Toward Generalized Concern: The Development of Compassion and Links to Kind Orientations

Compassion underlies kindness and as such, is important for creating harmonious societies. We examined children and adolescents’ personal experiences of compassion and then how youth with different compassion profiles differed in their kindness (i.e., dispositional sympathy and prosocial behavior). An ethnically diverse sample of 8-, 11-, and 15-year-olds ( N = 32; 66% girls) provided narratives of times they felt compassion. Next, in another diverse sample of 7-, 11-, and 15-year-olds ( N = 168; 49% girls), we assessed youths’ potential for global compassion (i.e., compassion that transcends intergroup boundaries) using a novel interview procedure. We also collected self- and caregiver-reports of dispositional sympathy and prosocial behavior. Youths’ narratives revealed that youth often experienced compassion toward peers and relatives following both physical and psychological sufferance and often mentioned responding to the suffering other with helping behavior. On average, youth reported moderate levels of global compassion (i.e., compassion toward a suffering victimizer) and developmental trends revealed that 15-year-olds reported lower feelings of compassion than 11-year-olds. Next, latent profile analysis showed that compassion-oriented youth (i.e., youth who displayed moderate-high levels of global compassion) were rated as more prosocial than non-compassion-oriented youth (i.e., those who displayed low levels of global compassion). We discuss findings in relation to theory and research on the development of kindness in general and in intergroup contexts.

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Irritability and mental health profiles among children and adolescents: A result of latent profile analysis

Journal of Affective Disorders ◽

10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.045 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kohei Kishida ◽

Masami Tsuda ◽

Fumito Takahashi ◽

Shin-ichi Ishikawa

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Latent Profile Analysis ◽

Profile Analysis ◽

Health Profiles ◽

Latent Profile

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Patterns of older Australians’ engagement in health-promoting activities: a latent profile analysis

Ageing and Society ◽

10.1017/s0144686x20001397 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Simone Pettigrew ◽

Liyuwork Mitiku Dana ◽

Michelle I. Jongenelis ◽

Ben Jackson

Keyword(s):

Psychological Factors ◽

Latent Profile Analysis ◽

Profile Analysis ◽

Later Life ◽

Active Group ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Health Promoting ◽

Low Levels ◽

Active Sport ◽

Latent Profile

Abstract Being active in later life is key to remaining physically and mentally healthy, and health in turn influences individuals’ ability to remain active. Activity prevalence figures can disguise the existence of clusters of older people who are very active due to regular participation in multiple categories of activity versus those who are sedentary. The aim of this study was to conduct segmentation analyses based on retired seniors’ engagement in various activities (walking, active sport/exercise, gardening and volunteering) to identify groups characterised by varying patterns of participation. The sample comprised 746 Western Australians aged 60+ years (range 60–95 years, average age 71.66 years, standard deviation = 6.57), 61 per cent of whom were female. Using latent profile analysis, four distinct segments emerged. Those respondents classified as belonging to the most active group exhibited moderate to high levels of participation across all four forms of activity, and tended to be older and more educated than other respondents. Those allocated to the least active group had very low levels of participation across most of the assessed activities and the least favourable physical and mental health scores. Overall, the results indicate the existence of highly divergent segments within the older population in terms of participation across various combinations of health-promoting activities. Segment membership appears to be more closely associated with physical and psychological factors than socio-demographic characteristics.

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GRIN2B mediates susceptibility to affective problems in children and adolescents

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.819 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S19-S19

Author(s):

M. Nobile

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Latent Profile Analysis ◽

Profile Analysis ◽

Association Studies ◽

Adolescent Psychopathology ◽

Externalizing Disorders ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Attention Problems ◽

Italian Population ◽

Latent Profile

ObjectivesAssociation studies have implicated the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 2B subunit gene (GRIN2B) as candidate for different brain illnesses, also including both internalizing and externalizing disorders. Here, we explored the association between selected SNPs of GRIN2B (rs5796555-/A; rs1012586C/G; rs2268119A/T; rs2216128A/G; rs11609779C/T; rs2192973G/A) and attention problems in children an adolescents as assessed by CBCL 6/18 (Achenbach and Rescorla, 2001).MethodsIn a large cohort of 320 Italian nuclear families selected from an ongoing comprehensive project on child and adolescent psychopathology performed at two sites of our Institutes (BP and UD), we performed a family-based association study to determine whether the GRIN2B gene influence and/or mediates susceptibility to attention problems through time. Genetic association was investigated by the quantitative transmission disequilibrium test (QTDT, version 2.5.1; Abecasis et al., 2000). Quantitative traits were analyzed using the ‘-wega’ and the ‘-ao’ options. Empirical P-values were computed from 10,000 Monte-Carlo permutations, and the significance levels were adjusted by the false discovery rate method (Storey, 2002) applied to the tests performed for each marker (i.e., 8 phenotypes) at two different point times. Latent profile analysis was performed to assess the effect of gene on different trajectories over time. The effect of environmental determinants was also evaluated.ResultsEvidence for significant association of GRIN2B-rs5796555-/A was found with attention problems both at first and second evaluation. Latent profile analysis suggested significant association with specific trajectories and specific environmental factors.ConclusionsThese results provide preliminary evidence of an association between the GRIN2B polymorphism and continuity of attention problems throughout adolescence within an Italian population of referred children and adolescents, suggesting that the GRIN2B genes could play a role in susceptibility to attention problems during developmental age.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

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Patterns of Depression and Resilience in Children and Adolescents Exposed to an Earthquake: A Latent Profile Analysis

Psychiatry Investigation ◽

10.30773/pi.2020.0330 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 580-588

Author(s):

Yue Wang ◽

Fenfen Ge ◽

Mentong Wan ◽

Jun Zhang

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Latent Profile Analysis ◽

Profile Analysis ◽

Trauma Exposure ◽

Severe Depression ◽

Depression Symptoms ◽

Mild Depression ◽

Sleep State ◽

Effective Interventions ◽

Latent Profile

Objective Depression and resilience are different psychological outcomes caused by experiencing traumatic events. We aimed to 1) explore heterogeneity patterns of co-occurrence between depression symptoms and resilience among children and adolescents exposed to an earthquake and 2) assess covariates (trauma exposure, sex, age, ethnicity, and sleep quality) in identifying the best fitting solution. Methods Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to examine patterns of self-reported depression and resilience in an epidemiological sample of 2,887 Chinese youth survivors 1 year after the Lushan earthquake. Results A suitable 3-class model were identified, which are mild depression/high resilience (65.0%), severe depression/high resilience (22.1%), and severe depression/low resilience (12.9%). Trauma exposure, demographic characteristics and sleep state can be used to identify the different latent classes. Conclusion Our results contribute to understanding the heterogeneous coexisting patterns of depression and resilience and provide suggestions for identifying high-risk youth survivors and offering effective interventions.

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