A single-session growth mindset intervention for adolescent anxiety and depression: 9-month outcomes of a randomized trial

Trainee growth vs. fixed mindset in clinical learning environments: enhancing, hindering and goldilocks factors

BACKGROUND

Doctors in training (trainees) have higher rates of burnout, anxiety and depression than other professionals. An important psychological tool to combat this crisis is promotion of a growth mindset, which increases resilience and improves mental health outcomes. How growth mindset might be promoted within the clinical learning environment is underexplored. This study aimed to explore the factors promoting a growth mindset versus fixed mindset in trainees from the perspective of the trainees.

METHODS

This constructivist study employed a novel method of encouraging trainees' reflections on mindset adoption in the clinical learning environment. Trainees played Mindset, a tabletop simulation board game that included challenges encountered within training. This was followed by a facilitated debriefing, focusing on factors that promoted growth or fixed mindset adoption in the clinical learning environment. Debriefing transcripts were analysed using template analysis.

RESULTS

Three groups of oncology trainees and one group of medical education fellows participated (16 participants in total). Factors promoting growth mindset adoption included passion, collaboration, diverse career and role modelling. Factors promoting fixed mindset adoption included burnout and competition. Some factors, such as grit, previous success experience and singular training location promoted a fixed mindset when too much or too little were present, and promoted a growth mindset when they were in balance (the Goldilocks principle).

CONCLUSIONS

The importance of balance versus excess of certain factors, and the ubiquitous competitive culture in medicine promoting a fixed mindset, were compelling reflections. This study may aid invested parties to reflect on what factors they can upregulate and down regulate to optimise trainees' adoption of a growth mindset.

Cultivating emotional resilience in adolescent girls: Effects of a growth emotion mindset lesson

To address the widespread mental health crisis facing adolescent girls, this study examined whether a growth emotion mindset lesson can enhance emotional competence. During 2018-2022, adolescent girls (Mage = 15.68 years; 66.3% White) were randomized to a growth mindset (E-MIND; N = 81) or brain education (control; N = 82) lesson, completed the Trier Social Stressor Test, and reported on various aspects of emotional competence. Compared with the control group, the E-MIND group reported more adaptive emotion mindsets, higher emotion regulation self-efficacy, and more proactive in vivo and daily efforts to regulate emotions (effect sizes = small-to-medium to medium), with several differences remaining 4-month later. Findings provide novel insight into one promising approach for cultivating emotional resilience among adolescent girls.

Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity in the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Sport-Related Concussion: A Content Analysis of Intervention Research and Call-To-Action

This review was designed to (1) determine the extent to which the clinical science on sport-related concussion treatment and rehabilitation has considered social determinants of health (SDoH) or health equity and (2) offer recommendations to enhance the incorporation of SDoH and health equity in concussion treatment research and clinical care. The Concussion in Sport Group consensus statement (2023) was informed by two systematic reviews examining prescribed rest or exercise following concussion and targeted interventions to facilitate concussion recovery. We examined 31 studies, including 2,698 participants, from those two reviews. Race (k = 6; 19.4%) and ethnicity (k = 4; 12.9%) of the study samples were usually not reported. Four studies examined ethnicity (i.e., Hispanic), exclusively as a demographic category. Five studies (16.1%) examined race as a demographic category. Three studies (9.7%) examined socioeconomic status (SES; measured as household income) as a demographic category/sample descriptor and one study (3.2%) examined SES in-depth, by testing whether the treatment and control groups differed by SES. Five studies examined an SDoH domain in a descriptive manner and four studies in an inferential/intentional manner. No study mentioned SDoH, health equity, or disparities by name. Many studies (61.3%) excluded participants based on demographic, sociocultural, or health factors, primarily due to language proficiency. The new consensus statement includes recommendations for concussion treatment and rehabilitation that rely on an evidence base that has not included SDoH or studies addressing health equity. Researchers are encouraged to design treatment and rehabilitation studies that focus specifically on underrepresented groups to determine if they have specific and unique treatment and rehabilitation needs, whether certain practical modifications to treatment protocols might be necessary, and whether completion rates and treatment adherence and response are similar.

Examining change in the mental health of young people with epilepsy following a successful psychological intervention

OBJECTIVE

Evaluate the cognitive, behavioural and affective processes involved in therapeutic change for young people with epilepsy and mental health difficulties receiving an integrated mental health intervention.

METHODS

As part of a mixed methods convergent design, qualitative data were gathered in parallel to quantitative data at two timepoints in a randomised controlled trial testing the Mental Health Intervention for Children with Epilepsy in addition to usual care. Twenty-five young people and/or their families were interviewed before and after the intervention about the young person's mental and physical health, and their experience of therapy. Interview data were analysed inductively, idiographically and longitudinally using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis combined with Framework Analysis.

RESULTS

The young people's emotional and behaviour problems improved, mirroring the trial's quantitative outcomes. Their anxiety decreased and behaviour improved as they acquired tools and understanding through therapy. Problems, like aggressive behaviours and emotional outbursts, were also reduced, with young people gaining increased awareness and ability to self-regulate and parents learning to contain their child's impulsive behaviours.

CONCLUSIONS

The qualitative findings complement the MICE trial's significant positive quantitative results by providing insight and context to the therapeutic change, providing vivid insight into the mechanisms of therapy for individual families.

How I think about how I feel: Personal beliefs about emotion prospectively predict suicide-related outcomes and depression symptoms

One transdiagnostic process that may be critical to depression and suicidal ideation is beliefs about the nature of one's own emotions, both concurrently and longitudinally. In a sample of community adults (n = 143), we assessed personal emotion beliefs about the degree to which one's own emotions are malleable, unique, and last a long time. There were significant associations between stronger views that one's own emotions were fixed, unique to you, and had a longer duration and higher clinical symptom severity, including higher levels of current suicidal ideation, and less adaptive emotion regulation. Mediation analyses using longitudinal data clarified that the differential engagement in emotion regulation, specifically rumination, represented the link tying specific personal emotion beliefs to clinical symptoms and that, in certain cases, the opposite pathway is also significant - differences in clinical symptoms mediated the relationship between specific personal emotion beliefs and emotion regulation (rumination) longitudinally. Additionally, personal emotion beliefs varied based on depression status, as determined using a semi-structured clinical interview. For example, individuals meeting current criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) held stronger views that their emotions were unique to them compared to individuals with remitted MDD or no history of MDD. The current study's findings highlight the important role of specific personal emotion beliefs in clinical symptoms concurrently and longitudinally and mechanisms in these relationships. These results could guide future research on interventions to promote more adaptive beliefs about emotion to improve clinical outcomes.

Could a Growth Mindset Attenuate the Link Between Family Socioeconomic Status and Depressive Symptoms? Evidence from Chinese Adolescents

Purpose

The alleviating effects of a growth mindset on depression are promising. However, whether a growth mindset can attenuate the effect of low family socioeconomic status (SES) on depressive symptoms among adolescents remains unknown. Based on the Family Stress Model, the current study explores whether a growth mindset could moderate the associations between family SES, interparental conflict, and adolescent depressive symptoms.

Methods

The participants were 1572 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 13.35 years, SD = 1.16, 51.84% female). They completed the family SES questionnaire, Children's Perceptions of Interparental Conflict scale, Growth Mindset scale, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. We tested the moderation, mediation, and moderated mediation models using the SPSS macro program PROCESS.

Results

A growth mindset moderated the association between family SES and depressive symptoms. Family SES was significantly related to depressive symptoms in adolescents with a lower growth mindset, but not in those with a higher growth mindset. After incorporating the mediating effect of interparental conflict, the growth mindset did not exert a significant moderating influence on the direct path; however, it significantly moderated the mediating effect of interparental conflict on depressive symptoms. Specifically, while a lower growth mindset in adolescents was associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms due to interparental conflict, those with a higher growth mindset showed a less pronounced effect.

Conclusion

A growth mindset attenuates the link between family SES and depressive symptoms among adolescents. These findings highlight the benefits of a growth mindset on mental health, especially for low-SES adolescents.

"Broken fragments or a breathtaking mosaic": A mixed methods study of self-reported attributes and aspirations of siblings of individuals with and without neurodevelopmental conditions

Siblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) experience distinct challenges and have unique strengths compared to siblings of individuals without NDCs. The present study examined attributes and aspirations of siblings of individuals with and without neurodevelopmental conditions, and analyzed the association between qualitative responses and quantitative measures of growth mindset, positive and negative valence, and mental health diagnoses. A novel mixed methods thematic analysis was employed to explore the experiences of 166 siblings (75 NDC and 91 controls, aged 14-26, 66.27% female) completing an online survey as part of a larger study on sibling mental health. The overarching theme described The Process of Self-Actualization and Integration, reflecting the journey siblings undergo in seeking to understand themselves and others amidst psychological challenges. It encompassed three subthemes: Personal Growth and Identity Formation; Connection and Belonginess; and Societal Perspective and Global Consciousness. Qualitative responses were analyzed within a Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework, and associations between phenomenology and mental health diagnoses examined. NDC siblings had higher negative valence and lower positive valence embedded in their responses, and quantitatively lower self-reported growth mindset (i.e., beliefs about the capacity for personal growth), compared to control siblings, which correlated with self-reported mental health diagnoses. Findings suggest clinical practice may focus on optimizing self-identified strengths and offer opportunities for self-actualization of hopes and ambitions, while providing support for families to attenuate bioecological factors impacting mental health.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Barriers to Mental Health Treatment Among U.S. College Students

OBJECTIVE

Using a sample of U.S. college students, the authors evaluated whether barriers to mental health treatment varied by race and ethnicity.

METHODS

Data were drawn from a large multicampus study conducted across 26 U.S. colleges and universities. The sample (N=5,841) included students who screened positive for at least one mental disorder and who were not currently receiving psychotherapy.

RESULTS

The most prevalent barriers to treatment across the sample were a preference to deal with issues on one's own, lack of time, and financial difficulties. Black and Hispanic/Latine students reported a greater willingness to seek treatment than did White students. However, Black and Hispanic/Latine students faced more financial barriers to treatment, and Hispanic/Latine students also reported lower perceived importance of mental health. Asian American students also reported financial barriers and preferred to handle their issues on their own or with support from family or friends and had lower readiness, willingness, and intentionality to seek help than did White students.

CONCLUSIONS

Disparities in unmet treatment needs may arise from both distinct and common barriers and point to the potential benefits of tailored interventions to address the specific needs of students of color from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. The findings further underscore the pressing need for low-cost and brief treatment models that can be used or accessed independently to address the most prevalent barriers for students.

Effects of a Parent-Child Single-Session Growth Mindset Intervention on Adolescent Depression and Anxiety Symptoms: Protocol of a 3-Arm Waitlist Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Depression and anxiety are common mental health problems among adolescents worldwide. Extant research has found that intelligence, emotion, and failure-is-debilitating beliefs (fixed mindsets) are closely related to more depression and anxiety symptoms, hopelessness, and suicidality. Recent research also points to the importance of parental mindset, which can strongly influence children's affect, behavior, and mental health. However, the effects of parent-child mindset interventions on a child's internalizing problems have not yet been empirically examined. As recent evidence has shown the promise of single-session interventions in reducing and preventing youth internalizing problems, this study develops and examines a parent and child single-session intervention on mindsets of intelligence, failure, and emotion (PC-SMILE) to tackle depression and anxiety in young people.

OBJECTIVE

Using a 3-arm randomized controlled trial, this study will examine the effectiveness of PC-SMILE in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms among children. We hypothesize that compared to the waitlist control group, the PC-SMILE group and child single-session intervention on mindsets of intelligence, failure, and emotion (C-SMILE) group will significantly improve child depression and anxiety (primary outcome) and significantly improve secondary outcomes, including children's academic self-efficacy, hopelessness, psychological well-being, and parent-child interactions and relationships, and the PC-SMILE is more effective than the C-SMILE.

METHODS

A total of 549 parent-child dyads will be recruited from 8 secondary schools and randomly assigned to either the PC-SMILE intervention group, the C-SMILE intervention group, or the no-intervention waitlist control group. The 45-minute interventions include parent-version and child-version. Both parents and students in the PC-SMILE group receive the intervention. Students in C-SMILE group receive intervention and their parents will receive intervention after all follow-up ends. Students in 3 groups will be assessed at 3 time points, baseline before intervention, 2 weeks post intervention, and 3 months post intervention, and parents will be assessed in baseline and 3-month follow-up. The intention-to-treat principle and linear-regression-based maximum likelihood multilevel models will be used for data analysis.

RESULTS

Recruitment started in September 2023. The first cohort of data collection is expected to begin in May 2024 and the second cohort will begin in September 2024. The final wave of data is expected to be collected by the end of the first quarter of 2025. The results are expected to demonstrate improved anxiety and depression among students assigned to the intervention condition, as well as the secondary outcomes compared to those in the control group. The efficacy and effectiveness of the intervention will be discussed.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first attempt to develop a web-based single-session intervention for students and their parents to enhance their well-being in Hong Kong and beyond, which potentially contributes to providing evidence-based recommendations for the implementation of brief digital parent-child interventions.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

PRR1-10.2196/63220.

A small shift, a major leap: Changing gender-role attitudes among adolescents across two ethnic groups

INTRODUCTION

The current study examined a growth mindset intervention designed to promote egalitarian gender role attitudes among adolescents during a pivotal stage of their development, as these attitudes may have important implications for their identity development, well-being, and future life decisions.

METHODS

A sample of 181 eighth-grade students (61% female, Mage = 13.14, SD = 0.42) from six Israeli schools participated in the study. The sample consisted of 49% Jewish and 51% Arab adolescents, including both Muslims and Christians. Adolescents engaged in a two-session intervention that included videos and reflective writing tasks. Pre-and postintervention, they completed self-administered questionnaires assessing their gender-role mindsets, attitudes toward women, and sexism. The data collection and intervention process took place from late 2021 to early 2023.

RESULTS

After the intervention, there was an increase in growth mindsets and egalitarian attitudes towards women among adolescents, and a reduction in benevolent sexism and fixed gender-role mindsets. Hostile sexism, however, remained unchanged. No significant sex or ethnic differences were found in the effectiveness of the intervention. Gender-role mindsets mediated the association between the intervention and egalitarian attitudes, but not the association between the intervention and benevolent sexism.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings demonstrate the potential of brief and targeted growth mindset interventions in promoting favorable changes adolescents' attitudes towards gender roles. According to this study, despite prolonged gender-role socialization, adolescents from diverse ethnic backgrounds can move towards more egalitarian attitudes and flexibility in gender roles through a rather targeted process. This finding is promising especially in adolescence, when stereotypes are often intensified.

Is There a Place for Cognitive Restructuring in Brief, Self-Guided Interventions? Randomized Controlled Trial of a Single-Session, Digital Program for Adolescents

OBJECTIVE

Self-guided digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) teaching empirically supported skills (e.g. behavioral activation) have demonstrated efficacy for improving youth mental health, but we lack evidence for the complex skill of cognitive restructuring (CR).

METHOD

We conducted the first-ever RCT testing a CR DMHI ("Project Think") against an active control (supportive therapy; "Project Share") in collaboration with public schools. Pre-registered outcomes were DMHI acceptability and helpfulness post-intervention, as well as internalizing symptoms and CR skills use from baseline to seven-month follow-up, in the full sample and the subsample with elevated symptoms.

RESULTS

Participants (N = 597; MAge = 11.99; 48% female; 68% White) rated both programs highly on acceptability and helpfulness. Both conditions were associated with significant internalizing symptom reductions across time in both samples, with no significant condition differences. CR skills use declined significantly across time for Project Share youths but held steady across time for Project Think youths in both samples; this pattern produced a significant condition difference favoring Project Think within the elevated sample at seven-month follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Internalizing symptoms declined comparably for Think and Share participants. Consequently, future research should examine whether encouraging youths to share their feelings produces symptom improvements, and whether a single-session, self-guided CR DMHI produces beneficial effects relative to more inert control conditions. Further, the decline in CR skills use for Project Share youths versus sustained CR use by Project Think youths raises questions about the natural time course of youths' CR use and the impact of these DMHIs on that course. ClinicalTrials.gov Registration: NCT04806321.

Investigating adolescent psychological wellbeing in an educational context using PISA 2018 Canadian data

Introduction

Adolescent psychological wellbeing has been identified as an important public health priority and one of the major challenges facing young people. However, few studies have examined the wellbeing of Canadian adolescents nationwide in the past decade, and even fewer have focused specifically on immigrant adolescents. This study aims to investigate Canadian adolescent psychological wellbeing (PWB) via nationally representative data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018. We explored what social and educational factors were critical in predicting Canadian adolescents' PWB, how adolescents from immigrant families differed from their non-immigrant peers in their wellbeing, and how adolescents' PWB was related to their academic performance.

Methods

A total of 22,651 Grade 8 Canadian students who participated PISA 2018 were included in this study (mean age of 15; 49.9% female; 26% immigrant students). Mixed effects modeling was adopted for data analysis.

Results

Our results showed that various social and educational factors were associated with adolescent PWB, but these relationships varied depending on which aspect of PWB was examined. Immigrant adolescents were shown to have higher levels of PWB when student attitudes toward immigrants were more positive. Additionally, most aspects of PWB were important for achievement performance.

Discussion

It is important to develop healthy and supportive school and disciplinary climates that foster students' sense of belonging. To further support the PWB of immigrant adolescents, educators can implement activities and integrate learning materials on cultural diversity into curricula, encouraging students to develop positive attitudes toward immigrants. Our findings on the PWB of Canadian adolescents could provide valuable insights for other countries with diverse populations, particularly those with significant immigrant communities.

Impact of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy on Anxiety Levels Among African American Adolescents

Anxiety and depression among adolescents in the United States has steadily increased. In addition, significant disparities in access to mental health care exist for African Americans. The purpose of the current project was to support the mental health of African American adolescents involved in faith-based youth groups through implementation of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). The community partner was an African American church in Southwest Georgia. Mindfulness training modules are offered in monthly sessions. Pre- and post-intervention surveys and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) were analyzed, comparing mean GAD-7 scores before and after participation. Nurse-led quality improvement initiatives support adolescent mental health and provide sustainable resources for mental health in rural areas. Results of the quality improvement project reveal improvement in self-reported anxiety symptoms among participants after the 4-month DBT intervention. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 62(8), 7-10.].

How do adolescents experience a newly developed Online Single Session Sleep Intervention? A Think-Aloud Study

BACKGROUND

Sleep problems are common in adolescents and have detrimental impacts on physical and mental health and daily functioning. Evidence-based treatment like cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is often hard to access, and adolescents may not engage in and adhere to longer, clinician-delivered interventions. Brief, self-guided, and accessible sleep interventions are needed.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the user experience of a prototype online self-help single session sleep intervention developed for adolescents.

METHODS

Eleven participants aged 17-19 years (8 females, 3 males) took part in online retrospective think-aloud interviews. Participants first completed the prototype intervention independently and were then shown the intervention page by page and asked to verbalise their thoughts and experiences. Transcripts were analyzed thematically.

RESULTS

Participants found the intervention helpful. Four themes were generated - 'Educative: Learning, but more fun', 'Effortless: Quicker and Easier', 'Personalization: Power of Choice', and 'Positivity: Just Good Vibes'. The theme 'Educative: Learning, but more fun' encompassed two sub-themes 'Opportunity to Learn' and 'Aesthetics and Learning'. These themes reflected participants' views that the intervention was educative, personalised, solution-oriented and easy to use, but could incorporate more graphics and visuals to aid in learning and could be made more effortless and positive through modifications to its design.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings convey the importance of ensuring educative well-designed content, personalization, a positive tone, and ease of use while designing interventions targeting adolescents's sleep and mental health. They also indicate areas for further developing the intervention.

Growth mindset and well-being in social interactions: countering individual loneliness

Introduction

Loneliness is a prevalent negative emotion experienced by college students. This study explores the relationship between a growth mindset and loneliness among college students.

Methods

A total of 560 college students completed the Growth Mindset Scale (GMS), UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA), Interpersonal Relationships Assessment Scale (IRS), and two measures assessing distinct facets of well-being the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the revised Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS).

Results and discussion

The results found a significant negative correlation between a growth mindset and loneliness. A growth mindset negatively predicted loneliness through the chain-mediated effects of interpersonal distress and well-being. These findings underscore the important role of a growth mindset in influencing loneliness, providing teachers and practitioners a new perspective to understand and intervene college students' psychological challenges.

Psychosocial interventions for depression among young people in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Depression among young people is a global health problem due to its rising prevalence and negative physical and social outcomes. The prevalence of depression and the treatment gap among young people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is higher than global estimates. Most psychosocial interventions for adolescent and youth depression were developed in high-income countries and less is known about their effectiveness in SSA. Due to contextual differences, findings from High-Income Countries (HICs) are less applicable to SSA. Yet, no systematic review of psychosocial interventions for depression among young people in SSA has been conducted.

METHODS

A systematic literature search of four databases (Medline, Web of Science, PsycInfo, and Cochrane library) was conducted. Experimental studies published before May 2024 that evaluated the effect of psychosocial interventions on depressive symptoms among young people (aged 10-24 years) in SSA were included in the systematic review. Effect sizes (Hedge's g (g)) indicating differences between intervention and control groups were calculated using a random effects model.

RESULTS

Twenty-two eligible studies were identified for the systematic review, of which eighteen randomized control trials (RCTs) involving 2338 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The findings revealed that psychosocial interventions significantly reduced depressive symptoms (g = -1.55, 95% CI -2.48, -0.63), although heterogeneity was high (I2 = 98.8%). Subgroup analysis revealed that efficacy differed significantly by intervention type, with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (9 studies) showing the strongest effect (g = -2.84, 95% CI -4.29; -1.38). While Wise Interventions (a form of positive psychology interventions; 2 studies) had a moderate effect (g = -0.46, 95% C.I -0.53, -0.39), Interpersonal Psychotherapy (2 studies; g = -0.08, 95% CI -1.05, 0.88) and Creative Psychological Interventions (3 studies; g = -0.29, 95% CI -1.38, 0.79) showed smaller, non-significant effects. Sensitivity analysis excluding studies at high risk of bias strengthened the effect size. Few studies assessed factors affecting intervention efficacy and showed mixed effects of age, gender, and adherence levels.

CONCLUSION

Psychosocial interventions, particularly CBT, significantly reduced depressive symptoms among young people in SSA. However, it is crucial to acknowledge the high heterogeneity which likely stems from variations in study populations and intervention delivery modalities. This highlights the need for further research to identify the specific intervention components and delivery methods that work best for distinct subpopulations. Future research should also explore how long intervention effects are maintained and factors affecting efficacy.

A systematic review of brief respiratory, embodiment, cognitive, and mindfulness interventions to reduce state anxiety

Introduction

Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health conditions worldwide, and psychotherapeutic techniques can be employed to help manage and mitigate symptoms. While the available therapies are numerous, key strategies often involve cognitive and/or embodiment techniques. Within body-centered methods, breathing-oriented approaches are particularly prevalent, using either attention towards or active control of breathing. As the perception of body states (i.e., interoception) is thought to be an integral component of emotion generation, these embodiment and breathing techniques may be key in addressing the miscommunication between the brain and body that is thought to exist with anxiety. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effects of acute administration of psychological interventions for state anxiety.

Results

This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA statement and registered prospectively in PROSPERO. A literature search for randomized controlled trials was conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus. We considered interventions that focused on cognitive, embodiment or breathing strategies, or a combination of these techniques. Twelve studies met our inclusion criteria, and study characteristics, quality and effect sizes were assessed. A single cognitive study was found to produce a moderate reduction in state anxiety, while moderate to large effects were found across studies assessing embodiment practices. In contrast, studies which utilized breathing-based interventions alone produced inconsistent results, with both attention towards and active control of breathing producing large to no effects depending on the technique employed. Finally, consistent moderate effects were found with combination techniques that involved passive attention (e.g., towards cognitions, body and/or breathing), with active combination techniques producing inconsistent results.

Discussion

While study numbers are limited regarding brief interventions, cognitive and embodiment techniques are consistently helpful for reducing state anxiety, while breathing-based exercises need to consider the specific technique employed, and how successful this may be for each individual. Furthermore, combined practices such as mindfulness can also be successful, although care must be taken when introducing an active change to one or more elements.

PROSPERO Systematic Review Registration Number

CRD42024507585 Available from: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42024507585.

Results from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Single-Session Growth-Mindset Intervention for Internalizing Symptoms in Autistic Youth

Autistic youth experience elevated rates of co-occurring internalizing symptoms. Interventions to treat internalizing symptoms in autistic youth are almost uniformly costly and time-intensive, blunting dissemination of intervention and highlighting the need for scalable solutions. One promising option is a relatively new class of evidence-based treatments, single-session interventions (SSIs), however, no study has examined SSIs for depression symptoms in autistic youth. Participants included 40 autistic adolescents ranging in age from 11 to 16 (Mage = 14.22, Nmale = 32). Eligible youth who agreed to participate were randomized to either the active intervention (Project Personality), or an active control designed to mimic supportive therapy. Participants and their caregiver completed questionnaires immediately before, after, and three months post intervention. All participants completed the intervention independently and largely reported enjoying it. The intervention was delivered with 100% fidelity. Findings demonstrated improvements in perceived primary control, malleability of personality, and social competence relative to the active control group immediately post-intervention. Further, results revealed improvements in self-reported depression symptoms and parent reported emotional regulation at 3-month follow up. This study was the first to assess a GM-SSI designed to treat depression symptoms in autistic adolescents. Results indicated improvements in perceived control immediately post-intervention and downstream improvements in depression. Nonetheless, we did not find improvements in symptoms of anxiety, suggesting that autistic adolescents may require modifications to the intervention to maximize benefit. Findings demonstrate the utility of GM-SSI for internalizing symptoms for autistic youth and hold considerable promise as a low-intensity and scalable intervention.

Investing in family-centered early childhood education: A conceptual model for preventing firearm homicide among Black male youth in the United States

INTRODUCTION

Firearms are now the number one killer of children and adolescents in the United States. Firearm homicides among Black male youth are the driver of this increase. Prevention requires a multi-faceted life course approach. Academic achievement has been identified as a protective factor. Early childhood education, which is linked to later achievement, is thus an intervention area of interest. Conceptualizing the potential links between early childhood education and reduced risk for youth firearm homicide is important for guiding policy advocacy and informing future research.

METHODS

This paper presents a conceptual model linking early childhood education to reduced risk for firearm homicide. Each link in the model is discussed, and a corresponding review of the literature is presented. The need for anti-racist policies to strengthen the impact of early childhood education is highlighted.

RESULTS

Early education and firearm homicide research are each well-established but largely disconnected. There are clear immediate benefits of early childhood education; however, these effects wane with time, particularly for youth of color. At the same time, juvenile delinquency-a major risk factor for firearm homicide-is influenced by educational inequities.

CONCLUSIONS

Effective interventions to reduce firearm homicides among Black male youth in the United States are needed. Early childhood education shows promise as an intervention. However, to have an impact, this education needs to be accessible and affordable for all, particularly families of color and low income. Societal structures and policies must also better support the positive gains seen through early childhood education to avoid dissipation.

Adverse childhood experiences are associated with perceived cognitive difficulties among high school students in the United States

Objective

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with mental health and cognitive problems, and mental health problems are associated with perceived cognitive difficulties among adolescents. The unique contribution of ACEs to cognitive difficulties after adjusting for poor mental health is not well understood and represents the purpose of this study.

Methods

The Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey was conducted in 2021 with high school students in the United States. Cognitive difficulty was assessed with: 'Because of a physical, mental, or emotional problem, do you have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions?' Four ACEs were examined: sexual violence (lifetime and past 12 months), parental emotional abuse, and parental physical abuse. Students were asked about feeling sad or hopeless (past year), considering suicide (past year), and having poor mental health (past month). Binary logistic regressions examined the association between ACEs and cognitive problems, adjusting for mental health.

Results

Participants were 6,945 students. Students reporting poor mental health were very likely to endorse difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions (girls = 81% and boys = 67%). Cognitive difficulty was uncommon among students who denied poor mental health (girls = 17% and boys = 12%). For boys [p < 0.001; R2 = 0.22] and girls [p < 0.001; R2 = 0.31], after adjusting for mental health problems, independent predictors of cognitive difficulties included parental verbal abuse and physical abuse. For girls, lifetime forced sexual intercourse and sexual violence during the past year were also independently associated.

Conclusion

ACEs are associated with perceived cognitive difficulty in both adolescent girls and boys, even after adjusting for poor mental health.

Social Media Use and Youth Mental Health: Intervention-Focused Future Directions

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The purpose of this review is to highlight the challenges related to the study of the relationship between social media use and youth mental health and propose a path forward in intervention-focused research.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent findings relay the need to conceptualize the effects of social media use on youth mental health in a nuanced way. Unique, discrete social media experiences may either contribute to an individual's well-being, ill-being, or both. Social media use may contribute to well-being for one person, but ill-being for another. Similarly, social media use may contribute to well-being for one person at one point in their life but then contribute to ill-being at a different point in their life. As such, it is difficult to make broad overarching conclusions about this incredibly nuanced relationship. Intervention-focused research include authors' plans to create a social media single session intervention (SSI) designed to promote insight about social media's effects on well- or ill-being, as well as self-efficacy and knowledge to make changes to social media use.

Evaluating a treatment selection approach for online single-session interventions for adolescent depression

BACKGROUND

The question 'what works for whom' is essential to mental health research, as matching individuals to the treatment best suited to their needs has the potential to maximize the effectiveness of existing approaches. Digitally administered single-session interventions (SSIs) are effective means of reducing depressive symptoms in adolescence, with potential for rapid, large-scale implementation. However, little is known about which SSIs work best for different adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

We created and tested a treatment selection algorithm for use with two SSIs targeting depression in high-symptom adolescents from across the United States.

METHODS

Using data from a large-scale RCT comparing two evidence-based SSIs (N = 996; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04634903), we utilized a Personalized Advantage Index approach to create and evaluate a treatment-matching algorithm for these interventions. The two interventions were Project Personality (PP; N = 482), an intervention teaching that traits and symptoms are malleable (a 'growth mindset'), and the Action Brings Change Project (ABC; N = 514), a behavioral activation intervention.

RESULTS

Results indicated no significant difference in 3-month depression outcomes between participants assigned to their matched intervention and those assigned to their nonmatched intervention. The relationship between predicted response to intervention (RTI) and observed RTI was weak for both interventions (r = .39 for PP, r = .24 for ABC). Moreover, the correlation between a participants' predicted RTI for PP and their predicted RTI for ABC was very high (r = .79).

CONCLUSIONS

The utility of treatment selection approaches for SSIs targeting adolescent depression appears limited. Results suggest that both (a) predicting RTI for SSIs is relatively challenging, and (b) the factors that predict RTI for SSIs are similar regardless of the content of the intervention. Given their overall effectiveness and their low-intensity, low-cost nature, increasing youths' access to both digital SSIs may carry more public health utility than additional treatment-matching efforts.

Research Review: The internalizing paradox - youth anxiety and depression symptoms, psychotherapy outcomes, and implications for research and practice

BACKGROUND

Youth anxiety and depression have long been combined within the empirically derived internalizing syndrome. The two conditions show substantial comorbidity, symptom co-occurrence, and overlap in treatment procedures, but paradoxically diverge in psychotherapy outcomes: strong, positive effects for anxiety and weak effects for depression.

METHODS

Drawing on recent research, we examine candidate explanations for this paradox to help identify strategies for addressing it by improving outcomes for youth depression.

RESULTS

Candidate explanations include that youth depression, compared with youth anxiety, has more varied comorbidities and more heterogeneous symptom combinations, has greater uncertainty regarding mediators and mechanisms of change, is treated with more complex and potentially confusing protocols, and has characteristics that may impede client engagement. Candidate strategies for shrinking the psychotherapy effectiveness gap include personalizing through transdiagnostic modular treatment, simplifying therapy by focusing on empirically supported principles of change, developing effective strategies for engaging family members as intervention allies, using shared decision-making to inform clinical decisions and boost client engagement, capitalizing on youth-friendly technological advances, and shortening and digitizing treatments to enhance their accessibility and appeal.

CONCLUSIONS

Recent advances suggest explanations for the internalizing paradox, which in turn suggest strategies for shrinking the youth anxiety-depression psychotherapy outcome gap; these form an agenda for a promising new era of research.

From safety net to trampoline: elevating learning with growth mindset in healthcare simulation

The Implicit Theory of Mindset proposes two different mindsets that sit at opposite ends of a spectrum: a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. With a fixed mindset, an individual believes they are born with a certain amount of an attribute, and so their potential is both pre-determined and static. With a growth mindset, an individual believes their attributes are malleable and can strengthen over time with repeated effort, adaptable learning strategies, and challenge seeking. Adoption of a growth mindset is associated with improved academic success, more effective learning strategies, increased resilience in the face of adversity, and better mental wellbeing.The theoretical underpinning of psychological safety resonates with the Implicit Theory of Mindset as it infers that a significant number of simulation participants have a fixed mindset and are therefore more likely to be fearful of making an error. The simulation community agree that participants need to feel comfortable making errors for simulation to be successful. The key word here is comfortable. Participants feeling comfortable to make errors just scratches the surface of adopting a growth mindset. With a growth mindset, participants see errors as a positive in the simulation experience, an inevitability of the learning process, evidence that they are adequately challenging themselves to improve.Encouraging adoption of a growth mindset in participants is a powerful addition to the establishment of psychological safety because a growth mindset will re-frame participants' experiences of social comparison from negative to positive and optimize information processing. We propose a novel idea: simulation educators should be explicit in the pre-brief about what a growth mindset is and its associated benefits to encourage its adoption during the simulation activity-a simulation growth mindset intervention. If this is not possible due to time constraints, an online module or article about growth mindset would be appropriate as pre-reading to encourage adoption of a growth mindset in participants. The message is not that a simulation growth mindset intervention should replace the focus on psychological safety but rather that it should be used synergistically to provide the highest quality simulation experience.

Single-session intervention on growth mindset on negative emotions for university student mental health (U-SIGMA): a protocol of two-armed randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The university years are a developmentally crucial phase and a peak period for the onset of mental disorders. The beliefs about the changeability of negative emotion may play an important role in help-seeking. The brief digital growth mindset intervention is potentially scalable and acceptable to enhance adaptive coping and help-seeking for mental health needs in university students. We adapted the Single-session Intervention on Growth Mindset for adolescents (SIGMA) to be applied in university students (U-SIGMA). This protocol introduces a two-armed waitlist randomized controlled trial study to examine the effectiveness and acceptability of U-SIGMA in promoting help-seeking among university students in the Greater Bay Area.

METHODS

University students (N = 250, ages 18-25) from universities in the Greater Bay Area will be randomized to either the brief digital growth mindset intervention group or the waitlist control group. Participants will report on the mindsets of negative emotions, perceived control over anxiety, attitude toward help-seeking, physical activity, hopelessness, psychological well-being, depression, anxiety, and perceived stress at baseline and the 2-week and 8-week follow-ups through web-based surveys. A 30-min digital intervention will be implemented in the intervention group, with a pre- and post-intervention survey collecting intervention feedback, while the control group will receive the link for intervention after 8 weeks.

DISCUSSION

This protocol introduces the implementation plan of U-SIMGA in multi-cities of the Greater Bay Area. The findings are expected to help provide pioneer evidence for the effectiveness and acceptability of the brief digital intervention for university students in the Chinese context and beyond and contribute to the development of accessible and effective prevention and early intervention for university students' mental health.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

HKU Clinical Trials Registry: HKUCTR-3012; Registered 14 April 2023.  http://www.hkuctr.com/Study/Show/7a3ffbc0e03f4d1eac0525450fc5187e .

Serving the Underserved? Uptake, Effectiveness, and Acceptability of Digital SSIs for Rural American Adolescents

OBJECTIVE

Rural teens are less likely to access care for depression than urban teens. Evidence-based digital single-session interventions (SSIs), offered via social media advertisements, may be well suited to narrowing this gap in treatment access and increasing access to support for adolescents living in rural areas. We evaluated the viability of using social media-based advertisements to equitably recruit adolescents living in rural areas with elevated depression symptoms to digital SSIs; we sought to characterize and assess whether SSI completion rates and acceptability differed for adolescents living in rural versus more urban areas, across three intervention conditions (two active, evidence-based SSIs; one placebo control); and we tested whether digital SSIs differentially reduced depressive symptoms.

METHOD

We used pre-intervention and three-month follow up data from 13- to 16-year-old adolescents (N = 2,322; 88% female; 55% non-Hispanic White) within a web-based randomized control trial of three free, digital SSIs (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04634903) collected eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

RESULTS

Digital SSIs reached adolescents at population-congruent rates; however, social media ads resulted in relative underrepresentation of youths from rural areas who hold minoritized racial/ethnic identities. Adolescents living in rural areas also completed digital SSIs at similar rates to their urban peers, found SSIs equivalently as acceptable, and reported comparable depression symptom reductions as youth living in urban areas.

CONCLUSION

Digital SSIs and their dissemination through social media may offer a promising means of narrowing the gap between access to evidence-based mental health support between adolescents living in rural and urban areas; however, targeted efforts are warranted to reach racially minoritized youths in rural U.S. counties.

Evaluation of the Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions (EASE) intervention in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

There is a need for scalable evidence-based psychological interventions for young adolescents experiencing high levels of psychological distress in humanitarian settings and low- and middle-income countries. Poor mental health during adolescence presents a serious public health concern as it is a known predictor of persistent mental disorders in adulthood. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a new group-based intervention developed by the World Health Organization (Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions; EASE), implemented by non-specialists, to reduce young adolescents' psychological distress among mostly Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

METHODS

We conducted a two-arm, single-blind, individually randomized group treatment trial. Adolescents aged 10 to 14 years who screened positive for psychological distress using the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) were randomly allocated to EASE or enhanced treatment as usual (ETAU) (1:1.6). ETAU consisted of a single scripted psycho-education home-visit session with the adolescent and their caregivers. EASE consists of seven group sessions with adolescents and three sessions with caregivers. The primary outcome was adolescent-reported psychological distress as measured with the PSC (internalizing, externalizing, and attentional symptoms). Secondary outcomes included depression, posttraumatic stress, well-being, functioning, and caregivers' parenting and distress. All outcomes were assessed at baseline, endline, and 3 months (primary time point) and 12 months follow-up.

RESULTS

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other adversities in Lebanon at the time of this research, the study was prematurely terminated, resulting in an under-powered trial sample (n = 198 enrolled compared to n = 445 targeted). We screened 604 children for eligibility. The 198 enrolled adolescents were assigned to EASE (n = 80) and ETAU (n = 118), with retention rates between 76.1 and 88.4% across all timepoints. Intent-to-treat analyses demonstrated no between-group differences on any of the outcome measures between the EASE and ETAU. We did observe a significant improvement on the primary outcome equally in the EASE and ETAU groups (-0.90, 95% CI: -3.6, 1.8; p = .52), - a trend that was sustained at three months follow-up. Sub-group analyses, for those with higher depression symptoms at baseline, showed ETAU outperformed EASE on reducing depression symptoms (difference in mean change = 2.7, 95% CI: 0.1, 5.3; p = .04; d = 0.59) and internalizing problems (difference in mean change 1.0, 95% CI: 0.08, 1.9; p = .03; d = 0.56) .

CONCLUSION

No conclusions can be drawn about the comparative effectiveness of the intervention given that the sample was underpowered as a result of early termination. Both EASE and single session psycho-education home visits resulted in meaningful improvements in reducing psychological distress. We did not identify any indications in the data suggesting that EASE was more effective than a single session family intervention in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises in Lebanon. Fully powered research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of EASE.

Solitude can be good-If you see it as such: Reappraisal helps lonely people experience solitude more positively

OBJECTIVE

Solitude is a common experience that can elicit both positive (e.g., relaxation) and negative (e.g., loneliness) emotions. But can changing the way we think about solitude improve its emotional effects? In a previous study, our team found that positively reframing solitude buffers against a reduction in positive affect when alone. Yet, it is unknown whether people who are lonely-and thus more likely to experience solitude negatively-benefit from modifying their beliefs about being alone.

METHOD

Here, we test whether reframing solitude as a beneficial experience or de-stigmatizing loneliness helps people experiencing moderate-to-severe loneliness (N = 224) feel more positive emotion and less negative emotion during solitude. We randomly assigned participants to read about either the benefits of solitude, the high prevalence of loneliness, or a control topic. Then, participants spent 10 min alone in the laboratory. State affect was assessed before and after the solitude period.

RESULTS

Across conditions, the solitude period reduced high-arousal positive (e.g., excited) and high-arousal negative (e.g., anxious) affect. Notably, people who read about the benefits of solitude experienced a significantly larger increase in low-arousal positive affect compared with the control condition.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that lonely individuals can more readily reap the emotional benefits of solitude when they reframe solitude as an experience that can enhance their well-being.

Web-Based Self-Compassion Training to Improve the Well-Being of Youth With Chronic Medical Conditions: Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Up to one-third of young people live with chronic physical conditions (eg, diabetes, asthma, and autoimmune disease) that frequently involve recurrent pain, fatigue, activity limitations, stigma, and isolation. These issues may be exacerbated as young people transition through adolescence. Accordingly, young people with chronic illness are at a high risk of psychological distress. Accessible, evidence-based interventions for young people with chronic illnesses are urgently needed to improve well-being, support adaptation, and enhance daily functioning. Self-compassion, which is an adaptive means of relating to oneself during times of difficulty, is a promising intervention target for this population.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to test the efficacy of a 4-week, self-guided, web-based self-compassion training program for improving well-being among young Australians (aged 16-25 years) living with a chronic medical condition. The primary outcomes were self-compassion, emotion regulation difficulties, and coping; the secondary outcomes were well-being, distress, and quality of life. We also sought to test whether changes in primary outcomes mediated changes in secondary outcomes and gather feedback about the strengths and limitations of the program.

METHODS

We conducted a single-blind, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial comparing a 4-week, fully automated, web-based self-compassion training program with a waitlist control. Participants were recruited via the internet, and outcomes were self-assessed at 4 (T1) and 12 weeks (T2) after the baseline time point via a web-based survey. A mixed methods approach was used to evaluate the program feedback.

RESULTS

Overall, 151 patients (age: mean 21.15, SD 2.77 years; female patients: n=132, 87.4%) were randomized to the intervention (n=76, 50.3%) and control (n=75, 49.7%) groups. The loss-to-follow-up rate was 47.4%, and program use statistics indicated that only 29% (22/76) of young people in the experimental group completed 100% of the program. The main reported barrier to completion was a lack of time. As anticipated, treatment effects were observed for self-compassion (P=.01; partial η2=0.05; small effect); well-being (P≤.001; partial η2=0.07; medium effect); and distress (P=.003; partial η2=0.054; small-medium effect) at the posttest time point and maintained at follow-up. Contrary to our hypotheses, no intervention effects were observed for emotion regulation difficulties or maladaptive coping strategies. Improvements in adaptive coping were observed at the posttest time point but were not maintained at follow-up. Self-compassion, but not emotion regulation difficulties or coping, mediated the improvements in well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

Minimal-contact, web-based self-compassion training can confer mental health benefits on young people with chronic conditions. This group experiences substantial challenges to participation in mental health supports, and program engagement and retention in this trial were suboptimal. Future work should focus on refining the program content, engagement, and delivery to optimize engagement and treatment outcomes for the target group.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry 12619000572167; https://tinyurl.com/5n6hevt.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

RR2-10.1186/s12889-020-8226-7.

Randomized evaluation of an online single-session intervention for minority stress in LGBTQ+ adolescents

Background

LGBTQ+ youth face myriad adverse health outcomes due to minority stress, creating a need for accessible, mechanism-targeted interventions to mitigate these minority stress-related risk factors. We tested the effectiveness and acceptability of Project RISE, an online single-session intervention designed to ameliorate internalized stigma and improve other outcomes among LGBTQ+ youth. We hypothesized that youth assigned to RISE (versus a control) would report significantly reduced internalized stigma and increased identity pride at post-intervention and at two-week follow-up and would find RISE acceptable.

Methods

We recruited adolescents nationally through Instagram advertisements in May 2022 (N = 538; M age = 15.06, SD age = 0.97). Participants were randomly assigned to RISE or an information-only control and completed questionnaires pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and two weeks post-intervention. Inclusion criteria included endorsing: (1) LGBTQ+ identity, (2) age 13-16, (3) English fluency (4) Internet access, and (5) subjective negative impact of LGBTQ+ stigma.

Results

Relative to participants in the control condition, participants who completed RISE reported significant decreases in internalized stigma (d = -0.49) and increases in identity pride (d = 0.25) from pre- to immediately post-intervention, along with decreased internalized stigma (d = -0.26) from baseline to two-week follow-up. Participants rated both RISE and the information-only control as highly, equivalently acceptable.

Conclusions

RISE appears to be an acceptable and useful online SSI for LGBTQ+ adolescents, with potential to reduce internalized stigma in both the short- and longer-term. Future directions include evaluating effects of Project RISE over longer follow-ups and in conjunction with other mental health supports.

Referring Adolescent Primary Care Patients to Single-Session Interventions for Anxiety and Depression: Protocol for a Feasibility Study

BACKGROUND

Despite the growing prevalence of depression and anxiety among adolescents, fewer than half access appropriate mental health care. Single-session interventions (SSIs) for depression and anxiety offered in primary care are a promising approach to bridging the treatment gap.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to implement a clinical workflow for primary care and behavioral health providers to refer patients aged 13 to 17 years with mild to moderate depression and anxiety symptoms to Project YES (Youth Empowerment and Support), an open-access SSI platform, in a large group medical practice with an integrated behavioral health department.

METHODS

Pediatric primary care and integrated behavioral health providers will be educated on the benefits of Project YES for adolescent anxiety and depression and trained in a workflow integrated within the electronic health record system, Epic, to refer patients during well-child visits and pediatric behavioral health visits. Patients with mild to moderate internalizing symptoms based on the 17-item Pediatric Symptom Checklist or youth Pediatric Symptom Checklist will be invited to try an SSI through Project YES. We will examine provider uptake and perceptions of acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness over time.

RESULTS

The rollout will take place between November 2022 and May 2023, when outcomes will be evaluated. Data analysis and manuscript writing are anticipated to be completed during the summer of 2023.

CONCLUSIONS

SSIs such as those available through Project YES have the potential to provide low-cost, evidence-based mental health treatment to adolescents with mild to moderate depression and anxiety. If deemed feasible and acceptable, providing SSIs in primary care settings could significantly improve access to mental health care without taxing pediatric primary care and behavioral health providers.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/45666.

Neurocognitive and self-reported psychosocial and behavioral functioning in siblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions: a study using remote self-administered testing

OBJECTIVE

This study compared and explored the neurocognitive profiles of siblings of persons with and without neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) and associations between objective test performance and self-reported psychosocial functioning.

METHODS

Siblings of persons with and without NDCs (64 NDC and 64 control siblings; mean age 19.88 years, range 11-27 years, 73.44% female, 75.78% White Caucasian) completed self-report questionnaires and self-administered computerized neurocognitive tests of executive functioning (EF). Using Bayesian analyses, we examined cross-sectional associations between self-reported psychosocial functioning and cognitive test performance, and predictors of EF over 15 months.

RESULTS

NDC siblings had poorer working memory, inhibition, attention, and shifting compared to controls, as measured by experimental paradigms on the backward Corsi span, N-Back 2-back task, Stop Signal Task, Sustained Attention to Response Task, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (effect size δ ranging 0.49 to 0.64). Bayesian cross-sectional networks revealed negative emotion reactivity and working memory difficulties were central to the NDC sibling network. Over 15 months, poorer EF (k low test scores) was predicted by negative emotion reactivity, sleep problems, and anxiety, over and above effects of age and subclinical autistic and ADHD traits. Siblings of autistic individuals and persons with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder had higher rates of neurocognitive and psychiatric difficulties than other NDCs and controls (Bayes factors >20).

CONCLUSIONS

Neurocognitive difficulties were associated with transdiagnostic vulnerability to poorer wellbeing in NDC siblings. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of remote online cognitive testing and highlight the importance of individualized prevention and intervention for NDC siblings.

Project Body Neutrality: Piloting a digital single-session intervention for adolescent body image and depression

OBJECTIVE

Eating disorders and depression impact youth at alarming rates, yet most adolescents do not access support. Single-session interventions (SSIs) can reach youth in need. This pilot examines the acceptability and utility of a SSI designed to help adolescents improve functionality appreciation (a component of body neutrality) by focusing on valuing one's body based on the functions it performs, regardless of appearance satisfaction.

METHOD

Pre- to post-intervention data were collected, and within-group effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals were computed, to evaluate the immediate effects of the SSI on hopelessness, functionality appreciation, and body dissatisfaction. Patterns of use, demographics, program feedback, and responses from within the SSI were collected.

RESULTS

The SSI and all questionnaires were completed by 75 adolescents (ages: 13-17 years, 74.70% White/Caucasian, 48.00% woman/girl) who reported elevated body image and mood problems. Analyses detected significant pre-post improvements in hopelessness (dav  = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.35-0.84; dz  = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.51-1.02), functionality appreciation (dav  = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.46-0.97; dz  = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.67-1.21), and body dissatisfaction (dav  = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.36-0.86; dz  = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.50-1.02). The SSI was rated as highly acceptable, with a mean overall score of 4.34/5 (SD = 0.54). Qualitative feedback suggested adolescents' endorsement of body neutrality concepts, including functionality appreciation, as personally-relevant, helpful targets for intervention.

DISCUSSION

This evaluation supports the acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of the Project Body Neutrality SSI for adolescents with body image and mood concerns.

PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE

Results suggest the acceptability and utility of a digital, self-guided, single-session intervention-Project Body Neutrality-for adolescents experiencing co-occurring depressive symptoms and body image disturbances. Given the intervention's low cost and inherent scalability, it may be positioned to provide support to youth with limited access to traditional care.

A Smartphone-Based Implicit Theories Intervention for Health Behavior Change: Randomized Trial

BACKGROUND

Implicit theories of health describe individuals' beliefs about the malleability of health. Individuals with an incremental theory of health believe that health, in general, is malleable, whereas individuals with an entity theory of health endorse the idea that health is largely fixed and predetermined. Previous research has shown that an incremental theory of health is associated with beneficial health outcomes and behaviors. A mobile health implicit theories intervention could be an effective way to increase health-promoting behaviors in the general population.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of a smartphone-based intervention designed to promote an incremental theory of health on the frequency of health-promoting behaviors in everyday life. The study used ecological momentary assessment to measure health behavior change.

METHODS

This 2-arm, single-blind, delayed intervention design included 149 German participants (mean age 30.58, SD 9.71 years; n=79 female). Participants were asked to report their engagement in 10 health-promoting behaviors throughout the day for 3 weeks. Participants were randomly assigned to either an early intervention group (n=72) or a delayed intervention group (n=77). The intervention materials, designed to promote an incremental theory of health, were provided to participants after 1 week (early intervention group) or 2 weeks (delayed intervention group) of baseline behavior measurement. Data for this study were collected between September 2019 and October 2019.

RESULTS

A paired-samples 2-tailed t test revealed that participants reported a stronger incremental theory after responding to the intervention materials (mean 5.58, SE 0.07) compared with incremental theory measured in an entry questionnaire (mean 5.29, SE 0.08; t148=4.07, SE 0.07; P<.001; 95% CI 0.15-0.43; d=0.33). Multilevel analyses showed that participants reported engaging in health-promoting behaviors more often after being presented with the intervention materials compared with baseline across conditions (b=0.14; t146.65=2.06, SE 0.07; P=.04; 95% CI 0.01-0.28). However, when the analysis was conducted separately for the early and delayed intervention groups, the intervention effect was only significant for the delayed intervention group (b=0.27; t1492.37=3.50, SE 0.08; P<.001; 95% CI 0.12-0.42). There was no significant increase in health-promoting behaviors for the early intervention group (b=0.02; t69.23=0.14, SE 0.11;P=.89; 95% CI -0.2 to 0.23).

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that a smartphone-based intervention designed to promote an incremental theory of health is a cost- and time-effective approach to increase the frequency of engaging in health-promoting behaviors. However, research is needed to understand the reasons for the difference in intervention effects between the early and delayed intervention groups. The results of this study can guide the development of future digital health interventions that focus on implicit theories to promote health behavior change.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

DRKS - German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00017379; https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00017379.

Temporal dynamics in mental health symptoms and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic in a longitudinal probability sample: a network analysis

Figuring out which symptoms are central for symptom escalation during the COVID-19 pandemic is important for targeting prevention and intervention. Previous studies have contributed to the understanding of the course of psychological distress during the pandemic, but less is known about key symptoms of psychological distress over time. Going beyond a pathogenetic pathway perspective, we applied the network approach to psychopathology to examine how psychological distress unfolds in a period of maximum stress (pre-pandemic to pandemic onset) and a period of repeated stress (pandemic peak to pandemic peak). We conducted secondary data analyses with the Understanding Society data (N = 17,761), a longitudinal probability study in the UK with data before (2019), at the onset of (April 2020), and during the COVID-19 pandemic (November 2020 & January 2021). Using the General Health Questionnaire and one loneliness item, we computed three temporal cross-lagged panel network models to analyze psychological distress over time. Specifically, we computed (1) a pre-COVID to first incidence peak network, (2) a first incidence peak to second incidence peak network, and (3) a second incidence peak to third incidence peak network. All networks were highly consistent over time. Loneliness and thinking of self as worthless displayed a high influence on other symptoms. Feeling depressed and not overcoming difficulties had many incoming connections, thus constituting an end-product of symptom cascades. Our findings highlight the importance of loneliness and self-worth for psychological distress during COVID-19, which may have important implications in therapy and prevention. Prevention and intervention measures are discussed, as single session interventions are available that specifically target loneliness and worthlessness to alleviate mental health problems.

Realizing the untapped promise of single-session interventions for eating disorders

OBJECTIVE

Multilevel treatment barriers prevent up to 80% of individuals experiencing eating disorders (EDs) from accessing care. This treatment gap creates a critical need to identify interventions that are accessible, easily completable, and optimized for effectiveness by targeting core mechanisms linked to ED onset and maintenance. We propose single-session interventions (SSIs) as a promising path toward catalyzing innovation in the development of accessible, effective ED interventions. SSIs are structured programs that intentionally involve one encounter with a program or provider; they may serve as stand-alone or adjunctive clinical supports. All SSIs are built to acknowledge that any session might be someone's last-and that any single session can nonetheless yield meaningful clinical benefit.

METHOD

We define SSIs, summarize research supporting their utility for ED symptoms and other mental health problems, and recommend future directions for work in this domain.

RESULTS

Single-session interventions may hold promise to reduce some ED symptoms and risk factors, including restrictive eating and negative body image. Steps toward realizing this promise include (1) testing whether existing evidence-based SSIs (e.g., for depression) can also reduce EDs, risk factors, and symptoms; (2) developing novel SSIs that target modifiable ED risk factors and symptoms largely unaddressed by SSIs, such as purging and binge eating; (3) studying diverse implementation pathways; (4) capitalizing on SSIs' transdiagnostic utility to broaden funding opportunities; and (5) educating ED researchers and clinicians about SSIs.

DISCUSSION

Understanding the strengths and limits of mechanism-targeted SSIs for ED-related problems could be a low-risk, high-reward avenue toward reducing EDs at scale.

PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE

Most individuals experiencing EDs never access any form of treatment, creating an urgent need to identify ED interventions built to overcome barriers to engaging with care. This Forum article introduces SSIs as a promising path to rapidly developing and testing accessible, evidence-based ED supports; supplementing existing ED treatment models; and reducing the individual, familial, and societal burdens of EDs at scale.

Developing scientifically validated bias and diversity trainings that work: empowering agents of change to reduce bias, create inclusion, and promote equity

Purpose –

Research consistently shows that non-scientific bias, equity, and diversity trainings do not work, and often make bias and diversity problems worse. Despite these widespread failures, there is considerable reason for hope that effective, meaningful DEI efforts can be developed. One approach in particular, the bias habit-breaking training, has 15 years of experimental evidence demonstrating its widespread effectiveness and efficacy.

Design/methodology/approach –

This article discusses bias, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts from the author's perspective as a scientist-practitioner - the author draws primarily on the scientific literature, but also integrates insights from practical experiences working in DEI. The author provides a roadmap for adapting effective, evidence-based approaches from other disciplines (e.g. cognitive-behavioral therapy) into the DEI context and reviews evidence related to the bias habit-breaking training as one prominent demonstration of a scientifically-validated approach that effects lasting, meaningful improvements on DEI issues within both individuals and institutions.

Findings –

DEI trainings fail due to widespread adoption of the information deficit model, which is well-known as a highly ineffective approach. Empowerment-based approaches, in contrast, are highly promising for making meaningful, lasting changes in the DEI realm. Evidence indicates that the bias habit-breaking training is effective at empowering individuals as agents of change to reduce bias, create inclusion, and promote equity, both within themselves and the social contexts they inhabit.

Originality/value –

In contrast to the considerable despair and pessimism around DEI efforts, the present analysis provides hope and optimism, and an empirically-validated path forward, to develop and test DEI approaches that empower individuals as agents of change.

Growth mindset in young people awaiting treatment in a paediatric mental health service: A mixed methods pilot of a digital single-session intervention

BACKGROUND

Wait times are significant in child mental health services but may offer opportunity to promote growth mindsets in young people with physical and mental health needs. A digital growth mindset single-session intervention is effective in young people, but its use in paediatric settings has not been examined. This mixed methods pilot aimed to assess the intervention's feasibility, acceptability, and impact in this population.

METHOD

Patients aged 8-18 on waiting lists in a paediatric hospital's specialist mental health service were offered the intervention remotely. Treatment completion and retention rates, symptoms of depression and anxiety, perceived control, and personality mindset were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and follow-ups. Semi-structured interviews to explore the intervention's acceptability were conducted post-treatment.

RESULTS

Twenty-five patients completed the intervention and 17 patients and three carers/parents were interviewed. Outcomes showed small to large improvements across time-points. Most patients reported finding the intervention enjoyable, accessible, and instilled a hope for change. They valued elements of the intervention but made suggestions for improvement.

CONCLUSIONS

The digital growth mindset single-session intervention is feasible, acceptable, and potentially beneficial for young people with physical and mental health needs on waiting lists. Further research is warranted to examine its effectiveness and mechanism of change.

A Growth Mindset and Self-Affirmation Intervention to Reduce Violent and Risky Online Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Previous Victimization

The Internet is the setting for several forms of violent and risky behavior among adolescents, such as cyberbullying, sexualized interactions with adults, sexting, and online dating violence. Often, these behaviors are responses to experiences of online victimization. This study examined the differential effects of a wise intervention (WI), combining growth mindset and self-affirmation strategies, on these behaviors for adolescents who had experienced victimization and those who had not. A sample of 1,085 adolescents (54.3% girls; ages 11-18 years) were randomized into two intervention conditions (WI and an anti-stress control intervention). They completed measures of violent and risky behaviors at pretest and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups and measures of victimization at pretest. The results of multilevel analyses indicated that the WI was beneficial for adolescents without experiences of victimization at pretest, as they displayed smaller increases in online peer aggressions, sexualized interactions with adults, and sexting than the adolescents in the control condition. However, the WI was not beneficial for adolescents with experiences of victimization at pretest. Moreover, the adolescents under the anti-stress control condition displayed better outcome. These findings suggest that previous victimization experiences of adolescents should be considered to select an appropriate intervention.

Expanding the reach of psychosocial services for youth: Untapped potential of mentor-delivered single session interventions

At present, the mental healthcare system cannot meet the demand for services, and the need-to-access gap is widest among children and adolescents. Single session interventions (SSIs) are brief, intentional, and mechanism-targeted programs that have shown promise in increasing the reach of effective, evidence-based services; yet, a wide gap still remains due to structural barriers (e.g., lack of awareness, workforce shortages). The present paper posits the integration of SSIs and mentor-delivered programs as a promising future step to further overcome the inaccessibility of youth mental health services. Capitalizing on the advantages of mentoring relationships (e.g., the associated interpersonal benefits and mentors' pre-existence in most community settings) has the potential to complement and enhance the value of SSIs, and to expand the acceptability and reach of evidence-based mental health services. In this paper, we discuss the anticipated benefits of mentor-delivered SSIs, as well as cautionary considerations related to the proposed model. To conclude, we highlight the necessary implementation and research implications.

Examination of Web-Based Single-Session Growth Mindset Interventions for Reducing Adolescent Anxiety: Study Protocol of a 3-Arm Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders worldwide. In Hong Kong, 7% of adolescents are diagnosed with anxiety disorders, and 1 in every 4 secondary school students reports clinical-level anxiety symptoms. However, 65% of them do not access services. Long waitlists in public services, the high cost of private services, or the fear of being stigmatized can hinder service access. The high prevalence of anxiety and low intervention uptake indicate a pressing need to develop timely, scalable, and potent interventions suitable for adolescents. Single-session interventions (SSIs) have the potential to be scalable interventions for diagnosable or subclinical psychopathology in adolescents. Providing precise and context-adapted intervention is the key to achieving intervention efficacy.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to compare the effectiveness of three SSIs: single-session intervention of growth mindset on negative emotions (SIGMA), SSI of growth mindset of personality (SSI-GP), and active control, in reducing adolescent anxiety.

METHODS

Adolescents (N=549, ages 12-16 years) from secondary schools will be randomized to 1 of 3 intervention conditions: the SIGMA, SSI-GP, or active control. The implementation of each intervention is approximately 45 minutes in length. Adolescent participants will report anxiety symptoms (primary outcome), perceived control, hopelessness, attitude toward help-seeking, and psychological well-being at preintervention, the 2-week follow-up, and the 8-week follow-up. A pilot test has confirmed the feasibility and acceptability of SIGMA among adolescents. We hypothesized that SIGMA and SSI-GP will result in a larger reduction in anxiety symptoms than the control intervention during the posttest and 8-week follow-up period. We also predict that SIGMA will have a more significant effect than SSI-GP. We will use the intention-to-treat principle and linear regression-based maximum likelihood multilevel models for data analysis.

RESULTS

This study will be conducted from December 2022 to December 2023, with results expected to be available in January 2024.

CONCLUSIONS

This protocol introduces the implementation content and strategies of growth mindset SSIs (consists of 2 forms: SIGMA and SSI-GP) among school students. The study will provide evidence on the efficacy of different growth mindset SSIs for adolescent anxiety. It will also establish implementation strategies for self-administrative SSIs among school students, which can serve as a pioneer implementation of a scalable and self-accessible brief intervention to improve the well-being of young people.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05027880; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05027880.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

PRR1-10.2196/41758.

A Digital Single-Session Intervention Platform for Youth Mental Health: Cultural Adaptation, Evaluation, and Dissemination

BACKGROUND

Despite the proliferation of evidence-based digital mental health programs for young people, their low uptake and inconsistent implementation preclude them from benefiting youths at scale. Identifying effective implementation strategies for evidence-based supports is especially critical in regions where treatment access is lowest owing to mental health provider shortages.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this academic-community partnership, funded by the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, was to culturally adapt, disseminate, and gauge the acceptability and utility of an evidence-based digital mental health platform-Project Youth Empowerment and Support (YES)-among English- and Spanish-speaking youths living in south Texas.

METHODS

Project YES is an open-access, anonymous platform containing 3 evidence-based, self-guided interventions for youth mental health. Project YES was culturally adapted via focus groups and co-design sessions with San Antonio youths with lived experience of depression and anxiety; translated into Spanish; and disseminated throughout San Antonio, Texas, via community and school partnerships.

RESULTS

During the project period (April 2021 to December 2021), 1801 San Antonio youths began and 894 (49.64%) of them completed a 30-minute, single-session intervention within Project YES (aged 11-17 years; n=718, 39.87% male; n=961, 53.36% female; and n=3, 0.17% intersex; n=1477, 82.01% Hispanic; n=77, 4.28% non-Hispanic White; n=113, 6.27% Black; n=28, 1.55% Asian; and n=93, 5.16% other). This completion rate (49.64%) surpassed those previously observed for Project YES (eg, 34% when disseminated via social media). San Antonio youths rated Project YES as highly acceptable across all metrics, both in English and Spanish. In addition, the youths who completed Project YES-ENGLISH reported significant improvements in hopelessness (Cohen d=0.33; P<001), self-hate (Cohen d=0.27; P<001), and perceived agency (Cohen d=0.25; P<001) from before to after the intervention, and the youths who completed Project YES-SPANISH reported significant improvements in self-hate (Cohen d=0.37; P=.049) from before to after the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that Project YES-an open-access, free, and anonymous web-based single-session intervention platform-is an acceptable, accessible, and applicable mental health support for English- and Spanish-speaking San Antonio youths.

Autonomy matters: Influences of causality orientations on Chinese adolescents’ growth mindset

Growth mindset research has received global attention. However, the psychological antecedents of growth mindset remain under-explored. We propose that autonomous orientation would foster growth mindset, whereas controlled and impersonal orientations would impede it. We found support for this proposition in two studies. In a laboratory experiment (Study 1), Chinese sixth-graders primed with the autonomous orientation scored significantly higher on growth-mindset measures than those in the control group, whereas students primed with the controlled and impersonal orientations scored significantly lower. Furthermore, in a classroom intervention experiment (Study 2), using a newly designed autonomy orientation intervention, students in the treatment group showed stronger growth mindset than those in the control group, and the effect lasted for at least three months. Overall, our findings suggest that autonomy orientation is an antecedent of growth mindset and can be used to improve growth mindset among adolescents.

Examining concurrent validity and item selection of the Session Wants and Needs Outcome Measure (SWAN-OM) in a children and young people web-based therapy service

BACKGROUND

Single-session mental health interventions are frequently attended by children and young people (CYP) in both web-based and face-to-face therapy settings. The Session "Wants" and "Needs" Outcome Measure (SWAN-OM) is an instrument developed in a web-based therapy service to overcome the challenges of collecting outcomes and experiences of single-session therapies (SSTs). It provides pre-defined goals for the session, selected by the young person prior to the intervention, on which progress toward achievement is scored at the end of the session.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to evaluate the instrument's psychometric properties, including concurrent validity against three other frequently used outcome and experience measures, at a web-based and text-based mental health service.

METHODS

The SWAN-OM was administered for a period of 6 months to 1,401 CYP (aged 10-32 years; 79.3% white; 77.59% female) accessing SST on a web-based service. Item correlations with comparator measures and hierarchical logistic regressions to predict item selection were calculated for concurrent validity and psychometric exploration.

RESULTS

The most frequently selected items were "Feel better" (N = 431; 11.61%) and "Find ways I can help myself" (N = 411; 11.07%); unpopular items were "Feel safe in my relationships" (N = 53; 1.43%) and "Learn the steps to achieve something I want" (N = 58; 1.56%). The SWAN-OM was significantly correlated with the Experience of Service Questionnaire, particularly the item "Feel better" [rs₍₁₀₉₎ = 0.48, p < 0.001], the Youth Counseling Impact Scale, particularly the item "Learn the steps to achieve something I want" [rs₍₂₂₎ = 0.76, p < 0.001], and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, particularly the items "Learn how to feel better" [rs₍₂₂₎ = 0.72, p < 0.001] and "Explore how I feel" [rs₍₇₀₎ = -0.44, p < 0.001].

CONCLUSION

The SWAN-OM demonstrates good concurrent validity with common measures of outcome and experience. Analysis suggests that lesser-endorsed items may be removed in future iterations of the measure to improve functionality. Future research is required to explore SWAN-OM's potential to measure meaningful change in a range of therapeutic settings.

How Effective Altruism Can Help Psychologists Maximize Their Impact

Although many psychologists are interested in making the world a better place through their work, they are often unable to have the impact that they would like. Here, we suggest that both individuals and psychology as a field can better improve human welfare by incorporating ideas from effective altruism, a growing movement whose members aim to do the most good by using science and reason to inform their efforts. In this article, we first briefly introduce effective altruism and review important principles that can be applied to how psychologists approach their work, such as the importance, tractability, and neglectedness framework. We then review how effective altruism can inform individual psychologists' choices. Finally, we close with a discussion of ideas for how psychology, as a field, can increase its positive impact. By applying insights from effective altruism to psychological science, we aim to integrate a new theoretical framework into psychological science, stimulate new areas of research, start a discussion on how psychology can maximize its impact, and inspire the psychology community to do the most good.

Reading struggle stories of role models can improve the perseverance of undergraduates with low perseverance

Perseverance refers to the ability that individuals show in the process of overcoming failure repeatedly and achieving success. The present study aimed to investigate how many stories about struggling role models undergraduates with a low level of perseverance need to read to effectively improve their perseverance after experiencing failure. Undergraduates with high and low levels of perseverance who had experienced failure were randomly assigned to read 5 struggle stories or 5 achievement stories of role models. They were asked to report their confidence in success, their emotional experience, and their persistent intentions after experiencing failure (i.e., their initial report after reading 0 stories) and then again after reading each story. The results showed that the participants' initially reported level of confidence in success improved after reading 1 struggle story of a role model and further improved after reading 5 struggle stories of role models. Furthermore, the participants' initially reported level of positive emotions increased after reading 1 struggle story or 1 achievement story of a role model, and the positive effects began to level off after reading 4 struggle stories or 4 achievement stories of role models. The participants' initially reported persistent intentions improved after reading 5 struggle stories of role models. These findings reveal that undergraduates can benefit from reading struggle stories of role models regardless of their perseverance levels. Undergraduates' confidence in success and their emotional experience can be improved more quickly than their persistent intentions after experiencing failure.

Linguistic distancing predicts response to a digital single-session intervention for adolescent depression

Examining the linguistic characteristics of youths' writing may be a promising method for detecting youth who are struggling. In this study, we examined linguistic patterns of adolescent responses to writing prompts in a large, well-powered trial of an evidence-based, digital single-session intervention teaching malleability beliefs about personal traits and symptoms ("growth mindset"). Participants who completed the intervention as part of a larger randomized control trial were included in this preregistered study (n = 638, https://osf.io/zqmxt). Participants' responses were processed using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count. We tested correlations between linguistic variables (i.e., linguistic distancing, positive affect, negative affect, insight, certainty), baseline outcome variables, post-intervention outcome variables, and 3-month post-intervention outcome variables. We also used Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression models to identify key predictors of treatment outcomes. As hypothesized, greater use of linguistic distancing was associated with lower levels of baseline hopelessness and higher levels of perceived agency. Additionally, per LASSO models including all linguistic variables, greater use of linguistic distancing predicted larger reductions in depressive symptoms from baseline to three-month follow-up. Linguistic distancing appeared to account for 27% of the variance in depression trajectories when also accounting for baseline depression. CLINICAL REGISTRATION NO: NCT04634903.

Emotion malleability beliefs influence emotion regulation and emotion recovery among individuals with depressive symptoms

Despite the centrality of emotion regulation in psychiatric disorders such as depression, there is a lack of experimental studies examining the psychological factors that influence emotion regulation in individuals with depressive symptoms. Participants with current depressive symptoms were randomly assigned to an experimental manipulation promoting more malleable emotion beliefs or the control condition. Participants underwent a negative emotion induction and reported on their affect and emotion regulation during the induction. Individuals who received the experimental manipulation reported greater cognitive reappraisal and greater emotion recovery. Experimental manipulations that can enhance emotion regulation and emotion recovery possess significant promise as a preliminary step in developing brief interventions that can overcome formal barriers to care.