Effects of Living Conditions, Political Orientation, and Empathy on Behaviors and Attitudes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Study in the Brazilian Context

Previous work has shown that is important to consider the disjunction between paranormal and nonparanormal beliefs about extraterrestrial life. The current study examined the association between both such beliefs and individual difference and demographic variables. A total of 555 British participants completed the Extraterrestrial Beliefs Scale, as well as measures of their Big Five personality scores, social conformity, sensation seeking, and demographics. Results showed no sex differences in ratings of paranormal and nonparanormal extraterrestrial beliefs, but participants rated nonparanormal beliefs more positively than paranormal beliefs. Results of structural equation modeling showed that individual difference factors (specifically, Openness, Conscientiousness, and social conformity) explained 21% of the variance in extraterrestrial beliefs, whereas demographic factors (specifically, education level, political orientation, and religiosity) explained 16% of the variance. Limitations and directions for future work are considered.

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Relationship of Sense of Coherence to Other Psychosocial Indices

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759.20.4.227 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 227-236 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Sara Holmberg ◽

Anders Thelin ◽

Eva-Lena Stiernström

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Psychosocial Factors ◽

Sense Of Coherence ◽

Living Conditions ◽

Strong Negative Correlation ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Positive Correlation ◽

Work Related ◽

Job Demand ◽

The Mean

Summary: The concept of “sense of coherence” (SOC) has been widely recognized since it was first introduced by Antonovsky. The originality and usefulness of the SOC scale and its relation to other psychosocial measures has been the subject of lively debate. The aim of this paper was to test for associations between SOC and work-related psychosocial factors (mainly the Job Demand-Control model), general living conditions, education, and social network factors. Cross-sectional data from a population-based sample of 1782 rural males from nine counties in Sweden were analyzed with a multiple regression technique. The subjects were occupationally active at inclusion and the mean age was 50 years (range 40-60). SOC was assessed with the original 29-item questionnaire. Psychosocial variables and lifestyle factors were assessed using questionnaires and structured interviews. The mean SOC among the subjects was 152.3 (standard deviation, 19.4). A strong negative correlation was found between SOC and job demand, whereas a positive correlation with job control was demonstrated. A positive correlation with general living conditions and with social support was also found. However, there was no correlation to education and occupation. Thus, SOC was shown to be strongly correlated to work-related psychosocial factors and social support, but independent of sociodemographic factors.

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