Societies' tightness moderates age differences in perceived justifiability of morally debatable behaviors.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Jiang D
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5549153 | biostudies-other | 2015 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:BackgroundSeveral studies suggest that prosocial behaviors gradually increase with age, but others report that prosocial behaviors are fixed traits with only minor fluctuations throughout the lifespan. Early life stress may help explain these inconsistencies, as distinct types of stress have been negatively or positively associated with prosocial behaviors.ObjectiveThis current investigation used two studies to test whether distinct types of early life stress moderated the association between age and prosocial behavior.Participants and settingStudy 1 recruited undergraduate students (n = 69) between the ages of 18-35, and Study 2 was conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk responders (n = 499) whose ages ranged from 18-74.MethodsStudy 1 employed behavioral economic tasks to measure cooperation and charitability, while Study 2 utilized an online survey to measure helping attitudes.ResultsModeration analyses revealed the association between age and cooperation was significantly weakened by a history of family violence (β=-0.37,p = 0.002), community violence (β=-0.30,p = 0.012), emotional abuse (β=-0.27,p = 0.026), and an overall summary score of early life stress (β=-0.33,p = 0.006). The relationship between age and charitability was only weakened by family violence (β=-0.24,p = 0.048). The association between age and helping attitudes was weakened by family violence (β=-0.10, p = 0.023), community violence (β=-0.13,p = 0.003), and physical neglect (β=-0.11,p = 0.018).ConclusionsCollectively, these results suggest that some types of early life stress, especially exposure to violent environments, may reduce the likelihood of prosocial behaviors increasing throughout the lifespan. This study suggests that age-related effects on prosocial behaviors may not be universal, but rather depend on individual differences in childhood stress.
| S-EPMC6814134 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Adolescence is a critical period for the initiation of risk-taking behaviors. We examined the longitudinal interplay between neural correlates of risk processing and cognitive control in predicting risk-taking behaviors via stress. The sample consisted of 167 adolescents (53% males) who were assessed twice (MAgeTime1 = 14.13, MAgeTime2 = 15.05). Neural risk processing was operationalized as blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses in the anterior insula during a lottery choice task and neural cognitive control as BOLD responses during an inhibitory control task. Adolescents reported on perceived stress and risk-taking behaviors. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that low insular risk processing predicted increases in perceived stress, while perceived stress did not predict changes in insular risk processing across one year. Moreover, significant moderation by neural cognitive control indicated that low insular risk processing predicted increases in risk-taking behaviors via increases in perceived stress among adolescents with poor neural cognitive control, but not among adolescents with good neural cognitive control. The results suggest that risk processing in the anterior insular cortex plays an important role in stress experience and risk-taking behaviors particularly for vulnerable adolescents with poor neural cognitive control.
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Project description:Background and objectivesFrom midlife onwards, age stereotypes increasingly underlie social judgments and contribute to age-based discrimination. Whereas many studies compare differences between young and older adults in reports of age discrimination or sensitivity to age stereotypes, few consider age group differences among adults over 50. We form subgroups corresponding to social age group membership (early midlife, late midlife, young old, oldest old) and examine differences in reported experiences of everyday age discrimination and associations with self-perceptions of aging.Research design and methodUsing cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS: N = 15,071; M Age = 68, range 50-101), multivariate logistic regression was used to examine experiences of everyday discrimination attributed to age, and associations between age discrimination and self-perceptions of aging, in four age groups: early midlife, late midlife, young old, oldest old.ResultsPeople in the early midlife group (aged 50-59) reported more experiences of unfair treatment than the older age groups but were less likely to attribute their experiences to age discrimination. After controlling for covariates, individuals in all age groups who perceived their own aging positively were less likely to report experiences of age discrimination. The magnitude of this effect, however, was greatest in the early midlife group.Discussion and implicationsFindings support proposals that midlife is a pivotal life period when individuals adjust to life events and social role transitions. Future longitudinal studies will provide further insight into whether positive self-perceptions of aging are especially important in this phase of the life course.
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Project description:INTRODUCTION:Earlier development of cardiovascular disease risk factors in blacks versus whites may result from differences in maintaining health behaviors. Age-specific racial differences in maintaining health behaviors from ages 18 to 50 years were determined. METHODS:In 1985-1986, the population-based Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study enrolled 5,115 participants aged 18-30 years. In 2017, a total of 2,485 blacks and 2,407 whites with one or more optimal health behaviors at baseline who attended one or more of seven follow-up exams over 25 years (i.e., through 2010-2011) were analyzed. The primary outcome, maintaining four or more optimal health behaviors, included BMI <25; never smoking; ?150 minutes/week of moderate to vigorous physical activity; no/moderate alcohol intake (women/men: zero to seven/zero to 14 drinks per week); and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet adherence score ?15 (i.e., baseline highest quartile). Hazard ratios comparing blacks with whites for maintaining optimal health behaviors were calculated among participants with each optimal behavior at baseline. RESULTS:From ages 18 to 50 years, 2.6% of blacks and 9.2% of whites maintained four or more optimal health behaviors (for optimal BMI: 16.0% and 30.1%, smoking status: 74.6% and 78.4%, physical activity: 17.7% and 21.4%, alcohol intake: 68.4% and 64.6%, diet adherence: 3.9% and 10.3%, respectively). The multivariable adjusted hazard ratio comparing blacks with whites was 0.63 (95% CI=0.56, 0.72) for maintaining four or more optimal health behaviors (for optimal BMI: 0.82 [95% CI=0.66, 1.01], smoking status: 0.57 [95% CI=0.52, 0.62], physical activity: 0.83 [95% CI=0.75, 0.91], alcohol intake: 1.19 [95% CI=1.03, 1.37], diet adherence: 0.71 [95% CI=0.61, 0.82]). CONCLUSIONS:Fewer blacks than whites maintained four or more optimal health behaviors until age 50 years, but maintenance was low among both races.
| S-EPMC6383802 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Precise estimation of age is essential in evolutionary anthropology, especially to infer population age structures and understand the evolution of human life history diversity. However, in small-scale societies, such as hunter-gatherer populations, time is often not referred to in calendar years, and accurate age estimation remains a challenge. We address this issue by proposing a Bayesian approach that accounts for age uncertainty inherent to fieldwork data. We developed a Gibbs sampling Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm that produces posterior distributions of ages for each individual, based on a ranking order of individuals from youngest to oldest and age ranges for each individual. We first validate our method on 65 Agta foragers from the Philippines with known ages, and show that our method generates age estimations that are superior to previously published regression-based approaches. We then use data on 587 Agta collected during recent fieldwork to demonstrate how multiple partial age ranks coming from multiple camps of hunter-gatherers can be integrated. Finally, we exemplify how the distributions generated by our method can be used to estimate important demographic parameters in small-scale societies: here, age-specific fertility patterns. Our flexible Bayesian approach will be especially useful to improve cross-cultural life history datasets for small-scale societies for which reliable age records are difficult to acquire.
| S-EPMC5547587 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundResearch regarding the role of gender in relations between family characteristics and health risk behaviors has been limited.PurposeThis study aims to investigate gender differences in associations between family processes and risk-taking in adolescents.MethodsAdolescents (N = 249; mean age = 14.5 years) starting their first year at an urban high school in the northeastern USA completed self-report measures that assessed family characteristics (i.e., parental monitoring, family social support, family conflict) and health behaviors (i.e., tobacco use, alcohol use, marijuana use, sex initiation) as part of a prospective, community-based study. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to investigate gender differences in associations between the family characteristics and health behaviors.ResultsAmong males, higher levels of perceived parental monitoring were associated with lower odds of using tobacco and having ever engaged in sex. Among females, higher levels of perceived parental monitoring were associated with lower odds of marijuana use, alcohol use, and having ever engaged in sex. However, in contrast to males, among females (a) higher levels of perceived family social support were associated with lower odds of alcohol use and having ever engaged in sex and (b) higher levels of perceived family conflict were associated with higher odds of marijuana use and having ever engaged in sex.ConclusionFamily processes were more strongly related to health behaviors among adolescent females than adolescent males. Interventions that increase parental monitoring and family social support as well as decrease family conflict may help to protect against adolescent risk taking, especially for females.
| S-EPMC5441949 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveAccuracy in assessing age from facial cues is important in social perception given reports of strong negative correlations between perceived age and assessments of health and attractiveness. In a multi-ethnic and multi-centre study, we previously documented similar patterns of female facial age assessments across ethnicities, influenced by gender and ethnicity of assessors.MethodsHere we extend these findings by examining differences between estimated age from digital portraits and chronological age (Δ age) for 180 women from three age groups (20-34, 35-49, 50-66 years) and five ethnicities (36 images of each ethnicity, assessed for age on a continuous scale by 120 female and male raters of each ethnicity).ResultsAcross ethnicities, Δ age was smallest in French assessors and largest in South African assessors. Numerically, French women were judged oldest and Chinese women youngest relative to chronological age. In younger women, Δ age was larger than in middle-aged and older women. This effect was particularly evident when considering the interaction of women's age with assessor gender and ethnicity, independently and together, on Δ age.ConclusionCollectively, our findings suggest that accuracy in assessments of female age from digital portraits depends on the chronological age and ethnicity of the photographed women and the ethnicity and gender of the assessor. We discuss the findings concerning ethnic variation in skin pigmentation and visible signs of ageing and comment on implications for cosmetic science.
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Project description:PurposeThis study aimed to investigate whether young and old non-professional drivers in South Egypt have aberrant driving behaviors compared with their middle-aged counterparts.Materials and methodsIn this cross-sectional study, a total of 1764 non-professional drivers aged ≥ 19 years, residing in Beni-Suef in South Egypt, and having ≥ one year of driving experience were randomly selected. All drivers were asked to fill out a self-administered questionnaire, including personal information, driving habits, and the Arabic version of the Driver Behavior Questionnaire which evaluates driving violations, errors, and lapses.ResultsThis study included 560 young drivers (19-25 years), 850 middle-aged drivers (26-59 years), and 354 old drivers (≥ 60 years). Compared with middle-aged drivers, young drivers reported more non-use of the seatbelt, eating while driving, and driving while feeling drowsy. Old drivers, in contrast, showed more careful driving behaviors including fewer violations, errors, and lapses and less likelihood of driving while feeling sleepy.ConclusionThis study supports the conception that young drivers pose less careful driving habits. Initiating educational programs targeting young drivers to improve their driving habits and create a traffic safety culture in Egypt is highly warranted.
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Project description:An individual's environmental surroundings interact with the development and maturation of their brain. An important aspect of an individual's environment is his or her socioeconomic status (SES), which estimates access to material resources and social prestige. Previous characterizations of the relation between SES and the brain have primarily focused on earlier or later epochs of the lifespan (i.e., childhood, older age). We broaden this work to examine the relationship between SES and the brain across a wide range of human adulthood (20-89 years), including individuals from the less studied middle-age range. SES, defined by education attainment and occupational socioeconomic characteristics, moderates previously reported age-related differences in the brain's functional network organization and whole-brain cortical structure. Across middle age (35-64 years), lower SES is associated with reduced resting-state system segregation (a measure of effective functional network organization). A similar but less robust relationship exists between SES and age with respect to brain anatomy: Lower SES is associated with reduced cortical gray matter thickness in middle age. Conversely, younger and older adulthood do not exhibit consistent SES-related difference in the brain measures. The SES-brain relationships persist after controlling for measures of physical and mental health, cognitive ability, and participant demographics. Critically, an individual's childhood SES cannot account for the relationship between their current SES and functional network organization. These findings provide evidence that SES relates to the brain's functional network organization and anatomy across adult middle age, and that higher SES may be a protective factor against age-related brain decline.
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Project description:Practical and ethical constraints limit our ability to experimentally test socioecological theory in wild primates. We took an alternate approach to model this, allowing groups of humans to interact in a virtual world in which they had to find food and interact with both ingroup and outgroup avatars to earn rewards. We altered ratios and distributions of high- and low-value foods to test the hypothesis that hominoids vary with regards to social cohesion and intergroup tolerance due to their feeding ecology. We found larger nesting clusters and decreased attacks on outgroup competitors in the Bonobo condition versus the Chimpanzee condition, suggesting a significant effect of feeding competition alone on social structure. We also demonstrate that virtual worlds are a robust mechanism for testing hypotheses that are impossible to study in the wild.
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