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Resilience is a key health protective factor for those with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), but little research has explored how it manifests in early adulthood or across cultures. The purpose of this study was to generate a fuller understanding of resilience and its contribution to the relationships between mental health problems and ACEs among Chinese young adults in Hong Kong. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, 433 Chinese young adults aged 18-24 years were surveyed online to examine the relationships between ACEs, resilience, and mental health problems (depression, anxiety, maladjustment, and post-traumatic stress symptoms). Among them, 34 participants with ACEs were purposively selected and interviewed to explore cultural factors that influenced their resilience. Quantitative data were analyzed using multiple hierarchical regression analyses; qualitative data were analyzed using a qualitative descriptive approach.Higher cumulative ACE exposure was associated with higher severity of adjustment disorder and odds for screening positive for post-traumatic stress disorders, but not for symptoms of depression or anxiety. Resilience significantly contributed to explaining variances across all mental health outcomes over and beyond ACEs and in a protective fashion. Four themes emerged from qualitative interviews: (1) Privacy, emotional restraint, and “saving face”; (2) Conforming to preserve harmony; (3) A will to excel; and (4) Viewing adversity as a matter of luck. These findings suggest Chinese young adults’ resilience was influenced by cultural norms of restraint, conformity, competition, and superstition. The present study provides a model for future studies using a mixed-methods design to deeply examine resilience among younger people exposed to early adversities within sociocultural, historical, or geographical contexts.

Paranoia and belief in conspiracy theories both involve suspiciousness about the intentions of others but have rarely been studied together. In three studies, one with a mainly student sample (N = 496) and two with more representative UK population samples (N = 1,519, N = 638) we compared single and two-factor models of paranoia and conspiracy theories as well as associations between both belief systems and other psychological constructs. A model with two correlated factors was the best fit in all studies. Both belief systems were associated with poor locus of control (belief in powerful others and chance) and loneliness. Paranoid beliefs were specifically associated with negative self-esteem and, in two studies, insecure attachment; conspiracy theories were associated with positive self-esteem in the two larger studies and narcissistic personality traits in the final study. Conspiracist thinking but not paranoia was associated with poor performance on the Cognitive Reflection Task (poor analytical thinking). The findings suggest that paranoia and belief in conspiracy theories are distinct but correlated belief systems with both common and specific psychological components.

Objectives\ud \ud The COVID‐19 pandemic is one of the greatest global health threats facing humanity in recent memory. This study aimed to explore influences on hygienic practices, a set of key transmission behaviours, in relation to the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation‐Behaviour (COM‐B) model of behaviour change (Michie et al., 2011).\ud \ud \ud \ud Design\ud \ud Data from the first wave of a longitudinal survey study were used, launched in the early stages of the UK COVID‐19 pandemic.\ud \ud \ud \ud Methods\ud \ud Participants were 2025 adults aged 18 and older, representative of the UK population, recruited by a survey company from a panel of research participants. Participants self‐reported motivation, capability, and opportunity to enact hygienic practices during the COVID‐19 outbreak.\ud \ud \ud \ud Results\ud \ud Using regression models, we found that all three COM‐B components significantly predicted good hygienic practices, with motivation having the greatest influence on behaviour. Breaking this down further, the subscales psychological capability, social opportunity, and reflective motivation positively influenced behaviour. Reflective motivation was largely driving behaviour, with those highest in reflective motivation scoring 51% more on the measure of hygienic practices compared with those with the lowest scores.\ud \ud \ud \ud Conclusions\ud \ud Our findings have clear implications for the design of behaviour change interventions to promote hygienic practices. Interventions should focus on increasing and maintaining motivation to act and include elements that promote and maintain social support and knowledge of COVID‐19 transmission. Groups in particular need of targeting for interventions to increase hygienic practices are males and those living in cities and suburbs.

Background: Although early conceptualisations posited an inverse relationship between psychopathy and self-injury, little research has tested this. \ud \ud Aims: To examine the self-injurious thoughts and behaviour associated with psychopathy. \ud \ud Method: Data from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Project (N = 871) were used to examine homogenous subtypes of participants based on their responses to six self-injury items. A binary logistic regression model was used to interpret the nature of the latent classes by estimating the associations with the four psychopathy factors, mixed anxiety-depression, violence victimisation, and gender. \ud \ud Results: A 2-class solution provided the best fit to the data. Most participants (86.2%) were assigned to the baseline (‘low self-injury risk’) group. ‘The high-risk self-injury group’ was characterised by a higher probability of endorsing all self-injury items, particularly ‘thoughts of hurting self’ and ‘attempts to hurt self’. The four psychopathy factors showed differential associations with self-injury group membership. Participants scorings higher on the affective component and lower on interpersonal component of psychopathy, were significantly more likely to be assigned to the high risk group. Significant associations were also found between mixed anxiety/depression and gender, and ‘high-risk self-injury group’ membership. \ud \ud Conclusions: These findings have important implications for the identification of individuals at risk of self-injury.

Aims: Attempts have been made to develop typologies to classify different types of alcoholism. However, limited research has focused on classifications to describe general patterns of alcohol use in general population samples. Methods: Latent class analysis was used to create empirically derived behaviour clusters of alcohol consumption and related problems from the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) based on data from a large stratified multi-stage random sample of the population of Great Britain. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to describe these resultant classes using both demographic variables and mental health outcomes. Results: Six classes best described responses in the sample data. Three were heavy consumption groups, one with multiple negative consequences, one experiencing alcohol-related injury and social pressures to cut down and an additional class with memory loss. There was one moderate class with few negative consequences, and finally two mild consumption groups, one with alcohol-related injury and social pressure to cut down and one with no associated problems. Conclusions: Alcohol use in Great Britain can be hypothesized as reflecting six distinct classes, four of which follow a continuum of increased consumption leading to increased dependence and related problems and two that do not. Differences between alcohol use classes are apparent with reduced risk of depressive episode in moderate classes and an increased risk of anxiety disorders for the highest consumers of alcohol.