COVID-19 Pandemic and Personality: Agreeable People Are More Stressed by the Feeling of Missing

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to contain it have substantial consequences for many people, resulting in negative effects on individual well-being and mental health. In the current study, we examined whether individual changes in perceived stress relative to pre-pandemic levels depended on differences in behavior, appraisal, and experience of pandemic-related constraints. In addition, we tested whether this potential relationship was moderated by personality traits. We conducted an online survey during the end of the first lockdown in Germany in spring 2020, and assessed pandemic-related individual consequences as well as perceived stress. These data were related to the big five personality traits and to ratings of perceived stress obtained from the same participants in a study conducted before the outbreak of the pandemic, using the same standardized stress questionnaires. There was no overall increase, but a large interindividual variety in perceived stress relative to pre-pandemic levels. Increased stress was associated especially with strong feelings of missing. This relationship was moderated by agreeableness, with more agreeable people showing a higher association of the feeling of missing and the increase of perceived stress. In addition, openness and conscientiousness were positively correlated with an increase in stress. The results highlight the importance of considering personality and individual appraisals when examining the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived stress and well-being.

Association between obesity and life courses in young adulthood. Results from the KiGGS cohort study

In the last decades, young adulthood has established as an independent phase of life with important biographical transitions impacting further life course and health. In turn, health in adolescence can also affect the transitions into young adulthood. So far, for Germany there are no analyses on the association between family-related and employment-related biographies and obesity in young adults. The analysis is based on data from the KiGGS cohort study on 3,100 participants aged 23-31 at second follow-up (t2). Using BMI measurements at t0 (2003-2006) and at t2 (2014-2017), obesity groups were formed (no obesity, incidence, remission, persistence). Sequence analysis was used to retrospectively determine family-related and education/employment-related individual trajectories. Differences in life courses between obesity groups were calculated using discrepancy tests. Young adults with incident obesity were more likely to have children or to be a single parent than young adults without obesity at t2. Young adults with obesity at t0 lived longer in the parental home than those without obesity. Young adults with incident or persistent obesity were less likely to attend university and had experienced longer periods of unemployment than those without obesity at t0 and t2. The employment sequences of those without obesity at t2 were not statistically different. Both family and employment biographies were associated with obesity trajectories in young people. However, based on the analysis, it cannot be clarified whether early parenthood led to obesity or early transitions into parenthood led to interruptions in education or employment and subsequently to obesity. The finding that young adults with obesity were less likely to attend university and more likely to be unemployed could be related to disadvantages or discrimination in school, education or work. Obesity in adolescence that did not persist into young adulthood had less adverse effects on education and employment. Key messages Young people’s obesity trajectories were linked to different family/employment biographies. The life courses of young adults with obesity were more often marked by early parenthood and unemployment.

Technology Acceptance Behavior and Feedback Loop: Exploring Reverse Causality of TAM in Post-COVID-19 Scenario

In this study, we considered the reverse causality of the technology acceptance model, specifically in the post-COVID-19 scenario. We propose a theoretical model that considers the impact of technology acceptance behaviors after COVID-19 over the beliefs of a user in terms of perceived ease of using technology and its usefulness. More specifically, we suggested that acceptance of technology post-COVID-19 may have influenced many technology-related individual factors such as computer efficacy, mastery experience, and self-regulated learning of users, while using technology that in turn may have affected beliefs of users about ease of using technology. Such an effect is ultimately reflected in the belief of technology usefulness and favorable post-COVID-19 attitude of users toward using technology. We further extend our model to identify mastery orientation of individuals that may moderate the relationship between technology acceptance behaviors and favorable attitude toward using technology in the post-COVID-19 scenario. Both practical and theoretical implications of this perspective are discussed.

The sound of gender – correlations of name phonology and gender across languages

Our article is dedicated to the relation of a given name’s phonological structure and the gender of the referent. Phonology has been shown to play an important role with regard to gender marking on a name in some (Germanic) languages. For example, studies on English and on German have shown in detail that female and male names have significantly different phonological structures. However, little is known whether these phonological patterns are valid beyond (closely related) individual languages. This study, therefore, sets out to assess the relation of gender and the phonological structures of names across different languages/cultures. In order to do so, we analyzed a sample of popular given names from 13 countries. Our results indicate that there are both language/culture-overarching similarities between names used for people of the same gender and language/culture-specific correlations. Finally, our results are interpreted against the backdrop of conventional and synesthetic sound symbolism.

Age-related Individual Behavioural Characteristics of Adult Wistar Rats

The aim of this work was to study age-related changes in the behaviour of adult Wistar rats using the open field (OF) and elevated plus maze (EPM) tests. Behavioural changes related to motor activity and anxiety were of particular interest. Results showed that as male and female rats progressed from 2 to 5 months of age there was a decrease in the level of motor and exploratory activities, and an increase in the level of anxiety. Age-related changes were dependent upon initial individual characteristics of behaviour. For example, animals that demonstrated high motor activity at 2 months become significantly less active by 5 months, and animals that showed a low level of anxiety at 2 months become more anxious by 5 months. Low-activity and high-anxiety rats did not show any significant age-related changes in OF and EPM tests from 2 to 5 months of age, except for a decrease in the number of rearings in EPM. Significant individual differences in the behaviour of rats in OF and EPM tests observed at 2 months were not apparent by 5 months.

Analyzing signaling activity and function in hematopoietic cells

Cells constantly sense their environment, allowing the adaption of cell behavior to changing needs. Fine-tuned responses to complex inputs are computed by signaling pathways, which are wired in complex connected networks. Their activity is highly context-dependent, dynamic, and heterogeneous even between closely related individual cells. Despite lots of progress, our understanding of the precise implementation, relevance, and possible manipulation of cellular signaling in health and disease therefore remains limited. Here, we discuss the requirements, potential, and limitations of the different current technologies for the analysis of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell signaling and its effect on cell fates.

Anxiety- and Depression-Related Individual Differences in Affective and Cognitive Judgments of Self-Referential Praise and Criticism

Introduction: While praise is generally pleasant and criticism unpleasant, individual differences in response to social evaluations arise from distinct personal traits and states. Here, we investigate how processing of self-referential praise and criticism varies with personal attributes related to anxiety and depression, two highly prevalent and often chronic affective conditions. Methods: Ninety-three healthy participants first completed questionnaires for anxiety- and depression-related traits and states, and then they were scheduled to perform an evaluation task to rate praise and criticism for pleasantness and truthfulness. Results: Fear of negative evaluation positively correlated with unpleasantness of criticism. Trait- and state-anxiety and depression were positively associated with the truthfulness of criticism but negatively associated with that of praise. We further divided participants into high- and low-scoring groups based on the medians of their scores of each scale that displayed significant correlations with comment ratings and found group differences in their responses to praise and criticism. Discussion: The findings suggest that more highly anxious and depressed individuals may be subject to negatively-distorted self-representations in response to self-referential evaluations, thus exhibiting attenuated rejection for criticism or reduced acceptance for praise, which may have important implications not only for facilitating daily social interactions but also for subclinical and clinical diagnosis and treatment given that affective and cognitive processing of self-referential evaluations serves as a critical process exhibiting the sense of the self.

Facebook Parenting Groups as a Source for Parenting: An Investigation on Mothers

The main aim of the present study was to examine the reasons for parents’ following of Facebook parenting groups. Another aim was to investigate the demographic, Facebook-use related, individual and parenting-related factors related to the frequency of active and passive following of these groups. One hundred ninety-three Turkish mothers (Mage = 33.56, SDage = 5.03, Range = 21-48) completed the demographic information form, the use of social media form, the trait anxiety inventory, the perceived offline social support scale and the self-perception of parental role questionnaire. Results demonstrated that parents were following Facebook parenting groups more passively and its frequency was related positively to the parent’s education level and the frequency of using Facebook, and negatively to the children’s mean age. The frequency of active following was found to be predicted positively by the frequency of using Facebook and the frequency of sharing on Facebook, and negatively by the level of parental competence. These findings were discussed in terms of the idea that Facebook parenting groups might provide informational support to the parents and have become a source for parenting. Keywords: Parenting, Facebook, online social network, information