This study validated a Japanese version of the Positive Eating Scale (PES-J) and examined its construct and predictive validity regarding subjective health. The PES, which included two subscales-Satisfaction with Eating (PES-J-Sat) and Pleasure when Eating (PES-J-Pl)-was translated into Japanese and investigated in two survey studies. Study 1 assessed the PES-J's factor structure, reliability, and measurement invariance across gender and age (N = 972). Study 2 examined its construct and predictive validity by analyzing associations with eating behaviors (assessed via the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire), healthy eating, subjective health, life satisfaction, and body mass index (N = 699). Factor analysis supported a two-factor structure consistent with that of the original scale. Furthermore, scalar measurement invariance indicated that the comparisons across age and gender were valid. The PES-J was positively associated with healthy eating, subjective health, and life satisfaction, particularly satisfaction with eating habits. Thus, it is a reliable and valid measure for assessing positive eating behaviors in Japan.

Using five-wave Japanese panel data (2019-23; N = 14 271), we identified four drinking-frequency classes: abstinent/very infrequent, monthly, weekly, and almost daily. Adjusted multinomial logistic regression models showed extraversion predicted higher-frequency membership, whereas conscientiousness reduced intermediate-frequency odds. An agreeableness × conscientiousness term suggested possible moderation. Results add to evidence on personality-drinking associations in the Japanese general population.

BackgroundThis study examined the associations between energy drink consumption and personality traits using the Big Five personality model and sensation seeking in a Japanese adult sample. Energy drink consumption has been linked to health problems and risk behaviors. The aim of this study was to identify the personality characteristics of energy drink consumers to provide insights for preventing excessive or harmful consumption.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey. Participants completed measures of the Big Five personality traits, sensation seeking, and the frequency of energy drink consumption. A total of 789 Japanese adults (397 women and 392 men; age range: 20-59 years) were analyzed.ResultsOrdinal logistic regression analyses revealed a positive association between energy drink consumption and Extraversion. This association was attenuated after adjusting for sensation-seeking facets. This pattern of association was observed even after adjusting for other beverage consumption.ConclusionsThese findings suggested that the Big Five framework can be used to identify the personality characteristics of energy drink consumers. In particular, individuals with a high need for stimulation-a facet of Extraversion-were more likely to consume energy drinks. These findings may inform public health strategies addressing the potential risks associated with energy drink consumption.

What we imagine about the future can shape our present emotions, decisions, and behaviors. A key question, then, is whether individuals spontaneously think about their interpersonal relationships when engaging in episodic future thinking. Two studies explored the influence of attachment style on episodic future thinking content. Study 1 involved 155 participants conducting five episodic future thinking tasks. Results show that attachment anxiety positively predicted the relevance of the content to interpersonal relationships, whereas attachment avoidance negatively predicted this relevance. Study 2 involved 67 participants performing nonstress and stressful episodic future thinking. Results showed attachment anxiety consistently increased interpersonal content, while attachment avoidance reduced it only in nonstress tasks. These findings support the features of attachment style also manifest when imagining future scenarios.

Background The Dark Triad of personality has been related to various negative social outcomes, including challenges in interpersonal situations, such as conflicts within the family and parenting dynamics. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between dark personality traits, child-parent relationships, and parental burnout, while considering the potential moderating effect of perceived social support. Participants and procedure A sample of 277 Japanese parents (49.5% men, 50.5% women), aged 20 to 39 years (M = 31.13, SD = 4.9), with children between 1 and 5 years old (toddlers or preschoolers), completed an online survey. Dark Triad traits were assessed using the Japanese version of the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen, perceived social support with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, parental burnout with the Parental Burnout Assessment, and child-parent conflict and closeness using the Child-Parent Relationship Scale. Results The results showed that higher levels of dark personality traits were associated with greater conflict in the child-parent relationship as well as higher levels of parental burnout. Interestingly, for parents high in Dark Triad traits, greater perceived social support was associated with higher levels of child-parent conflict. Conclusions The findings highlight the complexity of social support in the context of dark personalities, as it may fail to mitigate the harmful effects of conflictual family relationships.

Background:Chronic constipation, common in clinical practice, requires treatment to enhance quality of life and possibly extend life expectancy. However, predictors of treatment efficacy remain largely unexplored. This study aimed to identify factors predicting treatment success in patients with chronic constipation. Methods:A multicenter, prospective observational study evaluated patients with moderate to severe chronic constipation using the Chronic Constipation-Therapeutic Efficacy and Satisfaction Test (CC-TEST) questionnaire. Symptoms were assessed before treatment and at 2 and 4 weeks post-treatment. Multivariate analyses identified predictive factors based on three treatment efficacy assessment criteria: patient's impression, numeric rating scale (NRS) for symptom intensity, and spontaneous bowel movement (SBM) frequency status. Results:Constipation medications were administered to 97 patients, with significant symptom improvements observed at 2 and 4 weeks (CC-TEST). The greatest effects were seen in hard stools, difficulty in defecation, and infrequent bowel movements. In the multiple regression analysis, baseline clinical characteristics and symptom profiles were not significant predictors of treatment response. Incorporating 2-week treatment responsiveness revealed that non-responsiveness at 2 weeks (β = 0.487), and a lower stool symptom subscale score (β = -0.344), were associated with poorer patient's impression. For the NRS, non-responsiveness at 2 weeks (β = 0.279) was a significant predictor. For SBM, non-responsiveness at 2 weeks (β = -0.274) predicted outcomes. Including 2-week non-responsiveness improved the predictive accuracy for 4-week efficacy. Conclusions:The therapeutic response at 2 weeks is the most significant predictor of subsequent treatment response at 4 weeks in patients with chronic constipation.

Food choice values may represent relatively stable psychological factors associated with personality and eating behavior, yet their associations with individual differences remain unclear in Japan. This study examined how demographic characteristics, the Big Five, and the Dark Triad traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy relate to the relative prioritization of six food choice values. Data from 141,761 Japanese respondents aged 15–102 years were analyzed using multiple regression models with ipsatized scores. Demographic characteristics showed domain-specific associations with relative food choice priorities, particularly those concerning health and family-related values. Among the Big Five, conscientiousness was associated with greater prioritization of Health/Nutrition, whereas extraversion was associated with lower Simplicity/Convenience and higher Mood/Taste. Narcissism was positively associated with Media/Popularity and negatively associated with Mood/Taste, while Machiavellianism showed contrasting associations with these values and with Low/Reasonable Price. These associations generally remained after adjustment for demographic characteristics and the other personality traits. The findings indicate that relative food choice priorities are associated with distinct patterns of broad and socially aversive personality traits while also reflecting demographic context. Examining food choice values as relative priorities provides a framework for understanding how individual differences are reflected in eating-related priorities.

OBJECTIVE:Dark Triad longitudinal evidence outside Western samples is sparse, and age moderation is typically polynomial, obscuring age-specific patterns. METHOD:We described stability and mean-level change in Dark Triad and Big Five traits in a Japanese seven-wave panel (FY18-FY24; N = 188,296; 66,529 with two or more waves; ages 15-102). Dark Triad was modeled as parcel-level latent variables (SD3-J); TIPI-J indexed Big Five benchmarks. Kernel-weighted local SEM estimated stability and growth across focal ages 20-75. RESULTS:Parcel-level scalar invariance held across all 138 focal-age × gender × scale cells. Lag-1 stability rose with focal baseline age, steepest for Machiavellianism. Narcissism and Psychopathy slopes were more positive at younger ages, attenuating by the mid-sixties; Machiavellianism briefly declined. Big Five curves showed sign reversals for Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, declining Openness, and rising Emotional Stability. Age-resolved gender comparisons surfaced slope differences hidden by pooled summaries, notably for Psychopathy. Change covaried for Narcissism and Psychopathy but not Machiavellianism, whose correlation with Narcissism reversed sign with age. CONCLUSIONS:Dark Triad traits neither changed alike nor changed together, Machiavellianism standing apart; Agreeableness and Conscientiousness departed from maturity-principle expectations at younger but not older ages. Interpretation is provisional given age-cohort-period confounds and two-item measurement.

This study aimed to examine whether regional differences existed in the correlation between resilience and age in Japan, explore the associated regional characteristics, and provide a descriptive overview of nationwide variation in the age–resilience association. Data were obtained from the Human Information Database FY22 (N = 52,415; aged 15–93 years) and combined with prefecture-level demographics, economy, culture, sports, welfare, and crime indicators. Partial correlation coefficients between resilience scores and age were calculated for each prefecture, controlled for gender and years of residence. Partial r values range from 0.02 to 0.27, indicating that the age–resilience association varied from negligible to modest across prefectures; some prefectures exhibited no association. Further analyses revealed that rate of sports participation was the only regional characteristic significantly associated with the age-resilience correlation (r = .31, p < .05), indicating a small-to-moderate regional association. Regions with higher sports participation demonstrated stronger age–resilience associations. Thus, regional social participation environments, particularly sports participation, may inform regionally tailored public health strategies to support resilience development across the life span.

Introduction: Chronic constipation is common, but its characteristics and impact on various aspects of daily life remain unclear. This study examined patient characteristics and assessed how background factors, constipation symptoms, and defecation status impact daily life dissatisfaction, quality of life (QOL), and psychological states. METHODS:A multicenter, prospective, observational study on outpatients with moderate to severe chronic constipation was conducted. The Chronic Constipation-Therapeutic Efficacy and Satisfaction Test (CC-TEST) and validated questionnaires such as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Short Form Health Survey-8 (SF-8) were administered to assess symptoms, defecation status, and daily life. Correlation and multiple regression analyses explored factor relationships. RESULTS:The analysis included 201 participants. Despite treatment, with over half using magnesium oxide, many patients remained dissatisfied. Younger patients and females reported more severe abdominal symptoms, while older patients experienced greater defecation difficulty. All constipation symptoms correlated with daily life dissatisfaction, with abdominal discomfort showing the strongest association. Abdominal symptoms were significantly associated with the Mental Component Summary (MCS) of the SF-8, HADS anxiety, and HADS depression scores. Most defecation status components showed no correlation with SF-8 MCS, HADS anxiety, or HADS depression scores. Multivariate analysis revealed that abdominal symptoms, especially discomfort, significantly impacted daily life dissatisfaction, and reduced SF-8 MCS scores. CONCLUSIONS:Many patients with moderate to severe chronic constipation experience long-term symptoms and remain dissatisfied with treatment. Abdominal symptoms such as discomfort and pain significantly affect their daily life, QOL, and psychological well-being. Reducing abdominal symptoms may be crucial for improving treatment outcomes. .

Abstract Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used as a conversational partner, yet little is known about when AI‐generated impressions of users converge with users' self‐views. Drawing on lens theory, attachment theory and the literature on belongingness and social connection, the current study examined whether users' emotional bonds with AI moderate self‐AI agreement in personality reports. A total of 738 Japanese ChatGPT users completed self‐report measures of the Big Five personality traits and AI attachment dimensions. Their personality was also inferred by ChatGPT based on their chat history. Self‐reported and AI‐inferred Big Five traits were positively correlated, although AI systematically rated users higher across all five domains. Moderation analyses showed that AI attachment anxiety, but not avoidance, strengthened self‐AI agreement for extraversion, agreeableness and negative emotionality. Supplemental sensitivity analyses, including all participants who provided AI‐inferred personality data ( N = 789), produced the same conclusions regarding positive self‐AI agreement, AI overestimation and the absence of moderation by AI attachment avoidance, while indicating that the attachment anxiety‐based moderation was most robust for negative emotionality. These findings suggest that AI‐based personality inference is shaped not only by model capability but also by the relational cues users provide in human–AI interaction.