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Evidence of differential stability of state and trait anxiety in adults.

This study used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to assess the differential longitudinal stabilities of state and trait anxiety. In 1985 and 1987, 227 adult volunteers (ages 22-78) rated themselves on established state and trait questionnaires. In addition, aggregated-state anxiety was measured by self-rated frequency of state anxiety experienced over the previous month. Analysis of split-half subscales from single Trait and State Anxiety scales showed the State Anxiety true score factor to have a significantly lower unstandardized autoregression coefficient (.57 vs. .91), indicating less longitudinal stability. Additional models found longitudinal factor correlations .90, .72, and .66 for Trait, Aggregate-State, and State Anxiety, respectively, further establishing the differential stability of each. There were no significant age differences in longitudinal stability or in within-occasion state-trait factor correlations.

Adult

Intergenerational continuity of parental rejection and depressed affect.

Using survey and observational data from a sample of 451 intact families, this study used structural equation modeling to examine the intergenerational continuity of depressed mood and rejecting parenting. The model partially replicated the intergenerational model of Elder, Caspi, and Downey (1986) that indicates a cyclical transmission process by which parents' personality traits affect parent-child interaction, which, in turn, increases the propensity for developmental problems among offspring. The results indicated a pattern of intergenerational transmission of depressed mood through parental rejection of offspring. Multiple reporters and multiple indicators strengthen previous intergenerational findings by reducing some of the method variance biases that have been problematic in prior studies.

Adolescent

Provision and receipt of social support and disregard: what is their impact on the marital life quality of infertile and fertile couples?

A longitudinal study examined perceptions of received and provided social support and disregard among members of 248 infertile and fertile married couples. Correlational and structural equation modeling analyses were conducted. Women's and men's perceptions of the amount of social support they gave to and received from their partner were highly positively related. In contrast, agreement between spouses about the amount of provided support was moderate. Both social support and disregard mediated the relationships between stress and marital quality of life. Overall, highly similar patterns of results were found for members of infertile and fertile couples. These results demonstrate the perceptual element of received support and disregard as well as the importance of considering the provider's perspective.

Adaptation, Psychological

Psychosocial correlates and predictors of AIDS risk behaviors, abortion, and drug use among a community sample, of young adult women.

Relations among latent constructs of Social Conformity, Sensation Seeking, Polydrug Use, Sexual Experience, Abortion, and Risky AIDS Behaviors were examined among a community sample of women (N = 438, mean age = 25.5 years) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and predictive structural equation models (SEM). In the CFA, Risky AIDS Behavior was strongly related to more Polydrug Use and less Social Conformity and modestly related to Sexual Experience and Abortions. In SEMs, Social Conformity significantly predicted less Risky AIDS Behavior and less Polydrug Use but did not predict Abortions. Prior Sexual Experience predicted more Polydrug Use and Abortions. We conclude that the same psychological processes and predispositions that relate low social conformity to drug use and other unhealthy behaviors also influence AIDS-risk behaviors, even among a community sample of women.

Abortion, Induced

A genetic analysis of relative weight among 4,020 twin pairs, with an emphasis on sex effects.

This study replicated previous findings showing a high heritability of obesity, as measured by body mass index (kg/m2), using a measure of relative weight that does not assume a constant regression of height on weight across different populations, and evaluated whether there are sex-limited genetic effects. Subjects were 4,020 adult twin pairs. Alternative causal structural equation models were fitted to variance-covariance matrices. The ADE model (additive genetic effects, dominant/nonadditive genetic effects, and unique environment) fit best. Allowing for sex-specific effects (common sex-limitation model) significantly improved the fit, X2(6) = 230.5, p < .001. The heritability of that portion of weight unrelated to height was large: .61 for men and .73 for women.

Adolescent

The examination of myofascial face pain and its relationship to psychological distress among women.

In this study, 110 female myofascial face pain patients were assessed monthly for 10 months on measures of pain, distress, and stressful life events. D. A. Kenny and A. J. Zautra's (1995) structural equation model for examining the separate trait, state, and error components of the variables was used to analyze the data. Both pain and distress had sizable trait variance, and the trait components were correlated. The 2 variables also showed sizable state variance, and the states of pain covaried with states of distress. A significant time-lagged relationship between the 2 variables was found: Increases in distress led to elevations in pain 1 month later. Stressful life events arising from major social roles were also associated with greater distress, but not pain. Illness events unrelated to the pain syndrome were associated with both pain and distress.

Female

The contribution of personality characteristics to the relationship between social support and perceived physical health.

Although a great deal of research has been conducted on the relationship between social support and physical health, the contribution of personality characteristics to this relationship has rarely been assessed. Structural equation modeling was employed to derive and test a model of the direct and indirect relationships between personality characteristics, social network size, the perceived availability of support, socially supportive behaviors, and perceived physical health with a sample of Pennsylvania adults. Significant paths indicate that individuals who perceive themselves as affiliative and as help seekers and help givers report larger social networks, receive more socially supportive behaviors, and perceive that more support is available to them. The perception that support is available shared a direct relationship with perceived physical health. The utility of including multiple measures of social support and personality characteristics related to receiving support in investigations of the relationship between social support and physical health is discussed.

Adult

A multivariate analysis of adolescents' orientations toward physician use.

Health professionals know surprisingly little about the origins of the health beliefs and orientations they often seek to change, and they do not know about when, or if, changes in these orientations are likely to occur. This study is aimed at increasing our understanding of the origins and development of health beliefs and attitudes by focusing on the impact of parents' orientations toward physician utilization (inclination to consult a doctor when experiencing somatic symptoms) on the comparable orientations of their adolescent children. Hypotheses regarding direct parent-adolescent links are examined within a multivariate structural equations model relating demographics, adolescents' interpersonal competencies, and parental variables to adolescents' orientations toward physician utilization. Evidence for the development of these orientations is obtained by comparing influences across two groups of adolescents: 12- to 13-year-olds and 16- to 18-year-olds. Findings indicate that adolescents' orientations toward physician use are associated with those of their parents and that this link is generally stronger and more specific during late adolescence. The model also suggests that these orientations conform to social and cultural variables related to differences in social stratification.

Adolescent

Health, stress, psychological resources, and subjective well-being among older blacks.

This study examines the structural relationships among sociodemographic characteristics, health status, stress, psychological resources, and subjective well-being (SWB) among the Black elderly. A structural equation model of SWB was evaluated with data from the 1979-1980 National Survey of Black Americans. The results revealed that poor subjective health status was predictive of lower levels of personal efficacy and SWB. Stressful life events tended to depress subjective assessments of health and had negative effects on self-esteem and SWB. Marital status and age had positive effects on SWB. Chronic health conditions and other demographic variables, however, had indirect effects on SWB.

Adaptation, Psychological

Depression and cognitive change among institutionalized aged.

Interrelations between depression (Geriatric Depression Scale) and cognitive impairment (Blessed test) were examined among 201 nursing home and congregate apartment residents in a 2-year, 3-wave study. In structural equations models that controlled autocorrelations and within-occasion correlated residuals, introducing paths from depression to subsequent cognitive status significantly reduced unexplained variance, whereas paths from cognitive status to subsequent depression did not. Subsidiary analyses indicated that the relation of depression to subsequent cognitive status was strongest among persons with borderline (vs. impaired or intact) cognitive status, but only for the first time interval. Discussion addresses explanations for obtained results and implications for monitoring and treating depression among elderly long-term care residents.

Activities of Daily Living

Structure of everyday memory in adults with Age-Associated Memory Impairment.

Everyday memory was tested in a group of adults manifesting Age-Associated Memory Impairment; a computerized battery of tests was constructed to simulate memory tasks of daily life. Confirmatory and other structural equation models were estimated for the entire sample of 273 Ss and for 3 age groups. A 4-factor model was found to fit the data well and was invariant across age and gender. After education had been controlled, only the General Recall factor was found to be consistently related to age in both men and women; the other 3 factors--Narrative Memory, Digit Recall, and Visual Memory--were related to age only in men. Confirmatory factor analyses of the everyday memory tests combined with several psychometric memory tests suggested that some of the latter (the Benton Visual Retention Test and Wechsler Memory Scale Hard Paired Associates) load on more than 1 factor of everyday memory, suggesting complex relationships between the 2 types of tests.

Activities of Daily Living

Interviewing older adults: validity of self-reports of satisfaction.

Respondents in a personal interview study were asked to evaluate several domains of their lives using several different response scales that included both verbal and pictorial response alternatives. Structural equation models were specified to permit estimation of the validity of these survey measures. Across all of the items, the concept factors explain an average of about one half of the total variance, method factors explain about one tenth of the variance, and the remaining one third or so of the variance is unique to each item. Comparisons of the validity of reports by respondents of different ages indicate that method factors explain almost twice as much of the variance in the responses of older respondents as in those of younger respondents.

Adult

Relation between loneliness and depression: a structural equation analysis.

Research on loneliness has been hampered by its strong association with depression. The two states frequently co-occur, and measures of the two states are substantially correlated. Inability to manipulate experimentally loneliness or depression makes it difficult to untangle the causal influence of one on the other. The combination of longitudinal design and structural equation methodology is proposed as a solution to this general problem. Measures of loneliness and depression were administered to undergraduates at two points 5 weeks apart. Data from 333 subjects were correlated and analyzed under a succession of structural equation models. Results indicated that loneliness and depression were correlated but clearly different constructs; neither was a direct cause of the other, though both probably share some common origins; both were highly stable over to 5-week-period.

Depression

Dissecting pleiotropy between major depressive disorder and physical disease comorbidities.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by substantial comorbidity with medical conditions. To achieve better outcomes for patients with MDD, an improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying pervasive comorbidities is required. Here, to this end, we mapped patterns of pleiotropy by defining four clusters of physical diseases (cardiovascular, metabolic, gastrointestinal and immune) and analyzed their genetic relationships with MDD using genomic structural equation modeling. Three disease clusters exhibited independent associations with MDD and accounted for 47% of MDD h2SNP, with the gastrointestinal disease cluster having the strongest association (&#x3b2;&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.63, s.e.&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.05, P&#x2009;=&#x2009;3.04&#x2009;&#xd7;&#x2009;10-30). In addition, we identified independent loci associated with the shared genetic liability between each disease cluster and MDD, revealing different pleiotropic components. Characterization of these loci revealed previously unidentified associations with MDD and physical disease traits, along with unique biological pathways, drug groups, cell types and genes associated with each disease-MDD cluster. Our findings reveal genetic connections implicating the gut-brain axis as a key mechanism underlying the comorbidity of physical diseases in MDD. This work advances our understanding of MDD by highlighting unique and shared genetic components across different disease systems.

Major Depressive Disorder

The relationship between selected student characteristics and activity patterns in a required high school physical education class.

This study described the activity patterns of students in a high school fitness class and explored the structural relationships between particular student characteristics and their systematically coded exercise behavior. Although percent of time spent jogging was low (18%), with no gains made in cardiovascular fitness, the amount of time spent jogging, the distance covered, and fitness level were all significantly correlated. A LISREL VI computer program was used to test a structural equation model representing the Fishbein Behavioral-Intention Model. In support of the model, results showed the prediction of exercise behavior by attitude and subjective norm was significantly mediated by intention. Although not significant, it is worth noting that subjective norm was found to be the stronger predictor of intention over attitude. Background variables were found to indirectly influence intention through their significant influence on attitude and subjective norm. For this sample of 9th and 10th graders, significant others, particularly their peers and teachers, had a stronger impact on behavior than personal attitudes about activity.

Adolescent

The use of quantitative genetic methodology to gain insights into the origins of individual differences in later life.

There is great interest in the interindividual variability in aged populations. Knowledge of the etiology of these individual differences may lead to a more comprehensive understanding of aging. The purpose of this article is to discuss the use of quantitative genetic (or behavioral genetic) methodology to identify sources of individual variation in later life. These methods can provide insights into the proportion of environmental and genetic influences on behavior. Some of the basic procedures used in quantitative genetic analyses and their rationales are provided. In addition, the use of structural equation modeling to model genetic and environmental effects is discussed. Lastly, some of the special issues involved in quantitative genetic research on aged populations are discussed.

Aged

The mediating role of protective factors in relationship between caregiving components and psychosocial adjustment among young carers: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Higher youth caregiving is associated with poorer psychosocial outcomes in young carers; hence a research priority is to investigate protective factors that mitigate the adverse effects of youth caregiving. This systematic review with meta-analysis examined the relationships among youth caregiving components and young carer psychosocial adjustment and protective factors, as well as the mediating role of the protective factors in the relationship between caregiving components and psychosocial adjustment. METHODS: Three electronic databases were searched until April 2024 and 10,244 unique publications were identified. Following abstract and title screening, 422 publications were subjected to full-text screening and 60 quantitative studies were included in this study. RESULTS: Meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) results revealed positive direct effects of caregiving responsibilities and caregiving experiences on benefit finding (&#x3b2;&#xa0;=&#xa0;.43, 95% CI [.074, .782], p&#xa0;<&#xa0;.05) and emotion regulation (&#x3b2;&#xa0;=&#xa0;.72, 95% CI [.44, 1.00], p&#xa0;<&#xa0;.001), respectively. However, there was neither a significant direct effect of caregiving components on psychosocial adjustment nor a significant indirect effect of caregiving components on psychosocial adjustment through benefit finding or emotion regulation. CONCLUSION: Findings revealed a need for research into how caregiving contextual factors affect relations among youth caregiving, protective factors, and adjustment.

Humans

Distinguishing specific from broad genetic associations between external correlates and common factors.

MOTIVATION: Within the genomic structural equation modelling (genomic SEM) framework, common factors are often used to index shared genetic etiology across constellations of genome-wide associations studies (GWASs) phenotypes. A standard common pathway model, in which a genetic association is estimated between an external GWAS phenotype and a common factor, assumes that all genetic associations between the external GWAS phenotype and the individual indicator phenotypes are mediated through the factor. This assumption can be tested using the QTrait statistic, which compares the common pathway model to an independent pathways model that allows for direct genetic associations between the external GWAS phenotype and the individual indicators of the factor. However, QTrait is not designed to identify either the magnitude or the source of this heterogeneity. RESULTS: We expand upon the QTrait approach by describing an effect size index that quantifies the degree to which the common pathways model is violated, and we provide a systematic approach for empirically identifying specific direct pathways between an external trait and indicator traits. Our method comprises a series of omnibus tests and outlying indicator detection algorithms indexing the heterogeneity of associations between the genetic component of external traits and the individual indicators of common factors. We provide a set of automated functions which we apply to investigate the patterns of genetic associations across a set of external correlates with respect to indicators of general cognitive ability and case-control and proxy GWAS indices of Alzheimer's disease. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The Genomic SEM R package and the QTrait function is available at https://github.com/GenomicSEM/GenomicSEM. The QTrait function tutorial is available at https://github.com/GenomicSEM/GenomicSEM/wiki/8.-Tutorials. To ensure reproducibility of the analyses presented in this manuscript, the exact version of the QTrait function used, along with input data and scripts, has been archived on Zenodo (DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17186083).

Genome-Wide Association Study