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"Roberts, Jonathan E."
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A cross-cultural investigation of the short version of the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS-7) across five countries
2025
Celebrity worship, conceptualized as an obsessive admiration of celebrities, has generated considerable research interest over the past two decades. Admiration towards a favorite celebrity has been commonly assessed by the 23-item Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS). Recently, a 7-item short version (CAS-7) was developed on a representative sample of Hungarian adults. This study aimed to provide further evidence for the validity and reliability of the CAS-7 measure by extending the investigation of its factor structure to other cultures and populations.
Data from 4,353 participants (64.4% women, Mage = 28.22 years, SD = 11.80, age range: 14-93 years) across five countries (Canada, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, US) were used, which was collected through online questionnaires.
Consistent with previous findings, the bifactor structure with celebrity worship as a general factor and entertainment-social and intense-pathological specific factors showed the best fit in all samples. Reliability indices for the celebrity worship general factor were good.
The present findings confirmed the reliability and the consistency of the factor structure of the CAS-7 across different samples, providing further evidence for the applicability of the CAS-7 in different cultures.
Journal Article
A cross-cultural investigation of the short version of the Celebrity Attitude Scale
2025
Celebrity worship, conceptualized as an obsessive admiration of celebrities, has generated considerable research interest over the past two decades. Admiration towards a favorite celebrity has been commonly assessed by the 23-item Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS). Recently, a 7-item short version (CAS-7) was developed on a representative sample of Hungarian adults. This study aimed to provide further evidence for the validity and reliability of the CAS-7 measure by extending the investigation of its factor structure to other cultures and populations. Data from 4,353 participants (64.4% women, M.sub.age = 28.22 years, SD = 11.80, age range: 14-93 years) across five countries (Canada, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, US) were used, which was collected through online questionnaires. Consistent with previous findings, the bifactor structure with celebrity worship as a general factor and entertainment-social and intense-pathological specific factors showed the best fit in all samples. Reliability indices for the celebrity worship general factor were good. The present findings confirmed the reliability and the consistency of the factor structure of the CAS-7 across different samples, providing further evidence for the applicability of the CAS-7 in different cultures.
Journal Article
Brief Report: Exploring the Relationship Between the Celebrity Attitude Scale and the Multidimensional Measure of Parasocial Relationships
by
Abernathy, Breanna
,
Mahoney, Matthew
,
Johnson, Alexis
in
Attitudes
,
Celebrities
,
Cronbach's alpha
2024
In this brief report, we examined the relationship between scores on the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS) and the Multidimensional Measure of Parasocial Relationships (MMPR). Overall, our preliminary findings revealed positive relationships across the subscales of the CAS and MMPR, with the exception of the Cognitive dimension of the MMPR.
Journal Article
Incidental encoding of enclosure geometry does not require visual input: evidence from blindfolded adults
by
Roberts, Jonathan E.
,
Sturz, Bradley R.
,
Gaskin, Katherine A.
in
Adult
,
Adults
,
Behavioral Science and Psychology
2014
Although spatial orientation with respect to the geometric properties of an environment appears to be an ability shared across various species, debate remains concerning potential similarities and differences with respect to the underlying mechanism(s). One prominent theoretical account of orientation with respect to the environment suggests that participants match visual memories to their current visual perception and navigate to reduce the discrepancy between the two. We tested whether visual input was necessary to incidentally encode the geometric properties of an environment, by training disoriented and blindfolded adult participants to search by touch for a target object hidden in one of four locations, marked by distinctive textural cues, located in the corners of a rectangular enclosure. Following training, we removed the distinctive textural cues and probed the extent to which the participants had learned the geometry of the enclosure. Even in the absence of vision and unique textural cues, search behavior was consistent with evidence for the encoding of enclosure geometry. A follow-up experiment in which participants were trained in a rectangular enclosure but were tested in a square enclosure provided converging evidence that search behavior was influenced by the geometric properties of the enclosure. Collectively, these results suggest that even in the absence of vision, participants incidentally encoded the geometric properties of the enclosure, indicating that visual input is not required to encode the geometric properties of an environment.
Journal Article
A cross-cultural investigation of the short version of the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS-7) across five countries
2025
BackgroundCelebrity worship, conceptualized as an obsessive admiration of celebrities, has generated considerable research interest over the past two decades. Admiration towards a favorite celebrity has been commonly assessed by the 23-item Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS). Recently, a 7-item short version (CAS-7) was developed on a representative sample of Hungarian adults. This study aimed to provide further evidence for the validity and reliability of the CAS-7 measure by extending the investigation of its factor structure to other cultures and populations.MethodsData from 4,353 participants (64.4% women, Mage = 28.22 years, SD = 11.80, age range: 14-93 years) across five countries (Canada, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, US) were used, which was collected through online questionnaires.ResultsConsistent with previous findings, the bifactor structure with celebrity worship as a general factor and entertainment-social and intense-pathological specific factors showed the best fit in all samples. Reliability indices for the celebrity worship general factor were good.ConclusionsThe present findings confirmed the reliability and the consistency of the factor structure of the CAS-7 across different samples, providing further evidence for the applicability of the CAS-7 in different cultures.
Journal Article
The effects of age and sex on mental rotation performance, verbal performance, and brain electrical activity
In adult populations, it is generally accepted there is an overall male advantage on spatial tasks and an overall female advantage on verbal tasks. These differences are inconsistent in children. The present study examined relations among age, sex, EEG hemispheric activation, and performance on spatial and verbal tasks. Thirty-two eight-year-olds (16 boys) and 32 college students (16 men) had EEG recorded at baseline and while performing a computerized 2-dimensional Gingerbread Man mental rotation task, a computerized 2-dimensional Alphanumeric mental rotation task, a computerized 3-dimensional Basketball Player mental rotation task, and a computerized Lexical Decision-Making task. Additionally, participants completed a paper-and-pencil Water Level task and an oral Verbal Fluency task. On the 2-dimensional Alphanumeric and 3-dimensional Basketball Player mental rotation tasks men performed better than boys, but the performance of women and girls did not differ. On the Lexical Decision-Making and Water level tasks, men performed better than women, while there was no difference between boys and girls. No sex differences were found on the 2-dimensional Gingerbread Man mental rotation task or Verbal Fluency task. Analyses of task-related data also indicate that computer familiarization or computer related task demands might contribute to sex differences on computerized tasks. EEG analyses indicated that, on the 2-dimensional Alphanumeric mental rotation task, men exhibited more left posterior temporal activation than women, while there were no differences between boys and girls. Additionally, there was evidence that simple, or 2-dimensional, mental rotation tasks are associated with left posterior brain activation, while 3-dimensional mental rotation tasks are associated with right posterior brain activation. On the 2-dimensional Gingerbread Man mental rotation task, males exhibited more activation of the left parietal area than females, while on the 2-dimensional Alphanumeric mental rotation task, men exhibited more activation of the left posterior temporal area than women. On the 3-dimensional Basketball player mental rotation task, all participants exhibited greater activation of the right parietal area than the left parietal area.
Dissertation
Geocaching a high-tech treasure hunt: Geocaching involves using GPS units to find hidden containers
Known as geocaching, the activity involves enthusiasts who hide \"caches\" around the world and pinpoint their locations using satellites.
Newsletter
Post-mortem imaging as an alternative to autopsy in the diagnosis of adult deaths: a validation study
2012
Public objection to autopsy has led to a search for minimally invasive alternatives. Imaging has potential, but its accuracy is unknown. We aimed to identify the accuracy of post-mortem CT and MRI compared with full autopsy in a large series of adult deaths.
This study was undertaken at two UK centres in Manchester and Oxford between April, 2006, and November, 2008. We used whole-body CT and MRI followed by full autopsy to investigate a series of adult deaths that were reported to the coroner. CT and MRI scans were reported independently, each by two radiologists who were masked to the autopsy findings. All four radiologists then produced a consensus report based on both techniques, recorded their confidence in cause of death, and identified whether autopsy was needed.
We assessed 182 unselected cases. The major discrepancy rate between cause of death identified by radiology and autopsy was 32% (95% CI 26–40) for CT, 43% (36–50) for MRI, and 30% (24–37) for the consensus radiology report; 10% (3–17) lower for CT than for MRI. Radiologists indicated that autopsy was not needed in 62 (34%; 95% CI 28–41) of 182 cases for CT reports, 76 (42%; 35–49) of 182 cases for MRI reports, and 88 (48%; 41–56) of 182 cases for consensus reports. Of these cases, the major discrepancy rate compared with autopsy was 16% (95% CI 9–27), 21% (13–32), and 16% (10–25), respectively, which is significantly lower (p<0·0001) than for cases with no definite cause of death. The most common imaging errors in identification of cause of death were ischaemic heart disease (n=27), pulmonary embolism (11), pneumonia (13), and intra-abdominal lesions (16).
We found that, compared with traditional autopsy, CT was a more accurate imaging technique than MRI for providing a cause of death. The error rate when radiologists provided a confident cause of death was similar to that for clinical death certificates, and could therefore be acceptable for medicolegal purposes. However, common causes of sudden death are frequently missed on CT and MRI, and, unless these weaknesses are addressed, systematic errors in mortality statistics would result if imaging were to replace conventional autopsy.
Policy Research Programme, Department of Health, UK.
Journal Article
Psychological and pharmacological interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder and comorbid mental health problems following complex traumatic events: Systematic review and component network meta-analysis
by
Barbui, Corrado
,
Karatzias, Thanos
,
Brown, Jennifer V. E.
in
Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use
,
Anxiety
,
Bias
2020
Complex traumatic events associated with armed conflict, forcible displacement, childhood sexual abuse, and domestic violence are increasingly prevalent. People exposed to complex traumatic events are at risk of not only posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but also other mental health comorbidities. Whereas evidence-based psychological and pharmacological treatments are effective for single-event PTSD, it is not known if people who have experienced complex traumatic events can benefit and tolerate these commonly available treatments. Furthermore, it is not known which components of psychological interventions are most effective for managing PTSD in this population. We performed a systematic review and component network meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological interventions for managing mental health problems in people exposed to complex traumatic events.
We searched CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, MEDLINE, Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress, PsycINFO, and Science Citation Index for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs of psychological and pharmacological treatments for PTSD symptoms in people exposed to complex traumatic events, published up to 25 October 2019. We adopted a nondiagnostic approach and included studies of adults who have experienced complex trauma. Complex-trauma subgroups included veterans; childhood sexual abuse; war-affected; refugees; and domestic violence. The primary outcome was reduction in PTSD symptoms. Secondary outcomes were depressive and anxiety symptoms, quality of life, sleep quality, and positive and negative affect. We included 116 studies, of which 50 were conducted in hospital settings, 24 were delivered in community settings, seven were delivered in military clinics for veterans or active military personnel, five were conducted in refugee camps, four used remote delivery via web-based or telephone platforms, four were conducted in specialist trauma clinics, two were delivered in home settings, and two were delivered in primary care clinics; clinical setting was not reported in 17 studies. Ninety-four RCTs, for a total of 6,158 participants, were included in meta-analyses across the primary and secondary outcomes; 18 RCTs for a total of 933 participants were included in the component network meta-analysis. The mean age of participants in the included RCTs was 42.6 ± 9.3 years, and 42% were male. Nine non-RCTs were included. The mean age of participants in the non-RCTs was 40.6 ± 9.4 years, and 47% were male. The average length of follow-up across all included studies at posttreatment for the primary outcome was 11.5 weeks. The pairwise meta-analysis showed that psychological interventions reduce PTSD symptoms more than inactive control (k = 46; n = 3,389; standardised mean difference [SMD] = -0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] -1.02 to -0.63) and active control (k-9; n = 662; SMD = -0.35, 95% CI -0.56 to -0.14) at posttreatment and also compared with inactive control at 6-month follow-up (k = 10; n = 738; SMD = -0.45, 95% CI -0.82 to -0.08). Psychological interventions reduced depressive symptoms (k = 31; n = 2,075; SMD = -0.87, 95% CI -1.11 to -0.63; I2 = 82.7%, p = 0.000) and anxiety (k = 15; n = 1,395; SMD = -1.03, 95% CI -1.44 to -0.61; p = 0.000) at posttreatment compared with inactive control. Sleep quality was significantly improved at posttreatment by psychological interventions compared with inactive control (k = 3; n = 111; SMD = -1.00, 95% CI -1.49 to -0.51; p = 0.245). There were no significant differences between psychological interventions and inactive control group at posttreatment for quality of life (k = 6; n = 401; SMD = 0.33, 95% CI -0.01 to 0.66; p = 0.021). Antipsychotic medicine (k = 5; n = 364; SMD = -0.45; -0.85 to -0.05; p = 0.085) and prazosin (k = 3; n = 110; SMD = -0.52; -1.03 to -0.02; p = 0.182) were effective in reducing PTSD symptoms. Phase-based psychological interventions that included skills-based strategies along with trauma-focused strategies were the most promising interventions for emotional dysregulation and interpersonal problems. Compared with pharmacological interventions, we observed that psychological interventions were associated with greater reductions in PTSD and depression symptoms and improved sleep quality. Sensitivity analysis showed that psychological interventions were acceptable with lower dropout, even in studies rated at low risk of attrition bias. Trauma-focused psychological interventions were superior to non-trauma-focused interventions across trauma subgroups for PTSD symptoms, but effects among veterans and war-affected populations were significantly reduced. The network meta-analysis showed that multicomponent interventions that included cognitive restructuring and imaginal exposure were the most effective for reducing PTSD symptoms (k = 17; n = 1,077; mean difference = -37.95, 95% CI -60.84 to -15.16). Our use of a non-diagnostic inclusion strategy may have overlooked certain complex-trauma populations with severe and enduring mental health comorbidities. Additionally, the relative contribution of skills-based intervention components was not feasibly evaluated in the network meta-analysis.
In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we observed that trauma-focused psychological interventions are effective for managing mental health problems and comorbidities in people exposed to complex trauma. Multicomponent interventions, which can include phase-based approaches, were the most effective treatment package for managing PTSD in complex trauma. Establishing optimal ways to deliver multicomponent psychological interventions for people exposed to complex traumatic events is a research and clinical priority.
Journal Article
De novo mutations in congenital heart disease with neurodevelopmental and other congenital anomalies
by
Kim, Richard
,
Giardini, Alessandro
,
Mane, Shrikant
in
Brain
,
Brain - abnormalities
,
Brain - metabolism
2015
Congenital heart disease (CHD) patients have an increased prevalence of extracardiac congenital anomalies (CAs) and risk of neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDDs). Exome sequencing of 1213 CHD parent-offspring trios identified an excess of protein-damaging de novo mutations, especially in genes highly expressed in the developing heart and brain. These mutations accounted for 20% of patients with CHD, NDD, and CA but only 2% of patients with isolated CHD. Mutations altered genes involved in morphogenesis, chromatin modification, and transcriptional regulation, including multiple mutations in RBFOX2, a regulator of mRNA splicing. Genes mutated in other cohorts examined for NDD were enriched in CHD cases, particularly those with coexisting NDD. These findings reveal shared genetic contributions to CHD, NDD, and CA and provide opportunities for improved prognostic assessment and early therapeutic intervention in CHD patients.
Journal Article