A meta-analysis of correlations between depression and first person singular pronoun use

Depression is a burden. We discuss how theories, identification, assessment, and treatment of depression are at least partially tied to the correlation between first person singular pronoun use and individual differences in depression. We conducted a meta-analysis (k = 21, N = 3758) of these correlations, including numerous unpublished correlations from the file drawer. Our fixed effects analysis revealed a small correlation (r = 0.13, 95% CI = [0.10–0.16]) by modern standards. The correlation was not moderated by gender, nor by whether the effect had been published. These results more firmly establish first person singular pronoun use as a linguistic marker of depression—a marker that appears to be useful across demographic lines.     

When men and women differ in self-esteem and when they don’t: A meta-analysis

A meta-analysis of gender differences in self-esteem (1148 studies from 2009 to 2013; total N = 1,170,935) found a small difference, g = 0.11 (95% CI = 0.10–0.13), favoring males. Additionally, (1) the gender difference increased with age until late adolescence, and declined afterwards; (2) Whites, Hispanics, and Asian Americans showed the same gender difference whereas African Americans and marginal groups (e.g., immigrants) did not show any difference; (3) the gender difference was larger in more developed countries characterized by values that espouse equality and freedom; and (4) inspection of previous reviews showed that the gender difference emerged after the 1970s, increased until 1995, and declined afterwards. A three-stage model of comparison processes was proposed to account for these results.     

Cognitive Load Undermines Thought Suppression in Acute Stress Disorder

Thought suppression studies demonstrate that attempts to suppress can be undermined by cognitive load. We report the first instance in which this has been tested experimentally in a sample of recently traumatized individuals. Individuals with and without acute stress disorder (ASD) were recruited following recent trauma and randomized to load or no load conditions (N = 56). They monitored intrusive memories during baseline, suppression, and think anything phases. The impact of suppression and load on self-reported intrusions, attention bias (dot-probe), and memory priming (word-stem task) was assessed. The ASD load group were less able to suppress memories (d = 0.32, CI₉₅ [− 0.15, 0.83], p = .088) than the ASD no load group (d = 0.63, CI₉₅ [0.08, 1.24], p < .001). In the think anything phase, the ASD load group reported more intrusions than the ASD no load or non-ASD groups (with and without load). No consistent findings were observed in relation to attentional bias. ASD load individuals exhibited stronger priming responses for motor vehicle accident and assault words than all other groups (ds between 0.35–0.73). Working memory did not moderate any outcomes of interest. The findings indicate that cognitive load interferes with suppression and may enhance access to trauma memories and associated material. The study extends previous research by demonstrating these effects for the first time in a clinical sample of recent survivors of trauma.     

La sociabilité et l’attrait pour la solitude des adultes à haut potentiel intellectuel (HPI)

There is evidence that gifted children tend to score above average on most measures of social adjustment (Zettergren & Bergman, 2014) of which sociability is a part. They are also considered more independent and autonomous (French et al., 2011). However, few data are available for adults. The goal of this study was therefore to assess the levels of gifted adults’ autonomy and desire for solitude, as well as their levels of sociotropy, defined as the motivation to engage in positive interchange with others. An experimental group of 106 gifted adults [55 women; m_age = 37.45 (± 8.50) years; m_IQ = 139.90 (± 6.46)] and as many control adults [52 women; m_age = 35.88 (± 10.57) years] completed the Sociotropy and Autonomy Scale (Beck, Epstein, Harrison, & Emery, 1983). Results showed that gifted adults score higher on the Sociotropy scale, suggesting that they are more sociable. They would have a greater social sensitivity including a lesser need for social affiliation, a superior fear of criticism and rejection and a greater desire to please others. Compared to the control group, gifted adults depicted themselves as being more autonomous and goal oriented. They also reported a greater need for solitude, associated with a greater appreciation of their freedom of action and movement. This study was the first to investigate both sociability and desire for solitude in gifted adults. It suggests that gifted adults are highly motivated to engage in positive interactions with others, although they do not express the same needs as their peers regarding the frequency, quantity and quality of these interactions.     

Skepticism: Genuine unbelief or implicit beliefs in the supernatural?

We examined whether skeptics hold implicit supernatural beliefs or implicit cognitive underpinnings of the beliefs. In study 1 (N = 57), participants read a biological or a religious story about death. The story content had no effect on skeptics’ (or believers’) afterlife beliefs. Study 2 examined the relationships between religious and non-religious paranormal beliefs and implicit views about whether supernatural and religious phenomena are imaginary or real (n1 = 33, n2 = 31). The less supernatural beliefs were endorsed the easier it was to connect “supernatural” with “imaginary”. Study 3 (N = 63) investigated whether participants’ supernatural beliefs and ontological confusions differ between speeded and non-speeded response conditions. Only non-analytical skeptics’ ontological confusions increased in speeded conditions. The results indicate that skeptics overall do not hold implicit supernatural beliefs, but that non-analytically thinking skeptics may, under supporting conditions, be prone to biases that predispose to supernatural beliefs.     

Positive alcohol expectancies in the French context: factorial properties of data from a large sample of alcohol drinkers

A French adaptation of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire was able to provide data with hierarchical properties predicted from Goldman et al. (Psychol. Assess. 9 (1997) 145) study. The hierarchical structure was replicated using parcelled data from a sample of 1006 adult French drinkers, mean age = 22. Using criteria of stochastic homogeneity and geometrical consistency to select the measurement variables led to a 16-item solution. As Goldman et al.’s results suggested, the general factor could be replaced by factor Arousal/Power, with an acceptable goodness-of-fit, χ²(101, N = 1006) = 203.8. A MIMIC model suggested that the factor Arousal/Power was positively associated with a dichotomous measure of drinking habit, d = 0.83.     

Using Mindfulness- and Acceptance-Based Treatments With Clients From Nondominant Cultural and/or Marginalized Backgrounds: Clinical Considerations,Meta-Analysis Findings,and Introduction to the Special Series: Clinical Considerations in using Acceptance- and Mindfulness-based Treatments With Diverse Populations

A growing body of research suggests that mindfulness- and acceptance-based principles can increase efforts aimed at reducing human suffering and increasing quality of life. A critical step in the development and evaluation of these new approaches to treatment is to determine the acceptability and efficacy of these treatments for clients from nondominant cultural and/or marginalized backgrounds. This special series brings together the wisdom of clinicians and researchers who are currently engaged in clinical practice and treatment research with populations who are historically underrepresented in the treatment literature. As an introduction to the series, this paper presents a theoretical background and research context for the papers in the series, highlights the elements of mindfulness- and acceptance-based treatments that may be congruent with culturally responsive treatment, and briefly outlines the general principles of cultural competence and responsive treatment. Additionally, the results of a meta-analysis of mindfulness- and acceptance-based treatments with clients from nondominant cultural and/or marginalized backgrounds are presented. Our search yielded 32 studies totaling 2,198 clients. Results suggest small (Hedges' g = .38, 95% CI = .11 – .64) to large (Hedges' g = 1.32, 95% CI = .61 – 2.02) effect sizes for mindfulness- and acceptance-based treatments, which varied by study design.     

Teacher-student relationship quality and academic achievement in elementary school: A longitudinal examination of gender differences

Multiple group longitudinal cross-lagged panel models were implemented to understand the directional influences between teacher-student closeness and conflict and measured math and reading achievement across elementary grades and gender groups using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development longitudinal sample (N = 1133). Specifically, after testing multiple group longitudinal measurement invariance to ensure consistent measurement across genders and time, and tests of equivalence of the latent parameters, we were interested in whether longitudinal changes in teacher-rated closeness and conflict explained longitudinal changes in achievement, and vice versa, and whether those longitudinal influences varied by gender. Latent teacher-student closeness decreased for both genders over time (Cohen's d = − 0.15 to − 0.32), but latent conflict increased for males (Cohen's d = 0.16). There was also increased heterogeneity in teacher-student relationship quality for males relative to females. Math and reading achievement had medium reciprocal effects (β = 0.12 to 0.23), and previous math achievement had small to medium effects on subsequent teacher-student closeness (β = 0.08 to 0.11) and conflict (β = − 0.07 to − 0.09). Teacher-student conflict and closeness did not influence subsequent levels of math or reading achievement once previous levels were controlled. Further, these influences were consistent across gender groups despite latent differences in teacher-student closeness and conflict with teachers reporting closer relationships with female students and more conflictual relationships with male students.     

Drive for leanness and health-related behavior within a social/cultural perspective

We examined relationships between drive for leanness and perceived media pressure to change appearance, internalization of an ideal physique, exercise frequency, and dieting. Men and women (N = 353) completed the Drive for Leanness Scale, the Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire-3, the Eating Attitudes Test-26, and a demographic inventory. Drive for leanness was significantly correlated with athletic internalization (.52), pressure to attain an ideal physique (.25), exercise frequency (.36), and dieting (.25). Structural equation modeling revealed a good fitting model (χ² = 2.85, p < .241; CFI = .99; NNFI = .98; RMSEA = .04; SRMR = .02) with internalization predicting drive for leanness, which in turn predicted dieting and exercise. Results reveal social/cultural theory helps enhance the understanding of the drive for leanness and its relationship with health-related behavior.     

Measuring Big-Five personality dimensions with the implicit association test – Implicit personality traits or self-esteem?

We examined whether the implicit association test (IAT) could serve as an implicit measure of the dimensions of the Five-Factor Model of Personality. In the first study (N = 84) IAT-effects of the Big-Five (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Openness) were found and the IAT showed good internal consistencies and convergent validity with an explicit Big-Five questionnaire (NEO-FFI-30). In a second study (N = 50), conducted to determine the overlap of the personality-IATs with implicit self-esteem, the Extraversion and the Neuroticism-IAT were shown to correlate with a self-esteem-IAT only moderately.     

Personality measured as Murray’s psychological needs and all-cause mortality: 41 years of follow-up of a population-based sample

ObjectiveTo examine the associations between personality traits, measured as Murray’s psychological needs, and mortality over 41 years.MethodWe used a general population sample aged 18–65 (n = 1094) examined in 1970 according to the Cesarec-Marke Personality Schedule (eleven traits) linked to mortality data. Internal associations were examined using factor analysis, and their associations with mortality using Cox proportional hazard regression models.ResultsDuring follow-up, 513 persons died. In men aged 26–45, achievement and affiliation predicted increased mortality: HR = 1.19, 95% CI 1.04–1.36 and HR = 1.16, 95% CI 1.01–1.33 per step on a stanine scale. In men aged 18–25, nurturance was protective: HR = 0.77, 95% CI, 0.64–0.98 per stanine. In women aged 18–25, feelings of guilt increased the risk of mortality, while dominance was protective: HR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.09–1.75, and HR = 0.74, 95% CI 0.55–0.99 per stanine, respectively. In women aged 46–65, exhibition increased the risk of mortality: HR = 1.09, 95% CI, 1.00–1.18 per stanine. There were no significant associations when all age groups were combined.ConclusionsPersonality traits, measured as Murray’s needs, associated with mortality, but the differed according to age at assessment and sex.     

The relationship between computer-game preference,gender, and mental-rotation ability

This study examined how computer-game preference relates to mental-rotation test (MRT) performance and to gender differences. Subjects were 861 German secondary-school children (mean age = 14.67; range 10–20 years). Latent class analysis with the data of a computer-game preference scale revealed three types of players: “non-players”, “action-and-simulation game players” and “logic-and-skill-training game players”. Large gender differences were found with respect to class assignment. More females than males were found in the “logic-and-skill-training game player” class (82.9%) and in the class of “non-players” (81.9%). Males in contrast were overrepresented (81.7%) in the class of “action-and-simulation game players”. As expected, males on average outperformed females in mental-rotation test performance (d = 0.63). Furthermore, ANOVA results indicated mean differences in mental-rotation ability between action-and-simulation players and non-players (partial η² = .01) as well as age differences (partial η² = .04). With boys, non-players on average had lower MRT scores than action-and-simulation game players. For females, computer-game preference was unrelated to MRT performance. Results are discussed within a nature–nurture-interactionist framework of gender differences in spatial abilities.     

Depression mediates the relationship between social performance impairment and hostility

The goal of this study was to test depressive symptoms as a mediator between social difficulties and hostility in young adults. Hostility is often a reaction to both intrinsic and extrinsic factors; therefore a greater understanding of contributing factors is needed, especially among emerging adults. College students (n = 608; 408 females, 200 males) self-reported on social difficulties, depression, and hostility. Via exploratory factor analyses, two latent constructs related to social difficulty were identified: social performance and social motivation. Using structural equation modeling, the direct effects found that poor social performance was significantly positively associated with BPAQ Total (β = .44, p < .01). Social motivation was not associated with BPAQ Total (β = −.07, p = .21). Further, depression scores were found to partially mediate the relationship between social performance deficits (β = .34, p < .01; 95% CI = .05–.16), but not social motivation (β = −.06, p > .05; 95% CI = −.04 to .04), and overall aggression. Results are discussed in terms of the influence of negative affect and impaired emotion regulatory processes on hostility as a consequence of social performance deficits.     

Personality and physical activity: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Whether personality determines physical activity or its outcomes is relevant for theory and public health but has been understudied. We estimated the population correlations between Big-Five personality factors and physical activity and examined whether they varied according to sample characteristics and study features. Database searches were conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, for articles published in the English language prior to November 1st, 2013. Sixty-four studies including a total of 88,400 participants yielded effects (k) for Extraversion (88), Neuroticism (82), Conscientiousness (69), Openness (51) and Agreeableness (52). Significant mean r was found for Extraversion (r = .1076), Neuroticism (r = −.0710), Conscientiousness (r = .1037) and Openness (r = .0344), but not Agreeableness (r = .0020). Effects were moderately heterogeneous (I² range = 44–65%) and varied by sample characteristics (e.g., age, gender, or clinical status) and/or study features (e.g., measure quality or item format). This analysis expands results of previous reviews and provides new support for a relationship between physical activity and Openness. Future studies should use better measures of physical activity and prospective designs, adjust for statistical artifacts, and consider advances in the conceptualization of personality.     

The relation between empathy and offending: A meta-analysis

A meta-analysis of k = 38 studies (60 independent effect sizes), including 6631 participants, was conducted to investigate whether differences in cognitive and affective empathy exist between offenders and non-offenders. Cognitive empathy was more strongly associated with offending (d = .43) than affective empathy (d = .19). Moderator analyses revealed that various study and participant characteristics (i.e., year of publication, impact factor, age and sex of the participant, and assessment instrument) influenced the strength and direction of the association between cognitive empathy and offending. Type of assessment instrument, the number of variables on which the offender and comparison group were matched, age and sex of the participants influenced the strength of the association between affective empathy and offending.     

Implicit need for achievement predicts attenuated cortisol responses to difficult tasks

The present research tested the hypothesis that the implicit need for achievement (n Achievement) predicts attenuated cortisol (C) responses to difficult tasks, because it represents a propensity to view difficulty as a cue to mastery reward. In two studies, n Achievement was assessed through content-coding of imaginative stories and salivary C was assessed both at baseline and post-task. In Study 1 (N = 108 US students), n Achievement predicted an attenuated C response to a one-on-one competition in the laboratory, regardless of whether participants won or lost. In Study 2 (N = 62 German students), n Achievement predicted an attenuated C response to the Trier Social Stress Test (Kirschbaum, Pirke, & Hellhammer, 1993), but not to a non-stressful control task. In Study 2 only, the attenuating effect of n Achievement was moderated by gender, with only men showing the effect. Across both studies, the average effect size of the association between n Achievement and C responses to difficult tasks was r = −.28. These findings point to a role of n Achievement in emotion regulation.     

Impact of the telephone motivational interviewing on the colorectal cancer screening participation. A randomized controlled study

IntroductionWhile high participation rates ensure the cost-effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening programs, it is well known that postal requests do not achieve acceptable levels of participation.ObjectiveThis randomized controlled study aimed to test the impact of individualized phone counseling to prompt people aged 50 to 74 to take a colorectal cancer test.MethodTwo phone strategies were compared. The first involved computer-aided individualized counseling while the second was based on motivational interviewing. A total of 49,972 people were randomly assigned to a control group (CG) and to the individualized counseling (IC) and motivational interviewing (MI) telephone groups.ResultsA simple call doubled the participation rate per protocol (19.2% > 9.2%; p < .001; r = .131; OR = 2.374), and tripled it when the interview was conducted (30.4% > 9.2%; p < .001; r = .219; OR = 4.321). In an intention-to-treat analysis, the benefit of calling by phone remained even higher than postal requests (10% > 9.2%; p < .01; r = .014; OR = 1.103). However, there was no impact of the type of interview on participation rates.ConclusionThe results are discussed for future research.     

Appearance-related teasing,body dissatisfaction,and disordered eating: A meta-analysis

A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between appearance and weight-based teasing and three outcome measures: body dissatisfaction, restrictive eating, and bulimic behaviors. Four meta-analyses were conducted. Fifty effect sizes (N = 10,618) resulted in a moderate effect size of .39 for the relationship between weight teasing and body dissatisfaction; 24 effect sizes (N = 7190) resulted in an effect size of .32 for the relationship between appearance teasing and body dissatisfaction; 20 effect sizes (N = 4792) resulted in an effect size of .35 for the relationship between weight teasing and dietary restraint; and 22 effect sizes (N = 5091) resulted in an effect size of .36 for the relationship between weight teasing and bulimic behaviors. Significant moderators that emerged were teasing measure type, publication type, study type, age group, and gender. The findings offer further support for the inclusion of strategies in body image and eating disorders’ prevention and intervention programs that focus on handling negative, appearance-related commentary.     

The network of conscientiousness

According to the network perspective, the coalescence of several personality characteristics into major personality dimensions results from a pattern of complex interactions that can be modeled as a network. We focused on one personality dimension, conscientiousness, and on its main facets. We administered a large battery of questionnaires to two samples (N = 210 and N = 230) and analyzed them by means of network analysis. The results showed that some elements of the network, such as general self-control and orientation toward the future, characterized all facets. These “shared” elements could be responsible for the facets to clump into one major dimension. Other elements of the network uniquely characterized different facets. These “unique” elements could underlie the main differences among conscientiousness facets.