The Associations among Moral Foundations, Political Ideology, and Social Issues: A Study of These Associations in an Asian Sample

This study examined the relationships among moral foundations, political ideology, and controversial social issues in an Asian culture. The study sample included 835 participants who completed a moral foundations questionnaire and three questions regarding attitudes toward social issues (i.e. nuclear power usage, the death penalty, and euthanasia), and a political ideology questionnaire. Results indicated that binding foundations (i.e. Ingroup, Authority, and Purity) were associated conservative tendencies, and individualizing foundations (i.e. Harm and Fairness) were associated liberal tendencies. Also, participants who scored higher on Authority showed higher approval of the death penalty, and those scored higher on Purity showed lower approval of the euthanasia. These results may provide a better understanding of the underlying differences for variations in opinions on social issues. Results also have implications for cultural differences in the associations among political ideology, social issues, and moral foundations.

Population-specific Interaction of the TRIM46 / MUC1 Locus With Cigarette Smoking May Influence the Risk of Gout

Background: Epidemiological and prospective studies suggest that current-smoking may be protective against developing gout and that smoking cessation may increase risk. The aim of this study was to identify interactions between smoking, genetic risk variants and the risk of gout. Methods: A cohort of 520 New Zealand (NZ) East and West Polynesian participants with and 629 without gout were included in our discovery analysis. A cohort of European participants (7576 with and 364,445 without) and South Asian participants (156 with and 7504 without gout) of the UK Biobank were used for replication. Five loci with previous evidence of smoking-influenced associations with serum urate levels were tested for their interaction with smoking status (current-smoker or ex-smoker vs. never-smoker as the reference group) in determining gout risk. The 5 loci were in genes, SLC2A9, ABCG2, GCKR, TRIM46, and HNF4G.Results: A non-additive interaction between genotype and smoking on gout risk was observed between ex-smoker status and TRIM46 (rs11264341) in NZ East and West Polynesian people [interaction ORmeta = 0.58 (0.37-0.92), p = 0.021], but not in European (OR = 0.94 (0.88-1.01), p = 0.10) or South Asian (0.96 (0.55-1.66), p = 0.88) participants of the UK Biobank. TRIM46 (rs11264341) interacted with current-smoker status in the Asian UK Biobank cohort [interaction OR = 2.68 (1.26-5.68), p = 0.010]. In smoking status subgroups the C-allele of rs11264341 increased risk of gout specifically in never-smokers (OR= 1.41 (1.04-1.92), p = 0.029) of the NZ Polynesian sample set and in current-smokers (2.39 (1.13-5.05), p=0.022) of the South Asian sample set. There was no evidence of interaction between smoking-status and the 4 remaining loci in 2 or more of the ancestral populations analysed in this study.Conclusion: We provide evidence for a non-additive interaction between TRIM46 (rs11264341) and smoking behaviour associated with gout risk in a NZ Polynesian sample set and a South Asian sample set, but not in a European sample set. MUC1, that encodes a transmembrane mucin in the lungs whose expression and function is affected by cigarette smoke, is a possible candidate gene at the TRIM46 locus.

Caregivers’ causal attributions of their relatives’ mental illness and the association with stigma

Causal attributions of mental illness have received substantial attention given their influence on help-seeking patterns of individuals and the level of engagement with health services. Few studies, however, have examined caregivers’ perspectives of their relatives’ illness. The current study aimed to examine caregivers’ causal attributions of their relatives’ mental illness and its association with perceived stigma in a multi-ethnic Asian sample. Primary caregivers ( N = 350) of psychiatric outpatients were recruited from a psychiatric hospital. The attribution and stigma sections of the Family Interview Schedule (FIS) were utilized to obtain caregivers’ causal report of their relatives’ illness and stigma perception. Logistic regressions were performed to examine the socio-demographic and diagnostic correlates of the four categories of causal attributions (psychosocial, biological, drug-/substance use-related, supernatural). The majority of caregivers identified psychosocial causes, followed by biological, supernatural, and lastly drug-/substance use-related causes for their relatives’ illness. Marital status, religion, employment status and the diagnosis of depressive disorders were significant correlates of biological attributions. Ethnicity and not knowing their relatives' diagnosis were significantly associated with psychosocial attributions. For drug-/substance use-related attributions, ethnicity was the only significant correlate. Supernatural attributions did not yield any significant associations. Caregivers who endorsed drug-/substance use-related reasons also reported significantly higher stigma than caregivers who did not endorse these attributions. A tendency to endorse biological and psychosocial causes for their relative’s illness was noted among caregivers. Further research on caregivers’ causal attributions is warranted to account for and replicate current study findings.

How Sexual Objectification Generates Dehumanization in Western and Eastern Cultures - a Comparison Between Belgium and Thailand.

Ever since Fredrickson and Roberts (1997) proposed objectification theory, research on self-objectification and – by extension – other-objectification has experienced a considerable expansion. However, most of the studies on sexual objectification have been conducted solely in Western populations. This study investigates whether the effect of target sexualization on social perception differs as a function of culture (Western vs. Eastern). Specifically, we asked a Western sample (Belgian, N = 62) and a Southeast Asian sample (Thai, N = 98) to rate sexualized versus nonsexualized targets. We found that sexual objectification results in dehumanization in both Western (Belgium) and Eastern (Thailand) cultures. Specifically, participants from both countries attributed less competence and less agency to sexualized than to nonsexualized targets, and they reported that they would administer more intense pain to sexualized than to nonsexualized targets. Thus, building on past research, this study suggests that the effect of target sexualization on dehumanization is a more general rather than a culture-specific phenomenon.

Reactions to Male-Favouring versus Female-Favouring Sex Differences: A Pre-Registered Experiment and Southeast Asian Replication

Two studies investigated: (1) how people react to research describing a sex difference, depending on whether that difference favours males or females; and (2) how accurately people can predict how the average man and woman will react. In Study 1, Western participants (N = 492) viewed a fictional popular-science article describing either a male-favouring or a female-favouring sex difference (i.e., men/women draw better; women/men lie more). Both sexes reacted less positively to the male-favouring differences, judging the findings to be less important, less credible, and more offensive, harmful, and upsetting. Participants predicted that the average man and woman would react more positively to sex differences favouring their own sex. This was true of the average woman, although the level of own-sex favouritism was lower than participants predicted. It was not true, however, of the average man, who – like the average woman – reacted more positively to the female-favouring differences. Study 2 replicated these findings in a Southeast Asian sample (N = 336). Our results are consistent with the idea that both sexes are more protective of women than men, but that both exaggerate the level of same-sex favouritism within each sex – a misconception that could potentially harm relations between the sexes. Link to published version: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjop.12463

Caregiver-Reported Sleep Disturbances Are Associated With Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms in an Asian Elderly Cohort With Cognitive Impairment-No Dementia

Objective: Sleep disturbances were found to be associated with more behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPS) in early patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, data on preclinical stages of dementia are lacking. Hence, the present study sought to investigate the association between sleep disturbances and BPS in dementia-free elderly with varying severity of cognitive impairment in an Asian sample. Methods: Community-living elderly were recruited and administered a comprehensive cognitive battery (vascular dementia battery [VDB]) and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory to assess symptoms of sleep disturbances and BPS. Severity of cognitive impairment was diagnosed and classified as no cognitive impairment (NCI), cognitive impairment-no dementia (CIND) -mild (1-2 impaired domains on the VDB), and CIND-moderate (≥3 impaired domains on the VDB). Analysis of variance was conducted to assess the associations between the presence of sleep disturbances and BPS scores in each diagnostic group. Logistic regression was used to examine whether the coexistence of sleep disturbances and other BPS was associated with CIND-moderate, which is known to carry a higher risk of progression to AD. Results: Among 839 elderly, 79 (9.4%) reported sleep disturbances. Participants with sleep disturbances had higher total BPS burden than those without among CIND participants but not in NCIs. Furthermore, CIND-moderate participants with sleep disturbances had more delusions, hallucinations, anxiety, depression, irritability, aberrant motor behavior, and appetite change ( P < .05). The presence of both sleep disturbances and other BPS was associated with CIND-moderate (odds ratio: 2.5, 95% confidence interval: 1.1-5.5). Conclusions: Sleep disturbances are associated with higher total BPS burden and specific BPS among elderly patients with cognitive impairment, particularly those with CIND moderate, which carries higher risk of developing dementia.

How Sexual Objectification Generates Dehumanization in Western and Eastern Cultures

Ever since Fredrickson and Roberts (1997) proposed objectification theory, research on self-objectification and – by extension – other-objectification has experienced a considerable expansion. However, most of the studies on sexual objectification have been conducted solely in Western populations. This study investigates whether the effect of target sexualization on social perception differs as a function of culture (Western vs. Eastern). Specifically, we asked a Western sample (Belgian, N = 62) and a Southeast Asian sample (Thai, N = 98) to rate sexualized versus nonsexualized targets. We found that sexual objectification results in dehumanization in both Western (Belgium) and Eastern (Thailand) cultures. Specifically, participants from both countries attributed less competence and less agency to sexualized than to nonsexualized targets, and they reported that they would administer more intense pain to sexualized than to nonsexualized targets. Thus, building on past research, this study suggests that the effect of target sexualization on dehumanization is a more general rather than a culture-specific phenomenon.

FINANCIAL INCLUSION, POVERTY, AND INCOME INEQUALITY

This paper extends the existing literature on financial inclusion by analyzing the factors affecting financial inclusion and assessing the impact of financial inclusion on poverty and income inequality in the world and Asia. We construct a new financial inclusion indicators to assess various macroeconomic and country-specific factors affecting the degree of financial inclusion for 176 economies, including 37 of which from developing Asia. We test the impact of financial inclusion, along with other control variables, on poverty and income inequality. We do so for full sample of countries and then for developing Asia sample to access which factors are relevant for full sample and for developing Asia specifically. The estimation results show that per capita income, rule of law, and demographic characteristics significantly affect financial inclusion for both world and Asia samples. However, primary education completion and literacy significantly increases financial inclusion only in the full sample, not for the Asian sample. The findings also indicate that financial inclusion is significantly correlated with lower poverty and income inequality levels for the full sample. For developing Asia, however, there appears to be no link between financial inclusion and income inequality.