Social Level Research Articles

Exploring the relationship between personality traits, social appearance anxiety, and quality of life among nursing students

BackgroundNursing students represent a unique group that faces specific stressors. One of these stressors is social appearance anxiety, which can adversely affect the quality of life. Personality traits are strong predictors of coping with stress and anxiety. This study explored the relationship between personality traits, social appearance anxiety, and quality of life among nursing students.MethodsThe study employed a correlational descriptive cross-sectional research design. One thousand twenty-one students from the bachelor program’s first, second, third, and fourth years participated in the study. The data was collected over three months from June to August 2024 by using four tools: the student's academic and socio-demographic profile, Novo Psych Five Factor Personality Scale (NFFPS-30), Social anxiety about appearance Scale (SAAS)., and The WHO Quality of Life Scale-Brief (WHOQOL-Brief).ResultsThe personality trait with the highest mean score is agreeableness (21.0 ±2.8), while neuroticism has the lowest mean score (18.4 ±4.3). (SAAS) results show that the majority of students (79.5%) experience low social anxiety levels. Additionally, (WHOQOL-Brief), general health, and social domains had the highest mean scores (58.2 and 53.2), compared to the physical domain, which scored the lowest at (40.6).ConclusionThe study concluded that all personality traits correlate significantly negatively with SAAS except neuroticism. QOL was positively correlated with all personality traits except neuroticism. SAAS and neuroticism traits of personality are strong negative predictors of QOL. Further research and interventional programs are necessary to detect students’ level of anxiety and their personality traits and improve their social appearance anxiety.

Переживание утраты взрослого ребенка в пожилом возрасте

<p>Parental grief is associated with many collateral losses and severe consequences at the mental, physical, and social levels. Most studies of parental loss are concentrated in the area of infant mortality, while increasing life expectancy entails an increase in the number of cases of adult child loss among older people. Anamneses of elderly people are often burdened by cumulative psychotraumatization, somatic and mental disorders. At the same time, older subjects have a wider range of coping strategies available. This review examines the consequences of the superposition of the factors of the severity of the stressor under study and the pronounced gerontogenetic diversity. Based on the analysis of 76 literary sources, a comparison and specification of the empirical research results were carried out, which preliminary revealed universal psychological consequences of losing a child at an older age, including a sense of guilt, a feeling of abnormality of what happened, complication of the age crisis, deformation of the "Self-concept", chronification of grief. Specific tendencies in the course of grief due to the type of loss are systematically described. Loss of a violent nature is the most traumatic in comparison with loss due to an unfavorable outcome of the disease and is accompanied by the desire of parents to take revenge, restore justice. Losses of children performing official duties during military operations are associated with extremely high ambivalence of experiences, while losses associated with emergency situations are associated with survivor's guilt. Illegal grief (death due to a stigmatized disease, suicide, violation of the law, substance use) is burdened by shame, which prevents getting help. The study points out the need for empirical clarification of the data obtained and has practical value, specifying the targets of providing psychotherapeutic assistance to grieving elderly parents.</p>

Potential profiling of social alienation in older female patients with stress urinary incontinence

BackgroundWith the global trend of aging, stress urinary incontinence is becoming more common in older adults, which may have some impact on patients' quality of life. Social alienation can generate negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, and morbid stigma, and reduce patients' quality of life. However, the current status of social alienation is different among different older adult female patients with stress urinary incontinence. Therefore, this study categorizes older adult female stress urinary incontinence patients through potential analysis to understand the category characteristics of social alienation level of older adult female stress urinary incontinence patients, and explores the influencing factors of social alienation level of different categories of older adult female stress urinary incontinence patients, which can provide a reference to personalized intervention programs for the characteristics of social alienation of older adult female stress urinary incontinence in the future.MethodA convenience sampling method was used to select 365 cases of older adult female stress urinary incontinence patients from March 2023 to April 2024 in three communities in Jinzhou City. The General Information Questionnaire, the Family Care Index Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and the General Alienation Scale were used to conduct the survey.ResultsA total of 365 respondents were included, and three potential categories of social alienation were finally identified, namely, low social alienation (29.0%), medium social alienation-self alienation (49.4%), and high social alienation (21.6%). The results of multifactorial logistic regression analysis showed that occupational status, marital status, whether living alone, place of residence, BMI, whether other chronic diseases, level of narrative disorders, and level of family care were the influencing factors of social alienation in older adult female patients with stress urinary incontinence (P < 0.05).ConclusionThe social alienation of older adult female patients with stress urinary incontinence is characterized by a significant number of categories, and healthcare professionals can identify the characteristics and influencing factors of each category at an early stage, which can provide a basis for the development of targeted clinical interventions to help patients reduce the level of social alienation.

Individuals with disabilities in grassroots football clubs: volunteering and social capital

Abstract Volunteering might be a leisure activity that supports the development of social capital of individuals with disabilities in organized sports. This study investigates the link between having a disability (i.e., physical, mental, or both), the likelihood and extent of volunteering, and the level of social capital in grassroots football clubs. We further examine a moderating effect of volunteering hours on the relationship between having a disability and social capital. Drawing on leisure constraints theory, individuals with disabilities are assumed to have a lower probability to volunteer than able-bodied individuals. Also, we hypothesize that individuals with disabilities perceive their social capital as lower than able-bodied individuals. Based on the motivational model, we assume that sport volunteers with disabilities perceive a higher social capital if they volunteer more hours. Data were collected via an online survey in seven European countries and targeted at adult volunteers and members in football clubs (n = 16,989 volunteers). Results of regressions show that having a physical disability is significantly negatively associated with the probability to volunteer in a football club. Further, having either a physical or mental disability is significantly negatively related to an individuals’ social capital level. The moderation analyses indicate that volunteers having both types of disabilities perceive a higher social capital if they volunteer more hours per month.

Effectiveness and Efficiency Analysis of Three Methods of Lecturer and Employee Attendance at UIN Salatiga

This research analyzes the effectiveness and efficiency of three methods of lecturer and employee attendance used at the State Islamic University (UIN) Salatiga, namely: Squadron Android application, Smart Staff Android and iOS applications, and Fingerprint. This research uses a comparative quantitative approach with data collected through questionnaires from 76 respondents. The results of the research indicate that the Squadron Android application method has the highest level of satisfaction, accuracy, and socialization compared to other methods. However, all methods still face technical constraints, such as tool sensitivity and limited reach. This research recommends technical improvements, increased functionality, and integration of attendance systems to improve user experience. The Squadron Android application attendance method shows a higher value than Smart Staff Android and iOS applications and Fingerprint. Many respondents considered the ease of use and accuracy of the Squadron Android application attendance method better than other attendance methods.

An exploration of sociopolitical grief

ABSTRACT Grief is most commonly understood as an individual response to the death of a loved one. However, this view of grief is highly individualistic and does not incorporate the complexity of the grief experience as a response to many different types of losses. Grief may be individually and/or collectively experienced. It may also be present not just after the death of a loved one, but due to the ‘death’ of deeply held values, ideals, and identities that originate in social and/or structural spheres. A unique form of grief that has significant relevance to current world events is sociopolitical grief, which occurs in losses that result from the implementation of political policies, laws, organisational norms, and social messaging that have a profound impact upon specific individuals and groups. In this article, the concept of sociopolitical grief will be explored from many different perspectives, along with the unique implications for losses that originate at the governmental, structural, and/or social levels.

Midwives perspectives of barriers and facilitators for the practice of promoting women's positive childbirth experience in China: A qualitative study.

Women-centered care for positive childbirth experiences is currently a global trend. However, there are some barriers to promoting women's positive childbirth experiences in practice. This study explored midwives' perspectives on the barriers and facilitators to promoting women's positive childbirth experience in practice. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 18 midwives in the birth unit of four tertiary care hospitals in Hefei, Anhui Province, China. Thematic analysis was used to code the interviews with deductive codes, and we organized findings according to levels of influence within the Dahlgren and Whitehead rainbow model, a socioecological model of health. Midwives reported barriers to women's positive childbirth experience were identified on four levels: individual factors included psychological barriers and childbirth expectations (micro level), social and community and organization factors included interpersonal violence, medical mistrust and obstetric violence and outcome (meso level), healthcare system factors included midwife shortage and hospital environment (macro level). Facilitators for a positive birth experience include antenatal education, community continuum of care, and respectful and understanding care. This study indicated that midwives experienced several barriers and facilitators in providing positive childbirth experience care to women in the Chinese context. The findings will help maternity care providers and policymakers develop multi-level implementation strategies at the individual, social, community, organization, and healthcare system levels.

'It's Not Written All Over My Face': Constructing Chronic Pain as Invisible in Pain Clinic Consultations and Interviews.

Historically in medicine and beyond, the understanding of and treatment of pain is based on finding tissue injury. The fact that for chronic pain, there often is no (longer) any traceable tissue injury, in combination with the fact that pain essentially is a private experience, poses a challenge for clinical communication. This paper therefore examines how pain is linguistically and interactionally constructed as invisible. The qualitative approach of interactional sociolinguistic analysis is used to analyse 37 consultations and 11 semi-structured interviews with patients with chronic pain, collected at a Belgian pain clinic. This fine-grained approach to studying communication provides an in-depth empirical understanding of phenomenon under scrutiny. The data show that pain is constructed as invisible on several levels: 1) on the biomechanical and clinical level in terms of its lack of visible or traceable tissue injury, 2) on the level of interaction, as pain needs to be made apparent to other people through pain displays, and 3) on the social level, as chronic pain often is not visible or apparent in society more largely. The discussion explores how on these three levels, notions of the abnormal or deviant body come into play, in which patients and health professionals complexly construct pain both as not normal (i.e. not a neutral or desirable state of being), while, at the same time, the lack of traceable tissue injury is constructed as medically normal for chronic pain. This also shows how patients and healthcare providers often orient to the stigma around chronic pain.

Interventions to Reduce Loneliness Among Community-dwelling Older Adults: A Network Meta-analysis and Systematic Review.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions in reducing loneliness among community-dwelling older adults. A network meta-analysis (NMA) and systematic review. Interventional studies were included if they contained original quantitative data on interventions to reduce loneliness among community-dwelling older adults. Qualitative studies were included if they contained views on loneliness coping strategies or intervention evaluation. Six English databases and 3 Chinese databases were searched for studies published before August 2023. We extracted mean and standard differences (SDs) for the NMA to examine the overall effectiveness and efficacy of different interventions on loneliness. Thematic analysis was used to derive perspectives on coping strategies to mitigate loneliness. Forty-six quantitative studies with 6049 participants and 40 qualitative studies with 1095 participants were included in the analysis. The pooled effect size was large and significant (standardized mean difference [SMD],-0.95; 95% CI,-1.32 to-0.58; P < .001), indicating a strong effect of interventions in reducing loneliness. Subgroup analyses revealed significant differences in effect sizes by study region and health risk. Results of the NMA suggested interventions seem to be most effective when having psychosocial interventions as the content, a combination of individual and group as the delivery mode, and a mixture of face-to-face and online methods as the contact mode. Findings of the qualitative synthesis revealed 2 main dimensions of activities for reducing loneliness, including delivery modes (individual or group or combination) and settings (indoor or outdoor or combination). Strategies for coping with loneliness at the social, cognitive, and behavioral levels were also identified. The present study identified the most effective components of loneliness interventions in reducing loneliness among older adults. Findings offer important insights for practice and policy-making on potential strategies that can be used to reduce loneliness among community-dwelling older adults.

Acceptability of improved cook stoves-a scoping review of the literature.

Improved cooking stoves (ICS) are intended to reduce indoor air pollution and the inefficient use of fuel yet there is often reticence to shift permanently to ICS. Drawing on a scoping review, this article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of factors affecting the acceptability of ICS. A scoping review was carried out using a systematic search strategy of literature. All articles identified in three major databases that included Pubmed/Medline, Scopus and Web of Science underwent screening followed by content analysis to generate major and minor themes using a structured social level analysis. The analysis identified factors at micro, meso, and macro-social levels that potentially contribute to an adoption of an improved cooking stove (ICS). The findings from the review were discussed and refined among a group of experts identified based on their prior academic or commercial contributions related to ICS. Adoption of ICS was dependent on functional outputs (e.g. cleanliness, and cooking efficiency) while meeting local social and cultural demands (e.g. cooking large meals, traditional meals, and taste). Health and cost benefits played an important role in the adoption and sustained use of ICS. The adoption of ICS was enabled by use among neighbors and other community members. Sustained use of ICS depended on fuel supply, fuel security and policies promoting its use. Policies offering subsidies in support of supply-chain garnered institutional trust among community members and resulted in the sustained use of ICS. In addition to design attributes of ICS that could meet both scientific and social demands, policies supporting promotion of clean energy, subsidies and supplies can substantially enhance the adoption of ICS.

Professional burnout as a demotivation factor among social workers

In the modern world, social workers face high demands and stress levels, making them especially susceptible to professional burnout. This article examines the relationship between professional burnout and demotivation among social workers and identifies effective strategies for prevention and mitigation. The study results indicate a significant relationship between burnout levels and decreased work motivation, impacting on the quality of social services and overall profession satisfaction. Contributing factors include excessive workloads, lack of support from colleagues and management, and challenges in client interactions. Based on the data obtained, a number of recommendations were developed to improve work settings and reduce burnout risks. These include implementing psychological support programs, training in stress management, revising workloads and workflows, and strengthening organizational culture to promote employee well-being. The study suggests the need for a comprehensive approach to the problem of professional burnout of social workers, including organizational changes and development of individual self-help and professional development strategies. According to the author, these measures aim to improve professional satisfaction and enhance the effectiveness of social work.

The Role of Social Integration in Chronic Disease Prevalences Among the Internal Migrant Populations in China: Evidence from a National Survey.

Background: China has the world's largest internal migrant population, yet chronic disease prevalence among this group remains largely overlooked. The integration of the internal migrant population into the local society may affect their noncommunicable disease prevalences and become a challenge for the public health system. This study aimed to explore the association between the social integration of China's internal migrant population and the prevalences of chronic diseases, including hypertension and diabetes. Methods: This study used data from the 2017 China Migration Dynamic Survey. Social integration status was assessed using an 8-item Likert scale and categorized into four quartiles, with higher points indicating higher levels of social integration. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to examine the association between social integration level and the prevalences of hypertension, diabetes and combined chronic diseases. Disaggregated analysis was performed to explore the potential effect modification by age, sex, income, and migration duration. Results: A medium level of social integration was associated with lower prevalences of chronic diseases, while the lowest and highest levels of social integration were both associated with enhanced prevalence. Further disaggregation demonstrated the relationship between social integration and chronic disease prevalences were modified by various factors, including age, sex, income, and migration duration. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that both the lowest and highest levels of social integration can significantly affect chronic disease outcomes of China's internal migrants. These findings emphasize the necessity to formulate tailored public health policies to effectively prevent and manage chronic diseases among the internal migrant population in China.

How individuals evaluate the confidence of advice from advisors with high- and low-status: A behavioural and ERP study.

Although previous studies have shown that both advisors' social status and confidence level affect advisees' advice-taking behavior, it is currently unclear the mechanisms of their common actions. Here, using event-related potentials, we investigated how both advisors' social status and confidence level independently or jointly influence advice-taking behavior. Specifically, participants were asked to make choices in a dot-estimation task and then they would receive high- and low-confidence advice from advisors with high- and low-status. Behaviorally, an interaction effect between advisors' status and confidence was found, suggesting that individuals were more likely to take high-confidence (vs. low-confidence) advice whether it was from high-status or low-status advisors. However, such an effect of confidence was larger for high-status advisors rather than for low-status advisors. On the electrophysiological level, during the early stage of processing advice, an interaction effect between advisors' status and confidence was only observed on the theta power rather than the FRN component, suggesting that the larger theta power was observed for low-confidence (vs. high-confidence) advice from low-status advisors rather than high-status advisors. Besides, although the larger P3 and beta power were found for advice from high-status advisors (vs. low-status advisors) or advice with high-confidence (vs. low-confidence), no interaction effect between status and confidence was found. Taken together, our findings suggested that advisors' status and confidence might affect the multiple stages in different ways during processing advice.

Honey bee as an alternative model invertebrate organism

Insects perfectly fit the flagship principle of animal research – 3R: to reduce (the number of animals), to replace (animals with alternative models) and to refine (methods). Bees have the most important advantages of a model organism: they cause minimal ethical controversy, they have a small and fully known genome, and they permit the use of many experimental techniques. Bees have a fully functional DNMT toolkit. Therefore, they are used as models in biomedical/genetic research, e.g. in research on the development of cancer or in the diagnostics of mental and neuroleptic diseases in humans. The reversion of aging processes in bees offers hope for progress in gerontology research. The cellular mechanisms of learning and memory coding, as well as the indicators of biochemical immunity parameters, are similar or analogous to those in humans, so bees may become useful in monitoring changes in behavior and metabolism. Bees are very well suited for studies on the dose of the substance applied to determine the lethal dose or the effect of a formula on life expectancy. Honeybees have proven to be an effective tool for studying the effects of a long-term consumption of stimulants, as well as for observing behavioral changes and developing addictions at the individual and social levels, as well as for investigating the effects of continuously delivering the same dose of a substance. The genomic and physiological flexibility of bees in dividing tasks among workers in a colony makes it possible to create a Single- Cohort Colony (SCC) in which peers compared perform different tasks. Moreover behavioral methods (e.g. Proboscis Extension Reflex – PER, Sting Extension Reflex – SER, free flying target discrimination tasks or the cap pushing response) make it possible to analyse changes occurring in honeybee brains during learning and remembering. Algorithms of actions are created based on the behavior of a colony or individual, e.g. Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm (ABCA). Honeybees are also model organisms for profiling the so-called intelligence of a swarm or collective intelligence. Additionally, they serve as models for guidance systems and aviation technologies. Bees have inspired important projects in robotics, such as B-droid, Robobee and The Green Brain Project. It has also been confirmed that the apian sense of smell can be used to detect explosive devices, such as TNT, or drugs (including heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis). This inconspicuous little insect can revolutionize the world of science and contribute to the solution of many scientific problems as a versatile model.

How social frailty is operationalized matters: Relationships with health and wellbeing in late adulthood.

There are currently major inconsistencies in the methodological approaches used to index social frailty. The present study aimed to better understand which of these approaches may be most valuable in predicting older adult's physical health and psychological wellbeing. One hundred and thirty-three participants aged 60-90 years completed five measures commonly used to index social frailty, along with five measures of physical health, and psychological wellbeing. Social frailty was not only assessed at the scale level but was also considered in terms of both the objectivity (versus subjectivity) of each scale item, and at the social concept level (whether each item captured lifestyle, living alone, loneliness, social activities, social network, social role, social support, or sociodemographic characteristics). As predicted, subjective social frailty accounted for the largest share of explained variance of psychological wellbeing in older adults, relative to objective indicators and key demographics. However, contrary to hypotheses, objective social frailty failed to uniquely predict physical health. Further analyses revealed that the predictive value of subjective social frailty was driven primarily by feelings of loneliness. The present study provides novel insights into how operationalizations of social frailty vary in terms of their relationship with important indicators of real-life function. The findings have direct implications for the development of targeted interventions focused on reducing social frailty in late adulthood.

Relationship among different levels of individual and community social capital with oral health related-quality of life among adolescents

AimTo evaluate the relationship of different levels of social capital with oral health-related adolescents’ quality of life (OHRQoL). MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study nested in a cohort study started in 2010 with a sample of children 1 to 5 years old from Brazil. Individuals were followed after 10 years, data which was considered in this study (11 to 15 years old). OHRQoL was evaluated by the short version of CPQ11–14. Individual social capital (ISC) was assessed through the presence of individual social networks and social trust. Community social capital (CSC) was assessed through the presence of voluntary institutions, community cultural centers or residents’ associations. For both ISC and CSC, the participants were classified as with high social capital (at least one source) or low social capital (absence of any source). Adjusted Poisson Regression analysis was performed to verify the interaction of different levels of social capital and OHRQoL. Results are present in Rate Ratio (RR) and 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI). ResultsA total of 429 adolescents were evaluated. Adolescents with low CSC and low ISC presented CPQ11–14 scores 36 % higher (RR 1.36 95 %CI 1.15–1.62) than counterparts who presented higher social capital levels. The interaction among high and low levels of social capital was not associated with CPQ11–14 scores, indicating that no level stands out over the other. ConclusionOnly the total absence of both levels of social capital negatively related with OHRQoL, indicating the importance of the presence of at least one source of social capital. Clinical relevanceThe findings show that social capital affects OHRQoL, a crucial psychosocial aspect considering the clinical practice.

Relationship between social support and depressive symptoms among internal migrant workers and the mediating role of healthy lifestyle: a cross-sectional study in China

ObjectivesTo investigate the association between social support and depressive symptoms among internal migrant workers with a focus on the mediating role of a healthy lifestyle.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingThe research was conducted among...

Efficacy of fisheries management strategies in mitigating ecological, social, and economic risks of climate warming in China.

Climate change has significantly altered fish population dynamics and marine ecosystems worldwide, resulting in multiple ecological, economic and social risks for sustainable fisheries. As a hotspot of global warming, China is anticipated to face with extensive climate-driven changes in marine fisheries and ecosystems, but a clear and adaptative management strategy has not been established. In this study, we assessed the climate adaptiveness of current fisheries management and alternative strategies with diverse management priorities. Dynamic ecosystem model, Ecosim, was used to quantify the effectiveness of these management options in mitigating ecological, social, and economic risks of climate change, as well as the potential trade-offs. Results showed that under the status quo fisheries management, climate warming would dramatically impair ecosystem structure and function, leading to declines in fishery yields, economic losses in the fishing industry, and potential food security crises. However, these climate-driven risks could be mitigated, or at least minimized, through improved fisheries management. The harvest control rule (HCR) strategy, which responds to climate-induced biomass variations, would be most effective in promoting sustainable fisheries production but limited in offsetting climate-driven economic losses; while multispecies strategies can, in a balanced way, help mitigate climate change impacts on sustainable fishery production, ecosystem health, seafood security, and economic profitability. Furthermore, their capability to offset climate-driven risks would be largely compromised with increasing greenhouse emissions, as no management strategy could sustain current ecological, economic and social levels of fisheries under the high-emission scenario. We emphasize the need to pursue a dual approach that incorporates both reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking adaptive fisheries management strategies to realize fisheries potential and ensure ecological and socio-economic resilience. Although the dynamic model cannot incorporate climate-driven spatial variations, the insights and framework from this work can support the identification of climate-resilient management strategies over long-term and provide guidance on achieving climate-ready fisheries in China and other regions.

The socialization of adolescent students in the EU coronel Hector Espinosa of the parish of Toacaso

Socialization is the process through which people learn and assimilate the norms, values and behaviors of their culture, allowing them to integrate into society. The objective was to identify the socialization processes of adolescent students from the Coronel Héctor Espinosa Educational Unit in the parish of Toacaso. A quantitative, descriptive and non-experimental study was carried out with 79 adolescent students. Garaigordobil and Echebarría's Socialization Battery 3 was used to measure social behaviors. The results showed a good general level of socialization among the 79 adolescent students, especially in the dimensions of consideration for others (97.47%) and self-control (81.01%). However, the need to strengthen leadership skills and sincerity was identified. In conclusion, although students present an adequate social profile, it is crucial to implement programs that strengthen leadership and other social skills, especially for those with fewer opportunities for socialization due to their rural environment

Processes of recognition: from connective to collective action in the Swedish #MeToo movement

ABSTRACT One of the most exciting aspects of #MeToo is how the movement achieved global recognition for the problem of sexual harassment. In Sweden over 75 #MeToo groups were created during 2017–2019 in different sectors of society, establishing a broad recognition of the problem as structural. Through interviews with 20 activists, this study highlights how the movement gained strength through interconnected levels of recognition, with social media playing a key role in facilitating collective action and expanding a feminist discourse. The article also nuances the concept of “recognition” by adapting it to a public sphere transformed by digital media where heterogeneous groups take connective action through personalized action frames. The result shows how recognition was developed on several levels: On a personal level, in admitting to oneself that one had suffered from, or been part of, oppression. On a social level, social media enabled large groups to interact in intimate publics while obscuring the vast heterogeneity of the participants, allowing participants to use their shared differences as a base for collective action. On a political level, the activism strengthened a feminist agenda in the public sphere. The movement was also given recognition at a formal level, influencing laws and policies.