MindKind: A mixed-methods protocol for the feasibility of global digital mental health studies in young people

While an estimated 14-20% of young adults experience mental health conditions worldwide, the best strategies for prevention and management are not fully understood. The ubiquity of smartphone use among young people makes them excellent candidates for collecting data about lived experiences and their relationships to mental health. However, not much is known about the factors affecting young peoples’ willingness to share information about their mental health. OBJECTIVE: We aim to understand the data governance and engagement strategies influencing young peoples’ (aged 16-24) participation in app-based studies of mental health. We hypothesize that willingness to participate in research is influenced by involvement  in how their data is collected, shared, and used. METHODS: Here, we describe the MindKind Study, which employs mixed methods to understand the feasibility of global, smartphone-based studies of youth mental health. A pilot 12-week app-based substudy will query participants’ willingness to engage with remote mental health studies. Participants will be randomized into one of four different data governance models designed to understand their preferences, as well as the acceptability of models that allow them more or less control over how their data are accessed and used. Enrolees will receive one of two different engagement strategies. A companion qualitative study will employ a deliberative democracy approach to examine the preferences, concerns and expectations of young people, with respect to remote mental health research. We also detail our engagement with young people as co-researchers in this study. This pilot study is being conducted in India, South Africa and the United Kingdom. CONCLUSION: This study is expected to generate new insights into the feasibility of, and best practices for, remote smartphone-based studies of mental health in youth and represents an important step toward understanding which approaches could help people better manage their mental health

Narcissism and the strategic pursuit of short-term mating : universal links across 11 world regions of the International Sexuality Description Project-2.

Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of short-term mating strategies (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality, marital infidelity, mate poaching). Nearly all of these investigations have relied solely on samples from Western cultures. In the current study, responses from a cross-cultural survey of 30,470 people across 53 nations spanning 11 world regions (North America, Central/South America, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and East Asia) were used to evaluate whether narcissism (as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory; NPI) was universally associated with short-term mating. Results revealed narcissism scores (including two broad factors and seven traditional facets as measured by the NPI) were functionally equivalent across cultures, reliably associating with key sexual outcomes (e.g., more active pursuit of short-term mating, intimate partner violence, and sexual aggression) and sex-related personality traits (e.g., higher extraversion and openness to experience). Whereas some features of personality (e.g., subjective well-being) were universally associated with socially adaptive facets of Narcissism (e.g., self-sufficiency), most indicators of short-term mating (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality and marital infidelity) were universally associated with the socially maladaptive facets of narcissism (e.g., exploitativeness). Discussion addresses limitations of these cross-culturally universal findings and presents suggestions for future research into revealing the precise psychological features of narcissism that facilitate the strategic pursuit of short-term mating

Narcisismo y búsqueda estratégica del emparejamiento a corto plazo a través de las culturas: Enlaces omnipresentes a través de 11 regiones mundiales del Proyecto de la descripción de la sexualidad internacional 2

Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of short-term mating strategies (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality, marital infidelity, mate poaching). Nearly all of these investigations have relied solely on samples from Western cultures. In the current study, responses from a cross-cultural survey of 30,470 people across 53 nations spanning 11 world regions (North America, Central/South America, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and East Asia) were used to evaluate whether narcissism (as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory; NPI) was universally associated with short-term mating. Results revealed narcissism scores (including two broad factors and seven traditional facets as measured by the NPI) were functionally equivalent across cultures, reliably associating with key sexual outcomes (e.g., more active pursuit of short-term mating, intimate partner violence, and sexual aggression) and sex-related personality traits (e.g., higher extraversion and openness to experience). Whereas some features of personality (e.g., subjective well-being) were universally associated with socially adaptive facets of Narcissism (e.g., self-sufficiency), most indicators of short-term mating (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality and marital infidelity) were universally associated with the socially maladaptive facets of narcissism (e.g., exploitativeness). Discussion addresses limitations of these cross-culturally universal findings and presents suggestions for future research into revealing the precise psychological features of narcissism that facilitate the strategic pursuit of short-term mating.Estudios previos, en primer lugar a través de las muestras de culturas occidentales, han documentado asociaciones sistemáticas del narcisismo subclínico con múltiples indicadores de estrategias del emparejamiento a corto plazo (p. ej. sociosexualidad ilimitada, infidelidad, caza de pareja). En este estudio se han usado respuestas de la encuesta transcultural de 30.470 personas de 53 naciones de 11 regiones mundiales (América del Norte, América del Sur/América Central, Europa del Norte, Europa del Oeste, Europa del Este, Europa del Sur, Oriente Próximo, África, Asia del Sur/Sudoeste de Asia, Asia del Este y Oceanía) para evaluar si el narcisismo (medido por el Inventario de Personalidad Narcisista; NPI) se asocia panuniversalmente con los indicadores del emparejamiento a corto plazo, tanto en la dirección, como en la intensidad. Los resultados sugieren que el narcisismo (incluidos muchos aspectos suyos medidos por el NPI) tiene las mismas asociaciones básicas con los rasgos de personalidad relacionados con el sexo (p. ej. extraversión alta) y con los resultados sexuales claves (p. ej. búsqueda más activa de las estrategias del emparejamiento a corto plazo) a través de las 11 mayores regiones mundiales del PDSI 2. La discusión se enfoca en las implicaciones y limitaciones del estudio actual

Narcissism and the Strategic Pursuit of Short-Term Mating:Universal Links across 11 World Regions of the International Sexuality Description Project-2

Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of short-term mating strategies (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality, marital infidelity, mate poaching). Nearly all of these investigations have relied solely on samples from Western cultures. In the current study, responses from a cross-cultural survey of 30,470 people across 53 nations spanning 11 world regions (North America, Central/South America, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and East Asia) were used to evaluate whether narcissism (as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory; NPI) was universally associated with short-term mating. Results revealed narcissism scores (including two broad factors and seven traditional facets as measured by the NPI) were functionally equivalent across cultures, reliably associating with key sexual outcomes (e.g., more active pursuit of shortterm mating, intimate partner violence, and sexual aggression) and sex-related personality traits (e.g., higher extraversion and openness to experience). Whereas some features of personality (e.g., subjective well-being) were universally associated with socially adaptive facets of Narcissism (e.g., self-sufficiency), most indicators of short-term mating (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality and marital infidelity) were universally associated with the socially maladaptive facets of narcissism (e.g., exploitativeness). Discussion addresses limitations of these cross-culturally universal findings and presents suggestions for future research into revealing the precise psychological features of narcissism that facilitate the strategic pursuit of short-term mating

From Laplace to supernova SN 1987a: Bayesian Inference In Astrophysics

The Bayesian approach to probability theory is presented as an alternative to the currently used long-run relative frequency approach, which does not offer clear, compelling criteria for the design of statistical methods. Bayesian probability theory offers unique and demonstrably optimal solutions to well-posed statistical problems, and is historically the original approach to statistics. The reasons for earlier rejection of Bayesian methods are discussed, and it is noted that the work of Cox, Jaynes, and others answers earlier objections, giving Bayesian inference a firm logical and mathematical foundation as the correct mathematical language for quantifying uncertainty. The Bayesian approaches to parameter estimation and model comparison are outlined and illustrated by application to a simple problem based on the gaussian distribution. As further illustrations of the Bayesian paradigm, Bayesian solutions to two interesting astrophysical problems are outlined: the measurement of weak signals in a strong background, and the analysis of the neutrinos detected from supernova SN 1987A. A brief bibliography of astrophysically interestin