Online photography intervention reduces internet addiction during COVID-19: A randomised controlled trial.

The COVID-19 pandemic has escalated concerns regarding internet addiction. This study investigated the impact of an online photograph intervention on internet addiction and identified its effectiveness mechanisms. Individuals diagnosed with internet addiction (internet addiction test score > 36, Mage = 22.85, 78.6% women) were randomly allocated to either the intervention (n = 64) or control (n = 81) groups. For 10 days, the intervention group was tasked with photographing "things that make you feel a sense of control in life" and writing 100-word descriptions explaining the reason for the sense of control elicited by the image. Meanwhile, the control group participated only in the assessments. Assessments were conducted before the intervention, immediately afterward and 7 days later. A significant interaction between group and time was observed, with the intervention group showing a notable reduction in internet addiction and an increase in sense of control. The sense of control at post-test significantly mediated the intervention's effect on reducing internet addiction at follow-up, but only among individuals with high perceived social support. The findings indicate that online photography interventions can effectively diminish internet addiction, with a sense of control acting as a potent mechanism for intervention, particularly in individuals with substantial perceived social support.

Soil respiration induces co-emission of greenhouse gases and methylated selenium from cold-region Mollisols: Significance for selenium deficiency.

Mollisols rich in natural organic matter are a significant sink of carbon (C) and selenium (Se). Climate warming and agricultural expansion to the cold Mollisol regions may enhance soil respiration and biogeochemical cycles, posing a growing risk of soil C and Se loss. Through field-mimicking incubation experiments with uncultivated and cultivated soils from the Mollisol regions of northeastern China, this research shows that soil respiration remained significant even during cold seasons and caused co-emission of greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4) and methylated Se. Such stimulus effects were generally stronger in the cultivated soils, with maximum emission rates of 7.45 g/m2/d C and 1.42 µg/m2/d Se. For all soil types, the greatest co-emission of CO2 and dimethyl selenide occurred at 25 % soil moisture, whereas measurable CH4 emission was observed at 40 % soil moisture with higher percentages of dimethyl diselenide volatilization. Molecular characterization with three-dimensional fluorescence and ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry suggests that CO2 emission is sensitive to the availability of microbial protein-like substances and free energy from organic carbon biodegradation under variable moisture conditions. Predominant Se binding to biodegradable organic matter resulted in high dependence of Se volatilization on rates of greenhouse gas emissions. These findings together highlight the importance of dynamic organic carbon quality for soil respiration and consequent Mollisol Se loss risk, with implications for science-based management of C and Se resources in agricultural lands to combat with Se deficiency.

Geogenic Phosphorus Enrichment in Groundwater due to Anaerobic Methane Oxidation-Coupled Fe(III) Oxide Reduction.

Accumulation of geogenic phosphorus (P) in groundwater is an emerging environmental concern, which is closely linked to coupled processes involving FeOOH and organic matter under methanogenic conditions. However, it remains unclear how P enrichment is associated with methane cycling, particularly the anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO). This study conducted a comprehensive investigation of carbon isotopes in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), CO2, and CH4, alongside Fe isotopes, microbial communities, and functions in quaternary aquifers of the central Yangtze River plain. The study found that P concentrations tended to increase with Fe(II) concentrations, δ56Fe, and δ13C-DIC, suggesting P accumulation due to the reductive dissolution of FeOOH under methanogenic conditions. The positive correlations of pmoA gene abundance versus δ13C-CH4 and Fe concentrations versus δ13C-CH4, and the prevalent presence of Candidatus_Methanoperedens, jointly demonstrated the potential significance of Fe(III)-mediated AMO process (Fe-AMO) alongside traditional methanogenesis. The increase of P concentration with δ13C-CH4 value, pmoA gene abundance, and Fe concentration suggested that the Fe-AMO process facilitated P enrichment in groundwater. Redundancy analysis confirmed this assertion, identifying P concentration as the primary determinant and the cooperative influence of Fe-AMO microorganisms such as Candidatus_Methanoperedens and Geobacter on P enrichment. Our work provided new insights into P dynamics in subsurface environments.

How to Improve People's Intentions Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination in China: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: The global COVID-19 pandemic has impaired the health and living conditions of millions of people. For governments to formulate policies promoting vaccination behavior, it is important to understand individuals' intentions to vaccinate. This study explores the effectiveness of a brief online intervention based on the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) in improving individuals' COVID-19 vaccination intention, as well as considering the reasons for their unwillingness to get vaccinated. METHOD: A total of 1,258 participants were assessed using a questionnaire to determine their phase of vaccination intention (pre-intention, intention, and action). Subsequently, focused on the underlying factors in the pre-intention phase (i.e., task self-efficacy, outcome expectation, and risk perception), a 7-day randomized controlled HAPA intervention (n intervention = 57, n control = 49) was conducted online for individuals who were not willing to get vaccinated. The measurement points included pre- (T1), post- (T2), and 30-day follow-up (T3). RESULTS: The intervention may effectively improve participants' COVID-19 vaccination intentions; however, it had no impact on their planning and actions involved in taking the vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides relevant reference data for government stakeholders to use in developing public awareness campaigns and policies to encourage COVID-19 vaccination.

Occurrence and source identification of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in groundwater surrounding urban hospitals.

Urban groundwater, serving as a critical reservoir for potable water, faces susceptibility to contamination from discrete sources such as hospital wastewater. This study investigates the distribution and plausible origins of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in urban groundwater, drawing comparisons between areas proximal to hospitals and non-hospital areas. Ofloxacin and oxytetracycline emerged as the prevalent antibiotics across all samples, with a discernibly richer array of antibiotic types observed in groundwater sourced from hospital-adjacent regions. Employing a suite of multi-indicator tracers encompassing indicator drugs, Enterococci, ammonia, and Cl/Br mass ratio, discernible pollution from hospital or domestic sewage leakage was identified in specific wells, correlating with an escalating trajectory in antibiotic contamination. Redundancy analysis underscored temperature and dissolved organic carbon as principal environmental factors influencing antibiotics distribution in groundwater. Network analysis elucidated the facilitating role of mobile genetic elements, such as int1 and tnpA-02 in propagating ARGs. Furthermore, ARGs abundance exhibited positive correlations with temperature, pH and metallic constituents (e.g., Cu, Pb, Mn and Fe) (p < 0.05). Notably, no conspicuous correlation manifested between antibiotics and ARGs. These findings accentuate the imperative of recognizing the peril posed by antibiotic contamination in groundwater proximal to hospitals and advocate for the formulation of robust prevention and control strategies to mitigate the dissemination of antibiotics and ARGs.

Regulation of craving training to support healthy food choices under stress: A randomized control trial employing the hierarchical drift-diffusion model.

Stress increases the likelihood of consuming unhealthy food in some individuals. Previous research has demonstrated that the Regulation of Craving - Training (ROC-T) intervention can reduce unhealthy food intake. However, its effectiveness under stress and the underlying mechanism remained uncertain. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of the ROC-T intervention in improving healthy food choices and to explore the intervention mechanism through computational modeling employing the hierarchical drift-diffusion model (HDDM). This study adopted a 2 (ROC-T intervention vs. control) * 2 (stress vs. no-stress) between-subject experimental design. A total of 118 employees (72 women, Mage  = 28.74) participated in the online experiment. Results show that the ROC-T intervention increases healthy food choices under stress and no-stress conditions. The HDDM results reveal a significant two-way interaction for non-decision time (Bayes factor, BF = 32.722) and initial bias (BF = 27.350). Specifically, in the no-stress condition, the ROC-T intervention resulted in lower non-decision time and higher initial bias compared with the control group. The findings validated the negative impact of stress on healthy food choices, and that the ROC-T intervention promotes healthy food choices both under stress and no-stress conditions.

Auditory language comprehension among children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: An ALE meta-analysis of fMRI studies.

Difficulties in auditory language comprehension are common among children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. However, findings regarding the underlying neural mechanisms remain mixed, and few studies have systematically explored the overall patterns of these findings. Therefore, this study aims to systematically review and meta-analyze the functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence of neural activation patterns while engaging in auditory language comprehension tasks among children and adolescents with autism. Using activation likelihood estimation, we conducted a series of meta-analyses to investigate neural activation patterns during auditory language comprehension tasks compared to baseline conditions in autism and non-autism groups and compared the activation patterns of the groups, respectively. Eight studies were included in the within-group analyses, and seven were included in the between-group analysis. The within-group analyses revealed that the bilateral superior temporal gyrus was activated during auditory language comprehension tasks in both groups, whereas the left superior frontal gyrus and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex were activated only in the non-autism group. Furthermore, the between-group analysis showed that children and adolescents with autism, compared to those without autism, showed reduced activation in the right superior temporal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, and insula, whereas the autism group did not show increased activation in any of the regions relative to the non-autism group. Overall, these findings contribute to our understanding of the potential neural mechanisms underlying difficulties in auditory language comprehension in children and adolescents with autism and provide practical implications for early screening and language-related interventions for children and adolescents with autism.

Identification of methane cycling pathways in Quaternary alluvial-lacustrine aquifers using multiple isotope and microbial indicators.

Groundwater rich in dissolved methane is often overlooked in the global or regional carbon cycle. Considering the knowledge gap in understanding the biogeochemical behavior of methane in shallow aquifers, particularly those in humid alluvial-lacustrine plains with high organic carbon content, we investigated methane sources and cycling pathways in groundwater systems at the central Yangtze River basins. Composition of multiple stable isotopes (2H/18O in water, 13C in dissolved inorganic carbon, 13C/2H in methane, and 13C in carbon dioxide) was combined with the characteristics of microbes and dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the study. The results revealed significant concentrations of biogenic methane reaching up to 13.05 mg/L in anaerobic groundwater environments with abundant organic matter. Different pathways for methane cycling (methanogenic CO2-reduction and acetate-fermentation, and methane oxidation) were identified. CO2-reduction dominated acetate-fermentation in the two methanogenic pathways primarily associated with humic DOM, while methane oxidation was more closely associated with microbially derived DOM. The abundance of obligate CO2-reduction microorganisms (Methanobacterium and Methanoregula) was higher in samples with substantial CO2-reduction, as indicated by isotopic composition. The obligate acetate-fermentation microorganism (Methanosaeta) was more abundant in samples exhibiting evident acetate-fermentation. Additionally, a high abundance of Candidatus Methanoperedens was identified in samples with apparent methane oxidation. Comparing our findings with those in other areas, we found that various factors, such as groundwater temperature, DOM abundance and types, and hydrogeological conditions, may lead to differences in groundwater methane cycling. This study offered a new perspective and understanding of methane cycling in worldwide shallow alluvial-lacustrine aquifer systems without geothermal disturbance.

COVID-19 risk perception and negative emotional symptoms: Mediating role of self-control and moderating role of life history strategy.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a significant public health crisis, posing threats to physical health and mental well-being. This study, grounded in the Risk-Resilience Model, sought to elucidate how COVID-19 risk perception impacts negative emotional symptoms. Specifically, we examined the mediating role of self-control and the moderating role of life history strategies. We conducted a two-wave longitudinal survey in October 2020 (N = 334) and November 2020 (N = 249), targeting residents across 14 provinces (24 cities) in China. After controlling for sex and age, the results supported the moderated mediation model, illustrating that (1) self-control mediated the relationship between COVID-19 risk perception and negative emotional symptoms, (2) life history strategy moderated the first segment of the mediation process, and (3) life history strategies also moderated the mediating effect of self-control on the link between COVID-19 risk perception and negative emotional symptoms. Furthermore, compared to a fast life history strategy, a slow life history strategy mitigated the effect of COVID-19 risk perception on self-control, thereby reducing negative emotional symptoms. This study sheds light on how COVID-19 risk perception affects negative emotional symptoms and identifies potential targets (i.e., self-control and life history strategy) for addressing emotional distress during pandemics.

Effects of reservoir construction on optical and molecular characteristics of dissolved organic matter in a typical P-contaminated river.

The source and composition characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) are crucial to identify and evaluate the sources of pollution in the watershed. The construction of reservoirs changes the hydrological condition and pollutant fate of the river. However, the effects of reservoirs' construction on DOM in the watershed and the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. This study aims to examine and compare the characteristics of DOM in reservoirs and streams in the Huangbai River, a typical reservoir-affected and P-contaminated river within the Yangtze River catchment. The results showed that DOM in reservoirs was characterized by more contribution from autochthonous source, under the influence of reservoirs' construction; while, DOM in rivers was mainly originated from terrestrial input. Reservoirs had more lipid-like and protein-like compounds, while rivers contained more oxy-aromatic-like compounds. The percentage of CHOP molecules in reservoirs was significantly higher than that in rivers. The underlying mechanism is that more suitable conditions were created for plankton to grow after constructing reservoirs, which converted inorganic orthophosphate into organic phosphorus, and over time, organic phosphorus was gradually enriched in reservoirs, which exacerbated the risk of eutrophication in the reservoir water body. This study can provide theoretical support for monitoring and evaluation of water quality in reservoir-affected rivers.

The mediating role of default mode network during meaning-making aroused by mental simulation between stressful events and stress-related growth: a task fMRI study.

BACKGROUND: Stressful events and meaning-making toward them play an important role in adolescents' life and growth. However, ignoring positive stressful events leads to negativity bias; further, the neural mechanisms of meaning-making are unclear. We aimed to verify the mediating role of meaning-making in stressful events and stress-related growth and the function of the default mode network (DMN) during meaning-making in this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. METHODS: Participants comprised 59 university students. Stressful life events, meaning-making, and stress-related growth were assessed at baseline, followed by fMRI scanning during a meaning-making task aroused by mental simulation. General linear modeling and psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses were used to explore the activation and functional connectivity of DMN during meaning-making. RESULTS: Mental simulation triggered meaning-making, and DMN activity decreased during meaning-making. Activation of the DMN was negatively correlated with coping flexibility, an indicator of stress-related growth. PPI analysis showed that meaning-making was accompanied by diminished connectivity in the DMN. DMN activation during meaning-making can mediate the relationship between positive stressful events and coping flexibility. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased DMN activity and diminished functional connectivity in the DMN occurred during meaning-making. Activation of the DMN during meaning-making could mediate the relationship between positive stressful events and stress-related growth, which provides a cognitive neural basis for the mediating role of meaning-making in the relationship between stressful events and indicators of stress-related growth. IMPLICATIONS: This study supports the idea that prosperity makes heroes, expands the meaning-making model, and suggests the inclusion of enhancing personal resources and meaning-making in education. This study was the first to validate the activation pattern and functional connectivity of the DMN during meaning-making aroused by mental simulation using an fMRI task-state examination, which can enhance our sense of meaning and provide knowledge that can be used in clinical psychology interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study protocol was pre-registered in Open Science Framework (see osf.io/ahm6e for details).

Effect of depositional evolution on phosphorus enrichment in aquifer sediments of alluvial-lacustrine plain.

Groundwater with high geogenic phosphorus (P) is increasingly concerned as a potential risk to surface water eutrophication. Although hydrogeochemical processes responsible for P mobilization in groundwater systems have been studied, the burial characteristics of P and the effect of depositional evolution on P enrichment in aquifer sediments remain unclear. In this study, aquifer sediments were collected from the Dongting Lake Plain (DTP) within the central Yangtze River Basin, a high P groundwater area, and the effect of depositional evolution on P enrichment was elucidated by comprehensively analyzing the lithology, grain size, geochronology, and geochemistry of the sediments, coupled with groundwater chemistry and sediment incubation experiments. The results showed that the contents of total organic carbon (TOC), iron (Fe), and P (the relative content of bioavailable phosphorus (BAP)) were higher in lacustrine sediments deposited under a warm-wet climate, but lower in fluvial sediments deposited under a cold-dry climate. During depositional evolution, the sedimentary facies mainly controlled the content of organic phosphorus (OP), while the paleo-climate controlled the content of both OP and Fe-bound inorganic P (FeP), which jointly affected total P content in aquifer sediments. Under the interaction of groundwater and sediment, the reductive dissolution of P-rich Fe (oxyhydr)oxides and the mineralization of OP in sediment continuously release P into groundwater. Notably, the rapid accumulation of alluvial sediments after the Last Glacial Maximum in the DTP and rapid evolution of Dongting Lake during the Holocene led to a large amount of organic matter (OM) and P buried in sediments, providing materials for P release in aquifers, which seriously threatens groundwater quality. This exploration can provide a new understanding of the enrichment of geogenic P in groundwater from the perspective of depositional evolution.

Eating healthy under work stress: A gene stress interaction model.

OBJECTIVE: Some employees tend to eat less healthy food when under work stress, while others tend to maintain a healthy diet. The factors underlying these different dietary choices are not yet clear. Individual differences in people's reactions to environmental stress may help explain this phenomenon. This study proposed a Gene × Stress interaction model of dietary choice, suggesting that different dietary choices under stress may be related to DRD2 genes, which moderate the reward circuitry and have been associated with habitual use of alcohol, obesity, and eating behaviors. METHOD: 12,269 employees completed genotyping of their saliva samples and questionnaires on work stress, healthy dietary intentions, and healthy dietary behaviors. Nonlinear multiple regressions were used to test the hypothesized interaction of DRD2 genes and work stress on healthy dietary intentions and healthy dietary behaviors. RESULTS: Individuals with higher work stress reported lower healthy dietary intentions, whereas healthy dietary behaviors exhibited an inverted U shape. DRD2 genes significantly moderated this relationship, and the above relationship was only detected among C allele carriers, whereas for the AA genotype, work stress was not associated with healthy dietary intentions or behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Healthy dietary intentions and healthy dietary behaviors showed different patterns of association with work stress. The DRD2 genes helped explain the individual differences in dietary choice under work stress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Organic matter degradation and arsenic enrichment in different floodplain aquifer systems along the middle reaches of Yangtze River: A thermodynamic analysis.

Geogenic arsenic (As) contaminated groundwater has been widely accepted associating with dissolved organic matter (DOM) in aquifers, but the underlying enrichment mechanism at molecular-level from a thermodynamic perspective is poorly evidenced. To fill this gap, we contrasted the optical properties and molecular compositions of DOM coupled with hydrochemical and isotopic data in two floodplain aquifer systems with significant As variations along the middle reaches of Yangtze River. Optical properties of DOM indicate that groundwater As concentration is mainly associated with terrestrial humic-like components rather than protein-like components. Molecular signatures show that high As groundwater has lower H/C ratios, but greater DBE, AImod, and NOSC values. With the increase of groundwater As concentration, the relative abundance of CHON3 formulas gradually decreased while that of CHON2 and CHON1 increased, indicating the importance of N-containing organics in As mobility, which is also evidenced by nitrogen isotope and groundwater chemistry. Thermodynamic calculation demonstrated that organic matter with higher NOSC values preferentially favored the reductive dissolution of As-bearing Fe(III) (hydro)oxides minerals and thus promoted As mobility. These findings could provide new insights to decipher organic matter bioavailability in As mobilization from a thermodynamical perspective and are applicable to similar geogenic As-affected floodplain aquifer systems.

Effects of connection-based physician-patient relationships on perceptions of outcome: A vignette experiment.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of media reports of medical outcomes and connection-based medicine on trust in physicians. In "connection-based medicine," people use personal connections to obtain better medical resources. METHODS: Vignette experiments were used to investigate attitudes toward physicians among 230 cancer patients and their families (Sample 1) and a cross-validated sample of 280 employees from various industries (Sample 2). RESULTS: For both samples, negative media reports were associated with lower trust in physicians; when the reports were positive, the participants generally perceived physicians as more competent and trustworthy. However, with negative reports, patients and families perceived connection-based physicians as less right and professional than non-connection-based physicians; the public (represented by the employee sample) perceived connection-based physicians as less right than non-connection-based physicians and negative outcomes to be caused more by connection-based physicians than non-connection-based physicians. CONCLUSIONS: Medical reports can influence the perception of a physician's traits, which are important for trust. Positive reports promote evaluation of Rightness, Attribution, and Professionalism, whereas negative results may elicit the opposite effect, especially for connection-based physicians. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Positive media images of physicians can help facilitate trust. Connection-based medical treatment should be reduced to improve access to medical resources in China.

Loss of Selenium from Mollisol Paddy Wetlands of Cold Regions: Insights from Flow-through Reactor Experiments and Process-Based Modeling.

Mollisols are critical agricultural resources for securing global food supply. Due to its health importance, selenium (Se) fate in the Mollisols attracts growing concerns. Land use change from conventional drylands to paddy wetlands impacts Se bioavailability in the vulnerable Mollisol agroecosystems. The underlying processes and mechanisms however remain elusive. Here, results of flow-through reactor experiments with paddy Mollisols from northern cold-region sites indicate that continuous flooding with surface water for 48 d induced redox zonation that facilitated the loss of Mollisol Se by up to 51%. Further process-based biogeochemical modeling suggests largest degradation rates of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in 30 cm deep Mollisols that contained the highest-level labile DOM and organic-bound Se. Electron shunting from degradation of Se-bearing DOM coupled to reductive dissolution of Se-adsorbed Fe oxides accounts mainly for Se(IV) release into the pore water. Consequent changes in DOM molecular composition make the reservoir of organic-bound Se vulnerable to flooding-induced redox zonation and likely enhance Se loss through destruction of thiolated Se and emission of gaseous Se from the Mollisol layer. This study highlights a neglected scenario where the speciation-driven loss of bioavailable Se from the paddy wetlands can be a significant consequence in the cold-region Mollisol agroecosystems.

Groundwater Quality and Health: Making the Invisible Visible.

Linking groundwater quality to health will make the invisible groundwater visible, but there are knowledge gaps to understand the linkage which requires cross-disciplinary convergent research. The substances in groundwater that are critical to health can be classified into five types according to the sources and characteristics: geogenic substances, biogenic elements, anthropogenic contaminants, emerging contaminants, and pathogens. The most intriguing questions are related to quantitative assessment of human health and ecological risks of exposure to the critical substances via natural or induced artificial groundwater discharge: What is the list of critical substances released from discharging groundwater, and what are the pathways of the receptors' exposure to the critical substances? How to quantify the flux of critical substances during groundwater discharge? What procedures can we follow to assess human health and ecological risks of groundwater discharge? Answering these questions is fundamental for humans to deal with the challenges of water security and health risks related to groundwater quality. This perspective provides recent progresses, knowledge gaps, and future trends in understanding the linkage between groundwater quality and health.

One Meaning for Two Persons: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model Analysis of Meaning in Life, Anxiety, and Depression Among Rehabilitation Patients and Caregivers.

OBJECTIVE: Patients and caregivers in the inpatient physical rehabilitation setting are presented with life-changing medical conditions, and their meaning in life can change dramatically. Meaning in life is associated with fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms, but little is known about how they are related interdependently among patients and caregivers. In the current study, we aim to explore their dyadic relationships. DESIGN: Actor-partner interdependence model through structural equation modeling for dyadic analyses. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 160 pairs of patients and caregivers recruited from 6 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals in China. METHODS: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted among pairs of rehabilitation patients and caregivers. The presence of and search for meaning were measured with the Meaning in Life Questionnaire. RESULTS: In 2 separate models, we found that patients' presence of meaning was negatively associated with their own depression (ß = -0.61, P < .001) and anxiety (ß = -0.55, P < .001), as well as their caregivers' depression (ß = -0.32, P < .001) and anxiety (ß = -0.31, P < .001). However, the caregivers' presence of meaning was only negatively associated with their own depression (ß = -0.25, P < .05) and anxiety (ß = -0.21, P < .05). A search for meaning was not significantly associated with depression or anxiety. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The results indicate that the anxiety and depressive symptoms of rehabilitation inpatients and caregivers are associated with their own level of presence of meaning. Caregivers' depression and anxiety are interdependently associated with patients' presence of meaning. Clinicians should take dyadic interdependence into consideration when providing psychological services to rehabilitate patients and their caregivers. Meaning-centered interventions can be helpful for the dyads' meaning-making and mental health.

Brief emotional eating scale: A multinational study of factor structure, validity, and invariance.

Emotional eating or the tendency to eat in response to emotional states can be assessed using self-report measures. The Emotional Eating Scale-II is a commonly used and reliable instrument that measures the desire to eat in response to a range of unpleasant and pleasant emotions. The current study aimed to corroborate the validity of the EES-II and expand its utility by investigating its dimensionality and testing its measurement invariance in samples from English-speaking and non-English-speaking countries. Convergent and predictive validity in respect of food craving, eating, and health indicators were also examined. This cross-national study included a total of 2485 adult participants recruited from Finland, North America, Philippines, United Kingdom, China, Italy, Spain, and South Korea, who completed the EES-II in six different languages. Factor analyses supported a four-factor structure including valence (pleasant, unpleasant) and activation (high, low) for a 12-item English version and slightly modified non-English adaptations. The model exhibited good fit in all samples, and convergent validity was demonstrated. Full invariance of factor loadings and partial invariance of factor loading, intercepts, and error variances was established across samples. Structural equation models revealed that high activation (pleasant and unpleasant) states predicted food cravings and reported eating. Overall findings across multiple samples and countries supported the factorial structure, reliability, invariance, and validity of the resulting Brief Emotional Eating Scale (BEES).