Dispositional Mindfulness and Positive Mindset in Emerging Adult College Students: The Mediating Role of Decentering

Emerging adulthood is often recognized as a time of uncertainty, confusion, pressure, and stress. This time period also coincides in the Western world with attending college. Many emerging adults arrive at this developmental stage feeling the pressure and obligation for success, but lack the interpersonal resources needed to make required choices. The purpose of this study was to provide insight into the psychological and mental state of this particular group by focusing on mechanisms of self-awareness and its connection to psychological health. The present study examines whether an indirect path could explain the relationships between mindfulness, positive thinking, and positive affect. Path analysis was used to test whether decentering fosters positive thinking and positive affect. Participants were surveyed for dispositional mindfulness, frequency of positive and negative feelings, positive thinking, and rumination. Results show decentering mediates between mindfulness and positive affect but does not mediate between mindfulness and positive thinking. Rumination counteracts the effects of mindfulness and predicts negative affect.

The more you know, the less you like: A comparative study of how news and political conversation shape political knowledge and affective polarization

The contemporary communication ecology contributes to affective polarization by presenting us with extreme exemplars of disliked groups. News exposure that is associated with political discussion networks is related to greater political knowledge, yet unlike previous eras where political knowledge and tolerance went hand in hand, this is no longer the case. We employ a comparative design to examine this idea among two democracies with differing levels of journalistic professionalism and political system: Mexico and the United States. Results show that greater political knowledge is associated with affective polarization, especially for the United States. Furthermore, there was a significant indirect path between media use and affective polarization, mediated through homogeneous political talk and political knowledge, but not in Mexico.

Electronic gaming machine accessibility and gambling problems: A natural policy experiment

Background: Electronic gaming machines (EGMs) are recognised as one of the most harmful forms of gambling at an individual level. However, it is unclear whether restriction of EGM functions and accessibility results in meaningful reductions in population-level gambling harm. Methods: This study employed a natural policy experiment to compare gambling problems between Australian residents in Western Australia (WA), where EGMs are restricted to a single venue and have different structural features, and residents in other Australian jurisdictions where EGMs are widely accessible in casinos, hotels and clubs. The accessibility of non-EGM forms of gambling is generally similar across all Australian jurisdictions. The study draws on a large (N = 15,000) nationally-representative dataset.Findings: Although gambling participation was slightly higher in WA, EGM participation was approximately half that found in the rest of Australia. Aggregate gambling problems and harm were about one-third lower in WA, and self-reported attribution of harm to EGMs by gamblers and affected others was 2·7x and 4x lower, respectively. Analyses using mediation and moderation determined that the attributable impact of EGMs in WA was 70% lower than elsewhere, and was responsible for the vast majority of the discrepancy in gambling problems (indirect path = -0·055, 95% CI -0·071; -0·038). Attributable problems to casino table games were slightly higher in WA, potentially due to redirection of demand, but this effect size was small relative to the reduction of problems due to EGMs. On an individual level, for a given level of participation in EGMs and other forms, the risk of problems were similar in WA and the rest of Australia. Interpretation: Reduced harm from gambling in WA is due to restricted accessibility of EGMs, and there is little transfer of problems to other gambling forms. These results suggest that restricting the accessibility of EGMs substantially reduces gambling harm.Funding: Gambling Research Australia (GRA) funded this research. GRA is a partnership between the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments to initiate and manage a national program of gambling research.

Relationship between Professional Commitment and Subjective Well-being of College Students

In order to explore the specific influence mechanism of professional commitment on subjective Well-being, this paper makes a research questionnaire based on professional commitment scale, subjective Well-being scale, academic Self-efficacy scale and social support scale, and surveys 356 college students nationwide. The obtained data are analyzed empirically using SPSS22.0 and Amos22.0. The results show that: (1) Professional commitment and academic Self-efficacy can positively predict subjective Well-being; (2) Academic Self-efficacy has a partial mediating effect on the relationship between professional commitment and subjective Well-being; (3) The moderating effect of social support occurs in the direct path of professional commitment’s influence on subjective Well-being and the indirect path of professional commitment’s influence on academic Self-efficacy. By constructing a moderated mediation model, this study reveals the mechanism of professional commitment on subjective Well-being, and provides reference for analyzing, predicting, shaping and correcting college students’ cognition and behavior, as well as helping to solve their psychological problems.

Sub-optimal modulation of gain by the cognitive control system in young adults with early psychosis

Executive dysfunctions in early psychosis (EP) are subtle but persistent, hindering recovery. We asked whether changes in the cognitive control system (CCS) disrupt the response to increased cognitive load in persons with EP. In all, 30 EP and 30 control participants undertook multimodal MRI. Computational models of structural and effective connectivity amongst regions in the CCS were informed by cortical responses to the multi-source interference task, a paradigm that selectively introduces stimulus conflict. EP participants showed greater activation of CCS regions, including the superior parietal cortex, and were disproportionately slower at resolving stimulus conflict in the task. Computational models of the effective connectivity underlying this behavioral response suggest that the normative (control) group resolved stimulus conflict through an efficient and direct modulation of gain between the visual cortex and the anterior insula (AI). In contrast, the EP group utilized an indirect path, with parallel and multi-region hops to resolve stimulus conflict at the AI. Individual differences in task performance were dependent on initial linear gain modulations in the EP group versus a single nonlinear modulation in the control group. Effective connectivity in the EP group was associated with reduced structural integration amongst those connections critical for task execution. CCS engagement during stimulus conflict is hampered in EP owing to inefficient use of higher-order network interactions, with high tonic gain impeding task-relevant (phasic) signal amplification.

Relationship Between Medical Students’ Empathy and Occupation Expectation: Mediating Roles of Resilience and Subjective Well-Being

Background: The occupation expectation of medical students can predict the possibility of their future employment in the medical industry, and empathy is the special ability of medical students in their study and career, which affects the development of their occupation expectation.Objective: To explore the relationship between resilience and subjective well-being between medical students’ empathy and occupation expectation and their internal mechanisms.Design: Data were collected from October 2020 to March 2021 using a paper questionnaire survey.Subjective: 586 medical students at a key medical university in Yunnan Province were invited to complete the survey.Main Measures: The Basic Empathy Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Subjective Well-Being Questionnaire, and Occupation Expectation Scale.Key Results: The empathy is intended to affect the occupation expectation of medical students through four paths. The direct path effect value is 0.073 (95% CI: 0.007∼0.217), the indirect path 1 effect value is 0.078 (95% CI: 0.022∼0.134), indirect path 2 effect value is 0.010 (95% CI: 0.005∼0.022), indirect path 3 effect value is 0.022 (95% CI: 0.0604∼0.039), all the confidence intervals do not contain 0, and the mediated effect ratio is 60.109%.Conclusion: Empathy has an impact on occupation expectation of medical students through the sequential mediating effects of resilience and subjective well-being. Medical colleges should fully consider the role of protective factors when cultivating and enhancing the occupation expectation of clinical medical students. Strengthening the intervention of emotional factors (empathy), self-regulating ability (psychological toughness) and cognitive factors (subjective well-being) is an important way to effectively establish professional values, improve occupation expectation of medical students and reduce the turnover rate of medical students.

Presenting Causal Model in Explaining the Relationship between Self-differentiation and Forgiveness with Marital Satisfaction based on the Mediating Role of Religious Orientation

Aim: The aim of this study was to explain the relationship between self-differentiation and forgiveness with marital satisfaction based on the mediating role of religious orientation. Methods: The research method was descriptive-correlational and the statistical population included all married teachers working in the sixth and seventh grade in Tehran's 6th educational district, with a total of 4,080 people, among whom 28 schools and 304 volunteer teachers were randomly selected. To collect research data, the following tools were used: Differentiation of Self Inventory by Skowron, E. A., & Schmitt (2003), Family Forgiveness Scale by Pollard, Anderson, Anderson & Jennings (1998), Religious Orientation Questionnaire by Allport & Ross (1967), and ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale by Fournier, Olson & Druckman (1983) were used. After deleting 10 distorted questionnaires and 3 outliers, structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. Results: In this study, the direct path coefficient between internal religious orientation and marital satisfaction (P<0.01, β=0.337) was positive and significant at the 0.01 level. Indirect path coefficient between self-differentiation and marital satisfaction (β = 0.149, P <0.01) and indirect path coefficient between forgiveness and marital satisfaction (P <0.01, β = 0.129) were positive and significant at 0.01 level. Conclusion: Since internal religious orientation can be effective in improving relationships and marital satisfaction, it is suggested that in marital counseling, strengthening the religious beliefs of couples be used.

The Trojan Horse Method: A Nuclear Physics Tool for Astrophysics

The Trojan Horse Method (THM) represents an indirect path to determine the bare nucleus astrophysical S-factor for reactions among charged particles at astrophysical energies. This is achieved by measuring the quasi-free cross section of a suitable three-body process. The method is also suited to study neutron-induced reactions, especially in the case of radioactive ion beams. A comprehensive review of the theoretical as well as experimental features behind the THM is presented here. An overview is given of some recent applications to demonstrate the method's practical use for reactions that have a great impact on selected astrophysical scenarios. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science, Volume 71 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Parental and Peer Support Matters: A Broad Umbrella of the Role of Perceived Social Support in the Association between Children’s Perceived Motor Competence and Physical Activity

(1) Background: This study aimed to examine the role of social support in the relationship between perceived motor competence (MC) and physical activity (PA), according to the conceptual model of Motor Development. (2) Methods: Participants were 518 students (46.5% girls), 8–12 years old. By using a structural equation modeling approach, path analysis was used to test the actual-perceived MC relationship and the mediating influence of social support on the perceived MC–PA relationship. Analyses were done with age and sex as covariates. (3) Results: The results showed a good model fit (CFI = 0.98; RMSEA = 0.07; SRMR = 0.02), where actual MC was positively associated with perceived MC (ß = 0.26, p < 0.001), which in turn was positively related to social support (ß = 0.34, p < 0.001). The model showed the direct social support-PA path (ß = 0.42, p < 0.001) and the indirect path from perceived MC through social support to PA (ß = 0.14, p < 0.001). (4) Conclusions: This study confirms that social support mediates the perceived MC–PA relationship. As such, it is not only important to build and develop children’s actual and perceived MC, but also to promote social support for PA engagement.

Job Insecurity and Depressive Symptoms in Mothers and Adolescents: A Dyadic Study

In this study, we examined whether maternal perceived job insecurity (JI) affected depressive symptoms in their adolescent children. Specifically, we tested a mediator-moderator model in which we hypothesized that maternal JI was related to adolescent depressive symptoms indirectly via maternal depressive symptoms. Most importantly, we also explored whether this indirect path was moderated by two buffering resources, i.e., maternal off-job recovery and adolescent self-esteem. There is little research on the effects of parental JI on adolescent children from the viewpoint of buffering moderators. Due to growing insecurity in the labor markets we need more information about resources that mitigate the harmful effects of JI within families. We tested the model via structural equation modeling among Finnish mother-adolescent dyads (N = 601, mothers aged 32–60 years; adolescents aged 14–18 years). Our results showed that mothers’ depressive symptoms did not mediate the relationship between mothers’ JI and adolescents’ depressive symptoms, but mothers’ JI was directly related to increased depressive symptoms among both adolescents and their mothers. Mothers’ off-job recovery and adolescents’ self-esteem buffered against mothers’ JI in relation to depressive symptoms. When off-job recovery (in mothers) and self-esteem (in adolescents) were high, the higher level of JI was not associated with increased depressive symptoms. Off-job recovery among working mothers should be improved as it has potential to protect against JI. Moreover, adolescents’ self-esteem should be boosted as it mitigates the effects of mothers’ job stress (e.g., JI) on adolescents’ well-being.