Acta Psychologica最新文献

After disasters, direct deaths and secondary health effects, such as diabetes and psychological distress, can occur. After the 2011 Fukushima disaster, radiation exposure was extremely limited; however, secondary health effects increased significantly. It is critical to compare the magnitudes of these model-inferred risks to promote lifespan development and effective public health measures. Here, we used the loss of happy life expectancy (LHpLE) to compare the model-inferred risks associated with diabetes, psychological distress, and radiation-induced cancer after the disaster. Two questionnaire surveys were conducted among individuals affected by the disaster to investigate the potential associations between diabetes and psychological distress, as well as breast cancer and reduced emotional happiness, with 680 and 554 participants, respectively. Additionally, we calculated the LHpLE owing to these model-inferred risks. Although no significant reduction was found in emotional happiness due to diabetes or breast cancer, a significant reduction occurred due to psychological distress (0.265 and 0.476 for males and females, respectively). In the population aged 40-74 years, the LHpLE due to model-inferred risks of radiation-induced cancer, diabetes, and psychological distress were 0.0013, 0.14, and 0.21 years, respectively. This suggests that the association of LHpLE with diabetes and psychological distress was over two orders of magnitude greater than that associated with model-inferred risk of radiation-induced cancer. Within 7 years following the disaster, LHpLE due to diabetes increased, highlighting that diabetes is an ongoing issue. Therefore, this novel indicator of the LHpLE can provide a foundation for promoting lifespan development and effective public health measures following disasters.

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) has arguably been subject to concept creep, a phenomenon according to which psychopathological concepts gradually expand over time. Such semantic shifts may lead to over-inclusive lay concepts of mental disorders, which blurs the boundaries between mental health and illness. To assess the individual concept breadth of NPD and to test whether specialized knowledge in psychology reinforces or inhibits expanded concepts, a convenience sample of 414 participants primarily consisting of students from a Swiss university completed a vignette-based online-survey. The vignettes were based on DSM-5 criteria of NPD and varied alongside two dimensions that assess vertical (severity gradient, including non-pathological manifestations) and horizontal (variety of features, including normal behaviors) concept breadth. We found that about a quarter of the participants endorsed expanded concepts of NPD that incorporated non-pathological manifestations and normal features. An academic background in psychology was associated with less expanded concepts of NPD, both vertically and horizontally, whereas a conservative political attitude was associated with more expansive vertical concepts. Both vertical and horizontal concept breadth correlated with the self-reported frequency of perceiving narcissistic people in everyday life. We conclude that a substantial portion of young adults endorse expanded and over-inclusive concepts of NPD, which may affect their perception of narcissistic people in everyday life. Psychology students endorsed less expansive concepts due to a general reluctance to attribute the depicted features, even diagnostic core features, to a narcissistic personality disorder.

This work aimed to determine the effectiveness of a classroom-based transdiagnostic preventive intervention in the reduction of emotional symptoms and the improvement of emotional regulation strategies in university environments. The sample was composed of 220 university students. Group-classes were randomly designated as experimental (n = 111) or control (n = 109) conditions. The intervention was effective in reducing some emotional symptoms (anxiety and depression) in university students in comparison with the control group, but only in the subsample with elevated emotional symptoms. However, it was not effective in improving emotional regulation strategies when compared with the control group. It is concluded that although this study has not proven the effectiveness of this program as a universal intervention for young people with a wide range of baseline symptom levels, its application at the classroom level can benefit university students with moderate or severe emotional symptoms.

In response to recurring COVID-19 outbreaks, universities have generally implemented closed-off campus management strategies, subjecting students to multifaceted psychological stressors. This study aims to investigate the mental health status of university students in Nanjing during campus lockdowns, analyze distribution patterns across different academic years, majors, and family functioning backgrounds, and provide a reference for mental health assessment and intervention. The mental health of college students in Nanjing was assessed using the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and Family APGAR. Among 772 valid responses, the prevalence of anxiety and depression was 15.7% and 23.3%, respectively, with scores significantly exceeding national norms. Significant differences in anxiety and depression levels were observed across majors, academic years, and family backgrounds. Specifically, humanities students reported the highest levels of depression, whereas medical students reported the lowest. Anxiety and depression were positively correlated with academic year and negatively correlated with family functioning scores. These findings reveal the status and characteristics of students' mental health during the pandemic. The study underscores the critical need to strengthen psychological support, enhance home-school communication, establish effective information-sharing platforms, and build a stratified and targeted intervention system to mitigate the pandemic's adverse effects.

Background: Existential anxiety (EA) is a transdiagnostic construct increasingly recognized for its role in the development of depression and anxiety. Despite its relevance, most research has focused only on a subset of EA and largely neglected the role of malleable moderating factors that could be addressed via psychotherapeutic practices, such as cognitive emotion regulation (CER) strategies, psychological resilience, and intolerance of uncertainty (IU), which are explored in the present study.

Methods: Slovenian young adults (N = 330; M = 21.20 years, SD = 1.85; 63.3% female) participated in an online survey.

Results: EA significantly predicted depression and anxiety. Psychological resilience buffered, while IU amplified the relationship between EA and both outcomes. Maladaptive CER strategies moderated the relationship between EA and general anxiety, whereas adaptive CER strategies did not moderate any investigated relationship. Specific CER strategies also showed differential effects: catastrophizing amplified the relationship for both outcomes while refocusing on planning buffered the relationship between EA and depression.

Conclusions: EA is associated with depression and general anxiety in young adults. While psychological resilience can mitigate these associations, IU and (certain) maladaptive CER strategies can intensify them. Findings suggest promising targets for therapeutic interventions to alleviate existential distress and improve emotional well-being.

The Stimulus-Organism-Response framework is applied in this study to explore the impact of Green Transparency (stimuli) and Green Perceived Value (stimuli) on Green Brand Trust (organism) and, subsequently, on Green Brand Loyalty (response) and Willingness to Pay More (response). Self-Brand Connection is examined as a moderator. An online survey was distributed to 557 EV consumers. We employed both PLS-SEM (SmartPLS 4) and CB-SEM (AMOS 29) to test the direct, mediating, and moderating effects, with CB-SEM used as a robustness check for model stability. The results show that both Green Transparency and Green Perceived Value are positive antecedents of Green Brand Trust. Green Brand Trust, in turn, positively influences Green Brand Loyalty and Willingness to Pay More and mediates the effects of the two stimuli. The results also confirm that Self-Brand Connection significantly and positively strengthens the Green Brand Trust→Green Brand Loyalty and Green Brand Trust→Willingness to Pay More relationships. This study establishes Green Brand Trust as a core green consumer behavior mechanism and identity alignment as a catalyst for Green Brand Loyalty and Willingness to Pay More, offering actionable guidance to EV brands for credibility building, customer retention, and sustainable consumption.