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Behavior Genetics Mar 2018The American Psychological Association defines gender identity as, "A person's deeply-felt, inherent sense of being a boy, a man, or a male; a girl, a woman, or a... (Review)
Review
The American Psychological Association defines gender identity as, "A person's deeply-felt, inherent sense of being a boy, a man, or a male; a girl, a woman, or a female; or an alternative gender (e.g., genderqueer, gender nonconforming, gender neutral) that may or may not correspond to a person's sex assigned at birth or to a person's primary or secondary sex characteristics" (American Psychological Association, Am Psychol 70(9):832-864, 2015). Here we review the evidence that gender identity and related socially defined gender constructs are influenced in part by innate factors including genes. Based on the data reviewed, we hypothesize that gender identity is a multifactorial complex trait with a heritable polygenic component. We argue that increasing the awareness of the biological diversity underlying gender identity development is relevant to all domains of social, medical, and neuroscience research and foundational for reducing health disparities and promoting human-rights protections for gender minorities.
Topics: Female; Gender Dysphoria; Gender Identity; Humans; Male; Sex Characteristics; Sexual Behavior; Transgender Persons
PubMed: 29460079
DOI: 10.1007/s10519-018-9889-z -
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Apr 2017In this review, we introduce the topic of transgender medicine, aimed at the non-specialist clinician working in the UK. Appropriate terminology is provided alongside... (Review)
Review
In this review, we introduce the topic of transgender medicine, aimed at the non-specialist clinician working in the UK. Appropriate terminology is provided alongside practical advice on how to appropriately care for transgender people. We offer a brief theoretical discussion on transgenderism and consider how it relates to broader understandings of both gender and disease. In respect to epidemiology, while it is difficult to assess the exact size of the transgender population in the UK, population surveys suggest a prevalence of between 0.2 and 0.6% in adults, with rates of referrals to gender identity clinics in the UK increasing yearly. We outline the legal framework that protects the rights of transgender people, showing that is not legal for physicians to deny transgender people access to services based on their personal beliefs. Being transgender is often, although not always, associated with gender dysphoria, a potentially disabling condition in which the discordance between a person's natal sex (that assigned to them at birth) and gender identity results in distress, with high associated rates of self-harm, suicidality and functional impairment. We show that gender reassignment can be a safe and effective treatment for gender dysphoria with counselling, exogenous hormones and surgery being the mainstay of treatment. The role of the general practitioner in the management of transgender patients is discussed and we consider whether hormone therapy should be initiated in primary care in the absence of specialist advice, as is suggested by recent General Medical Council guidance.
Topics: Female; Gender Dysphoria; Gender Identity; General Practitioners; Humans; Male; Prejudice; Sex Reassignment Procedures; State Medicine; Transgender Persons; Transsexualism; United Kingdom
PubMed: 28382847
DOI: 10.1177/0141076817696054 -
Personality Disorders Apr 2016Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) includes a dimensional model of personality pathology, operationalized in the Personality...
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) includes a dimensional model of personality pathology, operationalized in the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5), with 25 facets grouped into 5 higher order factors resembling the Big Five personality dimensions. The present study tested how well these 25 facets could be integrated with the 10-factor structure of traits within the Big Five that is operationalized by the Big Five Aspect Scales (BFAS). In 2 healthy adult samples, 10-factor solutions largely confirmed our hypothesis that each of the 10 BFAS would be the highest loading BFAS on 1 and only 1 factor. Varying numbers of PID-5 scales were additional markers of each factor, and the overall factor structure in the first sample was well replicated in the second. Our results allow Cybernetic Big Five Theory (CB5T) to be brought to bear on manifestations of personality disorder, because CB5T offers mechanistic explanations of the 10 factors measured by the BFAS. Future research, therefore, may begin to test hypotheses derived from CB5T regarding the mechanisms that are dysfunctional in specific personality disorders.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Personality; Personality Disorders; Personality Inventory; Young Adult
PubMed: 27032017
DOI: 10.1037/per0000170 -
Lakartidningen Nov 2023Exercise and protein for function and self-confidence - The OPEN model for community care of older persons Experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic indicate the need to...
Exercise and protein for function and self-confidence - The OPEN model for community care of older persons Experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic indicate the need to introduce care routines for health promotion among recipients of care for older persons. A treatment model with daily repeated sit-to-stand exercises in combination with oral protein supplements twice daily has been evaluated in community care for older persons in the Stockholm Region; the Older Person's Exercise and Nutrition (OPEN) Study. The 3-month controlled study included 102 residents. A substantial part of the residents were able to follow the intervention, and to maintain or improve their chair-rising capacity, while also increasing their weight and muscle mass. Interview studies showed that the participants found the OPEN concept was easy to adopt, gave increased self-confidence and an increased sense of hope. The staff perceived the intervention as a potentially positive concept. The OPEN model is a method that may contribute to a health-promoting way of working in the care of older persons.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Pandemics; Exercise; Exercise Therapy; Self Concept; COVID-19
PubMed: 37975759
DOI: No ID Found -
Social Cognitive and Affective... Oct 2020Does the tendency to adjust appraisals of ourselves in the past and future in order to maintain a favourable view of ourselves in the present require episodic memory? A...
Does the tendency to adjust appraisals of ourselves in the past and future in order to maintain a favourable view of ourselves in the present require episodic memory? A developmental amnesic person with impaired episodic memory (HC) was compared with two groups of age-matched controls on tasks assessing the Big Five personality traits and social competence in relation to the past, present and future. Consistent with previous research, controls believed that their personality had changed more in the past 5 years than it will change in the next 5 years (i.e. the end-of-history illusion), and rated their present and future selves as more socially competent than their past selves (i.e. social improvement illusion), although this was moderated by self-esteem. Despite her lifelong episodic memory impairment, HC also showed these biases of temporal self-appraisal. Together, these findings do not support the theory that the temporal extension of the self-concept requires the ability to recollect richly detailed memories of the self in the past and future.
Topics: Adult; Amnesia; Female; Humans; Memory, Episodic; Mental Recall; Personality; Self Concept
PubMed: 32734306
DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa105 -
Psychiatria Polska 2016Until the end of the nineties last century personality disorders could not be diagnosed before the age of eighteen. Nevertheless, the results of studies published in the... (Review)
Review
Until the end of the nineties last century personality disorders could not be diagnosed before the age of eighteen. Nevertheless, the results of studies published in the last decade have revealed that personality disorders can be observed in children and adolescents and that personality disorders diagnosed in adult patients had been present as early as in childhood. The knowledge of possible mechanisms shaping personality disorders in childhood is unsatisfactory and needs to be expanded. Developmental psychology explains the development of abnormal personality through inappropriate attachment patterns and abnormal transitions between developmental phases. Genetic and temperamental factors are also important in the aetiology of personality disorders as well as early maladaptive schemas resulting from personal experiences and interactions with others. The aim of this article is to review the current knowledge on the mechanisms shaping the development of personality and personality disorders in childhood and adolescence.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Aging; Child; Child Behavior; Child Behavior Disorders; Disease Progression; Female; Humans; Internal-External Control; Male; Personality; Personality Development; Personality Disorders; Psychology, Adolescent
PubMed: 27556119
DOI: 10.12740/PP/36180 -
Psychoneuroendocrinology Oct 2020Personality traits are associated with risk of diabetes, but most research to date has relied on participants reported diagnosis rather than objective markers of...
Personality traits are associated with risk of diabetes, but most research to date has relied on participants reported diagnosis rather than objective markers of glycaemia. The present study examined the association between the five major domains of personality (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness) and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Participants (N > 26,000) were individuals aged from 16 to 104 years from six large community samples from the US, Europe, and Japan who had data on personality, demographic factors, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, and HbA1c. Of the five factors, only higher conscientiousness was related consistently to lower HbA1c level across most samples and in the meta-analysis. Conscientiousness was also related to lower risk of HbA1c ≥6.5 % (OR = .85, 95 %CI = 0.80-0.90). BMI and physical activity partially mediated the link between conscientiousness and HbA1c. There were not consistent associations for the other four traits across the six samples and no consistent associations between personality and likelihood of undiagnosed diabetes. The present study found replicable associations between conscientiousness and HbA1c in adulthood. Assessment of conscientiousness may improve the identification of individuals at risk of diabetes and guide personalized interventions for regulation of HbA1c level.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Body Mass Index; Databases, Factual; Europe; Female; Glycated Hemoglobin; Humans; Japan; Male; Middle Aged; Personality; Personality Inventory; United States
PubMed: 32659693
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104782 -
Scientific Reports Feb 2023Recent genomic, psychological, and developmental research shows that human personality is organized as a complex hierarchy that ascends from individual traits in many...
Recent genomic, psychological, and developmental research shows that human personality is organized as a complex hierarchy that ascends from individual traits in many specific situations to multi-trait profiles in two domains that regulate emotional reactivity (temperament) or goals and values (character), and finally to three integrated temperament-character networks that regulate learning to maintain well-being in changing conditions. We carried out person-centered analyses of the components of subjective well-being (positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction) to personality in both adolescents (N = 1739) and adults (N = 897). Personality was considered at each level of its organization (trait, temperament or character profiles, and joint temperament-character networks). We show for the first time that negative affect and life satisfaction are dependent on the personality network for intentional self-control, whereas positive affect is dependent on the personality network for self-awareness that underlies the human capacities for healthy longevity, creativity, and prosocial values.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Humans; Personality; Personality Disorders; Temperament; Genomics; Health Status
PubMed: 36849800
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29642-5 -
Current Opinion in Psychiatry Jan 2023People and communities around the world face many crises, including increasing burdens from disease, psychopathology, burn-out, social distrust, and acts of hate and... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
People and communities around the world face many crises, including increasing burdens from disease, psychopathology, burn-out, social distrust, and acts of hate and terrorism. Personality disorder is arguably both a root cause and a consequence of these problems, creating a vicious cycle of suffering caused by fears, immoderate desires, and social distrust that are inconsistent with rational goals and prosocial values. Fortunately, recent advances in understanding the biopsychosocial basis and dynamics of development in personality and its disorders offer insights to address these problems in effective person-centered ways.
RECENT FINDINGS
Fundamental advances have been made recently in the understanding of the psychobiology and sociology of personality in relationship to health, and in basic mechanisms of personality change as a complex process of learning and memory. Promotion of self-awareness and intentional self-control releases a strong tendency for people to seek coherence of their emotions and habits with what gives their life meaning and value.
SUMMARY
People have a strong drive to cultivate personalities in which their emotions and habits are reliably in accord with reasonable goals and prosocial values. Person-centered therapeutics provide practical ways to promote a virtuous cycle of increasing well being for individuals and their communities and habitats.
Topics: Humans; Temperament; Personality Disorders; Personality; Emotions; Psychopathology
PubMed: 36449732
DOI: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000833 -
BMC Medical Education Jan 2022Patients fearing dental interventions are at risk of delaying or skipping much-needed treatments. Empathic communication could lead to a higher rate of compliance from...
BACKGROUND
Patients fearing dental interventions are at risk of delaying or skipping much-needed treatments. Empathic communication could lead to a higher rate of compliance from patients within this group. Empathy, the big five personality traits, and emotion management abilities are all known to influence the quality of communication between dentists and patients. This study was conducted to analyze whether there is a correlation between these factors in dentistry students.
METHODS
Dentistry students in their 2nd and 4th year of study were asked to complete questionnaires assessing empathy, emotion management, and personality traits. Out of a total of 148 eligible participants, 53 students (34%) volunteered to participate. For empathy, the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (students' version; JSPE-S) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) were used. Personality traits were assessed using the Short Big Five Inventory (BFI-s), and the Situational Test of Emotional Management (STEM) to measure emotional management ability.
RESULTS
Higher scores for emotion management were significantly correlated with the female gender (p ≤ 0.005) and with higher scores in openness (p ≤ 0.05). Students with higher scores in openness also achieved higher scores on the IRI subscales: Perspective taking (p ≤ 0.05), Fantasy (p ≤ 0.01), Empathic concern (p ≤ 0.05), and Personal distress (p ≤ 0.05). For JSPE-S, no correlation with emotion management and personality traits was found.
CONCLUSION
Empathy and emotion management might not be significantly related in dentistry students. Regarding personality traits, students who scored higher on openness also indicated higher abilities in emotion management. These findings should be taken into consideration when planning communication courses for dentistry students, as it might be possible to independently train empathy and emotion management as part of emotional intelligence.
Topics: Dentistry; Emotional Intelligence; Emotions; Empathy; Female; Humans; Students, Medical; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 34980112
DOI: 10.1186/s12909-021-03080-1