The longitudinal associations between PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and academic burnout in adolescence and early adulthood in the postdisaster context.

The current study examined the longitudinal associations among posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depressive symptoms, and academic burnout in a sample of survivors aged 12 to 20 years following the Wenchuan earthquake. The present study had a longitudinal design. A total of 788 participants (Mage = 15.03 years, SD = 1.64; 54.8 % female) completed measures of PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and academic burnout at 12, 18, and 24 months after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China. The results showed that the only cross-lagged effects from PTSD to depressive symptoms, from academic burnout to depressive symptoms or from PTSD symptoms to academic burnout at the first interval and the second interval were significant. Furthermore, the longitudinal associations among PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and academic burnout remained consistent between the different age groups but varied across genders. That is, in male adolescents, only the cross-lagged effects from PTSD symptoms to depressive symptoms and from PTSD symptoms to academic burnout at the first and second intervals were significant. In female adolescents, only the cross-lagged effects from academic burnout to depressive symptoms and from academic burnout to PTSD symptoms at the first and second intervals were significant. Finally, these findings highlight that academic burnout is a useful target for psychological service providers to alleviate PTSD and depressive symptoms in adolescents in a post-disaster context. In addition, PTSD symptoms may also negatively affect adolescents' performance at school.

Economic Pressure and Loneliness in Migrant Children in China: The Mediating Roles of Parent-Child Communication and Parental Warmth.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the mediating roles of parent-child communication and parental warmth in the relationship between economic pressure and loneliness in a sample of migrant children in China. A total of 437 participants were selected from two public schools for migrant children in Zhejiang Province, China. All participants were asked to complete four measures, including the Perceived Economic Strain Scale, the Parent-Child Communication Questionnaire, the Parental Warmth Scale, and the Children's Loneliness Scale. The results showed that economic pressure was positively and directly related to loneliness. Furthermore, parent-child communication and parental warmth partially mediated the relationship between economic pressure and loneliness in migrant children. Thus, parent-child communication and parental warmth play important roles in reducing the negative effect of economic pressure on loneliness in migrant children.

Parent-child communication and self-esteem mediate the relationship between interparental conflict and children's depressive symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has paid little attention to the series mediating effect of parent-child communication and self-esteem in the relationship between interparental conflict and child outcomes, although several other mechanisms have been found to involve in this relationship. Thus, the purpose of the present study is to test these two factors' serial mediation of the relationship between interparental conflict and children's depressive symptoms in a sample of migrant children in China. METHODS: Four hundred thirty-seven participants from two public schools for migrant children in Zhejiang Province, China, were administered four measures including the Children's Perceptions of Interparental Conflict Scale, the Parent-child Communication Questionnaire, the Global Self-esteem Scale, and the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children. RESULTS: Results showed that interparental conflict was positively related to depressive symptoms in migrant children, which was partially and serially mediated by parent-child communication and self-esteem in that order. CONCLUSIONS: Parent-child communication and self-esteem play potential roles in the relationship between interparental conflict and depressive symptoms of migrant children in China. This finding has important implications for psychological service providers working with this group of children or children in similar situations.

Intellectual factors in false memories of patients with schizophrenia.

The current study explored the intellectual factors in false memories of 139 patients with schizophrenia, using a recognition task and an IQ test. The full-scale IQ score of the participants ranged from 57 to 144 (M = 100, SD = 14). The full IQ score had a negative correlation with false recognition in patients with schizophrenia, and positive correlations with high-confidence true recognition and discrimination rates. Further analyses with the subtests' scores revealed that false recognition was negatively correlated with scores of performance IQ (and one of its subtests: picture arrangement), whereas true recognition was positively correlated with scores of verbal IQ (and two of its subtests: information and digit span). High-IQ patients had less false recognition (overall or high-confidence false recognition), more high-confidence true recognition, and higher discrimination abilities than those with low IQ. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the cognitive mechanism in false memory of patients with schizophrenia, and are of practical relevance to the evaluation of memory reliability in patients with different intellectual levels.

The Choline Acetyltransferase (CHAT) Gene is Associated with Parahippocampal and Hippocampal Structure and Short-term Memory Span.

The CHAT gene encodes choline acetyltransferase, which is an enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain. This study collected structural MRI, genetic, and behavioral data from 324 healthy Chinese adults, and examined the associations between CHAT genetic variants, parahippocampal and hippocampal structure, and short-term memory span. After controlling for intracranial volume, sex, and age, CHAT SNP rs12246528 had the strongest association with parahippocampal structure, with the A allele being linked to smaller volume, surface area, and thickness. SNP rs1917814 had the strongest association with hippocampal volume, with the T allele being linked to larger hippocampal volume. After controlling for sex and age, CHAT rs3729496 had the strongest association with memory span, with the T allele being associated with a greater memory span. Finally, the left parahippocampal gyrus surface area was positively associated with memory span. This study provides the first evidence for the involvement of the CHAT gene in parahippocampal and hippocampal structures and memory span in healthy Chinese adults.

How do the hierarchical levels of premises affect category-based induction: diverging effects from the P300 and N400.

Although a number of studies have explored the time course of category-based induction, little is known about how the hierarchical levels (superordinate, basic, subordinate) of premises affect category-based induction. The EEG data were recorded when nineteen healthy human participants were performing a simplified category-based induction task. The ERP results showed that: in the subordinate conclusion condition, the basic premise elicited a larger N400, versus the superordinate promise; in the basic conclusion condition, the superordinate promise elicited a larger P300 relative to both the basic premise and subordinate premise; in the superordinate conclusion condition, however, no difference was found between different promise. Furthermore, the process that reasoning from a higher level to a lower level evoked a larger P300, compared to it did in the reverse direction. The divergent evidence suggested that category-based induction at superordinate, basic, and subordinate levels might be affected by various factors, such as abstract level, direction, and distance between premise and conclusion, which yielded new insights into the neural underpinnings of category-based induction with different inductive strengths.

Individual Differences in the Accuracy of Judgments of Learning Are Related to the Gray Matter Volume and Functional Connectivity of the Left Mid-Insula.

The judgment of learning (JOL) is an important form of prospective metamemory judgment, and the biological basis of the JOL process is an important topic in metamemory research. Although previous task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have examined the brain regions underlying the JOL process, the neural correlates of individual differences in JOL accuracy require further investigation. This study used structural and resting-state functional MRI to investigate whether individual differences in JOL accuracy are related to the gray matter (GM) volume and functional connectivity of the bilateral insula and medial Brodmann area (BA) 11, which are assumed to be related to JOL accuracy. We found that individual differences in JOL accuracy were related to the GM volume of the left mid-insula and to the functional connectivity between the left mid-insula and various other regions, including the left superior parietal lobule/precuneus, bilateral inferior parietal lobule/intraparietal sulcus, right frontal pole and left parahippocampal gyrus/fusiform gyrus/cerebellum. Further analyses indicated that the functional connectivity related to individual differences in JOL accuracy could be divided into two factors and might support information integration and selective attention processes underlying accurate JOLs. In addition, individual differences in JOL accuracy were not related to the GM volume or functional connectivity of the medial BA 11. Our findings provide novel evidence for the role of the left mid-insula and its functional connectivity in the JOL process.

Longitudinal Relationships between Social Support and Posttraumatic Growth among Adolescent Survivors of the Wenchuan Earthquake.

This study aimed to explore the longitudinal relationships between social support and posttraumatic growth (PTG) among adolescent survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake. Follow-up assessments were conducted with 452 participants at 12, 18, and 24 months after the earthquake. The results showed that the level of social support at 12 and 18 months following the earthquake predicted subsequent PTG, but not vice versa. In addition, multi-group analyses of gender showed no gender differences between social support and PTG in the cross-lagged model. Thus, psychological interventions and care for survivors should focus on improving adolescent perceptions of social support when responding to stressful experiences.

How dispositional social risk-seeking promotes trusting strangers: Evidence based on brain potentials and neural oscillations.

Trust is a risky social decision because betrayal may occur. It's not clear how individual differences in social risk-seeking propensity modulate brain processes of trusting strangers. We examined event-related potentials and time-frequency power to investigate this question while 40 participants played the one-shot trust game. Twenty high social risk-seekers (HSR) and 20 low social risk-seekers (LSR) made trusting or distrusting decisions regarding unknown trustees while their electroencephalogram activity was recorded. At the decision-making stage, HSR participants exhibited a larger N2 and increased ß power following distrusting decisions than trusting decisions, suggesting greater cognitive control exerted to distrust. By contrast, no such N2 and ß differences were found for LSR participants. At the outcome evaluation stage, LSR participants exhibited a more negative-going difference wave between loss feedback-related negativity (FRN) and gain FRN (dFRN) and increased θ power (following losses compared to gains) than did HSR participants, indicating enhanced risk sensitivity of LSR people. Our findings provide insights into the mechanism by which social risk-taking facilitates trusting strangers. The results also shed light on the temporal course of brain activity involved in trust decision-making and outcome evaluation, as well as how individual differences modulate brain dynamics of trusting strangers. (PsycINFO Database Record

Ingroup/outgroup membership modulates fairness consideration: neural signatures from ERPs and EEG oscillations.

Previous studies have shown that ingroup/outgroup membership influences individual's fairness considerations. However, it is not clear yet how group membership influences brain activity when a recipient evaluates the fairness of asset distribution. In this study, subjects participated as recipients in an Ultimatum Game with alleged members of both an experimentally induced ingroup and outgroup. They either received extremely unequal, moderately unequal, or equal offers from proposers while electroencephalogram was recorded. Behavioral results showed that the acceptance rates for unequal offers were higher when interacting with ingroup partners than with outgroup partners. Analyses of event related potentials revealed that proposers' group membership modulated offer evaluation at earlier processing stages. Feedback-related negativity was more negative for extremely and moderately unequal offers compared to equal offers in the ingroup interaction whereas it did not show differential responses to different offers in the outgroup interaction. Analyses of event related oscillations revealed that the theta power (4-6 Hz) was larger for moderately unequal offers than equal offers in the ingroup interaction whereas it did not show differential responses to different offers in the outgroup interaction. Thus, early mechanisms of fairness evaluation are strongly modulated by the ingroup/outgroup membership of the interaction partner.

Associations between the CNTNAP2 gene, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and cognitive performance on the Stroop task.

The CNTNAP2 (contactin-associated protein-like 2) gene, highly expressed in the human prefrontal cortex, has been linked with autism and language impairment. Potential relationships between CNTNAP2, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and cognition have been suggested by previous clinical studies, but have not been directly examined in the same study. The current study collected structural MRI, genetic, and behavioral data in 317 healthy Chinese adults, and examined associations between CNTNAP2 variants, DLPFC, and cognitive performance (measured by the Stroop task). After controlling for intracranial volume, sex, and age, the CNTNAP2 genetic polymorphism at SNP rs7809486 had the strongest association with bilateral DLPFC volume (p=0.00015 and 0.00014 for left and right DLPFC volumes, respectively), with GG homozygotes having greater bilateral DLPFC volumes and surface areas than the other genotypes. Furthermore, TT homozygotes of CNTNAP2 rs4726946 (a nearby SNP that had moderate linkage disequilibrium with rs7809486) had greater left DLPFC volume and surface area, and better cognitive performance than the other genotypes. Subjects with greater left DLPFC surface area had better cognitive performance. Importantly, the left DLPFC surface area mediated the association between the CNTNAP2 rs4726946 genotype and cognitive performance. This study provides the first evidence for associations among the CNTNAP2 gene, left DLPFC structure, and cognitive control.

Hippocampal size is related to short-term true and false memory, and right fusiform size is related to long-term true and false memory.

There is a keen interest in identifying specific brain regions that are related to individual differences in true and false memories. Previous functional neuroimaging studies showed that activities in the hippocampus, right fusiform gyrus, and parahippocampal gyrus were associated with true and false memories, but no study thus far has examined whether the structures of these brain regions are associated with short-term and long-term true and false memories. To address that question, the current study analyzed data from 205 healthy young adults, who had valid data from both structural brain imaging and a misinformation task. In the misinformation task, subjects saw the crime scenarios, received misinformation, and took memory tests about the crimes an hour later and again after 1.5 years. Results showed that bilateral hippocampal volume was associated with short-term true and false memories, whereas right fusiform gyrus volume and surface area were associated with long-term true and false memories. This study provides the first evidence for the structural neural bases of individual differences in short-term and long-term true and false memories.

Stereotype activation is unintentional: Behavioural and event-related potenials evidence.

In this study, a priming Stroop paradigm was used to determine whether stereotype activation is unintentional. Priming conditions (priming/no-priming) and the relationship between priming and target (consistent/inconsistent/no-relation) were the independent variables; accuracy, reaction time and N400 amplitude were used as dependent variables. The reaction time revealed that stereotype activation is, to some extent, unintentional. Furthermore, the event-related potenial (ERP) results showed that N400 amplitude was larger for inconsistent conditions than for consistent conditions. This result supported the notion that stereotype activation is an unintentional and automatic process.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURAL IDENTITY AND SELF-ESTEEM AMONG CHINESE UYGHUR COLLEGE STUDENTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF ACCULTURATION ATTITUDES.

Most acculturation research throughout the world has been conducted in immigrant settings. In order to examine the generalizability of the previous conclusions in immigrant settings, the present study tried to explore the relationship between cultural identity and self-esteem and the mediating role of acculturation attitudes in China. Using the cross-sectional design, a total number of 342 Uyghur college students were asked to complete a survey comprising the Multi-Group Ethnic/National Identity Measure-Revised Scale, the Acculturation Attitudes Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Using hierarchical multiple regression, the results indicated that cultural identity was positively correlated with self-esteem. A significant mediation of acculturation was observed between cultural identity and self-esteem. These findings demonstrated the significance of cultural identity and acculturation attitudes in the adaptation of Chinese Uyghur college students, in which integration is an optimal acculturation attitude.

The effects of extraversion, social support on the posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic growth of adolescent survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among extraversion, social support, posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic growth among adolescent survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake. METHODS: Six hundred thirty-eight participants were selected from the survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Participants completed four main questionnaires, including the Extraversion Subscale, the Social Support Scale, the Child PTSD Symptom Scale, and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. RESULTS: A bivariate correlation analysis revealed significant correlations among extraversion, social support, posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic growth. Extraversion had significant indirect effects on posttraumatic stress disorder (ß = -.037, p < .01) and posttraumatic growth (ß = .077, p < .001) through social support. The results also indicated that extraversion had a significant direct effect on posttraumatic growth and a nonsignificant direct effect on posttraumatic stress disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Social support fully mediates the relationship between extraversion and posttraumatic stress disorder and partially mediates the relationship between extraversion and posttraumatic growth. Psychological interventions and care for survivors of the earthquake should include the various functions and sources of social support and how they serve to benefit individuals.

The relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms and suicide ideation among child survivors following the Wenchuan earthquake.

The association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and suicide ideation was examined in a sample of 2,298 child survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake. Results indicated that intrusion, avoidance, hyperarousal symptom clusters, and PTSD total score were significantly associated with suicide ideation. Except for intrusion, other measures of PTSD remained as statistically significant correlates of suicide ideation even after controlling for age, gender, direct exposure, indirect exposure, and depression. Furthermore, results showed that PTSD symptoms had an indirect influence on suicide ideation that was mediated by depression. The findings suggest that avoidance and hyperarousal symptom clusters of PTSD may be two important indicators of suicide ideation among child survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake. Implications of the results for intervention and prevention of suicide behavior are discussed.

The GABRB1 gene is associated with thalamus volume and modulates the association between thalamus volume and intelligence.

The GABRB1 gene encodes the beta 1 subunit of the gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABA A receptor), which is responsible for mediating inhibitory neurotransmission in the thalamus. Potential relationships between the GABRB1 gene, thalamus volume, and intelligence have been suggested by previous clinical studies, but have not been directly examined among nonclinical samples. The current study collected structural MRI, genetic, and behavioral data from 316 healthy Chinese adults (including 187 females and 129 males), and examined associations between GABRB1 variants, thalamus volume, and intelligence (measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised). After controlling for intracranial volume, sex, and age, GABRB1 genetic polymorphism at the SNP rs7435958 had the strongest association with thalamus volume (p = 0.002 and 0.00008 for left and right thalamus volumes, respectively), with GG homozygotes having smaller bilateral thalamus volumes than the other genotypes. Furthermore, there were positive correlations between bilateral thalamus volumes and intelligence, especially for GABRB1 rs7435958 GG female homozygotes (r's = 0.31 and 0.29, p < 0.01, for the correlations of intelligence with left and right thalamus volumes, respectively). This study provides the first evidence for the involvement of the GABRB1 gene in the thalamus structure and their interactive effects on intelligence. Future studies of the thalamus-intelligence associations should consider genetic factors as potential moderators.

The effects of within- and between-group competition on trust and trustworthiness among acquaintances.

Several studies have indicated that between-group competition is a key stimulator of trust and trustworthiness. Another important but neglected type of competition may also affect trust and trustworthiness: within-group competition, especially competition among acquaintances. The present study investigated the effects of both within- and between-group competition on trust and trustworthiness, which were measured using an investment game played by acquaintances. We found that, compared to the participants' performance in the non-competition condition, when individuals were motivated to compete with their in-group members or the other groups for financial rewards, they demonstrated more trust. When individuals were motivated to compete with their in-group members, they exhibited lower trustworthiness than in non-competition and between-group competition. In addition, within-group competition decreased the trustor's payoff while both within- and between- group competition increased the trustee's payoff. Finally, we found that males trusted their group members more than females.

Lax decision criteria lead to negativity bias: evidence from the emotional stroop task.

Negativity bias means that negative information is usually given more emphasis than comparable positive information. Under signal detection theory, recent research found that people more frequently and incorrectly identify negative task-related words as having been presented originally than positive words, even when they were not presented. That is, people have lax decision criteria for negative words. However, the response biases for task-unrelated negative words and for emotionally important words are still unclear. This study investigated response bias for these two kinds of words. Study 1 examined the response bias for task-unrelated negative words using an emotional Stroop task. Proportions of correct recognition to negative and positive words were assessed by non-parametric signal detection analysis. Participants have lower (i.e., more lax) decision criteria for task-unrelated negative words than for positive words. Study 2 supported and expanded this result by investigating participants' response bias for highly emotional words. Participants have lower decision criteria for highly emotional words than for less emotional words. Finally, possible evolutionary sources of the response bias were discussed.

Flexible and unique representations of two-digit decimals.

We examined the representation of two-digit decimals through studying distance and compatibility effects in magnitude comparison tasks in four experiments. Using number pairs with different leftmost digits, we found both the second digit distance effect and compatibility effect with two-digit integers but only the second digit distance effect with two-digit pure decimals. This suggests that both integers and pure decimals are processed in a compositional manner. In contrast, neither the second digit distance effect nor the compatibility effect was observed in two-digit mixed decimals, thereby showing no evidence for compositional processing of two-digit mixed decimals. However, when the relevance of the rightmost digit processing was increased by adding some decimals pairs with the same leftmost digits, both pure and mixed decimals produced the compatibility effect. Overall, results suggest that the processing of decimals is flexible and depends on the relevance of unique digit positions. This processing mode is different from integer analysis in that two-digit mixed decimals demonstrate parallel compositional processing only when the rightmost digit is relevant. Findings suggest that people probably do not represent decimals by simply ignoring the decimal point and converting them to natural numbers.