Reflecting on the Importance of Family Building and Fertility Preservation: Transgender People's Experiences with Starting Gender-Affirming Treatment as an Adolescent.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate how adults, who started gender-affirming hormone treatment during adolescence, reflect on their reproductive decisions. Methods: We recruited transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people who visited our gender identity clinic and commenced medical treatment in adolescence at least 9 years ago. We collected data through an online survey. Results: The cohort consisted of 89 participants (66 TGD people assigned female at birth (AFAB) and 23 TGD people assigned male at birth (AMAB) with a mean age of 32.4 years (range 25.5-51.2) at the time of study, and 15.6 years (range 11.5-20.6) at the start of medical treatment. All participants initiated medical treatment before 2014, when laws requiring sterilization for legal gender recognition were still in place, and only 30% of participants reported to have received information about fertility preservation, which none of them pursued. In addition, 96% of participants underwent gonadectomy and thus became permanently infertile, which was troublesome for 27%. With today's knowledge, 44% of TGD people AFAB and 35% of TGD people born AMAB would pursue fertility preservation. The percentage of participants with a (future) desire for children increased from 34% at the start of medical treatment (at adolescent age) to 56% at the time of this study (at adult age), of whom 23% had currently started a family. Conclusion: It is important to inform transgender adolescents about the effect of medical treatment on fertility and the options for fertility preservation since many may develop a desire for (biological) children when they reach adulthood.

An investigation of the direct and indirect effects of desire for independence and perceived level of achievement on singlehood status.

The present study aimed to examine the associations between the desire for independence, perceived level of achievement, and relationship status. Specifically, we conducted the study with a sample of 667 Greek-speaking participants (389 women, 275 men, and three participants who did not indicate their sex) who were either single or in an intimate relationship. We employed close-ended questionnaires that included instruments developed using AI. We found that men and women who desired more independence were more likely to be voluntarily single than in an intimate relationship. Additionally, a higher desire for independence was associated with more years being single, but this effect was significant only for men. Furthermore, we found that the perceived level of achievement was not significantly associated with relationship status directly; however, higher scores in this dimension were associated with fewer years spent as single for men. Moreover, a higher perceived level of achievement was associated with a decreased probability of being involuntarily single rather than in an intimate relationship and fewer years spent as single indirectly, by being associated with higher self-esteem, which was associated with higher flirting capacity. These paths were significant for both men and women. Our findings suggest that the desire for independence and perceived achievement play an important role in explaining why some people are single and others in an intimate relationship.

[Dealing with assisted suicide-knowledge, attitudes and experiences of members of the German Association for Palliative Medicine]. / Umgang mit assistiertem Suizid ­ Kenntnisse, Einstellungen und Erfahrungen von Mitgliedern der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Palliativmedizin.

BACKGROUND: In February 2020, the Federal Constitutional Court declared § 217 of the German Criminal Code void. Ever since, assisted suicide services have been legal in Germany. This study aims to describe the knowledge, attitudes and experiences of members of the German Association for Palliative Medicine (DGP) regarding assisted suicide. METHODS: Online survey with members of the DGP from July to September 2023 using Qualtrics®. The study group developed the questionnaire based on current literature; it was adapted following an initial application among young physicians and an interprofessional panel of experts with consensus voting. Data was analysed using descriptive and explorative statistics. RESULTS: 991 DGP-members (18%) participated, of which physicians made up 57.0% (n = 545/957) and nurses 23.4% (n = 224/957). Of the participants, 197/851 (23.1%) incorrectly stated that assisted suicide is prohibited by professional code, 430/914 (47.1%) rejected a restriction of palliative care teams to suicide prevention measures, and 766/930 (82.4%) rejected personal involvement in assisted suicide regardless of a patient's health status. For patients in palliative situations, 473/926 (51.1%) could imagine participating in assisted suicide, and 71% wanted new legislation regulating assisted suicide. CONCLUSION: There are gaps in the knowledge of the participating members of the DGP regarding the legal and professional status of assisted suicide. Further educational work is needed in this regard. The participants can more easily imagine assisted suicide for people in palliative disease trajectories. As in surveys of members of other medical societies, the attitudes of more experienced staff are reflected. Compared to younger healthcare professionals, they have a more restrictive attitude towards the concept of assisted suicide.

To Preserve or Not To Preserve: A Prospective Cohort Study on the Role of the Cervix in Post-Hysterectomy Sexual Functioning.

Background Hysterectomy remains the most commonly performed gynecologic procedure worldwide, undertaken primarily for benign pathologies. The choice between total hysterectomy (TH) and subtotal hysterectomy (STH) has been debated, particularly with respect to its impact on sexual functioning (SF). Objective This study aimed to assess the impact of TH versus STH on SF and to determine whether preservation of the cervix in STH offers advantages in terms of postoperative SF. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted at Ibn El Jazzar University Hospital, Kairouan, Tunisia, involving women aged 40 to 65 years who underwent hysterectomy for benign conditions between January 2, 2020, and December 31, 2021. SF was evaluated using the Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) before and six months after surgery. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 26. Results Sixty women were included, with 30 undergoing TH and 30 undergoing STH. Postoperative evaluations revealed improvements in SF in both groups without statistically significant differences between TH and STH in terms of SF scores or the timeline for resuming sexual activity. Conclusions Hysterectomy, regardless of the technique used, appears to have a positive impact on SF, largely attributed to symptomatic relief. Therefore, the choice between TH and STH should consider factors beyond potential differences in SF outcomes. Women considering hysterectomy for benign indications should be informed of these findings to aid in the decision-making process regarding their surgical options.

Social media influencers and followers' conspicuous consumption: The mediation of fear of missing out and materialism.

This study addresses the existing gap in theoretical and empirical research concerning the impact of social media influencers (SMIs) on followers' purchasing decisions. The primary aim is to explore and elucidate followers' journey from exposure to SMIs to the manifestation of conspicuous consumption. Grounded in the stimulus-organism-response framework and self-determination theory, the research proposes a dual model focusing on mediating factors such as social comparison, desire to mimic, materialism, and fear of missing out (FOMO). To achieve this objective, a survey targeting 272 respondents was conducted on the MTurk platform. The study findings reveal that exposure to SMIs triggers social comparisons and FOMO, subsequently influencing the acquisition of conspicuous products. Additionally, the study identifies that exposure to SMIs amplifies the desire to mimic and stimulates materialistic tendencies, thereby contributing to conspicuous consumption. The proposed Intrinsic-Extrinsic Consumption Motivation Model emerges as a novel framework to enhance our understanding of how SMIs influence conspicuous consumption, providing valuable insights for developing effective advertising programs.

Determinants of the desire to avoid pregnancy after the disaster of the century in Türkiye.

BACKGROUND: After natural disasters, the occurrence of mental health problems and adverse effects on reproductive health in women of reproductive age can be attributed to a multitude of factors, including the deterioration of health facilities, a shortage of qualified health professionals, a lack of socio-economic stability, and a paucity of familial and community support. METHODS: The descriptive correlational study was conducted through social networks with 405 women who had experienced the disaster of the century 8 months after (between November and December 2023) the earthquake. The snowball sampling method was used to obtain the research data. The questionnaire form, developed for the purpose of data collection, was disseminated to women who consented to participate in the study through social networks. The data were evaluated using a variety of statistical techniques, including number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and structural equation modeling. RESULTS: According to the results of linear regression analysis, these were found to be predictors of the desire to avoid pregnancy: having housing problems (ß-coefficient 0.173; p = .008), having a damaged home (ß-coefficient. 276; p = .009), sleep patterns (ß-coefficient 0.433; p = .022), eating habits (ß-coefficients 0.248, 0.044), use of psychiatric medication (ß-coefficient 0.436, p = .003), and problems related to the food and water supply (ß-coefficient 0.127, p = .003). In addition, a structural equation model (SEM) was established to examine the relationship between these variables and mental well-being and pregnancy avoidance. Only the model constructed with mental well-being demonstrated significance in the SEM analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that women's mental health is negatively affected in unpredictable emergencies such as earthquakes and that poor mental health negatively affects pregnancy planning. The findings of the study may help to guide health professionals working in the field of women's health to protect women's mental health in emergency situations, to provide counseling about pregnancy planning, and to provide social and psychological support programs.

[Old age or the last song of the swan: A diversion through literature for a different representation]. / La vieillesse ou le dernier chant du cygne : un détour par la littérature pour une autre représentation.

Literature can be a fruitful source of inspiration for rethinking ageing. Two literary short stories, one by Thomas Mann, the other by Stefan Zweig, offer two original portraits of an old man, which may lead some to reconsider the relationship between old age and passion, and to restore the humanity of the figure of the old man.

Periaqueductal gray subregions connectivity and its association with micturition desire-awakening function.

Existing literature strongly supports the idea that children with primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) have brainstem abnormalities. However, the connection between pre-micturition arousal responses and brain functional connectivities is still not clearly defined. Our study investigated the correlation between the gradations of micturition desire-awakening (MDA) functionality and the functional connectivity of the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG), a pivotal brainstem hub implicated in the neural regulation of micturition in humans. Neuroimaging and behavioral data from 133 patients with PNE and 40 healthy children were acquired from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and precise clinical observations, respectively. The whole-brain correlation analyses were undertaken to elucidate the complex connectivity patterns between the subregions of PAG and the cerebral cortex, with a focus on their correlation to the spectrum of MDA functionality. A positive correlation was identified between MDA dysfunction and the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between the left ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) and the right temporal pole of the superior temporal gyrus. Conversely, a negative correlation was observed between MDA dysfunction and the RSFC of the right vlPAG with the right superior parietal lobule. Additionally, MDA dysfunction exhibited a negative association with the RSFC between the dorsomedial PAG (dmPAG) and the right inferior parietal lobule. These findings may indicate that the specific signal from a distended bladder is blocked in the PAG and its functional connectivity with the executive function, attention, and default mode networks, ultimately leading to impaired arousal and bladder control. This revelation underscores potential neural targets for future therapeutic interventions.

What should we be studying? Research priorities according to women and gender-diverse individuals with sexual interest/arousal disorder and their partners.

BACKGROUND: Sexual interest/arousal disorder (SIAD) is one of the most common sexual problems for women. In clinical research, there are often misalignments between the research priorities of patients and researchers, which can negatively impact care, and gender-diverse individuals are often excluded from research. Inclusion of patient perspectives when establishing research priorities may help to reduce these gaps; however, the research priorities of couples coping with SIAD remain unclear. AIM: Identify the research priorities of women and gender-diverse individuals with SIAD and their partners. METHODS: In an online survey, couples coping with SIAD provided consent and responded to an open-ended question asking them to list the top 3 things they think are important for researchers to focus on related to couples coping with low sexual desire. A team-based content analysis was conducted to identify themes and their frequency of endorsement. OUTCOMES: An author-developed open-ended question. RESULTS: Analysis of 1279 responses (n = 667 from women and gender-diverse individuals with SIAD, n = 612 from partners) resulted in our identification of 6 main themes: general causes, general treatment and coping, biophysiological, relationship, psychological, and environmental/contextual. Additionally, we identified 4 sub-themes within each of the latter 4 main themes: general, cause, treatment, and impact. For women and gender-diverse individuals with SIAD, their partners, and specifically gender-diverse participants, the 3 most endorsed themes were psychological general factors (24.3%, 21.2%, 24.3%; eg, stress and the link between SIAD and anxiety), relationship general factors (15.7%, 13.2%, 18.6%; eg, relationship length and communication on sexual desire), and biophysiological general factors (12.3%, 12.4%, 14.3%; eg, research on medications and hormones). CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Clinical researchers should consider the research priorities of couples coping with SIAD to ensure their work aligns with the needs of the affected population. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: This study is the first to identify the research priorities of both women and gender-diverse individuals with SIAD and their partners. Most participants identified as heterosexual, North American, and of middle to high socioeconomic status; results may not generalize. Responses were sometimes brief and/or vague; interpretation of these responses was therefore limited and may have required more contextual information. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that women and gender-diverse individuals with SIAD, their partners, and gender-diverse participants have similar research priorities that are consistent with a biopsychosocial approach to research. Heterogeneity of responses across themes supports a multidisciplinary, patient-oriented approach to SIAD research.

Weak and interfered self-control fails to block problematic mobile phone use: The role of craving and desire thinking.

Problematic mobile phone use (PMPU) has become a worldwide phenomenon with negative impacts on adolescents' daily lives. While self-control has been shown to be related to PMPU, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of this association. Based on the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution model and the strength model of self-control, the current study aims to examine the association between self-control and PMPU, to identify the indirect role of craving, and to determine whether and how the two components of desire thinking exert differential moderating effects. A sample of 1424 adolescents was recruited to complete the scales of self-control, craving, desire thinking, and PMPU. The results suggested that self-control was indirectly associated with PMPU through craving. Furthermore, this indirect association was moderated by verbal perseveration, rather than imaginal prefiguration. Specifically, the indirect association was stronger for adolescents with higher verbal perseveration. The findings deepen our understanding of how self-control is related to PMPU and distinguish the effects of two components of desire thinking among adolescents.

Effects of the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist dulaglutide on sexuality in healthy men: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study.

BACKGROUND: The reward-regulatory properties of GLP-1 are attracting increasing interest. Animal studies show that GLP-1 receptor agonists not only reduce consumption of addictive substances, but also influence sexual behaviour. We aimed to investigate the effect of dulaglutide versus placebo on sexual desire in humans. METHODS: In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, healthy eugonadal men of normal weight, aged 18-50 years with active and satisfactory sex lifes were (1:1) randomly allocated to dulaglutide or placebo for four weeks. We assessed sexual desire (Massachusetts General Hospital-Sexual Functioning Questionnaire [MGH-SFQ]), hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (total testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone [FSH], luteinizing hormone [LH]) and sperm parameters. Changes in these parameters were compared under dulaglutide versus placebo using paired t-tests. FINDINGS: 24 out of 26 randomised participants completed the study (13 participants randomised to dulaglutide first and 13 to placebo first). No change in the MGH-SFQ was observed after four weeks of dulaglutide versus placebo (estimated difference 0.58 [95% CI -0.83 to 2.00], p-value = 0.402). Hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (estimated differences: total testosterone (nmol/l) 0.9 [95% CI -1.5 to 3.3], FSH (IU/l) -0.2 [95% CI -0.3 to 0.0] and LH (IU/l) -0.8 [95% CI -1.5 to 0.0]) as well as sperm parameters all remained in the normal range without significant differences between the treatments. No severe adverse events occurred. INTERPRETATION: In this study of healthy men, we found no evidence of negative impacts of a four-week treatment with the widely used GLP-1 receptor agonist dulaglutide on sexual desire, hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis hormones or sperm parameters. FUNDING: Swiss National Science Foundation (PZ00P3_193206), Gottfried and Julia Bangerter-Rhyner Foundation, Goldschmidt-Jacobson Foundation, Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences.

Nature Connectedness Reduces Internet Gaming Disorder: The Chain Mediating Role of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Desire Thinking.

While online gaming has become a choice for relaxation and entertainment in today's digital age, Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has also become a widely concerning mental disorder. Nature connectedness has been found to effectively reduce addiction-related risks and alleviate symptoms of addictive behaviors. It is a relatively lacking but very important factor influencing psychological recovery and regulation in the digital society. This study aims to explore the relationship between nature connectedness and IGD, and the mediating roles of intolerance of uncertainty and desire thinking. A total of 571 young people voluntarily participated in the questionnaire survey. The results showed that: (1) nature connectedness was negatively correlated with IGD; (2) intolerance of uncertainty plays a mediating role between nature connectedness and IGD; and (3) intolerance of uncertainty and desire thinking plays a chain mediating role between nature connectedness and IGD. Analysis of the research results indicates that nature connectedness can effectively reduce IGD and reveal its mechanism of action. The findings provide new insights for the study and intervention of IGD in the digital age.

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder in women: new possibilities to ensure better understanding, diagnosis, and response to treatment.

BACKGROUND: Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) is a frequent sex-related problem in women; however, a specific tool to characterize HSDD subtypes based on sexual inhibitory and excitatory factors is still lacking. AIM: (1) To find a cutoff value in Sexual Inhibition Scale (SIS)/Sexual Excitation Scale (SES) scores predicting a diagnosis of HSDD in women consulting for sexual symptoms, (2) to explore the sexual inhibitory and excitatory profiles in women referred to a clinic for female sexual dysfunction by stratifying the sample according to the newfound cutoffs, and (3) to identify biopsychosocial factors significantly associated with the 2 profiles. METHODS: An overall 133 women consulting for sexual symptoms were retrospectively evaluated for clinical, biochemical, and psychosexologic data collected at the first visit. A subgroup of 55 women treated with transdermal testosterone was retrospectively analyzed at baseline and the 6-month visit. OUTCOMES: Patients underwent physical and laboratory examinations and completed the SIS/SES, Female Sexual Function Index, Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised, Emotional Eating Scale, and Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire. RESULTS: Specific cutoffs for SIS1 (≥32.5; indicating threat of performance failure) and SES (≤46.5) predicted HSDD diagnosis with an accuracy of 66.4% (P = .002) and 68.7% (P < .0001), respectively. Patients with impaired SIS1 scores showed higher distress and psychopathologic symptoms, while those with impaired SES scores demonstrated lower desire and arousal and a negative association with some metabolic and hormonal parameters. SES score also showed a significant predictive value on testosterone treatment efficacy for HSDD. CLINICAL TRANSLATION: A better characterization of HSDD would enable individualized treatment based on the main underlying etiologies. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: Limitations of the study include the small sample size and cross-sectional retrospective design, with the choice of treatment for HSDD limited to transdermal testosterone. Strengths comprise the thorough and multifactorial evaluation of every aspect potentially affecting inhibitory and excitatory components of sexual desire. CONCLUSION: Validated cutoffs of SIS/SES scores could allow deep characterization of women diagnosed with HSDD, thus ensuring better tailoring of therapy and prediction of the probability of response to specific treatments.

Two sides of the same coin? What neural processing of emotion and rewards can tell us about complex post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder.

BACKGROUND: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) share clinical similarities, complicating diagnosis and treatment. Research on the neurobiology of BPD and monotraumatic PTSD has shown that a prefrontal-limbic imbalance in emotional and reward processing is a hallmark of both disorders, but studies examining this network in cPTSD are lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to directly compare neural processing of emotion and reward during decision making in cPTSD and BPD. METHODS: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we measured neural activity in female patients (27 patients with cPTSD, 21 patients with BPD and 37 healthy controls) during a Desire-Reason Dilemma task featuring distracting fearful facial expressions. RESULTS: We found no differences in neural activation when comparing cPTSD and BPD. However, when grouping patients based on symptom severity instead on diagnosis, we found that increased symptoms of cPTSD were associated with increased activation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during reward rejection, whereas increased symptoms of BPD were associated with decreased activation in prefrontal and limbic regions during reward rejection with distracting negative emotional stimuli. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to investigate and compare emotional processing and reward-based decision making in cPTSD and BPD. Although we found no neural differences between disorders, we identified symptom-related neural patterns. Specifically, we found that elevated cPTSD symptoms were related to greater sensitivity to reward stimuli, whereas heightened BPD symptoms were related to increased susceptibility to emotional stimuli during goal-directed decision making. These findings enhance our understanding of neural pathomechanisms in trauma-related disorders.

Sexual Desire is not Partner-Specific : Evidence for a Positive Association Between Desire for One's Romantic Partner and Desire for Alternative Partners.

One longitudinal study of married couples and one experiment tested the hypothesis that the experience of sexual desire for an alternative sexual partner might heighten feelings of desire for one's long-term romantic partner, and conversely, sexual desire for one's long-term partner might heighten desire for alternative partners. A daily-diary study of newlywed couples revealed that (a) on days people reported heightened interest in alternative partners, they also reported increased desire to have sex with their partner and (b) on days people reported heightened desire to have sex with their partner, they also reported increased interest in alternative partners. An experimental study of partnered individuals revealed that people primed with sexual desire for an alternative partner reported increased sexual desire for their romantic partner (relative to a control condition). People primed with sexual desire for their romantic partner, however, did not report increased sexual desire for alternatives. Taken together, these findings support evolutionary perspectives on the function of sexual desire. Findings are consistent with the broader hypothesis that sexual desire is not partner-specific.

Desire for pregnancy and fertility preservation in young patients with breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Data on the desire for pregnancy and the status of fertility preservation (FP) in patients with breast cancer remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the status of patients with breast cancer who desired pregnancy and FP implementation before systemic therapy. METHODS: This retrospective study surveyed the institutional clinical databases and electronic medical records of patients aged < 43 years with stages 0-III primary breast cancer during surgery and treated between April 2020 and March 2021. All patients were enquired about their desire for pregnancy in a questionnaire by "present," "absent," and "unsure" at their first visit. The correlation between the desire for pregnancy, implementation of FP, and clinicopathological factors was investigated. RESULTS: Among 1005 patients who underwent surgery for primary breast cancer, 146 were included in the analysis. Of them, 34 (23.3%) patients had a desire for pregnancy, and 45 (30.8%) chose "unsure." Factors associated with the desire for pregnancy were younger age during surgery (p < 0.0022), unmarried status (p < 0.001), nulliparity (p < 0.001), early-stage disease (p = 0.0016), and estrogen receptor positivity (p = 0.008). Among 115 patients who underwent systemic therapy, 13 (11.3%) underwent FP before systemic therapy. Patients who were nulliparous frequently pursued FP (p = 0.0195). The proportion of FP implementation was low in patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (p = 0.0863). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that unmarried, nulliparous, and younger patients were more interested in pregnancy, and nulliparous patients frequently pursued FP.

The Power to Flirt: Power within Romantic Relationships and Its Contribution to Expressions of Extradyadic Desire.

Power in non-romantic contexts makes people confident in their ability to attract potential partners, increasing their mating motivation and the likelihood of acting on this motivation. Four studies investigated whether perceptions of power within romantic relationships would also activate mating goals, intensifying desires for alternative partners. In Studies 1 and 2, participants underwent power manipulation and then described a sexual fantasy or evaluated photos of attractive strangers. Studies 3 and 4 used face-to-face interaction and daily experiences methods to examine the mechanisms underlying the link between power and extradyadic desires. Overall, high perceived relationship power was associated with increased interest in alternatives. Perceived relative mate value explained this association, suggesting that what determines whether power elicits extradyadic interest is not power perceptions alone but rather the feeling of having a higher mate value than one's partner that accompanies elevated power and affects whether high-power individuals will prioritize their own needs in ways that may hurt their partners.

Predicting informal dementia caregivers' desire to institutionalize through mining data from an eHealth platform.

BACKGROUND: Dementia is a leading factor in the institutionalization of older adults. Informal caregivers' desire to institutionalize (DI) their care recipient with dementia (PwD) is a primary predictor of institutionalization. This study aims to develop a prediction model for caregivers' DI by mining data from an eHealth platform in a high-prevalence dementia country. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were collected from caregivers registering on isupport-portugal.pt. One hundred and four caregivers completed the Desire to Institutionalize Scale (DIS) and were grouped into DI (DIS score ≥ 1) and no DI (DIS score = 0). Participants completed a comprehensive set of sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial measures, pertaining to the caregiver and the PwD, which were accounted as model predictors. The selected model was a classification tree, enabling the visualization of rules for predictions. RESULTS: Caregivers, mostly female (82.5%), offspring of the PwD (70.2), employed (65.4%), and highly educated (M 15 years of schooling), provided intensive care (Mdn 24 h. week) over a median course of 2.8 years. Two-thirds (66.3%) endorsed at least one item on the DIS (DI group). The model, with caregivers' perceived stress as the root of the classification tree (split at 28.5 points on the Zarit Burden Interview) and including the ages of caregivers and PwD (split at 46 and 88 years, respectively), as well as cohabitation, employed five rules to predict DI. Caregivers scoring 28.5 and above on burden and caring for PwD under 88 are more prone to DI than those caring for older PwD (rules 1-2), suggesting the influence of expectations on caregiving duration. The model demonstrated high accuracy (0.83, 95%CI 0.75, 0.89), sensitivity (0.88, 95%CI 0.81, 0.95), and good specificity (0.71, 95%CI 0.56, 0.86). CONCLUSIONS: This study distilled a comprehensive range of modifiable and non-modifiable variables into a simplified, interpretable, and accurate model, particularly useful at identifying caregivers with actual DI. Considering the nature of variables within the prediction rules, this model holds promise for application to other existing datasets and as a proxy for actual institutionalization. Predicting the institutional placement of PwD is crucial for intervening on modifiable factors as caregiver burden, and for care planning and financing.

Grasp and remember: the impact of human and robotic actions on object preference and memory.

Goal contagion, the tendency to adopt others' goals, significantly impacts cognitive processes, which gains particular importance in the emerging field of human-robot interactions. The present study explored how observing human versus robotic actions affects preference and memory. Series of objects undergoing either human or robotic grasping actions together with static (no action) objects were presented, while participants indicated their preference for each object. After a short delay, their memory for grasped, static and new (unstudied) stimuli was tested. Human actions enhanced preference and subsequent recollection of objects, more than robotic actions. In the context of human action, static objects were also perceived as more familiar at recognition. The goal contagion's influence on memory was found to be independent from its impact on preference. These findings highlight the critical role of human interaction in eliciting the impact of goal contagion on cognitive evaluations, memory engagement and the creation of detailed associative memories.

Changes in ageing women's sexual subjectivity as seen from a life course perspective: security, caring, and desire.

This article explores the sexual subjectivity of women of post-reproductive age who seek partners on dating apps. The existing literature highlights the sexual subjectivity and agency of older women as contested and not sufficiently investigated. Even less research has been conducted on changes in the sexual subjectivity of women born in the USSR in the 1960s, with the liberalisation of sexual behaviour. The study is based on 45 interviews with women aged 55 years and over, who were born in the USSR and who now live in Israel, Finland and Russia. In the article, we examine sexual subjectivity as presented in the interviews from a life course perspective. We explain theoretically and empirically how changes in sexual subjectivity are expressed in the light of age and socio-cultural context constraints. Three life stories highlight the accumulation of experience and turning points, such as divorce and migration. They illustrate very different pathways in changing sexual subjectivity, yet all contain three Leitmotifs: desire, security and caring. The expression of post-reproductive female desire can be related to the need to feel secure and enjoy mutual care in sexual relationships. We show that these Leitmotifs shape and are shaped by women's identifications as both sexual objects and subjects, and explore how they relate to different sexual cultures and variations in the socio-sexual positioning of women in Israel, Finland, and Russia.