Religiosity,happiness, health,and psychopathology in a probability sample of Muslim adolescents

The aim of the present study was to explore the religiosity associations with the self-rating scales of happiness, mental health, physical health, anxiety, and depression. A sample (N?=?6,339) of Muslim Kuwaiti adolescents was recruited. Their ages ranged from 15 to 18. They responded to four self-rating scales to assess religiosity, happiness, mental health, and physical health, as well as the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale. Boys had higher mean scores on happiness, mental health, and physical health than did girls, whereas girls had higher mean scores on religiosity, anxiety, and depression. All the correlations were significant in both sexes. They were positive between each of the self-rating scales of religiosity, happiness, mental health, and physical health, and negative between these four rating scales and both anxiety and depression. A high-loaded and bipolar factor was disclosed and labelled “Religiosity and well-being vs. psychopathology.” In the stepwise regression, the main predictor of religiosity was happiness in both sexes.     

The relationships between subjective well-being,health, and religiosity among young adults from Qatar

Introduction: The aims of this study were to explore the associations between, and the factors of, subjective well-being, health, and religiosity among Qatari undergraduates. A sample of 113 male and 133 female college students from University of Qatar responded to the Oxford Happiness Inventory, Satisfaction With Life Scale, and Love of Life Scale, as well as to five self-rating scales to assess happiness, satisfaction with life, mental health, physical health, and religiosity. Men obtained a significantly higher mean score on self-rating of mental health than did their female counterparts. All the correlations between the scales were significant and positive. Principal components analysis yielded one factor in both the sexes and labelled “Well-being, health and religiosity.” The only predictor of religiosity was the self-rating scale of satisfaction in men and women. It was concluded that those who consider themselves as religious in the present study reported higher subjective well-being and good health.     

Insecure Attachment and Subclinical Depression,Anxiety, and Stress: A Three-Dimensional Model of Personality Self-Regulation As a Mediator

Although the effects of insecure attachment on vulnerability, incidence, and developing mental disorders have been confirmed by many studies, the mechanism of this effect is still unknown. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate the mediating and moderating role of the three-dimensional model of personality self-regulation in the relationship between insecure attachment and subclinical depression, anxiety, and stress. Four hundred Iranian students at Shiraz University were recruited and completed the following scales: the Revised Adult Attachment, Depression Anxiety Stress, Integrative Self-Knowledge, Mindful Attention Awareness, Self-Control, and Self-Compassion. Results showed that there was a moderate correlation among all the variables under study in the expected directions. Multiple mediating models analyses indicated that regarding the relationship between insecure attachment and depression, the components of integrative self-knowledge, self-control, and self-compassion functioned as mediators. However, regarding the relationship between insecure attachment and anxiety and stress, the components of integrative self-knowledge, mindfulness, and self-compassion relatively functioned as mediators. Further, our results showed that only mindfulness and self-compassion were identified as moderators in the relationship between insecure attachment and depression. It is concluded that insecure attachment may cause psychological damage due to deficiency in the components of the three-dimensional model of personality self-regulation, and that mindfulness and self-compassion may play a protective role in the relationship between insecure attachment and depression.     

A model of amygdala–hippocampal–prefrontal interaction in fear conditioning and extinction in animals

Empirical research has shown that the amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are involved in fear conditioning. However, the functional contribution of each brain area and the nature of their interactions are not clearly understood. Here, we extend existing neural network models of the functional roles of the hippocampus in classical conditioning to include interactions with the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. We apply the model to fear conditioning, in which animals learn physiological (e.g. heart rate) and behavioral (e.g. freezing) responses to stimuli that have been paired with a highly aversive event (e.g. electrical shock). The key feature of our model is that learning of these conditioned responses in the central nucleus of the amygdala is modulated by two separate processes, one from basolateral amygdala and signaling a positive prediction error, and one from the vmPFC, via the intercalated cells of the amygdala, and signaling a negative prediction error. In addition, we propose that hippocampal input to both vmPFC and basolateral amygdala is essential for contextual modulation of fear acquisition and extinction. The model is sufficient to account for a body of data from various animal fear conditioning paradigms, including acquisition, extinction, reacquisition, and context specificity effects. Consistent with studies on lesioned animals, our model shows that damage to the vmPFC impairs extinction, while damage to the hippocampus impairs extinction in a different context (e.g., a different conditioning chamber from that used in initial training in animal experiments). We also discuss model limitations and predictions, including the effects of number of training trials on fear conditioning.     

Sex differences in symptoms of depression among American children and adolescents

The Arabic Children's Depression Inventory in its English version was administered to a sample of 535 U.S. school students (11 to 18 years old). By sex, differences on total score and on 19 of 27 items (70.4%) were not statistically significant. Nevertheless, differences were significant for 8 (29.6%) items on which girls had higher mean scores. Half of the items were positive indicators of depression (I am sad, I feel lonely, I feel miserable, and I hate myself), while the other half were negative (I feel happy, Life is rosy, A lot of people like me, and I am optimistic).     

Sibship size, birth order, and personality

In a sample of 273 American college students who were administered seven personality tests, only death obsession scores were consistently associated with sibship size and birth order (not optimism, pessimism, anxiety, a Taoist orientation, suicidal ideation, or obsessive-compulsive tendencies).     

Examining college students' food security coping strategies and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic

College students' food situations may have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have affected their health and well-being. However, little is known about how the pandemic impacted students' food experiences and how students coped with food-related disruptions, particularly from the student's own perspective. This study reviews data from 571 undergraduates who attended public colleges during Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 and wrote a narrative about the pandemic's impact on their food experiences. Most students indicated they experienced a wide range of food difficulties and adapted new food practices. Despite these challenges, students emphasized proactive coping strategies and positive pandemic outcomes rather than difficulties and negative outcomes. These findings have implications for students' long-term health and well-being.     

nAch, risk-taking propensity, locus of control and entrepreneurship

Seventy-one entrepreneurs and 62 non-entrepreneurs were given tests of Locus of Control and Risk-taking Propensity, as well as nAch. Significant differences were found and led to a clarification of the concept of entrepreneurship.