Trajectories of Digital Flourishing in Adolescence: The Predictive Roles of the Developmental Changes and Digital Divide Factors

Digital flourishing refers to the positive perceptions of digital communication use in five dimensions: connectedness, positive social comparison, authentic self-presentation, civil participation, and self-control. This three-wave panel study among 1081 Slovenian adolescents (Mage = 15.34 years, 53.8% boys, 80.7% ethnic majority) explored the trajectories of their digital flourishing dimensions over 1 year (2021–2022). Latent class growth analysis identified two classes. Adolescents in the first class reported high levels of digital flourishing, which remained stable over time, whereas those in the second class reported low levels of digital flourishing with decreased self-control over time. Autonomy-supportive restrictive, autonomy-supportive active, and controlling active parental mediation styles, together with high parental digital skills, predicted adolescents\u27 belongingness to the (more digitally flourishing) first class

Positive Digital Communication Among Youth: The Development and Validation of the Digital Flourishing Scale for Adolescents

Research has extensively studied the negative effects of digital communication on adolescents’ well-being. However, positive digital experiences and behavior in adolescence are still poorly understood. The recently developed Digital Flourishing Scale addresses this gap and focuses on the positive perceptions of a user’s experiences and behaviors in digital communication among adults. In this paper, we developed an adolescent version of this scale. Study 1 demonstrated the internal consistency of the scale and the same factor structure for adolescence as for adulthood: connectedness, civil participation, positive social comparison, authentic self-presentation, and self-control. Study 2 confirmed the identified factor structure with a second sample of adolescents and established measurement invariance across genders. The construct validity of the scale was confirmed by investigating associations with related constructs, including the basic psychological needs from self-determination theory (competence, autonomy, and relatedness), secure attachment to a close friend, Internet aggression, social media-induced inspiration, authenticity of posted positive content, and social media self-control failure. The results indicated that not all adolescents flourish equally online. Differences occurred depending on the adolescents’ gender and socioeconomic status. The paper concludes that the newly developed scale is a valid and reliable measure for assessing adolescents’ perceptions of digital thriving and digital empowerment

A checklist of the dacine fruit flies (Diptera, Tephritidae, Dacinae) of Mozambique

Here we present a checklist of all records of dacine fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae) from Mozambique, based on verified specimen records in natural history collections and literature records. In total, 57 Dacinae species are recorded from Mozambique, of which only one is considered endemic. This relatively low species diversity compared to other African countries appears to be related to incomplete sampling. For each species the localities from which it was recorded are given (including geocoordinates), or a general distribution is provided. The checklist is discussed briefly in terms of species richness, endemism and geographic distribution.https://www.africanentomology.comZoology and Entomolog

A liver immune rheostat regulates CD8 T cell immunity in chronic HBV infection

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection affects 300 million patients worldwide1,2, in whom virus-specific CD8 T cells by still ill-defined mechanisms lose their function and cannot eliminate HBV-infected hepatocytes3–7. Here we demonstrate that a liver immune rheostat renders virus-specific CD8 T cells refractory to activation and leads to their loss of effector functions. In preclinical models of persistent infection with hepatotropic viruses such as HBV, dysfunctional virus-specific CXCR6+ CD8 T cells accumulated in the liver and, as a characteristic hallmark, showed enhanced transcriptional activity of cAMP-responsive element modulator (CREM) distinct from T cell exhaustion. In patients with chronic hepatitis B, circulating and intrahepatic HBV-specific CXCR6+ CD8 T cells with enhanced CREM expression and transcriptional activity were detected at a frequency of 12–22% of HBV-specific CD8 T cells. Knocking out the inhibitory CREM/ICER isoform in T cells, however, failed to rescue T cell immunity. This indicates that CREM activity was a consequence, rather than the cause, of loss in T cell function, further supported by the observation of enhanced phosphorylation of protein kinase A (PKA) which is upstream of CREM. Indeed, we found that enhanced cAMP–PKA-signalling from increased T cell adenylyl cyclase activity augmented CREM activity and curbed T cell activation and effector function in persistent hepatic infection. Mechanistically, CD8 T cells recognizing their antigen on hepatocytes established close and extensive contact with liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, thereby enhancing adenylyl cyclase–cAMP–PKA signalling in T cells. In these hepatic CD8 T cells, which recognize their antigen on hepatocytes, phosphorylation of key signalling kinases of the T cell receptor signalling pathway was impaired, which rendered them refractory to activation. Thus, close contact with liver sinusoidal endothelial cells curbs the activation and effector function of HBV-specific CD8 T cells that target hepatocytes expressing viral antigens by means of the adenylyl cyclase–cAMP–PKA axis in an immune rheostat-like fashion.</p

Onderzoekscompetenties in de academische bachelor Communicatiewetenschappen

status: publishe

De invloed van seksualiserende media op de seksualiteitsbeleving van adolescenten

status: publishe

Media psychological reflections on the organizational framework of sexual media’s influence on users’ short vs. long-term sexual quality

status: publishe

Sexual Socialization

During adolescence, sexual processes take up a central position. The acquisition of a positive sexual identity is considered to be a key developmental task for adolescents (Tolman & McClelland, 2011) and can be described as the process of “understanding [one’s] own sexual orientation as well as sexual needs and values, preferences for sexual activities, partner characteristics, and modes of sexual expression (Worthington, Savoy, Dillon, & Vernaglia, 2002) (p.512).” Modern evolutionary theory explains that this process is driven by biological stimuli, such as pubertal maturation and sexual hormones (Steinberg, 2005), and is influenced by environmental factors as environmental flexibility helps to meet biological goals (Belsky, Steinberg, & Draper, 1991). The most significant environmental factors are so-called sexual socialization agents (i.e., parents, peers, and media) that guide adolescents’ development of attitudes, norms, beliefs and behaviors regarding sexuality (Tolman & McClelland, 2011; Ward, 2003). Social learning theory explains that these agents (e.g., peers or media characters) may model sexual and relational behavior that can be observed and adopted by adolescents, especially if the behavior is rewarded (Bandura, 1999). In addition, these agents inform adolescents on attitudes, norms and beliefs towards sexuality that are considered as favorable (Bandura, 1999). Importantly, sexual socialization agents differ in the type of messages they promote as being favorable. More precisely, the literature distinguishes positive and negative messages. Positive messages are messages that socialize adolescents towards a positive sexuality defined as “sexuality that is consensual, honest, mutually pleasurable, non-exploitative, and protected against unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)” (Ward, Day, & Epstein, 2006) (p.59). When messages deviate from this description of a positive sexuality, they are regarded as negative or risky in the literature. Because of the substantial impact that the development of a sexual identity has on adolescents’ current, but also their future well-being, research has studied extensively the relationships between sexual socialization agents and adolescent sexual maturation (Tolman & McClelland, 2011). Over the years, three (related) areas of research have been developed that each focus on a key socialization agent: (1) parents, (2) peers, and (3) media.status: Published onlin

Antecedents of adolescents’ exposure to different types of sexually explicit Internet material: A longitudinal study

Communication scholars have repeatedly highlighted the importance of studying the type of content that media users are exposed to. However, although adolescents use sexually explicit Internet material (SEIM) frequently, we know little about which specific types of SEIM they are exposed to. Moreover, knowledge is lacking about the antecedents of exposure to different types of SEIM and whether these antecedents differ between boys and girls. The present two-wave panel survey among 1,557 Dutch adolescents addressed these lacunae by studying exposure to affection-themed, dominance-themed and violence-themed SEIM. Younger adolescents were more often exposed to affection-themed SEIM, while older adolescents and adolescents with higher levels of academic achievement were more frequently exposed to dominance-themed SEIM. Hyper masculine boys and hyper feminine girls were more frequently exposed to violence-themed SEIM.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Antecedents of adolescents’ exposure to different types of sexually explicit Internet material: A longitudinal study journaltitle: Computers in Human Behavior articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.04.032 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Media Representation: Health and Body Images

The current chapter presents a review on the portrayal of appearance ideals in popular entertainment media. Literature on the components of the ideal appearance in popular media and the nature of portrayals of appearance standards in popular media is examined. First, study findings on the characteristics of appearance ideals presented in the media demonstrate that popular media frequently glamorize curvaceously thin female and mesomorphic male characters with flawless faces and a suntanned White or lighter Black skin tone. Second, younger characters are more likely to adhere to appearance standards in media content than older characters. Moreover, the ideal appearance is considered to be malleable. Characters with an ideal appearance also outperform characters deviating from appearance standards at a sexual, social and professional level. Lastly, appearance standards in the media are inherently related to stereotypes on gender and ethnicity. Several recommendations for future research are provided.status: publishe