The role of empathy and social anxiety in Latinx adolescents' indirect peer aggression during the transition to high school.

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between decreased empathy (i.e., cognitive and affective) and indirect and cyber peer aggression among Latinx adolescents during their transition to high school. Further, we examined the degree to which social anxiety moderated this relationship. Participants were 469 Latinx ninth graders, ages 13-17 years (M = 14.52, SD = 0.58; 58% girls). Adolescents completed the Revised Peer Experiences Questionnaire, Cyber Peer Experiences Questionnaire, Basic Empathy Scale, and Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents at two different time points, 3 months apart. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed concurrent and prospective relationships between lower cognitive empathy and the perpetration of both indirect and cyber aggression. In addition, social anxiety moderated the concurrent associations between both types of empathy and both types of aggression perpetration. Results suggest that interventions that facilitate cognitive empathy and decrease social anxiety may help to reduce adolescents' indirect and cyber aggression toward peers throughout the high school transition.

Borderline personality disorder in youth: The prospective impact of child abuse on non-suicidal self-injury and suicidality.

BACKGROUND: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by greater engagement in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidality. The aim of the study is to test whether the occurrence of child abuse contributes to these high-risk behaviors in BPD youth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: BPD female youth aged 13-21years with (n=29) and without (n=29) a history of child abuse were administered clinical interviews assessing diagnostic history, child abuse, NSSI and suicidality (i.e., ideation, plans, and attempts). NSSI and suicidality were subsequently reevaluated at the 1- and 2-month follow-up assessments. RESULTS: Several findings emerged. First, relative to BPD youth without abuse, the abuse group reported greater past NSSI; however, no significant differences emerged in the follow-up period. Second, the occurrence of child abuse was associated with a 5-fold increase in the rate of lifetime suicide attempts relative to the no abuse group and additionally, prospectively predicted suicide ideation (but not attempts). Last, exploratory analyses indicated that the co-occurrence of physical and sexual abuse was associated with greater past NSSI and suicidality as compared to the no abuse and sexual abuse only participants. CONCLUSION: As a whole, child abuse - particularly co-occurring physical and sexual abuse - increases risk for NSSI and suicidality among BPD youth, which may have important treatment implications in this high-risk population.

Evacuation- and hurricane-related experiences, emotional distress, and their associations with mothers' health risk behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: Extreme weather events pose major risks to human health and have a greater psychological impact on women and parents, but little is known about how they affect health risk behaviors. This study evaluated how disaster-related experiences before, during, and after Hurricane Irma were associated with mothers' health-risk behaviors, and the extent to which posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and depressive symptoms potentially mediated these relationships. METHOD: Mothers (N = 534; 33% underrepresented minorities) residing in Southern Florida completed an online survey about their evacuation experiences before and hurricane experiences during and after Irma. Mothers also completed measures of PTSS, depressive symptoms, and health risk behaviors (i.e., substance use, sedentary behaviors, and difficulty falling or staying asleep). Confirmatory factor analysis assessed the fit of the health-risk behavior indicators on a latent factor. Structural equation modeling evaluated relationships between variables. RESULTS: A one-factor model for health risk behaviors fit the data well. After controlling for income, loss and disruption after the storm and depressive symptoms were directly associated with mothers' health risk behaviors. Before-the-storm evacuation stressors, actual life-threatening events during the storm, and loss and disruption after the storm were related to mothers' PTSS and depressive symptoms and also associated with health risk behaviors indirectly via depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Stressful experiences before, during, and after hurricanes are associated with mothers' health-risk behaviors via postevent emotional distress. Health interventions should include strategies that help parents cope with the impact of extreme weather events, both before and after such events occur. Mothers' distress potentially could affect child health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The stress before the storm: Psychological correlates of hurricane-related evacuation stressors on mothers and children.

OBJECTIVE: Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, can contribute to the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), anxiety, and depression. Furthermore, mothers and children are especially vulnerable postdisasters. Despite the rise in the frequency of climate-related disasters and also the threat of disasters (e.g., storms that threaten but do not make landfall), little is known about how predisaster experiences are associated with mothers' and children's postdisaster psychological functioning. This study examined evacuation-related stressors as predictors of mothers' and youths' psychological functioning 3 months after Hurricane Irma. METHOD: Mothers (N = 535; 33% ethnic/racial minorities) from South Florida counties most affected by Hurricane Irma completed an online survey that assessed evacuation-related stressors (both pre- and posthurricane), hurricane exposure (i.e., life threat, loss/disruption), and posthurricane social support and mental health symptomatology (i.e., PTSS, anxiety, depression). Mothers of children aged 7-17 years (n = 226) also reported on their child's psychological functioning. RESULTS: Using a risk and resilience model, evacuation stressors significantly predicted mothers' and youths' PTSS and symptoms of anxiety and depression, even after accounting for demographic factors, hurricane exposure, and availability of social support. Mothers of older children also reported significantly higher levels of PTSS, anxiety, and depression than mothers who only had young children (aged 6 or younger) at home. CONCLUSIONS: Evacuation experiences represent significant stressors that may put mothers and children at risk for PTSS and psychological distress. Resilience-building efforts should include efforts to better prepare families for prestorm evacuations, thereby reducing risk in mothers and youth and ultimately contributing to better psychosocial functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Before the Storm: Stressors Associated with the Hurricane Irma Evacuation Process for Families.

OBJECTIVE: Parents and children are vulnerable populations following hurricanes, and evacuation is an important safety strategy. Yet, little is known about "before the storm" stressors, particularly the surrounding evacuation, affecting families. Thus, following Hurricane Irma, we evaluated both stressful and positive aspects of the evacuation process for families, and we compared perceived safety and stress before, during, and after the hurricane across evacuating and non-evacuating families. METHODS: South Florida parents of children under age 18 years (N=554; 97% mothers) completed an online survey in the months following Hurricane Irma, assessing perceptions of stress, safety, and evacuation experiences. Quantitative data and open-ended responses were gathered. RESULTS: Most families (82%) residing in mandatory evacuation zones evacuated, although many not in mandatory zones (46%) also evacuated. Parents who evacuated felt significantly safer during the storm, but more stressed before and during the storm, than non-evacuees. Evacuation-related travel and multiple family issues were rated as most stressful, although some positive aspects of evacuation were offered. CONCLUSION: Findings have implications for emergency planners (eg, pre-/post-storm traffic flow needs, emotional needs of parents arriving at shelters) and for families (eg, importance of developing family disaster plans, controlling media exposure) to reduce evacuation stress for future storms. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:63-73).

Treatment Effects following Residential Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents with Borderline Personality Disorder.

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an empirically supported treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adults, however fewer studies have examined outcomes in adolescents. This study tested the effectiveness of an intensive 1-month, residential DBT treatment for adolescent girls meeting criteria for BPD. Additionally, given well-established associations between BPD symptoms and childhood abuse, the impact of abuse on treatment outcomes was assessed. Participants were female youth (n = 53) aged 13-20 years (M = 17.00, SD = 1.89) completing a 1-month residential DBT program. At pre-treatment, participants were administered a diagnostic interview and self-report measures assessing BPD, depression, and anxiety symptom severity. Following one month of treatment, participants were re-administered the self-report instruments. Results showed significant pre- to post-treatment reductions in both BPD and depression symptom severity with large effects. However, there was no significant change in general anxious distress or anxious arousal over time. The experience of childhood abuse (sexual, physical, or both) was tested as moderator of treatment effectiveness. Although experiencing multiple types of abuse was related to symptom severity, abuse did not moderate the effects of treatment. Collectively, results indicate that a 1-month residential DBT treatment with adolescents may result in reductions in BPD and depression severity but is less effective for anxiety. Moreover, while youth reporting abuse benefitted from treatment, they were less likely to achieve a clinically significant reduction in symptoms.

Emotion processing in female youth: Testing the stability of the late positive potential.

The Emotional Interrupt Task (EIT) has been used to probe emotion processing in healthy and clinical samples; however, research exploring the stability and reliability of behavioral measures and ERPs elicited from this task is limited. Establishing the psychometric properties of the EIT is critical, particularly as phenotypes and biological indicators may represent traitlike characteristics that underlie psychiatric illness. To address this gap, test-retest stability and internal consistency of behavioral indices and ERPs resulting from the EIT in healthy, female youth (n = 28) were examined. At baseline, participants were administered the EIT while high-density 128-channel EEG data were recorded to probe the late positive potential (LPP). One month later, participants were readministered the EIT. Four principal findings emerged. First, there is evidence of an interference effect at baseline, as participants showed a slower reaction time for unpleasant and pleasant images relative to neutral images, and test-retest of behavioral measures was relatively stable over time. Second, participants showed a potentiated LPP to unpleasant and pleasant images compared to neutral images, and these effects were stable over time. Moreover, in a test of the difference waves (unpleasant-neutral vs. pleasant-neutral), there was sustained positivity for unpleasant images. Third, behavioral measures and LPP demonstrated excellent internal consistency (odd/even correlations) across conditions. Fourth, highlighting important age-related differences in LPP activity, younger age was associated with larger LPP amplitudes across conditions. Overall, these findings suggest that the LPP following emotional images is a stable and reliable marker of emotion processing in healthy youth.

Electrocortical Reactivity During Self-referential Processing in Female Youth With Borderline Personality Disorder.

BACKGROUND: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is debilitating, and theoretical models have postulated that cognitive-affective biases contribute to the onset and maintenance of BPD symptoms. Despite advances, our understanding of BPD pathophysiology in youth is limited. The present study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to identify cognitive-affective processes that underlie negative self-referential processing in BPD youth. METHODS: Healthy females (n = 33) and females with BPD (n = 26) 13 to 22 years of age completed a self-referential encoding task while 128-channel electroencephalography data were recorded to examine early (i.e., P1 and P2) and late (late positive potential [LPP]) ERP components. Whole-brain standardized low-resolution electromagnetic tomography explored intracortical sources underlying significant scalp ERP effects. RESULTS: Compared to healthy females, participants with BPD endorsed, recalled, and recognized fewer positive and more negative words. Moreover, unlike the healthy group, females with BPD had faster reaction times to endorse negative versus positive words. In the scalp ERP analyses, the BPD group had greater P2 and late LPP positivity to negative as opposed to positive words. For P2 and late LPP, whole-brain standardized low-resolution electromagnetic tomography analyses suggested that females with BPD overrecruit frontolimbic circuitry in response to negative stimuli. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these findings show that females with BPD process negative self-relevant information differently than healthy females. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.

Web-based interventions for youth internalizing problems: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To review published reports on Web-based treatment and prevention programs for depression, anxiety, and suicide prevention in children, adolescents, and emerging adults. METHOD: A systematic search of the PsycINFO, PubMed, Medline, and Web of Science databases was conducted in December 2013. Programs were classified according to evidence-base level (Well-Established, Probably Efficacious, Possibly Efficacious, Experimental, and Of Questionable Efficacy). RESULTS: Of the 14,001 citations initially identified, 25 articles met inclusion criteria for Web-based interventions. These described 9 programs, of which 8 were Internet based and 1 was a mobile application. No Web-based interventions for suicide prevention were identified. Of the randomized controlled trials (n = 14) and open trials (n = 3) identified, 10 reported significant postintervention reductions in symptoms of depression and/or anxiety or improvements in diagnostic ratings, with small to large effect sizes. Many of these studies also reported significant improvements at follow-up. The methodological quality of the studies varied. Many programs were limited by their small sample sizes and use of waitlist or no-treatment control groups. CONCLUSION: There is limited evidence for the effectiveness of Web-based interventions for youth depression and anxiety. Additional research and program development are needed to fill the current gaps in the literature.