What keeps female problematic internet users busy online?

While problematic Internet use is recognized to be predominant among male adolescents, a female trend is gradually becoming apparent. Our study aimed at investigating the characteristics of female Internet users and distinguishing between the online activities of problematic and regular Internet users' on school days. Data were retrieved from a cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 3067 8th graders in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland, that completed an online questionnaire in 2012. Only females were included. Based on the Internet addiction test, the sample was divided into regular (RUs) (IAT < 50, n = 1339) and problematic users (PIUs) (IAT ≥ 50, n = 201). Groups were compared regarding sociodemographic variables, online activities, devices used to access the Internet, substance use, and physical activity. Significant variables were included in a backward logistic regression. At the multivariate level, PIUs were more prone to spend time online for leisure activities (odds ratio [OR] 2.38) and to access the Internet through a smartphone (OR 1.79) or tablet (OR 1.84). PIUs were less likely to be physically active (OR 0.86) and more likely to present poor emotional well-being (OR 2.67) and to smoke (OR 1.88). CONCLUSION: A sizeable percentage of female adolescents are problematic Internet users. When performing a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment, teenagers owning numerous devices to access the Internet, presenting other health-compromising behaviors or poor emotional well-being should be specifically targeted. WHAT IS KNOWN: ? Problematic Internet use has been found to be predominant among males. ? Specific online activities have been identified as being addictive for young men and women differently. ? Problematic Internet use is known to impact in several ways the general health and daily functioning of teenagers. What is New: ? A sizeable percentage of female adolescents are problematic Internet users. ? Tobacco use, poor well-being, as well as compact devices to access the Internet are positively related to problematic Internet use. ? In addition to their special interest in online social and communicational activities, female problematic Internet users also reported more online gambling.

The vertical dimension of social relations and accurate interpersonal perception: A meta-analysis (Publishd online: 24 Oct. 2014)

There is little consensus regarding how verticality (social power, dominance, and status) is related to accurate interpersonal perception. The relation could be either positive or negative, and there could be many causal processes at play. The present article discusses the theoretical possibilities and presents a meta-analysis of this question. In studies using a standard test of interpersonal accuracy, higher socioeconomic status (SES) predicted higher accuracy defined as accurate inference about the meanings of cues; also, higher experimentally manipulated vertical position predicted higher accuracy defined as accurate recall of others' words. In addition, although personality dominance did not predict accurate inference overall, the type of personality dominance did, such that empathic/responsible dominance had a positive relation and egoistic/aggressive dominance had a negative relation to accuracy. In studies involving live interaction, higher experimentally manipulated vertical position produced lower accuracy defined as accurate inference about cues; however, methodological problems place this result in doubt.

Emergent power hierarchies and group performance (Published online: 7 Oct. 2014)

In newly formed groups, informal hierarchies emerge automatically and readily. In this study, we argue that emergent group hierarchies enhance group performance (Hypothesis 1) and we assume that the more the power hierarchy within a group corresponds to the task-competence differences of the individual group members, the better the group performs (Hypothesis 2). Twelve three-person groups and 28 four-person groups were investigated while solving the Winter Survival Task. Results show that emerging power hierarchies positively impact group performance but the alignment between task-competence and power hierarchy did not affect group performance. Thus, emergent power hierarchies are beneficial for group performance and although they were on average created around individual group members' competence, this correspondence was not a prerequisite for better group performance.

How patient-centered do female physicians need to be? Analogue patients' satisfaction with male and female physicians' identical behaviors (Published online: 30 Aug 2014)

Previous research suggests that female physicians may not receive appropriate credit in patients' eyes for their patient-centered skills compared to their male counterparts. An experiment was conducted to determine whether a performance of higher (versus lower) verbal patient-centeredness would result in a greater difference in analogue patient satisfaction for male than female physicians. Two male and two female actors portrayed physicians speaking to a patient using high or low patient-centered scripts while not varying their nonverbal cues. One hundred ninety-two students served as analogue patients by assuming the patient role while watching one of the videos and rating their satisfaction and other evaluative responses to the physician. Greater verbal patient-centeredness had a stronger positive effect on satisfaction and evaluations for male than for female physicians. This pattern is consistent with the hypothesis that the different associations between patient-centeredness and patients' satisfaction for male versus female physicians occur because of the overlap between stereotypical female behavior and behaviors that comprise patient-centered medical care. If this is the case, high verbal patient-centered behavior by female physicians is not recognized as a marker of clinical competence, as it is for male physicians, but is rather seen as expected female behavior.

Video Gaming Disorder and Sport and Exercise in Emerging Adulthood: A Longitudinal Study.

Among the negative consequences of video gaming disorder, decreased participation in sport and exercise has received little attention. This study aimed to assess the longitudinal association between video gaming disorder and the level of sport and exercise in emerging adult men. A questionnaire was completed at baseline and 15-month follow-up by a representative national sample of 4,933 respondents. The seven items of the Game Addiction Scale were used to construct a latent variable representing video gaming disorder. Level of sport and exercise was also self-reported. Cross-lagged path modeling indicated a reciprocal causality between video gaming disorder and the level of sport and exercise, even after adjusting for a large set of confounders. These findings support the need for better promotion of sport and exercise among emerging adults in order to contribute to the prevention of video gaming disorder, and to raise the level of sport and exercise activity in addicted gamers.

Pathological video game use among young Swiss men: the use of monothetic and polythetic formats to distinguish between pathological, excessive and normal gaming

There is no agreement about the distinction between pathological, excessive and normal gaming. The present study compared two classifications for defining pathological gaming: the polythetic format (gamers who met at least half of the criteria) and monothetic format (gamers who met all criteria). Associations with mental, health and social issues were examined to assess differences between subgroups of gamers. A representative sample of 5,663 young Swiss men filled in a questionnaire as part of the ongoing Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF). Game use was assessed with the Game Addiction Scale. Mental, social and physical factors (depression, anxiety, aggressiveness, physical and mental health, social and health consequences), gambling and substance use (illicit drug use, alcohol dependence and problematic cannabis use) were also assessed. The results indicated that monothetic gamers shared problems with polythetic gamers, but were even more inclined to mental health issues (depression, anxiety, and aggressiveness) and were more vulnerable to other dependencies like substance use, alcohol dependence or gambling. A second analysis using Latent Class Analysis confirmed the distinction between monothetic and polythetic gamers. These findings support the use of a monothetic format to diagnose pathological gaming and to differentiate it from excessive gaming.