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Hüwe L, Laser L, Andreas S. Observer-based and computerized measures of the patient's mentalization in psychotherapy: A scoping review. Psychother Res 2024; 34:419-433. [PMID: 37356814 DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2023.2226812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In recent decades, mentalizing has found its permanent place both in therapeutic practice and in psychotherapy research. Inconsistent results and null results are often found. Therefore, the different methodological approaches should be examined in more detail. A scoping review was conducted to provide an overview of the approaches that measure the patient's mentalizing ability based on therapy sessions or in the course of psychotherapy. METHOD For the scoping review, a literature search was conducted in four databases. A total of 3217 records were identified. RESULTS We included 84 publications from 43 independent studies. Most studies used the Reflective Functioning Scale and applied the scale to therapy sessions or the Adult Attachment Interview. The other identified approaches used a computerized text analysis measure or clinician-report measures. Mostly good psychometric properties of the measures were reported. The Reflective Functioning Scale applied to the Adult Attachment Interview was the only measure that proved to be sensitive to change. CONCLUSION More economical variants to the time-consuming Reflective Functioning Scale applied to the Adult Attachment Interview are being developed continuously. In some cases, there is no standardized approach, or the measures are used only sporadically and require further and more comprehensive psychometric evaluations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lotta Hüwe
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria
| | - Levin Laser
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria
| | - Sylke Andreas
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria
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Bravo Balsa L, Abu-Akel A, Mevorach C. Dynamic functional connectivity in the right temporoparietal junction captures variations in male autistic trait expression. Autism Res 2024. [PMID: 38456581 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Autistic individuals can experience difficulties with attention reorienting and Theory of Mind (ToM), which are closely associated with anterior and posterior subdivisions of the right temporoparietal junction. While the link between these processes remains unclear, it is likely subserved by a dynamic crosstalk between these two subdivisions. We, therefore, examined the dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) between the anterior and posterior temporoparietal junction, as a biological marker of attention and ToM, to test its contribution to the manifestation of autistic trait expression in Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC). Two studies were conducted, exploratory (14 ASC, 15 TD) and replication (29 ASC, 29 TD), using resting-state fMRI data and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange repository. Dynamic Independent Component Analysis was performed in both datasets using the CONN toolbox. An additional sliding-window analysis was performed in the replication study to explore different connectivity states (from highly negatively to highly positively correlated). Dynamic FC was reduced in ASC compared to TD adults in both the exploratory and replication datasets and was associated with increased SRS scores (especially in ASC). Regression analyses revealed that decreased SRS autistic expression was predicted by engagement of highly negatively correlated states, while engagement of highly positively correlated states predicted increased expression. These findings provided consistent evidence that the difficulties observed in ASC are associated with altered patterns of dFC between brain regions subserving attention reorienting and ToM processes and may serve as a biomarker of autistic trait expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Bravo Balsa
- Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK
- Centre for the Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Ahmad Abu-Akel
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Haifa Brain and Behavior Hub, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Carmel Mevorach
- Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK
- Centre for Developmental Science, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK
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Asgarizadeh A, Ghanbari S. Iranian adaptation of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust, and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ): Validity, reliability, discriminant ability, and sex invariance. Brain Behav 2024; 14:e3455. [PMID: 38451001 PMCID: PMC10918607 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Epistemic trust, or trust in transmitted knowledge, has been proposed as a critical factor in psychopathology and psychotherapy. This study aimed at evaluating the psychometric properties of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust, and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ) in Iran. METHOD Data were collected from 906 participants. Along with the ETMCQ, measures of mentalizing, mindfulness, perspective-taking, attachment, emotion dysregulation, and borderline personality disorder were administered. Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) were used to determine factorial structure. RESULTS The ESEM model showed an acceptable fit and outperformed the confirmatory model. A 14-item version of the ETMCQ was retained after examining item performance. Our findings also established criterion-related validity for mistrust and credulity, an acceptable internal consistency for credulity, discriminant power for mistrust and credulity in detecting positive screens for borderline personality disorder, and measurement invariance across sexes. CONCLUSION This study provides evidence for the cross-cultural applicability of the ETMCQ. Nonetheless, the validity of the trust and internal consistency of the mistrust subscale require particular attention in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Asgarizadeh
- Faculty of Education and PsychologyShahid Beheshti UniversityTehranIran
| | - Saeed Ghanbari
- Faculty of Education and PsychologyShahid Beheshti UniversityTehranIran
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Ozdemir E, MacBeth A, Griffiths H. Pathways from childhood trauma to aberrant salience: A structural equation approach to mentalization model. Psychol Psychother 2024; 97:157-172. [PMID: 37811853 DOI: 10.1111/papt.12503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between affective disturbances and aberrant salience in the context of childhood trauma, attachment, and mentalization in an analogue study. METHODS Using a cross-sectional design, an online community sample completed self-report measures of key variables. Structural equation modelling was used to test childhood trauma's influence on aberrant salience via a set of intermediate risk factors (depression, negative schizotypy, and insecure attachment). These intermediate risk factors were assumed to lead to the proximal risk factors of aberrant salience (i.e., disorganized schizotypy and disorganized attachment) depending on the vulnerability of mentalizing capacity to elevated stress. RESULTS The sample (N = 1263) was 78% female and aged between 18 and 35 years. The tested models closely fitted the observed data, revealing significant pathways from childhood trauma to aberrant salience via the hypothesized pathways. The direct effect of childhood trauma on aberrant salience was significant. CONCLUSION Findings suggest that the pathway to aberrant salience may be characterized by disorganization of self-state and intersubjectivity as a function of diminishment in mentalizing ability. This may relate to changes in attachment organization and socio-cognitive capacity, which could constitute possible risk factors signalling development of aberrant salience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ercan Ozdemir
- Section of Clinical Psychology, School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Angus MacBeth
- Section of Clinical Psychology, School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Helen Griffiths
- Section of Clinical Psychology, School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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Weissberger GH, Bergman YS. Reflective Functioning and Financial Exploitation Vulnerability in Older Adults: The Importance of Significant Others. Clin Gerontol 2024:1-10. [PMID: 38389427 DOI: 10.1080/07317115.2024.2320921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Financial exploitation of older adults results in devastating economic, social, and psychological losses to older adults, their families, and society at large. This study examined the relationship between reflective functioning and financial exploitation vulnerability (FEV) and whether relationship status moderated the association. METHODS A community-based sample of 156 Israeli older adults age 60 and over responded to demographic questions and questionnaires assessing reflective functioning and FEV. RESULTS A hierarchical linear regression analysis covarying for age, sex, education, income, and sum of illnesses, revealed that higher reflective functioning was associated with lower FEV (p = .011). A main effect of relationship status was not found, but a significant interaction of reflective functioning × relationship status was discovered (p = .008), adding 4.2% to the total variance of the model. Probing the interaction revealed that the reflective functioning-FEV association was significant only for older adults not in a relationship. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that low reflective functioning may be associated with increased risk of financial exploitation, specifically in certain populations of older adults. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Care providers of older adults may consider assessing for, and identifying older adults with low reflective functioning, in order to prevent or intervene in the event of a potentially exploitative situation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gali H Weissberger
- Department of Social and Health Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Yoav S Bergman
- Faculty of Social Work, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel
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Tohme P, Abi Fadel N, Yaktine N, Abi-Habib R. Predictors of Mental Health Literacy in a Sample of Health Care Major Students: Pilot Evaluation Study. JMIR Form Res 2024; 8:e43770. [PMID: 38329801 PMCID: PMC10884899 DOI: 10.2196/43770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The numerous mental health awareness campaigns during the COVID-19 pandemic have shifted our understanding and perception of mental health. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to evaluate predictors of mental health literacy (MHL), that is, one's knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders. We evaluate whether digital health literacy, empathy, and mentalizing contribute to MHL. METHODS Our sample consisted of 89 health care major students, aged between 17 and 32 years, studying at a university in Lebanon. The Mental Health Literacy Scale for Healthcare Students (MHLS-HS), the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire (eHLQ), the Basic Empathy Scale (BES), and the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire-8 (RFQ-8) were used. RESULTS Multiple regression analyses revealed that the Engagement in Own Health subscale of digital health literacy constituted a predictor of MHL. While empathy and mentalizing did not directly predict MHL, they were found to predict components of MHL. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to evaluate digital health literacy, empathy, and mentalizing as predictors of MHL in Lebanon, a country where mental health is still considered taboo. Moreover, this pilot study is the first to provide some support for the predictive role of some digital health literacy subscales on MHL in light of the rise of the digital era following the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pia Tohme
- Department of Social and Education Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Nour Abi Fadel
- Department of Social and Education Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Nour Yaktine
- Department of Psychology, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
- American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Rudy Abi-Habib
- Department of Social and Education Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon
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Elyoseph Z, Refoua E, Asraf K, Lvovsky M, Shimoni Y, Hadar-Shoval D. Capacity of Generative AI to Interpret Human Emotions From Visual and Textual Data: Pilot Evaluation Study. JMIR Ment Health 2024; 11:e54369. [PMID: 38319707 PMCID: PMC10879976 DOI: 10.2196/54369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 12/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mentalization, which is integral to human cognitive processes, pertains to the interpretation of one's own and others' mental states, including emotions, beliefs, and intentions. With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and the prominence of large language models in mental health applications, questions persist about their aptitude in emotional comprehension. The prior iteration of the large language model from OpenAI, ChatGPT-3.5, demonstrated an advanced capacity to interpret emotions from textual data, surpassing human benchmarks. Given the introduction of ChatGPT-4, with its enhanced visual processing capabilities, and considering Google Bard's existing visual functionalities, a rigorous assessment of their proficiency in visual mentalizing is warranted. OBJECTIVE The aim of the research was to critically evaluate the capabilities of ChatGPT-4 and Google Bard with regard to their competence in discerning visual mentalizing indicators as contrasted with their textual-based mentalizing abilities. METHODS The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test developed by Baron-Cohen and colleagues was used to assess the models' proficiency in interpreting visual emotional indicators. Simultaneously, the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale was used to evaluate the large language models' aptitude in textual mentalizing. Collating data from both tests provided a holistic view of the mentalizing capabilities of ChatGPT-4 and Bard. RESULTS ChatGPT-4, displaying a pronounced ability in emotion recognition, secured scores of 26 and 27 in 2 distinct evaluations, significantly deviating from a random response paradigm (P<.001). These scores align with established benchmarks from the broader human demographic. Notably, ChatGPT-4 exhibited consistent responses, with no discernible biases pertaining to the sex of the model or the nature of the emotion. In contrast, Google Bard's performance aligned with random response patterns, securing scores of 10 and 12 and rendering further detailed analysis redundant. In the domain of textual analysis, both ChatGPT and Bard surpassed established benchmarks from the general population, with their performances being remarkably congruent. CONCLUSIONS ChatGPT-4 proved its efficacy in the domain of visual mentalizing, aligning closely with human performance standards. Although both models displayed commendable acumen in textual emotion interpretation, Bard's capabilities in visual emotion interpretation necessitate further scrutiny and potential refinement. This study stresses the criticality of ethical AI development for emotional recognition, highlighting the need for inclusive data, collaboration with patients and mental health experts, and stringent governmental oversight to ensure transparency and protect patient privacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zohar Elyoseph
- Department of Educational Psychology, The Center for Psychobiological Research, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Emek Yezreel, Israel
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Elad Refoua
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Kfir Asraf
- Department of Psychology, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Emek Yezreel, Israel
| | - Maya Lvovsky
- Department of Psychology, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Emek Yezreel, Israel
| | - Yoav Shimoni
- Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Dorit Hadar-Shoval
- Department of Psychology, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Emek Yezreel, Israel
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Malcorps S, Vliegen N, Fonagy P, Luyten P. A four-year multi-wave prospective study on the role of parental reflective functioning and parenting stress in the development of socio-emotional problems in internationally adopted children. Dev Psychopathol 2024; 36:266-279. [PMID: 36382423 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579422001171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Parental reflective functioning (PRF) plays a protective role in the development of children with histories of early adversity, including adopted children. This is the first study to investigate the developmental trajectories of PRF and children's socio-emotional problems in the first 4 years after international adoption (N = 48 families, mean age (T1) = 20.7 months) and to examine the mediating role of parenting stress in the relation between PRF and child socio-emotional problems. Multilevel modeling indicated that age at adoption and parent gender moderated the development of PRF and child socio-emotional problems. Moreover, decreases in PRF were associated with more socio-emotional problems in the children. These relations were mediated by parenting stress, and particularly feelings of incompetence and marital dissatisfaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saskia Malcorps
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Nicole Vliegen
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Peter Fonagy
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Patrick Luyten
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
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Anada R, Watanabe H, Shimojo A, Shiraishi H, Yokosawa K. Brain activity supporting alternating speech for semantic words: simultaneous magnetoencephalographic recording. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae031. [PMID: 38342686 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Communication, especially conversation, is essential for human social life. Many previous studies have examined the neuroscientific underpinnings of conversation, i.e. language comprehension and speech production. However, conversation inherently involves two or more people, and unless two people actually interact with one another, the nature of the conversation cannot be truly revealed. Therefore, in this study, we used two magnetoencephalographs that were connected together, and simultaneously recorded brain activity while two people took turns speaking in a word association/alphabet completion task. We compared the amplitude modulation of the alpha- and beta-band rhythms within each of the 62 brain regions under semantic (word association; less predictable) and non-semantic (alphabet completion; more predictable) conditions. We found that the amplitudes of the rhythms were significantly different between conditions in a wide range of brain regions. Additionally, significant differences were observed in nearly the same group of brain regions after versus before each utterance, indicating that a wide range of brain areas is involved in predicting a conversation partner's next utterance. This result supports the idea that mentalizing, e.g. predicting another person's speech, plays an important role in conversation, and suggests that the neural network implicated in mentalizing extends over a wide range of brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Risa Anada
- Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, N-12, W-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0812, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Hayato Watanabe
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, N-12, W-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0812, Hokkaido, Japan
- Department of Child Studies, Toyooka Junior College, Tobera 160, Toyooka 668-8580, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Atsushi Shimojo
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, N-12, W-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0812, Hokkaido, Japan
- Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, N-15, W-7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8638, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Hideaki Shiraishi
- Department of Pediatrics, Hokkaido University Hospital, N-14, W-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8648, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Koichi Yokosawa
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, N-12, W-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0812, Hokkaido, Japan
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Firk C, Großheinrich N. Infant carrying: Associations with parental reflective functioning, parental bonding and parental responses to infant crying. Infant Ment Health J 2024. [PMID: 38288564 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.22106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Infant carrying may have beneficial effects on the parent-infant relationship but only limited research has been conducted in this area. Therefore, the main aim of the current study was to investigate whether infant carrying is associated with parental reflective functioning, parental bonding, and parental (emotional) and behavioral responses to infant crying, key elements within the parent-infant relationship, promoting infant development. Parents reporting high levels (N = 389) of infant carrying (six times a week or daily) and parents reporting low levels (N = 128) of infant carrying (less than once a week or not at all) who participated in an online survey about the developing parent-infant relationship in Germany were included in the present study. Standardized questionnaires were used to assess parental reflective functioning, parental bonding impairments, and emotional responses to infant crying. Further insensitive (non-responsive and hostile) behaviors in response to infant crying were assessed. Parents with high levels of infant carrying showed better parental reflective functioning, lower parental bonding problems, less negative emotions, and less insensitive behaviors in response to infant crying.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Firk
- Department of Social Sciences, Catholic University of Applied Sciences of North Rhine-Eestphalia, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Health Research and Social Psychiatry, Catholic University of Applied Sciences of North Rhine-Westphalia, Aachen, Germany
| | - Nicola Großheinrich
- Institute of Health Research and Social Psychiatry, Catholic University of Applied Sciences of North Rhine-Westphalia, Aachen, Germany
- Department of Social Sciences, Catholic University of Applied Sciences of North Rhine-Eestphalia, Cologne, Germany
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Hodges SD, Kezer M, Hall JA, Vorauer JD. Exploring Actual and Presumed Links between Accurately Inferring Contents of Other People's Minds and Prosocial Outcomes. J Intell 2024; 12:13. [PMID: 38392169 PMCID: PMC10890342 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence12020013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The term "empathic accuracy" has been applied to people's ability to infer the contents of other people's minds-that is, other people's varying feelings and/or thoughts over the course of a social interaction. However, despite the ease of intuitively linking this skill to competence in helping professions such as counseling, the "empathic" prefix in its name may have contributed to overestimating its association with prosocial traits and behaviors. Accuracy in reading others' thoughts and feelings, like many other skills, can be used toward prosocial-but also malevolent or morally neutral-ends. Prosocial intentions can direct attention towards other people's thoughts and feelings, which may, in turn, increase accuracy in inferring those thoughts and feelings, but attention to others' thoughts and feelings does not necessarily heighten prosocial intentions, let alone outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara D Hodges
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, 1451 Onyx Street, Eugene, OR 97403-1227, USA
| | - Murat Kezer
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, 1451 Onyx Street, Eugene, OR 97403-1227, USA
| | - Judith A Hall
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jacquie D Vorauer
- Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
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Ensink K, Deschênes M, Bégin M, Cimon L, Gosselin T, Wais M, Normandin L, Fonagy P. Dimensional model of adolescent personality pathology, reflective functioning, and emotional maltreatment. Front Psychiatry 2024; 14:1302137. [PMID: 38268556 PMCID: PMC10806145 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1302137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Childhood emotional abuse (CEA) is a recognized risk factor for adolescent mentalizing challenges. However, there's limited understanding about how CEA might influence personality development and elevate the risk of adolescent personality pathology. A deeper grasp of these pathways is crucial, given that adolescence is a pivotal developmental phase for identity integration, personality consolidation, and the emergence of personality disorders. As the emphasis shifts to dimensional perspectives on adolescent personality pathology, the spotlight is increasingly on adolescents' evolving personality organization (PO). Within this framework, personality disorder manifestations stem from inherent vulnerabilities in PO. A comprehensive understanding of how CEA leads to these inherent vulnerabilities in PO can inform enhanced interventions for at-risk adolescents. Nonetheless, our comprehension lacks insight into potential pathways to PO, especially those involving external factors like maltreatment and individual traits like mentalizing. This study sought to bridge these gaps by employing latent factor analysis and structural equation modeling to explore connections between emotional maltreatment, adolescent mentalizing, and PO. Methods A community-based cohort of 193 adolescents (aged 12-17) took part in self-report assessments: the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire (CECA.Q), the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire for Youth (RFQ-Y), and the Inventory for Personality Organization for Adolescents (IPO-A). Results The structural equation model revealed a significant direct influence of CEA on both RFQ-Confusion and PO, and a noteworthy direct effect of RFQ-Confusion on PO. Remarkably, the model accounted for 76.9% of the PO variance. CEA exhibited a significant indirect impact on PO through RFQ-Confusion, which was accountable for 52.3% of the CEA effect on PO, signifying a partial mediation by mentalizing. Discussion These insights carry substantial clinical implications, especially for devising integrated, trauma-informed strategies for adolescents with personality pathologies. This is particularly relevant for enhancing mentalizing and bolstering personality consolidation among adolescent CEA survivors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Ensink
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | | | - Michaël Bégin
- Département de Psychologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Laurie Cimon
- Département de Médecine Sociale et Préventive, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | | | - Marissa Wais
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Lina Normandin
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Peter Fonagy
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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Chang Y, Yu C, Huang C, Wang T, Dziobek I, Lane H. Discrepancy of social cognition between bipolar disorders and major depressive disorders. Brain Behav 2024; 14:e3365. [PMID: 38376012 PMCID: PMC10757902 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The research landscape examining social cognition (SC) impairment in patients with major depressive disorders (MDD) and bipolar disorders (BD) is notably scarce. Presently, assessments predominantly rely on static stimuli and self-reported measures, which may not capture the dynamic dimensions of social cognition. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to validate the Chinese version of Movie Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC-CH) and to investigate whether MDD and BD exhibit distinct patterns of SC impairments, shedding light on potential differences between these two mood disorders. METHODS The study encompassed 197 participants, aged 18-65, distributed as follows: 21 BD, 20 MDD, and 156 healthy controls (HC). We focused on examining "cognitive" and "emotional" SC scores and "undermentalizing" and "overmentalizing" error patterns, with nonsocial inference as a control. Additional assessments included the Reading Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). We also explored the association between depression severity (measured by the Hamilton Depressive Rating Scale, HDRS) and distinct SC dimensions between MDD and BD. RESULTS The MASC-CH exhibited strong validity and reliability for SC assessment. In group comparisons, BD participants scored significantly lower on MASC-CH, while the MDD group scores were not significantly different from HC. Specifically, BD individuals had notably lower cognitive SC scores and made more undermentalizing and absence of mentalizing errors than MDD and HC. Additionally, a negative correlation between HDRS score and overmentalizing was observed in BD, not in the MDD. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate that depression severity scores in BD were inversely related to MASC-CH scores. In contrast, this relationship was not observed in the MDD group. These results underscore the importance of SC impairments as distinguishing characteristics of both BD and MDD. It provides valuable insights into the distinct social-cognitive profiles of both mood disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun‐Hsuan Chang
- Institute of Gerontology, College of MedicineNational Cheng Kung UniversityTainanTaiwan
- Institute of Behavioral Medicine, College of MedicineNational Cheng Kung UniversityTainanTaiwan
- Department of PsychologyNational Cheng Kung UniversityTainanTaiwan
- Institute of Genomics and BioinformaticsCollege of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing UniversityTaichungTaiwan
| | - Chu‐Ling Yu
- Department of Psychology, College of Medical and Health SciencesAsia UniversityTaichungTaiwan
- Department of PsychiatryChina Medical University Hsinchu HospitalHsinchuTaiwan
| | - Chih‐Chun Huang
- Department of PsychiatryNational Cheng Kung University Hospital, Dou‐Liou BranchYunlinTaiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of MedicineNational Cheng Kung UniversityTainanTaiwan
| | - Tzu‐Yun Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of MedicineNational Cheng Kung UniversityTainanTaiwan
| | - Isabel Dziobek
- Berlin School of Mind and BrainHumboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Hsien‐Yuan Lane
- Department of Psychology, College of Medical and Health SciencesAsia UniversityTaichungTaiwan
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical SciencesChina Medical UniversityTaichungTaiwan
- Department of Psychiatry and Brain Disease Research CenterChina Medical University HospitalTaichungTaiwan
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14
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Kalantar‐Hormozi B, Mohammadkhani S. Reported history of childhood trauma, mentalizing deficits, and hypersomnia in adulthood: A mediational analysis in a nonclinical sample. Brain Behav 2024; 14:e3363. [PMID: 38376014 PMCID: PMC10761325 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 11/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Existing research has confirmed the link between childhood trauma and poor sleep quality in adulthood. This study focused on the relationship between childhood trauma and hypersomnia specifically, which is understudied. Additionally, childhood maltreatment has been related to mentalizing deficits. The current study examined the role of mentalizing deficits as mediators between childhood trauma and hypersomnia. METHOD The study sample of this cross-sectional study consisted of 496 individuals, who participated in the online survey, which contained the following measures: Persian version of the Mini Sleep Questionnaire, Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ-8), and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). RESULTS The results from structural equation modeling indicated that emotional abuse positively predicts hypersomnia. Mediation analysis confirmed that hypo-mentalizing partially mediates the association between emotional abuse and hypersomnia. CONCLUSION The present study provides primary evidence that experiencing emotional abuse during childhood is associated with hypersomnia in adulthood. This association underlines the importance of prevention. The result from mediation analysis suggests addressing mentalizing impairments in patients with hypersomnia and a history of emotional abuse may be helpful.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bessat Kalantar‐Hormozi
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Kharazmi UniversityFaculty of Psychology and EducationTehranIran
| | - Shahram Mohammadkhani
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Kharazmi UniversityFaculty of Psychology and EducationTehranIran
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15
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Hauschild S, Kasper LA, Berning A, Taubner S. The relationship between epistemic stance, mentalizing, paranoid distress and conspiracy mentality: an empirical investigation. Res Psychother 2023; 26:706. [PMID: 38156598 PMCID: PMC10782896 DOI: 10.4081/ripppo.2023.706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Epistemic stance, comprising epistemic trust, mistrust, and credulity, and the closely related construct of mentalizing have been related to paranoid ideation and conspiracy mentality. All phenomena are common in the general population and may become clinically and societally relevant at an extreme expression by influencing an individual's positioning towards socially transmitted information possibly as far as complete social detachment or attachment to extremist views. Herein, an individual's experienced distress may play an important role, which has however largely been neglected in empirical research. Thus, this study aims to empirically investigate the effect of epistemic stance on a clinically relevant aspect of paranoid ideation, namely paranoid distress. We assume that epistemic stance will be associated with paranoid distress, but that this association will be mediated by mentalizing. Moreover, we assume that epistemic stance will be indirectly associated with conspiracy thinking via paranoid distress. Data of 595 participants (mean age = 43.05; SD = 13.87; female = 48.32%, male = 51.18%, diverse = 0.51%) were collected via self-report questionnaires through an online-based cross-sectional study. Structural equation modeling was performed for data analysis. As expected, epistemic mistrust was associated with paranoid distress via mentalizing deficits. Unexpectedly, epistemic trust was associated with more paranoid distress. Indirectly, epistemic trust was associated with conspiracy mentality via paranoid distress. Findings partially confirmed the hypothesized associations. Mentalizing may be a target for reducing distress associated with a distrusting epistemic stance. Epistemically trusting individuals with high paranoid distress may turn to conspiracy theories for regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Hauschild
- Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, University Hospital Heidelberg.
| | - Lea A Kasper
- Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, University Hospital Heidelberg; Psychological Institute, University Heidelberg.
| | - Anna Berning
- Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, University Hospital Heidelberg; Psychological Institute, University Heidelberg.
| | - Svenja Taubner
- Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, University Hospital Heidelberg; Psychological Institute, University Heidelberg.
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16
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Zerban M, Puhlmann LMC, Lassri D, Fonagy P, Montague PR, Kiselnikova N, Lorenzini N, Desatnik A, Kalisch R, Nolte T. What helps the helpers? Resilience and risk factors for general and profession-specific mental health problems in psychotherapists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1272199. [PMID: 38164261 PMCID: PMC10757941 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1272199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Although the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected wellbeing of at-risk groups, most research on resilience employed convenience samples. We investigated psychosocial resilience and risk factors (RFs) for the wellbeing of psychotherapists and other mental health practitioners, an under-researched population that provides essential support for other at-risk groups and was uniquely burdened by the pandemic. Method We examined 18 psychosocial factors for their association with resilience, of which four were chosen due to their likely relevance specifically for therapists, in a cross-sectional multi-national sample (N = 569) surveyed between June and September 2020. Resilience was operationalized dimensionally and outcome-based as lower stressor reactivity (SR), meaning fewer mental health problems than predicted given a participant's levels of stressor exposure. General SR (SRG) scores expressed reactivity in terms of general internalizing problems, while profession-specific SR (SRS) scores expressed reactivity in terms of burnout and secondary trauma, typical problems of mental health practitioners. Results Factors previously identified as RFs in other populations, including perceived social support, optimism and self-compassion, were almost all significant in the study population (SRG: 18/18 RFs, absolute βs = 0.16-0.40; SRS: 15/18 RFs, absolute βs = 0.19-0.39 all Ps < 0.001). Compassion satisfaction emerged as uniquely relevant for mental health practitioners in regularized regression. Discussion Our work identifies psychosocial RFs for mental health practitioners' wellbeing during crisis. Most identified factors are general, in that they are associated with resilience to a wider range of mental health problems, and global, in that they have also been observed in other populations and stressor constellations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Zerban
- Neuroimaging Center (NIC), Focus Program Translational Neuroscience (FTN), Johannes Gutenberg University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
| | - Lara Marie Christine Puhlmann
- Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research (LIR), Mainz, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dana Lassri
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Peter Fonagy
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, United Kingdom
| | - P. Read Montague
- Virginia Tech Carilion Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Roanoke, VA, United States
| | - Natalia Kiselnikova
- Department of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nicolas Lorenzini
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alex Desatnik
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Open Door Young People’s Service, London, United Kingdom
| | - Raffael Kalisch
- Neuroimaging Center (NIC), Focus Program Translational Neuroscience (FTN), Johannes Gutenberg University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research (LIR), Mainz, Germany
| | - Tobias Nolte
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, United Kingdom
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17
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Bateman A, Rüfenacht E, Perroud N, Debbané M, Nolte T, Shaverin L, Fonagy P. Childhood maltreatment, dissociation and borderline personality disorder: Preliminary data on the mediational role of mentalizing in complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychol Psychother 2023. [PMID: 38108566 DOI: 10.1111/papt.12514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Treatments for borderline personality disorder (BPD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are less effective for patients with co-occurring symptoms of both disorders, who are considered to have complex PTSD (cPTSD), compared with patients with either condition alone. Evidence suggests that co-occurrence of symptoms indicates greater impairment in mentalizing. This study examines evidence for targeting mentalizing when treating individuals with co-occurring symptoms, irrespective of their exposure to developmental trauma and, for the first time, investigates the mediational role of mentalizing in the associations between BPD symptomatology and cPTSD. DESIGN We identified in a routine clinical service a group of patients with BPD, with or without co-occurring symptoms of PTSD. We hypothesized that patients with co-occurring symptoms and a history of childhood maltreatment will show more severe clinical profiles and greater mentalizing problems, which in turn lead to symptoms consistent with cPTSD. METHOD Clinical profiles of 72 patients with BPD (43 with and 29 without co-occurring symptoms of PTSD; mean age in both groups 28 years, 79% and 83% female, respectively) were identified using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders. Patients completed self-report measures of BPD and PTSD symptoms, well-being, dissociation and reflective functioning. Childhood trauma histories were evaluated. RESULTS Compared with patients with BPD-only, those with co-occurring BPD and PTSD showed greater severity in terms of BPD and dissociative symptoms, met a broader range of BPD diagnostic criteria, had a greater sense of personal worthlessness and self-evaluated their well-being as considerably diminished. This group was also more inclined to recall increased instances of childhood sexual abuse. In a mediation analysis, mentalizing acted as a partial mediator for the relationship between BPD severity and cPTSD, as well as between dissociative symptoms and cPTSD. Interestingly, mentalizing did not mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and cPTSD. CONCLUSIONS Overall, the correlational findings are consistent with an intended focus on mentalizing to treat cPTSD symptoms in individuals who also meet criteria for a diagnosis of BPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony Bateman
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Psychoanalysis Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - Eva Rüfenacht
- Division of Psychiatric Specialties, Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Nader Perroud
- Division of Psychiatric Specialties, Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Martin Debbané
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Tobias Nolte
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
- Anna Freud Centre, London, UK
| | - Lisa Shaverin
- Anna Freud Centre, London, UK
- Tavistock Trauma Service, Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Peter Fonagy
- Anna Freud Centre, London, UK
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
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18
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Sun F, Yang T, Liu N, Wan X. The Causal Role of Temporoparietal Junction in Mediating Self-Other Mergence during Mentalizing. J Neurosci 2023; 43:8442-8455. [PMID: 37848283 PMCID: PMC10711729 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1026-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Mentalizing is a core faculty of human social behaviors that involves inferring the cognitive states of others. This process necessitates adopting an allocentric perspective and suppressing one's egocentric perspective, referred to as self-other distinction (SOD). Meanwhile, individuals may project their own cognitive states onto others in prosocial behaviors, a process known as self-other mergence (SOM). It remains unclear how the two opposing processes coexist during mentalizing. We here combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) techniques with intranasal oxytocin (OTint) as a probe to examine the SOM effect in healthy male human participants, during which they attributed the cognitive states of decision confidence to an anonymous partner. Our results showed that OTint facilitated SOM via the left temporoparietal junction (lTPJ), but did not affect neural representations of internal information about others' confidence in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, which might be dedicated to SOD, although the two brain regions, importantly, have been suggested to be involved in mentalizing. Further, the SOM effect induced by OTint was fully mediated by the lTPJ activities and became weakened when the lTPJ activities were suppressed by rTMS. These findings suggest that the lTPJ might play a vital role in mediating SOM during mentalizing.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Every human mind is unique. It is critical to distinguish the minds of others from the self. On the contrary, we often project the current mental states of the self onto others; that is to say, self-other mergence (SOM). The neural mechanism underlying SOM remains unclear. We here used intranasal oxytocin (OTint) as a probe to leverage SOM, which is typically suppressed during mentalizing. We revealed that OTint specifically modulated the left temporoparietal junction (lTPJ) neural activities to fully mediate the SOM effect, while suppressing the lTPJ neural activities by transcranial magnetic stimulations causally attenuated the SOM effect. Our results demonstrate that the lTPJ might mediate SOM during social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanru Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, People's Republic of China
| | - Tianshu Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Department of Radiology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, People's Republic of China
| | - Ning Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Xiaohong Wan
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, People's Republic of China
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19
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Wang S, Hou W, Wang Y, Tang Q, Tao Y, Liu X. The impact of romantic relationships on deception detection: Exploring the gender differences and the mediating role of mentalizing. Psych J 2023; 12:844-856. [PMID: 37905933 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
In evolution, romantic relationships serve as the foundation for breeding and producing offspring. The ability to detect deception in these relationships can safeguard the investment and cultivation of descendants, leading to greater chances of survival and reproduction. However, barely any research has been carried out within this domain. The current study investigated the preliminary relationship between romantic relationships, mentalizing ability, and deception detection ability through an empirical experiment. Participants were primed by their romantic experiences and neutral experiences, and then went through a Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RTM) task and the deception detecting task for real person crime-type videos. Results showed that romantic relationships can improve participants' emotion recognition ability toward negative emotions, and females performed better in the deception detection task than males did. Most importantly, romantic relationships can improve participants' deception detection ability through the mediator of mentalizing ability. Though gender difference was not statistically significant in the RTM task, the results lay a solid foundation for further investigation into females' mentalizing ability and disclose the evolutionary meaning of romantic relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shujian Wang
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing, China
| | - Wenxin Hou
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing, China
| | - Yueyang Wang
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing, China
| | - Qihui Tang
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing, China
| | - Yanqiang Tao
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangping Liu
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing, China
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20
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Uzar M, Dmitrzak-Węglarz M, Słopień A. Mentalizing in Adolescents with Borderline Personality Disorder. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1473. [PMID: 37891840 PMCID: PMC10605837 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13101473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Mentalizing, recognized as the capacity to understand behaviors in the context of our own mental states and those of other people, is being researched more and more commonly in regard to various mental disorders. The research on mentalization focuses on, among other things, borderline personality disorder, which is at present perceived as an emerging problem in the population of adolescents. In order to summarize the currently accessible knowledge of mentalizing in adolescents with borderline personality disorder, we thoroughly analyzed relevant publications. Based on the available literature, it can be concluded that the mentalizing ability of adolescents with borderline personality disorder can be impaired. The evidence demonstrates that they are prone to hypermentalizing, defined as an overattribution of mental states to other people. However, this tendency has not been proven to be specific to teenagers with this disorder. Moreover, the existing data suggest that young people with borderline personality exhibit a reduced capacity to mentalize their own inner states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Uzar
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Karol Jonscher Clinical Hospital, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Szpitalna 27/33 St., 60-572 Poznan, Poland;
| | - Monika Dmitrzak-Węglarz
- Department of Psychiatric Genetics, Medical Biology Center, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Rokietnicka St. 8, 60-806 Poznan, Poland;
| | - Agnieszka Słopień
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Karol Jonscher Clinical Hospital, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Szpitalna 27/33 St., 60-572 Poznan, Poland;
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21
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De Salve F, Rossi C, Oasi O. Mentalizing in individuals with state and trait risk for psychosis: a systematic review. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1214385. [PMID: 37915797 PMCID: PMC10616828 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1214385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Mentalization is an umbrella concept defined as the ability to interpret one's and others' mental states. Previous studies have hypothesized that mentalization may be a crucial resilience factor that significantly moderates the likelihood of developing psychotic disorders in individuals with both state and trait risk factors for the illness. Purpose The study reviews the role of mentalizing abilities (e.g., reflective functioning, Theory of Mind (ToM), and metacognition) in young adults with At-Risk Mental States (ARMS) and schizotypal traits. Specifically, the objective is to include articles that (a) evaluate the links between low mentalizing and both state (ARMS/CHR) and trait (schizotypy) risk for psychosis (b) compare the differences in mentalizing abilities between individuals with ARMS, schizotypy, full-blown psychosis, and healthy controls. Method Electronic databases (PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar) were used to search for articles, while Rayyan was employed to facilitate the screening and selection of studies. Eligible studies are original English-language; peer-reviewed research articles on populations that met validated risk diagnostic criteria for psychosis, ARMS, and healthy controls; empirical studies evaluating the association or differences between psychotic risk and mentalizing abilities. Non-English language studies, the ones not considering state or trait risk for psychosis, and qualitative studies were excluded. After the application of the PRISMA checklist and the inclusion and exclusion criteria previously mentioned, 10 articles were extracted. The systematic review has been registered on Prospero (CRD42023397594). Results Low levels of reflective functioning and metacognition may predict a transition to psychosis. In addition, reflective functioning and metacognitive impairments are associated with attenuated psychotic symptoms in both state risk groups and in non-clinical individuals with schizotypal traits. Concerning ToM tasks, mixed results emerged. Conclusion The results obtained from the review suggest that the application of strategies to attenuate maladaptive metacognitive beliefs and low mentalization may be equally effective in improving psychotic symptoms. The assessment of mentalization and metacognition could potentially provide additional prognostic value over factors predisposing to psychosis. Good mentalization and metacognition functioning should be considered as protective factors able to minimize the transition to psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca De Salve
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Rossi
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy
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22
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Martin-Gagnon G, Fonagy P, Bégin M, Normandin L, Ensink K. Measuring mentalizing in youth: further validation of the reflective functioning questionnaire for youth (RFQY-13). Front Psychol 2023; 14:1260281. [PMID: 37908815 PMCID: PMC10613668 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1260281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective This study investigated the psychometric properties, including the factor structure, validity, and reliability of the 13-item Reflective Function Questionnaire for Youth (RFQY-13), using a new scoring system. Method A community sample of 414 adolescents and a clinical sample of 83 adolescents (aged 12-21) completed the RFQY, the Borderline Personality Features Scale for Children (BPFS-C), the Beck Youth Inventories (BYI), the Child Behavior Checklist-Youth Self Report (CBCL-YSR) and the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC). Results Using the new scoring system, our results demonstrated configural and metric invariance, as well as adequate reliability and validity across both samples for the two-factor structure of the RFQY. The Uncertainty subscale also showed strong associations with psychopathology. Discussion The findings show that the RFQY-13, when used with the new coding system, has good psychometric properties and is a reliable measure of mentalizing for adolescents and young adults. We discuss clinical implications, limitations and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peter Fonagy
- Psychoanalysis Unit, Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michaël Bégin
- Département de Psychologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Lina Normandin
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Karin Ensink
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
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23
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Xie J, Li L, Lu Y, Zhuang J, Wu Y, Li P, Zheng L. Learning from in-group and out-group models induces separative effects on human mate copying. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:nsad051. [PMID: 37757743 PMCID: PMC10547020 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Mate copying is a social learning process in which individuals gather public information about potential mates by observing models' choices. Previous studies have reported that individual attributes of female models affect mate copying, yet little is known about whether and how the group attributes of models influence mate copying. In the current behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, female participants were asked to rate their willingness to choose the depicted males as potential romantic partners before and after observing in-group or out-group female models accepting, rejecting or being undecided (baseline) about the males. Results showed that participants changed their ratings to align with the models' acceptance or rejection choices. Compared to rejection copying, the effect of acceptance copying was stronger and regulated by in- and out-group models, manifesting a discounting copying effect when learning from out-group models. At the neural level, for acceptance copying, stronger temporoparietal junction (TPJ) activity and connectivity between TPJ and anterior medial prefrontal cortex (amPFC) were observed when female models belonged to out-group members; meanwhile, the functional connection of TPJ and amPFC positively predicted the rating changes when learning from out-group models. The results indicated that participants might need more resources to infer out-group members' intentions to overcome the in-group bias during acceptance copying.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajia Xie
- Department of Psychology, Normal College, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
| | - Lin Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Yang Lu
- Fudan Institute on Ageing, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
- MOE Laboratory for National Development and Intelligent Governance, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Jinying Zhuang
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Yuyan Wu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Peng Li
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Li Zheng
- Fudan Institute on Ageing, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
- MOE Laboratory for National Development and Intelligent Governance, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
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24
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Li A, Wang S, Paetzold RL, Rholes WS, Liu X. Childhood Trauma and Its Link to Adult Dissociation: The Role of Mentalizing and Disorganized Attachment in a Chinese Adult Sample. J Trauma Dissociation 2023; 24:559-574. [PMID: 36975105 DOI: 10.1080/15299732.2023.2195395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
Based on previous findings in a U.S. sample, the present study validated the relationship between childhood trauma and dissociation, as well as the mediating role of disorganized attachment and the moderating role of mentalizing (i.e. self-concept clarity and reflective functioning) in a group of 569 Chinese adults (i.e. a community sample). Results demonstrated a mediating role for disorganized attachment relationships in linking childhood maltreatment and dissociative symptoms. Moreover, self-concept clarity moderated this mediating relationship. An interesting finding that differs from the U.S. sample is that reflective functioning did not play a moderating role between insecure attachment and dissociation in Chinese adults. Chinese culture places greater emphasis on collectivism, altruism, and other-oriented, and thus the protective effect of the reflective function may not be as effective as in an individualistic culture. This study provides evidence for a better understanding of the relationship between childhood trauma, attachment, dissociation, and the moderating role of mentalizing in an Eastern culture, and it opens the door to further research examining whether more Western (such as the U.S.) and Eastern (particularly Chinese) relationships are similar in both social and clinical psychology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angyang Li
- School of Teacher Education, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, P.R.China
| | - Shuo Wang
- Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ramona L Paetzold
- Department of Management, Mays Business School, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - W Steven Rholes
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Xiangping Liu
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, P.R.China
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25
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Dinzinger A, Ismair S, Brisch KH, Sperl W, Deneault AA, Nolte T, Hitzl W, Priewasser B. Mentalizing in first-time fathers: reflective functioning as a mediator between attachment representation and sensitivity. Attach Hum Dev 2023; 25:544-565. [PMID: 37815537 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2023.2258354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023]
Abstract
Sensitivity in parent-child interaction is essential for child development. Since fathers are increasingly involved in childrearing, identifying factors leading to paternal sensitivity is crucial. We examined the relation between attachment representation and reflective functioning (RF) as factors influencing paternal sensitivity in a longitudinal study including N = 40 first-time fathers (Mage = 33) and their 6-month-old children. We used the Adult Attachment Interview during pregnancy to assess paternal attachment representation and general RF, the Parental Development Interview to assess fathers' parental RF, and the Emotional Availability Scale to measure sensitivity at child's age of 6 month. Data show that secure paternal attachment representation, high general and parental RF are associated with higher levels of paternal sensitivity. Further, parental RF mediates the association between attachment representation and paternal sensitivity. These findings contribute to the identification of a causal interplay in that they suggest an explanatory effect of RF on the association between fathers' attachment representation, and sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonia Dinzinger
- Institute for Early Life Care, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
- Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Salzburg, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Selina Ismair
- Institute for Early Life Care, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
- Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Salzburg, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Karl Heinz Brisch
- Institute for Early Life Care, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
- Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
| | - Wolfang Sperl
- Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Salzburg, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
| | | | - Tobias Nolte
- Research Department for Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, UK
| | - Wolfgang Hitzl
- Research and Innovation Management, Biostatistics, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Beate Priewasser
- Institute for Early Life Care, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
- Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Salzburg, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
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26
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Berens S, Ehrenthal JC, Tesarz J. Commentary: The framework for systematic reviews on psychological risk factors for persistent somatic symptoms and related syndromes and disorders (PSY-PSS). Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1270497. [PMID: 37701093 PMCID: PMC10493292 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1270497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jonas Tesarz
- Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
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27
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Schwarzer NH, Dietrich L, Gingelmaier S, Nolte T, Bolz T, Fonagy P. Mentalizing partially mediates the association between attachment insecurity and global stress in preservice teachers. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1204666. [PMID: 37671112 PMCID: PMC10475550 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1204666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective Considering the fact that the teaching profession is a highly stressful occupation and that teachers' ineffective coping strategies contribute to higher levels of stress, the objective of the present study was to investigate whether insecure attachment is related to global stress experiences in preservice student teachers. Furthermore, it was examined whether this link is mediated by the preservice teachers' mentalizing-the capacity to perceive and consider one's own and others' behavior based on intentional mental states. Methods Data of this cross-sectional study came from 202 preservice student teachers using self-report instruments (attachment: Expectation in Close Relationships; mentalizing: Reflective Functioning Questionnaire; stress: Trier Inventory of Chronic Stress). The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling. Results Anxious attachment was positively related to stress and impairments in mentalizing. In addition, the link between attachment-related anxiety and stress was partially mediated by mentalizing. Avoidant attachment was not associated with stress or mentalizing. Discussion Results indicate that anxious attachment is associated with higher perceived stress in preservice student teachers. Consequently, attachment-related anxiety may be a risk factor which, in turn, may foster perceptions of higher global stress experiences. Conclusion Additional research needs to focus on exploring the link between attachment insecurity and global stress experiences among preservice student teachers. An examination of preservice student teachers' own attachment experiences proves to be useful, for example in the context of mentalization-based supervision or reflective practice.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lars Dietrich
- Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
| | | | - Tobias Nolte
- Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tijs Bolz
- University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany
| | - Peter Fonagy
- University College London, London, England, United Kingdom
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28
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Lehmann K, Bolis D, Friston KJ, Schilbach L, Ramstead MJD, Kanske P. An Active-Inference Approach to Second-Person Neuroscience. Perspect Psychol Sci 2023:17456916231188000. [PMID: 37565656 DOI: 10.1177/17456916231188000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
Social neuroscience has often been criticized for approaching the investigation of the neural processes that enable social interaction and cognition from a passive, detached, third-person perspective, without involving any real-time social interaction. With the emergence of second-person neuroscience, investigators have uncovered the unique complexity of neural-activation patterns in actual, real-time interaction. Social cognition that occurs during social interaction is fundamentally different from that unfolding during social observation. However, it remains unclear how the neural correlates of social interaction are to be interpreted. Here, we leverage the active-inference framework to shed light on the mechanisms at play during social interaction in second-person neuroscience studies. Specifically, we show how counterfactually rich mutual predictions, real-time bodily adaptation, and policy selection explain activation in components of the default mode, salience, and frontoparietal networks of the brain, as well as in the basal ganglia. We further argue that these processes constitute the crucial neural processes that underwrite bona fide social interaction. By placing the experimental approach of second-person neuroscience on the theoretical foundation of the active-inference framework, we inform the field of social neuroscience about the mechanisms of real-life interactions. We thereby contribute to the theoretical foundations of empirical second-person neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konrad Lehmann
- Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Dimitris Bolis
- Laboratory for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems @UniTn, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan
- Centre for Philosophy of Science, University of Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, UK
- VERSES AI Research Lab, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Leonhard Schilbach
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians Universität, Munich, Germany
- Department of General Psychiatry 2, Clinics of the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Maxwell J D Ramstead
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, UK
- VERSES AI Research Lab, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Philipp Kanske
- Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
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Guo EY, Leblanc É, Dégeilh F, Beauchamp MH, Bernier A. Prospective associations between maternal mind-mindedness, child theory of mind, and brain morphology in school-aged children. Soc Neurosci 2023; 18:218-231. [PMID: 37691563 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2023.2257882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Mentalizing is defined as the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others. In the context of parental behavior, parents' tendency to comment on their child's mental activities refers to the concept of mind-mindedness (MM). MM has been positively associated with various developmental outcomes in children, notably their own ability to mentalize, known as theory of mind (ToM). Although parental (MM) and child (ToM) mentalizing have important implications during childhood, their associations with children's neural structures are largely unknown. Among 62 mother-child dyads, maternal MM was rated from free-play sequences when children were aged 1 year, child ToM was assessed using a first-order false-belief task at 4 years of age, and structural MRI images were acquired at 10 years of age. Maternal MM was positively associated with gray matter volumes (GMV) in the dorsal prefrontal cortex and the superior temporal pole. Child ToM abilities were positively associated with GMV in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Though cortical regions associated with MM and ToM showed no anatomical overlap, many are functionally connected through a neural network highly involved in self-referential strategies for mentalizing. These findings suggest that MM and ToM may contribute to distinct sub-processes that collectively support social cognition development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elie YuTong Guo
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Élizabel Leblanc
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Fanny Dégeilh
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montreal, Canada
- CNRS Inria, Inserm, IRISA, Univ Rennes Rennes France
| | - Miriam H Beauchamp
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montreal, Canada
| | - Annie Bernier
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
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30
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Martin-Gagnon G, Normandin L, Fonagy P, Ensink K. Adolescent mentalizing and childhood emotional abuse: implications for depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder features. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1237735. [PMID: 37539005 PMCID: PMC10394633 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1237735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background There is preliminary evidence that childhood emotional abuse (CEA) is a risk factor for adolescent mentalizing difficulties (Uncertainty/Confusion about mental states) and borderline personality features and that Uncertainty/Confusion about mental states mediate the relationship between CEA and adolescent borderline personality features, but these findings need replication. Furthermore, no previous studies have examined the relationship between adolescent mentalizing deficits, anxiety, and depression in the context of CEA. Objectives This study examined the associations between CEA, adolescent borderline personality features, depression and anxiety symptoms and tested a pathway model where Uncertainty/Confusion about mental states mediates the relationships between CEA and adolescent borderline personality features, depression and anxiety symptoms. Method A clinical sample of 94 adolescents completed the Reflective Function Questionnaire for Youth (RFQY) to assess mentalizing, the Childhood Experiences of Care and Abuse Questionnaire (CECA-Q), the Borderline Personality Disorders Features Scale (BPFS-C), and the Beck Youth Inventories for Depression (BDI-Y) and Anxiety (BAI-Y). Results Uncertainty/Confusion about mental states partially mediated the relationship between CEA and borderline traits as well as anxiety. In addition, there was an indirect effect where CEA predicted Uncertainty/Confusion about mental states, which then predicted depression. Discussion The findings are consistent with the mentalizing model of psychopathology and provide new evidence that Uncertainty/Confusion about mental states might be a critical mentalizing deficit that characterizes the associations between CEA and adolescent BPD features and depression and anxiety symptoms. Uncertainty/Confusion may be a transdiagnostic risk factor for adolescent psychological distress and dysfunction. We discuss the clinical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lina Normandin
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Peter Fonagy
- Psychoanalysis Unit, Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Karin Ensink
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
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31
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Bröcker AL, von Haebler D, Lempa G, Montag C. Mentalizing in the context of Mentzos' dilemma-on the use of implicit work in the treatment of non-affective psychosis. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1229113. [PMID: 37529074 PMCID: PMC10389263 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1229113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Current approaches to the treatment of non-affective psychosis include elements of mentalization-based treatment and the potential in enhancing mentalizing capacity in this patient group has been widely emphasized. This article presents the "psychotic identity dilemma", a concept by Stavros Mentzos, and a therapeutic approach considering this concept as a valuable complementary addition to these treatments. The idea of a dilemma between closeness and distance, which in itself cannot be represented mentally at first, helps to respond to specific needs of patients with psychotic disorders by placing the treatment focus on fundamental interpersonal processes. Following this train of thought, this article attempts to shed light on the importance of the "real relationship" between therapist and patient as well as the exploration of the "here and now", especially at the beginning of psychotherapeutic treatment. Two treatment modes are suggested, one characterized by the experience of interpersonality within the therapeutic relationship and a second one characterized by the reflection of interpersonal phenomena. These modes are framed by Stavros Mentzos' concept of an identity dilemma. We describe how mentalizing first needs to be addressed implicitly in a tolerable, exemplary relationship in which closeness and distance are regulated based on the therapist's countertransference, then explicitly. A series of interventions are described, which allow for moments of shared attention, promote intentionality and contingency and, later in the course of therapy, help to integrate experiences into narratives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna-Lena Bröcker
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dorothea von Haebler
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- International Psychoanalytic University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Christiane Montag
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Morillo-Mendez L, Stower R, Sleat A, Schreiter T, Leite I, Mozos OM, Schrooten MGS. Can the robot "see" what I see? Robot gaze drives attention depending on mental state attribution. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1215771. [PMID: 37519379 PMCID: PMC10374202 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1215771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Mentalizing, where humans infer the mental states of others, facilitates understanding and interaction in social situations. Humans also tend to adopt mentalizing strategies when interacting with robotic agents. There is an ongoing debate about how inferred mental states affect gaze following, a key component of joint attention. Although the gaze from a robot induces gaze following, the impact of mental state attribution on robotic gaze following remains unclear. To address this question, we asked forty-nine young adults to perform a gaze cueing task during which mental state attribution was manipulated as follows. Participants sat facing a robot that turned its head to the screen at its left or right. Their task was to respond to targets that appeared either at the screen the robot gazed at or at the other screen. At the baseline, the robot was positioned so that participants would perceive it as being able to see the screens. We expected faster response times to targets at the screen the robot gazed at than targets at the non-gazed screen (i.e., gaze cueing effect). In the experimental condition, the robot's line of sight was occluded by a physical barrier such that participants would perceive it as unable to see the screens. Our results revealed gaze cueing effects in both conditions although the effect was reduced in the occluded condition compared to the baseline. These results add to the expanding fields of social cognition and human-robot interaction by suggesting that mentalizing has an impact on robotic gaze following.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rebecca Stower
- Division of Robotics, Perception and Learning, KTH, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alex Sleat
- Division of Robotics, Perception and Learning, KTH, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tim Schreiter
- Centre for Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Iolanda Leite
- Division of Robotics, Perception and Learning, KTH, Stockholm, Sweden
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Francis LM, Greenwood CJ, Enticott PG, Mansour KA, Smith I, Graeme LG, Olsson CA, Milgrom J, Skouteris H, Macdonald JA. Father trait anger and associations with father-infant bonding and caregiving: The mediating role of mentalizing. Fam Process 2023. [PMID: 37414415 DOI: 10.1111/famp.12912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Trait anger reflects a tendency to feel irritation, annoyance, and rage, and involves a narrowing of cognition and attention. This narrowed scope may impact the capacity to understand the mental states of oneself and others (mentalizing), which for fathers of infants may compromise bonding and caregiving involvement. Here, we investigated the extent to which mentalizing mediated the relationship between father trait anger and both father-infant bonding and father involvement in infant caregiving. Data were from 168 fathers (M = 30.04 years of age, SD = 1.36) of 190 infants (M = 7.58 months of age, SD = 5.06) in the longitudinal Men and Parenting Pathways (MAPP) study. We assessed fathers' preconception trait anger at Wave 1 and their mentalizing 2 years later at Wave 3. At Waves 3, 4, and/or 5, we assessed father-infant bonding and father involvement in infant caregiving when men had an infant younger than 18 months of age. Associations were examined using path analysis. Poorer mentalizing fully mediated the relationship between preconception trait anger and father-infant bonding (total score), but not involvement in infant caregiving. Further, poorer mentalizing fully mediated the relationships between trait anger and each component of the father-infant bond (i.e., patience and tolerance, affection and pride, and pleasure in interactions). Findings suggest that for men high on trait anger, targeted interventions that facilitate mentalizing capacities may help to develop a foundation for a strong father-infant bond. Interventions may be offered on becoming a father (perinatal), or prior to becoming a father (preconception) to prevent future bonding problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Francis
- Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Christopher J Greenwood
- Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
- Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Peter G Enticott
- Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Kayla A Mansour
- Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Imogene Smith
- Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Liam G Graeme
- Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Craig A Olsson
- Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
- Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jeannette Milgrom
- Parent-Infant Research Institute, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Helen Skouteris
- Health and Social Care Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- Warwick Business School, Warwick University, Coventry, UK
| | - Jacqui A Macdonald
- Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
- Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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34
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Ensink K, Bégin M, Martin-Gagnon G, Biberdzic M, Berthelot N, Normandin L, Fonagy P, Bernazzani O, Borelli JL. Post-traumatic-stress in the context of childhood maltreatment: pathways from attachment through mentalizing during the transition to parenthood. Front Psychol 2023; 14:919736. [PMID: 37359870 PMCID: PMC10289889 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.919736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction This study aimed to clarify the role of mentalizing in pathways from attachment to Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS) in survivors of childhood maltreatment (CM). We focused on the transition to parenting, a critical period for reworking parenting representations to reduce intergenerational maltreatment cycles. Method Study participants included 100 pregnant CM survivors. We assessed PTSS with the SCID and attachment and mentalizing with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), which was rated for Attachment and Reflective Functioning (RF). Results Regarding Re-experiencing trauma symptoms, the results of the path analysis were consistent with mediation. CM survivors' mentalizing about their early relationships with their parents (RF-Other) directly impacted Re-experiencing trauma symptoms, and attachment had an effect on Re-experiencing trauma symptoms through mentalizing (RF-Other). Regarding Arousal/Reactivity symptoms, the results of the pathways analysis were consistent with partial mediation by mentalizing about early relationships with parents (RF-Other). In addition to the pathway from attachment via mentalizing (RF-Other) to Arousal/Reactivity, the pathway between attachment and Arousal/Reactivity also remained significant. Discussion This study provides new evidence of a mentalizing and attachment model of PTSS in CM survivors. The findings indicate that increased mentalizing about early relationships with parents is an important process associated with lower PTSS. Finally, we discuss the implications of developing interventions for CM survivors to reduce PTSS. Scaffolding the development of mentalizing regarding attachment relationships in which CM occurred may help CM survivors reduce the intrusion of traumatic memories and decrease trauma-related arousal and reactivity symptoms. Interventions to help CM survivors mentalize regarding parents and attachment relationships in which trauma occurred may be particularly important during the transition to parenting when activation of representations of parenting can trigger PTSS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Ensink
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Michaël Bégin
- Département de Psychologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, QC, Canada
| | | | - Marko Biberdzic
- Department of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Nicolas Berthelot
- Department of Nursing, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Lina Normandin
- École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Peter Fonagy
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Odette Bernazzani
- Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Jessica L. Borelli
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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Fittipaldi S, Legaz A, Maito M, Hernandez H, Altschuler F, Canziani V, Moguilner S, Gillan C, Castillo J, Lillo P, Custodio N, Avila-Funes J, Cardona J, Slachevsky A, Henriquez F, Fraile-Vazquez M, de Souza LC, Borroni B, Hornberger M, Lopera F, Santamaria-Garcia H, Matallana D, Reyes P, Gonzalez-Campo C, Bertoux M, Ibanez A. Heterogeneous factors influence social cognition across diverse settings in brain health and age-related diseases. Res Sq 2023:rs.3.rs-3007086. [PMID: 37333384 PMCID: PMC10274952 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3007086/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Aging may diminish social cognition, which is crucial for interaction with others, and significant changes in this capacity can indicate pathological processes like dementia. However, the extent to which non-specific factors explain variability in social cognition performance, especially among older adults and in global settings, remains unknown. A computational approach assessed combined heterogeneous contributors to social cognition in a diverse sample of 1063 older adults from 9 countries. Support vector regressions predicted the performance in emotion recognition, mentalizing, and a total social cognition score from a combination of disparate factors, including clinical diagnosis (healthy controls, subjective cognitive complaints, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia), demographics (sex, age, education, and country income as a proxy of socioeconomic status), cognition (cognitive and executive functions), structural brain reserve, and in-scanner motion artifacts. Cognitive and executive functions and educational level consistently emerged among the top predictors of social cognition across models. Such non-specific factors showed more substantial influence than diagnosis (dementia or cognitive decline) and brain reserve. Notably, age did not make a significant contribution when considering all predictors. While fMRI brain networks did not show predictive value, head movements significantly contributed to emotion recognition. Models explained between 28-44% of the variance in social cognition performance. Results challenge traditional interpretations of age-related decline, patient-control differences, and brain signatures of social cognition, emphasizing the role of heterogeneous factors. Findings advance our understanding of social cognition in brain health and disease, with implications for predictive models, assessments, and interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - José Avila-Funes
- Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Pablo Reyes
- Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat)
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Bianco F, Castelli I. The promotion of mature theory of mind skills in educational settings: a mini-review. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1197328. [PMID: 37333607 PMCID: PMC10273267 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1197328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
After formal school entry, theory of mind development encounters a blooming period of growth intertwined with social and academic achievements and challenges. Within this framework, in last years researchers have proposed training programs to foster mature ToM skills, but also, to test causal pathways for the role that ToM development may have in broader cognitive and social outcomes. In the current mini-review we examine which training programs have been developed so far to enhance three key aspects of mature ToM skills: second-order false belief reasoning, the ability to put one's own ToM knowledge into use, and the mentalization of thoughts and emotions. We also illustrate effects of these activities on intra- and inter- personal competence. In its conclusion the paper provides considerations of both first achievements of research in this area and gaps to be addressed in future works.
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Walbrin J, Almeida J, Koldewyn K. Alternative Brain Connectivity Underscores Age-Related Differences in the Processing of Interactive Biological Motion. J Neurosci 2023; 43:3666-3674. [PMID: 36963845 PMCID: PMC10198447 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2109-22.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Rapidly recognizing and understanding others' social interactions is an important ability that relies on deciphering multiple sources of information, for example, perceiving body information and inferring others' intentions. Despite recent advances in characterizing the brain basis of this ability in adults, its developmental underpinnings are virtually unknown. Here, we used fMRI to investigate which sources of social information support superior temporal sulcus responses to interactive biological motion (i.e., 2 interacting point-light human figures) at different developmental intervals in human participants (of either sex): Children show supportive functional connectivity with key nodes of the mentalizing network, while adults show stronger reliance on regions associated with body- and dynamic social interaction/biological motion processing. We suggest that adults use efficient action-intention understanding via body and biological motion information, while children show a stronger reliance on hidden mental state inferences as a potential means of learning to better understand others' interactive behavior.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Recognizing others' interactive behavior is a critical human skill that depends on different sources of social information (e.g., observable body-action information, inferring others' hidden mental states, etc.). Understanding the brain-basis of this ability and characterizing how it emerges across development are important goals in social neuroscience. Here, we used fMRI to investigate which sources of social information support interactive biological motion processing in children (6-12 years) and adults. These results reveal a striking developmental difference in terms of how wider-brain connectivity shapes functional responses to interactive biological motion that suggests a reliance on distinct neuro-cognitive strategies in service of interaction understanding (i.e., children and adults show a greater reliance on explicit and implicit intentional inference, respectively).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon Walbrin
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal 3000-481
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal 3000-481
| | - Jorge Almeida
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal 3000-481
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal 3000-481
| | - Kami Koldewyn
- School of Human and Behavioural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Wales 3000-481
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Riedl D, Rothmund MS, Grote V, Fischer MJ, Kampling H, Kruse J, Nolte T, Labek K, Lampe A. Mentalizing and epistemic trust as critical success factors in psychosomatic rehabilitation: results of a single center longitudinal observational study. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1150422. [PMID: 37252135 PMCID: PMC10213326 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1150422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Inpatient psychosomatic rehabilitation is a key treatment for patients with mental health issues. However, knowledge about critical success factors for beneficial treatment outcomes is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of mentalizing and epistemic trust with the improvement of psychological distress during rehabilitation. Methods In this naturalistic longitudinal observational study, patients completed routine assessments of psychological distress (BSI), health-related quality of life (HRQOL; WHODAS), mentalizing (MZQ), and epistemic trust (ETMCQ) before (T1) and after (T2) psychosomatic rehabilitation. Repeated measures ANOVA (rANOVAs) and structural equation models (SEMs) were calculated to investigate the association of mentalizing and epistemic trust with the improvement in psychological distress. Results A total sample of n = 249 patients were included in the study. Improvement in mentalizing was correlated with improvement in depression (r = 0.36), anxiety (r = 0.46), and somatization (r = 0.23), as well as improved cognition (r = 0.36), social functioning (r = 0.33), and social participation (r = 0.48; all p < 0.001). Mentalizing partially mediated changes in psychological distress between T1 and T2: the direct association decreased from β = 0.69 to β = 0.57 and the explained variance increased from 47 to 61%. Decreases in epistemic mistrust (β = 0.42, 0.18-0.28; p < 0.001) and epistemic credulity (β = 0.19, 0.29-0.38; p < 0.001) and increases in epistemic trust (β = 0.42, 0.18-0.28; p < 0.001) significantly predicted improved mentalizing. A good model fit was found (χ2 = 3.248, p = 0.66; CFI = 0.99; TLI = 0.99; RMSEA = 0.000). Conclusion Mentalizing was identified as a critical success factor in psychosomatic inpatient rehabilitation. A key component to increase mentalizing in this treatment context is the improvement of epistemic mistrust.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Riedl
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rehabilitation Research, Vienna, Austria
- University Hospital of Psychiatry II, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics, and Medical Psychology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Maria Sophie Rothmund
- University Hospital of Psychiatry II, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics, and Medical Psychology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
- Institute of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Vincent Grote
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rehabilitation Research, Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael J. Fischer
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rehabilitation Research, Vienna, Austria
- VAMED Rehabilitation Center Kitzbuehel, Kitzbuehel, Austria
| | - Hanna Kampling
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Johannes Kruse
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Department for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Center of the Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Tobias Nolte
- Anna Freud National Center for Children and Families, London, United Kingdom
- Research Department for Clinical, Educational and Heath Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Karin Labek
- Institute of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Astrid Lampe
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rehabilitation Research, Vienna, Austria
- VAMED Rehabilitation Center, Schruns, Austria
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Seng Choi C. Case report: Suicide and inhibitions of thinking-An integrative view from traditional psychoanalytic and mentalizing perspectives. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1170924. [PMID: 37229395 PMCID: PMC10203193 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1170924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Suicide has been the subject of exploration in psychoanalysis. From Freud's internalized aggression and self-objectification in melancholic depression to contributions from object relation and self-psychology theorists, several of these central clinical concepts seem to share the commonality that one encounters an inhibition of thinking in a suicidal state of mind. Their freedom of thought is inhibited unswervingly despite the notion that we are born to think. Most psychopathologies, including suicide, relate to how we are often stuck with our thoughts. Thinking beyond this sense comes with significant emotional resistance. This case report follows through an attempt to integrate the hypothesized inhibitions on one's capability to think, involving one's own core conflicts and dysfunctional mental processing from the traditional psychoanalytic and mentalizing perspectives. The author hopes that further conceptualizations and research will empirically investigate these assumptions, potentially improving suicide risk assessment and prevention and enhancing psychotherapeutic outcomes.
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Allen TA, Hallquist MN, Dombrovski AY. The Dark Side of Mentalizing: Learning Signals in the Default Network During Social Exchanges Support Cooperation and Exploitation. bioRxiv 2023:2023.05.03.538867. [PMID: 37205574 PMCID: PMC10187177 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.03.538867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of human social cognitive capacities such as mentalizing was associated with the expansion of frontoparietal cortical networks, particularly the default network. Mentalizing supports prosocial behaviors, but recent evidence indicates it may also serve a darker side of human social behavior. Using a computational reinforcement learning model of decision-making on a social exchange task, we examined how individuals optimized their approach to social interactions based on a counterpart's behavior and prior reputation. We found that learning signals encoded in the default network scaled with reciprocal cooperation and were stronger in individuals who were more exploitative and manipulative, but weaker in those who were more callous and less empathic. These learning signals, which help to update predictions about others' behavior, accounted for associations between exploitativeness, callousness, and social reciprocity. Separately, we found that callousness, but not exploitativeness, was associated with a behavioral insensitivity to prior reputation effects. While the entire default network was involved in reciprocal cooperation, sensitivity to reputation was selectively related to the activity of the medial temporal subsystem. Overall, our findings suggest that the emergence of social cognitive capacities associated with the expansion of the default network likely enabled humans to not only cooperate effectively with others, but to exploit and manipulate others as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy A Allen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213
| | - Michael N Hallquist
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599
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Chang LA, Armaos K, Warns L, Ma de Sousa AQ, Paauwe F, Scholz C, Engelmann JB. Mentalizing in an economic games context is associated with enhanced activation and connectivity in left temporoparietal junction. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023:7148154. [PMID: 37130081 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies in Social Neuroeconomics have consistently reported activation in social cognition regions during interactive economic games suggesting mentalizing during economic choice. Such mentalizing occurs during active participation of the game, as well as during passive observation of others' interactions. We designed a novel version of the classic false-belief task in which participants read vignettes about interactions between agents in the ultimatum and trust games and were subsequently asked to infer the agents' beliefs. We compared activation patterns during the economic-games false-belief task to those during the classic false-belief task using conjunction analyses. We find significant overlap in left TPJ, and dmPFC, as well as temporal pole during two task phases: belief formation and belief inference. Moreover, gPPI analyses show that during belief formation right TPJ is a target of both left TPJ and right temporal pole (TP) seed regions, while during belief inferences all seed regions show interconnectivity with each other. These results indicate that across different task types and phases, mentalizing is associated with activation and connectivity across central nodes of the social cognition network. Importantly, this is the case both for the novel economic-games and the classic false-belief tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Ang Chang
- Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making (CREED), Amsterdam School of Economics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Konstantinos Armaos
- Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Lotte Warns
- Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ava Q Ma de Sousa
- Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, US
| | - Femke Paauwe
- Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Christin Scholz
- Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jan B Engelmann
- Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making (CREED), Amsterdam School of Economics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- The Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Safiye T, Gutić M, Dubljanin J, Stojanović TM, Dubljanin D, Kovačević A, Zlatanović M, Demirović DH, Nenezić N, Milidrag A. Mentalizing, Resilience, and Mental Health Status among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2023; 20:ijerph20085594. [PMID: 37107876 PMCID: PMC10138377 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20085594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented stress on healthcare professionals worldwide. Since resilience and mentalizing capacity play very important preventive roles when it comes to mental health, the main goal of this study was to determine whether the capacity for mentalizing and resilience could explain the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted in Serbia on a sample of 406 healthcare workers (141 doctors and 265 nurses) aged 19 to 65 (M = 40.11, SD = 9.41). The participants' mental health status was evaluated using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-DASS-42. The Reflective Functioning Questionnaire was used to evaluate the capacity for mentalizing. Resilience was assessed using the Brief Resilience Scale. The results of the correlation analysis showed that there were negative correlations between resilience and all three dimensions of mental health status: depression, anxiety, and stress. Hypermentalizing was negatively correlated with depression, anxiety, and stress, while hypomentalizing was positively correlated. Hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that both resilience and hypermentalizing were significant negative predictors of depression, anxiety, and stress, and that hypomentalizing was a significant positive predictor of depression, anxiety, and stress. Furthermore, socioeconomic status was a significant negative predictor of depression, anxiety, and stress. Marital status, number of children, and work environment were not statistically significant predictors of any of the three dimensions of mental health status among the healthcare workers in this study. There is an urgent need to establish and implement strategies to foster resilience and enhance the capacity for mentalizing among healthcare workers in order to minimize the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teodora Safiye
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Svetozara Markovića 69, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia
- Correspondence:
| | - Medo Gutić
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Svetozara Markovića 69, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia
- Public Health Institution Health Center “Dr Branko Zogovic”, Hridska bb, 84325 Plav, Montenegro
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotića 8, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Jakša Dubljanin
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Svetozara Markovića 69, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia
- Department of Cardiology, University Clinical Hospital Center Zemun, Vukova 9, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Tamara M. Stojanović
- Faculty of Philology and Arts, University of Kragujevac, Jovana Cvijića bb, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia
| | - Draško Dubljanin
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Svetozara Markovića 69, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia
- Department of Pulmonology, University Clinical Hospital Center Zvezdara, Dimitrija Tucovića 161, 11120 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Andreja Kovačević
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Svetozara Markovića 69, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia
- Department of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, Institute for Rehabilitation Belgrade, Sokobanjska 17, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Milena Zlatanović
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Svetozara Markovića 69, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia
- Department of Medical Studies Ćuprija, Academy of Educational and Medical Vocational Studies Kruševac, Bulevar Vojske bb, 35230 Ćuprija, Serbia
| | - Denis H. Demirović
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philoshopy and Arts, State University of Novi Pazar, Vuka Karadžića 9, 36300 Novi Pazar, Serbia
| | - Nemanja Nenezić
- Department of Medical Studies Ćuprija, Academy of Educational and Medical Vocational Studies Kruševac, Bulevar Vojske bb, 35230 Ćuprija, Serbia
| | - Ardea Milidrag
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Svetozara Markovića 69, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia
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Janse van Rensburg E, Woolard A, Hill NTM, Reid C, Milroy H, Ohan JL, Lin A, Chamberlain C. The effect of childhood maltreatment on adult survivors' parental reflective function, and attachment of their children: A systematic review. Dev Psychopathol 2023:1-15. [PMID: 37052290 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423000391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Parental reflective function (PRF) is a candidate mechanism in the transmission of intergenerational trauma. This systematic review examined (1) the association between parental history of childhood maltreatment and PRF, (2) how PRF relates to attachment in children of parent survivors, and (3) whether PRF moderates the association between parental maltreatment history and child attachment. METHODS Ten databases were searched (from inception to 10th November 2021). Inclusion criteria were primary study, quantitative, parent participants, measures of childhood maltreatment, and postnatal PRF. Exclusion criteria were qualitative, intervention follow-up, gray literature, or a review study. Risk of bias was assessed using recommended tools. Data were narratively synthesized. RESULTS One-thousand-and-two articles were retrieved, of which eleven met inclusion criteria (N = 974 participants). Four studies found a significant association between parental childhood maltreatment and disrupted PRF, six did not, one found mixed results. One study reported the association between childhood maltreatment and attachment (nonsignificant results). DISCUSSION There is no clear evidence PRF is routinely disrupted in parent survivors, though there is high heterogeneity in studies. Future research should standardize design to better understand whether PRF is a candidate mechanism in intergenerational trauma. OTHER PROSPERO CRD42020223594.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elmie Janse van Rensburg
- Embrace, Telethon Kids Institute, WA, Australia
- School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, WA, Australia
- Youth Mental Health Team, Telethon Kids Institute, WA, Australia
| | - Alix Woolard
- Embrace, Telethon Kids Institute, WA, Australia
- Youth Mental Health Team, Telethon Kids Institute, WA, Australia
- Medical School, University of Western Australia, WA, Australia
| | - Nicole T M Hill
- Youth Mental Health Team, Telethon Kids Institute, WA, Australia
- Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, WA, Australia
| | - Carol Reid
- Judith Lumley Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Helen Milroy
- Embrace, Telethon Kids Institute, WA, Australia
- Youth Mental Health Team, Telethon Kids Institute, WA, Australia
- Medical School, University of Western Australia, WA, Australia
| | - Jeneva L Ohan
- School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, WA, Australia
| | - Ashleigh Lin
- Youth Mental Health Team, Telethon Kids Institute, WA, Australia
- Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, WA, Australia
| | - Catherine Chamberlain
- Judith Lumley Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Straccia MA, Teed AR, Katzman PL, Tan KM, Parrish MH, Irwin MR, Eisenberger NI, Lieberman MD, Tabak BA. Null results of oxytocin and vasopressin administration on mentalizing in a large fMRI sample: evidence from a randomized controlled trial. Psychol Med 2023; 53:2285-2295. [PMID: 37310308 PMCID: PMC10123837 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721004104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2020] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although potential links between oxytocin (OT), vasopressin (AVP), and social cognition are well-grounded theoretically, most studies have included all male samples, and few have demonstrated consistent effects of either neuropeptide on mentalizing (i.e. understanding the mental states of others). To understand the potential of either neuropeptide as a pharmacological treatment for individuals with impairments in social cognition, it is important to demonstrate the beneficial effects of OT and AVP on mentalizing in healthy individuals. METHODS In the present randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study (n = 186) of healthy individuals, we examined the effects of OT and AVP administration on behavioral responses and neural activity in response to a mentalizing task. RESULTS Relative to placebo, neither drug showed an effect on task reaction time or accuracy, nor on whole-brain neural activation or functional connectivity observed within brain networks associated with mentalizing. Exploratory analyses included several variables previously shown to moderate OT's effects on social processes (e.g., self-reported empathy, alexithymia) but resulted in no significant interaction effects. CONCLUSIONS Results add to a growing literature demonstrating that intranasal administration of OT and AVP may have a more limited effect on social cognition, at both the behavioral and neural level, than initially assumed. Randomized controlled trial registrations: ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT02393443; NCT02393456; NCT02394054.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A. Straccia
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Adam R. Teed
- Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Perri L. Katzman
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kevin M. Tan
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michael H. Parrish
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michael R. Irwin
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Matthew D. Lieberman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Benjamin A. Tabak
- Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA
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Locati F, Milesi A, Conte F, Campbell C, Fonagy P, Ensink K, Parolin L. Adolescence in lockdown: The protective role of mentalizing and epistemic trust. J Clin Psychol 2023; 79:969-984. [PMID: 36256870 PMCID: PMC9874639 DOI: 10.1002/jclp.23453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Mentalizing is the ability to interpret one's own and others' behavior as driven by intentional mental states. Epistemic trust (openness to interpersonally transmitted information) has been associated with mentalizing. Balanced mentalizing abilities allow people to cope with external and internal stressors. Studies show that social isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic was highly stressful for most people, especially for adolescents. Here we examine whether mentalizing and epistemic trust were protective factors in relation to emotional distress during the lockdown. METHOD A total of 131 nonclinical adolescents, aged between 12 and 18 years, were evaluated during the lockdown using the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire for Youth, Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, Perceived Stress Scale, and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. RESULTS Results from network analysis showed that epistemic trust and mentalizing were negatively associated with perceived stress and emotion dysregulation. Epistemic trust in fathers was associated with level of perceived stress, and epistemic trust in mothers with emotion dysregulation. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that epistemic trust and the capacity to mentalize were low in adolescents during lockdown, and this was associated with high levels of stress. However, robust levels of epistemic trust and mentalizing may have acted as protective factors that buffered individuals from the risk of emotional dysregulation during the lockdown.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alberto Milesi
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Federica Conte
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Chloe Campbell
- Psychoanalysis Unit, University College London and Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, UK
| | - Peter Fonagy
- Psychoanalysis Unit, University College London and Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, UK
| | - Karin Ensink
- Faculté des sciences sociales, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | - Laura Parolin
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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Müller S, Wendt LP, Zimmermann J. Development and Validation of the Certainty About Mental States Questionnaire (CAMSQ): A Self-Report Measure of Mentalizing Oneself and Others. Assessment 2023; 30:651-674. [PMID: 34905983 PMCID: PMC9999289 DOI: 10.1177/10731911211061280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The Certainty About Mental States Questionnaire (CAMSQ) is a self-report measure of the perceived capacity to understand mental states of the self and others (i.e., mentalizing). In two studies (total N = 1828), we developed the CAMSQ in both English and German as a two-dimensional measure of Self- and Other-Certainty, investigated associations with other measures of mentalizing, and explored relationships to personality functioning and mental health. The CAMSQ performed well in terms of convergent and discriminant validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and measurement invariance across the United States and Germany. The present research indicates that the CAMSQ assesses maladaptive forms of having too little or too much certainty about mental states (consistent with hypomentalizing and hypermentalizing). A psychologically adaptive profile of perceived mentalizing capacity appears to be characterized by high Self-Certainty that exceeds Other-Certainty, suggesting that imbalances between Self-Certainty and Other-Certainty (Other-Self-Discrepancy) play an important role within personality pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sascha Müller
- University of Kassel, Germany
- Sascha Müller and Leon Wendt, Department of Psychology, University of Kassel, Holländische Straße 36-38, 34127 Kassel, Germany. Emails: ;
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Meulemeester CD, Lowyck B, Boets B, van der Donck S, Verhaest Y, Luyten P. "Feeling Invisible": Individuals With Borderline Personality Disorder Underestimate the Transparency of Their Emotions. J Pers Disord 2023; 37:213-232. [PMID: 37002937 DOI: 10.1521/pedi.2023.37.2.213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
Abstract
The present study investigated transparency estimation, that is, the ability to estimate how observable one's emotions are, in patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) (n = 35) and healthy controls (HCs; n = 35). Participants watched emotionally evocative video clips and estimated the transparency of their own emotional experience while watching the clip. Facial expression coding software (FaceReader) quantified their objective transparency. BPD patients felt significantly less transparent than HCs, but there were no differences in objective transparency. BPD patients tended to underestimate the transparency of their emotions compared to HCs, who in turn overestimated their transparency. This suggests that BPD patients expect that others will not know how they feel, irrespective of how observable their emotions actually are. We link these findings to low emotional awareness and a history of emotional invalidation in BPD, and we discuss their impact on BPD patients' social functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Benedicte Lowyck
- University Psychiatric Hospital UPC KU Leuven, Campus Kortenberg, and Department of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart Boets
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Yannic Verhaest
- University Psychiatric Hospital UPC KU Leuven, Campus Kortenberg, and Department of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Patrick Luyten
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom
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Thibaudeau E, Rae J, Raucher-Chéné D, Bougeard A, Lepage M. Disentangling the Relationships Between the Clinical Symptoms of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders and Theory of Mind: A Meta-analysis. Schizophr Bull 2023; 49:255-274. [PMID: 36244001 PMCID: PMC10016420 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbac150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS Previous studies have suggested links between clinical symptoms and theory of mind (ToM) impairments in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), but it remains unclear whether some symptoms are more strongly linked to ToM than others. STUDY DESIGN A meta-analysis (Prospero; CRD42021259723) was conducted to quantify and compare the strength of the associations between ToM and the clinical symptoms of SSD (Positive, Negative, Cognitive/Disorganization, Depression/Anxiety, Excitability/Hostility). Studies (N = 130, 137 samples) including people with SSD and reporting a correlation between clinical symptoms and ToM were retrieved from Pubmed, PsycNet, Embase, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, Proquest, WorldCat, and Open Gray. Correlations for each dimension and each symptom were entered into a random-effect model using a Fisher's r-to-z transformation and were compared using focused-tests. Publication bias was assessed with the Rosenthal failsafe and by inspecting the funnel plot and the standardized residual histogram. STUDY RESULTS The Cognitive/Disorganization (Zr = 0.28) and Negative (Zr = 0.24) dimensions revealed a small to moderate association with ToM, which was significantly stronger than the other dimensions. Within the Cognitive/Disorganization dimension, Difficulty in abstract thinking (Zr = 0.36) and Conceptual disorganization (Zr = 0.39) showed the strongest associations with ToM. The association with the Positive dimension (Zr = 0.16) was small and significantly stronger than the relationship with Depression/Anxiety (Zr = 0.09). Stronger associations were observed between ToM and clinical symptoms in younger patients, those with an earlier age at onset of illness and for tasks assessing a combination of different mental states. CONCLUSIONS The relationships between Cognitive/Disorganization, Negative symptoms, and ToM should be considered in treating individuals with SSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth Thibaudeau
- McGill University, Department of Psychiatry, Montreal, Canada
- Douglas Research Centre, Montreal, Canada
| | - Jesse Rae
- Douglas Research Centre, Montreal, Canada
- McGill University, Department of Psychology, Montreal, Canada
| | - Delphine Raucher-Chéné
- McGill University, Department of Psychiatry, Montreal, Canada
- Douglas Research Centre, Montreal, Canada
- Cognition, Health, and Society Laboratory (EA 6291), University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France
- Academic Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Reims, EPSM Marne, Reims, France
| | | | - Martin Lepage
- McGill University, Department of Psychiatry, Montreal, Canada
- Douglas Research Centre, Montreal, Canada
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Zayde A, Derella OJ, Kilbride A. Safe haven in adolescence: Improving parental reflective functioning and youth attachment and mental health with the Connecting and Reflecting Experience. Infant Ment Health J 2023; 44:268-283. [PMID: 36862314 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.22042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
Attachment security provides a well-documented protective developmental function for children exposed to individual- and community-level trauma, yet the effectiveness of prevention and intervention efforts targeting attachment during adolescence has been relatively underexplored. The Connecting and Reflecting Experience (CARE) program is a transdiagnostic, bi-generational, group-based, mentalizing-focused parenting intervention developed to dismantle the intergenerational transmission of trauma and support secure attachment relationships across the developmental spectrum within an under-resourced community. This exploratory study evaluated outcomes among caregiver-adolescent dyads (N = 32) in the CARE condition of a nonrandomized clinical trial at an outpatient mental health clinic within a diverse, urban U.S. community with disproportionate trauma exposure exacerbated by COVID-19. Caregivers predominantly identified as Black/African/African American (47%), Hispanic/Latina (38%), and/or White (19%). At pre- and post-intervention, caregivers completed questionnaires regarding parental mentalizing and their adolescents' psychosocial functioning. Adolescents completed scales regarding attachment and psychosocial functioning. Results showed a significant decrease in caregivers' prementalizing on the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire, improvement in adolescent psychosocial functioning on the Youth Outcomes Questionnaire, and an increase in adolescents' reports of attachment security on the Security Scale. These preliminary findings suggest that mentalizing-focused parenting interventions may be effective in fostering improved attachment security and psychosocial functioning during adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Zayde
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Olivia J Derella
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Anna Kilbride
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
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50
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Arioli M, Cattaneo Z, Parimbelli S, Canessa N. Relational vs representational social cognitive processing: a coordinate-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging data. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:7003414. [PMID: 36695428 PMCID: PMC9976764 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The neurocognitive bases of social cognition have been framed in terms of representing others' actions through the mirror system and their mental states via the mentalizing network. Alongside representing another person's actions or mental states, however, social cognitive processing is also shaped by their (mis)match with one's own corresponding states. Here, we addressed the distinction between representing others' states through the action observation or mentalizing networks (i.e. representational processing) and detecting the extent to which such states align with one's own ones (i.e. relational processing, mediated by social conflict). We took a meta-analytic approach to unveil the neural bases of both relational and representational processing by focusing on previously reported brain activations from functional magnetic resonance imaging studies using false-belief and action observation tasks. Our findings suggest that relational processing for belief and action states involves, respectively, the left and right temporo-parietal junction, likely contributing to self-other differentiation. Moreover, distinct sectors of the posterior fronto-medial cortex support social conflict processing for belief and action, possibly through the inhibition of conflictual representations. These data might pave the way for further studies addressing social conflict as an important component of normal and pathological processing, and inform the design of rehabilitative treatments for social deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Arioli
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo 24100, Italy
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo 24100, Italy.,IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Simone Parimbelli
- IUSS Cognitive Neuroscience (ICoN) Center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Nicola Canessa
- IUSS Cognitive Neuroscience (ICoN) Center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia 27100, Italy.,Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory of Pavia Institute, Pavia 27100, Italy
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