Psychiatry Research最新文献

This critique evaluates Monti et al.'s investigation into associations between air pollution, apparent temperature, and schizophrenia severity. While their findings indicate significant short‑ and medium‑term effects of PM₁₀ and thermal stress on PANSS scores, several methodological limitations warrant caution. Their study relies on residential exposure assignments, which may not capture individual mobility or indoor environments, potentially introducing substantial exposure misclassification. Despite appropriately modeling delayed and non-linear effects, the DLNM's reliance on predefined spline structures may oversimplify the complex, synergistic interactions among atmospheric variables. Seasonal discrepancies-such as the absence of PM₁₀ effects in autumn-winter-may reflect unmodeled dependencies or limited pollutant data, particularly for PM_2.5 and black carbon. To address these constraints, future research should incorporate flexible, data‑driven approaches, particularly those capable of uncovering latent structures within environmental mixtures. Unsupervised feature‑clustering methods can identify correlated pollutant groupings and reduce dimensional noise, while rank‑based correlation metrics provide robust assessment of non‑linear dependencies that are often obscured by parametric spline specifications. These non‑parametric techniques can complement DLNM by capturing multivariate synergies and interaction patterns that rigid basis structures may overlook. Overall, integrating such approaches is essential for advancing analytical capacity and improving risk assessment for vulnerable psychiatric populations.

Background: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is relatively common in adolescence and associated with mental health symptoms, yet the prevalence of NSSI and mental health correlates in childhood remain poorly understood.

Objective: Document the lifetime prevalence of NSSI in elementary-school children and concurrent associations with self- and teacher-reported mental health symptoms and peer problems.

Methods: Cross sectional analysis of 859 children (mean age=10.9 years; n = 419 males) from 33 elementary schools in Quebec, Canada who completed a self-report measure of NSSI (5-item Self-Mutilation subscale; Self Harm Inventory) and self- and teacher-report measures of concurrent mental health, including depressive symptoms (Children's Depression Inventory-Short-Form; self-reported only), emotional distress, withdrawal, impulsive/hyperactive/inattentive behaviors, disruptive behaviors, prosocial behaviors, and peer relationship difficulties (victimization) (Social Behavior Questionnaire). Mental health symptoms were transformed into z-scores.

Results: Lifetime prevalence of NSSI (any method, at least once) was 28.2 %, with no sex differences between males (26.7 %) and females (29.4 %) (p=.403), with scratching being the most frequently reported method (17.2 %). Children reporting NSSI had significantly poorer mental health across indicators examined in both self- and teacher reports, although associations were generally smaller for teacher-reported symptoms. To illustrate, for 1 standard deviation increase in self-reported symptom scores, odds of NSSI were 2.31 times higher for depressive symptoms (95 % CI 1.82-2.92), and 1.70 times higher for peer victimization (95 % CI 1.46-1.99). Associations were stronger among children endorsing multiple NSSI methods compared to those reporting only one.

Conclusion: NSSI (especially scratching) is present in late childhood and associated with worse mental health symptoms and peer problems.