Alcohol use and personality trait change : pooled analysis of six cohort studies

Background. Personality has been associated with alcohol use, but less is known about how alcohol use may influence long-term personality trait change. Methods. The present study examines associations between alcohol use and change in the five major personality traits across two measurement occasions (mean follow-up of 5.6 years). A total of 39 722 participants (54% women) were pooled from six cohort studies for an individual-participant meta-analysis. Alcohol use was measured as (1) average alcohol consumption, (2) frequency of binge drinking, (3) symptoms of alcohol use disorder, and (4) a global indicator of risky alcohol use. Changes in the five major personality traits (extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience) were used as outcomes. Results. Risky alcohol use was associated with increasing extraversion [0.25 T-scores over the mean follow-up of 5.6 years; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.07-0.44] and decreasing emotional stability (-0.28; 95% CI -0.48 to -0.08), agreeableness (-0.67; 95% CI -0.87 to -0.36), and conscientiousness (-0.58; 95% CI -0.79 to -0.38). Except the association between alcohol use and extraversion, these associations were consistent across cohort studies and across different measures of alcohol use. Conclusions. These findings suggest that alcohol use is associated with personality trait changes in adulthood.Peer reviewe

The relationship between personality and job satisfaction across occupations

Research shows that people select themselves and are selected into occupations, partly because of their personality, and this has implications for their person-environment fit. Although it has been shown that personality congruence between the individual and the environment is important to job satisfaction, the effect of personality congruence in occupations on job satisfaction is not well understood. In a sample of 22,787 individuals, nested within 25 occupational groups from the British Household Panel Survey and the UK Household Longitudinal Study, we examined (1) whether average levels of personality vary across occupational groups, and (2) whether there is a cross-level interaction between the occupational mean personality and the individual's personality, with job satisfaction. We found there were modest differences across occupational groups in all FFM traits. Neuroticism and openness interacted with the corresponding mean personality, showing that for these traits the fit between an individual's personality and the average personality of the occupation makes a difference for job satisfaction.Peer reviewe

Life Course Approach to the Development of Hostility and Anger : Family Origins in Childhood and Unemployment in Adulthood

Previous studies have suggested that hostility and anger are associated with serotonergic function, that they are relatively stable personality characteristics, and that their development is affected by early family factors. Hostile and angry individuals have also been suggested to be at risk for social problems. However, there is a limited number of studies that have examined these issues from a life course perspective, which is the aim of the present thesis. The participants for the current study were from the ongoing, nationally representative, longitudinal, population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS), which began in 1980. The present thesis had two aims: 1) to investigate how serotonin receptor 1B, family factors, and early antecedents of hostility and anger are related to the life course development and stability of hostility and anger, and 2) how hostility over the life course is related to unemployment in adulthood. The results indicate that low parental socioeconomic status, a hostile child-rearing style and aggressive behavior in childhood predicted high levels of hostility and anger in adulthood, but the association between aggressive behavior and hostility was moderated by the serotonin receptor 1B. Both hostility and anger seemed to be moderately stable characteristics over the life course. Hostility and unemployment were found to have a bidirectional relationship, but hostility was a stronger predictor of unemployment than vice versa. The current study provides new information on unemployment as an outcome of hostility and emphasizes the role of early antecedents and family factors in the development of hostility and anger over the life course. Based on these findings, the prevention of hostility and anger should be targeted at the early stages of life. This could greatly lower the costs of high levels of hostility and anger to the individual as well as to society.Vihamielisyys ja ärtyneisyys ovat kohtalaisen pysyviä persoonallisuuden piirteitä ja aiempien tutkimusten perusteella varhaisen perheympäristön sekä serotoniinijärjestelmän on havaittu vaikuttavan niiden kehityskulkuun. Sekä vihamielisyys että ärtyneisyys on yhdistetty lukuisiin terveydellisiin riskitekijöihin sekä sosiaalisiin ongelmiin. Tässä väitöskirjassa keskitytään tarkastelemaan näitä asioita elämänkaariperspektiivistä. Tutkimuksen osallistujat valittiin vuonna 1980 alkaneesta ja edelleen käynnissä olevasta väestöpohjaisesta Lasten ja nuorten sepelvaltimotaudin riskitekijät (LASERI) - tutkimuksesta. Väitöskirjalla oli kaksi päätavoitetta: 1) selvittää, kuinka varhainen perheympäristö, serotoniinireseptori 1B ja vihamielisyyden sekä ärtyneisyyden varhaiset edeltäjät ovat yhteydessä vihamielisyyden ja ärtyneisyyden kehitykseen nuoruudesta aikuisuuteen, ja 2) selvittää, kuinka vihamielisyys on yhteydessä työttömyyteen. Tulokset osoittavat, että vanhempien alhainen sosioekonominen asema ja kielteinen kasvatustyyli sekä tutkittavien lapsuuden aikainen aggressiivinen käyttäytyminen ennustivat aikuisuuden vihamielisyyttä ja ärtyneisyyttä. Serotoniinireseptori 1B kuitenkin muokkasi lapsuuden aikaisen aggressiivisen käyttäytymisen ja aikuisuuden vihamielisyyden välistä suhdetta. Sekä vihamielisyyden että ärtyneisyyden havaittiin olevan kohtalaisen pysyviä ominaisuuksia nuoruudesta aikuisuuteen. Vihamielisyyden ja työttömyyden välillä havaittiin kaksisuuntainen yhteys, tosin vihamielisyys ennusti vahvemmin työttömäksi joutumista kuin työttömyys vihamielisyyden lisääntymistä. Tutkimus tuo uutta tietoa vihamielisyydestä työttömyyden ennustajana ja siitä, kuinka varhainen perheympäristö sekä vihamielisyyden ja ärtyneisyyden lapsuuden aikaiset edeltäjät ovat yhteydessä vihamielisyyden ja ärtyneisyyden kehityspolkuihin elämänkaaren aikana. Tutkimuksen löydösten perusteella aikuisuuden vihamielisyyden ja ärtyneisyyden ennaltaehkäisyyn olisi hyvä panostaa jo lapsuuden aikana, mikä voisi vähentää niistä yhteiskunnalle ja yksilölle koituvia kustannuksia

Association between depression and the likelihood of having children: a nationwide register study in Finland

Peer reviewe

Prescription opioid use and employment : A nationwide Finnish register study

Background: The secular decline in labor market participation and the concurrent increase in opioid use in many developed countries have sparked a policy debate on the possible connection between these two trends. We examined whether the use of prescription opioids was connected to labor market outcomes relating to partici-pation, employment and unemployment among the Finnish population. Methods: The working-age population (aged 19-64 years) living in Finland during the period 1995-2016 was used in the analyses (consisting of 67 903 701 person-year observations). Lagged values of prescription opioid use per capita were used as the exposure. Instrumental variables (IV) estimation method was used to identify causal effects, where opioid use per capita for the elderly (65-95-year-old) was used as an instrument for the opioid use per capita for the working-age population of the same gender, education and region. Results: Increased opioid use led to worse labor market outcomes in the long run, with the effect size of 16 % and 20 %, compared to the standard deviation of the employment and participation rates. On the contrary, in the short run, increased opioid use had positive employment effects. Conclusions: Policymakers should take the contradictory short-and long-term effects into account while considering regulation and monitoring of opioid use. Regulating and monitoring long-term prescription opioids is crucial for reducing their negative labor market consequences.Peer reviewe

Do the Temperamental Characteristics of Both Mother and Child Influence the Well-Being of Adopted and Non-Adopted Children?

(1) Background: For decades, the temperaments of infants and small children have been a focus of studies in human development and been seen as a potential contributor to children’s developmental patterns. However, less is known about the interplay between the temperamental characteristics of mothers and their children in the context of explaining variations in developmental outcomes. The aim of our study was to explore the associations—with or without genetic links—of the temperaments and psychological distress of mothers and the temperaments of children with behavioral problems in a group of internationally adopted children and their adoptive mothers and in a group of non-adopted children and their mothers. (2) Methods: Data (n = 170) were derived from the ongoing Finnish Adoption (FinAdo) follow-up study. The children included were under the age of 7 years; 74 were adopted internationally through legal agencies between October 2010 and December 2016, and the remaining 96 were non-adopted children living with their birth parents (biological group) recruited from day-care centers. We used Mary Rothbart’s temperament questionnaires to assess temperament, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to obtain data on the children’s behavioral/emotional problems and competencies, and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) to assess parental psychological distress. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Hospital District of Southwest Finland, and written informed consent was obtained from the parents and the children themselves. (3) Results: The negative affectivities of both mothers and children were associated with the total CBCL and with both internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors after adjusting for age, gender, and adoption status. Both relationships remained significant when tested simultaneously, suggesting additive effects. Maternal negative affect was associated with problem behavior irrespective of child extraversion/surgency. Child extraversion/surgency was associated with lower levels of all internalizing behavioral problems when adjusted for maternal sociability. Child negative affect was associated with all behavioral problem measures irrespective of maternal sociability or maternal psychological distress. Maternal distress was associated with child problem behaviors only in children with low extraversion/surgency. (4) Limitations: The sample size was relatively small, and the information was gathered solely with questionnaires. (5) Conclusions: The results of the study may be clinically significant. Child negative affect, maternal negative affect, and maternal experienced distress, combined with low child extraversion/surgency, may increase the risk of child problem behaviors in both adoptees and non-adoptees

Determinants of prescription opioid use : population-based evidence from Finland

Background and aims Previous studies have shown that prescription opioid use is more common in socio-economicallydisadvantaged communities in the United States. This study examined the area and individual-level determinants of pre-scription opioiduse inFinlandduring the period 1995–2016. Design Logistic regression analysisusing nation-widedataonfilled opioid-related prescriptions dispensed at Finnish pharmacies and covered by National Health Insurance. Opioidconsumption was linked, using personal identification codes, to population-based data maintained by Statistics Finland,which records individual background and area-level characteristics. Setting and participants Working-age populationaged between 15 and 64 years in Finland during the periods 1995–2007 (n= 4315409) and 2009–16 (n=4116992). Measurements Annual prescription opioid use was measured using defined daily doses (DDD) and whether people usedopioids during a year. Findings Prescription opioid use increased in Finland from 1995 to 2016 (from less than 1 to 7%),but the increase was explained by the change in the treatment of codeine-based opioids in National Health Insurance. Thearea-level unemployment rate was positively correlated with the share of opioid users at the municipal level (r=0.36;P<0.001). In comparison with being employed, being outside the labour force was associated with increased opioiduse in 1995–2007 [odds ratio (OR) = 2.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.10–2.36] and non-codeine opioid use in2009–16 (OR = 2.16, 95% CI = 2.06–2.27), but not with codeine opioid use in 2009–16. Conclusions Prescriptionopioid use in Finland appears to be more common among low socio-economic status people, similar to the UnitedStates and the United Kingdom.Peer reviewe

Do the Temperamental Characteristics of Both Mother and Child Influence the Well-Being of Adopted and Non-Adopted Children?

(1) Background: For decades, the temperaments of infants and small children have been a focus of studies in human development and been seen as a potential contributor to children’s developmental patterns. However, less is known about the interplay between the temperamental characteristics of mothers and their children in the context of explaining variations in developmental outcomes. The aim of our study was to explore the associations—with or without genetic links—of the temperaments and psychological distress of mothers and the temperaments of children with behavioral problems in a group of internationally adopted children and their adoptive mothers and in a group of non-adopted children and their mothers. (2) Methods: Data (n = 170) were derived from the ongoing Finnish Adoption (FinAdo) follow-up study. The children included were under the age of 7 years; 74 were adopted internationally through legal agencies between October 2010 and December 2016, and the remaining 96 were non-adopted children living with their birth parents (biological group) recruited from day-care centers. We used Mary Rothbart’s temperament questionnaires to assess temperament, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to obtain data on the children’s behavioral/emotional problems and competencies, and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) to assess parental psychological distress. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Hospital District of Southwest Finland, and written informed consent was obtained from the parents and the children themselves. (3) Results: The negative affectivities of both mothers and children were associated with the total CBCL and with both internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors after adjusting for age, gender, and adoption status. Both relationships remained significant when tested simultaneously, suggesting additive effects. Maternal negative affect was associated with problem behavior irrespective of child extraversion/surgency. Child extraversion/surgency was associated with lower levels of all internalizing behavioral problems when adjusted for maternal sociability. Child negative affect was associated with all behavioral problem measures irrespective of maternal sociability or maternal psychological distress. Maternal distress was associated with child problem behaviors only in children with low extraversion/surgency. (4) Limitations: The sample size was relatively small, and the information was gathered solely with questionnaires. (5) Conclusions: The results of the study may be clinically significant. Child negative affect, maternal negative affect, and maternal experienced distress, combined with low child extraversion/surgency, may increase the risk of child problem behaviors in both adoptees and non-adoptees

Are a lack social relationships and cigarette smoking really equally powerful predictors of mortality? Analyses of data from two cohort studies

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The AuthorsObjective: The suggestion from cross-review comparison that lower levels of social integration (social isolation, loneliness) and cigarette smoking are equally powerful predictors of premature mortality has been promulgated by policy organisations and widely reported in the media. For the first time, we examined this assertion by simultaneously comparing these associations using data from two large cohort studies. Study design: Individual-participant analyses of two large prospective cohort studies. Methods: Participants in UK Biobank and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing reported loneliness, social-isolation and smoking behaviours using standard scales at baseline. Cause-specific mortality was ascertained via linkage to national registries. We used Cox regression analyses to compute a relative index of inequality to summarise the relation between these baseline characteristics and mortality experience. Results: Mean age at baseline was 56.5 years in the 466,876 (273,452 women) Biobank participants and 66.1 years in the 7505 (4123 women) English Longitudinal Study of Ageing members. In Biobank, a mean duration of mortality surveillance of 6.6 years gave rise to a total of 13,072 deaths, while in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, 1183 deaths occurred after a mean of 7.7 years. In ascending magnitude, loneliness, social isolation then cigarette smoking were associated with an increased risk of mortality from all-causes and all cancers combined. When cardiovascular disease mortality was the endpoint of interest, both smoking and social isolation, though not loneliness, revealed similar relationships. Conclusions: Contrary to cross-review comparisons, in the present datasets it appears that poor social integration is in fact less strongly linked to total mortality than cigarette smoking.Peer reviewe

Is symptom connectivity really the most important issue in depression? : Depression as a dynamic system of interconnected symptoms revisited

According to the network theory strong associations between symptoms drive the disease process. We compared those with and without diagnosed depressive disorders (DD+/DD-) and analysed the effects of differences in (a) network connectivity, (b) symptom thresholds, and (c) autoregressive loops (i.e. how strongly specific symptoms predict themselves) on the potential activation of symptoms over time using simulations developed by Cramer and others (2016). The parameters for the simulation (symptom connectivity and symptom threshold) were obtained from Ising models and cross-lagged panel network analyses. Data were from the nationally representative samples (Health 2000-2011 Study) of 4190 participants measured in 2011 (cross-sectional analyses) and 3201 participants measured in 2000 and 2011 (longitudinal analyses). DD diagnosis was based on the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and depressive symptoms were self-reported using the 13-item version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Differences in symptom connectivity between participants with and without DD were not observed, but the mean probability (threshold) of symptom existence in the DD + group was higher than in the DD-group (0.41 vs. 0.12). Simulation showed that there are more active symptoms in the DD + group after 10 000 time points (means 1.2 vs. 4.6) than in the DD-group. This difference largely disappeared when we used longitudinal networks, including autoregressive loops, in the connectivity matrix. Our results suggest that the differences in symptom thresholds and autoregressive loops may be more important features than symptom connectivity in differentiating people with and without DD.Peer reviewe