Meaning of Life Crisis and Self-Attitude of Fetishistic Transvestites (Internet Research)

The determinants of the long-standing and relatively widespread practice of fetishistic transvestites have been so far insufficiently researched by the psychological science. In the present paper on a Russian sample of fetishistic transvestites of mature and young age (N=120) mediated by virtual reality, an Internet study of the severity of their meaning life crisis and the specifics of self-attitude, which have a deep systematic impact on self-management of the life process, was carried out within the norm. It is shown that the overwhelming majority of fetishistic transvestites do not experience a meaning-life crisis, and their self-attitude is divided into dichotomous lines of manifestation – balance in conditions of confidentiality and dissonance in the public environment. It is established that the meaning-of-life crisis provides a favorable corrective effect on self-abasement, blocking the trajectory of minimizing self-abasement to an abnormal state by the method of self-justification of personal experience of fetishistic transvestism. It is revealed that the absence of a meaning-of-life crisis is characterized by the expanded personal plasticity of fetishistic transvestites in transphobic social situations, maintaining their state of self-esteem at an acceptable level, while their autosympathy as a veiled dimension of self-attitude is contrastively encapsulated from the meaning of life crisis.

Studying the Meta-Accuracy First Impressions in the Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Reality: Challenges and Opportunities Presented by Internet Research

Aim. Studying first impressions meta-accuracy (how accurately we understand thefirst impressions others form about us) is central to enhancing the communication process.It typically requires experimental settings with at least minimal interactions between targets and perceivers. The COVID-19 pandemic has rendered face-to-face laboratory setupsalmost impossible. Fortunately, the Internet offers a virtual environment where the metaaccuracy of first impressions could be studied safely. We review the opportunities andchallenges associated with the Internet study of meta-accuracy and make a call for actionto address them.Concept. In certain ways the Internet facilitates the study of first impressions metaaccuracy. It is simpler and faster online, compared to the lab, to look at fi rst impressionsin asynchronous settings, such as email and social media updates, where targets presentthemselves via images and/or text and perceivers later form impressions based on thisinformation. The Internet research solution, however, also comes with an array of difficulties. Synchronous communication settings, where targets and perceivers exchange information without delay, (e.g., instant messaging), present three major types of challenges tostudy of first impression meta-accuracy—conceptual (e.g., differences between online andoffline first impression situations), technological (e.g., implementation of chat applications inInternet surveys), and policy-driven (e.g., GDPR).Conclusions. The opportunities and challenges presented by the Internet in the studyof first impression meta-accuracy also apply to the larger field of studying human interaction online. Discussing and addressing them has the potential to enhance Internet researchtools and practices for the humanities and social sciences.

Use of heated tobacco products by people with chronic diseases: The 2019 JASTIS study

Heated tobacco products (HTPs) have become popular recently. People with chronic disease, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cancer, should quit smoking for treatment and recurrence of tobacco-related diseases. However, they have difficulty in quitting smoking, and they may start HTPs use to quit smoking. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of HTPs in people with chronic disease. We used data from an internet study, the Japan Society and New Tobacco Internet Survey (JASTIS). We analyzed 9,008 respondents aged 15–73 years in 2019 using logistic regression. Current use of tobacco products was defined as use within the previous 30 days. Prevalence of current HTP use including dual use and dual use with cigarettes was 9.0% and 6.1% respectively in total. By disease: hypertension 10.2% and 7.4%, diabetes 15.9% and 12.3%, CVD 19.2% and 15.7%, COPD 40.5% and 33.3%, and cancer 17.5% and 11.9%. Diabetes, CVD, COPD, and cancer were positively associated with current use of HTPs (odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 1.48 (1.06, 2.07), 2.29 (1.38, 3.80), 3.97(1.73, 9.11), and 3.58(1.99, 6.44), respectively) and dual use of cigarettes and HTPs (ORs and 95% CIs: 2.23 (1.61, 3.09), 3.58 (2.29, 5.60), 7.46 (3.76, 14.80), and 2.57 (1.46, 4.55), respectively) after adjusting for confounders. People with chronic disease were more likely to use HTPs and HTPs together with cigarettes. Further research on the smoking situation of HTPs in patients with chronic diseases is necessary.

Digit ratio (2D:4D) and body mass index in the BBC Internet Study: prenatal sex steroids and a Trivers–Willard effect on body composition

Digit ratio – a putative measure of prenatal sex steroids – may be related to body mass index (BMI). However, reports of correlations between 2D:4D and BMI have yielded mixed results with some studies showing no relationship while others have reported positive associations in men or women only. This study considers associations between self-reported 2D:4D and BMI in a large online survey (i.e. the BBC Internet Study). At the individual level, there was a weak positive association between 2D:4D and BMI in both sexes with greater effect sizes in women. Body mass index was positively related to age and negatively related to parental income; however, the relationship between 2D:4D and BMI was independent of both variables. At the national level, mean 2D:4D per country showed positive associations with mean national BMI but those correlations were restricted to females. It is concluded that BMI is positively related to low prenatal testosterone and high prenatal oestrogen. Parental income inequality may influence both prenatal sex steroids (through a ‘Trivers–Willard’ effect) and BMI such that increases in inequality result in reductions in prenatal testosterone and increases in BMI at the individual and national level.

The connected transient: the effect of network communication technologies on global flows, home and belonging

"Since its conception, cultural theorists have charted the rise of virtual culture and the differences between computer-mediated communication (CMC) and face-to-face (F2F) interaction. Cybercommunication throws into discord traditional notions of space, place, locality, local culture and social interaction. Internet study reveals new webs of meaning as network technologies affect our behaviour and our way of thinking. It is now widely believed among theorists that new communication technologies can alter social interactions and social structure"From introduction.

The connected transient: the effect of network communication technologies on global flows, home and belonging

"Since its conception, cultural theorists have charted the rise of virtual culture and the differences between computer-mediated communication (CMC) and face-to-face (F2F) interaction. Cybercommunication throws into discord traditional notions of space, place, locality, local culture and social interaction. Internet study reveals new webs of meaning as network technologies affect our behaviour and our way of thinking. It is now widely believed among theorists that new communication technologies can alter social interactions and social structure"From introduction.

Parental income inequality and children’s digit ratio (2D:4D): a ‘Trivers-Willard’ effect on prenatal androgenization?

Income inequality is associated positively with disease prevalence and mortality. Digit ratio (2D:4D) – a negative proxy for prenatal testosterone and a positive correlate of prenatal oestrogen – is related to several diseases. This study examined the association of income inequality (operationalized as relative parental income) and children’s 2D:4D. Participants self-measured finger lengths (2D=index finger, and 4D=ring finger) in a large online survey conducted in July 2005 (the BBC Internet Study) and reported their parents’ income. Children of parents of above-average income had low 2D:4D (high prenatal testosterone, low prenatal oestrogen) while the children of parents of below-average income had high 2D:4D (low prenatal testosterone, high prenatal oestrogen). The effects were significant in the total sample, present among Whites (the largest group in the sample), in the two largest national samples (UK and USA) and were greater for males than females. The findings suggest a Trivers-Willard effect, such that high-income women may prenatally masculinize their sons at the expense of the fitness of their daughters. Women with low income may prenatally feminize their daughters at the fitness expense of their sons. The effect could, in part, explain associations between low income, high 2D:4D (low prenatal testosterone) and some major causes of mortality such as cardiovascular disease.