment and job satisfaction is fundamental in the education sector, since these two constructs are directly related to teacher effectiveness and the quality of education. Despite their importance, there is little research on these constructs in Latin America in general, and specifically in the Ecuadorian educational system. The objective of this work is thus to identify the extrinsic and intrinsic factors that influence the organizational commitment and job satisfaction of teachers in Ecuador, and to establish whether there is any relationship between organizational commitment and job satisfaction. To that end, an exploratory theoretical model based on the aforementioned variables is developed and tested on a sample of 6,316 Ecuadorian teachers, using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques with partial least squares (PLS). The results reveal a significant relationship between both extrinsic and intrinsic factors and job satisfaction, as well as between these factors and organizational commitment. Furthermore, both extrinsic and intrinsic factors indirectly influence job satisfaction through organizational commitment. These findings underscore the importance of considering both external and internal aspects of work in efforts to promote job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

With the rapid development of social media, astrology-related virtual communities have gained significant popularity in China. However, the mechanisms behind the formation of astrological addiction behaviors within virtual communities remain largely unexplored. This study, based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theory, investigates how community environmental characteristics and user traits influence astrological addiction through the mediation of blogger trust. The results show that both community atmosphere (CA) and community expertise (PK) significantly influence constellation infatuation (CI) through the mediation of blogger trust (BT). Specifically, community atmosphere and community expertise positively affect constellation infatuation through blogger trust, supporting the proposed hypotheses. However, online participation (NI) does not have a significant indirect effect on constellation infatuation via blogger trust. The findings suggest that blogger trust plays a critical role in shaping astrological addiction behaviors within virtual communities. This study offers theoretical insights into community management and contributes to understanding the dynamics of addictive behaviors in online environments.

Introduction: Adolescence is the period in which individual and social identity, including self-esteem and body image perception, is consolidated. During the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns were ordered, and adolescents experienced an abrupt disruption in their lives. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (pre- or postpandemic period) on self-esteem and body image.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study of Spanish adolescents was conducted between 2016 and 2023. Participants were categorized according to the COVID-19 period (pre- or postpandemic period). The Rosenberg Questionnaire and Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) were administered to evaluate self-esteem and satisfaction with body image.

Results: A total of 627 adolescents were analysed. Of these adolescents, 297 (47.3%) were included in the postpandemic group. In both girls (32.75 ± 5.23 vs. 28.19 ± 6.59; p < 0.001) and boys (33.53 ± 4.08 vs. 32.18 ± 4.87; p = 0.005), significant differences in the Rosenberg Questionnaire and BSQ scores were observed between the prepandemic group and the postpandemic group. Adolescents in the postpandemic group (adjusted OR [aOR]: 5.24; 95% CI: 2.61-10.51; p < 0.001) had a greater risk of low self-esteem. Both good and regular-poor self-perceived health were significantly associated with female sex. Moreover, adolescents in the postpandemic group (aOR: 3.06; 95% CI: 1.94-4.82; P < 0.001) and female adolescents with self-perceived good and fair-poor health had an increased risk of mild self-esteem. Additionally, the postpandemic period (aOR: 5.42 95% CI: 2.96-9.93; p < 0.001), female sex, obesity and regular-poor self-perceived health were significantly associated with dissatisfaction about body shape.

Conclusions: Adolescents in the postpandemic group had worse self-esteem and body image scores, and adolescents in this group were more likely to be female and had a greater risk of low self-esteem and body dissatisfaction.

Background: Creativity research has often focused on idea generation rather than the crucial process of idea selection, which is essential for identifying practical and innovative solutions. Previous studies suggest that individuals frequently struggle with effectively selecting creative ideas, often performing no better than random chance. Psychological distance, defined as the subjective perception of how close or distant an event is, can facilitate decision-making and creative cognition, offering a potential mechanism for enhancing creative-idea selection.

Methods: The research consists of four studies examining the effects of psychological distance on creative-idea selection and the mediating role of construal level in this relationship. Study 1a investigates the correlation between perceived psychological distance and idea-selection performance. Study 1b manipulates psychological distance to assess its effects on idea selection. Study 2 introduces the construal level as a mediating variable and tests a mediation model. Finally, Study 3 manipulates the construal level directly to confirm its causal relationship with creative-idea selection.

Results: Our results indicate that greater psychological distance is associated with higher originality in the selected ideas and an increased selection of optimal ideas. However, psychological distance does not significantly impact the usefulness of the ideas. Study 1a found a positive correlation between psychological distance and the originality of selected ideas. Study 1b further confirmed that manipulating psychological distance enhances the originality of selected ideas and increases the rate of optimal idea selection. Study 2 demonstrated that construal level mediates the relationship between psychological distance and idea selection, particularly influencing originality. Study 3 confirmed the causal role of construal level, showing that a higher-level construal mindset leads to the selection of more original ideas.

Conclusions: This research underscores the importance of psychological distance and construal level in creative-idea selection. Increasing psychological distance can enhance individuals' ability to select more creative ideas by fostering higher-level construals. These findings offer practical implications for improving the creative selection processes in various contexts, suggesting that subtle cues (e.g., emphasizing future scenarios or abstract thinking) can help individuals make more effective creative choices.

Background: Over the recent years, technology has brought huge benefits to the academics, enabling their work more efficient and flexible. However, technology usage also poses challenges for academics and may lead to technostress.

Purposes: This study aims to understand the academics' technostress by examining the effects of information and communications technology (ICT) self-efficacy and work-home conflict on academics' techno-stressors (techno-overload, techno-complexity, techno-invasion, techno-insecurity, techno-uncertainty) and, furthermore, how techno-stressors impact their psychological well-being.

Methods: A research model is proposed based on the previous literature. A sample of 251 academics from several higher education institutions in China was collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Results: The results of structural equation modelling reveal that: (a) ICT self-efficacy is significantly and negatively associated with techno-complexity and techno-insecurity; (b) Work-home conflict is a crucial contributor to techno-overload, techno-complexity, and techno-invasion; (c) Among the five typical techno-stressors, only techno-invasion significantly decreases academics' psychological well-being.

Conclusions: The study informs the higher education organizations should improve academics' ICT self-efficacy, monitor academics' psychological well-being and techno-stressors, promptly replace the outdated facilities, and assign dedicated personnel responsible for maintenance and problem-solving. Academics should also adjust themselves and seek compatibility between work and family.

Background: Apathy worsens with age and cognitive decline, particularly in Alzheimer's, leading to functional and cognitive deterioration. Comprehending its broad impact is vital for customized, preventive treatments.

Methods: The study examined 214 adults divided in three groups-Mild Cognitive Impairment, mild Alzheimer's, and controls-using neuropsychological tests and questionnaires, with statistical and network analysis to explore apathy's links with other group variables related to demographics and treatment.

Results: Notable differences were observed among the groups' performance of administered tests. While inferential statistics failed to return a predictive model of apathy in mild Alzheimer's, networks and cluster analyses indicate that the demographic variables analysed have different importance at different times of disease progression and that cognitive apathy is particularly prominent in AD-related decline.

Conclusions: Network analysis revealed insights into dementia risk differentiation, notably the impact of sex and demographic factors, beyond the scope of traditional statistics. It highlighted cognitive apathy as a key area for personalized intervention strategies more than behavioural and emotional, emphasizing the importance of short-term goals and not taking away the person's autonomy when not strictly necessary.