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The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) is used globally in emotion research. However, normative studies in diverse contexts do not consider the influence of education and socioeconomic status (SES) on picture ratings. We created the South African Affective Picture System (SA-APS) for use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by replacing some original IAPS images with pictures featuring more diverse groups of people and culturally appropriate stimuli. Healthy South African adults from higher and lower education/SES backgrounds (n = 80; n = 70 respectively) provided valence and arousal ratings for 340 images from the original IAPS and 340 images from the new SA-APS. Overall, their ratings of SA-APS images were better aligned with the US normative standards than their ratings of IAPS images, particularly with regard to valence. Those with higher SES/education rated IAPS images differently from those with lower SES/education (e.g., valence ratings of the latter were similar to US normative standards, whereas those of the former were more negative). Regression modelling indicated that sex and SES significantly predicted the current sample's IAPS and SA-APS ratings (e.g., women and higher-SES participants rated high-arousal images as being significantly more arousing than men and lower-SES participants); hence, we created regression-based norms for both picture sets. These norms are especially useful in emotion research, because few studies emerge from LMICs, and few instruments account for substantial sociodemographic diversity. Extending the reach of tools such as the IAPS to LMICs can help ensure a more globally representative body of research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of their global clinical utility, phonemic fluency tests are frequently incorporated into neuropsychological assessment batteries. However, in heterogeneous societies their use is complicated by the lack of careful attention to using letters of equivalent difficulty across languages, and the paucity of norms stratified by relevant sociodemographic variables. In accordance with the International Test Commission's guidelines for adaptation of test material in multilingual contexts, this study provides (1) an internationally replicable methodological template for selecting appropriate letter sets; (2) empirical evidence to substantiate the equivalence of a letter set across three languages; (3) a template for evaluating the relative impact of sociodemographic variables on phonemic fluency; and (4) appropriately stratified norms for the letter set SBL (English and Afrikaans) / IBL (Xhosa) in a sample (N = 512) of urban participants (7-25 years with 1-17 years of education) from the Cape Town region of the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Aim: This study aimed to contribute to the paucity of literature on disability in youth with OCD, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). Methods: In South Africa (a LMIC), data was collected from 26 children and adolescents with OCD (12 girls, 14 boys; age range 6–18 years), and their parents, on an outpatient basis. Clinical measures aimed at assessing functional impairment due to OCD were administered. Results: Key findings were 1) that children with OCD reported being most significantly affected by their OC symptomatology within the school domain whereas parents placed emphasis on the impairment within the social domain; 2) scores on the Child Obsessive–Compulsive Impact Scale – Revised and the Children's Global Assessment Scale, were consistent, and 3) clinician‐rated symptom severity was positively associated with parental reports on children's impairment due to OCD. Findings show similarities with data from similar studies in a high‐income country (HIC) context. Conclusions: Children with OCD and their parents do not necessarily agree on the ways in which OCD impacts their lives. A comprehensive view of functional impairment in children with OCD, that is, from the viewpoints of the patient, parents, and clinicians, is critical when treatment is planned. Such information may assist with selection of relevant treatment targets, and ultimately improve the quality of life of all affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyberpsychological research suggests that interaction with and use of smartphones influences personal wellbeing and psychosocial development. Studies indicate that (a) the ways in which individuals manage their attachment to devices influences personal development, (b) greater smartphone attachment is associated with higher anxiety levels, and (c) personality differences might mediate this association. We investigated whether self-compassion (i.e. being kind and non-judgmental to oneself) might be such a mediating factor, and whether this mediational relationship differed between digital natives (n = 104, 18-25 years) and digital immigrants (n = 117, 30-60 years). Participants completed standardised scales measuring trait anxiety, self-compassion, and smartphone attachment/use. The mediational hypothesis was confirmed for digital natives only, suggesting that among these participants (who reported significantly higher anxiety levels) higher levels of selfcompassion can provide a healthy buffer between psychological distress and unhealthy smartphone attachment. We conclude that programmatic self-compassion interventions could buffer negative developmental consequences of unhealthy smartphone attachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Although many studies report that women with HIV (WWH) are more vulnerable to cognitive impairment than men with HIV (MWH), this trend is not described consistently in the literature. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we investigated whether the weight of evidence supports the existence of a significant sex difference in cognitive functioning among people with HIV and, if so, whether specific domains are affected. Method A systematic literature search retrieved 4,062 unique articles published between January 2000 and June 2019. Eligibility criteria were that studies directly compared adult WWH and MWH using a neuropsychological test battery. After extensive screening, we included 11 studies in the systematic review (N  = 3,333) and 6 in the meta-analysis (N  = 2,852). Results Six studies included in the systematic review found WWH performed significantly more poorly on measures of cognitive performance than MWH; the other five found no sex differences. Meta-analytic results indicated that WWH performed significantly more poorly than MWH in three cognitive domains (psychomotor coordination, visuospatial learning, and memory), but magnitudes of effect sizes were small (d =  −.16, −.43, and − .30, respectively). Analyses detected no sex differences in global cognitive functioning and in the other cognitive domains. Conclusions Sex differences in cognitive performance are small, and sociodemographic and psychiatric characteristics of WWH and MWH differ between studies. Cognitive differences between WWH and MWH may be explained by sex-based variation in these characteristics, the impact of which seems to outweigh that of HIV-related clinical variables (e.g. CD4 count and viral load). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]