The long-term effects of sleep on adolescent psychosocial well-being are mostly unknown, although insufficient sleep has been associated with emotional and behavioral difficulties in cross-sectional ...studies. With a five-year follow-up of Finnish adolescents (Time 1:
n
= 8834; Mean age = 13 years, 51.1% female, Time 2:
n
= 5315, Mean age = 15 years, 51.6% female, Time 3:
n
= 3712; Mean age = 17 years; 50.2% female), the purpose of this longitudinal study was to investigate the relations between self-reported sleep duration, sleep problems, and emotional and behavioral difficulties during adolescence. Emotional and behavioral difficulties were assessed using The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) measuring emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems and total difficulties. Sleep duration was calculated by counting the hours between self-reported bedtime and wake-up time. Sleep problems were assessed with a single question about the general sleep problems. According to the cross-lagged models for sleep and emotional and behavioral difficulties, the findings of this study indicate a developmental process during adolescence where, firstly, short sleep duration is a stronger predictor for current and prospective emotional and behavioral difficulties than vice versa. Secondly, increased emotional and behavioral difficulties expose adolescents to current and later sleep problems more strongly than reverse. Thus, the results show that short sleep duration predisposed to emotional and behavioral difficulties across adolescence, which then led to more prospective sleep problems. These findings suggest a developmental process where sleep and emotional and behavioral difficulties are intertwined in shaping adolescents’ health.
Bereavement affects the health of the bereaved both emotionally and physically. Bereavement resulting from alcohol-related death of the previous generation (parents-first generation) may increase the ...risk of alcohol abuse and consequently alcohol-related mortality as well as all-cause mortality in the next generation (offspring-second generation). Furthermore, these associations can be bi-directional. However, there is no conclusive evidence of these effects, and studies exploring these intergenerational effects are rare. This study investigates these associations.
A longitudinal data were constructed by linking participants from the Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Surveys (AHLS) from 1979 to 1997 with census and registry-based data from Statistics Finland containing the socioeconomic status of the survey participants and their parents (N = 78610) to investigate these associations. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals to determine the effect of bereavement with alcohol-related mortality and all-cause mortality.
The findings suggest that bereavement following the death of an offspring increases the risk of both alcohol-related and all-cause mortality among both parents. The magnitude of the risk of mortality following the death of an offspring is higher for mothers than for fathers. There were no clear associations of a parent's death with an offspring's alcohol-related or all-cause mortality. However, generally, a father's death seems to be protective of the risk of mortality among the offspring while a mother's alcohol-related death slightly increased the risk of alcohol-related mortality among their offspring.
These findings emphasise the role of bereavement, particularly resulting from the death of an offspring, on alcohol-related and all-cause mortality and therefore inequalities in mortality. Furthermore, the findings highlighting the need for alcohol abuse intervention and emotional support for bereaved persons following the death of an offspring.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The objective of this study was to investigate (i) whether childhood family SES predicts offspring's compassion between ages 20-50 years and (ii) whether adulthood SES predicts compassion or vice ...versa. We used the prospective population-based Young Finns data (N = 637-2300). Childhood family SES was evaluated in 1980; participants' adulthood SES in 2001 and 2011; and compassion for others in 1997, 2001, and 2012. Compassion for others was evaluated with the Compassion scale of the Temperament and Character Inventory. The results showed that high childhood family SES (a composite score of educational level, occupational status, unemployment status, and level of income) predicted offspring's higher compassion between ages 30-40 years but not in early adulthood or middle age. These results were obtained independently of a variety of potential confounders (disruptive behavior in childhood; parental mental disorder; frequency of parental alcohol use and alcohol intoxication). Moreover, high compassion for others in adulthood (a composite score of educational level, occupational status, and unemployment status) predicted higher adulthood SES later in their life (after a 10-year follow-up), but not vice versa. In conclusion, favorable socioeconomic environment in childhood appears to have a positive effect on offspring's compassion in their middle adulthood. This effect may attenuate by middle age. High compassion for others seems to promote the achievement of higher SES in adulthood.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The health selection hypothesis suggests that poor health leads to low educational attainment during the life course. Adolescence is an important period as poor health might prevent students from ...making the best educational choices. We test if health in adolescence is associated with educational aspirations and whether these associations persist over and above sociodemographic background and academic achievement.
Using classroom surveys, a cohort of students (n = 5.614) from the Helsinki Metropolitan Region was followed from the 7th (12-13 years,) up to the 9th grade (15-16 years) when the choice between the academic and the vocational track is made in Finland. Health factors (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), self-rated health, daily health complaints, and long-term illness and medicine prescribed) and sociodemographic background were self-reported by the students. Students' educational aspirations (applying for academic versus vocational track, or both) and their academic achievement were obtained from the Joint Application Registry held by the Finnish National Agency for Education. We conducted multilevel multinomial logistic regression analyses, taking into account that students are clustered within schools.
All studied health factors were associated with adolescents' educational aspirations. For the SDQ, daily health complaints, and self-rated health these associations persisted over and above sociodemographic background and academic achievement. Students with better health in adolescence were more likely to apply for the academic track, and those who were less healthy were more likely to apply for the vocational track. The health in the group of those students who had applied for both educational tracks was in between. Inconsistent results were observed for long-term illness. We also found robust associations between educational aspirations and worsening health from grade 7 to grade 9.
Our findings show that selection by health factors to different educational trajectories takes place at early teenage much before adolescents choose their educational track, thus supporting the health selection hypothesis in the creation of socioeconomic health inequalities. Our findings also show the importance of adolescence in this process. More studies are needed to reveal which measures would be effective in helping students with poor health to achieve their full educational potential.
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We investigated (i) the predictive relationships of compassion with negative emotionality (a marker of susceptibility to stress) and vital exhaustion (a marker of chronic stress response) and (ii) ...the effect of compassion on the developmental courses of negative emotionality and vital exhaustion over a follow-up from early adulthood to middle age. We used the prospective Young Finns data (
n
= 1031–1495, aged 20–50). Compassion was evaluated in 1997, 2001, and 2012; and vital exhaustion and negative emotionality in 2001, 2007, and 2012. The predictive paths from compassion to vital exhaustion and negative emotionality were stronger than vice versa: high compassion predicted lower vital exhaustion and lower negative emotionality. The effect of high compassion on lower vital exhaustion and lower negative emotionality was evident from early adulthood to middle age. Overall, high compassion appears to protect against dimensions of stress from early adulthood to middle age, whereas this study found no evidence that dimensions of stress could reduce disposition to feel compassion for others’ distress over a long-term follow-up.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, ODKLJ, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
We define compassion as an enduring disposition that centers upon empathetic concern for another person's suffering and the motivation to act to alleviate it. The contribution of specific candidate ...genes to the development of dispositional compassion for others is currently unknown. We examine candidate genes in the oxytocin and dopamine signaling pathways.
In a 32-year follow-up of the Young Finns Study (
= 2,130, 44.0% men), we examined with multiple indicators latent growth curve modeling the molecular genetic underpinnings of dispositional compassion for others across the life span. We selected five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) whose functions are known in humans: rs2268498 (OXTR), rs3796863 (CD38) (related to lower oxytocin levels), rs1800497 (ANKK1/DRD2), rs4680 (COMT), and rs1611115 (DBH) (related to higher dopamine levels). Compassion was measured with Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory on three repeated observations spanning 15 years (1997-2012). Differences between gender were tested.
We did not find an effect of the five SNPs in oxytocin and dopamine pathway genes on the initial levels of dispositional compassion for others. Individuals who carry one or two copies of the T-allele of DBH rs1611115, however, tend to increase faster in compassion over time than those homozygotes for the C-allele, b = 0.063 (SE = 0.027;
= 0.018). This effect was largely driven by male participants, 0.206 (SE = 0.046;
< 0.001), and was not significant in female participants when analyzed separately.
Men who are known to have, on average, lower compassion than women seem to reduce this difference over time if they carry the T-allele of DBH rs1611115. The direction of the association indicates that dopamine signaling activity rather than overall dopamine levels might drive the development of compassion.
Helping others within and beyond the family has been related to living a healthy and long life. Compassion is a prosocial personality trait characterized by concern for another person who is ...suffering and the motivation to help. The current study examines whether epigenetic aging is a potential biological mechanism that explains the link between prosociality and longevity.
We used data from the Young Finns Study that follows six birth-cohorts from age 3-18 to 19-49. Trait-like compassion for others was measured with the Temperament and Character Inventory in the years 1997 and 2001. Epigenetic age acceleration and telomere length were measured with five DNA methylation (DNAm) indicators (DNAmAgeHorvath, IEAA_Hannum, EEAA_Hannum, DNAmPhenoAge, and DNAmTL) based on blood drawn in 2011. We controlled for sex, socioeconomic status in childhood and adulthood, and body-mass index.
An association between higher compassion in 1997 and a less accelerated DNAmPhenoAge, which builds on previous work on phenotypic aging, approached statistical significance in a sex-adjusted model (
= 1,030;
= -0.34;
= 0.050). Compassion in 1997 predicted less accelerated epigenetic aging over and above the control variables (
= 843;
= -0.47;
= 0.016). There was no relationship between compassion in 2001 (
= 1108/910) and any of the other four studied epigenetic aging indicators. High compassion for others might indeed influence whether an individual's biological age is lower than their chronological age. The conducted robustness checks partially support this conclusion, yet cannot rule out that there might be a broader prosocial trait behind the findings. The observed associations are interesting but should be interpreted as weak requiring replication.
Background
Low education, low cognitive abilities, and certain cognitive styles are suggested to predispose to social intolerance and prejudices. Evidence is, however, restricted by comparatively ...small samples, neglect of confounding variables and genetic factors, and a narrow focus on a single sort of prejudice. We investigated the relationships of education, polygenic cognitive potential, cognitive performance, and cognitive styles with social intolerance in adulthood over a 15‐year follow‐up.
Methods
We used data from the prospective population‐based Young Finns Study (n = 960‒1679). Social intolerance was evaluated with the Social Intolerance Scale in 1997, 2001, and 2011; cognitive performance with the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery in 2011; cognitive styles in 1997; and socioeconomic factors in 1980 (childhood) and 2011 (adulthood); and polygenic cognitive potential was calculated based on genome‐wide association studies.
Results
We found that nonrational thinking, polygenic cognitive potential, cognitive performance, or socioeconomic factors were not related to social intolerance. Regarding cognitive styles, low flexibility (B = –0.759, p < .001), high perseverance (B = 1.245, p < .001), and low persistence (B = –0.329, p < .001) predicted higher social intolerance consistently in the analyses.
Discussion
When developing prejudice‐reduction interventions, it should be considered that educational level or cognitive performance may not be crucial for development of social intolerance. Adopting certain cognitive styles may play more important roles in development of social intolerance.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Based on the 21-item Human Values Scale of the European Social Survey (ESS, 2002-2006), Bilsky, Janik, and Schwartz (2011) concluded that the quasi-circular model of Schwartz's value theory "fits ...somewhat less well in less developed societies" (p. 16). This article focuses on their mitigating quantifier "somewhat" and proposes an impartial measure to evaluate Schwartz's universality claim. European Social Survey data of four rounds 2002-2008 (33 countries, 98 samples) were analysed. Applying restricted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), we partitioned the 21 items' variance into an acquiescence part and the two diagonal axes of growth-protection and social-personal focused values. The variance in the growth-protection axis varied between 22.0% (Austria, in 2002) and 2.0% (samples from Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, and Slovakia remain below 5%). Within rounds across countries (respective df = 94), the growth-protection axis' variance strongly correlates (r = .76) with an index of socioeconomic development, aggregated from five indicators adopted from the World Bank. It also strongly correlates (r = .81) with a sample's mean member's location on the growth vs. protection value dimension. We interpret these results as a strong effect and conclude that in socioeconomically less developed countries the value structure remains elliptical or even one-dimensional. The discussion relates the results to Klages' value synthesis theory.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Schwartz et al. (J Pers Soc Psychol 103(4):663–688, 2012) proposed a refined value theory. Like earlier value inventories, however, their measure captures only one approach to health—avoidance of ...disease. A broader measure to capture the full spectrum of the importance people place on health was developed, which was based on the World Health Organization’s definition of health. It includes the components of physical, mental, social, and emotional health. Research materials comprised the answers of 1818 Estonian online-survey respondents, and multidimensional scaling was used. Association on the first two value dimensions showed that valuing health might be a consequence of different motivations. Health values were further found to disperse on a third dimension, which did not follow the conflicts and compatibilities ordering the original two value dimensions. Taken together, these findings indicate that health values operate in conjunction with other value types in guiding health-related attitudes, intentions, and behaviors, and therefore potentially relate to objective and perceived health outcomes.
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