Prospective associations between pulse pressure and cognitive performance in Chinese middle-aged and older population across a 5-year study period

Background

Substantial evidence indicates that the relationship between blood pressure (BP) measures and cognitive functioning is inconsistent, complex, and age-related. Pulse pressure (PP), which can not only reflect arterial stiffness and but also represent the chronic effects of hypertension other than BP itself, has been considered as a better predictor of cognitive impairment. However, evidence on the association of cognitive function with PP has not been investigated extensively. We examined this relationship in a longitudinal study based on the latent growth model (LGM).

Methods

This study was based on a nationally representative sample of Chinese middle-aged and older participants from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a prospective observational study conducted from 2011 to 2016. Cognitive performance was assessed on the basis of three measures of cognition. The PP was calculated as the difference of the average values of three systolic and diastolic BP readings. A series of potential confounders were collected in this research. The LGM was used to examine the effects of PP on cognitive performance at three time points. To test the independent effects of PP on the initial level and the subsequent development of cognition, unconditional and conditional models were compared sequentially.

Results

After excluding respondents with missing key variables, we ultimately included 9750 participants in the analysis. Cognitive performance scores and PP showed significant differences across time. After adjustment for the confounders, the standardized coefficients of PP in the LGM indicated negative effects on cognitive performance in elderly Chinese participants at wave 2 and wave 3 (P < 0.01). The initial level of PP in the unconditional model was negatively associated with the initial level (β = − 0.25) and the slope (β = − 0.16) of cognition, whereas these effects were attenuated and the association between intercept of PP and slope of cognition became nonsignificant after controlling for the confounders.

Conclusions

The implications of these results demonstrate that a higher PP lowers the cognitive performance of middle-aged and elderly persons independent of a comprehensive set of covariates, but it is not a contributor to the rate of change in cognition.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13195-018-0355-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Latent growth models matched to research questions to answer questions about dynamics of change in multiple processes

OBJECTIVES

Given theoretical and methodological advances that propose hypothesis about change in one or multiple processes, analytical methods for longitudinal data have been developed that provide researchers with various options for analyzing change over time. In this paper, we revisited several latent growth curve models that may be considered to answer questions about repeated measures of continuous variables, which may be operationalized as time-varying covariates or outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

To illustrate each of the models discussed and how to interpret parameter estimates, we present examples of each method discussed using cognitive and blood pressure measures from a longitudinal study of aging, the Origins of Variance in the Old-Old study.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Although statistical models are helpful tools to test theoretical hypotheses about the dynamics between multiple processes, the choice of model and its specification will influence results and conclusions made.

The effect of transtheoretical model-lead intervention for knee osteoarthritis in older adults: a cluster randomized trial

BACKGROUND

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common joint disease in people over 60 years old. Exercise therapy is one of the most effective non-pharmacological treatments for KOA, but low exercise adherence needs to be improved. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of the transtheoretical model-lead home exercise intervention (TTM-HEI) program on exercise adherence, KOA symptoms, and knee function in older adults with KOA.

METHODS

A two-arm, superiority, assessor-blinded, cluster randomized trial was conducted. Community-dwelling older adults with KOA were recruited from 14 community centers in Beijing, China, via print and social media advertisements from April to October 2018. The present study lasted 48 weeks, with an intervention duration of 0-24 weeks and follow-up time of 24-48 weeks. The intervention was a two-stage and 24-week TTM-based exercise program, and the control group underwent a same-length exercise program guidance without any exercise adherence interventions. The primary outcome was exercise adherence to the prescribed home exercise program and was measured using an 11-point numerical (0 = not at all through and 10 = completely as instructed) self-rating scale at weeks 4, 12, 24, 36, and 48 after the program started. KOA symptoms (pain intensity and joint stiffness) were measured using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and knee function (lower limb muscle strength and balance) was measured using the Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test (FTSST) and the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) at baseline, week 24, and week 48. Latent growth model (GLM), repeated measures ANOVA, and independent t test were the main statistical tests used.

RESULTS

A total of 189 older adults (intervention group: n = 103, control group: n = 86) were enrolled. Differences of any outcome measures at baseline were not significant between groups. The growth rate of exercise adherence in the intervention group increased 2.175 units compared with that in the control group (unstandardized coefficient of slope on group B2 = 2.175, p < 0.001), and the intervention program maintained participants' exercise adherence with 5.56 (SD = 1.00) compared with 3.16 (SD = 1.31) in the control group at week 48. In addition, the TTM-HEI program showed significant effects on relieving KOA symptoms and improving knee function.

CONCLUSION

Over time, TTM-HEI could improve participants' exercise adherence, KOA symptoms, and knee function.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study was approved by the ethics committee (IRB00001052-17066) in July 2017 and was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (website: www.chictr.org.cn, registry number: ChiCTR1800015458).

Negative Self-perception of Aging and Mortality in Very Old Chinese Adults: The Mediation Role of Healthy Lifestyle

OBJECTIVES

Previous literature has consistently shown a positive association between negative self-perception of aging and mortality in middle-aged and older adults. However, two questions remain unsolved: (a) whether such association holds among very old people (i.e., the fourth age) and (b) the potential mediators that could contribute to the positive association. This study sought to fill in the research gap by examining the association between self-perception of aging and mortality in a group of very old Chinese participants (i.e., aged over 78 years).

METHODS

Four waves of data across a span of 8 years (2000-2008) were obtained from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, which measured a total of 9,683 participants' negative self-perception of aging, survival status, cognitive functioning, diet, as well as other demographic information.

RESULTS

Latent growth models with survival analysis were conducted, and the results replicated previous findings indicating an association between negative self-perceptions of aging and reduced survival. Moreover and more importantly, a potential mediator-healthy lifestyle (e.g., eating fresh vegetables and fruits, exercising regularly, and no smoking)-was identified, such that older adults with more negative self-perception of aging tended to engage in less healthy lifestyle, which could lead to increased risk of mortality.

DISCUSSION

The findings provided support for a longitudinal behavioral pathway of health, linking negative perceptions of aging to mortality, and also yielded important practical implications for older adults to reach longevity.

Assessing Changes in Chronic Spontaneous/Idiopathic Urticaria: Comparisons of Patient-Reported Outcomes Using Latent Growth Modeling

INTRODUCTION

Assessing the consequences of chronic spontaneous/idiopathic urticaria (CSU) requires the evaluation of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) associated with the severity of CSU signs and symptoms. It is important to understand how signs, symptoms, and HRQoL change over time in CSU. Evidence is lacking on how closely changes in signs and symptoms of CSU are related to changes in HRQoL. The objective of this study was to assess the correlation between changes in patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) of signs and symptoms, dermatologic quality of life (QoL), and urticaria-specific QoL.

METHODS

Latent growth models (LGMs) were applied to longitudinal data from three randomized, Phase 3 clinical trials investigating the efficacy and safety of omalizumab in CSU.

RESULTS

A near-perfect association between changes in signs and symptoms and changes in dermatologic and urticaria-specific QoLs was identified in each clinical trial when using LGMs (correlation coefficient range 0.88-0.92).

CONCLUSION

Evidence showed that changes in signs and symptoms are closely related to changes in HRQoL. However, analyses were performed on clinical trial results of an extremely effective treatment; a less effective treatment with much smaller changes over time may not show such close correlations. Results suggest that any of these PROMs may be used to understand changes in CSU.

Longitudinal relationship between Personal and Social Performance (PSP) and anxiety symptoms in schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

We aimed to examine the longitudinal relationship between the personal and social functioning and anxiety symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. For this purpose, we confirmed the validity of the anxiety subscale of the Symptom-Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) and then applied the latent growth modeling method for longitudinal causal relationships.

METHODS

Five hundred and seventy-eight patients diagnosed with schizophrenia were evaluated and 369 patients were included in the study at baseline. After conducting Rasch model analyses for the validation of the anxiety subscale in the SCL-90-R, we applied latent growth model to determine the causal relationship between the PSP and the anxiety symptoms.

RESULTS

The validity of the anxiety subscale of the SCL-90-R was confirmed based on the Rasch rating model, where the criteria for Infit, Outfit, item difficulty, and point-measure correlations were satisfied. The results from the latent growth model showed that the intercept and slope (rate of change) of the PSP negatively predicted the slope of anxiety symptoms along the longitudinal trajectory. Together with previous studies examining the predictive role of anxiety symptoms on quality of life, our longitudinal findings lend evidence for bidirectional effects between quality of life and anxiety symptoms. The transactional nature of the relationship between anxiety symptoms and quality of life warrant further investigation using a longitudinal cross-lagged design.

CONCLUSION

The anxiety subscale of the SCL-90-R may be utilized by clinicians and researcher to make inferences about quality of life in addition to assessing anxiety symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

Levels of disability in the older population of England: Comparing binary and ordinal classifications

BACKGROUND

Recent studies suggest the importance of distinguishing severity levels of disability. Nevertheless, there is not yet a consensus with regards to an optimal classification.

OBJECTIVE

Our study seeks to advance the existing binary definitions towards categorical/ordinal manifestations of disability.

METHODS

We define disability according to the WHO's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) using data collected at the baseline wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, a longitudinal study of the non-institutionalized population, living in England. First, we identify cut-off points in the continuous disability score derived from ICF to distinguish disabled from no-disabled participants. Then, we fit latent class models to the same data to find the optimal number of disability classes according to: (i) model fit indicators; (ii) estimated probabilities of each disability item; (iii) association of the predicted disability classes with observed health and mortality.

RESULTS

According to the binary classification criteria, about 32% of both men and women are classified disabled. No optimal number of classes emerged from the latent class models according to model fit indicators. However, the other two criteria suggest that the best-fitting model of disability severity has four classes.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings contribute to the debate on the usefulness and relevance of adopting a finer categorization of disability, by showing that binary indicators of disability averaged the burden of disability and masked the very strong effect experienced by individuals having severe disability, and were not informative for low levels of disability.

Developmental and etiological patterns of substance use from adolescence to middle age: A longitudinal twin study

BACKGROUND

The common liability to addiction framework suggests the tendency to use substances is largely a general heritable liability, but little is known about how expression of liability varies across development. We evaluated average developmental trajectories and covariation underlying commonly used substances using a genetically informative prospective design spanning three decades.

METHODS

Using a sample of 3762 twins across seven waves of assessment spanning ages 14-40, we modeled these relationships using two complementary approaches: piecewise latent growth and common factor modeling on four measures of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use RESULTS: Average use increased across adolescence and either stabilized (alcohol frequency) or declined (all others) in adulthood. Trajectories were heritable (~.35-.75), and genetically correlated with one another (~.40-.80). The random intercepts, centered at age 16, exhibited shared environmental correlations across substances. We found moderate to large phenotypic (rp~.3-.9) and genetic correlations (rg~.3-1) among the longitudinally varying common factors loading on use of each substance at each age. The factor loadings declined with age, reflecting waning influence of common etiology in substance use.

CONCLUSIONS

Trajectories of substance use were strongly correlated with each other and influenced primarily by genetic and non-shared environment. A heritable common factor accounted for co-occurring substance use from mid-adolescence to mid-adulthood, and greater substance specificity emerged with maturation. These results extend and reinforce prior work examining consumption and problem use, providing new evidence over a broad age range showing that substance use behaviors are influenced by a more general liability in adolescence and specificity increases across development.

Work or family or both? Value trajectories and their prediction over ten years

Previous studies have shown that values are developed during young adulthood. This study investigated whether and when developmental trajectories of values depend on gender, language region, cognitive competence, expected education duration, and ambition. Longitudinal data of 2620 adolescents in Switzerland were collected at eight waves of measurement over 10 years. Latent growth model analysis revealed that work values mainly increase between ages 16 and 20, whereas family values primarily increase after age 20. This pattern fits the major life and career roles sequence: Becoming established in one's career comes first, and focusing on family building follows later. The initial levels and development of values were essentially affected by gender, but other individual factors such as cognitive competence, expected education duration, and ambition also showed some effect, particularly on family values. These new insights into the development of values improve the understanding of the career decisions and career behavior of adolescents.

Adolescent Externalizing Psychopathology and Its Prospective Relationship to Marijuana Use Development from Age 14 to 30: Replication Across Independent Longitudinal Twin Samples

Externalizing psychopathology in early adolescence is a highly heritable risk factor for drug use, yet how it relates to marijuana use development is not well-characterized. We evaluate this issue in independent twin samples from Colorado (N = 2608) and Minnesota (N = 3630), assessed from adolescence to early adulthood. We used a biometric latent growth model of marijuana use frequency with data from up to five waves of assessment from ages 14 to 30, to examine change in marijuana use and its relationship with a factor model of adolescent externalizing psychopathology. The factor structure of adolescent externalizing psychopathology was similar across samples, as was the association between that common factor and early marijuana use (Minnesota r = 0.67 [0.60, 0.75]; Colorado r = 0.69 [0.59, 0.78]), and increase in use (Minnesota r = 0.18 [0.10, 0.26]; Colorado r = 0.20 [0.07, 0.34]). Early use was moderately heritable in both samples (Minnesota h² = 0.57 [0.37, 0.79]; Colorado h² = 0.42 [0.14, 0.73]). Increase in use was highly heritable in Minnesota (h² = 0.82 [0.72, 0.88]), less so in Colorado (h² = 0.22 [0.01, 0.66]), and shared environmental effects were larger in Colorado (c² = 0.55 [0.14, 0.83]) than Minnesota (c² = 0 [0, 0.06]). We found moderate genetic correlations between externalizing psychopathology and early use in both samples. Finally, additional analyses in the Minnesota sample indicated that marijuana use decreased during the late 20s. This decline is strongly heritable (h² = 0.73 [0.49, 0.91]) and moderately negatively correlated with adolescent externalizing psychopathology (r = - 0.41 [- 0.54, - 0.28]). Adolescent externalizing psychopathology is genetically correlated with change in late adolescent marijuana use (late teens, early 20s), as well as maintenance of use in early adulthood (late 20 s) even after controlling for the effects of early use.

A comparison of Bayesian to maximum likelihood estimation for latent growth models in the presence of a binary outcome

Latent growth models (LGMs) are an application of structural equation modeling and frequently used in developmental and clinical research to analyze change over time in longitudinal outcomes. Maximum likelihood (ML), the most common approach for estimating LGMs, can fail to converge or may produce biased estimates in complex LGMs especially in studies with modest samples. Bayesian estimation is a logical alternative to ML for LGMs, but there is a lack of research providing guidance on when Bayesian estimation may be preferable to ML or vice versa. This study compared the performance of Bayesian versus ML estimators for LGMs by evaluating their accuracy via Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. For the MC study, longitudinal data sets were generated and estimated using LGM via both ML and Bayesian estimation with three different priors, and parameter recovery across the two estimators was evaluated to determine their relative performance. The findings suggest that ML estimation is a reasonable choice for most LGMs, unless it fails to converge, which can occur with limiting data situations (i.e., just a few time points, no covariate or outcome, modest sample sizes). When models do not converge using ML, we recommend Bayesian estimation with one caveat that the influence of the priors on estimation may have to be carefully examined, per recent recommendations on Bayesian modeling for applied researchers.

Longitudinal joint modeling for assessing parallel interactive development of latent ability and processing speed using responses and response times

To measure the parallel interactive development of latent ability and processing speed using longitudinal item response accuracy (RA) and longitudinal response time (RT) data, we proposed three longitudinal joint modeling approaches from the structural equation modeling perspective, namely unstructured-covariance-matrix-based longitudinal joint modeling, latent growth curve-based longitudinal joint modeling, and autoregressive cross-lagged longitudinal joint modeling. The proposed modeling approaches can not only provide the developmental trajectories of latent ability and processing speed individually, but also exploit the relationship between the change in latent ability and processing speed through the across-time relationships of these two constructs. The results of two empirical studies indicate that (1) all three models are practically applicable and have highly consistent conclusions in terms of the changes in ability and speed in the analysis of the same data set, and (2) additional analysis of the RT data and acquisition of individual processing speed measurements can reveal the parallel interactive development phenomena that are difficult to detect using RA data alone. Furthermore, the results of our simulation study demonstrate that the proposed Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo estimation algorithm can ensure accurate model parameter recovery for all three proposed longitudinal joint models. Finally, the implications of our findings are discussed from the research and practice perspectives.

The trajectories of physical growth in 4 months postnatal corrected age among preterm infants discharged from neonatal intensive care units and associated factors: A prospective study

Objectives

Growth retardation is a risk for premature infants. In addition to demographic and perinatal factors, preterm infants' physical growth may be affected by neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stress, maternal postpartum depression, and mother-infant interaction. This study aimed to investigate the trajectories of physical growth in 4 months corrected age among preterm infants discharged from the NICU and the impactors on these trajectories.

Methods

A prospective study was conducted among 318 preterm infants from September 2019 to April 2021 in Shanghai, China. Latent growth modeling was applied to identify the weight, length, and head circumference growth trajectories in 4 months corrected age and explore the effects of demographic and medical characteristics, infant stress during NICU stay, maternal postpartum depression, and mother-infant interaction on each trajectory.

Results

Unconditional latent growth models showed curve trajectories with increasingly slower growth in weight, length, and head circumference until 4 months of corrected age. Conditional latent growth models showed that a longer length of stay in the NICU and more skin punctures were negatively associated with weight at 40 weeks corrected gestational age (β = -0.43 and -0.19, respectively, P < 0.05). The maternal postpartum depression between 40 weeks corrected gestational age and 1 month corrected postnatal age was associated with a lower growth rate of length (β = -0.17, P = 0.040), while between 2 and 3 months corrected postnatal age, there were lower growth rates of weight and head circumference (β = -0.15 and -0.19, respectively, P < 0.05). The mother-infant interaction scores between 40 weeks corrected gestational age and 1 month corrected postnatal age negatively predicted the growth rate of weight (β = -0.19, P = 0.020).

Conclusion

The physical growth trajectories of preterm infants discharged from the NICU were influenced by infant stress during the NICU stay, maternal postpartum depression and mother-infant interaction.

Developmental trajectory and relationships between Adolescents' social capital, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms: A latent growth model

The aim of this study was to evaluate the longitudinal influence of social capital and self-esteem on depressive symptoms among adolescents. A multivariate latent growth model was used to test secondary data obtained from the Korea Youth Panel Survey. Social capital and self-esteem tended to increase over periods of four years, whereas depressive symptoms had a tendency to decrease in the same periods. In the case of indirect effects on depressive symptoms by way of self-esteem, significant indirect associations were identified. The results indicated that the intercept of social capital had a significant indirect effect and total effect on the intercept of depressive symptoms. In addition, the slope of social capital had a significant indirect effect and total effect on the slope of depressive symptom. The initial development of social capital and self-esteem is shown to be effective for reducing adolescents' depressive symptoms.

[Growth trajectories of intrinsic value beliefs in mathematics and French: Relations with career orientations]

This longitudinal study investigated different trajectories in the development of intrinsic value beliefs in the subjects Mathematics and French in Grades 9 to 11 and their correlations with career aspirations. Using data from 850 students from German-Swiss high schools (54% female, age T1: 15.6 years), five distinct growth classes were identified in a bivariate growth model. Two of these classes showed clear differentiation between intrinsic value beliefs regarding the two subjects and stable growth in the preferred subject. The other three classes were characterized by mean differences (high, medium, low intrinsic value beliefs) and moderate decline in both subjects. The five growth classes were associated with different career orientations at the end of the 11th grade, with students exhibiting particularly high career orientations in one subject when intrinsic value regarding the other subject was low. Gender differences in career orientations could be fully explained by gender membership in the five growth classes.

Probing gaps in educational outcomes within the U.S.: A dual moderation multiple mediator latent growth model

Racial/ethnic disparities in math achievement are especially troubling because math proficiency predicts long-term educational outcomes, but the mechanisms underlying these disparities remain unclear. Previous research has demonstrated that across diverse samples, both within and outside the United States, the relation between students' academic aspirations and later postsecondary attainment is mediated by initial levels of math ability and by growth in that ability across time. The key issue examined in this investigation is the extent to which students' underestimation or overestimation of their math ability (i.e., calibration bias) moderates those mediated effects and whether this moderation varies as a function of race/ethnicity. Using data from two longitudinal national surveys (i.e., NELS:88 and HSLS:09), these hypotheses were tested in samples of East Asian American, Mexican American, and Non-Hispanic White American high school students. In both studies and in all groups, the model explained large portions of the variance in postsecondary attainment. In East Asian Americans and non-Hispanic White Americans, calibration bias moderated the effect mediated by 9th grade math achievement. The strength of this effect was greatest at high levels of underconfidence and steadily weakened as self-confidence grew, suggesting that some degree of underconfidence may be achievement-promoting. Indeed, in the East Asian American sample, this effect became negative at high levels of overconfidence (i.e., academic aspirations actually predicted the lowest postsecondary attainment levels). Educational implications of these findings are discussed and possible reasons for the failure to find moderation effects in the Mexican American sample are explored.

The Impact of Perceived Community Services for the Elderly on Self-Rated Health: An Analysis Utilizing a Mediated Latent Growth Model

Background

This study aims to investigate the relationship between older adults' perceived community services for the elderly (PCSE), life satisfaction (LS), and self-rated health (SRH).

Methods

Data from four rounds of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) from 2008 to 2018 were used. A total of 2454 older adults were obtained. Unconditional Least Squares (ULS) was used to measure PCSE, LS, and SRH growth trajectories without covariates. Finally, a mediating latent growth model was constructed using Mplus 8.3 to examine the mediating role of LS in the relationship between PCSE and SRH after adjusting for some demographic characteristics.

Results

The results from the ULS method indicate that the intercepts and slopes for PCSE and LS are significantly negatively correlated (β 1 = -0.629, β 2 = -0.579, p < 0.001). Additionally, there is a significant positive correlation between the intercept and slope of health levels (β = 0.774, p < 0.001). Using a parallel growth model, significant regression coefficients were found between the intercept of PCSE and the intercepts of SRH and LS (β 1 = -0.335, β 2 = 0.378, p < 0.01). Similarly, the regression coefficients between the slope of PCSE and the slopes of SRH and LS were also significant (β 1 = -0.532, β 2 = 0.344, p < 0.01). Furthermore, the regression coefficient between the intercept of LS and the intercept of SRH was significant (β = 0.415, p < 0.001). The regression coefficient between the slope of LS and the slope of SRH was also found to be significant (β = 0.729, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

It is essential to ensure adequate supply and accessibility of community services for older adults. LS especially is, and should be a promising target for assessing the quality of life and utilization of PCSE supply.

Longitudinal Relationships Among Child School Engagement, Parental Monitoring, and Child Prosocial Behavior: A Child-Parent Synergistic Mechanism

Numerous contextual factors have been identified that impact the development of children's prosocial behavior, yet the influence of child-initiated factors on prosocial behavior and its underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study employed three longitudinal models to examine in depth how children's school engagement may promote the development of their own prosocial behavior. Three-wave longitudinal data from 4691 children (M age = 9.480, SD = 0.507; 48.2% female) with 2-year intervals were used. Sequentially, a cross-lagged panel model, a random intercept cross-lagged panel model, and a parallel process latent growth model were constructed. The findings indicated that children's school engagement consistently predicted the future level, dynamic changes at within-person level, and long-term trends in their prosocial behavior, and these longitudinal relationships were partially mediated by parental monitoring. These results reveal a child-parent synergistic mechanism for the development of prosocial behavior, wherein children's school engagement both directly promotes their own prosocial behavior and simultaneously enhances prosocial behavior through eliciting increased parental monitoring.

Trajectory changes and temporal priorities between depressive symptoms and social participation: A longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

Depressive symptoms and social participation are important factors influencing the health of older persons. Further research is needed to understand the interaction between these two variables.

METHOD

The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Social Participation Questionnaire were employed to assess depressive symptoms and social participation. A latent growth model (LGM) was used to investigate changes in the trajectories of variables. The parallel process latent growth model (PP-LGM) and autoregressive cross-lagged model (ARCL) determined whether correlations existed.

RESULT

Older persons' depressive symptoms worsened while their level of social participation decreased. The intercept of depressive symptoms was negatively correlated with the slope of social participation(r=-0.133, p = 0.011). The slope of depressive symptoms and social participation were positively correlated(r = 0.444, p < 0.001). Depressive symptoms at earlier time points predicted later social participation(β1=-0.025, p1=0.032, β2=-0.040, p2=0.001).

CONCLUSION

There are dynamic changes and correlations between depressive symptoms and social participation in older persons.

The relationship between loneliness and problematic social media usage in Chinese university students: a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

A significant number of cross-sectional studies have explored the correlation between loneliness and problematic social media use. However, the causal relationship between these two key variables remains controversial, and the developmental relationship over time is unclear.

METHODS

We conducted a one-year longitudinal study with 538 Chinese college students using questionnaires and employing cross-lagged and latent growth models to investigate the causal relationship and developmental dynamics between loneliness and problematic social media use.

RESULTS

The results indicate that (a) loneliness and problematic social media use mutually and positively influence each other, establishing a bidirectional causal relationship; (b) Chinese college students experience a gradual increase in levels of loneliness and problematic social media use during their time in college; and (c) the intercept and slope of loneliness significantly and positively affect the intercept and slope of problematic social media use, and conversely, the intercept and slope of problematic social media use significantly and positively influence the intercept and slope of loneliness.

CONCLUSION

These findings reveal the longitudinal relationship between loneliness and problematic social media use among Chinese college students and offer insights for researchers and educators to intervene in college students' loneliness and problematic social media use from a developmental perspective.

Effects of sleep disturbance, cancer-related fatigue, and psychological distress on breast cancer patients' quality of life: a prospective longitudinal observational study

More attention has gone to researching the cancer-related fatigue (CRF)-sleep disturbance (SD)-psychological distress (PD) symptom cluster in breast cancer patients during the chemotherapy period, but the change trend and heterogeneous development track in the whole treatment stage remain unclear, and it is also unclear whether the appearance of and changes in one symptom cause changes in other symptoms and quality of life (QoL). This study, using breast cancer patients' data collected through a validated questionnaire, examined the relationships between SD, CRF, PD, and QoL using latent growth modeling analyses. CRF developmental trajectories showed an upward trend over five surveys (slope = 0.649, P < 0.001); PD showed a significant weakening trend (slope = - 0.583, P < 0.001); SD showed an increasing trend (slope = 0.345, P < 0.001), and QoL showed a statistically significant weakening trend (slope = - 0.373, P < 0.001). The initial CRF (coefficient = - 0.233, P < 0.01), PD (coefficient = - 0.296, P < 0.01), and SD (coefficient = - 0.388, P < 0.001) levels had a statistically significant negative effect on initial QoL level. The linear development rate of PD was statistically significant and negatively affected that of QoL (coefficient = - 0.305, P < 0.05), whereas the quadratic development rate of SD negatively affected that of QoL (coefficient = - 0.391, P < 0.05). Medical staff should identify the change characteristics of different variables based on SD, CRF, PD, and QoL change trajectories, and advance the intervention time, as changes in variables affect other variables' subsequent changes.

The relationship between changes in the korean fertility rate and policies to encourage fertility

BACKGROUND

Korean government has established various policies to counter the low fertility rate since the mid-2000s, but it still has the lowest fertility rate among OECD member countries. This study investigated the relationship between changes in the Korean fertility rate and policies to encourage fertility.

METHODS

This study utilized data of the total fertility rate of 250 local governments between 2014 and 2018, and a casebook of local government birth promotion policies. The dependent variable was fertility rate, and the independent variable was fertility promotion policy. Using SPSS 25.0 and M-plus 8.0 programs, descriptive statistical analysis and latent growth modeling were conducted. An unconditional quadratic function change model was selected as a final model of this study.

RESULTS

The average of the initial fertility rate and the linear rate of change in the Korean fertility rate, and the rate of change of the quadratic function were all statistically significant, meaning that the fertility rate of decline increases over time. Also, the linear rate of change and the quadratic function change rate were significant, showing significant differences in the initial level and rate of change of the fertility rate between local governments. Among fertility policies, only the in-kind policy had a significant effect on the initial value of the fertility rate, meaning that the higher the number of in-kind policies, the higher the fertility rate.

CONCLUSION

This study is crucial as it examined the changes in the fertility rate of Korean local governments as well as the policy factors affecting the fertility rate at a quantitative level.

Developmental Trajectories of Adolescents' Math Motivation: The Role of Mindset and Perceptions of Informal STEM Learning Site Inclusivity

Motivation is a key factor in engagement, achievement, and career choices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). While existing research has focused on student motivation toward math in formal school programs, new work is needed that focuses on motivation for those involved in informal STEM programs. Specifically, the role of math mindset and perceived inclusivity of informal STEM sites (to those of varying gender and ethnic backgrounds) on longitudinal trajectories of adolescents' math motivation has not been explored. This study investigates longitudinal changes in math expectancy, interest, and utility values and the effects of math fixed mindset, math growth mindset, and perceptions of the inclusivity of informal STEM learning sites on these changes for adolescents participating in STEM programs at these informal sites in the United Kingdom and the United States (n = 249, MT1age = 15.2, SD = 1.59). Three latent growth curve models were tested. The data suggest that math expectancy, interest, and utility values declined over three years. Growth mindset positively predicted changes in utility, while fixed mindset negatively predicted changes in utility. Inclusivity positively influenced the initial levels of utility. Girls reported lower initial expectancy than boys. Age influenced both the initial levels and rate of change for expectancy. Older adolescents had lower levels of expectancy compared to their younger counterparts; however, they had a less steep decline in expectancy over three years. These findings suggest that designing inclusive learning environments and promoting growth mindset may encourage math motivation.

Intolerance of uncertainty as a predictor of anxiety severity and trajectory during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

Efforts to identify risk and resilience factors for anxiety severity and course during the COVID-19 pandemic have focused primarily on demographic rather than psychological variables. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), a transdiagnostic risk factor for anxiety, may be a particularly relevant vulnerability factor.

METHOD

N = 641 adults with pre-pandemic anxiety data reported their anxiety, IU, and other pandemic and mental health-related variables at least once and up to four times during the COVID-19 pandemic, with assessments beginning in May 2020 through March 2021.

RESULTS

In preregistered analyses using latent growth models, higher IU at the first pandemic timepoint predicted more severe anxiety, but also a sharper decline in anxiety, across timepoints. This finding was robust to the addition of pre-pandemic anxiety and demographic predictors as covariates (in the full sample) as well as pre-pandemic depression severity (in participants for whom pre-pandemic depression data were available). Younger age, lower self/parent education, and self-reported history of COVID-19 illness at the first pandemic timepoint predicted more severe anxiety across timepoints with strong model fit, but did not predict anxiety trajectory.

CONCLUSIONS

IU prospectively predicted more severe anxiety but a sharper decrease in anxiety over time during the pandemic, including after adjustment for covariates. IU therefore appears to have unique and specific predictive utility with respect to anxiety in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.