The ratio of the length of the second and fourth digits (2D:4D), a putative proxy of prenatal testosterone (PT), is correlated with measures of physical fitness. The relationship between the organizing effect of PT on physical fitness is likely to arise as a response to intrasexual male competition for females. Physical strength is also likely to be important in intrasexual conflict, but nothing is known concerning the relationship between 2D:4D and strength. The strength of an individual is strongly influenced by body size, and 2D:4D is strongly dependent on ethnicity. We present evidence that strength, as measured from hand-grip strength, is related to 2D:4D in samples from two ethnic groups (52 Caucasian men from Germany, and 88 Oriental Mizos men from northeast India) which differed markedly in size. We found that 1) the German men were heavier and stronger, but had higher 2D:4D (lower PT) than the Mizos men; 2) a median split for grip strength into low (LGS) and high (HGS) groups showed that for right-hand 2D:4D (but not left-hand 2D:4D), the LGS men had higher 2D:4D than the HGS men; and 3) the relationships between right 2D:4D and grip strength were independent of ethnicity, age, height, and weight. Measures of grip strength correlate strongly with strength in other muscle groups, so we conclude that PT may have an early organizing effect on strength in men, and this is likely to be widespread in human groups.

No abstract

Objective: Cultural collectivism, a core feature of honor cultures, is associated with the acceptance of aggression if it is used in the name of so called 'honor'. Currently overlooked in the research literature, this study explored perceptions of anti-gay 'honor' abuse in collectivist orientated honor cultures, where homosexuality, in particular, is considered to be dishonorable. Method:To conduct exploratory and comparative analysis, this study recruited 922 students in four Asian countries (India, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan), as well as Asian British and White British students in England. All participants read a brief vignette depicting a man whose relatives verbally abuse him and threaten him with life-threatening violence, after suspecting that he is gay and has joined an online dating website to meet men. Participants then completed a short questionnaire that assessed the extent to which they thought the man's actions had damaged his family's honor and their approval of the anti-gay 'honor' abuse depicted in the scenario. Results:Broadly in line with predictions, data analyses revealed attitudes more supportive of anti-gay 'honor' abuse in all five collectivist-orientated populations than the sample of individualisticorientated counterparts in England. Notably, however, a series of one-way ANOVAs demonstrated that these results varied depending on country of residence, gender, religious denomination, educational status and age. Conclusions: The findings show that individual and demographic differences influence perceptions towards homophobic 'honor' abuse in collectivist cultures. These differences are a useful indices of the psychosocial factors that underpin hostile attitudes towards gay males in cultures where homosexuality is denounced.

Purpose Although intimate partner violence (IPV) and “honor”-based violence (HBV) are major concerns throughout the world, little research has investigated the acceptance of these forms of abuse outside of the West. The purpose of this paper is to therefore respond to this gap in the literature by exploring attitudes toward HBV in a fictional depiction of IPV across four Asian samples: India, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Participants (n=579) read a hypothetical scenario in which a husband, despite his own marital infidelity, verbally abuses and physically assaults his wife after discovering that she has been unfaithful. Participants then completed a questionnaire that assessed perceptions of damage to the husband’s honor, approval of intimate partner HBV against the wife, and perceptions of both the victim-wife and the perpetrator-husband. Findings The findings revealed that more males than females, across all four nations, were endorsing of honor-adhering attitudes in response to the perceived threat to the husband’s reputation resulting from the wife’s infidelity. Additionally, of the four samples, Pakistani participants were the most approving and Malaysians least endorsing of honor-adhering attitudes. Originality/value The results are discussed in relation to studies of honor-adherence in Asian populations. This study provides an original glimpse into the perceptions of intimate partner HBV in these not-often sampled nationalities.

This study investigates the effectiveness of the school-based Shine Through Any Roadblocks (STAR) CBT intervention, by a screening conducted on 634 students from eight secondary schools in Malaysia. Participants (n = 85) who fulfilled the eligibility criteria were assigned randomly to either the intervention group (n = 42) or the assessment-only waitlist control group (n = 43). The intervention consisted of eight group-based sessions over a period of 2 months. Sessions were 60-min each and conducted according to the STAR module. Outcome measures (depressive symptoms and automatic negative thoughts) were administered at five intervals: baseline/pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, 1-month after intervention, and 3-months after intervention. Results showed significant and lasting lower levels of depressive symptoms and automatic negative thoughts in the intervention group, indicating that the STAR intervention could be an effective means of reducing depressive symptomatology among adolescents. Clinical implications for the Malaysian secondary school context are further discussed.