Validation of the Argentine version of the epistemic trust, mistrust, and credulity questionnaire.

Epistemic trust refers to the trust in communicated knowledge, specifically an individual's ability to regard knowledge conveyed by others as meaningful, relevant to oneself, and applicable to other contexts. This area has received considerable attention in recent psychological literature, though predominantly from a theoretical perspective. The main objective of this study was to test the factorial validity of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust, and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ) on an Argentine setting. Based on two studies (Study 1, n = 1018; Study 2, n = 559), the factorial structure of the instrument and its internal consistency were examined (S1 Appendix). In the second study, the factorial structure was confirmed, test-retest reliability was analysed, and associations between epistemic stances and sociodemographic variables, hypomentalisation, attachment styles, childhood traumatic experiences, and anxious-depressive symptomatology were explored. A satisfactory three-factor solution with 15 items and residual correlations was found in both studies, with stable scores over time. Significant positive correlations were found with anxious and fearful-avoidant attachment, hypomentalisation, childhood traumatic experiences, and psychopathological symptomatology. Post-hoc analysis revealed that, on the one hand, gender acts as a moderator in the relationship between hypomentalisation and epistemic mistrust. On the other hand, economic level and educational level moderate the relationship between hypomentalisation and epistemic credulity. Measurement invariance across gender was tested and found satisfactory, with significant differences subsequently observed in the epistemic trust factor. In conclusion, the Argentine version of the ETMCQ provides an empirical measure for use in non-clinical samples. Its application could facilitate clinically and theoretically relevant findings.

Posttraumatic symptomatology, meaning in life, and perceived family functioning in nonclinical trauma-exposed university students.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore and analyze the associations among posttraumatic symptoms, meaning in life dimensions, and perceived family functioning in trauma-exposed university students. METHOD: Participants (N = 158) answered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Posttraumatic Stress Global Assessment (Crespo et al., 2017), the Purpose in Life Test (Crumbaugh & Maholick, 1969), and the Family APGAR (Smilkstein, 1978). RESULTS: Outcomes indicated several negative associations between posttraumatic symptoms and both meaning in life and family functioning areas. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest family functioning and meaning-in-life clinical practical relevance concerning the assessment, prevention, and intervention in persons affected by trauma. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Traumatic experiences and resilience: Associations with mental health, death attitudes, and religion in university students.

Resilience may be related to mental health and profound beliefs and attitudes. Utilizing a survey design, we examined relationships among resilience, clinical syndromes, death attitudes, and religion. Mexican university students (N = 161) answered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Global Post-Traumatic Stress Scale, the Millon Multiaxial Inventory, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Death Attitudes Profile. Pearson correlation analyses showed that resilience correlated inversely with clinical syndromes and fear of death and positively with approach acceptance. Religion entailed higher death attitudes and resilience. Regression analysis revealed that lower anxiety, alcohol use, persistent depression, and higher delusion and death approach acceptance explained resilience.

Neurobiological underpinnings and modulating factors in schizophrenia spectrum disorders with a comorbid substance use disorder: A systematic review.

Recently there is a growing interest in the interaction of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and substance use disorders (SUD), a condition named dual schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD+). While previous research has focused on clinical and cognitive aspects, little is known about the impact of comorbidity in the brain structure and functions. Evidence suggests that dual diagnosis patients, including SSD+, show a better neurocognitive functioning during the first years of illness, followed by a serious long-term decline. The initial search retrieved 94 articles, 12 were excluded for being redundant and 49 for not fulfilling the selection criteria. Thirty-three structural and functional neuroimaging studies that compare SSD and SSD+ patients were included. Both groups exhibited more brain alterations, in comparison to only SUD patients and healthy controls. SSD+ patients are less cognitively and emotionally impaired than non-dual SSD, but worse than healthy controls. The neurobiological alterations are prominent in SSD+ after five years of illness or longer. Moreover, SUD characteristics are important modulating factors, contrary to clinical severity or specific SSD diagnosis.