Diagnosis of Mental Disorders in Caregivers of Patients with Bipolar Disorder: A Gap in the Scientific Literature.

OBJECTIVE: Caregivers appear to experience mental health implications related to their role in supporting patients with bipolar disorder (BD). This study aimed to review literature assessing the presence of not only psychiatric symptoms but also mental disorders and personality disorders in caregivers of patients with BD. METHODOLOGY: This is a narrative review. Articles were searched in some computerized databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsychINFO, Liliacs, and Scielo up to June 2024. Inclusion criteria comprised articles in any language, focusing on primary caregivers of BD patients, and quantitative studies evaluating the presence of mental disorder, personality disorder, or psychiatric symptoms in this caregiver group. RESULTS: The review encompassed 15 articles. Only two studies utilized appropriate diagnostic instruments for assessing mental disorder, and no article evaluated personality disorder. Prevalence of caregiver's psychiatric symptoms and mental disorder was found to be higher compared to the general population. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of studies employing diagnostic assessment tools for mental disorder in these individuals may impede timely access to treatment, affecting both the caregiver's health and the course of patients with BD. This study provides an updated overview of research on caregivers of patients with BD, despite the limitation of not being a systematic review. Further studies employing diagnostic assessments on caregivers are essential to gain deeper insights into this critical topic.

Exploring Personality Profiles as a Source of Phenotypic Diversity in Autistic Children and Adolescents.

This study adopts a person-centered approach to evaluate personality diversity as a source of interpersonal variability in autistic children and adolescents, and how personality subgroup membership relates to variability in autistic characteristics, social-emotional presentations, and parenting outcomes. Latent Profile Analysis was used to analyze 569 parent reports on a child-based Five-Factor-Model personality measure (aged 6-18 years; Mage = 11.8 years, SD = 3.1; 70% boys). Four distinct personality profile groups were identified, showing varying levels in the low to average range of all five personality domains. All groups scored lowest on Extraversion and Emotional Stability. They differed the most in Imagination and the least in Emotional Stability. Group 1 (n = 72) exhibited the lowest mean-level scores on all five domains, whereas Group 4 (n = 90) had the highest domain scores. Group 2 (n = 307) and Group 3 (n = 100) showed more diverse patterns. Group membership was meaningfully associated with variation in characteristics of social interaction and communication, internalizing, externalizing, and attentional problems, psychosocial strengths, and positive parenting strategies. Only modest group differences were found in parenting stress. All groups had similar scores on repetitive and restrictive behaviors. These findings help to better understand and support natural subgroups within the autism phenotype by exploring shared personality attributes.

Mediation effects of subjective social status and personality traits between childhood nurturing experiences and depressive symptoms in adult volunteers.

Aim: Various risk factors, such as childhood nurturing experiences and subjective social status, have been identified to be involved in the onset of depression. However, the mechanism of depression is not yet fully understood. In this study, we hypothesized that nurturing experienced in childhood affects subjective social status and current personality traits, which in turn influence depressive symptoms in adulthood, and verified this hypothesis through structural equation modeling. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted on 404 adults. Multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling were conducted using demographic information and scores for the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Parental Bonding Instrument, and NEO Five-Factor Inventory. Results: Subjective social status was found to mediate the association between nurturing experiences and neuroticism (0.029 for Overprotection and -0.034 for Care). On the other hand, neuroticism was found to mediate the association between subjective social status and depressive symptoms (-0.097 in Care model and -0.103 in Overprotection model), as well as the association between nurturing experiences and depressive symptoms (0.144 for Overprotection and -0.134 for Care). Furthermore, it was also shown that complex paths, in which the association of nurturing experiences with depressive symptoms was mediated by two factors, namely, subjective social status and neuroticism, were statistically significant as indirect effects (0.016 for Overprotection and -0.018 for Care). Conclusion: In this study, we clarified that nurturing experienced in childhood affects neuroticism in adulthood, which is mediated by subjective social status, and furthermore, the effects of nurturing on neuroticism lead to varying levels of depressive symptoms in adulthood. The mediation effects demonstrated in the present study may contribute towards unraveling the causes of depression and developing effective treatments for depressive symptoms.

Structural Equation Modeling of Childhood Trauma and Self-Stigma in Adult Inpatients with Borderline Personality Disorder.

Purpose: Child abuse and trauma are significant risk factors in the etiology of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Apart from affecting the risk of developing BPD, adverse childhood experiences seem to increase its symptoms and related disability. Self-stigma presents another common issue with equally prominent consequences for mental health. Despite being theoretically linked, the connections among childhood trauma, self-stigma, and mental health have not been explored in patients with BPD. This study aimed to provide first insights into this understudied topic. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 283 inpatients diagnosed with BPD participating in a residential transdiagnostic psychotherapeutic program. The patients completed several measurements - the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - Short Form, the Clinical Global Impression - Severity, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the Sheehan Disability Scale, and a demographic questionnaire. The data was statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS and AMOS 26 programs, and bivariate correlation tests and structural equation modeling explored the hypotheses. Results: Retrospectively reported childhood trauma positively correlated with current self-stigma. Both childhood trauma and self-stigma were also positively related to several indicators of general psychopathology and disability. The significance of these connections was subsequently confirmed by structural equation modeling, where self-stigma acted as a partial mediator of childhood trauma, general psychopathology, and disability. Conclusion: Self-stigma significantly mediates the relationship between childhood trauma and selected mental health symptoms among adult patients diagnosed with BPD. Longitudinal studies are necessary to explore the causality of the findings. Therapeutic and societal efforts to tackle childhood trauma or self-stigma might benefit from reflecting its broader psychosocial context.

Not Like Everybody Else but We're the Same: Psychosocial Variables Compared Across Diverse Sexual and Gender Identities.

OBJECTIVE: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) people are underrepresented in psychological research. Part of the underrepresentation of SGM people likely stems from potential participants' unwillingness to join a study, but more concerningly, researchers exclude data from SGM participants. Furthermore, much of SGM research focuses on existing health disparities and risk factors rather than wellness-framed and personality research. To fill in this gap, the current study aims to quantify effect sizes of similarities/differences across a broad range of psychosocial measures. METHOD: Applying the framework of the Gender Similarities Hypothesis, we compare means, variances, and correlations across 34 psychosocial variables between categories of SGM, gender identity, sexual orientation, relationship status, and monogamy (N = 1743). Data was collected online mainly through paid ads on Instagram. RESULTS: Consistently, we find largely similarities across gender identity, sexual orientation, and relationship structure categories. These results support a general expectation that similarities are more common than differences in normative psychological domains, although clear differences in means and variances exist for specific experiences and outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: This work informs the inclusion of diverse identities in basic psychological research and further speaks to the generalizability of past findings to populations historically underrepresented in psychological science.

Progress in understanding personality functioning in light of the DSM-5 and ICD-11.

Updates regarding the dimensional model of personality disorder in the DSM-5 and ICD-11 have stimulated interest in the concept of personality functioning (PF). A growing number of literature has demonstrated the extensive empirical basis, validated evaluation tools, and clinical utility of the concept of PF. The concept of PF provides a construct for the diagnosis and evaluation of personality disorders. As a trans-diagnostic factor, PF is of great significance in the etiology and development of many mental and physical conditions. PF can be improved per se, primarily through psychotherapy. The evaluation and treatment of low PF should be considered in all relevant cases. The current study aims to provide a comprehensive review of the concept, pathogenesis, measurement, prevalence, psychopathological significance, as well as intervention for disordered PF.

Using machine learning modeling to identify childhood abuse victims on the basis of personality inventory responses.

Trauma is very common and associated with significant co-morbidity world-wide, particularly PTSD and frequently other mental health disorders. However, it can be challenging to identify victims of abuse as self-reports can be difficult to elicit due to emotional distress. Better confirmation of a history of significant mistreatment can assist significantly in treatment planning. We evaluate an alternate approach based on machine-learning techniques applied to personality inventory data (Minnesota Personality Inventory, Adolescent Version; MMPI-A) obtained concurrently to examine convergence with reports of past trauma exposure. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) was administered to 733 child and adolescent inpatients. Statistical and information-theory measures showed that each type of abuse - sexual, physical, and emotional - had a unique "fingerprint" of MMPI-A profiles. In contrast to our previous findings in terms of specific correlations with IQ, individuals positive for Sexual abuse had the fewest MMPI-A elevations, followed by Physical abuse, while those reporting Emotional abuse had the greatest number of elevations. We developed an initial classifier Machine Learning (ML) model for predicting a history of abuse that demonstrates equivalent sensitivity compared to other widely used screening measures. In addition, we show via PCA and cluster analysis that the different levels of severity of emotional abuse present with unique mixtures of personality trait characteristics. Thus, this type of ML mediated analysis could permit at-scale detection of those at potential high risk of a history of abuse by use of real-time information, using a variety of nontransparent data sources.

The implication of alexithymia in personality disorders: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Alexithymia, characterized by difficulty identifying and expressing emotions, is often associated with various psychiatric disorders, including personality disorders (PDs). This study aimed to explore the relationship between alexithymia and PD, focusing on their common origins and implications for treatment. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines using databases such as MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, and Web of Science. The inclusion criteria were studies assessing adults with DSM-5-diagnosed personality disorders using validated alexithymia scales. The Newcastle‒Ottawa Scale was used to assess the quality of the included studies. RESULTS: From an initial yield of 2434 citations, 20 peer-reviewed articles met the inclusion criteria. The findings indicate a significant association between alexithymia and personality disorders, particularly within Clusters B and C. Patients with these disorders exhibited higher levels of alexithymia, which correlated with increased emotional dysregulation and interpersonal difficulties. The review also highlighted the comorbidity burden of conditions such as psychosomatic disorders, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, suicidal behavior, and substance use disorders. CONCLUSIONS: These findings underscore the need for integrating alexithymia-focused assessments into clinical practice to enhance therapeutic approaches, allowing for more personalized and effective interventions. Addressing the emotional processing challenges in patients with personality disorders could significantly improve patient outcomes. Future research should prioritize establishing clinical guidelines and conducting longitudinal studies to explore the relationship between alexithymia and specific personality disorder subtypes, ensuring the practical translation of these findings into clinical practice.

Antisocial Behavior and Antisocial Personality Disorder Among Youth in Ethnic Minority Areas in China: A Cross-sectional Study.

Objective: Antisocial behavior and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) cause serious harm to society and families. Ethnicity may have an impact on an individual's antisocial behavior and the incidence of ASPD. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the current status of antisocial behavior and ASPD among youth and its correlation with ethnicity in ethnic minority areas in China. Methods: A total of 2475 Chinese youth (1794 under 18 and 681 greater than or equal to 18) were recruited from December 1 to 30, 2021, in Yunnan, China. All participants completed a General Information Questionnaire and the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire Fourth Edition Plus (PDQ-4+). Associations between antisocial behavior and ASPD and sociodemographic factors such as ethnicity were examined using binary logistic regression analysis. Results: The positive rate of antisocial behavior screening in youth was 5.4% (95% CI (confidence interval): 4.3-6.4), with a positive rate of ASPD screening of 4.4% (95% CI: 2.9-6.0). Male, single-child and maternal education level at senior high school and above were risk factors for positive antisocial behavior screening, while senior high school grade and medium subjective family economic status were protective factors for positive antisocial behavior screening. Being male and paternal educational background were risk factors for positive ASPD screening. Conclusion: This study found high rates of positive screening for antisocial behavior and ASPD in youth and no significant differences in ethnicity. These results can be used to inform personality development.

A Fundamental Difference in the Nature of Personal Values and Personality Traits Revealed Through Different Patterns of Stability Across Their Distributions.

OBJECTIVE: Personal values and personality traits are both important aspects of personality, but much is still unknown about the fundamental differences between the constructs, including how their patterns of temporal stability compare. This paper investigated patterns of intra-individual stability in both values and traits. METHOD: Quantile correlations were estimated between each of the 20 refined personal values and the same values 2 years later in a large longitudinal sample of Australian adults (N = 2875). The same was done for each of the 15 Five-Factor Model trait facets in a subsample of these participants (n = 2424). RESULTS: It was observed that more important values tended to remain more stable over time, while traits retained a similar stability regardless of trait strength, and frequently showed small decreases in stability at extreme levels. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that highly prioritized values may be a more central aspect of the self, and a more reliable element for predicting future outcomes, than less highly prioritized values, but in contrast, traits do not function in a way that is dependent on trait strength.

Gender bias of antisocial and borderline personality disorders among psychiatrists.

PURPOSE: Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) challenge mental health professionals with similar maladaptive behaviors. However, these two disorders differ regarding available evidence-based treatments. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has been criticized as being gender-biased diagnostic construct. The present study aimed to determine the gender bias of ASPD and BPD among Turkish psychiatrists. METHODS: Three case vignettes were randomly presented as male or female to the psychiatrists online. The first case was a patient with schizophrenia case to confirm the participant's ability to diagnose. The second case was a patient with ASPD, and the third one was a patient with BPD. RESULTS: Two hundred fifty participants diagnosed the first case correctly (n = 250). The results with statistical significance demonstrated that a female case with ASPD was 5.1 times more likely to get misdiagnosed than a male case with ASPD (p˂0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Categorical classification of personality disorders in DSM leads to gender bias in in the diagnosis of ASPD and BPD. The present study shows that female cases with ASPD are misdiagnosed as BPD which may result in treatment attempts without evidence.

Physical Activity in young female outpatients with BORderline personality Disorder (PABORD): a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (RCT).

BACKGROUND: Current treatments for mental disorders, like pharmacotherapy or psychological approaches, do not lead to full remission in all individuals. Physical activity (PA) is effective at improving psycho-physical health in major depressive and anxiety disorders. However, the efficacy of PA as an adjunctive treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD) has not been studied. To date, there are no approved pharmacological treatments for this severe condition and limited accessibility to effective psychotherapeutic interventions. This study tests the efficacy of a structured PA programme as an additional treatment for BPD outpatients. METHODS: The PABORD is a randomised controlled trial for female outpatients (18-40 years) with a BPD diagnosis. The intervention group (n = 32) will participate in a 12-week structured PA programme supervised by a sport medicine physician and preceded by three psychoeducation sessions on healthy eating habits. The control group (n = 32) will receive a 12-week psychoeducation programme on PA, diet, and health risks of a sedentary lifestyle for a total of 8 sessions. The study aims to determine if the PA intervention is superior to the control in reducing BPD symptoms. Secondary aims include improving PA levels and physical and psychological health. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, post-intervention, and 3 months post-intervention. DISCUSSION: The structured PA programme is expected to outperform the control group in terms of health and PA outcomes at the end of the intervention. Repeated assessments will also help to identify psychosocial factors that influence PA maintenance. Findings will support the potential widespread implementation of PA programmes for BPD treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06461104. Registered on 6 June 2024 {2a}.

The role of personality traits and emotional intelligence in the evaluation of the benefits and costs of social distancing during a pandemic outbreak.

The analysis of the benefits and costs of social distancing is a crucial aspect for understanding how individual and community actions can mitigate and manage the costs of a pandemic. In this study, we aimed to investigate the extent to which personality factors and emotional intelligence (EI) contributed to the subjective assessment of the benefits and costs of social distancing behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also aimed at determining whether EI served as a mediator in the relationship between personality traits and the evaluation of social distancing consequences. Data was collected via online surveys from a sample of 223 Italian-speaking participants (age: 30.78 ± 9.97; 86.1% females) between March and April 2021. Findings indicate that the tendency to prioritize the benefits of social distancing over personal costs was positively associated with emotional stability and emotion regulation, but negatively associated with extroversion. The following mediational analyses revealed that the emotion regulation facet of EI mediated the associations between personality dimensions (emotional stability and extroversion) and the evaluation of the costs and benefits of social distancing. These findings provide useful indications and implications for developing appropriate communication strategies aimed at reaching the general population and suggest that, during health-related crises, emphasis should be placed on offering courses and programs to improve and develop individuals' EI.

Relationship between personality and adolescent depression: the mediating role of loneliness and problematic internet use.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has indicated that personality traits, loneliness, and problematic internet use (PIU) significantly contribute to the prevalence of adolescent depression. However, the specific interrelationships among these variables in explaining the occurrence of depression remain unclear. Drawing upon susceptibility theory and cognitive-behavioral theory, this study explored whether personality traits influences adolescent depression through loneliness and PIU. METHODS: A total of 2476 adolescents (aged 12-18) from all over the country completed a psycho-social test, including the 10-Item Big Five Personality Inventory (BFI-10), three-Item Loneliness Scale (T-ILS), Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire-Short Form (PIUQ-SF-6) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The mediation model was built and bootstrap method was used to test the mediating effect. RESULTS: Results showed that neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness, and agreeableness have a direct role on depression. Loneliness and PIU partially mediated the relationship between neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness and depression, and completely mediated the relationship between extroversion and depression. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that loneliness and PIU play important mediating roles in the relationship between personality traits and depression. This remind us that alleviating sense of loneliness and reducing overuse of the internet are a strategy for improve depression among adolescents.

Missed Appointments and the Potential Correlation between Personal Characteristics, Personality, and Familial Characteristics and Missed Appointments for Adults with Diabetes Mellitus at the Primary Care Unit of Khon Kaen Province.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Regular follow-up treatment is important for the management of diabetes and to reduce the risk of complications. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the proportion of adult diabetic patients who miss appointments, in addition to the potential correlation between personal characteristics, personality, and the context of family structure and characteristics and missed appointments by adult patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The data were gathered through self-administered questionnaires and the patient medical records of 106 individuals who received healthcare services at the Khon Kaen Province primary care unit. Data were gathered from 1 November 2023 to 28 December 2023. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and Chi-Square statistics were used to evaluate the relationships with multivariate analyses via multinomial logistic regression and the Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS: The majority of patients in the sample, 39.62%, regularly missed appointments. There was a significant association between occasionally missed appointments and middle adulthood (p-value 0.013) and regular exercise (p-value 0.025). A moderate level of the agreeableness personality trait showed a significant association with missed appointments (p-value 0.042). CONCLUSIONS: It is important to have a comprehensive understanding of the patient's personality and family characteristics to effectively plan their healthcare and provide optimal support for diabetes treatment.

Selected Determinants of Diet Health Quality among Female Athletes Practising Team Sports.

This study's aim was an analysis regarding selected determinants of diet health quality in a group of elite Polish female team sport players. Relationships were assessed between age, sport experience, personal resources and personality traits with regard to the Big Five model and the pro-Health (pHDI-10) and non-Healthy (nHDI-14) Diet Indices. This study was conducted among 181 women (median age-25 years; sport experience-7 years) with the use of the Beliefs and Eating Habits Questionnaire (KomPAN), Generalised Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale (MHLC-B) and NEO-PI-R personality inventory. Statistical analysis was carried out via the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Kruskal-Wallis's ANOVA, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and forward stepwise regression at a significance level of α = 0.05. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that the value of the pro-Health Diet Index (pHDI-10) was positively explained by professional experience and extraversion, while negatively by openness to experiences (12% of the pHDI-10 variance). In turn, a higher value of the non-Healthy Diet Index (nHDI-14) was associated with the discipline of basketball (2% of the nHDI-14 variance). In summary, the demonstrated diet health quality was low and the predictive significance of competitive experience as well as type of discipline and selected personality traits was exhibited for diet quality among female team sport players.

The Big, the Dark, and the Biopsychosocial Shades of Harmony: Personality Traits and Harmony in Life.

Our current understanding of the relationship between personality traits and subjective well-being, or happiness, is limited to the conceptualization of subjective well-being as being life satisfaction and a positive affective experience (i.e., the presence of positive emotions and the absence of negative ones), thus lacking the sense of acceptance, balance, adaptation, and self-transcendent unity (i.e., harmony in life) that is appreciated as part of the good life in many ancient and modern cultures. Moreover, most studies use the Big Five Model to understand which personality traits predict subjective well-being. Here, I examine the predictive power of personality on harmony in life using the Big Five Model, the Dark Triad, and Cloninger's Biopsychosocial Model. The present study utilized past published data from three cross-sectional studies. In each separate sample, participants self-reported personality by answering the Big Five Inventory (N1 = 297), the Short Dark Triad (N2 = 1876), or the Temperament and Character Inventory (N3 = 436). All participants (NTotal = 3698) answered to the Harmony in Life Scale. The traits in the Biopsychosocial Model explained the highest variance in harmony in life (R2 = 0.435, F(7, 428) = 47.136, p < 0.001), followed by the Big Five (R2 = 0.341, F(5, 291) = 30.110, p < 0.001) and the Dark Triad (R2 = 0.096, F(3, 1872) = 66.055, p < 0.001). The key significant predictors were Self-Directedness, Self-Transcendence, and Harm Avoidance from the Biopsychosocial Model and Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism from the Big Five. Narcissism was the only predictor from the Dark Triad, although this relationship was very small. The findings underscore the importance of a multidimensional approach for understanding subjective well-being and the inclusion of harmony in life as its third component. The Biopsychosocial Model's inclusion of both temperament and character dimensions provided the most comprehensive understanding of harmony in life. While positive traits like Agreeableness, Self-Directedness, and Self-Transcendence enhance harmony, negative traits like Neuroticism and Harm Avoidance diminish it. Moreover, research only including "dark traits" might give the impression that an inflated sense of self-importance, a deep need for admiration, and a lack of empathy for others (i.e., Narcissism) is predictive of balance in life. However, this association was not only extremely low but can be interpreted as misguided since the results using the other models showed that helpful, empathetic, kind, and self-transcendent behavior predicted harmony. These results suggest that interventions aimed at enhancing well-being should consider a broad range of personality traits, especially those that are not present in the Big Five Model, thus advocating for a biopsychosocial approach to well-being interventions.

Psychological Predictors of Attitude toward Integrated Arts Education among Chinese College Students Majoring in the Arts.

This study investigated the psychological factors related to the attitudes of Chinese arts college students toward integrated arts education. It also examined predictive models incorporating psychological variables, demographic profiles, and art education-related characteristics to offer valuable insights for future research and art education practices. The sample comprised 303 Chinese college students majoring in arts and aged 18-22 years. The predictive models were examined using stepwise regression and decision tree analyses. The results indicated positive correlations between attitudes toward integrated arts education and several psychological variables, including extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), hardiness, creativity, self-efficacy, and purpose orientation for personal growth. Neuroticism and the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) were negatively correlated with attitudes toward integrated arts education. Further, extraversion accounted for the greatest variance in attitudes toward integrated arts education. Extraversion, self-efficacy, purpose orientation for personal growth, BIS, and commitment accounted for approximately 38.3% of the variance. The decision tree model, predicting the attitudes of college students majoring in the arts toward integrated arts education, included extraversion, self-efficacy, teaching experience in their major, and academic year. This study contributes to a better understanding of the psychological and educational factors that shape the attitudes of Chinese arts students toward integrated arts education and provides a predictive framework that can inform future research and educational practices.

Examining the Role of Neuroticism Polygenic Risk in Late Life Cognitive Change: A UK Biobank Study.

Cognitive decline is a public health concern affecting about 50 million individuals worldwide. Neuroticism, defined as the trait disposition to experience intense and frequent negative emotions, has been associated with an increased risk of late-life cognitive decline. However, the underlying biological mechanisms of this association remain unknown. This study investigated the relationship between genetic predisposition to neuroticism, computed by polygenic risk score (PRS), and performance in cognitive domains of reasoning, processing speed, visual attention, and memory in individuals over age 60. The sample consisted of UK Biobank participants with genetic and cognitive data available (N = 10,737, 4686 females; mean age = 63.4 ± 2.71). The cognitive domains were assessed at baseline for all participants and seven years later for a subset (N = 645, 262 females; mean age = 62.9 ± 2.44). Neuroticism PRS was not associated cross-sectionally with cognitive measures (p > 0.05). However, the trajectory of change for processing speed (ß = 0.020; 95% CI = [0.006, 0.035], adjusted p = 0.0148), visual attention (ß = -0.077; 95% CI = [-0.0985, -0.0553], adjusted p = 1.412 × 10-11), and memory (ß = -0.033; 95% CI = [-0.0535, -0.0131], adjusted p = 0.005) was significantly associated with neuroticism PRS. Specifically, a higher genetic predisposition to neuroticism was associated with less decline in these cognitive domains. This trend persisted after sensitivity analysis using complete cases, although it only remained nominally significant for visual attention.

Analyses of Physical and Psychological Characteristics of "Squid Game" Characters Using East Asian Biopsychosocial Personality Theories and Body Mass Index.

Media characters' physical and psychological traits are crucial for character development and audience engagement. This study examines East Asian perspectives on the audience's perceptions of the physical appearance and personality, using Eum-Yang biopsychological Sasang theory, of five characters from the Netflix series "Squid Game". A total of 221 university students assessed the traits of five "Squid Game" characters using the Sasang Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and a visual Body Mass Index (BMI). ANOVA and Profile Analysis revealed significant and comprehensive differences in the SPQ and its subscales (behavior, SPQ-B; cognition, SPQ-C; and emotion, SPQ-E) as well as BMI among the five drama characters. More specifically, Seong Gi-hun (SGH) and Han Mi-nyeo (HMN) were So-Yang types (high SPQ, moderate BMI), Cho Sang-woo (CSW) and Kang Sae-byeok (KSB) were So-Eum types (low SPQ, low BMI), and Jang Deok-su (JDS) was Tae-Eum type (moderate SPQ, high BMI). Psychological profiling showed two patterns: V-shaped (high SPQ-B, low SPQ-C, high SPQ-E) for SGH, HMN, and JDS, and A-shaped (low SPQ-B, high SPQ-C, low SPQ-E) for CSW and KSB. These results contribute to media psychology by highlighting the relevance of Eum-Yang and Sasang typology for creating and analyzing complex characters, thereby enhancing global understanding for East Asian biopsychosocial theories.