Clinical psychology & psychotherapy最新文献

The acceptability and effectiveness of the 12-week, mentalization-based, Lighthouse Parenting Programme (LPP) for parents of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties was assessed in an Irish primary care setting. Changes in child behavioural problems, parental stress, parental reflective functioning (PRF) and epistemic trust were examined. Twenty-seven parents participated. Significant reductions in child behavioural problems and parental stress were reported, with medium to large effect sizes reported. Epistemic trust also improved significantly, while PRF remained unchanged. These findings offer preliminary support for the LPP's value in primary care. Further research with larger samples and control conditions is needed.

With gaming's increasing prevalence, understanding the psychological functioning of individuals across a range of internet gaming disorder (IGD) severity is crucial. This study replicates and extends Bonnaire and Baptista's (2019) research on DSM-5 IGD in European young adults, examining alexithymia, anxiety, maladaptive personality traits and interpersonal problems with a US sample. A diverse group of 205 young adults (mean age = 20.41, 73% female) completed an anonymous survey assessing IGD using the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF; Pontes and Griffiths 2015), gaming type, alexithymia, anxiety, maladaptive personality traits and interpersonal problems. IGDS9-SF effectively distinguished normal gamers (IGD criteria = 0) from risky gamers (IGD criteria = 1-6), with the latter showing significantly greater pathology across all measures (p < 0.01). While gaming type showed no overall significant differences, gamers who preferred more role-playing platforms trended toward reporting more interpersonal problems than gamers preferring action games (p = 0.059). Overall IGD severity was also significantly correlated with greater pathology on all measures (p < 0.001). Specifically, disinhibition (impulsivity and poor self-control) and socially avoidant interpersonal problems emerged as the strongest unique predictors of IGD severity, suggesting that interventions targeting impulsivity, interpersonal functioning and social skills may be particularly useful in the treatment of IGD issues. Findings underscore IGD's connections to emotional, personality and interpersonal factors, informing clinical assessment and treatment.

Diagnosing behavioural problems in adolescents often relies on subjective reports from parents or caregivers. Systemic theory emphasizes the need for multiple perspectives, including those of the adolescent. This study examined the alignment between adolescents' and parents' perceptions of behavioural problems in ADHD and non-ADHD groups and explored how family cohesion and flexibility explain the severity of externalizing and internalizing behaviours from both perspectives. Participants included 214 adolescents diagnosed with ADHD and their parents (adolescents: Mage = 11.24, SD = 0.91, 75.23% boys; parents: Mage = 41.92, SD = 6.43, 84.11% mothers) and 514 adolescents without ADHD and their parents (adolescents: Mage = 11.34, SD = 0.75, 51.56% boys; parents: Mage = 42.29, SD = 5.58, 87.55% mothers), from 18 cities in southern Poland. The variables were measured using the ASEBA instruments (Child Behaviour Checklist, Youth Self Report) and the Family Adaptation and Cohesion Evaluation Scales. Data were analysed using Actor-Partner Interdependence Models to examine actor and partner associations within adolescent-parent dyads. More boys were diagnosed with ADHD, showing slightly more externalizing problems than girls. Lower family flexibility predicted externalizing behaviours, with parent-rated flexibility linked to parent-rated behaviours, and adolescent-rated flexibility linked to adolescent-rated behaviours. Adolescent-rated family cohesion rated by adolescents predicted fewer externalizing behaviours as reported by parents in the ADHD group and by adolescents in the non-ADHD group. Internalizing behaviours were linked to family flexibility and cohesion, regardless of the actor (adolescent or parent). The predominance of actor effects indicates that each informant's perception of family functioning is uniquely linked to their own reports of symptoms; given only moderate parent-adolescent agreement, these perspectives appear complementary rather than redundant. Assessing behavioural problems requires data from both parents and adolescents, as family cohesion and flexibility significantly impact adolescent functioning. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04574414.

The integration of AI-based digital technologies in mental healthcare represents a transformative shift, especially with regard to chatbots and avatar-based interventions. A central component of the success of AI-based digital mental health interventions has to do with the level of acceptance of this new technology: the degree to which stakeholders perceive a technology as useful, user-friendly and worth adopting. We aimed to establish the level of acceptance of AI-based digital mental health interventions (AI chatbot, AI avatar-based interventions) compared with the acceptance levels of teletherapy via videoconferencing among clinicians, patients and a representative community sample (i.e., potential future patients). We also explored the extent to which these differences towards these technologies might be explained by individuals' attitudes towards AI in general. Clinicians (N = 658), patients (N = 451) and US census-based community sample (N = 520) completed standardised measures of everyday artificial intelligence use, general attitudes towards AI and acceptability of digital technology use for mental health interventions. We found that community participants are most optimistic about AI-based mental health tools (chatbots and avatars), whereas clinicians consistently express more scepticism, especially regarding usability. In our sample, general attitudes towards AI (both positive and negative) were highly associated with acceptance of chatbot and avatar-based interventions, more than their professional role or demographic identity. These findings might carry clinical implications for the design, deployment and integration of these technologies into mental health services.

This study aimed to evaluate the factor structure, internal consistency and concurrent validity of the Italian version of the Metacognitions about Smoking Questionnaire (MSQ), utilizing the framework of the Self-Regulation Executive Function model. A total of 532 smokers completed the Italian-translated version of the MSQ, the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence, the Severity Dependence Scale, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21. To test the factorial structure of the MSQ, a series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were run; correlational analyses and structural equation modelling (SEMs) approaches were undertaken to evaluate the concurrent validity. The 12-item MSQ with four factors was confirmed: positive metacognitions about cognitive regulation (PM-CR), positive metacognitions about emotional regulation (PM-ER), negative metacognitions about uncontrollability (NM-U) and negative metacognitions about cognitive interference (NM-CI). The MSQ showed an overall satisfactory fit index (TLI = 0.949, CFI = 0.963, RMSEA = 0.082 [0.064–0.101]). Internal consistency was satisfactory. MSQ factors are associated with higher nicotine/cigarette dependence and emotional distress, supporting the concurrent validity of the tool. Specific metacognitions about smoking were associated with different clinical outcomes related to smoking. A higher engagement on PM-CR and on NM-U was positively associated with nicotine/cigarette dependence. A higher engagement on PM-ER and NM-CI was associated with greater emotional distress. The 12-item Italian version of the MSQ could be a promising tool to assess specific metacognitions about smoking in both research and clinical contexts. Metacognitions about smoking may be a suitable therapeutic target to reduce the levels of nicotine/cigarette dependence and emotional distress among smokers.