Search

Purpose: Monitoring player readiness to train and perform is an important practical concept in football. Despite an abundance of research in this area in the male game, to date, research is limited in female football. The aims of this study were, first, to summarize the current literature on the monitoring of readiness in female football; second, to summarize the current evidence regarding the monitoring of the menstrual cycle and its potential impact on physical preparation and performance in female footballers; and third, to offer practical recommendations based on the current evidence for practitioners working with female football players. Conclusions: Practitioners should include both objective (eg, heart rate and countermovement jump) and subjective measures (eg, athlete-reported outcome measures) in their monitoring practices. This would allow them to have a better picture of female players' readiness. Practitioners should assess the reliability of their monitoring (objective and subjective) tools before adopting them with their players. The use of athlete-reported outcome measures could play a key role in contexts where technology is not available (eg, in semiprofessional and amateur clubs); however, practitioners need to be aware that many single-item athlete-reported outcome measures instruments have not been properly validated. Finally, tracking the menstrual cycle can identify menstrual dysfunction (eg, infrequent or irregular menstruation) that can indicate a state of low energy availability or an underlying gynecological issue, both of which warrant further investigation by medical practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early life stress (ELS) is defined as an acute or chronic stressor that negatively impacts a child's development. ELS is associated with substance use and mental health problems. This narrative literature review focuses on sex and gender differences in the effects of ELS on 1) adolescent neuroendocrine development; 2) pubertal brain maturation; and 3) development of internalizing symptoms and subsequent substance use. We posit that ELS may generate larger hormonal dysregulation in females than males during puberty, increasing internalizing symptoms and substance use. Future research should consider sex and gender differences in neuroendocrine developmental processes when studying the link between ELS and negative health outcomes.

University brings many changes and challenges in students inducing a great amount of emotion fluctuation. During these times of emotion fluctuation, students can experience a drop off in academic performance and a rise in stress levels. In these times, effective emotion regulation has demonstrated to be a valuable tool correlated with improving academic performance and lowering stress. Music and light/color have been shown to be effective aspects of a smart environment for emotion regulation. Combining this knowledge along with physiological signal analysis correlating with emotions, we set out to develop a smart environment system set to aid students with emotion regulation. Our goal is to develop a low-cost accessible tool for university students that enhances student performance, emotional self understanding, and positive emotion regulation habits.Faculty Advisor: Professor Dang

BACKGROUND: We examined the relationship between baseline olfactory performance and incident significant depressive symptoms and longitudinal depression trajectories in well-functioning older adults. Inflammation and cognitive status were examined as potential mediators. METHODS: Older adults (n = 2 125, 71-82 years, 51% female, 37% Black) completed an odor identification task at Year 3 (our study baseline) of the Health, Aging, and Body Composition study. Cognitive assessments, depressive symptoms, and inflammatory markers were ascertained across multiple visits over 8 years. Discrete-time complementary log-log models, group-based trajectory models, and multivariable-adjusted multinomial logistic regression were employed to assess the relationship between baseline olfaction and incident depression and longitudinal depression trajectories. Mediation analysis assessed the influence of cognitive status on these relationships. RESULTS: Individuals with lower olfaction had an increased risk of developing significant depressive symptoms at follow-up (hazard ratio = 1.04, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.00, 1.08). Of the 3 patterns of longitudinal depression scores identified (stable low, stable moderate, and stable high), poorer olfaction was associated with a 6% higher risk of membership in the stable moderate (relative risk ratio [RRR] = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.10)/stable high (RRR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.12) groups, compared to the stable low group. Poor cognitive status, but not inflammation, partially mediated the relationship between olfactory performance and incident depression symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS: Suboptimal olfaction could serve as a prognostic indicator of vulnerability for the development of late-life depression. These findings underscore the need for a greater understanding of olfaction in late-life depression and the demographic, cognitive, and biological factors that influence these relationships over time.

Reduced cognitive function in major depression (MDD) is often interpreted as a reduced ability to exert cognitive control. Here we used the Effort Foraging Task to test the hypothesis that reduced cognitive function may be due, in part, to decreased willingness to exert control in MDD because of increased cognitive effort "costs". Contrary to our predictions, neither cognitive nor physical effort costs differed with MDD diagnosis (N MDD=52, N Comparisons=27). However, we found distinct patterns of symptom relationships for cognitive and physical effort costs. In MDD, greater anxiety symptoms were selectively associated with lower cognitive, but not physical effort cost (i.e. greater willingness to exert cognitive effort), whereas greater anhedonia and behavioral apathy symptoms were selectively associated with increased physical (but not cognitive) effort costs. These findings support the measurement of both cognitive and physical effort as decision-making function markers that may inform heterogeneity of MDD.

The current study examines the interaction between predisposed mood, perceptual processing, and induced mood using music. We conducted an experiment in which participants were asked to identify stimuli at global or local (G/L) perceptual levels with four different background music conditions, which had different valence and arousal ratings. We used BMIS to assess current mood and PHQ-9 and GAD-7 to assess depression and anxiety, and divided the participants into two groups: distress and no distress (encompassing both disorders). We found a main effect of background music on mood. However, the distress group showed an overall low mood. Further, we observed an overarching effect of predisposed mood, encompassing depression and anxiety, on individuals' transient mood experience and perceptual task performance. Individuals in the non-distress group showed a larger global-precedence effect. The results are discussed in light of emotional reactivity theories and the theory of positive emotion.

Experimentally manipulating alcohol value reliably influences alcohol choice and consumption; however, the cognitive mechanisms that underpin these relationships are not well-understood. Here, we explore whether computational parameters of value-based decision-making (VBDM) change when people experience heightened craving to consume alcohol, and whether parameters of VBDM are predictive of actual drinking behaviour. Prior to completing a novel VBDM task, participants recalled either a positive drinking memory while being exposed to an alcoholic cue (alcohol craving), or a positive alcohol-unrelated memory while being exposed to a soft-drink cue (control). A drift-diffusion model (DDM) was fitted to reaction time and choice data to estimate evidence accumulation (EA) processes and response thresholds during the different blocks in each experimental condition. Subsequently, ad libitum alcohol consumption (disguised as a taste test) was measured. Using computational modelling techniques to quantify the internal processes of decision-making could potentially contribute to identifying innovative targets for treatment interventions.

In our study, we address conflicts between individuals and groups, such as cyberbully on social media, as a challenge related to the distinction between the self and others. To address this issue using technology, we propose the concept of introducing facial synchronization in the virtual realm as a means to manipulate the boundary between oneself and others.We designed an experiment using Cyberball that simulates an ostracism environment, effectively partitioning the boundary between the self and others. This task was conducted in Virtual Reality (VR), with the agent's facial expressions synchronized with those of the participant.Our findings indicated a reduction in feelings of alienation within the ostracism environment. This discovery has potential implications for communication media, particularly in enhancing interfaces for individuals who may experience exclusionary behavior on social media.

Grief is a reaction to loss that is observed across human cultures and even in other species. While the particular expressions of grief vary significantly, universal aspects include experiences of emotional pain and frequent remembering of what was lost. Despite its prevalence, and its obvious nature, considering grief from a normative perspective is puzzling: Why do we grieve? Why is it painful? And why is it sometimes prolonged enough to be clinically impairing? Using the framework of reinforcement learning with memory replay, we offer answers to these questions and suggest, counter-intuitively, that grief may have normative value with respect to reward maximization. We additionally perform a set of simulations that identify and explore optimal grieving parameters, and use our model to account for empirical phenomena such as individual differences in human grief trajectories.

This study compares creativity test performance in Individual versus Team settings, addressing a gap in research that mostly focuses on individual outcomes. A total of 120 individuals participated in two sessions. The first session involved cognitive assessments, including the Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM), the Creative Reasoning Test (CRT), and the Test for Creative Thinking–Drawing Production (TCT-DP), as well as mood and personality questionnaires. In the second session, participants were assigned to either an Individual or a Team condition (N=3 each), based on and controlling for APM scores. The same assessments, except for the personality questionnaire, were conducted in this second session. In the Team condition, members were encouraged to collaborate in solving the tasks. We tested whether the conditions have a differential effect on the second session performances, particularly on divergent and convergent thinking scores in CRT, and/or on TCT-DP scores and/or on APM scores.

This study investigated the effects of consonant alliteration and meter on valence, arousal, and aesthetic evaluations. In Study 1, native Japanese speakers evaluated valence, arousal, beauty, and understandability of classical Japanese poems after listening to both alliterated and non-alliterated versions. The alliterated poems were rated as slightly calmer than the non-alliterated ones, although the difference was not statistically significant. In Study 2, native Japanese speakers listened to poems that consisted of pseudowords. The poems used as stimuli were systematically made in terms of alliteration and meter. The metered poems were perceived as more preferable, calmer, and more beautiful than the non-metered ones, regardless of the presence or absence of alliteration. Additionally, the alliterated and metered poems were perceived as more exciting than non-alliterated and metered poems. These results suggest that metered poems make people feel beautiful and comfortable. It might be applicable to clinical treatment.

Outrage has often been interpreted as a shorthand for “moral outrage,” anger upon a moral standard being violated (Batson et al., 2007). We ask whether a violation of a moral standard is necessary for producing outrage or whether other variables can also produce it. By presenting participants with a series of potentially outrage-inducing scenarios and measuring their emotional responses, we seek to identify the predictors of outrage. We find that anger and disgust are the strongest predictors of level of outrage compared to sense of threat, level of surprise, level of uncomfortableness, severity of the moral violation, and how much one values the moral being violated. Mediation analyses suggest that moral violations do not mediate the effects of anger and disgust on outrage. However, anger and disgust do mediate the effect of moral violations on outrage. Our findings suggest that moral violations elicit anger and disgust, which in turn produce feelings of outrage.

Others not only influence our behavior, but also our metacognitive evaluations of those behavior (i.e. decision confidence), even when feedback is random and uninformative. Here we ask if metacognitive ability to monitor reliability of one's decisions predicts social susceptibility. We also ask if mood (anxiety and depression) further modulates this effect. We gave 46 healthy participants a perceptual task and presented them with random social feedback (positive, negative, neutral). Participants rated their confidence in their decisions before and after feedback, and lastly had an opportunity to change their initial decisions. In a separate task we also measured their metacognitive abilities, as well as their anxiety and depression scores. Results showed metacognitive ability to increase susceptibility to random social feedback. Surprisingly for those with high levels of metacognitive ability anxiety exacerbates this effect, whereas depression suppresses it.

This study examined the effect of acute acetaminophen (ACTP) ingestion on physical performance during the 5 m shuttle run test (5mSRT), attention, mood states, and the perception of perceived exertion (RPE), pain (PP), recovery (PRS), and delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) in well-trained female athletes. In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover trial, fifteen well-trained female athletes (age 21 ± 2 years, height 165 ± 6 cm, body mass 62 ± 5 kg) swallowed either 1.5 g of ACTP or 1.5 g of placebo. The profile of mood states (POMS) and digit cancellation (DCT) were assessed 45 min postingestion, and 5mSRT was performed 60 min postingestion. The RPE and PP were determined immediately after each 30-s repetition of the 5mSRT, and the PRS and DOMS were recorded at 5 min and 24 h post-5mSRT. For the 5mSRT, ACTP ingestion improved the greatest distance (+ 10.88%, p < 0.001), total distance (+ 11.33%, p = 0.0007) and fatigue index (+ 21.43%, p = 0.0003) compared to PLA. Likewise, the DCT score was better on the ACTP (p = 0.0007) than on the PLA. RPE, PP, PRS, and DOMS scores were improved after ACTP ingestion (p < 0.01 for all comparisons) compared to PLA. POMS scores were enhanced with ACTP ingestion compared to PLA (p < 0.01). In conclusion, this study indicates that acute acetaminophen ingestion can improve repeated high intensity short-term maximal performance, attention, mood states, and perceptions of exertion, pain, recovery, and muscle soreness in well-trained female athletes, suggesting potential benefits for their overall athletic performance and mood state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their widespread use, research is needed to evaluate the weight loss and related health/wellness outcomes of herbal plants. Preliminary research found that the fruit of Dichrostachys glomerata is safe and has potential weight loss effects. This study aimed to examine the effect of a standardized powder of D. glomerata fruit pods (DYG-400®) on weight, food cravings, mood, and health-related quality of life of overweight and mildly obese adults. In this CONSORT-compliant double-blind placebo-controlled trial, 56 adults (Mean [M] age = 44.50, M [body mass index] BMI = 31.66) were randomized to either the D. glomerata Group (DG; 300 mg/d) or Placebo Group (PG; rice protein, 300 mg/d) for 60 days. Participants weight was assessed along with self-report assessments of the Food Cravings Questionnaire, CDC Health-related Quality of Life, Perceived Stress Scale, Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Profile of Mood States at Baseline, Day 30, and Day 60. The data were collected from March 2023 to June 2023 and stored electronically, and analyzed using general linear models with repeated measures. DG lost more weight at Day 60 compared to PG, p =.05 (4.11 vs. 2.19 lbs). DG had reduced food cravings from Baseline to Day 30 and Day 60 compared to PG, p <.001. Perceived stress, p <.001, and mood, p =.017, improved from Baseline to Day 60 for DG compared to PG. Anxiety decreased from Baseline to Day 60 for DG and from Baseline to Day 30 for PG, p <.001. Health-related Quality of Life improved for DG compared to PG, p <.001. D. glomerata (DYG-400®) may be an effective herbal intervention to promote weight loss and health. Extended clinical trials across diverse populations and settings are needed. Clinical trial registry number and website: ISRCTN10099861, https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN10099861. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prospective memory (PM) is the accurate execution of an intention in the future. PM may be negatively impacted by negative affect, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Rumination may increase the frequency of task-irrelevant thoughts, which deplete attentional capacity and reduce performance. To date, no studies have examined state and trait rumination on an online measure of PM. The present study examined the effects of state and trait rumination on an event-based, focal PM task embedded within a one-back task over multiple sessions. 95 non-depressed adults (18–53 years) completed measures of state/trait rumination, mood, and PM on at least two occasions. Using multi-level modelling, we found that a derived measure of trait rumination, but not an established trait rumination survey, nor negative mood, predicted poorer PM accuracy. These novel findings demonstrate that trait rumination may partially underlie the association between negative affect & PM in a non-clinical sample, and highlight the potential of online methods to study PM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research examined how people forecast and experience screen time, social interaction, and solitude. When participants could freely use their smartphone, they forecasted (Study 1) and experienced (Study 2) better mood for face-to-face conversation, but worse mood for sitting alone. When participants were instructed to engage in specific screen time activities, they forecasted (Study 3) and experienced (Study 4) the best mood after watching television; followed by conversation, texting, and browsing social media (no difference); then sitting alone. Although participants in Studies 1 and 2 ranked conversation as their most preferred activity, participants in Studies 3 and 4 ranked it below television and texting, even though conversation improved mood compared to baseline (Study 4). These findings suggest that people may use their smartphones because they enable them to escape the unpleasant experience of being alone, or because they do not recognize or prioritize the mood benefits of social interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Examination anxiety is a common occurrence, and is potentially detrimental to student attainment. In recent theorizing, it has been suggested that cognitive appraisals, as put forth in cognitive appraisal theory, and irrational beliefs, as put forth in rational emotive behavior therapy, may interact to predict affectivity. The current research examines the antecedents and associates of examination affect and academic self-concept in undergraduate students. Design: A preliminary study applied confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test the factor structure of an irrational beliefs inventory. Study 1 utilized a cross-sectional and correlational approach to testing core theoretical assumptions. Study 2 took a two-wave longitudinal and path analytical approach to examine temporal effects between target variables. Method: All self-report data collection took place in the United Kingdom with university students. We recruited n = 1150, n = 362, n = 662 for preliminary, study 1, and study 2, respectively. Results: Across studies, data indicated that a pattern of adaptive cognitive appraisal was associated with more advantageous affectivity, and better academic self-concept. Conclusions: Reciprocal temporal relationships were revealed between many variables, supporting an interactive and bidirectional view of how cognition and affect are related pertaining to examination anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emotional consequences of online social contact in adolescents are a controversial topic. Social interactions and membership in social groups have been identified as essential protection against negative mood. However, different modes of online and offline communication differ in their ability to satisfy the individuals' need for social closeness. Using a daily diary study, the current work investigated how in-person contact, text messaging, and (video) phone calls were related to adolescents' mood. Study 1 was conducted during strict school closures in the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany in February 2021 (N individual s = 290; N observations = 1796; M age = 14.47; 59% girls and 41% boys) and Study 2 in November 2021 after schools had reopened (N individuals = 160; N observations = 1061; M age = 15.21; 66% girls and 34% boys). Hybrid mixed-effects regression models showed that while in-person contact had the most consistent mood effect, text messaging, and (video) phone calls were also at least partially associated with more positive mood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Patients with PD with constipation had more serious motor and non-motor symptoms. • Emotional and cognitive impairments are related to constipation in patients with PD. • PD patients with constipation have abnormal brain functional activity & connectivity. • Insula and orbitofrontal cortex are involved in the regulation of constipation in PD. Constipation frequently occurs in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and may be related to cognitive and emotional disorders. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical and brain functional characteristics of patients with PD presenting with constipation. The motor and non-motor symptoms of patients with PD were evaluated, and a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) study was conducted based on propensity score matching. Alterations in brain function were analyzed using regional homogeneity (ReHo) and functional connectivity (FC). Compared with patients without constipation (PD-NC group), patients with constipation (PD-C group) had more serious motor and non-motor symptoms (including cognitive and emotional disorders along with visual hallucinations). Further, emotional and cognitive disorders were correlated with the occurrence of constipation in patients with PD. Compared with the PD-NC group, the PD-C group showed a reduced ReHo of the right insula and bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), increased ReHo of the left postcentral gyrus, and enhanced FC between the right OFC and the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and middle occipital gyrus (MOG). Additionally, the activity of the OFC and insula was significantly correlated with the constipation, mood, and cognitive levels of patients with PD. Constipation in patients with PD is closely related to emotional and cognitive impairments, abnormal activity and FC of brain regions such as the right insula and bilateral OFC may play an important role in this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we develop a new framework to deal numerically with discontinuous solutions in nonconservative hyperbolic systems. First an extension of the MOOD methodology to nonconservative systems based on Taylor expansions is presented. This extension combined with an in‐cell discontinuous reconstruction operator are the key points to develop a new family of high‐order methods that are able to capture exactly isolated shocks. Several test cases are proposed to validate these methods for the Modified Shallow Water equations and the Two‐Layer Shallow Water system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Retos: Nuevas Perspectivas de Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación is the property of Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

ABSTRACT The affective state of animals, that is, their mood and emotions, is altered by stressful (negative) or enriching (positive) experiences. In turn, the affective state influences decision making, thereby helping animals when coping with environmental challenges and opportunities. However, it is largely unknown how social experiences modulate the affective state. Here, we performed a judgement bias test to study the effects of rearing group‐size and experimentally assigned current rank on the affective state of the cooperatively‐breeding cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher. To assess affective state, we developed and validated a judgement bias test for this species. Fish learned to discriminate between a positive and a negative stimulus as shown by different latencies to approach the stimulus. Furthermore, the response curves to the stimuli conformed to the ones expected in judgement bias tests: fish showed an intermediate latency to approach an ambiguous stimulus, which significantly differed from the latencies to approach the positive and the negative stimulus. Unexpectedly, there were no significant effects of rearing group size and current social rank on the affective state of N. pulcher, despite known effects of these two social parameters on behaviours and physiology of this species. This may mean that observed behavioural and physiological differences in the treatment environments do not allow valid predictions about the affective state elicited by these environments. Alternatively, it may need more socioecologically relevant testing paradigms when evaluating the valence of social environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Mood-tailored communications may help increase the effectiveness of smoking cessation messaging interventions. We used both self-report and psychophysiological measures to test the impact of mood on responses to cessation messages in adults who smoke. Methods: In a two-part (crowdsourcing and psychophysiological studies) study, the impact of 30 smoking cessation messages comprised of five themes (i.e., financial, health, quality-of-life, challenges in quitting, motivation to quit) were tested. In a crowdsourcing study, participants (N = 600) were randomly placed into one of three mood induction tasks (i.e., positive, negative, neutral), and then viewed the smoking cessation messages. After each message, they were asked to self-report their motivation to quit, message receptivity, and the perceived relevance of the messages. In an in-lab, psychophysiological study, participants (N = 42) completed the same tasks as the crowdsourcing participants but were monitored for heart rate, skin conductance, and eye-tracking while viewing the cessation messages. Using a multi-attribute decision-making model (MADM) using outcomes from both studies, messages were ranked for each mood state. Results: The top messages for participants in the positive mood condition included the challenges in quitting, financial costs/rewards, and motivations to quit themes. The top messages for participants assigned to the negative mood condition included the challenges in quitting, quality-of-life, and financial costs/rewards themes. For participants in the neutral mood condition, messages in the challenges in quitting and quality of life themes performed best. Conclusions: Variations in the preferences of messages and themes by mood condition suggest that mood-tailored communication may increase the effectiveness of smoking cessation messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Among patients with solid tumors, those with breast cancer (BC) experience the most severe psychological issues, exhibiting a high global prevalence of depression that negatively impacts prognosis. Depression can be easily missed, and clinical markers for its diagnosis are lacking. Therefore, this study in order to investigate the diagnostic markers for BC patients with depression and anxiety and explore the specific changes of metabolism. Method and results: Thirty-eight BC patients and thirty-six matched healthy controls were included in the study. The anxiety and depression symptoms of the participants were evaluated by the 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA). Plasma levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and lipocalin-2 (LCN2) were evaluated using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, and plasma lactate levels and metabolic characteristics were analyzed. Conclusion: This study revealed that GFAP and LCN2 may be good diagnostic markers for anxiety or depression in patients with BC and that plasma lactate levels are also a good diagnostic marker for anxiety. In addition, specific changes in metabolism in patients with BC were preliminarily explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPurposeMethodsResultsConclusion\nIMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION:The review aims to identify what characteristics are reported in randomised controlled trials for the non-pharmacological management of post-stroke anxiety and/or depression and whether research has explored the correlation between participant characteristics and their outcomes.A comprehensive systematic search was completed of five databases: CINAHL, Medline, PsychInfo, Web of Science, and The World Health Organisation. Google Scholar was also accessed. The reporting of participant characteristics was assessed by adapting the PROGRESS-Plus framework, a research framework of protected characteristics known to impact health equity (such as, age).19 papers (n = 2187) were included. There was generally poor reporting of characteristics associated with an increased likelihood of post-stroke anxiety and/or depression. All studies reported the gender/sex of participants, 18 studies reported the age of participants, and 11 studies reported lesion location. None of the studies reported the sexual orientation or pre-existing disabilities of participants.There was variation in the reporting and analyses of protected characteristics. Future research should follow a health equity framework to ensure reporting of protected characteristics to support clinicians in identifying whether the proposed interventions are relevant to their stroke population and consider undergoing subgroup analyses to compare outcomes across protected characteristics.Overall review on the reporting of protected characteristics known to impact the engagement with services and outcomes of stroke survivors.Reviewing the lack of reporting on who is taking part in stroke research and how this impacts evidence-based practice in stroke services.Identifying how demographic and social factors can impact post-stroke anxiety and depression rehabilitation.Supporting the understanding of the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for post-stroke anxiety and/or depression across subgroups.Identification of which characteristics should be reported in services and in stroke rehabilitation research.Furthering the consideration of health equity in stroke rehabilitation research.Overall review on the reporting of protected characteristics known to impact the engagement with services and outcomes of stroke survivors.Reviewing the lack of reporting on who is taking part in stroke research and how this impacts evidence-based practice in stroke services.Identifying how demographic and social factors can impact post-stroke anxiety and depression rehabilitation.Supporting the understanding of the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for post-stroke anxiety and/or depression across subgroups.Identification of which characteristics should be reported in services and in stroke rehabilitation research.Furthering the consideration of health equity in stroke rehabilitation research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to investigate the efficacy of an eight-week mindfulness training intervention on improving mood among a Chinese urban sample seeking stress reduction and to explore the potential mediating effect of mindfulness and rumination. Method: Fifty-seven participants were recruited and randomly assigned to either the mindfulness training group or a waitlist control group. The mindfulness training group received an eight-week mindfulness intervention, while the waitlist control group received no intervention during this period. The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Brief Profile of Mood States (BPOMS), and the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) were assessed at both pre- and post-test. Results: The final analysis included 52 participants (24 in the mindfulness training group and 28 in the waitlist control group). Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) revealed that, compared with the control group, participants who received mindfulness training showed significant improvements in their FFMQ Total Score (p <.01), Observing score (p <.05), and Non-reactivity score (p <.01); BPOMS Total Score (p <.01), Depression-dejection (p <.01), Anger-hostility (p <.01), and Tension-anxiety (p <.05); as well as RRS Total Score, Symptom Rumination, and Reflective Pondering (all p <.05). Mediation analysis of mindfulness training intervention on negative mood revealed a significant chain mediating effect of improvements in mindfulness and reductions in maladaptive rumination (95% CI = [0.0022, 0.2459], excluding 0). Conclusion: Mindfulness training can effectively improve the negative mood of urban populations facing stress through the mechanism of enhancing mindfulness and reducing rumination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The incidence of various mood disorders and temperaments in ADHD patients is well-documented, irrespective of age. These temperamental differences cause emotional and behavioral instability, impacting individual and social functioning, and overall quality of life. This study evaluates different temperaments in adults with ADHD compared to those without ADHD. Methods: This case–control study was performed on 75 adult ADHD patients as the case group and 75 adults without ADHD as the control group. A demographic questionnaire and a shortened Persian version of the TEMPS-A questionnaire were given and completed to the people included in the study to assess different mood temperaments. Results: Comparing different components of mood temperaments between the patients with and without ADHD showed significantly higher mean scores for irritable, anxious, depressed, and cyclothymic temperaments in those with ADHD as compared to a control group. In the group suffering from ADHD, women had significantly higher mean scores for dysthymic and anxious temperaments as compared to men, while the mean score for cyclothymic temperaments was significantly higher in men than in women. A high academic degree was associated with lower scores for mood temperaments, while mood temperaments were independent of patients' age. Conclusions: The higher score of various mood temperaments in patients with ADHD compared to people without this disorder is completely predictable, and this score can potentially affect the gender of the patients as well as their education level. Given the higher scores of temperamental traits in patients with adult ADHD, implementing screening programs aimed at identifying temperamental disorders in these patients is highly emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine: 5-HT), a neurotransmitter that regulates mood in the brain and signaling in the gut, has receptors throughout the body that serve various functions, especially in the gut and brain. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are used to treat depression, but their efficacy is uncertain. Depression is often associated with early gastrointestinal symptoms. Gut disorders such as functional dyspepsia (FD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), are linked to elevated serotonin levels. In this review, we would like to discuss the approach of using serotonin as a biomarker for gut–brain, and body-wide organ communication may lead to the development of preventive and innovative treatments for gut–brain disorders, offering improved visibility and therapeutic monitoring. It could also be used to gauge stress intensity for self-care and mental health improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue Addressed: Nostalgia—the bittersweet reliving of the past—has been linked to social connection and psychological wellbeing. Although food consumption is often an intrinsically social experience, relatively little research has examined how individuals experience and understand how food consumption relates to feelings of nostalgia, food and mood. Methods: In the current study, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with eight Australians from varying cultural backgrounds to explore their experiences with nostalgia, food and mood. Results: Reflexive thematic analysis identified three key themes from the data: (i) The bittersweet experiences of food‐evoked nostalgia—individuals' descriptions of food‐evoked nostalgia and how it impacted their mood both positively and negatively (ii) social connection and identity continuity—participants' description of food‐evoked nostalgia and how this provides an opportunity for social connection and identity continuity throughout life, which positively influences mood, and (iii) the role and relationship of food‐evoked nostalgia and mood—individual descriptions of the important role that nostalgic food plays in their life, in addition to their relationship with food, and how this impacts mood. Conclusions: Understanding the positive component of nostalgic foods allowed individuals to bolster positive mood states with food‐evoked nostalgia, increasing their quality of life. So What?: Understanding the link between food‐evoked nostalgia and mood has significant implications, suggesting that negative mood states altered by nostalgic foods may result in positive mood states. Appropriate use of food‐evoked nostalgia may increase the quality of life for individuals experiencing low mood states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerebellum is a key-structure for the modulation of motor, cognitive, social and affective functions, contributing to automatic behaviours through interactions with the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and spinal cord. The predictive mechanisms used by the cerebellum cover not only sensorimotor functions but also reward-related tasks. Cerebellar circuits appear to encode temporal difference error and reward prediction error. From a chemical standpoint, cerebellar catecholamines modulate the rate of cerebellar-based cognitive learning, and mediate cerebellar contributions during complex behaviours. Reward processing and its associated emotions are tuned by the cerebellum which operates as a controller of adaptive homeostatic processes based on interoceptive and exteroceptive inputs. Lobules VI-VII/areas of the vermis are candidate regions for the cortico-subcortical signaling pathways associated with loss aversion and reward sensitivity, together with other nodes of the limbic circuitry. There is growing evidence that the cerebellum works as a hub of regional dysconnectivity across all mood states and that mental disorders involve the cerebellar circuitry, including mood and addiction disorders, and impaired eating behaviors where the cerebellum might be involved in longer time scales of prediction as compared to motor operations. Cerebellar patients exhibit aberrant social behaviour, showing aberrant impulsivity/compulsivity. The cerebellum is a master-piece of reward mechanisms, together with the striatum, ventral tegmental area (VTA) and prefrontal cortex (PFC). Critically, studies on reward processing reinforce our view that a fundamental role of the cerebellum is to construct internal models, perform predictions on the impact of future behaviour and compare what is predicted and what actually occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aims to explore the psychological effects of chronic exercise on mood and well-being in adults. Methods: A qualitative research design was employed, utilizing semi-structured interviews with 20 participants from Iran who engage in regular exercise routines for at least six months. Participants ranged in age from 22 to 58 years and represented a variety of occupations and exercise preferences. Data were collected until theoretical saturation was reached and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify key themes and subthemes related to the psychological effects of exercise. Results: The analysis revealed several key themes: psychological benefits, barriers to exercise, motivational factors, and challenges in sustaining exercise. Participants reported significant improvements in mood, self-esteem, emotional resilience, and cognitive functions such as focus and memory. Barriers to exercise included time constraints, physical barriers, lack of motivation, environmental factors, and financial constraints. Motivational factors were primarily health benefits, personal goals, social influence, psychological benefits, and habit formation. Challenges in sustaining exercise included monotony, physical fatigue, balancing life demands, health setbacks, lack of immediate results, and accessibility issues. Conclusion: Regular physical activity is associated with numerous psychological benefits, including improved mood, reduced anxiety, and enhanced cognitive function. However, barriers such as time constraints, lack of motivation, and financial constraints must be addressed to sustain these benefits. Community-based exercise programs, educational support for instructors, and public health campaigns can help overcome these challenges. Future research should include larger, more diverse samples and explore the long-term psychological effects of chronic exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Research has indicated potentially neutral or even positive cognitive effects of e-cigarette usage in adults, but whether these findings extend to adolescents remains uncertain. This study aimed to examine the interplay between e-cigarette use, mind wandering and self-efficacy, and mood. Method: The responses of 432 adolescents aged 11-18 years from an online survey were analyzed. Among them, 88 adolescents had used e-cigarettes. Results: Adolescents who have used e-cigarettes reported poorer academic self-efficacy, t (430) = 3.26, 95% CI [1.12, 4.51], p < 0.001; greater mind-wandering tendencies t(430) = −3.38, 95% CI [-4.14, −1.10], p < 0.001; and greater severity of depression, t(430) = −3.38, p < 0.001, anxiety t(430) = −2.67, p = 0.01, and stress t(430) = −3.32, p <.001. Increased frequency of e-cigarette use was also associated with attitudes toward e-cigarette use, r (86) = 0.31, p = 0.003 and lower academic self-efficacy, r (86) = −0.27, p =.010. However, there was no significant correlation between frequency of use and mind-wandering. Further network analysis suggested negative relationships between frequency of e-cigarette use, academic self-efficacy and mind-wandering. Conclusion: Our findings suggest a potential adverse impact of e-cigarette use on mind-wandering and academic confidence among adolescents. However, the direct or indirect relationship between e-cigarette use and these effects could not be definitively determined due to the cross-sectional survey design employed in our study. Nonetheless, our findings underscore the importance of considering developmental differences and the unique vulnerabilities of adolescents when assessing the impact of e-cigarette use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Popular and professional psychology merge to produce novel forms on TikTok—a platform on which therapeutic content grew enormously during the pandemic, rendering it a productive site to examine mediated mental health subjectivities, including ways people come to understand themselves in terms of mental health pathologies. Examining the dynamic interplay of capacities and constraints of therapeutic and algorithmic frameworks reveals ways in which therapeutic roles and rituals are re-negotiated in this space. Therapists utilize memetic tropes of the platform to position themselves within its affective flows, while leveraging beliefs about the algorithm to connect with users. The affective engagement of users' works to curate a stream of content against which mental health and therapeutic frameworks are evaluated, ultimately designating a diagnostic gaze to a charismatic algorithm—a potentially emergent social media case of automated forms becoming paradigmatic in the ways we conceive of mental health and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the traditional methods of treating obesity through education on controlling eating and increasing exercise have largely failed beyond the very short term, a more intensive focus on psychosocial correlates of those weight-loss behaviors has been suggested. Multiple behavioral theories incorporate self-regulation, self-efficacy, and mood; however, their interrelations and effects over both the short and long term within cognitive-behavioral obesity treatments remain unclear. Within a novel community-based program with women with obesity who had either low (n = 29) or high (n = 71) mood disturbance scores, there were significant improvements in exercise- and eating-related self-regulation and eating-related self-efficacy—primary targets of that intervention—with no significant difference in those changes by mood disturbance grouping. Changes in the summed exercise- and eating-related self-regulation scores significantly mediated relationships between changes in eating-related self-efficacy and weight (over both 6 and 12 months). There were similar results with mediation assessed via the extent exercise-related self-regulation carried over to eating-related self-regulation. In both of those models a reciprocal relationship between self-regulation and self-efficacy changes was indicated. In serial multiple mediation equations, paths of changes in exercise-related self-regulation → eating-related self-regulation → eating-related self-efficacy → weight were significant. However, paths were not significant when change in self-efficacy was entered as the predictor (initial) variable. Findings suggest viability in first focusing on exercise-related self-regulation, then eating-related self-regulation, in the course of increasing self-efficacy and probabilities for inducing enough sustained weight loss to improve obesity-associated health risks. Benefits of field-based research findings generalizing to weight-management applications were suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many female military service members choose to use hormonal contraception to prevent pregnancy and/or to control or suppress menses. Hormonal contraception, which comes in many different forms based on dose, estrogen/progestin type, and route of administration (oral, vaginal, transdermal, implant, intrauterine device, injectable), may cause side effects, some of which can influence military medical readiness, or the health status necessary to perform assigned missions. This expert review summarizes the evidence around common military-relevant side effects of hormonal contraception that could impact readiness, including effects on weight and body composition, bone health, psychological health, and physical performance, and serves as a tool for uniformed and civilian clinicians counseling female service members about hormonal contraception. Current evidence suggests some hormonal contraception can lead to weight and fat gain, may modulate susceptibility to mood or mental health disorders, and could impact bone mineral density and stress fracture risk; more research is needed on physical performance effects. Clinicians must be familiar with readiness considerations of each type of hormonal contraception to provide comprehensive patient education and allow for optimal shared decision-making about hormonal contraception use among female Service members. Considering the relative lack of data on the effects of nonoral hormonal contraception routes on readiness outcomes and the growing interest in long-acting reversible contraceptives among female service members, future research should continue to investigate effects of all hormonal contraception methods available to service members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is a critical regulator of circadian rhythm in humans. Impaired sleep adversely affects metabolic, emotional, and cognitive health. Objective: To characterize sleep disturbances in patients with active and treated Cushing's syndrome (CS), and identify factors associated with impaired sleep in treated patients. Design: Single-center cross-sectional study. Methods: Patients with pituitary or adrenal CS enrolled in an observational study completed Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), CushingQoL, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression assessments. Cross-sectional analysis was conducted including patients with active and treated disease. Results: 113 (94 female) patients with CS were included, 104 pituitary and 9 adrenal, with mean age at diagnosis of 43.9 ± 13.4 years. Mean and maximum duration of follow up was 5.1 and 23 years. Mean NHP sleep score was lower (i.e., improved) in patients with treated vs. active disease (29.6 ± 30.2 vs. 51.9 ± 30.9, p = 0.0005), as was CushingQoL sleep score (p = 0.015), but 41.5% of patients with treated disease stated they often or always had trouble sleeping. The proportion of treated vs. active patients taking medication for sleep, mood, or pain was not different. Neither NHP nor CushingQoL pain scores were lower in treated vs. active patients (p = 0.39 and 0.53). In patients with treated CS, anxiety and depression correlated with worse sleep scores. Conclusions: Patients with treated CS report improved sleep quality compared to those with active disease, but almost half of treated patients still report sleep challenges. The need for sleep medications, reported by one third of patients, was not different after CS treatment. Ongoing mood disturbances may play a role in persistent sleep disruption. Further work should focus on determinants of sleep impairments in treated CS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the nuanced influence of internally experienced moods, specifically focusing on positive and negative moods, on individuals' propensity for risk-taking behavior. The objective is to discern the intricate impact of mood on risk-taking, a subject that has elicited varying results in diverse studies. A systematic search for experimental-research studies, spanning from the present to 1983, was conducted using PubMed and Semantic Scholar databases. After a meticulous examination of the complete texts, a final set of 13 studies was chosen for analysis. The results revealed divergent findings: some studies indicated that positive mood increased risk-taking behavior, while others suggested a similar effect for negative mood. These opposing outcomes are explained by two hypotheses: the Mood-Maintenance Hypothesis and the Affect Infusion Model. This study aims to comprehensively explore and compare the substantiation of these two theories across a range of experimental studies, contributing to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between mood and risk-taking behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the effects of constant and altered workload sequences on mental fatigue in a thermoneutral environment, experiments and surveys were carried out in this study. n‐back tasks were used to design different workload sequences. Fifteen healthy right‐handed males were required to experience three different workload sequences for 30 min, respectively, including a constant workload (2‐back task) and 2 altered workload sequences that contained an elevating workload sequence (1‐2‐3‐back tasks) and a reducing workload sequence (3‐2‐1‐back tasks). The PANAS, VAS‐F, and NASA‐TLX scales were selected to investigate changes in the mood, the perceived fatigue, and the perceived workload. Meanwhile, the skin temperature during these three workload sequences was continuously collected. Results from the NASA‐TLX scale indicated that no significant difference in total workload was observed among all three workload sequences. Meanwhile, results from the VAS‐F scale showed that no significant changes in self‐reported mental fatigue were observed among these three workload sequences, which meant that mental fatigue was only related to the total workload. However, self‐reported "energy" from the VAS‐F scale did not reduce significantly during the reducing workload sequence, which meant that the reducing workload sequence could conserve more "energy" than that of the elevating and constant workload sequences. Furthermore, both positive and negative moods changed significantly under the constant workload sequence (2‐back task), but they did not show much changes under altered workloads, which meant that the altered workload sequence could attenuate the mood deterioration. What is more, the mental demand, physical demand, temporal demand, effort, and the total workload increased significantly after both the constant workload and elevating workload sequence, but no significant changes in all these six items of the NASA‐TLX scale were observed under the reducing workload sequence. Finally, the mean skin temperature under the constant workload sequence was lower than that under the altered workload sequences (p > 0.05), but significant changes in skin temperature at the left hand and neck were only observed between the constant and reducing workload sequences. In conclusion, constant and altered workload sequences contributed equally to the mental fatigue in a thermoneutral environment, but the differences in workload sequence produced some differences in mood, energy, and mental demand, which would affect the working performance. Findings of this study provided implications for the proper planning, assignment, and management of tasks in real working settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Electrolyte drinks contain charged minerals and are easily accessible in the market. It has become popular for the food and beverage industry to add nutrients and/or active ingredients to electrolyte drinks and market them as functional beverages. This study aims to determine the interactive effects of electrolyte drinks added caffeine, glucose, and B‐group vitamins (FED) on cognitive, mood index, and nutritional parameters. A total of 34 university students participated in this randomised, single‐blind, and placebo‐controlled study. Participants in the intervention group consumed 500 mL of FED, while participants in the control group consumed 500 mL of an electrolyte drink (ED). Baseline and post‐intervention data on cognitive performance, mood index, blood glucose, blood pressure, heart rate, and urine specific gravity were measured. Results indicated no significant differences (P > 0.05) in post‐intervention cognitive performance scores for simple reaction time, choice reaction time, verbal paired associates, visual paired associates, and digit symbol matching between the FED and ED groups. Levels of fatigue, confusion, and total mood disturbance (TMD) were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) by 46.50%, 62.75%, and 9.54%, respectively, following FED consumption. Post‐intervention data indicated no differences between the FED and ED groups in blood pressure, heart rate, and urine specific gravity, except for the blood glucose parameter, in which the blood glucose level of the FED group was significantly greater (P < 0.05) than that of the ED group. This study indicates that FED consumed in a realistic dose can reduce fatigue, confusion, and TMD. Further studies with a higher caffeine dosage, but within the safe range, could be conducted to investigate the cognitive enhancement potential of FED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mind wandering (MW) is intricately linked to sleep and affect, bearing clinical relevance for various psychiatric conditions, notably attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, and anxiety disorders. Most reviews concur that the relationship between disturbed sleep and negative affect is bidirectional. The directional relationships between MW propensity and disturbed sleep, as well as MW propensity and negative affect, are less clear. Therefore, this brief review aims to examine the limited studies that have directly explored temporally sequential relationships. These studies provide clear evidence for an impact of affect on MW and of MW on sleep, along with less unequivocal evidence for an influence of MW on affect and sleep on MW. Collectively, these individual reinforcement loops may constitute a threefold vicious cycle, which may contribute to the development and perpetuation of psychiatric disorders. Available data convincingly suggest an impact cycle in the direction "MW propensity → disturbed sleep → negative affect → MW propensity," while evidence for the inverse impact cycle is less pronounced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quasi-experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of exposure to interactive and non-interactive virtual nature on stress, mood, and cognitive performance among university students. A control group exposed to a white wall was included, and connectedness to nature was added as a potential covariate. The results showed that exposure to virtual nature, especially interactively, had effects on increasing reported happiness and on reducing stress and tenseness. However, there were no effects on energy, calmness, and the digit span test results. The trail test part a and b results were both improved in the post-exposure measurement in the control group, and part b after exposure to nature non-interactively, but not interactively. The results suggest that exposure to nature through virtual reality can have benefits for some indicators of well-being, and further research is needed to identify the underlying mechanisms and potential effects on other aspects of cognitive functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Depression and anxiety are pervasive mental health disorders with substantial global burdens. Probiotics, live microorganisms known for their health benefits, have emerged as a potential therapeutic intervention for these conditions. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to evaluate the strain-specific effects of probiotics on relieving depressive and anxiety symptoms while elucidating underlying mechanisms. Methods: EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL and PubMed/Medline were systematically queried to identify studies released until May 15, 2024. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) that employed standardized assessment tools for depression and anxiety namely Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), or Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) were included. Results: 12 RCTs involving 707 participants were included. Seven RCTs utilizing the BDI questionnaire demonstrated a significant decrease in depressive symptoms favoring probiotics containing strains such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus salivarius, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium breve, and Bifidobacterium longum (MD: -2.69, CI95%: -4.22/-1.16, p value: 0.00). Conversely, RCTs using HAMD showed a non-significant reduction in depressive symptoms (MD: -1.40, CI95%: -3.29/0.48, p value: 0.14). RCTs employing DASS and MADRS scales also showed no significant differences. Conclusion: This meta-analysis offers valuable insights into the strain-specific effects of probiotics containing Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species on depressive and anxiety symptoms. While our findings suggest a significant reduction in depressive symptoms based on the BDI scale favoring probiotics, the lack of significant effects observed on the HAMD, DASS, and MADRS scales underscores the complexity inherent in these conditions. It is imperative to acknowledge the mixed results across different measurement scales, indicating the need for cautious interpretation. Therefore, we advocate for a nuanced understanding of probiotics' impacts on various dimensions of mood, emphasizing the necessity for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Quality of life (QoL) is traditionally assessed using multiple-item questionnaires. These can be either general, global assessments of QoL or disease-specific questionnaires. However, the use of single-item QoL scales is becoming increasingly popular, as these are more time- and cost-effective, with a readily available and easy-to-interpret outcome. In particular, these are often preferred for quick assessments (e.g., 'at home' testing and mobile phone assessments), and other cases when time constraints are common (e.g., clinical trials and clinical practice). Previous research revealed that multiple-item questionnaires and single-item assessments of QoL have the same validity and reliability. Here we further evaluate the relationship of QoL, assessed with a single-item QoL scale, with well-being, mood, health correlates (e.g., immune fitness, and having underlying diseases), and lifestyle (e.g., sleep, nutrition). Methods: Data from two online surveys are presented. In Study 1, 100 students participated. The single-item QoL score was compared with the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5), a single-item score of sleep quality, the Regensburg Insomnia Scale (RIS) score, and the Healthy Diet Scale (HDS). Study 2 comprised a survey among 1415 Dutch adults. Single-item QoL was evaluated and compared with assessments of mood, health correlates (immune fitness and disease status), and lifestyle factors (e.g., sleep, nutrition, stress). Results: The first study revealed significant correlations between QoL and well-being, sleep quality, insomnia ratings, and attaining a healthy diet. The second study revealed significant correlations between QoL and mood, health status, and lifestyle factors (e.g., the ability to cope with stress). Conclusions: The results presented here demonstrate that the single-item QoL scale is an effective and easy-to-implement assessment tool that can be used in both clinical practice and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate supervision is critical in offender management, but requires effective tools to guide decisions and interventions. This research project investigated the effectiveness of Global Positioning System monitoring in reducing re-offending, while considering the impact of Global Positioning System monitoring on the offender's well-being. The method consisted of evaluating a matched sample of Global Positioning System monitored offenders (n = 220) versus non-Global Positioning System1 monitored (n = 219) subject to extended supervision and parole orders over a 24-month follow-up period. All participants were male offenders released from prison within New Zealand. The results showed statistically significant differences for 'non-violent' and 'violent' re-offending rates, with Global Positioning System monitoring being associated with lower rates of recidivism. There was no evidence of increased distress in those men subject to Global Positioning System monitoring. This study provides novel information about Global Positioning System monitoring and contributes to our understanding of how this tool can reduce recidivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the psychological effects of different design elements is important to interior designers and any individuals designing a space. No previous research has analyzed the interaction effects of color and lighting temperatures on mood, heart rate, and cognitive performance. The current study was conducted at Pepperdine University in a 2 x 2 randomized experiment. There were 78 participants aged 18-24 with a mean age of 18.85 (SD = 1.20), including 53 women, 24 men, and 1 who did not indicate their gender. The study evaluated self-reported mood (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule), accuracy and reaction times (Stroop task), creative intelligence (Remote Associates Test), and heart rates (heart rate monitor). Participants completed these tasks in a room with either a warm (red) or cool (blue) background color and completed tasks once in warm lighting and once in cool lighting. We found that color and lighting temperatures had different effects on affect, creative intelligence, reaction times, and accuracy. Negative affect was lower in Warm Lighting x Cool Color and Cool Lighting x Warm Color conditions (p = .046). Accuracy was higher in the Cool Color condition (p = .01) and in the Cool Color x Warm Lighting condition (p = .047). Creative intelligence scores approached significance in being higher in cool than warm lighting (p = .05). No effects were found on heart rates (p = .62). These results can inform designers on how to use the design elements of color and lighting temperatures to promote certain desired psychological effects in a space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mind Body Connect is a charity that delivers community-based physical exercise (PE) classes to people in recovery from substance use disorders. This study aimed to identify the contribution that strength training played in the development of positive short- and long-term psychological attributes for people recovering from substance use disorders by assessing (a) the short-term associations between participation in group exercise classes (N = 43, t = 2,940) and (b) the prospective long-term association between strength development and individuals' self-assessed level of "grit" among participants for whom strength training became a habitual activity (N = 13, median 8 weeks supported training). Participants completed demographic, Profile of Mood States—Adapted Short Form, and Short Grit Scale questionnaires before and after each strength training session over a period of 45 noncompulsory training sessions between February 2020 and March 2021. Weekly training logs recording the weight lifted were normalized into a measure of physical capital development. Short-term associations were tested using multilevel regression models predicting change in mean Grit score with interactions for gender; long-term associations were assessed through the use of latent growth models. We found that training sessions were associated with weak to moderate reductions (β = −0.112 to −0.533) in many negative mood states but elevated fatigue ( β MEN = 1.071, β WOMEN = 0.397). Latent growth in recorded strength was strongly associated with latent growth in self-assessed grit (β = 0.674). The findings suggest that PE classes and supported long-term strength training may assist with the development of recovery capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has observed reciprocal associations between sleep and mood. However, these findings are primarily based on the examination of one or two aspects of sleep behaviors (e.g., duration, quality), neglecting how multiple dimensions of sleep (particularly indicators pertinent to adolescence, e.g., sleep variability) are linked to adolescent mood both daily and longitudinally. Drawing on a multidimensional framework for sleep, this study addressed the knowledge gap by examining the directionality of and differential effects for associations between multiple dimensions of sleep and mood during early adolescence. Participants were 273 Chinese early adolescents (34.39% girls; Mage = 11.57, SD = 1.31), who filled out a pre-survey on demographics (T1) and 7-day diaries on sleep (i.e., duration, quality, disturbance, and latency) and mood (i.e., positive and negative mood). Adolescents completed another wave of diary reports 1 year later (T2). Findings revealed both bidirectional and unidirectional, within-person effects depending on specific sleep parameters, suggesting differential associations between multiple dimensions of sleep and mood. Specifically, on days when adolescents had longer sleep latency and greater disturbance than usual, they reported higher negative mood the next day, whereas higher negative mood was linked to poorer sleep quality the next day. The longitudinal investigation found that greater variability in sleep quality at T1 was associated with higher negative mood at T2. These findings underscore the importance of understanding the complex interplay between sleep and mood by examining the directionality of and differential effects for the daily and longer-term associations between multiple dimensions of sleep and mood among early adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Depressive moods and behaviors are developmentally normative, yet potentially impairing, in preschool‐aged children. In addition to frequency, duration of behavior is an important parameter to consider when characterizing risk for worsening mood dysregulation. The goal of this study was to identify the duration and severity of depressive moods and behaviors and associations with impairment in a large community sample of preschool‐aged children using an online parent‐report daily diary. Methods: Primary caregivers (N = 900) of 3–5‐year‐old children reported the daily duration of each instance of seven depressive moods and behaviors for 14 days. We used item response theory analyses to examine duration item characteristics. Results: Moods and behaviors occurred at specific durations to be considered psychometrically severe/rare; for example, instances of sadness had to last an average total of 32 min per day or more, irritability at least 38 min, tantrums at least 30 min, and tearfulness/sensitivity at least 35 min. Longer durations of mood and behavior were associated with daily impairment, as well as older child age and less parental education. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to delineate specific duration ranges for depressive moods and behaviors in preschool‐aged children. These data, coupled with information about the frequency of mood‐related behaviors, can assist child practitioners in differentiating normative patterns from less normative mood problems to evaluate which children may be at risk. Future work should identify the duration of depressive moods and behaviors in early childhood that predict clinically significant psychopathology over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many animals, the winners of a fight are more likely to win subsequent contests, while the losers tend to lose their following fights. Such winner and loser effects can have a large influence on individual behavior and fitness. Recent studies indicate that winner and loser effects occur in humans as well. Here we provide a narrative review of the relevant similarities and distinctions between nonhumans and humans with the goal of assessing the causes and consequences of winner and loser effects in humans. In both nonhumans and humans, winner and loser effects probably guide individuals to behave according to their apparent social rank, with winners adopting assertive postures and losers becoming submissive. Physical formidability is the dominant dimension determining social rank in nonhuman species. In adult humans, physical formidability plays a lesser role, while social conventions, physical attractiveness, competence in complex skills, and social competence are more important for social rank. Recent data indicate that human winner and loser effects may influence behavior and social rank in nonaggressive contexts. We suggest future lines of research that will help us better understand how and why winner and loser effects shape human cognition, mood, and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]