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The environment of poverty: multiple stressor exposure, psychophysiological stress, and socioemotional adjustment.

The one in five children growing up in poverty in America have elevated risk for socioemotional difficulties. One contributing factor to their elevated risk may be exposure to multiple physical and psychosocial stressors. This study demonstrated that 8- to 10-year-old, low-income, rural children (N = 287) confront a wider array of multiple physical (substandard housing, noise, crowding) and psychosocial (family turmoil, early childhood separation, community violence) stressors than do their middle-income counterparts. Prior research on self-reported distress among inner-city minority children is replicated and extended among low-income, rural White children with evidence of higher levels of self- and parent-reported psychological distress, greater difficulties in self-regulatory behavior (delayed gratification), and elevated psychophysiological stress (resting blood pressure, overnight neuroendocrine hormones). Preliminary mediational analyses with cross-sectional data suggest that cumulative stressor exposure may partially account for the well-documented, elevated risk of socioemotional difficulties accompanying poverty.

Affective Symptoms↗

Duration and developmental timing of poverty and children's cognitive and social development from birth through third grade.

Relations of duration and developmental timing of poverty to children's development from birth to age 9 were examined by comparing children from families who were never poor, poor only during the child's infancy (0-3 years of age), poor only after infancy (4-9 years of age), and chronically poor. Chronically poor families provided lower quality childrearing environments, and children in these families showed lower cognitive performance and more behavior problems than did other children. Any experience of poverty was associated with less favorable family situations and child outcomes than never being poor. Being poor later tended to be more detrimental than early poverty. Mediational analyses indicated that poverty was linked to child outcomes in part through less positive parenting.

Child↗

Fitting in matters: markers of in-group belonging and academic outcomes.

Minority boys are at risk of academic disengagement. Prior research documents that an aspect of racial-ethnic identity, in-group connection, can buffer against this risk, but that in-group connection is undermined in high-risk neighborhoods. We examined another way that boys may feel connected to the in-group, by looking like in-group members. We hypothesize that physical markers of in-group membership can serve to improve boys' sense of belongingness, thereby facilitating their engagement in school. We tested our model with low-income, high-risk African American (Study 1, n= 102) and Latino (Study 2, n= 66) teens. Hierarchical regression supported our model; dark skin tone was a protective factor (and light skin tone a risk factor) for African American boys, and feeling that one looks Latino was a protective factor (and feeling that one does not look Latino a risk factor) for Latino boys' grades, in-class behavior, and school engagement. Mediational analyses suggest that markers of belongingness have their impact via peer-group choice.

Adolescent↗

Vasovagal symptoms mediate the relationship between predonation anxiety and subsequent blood donation in female volunteers.

BACKGROUND: Although not universal, a certain amount of predonation anxiety is common and not surprising among inexperienced blood donors. Variations in predonation anxiety, however, may influence the donor's experience in several respects and might be related to the likelihood of subsequent donation even among those who do not report particularly high levels of anxiety. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 671 inexperienced blood donors (zero or one prior donation) enrolled in a treatment study and completed questionnaires assessing anxiety before and after giving blood. Ratings of pain and blood donation-related symptoms were obtained after giving blood, as well as information from the nurses about the blood donation procedure. Follow-up information on number of additional visits to a blood collection clinic during the subsequent year was also obtained for most participants. RESULTS: Predonation anxiety was positively related to ratings of blood donation-related symptoms and chair reclining by the nurses and negatively related to the donor's rating, obtained at the end of the procedure, of the likelihood that he or she would give blood again. Women, but not men, with higher predonation anxiety were significantly less likely to return to a blood clinic in the following year. The results of mediation analyses suggest that this was due to the association between anxiety and donation-related symptoms. CONCLUSION: The results do not indicate whether or not it is feasible or useful to modify predonation anxiety, but highlight the relationships between the emotional state of inexperienced donors and several aspects of the donation experience, including subsequent donor return. Further study of the psychosocial aspects of blood donation and examination of related research (e.g., treatment of dental anxieties) may be worthwhile.

Anxiety↗

The effects of self-esteem and ego threat on interpersonal appraisals of men and women: a naturalistic study.

A naturalistic study examined the effects of self-esteem and threats to the self on interpersonal appraisals. Self-esteem scores, ego threat (operationalized as a substantial decrease in self-esteem across an average of 9 months), and their interaction were used to predict likability and personality perceptions of college men and women. The results revealed a curvilinear function explaining likability: Moderate to low self-esteem men and women were higher in likability when threatened, whereas high self-esteem men were seen as less likable when threatened. Personality ratings indicated that high self-esteem men and women who were threatened were rated highest on Antagonism (i.e., fake, arrogant, unfriendly, rude, and uncooperative). Mediational analyses revealed that differences in Antagonism statistically accounted for differences in likability. These patterns are interpreted with respect to gender and time in interpersonal perceptions as well as naturalistic versus laboratory investigations.

Adult↗

"Saying one thing and doing another": examining the impact of event order on hypocrisy judgments of others.

This study investigated whether the temporal order of people's expressed statements and their behaviors affected others' judgments of hypocrisy, and why. It was proposed that hypocrisy would be greater when a statement establishing a personal standard preceded a behavior violating that standard as opposed to the reverse order. This order effect occurred in three studies, generalizing across two topic areas (healthy living and safe sex) and for both normative and non-normative statements (pro/anti-safe sex). Mediation analyses indicated that the reverse order mitigated against hypocrisy because the target's inconsistency was attributed to dispositional change. The discussion addresses additional variables likely to affect hypocrisy and the relationship of this research to hypocrisy paradigms in dissonance.

Analysis of Variance↗

Correlates and consequences of exposure to video game violence: hostile personality, empathy, and aggressive behavior.

Research has shown that exposure to violent video games causes increases in aggression, but the mechanisms of this effect have remained elusive. Also, potential differences in short-term and long-term exposure are not well understood. An initial correlational study shows that video game violence exposure (VVE) is positively correlated with self-reports of aggressive behavior and that this relation is robust to controlling for multiple aspects of personality. A lab experiment showed that individuals low in VVE behave more aggressively after playing a violent video game than after a nonviolent game but that those high in VVE display relatively high levels of aggression regardless of game content. Mediational analyses show that trait hostility, empathy, and hostile perceptions partially account for the VVE effect on aggression. These findings suggest that repeated exposure to video game violence increases aggressive behavior in part via changes in cognitive and personality factors associated with desensitization.

Adolescent↗

Coping with terrorism: the impact of increased salience of terrorism on mood and self-efficacy of intrinsically religious and nonreligious people.

It was hypothesized that intrinsic religiousness helps to cope with increased salience of terrorism. Intrinsically religious and non-religious participants were told that it is highly probable or highly improbable, respectively, that terrorist attacks will occur in Germany. High probability of terrorism only negatively affected the mood of non-religious participants but not of intrinsically religious participants (Study 1). Using as a realistic context of investigation the terrorist suicide bombings in Istanbul, the authors replicated this finding and shed some light on the underlying psychological processes (Study 2): On the day of the terrorist attacks (high salience of terrorism), non-religious participants experienced less positive emotions and less self-efficacy than did intrinsically religious participants. Two months later (low salience of terrorism), no differences were found between non-religious and intrinsically religious participants with regard to mood and self-efficacy. Mediational analyses suggested that the mood effects were associated with differences in the reported sense of self-efficacy.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

What the voice reveals: within- and between-category stereotyping on the basis of voice.

The authors report research that attempts to shift the traditional focus of visual cues to auditory cues as a basis for stereotyping. Moreover, their approach examines whether gender-signaling vocal cues lead not only to between-category but also to within-category gender stereotyping. Study 1 showed that both men and women vary within category in how feminine their voices sound and that perceptions of vocal femininity are highly consensual. Furthermore, the measured acoustic characteristics that differed between gender were also related to perceptions of within-gender femininity. Subsequent studies demonstrated that variability in vocal femininity affects gender stereotyping when the targets are all of the same gender (Study 2) and when the targets are of different genders (Study 3). In the latter case, evidence of both category-based and feature-based stereotyping was found. Mediation analyses showed that the relationship between acoustics and stereotyping was in part due to femininity.

Adolescent↗

Association between the gut microbiome and plasma metabolites linked to vocalization-based temperament in Merino sheep.

BACKGROUND: Temperament, as a determinant of behavioural and emotional responses, has a substantial adaptive value in different environments. This study aims to investigate the association between the gut microbiota and temperament plasticity, and clarify the potential metabolic mechanism that underpins that association by running a multi-omics study in sheep. METHODS: The TrackSheep research cohort was generated using 200 healthy juvenile Merino ewes, and the rumen microbiota, plasma metabolome, and temperament phenotype was measured. RESULTS: Rumen metagenomic analysis identified 25 microbial species and 16 MetaCyc pathways that explained 37.5% and 11.1%, respectively, of the variation in temperament as estimated using the vocal reactivity to stress. Among these, the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) shunt and allantoin degradation pathways showed the strongest associations with vocal behaviour. Multi-omic integration linked these microbial pathways to plasma metabolites that are involved in neurotransmission, antioxidant defense, and energy metabolism, including acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) and urocortisone, which partially mediated the effects of microbial pathways on vocalisations. Notably, functional genomic and mediation analyses indicated that the abundance of Cryptobacteroides sp902761655 was associated with the activity of GABA shunt pathway, where GABA co-occurred with succinate production, in turn correlating with reduced inhibitory effects of ALCAR on stress-susceptible temperament. Although plasma metabolite shifts observed immediately after behavioural tests reflected stress exposure, their associations with rumen microbiota highlight microbiome-metabolite interplay that could underly behavioural variation. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides the first large-scale multi-omics evidence linking the rumen microbiome to a dimension of emotional reactivity in livestock, while underscoring the need for longitudinal and experimental validation to establish causal mechanisms. Video Abstract.

Animals↗

Interconnected influences of diet, gut microbiome, and metabolome on cognition across three metabolomics platforms.

Cognitive impairment is increasing with global aging, yet mechanisms linking diet, the gut microbiome, and metabolism to cognitive function remain unclear. To investigate a diet-microbiome-metabolome axis associated with cognition, we integrated fecal metagenomics, diet, and multi-platform plasma metabolomics in 505 older adults from four ADRCs. Several microbes broadly associated with circulating metabolites were also linked to multiple measures of cognitive performance. These taxa exhibited coordinated metabolic signatures, with cognition-positive microbes associated with antioxidant, lipid, and microbial-host co-metabolites, and microbes negatively associated with cognition were linked to inflammatory and aromatic amino acid-derived metabolites. Dietary patterns, particularly the Healthy Eating Index Greens and Beans component, were associated with microbial composition and metabolomic structure. Mediation analyses supported a diet-microbe-metabolite-cognition pathway, while metabolites remained associated with cognition after accounting for microbial features. These findings highlight the metabolome as a central integrator of diet, microbial activity, and cognitive function.

Journal Article↗

Devaluing domains in response to threatening intergroup comparisons: perceived legitimacy and the status value asymmetry.

Group status and status legitimacy were tested as moderators of devaluing in response to threatening intergroup comparisons. In 3 experiments, participants received feedback comparing their in-group (based on school or gender) to a higher or lower status out-group. When the legitimacy of group status differences was assumed (Studies 1 and 2) or manipulated (Study 3), participants devalued the domain when their in-group compared unfavorably with a lower status out-group but did not devalue the domain when their in-group compared unfavorably with a higher status out-group. In Study 3, this status value asymmetry was eliminated when status differences were delegitimized. Mediational analyses suggested that the status value asymmetry was explained by the perceived utility of the domain for gaining status-relevant rewards.

Adult↗

Primary care residents' characteristics and motives for providing differential medical treatment of cervical cancer screening.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer screening rates in the United States are sub-optimal. Physician factors likely contribute to these lower rates. Previous studies provide inconclusive evidence about the association between physician characteristics and the likelihood of addressing cervical cancer. This report assesses potential mechanisms that explain why certain providers do not address cervical cancer screening. METHODS: One hundred primary care residents from various specialties were asked to indicate the preventive topics they would address with a hypothetical white female in her early 20s, who was portrayed as living a "high risk" lifestyle, and visiting her provider only for acute care reasons. RESULTS: Among the provider characteristics assessed, only residents' ethnicity was associated with the likelihood of and time spent addressing cervical cancer screening. In particular, Asian-American residents were least likely to address cervical cancer, while African-American residents were most likely. A mediation analyses revealed that perceived barriers for addressing cervical cancer accounted for this difference. CONCLUSIONS: Study results suggest that there may be cultural factors among health care providers that may account for differential referral and treatment practices. Findings from this study may help identify factors that explain why cervical cancer screening rates are not higher.

Ethnicity↗

[The networking model (example and commentary).].

The article presents a new short team made of intervention in a situation crisis in psychiatry. This new approach developed by Ross V. Speck and his collaborators aims at involving the relatives and friends of the family in crisis in order to help the seeing through of a dead-end situation. The authors, after describing the main intervention criteria as well as the process and role of the mediators, analyse some of the parameters differentiating this model from the traditional approaches. In their commentary they use a bio-psychosocial approach to mental illness.

English Abstract↗

Product analyses of ozone mediated nitration of benzimidazole derivatives with nitrogen dioxide: formation of 1-nitrobenzimidazoles and conversion to benzotriazoles.

Several benzimidazole derivatives having electron-withdrawing or -donating substituent(s) at the benzene moiety were used as models of the imidazole moiety of purine bases and their nitration with nitrogen dioxide and ozone (so-called Kyodai nitration) were examined. Products were extracted from the reaction mixture with AcOEt and their structures were analyzed. 1-Nitrobenzimidazole derivatives and unexpected 1-nitrobenzotriazole derivatives were identified. Although the yields of 1-nitrobenzimidazole derivatives were quite low, these were all new compounds that could be obtained only by Kyodai nitration. It was speculated that benzotriazoles were formed via 1-nitrobenzimidazoles and subsequent nitration toward benzotriazoles resulted in the formation of 1-nitrobenzotriazoles.

Benzimidazoles↗

Stick and grip: measurement systems and quantitative analyses of integrin-mediated cell adhesion strength.

Cell adhesion to extracellular matrix components involves integrin receptor-ligand binding and adhesion strengthening, comprising receptor clustering, cytoskeletal interactions, and cell spreading. Although elucidation of the biochemical events in adhesive interactions is rapidly advancing, the mechanical processes and mechanisms of adhesion strengthening remain poorly understood. Because the biochemical and biophysical processes in adhesive interactions are tightly coupled, mechanical analyses of adhesion strength provide critical information on structure-function relationships. This review focuses on (a) measurement systems for cell adhesion strength and (b) quantitative analyses of integrin-mediated strengthening to extracellular matrix components.

Cell Adhesion↗

Overexpression of CREB reduces CRE-mediated transcription: behavioral and cellular analyses in transgenic mice.

The CREB transcription factor mediates neuronal plasticity in many systems, but the relationship between CREB levels and CRE-mediated transcription in individual neurons in vivo is unclear. In FVB/N nontransgenic mice, we observed that Purkinje cells showed low basal levels of Ser(133)-phosphorylated CREB protein yet displayed strong CRE-directed transcription. Transgenic mice overexpressing CREB in Purkinje cells and dentate gyrus granule cells showed a decreased CRE-lacZ signal in the same cells, indicating repression of ATF/CREB family function. Dentate region long-term potentiation was not altered by these changes in CREB expression. CREB transgenic mice demonstrated an inability to perform the rotarod task, without signs of overt ataxia. Our results demonstrate that the level of phosphorylated CREB protein is not a reliable indicator of CRE-mediated function. Furthermore, we conclude that CRE-mediated transcription may be linked to only a subset of cerebellum-mediated motor behaviors and may not be universally required for long-lasting synaptic potentiation.

Activating Transcription Factors↗