International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology最新文献

Background

The efficacy of bright light therapy (BLT) in ameliorating depression has been validated. The present study is to investigate the changes of depressive symptoms, cognitive function and cerebellar functional connectivity (FC) following BLT in individuals with subthreshold depression (StD).

Method

Participants were randomly assigned to BLT group (N = 47) or placebo (N = 41) in this randomized controlled trial between March 2020 and June 2022. Depression severity and cognitive function were assessed, as well as resting-state functional MRI scan was conducted before and after 8-weeks treatment. Seed-based whole-brain static FC (sFC) and dynamic FC (dFC) analyses of the bilateral cerebellar subfields were conducted. Besides, a multivariate regression model examined whether baseline brain FC was associated with changes of depression severity and cognitive function during BLT treatment.

Results

After 8-week BLT treatment, individuals with StD showed improved depressive symptoms and attention/vigilance cognitive function. BLT also increased sFC between the right cerebellar lobule IX and left temporal pole, and decreased sFC within the cerebellum, and dFC between the right cerebellar lobule IX and left medial prefrontal cortex. Moreover, the fusion of sFC and dFC at baseline could predict the improvement of attention/vigilance in response to BLT.

Conclusions

The current study identified that BLT improved depressive symptoms and attention/vigilance, as well as changed cerebellum-DMN connectivity, especially in the cerebellar-frontotemporal and cerebellar internal FC. In addition, the fusion features of sFC and dFC at pre-treatment could serve as an imaging biomarker for the improvement of attention/vigilance cognitive function after BLT in StD.

Background

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at a high risk for HIV infection. While pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective oral preventive strategy, its success is largely dependent on consistent medication adherence.

Objective

The aim of this study was to develop the machine learning web application and evaluate the performance in predicting PrEP adherence.

Methods

The PrEP prospective cohort study of the MSM population conducted in Western China from 2019 to 2023, and we collected adherence data and personal characteristics data from 747 MSM. Predictor variables were screened and the performance of several machine learning methods in predicting nonadherent behaviors were compared.

Results

A total of 11 candidate variables were screened that predicted nonadherent behaviors. We developed and evaluated five machine learning models that performed well in predicting adherence. Attitudes of male sexual partners, self-efficacy, HIV testing, number of male sexual partners, and risk perception were the most important predictors of adherence. The optimal prediction model was displayed in a shiny web application for online calculation of the probability of occurrence of nonadherent behaviors among MSM.

Conclusions

Machine learning performed well in predicting nonadherent behaviors among MSM. An interactive and intuitive web application can help identify individuals who may have nonadherent behaviors, resulting in improved medication adherence and increased prevention efficacy.

Objective

Intellectual disability (ID) is a prevalent comorbidity in children with cerebral palsy (CP), presenting significant challenges to individuals, families and society. This study aims to develop a predictive model to assess the risk of ID in children with CP.

Methods

We analyzed data from 885 children diagnosed with CP, among whom 377 had ID. Using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, along with univariate and multivariate logistic regression, we identified key predictors for ID. Model performance was evaluated through receiver operating characteristic curves, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis (DCA). Bootstrapping validation was also employed.

Results

The predictive nomogram included variables such as preterm birth, CP subtypes, Gross Motor Function Classification System level, MRI classification category, epilepsy status and hearing loss. The model demonstrated strong discrimination with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.781 (95% CI: 0.7504-0.8116) and a bootstrapped AUC of 0.7624 (95% CI: 0.7216-0.8032). Calibration plots and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test indicated a good fit (χ²= 7.9061, p = 0.4427). DCA confirmed the model's clinical utility. The cases were randomly divided into test group and validation group at a 7:3 ratio, demonstrating strong discrimination, good fit and clinical utility; similar results were found when stratified by sex.

Conclusions

This predictive model effectively identifies children with CP at a high risk for ID, facilitating early intervention strategies. Stratified risk categories provide precise guidance for clinical management, aiming to optimize outcomes for children with CP by leveraging neuroplasticity during early childhood.

Social avoidance refers to the tendency to be alone and non-participating to social interactions, which is considered to hamper health interpersonal relationship. However, the neural underpinnings of social and emotional interactions among social avoidant individuals have not been fully studied. In the present study, we used EEG hyperscanning technology to investigate the brain activity and its synchronization of 25 socially avoidant dyads and 28 comparison dyads during an emotional communication task. The emotional communication task consisted of the emotional processing stage and emotional interaction stage. Event-related potentials (ERPs) of the senders during the emotional processing stage and the interbrain synchrony (IBS) of the dyads during the emotional interaction stage were analyzed. Results showed that (1) socially avoidant group showed higher beta, theta and gamma IBS in the negative condition than in the positive and neutral condition; (2) in positive condition, the N1 and LPP amplitudes during the emotional processing stage of socially avoidant individuals were negatively correlated with the IBS within dyads during the emotional communication stage. The findings suggest that the dysfunctional emotional interaction of social avoidant individuals may be attributed to the negative impact of emotional stimuli processing during emotional communication.

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate sexual communication as a mechanism involved in the link between emotion regulation and sexual functioning in a sample of adult women, also testing the moderating role of relationship status and age in this association.

Method

1344 sexually active cisgender women (aged 18–57, M = 27.34; SD= 6.484) were recruited from March 30, 2021, to April 12, 2021, through an online survey. From the initial sample, 1280 women were retained and included in the analysis. Participants were asked to respond to three self-report questionnaires: the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Communication subscale of the Sexual Satisfaction Scale for Women (SSS-W), and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI).

Results

We found that sexual communication mediated the link between emotion regulation abilities and female sexual functioning. Moreover, we found that age, but not relationship status, moderated the association between emotion regulation and sexual communication, so that older women with difficulties in emotion regulation processes showed worse sexual communication abilities as compared to younger women.

Conclusions

According to this study's results, clinicians and sexual therapists should carefully consider emotion regulation abilities and sexual communication as crucial factors in promoting women's sexual well-being.

Background

Transcranial magnetic stimulation-electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) is a powerful technique to study the neuropathology and biomarkers of major depressive disorder (MDD). This study investigated cortical activity and its relationship with clinical symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in MDD patients by indexing TMS-EEG biomarkers in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC).

Methods

133 patients with MDD and 76 healthy individuals participated in this study. Single-pulse TMS was performed on the left DLPFC to obtain TMS-evoked potential (TEP) indices. TMS-EEG waveforms and components were determined by global mean field amplitude. We used the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) to measure participants’ cognitive function.

Results

Patients with MDD had a lower excitatory P180 index compared to healthy controls, and P180 amplitude was negatively correlated with the severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients with MDD. In the MDD group, P30 amplitude was negatively associated with RBANS Visuospatial/ Constructional index and total score.

Conclusions

TMS-EEG findings suggest that abnormal cortical excitation and inhibition induced by TMS on the DLPFC are associated with the severity of clinical symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in patients with MDD. P180 and P30 have the potential to serve as neurophysiological biomarkers of clinical symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in MDD patients, respectively.

The present study aimed to investigate the interplay between adult attachment style, perceived social support, and post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms among adult female victims of sexual assault)SA(. While prior research has established the link between insecure attachment style and PTS, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. The potential role of perceived social support as a mediator in this relationship has been largely neglected and there is a dearth of studies investigating this mediation among victims of SA. The present study sought to address this gap in literature. Two hundred twenty-six women who have endured SA completed self-report measures of attachment style, perceived social support, and PTS, using an online survey. The results confirmed the anticipated pattern, showing a positive correlation between insecure attachment styles and PTS, as well as a negative correlation with perceived social support. A mediation analysis indicated that perceived social support may be a mechanism linking attachment styles to PTS. Following SA, insecurely attached women, especially those with avoidant attachment, have difficulties relying on and utilizing support from their environment, which may render them more susceptible to PTS. Nevertheless, the mediation was partial, indicating that attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance independently contribute to the development and maintenance of PTS.

Background/Objective

Socioeconomic disparities in mental health are well-established. Previous research suggests that relative income rank is associated with depressive symptoms above and beyond absolute income. This study aimed to investigate the predictive value of income rank for future depressive symptoms while accounting for absolute income. Exploring potential reverse pathways from depressive symptoms to income rank was a secondary objective.

Method

A two-wave cross-lagged panel design with a 5-year follow-up was used to analyze data for income rank, absolute income, and two dimensions of depressive symptoms (i.e., cognitive-affective and somatic symptoms) from initially 4,201 employees. Income rank was calculated for reference groups, based on the same gender, the same 5-year age band, and the same occupational skill level.

Results

Lower income rank at baseline predicted a higher severity of cognitive-affective depressive symptoms at five-year follow-up, even after adjusting for absolute income. In contrast, income rank did not demonstrate a significant unique longitudinal association with somatic depressive symptoms when simultaneously taking absolute income into account. There was no evidence for the assumption that depressive symptoms are predictive for future income rank (i.e., reverse pathway).

Conclusions

Cognitive-affective symptoms of depression might be particularly responsive to social comparisons and a relatively low social rank.

Objective

The purpose of the present study was to develop and validate a brief screening instrument (F-SozU K-3) for the measurement of perceived social support in large scale surveys by shortening a well-established German questionnaire (F-SozU K-6).

Method

First, a brief three-item version of the F-SozU was developed based on a representative sample of N = 2482 respondents using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Second, the newly developed brief three-item questionnaire was evaluated and standardized in an independent second representative population sample (N = 2501).

Results

A suitable three-item solution with a good internal consistency (α = 0.89, ω = 0.89) was identified. Full invariance across sex and partnership was established. Construct validity of the brief three-item form was established. Younger age, female sex, partnership status, and current employment were positively associated with higher social support scores. Norm values for the general sample and separately for sex and partnership status were reported.

Conclusions

The newly developed F-SozU K-3 is a reliable and valid screening instrument. It can be used as an economical alternative to previous longer instruments, especially in large scale surveys.

Background

Bystander behaviors can be an important key for preventing all forms of violence against women. Identifying their facilitators and barriers becomes a priority. The aim of this research is to analyze the impact of the previous experiences of women (as sexual harassment victim or bystander) on their perceived responsibility to intervene as bystander in a case of workplace sexual harassment and to determine the possible mediating role of certain attitudinal and evaluative factors.

Method

A non-probability convenience sample of 633 Spanish women answered a sociodemographic data questionnaire, a victimization questionnaire designed ad hoc, and the Questionnaire of Intention to Help in VAW Cases.

Results

The results obtained indicate that previous victimization experiences as a victim or witness of sexual harassment impact the responsibility to intervene, mediated by the acceptance of sexual harassment myths and the perceived severity of workplace sexual harassment.

Conclusions

These results may help to understand how to design prevention programs and which key variables to incorporate.