Development of a Culture-Common Formal Characteristics of Behavior - Temperament Markers Inventory (FCB-TMI-CC).

The goal was to create a brief temperament inventory grounded in the Regulative Theory of Temperament (FCB-TMI-CC), with a user-friendly, online applicability for studies in different cultures. As the regulative role of temperament is strongly revealed under meaningful stress, the study was planned within the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure high diversity in terms of culture, economic and environmental conditions, data from nine countries (Poland, United States of America, Italy, Japan, Argentina, South Korea, Ireland, United Kingdom and Kazakhstan) were utilized (min. N = 200 per country). Validation data were gathered on the level of COVID-19 stressors, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, and Big Five personality traits. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis served as the basis for the inventory's construction. The final culture-common version includes 37 items (5-6 in each of the 7 scales) and covers the core aspects of temperament dimensions. Temperament structure was confirmed to be equivalent across measured cultures. The measurement is invariant at the level of factor loadings and the reliability (internal consistency) and theoretical validity of the scales were at least acceptable. Therefore, the FCB-TMI-CC may serve as a valuable tool for studying temperament across diverse cultures and facilitate cross-cultural comparisons.

Predictors of changing patterns of adherence to containment measures during the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic: an international longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Identifying common factors that affect public adherence to COVID-19 containment measures can directly inform the development of official public health communication strategies. The present international longitudinal study aimed to examine whether prosociality, together with other theoretically derived motivating factors (self-efficacy, perceived susceptibility and severity of COVID-19, perceived social support) predict the change in adherence to COVID-19 containment strategies. METHOD: In wave 1 of data collection, adults from eight geographical regions completed online surveys beginning in April 2020, and wave 2 began in June and ended in September 2020. Hypothesized predictors included prosociality, self-efficacy in following COVID-19 containment measures, perceived susceptibility to COVID-19, perceived severity of COVID-19 and perceived social support. Baseline covariates included age, sex, history of COVID-19 infection and geographical regions. Participants who reported adhering to specific containment measures, including physical distancing, avoidance of non-essential travel and hand hygiene, were classified as adherence. The dependent variable was the category of adherence, which was constructed based on changes in adherence across the survey period and included four categories: non-adherence, less adherence, greater adherence and sustained adherence (which was designated as the reference category). RESULTS: In total, 2189 adult participants (82% female, 57.2% aged 31-59 years) from East Asia (217 [9.7%]), West Asia (246 [11.2%]), North and South America (131 [6.0%]), Northern Europe (600 [27.4%]), Western Europe (322 [14.7%]), Southern Europe (433 [19.8%]), Eastern Europe (148 [6.8%]) and other regions (96 [4.4%]) were analyzed. Adjusted multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that prosociality, self-efficacy, perceived susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 were significant factors affecting adherence. Participants with greater self-efficacy at wave 1 were less likely to become non-adherence at wave 2 by 26% (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.74; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.77; P < .001), while those with greater prosociality at wave 1 were less likely to become less adherence at wave 2 by 23% (aOR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.75 to 0.79; P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that in addition to emphasizing the potential severity of COVID-19 and the potential susceptibility to contact with the virus, fostering self-efficacy in following containment strategies and prosociality appears to be a viable public health education or communication strategy to combat COVID-19.

Aberrant reward prediction errors in young adult at-risk alcohol users.

Previous studies suggest that individuals with substance use disorder have abnormally large responses to unexpected outcomes (reward prediction errors [RPEs]). However, there is much less information on RPE in individuals at risk of alcohol misuse, prior to neurobiological adaptations that might result from sustained alcohol use. Here, participants (mean age 23.77 years, range 18-32 years) performed the electrophysiological monetary incentive delay task. This task involved responding to a target stimulus following reward incentive cues to win, or avoid losing, the cued reward while brain activity was recorded under 64-channel EEG. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to quantify at-risk alcohol use, with high (n = 22, mean AUDIT score: 13.82) and low (n = 22, mean AUDIT score: 5.77) alcohol use groups. Trial-by-trial RPEs were estimated using a Rescorla-Wagner reinforcement model based on behavioral data. A single-trial analysis revealed that the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and feedback P3 (fb-P3) event-related potential components were significantly modulated by RPEs. There was increased RPE-related fb-P3 amplitude for those in the high alcohol use group. Next, the mean amplitude of ERPs elicited by positive and negative RPEs were compared between groups. We found that high alcohol use participants had attenuated FRN amplitude in contrast with low alcohol use participants for both positive and negative RPEs but enhanced fb-P3 for both positive and negative RPE. These results, with differences in RPE in an at-risk group, suggest that RPE a potential vulnerability marker for alcohol use disorder.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Reduces Psychological Stress in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Patients with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis have relatively high levels of stress and psychological dysfunction. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a psychological intervention that comprises acceptance and mindfulness procedures, along with commitment and behavior change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility and reduce stress. We performed a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effect of ACT on stress in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). METHODS: A total of 122 patients with quiescent or stable, mildly active IBD were randomly assigned to an 8-week ACT program or treatment as usual (control group). Clinical, demographic, disease activity, and psychological data and blood and feces were collected at baseline and at 8 weeks and 3 months after the intervention (week 20). Scalp hair was collected at baseline and week 20 for measurement of steroid concentrations. The primary endpoint was change in stress symptoms, assessed with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Secondary endpoints included changes in perceived stress, anxiety, depression, quality-of-life domains, disease activity, and cortisol concentration in hair. RESULTS: Overall, 79 participants were included in the complete case intention-to-treat analysis. There were 39% and 45% reductions in stress in the treatment group from baseline to 8 and 20 weeks, respectively, compared with 8% and 11% in the control group (group × time interaction, P = .001). ACT was associated with reduced perceived stress (P = .036) and depression (P = .010), but not anxiety (P = .388), compared with control individuals. In the intention-to-treat analysis, changes in all 4 quality-of-life domains over time were similar in the ACT and control groups. In the per-protocol analysis, the overall well-being quality-of-life domain improved in the ACT group compared with the control group (P = .009). Subjective and objective disease activity measurements were similar between groups over the study period (all P values >.05). Hair cortisol concentrations correlated with stress (rs = 0.205, P = .050) and anxiety (rs = 0.208, P = .046) at baseline but did not change significantly in the ACT group over the study period compared with the control group (P = .831). CONCLUSION: In a randomized controlled trial of patients with IBD, an 8-week ACT therapy course improved stress and other indices of psychological health.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02350920.

The transfer of social exclusion and inclusion functions through derived stimulus relations.

Previous studies have found that social exclusion can cause distress to those excluded. One method used to study social exclusion is through a virtual ball-toss game known as Cyberball. In this game, participants may be excluded from or included in the ball-toss game and typically report lower feelings of self-esteem, control, belonging, and meaningful existence following exclusion. Experiments 1 and 2 sought to explore the transfer of feelings of exclusion and inclusion through stimulus equivalence classes. In both experiments, participants were trained to form two three-member equivalence classes (e.g., A1-B1, B1-C1; A2-B2, B2-C2) and were tested with novel stimulus combinations (A1-C1, C1-A1, A2-C2, C2-A2). Thereafter, participants were exposed to the Cyberball exclusion and inclusion games. In these games, one stimulus (C1) from one equivalence class was assigned as the Cyberball inclusion game name, whereas one stimulus (C2) from the other equivalence class was assigned as the Cyberball exclusion game name. In Experiment 2, participants were only exposed to the Cyberball exclusion game. During a subsequent transfer test, participants were asked to rate how included in or excluded from they thought they would be in other online games, corresponding to members of both equivalence classes. Participant reported that they felt they would be excluded from online games if the games were members of the same equivalence class as C2. In contrast, participants reported that they felt they would be included in online games if the games were members of the same equivalence class as C1. Results indicated the transfer of feelings of inclusion (Experiment 1) and feelings of exclusion (Experiments 1 and 2) through equivalence classes.

Clinical Trials Radiographers identifying priority challenges associated with implementing a national programme of clinical trials in the United Kingdom's first proton beam therapy centre.

Objectives: This article is an evaluation of the current trial processes within a national proton beam therapy (PBT) clinical trial service in the United Kingdom. The work within the article identifies priority challenges associated with the implementation of PBT trials with a view to improving patient trial processes. Methods: The nominal group technique (NGT) was used. Five Clinical Trials Radiographers were asked the target question "what are the major challenges when implementing PBT clinical trials and facilitating PBT trial-related activities?" Participants individually and silently listed their challenges to the target question. Following this, group discussion clarified and refined responses. Participants then individually selected five challenges that they deemed most pertinent to the target question, giving a weighted score (out of 10). Individual scores were combined to provide a ranked, weighted order of challenges. Further group discussion identified improvement strategies to the highest scored challenges. Results: After combining lists generated by participants, 59 challenges were identified. Group discussion eliminated 27 responses. Eighteen were merged, resulting in 14 challenges. The two challenges that ranked highest were: (i) lack of initial understanding of the responsibilities of teams and who the relevant stakeholders were, and (ii) that a national PBT service requires the provision of shared care across multi-disciplinary teams and sites. Improvement areas include the development of shared protocols, clarifying stakeholder responsibilities and improving communication between centres to streamline PBT trial processes. Conclusions: This work has identified priority areas requiring development to improve the conduct of a national PBT clinical trials programme. Advances in knowledge: This is the first publication to evaluate current clinical trial processes for the United Kingdom's PBT service.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Disability Index is a valid and reliable measure of disability in an English-speaking hospital practice and predicts long-term requirement for treatment escalation.

Objective: The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Disability Index (IBD-DI) was developed according to WHO standards and has been validated in population-based cohorts. However, there are limited data on its relationship to various psychosocial and economic variables or its relevance to hospital clinical practice. The study aims were to determine the validity and reliability of the IBD-DI in an English-speaking hospital out-patient population and to evaluate its association with short and long-term disease activity. Design/Methods: 329 subjects were enrolled in a cross-sectional and longitudinal study assessing the IBD-DI and a range of quality of life, work impairment, depression, anxiety, body image, interpersonal, self-esteem, disease activity, symptom scoring scales in addition to long-term outcome. Results: The IBD-DI had adequate structure, was internally consistent and demonstrated convergent and predictive validity and was reliable in test-retest study. Disability was related to female sex (p=0.002), antidepressant use (p<0.001), steroid use (p<0.001) and disease activity (p<0.001). Higher IBD-DI scores were associated with long-term disease activity and need for treatment escalation in univariate (p<0.001) and multivariate (p=0.002) analyses. Conclusion: The IBD-DI is a valid and reliable measure of disability in English-speaking hospital populations and predicts long-term requirement for treatment escalation.

Impact of a contouring atlas on radiographer inter-observer variation in male pelvis radiotherapy.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of a MR-based contouring atlas for male pelvis radiotherapy delineation on inter-observer variation to support radiographer led real-time magnetic resonance image guided adaptive radiotherapy (MRgART). MATERIAL/METHODS: Eight RTTs contoured 25 MR images in the Monaco treatment planning system (Monaco 5.40.01), from 5 patients. The prostate, seminal vesicles, bladder, and rectum were delineated before and after the introduction of an atlas developed through multi-disciplinary consensus. Inter-observer contour variations (volume), time to contour and observer contouring confidence were determined at both time-points using a 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse both continuous and categorical variables. Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), Dice-Jaccard coefficient (DJC) and Hausdorff distance were used to calculate similarity between observers. RESULTS: Although variation in volume definition decreased for all structures among all observers post intervention, the change was not statistically significant. DSC and DJC measurements remained consistent following the introduction of the atlas for all observers. The highest similarity was found in the bladder and prostate whilst the lowest was the seminal vesicles. The mean contouring time for all observers was reduced by 50% following the introduction of the atlas (53 to 27 minutes, p=0.01). For all structures across all observers, the mean contouring confidence increased significantly from 2.3 to 3.5 out of 5 (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: Although no significant improvements were observed in contour variation amongst observers, the introduction of the consensus-based contouring atlas improved contouring confidence and speed; key factors for a real-time RTT-led MRgART.

Decision making after traumatic brain injury: a temporal discounting paradigm.

A temporal discounting paradigm was used to examine decision making for hypothetical monetary reward following traumatic brain injury (TBI). A case-control design compared individuals following moderate or severe TBI with a healthy control group matched for age and gender. The impact of intelligence, impulsivity, and mood on temporal discounting performance was examined. A within-subjects design for the TBI group determined the influence of a range of neuropsychological tests on temporal discounting performance. Both patients and controls demonstrated temporal discounting. However, the TBI group discounted more than controls, suggesting that their decision making was more impulsive, consistent with ratings on the impulsiveness questionnaire. Discounting performance was independent of neuropsychological measures of intelligence, memory, and executive function. There was no relationship between temporal discounting and ratings of everyday executive function made by patients' relatives. Low mood did not account for discounting performance. The results of this study suggest that temporal discounting may be a useful neuropsychological paradigm to assess decision making linked to monetary reward following TBI. Performance was relatively independent of intelligence, memory and standard tests of executive ability and may therefore assist when assessing a patient's mental capacity to manage their financial affairs.

Mindfulness increases recall of self-threatening information.

Previous research has suggested that we tend to show impaired memory for self-threatening information, an effect known as mnemic neglect. Mnemic neglect is believed to be due to shallow processing or inhibition of self-threatening information. Mnemic neglect, however, could also be an example of experiential avoidance and mindfulness training has been demonstrated to counteract experiential avoidance. The current study was designed to negate experiential avoidance on a memory task via mindfulness training and attempt to increase recall of self-threatening information. Participants were exposed to a short intervention, either mindfulness or unfocused attention, before being instructed to read and later recall self-referent behaviors. The findings indicated that recall of self-threatening and other self-referent information was increased following the mindfulness but not unfocused attention intervention. The utility of mindfulness as a strategy for negating the experiential avoidance normally associated with self-threatening information and increasing memory performance are discussed.

Implicit measurement of positive and negative future thinking as a predictor of depressive symptoms and hopelessness.

Research using explicit measures has linked decreased positive future thinking, but not increased negative future thinking, with clinical depression. However, individuals may be unable or unwilling to express thoughts about the future, and can be unaware of implicit beliefs that can influence their behavior. Implicit measures of cognition may shed light on the role of future thinking in depression. To our knowledge, the current study presents the first implicit measure of positive and negative future thinking. A sample of 71 volunteers (38 healthy; 33 with sub-clinical depression) completed both implicit and explicit measures of positive and negative future thinking. The findings indicate differences in the evaluation of both positive and negative future events between the two groups. However, group differences were more pronounced on the implicit measure. These findings point to the potential utility of an implicit measure of future thinking in mental health research and clinical practice.

Stimulus over-selectivity in temporal brain injury: mindfulness as a potential intervention.

OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to investigate the impact of brief mindfulness training on the performance of a sample of patients with TBI in an over-selectivity task. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-four patients who had suffered TBI and reported problems with focused or sustained attention. METHOD: The study was a between-subjects design (mindfulness intervention vs control) with difference between number of most and least chosen stimulus selections on an over-selectivity task as the dependent measure. RESULTS: The results of this study indicated that stimulus over-selectivity was present in a group of patients with TBI. However, the level of emergent over-selectivity was significantly reduced by a mindfulness induction when compared to a no- intervention control group. CONCLUSIONS: The findings are discussed in terms of the efficacy of mindfulness training in reducing TBI-related cognitive deficits.

The effects of repeated thought suppression attempts on thought occurrence.

In the thought suppression literature the completion of one suppression and one expression phase is called an indulgence cycle. The current study aimed to determine the effects on thought frequency of entering multiple indulgence cycles. Participants were assigned to one of two groups. The repeated suppression group was required to complete 3 suppression and 3 think free phases in alternating fashion. The suppress think free group was required to complete 1 suppression phase before entering 5 think free phases. Participants pressed a spacebar to report each unwanted target thought occurrence. Participants in the repeated suppression group experienced maintenance of the number of unwanted thought intrusions in both suppression and think free phases, whereas those in the suppress think free group experienced a significant decline in target thought occurrence. The maintenance effect of engaging in repeated suppression attempts is discussed.

Exploring the Variables of the Psychological Well-Being of Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Through Self-Compassion and Psychological Hardiness.

Present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between self-compassion and psychological hardiness, and psychological well-being among mothers of children with autism. The research design was correlational, and its statistical population sample consisted of 101 mothers of children with an autism spectrum disorder. The results of a correlational analysis showed a significant positive relationship between self-compassion and psychological hardiness, and psychological well-being. Multiple regression analysis showed that among the variables of self-compassion and psychological hardiness, the variable of self-compassion had the largest share in predicting the psychological well-being of mothers. Concerning self-compassion, conscious awareness of self-kindness along with psychological hardship could predict the psychological well-being in these groups of mothers, such as raising a child with ASD.

Satisfaction with telemedicine-delivered inflammatory bowel disease care depends on disease activity, personality and economic factors.

Objective: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) traditionally receive follow-up care at face-to-face outpatient clinics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, gastroenterology societies recommended IBD clinics to be carried out remotely where possible using telephone or telemedicine-delivered virtual clinics. Previous studies have demonstrated patient satisfaction with virtual clinics but few studies have examined factors that impact satisfaction or assessed patient's personal perception of the virtual clinic experience. Design/method: Patients who had their IBD clinic appointment changed from face-to-face to telephone virtual clinic completed a questionnaire relating to their clinical experience and preference for future care. Qualitative data were also collected and evaluated using content analysis to identify major themes associated with the patient experience. Results: 141 patients were included for analysis. The virtual clinic satisfaction questionnaire was found to be valid while patients expressed high-satisfaction levels with virtual clinics (median satisfaction score 18, range 0-20). Multivariate analysis identified open personality type (p=0.004), short disease duration (p=0.047) and higher cost to attend clinic (p=0.047) as predictors of high-satisfaction levels, with active disease (p=0.035) and an agreeable personality type (p=0.042) associated with low satisfaction levels. Content analysis of the qualitative data identified three major themes connected to virtual clinic convenience, lack of physical interaction and disease activity. Conclusion: Patients expressed high levels of satisfaction with telemedicine-delivered IBD clinics, with most wishing to continue their use. Personality type should be recognised as an important variable affecting clinical satisfaction, in addition to socioeconomic and disease-related factors.

The impact of government actions and risk perception on the promotion of self-protective behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: We aim to understand the factors that drive citizens of different countries to adhere to recommended self-protective behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Survey data was obtained through the COVID-19 Impact project. We selected countries that presented a sufficiently complete time series and a statistically relevant sample for running the analysis: Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. To identify country-specific differences in self-protective behaviors, we used previous evidence and change-point detection analysis to establish variations across participating countries whose effect was then assessed by means of interrupted series analysis. RESULTS: A high level of compliance with health and governmental authorities' recommendations were generally observed in all included countries. The level of stress decreased near the period when countries such as Cyprus, Greece or the United Kingdom relaxed their prevention behavior recommendations. However, this relaxation of behaviors did not occur in countries such as Germany, Ireland, or the United States. As observed in the change-point detection analysis, when the daily number of recorded COVID-19 cases decreased, people relaxed their protective behaviors (Cyprus, Greece, Ireland), although the opposite trend was observed in Switzerland. DISCUSSION: COVID-19 self-protective behaviors were heterogeneous across countries examined. Our findings show that there is probably no single winning strategy for exiting future health crises, as similar interventions, aimed to promote self-protective behaviors, may be received differently depending on the specific population groups and on the particular geographical context in which they are implemented.

Corrigendum: Illness perceptions of COVID-19 in Europe: predictors, impacts and temporal evolution.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.640955.].

Transfer of judgments of control to a target stimulus and to novel stimuli through derived relations.

Three experiments examined the effect of response-outcome contingencies on human ratings of causal efficacy and demonstrated that such ratings transfer to novel situations through derived stimulus relations. Efficacy ratings generally followed the delta probability rule when positive response-outcome contingencies were employed (Experiment 1) and when some outcomes were not contingent on participants' responses (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 employed a negative response-outcome contingency and manipulated performance expectancies in the task. All three groups overestimated their causal efficacy ratings. A learned helplessness effect was observed when the response-outcomes were uncontrollable and in the high-expectancy group when participants' performance in the task was worse than they had expected. In all experiments, ratings transferred to a stimulus presented during the task and often generalized to novel stimuli through derived relations. These results corroborate the view that outcome probability is a determinant of causal efficacy ratings and that schedules can be employed as UCS in procedures that share characteristics of evaluative conditioning procedures.

The effect of mindfulness on extinction and behavioral resurgence.

In the present experiments, we investigated the effects of mindfulness on behavioral extinction and resurgence. Participants received instrumental training; either they received FI training (Experiment 1), or they were trained to emit high rates and low rates of response via exposure to a multiple VR yoked-VI schedule prior to exposure to a multiple FI FI schedule in order to alter their rates of responding learned during Experiment 2. Participants were then exposed to either a focused- (mindfulness) or an unfocused-attention induction task. All participants were finally exposed to an extinction schedule in order to determine whether a mindfulness induction task presented immediately prior to extinction training affected extinction (Experiment 1) and behavioral resurgence (Experiment 2). During the extinction phase, the rates of responding were higher in the control group than in the mindfulness group, indicating that the mindfulness group was more sensitive to the contingencies and, thus, their prior performance extinguished more readily (Experiment 1). Moreover, rates of response in the extinction components less precisely reflected previous training in the mindfulness group, suggesting less resurgence of past behaviors after the mindfulness induction (Experiment 2).

Editors Introduction to the Special Issue on Advances in Cognitive and Behaviour Therapies and Applications in Health Practices.

The last thirty years have seen significant advances in cognitive and behavioural psychotherapies and their application in health care/clinical practices [...].