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Psychiatry Research Jun 2024This study examined the association of clinical factors, independent of sex and high psychosocial adversity (HPAd), with the presence of ADHD or other mental disorders,...
This study examined the association of clinical factors, independent of sex and high psychosocial adversity (HPAd), with the presence of ADHD or other mental disorders, specifically within a middle-income country with a non-Caucasian population. A multi-centric cross-sectional study was conducted in three sites in Colombia. Our study recruited trios of an ADHD proband, one sibling, and one parent. We used valid instruments for assessing parents and siblings. The sample included 223 siblings, an average age of 12.3 (SD 3.9), and 51.1% Females. The ADHD recurrence risk ratio (λ) was 12. The clinical factors mainly associated with the presence of ADHD, independent of sex and HPAd, were 1) Pregnancy and childbirth complications, 2) Delayed psychomotor development, 3) Temperament, and 4) Sleep disturbances. Our research showed that, independently of HPAd and the male sex, there were other clinical factors associated with ADHD and other psychiatric disorders in this population. These findings need to be replicated in similar populations globally.
PubMed: 38941862
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2024.115997 -
Journal of Personality Assessment Jun 2024Self-dehumanization, a phenomenon relevant to social psychology, has been somewhat absent from clinical psychology research. Furthermore, measures of self-dehumanization...
Self-dehumanization, a phenomenon relevant to social psychology, has been somewhat absent from clinical psychology research. Furthermore, measures of self-dehumanization are few, and to our knowledge, no validated and generalizable self-report measure exists. To address this gap, we present a Self-Dehumanization Scale (SDS). This work incorporates evidence from three studies examining the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the SDS in an undergraduate sample, a clinically relevant community sample, and a sample with at least one minoritized identity. The SDS was derived from dehumanization theory and was developed to measure animalistic and mechanistic self-dehumanization. All studies suggested an 8-item SDS, with Study 1 suggesting a single-factor solution with, however, some indication of a two-factor structure, and Studies 2 and 3 affirming a two-factor solution. The SDS, and its respective factors, generally showed discriminant validity from related, yet distinct, measures of self-hate, self-esteem (Study 2), dissociation, and measures of discrimination (in Study 3). Finally, animalistic and mechanistic SDS showed somewhat mixed but promising evidence regarding their associations to minoritized identities and to symptoms of depression, and suicide risk, above and beyond each study's fairly stringent control variables. Thus, self-dehumanization may prove to be a clinically promising leverage point in assessing psychopathology, particularly among minoritized communities.
PubMed: 38940620
DOI: 10.1080/00223891.2024.2367543 -
Journal of Child Psychology and... Jun 2024To improve outcomes for youth who do not respond optimally to existing treatments, we need to identify robust predictors, moderators, and mediators that are ideal...
To improve outcomes for youth who do not respond optimally to existing treatments, we need to identify robust predictors, moderators, and mediators that are ideal targets for personalisation in mental health care. We propose a solution to leverage the Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis (IPDMA) approach to allow broader access to individual-level data while maintaining methodological rigour. Such a resource has the potential to answer questions that are unable to be addressed by single studies, reduce researcher burden, and enable the application of newer statistical techniques, all to provide data-driven strategies for clinical decision-making. Using childhood anxiety as the worked example, the editorial perspective outlines the rationale for leveraging IPDMA methodology to build a data repository, the Platform for Anxiety Disorder Data in Youth. We also include recommendations to address the methods and challenges inherent in this endeavour.
PubMed: 38940079
DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.14025 -
Archives of Pediatrics (Lisle, IL) 2024High stress in parents may affect parenting and subsequent child socioemotional and behavioral development. Previous evidence suggests that highly stressed parents are...
High stress in parents may affect parenting and subsequent child socioemotional and behavioral development. Previous evidence suggests that highly stressed parents are more likely to engage in negative parenting, which is less structured and more punitive. However, the effects of life stress versus parent specific stress on parent-child interactions in early childhood has not been well studied, especially in minority and low-income samples. Thus, the current study assessed the relationship between perceived life stress, parenting-related stress, and observed parenting responses to young children during a structured, mildly challenging parent-child task. Predominantly minority and low-income parents and their children (2-5 years old; 54 dyads) completed the Perceived Stress Scale, the Parenting Stress Inventory, and participated in a structured 5-minute interaction task, the Toy-Wait Task (TWT), that was video-taped and coded by blind raters. The coding utilized a standardized system with good reliability assessing 1) Affect (parent and child positive and negative affect, shared positive affect), 2) Positive Parenting Behaviors (warmth, structured good involvement, listening/engagement), and 3) Negative Parenting Behaviors (reactivity, judgment, critical parenting). Significant associations were found between perceived life stress and parenting stress, (r (54) = 0.61, p<.01). Parents with higher perceived life stress scores showed more negative affect (r=0.291, p<.05) and lower involvement with the child (r=-0.367, p<.05), while parenting specific stress did not yield significant effects (p's > 0.05). Findings suggest that interventions that reduce stress in minority and low-income parents of young children may also improve parenting of young children with potential impact on decreasing child psychopathology risk.
PubMed: 38939555
DOI: 10.29011/2575-825x.100308 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024In schizophrenia patients, spontaneous speech production has been hypothesized as correlating with right hemispheric activation, including the inferior frontal and...
BACKGROUND
In schizophrenia patients, spontaneous speech production has been hypothesized as correlating with right hemispheric activation, including the inferior frontal and superior temporal gyri as speech-relevant areas. However, robust evidence for this association is still missing. The aim of the present fMRI study is to examine BOLD signal changes during natural, fluent speech production in patients with schizophrenia in the chronic phase of their disease.
METHODS
Using a case-control design, the study included 15 right-handed patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders as well as 15 healthy controls. The participants described eight pictures from the Thematic Apperception Test for 1 min each, while BOLD signal changes were measured with 3T fMRI. The occurrence of positive and negative formal thought disorders was determined using standardized psychopathological assessments.
RESULTS
We found significant BOLD signal changes during spontaneous speech production in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls, particularly in the right hemispheric network. A analysis showed that this right-hemispheric lateralization was mainly driven by activation during experimental rests. Furthermore, the TLI sum value in patients correlated negatively with BOLD signal changes in the right Rolandic operculum.
CONCLUSIONS
Possible underlying factors for this inverse right-hemispheric lateralization of speech-associated areas are structural changes and transmitter system alterations, as well as a lack of neural downregulation in schizophrenia patients during rest periods due to dysfunctional executive functions. When examining spontaneous speech as the most natural form of language, other influencing factors, such as social cognition or emotional processing, should be considered. Our results indicate that future studies should consider group differences during rest, which might provide additional information typically covered in differential contrasts.
PubMed: 38938468
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1402818 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024Individuals with anxiety disorders (ADs) often display hypervigilance to threat information, although this response may be less pronounced following psychotherapy. This...
BACKGROUND
Individuals with anxiety disorders (ADs) often display hypervigilance to threat information, although this response may be less pronounced following psychotherapy. This study aims to investigate the unconscious recognition performance of facial expressions in patients with panic disorder (PD) post-treatment, shedding light on alterations in their emotional processing biases.
METHODS
Patients with PD (n=34) after (exposure-based) cognitive behavior therapy and healthy controls (n=43) performed a subliminal affective recognition task. Emotional facial expressions (fearful, happy, or mirrored) were displayed for 33 ms and backwardly masked by a neutral face. Participants completed a forced choice task to discriminate the briefly presented facial stimulus and an uncovered condition where only the neutral mask was shown. We conducted a secondary analysis to compare groups based on their four possible response types under the four stimulus conditions and examined the correlation of the false alarm rate for fear responses to non-fearful (happy, mirrored, and uncovered) stimuli with clinical anxiety symptoms.
RESULTS
The patient group showed a unique selection pattern in response to happy expressions, with significantly more correct "happy" responses compared to controls. Additionally, lower severity of anxiety symptoms after psychotherapy was associated with a decreased false fear response rate with non-threat presentations.
CONCLUSION
These data suggest that patients with PD exhibited a "happy-face recognition advantage" after psychotherapy. Less symptoms after treatment were related to a reduced fear bias. Thus, a differential facial emotion detection task could be a suitable tool to monitor response patterns and biases in individuals with ADs in the context of psychotherapy.
PubMed: 38938460
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1375751 -
Trials Jun 2024Mental health literacy is a promising avenue of intervention for addressing the development of psychopathology, as well as its associated consequences, such as a...
BACKGROUND
Mental health literacy is a promising avenue of intervention for addressing the development of psychopathology, as well as its associated consequences, such as a decrease in academic performance. The current study aims to test the effectiveness of such an intervention in high school students, focusing on two main formats of delivery: (1) automated and (2) blended.
METHODS
To achieve this aim, a randomized clinical trial with direct comparisons at three time points between three conditions (automated, blended, and waitlist) was designed. Power analyses yielded a necessary sample size of 264 high school students. The participants will be selected from Romanian high schools.
DISCUSSION
The current study aims to contribute to the mental health literacy literature by testing the effectiveness of an educational intervention concerning mental health in terms of its benefits for reducing psychopathology and increasing academic performance. The success of such an intervention bears important implications for addressing mental health in the educational system.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT06217744, version 1, 22 January 2024.
Topics: Humans; Adolescent; Mental Health; Health Literacy; Students; Academic Performance; Romania; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Female; Male; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
PubMed: 38937769
DOI: 10.1186/s13063-024-08270-y -
BMC Psychiatry Jun 2024There is conflicting evidence on impulsivity and its potential relationship with inhibitory control in schizophrenia. This study therefore aimed to identify differences...
BACKGROUND
There is conflicting evidence on impulsivity and its potential relationship with inhibitory control in schizophrenia. This study therefore aimed to identify differences in impulsivity and cognitive and motor inhibition between patients with deficit (DS) and non-deficit (NDS) schizophrenia and healthy controls (HC). We also explored the relationships between impulsivity and different dimensions of inhibitory control in all studied groups.
METHODS
The sample comprised 28 DS patients, 45 NDS patients, and 39 age-matched HC. A neuropsychological battery was used.
RESULTS
DS patients scored lower in venturesomeness, while those with NDS scored higher in impulsiveness compared to HC. In addition, both groups of patients scored higher on measures of cognitive and motor inhibition, including those relatively independent of information processing speed (although the results were slightly different after adjusting for IQ and/or years of education). Correlations between impulsivity and cognitive inhibition emerged in DS patients, while links between impulsivity and motor inhibition were observed in HC.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest the presence of deficits in experimentally assessed inhibitory control in schizophrenia patients, with predominant impulsivity in the NDS population. In addition, impulsivity may affect the cognitive control of inhibition in deficit schizophrenia. Nevertheless, due to the preliminary nature of these findings, they require further empirical verification in future research.
Topics: Humans; Impulsive Behavior; Male; Inhibition, Psychological; Female; Adult; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenic Psychology; Neuropsychological Tests; Middle Aged; Case-Control Studies
PubMed: 38937731
DOI: 10.1186/s12888-024-05918-6 -
Behavior Therapy Jul 2024Prior research suggests that the effects of specific cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) modules on symptom outcomes can be estimated. We conducted a study utilizing...
Prior research suggests that the effects of specific cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) modules on symptom outcomes can be estimated. We conducted a study utilizing idiographic and nomothetic methods to clarify which CBT modules are most effective for youth depression, and for whom they are most effective. Thirty-five youths received modular CBT for depression. Interrupted time series models estimated whether the introduction of each module was associated with changes in internalizing symptoms, whereby significant symptom reduction would suggest a therapeutic response to the module. Regression models were used to explore whether participant characteristics predicted subgroups of youths based on their estimated response to certain types (e.g., cognitive) of modules, and whether group membership was associated with posttreatment outcomes. Thirty youths (86%) had at least one module associated with a significant change in internalizing symptoms from premodule delivery to postmodule delivery. The specific modules associated with these changes varied across youths. Behavioral activation was most frequently associated with symptom decreases (34% of youths). No participant characteristics predicted estimated response to module type, and group membership was not significantly associated with posttreatment outcomes. Youths display highly heterogeneous responses to treatment modules, indicating multiple pathways to symptom improvement for depressed youths.
Topics: Humans; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Female; Male; Adolescent; Treatment Outcome; Child; Depression; Depressive Disorder
PubMed: 38937058
DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2024.01.004 -
Behavior Therapy Jul 2024Many people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) experience profound amotivation, which is strongly related to anticipatory anhedonia. Yet, the...
Many people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) experience profound amotivation, which is strongly related to anticipatory anhedonia. Yet, the neuropsychological fundamentals of anticipatory anhedonia and amotivation are barely understood, resulting in a lack of effective treatments for these patients. Aberrancies in positive mental imagery may interfere with the anticipation of pleasure and could thus explain anticipatory anhedonia and amotivation. However, the nature of mental imagery and its relationship with amotivational psychopathology in SSD is largely unknown. In this preregistered study, we therefore examined mental imagery characteristics and their relation to anticipatory anhedonia, amotivation, and daily life activity in SSD. TheN = 86 participants included individuals with SSD (n = 43) and demographically matched healthy controls (n = 43). Mental imagery, anticipatory pleasure, amotivation, and activity engagement were assessed with structured interviews and self-report questionnaires. Ecological momentary assessment was used to measure state anticipatory pleasure and activity engagement in daily life (n = 81). Compared to the control group, the SSD group showed comparable quantity, but less vividness of mental imagery. Reduced vividness of mental imagery in SSD was significantly associated with higher anticipatory anhedonia, amotivation, and low activity engagement in cross-sectional and prospective analyses. Reduced mental imagery vividness may cause a lack of internal incentive to seek pleasurable experiences and could explain amotivation. Interventions aiming to improve mental imagery vividness and related anticipatory pleasure responses in SSD may be effective in targeting amotivation.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Adult; Anhedonia; Imagination; Motivation; Schizophrenia; Middle Aged; Schizophrenic Psychology; Pleasure; Ecological Momentary Assessment; Case-Control Studies; Young Adult; Anticipation, Psychological
PubMed: 38937057
DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2024.01.009