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Abstract In this national study, we analyzed population-level data from a representative longitudinal survey to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicidal ideation rates. Between April and May 2021, responses from 1793 adults aged 20 and older were collected regarding suicidal ideation. Our analysis revealed a significant increase in suicidal ideation during the pandemic's first year, with an age-adjusted incidence rate of 7.6%—nearly three times the pre-pandemic rate of 2.7%. Young adults, particularly those between 20 and 29 years of age, had a higher incidence of suicidal ideation (10.9%) in contrast to those aged 30 and older (6.6%). Furthermore, 21.4% of young adults aged 20 to 29 reported having experienced suicidal ideation at some point in their lives, compared to 13.1% among adults aged 30 and older, indicating a heightened susceptibility to suicidal ideation in this age group. Using multinomial logistic regression, the study identified factors like younger age and job loss due to COVID-19 as contributors to suicidal ideation with other sociodemographic variables, presenting new insights in the scientific literature. Job loss contribution was independent of the age effect. The study highlights a significant increase in suicidal ideation during the pandemic, particularly among young adults, emphasizing the need for targeted mental health interventions and prioritizing their well-being for future public health strategies.

The spread of the contagious COVID-19 virus was quickly followed by an outbreak of explanations and discourses trying to make sense of the crisis. The goal of this paper is to track the changing dynamics of blame attribution and scapegoating in the Canadian population as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, with a particular emphasis on the influence of evolving public health measures. The study uses data from a longitudinal survey conducted with a representative sample of 3617 Canadians between April 2020 and May 2021 following a longitudinal design. Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), a computational approach to analyze text, was applied to data coming from an open-ended question on who or what should be held responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Nine topics were identified, six of which were recurring overtime. Canadians mostly blame distant collectives in the early months of the pandemic, especially China and wet markets. Over time, they increasingly blame local collectives, such as individuals who do not comply with sanitary measures. Blame attribution evolves with the proximity of the threat and the risk of international spread.

Abstract Previous studies have highlighted the importance of promoting health literacy and minimizing misinformation to encourage higher adherence to key public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores how one’s self-reported understanding of information and types of sources used to get information regarding COVID-19 can hinder adherence to public health measures implemented by the Canadian government. Data was collected following a longitudinal design of 11 time points for April 2020 to April 2021. The sub-sample used for this study included 2659 Canadians who completed the survey for at least four time points. Using Latent Class Growth Analysis, we modelled typical trajectories of adherence to three key public health measures: staying home, social distancing and mask wearing. Overall, a lower level of understanding was associated with lower adherence trajectories to public health measures, and vice-versa. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) showed that the higher the level of understanding, the higher were the chances of following a high adherence trajectory. The type of used sources also showed a significant statistical association with adherence trajectories for social distancing and staying home (AOR: between 1.1 and 3.4). These results are discussed considering future policy implications.

ObjectivesPrevious studies found a general increase in prejudice against Chinese people during the first months of the pandemic. The present study aims to consider inter-individual heterogeneity in stability and change regarding prejudice involving Chinese people during the pandemic. The first objective is to identify and describe different trajectories of prejudice over a seven-month period during the pandemic. The second and third objectives are to test the association between trajectory group membership and antecedent variables such as: socio-demographic factors (i.e., age, gender, political affiliation) and two psychological mechanisms, namely economic threat and global citizenship identification.MethodsA representative Canadian sample (N = 3,617) according to age, gender and province of residence, was recruited for a 10-wave survey starting from April 2020 to December 2020. First, a group-based modeling approach was used to identify trajectories of prejudice. Second, a multinomial logistic regression model was used to test associations between membership in trajectories and antecedents.ResultsFour trajectories were identified. The first three trajectories have a low (71.4% of the sample), high (18.5%) or very high (5.3%) level of prejudice against Chinese people which is relatively stable over time. The fourth trajectory (4.9%) reports low levels of prejudice in favor of Chinese people which become more positive throughout 2020. Regarding socio-demographic factors: gender is not associated with trajectory group membership, younger people are more likely to follow the trajectory in favor of Chinese people and conservatives are more likely to follow the highest trajectories against Chinese people. Regarding some psychological mechanisms: personal but not collective economic threat is associated with the trajectory in favor of Chinese people. Finally, the highest levels of prejudice are found when the strategy of identification is more local rather than global.ConclusionThe present study shows that Canadians differ in terms of both their level and change in prejudice against Chinese people throughout the pandemic with some socio-demographic groups being more likely than others to be associated with prejudice. The results also suggest that a promising way to tackle the major social issue of prejudice is to highlight a vision of the world where individuals are all “global citizens” facing the same challenge.

IntroductionWe investigated whether initial risk classes and heterogeneous trajectories of self-compassion over the course of the pandemic may impact well-being outcomes 1 year into the pandemic.MethodsA large, representative sample of Canadians (N = 3,613; 50.6% women) was sampled longitudinally over 11 waves (April 2020–April 2021), using a rolling cross-sectional survey design. Analyses were conducted in three steps: (1) latent class analysis to identify heterogeneity in risk factors (sociodemographic, cognitive-personality, health-related) early in the pandemic, (2) latent class growth analysis (LCGA) to identify longitudinal self-compassion trajectories, and (3) GLM to examine effects of risk factor classes and self-compassion trajectories, as well as their interaction, on later well-being (mental health, perceived control, life satisfaction).Results and DiscussionFour risk factor classes emerged, with 50.9% of participants experiencing low risk, 14.3% experiencing multiple risks, 20.8% experiencing Cognitive-Personality and Health risks, and 14.0% experiencing sociodemographic and Cognitive-Personality risks. Four self-compassion trajectories also emerged, with 47.7% of participants experiencing moderate-high self-compassion that decreased then stabilized, 32.0% experiencing moderate self-compassion that decreased then stabilized, 17.3% experiencing high and stable self-compassion across time, and 3.0% experiencing low and decreasing self-compassion. Comparisons of well-being outcomes 1 year post-pandemic indicated that higher levels of self-compassion over time may protect against the impact of initial risk on well-being outcomes. Further work is still needed on heterogeneity in experiences of risk and protective factors during stressful life events.

Background: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) constitute a promising option to alleviate psychological symptoms in students with psychiatric disorders.Objective: This study evaluated the impact of a MBI on psychological symptoms of elementary school students with psychiatric disorders in a special education curriculum.Method: A series of n-of-1 trials with an experimental A-B-A design and 10 assessment time-points was used. Participants were two special education classrooms of elementary school students (Group A, n = 7; Group B, n = 6; ntotal = 13) and their teachers.Results: Analyses showed that, at follow-up, students from Group A reported significant decreases in inattention and a trend (p = 0.051) was observed in anxiety symptoms, whereas their teacher reported only deteriorating anxiety scores. No significant results were found in students from Group B.Conclusion: Results from this study show substantial variation between students, tested cohorts and raters of internalizing and externalizing symptoms and behaviors. Therefore, the conservative conclusion from such variation can only be that more research is needed, as no firm conclusion as to the utility of MBIs for such groups of children with special education needs can be established.

Mindfulness-based interventions constitute a promising option to address anxiety and depression in elementary school students. This study evaluated the effect of a mindfulness-based intervention on anxiety and depression in elementary school students with a diagnosis of anxiety or depression disorder. A single-subject experimental A-B-A design was used. Participants were three elementary school students from grades three and four, along with their teacher. Anxiety and depression were measured on 10 occasions at baseline, during the intervention, and at follow-up. Primary hypotheses were tested using a univariate single case multilevel modeling strategy and visual analysis. Following intervention, 2 participants reported improvements on anxiety and depression, while their teachers reported deteriorating scores on these variables. Results from this n-of-1 trial design is consistent with other work suggesting caution with regard to the overall impact and efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions as a universal treatment option for youth. Future research is warranted.

Objective. Students with severe learning disabilities often show signs of anxiety, depression, and problem behaviors such as inattention and conduct problems. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in school settings constitute a promising option to alleviate these co-occurring symptoms. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the impact of an MBI on symptoms and behaviors of elementary school students with severe learning disabilities. Method. A one-group pretest-posttest design was used. The sample comprised 14 students aged 9 to 12 years with special education needs. Both student-report and teacher-report of the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition were used. Results. Repeated-measures analyses of variance revealed a significant impact of the MBI on symptoms and behaviors such as anxiety, depression, inattention, aggression, and conduct problems. Effect sizes for all variables were considered large (partial η 2 = .31-.61). Conclusion. These preliminary results indicate that MBIs can reduce the frequency of symptoms and problem behaviors often found in children with learning disabilities in elementary schools. Further multiple baseline experimental trials with a long-term follow-up are warranted to establish more robustly the effect of MBIs for children with learning disabilities.

Few studies are grounded in a developmental framework to study proactive and reactive aggression. Furthermore, although distinctive correlates, predictors and outcomes have been highlighted, proactive and reactive aggression are substantially correlated. To our knowledge, no empirical study has examined the communality of genetic and environmental underpinning of the development of both subtypes of aggression. The current study investigated the communality and specificity of genetic-environmental factors related to heterogeneity in proactive and reactive aggression's development throughout childhood.Participants were 223 monozygotic and 332 dizygotic pairs. Teacher reports of aggression were obtained at 6, 7, 9, 10 and 12 years of age. Joint development of both phenotypes were analyzed through a multivariate latent growth curve model. Set point, differentiation, and genetic maturation/environmental modulation hypotheses were tested using a biometric decomposition of intercepts and slopes.Common genetic factors accounted for 64% of the total variation of proactive and reactive aggression's intercepts. Two other sets of uncorrelated genetic factors accounted for reactive aggression's intercept (17%) on the one hand, and for proactive (43%) and reactive (13%) aggression's slopes on the other. Common shared environmental factors were associated with proactive aggression's intercept (21%) and slope (26%) and uncorrelated shared environmental factors were also associated with reactive aggression's slope (14%). Common nonshared environmental factors explained most of the remaining variability of proactive and reactive aggression slopes.A genetic differentiation hypothesis common to both phenotypes was supported by common genetic factors associated with the developmental heterogeneity of proactive and reactive aggression in childhood. A genetic maturation hypothesis common to both phenotypes, albeit stronger for proactive aggression, was supported by common genetic factors associated with proactive and reactive aggression slopes. A shared environment set point hypothesis for proactive aggression was supported by shared environmental factors associated with proactive aggression baseline and slope. Although there are many common features to proactive and reactive aggression, the current research underscores the advantages of differentiating them when studying aggression.

BACKGROUND:Difficult temperament in infancy is a risk factor for forms of later internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, including depression and anxiety. A better understanding of the roots of difficult temperament requires assessment of its early development with a genetically informative design. The goal of this study was to estimate genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences in infant negative emotionality, their persistence over time and their influences on stability between 5 and 18 months of age. METHOD:Participants were 244 monozygotic and 394 dizygotic twin pairs (49.7% male) recruited from birth. Mothers rated their twins for negative emotionality at 5 and 18 months. Longitudinal analysis of stability and innovation between the two time points was performed in Mplus. RESULTS:There were substantial and similar heritability (approximately 31%) and shared environmental (57.3%) contributions to negative emotionality at both 5 and 18 months. The trait's interindividual stability across time was both genetically- and environmentally- mediated. Evidence of innovative effects (i.e., variance at 18 months independent from variance at 5 months) indicated that negative emotionality is developmentally dynamic and affected by persistent and new genetic and environmental factors at 18 months. CONCLUSIONS:In the first two years of life, ongoing genetic and environmental influences support temperamental negative emotionality but new genetic and environmental factors also indicate dynamic change of those factors across time. A better understanding of the source and timing of factors on temperament in early development, and role of sex, could improve efforts to prevent related psychopathology.

Research shows that children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder are at elevated risk of criminality. However, several issues still need to be addressed in order to verify whether hyperactivity in itself plays a role in the prediction of criminality. In particular, co-occurrence with other behaviors as well as the internal heterogeneity in ADHD symptoms (hyperactivity and inattention) should be taken into account. The aim of this study was to assess the unique and interactive contributions of hyperactivity to the development of criminality, whilst considering inattention, physical aggression and family adversity.We monitored the development of a population-based sample of kindergarten children (N = 2,741). Hyperactivity, inattention, and physical aggression were assessed annually between the ages of 6 and 12 years by mothers and teachers. Information on the presence, the age at first charge and the type of criminal charge was obtained from official records when the participants were aged 25 years. We used survival analysis models to predict the development of criminality in adolescence and adulthood: high childhood hyperactivity was highly predictive when bivariate analyses were used; however, with multivariate analyses, high hyperactivity was only marginally significant (Hazard Ratio: 1.38; 95% CI: 0.94-2.02). Sensitivity analyses revealed that hyperactivity was not a consistent predictor. High physical aggression was strongly predictive (Hazard Ratio: 3.44; 95% CI: 2.43-4.87) and its role was consistent in sensitivity analyses and for different types of crime. Inattention was not predictive of later criminality.Although the contribution of childhood hyperactivity to criminality may be detected in large samples using multi-informant longitudinal designs, our results show that it is not a strong predictor of later criminality. Crime prevention should instead target children with the highest levels of childhood physical aggression and family adversity.

Background: The monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene has been shown to moderate the impact of maltreatment on antisocial behaviour. Replication efforts have, however, yielded inconsistent results., Aims: To investigate whether the interaction between the MAOA gene and violence is present across the full distribution of violence or emerges at higher levels of exposure., Method: Participants were 327 male members of the Québec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children. Exposure to violence comprised retrospective reports of mother's and father's maltreatment, sexual and physical abuse. Conduct disorder and antisocial personality symptoms were assessed in semi-structured interviews and partner violence, property-violent crimes and arrest were self-reported., Results: Non-linear interactions between the MAOA gene and violence were detected, suggesting that the genetic moderation may come about once a certain level of violence is experienced., Conclusions: Future studies should investigate the mechanisms translating substantial violence exposure, which could, subsequently, trigger the expression of genetically based differences in antisocial behaviour., (© The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016.)