Antibiotic Use in Relation with Psychological Profiles of Farmers of a French Pig Cooperative

(1) Background: We focus on the psychological factors that influence pig farmers’ antibiotic use, which is not exclusively determined by the technical, health and structural factors of livestock farming. (2) Methods: We visited farming sites and asked 91 pig farmers about various psychosocial dimensions that could be considered relevant in explaining antibiotic use. (3) Results: The results indicate the existence of three livestock-farmer sub-profiles, each of which is associated with distinct psychological characteristics and antibiotic use levels. (4) Conclusions: We discuss the implications of antibiotic use for livestock in terms of communication and support.

Who Is Next? A Study on Victims of Financial Fraud in Japan

Japan has seen an increase in the incidents of financial frauds over the last couple of decades. Although authorities are aware of the problem, an effective solution eludes them as fraudsters use innovative swindling methods and continually change the target group. Using a nationwide survey conducted by Hiroshima University, Japan, in 2020, this study investigated the socioeconomic and psychological profiles of victims of trending and special financial fraud such as fictitious billing fraud, loan guarantee fraud, and refund fraud. It was found that financial fraud victims' profiles are dissimilar at the aggregate and specific levels. At the specific level, victim profiles were diverse, that is, in fictitious billing fraud, loan guarantee fraud, and refund fraud cases. Males, married, and financially less satisfied people were more often victims of fictitious billing fraud; less anxious people were more likely victims of loan guarantee fraud; and older, asset-holding, and less-income-generating respondents were found to be victims of refund fraud. Our results also show some commonalities in the victims' profiles. For example, financially less-literate people were found to be more likely victims of fictitious billing fraud and loan guarantee fraud. Finally, respondents who lived with their family, those who did not have careful buying habits, and those who suffer from bouts of loneliness were found to be common victims of all types of special financial fraud. The results of our study suggest that a one-size-fits-all policy cannot effectively combat financial fraud.

Research based on scientific realism should not make preliminary assumptions about mathematical structure representing human behavior: Cronbach and Gleser’s measure as an example

Phenomena in the world we study can often be described by various mathematical structures. If a psychologist who studies human behavior takes a realist position, they should not choose a mathematical structure that represents this behavior without examination as to whether the phenomenon could be represented by this structure, but they should eventually choose the mathematical structure after thorough reasoning based on full knowledge of the problem. Using Cronbach and Gleser’s measure for assessing the similarities between psychological profiles, I show that psychologists often simply copy the mathematical structure used in other research without thoroughly reasoning about the problem. As Arocha (2021) shows, researchers should prefer approaches that include no unjustified assumptions about the mathematical structure that represents the behavior.

Positive psychological profiles based on perceived health clustering in patients with cardiovascular disease: a longitudinal study

ObjectivesPsychological well-being and sociodemographic factors have been associated with cardiovascular health. Positive psychological well-being research is limited in the literature; as such, this study aimed to investigate how patients with cardiovascular disease could be classified according to their perceived mental and physical health, and to identify positive psychological profiles based on this classification and test their stability over time.Design and settingLongitudinal study with patients from a public hospital located in Córdoba (Spain).ParticipantsThis study comprised 379 cardiovascular patients (87.3% men) tested at three measurement points.Outcome measuresParticipants reported their sociodemographic variables (age, sex, educational level, employment and socioeconomic status) at phase 1, while their perceived health and variables relating to positive psychological well-being were tested at this and two subsequent time points (average interval time: 9 months).ResultsThe two-step cluster analysis classified participants into three groups according to their mental and physical health levels, p<0.001: high (n=76), moderate (n=113) and low (n=189) perceived health clusters. Low perceived health was the largest cluster, comprising almost half of patients. Clusters significantly differed according to sex, p=0.002, and socioeconomic level, p=0.004. The profile analysis indicated that participants in the high perceived health cluster showed high positive affect, positivity, life satisfaction, and self-efficacy in emotion regulation, and less negative affect and use of passive strategies over the three measurement points (95% CI, all ps<0.01). Moreover, psychological profile stability for each cluster was generally found over an 18-month period, all ps<0.05.ConclusionCardiovascular patients may differ in terms of their perceived health and, accordingly, in terms of other relevant variables. Perceived health clusters generated varying and generally stable psychological profiles based on positive psychological well-being variables. Psychological interventions should be adapted to patients’ requirements.