Does Compassion Predict Blood Pressure and Hypertension? The Modifying Role of Familial Risk for Hypertension.

Background: This study investigated (i) whether compassion is associated with blood pressure or hypertension in adulthood and (ii) whether familial risk for hypertension modifies these associations.

Method: The participants (N = 1112-1293) came from the prospective Young Finns Study. Parental hypertension was assessed in 1983-2007; participants' blood pressure in 2001, 2007, and 2011; hypertension in 2007 and 2011 (participants were aged 30-49 years in 2007-2011); and compassion in 2001.

Somatic complaints in early adulthood predict the developmental course of compassion into middle age.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate (i) whether somatic complaints predict the developmental course of compassion in adulthood, and (ii) whether this association depends on alexithymic features.

Methods: The participants came from the population-based Young Finns study (N = 471-1037). Somatic complaints (headache, stomachache, chest pain, backache, fatigue, exhaustion, dizziness, heartburn, heartbeat, and tension) were evaluated with a self-rating questionnaire in 1986 when participants were aged between 18 and 24 years.

Structural and functional alterations in the brain gray matter among first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients: A multimodal meta-analysis of fMRI and VBM studies.

Objective: We conducted a multimodal coordinate-based meta-analysis (CBMA) to investigate structural and functional brain alterations in first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients (FRs).

Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search from electronic databases to find studies that examined differences between FRs and healthy controls using whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or voxel-based morphometry (VBM). A CBMA of 30 fMRI (754 FRs; 959 controls) and 11 VBM (885 FRs; 775 controls) datasets were conducted using the anisotropic effect-size version of signed differential mapping.

Breastfeeding and offspring's compassion and empathy in adulthood: A study with an over 30-year follow-up.

This study investigated whether breastfeeding predicts offspring's dispositional compassion and empathy from early adulthood to middle age. The parents of the participants (N = 1,394) of the Young Finns study answered questions about breastfeeding in 1983, and the participants' compassion and empathy were evaluated in 1997-2012 (participants were aged 20-50 years). Breastfeeding did not predict the course of compassion or empathy in adulthood at the age of 20-50 years.

Longitudinal Associations of Explosive and Adventurous Temperament Profiles With Character Development: The Modifying Effects of Social Support and Attachment.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine (a) whether adventurous and explosive temperament profiles (presumed precursors of antisocial and borderline personality) are associated with character traits over a 15-year follow-up and (b) whether social support and attachment security modify the relationship between temperament profiles and character development.

Methods: 2,028 subjects of the Young Finns study completed the Temperament and Character Inventory, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Relationship Questionnaire at 3 assessment points between 1997 and 2012.

Results: Both explosive and adventurous temperament profiles seemed to predispose individuals to have less mature personalities; that is, these profiles were consistently associated with lower cooperativeness (P < .