Components of cultural complexity relating to emotions: A conceptual framework

Many cultural variations in emotions have been documented in previous research, but a general theoretical framework involving cultural sources of these variations is still missing. The main goal of the present study was to determine what components of cultural complexity interact with the emotional experience and behavior of individuals. The proposed framework conceptually distinguishes five main components of cultural complexity relating to emotions: 1) emotion language, 2) conceptual knowledge about emotions, 3) emotion-related values, 4) feelings rules, i.e. norms for subjective experience, and 5) display rules, i.e. norms for emotional expression

Stress-Related Growth in Two Challenging Conditions

In the last few years, attention has been given not only to negative impacts of stressful conditions but also to possible positive outcomes. The present study was devoted to personal growth in two challenging conditions in two samples of participants coming from different nations and different cultural backgrounds. The study extends existing knowledge by more intimate insight into the different facets of social and cognitive/affective personal growth. The experience of personal growth was individualized as far as the number of changes, their intensity, and facets/items in which the changes occurred. Least affected was the spirituality area. The reason is probably that the conditions of our studies, no matter how stressful, were not strong enough to affect such a deeply intimate and strongly held individual process as is belief in God. The substantial point is that in both our studies the participants underwent no unexpected aversive event, but an undertaking of their own choosing

Childhood Trauma and Experience in Close Relationships Are Associated with the God Image:Does Religiosity Make a Difference?

Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) and some of their specific aspects are associated with health. A negatively perceived relationship with God, which has adverse health outcomes, can be formed by human attachment both in childhood and adulthood. The aim of this study was to assess the associations of childhood trauma (CT) and experience in close relationships (ECR) with the God image in a secular environment by religiosity. A national representative sample of Czech adults (n = 1800, 51.1 +/- 17.2 years; 43.5% men) participated in a survey. We measured CT (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire), ECR (Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised Questionnaire), image of God (questions from the 2005 Baylor Survey) and religiosity. Our results showed associations of CT and ECR with God images. Respondents who experienced CT were less likely to describe God as loving, always present and forgiving. Religious respondents were less likely to report positive God images with odds ratios (ORs) from 0.78 (0.66-0.94) to 0.95 (0.91-0.99), nonreligious respondents reported negative God images with ORs from 1.03 (1.00-1.06) to 1.22 (1.08-1.37). We found CT and problems in close relationships in adulthood are associated with a less positive God image, especially in nonreligious people. Understanding these associations may help prevent detrimental health outcomes

Vaccine refusal in the czech republic is associated with being spiritual but not religiously affiliated

A strong reduction in the deleterious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic can be achieved by vaccination. Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) may play an important role in vaccine acceptance. However, evidence is lacking for the associations with religious conspiracy theories (RCT) in a non-religious environment. This study investigated the associations between R/S and RCT about COVID-19 vaccination and the links of R/S with vaccine refusal and hesitancy. A sample of Czech adults (n = 459) participated in the survey. We measured R/S, RCT, religious fundamentalism, and COVID-19 vaccination intentions. We found spirituality to be significantly associated with RCT belief, with odds ratios (OR) of 2.12 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.42–3.19). A combination of R/S groups revealed that spirituality with non-religious affiliation was associated with higher beliefs in RCT, with ORs from 3.51 to 7.17. Moreover, associations were found between spirituality with non-religious affiliation [OR 2.22(1.33–7.76)] with vaccine refusal. Our findings showed associations of spirituality and religious fundamentalism with RCT about COVID-19 vaccination. Furthermore, spirituality was linked to a higher possibility of vaccine refusal. Understanding these associations may help prevent the development of RCT and negative impact of spirituality on vaccine intentions and contribute to the effectiveness of the vaccination process

The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Occurrence of Psychosomatic Symptoms:Are They Related?

Most studies on the coronavirus pandemic focus on clinical aspects of the COVID-19 disease. However, less attention is paid to other health aspects of the pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the coronavirus pandemic (risk of infection by virus together with associated measures taken to combat it), and the occurrence of a wide range of psychosomatic symptoms and to explore if there is any factor that plays a role in this association. We collected data from a sample of Czech adults (n = 1431) and measured the occurrence of nine health complaints, respondents' experience during the pandemic and sociodemographic characteristics. The results showed associations between the coronavirus pandemic and increased psychosomatic symptoms and negative emotions. We further found higher risks of increased health complaints in younger people and women. It is also possible that there is higher risk of increased health complaints for respondents with secondary school education, students, and highly spiritual people, but this relationship has to be further investigated. In contrast, respondents with their highest achieved education level being secondary school graduation had a lower risk of increased frequency of stomach-ache. We also found that more negative emotions could increase the frequency of health complaints. Our findings suggest that the coronavirus pandemic and associated government measures could have a significant influence on the prevalence of health complaints and emotional state

Neural correlates of compassion - An integrative systematic review

Compassion is a psychological construct that has received increasing attention in recent years. Even though a lot of work has been done to identify neural correlates of empathy across studies, such work has not been properly done on neural correlates of compassion. Therefore, the aim was to systematically review the literature on neural correlates of compassion.We have searched through PsycINFO, PubMed and Web of Science for relevant articles published between 1985 and 2020. We included the studies (n = 35) examining the relationship between brain structure or function and compassion. Screening was performed by two authors, between whom a level of agreement was calculated. The quality of the studies was assessed by measures used in other studies as well by measures specific for our study aims. This study was conducted under PRISMA guidelines.Our analysis revealed that the most frequent neural associations with compassion across all analysed studies can be found in the orbital part of the left inferior frontal gyrus, in the right cerebellum, the bilateral middle temporal gyrus, in the bilateral insula and the right caudate nucleus.Our findings suggest that people displaying a lower compassion tend to have either lower neural activity or a grey matter volume in neural areas associated with reward

Childhood Trauma Is Associated with the Spirituality of Non-Religious Respondents

Childhood trauma experience (CT) is negatively associated with many aspects of adult life. Religiosity/spirituality (R/S) are often studied as positive coping strategies and could help in the therapeutic process. Evidence on this is lacking for a non-religious environment. The aim of this study was to assess the associations of different types of CT with R/S in the secular conditions of the Czech Republic. A nationally representative sample (n = 1800, mean age = 46.4, SD = 17.4; 48.7% male) of adults participated in the survey. We measured childhood trauma, spirituality, religiosity and conversion experience. We found that four kinds of CT were associated with increased levels of spirituality, with odds ratios (OR) ranging from 1.17 (95% confidence interval 1.03-1.34) to 1.31 (1.18-1.46). Non-religious respondents were more likely to report associations of CT with spirituality. After measuring for different combinations of R/S, each CT was associated with increased chances of being "spiritual but non-religious", with OR from 1.55 (1.17-2.06) to 2.10 (1.63-2.70). Moreover, converts were more likely to report emotional abuse OR = 1.46 (1.17-1.82) or emotional neglect with OR = 1.42 (1.11-1.82). Our findings show CT is associated with higher levels of spirituality in non-religious respondents. Addressing spiritual needs may contribute to the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic treatment of the victims

Guilt, shame and their associations with chronic diseases in Czech adults

The interest in the association between feelings of guilt and shame and psychological health is growing. However, less attention so far has been paid to the associations with chronic disease. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore whether feelings of guilt and shame are related to physical health in chronic disease and in selected ones. A nationally representative sample of Czech adults (n = 1000, age = 46.0 +/- 17.3 years, 48.6% men) participated in the survey. Feelings of guilt and shame (items from The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule) and health problems in selected chronic diseases were measured. Respondents with higher feelings of guilt - but not of shame - were more likely to suffer from a chronic disease; we found this in arthritis, back pain, cardiovascular disease, asthma, cancer and depression or anxiety. The association was strongest in the case of cancer with odds ratios (OR) 5.83 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.27-16.69). There were no significant associations in case of diabetes and stroke. Feelings of shame were not related to chronic diseases. Our findings suggest that feelings of guilt are associated with worse physical health. Further research is needed in this area

Religious Conspiracy Theories About the COVID-19 Pandemic Are Associated With Negative Mental Health

Objectives: Together with the COVID-19 pandemic, conspiracy theories have begun to spread. Evidence is lacking for religious conspiracy theories (RCT) related to COVID-19 in a non-religious environment. This study aimed to assess links between religiosity and spirituality (R/S) and RCT about COVID-19, and to examine their associations with mental health. Methods: A sample of Czech adults (n = 1,273, mean age = 47.5, SD = 16.4; 51.5% male) participated in the survey. We measured R/S, RCT, negative religious coping (NRC), feelings impairment and mental health symptoms. Results: We found R/S were significantly associated with RCT with β 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.59–0.82) for the strongest association. Moreover, RCT and NRC were strongly associated with paranoia, anxiety and depression. The most frequent association was found for NRC and paranoid ideation, with β of 0.35 (95% CI 0.26–0.44). Conclusion: Our findings showed associations between religiosity/spirituality and beliefs in religious conspiracy theories about COVID-19. Moreover, these RCT and negative religious coping were linked to higher possibility of mental health problems. Understanding these associations may help prevent this negative impact and contribute to the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic help