HOW COGNITIVE APPRAISALS AND MALADAPTIVE COPING EXPLAIN THE BEHAVIOURAL INTENTION OF HEALTH TOURISTS?

The main purpose of this paper is to understand the behavioural intention of health tourists through cognitive appraisals and maladaptive coping. A research model is proposed. A field study was conducted in Malaysia’s various international airports. 718 international tourists were approached to partake in the paper survey. The data collected was analysed using SmartPLS software version 3 with partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). This study’s findings show that only response severity is not significant related to maladaptive coping, which is defined as a compulsive behaviour individuals use to soothe themselves when feeling anxious. Perceived vulnerability and response cost are positively related to maladaptive coping, whereas response efficacy and self-efficacy are negatively significant to maladaptive coping. This study’s abstract consists of seven main elements: purpose and background, methodology, findings, conclusion, contribution/practical implications, references, and keywords.

In pursuit of biomarkers for predicting susceptibility to activity-based anorexia (ABA) in adolescent female rats

Anorexia nervosa (AN) has high rates of mortality and low rates of recovery, with outcomes that worsen with illness duration. Improved early intervention strategies are required and identifying risk factors that contribute to the development of AN is critical to their implementation. The development of AN often follows a pre-existing diagnosis of anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder and substantial genetic overlap between these conditions suggest common underlying features may predict vulnerability to AN. Moreover, patients with AN have increased levels of circulating proinflammatory cytokines, which may be involved in susceptibility to pathological weight loss considering that children with immune dysfunction have a higher risk of subsequent AN diagnoses. Here, we used the activity-based anorexia (ABA) model to examine whether baseline levels of locomotion, anxiety-like behaviour, compulsive behaviour, and circulating immune markers predict the subsequent development of pathological weight loss in adolescent female rats. While none of these primary features were shown to differentiate rats that went on to be susceptible or resistant to weight loss in ABA, increased locomotion and anxiety-like behaviour were both associated with the extent of weight loss in susceptible but not resistant animals. Intriguingly, behaviour related to poor decision-making in a situation of conflict was shown to predict vulnerability to ABA. Future research using the ABA model to uncover early predictors of AN should focus on translationally relevant assays of decision-making and cognitive behaviour, dysfunction of which may not only predispose animals to ABA but may also represent an endophenotype linking anorectic, anxiety-like and compulsive behaviour.

Canine hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention share similar demographic risk factors and behavioural comorbidities with human ADHD

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder impairing the quality of life of the affected individuals. The domestic dog can spontaneously manifest high hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention which are components of human ADHD. Therefore, a better understanding of demographic, environmental and behavioural factors influencing canine hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention could benefit both humans and dogs. We collected comprehensive behavioural survey data from over 11,000 Finnish pet dogs and quantified their level of hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention. We performed generalised linear model analyses to identify factors associated with these behavioural traits. Our results indicated that high levels of hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention were more common in dogs that are young, male and spend more time alone at home. Additionally, we showed several breed differences suggesting a substantial genetic basis for these traits. Furthermore, hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention had strong comorbidities with compulsive behaviour, aggressiveness and fearfulness. Multiple of these associations have also been identified in humans, strengthening the role of the dog as an animal model for ADHD.

THE TERM WASWAS AND OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD) IN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES

The term waswas appears five times in the Quran and seven times in seven Hadith books collections. Its interpretations by exegetes and scholars in Islamic studies vary, but one is associated with obsessive-compulsive disease (OCD). This is a study of the term waswas with the express objective of identifying its components that correspond to a contemporary understanding of OCD. This is a qualitative study that employs content and document analysis to examine chosen Islamic interpretation of the al-Quran, Hadith and traditional scholar viewpoints, with an emphasis on three characteristics of OCD: obsession, compulsive behaviour, and causation. The Quran and Hadith constitute the final miracle, transcending geographical and generational boundaries. Although OCD appears to be a recent diagnosis, its essence is mentioned in the magnificent Al-Quran.

La caccia oggi è una dipendenza pato

What does the hunting of our ancestors, armed with spears and aimed to get food, have in common with the "high tech" one practiced today for recreational purposes? Both depend on deep motivations, which Neurosciences show related to archaic brain circuits that provide thevital thrists to survival. Substances, or behaviors without biological utility, can "hook" these basic emotional circuits and lead to the attribution of new values, so that the assumption of the substance or the repetition of the behavior will becomevital, thus developing an addiction. Among them hunting, where small birds and many mammals, feeling emotions similar to ours, are shot according to what appears to be a compulsive behaviour and which could benefit from appropriate specialized therapies.

Digital Addiction and the Academic Performance Among Universities' Students

Digital addiction has been called digital dependency and digital compulsivity. By any name, it is a compulsive behaviour that completely dominates the addict’s life. Digital addicts make the digital technology a priority more important than family, friends, and work. The digital technology becomes the organizing principle of addicts’ lives. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between Digital Addiction (DA) and academic performance among college students in public and private university. This study also identified the differences in digital addiction in terms of gender. The statistical techniques frequency and percentage are used to identify the patterns of using the Internet; t-test and one-way ANOVA is used to examine the differences in DA in terms of demographic factors. Pearson correlation technique will also be used to determine the relationship between DA and academic performance. This study helps to determine the level of digital addiction among college student and how its impacts their academic performance.

Increased orexin A concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia

Orexins are hypothalamic neuropeptides that regulate several physiological functions, such as appetite, arousal, cognition, stress, sleep and metabolism. Emerging pieces of evidence suggest an orexinergic dysfunction in several neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety and addiction. A syndromic overlap between behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and several psychiatric disorders was recently demonstrated. Therefore, we analysed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) orexin A concentrations of 40 bvFTD and 32 non-demented patients, correlating neuropeptide concentrations with several clinical characteristics. A significant increase of orexin A concentrations was found in bvFTD patients when compared to controls (p<0.001). CSF orexin A concentration showed a correlation with Mini-Mental State Examination scores, drug assumption, history of compulsive behaviour and extrapyramidal signs. Moreover, we found a relationship between CSF markers of neurodegeneration, total tau and Aβ1–42 and CSF orexin A concentrations. Our study provides evidence of an orexinergic dysfunction in bvFTD, correlating with several clinical symptoms. Further larger studies are needed to confirm our data.

A Qualitative Study of Understanding Reasons for Self-Harm in Adolescent Girls

Objective: Self-harm is an important public health issue in the UK. Young people who frequently self-harm feel misunderstood, and unable to access help. Improving understanding is key to informing the development and delivery of effective treatments and services. Methods: In this qualitative study, we interviewed nine adolescent girls (13–17 years old) with recurrent self-harm, recruited from NHS specialist child and adolescent mental health services. Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results: Findings revealed that self-harm is experienced as powerful mental and physical urges, sated only by self-harming, suggesting that self-harm could be considered a compulsive rather than impulsive disorder, representing a new perspective on the behaviour. Five themes emerged: emotion regulation; an addictive urge; self-harm to survive; interpersonal triggers; interpersonal relationships, not mechanical distractors, reduce self-harm. Conclusions: This study provides further evidence that non-suicidal self-injury may be engaged in to reduce suicidal risk. Seeking the company of helpful friends or family members may reduce the urge to self-harm. Repetitive self-harm may be a compulsive behaviour.

Impact of Society and Environment on Individual’s Stress

Stress is a normal part of life. Everyone can feel stress from their environment, their own body and their own thought. It is a body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental and emotional responses. The human body is designed to experience stress and to it. Stress can be positive or negative. In positive side, it can keeping us alert, motivated and ready to avoid danger. Stress becomes negative when a person faces or embarrasses continuously without relief or relaxation from stress. As a result, the person becomes overworked and suffers from stressful arousal. In emergency stress situations, the body’s autonomic nervous system is activated to deal with stressful situations. However, this response remains active for a long time. This uninterrupted activity in response to stress causes the body to tear mentally and physically. Without relief, continuing stress can lead to a condition, called distress. Distress can disturb the body’s internal balance, resulting in significant physical, behavioural, emotional, social and intellectual responses in the individual stress becomes harmful when people engage in the compulsive use of substances or behaviours include food, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, gambling, sex, shopping, playing, video games and searching the internet to try to relieve their stress. But instead of returning to a relaxed state, these substances and compulsive behaviour keep the body in a stressful condition and cause more problems. There are all kind of situations that produce stress. These include good things, like new babies or new jobs and unpleasant things like divorces or illnesses.