Most recent papers:

• Psychometric Properties of the Norwegian 200‐Item Version of the HEXACO Personality Inventory‐Revised.
  Farangis Sharifibastan, Ståle Pallesen, Katharina Teresa Enehaug Morken, Eilin Kristine Erevik.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 2 days ago
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Norwegian 200‐item version of the HEXACO Personality Inventory‐Revised (HEXACO‐PI‐R). The sample consisted of 460 adults (51.3% women) aged 18–75 years (M = 41.5, SD = 15.3) who completed the instrument online. The average internal consistency was α = 0.89 for domains (range: 0.88–0.92) and α = 0.79 for facets (range: 0.60–0.87). Women had higher Emotionality (d = 1.08) and Honesty‐Humility (d = 0.39) scores than men. Honesty‐Humility scores increased with age. One month test–retest correlations ranged from 0.90 to 0.95 for domains. Exploratory structural equation modeling provided superior fit compared to confirmatory factor analysis (CFI = 0.928 vs. 0.647). Configural and metric invariance were supported across gender and age, with partial scalar invariance. Convergent validity with the Mini‐International Personality Item Pool (Mini‐IPIP) was strong for Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Openness (r = 0.69–0.79). Honesty‐Humility showed weak to modest associations attesting to the discriminative validity for this dimension. The Norwegian HEXACO‐200 had strong psychometric properties demonstrating its suitability for personality assessment in Norwegian populations.\n"]

  May 08, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70098   open full text
• Envisioning a Hopeful Future Despite Schizophrenia: The Role of Self‐Concept Clarity and Narrative Identity.
  Majse Lind, Ragnhild Svendsen, Kristina Flesjø, Kristine Kahr Nilsson.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 2 days ago
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nSchizophrenia (SZ) has been linked with a pessimistic future outlook but the specific factors influencing such outlook are still to be mapped out. SZ is often referred to as a self‐disorder and sense of self has been suggested to be a crucial factor influencing future view. Using a mixed‐measurement approach, the present study examined two aspects of temporal sense of self in SZ—self‐concept clarity and narrative identity—and tested whether each uniquely contributed to predicting future outlook (i.e., levels of future hope and the perceived influence of diagnosis on one's future). A total of 130 adults with SZ participated in the study (Mage = 34.58, SD = 10.22). Self‐concept clarity was assessed through self‐report and narrative identity through open‐ended elaborations on the future that were content coded following gold‐standard procedures. Hope for the future was assessed using self‐report and perceived influence of diagnosis in the future was assessed through content coded, open‐ended elaborations. Both self‐concept clarity and narrative identity contributed independently to a more hopeful future outlook while self‐concept clarity alone impacted whether diagnosis was expected to influence the future. Distinct dimensions of the temporal sense of self were associated with future outlook in schizophrenia, and their potential role in the recovery process was discussed.\n"]

  May 08, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70113   open full text
• The Role of Flexibility in the Formation and Maintenance of Extreme Beliefs: A Narrative Scoping Review.
  Sebastian Deverson, Paul Delfabbro, Ryan Balzan.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 8 days ago
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThere is growing interest in the role of cognitive flexibility in the development of politically motivated violence and a willingness to self‐sacrifice. However, the construct of flexibility has been applied in multiple ways across disciplines, resulting in conceptual ambiguity and methodological challenges. This narrative scoping review re‐evaluated the theoretical mechanisms linking distinct flexibility constructs to extreme beliefs, with the aim of clarifying their conceptual boundaries to direct future research. A narrative synthesis was conducted to identify and integrate theoretical accounts of flexibility relevant to extreme belief formation and maintenance. Four flexibility variants were identified as relevant: cognitive, affective, psychological, and belief flexibility. Each was conceptualized as facilitating updating and switching within cold, decontextualized cognitive tasks or hot, contextualized affective tasks to enable goal‐directed problem solving. These abilities were not found to promote a single problem‐solving strategy. Rather, they enabled a range of adaptive responses, including evidence integration, critical thinking, emotion regulation, and tolerance of uncertainty. Their use was associated with effective navigation of conflicting evidence, openness to new ideas and perspectives, and reflective awareness of emotional responses and cognitive biases. The findings indicate that flexibility operates across both affectively charged and emotionally neutral cognitive processes, the activation of which depends on the emotional valence of the context. In this way, cognitive and affective flexibility appear to function as complementary protective factors against the development of extreme beliefs. Future research should examine how these forms of flexibility interact across time in belief formation and maintenance.\n"]

  May 02, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70110   open full text
• When Self‐Reference Diminishes in Competition: The Enduring Impact of Emotional Valence and Color.
  Aiqing Nie, Shuo Sun, Xin Zhang, Jin Wang.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 10 days ago
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nPrior research has established that individuals tend to preferentially remember self‐relevant information—a phenomenon known as the self‐reference effect. This effect is often modulated by the emotional valence of stimuli, typically manifesting as a self‐positivity bias. Despite the focus on collaboration, competitive contexts remain a critical yet overlooked avenue for investigation. This study examined how self‐referential memory processes operate in ongoing and post‐competitive social environments. Participants encoded personality trait adjectives—displayed in different colors and with varying emotional valences—using either self‐referential or other‐referential encoding strategies. They subsequently performed recall tasks individually or under competitive conditions, followed by a final individual recall phase. The data revealed a self‐reference effect in item memory (but not source memory) under nominal conditions, which was moderated by word color: the effect emerged for words presented in red but was reversed for those in green. Moreover, the self‐positivity bias was contingent upon both color and recall session. Notably, these effects diminished during social competition and its aftermath, a finding that diverges sharply from previous reports in collaborative settings. This suggests that collaboration and competition engage fundamentally distinct cognitive and motivational mechanisms, and that the self/other‐reference effect is not merely a function of social interaction per se. These findings challenge existing assumptions about the universality of self‐referential memory advantages and highlight the need for context‐sensitive models of memory.\n"]

  April 30, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70109   open full text
• Perceived Social Isolation and Conspiracy Mentality: Exploring Pathways to Anti‐LGBTQ+ Conspiracy Beliefs.
  Sara Panerati, Barbara Barcaccia, Muslumogullari Yunus Emre, Marco Salvati.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 11 days ago
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nConspiracy beliefs have long been a recurring feature of human society; however, when they target disadvantaged groups, such as the LGBTQ+ people, they represent a particularly harmful phenomenon with detrimental consequences. Despite the increasing interest in the phenomenon, research to date has often overlooked the influence of an individual social environment. Indeed, recent evidence highlighted that individuals who experience limited social integration might be more vulnerable to adopting a conspiratorial mentality. In this regard, social isolation may represent a possible trigger, fuelling epistemic uncertainty and existential anxiety, and enhancing susceptibility to anti‐LGBTQ+ conspiracy beliefs. Hence, the current study (N = 820) investigated whether individuals who experience heightened levels of perceived social isolation are more likely to report high levels of anti‐LGBTQ+ conspiracy beliefs endorsement via an enhanced conspiratorial mentality. Results were in line with our expectations, pointing out positive associations between perceived social isolation and conspiracy beliefs, both directly and indirectly, as a function of greater levels of conspiracy mentality. Therefore, an individual's social isolation may represent a promising approach to highlighting the factors that produce fertile ground for the endorsement of anti‐LGBTQ+ conspiracy beliefs and may represent a promising aspect for identifying potential pathways for intervention and prevention.\n"]

  April 29, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70111   open full text
• All Is Relative—A Call for Considering “Physiologically Informed” Control Conditions to Improve the Mechanistic Understanding of the Effects of Physical Exercise on Cognition.
  Fabian Herold, Benjamin Tari, Sylwester Kujach, Olivier Dupuy, C. Shawn Green, Thomas Gronwald, Matthew Heath.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. April 26, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThere is a growing interest in elucidating the mechanisms that drive the benefits of physical exercise on cognitive performance. A key element for a better understanding of a particular phenomenon (e.g., the mediators of the exercise‐cognition interaction) is the selection of an appropriate control condition/group as the basis for causal inference. In contemporary practice, control conditions/groups used in exercise‐cognition research can be broadly categorized as related to (i) study design, (ii) level of energy expenditure, and (iii) level of cognitive engagement. Although such control conditions are valuable for reducing the effects of specific sources of bias (e.g., time or placebo effects), their potential to advance our mechanistic understanding is limited. To address this research gap, the present article proposes and discusses the application of “physiologically informed” control conditions by narratively summarizing the current evidence concerning “physiologically informed” control conditions in acute exercise‐cognition studies, wherein specific physical exercise‐induced physiological responses (e.g., increases in cerebral blood flow or peripheral blood lactate concentration) are mimicked by nonexercise experimental manipulations (e.g., through inhaling hypercapnic gas mixture or infusion of lactate at rest). Based on our narrative evidence synthesis, we discuss how “physiologically informed” control conditions can serve as a valuable approach to strengthen causal interferences by allowing for a better isolation of cognitive benefits that can be “solely” attributed to specific physical exercise‐induced physiological changes. As applying “physiologically informed” control conditions can advance knowledge generation on the physiological mechanisms that drive the positive effects of physical exercise on cognition, we advocate for a more widespread use of these control conditions in future research practice.\n"]

  April 26, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70101   open full text
• Relationships Between Leader's Humor and Subordinate Perceptions of Leader Warmth and Competence: The Role of Relationship Harmony.
  Chih‐Chieh Chu, Shu‐Cheng Steve Chi, Hsi‐Fang Lai, Inju Yang, Raymond A. Friedman.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. April 21, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nWe proposed that in a Chinese context, rather than in the U.S. context, subordinates' experience of relationship harmony is a culturally grounded mediating mechanism, beyond leader‐member exchange, linking leader's humor to subordinates' perceptions of leadership warmth and competence. We collected a two‐wave sample in Taiwan (n = 166) and in the U.S. (n = 202) through internet platforms. Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping were employed to test both direct and indirect effects, and measurement invariance was assessed to ensure sample comparability. We found that the mediating effects of relationship harmony at work only exist in the Taiwan data, not in the U.S. data. Our results of the Taiwan data showed that acts of humor are associated with perceptions of leadership warmth and competence via an elevated level of harmony. Our results suggest that both cultural‐free construct (e.g., LMX) and cultural‐specific construct (e.g., relationship harmony) could operate simultaneously within a given cultural context (in our case, in Chinese contexts).\n"]

  April 21, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70105   open full text
• Thinking Through Parenthood: The Role of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Personality.
  Anna Torstensson, Verona Algeroth von Thiele, Philip Millroth.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. April 21, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nAn overwhelming majority of the human population end up parenting a child, and the concept of family is arguably one of the most shared across societies. Thus, most people will at some point engage in thought processes about the prospect of becoming a parent, a prospect coupled with uncertainties (e.g., “Should I? Do I want to? Can I?”). The psychological processes underlying how individuals think about this decision—and what dispositional factors shape this deliberation—remain poorly understood. We addressed this gap by measuring thought engagement (how much individuals report thinking about parenthood and related factors) in a sample of 192 Swedish adults (58 parents, 134 non‐parents), and systematically comparing the predictive value of demographic variables, personality traits (e.g., extraversion), and dispositions toward risk and uncertainty using Bayesian multimodel inference. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) emerged as a robust predictor of general thought engagement. Moreover, an interaction between age and occupation revealed divergent patterns: students showed increasing thought engagement with age, whereas employed individuals showed decreasing engagement. For domain‐specific thought engagement (e.g., economic concerns, parenting ability), demographic factors predominated, though personality traits also contributed, suggesting that dispositions shape what people think about rather than how much they think overall. These findings carry clinical implications: IU is a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor for anxiety disorders, and the inherently uncertain nature of the parenthood decision may be particularly distressing for some individuals. Our study provides empirical groundwork for future theoretical developments focusing on the psychological dimensions of fertility‐related decision‐making.\n"]

  April 21, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70107   open full text
• Relationship Between Affective Valence of Mind Wandering and Mood: The Role of Resting‐State Functional Connectivity.
  Hong He, Jinghong Shi, Xinyue Zhang, Binqian Leng, Xuemin Zhang.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. April 17, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nMind wandering frequently entails affective content, and the affective valence of such thoughts is closely related to individuals' mood. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. Using an individual differences approach, the present study examined whether the affective valence of mind wandering is associated with resting‐state functional connectivity among brain regions commonly implicated in mind wandering, and whether it mediates the relationship between such connectivity and mood. Resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs‐fMRI) data were acquired from 92 participants, who subsequently completed an experience‐sampling film‐viewing task to assess mind wandering, its affective valence, and mood. Behavioral results showed that more positively valenced mind wandering was strongly associated with more positive mood. Neuroimaging analyses revealed that the affective valence of mind wandering was positively associated with functional connectivity between the right rostromedial prefrontal cortex (rmPFC) and the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Mediation analyses demonstrated that the affective valence of mind wandering mediated the association between this functional connectivity and mood. These findings may support the content regulation hypothesis and the dynamic framework of spontaneous thought.\n"]

  April 17, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70100   open full text
• The Effect of Relevance on Children's Multiple Text Reading: Evidence From Eye Movements.
  Tuomo Häikiö, Oksana Kanerva, Norbert Erdmann, Mirjamaija Mikkilä‐Erdmann, Johanna K. Kaakinen.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. April 16, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nWe examined how Finnish children read and integrate information across multiple expository texts when given an inquiry task. We were interested in how task‐relevance of text information affects readers' eye movements and whether the eye movements are connected to the quality of an essay written after reading. We were also interested in differentiating between the effects of technical reading skill and reading comprehension in respect to these processes. In total, 24 5th and 6th grade Finnish native‐speakers completed the experiment. Prior to testing, the participants were told that at the end of the testing session, they would have to complete an inquiry task (e.g., “What's the difference between human and dog hearing?”). During an eye tracking experiment, the participants read two science texts on the topic of the inquiry task. The texts contained both task‐relevant and task‐irrelevant text segments. After the reading task, the children wrote an essay to complete the inquiry task. Furthermore, participants' technical reading skill and reading comprehension were measured with an independent classroom test. It was shown that the task‐relevant segments were read longer than the task‐irrelevant segments during first‐pass reading. Moreover, reading skills modulated the effect of relevance, as weaker comprehenders were less likely to regress within an irrelevant segment. Furthermore, the relevance effect was more pronounced for the better technical readers with respect to look‐backs. No reliable effects were found for the essay‐writing task. The results imply that the participants were able to detect which parts of the text were relevant and adjusted their reading accordingly, based on their reading skills. However, they did not seem to form a coherent memory representation of the relevant text contents in order to perform well in the essay writing task.\n"]

  April 16, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70099   open full text
• Swedish Clinicians' Knowledge, Practices, and Access to Structured Guidance Regarding Maladaptive Exercise in Eating Disorders.
  Elin Monell, Emma Forsén Mantilla.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. April 14, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nMaladaptive exercise is a common and serious symptom in eating disorders (EDs), yet often poorly addressed in treatment. This study examined clinicians' knowledge, practices, and access to structured guidance such as clinic‐level practices/informal protocols related to maladaptive exercise, and whether these varied by profession, experience, or personal exercise habits. A cross‐sectional survey was completed by 102 clinicians working in Swedish ED care. The survey assessed self‐reported knowledge, clinical practices, and access to clinic‐level practices/informal protocols. Differences by profession, years of ED work experience, and personal physical activity were analyzed using Fisher's exact test and Spearman correlations. Most clinicians viewed maladaptive exercise as an aggravating symptom but reported limited formal training and moderate confidence in managing it. Assessment was common, but structured interventions were rare and opinions about them varied by profession. Only 42% reported access to clinic‐level practices/informal protocols, while 84% expressed a need for national guidance. Despite recognizing maladaptive exercise as clinically significant, ED clinicians report limited training and inconsistent guidance. Profession‐specific differences and the strong demand for national guidelines underscore the need for structured, evidence‐based approaches to both the assessment and treatment of maladaptive exercise, as well as adequate training for clinicians in their application.\n"]

  April 14, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70102   open full text
• Physical Appearance Anxiety and Eating Disorders Symptomatology: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis.
  Manuel Alcaraz‐Ibáñez, Adrian Paterna, Almudena F. Diaz‐Carrasco, Alvaro Sicilia, Mark D. Griffiths.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. April 10, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe present study aimed to assess the link between physical appearance anxiety (PAA) and eating disorder (ED) symptomatology by a meta‐analysis of existing literature. Eligible studies were searched across six electronic databases up until November 20, 2025. Pooled effect sizes (r) were calculated using random‐effects models. Potential variables that influence effect heterogeneity were analyzed by univariable and multivariable meta‐regressions. Influence analyses and a three‐parameter selection model (3PSM) were used to assess robustness of the results and publication bias. Twenty‐seven effect sizes from 21 studies (N = 5261) were obtained. The results indicated a strong association (i.e., r = 0.559) between the two variables under consideration, which was notably stronger (i) among females compared to males; and (ii) for overall eating disorder symptoms rather than bulimic symptoms. The results of this study advocate for further investigation into the effectiveness of addressing anxiety responses related to personal body traits, particularly among females, within the context of preventing and treating eating disorders.\n"]

  April 10, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70097   open full text
• The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale Short Form: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Among Parents of Children With Mental Health Disorders in Norway.
  Linda Severinsen, Jan Reidar Stiegler, Helene Amundsen Nissen‐Lie, Ben Shahar, Rune Zahl‐Olsen.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. April 03, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nDifficulties in emotion regulation lie at the core of many mental health challenges. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale Short Form (DERS‐SF) is a widely used tool for measuring such difficulties. Although it has been translated into several languages and validated across various countries worldwide, its psychometric properties have not been thoroughly examined in Scandinavian populations. This study aimed to replicate the original multidimensional six‐factor DERS‐SF model in a Norwegian sample, compare it with alternative models, and examine its correlation with psychological distress. As part of a randomized controlled trial (RCT), 138 parents of children with mental health disorders completed the DERS‐SF and the 10‐item Symptom Check List (SCL‐10). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted to compare the six‐factor model with a five‐factor model and two hierarchical models. CFAs supported the six‐factor, five‐factor and hierarchical models. All showing good model fit. The six‐factor model was preferred over the five‐factor model based on theoretical considerations regarding the inclusion of the Awareness factor. Reliability analysis yielded McDonald's omega values ranging from 0.61 to 0.94. A positive correlation between emotion regulation difficulties and psychological distress was observed (r = 0.445, p < 0.001). The findings supported the applicability of the DERS‐SF in a Norwegian population and its utility for clinical and research purposes. However, as the sample consisted of parents of children receiving mental health care, caution is required when interpreting these results due to potential limitations regarding external validity and generalizability.\nTrial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT04885036.\n"]

  April 03, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70095   open full text
• Beneath the Surface of Unfounded Belief Systems: An Extended Test of the Dimensionality Hypothesis.
  Albina Gallyamova, Elizaveta Komyaginskaya, Dmitry Grigoryev.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 30, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study tests the dimensionality hypothesis, according to which diverse epistemically unfounded beliefs share a single underlying liability in addition to domain‐specific components. We focus on conspiracy, paranormal, pseudoscientific, religious, and pseudo‐profound (“bullshit”) beliefs and examine whether their covariance structure is best captured by a common factor plus residual domain‐specific factors. Using a nationally representative Russian sample (N = 1268), we modeled the five belief domains with competing confirmatory factor analysis models. We compared one‐factor, correlated factors, higher order, and bifactor specifications, with the bifactor model prespecified as the focal test of the dimensionality hypothesis. We then related the general and domain‐specific factors to cognitive and motivational antecedents. A prespecified bifactor solution, in which a general factor explained about half of the common variance while specific factors captured residual domain structure, provided the best fit. Conventional domain scores may systematically confound the general liability with domain‐specific variance, potentially distorting cross‐domain comparisons and inferences about domain‐specific antecedents. Some cognitive and motivational antecedents emerged as central correlates of the general factor, whereas conspiracy, religious, pseudoscientific, paranormal, and pseudo‐profound beliefs each showed distinct additional profiles. The findings support a dimensional view of epistemically unfounded beliefs anchored in a common cognitive–motivational architecture. We discuss the general factor as potentially reflecting an evolved predisposition favoring Type I errors (the “smoke detector principle”) and archaic magical thinking, plausibly implemented at the proximate level in low‐dimensional psychological “conceptual spaces” that align heterogeneous beliefs along a shared axis of receptivity to epistemically unfounded claims. Explicitly modeling this structure is crucial for valid measurement, comparison, and targeted intervention across epistemically unfounded belief domains, as opposed to relying on undifferentiated composite scores.\n"]

  March 30, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70094   open full text
• Relationships Among Personality, Perfectionism and Dispositional Flow in Athletes: A Partial Least Square Path Modeling Approach.
  Francisco Daniel Martínez‐Martínez, Amaia Ramírez‐Muñoz, Pablo Asencio, Higinio González‐García.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 29, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nUnderstanding which psychological traits promote a flow state is crucial in the sport environment. This study aimed to examine whether personality and perfectionism among athletes were associated with the experience of dispositional flow. A sample of 216 athletes (Mage = 25.30; SD = 8.67; 129 men) completed self‐report measures. Results of the partial least squares path modeling approach showed that extraversion was significantly positively associated with challenge skill balance, awareness, merging of action, clear goals, loss of self‐consciousness, unambiguous feedback, and transformation of time. In addition, agreeableness was significantly negatively associated with sense of control. Besides, conscientiousness was significantly negatively associated with sense of control, clear goals, and autotelic experience. Finally, emotional stability was significantly positively associated with the transformation of time. In conclusion, it is important to highlight the influence of personality in the flow experience, which may hinder the performance of those athletes who have not developed certain personality traits. Also, it is noteworthy that extraversion is among the most salient personality variables in relation to flow. This has practical psychological implications for developing healthy environments and for identifying risk profiles that endanger well‐being and performance among athletes.\n"]

  March 29, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70092   open full text
• Developmental Trajectories and Sequential Analysis of Triadic Joint Attention.
  Tove Nilsson Gerholm, Petter Kallioinen, Tatjana von Rosen.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 29, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nTriadic joint attention (JA) refers to the shared focus of a child and an interlocutor on an object or event, accompanied by mutual awareness of this shared attention. Although JA is associated with early social interaction and later language development, its definitions and behavioral markers vary across studies and are often restricted to gaze and vocalizations, overlooking other communicative modalities. This longitudinal study followed 14 Swedish child–parent dyads during free play from 9 months to 3 years of age. Interactions were analyzed at both group and dyad levels. Vocal/verbal behavior, gesture, gaze, touch, and facial expression were annotated in detail. Time spent in JA was calculated across ages, and sequential analyses using odds ratios were conducted to examine how specific behaviors predicted the onset of JA. Joint attention increased steadily with age, accounting for 76% of interaction time at the group level by 3 years. Substantial variability was observed between dyads. Across ages, gaze combined with object‐directed action, neutral affect, and close physical proximity were the strongest predictors of JA, although their relative contributions varied across dyads. These findings highlight the importance of multimodal analyses and attention to individual variability for understanding the developmental role of joint attention. The methodological approach, time‐window sequential analysis, proved effective in identifying both group‐level patterns and the diversity between and within dyads' interactional styles. Moreover, analyses based on age measured in days indicated that age differences—even up to more than 1 month—played a minor role relative to this variability in dyadic interactional styles.\n"]

  March 29, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70096   open full text
• Understanding Internalized Weight Bias and Its Psychological Consequences: Implications for Improving Quality of Life.
  Guillaume Ramsamy, Marion Albouy, Catherine Esnard.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 25, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nConducted in a French clinical context, this study examines the association between experiences of weight stigma, internalized weight bias (IWB), coping strategies, quality of life (QoL), and obesity‐specific self‐efficacy (OSSE) among adults living with obesity. It also tests whether coping mediates the relationship between IWB and QoL or OSSE. A cross‐sectional sample of 132 adults (mean age = 49.3 years; mean BMI = 41.5 kg/m2) completed questionnaires assessing experienced weight stigma, IWB, coping strategies (adaptive and maladaptive), QoL (Mental Health Continuum–Short Form), and OSSE. Analyses included Pearson correlations, linear regressions, and bootstrap mediation models. Experiences of weight stigma were positively associated with IWB. Higher IWB predicted lower QoL and reduced OSSE. It was linked to less use of adaptive coping strategies and greater use of maladaptive strategies. Mediation analyses showed that coping strategies fully mediated the relationship between IWB and QoL, explaining approximately 43.7% of the variance. Similar patterns were observed across emotional, social, and psychological subdimensions. With respect to OSSE, the effects of IWB on all subdimensions were completely mediated by coping; adaptive strategies were particularly important for interpersonal and emotional facets, whereas maladaptive strategies were more influential for behavioral facets. Internalized weight bias plays a central role in the relationship between weight stigma and psychosocial outcomes in individuals living with obesity. Coping strategies are key mechanisms linking IWB to QoL and OSSE. Interventions aimed at reducing internalization and strengthening adaptive coping may improve well‐being and confidence in weight management.\n"]

  March 25, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70093   open full text
• Playing for Keeps: Long‐Term Recall With an Application Using Virtual Reality and the Method of Loci.
  Josefin Hagström, Anders Winman.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 23, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nStrategies that provide spatial context to study material have been successfully utilized combined with virtual 3D technology to improve memory and learning. However, research suggests that memory enhancement effects relying on visualization may be of a short‐term nature. The current study aimed to test whether these effects persist after a retention interval of 3 weeks. Additionally, we explored correlations with perceived efficiency, motivation, and gaming experience. German nouns with gender assignment were presented to 48 participants, either without or within a provided spatial context by a virtual reality application. Experimental effects persisted over a three‐week retention interval and were unrelated to motivation and gaming experience. These effects were pronounced, with a 50% memory boost in the experimental condition and increased over time, suggesting decreased forgetting rate. Findings provide insights on the potential of learning applications based on spatial memory and individual factors.\n"]

  March 23, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70089   open full text
• Associations Between Maternal Cumulative Psychological Distress and Child Subsequent Social Competence: The Role of Early Childhood Education and Care and Social Networks.
  Katja Tervahartiala, Eeva‐Leena Kataja, Laura Perasto, Niina Junttila, Marjukka Pajulo, Hasse Karlsson, Noona Kiuru, Saara Nolvi, Linnea Karlsson, Riikka Korja.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 20, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nMaternal psychological distress may have adverse effects on child socioemotional development. However, supportive social networks and participation in out‐of‐home childcare may serve as key protective factors and promote positive developmental outcomes. This study investigated whether maternal cumulative psychological distress is associated with children's (n = 528) social competence at the age of 5 years (M = 5.02, SD = 0.08) in Finland. Latent profile analyses (LPA) were conducted to identify latent classes of maternal cumulative symptoms of depression, anxiety, and parenting stress. Associations between these profiles and children's prosocial and antisocial behavior were examined. Additionally, the moderating effects of the child's age at entry into Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and maternal supportive social networks were analyzed. The results showed that chronically high maternal psychological distress was subsequently associated with child's higher impulsivity, higher disruptiveness, and lower empathy. We found no evidence of early ECEC attendance or mother's social networks as moderators between maternal symptoms and child's behavior. Nevertheless, mother's supportive social networks were beneficial for all children and associated with child's higher empathy and cooperation skills. These findings underscore the need for early identification of maternal psychological distress symptoms. Moreover, social networks may serve as valuable resources for families with young children and support child development, even though they did not buffer the effects of maternal distress.\n"]

  March 20, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70087   open full text
• The Age and Time Dynamics of Pro‐Sociality, Autonomy, and Well‐Being.
  Yunxiang Chen, Martin F. Lynch.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 17, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nPrevious research consistently highlights a positive relationship between pro‐sociality and well‐being, often mediated by autonomy. However, limited attention has been paid to exploring the temporal dynamics of this relationship across age cohorts and historical periods. This study conducts a cross‐sectional cohort analysis using global data from the World Values Survey (N = 360,244; 109 countries) to examine age and period effects across adulthood. The findings indicate that: (1) Pro‐sociality, autonomy, and well‐being generally decline with age, but tend to increase across more recent time periods. (2) The positive link between pro‐sociality and well‐being is stronger among older adults compared to younger adults, and was stronger in earlier periods compared to more recent times. (3) The mediating role of autonomy increases with age across different periods, but decreases across successive time periods when examined chronologically. The results underscore the importance of autonomy for older adults and reveal a declining contextual role of autonomy over time in the relationship between pro‐sociality and well‐being. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.\n"]

  March 17, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70091   open full text
• Longitudinal Stability and Cross‐Sectional Correlates: Cognition, Stress, and Inflammation in Midlife.
  Pai‐Lin Lee, Chih‐Kun Huang, Ling‐Chun Ou.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 558-569, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nTo investigate longitudinal relationships among psychological stress, inflammation biomarkers, and cognitive function over a 9‐year period using data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted on MIDUS Wave 2 data (M2, N = 790), incorporating biomarkers of stress (cortisol, norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine), inflammation (interleukin‐6, C‐reactive protein, fibrinogen, soluble ICAM‐1), and cognition (episodic memory, executive function), with follow‐up cognitive outcomes from MIDUS Wave 3 (M3). Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) assessed measurement validity, and key SEM assumptions were tested. CFA indicated acceptable model fit. SEM revealed significant cross‐sectional associations among stress, inflammation, and cognitive variables at baseline. Baseline cognitive function strongly predicted follow‐up cognition 9 years later, indicating high longitudinal stability. However, stress and inflammation biomarkers from M2 did not directly predict M3 cognition. Indirect effects emerged: M2 cognition influenced both M3 executive function and episodic memory through M3 global cognition. Multi‐group analysis showed no gender‐based differences in model paths. Stress and inflammation biomarkers were associated with cognition cross‐sectionally but showed no direct long‐term effects. Findings highlight the relative stability and predictive continuity of midlife cognition rather than substantial mean‐level change, underscoring midlife as a critical window for sustaining cognitive health.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70051   open full text
• Exploring the Role of Basic Psychological Needs in the Relationship Between Overparenting and Adolescent Psychological Outcomes.
  Maria Bacikova‐Sleskova, Sabina Kapetanovic.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 277-289, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nAlthough overparenting in adolescence is generally linked to poorer adolescent outcomes, the underlying psychological mechanisms have been less studied. Data from N = 691 Slovak adolescents (Mage = 15.4 SD = 0.71; 51% girls) were used to examine the role of basic psychological needs (BPN) satisfaction and frustration in the link between overparenting and adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms in two separate mother/father SEM models. BPN mediated the association between overparenting and adolescent psychological functioning, with some differences depending on the parent and adolescent gender. Specifically, BPN satisfaction mediated the link between overparenting and externalizing problems, while BPN frustration mediated the link between overparenting and internalizing problems. Understanding how these mechanisms operate differently in relation to internalizing and externalizing problems can inform targeted interventions.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70027   open full text
• Preliminary Psychometric Evaluation of the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) in a UK‐Based East‐Asian Sample.
  Freddie O'Donald, Clara Calia.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 257-265, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties and acceptability of the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) in a sample of UK‐based East‐Asian adults. Although widely used in cross‐cultural research, relatively few studies have assessed the factor structure, validity, and user acceptability of the VIA in non‐North American samples. A total of 236 East‐Asian participants (mean age = 26.8, 47.06% female) completed the 20‐item VIA and demographic questions. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted using AMOS with maximum likelihood estimation and robust standard errors. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using principal axis factoring and varimax rotation was also performed. Internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity, and acceptability were evaluated. CFA showed poor model fit for the original two‐factor VIA structure: χ2(169) = 367.12, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.84; RMSEA = 0.089. The Mainstream factor showed weak and mostly nonsignificant loadings, while the Heritage factor demonstrated strong loadings. Internal consistency was high for Heritage (α = 0.91) and acceptable for Mainstream (α = 0.81). EFA supported a refined 17‐item two‐factor model, excluding three low‐loading Mainstream items. Discriminant validity was supported, but convergent validity was only partially established. Acceptability data indicated that while most items were well received, several were perceived as culturally ambiguous. Findings support the VIA's bidimensional structure but suggest that cross‐cultural adaptation may be needed to improve measurement accuracy in UK‐based East Asian populations. The study highlights the importance of further validation in culturally diverse samples.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70029   open full text
• Fathers' Childcare Involvement Across the First Four Years: The Role of Duration and Share of Parental Leave.
  Anne Klode, Hanne Nørr Fentz, Søren Albeck Nielsen, Tea Trillingsgaard.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 368-382, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nPolicies and legislation regarding paternity leave influence parental roles and the division of household and childcare responsibilities. However, the impact of paternity leave, particularly how it is shared between parents, on fathers' long‐term involvement in childcare remains insufficiently understood. This study aimed to examine how fathers' absolute and relative paternity leave durations predict their long‐term involvement in childcare. A sample of 985 first‐time fathers was assessed using online surveys when their children were 10 months, 19 months, and 4 years old. Two key predictors were analyzed: absolute leave duration (total weeks) and the relative distribution of leave between fathers and mothers. Multiple regression analyses controlled for relevant confounders. Fathers' absolute and relative leave durations were modestly associated with higher involvement in childcare at 10 months (non‐linear effects). Relative leave was positively associated with involvement at 19 months (linear effect). No significant associations were observed at 4 years. Fathers who shared leave more equally with their partner were also more equally engaged in subsequent childcare early (10 months) and persisting into toddlerhood (19 months), with a larger association observed at 10 months among fathers with shorter leave duration. These findings support theoretical frameworks of “father transformation” and “couples' bargaining” and underscore the potential of non‐transferable paternity leave policies to promote more equitable caregiving roles.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70030   open full text
• Parental Phubbing Mediates the Association Between Postpartum Depression Symptoms and the Mother‐Infant Bonding Disorder Among Mothers With Infants Under 12 Months.
  Ana‐Maria Andrei, Violeta Enea.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 266-276, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nMother‐infant bonding develops when the mother is emotionally and physically present in her infant's life, offering affection and manifesting nurturing behaviors. However, this process may be disrupted by factors such as postpartum depression symptoms or other dysfunctional parenting behaviors (e.g., emotional unavailability or excessive maternal smartphone use), both of which can reduce maternal availability. While researchers have widely explored mother‐infant bonding disorders, there has been little research investigating its associations with parenting behavior, such as phubbing, particularly in the context of postpartum depression symptoms. The current study aimed to (1) explore associations between postpartum depression symptoms, parental phubbing, and mother‐infant bonding disorder, and (2) explore the possible mediating role of parental phubbing on the link between postpartum depression symptomatology and maternal–infant bonding disorder. Using a cross‐sectional web‐based survey, we included 488 adult women (M age = 30 years, SD = 4.76) who had an infant aged between 0 weeks and 12 months of age (M age = 175.98 days, SD = 105.34). They completed self‐report questionnaires assessing mother‐infant bonding (the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire), parental phubbing (the Distraction in Social Relations and Use of Parent Technology), and postpartum depression symptoms (the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale). Current postpartum depression symptomatology was 56.1%, 12.1% scored above the bonding disorder cut‐off, and 4.1% had severe bonding disorder. Higher levels of postpartum depression symptoms were correlated with higher parental phubbing and impaired bonding. Parental phubbing partially mediates the relationship between postpartum depression symptoms and maternal–infant bonding disorder. Our findings provide a new mediation model for the association between postpartum depression symptoms and mother‐infant bonding disorder. Considering the growing prevalence of mobile device use and the potential risks underscored in this study, parenting, educational, and behavioral programs may benefit from incorporating specific strategies and information to enhance parental knowledge and interpersonal competency. These preventive intervention strategies may have the potential to be particularly beneficial for mothers at heightened risk for postpartum depression.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70031   open full text
• Regional Personality Variation in Sweden: Trait Clusters, Links to Health and Well‐Being, and Historical Context.
  Martin Obschonka, Markus Grillitsch, Nicklas Guldåker, Daniel Rauhut, Peter Jason Rentfrow, Jeff Potter, Samuel D. Gosling.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 439-472, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nPersonality traits (e.g., the Big Five) shape human behavior, decision‐making, and life outcomes. Evidence from various countries suggests that these traits are not randomly distributed but follow systematic regional patterns, fueling interest in their geographical variation. We analyze N = 22,225 geo‐coded personality assessments, aggregated at regional levels. Using Hot Spot analysis (Getis‐Ord Gi), we identify spatial clusters of personality traits and test their associations with health and well‐being indicators at the regional level. Even though Sweden has a reputation for equality, our analysis reveals notable spatial differences in personality composition. The data reveal overlapping geographical clustering in Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability (i.e., low Neuroticism), traits that are established predictors of better psychological functioning. These traits co‐occur at relatively higher levels in southern Sweden, particularly in the Scania region, whereas they co‐occur at relatively lower levels in parts of central Sweden. These patterns are descriptively supported by municipal‐level correlations with health and well‐being variables, although the associations are not uniform across all measures. In view of these results, we reflect on how these clusters may connect to long‐standing regional histories, including industrial legacies. Such interpretations remain speculative, and we outline a future research agenda to further investigate the causes and consequences of regional personality variation, as well as its possible societal implications.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70038   open full text
• A Taxonomy for Quantification of Norwegian Probability Phrases.
  Bjørn Sætrevik, Sebastian B. Bjørkheim.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 426-438, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nTo communicate effectively about risk and uncertainty we need to understand how phrases that describe the probability of an event are understood. Phrases may refer to higher or lower probabilities; they may communicate a precise or a rough estimate, and there may be more or less agreement on the interpretation of the phrase. Previous research has provided taxonomies for how phrases refer to different ranges of quantified probabilities. Our online survey (N = 537) showed that 22 Norwegian probability phrases were interpreted to refer to roughly the same probabilities as their English counterparts. In accordance with preregistered hypotheses, the phrases that were expected to express higher probabilities were assigned higher point estimates of interpretation (H1). The phrases that were expected to be less precise were assigned wider ranges of possible interpretation (H2). In addition to presenting the phrases alone, our study also presented the phrases as part of positive or negative clinical framing. This manipulation led to medium‐sized effects that phrases were assigned lower probabilities both when they were used in positive (H3a) and in negative frames (H3b). The current study suggests a taxonomy for how the probability of an event is expressed in Norwegian. This may be relevant for high‐stakes settings where it is important to communicate effectively and accurately about risk.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70040   open full text
• Intentional Recreational Activities of Daily Living and Well‐Being in the General Population and in Psychosomatic Patients, Before and After Treatment.
  Michael Linden, Christopher Arnold, Barbara Lieberei, Matthias Rose, Beate Muschalla.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 496-503, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nMental illness can affect activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, and recreational activities of daily living (RADL, e.g., sports, hobbies). RADL can have positive effects on psychological well‐being, and can therefore also intentionally be used to improve one's well‐being (IRADL, intentional recreational activities of daily living). In a German representative and a convenience sample, 2522 participants and 213 patients were asked about their use of IRADL. The psychosomatic patients were asked pre and post a 5‐week stay in a psychosomatic hospital. More than half of the participants in the representative study, 2/3 of the pretreatment, and over 91% of the posttreatment psychosomatic sample indicated at least one recreational activity that they use to deliberately improve psychological well‐being. Most people in the general public use recreational activities in a well‐being‐promoting manner. Psychosomatic patients use this option more frequently. Psychosomatic treatment helps to increase the motivation to use recreational activities.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70043   open full text
• Mediational Roles of Not Just Right Experiences and Disgust Proneness Between Deontological Guilt and Obsessive‐Compulsive Symptoms.
  Guyonne Rogier, Vittoria Zaccari, Francesca D'Olimpio, Francesco Mancini.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 473-482, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nContributions suggest that deontological guilt, as opposed to altruistic guilt, is involved in obsessive‐compulsive (OC) symptoms. However, the variables explaining this link have been insufficiently explored despite studies suggesting the role of not‐just‐right experiences (NJREs) and disgust sensitivity (DS). This study provides data testing the mediational role of these variables in the pathways linking deontological guilt to OC symptoms. We administered self‐report questionnaires to a sample of 189 adults (25 males; Mage = 29.72, SDage = 4.93) measuring OC symptoms, two dimensions of deontological guilt, as well as NJREs and DS. Path analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. We found that both deontological and altruistic dimensions of guilt were linked to OC‐related variables. Also, NJREs and DS were differently associated with OC symptoms and mediated specific pathways between deontological guilt and different OC symptoms. Deontological guilt accounts for OC symptoms, supporting the theoretical model. NJREs and DS are associated with OC symptoms and deontological guilt but play different roles according to the type of OC symptoms. Results partially support previous studies and extend the knowledge of the complex interplay between variables underlying OC symptoms in the general population.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70044   open full text
• Sleep More, Quarrel Less: Associations Between Day‐to‐Day Variations in Objective Sleep and Interpersonal Behavior and Perception.
  Teus Mijnster, Maaike M. van Veen, Gretha J. Boersma, Fiona ter Heege, Tom F. Wilderjans, Marike Lancel, Marije aan het Rot.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 547-557, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe relation between sleep and irritable affect has been studied extensively. However, whether this relation is bidirectional remains unclear. Furthermore, less is still known about associations between sleep and interpersonal behaviors and perceptions during social interactions. The current study examined bidirectional within‐person relations between actigraphy‐based sleep, and irritable affect, quarrelsome behavior, and agreeable perceptions of others assessed using event‐contingent recording of social interactions in a sample of n = 50 participants during either 20 or 40 days. We found that after a night of worse sleep than usual, participants reported more anger and frustration the next day (−0.12, p ≤ 0.01). The reverse was not found. There were no direct associations between sleep and quarrelsome behavior or between sleep and agreeable perceptions. However, worse sleep than usual was indirectly related to more quarrelsome behavior (−0.05, p ≤ 0.001) and less agreeable perceptions (0.06, p ≤ 0.001); that is, via increased irritable affect. These mediation effects imply that poor sleep may impair the quality of one's social interactions. Therefore, targeting sleep could be a means to improve personal and professional relationships.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70047   open full text
• Decision‐Making Training for Frontline Police Officers: Effects on Situational Awareness and Team Behavior.
  Roar Espevik, Evelyn Rose‐Saus, Bjørn Helge Johnsen, Sverre Sanden, Olav Kjellevold Olsen.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 596-604, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nFrontline police officers frequently face ambiguous and high‐pressure situations requiring rapid decision‐making under uncertainty. Traditional police training often emphasizes procedural and tactical skills, neglecting cognitive competencies such as situational awareness (SA) and shared mental models (SMM). This study investigates whether a brief, theoretically grounded decision‐making training program can enhance SA and team behavior among regular and SWAT‐type police officers during simulated arrest scenarios. A quasi‐experimental 2 × 2 factorial design was employed, involving 166 police officers (category 3: SWAT‐type; category 4: regular patrol). Participants were assigned to either a training group (n = 54) or a control group (n = 112). The training program consisted of three modules focusing on decision‐making frameworks, scenario‐based exercises, and group debriefings. SA was measured using the Situational Awareness Rating Scale (SARS), and team behavior was assessed by subject matter experts during ambiguous and non‐ambiguous simulated scenarios. Statistical analyses included factorial ANOVAs and planned comparisons. Trained officers demonstrated significantly higher SA scores than untrained controls (F(1, 162) = 12.587, p < 0.000). SWAT‐type officers outperformed regular officers in SA and team behavior across scenarios. A training effect on team behavior was observed only among regular officers in the ambiguous scenario (F(1, 81) = 6.66, p < 0.012). No training effect was found in the non‐ambiguous scenario. Effect sizes ranged from small to medium, with the strongest impact observed in SA and ambiguous decision‐making. Brief decision‐making training improved SA across both officer categories and enhanced team behavior in ambiguous scenarios for regular officers. These findings support the integration of scenario‐based, cognitively focused training in police education to better prepare officers for complex operational environments.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70050   open full text
• Assessing the Validity of the Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory 2 as a Measure of HiTOP Spectra: Identifying the Optimal Placement of the Anankastia Factor.
  Lucas de Francisco Carvalho, Gisele Magarotto Machado, Milena Nikolić, Giselle Pianowski, Cato Grønnerød.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 334-351, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis is a cross‐sectional study investigating the validity of the Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory 2 (IDCP‐2) as a tool for assessing HiTOP spectra. In Study 1, a nonclinical sample of 1659 Brazilian participants (65.4% females, with ages ranging from 18 to 70 years) was utilized to evaluate the internal structure of the IDCP‐2 and its alignment with the HiTOP framework, according to four experts' independent ratings. Given the disparities in expert ratings regarding the conscientiousness scales of IDCP‐2, we conducted exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) to identify the optimal placement for the anankastia factor within our model. Study 2 involved 641 nonclinical participants (87.17% females, with ages ranging from 18 to 82 years) and examined the external validity of the IDCP‐2 factors that are shown to be representative of the HiTOP spectra by correlating its scales with the PID5BF + M domains. The findings indicate the IDCP‐2's robust internal consistency and factorial validity as a tool for assessing the HiTOP spectra and confirming its external validity based on the significant moderate to high correlations with the PID5BF + M domain. Additionally, our results suggest anankastia to be a separate sixth factor within the HiTOP framework. These results underscore the IDCP‐2's value in capturing a wide range of pathological traits, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of personality and psychopathology. Future research should focus on further validating the IDCP‐2 in clinically diverse populations, to enhance its clinical applicability according to global healthcare developments, and to support the broader implementation of the HiTOP model globally.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70035   open full text
• Zero‐Sum Beliefs Between Nature and Humanity: The Relationship With Life Satisfaction.
  Jayne Engwerda, Pamela Pensini.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 308-320, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nEnvironmental decisions are often framed as win‐lose trade‐offs between nature and humanity, where gains for the environment are considered losses for humanity, and vice‐versa. These zero‐sum beliefs regarding the relationship between nature and humanity (ZSB‐NH) may have implications for life satisfaction, given that zero‐sum beliefs in human relationships are known to negatively impact life satisfaction. Furthermore, several related constructs overlap with both ZSB‐NH and life satisfaction. This study predicted that ZSB‐NH would negatively predict life satisfaction and would do so after also accounting for related constructs. Australian adults (N = 363, 59% female, Mage = 60.86) completed an online survey containing measures of ZSB‐NH, zero‐sum beliefs in human relations, connectedness to nature, connectedness to humanity, nature exposure, demographics, and life satisfaction. Unexpectedly, ZSB‐NH was found to be a nonsignificant predictor of life satisfaction when considered alone. When accounting for the related constructs, ZSB‐NH emerged as a significant positive predictor of life satisfaction (β = 0.15, p = 0.01), with the bivariate effects of connectedness to nature and to humanity diminishing. Additional analyses revealed connectedness to humanity and nature exposure, but not connectedness to nature, were suppressing the bivariate relationship between ZSB‐NH and life satisfaction. Overall, the study concludes that holding zero‐sum beliefs about the human nature relationship may not be inherently detrimental to life satisfaction, and may in fact enhance it; however, promoting these beliefs may come with negative consequences for prosocial or pro‐environmental behaviors. As such, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers alike should consider developing strategies which address this, ensuring that interventions effectively promote life satisfaction in the context of social and environmental decision‐making.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70032   open full text
• Patterns of Cognitive‐Emotional Responses to Online Body Shaming and Pathological Behavior Odds Among Adolescents (11–17).
  Jana Kvintova, Lucie Vachova, Hongyang Liu, Jan Sebastian Novotny, Lucia Lackova, Kamil Kopecky.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 585-595, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nOnline body shaming is common in adolescence and linked to a range of maladaptive outcomes. This study examined whether discrete cognitive–emotional responses to online body shaming are differentially associated with somatization, escaping behavior, eating‐disorder behaviors, and substance use, and whether these associations vary by age or sex. In a cross‐sectional, school‐based survey, 2441 Czech adolescents (11–17 years) who reported online body shaming were analyzed. Cognitive‐emotional responses were grouped into five categories (forceful, passive, uncontrollable emotions; negative thoughts; self‐harm ideation). Behavioral outcomes were grouped into four categories (somatization, escaping behavior, eating‐disorder behaviors, substance use). Multivariable logistic regressions estimated associations between emotions and behaviors; moderation by age (11–14 vs. 15–17) and sex was probed via z‐tests on log‐odds ratios. Two consistent patterns emerged. (1) Uncontrollable and forceful emotions were associated with higher odds of somatization and escaping behavior. (2) Self‐harm ideation and negative thoughts were associated with higher odds of eating‐disorder behaviors and substance use. Model fits were significant across outcomes. Associations were broadly similar across ages and sexes; formal comparisons detected no systematic moderation by age or sex. Distinct emotional reactions to online body shaming map onto specific maladaptive behavior risks in adolescents, largely independent of age and sex. Screening for high‐arousal dysregulation (e.g., uncontrollable or forceful emotions) and self‐focused despair (negative thoughts, self‐harm ideation) may help schools and clinicians flag youth at risk for somatic complaints, withdrawal, disordered eating, or substance use. Findings reflect associations from cross‐sectional data and should be tested longitudinally.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70054   open full text
• The Social Participation of Young People in University Settings: The Gender Gap in Participatory Profiles and Explanatory Processes.
  María Celeste Dávila, Anna Zlobina, María Lucía Feo‐Serrato.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 530-546, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study aims to analyze the participatory profile of women and men, and to explore to what extent gender may moderate the associations between intrapersonal variables and social participation, considering also the potential socialization effects of university experiences. Two studies are presented. Study 1 analyzed 3856 university students who had completed at least the first year of their undergraduate degree. Study 2 analyzed 1061 young people who had just started their university studies. Both used online questionnaires to evaluate social participation and the intrapersonal variables internal efficacy, moral obligation, self‐concept and social norms. The results indicated that women and men exhibited largely similar participatory profiles across both samples, although women reported higher levels in most of the behaviors examined. Moreover, the findings suggest that the moderating role of gender is not fixed but varies according to developmental stage and the socialization processes occurring within the university context. This underscores the importance of viewing gender not merely as a descriptive characteristic, but as a dynamic factor shaping the psychosocial processes underpinning youth participation. Such insights can inform the design of targeted interventions aimed at promoting more equitable participation and fostering critical reflection on the role of universities in strengthening civic engagement among young people.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70048   open full text
• Internet‐Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy With Interoceptive Exposure for Panic Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial and Working Alliance Analysis.
  Lisa Bäckman, Sandra Weineland, Kristofer Vernmark, Ella Radvogin, Pär Bjälkebring, Esther Enbuske, Ida Hermansson, Nina Johansson, Nathalie Petersen, Timo Hursti.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 605-619, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study's primary aim was to evaluate the efficacy of an internet‐based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (IACT) program modified to include interoceptive exposure for treating panic disorder with or without concurrent agoraphobia. Its secondary aim was to examine whether therapist‐ and client‐rated working alliances were related to treatment outcomes. This randomized controlled trial included 79 participants, assigned to either a treatment group (n = 40) or a waitlist control group (n = 39) over 10 weeks. The study investigated the effects on panic disorder and quality of life, as well as the relationship between working alliances (rated by therapists and clients) and treatment outcomes. At post‐treatment, there was a significant between‐group treatment effect on panic disorder symptoms, with an observed effect size of d = 0.92. The model‐predicted effect size based on the multilevel model was dGMA‐raw = 0.86. Furthermore, 43% of participants no longer met the diagnostic criteria. Participants with concurrent agoraphobia exhibited higher initial panic symptom scores and were less likely to be diagnosis‐free post‐treatment. However, they still experienced significant and large treatment effects, with an observed effect size d = 1.22 and dGMA‐raw = 0,99. There was no significant between‐group difference in quality‐of‐life measurements. The therapist‐rated working alliance was associated with treatment outcome, but no significant relationship was found for the client‐rated alliance. Overall, the study suggests that interoceptive exposure‐modified IACT is an effective treatment for panic disorder and shows promise for patients with concurrent agoraphobia.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70045   open full text
• Unraveling Symptom Heterogeneity and Core Features of Adolescent Social Anxiety: Insights From Latent Profile and Network Analyses.
  Meng Yu, Tong Xie, Runting Chen, Junhao Pan, Dingguo Gao.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 483-495, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nTo further investigate the heterogeneity of adolescents' social anxiety, a cross‐sectional survey was conducted among 6540 Chinese adolescents aged 11 to 19 years (3294 boys). Latent profile analysis and network analysis were adopted to identify subgroups based on social anxiety symptoms and further reveal core features of each group. Results showed that four subgroups were identified: “Profile 1 (n = 1,768, 26.8%): the low group with diffuse social anxiety”; “Profile 2 (n = 1,202, 18.7%): the moderate group with cognitive disturbance”; “Profile 3 (n = 1995, 30.6%): the moderate group with difficulties in new situations”; and “Profile 4: high group with diffuse social anxiety”. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed significant age and gender differences across the four profiles. Network analyses revealed that, with regard to standardized strength indices of SAS‐A symptoms, generally, symptoms F4 “worry that others don't like me”, and F6 “feel that others make fun of me” emerged as central symptoms across the four networks. Network 4 showed a higher average predictability of all nodes, indicating a greater resistance to intervention. Network comparison tests indicated that there were significant differences regarding network structures in all pairs of networks except for Network 1 versus 2. All pairs of networks differed significantly in network strengths except for Network 2 versus 3, particularly revealing the “essence” and “manifestation” of adolescents' social anxiety. The findings help understand adolescents' social anxiety symptoms and the interactions of symptoms, potentially providing novel perspectives and approaches for the prevention and treatment of adolescents' social anxiety.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70042   open full text
• Math Anxiety and Its Relations to Arithmetic Fluency and Number Processing: Evidence From Finnish, Finnish‐Swedish, and Swedish Fourth‐Grade Students.
  Pinja Tähti, Jonatan Finell, Anna Tapola, Ellen Sammallahti, Anna Widlund, Bert Jonsson, Riikka Mononen, Johan Korhonen.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 504-518, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe negative relationship between math anxiety and mathematics performance is well established. However, factors such as how math anxiety is operationalized, the specific mathematical domain, gender, and cultural context may influence this relationship. Still, these factors have not been considered together and the results in primary school students have been inconsistent. Thus, this study aimed to investigate how math anxiety is related to arithmetic fluency and number processing in fourth‐grade students across three cultural contexts (Finnish‐ and Swedish‐speaking students from Finland and Swedish‐speaking students from Sweden). In addition, we investigated the dimensionality of math anxiety (i.e., cognitive and affective dimensions) and gender differences in the level of and relations between math anxiety and mathematics performance. The sample included 1022 fourth‐grade students (52.6% girls) from Finland and Sweden. The participants completed a survey measuring their math anxiety and a mathematics performance test (arithmetic fluency and number processing). Confirmatory factor analysis supported a two‐dimensional math anxiety construct for the Finnish‐speaking sample and a unidimensional math anxiety construct for the Swedish‐speaking samples. The negative math anxiety–performance relationship was demonstrated in each sample, showing a slightly stronger association for arithmetic fluency than number processing. On average girls experienced higher levels of math anxiety and boys had better arithmetic fluency. The negative relationship between math anxiety and mathematics performance, especially for number processing, was stronger for boys. The results highlight the relationships between math anxiety and mathematics performance in fourth‐grade students in Finland and Sweden. More research considering cultural (e.g., language) and gender differences is needed.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70041   open full text
• Big Five Personality Factors Differentially Related to Positive and Negative Affect Intensity of Autobiographical Memories.
  Sophie Hoehne.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 413-425, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nAlthough the relationship between personality and aspects of emotional experience have been investigated from a variety of different perspectives, little research has been conducted on personality traits and the affect intensity of autobiographical memories (AMs). To fill this gap, the present study examined the association of the Big Five personality traits with the positive and negative affect intensity of positive and negative AMs using multilevel multiple regression. Participants (N = 1275; 18–53 years) completed the short form of the Big Five Inventory (BFI‐K) and reported AMs of three positive and three negative events. Next, participants rated the negative and positive affect intensity of each event separately on a 7‐point Likert scale. Neuroticism was associated with less positive and more negative affect intensity of both positive and negative AMs. Extraversion showed the opposite pattern with respect to positive AMs, and agreeableness with respect to negative AMs and the negative affect intensity of positive AMs. Openness was associated with a higher positive affect intensity of positive AMs and conscientiousness with a higher positive affect intensity of negative AMs. Results are discussed in relation to previous empirical evidence and theoretical considerations of the associations. The present study extends previous research by demonstrating that all Big Five traits relate to the affect intensity of individuals' AMs.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70039   open full text
• Who Fears Generative Artificial Intelligence? Scale Development and Predictors of Fears Towards GenAI.
  Guido Corradi, Cecilia Theirs, Maria Luisa Martínez‐Martí, Carme Isern‐Mas, Sergio Villar.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 396-412, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study developed and validated the Fears Towards Generative Artificial Intelligence scale, a novel instrument assessing individuals' concerns about emerging generative AI technologies, which are increasingly integrated into daily life. Drawing on qualitative data from three focus groups and subsequent quantitative validation with 303 participants, we initially derived 37 items that captured diverse fears, including concerns about job displacement, social inequalities, and loss of human autonomy commonly associated with generative AI systems. Exploratory factor analyses supported a unidimensional structure of the scale, demonstrating strong reliability and content validity. Regression models revealed that negative attitudes towards AI and perceived threats to employment were key predictors of heightened fear, while greater usage and familiarity were linked to reduced fear. We also present a short 4‐item version of the scale generated by a genetic algorithm and tested with 101 new participants, which presents good psychometric properties. The FTGAI scale addresses a critical measurement gap and offers a comprehensive tool for researchers and policymakers seeking to understand and mitigate fears towards generative AI's growing societal impact.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70037   open full text
• Belief Change Interventions Are More Effective if the Properties of the Intervention Are Similar to the Properties of an Originating Experience.
  William Langston.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 352-367, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nExperience plays a role in belief development. We present a method to evaluate the experiential basis of a belief and investigate whether belief‐change interventions are more effective if the qualities of an intervention experience more closely match the experience that might have led to the belief. Psychology department research pool participants (total N = 1102) were in either a read‐only or experience‐based intervention for three beliefs: that they can detect stares from unseen others, that pyramids have remarkable powers of preservation, and that pyramids produce concentration benefits for people meditating under them. Stare detection and pyramid effects on concentration were diagnosed as experience‐based beliefs and were both more strongly affected by experience‐based interventions. Pyramid preservation power did not have the properties of an experience‐based belief, and intervention type had no effect on that belief. Potential improvements in evaluating experience and implications for more consequential belief change research are discussed.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70036   open full text
• Shyness Associations With Approach/Avoidance Behaviors in Emerging Adulthood: The Moderating Role of Emotional Intelligence Differs for Women and Men.
  Soyoung Jung, Christina A. Brook, Louis A. Schmidt.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 570-584, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nPrevious research has shown that shyness is a risk factor for poor socio‐emotional outcomes, although not all shy adults develop these problematic behaviors. Emotional intelligence (EI) may be one explanatory factor that helps facilitate adaptive social behaviors and buffers against developing internalizing behaviors in some shy individuals. Accordingly, this study investigated whether EI moderated the relation between shyness and social approach (i.e., sociability) and avoidance (i.e., internalizing behaviors) behaviors in emerging adulthood. Participants were 523 young adults (M = 18.65 years, SD = 0.90, 19.3% male) who completed online questionnaires related to shyness, EI, sociability, and internalizing behaviors. We found that the EI subfactor Others' Emotion Appraisal (OEA) moderated a negative relation between shyness and sociability. Specifically, shy women with higher OEA reported higher levels of sociability than those with lower levels of OEA. Notably, this effect was not observed in men. As well, contrary to our expectation, EI had no moderating effect on the relation between shyness and internalizing behaviors. Findings indicate that the ability to perceive others' emotions may help shy women navigate social situations more effectively. Moreover, they challenge the idea that EI uniformly moderates the effects of shyness, instead highlighting the different pathways through which specific emotional competencies interact with personality and sex.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70052   open full text
• Feasibility of the Psychoeducational Programme SKILLS for the Child's Social Network for Patients Newly Diagnosed With ADHD: A Mixed‐Method Design Study.
  Martina Isaksson, Daniel Ekenberg, Elin Håkonsen Martinsen, Måns Lööf, Johan Isaksson.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 321-333, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nAttention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) presents challenges that both influence and are influenced by the child's environment. While non‐pharmacological interventions exist for youth and parents, brief and accessible programmes that also engage the wider social network are lacking. This study evaluated the feasibility of the psychoeducational programme SKILLS for the child's Social Network (SKILLS‐SN), focusing on implementation, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes. One hundred participants—including parents, grandparents, stepparents, and others in the child's network—attended the two‐session intervention at two sites, online or in person. Following the intervention, demographic data and satisfaction ratings were collected. Participants also completed pre‐ and post‐ratings of perceptions of the youth's ADHD, treatment, and challenges. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and with non‐parametric tests; an open‐ended response regarding opinions about SKILLS‐SN was analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Attendance was high, with over 97% completing both sessions; 17% of participants were non‐parents. Most rated SKILLS‐SN as good or excellent, and 99% would recommend it to others. Increased knowledge about ADHD was most valued. No significant changes were observed in participants' attitudes towards ADHD or treatment. The qualitative analysis identified three themes: programme strengths (e.g., useful as basic training), suggestions for improvement (e.g., more discussion time), and experienced impact (e.g., increased knowledge). SKILLS‐SN appears to be a feasible and acceptable brief psychoeducational programme for the child's social network. Future work should enhance participant interaction, broaden inclusion to school personnel and other key individuals, and further evaluate effectiveness and long‐term outcomes.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70034   open full text
• Burnout in Esports: An Item Response Theory Examination of the Athlete Burnout Scale.
  Dylan R. Poulus, Sandrine Isoard‐Gautheur, Daniel Zarate, Jack Sargeant, Benjamin T. Sharpe, Vasileios Stavropoulos.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 383-395, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nAthlete burnout is increasingly reported as impacting esports players' wellbeing and performance. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Athlete Burnout Scale (ABO‐S) in esports. The ABO‐S assesses three burnout dimensions: physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishment, and negative feelings toward sport. The study focused on item discrimination and difficulty parameters to establish optimal raw cut‐off scores indicating levels of burnout risk. Participants were 453 adult esports players proficient in English, ranked in the top 40% of one of seven major esports. The sample included 372 males, 74 females, and seven nonbinary participants from 66 countries. Item Response Theory was used to assess the ABO‐S's psychometric properties. The GRM provided a superior fit, with all but one item showing sufficient discrimination and difficulty levels. Items reflecting weariness, lacking energy, and physical exhaustion demonstrated high levels of information and reliability across a range of burnout levels. A provisional diagnostic cut‐off score of ≥ 63 (+2 SD) was established, identifying 2% of participants at high burnout risk. Additional raw score thresholds of ≥ 47 (+0.5 SD) and 52 (+1 SD) were also identified. The ABO‐S is a robust instrument for assessing burnout in esports players, with specific items effectively identifying varying levels of burnout. The establishment of cut‐off scores aids in identifying players at high risk of burnout, contributing to better support and intervention strategies in the esports community. These findings further the understanding of burnout in esports, highlighting the scale's utility in monitoring and addressing player wellbeing.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70033   open full text
• Even Though the Long Distance: Are We Still Going on? Dyadic Trust, Relationship Maintenance Behaviors, and Relationship Quality Among Emerging Adulthoods.
  Ali Berke Körün, Seydi Ahmet Satıcı.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 519-529, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nLong‐distance romantic relationships have become an increasingly common type of relationship. Especially among emerging adults, the preference for such relationships is increasing. This situation reveals the importance of analyzing how long‐distance relationships are maintained and the quality that individuals perceive from these relationships. The study group of this research consists of emerging adults who have been in a long‐distance romantic relationship for at least 6 months. The study examined the relationships between relationship maintenance behaviors, dyadic trust and relationship quality. The findings obtained using a serial mediation model show that relationship maintenance behaviors predict relationship quality both directly and indirectly through dyadic trust. In particular, openness and positivity play important roles in the formation of trust, which in turn increases overall relationship quality. The results emphasize that adaptive communication and relationship maintenance behaviors play a critical role in overcoming the difficulties encountered in long‐distance relationships. The findings are discussed within the framework of family systems theory and the impact of stressors on the system and the role of effective relationship maintenance behaviors in maintaining relational balance and functioning are discussed. Finally, implications for practice and future research in the field of relationship counseling are discussed.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70046   open full text
• Populism as a Catalyst for Extremism: An Analysis of Its Relationship With Conspiracy Beliefs and Ideological Radicalization.
  José Ventura‐Egoávil, José Genshiro Shimabukuro‐Lara, Juandiego Ismael Zagal‐Sanchez.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 290-307, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis article presents an empirical model examining the explanatory relationship between three constructs: populism, conspiracy beliefs, and extremist attitudes—defined as attitudes of rejection and destruction toward democratic systems, manifested through violent acts, and even terrorism. The research was conducted in an emerging economy country, using a representative sample of 400 citizens in full exercise of their civil rights. Data were analyzed using correlational analysis and a mediation model to test the influence of populist attitudes on extremist attitudes, mediated by conspiracy beliefs. Findings indicate that populist attitudes influence extremist attitudes, mediated by conspiracy beliefs. This suggests that individuals with populist attitudes are more prone to general extremism, amplified by conspiracy theories. An increase in populist attitudes may heighten inclinations toward violent extremism. Additionally, populist attitudes were found to explain both right‐ and left‐wing radicalism, mediated by conspiracy beliefs. However, contrary to findings in Europe and the United States, populism exhibited a highly significant relationship with left‐wing radicalism in this context. The study concludes that populism poses a greater risk than traditional ideologized radicalisms due to its ability to directly influence extremist attitudes, potentially translating into violent and even terrorist behaviors. This finding underscores the urgency of addressing populism as a sociopolitical phenomenon capable of exacerbating extremist dynamics in contemporary contexts.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70026   open full text
• The Moderating Role of Psychological Well‐Being in the Relation Between Stressful Life Events and Common Mental Disorders in the General Population.
  Peter M. ten Klooster, Margreet ten Have, Annemarie I. Luik, Marlous Tuithof, Ernst T. Bohlmeijer.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 654-663, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nStressful life events (SLEs) are known to be associated with an increased prevalence of common mental disorders (CMDs), but the potential moderating role of psychological well‐being has not been comprehensively studied. In total, 6194 adults aged 18–75 years were interviewed for the third Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS‐3). Assessments included the adapted Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI v3.0) to determine DSM‐5 mood, anxiety and substance use disorders, Brugha's List of Threatening Experiences for SLEs, and Brief INSPIRE‐O for psychological well‐being. Logistic regressions tested associations between having experienced at least two SLEs and the different CMDs and additive interactions with psychological well‐being. Having experienced ≥ 2 SLEs in the last year was associated with a higher prevalence of all CMDs in the last year, with adjusted odds ratios ranging from 1.71 (95% CI: 1.39; 2.10) for substance use disorders to 3.43 (95% CI: 2.73; 4.30) for mood disorders. The interaction effect of ≥ 2 SLEs and low psychological well‐being was statistically significant for any CMD (RERI = 5.64, 95% CI: 3.18; 8.10), mood disorder (RERI = 23.09, 95% CI: 10.10; 36.10) and anxiety disorder (RERI = 3.45, 95% CI: 1.27; 5.63), but not for substance use disorder (RERI = 0.21, 95% CI: −1.38; 1.80). The joint presence of ≥ 2 SLEs and poor psychological well‐being was associated with a higher prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders than would be expected from the sum of their individual associations. Promoting psychological well‐being may be a fruitful public mental health strategy to increase resilience against SLEs.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70061   open full text
• Directionality of Self‐Regulation and Self‐Efficacy Within a Treatment Targeting Cardiovascular Exercise and Emotional Eating in Women: Interpretation and Application of Behavioral Theory.
  James J. Annesi, Phillip G. Post.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 643-653, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nBecause of the limited success at fostering sustained weight loss through behavioral changes, surgical and pharmaceutical interventions are increasingly relied upon. Better accommodating key constructs within health behavior‐change theory might be necessary for improving success through behavioral means. Women with obesity (N = 73) participated in a 6‐month theory‐informed and community‐based weight‐loss program. They demonstrated significant within‐group improvements in self‐regulation and self‐efficacy related to exercise and eating, dietary behaviors, cardiovascular exercise, and weight over 12 months. Paths from early changes in self‐regulation, to early changes in behavior, to longer‐term changes in self‐efficacy and further behavioral changes were significant for both cardiovascular exercise and dietary behavior changes. Similar paths, but initiating from self‐efficacy change, were not significant. Reductions in weight over both 6 months (−6.0%) and 12 months (−5.5%) were significantly predicted by the changes in cardiovascular exercise and dietary behaviors. Findings suggested that an initial emphasis on self‐regulatory skill development will promote self‐efficacy and weight‐loss behaviors.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70057   open full text
• Parenting in a Digital Void: Parental Emotion‐Focused Coping With Children's Screen Use.
  T. V. Høy, D. Danielsen, A. K. Gejl, M. Toftager, C. Pawlowski.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 632-642, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nDigital platforms have grown in popularity among children, leading to increased screen time and new challenges for parents. Parents are often left in a void of overwhelming pressure and responsibility, tasked with managing children's screen use while navigating the complexities of balancing digital activities with other aspects of their children's well‐being. This study examines how children's screen use functions as both a daily and persistent stressor for some parents and investigates the ways in which emotion‐focused coping strategies are employed to manage the emotional strain arising from screen‐related parenting practices. Between October and December 2021, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 17 parents of 10–11‐year‐old children. The interviews were analyzed using abductive analysis, iteratively moving between empirical data and theory. The findings illustrate how parents employed emotion‐focused coping strategies both in relation to the general presence of screens in their child's everyday life and in response to specific content the child engaged with. Strategies such as positive reappraisal were used to reframe the presence and content of digital activities as beneficial or valuable, helping parents manage emotional distress and maintain family harmony. This study highlights how some parents perceive children's screen use as an unchangeable reality, leading them to rely on emotion‐focused coping strategies rather than pursuing change. Supporting parents in developing self‐efficacy may help foster more constructive, mutually beneficial family dialogue, ultimately ensuring the health and well‐being of children, parents and the family unit.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70056   open full text
• The Role of Psychological Inflexibility in Adolescents' Loneliness: School Friendship Closeness as a Mediator.
  Annina Jormanainen, Kaisa Kalttila, Tetta Hämäläinen, Päivi Lappalainen, Mari Tunkkari, Noona Kiuru.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 13, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 2, Page 620-631, April 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study aimed to expand knowledge on the roles of psychological inflexibility and school friendship closeness in adolescents' loneliness during the transition to upper secondary education. The participants were 885 Finnish adolescents (mean age = 15.74, SD = 0.37, 56% girls). Loneliness was measured twice: in Grade 9 and at the beginning of upper secondary school in 10th grade. Psychological inflexibility and the closeness of friendships in school were measured in Grade 9. Results showed that a high level of psychological inflexibility in Grade 9 was associated with higher loneliness at the beginning of upper secondary education and increased loneliness during the educational transition. Furthermore, girls' (but not boys') friendship closeness in school partly mediated the association between psychological inflexibility and loneliness. The results suggested that psychological inflexibility is a social risk factor for loneliness among adolescents transitioning to upper secondary school. Enhancing psychological flexibility skills could thus make an important contribution to the promotion of adolescent peer relationships and prevention of loneliness.\n"]

  March 13, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70053   open full text
• Clinical Heterogeneity Among Preschoolers Recruited as Infants Due to Elevated Likelihood of Autism: A Sibling Study.
  Lisa L. Axelsson, Terje Falck‐Ytter, Pär Nyström, Mikaéla Andric Blom, Matilda A. Frick.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 09, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nAutism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and developmental language disorder (DLD) are neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) that share etiological factors and frequently co‐occur. Despite this, they have rarely been studied together—particularly in relation to functional outcomes. In this study, we investigate the association between the developmental pattern of sustained visual attention in infancy and number of diagnoses, and map the clinical profile of 6‐year‐old children. A cohort of 6‐year‐olds, originally recruited in infancy due to elevated (n = 42) or low (n = 7) likelihood of ASD, were assessed for sustained visual attention, diagnostic outcomes, general adaptive functioning, intellectual abilities, and language skills. Participants were grouped based on the number of NDC diagnoses (ASD, ADHD, DLD, and/or Subthreshold ASD) they received at follow‐up. We could not find statistical support for an association between sustained visual attention and number of diagnoses. Findings revealed no significant differences in adaptive functioning, intellectual abilities, or language skills between children with no diagnosis (n = 24) and those with a single diagnosis (n = 15). However, children with two or more diagnoses (n = 10) scored significantly lower in general adaptive functioning, intellectual ability, language production, and verbal comprehension compared to those with only one or no diagnosis. The results indicate that compared to children with only one diagnosis or no diagnosis, children with two or more diagnoses scored lower on several key functional domains, emphasizing the need to prioritize children with multiple diagnoses or confirmed functional impairment in clinical settings. Moreover, the findings indicate that a single diagnosis in preschool‐aged children should not be a stand‐alone outcome measure in sibling studies, if the goal is to identify early processes that predict meaningful differences in everyday functioning.\n"]

  March 09, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70088   open full text
• Towards an Extended Cognitive Model of Moral Injury—The Role of Mental Defeat.
  Madelyn Letendre, Andrea Reinecke.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 02, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nMoral injury (MI) is a proposed syndrome that develops when someone is exposed to, participates in, or fails to prevent an action that fundamentally violates their moral code and results in maladaptive cognitions about oneself and humanity. Post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder based on maladaptive cognitions that develops following a traumatic event. Decades of PTSD research underscore that the experience of mental defeat, or the perception that one was completely defeated during the traumatic event, plays a significant role in the development and maintenance of PTSD. Less work, however, has been done to develop a cognitive model of MI and to understand how mental defeat plays a role in the underlying maladaptive cognitions. Understanding the cognitive model of MI is key to developing effective cognitive therapy. In this paper, we first examine the role of mental defeat in PTSD cognitive models and then compare the PTSD cognitive model to proposed cognitive models for MI. Based on these comparisons and overlapping symptomology, we suggest that mental defeat plays an important role in MI cognitive models.\n"]

  March 02, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70086   open full text
• From Infection to Anxiety: A Sequential Model Linking Latent Toxoplasmosis to Psychological Distress via Health and Stress.
  Jaroslav Flegr, Ashkan Latifi, Šárka Kaňková.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. February 26, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nIdentifying the drivers of chronic stress is crucial for understanding its impact on mental health. Latent toxoplasmosis, a widespread parasitic infection, has been linked to various psychological changes. The Stress‐Coping Hypothesis proposes that at least some of these changes are consequences of chronic stress arising from the infection's negative impact on physical health, rather than direct parasitic manipulation. To test this mediational pathway, we surveyed 1768 individuals previously tested for toxoplasmosis or borreliosis, using the Perceived Stress Scale and the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory. As predicted, Toxoplasma‐infected individuals reported significantly poorer physical health and higher levels of perceived stress and anxiety. Crucially, path analysis revealed a clear sequential mechanism: toxoplasmosis was directly associated only with poorer physical health, which in turn predicted higher perceived stress, which subsequently predicted increased anxiety. This specific, stress‐mediated pathway was absent in the control group of individuals with borreliosis, providing strong evidence that the psychological effects of this common infection are side effects of illness‐induced chronic stress. These findings offer a mechanistic model of how a chronic physical health burden translates into significant psychological distress and highlight the importance of considering latent infections as a contributor to the global burden of stress‐related disorders.\n"]

  February 26, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70085   open full text
• Parental Attachment and Mental Health Literacy in Young Adults: The Mediational Role of Emotional Regulation on Well‐Being and Psychopathological.
  Catarina Pinheiro Mota, Cristina Peixoto Alves, Daisy Araújo Rodrigues, Mariagiulia Galluzzo, Margarida Alves, Mónica Costa, Margarida Simões, Inês Relva.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. February 24, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nEntering higher education can represent significant challenges to the adaptation of young students. Supportive family relationships and mental health literacy can act as protective factors, favoring regulatory mechanisms that promote adaptive experiences. This study aims to analyze the role of attachment to parents in well‐being and psychopathological symptoms, as well as the role of mental health literacy in these outcomes, testing the mediating role of emotional regulation in the above associations. The sample consisted of 2258 young adults aged 18 to 35, collected using a random probabilistic method. The measures for data collection were a demographic questionnaire, the Psychological Well‐Being Manifestation Measure Scale, the Affect Regulation Checklist, the Mental Health Literacy Scale, and the Short Form Version of the Father and Mother Attachment Questionnaire. The results reveal indirect effects of emotional regulation on the association between parental attachment and well‐being, as well as with psychopathological symptoms. Similarly, there are positive associations between mental health literacy and well‐being and psychopathological symptoms in young students. The results will be discussed in light of attachment theory, emphasizing individual and relational resources in promoting well‐being and mental health among university students. The study's practical implication involves designing interventions that bolster parental engagement while concurrently fostering student autonomy.\n"]

  February 24, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70083   open full text
• Interpreting the Intensity of Vocal Emotions Across Cultures.
  Yachan Liang, Roeland van Hout, Vincent J. van Heuven.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. February 19, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nIntensity is a fundamental dimension of emotions that affects their perception. However, theoretical and empirical studies on intensity, particularly in the vocal domain, remain limited. Furthermore, research on the effects of emotional dimensions (e.g., arousal, valence, and basicness) on intensity ratings remains sparse. This study investigates cross‐cultural intensity ratings using the Demo (Dutch) and Koremo (Korean) corpora, each based on eight actors vocalizing eight emotions by pronouncing a pseudo‐sentence. Both corpora were rated on intensity by Dutch and Korean listeners. The first goal is to examine the presence of in‐group bias in intensity ratings across all responses and correct responses. The second goal is to assess the relative contributions of arousal, valence, and basicness to intensity ratings across all responses and correct responses. To achieve these goals, we conducted an intensity‐rating experiment in which all participants rated the intensity of each emotion they perceived on a 4‐point scale (1 = low intensity; 4 = high intensity). Participants consisted of 31 native Dutch listeners and 24 native Korean listeners, none of whom had prior knowledge of the other group's culture or language. Our results corroborate earlier findings and shed new light on intensity ratings of vocal emotions. First, contrary to previous findings, we did not find an in‐group bias in intensity ratings, such that neither listener group gave higher ratings to emotions produced in their native language than in the unknown language. Second, intensity ratings were higher for high‐arousal than for low‐arousal emotions, for negative than for positive emotions, and for basic than for non‐basic emotions. Notably, intensity ratings are more strongly correlated with arousal and basicness than valence, supporting earlier findings that high‐arousal emotions are characterized by increased intensity. Despite the significant effects of arousal, valence, and basicness on intensity ratings, these dimensions do not yield a successful dichotomy of emotions in terms of intensity, since some emotions violate the general patterns of intensity ratings based on these three dimensions. Additionally, intensity ratings were higher for correct than incorrect responses. Together, these findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of intensity in vocal emotion across cultures. Instead of an in‐group bias, listeners tended to rate specific emotions as more intense, even when expressed in a non‐native language. Although intensity ratings were affected by arousal, valence, and basicness, none of these dimensions provided a strict dichotomy of the eight emotions in intensity, since intensity ratings for certain emotions cannot be reliably predicted from the general patterns. Together, these findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of intensity in vocal emotion across cultures.\n"]

  February 19, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70081   open full text
• Associations Between Facets of Pathological Personality Traits and Alexithymia: The Roles of Detachment and Negative Affect.
  Stefanie Duijndam, Rosie Kidane, Paul Lodder, Nathan Bachrach.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. February 18, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe current study examined (1) whether underlying facets of Detachment and Negative Affect are associated with the different components of alexithymia, and (2) whether these associations depend on the level of perceived stress. In total, 635 students (Mage = 20.02, 87.5% female) filled out online questionnaires on alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale), pathological personality traits (Personality Inventory for DSM‐V), and perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale). Two Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) were used to test the hypotheses, which included the three subscales of alexithymia (i.e., difficulty identifying feelings [DIF], difficulty describing feelings [DDF], externally oriented thinking [EOT]) as dependent variables and the three underlying facet traits of either Detachment (i.e., withdrawal, anhedonia, intimacy avoidance) or Negative Affect (i.e., emotional lability, anxiousness, separation insecurity) as independent variables. Intimacy avoidance was most consistently associated with all alexithymia components. Other facets showed dimension‐specific associations: DIF was positively associated with anhedonia, anxiousness, separation insecurity, and emotional lability; DDF was positively associated with withdrawal and anxiousness, but negatively with emotional lability; and EOT was positively associated with separation insecurity. These findings highlight the importance of facet traits characteristic of interpersonal difficulties in the association with specific alexithymia subscales. These associations were not dependent on the level of perceived stress. The present results point to interpersonal avoidance and emotion‐regulation difficulties as relevant processes to address in interventions. Targeting these facet‐linked difficulties may therefore be particularly useful in reducing alexithymic features among individuals with elevated pathological personality traits.\n"]

  February 18, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70084   open full text
• Determinants of Parental Emotion Socialization Behaviors: Insights From a Large‐Scale Population‐Based Family Study.
  Yvonne Severinsen, Eivind Ystrom, Nikolai Haahjem Eftedal, Egil Nygaard, Mona Bekkhus, Karine Maria Porpino Viana, Stella Tsotsi, Evalill Bølstad, Rune Flaaten Bjørk.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. February 18, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nParental emotion socialization behaviors (ESBs) are essential for child development and are typically understood as influenced by factors related to three domains: the parent, the child, and the family context. However, it remains unclear how parents' childhood experiences with ESBs should be represented within these conceptual frameworks. Addressing the complexity of ESBs, the present study examined predictors across three theoretically derived domains and additionally included parents' recollected ESBs as a parent‐level factor. Questionnaire data were collected from a large population‐based cohort of Norwegian mothers and fathers (n = 4207; 2460 mothers) with children aged 3 to 13 years (M = 7.4 years). Supportive and non‐supportive ESBs were examined separately through hierarchical regression models incorporating parent, context, and child factors. The three domains collectively accounted for 28% of the variance in supportive ESBs and 29% in non‐supportive ESBs. The results clearly emphasized parental factors, with parent gender and recollected ESBs being the most influential predictors. Other parent factors, such as perceived parenting stress, alcohol use, and the personality traits agreeableness and openness, also showed unique effects across both types of ESBs. Among contextual factors, education, income, and country of birth predicted non‐supportive ESBs but not supportive ESBs. Child age and birth order were linked with supportive ESBs, whereas only child age predicted non‐supportive ESBs. Findings highlight the importance of parent characteristics, particularly gender and recollected emotion socialization from the family of origin, in predicting current parental ESBs beyond contextual and child‐related factors.\n"]

  February 18, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70082   open full text
• The Fabric of Connection? Exploratory Studies on Being Moved in Committed Relationships.
  Jan Wiecha, Anette Karin Åbom, Magdalena Śmieja, Małgorzata Elżbieta Wójcik.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. February 02, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nBeing moved, also known as kama muta, is an emotion associated with warmth and social connectedness. Although theoretical accounts posit that it may contribute to the development and maintenance of romantic relationships by fostering intimacy, affirming commitment, and reinforcing shared values, empirical research remains limited. To address this gap, we conducted three studies. Study I explored the situational effects of recalling touching events on relationship satisfaction. Building on this, Study II examined whether proneness to being moved is associated with relationship satisfaction, and additionally tested intimacy and closeness as potential mediators, and attachment styles as potential moderators of this link. Study III refined this approach by employing a relationship‐specific measure of being moved to assess whether the observed effects generalize when measured within the romantic domain. Study I demonstrated that recalling touching events enhanced satisfaction, particularly among less satisfied individuals. Study II revealed that dispositional being moved was positively associated with satisfaction via intimacy and closeness, and that avoidant attachment attenuated these effects. Study III confirmed these results using the refined measure. Across three studies, being moved emerged as a relational emotion that promotes intimacy and closeness, thereby contributing to relationship satisfaction. By linking situational experiences, dispositional tendencies, and relationship‐specific measurement, this research provided preliminary indications of the potential role of kama muta in sustaining romantic bonds.\n"]

  February 02, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70068   open full text
• Reflections of Swedish Fathers in Late Adulthood on Their Past and Present Parental Role in Relation to the Mother.
  Maria Wängqvist, Nathalie Korhonen.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. February 02, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nWith a contextual and developmental perspective, this study aimed to examine Swedish late‐adult fathers' reflections on their past and present parental role in relation to the mother and to see how these reflections incorporate changes in gender and parenthood during recent decades in Sweden. Twenty Swedish fathers of adult children, aged 61–77 years, participated in an interview concerning their parental identity. Answers concerning their reflections on their parental role over time and in relation to mothers were analyzed using thematic analysis. We formulated themes concerning their (1) self‐positioning as a father in relation to the mother and gendered norms; (2) the fathers' wishes to have done things differently while expressing that they had no regrets over the choices they had made as a parenting couple; (3) alleviating regret by relating to history‐graded changes and societal and relational contexts; and (4) an experience of “growing together” as parenting partners, interpreted as the co‐construction of a joint parental identity, expressed either as a conflict‐free conversation climate around parenting being interpreted as agreement or as a joint understanding emerging through discussions about parenting issues. Analyses deepened the understanding of the traditional allocation of parental roles and how fathers, in light of their lifelong parenthood and current retrospective perspective, may wish they had done things differently, while simultaneously saying they had no regrets as their joint choices had made sense at the time and seeing the fact that the “kids are alright” as proof of their successful parenthood.\n"]

  February 02, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70079   open full text
• The Association of (In)Congruence Between Aging Self‐Stereotypes and Aging Stereotypes With Positive Psychological Traits in Older Adults: The Mediating Role of Hope.
  Mengze Wang, Jiayi Wu, Qiao Zhang, Baoshan Zhang.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. January 30, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study examined how congruence and incongruence between aging self‐stereotypes and aging stereotypes relate to positive psychological traits (subjective well‐being, self‐esteem, and sense of coherence) in older adults, and whether hope serves as a mediating mechanism. Data from 1204 older adults were analyzed using polynomial regression and response surface analysis, and the mediating role of hope was tested using the block variable approach. The results revealed distinct patterns in the joint effects of aging self‐stereotypes and aging stereotypes on the three positive psychological traits. Along the line of congruence, subjective well‐being and sense of coherence showed inverted i‐shaped patterns, with the highest levels observed at moderate congruence and lower levels observed at extreme congruence, either high or low. In contrast, self‐esteem declined linearly as both stereotypes increased congruently. Along the line of incongruence, subjective well‐being and sense of coherence were higher when aging self‐stereotypes were less negative than aging stereotypes, but lower when the reverse pattern occurred. Self‐esteem, however, was higher when discrepancies were greater in either direction. In addition, hope partially mediated the effects of congruence and incongruence between aging self‐stereotypes and aging stereotypes on all three positive psychological traits. These findings challenge the assumption that alignment between aging self‐stereotypes and aging stereotypes is always beneficial. Instead, our results suggest that moderate congruence and certain patterns of incongruence—particularly when aging stereotypes are more negative than aging self‐stereotypes—are associated with better psychological well‐being, with hope playing an important mediating role.\n"]

  January 30, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70080   open full text
• Effects of Doodling Style, Boredom, and Sensation Seeking on Recall Tasks.
  Linyu Xie, Cheng Xu, Rui Gao, Wenhua Yan.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. January 30, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nWhether doodling positively or negatively affects memory is still to be determined. The underlying mechanisms of doodling's effect on memory have yet to be fully explored. This study examined the impact of doodling style, boredom, and sensation seeking on recall tasks using a dual‐task paradigm with a 3 (doodling method: structured doodling/unstructured doodling/no doodling) × 2 (boredom level: high/low) two‐factor between‐participants design. Key findings included an interaction between doodling style and boredom level on recall test performance, where participants in the no‐doodling group significantly improved their recall test performance. In contrast, those in the unstructured doodling group exhibited a significant decline in recall performance under high boredom conditions. Furthermore, participants' performance on the recall task diminished as the complexity and quality of their drawings increased. These findings offer insights into strategies for reducing boredom and enhancing memory in educational and professional settings by shedding light on the effects of doodling styles, boredom levels, and sensation‐seeking tendencies on recall tasks.\n"]

  January 30, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70074   open full text
• Wealth and Welfare: Differentiating the Roles of Individual Income and National Economy in Moderating the Links Between Perceived Scarcity, Well‐Being and Health.
  Wang Zheng, Zhiyu Liu, Xiaohui Wang, Xiaohui Deng.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. January 21, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study aimed to explore the relationships between perceived scarcity, individual well‐being, and health, and to assess the moderating roles of personal income and national economic wealth. The research utilized data from the World Values Survey, which included responses from over 160,000 participants across 81 countries. It specifically analyzed how perceptions of scarcity affect psychological and physical health, incorporating variables such as personal income and national wealth. The findings indicated that higher personal income can buffer the adverse effects of perceived scarcity on individual well‐being and health. Conversely, greater national wealth was found to exacerbate these negative effects, suggesting a complex interaction between personal and national economic conditions. The study highlights the protective role of personal income in mitigating the detrimental impacts of perceived scarcity on health and well‐being. However, it also reveals a paradoxical effect where national wealth intensifies these negative outcomes. These insights are crucial for developing tailored policy measures and socioeconomic strategies that consider varied economic contexts across countries.\n"]

  January 21, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70078   open full text
• When Being in the Minority Feels Threatening: Social Identity and the Reinforcement of Anti‐Vaccination Attitudes.
  Emma A. Renström, Hanna Bäck, Amanda Remsö.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. January 16, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe present research aims to contribute to the understanding of anti‐vaccination attitudes. We do this by analyzing the role of social identity and intergroup threat. Drawing on intergroup threat theory, we hypothesize that being informed that the general population is positive toward vaccines may be perceived as threatening to individuals identifying as vaccine‐hesitant, which may lead to stronger anti‐vaccination attitudes. We evaluate this hypothesis in two survey experiments performed among Swedish citizens (Study 1, N = 376; Study 2, N = 698), where we present participants in the treatment group with information that the position toward vaccines in the general population is positive. We find that when vaccine‐hesitant individuals are informed that the general population is positive toward vaccines, they express stronger anti‐vaccination attitudes. We further find that this relationship is mediated by negative emotions, implying perceptions of intergroup threat. We conclude that individuals with a vaccine‐hesitant identity feel threatened when learning that most others are positive toward vaccines, which is associated with stronger anti‐vaccination attitudes. These results have important implications for the understanding of anti‐vaccination attitudes, suggesting that such attitudes may increase when individuals feel that their identity is threatened.\n"]

  January 16, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70072   open full text
• The Destructive Loop: Dealing and Coping With Destructive Leadership.
  Maria Fors Brandebo, Miriam van Baalen.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. January 14, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nPrevious research on destructive leadership has mostly focused on the destructive behaviors and outcomes and less attention has been paid to how to cope with and handle this kind of stressor. The overall aim of this study is to gain a deepened understanding of how subordinates and superiors react to (cope with and manage) destructive leadership behaviors and if and how organizational culture is perceived to influence the chosen strategies. This study used a grounded theory approach and is based on interviews with 26 individuals in the Swedish Armed Forces who had experience of a destructive leader, either as their superior or as their subordinate. The data represents both women and men, different ages, civilian and military backgrounds, and a variety of ranks and branches. The results suggest that the process surrounding being exposed to, coping with, or managing destructive leadership behavior, both from a subordinate and superior perspective, can be understood as a destructive loop. In this loop, individuals relate to, are constrained by, and participate in the coproduction and reproduction of environmental constraints present in the organization. Subordinates use mostly emotion‐focused strategies (such as withdrawal) when dealing with destructive leadership, while superiors use problem‐focused strategies (e.g., direct action against the leader). Environmental constraints (organizational, cultural, and norm‐related) function as enablers of the destructive behavior and barriers to effective coping−management strategies. By combining the perspectives of subordinates and superiors on destructive leadership, the authors add to the literature by painting a picture of how contextual aspects constrain constructive actions and strategies when dealing with the stress of being exposed to destructive leadership. The destructive loop highlights how destructive behavior can be coproduced and reproduced, placing the phenomenon of destructive leadership within a broader organizational hierarchy.\n"]

  January 14, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70076   open full text
• The Externally Oriented Thinking Facet of Alexithymia Mediates the Negative Association of ASD Symptoms With Cognitive and Emotional Empathy.
  Michael Lyvers, Barbara Bittencourt Dallago, Sara Montague, Fred Arne Thorberg.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. January 14, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nEmpathy deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be attributable to alexithymia, which is common in ASD. Alexithymia is defined by deficient emotional self‐awareness and an overly concrete or externally oriented cognitive style. The present study examined this hypothesis, with a focus on the externally oriented thinking (EOT) facet of alexithymia which was previously found to be uniquely associated with deficits in facial recognition of emotions and empathy. There were 331 participants (104 males, 227 females) aged 18–30 years (M = 25.93 years) recruited online. They completed the Autism Quotient (AQ), Toronto Alexithymia Scale 20 (TAS‐20), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) indices of emotional and cognitive empathy, and demographic questions. Hierarchical regressions followed by path analyses indicated mediation of the negative relationships of ASD scores with emotional and cognitive empathy by EOT. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.\n"]

  January 14, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70077   open full text
• Emotional Well‐Being Trajectories Before and After Statutory Retirement—Contributions of Social and Health‐Related Factors.
  Emmi‐Susanna Katajapuu, Pauliina Saha, Aapo Hiilamo, Jatta Valkonen, Tea Lallukka.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. January 14, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nAging population in OECD countries and the rising mental disorder burden highlight the need to understand statutory retirement's contribution to emotional well‐being. However, the relationship between statutory retirement and emotional well‐being remains underexplored. Clarifying this relationship can help policymakers enhance pension systems to better support statutory retirees' well‐being. This study examined emotional well‐being trajectories 15 years before and after statutory retirement among 5076 City of Helsinki employees in Finland (81% women; age range 40–60 at Phase 1), and the social and health‐related factors associated with these trajectories. We used prospective cohort data from the Helsinki Health Study (2000–2022) across five phases. Growth Mixture Modeling identified the trajectories, measured by the RAND‐36 emotional well‐being dimension. Multinomial logistic regression with average marginal effects (AMEs) and 95% confidence intervals assessed the associations between social and health‐related factors and these trajectories. A three‐trajectory solution was selected: ‘Stable high’ (85%), ‘Slowly increasing’ (12%), and ‘Fast increasing, then fast decreasing’ (3%) emotional well‐being. Mentally very strenuous work, binge drinking, smoking, frequent sleep problems, and mental disorder diagnoses before retirement were associated with lower predicted probabilities of the ‘Stable high’ trajectory and higher predicted probabilities of the ‘Slowly increasing’ trajectory. Mentally very strenuous work and mental disorder diagnoses were linked to a higher predicted probability of the ‘Fast increasing, then fast decreasing’ trajectory. Most participants maintained high emotional well‐being throughout the statutory retirement transition. A smaller group of individuals experienced lower emotional well‐being before statutory retirement and a gradual improvement after, or saw an increase until retirement, followed by a rapid decline. Mentally very strenuous work, binge drinking, smoking, frequent sleep problems, and mental disorder diagnoses before retirement were associated with poorer emotional well‐being trajectories. With targeted interventions we could explore whether a change in these factors could enhance emotional well‐being across retirement.\n"]

  January 14, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70071   open full text
• Two Kinds of “Woke”? Psychometric Validation of the Critical Right Scale and Revised Critical Social Justice Attitudes Scale.
  Oskari Lahtinen.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. January 10, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study developed and validated the Critical Right Scale (CRS) to measure emerging critical right attitudes and revised the Critical Social Justice Attitudes Scale (CSJAS‐R), replicating its psychometric evaluation. A nationwide convenience sample of Finnish adults (n = 626) completed an online survey. Item screening used exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation and loading and residual correlation criteria. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and measurement invariance testing were conducted in lavaan using full information maximum likelihood. The final CRS consisted of five items with high reliability (α = 0.89, ω = 0.90) and good model fit in both male and female subsamples, with pooled‐sample residual misfit judged minor given subgroup results. The CSJAS‐R comprised six items with strong reliability (α = 0.88, ω = 0.89) and excellent fit. Both scales met configural and metric invariance; partial scalar invariance was achieved after freeing a small number of item intercepts. CRS scores were strongly associated with right‐wing and conservative self‐placement with higher scores concentrated among Finns Party and Christian Democrat voters, and weakly linked to perceived oppression. CSJAS‐R scores were strongly associated with left‐wing and liberal self‐placement with higher scores concentrated among Left Alliance and Greens voters, and had a small‐to‐moderate association with justification of political violence. CRS and CSJAS‐R were strongly negatively correlated (r = −0.62), indicating divergent validity. Both CRS and CSJAS‐R demonstrated strong psychometric properties and distinct ideological profiles, providing validated tools for studying political attitude structures at opposing ends of the ideological spectrum.\n"]

  January 10, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70070   open full text
• Cognitive Reappraisal Impairments in Positive Emotion Regulation Among Internet Addicts: Reduced Effective Connectivity From dlPFC to vmPFC.
  Wenxin Guo, Wei Zhang.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. January 10, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nInternet addiction (IA) negatively impacts individuals' emotional regulation. However, previous studies have mostly focused on negative emotion regulation, neglecting the importance of regulating positive emotions. Internet addicts are more prone to emotional fluctuations following positive emotions, and elevated positive affect is a risk factor for mania and risky behaviors. Therefore, it is crucial to focus on the core deficits in positive emotion regulation among internet addicts, especially providing neural evidence to serve as targets for interventions. This study adopted a 2 (group: IA group; health control group) × 2 (emotion regulation condition: no emotional regulation; emotional regulation) × 2 (emotion regulation strategy: cognitive reappraisal and expression suppression) mixed experimental design. A total of 49 participants were included in the experiment (IA group: 22 participants; health control group: 27 participants). fNIRS was used to detect brain activity during emotional regulation. The results revealed that compared to the control group, internet addicts performed worse in regulating positive emotions, with lower activation in the dlPFC and a significantly reduced emotional regulation effect in the cognitive reappraisal condition, characterized by decreased effective connectivity from dlPFC to vmPFC. The effective connectivity between dlPFC and vmPFC plays a mediating role in the impact of internet addiction on emotion regulation. This study provides a reference for future interventions aimed at emotional issues in internet addicts, emphasizing the need to help maintain stable and balanced emotional states, focusing on enhancing cognitive reappraisal abilities and targeting the dlPFC and vmPFC for neural interventions.\n"]

  January 10, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70073   open full text
• With a Little Help From Myself: Laissez‐Faire Leadership, Employee Performance, and the Buffering Role of Self‐Compassion.
  Per‐Magnus Moe Thompson, Tonje Moe Thompson, Morten Nordmo, Petr Arbet.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. January 10, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nLaissez‐faire leadership is considered a negative form of leadership, potentially harming employee health, well‐being, work environment, and performance. However, research on boundary conditions explaining its negative effects remains limited. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this study examines the relationship between laissez‐faire leadership and employee performance, and the buffering effect of self‐compassion, defined as being supportive towards oneself when facing suffering or pain. Data were collected from 220 full‐time employees across various industries in Norway. To assess discriminant validity and address common method bias, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted before regression analyses. Consistent with hypotheses, laissez‐faire leadership was negatively associated with employee performance. Moreover, self‐compassion moderated this relationship, with no decline in performance among employees demonstrating moderate to high levels of self‐compassion. Our study contributes to the laissez‐faire leadership literature by testing whether a coping strategy identified for active destructive leadership also applies to passive forms. Furthermore, we contribute to the self‐compassion literature by responding to calls for research on its link to organizational outcomes and the level needed to buffer negative effects, while addressing generalizability beyond the healthcare sector. Implications for future research, leadership development, and employee training are discussed.\n"]

  January 10, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70066   open full text
• Parents Develop Long‐Term Disgust Habituation, but Only After Beginning to Wean Their Children.
  Yifan Huang, Ivo E. Dalmaijer‐Denning, Joris A. Dalmaijer‐Denning, Thomas Armstrong, Edwin S. Dalmaijer.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. January 06, 2026
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nDisgust helps humans avoid potentially pathogenic substances such as bodily effluvia. This reduces illness risks and is difficult to overcome with cognitive strategies or through short‐term habituation (minutes to hours). Whether long‐term habituation (months to years) exists is an unsolved question. While regular professional exposure to disgust elicitors is associated with lower disgust sensitivity and avoidance, this could reflect selection and survivorship bias. We use the natural quasi‐experiment of parenthood: it greatly increases exposure to bodily effluvia, but disgust does not usually inspire individuals to start or stop being a parent. Parents (N = 99) and controls (N = 50) completed self‐report and behavioral avoidance measures. We used parent‐specific items in disgust‐sensitivity questionnaires, and child‐related stimuli (soiled diapers) in a preferential‐looking task. These included diapers with pre‐weaning (yellow and runny) or post‐weaning feces (adult‐like). While the control group showed the expected behavioral avoidance, parents of weaning or weaned children showed almost no avoidance of stimuli depicting child‐related or general bodily effluvia. These results suggest that parents habituated to disgust induced by feces in diapers, and that this had generalized to other bodily effluvia. Contrary to our expectations, parents of pre‐weaning children showed similar disgust avoidance to the control group, even if they had older children. This could point to an adaptive response to reduce the risk of illness in young infants. After the sensitive milk‐feeding stage, continuous exposure to their children's bodily effluvia inoculates parents to disgust.\n"]

  January 06, 2026   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70069   open full text
• Optimizing Psychological Treatment for Pain After Breast Cancer Using a Randomized Factorial Design: A Feasibility Study.
  Cecilie Rask Buskbjerg, Maja Johannsen, Caroline Cecilie Nørskov, Anders Bonde Jensen, Yoon Frederiksen, Ingrid Egerod, Kate Guastaferro, Christoffer Johansen, Annika von Heymann, Anne Speckens, Mia Skytte O'Toole, Robert Zachariae.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. December 31, 2025
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nPsychological treatment has shown promising results in the treatment of pain after breast cancer (BC) but could benefit from treatment optimization. The present mixed‐methods study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of delivering components drawn from third‐wave cognitive behavioral therapy to women with persistent pain after BC using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST). Using a factorial experimental design, women with pain after BC were randomized to eight experimental conditions consisting of either zero, one, two, or three treatment components, namely Mindful Attention, Decentering, and Values and Committed Action. Primary outcomes of pain intensity and pain interference, secondary outcomes, and presumed change processes were measured at baseline and post‐intervention. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted at post‐intervention. The study took place at The Department of Psycholog and Behaviorual Sciences at Aarhus University in Aarhus, Denmark, and all sessions and interviews were conducted online. Thirty‐four women were included. Three dropped out, and one withdrew consent and was excluded from all analyses. Qualitative manifest content analysis indicated no major barriers to treatment engagement, validity of treatment components, and overall participant satisfaction. No absolute increases in pain outcomes or significant adverse effects associated with any treatment components were observed. The study results indicate that the project procedures and treatment components are acceptable, valid, and safe, and illustrate how an optimized intervention for pain after BC can be developed using MOST. We therefore recommend proceeding with a larger scale trial to evaluate the effects of the individual and combined treatment components.\nTrial Registration: NCT04841928 [ClinicalTrials.gov]\n"]

  December 31, 2025   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70063   open full text
• Contribution of Basic Psychological Needs to Students' Well‐Being Through Positive and Negative Affect.
  Cécile Kindelberger, Emeline Chauchard, Frédérique Robin, Amélie Bret, Jacques‐Henri Guignard.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. December 29, 2025
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nStudents' well‐being is a critical concern due to its significant implications for university adjustment and long‐term outcomes. Recurrent results of low well‐being levels highlight the need for comprehensive research to uncover its psychological mechanisms. This study examines the relationship between basic psychological needs fulfillment and affective states in explaining subjective well‐being, grounded in a novel framework: the macro‐theory of positive functioning. A sample of 1552 French students (1209 women) aged 18 to 25 completed an online questionnaire assessing well‐being, positive and negative affect, and satisfaction/frustration related to the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Path analyses supported the theoretical hypotheses: satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs positively predicted well‐being via positive affect, while their frustration did so through negative affect. Only satisfaction and frustration of autonomy exhibited direct paths to well‐being. Gender comparisons revealed that these pathways differed between men and women, a finding reinforced by strict measurement invariance. The discussion explores the integration of positive functioning and self‐determination theory, emphasizing their interconnectedness and outlines practical implications for enhancing students' well‐being.\n"]

  December 29, 2025   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70067   open full text
• Symptoms of School Burnout in Comprehensive School and Mental Health Problems in Late Adolescence.
  Milja Parviainen, Kaisa Aunola, Minna Torppa, Karoliina Koskenvuo, Miia Saarikallio‐Torp, Anna‐Maija Poikkeus, Kati Vasalampi.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. December 26, 2025
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe aim of the present study was to examine the extent to which symptoms of school burnout (exhaustion and cynicism) during the comprehensive school years played a role in individuals' long‐term mental health problems. The data were collected in four municipalities (i.e., one big, one rural, and two medium‐sized) around Finland. The sample included 673 students (376 girls, 297 boys) whose symptoms of school burnout were assessed three times: in Grade 6 (ages 12–13), Grade 7, and Grade 9. Indicators of later mental health problems were the use of antidepressants at the ages of 16–20 years old and self‐reported depressive symptoms during the first year of upper secondary education at ages of 16–17 years. Information on symptoms of school burnout and depressive symptoms was derived from self‐reports, and information on the use of antidepressants was obtained from the National Drug Prescription Register data. The data were analyzed using logistic regression and hierarchical linear regression models. The results showed that symptoms of exhaustion in Grade 9 significantly predicted the use of antidepressants in late adolescence; the higher the level of exhaustion in Grade 9, the greater the likelihood of using antidepressants during the follow‐up period. Similar findings were found for self‐reported depressive symptoms, as higher levels of exhaustion in Grades 7 and 9 predicted significantly higher levels of subsequent self‐reported depressive symptoms. Higher levels of cynicism in Grade 9 predicted significantly higher levels of subsequent self‐reported depressive symptoms, but not the use of antidepressants. The findings indicated that school burnout symptoms are significant predictors of ongoing mental health problems, emphasizing the need for early preventive work and interventions. Symptoms of exhaustion and cynicism increase the risk of depressive symptoms, and exhaustion may also progress to clinical depression requiring medication.\n"]

  December 26, 2025   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70064   open full text
• The Longitudinal Relationship Between Fear of Missing Out and Adolescent Problematic Mobile Phone Use: The Role of Desire and Craving.
  Lingfeng Gao, Yue Shen, Xiaoru Zhu, Haide Chen.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. December 26, 2025
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nFear of Missing Out (FoMO) is one of the risk factors for problematic mobile phone use (PMPU) among adolescents. However, previous findings have been inconsistent and have not comprehensively considered the roles of cognition and emotion. Grounded in the I‐PACE model, this study examines the role of desire thinking and craving in the predictive relationship between FoMO and PMPU among adolescents through path analysis, while employing network analysis to identify the most central and influential nodes within this mechanism. This study focused on adolescents and employed the FoMO scale, the Desire Thinking Questionnaire, the Psychological Craving Assessment Scale, and the Smartphone Application‐Based Addiction Scale to conduct a four‐wave longitudinal survey of 509 adolescents. The results of the path model showed that desire thinking and craving played a role of chain mediation in this relationship. Network analysis revealed that the “irresistible longing” node was the strongest bridge node of the network. Among the associations between nodes of different communities, the strongest association was between the “difficulty stopping” node in Desire Thinking and the “irresistible longing” node in Craving, followed by the “stress relief” node in Craving and the “mood modification” node in PMPU. These findings provide empirical evidence for the I‐PACE model and underscore the critical roles of desire thinking and craving. They also offer valuable insights for future research and clinical interventions targeting PMPU among adolescents.\n"]

  December 26, 2025   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70062   open full text
• Sorrow and Ambivalence of Intergenerational Estrangement in Later Life.
  Andreas Nikolajsen, Lars Larsen, Bjørn E. Holstien, Christine E. Swane.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. December 23, 2025
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nEstrangement from adult children can be a painful experience. However, it remains to be investigated how older parents relate to estrangement and what factors predict these sentiments. This article investigated older parents' sentiments toward estrangement on dimensions of sorrow, ambivalence, and relief. Parent demographics and estrangement characteristics duration, initiative, and estrangement proportions were examined as predictors of parent sentiments. The study utilized cross‐sectional data from 75 older estranged parents aged 75+ (m = 82). Descriptive statistics were used to determine the proportions of parent sentiments, demographics, and estrangement characteristics. Multiple logistic regression tested the predictive capacity of demographics and estrangement characteristics. The analysis found that sorrow and ambivalence both constituted parent sentiments, but not relief. More women than men expressed sorrow, while more men than women expressed ambivalence. Estrangement from all children was associated with ambivalence. Results support a theoretical emphasis on ambivalence as a framework for the understanding of estrangement and have implications for interventions aimed at reconciliation.\n"]

  December 23, 2025   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70058   open full text
• Superstitious Behaviors in Sports and Exercise: A Systematic Literature Review Update.
  Neha Pirwani, Richárd Gábor Szamosi, Roberto Ruíz‐Barquin, Ernest Yeboah Acheampong, Boróka Veronika Szócska, Ricardo de la Vega, Angéla Somogyi, Attila Szabo.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. December 23, 2025
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nSuperstitious behavior is highly prevalent in sports, providing athletes control over anxiety, psychological comfort, and perceived performance benefits. The first literature review on the topic was published in 2016. Since then, new research has expanded the knowledge in the area from cultural, psychological, and situational perspectives. Following the PRISMA guidelines, this systematic review aimed to update and expand the first review on the area. PubMed and Google Scholar articles were scrutinized after the original 2016 review (from 2016 to 2024), and Scopus, Web of Science, and ProQuest databases (not included in the original review) were examined without a time limit. We found 27 eligible studies, including 26 observational and one experimental study. We used the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) to assess study quality. The included studies stem from India, Canada, Taiwan, Greece, Türkiye, Ghana, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, the UK, the USA, Italy, Serbia, and Congo. Data extracted included age, gender, sport type, athletic level, cultural influences, psychological traits, and validated measurement tools. Superstitions in sports remain widespread. About 55.1% of athletes reported engaging in at least one superstition, and over 90% reported sport‐specific rituals. Younger athletes exhibited higher levels of superstition than older ones. Gender differences were nuanced and context‐dependent. Team and elite athletes relied more on superstitions than individual sports and amateurs. Cultural practices strongly influence superstitions, which often serve as coping mechanisms. They reduce anxiety and improve performance through placebo‐like effects. However, excessive reliance on them can lead to burnout. This review confirms the enduring relevance of superstitions in sports. It emphasizes their cultural, psychological, and situational roles. The findings highlight gaps in understanding the placebo effects and long‐term impacts of superstitious behaviors. Multidisciplinary research is needed to deepen insights into this complex phenomenon.\n"]

  December 23, 2025   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70059   open full text
• Self‐Reported Attachment Styles in the Danish General Population: Gender and Age‐Related Differences and Associations With Mental Health.
  Sebastian Simonsen, Stephen Austin, Matthias Gondan, Emilie Hestbaek, Sophie Juul, Stine Bjerrum Moeller.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. December 23, 2025
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nInsecure attachment styles are associated with psychopathology and mental health problems. However, there are only a few large, nationally representative studies on the relationship between attachment and mental health, leaving a gap in our knowledge about the distribution of attachment styles across age groups and gender. In this cross‐sectional study of the Danish general population aged 18–79, we present self‐reported attachment styles in 3597 adults assessed with the Relationship Questionnaire. We describe the distributions of attachment styles both categorically and dimensionally, their differences depending on age and gender, as well as the correlation with different indices of mental health. Overall, 65% of the respondents reported being securely attached, with slightly more women being securely attached than men. 35% of the respondents reported being insecurely attached, with men being more likely to be dismissing and women more likely to be preoccupied. In terms of age, there was a steady increase in attachment security until around the age of 60 years. Self‐reported attachment in the population showed low to moderate correlations with symptoms of mental health disorders, psychosocial function, and well‐being. Secure attachment was positively correlated with well‐being and negatively associated with poor psychosocial functioning. The high level of self‐reported attachment security in Denmark is likely the result of it being a relatively wealthy and gender‐equal society. Gender and age differences in terms of attachment insecurity can be understood in terms of both socio‐cultural norms, social comparison, and maturation theories. Whether these findings reflect common developmental trajectories or cohort effects remains a topic for further investigation.\n"]

  December 23, 2025   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70065   open full text
• Psychometric Analysis and Cross‐Cultural Comparisons of the Italian and English Sense of Humor Scale Parallel Version Short Form.
  Chloe Lau, Willibald Ruch, Sonja Heintz, Lena C. Quilty, Francesco Bruno, Donald Saklofske, Francesca Chiesi.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. December 15, 2025
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe Sense of Humor Scale parallel version short form (SHS‐PSF) is a novel self‐report measure aimed at describing personality traits related to enjoyment of humor, laughter, verbal humor, humor under stress, humor in everyday life, and laughing at oneself. The present study recruited Italian (N = 298) and Canadian (N = 910) participants to complete the Italian and English versions, respectively, to assess the measurement properties of the newly translated Italian SHS‐PSF together with Canadian results. The bifactor and six‐factor models show more optimal fit indices than the one‐factor model, albeit insufficient incremental validity indices. Based on Samejima's graded response model, item discrimination parameters ranged from 0.32 to 2.58 (median = 1.24), with 27 of 29 items showing moderate to very high discrimination parameters. Conditional reliability estimates reveal accurate measurements across the latent continuum. Four items had uniform differential item functioning (DIF) when comparing the Italian and English SHS‐PSF (McFadden's pseudo R2 > 0.035 or β > 0.10). The Italian SHS‐PSF has insufficient‐to‐acceptable psychometric properties. Cross‐language measurement evaluation comparisons suggest significant biases in 4 of 29 items using conservative DIF approaches.\n"]

  December 15, 2025   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70049   open full text
• Cognition and Quantitative Electroencephalogram (QEEG) Relations in Unipolar Depression: A Comprehensive Analysis.
  Elvan Ciftci.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. December 15, 2025
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study investigated frontal quantitative electroencephalogram (QEEG) biomarkers of cognitive dysfunction in unipolar depression (UD). Our primary aims were to: (1) find the difference between healthy controls and unipolar depression in NPA, (2) explore age/sex effects, (3) investigate how working memory interacts with other neurocognitive domains, (4) investigate the relationship between verbal fluency and cognitive performance in unipolar depression, and (5) characterize frontal QEEG–cognition relationships. We examined 71 UD patients (median age: 51; range: 38–67) who met DSM‐5 criteria for unipolar depression via the Structured Clinical Interview for unipolar depressive disorder diagnoses (SCID‐I) and 29 statistically similar sex‐age healthy controls (median age: 45; range: 34–69) using neuropsychological assessments (NPA) and QEEG. Results revealed significant differences in almost all of the NPA domains in UD patients compared to healthy controls. Age negatively correlated with simple attention, working memory, and verbal delayed recognition, while positively correlating with verbal memory false recognition errors, suggesting older participants were more susceptible to memory errors. In the group of UD patients, women were older than men, and men had higher levels of education (p < 0.01). The females performed worse in working memory, facial recognition, simple attention, and complex attention (p < 0.05). Working memory was a central impairment, strongly connected to problems in verbal fluency and long‐term memory. Frontal QEEG power bands (delta, theta, and beta) were significant biomarkers for domain‐specific cognitive deficits in depression. These findings highlighted QEEG's potential for objectively assessing cognitive impairment in UD and personalizing interventions.\n"]

  December 15, 2025   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70055   open full text
• A Secondary Analysis of Longitudinal Pilot‐Study Data Investigating the Associations Between Health‐Related Quality of Life and Executive Functions in Remitted Major Depressive Disorder and Developments Two‐Years Following Cognitive Training.
  Eivind Haga Ronold, Silje Klundelien Storfossen, Marta Vikingstad Vignes, Åsa Hammar.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. December 14, 2025
  ["Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with reduced quality of life and relapse risk. However, few studies have investigated how quality of life is associated with cognitive deficits following MDD and is affected by cognitive training. This study investigated the long‐term effects of computer‐based working memory training (CWMT) on health‐related quality of life (HRQL) in remitted MDD, and the association between executive functions (EF) and HRQL. Twenty‐nine remitted participants (M age 36.21, SD = 10.8) were included in a pre‐post pilot study of CWMT with 1‐ and 2‐year follow‐up. Twenty participants completed 5 weeks of CWMT, 12 participants were included at the 1‐year follow‐up, and 10 participants returned for the 2‐year follow‐up. The 36‐item Short‐Form Health Survey was used to assess HRQL. Associations between subjective and objective cognitive EF and HRQL were measured by the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function for Adults (BRIEF‐A) and a neuropsychological test battery of EF. Significant moderate improvements were found in aspects of HRQL after 2 years (d = 0.66). There were negative correlations between HRQL and BRIEF‐A pre‐intervention (r = 0.47–0.65). However, the study did not find significant associations between improved EF and improved HRQL. Preliminary results indicate long‐term improvements in HRQL following CWMT. Subjective EF deficits were associated with poorer HRQL. However, due to limitations including small sample size and multiple statistical comparisons, larger controlled studies are needed to investigate and replicate the potential effects of CWMT on HRQL.\n"]

  December 14, 2025   doi: 10.1111/sjop.70060   open full text
• What brings meaning to life in a highly secular society? A study on sources of meaning among Danes.
  Heidi Frølund Pedersen, Marit Handegard Birkeland, Jens Søndergaard Jensen, Tatjana Schnell, Niels Christian Hvidt, Torgeir Sørensen, Peter Cour.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. October 24, 2018
  --- - |2 This study presents psychometric properties of the Danish version of the Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Scale (SoMe‐Da) and associations to socio‐demographic and religious characteristics. Participants were 554 Danes, 66% women ranging in age between 15 and 91 years. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) suggested a five factor structure for the 26 sources if meaning. Construct validity within the SoMe‐Da and between mental health variables were established. Generativity associated most strongly with meaningfulness followed by spirituality, attentiveness, and explicit religiosity. We found religious characteristics to be more strongly associated with meaningfulness than socio‐demographic variables. Finally, we found distinct patterns of preferred sources of meaning between Christians, agnostics, and atheists. Christians and agnostics seemed to be more motivated by self‐transcendance, whereas atheists may be more motivated by self‐actualization. Results indicate that the SoMe‐Da appears to be a valid instrument for measuring the content and degree of personal meaning in life. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  October 24, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12495   open full text
• Gone in sixty (milli)seconds: Disentangling the effects of location context on attention bias.
  Mikael Rubin, Michael J. Telch.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. October 19, 2018
  --- - |2 Attention bias is associated with a broad range of emotional disorders. Because of its transportability, attention bias modification (ABM) training can be administered outside of the laboratory; however, some evidence suggests that ABM training may be less effective when conducted in the individual's natural environment. The aim of this study was to examine factors that might account for the attenuated effects of attentional bias (AB) when assessed remotely. One hundred fifty‐eight undergraduate psychology students completed the Emotional Stroop Task on two occasions – once in the laboratory and once remotely. To help disentangle the influences of emotional state and location on attention bias, participants were randomized to view either an emotionally provocative clip or an emotionally neutral clip prior to completing the emotional Stroop task. Results showed evidence of an attentional bias only in the laboratory, among participants in the neutral emotion condition (b = –19.67, P = .008, 95% CI [–34.18, –5.15]). Exploratory analyses revealed that emotion provocation was associated with attentional bias among individuals with greater symptoms of depression, but only remotely (b = –15.70, P = 0.046, 95% CI [–31.15, –0.25]). These findings suggest that caution should be used when conducting attention bias research remotely. Limitations and future directions are discussed. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  October 19, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12494   open full text
• Comparing the effects of drawing and verbal recall techniques on children's memory accounts.
  Yee‐San Teoh, Teng‐Fang Chang.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. October 08, 2018
  --- - |2 The present study compared the amount and accuracy of information Taiwanese children reported about a staged event in verbal‐only and drawing‐assisted interviews. We also tested further whether verbosity was a valid indicator of the accuracy of children's memory reports (Koriat & Goldsmith, , ) in a non‐Western sample. Eighty‐four first‐grade elementary school children participated in a staged event involving a novel interactive puppet show followed by a drawing activity (drawing of the target event or the school), and were subsequently given a 10‐minute memory interview. They were randomly assigned to a verbal cued‐recall interview condition or a drawing‐assisted interview condition. We did not find significant differences in the amount and accuracy of details reported between the two interview conditions. Our findings also revealed that the quantity of children's reports was positively related to the number of correct details reported, indicating that the children in our study did not demonstrate a quantity‐accuracy tradeoff. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  October 08, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12496   open full text
• Long‐term school‐level effects of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP).
  Dan Olweus, Mona E. Solberg, Kyrre Breivik.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. October 02, 2018
  --- - |2 In agreement with two predictions, this somewhat unusual study documented that 70 elementary schools (A‐schools) with continued and repeated use of the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire (OBQ) in a four‐year follow‐up period of 2007–2010, two to eight years after original implementation of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP), had a clearly more favorable long‐term development in terms of being‐bullied problems, as measured with a completely independent data source, the National Pupil Survey than 102 comparable schools (B‐schools) that had not conducted any OBQ‐surveys in the same period. The odds of being bullied for students in a Norwegian average elementary school were also almost 40% higher than for students who attended a school with continued use of the OBQ, and very likely, other components of the program. Several alternative explanations of the findings were explored and found wanting. Results suggested that A‐schools with continued use had changed their “school culture” for the better with regard to awareness, preparedness and competence in handling and preventing bullying. This form of ‘organizational learning’ has major consequences in that new groups of students will benefit from such a school environment. It was generally concluded – in spite of a highly stable average of the level of bullying problems in Norway – that it is fully possible to substantially reduce such problems not only in one‐year evaluations, as has been amply documented before, but also in the long term, up to eight years after original implementation, with a program such as the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  October 02, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12486   open full text
• Exogenous attention and memory for faces following contextual behavioral immune system activation.
  Ana Cláudia Magalhães, Josefa N. S. Pandeirada, Natália Lisandra Fernandes, Sandra C. Soares.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. October 02, 2018
  --- - |2 The behavioral immune system (BIS) is characterized by affective, cognitive and behavioral processes that work in an articulated manner to prevent the occurrence of infections. Attention and memory evolved to enhance the organism's chances of survival and have been proposed to play an important role in the BIS. The present study investigated the effects of attention and memory for neutral faces after a contextual activation of the BIS. Participants were primed, by the use of film clips, either with infectious disease concerns or non‐infectious disease concerns. They performed an exogenous attentional task involving the discrimination of target letters, with face stimuli presented as distractors, which was then followed by a surprise recognition task for the faces. The results showed that participants in the infectious disease condition were more accurate in the attentional task than participants in the control condition. No significant difference between groups was found in the response times during the attention task nor in memory performance. Overall, these results suggest that the BIS might be associated with a hypervigilant state towards cues in general and that BIS activation through this type of priming may not be sufficient to clearly activate mnemonic mechanisms. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  October 02, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12491   open full text
• Exposure to parental and community violence and the relationship to bullying perpetration and victimization among early adolescents: A parallel process growth mixture latent transition analysis.
  Jordan P. Davis, Katherine M. Ingram, Gabriel J. Merrin, Dorothy L. Espelage.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. October 02, 2018
  --- - |2 This study examined heterogeneity in parental and community violence exposure during middle school and its association with bullying perpetration and victimization in high school. Youth (N = 1,611) in four Midwestern middle schools participated. Parallel process growth mixture latent transition analysis was used to understand how trajectory profiles of middle school violence exposure was associated with high school bullying profiles. Impulsivity, depression, school belonging, and delinquency were assessed as moderators of the transition probabilities. A three class solution was found for violence exposure: decreasing parental violence/increasing community violence (n = 103; 6.4%), stable high parental violence and low community violence (n = 1,027; 63.7%), and increasing parental violence and stable high community violence (n = 481; 29.8%). Similarly, a three class solution was found for high school bullying: High Bullying Perpetration and High Victimization class (n = 259; 16%), Victimization only (n = 1145; 71%), and low all class (n = 207; 13%). The largest proportion of youth transitioning into the high bullying and high victimization class were from the decreasing parental violence/increasing community violence. Depression, impulsivity, school belonging, and delinquency all had various moderating effects on transition probabilities. Our findings make it apparent that early forms of parental and community violence are associated with aggressive behaviors and experiences with victimization during high school. Prevention and intervention efforts should target individuals who display early and chronic patterns of exposure to violence as these individuals have the greatest risk of later aggressive and victimization in high school. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  October 02, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12493   open full text
• Who are the high achievers at work? Perceived motivational climate, goal orientation profiles, and work performance.
  Christina G. L. Nerstad, Astrid M. Richardsen, Glyn C. Roberts.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. September 28, 2018
  --- - |2 The purpose of this study was to respond to the call for research on goal orientation (mastery and performance orientation) profiles in work contexts. Among 8,282 engineers and technologists, Latent profile analyses indicated that four different goal orientation profiles existed – primarily mastery oriented, indifferent, moderate multiple goals, and success oriented. Both success oriented employees and employees who are primarily mastery oriented indicated the highest individual work performance. Further, mastery and performance climates were found to be relevant antecedents of employees’ goal orientation profiles. Supplementary analyses suggested that a primarily mastery oriented profile seems to be more beneficial for the facilitation of employee well‐being. The practical implications of these findings and directions for future research are presented. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  September 28, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12490   open full text
• Peer victimization through a trauma lens: Identifying who is at risk for negative outcomes.
  Irene K. Hong, Weijun Wang, Debra J. Pepler, Wendy M. Craig.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. September 27, 2018
  --- - |2 Peer victimization is a chronic stressor that occurs within the context of peer interactions and has been robustly associated with numerous negative psychological and social adjustment problems. Although increased frequency of peer victimization has been linked to psychosocial problems, few researchers have studied the role of duration and pervasiveness of victimization (i.e., number of places it occurs). The objective of this study was to examine how frequency, duration, and pervasiveness of peer victimization are associated with youth adjustment. Canadian adolescents (N = 879), ages 12–18 completed an online survey about experiences with peer victimization. Youth also answered questions about internalizing problems, distress, relationship quality with family, friends, and adults in their school and community, as well as academic functioning. Data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression modeling. Both duration and pervasiveness of peer victimization were predictive of increased internalizing problems, distress, relationship problems, and academic difficulties. Duration and pervasiveness of peer victimization were identified as important factors to consider when predicting youth psychosocial adjustment. By asking questions about these situational factors, parents, teachers, and healthcare providers may more effectively identify youth who are at risk for experiencing mental health problems associated with peer victimization. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  September 27, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12488   open full text
• Latent profiles of stress and their relationships with depression and problematic Internet use among college freshmen.
  Pei‐Chun Liao, Ssu‐Kuang Chen, Sunny S. J. Lin.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. September 25, 2018
  --- - |2 As noted in previously published literature, college students frequently experience academic stress, financial stress, and the stresses caused by intimate, peer, and parent–adolescent relationships. The present study uses latent profile analysis to identify stress profiles based on the aforementioned five stressors among 430 college freshmen. Thereafter, we compare the levels of depression and problematic Internet use (PIU) among the different profile groups and investigate whether background variables could predict each latent stress group. Three latent groups were labelled as follows: Ordinary (n = 257, 59.77%); all moderate‐high (n = 98, 22.79%); and college‐life moderate‐high (n = 75, 17.44%). Compared with the ordinary group, the all moderate‐high and college‐life moderate‐high groups displayed significantly higher levels of depression. Moreover, the all moderate‐high group had a severer level of PIU than the college‐life moderate‐high and ordinary groups. Interestingly, males and students who were dating were more likely to fall under the all moderate‐high group than the college‐life moderate‐high group; but students who were more concerned with their academic performance were more likely to fall under the college‐life moderate‐high group than the all moderate‐high group. These findings have important implications for college educators and school counsellors with regard to developing appropriate interventions as required. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  September 25, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12489   open full text
• Capturing violent radicalization: Developing and validating scales measuring central aspects of radicalization.
  Simon Ozer, Preben Bertelsen.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. September 21, 2018
  --- - |2 Violent radicalization has emerged as an important topic of theoretical and empirical investigation motivated by the devastating face of terrorism and by the aim of preventing such expressions of extremism. One central aspect of such research inquiries is the foundation of solid measurement. In this article, we develop and validate two generic scales pertaining to (1) endorsement of extremism and (2) acceptance of violent and/or illegal means. In conclusion, the scales yielded sound psychometric properties and cross‐cultural equivalence, providing a solid measure of the important aspects of extremism which can be empirically employed in elucidating generic mechanisms of violent radicalization processes. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  September 21, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12484   open full text
• In pursuit of job satisfaction and happiness: Testing the interactive contribution of emotion‐regulation ability and workplace social support.
  Sergio Mérida‐López, Natalio Extremera, Cirenia Quintana‐Orts, Lourdes Rey.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. September 21, 2018
  --- - |2 The present study focuses on the interplay of emotion‐regulation ability and perceived workplace social support as predictors of job satisfaction and happiness in a Spanish multi‐occupational sample. A total of 494 working adults (39.4% females) took part in this study. Emotion‐regulation ability and perceived support from colleagues and supervisors were positively associated. In addition, emotion‐regulation ability and perceived support from colleagues and supervisors showed positive associations with job satisfaction and happiness. Furthermore, considering results from moderation analyses, when low levels of perceived workplace social support were reported, the relationship between emotion regulation and both job satisfaction and happiness was stronger than in cases of higher perceived workplace support. In line with previous studies, these findings suggest that training in emotion regulation abilities may take into consideration the potential moderating role of job characteristics such as support from colleagues and supervisors. Finally, theoretical and practical implications of the joint study of these factors in line with the Job Demands‐Resources model and the Emotional Intelligence framework are discussed. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  September 21, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12483   open full text
• Sustainable antibullying program implementation: School profiles and predictors.
  Miia Sainio, Sanna Herkama, Tiina Turunen, Mikko Rönkkö, Mari Kontio, Elisa Poskiparta, Christina Salmivalli.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. September 17, 2018
  --- - |2 We examined the sustainability of the KiVa antibullying program in Finland from its nationwide roll‐out in 2009 to 2016. Using latent class analyses, we identified four different patterns of implementation. The persistent schools (43%) maintained a high likelihood of participation throughout the study period. The awakened (14%) had a decreasing trend during the first years, but then increased the likelihood of program participation. The tail‐offs (20%) decreased in the likelihood of participating after the third year, and the drop‐offs (23%) already after the first year. The findings suggest that many schools need support during the initial years to launch and maintain the implementation of evidence‐based programs; yet a large proportion of schools manage to sustain the program implementation for several years. The logistic regression analyses showed that large schools persisted more likely than small schools. Lower initial level of victimization was also related to the sustainability of the program. Finally, persistent program participation was predicted by several school‐level actions during the initial years of implementing the program. These results imply that the sustainability of evidence‐based programs could be enhanced by supporting and guiding schools when setting up the program during the initial implementation. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  September 17, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12487   open full text
• The psychological effects of physical exercise: A controlled study of the placebo effect.
  Félix Arbinaga, Eduardo Fernández‐Ozcorta, Pedro Sáenz‐López, José Carmona.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. September 04, 2018
  --- - |2 The research on well‐being and physical exercise point to the possibility of a placebo effect. This study analyzes the effect of expectancy manipulation on psychological (well‐being and self‐esteem) and physical (agility and cardiorespiratory fitness) outcomes after a seven‐week program of aerobic training. 114 undergraduate students (age M = 19.81, SD = 1.75; 86.1% women) were randomized into G1 – No Exercise (n = 13), G2 – Exercise only (n = 15), G3 – Exercise + Manipulation of expectations: No psychological effect (n = 17) and G4 – Exercise + Manipulation of expectations: Psychological effect (n = 21). Outcome measures were the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale, the Well‐Being subscale of the Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale, the Agility T‐test and the 20‐meter Shuttle Run Test. Paired t‐tests showed significant improvements from baseline in self‐esteem, agility, and cardiovascular fitness for the exercise groups. G4 also showed a significant improvement in well‐being. ANCOVA with adjustments for the baseline measures was used to test between‐group differences at the end of the program. The only significant differences at posttest were between G1 and the exercise groups. The data do not support a differential effect of elevated expectations of psychological benefits on the participants’ self‐esteem or psychological well‐being after an aerobic training program. Future research should analyze whether reinforcing expectations more frequently throughout the program might show a more robust influence. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  September 04, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12482   open full text
• The independence of working memory capacity and audiovisual cues when listening in noise.
  Anne M. P. Michalek, Ivan Ash, Kathryn Schwartz.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. September 04, 2018
  --- - |2 This study examined the effect of levels of working memory capacity, levels of background noise, and audiovisual cues on adults’ ability to process speech when listening in noise. A mixed design was used to examine the effects of signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR, 6 levels), audiovisual condition (audio vs. audiovisual), and working memory capacity on speech recognition. Ninety‐six participants between the ages of 18 35 without a history of hearing loss or cognitive impairment were recruited for this research project. Working memory capacity mediated speech processing in noise during the auditory only listening condition. The reliance on working memory capacity increased as noise level increased. There was no interaction effect between working memory capacity and the audiovisual listening condition. People with a high working memory capacity have an advantage when listening to speech in noisy backgrounds. The level of the noise makes the biggest difference in a person's ability to recognize speech and performance can be improved with the inclusion of audiovisual cues. The effects of low signal‐to‐noise ratios can be mitigated with audiovisual cues independent of attentional control mechanisms. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  September 04, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12480   open full text
• Issue Information.
  
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. September 03, 2018
  --- - - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 59, Issue 5, October 2018.
  

  September 03, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12492   open full text
• Heterogeneity in childbirth related fear or anxiety.
  Elisabet Rondung, Johanna Ekdahl, Ingegerd Hildingsson, Christine Rubertsson, Örjan Sundin.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. September 03, 2018
  --- - |2+ Many pregnant women experience fear, worry or anxiety relating to the upcoming childbirth. The aim of this cross‐sectional study was to investigate possible subgroups in a sample of 206 pregnant women (mean age 29.4 years), reporting fear of birth in mid‐pregnancy. Comparisons were made between nulliparous and parous women. In a series of cluster analyses, validated psychological instruments were used to cluster women based on their psychological profiles. A five‐cluster solution was suggested, with the clusters characterized by: overall low symptom load, general high symptom load, medium symptom load with high performance‐based self‐esteem, blood‐ and injection phobic anxiety, and specific anxiety symptoms. Nulliparous women were more likely to report clinically relevant levels of blood‐ and injection phobia (OR = 2.57, 95% CI 1.09–6.01), while parous women more often reported previous negative experiences in health care (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.09–3.39) or previous trauma (OR 2.90, 95% CI 1.58–5.32). The results indicate that women reporting fear of birth are a heterogeneous group. In order to individualize treatment, psychological characteristics may be of greater importance than parity in identifying relevant subgroups. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  September 03, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12481   open full text
• The effect of language, spatial factors, masker type and memory span on speech‐in‐noise thresholds in sequential bilingual children.
  Douglas MacCutcheon, Florian Pausch, Janina Fels, Robert Ljung.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. August 23, 2018
  --- - |2 This study considers whether bilingual children listening in a second language are among those on which higher processing and cognitive demands are placed when noise is present. Forty‐four Swedish sequential bilingual 15 year‐olds were given memory span and vocabulary assessments in their first and second language (Swedish and English). First and second language speech reception thresholds (SRTs) at 50% intelligibility for numbers and colors presented in noise were obtained using an adaptive procedure. The target sentences were presented in simulated, virtual classroom acoustics, masked by either 16‐talker multi‐talker babble noise (MTBN) or speech shaped noise (SSN), positioned either directly in front of the listener (collocated with the target speech), or spatially separated from the target speech by 90° to either side. Main effects in the Spatial and Noise factors indicated that intelligibility was 3.8 dB lower in collocated conditions and 2.9 dB lower in MTBN conditions. SRTs were unexpectedly higher by 0.9 dB in second language conditions. Memory span significantly predicted 17% of the variance in the second language SRTs, and 9% of the variance in first language SRTs, indicating the possibility that the SRT task places higher cognitive demands when listening to second language speech than when the target is in the listener's first language. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  August 23, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12466   open full text
• Moral judgment, political ideology and collective action.
  Pollyana de Lucena Moreira, Júlio Rique Neto, José Manuel Sabucedo, Cleonice Pereira dos Santos Camino.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. August 09, 2018
  --- - |2 This study aimed to further the understanding of the processes involved in activism, as a form of collective action, based on differences in the quality of moral judgment and political ideology. It began with the assumption that differences in the quality of moral judgment can lead individuals to engage in different forms of collective action: activism or radicalism. Therefore, the associations among the variables political ideology, social identity, perception of social justice, activist identity and commitment, personal political salience, perception of efficacy and life purpose were analyzed. Path modelling was used to construct two models of political action: one based on conventional moral judgment and conservative political ideology, and the other based on post‐conventional moral judgment and egalitarian political ideology. These two models were tested on samples of Brazilian and Spanish youths. The results confirmed the validity of using developmental social psychology to understand activism as a form of political action. The results confirmed the central hypothesis that differences in the quality of moral judgment and in political ideology are related to willingness to engage in qualitatively different types of actions: young people with conventional moral judgment and conservative political ideology declared their intention to engage in activism, while young people with post‐conventional moral judgment egalitarian political ideology reported the intention to engage in both activist and radical actions. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  August 09, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12479   open full text
• Associations of social support and alexithymia with psychological distress in Finnish young adults.
  Suvi Saikkonen, Max Karukivi, Tero Vahlberg, Simo Saarijärvi.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. August 07, 2018
  --- - |2 The positive influence of social support on psychological wellbeing is well documented but the research among young adults is scarce. Additionally, it is still unclear what type of social support explains the positive influence in this age group. Alexithymia has been linked to lacking social support and higher levels of psychological distress, but the underlying mechanisms are not well known. We aimed to assess the association of social support and alexithymia with psychological distress in a sample of young adults. The non‐clinical sample comprised 316 young Finnish adults (mean age 23 years). Psychological distress was assessed using the 12‐item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ‐12), alexithymia was measured with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS‐20) and social support with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). The associations were assessed using regression analyses. The TAS‐20 (p = 0.002) and MSPSS (p = < 0.001) total scores were significantly associated with the GHQ‐12 scores even after adjustment for sociodemographic variables. For the model with the TAS‐20 and MSPSS subscales, the Difficulty Identifying Feelings subscale score of the TAS‐20 scale (p < 0.001) and the Family subscale score of the MSPSS scale (p = 0.010) were significantly associated with the GHQ‐12 scores. Our results show that low social support and high levels of alexithymia are associated with increased psychological distress both in females and males. Perceived social support from family explained the association between social support and psychological distress to a significant extent. Regarding alexithymia, the association with psychological distress was mainly related to difficulties identifying feelings. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, EarlyView.
  

  August 07, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12478   open full text
• Prevalence of internet gaming disorder in adolescents: A meta‐analysis across three decades.
  Jia Yuin Fam.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. July 13, 2018
  --- - |2 The inclusion of “Internet gaming disorder (IGD)” in the fifth edition of Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM‐5) creates a possible line of research. Despite the fact that adolescents are vulnerable to IGD, studies had reported wide array of prevalence estimates in this population. The aim of this paper is to review the published studies on prevalence of IGD among adolescents. Relevant studies prior to March 2017 were identified through databases. A total of 16 studies met the inclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of IGD among adolescents was 4.6% (95% CI = 3.4%–6.0%). Male adolescents generally reported higher prevalence rate (6.8%, 95% CI = 4.3%–9.7%) than female adolescents (1.3%, 95% CI = 0.6%–2.2%). Subgroup analyses revealed that prevalence estimates were highest when studies were conducted in: (i) 1990s; (ii) use DSM criteria for pathological gambling; (iii) examine gaming disorder; (iv) Asia; and (v) small samples (<1,000). This study confirms the alarming prevalence of IGD among adolescents, especially among males. Given the methodological deficits in past decades (such as reliance on DSM criteria for “pathological gambling,” inclusion of the word “Internet,” and small sample sizes), it is critical for researchers to apply a common methodology for assess this disorder. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 59, Issue 5, Page 524-531, October 2018.
  

  July 13, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12459   open full text
• Effects of the EXAT neuropsychological multilevel intervention on behavior problems in children with executive function deficits.
  Kati Rantanen, Elina Vierikko, Pirkko Nieminen.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. July 12, 2018
  --- - |2 This is a clinical intervention study of children with executive function (EF) deficits. A neuropsychological multimodal group intervention called EXAT (rehabilitation of EXecutive function and ATtention) was developed at the Psychology Clinic of the University of Tampere. Based on the principles of neuropsychological rehabilitation and behavioral modification, EXAT combines child group training, parent training, and teacher consultations. The aims of this study were to investigate behavior problems before and after the intervention in children attending EXAT and in controls, and to compare intervention effects in hyperactive, inattentive, and EF subgroups based on the primary deficit described in the referral. The participants were 86 children (6–12 years) with a mean IQ of 91.4 attending EXAT and 45 controls. The participants’ parents and teachers completed the Conners’ Rating Scales‐Revised. In addition, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was completed by the parents attending EXAT. The parents reported statistically significant decreases with medium effect sizes for the CPRS‐R subscales for impulsivity, hyperactivity, and oppositional behavior. In the controls within the same time interval, there was increase in restless and impulsive behavior, and a decrease in total problems. The teachers reported positive changes after the intervention in ADHD symptoms and anxiousness/shyness, but the effects sizes were small. The intervention effects were larger in the hyperactive subgroup. Positive intervention effects were related to a younger age, lower IQ, and simultaneous learning support. In conclusion, EXAT – a structured multilevel group intervention – has positive effects on children's behavior regulation skills by decreasing impulsivity and restless behavior. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 59, Issue 5, Page 483-495, October 2018.
  

  July 12, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12468   open full text
• Psychometric properties and reference data for Danish versions of Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test, Category Cued Memory Test and Logical Memory.
  Asmus Vogel, Jette Stokholm, Rikke Andreasen, Bodil Dahl Henriksen, Vibeke Brønniche, Gry J. Madsen, Moa Gustafsson, Susanne Overgaard, Anne‐Mette Guldberg, Kasper Jørgensen.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. July 12, 2018
  --- - |2 Memory assessment is a key element in neuropsychological testing. Gold standard evaluation is based on updated normative data, but in many small countries (e.g. in Scandinavia) such data are sparse. In Denmark, reference data exist for non‐verbal memory tests and list‐learning tests but there is no normative data for memory tests which capture narrative recall and cued recall. In a nation‐wide study, Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT), WMS‐III Logical Memory (LM) and a newly developed test Category Cued Memory Test (CCMT‐48) were applied in 131 cognitively intact persons (aged 60–96 years). Regression‐based reference data for Danish versions of FCSRT, CCMT‐48 and LM adjusted for age, education and gender are provided. Gender and age‐group had a significant impact on the expected scores, whereas the effect of education had a limited effect on expected scores. Test performances were significantly correlated in the range 0.21–0.51. Based on these findings and previous results it may be relevant to assess both free recall, cued recall and recognition to tap the earliest changes associated with neurodegeneration, and this study therefore provides an important supplement to existing Danish normative data. Future studies should investigate the discriminative validity of the tests and the clinical utility of the presented reference data. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 59, Issue 5, Page 496-502, October 2018.
  

  July 12, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12470   open full text
• Clinical cut‐off point for the Distrust dimension of the Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory 2 (IDCP‐2).
  Lucas de Francisco Carvalho, Ariela Raissa Lima Costa.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. July 10, 2018
  --- - |2 The Clinical Dimensional Personality Inventory 2 (IDCP‐2) is a 206‐item self‐report tool developed for the assessment of 12 dimensions (divided into 47 factors) of personality pathology. One of the scales comprising the instrument, the Distrust scale, is intended to provide psychometric information on traits closely related to the Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD). In the present research, we used the Item Response Theory and the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis to establish a clinical meaningful cutoff for the Distrust scale. Participants were 1,679 adults, among outpatients diagnosed with PPD, outpatients diagnosed with other PDs, and adults from the community. The Wright map revealed that outpatients were located at the very high levels on the latent continuum of the Distrust scale, with a very large effect size for the mean difference between patients and non‐patients. The ROC curve supported a cutoff at −1.00 score in theta standardization which yielded 0.87 of sensitivity and 0.54 of specificity. Findings from the present investigation suggest the IDCP‐2 Distrust scale is useful as a screening tool of the core features of the PPD. We address potential clinical applications for the instrument and discuss limitations from the present study. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 59, Issue 5, Page 560-566, October 2018.
  

  July 10, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12465   open full text
• Young children's television viewing and the quality of their interactions with parents: A prospective community study.
  Silje Skaug, Kjellrun T. Englund, Lars Wichstrøm.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. July 10, 2018
  --- - |2 Television is one of the most commonly viewed forms of media by children throughout the world. Excessive television viewing can influence the quality of children's relationships and interactions with their parents. We examined the emotional availability (EA) of children toward their parents by assessing child responsiveness and child involvement, using a cross‐sectional and longitudinal design. We employed a large and representative community sample of Norwegian 4‐year‐olds (n = 995) who were followed up at 6 years old (n = 795). The results illustrate that, when viewing excessive amounts of television, children are less likely to be involved with their parents in ordinary toy‐play. We argue in favor of the displacement hypothesis, stating that time‐demanding technologies are negatively related to the quality of parent–child relationships because spending more time watching television will leave less time for developing nurturing social relationships. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 59, Issue 5, Page 503-510, October 2018.
  

  July 10, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12467   open full text
• Dialogic reading in the rehabilitation of Children with Hearing Loss and the “Born to Read” Project: A pilot study.
  Grazia Isabella Continisio, Amalia Mattiello, Silvia Toscano, Paola Continisio, Mariano Paternoster, Alfredo Guarino, Francesca Maria Cuomo, Tiziana Cristiani, Stefania Manetti, Antonietta Giannattasio, Elio Marciano.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. July 05, 2018
  --- - |2 The “born to read” initiative entails a dialogic reading to children in poor socio‐economical conditions aimed at fostering cognitive and relational skills. Reading is professionally delivered by experts to promote psycho‐social development of children and their parents. In this study the project was extended to include children positive at early screening for hearing impairment. A total of 26 children were included and 14 parents were taught to read aloud and emphatically. Reading session were delivered for at least 10 minutes at least 3 times/week, usually at bedtime, for one year. The Griffiths scale were applied to explore the expressive and receptive language skills (Scale C) and eye and hand coordination (Scale D), as measures of linguistic and neurocognitive skills. Program sustainability and reactions by the parents were also investigated. All 14 families successfully received the training, becoming capable of reading aloud and emphatically and provided reading sessions for the entire duration of the study. Children receiving the intervention performed slightly better than controls and those who were exposed to increased number of sessions, performed even better although the differences with controls were not significant. Parents enjoyed reading to their children. They expressed satisfaction and gratitude for being able to play an active and productive role in children rehabilitation. The results of this pilot study suggest that the born to read initiative may be considered in adjunct to medical and psychological interventions to enhance the benefits of early screening of hearing function. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 59, Issue 5, Page 518-523, October 2018.
  

  July 05, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12469   open full text
• Loneliness, HPA stress reactivity and social threat sensitivity: Analyzing naturalistic social challenges.
  Rebecca Nowland, Sarita J. Robinson, Belinda F. Bradley, Vikki Summers, Pamela Qualter.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. July 04, 2018
  --- - |2 Loneliness has been linked to poor health through an increased activation of threat surveillance mechanisms, such as the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis (HPA). The socio‐cognitive model (Cacioppo & Hawley) proposes that lonely people have an increased social threat sensitivity which activates the HPA axis. The current study examined the impact of loneliness on HPA stress reactivity and social threat sensitivity in response to naturally occurring social challenges. Participants (N = 45) were prospective undergraduates attending a 3‐day university preparation programme over the summer, prior to commencing their university studies. Cortisol levels and perceived stress were measured before and after an ice breaker session on Day 1 and a lecture session on Day 3. Social threat sensitivity was also measured on the first and third day. When meeting unfamiliar peers in the ice breaker session, HPA stress reactivity was evident, but it was not markedly different in those who reported high levels of loneliness than those with low levels. The high loneliness group had higher levels of perceived stress and increased social threat sensitivity than the low loneliness group on both testing days. The findings show partial support for the socio‐cognitive model of loneliness because increased threat sensitivity was demonstrated in the high loneliness group. The findings indicate that lonely people do not respond in a physiologically different way to specific social challenges, but they typically report higher social threat sensitivity and higher perceived stress than their non‐lonely peers. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 59, Issue 5, Page 540-546, October 2018.
  

  July 04, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12461   open full text
• Effects of analytical (abstract) versus experiential (concrete) induced rumination of negative self defining memories on schizotypic symptoms.
  Jorge Javier Ricarte, Laura Ros, Dolores Fernández, Marta Nieto, José Miguel Latorre.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. July 04, 2018
  --- - |2 Repetitive thought may have adaptive and functional consequences, depending on, among other things, the interpretation of the content: analytical or abstract (general and decontextualized) and experiential or concrete (specific, contextual and incidental). Studies experimentally manipulating repetitive thought have shown both the constructive consequences of the experiential mode and the dysfunctional consequences of the analytical mode. The aim of the current study is to observe the effect of analytical and experiential rumination of negative self‐defining memories on schizotypic symptoms. A sample of 111 university students were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions of induced rumination, “analytical” or “experimental.” The participants completed a series of questionnaires (anomalous perception of reality, preoccupation and depression) and a negative self‐defining memory was obtained to be used as the content of the induced rumination. Following the rumination induction, participants in the experiential condition significantly decreased their scores on anomalous perception of reality compared with those in the analytical condition. We also observed that post‐induction scores on self‐reported sadness significantly increased in both experimental conditions while scores on self‐reported happiness decreased. Our results show that the concrete/experiential rumination, focused here on negative self‐defining memories, have positive consequences on schizotypic symptoms, such as decreased anomalous perception of reality. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 59, Issue 5, Page 553-559, October 2018.
  

  July 04, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12464   open full text
• Errors on a computer task and subclinical symptoms of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
  Katherine E. Christensen, Rebecca A. Lundwall.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. July 03, 2018
  --- - |2 Previous reports have found increased error rate for children with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on response time (RT) computer tasks. Here we attempt the conceptual replication and extension of two studies that examined error rate in a general population of children (N = 203). Study 1 followed Johnstone and Galletta but considered associations between scores on a dimensional measure of ADHD symptoms (rather than comparing those with or without an ADHD diagnosis) and the frequency of commission and omission errors. Study 2 followed Shiels, Tamm & Epstein and examined post‐error adjustment in the same group of children as for Study 1. Study 1 did not replicate previous findings of no increase in errors of commission in those with higher ADHD symptoms (Johnstone & Galletta). Instead, we found that younger children with lower ADHD symptoms were more likely to make commission errors, while omission errors did not vary with age. Study 2 replicated the previous finding of less RT slowing in children with more ADHD symptoms, extending this finding to a general population of children. Namely, as ADHD symptoms increase, RT slowing is less likely, putting children with higher ADHD symptoms at risk of additional errors. Overall, we extend previous ADHD research to typically developing children with ADHD symptoms. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 59, Issue 5, Page 511-517, October 2018.
  

  July 03, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12462   open full text
• Burnout‐depression overlap: Nomological network examination and factor‐analytic approach.
  Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. June 29, 2018
  --- - |2 Burnout has been defined as a condition in which individuals are left exhausted by a long‐term confrontation with unmanageable job stressors. The question of whether burnout reflects anything other than depressive responses to unresolvable stress remains an object of debate. In this 911‐participant study (83% female; mean age: 42.36), we further addressed the issue of burnout‐depression overlap. Burnout was assessed with the exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory‐General Survey (MBI‐GS) and depression with the PHQ‐8. The relationships of burnout and depression with three job‐related variables – illegitimate work tasks, work‐nonwork interference, and job satisfaction – and three “context‐free” variables – social support, general health status, and trait anxiety – were examined. Burnout and depression were found to be strongly correlated, to cluster together, and to exhibit overlapping nomological networks. Remarkably, the average correlations of burnout and depression with job‐related variables were almost identical. A principal component analysis and a principal axis factor analysis both showed that the items of the MBI‐GS and of the PHQ‐8 loaded on a single dimension. All in all, our findings are consistent with the view that burnout is a depressive condition. The distinction between burnout and depression may be an instance of the jangle fallacy. - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 59, Issue 5, Page 532-539, October 2018.
  

  June 29, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12460   open full text
• How a terror attack affects right‐wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and their relationship to torture attitudes.
  Magnus Lindén, Fredrik Björklund, Martin Bäckström.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. June 29, 2018
  --- - " \nSelf‐reported level of right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA), the two facets of social dominance orientation (SDO‐Dominance and SDO‐Egalitarianism) and pro‐torture attitudes were measured both in the immediate aftermath (terror salience, N = 152) of the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels and when terrorism was not salient (non‐salience, N = 140). Results showed that RWA and pro‐torture attitudes, but not SDO‐Dominance and SDO‐Egalitarianism, were significantly higher immediately after. Furthermore, RWA and SDO both predicted pro‐torture attitudes more strongly under terror salience. We argue that the reason why RWA is higher under terror salience is a response to external threat, and that SDO‐Dominance may be more clearly related to acceptance of torture and other human‐rights violations, across context. Future research on the effects of terror‐related events on sociopolitical and pro‐torture attitudes should focus on person‐situation interactions and also attempt to discriminate between trait and state aspects of authoritarianism.\n" - Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 59, Issue 5, Page 547-552, October 2018.
  

  June 29, 2018   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12463   open full text
• Longitudinal change in working memory as a function of APOE genotype in midlife and old age.
  Pamela M. Greenwood, Thomas Espeseth, Ming‐Kuan Lin, Ivar Reinvang, Raja Parasuraman.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. May 22, 2014
  Previous investigations into whether the APOE‐ε4 allele exerts cognitive effects at midlife have been inconclusive. We have advanced a “cognitive phenotype” hypothesis arguing that the ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) is associated with lower efficiency of neuronal plasticity thereby resulting in poorer cognitive performance independently of the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (Greenwood et al., ). This hypothesis is best tested at midlife, prior to the neuron loss associated with AD diagnosis. This hypothesis predicts that the ε4 allele would alter cognition regardless of age through plasticity mechanisms, but would not induce longitudinal decline in midlife. The alternative “prodrome” hypothesis predicts that the APOE‐ε4 allele would be associated with longitudinal cognitive decline as early as midlife due to prodromal effects of AD. We tested these hypotheses with a working memory task in a large cross‐sectional sample of cognitively screened APOE‐ε4 carriers and non‐carriers and also in a small longitudinal sample over 3 years. The sample was divided into middle‐aged (mean age 50, range 40–59) and older (mean age 69, range 60–84) individuals. Cross‐sectionally, we observed that older, but not middle‐aged, APOE‐ε4 carriers had lower accuracy than ε4 non‐carriers, mainly under the hardest discrimination condition. Longitudinally, we observed increases in accuracy in middle‐aged APOE‐ε4 carriers, suggesting a cognitive phenotype that includes ability to benefit from experience. We observed a longitudinal decrease in older APOE‐ε4 carriers, suggesting an AD prodrome.

  May 22, 2014   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12123   open full text
• Towards personalized treatment of depression: A candidate gene approach.
  Nils Inge Landrø.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. April 30, 2014
  The causal pathways leading to depression involve a combination of genetic and environmental risk factors and the relative contribution of these factors differ across patients. In addition, patients vary in the way they respond to treatment. The aim of this article is to discuss a candidate gene approach (5‐HTTLPR) in the treatment of depression and how it may be implemented to individualize treatment plans for patients. First, we examine the role of 5‐HTTLPR polymorphisms in biased emotion processing and in the interplay between emotion regulation and cognitive control. An intriguing finding is that the low expression short allele variant of 5‐HTTLPR is best conceived as a gene that affects malleability or plasticity rather than specific vulnerability to depression. A shift from vulnerability to susceptibility has the potential to translate into new perspectives on individualized treatment of depression. The interplay between therapeutic intervention and genotype is a special case of gene‐environment interactions (GxE). Within this new field, recently named “therapygenetics,” a small number of studies have so far provided preliminary but provocative evidence of an association between the low expression 5‐HTTLPT short allele and response to psychological treatment. Future research should expand into randomized controlled trial (RCT) designs to examine the likelihood of response to psychotherapy versus pharmacotherapy in the individual patient.

  April 30, 2014   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12124   open full text
• Talk‐in‐interaction and neuropsychological processes.
  Arnstein Finset.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. April 24, 2014
  Talk‐in‐interaction is characterized by a pattern of turn‐taking between conversational partners and rapid shifts from turn to turn without pauses between turns. During talk‐in‐interaction speakers constantly adjust to one another's terminology, repeat expressions from turn to turn and imitate each other's verbal as well as nonverbal behavior, a phenomenon characterized by automatic processing referred to as interactive alignment. Recent studies have shown how interactive alignment is subserved by neural coupling of brain activity of speakers and listeners, integrating comprehension and language production across many brain areas. Verbal behavior during talk‐in‐interaction is also dependent on the ability to draw inferences from verbally ambiguous expressions, to a large extent subserved by right hemisphere (RH) functioning, but the nature of the RH contribution to the activation and selection of inferences is under discussion in the research literature. There is emerging evidence of synchrony in neural activity and psychophysiological processing reflecting the interactive alignment observed on the behavioral level during talk‐in‐interaction. An understanding of neuropsychological aspects of talk‐in‐interaction may have potential implications for our understanding of doctor‐patient dialogue.

  April 24, 2014   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12127   open full text
• Motor impulsivity in Parkinson disease: Associations with COMT and DRD2 polymorphisms.
  David A. Ziegler, Paymon Ashourian, Julien S. Wonderlick, Alison K. Sarokhan, Drazen Prelec, Clemens R. Scherzer, Suzanne Corkin.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. April 21, 2014
  Parkinson disease (PD) is an age‐related degenerative disease of the brain, characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms. Neurologists and neuroscientists now understand that several symptoms of the disease, including hallucinations and impulse control behaviors, stem from the dopaminergic medications used to control the motor aspects of PD. Converging evidence from animals and humans suggests that individual differences in the genes that affect the dopamine system influence the response of PD patients to dopaminergic medication. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that patients taking dopamine replacement therapy who carry candidate alleles that increase dopamine signaling, exhibit greater amounts of motor impulsivity. We examined the relation between inhibitory ability (measured by the Stop Signal Task) and polymorphisms of COMT Val158Met and DRD2 C957T in patients with idiopathic PD. On the Stop Signal Task, carriers of COMT Val/Met and Met/Met genotypes were more impulsive than Val/Val carriers, but we did not find a link between DRD2 polymorphisms and inhibitory ability. These results support the hypothesis that the Met allele of COMT confers an increased risk for behavioral impulsivity in PD patients, whereas DRD2 polymorphisms appear to be less important in determining whether PD patients exhibit a dopamine overdose in the form of motor impulsivity.

  April 21, 2014   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12113   open full text
• Cognitive decline and brain pathology in aging – need for a dimensional, lifespan and systems vulnerability view.
  Kristine B Walhovd, Anders M Fjell, Thomas Espeseth.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. April 15, 2014
  Changes in brain structure and activity as well as cognitive function are commonly seen in aging. However, it is not known when aging of brain and cognition starts, and how much of the changes observed in seemingly healthy older adults that can be ascribed to incipient neurodegenerative disease. Recent research has yielded evidence that the borders between development and aging sometimes can be fuzzy, as can the borders between dementing disease and normal age changes. In this review, we argue that many factors affecting cognitive decline and dementia represents quantitative rather than qualitative differences in characteristics that commonly exist in the population. Further, factors known to affect brain and cognition in aging will often do so through a life‐long accumulation of impact, and does not need to be specific to aging. And finally, a host of environmental and genetic factors and their interplay determine optimal aging, leaving room for potential for environmental interventions to affect the outcome of the aging process. Together, we argue that these factors call for a dimensional rather than categorical, lifespan rather than aging, and multidimensional systems‐vulnerability rather than simple “hypothetical biomarker” model of age‐associated cognitive decline and dementia. This has implications for how we should view lifespan trajectories of change in brain and cognitive function, and how we can study, prevent, diagnose and treat age‐associated cognitive deficits.

  April 15, 2014   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12120   open full text
• Primary progressive aphasia.
  Andrew Kertesz, Michał Harciarek.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. April 10, 2014
  Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a progressive loss of specific language functions with relative sparing of other cognitive domains at least for the first few years of the illness. Based on the constellation of symptoms, PPA has been recently classified into a nonfluent, semantic, or logopenic variant. Nonfluent variant PPA is characterized by dysfluent and effortful speech, often combined with agrammatism. Also, some patients have initially predominant apraxia of speech. The neuroimaging findings in nfvPPA are in most cases progressive atrophy within the left inferior, opercular, and insular regions. Pathology is a tauopathy (FTLD‐T), most often Pick's disease or CBD. Semantic variant PPA, on the other hand is characterized by fluent, but circumlocutory speech, then severe anomia and word‐finding difficulties, all being associated with a progressive loss of lexical‐semantic knowledge. As the disease progresses, the semantic impairment typically becomes multimodal. The clinical picture of svPPA is often associated with atrophy of the anterior regions of the temporal lobes, usually more prominent on the left side. The majority of these patients have TDP‐43 pathology. The third, most recently described form of PPA is the logopenic variant characterized by decreased spontaneous speech output with frequent word‐finding pauses, phonologic parahpasias, and repetition deficits. It resembles aphasia in Alzheimer's disease. Imaging abnormalities in lvPPA have been predominantly found in the left temporo‐parietal junction area, and the pathological changes have been often those of AD.

  April 10, 2014   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12105   open full text
• Where numbers meet words: A common ventral network for semantic classification.
  Klaus Willmes, Korbinian Moeller, Elise Klein.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 08, 2014
  Recent research has shown that both language and number processing are clear examples of distributed and connected processing in the human brain, emphasizing the importance of white matter connections between the associated cortex sites. Against this background we hypothesized joint cognitive processes and functions in a cross‐domain manner to be reflected by the involvement of specific white matter tracts. Therefore, we evaluated white matter connectivity for the specific cognitive process of semantic classification, which is an integral part of tasks commonly employed to investigate the neural correlates of language and number processing. In line with our expectations, fiber tracking results clearly indicated a common ventral network for semantic classification for the domains of language and number processing. Thereby, the present data are hard to reconcile with a localizationalist view on processing characteristics of the human brain, but strongly suggest that white matter connectivity should be considered when investigating the neural underpinnings of human cognition.

  March 08, 2014   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12098   open full text
• Genetic architecture of cognitive traits.
  Stephanie Hellard, Vidar M Steen.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 08, 2014
  The last decade has seen the development of large‐scale genetics studies which have advanced our understanding of the genetic architecture of many complex heritable traits. In this review, we examine what progress has been made in understanding the genetics of cognitive traits. We cover the whole spectrum of distribution in cognitive abilities, from studies that have identified single genes implicated in intellectual disabilities, through studies investigating the missing and hidden heritability of cognitive abilities in the general population, and finally to studies looking at “high intelligence” samples.

  March 08, 2014   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12112   open full text
• Age and sex related changes in episodic memory function in middle aged and older adults.
  Astri J. Lundervold, Daniel Wollschläger, Eike Wehling.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 06, 2014
  Age‐related change in episodic memory function is commonly reported in older adults. When detected on neuropsychological tests, it may still be difficult to distinguish normal from pathological changes. The present study investigates age‐and sex‐related changes in a group of healthy middle‐aged and older adults, participating in a three‐wave study on cognitive aging. The California Verbal Learning test (CVLT‐II) was used to assess their episodic memory function. A cross‐sectional analysis of results from the first wave showed higher performance in females than males, with a steeper age‐related decline in males. This was confirmed in a longitudinal analysis using a mixed effects regression model, but with a lower age‐related change and smaller difference between the sexes. Information about learning strategies and errors in the third wave turned out to contribute significantly to explain change in episodic memory function across the three waves. We argue that the results from the longitudinal analyses are generalizable to the population of healthy middle‐aged and older individuals, and that they could be useful in guiding clinicians when evaluating individuals with respect to cognitive change.

  March 06, 2014   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12114   open full text
• Effects of focal prefrontal cortex lesions on electrophysiological indices of executive attention and action control.
  Anne‐Kristin Solbakk, Marianne Løvstad.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. March 06, 2014
  The human capacity to maintain an overarching control over mental states and behavior relies on multiple, distributed and dynamically interacting brain networks, in which prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a critical role. PFC exerts top‐down executive control over subcortical and posterior cortical areas via extensive reciprocal connections. The orbital, lateral, and medial PFC subdivisions are associated with distinct executive functions, but their precise roles in large‐scale neural networks remain to be determined. The main objective of our research program is to specify cognitive and neural mechanisms that govern executive control functions. We study effects of focal PFC lesions on behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of attention and action control utilizing experiments that relate to real‐life requirements for executive control. We provide a selective review of studies on the impact of lesions to PFC subregions on novelty processing, anticipatory attention, and action preparation and motor inhibition. The studies provide evidence for the contribution of both lateral, dorsomedial and orbital PFC in novelty processing and dynamic contextual updating. We also report evidence for a role of lateral PFC in motor preparation and anticipatory attention. In contrast to the common view that orbitofrontal cortex plays a general role in inhibitory control, we report findings indicating an involvement in action outcome monitoring rather than in behavioral inhibition as such. We argue that improved understanding of how basic aspects of attentional control and inhibition is regulated in the brain, will shed light on the complex behavioral, cognitive and emotional problems experienced by patients with executive dysfunction.

  March 06, 2014   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12106   open full text
• The APOE ε4 allele in relation to brain white‐matter microstructure in adulthood and aging.
  Lars Nyberg, Alireza Salami.
  Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. February 08, 2014
  The Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) ε4 allele is a major genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer's disease and has been associated with structural and functional brain alterations across the adult life span. Recent studies have presented evidence that ε4 affects microstructural properties of brain white matter (WM) in non‐demented carriers of the ε4 allele, but conflicting evidence has been presented as well. The main purpose of the present study was therefore to examine ApoE effects on WM in a large sample of middle‐aged and older adults (N = 273). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data was acquired, and tract‐based as well as voxel‐wise analyses were conducted. The tract‐based analyses revealed no significant ApoE effects, and no significant interactions between genotype and age were observed. Taken together, the findings of the present study suggest that ApoE effects on white‐matter microstructure are less abundant than has been suggested in some previous studies.

  February 08, 2014   doi: 10.1111/sjop.12099   open full text