Continued relations with lost objects : Focusing on the psychological functions of keepsakes

我々は人生の中で、愛する人や大切な所有物、慣れ親しんだ環境、身体の健康など、多くのものを失う。本研究では、これらの喪失の中でも最も重大な喪失、すなわち大切な人との死別や離別体験に焦点を当てた。そして1)死別・離別の後、喪失対象が残された者の心中にいかに内在化されているのか、2)形見は喪失悲嘆からの回復にいかなる影響を及ぼしているのかの2点について検討することを主目的とした。被調査者は、全国に在住の397名(男性169名、女性227名、不明1名)であり、郵送法によって質問紙調査を行った。主な結果は以下の通りである。1)内在化の程度を測定するために「侵入心像尺度」を作成し因子分析したところ、「消極的侵入心像」と「積極的侵入心像」の2つの下位概念が見出された。前者は「自分の意思とは無関係に形成された喪失対象の心像」、後者は「自ら積極的に形成した喪失対象の心像」として捉えることができる。2)男性に比べて女性の方が形見を保持している割合が有意に高く、また全体の半数近くの人がその理由として「失った対象のことを忘れたくないから」と答えていた。3)形見の心的機能についてパス解析により検討したところ、形見には残された者の心の支えとなる反面、回復を困難にするという逆機能が存在することが確かめられた。The loss of close people and cherished possessions, familiar environments, good health, etc. are frequently experienced. This study focused on the two most important losses, that is, bereavement and separation. The main purpose of this study was to investigate: 1) After bereavement or separation, how the lost object was internalized in our minds; and 2) How keepsakes affected the recovery from grief. Three hundred and ninety-seven participants (169 males, 227 females, 1 unknown) who live in Japan were asked to complete a questionnaire by mail survey method. The following results were obtained: 1) Using the intrusive imagery scale to measure the degree of internalization of lost objects, analysis showed that the intrusive imagery could be classified into 2 sub-concepts, that is, "negative intrusive imagery" and "positive intrusive imagery." The former was regarded as "the imagery of a lost object that was formed regardless of intentions," and latter was regarded as "the imagery of a lost object that was intentionally formed." 2) More females than males significantly tended to hold keepsakes, and the reason given by almost half of the respondents was that they did not want to erase their lost objects from their mind. 3) Path-analysis conducted to investigate the psychological function of keepsakes indicated that, on one hand, keepsakes function as emotional support for people; on the other hand, it had the counter-function of hindering the recovery of people from grief.対人関係の光と影 : 「絆」の形成、拒絶、そして崩壊の社会心理学的研

遺品や形見の持つ意味 : 対象喪失の心理

第168回公開講

The structure of the extended self : Universarity among Japanese, Spanish, Americans, and Chinese

「拡張自己」とは、「自己の一部であると認知、同定している全てのものの集合体」と定義されている。本研究の主目的は、こうした拡張自己の構造が、性や年齢、さらには国の違いを超えて、どの程度普遍性を持っているのかを検討することにあった。日本、スペイン、アメリカ、中国の大学生559名を対象に質問紙調査を行ったところ、主に次のような結果が得られた。（1）拡張自己は「心理的・体内的過程｣、「身体の一部｣、「大切な人々｣、「物的所有物｣、「自然環境内の対象物｣、「宗教」の6カテゴリーからなり、最初の4カテゴリーは、ほぼ普遍的に自己の一部としてみなされることが示された。（2） 4カ国全ておいて男性よりも女性の方が、外的対象物を自己の一部としてみなす傾向にあった。さらに日本人の一般市民191名を対象に調査したところ、高齢者は若者に比べて外的対象物をより自己の一部としてみなすことが見出された。The "Extended self" is defined as "the aggregation of all objects that people regard as a part of self." The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent the structure of the extended self had universal characteristics beyond differences of sex, age, and country. Five hundred and fifty-nine university students in Japan, Spain, U.S.A., and China were asked to complete a survey questionnaire. The main findings were as follows: (1) The result of factor analysis indicated that the extended self was composed of 6 categories, that is, "Psychological or intraorganismic processes," "body parts," "important people," "material possessions," "objects in the natural environment," and "religion." It was also indicated that among these categories the first 4 categories, "Psychological or intraorganismic processes," "body parts," "important people," and "material possessions" were universally regarded as a part of the self; (2) In all of the four countries, more females than males tended to regard external objects as a part of the self. The result of further research conducted on 191 ordinary citizens in Japan suggested that more older people than younger ones regarded external objects as a part of the self

Pain following COVID-19 vaccination

Pain at the injection site is the most frequent reaction among COVID-19 vaccine recipients, but its characteristics were not fully described yet. The purpose of this study was to investigate multiple domains of pain following BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination. We included 107 subjects undergoing primary shot of the vaccination twice into deltoid muscle with a 3-week interval. They completed 6 sessions of pain assessments, one before the first and second dose (1-0, 2-0), and 1st / 7th day after the first and second dose (1-1 / 1-7, 2-1 / 2-7). Pain visual analog scale (VAS), pain distribution, and pressure pain threshold (PPT) on deltoid muscle were evaluated in each session. The mean VAS (at rest / shoulder motion) was 6.0 / 27.6 mm at 1-1, and 12.8 / 34.0 mm at 2-1. Approximately, 90% of recipients showed localized pain within the upper arm. Percentage change of PPTs at 1-1 and 2-1 was bilaterally (ipsilateral / contralateral) decreased to 87.4 / 89.4% and 80.6 / 91.0%, which was recovered to the baseline level at 1-7 and 2-7. Temporary, mild-to-moderate intensity, localized distribution, concomitant with bilateral mechanical hyperalgesia on the deltoid muscle, were typical pain characteristics following this vaccination. These findings provide a rationale that will be informative for future recipients

Protein kinase C (Pkc)-δ mediates arginine-induced glucagon secretion in pancreatic α-cells

The pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes involves insulin and glucagon. Protein kinase C (Pkc)-δ, a serine-threonine kinase, is ubiquitously expressed and involved in regulating cell death and proliferation. However, the role of Pkcδ in regulating glucagon secretion in pancreatic α-cells remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the physiological role of Pkcδ in glucagon secretion from pancreatic α-cells. Glucagon secretions were investigated in Pkcδ-knockdown InR1G9 cells and pancreatic α-cell-specific Pkcδ-knockout (αPkcδKO) mice. Knockdown of Pkcδ in the glucagon-secreting cell line InR1G9 cells reduced glucagon secretion. The basic amino acid arginine enhances glucagon secretion via voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCC). Furthermore, we showed that arginine increased Pkcδ phosphorylation at Th