Psychological inertia in adolescence: Sexist attitudes and cognitive and social strategies that hinder gender equality

Current Psychology - This work analyses sexist attitudes, cognitive strategies and social attitudes in young people between 12 and 16 years of age, attending secondary education. The...     

How do children deal with socio-moral conflicts? Self-conscious emotions and conflict resolution in the narratives of institutionalized and noninstitutionalized children

Introduction

Self-conscious emotions play an important role in children's psychosocial functioning.

Personality Traits and Plagiarism: an Empirical Study with Portuguese Undergraduate Students

Academic dishonesty is a major problem and is thus a highly relevant area of inquiry. Considerable research has shown that key traits from the Big Five model of personality are associated with various forms of anti-social behaviour. To date, however, relatively little research interest has been devoted to study the relationship between personality traits and plagiarism. This study attempts to fill this gap by examining the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and the inclination to commit plagiarism by undergraduate students. The main conclusion is that the inclination to plagiarize is negatively associated with Conscientiousness and Agreeableness traits. Neuroticism was not found to be related to the inclination to plagiarize. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

SETTING LIMITS TO PRACTICAL REFLECTION

According to a tradition going back to Socrates, one should thoroughly examine the grounds of one’s judgments before settling on what one has reason to do or believe. According to contemporary metaethical constructivism, assumed in this essay, reflective scrutiny is also central to assessing a judgment’s claim to justification. This essay argues against the injunctions to thoroughly examine oneself and seek ultimate reasons for one’s normative judgments. In other words, the essay argues against the ideal of the philosophical way of life. It shows that in most cases one does not have reason to question the practical conclusion of one’s initial deliberation. It is only under very limited conditions, specified in the essay, that one is justified in engaging in further reflection. Furthermore, the essay argues that if one does go for full self-examination, the consequences are most likely to be bad for oneself, given one’s practical interests.     

How do spatial representations enhance cognitive numerical processing?

Several philosophical theories attempt to explain how actions performed in the world enhance cognitive processing: internalism, active externalism, and cognitive integration. The aim of this paper is to examine whether the use of spatial representations in arithmetic can shed light on this debate. Relying on philosophical analysis, on a discussion of empirical work in the cognitive neuroscience of number, and on a historical case study, I will show that spatial representations of number indicate an integration between internal and external cognitive processes.     

An Overview of Genetic Counseling in Cuba

This brief report provides an overview of the history and current status of genetic services in Cuba. In 1971, the University of Medical Sciences of Havana began to train doctors in medical genetics according to the medicine development plan in Cuba. With the aim of introducing genetic services to the population, two main issues were identified: the impact of neural tube defects as a cause of infantile mortality, and a founder effect resulting in a high frequency of sickle cell anemia, which increased the mortality rate and impacted the quality of peoples' lives. The impact of consanguinity is variable; it depends on the isolation of the population, with rates of 1 to 11% in different regions for first and second cousin marriages. From 1981, the services of medical genetics began to expand to the entire country, according to a government directive, and the need to design a program for the specialty became evident. From 1995 to 2000, two Masters-level programs were designed by professors of the Department of Medical Genetics, University of Medical Sciences of Havana, and authorized by the Ministry of Higher Education. One program in medical genetics was designed for physicians with other specialties, and the second program was designed to train professionals to become genetic counselors. The majority of graduates from the latter program are working at the primary level of healthcare     

English language use as a risk factor for smoking initiation among Hispanic and Asian American adolescents: evidence for mediation by tobacco-related beliefs and social norms.

Acculturation increases the risk of smoking among Hispanic and Asian American adolescents, but the underlying mechanisms are not understood. This study examined associations between English language use and smoking among 4,167 Hispanic and 2,836 Asian American adolescents in California. Potential mediators were assessed, including access to cigarettes, perceived consequences, friends' smoking, cigarette offers, refusal self-efficacy, and prevalence estimates of peer smoking. English language use was associated with increased risk of lifetime smoking in both groups. This association became nonsignificant after access, perceived consequences, friends' smoking, and offers were controlled for. The acculturation process (as indicated by English language use) may be associated with smoking-related psychosocial variables, which may lead to an increased risk of experimentation with smoking.     

Risk Trajectories of Self-Destructiveness in Adolescence: Family Core Influences

The study of family factors, (namely, parenting, attachment and family functioning) that can either reduce or increase risk factors during adolescent development is crucial to the early identification of adolescents at risk for self-destructive thoughts and behaviors (SDTB). Altough several studies have highlighted the role of family factors, few have analysed the joint impact of parenting styles and attachment in SDT. This study aimed to: (1) to identify the dimensions of parenting styles and parental attachment that predict SDTB; (2) to determine the mediation effect of cohesion on the relation between these predictors and reports of SDTB; and (3) to analyze sex and age differences in the abovementioned process. Participants included 1,266 Portuguese adolescents with a mean age of 15.9 years. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that paternal and maternal rejection and paternal control were the most accurate predictors of SDTB, emphasizing their role as risk factors for maladaptive trajectories with reports of SDTB. Results clearly emphasized the relevancy of the fathers’ role in such maladaptive trajectories. Additionally, a mediation effect of cohesion and a moderation of sex were also found. This study highlights the importance of intervening with the family in preventive and therapeutic contexts regarding adolescents’ well-being and their relationship with parents.