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Archives of Suicide Research : Official... 2019Self-injurious behaviors (SIB) continue to afflict a significant segment of the clinical and general population, sometimes with fatal consequences. The development of... (Review)
Review
Self-injurious behaviors (SIB) continue to afflict a significant segment of the clinical and general population, sometimes with fatal consequences. The development of SIB seems to share developmental pathways and mechanisms similar to attachment insecurity. To date, no reviews have explored their relationship. A search of publication databases PubMed and PsychInfo from 1969 through April 2018 was conducted and 17 papers met inclusion criteria. Of the 17 articles identified, 13 reported a positive relationship and 1 reported a negative relationship between attachment insecurity and SIB. Both attachment anxiety and avoidance seem to play a role in the risk for SIB, possibly through different mechanisms and likely with different impacts on the choice for either self-harm or suicide attempts.
Topics: Adult; Causality; Child; Child Development; Humans; Object Attachment; Psychology, Developmental; Psychopathology; Self-Injurious Behavior; Suicide; Suicide Prevention
PubMed: 29952724
DOI: 10.1080/13811118.2018.1486251 -
Current Directions in Psychological... Oct 2020Developmental disorders and childhood learning difficulties encompass complex constellations of relative strengths and weaknesses across multiple aspects of learning,...
Developmental disorders and childhood learning difficulties encompass complex constellations of relative strengths and weaknesses across multiple aspects of learning, cognition, and behavior. Historically, debate in developmental psychology has been focused largely on the existence and nature of core deficits-the shared mechanistic origin from which all observed profiles within a diagnostic category emerge. The pitfalls of this theoretical approach have been articulated multiple times, but reductionist, core-deficit accounts remain remarkably prevalent. They persist because developmental science still follows the methodological template that accompanies core-deficit theories-highly selective samples, case-control designs, and voxel-wise neuroimaging methods. Fully moving beyond "core-deficit" thinking will require more than identifying its theoretical flaws. It will require a wholesale rethink about the way we design, collect, and analyze developmental data.
PubMed: 33071483
DOI: 10.1177/0963721420925518 -
Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics Aug 2020Little is known about patient-reported health status in children and adolescents with arthrogryposis. Utilizing the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information...
BACKGROUND
Little is known about patient-reported health status in children and adolescents with arthrogryposis. Utilizing the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) and Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument (PODCI) questionnaires, we investigated functional and psychosocial measures in arthrogryposis.
METHODS
A total of 118 patients with arthrogryposis were identified from a prospective longitudinal cohort (the Congenital Upper Limb Difference Registry) from 2014 to 2018. Demographics and patient-reported outcome measures were evaluated, including the PROMIS [upper extremity (UE) function, pain, depression, anxiety, and peer relations] and PODCI questionnaires (UE function, pain, happiness, and global function).
RESULTS
A total of 29 arthrogrypotic patients had complete PROMIS and PODCI data. This cohort was divided into distal arthrogryposis and amyoplasia groups, with 15 and 14 patients in each group, respectively. There were 8 males in the distal arthrogryposis group with a median age of 9 years and 7 males in the amyoplasia group with a median age of 8 years. For both cohorts, the median UE function PROMIS scores were significantly below population norms, 31 for distal arthrogryposis and 22 for amyoplasia. PODCI UE function was statistically lower for amyoplasia compared with the distal arthrogryposis cohort. PROMIS pain, depression, anxiety, and peer relations were in the normal range for both amyopasia and distal arthrogryposis. Median PODCI pain and happiness ranged from 85 to 88 for all patients with no statistical difference between groups.
CONCLUSIONS
Arthrogryposis patients have lower UE function scores compared with population normals, but they have emotional states that are consistent with populations norms. Amyoplasia patients were functionally worse than distal arthrogryposis patients.
LEVELS OF EVIDENCE
Level II.
Topics: Arthrogryposis; Child; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Patient Reported Outcome Measures; Physical Functional Performance; Prospective Studies; Psychosocial Functioning; Registries; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States; Upper Extremity
PubMed: 32040062
DOI: 10.1097/BPO.0000000000001527 -
Journal of the American Academy of... Sep 2020Clinicians, teachers, and parents alike have long lamented screen time and its developmental and psychological implications, particularly as access to digital devices,...
Clinicians, teachers, and parents alike have long lamented screen time and its developmental and psychological implications, particularly as access to digital devices, games, and online platforms has become ubiquitous. In 2018, 95% of US teens reported having access to a smartphone, and 45% reported being online "almost constantly." Parental and expert concerns include displacement of important activities such as sleep and exercise, Internet or video game addiction, negative social experiences such as cyberbullying, and worry that excessive use may cause or worsen mental health symptoms such as depression. Research on the subject is challenging, as associations between device use and psychological functioning are likely multifactorial and nonlinear and therefore difficult to elucidate from small samples or samples that are lacking in rich covariate data. In addition, the rapid pace of technological change makes studying and reporting on these phenomena challenging as studies may be out of date before they are even published.
Topics: Adolescent; Anxiety; Behavior, Addictive; Cohort Studies; Humans; Psychosocial Functioning; Video Games
PubMed: 32007603
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2019.11.023 -
Neuron Jun 2021Decision-making is a cognitive process of central importance for the quality of our lives. Here, we ask whether a common factor underpins our diverse decision-making...
Decision-making is a cognitive process of central importance for the quality of our lives. Here, we ask whether a common factor underpins our diverse decision-making abilities. We obtained 32 decision-making measures from 830 young people and identified a common factor that we call "decision acuity," which was distinct from IQ and reflected a generic decision-making ability. Decision acuity was decreased in those with aberrant thinking and low general social functioning. Crucially, decision acuity and IQ had dissociable brain signatures, in terms of their associated neural networks of resting-state functional connectivity. Decision acuity was reliably measured, and its relationship with functional connectivity was also stable when measured in the same individuals 18 months later. Thus, our behavioral and brain data identify a new cognitive construct that underpins decision-making ability across multiple domains. This construct may be important for understanding mental health, particularly regarding poor social function and aberrant thought patterns.
Topics: Adolescent; Affect; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Anxiety; Brain; Cognition; Decision Making; Depression; Depressive Disorder, Major; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Functional Neuroimaging; Humans; Intelligence Tests; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Neural Pathways; Neuropsychological Tests; Psychosocial Functioning; Self Concept; Social Interaction; Young Adult
PubMed: 34019810
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.04.019 -
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 2020Self-administration of very low doses of psychedelic drugs to improve mental health and wellbeing and enhance cognitive function, known as microdosing, has received...
Self-administration of very low doses of psychedelic drugs to improve mental health and wellbeing and enhance cognitive function, known as microdosing, has received recent media attention, but little research has been conducted. We conducted a content analysis of discussions about microdosing from the online forum Reddit. We examined motivations, dosing practices, and perceived benefits and limitations of microdosing. Motivations included self-management of mental health issues, improvement of psychosocial wellbeing, and cognitive enhancement. Self-reported benefits included cognitive and creative enhancement, reduced depression and anxiety, enhanced self-insight and mindfulness, improved mood and attitude toward life, improved habits and health behaviors, and improved social interactions and interpersonal connections. Perceived limitations included issues related to dosing, adverse physical effects, taking illegal substances, limited or no mental health or cognitive improvement, increased anxiety, unpleasant "off" days, only short-term benefits, and concerns about dependence and drug-related risks. Standard doses of psychedelic drugs provided in therapeutic settings have potential as novel treatments for some mental health conditions, but clinical research is needed to understand if this is also the case for microdosing. In the meantime, harm reduction resources should be developed and made available to provide the best available information on the safer use of self-administered psychedelics.
Topics: Adult; Behavioral Symptoms; Cognition; Hallucinogens; Humans; Lysergic Acid Diethylamide; Psilocybin; Psychosocial Functioning; Qualitative Research; Self Administration; Self-Management; Social Media
PubMed: 31648596
DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2019.1683260 -
Advances in Child Development and... 2022At present, most developmental psychology experiments use participants from a mere subsection of the world's population. Moreover, like other fields of psychology, many...
At present, most developmental psychology experiments use participants from a mere subsection of the world's population. Moreover, like other fields of psychology, many studies in developmental psychology suffer from low statistical power due to small samples and limited observations. Online testing holds promise as a way to achieve more representative and robust, better powered experiments. As participants do not have to visit in person, it is easier to access populations living further away from a developmental lab, enabling testing of more diverse populations (e.g., urban vs rural areas, various different nationalities or geographies), both within and beyond the researcher's home country. Furthermore, due to the codified nature of browser-based online testing, it is possible for multiple labs to carry out the exact same study, allowing for better replications. Because of these advantages, developmental researchers have started to move experiments online so that caregivers and their children can participate from their home environments. However, the transition from traditional lab testing to remote online testing brings many challenges. Laboratory studies of infant and child development are typically conducted under highly standardized conditions to control factors, such as distractors, distance to the screen, movement, and lighting, and often rely on specialized equipment for measuring behavior. In this chapter, we provide a guide for researchers considering online testing of a developmental population. The different sections comprise an overview of the decision-making processes and the state-of-the-art advances associated with, as well as tangible recommendations for, online data collection.
Topics: Child; Child Development; Humans; Infant
PubMed: 35249687
DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2022.01.002 -
New Directions For Child and Adolescent... Jul 2020Although developmental science has always been evolving, these times of fast-paced and profound social and scientific changes easily lead to disorienting fragmentation...
Although developmental science has always been evolving, these times of fast-paced and profound social and scientific changes easily lead to disorienting fragmentation rather than coherent scientific advances. What directions should developmental science pursue to meaningfully address real-world problems that impact human development throughout the lifespan? What conceptual or policy shifts are needed to steer the field in these directions? The present manifesto is proposed by a group of scholars from various disciplines and perspectives within developmental science to spark conversations and action plans in response to these questions. After highlighting four critical content domains that merit concentrated and often urgent research efforts, two issues regarding "how" we do developmental science and "what for" are outlined. This manifesto concludes with five proposals, calling for integrative, inclusive, transdisciplinary, transparent, and actionable developmental science. Specific recommendations, prospects, pitfalls, and challenges to reach this goal are discussed.
Topics: Biobehavioral Sciences; Humans; Psychology, Developmental
PubMed: 32960503
DOI: 10.1002/cad.20359 -
Developmental Psychology Apr 2020The collection of articles presented by Pollak, Camras, and Cole (2019) provides a stimulating survey of the current state of research on emotional development. However,...
The collection of articles presented by Pollak, Camras, and Cole (2019) provides a stimulating survey of the current state of research on emotional development. However, the special issue also makes apparent the need for defining the construct of interest. Definitions of emotions guide how researchers deal with fundamental theoretical and methodological issues in emotion research. In this commentary, we contrast 2 views of emotion: the structuralist and functionalist perspectives. We illustrate the consequences of each view for the design and interpretation of empirical research and highlight benefits of adopting a functionalist perspective on emotional development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Child; Child Development; Emotions; Humans; Psychology, Developmental; Terminology as Topic
PubMed: 32134295
DOI: 10.1037/dev0000887 -
Omega Jun 2023Taking an integrative approach toward developmental psychology and neurophysiology, this review selects findings from the psychological and medical literature on guilt... (Review)
Review
Taking an integrative approach toward developmental psychology and neurophysiology, this review selects findings from the psychological and medical literature on guilt and bereavement that are relevant to considering whether and how guilt contributes to the development of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) in bereaved persons. Mention of guilt is ubiquitous in literature on general grief and PGD, including 54 articles related to the neuropsychological development and manifestations of guilt and grief, as well as their neuroimaging correlates, that met scoping review criteria. However, mechanisms connecting guilt to development of PGD are scarce. Aspects of guilt are conceptually connected to many PGD criteria, opening avenues to explore treatment of PGD by targeting guilt. Positive and prosocial aspects of guilt are especially neglected in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, and consideration of these aspects may improve interventions for PGD such as complicated grief treatment.
Topics: Humans; Prolonged Grief Disorder; Prevalence; Grief; Bereavement; Guilt
PubMed: 34152877
DOI: 10.1177/00302228211024111