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This study investigated whether reading comprehension would differ when the texts are studied and tested on screen or on paper. Participants were 69 college students who were attending a college in midwestern United States. Participants read two expository texts each, under comparable paper and screen conditions and answered comprehension questions. Test forms and the order of the conditions were counterbalanced. The correlations between reading outcomes and reader characteristics were examined. Participants also completed a survey on their views on the two media (paper or screen). The results did not indicate a significant difference on students' reading comprehension as a function of medium and reader characteristics. However, students reported preferring paper-based reading for complex material.

Previous research indicates that imagining contact with someone who is an immigrant can reduce prejudice and promote positive friendship intentions. Much less is known about the optimal ways of effecting imagined contact. The reported research used an experimental design, where the status of a target-child toy puppet (immigrant versus refugee versus control) and the type of imagined contact (2D or 3D figures) was changed. Children aged 4-10 years, were tested for their responses towards immigrants and refugees, before and after a three-minute interactive play session with 2D or 3D toy puppet figures. Children were asked to show in the session how they would 'have a really good time' with the target-child toy puppet. Measures of children's direct contact with immigrants were also taken. The results suggest that 3D figures have a similar positive impact as 2-D figures on friendship intentions following imagined play. It was in the 2D experimental conditions only that children's friendship intentions were more positive with greater anxiety reduction.

This study analyzed the National Communication Association (NCA) members' perceptions regarding the effectiveness of their own and their peer presentations and the challenges they faced when preparing and giving conference presentations. Overall, participants (n = 187) feel fairly content with the effectiveness of NCA conference presentations and the value they have gained from them. The effectiveness of others' presentations has a significant association with members' perceived value of the conference presentations. The "lack of experience" and "lack of confidence" are key variables that heighten anxiety which can impact the effectiveness of presentations. "Process anxiety" was positively associated with presentation effectiveness whereas "performance anxiety" was negatively associated with presentation effectiveness. This needs assessment provides informed suggestions for making academic presentations more effective in the future.

Background: Major international guidelines recommend mental health screening during the perinatal period. However, substantial barriers to screening have been reported by pregnant and postpartum women and perinatal care providers. E-screening offers benefits that may address implementation challenges., Objective: The primary objective of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of Web-based mental health e-screening compared with paper-based screening among pregnant women. A secondary objective was to identify factors associated with women's preferences for e-screening and disclosure of mental health concerns., Methods: Pregnant women recruited from community and hospital-based antenatal clinics and hospital-based prenatal classes were computer-randomized to a fully automated Web-based e-screening intervention group or a paper-based control group. Women were eligible if they spoke or read English, were willing to be randomized to e-screening, and were willing to participate in a follow-up diagnostic interview. The intervention group completed the Antenatal Psychosocial Health Assessment and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale on a tablet computer, while controls completed them on paper. All women completed self-report baseline questions and were telephoned 1 week after randomization by a blinded research assistant for a MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Renker and Tonkin's tool of feasibility and acceptability of computerized screening was used to assess the feasibility and acceptability of e-screening compared with paper-based screening. Intention-to-treat analysis was used. To identify factors associated with preference for e-screening and disclosure, variables associated with each outcome at P<.20 were simultaneously entered into final multivariable models to estimate adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% CIs., Results: Of the 675 eligible women approached, 636 agreed to participate (participation rate 94.2%) and were randomized to the intervention (n=305) or control (n=331) groups. There were no significant baseline differences between groups. More women in the e-screening group strongly or somewhat agreed that they would like to use a tablet for answering questions on emotional health (57.9%, 175/302 vs 37.2%, 121/325) and would prefer using a tablet to paper (46.0%, 139/302 vs 29.2%, 95/325), compared with women in the paper-based screening group. There were no differences between groups in women's disclosure of emotional health concerns (94.1%, 284/302 vs 90.2%, 293/325). Women in the e-screening group consistently reported the features of e-screening more favorably than controls (more private or confidential, less impersonal, less time-consuming). In the multivariable models, being in the e-screening group was significantly associated with preferring e-screening (AOR 2.29, 95% CI 1.66-3.17), while no factors were significantly associated with disclosure., Conclusions: The findings suggest that mental health e-screening is feasible and acceptable to pregnant women., Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01899534; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01899534 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6ntWg1yWb)., (©Dawn Kingston, Marie-Paule Austin, Sander Veldhuyzen van Zanten, Paula Harvalik, Rebecca Giallo, Sarah D McDonald, Glenda MacQueen, Lydia Vermeyden, Gerri Lasiuk, Wendy Sword, Anne Biringer. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 07.04.2017.)

The purpose of this exploratory, mixed-methods study was to investigate the relationship between nontraditional undergraduate students' curiosity and their experiences researching a topic. The author collected and analyzed survey data and annotated bibliography rubric scores from 59 students at a private, liberal arts university and conducted in-depth interviews to gather a fuller picture of the students' curiosity. Based on the study's findings, librarians and professors should create opportunities for students to select research topics to which they have a personal connection while intentionally offering supportive feedback to students as they refine their topics to reduce anxiety and frustration.

»I want to grow into the sky, but that could destroy the world.« Psychotherapeutic treatment of a traumatized child in the field of tension between stabilization and structural change This paper describes the therapist's approach with a traumatized and psychologically already prestressed boy and reflects on it based on various theoretical concepts. The structural weaknesses of the patient appeared in the play in the fragility of the symbolization ability and the pretend mode. Strong feelings of anxiety and confusion, perceptible in the countertransference, as well as the presence of defense mechanisms such as splitting, idealization, omnipotence or dissociation, demand to a greater extent the therapist's container function. Therefore, at the beginning of the treatment, an initial phase served to stabilize the patient. Only gradually, after a good working alliance was established, a clearer confrontation with the fears became possible. Instead of being left alone with it, the patient found in therapy a language, images, space. Thus, the patient was able to reduce his omnipotent control and the transformation of stressful fantasies and feelings also developed in the relationship with the therapist. A gradual integration and de-idealization became possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was aimed at investigating attitude and anxiety of Indonesian lecturers in writing English papers for international publications, together with the influence of gender and functional grades on them. It involved lecturers of a private university in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia (n=62) who were attending a training on English academic writing especially designed to help them prepare manuscripts for international publications. Data were collected by questionnaires and analyzed using t-test and ANOVA. The study found that the attitude toward writing was positive. Three aspects of attitude namely behavioral, cognitive, and affective were all positive. The anxiety in writing English papers was found to be moderate and somatic anxiety was the type of anxiety the lecturers suffered the most. There was no difference on the attitude and level of anxiety across gender but there was a difference on the level of anxiety across functional grades. As attitude and anxiety predict the success of writing efforts, which may then affect the success of publication, the issue of attitude and anxiety needs to be addressed in the effort of increasing the productivity of Indonesian lecturers in making international publications.�

Introduction: Transient ischaemic attack (TIA) is defined by short-lasting, stroke-like symptoms, and is recognised as a medical emergency. Symptoms are assumed to completely resolve, and treatment is focused on secondary stroke/TIA prevention. However, evidence suggests that patients with TIA may experience ongoing residual impairments, which they do not receive therapy for as standard practice. TIA-induced sequelae could impact on patients' quality of life and ability to return to work or social activities. We aim to investigate whether TIA is associated with subsequent consultation for fatigue, psychological or cognitive impairment in primary care., Methods and Analysis: A retrospective open cohort study of patients with first-ever TIA and matched controls. Relevant data will be extracted from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database, an anonymised primary care database which includes data for over 12 million patients and covers approximately 6% of the UK population. Outcomes will be the first consultation for fatigue, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or cognitive impairment. Principal analysis will use Kaplan-Meier survivor functions to estimate time to first consultation, with log-rank tests to compare TIA and control patients. Cox proportional hazard models will predict the effect of demographic and patient characteristics on time to first consultation., Ethics and Dissemination: Approval was granted by a THIN Scientific Review Committee (ref: 14-008). The study's findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated at national and international conferences and through social media., (Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.)

Newly conducted research suggests that metabolic disorders, like diabetes and obesity, play a significant role as risk factors for psychiatric disorders. This connection presents a potential avenue for creating novel antidepressant medications by repurposing drugs originally developed to address antidiabetic conditions. Earlier investigations have shown that GLP-1 (Glucagon-like Peptide-1) analogs exhibit neuroprotective qualities in various models of neurological diseases, encompassing conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and stroke. Moreover, GLP-1 analogs have demonstrated the capability to enhance neurogenesis, a process recognized for its significance in memory formation and the cognitive and emotional aspects of information processing. Nonetheless, whether semaglutide holds efficacy as both an antidepressant and anxiolytic agent remains uncertain. To address this, our study focused on a mouse model of depression linked to type 2 diabetes induced by a High Fat Diet (HFD). In this model, we administered semaglutide (0.05 mg/Kg intraperitoneally) on a weekly basis to evaluate its potential as a therapeutic option for depression and anxiety. Diabetic mice had higher blood glucose, lipidic profile, and insulin resistance. Moreover, mice fed HFD showed higher serum interleukin (IL)-1β and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) associated with impaired humor and cognition. The analysis of behavioral responses revealed that the administration of semaglutide effectively mitigated depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors, concurrently demonstrating an enhancement in cognitive function. Additionally, semaglutide treatment protected synaptic plasticity and reversed the hippocampal neuroinflammation induced by HFD fed, improving activation of the insulin pathway, demonstrating the protective effects of semaglutide. We also found that semaglutide treatment decreased astrogliosis and microgliosis in the dentate gyrus region of the hippocampus. In addition, semaglutide prevented the DM2-induced impairments of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), and G-protein-coupled receptor 43 (GPR43) and simultaneously increased the NeuN + and Glucagon-like Peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R+) neurons in the hippocampus. Our data also showed that semaglutide increased the serotonin (5-HT) and serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and glutamatergic receptors in the hippocampus. At last, semaglutide changed the gut microbiota profile (increasing Bacterioidetes, Bacteroides acidifaciens, and Blautia coccoides) and decreased leaky gut, improving the gut-brain axis. Taken together, semaglutide has the potential to act as a therapeutic tool for depression and anxiety., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Learning a foreign language incorporates cognitive, communicative, emotional, and social aspects. Some of these aspects have to do with the structure of the language being studied; some others deal with social and psychological issues that influence the environment where the learning process takes place. This reflection paper addresses various emotional aspects that can bring up positive outcomes along the foreign language learning stages. Elements such as motivation, attitudes, levels of anxiety, acculturation, ethnicity, and personality are considered for this work. Readers should be able to find useful ideas for their ESL/EFL classes.

This paper is an adapted version of the Brian Nettleton Lecture given at the Outdoors Victoria Conference, 2022. It explores how the last two decades have seen an ever-accelerating Digital Revolution which has impacted on almost every aspect of human experience to the point that it is now omnipresent. Life is now mediated through the screen. As a result, children and young people have become hyper-vigilant, overly anxious, experience a sense of climate trauma, and have decreasing access to, and time spent in, the outdoors. In addition, children have just experienced two years of isolation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and evidence suggests that they are already experiencing significant mental health issues as a result. This paper considers the implications of this for Outdoors Victoria and Outdoor Education.

This study investigates research writing anxiety and self-efficacy beliefs among English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) graduate students in engineering-related fields. The relationship between the two writing affective constructs was examined and students' perspectives on research writing anxiety were also explored. A total of 218 survey responses from engineering graduate students at Taiwanese universities were analyzed, along with qualitative data from open-ended questions and semi-structured interviews. The findings show that while master's and doctoral students felt a similar moderate level of writing anxiety, senior doctoral students were more self-efficacious about writing research papers in English than their junior counterparts. Overall, students with higher writing self-efficacy felt less apprehensive. Additionally, among the individual variables, experience in writing for publication better predicted writing anxiety and self-efficacy than students' self-reported English proficiency and the number of writing courses taken. The qualitative findings indicated various sources of graduate-level writing anxiety, including insufficient writing skills in English, time constraints, and fear of negative comments. Furthermore, composing different sections of a research paper provoked different levels of anxiety due to the variations in the rhetorical purposes and discourse structures of particular sections. Implications on dealing with research writing anxiety are also discussed.

The article examines the effects of aerobic exercise and tai chi on sleep quality, depression, and exercise capacity in people with advanced lung cancer, compared to physical activity advice.

Abstract Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare neurodevelopmental genetic disorder associated with a characteristic behavioral phenotype that includes severe hyperphagia and a variety of other behavioral challenges such as temper outbursts and anxiety. These behaviors have a significant and dramatic impact on the daily functioning and quality of life for the person with PWS and their families. To date, effective therapies addressing these behavioral challenges have proven elusive, but several potential treatments are on the horizon. However, a limiting factor for treatment studies in PWS is the lack of consensus in the field regarding how to best define and measure the complex and interrelated behavioral features of this syndrome. The International PWS Clinical Trials Consortium (PWS-CTC, www.pwsctc.org ) includes expert PWS scientists, clinicians, and patient advocacy organization representatives focused on facilitating clinical trials in this rare disease. To address the above gap in the field, members of the PWS-CTC “Behavior Outcomes Working Group” sought to develop a unified understanding of the key behavioral features in PWS and build a consensus regarding their definition and description. The primary focus of this paper is to present consensus definitions and descriptions of key phenotypic PWS behaviors including hyperphagia, temper outbursts, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive behaviors, rigidity, and social cognition deficits. Patient vignettes are provided to illustrate the interrelatedness and impact of these behaviors. We also review some available assessment tools as well as new instruments in development which may be useful in measuring these behavioral features in PWS.

This paper, co-authored between three adults and five children aged 8-11, adopts a 'collaborative writing as inquiry' approach to examine and discuss the authors' experiences of a participatory research project through the lens of critical dialectical pluralism. In the original project, children formed two 'young advisory panels', one online, comprising children from all over England, and one in a primary school in a suburban area in North England, informing and collaborating on the creation of 45 educational activities supporting critical digital literacy. Rather than focusing on the original research itself, the paper focuses on making a methodological contribution, through detailed and collaborative reflections on notions such as agency, power and control. Over a period of four 60 to 90 min-long meetings once the actual research was completed, adult and child authors considered their respective roles in the project, as well as detailing their understanding of the project as a whole. In co-framing our perceptions of participatory research, we problematise adult anxieties and highlight the importance of exploring 'silence as voice', arguing for an extension to participatory research projects, going beyond the research itself and creating a 'third space' which is un/familiar to all participants, openly inviting engagement with discomfort and normalising uncertainty.

Aim: To examine the intergenerational impact of systemic racism on mental health, depicting the evolution and patterns of anxiety symptoms and the application of the Bowenian family therapy to understand the interrelatedness and long‐standing impact of intergenerational trauma in African American families. This article highlights interventions that increase awareness of and promotes physical and mental health for African American populations. Design: Discursive Paper. Method: Searching literature published between 2012 and 2022 in PubMed, SCOPUS, EBSCO Host and Google Scholar, we explored factors associated with systemic racism and generational anxiety. Discussion: Evidence‐based literature supports the application of the Bowenian family therapy theoretical framework to understand the intergenerational impact of systemic racism and to address the transmission of anxiety symptoms in African American populations. Conclusion: Culturally appropriate interventions are needed to decrease anxiety symptoms in an attempt to heal intergenerational trauma and to improve family dynamics in African American populations. Impact to Nursing Practice: Nurses play an integral role in providing holistic quality patient‐centred care for African American populations who have experienced racial trauma. It is critical for nurses to implement culturally responsive and racially informed care with patients that focuses on self‐awareness, health promotion, prevention and healing in efforts to address racial trauma. Application of Bowenian family therapy can aid in the reduction of both intergenerational transmission of racial trauma and generational anxiety. No Patient or Public Contribution: There was no patient or public involvement in the design or drafting of this discursive paper. The authors reviewed the literature to develop a discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burnout, depression, anxiety, and stress negatively impact the well-being and retention of healthcare professionals. The interplay of these symptoms is understudied. Utilizing network analysis, this study examined the interrelationships among these symptom clusters in clinical therapists in China. An anonymous survey was conducted among clinical therapists from 41 tertiary psychiatric hospitals in China. Burnout was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey (MBI-HSS), while symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress were assessed via the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Analyses were performed to identify central symptoms and bridge symptoms of this network. A total of 419 participants were included in this survey. The prevalence rate for burnout, depression, anxiety, and stress was 19.8%, 22.2%, 17.9%, and 8.6%, respectively. Network analysis indicated that stress symptoms had the highest expected influence values, closely followed by emotional exhaustion from MBI-HSS. Notably, emotional exhaustion emerged as the strongest bridge of expected influence. The stability of the expected influence and bridge expected influence was robust, with coefficients at 0.75. The study's findings underscore the importance of recognizing the central symptoms and bridge symptoms, which could lead to more effective early detection and intervention for burnout, depression, anxiety, and stress among clinical therapists., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Resilience is a protective feature against anxiety and depression disorders. However, the precise relationship and structure of resilience and anxiety and depression remain poorly understood. This study sought to investigate the link among resilience' components and anxiety as well as depression., Methods: 1,279 clinical nurses were recruited. 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7, and Patient Health Questionnaire 9 were employed to evaluate resilience, anxiety, and depression, respectively. The regularized partial-correlation network was generated utilizing data from cross-sectional survey and the bridge expected influence index was utilized to quantify bridge components., Results: The rates of anxiety and depression within clinical nurses were 67.3% and 67.2%, accordingly. Four strongest bridge edges appeared in the resilience-anxiety network, like "Adapt to change"- "Fear that something might happen", and "Stay focused under pressure"- "Uncontrollable worry". Two strongest bridge edges appeared in the resilience-depression network, like "Adapt to change"- "Concentration difficulties" and "Stay focused under pressure"- "Fatigue". "Adapt to change" was recognized as bridging nodes in both the resilience-anxiety network and the resilience-depression network., Conclusions: Interventions targeting the bridge component "Adapt to change" within resilience, may mitigate the intensity of anxiety and depression symptoms among clinical nurses., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Taken together, prior publications on the association between symptoms of depression and anxiety and contact with the criminal justice system (CJS) suggest a bi-directional relationship, but all the studies only focus on one direction in this relationship., Aims: To examine, in longitudinally collected data, period-specific within-individual change in anxiety and depression measures preceding arrest measurement and, separately, following arrest measurement., Methods: Data were obtained from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997, a nationally representative sample of people born between 1980 and 1984 and first interviewed between ages 12-17 and a publicly accessible database. Our focus was on data for the 11 years 2000-2010. Using whole sample data, we tested for a reciprocal association between depression and anxiety during each 2-year period and arrests during the following year, and vice versa, allowing for relatively fixed characteristics such as sex, age and socio-economic indicators. We used period-specific change modelling to test relationships., Results: We found that within-individual increases in depression and anxiety scores over short periods (2-year periods) of time was associated with an increase in the number of arrests subsequent over the following year, consistently throughout the whole of the 10 years studies. The reciprocal association was also observed, albeit the magnitude of the effects was much smaller., Conclusion: This study adds to the literature on the association between mental health and CJS contact by showing that they may be reciprocally associated. This suggests that facilitating co-working or even formal partnerships between community mental health services and justice-related services could be beneficial., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Biological mechanisms underlying anxiety proneness (AP), the tendency to react fearfully to stressors due to the belief that experiencing anxiety has harmful consequences, remain unclear. Epigenetic mechanisms, such as microRNAs (small, non-coding RNAs 19-20 nucleotides long), may be contributory. This study investigated AP-associated differences in microRNA expression among South African adolescents with variable exposure to childhood trauma (CT). AP was assessed using a composite score reflecting trait anxiety and anxiety sensitivity, while CT exposure was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. High-quality total RNA (n = 88) extracted from whole blood underwent microRNA-sequencing. Differential microRNA expression analysis was conducted with DESeq2 in R, messenger RNA target prediction analysis was performed using TargetScan and DIANA-microT, and the DIANA mirPATH tool was used for KEGG pathway analysis. The majority of participants were female (75.86%) with an average age of 15 (±1.19) years. MicroRNA expression analysis identified upregulation of hsa-miR-28-5p and downregulation of hsa-miR-502-3p and hsa-miR-500a-3p in high-AP individuals, irrespective of CT. Four KEGG pathways, each with ≥10% of their constituent genes predicted to be targets of the differentially expressed microRNAs, were identified and were enriched for genes involved in calcineurin and glutamate signalling. These findings suggest that epigenetically mediated effects on neuronal function contribute to the molecular aetiology of AP., (© 2024 The Author(s). European Journal of Neuroscience published by Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

In their seminal Transactional Theory of Stress, Lazarus and Folkman described a complex adaptation mechanism that involves appraisal and coping processes that lead to the subjective experience of stress. In this study, we examined the temporal order of all components of this theory using a cross-lagged panel analysis. A sample of 354 students (62.10% female, mean age = 20.63 y.o.) participated in a 5-week study and completed weekly self-reported measures of prospective appraisal, coping, core burnout, and mental health (i.e. depression, anxiety, and stress). Using cross-lagged panel network analyses, we analyzed how each measured variable is predicted by all variables from the previous measurement moment. Convergent with the transactional stress theory, we found that threat appraisals and negative self-perception predicted future anxiety and depression. Contrary to expectations, core burnout and somatization emerged as significant predictors of poor mental health outcomes, suggesting a self-perpetuating spiral. Furthermore, our study highlighted the importance of recognizing the bidirectional connections between appraisals, coping strategies, and mental well-being., (© 2024 The Author(s). Stress and Health published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)