Associations Between Psychopathic Traits and Laboratory-Based Aggression: Moderating Effects of Provocation and Distraction

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110280
Author(s):  
Konrad Bresin ◽  
Caelan Alexander ◽  
Olivia S. Subramani ◽  
Dominic J. Parrott
Keyword(s):  
Physical Aggression ◽  
Intervention Development ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Psychopathic Traits ◽  
Concurrent Task ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Distraction Condition ◽  
Taylor Aggression Paradigm ◽  
Affective Deficits ◽  
Laboratory Task

There are two distinct combinations of psychopathic traits (primary and secondary) that have been proposed to be a function of unique cognitive-affective deficits. This study sought to use theories of psychopathy to understand the factors that exacerbate (i.e., provocation) and attenuate (i.e., distraction) aggression in individuals high in psychopathic traits in a controlled laboratory task. Male undergraduates, who scored across the range of primary and secondary psychopathic traits, completed the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP; Taylor, 1967 ) under conditions of low and high provocation. Participants were also randomly assigned to either a distraction condition, in which they completed a distracting concurrent task, or a control condition, in which no such task was completed. Inconsistent with our prediction, results showed that regardless of condition, primary psychopathic traits were positively related to laboratory aggression. Consistent with our hypothesis, a positive association between secondary psychopathic traits and laboratory physical aggression was observed following high provocation among nondistracted participants; this association was significantly reduced among distracted participants. These results clarify the factors that contribute to aggression for individuals high in psychopathic traits and may provide directions for future intervention development.

scholarly journals The Moderating Effects of the Families Improving Together (FIT) for Weight Loss Intervention and Parenting Factors on Family Mealtime in Overweight and Obese African American Adolescents

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1745
Author(s):  
Dawn K. Wilson ◽  
Allison M. Sweeney ◽  
Mary Quattlebaum ◽  
Haylee Loncar ◽  
Colby Kipp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
African American ◽  
Parenting Styles ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
African American Adolescents ◽  
Motivational Strategies ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Parental Feeding Practices ◽  
Parental Concerns ◽  
Parental Feeding

Few studies have integrated positive parenting and motivational strategies to address dietary outcomes such as frequency of family mealtime. The Families Improving Together (FIT) for Weight Loss trial was a randomized group cohort trial (n = 241 dyads) testing the efficacy of integrating a motivational plus family weight loss (M + FWL) intervention for healthy eating and weight loss in overweight and obese African American adolescents. The current study tested the interaction of parenting styles (responsiveness, demandingness) and parental feeding practices (restriction, concern about child’s weight, pressure to eat) and the FIT intervention on frequency of family mealtime over 16 weeks. Multilevel modeling demonstrated significant interactions between the group-based treatment and responsiveness (p = 0.018) and demandingness (p = 0.010) on family mealtime. For the group-based M + FWL intervention, increased responsiveness and reduced demandingness were associated with increased frequency of family mealtime from baseline to 16 weeks. There was also a negative association between parental restriction and frequency of family mealtime, but a positive association between parental concerns about their adolescent’s weight and frequency of mealtime. These findings are the first to demonstrate that an authoritative or nurturing parenting style moderated intervention effects for improving the frequency of family mealtime in overweight and obese African American adolescents.

scholarly journals Beyond the Aggregate Score: Using Multilevel Modeling to Examine Trajectories of Laboratory-Measured Aggression

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Chester
Keyword(s):  
Multilevel Modeling ◽  
Physical Aggression ◽  
Taylor Aggression Paradigm ◽  
Trait Aggression ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Tit For Tat ◽  
Rich Information ◽  
Time Frames ◽  
Capture Trajectories ◽  
Over Time

Aggression is often measured in the laboratory as an iterative ‘tit-for-tat’ sequence, in which two aggressors repeatedly inflict retaliatory harm upon each other. Aggression researchers typically quantify aggression by aggregating across participants’ aggressive behavior on such iterative encounters. However, this ‘aggregate approach’ cannot capture trajectories of aggression across the iterative encounters and needlessly eliminates rich information in the form of within-participant variability. As an alternative approach, I employed multilevel modeling to examine the slope of aggression across the 25-trial Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP) as a function of trait physical aggression and experimental provocation. Across two preregistered studies (combined N = 392), participants exhibited a modest decline in aggression. This decline reflected a reciprocal strategy, in which participants responded to an initially-provocative opponent with greater aggression that then decreased over time in order to matched their opponent’s declining levels of aggression. Against predictions, trait physical aggression and experimental provocation did not affect participants’ overall trajectories of aggression. Yet exploratory analyses suggested that participants’ tendency to reciprocate their opponent’s aggression with more aggression was greater at higher levels of trait physical aggression and attenuated among participants who had already been experimentally-provoked by their opponent. These findings (a) illustrate several advantages of a multilevel modeling approach as compared to an aggregate approach to iterative laboratory aggression paradigms, (b) demonstrate that the magnifying effects of trait aggression and experimental provocation on laboratory aggression are stable over brief time-frames, and (c) suggest that modeling the opponent’s behavior on such tasks reveals important information.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and Mental Health: A Study of Stress, Resilience, and Depression among the Older Population in Pakistan

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 424
Author(s):  
Ayesha Mumtaz ◽  
Faiza Manzoor ◽  
Shaoping Jiang ◽  
Mohammad Anisur Rahaman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Resilience Theory ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Stress Resilience ◽  
Moderation Effect ◽  
Care Policies ◽  
Related Stress

Extending studies of the adverse effects of SARS-2 coronavirus on general health consequences, this research explores complexities related to the mental health of the elderly as a result of pandemic-related stress. The study addresses this issue by using resilience theory to examine the effects of fear and exposure related to COVID-19 and depression. Besides, our study examines the moderating effects of self-efficacy in order to provide an understanding of how the coping abilities of the elderly may mitigate the effect of stress levels on mental health during pandemics. Our model is tested by analysing the survey data collected from Rawalpindi, a metropolitan city in Pakistan. The main results of the study confirm the positive association of pandemic-related fear and exposure virus with depression. However, self-efficacy shows a negative direct effect on depression, and the findings also confirm the moderation effect of self-efficacy on the fear of COVID-19 and depression, but the moderation effect of self-efficacy on COVID-19 exposure and depression is not supported. Based on the outcomes, some severe geriatric care policies that could weaken the pandemic-related fear, exposure to the virus, and depression are recommended.

scholarly journals Resiliency, Meaning in Life, and Life Satisfaction: An Examination of Moderating Effects [Resiliencia, significado en la vida y satisfacción vital: un análisis de los efectos moderadores]

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Chloe Lau Lau ◽  
Anita Feher ◽  
Claire Anne Wilson ◽  
Sarah E. Babcock ◽  
Donald H. Saklofske
Keyword(s):  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Search For Meaning ◽  
Moderating Role

While presence of meaning in life (i.e., presence) is associated with a plethora of desirable qualities (e.g., greater well-being, longevity, positive affect), search for meaning is associated with psychological distress (e.g., reports of conflict, rumination, depression; Boyle, Barnes, Buchman, & Bennett, 2009). Individuals with higher resiliency, defined as a multifaceted competency in adapting and recovering from adversity, could potentially mitigate the distress associated with search, and thus, achieve greater satisfaction with life (SWL). The present study examined the moderating role of meaning in life between resiliency (i.e., sense of mastery and sense of relatedness) and SWL in a sample of Canadian university students (N=289). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that there was a positive association between resiliency and SWL and this association was stronger at higher levels compared to lower levels of search for meaning. These results suggest that individuals searching for meaning with high levels of mastery have the greatest SWL, while their counterparts with low mastery have the lowest SWL. Similar moderating effects of search were found with the positive association between sense of relatedness and SWL. Overall, findings suggest that protective factors in resiliency may buffer against the potential negative impact of search. 

Psychopathy and the Regulation of Interpersonal Distance

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 835-847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Welsch ◽  
Heiko Hecht ◽  
Christoph von Castell
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expression ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Psychopathic Traits ◽  
Spatial Behavior ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Interpersonal Distance ◽  
Student Sample ◽  
Controlled Conditions ◽  
Affective Deficits ◽  
The Impact

Psychopathic traits are often associated with interpersonal and affective deficits. This study examined the impact of psychopathy on judgments of comfortable egocentric interpersonal distance (Experiment 1) and exocentric interpersonal distance (Experiment 2). We selected a student sample and measured psychopathy via self-report. To study spatial behavior under highly controlled conditions, these participants were immersed in a virtual environment. In Experiment 1, they approached a virtual person with angry or happy facial expression until a comfortable distance for conversation was reached. In Experiment 2, participants adjusted a comfortable distance between two avatars. Our results suggest that psychopathy alters the regulation of interpersonal distance with respect to facial expression of the approached as well as between avatars of mixed sex.

Perceived Distributive Unfairness and Mental Health: The Gender-contingent Buffering Effects of Religion

2021 ◽  
pp. 215686932097879
Author(s):  
Jong Hyun Jung
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Coping Resources ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Stress Buffering ◽  
Using Data

Prior research has established that perceived distributive unfairness is associated with poor mental health. The purpose of this study is to examine whether religion moderates this association and whether gender conditions the moderating effects of religion. Using data from the 2012 Korean General Social Survey ( N = 1,375), the current analyses show that perceived distributive unfairness is positively associated with depression. However, each of the two indicators of religion—religious attendance and salience—weakens the positive association between perceived distributive unfairness and depression among women, but not men. These observations suggest that religion provides a stress-buffering effect against perceived distributive unfairness only for women. Thus, the findings of this study highlight the gendered ways that religion shapes the association between perceived distributive unfairness and mental health. I discuss the theoretical implications of these findings for views about the complex interrelationships among stress, coping resources, gender, and mental health.

Further Evaluation of the Associations Between Psychopathic Traits and Symptoms of PTSD and Depression in a Nonclinical Sample

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Nicholas Kavish ◽  
Danielle Boisvert ◽  
Eric M. Cooke ◽  
Richard H. Lewis ◽  
Matthias Woeckener ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Affective Domain ◽  
Psychopathic Traits ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Depression Symptom ◽  
Affective Traits ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Nonclinical Sample

Examining psychopathic traits at the factor or facet level has revealed that various aspects of psychopathy may be differentially related, even in opposing directions, to important outcomes (e.g., intelligence, emotion regulation). Empirical work on relations between psychopathy and internalizing disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, has provided evidence for a positive association with antisocial traits. However, findings for the affective domain have been more equivocal. The current study (N = 732) sought to replicate past findings of the positive association of antisocial psychopathic traits with higher levels of PTSD and depressive symptoms, and to further explore associations between affective traits of psychopathy and these disorders using two measures of psychopathy. Results confirmed prior findings of a positive correlation between antisocial features and self-reported PTSD/Depression symptom severity, but they did not provide evidence for any association with affective traits. Future research using longitudinal designs is needed to begin establishing temporal ordering of the psychopathy–internalizing relationship.

Perceived Verbal Conflict Behaviors Associated With Physical Aggression and Sexual Coercion in Dating Relationships: A Gender-Sensitive Analysis

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Katz ◽  
Andrew Carino ◽  
Angela Hilton
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Relationships ◽  
Physical Aggression ◽  
Sexual Coercion ◽  
Psychological Abuse ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Dating Aggression ◽  
Dating Relationships ◽  
Conflict Behaviors ◽  
Verbal Conflict ◽  
Controlling Behaviors

We studied perceived partner verbal behaviors associated with participants’ use of dating aggression. Men’s reports of their partners’ demanding, controlling, and psychologically abusive behaviors during conflicts were expected to predict men’s perpetration against partners. In contrast, women’s reports of their partners’ withdrawal were expected to predict women’s perpetration. Data were collected from heterosexual undergraduates (N = 223) in exclusive dating relationships. Participants’ reports of partner demands and partner psychological abuse were associated with participants’ use of physical aggression and sexual coercion. Reports of partner withdrawal and partner controlling behaviors were associated with participants’ sexual coercion only. Significant moderating effects of gender emerged. As expected, partner demands, controlling behaviors, and psychological abuse were associated with physical aggression and sexual coercion in men, but not women. Partner withdrawal was associated with sexual coercion in both women and men. We conclude that gender-sensitive approaches are necessary to understand and prevent verbal conflict patterns associated with physical aggression and sexual coercion in intimate relationships.

scholarly journals A Board Level Intervention to Develop OrganisationWide Quality Improvement Strategies: Cost-Consequences Analysis in 15 Healthcare Organisations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Estela Capelas Barbosa ◽  
Lorelei Jones ◽  
Linda Pomeroy ◽  
Glenn Robert ◽  
Susan Burnett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Intervention Development ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Hospital Boards ◽  
Board Level

Background: Hospital boards have statutory responsibility for upholding the quality of care in their organisations. International research on quality in hospitals resulted in a research-based guide to help senior hospital leaders develop and implement quality improvement (QI) strategies, the QUASER Guide. Previous research has established a link between board practices and quality of care; however, to our knowledge, no board-level intervention has been evaluated in relation to its costs and consequences. The aim of this research was to evaluate these impacts when the QUASER Guide was implemented in an organisational development intervention (iQUASER). Methods: We conducted a ‘before and after’ cost-consequences analysis (CCA), as part of a mixed methods evaluation. The analysis combined qualitative data collected from 66 interviews, 60 hours of board meeting observations and documents from 15 healthcare organisations, of which 6 took part on iQUASER, and included direct and opportunity costs associated with the intervention. The consequences focused on the development of an organisation-wide QI strategy, progress on addressing 8 dimensions of QI (the QUASER challenges), how organisations compared to benchmarks, engagement with the intervention and progress in the implementation of a QI project. Results: We found that participating organisations made greater progress in developing an organisation-wide QI strategy and became more similar to the high-performing benchmark than the comparators. However, progress in addressing all 8 QUASER challenges was only observed in one organisation. Stronger engagement with the intervention was associated with the implementation of a QI project. On average, iQUASER costed £23 496 per participating organisation, of which approximately 44% were staff time costs. Organisations that engaged less with the intervention had lower than average costs (£21 267 per organisation), but also failed to implement an organisation-wide QI project. Conclusion: We found a positive association between level of engagement with the intervention, development of an organisation-wide QI strategy and the implementation of an organisation-wide QI project. Support from the board, particularly the chair and chief executive, for participation in the intervention, is important for organisations to accrue most benefit. A board-level intervention for QI, such as iQUASER, is relatively inexpensive as a proportion of an organisation’s budget.

The Contribution of Moral Disengagement to Dating Violence and General Aggression: The Gender and Age Moderating Effects

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Rubio-Garay ◽  
Pedro J. Amor ◽  
Miguel A. Carrasco
Keyword(s):  
Dating Violence ◽  
Effect Size ◽  
Physical Aggression ◽  
Moral Disengagement ◽  
Verbal Aggression ◽  
Medium Effect ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Small Effect Size ◽  
Medium Effect Size

Abstract The main aims of this study were, first to analyze the partial effects of specific mechanisms of moral disengagement (MMD) on different manifestations of general aggression and dating violence (DV) in adolescents and youths; second, to explore the moderating effects of gender and age on these relations. Moral disengagement, and different forms of aggression and DV, were evaluated in a sample of 424 participants (61.1% women) aged 15 to 25 years (M = 18.80; SD = 2.69). Pearson correlations and different hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. All regressions were controlled by social desirability . MMD contributed to physical aggression with a medium effect size (R2 = .22) and verbal aggression with a small effect size (R2 = .10). Conversely, MMD did not appear to clearly contribute to DV. In conclusion, depersonalization and rationalization were the most important MMD for physical aggression, rationalization for verbal aggression, and irresponsibility for verbal-emotional violence in dating relationships. Moreover, the relationships between physical aggression and rationalization mechanism were significantly moderated by gender: there appears to be a stronger relationship between rationalization and physical aggression in boys than in girls. Moderating effects of age on these relations were not found.

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