Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition with heterogeneity and clinical variability. It has three diagnostic presentations (inattentive, hyperactive/impulsive, combined). It is common for it to occur concomitantly with other psychopathologies (neurodevelopmental disorder or behavioral disorder), which increases the complexity of its detection. Methods: This work developed and evaluated a multiclass machine learning (ML) model to identify ADHD and comorbidities in a pediatric population. The research approach was quantitative and cross-sectional, with a non-experimental design and non-probability sampling. The sample has 892 children aged [6-12] years from Medellín, Colombia (ADHD=780, typically developing controls=112). Cognitive and behavioral assessments were used as predictor variables. Python 3.12.13 was used in the programming algorithms; a computational pipeline was implemented with preprocessing techniques, class balancing using Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE) and stratified cross-validation. Results: Multiple classification algorithms were evaluated, Random Forest (RF) was identified as the optimal model (accuracy=.9778, precision=.9798, recall=.9778, F1-score=.9777; weighted averages for multiclass metrics). The results indicate an adequate capacity of the model to differentiate complex clinical profiles with a performance superior to that of traditional binary classification methods. Conclusions: Use of accessible and clinically interpretable psychometric variables enhances the applicability of the tool in real-world healthcare settings with limited access to resources and specialized professionals. ML is a promising complementary tool for ADHD detection. External validation is needed to confirm its generalizability across different populations and clinical contexts.
Background: The Italian prison system has experienced considerable normative reforms, which have altered professional practices and institutional interactions within a highly bureaucratic environment. In such situations, organizational change may generate ambivalence, confusion, and emotional distress among professionals. However, limited attention has been paid to how organizational members process and symbolically elaborate change in their daily work experience, particularly in terms of work identity. Methods: This qualitative study adopts a process-oriented perspective to examine the dynamics emerging within a reflective group intervention (RGI) implemented following the institutional reform, as well as how work identity is symbolically constructed within this setting. The intervention was based on a systems psychodynamic framework and involved a group of 12 prison administration employees. Textual data from the group sessions were analyzed using T-LAB, lexicometric software combining Elementary Context and Correspondence Analyses to support qualitative interpretation, capturing processual patterns and symbolic tensions. Results: Findings show that participants’ narratives were organized into three interconnected domains: representations of organizational complexity, relational dynamics, and the negotiation of work identity within hierarchical structures. These processes were associated with tensions between subjective experience and institutional role positioning, as well as individual regulation and organizational belonging. Conclusion: Overall, the results suggest that RGIs might serve as reflective spaces supporting the collective symbolic elaboration of organizational change, through which professionals may rethink the meaning of their professional roles within changing institutional contexts.
Background: Mental health is a central component of an individual´s holistic health status. Various factors affect mental health, leading to different emotional symptoms. This study aimed to explore the relationship between emotional symptoms and emotion regulation, psychological inflexibility, and dispositional mindfulness, as well as age, sex, marital status, education, and professional situation. Methods: A total of 390 clinical patients (Mage=34.33, SD=9.99, 66.4% female) filled in the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS), the Emotion Regulation of Others and Self (EROS) scale, the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II (AAQ-II) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Results: We found a significant relationship between emotional symptoms and sex (women reporting more symptoms), and a trend toward a negative relationship between emotional symptoms and age (older participants reporting fewer symptoms). Emotional symptoms showed a significant negative association with mindfulness (PHLMS total score and Acceptance subscale), and with emotion regulation (EROS Intrinsic affect-improving subscale). Conversely, higher scores on the EROS Extrinsic affect-worsening and Intrinsic affect-worsening subscales, as well as greater psychological inflexibility, were associated with more emotional symptoms. Conclusions: Mindfulness and emotion regulation appear to act as protective factors against emotional symptoms, whereas psychological inflexibility is associated with greater vulnerability to such symptoms.
Introduction: Illness identity, defined as the extent to which a chronic condition is integrated into one’s sense of self, is a key construct for psychological adjustment and quality of life. In the absence of validated instruments in Italian, this study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and validate the Illness Identity Questionnaire (IIQ). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 132 adults diagnosed with a chronic condition for at least six months. The factorial structure of the 25-item scale was examined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Reliability (McDonald’s ω and Cronbach’s α) and construct validity were assessed through inter-factor correlations. Results: CFA provided support for the original four-factor structure, showing overall acceptable but not optimal fit indices and adequate factor loadings. The alternative unidimensional model showed poor fit. Reliability ranged from satisfactory to excellent. Inter-factor correlations supported construct validity and were consistent with the theoretical model. Conclusions: The study demonstrates promising preliminary psychometric properties of the Italian version of the IIQ and represents a useful tool for assessing adaptation to chronic illness.
Objective: Delusions, a defining characteristic of schizophrenia, are considered a consequence of aberrant reasoning. However, it is unclear whether aberrant reasoning reflects a more general deficit in schizophrenia. This study aimed to investigate differences in intuitive reasoning (System 1) and analytical reasoning (System 2) between individuals with schizophrenia, with and without delusions, and controls. We hypothesized that individuals with schizophrenia would exhibit impaired performance on System 2 tasks compared with controls, deluded patients would show greater impairments on System 1 tasks, and deluded patients would differ from non-deluded patients and controls in response modifications across task trials. Method: Participants included 14 patients with schizophrenia with delusions, 12 patients without delusions, and 22 controls. Cognitive reasoning was assessed using the verbal Odd One Out subtest, a Kahneman Reasoning Test designed to evaluate heuristic-based reasoning, and a non-Kahneman Reasoning Test. The study also examined participants’ abilities to modify responses across trials following feedback. Results: Findings supported only the first hypothesis (Odd One Out Test, p = .006; non-Kahneman Reasoning Test, p = .03), confirming a deficit in analytical reasoning. However, performance on the Kahneman Reasoning Test was comparable across groups, with no detectable group differences in heuristic reasoning. Deluded patients did not differ from non-deluded patients or controls in heuristic or analytical reasoning. Conclusions: Findings suggest that schizophrenia is associated with selective deficits in analytical reasoning while no impairment in heuristic reasoning was detected. These findings challenge prior assumptions about delusion-related cognitive dysfunction and highlight the need for future research to explore the mechanisms underlying apparently preserved heuristic reasoning in schizophrenia.
