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Infant Behavior & Development Jun 2024The early emergence of social smiles is an important milestone of infants' socio-emotional development. Our aim was to assess how the use of protective facemasks by...
The early emergence of social smiles is an important milestone of infants' socio-emotional development. Our aim was to assess how the use of protective facemasks by adults affects the display of social smiles in preterm (PT) and full-term (FT) infants at 3 months (corrected age for prematurity). We enrolled 30 FT and 30 PT infants (gestational age ≤ 32 weeks). Infants' social smiles displays were assessed at 2-3-month-age (corrected) across a three-episode (masked mother; unmasked mother; masked adult female stranger) videotaped interactive task. During each episode, the adult was instructed to maintain specific facial expressions (happy-smiling, sad-frowning, neutral-unresponsive) for 15 second windows and then instructed to interact spontaneously for 45 s (of which the first 15 s were coded). FT and PT infants did not differ in the display of social smiles. In both groups, social smiles were mostly exhibited in response to happy/smiling and spontaneously interacting partners. Overall, no effect of wearing a protective facemask emerged. The use of protective facemasks did not result in a lower display of social smiles. The findings suggest that FT and PT might be equally sensitive to their adult interactive partners in terms of social smiles displays at 2-3-month-age.
Topics: Humans; Female; Smiling; Male; Masks; Infant, Premature; Facial Expression; Adult; Infant; Social Behavior; Infant, Newborn; Child Development; Infant Behavior
PubMed: 38593528
DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2024.101947 -
Spanish Journal of Psychiatry and... Sep 2023Negative symptoms (NS) include asociality, avolition, anhedonia, alogia, and blunted affect and are linked to poor prognosis. It has been suggested that they reflect two...
INTRODUCTION
Negative symptoms (NS) include asociality, avolition, anhedonia, alogia, and blunted affect and are linked to poor prognosis. It has been suggested that they reflect two different factors: diminished expression (EXP) (blunted affect and alogia) and amotivation/pleasure (MAP) (anhedonia, avolition, asociality). The aim of this article was to examine potential sex differences among first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients and analyze sex-related predictors of two NS symptoms factors (EXP and MAP) and functional outcome.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Two hundred and twenty-three FES (71 females and 152 males) were included and evaluated at baseline, six-months and one-year. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine the effects of time and sex on NS and a multiple linear regression backward elimination was performed to predict NS factors (MAP-EXP) and functioning.
RESULTS
Females showed fewer NS (p=0.031; Cohen's d=-0.312), especially those related to EXP (p=0.024; Cohen's d=-0.326) rather than MAP (p=0.086), than males. In both male and female group, worse premorbid adjustment and higher depressive symptoms made a significant contribution to the presence of higher deficits in EXP at one-year follow-up, while positive and depressive symptoms predicted alterations in MAP. Finally, in females, lower deficits in MAP and better premorbid adjustment predicted better functioning at one-year follow-up (R=0.494; p<0.001), while only higher deficits in MAP predicted worse functioning in males (R=0.088; p=0.012).
CONCLUSIONS
Slightly sex differences have been found in this study. Our results lead us to consider that early interventions of NS, especially those focusing on motivation and pleasure symptoms, could improve functional outcomes.
PubMed: 38591832
DOI: 10.1016/j.sjpmh.2023.04.001 -
Behavioural Brain Research May 2024Offspring of parents with alcohol use disorder (AUD) are more susceptible to developing AUD, with an estimated heritability of around 50%. Vulnerability to AUD in...
BACKGROUND
Offspring of parents with alcohol use disorder (AUD) are more susceptible to developing AUD, with an estimated heritability of around 50%. Vulnerability to AUD in first-degree relatives is influenced by biological factors, such as spontaneous brain activity, and high-risk psychosocial characteristics. However, existing resting-state EEG studies in AUD offspring have shown inconsistent findings regarding theta, alpha, and beta band frequencies. Additionally, research consistently demonstrates an increased risk of internalizing and externalizing disorders, self-regulation difficulties, and interpersonal issues among AUD offspring.
METHODS
This study aimed to investigate the absolute power of theta, alpha, and beta frequencies in young adult offspring with a family history of AUD compared to individuals without family history. The psychosocial profiles of the offspring were also examined in relation to individuals without a family history of AUD. Furthermore, the study sought to explore the potential association between differences in frequency bands and psychosocial variables. Resting-state EEG recordings were obtained from 31 young adult healthy offspring of alcohol-dependent individuals and 43 participants with no family history of AUD (age range: 16-25 years). Participants also completed self-report questionnaires assessing anxiety and depressive symptoms, impulsivity, emotion regulation, and social involvement.
RESULTS
The results revealed no significant differences in spontaneous brain activity between the offspring and participants without a family history of AUD. However, in terms of psychosocial factors, the offspring exhibited significantly lower social involvement than the control group.
CONCLUSIONS
This study does not provide evidence suggesting vulnerability in offspring based on differences in spontaneous brain activity. Moreover, this investigation highlights the importance of interventions aimed at enhancing social connections in offspring. Such interventions can not only reduce the risk of developing AUD, given its strong association with increased feelings of loneliness but also improve the overall well-being of the offspring.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Adult; Young Adult; Alcoholism; Adolescent; Child of Impaired Parents; Electroencephalography; Adult Children; Anxiety; Depression; Emotional Regulation; Brain; Impulsive Behavior; Parents
PubMed: 38580199
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114980 -
Journal of Medical Internet Research Apr 2024Virtual reality (VR) interventions, based on cognitive behavioral therapy principles, have been proven effective as complementary tools in managing obesity and have been... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND
Virtual reality (VR) interventions, based on cognitive behavioral therapy principles, have been proven effective as complementary tools in managing obesity and have been associated with promoting healthy behaviors and addressing body image concerns. However, they have not fully addressed certain underlying causes of obesity, such as a lack of motivation to change, low self-efficacy, and the impact of weight stigma interiorization, which often impede treatment adherence and long-term lifestyle habit changes. To tackle these concerns, this study introduces the VR self-counseling paradigm, which incorporates embodiment and body-swapping techniques, along with motivational strategies, to help people living with obesity effectively address some of the root causes of their condition.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to assess the clinical efficacy of ConVRself (Virtual Reality self-talk), a VR platform that allows participants to engage in motivational self-conversations.
METHODS
A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 68 participants from the bariatric surgery waiting list from the obesity unit of the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain. Participants were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: a control group (CG), which only received treatment as usual from the obesity unit; experimental group 1 (EG1), which, after intensive motivational interviewing training, engaged in 4 sessions of VR-based self-conversations with ConVRself, and underwent embodiment and body-swapping techniques; and experimental group 2 (EG2), which engaged in 4 VR-based sessions led by a virtual counselor with a prerecorded discourse, and only underwent the embodiment technique. In the case of both EG1 and EG2, the VR interventions were assisted by a clinical researcher. Readiness to change habits, eating habits, and psychological variables, as well as adherence and satisfaction with ConVRself were measured at baseline, after the intervention, 1 week after the intervention, and 4 weeks after the intervention.
RESULTS
Regarding the primary outcomes, EG1 (24/68, 35%) and EG2 (22/68, 32%) showed significant improvements in confidence to lose weight compared to the CG (22/68, 32%) at all assessment points (β=-.16; P=.02). Similarly, EG1 demonstrated a significant increase after the intervention in readiness to exercise more compared to the CG (β=-.17; P=.03). Regarding the secondary outcomes, EG1 participants showed a significant reduction in uncontrolled eating (β=.71; P=.01) and emotional eating (β=.29; P=.03) compared to the CG participants, as well as in their anxiety levels compared to EG2 and CG participants (β=.65; P=.01). In addition, participants from the experimental groups reported high adherence and satisfaction with the VR platform (EG1: mean 59.82, SD 4.00; EG2: mean 58.43, SD 5.22; d=0.30, 95% CI -0.30 to 0.89).
CONCLUSIONS
This study revealed that using VR self-conversations, based on motivational interviewing principles, may have benefits in helping people with obesity to enhance their readiness to change habits and self-efficacy, as well as reduce dysfunctional eating behaviors and anxiety.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05094557; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05094557.
Topics: Humans; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Life Style; Obesity; Treatment Outcome; Virtual Reality
PubMed: 38578667
DOI: 10.2196/51558 -
JMIR Mental Health Apr 2024There has been an increased interest in understanding social anxiety (SA) and SA disorder (SAD) antecedents and consequences as they occur in real time, resulting in a... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
There has been an increased interest in understanding social anxiety (SA) and SA disorder (SAD) antecedents and consequences as they occur in real time, resulting in a proliferation of studies using ambulatory assessment (AA). Despite the exponential growth of research in this area, these studies have not been synthesized yet.
OBJECTIVE
This review aimed to identify and describe the latest advances in the understanding of SA and SAD through the use of AA.
METHODS
Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, a systematic literature search was conducted in Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science.
RESULTS
A total of 70 articles met the inclusion criteria. The qualitative synthesis of these studies showed that AA permitted the exploration of the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral dynamics associated with the experience of SA and SAD. In line with the available models of SA and SAD, emotion regulation, perseverative cognition, cognitive factors, substance use, and interactional patterns were the principal topics of the included studies. In addition, the incorporation of AA to study psychological interventions, multimodal assessment using sensors and biosensors, and transcultural differences were some of the identified emerging topics.
CONCLUSIONS
AA constitutes a very powerful methodology to grasp SA from a complementary perspective to laboratory experiments and usual self-report measures, shedding light on the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral antecedents and consequences of SA and the development and maintenance of SAD as a mental disorder.
Topics: Humans; Fear; Emotions; Phobia, Social; Anxiety
PubMed: 38574359
DOI: 10.2196/46593 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024Distinctive encoding usually increases correct recognition while also producing a reduction in false recognition. In the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) illusion this...
Distinctive encoding usually increases correct recognition while also producing a reduction in false recognition. In the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) illusion this phenomenon, called the mirror effect, occurs when participants focus on unique features of each of the words in the study list. In previous studies, the pleasantness rating task, used to foster distinctive encoding, generated different patterns of results. The main aim of our research is to examine under what circumstances this task can produce the mirror effect in the DRM paradigm, based on evidence from recognition accuracy and subjective retrieval experience. In Experiment 1, a standard version (word pleasantness rating on a 5-point Likert-type scale) was used for comparison with two other encoding conditions: shallow processing (vowel identification) and a read-only control. The standard task, compared to the other conditions, increased correct recognition, but did not reduce false recognition, and this result may be affected by the number of lists presented for study. Therefore, in experiment 2, to minimize the possible effect of the so-called retention size, the number of studied lists was reduced. In addition, the standard version was compared with a supposedly more item-specific version (participants rated the pleasantness of words while thinking of a single reason for this), also including the read-only control condition. In both versions of the pleasantness rating task, more correct recognition is achieved compared to the control condition, with no differences between the two versions. In the false recognition observed here, only the specific pleasantness rating task achieved a reduction relative to the control condition. On the other hand, the subjective retrieval experience accompanied correct and false recognition in the various study conditions. Although the standard pleasantness rating task has been considered to perform item-specific processing, our results challenge that claim. Furthermore, we propose a possible boundary condition of the standard task for the reduction of false recognition in the DRM paradigm.
PubMed: 38572205
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1265291 -
Scientific Reports Apr 2024"Know thyself" may be indicated by a balanced high pairing of two emotional self-knowledge indicators: attention to emotions and emotional clarity. Closely associated...
"Know thyself" may be indicated by a balanced high pairing of two emotional self-knowledge indicators: attention to emotions and emotional clarity. Closely associated but often evaluated separately, emotional clarity is consistently, inversely associated with psychopathology, while evidence regarding attention to emotions is less consistent. Variables of high/low emotional clarity and attention to emotions yielded four emotional self-knowledge profiles which were analyzed for associations with mental health indicators (depression and anxiety symptoms, self-esteem, self-schema, resiliency, transcendence) in n = 264 adolescents. Here we report regression models which show that compared with neither, both high (attention + clarity) show higher positive self-schema (B = 2.83, p = 0.004), more resiliency (B = 2.76, p = 0.015) and higher transcendence (B = 82.4, p < 0.001), while high attention only is associated with lower self-esteem (B = - 3.38, p < 0.001) and more symptoms (B = 5.82, p < 0.001 for depression; B = 9.37, p < 0.001 for anxiety). High attention only is associated with most severe impairment all indicators excepting transcendence. Profiles including high clarity suggest protective effects, and 'implicit' versus 'explicit' emotional awareness are discussed. Balanced vs. imbalanced emotional self-awareness profiles dissimilarly affect mental health, which have implications for treatment and policy.
Topics: Adolescent; Humans; Mental Health; Emotions; Anxiety; Self Concept; Anxiety Disorders; Depression
PubMed: 38570512
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57282-w -
Scientific Reports Apr 2024Fibromyalgia (FM) is a widespread chronic pain syndrome, possibly associated with the presence of central dysfunction in descending pain inhibition pathways. Conditioned...
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a widespread chronic pain syndrome, possibly associated with the presence of central dysfunction in descending pain inhibition pathways. Conditioned Pain Modulation (CPM) has been proposed as a biomarker of FM. Nonetheless, the wide variety of methods used to measure CPM has hampered robust conclusions being reached. To clarify the validity of CPM as a biomarker of FM, we tested two CPM paradigms (parallel and sequential) in a sample of 23 female patients and 23 healthy women by applying test (mechanical) stimuli and conditioning (pressure cuff) stimuli. We evaluated whether CPM indices could correctly classify patients and controls, and we also determined the correlations between the indices and clinical variables such as symptomatology, disease impact, depression, quality of life, pain intensity, pain interference, fatigue and numbness. In addition, we compared the clinical status of CPM responders (efficient pain inhibitory mechanism) and non-responders. We observed that only parallel CPM testing correctly classified about 70% of patients with FM. In addition, more than 80% of healthy participants were found to be responders, while the rate was about 50% in the FM patients. The sequential CPM test was not as sensitive, with a decrease of up to 40% in the response rate for both groups. On the other hand, we did not observe any correlation between CPM measures and clinical symptoms. In summary, our findings demonstrate the influence of the CPM paradigm used and confirm that CPM may be a useful marker to complement FM diagnosis. However, the findings also cast doubts on the sensitivity of CPM as a marker of pain severity in FM.
Topics: Humans; Female; Fibromyalgia; Quality of Life; Chronic Pain; Pain Measurement; Biomarkers; Pain Threshold
PubMed: 38565572
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58079-7 -
Child Abuse & Neglect Jun 2024University students report high levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which can lead to severe mental health problems. Understanding how ACEs impact well-being...
BACKGROUND
University students report high levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which can lead to severe mental health problems. Understanding how ACEs impact well-being in this population is essential, yet research to date is limited.
OBJECTIVE
To explore ACE patterns and their association with lower well-being in university students.
PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING
1023 Spanish students (71.6 % female) aged between 18 and 64 years old (M = 20.10, SD = 3.93) completed a self-report questionnaire.
METHODS
This study used a cross-sectional design. The ACE International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) and the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale were used to assess, respectively, childhood adversities and mental well-being. Latent Class Analysis and regression modeling were conducted to analyze the link between ACEs and lower mental well-being, considering the covariates of age, country of origin, sexual orientation, and mental illness.
RESULTS
Four ACE classes were identified: Low ACEs (49.5 %), Dysfunctional Household (12.3 %), Household and Peer Abuse (31.0 %), and High ACEs (7.2 %). The regression analysis (F(3, 1007) = 19.2, p < .001, R = 0.054) successfully predicted well-being scores based on ACE classes. When compared with the Low ACE class, all other classes exhibited lower levels of well-being. Age, sexual orientation, and mental illness were also related to lower well-being, with mental illness having the strongest negative effect (β = -0.635, t(1015) = -6.49, p < .001).
CONCLUSIONS
These findings underscore the relationship between childhood adversity and mental health, offering insights for future prevention efforts and enriching our understanding of ACEs and their impact on well-being.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Students; Adverse Childhood Experiences; Cross-Sectional Studies; Young Adult; Universities; Adolescent; Adult; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Spain; Surveys and Questionnaires; Mental Disorders
PubMed: 38555713
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106770 -
Journal of Psychiatric Research May 2024Previous research has found that childhood maltreatment predicts increased risk for violence and partner violence and there is some evidence for poorer executive...
BACKGROUND
Previous research has found that childhood maltreatment predicts increased risk for violence and partner violence and there is some evidence for poorer executive functioning and low self-esteem. To date, there have been no longitudinal studies that have examined the extent to which executive functioning and self-esteem play a role in the relationship between child maltreatment and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration.
METHODS
This study aims to fill this gap by utilizing data from a prospective longitudinal study of children with documented court cases of abuse and neglect (ages 0-11 years) from a metropolitan county area in the Midwest (during the years 1967-1971) and demographically matched controls. Both maltreated individuals and matched controls were followed up and assessed over several waves of the study in young and middle adulthood. At mean age 39 years, inhibition and cognitive control were evaluated, while cognitive flexibility and nonverbal reasoning were assessed at mean age 41. Self-esteem was also assessed at mean age 41. Physical IPV perpetration was evaluated at age 47 using two different scoring strategies in separate models: the number of acts and variety of acts, ensuring avoidance of potential score skewness.
RESULTS
Childhood maltreatment predicted lower executive functioning and self-esteem, and both independently predicted intimate partner violence perpetration. Lower executive functioning and self-esteem mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and physical IPV perpetration in midlife, irrespective of the scoring method.
CONCLUSION
Findings suggest that executive functioning and self-esteem play a role in the cycle of violence. Implications and suggestions for future directions are discussed.
Topics: Humans; Child; Adult; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Longitudinal Studies; Intimate Partner Violence; Violence; Child Abuse
PubMed: 38554623
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.03.015