Altruism and "love of neighbor" offer neuroanatomical protection against depression

Spiritually grounded character: A latent profile analysis

Introduction

The relationship between personal spirituality and character strengths has not been adequately explored. We investigate this relationship in an adult sample via latent profile analysis.

Methods

Seven-hundred and sixty-three individuals aged 18 to 68years completed a survey of personal spirituality (e.g., Delaney Spirituality Scale), character strengths and virtues (e.g., VIA Inventory), flourishing (i.e., general wellbeing; PERMA Profiler), and various demographic variables (e.g., age, race, sexual orientation, yearly income, education level, religiosity, importance of spirituality and religion, and religious attendance). Latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed to identity profiles of individuals based on their reported levels personal spirituality and character strengths (i.e., VIA virtues).

Results

A best-fitting model consisting of four distinct, non-overlapping profiles emerged. In every profile, the degree of personal spirituality was consistently associated with strengths of character. Profiles that exhibited high levels of spirituality and character also reported greater levels of flourishing. Furthermore, profiles high in spirituality and character were associated with the observance of formal religion, report of high levels of spiritual and religious importance, and report of frequent attendance of religious services.

Discussion

These findings suggest that spirituality and character go hand in hand, that higher levels of the conjoint spirituality and character or "spiritually grounded character" correspond to greater wellbeing and may be generated or supported by a formal religious identification, practice, and community.

Structural and Functional Brain Alterations in Populations with Familial Risk for Depression: A Narrative Review

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing this activity, practitioners will be better able to:• Discuss the association between brain alterations and vulnerability or resilience to MDD in people with familial risk• Define how structural and functional brain alterations associated with vulnerability or resilience could lead to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of MDD.

AIM

Familial history is associated with an increased risk for major depressive disorder (MDD). Despite the increased risk, some members of the familial high-risk population remain healthy, that is, resilient. Defining the structural and functional brain alterations associated with vulnerability or resilience could lead to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of MDD. This study aimed to review the current literature and discuss the association between brain alterations and vulnerability or resilience to MDD in people with familial risk.

METHODS

A literature search on MRI studies investigating structural and functional alterations in populations at familial risk for MDD was performed using the PubMed and SCOPUS databases. The search was conducted through June 13, 2022.

RESULTS

We reviewed and summarized the data of 72 articles (25 structural MRI, 35 functional MRI, 10 resting-state fMRI, one structural/functional MRI combined, and one structural/functional/resting-state fMRI combined). These findings suggested that resilience in high-risk individuals is related to the amygdala structure, frontal lobe activity, and functional connectivity between the amygdala and multiple frontal regions.

CONCLUSION

Resilient and vulnerable individuals exhibit structural and functional differences in multiple frontal and limbic regions. However, further systematic longitudinal research incorporating environmental factors is required to validate the current findings.

Exploring the Impacts of Preventative Health Behaviors with Respect to COVID-19: An Altruistic Perspective

This study aims to explore the impact of gender and anxiety on various preventative health behaviors, and the relationships among these preventative health behaviors, individual well-being and depression, from the perspective of altruism. This study employed an online questionnaire survey, and 136 males and 204 females participated in the survey. The results of this study showed that females exhibited better preventative health behaviors than males, including hygiene habits, social distancing and behaviors intended to help others mitigate the epidemic. Anxiety regarding COVID-19 infection encouraged individuals to adopt hygienic habits and social distancing measures rather than to help others mitigate the epidemic. Hygiene habits improved the individual's psychological well-being. Helping others mitigate the epidemic improved the individual's psychological well-being and social well-being and contributed to reducing individual depression. However, the preventative health behavior involved in social distancing was not conducive to emotional well-being or social well-being. Affective elements are related to individual behaviors. Therefore, the use of prosocial, altruistic language may play an important role with respect to encouraging people to comply with preventative health behaviors in the context of COVID-19. In addition, it is worth noting that different preventative health behaviors may have different effects on people's mental health, especially when implementing social distancing-related epidemic mitigation behaviors. The question of how to prevent negative psychological effects in restricted actors must be answered, and the degree of life satisfaction experienced by those actors must also be taken into account.