Relationship between Personality Traits and Subjective Well-Being in Emerging Adulthood: Moderating Role of Independent and Interdependent Self-Construal.

During emerging adulthood, individuals' subjective well-being declines owing to challenges regarding identity, work, and romantic relationships. Although the relationships among personality traits, self-construal, and well-being have been examined, studies have focused on personal rather than relational subjective well-being. Furthermore, self-construal's moderating effect on the relationship between personality traits and subjective well-being remains unclear. Therefore, this study examined the relationships among the Big-five personality traits and subjective well-being (life satisfaction, happiness, and interdependent happiness) and the moderating effect of self-construal among 1548 Japanese emerging adults (Mage = 22.24, SD = 1.01). Regression analysis indicated that all aspects of subjective well-being were negatively associated with neuroticism and positively associated with extraversion, independent and interdependent self-construal. Further, agreeableness was positively associated with personal and relational well-being. Independent or interdependent self-construal can moderate the relationships between neuroticism, extraversion, and agreeableness and subjective well-being. Overall, these findings provide valuable insights for improving Japanese emerging adults' well-being.

Patterns of Personality Development and Psychosocial Functioning in Japanese Adolescents: A Four-Wave Longitudinal Study.

While patterns of adolescent personality development are country-specific, previous studies that have examined them have been limited to the Netherlands and Finland. This study aimed to identify the patterns of personality development and examine the relationship between these patterns and psychosocial functioning among Japanese adolescents. Overall, 618 Japanese adolescents (49.5% girls; 16 years) participated in the annual longitudinal survey from 2013 to 2016. Using latent class growth analysis, the following four patterns of personality development were identified: resilient, over-controlled, vulnerable, and moderate. Although the mean-level changes in the Big Five domains were generally insignificant among the four patterns, the vulnerable pattern showed a progressive increase in conscientiousness, and the moderate pattern showed a decrease in neuroticism and an increase in conscientiousness. Furthermore, multivariate analysis of variance tests indicated that the resilient pattern showed higher subjective well-being and lower psychosocial problems than the other personality patterns; the over-controlled pattern showed higher internalizing problems than the resilient pattern; the vulnerable pattern showed lower subjective well-being and higher internalizing problems than the other patterns; and the moderate pattern scored between the resilient, over-controlled, and vulnerable patterns in both subjective well-being and psychosocial problems. These findings suggest that the vulnerable and moderate patterns, which are immature patterns compared to the resilient and over-controlled ones, showed positive changes to the direction of maturity from middle to late adolescence in Japan.

Variants That Affect Function of Calcium Channel TRPV6 Are Associated With Early-Onset Chronic Pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Changes in pancreatic calcium levels affect secretion and might be involved in development of chronic pancreatitis (CP). We investigated the association of CP with the transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 6 gene (TRPV6), which encodes a Ca2+-selective ion channel, in an international cohort of patients and in mice. METHODS: We performed whole-exome DNA sequencing from a patient with idiopathic CP and from his parents, who did not have CP. We validated our findings by sequencing DNA from 300 patients with CP (not associated with alcohol consumption) and 1070 persons from the general population in Japan (control individuals). In replication studies, we sequenced DNA from patients with early-onset CP (20 years or younger) not associated with alcohol consumption from France (n = 470) and Germany (n = 410). We expressed TRPV6 variants in HEK293 cells and measured their activity using Ca2+ imaging assays. CP was induced by repeated injections of cerulein in TRPV6mut/mut mice. RESULTS: We identified the variants c.629C>T (p.A210V) and c.970G>A (p.D324N) in TRPV6 in the index patient. Variants that affected function of the TRPV6 product were found in 13 of 300 patients (4.3%) and 1 of 1070 control individuals (0.1%) from Japan (odds ratio [OR], 48.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6.3-371.7; P = 2.4 × 10-8). Twelve of 124 patients (9.7%) with early-onset CP had such variants. In the replication set from Europe, 18 patients with CP (2.0%) carried variants that affected the function of the TRPV6 product compared with 0 control individuals (P = 6.2 × 10-8). Variants that did not affect the function of the TRPV6 product (p.I223T and p.D324N) were overrepresented in Japanese patients vs control individuals (OR, 10.9; 95% CI, 4.5-25.9; P = 7.4 × 10-9 for p.I223T and P = .01 for p.D324N), whereas the p.L299Q was overrepresented in European patients vs control individuals (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.9-4.8; P = 1.2 × 10-5). TRPV6mut/mut mice given cerulein developed more severe pancreatitis than control mice, as shown by increased levels of pancreatic enzymes, histologic alterations, and pancreatic fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: We found that patients with early-onset CP not associated with alcohol consumption carry variants in TRPV6 that affect the function of its product, perhaps by altering Ca2+ balance in pancreatic cells. TRPV6 regulates Ca2+ homeostasis and pancreatic inflammation.

Genetic and Environmental Structure of Altruism Characterized by Recipients in Relation to Personality.

Background and Objectives: Altruism is a form of prosocial behavior with the goal of increasing the fitness of another individual as a recipient while reducing the fitness of the actor. Although there are many studies on its heterogeneity, only a few behavioral genetic studies have been conducted to examine different recipient types: family members favored by kin selection, the dynamic network of friends and acquaintances as direct reciprocity, and strangers as indirect reciprocity. Materials and Methods: This study investigated the genetic and environmental structure of altruism with reference to recipient types measured by the self-report altruism scale distinguished by the recipient (the SRAS-DR) and examine the relationship to personality dimensions measured by the NEO-FFI with a sample of 461 adult Japanese twin pairs. Results: The present study shows that there is a single common factor of altruism: additive genetic effects explain 51% of altruism without a shared environmental contribution. The genetic contribution of this single common factor is explained by the genetic factors of neuroticism (N), extraversion (E), openness to experience (O), and conscientiousness (C), as well as a common genetic factor specific to altruism. Only altruism toward strangers is affected by shared environmental factors. Conclusions: Different types of altruistic personality are constructed by specific combinational profiles of general personality traits such as the Big Five as well as a genetic factor specific to altruism in each specific way.

Psychosocial Twin Cohort Studies in Japan: The Keio Twin Research Center (KoTReC).

The Keio Twin Research Center (KoTReC) was established in 2009 at Keio University to combine two longitudinal cohort projects - the Keio Twin Study (KTS) for adolescence and adulthood and the Tokyo Twin Cohort Project (ToTCoP) for infancy and childhood. KoTReC also conducted a two-time panel study of self-control and psychopathology in twin adolescence in 2012 and 2013 and three independent anonymous cross-sectional twin surveys (ToTcross) before 2012 - the ToTCross, the Junior and Senior High School Survey and the High School Survey. This article introduces the recent research designs of KoTReC and its publications.

Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Personality Trait Stability and Change Across Adolescence: Results From a Japanese Twin Sample.

We examined developmental trends and sources of stability and change in adolescent personality by using twin data collected from 1981 to 2010 (273 monozygotic (MZ) and 48 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs) from a secondary school affiliated with the University of Tokyo. Phenotypic analyses showed high rank-order stability and substantial mean-level increases in neuroticism and declines in extraversion over the adolescent years. Longitudinal bivariate genetic analyses revealed that the best-fitting model for adolescent personality includes additive genetic and non-shared environmental influences. Heritability estimates ranged approximately from 0.30 to 0.60. Additionally, three-year stability in adolescent personality was influenced mainly by genetic factors, and there were both genetic and environmental innovations in mid-adolescence. Our findings suggest that both genetic and environmental effects have significant roles in the etiology of personality development across adolescence.

Development and validation of a Japanese translation of the K-SF-42.

In this study, we conducted the translation and validation of the K-SF-42 in Japan (Figueredo, 2017). The K-SF-42 is a new short form of the Arizona Life History Battery. We obtained empirical evidence that the original seven-factor structure could be applied to the Japanese translated version of K-SF-42 (K-SF-42-J). We also observed good internal consistency of the seven scales of K-SF-42-J. The multi-group confirmatory factor analysis findings suggest that the K-SF-42-J can be used in both sexes and diverse age groups. The K-SF-42-J scales showed similar correlates as the English original, with higher scores of other life history strategy measurement, trait emotional intelligence, well-being, and cultural and social resources in childhood. Use of the K-SF-42-J will allow researchers with Japanese speaking samples to integrate their findings with the existing life history strategy research literature. The brevity of the K-SF-42-J will be appealing to researchers who are concerned about taxing the time and motivation of their participants.

Online self-presentation and identity development: The moderating effect of neuroticism.

Using social media, which provides ways to socialize and present oneself, has become normal for young people. Although previous research shows that self-presentation via social media is associated with a sense of identity, little attention has been given to the association with identity-development processes. Therefore, the present study examined these associations while controlling for offline self-presentation and tested the potential moderating effect of neuroticism. A sample of 647 Japanese young adults (401 women; Mean age  = 22.70; SD age  = 3.25) were recruited to complete an online questionnaire, including measures of identity-development processes, online and offline self-presentation, and neuroticism. A correlation analysis revealed that identity-development processes were associated with online surface-level self-presentation (SSP) but not online inner-level self-presentation (ISP). Further, a moderated regression analysis indicated that the negative associations between online ISP and identity processes were only found among those high in neuroticism. The results of this study suggest that neuroticism may produce variations in young people's identity development.

The General Factor of Personality as Ego-Resiliency.

It was originally hypothesized by Block that what has come to be known as the General Factor of Personality (GFP) reflects ego-resiliency. We test Block's hypothesis in two studies. In Study 1 a meta-analysis (N = 15,609) examining the relationship between the GFP and ego-resiliency/resilience was conducted. In Study 2 (N = 157) archival data from Block and Block was used to examine the association between rater judged ego-resiliency across childhood, adolescence, and into early adulthood and the GFP based on self-report in early adulthood. Using structural equation modeling for the meta-analytic data, the correlation between the GFP and ego-resiliency/resilience was estimated at r = 0.93. Using a trait-state occasion model to test the hypothesis in Study 2, the correlation between the GFP and rated ego-resiliency was estimated at r = 0.85. The results of the two studies offer substantial support for Block's original hypothesis. Given the strength of the associations between the GFP and ego-resiliency/resilience one may conclude that the two constructs largely reflect the same underlying phenomenon.

Cross-sectional age differences in the Dark Triad traits in two Japanese samples.

This study investigated the age differences in the Dark Triad (DT) traits with 2 independent samples. Personality was measured using the Short Dark Triad and the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen. Results showed a significant negative correlation between age and DT traits except for narcissism, which differed between the samples. Significant age-by-sex interaction effects were observed for Machiavellianism and the DT composite score, indicating that women showed a steeper downward age trend in dark personalities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Maternal prenatal stress and infantile wheeze and asthma: The Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study.

OBJECTIVE: Some recent studies suggest that maternal prenatal stress (MPS) increases allergic diseases in the children. However, knowledge on this issue in Asian children are lacking. We investigated the association between MPS and the risks of wheeze and asthma in Japanese infants aged 16-24 months. METHODS: The present subjects were 763 Japanese mother-child pairs. The first, second, and third surveys based on self-administered questionnaires were performed during pregnancy, between 2 and 9 months postpartum, and from 16 to 24 months postpartum, respectively. Data on MPS was obtained in the first survey, using the Stress Inventory (SI), which constructs 12 specific behavioral patterns as response styles to stressors. Data on wheeze and asthma was obtained in the third survey, where wheeze was based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood criteria and asthma was based on doctors' diagnosis. RESULTS: There were 169 infants with wheeze (22.1%) and 33 infants with asthma (4.3%), at the time of the third survey. Multiple logistic regression analyses found that a maternal behavioral pattern characterized by chronic irritation and anger was associated with the risk of childhood asthma (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.56, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.11 to 2.22), but not wheeze (adjusted OR = 1.02, 95%CI: 0.88 to 1.19), while there was no appreciable association between the other SI scales and the risk of childhood wheeze or asthma. CONCLUSIONS: The results partly supported the hypothesis that MPS might increase the risk of asthma in their infants in Japanese.

Personality Change in Middle Adulthood: With Focus on Differential Susceptibility.

Little attention has been paid to middle adulthood in research on personality stability and change. In addition, previous research on individual differences in personality change has not fully explained its variability. This study focused on the differential susceptibility model, which suggests that individual susceptibility interacts with environmental factors and produces variability in outcomes, and investigated individual differences in personality change with a middle adult sample. A total of 1051 Japanese middle adults (M = 41.61 years; SD = 5.31; range 30-50 years; 534 females) participated in this two-wave short-term longitudinal study. Latent change score model analyses revealed substantial mean-level declines in Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility. Moreover, the results showed that the influences of some life events on personality change are moderated for better and for worse by individual susceptibility to one's environment. These findings suggest that the trends of personality development may differ between Western and non-Western countries and that differential susceptibility model may play an important role in deriving individual differences in personality stability and change.

Ultrathin-film oscillator biosensors excited by ultrafast light pulses.

Novel thin-film oscillator biosensors are developed using picosecond ultrasound method. 100-nm silicon-nitride thin films and 16-nm Pt thin films are used, and ultrashort light pulses are focused on their surfaces to excite the through-thickness resonance vibrations, which are detected by the delayed probe-light pulses using the optoelastic effect. Their fundamental resonance frequencies are 45 and 132 GHz, corresponding to theoretical mass sensitivities of 5.0×10(-5) and 2.2×10(-5) pg/cm(2)/Hz, respectively. These thin-film biosensors are used for detecting human immunoglobulin G (hIgG) with Staphylococcus aureus protein A nonspecifically immobilized on the film surfaces. Injection of a 5 nM analyte caused 2% decrease in the resonance frequency.