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The prevalence of physical inactivity in youth during COVID-19 has varied across countries and depending on the age of the youth and whether the data were collected during lockdown versus non-lockdown. In studies that compared activity pre-and during COVID, activity decreased in 40-59% of youth. Several negative effects have been noted, including excessive screen time, sleep problems, over-eating, and affective disturbances. Physical inactivity was a significant correlate of all of these problems. Relatively little intervention research has been conducted, and underlying mechanisms have not been explored. As in most of the COVID-19 literature, this research has the limitations of being typically cross-sectional and self-reported.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental disorder characterizing impulsivity and instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and moods. The study explores the scope of BPD research in the eastern cultures with reference to India. The paper first explores the cultural manifestations of BPD in different cultures such as eastern and western. The paper further illustrates a critical review of studies conducted in Indian clinical population and the awareness of the disorder in India. Researches in cultures like India were found to be very few, based on small sample cases with limited efforts to understand the disorder. Hence, the need to study the disorder comprehensively and empirically in India is emphasized. The focus on the directions for more research in the field of personality psychopathology and its diagnosis has been identified. It was found that the appropriate identification of BPD is needed in India as the disorder is gaining popularity and there has been an increase in the epidemiology of the disorder in the western countries so the concern is to do more empirical studies, including epidemiological studies in eastern cultures also

A review of recent literature on sexual activity in adolescents revealed a prevalence range of 6-65 % in different countries that may relate to sampling different age groups as well as various types of sexual activity. Many risk factors have been researched including parental factors (e.g. parent risk behavior), peer variables (e.g. peer pressure), religiosity (e.g. spiritual intelligence), mood (e.g. depression), health-related behavior (e.g. sexting), substance use (e.g. marijuana) and physiological markers (e.g. activation of various areas of the brain on fMRI scans). The few interventions have included motivational interviewing by clinician or computer and classroom education and condom distribution. Limitations of this literature include a paucity of longitudinal studies and intervention research.

Pregnant women are currently worrying about both the effects of COVID-19 infection as well as the vaccine on their fetus and newborn. This narrative review is a summary of the literature on COVID-19 psychological problems of pregnant women, and infection effects on the women, their fetuses and neonates. The psychological problems studies have consistently shown a prevalence of approximately 20-40% anxiety and depression in pregnant women during COVID-19. Although early pandemic research suggested that the severity of COVID infection and the clinical course for infected pregnant women was no worse than for non-pregnant infected women, later pandemic, larger sample studies and meta-analyses suggest that infected pregnant women have more obstetric complications and negative outcomes than pregnant women without infection. Greater prevalence of pre-eclampsia, fetal distress, premature rupture of the membranes and preterm delivery have been reported for pregnant women who are infected, especially during the third trimester. Older pregnant women and those with comorbidities including elevated BMI, diabetes and hypertension are also at greater risk for obstetric complications. Mixed data have been presented on vertical transmission of the virus to the fetus as well as questions about vertical transmission via reduced natural killer cells protecting the placenta and increased ACE-2 receptors. Although the neonatal infection rate has been relatively low, antibodies noted in some neonates (IgG and IgM) suggest intrauterine, delivery or postnatal transmission. The very limited data on vaccination during pregnancy suggest positive effects. Although the data are even more limited on vaccination and fertility, there are no known negative effects. Methodological limitations of this literature include the data having been cross-sectional and derived from samples of symptomatic, hospitalized pregnant women at different gestational ages and different times during the pandemic.

Psychiatry is, indeed, basically similar to the rest of medicine. it is based upon making reliable diagnoses and applying evidence - based treatments that have success rates comparable with those used in other specialties. Psychiatric syndromes may be defined as disorders that are conventionally treated with treatments used by psychiatrists. The illnesses in which psychiatrists have developed proficiency have tended to be those that either manifest with disordered psychological functioning (thinking, perception, emotion, and memory) or those which have no obviously established organic basis. However, scientific developments are showing us that these so - called psychological ailments are linked with abnormalities of the brain, just as so - called medical illnesses are deeply affected by psychological factors. Modern psychiatry is an evolving field that is becoming less hospital based, more evidence based, and more neuroscience based. Nonetheless, during the last decades, random antipsychiatry attitudes have amalgamated and turned into a conjectural effort, which has a humanistic appearance, too. On the other hand, publicized criticisms by some associates, including known psychiatrists or psychotherapists, have, radically, stirred and reinforced the movement. Anyway, though various criticisms or worries about psychiatry, either as a subdivision in science or as a clinical practice in medicine are understandable due to existing scientific or diagnostic deficits, anti-psychiatry stance, which comprises many historical exaggerations based on happenings and primitive conditions from a century ago, may help to keep us rigorous and honest about what we do and inspiring us to insistently seek better diagnostic prototypes and management standards. In the present article, the said antagonism, in addition to the existing facts and expected responsibilities of psychiatry has been discussed concisely.

This narrative review on COVID-19 youth suicidality (ideation, attempts and completed) summarizes research that is primarily on prevalence and risk factors derived from survey and medical records data. The prevalence of suicidality has been highly variable across different countries at different times during the pandemic, although it has been more prevalent after a couple weeks into lockdown periods. Inactivity and excessive time on social media have been risk factors, but loneliness, anxiety and depression were the most frequently reported risk factors for suicidality at all levels. Protective factors have included school closures that were thought to lead to less academic pressure, peer conflict and bullying. The studies are limited by being cross-sectional, not longitudinal, making it difficult to determine causality or directionality of effects.

Recent research has demonstrated greater prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as compared to their typically developing peers. While there is...

This narrative review summarizes and critiques the relatively limited literature on the psychological effects of COVID-19 lockdowns in many parts of the world. These have included anxiety, depression, PTSD symptoms, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. Risk factors or predictors have also been studied including the demographics of being young and living alone. Feeling isolated and lonely, stressed, bored, fatigued, and touch deprived have also been predictive. Specific worries about getting the virus and having financial problems were surprisingly less stressful. Although social media was expected to buffer negative effects, those data were mixed including that texting had positive effects, internet had both positive and negative effects, and Facebook time had negative effects. Buffers for stress and psychological problems included spirituality and meditation, touching, exercise, working from home, and other home activities. Methodological problems with these studies included their being self-report surveys that were often not representative of the larger populations and did not include baseline data, limiting any assumptions of causality. Nonetheless, collectively the data will help inform interventions for pandemic lockdowns like those of COVID-19.

Several negative relationship behaviors have been related to romantic breakup distress which, in turn, has been related to trauma symptoms following romantic breakups. This Survey Monkey correlation study assessed the direct association between negative relationship behaviors and trauma symptoms to formulate a profile of those at risk for trauma symptoms following romantic breakups. The survey included the Breakup Reasons Scale (a measure of negative relationship behaviors including loss of intimacy, affiliation, sexuality and autonomy), The Trauma Symptoms Checklist-38, and other factors related to breakup reasons. Correlation analyses suggested that scores on the Breakup Reasons Scale (negative relationship behaviors) were significantly related to trauma symptoms following romantic breakups. This relationship was explained by the loss of intimacy. In addition, negative relationship behaviors were significantly related to a more serious romantic relationship of longer duration, lower ratings of the relationship, less physical affection, more verbal abuse, more hours posting messages on the internet and a “betrayal being known to others”. These data suggest that these reliable scales and ratings could be used to form a profile for those at risk for a breakup and for those who might need intervention for trauma symptoms following a romantic breakup

Romantic breakup distress is prevalent and can have severe psychological and physiological effects including symptoms that mimic a heart attack. This Survey Monkey study assessed predictors of Breakup Distress Scale scores including scores on The Impact of Events Scale, The Trauma Symptoms Checklist-38, and The Missing the Partner Scale. A stepwise regression analysis suggested that the scores on The Impact of Events Scale (intrusive thoughts, avoidance of intrusive thoughts, and hyperarousal) explained 59% of the variance in scores on the Breakup Distress Scale. The Trauma Symptoms Checklist-38 scores contributed to another 7% of the variance, and the Missing the Partner Scale scores added another 3% for a total of 69% of the variance. Elevated scores on The Impact of Events Scale suggest that this sample was experiencing posttraumatic stress symptoms and that these scales could be used to identify those who might need intervention for romantic breakup distress.

A COVID-19 related Stress Scale was developed for this study to address the specific stressors related to the pandemic lockdown experience. Based on a Survey Monkey study on 260 healthy individuals (18-82 years), the stress scale scores and its individual items were significantly correlated with scores on scales for health, media use, mood states including anxiety and depression, posttraumatic stress symptoms, fatigue and sleep disturbances. Stepwise regression analysis suggested that depression, media use and fatigue scale scores contributed to 52% of the variance on the stress scale scores. In turn, the stress scale scores and items were significantly correlated with sleep disturbances, as were health, anxiety, depression, fatigue and PTSD symptoms. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that 52% of the variance on the sleep scale scores was explained by fatigue and posttraumatic stress scale scores. These data suggest that individuals experiencing COVID-19 lockdowns are experiencing psychological symptoms and lockdown-related stressors that are contributing to sleep disturbances that highlight the need for interventions during lockdowns. Stress and Sleep Disturbances During a COVID-19 Lockdown April 2020

This narrative review is based on a literature search on PsycINFO and PubMed that involved entering the terms adolescent internet gaming for papers published during the last five years. Following exclusion criteria, 72 papers could be classified as internet gaming or internet gaming disorder/addiction studies including research on the prevalence, effects/comorbidities, risk factors and interventions for those problems. The prevalence of both internet gaming and internet gaming disorder has varied by culture. The effects/comorbidities have included hyperactivity, inattentiveness, cyberbullying, depression, anxiety and substance use. The risk factor studies have focused on impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and aggressivity. Altered autonomic and central nervous system function have also been notable including decreased heart rate variability and fMRI data showing less activation of the prefrontal cortex, ventral striatum and amygdala (areas that are involved in modulating impulsivity, reward-seeking and aggression respectively) as well as reduced gray and white matter. Surprisingly, given the prevalence and severity of internet gaming disorder, very little prevention/intervention research appears in this recent literature. Research is also missing on peer relationships/rejection as potential risk factors. Like other literature on adolescent problems, this research is limited by primarily deriving from self–report and parent report and by the absence of longitudinal data that might inform whether the behavioral and brain data being reported are effects of or risk factors for internet gaming addiction.

This narrative review summarizes research on three forms of touch that have enhanced development and well-being. These include social touch, CT touch, and massage therapy. The lightest form of touch called CT touch (stimulation of unmyelinated afferents) is important for parent-infant and romantic relationships and for pain syndromes. Social touch including hugging and handholding is also important for those relationships. And the deepest form of touch, i.e. moderate pressure massage therapy, has been important for reducing stress. Most of the CT touch research has focused on identifying optimal velocities of touch and using fMRI scans to identify parts of the brain that are activated by light touch. The social touch literature has been primarily oriented toward the role of touch during early mother-infant interactions and later romantic relationships. The deepest form of touch has been researched for its therapeutic applications including massage therapy for pain syndromes. Each form has several methodological limitations that are reviewed here. Although the literatures on these forms of touch have many differences, they also have similarities, and they share their importance for enhancing development and well-being.

Highlights • Depressed mothers engage in less touching that is playful and interactive in nature. • Depressed mothers touch their infants less during face-to-face interactions. • Nondepressed mothers maintain high levels of touch following a perturbation period. • Depressed mothers decrease playful/stimulating touch after a perturbation period. • Implications for intervention programs of early touch stimulation for at-risk dyads., Touch is a critical channel of communication used by mothers to communicate and interact with their infants and to contribute to their infants’ socio-emotional development. The present study examined maternal touching in 41 mothers with and without depressive symptomatology. Mothers and their 4-month-old infants participated in the Still-Face (maternal emotional unavailability) and Separation (maternal physical unavailability) procedures. Maternal touching behaviours were video-recorded and coded using the Caregiver Infant Touch Scale (CITS). Results indicated that mothers with higher levels of depressive symptoms engaged in less touching following the perturbation period in the Still-Face procedure, whereas mothers with lower levels of depressive symptoms maintained stable levels of touching across both interaction periods. Mothers with higher levels of depressive symptoms displayed less playful/stimulating types of touching. Taken together, these results underscore the importance of touch and suggest key differences in touching behaviour between dyads with maternal depressive symptomatology and those without.

Worries about getting the virus and worrying about finances have been associated with negative mood states including anxiety and depression during COVID-19 lockdowns. In this Survey Monkey study conducted during a COVID-19 lockdown (N= 260 respondents), 88% reported worrying about getting the virus and 72% worrying about their finances. Correlation analyses suggested that worries about the virus and about finances were related to each other and were, in turn, positively related to scores on scales measuring COVID-related stress, negative mood states including anxiety and depression, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. These problems were common to both types of worries as was the lack of health activities including exercise, self-care, and touching partners and children. Some findings were unique to each of the worries. Worrying about the virus was related to being active on social media, connecting with friends, and housekeeping and paperwork. Worrying about finances was correlated with caregiving, unemployment, less schooling, and alcohol use. The results of this survey are limited by the self-reported data from a non-representative sample that is cross-sectional. Nonetheless, they highlight the negative effects of worries about the virus and about finances during a COVID-19 lockdown.

COVID-19 pediatric problems have been similar to those for adults, including medical, neurological, sensory and psychological conditions, although they have typically been less prevalent and severe. The lesser severity in children may relate to their less mature viral receptors, less dysregulation of immune responses, and a lesser incidence of pre-existing comorbid conditions. This narrative review is a summary of publications found on PubMed for 2019-2021 on the prevalence of infection and the characteristics of the clinical condition that has predominated for children (multisystem inflammatory syndrome typically presenting with fever and cough in 1-5% of children between the ages of 1 and 14). Most of the extra-pulmonary symptom literature has focused on neurological, sensory and psychological conditions including headaches and loss of smell and taste as well as skin problems. The research on psychological symptoms has noted helplessness, worry and fear as well as more serious problems including anxiety, depression, PTSD symptoms and suicidal ideation. These problems have been attributed to less exercise, separation from schools and peers, over-exposure to social media, already existing psychiatric disorders and chronic illnesses that have been exacerbated by COVID-19. Methodological limitations of the literature include small sample, cross-sectional studies assessing single variables in countries that experienced lockdowns early in the pandemic. And, sequelae or post-COVID problems have rarely been researched. This narrative review was intended to be a brief overview of publications on medical, neurological, sensory and psychological problems that children and adolescents have experienced during COVID-19. The review is based on some of the larger sample studies and systematic reviews that appeared on PubMed for the years 2019-2021. The terms pediatrics, children, adolescents and COVID-19 were entered and the search yielded 173 papers. Inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed studies and systematic reviews. Case reports and non-English papers were excluded. Following these criteria, 57 papers were selected. The resulting review that reflects the current literature includes prevalence data, clinical characteristics and potential underlying mechanisms. Consistent with the aims of this review, the paper is divided into sections on medical, neurological, sensory and psychological conditions as well as COVID-19 sequelae.

Oxytocin, the “love hormone,” has been increased by massage therapy. A potential mechanism is stimulation of pressure receptors under the skin that calms the nervous system, including reducing the stress hormone cortisol and, in turn, increasing oxytocin. The massage-oxytocin link illustrates the health benefits of direct, active bodily contact. Oxytocin release by massage may be finely tuned to real social stimulation of the skin. In a 2019 study by Li and colleagues on the relationship between massage therapy and oxytocin, 40 adult males were given 10-minute massages either by hand or machine and blood samples were assayed for oxytocin. Oxytocin levels increased after both hand and machine massage, but more significantly after the massages by hand. The adaptive value of touch shaped pressure-sensitive mechanisms in the skin and nervous system and the way they function from early in life, imbuing real-time body contact through massage with its healing power.

This narrative review is based on a literature search on PsycINFO and PubMed that involved entering the terms adolescent sexting for papers published during the last five years. Following exclusion criteria, 52 papers could be classified as sexting studies including research on the prevalence, effects/comorbidities, risk factors and interventions for those problems. Most of the studies have been conducted in the U.S. where the prevalence of sexting has ranged from 5% to 29%. Sexting has typically been consensual, or at least the recipient has been known, although some forwarding of sext messages has occurred. The effects of sexting have included sexual activity, problematic relationships, mental health problems, other addictions and legal problems. The predictor or risk variables have included male gender, extraverted personality, low self-esteem, depression, impulsivity, peer pressure and the lack of parental monitoring. Like other literature on adolescent problems, this research is limited by primarily deriving from self–report and parent report and by the absence of longitudinal data that might inform whether the data being reported are effects of or risk factors for adolescent sexting and the need for prevention/intervention research.

Objective To evaluate the available evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of auricular acupressure (AA) therapy for preventing constipation in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Methods The following databases were searched from their inception until August 2017: Ovid Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Allied and Alternative Medieine (AMED). We also searched four Chinese databases: Chinese BioMedical Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WANFANG Data, and Chinese VIP Database. Only the RCTs related to the effects of AA therapy on preventing constipation in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy were included in this study. Quantitative syntheses of data from RCTs were conducted using RevMan 5.3 software. Study selection, data extraction, and validation were performed independently by two authors. Cochrane criteria for risk of bias were used to assess the methodological quality of the trials. Results Four RCTs met the inclusion criteria, and most were of low methodological quality. Study participants in the AA plus routine care group showed significantly greater improvements in the response rate (risk ratio [RR] = 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.14,1.42], P < 0.01) with low heterogeneity χ2 = 2.31, P = 0.31, l2 = 14%). In addition, when compared with routine care alone, one RCT suggested favorable statistically significant effects of AA plus routine care on Constipation Assessment Scale (CAS; mean difference [MD] = -5.07,95% CI [-6.86, -3.28], P < 0.01). Furthermore, when compared with routine care alone, one RCT suggested positive statistically significant effects of AA plus routine care on Patient Assessment of Constipation-Quality of Life (PAC-QOL; MD = -1.26,95% CI [-1.59, -0.93], P < 0.01). Conclusions Overall, as a potential safety therapy, only weak evidence can support the hypothesis that AA can effectively prevent constipation in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

The increasing prevalence of postnatal anxiety highlights the need for summarizing the recent research on this condition to inform screening and intervention efforts. This narrative review of the literature was derived from a search on PubMed and PsycINFO for papers published since 2010. The demographic risk factors for postnatal anxiety include being a young mother, having more education and being employed. Childbirth risk factors include being primiparous in one sample and multiparous in another, caesarean delivery, fear of the birth and of death during delivery, lack of control during labor, low self-confidence for the delivery and the delivery staff, and premature delivery. Social support problems include the lack of family support, marital/family conflict, and social health issues. Psychiatric history risk factors include prenatal depression and anxiety. Postnatal anxiety has negative effects on breast-feeding, bonding, mother-infant interactions, infant temperament, sleep, mental development, health and internalizing behavior and on conduct disorder in adolescents. Unfortunately, only six postnatal anxiety intervention studies could be found including paternal education, music therapy during labor, mothers massaging their infants, cognitive behavior therapy and administering oxytocin. The negative effects of postnatal anxiety and the limitations of the research in this review highlight the need for further research.

This review is based on literature on prenatal anxiety effects that was found on Pubmed and PsycINFO for the years 2010-2016. Prenatal anxiety is thought to have distinct features, although it has been measured both by specific prenatal anxiety symptoms as well as by standardized anxiety scales. Its prevalence has ranged from 21 to 25% and it has been predicted by a number of pregnancy - related variables such as unintended pregnancy, demographic variables such as low acculturation and income and psychosocial factors including pessimism and partner tension. Prenatal anxiety effects on pregnancy include increased cortisol levels, pro-inflammatory cytokines, obstetric problems and cesarean section. Effects on the neonate include lower gestational age, prematurity, less insulin-like growth factor in cord blood, less exclusive breast-feeding and less self-regulation during the heelstick procedure. Prenatal anxiety effects continue into infancy and childhood both on physiological development and emotional/mental development. Among the physiological effects are lower vagal activity across the first two years, and lower immunity, more illnesses and reduced gray matter in childhood. Prenatal anxiety effects on emotional/mental development include greater negative emotionality and in infants, lower mental development scores and internalizing problems. Anxiety disorders occur during childhood and elevated cortisol and internalizing behaviors occur during adolescence. Interventions for prenatal anxiety are virtually nonexistent, although stroking (massaging) the infant has moderated the pregnancy - specific anxiety effects on internalizing behaviors in the offspring. The limitations of this literature include the homogeneity of samples, the frequent use of anxiety measures that are not specific to pregnancy, and the reliance on self-report. Nonetheless, the literature highlights the negative, long-term effects of prenatal anxiety and the need for screening and early interventions.

This narrative review is based on a literature search of PubMed and PsycINFO for research on preterm newborn pain published during the last ten years. The high prevalence of painful procedures being performed with preterm newborns without analgesia (79%), with a median of 75 painful procedures being received during hospitalization and as many as 51 painful procedures per day highlights the importance of this problem. This review covers the pain assessments that have been developed, the short-term effects of the painful procedures, the longer-term developmental outcomes and the pharmacological and alternative therapies that have been researched. The most immediate effects reported for repeated painful procedures include increased heart rate, oxidative stress and cortisol as well as decreased vagal activity. Lower body weight and head circumference have been noted at 32 weeks gestation. Blunted cortisol reactivity to stressors has been reported for three-month-olds and thinner gray matter in 21 of 66 cerebral regions and motor and cognitive developmental delays have been noted as early as eight months. Longer-term outcomes have been reported at school age including less cortical thickness, lower vagal activity, delayed visual- perceptual development, lower IQs and internalizing behavior. Pharmacological interventions and their side effects and non-pharmacological therapies are also reviewed including sucrose, milk and nonnutritive sucking which have been effective but thought to negatively affect breast-feeding. Full-body interventions have included tucking, swaddling, kangaroo care and massage therapy. Although these have been effective for alleviating immediate pain during invasive procedures, research is lacking on the routine use of these therapies for reducing long-term pain effects. Further, additional randomized controlled replication studies are needed.

Infant sleep problems have been the focus of a growing literature over the last few years. The current review is based on literature searches of Pubmed and PsycInfo for studies published over the last few years including randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses on infant sleep problems and resulting developmental effected, risk factors and interventions. Several risk/protective factors for sleep problems have been identified including health literacy, TV in the room, feeding, close contact and arousing activities at bedtime, intolerance for infant crying, co-sleeping, maternal depression and infant temperament. Cross-cultural differences have been noted both for infant sleep problems and parents' perceived distress by those problems. A number of interventions have been tried to ameliorate infant sleep problems including consultations, teaching sessions on extinction and bedtime fading, internet-based interventions and nighttime massages by parents. Some of these studies have shown improvements and others have suggested only short-term or negligible effects. Significant methodological problems exist with this literature including the almost sole use of parent report as well as the mixed age samples and the potential confounding variables.

Background: Touch deprivation has rarely been studied except in wartime nurseries and in very few orphanages in the world. Pandemics like COVID-19 are susceptible to touch deprivation at least for those living alone and to a lesser degree for friends social distancing in public places. Methods: A Survey Monkey study was conducted during April 2020. Respondents (N=260 individuals >18 years) completed several COVID-related stress scales. Results: Sixty per cent of the sample reported experiencing low to high levels of touch deprivation. Correlation analyses suggested that touch deprivation was more prevalent in individuals living alone and was negatively related to health practices scale scores and positively related to scores on scales measuring COVID-related stress, negative mood states including anxiety and depression, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Analyses of variance revealed significant differences between touch-deprived and non-touch deprived groups on these measures. Outside exercise was studied as a potential buffer to touch deprivation inasmuch as touching and exercise have been noted to have similar effects on mood states and physical health. Correlation analyses suggested that outside exercise was positively related to health practices and negatively related to COVID-related stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbances and PTSD symptoms. Discussion: These data suggest the widespread prevalence of touch deprivation during COVID-19 lockdown and its relationship to negative mood states and sleep disturbances. Exercise was noted to decrease these problems as it has in previous non-COVID research. Conclusion: Exercise can reduce touch deprivation related problems during pandemics like COVID-19.

This narrative review of the literature was derived from a search for 2010-2017 publications on postpartum anxiety and postnatal anxiety on the PubMed and PsycINFO databases. Approximately two thirds of the papers are focused on the prevalence/incidence, onset and course of postnatal anxiety. The other third are almost equally distributed across correlates/risk factors and effects/outcomes, and only a few studies are focused on interventions/treatments. Based on the recent literature, the prevalence of postpartum anxiety has widely ranged from 13 to 40%. The demographic risk factors for postnatal anxiety include being a young mother, having more education and being employed. Childbirth risk factors include being primiparous in one sample and multiparous in another, cesarean delivery, fear of the birth and of death during delivery, lack of control during labor, low self-confidence for the delivery and the delivery staff, and premature delivery. Social support problems include the lack of family support, marital/family conflict, and social health issues. Psychiatric history risk factors include prenatal depression and anxiety. Postnatal anxiety has negative effects on breast-feeding, bonding, mother–infant interactions, and infant temperament, sleep, mental development, health and internalizing behavior and on conduct disorder in adolescents. Unfortunately, only six postnatal anxiety intervention studies could be found including paternal education, music therapy during labor, mothers massaging their infants, cognitive behavior therapy and administering oxytocin.

Sleep is frequently interrupted in newborns and their mothers. Massage therapy is noted to facilitate sleep in adults and infants. Infant massage has also been more effective with oil versus no oil. In this study 76 mothers of newborns were randomly assigned to a massage with lotion versus a massage without lotion group and a non-massage control group. The mothers were then taught a simple newborn massage and were asked to massage their newborns daily for 15min at bedtime for one month. The Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire was adapted for newborns and for mothers, and the mothers completed the questionnaires on their newborns' and their own sleep behaviors (the same behaviors for both mothers and newborns). The 3 groups were compared on the mothers' and their newborns' sleep behavior changes from birth to one month. By the last day of the study, the lotion massage group versus the other two groups showed a shorter latency to sleep and longer sleep for the mothers and fewer nightwakings and longer sleep for their infants. This may relate to the lotion group mothers massaging their infants more frequently as the number of massages was correlated with the total time sleeping and negatively correlated with nightwakings for both the mothers and the infants on the last day of the study. And, the mothers' and the infants' sleep behaviors were significantly correlated.

This paper is a review of empirical studies, review and meta-analysis publications on yoga from the last few years. The review includes demographics/prevalence of yoga as a practice, bibliometric analyses of the yoga publications and the use of yoga for physical fitness and cognitive function. Most of the studies reviewed here involve yoga effects on psychiatric and medical conditions. These include pregnancy, prenatal and postpartum depression; stress, PTSD, anxiety, and obesity; cardiovascular conditions including hypertension; pain syndromes including arthritis, headaches and low back pain; autoimmune conditions including asthma, type II diabetes and multiple sclerosis; immune conditions including HIV and breast cancer; and aging problems including balance, osteoporosis and Parkinson's. The methods and results of those studies are briefly summarized along with their limitations and suggestions for future research. Basically yoga has been more effective than control and waitlist control conditions, although not always more effective than treatment comparison groups such as other forms of exercise. More randomized controlled studies are needed in which yoga is compared to active exercise groups. Having established the physical and mental health benefits of yoga makes it ethically questionable to assign participants to inactive control groups. Shorter sessions should be investigated for cost-effectiveness and for daily practice. Multiple physical and physiological measures need to be added to the self-report research protocols and potential underlying mechanisms need to be further explored. In the interim, the studies reviewed here highlight the therapeutic effects of yoga, a practice that could come to be called yoga therapy.

Background and methods This is a review of recently published research, both empirical studies and meta-analyses, on the effects of complementary therapies including massage therapy, yoga and tai chi on pain associated with knee osteoarthritis in the elderly. Results The massage therapy protocols have been effective in not only reducing pain but also in increasing range of motion, specifically when moderate pressure massage was used and when both the quadriceps and hamstrings were massaged. The yoga studies typically measured pain by the WOMAC. Most of those studies showed a clinically significant reduction in pain, especially the research that focused on poses (e.g. the Iyengar studies) as opposed to those that had integrated protocols (poses, breathing and meditation exercises). The tai chi studies also assessed pain by self-report on the WOMAC and showed significant reductions in pain. The tai chi studies were difficult to compare because of their highly variable protocols in terms of the frequency and duration of treatment. Discussion Larger, randomized control trials are needed on each of these therapies using more standardized protocols and more objective variables in addition to the self-reported WOMAC pain scale, for example, range-of-motion and observed range-of-motion pain. In addition, treatment comparison studies should be conducted so, for example, if the lower-cost yoga and tai chi were as effective as massage therapy, they might be used in combination with or as supplemental to massage therapy. Nonetheless, these therapies are at least reducing pain in knee osteoarthritis and they do not seem to have side effects.

Spirituality and meditation have been associated with emotional and physical well-being, but studies on their relationships are surprisingly missing from the COVID-19 lockdown literature. In this Survey Monkey study conducted during a COVID-19 lockdown, 72% of 260 respondents reported feeling spiritual and 48% meditated. Correlation analyses suggested that spirituality and meditation were positively correlated. Spirituality was also positively related to health practices and working on projects and negatively correlated with COVID-related stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. And, meditation was positively correlated with health and working scale scores. Spirituality and meditation may be buffers for these COVID-19 related stressors.

In this COVID-19 lockdown Survey Monkey study, as many as 75% of 260 respondents reported feeling fatigued. Correlation analyses suggested that feeling fatigued was significantly correlated with demographic variables and virtually every item on every scale of the survey. The demographic correlations suggested that fatigue occurred more frequently in younger participants, in males, and in those not working from home during the lockdown. The significant correlations for the scales suggested that those feeling fatigued engaged in fewer health activities including exercise and self-care; they spent more time on social media including gaming and Facebook; they engaged in less cooking and creative projects; they scored higher on the Stress Scale including worrying more about the virus and their finances; they reported feeling more isolated, lonely, bored and touch deprived; they did more snacking and napping and expressed more “cabin fever”; they had lower scores on connecting and activities at home; and they had higher scores on anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and PTSD scales. A regression analysis suggested that 51% of the variance in the fatigue scores was explained by the depression (37% variance), sleep disturbances (12%) and anxiety (1%) scores. These results are limited by their being self-reported data from a non-representative, cross-sectional sample. Nonetheless, they highlight the negative effects of feeling fatigued during a COVID-19 lockdown.

An observational study was conducted at airline departure gates in several U.S. and European countries. Thirty-second observations were randomly made of 1360 different individuals ranging in age from infants to the elderly, although 79% of the travelers were adults. Most of the individuals were traveling with someone, except for adults who were more often traveling alone (58% vs. 42% time). Of the different types of social interaction and social media observed, cell phone texting/scrolling was significantly more frequently observed (at 53% time) than cell phone talking (13 % time), face-to-face interaction (13% time), on computer (7%) and touching (4%) which was the least frequently observed behavior. Significantly more cell phone texting/scrolling time occurred when adults were traveling alone (58% time). These data suggest that airline travelers are spending significantly more airport departure gate time on social media (specifically cell phone texting/scrolling) than face-to-face interaction or touching. Unfortunately, the observations that were made by professors and students were from too great a distance (10 feet away) in order to be unobtrusive but unable to code the precise type of cell phone texting/scrolling that was occurring.

Social media effects on youth during COVID-19 have been studied in the context of excessive use and mental health. Although some positive effects have been reported including connecting and social support, the COVID-19 research has typically noted negative effects including sedentary behavior, limited social interaction, depression and anxiety. This narrative review of eighteen COVID-19 publications on social media effects on youth includes sections on prevalence, on effects and on mediators/moderators of those effects. The prevalence of social media use by youth during COVID-19 has varied between 5% and 97% across 22 countries as a function of location, quarantine/lockdown, and type of social media, although the overall prevalence has significantly increased by 27% during the pandemic and has averaged 38% across studies. The most popular social media have been Facebook, What’s App, Instagram and Twitter. The prevalence of mental health symptoms has also varied across countries but has averaged 27% for anxiety, 34% for depression and 35% for stress. Mediators for the relationships between excessive social media and mental health symptoms have included rumination, psychological capital, sense of control and active use and moderators have included mindfulness, academic burnout and “flow”. Limitations of this literature are its sampling of self-reports from university students via cross-sectional surveys and confounding variables including pre-existing psychopathology, lockdown conditions, and sedentary behavior. Research is needed on the specific reasons for excessive social media use (e. g. information seeking, social interaction and escape from negative feelings including loneliness and touch deprivation) to inform intervention protocols for reducing this addictive behavior and its negative consequences on mental health symptoms in youth.

Social media including texting, internet use, and Facebook time have differential effects but those have not been studied during the social isolation of lockdowns when they might be more prevalent. In this Survey Monkey study, as many as 98% of 260 respondents reported texting, 100% using the internet, and 91% being on Facebook. The percentiles for those using the different media “a lot” were 45%, 77% and 42% respectively. Correlation analyses suggested that texting and internet use were positively related to Connecting Scale scores. However, internet use was also positively related to scores on Stress, Anxiety and Depression Scales and Facebook use was positively related to not only scores on Stress, Anxiety and Depression Scales but also to scores on Fatigue, Sleep Disturbance and PTSD scales. ANOVAS based on comparisons between groups reporting no to moderate use versus “a lot” of use were confirmatory of the correlation analyses. These results are limited by their being self-reported data from a non-representative, cross-sectional sample. Nonetheless, they highlight the positive and negative effects of different social media during a COVID-19 lockdown.

Relationships between insecure attachment (anxious and avoidant), fear of intimacy and romantic jealousy (suspicious and reactive) were explored in this study. The Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire, the Fear-of-Intimacy Scale, and the Multidimensional Jealousy Scale were administered to a sample of 210 ethnically diverse adults via Qualtrics Panels. Anxious attachment, fear of intimacy, and suspicious jealousy were positively correlated. Conversely, negative associations were noted between avoidant attachment and reactive jealousy, and between fear of intimacy and reactive jealousy. Mediation analysis revealed that fear of intimacy mediated the effect of anxious attachment on suspicious jealousy and marginally mediated the effect of avoidant attachment on suspicious jealousy. These results are consistent with the transactional model of jealousy and they uniquely specify that fear of intimacy is a significant mediator of the relationship between anxious attachment and suspicious jealousy.

This narrative review is based on a literature search on PsycINFO and PubMed entering the terms adolescent violence for papers published during the last five years. Following exclusion criteria, 58 papers could be classified as school–based violence (fighting) and dating violence including research on the prevalence and risk factors for these types of violence. The prevalence of school violence has varied by ethnicity, type of violence and culture. The risk factors for school violence are both intrapersonal and interpersonal. The intrapersonal factors include male gender, minority status, middle school level, maladaptive cognitive/ emotional strategies, depression, callous behavior, conduct problems, low cortisol and high testosterone, unhealthy conditions including concussions and obesity, drug abuse, self-harm, suicidal ideation and carrying weapons. The interpersonal factors include a lack of parental monitoring, conflict and violence in the family, exposure to violence and to violent social media. The prevalence of dating violence has also varied by gender and culture. The intrapersonal risk factors have included externalizing behavior, sexting both off-line and online, alcohol and marijuana misuse. The interpersonal risk factors include anxious attachment, family violence and peer rejection. Surprisingly, given the prevalence and severity of these problems, very little prevention/intervention research appears in this recent literature. Research is also missing on peer relationships, empathy and psychopathy as potential risk factors. Like other literature on adolescent problems, this research is limited by primarily deriving from self–report, parent report and hospital records.

This narrative review summarizes publications from the last eight years (2010-2018) on the early interactions, developmental effects and physiological and biochemical profiles of perinatally depressed mothers and their infants. Depressed mothers are nonresponsive with their infants.The depressed mothers’ physiological profiles including low vagal activity, right frontal EEG activation and fMRI activation differences are consistent with the mothers’ lack of responsivity during interactions with their infants. Biomarkers of the mothers that would affect their mood states include elevated cortisol as well as low serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin levels. The infants of depressed mothers come to early interactions with a prenatal history of growth delays and less responsivity to fetal stimulation. At birth they have physiological and biochemical profiles that are similar to those of their mothers. They continue to show these profiles in later development (e.g. depressed vagal activity and elevated cortisol). Although their later behavior problems and cognitive delays have been attributed to the depressed mothers’ lack of responsivity during early interactions, these problems may also relate to their own lingering physiological and biochemical profiles. Keywords: Perinatally depression, Biomarkers

Background: The association between the couple relationship and the mothers’ and fathers’ psychological adjustment to the transition to parenthood has been examined in the literature. However, the direction of effects between these variables has not been extensively explored. This study aimed to assess the direction of effects between mothers’ and fathers’ positive and negative interactions and anxiety and depression symptoms trajectories over the transition to parenthood. Methods: A sample of 129 couples (N = 258) completed self-report measures of positive and negative interactions, anxiety and depression symptoms at each trimester of pregnancy, at childbirth, and at 3- and 30-months postpartum. Dyadic growth curve models were performed using multilevel modeling. Results: Whereas anxiety and depression showed no moderation effect on positive and negative interactions over time, negative interaction moderated depression from 3- to 30-months postpartum. Mothers and fathers with high negative interaction scores experienced a steeper increase in depression from 3- to 30-months postpartum. Additionally, gender moderated the effect of positive interaction on anxiety from 3- to 30-months postpartum. Fathers with low positive interaction scores experienced an increase in anxiety, whereas fathers with high positive interaction scores and mothers with high or low positive interaction scores did not experience changes in anxiety from 3- to 30-months postpartum. Limitations: Despite the longitudinal aspect of the models, a possible causal relationship need to be taken with caution. Conclusions: Our results suggest that mothers’ and fathers’ positive and negative interactions affect their anxiety and depression symptoms trajectories: negative interaction raises mothers’ and fathers’ depression symptoms and positive interaction prevents the increase of fathers’ anxiety symptoms over the postpartum period., This study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/ 01662/2013), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds and co‐financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI‐01‐0145‐FEDER‐007653). This study was also supported by FEDER Funds through the Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade - COMPETE and by National Funds through FCT Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia under the project PTDC/SAU/ SAP/116738/2010 (PI Bárbara Figueiredo). Data analysis were supported by a doctoral grant from FCT Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/50241/2009)., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Background The literature on massage therapy effects on knee pain suggests that pain was reduced based on self-report, but little is known about range of motion (ROM) effects. Methods Medical School staff and faculty who had knee arthritis pain were randomly assigned to a moderate pressure massage therapy or a waitlist control group (24 per group). Self-reports included the WOMAC (pain, stiffness and function) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. ROM and ROM-related pain were assessed before and after the last sessions. Results The massage group showed an immediate post-massage increase in ROM and a decrease in ROM-associated pain. On the last versus the first day of the study, the massage group showed greater increases in ROM and decreases in ROM-related pain as well as less self-reported pain and sleep disturbances than the waitlist control group. Discussion These data highlight the effectiveness of moderate pressure massage therapy for increasing ROM and lessening ROM-related pain and long-term pain and sleep disturbances.