Zhongquan Li

Testing the dimensionality of posttraumatic stress responses in young Chinese adult earthquake survivors: further evidence for “dysphoric arousal” as a unique PTSD construct

Background: This study investigated an alternative five‐factor diagnostic model for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and tested external convergent and discriminant validity of the model in a young Chinese sample of earthquake survivors. Methods: A total of 938 participants (456 women, 482 men) aged 15–20 years were recruited from a vocational school originally located in Beichuan County Town which was almost completely destroyed by the “Wenchuan Earthquake.” The participants were administrated with the PTSD Checklist and the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist‐25 12 months after the earthquake. Results: The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that the five‐factor intercorrelated model (intrusion, avoidance, numbing, dysphoric arousal, and anxious arousal) fit the data significantly better than the four‐factor numbing model proposed by King et al. (1998: Psychol Assess 10:90–96) and the four‐factor dysphoria model proposed by Simms et al. (2002: J Abnorm Psychol 111:637–647). Further analyses indicated that four out of five PTSD factors yielded significantly different correlations with external measures of anxiety versus depression. Conclusions: The findings provide further empirical evidence in favor of the five‐factor diagnostic model of PTSD, and carry implications for the upcoming DSM‐5. Depression and Anxiety, 2011.

The dimensionality of PTSD symptoms and their relationship to health-related quality of life in Chinese earthquake survivors

The current study investigated the latent structure of PTSD symptoms with a sample of 326 Chinese survivors who lost their children during a deadly earthquake. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a five-factor intercorrelated model comprised of intrusion, avoidance, emotional numbing, dysphoric arousal, and anxiety arousal provided significant better fit than both the four-factor numbing model of King, Leskin, King, and Weathers (1998) and the four-factor dysphoria model of Simms, Watson, and Doebbeling (2002). Further analyses with structural equation modeling showed that the PTSD factors were differentially associated with external measures of psychosocial and physical health-related quality of life. The findings provide further empirical support for the novel five-factor PTSD model, and carry implications for conceptualizing and assessing PTSD for the upcoming DSM-5.

EXPLORATORY AND CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS OF A SHORT-FORM OF THE EMBU AMONG CHINESE ADOLESCENTS

The present study used a sample of Chinese adolescents and validated a short-form of the Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran: Ones Memories of Upbringing (s-EMBU) assessing perceived parental rearing styles. A Chinese revision of the s-EMBU by the authors was administered to a total of 779 high school students, ages 11 to 19 years. Exploratory factor analysis with half of the sample yielded a three-factor solution of Rejection, Emotional Warmth, and Overprotection, accounting for 47.1% of the total variance on the father form and 48.8% of the total variance on the mother form. Then, confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit of the three-factor model to the data in the other half of the sample. The three subscales consisted of 6, 6, and 7 items, respectively. Scores on these subscales had Cronbach alphas ranging from .71 to .81, indicating adequate internal consistency. These psychometric properties suggest its applicability for research with Chinese adolescents.

The Mini—IPIP Scale: Psychometric Features and Relations with PTSD Symptoms of Chinese Earthquake Survivors

The present purpose was to validate the Mini—IPIP scale, a short measure of the five-factor model personality traits, with a sample of Chinese earthquake survivors. A total of 1,563 participants, ages 16 to 85 years, completed the Mini—IPIP scale and a measure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the five-factor structure of the Mini—IPIP with adequate values of various fit indices. This scale also showed values of internal consistency, Cronbachs alphas ranged from .79 to .84, and McDonalds omega ranged from .73 to .82 for scores on each subscale. Moreover, the five personality traits measured by the Mini—IPIP and those assessed by other big five measures had comparable patterns of relations with PTSD symptoms. Findings indicated that the Mini—IPIP is an adequate short-form of the Big-Five factors of personality, which is applicable with natural disaster survivors.

Why People with More Emotion Regulation Difficulties Made a More Deontological Judgment: The Role of Deontological Inclinations

Previous studies have demonstrated the key role of emotion in moral judgment, and explored the relationship between emotion regulation and moral judgment. The present study investigated the influence of individual differences in emotion regulation difficulties on moral judgment. Study 1 examined whether individuals with high emotion regulation difficulties made a more deontological judgment. Study 2 explored the underlying mechanism using a process-dissociation approach, examining whether deontological inclinations and utilitarian inclinations separately or jointly accounted for the association. The results indicated that individuals with high emotion regulation difficulties rated the utilitarian actions less morally appropriate, and one’s deontological inclinations mediated the association between emotion regulation difficulties and moral judgment.

Habitual Cognitive Reappraisal Was Negatively Related to Perceived Immorality in the Harm and Fairness Domains.

Emotion plays an important role in moral judgment, and people always use emotion regulation strategies to modulate emotion, consciously or unconsciously. Previous studies had investigated only the relationship between emotion regulation strategies and moral judgment in the Harm domain, and revealed divergent results. Based on Moral Foundations Theory, the present study extended the investigation into moral judgment in all five moral domains and used a set of standardized moral vignettes. Two hundred and six college students filled in the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and completed emotional ratings and moral judgment on moral vignettes from Moral Foundations Vignettes. Correlation analysis indicated that habitual cognitive reappraisal was negatively related to immorality rating in Harm, Fairness, and Loyalty domains. Regression analysis revealed that after controlling the effect of other variables, cognitive reappraisal negatively predicted immorality ratings in the Harm and Fairness domains. Further mediation analysis showed that emotional valence only partially explained the association between cognitive reappraisal and moral judgment in Harm area. Some other factors beyond emotional valence were suggested for future studies.

Price Discrepancy Between Sellers and Buyers When Making Decisions for the Self and Others

In daily life, people make decisions not only for themselves but also on behalf of others. There may be differences in terms of the endowment effect when making decisions in these two situations. In Study 1, this question was investigated with an existing dataset exploring the traditional endowment effect, in which 86 students (M age = 20.8 years, SD = 5.0) at Harvard University were asked to make a decision on selling or buying a coffee mug for themselves or for others as brokers. When making decisions for the self, the average price demanded by sellers was much higher than that offered by buyers; while making decisions for others, the price discrepancy disappeared. In Study 2, a similar study was conducted with a sample of 42 Chinese university students (M age = 22.3 years, SD = 2.5), and a similar pattern of results was obtained. Further analysis indicated that when making decisions for others, only buyers increased their valuations, therefore mitigating the seller–buyer price discrepancy. Finally, the findings were interpreted from the perspective of Construal Level Theory.

Chronic Stress and Moral Decision-Making: An Exploration With the CNI Model

Stress is prevalent in our daily life, and people often make moral decision-making in a stressful state. Several studies indicated the influence of acute stress on moral decision-making and behavior. The present study extended the investigation to chronic stress, and employed a new approach, the CNI model, to add new insights regarding the mechanism underlying the association between chronic stress and moral decision-making. A total of 197 undergraduates completed the Perceived Stress Scale and made moral decision-making on a series of deliberately designed moral dilemmas. The results indicated that higher chronic stress was related to more deontological moral choices. The process-dissociation analyses revealed that chronic stress was marginally significantly associated with deontological inclinations but not with utilitarian inclinations. And the CNI model analyses suggested that the high-stress group (above the median) showed a stronger general preference for inaction than the low-stress group (below the median) did, but there were no significant differences in sensitivity to consequences or sensitivity to moral norms between the two groups. Finally, the implications of the findings were discussed.