Search

According to biopsychosocial models, experiencing parental child abuse increases susceptibility to adulthood psychopathology. However, there is a paucity of studies examining potential mechanisms of the parental child abuse and adulthood psychopathology relationship. The purpose of the current study was to determine if Time 2 (T2) trait self-esteem mediated levels of Time 1 (T1) retrospectively recalled parental child abuse predicting (T3) past-year major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD), alcohol use disorder (AUD), and substance use disorder (SUD) symptoms. The 18-year Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study included participants (N = 3294; T1 average age of 45.62 years) assessed at three different time points, each spaced about nine years apart. We performed structural equation mediation modeling analyses to determine how maternal and paternal child abuse at T1 would independently predict T3 MDD, GAD, PD, AUD, and SUD symptoms. We also examined whether T2 self-esteem mediated these relations while controlling for adulthood T1 psychopathology symptoms, demographics, socioeconomic status, somatic symptoms, and parental psychopathology. Consistent with our hypotheses, higher T1 maternal and paternal abuse predicted increased T3 GAD, PD, AUD, and SUD symptoms via diminished T2 self-esteem as the mediator (% proportion mediated = 33.0–100). However, childhood paternal, but not maternal, abuse predicted adulthood MDD symptoms via reduced self-esteem. Findings remained after adjusting for covariates. Our research highlights the importance of understanding retrospectively recalled parental child abuse–adulthood psychopathology relations, their potential mechanisms, and self-esteem as a malleable treatment target for adults with heightened child abuse. • T1 parental abuse predicted higher T3 adult psychopathology via lower self-esteem. • SEM analyses showed that these mediational processes occurred across 18 years. • Past-year MDD, GAD, PD, AUD, and SUD symptoms at T3 were measured. • Paternal abuse, not maternal, predicted adult MDD via low self-esteem. • Findings stayed similar after adjusting for demographic, SES, and somatic variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objective Method Results Discussion This study examined cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations of intermittent fasting (IF) engagement with body mass index (BMI), both thinness‐oriented and muscularity‐oriented eating disorder (ED) psychopathology, eating‐related psychosocial impairment, and intuitive eating.Using a longitudinal design, 491 Chinese adults (Mage = 30.33 years, SD = 7.89) provided data regarding BMI, IF status, and eating variables at baseline (T1) and 8‐month (T2) follow‐up. One‐way ANOVA was used to explore cross‐sectional associations between IF engagement at T1 and study variables (i.e., BMI and eating variables) at T1. Cross‐lagged regression analyses were used to examine the longitudinal associations between IF engagement at T1 and study variables at T2, after adjusting for covariates and study variables at T1.Cross‐sectionally, compared with participants who never engaged in IF at T1, those with current or past engagement in IF at T1 exhibited significantly higher BMI, ED psychopathology, eating‐related psychosocial impairment, and lower intuitive eating at T1. Longitudinally, relative to never engagement in IF at T1, both current and past engagement in IF at T1 were associated with higher ED psychopathology and greater eating‐related psychosocial impairment at T2. Also, relative to never engagement in IF at T1, past engagement in IF at T1 was associated with higher BMI at T2 and lower unconditional permission to eat as a facet of intuitive eating at T2.The findings challenge the perception of IF as an effective approach for weight loss and also suggest IF might have enduring adverse impacts on eating behaviors, similar to traditional forms of dieting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a reliable retrospective link to early-life traumatic stress, dissociation has been formulated as a pathology of abnormal socioemotional development. Dissociation hence should be identifiable and diagnosable in childhood. This study aimed to address the extent to which current formulation and diagnostic criteria of adult dissociation is applicable to children. This case study documented and analyzed the potentially dissociative experiences and behaviors in a 11-year-old boy from a residential facility accommodating children from high-risk families. The first-person account from the child client about his potentially dissociative experiences and the observations of the clinician witnessing the targeted behaviors were documented, revealing a symptom profile similar to adult dissociation. Dissociation disrupted multiple domains of typically integrated mental functioning including memory, consciousness, and the sense of self. The child client presented unusual forgetfulness that was observed by others, while the child himself was able to describe experiences involving gaps in consciousness and a fragmented and disconnected sense of self. This case study renders support for the current formulation of dissociative pathology and its applicability to high-risk cases in early developmental stages. This finding also indicates the importance of trauma-informed care in child residential settings. With gentle guiding prompts, children are able to recognize and articulate unusual experiences, facilitating the early identification of dissociation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objective Methods Results Conclusion Accurate time perception is crucial to daily life but vulnerable to interference, particularly through negative affect, which dilates individuals' sense of time passing. Regulation strategies like rumination, and disorders like borderline personality disorder (BPD), are linked to time distortion, yet their interrelationships remain untested. We investigated whether rumination and BPD symptoms increase time dilation in negative affective states to understand the clinical implications of time distortion.In an online pilot study, we tested whether negative affect (NA) predicts subjective time perception and explored how rumination, BPD symptoms, and their interaction predicted time perception using a between‐subjects online experimental mood induction. Adult participants (Ncombined = 760) were recruited from Prolific Academic and a large, Midwestern U.S. university.State NA and increased BPD features predicted increased time dilation. The role of trait‐level rumination was nuanced, with individuals low in BPD symptoms and elevated trait rumination exhibiting reduced time dilation in response to NA. Conversely, those with elevated rumination and BPD symptoms reported increased time dilation in the neutral condition.Findings offer foundational evidence of NA and rumination's roles in time dilation for individuals across levels of BPD symptom endorsement. Subsequent replication and extension could flesh out these relationships and inform psychotherapeutic treatment targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objective Method Results Conclusion Understanding the development of adolescent reward responsiveness and inhibitory control is important as they are implicated in key outcomes, such as depression. However, relatively few studies have examined the self‐reported experience of this development longitudinally, and past findings have been mixed. Here, we examined the longitudinal development of self‐reported reward responsiveness and inhibitory control in youth, as well as clinical and neural measures as predictors of these longitudinal trajectories.We assessed 223 youth aged 9–17 across 36 months. We modeled growth trajectories of several measures of reward responsiveness and inhibitory control using multilevel models. We tested reward‐related functional connectivity, depression symptoms, and parental risk for psychopathology as moderators of longitudinal growth.Self‐reported inhibitory control increased linearly across adolescence. However, contrary to hypotheses and common models of adolescent development, self‐reported reward responsiveness decreased linearly across adolescence. Baseline functional connectivity and clinical risk measures did not significantly moderate trajectories.Results suggest that within‐person changes in the phenomenological experience of reward responsiveness may not match developmental expectations based on cross‐sectional and neuroimaging studies. More attention is needed to the longitudinal study of subjective experience of reward responsiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveMethodsResultsConclusionsParanoid ideation underlies numerous psychological disorders and has debilitating effects on daily life. Deficits in neurocognition are highlighted as a contributing factor to paranoid-related disorders, but the impact on the symptom-level experience of paranoid ideation is unclear. This study aimed to employ a dimensional approach to understand the association between neurocognition and the severity and presence of paranoid ideation.400 participants, representative of the general population of the USA, completed an online questionnaire consisting of the Brief Symptom Inventory-53, and demographic and clinical questions. The participants then completed four computerised neurocognitive tasks measuring working memory, shifting, inhibition, and speed of processing.Speed of processing accounted for unique variance in the severity of paranoid ideation with a small effect size, after controlling for covariates. Working memory, shifting, and inhibition could not uniquely or collectively, account for paranoid ideation. Neurocognitive performance could not distinguish between individuals with and without paranoid ideation experiences.This research supports the body of literature that speed of information processing may be a key feature of paranoid ideation. Future research should employ non-linear dynamic methods to better understand the potential interactions between neurocognitive components and how this may relate to paranoid ideation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intriguing explorations at the intersection of the fields of neuroscience and psychology are driven by the quest to understand the neural underpinnings of "the self" and their psychotherapeutic implications. These translational efforts pertain to the unique Creative Arts Therapies (CATs) and the attributes and value of the self-related processes they offer. The self is considered as a multi-layered complex construct, comprising bodily and mental constituents, subjective–objective perspectives, spatial and temporal dimensions. Neuroscience research, mostly functional brain imaging, has proposed cogent models of the constitution, development and experience of the self, elucidating how the multiple dimensions of the self are supported by integrated hierarchical brain processes. The psychotherapeutic use of the art-forms, generating aesthetic experiences and creative processes, touch upon and connect the various layers of self-experience, nurturing the sense of self. The present conceptual analysis will describe and interweave the neural mechanisms and neural network configuration suggested to lie at the core of the ongoing self-experience, its deviations in psychopathology, and implications regarding the psychotherapeutic use of the arts. The well-established, parsimonious and neurobiologically plausible predictive processing account of brain-function will be discussed with regard to selfhood and consciousness. The epistemic affordance of the experiential CATs will further be portrayed, enabling and facilitating the creation of updated self-models of the body in the world. The neuropsychological impact of the relational therapeutic encounter will be delineated, acknowledging the intersubjective brain synchronization through communicative verbal and non-verbal means and aesthetic experiences. The recognition and assimilation of neuroscientific, phenomenological and clinical perspectives concerning the nested dimensionality of the self, ground the relational therapeutic process and the neuroplastic modulations that CATs have to offer on the premise of fostering, shaping and integrating selfhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Children and adolescents treated in specialty mental health services are more likely to have sleep disturbances than those without mental health problems. Few studies have investigated the relationship between sleep and psychopathology in broad clinical samples of children. We examined the relationship between sleep disturbance and age on internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in a sample who sought treatment at children's mental health centers. Methods: Secondary data analyses were completed on a sample of children (N = 13,472; aged 4 to 18; 55% male) from 39 children's mental health agencies in Ontario, Canada, who completed a semi-structured assessment, the interRAI Children and Youth Mental Health (ChYMH). A split-half sample approach was utilized (S1 n = 6,773, S2 n = 6,699). Hierarchical regressions examined the effects of sleep disturbances (i.e., difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, night waking, bedtime resistance, falling asleep during the day) on internalizing and externalizing symptoms, above and beyond established child- (i.e., age, sex, sensory sensitivity, pain) and family-level variables (family functioning, caregiver distress, parenting strengths). Age was tested as a moderator for sleep disturbances on both outcome variables. Results: Overall, 6.7% of children had clinically significant sleep disturbance scores (≥10 out of 16) on the interRAI ChYMH. In both samples, sleep disturbances predicted internalizing (S1 ΔR2 = 10%, S2 ΔR2 = 10%) and externalizing symptoms (S1 ΔR2 = 2%, S2 ΔR2 = 1%), above and beyond child and family variables. Age moderated the relationship between sleep disturbances and internalizing symptoms (S1 ß = 0.07; S2 ß = 0.07; ΔR2 = 0.004 in both samples), but not externalizing symptoms; sleep disturbance was more strongly related to internalizing symptoms amongst adolescents (ß = 0.98) than children (ß = 0.62). Discussion: The relationship between sleep and internalizing symptoms appears to change as children move through development. Further, sleep was a stronger predictor of internalizing problems in adolescents than children, suggesting an additional focus of clinician efforts in this age group. These findings strengthen the importance of routine assessment of sleep, as is done with the interRAI ChYMH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perfectionism has been identified as a vulnerability and maintenance factor across eating disorders (EDs). Additionally, research has found that intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and repetitive negative thinking (RNT) moderate the relationship between perfectionism and psychopathology. Despite this evidence, few studies have examined if these factors specifically moderate ED severity. This study aimed to fill this gap by investigating the moderating effect of IU and RNT on the relationship between perfectionism and ED symptoms, as well as the predictive power of these factors on identifying participants with clinically significant ED symptoms. 331 treatment-seeking adults from a university-affiliated community clinic and 264 undergraduate students completed measures to assess ED symptoms, RNT, perfectionism and IU. 147 participants (24.7% of the total sample) had clinically significant levels of ED symptoms as determined by the Eating Disorder Questionnaire Short-Form (EDE-QS). Multiple linear regressions found significant associations between ED symptoms and both the IU*perfectionism interaction (p <.001) and the RNT*perfectionism interaction (p <.001). A binary logistic regression identified that both the IU*perfectionism interaction (p =.03) and the RNT*perfectionism interaction (p =.001) predicted clinically significant EDE-QS scores. The findings indicate that both IU and RNT moderate the relationship between perfectionism and ED symptoms and build on previous literature recognising transdiagnostic contributors to ED symptomatology. Plain English summary: Perfectionism, intolerance of uncertainty and repetitive negative thinking have been shown to maintain symptoms across multiple eating disorders. This is the first study to investigate the influence of intolerance of uncertainty and repetitive negative thinking on the relationship between perfectionism and eating disorder symptoms in a treatment-seeking sample. We found that both intolerance of uncertainty and repetitive negative thinking impact the relationship between perfectionism and eating disorder symptomatology. By better understanding the role of these constructs, we can develop more effective and personalized treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we investigated the association of different emotion regulation (ER) indices with symptom severity across a large transdiagnostic sample of patients with emotional disorders (cross-sectional approach) and the predictive validity these ER indices have for the outcome of routine care CBT (longitudinal approach). We assessed the trait-like use of adaptive (reappraisal) and maladaptive (suppression, externalizing behaviors) ER strategies via questionnaire as well as the situational ability to regulate emotions with an experimental ER paradigm. Psychopathology was assessed dimensionally using the depression, anxiety, and stress scale. Cross-sectionally symptom severity was predicted by less trait-like use of adaptive and more trait-like use of maladaptive ER strategies, but no associations were found for situational ER ability. This association was more pronounced for depression and stress symptoms rather than anxiety symptoms. In a striking dissociation, the longitudinal analyses revealed the reverse picture: Better situational ER ability, but not trait-like use of ER strategies was associated with less symptom severity after the CBT treatment. Our data argues in favor of a distinction between trait-like and situational ER abilities in individuals with emotional disorders, highlighting challenges in applying adaptive ER strategies in daily life despite demonstrating intact ER skills in experimental settings. Our findings also inform transdiagnostic models of psychopathology and suggest that distress/depression rather than anxiety symptomatology to be driving forces for the occurrence of ER deficits across the depression/anxiety disorders spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Methods Results Conclusions Many studies show that both callous‐unemotional (CU) traits (e.g., low empathy, lack of guilt) and cognitive difficulties increase risk for externalizing psychopathology across development. However, other work suggests that some aggression (e.g., relational, proactive) may rely on intact cognitive function, which could vary based on the presence of CU traits. Moreover, no prior research has adequately accounted for common risk factors shared by CU traits, cognitive difficulties, and externalizing problems, which confounds conclusions that can be drawn about their purported relationships. The current study addressed these knowledge gaps by leveraging rigorous propensity matching methods to isolate associations between CU traits and different dimensions of cognitive function and externalizing problems.Associations between CU traits, cognitive functioning, and externalizing outcomes were tested within dimensional (n = 11,868) and propensity‐matched group‐based (n = 1,224) models using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study®, with rigorous statistical control for shared sociodemographic risk factors. Cross‐sectional outcomes were parent‐reported symptoms of conduct disorder (CD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Longitudinal outcomes were child‐reported overt and relational aggression.CU traits were uniquely related to more parent‐reported CD, ODD, ADHD symptoms, as well as more child‐reported aggressive behaviors. Effects of cognitive difficulties were domain specific and were not consistent across dimensional and propensity matched models. There was minimal evidence for divergent associations between CU traits and externalizing outcomes as a function of cognition (i.e., no moderation).Rigorous control for sociodemographic factors within propensity‐matched models establish CU traits as a robust and unique risk factor for externalizing psychopathology, over and above difficulties with cognitive functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Obsessive-compulsive (OC) traits (i.e., tendency to implement stereotyped behaviors to avoid negative consequences) are transversally observed in psychiatric disorders largely differing in terms of clinical manifestations and etiopathogenesis. Interestingly, OC traits were also extensively found in the prodromal phases of the full-blown psychopathology and in healthy relatives of affected individuals. Moreover, OC traits were found to be associated—and possibly underlain by—cognitive control impairments. Nonetheless, the role of such interplay in the onset of OC disorders is yet to be understood. We hypothesized that OC traits are associated with abnormalities in proactively implement cognitive control for solving conflict. Methods: We administered healthy individuals (n = 104) with the perifoveal spatial Stroop task to measure their ability of solving conflict in a proactive fashion, and with Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (OCI) to stratify population according to the severity of OC traits. Results: Analysis of response times by means of Linear Mixed-effect models revealed that proactive control performance was not associated with and the severity of OC traits. Furthermore, an equivalence test (Two One-Sided Test) revealed that the association between OCI scores and task performance was equivalent to zero. Conclusion: These results suggest that the interplay between OC traits and proactive control abnormalities might not contribute to the development of OC-related disorders. Therefore, the role of other cognitive endophenotypes should be scrutinized for exploiting alternative prevention and intervention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In cross‐sectional and retrospective research, parental binge eating is associated with their children's eating psychopathology. The current study extended the evidence by cross‐sectionally and longitudinally examining the relation between parental binge eating and binge eating and weight‐control behaviors in the next generation of their adolescent children and young adult children in a population‐based sample. Methods: Adolescents (Time 1: M = 14.5, SD = 2.0 years) (n = 2367), followed into adulthood (Time 2: M = 22.1, SD = 2.0 years), and their parents (n = 3664) were enrolled in EAT 2010–2018 and Project F‐EAT 2010. The current study examined parental binge eating, and child binge eating and weight‐control behaviors. Adjusted models covaried for child gender, age, and race/ethnicity. Results: Approximately 7% of adolescents at Time 1 had at least one parent who reported binge eating with no differences by child's age, gender, or race/ethnicity. Having at least one parent experiencing binge eating at Time 1 (vs. not) was associated cross‐sectionally with adolescent children's use of extreme weight‐control behaviors (9.6% vs. 4.8%; Risk Difference [RD] = 4.9%) and associated longitudinally with binge eating during young adulthood (21.1% vs. 11.6%; RD = 9.5%). Other associations did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Children of parents with binge eating appear to have elevated risk of extreme weight‐control behaviors during adolescence and binge eating in young adulthood. Clinicians should assess whether eating psychopathology extends to other family members, and offer additional support to parents with binge eating. Further research is needed to identify risk factors in the children of parents with binge eating and to assess strategies for prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Only approximately 20% of college students with an eating disorder (ED) seek treatment. One barrier to seeking treatment is weight discrimination. Past research demonstrates that experiencing weight discrimination is associated with increased ED risk and decreased in‐person treatment engagement. Weight discrimination may be a particularly relevant treatment barrier for students who have a higher body weight given their higher likelihood of experiencing weight discrimination. Methods: College students with a probable ED diagnosis (N = 372; Mage = 23.94; 73.12% women, 18.55% men, 6.18% another gender; 11.29% Asian, 4.57% Black, 12.63% Hispanic, 83.60% White, 4.84% Native American, and 0.54% another race) completed an online self‐report survey that included the Clinical Impairment Assessment (CIA), Experience of Weight Discrimination (EWD) Scale, and a 0–100 scale to indicate interest in participating in virtual guided self‐help ED treatment. Results: Linear regression showed significant positive relationships between weight discrimination and ED‐related psychiatric impairment and treatment interest. Discussion: Elevations in CIA scores corroborate past literature that suggested that weight discrimination was positively related to ED psychopathology. Contrary to past research, college students who experienced weight discrimination had greater treatment interest. Students who experience weight discrimination may view virtual self‐guided treatment as less weight‐stigmatizing due to the "do‐it‐yourself" approach and no in‐person interactions. Findings highlight the potential impacts of weight discrimination on acceptability of ED‐related care. Future research is needed to identify ways to reduce weight discrimination and promote weight‐inclusive practices in the medical system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examines the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the Eating Disorder‐15 questionnaire (ED‐15) in a large clinical sample, as well as the instrument's sensitivity to early clinical change in therapy and ability to measure remission. Method: Participants with eating disorders (N = 278) referred to the Flinders University Services for Eating Disorders in South Australia completed the ED‐15 as well as other measures of eating disorder symptoms and co‐occurring psychopathology, including depression, anxiety, and stress. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed a two‐factor model for the ED‐15. The ED‐15 had good internal consistency. It showed satisfactory concurrent validity with moderate correlations with the EDE‐Q global score and contribution of unique variance to that score. Correlations indicated good convergent validity with clinical impairment and good divergent validity from depression, anxiety, and stress. The ED‐15 showed a significant medium effect size change within the first four sessions of therapy. Good discriminant validity was indicated by cut‐off scores used for remission, with significantly different levels of ED psychopathology and other impairments between the two groups. Discussion: This study adds to the four previous psychometric studies of the ED‐15, confirming robustness of the English version in a clinical sample. The brevity and psychometric robustness of the ED‐15 makes it a preferable measure to the Eating Disorder Examination for sessional assessment of progress in treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We employed latent profile analysis (LPA) to discern configurations of executive functioning (EF) and neuroticism (NE) and tested their concurrent validity with respect to internalizing and externalizing problems and physical health. Participants: A total of 125 college students completed the study. Methods: Participants self-reported NE and EF on separate normed rating scales and completed computerized tests of EF. Self-reported internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and global physical health were collected. Results: LPA revealed four profiles: (1) Lower EF + Higher NE, (2) Higher EF + Lower NE, (3) Inconsistent EF + Higher NE, and (4) Inconsistent EF + Lower NE. Adjusting for covariates, profiles were differentially associated with internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and physical health. Conclusions: Screening EF and NE in college students may identify those at risk for psychopathology and physical health concerns. Tailored prevention and intervention efforts on college campuses targeting EF and NE may enhance well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High intensity (HI) binge drinking has emerged as a high-risk drinking phenotype in young adult drinkers, yet few studies have evaluated clinically meaningful correlates of HI binge drinking among young adults at risk for co-occurring psychopathologies, such as interpersonal trauma-exposed drinkers. The present study compared three groups (i.e., HI binge, standard binge, non-binge drinkers) of interpersonal trauma-exposed college student drinkers (N = 221) on alcohol and interpersonal trauma characteristics. Results of one-way ANOVAs indicated that the HI binge group endorsed significantly greater negative alcohol-related consequences relative to the other two groups. The HI binge group endorsed significantly greater enhancement motives compared to the non-binge group, and no group differences were detected for PTSD and interpersonal trauma characteristics. Individuals who engage in HI binge drinking may experience greater alcohol problems due to their use of alcohol to enhance positive mood. HI binge drinking does not differentiate individuals on the basis of interpersonal trauma experiences or related psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Exposure to a range of stressful life events (SLE) is implicated in youth psychopathology. Previous studies point to a discrepancy between parents'/children's reports regarding stressful life events. No study systematically assessed the correlation between such discrepancies and psychopathology in depressed youth. This study was designed to assess parent—youth discrepancies regarding stressful life events and its association with severity of psychopathology at baseline and response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment in depressed youth. Methods: Reports regarding stressful life events were assessed in children/adolescents suffering from depressive/anxiety disorders using the life events checklist (LEC), a self-report questionnaire measuring the impact of negative life events (NLE) and positive life events (PLE), as reported by the children and their parents. The severity of depression/anxiety disorders and response to antidepressant treatment were evaluated and correlated with both measures of LEC. Results: Participants were 96 parent-child dyads (39 boys, 57 girls) aged 6–18 years (mean = 13.90 years, SD = 2.41). Parents reported more NLE and higher severity of NLE events than their children (number of NLE: 7.51 ± 4.17 vs. 6.04 ± 5.32; Cumulative severity of NLE: 24.95 ± 14.83 vs. 17.24 ± 12.94). Discrepancy in PLE, but not NLE, was associated with more severe psychopathology and reduced response to treatment. Discussion: Discrepancy in informant reports regarding life events in depressed/anxious youth, especially regarding PLE, is associated with more severe psychopathology and reduced response to pharmacotherapy. It is essential to use multiple reporters in assessing stressful life events in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psoriasis is associated with a high psychological burden and comorbidities, such as depression and anxiety. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychopathological profile of patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis under systemic treatment and to explore the association between DLQI and alexithymia, depression, and other psychopathological disorders. Methods: In this monocentric, prospective clinical study, 104 adult patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis were evaluated according to the disease severity (measured by PASI) influence of psoriasis on their quality of life (measured by DLQI) and their psychopathological profile (measured by the BDI, TAS-20, and SCL-90 questionnaires). Results: The psoriasis patients exhibited high levels of psychopathological symptoms, particularly for depression, obsessive-compulsive behavior, somatization, interpersonal sensitivity, and anxiety. More than half of the psoriatic patients (56.7%) were diagnosed with minimal depression, 26.9% with mild depression, and 16.3% with moderate or severe depression. The symptoms of possible and confirmed alexithymia were present in 19.2% and 15.4% of the patients, respectively. The patients with alexithymia appeared to experience a more significant impact on their QoL. Specifically, the percentage of patients with alexithymia/possible alexithymia who had a DLQI of ≥2 was 77.8% vs. 51.5% in those without alexithymia. Conclusions: Our study illuminates the intricate connection between the disease severity and psychological components that impact the QoL of patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. It is advised that clinicians adopt a comprehensive approach to managing psoriasis, which involves addressing both the physical symptoms of the condition and the psychological impact. In cases of patients with a DLQI of ≥2, despite adequate clinical responses, evaluating the possible coexistence of general psychopathology is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: The diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is undergoing significant revisions, impacting prevalence estimates in the general population. Moreover, the rise of a dimensional perspective on psychopathology has broadened our understanding of autism, recognizing that subthreshold autistic features extend throughout the general population. However, there remains a limited understanding of the prevalence of ASD traits in individuals with psychiatric disorders, particularly in young adults, who are at an age where several mental health conditions emerge. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of ASD traits in a sample of young adults (18–24 years old) attending a generalized mental health outpatient clinic. Methods: A total of 259 young adult patients completed the self-report screening questionnaires Autism Quotient (AQ) and Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R). Results: A total of 16.2% of our sample scored above the cut-off in both scales; this percentage decreased to 13.13% when restricting the RAADS-R cut-off to >119, as suggested for clinical samples. The association with sociodemographic features is discussed. Conclusions: We argue that screening for autistic traits should be integrated into the assessment of young adults presenting with nonspecific psychiatric symptoms or psychological distress. Although there is ongoing debate over the use of self-report screening tools, a positive result on both the AQ and RAADS-R should prompt clinicians to pursue a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation using structured or semi-structured interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though youth living in disadvantaged neighborhoods experience greater risk for poor behavioral and mental health outcomes, many go on to show resilience in the face of adversity. A few recent studies have identified neural markers of resilience in cognitive and affective brain networks, yet the broader network organization supporting resilience in youth remains unknown, particularly in relation to neighborhood disadvantage. Moreover, most studies have defined resilience as the absence of psychopathology, which does not consider growing evidence that resilience also includes positive outcomes across multiple domains (e.g., social, academic). We examined associations between brain network organization and multiple resilience domains in a sample of 708 twins (7–19 years old) recruited from neighborhoods with above-average poverty levels. Graph analysis on functional connectivity data from resting-state and task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to characterize features of intrinsic whole-brain and network-level organization, from which we explored associations with resilience in three domains: psychological, social, and academic. Fewer connections between a brain network involved in self-referential processing (i.e., default mode network) and the subcortical system were associated with greater social resilience. Further, greater whole-brain functional integration (i.e., efficiency) was associated with better psychological resilience among youth with relatively lower levels of cumulative adversity exposure. Alternatively, lower whole-brain efficiency and higher whole-brain robustness to disruption (i.e., assortativity) were associated with greater psychological and social resilience among youth with relatively higher levels of cumulative adversity. These findings advance support for multidimensional resilience models and reveal distinct neural mechanisms supporting resilience to neighborhood disadvantage across specific domains in youth. Public Significance Statement: The present study used brain imaging to examine how the organization of information flow throughout the brain relates to resilience to neighborhood disadvantage in youth. Results identified three domains of resilience (i.e., psychological, social, and academic), which showed unique associations with patterns of information flow across brain networks and the entire brain. This work bridges advancements in resilience theory with neuroscience to identify brain markers of resilience among youth marginalized by the socioeconomic status of their neighborhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The psychological study of resilience has increasingly underscored the need for children and families to access material and psychological resources to positively adapt to significant stress. Redistributive policies—policies that downwardly reallocate society's social and economic resources—can offer economically disadvantaged families sustained access to these resources and mitigate the harmful impacts of adversity. This conceptual article builds upon and integrates insights from psychological and policy research to develop a unifying multilevel resilience framework, which we call the Social Determinants of Resilience. We examine four U.S. redistributive policies that have been extensively studied for their effects on child and family outcomes as case studies: (1) Medicaid expansion; (2) the Earned Income Tax Credit; (3) childcare subsidies; and (4) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Informed by a scoping review of each policy, we propose that redistributive policies promote children's resilience through three mechanisms by (1) increasing families' resource and service access; (2) reducing family stress; and (3) enhancing adaptive cognitions, emotions, behaviors, and interpersonal processes that protect against the development of psychopathology and promote positive mental health outcomes. Highlighting current evidence for these resilience mechanisms as well as gaps in knowledge, we conclude by setting a multidisciplinary research agenda that can leverage this conceptual framework to advance the science on how redistributive policies enable children and families to thrive. Public Significance Statement: Policies that support economically disadvantaged families such as Medicaid expansion, the Earned Income Tax Credit, childcare subsidies, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program mitigate adversity and promote children's resilience. This article proposes a conceptual framework for how psychological and policy research on resilience can be integrated to identify the mechanisms through which these policies promote the human capacity to thrive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate factors associated with functioning in participants with and without borderline personality disorder (BPD). In particular, we were interested whether mentalizing and related social cognitive capacities, as factors of internal functioning, are important in predicting psychosocial functioning, in addition to other psychopathological and sociodemographic factors. Method: This is a cross‐sectional study with N = 53 right‐handed females with and without BPD, without significant differences in age, IQ, and socioeconomic status, who completed semi‐structured diagnostic and self‐report measures of social cognition. Mentalizing was assessed using the Reflective Functioning Scale based on transcribed Adult Attachment Interviews. A regularized regression with the elastic net penalty was deployed to investigate whether mentalizing and social cognition predict psychosocial functioning. Results: Borderline personality disorder symptom severity, sexual abuse trauma, and social and socio‐economic factors ranked as the most important variables in predicting psychosocial functioning, while reflective functioning (RF) was somewhat less important in the prediction, social cognitive functioning and sociodemographic variables were least important. Conclusions: Borderline personality disorder symptom severity was most important in determining functional impairment, alongside trauma related to sexual abuse as well as social and socio‐economic factors. These findings verify that BPD symptoms themselves most robustly predict functional impairment, followed by history of sexual abuse, then contextual factors (e.g. housing, financial, physical health), and then RF. These results lend marginal support to the conceptualization that mentalizing may enhance psychosocial functioning by facilitating social learning, but emphasize symptom reduction and stabilization of life context as key intervention targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Patients with schizophrenia typically exhibit symptoms of disorganized thought and display concreteness and over‐inclusion in verbal reports, depending on the level of abstraction. While concreteness and over‐inclusion may appear contradictory, the underlying psychopathology that explains these symptoms remains unclear. In the current study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging with an encoding modeling approach to examine how concepts of various words, represented as brain activity, are anomalously connected at different levels of abstraction in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Fourteen individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and 17 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain activity representing concepts of various words. We used a persistent homology (PH) method to analyze the topological structures of word representations in schizophrenia patients, healthy controls, and random data, across different levels of abstraction by varying dissimilarity scales in the representation space. Results: The results revealed that patients with schizophrenia exhibited more homogeneous word relationships across different levels of abstraction compared with healthy controls. Additionally, topological structures exhibited a shift toward a random network structure in patients with schizophrenia compared with controls. The PH method successfully distinguished semantic representations of patients with schizophrenia from those of controls. Conclusions: The current results provide an explanation for the mechanisms underlying the deficits in abstraction ability observed in schizophrenia. The isotopic connection of individual concepts reflects both the reduction of contextual connections at a semantically fine‐grained scale and the absence of clear boundaries between related concepts at a coarse scale, which lead to concreteness and over‐inclusion, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to characterize the relationship between mystical experience and psychopathology measures in a general-population sample of 763 U.S. adults. The participants were assessed across various domains including psychopathology, spirituality, personality, and life experience. The analysis revealed three distinct profiles among individuals: Transcendent Wellness, Transcendent Struggle, and Non-Transcendent Wellness. The Transcendent Wellness profile demonstrated higher scores in belongingness, mindfulness, and lived/integrated spirituality compared to the Transcendent Struggle profile. Belongingness and mindfulness were identified as mitigating factors, reducing the positive association between mystical experience and depression and anxiety symptoms. Additionally, lived/integrated spirituality attenuated this association, particularly in relation to anxiety. Conventional religiosity measures, however, did not exhibit the same moderating effects. The authors propose a framework in which relationally grounded spirituality, manifesting in the form of connection to fellow human, self, and higher power, constitutes a foundation for processing of and sense-making around mystical experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Prenatal maternal depression is known to affect the neurodevelopment of offspring. This study aimed to investigate the profile of umbilical cord serum in mothers with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS) was conducted using umbilical cord serum from mothers with MDD (n = 5) and controls (control, n = 5). The levels of several differentially expressed proteins in umbilical cord serum were compared between the MDD (n = 10) and control groups (n = 10) by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The proteomic profiles in the umbilical cord serum were different between the MDD and control groups, including the pathways of regulation of plasma lipoprotein particle levels, and synapse organization. Only apolipoprotein A4 (APOA4) was significantly higher in the cord blood of MDD group. APOA4 levels in maternal serum were also significantly higher in the MDD group than those in the control group. The APOA4 levels in the umbilical cord serum were higher than that in the maternal serum. Conclusions: The levels of APOA4, a biomarker of depression, in the umbilical cord serum at birth were elevated in the neonates of MDD mothers. It is, therefore, likely that fetuses of MDD mothers were exposed to higher APOA4 levels in utero and this could have developmental and mental health implications for the offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Rereading and rethinking: reflections towards the society of 2030 from Freud's three essays on the theory of sexuality and the case of Dora" delves into Freud's concepts from "Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality" and the case of Dora to explore human psyche and psychosexual development. It discusses Freud's theories on infantile sexuality, psychosexual development stages, and the interplay between constitution and environment in shaping human sexual drive. The article also reflects on clinical insights and theories of childhood sexuality, providing clinical suggestions and insights into the complex interplay between individual predispositions and environmental experiences. The author, Silvia Cimino, emphasizes the importance of maintaining Freudian milestones in understanding psychic functioning as society progresses towards 2030. [Extracted from the article]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by marked differences in communication patterns, reciprocal social interactions, and restricted, stereotyped, and repetitive interests and activities. Various behavioral problems in ASD, more so when accompanied by coexisting psychopathology, can sometimes lead to legal problems. In this study, the cases in which an opinion was requested in terms of criminal responsibility with the diagnosis of ASD in the 5‐year period between 2018 and 2022 in the expertise department of psychiatric observation, where psychiatric cases were hospitalized and observed in the Council of Forensic Medicine (CFM), which is the official expert institution in Türkiye, were retrospectively evaluated. The mean age of the group whose criminal responsibility was reduced or removed was 22.9 years (±7.52) and the mean IQ score was 76.63 ± 18.94. The most common crime in this group was intentional injury (5/11), and it is noteworthy that the victims of these crimes were usually relatives of people with ASD (5/6). The criminal acts of people with ASD are usually single‐movement, spontaneous, unplanned, impulsive acts. In addition, although there is no problem in cognitive perception in people with high functioning ASD (HF‐ASD), various forensic situations may arise due to defects in emotional awareness. When we look at the practices of the CFM in Türkiye, it is seen that in cases where the diagnosis of ASD is clear and can be associated with the crime, criminal responsibility is usually completely eliminated. In HF‐ASD types, although it is important to be associated with the crime, it is seen that criminal responsibility is generally reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diagnosis of schizophrenia is associated with a complex psychopathology related to disrupted brain circuitry causing a failure in coordinating information across brain sites with no consensus regarding the mechanisms. Although schizophrenia is well-studied, the great majority of studies investigated pre-selected ROIs or Seed-based connectivity. Whole brain ROI-wise studies that consider all ROIs available simultaneously are lacking. This technique helps understand large- and local-scale dynamics of information exchange across the whole brain. We investigated ROI-wise whole brain networks in 35 participants diagnosed with schizophrenia and 41 control participants. To unveil dysfunctions in brain subnetworks and to characterize network topology, we applied a statistical tool specially developed for network comparison called network-based statistic and graph theory. We observed a hyperconnected thalamo-cortico-cerebellar subnetwork in participants with schizophrenia; nodal analysis revealed higher number of thalamic connections. Our results suggest disruptions at the local level of the subnetwork rather than globally spread across the brain and driven by hyperconnectivity. Importantly, this subnetwork emerged from an exploratory analysis directly comparing ROI-wise whole brain network. This fact makes it an important contribution to the field as additional evidence, demonstrating the high reliability of malfunction in the local thalamo-cortico-cerebellar network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prior research has explored the impact of psychopathic personality on leadership and follower behavior. Following Dunham and Pierce's (1989) leadership continuum model to evaluate the impact of damaging leadership, this study investigated the impact of leaders' psychopathic personality and its resultant demonstration of toxic behaviors on followers' job satisfaction. Moreover, it extended the limited research on gender as a moderating variable between psychopathic personality and leadership toxicity by testing a moderated mediation model. A quantitative survey of 319 followers from different organizations was conducted using an online platform. Findings revealed significant relationship between the leaders' psychopathic personality and their demonstration of toxic behaviors. Also, leaders' toxic behaviors were found to mediate between personality and job satisfaction. Furthermore, gender was found as a significant moderator between personality and toxic leadership behavior. However, in contrast with the studies in the Global North, leaders' psychopathic personality and their toxic leadership behaviors were perceived as stronger among females, regardless of the industry they worked in. These results open the discussion on the impact of culture and gender on leader psychopathology and toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychophysiology can help elucidate the structure and developmental mechanisms of psychopathology, consistent with the Research Domain Criteria initiative. Cross-sectional research using categorical diagnoses indicates that P300 is an electrocortical endophenotype indexing genetic vulnerability to externalizing problems. However, current diagnostic systems' limitations impede a precise understanding of risk. The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) overcomes these limitations by delineating reliable dimensions ranging in specificity from broad spectra to narrow syndromes. The current study used a HiTOP-aligned approach to clarify P300's associations with a higher-order externalizing factor versus syndrome-specific manifestations within externalizing and internalizing spectra during middle and late adolescence. Participants from the Minnesota Twin Family Study's Enrichment Sample contributed psychophysiological and clinical data at age 14 (N = 930) and follow-up clinical data at age 17 (N = 913). Blunted target P300 at age 14 was selectively associated with externalizing as manifested at age 17 at the superspectrum level (rather than specific externalizing syndromes). Unlike in prior work, target P300 amplitude was positively associated with age 17 depressive symptoms (once controlling for standard stimuli). No association was observed with lifetime symptoms of childhood externalizing or depression evident by age 14. The results indicate that blunted target P300 elucidates specific risk for the development of late-adolescent/young-adult expressions of general externalizing, over and above symptoms evident by middle adolescence. Additionally, the findings speak to the synergistic utility of studying HiTOP-aligned dimensions using multiple measurement modalities to build a more comprehensive understanding of the development of psychopathology. General Scientific Summary: This study suggests that a brain response known to be reduced among people with substance use disorders and antisocial personality disorder is associated with the serious behavioral dysregulation shared among these conditions in late adolescence and not with other forms of disruptive behavior evident by middle adolescence. These findings deepen our understanding of the neural signatures of risk for mental illness, how they transcend diagnostic boundaries, and how they change with age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms involved in psychopathology has been hindered by the limitations of categorical nosologies. The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) is an alternative dimensional system for characterizing psychopathology, derived from quantitative studies of covariation among diagnoses and symptoms. HiTOP provides more promising targets for clinical neuroscience than traditional psychiatric diagnoses and can facilitate cumulative integration of existing research. We systematically reviewed 164 human neuroimaging studies with sample sizes of 194 or greater that have investigated dimensions of psychopathology classified within HiTOP. Replicated results were identified for constructs at five different levels of the hierarchy, including the overarching p-factor, the externalizing superspectrum, the thought disorder and internalizing spectra, the distress subfactor, and the depression symptom dimension. Our review highlights the potential of dimensional clinical neuroscience research and the usefulness of HiTOP while also suggesting limitations of existing work in this relatively young field. We discuss how HiTOP can be integrated synergistically with neuroscience-oriented, transdiagnostic frameworks developed by the National Institutes of Health, including the Research Domain Criteria, Addictions Neuroclinical Assessment, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Phenotyping Assessment Battery, and how researchers can use HiTOP to accelerate clinical neuroscience research in humans and other species. General Scientific Summary: Clinical scientists have discovered that mental disorders are not discrete categorical entities, as assumed by traditional diagnostic models, but rather reflect variation on a number of symptom dimensions varying continuously in the general population. In response, clinical neuroscience research has increasingly studied associations of neural variables with dimensional assessments of psychopathology, which can be organized by the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP). Using HiTOP as our framework, we review findings from 164 neuroimaging studies with reasonably large samples, highlighting replicated results, and we provide suggestions and guidelines for future HiTOP-informed neuroscience research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical and methodological research on threat conditioning provides important neuroscience-informed approaches to studying fear and anxiety. The threat conditioning framework is at the vanguard of physiological and neurobiological research into core mechanistic symptoms of anxiety-related psychopathology, providing detailed models of neural circuitry underlying variability in clinically relevant behaviors (e.g., decreased extinction, heightened generalization) and heterogeneity in clinical anxiety presentations. Despite the strengths of this approach in explaining symptom and syndromal heterogeneity, the vast majority of psychopathology-oriented threat conditioning work has been conducted using Diagnostic and Statistical Manualof Mental Disorders (DSM) diagnostic categories, which fail to capture the symptom-level resolution that is afforded by threat conditioning indices. Furthermore, relations between fine-grained neurobehavioral measures of threat conditioning and anxiety traits and symptoms are substantially attenuated by within-category heterogeneity, arbitrary boundaries, and inherent comorbidity in the DSM approach. Conversely, the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) is a promising approach for modeling anxiety symptoms relevant to threat conditioning work and for relating threat conditioning to broader anxiety-related constructs. To date, HiTOP has had a minimal impact on the threat conditioning field. Here, we propose that combining the HiTOP and neurobehavioral threat conditioning approaches is an important next step in studying anxiety-related pathology. We provide a brief review of prominent DSM critiques and how they affect threat conditioning studies and review relevant research and suggest solutions and recommendations that flow from the HiTOP perspective. Our hope is that this effort serves as both an inflection point and practical primer for HiTOP-aligned threat conditioning research that benefits both fields. General Scientific Summary: Threat conditioning is a commonly used model for understanding and developing treatments for anxiety-related disorders and mental health problems. Threat conditioning studies commonly use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to define anxiety-related disorders, yet this system has notable limitations. Here, we discuss how an alternative system, the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology, addresses these limitations and can further neuroscience-informed research on threat conditioning and anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As clinical psychological science and biological psychiatry push to assess, model, and integrate heterogeneity and individual differences, approaches leveraging computational modeling, translational methods, and dimensional approaches to psychopathology are increasingly useful in establishing brain–behavior relationships. The field is ultimately interested in complex human behavior, and disruptions in such behaviors can arise through many different pathways, leading to heterogeneity in etiology for seemingly similar presentations. Parsing this complexity may be enhanced using "simple" tasks—which we define as those assaying elemental processes that are the building blocks to complexity. Using eyeblink conditioning as one illustrative example, we propose that simple tasks assessing elemental processes can be leveraged by and enhance computational psychiatry and dimensional approaches in service of understanding heterogeneity in psychiatry, especially when these tasks meet three principles: (a) an extensively mapped circuit, (b) clear brain–behavior relationships, and (c) relevance to understanding etiological processes and/or treatment. General Scientific Summary: Heterogeneity has been a major challenge in the study of psychopathology and clinical science. Here, we proposed that simple tasks, which allow scientists to assess elemental processes of complex human behavior, have great value toward this problem. To effectively leverage these tasks in understanding and embracing heterogeneity, we recommend they be used according to three key principles of utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual differences in reward functioning have been associated with numerous disorders in adolescence. Given relations with multiple forms of psychopathology, it is unclear whether these associations are disorder specific or reflective of shared variance across multiple disorders. In a sample of adolescents (N = 418), we examined associations between neural and self-reported indices of early reward functioning (age 12) with different levels of a hierarchical psychopathology model assessed later in adolescence (age 18). We examined whether prospective relationships between reward functioning are specific to individual disorders or better explained by transdiagnostic dimensions. We found modest results for prospective associations between reward indices and different dimensions of psychopathology, with most significant associations not surviving correction for multiple comparisons. We discuss the benefits and limitations of the modeling approach used to examine dimension-specific associations that future work can build on. Overall, more work is needed to better understand how reward functioning is specifically associated with different forms of and hierarchical levels of psychopathology. General Scientific Summary: Adolescent reward functioning is associated with numerous forms of psychopathology, leaving uncertainty whether the relationships are disorder specific or better explained by transdiagnostic factors. Here, we examined prospective relationships between early adolescent reward functioning and a psychopathology hierarchy measured later in adolescence. We found modest results and discuss implications that future work can build on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional mental health diagnoses rely on symptom-based classifications. Yet this approach can oversimplify clinical presentations as diagnoses often do not adequately map onto neurobiological features. Alternatively, our study used structural imaging data and a semisupervised machine learning technique, heterogeneity through discriminative analysis, to identify neurobiological subtypes in 9- to 10-year-olds with high psychopathology endorsements (n = 9,027). Our model revealed two stable neurobiological subtypes (adjusted Rand index = 0.38). Subtype 1 showed smaller structural properties, elevated conduct problems and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, and impaired cognitive performance compared to Subtype 2 and typically developing youth. Subtype 2 had larger structural properties, cognitive abilities comparable to typically developing youth, and elevated internalizing symptoms relative to Subtype 1 and typically developing youth. These subtypes remained stable in their neurobiological characteristics, cognitive ability, and associated psychopathology traits over time. Taken together, our data-driven approach uncovered evidence of neural heterogeneity as demonstrated by structural patterns that map onto divergent profiles of psychopathology symptoms and cognitive performance in youth. General Scientific Summary: This study identified neurobiological subtypes underlying high levels of general psychopathology. Smaller/thinner brains were associated with specific externalizing symptoms and cognitive deficits. Larger/thicker brains were associated with elevated internalizing symptoms and intact cognition. Neural characteristics, cognition, and psychopathology among the subtypes remained largely stable across a 2-year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A primary goal of clinical neuroscience is to identify associations between individual differences in psychopathology and the brain. However, despite a significant amount of resources invested in this endeavor, few reliable neural correlates of psychopathology have been identified. A common suspect for this lack of success is the significant heterogeneity in symptoms observed in psychiatric disorders. However, this is not the only potential source of heterogeneity, as substantial heterogeneity is also observed in brain structure and function. Thus, for clinical neuroscience to identify reliable neural correlates of psychopathology, it will be necessary to better understand heterogeneity in both psychopathology and the brain. In this commentary, we suggest four shared principles that can help disentangle heterogeneity in both of these domains: (a) the brain and behavior should both be treated as complex measures, (b) a priori assumptions should be viewed with caution unless they can be replicated robustly in individuals, (c) complex models of individual differences require appropriate data to estimate them, and (d) the field would benefit from an increased focus on extensively measuring individuals, such as through the use of personalized models of psychopathology and neuroimaging data. Together, these shared principles can aid in better characterizing—and separating relevant and irrelevant—heterogeneity in measures of psychopathology and neuroimaging. General Scientific Summary: A primary goal of clinical neuroscience is to identify associations between the brain and psychopathology. To accomplish this goal, the field will have to adopt more comprehensive measures that are reliable within individuals, such as personalized models. Otherwise, clinical neuroscience will continue to be plagued by small effect sizes with limited clinical utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A "natural kind" is a specific classification that identifies some structure of truth and reality, a delimited entity. Psychiatric disorders are not natural kinds. As one moves from physics and chemistry to biology and medicine, natural kinds degrade, and the boundaries of differentiating phenomena become less clear. Within psychiatry, the categorization of psychopathology has further ontological challenges, especially across development. We suggest that to identify and isolate clinical subgroups, it is critical to integrate external validators in an iterative process, with the goal of linking classification to treatments with maximal clinical benefit. General Scientific Summary: This commentary discusses the how the field of psychiatry conceptualizes and categories disorders. We reiterate that mental health difficulties are complex phenomena. We further suggest that clinical researchers increase attention on categorization based on response to treatments that effectively alleviate symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical heterogeneity is a significant factor to contend with when seeking to organize, understand, and treat psychopathology. In recent years, the field has prioritized efforts to minimize nonmeaningful heterogeneity and leverage meaningful heterogeneity to improve assessment and diagnostics, inform mechanistic understanding, and facilitate the development of novel treatments. Indeed, exciting developments such as the National Institute for Mental Health Research Domain Criteria and the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology have provided powerful frameworks for facing clinical complexity. While these developments have spurred many advancements, the movement has yet to effectively harness the tremendous potential provided by the brain. Initial work incorporating brain data has focused on validating clinical observations with a biomarker rather than leveraging the brain to provide unique insight into meaningful clinical heterogeneity. To provide future guidance and examples of innovation in the area, we solicited articles from teams seeking to utilize brain research to manage clinical heterogeneity. The search resulted in a diverse illustration of how best to leverage brain data to greater mechanistic understanding and clinical utility. In this introduction, we consider this work and discuss strategies through which brain data can best be used to provide unique insight into clinical heterogeneity. As the science of psychopathology continues to grapple with the promise and costs inherent in utilizing this powerful and complex array of methodologies, it will be important to leverage unique insights from brain science. This special issue provides a useful guide for new and upcoming work and a catalyst for moving the field forward. General Scientific Summary: Clinical heterogeneity presents a significant scientific barrier to identifying mechanisms within disorders, within symptom dimensions across disorders, and in risk or etiology of a disorder, but advancements in brain research have significant potential to supplement and improve ongoing efforts to address heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recovery from psychopathology in patients with personality disorder (PD) after the therapeutic intervention is not necessarily accompanied by an increase in their quality of life. This phenomenon can be understood from a bifactorial model of affect and challenges our therapeutic design to focus on recovery. Method: In a sample of severe PD, we evaluate emotional and clinical variables before (N = 414) and after (N = 247) a 6-month intervention program. Results: The level of emotion intensity influences the association between positive and negative affect (PA and NA; p < .0001). Patients with a "self-constructive" affective profile improve more in PA than in NA ( p = .008). Conclusions: The specific promotion of PA, applied in a phase in which the person experiences less negative emotional reactivity, could improve satisfaction with life and psychosocial functioning of PD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cognitive flexibility, identified as a transdiagnostic process in psychopathology, lacks specific Spanish-validated assessment tools. This study aims to examine the psychometric properties of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory in a Spanish sample (N = 300, mean age = 22.66, SD = 4.92), 76% women). Method: An exploratory structural equation model (ESEM) was used to test the inventory's latent structure. Reliability was calculated, as well as construct validity evidence with measures of emotion regulation, attributional style, and depression. Results: The original bifactorial model of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (Alternatives and Control scales) was replicated and obtained good fit indices. One item was excluded due to problematic factor loadings, yielding a final version with 19 items. Evidence of validity and reliability was obtained. Conclusions: The Spanish version of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory showed satisfactory psychometric properties, making it a suitable measure for the assessment of cognitive flexibility in the Spanish population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–3 (MMPI-3; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2020a) was developed to expand the content coverage of the MMPI-2–Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008/2011) and to update the test's norms to better represent the U.S. population. Because most MMPI-3 items were carried over from the MMPI-2-RF, most MMPI-3 scales can be either fully scored or prorated from the MMPI-2/MMPI-2-RF item pool. We describe development of a procedure for deriving MMPI-3 scores from MMPI-2/MMPI-2-RF protocols and examine the psychometric properties of prorated MMPI-3 scores across various samples. Following Tarescavage et al. (2016), who developed a method for prorating most MMPI-2-RF scores from the original MMPI, prorated MMPI-3 scales had to meet three criteria: (a) sufficient representation in the MMPI-2-RF item pool, (b) association with the full-length corresponding MMPI-3 scale at r ≥.90 in multiple samples, and (c) comparable T score means and standard deviations in multiple samples. These criteria resulted in the exclusion of the three MMPI-3 non-content-based Validity Scales, as well as nine Specific Problems Scales, yielding 16 MMPI-3 scales that can be fully scored and 24 for which psychometrically comparable prorated score estimates can be derived from responses to the MMPI-2 or MMPI-2-RF item pools. Evidence of the psychometric functioning of the resulting scale scores and their comparability with the full versions of these scales across samples is presented and discussed. This procedure provides a means to study 40 of the 52 MMPI-3 scales using archival data obtained with older versions of the inventory. Public Significance Statement: The MMPI-3 is the most recent edition of the MMPI instruments, which have long been among the most widely used personality assessment tools worldwide. The present study developed and evaluated a method for deriving MMPI-3 scores from responses to previous versions of the inventory, providing a means for researchers to study 40 of the 52 MMPI-3 scales using archival data obtained with older versions of the test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research on ultra-processed food addiction (FA) has utilized the self-report Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) measures to identify individuals who experience indicators of substance-use disorders with respect to their consumption of ultra-processed foods. Studies using the YFAS have provided insight into the clinical utility of FA as both a distinct construct and an indicator of more severe psychopathology among individuals with eating disorders. However, the absence of clinician-administered assessment tools for FA has been identified as a barrier to the evaluation of FA as a novel clinical syndrome. Thus, the present study reflects the development of the Food Addiction Symptom Inventory (FASI), a clinician-administered assessment of FA, adapted from the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth editon modules for diagnosing substance-use disorders. The psychometric properties of the FASI and its concordance with the YFAS 2.0 were evaluated in a cross-sectional study of adults (n = 53) with binge-type eating disorders. The FASI performed appropriately on indices of reliability and validity. Concordance between the FASI and YFAS 2.0 was established for the symptom scores (r =.53, p <.001), and >70% agreement was achieved for FA categorization. Using the FASI, 80% of individuals with bulimia nervosa and 91.7% of those with binge eating disorder were identified as exhibiting FA. While the YFAS 2.0 and FASI both lead to similar assessments of FA symptoms, the FASI provides an essential approach for clinician-guided identification of this phenotype, which may be particularly important when participants have high levels of dietary restraint or limited insight into the impact of their eating behavior. Public Significance Statement: The Food Addiction Symptom Inventory is the first clinician-guided interview for assessing addictive-like responses to ultra-processed foods. The Food Addiction Symptom Inventory parallels the most widely validated approach for diagnosing substance-use disorders and is critical for advancing research on whether ultra-processed food addiction is a distinct and meaningful clinical syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early onset psychosis (EOP) frequently presents with a severe clinical phenotype and poor long-term prognosis. Clinical experience suggests that individuals with EOP have abnormal pain and somatosensory processing, yet relative to adult-onset psychosis, pain and somatic sensory processing in EOP have rarely been studied. The history of two characteristic patients is described to illustrate clinical presentations of pain in EOP patients. Furthermore, 31 patients with EOP were studied with self-reported questionnaires informing on pain severity, pain catastrophizing, central sensitization, and somatization. Structured clinical interviews were administered to confirm Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 EOP diagnosis and the patient's dimensions of psychopathology were measured by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Out of 31 EOP patients, 22 reported distressing pain, where higher pain severity corresponded with greater BPRS total and affectivity and resistance subscale scores. The degree of psychopathology was associated (N = 31; p < 0.05, FDR-corrected) with the magnitude of pain catastrophizing, central sensitization, and somatization. Multivariate analysis revealed relationships (N = 31; p < 0.05, FDR-corrected) between BPRS subscale (negative symptoms and activation) scores with somatization severity. The observed associations occurred independent of antipsychotic medication usage as quantified by chlorpromazine equivalent doses. Pain and somatosensory symptoms could be a frequent cause of distress in patients with EOP and their severity associated with the degree of psychopathology. Future studies should determine if treating pain and somatic symptoms in EOP patients can lead to better control of psychosis as well as improve quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developmental science aims to explain development across the lifespan. Jerome Kagan observed that the same behavior can occur for different reasons, and differing behaviors can occur for the same reason. To help account for persistence, desistence, and transformation of behavior across development, Kagan introduced various types of continuity and discontinuity of forms and functions of behavior. This framework provides opportunities for identifying explanatory mechanisms in behavior development. However, misconceptions remain in applying the concepts that Kagan introduced. Much of the literature assumes developmental continuity in constructs without examining whether assumptions are supported, leading to faulty developmental inferences. For instance, the use of the same measure across time to assess development assumes that the behavior occurs for the same reason across time (homotypic continuity). In addition, just because one behavior predicts a different behavior at a later time does not necessarily indicate that age-differing behaviors occur for the same reason (heterotypic continuity). This review aims to advance conceptualizations of continuity and discontinuity from a contemporary perspective with aims to improve mechanistic understanding of behavior development across the lifespan. To better align behaviors, functions, and mechanisms, research should (a) examine (dis)continuity of individual behaviors rather than merely syndromes, (b) identify the function(s) of the given behavior(s), and (c) identify the cognitive and biological processes that underlie the behavior–function pairs. Incorporating examples from research on development of humans and nonhuman animals, I discuss challenges from work that has followed Kagan's ideas and ways to advance understanding of continuity and discontinuity across development. Public Significance Statement: Research in developmental science has paid insufficient attention to types of developmental continuity and discontinuity. To advance understanding of development across the lifespan, research should (a) examine (dis)continuity of individual behaviors rather than merely syndromes, (b) identify the function(s) of the given behavior(s), and (c) identify the cognitive and biological processes that underlie the behavior–function pairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People high in depressive or anxious symptom severity show repetitive negative thinking, including worry and rumination. They also show various cognitive phenomena, including probability, cost, and interpretation biases. Since there is conceptual overlap between these cognitive biases and repetitive negative thinking – all involve thinking about potential threats and misfortunes – we wondered whether repetitive negative thinking could account for (mediate) these cognitive biases' associations with depressive and anxious symptom severity. In three studies, conducted in two languages and cultures, cost bias and (in two studies) interpretation bias only predicted symptom severity via worry and repetitive negative thinking; this suggests these biases are actually associated with repetitive negative thinking, rather than with symptoms. In contrast, probability bias showed direct relationships with depressive (all studies) and anxious (two studies) symptom severity, suggesting its relationships with symptoms are partly independent of repetitive negative thinking. These results show the value of studying relationships among the various cognitive features of psychopathology. Furthermore, new interventions which target cognitive biases in depression or anxiety must show that they can improve upon cognitive behavioural therapy, which is already widely available, targets both repetitive negative thinking and probability bias, and is highly effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Problematic video game use is a source of concern. In addictions, difficulties with emotional regulation have become an important variable of interest. However, their study in relation to problematic video game use remains insufficient. Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines; 322 studies were screened, resulting in a final sample of k = 18 studies. The methodological quality of these studies was rated as moderate according to the McMaster Critical Review Form for Quantitative studies (CRF‐Q). Results: There is evidence of relationship between different facets of emotional regulation and the presence of problematic video game use. Particularly, video games serve as escape strategy for suppressing emotional expression. There is no consensus regarding the nature of the relationship between emotional regulation, psychopathology, and problematic video game use, with various proposals suggesting moderation and mediation. There is also no consensus regarding the mediation of gender in the relationship between emotional dysregulation and problematic video game use. The level of certainty regarding the validity of the results was moderate. Discussion and Conclusions: Emotional dysregulation plays a role in problematic video game use, especially through strategies as emotional suppression, and lack of abilities to understand and control emotions. It is important to consider emotional regulation as a potential target for research and intervention in clinical populations. Scientific Significance: We review the largest sample of papers on problem gaming and emotion regulation to date. Our results highlight the importance of emotion regulation and, specially, emotional suppression, or negative escapism, on problematic video game use. Answer questions and earn CME credit [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pediatric irritability is a pervasive psychiatric symptom, yet its etiology remains elusive. While trauma exposure may contribute to the development of irritability, empirical research is limited. This study examined the prevalence of irritability among trauma‐exposed children, identified factors that differentiate trauma‐exposed children with and without irritability, and employed a network analysis to uncover associations between irritability and trauma exposure in the family unit. Methods: Sample included 676 children (56.3% male, mean age = 9.67 ± 3.7 years) and their parents referred by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families to Fathers for Change – a psychotherapy intervention designed to reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) and child maltreatment. Child's trauma exposure, post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and irritability were assessed pre‐intervention using self‐ and caregiver‐report. Parents self‐reported their childhood and adulthood trauma exposures, PTSD symptoms, irritability, psychopathology, and IPV. Results: Across caregiver‐ and child‐reports, 16%–17% of children exhibited irritability. Irritable children experienced greater trauma exposure, interpersonal violence, emotional abuse, and PTSD severity. They had caregivers, particularly mothers, with greater trauma histories, IPV, and psychopathology. Network analysis revealed 10 nodes directly correlated to child's irritability including child's PTSD severity, parental IPV (specifically psychological violence), and parental psychopathology. Conclusions: Results provide initial empirical evidence that pediatric irritability is linked to trauma exposure, suggesting trauma histories be considered in the diagnosis and treatment of irritability. Interventions addressing caregiver trauma, IPV, and psychopathology may ameliorate pediatric irritability. Future studies could benefit from adopting network approaches with longitudinal or time series data to elucidate causality and points of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Offspring of parents with affective disorders (OAD) are at risk of developing a wide range of mental disorders. Deficits in the rearing environment and high levels of stress are well‐known risk factors for negative outcomes in OAD. Building on prior research, we aim to examine the longitudinal relationships between family dysfunction, stressful life events, and mental health in OAD and control offspring of parents with no affective disorder. In the present study, we hypothesized that high levels of family dysfunction would be associated with more internalizing and externalizing problems across time in OAD than in controls, and that family dysfunction would mediate the relationship between stressful life events in adolescence and poor mental health in adulthood, particularly in OAD. Methods: As part of the TRacking Adolescents' Lives Survey (TRAILS), 2230 participants (51% female, Mage = 11.1 years, SD = 0.6, at baseline) and their parents completed measures across six time points, spanning 15 years. Mental health, family dysfunction, and stressful life events were assessed with the Youth and Adult Self‐Report, Family Assessment Device, and an in‐house measure, respectively. Results: Multi‐group structured equation modeling revealed that family dysfunction was linked to internalizing and externalizing problems in OAD, but not controls, across time. Risk status did not moderate family dysfunction's mediation of the relationship between stressful life events and negative outcomes in adulthood. Conclusions: OAD show high sensitivity to dysfunction in the rearing environment across childhood and adolescence, which supports the use of family based interventions to prevent the development of mental disorders in high‐risk youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: On 15 March 2019, a white supremacist terrorist carried out sequential attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand during Friday prayers. This resulted in the loss of 51 lives, 40 others sustained gunshot injuries, and there were approximately 250 survivors. This study aimed to evaluate the impacts on community members, assess clinical needs, facilitate access to appropriate interventions and provide insights into working with a traumatised and diverse population. Methods: This cross-sectional study used semi-structured clinical interviews and self-report measures to assess social and demographic factors, mental health disorders and well-being for adult Muslims 11–32 months post-attack. Results: A total of 189 participants completed assessments. The sample was diverse, representing 34 different ethnicities and participant proximity to the attack was complex, with personal and familial exposures. Elevated levels of psychological distress and psychopathology were found with 38% of participants reporting moderate/severe psychological distress on the Kessler-10, 39% reporting post-traumatic stress disorder on the post-traumatic stress disorder checklist-5, and 40% reporting poor well-being or possible depression on the World Health Organization-5 Well Being Index. Secondary stressors were also documented, as well as high scores for post-traumatic growth and the importance of faith. Conclusion: This study provides valuable insights into the repercussions of the Christchurch mosque attack on the affected community, describing the complexity of exposure and the substantial burden of morbidity experienced. It also highlights the high levels of social connectedness and the role of faith in promoting positive outcomes in the recovery process for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]