Browsing by master's degree program "Psykologian maisteriohjelma"

Objective: Anxiety disorders are among the most common groups of mental disorders, and one of the leading causes of disease burden globally. Anxiety disorders are associated with many general medical conditions (GMCs), but little studies of the wide-ranging associations over multiple GMC categories have been conducted. This study aims to examine whether people with an anxiety disorder have more lifetime GMCs compared to people without anxiety disorders, and whether they have a higher risk of developing subsequent GMCs, across multiple GMC categories. Methods: The participants were a part of the FinnGen study sample, totaling 519 841 individuals. Lifetime comorbidity analyses were conducted with an anxiety disorder group (N = 63 695) consisted of all individuals who had any ICD-10 phobic anxiety disorder or other anxiety disorder diagnosis, or corresponding ICD-9 or ICD-8 diagnosis. A sex and age (±2 years) matched control group (N = 127 390) of individuals who had no phobic anxiety disorder or other anxiety disorder diagnoses was created. Proportions of GMCs from 11 different categories (allergy, gastrointestinal, urogenital, hematological, neurological, dermatological, musculoskeletal, endocrine, pulmonary, oncological, and cardiovascular) in anxiety disorder group and matched control group were compared with each other with χ2-test. Next, Cox regression was used to calculate whether having an anxiety disorder increases the risk of developing a subsequent GMC. The whole FinnGen sample was used as a basis for the Cox regression analyses, and for each analysis, the individuals who had a diagnosis in the corresponding GMC category before the start of follow-up period (1.1.2000–31.12.2020) were removed from the analysis, leading to samples whose sizes varied between 451 523 and 508 804. Four Cox regression models were created for each GMC category: Model A, which was adjusted for sex, age, and calendar time, Model B that was further adjusted for other GMC comorbidities, and time-lagged versions of Models A and B. Results: Individuals with anxiety disorders had higher lifetime prevalence rates of all GMCs, except for cancers. Having a prevalent anxiety disorder diagnosis increased the risk of a subsequent GMC in all 11 GMC categories, most notably gastrointestinal and hematological conditions. The hazard ratios ranged between 1.21 for cancers and 2.59 for hematological conditions. Conclusions: There are wide-ranging associations between anxiety disorders and GMCs. For most GMCs, individuals with an anxiety disorder had about two-fold risk to develop a subsequent GMC. The associations were especially strong for gastrointestinal and hematological conditions, and clearly the weakest for cancers. This study provides evidence of temporal associations across a range of GMCs, also including ones that have hardly been studied previously, such as hematological conditions and allergies. Further study with separate anxiety disorders and GMCs, as well as genetic connections, is still needed.

Tavoitteet. Intuitiivinen ja analyyttinen ajattelutyyli vaikuttavat tiedon käsittelyn syvyyteen ja omaan päättelyyn luottamiseen. Episteeminen kypsyys puolestaan ilmenee kehittyneenä tapana hahmottaa tiedon objektiivisen ja subjektiivisen dimension eroavaisuuksia, sekä ymmärryksenä tiedon monimutkaisuudesta ja varmuudesta. Tässä pro gradu -tutkielmassa tarkastellaan, voidaanko ajattelutyyleillä ennustaa vaihtelua episteemisessä kypsyydessä. Lisäksi tutkittiin, voidaanko avoimella ajattelutyylillä tai kyvyllä kognitiiviseen reflektioon ennustaa episteemistä kypsyyttä. Menetelmät. Otos koostui 460:sta 16-71- vuotiaasta suomalaisesta. Koehenkilöistä miehiä oli 19.3%, naisia 76.3% ja 4,3% ei valinnut kumpaakaan näistä vaihtoehdoista. Tutkimus toteutettiin internet-kyselynä, jonka koehenkilöt rekrytoitiin keskustelufoorumeilta ja opiskelijoiden sähköpostilistoilta. Koehenkilöt vastasivat kysymyksiin, joilla kartoitettiin heidän intuitiivista- analyyttistä- ja avointa ajattelutyyliä, kognitiivista reflektiota. Episteemistä kypsyyttä kartoitettiin tutkimalla episteemistä tasoa ja tiedon yksinkertaisuuteen/varmuuteen liittyviä tietokäsityksiä. Tulokset ja johtopäätökset. Intuitiivinen ajattelutyyli ennusti matalaa episteemistä tasoa ja korkeaa uskomusta tiedon yksinkertaisuudesta, mutta ei uskomuksia tiedon epävarmuudesta. Analyyttinen ajattelutyyli ennusti matalaa uskoa tiedon yksinkertaisuudesta, mutta ei korkeampaa episteemistä tasoa tai uskomuksia tiedon varmuudesta. Kriittinen reflektio puolestaan ennusti korkeampaa episteemistä tasoa ja uskomusta tiedon varmuuteen, sekä matalampaa uskomusta tiedon yksinkertaisuudesta. Tämän lisäksi matala avoin ajattelutyyli ainoastaan yhdessä korkean kognitiivisen reflektion kanssa ennustivat kokemusta tiedon varmuudesta. Rajoituksena tutkimuksessa oli opiskelijoiden yliedustuvuus aineistossa. Tutkimuksella pyrittiin selittämään vaihtelua ihmisten episteemisessä kypsyydessä, sekä tuotiin henkilökohtaisen epistemologian ja ajattelutyylien tutkimusaloja lähemmäs toisiaan.

Objectives The human-pet attachment can substantially impact the life of the human and the pet. A few studies suggest that human personality and unwanted behaviour of dogs are related to pet attachment, but the relationship between pet personality and the attachment has not yet been studied. The aim of this study was to elucidate the links from human, dog (Canis familiaris), and cat (Felis silvestris catus) personalities and unwanted pet behaviour to the attachment. Methods The online survey data, from the OnePersonality project, captured responses of 2 724 pet owners (92,1% women) to the Short Five questionnaire, the Pet Attachment Questionnaire and the dog and cat personality and behaviour questionnaires. I utilised a series of linear and generalized linear mixed-effect models to examine the associations. Results Neuroticism was associated with attachment anxiety to dogs and cats. Dog owners scoring lower on extraversion and conscientiousness and owners of less human-social and more perseverant dogs were more anxiously attached. Cat’s human aggression, fearfulness and low human sociability associated with attachment anxiety and excessive grooming and lower human sociability with attachment avoidance. Less conscientious, extraverted, and agreeable dog owners and owners of more insecure, energetic, aggressive, less training focused, and less human social dogs were more avoidantly attached. Nine out of ten dog’s unwanted behaviour traits were related to avoidant attachment. Conclusions Both human and pet traits contribute to the owner-perceived attachment. Owner’s personality may have a bigger role in anxious attachment, while the dog’s individuality may be more related to attachment avoidance.

Objective The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between organizational justice and cognitive performance in working age population and whether this relationship differs between men and women. Organizational justice can be defined as perceived fairness of decisions and procedures at workplace. Organizational justice has been associated with cardiovascular risk and sleeping problems among other issues. Research indicates that organizational justice is associated also with cognitive performance, but this association has not been examined using population-based data earlier. Methods The sample for the study was derived from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study data. The sample used included all the participants from year 2012 who had participated to at least one cognitive subscale measurement and answered to at least four (50%) organizational justice question (n = 1283, women 57 %, average age 42,1 years). Organizational justice perceptions were measured using the short version of the organizational justice scale, which provided scores for total, distributive, procedural and interpersonal organizational justice. Cognitive performance was measured with four CANTAB tests. The results had been formed into five factors where the fifth factor represented the total cognitive performance. Linear regressions were used to examine the relationship both with and without covariates. Covariates used were age, sex, education level and average working hours per day. In addition, interactions of sex and organizational justice were examined. Results When the covariates were included in the analysis, both higher total scores of organizational justice and procedural justice were associated with shorter reaction times. Higher distributive justice was associated with better total cognitive performance and faster visual processing. The interactions of sex and total scores of organizational justice, procedural justice and interactional justice were each significant with total cognitive performance, executive function, and visual processing. The associations between organizational justice and cognitive performance were positive for men and negative for women. Conclusions Higher organizational justice seems to be associated with better cognitive performance especially regarding attention and psychomotor speed in working age population. The associations often differ significantly between men and women. Even though the associations found were negative for women, it can be concluded that it is worthwhile to develop organizational justice also to maintain cognitive working ability. Further longitudinal research is yet needed.

Abstract Objectives of the study. Humans are adapted to recognize faces. Turning faces upside down causes an inversion effect that makes it much harder to recognize them. According to previous research, conflicting results have been obtained regarding which facial features are used the most in face recognition and short-term memory, and how turning the face upside down affects the use of features. It has also been unclear how turning the face upside down affects the use of these features. The aim of this thesis was to investigate, using a perceptual psychology experiment and a visual working memory task, whether different facial features are used to different extents in recognition and remembering and whether the facial features used differ in terms of whether the face is presented upright or upside down. Methods. The thesis used a new type of change detection test based on morphing. The material of the thesis consisted of ten students at the University of Helsinki. 40 neutral-looking faces from the Chicago Face Database served as face stimuli. Female and male face pairs were formed from the faces, whose facial features were morphed independently and randomly from 0–20% or 0–80% from the first identity to the second identity. The subject's task was to answer whether faces separated during the memory period, presented upright or upside down, were of the same or different identity. By comparing the number of morphs and the test subjects' answers with each other using a generalized linear model, weighting coefficients were obtained for each facial feature, which told how much the test subjects had used each feature in the test task. The weighting coefficients were normalized, after which they were subjected to a two-way analysis of variance of repeated measures, which was used to examine whether the use of features differed between the upright and upside down situations. In addition, possible differences in face recognition accuracy between upright and upside down situations were investigated using the discriminability index d'. Results and conclusions. According to the results, facial features differed in terms of how much they were used in the working memory task. However, the relative importance of different facial features was similar regardless of whether the face was presented upright or upside down. In line with previous findings, this study also found that the eyes are particularly significant in terms of face recognition and short-term memory. However, in the case of faces presented upside down, the identity recognition accuracy was weaker, which was reflected in a higher number of errors in the test task. In conclusion, turning faces upside down does not affect which facial features are stored in working memory. However, turning faces upside down weakens face recognition and short-term memory.

Objective: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a neurological disorder which affects motor function. According to studies with children DCD is related to volumes of the parts of the cerebrum which affect motor function. This study examines whether these structural changes in cerebrum can be detected in adults. Methods: The present study is a part of a longitudinal study which started in the 1970s in Helsinki. The present sample consists of those approximately 40-year-olds who took Test of Motor Impairment (TOMI) test when they were about 9 years old and who also participated in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study when they were about 40 years old. Based on TOMI test participants were split into two groups: those who probably have developmental coordination disorder and those who probably do not have it. Groups’ association with the volumes of cerebral areas that affect motor functions were examined with multivariate analyses of variance, one-way analyses of variance and Welch’s tests. The volumes of the examined parts of the brain were calculated from participants’ MRI data using FreeSurfer software, and the volumes were standardized according to gender before any analysis were made. Results and conclusion: The group had a statistically significant effect on the gross volumes of the brain areas and on the volumes of brain areas on the dominant hand side (areas which primarily affect movement of the nondominant side of the body) but not on the volumes of the brain areas on the nondominant hand side (areas which primarily affect movement of the dominant side of the body). In the group of those who probably have developmental coordination disorder the volume of the primary somatosensory cortex on the dominant hand side, volumes of the basal ganglia on the dominant and nondominant hand side and the volume of the backside of the corpus callosum were smaller than in the control group. The results suggest that about 40 years old adults who probably have developmental coordination disorder according to TOMI test have smaller volumes in parts of the cerebrum which affect motor function than adults who do not have the disorder.

Objectives: The well-being of young children’s parents has sparked interest in public discussion. Parents without a partner often experience higher distress compared to parents with a partner. Support from other people and family services might matter more for the former group. Social support’s effect on parental distress demands more research in Nordic welfare societies. The aim is to study Finnish mothers’ general stress and parenting demands, and their associations with partner status and support from other people and family services. Methods. The sample consisted of 5-year-old children’s mothers (n=714) participating in the CHILD SLEEP cohort study (THL). General stress and parenting demands were measured with the Perceived Stress Scale and the Parenting Stress Index. Mothers evaluated the amount and adequacy of childcare support from family, friends, and family services. Controlled variables were depression, anxiety, family structure and socioeconomic status. Linear regression models were used as analysis. Results. Most mothers reported moderate general stress and few experienced parenthood as demanding. Distress was not associated with partner status or the amount of support. Adequate support from family and friends was linked to lesser distress; similar indications were found with family service support. More mothers without a partner experienced inadequate support compared to those with a partner. Regardless of partner status lower distress was linked to adequate support, however associations were statistically significant more often among mothers with a partner. Conclusions. Preschool children’s mothers have moderate distress levels, and support from family and friends appears important for their well-being. Family service support requires more research. Similar distress levels regardless of partner status contradicts previous research, although the experience of insufficient support among mothers without a partner demands more investigation. Further research should use more representative samples regarding socioeconomic factors and family structure, and more varied measures of social support and partner status.

Background and aims. Using computers is an almost inseparable part of everyday life today, and problems with computer use have tangible and significant consequences for quality of life and societal functioning. Performance in everyday computer use is affected by a multitude of factors such as the usability of computer systems and interfaces, the age of the user, prior computer use experience and cognitive abilities. The aim of this study was to examine how cognitive abilities, such as verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory and processing speed affect everyday computer use. Methods. The data consisted of 88 participants (37 men and 51 women), who were actively employed and between 20-65 years of age. In the study each participant performed two parts lasting a maximum of 2 hours on separate days. The first part consisted of computer tasks simulating everyday computer use, and the second part was an assessment of cognitive abilities using the WAIS-IV. The data was analyzed using hierarchical linear regression on three outcome variables: completeness of the computer tasks, completion time and the mental load caused by them. In the regression models each outcome variable was explained with sociodemographic factors, prior computer use experience, cognitive abilities and executive functions. Results and conclusions. Sociodemographic factors explained 33-51% of computer task performance on all the outcome variables, and the strongest predictor was age. Computer use experience explained 6-13% of task completeness and completion time, but did not significantly affect mental load. Cognitive abilities explained 4-10% of all the outcome variables, and the strongest predictor was Full Scale IQ. Executive functions explained 3-4% of task completeness and mental load, but did not significantly affect completion time. This study indicates that the cognitive abilities of the user and their computer use experience clearly affect everyday computer use. The results can be utilized in the development of computer systems and interfaces: ideally using them would be easy and intuitive enough that the level of the user's cognitive abilities and their prior computer use experience would not matter for their successful use.

Aims of the study Many changes have been made to the school environment in Finland. Still there are no research about how new school environments will effect pupils’ well-being, such as self-esteem. Due to the lack of previous research it cannot be concluded whether these changes to school environment are equal to every student regardless of their temperament. The aim of this study is to find out about the effects of the lack of stability in the school environment (stability of social relations, stability of physical features, stability of overall structure) to pupils’ self-esteem. In addition, the possible moderating effect of temperament is under an interest. Methods The representative sample of this study (n=2210) consisted of Finnish 9th graders, who participated in The Finnish Study on Temperament and School Achievement –research project between 2005 and 2006. Self-esteem was measured by the Finnish version of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. Temperament traits were measured by TABC-R and DOTS-R –inventories. The stability of the school environment was measured with three different scales: the stability of social relations, physical features and overall structure. The study was carried out by using multilevel models. Three multilevel models were created, in each of which self-esteem was the dependent variable. Results and conclusions The stability of social relations, physical features or overall structure did not have statistically significant main effects on the pupils’ self-esteem. However, the non-steadiness of overall structure had a statistically significant negative effect on the self-esteem of pupils with a higher task orientation. Reactivity or flexibility did not moderate any effects of the stability scales. All the observed effects were small, which implies that there are a number of different variables not measured in this study that affect pupils’ self-esteem. The results of this study show that the non-steady school environments do not have a positive effect on pupils’ well-being, as it has been assumed. The non-steadiness of the school environment with other changes in the school environment and their effects to pupils’ well-being need further research.

Objectives. As the population is aging, it is important to support healthy aging. Active musical hobbies, like choir singing, are a promising tool for this. So far, there are only a few controlled studies that explore the benefits of choir singing. The aim of this study was to investigate how choir singing is associated with social support, mood and cognitive performance. In addition, the association between choir singing and musical engagement as well as the associations between musical engagement and social support and mood were examined. Methods. Healthy seniors (N=105) aged 60 years and older (mean age 71 years) participated in this cross-sectional study. Of the subjects, 61 subjects were choir singers and 44 were controls. A majority (70 %) of the subjects were female with, on average, short-cycle tertiary level education. Perceived social support, mood and musical engagement were assessed with questionnaires. General cognition, executive function, working memory and verbal short-term memory were assessed with neuropsychological tests. The association of choir singing with social support, mood, cognitive performance and musical engagement were examined with analyses of covariance (ANCOVA). Associations of musical engagement with social support and mood were examined with correlation analyses. Results. Compared to the control group, the choir singers had higher scores on the Social Provisions Scale, especially in general social support, attachment, social integration and guidance, but not in reassurance of worth, reliable alliance or opportunity for nurturance. There was no difference between the groups on mood or cognitive performance. The choir singers also reported higher musical engagement on almost all scales of the Music Engagement Questionnaire compared to the controls. Musical engagement was associated especially with general social support, social integration and reassurance of worth. Conclusion. This study supports and elaborates on previous evidence of social benefits of choir singing, but not emotional or cognitive benefits. Social characteristics of choir singing are a major advantage compared to other leisure activities. Instead, choir singing does not stand out from other leisure activities with its emotional and cognitive qualities. This study addresses the close relationship between choir singing and musical engagement which in turn, is associated with social support. These findings can be utilized to support healthy aging and in prevention, for example, of loneliness.