Browse Our Latest Psychology and Behavioral Science Journals
Psychological journals are peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journals that publish original work in some areas of psychology. The most common publications include cognitive, health and clinical psychology, applied, developmental, biological, social, experimental, and educational psychology, and psychoanalysis.
Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Background and aims
Object attachment is the emotional bond or connection that we have with possessions. Although thought to be ubiquitous, when excessive, object attachment is presumed to contribute to compulsive buying and hoarding problems. Unfortunately, our understanding of this relationship has been limited by the constraints of existing object attachment measures. In this paper, we developed and validated a new self-report questionnaire, called the Object Attachment Security Measure (OASM).
Methods
We developed an item pool based on previous measures and consultation with 24 experts in the field. After piloting, we administered this measure to a large sample (Final N = 365), along with self-report measures of hoarding, compulsive buying, and previous object attachment measures.
Results
We found that the OASM distinguished between secure and insecure object attachment. Both subscales showed excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability over a two-week period. Additionally, they demonstrated excellent convergent and divergent validity, and criterion validity with measures of hoarding and compulsive buying symptoms. We also found that insecure, but not secure object attachment, was uniquely related to hoarding and compulsive buying symptomology.
Discussion and conclusion
Our findings extend theoretical models, highlighting the role of insecure object attachment. Future research in both clinical and consumer behaviour fields should utilise the OASM, as reducing insecure object attachment and potentially encouraging secure object attachment could decrease maladaptive possession use and increase sustainable consumption.
Nemi, demográfiai és nemi egalitarianizmussal kapcsolatos vélekedés szerinti sajátosságok a hosszú távra szóló párválasztással kapcsolatos attitűdökben
Correlates of gender, demographics and gender-egalitarianism in the attitudes towards long-term partner choice
Háttér és célkitűzések
A kutatás céljának azt tűztük ki, hogy rámutasson a nemi, demográfiai és egyenlőségelvűséggel kapcsolatos vélekedés szerinti sajátosságokra a hosszú távra szóló párválasztási preferenciákkal kapcsolatos attitűdökben. Kérdéseinket a hagyományos és modern párválasztási preferenciákat magyarázni képes vonatkozó szociálpszichológiai elméletek alapján fogalmaztuk meg. Általánosságban azt vártuk, hogy a mintában a férfiakkal és nőkkel szembeni preferenciák hordoznak modern, de hordoznak hagyományos tartalmakat is. A nőktől, a fiatalabbaktól, az iskolázottabbaktól és a nemek szerepéről inkább egyenlőségelvűen gondolkozóktól azt vártuk, hogy preferenciáikban erősebben tükröződnek modern, mint hagyományos tartalmak.
Módszer
A mintavétel kényelmi alapon történt. A vizsgálati személyek (N = 534, férfi: 139, nő: 395) online kérdőívet töltöttek ki, amely demográfiai kérdőívből, hosszú távra szóló párkapcsolati választáskor a férfiaktól és nőktől elvárt tulajdonságok értékeléséből és a Beere-féle nemiszerep-egyenlőség kérdőívből állt.
Eredmények
Mindkét nem véleménye szerint és mindkét nemmel kapcsolatban a hosszú távú bizalmi kapcsolatban való jó partnerség szempontjából lényeges társas tulajdonságok, mint a megbízhatóság és az őszinteség a legfontosabbak. A preferenciák függetlenek maradtak a többi vizsgált változótól, és a nagyobb tulajdonságcsoportok fontossági sorrendje állandónak bizonyult (nőknél: jó partner nő, házias nő, emancipált nő; férfiaknál: jó partner férfi, férfias férfi, vonzó férfi, házias férfi).
Következtetések
A férfiak és nők véleménye hasonló azzal kapcsolatban, hogy a jó hosszú távú párkapcsolathoz elsősorban a jó partnerséghez kötődő tulajdonságok a legfontosabbak, függetlenül attól, hogy férfiról vagy nőről van szó. A preferenciák állandónak nevezhetők, az elvárások sorrendjét a kitöltő neme, az életkora, az egyenlőségelvűséggel kapcsolatos vélekedései, az iskolázottság és a vallásosság nem árnyalja, bár finom hangsúlybeli eltérések a nevezett változók tekintetében azonosíthatók.
Abstract
Background and aims
The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and correlates of indicators consistent with Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD)—defined and operationalized according to the ICD-11 guidelines—in a large (n = 4,633; 50.5% male; 49,5% female) probability-based German national sample.
Methods
Participants were asked if they had ever experienced “intense and recurring sexual impulses or sexual urges that I had difficulty controlling and resulted in sexual behavior” over a period of several months. Those who reported this experience were queried about the associated distress.
Results
Overall, 4.9% of men [95% CI = 3.9–6.1] and 3.0% of women [95% CI = 2.3–3.9] reported experiences consistent with ICD-11 diagnostic requirements for lifetime diagnosis. In the 12 months preceding the study, 3.2% of men [95% CI = 2.4–4.2] and 1.8% of women [95% CI = 1.2–2.5] reported experiences consistent with CSBD requirements. Compared to controls and participants who reported elements of compulsive sexuality but without accompanying distress, strict religious upbringing was most prevalent in the CSBD group. The CSBD group was more likely to view sexual practices like men having sex with men as unacceptable and to report the belief that pornography has negative impacts on their sex life and life in general. Compared to the other two groups, the CSBD group was significantly more likely to have received psychiatric treatment for depression or another mental health problem during the past 12 months.
Discussion and conclusions
The current study provides novel and important insights into the prevalence and characteristics of CSBD in the general population.
Abstract
Cultural evolution theory proposes that information transmitted through social learning is not transmitted indiscriminately but is instead biased by heuristics and mechanisms which increase the likelihood that individuals will copy particular cultural traits based on their inherent properties (content biases) and copy the cultural traits of particular models, or under particular circumstances (context biases). Recent research suggests that content biases are as important, or more important, than context biases in the selection and faithful transmission of cultural traits. Here, evidence for biases for emotive, social, threat-related, stereotype consistent and counterintuitive content is reviewed, focusing on how these biases may operate across three phases of transmission: choose-to-receive, encode-and-retrieve, and choose-to-transmit. Support for some biases primarily functioning as biases of attention and memory, while others primarily function as biases of selection to share with others, and the implications for this in wider cultural evolution is discussed. Ultimately, a more consistent approach to examining content biases, and greater engagement with wider literature, is required for clear conclusions about their mechanism and potential differences across the three phases of transmission.
Abstract
Background and aims
Internet gaming disorder (IGD) in adolescents is a concerning issue. Positive parenting has been found to protect against adolescent IGD, but the underlying mechanisms await further investigation. As such, this study examined the longitudinal association between parental involvement (PI) – a specific type of positive parenting understudied in the literature of adolescent gaming disorder – and IGD. Moreover, this study also tested consideration of future consequences (CFC) as a mediator and peer victimization (PV) as a moderator.
Methods
A two-wave longitudinal research spanning 6 months apart was conducted. Participants were Chinese adolescents (final N = 434; 222 females; M age = 14.44 years, SD = 1.56). They provided ratings on PI, PV, and IGD at Wave 1, and CFC-immediate, CFC-future, and IGD at Wave 2.
Results
Descriptive statistics showed that the prevalence rate of IGD was 10.81% and 9.45% at Waves 1 and 2, respectively. Moreover, results of moderated mediation model found that after controlling for Wave 1 IGD and covariates, Wave 1 PI was associated with Wave 2 IGD via preventing adolescents who had higher levels of PV from developing a tendence of CFC-immediate and via promoting adolescents who had lower levels of PV to develop a tendence of CFC-future.
Discussion and Conclusions
Altogether, these results suggest that facilitative ecological systems (e.g., positive parenting and good relationships with peers) and personal strengths (e.g., positive future orientation) jointly contribute to the mitigation of adolescent IGD.
Abstract
Background and aim
In the last two decades, the proportion of internet users has greatly increased worldwide. Data regarding internet addiction (IA) are lacking in Africa compared to other continents. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of IA in African countries.
Methods
We systematically sought relevant articles in PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Cochrane database published before September 25, 2021. The risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute tool, and we estimated the pooled prevalence of IA using a random-effects meta-analytic model. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines.
Results
We included 22 studies (13,365 participants), and collected data from Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Tunisia between 2013 and 2021. The mean age of participants ranged from 14.8 to 26.1 years, and the most used tool for IA screening was the Young's 20-item Internet Addiction Test. The pooled prevalence rate of IA was 40.3% (95% CI: 32.2%–48.7%), with substantial heterogeneity. The pooled prevalence for Northern Africa was 44.6% (95% CI: 32.9%–56.7%), significantly higher than the prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa, which was 31.0% (95% CI: 25.2%–37.1%). The risk of bias was moderate for most studies, the certainty was very low, and we found no publication bias.
Discussion and conclusions
Four in every ten individuals was considered to have IA in Africa. Further research with methodological optimization seems needed, especially for IA screening tools and the representativity of some subregions.
Abstract
Empirical research supports the use of psychoactive drugs to augment psychotherapy for the treatment of mental illness. The use of such drugs, however, is still resisted by many in the medical community and this transfers to resistance in the wider community. The stigma of controversy surrounding the drugs, further enhanced by the stigma of mental illness, hinders community acceptance. We report an experiment to change community attitudes to endorse the benefits of such practice. Participants were given information about a client with post-traumatic stress disorder, with accompanying stigma of mental illness, or a physical condition (Parkinson's disease) with comorbid psychological symptoms, but without stigma. They received information about the diagnosis and the value of psychoactive drugs in the enhancement of therapy or this information with a manipulation to induce empathy. Analysis revealed higher empathy for the PTSD than for the Parkinson's patient. The elevation of empathy was further enhanced by the empathy manipulation. While there was higher agreement that PTSD clients were responsible for their own condition, there was a greater willingness to help, and this was further increased by empathy. Such conditions should be considered to encourage the general community to accept enhanced therapy for patients that can enhance endorsement by medical practitioners.
Abstract
Background and aims
Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases. First-line medications consist of drugs that act by counteracting dopamine deficiency in the basal ganglia. Unfortunately, iatrogenic impulsive-compulsive behaviors (ICBs) can occur in up to 20% of PD patients over the course of their illness. ICBs must be considered multifactorial disorders that reflect the interactions of the medication with an individual's vulnerability and the underlying neurobiology of PD. We aimed to explore the predictive genetic, psychopathological and neurological factors involved in the development of ICBs in PD patients by building a complete model of individual vulnerability.
Methods
The PARKADD study was a case/non-case study. A total of 225 patients were enrolled (“ICB” group, N = 75; “no ICB” group, N = 150), and 163 agreed to provide saliva samples for genetic analysis. Sociodemographic, neurological and psychiatric characteristics were assessed, and genotyping for the characterization of polymorphisms related to dopaminergic and opioid systems was performed.
Results
Factors associated with “ICBs” were younger age of PD onset, personal history of ICB prior to PD onset and higher scores on the urgency and sensation seeking facets of impulsivity. No gene variant was significantly associated, but the association with the opioid receptor mu 1 (OPRM1) rs1799971 polymorphism was close to significance.
Discussion and conclusions
The influence of gene-environment interactions probably exists, and additional studies are needed to decipher the possible role of the opioid system in the development of ICBs in PD patients.
Abstract
Background and aims
Blaszczynski and Nower (2002) conceptualized their Pathways Model by postulating the existence of three subtypes of problem gamblers who share common characteristics, but also present specific ones.
Methods
This study investigated how the psychological mechanisms postulated in the Pathways Model predict clinical status in a sample that combined treatment-seeking gamblers (n = 59) and non-problematic community gamblers (n = 107). To test the Pathways Model, we computed a hierarchic logistic regression in which variables associated with each postulated pathway were entered sequentially to predict the status of the treatment-seeking gambler. Self-report questionnaires measured gambling-related cognitions, alexithymia, emotional reactivity, emotion regulation strategies and impulsivity. Behavioural tasks measured gambling persistence (slot machine task), decision-making under uncertainty (Iowa Gambling Task) and decision-making under risk (Game of Dice Task).
Results
We showed that specific factors theorized as underlying mechanisms for each pathway predicted the status of clinical gambler. For each pathway, significant predictors included gambling-related cognitive distortions and behaviourally measured gambling persistence (behaviourally conditioned pathway), emotional reactivity and emotion regulation strategies (emotionally vulnerable pathway), and lack of premeditation impulsivity facet (impulsivist-antisocial pathway).
Discussion and conclusions
Our study adds to the body of literature confirming the validity of the Pathways Model and hold important implications in terms of assessment and treatment of problem gambling. In particular, a standardized assessment based on the Pathways Model should promote individualized treatment strategies to allow clinicians to take into account the high heterogeneity that characterizes gambling disorder.
