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While psychotherapeutic e-mental health interventions may circumvent barriers that many men face in accessing mental health care, the effects of men using these interventions have not been evaluated. We aimed to synthesise the characteristics of psychotherapeutic e-mental health interventions for depression or anxiety that have been trialled and evaluated in men, and synthesise and meta-analyse the effects of these interventions on men's depression and anxiety, including examining influences of participant, intervention, and study characteristics on outcomes. Seven papers (N = 552 participant men) identified from systematic literature searches met inclusion criteria. A total 177 studies were excluded because although they met all other inclusion criteria, they did not present analysable data on participant men. The seven included interventions varied in content, length, and format; only one intervention was gender sensitive, having been designed specifically for men. All three randomised controlled trials detected no post-trial difference in men's depression symptoms between intervention and control participants. All four treatment studies presenting pre-post data reported post-intervention improvements in depression or social anxiety symptoms; this was supported by our meta-analysis of two studies, which found a medium-sized, positive effect of depression treatment interventions on depression symptoms in pre-post data (g = 0.64, p < 0.005). Further meta-analyses could not be conducted due to data limitations. Psychotherapeutic e-mental health treatment interventions result in pre- to post-intervention improvements in men's depression symptoms. There is urgent need for consideration of gender and sex in the development, evaluation, and dissemination of e-mental health interventions for men, and for further information on their effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the high co-occurrence of social anxiety in autism, no reviews to date have explored how cognitive and behavioural mechanisms identified to maintain social anxiety in non-autistic individuals may operate in autistic individuals. This systematic review evaluated: (1) empirical evidence underlying the Clark and Wells (1995) Cognitive Model of Social Anxiety in autistic individuals; (2) how vulnerability factors identified from autism literature (beyond core autistic traits) may be associated with social anxiety beyond the cognitive model. Published peer-reviewed English articles until 27th November 2023 were retrieved from PubMed, EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE and PsycINFO. Quality appraisal and risk of bias were assessed using The Standard Quality Assessment Criteria for Evaluating Primary Research papers from a Variety of Fields tool. 47 articles met full inclusion criteria and included autistic individuals (with clinical diagnosis), a measure of social anxiety, and a mechanism outlined by either (or both) research questions. The majority of the 3340 participants across studies were male without intellectual disability, White/Caucasian, with 7 studies reporting an average age above 30 years old. Most studies used only self-report measures that may have inflated associations observed between social anxiety and mechanisms. All studies employed cross-sectional design, and no causality inferences could be drawn. Methodological issues around potential construct overlaps between social anxiety and autistic traits are highlighted. Overall, there is evidence in support of the as reported by Clark and Well (in: Heimberg (eds), A cognitive model of social phobia, The Guilford Press, 1995) model, as greater fear of negative evaluation from others, use of safety behaviours and somatic symptoms, and peer victimisation were associated with greater social anxiety. The review contributes evidence in support of autism specific contextual, predisposing/antecedent and maintenance factors of social anxiety beyond the original Clark and Well (in: Heimberg (eds), A cognitive model of social phobia, The Guilford Press, 1995) model. Given the potential for considerable heterogeneity for each highlighted process at an individual level across autistic individuals, clinicians can broaden formulation conversations with autistic clients to understand how autism related factors may influence the development and maintenance of social anxiety symptoms when applying and adapting the Clark and Well (in: Heimberg (eds), A cognitive model of social phobia, The Guilford Press, 1995) model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With advances in digital technology, physical and virtual spaces have gradually merged. For digitally disadvantaged groups, this transformation is both convenient and potentially supportive. Previous research on public infrastructure has been limited to improvements in physical facilities, and few researchers have investigated the use of mixed physical and virtual spaces. In this study, we focused on integrated virtual and physical spaces and investigated the factors affecting digitally disadvantaged groups' intentions to use this new infrastructure. Building on a unified theory of the acceptance and use of technology, we focused on social interaction anxiety, identified the characteristics of digitally disadvantaged groups, and constructed a research model to examine intentions to use the new infrastructure. We obtained 337 valid data from the questionnaire and analysed them using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The results showed positive relationships between performance expectancy, perceived institutional support, perceived marketplace influence, effort expectancy, and facilitating conditions. The influence of psychological reactance was significantly negative. Finally, social interaction anxiety had a regulatory effect on performance expectancy, psychological reactance, perceived marketplace influence, and effort expectancy. Its effects on perceived institutional support and facilitating conditions were not significant. The results support the creation of inclusive smart cities by ensuring that the new public infrastructure is suitable for digitally disadvantaged groups. Meanwhile, this study presents new theoretical concepts of new public infrastructures, mixed physical and virtual spaces, which provides a forward-looking approach to studying digitally disadvantaged groups in this field and paves the way for subsequent scholars to explore the field in theory and literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speech anxiety, or Glossophobia, currently affects approximately 75% of the population with potentially severe negative effects on those with this condition. There are several treatments currently available with research showing that the use of Virtual Reality (VR) as a non-pharmacologic treatment can have positive effects on individuals suffering from such social phobias. However, there is a significant lack of treatments currently available for speech anxiety, even though such a large number of the population are affected by it. In this paper, we aim to contribute to efforts to improve the effects of speech anxiety through a VR intervention. Our VR solution was designed following the Exposure Therapy approach for treating social anxiety disorders. The evaluation of this work was twofold: A. to assess the ability of our solution to positively change participants’ perception of factors related to non-verbal communication contributing to anxiety toward public speaking, and B. to determine whether it is able to induce a sense of presence. We carried out an empirical evaluation study that measured participants’ self-reported anxiety level towards public speaking using the Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety and their perceived sense of presence using the iGroup Presence Questionnaire. Our results demonstrate the potential of VR Exposure Therapy solutions to assist towards positively changing perception of factors related to non-verbal communication skills that contribute to increasing public speaking anxiety for participants suffering from self-reported speech anxiety symptoms. Our findings are of wider importance as they contribute to ongoing efforts to improve social anxiety-related phobias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Japanese term Hikikomori is used to describe a clinical condition in which young people present a prolonged social withdrawal and isolation. Hikikomori syndrome represents an emergent worldwide phenomenon but is still poorly reported and often misdiagnosed. This study investigates and describes an Italian hikikomori adolescent group. Socio-demographic and psychopathological profiles and the relationship between hikikomori and psychopathological conditions were analyzed. No gender difference, a medium–high intellectual level, and no correlation with socioeconomic status were highlighted among the clinical group. The relationship between social withdrawal and social anxiety was significant while no correlation was found with depressive symptoms. The presence of Hikikomori syndrome was also significant in Italian adolescents, suggesting that hikikomori is not a culture-bound syndrome related to the Japanese cultural context, but rather a syndrome occurring in the upper-medium class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to study psychopathological and temperamental correlates of selective mutism (SM) (symptoms) in a mixed sample of non-clinical (n = 127) and clinically referred (n = 42, of whom 25 displayed the selective non-speaking behavior that is prototypical for SM) 6- to 12-year-old children. Parents completed questionnaires to measure their child's symptom levels of selective mutism, social anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, and the temperament trait of behavioral inhibition. The results first and foremost showed that SM symptoms were clearly linked to social anxiety and an anxiety-prone temperament (behavioral inhibition), but findings also suggested that autism spectrum problems are involved in the selective non-speaking behavior of children. While the latter result should be interpreted with caution given the methodological shortcomings of this study, findings align well with the notion that SM is a heterogeneous psychiatric condition and that clinical assessment and treatment need to take this diversity into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social anxiety may appear during preadolescence, causing children to worry and avoid situations where they may be evaluated by others. Previous studies have shown that about 4% of preadolescents present clinically elevated levels of social anxiety, which is related to the later onset of other problems. Therefore, it becomes necessary to have available screening measures, with few items, that assess the different social situations that elicit anxiety, as is the case of the Social Worries Questionnaire (SWQ). The objective of this study was to adapt and assess the psychometric properties of the SWQ in Spanish preadolescent children. The sample was composed of 218 children aged 8 to 12 years (54.1% boys). The SWQ, along with other measures of depression, anxiety and self-concept, were online administered to children. An item addressing videoconference anxiety was added to the SWQ. Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, a one-factor structure composed of 14 items demonstrated favorable fit indices. The results indicate evidence of concurrent and discriminant validity, good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.81; ordinal α = 0.87) and moderate-to-good test-retest stability. Despite some limitations, the Spanish adaptation of the SWQ shows good psychometric properties and enables the assessment of social anxiety generalization to several situations. The questionnaire can be a valuable self-reported tool for detecting risk cases and guiding the treatment in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Inducing self-compassion has been shown to be helpful in the context of social judgement. Typical self-compassion exercises guide individuals through mindfulness, self-kindness, and common humanity prompts. The purpose of the present study was to examine the benefit of targeting each facet of self-compassion individually, compared to a comprehensive self-compassion induction, and a control condition, for a social stressor. Method: Participants (n = 424) were asked to recall a time when they felt judged by others, and then were randomly assigned to one of five conditions: mindfulness, common humanity, self-kindness, self-compassion total (which contained prompts for all three facets of self-compassion), or an inactive control. Those in the self-compassion conditions completed writing prompts corresponding to their assigned condition. Results: Only participants in the self-kindness and self-compassion total conditions reported that they would approach a future similar social judgement situation with significantly greater state self-kindness, less social anxiety, and greater acceptance, compared to the control condition, with small effect sizes. The common humanity and mindfulness conditions did not significantly differ from the control condition. Conclusion: Overall, the present study results suggest that the self-kindness facet may be the most sensitive to change and that targeting self-kindness may be the most impactful in the context of social judgement. Preregistration: This study is not preregistered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Cognitive behaviour therapy based on the Clark and Wells (1995) model is a first-line treatment for neurotypical people seeking support for social anxiety. While autistic people frequently report high social anxiety, it is unclear how appropriate the model is for this population. Methods: Over 300 autistic and non-autistic adults completed an online survey measuring key variables of the Clark and Wells model (socially-related negative thoughts, safety behaviours, self-focused attention). Using multiple regression and structural equation modelling, we assessed whether these variables accounted for the link between autism and social fears. Results: In multiple regression, autistic people experienced greater social fears than expected based on Clark and Wells variables, and safety behaviours were less predictive of social fears in autistic people. In structural equation modelling, Clark and Wells variables only mediated half the link between autistic traits and social fears. In exploratory analysis, we found that distress relating to uncertainty was an additional variable that needed to be taken into consideration in the relationship between autistic traits and social fears. Conclusion: The Clark and Wells variables were relevant in autism, but did not fully explain elevated social fears in autistic people, which suggests that other factors are also important in accounting for social anxiety in autistic people. This means that therapy informed by the model may not be optimal for autistic people. We recommend further research developing adapted therapy for social anxiety in autistic people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processing social feedback optimistically may maintain positive self-beliefs and stable social relationships. Conversely, a lack of this optimistic bias in depression and social anxiety may perpetuate negative self-beliefs and maintain symptoms. Research investigating this mechanism is scarce, however, and the mechanisms by which depressed and socially anxious individuals respond to social evaluation may also differ. Using a range of computational approaches in two large datasets (mega-analysis of previous studies, n = 450; pre-registered replication study, n = 807), we investigated how depression (PHQ-9) and social anxiety (BFNE) symptoms related to social evaluation learning in a computerized task. Optimistic bias (better learning of positive relative to negative evaluations) was found to be negatively associated with depression and social anxiety. Structural equation models suggested this reflected a heightened sensitivity to negative social feedback in social anxiety, whereas in depression it co-existed with a blunted response to positive social feedback. Computational belief-based learning models further suggested that reduced optimism was driven by less positive trait-like self-beliefs in both depression and social anxiety, with some evidence for a general blunting in belief updating in depression. Recognizing such transdiagnostic similarities and differences in social evaluation learning across disorders may inform approaches to personalizing treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research delves into the multifaceted relationship between blended teaching, students' social anxiety, and the crucial role played by teacher support. The study is based on a meticulous questionnaire survey conducted across two classes within the School of Foreign Languages at Xinyang Agriculture and Forestry University, providing invaluable insights into the impact of blended teaching on students' psychological well-being. The findings reveal compelling disparities in students' personality traits within the experimental class following the implementation of blended teaching reforms. While the "music group" dimension showed no significant differences, students in the experimental class exhibited a notable increase in "daring," suggesting a shift in their comfort levels during classroom activities. Moreover, there was a discernible trend towards introversion and a significant upswing in anxiety levels among these students post-reform. These shifts in personality traits are closely linked to the demands placed on students in the blended teaching environment. Blended teaching necessitates a higher degree of autonomous learning, with online adaptation and passive learning emerging as key factors influencing students' social anxiety. Importantly, teacher support emerges as a critical moderating factor in the impact of blended teaching on students' psychological well-being. It plays a pivotal role in alleviating students' social anxiety, underscoring the importance of educators' involvement and guidance in this dynamic learning landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety sensitivity refers to an individual's belief that anxiety symptoms adversely affect physical, cognitive, and social appraisals, thereby exacerbating the fear of these symptoms. The Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) has been widely used to measure anxiety sensitivity. To provide researchers with more flexibility in selecting scale lengths, this study developed two shortened versions of the ASI-3 via item response theory analysis: one containing 12 items and the other containing six items. Given the overall good quality of the original scale, this study primarily achieved scale shortening by retaining items that could provide a substantial amount of item information, namely, items of high measurement precision. Compared to the original scale, the two shortened versions demonstrate good reliability while maintaining the same three-dimensional latent structure, robust inter-construct relationships, and highly correlated latent traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Insula functions as a multisensory relay involved in socio-emotional processing with projections to sensory, cognitive, emotional, and motivational regions. Notably, the interhemispheric projection from the Insula to the contralateral Insula is a robust yet underexplored connection. Using viral-based tracing neuroanatomy, ex vivo and in vivo electrophysiology, in vivo fiber photometry along with targeted circuit manipulation, we elucidated the nature and role of InsulaIns communication in social and anxiety processing in mice. In this study, we 1) characterized the anatomical and molecular profile of the InsulaIns neurons, 2) demonstrated that stimulation of this neuronal subpopulation induces excitation in the Insula interhemispheric circuit, 3) revealed that InsulaIns neurons are essential for social discrimination after 24 h of isolation in male mice. In conclusion, our findings highlight InsulaIns neurons as a distinct class of neurons within the insula and offer new insights into the neuronal mechanisms underlying social behavior. The nature and role of insular interhemispheric communications remains underexplored in social anxiety processing. Here the authors show that insular neurons play a role in social preference encoding during acute social isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social isolation was associated with emotional problems (depression and anxiety) among older adults, however, little is known in China. Thus, we conducted a cross-sectional study including 6,664 ≥ 65 years older adults in Ningbo, China. We collected data on social isolation, depression, and anxiety by specific scales. The relationship between social isolation and emotional problems was estimated by multivariate-adjusted logistic regression models. The population–attributable risk percentage (PAR%) was used to explore the contribution of social isolation to emotional problems. Overall, the percentage of participants who had experienced social isolation, depression, and anxiety was 12.67%, 4.83%, and 2.63%. Compared with the elderly without social isolation, the adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of depression and anxiety with social isolation were 1.77 (1.25–2.51) and 1.66 (1.05–2.63), respectively. The PAR analysis showed that 10.66% of depression and 9.03% of anxiety could be attributable to social isolation. In the gender subgroup, ORs and PAR% were only significantly observed in female participants. In Chinese older adults, social isolation has been linked to depression and anxiety, suggesting the importance of taking effective and feasible interventions to reduce social isolation and emotional problems, especially among females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety disorders are among the most common disorders in early childhood. Although many older children and adolescents with anxiety disorders recover and remain well, little is known about the continuity of early childhood anxiety and the factors that predict persistence/recurrence in later childhood and adolescence. We followed 129 children who met anxiety disorder criteria at age 3 and/or 6 and determined how many continued to experience an anxiety disorder between age 7 and 15, as well as the continuity of specific anxiety disorders. We explored whether biological sex, number of anxiety disorders, early childhood persistence (i.e., anxiety diagnosis at both age 3 and 6), childhood comorbidities, temperamental behavioral inhibition, a maternal history of anxiety, and authoritarian and overprotective parenting predicted persistence/recurrence of an anxiety disorder from age 7 to 15. Sixty-five (50.4%) of the adolescents with an early childhood anxiety disorder met anxiety disorder criteria during the age 7–15 interval. Homotypic continuity from early childhood to school-age/mid-adolescence was observed for social anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Early childhood agoraphobia predicted school-age/mid-adolescent GAD and early childhood GAD predicted school-age/mid-adolescent specific phobia. In bivariate analyses, number of anxiety disorders, persistence of anxiety from age 3 to 6, and having a mother with a history of anxiety predicted the persistence/recurrence of anxiety disorders from age 7 to 15. Only early childhood persistence of anxiety uniquely predicted the persistence/recurrence of an anxiety disorder over and above the other predictors. Early intervention efforts should focus on identifying and intervening with young children who demonstrate a protracted course of anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form (Q-LES-Q-SF) is a well-established, clinically feasible measure of quality of life concerns when assessing relatively severe clinical populations of adult patients. To what degree might the Q-LES-Q-SF facilitate identifying quality of life concerns among parents of adolescents receiving outpatient services for psychosocial concerns for which parents are often involved in service delivery, such as social anxiety? Objective: We tested the Q-LES-Q-SF in a mixed-clinical/community sample of adolescents receiving a social anxiety evaluation and their parents. Method: We examined 134 adolescents aged 14–15 years old and their parents. Parents completed self-reports on the Q-LES-Q-SF as well as self-reports on several domains relevant to understanding their mental health. Further, parents completed reports about adolescent and family functioning known to contribute to psychosocial impairments linked to adolescent social anxiety. Results: We observed strong internal consistency estimates for the Q-LES-Q-SF. Scores taken from the Q-LES-Q-SF demonstrated significant links with survey measures designed to assess various domains of adolescent, parent, and family psychosocial functioning. Further, scores taken from the Q-LES-Q-SF uniquely related to measures of both adolescent and parent social anxiety. Conclusions: The findings support use of a short, clinically feasible measure (Q-LES-Q-SF) to assess quality of life among parents seeking mental health services for their adolescents. As such, the study informs future work that tests the ability of the Q-LES-Q-SF to screen for or identify parents whose quality of life may impact their involvement in the delivery of anxiety-related services to their adolescent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rumination is a well-established contributor to the severity of depression and anxiety. It is unknown, however, whether individual differences in the temporal dynamics of rumination over time predict longitudinal increases in depression or anxiety. Methods: The current study examined whether the dynamic indices of ruminative inertia and variability assessed over 14 days via ecological momentary assessment predicted change in symptoms of depression, general anxiety, and social anxiety at a 90-day follow-up (n = 115). Results: Controlling for ruminative variability, baseline levels of the dependent variable, sex, and mean levels of momentary rumination, ruminative inertia did not predict change in symptoms of depression, general anxiety, or social anxiety at the 90-day follow-up. In contrast, greater ruminative variability predicted increases in symptoms of both depression and social anxiety but not general anxiety at follow-up. Individuals endorsing higher baseline levels of depressive symptoms demonstrated greater amounts of inertia and variability in their momentary rumination. Greater ruminative variability but not inertia was also associated with higher baseline levels of general anxiety and social anxiety. Conclusions: These results suggest that ruminative variability may be a risk factor for increases in symptoms of depression and social anxiety over time and a potentially useful target for clinical intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A longitudinal psycholinguistic study was conducted with 107 students from different Italian universities that produced daily photo-diary entries for two weeks, one at the beginning and the other at the end of the first Italian lockdown period, imposed in view of the rapid dissemination of COVID -19. The task was to take a daily photo accompanied by a short description (text). The texts accompanying the photos were analysed using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software to analyze linguistic markers representing psychological processes related to the experience of the pandemic and the lockdown, identifying potential changes in psycholinguistic variables useful for understanding the psychological impact of such harsh and extended restricted living conditions on Italian students. LIWC categories related to negation, anger, cognitive mechanisms, tentative discourse, past, and future increased statistically significantly between the two time points, while word count, prepositions, communication, leisure, and home decreased statistically significantly. While male participants used more articles at both time points, females used more words related to anxiety, social processes, past, and present at T1 and more related to insight at T2. Participants who lived with their partner showed higher scores on negative emotions, affect, positive feelings, anger, optimism, and certainty. Participants from southern Italy tended to describe their experiences from a collective and social perspective rather than an individual perspective. By identifying, discussing, and comparing these phenomena with the broader literature, a spotlight is shed for the first time on the psycholinguistic analysis of students at the national level who faced the first COVID -19 lockdown in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few options are available for measuring the adult impact of childhood bullying. The Bullying Experiences and Exclusion Scale (BEES) is an 18-item retrospective self-report measure of school-age bullying experiences in three different roles (victim, witness, perpetrator). Its validity was examined in an online survey with 346 participants. Construct validity was examined using a polytomous Rasch model with accompanying principal components analysis and found to be supported. Convergent and discriminant validity were supported based on comparison measures focussing on past school experiences (social support, emotional problems, conduct problems, peer problems, prosocial behaviour), as well as current adult experience of stress, anxiety and depression. Concurrent validity was also supported based on associations with a global self-rating of experience in each bullying role. It was concluded that the BEES meets the need for an easily administered retrospective measure of school age bullying experiences which has relevance to ongoing psychological disturbance and past interpersonal factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic alterations related to oxytocin system seem to influence the neurobiology of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety problems leading to greater functional, social and emotional impairment. Here, we analyzed the association of OXTR rs2254298 and CD38 rs6449182 variants with attention/hyperactivity problems and anxiety problems in children. The study enrolled 292 children and adjusted regression model revealed OXTR rs2254298 AA genotype as a risk factor for attention deficit/hyperactivity problems (PR: 2.37; PadjFDR = 0.006), attention problems (PR: 2.71; PadjFDR = 0.003) and anxiety problems (PR: 1.92; PadjFDR = 0.018). CD38 rs6449182 G allele showed as a risk factor for attention deficit/hyperactivity problems (PR: 1.56; PadjFDR = 0.028). Moreover, in silico approach for regulatory roles found markers that influence chromatin accessibility and transcription capacity. Together, these data provide genetic information of oxytocin in developmental and behavioral disorders opening a range of opportunities for future studies that clarify their neurobiology in childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generalized internal/external frame of reference (GI/E) model assumes social and dimensional achievement comparisons to form self-perceptions. These domain-specific comparisons have been shown to shape two facets of test anxiety (i.e., worry and emotionality) both directly and indirectly through academic self-concepts. However, examinations of such domain-specific relations have rarely integrated general components, although the hierarchical nature of both test anxiety and academic self-concept is well-known. Thus, the present study implemented a nested factor modeling approach. We examined social and dimensional comparison effects on worry and emotionality as well as mediation effects of academic self-concepts in the math and verbal domains while controlling for general components. We contrasted this approach with the conventionally used first-order factor model where general components were not considered. Data from N = 348 German secondary school students (Mage = 15.3 years, Grades 9–10) were analyzed using structural equation models. Direct negative within-domain and positive cross-domain achievement-anxiety relations emerged, yet, the pattern of cross-domain relations changed across modeling approaches. Only the nested factor model showed indirect cross-domain mediation relations. Our findings suggest the importance of structural representations of hierarchical constructs. The nested factor model approach enhanced predictions within the GI/E model, particularly those related to dimensional comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon the social cognitive career theory (SCCT), this study tested the social cognitive model of well-being which seeks to explain student life experience i.e., the relationship between positive affect with environmental support available to international students; mediated by cognitive and behavioral factors (self-efficacy expectations, outcome expectations, goal progress), towards the paths of academic satisfaction, and overall life satisfaction. Two hundred and ninety-four international students completed the survey questionnaire. Structural Equational Modelling (SEM) was used to test the overall model, alongside Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to test the model fitness. The SEM-based path analyses showed that the overall model fits the data well. Moreover, all the hypotheses were supported except for four paths (academic support → academic outcome expectation; academic outcome expectation → academic satisfaction, academic goal progress → life satisfaction; positive affectivity → academic satisfaction). Study findings also support the applicability of the social cognitive model of well-being; specifically, this demonstrates the power of particular predictor variables significant for student satisfaction and well-being. The study adds to the existing literature on the cross-cultural utility of the social cognitive model of well-being. Practical and theoretical implications as well as limitations and future recommendations are discussed at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds: Social skills are frequently impaired in neurodevelopmental disorders and genetic conditions, including 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Although often assessed with questionnaires, direct assessment provides a more valid estimate of the constructs. Role-plays (i.e., simulates situational settings) therefore appear to be an appropriate indicator of social skills in daily life. Methods: This co-registered study involved 53 individuals with 22q11DS, 34 individuals with ASD, and 64 typically developing (TD) peers aged 12–30 years. All participants were assessed with role-plays as well as parent-reported questionnaires and clinical interviews focusing on social skills, functioning and anxiety. Results: Both clinical groups showed impaired social skills compared to TD, but distinct social profiles emerged between the groups. Individuals with 22q11DS displayed higher social appropriateness and clarity of speech but weaker general argumentation and negotiation skills, with the opposite pattern observed in participants with ASD. No association was found between social skills measured by direct observation and caregiver reports. Social anxiety, although higher in clinical groups than in TD, was not associated with role-plays. Conclusions: This study highlights the need to train social skills through tailored interventions to target the specific difficulties of each clinical population. It also highlights the importance of combining measures as they do not necessarily provide the same outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to analyze and illustrate the relationships between different expectations for psychotherapy, quality of self-observation and change in short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy. To conduct this, two patients from the Helsinki Psychotherapy Study were selected for qualitative analysis. The selection was based on the patients' responses on the Target Complaints (TC) questionnaire, i.e., reasons for seeking psychotherapy, completed as part of the pre-treatment patient assessment. TC responses were classified as psychiatric symptoms or personality and functioning problems. The data for further analysis was selected for both patients from pre-treatment interviews and two follow-up interviews and analyzed in detail by dialogical sequence analysis (DSA), considering the quality of self-observation as a factor contributing to change. As a result, qualitative changes in relation to problematic experiences and development of self-observation appeared in the patient with mainly personality and functioning problems. In contrast, there were little respective changes in the experience of the patient whose target problems were limited to psychiatric symptoms. The results suggest that a patient's exclusive identification of psychiatric symptoms as target problems may indicate poor suitability for short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy which emphasizes the developmental nature of psychotherapeutic change and the importance of self-observation as a factor of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crime reporting influences the public regardless of its source (traditional or social media outlets). In this regard, the current research focuses on crime reports in Northern Cyprus, a small society, where individual psychological and social aspects can be influenced by media content. Specifically the effects of media on public trust, presumption of innocence, psychological wellbeing and social support are addressed through a qualitative approach. In this study, a mixed methodology of content and discourse analysis determined the negative coverage of crime through the existence of unethical principles among 507 articles from different media outlets. Furthermore, a thematic network approach was used to analyse semi-structured interviews, in which 38 individuals provided in-depth data about their personal experiences and emotions regarding media publication. Results showed how the influence of media coverage of crime can extend to affect the psychological well-being and social relationships of those individuals involved, particularly concerning anxiety, public trust, and social support. These effects can be further amplified due to the increased stress and anxiety felt among the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing at the time of the interviews. This research can provide a better understanding of media and its influence on trust and support during uncertain times. Hence, both scholars and practitioners can benefit from the current findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socially anxious individuals avoid face-to-face communication by increasing their use of mobile phones. The relationship between anxiety and problematic smartphone use (PSU) severity has been studied; however, the association between social anxiety and problematic smartphone use, especially regarding psychological, cognitive and behavioral risk factors, requires further verification. The aim of the current study was to investigate the mediating role of smartphone use and rumination in the relationship between social anxiety and PSU. We recruited 825 Chinese undergraduate students by convenience sampling via a web-based survey that measured social anxiety (Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, SIAS), PSU(Smartphone addiction scale-short version, SAS-SV), smartphone use (two questions about smartphone use time) and rumination (Rumination scale). Seven hundred twenty-one valid questionnaires were obtained (74.5% male). A significant positive correlation between social anxiety and PSU (β = 0.1001, p < 0.001) was observed. Smartphone use and rumination mediated social anxiety and PSU severity. In the final model, smartphone use and rumination played a serial mediating role in the social anxiety and PSU relationship. Thus, future research should focus on rumination and its association with smartphone use. Highlights: Social anxiety was positive correlate of problematic smartphone use (PSU). Rumination and smartphone use played a serial mediating role between social anxiety and PSU. Rumination and smartphone use were the key factors for the prevention of social anxiety. Implications and Contribution: This study explores the relationship between social anxiety and PSU, highlighting the role of psychological, cognitive and behavioral risk factors in this new form of problematic behavior. Rumination and smartphone use played a serial mediating role between social anxiety and PSU. Findings raise concerns about the prevention of PSU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reward processing undergoes marked changes in adolescence, with social interactions representing a powerful source of reward. Reward processing is also an important factor in the development of social anxiety disorder, a condition that most commonly first appears in adolescence. This study investigated the relationship between age, social reward processing and social anxiety in a cross-sectional sample of female participants (N = 80) aged 13–34. Participants performed two versions of a probabilistic reward anticipation task, in which a speeded response could result in different probabilities of receiving either social or monetary rewarding feedback. Participants also completed self-report assessments of social reward value, trait anxiety and social anxiety symptoms. At high reward probabilities, performance on both reward tasks showed a quadratic effect of age, with the fastest responses at around 22–24 years. A similar quadratic effect was found for subjective liking ratings of both reward stimuli, although these were not associated with performance. Social anxiety was not associated with a subjective liking of the rewards but did predict performance on both tasks at all reward probabilities. Age-related variation in reward processing was not accounted for by age-related variation in social anxiety symptoms, suggesting that, while both social anxiety and age were associated with variation in reward processing, their effects were largely independent. Together, these findings provide evidence that social reward processing continues to develop across adolescence and that individual differences in social anxiety should be considered when considering reward sensitivity during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emotional facial expressions of other individuals are a valuable information source in adapting behaviour to situational demands, and have been found to receive prioritized attention. Yet, enhanced attentional biases, such as a bias to social threat in Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), or blunted attention to emotional information, as assumed in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), can easily become maladaptive in daily life. In order to investigate individual differences in attentional biases toward different emotional expressions (angry, happy, sad, and fearful versus neutral) and their links to social anxiety and autistic traits, we tested 104 healthy participants with an emotional dot-probe paradigm on a touch screen, and measured clinical trait levels associated with ASD and SAD. While confirming the presence of attentional biases toward all emotional expressions, we did not find robust evidence for systematic links between these biases and either clinical trait dimension. Only an exploratory Bayesian analysis pointed to a less pronounced bias towards happy facial expressions with higher autistic trait levels. Moreover, a closer examination of the attentional bias towards angry facial expressions suggested that alterations in this bias might depend on a complex interplay between both trait dimensions. Novel approaches in the assessment of attentional biases might yield the potential to describe disorder-specific biases in attention to emotions more validly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical models of social anxiety (SA) propose bidirectional relationships between SA, interpretation biases, and safety behaviors (Safe-B). However, longitudinal studies evaluating these bidirectional relationships are scarce. The main objective of this study was to analyze the bidirectional relationships between interpretation biases (from ambiguous situations and ambiguous faces), Safe-B, and SA. A two-time longitudinal study was carried out with the participation of 575 vocational training students (M = 19.49, SD = 2.41). Both the interpretation biases measured through ambiguous situations and ambiguous faces and the Safe-B predicted higher levels of SA in the second time. In turn, a bidirectional relationship was found between SA and Safe-B. However, no bidirectional relationships were found between interpretation biases and Safe-B and between biases and SA. Among others, the limitations of the study include the high attrition rate (30.4%) and the high proportion of male students (62.1%). The findings highlight the role of interpretation bias and Safe-B in SA. In turn, as a new initiative, the study supports the bidirectional relationship between Safe-B and SA. Implications are discussed throughout the manuscript. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effect of men's substance use disorders (SUD) to opiate-derived drugs on the psychopathology of their wives in Iran. This study was performed according to known reporting guidelines for the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Information about the study design, participants, sampling method, context, mean, standard deviation, and effect size from each study are extracted and tailored to this review. Also, covidence systematic review software is used in this study. The present study identified 405 records, of which 9 studies with 2533 participants were included for meta-analysis. The results showed that addicted men's wives in comparison with non-addicted men's wives had an increased risk of depression, generalized anxiety, specific phobia, interpersonal sensitivity and communication problems, obsessive-compulsive, somatization, hostility and aggression, paranoid thoughts, psychoticism, social dysfunction. Overall, husbands' SUD to opiate-derived drugs results in the incidence of psychopathology in their wives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research reveals that social anxiety may be predictive of bullying victimization, but it is not clear whether this relation stands for different groups of youth. The present study examines this association by employing a longitudinal design over 1 year and including the moderating role of developmental period (childhood vs. early adolescence) and students' immigrant status (native vs. non-native). T1 sample included 506 children (46.44% girls, mean age M = 8.55 years, SD = 0.55) and 310 early adolescents (50% girls, mean age = 12.54 years, SD = 0.59) recruited in schools in Northern Italy. Due to missing cases and drop-outs from T1 to T2, the final sample comprised 443 and 203 students from primary and middle school, respectively. Social anxiety and peer victimization were assessed through self-reported questionnaires. Results indicated that victimization at T2 was predicted by a 3-way interaction between T1 social anxiety, immigrant status, and developmental period. In particular, socially anxious early adolescents with an immigrant background were the most victimized. The results are discussed in terms of group dynamics and intergroup processes. The findings highlight the importance of personal variables in the cumulation of risks: social anxiety is more predictive of bullying victimization for immigrant early adolescents than for children or native early adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature showed that the link between right-wing attitudes and ethnocentric attitudes gets stronger under existential threats, but the role exerted by an impersonal threat – as COVID-19 – on right-wing attitudes is still unclear. This study aimed to highlight the role of anxiety exerted by the impersonal COVID-19 threat on the relationship between right-wing attitudes and ethnocentric attitudes, as nationalism and anti-immigrants' sentiments. As part of an international project to evaluate the impact of COVID-19, this study administered an online survey to a representative sample (n 1038). The anxiety generated by an impersonal threat as COVID-19 – thus not exerted by any outgroup – can moderate the relationship among personal Right-Wing Authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and ethnocentric attitudes. This is the first study demonstrating that existential threat is effective also when exerted by an impersonal agent (as COVID-19) rather than by an outgroup. Second, these findings disclose useful implications for preventive psychological interventions and for social policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]