Cognitive Flexibility and Selective Attention's Associations with Internalizing Symptoms in Adolescents: Are they Reciprocal?

Social Exclusion and Short Video Addiction: The Mediating Role of Boredom and Self-Control

Background

Short video apps are very popular among Chinese college students, and some students even rely on them. Most of the current research has focused only on Internet addiction and has seldom focused on the phenomenon of short video addiction. Its influencing factors and formation mechanism are worth exploring.

Objective

This study aimed to explore the relationship between social exclusion and short video addiction among college students and the mediating roles of boredom and self-control.

Methods

This study adopted a multistage investigation and investigated 532 college students (39% male; mean age 19.32 ± 1.23 years) with a social exclusion scale, boredom proneness scale, self-control scale, and short video addiction scale. The mediating effect was tested with Process 3.1.

Results

The results showed that social exclusion has a positive predictive effect on college student's short video addiction. The impact of social exclusion on college student's short video addiction was mediated by boredom and self-control, and the chained mediation of boredom and self-control.

Conclusion

Theoretically, this study modified the I-PACE model, indicating that personal and distant social factors should be considered in individuals with behavioral addictions, such as short video addiction. Practically, the results suggested that schools should reduce peer rejection and improve students' mental health literacy to reduce boredom and enhance self-control, thus effectively preventing short video addiction.

Longitudinal Associations among Identity Processes and Mental Health in Young Adulthood: The Mediating Role of Social Support

Emerging adulthood (ages 18-25) is a period of identity exploration, particularly for young adults navigating the transition to post-secondary school. Little is known about how changes in identity exploration may be related to emerging adults' mental health, or the role of social support plays in identity-related processes. In the present study, associations among identity exploration, internalizing symptoms, and perceived social support were examined. Participants included a diverse group of emerging adults (N = 1,125, Mage = 17.96 years) studying at a Canadian university. Random-intercept cross-lagged modeling demonstrated that within-person increases in exploration in breadth predicted fewer depressive symptoms over time, whereas within-person increases in exploration in depth predicted more depressive and anxious symptoms over time. A mediation effect from perceived support from significant other to depressive symptoms via exploration in breadth was also evident. Findings suggest that identity exploratory processes may be developmentally relevant in emerging adulthood, but their implications for mental health may differ. Perceived social support is also meaningfully related to identity exploration and mental health.

Social interpretation inflexibility moderates emotional reactions to social situations in children and adolescents

Interpretation biases and inflexibility (i.e., difficulties revising interpretations) have been linked to increased internalizing symptoms. Although adolescence is a developmental period characterized by novel social situations and increased vulnerability to internalizing disorders, no studies have examined interpretation inflexibility in adolescents. Additionally, no studies (on adolescents or adults) have examined interpretation flexibility as a protective factor against adverse outcomes of interpersonal events. Using a novel task and a 28-day diary we examined relations among interpretation bias and inflexibility, internalizing symptoms, and negative interpersonal events in a sample of children and adolescents (N = 159, ages 9-18). At baseline, negative interpretation bias was positively correlated with social anxiety symptoms, and positive interpretation bias negatively correlated with social anxiety and depressive symptoms. Inflexible positive interpretations were correlated with higher social anxiety and depressive symptoms, while inflexible negative interpretations were correlated with higher social anxiety. Finally, interpretation inflexibility moderated daily associations between negative interpersonal events and depressive symptoms in daily life, such that higher inflexibility was associated with stronger associations between interpersonal events and subsequent depressive symptoms, potentially increasing depressive symptom instability. These results suggest that interpretation biases and inflexibility may act as both risk and protective factors for adolescent anxiety and depression.

The Clinical Manifestation, Executive Dysfunction, and Caregiver Strain in Subthreshold Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

OBJECTIVE

Subthreshold attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been suggested to be a "morbid condition" which also needs medical attention.

METHODS

The present study recruited 89 children with subthreshold ADHD (sADHD), 115 children with diagnosed ADHD (cADHD), and 79 healthy controls (HC) to explore the clinical manifestation, executive functions (EFs) of sADHD, and the caregiver strain. The clinical manifestation was evaluated through clinical interviews and parent-reports. Executive functions were assessed both experimentally and ecologically. Caregiver strain was measured by a parent-reported questionnaire.

RESULTS

For the clinical manifestation, both sADHD and cADHD indicated impairments when compared with HC. The comorbidities and the scaled symptoms indicated that the externalizing behaviors were relatively less serious in sADHD than cADHD, whereas the internalizing behaviors between two groups were comparable. For ecological EFs, sADHD scored between cADHD and HC in inhibition and working memory. For experimental EFs, sADHD was comparable to cADHD in inhibition, shifting, and was worse than cADHD in verbal working memory. For the caregiver strain, all scores of sADHD were between that in cADHD and that in HC.

CONCLUSION

Our present findings supported the suggestion of subthreshold ADHD as "morbid condition," which should be treated with caution in clinical practice, especially for the internalizing behaviors and some key components of EFs.

The effect of mindfulness training on executive function in youth with depression

Youth depression is often associated with impairments in cognitive function, especially in executive function. This study examines the effect of an 8-session-long mindfulness training that can improve executive function in youth with depression. Sixty youths (age range 15-27 years) with depression were selected as participants and were randomized into a mindfulness training group (MTG) and a waitlist-control group (WCG). The MTG received an 8-week mindfulness training while the WCG received no intervention. Both groups performed the Stroop, N-back, and More-odd shifting tasks at baseline and after eight weeks to examine inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility of executive function, respectively. The results showed that mindfulness training significantly reduced the Stroop effect size for MTG (p < 0.001), but the effect on the switching cost was not statistically significant (p = 0.975). There was an age effect of mindfulness training on working memory. For young adults, mindfulness training improved accuracy on the N-back task (p < 0.01) and shortened reaction time, although this effect slightly exceeded the significance level (p = 0.075). However, mindfulness training failed to improve the working memory of adolescents with depression. In conclusion, mindfulness training improved inhibitory control in youth with depression. It also improved working memory in young adults with depression, but future studies with large samples are needed to validate the improvement in working memory.

The Relationship Between Executive Functions and Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors in Mexican Preschoolers

Executive functions allow the regulation of behavior and emotions. This study aimed to analyze the association of executive functions with externalizing and internalizing behaviors in 30 Mexican preschoolers with typical development (age M = 53.63 months; SD = 7.83 months; 40% girls) from homes of middle-low socioeconomic status. Behavioral and cognitive measures were used to assess executive functions and analyzed them using robust statistical methods. We found that executive functions are related to externalizing and internalizing behaviors at the behavioral level. Only Forward Digit Span predicts attentional problems. Individual differences in children's cognitive development in a Mexican context were adressed, and they have clinical and educational implications.

Deliberative and Affective Risky Decisions in Teenagers: Different Associations with Maladaptive Psychological Functioning and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation?

Using network analysis, we investigated the relationships between maladaptive psychological functioning, difficulties in emotion regulation, and risk-taking in deliberative and affective behavioral decisions. Participants (103 adolescents aged between 13 and 19 years, 62% boys) took the Cold (deliberative) and Hot (affective) versions of the Columbia Card Task and completed the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). In contrast to the view that risk propensity increases from preadolescence to middle adolescence and decreases at later ages, our study revealed no age-specific trend. YSR syndrome scales were significantly correlated with risk propensity, but only in the Cold version. The YSR Thought Problems scale was the most central node in the network, linking internalizing and externalizing problems with risk propensity in the Cold CCT. Lack of emotional Clarity was the only DERS consistently linked with risk-taking both in correlation and network analyses. Maladaptive psychological functioning and difficulties in emotion regulation were linked with risk propensity in affective risky decisions through deliberative processes. The statistical significance of direct and indirect effects was further examined using nonparametric mediation analyses. Our study highlights the role of cognitive factors that in each variable set might account for risk-taking in teenagers.

Detecting negative valence symptoms in adolescents based on longitudinal self-reports and behavioral assessments

BACKGROUND

Given the high prevalence of depressive symptoms reported by adolescents and associated risk of experiencing psychiatric disorders as adults, differentiating the trajectories of the symptoms related to negative valence at an individual level could be crucial in gaining a better understanding of their effects later in life.

METHODS

A longitudinal deep learning framework is presented, identifying self-reported and behavioral measurements that detect the depressive symptoms associated with the Negative Valence System domain of the NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC).

RESULTS

Applied to the annual records of 621 participants (age range: 12 to 17 years) of the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA), the deep learning framework identifies predictors of negative valence symptoms, which include lower extraversion, poorer sleep quality, impaired executive control function and factors related to substance use.

LIMITATIONS

The results rely mainly on self-reported measures and do not provide information about the underlying neural correlates. Also, a larger sample is required to understand the role of sex and other demographics related to the risk of experiencing symptoms of negative valence.

CONCLUSIONS

These results provide new information about predictors of negative valence symptoms in individuals during adolescence that could be critical in understanding the development of depression and identifying targets for intervention. Importantly, findings can inform preventive and treatment approaches for depression in adolescents, focusing on a unique predictor set of modifiable modulators to include factors such as sleep hygiene training, cognitive-emotional therapy enhancing coping and controllability experience and/or substance use interventions.

Association between mental health and executive dysfunction and the moderating effect of urban-rural subpopulation in general adolescents from Shangrao, China: a population-based cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

To examine the association between mental health and executive dysfunction in general adolescents, and to identify whether home residence and school location would moderate that association.

DESIGN

A population-based cross-sectional study.

SETTING

A subsample of the Shanghai Children's Health, Education, and Lifestyle Evaluation-Adolescents project. 16 sampled schools in Shangrao city located in downstream Yangtze River in southeast China (December 2018).

PARTICIPANTS

1895 adolescents (48.8% male) which were divided into three subpopulations: (A) adolescents who have urban hukou (ie, household registration in China) and attend urban schools (UU, n=292); (B) adolescents who have rural hukou and attend urban schools (RU, n=819) and (C) adolescents who have rural hukou and attend rural schools (RR, n=784).

MEASURES

The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 was used to assess adolescent mental health symptoms, and the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (parent form) was applied to measure adolescent executive dysfunction in nature setting.

RESULTS

Mental health symptoms were common (depression: 25.2%, anxiety: 53.0%, stress: 19.7%) in our sample, and the prevalence rates were lower among UU adolescents than those among the RR and RU, with intersubgroup differences in screen exposure time explaining most of the variance. We found the three types of symptoms were strongly associated with executive dysfunction in general adolescents. We also observed a marginal moderating effect of urban-rural subgroup on the associations: UU adolescents with depression (OR 6.74, 95% CI 3.75 to 12.12) and anxiety (OR 5.56, 95% CI 1.86 to 16.66) had a higher executive dysfunction risk when compared with RR youths with depression (OR 1.93, 95% CI 0.91 to 4.12) and anxiety (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.39 to 2.33), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Rural adolescents experienced more mental health symptoms, whereas urban individuals with mental health problems had a higher executive dysfunction risk.

Self-control, Mental Health Problems, and Family Functioning in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: Between-person Differences and Within-person Effects

Adolescents' self-control develops in the context of mental health and family functioning, but it is unclear how the interplay of self-control, mental health, and family functioning unfolds across time within individuals. Separating within-person from between-person effects, random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were applied to adolescents (from ages 11 to 26) from a Dutch cohort (n = 2228, 51% female). Adolescents with low self-control were likely to have mental health problems and poorly functioning families. Although within-person changes in the study variables were not meaningfully associated in a reciprocal manner, changes in self-control and mental health were concurrently associated. This suggests that besides stable connections between self-control, mental health, and family functioning in adolescence and young adulthood, changes in self-control and mental health are developmentally linked as well.