Conscientiousness mediates the relation between perceived parental socialisation and self-rated health

The pathways between parenting behaviours, personality and physical health have all been separately studied. Prior research has paid little attention to the indirect effects of personality in the path between parenting behaviours and better health. The purpose of this study was to explore the mediational effects of conscientiousness on the relationships between parental socialisation of responsibility and self-rated health, and to examine potential age differences in this mediational pathway. In total, 736 female and 749 male members across Japan participated in this study. They were divided into three groups by age category: younger-, middle-aged and older-aged. Conscientiousness and health were concurrently rated, while parental socialisation of responsibility was retrospectively assessed. Our analyses revealed that parental socialisation of responsibility is positively associated with conscientiousness and self-rated health, that conscientiousness is positively associated with self-rated health, and that conscientiousness fully mediated the effect of parental socialisation of responsibility on self-rated health. The mediational links were consistent across younger, middle-aged and older-aged cohorts. Our findings suggest that greater parental socialisation of responsibility relates to higher conscientiousness, and consequently healthier adults. These findings imply that parental behaviours could be a plausible target for intervention to foster the development of conscientiousness and better health.     

More than just body weight: The role of body image in psychological and physical functioning

The current study examined BMI and body image dissatisfaction as predictors of physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQL) and psychosocial functioning in a sample of 414 undergraduate students (mean age = 21.5, SD = 4.9; mean BMI = 23.6, SD = 5.2). In men and women, higher BMI was correlated with body image dissatisfaction and physical HRQL, but not with any measures of psychosocial functioning, whereas higher body image dissatisfaction was associated with poorer physical HRQL and psychosocial functioning. Furthermore, body image dissatisfaction was observed to mediate the relationship between BMI and physical HRQL in men and women. Interestingly, in this model, higher BMI predicted increased self-esteem. These findings suggest that body image dissatisfaction may be an important target for health interventions.     

Depression and interpersonal stress: The mediating role of emotion regulation

Maladaptive emotion regulation is a risk factor for depression when an individual is experiencing stressful interpersonal events. Although emotion regulation has several different dimensions, little is known about which of these mediate the relationship between interpersonal stress and depressive symptoms. The current study examined self-ratings of emotion regulation, interpersonal stress, and depression in a sample of non-clinical undergraduate students (N = 152). Our results indicated that two facets of emotion regulation (i.e., lack of emotional clarity and limited access to emotion regulation strategies) fully mediate the relationship between interpersonal stress and depression. Hence, to minimize depressive symptoms when experiencing interpersonal stress, our findings suggest that it is important for individuals to be clear about their feelings and to attempt to transition from negative feelings to alternative feelings.     

Absence of photodegradation in amorphous chalcogenide films with a narrow optical bandgap

The time-dependent change in photocurrent during illumination has been studied in amorphous arsenic tritelluride (a-As Te ), which is an amorphous 2 3 chalcogenide material with a narrow optical bandgap. No photodegradation in the photocurrent is observed in this material, although photodegradation occurs in most wide-bandgap amorphous chalcogenides.     

Accelerating heterogeneous nucleation to increase hardness and electrical conductivity by deformation prior to ageing for Cu-4 at.% Ti alloy

ABSTRACT

Deformation bands, especially shear bands were intentionally formed in supersaturated Cu-4 at.% Ti alloy by groove-rolling with 75% area reduction. Cold deformation prior to the ageing process changed the precipitation behaviour of the alloy. The deformed structure with shear bands was maintained, without showing recovery and recrystallisation, even after prolonged ageing at 450°C for more than one day. The thermally stable shear bands act as nucleation initiation sites and prevent the expansion of discontinuous cellular precipitates. The hardness reached a value of 305?Hv and an electrical conductivity of 15% IACS (IACS?=?International Annealed Copper Standard. 100% IACS is defined as the conductivity corresponding to a volume resistivity at 20°C of 17.241?nΩ), compared to 283?Hv and 13% IACS for conventional solid-solutioned and peak-hardened alloy. In addition, the ageing time to reach the highest hardness was shortened from 720 to 180?min at 450°C.     

Volitional lifestyle in healthy elderly: its relevance to rest-activity cycle,nocturnal sleep,and daytime napping

Sleep-related problems are prevalent among the aged. The present study examined the influence of a mentally active or "volitional" lifestyle on the rest-activity cycle, nocturnal sleep, and daytime napping in the healthy elderly. 14 aged individuals with a high Volitional lifestyle (M = 74.1 yr. old) and 14 with a Low Volitional lifestyle (M = 73.0 yr. old) were screened by questionnaires including the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale scale and the Self-confidence scale. Their activity levels were monitored by a wrist actigraph system for 14 consecutive days. They were also asked to record daily sleep logs. The total times of nocturnal sleep and daytime napping did not differ between the groups. However, the acrophases of circadian (tau = 24 hr.) and circasemidian (tau = 12 hr.) activity cycles were more advanced in the Low Volitional group. In addition, the High Volitional group took a daytime nap with a better timing than did the Low Volitional group: the former started a nap during the phase in which their activity level was going down, whereas the latter when their activity level was going up. These results suggest that high volitional lifestyle may be related to better rest-activity cycle in the healthy elderly.     

Effect of backchannel utterances on facilitating idea-generation in Japanese think-aloud tasks

The relation between backchannel utterance and idea-generation has hardly been studied. Based on preliminary investigations, we formulated a hypothesis that a listener's backchannel utterances facilitate a speaker's idea-generation. This study experimentally manipulated the frequency of backchannel utterances by listeners during speakers' idea-generation for think-aloud tasks. 16 Japanese female undergraduates participated. Analysis indicated that frequent backchannel utterances increased not only the number of ideas generated but also the speaking time for the tasks.     

The reliability of nocturnal vaginal blood flow

Fourteen subjects participated in a sleep study designed to document the reliability of measurements of REM-related vaginal blood-flow changes. Several standard sleep parameters were also examined for comparison with vaginal measures. The most reliable vaginal measure was the maximal change in disengorgement for a given REM period averaged across a night of REM periods. The reliability of this measure compared favorably with that of a highly reliable computerized measure of REM density. It is suggested that nocturnal vaginal blood-flow measures have sufficient reliability to be useful in the differential diagnosis of organic and psychogenic sexual dysfunction.This study was supported in part by a training grant to the Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville (USPHS532DE07133-02), and a grant from the NIH (USPHSCA26364R073241-29) to the second author.     

Shyness Clinic: A Social Development Program for Adolescents and Young Adults

Shyness clinic groups were offered in a university counseling center for adolescents and young adults experiencing discomfort and difficulties in interpersonal relationships. Thirty-four students went through a preassessment and screening procedure. Twenty-three participated fully in the program. The first part of the program focused on anxiety management; the second on assertiveness in social relationships; and the third on development of conversational skills. According to results on preprogram and postprogram self-report inventories, written feedback from participants, and observations of the group leaders, participants improved in social skills and ability to manage anxiety.     

Agent Perception in Children with and Without Imaginary Companions

This study examined whether children with and without imaginary companions differed in their attributions of agency to inanimate objects. In Study 1, preschool children were shown animation movies in which two geometric figures moved with systematic interaction or randomly. Then, children were asked about biological, emotional and cognitive properties of the figures. The results revealed that children with imaginary companions were more likely to attribute biological properties to the geometric figures that moved randomly compared to children without imaginary companions, but children with and without imaginary companions did not differ in their attributions of cognitive and emotional properties. In Study 2, children were asked about the biological, psychological and perceptual properties of a puppet and a human. Results showed that children with and without imaginary companions did not show the differences in the biological and psychological attributions. Results are discussed in terms of children's agent perception systems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.