Molecular genetic associations between a prominent serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR/rs25531) and individual differences in tendencies toward autistic traits and generalized internet use disorder in China and Germany.

BACKGROUND: The serotonin transporter polymorphism 5-HTTLPR is an extensively investigated genetic marker of autistic traits or autism spectrum disorder, and recently has also been studied in the realm of internet use disorder (IUD), yet the findings remain controversial. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore associations between 5-HTTLPR (also including SNP rs25531) and autistic traits/IUD tendencies and to assess whether the relationship between autistic traits and IUD tendencies varies by this genetic marker in participants from China and Germany. METHODS: A total of 540 Chinese and 563 German subjects were genotyped for 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 and completed the Adult Autism Spectrum Quotient questionnaire and the short version of the Internet Addiction Test. RESULTS: Carriers of the low expressing S'S' genotype (S, LG ) showed significantly higher levels of autistic traits than the high expressing allele (e.g. LA ) carriers in both samples. There was no significant effect of 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 on IUD either in the Chinese or Germany samples, whereas positive correlations between autistic traits and IUD varied by 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 genotypes and also differed between Chinese and German samples. In the Chinese sample, positive correlations were mainly driven by S'S' and S'L' carriers, while they were mainly determined by S'L' and L'L' carriers in the German sample. Further analyses revealed that the associations between autistic traits and IUD tended in parts to be more strongly pronounced in the complete German sample compared to the complete Chinese sample, and also varied depending on 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 genotypes (in S'S' carriers: China > Germany; in S'L' and L'L' carriers: China < Germany; both in terms of more positive associations). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest carriers of low expressing alleles (S, LG ) are more likely to show higher autistic traits in both Chinese and German samples. Furthermore, the present work shows that both 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 and cultural differences might be of relevance to understand associations between autistic traits and IUD tendencies, but this needs to be further backed up.

Exploring the Associations Between Self-reported Tendencies Toward Smartphone Use Disorder and Objective Recordings of Smartphone, Instant Messaging, and Social Networking App Usage: Correlational Study.

BACKGROUND: Social communication via instant messaging (IM) and social networking (SN) apps makes up a large part of the time that smartphone users spend on their devices. Previous research has indicated that the excessive use of these apps is positively associated with problematic smartphone use behaviors. In particular, image-based SN apps, such as Instagram (Facebook Inc) and Snapchat (Snap Inc), have been shown to exert stronger detrimental effects than those exerted by traditional apps, such as Facebook (Facebook Inc) and Twitter (Twitter Inc). OBJECTIVE: In this study, we investigated the correlation between individuals' tendencies toward smartphone use disorder (SmUD) and objective measures of the frequency of smartphone usage. Additionally, we put to test the hypothesis that the pathway linking the frequency of actual smartphone usage to self-reported tendencies toward SmUD was mediated by the increased frequency of IM and SN app usage. METHODS: We recruited a sample of 124 adult smartphone users (females: 78/124, 62.9%; age: mean 23.84 years, SD 8.29 years) and collected objective information about the frequency of smartphone and SN app usage over 1 week. Participants also filled in a self-report measure for assessing the multiple components of tendencies toward SmUD. Bivariate associations were investigated by using Spearman correlation analyses. A parallel mediation analysis was conducted via multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The frequency of smartphone usage, as well as the use of IM apps (Messenger, Telegram, and WhatsApp [Facebook Inc]), Facebook, and image-based apps (Instagram and Snapchat), had significant positive associations with at least 1 component of SmUD, and the cyberspace-oriented relationships factor exhibited the strongest associations overall. We found support for an indirect effect that linked actual smartphone usage to SmUD tendencies via the frequency of the use of image-based SN apps. CONCLUSIONS: Our novel results shed light on the factors that promote SmUD tendencies and essentially indicate that image-based SN apps seem to be more strongly associated with problematic smartphone behaviors compared to IM apps and traditional SN apps, such as Facebook.

The evaluation of fake and true news: on the role of intelligence, personality, interpersonal trust, ideological attitudes, and news consumption.

Individual differences in cognitive abilities and personality help to understand individual differences in various human behaviors. Previous work investigated individual characteristics in light of believing (i.e., misclassifying) fake news. However, only little is known about the misclassification of true news as fake, although it appears equally important to correctly identify fake and true news for unbiased belief formation. An online study with N = 530 (n = 396 men) participants was conducted to investigate performance in a Fake and True News Test in association with i) performance in fluid and crystallized intelligence tests and the Big Five Inventory, and ii) news consumption as a mediating variable between individual characteristics and performance in the Fake and True News Test. Results showed that fluid intelligence was negatively correlated with believing fake news (the association did not remain significant in a regression model); crystallized intelligence was negatively linked to misclassifying true news. Extraversion was negatively and crystallized intelligence was positively associated with fake and true news discernment. The number of different news sources consumed correlated negatively with misclassifying true news and positively with fake and true news discernment. However, no meaningful mediation effect of news consumption was observed. Only interpersonal trust was negatively related to misclassifying both fake and true news as well as positively related to news discernment. The present findings reveal that underlying factors of believing fake news and misclassifying true news are mostly different. Strategies that might help to improve the abilities to identify both fake and true news based on the present findings are discussed.

The Dark Side of Emotion Recognition - Evidence From Cross-Cultural Research in Germany and China.

BACKGROUND: The dark triad of personality (DT) comprises three antisocial personality traits (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) that are characterized by callousness and the motive to elevate the self while derogating other people. Previous research indicates that the positive relationship between the DT traits and interpersonally deviant behaviors is especially pronounced at high levels of emotional abilities. This has also been referred to as dark Emotional Intelligence (EI). Since prior studies predominantly examined dark EI via trait-approach, the present study targeted at providing evidence for dark EI using a behavioral measure of EI, namely emotion recognition performance. In order to study the robustness and cross-cultural validity of findings, parallel investigations were conducted in Germany and China. METHODS: A total of N = 198 German (age: M = 23.40, SD = 5.88, 130 female) and N = 223 Chinese (age: M = 19.01, SD = 1.06, 105 female) participants took part in an online survey and completed a set of questionnaires in German and Mandarin translations, respectively. DT traits were assessed by means of the Short Dark Triad Scale. As a behavioral measure of emotional abilities, participants completed the Eyes Test for pairs of eyes of Caucasian and Asian models. Moreover, participants filled in the Emotional Manipulation Scale for the assessment of emotionally manipulative tactics. RESULTS: Effects were highly gender- and culture-dependent. Among German females, Machiavellianism and narcissism showed the strongest positive associations with emotionally manipulative tactics at high levels of emotion recognition performance. A similar pattern of results was found among German males for psychopathy. None of the effects was observed in the Chinese female or male samples. DISCUSSION: The present findings indicate that emotional abilities may constitute risk factors with the potential to promote rather than to prevent deviant behaviors especially in samples from Western cultures with pronounced scores on DT personality traits. Limitations and psychometric properties are discussed.

Gender-Specific Differences of Dental Emergency Patients and the Use of Antibiotics: A 4-Year Retrospective Study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical characteristics of dental emergency patients with special regard on gender-specific differences related to the utilisation and use of antibiotics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of all patients who presented to the emergency service of a university hospital in from 2010 to 2013 was performed. Demographic data, diagnosis, conducted treatment and the prescription of antibiotics were recorded and further analysed. RESULTS: Altogether, 16,296 patients visited the emergency service. Of these patients, only one-fourth (25.7%; n = 4185) suffered from a diagnosis with urgent treatment needs. Gender-specific differences were found in the reason of visit. Males presented significantly more often with severe diagnoses, like abscess or trauma. Females presented significantly more often with non-urgent diagnoses, not directly connected to oral hygiene habits, like temporomandibular disorders (TMD), denture sore or dolor post extractionem. Moreover, an overuse of antibiotics was found among emergency patients, with every fifth patient (20.2%; n = 3291) being prescribed an antibiotic. CONCLUSION: Better public education on dental emergencies and constant updates for dentists about the use of antibiotics in dental emergency care is necessary to secure adequate medical supply for severe dental emergencies and to avoid an inappropriate use of antibiotics.