The Open Psychology Journal 

About: The Open Psychology Journal is an academic journal published by Bentham Science Publishers. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Medicine & Mental health. It has an ISSN identifier of 1874-3501. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 336 publications have been published receiving 2230 citations. The journal is also known as: TOPSYJ.

A Systematic Review of Loneliness and Common Chronic Physical Conditions in Adults

Abstract: Loneliness is a prevalent and global problem for adult populations and has been linked to multiple chronic conditions in quantitative studies. This paper presents a systematic review of quantitative studies that examined the links between loneliness and common chronic conditions including: heart disease, hypertension, stroke, lung disease, and metabolic disorders. A comprehensive literature search process guided by the PRISMA statement led to the inclusion of 33 articles that measure loneliness in chronic illness populations. Loneliness is a significant biopsychosocial stressor that is prevalent in adults with heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and lung disease. The relationships among loneliness, obesity, and metabolic disorders are understudied but current research indicates that loneliness is associated with obesity and with psychological stress in obese persons. Limited interventions have demonstrated long-term effectiveness for reducing loneliness in adults with these same chronic conditions. Future longitudinal randomized trials that enhance knowledge of how diminishing loneliness can lead to improved health outcomes in persons with common chronic conditions would continue to build evidence to support the translation of findings to recommendations for clinical care.

A Meta-Analysis of Adventure Therapy Outcomes and Moderators

Abstract: This study reports on a meta-analytic review of 197 studies of adventure therapy participant outcomes (2,908 effect sizes, 206 unique samples). The short-term effect size for adventure therapy was moderate (g = .47) and larger than for alternative (.14) and no treatment (.08) comparison groups. There was little change during the lead-up (.09) and fol- low-up periods (.03) for adventure therapy, indicating long-term maintenance of the short-term gains. The short-term ad- venture therapy outcomes were significant for seven out of the eight outcome categories, with the strongest effects for clinical and self-concept measures, and the smallest effects for spirituality/morality. The only significant moderator of outcomes was a positive relationship with participant age. There was also evidence that adventure therapy studies have re- ported larger effects over time since the 1960s. Publication bias analyses indicated that the study may slightly underesti- mate true effects. Overall, the findings provide the most robust meta-analysis of the effects of adventure therapy to date. Thus, an effect size of approximately .5 is suggested as a benchmark for adventure therapy programs, although this should be adjusted according to the age group.

What does the Mental Rotation Test Measure? An Analysis of Item Difficulty and Item Characteristics

Abstract: The present study examined the contributions of various item characteristics to the difficulty of the individual items on the Mental Rotation Test (MRT). Analyses of item difficulties from a large data set of university students were conducted to assess the role of time limitation, distractor type, occlusion, configuration type, and the degree of angular disparity. Results replicated in large part previous findings that indicated that occluded items were significantly more dif- ficult than non-occluded and that mirror items were more difficult than structural items. An item characteristic not previ- ously examined in the literature, configuration type (homogeneous versus heterogeneous), also was found to be associated with item difficulty. Interestingly, no significant association was found between angular disparity and difficulty. Multiple regression analysis revealed that a model consisting of occlusion and configuration type alone was sufficient for explain- ing 53 percent of the variance in item difficulty. No interaction between these two factors was found. It is suggested, based on overall results, that basic figure perception, identification and comparison, but not necessarily mental rotation, account for much of the variance in item difficulty on the MRT.

Race and IQ: A Theory-Based Review of the Research in Richard Nisbett's Intelligence and How to Get It

Abstract: We provide a detailed review of data from psychology, genetics, and neuroscience in a point-counterpoint for- mat to enable readers to identify the merits and demerits of each side of the debate over whether the culture-only (0% ge- netic-100% environmental) or nature + nurture model (50% genetic-50% environmental) best explains mean ethnic group differences in intelligence test scores: Jewish (mean IQ = 113), East Asian (106), White (100), Hispanic (90), South Asian (87), African American (85), and sub-Saharan African (70). We juxtapose Richard Nisbett's position, expressed in his book Intelligence and How to Get It, with our own, to examine his thesis that cultural factors alone are sufficient to explain the differences and that the nature + nurture model we have presented over the last 40 years is unnecessary. We review the evidence in 14 topics of contention: (1) data to be explained; (2) malleability of IQ test scores; (3) culture- loaded versus g-loaded tests; (4) stereotype threat, caste, and "X" factors; (5) reaction-time measures; (6) within-race heri- tability; (7) between-race heritability; (8) sub-Saharan African IQ scores; (9) race differences in brain size; (10) sex dif- ferences in brain size; (11) trans-racial adoption studies; (12) racial admixture studies; (13) regression to the mean effects; and (14) human origins research and life-history traits. We conclude that the preponderance of evidence demonstrates that in intelligence, brain size, and other life history traits, East Asians average higher than do Europeans who average higher do South Asians, African Americans, or sub-Saharan Africans. The group differences are between 50 and 80% heritable.

The Pupil-Teacher Relationship and Gender Differences in Primary School

Abstract: In the perspective of multiple attachment bonds, the teacher-child relationship is considered as one of the fun- damental ways to express a crucially relevant bond for the child's emotive and cognitive development. The contextualist approach underlines how the dynamics of interaction between the individual and micro-sociocultural contexts play a me- diating role on developmental processes. Studies by Pianta, in particular, ascribed to the teacher-pupil interaction a crucial developmental function in the adaptation of the child, both in preschool age children and in the subsequent years of pri- mary school. The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of the teacher-pupil relationship when the teacher is male in the primary school setting. There were 310 children involved, equally distributed by gender, with their 52 teachers, of whom 42 were female and 10 were male. The analyses carried out reveal statistically relevant differences between the two groups of teachers on the issue of the way male teachers assess their relationship with female pupils. More than their male colleagues, female teachers tend to evaluate girls in a significantly different way as far as closeness and dependency are concerned. The data that emerges calls for careful consideration of the effect that the gender imbalance marking the teaching population in the early stages of schooling can have on aspects of child development.