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A recent Registered Replication Report (RRR) of the development of verbal rehearsal during serial recall revealed that children verbalized at younger ages than previously thought, but did not identify sources of individual differences. Here, we use mediation analysis to reanalyze data from the 934 children ranging from 5 to 10 years old from the RRR for that purpose. From ages 5 to 7, the time taken for a child to label pictures (i.e. isolated naming speed) predicted the child's spontaneous use of labels during a visually presented serial reconstruction task, despite no need for spoken responses. For 6- and 7-year-olds, isolated naming speed also predicted recall. The degree to which verbalization mediated the relation between isolated naming speed and recall changed across development. All relations dissipated by age 10. The same general pattern was observed in an exploratory analysis of delayed recall for which greater demands are placed on rehearsal for item maintenance. Overall, our findings suggest that spontaneous phonological recoding during a standard short-term memory task emerges around age 5, increases in efficiency during the early elementary school years, and is sufficiently automatic by age 10 to support immediate serial recall in most children. Moreover, the findings highlight the need to distinguish between phonological recoding and rehearsal in developmental studies of short-term memory.

Knowledge about suicide postvention (KSPV) is an important distal outcome in the evaluation of suicide prevention programs that focus on the bereaved. However, most scales are specifically tailored to the evaluation study in question and psychometric properties are often unsatisfactory. Therefore, we developed the KSPV scale. Scale properties were investigated with Rasch trees, a newly developed method in the framework of item response theory. Additionally, we provide cues for convergent validity. In summary, the scale shows satisfactory properties for assessing KSPV and could be used to evaluate suicide postvention programs more effectively. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Various research findings, mostly from Anglo-American countries, evidence the medical profession to be strongly familial and further suggest that a medical family background may be associated with study success in medical undergraduates. This study explored the familial aggregation of the medical profession among 1-year cohort samples of medical and psychology students in Austria. Whereas physicians only amount to about 0.4% of the total Austrian population, 45.8% of final-year medical students reported any and 25.6% a first-degree medical relative. Male students more likely had physicians in their family than female students and both sexes more likely had male than female medical relatives. Male final-year medical students with first-degree medical relatives were significantly younger than those without, thus indicating faster study progress in this group. Physicians also ran in the families of psychology students, as did psychologists and psychotherapists. Implications of these findings, study limitations, and avenues for future research are discussed.

Very little prior research has examined public perceptions of research funding and the life chances associated with various fields of study. In the present task, 315 members of the Austrian general public rated 34 higher-education courses in terms of funding cuts or increases, and the perceived life chances of graduates, respectively. The results showed a high degree of correspondence in the ratings of both questionnaires. Overall, professional and biological stream courses were rated the most favourably, whereas arts and humanities courses were rated the least favourably. Participants' demographic variables had little influence on their decisions. The implications of these findings for the way higher education is managed and organised are discussed.

The Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) has recently been developed as a more complete measure for the assessment of molar subjective happiness. In the present study, we report on the translation and validation of German and Tagalog versions of the SHS and conduct an initial cross-cultural examination of subjective happiness. In Study 1, 960 participants in Austria completed a German version of the SHS, which showed a unidimensional structure, good internal consistency, and good convergent validity with other measures of subjective well-being. In Study 2, 182 participants in the Philippines completed a Tagalog version of the scale, which likewise had a unidimensional structure, high internal consistency, and good convergent validity. Finally, the results of Study 3 indicate that there were significant cross-cultural differences in subjective happiness. Specifically, participants in individualist Austria and Britain had higher SHS scores than their counterparts in collectivist Malaysia and the Philippines. Limitations of these studies are discussed.

Psychometric properties and demographic correlates of a German form of R. W. Hubbard and J. L. McIntosh's (1992) Revised Facts on Suicide Quiz (RFOS), an inventory for assessing overall knowledge about suicide, were investigated in a sample of 1,093 Austrian medical and psychology students. Internal consistency of the RFOS was weak, as were many of the item-total correlations, indicating a fair amount of item-content heterogeneity. Demographic variables (sex, age, field of study, and study level) were significant predictors of RFOS scores and item responses. On the whole, women, advanced, older, and medical students outperformed men, junior, younger, and psychology students. Various directions for further inquiry are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)

According to de Catanzaro's (1981) evolutionary theory of human suicide, a threshold intelligence is necessary for suicidality. A corollary deducible from this assertion is that intelligence and suicide mortality should be positively related. The present study tested de Catanzaro's corollary within a country. Using district-level IQ data of the entire non-institutionalized Austrian male year-of-birth cohort of 1969 who survived up to compulsory military conscription, including IQ testing in 1987 (n = 55474), the subsequent (1987-2001) district-level cohort loss due to suicide mortality was investigated. Across 99 Austrian districts, the regional IQ was weakly but statistically significantly, positively related to the regional standardized suicide rate as well as to the regional percentage of mortality due to suicide in this very cohort, when these relations were controlled for likely confounders (male divorce and unemployment rates and male net income), but not statistically reliable without these controls. It is argued that the most parsimonious interpretation of these aggregate-level findings remains that intelligence level and suicide mortality are positively related. (Contains 2 tables.)

Background: Till et al. (2016) reported that in an Austrian sample approximately one in ten respondents incorrectly believed that Austria still practices, or recently practiced, the death penalty, and that there is a positive association between the amount of weekly television viewing and this gross misperception of the Austrian justice system. Methods: An endorsed, prereviewed, preregistered close (N = 597) served to test the veracity of these reported effects. This was coupled with the conceptual extension part, which (a) investigated the potential influence of watching American crime series, (b) accounted for further possible confounds, and (c) tested the generalizability of the effect of television viewing to online streaming. Results: Online survey data (N = 597) replicated the one-in-ten prevalence of incorrect answers with the 5-item death penalty questionnaire used in the original study, but not, when asking directly about Austria's death penalty practices (prevalence: 0.3%). Younger age, but not the amount of television viewing or online streaming, suggestibility, or preferred TV genre consistently predicted incorrect answers in the death penalty questionnaire. Incorrect answers were Mokken-scalable (i.e., formed a common scale, complying with a non-parametric item response model) and were highly consistent. In contrast to the replication study results, a small meta-analysis of all available evidence (three studies, including the present replication) suggested that the aggregate effect of television viewing nominally was significant, albeit small. Conclusion: The replication study yielded mixed results, which indicate the perception of a high prevalence of beliefs that there is capital punishment in a country without death penalty probably is due to a faultily designed questionnaire and thus a research artifact. Also, positive associations of television viewing with such beliefs likely are only small at best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of a comparative investigation of attitudes to suicide and suicidal persons in 5,572 university students from 12 countries. Participants filled out two scales measuring attitudes towards suicide and suicidal persons, a measure of psychological distress together with the questions about suicidal behavior. Results showed that the highest suicide acceptance scores were observed in Austrian, UK, Japanese and Saudi Arabian samples and the lowest scores were noted in Tunisian, Turkish, Iranian and Palestinian samples. While the highest social acceptance scores for a suicidal friend were noted in Turkish, US, Italian and Tunisian samples, the lowest scores were seen in Japanese, Saudi Arabian, Palestinian and Jordanian samples. Compared to participants with a suicidal past, those who were never suicidal displayed more internal barriers against suicidal behavior. Men were more accepting of suicide than women but women were more willing to help an imagined suicidal peer. Participants with accepting attitudes towards suicide but rejecting attitudes towards suicidal persons reported more suicidal behavior and psychological distress, and were more often from high suicide rate countries and samples than their counterparts. They are considered to be caught in a fatal trap in which most predominant feelings of suicidality such as hopelessness or helplessness are likely to occur. We conclude that in some societies such as Japan and Saudi Arabia it might be difficult for suicidal individuals to activate and make use of social support systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of suicidal behavior and the nature of attitudes toward suicide differ in Austria and Turkey. To see if there were differences in disclosure, 351 Turkish and 310 Austrian students answered questions about disclosing suicidal thoughts. More Austrian than Turkish students reported suicidal ideation and believed that suicidal people disclose their plans, but suicidal disclosures were equally common in the two groups. Compared to Austria, suicidal disclosures in Turkey met with more positive social reactions that may facilitate a successful social support process. These findings imply that prevention efforts should reduce the stigma around suicidal disclosures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, we examined associations between oppressive, sexist beliefs and consideration of cosmetic surgery for oneself and also endorsement of cosmetic surgery for one's romantic partner. A total of 554 German-speaking volunteers from the community, mainly in Austria, completed measures of consideration of cosmetic surgery and three measures of sexist attitudes, while a subset of participants in romantic relationships completed a measure of endorsement of cosmetic surgery for their partners along with the measures of sexism. Preliminary analyses showed that women and single respondents were more likely to consider having cosmetic surgery than men and committed respondents, respectively. Further analyses showed that consideration of cosmetic surgery for oneself was significantly associated with sexist attitudes, particularly hostile attitudes to women. In addition, among participants in a relationship, sexist attitudes were associated with endorsement of cosmetic surgery for one's partner. These results indicate that attitudes to cosmetic surgery for oneself and one's partner are shaped by gender-ideological belief systems in patriarchal societies. Possible implications for understanding the motivations for having cosmetic surgery, among both single respondents and couples, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicidal behavior on the subway often involves young people and has a considerable impact on public life, but little is known about factors associated with suicides and suicide attempts in specific subway stations. Between 1979 and 2009, 185 suicides and 107 suicide attempts occurred on the subway in Vienna, Austria. Station-specific suicide and suicide attempt rates (defined as the frequency of suicidal incidents per time period) were modeled as the outcome variables in bivariate and multivariate Poisson regression models. Structural station characteristics (presence of a surveillance unit, train types used, and construction on street level versus other construction), contextual station characteristics (neighborhood to historical sites, size of the catchment area, and in operation during time period of extensive media reporting on subway suicides), and passenger-based characteristics (number of passengers getting on the trains per day, use as meeting point by drug users, and socioeconomic status of the population in the catchment area) were used as the explanatory variables. In the multivariate analyses, subway suicides increased when stations were served by the faster train type. Subway suicide attempts increased with the daily number of passengers getting on the trains and with the stations' use as meeting points by drug users. The findings indicate that there are some differences between subway suicides and suicide attempts. Completed suicides seem to vary most with train type used. Suicide attempts seem to depend mostly on passenger-based characteristics, specifically on the station's crowdedness and on its use as meeting point by drug users. Suicide-preventive interventions should concentrate on crowded stations and on stations frequented by risk groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated handedness and drawing by preschoolers. An observational method for repeated measurement of hand preference is presented. A sample of 381 children (191 girls, 190 boys) ranging in age from 48 to 71 mo. was tested for drawing and hand preference on 14 tasks. Consistent hand preference was defined as always using a particular hand (left or right) for the same task. Girls with consistent hand preference showed better drawing scores compared to girls with inconsistent hand preference. The results showed the importance of a reliable method for measuring hand preference within a single task as early as preschool age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of sex and personality traits on self-estimates of intelligence were examined in a sample of 302 Austrian adults (143 men, 159 women). Confirming previous research, men had higher self-estimates of logical and spatial abilities than did women, and these differences were partly explained in terms of women's higher Neuroticism scores. Neuroticism (negatively) and Openness (positively) accounted significantly for variances in self-estimates of spatial and logical intelligence. However, sex had stronger direct and indirect effects on self-estimates of intelligence. Sex and personality effects appear to be largely independent. Thus, being male, emotionally stable, and open to new experiences is likely to result in higher self-estimates of spatial and logical abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various research findings, mostly from Anglo-American countries, evidence the medical profession to be strongly familial and further suggest that a medical family background may be associated with study success in medical undergraduates. This study explored the familial aggregation of the medical profession among 1-year cohort samples of medical and psychology students in Austria. Whereas physicians only amount to about 0.4% of the total Austrian population, 45.8% of final-year medical students reported any and 25.6% a first-degree medical relative. Male students more likely had physicians in their family than female students and both sexes more likely had male than female medical relatives. Male final-year medical students with first-degree medical relatives were significantly younger than those without, thus indicating faster study progress in this group. Physicians also ran in the families of psychology students, as did psychologists and psychotherapists. Implications of these findings, study limitations, and avenues for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Multifaceted evidence (family, twin, adoption, molecular genetic, geographic, and surname studies of suicide) suggests genetic risk factors for suicide. The migrant study design is also informative in this context, but underused. In particular, immigrant studies of suicide with a continental European host country are unavailable. The correspondence of suicide prevalence among 22 immigrant groups in Austria (1970–2006) with those of the homelands during the same period was analyzed. Immigrant and homeland suicide rates were significantly positively associated. Controls for age of suicide victim, immigrant group size, national pride, and quality of life in the homelands left the finding essentially unchanged. This correspondence of immigrant and country-of-birth suicide rates is consistent with the assumption of population differences in the prevalence of genetic risk factors for suicide, for which there is emerging evidence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The determination of paternity is important due to the possibility of cuckoldry and the subsequent squandering of male reproductive effort. Men may be attuned to prevalence rates of cuckoldry in the local environment to assess risk. However, women may have an enhanced ability to assess paternity and may have superior insight into women’s sexual infidelity. Accordingly, this study examined subjective estimates of human non-paternity (HNP), the discrepancy between social/legal versus genetic paternity. The hypothesis was that women would provide higher estimates of HNP than men. A sex difference in the hypothesized direction was observed across four community samples of Austrian adults (totalling 763 men and 795 women), with women overall providing higher HNP estimates than men (14.5% vs. 9.1%). Furthermore, key demographic variables impacted HNP estimates for both sexes: individuals who were unmarried, childless, currently unpartnered, or currently in a romantic relationship of a shorter duration provided higher HNP estimates than their counterparts, thus suggesting that such estimates might be attuned to mating effort and strategies, as well as relationship quality and investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous investigators of extraterrestrial beliefs have relied on single-item scales, which limit the researchers' understanding of such beliefs. The present authors report responses to a 37-item scale about extraterrestrial beliefs from 320 participants in Austria and 257 participants in Britain. A factor analysis revealed 3 primary factors that were stable across sites: (a) belief that extraterrestrial life has visited Earth and that governmental agencies have knowledge of this fact, (b) scientific search for extraterrestrial life, and (c) general beliefs about the existence of extraterrestrial life. Participants rated only Factor 3 positively, suggesting that there is a distinction between paranormal-related beliefs and science-related beliefs. The authors found only political orientation and religiosity to be significantly correlated with factor scores. They discuss their results in relation to previous reports of extraterrestrial beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined various factors associated with the likelihood of having cosmetic surgery in a community sample of Austrian participants. One-hundred and sixty-eight women and 151 men completed a questionnaire measuring how likely they were to consider common cosmetic procedures. The results showed that women were more likely than men to consider most cosmetic procedures. Path analysis revealed that personal experience of having had cosmetic surgery was a significant predictor of future likelihood, while media exposure (viewing advertisements or television programs, or reading articles about cosmetic surgery) mediated the influence of vicarious experience and sex. These results are discussed in relation to previous work examining the factors associated with the likelihood of having cosmetic surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music therapy has been shown to be efficacious in experimental studies. However, there is little empirical research knowledge about what elements of music therapy influence its effectiveness in clinical practice. Children and adolescents with psychopathology (N = 75) were assessed before and after participating in individual music therapy with 1 out of 15 music therapists in the Vienna region. Relationships between outcomes (as evaluated by parents) and therapy contents (as reported by therapists) were examined using general linear modelling. Results indicated that clients' symptoms and burdens on their social environment showed greater improvement when music therapy was limited to discipline-specific music therapy techniques and did not include other media such as play therapy elements. The findings indicate the importance of being aware of a therapy method's specific strengths and limitations. More research on the indicated specific ingredients of music therapy intervention is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge about suicide might be positively correlated with local suicide prevalence. This hypothesis was tested with a sample of 107 medical and social science undergraduates from Estonia, a country with a high suicide rate, using Hubbard and McIntosh's 1992 Revised Facts on Suicide Quiz. Compared (independent-groups t tests) with a sample of undergraduates from Austria, which has a markedly lower suicide rate, Estonians presented significantly higher overall knowledge about suicide (d=0.39), particularly concerning demographic and epidemiological facts about suicide (d=0.77) but not pertaining to clinical and interpersonal knowledge contents (d= -0.06). Study limitations and suggestions for extension of this preliminary inquiry are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foot size proportionate to stature is smaller in women than in men, and small feet apparently contribute to perceived physical attractiveness of females. This exploratory study investigated the sex difference in relative foot length and interrelations among foot length, physique, and foot preference ratings in samples from Austria and Canada, each comprised of 75 men and 75 women. The findings included the following lines of evidence: the sex difference in relative foot length replicated in both data sets; the magnitude of this sex effect was large. Relative foot length was smaller in young, nulliparous, and slim women. Pointed-toe and high-heel shoes were more likely worn by smaller, lighter, and slimmer women. Men reported liking women's feet in general more than vice versa. A vast majority of both men and women favored small feet in women, but large feet in men. One's own foot size appeared to correspond to evaluations of attractiveness; particularly, women with small feet preferred small feet in women in general. The preference for small feet in women was convergent across different methods of evaluating attractiveness. Directions for investigations in this emerging field of research on physical attractiveness are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on suicide in childhood and early adolescence is sparse. We investigated suicide cases of children and young adolescents in terms of prevalence, gender differences, suicide methods and monthly distribution during a period of 32 years. Registered suicides aged 14 or younger occurring between 1970 and 2001 ( n = 275) in Austria were studied. The mean suicide rate for 10 to 14-year-olds was 1.4 per 100,000 with a male–female ratio of 3.1:1. The total child and young adolescent suicide rate and boys’ suicide rates decreased over the study period. However, there was no significant fluctuation in girls’ suicide rates. Hanging was the predominant suicide method in both genders. Use of this method decreased steadily over the study period, whereas the percentage of suicides by other methods, i.e., jumping and firearms suicides increased. Greater number of suicides in children and young adolescents was observed during the months of April/May and October/November. Suicide rates of children and young adolescents in Austria are on the decrease, in accordance with a reported decrease in the general suicide rate in Austria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurohormonal theories of sexual orientation emphasize the organizational effects of testosterone on the developing brain. A recent suggestion, that the ratio of the length of the 2nd and 4th digits (2D:4D) is negatively correlated with prenatal testosterone, has led to a number of studies of 2D:4D in homosexual and heterosexual men and women. The results have been mixed. In comparison to heterosexual men, mean 2D:4D in gay men has been reported to be hypermasculinized (lower 2D:4D), hypomasculinized (higher 2D:4D), or to show no significant difference. Here, we report mean 2D:4D in Austrian homosexual and heterosexual men. We found no significant difference between means for homosexual and heterosexual 2D:4D, with values for both falling between 0.96 to 0.97. There are now 6 reports of 2D:4D in heterosexual and homosexual men. Considering Caucasian men, the studies from the United States show low heterosexual mean 2D:4D, and homosexual mean 2D:4D is higher or similar to that of heterosexuals. The European studies show high heterosexual mean 2D:4D, and comparisons with homosexuals reveal the latter to have lower or similar mean 2D:4D to that of heterosexuals. We discuss these results in relation to the suggestion that mean 2D:4D in heterosexual men differs across populations but mean 2D:4D in homosexuals shows less geographical variation (the "uniform mean hypothesis"). It is concluded that more data are required to clarify whether or not there is a 2D:4D effect for sexual orientation in men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic illnesses belong to suicide risk factors. The goal of the current study was to estimate the rate of suicide-related behaviors in patients with atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, or acne from a third-person perspective (namely, Austrian dermatologists).Methods: A link to a questionnaire specially developed for this study was emailed to 450 self-employed dermatologists in Austria, from which a total of 45 participated.Results: Three dermatologists reported more than five patients with atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, or acne who committed suicide in 2017. Seven doctors treated between 1 and 10 such patients suffering from suicidal ideation. These results are suggestive for a low rate of suicidal ideations in Austrian dermatology ordinations. The majority of dermatologists in the sample (82%) knew that these patients are at higher suicide risk. 60% of participants also believed that it rather would not be a problem for them to recognize suicidal ideation. When facing patients in a suicide crisis, reported intervention steps were: referring them to a specialist in psychiatry, or having a conversation about it. In the sample, most challenging about suicide was lack of time and lack of knowledge. Dermatologists were also interested in cooperating with mental health professionals and in the implementation of new prevention strategies (e.g., suicide-related training programs). Analysis revealed that private specialists, as compared with contract physicians, had fewer patients, but spent more time with them. Yet, these differences did not appear to influence the quality of treatment they provided. Treatment quality was defined as the extent to which doctors tell their patients that additional psychological treatments could be helpful and asking them about their emotional state. Female gender and a professional background in psychology impacted positively on treatment quality.Conclusions: Possible explanations for the low rate of suicidal ideations reported include the advanced Austrian health care system and dermatologists' underestimation of the problem. Implications of the study are to promote cooperation between dermatologists and mental health professionals and to address patient suicidality from a first-person perspective (i.e., the patients). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of mental health literacy is well-developed, but the basic methodology used in this research (i.e., the use of text-based vignettes) has not changed substantively in over two decades of work. Here, we developed novel filmed disclosures to re-assess mental health literacy of depression in a preregistered study utilizing a randomized, fully within-subjects design. A total of 405 adults from Austria (57% women, age M = 32.5 years) viewed short (~3 min) filmed disclosures by a female or male target and were asked to report if they thought anything was wrong with the targets and, if so, to describe what they thought was wrong. Participants also rated the targets on a range of attitudinal dimensions and completed measures of conformity to masculine norms and expressivity. The majority of participants (93.8%) correctly identified that something was wrong with the targets and, of those that did, the majority (69.2%) correctly described cases of depression. Neither target nor participant gender significantly influenced symptom recognition. Gendered effects were also largely null in terms of perceived distress, treatment difficulty, sympathy, and likelihood of recommending help for the targets, and both conformity to masculine norms and expressivity had minimal impact on attitudinal dimensions. These results highlight the potential utility of filmed disclosures in the study of mental health literacy and suggest that gendered effects reported in previous studies may be an artifact of the use of text-based vignettes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies suggest that personality and individual difference traits are associated with aesthetic preferences but have infrequently examined associations within specific genres or across media domains. We examined associations between the Big Five personality traits with preferences (i.e., liking) for two nonconventional genres of film and literature, namely nouveau roman and existentialism, in samples of 548 nonexperts and 95 genre experts from Austria. Path analyses indicated that openness to experience (positively) and conscientiousness (negatively) were significantly associated with greater liking of stimuli across genres and media domains, after considering the effects of additional, relevant variables (aesthetic expertise and behaviors, social status, and the motive for sensory pleasure). Path models were stable across nonexperts and experts, although the strength of the relationships between openness and liking was stronger for nouveau roman stimuli. Additional analyses indicated that experts had significantly greater liking for stimuli across both genres than nonexperts. These results may have implications for the promotion of nonconventional artworks to wider audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study investigates experts’ and laypeople''s social representations of the financial and economic crisis, as widely discussed in the media after the fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Financial experts (n =156) and laypeople (n =153) with low versus high confidence in the economic recovery spontaneously associated thoughts and beliefs about the crisis and to economic and political stakeholders. Following a mixed-methods approach, they evaluated economic stakeholders with regard to six trust items. The study was conducted in March 2010 in Austria, which was moderately affected by the crisis. The results indicate that economic variables (e.g., unemployment) were central to the social representations of the crisis, while underlying feelings of unfairness and egoism surfaced during the ongoing process of association. The social representation did not comprise a general criticism of the economic system. The differences between the subgroups depended on identification-based self-protection and economic knowledge. Experts and laypeople tended to attribute the economic crisis to specific stakeholders in a self-protecting way: experts blamed the media, laypeople blamed the managers, and both blamed the politicians. Interestingly, the subgroups tended to evaluate the banks as being relatively neutral. Expertise and differentiated economic knowledge was related to confidence in the economic recovery. Thus, the perceived capability of politicians in terms of competence and morality seems crucial for regaining public confidence in the economy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate whether the risk of increased suicide occurrence after reports on suicide is associated with the social characteristics of the reported suicides and whether this varies with similarity between the reported suicides and suicides in the population. We collected reports on all 179 individual suicides named in the 13 largest Austrian nationwide newspapers from 1996 to 2006. Information on social status and sociodemographic characteristics of the reported suicides, on certainty of labelling the death as a suicide, and on the suicide methods applied were extracted from the articles. We conducted logistic regression analyses, with the increase of post-report suicides within 28 days after the reports as dependent variable. In model 1, the increase of suicides that matched the reported individual suicide with regard to age group, sex and suicide method was used as outcome variable. In model 2, the increase of suicides that were different from the reported suicide with regard to these characteristics was the outcome. In model 3, the post-report increase of total suicides was the dependent variable. Celebrity status of the reported suicide, age of the reported suicide between 30 and 64 years, and definitive labelling as a suicide were associated with an increased risk of a post-report increase of similar suicides; criminality (i.e. the individual was reported as suspected or convicted of crime) of the reported suicide was associated with a lower risk of a post-report increase. In dissimilar suicides, none of the variables was associated with a post-report increase of suicides. Celebrity status of the reported suicide was the only predictor of a post-report increase of total suicides. The findings support the hypothesis that social variables of reported suicides impact the risk of post-report copycat behaviour. Evidence of copycat effects seemed to be strongest in suicides that were similar to the respective model with regard to age group, sex, and suicide method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Knowledge about suicide postvention (KSPV) is an important distal outcome in the evaluation of suicide prevention programs that focus on the bereaved. However, most scales are specifically tailored to the evaluation study in question and psychometric properties are often unsatisfactory. Therefore, we developed the KSPV scale. Scale properties were investigated with Rasch trees, a newly developed method in the framework of item response theory. Additionally, we provide cues for convergent validity. In summary, the scale shows satisfactory properties for assessing KSPV and could be used to evaluate suicide postvention programs more effectively., (© 2013 The American Association of Suicidology.)

Stöber's Social Desirability Scale (SDS-17) was examined psychometrically in 5 samples (N=2817) from Austria, Canada, and the U.S.A. Rasch and Mokken scaling analyses attested the SDS-17 is not strictly unidimensional. Age, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were notable positive correlates of SDS-17 scores. There were signs of non-normal score distributions, acquiescence bias, and sex and country differences (higher scores among Austrians than North Americans). Items with higher ratings of social desirability according to previous research were particularly prone to show sex effects. The SDS-17 appears suitable in cross-cultural settings, but may benefit from substituting its true-false response format with a rating-scale format. A formative-indicators view regarding the social desirability construct and the SDS-17 is discussed.

This study examined differences between tattooed and non-tattooed individuals on a range of personality and individual difference measures. A community sample of 540 individuals from the southern German-speaking area of central Europe completed a survey consisting of measures of the Big Five personality factors, Need for Uniqueness, Self-esteem, sensation seeking, Religious and Spiritual Beliefs, Attitudes Toward Tattoos, tattoo possession, and demographics. Preliminary analyses showed that 22% of the total sample possessed at least one tattoo. Further analyses showed that, compared with non-tattooed (n = 420) individuals, tattooed participants (n = 120) had significantly higher scores on Extraversion, Experience Seeking, Need for Uniqueness, and held more positive Attitudes Toward Tattoos, although effect sizes of these group differences were generally small- to medium-sized. These results are considered in relation to the contemporary prevalence of tattoos in socioeconomically developed societies.

This study aims to evaluate the psychosocial factors of neonaticide, especially the circumstances before delivery, the relationships of the pregnant women, and their social environment awareness of women's pregnancy. This nationwide study was register-based, comprising all known neonaticides in Austria and Finland between 1995 and 2005. Cases (n = 28) were obtained by screening the death certificates from coroner's departments and by analyzing them along with all further available reports. Few women (17.9 %, 5/28) admitted their pregnancy to others. Although most (16/28) offenders were in a relationship, the partner had knowledge of the pregnancy in only three cases. The main motive for negation of the pregnancy (named in 60.8 % of cases) was fear of abandonment/negative response from others. The fertility rate among the women was high, but half of those with children had lost the custody of them. In neonaticide, the lack of awareness surrounding offenders' pregnancy, as well as the awareness of social environment, is more relevant than any other social variable.

Previous studies have not fully investigated the psychometric properties of the Photographic Figure Rating Scale (PFRS). In 2 studies, we report on the test-retest reliability and convergent validity of ratings derived from the PFRS. In Study 1, 322 female university students in Britain provided self-ratings on the PFRS and objectively measured body mass index (BMI); a subsample of 132 women also completed the task after 5 weeks. In Study 2, 243 women from the community in Austria completed the PFRS along with a battery of other body image scales. Results of Study 1 showed that ratings on the PFRS had good test-retest reliability (all rs > .87) and good convergent validity in relation to BMI. Results of Study 2 showed that PFRS-derived body dissatisfaction scores were significantly correlated with a range of body image variables. These results provide evidence for the convergent validity and good test-retest reliability of the PFRS.

Purpose: This cross-cultural study investigated the prevalence of suicidal behavior and attitudes towards suicide and reactions to suicidal individuals in 320 Austrian and 326 Turkish medical students., Methods: Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire consisting of sections on demographic information, suicidal behavior, current mood, religiosity, attitudes towards suicide, and reactions to suicidal individuals., Results: More Austrian (37.8%) than Turkish (27.3%) students reported life-time, past 12-month, or current suicidal ideation, while more Turkish (6.4%) than Austrian (2.2%) students reported life-time or past 12-month suicide attempts. Austrian students had more permissive and liberal attitudes towards suicide, while those of Turkish students were more rejecting. Conversely, attitudes of Turkish medical students towards an imagined suicidal close friend were more accepting than those of Austrian medical students. Comparisons of suicidal versus nonsuicidal students showed that those reporting suicidal ideation or suicide attempts generally were more accepting of suicide and viewed suicide as a solution to a greater extent than the nonsuicidal group., Conclusion: The findings suggest that cultural factors play a role in observed country differences in suicidal ideation and behavior and in attitudes towards suicide and reactions to suicidality among Austrian and Turkish medical students.

Background: Seasonality of suicides is well-known and nearly ubiquitous, but recent evidence showed inconsistent patterns of decreasing or increasing seasonality in different countries. Furthermore, strength of seasonality was hypothesized to be associated with suicide prevalence. This study aimed at pointing out methodological difficulties in examining changes in suicide seasonality. METHODODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The present study examines the hypothesis of decreasing seasonality with a superior method that allows continuous modeling of seasonality. Suicides in Austria (1970-2008, N = 67,741) were analyzed with complex demodulation, a local (point-in-time specific) version of harmonic analysis. This avoids the need to arbitrarily split the time series, as is common practice in the field of suicide seasonality research, and facilitates incorporating the association with suicide prevalence. Regression models were used to assess time trends and association of amplitude and absolute suicide numbers. Results showed that strength of seasonality was associated with absolute suicide numbers, and that strength of seasonality was stable during the study period when this association was taken into account., Conclusion/significance: Continuous modeling of suicide seasonality with complex demodulation avoids spurious findings that can result when time series are segmented and analyzed piecewise or when the association with suicide prevalence is disregarded.

Background: Generational IQ gains in the general population (termed the Flynn effect) show an erratic pattern across different nations as well as across different domains of intelligence (fluid vs crystallized). Gains of fluid intelligence in different countries have been subject to extensive research, but less attention was directed towards gains of crystallized intelligence, probably due to evidence from the Anglo-American sphere suggesting only slight gains on this measure. In the present study, development of crystallized intelligence in the German speaking general population is assessed., Methodology/principal Findings: To investigate whether IQ gains for crystallized intelligence are in progress in German-speaking countries, two independent meta-analyses were performed. By means of a cited reference search in ISI Web of Science, all studies citing test manuals and review articles of two widely-used salient measures of crystallized intelligence were obtained. Additionally, the electronic database for German academic theses was searched to identify unpublished studies employing these tests. All studies reporting participants mean IQ or raw scores of at least one of the two measures were included in the present analyses, yielding over 500 studies (>1,000 samples; >45,000 individuals). We found a significant positive association between years of test performance and intelligence (1971-2007) amounting to about 3.5 IQ points per decade., Conclusions/significance: This study clearly demonstrates that crystallized IQ gains are substantial and of comparable strength as Flynn effects typically observed for measures of fluid intelligence in Central Europe. Since mean IQ was assessed in a large number of small, non-representative samples, our evidence suggests a remarkable robustness of these gains. Moreover, in both meta-analyses strength of gains was virtually identical. On the whole, results of the present study demonstrate a pervasive and generalizing Flynn effect in German-speaking countries.

Background: Media reporting of suicide has repeatedly been shown to trigger suicidal behaviour. Few studies have investigated the associations between specific media content and suicide rates. Even less is known about the possible preventive effects of suicide-related media content., Aims: To test the hypotheses that certain media content is associated with an increase in suicide, suggesting a so-called Werther effect, and that other content is associated with a decrease in suicide, conceptualised as a Papageno effect. Further, to identify classes of media articles with similar reporting profiles and to test for associations between these classes and suicide., Method: Content analysis and latent class analysis (LCA) of 497 suicide-related print media reports published in Austria between 1 January and 30 June 2005. Ecological study to identify associations between media item content and short-term changes in suicide rates., Results: Repetitive reporting of the same suicide and the reporting of suicide myths were positively associated with suicide rates. Coverage of individual suicidal ideation not accompanied by suicidal behaviour was negatively associated with suicide rates. The LCA yielded four classes of media reports, of which the mastery of crisis class (articles on individuals who adopted coping strategies other than suicidal behaviour in adverse circumstances) was negatively associated with suicide, whereas the expert opinion class and the epidemiological facts class were positively associated with suicide., Conclusions: The impact of suicide reporting may not be restricted to harmful effects; rather, coverage of positive coping in adverse circumstances, as covered in media items about suicidal ideation, may have protective effects.

This study explored weight bias against women from different weight categories in relation to occupational decisions, child adoption, and helping behaviour, as well as individual difference correlates of weight bias. A total of 1024 participants were randomly assigned to one of five conditions in which they were asked to select the women they would most and least likely hire, promote, or terminate, select for parental adoption, or assist following a traffic accident. They also completed measures of anti-fat attitudes, fat phobia, and attitudes toward obese persons. Results showed bias against both emaciated and obese women across conditions, and suggested that bias was strongest in relation to hiring and weakest in relation to helping behaviour. Further results showed that only greater concern about becoming fat significantly predicted weight bias. These results suggest that weight bias may affect women at both ends of the weight continuum, which require measures to reduce discrimination., (2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The present study examined the prevalence and acceptance of body piercings and tattoos among a community sample from the southern German-speaking area of Central Europe. A total of 440 respondents completed information about their own body piercings and tattoos and reported whether they would be likely never to have piercings and tattoos in the future. Analyses indicated that 19.8 and 15.2% of respondents had piercings (excluding the earlobe) and tattoos, respectively. Women were more likely to have body piercings than men, but there were no sex differences in tattooing. There were also few sociodemographic differences in piercings and tattoos, and most participants reported being likely to consider body art in the future. These results are considered in relation to prevalence estimates of body art in other Western countries and the associated health risks.

Second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D), a widely studied putative marker for masculinization through prenatal androgen exposure, is lower (more masculinized) in athletes than in general population controls, and athletes with lower 2D:4D have higher sporting success. Occupations differ markedly in perceived masculinity and actual maleness (sex ratios), but these givens have not yet been picked up and utilized in 2D:4D research. Accordingly, this study extended existing accounts on 2D:4D in athletes to a novel approach: 2D:4D and possible relationships to a variety of candidate variables (demographic, fertility-related, psychological, and other) were investigated in firefighters, a highly male-dominated occupation. Contrary to expectation, 2D:4D in firefighters (N = 134) was not lower than in local male population controls. Lower 2D:4D corresponded to lower service ranks. Replicating previous findings either unequivocally or partly, lower 2D:4D was associated with larger family size, later sibling position, left-handedness, and higher scores in the disinhibition component of sensation seeking. Not replicating prior evidence, 2D:4D was unrelated to body-mass index, offspring sex ratio, and sporting performance level. Novel findings included low 2D:4D in those with low relationship satisfaction and in cigarette smokers, especially among heavy smokers. Absolute finger length, a positive correlate of pubertal-adolescent androgen levels, was also considered. This marker showed negative associations with relationship consensus and satisfaction and positive ones with perceived quality of relationship alternatives and the experience seeking component of sensation seeking. The merits of this additional marker, relative to 2D:4D, for supplementing studies of possible sex-hormonal effects on personality and directions for future inquiry along these lines are discussed.

320 Viennese adult participants (47.5% female) in a population sample completed two questionnaires measuring just world beliefs that were scored separately for just and unjust world beliefs. The study aimed to investigate the role of sex and age, as well as religious and political beliefs on just and unjust world beliefs. Older males who identified with a more left-wing political orientation tended to have lower scores on just world beliefs on Rubin and Peplau's scale, while better educated people tended to score lower on the unjust world subscale on both scales, although both predictors explained less than 6% of the variance in scores.

There is a scarcity of evidence pertaining to the general public's perception of public sector pay. Hence, in the present study, 161 women and 149 men were asked to estimate the wages 35 public sector professions should receive annually in the fictitious nation of Maldoria, based on a comparison value of an annual income of T10,000 for general practitioners. Analysis showed that only pilots were given a higher annual income than general practitioners; miners and local government workers were also provided with relatively high annual incomes. By contrast, newscasters were provided with the lowest annual income. Participants' sex did not affect these evaluations, and other demographic variables and public sector-related information of the participants were poor predictors of their evaluations. The implications of this research on public attitudes toward wage determination are discussed, and avenues for further research highlighted.

Familial resemblance in the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D), a proxy for prenatal androgen action, was studied in 1,260 individuals from 235 Austrian families. In agreement with findings from twin studies of 2D:4D, heritability estimates based on parent-child and full-sib dyad similarity indicated substantial genetic contributions to trait expression (57% for right hand, 48% for left hand 2D:4D). Because twin studies have found nonadditive genetic as well as shared environmental effects on 2D:4D to be negligible or nil, these family-based estimates in all likelihood reflect the narrow-sense (additive genetic) heritability of the trait. Directional (right-minus-left) asymmetry in 2D:4D was only weakly heritable (6%). The pattern of same-sex and different-sex parent-child and full-sib correlations yielded no evidence for X-linked inheritance. This is surprising, considering evidence for associations of male 2D:4D with sensitivity to testosterone (functional variants of the X-linked androgen receptor gene). 2D:4D was particularly strongly heritable through male lines (father-son and brother-brother correlations), thus raising the possibility that Y-linked genes (such as the sex-determining region SRY) might influence 2D:4D expression.

Background: Programmes to educate media professionals about suicide are increasingly established, but information about which suicide cases are most likely to be reported in the mass media is sparse., Methods: We applied binomial tests to compare frequencies of social characteristics of all domestic suicides in the 13 largest Austrian print media in 2005 with frequencies of suicide characteristics in the population. Additionally, each reported suicide case was linked to its respective entry in the suicide database. We performed a logistic regression analysis, with presence of an article as outcome, and sex of the suicide case, age, religious affiliation, family status, conduction of an autopsy and location of the suicide as explaining variables. Time of the year and federal state where the suicide happened was controlled for., Results: Binomial tests showed that suicides involving murder or murder attempt were over-represented in the media. Reporting on mental disorders was under-represented. In the regression analysis, the likelihood of a report was negatively associated with the age of suicide cases. Foreign citizenship was a further predictor of a suicide report. The methods of drowning, jumping, shooting and rare methods were more likely to be reported than hanging, which is the most frequent suicide method in Austria., Conclusions: Suicide characteristics in the media are not representative of the population. The identified discrepancies provide a basis for tailor-made education of mass media professionals.

To assess the impact of the Austrian firearm legislation (1997) on adolescent suicides, we investigated time trends in youth suicide prevalence (1986-2006) with Poisson regression. A temporary increase in firearm suicides after the reform was observed, followed by a continuous decrease. The hypothesis that media reporting triggered the short-term backlash effect is discussed.

Background: Previous research has documented that disbelief in the genetics of suicide prevails., Objectives: This study examined for the first time the malleability of such beliefs and their internal structure, using the Beliefs in the Inheritance of Risk Factors for Suicide Scale (BIRFSS)., Methods: A sample of 38 Austrian first-year psychology students (27 women, 11 men), previously not exposed to the topic, studied a recent overview article on the genetics of suicide as a self-paced exercise. Exposure to the contents of the article was evaluated with a subjective self-report measure and with an objective quiz., Results: Validity checks were suggestive for a successful implementation of the intervention. Compared with baseline data 4 months prior to the intervention, evaluation of the intervention showed that participants held significantly stronger beliefs (Cohen's d = 1.41) in the genetics of suicide which also were more coherent., Conclusions: Disbelief in the genetics of suicide is modifiable. Study limitations, directions for future research, and practical implications are discussed.

Background: Lay theories on abnormal behavior and mental disorders have been growing as a field recently. Lester and Bean have contributed to these endeavors by developing the Lester and Bean Attribution of Causes to Suicides Scale (1992), an instrument that gauges beliefs concerning the causes of suicidal behavior (intrapsychic, interpersonal, and societal causes)., Objectives: To provide test-retest reliability figures (two-month interval) and to further validate the scale., Methods: The instrument was administered to 155 Austrian psychology undergraduates. Test-retest reliabilities, scale intercorrelations, and correlations with locus of control, among others, were ascertained., Results: Test-retest reliabilities amounted to r = 0.67 for intrapsychic, 0.53 for interpersonal, and 0.56 for societal causes, and to 0.59 for the total scale (all ps < 0.001). All three subscales were, as previously observed, significantly positively intercorrelated. Belief in intrapsychic causes was weakly positively related to the internality dimension of the locus of control construct, beliefs in interpersonal and in societal causes were significantly positively associated with societal externality, and there was a significant positive correlation of the fatalistic externality dimension with all three subscales of the Lester-Bean Scale., Conclusions: In view of the moderate internal scale consistencies, the test-retest reliabilities can be seen as satisfying. The significant intercorrelations among attributed causes of suicide further support the hypothesis that the critical dimension of lay theories of suicide is the belief that suicide has definite causes, regardless of the type of cause. Directions for future research are discussed.

This paper examined the psychometric properties of the German version of the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS), a novel scale for the assessment of positive body image. Based on a community sample of 156 women and 144 men in Austria, results showed good internal reliability and construct validity for the BAS scores, as well as a unidimensional factor structure for both women and men. Specifically, Cronbach's alpha was high for both women (alpha=.90) and men (alpha=.85), and the BAS was correlated with the body esteem scale and self-esteem. In addition, women with lower BMIs reported greater body appreciation, but no such association was found for men. Finally, there were small sex differences in BAS scores, with men scoring more positively than women (Cohen's d=0.26). The German BAS, a useful indicator of positive body image among Austrian adults, should prove valuable for the assessment of body image in German-speaking countries.

Psychometric properties and demographic correlates of a German form of R. W. Hubbard and J. L. McIntosh's (1992) Revised Facts on Suicide Quiz (RFOS), an inventory for assessing overall knowledge about suicide, were investigated in a sample of 1,093 Austrian medical and psychology students. Internal consistency of the RFOS was weak, as were many of the item-total correlations, indicating a fair amount of item-content heterogeneity. Demographic variables (sex, age, field of study, and study level) were significant predictors of RFOS scores and item responses. On the whole, women, advanced, older, and medical students outperformed men, junior, younger, and psychology students. Various directions for further inquiry are discussed