Buffering Hypothesis Research Articles

The existential function of right‐wing authoritarianism

Four studies tested the existential and existential buffering functions of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). We tested whether the facets of meaning mediated these functions. All studies measured RWA and meaning in life (MIL). Study 1, N=2,319, also measured covariates, including Protestant Work Ethic and religiosity. Study 2, N=505, examined RWA and meaning facets (purpose, coherence, and significance), and measured religiosity. Study 3, N=971, measured psychological distress to test the existential buffering function of RWA. Study 4, N=833, tested this hypothesis using meaning facets and tested for moderated mediation. In all studies, RWA and MIL were positively correlated. In Study 1, Protestant Work Ethic and religiosity weakened this association. In Study 2, significance mediated the association between RWA and global MIL. Religiosity wiped out the relationship between RWA and meaning variables, except significance. Study 3 supported the existential buffering hypothesis: distress and global MIL were less strongly related among those high on RWA. Study 4 replicated this finding for MIL facets. Significance mediated the existential buffering function of RWA. Findings extend scientific knowledge by demonstrating that RWA contributes to MIL, particularly existential mattering, and especially for those experiencing distress. We discuss implications for our understanding of RWA and MIL.

Why Are Your Employees Leaving the Organization? The Interaction Effect of Role Overload, Perceived Organizational Support, and Equity Sensitivity

Drawing on job demand-resources (JDR) theory, this study proposes that role overload and perceived organizational support have interaction effects on turnover intention. Further, we investigate the dynamics between role overload and turnover intention by considering differences in individuals’ reactions to inequity. We conducted several hierarchical regression analyses to test our hypotheses using data from 207 team members at 12 manufacturing companies in South Korea. The results reveal a positive relationship between role overload and turnover intention and a significant joint moderation effect of perceived organizational support and equity sensitivity. This study expands on JDR theory by simultaneously considering the buffer and strain hypotheses in the role overload–turnover relationship and its link to equity sensitivity.

Trade Liberalisation and Female Employment in Botswana and South Africa

The literature on trade liberalisation has presented female labour force participation and employment as positive outcomes which can be realised through trade. Given that female employment depends on the growth and gender composition of the industries affected by trade, authors have found conflicting evidence on the topic. However, Caǧatay (2005) has put forth hypotheses to explain possible scenarios under which feminisation of the labour force can take place, namely the buffer, segmentation and substitution hypotheses. The purpose of this research paper is to determine which of these hypotheses are congruent with changes in female labour force participation in Botswana and South Africa. Both are middle income countries with similar trade compositions which have undertaken trade liberalisation strategies over the last few decades and have experienced positive growth in female labour force participation. Micro and macroeconomic data on trade and employment were utilised for both countries and the findings suggest that the substitution hypothesis holds for both the agricultural and manufacturing sectors in Botswana. While the substitution hypothesis also holds in the South African agricultural sector, the buffer hypothesis holds in the manufacturing sector. Though the female employment growth in both these countries is a positive labour market indicator, developing countries such as these should strive towards attaining outcomes which resemble the segmentation hypothesis to ensure the sustainability of female employment growth. To achieve this, trade and industrial policies should identify female-dominated sectors, or at least sectors which are an important source of female employment, and gear development towards those. In addition, labour policies should be developed in conjunction with these trade and industrial policies to protect the rights of the workers in these industries.

Brain size evolution in anurans: a review

Abstract Selection pressure is an important force in shaping the evolution of vertebrate brain size among populations within species as well as between species. The evolution of brain size is tightly linked to natural and sexual selection, and life-history traits. In particular, increased environmental stress, intensity of sexual selection, and slower life history usually result in enlarged brains. However, although previous studies have addressed the causes of brain size evolution, no systematic reviews have been conducted to explain brain size in anurans. Here, we review whether brain size evolution supports the cognitive buffer hypothesis (CBH), the expensive tissue hypothesis (ETH), or the developmental cost hypothesis (DCH) by analyzing the intraspecific and/or interspecific patterns in brain size and brain regions (i.e., olfactory nerves, olfactory bulbs, telencephalon, optic tectum, and cerebellum) associated with ecological factors (habitat, diet and predator risk), sexual selection intensity, life-history traits (age at sexual maturity, mean age, longevity, clutch size and egg size, testis size and sperm length), and other energetic organs. Our findings suggest that brain size evolution in anurans supports the CBH, ETH or DCH. We also suggest future directions for studying the relationships between brain size evolution and crypsis (i.e., ordinary mucous glands in the skin), and food alteration in different developmental stages.

Human milk sIgA antibody in relation to maternal nutrition and infant vulnerability in northern Kenya.

BackgroundThe maternal buffering hypothesis posits that human lactation biology can buffer milk against the mild-to-moderate malnutrition that occurred routinely in evolutionary history through the mobilization of maternal body reserves. This perspective may provide insights for understanding human milk immune content variation, such as milk sIgA, which protects infants’ intestines from microbial colonization and prevents diarrheal disease.ObjectiveTo investigate how maternal delivery of sIgA to milk may vary in a way that can buffer milk against maternal malnutrition, while taking into consideration infants’ varying needs for immune protection across age or by sex.MethodologyA cross-sectional study analyzed archived milk specimens from breastfeeding mothers in Ariaal communities of northern Kenya surveyed during the 2006 Horn-of-Africa drought. Multiple regression models for ln-transformed sIgA were constructed using maternal nutrition, infant age/sex and their interactions as predictors. Maternal nutrition variables included iron-deficiency anemia (IDA), vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC). Infant vulnerability was considered high in young age and/or male sex.Results and implicationsMilk sIgA did not significantly differ by maternal IDA. Milk sIgA increased with infant age and maternal MUAC (n = 202). Significant interactions were observed between infant age and maternal VAD and between infant sex and maternal MUAC, such that milk sIgA content was low for younger infants particularly among VAD mothers, while among mothers with low MUAC, sIgA was lower for male infants. Results imply that mothers’ ability to deliver/buffer milk sIgA may be lowered when nutritional stress is combined with high infant vulnerability to infection.Lay SummaryHuman milk sIgA antibody content was low for younger infants among vitamin A deficient mothers. Among mothers with small arm-circumference, milk sIgA was lower for sons. Double burden of raising young or male infants with high needs for immune protection and being malnourished, might lower maternal sIgA delivery to milk.

Do “Dark” Personality Features Buffer Against Adversity? The Associations Between Cumulative Life Stress, the Dark Triad, and Mental Distress

Stressful life events have a major impact on adverse mental health outcomes, although not all individuals are equally affected. According to the buffering hypothesis, there may be personality traits that protect individuals against mental distress in the face of adversity, playing thus a moderating role between life stressors and mental distress. In the present online study ( N = 574), Dark Triad of personality (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) were investigated as moderators between cumulative stressful life events and mental distress (i.e., psychosis, anxiety, and depression). Those who experienced more stressful events during lifetime, and scored higher in Machiavellianism, had higher scores on a psychosis instrument. Narcissism buffered the impact of stressful events on psychosis and depression. The results are discussed in terms of unique profiles associated with each of the traits.

The mediating effect of social support on the relationship between the impact of experienced stigma and mental health.

The impact of stigma and discrimination against persons with mental illness is well documented. Less well researched are the interpersonal and intrapersonal mechanisms that mediate how acts of discrimination impact persons with mental illness, specifically social support. Past research has focused on the buffering, or moderating impact of perceived social support. We hypothesize that perceived social support is a psychological process, changed by interactions with the outside world, including stressful interactions. In this study, we explore perceived social support as a mediator between the impact of experienced discrimination and mental health. We also test the moderating hypotheses as a way to determine if past research on the role of perceived social support is a better model than the mediating model. We used data from a subset of the Canadian Community Health Survey–Mental Health. We tested the mediating role of perceived social support using the bootstrapped estimate of the 95% confidence interval of the indirect effect. We also tested the buffering hypothesis of perceived social support, using the product of the impact of decimation measure and perceived social support measure. The results suggest that perceived social support does mediate the relationship between the impact of experienced discrimination and mental health. The buffering hypothesis did not hold. Results suggest a new way to model the relationship of perceived social support, stigma, and mental health. Further, the results provide insights into the importance of intervening at the point of discrimination.

Cognitive ability as a moderator of the association between social disadvantage and psychological distress: evidence from a population-based sample.

Social disadvantage consistently predicts both self-reported distress and clinically diagnosed disorders such as depression. Yet, many individuals who are exposed to disadvantage do not report high levels of distress. This study extends our recent work showing that high cognitive ability may protect against the negative health consequences of exposure to disadvantaged backgrounds. We test whether this 'buffer effect' exists across clinically relevant indices of mental health in a population-representative sample. In total, 27 985 participants were drawn from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (Understanding Society). Clinical diagnoses of depression and clinically relevant measures of psychological distress [i.e. Short Form-12 (SF-12) Mental Component, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)] and trait neuroticism were assessed. Cognitive ability was derived from performance on word recall, verbal fluency and numerical ability tasks. Early-life disadvantage was gauged using family background measures assessing parental education and occupation at age 14. Background disadvantage predicted increased levels of reported psychological distress and neuroticism. These associations were moderated by cognitive ability. Across all available mental health measures, the negative association between early-life disadvantage and poor adult mental health was strongest at low (-1 s.d.) cognitive ability and was no longer evident at high (+1 s.d.) levels of cognitive ability. The results provide support for a cognitive buffering hypothesis linking high cognitive ability to a decrease in the magnitude of the social gradient in mental health. Those disadvantaged by both low socioeconomic status and low cognitive ability may benefit from targeted prevention and treatment programmes aiming to reduce socioeconomic disparities in mental health.

Social support as a comfort or an encouragement: A systematic review on the contrasting effects of social support on cardiovascular reactivity.

The stress-buffering hypothesis (Cohen & McKay, 1984, Handbook of psychology and health IV: Social psychological aspects of health (pp. 253-256). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum) suggests that one way social support enhances health is by attenuating cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to stress. Research that has tested this hypothesis has reported inconsistent findings. In this review, we systematically reviewed those findings and proposed a dual-effect model of social support and CVR as a potential explanation for the inconsistency in the literature. Specifically, we proposed that when participants are more engaged during a stressor, social support acts primarily as social comfort, attenuating CVR; and when participants are not engaged, social support acts primarily as social encouragement, elevating CVR. We reviewed 22 previous studies that (1) empirically manipulated social support in a stressful situation, (2) measured CVR, and (3) tested a moderator of social support effects on CVR. Although a majority of studies reported a CVR-mitigating effect of social support resulting in an overall significant combined p-value, we found that there were different effects of social support on CVR when we considered high- and low-engagement contexts. That is, compared to control conditions, social support lowered CVR in more engaging situations but had no significant effect on CVR in less engaging situations. Our results suggest that a dual-effect model of social support effects on CVR may better capture the nature of social support, CVR, and health associations than the buffering hypothesis and emphasize a need to better understand the health implications of physiological reactivity in various contexts. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? According to the stress-buffering hypothesis (Cohen & McKay, ), one pathway social support benefits health is through mitigating the physiological arousal caused by stress. However, previous studies that examined the effects of social support on blood pressure and heart rate changes were not consistently supporting the hypothesis. Some studies reported that social support causes elevations in cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to stress (Anthony & O'Brien, ; Hilmert, Christenfeld, & Kulik, ; Hilmert, Kulik, & Christenfeld, ) and others showed no effect of social support on CVR (Christian & Stoney, ; Craig & Deichert, ; Gallo, Smith, & Kircher, ). What does this study add? When participants were in more engaging conditions, social support decreased CVR relative to no support. When participants were in less engaging conditions, social support did not have a significant effect on CVR. Provide an alternative way to explain the ways social support affects cardiac health.

Work value orientations and worker well-being in the new economy

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to integrate work values research with the Job Demands–Resources model to assess the role that work value orientations play in self-employed workers’ subjective well-being.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyzes unique data on freelancers participating in an online labor market (n=9,984).FindingsIntrinsic work values are associated with greater subjective well-being, whereas extrinsic work values are associated with lower subjective well-being. Consistent with the buffer hypothesis, intrinsic work value orientation reduces the negative effect of working hours on worker’s well-being, and extrinsic orientation enhances the negative effect.Originality/valueThis paper calls into question the importance of working conditions relative to worker values when assessing the role that job demands and resources play in the new economy. As work becomes more demanding and employment relations more flexible, personal resources such as work value orientations may become increasingly important for worker’s well-being.

Soluble amyloid-beta buffering by plaques in Alzheimer disease dementia versus high-pathology controls.

An unanswered question regarding Alzheimer disease dementia (ADD) is whether amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques sequester toxic soluble Aβ species early during pathological progression. We previously reported that the concentration of soluble Aβ aggregates from patients with mild dementia was higher than soluble Aβ aggregates from patients with modest Aβ plaque burden but no dementia. The ratio of soluble Aβ aggregate concentration to Aβ plaque area fully distinguished these groups of patients. We hypothesized that initially plaques may serve as a reservoir or sink for toxic soluble Aβ aggregates, sequestering them from other targets in the extracellular space and thereby preventing their toxicity. To initially test a generalized version of this hypothesis, we have performed binding assessments using biotinylated synthetic Aβ1–42 peptide. Aβ1-42-biotin peptide was incubated on unfixed frozen sections from non-demented high plaque pathology controls and patients with ADD. The bound peptide was measured using ELISA and confocal microscopy. We observed no quantitative difference in Aβ binding between the groups using either method. Further testing of the buffering hypothesis using various forms of synthetic and human derived soluble Aβ aggregates will be required to definitively address the role of plaque buffering as it relates to ADD.

Discrimination and Chronic Kidney Disease among Caribbean Blacks: The Effects of Immigration and Social Status.

This study examined the association between discrimination and chronic kidney disease (CKD) among Caribbean blacks and how this association varies by marital status, educational attainment, and length of U.S. residency within the frameworks for the stress buffering hypothesis and stress process model. The analysis was based on the Caribbean black subsample of the National Survey of American Life (N = 1551). Logistic regression models were conducted to test the aims of this study. The findings indicate that the association between discrimination and CKD varied by length of U.S. residency, marital status, and education. Overall, the findings demonstrate the importance of considering immigration and sociodemographic context when investigating the relation between discrimination and CKD in immigrant populations.

Nearby Nature 'Buffers' the Effect of Low Social Connectedness on Adult Subjective Wellbeing over the Last 7 Days.

Subjective wellbeing (SWB) is positively associated with both social connectedness and contact with natural environments. However, few studies have explored how these two predictors of SWB might interact. The current work hypothesised that high levels of nature exposure might mitigate (or buffer) any negative effects of a lack of recent social connectedness on wellbeing, by offering an alternative way for individuals to connect with the world around them. Results are based on data from 359 individuals who responded to an online survey in the UK. Measures of SWB, social connectedness and nature visit frequency all focused on the last seven days, and nearby nature was assessed in terms of the view from home and surrounding area. Regression models predicting SWB used interaction terms to test the buffering hypothesis, and controlled for sociodemographic and personality variables. Supporting predictions, social connectedness, nearby nature, and nature visit frequency were all positively associated with SWB. Partially supporting our buffering hypothesis, nearby nature, but not nature visit frequency, moderated the relationship between social connectedness and SWB. People with poor social connectedness still showed high levels of wellbeing if they reported high levels of nearby nature, and there was a lower likelihood of levels of wellbeing associated with depression among those with poor social connectedness if they had high nearby nature. Results confirmed the importance of nature exposure for wellbeing in itself, and highlighted its potential role in offering socially isolated individuals a way of satisfying the need to feel connected.

Buffer or Brake? The Role of Sexuality-Specific Parenting in Adolescents\u2019 Sexualized Media Consumption and Sexual Development

One main source of sexual socialization lies within family interactions. Especially sexuality-specific parenting may determine adolescents’ sexual development—adolescents’ sexual behavior and sexual risk behavior, sexualized media consumption and permissive sexual attitudes—to a significant extent, but different ideas exist about how this works. In this longitudinal study, we examined two hypotheses on how sexuality-specific parenting—parenting aimed specifically at children’s sexual attitudes and behaviors—relates to adolescents’ sexual development. A first buffer hypothesis states that parents’ instructive media discussions with their children—called instructive mediation—buffers the effect of sexualized media consumption on adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behavior and, vice versa, the effect of adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behavior on sexualized media consumption. A second brake hypothesis states that parents, by communicating love-and-respect oriented sexual norms, slow down adolescents’ development toward increased sexualized media use, permissive sexual attitudes, and sexual behavior and sexual risk behavior. Using four-wave longitudinal data from 514 Dutch adolescents aged 13–16 years (49.8% female), we found evidence to support a brake effect. More frequent parental communication of love-and-respect oriented sexual norms was associated with less permissive sexual attitudes and, for boys, with less advanced sexual behavior and a less rapid increase in sexual risk behavior. Parents’ instructive mediation regarding adolescents’ sexualized media consumption was associated with less permissive sexual attitudes at baseline, but only for girls. No systematic evidence emerged for a buffer effect of parents’ instructive mediation. In conclusion, although our data seem to suggest that parent–child communication about sex is oftentimes “after the fact”, we also find that more directive parental communication that conveys love-and-respect oriented sexual norms brake adolescents’ move toward sexual maturity.

Seasonality and brain size are negatively associated in frogs: evidence for the expensive brain framework

The challenges of seasonal environments are thought to contribute to brain evolution, but in which way is debated. According to the Cognitive Buffer Hypothesis (CBH) brain size should increase with seasonality, as the cognitive benefits of a larger brain should help overcoming periods of food scarcity via, for instance, increased behavioral flexibility. However, in line with the Expensive Brain Framework (EBF) brain size should decrease with seasonality because a smaller brain confers energetic benefits in periods of food scarcity. Empirical evidence is inconclusive and mostly limited to homoeothermic animals. Here we used phylogenetic comparative analyses to test the impact of seasonality on brain evolution across 30 species of anurans (frogs) experiencing a wide range of temperature and precipitation. Our results support the EBF because relative brain size and the size of the optic tectum were negatively correlated with variability in temperature. In contrast, we found no association between the variability in precipitation and the length of the dry season with either brain size or the sizes of other major brain regions. We suggest that seasonality-induced food scarcity resulting from higher variability in temperature constrains brain size evolution in anurans. Less seasonal environments may therefore facilitate the evolution of larger brains in poikilothermic animals.

The moderating role of job resources in the relationship between job demands and interleukin-6 in an Italian healthcare organization.

In this study we examined the association between job demands (JD), job resources (JR), and serum levels of a possible biomarker of stress, the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6). According to the buffer hypothesis of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, we expected that job resources-defined as job autonomy and social support from supervisor-might buffer the relationship between job demands, defined as emotional demands and interpersonal conflict with colleagues, and IL-6. Data from 119 employees in an Italian public healthcare organization (acute care hospital) were analyzed using multiple regression. In predicting IL-6, the interactions between emotional demands and JR and between interpersonal conflict with colleagues and job autonomy (but not social support) were significant, after controlling for the effect of age and gender. The association between JD and IL-6 was stronger for individuals with low levels of JR, so that levels of IL-6 were highest when JD were high and JR were low. Overall, these results are consistent with the buffer hypothesis of the JD-R model and also extend previous research, showing that the exposure to stressful situations at work, measured as high JD and low JR, is associated with higher levels of IL-6 in hospital employees.

The meaning as a buffer hypothesis: Spiritual meaning attenuates the effect of disaster-related resource loss on posttraumatic stress.

The meaning as a buffer hypothesis: Spiritual meaning attenuates the effect of disaster-related resource loss on posttraumatic stress.

Bus operators' responses to job strain: An experimental test of the job demand-control model.

The research aim was to test the Job Demand-Control (JDC) Model demands × Control interaction (or buffering) hypothesis in a simulated bus driving experiment. The buffering hypothesis was tested using a 2 (low and high demands) × 2 (low and high decision latitude) design with repeated measures on the second factor. A sample of 80 bus operators were randomly assigned to the low (n = 40) and high demands (n = 40) conditions. Demands were manipulated by increasing or reducing the number of stops to pick up passengers, and decision latitude by imposing or removing restrictions on the Rapid Transit Bus (BRT) operators' pace of work. Outcome variables include physiological markers (heart rate [HR], heart rate variability [HRV], breathing rate [BR], electromyography [EMG], and skin conductance [SC]), objective driving performance and self-report measurements of psychological wellbeing (psychological distress, interest/enjoyment [I/E], perceived competence, effort/importance [E/I], and pressure/tension [P/T]). It was found that job decision latitude moderates the effect of job demands on both physiological arousal (BR: F(1, 74) = 4.680, p = .034, SC: F(1, 75) = 6.769, p = .011, and EMG: F(1, 75) = 6.550, p = .013) and psychological well-being (P/T: F(1, 75) = 4.289, p = .042 and I/E: F(1, 74) = 4.548, p = .036). Consistently with the JDC model buffering hypothesis, the experimental findings suggest that increasing job decision latitude can moderate the negative effect of job demands on different psychophysiological outcomes. This finding is useful for designing organizational and clinical interventions in an occupational group at high risk of work stress-related disease. (PsycINFO Database Record

Unique Interactions of Interpersonal Trauma and Positive Peer and Family Experiences on Traumatic Distress Among Pediatric Primary Care Patients.

Individuals with histories of interpersonal trauma are at increased risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Risk of PTSD is particularly salient during critical periods of development, such as adolescence and emerging adulthood. However, little is known about the unique effects and interactions of protective factors and interpersonal trauma on PTSD symptoms in adolescents and young adults. The current study tested whether positive peer and family experiences decrease the associations between interpersonal trauma and PTSD symptoms and whether these associations differed by victim-perpetrator relationships. Participants included 3,618 adolescents and young adults (aged 14-24 years) who completed the Behavioral Health Screen-a web-based screening tool that assesses psychiatric symptoms and associated risk factors-during a routine visit across 10 primary care sites in Pennsylvania. In support of the stress buffering hypothesis, results revealed that positive peer and family experiences buffered the effects of interpersonal trauma by a romantic partner and an adult in the home. Future research should examine whether programs aimed at improving peer or family relationships improve outcomes for traumatized youth.

Big brains stabilize populations and facilitate colonization of variable habitats in birds.

The cognitive buffer hypothesis posits that environmental variability can be a major driver of the evolution of cognition because an enhanced ability to produce flexible behavioural responses facilitates coping with the unexpected. Although comparative evidence supports different aspects of this hypothesis, a direct connection between cognition and the ability to survive a variable and unpredictable environment has yet to be demonstrated. Here, we use complementary demographic and evolutionary analyses to show that among birds, the mechanistic premise of this hypothesis is well supported but the implied direction of causality is not. Specifically, we show that although population dynamics are more stable and less affected by environmental variation in birds with larger relative brain sizes, the evolution of larger brains often pre-dated and facilitated the colonization of variable habitats rather than the other way around. Our findings highlight the importance of investigating the timeline of evolutionary events when interpreting patterns of phylogenetic correlation.