4,681 research outputs found
Footedness Is Associated with Self-reported Sporting Performance and Motor Abilities in the General Population
Left-handers may have strategic advantages over right-handers in interactive sports and innate superior abilities that are beneficial for sports. Previous studies relied on differing criteria for handedness classification and mostly did not investigate mixed preferences and footedness. Footedness appears to be less influenced by external and societal factors than handedness. Utilizing latent class analysis and structural equation modeling, we investigated in a series of studies (total N > 15300) associations of handedness and footedness with self-reported sporting performance and motor abilities in the general population. Using a discovery and a replication sample (ns = 7658 and 5062), Study 1 revealed replicable beneficial effects of mixed-footedness and left-footedness in team sports, martial arts and fencing, dancing, skiing, and swimming. Study 2 (n = 2592) showed that footedness for unskilled bipedal movement tasks, but not for skilled unipedal tasks, was beneficial for sporting performance. Mixed- and left-footedness had effects on motor abilities that were consistent with published results on better brain interhemispheric communication, but also akin to testosterone-induced effects regarding flexibility, strength, and endurance. Laterality effects were only small. Possible neural and hormonal bases of observed effects need to be examined in future studies
Common Factors Underlying the Five Facets of Mindfulness and Proposed Mechanisms: a Psychometric Study Among Meditators and Non-meditators
Objectives: This study investigated whether common factors underlie the established mindfulness facets, as assessed by the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and some of the mechanisms, which have been previously proposed to explain the beneficial effects of mindfulness on mental health.
Methods: Multigroup exploratory structural equation models (ESEM) were fitted to samples of non-meditators and meditators (total N = 3265) to (1) identify the number of factors that underlie the facets and mechanisms of mindfulness, (2) establish measurement invariance, and (3) conduct path analyses to determine the associations of extracted factors with psychological symptoms.
Results: Five measurement-invariant common factors were found to underlie the mechanisms and facets of mindfulness. The FFMQ facets loaded distinctly, but none of them highest, on these common factors. The common factors represented different ways of focusing, dealing with distress, and relating towards one’s own thoughts, feelings, emotions, and body sensations. Three of the common factors appeared to specifically reflect meditation experience. The FFMQ facets accounted for less variance of depression, anxiety, somatization, and stress scores than marker scales of the five common factors, all of which derived from the proposed mechanisms.
Conclusions: The common factors appear to be elements of the supporting mechanisms and psychological faculties of mindfulness. Their existence may explain the mutual interrelations between mechanisms and self-reported mindfulness but also suggests that self-reported mindfulness may not be factorially distinct from its assumed mechanisms. Longitudinal studies as well as behavioral data are needed to probe the generalizability and causality of these psychometric results
Day-to-day associations between mindfulness and perceived stress: insights from random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling
ObjectiveMindfulness is frequently seen as a protective factor of stress, but self-report measures of mindfulness may overlap with other related constructs, such as mental health, and could thus not only be a predictor, but also an outcome of stress. This study thus aimed to examine the longitudinal bidirectional associations between the use and perceived helpfulness of the four mindfulness facets Observe, Describe, Nonjudge, and Nonreact with daily perceived stress.MethodsParticipants from a large (N = 1,276) mixed student and community group sample filled out a brief daily diary over the time span of 7 days. Bidirectional cross-lagged effects were investigated using the random-intercept cross-lagged panel model, an extension of the traditional cross-lagged panel model that allows to differentiate between stable between-unit differences and time-varying within-unit dynamics. In addition, we controlled for several baseline and sociodemographic confounders.ResultsAt the within-subject level, the use of Actaware was associated with higher perceived stress on the next day (β = 0.03, p = 0.029). The use (β = −0.04, p = 0.025) and perceived helpfulness (β = −0.05, p = 0.014) of Nonreact were associated with lower perceived stress on the next day. In turn, perceived stress was associated with lower perceived helpfulness of Describe (β = −0.04, p = 0.037) and Nonreact (β = −0.03, p = 0.038) on the next day. In addition, there were several residual correlations between mindfulness facets and perceived stress within days. At the between-subject level, there was a positive association between the random intercept of Describe and daily stress (r = 0.15, p = 0.003). In addition, while baseline perceived stress was negatively associated with the random intercepts of the mindfulness facets, two baseline components of mindfulness were not associated with the random intercept of perceived stress.ConclusionOn the currently investigated time scale, our results challenge prior results and assumptions regarding mindfulness as a buffering and protective factor against daily stress. With the exception of Nonreact, mindfulness was either positively associated with perceived stress, or in turn perceived stress appeared to interfere with the ability to stay mindful in daily life
Psychometric Study on a Two-Factor Higher Order Structure of Mindfulness, Its Effects, and Mechanisms Related to Mental Health among Experienced Meditators
Objective: To investigate the psychometric and structural properties of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) among meditators, to develop a short form, and to examine associations of mindfulness with mental health and the mechanisms of mindfulness. Methods: Two independent samples were used, a German (n = 891) and a Spanish (n = 393) meditator sample, practicing various meditation styles. Structural and psychometric properties of the FFMQ were investigated with multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling. Associations with mental health and mechanisms of mindfulness were examined with path analysis. Results: The derived short form broadly matched a previous item selection in samples of non-meditators. Self-regulated Attention and Orientation to Experience governed the facets of mindfulness on a higher-order level. Higher-order factors of mindfulness and meditation experience were negatively associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety, and perceived stress. Decentering and nonattachment were the most salient mechanisms of mindfulness. Aspects of emotion regulation, bodily awareness, and nonattachment explained the effects of mindfulness on depression and anxiety. Conclusions: A two-component conceptualization for the FFMQ, and for the study of mindfulness as a psychological construct, is recommended for future research. Mechanisms of mindfulness need to be examined in intervention studie
The fraternal birth-order effect as a statistical artefact: convergent evidence from probability calculus, simulated data, and multiverse meta-analysis
The fraternal-birth order effect (FBOE) is a research claim which states that each older brother increases the odds of homosexual orientation in men via an immunoreactivity process known as the maternal immune hypothesis. Importantly, older sisters supposedly either do not affect these odds, or affect them to a lesser extent. Consequently, the fraternal birth-order effect predicts that the association between the number of older brothers and homosexual orientation in men is greater in magnitude than any association between the number of older sisters and homosexual orientation. This difference in magnitude represents the main theoretical estimand of the FBOE. In addition, no comparable effects should be observable among homosexual vs heterosexual women. Here, we triangulate the empirical foundations of the FBOE from three distinct, informative perspectives, complementing each other: first, drawing on basic probability calculus, we deduce mathematically that the body of statistical evidence used to make inferences about the main theoretical estimand of the FBOE rests on incorrect statistical reasoning. In particular, we show that throughout the literature researchers ascribe to the false assumptions that effects of family size should be adjusted for and that this could be achieved through the use of ratio variables. Second, using a data-simulation approach, we demonstrate that by using currently recommended statistical practices, researchers are bound to frequently draw incorrect conclusions. And third, we re-examine the empirical evidence of the fraternal birth-order effect in men and women by using a novel specification-curve and multiverse approach to meta-analysis (64 male and 17 female samples, N = 2,778,998). When analyzed correctly, the specific association between the number of older brothers and homosexual orientation is small, heterogenous in magnitude, and apparently not specific to men. In addition, existing research evidence seems to be exaggerated by small-study effects
The serenity of the meditating mind: A cross-cultural psychometric study on a two-factor higher order structure of mindfulness, its effects, and mechanisms related to mental health among experienced meditators.
Objective To investigate the psychometric and structural properties of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) among meditators, to develop a short form, and to examine associations of mindfulness with mental health and the mechanisms of mindfulness. Methods Two independent samples were used, a German (n = 891) and a Spanish (n = 393) meditator sample, practicing various meditation styles. Structural and psychometric properties of the FFMQ were investigated with multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling. Associations with mental health and mechanisms of mindfulness were examined with path analysis. Results The derived short form broadly matched a previous item selection in samples of non-meditators. Self-regulated Attention and Orientation to Experience governed the facets of mindfulness on a higher-order level. Higher-order factors of mindfulness and meditation experience were negatively associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety, and perceived stress. Decentering and nonattachment were the most salient mechanisms of mindfulness. Aspects of emotion regulation, bodily awareness, and nonattachment explained the effects of mindfulness on depression and anxiety. Conclusions A two-component conceptualization for the FFMQ, and for the study of mindfulness as a psychological construct, is recommended for future research. Mechanisms of mindfulness need to be examined in intervention studies
Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age
The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset – with data collected between 2020 and 2022 – to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research
Acoustic Power Absorption and its Relation with Vector Magnetic Field of a Sunspot
The distribution of acoustic power over sunspots shows an enhanced absorption
near the umbra--penumbra boundary. Earlier studies revealed that the region of
enhanced absorption coincides with the region of strongest transverse potential
field. The aim of this paper is to (i) utilize the high-resolution vector
magnetograms derived using Hinode SOT/SP observations and study the
relationship between the vector magnetic field and power absorption and (ii)
study the variation of power absorption in sunspot penumbrae due to the
presence of spine-like radial structures. It is found that (i) both potential
and observed transverse fields peak at a similar radial distance from the
center of the sunspot, and (ii) the magnitude of the transverse field, derived
from Hinode observations, is much larger than the potential transverse field
derived from SOHO/MDI longitudinal field observations. In the penumbra, the
radial structures called spines (intra-spines) have stronger (weaker) field
strength and are more vertical (horizontal). The absorption of acoustic power
in the spine and intra-spine shows different behaviour with the absorption
being larger in the spine as compared to the intra-spine.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, In Press Solar Physics, Topical Issue on
Helio-and-Astroseismolog
Modelling and Interpreting The Effects of Spatial Resolution on Solar Magnetic Field Maps
Different methods for simulating the effects of spatial resolution on
magnetic field maps are compared, including those commonly used for
inter-instrument comparisons. The investigation first uses synthetic data, and
the results are confirmed with {\it Hinode}/SpectroPolarimeter data. Four
methods are examined, one which manipulates the Stokes spectra to simulate
spatial-resolution degradation, and three "post-facto" methods where the
magnetic field maps are manipulated directly. Throughout, statistical
comparisons of the degraded maps with the originals serve to quantify the
outcomes. Overall, we find that areas with inferred magnetic fill fractions
close to unity may be insensitive to optical spatial resolution; areas of
sub-unity fill fractions are very sensitive. Trends with worsening spatial
resolution can include increased average field strength, lower total flux, and
a field vector oriented closer to the line of sight. Further-derived quantities
such as vertical current density show variations even in areas of high average
magnetic fill-fraction. In short, unresolved maps fail to represent the
distribution of the underlying unresolved fields, and the "post-facto" methods
generally do not reproduce the effects of a smaller telescope aperture. It is
argued that selecting a method in order to reconcile disparate spatial
resolution effects should depend on the goal, as one method may better preserve
the field distribution, while another can reproduce spatial resolution
degradation. The results presented should help direct future inter-instrument
comparisons.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physics. The final publication
(including full-resolution figures) will be available at
http://www.springerlink.co
The Role of Religion on Suicidal Behavior, Attitudes and Psychological Distress in University Students: A Multinational Study
The purpose of this study was to determine the association of religion to suicidal behavior,
attitudes and psychological distress in 5572 students from 12 countries by means of a selfreport
questionnaire. Our results showed that an affiliation with Islam was associated with
reduced risk for suicide ideation, however affiliating with Orthodox Christianity and no
religion was related to increased risk for suicide ideation. While affiliating with Buddhism,
Catholic religion and no religion associated with lowered risk for attempting suicide,
affiliation with Islam was related to heightened risk for attempting suicide. Affiliation with
Hinduism, Orthodox Christianity, Protestantism, Catholicism, other religions and with no
religion was associated with decreased risk for psychological distress but those reported
affiliating with Islam evinced greater risk for psychological distress. The associations of the
strength of religious belief to suicidal ideation and attempts were in the expected direction for
most but it had a positive relation in respondents affiliating with Catholicism and other
religions. Students reporting affiliation with Islam, Orthodox religion and Buddhism were the
least accepting of suicide but they displayed a more confronting interpersonal style to an
imagined peer with a suicidal decision. It was concluded that the protective function of
religion in educated segments of populations (university students) and in university students
residing in Muslim countries where freedom from religion is restricted or religion is
normative and/or compulsory is likely to be limited. Our findings suggest that public policies
supporting religious freedom may augment the protective function of religion against suicide
and psychological distress
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