A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the personality constructs in CPAI-2 in Taiwanese Hakka populations.

Here in this study we adopted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to investigate the genetic components of the personality constructs in the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory 2 (CPAI-2) in Taiwanese Hakka populations, who are likely the descendants of a recent admixture between a group of Chinese immigrants with high emigration intention and a group of the Taiwanese aboriginal population generally without it. A total of 279 qualified participants were examined and genotyped by an Illumina array with 547,644 SNPs to perform the GWAS. Although our sample size is small and that unavoidably limits our statistical power (Type 2 error but not Type 1 error), we still found three genomic regions showing strong association with Enterprise, Diversity, and Logical vs. Affective Orientation, respectively. Multiple genes around the identified regions were reported to be nervous system related, which suggests that genetic variants underlying the certain personalities should indeed exist in the nearby areas. It is likely that the recent immigration and admixture history of the Taiwanese Hakka people created strong linkage disequilibrium between the emigration intention-related genetic variants and their neighboring genetic markers, so that we could identify them despite with only limited statistical power.

The Relationships Among Maternal Meta-emotion Philosophy, Maternal Video-Mediated Cognitions, and Adolescent Behavior Adjustment in Taiwan.

This study examines the relationships among maternal meta-emotion philosophy, maternal video-mediated cognitions, and adolescent behavior adjustment. We adopt video-mediated recall methods to obtain mothers' perceptions of their interaction with their children. In total, 121 pairs of mothers (age, M = 42.55) and their adolescent children (age, M = 12.34) were videotaped for 10 min while discussing daily issues. The mothers reviewed the tape (30 episodes) and rated their own behaviors and the counterparts' behaviors on 8 cognitive or affective dimensions. The mothers also completed a parental meta-emotion philosophy inventory, and the adolescents completed the Youth Self-Report. The results indicate that maternal emotional dysfunction has a positive effect on adolescents' externalizing problem behaviors through mothers' perceptions of conflictual interaction. These findings highlight the importance of considering maternal meta-emotion philosophy in the mother-adolescent interaction process and understanding adolescent problem behaviors.

Autonomy, filial piety, and parental authority: a two-year longitudinal investigation.

A 2-year longitudinal study was conducted to test 3 causal models about adolescent autonomy, filial piety, beliefs about parental authority, and obedience in terms of personal, prudential, and multifaceted issues. Four hundred and thirty-six students from 10 junior and senior high schools in Taiwan (boys, n = 223; senior high school, n = 211) participated in the study. Hypothesis I predicted that autonomy (individuating autonomy vs. relating autonomy) would positively correlate with beliefs about authority legitimacy and obligation to obey, but was not supported. Hypothesis 2 predicted that filial piety (authoritarian piety vs. reciprocal piety) would positively associate with authority beliefs, and was partially supported. Authoritarian piety showed the positive relation with authority beliefs. Hypothesis 3 predicted that beliefs about authority legitimacy and obligation to obey would positively associate with obedience, and was supported. Hypothesis 4 predicted that age might moderate the structure models across domains, but the results indicated that age did not moderate the structural model in the prudential and multifaceted domains. The overall findings of this study reveal that adolescent beliefs about authority serve as a mediator between authoritarian piety and obedience, suggesting that traditional piety still has an influence on parent-child interaction in today's society.

The mediating role of interpersonal cognition on the relationships between personality and adolescent ego development.

The author investigated whether interpersonal cognition mediated the relationships between defense, social sensitivity, and ego development. Participants (N = 616; M age = 15.66 years, SD = .52 year; 276 boys) from northwestern Taiwan completed a battery of questionnaires. Structural equation modeling and mediation analyses supported the hypothesis that interpersonal cognition would mediate the path between defense and ego development, and the path between social sensitivity and ego development. Defense and social sensitivity were found to have direct effects on ego development. The study provides evidence of the mediating effect of interpersonal cognition on the association between personality and ego development.

Paternal/maternal attachment, peer support, social expectations of peer interaction, and depressive symptoms.

The aim of this study was to investigate how paternal and maternal attachment might relate to adolescents' peer support, social expectations of peer interaction, and depressive symptoms; 1,144 8th graders in Taiwan participated in the study. The relationships were examined through a structural equating modeling. Consistent with theoretical formulations, adolescents with secure attachments to parents reported higher peer support, fewer negative expectations, and fewer depressive symptoms. Paternal and maternal attachment contribute almost equally to adolescents' social expectations of peer interaction and depressive symptoms. Attachment to the same-sex parent was related to adolescents' perceived peer support.

Parent-child interaction and children's depression: the relationships between parent-child interaction and children's depressive symptoms in Taiwan.

This study examines how perceptions of parenting and family messages are associated with the depressive symptoms of early adolescents (N = 454, boys = 224; girls = 210; age, M = 12, S.D. = 1.01) from East Taiwan. Results show that higher levels of parental care and low levels of parental indifference were associated with lower depression scores. Moreover, perceptions of positive messages regarding children themselves, their world, and their future were found to negatively associate with depression, whereas negative messages had an opposite effect. Basically, girls' depressive symptoms were more related to maternal messages, and boys' were more related to paternal messages.

The role of perceived social support and dysfunctional attitudes in predicting Taiwanese adolescents' depressive tendency.

This study examined the moderating effect of perceived social support on the association of dysfunctional attitudes with depression among Taiwanese adolescents. Seventh graders (N = 458) completed the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (Weisman & Beck, 1978), Perceived Social Support from Family and Friends (Procidano & Heller, 1983), Stressful Life Events (Chiu, 1988), and Children's Depression Inventory (Kovacs, 1981). The results indicated that perceived social support from friends moderates the relationship between dysfunctional attitudes and depression, implying that as peer support increases, the positive relationship between dysfunctional attitudes and depression weakens.