Suicide is a complex phenomenon, with numerous factors contributing to an individual's risk of suicide. The aim of the present study was to explore how risk and protective factors for suicide ...interact with one another in a network sense and to determine which factors were most central to a network of these factors.
Using an online survey, cross-sectional data were collected from a sample of 515 individuals who lived in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Participants were recruited through either social media or Prolific Academic. A network of 18 risk and protective factors for suicide was estimated using network analysis. Analyses were preregistered on the Open Science Framework.
Factors that had the highest strength centrality were feeling depressed, feeling hopeless, perceived burdensomeness, self-esteem, and social support. Factors that were directly associated with suicidal ideation included feeling depressed, perceived burdensomeness, feeling hopeless, self-esteem, resilience, access to mental health services and a positive attitude toward these services.
This research demonstrates the importance of examining protective factors as well as risk factors when estimating an individual's suicide risk. The results suggest that interventions targeting depression may be particularly beneficial in reducing suicide risk, but further longitudinal research is required.
HIGHLIGHTS
The network analyses estimated depression to be the most central risk factor.
Depression and perceived burdensomeness were risk factors for suicidal ideation.
Self-esteem and resilience were protective against suicidal ideation.
Recent research has produced a significant body of knowledge about the antecedents and consequences of individual differences in belief in conspiracy theories. What is less clear, however, is the ...extent to which individuals' beliefs in conspiracy theories vary over time (i.e., within-person variation). In this descriptive and exploratory study, we therefore aimed to describe within-person variability in belief in conspiracy theories. We collected data from 498 Australians and New Zealanders using an online longitudinal survey, with data collected at monthly intervals over 6 months (March to September 2021). Our measure of conspiracy theories included items describing ten conspiracy theories with responses on a 5-point Likert scale. While there was substantial between-person variance, there was much less within-person variance (intraclass r = 0.91). This suggests that beliefs in conspiracy theories were highly stable in our sample. This stability implies that longitudinal studies testing hypotheses about the causes and consequences of belief in conspiracy theories may require large samples of participants and time points to achieve adequate power. It also implies that explanations of belief in conspiracy theories need to accommodate the observation that beliefs in such theories vary much more between people than within people.
A substantial minority of the public express belief in conspiracy theories. A robust phenomenon in this area is that people who believe one conspiracy theory are more likely to believe in others. But ...the reason for this “positive manifold” of belief in conspiracy theories is unclear. One possibility is that a single underlying latent factor (e.g. “conspiracism”) causes variation in belief in specific conspiracy theories. Another possibility is that beliefs in various conspiracy theories support one another in a mutually reinforcing network of beliefs (the “monological belief system” theory). While the monological theory has been influential in the literature, the fact that it can be operationalised as a statistical network model has not previously been recognised. In this study, we therefore tested both the unidimensional factor model and a network model. Participants were 1553 American adults recruited via Prolific. Belief in conspiracies was measured using an adapted version of the Belief in Conspiracy Theories Inventory. The fit of the two competing models was evaluated both by using van Bork et al.’s (Psychometrika, 83, 2018, 443, Multivariate Behavioral Research, 56, 2019, 175) method for testing network versus unidimensional factor models, as well as by evaluating goodness of fit to the sample covariance matrix. In both cases, evaluation of fit according to our pre‐registered inferential criteria favoured the network model.
Belief in conspiracies is not restricted to the fringe dwellers of society. International research suggests that such beliefs are quite common and that conspiracy theories may serve three basic ...psychological motives (i.e., epistemic, existential, and relational) for individuals. Yet, little is known about conspiracy theory awareness or belief in Australasia. We report the first large systematic investigation of system‐justifying motives using two nationally representative samples of Australians (n = 1011) and New Zealanders (n = 754). Our findings show that almost all are aware of local and international conspiracies, the majority endorse one or more, and that all three psychological motives consistently relate to conspiracy belief, but not to awareness. In a series of hierarchical multiple regressions, we find that relational (i.e., increased anomie and disillusionment with the government) and existential motives (i.e., less trust in others and increased religiosity) are uniquely and relatively more important than epistemic needs (i.e., decreased analytic thinking) as predictors of increased local and international conspiracy belief. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of understanding conspiracy theories as an ideological belief system that may function to serve underlying psychological motives.
A latent disease explanation cannot exclusively explain post-concussion symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Network analysis offers an alternative form of explanation for relationships ...between symptoms. The study aimed to apply network analysis to post-concussion symptoms in two different mTBI cohorts; an acute treatment-seeking sample and a sample 10 years post-mTBI.
The treatment-seeking sample (
= 258) were on average 6 weeks post-injury; the 10 year post mTBI sample (
= 193) was derived from a population-based incidence and outcomes study (BIONIC). Network analysis was completed on post-concussion symptoms measured using the Rivermead Post-Concussion Questionnaire.
In the treatment-seeking sample, frustration, blurred vision, and concentration difficulties were central to the network. These symptoms remained central in the 10 year post mTBI sample. A Network Comparison Test revealed evidence of a difference in network structure across the two samples (
= 0.045). However, the only symptoms that showed significant differences in strength centrality across samples were irritability and restlessness.
The current findings suggest that frustration, blurred vision and concentration difficulties may have an influential role in the experience and maintenance of post-concussion symptoms. The impact of these symptoms may remain stable over time. Targeting and prioritising the management of these symptoms may be beneficial for mTBI rehabilitation.
A number of previous studies have reported a positive relationship between ambient temperature and the incidence of violent crimes such as assault. This has led some authors to suggest that ...anthropogenic climate change may result in an increase in violent crime rates. In this study, we report an investigation of the relationship between temperature and assault incidence in New Zealand. Both police data listing recorded assaults as well as data from the Ministry of Health listing hospitalisations due to assault were examined. Geographical, seasonal, and irregular daily variation in temperature were all positively related to the incidence of assault, although only the effect of irregular variation in temperature was robust to controls for plausible confounds. The estimated effect of irregular daily variation in temperature was approximately 1.5 % extra recorded assaults for each 1 °C increase in temperature. It remains difficult, however, to make accurate predictions about future assault rates in a warming world. For example, humans may react to sustained changes in climate in ways that differ markedly from their reaction to short-term variation in temperature. Climate change may also affect rates of violence via mechanisms other than those that currently drive the relationship between temperature and violence. Furthermore, assault rates may continue to change in response to factors unrelated to climate change, such as those responsible for the long-term historical decline in human violence.
The effect of environmental temperature on suicide risk is an important issue given the increase in global temperatures expected over the following century. Previous research has produced conflicting ...findings: Studies concerned with temporal variation in temperature and suicide have tended to find a positive relationship, while those concerned with geographical variation in temperature and suicide have tended to find a negative relationship. In this study, we aimed firstly to estimate the relationship between suicide incidence and three components of variation in temperature: Irregular, seasonal, and geographical. Secondly, we aimed to critically examine what this information can (and cannot) tell us about the likely effects of anthropogenic climate change on suicide rates. Suicide data from New Zealand for the period 1988 to 2007 were collated according to date of death and district and compared with temperature data from the same period. Using generalized linear mixed models, we found that irregular variation in temperature was positively related to suicide incidence, with about 1.8 % more suicides for every 1 °C increase in temperature. On the other hand, seasonal variation in temperature had virtually no linear relationship with suicide incidence, and when controlling for demographic differences, geographical variation in temperature was
negatively
related to suicide incidence. We conclude that differences in both the sign and the direction of the effects of different forms of variation in temperature mean that it is very difficult to predict how climate change will affect risk of suicide.
Public opinion regarding scientific developments such as genetically modified food can be mixed. We suggest such science-based technological innovations are rejected by some because they are ...perceived to be advanced as part of a conspiracy. In nationally representative samples (Australia n = 1011; New Zealand n = 754), we report the associations between five conspiracism facets and anti-science attitudes. Results indicate broad public opposition to genetically modified food and use of nuclear power, but more acceptance of renewable power, potable recycled water, 5G networks, and childhood vaccinations. There were small to moderate associations between the rejection of scientific innovations and conspiracism. Multivariate models estimating unique associations of conspiracism facets with anti-science attitudes suggested several novel and important relationships, particularly for childhood vaccination, genetically modified food, and 5G networks. We discuss the importance of examining factors such as conspiracism in understanding what may motivate and sustain rejection of scientific evidence-based claims about socially contentious technological innovations.
Autism in Aotearoa Kember, Sarah M.; Williams, Matt N.
European journal of psychological assessment : official organ of the European Association of Psychological Assessment,
01/2021, Letnik:
37, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Screening measures for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are
important tools for clinicians and researchers. However, where a measure
developed and validated for one population is used with another, its ...performance
in this new context must be carefully examined. The RAADS-14, a brief ASD screen
developed in Sweden, was evaluated with a sample of New Zealand adults
(N = 387), 41 of whom self-reported a prior
diagnosis of ASD. The convergent validity of the RAADS-14 (Hypothesis 2) was
supported by a strong positive correlation with the AQ-10 (short version of the
Autism Spectrum Quotient), r = .81. Discriminant
validity (Hypothesis 3) was also supported by a strong negative correlation with
the EQ-Short (short version of the Empathy Quotient),
r = −.75. However, the measure did not
meet inferential criteria for internal consistency (Hypothesis 1), and
confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) found a poor fit of the proposed three-factor
model (Hypothesis 4) to the data. A cut-off score of 14/42 provided adequate
sensitivity (95%) to detect participants with self-reported ASD diagnoses, but
not adequate specificity (70%), suggesting a very high rate of false positives
should be expected if relying on RAADS-14 scores alone to interpret presence of
ASD. In sum, our results do not provide sufficient evidence of reliability and
validity to support the use of the RAADS-14 with the New Zealand population. We
provide suggestions for refinement of the RAADS-14 that may lead to increased
reliability and validity.
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