Search results for: psychology in pregnancy

Authors: Byron Malaela Sotiata Seiuli

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When a disaster strike, the resultant impact and devastation forces many people, particularly those directly affected, to re-examine the core dimensions of life that do not come from other life events. The way people respond to and try give meaning to their experiences resultant from the ruptures of trauma remains vital in grief recovery. On 29 October 2009, an earthquake of 8.3 magnitudes generated a galulolo (tsunami) wave that destroyed parts of American Samoa, Tonga and Samoa (previously Western Samoa). Aside from the physical and natural devastation, many people lost their lives and their livelihood. For health professionals who were called upon to provide psychosocial support, this calamity provided an ideal setting to examine and explore how those directly impacted recovered from the calamity. The experiences of a Samoan couple, Fia and Ola, becomes the key focus of this article, one that situates their mourning patterns and recovery journey in the context of Samoan culture. Examining grief from this perspective creates a cultural space to extend indigenous understanding on the complexities of grieving and customarily responses of Samoan people, like this couple, to disaster recovery.

Keywords: Fa'asamoa, galulolo, tsunami disaster, trauma and grief recovery, pacific psychology

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Authors: Beate Englich, Linda Schlittenbauer, Christiane Pfeifer, Isabel Kratochvil, Michael Borte, Gabriele I. Stangl, Martin von Bergen, Thorsten Reemtsma, Irina Lehmann, Kristin M. Junge

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The worldwide production of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC) has risen dramatically over the last decades, as so has the prevalence for obesity. Many EDCs are believed to contribute to this obesity epidemic, by enhancing adipogenesis or disrupting relevant metabolism. This effect is most tremendous in the early prenatal period when priming effects find a highly vulnerable time window. Therefore, we investigate the impact of parabens on childhood overweight development and adipogenesis in general. Parabens are ester of 4-hydroxy-benzoic acid and part of many cosmetic products or food packing. Therefore, ubiquitous exposure can be found in the westernized world, with exposure already starting during the sensitive prenatal period. We assessed maternal cosmetic product consumption, prenatal paraben exposure and infant BMI z-scores in the prospective German LINA cohort. In detail, maternal urinary concentrations (34 weeks of gestation) of methyl paraben (MeP), ethyl paraben (EtP), n-propyl paraben (PrP) and n-butyl paraben (BuP) were quantified using UPLC-MS/MS. Body weight and height of their children was assessed during annual clinical visits. Further, we investigated the direct influence of those parabens on adipogenesis in-vitro using a human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) differentiation assay to mimic a prenatal exposure scenario. MSC were exposed to 0.1 – 50 µM paraben during the entire differentiation period. Differentiation outcome was monitored by impedance spectrometry, real-time PCR and triglyceride staining. We found that maternal cosmetic product consumption was highly correlated with urinary paraben concentrations at pregnancy. Further, prenatal paraben exposure was linked to higher BMI Z-scores in children. Our in-vitro analysis revealed that especially the long chained paraben BuP stimulates adipogenesis by increasing the expression of adipocyte specific genes (PPARγ, ADIPOQ, LPL, etc.) and triglyceride storage. Moreover, we found that adiponectin secretion is increased whereas leptin secretion is reduced under BuP exposure in-vitro. Further mechanistic analysis for receptor binding and activation of PPARγ and other key players in adipogenesis are currently in process. We conclude that maternal cosmetic product consumption is linked to prenatal paraben exposure of children and contributes to the development of infant overweight development by triggering key pathways of adipogenesis.

Keywords: adipogenesis, endocrine disruptors, paraben, prenatal exposure

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Authors: Jorn Meyer, Stefan Sturmer

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The assessment of attachment patterns in toddlers and adults has been well researched, and valid diagnostic methods (e.g., Strange Situation Test, Adult Attachment Interview) are applicable. For middle and late childhood, on the other hand, there are only few validated methods available so far. For the Child Attachment Interview (CAI) promising validation studies from English-speaking countries are available, but so far a comprehensive study on the validity of a German sample is lacking. Within the scope of a longitudinal project, the results of the first point of measurement are reported in this study. A German-language version of the CAI was carried out with 111 primary school children (56% female; age: M = 8.34, SD = 0.49). In relation to psychometric quality criteria, parameters on interrater reliability, construct validity and discriminant, and convergent validity are reported. Analyses of the correlations between attachment patterns and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems from parent and teacher reports are presented. The implications for the German-language assessment of attachment in middle and late childhood in research and individual case diagnostics, e.g., in the context of conducting expert evaluation reports for family courts, are discussed.

Keywords: attachment, attachment assessment, developmental psychology, longitudinal study

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Authors: Seba Quqandi

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This study investigates the bond that people form using their assistive devices and the tactics applied during the product design process to help improve the user experience leading to a long-term product relationship. The aim is to develop a conceptual framework with which to describe and analyze the bond people form with their assistive devices and to integrate human emotions as a factor during the development of the product design process. The focus will be on the assistive technology market, namely, the Aid-For-Daily-Living market for situational impairments, to increase the quality of wellbeing. Findings will help us better understand the real issues of the product experience concerning people’s interaction throughout the product performance, establish awareness of the emotional effects in the daily interaction that fosters the product attachment, and help product developers and future designers create a connection between users and their assistive devices. The research concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for professionals and academics in the form of experiments in order to identify new areas that can stimulate new /or developed design directions.

Keywords: experience design, interaction design, emotion, design psychology, assistive tools, customization, userentred design

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Authors: Sefik Can Karakaya, Ibrahim Demir

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In this study, the relationship between musical preferences and personality traits has been investigated in terms of Spotify audio analysis features. The aim of this paper is to build such a classifier capable of segmenting people into their Myers-Briggs Type Index (MBTI) personality type based on their Spotify playlists. Music takes an important place in the lives of people all over the world and online music streaming platforms make it easier to reach musical contents. In this context, the motivation to build such a classifier is allowing people to gain access to their MBTI personality type and perhaps for more reliably and more quickly. For this purpose, logistic regression and deep neural networks have been selected for classifier and their performances are compared. In conclusion, it has been found that musical preferences differ statistically between personality traits, and evaluated models are able to distinguish personality types based on given musical data structure with over %60 accuracy rate.

Keywords: myers-briggs type indicator, music psychology, Spotify, behavioural user profiling, deep neural networks, logistic regression

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Authors: Chyi Jaw

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Prior literature on innovation diffusion or acceptance has almost exclusively concentrated on consumers’ positive attitudes and behaviors for new products/services. Consumers’ negative attitudes or behaviors to innovations have received relatively little marketing attention, but it happens frequently in practice. This study discusses consumer psychological factors when they try to learn or use new technologies. According to recent research, technological innovation acceptance has been considered as a dynamic or mediated process. This research argues that consumers can experience inertia and emotions in the initial use of new technologies. However, given such consumer psychology, the argument can be made as to whether the inclusion of consumer inertia (routine seeking and cognitive rigidity) and emotions increases the predictive power of new technology acceptance model. As data from the empirical study find, the process is potentially consumer emotion changing (independent of performance benefits) because of technology complexity and consumer inertia, and impact innovative technology use significantly. Finally, the study presents the superior predictability of the hypothesized model, which let managers can better predict and influence the successful diffusion of complex technological innovations.

Keywords: cognitive rigidity, consumer emotions, new technology acceptance, routine seeking, technology complexity

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Authors: Jun Ren, Zhen-Hua Ming, He-Feng Huang, Jian-Zhong Sheng

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Adverse intrauterine stimulus during critical or sensitive periods in early life, may lead to health risk not only in later life span, but also further generations. Intrauterine hyperglycaemia, as a major feature of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), is a typical adverse environment for both F1 fetus and F1 gamete cells development. However, there is scare information of phenotypic difference of metabolic memory between somatic cells and germ cells exposed by intrauterine hyperglycaemia. The direct transmission effect of intrauterine hyperglycaemia per se has not been assessed either. In this study, we built a GDM mice model and selected male GDM offspring without pre-diabetic phenotype as our founders, to exclude postnatal diabetic influence on gametes, thereby investigate the direct transmission effect of intrauterine hyperglycaemia exposure on F2 offspring, and we further compared the metabolic difference of affected F1-GDM male offspring and F2 offspring. A GDM mouse model of intrauterine hyperglycemia was established by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin after pregnancy. Pups of GDM mother were fostered by normal control mothers. All the mice were fed with standard food. Male GDM offspring without metabolic dysfunction phenotype were crossed with normal female mice to obtain F2 offspring. Body weight, glucose tolerance test, insulin tolerance test and homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index were measured in both generations at 8 week of age. Some of F1-GDM male mice showed impaired glucose tolerance (p < 0.001), none of F1-GDM male mice showed impaired insulin sensitivity. Body weight of F1-GDM mice showed no significance with control mice. Some of F2-GDM offspring exhibited impaired glucose tolerance (p < 0.001), all the F2-GDM offspring exhibited higher HOMA-IR index (p < 0.01 of normal glucose tolerance individuals vs. control, p < 0.05 of glucose intolerance individuals vs. control). All the F2-GDM offspring exhibited higher ITT curve than control (p < 0.001 of normal glucose tolerance individuals, p < 0.05 of glucose intolerance individuals, vs. control). F2-GDM offspring had higher body weight than control mice (p < 0.001 of normal glucose tolerance individuals, p < 0.001 of glucose intolerance individuals, vs. control). While glucose intolerance is the only phenotype that F1-GDM male mice may exhibit, F2 male generation of healthy F1-GDM father showed insulin resistance, increased body weight and/or impaired glucose tolerance. These findings imply that intrauterine hyperglycaemia exposure affects germ cells and somatic cells differently, thus F1 and F2 offspring demonstrated distinct metabolic dysfunction phenotypes. And intrauterine hyperglycaemia exposure per se has a strong influence on F2 generation, independent of postnatal metabolic dysfunction exposure.

Keywords: inheritance, insulin resistance, intrauterine hyperglycaemia, offspring

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Authors: Reihaneh Mahdavishahri

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This paper provides a brief introduction to emotionally focused therapy (EFT) and its culturally sensitive and informed application when working with immigrant couples. EFT's grounding in humanistic psychology prioritizes a non-pathologizing and empathic understanding of individuals' experiences, creating a safe space for couples to explore and create new experiences without imposing judgment or prescribing the couple "the right way of interacting" with one another. EFT's emphasis on attachment, bonding, emotions, and corrective emotional experiences makes it a fitting approach to work with multicultural couples, allowing for the corrective emotional experience to be shaped and informed by the couples' unique cultural background. This paper highlights the challenges faced by immigrant couples and explores how immigration adds a complex layer to each partner’s sense of self, their attachment bond, and their sense of safety and security within their relationships. Navigating a new culture, creating a shared sense of purpose, and re-establishing emotional bonds can be daunting for immigrant couples, often leading to a deep sense of disconnection and vulnerability. Reestablishing and fostering secure attachment between the partners in the safety of the therapeutic space can be a protective factor for these couples.

Keywords: attachment, culturally informed care, emotionally focused therapy, immigration

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Authors: I. Bochev, A. Shterev, S. Kyurkchiev

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One of the factors associated with poor success rates in human in vitro fertilization (IVF) is the suboptimal culture conditions in which fertilization and early embryonic growth occur. Co-culture systems with helper cell lines appear to enhance the in vitro conditions and allow embryos to demonstrate improved in vitro development. The co-culture of human embryos with monolayers of autologous endometrial stromal cell (EnSCs) results in increased blastocyst development with a larger number of blastomeres, lower incidence of fragmentation and higher pregnancy rates in patients with recurrent implantation failure (RIF). The aim of the study was to examine the influence of autologous endometrial stromal cell (EnSC) co-culture on day 3 embryo quality by comparing the morphological status of the embryos from the same patients undergoing consecutive IVF/Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles without and with EnSC co-culture. This retrospective randomized study (2015-2017) includes 20 couples and a total of 46 IVF/ICSI cycles. Each patient couple included had at least two IVF/ICSI procedures – one with and one without autologous EnSC co-culture. Embryo quality was assessed at 68±1 hours in culture, according to Istanbul consensus criteria (2010). Day 3 embryos were classified into three groups: good – grade 1; fair – grade 2; poor – grade 3. Embryos from all cycles were divided into two groups (A – co-cultivated; B – not co-cultivated) and analyzed. Second, for each patient couple, embryos from matched IVF/ICSI cycles (with and without co-culture) were analyzed separately. When an analysis of co-cultivated day 3 embryos from all cycles was performed (n=137; group A), 43.1% of the embryos were graded as “good”, which was not significantly different from the respective embryo quality rate of 42.2% (p = NS) in group B (n=147) with non-co-cultivated embryos. The proportions of fair and poor quality embryos in group A and group B were similar as well – 11.7% vs 10.2% and 45.2% vs 47.6% (p=NS), respectively. Nevertheless, the separate embryo analysis by matched cycles for each couple revealed that in 65% of the cases the proportion of morphologically better embryos was increased in cycles with co-culture in comparison with those without co-culture. A decrease in this proportion after endometrial stromal cell co-cultivation was found in 30% of the cases, whereas no difference was observed in only one couple. The results demonstrated that there is no marked difference in the overall morphological quality between co-cultured and non-co-cultured embryos on day 3. However, in significantly greater percentage of couples the process of autologous EnSC co-culture could increase the proportion of morphologically improved day 3 embryos. By mimicking the in vivo relationship between embryo and maternal environment, co-culture in autologous EnSC system represents a perspective approach to improve the quality of embryos in cases with elevated risk for development of embryos with impaired morphology.

Keywords: autologous endometrial stromal cells, co-culture, day 3 embryo, morphological quality

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Authors: Seyed Hossein Alavi, Farshad Ghazalian, Soghra Jamshidi

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Nowadays, athletic aggression discussion is considered as an important issue in sports psychology and sports effects have been noted by researchers from a long time ago. In this research, the amount of aggression among athletic students of different sport courses will be surveyed and compared. Statistics society in this research consists of all of boy athletic students in wrestling, taekwondo, football, and basketball of Mahmoudabad City that are 200 persons and the limitation of their ages are between 12-15 years old. Among all athletic students of different sport courses, 40 persons were chosen randomly for the sample. The method of research is a descriptive-comparative type that has been done according to field study and for measurement of examinations aggression amount, we have used Ayzank exam. In analysis step of foundations, for comparison of aggression of examined group, we have used Varian’s analysis exam. Research results show that among aggression amounts of athletic students of wrestling, taekwondo, football and basketball, there is no fundamental difference (p < 0.05). Stimulation of guest team with the host team fans, referees performance, exhaustion, physical confrontations, team position in the tournament table, and so on. There is no significant difference among aggression amount of selected sport athletic students.

Keywords: aggression, athletic, student, sports

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Authors: Zairunisha

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This paper is concerned with the ways in which Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) affect women’s lives and perceptions regarding their infertility, contraception and reproductive health. Like other female animals, nature has ordained human female with the biological potential of procreation and becoming mother. However, during the last few decades, this phenomenal disposition of women has become a technological affair to achieve fertility and contraception. Medical practices in patriarchal societies are governed by male scientists, technical and medical professionals who try to control women as procreator instead of providing them choices. The use of ARTs presents innumerable waxed ethical questions and issues such as: the place and role of a child in a woman’s life, freedom of women to make their choices related to use of ARTs, challenges and complexities women face at social and personal levels regarding use of ARTs, effect of ARTs on their life as mothers and other relationships. The paper is based on a survey study to explore and analyze the above ethical issues arising from the use of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) by women in New Delhi, the capital of India. A rapid rate of increase in fertility clinics has been noticed recently. It is claimed that these clinics serve women by using ARTs procedures for infertile couples and individuals who want to have child or terminate a pregnancy. The study is an attempt to articulate a critique of ARTs from a feminist perspective. A qualitative feminist research methodology has been adopted for conducting the survey study. An attempt has been made to identify the ways in which a woman’s life is affected in terms of her perceptions, apprehensions, choices and decisions regarding new reproductive technologies. A sample of 18 women of New Delhi was taken to conduct in-depth interviews to investigate their perception and response concerning the use of ARTs with a focus on (i) successful use of ARTs, (ii) unsuccessful use of ARTs, (iii) use of ARTs in progress with results yet to be known. The survey was done to investigate the impact of ARTs on women’s physical, emotional, psychological conditions as well as on their social relations and choices. The complexities and challenges faced by women in the voluntary and involuntary (forced) use of ARTs in Delhi have been illustrated. A critical analysis of interviews revealed that these technologies are used and developed for making profits at the cost of women’s lives through which economically privileged women and individuals are able to purchase services from lesser ones. In this way, the amalgamation of technology and cultural traditions are redefining and re-conceptualising the traditional patterns of motherhood, fatherhood, kinship and family relations within the realm of new ways of reproduction introduced through the use of ARTs.

Keywords: reproductive technologies, infertilities, voluntary, involuntary

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Authors: Monty Vacura

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Hamilton’s Rule is a universal law of biology expressed in protists, plants and animals. When applied to human populations, this model explains: 1) Origin of religion in society as a biopsychological need naturally selected to increase population size; 2) Instincts of racism expressed through intergroup competition; 3) Simultaneous selection for human cooperation and conflict, love and hate; 4) Places Dawkins’s selfish gene as the r, relationship variable; 5) Flipping the equation variable themes (close relationship to distant relationship, and benefit to threat) the new equation can now be used to identify the offensive and defensive sides of conflict; 6) Connection between sporting events and instinctive social messaging for stimulating offensive and defensive responses; 6) Pathway to reduce human sacrifice through manipulation of variables. This paper discusses the deep psychological influences of Hamilton’s Rule. Suggestions are provided to reduce human deaths via our instinctive sacrificial behavior, by consciously monitoring Hamilton’s Rule variables highlighted throughout our media outlets.

Keywords: psychology, Hamilton’s rule, evolution, human instincts

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Authors: Peter S. Kim

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The increasing availability of music facilitated by new technology and open sourcing has eliminated many traditional limiting factors in musical taste, creating a culture of choice. This study tested 191 international subjects, mostly young adults more decisively shaped by emerging technologies like Facebook, the platform for the study. Using an aggregated Big Five personality test, subjects were asked to self-report on questions related to extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. Subsequently, subjects listened to five pairs of musical works reflecting opposite extremes of one of five musical qualities: tempo (fast/slow), complexity (simple/complex), degree of dissonance (tonal/atonal), familiarity (familiar/unfamiliar), and extra-musical significance (significant/not significant). Subjects were then asked to record listening times and preferences among the selections. Strikingly, this study shows a relatively high positive correlation between agreeableness and musical preferences (predicting preferences for simple, familiar, and fast music), as compared to extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. Thus, this research suggests that the not yet well-understood relationship between personality traits and musical qualities merits further study.

Keywords: music perception, psychology, cognition, musical preference

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Authors: Xuling Zhang, Yong Wang, Xingyun Liu, Shuangxue Xu

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Based on positive psychology, this study presented a mediated moderation model in which character strengths moderated the relationship between interpersonal relationship, job satisfaction and subjective well-being, with job satisfaction taking the mediation role among them. A total of 912 teachers participated in four surveys, which include the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, Values in Action Inventory of Strengths, job satisfaction questionnaire, and the interpersonal relationship questionnaire. The results indicated that: (1) Taking interpersonal relationship as a typical work environmental variable, the result shows that it is significantly correlated to subjective well-being. (2) The character strengths of "kindness", “authenticity” moderated the effect of the teachers’ interpersonal relationship on subjective well-being. (3) The teachers’ job satisfaction mediated the above mentioned moderation effects. In general, this study shows that the teachers’ interpersonal relationship affects their subjective well-being, with their job satisfaction as mediation and character strengths of “kindness” and “authenticity” as moderation. The managerial implications were also discussed.

Keywords: character strength, subjective well-being, job satisfaction, interpersonal relationship

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Authors: Yosra Mefteh Rekik, Younes Boujelbene

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We introduce in this paper a new conceptual model representing the stock market dynamics. This model is essentially based on cognitive behavior of the intelligence investors. In order to validate our model, we build an artificial stock market simulation based on agent-oriented methodologies. The proposed simulator is composed of market supervisor agent essentially responsible for executing transactions via an order book and various kinds of investor agents depending to their profile. The purpose of this simulation is to understand the influence of psychological character of an investor and its neighborhood on its decision-making and their impact on the market in terms of price fluctuations. Therefore, the difficulty of the prediction is due to several features: the complexity, the non-linearity and the dynamism of the financial market system, as well as the investor psychology. The Artificial Neural Networks learning mechanism take on the role of traders, who from their futures return expectations and place orders based on their expectations. The results of intensive analysis indicate that the existence of agents having heterogeneous beliefs and preferences has provided a better understanding of price dynamics in the financial market.

Keywords: artificial intelligence methods, artificial stock market, behavioral modeling, multi-agent based simulation

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Authors: Aycan Gurluyer

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21st-century theatre has been shaped by lots of world-changing forces devastating human psychology and existence. Accepted as the greatest living English playwright, it is post-war British dramatist Edward Bond who uses a late-21st-century apocalyptic landscape as a weapon to question the human existence in his play 'Have I None?'. In this play, he tries to underline the degenerating and destructive effects of the society and environment on a couple whose lives are changed by an unexpected and annoying stranger. As victim of the society and the cultural corruption, the three vulnerable Bondian characters struggle for their expectations to find a place in this fictional world by sacrificing their own lives. Set in the 2077’s world, the play depicts that rigidly formed rules of the system/authority eliminates the existence of humans. According to Bond, the fascist practices of the governments/systems make people paralyzed in any way, so they choose to deny all realities by becoming biological beings or they gather to commit to suicide as troops. Our main aim is to underscore the questioning of the human existence by drawing the socio-political framework of the era, the capitalist system’s dehumanized individuals and their defence to survive, and what reality is in the 21st century, by focusing on Bond’s hallucinatory and tragic vision of the future in 'Have I None?'.

Keywords: Edward Bond, apocalyptic, existence, Have I None?

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Authors: B. Harman, E. Gringart, C. Harms

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There is evidence that increasing numbers of adults of child-bearing age in Australia do not have children. While there has been research into the life experiences of non-parents, one of the issues is that the differences between people who choose not to have children – the childfree – and people who cannot have children – the childless – are not clearly defined. The qualitative research reported here adopted an interpretative phenomenological approach to examine the life experiences of non-parents. Potential participants from Australia were invited to complete an online survey describing their experiences of life without children. An examination of the data from 229 participants (188 female, 41 male) revealed that they defined their non-parent status as either childfree or childless. There are, however, five sub-categories of child freedom identified by the participants, whereas previous research has not recognized such distinctions. The variance in the definition of child freedom is important because it may be related to the life journey as a non-parent. The current paper will firstly discuss the different groups of childfree and childless people. Secondly, it will examine the life experiences and journeys of non-parents in light of how the participants defined themselves. From a social psychological perspective, the current research is important as it highlights the socially held stereotypes and the stigma experienced by non-parents in Australia.

Keywords: Australia, childfree, childless, non-parents, qualitative, social psychology

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Authors: Toslim Uddin Khan, Jesmin Akter, Mohiuddin Ahmed

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Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and personal health-care practice is a critical issue to prevent morbidity and other reproductive health complications among adolescent girls in Bangladesh. Inadequate access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities lead to unhealthy MHM practices that resulted in poor reproductive health outcomes. It is evident from different studies that superstitions and misconception are more common in rural communities that limit young girls’ access to and understanding of the menstrual hygiene and self care practices. The state-of-the-art approach of Social Marketing Company (SMC) is proved to be instrumental in delivering reinforcing health messages, making public health and hygiene products available at the door steps of the community through community mobilization programs in rural Bangladesh. School health program is one of the flagship interventions of SMC to equip adolescent girls and boys with correct knowledge of health and hygiene practices among themselves, their families and peers. In Bangladeshi culture, adolescent girls often feel shy to ask fathers or male family members about buying sanitary napkin from local pharmacy and they seem to be reluctant to seek help regarding their menstrual problems. A recent study reveals that 48% adolescent girls are using sanitary napkins while majority of them are unaware of menstrual hygiene practices in Bangladesh. Under school adolescent program, SMC organizes health education sessions for adolescent girls from grade seven to ten using enter-educate approach with special focus on sexual and reproductive health and menstrual hygiene issues including delaying marriage and first pregnancy. In addition, 2500 rural women entrepreneurs branded as community sales agents are also involved in disseminating health messages and selling priority health products including sanitary napkin at the household level. These women entrepreneurs are serving as a source of sustainable supply of the sanitary napkins for the rural adolescent girls and thereby they are earning profit margins on the sales they make. A recent study on the impact of adolescent program activities reveals that majority (71%) of the school adolescent girls are currently using sanitary napkins. Health education equips and empowers adolescent girls with accurate knowledge about menstrual hygiene practices and self-care as well. Therefore, engagement of female entrepreneurs in school adolescent health program at the community level is one of the promising ways to improve menstrual hygiene practices leading to increased use of sanitary napkin in rural and semi-rural communities in Bangladesh.

Keywords: school adolescent program, social marketing, women entrepreneurs, menstrual hygiene management

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Authors: Olubukola Ajayi

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INFLUENCE OF PARANTING STYLES ON ADOLECENST’ SELF-ESTEEM BY AJAYI OLUBUKOLA (PhD) DEPARTMRNT OF PSYCHOLOGY & BEHAVIOURAL STUDIES FACULTY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES EKITI STATE UNIVERSITY [email protected] , [email protected] ABSTRACT This study was designed to assess the influence of parenting styles on adolescents’ self-esteem. The study population comprised of adolescents selected from two secondary schools (Bishop Philip Academy and T.L. Oyeshina Model School) in Ibadan, Oyo State. A total number of 300 students whose ages range from 13-19 were used. Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) developed by Rosenberg (1965) was used to measure Adolescents’ Self-Esteem. While Robinson (2001) Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire was used to measure how adolescents perceive their parents on four sub scales (Authoritative, Authoritarian, Uninvolved, Permissiveness).Three hypotheses were tested using Regression, One way ANOVA and Independent t-test. Result showed that parenting styles do not significantly influence Self-Esteem. Parents Work Status did not have a significant influence on Self-Esteem. The result also revealed no significant difference between Male and Female Self-Esteem. The findings were discussed in line with relevant empirical literatures, while conclusions and recommendations subsequently followed. Key Words: Parenting style, Adolescents, Self- esteem,

Keywords: AUTHORITATIVE, AUTHORITARIAN, UNINVOLVED, PERMISSIVENESS

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Authors: Harald Haas, Andrea Plaschke

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Many of the contemporary major conflicts on this earth could not be solved so far, they either are perpetuated, or they are reflated again and again. Efforts of purely political conflict management or -resolution aim merely at the symptoms of conflict, not its roots. These roots are, in almost every case, also psychological ones. Thus, this contribution aims to shed light on the roots of one of the best known and longest-lasting conflicts: the Palestinian-Israeli one. Methodologies used were the compilation of existing scientific resources, field research in Palestine and Israel, as well as tests conducted with the Adult Attachment Projective in Palestine and Israel. Findings show that the majority of Palestinian, as well as Israeli test participants, show a disorganised attachment pattern which, in connection with the assumption of collective traumatization, seem to be a major obstacle to a lasting and peaceful conflict-resolution between these two peoples. There appears to be no short-term solution for this conflict, especially not within the range of usual Western legislative periods. Both sides ought to be provided with a kind of 'safe haven' over a long period of time, accompanied by a framework of various arrangements of coping with trauma, building lasting and secure relationships, as well as raising and educating present and future generations of Palestinians and Israelis for peace and co-operation with each other.

Keywords: conflict-management, trauma, political psychology, attachment theory

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Authors: Aminat Sheriff Owolabi

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This study focused on what and how viewers perceive female portrayal in Nigerian Hip Hop music video based on scholars’ submission that Hip Hop music video is one of the media contents that objectifies women the most. However, this study examined how female artistes are portrayed sexually in Nigerian Hip Hop music videos. A model was developed in this study to examine the relationship between viewers’ perceptions and female portrayal in Nigerian Hip Hop music videos and from this model; three hypotheses were formulated and tested. Objectification theory of the psychology was also used to examine the manner at which women are portrayed in Nigerian Hip Hop Music as well as the relationship between the perceived portrayal and viewers’ perceptions. Survey research method was equally employed to gather data from 300 undergraduates in Kwara State and two Nigerian Hip Hop music producers who form the population of this study. From the result of the analyzed data and the tested hypotheses, it was discovered that there is a significant relationship between portrayal of female artistes in Nigerian Hip Hop music and viewers’ perception. As part of the suggestions, further study should include examination of how other media content portrays women.

Keywords: female artistes, Hip Hop, objectification, portrayal

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Authors: G. V. Manzane, S. J. Modise

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Uterine fibroids, also known as leiomyomas or myomas, are non-cancerous growths that develop in the muscular wall of the uterus during the reproductive years. The cause of uterine fibroids includes hormonal, genetic, growth factors, and extracellular matrix factors. Common symptoms of uterine fibroids include heavy and prolonged menstrual bleeding which can lead to a high risk of anemia, lower abdominal pains, pelvic pressure, infertility, and pregnancy loss. The growth of this tumor is a concern because of its negative impact on women’s health and the increase in their economic burden. Traditional medicinal plants have long been used in Africa for their potential therapeutic effects against various ailments. In this study, we aimed to identify and characterize bioactive compounds from selected African medicinal plants with potential anti-fibrotic properties using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis. Two medicinal plant species known for their traditional use in fibrosis-related conditions were selected for investigation. Aqueous extracts were prepared from the plant materials, and FTIR analysis was conducted to determine the functional groups present in the extracts. GCMS analysis was performed to identify the chemical constituents of the extracts. The FTIR analysis revealed the presence of various functional groups, such as phenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, and alkaloids, known for their potential therapeutic activities. These functional groups are associated with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fibrotic properties. The GCMS analysis identified several bioactive compounds, including flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and phenolic compounds, which are known for their pharmacological activities. The discovery of bioactive compounds in African medicinal plants that exhibit anti-fibrotic effects, opens up promising avenues for further research and development of potential treatments for fibrosis. This suggests the potential of these plants as a valuable source of novel therapeutic agents for treating fibrosis-related conditions. In conclusion, our study identified and characterized bioactive compounds from selected African medicinal plants using FTIR and GCMS analysis. The presence of compounds with known antifibrotic properties suggests that these plants hold promise as a potential source of natural products for the development of novel anti-fibrotic therapies.

Keywords: uterine fibroids, african medicinal plants, bioactive compounds, identify and characterized

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Authors: Agni Stylianou-Georgiou, Eliza Pitri

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This study is a design narrative that discusses researchers’ new learning based on changes made in pedagogies and learning opportunities in the context of a Cognitive Psychology and an Art History undergraduate course. The purpose of this study was to investigate how to encourage creative problem-based play in tertiary education engaging instructors and student-teachers in designing educational games. Course instructors modified content to encourage flexible thinking during game design problem-solving. Qualitative analyses of data sources indicated that Thinking Birds’ questions could encourage flexible thinking as instructors engaged in creative problem-based play. However, student-teachers demonstrated weakness in adopting flexible thinking during game design problem solving. Further studies of student-teachers’ shifting perspectives during different instructional design tasks would provide insights for developing the Thinking Birds’ questions as tools for creative problem solving.

Keywords: creative problem-based play, educational games, flexible thinking, tertiary education

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Authors: Mercy Marimirofa, Farai Machinga, Alfred Zvoushe, Tsitsidzaishe Musvosvi

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Adolescent Birth rate (ABR) is an important indicator of both gender equality and equity in the country. This is the number of births to women aged between 15 and 19 years per 1000 live births. There has been a decreasing trend in ABR in Zimbabwe since 2014. However, the difference between rural areas and urban areas has continued to widen. A secondary analysis was conducted to assess the differences in ABR between the rural areas of Zimbabwe and the urban areas. This was also done to determine the root causes of high ABR in rural areas compared to urban areas and the impact this may cause to the economic development of the nation. The analysis was done according to geographical characteristics (provinces). A total of 69,335 females aged 10 to 19 years had live births among a total population of 791,914 females aged 15 to 19 years. The total Adolescent Birth rate in Zimbabwe is 87/1000 live births, while in rural areas, it is 114.4/1000 live births compared to urban areas, which is 49.7/1000 live births. A decrease in the ABR trends has been recorded since 2014 from 143/1000 live births among adolescents in rural areas to 97/1000 live births in urban areas. This shows that rural areas still have high rates of ABR compared to their urban counterparts, and the gap is still wide. High ABR is a result of early child marriages, teenage pregnancies as well as poverty. Most of these marriages (46%) are intergenerational relationships and have resulted in an increase in gender-based violence cases among adolescents, poor health outcomes, including pregnancy complications such as eclampsia, Cephalous Pelvic Disproportion (CPD), and obstructed labour. Maternal deaths among adolescence is also high compared to adults. Furthermore, the increase of school dropouts among adolescent girls is on the rise due to teen pregnancies. These challenges are being faced mostly by rural adolescent girls as compared to their urban counterparts. The widening gap in ABR between urban areas and rural areas is a matter of concern and needs to be addressed. There is a need to inform policy, programming, and interventions targeting rural areas to address the challenges and gaps in reducing ABR. This abstract is to inform policymakers on the strategies and resources required to address the challenges currently distressing adolescents. There is a need to improve access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Services by adolescents and reduce the age of consent to access SRH services should be reduced from 18 years for ease access to young people to reduce teenage pregnancies. Comprehensive sexuality education, both in-school and out of school, should be strengthened to increase knowledge among young people on sexuality.

Keywords: adolescence birth rate, live birth, teenage pregnancies, SRH services

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Authors: Marc Angelo C. Balon, Maxine Joy A. Yongoyong

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Female masturbation has been an age-old controversy. In fact, it is not widely talked about specifically in the Philippines since the Filipino culture still preserves the space for conservativeness. Although, considering the numerous and emerging studies on female masturbation, this study will focus on the perspectives of secular and non-secular male groups with regard to female masturbation. The objectives of this study is to identify the perceptions of these male groups and their taking on considering women who masturbate as their sexual partner, as a sexual object, and as a life partner and lastly, to have a comparative analysis of the perceptions of these male groups drawing out their sense of meaning on the masturbation of women. The researchers made use of purposive sampling technique and interview guide questionnaire. The secular male group were psychology students while the non-secular male group was drawn from a Catholic Church seminary in Tagaytay City, Cavite. Results showed that the secular male group had scientific perspectives such as exploring the genitals, contradicting moral perspectives on masturbation as a regular practice, while the non-secular male groups had theological perspectives in accordance with the fundamental moral theology, moral perspectives and perspectives on masturbation as a regular practice. Moreover, men who came from the non-secular group highly believe that masturbation is immoral. Otherwise, men who came from the secular group noted that masturbation is primary physiological need.

Keywords: secular, non-secular, masturbation, comparative analysis

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Authors: Chamaraja Parulli

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Family is an important social institution devoted to the growth of a child, and parents are the important agents of socialization. Mentally challenged children are those who are affected by intellectual disability, which is manifested by limitation in intellectual functioning and adoptive behavior. Intellectual disability affects about 3-4 percentage of the general population. Intellectual disability is caused by genetic condition, problems during pregnancy, problems during childbirth, or illness. Mental retardation is the world’s most complex and challenging issue. The stigmatization of disability results in social and economic marginalization. Parents of the mentally challenged children will have a very high level of parenting stress, which is significantly more than the stress perceived by the parents of the children without disability. The prevalence of severe mental disorder called Schizophrenia is among 1.1 percent of the total population in India. On the other hand, 11 to 12 percent is the overall lifetime occurrence rate of mental disorders. While the government has a separate program for mental health, the segment is marred by lack of adequate doctors and infrastructure. Mentally retarded children have certain limitations in mental functioning and skills, which makes them slow learners in speaking, walking, and taking care of their personal needs such as dressing and eating. Accepting a child with mental handicap becomes difficult for parents and to the whole family, as they have to face many problems, including those of management, finance, deprivation of rest, and leisure. Also, the problems faced by the parents can be seen in different areas like – educational, psychological, social, emotional, financial and family related issues. The study brought out various difficulties and problems faced by the parents as well as family members. The findings revealed that the mental retardation is not only a medico-psychological problem but also a socio-cultural problem. The study results, however, indicate that the quality of life of the family having children with mental retardation can be improved to a greater extent by building up a child-friendly ambience at home. The main aim of the present study is to assess the problems faced by the parents of mentally challenged children, with the help of personal interview data collected from the parents of mentally challenged children, residing in Shimoga District of Karnataka State, India. These individuals were selected using stratified random sampling method. Organizing effective intervention programs for parents, family, society, and educational institutions towards reduction of family stress, augmenting the family’s strengths, increasing child’s competence and enhancing the positive attitudes and values of the society will go a long way for the peaceful existence of the mentally challenged children.

Keywords: mentally challenged children, intellectual disability, special children, social infrastructure, differently abled, psychological stress, marginalization

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Authors: Crystal Shackleford, Michael Pasek, Julia Smith, Jeremy Ginges

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There is extensive debate about the causal role of religion in intergroup conflict. It is commonly accepted that religious beliefs promote in-group cohesion, but religion is often believed to exacerbate inter-group conflict. Fiji is religiously diverse and has a lengthy history of ethno-religious conflict. In a preregistered field experiment using a modified version of the trolley problem dilemma, Christian and Muslim Fijians were asked, first from their own perspective, and then from their God’s perspective, whether a religious ingroup member should sacrifice their life to save five children who were ingroup or outgroup members. Almost all Muslim participants believed that the person should always sacrifice themselves to save the children. Amongst Christian participants, thinking from God’s perspective increased their likelihood of saying the children should be saved by 35% and removed a 27% gap between responses to saving ingroup versus outgroup children. These results replicate previous findings from a Palestinian sample and demonstrate, in another cross-cultural context with a history of violent conflict, that religious cognition can decrease bias and promote the application of universal moral principles.

Keywords: conflict, moral dilemma, psychology, religion, thought experiments

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Authors: Arsalan Jabbar, Wajiha Javed, Nelofer Mehboob, Zahid Memon

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Introduction: There are multiple social, individual and cultural factors that influence an individual’s decision to adopt family planning methods especially among non-users in patriarchal societies like Pakistan.Non-users, if targeted efficiently, can contribute significantly to country’s CPR. A research study showed that non-users if convinced to adopt lactational amenorrhea method can shift to long-term methods in future. Research shows that if non-users are targeted efficiently a 59% reduction in unintended pregnancies in Saharan Africa and South-Central and South-East Asia is anticipated. Methods: We did secondary data analysis on Pakistan Demographic Heath Survey (2012-13) dataset. Use of contraception (never-use/ever-use) was the outcome variable. At univariate level Chi-square/Fisher Exact test was used to assess relationship of baseline covariates with contraception use. Then variables to be incorporated in the model were checked for multi-collinearity, confounding, and interaction. Then binary logistic regression (with an urban-rural stratification) was done to find the relationship between contraception use and baseline demographic and social variables. Results: The multivariate analyses of the study showed that younger women (≤ 29 years) were more prone to be never users as compared to those who were > 30 years and this trend was seen in urban areas (AOR 1.92, CI 1.453-2.536) as well as rural areas (AOR 1.809, CI 1.421-2.303). While looking at regional variation, women from urban Sindh (AOR 1.548, CI 1.142-2.099) and urban Balochistan (AOR 2.403, CI 1.504-3.839) had more never users as compared to other urban regions. Women in the rich wealth quintile were more never users and this was seen both in urban and rural localities (urban (AOR 1.106 CI .753-1.624); rural areas (AOR 1.162, CI .887-1.524)) even though these were not statistically significant. Women idealizing more children(> 4) are more never users as compared to those idealizing less children in both urban (AOR 1.854, CI 1.275-2.697) and rural areas (AOR 2.101, CI 1.514-2.916). Women who never lost a pregnancy were more inclined to be non-users in rural areas (AOR 1.394, CI 1.127-1.723) .Women familiar with only traditional or no method had more never users in rural areas (AOR 1.717, CI 1.127-1.723) but in urban areas it wasn’t significant. Women unaware of Lady Health Worker’s presence in their area were more never users especially in rural areas (AOR 1.276, CI 1.014-1.607). Women who did not visit any care provider were more never users (urban (AOR 11.738, CI 9.112-15.121) rural areas (AOR 7.832, CI 6.243-9.826)). Discussion/Conclusion: This study concluded that government, policy makers and private sector family planning programs should focus on the untapped pool of never users (younger women from underserved provinces, in higher wealth quintiles, who desire more children.). We need to make sure to cover catchment areas where there are less LHWs and less providers as ignorance to modern methods and never been visited by an LHW are important determinants of never use. This all is in sync with previous literate from similar developing countries.

Keywords: contraception, demographic and health survey, family planning, never users

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Authors: Carmela Nardelli, Laura Iaffaldano, Valentina Capobianco, Antonietta Tafuto, Maddalena Ferrigno, Angela Capone, Giuseppe Maria Maruotti, Maddalena Raia, Rosa Di Noto, Luigi Del Vecchio, Pasquale Martinelli, Lucio Pastore, Lucia Sacchetti

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Maternal obesity and nutrient excess in utero increase the risk of future metabolic diseases in the adult life. The mechanisms underlying this process are probably based on genetic, epigenetic alterations and changes in foetal nutrient supply. In mammals, the placenta is the main interface between foetus and mother, it regulates intrauterine development, modulates adaptive responses to sub optimal in uterus conditions and it is also an important source of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hA-MSCs). We previously highlighted a specific microRNA (miRNA) profiling in amnion from obese (Ob) pregnant women, here we compared the miRNA expression profile of hA-MSCs isolated from (Ob) and control (Co) women, aimed to search for any alterations in metabolic pathways that could predispose the new-born to the obese phenotype. Methods: We isolated, at delivery, hA-MSCs from amnion of 16 Ob- and 7 Co-women with pre-pregnancy body mass index (mean/SEM) 40.3/1.8 and 22.4/1.0 kg/m2, respectively. hA-MSCs were phenotyped by flow cytometry. Globally, 384 miRNAs were evaluated by the TaqMan Array Human MicroRNA Panel v 1.0 (Applied Biosystems). By the TargetScan program we selected the target genes of the miRNAs differently expressed in Ob- vs Co-hA-MSCs; further, by KEGG database, we selected the statistical significant biological pathways. Results: The immunophenotype characterization confirmed the mesenchymal origin of the isolated hA-MSCs. A large percentage of the tested miRNAs, about 61.4% (232/378), was expressed in hA-MSCs, whereas 38.6% (146/378) was not. Most of the expressed miRNAs (89.2%, 207/232) did not differ between Ob- and Co-hA-MSCs and were not further investigated. Conversely, 4.8% of miRNAs (11/232) was higher and 6.0% (14/232) was lower in Ob- vs Co-hA-MSCs. Interestingly, 7/232 miRNAs were obesity-specific, being expressed only in hA-MSCs isolated from obese women. Bioinformatics showed that these miRNAs significantly regulated (P<0.001) genes belonging to several metabolic pathways, i.e. MAPK signalling, actin cytoskeleton, focal adhesion, axon guidance, insulin signaling, etc. Conclusions: Our preliminary data highlight an altered miRNA profile in Ob- vs Co-hA-MSCs and suggest that an epigenetic miRNA-based mechanism of gene regulation could affect pathways involved in placental growth and function, thereby potentially increasing the newborn’s risk of metabolic diseases in the adult life.

Keywords: hA-MSCs, obesity, miRNA, biosystem

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Authors: Nitai Biswas, Prasenjit Kapas, Arumay Jana, Asish Paul

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Introduction: Motivation is basic drive for all kinds of action. It has direct influence on academic achievement and sports performance that builds urge to incentive values of success. In other words, it can be defined as the need for success to attain excellence. Anxiety in pre competition especially in sports formulates positive inward settings in mind to overcome the challenge. There is a tendency to perceive competitive situations as some threatening issues and to respond them with feelings of apprehension and tension. Aim: Aim of the study was to compare the achievement motivation and competition anxiety among three different classes of students. Methods and Materials: To conduct the study the researcher has taken 131 male subjects from three different classes as Extra Department, Bachelor of Physical Education-I and Master of Physical EducationII, aged 19-28 years. Achievement motivation and sports competition anxiety were measured by the questionnaire. To analyze the data mean, standard deviation for each parameter as descriptive statistics and one way analysis of variance as inferential statistics were employed. Results: From the result of the study in achievement motivation (p ≥ 0.05) and competition anxiety (p ≥ 0.05) no significant differences were found among the said three groups. Conclusion: The study concluded that all three groups had almost the same state of achievement motivation and sports competition anxiety.

Keywords: anxiety, sports psychology, sports competition anxiety, achievement motivation, academic hierarchy, E.D., B.P.Ed., M.P.Ed

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