The Efficient Assessment of Self-Esteem: Proposing the Brief Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

Self-esteem is defined as sense of self-worth and self-respect, being crucial for understanding people’s well-being and success. It is one of the most studied constructs in the social sciences, with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) being the most used measure. Across four studies (N = 1450), we tested the psychometric parameters of an abbreviated version of the RSES. Through Item Response Theory, the five best items were selected to form the unidimensional Brief Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (B-RSES), a reliable and valid measure of self-esteem, which is invariant across age groups and gender. In addition, both RSES and B-RSES correlated very similarly with the Big Five Personality Factors. Also, the B-RSES was strongly correlated with three other short measures of self-esteem, besides being more strongly associated with a range of variables such as conscientiousness and self-competence in comparison to the other three short scales. Together, the B-RSES is especially useful in research that requires rapid evaluation and the use of multiple variables.

     

BDNF serum levels in subjects developing or not post-traumatic stress disorder after trauma exposure

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a syndrome resulting from exposure to a severe traumatic event that poses threatened death or injury and produces intense fear and helplessness. The neural structures implicated in PTSD development belong to the limbic system, an important region for emotional processing. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin that serves as survival factor for selected populations of central nervous system (CNS) neurons and plays a role in the limbic system by regulating synaptic plasticity, memory processes and behavior. Impaired BDNF production in the brain can lead to a variety of CNS dysfunctions including symptoms associated with PTSD. However, so far fewer studies have investigated this neurotrophin in patients with PTSD. Furthermore, given the multiple role of BDNF in various CNS disorders, it cannot be excluded that traumatic events per se may influence neurotrophin levels, without a direct association to the PTSD syndrome.     

Refining the psychometric properties of the circadian type inventory

The psychometric properties of the 18-item circadian type inventory (CTI) were examined in a non-shiftwork sample. Inter-item correlations for each scale were low to moderate. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) via structural equation modelling did not support the posited structure of the CTI. Principal components analysis and reliability analyses suggested the CTI is better represented by 11-items. The revised five item FR scale accounted for 27% of the variance, had stronger factor loadings and increased Cronbach alpha. The psychometric properties of the six item LV scale were marginally improved and explained 21% of the variance. The two-factor 11-item model was supported by CFA. Compared to the 18-item model, the 11-item model showed a marked improvement on several incremental fit indices and achieved a more parsimonious model fit. There was some indication of gender differences but a multi-group CFA indicated model parsimony was best for the invariant model. Gender difference needs to be further examined in large samples using a similar gender balance. It is concluded that the 11-item CTI is psychometrically superior to the original. However, its predictive efficacy needs to be examined in longitudinal studies.     

Around the world,adolescence is a time of heightened sensation seeking and immature self‐regulation

The dual systems model of adolescent risk‐taking portrays the period as one characterized by a combination of heightened sensation seeking and still‐maturing self‐regulation, but most tests of this model have been conducted in the United States or Western Europe. In the present study, these propositions are tested in an international sample of more than 5000 individuals between ages 10 and 30 years from 11 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, using a multi‐method test battery that includes both self‐report and performance‐based measures of both constructs. Consistent with the dual systems model, sensation seeking increased between preadolescence and late adolescence, peaked at age 19, and declined thereafter, whereas self‐regulation increased steadily from preadolescence into young adulthood, reaching a plateau between ages 23 and 26. Although there were some variations in the magnitude of the observed age trends, the developmental patterns were largely similar across countries.     

Trajectories of Italian Children’s Peer Rejection: Associations with Aggression,Prosocial Behavior,Physical Attractiveness,and Adolescent Adjustment

In the present study, the predictors and outcomes associated with the trajectories of peer rejection were examined in a longitudinal sample of Italian children (338 boys, 269 girls) ages 10 to 14 years. Follow-up assessments included 60% of the original sample at age 16–17. Low, medium, and high rejection trajectory groups were identified using growth mixture models. Consistent with previous studies, we found that (a) being less prosocial and more physically aggressive at age 10 was characteristic of those children with the high rejection trajectory; (b) being less attractive was related to higher peer rejection from age 10 to 14; and (c) boys with a high rejection trajectory showed high levels of delinquency and anxiety-depression and low levels of academic aspiration at age 16–17, whereas girls with a high rejection trajectory showed low levels of academic aspiration and social competence at age 16–17. Our findings indicate the detrimental consequences of peer rejection on children’s development and adjustment and shed light on the mechanisms that contribute to maintaining or worsening (e.g., being attractive, prosocial, and aggressive) a child’s negative status (e.g., being rejected) within his or her peer group over time.     

我国公立医疗机构转型政策量化分析

分析我国城市一二级公立医院转型为康复医院、老年护理院等接续性医疗机构政策的内外部特征,为后续政策的制定与完善提供参考。通过构建政策工具、政策利益相关者、政策力度三维政策分析框架,对相关政策进行多维分类分析。得出相关政策发文量呈波动增长趋势;环境型政策工具使用过溢,供给型政策工具内部结构配置失衡,需求型政策工具应用匮乏;对不同政策利益相关方的关注度存在差异;政策顶层设计欠缺,整体政策效力不高。建议优化政策工具使用,平衡各利益相关方需求,完善政策体系内容。

     

系统性综述干细胞来源的生物材料采集的供者健康风险

通过检索国内外6个文献数据库以获取发表于2010年1月~2020年7月研究相关的文献,并对干细胞来源的生物材料采集的供者健康风险进行了系统性综述。50篇相关文献分析显示,在许多情况下,生物材料采集可使供者承受健康风险,包括麻醉、粒细胞集落刺激因子或促排卵药物使用、中心静脉导管放置、穿刺等带来的风险。此外,生物材料采集还可影响供者的心理健康。根据上述发现,建议干细胞来源的生物材料采集需要严格的伦理管控,以保障生物材料供者的健康权益。

     

不给予或撤除生命维持干预与安乐死、消极安乐死的概念辨析

不给予或撤除生命维持干预是临床实践中常见且棘手的伦理学问题。该问题的讨论应建立在清晰的概念之上,但不给予或撤除生命维持干预常与安乐死、消极安乐死和尊严死等概念混淆,引发误解。重新定义安乐死和消极安乐死具有理论和现实的紧迫性。基于汤姆•比彻姆和阿诺德•戴维森提出的安乐死定义,提出消极安乐死的定义。基于该定义,认为不给予或撤除生命维持干预与消极安乐死为交叉关系。鉴于安乐死概念的争议及其富含的感情色彩,强调讨论生命维持干预的使用时应区分事实与价值,并建议慎用或弃用安乐死与消极安乐死。

     

A new methodological approach to nonverbal behavior analysis in cultural perspective

The measurement of human behavior is a complex task, both for psychologists and human sciences researchers and with respect to technology, since advanced and sophisticated instruments may have to be implemented to manage the plurality of variables involved. In this article, an observational study is presented in which a quantitative procedure, theexternal variables method (Duncan & Fiske, 1977), was integrated with a structural analysis (Magnusson, 1993, 2000) in order to detect the hidden organization of nonverbal behavior in Italian and Icelandic interactions. To this aim, Theme software was introduced and employed. The results showed that both the frequency and the typology of gestures deeply change as a function of culture. Moreover, a high number of patterns was detected in both Italian and Icelandic interactions: They appeared to be complex sequences in which a huge number of events were constantly happening and recurring. In this domain, Theme software provides a methodological progression from the quantitative to the structural approach.