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
A Gyermek Önszabályozás és Viselkedés Kérdőív (CSBQ) hazai változatának kialakítása
Development of the Hungarian version of the Child Self-Regulation and Behaviour Questionnaire
Háttér: Az önszabályozás képessége az élet első öt évében dinamikusan fejlődik, és meghatározó szerepe van az élet számos területén. Az érzelem- és viselkedésszabályozás képessége fontos eleme a szocio-emocionális fejlődésnek, az iskolaérettség kialakulásának, a sikeres iskolai beválásnak és a tanulási képességek kibontakozásának. Az intervenciós programok hatásvizsgálatainak eredményei alátámasztják a korai fejlesztés létjogosultságát és a fejlődési hátrányok kompenzálhatóságát. Mindezek indokolják, hogy a gyermekek önszabályozásának mérésére érvényes és megfelelő megbízhatósággal használható hazai mérőeszközökkel rendelkezzünk. Az önszabályozás területén mutatkozó nehézségek szűrése óvodáskorban és az óvoda–iskola átmenet időszakában kiemelt jelentőséggel bír a megfelelő intervenciós programok megtervezésében és az iskolai hátrányok kialakulásának megelőzésében is. Célkitűzés: A tanulmány fő célja a Gyermek Önszabályozás és Viselkedés Kérdőív (Child Self-Regulation and Behavior Questionnaire, CSBQ) magyar nyelvű adaptációjának elkészítése és faktorszerkezetének ellenőrzése 3–6 éves, neurotipikus fejlődésű gyermekek mintáján (n = 724). Módszerek: A fordítás sztenderd lépéseit követően a kérdőív faktorszerkezetét megerősítő, feltáró és hierarchikus faktorelemzések segítségével vizsgáltuk. Elemzéseink eredményeként egy 19 tételes kérdőívet alakítottunk ki, amelynek a kritériumvaliditását a Képességek és Nehézségek Kérdőív (SDQ) felhasználásával teszteltük. Eredmények: Az elemzések eredményei alapján a Gyermek Önszabályozás és Viselkedés Kérdőív 19 tételes bifaktoros, háromdimenziós magyar változata került kialakításra (illeszkedési mutatók: χ 2(133) = 398,71; p < 0,001; CFI = 0,948; TLI = 0,933; RMSEA = 0,074; RMSEA CI90 = 0,065– 0,082), amely jó pszichometriai tulajdonságokkal rendelkezik. Következtetések: A Gyermek Önszabályozás és Viselkedés kérdőív magyar változata valid mérőeszköz, és megfelelő belső megbízhatósággal használható az önszabályozás fejlődésének kutatására, az önszabályozás területén mutatkozó nehézségek kérdőíves szűrésére óvodáskorban és az óvoda–iskola közötti átmenet időszakában, továbbá segítséget kínálhat az iskolaérettség vizsgálatának területén is.
Abstract
Backgrounds and aims
Family dysfunction is a significant risk factor for adolescent problematic gaming, yet few studies have investigated the bidirectional relations between changes in family dysfunction and adolescent problematic gaming and potential mediating mechanisms. This study thus examined the bidirectional relations between family dysfunction and adolescent problematic gaming and the mediating role of self-concept clarity within this relation.
Methods
Participants included 4,731 Chinese early adolescents (44.9% girls; M age = 10.91 years, SD = 0.72) who were surveyed at four time points 6 months apart.
Results
Random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling found (a) family dysfunction directly predicts increased problematic gaming, (b) adolescent problematic gaming directly predicts increased experience of family dysfunction, (c) family dysfunction indirectly predicts problematic gaming via self-concept clarity, and (d) adolescent problematic gaming indirectly predicts family dysfunction via self-concept clarity.
Discussion and conclusions
The present study suggests that adolescents may be trapped in a vicious cycle between family dysfunction and problematic gaming either directly or indirectly through impairing their self-concept clarity. Findings indicate fostering youth self-concept clarity is essential to break the vicious circle between dysfunctional experiences in the family and problematic gaming among adolescents.
Abstract
Global university rankings have always been associated with international political and economic conflicts. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic there were signs that scientific and academic globalism was breaking down. The pandemic, the various measures taken to combat it, and military and ideological conflicts have led to the breakdown of international academic cooperation, the formation of very different research complexes, and the development of new regional ranking systems.
Abstract
Background
Data implicate overlaps in neurobiological pathways involved in appetite regulation and addictive disorders. Despite different neuroendocrine measures having been associated with both gambling disorder (GD) and food addiction (FA), how appetite-regulating hormones may relate to the co-occurrence of both entities remain incompletely understood.
Aims
To compare plasma concentrations of ghrelin, leptin, adiponectin, and liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 (LEAP-2) between patients with GD, with and without FA, and to explore the association between circulating hormonal concentrations and neuropsychological and clinical features in individuals with GD and FA.
Methods
The sample included 297 patients diagnosed with GD (93.6% males). None of the patients with GD had lifetime diagnosis of an eating disorder. FA was evaluated with the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0. All patients were assessed through a semi-structured clinical interview and a psychometric battery including neuropsychological tasks. Blood samples to measure hormonal variables and anthropometric variables were also collected.
Results
From the total sample, FA was observed in 23 participants (FA+) (7.7% of the sample, 87% males). When compared participants with and without FA, those with FA+ presented both higher body mass index (BMI) (p < 0.001) and leptin concentrations, after adjusting for BMI (p = 0.013). In patients with FA, leptin concentrations positively correlated with impulsivity, poorer cognitive flexibility, and poorer inhibitory control. Other endocrine measures did not differ between groups.
Discussion and conclusions
The present study implicates leptin in co-occurring GD and FA. Among these patients, leptin concentration has been associated with clinical and neuropsychological features, such as impulsivity and cognitive performance in certain domains.
Abstract
Social chatbots powered by artificial intelligence (AI) may be particularly appealing to individuals with social deficits or conditions that affect their social functioning. In this letter, we discuss some of the noteworthy characteristics of social chatbots and how they may influence adaptive and maladaptive behaviors, including the potential for ‘dependency’ on chatbots. We call for more independent studies to evaluate the potential developmental and therapeutic effects of this increasingly popular technology.
Abstract
Background
Whilst some research has explored the impact of COVID-19 on gambling behaviour, little is yet known about online search behaviours for gambling during this period. The current study explored gambling-related online searches before, during and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. We also assessed whether search trends were related to Gambling Commission behavioural data over the same period.
Methods
Google Trends™ search data, covering thirty months from January 2020 to June 2022, for five gambling activities and five gambling operators were downloaded. Graphical displays of the weekly relative search values over this period were then produced to visualise trends in search terms, with key dates in COVID-19 policy and sporting events highlighted. Cross-correlations between seasonally adjusted monthly search data and behavioural indices were conducted.
Results
Sharp increases in internet searches for poker, slots, and bingo were evident during the first lockdown in the UK, with operator searches sharply decreasing over this period. No changes in gambling activity searches were highlighted during subsequent lockdowns, although small increases in operator-based searches were detected. Strong positive correlations were found between search data and industry data for sports betting and poker but not for slots.
Conclusions
Google Trends™ data may act as an indicator of population-level gambling behaviour. Substitution of preferred gambling activities for others may have occurred during the first lockdown when opportunities for sports betting were limited. Further research is needed to assess the effectiveness of internet search data in predicting gambling-related harm.
Abstract
Introduction
Considering adverse correlates of problematic use of internet use (PUI), the present study evaluated an intervention aimed at PUI and several putative underpinnings.
Methods
A randomized controlled trial study investigated the efficacy of emotional working memory training (eWMT) in improving impulsivity, risky decision-making, and cognitive emotion-regulation (CER) strategies among individuals with PUI in comparison with a placebo group. Young adults (N = 36) with PUI were either trained for 20 sessions in an n-back dual emotional task (eWMT; n = 18) or a feature-matching task (placebo; n = 18).
Results
Twenty continuous sessions of eWMT significantly improved participants' impulsivity, risky decision-making, CER, internet use and PUI symptoms in the short term, compared to the placebo condition.
Discussion
These preliminary results suggest that eWMT may constitute a promising intervention for PUI and improving cognitive and emotional functioning, and larger, longer studies are warranted.
Abstract
Background and aims
Research on the development of gaming disorder assumes that the quality of reinforcement learning as well as the content of use expectancies are initially rewarding in the early stages of the addictive behavior and becomes steadily more compensatory in the later stages. This assumed transition could be reflected in gaming-related mental imagery as well as the decision to play videogames in daily life.
Methods
We recruited 127 individuals who play videogames. Following a strict diagnostic procedure, individuals were either classified as showing casual or at-risk gaming patterns. The experience and expectancy of reward and relief were assessed in the laboratory, followed by a 14-day ambulatory assessment asking for gaming-related mental imagery intensity and playing frequency. Besides group differences, we tested a gratification and a compensation pathway in a structural equation model among groups separately.
Results
Results indicate that mental imagery and playing frequency as well as reinforcement processes and use expectancies are heightened among individuals showing at-risk gaming patterns as compared to casual gaming patterns. Gaming-related mental imagery was only predicted by compensation among individuals showing casual gaming patterns, and we found no significant predictions for daily gaming frequency in any of the models.
Discussion and conclusions
The results implicate that individuals with at-risk gaming patterns might hold stronger learned reinforcement contingencies. Daily usage seems unaffected by these contingencies, possibly indicative of habitualized behaviors. Additionally, the results provide some support for the consideration of imaginal desire thoughts as a specific coping mechanism in the context of gaming behaviors.
Abstract
Open science refers to a set of practices that aim to make scientific research more transparent, accessible, and reproducible, including pre-registration of study protocols, sharing of data and materials, the use of transparent research methods, and open access publishing. In this commentary, we describe and evaluate the current state of open science practices in behavioral addiction research. We highlight the specific value of open science practices for the field; discuss recent field-specific meta-scientific reviews that show the adoption of such practices remains in its infancy; address the challenges to engaging with open science; and make recommendations for how researchers, journals, and scientific institutions can work to overcome these challenges and promote high-quality, transparently reported behavioral addiction research. By collaboratively promoting open science practices, the field can create a more sustainable and productive research environment that benefits both the scientific community and society as a whole.
