PURPOSE:This study aims to examine how prison experience, perceived social support, and education are related to mental health distress among Brazilian inmates. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH:A cross-sectional study was conducted with 242 male (M age = 31.84 years, SD = 8.29) prisoners from three facilities in Brazil's Central-West region. Mental health distress was assessed using the self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20), which captures anxiety, depression and somatic complaints. The scale of experience (SEP) in prison evaluates inmates' subjective experiences related to the prison environment, such as sense of safety, whereas the social support perception (EPSUS-A) scale measures perceived emotional and instrumental support from family, friends and others. FINDINGS:Inmates reported moderate levels of mental health distress (M = 9.11, SD = 5.35), prison experience (M = 41.98, SD = 9.93) and social support (M = 45.25, SD = 21.55). Correlations showed that prison experience was positively related to perceived social support (r = 0.43, p < .001) and negatively related to mental health distress (r = -0.16, p = .024). In a multiple regression model, sociodemographic variables accounted for 15% of the variance in mental health distress (p = .07). After adding the main predictors, the final model accounted for 26% of the variance (p = 0.003). Prison experience was a significant predictor of fewer mental health symptoms (β = -0.223, p = .01). RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS:This study relied on self-report measures, which may be subject to social desirability and underreporting of symptoms. The cross-sectional design limits causal interpretations, and the sample included only male inmates from one region in Brazil, reducing generalizability. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS:First, correctional staff should be trained to promote safer, more respectful environments, as positive prison experiences were linked to better mental health. Second, while strengthening social support networks is a practical step, future research should also focus on developing better tools to assess mental health among inmates, ensuring more accurate identification and intervention. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS:First, the study highlights the importance of improving prison environments, as positive experiences in prison were linked to better mental health outcomes. Second, it suggests that enhancing inmates' access to social support could reduce psychological distress. Together, these findings emphasize the need for correctional policies focused on fostering support within prisons to promote inmate well-being and successful reintegration into society. ORIGINALITY/VALUE:Results highlight prison experience as a protective and malleable factor, suggesting targets for mental health interventions in prisons.

This study examines the complex interplay between social behavior and mental health, focusing on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying human interactions and their alterations associated with anxiety and depression disorders. These conditions are characterized by heightened threat perception, pervasive worry, physiological responses, emotional dysregulation, and maladaptive behaviors. Through narrative review, this study examines both aspects, addressing social isolation as both a risk factor and an avoidance behavior that may provide temporary relief but ultimately perpetuate the clinical condition in the long term. The findings offer valuable insights for clinical practice, emphasizing interventions that enhance cognitive flexibility to foster stable and supportive interpersonal relationships.

INTRODUCTION:Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) is a form of Neurocognitive Disorder that can lead to impairments in memory, attention, cognitive flexibility, and mood. Cognitive intervention has been scientifically recognized as an effective tool in supporting older adults, with or without clinical conditions, utilizing various stimulation tools. In this context, origami folding emerges as a potential clinical intervention. OBJECTIVE:The objective is to evaluate the effects on cognition, mood, and emotional processes of an older adult with LBD who participated in a cognitive stimulation program using origami. METHOD:The protocol included eight sessions of ⁓60 min, involving the use of six origami models of increasing difficulty. To test the efficacy of the protocol, the instruments mini-mental state examination-second edition, quick intelligence test, attention test battery, five digits test, and corsi block-tapping test were applied, along with the scales geriatric depression scale-15, geriatric anxiety inventory, satisfaction with life scale, and positive and negative affect schedule-10. Results: Improvements were observed in visuospatial memory, attention skills, intelligence, and executive functions. DISCUSSION:The results of this study align with the benefits of cognitive stimulation reported in the literature. CONCLUSION:The impact of origami stimulation proved effective on cognitive processes and mood, in addition to being a playful, easily accessible, and implementable approach.

A metacognição é a capacidade de refletir sobre o próprio pensamento, englobando o processo cognitivo de avaliar, monitorar e regular a própria cognição. Essa habilidade é fundamental para o aprendizado eficaz e para o desenvolvimento de uma autoconsciência sofisticada. A evolução do cérebro humano, com seu aumento significativo em tamanho e complexidade, forneceu a base neurológica para o desenvolvimento avançado da metacognição, permitindo a emergência de capacidades cognitivas superiores como a autorregulação e a reflexão sobre o próprio pensamento. Este artigo explora a evolução humana com foco em marcos filogenéticos que contribuíram para o desenvolvimento da autoconsciência, buscando compreender as características únicas que nos diferenciam como espécie. Argumentamos que a metacognição não é apenas uma função individual, mas também é profundamente influenciada por pressões sociais e culturais. A necessidade de lidar com dinâmicas sociais complexas pode ter impulsionado o desenvolvimento de habilidades metacognitivas, permitindo a avaliação e regulação do próprio comportamento e dos estados mentais. Analisamos também a interdependência entre metacognição e teoria da mente e como essa relação evoluiu ao longo da história humana. Compreender essa relação pode esclarecer o surgimento dessas capacidades e sua importância para a adaptação social. Portanto acredita-se que o estudo da metacognição e suas raízes evolutivas oferece conhecimentos valiosos sobre o comportamento humano.

Despite being one of the main components of anxiety and playing a pivotal role in how an individual perceives and copes with anxiogenic situations or responds to a given treatment, trait anxiety is paradoxically omitted in most animal models of anxiety. This is problematic and particularly more concerning in models that are used to screen drugs and other treatments for specific anxiety disorders and to investigate their neurobiological mechanisms. Our group has been engaged in the search for specific anxiety-related traits in animal models of anxiety. We developed two new lines of rats with strong phenotypic divergence for high (Carioca High-conditioned Freezing [CHF]) and low (Carioca Low-conditioned Freezing [CLF]) trait anxiety as expressed in the contextual fear conditioning paradigm. Here, we summarize key behavioral, pharmacological, physiological, and neurobiological differences in one these lines, the CHF rat line, relative to randomized-cross controls and discuss how far they represent a valid and reliable animal model of generalized anxiety disorder and so high trait anxiety.

Intelligence is the most studied construct in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. In Brazil, the administration of intelligence tests is needed for a number of social rights, including driving privileges. Such requirements have led to a large testing industry but the vast majority of intelligence tests require extended administration times and language skills. In this study, we sought to investigate the psychometric properties and normative results of a new non-verbal intelligence test, the General Matrix of Intelligence (GMI). The GMI is comprised of 28 matrix-based items and can be administered in as little as six-minutes. In this initial pilot test, the GMI was administered to 1,326 participants, ages 15-64 years old (M = 25.65 years, SD = 9.6 years), from all regions in Brazil. These data were analyzed using a 2PL Item Response Theory model, regression analyses were conducted to determine the role of sociodemographic factors, and preliminary norms were computed. Results indicated a unidimensional solution that reproduced the g factor theory, invariance across genders, evidence that cognitively demanding items involving movement or three-dimensional shapes were more difficult than items with less cognitive load, a normal distribution for results, and an interaction between education level and age group in predicting performance. Implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed and all data and codes are provided at https://osf.io/kvu42/

Burnout syndrome is characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced effectiveness. Workers with high burnout scores who continue their professional activities are identified as experiencing non-clinical burnout (NCB), which includes early stages where burnout symptoms (BNS) are present but not yet severe enough to necessitate work leave. This study aimed to investigate the impact of BNS on attention performance among healthcare workers (HCWs) at a COVID-19 reference hospital during the pandemic. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was applied to assess the three burnout dimensions. The Continuous Visual Attention Test (CVAT) evaluated four different attention subdomains. Participants were divided into two groups based on their scores on the MBI: controls and NCB. Thirteen controls were matched with 13 NCB subjects based on age, sex, and HCW category. This sample (n = 26, 65% male) consisted of 11 physicians and 15 nursing professionals with a mean age of 35.3 years (standard deviation = 5.47). NCB subjects had higher impulsivity than controls. There were not any significant group differences in the other attention subdomains. We found significant correlations between impulsivity and all burnout dimensions: higher absolute scores in BNS are associated with higher impulsivity. We concluded that NCB leads to executive attention deficits

Objective: In the DSM-III and the DSM-IV, bipolar disorder (BD) is classified as a mood disorder and diagnosis requires presence of a mood change, i.e., euphoria or irritability. In contrast, DSM-5 states that there must be some increase in energy or motor activity in addition to the mood change. Our aim was to identify which types of symptoms (i.e., mood or energy/activity-related symptoms) are the most informative in a manic episode. Methods: Symptoms of manic episodes in 106 outpatients with BD were assessed in a naturalistic study using the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) between November 2002 and November 2015. The scale items were divided into three groups according to clinical criteria: mood, energy/activity, and other. For comparisons between groups, the Samejima graded response model from Item Response Theory (IRT) and the Test Information Function (TIF) were computed. Chi-square tests were used to verify the association between the groups of symptoms by comparing the area under the curve of the TIF results. Results: The information accounted for by energy/activity represents 77% of the proportion of the total TIF; about 23% is related to mood and other groups of symptoms. These proportions are statistically different (chi(2)[1] = 30.42, p < 0.001) Conclusion: On average, changes in energy/activity tend to be more informative than mood changes during the manic phases of BD.

Introduction: The Internet and new technologies have become an indispensable resource in our era, although, if not used properly, they can have serious consequences. This study analyses problematic Internet use, cyberbullying and mental health (anxiety and depression), at an international level, in university populations in Spain, Portugal and Brazil, as well as differences according to age and gender. Method: A stratified study sample of 1957 university students from Spain, Portugal and Brazil was used, with a mean age of 21.4 years (SD=3.28) and 62.3% female. Results: Brazilian university students have higher scores on depression, problematic internet use, mobile phone addiction and cyberbullying than Spanish and Portuguese university students, with no differences between the latter two countries. However, anxiety is similar in all 3 countries. Being a female university student implies higher scores on depression, anxiety and more problematic mobile phone use, but less problematic internet use and less cyberaggression than men. With respect to age, younger university students show higher scores on anxiety, more problematic internet and mobile phone use and more cyber aggression. However, age does not show differences in depression and cyber-victimization. Conclusions: Brazil is the country with the highest mental health difficulties and risks associated with internet use. Female university students are more likely to have mental health difficulties. Younger university students score higher on all variables except depression and cybervictimisation.

O desenvolvimento de competências socioemocionais de crianças e adolescentes tem sido alvo de intensa investigação ao redor do mundo nas últimas décadas. No Brasil, este tema tem ganhado cada vez mais relevância, embora haja uma escassez de instrumentos com evidências psicométricas que avaliem o curso de desenvolvimento destas competências. Portanto, o objetivo deste estudo consiste em apresentar evidências iniciais na construção de um instrumento de avaliação do desenvolvimento de competências socioemocionais para crianças e adolescentes. Para alcançar este objetivo, foram selecionados cinco instrumentos em língua inglesa listados pelo Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning e foram criados itens. Foi realizado processo de tradução e retrotradução. Ao final desse processo, foi solicitada a análise dos itens por três especialistas, considerando a clareza, pertinência e consistência teórica dos itens analisados. De forma geral, os itens demonstraram níveis de clareza, pertinência e consistência teórica adequada. Tais resultados indicam que o conjunto final de itens apresentou evidências de validade de conteúdo e demonstrar ser consistentes e relevantes para investigação em novos estudos.

BACKGROUND Every child is unique, but development tends to occur in predictable steps and stages. The early identification of infants who face developmental delays is critical, boosting the use of screening tools to determine risks for delays. The city of Rio de Janeiro conducted a large-scale assessment of children who were enrolled in educational facilities using the Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE). OBJECTIVES We examined the internal structure of the ASQ:SE and its most discriminative items of risks of delays in development among 12- to 60-month-old children. The trajectory of the discrimination parameter of eight anchor items was used to check how well they inform the risk of social-emotional competence delays throughout development. METHODS Data from 79,332 children (1-5 years) were analyzed via Samejima Graded Response model of Item Response Theory (IRT). The discrimination (a) and threshold (b) parameters were computed, and errors were achieved via maximum likelihood. Data/codes are available at https://osf.io/by6sf/. RESULTS (a) Item Response Theory analyses supported the unidimensionality of data via the root mean square error of approximation and standardized root mean square residual results (RMSEA). (b) The lack of voluntary interest was the most discriminative risk behavior in the first 5 years. (c) Lack of interest was the most persistent risk behavior. (d) Difficulty making eye contact was nearly as informative as lack of interest. CONCLUSION Lack of voluntary interest in things should be considered a critical risk-related behavior, and making eye contact is a vital aspect of typical development. Both behaviors may be predictors of children's delays.MAIN OUTCOMESThe ASQ:SE is a valid and reliable tool to measure child development.The internal structure of the ASQ:SE is well-fitted with a unidimensional solution.A child's age is a vital aspect of the discrimination parameter of the IRT model.Lack of interest in things and difficulty making eye contact are critical risk-related behaviors.

The study aimed to build and evaluate first evidence of validity of the Leader Emotional Intelligence Scale (LEIS), a measure that expects to measure four emotional intelligence abilities. Studies were conducted to seek evidence of content validity and internal structure through the use of item agreement indices, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. Parallel analysis, Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, and item-total correlation were used. In an initial version, 49 items were applied to 647 leaders. Four factors were obtained, as predicted theoretically, with good internal structure (α = 0.810; ω = 0.738). Ultimately, 48 items achieved a good result in the face of the analyses used and constituted the final version of the instrument. The application of EIEL in scientific research is indicated. Further studies are suggested to validate its factorial structure. The lack of greater control in relation to the bias of social desirability is highlighted. Keywords: validity evidence, emotional intelligence, leadership.

Exposure to substances of abuse during pregnancy can have long-lasting effects on offspring. Alcohol is one of the most widely used substances of abuse that leads to the most severe consequences. Recent studies in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom showed that between 1% and 7% of all children exhibit signs and symptoms of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Despite preventive campaigns, the rate of children with FASD has not decreased during recent decades. Alcohol consumption often accompanies exposure to such drugs as tobacco, cocaine, opioids, and cannabis. These interactions can be synergistic and exacerbate the deleterious consequences of developmental alcohol exposure. The present review focuses on interactions between alcohol and cannabis exposure and the potential consequences of these interactions.

The Carioca rat lines originated from the selective bidirectional breeding of mates displaying extreme defense responses to contextual conditioned fear. After three generations, two distinct populations could be distinguished: the Carioca High- and Low-conditioned Freezing rats, CHF, and CLF, respectively. Later studies identified strong anxiety-like behaviors in the CHF line, while indications of impulsivity and hyperactivity were prominent in the CLF animals. The present review details the physiological and pharmacological-related findings obtained from these lines. The results discussed here point towards a dysfunctional fear circuitry in CHF rats, including alterations in key brain structures and the serotoninergic system. Moreover, data from these animals highlight important alterations in the stress-processing machinery and its associated systems, such as energy metabolism and antioxidative defense. Finally, evidence of an alteration in the dopaminergic pathway in CLF rats is also debated. Thus, accumulating data gathered over the years, place the Carioca lines as significant animal models for the study of psychiatric disorders, especially fear-related ones like anxiety.

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by progressive cognitive decline, particularly in declarative memory, and the presence of β-amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and cortical atrophy (especially in the temporal lobe). Unlike the relationship between the temporal cortex and declarative memory, nondeclarative memories (e.g., motor, fear, and other emotion-based memories) involve distinct neural structures. The present review investigates nondeclarative associative learning ability in Alzheimer's disease. We discuss eyeblink conditioning, fear conditioning, and other emotion-based learning and present the functions and brain areas that are involved in each type of learning. Evidence suggests that nondeclarative learning is also affected by Alzheimer's disease, although some forms of learning may be relatively preserved. Details about each nondeclarative associative learning process and the implications of these findings are presented.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented burdens on individuals and communities around the world. The isolation, fear, and uncertainty caused by the virus has led to increased rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. The pandemic has also had a disproportionate impact on individuals and communities with low income and socioeconomic status.ObjectiveTo shed light on the consequences of the pandemic on individuals from minorities and low-income areas, we investigate the main reasons that led patients who were referred to a social clinic of a private university in Rio de Janeiro to seek psychological treatment before (2019) and during the pandemic (2020 and 2021).MethodsWe conducted a quanti-qualitative study with a lexical analysis that evaluated 549 complaint forms of patients seeking treatment in these two distinct periods. Our analyses included descending hierarchical analysis (DHA) and correspondence factor analysis (CFA).ResultsFamily dynamics and communication factors play a dominant role in the reason for seeking therapy and psychological treatment. Additionally, our study suggested an increase in anxiety and panic attacks among other mental health issues associated with grief and losses during the pandemic years.ConclusionBased on these analyses, we can begin to identify a few changes in the main demand and redirection of complaints of patients during the period of COVID-19.

The participation of the hippocampal formation in consolidation and reconsolidation of contextual fear memories has been widely recognized and known to be dependent on the activation of the cAMP response element (CRE) binding protein (CREB) pathway. Recent findings have challenged the prevailing view that over time contextual fear memories migrate to neocortical circuits and no longer require the hippocampus for retrieval of remote fearful memories. It has also recently been found that this brain structure is important for the maintenance and recall of remote fear memories associated with aversive events, a common trait in stress-related disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), major depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In view of these findings, here we examined the putative role of CREB in the hippocampus of an animal model of GAD during the retrieval of remote contextual fear memories. Specifically, we evaluated CREB phosphorylation in the hippocampus of male Carioca High- and Low-conditioned Freezing rats (CHF and CLF, respectively) upon re-exposure of animals to contextual cues associated to footshocks weeks after fear conditioning. Age-matched male rats from a randomized crossbreeding population served as controls (CTL). Adrenal catecholamine levels were also measured as a biological marker of stress response. Seven weeks after contextual fear conditioning, half of the sample of CHF (n = 9), CLF (n = 10) and CTL (n = 10) rats were randomly assigned to return to the same context chamber where footshocks were previously administrated (Context condition), while the remaining animals were individually placed in standard housing cages (Control condition). Western blot results indicated that pCREB levels were significantly increased in the hippocampus of CHF rats for both Context and Control conditions when compared to the other experimental groups. CHF rats in the Context condition also exhibited significant more freezing than that observed for both CLF and CTL rats. Lastly, CHF animals in the Context condition displayed significantly higher adrenal catecholamine levels than those in the Control condition, whereas no differences in catecholamine levels were observed between Context and Control conditions for CLF and CTL rats. These findings are discussed from a perspective in which the hippocampus plays a role in the maintenance and recall of remote contextual fear memories via the CREB pathway.

Introduction: The teaching of socio-emotional skills has received greater attention, with ongoing theoretical discussions about these competences. Evaluating such characteristics and their development, however, is challenging because of a lack of consensus about theoretical and practical models, the difficulty in analyses that rely solely on self-reports, and the scarcity of robust Brazilian psychometric instruments. Objectives: Therefore, the present study sought to (1) verify the psychometric evidence of the instrument’s internal consistency in assessing socio-emotional skills, (2) identify differences in respondents’ answers, and (3) identify potential issues with questionnaire items via semi-structured interviews. Methods: This pilot study involved 32 responses from children and adolescents and 25 responses from their family members. The questionnaire assessed five socio-emotional skills: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationships, and responsible decision making. Descriptive analyses and Cronbach’s alpha calculations were applied to confirm internal consistency of the items in each subscale. Analyses of variance were also conducted to analyse responses from family members and children. Results: The results showed that self-awareness (α = 0.83, α = 0.76), self - management (α = 0.82, α = 0.79), and relationship skills (α = 0.71, α = 0.79) had adequate internal consistency in both children’s and family members’ versions. Significant differences were observed in scores between family members and children/adolescents in self-awareness ( p = 0.0159), self -management ( p = 0.0279). Conclusion: The present study underscores the importance and complexity of assessing responsible decision-making skills and suggests that the questionnaire can be useful for evaluating socio-emotional competencies.

OBJECTIVES:To investigate the nature of the relationship between cognitive function, mood state, and functionality in predicting awareness in a non-clinically depressed sample of participants with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Brazil.METHODS:People with AD (PwAD) aged 60 years or older were recruited from an outpatient unit at the Center of AD of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Measures of awareness of condition (Assessment Scale of the Psychosocial Impact of the Diagnosis of Dementia), cognitive function (Mini-Mental State Examination), mood state (Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia), and functionality (Pfeffer Functional Activities Questionnaire) were applied to 264 people with mild to moderate AD and their caregivers. Hypotheses were tested statistically using SEM approach. Three competing models were compared.RESULTS:The first model, in which the influence of mood state and cognitive function on awareness was mediated by functionality, showed a very good fit to the data and a medium effect size. The competing models, in which the mediating variables were mood state and cognitive function, respectively, only showed poor model fit.CONCLUSION:Our model supports the notion that the relationship between different factors and awareness in AD is mediated by functionality and not by depressive mood state or cognitive level. The proposed direct and indirect effects on awareness are discussed, as well as the missing direct influence of mood state on awareness. The understanding of awareness in dementia is crucial and our model gives one possible explanation of its underlying structure in AD.