Diversity of Binge-Eating Disorder Symptoms Is Associated with Anxiety about Getting Fat Rather Than Body Image: A Clinical Study of Women in Poland.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety about gaining weight is strongly related to body image. Evidence indicates that body dissatisfaction is a strong predictor of eating disorder development. Although not included in DSM-V diagnostic criteria, body image dissatisfaction, and concern are clearly relevant also for individuals with binge-eating disorder (BED). Weight gain anxiety is associated with psychopathological behaviors, but existing research in this area is primarily focused on bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. The goal of this present study was to investigate body image and body mass anxiety in people with BED. METHODS: Women diagnosed with BED (n = 105) aged 18 to 66 were surveyed using the questionnaire developed by the authors evaluating the presence of BED symptoms based on DSM-V criteria, and two other instruments: the Body Esteem Scale (BES), and the Body Mass Anxiety Scale (BMAS-20). Statistical analyses were conducted to examine the correlations of BED with body image and body mass anxiety (Pearson's r), to test differences between groups with greater and lesser BED symptom diversity (Student's t-test or the Mann-Whitney U test), and to assess differences among mild-, moderate- and severe-BED groups (ANOVA with a post-hoc test). RESULTS: A medium positive relationship was found between anxiety about getting fat (AGF) and the diversity of BED, measured as the number of BED symptoms. A larger number of BED symptoms was shown to be associated with a higher level of AGF. However, no significant differences in AGF levels were observed among BED-severity groups, specified with the frequency of binge eating episodes. No correlations were found between BED and body image. There were also no significant differences in body image between groups with a larger and a smaller number of BED symptoms. The only significant difference in body image observed among BED-severity groups was the level of weight concern. People with mild BED displayed a higher level of weight concern than those with severe BED. CONCLUSIONS: Women who binge eat experience high levels of AGF. In the present study, AGF was primarily associated with the number of BED symptoms and not the rate of recurrence of binge-eating episodes. The frequency of BED episodes, however, was linked with weight concern. On the other hand, the hypothesized relationship between disturbed body image and BED was not confirmed. The findings indicate that anxiety about getting fat should be viewed as one of the psychological costs incurred by women experiencing BED symptoms, and it should be mentioned in the next DSM version.

Fear, Loneliness, Happiness and Mental Health in the Post-COVID-19 Period: A Cross-Cultural Study in a Sample of Japanese and Polish University Students.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, interpersonal relations were highly constrained due to the social distancing rules and sanitary restrictions imposed to prevent the transmission of the virus. These social changes gave rise to ever-deepening experiences of loneliness, deterioration of mental well-being, and fear of COVID-19, which affected the citizens of all the countries struggling with the pandemic. Methods: The present paper reports the results of a study on mental health, interdependent happiness, loneliness and fear of COVID-19 in Polish and Japanese university students. A total of 180 people (83 Poles and 97 Japanese) aged 19-41 participated in the study. The participants were surveyed using the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form to assess three dimensions of mental health; the UCLA Three-Item Loneliness Scale to measure loneliness; the Interdependent Happiness Scale based on the concept of a relational sense of community with others as associated with well-being, and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S). The respondents were also asked one question about their subjectively perceived economic status. Results: The largest cross-cultural difference in the investigated variables concerned fear of COVID-19. The Japanese university students showed higher levels of this fear. The level of fear of COVID-19 in the group of women, regardless of the culture they came from, was not associated with any other variables we analyzed. In the Japanese sample, it was negatively correlated with interdependent happiness, and in the Polish sample, fear od COVID-19 was only correlated with the Social dimension of Mental Health. Other variables that differentiated the two nationalities, though to a lesser extent, were the Social dimension of Mental Health, which was higher in the Japanese sample, and the Psychological dimension of Social Health, with higher scores in the Polish sample. Conclusion: The power of mental resources, although it may vary among individuals, is independent of culture. Regardless of the level of fear of COVID-19 in the two cultures, the examined mental resources are positively associated with well-being and the return to normal functioning after the pandemic.

Effectiveness of different types of mental simulation in the weight loss process based on a perseverance study among people with different BMI.

BACKGROUND: Most of the world's population lives in countries in which overweight and obesity kill more people than does underweight. The weight loss process can be supported by mental simulations, which are used to help individuals to effectively strive towards various goals. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of different types of mental simulations on perseverance, resistance to distractors and the ability to inhibit irrelevant thoughts or memories in people with different body mass indexes (BMI). METHODS: The study included 252 participants. They performed process simulations and outcome simulations, using instructions presented to them during the experiment. Perseverance and resistance to distractors were determined using a computer maze-solving task. Two indicators of perseverance were analysed: number of maze tasks solved and total time spent on solving the test. Mean time spent on a single task was used as a measure of resistance to distractors and the ability to inhibit irrelevant thoughts and memories. RESULTS: The results of the analyses showed that the type of mental simulation used had an effect on the indicators of perseverance. Process simulation subjects completed more tasks and spent more time solving the test than outcome simulation subjects. A relationship was found between the subjects' BMI and the investigated indicators. Individuals who were underweight, overweight or obese scored lower on all three indicators compared to subjects with normal BMI. In people with a BMI above normal, mental simulations increased resistance to distractors and the ability to inhibit thoughts sidetracking them from the task at hand. It is possible that increasing the resistance to distractors is responsible for the effectiveness of mental simulations in the weight loss process. CONCLUSION: Our results can be applied in developing interventions for people who suffer from overweight and obesity. Psychological interventions based on mental simulations can be used to assist individuals in physical activity, leading to an improvement in health, but it has to be underlined that the mechanism of their action may vary from person to person.

Personality traits and polymorphisms of genes coding neurotransmitter receptors or transporters: review of single gene and genome-wide association studies.

BACKGROUND: The most popular tool used for measuring personality traits is the Five-Factor Model (FFM). It includes neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness. Many studies indicated the association of genes encoding neurotransmitter receptors/transporters with personality traits. The relationship connecting polymorphic DNA sequences and FFM features has been described in the case of genes encoding receptors of cannabinoid and dopaminergic systems. Moreover, dopaminergic system receives inputs from other neurotransmitters, like GABAergic or serotoninergic systems. METHODS: We searched PubMed Central (PMC), Science Direct, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and EBSCO databases from their inception to November 19, 2020, to identify original studies, as well as peer-reviewed studies examining the FFM and its association with gene polymorphisms affecting the neurotransmitter functions in central nervous system. RESULTS: Serotonin neurons modulate dopamine function. In gene encoding serotonin transporter protein, SLC6A4, was found polymorphism, which was correlated with openness to experience (in Sweden population), and high scores of neuroticism and low levels of agreeableness (in Caucasian population). The genome-wide association studies (GWASs) found an association of 5q34-q35, 3p24, 3q13 regions with higher scores of neuroticism, extraversion and agreeableness. However, the results for chromosome 3 regions are inconsistent, which was shown in our review paper. CONCLUSIONS: GWASs on polymorphisms are being continued in order to determine and further understand the relationship between the changes in DNA and personality traits.

Interpersonal competences of students, their interpersonal relations, and emotional intelligence.

BACKGROUND: Some of the most important interpersonal competences are: effectiveness in dealing with specific interpersonal challenges and the ability to undertake appropriate actions in a given situation; the range of interpersonal challenges with which one can effectively deal; and satisfaction derived from one's interpersonal contacts and relations, and from one's social standing. One's time at university is one of the most influential educational stages in one's life and is a time of accumulation of changes related to a variety of dimensions of life. At university, young people, often away from their parents, learn how to be independent, make new friends, and make decisions related to their personal and professional lives. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: The participants in the study were 173 (92 women and 81 men) psychology students of three universities in Poland who volunteered to complete three questionnaires: the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire, the Interpersonal Adjective Scales, and the Popular Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire. RESULTS: The results showed a positive correlation between the students' interpersonal competence and emotional intelligence. The research has confirmed the value of the applied methods and the significance of social competences in the development of positive interpersonal relations and the ability to adapt to a new environment. CONCLUSIONS: The study confirmed that the interpersonal relations of initiating relationships, negative assertion, self-disclosure, providing emotional support, and conflict resolution positively correlate with the interpersonal relations directed towards cooperation, support, taking initiative, and mutual understanding and that they are also positively interdependent with emotional intelligence of the studied group. One can hope that the confirmed correlations of the students' interpersonal competences and the kinds of interpersonal connections they establish and emotional intelligence will encourage their social development and future professional activity.

The Maze Test: A Computer Tool for Testing Perseverance.

INTRODUCTION: Perseverance is an important component of human functioning. The main factors that allow people to achieve their goals are perseverance and the motivation for change. The concept of perseverance is not new, but most studies in this field do not define it precisely. Perseverance is a formal trait of behaviour determined by situational (external) and personality-related (internal) factors - a complexity which can cause problems when one tries to measure it. METHODS: In this project, we present the Maze Test, a novel tool for testing perseverance. We discuss the theoretical foundations of the test, including the definition of perseverance, as well as the indicators on which this tool is based. We present the basic methodological properties of the test and report two studies which illustrate how it can be applied in practice: Study 1 - measurement of personality-conditioned perseverance, and Study 2 - measurement of situation-conditioned perseverance. RESULTS: In Study 1, a significant weak correlation between the indicators of perseverance and the Big Five model personality traits was discovered. Neuroticism correlated negatively with the number of maze tasks solved and the Synthetic Indicator of Perseverance. Positive correlations were found for conscientiousness and agreeableness. In Study 2, mental simulations were observed to have a medium to high effect on the indicators of perseverance. CONCLUSION: The tool presented in this study affords a new approach to perseverance. Based on an analysis of how the tasks were being solved by the subjects, we developed perseverance indicators which allow to view perseverance as a multidimensional construct. The tool has been designed for use in both laboratory tests and remote web tests. A major advantage of the tool is that it is available for general use free of charge.

Is body image associated with perseverance? A study among people with normal and increased body weight.

BACKGROUND: The extreme lack of perseverance in obese and overweight people is mainly associated with difficulties in holding back irrelevant thoughts or memories. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between body image and perseverance. METHODS: The research was carried out amongst a cohort of 135 people with normal and overweight/obese body weight. The criterion determining body image in the study participants was an index in the form of a subjective assessment of body weight (too low/correct/too high). Perseverance was determined using a website with simple maze tasks. For the assessment of one's nutritional status, the applied body mass index (BMI) was utilized. For the statistical analysis, the Student's t-test and the r-Pearson correlation were used. RESULTS: Respondents with a normal BMI were more persistent in performing the tasks, in comparison with those who possessed a BMI above the normal range. There was a positive correlation between the average time spent on one task and the BMI. People in either group of normal BMI or with an overweight BMI, who assessed their body weight as too high, had lower results of analyzed perseverance indicators than those who assessed their body weight as normal. CONCLUSION: This is the first study analyzing the relationship between body image with perseverance. Our results showed that perseverance is associated with body image. There was a correlation between the distractor resistance index and BMI. Lower results of analyzed perseverance indexes were observed in people perceiving their body weight as too high and not necessarily overweight.

The emergence of sex differences in personality traits in early adolescence: A cross-sectional, cross-cultural study.

Although large international studies have found consistent patterns of sex differences in personality traits among adults (i.e., women scoring higher on most facets), less is known about cross-cultural sex differences in adolescent personality and the role of culture and age in shaping them. The present study examines the NEO Personality Inventory-3 (McCrae, Costa, & Martin, 2005) informant ratings of adolescents from 23 cultures (N = 4,850), and investigates culture and age as sources of variability in sex differences of adolescents' personality. The effect for Neuroticism (with females scoring higher than males) begins to take on its adult form around age 14. Girls score higher on Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness at all ages between 12 and 17 years. A more complex pattern emerges for Extraversion and Agreeableness, although by age 17, sex differences for these traits are highly similar to those observed in adulthood. Cross-sectional data suggest that (a) with advancing age, sex differences found in adolescents increasingly converge toward adult patterns with respect to both direction and magnitude; (b) girls display sex-typed personality traits at an earlier age than boys; and (c) the emergence of sex differences was similar across cultures. Practical implications of the present findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

The Inaccuracy of National Character Stereotypes.

Consensual stereotypes of some groups are relatively accurate, whereas others are not. Previous work suggesting that national character stereotypes are inaccurate has been criticized on several grounds. In this article we (a) provide arguments for the validity of assessed national mean trait levels as criteria for evaluating stereotype accuracy; and (b) report new data on national character in 26 cultures from descriptions (N=3,323) of the typical male or female adolescent, adult, or old person in each. The average ratings were internally consistent and converged with independent stereotypes of the typical culture member, but were weakly related to objective assessments of personality. We argue that this conclusion is consistent with the broader literature on the inaccuracy of national character stereotypes.

Stereotypes of age differences in personality traits: universal and accurate?

Age trajectories for personality traits are known to be similar across cultures. To address whether stereotypes of age groups reflect these age-related changes in personality, we asked participants in 26 countries (N = 3,323) to rate typical adolescents, adults, and old persons in their own country. Raters across nations tended to share similar beliefs about different age groups; adolescents were seen as impulsive, rebellious, undisciplined, preferring excitement and novelty, whereas old people were consistently considered lower on impulsivity, activity, antagonism, and Openness. These consensual age group stereotypes correlated strongly with published age differences on the five major dimensions of personality and most of 30 specific traits, using as criteria of accuracy both self-reports and observer ratings, different survey methodologies, and data from up to 50 nations. However, personal stereotypes were considerably less accurate, and consensual stereotypes tended to exaggerate differences across age groups.

Examination of the relations of the Myers-Briggs type indicator and the NEO-4 Personality Inventory in a Polish sample.

The present study was designed to replicate McCrae and Costa's research findings on the relation of NEO-4 domains with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator scales in a Polish sample of 300 psychology student volunteers (175 women, 125 men). Their mean age was 22.3 yr. (SD = 4.5). Correlations for scores on the MBTI scales with NEO-4 domains ranged from .72 to .02 for Extraversion, from -.60 to -.16 for Openness to experience, from -.56 to -.04 for Agreeableness, and from .55 to -.07 for Conscientiousness. Two domains assessed with the NEO-4 correspond to preferences measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Perceptions of aging across 26 cultures and their culture-level associates.

College students (N=3,435) in 26 cultures reported their perceptions of age-related changes in physical, cognitive, and socioemotional areas of functioning and rated societal views of aging within their culture. There was widespread cross-cultural consensus regarding the expected direction of aging trajectories with (a) perceived declines in societal views of aging, physical attractiveness, the ability to perform everyday tasks, and new learning; (b) perceived increases in wisdom, knowledge, and received respect; and (c) perceived stability in family authority and life satisfaction. Cross-cultural variations in aging perceptions were associated with culture-level indicators of population aging, education levels, values, and national character stereotypes. These associations were stronger for societal views on aging and perceptions of socioemotional changes than for perceptions of physical and cognitive changes. A consideration of culture-level variables also suggested that previously reported differences in aging perceptions between Asian and Western countries may be related to differences in population structure.