Browsing by discipline "Psykologi"
Now showing items 1-20 of 81
-
(2017)Objective: There is known to be a strong connection between hand movements and speech in humans. This has emerged for example in experiments where subjects pronounce syllables and simultaneously move their arm either towards or away from their body. The subjects produce both the hand movement and the pronunciation of syllables the fastest when the direction of the movement and the syllable are congruent. The original explanation for this was that the sounds that are congruent with the push movement, like [i] and [t], are made by pushing the tongue forward as well. Likewise, the sounds that are congruent with the pull movement, like [a] and [k], are made by a pull movement of the tongue. The objective of this study is to take a more precise look at this so-called direction-sound effect. The aim is to examine whether the effect is really caused by the overlap of the motor representations of hand and tongue, like it was originally interpreted, or if it is caused by some properties of sounds other than their horizontal movement direction. Methods: The direction-sound effect was studied in five experiments. In each experiment the subjects were presented with two different syllables, from which the other was supposed to be congruent with push hand movements and the other with pull hand movements. The subjects read each syllable out loud and performed simultaneously either a push or pull movement with a joystick according to the colour of the syllable. Experiments 1 and 2 tested whether the direction-sound effect emerges with consonants. Experiments 3, 4, and 5 tested whether the effect emerges when the vowels differ in one of their properties. In experiment 3 the vowels differed in openness, in experiment 4 they differed in frontness, and in experiment 5 in roundedness. 19-20 subjects participated in each experiment. Results and conclusions. In experiments 3 and 4 the syllables pronounced by the subjects, and the direction of their hand movement, had a statistically significant interaction to the reaction times of both the hand movements and the pronunciation of the syllables. There was not a similar interaction in experiments 1, 2, or 5. According to the results, vowels [ø] and [i] are congruent with the push hand movement and vowels [o] ja [æ] with the pull hand movement. The direction-sound effect does not seem to emerge with consonants but only with vowels. With vowels the effect seems to emerge when the vowels differ in their frontness and possibly in openness, but not when they differ in roundedness. The results bring more knowledge about how the speech movements of different parts of the mouth are represented when pronouncing vowels and consonants. The results also shed more light on previous speculations about which kind of sounds are universally associated with words referring to different directions across different languages.
-
(2017)Objectives. Previous research has found associations between both cognitive ability and anxiety and school performance and anxiety. The nature of these associations is not yet clear however. On one hand, it has been speculated that the optimal development of emotion regulation requires cognitive skills and that performing well at school could protect one from anxiety e.g. through increased feelings of competence. On the other hand, anxiety may interfere with cognitive performance by directing attention to negative thoughts and impair school performance e.g. through absences from school. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between anxiety, cognitive ability and school performance in 12- and 17-year-old youth. Of additional interest were the longitudinal changes in anxiety and cognitive ability in a 5-year follow-up. Methods. The data in this study consisted of the youth who participated in the 12- and 17-year follow-ups (N = 451) of the longitudinal study of Glycyrrhizin in Licorice (GLAKU). Anxiety was assessed using an Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) questionnaire completed by parents when the participants were 12. When participants were 17, they completed an Achenbach Youth Self Report (YSR) questionnaire. The cognitive ability of the participants was assessed using two subtests of verbal reasoning and two subtests of visual reasoning of Wechsler Intelligence Scale. Information about school performance was gained from parent evaluations. The associations between anxiety, cognitive ability and school performance were examined with negative binomial, logistic and linear regression models. Results and conclusions. In accordance with the diverse and partly controversial results of previous research this study also found the complexity of the associations between cognitive ability and anxiety: On one hand, lower anxiety was associated with better cognitive ability in cross-sectional designs. On the other hand, higher anxiety at the age of 12 was associated with improved performance IQ in a 5-year follow up. However, this association was found only among girls and for boys anxiety had an impairing effect on the development of performance IQ. These results suggest that early support should be targeted especially towards boys with anxiety in order to protect their cognitive development.
-
(2018)The aim of the study: In research literature depressive symptoms in mothers have been associated with lower parental sense of competence. The developmental mechanisms responsible for this relation are poorly understood and there is a need for longitudinal study especially. The study of this master’s thesis explores the association of both postnatal and later depressive symptoms with parental sense of competence when the child is 1–5 years. It also explores whether demographic factors have an impact to the relation and does later depressive symptomology in mothers mediate the relation between postnatal depressive symptomology and later parental competence. Method: Data is part of the Finnish cohort of The Prediction and Prevention of Preeclampsia and Intrauterine Growth Restriction (PREDO) research. The sample includes 2255 mothers who gave birth between years 2006-2010. Mothers evaluated their depressive symptoms 2 weeks / 6 months after birth (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale ) and at the follow-up when the child was between 1–5 years old (Beck´s Depression Inventory). Mothers also evaluated their parental sense of competence (Parenting Sense of Competence Scale) at the follow-up. Data was analysed using linear regression and mediation analysis. Results and Conclusion: Both postnatal and later depressive symptoms were associated to lower parental sense of competence when the child was 1–5 years and demographic background did not have any impact to the relations. A significant mediation model was found where later depressive symptomology in mothers partly mediated the relation between postnatal depressive symptomology and later parental competence. Therefore effective screening and early treatment of postnatal depressive symptoms are important. Evaluating parental competence could potentially be a valuable part of screening and treatment of depressive symptomology in mothers.
-
(2017)Objectives: Lateral ventricles (LVs) of the brain enlarge with age, and their size is also affected by e.g. shrinking of the brain as well as some perinatal risks. In adults, large size of LVs is assumed to indicate brain atrophy and it has been noticed to correlate with poorer cognitive performance especially in elderly. In the present study, the size of LVs and cognitive performance is studied in Finnish adults with perinatal risks. The focus of interest is in whether LVs are larger in those with perinatal risks compared to controls, whether there is a relationship between the size of LVs and cognitive performance, and if it is possible to estimate cognitive performance using the relative size of LVs. Methods: The present study is part of a larger longitudinal birth cohort research project examining children with perinatal risk factors. The present sample (n = 313) consists of those 39-45-year-old individuals who participated in the latest follow up study. Some of them were controls and some belonged to one of following perinatal risk groups: low birth weight (LBW), asphyxia or hyperbilirubinemia. LVs size variables (cm3) and VCR (ventricle to cranial ratio) were calculated from participants' MRI data using VolBrain software. Cognitive performance was measured using the scores of neuropsychological tests. Results and conclusions: According to the results, VCR of those in LBW group was larger compared to controls. In hyperbilirubinemia group both VCR and left LV were indicatively larger compared to controls. Nevertheless, overall differences in means were small. There were moderate correlations at most between the LV size variables and cognitive performance mainly in asphyxia and hyperbilirubinemia groups. Correlations indicated that there were association between larger LVs and poorer cognitive performance although exceptions were also found. Cognitive performance could be estimated using VCR only in two of seven examined variables in whole risk group. Present study offers preliminary results about the the size of LVs and its association to cognitive performance in groups with perinatal risks, which haven't been studied before. Based on the results it is possible to start formulating more focused questions e.g. about the neurocognitive aging or reasons behind larger LVs in perinatal risk groups. The answers to these questions could be found using longitudinal study designs.
-
(2017)Goals: The connection between concussion history and learning disabilities has not been studied widely. The same symptoms (e.g. attention deficits) are related to both concussions and learning disabilities. Learning disabilities and concussion history have both been linked to deviant baseline-scores and increased risk of getting a new concussion than controls. Interaction between concussion history and learning disability has been studied hardly at all. The objective of present study is to examine the effect of concussion history and learning disability on attention in a baseline-study of Finnish male junior ice hockey players. Methods: Study sample was part of baseline-study of Heads in the Game -project. Data was gathered in the summer 2016. A total sample consisted of 955 male junior ice hockey players (aged 12-21 years) of whom 1.9 % reported both concussion history and learning disability, 5.8 % reported learning disability and 29.3 % reported at least one previous concussion. Attention was measured via OmaKesky and d2-R. Data was analyzed using multivariance analyses controlled by age. Results and conclusions: Concussion history was not related to attention. Learning disabilities were related to higher amount of self-reported attention deficits in OmaKesky and to weaker accuracy in d2-R than controls. The deviant functioning observed in learning disabilities at baseline must be taken into consideration when suspecting a concussion in a way that functioning after concussion is compared to person's own baseline rather than to age-group norms. The interaction between concussion history and learning disabilities was not found in present study. However, people with both concussion history and learning disability, reported significantly more attention deficits than and a group of only concussion history or controls. The interaction between concussion history and learning disability on cognitive abilities should be studied more in the future.
-
(2017)Objectives: Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by social, communication, and behavioral deficits which are proposed to lie at the extreme end of a continuum of autistic traits. Milder manifestations of these traits are continuously distributed across the general population. A clear cut-off between subclinical traits and the clinical spectrum is found difficult to define. A broad range of early developmental abnormalities are associated with autism spectrum. Slow acquisition of social, language and motor skills are widely recognized in the clinical spectrum. This study aims to clarify if similar developmental difficulties is associated with milder autistic traits. Methods: This study is part of the Arvo Ylppö Longitudinal Study. The study cohort consisted from 2193 infants born between 1985 - 1986 in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa. The majority of the cohort compromised of infants who needed to be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit within 10 days of birth, and a smaller part of infants who were born between the same time period but did not need hospital care within 10 days of birth. The current sample was selected from participants who were assessed by Griffiths Mental Developmental Scales at the age of 20 months and who completed Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) at the follow-up between the ages of 24 - 27. Association between Griffiths sub-scales and autistic traits were analyzed using linear and logistic regression. Results and conclusions: An association was found between early social and language development and the amount of autistic traits at the follow-up in early adulthood. Lower performance in both sub-scales were associated with higher amount of autistic traits. No association were found between early fine or gross motor skills and autistic traits. The results indicates that early development of social and language skills are associated with mild autistic traits in adulthood in the general population.
-
(2017)Aims. There are two main frameworks to approach disengagement in studying: educational psychology and occupational psychology. Both frameworks have gathered analogous results on the problems in studying and their risks for low success, drop out and ill-being. However, there is no research on the hypothesis that these frameworks investigate same phenomena with different concepts. Thus, the main aim of this study was to construct a measurement model by combining two inventories: firstly, MED NORD (Medical Education in Nordic countries) from educational psychology framework measuring lack of interest and lack of regulation, and secondly, SBI (School Burnout Inventory) from occupational psychology framework measuring exhaustion, cynicism and inadequacy. Hypothesis was that a three-dimensional Study Problem Model (SPM) could be constructed, consisting of Lack of relevance combining MED NORD lack of interest and SBI cynicism, Lack of energy including SBI exhaustion and Lack of efficacy combining MED NORD lack of regulation and SBI inadequacy. To further validate the model, its' relations to academic success were investigated. Method. The participants (n=1254) were higher education students from Helsinki area (mean age 23.78, 65.1 % female, 94.4 % first or second year students). The data were collected by questionnaire as a part of Mind the Gap research project, and achievement data (ECTS and GPA per year) for 1064 of the participants were gathered from the universities' archives. To find the latent structure of problems in studying and to cross- validate the results, EFA and CFA were used on two different randomly divided subsamples (for both, n=627), and based on these results the SPM was constructed. After this SEM was used on the whole data to look at the relationships between the SPM and academic achievement. Results and conclusions. The results suggested that a three-factor model would fit the data best, and the three dimensions of SPM emerged as follows: 1) Lack of relevance as hypothesized, 2) Lack of energy as hypothesized and 3) Lack of regulation consisting of MED NORD lack of regulation. The SBI inadequacy items were leaved out of the model as they didn't load coherently on any of the dimensions. SEM results showed, as hypothesized, both Lack of relevance and Lack of regulation to be related lower achievement, whereas lack of energy was related to higher achievement. The strongest association was between Lack of relevance and ECTS. Altogether, the relations of SPM were stronger for ECTS than GPA. SPM supports both frameworks' views on study disengagement/burnout, capturing the experiences of meaninglessness, exhaustion and lack of adequate studying skills. The different consequences of the SPM dimensions on achievement reflect their compositions: Lack of relevance being related the strongest to slower proceeding of studies, Lack of regulation being related the strongest to poor grades and Lack of energy being, rather interestingly, related to higher achievement. In future research, especially the last-mentioned should be looked at more precisely, as the association could be caused by for example reverse causality or the fact that lack of energy indicates commitment rather than disengagement. The results could be utilized for designing ways to promote efficient studying and student well-being.
-
(2018)Aims of the study. Earlier studies focusing on diagnosed autism spectrum disorders have found high prevalence of sleep problems and other psychiatric disorders among adolescents. Moreover, subclinical variation of autistic traits has been shown to be associated with social deficits and psychiatric symptoms. However, little is known about the possible connection between subclinical autistic traits and sleep. This study explores whether adolescents with elevated levels of subclinical autistic traits are at heightened risk for sleep problems. Methods. This study used follow-up data from the GLAKU (Glycyrrhizin in Licorice) cohort study. The sample consisted of 157 (57% girls) 17-year-old adolescents. Autistic traits were assessed using the Autism Spectrum Quotient. The Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory and Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale were utilized to control for comorbid psychiatric symptoms. Sleep was measured using actigraphs. Associations between autistic traits and sleep were examined using logistic regression analysis. Results and conclusions. Elevated levels of autistic traits were significantly associated with shorter weekday sleep duration. Moreover, autistic traits remained as an independent predictor of short sleep duration when comorbid psychiatric symptoms were controlled for. Risk for short sleep duration was more pronounced among boys. The results suggest that subclinical autistic traits should be considered as a possible underlying mechanism affecting adolescent sleep.
-
(2017)Objective: Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world and elevated blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Health behavior such as alcohol use, smoking and physical activity as well as obesity are known to affect the risk for cardiovascular disease. Also temperament has been shown to be associated with the risk for cardiovascular disease in numerous studies. The exact pathway through which the association between temperament and the risk for cardiovascular disease is mediated is so far unknown. Temperament has been shown to be associated with elevated blood pressure but not much research on the subject has yet been conducted. The aim of this study was to examine if temperament is associated with elevated blood pressure, which factors mediate the association and how they mediate it. Methods: The participants of the study were from The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (CRYFS) and the data from the follow-up carried out in 2007. The subjects were divided into groups of elevated blood pressure and normal blood pressure according to their blood pressure levels. Temperament was assessed using a self-report form of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-9) which measures the temperament traits of Cloninger's psychobiological theory - novelty seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependence and persistence. Concerning mediating variables the subjects were asked to answer questions about their alcohol use, smoking and physical activity. Body mass index was calculated from measures of weight and height. Logistic regression and correlation analyses were used for the analyses. Results and conclusions: A high level of reward dependence was related to a lower risk for elevated blood pressure. Two health behavior variables, higher level of alcohol use and greater body mass index were related to an increased risk. A weak association between a higher level of persistence and a lower level of blood pressure was also found. The association between reward dependence and elevated blood pressure showed evidence for being independent of the health behavior variables. Behavioral styles based on temperament are suggested as the mediating mechanism behind the association. For example behavioral styles could affect a person's tendency to seek medical help and health care. The concept of personalized health care expanded with temperament related information should be considered as a valuable potential asset for preventive health care in the future.
-
(2017)Goals. The goal of this research was to find out, how the use of the non-identifying dynamic algorithm would affect fairness experience; and through it, behavioral intentions, in rebating context. Besides that, it was assessed how the provision of detailed information on algorithm's logic affects the fairness experience. Dynamic pricing, especially based on identification, has been shown to negatively affect fairness. The dynamic algorithms are better to companies due to their profitability potential. It is of vital importance to find out the conditions, on which they might be employed, while taking into account the possible reactions of the customers. A differential assessment of entity and event fairness through the lens of fairness heuristic theory is chosen as a backbone of this research to extend the mosaic empirical evidence of their mutual interaction paths. The fairness experience is also closely connected to affects; incidental affects and integral emotions, which are evoked by the fairness experience itself. Because of this close relationship, to complement general picture, the affects were assessed as well. Methods. The manipulations were performed on two levels. The first level, the exposure to dynamic algorithm or seeing the human-set pre-determined rebate rates, happened on the company's site when the algorithm trial was run. The second manipulation level, the amount of the available information, was performed during the gathering of the survey data. There were three conditions in the information manipulation: no information (the control), bare information about the ongoing trial and trial information including a detailed algorithm's logic description. The size of the final sample, used for the analysis, consisted of 404 participants. The main analysing technique employed was SEM. Results and conclusions. Effect paths between entity and event fairness areas were in accordance with the fairness heuristic theory - event fairness mediated the change in entity fairness partially. The subjects that were exposed to the algorithm, event fairness was affected negatively by the bare trial information as expected. The provision of the detailed information did not affect fairness. Entity fairness was connected to both, incidental affects and integral emotions. There were no analogous connection between event fairness, and affects and emotions. Fairness mediated only partially the change from incidental affects to integral emotions. Integral emotions were not connected to the behavioral intentions. Entity fairness mediated fully the effect of event fairness on the behavioral intentions. The provision of the detailed information affected directly positively on pro-active behavioral intentions without a mediation of fairness. None of the manipulations affected directly complaining intentions. The results provide important information about the dynamic algorithm exposure in real life, outside the laboratories. Despite the dynamic pricing being seen as unfair in principle, the exposure to the detailed information might have positive effects on the outcomes. There was only a limited support for the role of affects in the pricing fairness context.
-
(2017)Objectives. Can individual differences in the way people manage their own lives (life management) be explained from the perspective of life history theory? Understanding these differences is important since life management has a great impact on the wellbeing of people. Life history theory has already been proven to explain many individual differences in the human cognition; this study aimed to expand this field of knowledge. Life history theory states, that the early-life environment of an individual shapes her life history strategies, adapting her to her environment. The events that serve as reminders of mortality in the environment of an individual (mortality cues) were hypothesised to activate different life history strategies in individuals with different childhood environments. This was hypothesised to be reflected as differences in life management. The study also sought to find out, if the observation that people can react differently to a similar mortality cue can be explained by their strategy's impact on their locus of control. Methods. The data used in this study came from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study. The relationship between early-life environment (childhood socioeconomic status, SES) and life management (the Self-directedness scale in the Temperament and Character Inventory and two items concerning coping) was explored in the study. Regression analysis was used to analyse whether mortality cues moderated the relationship between SES and self-directedness. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyse whether they moderated the relationship between SES and coping. Sample size was 2 103 for analyses concerning self-directedness (mean age = 31.48 years) and 773 for those concerning coping (mean age = 20.66 years). Results and conclusions. Individuals with lower childhood SES felt that things outside their control were influencing their life more than did those with higher childhood SES. Lower SES was also connected with lower self-directedness in general. The tendency to use one way of coping over another after facing the death of a friend or a family member seemed to depend on childhood SES. Individuals with lower childhood SES used more approach coping; those with higher childhood SES used more avoidance coping. Life history theory seems to be a relevant scientific framework for studying individual differences in life management. Differences in life management might help to understand why people with different backgrounds might react differently to a similar mortality cue. However, no interaction effect on life management was found between the other mortality cues used in the study and childhood SES. Sporadic incidences that are a natural part of life do not seem to activate life history strategies permanently. It is advised then, that especially when the activation of life history strategies is explored using an experimental study design, the results should be interpreted keeping in mind the possibility that single cues might only activate strategies temporarily.
-
(2018)Objectives. Perception of auditory pitch can be divided in to two dimensions of height and chroma. Tones of the same chroma, one or more octave intervals apart, sound similar. The octave interval is defined as the doubling of a tones fundamental frequency. However, in humans the perceptual octave slightly exceeds its mathematical counterpart. The objective of this study was to clarify the neural underpinnings responsible for the subjective experience of chroma and the enlarged octave. Methods. During all experiments adapter tones followed by probing tones were sequentially presented to participants (n=18). Adapter tones were used to activate neural populations and probing tones were used for measuring amplitude reductions (adaptation) in EEG derived event related potentials (ERPs) signalling overlapping neural population responses to adapter and probing tones. Participants were divided in to two groups with either sine tones or complex tones as adapters. 7 pitch separations between adapter and probe were used. Differences between different interval ERPs and effects of musical proficiency in both groups were analysed with mixed repeated measures analyses of variance. Measurements were fitted to a combined sinusoidal and linear pitch helix function. Source magnitude estimation was calculated to investigate hemispheric asymmetry. Results and conclusions. There was greater neural overlap between tones sharing the same chroma compared to tones one semitone apart. Periodicity independent adaptation indicated that pitch is not co-represented with stimulus spectrum in the human auditory cortex. Source magnitude analyses showed that N1 responses were stronger on the right auditory cortex. P2 amplitude showed stronger adaptation to enlarged octave intervals in comparison to exact mathematical octave intervals.
-
(2017)Despite decades of research, knowledge and training in the area of Child sexual abuse (CSA) interviews, studies internationally have shown that forensic child interviewers still relay on inappropriate questioning. Suggestive questions should not be used in CSA interviews as they can be very harmful for the witness reports of children. The previous and only Finnish study assessing the quality of CSA interviews is from the beginning of the 2000s. The study showed that the quality of Finnish CSA interviews was poor. In the present study, the CSA interviews from Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district area in 2014 and 2015 are examined. All the interviews in this study are conducted in the forensic psychology center for children and adolescent. The aim for this study is to evaluate the questions asked by the interviewers in the investigative interviews with alleged CSA victims. The results are compared with the previous findings in Finland to find out whether the interview quality has improved. The sample, consisting of 96 transcribed forensic interviews with 55 alleged CSA victims (aged 3-18 years), was anonymised and analysed. Interviews were coded for questions types. The results were compared with the previous Finnish study. Detailed analyses of the interview transcripts showed that 47% of all the questions asked were facilitators, 12% were invitations, 27% were directive, 11% were option-posing and 0.3% were suggestive. The amount of questions encouraging the child to freely recall the events was almost 60 %, whereas in the previous study they reached only just over 20% of all questions asked. The amount of suggestive questions had decreased notably. Most of the interviews did not include any suggestive questions and the overall quite modest amount of suggestive questions was posed to a small proportion of the interviewed children. The results show that interview practice has improved notably since the previous study and this analysis provides viable arguments for encouraging the guidelines used in the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district.
-
(2018)Objectives Attitudes towards natural products are remarkably positive considering the limited evidence for their benefits . Our current understanding of these attitudes is mainly limited to studies of demographic factors and reasons for consumption. Research on the cognitive, affective and motivational factors underlying the attitudes is scant. In this study, the relation of the following cognitive and affective-motivational factors to attitudes towards natural food and cosmetics was examined: intuitive thinking (REIm), analytical thinking (REIm, CRT), open-minded cognition (OMC-G), belief in health myths, modern health worries (MHW), disgust sensitivity, avoidance motivation (BIS) and approach motivation (BAS). Methods A browser-based survey (application: E-lomake) was distributed online and self-administered on a personal device. The 317 participants were aged 16–71 years, and 74.4% were women. The participants reported their attitudes by means of a semantic-differential evaluation of natural food and cosmetics, and an estimate of their use of these products. Various self -report scales and tasks were used to assess cognitive and affective-motivational factors. The factors were used to predict semantic-differential evaluation with linear regression and product use with ordinal regression, controlling for age, gender, education and diet. Results and conclusions Modern health worries and intuitive thinking were the best predictors of positive attitudes towards natural food and cosmetics; for the other factors, only sporadic, weaker associations were observed. Based on these results, the appeal of natural products can be partly explained by a tendency to trust intuitions and feelings when evaluating products, and appraisals of health risks in the production of food and cosmetics. Both the general style of cognitive processing and the emotions and motives affecting it are important for understanding the psychological background of attitudes towards natural products.
-
(2017)Objectives. The job satisfaction of employees is important to organizations, because dissatisfaction impacts directly the economic results of the company, e.g. through increased employee turnover, poor quality of work and hiding problems. Job satisfaction has been defined as a relationship between the expectations for a job by an employee and the subjectively perceived fulfilment of those expectations. In this research, factors influencing job satisfaction are investigated by comparing three theoretical models related to job satisfaction. According to the Job Demands – Job Control model, demands of the job affect job satisfaction. Better job control or support from supervisor or peers can decrease the impact of demands on job satisfaction. According to the Effort – Reward Imbalance model, job satisfaction can be explained by investigating whether the rewards received from the job are commensurate with the effort required by the job. In the Job Demands and Resources model, different jobs have different demands and resources which are important. The model emphasizes the difference between jobs and assumes that demands impact job stress but not job satisfaction, whereas resources are mainly associated with job satisfaction. Methods. Based on the three models and previous empirical research results, 11 hypotheses were created and tested by using a large survey sample. The sample included 2 195 employees which represented 13 departments from nine organizations. The dependent variable was job satisfaction, and independent variables were associated with job demands, job control, rewards, and support by supervisor and peers. Linear mixed models were used as the statistical method because of its ability to compare the possibly different impacts of various resources and demands in different organizations. Results and conclusions. The most important factors associated with job satisfaction were opportunities to advance, possibility to use and develop skills and job security. Older employees were more satisfied with their jobs. Increased demands decreased the influence of peer support on job satisfaction. When the demands were high, the support of supervisor was more important. The impact of material rewards, such as salary or benefits, was low. As a conclusion, the Job Demands – Resources model was best able to explain job satisfaction out of the three tested models in this sample, if the model was expanded to include job security from the Effort-Reward Imbalance model.
-
(2018)Objective. The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between fear and anxiety, and political attitudes. It has been suggested that individual differences in political ideology stem from differences in threat sensitivity and that conservative political ideology acts as a defence mechanism against psychological threats. There is tentative evidence from previous studies that from different threat reactions fear specifically but not anxiety influences political attitudes. It is also unclear whether threat is connected to political ideology more broadly or just attitudes concerning some political matters. In this study I assess whether anxiety disorder symptoms that reflect differences is fearfulness and anxiety predict different political attitudes. Methods. The sample of this study consisted of 5,819 people born in Great Britain in 1958. Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, phobia, and panic were assessed at the age of 44, and opinions about political issues six years later. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess how political opinions were structured into different attitude dimensions, and seven broader political attitudes were formed based on this. Finally, a path model was used to assess whether anxiety disorder symptoms predicted political attitudes. Results and discussion. The anxiety disorder symptoms predicted attitudes towards economic inequality and preservation of the environment. More specifically, those with more generalized anxiety disorder symptoms were more concerned about environmental issues and those with more phobic symptoms were more concerned about economic inequality. This difference between generalized anxiety disorder and phobias might be explained by the fact that the former is connected with anxiousness whereas the latter reflects fearfulness. The results support the notion that fear and anxiety are differently connected to political attitudes. They also call into question threat reactions’ connection with political ideology more broadly.
-
(2018)Objectives. Maternal diabetes during the pregnancy increases the risk of pregnancy complications, but the effects of maternal diabetes on offspring cognition are less understood. Earlier studies have mainly associated the adverse effects of maternal diabetes with slight deficits in general cognitive and verbal functions in young children. Despite the earlier studies, it is unclear, does maternal diabetes per se affect cognitive development in children and adult offspring. The offspring with several developmental risks seem to be more prone to the adverse effects of maternal diabetes than offspring without the other concomitant risks. The aim of this study was to examine is maternal diabetes associated to lowered offspring general cognitive function in childhood and midlife, when the other concomitant perinatal risks occurred or either did not occur. A hypothesis was that maternal diabetes is associated to lowered general cognitive function only in children who had the other concomitant perinatal risks. Another aim was to explore is there a time related change in the risk groups. Methods. This study is a part of a prospective birth-cohort study originating in Helsinki region that follows 1971 to 1974 born risk group offspring. Out of 22,359 consecutive deliveries at the Institute of Midwifery during that time, 93 offspring had mother's diabetes obtained during the pregnancy or before it. Of the offspring with maternal diabetes, 59 had maternal diabetes as the only risk, and 34 had at least another predefined concomitant risk. General cognitive function in the subjects and controls was assessed by Wechsler Intelligence Scales at 9 and 40 years as a part of the wider neuropsychological examination. Differences between the groups were examined by group and pairwise comparisons. Longitudinal changes in general cognitive function in each group were estimated by fitting the linear multilevel models. Results and conclusions. Findings of the present study were controversial to the hypothesis. Both risk groups, with and without other concomitant risks, had lower general and verbal function in childhood than controls. At midlife, no effect of maternal diabetes was found. The results indicated that general cognitive function and acquired verbal information improved at least in the risk group with the other concomitant risks. Otherwise performance remained relatively same.
-
(2018)Objectives. Even over one third of information security breaches are caused by human actions, which makes knowing the factors behind information security behaviour especially important in today’s world. The objective of this study was to investigate what kind of individual and organisational factors affect the way we act with personal and organisational data. The research model of this study combined the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and personality traits as predictors of information security behaviour. In TRA, the best predictor of an action is the intention to do it, which in turn is affected by the attitude towards the action and subjective norms. Scenario method was used to investigate if TRA predicts actions also in concrete scenarios The included personality theories were Big Five and Dark Triad theories, of which the latter has not yet been studied in information security research. Methods. The data in this study was a sample of the students in the University of Helsinki and the National Defence University (N=408). The participants completed a survey which measured personality traits and the elements of TRA. Personality was assessed with Short Five and Short Dark Triad inventories. In addition, the participants read three scenarios where information security was at risk. After this they rated their probability to act in a similar way (intention) and their evaluation of the presented act (attitude). The scenarios in this study where divided in three groups according to their level of risk and each participant received scenarios only from a same level. The relationship between personality traits and responses in scenario situations was assessed with regression analysis. The measurement model was assessed with path analysis. Results and conclusions. The measurement model fit the data when it was used to predict security attitudes and the harm presented in the scenarios was mild. The TRA structure was therefore found to predict attitudes in concrete situations as well. The relationship between personality traits and scenario responses was different for intentions and attitudes. Higher scores in two Dark Triad traits were linked to higher intentions. Higher extroversion predicted both lower intentions and attitudes. In addition, higher openness was linked to more positive attitudes, and these two connections remained in the measurement model. This study provided more information about the relationship between personality traits and information security behaviour and gave insight on which factors to improve to secure information in organisations.
-
(2017)Objectives. Anxiety and physical inactivity are associated with significant personal and societal disadvantages worldwide. Previous research suggests that physical activity is associated with decreased symptoms of anxiety among healthy adults, adults with a chronic illness, and individuals diagnosed with an anxiety disorders. Increasing amount of studies also suggests that physical exercise can be an evidenced-based intervention for anxiety symptoms among people with anxiety disorders. Few studies have used direct measures of physical activity instead of self-report measures. The objective of this study was to determine the association between regular physical activity and anxiety and examine if the relationship remains after controlling possible moderating variables, BMI, depression and health status. In addition, the aim was to examine how using self-report measures and direct measures affects to these results. Method. The study sample (n = 284, 54.9 % women, mean age = 54,4 years) was a part of the Midlife Development in the United States follow-up study material. Physical activity was assessed by Actiwatch activity monitoring system and by self-report measures. Anxiety was assessed by the trait version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The relations between physical activity and anxiety were examined using linear regression. Results and conclusions. There were no significant relationship between physical activity and anxiety. However, low moderate exercise predicted higher anxiety levels almost significantly. This relation didn't remain after controlling the effects of the possible moderating variables, BMI, depression and health status. Relationship between direct and self-report measures of physical activity was weak. Results found in this study are conflicting with the information from previous studies in which significant relationship between physical activity and anxiety has been found. However, small sample size, limitations regarding the measurement tools of physical activity and high mean age of the sample may have influenced these results. In accord with previous studies, these findings suggest that there are some problems regarding the reliability of self-report measures when measuring physical activity. Future research is needed to clarify relations between physical activity and anxiety.
-
(2017)Objective: Concussions are typically linked to high-speed sports. Within the domain of acquired brain injuries, particularly children and adolescents have been identified as being at an elevated risk. In general, concussions are associated with relatively rapid recovery rates. To this end, the aim of the current study was to examine whether previous history of concussions of the sports player may be associated with cumulative effects on cognitive functions, difficulties with balance, and/ or increasing self-evaluated symptoms. The participants underwent a preseason baseline evaluation. Methods: The data used in this study were collected from 751 Finnish youngsters aged 12-20, who were junior ice-hockey players during the summer of 2015. Data collection focused on cognitive functioning (verbal and visual memory, visuomotor speed, reaction speed, impulse control, orientation, attention, and reading speed), balance control, and self-reported symptoms. The data were categorized on the basis of both the number and the severity of the participant's previous concussions, resulting in three groups as follows: (1) control group (no history of concussions; 494 players), (2) the concussion group 1 (1-2 concussions, which did not involve loss of consciousness; 123 players), and (3) the concussion group 2 (at least one concussion, accompanied by loss of consciousness, or at least 3 concussions, which did not involve loss of consciousness; 92 players). In the data analysis, between-group comparisons were performed with respect to cognitive functioning, balance control, as well as the quality and quantity of self-reported symptoms. Results: Taken together, the current results indicated that all the junior ice-hockey players with a history of concussions had recovered to such an extent that they did not significantly differ from the controls in either measures of cognitive functioning or balance control. However, self-reported symptoms increased with the brain injury severity and frequency. The self-report form used in this study comprised a total of 22 symptoms, of which five (vomiting, headache, difficulty with falling asleep, feeling mentally foggy) yielded statistically significant differences between the concussion groups. The findings further suggested that the measures used to obtain the baseline level of functioning of the participants may not be of sufficient sensitivity to reliably discriminate those with a history of concussions from controls in cognitive functioning and balance control.
Now showing items 1-20 of 81