Is adherence to dialectic behaviour therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cognitive processing therapy related to treatment outcome in PTSD after childhood abuse?

Background: Literature on the association between therapist adherence and treatment success in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is scarce, and the results are mixed.Objective: To examine the relationship between therapist adherence to dialectical behaviour therapy for PTSD (DBT-PTSD) and cognitive processing therapy (CPT) on treatment outcome in women with PTSD and emotion regulation difficulties after interpersonal childhood abuse.Method: Videotaped therapy sessions from 160 female participants of a large randomized controlled trial [Bohus, M., Kleindienst, N., Hahn, C., Müller-Engelmann, M., Ludäscher, P., Steil, R., Fydrich, T., Kuehner, C., Resick, P. A., Stiglmayr, C., Schmahl, C., & Priebe, K. (2020). Dialectical behavior therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (DBT-PTSD) compared with cognitive processing therapy (CPT) in complex presentations of PTSD in women survivors of childhood abuse. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(12), 1235. jamapsychiatry.2020.2148] were rated. Adherence to CPT and DBT-PTSD was assessed using two specifically developed rating scales.Results: Higher therapist adherence was associated with a greater reduction of clinician-rated PTSD symptom severity. This effect was more pronounced in the CPT group than in the DBT-PTSD group. Adherence was also related to a greater reduction of self-rated PTSD symptoms, borderline symptoms, and dissociation intensity.Conclusion: Our results indicate that higher therapist adherence can lead to better treatment outcomes in PTSD treatments, especially in CPT.

Prevalence of questionable health behaviours in Serbia and their psychological roots: protocol for a nationally representative survey

INTRODUCTION

We will launch a national survey in Serbia to document the prevalence of two types of questionable health behaviours: (1) intentional non-adherence to medical recommendations and (2) use of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine practices, as well as the relation between the two. We will also investigate their psychological roots, including (a) 'distal' predictors such as HEXACO personality traits (plus Disintegration) and thinking dispositions (rational/experiential thinking and cognitive reflexivity), and (b) 'proximal' predictors under the umbrella 'irrational mindset' (set of unfounded beliefs consisting of conspiratorial thinking, superstition, magical health beliefs as well as selected cognitive biases), which have more content-wise overlap with the health behaviours.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

In this cross-sectional study, a research agency will collect data from a nationally representative sample (n=1043; age 18-75 years; estimated start/end-June/November 2021) recruited online (approximately, 70% of the sample, aged 18-54; 11 years) and face-to-face (approximately, 30% of the sample, aged 55-75 years). Participants will complete a battery of tests assessing questionable health behaviours, basic personality traits, thinking dispositions, irrational mindset, sociopolitical beliefs, sociodemographic and health-related variables. Prevalence rates will be calculated using descriptive statistics. To explore the relation between (psychological) predictors and questionable health behaviours, we will use hierarchical regression and partial mediation models (path analysis or full SEM models).

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical Committees of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade (#935/1), Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation (#139/1) and Faculty of Media and Communications (#228) approved the protocol. Only participants who provide informed consent will participate in the study. A research report based on the study results will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals and results will be made available to stakeholders through reports on the project website https://reasonforhealth.f.bg.ac.rs/en/ and disseminated via social media.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT05808660.

Identifying person misfit using the person backward stepwise reliability curve (PBRC)

The goal of the present study was to propose a visualization of aberrant response patterns based on the idea put forth by the Cronbach-Mesbach curve. First, an index of person reliability is developed using the K-R 20 formula followed by a backward stepwise procedure in which one person at a time is deleted from the model. Observations for which reliability is no longer monotonically increasing suggest that they are candidates for aberrant responding. Using data from the quantitative domain of a national aptitude test the proposed visualization technique was demonstrated. The external validity of the procedure was tested by contrasting the person fit reliability estimates with those derived from other indices of aberrant responding such as the Ht. Results indicated that individuals not covarying with other individuals concerning their response patterns and concordance to the measurement of a unified latent trait were identified by both the present procedure and Ht and U3 at a rate of 100%. By plotting those individuals using Person Response Curves (PRCs) results confirmed the lack of monotonicity in the relationship between item difficulty and person skill. Consequently, results confirm the usefulness of the present methodology as an index for identifying responders who manifest themselves with aberrant responses and who are not conducive to the measurement of the latent trait.

Future time orientation, life projects, and career self-efficacy of unemployed individuals

This study examined the relationship between two variables of the psychological future [future time orientation (FTO) and life project (LP)] and their relationship with career self-efficacy in unemployed individuals. Participants were 216 unemployed adults (151 women, 65 men), aged from 18 to 67 years old (M = 42.8, SD = 10.57), who responded to measures of distance and impact of future time orientation, identification and involvement in life project and career exploration and decision-making self-efficacy. Results of latent mediation analysis and correlational analysis indicated that there is a direct effect between FTO and LP, but also an indirect (i.e., mediating) effect between them through career self-efficacy beliefs. These findings suggest that unemployed individuals with a stronger sense of future time orientation are more likely to identify and engage with their life projects, and that this organization of their life projects is mediated by their levels of career self-efficacy. Overall, the study provides important insights into the psychological factors that can impact the careers behaviors of unemployed individuals, as well as on the characteristics of career psychological interventions with this public.

Evolutionary psychology of entomophobia and its implications for insect conservation

Many people, especially those living in developed countries, exhibit irrational negative feelings (e.g. fear, disgust, and aversion) toward insects. This so-called 'entomophobia' has often been suggested as a key contributing factor to the ongoing global decline in insects. However, this topic has not been well-investigated. From this point of view, we discuss the formation processes of entomophobia and its consequences from an evolutionary psychological perspective. Adopting the concept of the behavioral immune system, we suggest that the negative responses toward insects exhibited by modern people are driven by a series of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral traits that evolved to avoid infectious diseases. We then provide several strategic recommendations for mitigating the prevalence of entomophobia and a roadmap for better understanding how individual-level entomophobia can influence insect conservation. Understanding the human psychological dimension behind the ongoing decline of insects will provide useful insight on how best to mitigate this decline.

Face motion form at learning influences the time course of face spatial frequency processing during test

Studies that use static faces suggest that facial processing follows a coarse-to-fine sequence; i.e., holistic precedes featural processing, due to low and high spatial frequencies (LSF, HSF) transmitting holistic/global and featural/local information respectively. Although recent studies have focused on the role of facial movement in holistic facial processing, it is unclear whether moving faces have the same processing mechanism as static ones, especially in the time course of processing. The current study uses the event-related potential technique to investigate this issue by manipulating the facial format at study and face spatial frequency during the test. ERP results showed that the P1 amplitude was increased by LSF faces relative to HSF ones, using both moving and static study faces, with the former larger than the latter. The N170 amplitude was more sensitive to HSF than LSF faces when only static study faces were used, while the P2 amplitude was more sensitive to LSF faces regardless of the facial study format. The above results were not modulated by the race of the faces. These results favor the view that regardless of face race, moving study faces promote holistic processing during the earliest stage of face recognition. Furthermore, holistic processing is observed to be the same for both static and moving study faces at a later stage associated with more in-depth processing. It is evident that facial motion should be factored into further studies of face recognition, given the distinctions between holistic and featural processing for moving and static study faces.

A South African adaptation of the international affective picture system: The influence of socioeconomic status and education level on picture ratings

The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) is used globally in emotion research. However, normative studies in diverse contexts do not consider the influence of education and socioeconomic status (SES) on picture ratings. We created the South African Affective Picture System (SA-APS) for use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by replacing some original IAPS images with pictures featuring more diverse groups of people and culturally appropriate stimuli. Healthy South African adults from higher and lower education/SES backgrounds (n = 80; n = 70 respectively) provided valence and arousal ratings for 340 images from the original IAPS and 340 images from the new SA-APS. Overall, their ratings of SA-APS images were better aligned with the US normative standards than their ratings of IAPS images, particularly with regard to valence. Those with higher SES/education rated IAPS images differently from those with lower SES/education (e.g., valence ratings of the latter were similar to US normative standards, whereas those of the former were more negative). Regression modelling indicated that sex and SES significantly predicted the current sample's IAPS and SA-APS ratings (e.g., women and higher-SES participants rated high-arousal images as being significantly more arousing than men and lower-SES participants); hence, we created regression-based norms for both picture sets. These norms are especially useful in emotion research, because few studies emerge from LMICs, and few instruments account for substantial sociodemographic diversity. Extending the reach of tools such as the IAPS to LMICs can help ensure a more globally representative body of research in this field.

Tele-Global Examination of Mental State (Tele-GEMS): an open tool for the remote neuropsychological screening

Tele-neuropsychology, i.e., the application of remote audio-visual technologies to neuropsychological evaluation or rehabilitation, has become increasingly popular and widespread during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. New tools with updated normative data and appropriate methodological developments are necessary. We present Tele-GEMS, a telephone-based cognitive screening developed on N = 601 Italian participants. It yields a global score tapping on orientation, memory, spatial representation, language, and pragmatic abilities. Its administration lasts about 10 min. Clinical cut-offs are provided, accounting for demographic variables (age, education, and sex) and also for a comprehensive index taking into account cognitively stimulating life experiences that can build up a cognitive reserve. Tele-GEMS shows good internal consistency and a good inter-rater agreement. The test includes the thresholds for estimating a significant change after repeated measurements. Tele-GEMS has a good construct validity as assessed with MoCA and a suitable criterion validity assessed with its in-person version (GEMS). All the materials and the instructions, including scripts and an online Application for the automatic calculation of cut-offs, are accessible on OSF at https://osf.io/t3bma/ under a Creative Commons license.

Smartphone Addiction Among University Students' During the Post-COVID-19 Era: The Role of Emotional Intelligence and Future Anxiety

OBJECTIVE

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-related psychological symptoms can lead to smartphone addiction (SPA) risk and other behavioral disorders, thus impacting individuals' mental health and well-being. The present study aims to propose a mediation model to investigate the association between emotional intelligence (EI) and SPA, and the mediating role of future anxiety (FA) during the post-COVID-19 era.

METHODS

An online questionnaire including the Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Dark Future Scale, and the Smartphone Addiction Scale among university students from China, was conducted between September 14 and November 22, 2022. Finally, 1,154 valid questionnaires were collected. The reliability and confirmatory factor analysis results showed that all three scales had good reliability and validity.

RESULTS

Structural Equation Model demonstrated that EI significantly and negatively influenced SPA (β=0.211, p<0.001), university students' FA significantly and positively effected SPA (β=0.315, p<0.001), EI significantly predicted SPA in university students, and FA partially mediated the association between EI and SPA. The mediation effect of FA was 0.110, which accounted for 34.27% of the total effect. Bootstrap results furthermore tested the rigor of the mediating effect.

CONCLUSION

These findings broaden our understanding regarding the relationship between EI and SPA and the mediating role of FA, providing new sights for educators on how to reduce the risk of SPA when confronting the ongoing and possible future pandemics.

Dominance-submissiveness cues modulate pain threshold for mechanical pressure

Acute pain sensation is an inherently negative but adaptive experience; however, research on pain sensitivity shows that simple contextual cues can effectively attenuate the pain. In this study, we sought to investigate how dominance cues, manipulated as vertical spatial (i.e., height) distance between participants and experimenter, affect participants' pain sensitivity. Positioning participants in a spatially higher position relative to the experimenter was aimed to induce a feeling of dominance in participants. Conversely, a feeling of submissiveness was induced by placing the experimenter in a spatially higher position. In addition, we examined the role of dominance cues with respect to participants' and experimenters' gender. Two separate studies were conducted-Study 1 with a male experimenter measuring pain threshold in female and male participants (N = 137), and Study 2 with a female experimenter conducting pain measurement in a new sample of female and male participants (N = 122). The results of both studies demonstrated that participants in a dominant position reported a higher pain threshold relative to participants in a submissive position. Male participants had a higher pain threshold in both studies; however, Study 1 revealed a significant interaction of dominance manipulation and participant's gender, with the effect of dominance cues being larger in men.

A cross-sectional study comparing emotional intelligence and perceived stress amongst community pharmacists delivering and not delivering a new service

BACKGROUND

Community pharmacists contribute substantially to public health and person-centred care. Emotional intelligence (EI) may help health professionals better engage with patients, handle stress in challenging situations and, presumably, better introduce and implement new services.

AIM

The study's aims were to compare the EI and perceived stress (PS) levels of community pharmacists who provided a new service to patients with diabetes with their controls who provided standard pharmaceutical services and to test the correlations between the two constructs.

METHOD

This study used a survey methodology. Well-validated instruments were distributed electronically to all participating pharmacists. To compare the continuous EI and PS data between the two study groups, the paired-samples t test was used. Pearson and Spearman's correlations were used to test the associations between EI and PS and their respective subdomains.

RESULTS

A total of 86 pharmacists participated in the study (n = 43 in each group). The study groups did not differ by any characteristic except gender. Their mean EI and PS levels were 120.95 ± 11.53 and 17.45 ± 4.55, respectively, with no difference between the groups. In both study groups, inverse correlations were found between PS and EI levels, with statistical significance in the control group and in the overall study population (r = - 0.611 and r = - 0.370, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that the introduction of the EI agenda into certification programmes for new community pharmacy services should be considered. The results also suggest that higher EI may have protective effects against PS. Additional research would clarify the need to invest more in such programmes.

The association between problematic internet use and social anxiety within adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective

Although numerous studies have investigated the association between problematic internet use (PIU) and social anxiety, the findings have no yet reached consistent. The present meta-analysis aims to examine the association between PIU and social anxiety within adolescents and young adults (age range: 14-24 years old).

Method

The meta-analysis systematically retrieved the studies prior to September 7, 2023 from Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, CNKI, and CQVIP. The meta-analysis based on random-effects model to conduct the research. Stata Version 17.0 and JASP 16.3.0 was used to analysis.

Results

The meta-analysis ultimately included 37 studies (37 effect sizes in total), involving a total of 36,013 subjects. Our findings indicated that the overall correlation between PIU and social anxiety was significant positive [r = 0.333, 95% CI (0.292, 0.373), p < 0.001]. Their association was significantly moderated by publication year, measurement tools for PIU and social anxiety but not significantly by culture context, developmental level and gender.

Conclusion

This meta-analysis suggests that social anxiety is a predictor of the development of PIU in adolescents and young adults. Furthermore, the study also finds the possibility that contemporary adolescents and youth may exhibit a more "global" behavior pattern, potentially emphasizing fewer differences between cultures, generations and genders.

Transdiagnostic phenomena of psychopathology in the context of the RDoC: protocol of a multimodal cross-sectional study

In the past, affective and cognitive processes related to psychopathology have been examined within the boundaries of phenotype-based diagnostic labels, which has led to inconsistent findings regarding their underlying operating principles. Investigating these processes dimensionally in healthy individuals and by means of multiple modalities may provide additional insights into the psychological and neuronal mechanisms at their core. The transdiagnostic phenomena Neuroticism and Rumination are known to be closely linked. However, the exact nature of their relationship remains to be elucidated. The same applies to the associations between Hedonic Capacity, Negativity Bias and different Emotion Regulation strategies.This multimodal cross-sectional study examines the relationship of the transdiagnostic phenomena Neuroticism and Rumination as well as Hedonic Capacity, the Negativity Bias and Emotion Regulation from a RDoC (Research Domain Criteria) perspective. A total of 120 currently healthy subjects (past 12 months) will complete several questionnaires regarding personality, emotion regulation, hedonic capacity, and psychopathologies as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during cognitive and emotional processing, to obtain data on the circuit, behavioral and self-report level.This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between cognitive and affective processes associated with psychopathologies as well as their neuronal correlates. Ultimately, a grounded understanding of these processes could guide improvement of diagnostic labels and treatments. Limitations include the cross-sectional design and the limited variability in psychopathology scores due to the restriction of the sample to currently healthy subjects.

Ensuring cross-cultural data comparability by means of anchoring vignettes in heterogeneous refugee samples

BACKGROUND

Configural, metric, and scalar measurement invariance have been indicators of bias-free statistical cross-group comparisons, although they are difficult to verify in the data. Low comparability of translated questionnaires or the different understanding of response formats by respondents might lead to rejection of measurement invariance and point to comparability bias in multi-language surveys. Anchoring vignettes have been proposed as a method to control for the different understanding of response categories by respondents (the latter is referred to as differential item functioning related to response categories or rating scales: RC-DIF). We evaluate the question whether the cross-cultural comparability of data can be assured by means of anchoring vignettes or by considering socio-demographic heterogeneity as an alternative approach.

METHODS

We used the Health System Responsiveness (HSR) questionnaire and collected survey data in English (n = 183) and Arabic (n = 121) in a random sample of refugees in the third largest German federal state. We conducted multiple-group Confirmatory Factor Analyses (MGCFA) to analyse measurement invariance and compared the results when 1) using rescaled data on the basis of anchoring vignettes (non-parametric approach), 2) including information on RC-DIF from the analyses with anchoring vignettes as covariates (parametric approach) and 3) including socio-demographic covariates.

RESULTS

For the HSR, every level of measurement invariance between the Arabic and English languages was rejected. Implementing rescaling or modelling on the basis of anchoring vignettes provided superior results over the initial MGCFA analysis, since configural, metric and - for ordered categorical analyses-scalar invariance could not be rejected. A consideration of socio-demographic variables did not show such an improvement.

CONCLUSIONS

Surveys may consider anchoring vignettes as a method to assess cross-cultural comparability of data, whereas socio-demographic variables cannot be used to improve data comparability as a standalone method. More research on the efficient implementation of anchoring vignettes and further development of methods to incorporate them when modelling measurement invariance is needed.

A nervous wait: Instagram's sensitive-content screens cause anticipatory anxiety but do not mitigate reactions to negative content

Online platforms like Instagram cover potentially distressing imagery with a sensitive-content screen (blurred imagery plus a content warning). Previous research suggests people typically choose to "uncover" and view screened content. In three studies, we investigated whether the presence of screens mitigates the negative emotional impact of viewing content. In Study 1, participants viewed positive and neutral images, and screens (with an option to view the negative images beneath) for a 5-minute period. In Study 2, half the participants saw a grey mask in place of the typical sensitive-content screen. In addition, each image appeared for a fixed period (5 s) and participants had no option to uncover it. Study 3 was like Study 2 except half the participants saw negative images preceded by a sensitive-content screen and half saw negative images without screens. Overall, participants reported a significant increase in state anxiety and negative affect from pre-to post task when they were exposed to sensitive-content screens, whether or not they were also exposed to the negative imagery beneath. Our data suggest sensitive-content screens cause negative responses - state anxiety and negative affect - that do not translate to an emotional benefit when people view negative content.

A Holistic Investigation of the Relationship between Digital Addiction and Academic Achievement among Students

Digital addiction (DA), an umbrella term referring to addiction to any type of digital media, such as the internet, smartphone, digital games, and social media, is a significant factor influencing students' academic achievement (AA). Many scholars have contributed to this line of research from around the world. Nevertheless, the literature lacks a holistic investigation of how the DA-AA research field evolved, which could guide future studies. The current study aims to address this void and conducts a combined bibliometric and science mapping analysis of research addressing the relationship between DA and AA. Data were retrieved from the WoS database, considered one of the optimal databases for such studies with its comprehensive coverage of quality journals. One hundred eighteen articles were included in the final dataset and were analyzed using the SciMAT software, which allowed analysis over three consecutive periods and yielded comparable results regarding the conceptual and thematic evolution of the DA-AA domain. The results indicated an increased research interest in the topic, especially during the last five years. The science mapping analysis showed that the most-studied types of addiction were smartphone addiction for the first two periods and social media addiction for the last. Research in the DA-AA domain which focused on understanding the addictive use of smartphones during the first period, evolved to address factors such as self-efficacy or life satisfaction leading to smartphone addiction and lower grades. During the third period, the number of factors addressed gained significant variety and covered family-related and personal factors.

On the (number of) aversive traits it takes to approximate the common core of aversive personality

The Dark Triad and Dark Tetrad are the constellation of aversive traits that are most commonly assessed to study their common (aversive) and unique (non-aversive) features. Nonetheless, it is unclear whether these particular traits (in combination) indeed closely approximate the common core of all aversive traits. A close approximation of the aversive core, however, is crucial if one is strictly interested in an aversive trait's unique variance. Therefore, the present study aims to specify how many and which aversive traits jointly approximate the aversive core to a satisfactory extent. To this end, the aversive core was first estimated from 16 aversive traits and then correlated to the aversive cores extracted from all 63,002 possible combinations of two to eleven of these traits. Results showed that most combinations of four, or essentially any combination of at least six aversive traits, approximated the aversive core reasonably well, whereas the Dark Triad and Dark Tetrad lead to systematically poorer approximations compared to other combinations of three of four aversive traits.

Smartphone addiction, sleep quality, depression, anxiety, and stress among medical students

Introduction

Studies consistently link excessive smartphone use to poor sleep quality, depression, anxiety, and stress. This study specifically aimed to investigate these associations among medical students in Belgrade and Nis (Central Serbia).

Materials and methods

The cross-sectional study included a sample of 761 students, who were selected from both the Faculties of Medicine at the University of Belgrade and the University of Nis. Questionnaires, including the International Physical Activity Questionnaire - Short Form (IPAQ-SF), Smartphone Addiction Scale - Short Version (SAS-SV), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale - 21 items (DASS-21), were completed by the participants. Statistical analysis techniques, such as the Chi-square test, student's t-test, and logistic regression, were employed to examine the relationship between smartphone addiction, physical activity, sleep quality, depression, anxiety, and stress.

Results

The findings indicated a prevalence of smartphone addiction among medical students at 21.7%, with rates of 22.9% among males and 21.1% among females. Females exhibited significantly higher scores on the SAS-SV scale compared to males (p = 0.032). Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed significant associations between smartphone addiction and spending over 4 h daily on smartphones (OR = 2.39; p < 0.001), poor sleep quality (OR = 1.65; p = 0,005), as well as elevated levels of stress (OR = 1.75; p = 0.003), anxiety (OR = 2.04; p < 0.001), and depression (OR = 2.29; p < 0.001). Multivariate regression analysis identified spending more than 4 h daily on smartphones (OR = 2.39; p < 0.001) and increased levels of depression (OR = 2.51; p < 0.001) as independent significant factors associated with smartphone addiction.

Conclusion

This study sheds light on the prevalence of smartphone addiction among medical students, with spending excessive time on smartphones and higher levels of depression standing out as significant factors. Future research should delve into the underlying mechanisms and causal relationships between smartphone addiction and these psychosocial factors. Understanding these connections will aid in developing effective interventions and strategies to tackle this growing public health concern.

Effects of successful parathyroidectomy on neuropsychological and cognitive status in patients with asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism

PURPOSE

Besides typical clinical symptoms, primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) is associated with impaired quality of life and cognitive status. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life and cognitive impairment in patients with pHPT, before and after parathyroidectomy.

METHODS

We conducted a panel study, which included asymptomatic pHPT patients scheduled for parathyroidectomy. Besides demographic and clinical data, patients' quality of life and cognitive capacity were recorded before, 1 month, and 6 months following parathyroidectomy using the Short Form 36 questionnaire (RAND-36), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Symptom Check List 90-revised version (SCL90R).

RESULTS

During a 2-year follow-up, 101 patients entered the study (88 women), with an average age of 60.7 years. The Global score of RAND-36 test ameliorated by almost 50% 6 months after parathyroidectomy. The most sustained subscores of the RAND-36 test were role functioning/physical and health change, with an improvement of more than 125%. According to the BDI, DASS depression subscore, and SCL90R depression subscore, the extent of depressive symptoms reduction was approximately 60% 6 months postoperatively. The level of anxiety was reduced by 62.4%, measured by both the DASS and SCL90R anxiety subscores. The stress level was almost halved according to the DASS stress subscore (from 10.7 to 5.6 points). The results of the MMSE test showed a significant improvement postoperatively, for 1.2 points (4.4%). A worse preoperative score of each tool was related to the higher magnitude of improvement 6 months after parathyroidectomy.

CONCLUSION

A considerable number of pHPT patients, even without other typical symptoms, show signs of impaired quality of life and neurocognitive status preoperatively. After a successful parathyroidectomy, there is an improvement in quality of life, declined levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as amelioration of cognitive status. Patients with more impaired quality of life and pronounced neurocognitive symptoms may expect more benefits from the surgery.

Individual differences in theory of mind correlate with the occurrence of false memory: A study with the DRM task

Although long-term memory and Theory of Mind (ToM) are closely related across the whole lifespan, little is known about the relationship between ToM and semantic memory. Clinical studies have documented the co-occurrence of ToM impairments and semantic memory abnormalities in individuals with autism or semantic dementia. However, to date, no study has directly investigated the existence of a relationship between ToM and semantic memory in the typical population. We addressed this gap on a sample of 103 healthy adults (M age = 22.96 years; age range = 19-35 years). Participants completed a classical false memory task tapping on semantic processes, the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) task, and two ToM tasks, the Triangles and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task. They also completed the vocabulary scale from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Results showed that participants' semantic performance in the DRM task was significantly related to that in the Triangles task. Specifically, the higher participants' ToM in the Triangles task, the higher participants' reliance on semantic memory while making false memories in the DRM task. Our findings are consistent with the Fuzzy Trace Theory and the Weak Central Coherence account and suggest that a (partially) common cognitive process responsible for global versus detailed-focus information processing could underlie these two abilities.

Return-to-work interventions for sick-listed employees with burnout: a systematic review

Burnout is a work-related mental health problem that often causes long-term sickness absence. Return-to-work (RTW) interventions for burned-out sick-listed employees aim to prevent long-term work disability. This systematic review addresses two questions: (1) Which interventions for burned-out sick-listed employees have been studied?; (2) What is the effect of these interventions on RTW?We performed a systematic literature review and searched PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2022. We searched for articles of interventions for burned-out sick-listed employees. We conducted the review in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. Outcome was RTW.We identified 2160 articles after removal of all duplicates. Eight studies met inclusion criteria. RTW outcomes were number of sick-leave days, sick-leave rates, median period of RTW and worked hours per week. Five studies described person-directed interventions, one described a workplace-directed intervention, one described a combination of both intervention types and one study described all three types of intervention. Only the workplace-directed intervention showed a significant improvement in RTW compared with the comparator group: at 18-month follow-up, 89% of the intervention group had returned to work compared with 73% of the comparator group.Only a limited number of studies have explored interventions specifically focused on burned-out sick-listed employees and the effect on RTW. Due to heterogeneity and moderate to high risk of bias of these studies, no firm conclusions can be drawn on the described interventions and their effect on RTW.The study was registered with the International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO, registration number: CRD42018089155).

Beautification of images by generative adversarial networks

Finding the properties underlying beauty has always been a prominent yet difficult problem. However, new technological developments have often aided scientific progress by expanding the scientists' toolkit. Currently in the spotlight of cognitive neuroscience and vision science are deep neural networks. In this study, we have used a generative adversarial network (GAN) to generate images of increasing aesthetic value. We validated that this network indeed was able to increase the aesthetic value of an image by letting participants decide which of two presented images they considered more beautiful. As our validation was successful, we were justified to use the generated images to extract low- and mid-level features contributing to their aesthetic value. We compared the brightness, contrast, sharpness, saturation, symmetry, colorfulness, and visual complexity levels of "low-aesthetic" images to those of "high-aesthetic" images. We found that all of these features increased for the beautiful images, implying that they may play an important role underlying the aesthetic value of an image. With this study, we have provided further evidence for the potential value GANs may have for research concerning beauty.

Validation of the Chinese version of the Perceived Stress Scale-10 integrating exploratory graph analysis and confirmatory factor analysis

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to initially assess the measurement properties of the 10-item simplified Chinese version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-C-10) and as a first, assess a longitudinal measurement invariance (LMI).

METHODS

A longitudinal survey was conducted with a convenient sample of healthcare students using the PSS-C-10. We assessed the PSS-C-10 mainly using composite analytical approaches, including exploratory graph analysis (EGA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to suggest the best-fit factor structure and assess measurement invariance.

RESULTS

The EGA identified a two-factor structural solution with an accuracy of 98.6% at baseline and 100% at a 7-day follow-up. The CFA subsequently confirmed this structure, with a comparative fit index of 0.963 at baseline and 0.987 at follow-up, Tucker-Lewis index of 0.951 at baseline and 0.982 at follow-up, and root mean square error of approximation of 0.111 at baseline and 0.089 at follow-up. The LMI was supported by the goodness-of-fit indices, and their changes fell within the recommended cut-off range. Additionally, Cronbach's alpha (0.885 at baseline and 0.904 at follow-up), McDonald's omega (0.885 at baseline and 0.902 at follow-up), and an ICC value of 0.816 for 7 days demonstrated the robust reliability of the PSS-C-10.

CONCLUSION

The PSS-C-10 exhibited a stable two-factor structure with promising LMI and measurement properties.

Tracking variations in daily questionable health behaviors and their psychological roots: a preregistered experience sampling study

People resort to various questionable health practices to preserve or regain health - they intentionally do not adhere to medical recommendations (e.g. self-medicate or modify the prescribed therapies; iNAR), or use traditional/complementary/alternative (TCAM) medicine. As retrospective reports overestimate adherence and suffer from recall and desirability bias, we tracked the variations in daily questionable health behaviors and compared them to their retrospectively reported lifetime use. We also preregistered and explored their relations to a wide set of psychological predictors - distal (personality traits and basic thinking dispositions) and proximal (different unfounded beliefs and biases grouped under the term irrational mindset). A community sample (N = 224) tracked daily engagement in iNAR and TCAM use for 14 days, resulting in 3136 data points. We observed a high rate of questionable health practices over the 14 days; daily engagement rates roughly corresponded to lifetime ones. Both iNAR and TCAM were weakly, but robustly positively related. Independent of the assessment method, an irrational mindset was the most important predictor of TCAM use. For iNAR, however, psychological predictors emerged as relevant only when assessed retrospectively. Our study offers insight into questionable health behaviors from both a within and between-person perspective and highlights the importance of their psychological roots.

Wolf-hound vs. sled-dog: neurolinguistic evidence for semantic decomposition in the recognition of German noun-noun compounds

Animacy is an intrinsic semantic property of words referring to living things. A long line of evidence shows that words with animate referents require lower processing costs during word recognition than words with inanimate referents, leading among others to a decreased N400 amplitude in reaction to animate relative to inanimate objects. In the current study, we use this animacy effect to provide evidence for access to the semantic properties of constituents in German noun-noun compounds. While morphological decomposition of noun-noun compounds is well-researched and illustrated by the robust influence of lexical constituent properties like constituent length and frequency, findings for semantic decomposition are less clear in the current literature. By manipulating the animacy of compound modifiers and heads, we are able to manipulate the relative ease of lexical access strictly due to intrinsic semantic properties of the constituents. Our results show additive effects of constituent animacy, with a higher number of animate constituents leading to gradually attenuated N400 amplitudes. We discuss the implications of our findings for current models of complex word recognition, as well as stimulus construction practices in psycho-and neurolinguistic research.

Machine learning revealed symbolism, emotionality, and imaginativeness as primary predictors of creativity evaluations of western art paintings

Creativity is a compelling yet elusive phenomenon, especially when manifested in visual art, where its evaluation is often a subjective and complex process. Understanding how individuals judge creativity in visual art is a particularly intriguing question. Conventional linear approaches often fail to capture the intricate nature of human behavior underlying such judgments. Therefore, in this study, we employed interpretable machine learning to probe complex associations between 17 subjective art-attributes and creativity judgments across a diverse range of artworks. A cohort of 78 non-art expert participants assessed 54 artworks varying in styles and motifs. The applied Random Forests regressor models accounted for 30% of the variability in creativity judgments given our set of art-attributes. Our analyses revealed symbolism, emotionality, and imaginativeness as the primary attributes influencing creativity judgments. Abstractness, valence, and complexity also had an impact, albeit to a lesser degree. Notably, we observed non-linearity in the relationship between art-attribute scores and creativity judgments, indicating that changes in art-attributes did not consistently correspond to changes in creativity judgments. Employing statistical learning, this investigation presents the first attribute-integrating quantitative model of factors that contribute to creativity judgments in visual art among novice raters. Our research represents a significant stride forward building the groundwork for first causal models for future investigations in art and creativity research and offering implications for diverse practical applications. Beyond enhancing comprehension of the intricate interplay and specificity of attributes used in evaluating creativity, this work introduces machine learning as an innovative approach in the field of subjective judgment.

Differential Magnitude of Resilience between Emotional Intelligence and Life Satisfaction in Mountain Sports Athletes

The field of mountain sports has its own characteristics, different from other sports modalities. Emotional intelligence and resilience not only refer to the adaptive capacity that can be developed after an adverse experience, but can also be factors that positively affect sporting performance in extreme conditions. In this study, 4818 athletes from the Spanish Federation of Mountain Sports and Climbing participated; 2696 were men (67.1%) and 1322 were women (32.9%), with a mean age of 49.42 years (±11.9). The Resilience Scale (RS-14), Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS-S) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were used. The aim was to provide evidence for the potential for resilience (personal competence and acceptance of self and life) among EI and life satisfaction in mountain and climbing athletes. The results showed that the coefficients of determination of personal competence [(Q2 = 0.286); (R2 = 0.578)], acceptance of self [(Q2 = 0.310); (R2 = 0.554)] and life satisfaction [(Q2 = 0.299); (R2 = 0.421)] for the estimation of the measurement model indicated a good model fit. In the future, it would be necessary to carry out specific studies discriminating by sport modality and methods for this area, with a large number of athletes and disciplines, as well as evaluating its possible applications for the improvement of emotional factors.

Mothers' emotional expressivity in urban and rural societies: Salience and links with young adolescents' emotional wellbeing and expressivity

This research aims to investigate the salience of mothers' emotional expressivity and its links with adolescents' emotional wellbeing and expressivity in an urban society endorsing more individualism and a rural society ascribing to more collectivism. By comparing Chinese urban (N = 283, M age = 14.13) and rural (N = 247, M age = 14.09) adolescents, this research found that urban mothers' expression of positive-dominant and positive-submissive emotions (PD and PS) were more common while expression of negative-dominant (ND) emotions was less common than rural mothers'. PD and PS had significant links with urban and rural adolescents' increased emotional expressivity and self-esteem, however, only significantly related to urban adolescents' decreased depression but not with rural adolescents'. ND had significant links with both urban and rural adolescents' expression of negative emotions, however, only significantly correlated with urban adolescents' less level of self-esteem and rural adolescents' more expression of positive emotions. No significant difference was found in the salience of urban and rural mothers' expression of negative-submissive (NS) emotions, which positively related to both urban and rural adolescents' depression and emotional expressivity. Moreover, we found that adolescents' emotional wellbeing (i.e., self-esteem and depression) mediated the relationship between mothers' emotional expressivity and adolescents' expressivity in both societies. Overall, the study findings document that the salience of mothers' emotional expressivity and its relations with adolescents' emotional adjustment differ between urban and rural societies.

Tendencies Toward Supernormality/Subnormality in Generating Attractive and Unattractive Female and Male Avatars: Gender Differences

In the present study, we investigated the differences in the experience of attractiveness and unattractiveness of human bodies. A total of 101 participants (55 females) were asked to create the most attractive and the most unattractive female and male figures using a computer animation. They performed this task by adjusting the size of six body parts: shoulders, breasts/chest, waist, hips, buttocks, and legs. Analyses indicated that attractive body parts were distributed normally with the peak shifted to moderately supernormal sizes, while unattractive body parts had mostly U-shaped or skewed distributions with extremes in super-supernormal and/or subnormal sizes. Generally, both male and female attractive bodies had prominent "sporty" look: supernormally wide shoulders and long legs. Gender differences showed that men prefer more supernomal masculine and feminine sizes, while women show an ambivalence toward both groups of traits. Principal components analysis revealed gender differences on the multitrait level: males focus on prominent masculine and feminine traits, while women focus on traits that make both male and female bodies more elongated and slender. Gender differences were in line with specific male and female positions in the partner selection process, while a certain tendency toward masculinization of the female body required the inclusion of social factors, such as the influence of the culture of a sporty and fit look.

Mediating effects of attention problems on the link between parenting style and internet gaming disorder in adolescents

Background

Positive and negative parenting styles as well as psychiatric comorbidities including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been associated with internet gaming disorder (IGD) in children and adolescents. We hypothesized that ADHD and parenting style would be associated with IGD in adolescents. In addition, psychological status could mediate the link between parenting style and the severity of IGD.

Methods

A total of 256 adolescents with IGD and 211 healthy internet game players and their mothers participated in the current study. Demographic data, gaming patterns, and psychological status including ADHD were recorded for all adolescents. The parenting style of each adolescent's mother was assessed using the Maternal Behavior Research Instrument (Korean version).

Results

There were significant differences in the internet game play patterns, psychological status, and parenting styles between the IGD group and healthy internet game players. In the hierarchical logistic regression analysis, higher ADHD scores, less affective parenting styles, and less autonomous parenting styles, were significant predictors of IGD. In the mediation test, the ADHD score was found to mediate the association between affective and autonomous parenting styles and the severity of IGD.

Conclusion

Attention problems could directly and indirectly mediate the relationship between positive parenting styles and the severity of IGD. Our findings have the potential to aid in the development of treatment plans for IGD and ADHD as well as to contribute to the development of educational resources regarding parenting styles.

COVID-19 victimization experience and university students' smartphone addiction: the mediating role of emotional intelligence

OBJECTIVES

During the post-COVID-19 era, everyone has the risk of contracting the virus and becoming the victims of COVID-19. Examining the relationship between the COVID-19 victimization experience and its effects is more urgent. The aim of present study is to propose a mediation model to investigate the association between COVID-19 victimization experience and smartphone addiction, and the mediating role of emotional intelligence.

METHODS

A online questionnaire including the COVID-19 Victimization Experience Scale, the Smartphone Addiction Scale, and the Emotional Intelligence Scale among Chinese university students, were employed in this study. Finally, 1154 valid questionnaires were collected. The reliability and confirmatory factor analysis results showed that all three scales had good reliability and validity.

RESULTS

Structural Equation Model (SEM) demonstrated that COVID-19 victimization experience significantly predicted smartphone addiction in university students, and emotional intelligence partially mediated the association between COVID-19 victimization experience and smartphone addiction. Bootstrap results furthermore tested the rigor of the mediating effect.

CONCLUSION

COVID-19 victimization experience was a important variables in predicting university students's martphone addiction, and emotional intelligence was a protective factor in decreasing the negative effect of COVID-19 victimization experience on addictive behaviors. It is suggested that instructors should integrate emotional intelligence training programs into mental health courses so as to improve students' emotional intelligence ability.

Predicting Adolescents' Problematic Social Media Use From Profiles of Internet-Specific Parenting Practices and General Parenting Dimensions

Although both Internet-specific and general parenting have been linked to adolescents' problematic social media use, until now they have been investigated as separate predictors of this behavior. As specific parenting practices occur in the broader general parenting context, this study examined how different Internet-specific parenting practices (Internet-specific rule setting, reactive restrictions towards Internet use, and co-use) and general parenting dimensions (responsiveness and autonomy-granting) co-occur, and act together in predicting adolescents' problematic social media use. Four-wave data of 400 adolescents (T1: M age = 13.51 years, SD = 2.15, 54% girls) were used. Latent profile analysis identified three parenting profiles: Limiting and less supportive (13.5%), Tolerant and supportive (25.5%), and Limiting and supportive (60.8%). Membership to Tolerant and supportive predicted lower scores on prospective problematic social media use than membership to the other profiles. Besides, membership to Limiting and supportive predicted lower scores on problematic social media use than membership to Limiting and less supportive. No robust moderation effects of adolescents' age and gender were found. These findings suggest that a supportive general parenting context rather than Internet use restrictions should be the focus when considering the prevention of adolescents' problematic social media use.

The Influence of Performance Appraisal Justice on Employee Job Performance: A Dual Path Model

Performance appraisal, as a powerful tool for human resource management, has become an important driving force for organizations to achieve sustainability. However, only when employees believe that a performance appraisal is fair can an organization’s performance appraisal truly work and have a positive impact on employees. Hence, based on social exchange theory and social identity theory, we theorized and validated a dual path model to explore the influence of performance appraisal justice on employee job performance through work engagement and organizational identification. Survey data from 404 Chinese employees and their direct supervisors in high-tech enterprises were analyzed using multiple regression and structural equation modeling. Results indicate that performance appraisal justice of employees has a positive impact on their work engagement, organizational identification, and job performance. In addition, both work engagement and organizational identification of employees partly mediated the relationship between performance appraisal justice and their job performance. Our conclusions mean that when employees perceive justice in organizational performance appraisals, they will actively engage in their daily work and truly identify with their organizations, thus improving job performance, which is conducive to the sustainable development of organizations. The limitations and implications for future research and practice are also discussed.

Embodied language of emotions: Predicting human intuitions with linguistic distributions in blind and sighted individuals

Recent constructionist theories have suggested that language and sensory experience play a crucial role not only in how individuals categorise emotions but also in how they experience and shape them, helping to acquire abstract concepts that are used to make sense of bodily perceptions associated with specific emotions. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of sensory experience in conceptualising bodily felt emotions by asking 126 Italian blind participants to freely recall in which part of the body they commonly feel specific emotions (N = 15). Participants varied concerning visual experience in terms of blindness onset (i.e., congenital vs late) and degree of visual experience (i.e., total vs partial sensory loss). Using an Italian semantic model to estimate to what extent discrete emotions are associated with body parts in language experience, we found that all participants' reports correlated with the model predictions. Interestingly, blind - and especially congenitally blind - participants' responses were more strongly correlated with the model, suggesting that language might be one of the possible compensative mechanisms for the lack of visual feedback in constructing bodily felt emotions. Our findings present theoretical implications for the study of emotions, as well as potential real-world applications for blind individuals, by revealing, on the one hand, that vision plays an essential role in the construction of felt emotions and the way we talk about our related bodily (emotional) experiences. On the other hand, evidence that blind individuals rely more strongly on linguistic cues suggests that vision is a strong cue to acquire emotional information from the surrounding world, influencing how we experience emotions. While our findings do not suggest that blind individuals experience emotions in an atypical and dysfunctional way, they nonetheless support the view that promoting the use of non-visual emotional signs and body language since early on might help the blind child to develop a good emotional awareness as well as good emotion regulation abilities.

Both direction and degree of handedness as influential factors in rumination

There is contradictory evidence on the influence of handedness on depression and anxiety. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between handedness and rumination, which is robustly associated with both depression and anxiety. This study aimed to examine the influence of direction and consistency of handedness on rumination, considering four different classifications of handedness. The study sample included 406 participants (282 females) who attended an online survey and answered a demographic questionnaire, the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory, the Ruminative Response Scale, and the second edition of the Beck Depression Inventory. Considering four different classifications of handedness, a series of one-way ANOVAs was conducted to investigate any differences between the handedness groups. Besides, linear regression models were used to predict depression or rumination scores among the whole study sample, left-handers, and right-handers. Consistency of handedness predicted rumination among right-handers (but not left-handers), with a direct association between consistency and brooding/total rumination scores. Also, consistent left-handers and consistent right-handers showed higher brooding scores than inconsistent right-handers. Overall, the results supported the significant influence of both direction and consistency of handedness on individual differences in rumination and suggested consistent- and left-handedness as perpetuating factors for ruminative response style.

"Illness perceptions and factors of distress as mediators between trait emotional intelligence and quality of life in endometriosis"

Past findings highlighted the presence of distress symptoms and poor quality of life in people with endometriosis. Several studies showed that trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI) is a key component of one's wellbeing, whilst Illness Perceptions may play an important role in psychological distress and perceived quality of life. The current study sought to test the hypothesis that an association between trait EI and Quality of Life in individuals with endometriosis would be mediated by Illness Perceptions, examining also the relations with General Distress (depression, anxiety, and stress). 364 women with endometriosis aged between 18 and 58 years old (M = 33.87; SD = 8.64) filled a protocol to assess Trait EI, Illness Perceptions, General Distress, and Quality of Life. Structural Equation Modelling was used to assess the relationship between the observed variables. Illness Perception was a mediator in the relationship between Trait EI, General Distress, and Quality of Life. Moreover, General Distress was a mediator between Trait EI and Quality of Life, and between Illness Perceptions and Quality of Life. Results showed that both Trait EI and Illness perceptions are key components for levels of distress and quality of life in women with endometriosis.

Unveiling urban marathon development characteristics and urban growth strategies in China: Insights from time series analysis of Baidu Search Index

The strategic exploration of urban sports tourism resources and the pursuit of novel trajectories for urban growth are pivotal for resource integration and competitive enhancement within cities. This investigation concentrates on Chinese city marathons and compiles daily search index data from Baidu for 38 city marathons across the nation, spanning from January 1st, 2012 to May 3rd, 2022. Employing time series clustering to evaluate the data, and in conjunction with indices related to urban tourism resources and city development, we delve into the characteristics of how Chinese city marathons propel urban growth. The findings illustrate that the search index data for the 38 city marathons can be clustered into three categories, with Xi'an, Fuzhou, and Dalian emerging as the epicenters of clustering. The representative search index data for these three clusters reveal diverse characteristics of change. The search index shifts for three landmark races align generally with the changes observed in their respective cluster center races, however, variations exist among the search index changes for these iconic marathons. The degree of search index and its trending direction in city marathons emanate from the synergistic influence of the city's political, economic, and tourism attributes, in addition to the event's prominence. City marathons also catalyze urban development through economic stimulation, image enhancement, and infrastructure improvement. Future exploration of novel trajectories for urban development could be facilitated through harnessing the economic and tourism attributes of these events, and by orchestrating a unified series of marathons.

Development of a novel instrument for assessing intentional non-adherence to official medical recommendations (iNAR-12): a sequential mixed-methods study in Serbia

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to (1) develop a novel instrument, suitable for the general population, capturing intentional non-adherence (iNAR), consisting of non-adherence to prescribed therapy, self-medication and avoidance of seeking medical treatment; (2) differentiate it from other forms of non-adherence, for example, smoking; and (3) relate iNAR to patient-related factors, such as sociodemographics, health status and endorsement of irrational beliefs (conspiratorial thinking and superstitions) and to healthcare-related beliefs and experiences ((mis)trust and negative experiences with the healthcare system, normalisation of patient passivity).

DESIGN

То generate iNAR items, we employed a focus group with medical doctors, supplemented it with a literature search and invited a public health expert to refine it further. We examined the internal structure and predictors of iNAR in an observational study.

SETTING

Data were collected online using snowball sampling and social networks.

PARTICIPANTS

After excluding those who failed one or more out of three attention checks, the final sample size was n=583 adult Serbian citizens, 74.4% female, mean age 39.01 years (SD=12.10).

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

The primary, planned outcome is the iNAR Questionnaire, while smoking was used for comparison purposes.

RESULTS

Factor analysis yielded a one-factor solution, and the final 12-item iNAR Questionnaire had satisfactory internal reliability (alpha=0.72). Health condition and healthcare-related variables accounted for 14% of the variance of iNAR behaviours, whereas sociodemographics and irrational beliefs did not additionally contribute.

CONCLUSIONS

We constructed a brief yet comprehensive measure of iNAR behaviours and related them to health and sociodemographic variables and irrational beliefs. The findings suggest that public health interventions should attempt to improve patients' experiences with the system and build trust with their healthcare practitioners rather than aim at specific demographic groups or at correcting patients' unfounded beliefs.

STUDY REGISTRATION

The design and confirmatory analyses plan were preregistered (https://osf.io/pnugm).

The Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI): a scoping review of versions, translations and psychometric properties

Background

The Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) is a brief instrument designed to assess the five-factor model (FFM) personality dimensions. It was specifically developed to provide a brief assessment option in situations where using more comprehensive FFM instruments would be unfeasible. The TIPI enjoys widespread use and has been translated into several different languages.

Objective

The aim of this scoping review was to generate an overview of different versions of the TIPI, and their psychometric properties in terms of two aspects of validity (convergent and structural) and two aspects of reliability (internal consistency and test-retest reliability).

Methods

Four databases (PsycINFO, PubPsych, Medline, and Web of Science) were searched for studies exploring psychometric properties of the TIPI (original and/or translated or revised versions), published in English as full-text original research articles. Additionally, manual searches were conducted on the official TIPI website and in reference lists. Studies who utilized the TIPI simply as a measure, without an aim of testing its psychometric properties, were excluded. A descriptive-analytical approach was utilized to generate overviews of available TIPI versions and their psychometric properties.

Results

In a total of 29 studies, 27 versions of the TIPI were identified, covering 18 different languages. Across versions, and evaluated against conventions of acceptable psychometric properties, the TIPI demonstrated acceptable test-retest reliability, somewhat mixed results for convergent and structural validity, and inappropriate internal consistency.

Conclusion

Being a brief instrument, the TIPI is unsurprisingly characterized by certain psychometric shortcomings. However, the TIPI may represent a feasible compromise in instances where it is necessary to strike a balance between maximizing psychometric properties and minimizing survey length.

Social Media Use and Depression in Adolescents: A Scoping Review

This scoping review aimed to investigate the association between depression and social media use among adolescents. The study analyzed 43 papers using five databases to identify articles published from 2012 to August 2022. The results revealed a connection between social media use and depression, as well as other negative outcomes such as anxiety, poor sleep, low self-esteem, and social and appearance anxiety. Surveys were the most used study strategy, with multiple common scales applied to assess depression, social media use, and other factors such as self-esteem and sleep quality. Among the studies, eight reported that females who use social media showed higher depression symptoms than males. This scoping review provides an overview of the current literature on the relationship between social media use and depression among adolescents. The findings emphasize the importance of monitoring social media use and providing support for individuals struggling with depression. However, more research is needed to better understand the factors contributing to this relationship and to develop more standardized assessment methods.

Physical, psychological, and behavioral problems among children and adolescents in countries with different economic statuses during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted children and adolescents' physical activity (PA), sleeping patterns, and psychological and behavioral health. Yet, little is known about the differences between those in countries with various economic statuses.

Methods

Articles published from database inception through 16 March 2022 were retrieved using CINAHL Complete, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Medline, PubMed, and PsycINFO. High-quality studies that reported the number of participants with parameters associated with PA, sleeping patterns, and psychological and behavioral problems in young people aged under 18 years during the pandemic were included. We referenced the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for PA and sleep duration to provide the event rate for young people who were not compliant with the guidelines. The event rate of young people who had decreased sleep quality and experienced psychological and behavioral problems were also investigated. A subgroup analysis was conducted to identify the differences in those in countries with diverse economic statuses. Funnel plot analysis and Egger's test were also conducted to identify any risk of publication bias.

Result

A total of 66 studies with 1,371,168 participants aged between 0 and 18 years, involving 27 countries, were included. During the pandemic, we identified that 41% (95% CI: 39%, 43%; I²= 96.62) and 43% (95% CI: 34%, 52%; I²= 99.42) of young people did not meet the PA and sleep duration recommendation guidelines. In addition, 31% (95% CI: 28%, 35%; I²= 99.66) of young people had decreased their sleep quality. Yet, no significant difference was found across countries with different economic statuses. However, the event rates of participants with psychological and behavioral problems were 32% (95% CI: 28%, 36%; I²= 99.85) and 19% (95% CI: 14%, 25%; I²= 99.72), respectively. In addition, the rate of psychological problems was more severe in those who live in lower middle-income countries (p < 0.001), while the rate of behavioral problems was more severe in those who live in high-income countries (p = 0.001).

Discussion

During the pandemic, the discouragement of PA, poor sleep quality, and high risk of psychological and behavioral problems are concerning. A large number of young people did not comply with the recommendation guidelines. Timely implementation of recovery plans is critical to address the adverse effects on young people.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=309209, identifier CRD42022309209.

A deeper look at the association between childhood maltreatment and reflective functioning

Childhood maltreatment is theorized as impeding the development of reflective functioning (RF; ability to perceive and interpret oneself and others in terms of mental states). However, previous research typically failed to support this association or yielded small sized and mixed associations. This study aims to provide a deeper look at the association between childhood maltreatment and RF by characterizing two non-mentalizing categories. One-hundred-and-sixteen pregnant women (mean age = 27.62, SD = 4.52) from the community (48.3% with a university degree, 96.5% in a relationship with the other parent) retrospectively reported on childhood abuse and neglect using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. They also participated in the Adult Attachment Interview subsequently coded using the Reflective Functioning Scale. Participants with poor to low RF were allocated to one of two groups (disavowal-distancing or distorted-inconsistent) using indicators provided in the RF Scale. No association was found between childhood maltreatment and overall RF when controlling for education level. A multinomial logistic regression revealed that childhood maltreatment was strongly predictive of a disrupted, over-analytical and inconsistent reflection about mental states but not of a tendency to discourse little about mental states. This tendency was rather only predicted by education level. Findings suggest that childhood maltreatment would lead to specific impairments in RF and that not considering how individuals fail to mentalize about attachment relationships may mask strong associations between RF and its determinants and correlates, including childhood maltreatment.

Attachment-Related Differences in Emotion Regulation in Adults: A Systematic Review on Attachment Representations

In recent years, there has been an increase in the prevalence of mental disorders connected with affective dysregulation and insecure attachment. Therefore, it is even more important to understand the interplay between an individual's attachment representation and patterns of emotion regulation. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review to examine this association. PsycInfo, PsyArticles, and PubMed were searched for studies that examined attachment-related differences in emotion regulation in adults. To examine the unconscious attachment representation, only studies using the Adult Attachment Interview or the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System were included. Thirty-seven peer-reviewed studies (with a total of 2006 subjects) matched the PICO criteria. Emotion regulation was measured via four objective approaches: autonomic nervous system, brain activity, biochemistry, or nonverbal behavior. Across all measurements, results reveal a significant correlation between attachment representation and emotion regulation. Secure attachment correlates consistently with balanced emotion regulation, whereas it is impaired in insecure and dysfunctional in unresolved attachment. Specifically, unresolved individuals display counterintuitive responses and fail to use attachment as a resource. Insecure-dismissing attachment is associated with an emotionally deactivating strategy, while on a physiological, biochemical, and nonverbal level, emotional stress is still present. There is still a lack of studies examining preoccupied individuals. In addition to interpreting the results, we also discuss the risk of bias, implications for psychotherapy and coaching, and an outlook for future research.

Determining Positive Behavioral Skills in Different Age Groups of Young Basketball Players during the Pandemic

Assessing psychological indicators such as positive behavioral skills in the context of adolescent personality development during the pandemic era is highly relevant: the growing problem of peer disrespect among adolescents who participate in sports has recently become an undeniable scientific issue. This study aimed to analyze positive behavioral skills in the cadet (U16) and junior (U18) age groups of young basketball players during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were 378 male athletes (age 16.36 ± 1.15 years). Results revealed that U18 athletes are more capable of taking responsibility, positively evaluating themselves, behaving pro-socially with teammates, cooperating, demonstrating assertiveness, demonstrating self-control, and managing emotions than U16 adolescent athletes. When comparing the effect sizes in the current study during the pandemic with similar studies by other authors, the pandemic may have had a larger negative effect on some positive behavioral skills (ability to control emotions, social responsibility skills, cooperation skills) in U16 athletes than in U18 athletes, as the effect sizes were small before the pandemic and moderate during the pandemic in the current study. This study's results may be useful for developing and implementing a young athletes' education program based on a comprehensive model of positive behavioral skills that include the indicators analyzed.

Are Cyberchondria and Intolerance of Uncertainty Related to Smartphone Addiction?

Smartphones are a medium for performing online activities, and one such activity could be the compulsive online health information search - cyberchondria. This study aimed to test whether cyberchondria and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) positively predict smartphone addiction (SA), adjusted for age, gender, daily use duration, the reason for using smartphones, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. The sample consisted of 471 adults (55.2% women) from the general population without chronic diseases (Mage = 38.67). Regression analysis showed that IU was a positive predictor of SA (β = .17, p < .001), as well as cyberchondria (β = .14, p < .001), which had a unique contribution to the explanation of SA, relative to IU. Other significant predictors were average daily smartphone use and entertainment use, the latter being the strongest predictor in the model. These results revealed cyberchondria as a unique predictor of SA.

Aesthetic experience models human learning

Aesthetic experiences have the potential to promote learning and creativity by enhancing the ability to understand complexity and to integrate novel or disparate information. Offering a theoretical framework for understanding the cognitive benefits of aesthetic experiences, this paper argues they are the necessary outcome of human learning, in which natural objects or artworks are evaluated in a multi-dimensional preference space shaped by Bayesian prediction. In addition, it contends that the brain-states underlying aesthetic experiences harness configurations of the apex three transmodal neural systems-the default mode network, the central executive network, and the salience network-that may offer information-processing advantages by recruiting the brain's high-power communication hubs, thus enhancing potential for learning gain.

The USMLE® STEP 1 Pass or Fail Era of the Vascular Surgery Residency Application Process: Implications for Structural Bias and Recommendations

MOTIVES BEHIND THE SHIFT

USMLE® STEP 1 score reporting has been changed to a binary pass/fail format since January 26, 2022. The motives behind this change were (1) the questionable validity of using USMLE® STEP 1 as a screening tool during the candidate selection process and (2) the negative impact of using standardized examination scores as an initial gatekeeping threshold for the underrepresented in medicine (URiM) candidates applying to GME programs, given their generally lower mean standardized exams scores compared to non-URiM students. The USMLE® administrators justified this change as a tactic to enhance the overall educational experience for all students and to increase the representation of URiM groups. Moreover, they advised the program directors (PDs) to give more attention to other important qualities and components such as the applicant's personality traits, leadership roles and other extracurricular accomplishments, as part of a holistic evaluation strategy. IMPACT OF USMLE® STEP 1 PASS/FAIL: At this early stage, it is unclear how this change will impact Vascular Surgery Integrated residency (VSIR) programs. Several questions are outstanding, most importantly, how VSIR PDs will evaluate applicants absent the variable which heretofore was the primary screening tool. Our previously published survey showed that VSIR PDs will move their attention to other measures such as USMLE® STEP 2CK and letters of recommendation during the VSIR selection process. Furthermore, more emphasis on subjective measures such as the applicant's medical school rank and extracurricular student activities is expected. Given the expected higher weight of USMLE® STEP 2CK in the selection process than ever, many anticipate that medical students will dedicate more of their limited time to its preparation at the expense of both clinical and non-clinical activities. Potentially leaving less time to explore specialty pathways and to determine whether VS is the appropriate career for them.

A FRAMEWORK FOR CANDIDATE EVALUATION

The critical juncture in the VSIR candidate evaluation paradigm presents an opportunity to thoughtfully transform the process via current (Standardized Letter of Recommendation, USMLE® STEP 2CK, and clinical research) and future (Emotional Intelligence, Structure Interview and Personality Assessment) measures which constitute a framework to follow in the USMLE® STEP 1 pass/fail era.

The digital addiction scale for children: psychometric properties of the Turkish version

The increase in the use of digital devices among children in recent years has revealed the problem of digital addiction. The Digital Addiction Scale for Children (DASC) is used for early detection of the risk of digital addiction among children. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the DASC. The data were collected from 670 children aged 9-14. Results supported acceptable goodness-of-fit indices for the one-dimensional factor structure of the DASC. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed measurement invariance across gender. The Turkish version of the DASC indicated excellent internal consistency reliability, composite reliability, test-retest reliability, and adequate convergent and criterion-related validities. The results provided strong validity and reliability evidence, in line with the previous study, showing that the DASC is a psychometrically sound instrument to assess digital addiction in Turkish children and early adolescents.