Browsing by discipline "Psykologi"

Infants born preterm (< 37 gestational weeks) or with low birth weight (< 2500 g) have an increased risk of cognitive, language and motor difficulties. Preterm infants’ later development can be compromised by premature birth and early environmental factors. First weeks of life at a hospital provides non-optimal environment for the development of preterm infants’ senses and infants and parents interaction. To alleviate potential developmental deficits, preterm infants’ development and parent-infant interaction are supported by kangaroo care (infant on skin-to-skin contact at parent’s chest) and music interventions which have been shown to improve infants’ physiological responses and alleviate parents stress. Kangaroo care is further reported to improve infants’ cognitive development. Preliminary findings show that combining kangaroo care with music can improve some of preterm infants’ physiological responses and reduce maternal stress. However, effects of combining kangaroo care and music have not been yet studied. The aim of this study was to examine if parental singing during kangaroo care can promote preterm infants’ cognitive, language, or motor development at 2–3 years of corrected age. Additionally, it was examined if language and music activities at home had an effect on preterm infants’ cognitive or language development. During their hospital stay parents of the experiment group (N=20) were instructed to sing or hum to their child during kangaroo care and the parents of the control group (N=11) were instructed to provide kangaroo care but with no instructions regarding sound environment. The cognitive, language and motor development of the preterm infants was assessed with Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development III (Bayley-III) in 2–3 years of age. Singing during kangaroo care had no effect on preterm infants’ development at 2-3 years of corrected age as assessed by Bayley-III. However, the more there were language and music activities at home at the time of the follow-up as reported by the parents, the better was the cognitive and language performance. Based on this study, parents can be encouraged to support their preterm born child’s language and cognitive development with joint language and music activities.

Aims. The role of a human as an IT user has become the center of the information security debate as one user can have a significant role to the organization's information security. The user can also behave consciously carefully. Information security conscious care behavior (ISCCB) means that a user makes consciously better and safer choices when using IT. Past research has often explained information security behavior by attitude, subjective norms, self-efficacy and threat appraisal. In this dissertation the aim was to discover whether ISCCB can be predicted from these factors emerged from previous research. Further, we were interested whether there are differences between women and men, between students from different organizational background and between light and heavy Internet users in security behavior and the factors related to it. Methods. There were 402 participants altogether in this study, from University of Helsinki (UH) and from National Defence University (NDU). The data was gathered from questionnaires. To explore the relationships between ISCCB and other variables, we used structural equation modeling. Group differences were examined by multivariate analysis of covariance. Results and conclusions. The results were supporting previous research about the relationship between the information security behavior, attitude and subjective norms. Self-efficacy or threat appraisal did not predict ISCCB but there were differences in them between men and women. NDF students behaved and thought more safely than UH students. There was no difference between light and heavy users in any of the factor related to the ISCCB nor the behavior itself. According to these results it is reasonable to improve organizational climate and try to make users to create more favorable attitudes towards information security behavior to make them also behave in a more secure manner.

Objectives. The change in the pitch of musical sounds causes measurable effects in the cortex of newborn infants. Mismatch negativity (MMN), caused by unexpected changes in stimuli, is an event related potential (ERP) component that reflects preconscious differentation ability. In babies, MMN may be of either positive or negative polarity. MMNs to the change of musical intervals or chords have also been detected in babies. This study repeated an earlier study related to musical chords, with an almost identical setup. Additional research questions were set: Does a half-an-hour exposure to chords have any effects? Can infants be grouped into clusters based on sleep stage, gender or cortical reactions in ways that affect measured results? Methods. The ERPs of 0.5-3.5 days old infants were measured while the infants were exposed to various musical chords in an Oddball test setup. Standard stimuli were major triad chords, deviant stimuli were minor, inverted major or dissonant triad chords. Results and conclusions. There was a difference in the ERPs on at least one electrode, caused by the deviant chords, compared to the ERPs caused by standard major chords. The discovered MMR polarities depended on chord types. The polarities differed from the results of an earlier study. Prolonged exposure to chords caused the ERP polarity to switch in the case of dissonant chords. There were some differences between groups formed by gender or the sleep stage, where the effect was seen with minor chords. However, clustering of babies based on their ERP polarity did not expand from one chord type to another. As some results were unexpected of even contrary to earlier results, more research is needed. Despite the remaining open questions, the main conclusions are that the cortices of newborn infants produce different ERPs depending on changing chord type, that there are large individual and small group level differences in this, and that a half an hour long expose to chord stimuli changes these ERPs.

Purpose Childhood maltreatment is a significant risk factor for the development of mental disorders. Previous studies have shown that maltreatment is associated to generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which impairs work capacity and social functioning, thus causing costs for the individual and society. However, the research concerning the effects of different kind of maltreatment experiences on and the pathways to GAD is scarce. Among the factors that predispose individual to anxiety disorders is a low sense of control, which also has been associated to childhood maltreatment. To date, sense of control has not been examined as a possible mediator or moderator of the relationship between maltreatment and GAD. This study aimed to examine the relationships of childhood physical and emotional maltreatment, the frequency, amount and perpetrator of maltreatment, and sense of control with GAD in adulthood. Additionally, the aim was to test sense of control as a possible mediator or moderator. Methods The data was derived from a large (n=5856) Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) -study. Childhood physical and emotional maltreatment was measured with Conflict Tactics Scales, the symptoms of GAD was measured with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short-Form (CIDI-SF), and sense of control was measured with a questionnaire composing of two scales, personal mastery and perceived constrains. Questionnaires and telephone interviews were used for data collection. Data analyses were conducted by logistic and linear regression analysis and analysis of covariance. Mediation effects were tested by using bootstrapping method. Results and conclusions The amount, type and frequency of child maltreatment were associated with the symptoms of GAD in adulthood. The risk formed by different kind of experiences of child maltreatment was associated with the sex of the respondent and whether the perpetrator was a sibling or a parent. Further, sense of control mediated the effect from child maltreatment to GAD. The results highlight the importance of early detection and intervention of maltreatment and enhancing sense of control in order to prevent GAD.

Objectives. Depression is one of the most significant public health problems worldwide. In many ways depression affects not only the well-being and capacity of an individual, but also the environment and interpersonal relationships of the depressed individual, as well as the society as a whole at population level. This study examined whether childhood problem behaviours (internalizing and externalizing symptoms) are associated with later depressive symptoms, and whether an emotionally warm and supportive family environment or socio-economic status of the family at childhood explains the association between problem behaviour and depressive symptoms. As depression and depressive symptoms differ between women and men, current study also examined gender differences in the associations. Methods. The study data was from the longitudinal Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS), which began in 1980 when the participants were 3–18 years of age. The sample size included in this study was 1331 men and women. Childhood problem behaviours (internalizing and externalizing symptoms) and child-rearing attitudes (parents' experience of emotional significance of their child and tolerance towards their child) were assessed from self-evaluation forms completed by parents in 1983. Depressive symptoms were assessed with a modified Beck's Depression Inventory (mBDI) conducted in 1992 and 1997. Associations between childhood problem behaviour and parents' child-rearing attitudes, and later depressive symptoms, were examined using linear and multinomial logistic regression analyses. The age and childhood socio-economic status of the participants were controlled in the analyses. Results and conclusions. Results showed that childhood internalizing and externalizing symptoms were associated with depressive symptoms in both men and women nine years later, and in women fourteen years later. In addition, mother's experience of the emotional significance of their child was associated with depressive symptoms in men nine years later. Furthermore, the mother's experience of tolerance towards their child was associated with changes in depressive symptoms in women. The socio-economic status of the childhood family was not found to have any direct impact on subsequent depressive symptoms. The study confirmed earlier research findings on the connection between childhood problem behaviour and subsequent mental health. As childhood problem behaviour has long-lasting effects on the individual's life, interventions aimed at families with children should be developed in the direction of early identification of problems, and providing families with more help in dealing with the behavioural and emotional problems of children.

Objectives. Substance use disorders (SUD) cause significant personal and social harm worldwide. They have been found to be fairly hereditable but different personal and environmental factors influence the development of SUD. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder has been recognized as a risk for SUD in previous studies. ADHD is one of the most common childhood developmental disorders and it causes significant problems of attention and activity. ADHD is most common in childhood but for some the symptoms continue to cause harm in adolescence and adulthood. Childhood ADHD is known to increase the risk of developing SUD particularly in adolescence and it especially increases the risk of abusing illegal drugs. Adult ADHD has also been found to increase the risk of simultaneous SUD. In many longitudinal studies ADHD symptoms have been assessed in school aged children and the studies have failed to follow the participants past adolescence. This study used ADHD symptoms assessed before school age to predict SUD in about 25-year-old participants and ADHD symptoms assessed in adulthood to predict simultaneous SUD. In addition, gender and the specific role of inattention and hyperactivity symptoms in risk of developing SUD were considered. Method. Participants of the current study were part of Arvo Ylppö Longitudinal Study (AYLS) which collected data from prenatal and early childhood development to assess the influence of different factors in health in adulthood. Two samples were used in this study, the sample used to assess childhood ADHD symptoms in development of SUD consisted of 433 participants and the sample used to assess adult ADHD symptoms in predicting SUD consisted of 706 participants. Childhood ADHD symptoms were measured at the age of 56 months by parent-assessment, data of adult ADHD symptoms was collected by self-assessment and SUD was assessed by structured interview. ADHD symptoms were considered as a continuous variable that represented the number of symptoms. The relationship of ADHD symptoms and SUD was assessed using logistic regression. Results and conclusions. Childhood or adulthood ADHD symptoms did not predict SUD. Inattention and hyperactivity symptoms assessed separately did not increase the risk of SUD. It is possible that ADHD is a significant risk factor in development of SUD mainly for individuals who experience considerable harm due to their symptoms, while the number of symptoms does not increase the risk by itself.

Aims: Externalizing problem behaviour is common among children which when left untreated can have far-reaching, negative consequences across the lifespan. Parenting has a significant effect on childhood and adolescent development, and one part of which parenting comprises is the parent’s cognitions concerning their parenthood, such as parenting self-efficacy explored in the current study. There has been some research into the associations between externalizing problem behaviour and parenting self-efficacy, but the existing literature contains multiple contradictions and limitations, such as the scarcity of longitudinal designs, research focusing mainly on clinical populations and the tendency to bypass fathers’ experiences. Earlier results on the associations between externalizing problem behaviour and parenting self-efficacy have also been conflicting. The current study explores the associations between externalizing problem behaviour and parenting self-efficacy between the ages 8 and 12. Methods: The used data was from the Finnish population based GLAKU cohort stud. Mothers and fathers of 226 children were asked to assess the children’s externalizing behaviour using the Child Behavior Checklist questionnaire and their sense of parenting self-efficacy using the Parenting Sense of Competence questionnaire when the children were aged 8 and 12. In addition, variables showing change in the assessments on externalizing behaviour and parenting self-efficacy were calculated. The associations between externalizing problem behaviour and parenting self-efficacy were analysed using linear and logistic regression analyses. Results and conclusions: Externalizing behaviour and parenting self-efficacy were significantly associated when the children were aged 8. Higher externalizing behaviour at age 8 was also significantly associated with lower parenting self-efficacy at age 12, and higher parenting self-efficacy at age 8 was significantly associated with lower externalizing behaviour at age 12. Parenting self-efficacy was not significantly associated with change in externalizing behaviour between ages 8 and 12, and higher externalizing behaviour was associated with declining paternal but not maternal parenting self-efficacy. The results of the current study point to a stable association between the two variables during the developmental period between middle childhood and early adolescence. The results also highlight a need to improve the way in which parenting self-efficacy is taken into account during interventions aimed at reducing externalizing problem behaviour among children.

Objectives. The aim of the current study was to explore whether participation in short-term music intervention can increase phonological awareness and the size of vocabulary in 5–6-years-old children. Phonological processing is defined by the ability to recognize and modulate small units of words, like phonemes. Vocabulary is a group of words that represents specific concepts such as objects (nouns). Both phonological processing and the size of vocabulary are known to be related to later reading ability in children. It is also known that children with musical experience perform better on tests measuring language abilities than children without musical experience. Single studies have also reported that short-term music intervention enhances phonological awareness and development of vocabulary in preschool children but more research on this theme is needed. Methods. The sample consisted of 64 children in two cohorts. There were three groups of children: an experimental group with music intervention (n=20), an experimental group with dance intervention (n=24) and a control group (n=20). Music and dance interventions took place in the kindergartens and lasted 3‒6 months. Before and after the interventions the groups were compared with tests of phonological processing and the size of vocabulary. The comparison was made with repeated measures analysis of variance. Results. Differences in the phonological processing or the size of vocabulary between the groups were not found. All children performed better on post-tests than pre-tests. The results of the current study indicate that short-term music intervention does not enhance phonological processing or development of vocabulary in preschool children. The results are contradictory to previous research and highlight the importance of more precise conceptualization of music intervention in the future.

Both prenatal hyperglycaemia (caused by maternal diabetes mellitus) and neonatal hypoglycaemia pose a risk to the neurocognitive development of the child: Maternal diabetes mellitus in pregnancy has been reported to be associated with impairments in memory functions of the offspring up to adolescence. Also, an association has been reported between neonatal hypoglycaemia and neurodevelopmental impairments in childhood and adolescence. However, to our knowledge, the association of prenatal hyperglycaemia with memory impairments has not previously been studied in adulthood. As for the possible association of neonatal hypoglycaemia with memory impairments, it has not, to our knowledge, been studied at any age. Furthermore, the separate and combined sequelae of the two risk factors are yet to be directly compared. We hypothesized that the two risk factors, separately and combined, would still in middle age be associated with subtle memory impairments. We assessed memory functions in a follow-up study of a cohort born during 1971–1974 and prospectively studied from birth. The sample included participants exposed to prenatal hyperglycaemia (n = 22), neonatal hypoglycaemia (n = 14), or both (n = 7). It also included controls with no early risks (n = 40). We assessed the participants' memory functions comprehensively, including working memory and immediate and delayed recall of both verbal and visual material. We found an interaction of early risk with the type of digit span task, a measure of working memory: The differences between span task scores varied between the groups. However, no pairwise between-group differences were significant. Thus, the interaction was not specific to any particular groups and likely to be clinically irrelevant. The interaction was non-significant when gestational age and birth weight were controlled for. The early risks were unassociated with scores on other memory tasks. Against our hypotheses, our results suggest that prenatal hyperglycaemia, neonatal hypoglycaemia and their combination are relatively benign disorders, especially when not accompanied by other perinatal complications: The association of prenatal hyperglycaemia with neurocognitive impairments appears to be attenuated in adulthood, and neonatal hypoglycaemia appears to have few long-term sequelae.

Objectives. Most athletes seem to recover gradually within the first 10 days after sports-related concussion (SRC), however a minority of athletes have persistent symptoms. To date, the recovery of Finnish athletes has not been researched. The aim of this study was to research the neuropsychological outcome and recovery trajectory after SRC on average a one-month period in Finnish youth ice hockey players. Both cognitive performance (verbal memory, visual memory, visual motor speed, reaction time) and self-reported symptoms were assessed. Individual clinical recovery was also monitored. It was hypothesized that cognitive performance would decrease (in one or more domains) and that the amount of self-reported symptoms would increase during the first few days after SRC. In addition, it was hypothesized that both cognitive performance and self-reported symptoms would return to baseline levels on average within 10 days after SRC. Methods. The sample of the study (N = 24) was collected in the research project “Heads in the Game” (Pää pelissä -projekti). It consisted of youth ice hockey players who got a SRC during game season 2015–2016 and were in a comprehensive follow-up team. All participants were Finnish, male and aged 14–20 (M = 16.75, SD = 1.59). The baseline performance of each player was assessed before game season. Performance after SRC was assessed in maximum four assessment points until players were clinically recovered. Assessment was done by ImPACT-test. Statistical analyses were performed by linear mixed models. Results and conclusions. Cognitive deficits were observed during the first few days after SRC, however deficits were significant only in reaction time. In addition, self-reported symptoms increased during the first few days after SRC, but this increase was not significant. On average cognitive performance and self-reported symptoms returned to at least baseline levels in 8 days (6–19 days) after SRC. These results suggest that particularly reaction time could be sensitive to SRC. The recovery of Finnish youth ice hockey players took place on average in the typical time course observed in previous studies, however there was variability within individuals.