BACKGROUND:Irrational beliefs, considered central cognitive vulnerabilities, are strongly associated with increased distress levels, impacting a broad range of psychological and physiological responses. While the association between irrational beliefs and mental disorders is well-established, fewer studies have explored their relationship with inflammation, which represents an immune-mediated process associated with a wide range of chronic conditions. Moreover, in rheumatologic diseases, inflammatory processes represent the primary mechanism underlying the development of characteristic symptoms. This study aims to examine the correlations between distinct types of irrational beliefs and specific biomarkers of inflammatory responses associated with rheumatic diseases. METHOD:The study included 49 participants diagnosed with various rheumatic diseases. Biomarkers assessed were erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP). The Attitudes and Beliefs Scale-Second Edition (ABS-II) was used for measuring the levels of irrational beliefs. RESULTS:ESR showed positive correlations with awfulizing and irrational beliefs related to comfort. No significant correlations were found with CRP. CONCLUSION:Highlighting significant associations between ESR and irrational beliefs, this research underscores the relationship between psychological factors and physical health in chronic medical conditions, such as rheumatic diseases. These findings offer a basis for future studies investigating the mechanisms linking irrational beliefs and inflammatory processes, further emphasizing the clinical relevance of addressing irrational beliefs in patient care.

The use of social robots in therapy for children with autism has been explored for more than 20 years, but there still is limited clinical evidence. The work presented here provides a systematic approach to evaluating both efficacy and effectiveness, bridging the gap between theory and practice by targeting joint attention, imitation, and turn-taking as core developmental mechanisms that can make a difference in autism interventions. We present two randomized clinical trials with different robot-assisted therapy implementations aimed at young children. The first is an efficacy trial (n = 69; mean age = 4.4 years) showing that 12 biweekly sessions of in-clinic robot-assisted therapy achieve equivalent outcomes to conventional treatment but with a significant increase in the patients' engagement. The second trial (n = 63; mean age = 5.9 years) evaluates the effectiveness in real-world settings by substituting the clinical setup with a simpler one for use in schools or homes. Over the course of a modest dosage of five sessions, we show equivalent outcomes to standard treatment. Both efficacy and effectiveness trials lend further credibility to the beneficial role that social robots can play in autism therapy while also highlighting the potential advantages of portable and cost-effective setups.

The Orientations to Happiness (OTH) scale measures three pathways to happiness: pleasure, engagement, and meaning. This study aimed to adapt and validate both the full and short versions of the OTH scale for the Romanian population. A sample of 510 Romanian adults (mean age = 33.58 years; 88.13% female) participated in this study. Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling supported the scale's factorial structure. In the full version of the questionnaire, the pleasure (α = .76) and meaning (α = .76) subscales demonstrated acceptable reliability, whereas the engagement subscale showed questionable reliability (α = .65). In the short version, questionable reliability was found for pleasure (α = .66) and meaning (α = .72) subscales, while the engagement subscale exhibited poor reliability (α = .52). Strong correlations between the full and short versions of the scale were found for pleasure and meaning (for both, r = .89) and engagement (r = .88). To address the limitations regarding internal consistency, especially for the short version, latent variable modeling, which uses the latent variables instead of the observed total scores, could be considered. These findings provide support for testing orientations to happiness in Romania with OTH.

Objective: This paper aimed to examine the validity of the death anxiety psychopathological and psychological health models of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). We investigated whether irrational and rational beliefs were associated with death anxiety and if there are possible significant positive correlations between death anxiety and depression, anxiety, and stress. Method: A sample of 200 individuals completed online self-report measures and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was chosen to assess the validity of the REBT psychopathological model and the REBT psychological health model. Pearson’s correlation analysis was utilized to confirm the relationships between death anxiety and depression, anxiety, and stress. Results: REBT’s model of psychopathology provide acceptable fit of the data. Results suggest that LFT beliefs mediate the relationship between DEM and death anxiety, while no mediation effect was found for the psychological health model. Additionally, high correlations were obtained between death anxiety and depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusions: Results provided empirical support for the REBT models of death anxiety and underline the critical importance of cognitive constructs in the prediction of death anxiety. Results are discussed within the framework of REBT theory, which can serve as a foundation for new research directions regarding death anxiety, both theoretical and clinical.

Background: Given the high prevalence of depression worldwide, there is a pressing need for increasing treatment accessibility and identifying treatment modalities that can sustainably address depression. The present study aims to test the feasibility, acceptability, outcomes and mechanisms of a brief online self-help program depressive symptoms in adults (nCompass), based on Contextual Schema Therapy principles. Method: 102 participants scoring above 14 on the Beck Depression Inventory - Second Version were recruited online and randomly allocated to either the 15-day nCompass intervention or a self-administered online psychoeducation group. Participants filled in self-report measures of depression, schema coping and psychological flexibility at baseline, immediately following the intervention and at a two-week follow-up. Additionally, nCompass participants were administered an instrument measuring the acceptability of the program. Results: The nCompass intervention was overall feasible and acceptable, with most participants completing intervention and assessing it as easy to use, satisfactory and useful. Furthermore, results indicate higher creases in depression and schema coping in the nCompass group by follow-up, compared to the control group. Changes in depressive symptoms from pre-test to post-test and follow-up in the nCompass group were explained by changes in surrender coping. There were no significant differences in psychological flexibility between groups at either post-test or follow-up. Discussion: Our results highlight the nCompass program as a promising option for treating depressive symptoms in the general population.

The aim of the current study was to investigate whether the experience of insomnia symptoms per se and symptoms of insomnia due to stress are associated with an increased brain response to the presentation of emotional faces. In addition, we also examined whether the effect of these sleep difficulties on emotional reactivity at the brain level depends on the experience of emotion regulation (ER) difficulties. The current sample consisted of 37 individuals (20 females, 17 males) selected from a larger group of 120 respondents who completed a survey about sleep problems and ER difficulties. Our results indicate that the tendency to experience stress-related insomnia symptoms but not insomnia symptoms per se modulates brain responses to emotional facial expressions, especially in areas of the parietal cortex, insula, and surrounding opercular voxels. Furthermore, difficulties in ER might play an important role, as the effect of stress-related insomnia symptoms on most of these brain regions disappears when controlling for difficulties in ER. However, an effect in the insula was maintained during the presentation of angry faces, suggesting that stress-related insomnia symptoms may increase the brain response to anger in the insula relatively independent from difficulties in ER. These findings suggest that individuals affected by stress-related insomnia symptoms show an enhanced brain response when presented with emotional stimuli (either positive or negative) in brain areas associated with hyperarousal, which could represent a possible ER deficit in these individuals. Thus, interventions that focus on targeting ER difficulties might be effective in reducing the hyperarousal state in individuals affected by stress-related insomnia symptoms.

In contrast to the validated scales for face-to-face assessment of negative symptoms, no widely accepted tools currently exist for remote monitoring of negative symptoms. Remote assessment of negative symptoms can be broadly divided into 3 categories: (1) remote administration of an existing negative-symptom scale by a clinician, in real time, using videoconference technology to communicate with the patient; (2) direct inference of negative symptoms through detection and analysis of the patient’s voice, appearance, or activity by way of the patient’s smartphone or other device; and (3) ecological momentary assessment, in which the patient self-reports their condition upon receipt of periodic prompts from a smartphone or other device during their daily routine. These modalities vary in cost, technological complexity, and applicability to the different negative-symptom domains. Each modality has unique strengths, weaknesses, and issues with validation. As a result, an optimal solution may be more likely to employ several techniques than to use a single tool. For remote assessment of negative symptoms to be adopted as primary or secondary endpoints in regulated clinical trials, appropriate psychometric standards will need to be met. Standards for substituting 1 set of measures for another, as well as what constitutes a “gold” reference standard, will need to be precisely defined and a process for defining them developed. Despite over 4 decades of progress toward this goal, significant work remains to be done before clinical trials addressing negative symptoms can utilize remotely assessed secondary or primary outcome measures.

This research was conducted to assess the impact of cognitive processing therapy on emotional adjustment of children in displaced communities in Plateau State. The research design adopted for this study was the quasi experimental design. The population for this study comprised of 2,345 internally displaced pupils in three education zones of Plateau state. One hundred pupil aged 6 – 12 were selected for the study using simple random sampling technique. The Child emotional adjustment scale was used to assess the impact of the therapy. With reliability of 0.82. Therapy lasted for six weeks and data was collected was analysed Findings reveal that Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) sessions had significant mean impact on emotional adjustment of primary school pupils in displaced communities as children adjusted in areas of temper control, social assertiveness and mood repair. Conversely, CPT treatment showed marginal mean adjustment in anxiety control for primary school pupils in displaced communities. It was concluded that Child emotional adjustment scale (CEAS) and Cognitive Processing Therapy were useful in treating emotional adjustment of children suffering trauma as a result of displacement. It was recommended that: Children from displaced communities in Plateau state face provided with Cognitive Processing Therapy by local state and Federal Governments in Nigeria to solve the emotional adjustments needs of children in displaced communities.

This editorial comments on the article by Mao et al.

Abstract Objective To investigate the effect of cariprazine on cognitive symptom change across bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia. Methods Post hoc analyses of 3- to 8-week pivotal studies in bipolar I depression and mania were conducted; one schizophrenia trial including the Cognitive Drug Research System attention battery was also analyzed. Outcomes of interest: Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale [MADRS], Functioning Assessment Short Test [FAST], Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale [PANSS]). LSMDs in change from baseline to end of study were reported in the overall intent-to-treat population and in patient subsets with specified levels of baseline cognitive symptoms or performance. Results In patients with bipolar depression and at least mild cognitive symptoms, LSMDs were statistically significant for cariprazine vs placebo on MADRS item 6 (3 studies; 1.5 mg=−0.5 [P<.001]; 3 mg/d=−0.2 [P<.05]) and on the FAST Cognitive subscale (1 study; 1.5 mg/d=−1.4; P=.0039). In patients with bipolar mania and at least mild cognitive symptoms, the LSMD in PANSS Cognitive subscale score was statistically significant for cariprazine vs placebo (3 studies; −2.1; P=.001). In patients with schizophrenia and high cognitive impairment, improvement in power of attention was observed for cariprazine 3 mg/d vs placebo (P=.0080), but not for cariprazine 6 mg/d; improvement in continuity of attention was observed for cariprazine 3 mg/d (P=.0012) and 6 mg/d (P=.0073). Conclusion These post hoc analyses provide preliminary evidence of greater improvements for cariprazine vs placebo across cognitive measures in patients with bipolar I depression and mania, and schizophrenia, suggesting potential benefits for cariprazine in treating cognitive symptoms.

One of the several competing hypotheses that attempt to explain cross-cultural variations in major depressive disorder prevalence states that some of the core characteristics of collectivistic cultural structures may prevent the development of mood disorders. We investigated whether cognitive vulnerabilities derived from the cognitive-behavioral model discriminate similarly between clinically depressed and healthy samples in individualistic and collectivistic cultures. We searched PubMed, PsychINFO, web of Science, and Scopus until June 2019 for studies comparing levels of cognitive vulnerabilities between depressed and healthy samples. By employing a three-level meta-analytic procedure, we tested whether individualism-collectivism could predict the difference in levels of cognitive vulnerabilities between the two populations. For control purposes, we used two different country-level individualism indexes. We included 63 studies, conducted in 13 countries. Depressed samples displayed significantly higher levels of cognitive vulnerabilities compared to healthy ones (g = 1.69, 95%CI [1.48; 1.87]). The two individualism indexes significantly predicted the effect size for automatic thoughts (β = 0.501, p = .007). Only one individualism index predicted the effect sizes for dysfunctional attitudes (β = 0.357, p = .011), and schemas (β = 0.380, p = .049). Our findings indicate that cognitive vulnerabilities discriminate more poorly between depressed and healthy individuals in collectivistic countries.

Recent meta-analyses have shown that psychological interventions have a small to medium effect on weight loss. We propose here a different approach to changing eating intentions. According to the Free Will literature, people decide to act before they acknowledge it, and they decide based on the reconstruction of previous experiences. The action can thus be inhibited immediately (max 100 ms) after awareness. We wanted to test if intervention based on this model, using hypnotic suggestions, can effectively change the intentions of eating. This study aims to identify which format of hypnotic suggestion can be more effective in changing eating intentions regarding high-calorie foods. Therefore, 88 healthy adult participants randomized in four groups received one session of hypnotic induction and suggestions or placebo. We measured the eating intentions through a computer task in which participants could choose pictures of low and high caloric food before, during, and after hypnosis. For the within-subject effect, results showed that two types of hypnotic suggestions significantly impacted the intentions of eating on high-calorie foods with large-effect, namely Cognitive Rehearsal (d = 0.81, p < .001) and Memory Substitution (d = 0.82, p < .001). After controlling for pretest ratings, we found a significant between-effect: the Cognitive Rehearsal group differed significantly from the Control in terms of intentions of eating (d = 0.85, p < .05). We conclude that hypnosis with Cognitive Rehearsal suggestions can help to positively impact the intentions of eating.

Previous studies indicated that collectivism represents a protective factor against depressive disorders, even among vulnerable populations. The protective effect of collectivism in relation to depressive disorders is often attributed to the social support networks available to individuals in collectivistic societies. The current study aims to investigate the protective effect of collectivism in the relationship between psychological vulnerabilities and depression. Moreover, we examined whether the protective effect of collectivism in relation to depression can be explained through the mechanism of social support. We measured individualism-collectivism for 42 Romanian counties ( n = 2,882) before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data for irrational cognitions, depression, and social support were collected online during the lockdown in Romania ( n = 5,310). All instruments showed acceptable measurement and scalar invariance across regions. In a multi-level regression model, county-level collectivism was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms b = −.032, 95% CI [−0.045; −0.019], while irrational cognitions were positively associated with depression b = .474, 95% CI [0.438; 0.510]. The interaction between irrational beliefs and collectivism had a significant and negative effect on depression, b = −.004, 95% CI [−0.008; −0.000]. The indirect effect of collectivism on depression via social support was tested in a two-level SEM model. Explicit and implicit social support were not significant mediators. Collectivism was negatively associated with the perceived availability of explicit social support, b = −.043, 95% CI [−0.074; −0.012]. The results support a general protective effect of collectivism on mental health but cast doubt that the mechanism for this effect is related to social support.

Test anxiety has a high prevalence in children and is associated with lower academic performance. The main purpose of the current paper was to investigate the efficacy of using technology based tools, in the form of a robotic agent and cartoons, for teaching school aged children functional cognitive reappraisal emotion-regulation strategies for managing test anxiety. Sixty-nine elementary school aged children participated in the current study. Test anxiety was induced and then the children were allocated to the roboRETMAN, the PsyPills (written reappraisal statements), and the wait-list conditions. In the second stage, children in the wait-list received the RETmagic cartoons. Children reported on their anxiety, positive emotions, rational and irrational beliefs. Results show a higher efficacy for the roboRETMAN compared to wait-list in helping children manage their test anxiety, improving their positive emotions and reducing irrational cognitions. This study brings important contributions to the field, given that there is no research done so far investigating most effective means for delivering emotion-regulation strategies in children.

OBJECTIVE:The accepted primary outcome measure for evaluating psychotic symptoms is decades old, long, and initially designed for adults. Surprisingly, the psychometric properties of primary outcome measures have never been reported for a pediatric sample using modern methods. The present study's aim is to use a pediatric sample to evaluate the psychometrics of the most used primary outcome measure in pediatric schizophrenia trials, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). METHOD:To evaluate the factor structure, item characteristics, and treatment sensitivity of the PANSS in a pediatric sample, secondary analyses of PANSS data at baseline and weekly throughout an 8-week randomized double-blind study of 3 antipsychotic agents (registered and previously published) were conducted. Subjects were 118 youths receiving outpatient psychiatric treatment for schizophrenia spectrum disorders (mean age = 14.26 years, SD = 2.41 years). RESULTS:A 10-item short form, keeping 2 strongest items for each factor, had r = 0.89 with the full-length scale. Each of the five 2-item subscales has alphas ranging from 0.66 to 0.84. Item Response Theory (IRT) found that the 10-item scale and 2-item subscores had high reliability across the severity range typical of those for clinical trials. Criterion validity was high, with equal sensitivity to clinical changes over time. CONCLUSION:A 10-item PANSS version eliminates weaker items in the pediatric population while preserving coverage of 5 factors and similar sensitivity to clinical changes over time. It thus may be more appropriate for subsequent pediatric trials, and for clinical use when time and efficiency are paramount.

To improve the long-term results of psychological treatments, it is important to know why some people constantly have a healthy weight and others face difficulties in losing weight or maintaining it. This study aimed to identify psychological factors associated with maintaining or regaining weight loss and determine the psychological characteristics of individuals with different BMI levels. 282 adult participants responded to questionnaires measuring eating behaviors, general and specific irrational beliefs, and self-efficacy. We used MANOVA analysis to identify the differences between the categories of participants. Our results showed that there are differences between the regainers and maintainers VS those with healthy stable weight in terms of self-efficacy ( F (2, 84) = 7.17, p = .001), irrationality ( F (2, 84) = 8.15, p < .001), and eating behaviors ( F (2, 84) = 7.95, p < .001). Furthermore, people with healthy weight had more self-efficacy about their eating behaviors ( F (2,273) = 6.49, p = .002), and more cognitive restraint ( F (2, 273) = 3.58, p = .029), lower levels of specific irrational beliefs (F (2, 273) = 10.17, p < .000) and emotional eating ( F (2, 273) = 20.24, p < .000) than participants with obesity or overweight. Some psychological factors are relevant for weight loss and explain why some people with overweight or obesity find it difficult to lose weight and maintain it.

Public Significance Statement We have a Science of Learning. Why don't we have a Science of Teaching? While Psychological Science has a great deal to offer with respect to the nature and characteristics of the learner, we argue that it can do better to inform and impact educational practice. We articulate the need and parameters for an ecological Science of Teaching to point and design findings from Psychological Science toward usable knowledge for teaching. The need for a primary emphasis on teaching is a necessary, and as yet unfulfilled, goal of psychological science. We argue that an ecological model focused specifically upon understanding and optimizing teaching practice must incorporate the necessary complexity inherent to the teaching and learning process. To do so, we must expand our scope beyond the simple exploration of main effects under controlled conditions to the exploration of dynamic interactions, including the identification of boundary conditions, and the assessment of potential side-effects across relevant variables and contexts. To do so, foci on internal and external validity must be re-balanced in a manner more productive for practical inferences and applications. With an eye on educational practice, we point out that statistically insignificant results, under certain circumstances, can yield very useful strategies for teaching. Therefore, researchers interested in practical applications for teachers should be encouraged to use active control groups in their studies when feasible. We also argue that practical significance must include context-relevant information, for example, a ratio between the degree to which the findings can be used in context without upsetting other learning objectives and the amount of benefit given the costs (both time and energy) of the intervention, as an essential component to evaluating the potential utility of teaching research. Thus, statistically significant results must be weighed with respect to both effect-size and the practicality of implementation by teachers in authentic educational contexts before being considered a candidate for use in the classroom.