BACKGROUND: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are linked to the development of anxiety in adolescence. According to recent studies, the COVID-19 pandemic represents a novel ACE that is associated with anxiety among adolescents. This study investigates the relationship between ACEs, COVID-19, and anxiety in adolescents.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a community sample of 248 boys and girls ages 12 to 15 years (mean = 13.50 years) from five high schools in Eastern Attica. A total of four questionnaires were used: (1) Demographic Questionnaire, (2) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children-STAIC, (3) Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale, and (4) COVID-19 Impact Scale.
RESULTS: The results demonstrated a moderate association between the total number of ACEs and anxiety (trait and state) in adolescence (trait anxiety: ρ = 0.37, p < 0.001; state anxiety: ρ = 0.29, p < 0.001). Girls scored significantly higher than boys on both trait anxiety (U = 4353, p < 0.001; mean difference = 5.5) and state anxiety (U = 5822.5, p = 0.014; mean difference = 2). The number of ACEs was found to be significantly related to the impact of COVID-19 (β = 0.025, p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the significant link between ACEs and increased anxiety in adolescents, which is further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings indicate that girls are more affected than boys. These results emphasize the need for targeted mental health interventions to enhance coping mechanisms, reduce stress, and address anxiety in adolescents, particularly during global crises like the pandemic. Developing such programs is essential for supporting the mental well-being of youth facing multiple stressors.

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems and suicide ideation are common in adolescents. Early detection of these issues could prevent the escalation of mental health-related symptoms in the long term. Moreover, characterizing different profiles of prevalent symptoms in conjunction with emotional regulation strategies could guide the design of specific interventions. The use of web-based screening (WBS) tools has been regarded as a suitable strategy to timely detect symptomatology while improving the appeal, cost, timeliness, and reach of detection in young populations. However, the evidence regarding the accuracy of these approaches is not fully conclusive.
OBJECTIVE: The study aims (1) to examine the capability of a WBS to identify adolescents with psychiatric symptoms and suicidality and (2) to characterize the mental health profiles of a large sample of adolescents using WBS.
METHODS: A total of 1599 Latin American Spanish-speaking adolescents (mean age 15.56, SD 1.34 years), consisting of 47.3% (n=753) female, 98.5% Chilean (n=1570), and 1.5% Venezuelan (n=24) participants, responded to a mental health WBS. A randomized subsample of participants also responded to the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID). McNemar χ2 and receiver-operating characteristic curves tested the detection accuracy of WBS contrasted with the MINI-KID. Latent profile analyses explored the symptomatic and emotional regulation profiles of participants.
RESULTS: Both measures showed an adequate level of agreement (area under the curve per symptom domain ranging from 0.70 to 0.89); however, WBS yielded a higher prevalence than MINI-KID for all psychiatric symptoms, except suicide ideation and depression. Latent profile analyses yielded 4 profiles-one of them presented elevated psychopathological symptoms, constituting 11% of the sample (n=175). Rumination (odds ratio [OR] 130.15, 95% CI 51.75-439.89; P<.001), entrapment (OR 96.35, 95% CI 29.21-317.79; P<.001), and defeat (OR 156.79, 95% CI 50.45-487.23; P<.001) contributed significantly to the prediction of latent profile memberships, while cognitive reappraisal did not contribute to the prediction of any latent profile memberships, and expressive suppression was only associated to profile-2 membership.
CONCLUSIONS: WBS is acceptable for the timely detection of adolescents at risk of mental health conditions. Findings from the symptomatic and emotional regulation profiles highlight the need for comprehensive assessments and differential interventions.

UNASSIGNED: Obsessive and compulsive symptoms (OCS) are cross-cutting psychopathological manifestations frequently detected in a variety of clinical and non-clinical samples. It has been suggested that impaired mentalization abilities and traumatic experiences during childhood may be relevant etiopathogenetic factors in the development of OCS. The purpose of the current study was to cross-sectionally assess these variables in a non-clinical sample, testing the mediational role of mentalization abilities in the association between childhood trauma (CT) and OCS.
UNASSIGNED: 667 participants (488 females; mean age= 29.76 ± 11.87 years; age range: 18-80) answered a survey including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Mentalization Questionnaire and the Obsession-Compulsion subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory.
UNASSIGNED: The mediation model was significant for the total effect (p< .001), showing that CT was positively associated with OCS (95% CI: .006; .019) and that this association was mediated by reduced levels of mentalization capacity (95% CI: .003; .009). Such results were significant controlling for potential sociodemographic and clinical confounding variables.
UNASSIGNED: The findings contribute to elucidate the complex relationships between CT, mentalization capacity, and OCS, supporting the possibility that mentalization impairments, arising from CT, may affect top-down control mechanisms thus contributing to the development of OCS.

Identifying phenotypes at high risk of suicidal behaviour is a relevant objective of clinical and translational research and can facilitate the identification of possible candidate biomarkers. We probed the potential association and eventual stability of neuropsychological profiles and serum BDNF concentrations with lifetime suicide ideation and attempts (LSI and LSA, respectively) in individuals with schizophrenia (SCZ) and schizoaffective disorder (SCA) in a 2-year follow-up study. A secondary analysis was conducted on a convenience sample of previously recruited subjects from a single outpatient clinic. Retrospectively assessed LSI and LSA were recorded by analysing the available longitudinal clinical health records. LSI + LSA subjects consistently exhibited lower PANSS-defined negative symptoms and better performance in the BACS-letter fluency subtask. There was no significant association between BDNF levels and either LSI or LSA. We found a relatively stable pattern of lower negative symptoms over two years among patients with LSI and LSA. No significant difference in serum BDNF concentrations was detected. The translational viability of using neuropsychological profiles as a possible avenue for the identification of populations at risk for suicide behaviours rather than the categorical diagnosis represents a promising option but requires further confirmation.

Emotion differentiation (ED) - complexity in the mental representation and description of one\'s emotional experiences - is important for mental health. However, less is known whether ED can be enhanced in adults. We investigated if scaffolding emotion language use during affect labelling - initial provision of emotion word prompts (close-ended) followed by free response (open-ended) - impacts ED and psychological health. Utilising a crossover design, 92 college students completed questionnaires assessing psychological health at three time-points and ecological momentary assessment of emotions, affect valence and emotional self-efficacy for 14 days. Participants were randomised to the \"scaffolding\" group, where they reported emotions using the close-ended (7 days) followed by open-ended (7 days) approach, or the reverse sequence (control group). We extracted two ED indices: traditional intraclass correlation coefficient from close-ended reports and novel specificity index from open-ended reports. Primary analyses examined group differences across weeks while exploratory analyses examined moment-to-moment differences using multilevel modelling. Relative to controls, the scaffolding group demonstrated greater ED during open-ended emotion reporting of negative emotions and associated shifts in negative affect and emotional self-efficacy. There were no significant group differences in psychological symptoms. Results provide preliminary evidence that scaffolding may enhance ED and have implications for psychological intervention.

The role of fear of COVID-19 in prospectively predicting changes in psychopathological symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic remains unclear. The present data were obtained from a longitudinal non-probability sample in Germany, initially assessed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany (April-May 2020) and reassessed after two years (n = 846; 83% female; mean age: 44.59 years, SD = 12.32; response rate: 19.5%). Multiple linear regressions were used to examine associations of fear of COVID-19 at baseline with depressive symptoms, anxiety, health anxiety, psychosocial distress, and loneliness controlling for (a) the respective symptom measure, and (b) all psychopathological symptoms at baseline. The data were weighted to minimize attrition and representativeness biases. Overall, loneliness decreased from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic until the two-year follow-up, whereas all other symptoms did not change. Fear of COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic predicted an increase in anxiety symptoms, health anxiety, psychosocial distress, and loneliness two years later. In addition, fear of COVID-19 predicted higher health anxiety, depressive symptoms, psychosocial distress, and loneliness, but not anxiety symptoms when controlling for all baseline symptom measures at once. Fear of COVID-19 seems to play a central role in predicting negative mental health outcomes, emphasizing the necessity of indicated prevention and intervention to decrease worry and manage anxiety, thereby reducing the negative impact on mental health caused by fear during future pandemics.

Intolerance of uncertainty is an important trans-diagnostic determinant of mental disorders. It is related to psychotic symptoms and religiousness. Religiousness is related to schizotypal personality and wellbeing. Therefore, in a cross-sectional study, we studied the effects of intolerance of uncertainty and religiousness on schizotypal personality and the schizotypal personality-mediated effects of intolerance of uncertainty and religiousness on life satisfaction. On a sample of 734 college students (age, M = 20.3, SD = 3.48), intolerance of uncertainty, religiousness, life satisfaction, and schizotypal personality were measured through paper-pencil questionnaires. The results showed that intolerance of uncertainty had positive (direct) relationships with all schizotypal personality dimensions. However, intolerance of uncertainty had positive (mediated by ideas of reference and magical thinking) and negative (mediated by eccentric behavior) indirect effects on life satisfaction. Religiousness had direct as well as indirect (mediated by eccentric behavior) positive effects on life satisfaction. However, the behaving (mediated by ideas of reference) and belonging (mediated by magical thinking) sub-dimensions of religiousness had some indirect negative effects on life satisfaction. Thus, the present study shows that intolerance of uncertainty is an important contributor to psychotic proneness. Religiousness is largely health-enhancing. Moreover, there is a nuanced pattern of interactional relationship between intolerance of uncertainty, religiousness, schizotypal personality, and life satisfaction. We have discussed the theoretical and applied implications of the findings.

UNASSIGNED: The overvaluation of weight and shape is a diagnostic criterion in eating disorders, except in binge eating disorder (BED), where it has received less attention. This aspect is also not usually analyzed in people with overweight or obesity without an eating disorder. This research aims to identify the indicators of symptomatology, as well as those of self-construction and cognitive structure, that are associated with overvaluation in obesity, either alone or in conjunction with BED.
UNASSIGNED: A sample of 102 overweight or obese participants was accessed. The sample was divided into four groups: one without overvaluation or BED (n = 33); a second with overvaluation and without BED (n = 21); a third with BED, but without overvaluation (n = 15), and a fourth with BED and overvaluation (n = 33). The groups completed instruments regarding eating symptomatology, anxiety, depression, and stress. In addition, they were administered the Repertory Grid Technique, a semi-structured interview to evaluate the cognitive structure involved in the construal of the self and others.
UNASSIGNED: The factors of overvaluation and the presence of BED independently explained eating symptomatology, and the latter also showed a tendency to influence anxiety, depression, and stress. In terms of cognitive structure, weight polarization was explained by overvaluation, while BED was associated with a high presence of cognitive conflicts. In self-construction, BED was the factor that explained the differences, particularly in Self-Ideal discrepancy.
UNASSIGNED: The results highlight the importance of overvaluation in obesity, even in the absence of BED. Its evaluation and treatment are recommended. Furthermore, in the case of BED, it is also advisable to evaluate the overvaluation of weight and shape since it can be a severity specifier.

UNASSIGNED: Though caffeine use during pregnancy is common, its longitudinal associations with child behavioral and physical health outcomes remain poorly understood. Here, we estimated associations between prenatal caffeine exposure, body mass index (BMI), and behavior as children enter adolescence.
UNASSIGNED: Longitudinal data and caregiver-reported prenatal caffeine exposure were obtained from the ongoing Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) SM Study, which recruited 11,875 children aged 9-11 years at baseline from 21 sites across the United States starting June 1, 2016. Prenatal caffeine exposure was analyzed as a 4-level categorical variable, and further group contrasts were used to characterize \"any exposure\" and \"daily exposure\" groups. Outcomes included psychopathology characteristics in children, sleep problems, and BMI. Potentially confounding covariates included familial (e.g., income, familial psychopathology), pregnancy (e.g., prenatal substance exposure), and child (e.g., caffeine use) variables.
UNASSIGNED: Among 10,873 children (5,686 boys [52.3%]; mean [SD] age, 9.9 [0.6] years) with nonmissing prenatal caffeine exposure data, 6,560 (60%) were exposed to caffeine prenatally. Relative to no exposure, daily caffeine exposure was associated with higher child BMI (β=0.08; FDR-corrected p=0.02), but was not associated with child behavior. Those exposed to two or more cups of caffeine daily (n=1,028) had greater sleep problems than those with lower/no exposure (β>0.92; FDR-corrected p<0.04).
UNASSIGNED: Daily prenatal caffeine exposure is associated with heightened childhood BMI, and when used multiple times a day greater sleep problems even after accounting for potential confounds. Whether this relationship is a consequence of prenatal caffeine exposure or its correlated factors remains unknown.

UNASSIGNED: The treatment timing and choice after neurosurgical resection in patients with newly diagnosed diffuse low-grade glioma (DLGG) remain controversial. Indeed, the effect of such treatments must be balanced with the possible side effects. This study evaluated the feasibility of longitudinal exhaustive quality of life (QoL) and neuropsychological assessments in patients with DLGG receiving first-line temozolomide.
UNASSIGNED: QoL, neurocognition, and psychological disorders were assessed prospectively until disease progression, using testing, clinician-reported, and self-reported questionnaires. The primary endpoint was the participation and adherence to this complete assessment at Baseline (before temozolomide initiation), months 6 and 12 of treatment, and month 6 post-treatment. The QoL and neuropsychological changes over time also were described.
UNASSIGNED: Twenty-six of the twenty-nine eligible patients were enrolled (participation rate: 89.7%, 95% CI: 72.6-97.8). The adherence rate was 95.7% (95% CI: 78.1-99.9; n = 23 because 3 patients progressed in the first 12 months of treatment). Up to month 6 post-treatment, QoL and fatigue remained stable (EORTC QLQC30 and BN20, MFI-20); some specific symptoms were transitory. Both subjective (FACT-Cog) and objective (Z-scores of neurocognitive tests) neurocognitive outcomes remained stable or tended to improve. The percentage of patients with severe depression (BDI-II), anxiety (STAI-Y), or anger (STAXI-II) was stable over time.
UNASSIGNED: This prospective study demonstrated the feasibility of an exhaustive and longitudinal evaluation of QoL, neurocognition, and psychological disorders, with high acceptability by patients with DLGG undergoing chemotherapy. First-line temozolomide seems to have limited short-term effects on QoL and neurocognition. These findings must be confirmed in the long term and in a larger cohort.