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Dispositional Traits (dispositional + trait)
Selected AbstractsPromoting adolescent sense of coherence: Testing models of risk, protection, and resiliencyJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2010William Paul Evans Abstract Sense of coherence (SOC) is a dispositional trait that has been linked to well-being in a broad range of populations and contexts. Little is known, however, about the factors associated with SOC development and maintenance across the lifespan. Conceptualized as a condition of resiliency, SOC in adolescents was explored via measures of risk and protection as reported on by 8th and 10th grade students (N,=,1619). Employing cumulative indexes of protection and risk, analyses focused on testing four models of resiliency. Further, the relative and cumulative effects of protection and risk were explored across ecological domains. Analyses revealed support for the compensatory model of resiliency for males and females, while the challenge model also was supported for females. Analyses also revealed that protection and risk influencing SOC emerge at multiple domains for males and females. In addition, protective factors present at multiple domains were related to higher SOC while risk factors present at multiple domains were related to lower SOC regardless of gender. Results suggest a resiliency framework that considers multiple ecological domains is useful for understanding SOC in adolescents. Implications for additional research are presented. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Peer substance involvement modifies genetic influences on regular substance involvement in young womenADDICTION, Issue 10 2010Arpana Agrawal ABSTRACT Aims Peer substance involvement (PSI) is a robust correlate of adolescent substance use. A small number of genetically informative studies suggest that shared genetic and environmental factors contribute to this association. We examine mechanisms by which PSI influences the etiology of regular substance involvement (RSI), particularly in women. Design Population-based cohort study of twin women from the US Midwest. Participants 2176 twin women. Measurements To examine the relationship between self-reported PSI during adolescence and a composite RSI representing regular tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use during young adulthood, using genetically informative correlation, moderation and joint correlation-moderation models. Findings There was evidence for a significant additive genetic X environment interaction. PSI was moderately heritable (h2 = 0.25). Genetic, shared and non-shared influences on RSI overlapped with influences on PSI (genetic correlation of 0.43). Even after controlling for these shared genetic influences, RSI was more heritable in those reporting greater PSI. Conclusions While young women may select peers based on certain dispositional traits (e.g. permissiveness towards substance use), the social milieu constructed by PSI does modify the architecture of increased RSI in those individuals with increasing levels of PSI being associated with stronger expression of heritable influences. [source] Individual differences in the drive to overeatNUTRITION BULLETIN, Issue 2007M. M. Hetherington Summary, Obesity is considered a public health crisis. In order to tackle this, an enhanced appreciation of what drives some consumers to overeat is required. It is clear that several features of the modern environment encourage over-consumption in many people, at least some of the time. However, there is variation in the extent to which this translates into weight gain. Understanding whether susceptibility is dispositional or learned will shape prevention and treatment programmes. This review identifies situational cues that promote overeating and dispositional traits, such as impulsivity and sensitivity to reward, which make some individuals specifically vulnerable to overeating. These traits are likely to contribute to the development of the obese state, but also present barriers to weight management. Personalised nutrition and behavioural strategies may provide a novel and innovative approach, as these take account of individual differences in vulnerability to overeating. [source] From glamour-oriented idolatry to achievement-oriented idolatry: A framing experiment among adolescents in Hong Kong and ShenzhenASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Xiao Dong Yue The present study examined the framing effect of two modes of idolatry among a sample of 1095 secondary school students in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Two experimental conditions were set up: in the glamour frame condition, subjects were exposed to frames that enhanced perfection and mystification of idols' personal or ideological characteristics; in the achievement frame condition, subjects were exposed to frames that enhanced emulation and identification of idols' pro-social behaviours or desirable dispositional traits. The experiment selected a prominent pop music and movie star well known in Chinese societies, Andy Lau, as the target idol. Subjects showed a consistently and significantly greater desire to glorify, idealize, identify with, emulate, and attach to Andy Lau in the achievement frame condition than in the glamour frame condition. The finding suggests that an achievement frame can heighten young people's adoration of an idol by emphasizing the idol's achievement processes. This suggestion is favourable to the possibility of transforming an idol into a role model for young people to learn to pursue career success. 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