Cognitive and language development in preschoolers is related to maternal cognitive performance: A study of young mothers in an urban area of a city in Southern Brazil

To evaluate the relationship between maternal cognitive performance and language and cognitive development of children between 24 and 36 months old of mothers who became pregnant in adolescence, in the city of Pelotas, Southern Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study nested in a cohort study with adolescent mothers who received prenatal care in the city’s public health system. To assess maternal cognitive performance, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was used and Bayley Scales of Infant Development III (BSID-III) are used to assess children's language and cognition development. Data were analyzed using SPSS (Version 22.0) software. Pearson correlation, t-test, ANOVA and linear regression were performed. We evaluated 496 mother-child dyads. In the adjusted analysis, we found that children's language remained associated with maternal cognitive performance (p = .027, CI [0.0, 0.6]) and child’s gender (p < .001, CI [−7.2, −2.4]). Besides that children cognitive development remained associated with maternal cognitive performance (p = .008, CI [0.1, 0.6]) and child’s gender (p = .030, CI [−4.5, −0.2]). Our results suggest that poor maternal cognitive performance is associated with lower levels of children's language and cognitive development. The results contributing to early identification and intervention in children of mothers with poor cognitive performance at higher risk of negative developmental outcomes.

Being the infidelity partner: Narratives of lived experiences in an online support group

Taking into account the secretive nature of infidelity experiences and their adverse impact on the involved partners, the aim of the present qualitative study was to examine how individuals—who have been engaged in extradyadic relationships, as “affair partners”—narrate their experiences in an online support group. The study analyzed 60 posts, published over a period of 6 months in an online support community. Three main themes emerged through the thematic analysis conducted. The first theme involved conflicting dimensions of affair partner experience, in which the following sub-themes were identified: 1) living in the shadow of loss, and 2) the prevalence of ambivalence: when opposite impulses coexist. The second theme refers to the centripetal aspects of the relationship and within this section the following sub-themes are defined: 1) the relationship as a supportive environment and 2) between plenitude and dearth: the desire for exclusivity. Finally, the third theme refers to the lessons learned by the affair partners and their generalizing conclusions such experiences. The present study underlines how group participants reconstruct their experiences of extradyadic relationships and how they create new ways of meaning making about them. The findings involve reflexive conclusions about intimate relationships capturing elements of broader cultural narratives, representations and dilemmas of self and relationships, as presented in written transactions in online support groups.

A 10 nation exploration of trustworthiness in the workplace

In the context of the workplace, and especially in today’s often fast-paced, cross-cultural and virtual work environment, a basic type of trust—“swift trust”—forms quickly based on cognitive processes and beliefs, or stereotypes, of another. Interpersonal trust is in large part based on these contextualized assessments of the extent to which another person is trustworthy. While trust across cultural boundaries has been examined, there is a lack of research investigating how trustworthiness is determined cross-culturally, especially with respect to what heuristics are used in the development of trust. The current project explored how trustworthiness is conceptualized and described for both colleagues and supervisors across 10 nations using the Stereotype Content Model. Qualitative descriptors of trustworthy supervisors and colleagues were coded based on the importance ascribed to warmth and competence, and these codes were used as the basis for cluster analyses to examine similarities and differences in descriptors of role-based trustworthiness. Both differences and similarities in the expectations of trustworthiness were found across the national samples. Some cultures emphasized both warmth and competence as equally important components to developing trustworthiness, some emphasized only warmth, while others emphasized only competence. Variations of trustworthiness stereotypes were found in all but two national samples based on role expectations for supervisors and colleagues. Data from the GLOBE project related to societal cultural practices and cultural leadership prototypes were drawn on to discuss findings.

Social network pressure on women and men to enter a romantic relationship and fear of being single

The romantic dyad is emphasized in society, which leads to the question of whether single (non-partnered) adults in emerging adulthood perceive pressure from their social network members to become partnered. The first purpose of this study was to examine the degree of pressure to enter a relationship that single (unattached) men and women perceive that they receive from two social networks (parents/family and friends) and whether there is a gender difference in this degree of pressure to partner. The second purpose was to examine how social pressure to partner is associated with the fear of being single (FOBS). A sample of 616 single (unpartnered) adults ages 18 to 30, primarily from the U.S., reported some degree of network pressure to enter a relationship on average. Greater pressure to become partnered was perceived from parents/family than from friends. Women scored higher than men on an index of social pressure from parents/family to enter a relationship and also higher on an index measuring FOBS. Social network pressure to enter a relationship was associated with a greater FOBS for both men and women.

How do spouses’ levels of ambivalent sexism predict allocations of household chores? Probing why women still perform most of the work in the U.S.

This study’s main objective was to examine whether, in a U.S. sample, ambivalent sexism would show stronger associations with heterosexual husbands and wives’ housework division (hours and proportion) than have previous gender-ideology measures. Unlike earlier conceptions of sexism emphasizing hostile and negative stereotypical views toward women, ambivalent sexism combines the two dimensions of hostile sexism and benevolent sexism (seemingly positive views and behaviors toward women that nevertheless convey underlying paternalistic and patronizing motivations). We hypothesized that male and female respondents high in both hostile and benevolent sexism would report the typical pattern of wives’ housework exceeding their husbands’, whereas those lower in hostile or benevolent sexism would report less housework being performed by wives. Married individuals (N = 249) were recruited via advertisements on Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform and announcements at a university to complete an online survey. Several variables were measured, including own and spouse’s housework hours, hostile and benevolent sexism, and demographic control variables previously associated with housework allocation. An interaction emerged for women, in which those high in benevolent, but low in hostile, sexism reported performing the highest proportion of housework, whereas those low in both forms of sexism performed the lowest proportion. These results provided full or partial support for different aspects of our hypotheses. Men reported greater housework (hours and proportion) the more hours their wife worked outside the house. Discussion examines implications for ambivalent sexism theory, housework sharing, and conceptions of sexism.

The dark triad, love components, and attachment styles in romantic relationship experiencing during young adulthood

The aim of this research was to clarify the nature of experiencing relationships in connection with the dark aspects of personality—Dark Triad. The study was conducted on a sample of 293 young adults (Mage = 22.9, SD = 3.4), 53.6% of females and 46.4% of males. The Slovak version of Short Dark Triad—SD3, the Slovak version of The Sternberg Triangular Love Scale (STLS) and the Slovak version of Experience in Close relationship—Revised were administered. The model of complex relationships of the Dark triad, components of love and attachment style explained 83% of the variation of the attachment style in a close relationship. The Dark triad had a direct negative effect on the love components and a direct positive effect on the attachment style in a close relationship. The components of love had a direct negative effect on the attachment style in a close relationship. In the model, gender differences were found.

Experience of dating violence’s victims in Indonesia: A photovoice study

Dating violence is one of the major violence issues that is continuously threatening female youth in Indonesia. Dating violence can cause significant negative consequences to its victims, which are often underestimated in areas with strong patriarchal cultures. This study aims to identify the experience faced by dating violence victims, which could help expand the literature and provide insights for better violence prevention programs. Photovoice design was used and data were gathered through interviews and a focus group. Participants involved in this study are nine female youth victims of dating violence in Kupang, Indonesia. Analysis of interviews and focus group identified five main themes: 1) types of dating violence, 2) risk factors, 3) protective factors, 4) impacts of dating violence, and 5) withstanding and withdrawing from the relationship. Dating violence risk factors were patriarchal attitude, social and economic condition, lack of knowledge about dating violence, and exposure to violence. Factors that protect female youth from dating violence were positive self-concept, knowledge about dating violence, the role of parents, educational institutions, and health institutions. Reasons for victims to withstand their dating relationships were varied. Types and impacts of dating violence were also varied based on unique experiences. This study provides a deeper understanding of the experience of dating violence victims through photovoice methodology. These experiences were affected by religious and cultural beliefs distinctive to the Indonesian context, highlighting the need for more culture-fit interventions.

Self-disclosure and psychological resilience: The mediating roles of self-esteem and self-compassion

Self-disclosure involves sharing thoughts, feelings, and experiences with others, typically surrounding emotionally relevant and often times difficult life experiences. Research suggests a link between acts of self-disclosure and improved psychological resilience. Most research argues that resilience arises because acts of disclosure alter one’s thinking around a topic of disclosure, which is then associated with improved resilience. Research also suggests, however, that disclosure can alter personal characteristics such as one’s level of self-compassion or self-esteem. Nevertheless, we know relatively little about the potential mediating role that personal characteristics might play in predicting resilience. This exploratory cross-sectional study assesses whether self-characteristics (specifically self-esteem and self-compassion) mediate the relationship between self-disclosure and psychological resilience. Four hundred and forty-three individuals completed a survey that assessed the aforementioned variables. Findings suggest that self-esteem and self-compassion mediate the relationship between self-disclosure and psychological resilience. Demographically, age and those who identified as male reported significantly higher levels of resilience than individuals of other demographics. These findings pinpoint personal characteristics that could be targeted to supplement and improve the efficacy of self-disclosure interventions.

Love, relationships and couple happiness: A cross-cultural comparison among Spanish couples and Moroccan couples in Southern Spain

Love and relationships are sociocultural constructions that, in recent times, have experienced great changes in terms of type of relationship, type of love and happiness of the couple. Few studies have analysed the love relationships immigrant population in Europe. This study aims to explore the differences and similarities in love styles between Spaniards and Moroccan immigrants, the country’s largest foreign population, and analyse the relationship between these styles and level of couple happiness. This cross-sectional study disseminated a survey to young adults between the ages of 18 and 40 in southern Spain. Of those who received the survey, 574 young adults responded, of which 182 were of Moroccan origin and 392 were Spanish. The results indicated that there are sociocultural and gender differences in the types of relationships young adults maintain and in the agents that facilitate romantic socialisation. The Spaniards describe less stable relationships, more influenced by several agents, while the Moroccans demonstrated more stability in relationships, more influenced by family and religion. In accordance with Sternberg love components, different types of love were recognised. Spanish women are the group most value love in their lives, rated higher in couple happiness, and gave special importance to intimacy (but not to commitment and passion). Moroccan women followed models of love closer to Sternberg's romantic love, giving importance to commitment, intimacy and passion. Spanish men were similar to Moroccan men regarding their type of love, although they were the only ones that included commitment as a predictor of happiness. This study reveals that the importance of an intersectional approach to analyse love and couples.