BMC Psychology最新文献

Background: Refugee experiences significantly challenge personal identity, especially for youth orienting themselves in new cultural contexts. The study explores the complex process of balancing expectations from two cultures: how do formative encounters in Norway mold the self-perception and sense of belonging of those who arrived as child and adolescent refugees?

Methods: A qualitative approach in which life story interviews were conducted with eight young refugees who arrived in Norway between the ages of 8 and 17 years was used. Through thematic analysis grounded in hermeneutical phenomenology, we analyzed their narratives to identify core experiences and perspectives. The interviews lasted 90-150 min, providing insights into personal identity development amid cultural adaptation.

Results: A recurring and overarching theme is that participants grapple with feelings of "outsiderness" both in Norwegian society and within their culture of origin, creating a dual sense of alienation. This experience is painful, but they also perceive that it has given them the opportunity to develop open-mindedness and a unique perspective on cultural existence. Three subthemes were identified that describe various aspects of these narratives in greater detail: (1) Experiences of being a stranger; (2) value conflicts, but value reconciliation is possible; and (3) a unique perspective: navigating between two cultures. The narratives highlight the complex negotiation between maintaining heritage and adapting to Norwegian norms.

Conclusions: The study of participants' narrative identities reveals ways of coping with these transitions, revealing how participants continuously reconstruct their self-narratives to adapt to their new cultural environment. The findings suggest that while acculturation is a challenging process characterized by psychological tension and existential vulnerability, it can also foster personal resilience and new opportunities for meaning-making. The research contributes to understanding the refugee experience in Norway, emphasizing the need for social support systems that acknowledge both the struggles and potential for growth inherent in cultural integration.

Background: Cancer is a disease causing abnormal cell proliferation, and can cause stress, anxiety, and emotional reactions in patients. Despite studies in Africa showing psychological distress in cancer patients, a systematic review on this topic has not yet been conducted.

Methods: To find papers, searches were conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, African Journal Online, and Google Scholar. This systematic review and meta-analysis encompassed fifteen primary articles from seven African countries that underwent assessment and inclusion. A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet was used to extract the data, which were then transferred to STATA version 14 for analysis. The statistical heterogeneity was evaluated by using Cochran's Q and I² statistics. Egger regression tests and funnel plot analysis were employed to look for publication bias. A sensitivity analysis and a subgroup analysis were performed.

Result: This systematic review and meta-analysis comprised a total of 1567 research participants from 15 different investigations. In Africa, 42.83% of cancer patients overall had a pooled prevalence of psychological distress (95% CI: 19.40, 66.27). Being a rural area (AOR = 2.30; 95% CI: 1.49 to 3.55), having no social support (AOR = 4.63; 95% CI: 2.18 to 9.86), being in stage II cancer (AOR = 2.72; 95% CI: 1.38 to 5.38), having a co-occurring chronic illness (AOR = 2.78; 95% CI: 1.34, 5.74), experiencing financial difficulties (AOR = 16.52; 3.56, 76.63), and experiencing difficult emotional life (AOR = 2.53; 1.07, 5.97) were associated with psychological distress.

Conclusion: This study shows that there is a high prevalence of psychological distress among cancer patients in Africa. We have also found a significant relationship between psychological distress and rural living, a lack of social support, an advanced stage of the disease, coexisting medical conditions, financial problems, and emotional difficulties. Early detection to lessen psychological discomfort in this susceptible population is essential to reduce the burden of psychological distress among cancer patients.

Purpose: This study utilized Latent Profile Analysis to identify distinct profiles of meaning in life (MiL) among adolescents. Additionally, it aimed to investigate the relationships and specific impacts of sociodemographic variables and problematic mobile phone use on these identified profiles.

Methods: A total of 989 adolescents participated in this study, completing the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, Self-rating Questionnaire for Adolescent Problematic Mobile Phone Use, and sociodemographic questions. Latent Profile Analysis was used to differentiate between groups exhibiting distinct classes of meaning in life. Multinomial logistic regression analysis were employed to investigate the influence of various factors on these classes.

Results: Latent profile analysis identified three distinct classes of meaning in life based on meaning in life questionnaire scores: low presence and search group (8.5%), high presence and search group (31.4%), and average presence and search group (60.1%). Multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that problematic mobile phone use negatively affects latent classes of meaning in life among adolescents in the dimension of physical and psychological effects (p < 0.05). Furthermore, among sociodemographic variables, age, gender and left-behind experience and parents' marital relationship found to be influencing factors across the three latent classes (p < 0.05).

Discussion: Our findings highlight significant heterogeneity in latent classes of meaning in life among adolescents. This underscores the need for tailored intervention plans based on their specific categorical characteristics. Addressing the influence of problematic mobile phone use and other relevant factors should be crucial considerations when promoting meaning in life development among adolescents.

Background: Interpersonally synchronized behaviors play a fundamental role in social interactions. An important prereqvisite for behavioral synchronization is the mentalization ability of the individuals involved in the interaction. While the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) is widely applied to measure mentalization, most studies of RMET used single-subject designs, which lack ecological validity and have limited generalizability for real, on-going, reciprocal social interactions. Using a two-subject design, our objectives were to examine (i) the predictive validity of RMET for the synchronous behavior of two interacting individuals during a reaction time task; (ii) the association of age-related RMET performance with interpersonal coordination; and (iii) the influence of various potentially important covariates on the association, including psychological distress, basic personality domains such as impulsive responding, and lack of attention.

Methods: We investigated 24 dyads, using 48 subjects (mean age 32.9 [SD = 12.8] years). Synchronous behavior was indexed by the correlation of participants' responses in terms of reaction times (RTs) to visual stimuli. We used the correct recognition rate from the RMET as a measure of mentalization ability.

Results: Our results indicated that the synchronization of the behavioral responses (i.e., RTs) between the interacting pairs and their mentalization ability, as measured by the RMET, showed significant association. Specifically, with good performance (100% correct recognition), the behavioral response synchronization was significantly (F = 153.34, p < 0.0001) higher (Pearson correlation, r = 0.41) than with poor performance (50% correct recognition, r = 0.25). Higher age was inversely related to behavioral synchronization, with no interaction (p > 0.1) with RMET performance). The inclusion of additional covariates (e.g., measures for psychological distress and basic personality domains) in the analyses did not alter the significance of the association between RMET performance and behavioral synchronization (p < 0.05, after adjustment).

Conclusions: Our results confirm the utility of RMET, as a measure of mentalization, to predict participants' ability to achieve behavioral synchronization during cooperative interaction. These results may facilitate research into mental disorders, where problems with social interactions play a role in symptom presentation. For this purpose, future studies with larger sample size should examine whether our findings can be dimensionally extrapolated to patients with such disorders.

Background: Parents can experience much stress from parenting, work, and household responsibilities. Parents' stress recovery experiences, or their lack thereof, can affect parenting practices and influence children's behavioral problems, which may thereby lead to difficulties for children later in life. Therefore, the relationships among these three factors deserve consideration. This study tested a model of the mediating role of parenting practices in the relationship between parents' stress recovery experiences and children's behavioral problems.

Methods: Parents (N = 1,112) of 14-year-old children in the third year of junior high school in Japan completed a questionnaire, yielding 583 valid responses. To accurately determine the relationship among parents' stress recovery experiences, parenting practices, and children's behavioral problems, parents of children diagnosed with developmental disabilities and parents who did not respond to the required items in the questionnaire were excluded from the analysis. As a result, 536 of the 583 (89.0%) parents met the inclusion criteria. We conducted a path analysis, following the hypothesis that parents' stress recovery experiences, via their parenting practices, are associated with children's behavioral problems.

Results: The path analysis results indicated that parents' stress recovery experiences of relaxation and mastery were positively associated with positive nurturing attitudes, whereas mastery and control were negatively associated with negative nurturing attitudes. Furthermore, positive nurturing attitudes were negatively associated with externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors, whereas negative nurturing attitudes were positively associated with externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors. In other words, the hypothesis that parents' stress recovery experiences of relaxation, mastery, and control reduce children's behavioral problems via promoting nurturing parental attitudes was supported.

Conclusions: The results indicate that the higher the level of parents' stress recovery experiences, the lower the level of reported children's behavioral problems. Parents' stress recovery experiences correlated with parenting practices, which partially mediated the relationship of the parents' stress recovery with children's behavioral problems. The suggestion is that increasing parents' stress recovery experiences, improving parenting practices and related behaviors, and strengthening the parent-child relationship are important measures that can be mutually beneficial for parents, children, and the overall family relationship.

Interoception is a complex, multidimensional construct that refers to the nervous system's processing of internal bodily signals. Currently, there are no comprehensive measurement tools available to capture the full complexity of interoception. The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, Version 2 (MAIA-2), is a widely accepted and utilized interoceptive questionnaire that measures the multiple dimensions of conscious interoception through self-report. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the validity of a new Spanish translation of the MAIA-2 in Peruvian adults and to examine the dimensionality of the MAIA-2. A total of 414 Peruvian participants residing in Lima (Peru) were included; 85% were young adults between 18 and 27 years. The fit of the structural equation model (SEM) was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The dimensionality of the MAIA-2 was assessed using bootstrap exploratory bootstrap graph analysis (bootEGA). The results of the CFA suggest an oblique model (8 factors, 34 items) with modifications (items 11, 12, and 15 deleted). The bootEGA analyses indicate that a five-dimensional model is more parsimonious. These findings suggest that the MAIA-2 may have fewer dimensions than the original eight-dimensional theoretical model. The Peruvian Spanish version of the MAIA-2 proves to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing interoception in Peruvian adults, though slight variations in the dimensional structure were observed compared to the original model. This provides a solid basis for future research and clinical applications in Spanish-speaking contexts.

Background: Literature lacks a comprehensive measure of sexual distress that could be applied to both clinical and non-clinical populations, regardless of the gender and relational status of the respondents. The current study, therefore, developed and validated Sexual Distress Scale (SDS).

Method: The development and validation of the SDS involved two consecutive studies with a total of 656 participants (men = 300, women = 356; M_age=22 years) from Pakistan. The studies included exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and assessments of convergent and divergent validity.

Results: The SDS demonstrated high reliability in both the studies (α = 0.911 & 0.946). Item-total correlations ranged from 0.670 to 0.878 (p < 0.01). EFA revealed a single-factor structure consisting of 8 items. CFA confirmed this structure, projecting a good comparative fit index (CFI = 0.913). The scale's convergent validity was established through significant positive correlations with depression (r = 0.845, p < 0.01), anxiety (r = 0.847, p < 0.01), and stress (r = 0.786, p < 0.01). Divergent validity was established through significant inverse correlations with life satisfaction (r = -0.972, p < 0.01) and emotional expressivity (r= -0.935, p < 0.01). Compared to women, men experienced significantly higher levels of sexual distress (p < 0.01; Cohen's d = 0.448).

Conclusion: The study bridges a substantial knowledge gap in the measurement of sexual distress. The findings highlight the impact of sexual distress on psychosocial health. The study opens avenues for further research and targeted interventions in sexuality, especially within the collectivistic cultures.

Background: Place attachment refers to a relationship with cognitive, emotional and behavioral dimensions that develops over time depending on the interaction of individuals with the social and physical environment. This relationship not only affects the identity development process of the individual but also determines the interaction with the social and physical environment. It is very important to determine and measure the level of this attachment and the variables affecting the level of attachment, especially during adolescence when the process of gaining identity is more intense. Within the framework of this purpose, this study aimed to develop a place attachment scale for adolescents.

Method: The scale data were obtained from 868 adolescents, 452 (52%) male and 416 (48%) female, living in the province of Istanbul in Turkey. The mean age of the adolescents was 17.18 years (sd = 2.13), while their mean success average was 4.18 years (sd = 3.14). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and multiple group confirmatory factor analysis were conducted for test psychometric properties of the scale. Cronbach's reliability value was calculated.

Results: As a result of the exploratory factor analysis (EFA), it was observed that the scale consisted of three subscales: cognitive, emotional and behavioral. The parallel analysis supported this three-factor structure. The structure of the scale revealed by EFA was supported by confirmatory factor analysis (χ2 /df = 1.750, GFI = 0.92, CFI = 0.96, AGFI = 0.90, NFI = 0.92, RMSEA = 0.050), and the Cronbach's alpha reliability values calculated for the subscales and the total scale were found to be very high. To ensure measurement invariance of the scale according to gender, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was performed. Measurement invariance was ensured in gender groups, and it was found that the scale had a good fit. Composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) tests were performed to measure convergent validity, and it was found that the scale had high reliability and internal consistency.

Discussion: It was observed that the validity and reliability values of the scale were high.

Background: Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent among adolescents with a history of parent-child separation. This study investigates whether self-perceived pleasure in social interactions mediates the relationship between early parent-child separation and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents.

Methods: 1250 teenagers (mean age = 12.95 years, SD = 1.55; 54.6% male) completed self-report surveys assessing early parent-child separation, self-perceived pleasure in social interactions, and depressive symptoms. Mediation analysis was conducted using the bootstrap method.

Results: Early parent-child separation increased the risk for depressive symptoms in adolescents by 1.743 times (95% CI, 1.348-2.253). Self-perceived pleasure in social interaction partially mediated the association between early parent-child separation and adolescent depressive symptoms, after adjusting for age and gender (β = 0.095; 95%CI, 0.032-0.168). The mediating effect was significant and accounted for 19.87% of the total effect.

Conclusions: This study highlights the impact of self-perceived pleasure from social interactions on adolescent depressive symptoms. Improving perceived pleasure from social interactions may help reduce the negative effects of parent-child separation on depressive symptoms.

This study aims to revise the emotion and motivation self-regulation questionnaire(EMSR-Q) and test its validity among Chinese middle school students. A total of 780 middle school students were selected for item analysis based on the classical test theory (CTT) and multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) respectively and exploratory factor analysis. 615 middle school students were selected for confirmatory factor analysis and criterion validity test. The full sample was used for the reliability test. The results show that the Chinese version of EMSR-Q retains 19 items. The Pearson correlation coefficients and the corrected item-total correlation coefficients between each item and the total score of each dimension are greater than 0.4. The independent sample t-test for high and low groups was significant. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis support the second-order second-factor model of the English version of EMSR-Q. There are significant positive correlations between the dimension of the Chinese version of EMSR-Q and the dimensions of the relevant scale (p < 0.01). The internal consistency reliability coefficient ranged from 0.671 to 0.861 and the split-half reliability coefficients ranged from 0.726 to 0.809. The discrimination and difficulty of the 19 items are good, with the discrimination coefficients α of the items greater than 1.177 and the difficulty coefficient β range of the five options is within [-3,3]. The results show that the revised Chinese version of EMSR-Q indicators meets the psychometric requirements and can be used to measure the structure and characteristics of Chinese middle school students' emotion and motivation self-regulation. It can explore the possible influence of emotion and motivation self-regulation on academic development, which provides an important research tool for promoting the intervention research of emotion and motivation self-regulation, with a broad prospect of educational application.