Choosing Sides: Children’s Expectations of Consequences of Loyalty Towards Authority

Previous research has found that children recognize social group membership and status early in development (Aboud, 2003; Gulgoz & Gelman, 2017). However, children increasingly value loyalty towards authority figures with age, although they prefer members of their own social groups (Norris & Noles, 2022). In this study, we are interested in whether children expect there to be positive consequences associated with loyalty towards authority figures over a subordinate, as well as negative consequences associated with loyalty towards subordinates over authority figures. We presented children ages 6-8, as well as adults, with a situation in which a worker was loyal to either the boss (authority figure) or another worker (subordinate). We then asked two questions: whether the boss was nice to the (dis)loyal worker (Positive Consequence) or mean to them (Negative Consequence). Both children and adults significantly chose the worker to receive a negative consequence when the worker was loyal to the subordinate as well as to receive a positive consequence when the worker was loyal to the boss. These results suggest that at a young age, children recognize that risks are associated with loyalty towards authority figures over in-group members. Future studies should further explore how loyalty influences the way children interact in relationships with friends, parents, and teachers

‘An ounce of loyalty’: Children’s expectations about loyalty and preference for in-group members and authority figures

The current study investigates children’s understanding of the social dynamics of complex groups. We asked children to use relative differences in intragroup status to predict the behaviors of individuals. Specifically, who do children (ages 3 to 10, n = 120) and adults (n = 34) believe a subordinate “worker” would be loyal to (another worker or to their “boss”), and whom the worker would prefer to socialize with? Young children predicted that workers would be loyal to other workers, but as age increased so did children’s tendency to predict that workers would be loyal to bosses. Regardless of age, children and adults believed that workers would prefer to spend time with other workers. These results have important implications for how children understand and navigate nuanced power differentials within a group

Misalignment Between Perceptual Boundaries and Weight Categories Reflects a New Normal for Body Size Perception

© 2021, The Author(s). Combatting the current global epidemic of obesity requires that people have a realistic understanding of what a healthy body size looks like. This is a particular issue in different population sub-groups, where there may be increased susceptibility to obesity-related diseases. Prior research has been unable to systematically assess body size judgement due to a lack of attention to gender and race; our study aimed to identify the contribution of these factors. Using a data-driven multi-variate decision tree approach, we varied the gender and race of image stimuli used, and included the same diversity among participants. We adopted a condition-rich categorization visual task and presented participants with 120 unique body images. We show that gender and weight categories of the stimuli affect accuracy of body size perception. The decision pattern reveals biases for male bodies, in which participants showed an increasing number of errors from leaner to bigger bodies, particularly under-estimation errors. Participants consistently mis-categorized overweight male bodies as normal weight, while accurately categorizing normal weight. Overweight male bodies are now perceived as part of an expanded normal: the perceptual boundary of normal weight has become wider than the recognized BMI category. For female bodies, another intriguing pattern emerged, in which participants consistently mis-categorized underweight bodies as normal, whilst still accurately categorizing normal female bodies. Underweight female bodies are now in an expanded normal, in opposite direction to that of males. Furthermore, an impact of race type and gender of participants was also observed. Our results demonstrate that perceptual weight categorization is multi-dimensional, such that categorization decisions can be driven by ultiple factors.University of Tennessee Health Science Centre; Brunel University London

Education Program Regarding Labor Epidurals Increases Utilization by Hispanic Medicaid Beneficiaries: A Randomized Controlled Trial

What We Already Know about This Topic Hispanic women choose epidural labor analgesia less commonly than non-Hispanic women. The causes of the healthcare disparity are unknown, and effective interventions are to be established. What This Article Tells Us That Is New A language-concordant, educational program regarding labor epidurals during the first stage of labor, in addition to the routine prenatal education, is feasible and does not cause any negative effect.Such an intervention increases epidural use among Hispanic but not non-Hispanic women.It also reduces misconceptions regarding epidural analgesia in both Hispanic and non-Hispanic women. Background:Hispanic women choose epidural labor analgesia less commonly than non-Hispanic women. This may represent a healthcare disparity related to a language barrier and inadequate opportunities for labor analgesia education. It was hypothesized that a language-concordant, educational program regarding labor epidurals would improve epidural utilization in two independent cohorts of Hispanic and non-Hispanic women. Methods:A randomized controlled trial, blinded to anesthesia, nursing, and obstetric providers, was completed at an academic hospital (February 2015 to February 2017). Two cohorts of Medicaid beneficiaries of Hispanic (English- and/or Spanish-speaking) and non-Hispanic ethnicity were enrolled concurrently. The patients were randomized to routine care alone or routine care and an additional educational program comprised of three components: a video show, corresponding pamphlet, and in-person counseling. The primary endpoint was use of epidural labor analgesia. The secondary endpoint was change in response before and after delivery on common misconceptions based on a 12-point epidural questionnaire. Results:Hispanic women randomized to the intervention group were 33% more likely to choose epidural analgesia compared to the routine care group (40 of 50 [80%] vs. 30 of 50 [60%]; risk ratio, 1.33 [95% CI, 1.02 to 1.74]; P = 0.029). For the non-Hispanic cohort, no difference was detected in epidural use between the intervention and routine care groups (41 of 50 [82%] vs. 42 of 49 [86%]; risk ratio, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.80 to 1.14]; P = 0.62), but the study was underpowered to determine a result of no difference. Patients assigned to the intervention had a greater improvement in epidural understanding compared with routine care, among both Hispanic (2.26 vs. 0.74, respectively; difference in change from baseline, 1.52 [95% CI, 0.77 to 2.27]; P \u3c 0.001) and non-Hispanic (1.36 vs. 0.33, respectively; difference in change from baseline, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.23 to 1.75]; P = 0.005) cohorts. There were no adverse events during the trial. Conclusions:The educational program increased epidural use among Hispanic women. The educational program reduced misconceptions regarding epidural analgesia in both Hispanic and non-Hispanic cohorts

Education Program Regarding Labor Epidurals Increases Utilization by Hispanic Medicaid Beneficiaries: A Randomized Controlled Trial

What We Already Know about This Topic Hispanic women choose epidural labor analgesia less commonly than non-Hispanic women. The causes of the healthcare disparity are unknown, and effective interventions are to be established. What This Article Tells Us That Is New A language-concordant, educational program regarding labor epidurals during the first stage of labor, in addition to the routine prenatal education, is feasible and does not cause any negative effect.Such an intervention increases epidural use among Hispanic but not non-Hispanic women.It also reduces misconceptions regarding epidural analgesia in both Hispanic and non-Hispanic women. Background:Hispanic women choose epidural labor analgesia less commonly than non-Hispanic women. This may represent a healthcare disparity related to a language barrier and inadequate opportunities for labor analgesia education. It was hypothesized that a language-concordant, educational program regarding labor epidurals would improve epidural utilization in two independent cohorts of Hispanic and non-Hispanic women. Methods:A randomized controlled trial, blinded to anesthesia, nursing, and obstetric providers, was completed at an academic hospital (February 2015 to February 2017). Two cohorts of Medicaid beneficiaries of Hispanic (English- and/or Spanish-speaking) and non-Hispanic ethnicity were enrolled concurrently. The patients were randomized to routine care alone or routine care and an additional educational program comprised of three components: a video show, corresponding pamphlet, and in-person counseling. The primary endpoint was use of epidural labor analgesia. The secondary endpoint was change in response before and after delivery on common misconceptions based on a 12-point epidural questionnaire. Results:Hispanic women randomized to the intervention group were 33% more likely to choose epidural analgesia compared to the routine care group (40 of 50 [80%] vs. 30 of 50 [60%]; risk ratio, 1.33 [95% CI, 1.02 to 1.74]; P = 0.029). For the non-Hispanic cohort, no difference was detected in epidural use between the intervention and routine care groups (41 of 50 [82%] vs. 42 of 49 [86%]; risk ratio, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.80 to 1.14]; P = 0.62), but the study was underpowered to determine a result of no difference. Patients assigned to the intervention had a greater improvement in epidural understanding compared with routine care, among both Hispanic (2.26 vs. 0.74, respectively; difference in change from baseline, 1.52 [95% CI, 0.77 to 2.27]; P \u3c 0.001) and non-Hispanic (1.36 vs. 0.33, respectively; difference in change from baseline, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.23 to 1.75]; P = 0.005) cohorts. There were no adverse events during the trial. Conclusions:The educational program increased epidural use among Hispanic women. The educational program reduced misconceptions regarding epidural analgesia in both Hispanic and non-Hispanic cohorts