Demographic, medical, and psychosocial predictors of benefit finding among caregivers of childhood cancer survivors.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing body of literature examining benefit finding, or finding positive outcomes in the face of adversity, among both adults and children with chronic conditions, and to some degree among caregivers. This study examined demographic, medical, and psychosocial predictors of greater benefit finding specifically among caregivers of childhood cancer survivors. METHODS: Caregivers of children who had completed treatment for cancer (n = 83) completed measures assessing child and caregiver demographic information and caregiver coping (active, acceptance, emotion-focused, and avoidant), optimism, social support, caregiving burden, posttraumatic stress symptoms, illness impact (how much caregivers feel impacted by their child's illness in various domains), and benefit finding (positive outcomes). RESULT: Regression analyses indicated that positive spiritual coping, optimism, and illness impact uniquely predicted overall benefit finding for caregivers of childhood cancer survivors. CONCLUSION: Results point to adaptive tendencies that are associated with finding benefits when caring for a childhood cancer survivor and suggest potential avenues for intervention among this population. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The accumulation of adversity in midlife: Effects on depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, and character strengths.

Middle-aged adults are a central pillar of society because they comprise large segments of the workforce and bridge younger and older generations. Given the significant role that middle-aged adults play for the greater good of society, more research is warranted to evaluate in which ways adversity could accumulate or pile-up to impact pertinent outcomes. We used data from a sample of middle-aged adults (n = 317, age 50-65 at baseline, 55% women) who were assessed monthly for a period of 2 years to examine whether the accumulation of adversity was predictive of depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, and character strengths (generativity, gratitude, the presence of meaning, and search for meaning). Greater accumulation of adversity was associated with reporting more depressive symptoms, lower life satisfaction, and the lower presence of meaning and the effects remained for depressive symptoms when accounting for concurrent adversity. More concurrent adversity was associated with reporting more depressive symptoms and lower life satisfaction and lower levels of generativity, gratitude, and the presence of meaning. Analyses that targeted specific domains of adversity showed that the accumulation of adversity associated with close family members (i.e., spouse/partner, children, and parents), and financial, and work domains showed the strongest (negative) associations across each outcome. Our findings demonstrate that monthly adversity take its toll on pertinent midlife outcomes and points to future research targeting mechanisms underlying our findings as well as resources that promote positive outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The sound of one-hand clapping: handedness and perisylvian neural correlates of a communicative gesture in chimpanzees.

Whether lateralization of communicative signalling in non-human primates might constitute prerequisites of hemispheric specialization for language is unclear. In the present study, we examined (i) hand preference for a communicative gesture (clapping in 94 captive chimpanzees from two research facilities) and (ii) the in vivo magnetic resonance imaging brain scans of 40 of these individuals. The preferred hand for clapping was defined as the one in the upper position when the two hands came together. Using computer manual tracing of regions of interest, we measured the neuroanatomical asymmetries for the homologues of key language areas, including the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and planum temporale (PT). When considering the entire sample, there was a predominance of right-handedness for clapping and the distribution of right- and left-handed individuals did not differ between the two facilities. The direction of hand preference (right- versus left-handed subjects) for clapping explained a significant portion of variability in asymmetries of the PT and IFG. The results are consistent with the view that gestural communication in the common ancestor may have been a precursor of language and its cerebral substrates in modern humans.

Evolution and the expression of biases: situational value changes the endowment effect in chimpanzees.

Cognitive and behavioral biases, which are widespread among humans, have recently been demonstrated in other primates, suggesting a common origin. Here we examine whether the expression of one shared bias, the endowment effect, varies as a function of context. We tested whether objects lacking inherent value elicited a stronger endowment effect (or preference for keeping the object) in a context in which the objects had immediate instrumental value for obtaining valuable resources (food). Chimpanzee subjects had opportunities to trade tools when food was not present, visible but unobtainable, and obtainable using the tools. We found that the endowment effect for these tools existed only when they were immediately useful, showing that the effect varies as a function of context-specific utility. Such context-specific variation suggests that the variation seen in some human biases may trace predictably to behaviors that evolved to maximize gains in specific circumstances.

Hand preferences for coordinated bimanual actions in 777 great apes: implications for the evolution of handedness in hominins.

Whether or not nonhuman primates exhibit population-level handedness remains a topic of considerable scientific debate. Here, we examined handedness for coordinated bimanual actions in a sample of 777 great apes including chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans. We found population-level right-handedness in chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas, but left-handedness in orangutans. Directional biases in handedness were consistent across independent samples of apes within each genus. We suggest that, contrary to previous claims, population-level handedness is evident in great apes but differs among species as a result of ecological adaptations associated with posture and locomotion. We further suggest that historical views of nonhuman primate handedness have been too anthropocentric, and we advocate for a larger evolutionary framework for the consideration of handedness and other aspects of hemispheric specialization among primates.

Parent-Child Communication and Reproductive Considerations in Families with Genetic Cancer Predisposition Syndromes: A Systematic Review.

Background: Uptake of genetic testing for heritable conditions is increasingly common. In families with known autosomal dominant genetic cancer predisposition syndromes (CPS), testing youth may reduce uncertainty and provide guidance for future lifestyle, medical, and family building considerations. The goals of this systematic review were to examine: (1) how parents and their children, adolescents, and young adults (CAYAs) communicate and make decisions regarding testing for CPS and (2) how they communicate and make decisions about reproductive health/family building in the context of risk for CPS. Methods: Searches of MEDLINE/Pubmed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and PsycINFO yielded 4161 articles since January 1, 2000, which contained terms related to youth, pediatrics, decision-making, genetic cancer predispositions, communication, and family building. Results: Articles retained (N = 15) included five qualitative, six quantitative, and four mixed-method designs. Parents generally agreed testing results should be disclosed to CAYAs at risk or affected by genetic conditions in a developmentally appropriate manner. Older child age and child desire for information were associated with disclosure. Greater knowledge about risk prompted adolescents and young adults to consider the potential impact on future relationships and family building. Conclusions: Most parents believed it was their responsibility to inform their CAYAs about genetic testing results, particularly to optimize engagement in recommended preventative screening/lifestyle behaviors. Disclosing test results may be challenging due to concerns such as young age, developmental appropriateness, and emotional burden. Additional research is needed on how CPS risk affects CAYAs' decisions about reproductive health and family building over time.

Trans and gender-nonconforming children and their caregivers: Gender presentations, peer relations, and well-being at baseline.

This study, involving a community-based sample of 45 predominantly white primary caregivers of 45 trans and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) children between 6 and 12 years of age, provides descriptive data on children's gender presentations, peer relations, and well-being. Most (n = 31; 69%) of the children were cross-gender identified (CGI). That is, 17 of 28 children assigned male at birth explicitly and consistently identified as girls, and 14 of 17 children assigned female at birth explicitly and consistently identified as boys. The 14 remaining children appeared to have nonbinary gender identities (e.g., "boy-girl") or to identify with the sex and gender they were assigned at birth but were gender-nonconforming, or their gender identities were uncertain. This subgroup was labeled non-CGI. Most of the children were in the normal range for internalizing (64%), externalizing (67%), and total behavior problems (62%), yet a sizable minority were in the borderline-clinical/clinical range for these symptoms. Children in the CGI group had fewer internalizing and total problems than children in the non-CGI group. Child's degree of gender conformity, caregiver's level of anxiety, and child's peer relations were correlated with children's well-being; children in the CGI group were reported to have better peer relations than children in the non-CGI group. Caregivers' rates of depression and anxiety appeared to be similar to normative samples, although anxiety may have been slightly elevated. Findings from this study add to a small but growing body of literature that documents the well-being of TGNC children growing up in supportive and affirming familial environments. (PsycINFO Database Record

Benefit Finding and Quality of Life in Caregivers of Childhood Cancer Survivors: The Moderating Roles of Demographic and Psychosocial Factors.

BACKGROUND: Benefit finding, or finding positive outcomes in the face of adversity, may play a role in predicting quality of life (QoL) among caregivers, but mixed results suggest that other factors may moderate this relationship. OBJECTIVE: This study examined demographic and psychosocial moderators of the association between benefit finding and QoL among caregivers of childhood cancer survivors. METHODS: Caregivers of childhood cancer survivors (n = 83) completed measures of benefit finding, QoL, coping, optimism, social support, caregiving demand, posttraumatic stress, and demographics. RESULTS: The relationship between benefit finding and QoL was moderated by caregiver age, marital status, socioeconomic status, geographic location, acceptance and emotion-focused coping, optimism, caregiving demand, and posttraumatic stress. Benefit finding was more strongly related to QoL among caregivers with fewer demographic/psychosocial resources. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that finding benefits in the cancer experience may have a greater positive impact for caregivers with relatively fewer demographic and psychosocial resources and may have less of an impact for caregivers with relatively greater resources. Findings further point to the complex nature of QoL among caregivers of childhood cancer survivors. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Results may aid clinicians in identifying caregivers at particular risk for low QoL. They may be counseled to find benefits in their experience or provided with resources to strengthen other factors that impact QoL.

How functionalist and process approaches to behavior can explain trait covariation.

Factors identified in investigations of trait structure (e.g., the Big Five) are sometimes understood as explanations or sources of the covariation of distinct behavioral traits, as when extraversion is suggested to underlie the covariation of assertiveness and sociability. Here, we detail how trait covariation can alternatively be understood as arising from units common to functionalist and process frameworks, such as self-efficacies, expectancies, values, and goals. Specifically, the expected covariation between 2 behavioral traits should be increased when a specific process variable tends to indicate the functionality of both traits simultaneously. In 2 empirical illustrations, we identify a wide array of specific process variables associated with several Big Five-related behavioral traits simultaneously, and which are thus likely sources of their covariation. Many of these, such as positive interpersonal expectancies, self-regulatory skills, and preference for order, relate similarly to a broad range of trait perceptions in both studies, and across both self- and peer-reports. We also illustrate how this understanding of trait covariation provides a somewhat novel explanation of why some traits are uncorrelated. As we discuss, a functionalist understanding of trait covariation as arising through functionalist or process variables has implications for many basic issues in personality psychology, such as how personality traits should be measured, mechanisms for personality stability and change, and the nature of personality traits more generally.

Barriers to the Use of Psychosocial Support Services Among Adolescent and Young Adult Survivors of Pediatric Cancer.

Purpose: Adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of pediatric cancer commonly report both functional and emotional difficulties, yet many of their mental health needs are not met. Given the unique needs of these survivors, this study examined barriers to psychosocial support service utilization in this population, including accessibility, personal preferences, and practical barriers such as insurance and transportation. Methods: Thirty-six adolescent and young adult survivors of pediatric cancer (aged 15-29) with mental health difficulties (i.e., anxiety or depression) completed surveys assessing access and utilization of services and barriers to utilization. Services assessed included the use of mental health professionals, a pastor or someone in a place of worship, and support groups. Results: Half of the participants utilized a mental health professional, but other forms of support were used less frequently. Utilization of services was related to insurance status and use of prescription medication. Greater time since completion of treatment was a barrier to utilizing psychosocial support services. Conclusion: Use of psychosocial support services is linked closely with use of other healthcare services, including taking prescription medication for mood difficulties. Results have implications for how primary care and oncology providers address barriers to these services among AYA survivors of pediatric cancer.

Within- and between-task consistency in hand use as a means of characterizing hand preferences in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

There remain considerable questions regarding the evidence for population-level handedness in nonhuman primates when compared with humans. One challenge in comparing human and nonhuman primate handedness involves the procedures used to characterize individual handedness. Studies of human handedness use consistency in hand use within and between tasks as a basis for hand preference classification. In contrast, studies of handedness in nonhuman primates use statistical criteria for classifying handedness. In this study, we examined within- and between-task consistency in hand use as a means of characterizing individual handedness in a sample of 300 captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Chimpanzees showed population-level right-handedness for both within- and between-tasks consistency, though the proportion of right-handed chimpanzees was lower than what has typically been reported for humans. We further found that there were small, but significant, associations in hand use between measures. There were no significant sex or colony effects on the distribution of handedness. The results are discussed in the context of theories on the evolution of handedness in nonhuman primates.