Psychosocial Dispositions Research Articles

Fulani herder-farmer identity conflict in West Africa with a particular focus on security implications for Nigeria

ABSTRACT In recent years, the Nigerian populace has been affected by the menace of Fulani herder-farmer clashes. Conflict between Fulani herder and farmers which poses far reaching consequences in almost all geopolitical zones of the country has been attributed to weak security institutions and architecture, vast ungoverned spaces, ethnic cleansing tendencies, illegal migration, the search for pastures to mitigate adverse effect of global warming and climate change. While existing arguments on the causes and implications of Fulani herder and farmers remain valid, I contend, using the conceptual-theoretical nexus framework and drawing from secondary source of data that dealing with these factors are exiguous without dealing with the root cause (identity conflict) of the menace. The study argues that the psycho-social disposition, beliefs and stereotypes instigate Fulani herder-farmer clashes to the extent of threatening Nigeria’s nationhood. The study also affirms that the phenomenon of identity conflict is a long-term neglected social issue of discrimination and structural exclusion of the Fulani group from benefiting from the commonwealth of natural resources based on the locomotive nature of their traditional occupation. It is therefore concluded that identity conflict though the root cause of the Fulani herder-farmer conflicts is more for economic survival than ethnic affiliation.

Identifying Populations at Risk for Difficulty Managing Emotions and Social Interactions After Burn Injury.

There has been conflicting data on the relationship between burn severity and psychological outcomes. The present study aims to characterize the baseline psychosocial disposition of adults attending outpatient burn clinic at a large urban safety net hospital, as well as the impact of clinical course on self-reported psychosocial well-being. Adult patients attending outpatient burn clinic completed survey questions from the National Institutes of Health Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Managing Chronic Conditions: Self-Efficacy for Managing Social Interactions (SEMSI-4) and Managing Emotions (SEME). Sociodemographic variables were collected from surveys and retrospective chart review. Clinical variables included total body surface area burned, initial hospital length of stay, surgical history, and days since injury. Poverty level was estimated by U.S. census data using patient's home ZIP code. Scores on SEME-4 and SEMSI-4 were compared to the population mean by one-sample T-test, and independent variables evaluated for associations with managing emotions and social interactions by Tobit regression while adjusting for demographic variables. The 71 burn patients surveyed had lower scores in SEMSI-4 (mean = 48.0, P = .041) but not SEME-4 (mean = 50.9, P = .394) versus the general population. Marital status and neighborhood poverty level were associated with SEMSI-4, while length of stay and % total body surface area burned were associated with SEME-4. Patients who are single or from poorer neighborhoods may have difficulty interacting with their environment after burn injury and need extra social support. Prolonged hospitalization and increased severity of burn injury may have more impact on emotional regulation; these patients may benefit from psychotherapy during recovery.

772 Impact of Clinical Course on Psychosocial Outcomes in Adult Burn Survivors

IntroductionThere has been conflicting data on the relationship between burn severity and psychological outcome. The present study aims to characterize the baseline psychosocial disposition of adults attending outpatient burn clinic at a large county hospital, as well as the impact of clinical course on self-reported psychosocial well-being.MethodsAdult patients attending outpatient burn clinic completed survey questions from National Institutes of Health (NIH) Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Managing Emotions (ME) and Managing Social Interactions (MSI). Sociodemographic variables collected from surveys and retrospective chart review included age, ethnicity, zip code, employment, and marital status. Clinical variables included total body surface area burned (TBSA), initial hospital length of stay (LOS), surgical history, and number of days since injury. US census data based on patient’s home zip code was used to estimate percent of community living below US poverty level. Scores on ME and MSI were compared to the population mean by one-sample T-test. TBSA, hospital LOS, surgery, and days since burn were separately evaluated for associations with ME and MSI scores by Tobit regression while adjusting for sociodemographic variables.Results71 patients completed surveys. Compared to the general US population mean score of 50.0, had lower scores in MSI (mean=48.0, p=.041) but not significantly different ME scores (mean=50.9, p=.394). While controlling for age, ethnicity, marital status, employment status, and neighborhood poverty, increased LOS was associated with lower scores on both ME and MSI scores (Table 1); the associations of TBSA, surgicalConclusionsBurn patients may experience difficulty in getting support after burn injury. This challenge may be increased in patients with more extensive debilitation after injury, as increased duration of hospitalization worsened self-efficacy for managing emotions and social interactions. Additionally, prolonged hospitalization may remove patients from their normal support systems.

Social Inhibition: Theoretical Review and Implications for a Dual Social Inhibition Model within the Circumplex of Personality Metatraits

The purpose of this paper is to present a new model of social inhibition (a) conceptualised as a dual structured construct including shyness and modesty, and (b) showing the complexity and diversity of these two social inhibition forms across various domains of psychosocial functioning (i.e., self-image, cognitive, emotional, and behavioural). Locating these two forms of social inhibition within the space of the Circumplex of Personality Metatraits enabled us to identify conceptually adjacent constructs to social inhibition and put the latter into a broad personality context. Through supplementary meta-analyses of the relations of shyness and modesty with the Big Five personality traits, we confront our theoretical proposition with existing empirical findings. Our paper implies that social inhibition might be successfully treated as a psychosocial disposition with two related and shared core elements, but distinct and differentially targeted forms—more neurotic and dysfunctional shyness and more agreeable and adaptive modesty.

Critical Thinking and English Literature in Higher Education: The Theoretical Models and the Swedish Syllabi

Critical thinking is an ever-growing interdisciplinary field of research. This paper introduces key aspects of the vast scholarship on critical thinking in higher education to the academic community of English literary studies in Sweden. Its aim is to provide a sound framework for research-based discussions of the potential for critical thinking in literature courses. To achieve this goal, the paper first presents a synopsis of the main theoretical models of critical thinking in higher education: as cognitive-argumentative skills, as cognitive-argumentative skills and psychosocial dispositions, as resistance to oppression, and as a crucial step toward critical acting and being. These models and approaches are then used to identify the conceptions of critical thinking that inform the learning objectives in undergraduate-level English literature syllabi in Sweden. The study finds that the cognitive-argumentative-skills approach dominates the conceptualization of critical thinking in English literature syllabi, but the other three models are also present in various degrees. The article ends with a call for a systematic discussion of the curricular and teaching practices that cultivate critical thinking in English literary studies.

Social mobility, adolescents’ psycho-social dispositions, and parenting

Psycho-social dispositions and parental influence are central in early status attainment models. We apply the Social Structure and Personality framework to investigate the contributions of adolescents’ psycho-social dispositions to social mobility, and then the contributions of parents’ socioeconomic status (SES) and parenting to adolescents’ psycho-social dispositions. The Kaplan Longitudinal and Multigenerational Study includes data on two generations of respondents: the first-generation of respondents was observed from seventh grade in 1971 until midlife, and the second-generation, their children, was observed from adolescence to young adulthood. We find that upward social mobility is inhibited by poor psycho-social dispositions, particularly by negative self-feelings. SES, in turn, also affects psycho-social dispositions. Family income is more relevant (i.e., variance explained) than parental education for adolescents’ locus of control, while parental education is more relevant for adolescents’ negative self-feelings. Finally, our findings indicate that parenting can disrupt the cycle of social reproduction, with lower SES adolescents exhibiting lower levels of negative self-feelings if their parents are more attached or less authoritarian.

Cognitive and Psychosocial Dispositions: Influence on Self -Perceived Employability among First Batch of Senior High School Graduates

Cognitive and Psychosocial Dispositions: Influence on Self -Perceived Employability among First Batch of Senior High School Graduates

Fragmentation, homogenisation or segmentation? A diary study into the diversity of news consumption in a high-choice media environment

A weeklong diary study ( N = 460) into the exposure to news of Belgian (Flemish) adult media users (aged 25–45) shows that their information consumption is currently relatively diverse. An explanation for the observed diversity is that news consumers in Dutch-speaking Belgium have a wide array of internally balanced news titles and channels at their disposal, which they also actively consult. In addition, the study demonstrates that news consumption patterns span across all media platforms. This study thus illustrates that there is a weak influence of ideological attitudes and psychosocial dispositions on news consumption, measured in time of consumption per media title or channel. These findings call for a revision of theories of selective exposure that disregard the influence that the diversity of information supply can have on the selection procedures of recipients.

Opinión pública de la inseguridad: dimensiones de análisis psicosocial en torno al miedo al delito y su tratamiento mediático

Se construye un estado del arte de la relación entre sentimiento de inseguridad, pánico moral, ola de violencia y miedo al delito, atendiendo a disposiciones psicosociales e influencia de los Medios de Comunicación Masiva, junto con los potenciales beneficios de espacios de participación ciudadana, abordando el caso de los Consejos Barriales en Córdoba, Argentina. Se advierte que los medios de comunicación influyen en el incremento del miedo al delito y tienden a reforzar posturas favorables al punitivismo. Por su parte, en los Consejos Barriales se observa que no estarían dadas las condiciones para una crítica a las estrategias mediáticas.

Predicting Patient-Centered Outcomes from Spine Surgery Using Risk Assessment Tools: a Systematic Review.

The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the current literature in patients undergoing spine surgery in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine to determine the available risk assessment tools to predict the patient-centered outcomes of pain, disability, physical function, quality of life, psychological disposition, and return to work after surgery. Risk assessment tools can assist surgeons and other healthcare providers in identifying the benefit-risk ratio of surgical candidates. These tools gather demographic, medical history, and other pertinent patient-reported measures to calculate a probability utilizing regression or machine learning statistical foundations. Currently, much is still unknown about the use of these tools to predict quality of life, disability, and other factors following spine surgery. A systematic review was conducted using PRISMA guidelines that identified risk assessment tools that utilized patient-reported outcome measures as part of the calculation. From 8128 identified studies, 13 articles met inclusion criteria and were accepted into this review. The range of c-index values reported in the studies was between 0.63 and 0.84, indicating fair to excellent model performance. Post-surgical patient-reported outcomes were identified in the following categories (n=total number of predictive models): return to work (n=3), pain (n=9), physical functioning and disability (n=5), quality of life (QOL) (n=6), and psychosocial disposition (n=2). Our review has synthesized the available evidence on risk assessment tools for predicting patient-centered outcomes in patients undergoing spine surgery and described their findings and clinical utility.

Propiedades métricas de la Escala Salvadoreña de Autoritarismo de Derechas (RWA)

<p>El objetivo de este trabajo es exponer las propiedades métricas de la Escala Salvadoreña de Autoritarismo de Derechas (RWA), desarrollada por Orellana (2017). Se contó con una muestra de 421 habitantes del Área Metropolitana de San Salvador (AMSS) mayores de 15 años (M = 39.2; DE = 17.2). La escala es el producto de un proceso de depuración de preguntas adaptadas o incluidas en encuestas de opinión y de cultura política. De acuerdo con el coeficiente alfa de Cronbach, la escala presenta una consistencia interna total satisfactoria (? = .83). Un análisis factorial confirmatorio evidencia un modelo con un ajuste adecuado que reproduce la reconocida estructura factorial tridimensional del RWA de Altemeyer (1996; validez de constructo). La escala está correlacionada con constructos determinados (p. ej., dimensiones de cultura política, inseguridad ciudadana y disposiciones psicosociales como prejuicio) en concordancia teórica y empírica con la tradición de estudios sobre autoritarismo (validez de criterio-concurrente). Se discuten sus características y futuras vías de aplicación.</p>

Social mobility and subjective well-being revisited: The importance of individual locus of control

It has been postulated that movements both upward and downward the social ladder across generations attenuate individual subjective well-being (SWB) in terms of life satisfaction or happiness. Yet, results remain inconclusive concerning whether only upward, only downward, or both forms of social mobility actually harm SWB or not. We argue that whether social mobility is experienced as harmful depends on individuals’ psycho-social dispositions. As an applied example, we ask whether harmful effects of intergenerational social mobility on SWB may be different for individuals with an internal vs. external locus of control, i.e. whether individuals ascribe control of events to themselves or to outside forces. An internal locus of control has been observed to act as a buffer against stressful life events, to protect from role strain, and to better suit jobs with high demands for autonomy and flexibility. For this reason, it may attenuate potentially harmful social mobility effects as well. Using German panel data of a cohort of former Gymnasium students, we estimate a multilevel panel model of the interaction between intergenerational occupational mobility and locus of control on SWB controlled for other well-known predictors of SWB. Results suggest that respondents with a more internal locus of control are hardly affected by social mobility. In contrast, respondents with a more external locus of control obviously suffer from upward social mobility. We conclude that (i) an internal locus of control may buffer against harmful effects of upward social mobility on SWB, and (ii) considering differential effects by individual psycho-social dispositions can contribute to resolve inconsistencies in the analysis of social mobility effects.

Terror, fundamentalism, and male adolescence

Terror and fundamentalism have received considerable attention within the scientific community in the last decade. But what is missing is an interdisciplinary, mainly psycho-social study that links terror and fundamentalism with male adolescent developments. In this paper, it is argued that fundamentalism is a necessary, maybe even essential basis for terrorism, but that terror almost always is connected with young male actors and their pathological adolescent biographies. Exploring this connection between terror, fundamentalism and specific pathological developments in male adolescence opens up new perspectives of understanding terrorism. Adolescence in general has been considered a phase of severe identity crisis, extensively studied and investigated in psychoanalytic theory. It seems that specific psycho-social and religious conditions and individual dispositions can turn a young male adolescent into a terrorist. In this sense male adolescent identity crisis seems a risk factor for terrorism.

‘On the Origin of Medicine’ from Eastern Medicine [for] Prolonging the World and Preserving People by Yi Chema (1837–1900)

The translation below is an essay, ‘On the Origin of Medicine’ (Ŭiwŏnnon醫源論), taken from the textbook1Eastern Medicine[for]Prolonging the World and Preserving People(Tongǔi Susebowǒn東醫壽世保元, 1894),2 by Yi Chema 李濟馬 (1837–1900, styled Tongmu 東武).3 Yi Chema, hailing from the peripheral northern part of Korea, was a Confucian-cum-physician and also served as military officer and local magistrate during the Chosŏn 朝鮮 dynasty (1392–1910). Having no specific allegiances to any intellectual lineage in either medicine or Confucianism, he was able to translate his critical yet inspirational impulses into a distinctively novel style of clinical practice. His ideas built on the observation that sentimental/emotional, or better, psychosocial dispositions of a person are inextricably associated with the visceral dynamics of the person.4 He thus put forward as an overarching scheme of organisation the four constitutional types: Greater Yang (Taeyang 太陽) Person, Greater Yin (Taeŭm 太陰) Person, Lesser Yang (Soyang 少陽) Person, and Lesser Yin (Soŭm 少陰) Person. Later dubbed ‘Sasang Medicine’ (Sasangǔihak四象醫學), Yi Chema’s distinctive way of knowing and style of practice became one of the main intellectual currents of Korean medicine during the twentieth century. Its history thus provides an illustrative example of the diverse landscape and historical dynamics of East Asian medicine.

Parental Alchoholism and the Psycho-social Disposition of Secondary School Students in Southern Cross River State, Nigeria

Nigerian society today is increasingly witnessing a surge of youth and child involvement in violence. In our secondary schools, aggressive behaviour, bullying, undisciplined behaviour, and other social vices have taken the center stage. This study sought to examine the influence of parental alcoholism on aggressive behaviour and attitudes toward school discipline among students in southern Cross River State, Nigeria. Two research hypotheses guided the study. A twenty-nine-item structured questionnaire as a four point Likert-type scale was validated and a reliability correlation co-efficient of 0.81 was used. The ex-post-facto design and the simple random sampling technique were both utilized to compose the 800 respondents. The results of the analysis using the independent t-test statistics at 0.05 alpha levels revealed that parental alcoholism significantly influenced students' aggressive behaviour, as well as their attitudes toward school discipline. It was recommended that, among other things, the government, organizations, and private individuals should mount programmes that will educate parents on the dangers of excessive alcohol intake and its effects on their children's upbringing.

The Legitimation of Inequality

Why people of lower socioeconomic status often support conservative economic policies has been one of the most intriguing puzzles for sociologists. This study tackles this paradox and presents a social psychological explanation that considers the effect of two kinds of psychosocial dispositions—authoritarianism and social dominance orientation—on attitudes toward economic inequality. Using two nationally representative Chinese social surveys and using structural equation modeling for empirical analysis, this article demonstrates that stark rural–urban income disparity in China resulted in large regional–educational inequality and that lower educational levels in disadvantaged areas led to residents’ conservative psychosocial dispositions. This article sheds light on a previously neglected social psychological mechanism of political attitude formation and shows how such a mechanism is embedded in macro-institutional contexts.

Growing Up as a Creative Musician: The Role of Psychosocial Dispositions and Environment

This study tried to identify the psychosocial dispositions and environment conducive to the development of a creative musician. A sample of 14 established musicians (vocalists and instrumentalists) belonging to Hindustani music tradition was selected from three major cities of Uttar Pradesh and were interviewed in-depth. They were interviewed about their early childhood, training in music and growing up as a musician. A thematic analysis yielded three major psychosocial themes pertaining to nurturance of creativity—developmental dispositions, preferred settings for music practice (Riāz) and performance, and relationship with Guru. Many participants showed proclivity to be creative musician, but all needed to have intrinsic motivation, nurturing social environment, and proper setting for riāz. They also reported that learning under a worthy guru was important for their creativity to blossom. Implications of these findings for training of the music students in an institutional set up were discussed.

Remapping the “landscape of choice”: patterns of social class convergence in the psycho-social factors shaping the higher education choice process

This paper provides a critique of recent Bourdieusian research into the higher education (HE) choice process. Specifically, Ball et al. (2002) maintain that class-related differences in students’ psycho-social dispositions in Years 12 and 13, the “landscape of choice”, shape their intentions or “decisions” to participate in HE and their selection of high or lower status universities. However, drawing on a national survey of Year 12 students we find that paternal occupation is a poor predictor of intended participation in HE. Furthermore, those psycho-social factors shaping students’ aspirations to participate in HE and their selection of university type exhibit substantial class convergence. We argue that the research of Ball et al. (2002) analyses data from an atypical sample and deploys a dichotomous narrative of class. These practices exaggerate class-related differences in the HE choice process, at this level of education, and tend to confirm the Bourdieusian thesis.

Capital identity projection: Understanding the psychosocial effects of capitalism on Black male community college students

This study examined factors impacting the success of Black male students in a Southwestern US community college. Data were collected using multiple sources, including semi-structured interviews (n=29), unstructured concept mapping, non-participant observations, and a focus group. Study findings revealed the harmful effects that glory-seeking, materialism, and excessive consumerism can have on student success, in and out of college. This notion is termed capital identity projection, and is described as a harmful psychosocial disposition that occurs in a capitalistic value system when an image of economic success is extended to the point of one’s own detriment. This notion is presented in light of extant research from masculinity studies, economic sociology, and economic psychology.

Gender, Psychosocial Dispositions, and the Academic Achievement of College Students

Researchers have recently claimed that there are substantial differences in the psychosocial dispositions and academic achievement of male and female college students. To test this proposition, a sample of 854 undergraduate students were selected from a major Canadian Research-1 university. Multiple regression analyses assessed the effects of gender and several other independent variables on coping strategies, academic control, self-esteem, and grade point averages. Few differences emerged between the genders on the psychosocial dispositions or on academic achievement. The results suggest that both male and female students can improve their coping strategies and academic control, which together directly affect their academic achievement.