Normal and Maladaptive Personality Traits as Predictors of Motives for Social Media Use and Its Effects on Well-Being.

This study aimed to identify the motives for social media sites use in the general population and determine what personality traits (normal and maladaptive) predict different motives for social media sites use. Another objective was to analyze which motives for SMSs use are related to well-being. The sample consisted of 420 subjects (211 men, 209 women), mean age 40.29 years (SD = 14.93). Data were gathered using the Big Five Inventory, the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form -Adult, the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, and a scale designed ad hoc to evaluate the motives for social media sites use. The results showed that the most frequent motives were Personal relationship maintenance/Search for information, Pastime/Exhibitionism, and Search for companionship. In addition, it was found that normal and, especially, maladaptive personality traits increased the explained variance for the three motives for social media sites use, beyond age and gender. Predictors of relationship initiation and pastime/exhibitionism motives were related to more negative features (e.g., antagonism and disinhibition) than predictors of personal relationship maintenance/search for information. Finally, personal relationship maintenance/search for information was positively related to all the components of well-being, while the other motives for social media sites use were negatively associated with well-being.

Do Transgender People Respond According to Their Biological Sex or Their Gender Identity When Confronted With Romantic Rivals?

This study examined the hypothesis that gender identity and biological sex represent independent modules and that transgender individuals respond to romantic rivals in line with their gender identity and not with their biological sex. Additionally, associations of jealousy with intrasexual competitiveness (ISC) and social comparison orientation (SCO) were explored. A total of 134 male-to-female and 94 female-to-male transgender individuals from Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, responded to a questionnaire. In line with the predictions, female-to-male transgender individuals experienced more jealousy than male-to-female transgender individuals in response to a physically dominant rival, whereas male-to-female individuals experienced more jealousy than female-to-male individuals in response to a physically attractive rival. Regardless of their gender identity, in both groups social-communal attributes were the most jealousy-evoking characteristic. Overall, the results indicate that transgender individuals mainly respond in line with their gender identity and not in line with their biological sex when facing romantic rivals. In addition, transgender individuals high in ISC experienced relatively more jealousy in response to all rival characteristics, whereas SCO was only among male-to-female individuals associated with jealousy.

PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT INVENTORY: PSYCHOMETRIC ANALYSES OF ITS ARGENTINEAN VERSION.

This psychometric analysis of the Argentinean version of the Personality Assessment Inventory employed a convenience sample of 998 non-clinical adults from Buenos Aires, Argentina, stratified by sex and age (50% men; M age = 40.4 yr., SD = 16.8; 50% women; M age = 40.7 yr., SD = 17.4; 69% were employed). For a criterion validity study, a second sample of 394 students at the University of Buenos Aires was selected (47% men; M age = 24 yr., SD = 3.7; 53% women; M age = 23.6 yr., SD = 3.4). Cronbach's αs ranged from .60 to .86, indicating adequate internal consistency. Following American, German, and Spanish studies, a first analysis on the 22 scales obtained a five-factor solution (65.3% of total variance), and a second analysis on 11 clinical scales isolated a two-factor solution (69.3% of total variance). Correlations with the Symptom Checklist-90-R provided support for criterion validity. Most of the scales and subscales showed sex differences and differences between American and Argentinean samples. Future research must add other psychometric indicators.

La evaluación de las virtudes y fortalezas del carácter en niños argentinos: adaptación y validación del inventario de virtudes y fortalezas para niños (IVyF niños) / The assessment of character´s virtues and strengths in Argentine children: adaptation and validation of the inventory of virtues and strengths for children (I.V&S. children

Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo la adaptación y validación del Inventario de Virtudes y Fortalezas IVyF (Cosentino & Castro Solano, 2008) en niños de 10 a 12 años. El IVyF Niños constituye un instrumento útil para evaluar las virtudes y fortalezas humanas de acuerdo a la clasificación del carácter de seis virtudes y 24 fortalezas de Peterson y Seligman (2004). Participaron de este estudio 518 niños (254 varones y 263 mujeres) que tenían entre 10 y 12 años y que asistían a escuelas públicas y privadas de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (Argentina). Respecto de la estructura factorial del IVyF Niños, el análisis factorial exploratorio permitió extraer seis factores que explicaron el 46.15 por ciento de la varianza. El análisis factorial confirmatorio mostró un adecuado ajuste al modelo. En cuanto a evidencias de validez convergente, se encontraron correlaciones estadísticamente significativas y positivas, entre las puntuaciones arrojadas por: el IVyF Niños y la Escala de Deseabilidad Social Infantil (EDESI, Lemos, 2005), el Cuestionario Argentino de Personalidad Infantil (C.A.P.I., Lemos, 2006) y la pregunta sobre satisfacción con la vida: "¿Cuán satisfecho o contento te encuentras con tu vida?".

This study aimed the adaptation and validation of the Inventory of Virtues and Strengths (I.V.&S., Cosentino & Castro Solano, 2008) in children aged 10-12 years. The I.V.&S. Children is a useful tool for assessing human virtues and strengths according to Peterson and Seligman´s (2004) six virtues and 24 strengths classification of character. 518 children (254 males and 263 females) between 10 and 12 years and attending to public and private schools of the City of Buenos Aires (Argentina) were part of this study. Regarding the I.V.&S. Children factor´s structure, the exploratory factor analysis allowed the extraction of six factors that accounted for 46.15 percent of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis showed an adequate fit to the model. As to convergent validity evidence, statistically significant and positive correlations were found between scores by I.V&S. Children and Children's Social Desirability Scale (EDESI, Lemos, 2005), the Argentine Children's Personality Questionnaire (ICSC, Lemos, 2006) and the question about life satisfaction: "How satisfied or happy are you with your life?".

Character strengths: a study of Argentinean soldiers.

The primary objective of this research was to study the differences in positive traits between military and civilian college students and between cadets in their first and final years at a military academy. Second, the research aimed to study the relations between positive traits and the academic and military performance of cadets in their first and final years, according to the classification of positive traits by Peterson and Seligman (2004). To accomplish these objectives, a sample of university students from a military educational institution and a sample of civilian university students were studied. The instruments used were a 24-item self-report measure of positive traits, a measure of social desirability, and objective scores of academic and military performance. The results generally showed that when age and career stage were held constant, the scores of the military students were higher than the scores of the civilian students across various strengths. Military students reported higher levels of the character strength of spirituality than did civilian students. The relationships between strengths and performance differed for students in their first and final years at the military academy. In particular, cadets with the higher levels of academic or military performance in their last year, i.e., the cadets best adapted to the academy, reported higher levels of the character strength of persistence when compared to low-performing cadets in the same year of study.

Conflicting preferences of parents and offspring over criteria for a mate: a study in Argentina.

Current evolutionary research on human mating has largely ignored the fact that mating decisions may be heavily influenced by parents. Recent research, however, shows that parents and children may have conflicting mate preferences. Specifically, parents tend to have a relatively stronger preference for children to pair with mates with characteristics signaling high parental investment and cooperation with the in-group, whereas children tend to have a relatively stronger preference to pair with mates with characteristics signaling genetic quality. The present research among 242 young adults from Argentina showed that in this country the same parent-offspring conflict was observed as had been found previously in North America, the Netherlands, Uruguay, and Kurdistan. This result provides additional support for the universal character of this type of conflict. In addition, the present research expanded previous work by showing that the two conflict dimensions were indeed psychometrically independent, and that more conflict was reported by older and married participants. In addition, more conflict was reported among women who were more in favor of parental control over mate choice and among men who were higher in social comparison orientation.

Factores y estilos de personalidad: estudio comparativo / Personality factors and traits: a comparative study

Se presentan los datos obtenidos a partir de la administración de la adaptación argentina de la versión castellana de dos inventarios de personalidad, el NEO-PI-R (Costa y McCrae) y el MIPS (Millon) a una muestra de población general de sujetos residentes en la ciudad de Bue-nos Aires y el conurbano bonaerense. (N: 500). Los participantes son adultos con edades comprendidas entre 21 y 50 años. Se calcularon correlaciones entre los cinco factores y las bipolaridades que evalúan ambas técnicas y se estudió la estructura factorial. Encontramos importantes relaciones empíricas con significación estadística(AU)