Tightness shifts in the U.S. and China: Implications of tightening or loosening norms during the coronavirus pandemic

Emergent research identifies cultural tightness-looseness as an important factor for understanding cross-national outcome differences during the coronavirus pandemic. Because perceived tightness-looseness can be measured as an individual-level difference rather than a nation-level difference, and because tightness-looseness may shift during large-scale crises, we investigated whether such shifts occurred early in the coronavirus pandemic in both China (a relatively tight nation, n = 3642) and the U.S. (a relatively loose nation, n = 3583) across three cohorts. Tightness increased across cohorts in China and reduced across cohorts in the U.S. These changes transmitted corresponding indirect effects whereby compliance and institutional trust (scientific and government) about the pandemic were increased in China across cohorts, but decreased in the U.S. across cohorts. These patterns extend advice that national governments can increase compliance and trust via “tightening” by cautioning against norm-setters signaling the reverse (that norms about compliance are loose) given the outcomes observed in the U.S. samples.     

COVID-19, Sex,Addictions, Women's Health,Care of the Elderly,and Medical Education

Journal of Religion and Health -     

Towards a wider conception of autonomy support in adolescence: The contribution of reflective inner-compass facilitation to the formation of an authentic inner compass and well-being

Ample research has demonstrated the benefits of basic autonomy supportive practices (e.g., perspective-taking, choice, minimizing-control) for adolescents’ psychosocial functioning. Herein, we posit that there is one additional autonomy supportive practice with specific importance for adolescents’ development: Reflective Authentic Inner Compass facilitation. This practice is posited to contribute to the formation of an Authentic Inner-Compass: An action-guiding schema, informing youth on what they truly value, need, and want, and consisting of two parts: (1) A foundation including authentic values, interests, and life-aspirations, and (2) Autonomous commitment to future-oriented goals and decisions, based on the foundation. A longitudinal study of 18–19 year-old Israeli adolescents showed that perceived Reflective Authentic Inner Compass Facilitation by instructors uniquely predicted (beyond Basic Autonomy Support) adolescents’ experience of having an authentic inner-compass in the military domain, which then predicted autonomous engagement in plan-promoting activities. A cross-sectional study with 16?18 year-old Belgian adolescents showed that perceived Reflective Authentic Inner Compass Facilitation by parents uniquely predicted (beyond Basic Autonomy Support) the experience of having an authentic inner-compass, which then related positively to well-being. Implications of the notion of the authentic inner compass for the conceptualization of autonomy support and the experience of autonomy are discussed.

     

African Christian Scholars and the Study of African Traditional Religions: A Re-evaluation

The writings of African scholars who are committed to Christianity have been assessed negatively, particularly as regards the study of African traditional religions (ATRs). This article surveys the context that influenced African Christian scholars and illustrates why cultural nationalism features in some of their writings. While accepting the validity of some of the criticisms, this essay maintains that the writings of African Christian scholars remain important.     

In utero infection and adult schizophrenia

We review emerging evidence indicating that in utero exposure to infection is a risk factor for schizophrenia. It is hypothesized that a prenatal infection increases the liability to schizophrenia in adulthood by adversely affecting the maturation of critical brain structural and functional components implicated in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of the disorder. Early evidence for a role of in utero infection includes investigations linking schizophrenia with birth during the winter and in urban regions, and ecologic studies demonstrating associations between influenza epidemics and births of pre-schizophrenic patients. The findings of the latter studies are, however, equivocal. To more rigorously address this question, our group has used increasingly sophisticated research designs that incorporate more refined measures of exposure and outcome, and continuous follow-up of treated cases. This work has already yielded several intriguing findings, including associations between schizophrenia and two in utero infections--rubella and respiratory infection. We also describe our ongoing birth cohort investigations that are expected to advance this work further, including studies that utilize maternal serum samples drawn during pregnancy of offspring who were later diagnosed with schizophrenia.     

An Evaluation of a Holistic Program for at-Risk Teens and Their Parents

Increasing evidence indicates that adolescent behavior problems are related to family functioning. In general, findings have demonstrated the family’s critical role in facilitating developmental outcomes. This study evaluated a 6-week holistic program for at-risk teens and their parents entitled Creating a Responsible Thinker at baseline, post-test, and 3-month follow-up. Results demonstrated gender differences in the program’s effects on self-efficacy, specifically increased self-efficacy for females and reduced self-efficacy among males. Follow-up results suggested that teens reported better communication with their parents. These results underscore the appropriateness of a family-based approach to treatment for at-risk teens and their parents.