Food disgust sensitivity predicts disease-preventing behaviour beyond the food domain in the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Ammann J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8279350 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Authoritarianism has resurfaced as a research topic in political psychology, as it appears relevant to explain current political trends. Authoritarian attitudes have been consistently linked to feelings of disgust, an emotion that is thought to have evolved to protect the organism from contamination. We hypothesized that body odour disgust sensitivity (BODS) might be associated with authoritarianism, as chemo-signalling is a primitive system for regulating interpersonal contact and disease avoidance, which are key features also in authoritarianism. We used well-validated scales for measuring BODS, authoritarianism and related constructs. Across two studies, we found that BODS is positively related to authoritarianism. In a third study, we showed a positive association between BODS scores and support for Donald Trump, who, at the time of data collection, was a presidential candidate with an agenda described as resonating with authoritarian attitudes. Authoritarianism fully explained the positive association between BODS and support for Donald Trump. Our findings highlight body odour disgust as a new and promising domain in political psychology research. Authoritarianism and BODS might be part of the same disease avoidance framework, and our results contribute to the growing evidence that contemporary social attitudes might be rooted in basic sensory functions.
| S-EPMC5830723 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Consistent with the view that disgust might be involved in persistent body dissatisfaction, there is preliminary evidence showing a positive correlation between measures of negative body image and indices of both trait disgust and self-directed disgust. In two correlational studies among undergraduates (N = 577 and N = 346, respectively) we aimed at replicating and extending these findings by testing a series of critical relationships, which follow from our hypotheses that 1) trait disgust propensity would increase the risk of developing a negative body image by increasing the likelihood of feeling self-disgust, and 2) trait disgust sensitivity would heighten the impact of self-disgust on the development of persistent negative body appraisals. Replicating previous research, both studies showed that negative body image was positively related to self-disgust, disgust propensity and disgust sensitivity. Mediation analyses showed that, in line with our model, self-disgust partly accounted for the association between disgust propensity and negative body image. Although disgust sensitivity showed an independent relationship with body image, disgust sensitivity did not moderate the association between self-disgust and negative body image. All in all, findings are consistent with the view that self-disgust-induced avoidance may contribute to persistent negative body appraisals.
| S-EPMC5988313 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Introduction:The Food Disgust Scale (FDS) was recently developed and validated in Swiss adult population. This study aims to: (1) validate the FDS for the first time in a Spanish-speaking Mexican population, (2) correlate food disgust sensitivity with picky eating measures, and (3) explore the association between food disgust sensitivity and body mass index (BMI). Materials and Methods:A Spanish version of the FDS (FDS-Sp) and its short version (FDS-Sp short) were tested with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in order to test the original item/factor structure. Bivariate correlations were performed to determine the association between FDS-Sp/FDS-Sp short scores and picky eating. Lastly, hierarchical linear regression analysis was carried out to determine the relationship between food disgust sensitivity and BMI. Results:The factor structure of the FDS was replicated and acceptable internal consistency values were observed for FDS-Sp subscales (? varied between 0.781 and 0.955). Moreover, FDS-Sp subscales and FDS-Sp short were correlated with picky eating. Higher score in VEGI subscale of the FDS-Sp was a significant predictor for higher BMI, explaining 4% of the variance. Conclusion:FDS-Sp is a useful, reliable and robust psychometric instrument to measure the sensitivity to unpleasant food situations in a Mexican adult Spanish-speaking population. A relationship between food disgust sensitivity and picky eating, selective eating behaviors and neophobia in Mexicans was confirmed. BMI is multifactorial and only one subscale of FDS-Sp is a significant predictor for BMI status. These results are helpful to continue exploring food disgust in diverse populations.
| S-EPMC7020908 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND: Disgust sensitivity is defined as a predisposition to experiencing disgust, which can be measured on the basis of the Disgust Scale and its German version, the Questionnaire for the Assessment of Disgust Sensitivity (QADS). In various studies, different factor structures were reported for either instrument. The differences may most likely be due to the selected factor analysis estimation methods and the small non-representative samples. Consequently, the aims of this study were to explore and confirm a theory-driven and statistically coherent QADS factor structure in a large representative sample and to present its standard values. METHODS: The QADS was answered by N = 2473 healthy subjects. The respective households and participants were selected using the random-route sampling method. Afterwards, the collected sample was compared to the information from the Federal Statistical Office to ensure that it was representative for the German residential population. With these data, an exploratory Promax-rotated Principal Axis Factor Analysis as well as comparative confirmatory factor analyses with robust Maximum Likelihood estimations were computed. Any possible socio-demographic influences were quantified as effect sizes. RESULTS: The data-driven and theoretically sound solution with the three highly interrelated factors Animal Reminder Disgust, Core Disgust, and Contamination Disgust led to a moderate model fit. All QADS scales had very good reliabilities (Cronbach's alpha) from .90 to .95. There were no age-differences found among the participants, however, the female participants showed remarkably higher disgust ratings. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the representative sample, the QADS factor structure was revised. Gender-specific standard percentages permit a population-based assessment of individual disgust sensitivity. The differences of the original QADS, the new solution, and the Disgust Scale - Revised will be discussed.
| S-EPMC2984502 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundIndividuals with extreme food avoidance such as Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) experience impairing physical and mental health consequences from nutrition of insufficient variety or/and quantity. Identifying mechanisms contributing to food avoidance is essential to develop effective interventions. Anxiety figures prominently in theoretical models of food avoidance; however, there is limited evidence that repeated exposures to foods increases approach behavior in ARFID. Studying disgust, and relationships between disgust and anxiety, may offer novel insights, as disgust is functionally associated with avoidance of contamination from pathogens (as may occur via ingestion) and is largely resistant to extinction.MethodThis exploratory, cross-sectional study included data from 1,644 adults who completed an online questionnaire. Participant responses were used to measure ARFID classification, picky eating, sensory sensitivity, disgust, and anxiety. Structural equation modeling tested a measurement model of latent disgust and anxiety factors as measured by self-reported frequency of disgust and anxiety reactions. Mediational models were used to explore causal ordering.ResultsA latent disgust factor was more strongly related to severity of picky eating (B ≈ 0.4) and ARFID classification (B ≈ 0.6) than the latent anxiety factor (B ≈ 0.1). Disgust partially mediated the association between anxiety and picky eating and fully mediated the association between anxiety and ARFID. Models testing the reverse causal ordering demonstrated poorer fit. Findings suggest anxiety may be associated with food avoidance in part due to increased disgust.ConclusionsDisgust may play a prominent role in food avoidance. Findings may inform novel approaches to treatment.
| S-EPMC6759364 | biostudies-literature
Project description:An increased consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor food and beverages as a result of a changing obesogenic environment contributes substantially to the increasing prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity. This paper reviews the nature and extent of food industry influences which expose children to commercial influences and thus might affect unhealthy dietary behaviour and finally contributes to obesity. A systematic search of nine electronic databases (including PubMed, PsycINFO, EconLit) and reference lists of original studies and reviews using key search terms identified 1900 articles. Of these only thirty-six articles met the inclusion and quality criteria. A narrative synthesis of the reviewed studies revealed six key obesogenic environments by which the food industry possibly influences obesity-related dietary behaviours in young children. These were schools, retailers, mass media "television", mass media "internet", home and promotional campaigns. Identifying these obesogenic environments is critical for monitoring and controlling the food industry, the development of effective environmental-level interventions to prevent childhood overweight and obesity and to identify knowledge gaps to be addressed in future research to support informed decisions of policy makers.
| S-EPMC4632434 | biostudies-literature
Project description:African Americans report greater contamination aversion than European Americans. Few studies have attempted to identify potential causes for this elevated contamination aversion, though existing research and theory suggests this may be partly due to concomitant heightened disgust sensitivity. The present study examined the relations between race, disgust sensitivity, and contamination aversion among African and European Americans. A convenience sample of fourhundred and twenty-nine participants completed the Disgust Scale - Revised (DS-R) and the Padua Inventory - Revised (PI-R). African Americans endorsed greater disgust sensitivity (DS-R total) - particularly on the core and contamination subscales of the DS-R - and scored higher on the contamination subscale of the PI-R (but not on other subscales) than European Americans. Mediational analyses revealed a significant total effect of race on contamination aversion and a significant indirect effect of race on contamination aversion through disgust sensitivity; the direct effect of race on contamination aversion remained significant even after controlling for race. These findings suggest that elevated contamination aversions among African Americans may be partly due to elevated disgust sensitivity. If confirmed with larger and clinical samples, and more robust experimental methods, this relationship may prove to have implications for the treatment of contamination-based obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among African Americans.
| S-EPMC6656395 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Disgust is hypothesized to be an evolved emotion that functions to regulate the avoidance of pathogen-related stimuli and behaviors. Individuals with higher pathogen disgust sensitivity (PDS) are predicted to be exposed to and thus infected by fewer pathogens, though no studies have tested this directly. Furthermore, PDS is hypothesized to be locally calibrated to the types of pathogens normally encountered and the fitness-related costs and benefits of infection and avoidance. Market integration (the degree of production for and consumption from market-based economies) influences the relative costs/benefits of pathogen exposure and avoidance through sanitation, hygiene, and lifestyle changes, and is thus predicted to affect PDS. Here, we examine the function of PDS in disease avoidance, its environmental calibration, and its socioecological variation by examining associations among PDS, market-related lifestyle factors, and measures of bacterial, viral, and macroparasitic infection at the individual, household, and community levels. Data were collected among 75 participants (ages 5 to 59 y) from 28 households in three Ecuadorian Shuar communities characterized by subsistence-based lifestyles and high pathogen burden, but experiencing rapid market integration. As predicted, we found strong negative associations between PDS and biomarkers of immune response to viral/bacterial infection, and weaker associations between PDS and measures of macroparasite infection, apparently mediated by market integration-related differences. We provide support for the previously untested hypothesis that PDS is negatively associated with infection, and document variation in PDS indicative of calibration to local socioeconomic conditions. More broadly, findings highlight the importance of evolved psychological mechanisms in human health outcomes.
| S-EPMC7923589 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Disgust can be considered a psychological arm of the immune system that acts to prevent exposure to infectious agents. High disgust sensitivity is associated with greater behavioral avoidance of disease vectors and thus may reduce infection risk. A cross-sectional survey in rural Bangladesh provided no strong support for this hypothesis. In many species, the expression of pathogen- and predator-avoidance mechanisms is contingent on early life exposure to predators and pathogens. Using childhood health data collected in the 1990s, we examined if adults with more infectious diseases in childhood showed greater adult disgust sensitivity: no support for this association was found. Explanations for these null finding and possible directions for future research are discussed.
| S-EPMC4076222 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Despite overwhelming evidence that vaccines are safe and effective, there has been a rise in vaccine hesitancy and refusal leading to increases in the incidence of communicable diseases. Importantly, providing scientific information about the benefits of vaccines has not been effective in counteracting anti-vaccination beliefs. Considering this, better identification of those likely to be vaccine hesitant and the underlying attitudes that predict these beliefs are needed to develop more effective strategies to combat anti-vaccination movements. Focusing on parents as the key decision makers in their children's vaccination, the aim of this study is to better understand the demographic and attitudinal predictors of parental vaccine hesitancy. We recruited 484 parents using Amazon MTurk and queried their attitudes on childhood vaccination, level of education, age, religiosity, political affiliation, trust in medicine, and disgust sensitivity. We found three main demographic predictors for parental vaccine hesitancy: younger age, lower levels of education, and greater religiosity. We also found vaccine hesitant parents to have significantly less trust in physicians and greater disgust sensitivity. These results provide a clearer picture of vaccine hesitant parents and suggest future directions for more targeted research and public health messaging.
| S-EPMC7467323 | biostudies-literature