Changing patterns of transition to adulthood in Moldova before and after the 1990s transformation

Using Latent Profile Analysis and Related Approaches in Adolescent Health Research

This study examined empirically derived symptom cluster profiles among patients who present with insomnia using clinical data and polysomnography. Latent profile analysis was used to identify symptom cluster profiles of 175 individuals (63% female) with insomnia disorder based on total scores on validated self-report instruments of daytime and nighttime symptoms (Insomnia Severity Index, Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale), mean values from a 7-day sleep diary (sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset, and sleep efficiency), and total sleep time derived from an in-laboratory PSG. The best-fitting model had three symptom cluster profiles: "High Subjective Wakefulness" (HSW), "Mild Insomnia" (MI) and "Insomnia-Related Distress" (IRD). The HSW symptom cluster profile (26.3% of the sample) reported high wake after sleep onset, high sleep onset latency, and low sleep efficiency. Despite relatively comparable PSG-derived total sleep time, they reported greater levels of daytime sleepiness. The MI symptom cluster profile (45.1%) reported the least disturbance in the sleep diary and questionnaires and had the highest sleep efficiency. The IRD symptom cluster profile (28.6%) reported the highest mean scores on the insomnia-related distress measures (eg, sleep effort and arousal) and waking correlates (fatigue). Covariates associated with symptom cluster membership were older age for the HSW profile, greater obstructive sleep apnea severity for the MI profile, and, when adjusting for obstructive sleep apnea severity, being overweight/obese for the IRD profile. The heterogeneous nature of insomnia disorder is captured by this data-driven approach to identify symptom cluster profiles. The adaptation of a symptom cluster-based approach could guide tailored patient-centered management of patients presenting with insomnia, and enhance patient care.

The Transition to Adulthood (TA) patterns are sometimes classified into two broad categories: modern and traditional (Billari & Liefbroer, 2010). This classification is usually confirmed by the research of trends of the age of transition events: the first childbirth, the first marriage, the first employment, etc. In this paper, I try to do such classification for the Moldovan 1941 – 1985 birth cohorts. I apply the Latent Profile Analysis to the Gender and Generation Survey of 2020 to cluster by the means and variance of the events and their covariances. To account for the powerful crisis that happened in 1990, I use two cohort subsamples; to account for the differences between gender’s transition to adulthood, I also divide between men and women. I find three profiles for three subsamples and four profiles for the 1941 – 1956 male cohort. In every subsample, there is a group with a clearly traditional timing of events. The “more modern” patterns of transition to adulthood are more difficult to classify.

Background: Relatively strong theoretical assumptions and previous studies concerning co-occurring addictive behaviors suggest a subpopulation representing general proclivity to behavioral addictions (BAs), and there are gender-specific subpopulations. This study aimed to compare latent profile analysis (LPA) and latent class analysis (LCA) as the methods of investigating different clusters of BAs in the general student population and among students positively screened for at least one BA. Participants and procedure: Analyses of six BAs (study, shopping, gaming, Facebook, pornography, and food) and their potential antecedents (personality) and consequences (well-being) were conducted on a full sample of Polish undergraduate students (N = 1182) and a subsample (n = 327) of students including individuals fulfilling cutoff for at least one BA. Results: LPA on the subsample mostly replicated the previous four profiles found in the full sample. However, LCA on a full sample did not replicate previous findings using LPA and showed only two classes: those with relatively high probabilities on all BAs and low probabilities. LCA on the subsample conflated profiles identified with LPA and classes found with LCA in the full sample. Conclusions: LCA on dichotomized scores (screened positively vs. negatively) were less effective in identifying clear patterns of interrelationships between BAs based on relatively strong theoretical assumptions and found in previous research. BAs can be investigated on the whole spectrum of behavior, and person-centered analyses might be more useful when they are based on continuous scores. This paper provides more detailed analyses of the four basic clusters of BAs, prevalence, and co-occurrence of particular BAs within and between them, their gender and personality risk factors, relationships to well-being, and their interrelationships as emerging from the results of this and previous studies.

Background:Lip prints and fingerprints are considered to be unique to each individual. The study of fingerprints and lip prints is very popular in personal identification of the deceased and in criminal investigations.Aims:This study was done to find the predominant lip and fingerprint patterns in males and females in the North Indian population and also to find any correlation between lip print and fingerprint patterns within a gender.Materials and Methods:Two hundred students (100 males, 100 females) were included in the study. Lip prints were recorded for each individual using a dark-colored lipstick and the right thumb impression was recorded using an ink pad. The lip prints and fingerprints were analyzed using a magnifying glass. The Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis.Results:The branched pattern in males and the vertical pattern in females were the predominant lip print patterns. The predominant fingerprint pattern in both males and females was found to be the loop pattern, followed by the whorl pattern and then the arch pattern. No statistically significant correlation was found between lip prints and fingeprints. However, the arch type of fingerprint was found to be associated with different lip print patterns in males and females.Conclusion:Lip prints and fingerprints can be used for personal identification in a forensic scenario. Further correlative studies between lip prints and fingerprints could be useful in forensic science for gender identification.

There is renewed interest in person-centered approaches to understanding the structure of temperament. However, questions concerning temperament types are not frequently framed in a developmental context, especially during infancy. In addition, the most common person-centered techniques, cluster analysis (CA) and latent profile analysis (LPA), have not been compared with respect to derived temperament types. To address these gaps, we set out to identify temperament types for younger and older infants, comparing LPA and CA techniques. Multiple data sets (N = 1,356; 672 girls, 677 boys) with maternal ratings of infant temperament obtained using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (Gartstein & Rothbart, 2003) were combined. All infants were between 3 and 12 months of age (M = 7.85; SD = 3.00). Due to rapid development in the first year of life, LPA and CA were performed separately for younger (n = 731; 3 to 8 months of age) and older (n = 625; 9 to 12 months of age) infants. Results supported 3-profile/cluster solutions as optimal for younger infants, and 5-profile/cluster solutions for the older subsample, indicating considerable differences between early/mid and late infancy. LPA and CA solutions produced relatively comparable types for younger and older infants. Results are discussed in the context of developmental changes unique to the end of the first year of life, which likely account for the present findings. (PsycINFO Database Record

Negative emotional eating patterns in Chinese adolescents: A replication and longitudinal extension with latent profile and transition analyses

Young people have to cope with many negative life events and stress factors to maintain their happiness. Although there are studies on how they benefit from different coping strategies and their results, there is no study that profiles/groups young people according to negative life events and coping styles. From this point of view, the study aims to determine different life events classes and stress coping profiles in young people, and to examine the differences in happiness among the new groups created according to the discovered classes and profiles. Participants consisted of 1093 young people (M = 21.08) from different state universities in Turkey. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted, resulting in a 3 profile solution characterizing coping strategies: Positive-oriented (26.8%), slightly positive-oriented (50%), and negative-oriented (23.2%) coping strategy profiles. Latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted, resulting in a 2 class solution characterizing negative life events: More negative (40.1%) and less negative (59.9%) life events classes. For the purpose of the study, the profiles created with the latent profile analysis and the latent class analysis were considered together and the participants were divided into 6 groups. These groups differed significantly in terms of happiness. The group with the highest level of happiness is the group with positive-oriented coping strategies and less negative life conditions (μ = 4.35, p < .001), and the group with the lowest level of happiness is the group with negative-oriented coping strategies and more negative life conditions (μ = 3.48, p < .001). However, the findings indicated that a positive-oriented coping strategy profile (the profile that scored high on positive coping strategies and low on negative coping strategies) offers the most promising route to happiness whether experienced negative life events are less or more.

ABSTRACTThe aims of this study were to identify profiles of sedentary behaviour (SB) patterns, based on leisure-time self-reported SB modalities (screen, educative, social, and relaxing) and to evaluate changes in these profiles over 2 years among Spanish youth aged 8–18 years. Latent profile analysis (LPA), a data-driven analytic approach, was used to identify groups of boys and girls (n = 1553; 48% girls; mean±SD age: 12.56 ± 2.49 y) with distinct SB profiles using the SB modalities (time/d) as input variables. Latent transition analysis, an extension of LPA that uses longitudinal data, was used to analyse 2-year changes in these profiles. At baseline, four and three SB profiles were found among boys (labelled: screen, educative, social, and relaxing) and girls (labelled: screen/social, educative, and relaxing), respectively. Overall, more girls (range: 48%-67%) had the same profile over time, than boys (40%-52%). Participants with a screen or relaxing SB profile at baseline were more likely to have an educative profile after 2 years. Youth with a social and an educative SB profile at baseline were more likely to transition to profiles characterized by higher screen and social SB, respectively. Using a novel and person-centered approach, this study identified gender-specific SB profiles that were moderately stable over time.

Introduction: Cheiloscopy is considered as an emerging method in forensic odontology for identification of gender. There are several methods given in literature to identify the lip print types. Digital photographs can be used to study the lip prints for gender identification.&#x0D; Objective: The aim of the study was to identify the predominant lip print pattern in males and females by using digital photographs.&#x0D; Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study included 206 subjects, comprising 103 males and 103 females. Digital photographs were used to identify the lip print patterns. The classification given by Suzuki and Tsuchihashi was used to further classify the lip patterns. Kappa test was applied to check for inter observer variation. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 23. The association between gender and lip print type was tested by Chi square test.&#x0D; Results: Type I was the most common lip print followed by Type I’. Type V was the least common lip print followed by Type IV. Type I and Type II were the most common pattern in females and males respectively and these differences were found to be statistically significant (p&lt;0.01).&#x0D; Conclusion: Digital photographs are very useful for identification of lip print pattern. The variation in lip print pattern among males and females can be taken as an aid in gender determination.

Though the transmission of HIV is preventable, there were still 37,968 new documented cases in the United States in 2018. HIV incidence is disproportionate in sexual minority men of color. The purpose of this study was to examine sexual relationship power risk profiles to identify distinct subgroups within the profiles who carry the highest HIV risk. Latent class profile analysis was used to identify subgroups of sexual minority men of color at the highest risk for contracting HIV based on their sexual power profiles. Among 322 sexual minority men, we identified four latent profiles. Profile 1: Low transactional sex and high power (n = 133; 14.3%); Profile 2: Transactional sex, high decision-making in sexual relationships, and low control in sexual relationship (n = 99; 30.7%); Profile 3: Low transactional sex, low decision-making, and moderate control (n = 43; 13.4%); Profile 4: High transactional sex and low power (n = 47; 14.6%). LPA was useful to identify distinct subgroups based on measures of sexual risk and relationship sexual power. Findings carry significant implications for developing tailored strategies to increase HIV knowledge and related HIV prevention and risk reduction services for sexual minority men of color who engage in transactional sex.

BackgroundPrevious research on adolescent smartphone addiction has tended to focus on general populations that are assumed to be homogeneous, overlooking latent profiles. Furthermore, previous research has not focused on potentially important differences in the latent profiles of adolescent smartphone addiction in networks. The present study aimed to reveal the latent profiles of smartphone addiction, depression, stress, eustress, loneliness, and sleep deprivation in adolescents, and general and latent profiles were examined in the network.MethodsThe study group consisted of 436 (222 boys and 214 girls) adolescents, aged between 13 and 18 years. The findings of the present study were provided using Pearson correlation, ANOVA, latent profile analysis and network analysis. The data were analyzed using SPSS, JASP, and Mplus.ResultsThe results of the study showed solutions with three latent profiles. The non-addicted group constituted 20.87%, the addicted group covered 29.82% and the risky group included 49.31% of the study group. Although the general profile and the addicted latent group had similar characteristics, the differences in the risky and non-addicted groups contributed to the current literature by providing a further and remarkable perspective on smartphone addiction, depression, distress, eustress, loneliness, and sleep deprivation in adolescents.ConclusionsThe theoretical and practical implications of the present results will provide contributions to researchers and practitioners in understanding smartphone addiction.

The potentials of electrocardiogram (ECG) in sex determination in young adults have not been extensively explored despite the fact that ECG is one of the most frequently performed medical procedures. This study aimed at developing a simple electrocardiographic score system that could assist in sex determination in young adults. Patterns of ECG in male and female young adults were carefully analyzed and features that could be used to delineate the ECG into male and female patterns were selected as criteria for formulation of a simple scoring system called Ogunlade sex determination electrocardiographic score (OSDES).Components of OSDES were point scores in four electrocardiographic parameters; T wave configuration in V1 (1-3), ST segment in V2 or V3 (1-3), QRS rotation (1-3) and heart rate (1-3). The total minimum and maximum scores were 4 and 12 respectively. An individual with a total score of < 7 was identified as a female while an individual with a score ≥ 7 was identified a male. Thus, with OSDES, ECG can be classified into two; male pattern and female pattern for male and female respectively. This unique scoring system was tested among 474 healthy young adults (294 males and 180 females). Two hundred and eighty eight (288) of the 294 males were correctly identified by OSDES as males while 174 of the 180 females were correctly identified as females (k = 0.946, p < 0.001). The study defined male and female ECG patterns and concluded that ECG can be used to determine sex among young adult population.

Personality profile analysis, personality-intelligence profile analysis, and the intergenerational transmission of both: Insights from Chinese evidence.

BackgroundThe ability to thrive at work has been demonstrated to be closely linked to the development of nurses.Effective utilization of strengths and maintaining hope are essential elements for clinical nurses’ ability to flourish in their roles. Nevertheless, the relationship between strengths use, hope, and thriving at work remains underexplored. This study aimed to identify distinct subgroups of clinical nurses based on their strengths use and to examine the mediating effect of hope between strengths use and thriving at work. The findings are intended to inform clinical managers on strategies to enhance nurses’ work performance and care quality.MethodsA convenience sample of 568 clinical nurses from two tertiary hospitals in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China, was recruited between January and March 2024. The survey collected sociodemographic data and included the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale, Strengths Use Scale, and Thriving at Work Scale. Potential categories of nurse strengths use characteristics were identified using potential profile analysis, and potential relationships between variables were determined using Pearson correlation analysis, Bayesian factor robustness analyses, and Mediation analysis.ResultsLPA identified three distinct groups based on strengths use: low (30.8%), moderate (64.9%), and high (13.2%).The significant mediating effect of hope in the relationship between strengths use based on latent profile analysis and thriving at work was observed (SE = 0.61,95%CI = -10.01, -7.62; SE = 0.76,95%CI = -18.91, -15.91, respectively).ConclusionsThere exists heterogeneity in nurses’ strengths use. Hope plays a significant role in mediating the relationship between strengths use and thriving at work. It is recommended that nursing administrators or leaders pay attention to differences in individual levels of strengths use, encourage strengths-based practices and design interventions that foster hope, thereby promoting greater thriving in their professional roles.