NewAccess for depression and anxiety: adapting the UK Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Program across Australia.

OBJECTIVE: NewAccess is a Low Intensity Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (LiCBT) early intervention pilot, for mild to moderate depression and anxiety. In November 2015 the Australian Government Review of Mental Health Programmes and Services specifically highlighted the program, stating, "Primary Health Networks will.…be encouraged and supported to work towards better utilisation of low intensity 'coaching' services for people with lesser needs, building on evaluations of programmes such as the NewAccess model of care, and the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies model of stepped care implemented in the United Kingdom." NewAccess runs in three sites (Adelaide, Canberra and North Coast New South Wales) based on the successful UK Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) model. NewAccess involves training in evidence-based interventions, regular clinical supervision and recording outcome measures every session. Key performance indicators include functional recovery,loss of diagnosis, return to employment and early intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Adaptation to Australia accommodated contextual issues such as geographical isolation and infrastructure of the healthcare system. Initial recovery rates and projected economic viability for NewAccess are very promising, supporting wider adoption of an IAPT model across Australia. In addition it has resulted in the emergence of a new Australian workforce in community mental health with the LiCBT 'Coach'.

The associations between autistic characteristics and microtransaction spending.

Microtransactions provide optional, virtual, video game goods that, for an additional cost to the player, provide additional game content and alter the gameplay experience. Loot boxes-a specific form of microtransaction-offer randomised rewards in exchange for payment, and are argued to be structurally and psychologically similar to gambling. Nascent research suggests that a link exists between autism and both problematic gaming and problematic gambling. Here, we investigated the relationships between autistic characteristics and experiences, and excessive video gaming and microtransaction expenditure. A sample of 1178 adults from Australia, Aotearoa, and The United States were recruited from Prolific Academic, and completed a survey measuring in-game expenditure, autistic characteristics and experiences, problematic gaming, problematic gambling, and risky loot box use. Analyses showed positive associations between autistic characteristics and experiences with problematic gaming and problem gambling symptomatology. However, results also showed a small, negative association between autistic characteristics and experiences and spending on loot boxes when problem gambling symptoms, problematic gaming, and risky loot box use were statistically controlled for. These results suggest that autistic gamers may be vulnerable to problematic gaming and gambling, but that this effect does not extend to the purchasing of microtransactions.

The impact of prolonged violent video-gaming on adolescent sleep: an experimental study.

Video-gaming is an increasingly prevalent activity among children and adolescents that is known to influence several areas of emotional, cognitive and behavioural functioning. Currently there is insufficient experimental evidence about how extended video-game play may affect adolescents' sleep. The aim of this study was to investigate the short-term impact of adolescents' prolonged exposure to violent video-gaming on sleep. Seventeen male adolescents (mean age = 16 ± 1 years) with no current sleep difficulties played a novel, fast-paced, violent video-game (50 or 150 min) before their usual bedtime on two different testing nights in a sleep laboratory. Objective (polysomnography-measured sleep and heart rate) and subjective (single-night sleep diary) measures were obtained to assess the arousing effects of prolonged gaming. Compared with regular gaming, prolonged gaming produced decreases in objective sleep efficiency (by 7 ± 2%, falling below 85%) and total sleep time (by 27 ± 12 min) that was contributed by a near-moderate reduction in rapid eye movement sleep (Cohen's d = 0.48). Subjective sleep-onset latency significantly increased by 17 ± 8 min, and there was a moderate reduction in self-reported sleep quality after prolonged gaming (Cohen's d = 0.53). Heart rate did not differ significantly between video-gaming conditions during pre-sleep game-play or the sleep-onset phase. Results provide evidence that prolonged video-gaming may cause clinically significant disruption to adolescent sleep, even when sleep after video-gaming is initiated at normal bedtime. However, physiological arousal may not necessarily be the mechanism by which technology use affects sleep.

The potential relationship between loot box spending, problem gambling, and obsessive-compulsive gamers.

Background and Aims: Loot boxes are digital containers of randomised rewards available in many video games. Individuals with problem gambling symptomatology spend more on loot boxes than individuals without such symptoms. This study investigated whether other psychopathological symptomatology, specifically symptoms of obsessive-compulsive behaviour and hoarding may also be associated with increased loot box spending. Methods: In a large cross-sectional, cross-national survey (N = 1,049 after exclusions), participants recruited from Prolific, living in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and the United States, provided self-reported loot box spending, obsessive-compulsive and hoarding symptomatology, problem gambling symptomatology, and consumer regret levels. Results: There was a moderate positive relationship between loot box spending and obsessive-compulsive symptoms and hoarding. Additionally, greater purchasing of loot boxes was associated with increased consumer regret. Discussion and Conclusion: Results identified that those with OCD and hoarding symptomatology may spend more on loot boxes than individuals without OCD and hoarding symptomatology. This information helps identify disproportionate spending to more groups of vulnerable players and may assist in helping consumers make informed choices and also aid policy discussions around the potentialities of harm.

Endorsement of scientific inquiry promotes better evaluation of climate policy evidence.

Public and scientific consensus about climate change do not align. Problematically, higher scientific knowledge has been associated with lower acceptance of climate information among those with more conservative socio-political ideologies. Positive attitudes towards science can attenuate this effect. We investigated the association between endorsement of scientific inquiry (ESI) and decision-making with scientific evidence about climate policies. Participants rated support for 16 climate policies accompanied by weaker or stronger evidence. In study 1 (N = 503), higher ESI was associated with greater discernment between strongly and weakly evidenced climate policies, irrespective of worldview. In studies 2 (N = 402) and 3 (N = 600), an ESI intervention improved discrimination, and, in study 3, increased ESI specifically for hierarchical/individualistic participants. Unlike ESI, the link between scientific knowledge and evaluation of evidence was influenced by worldview. Increasing ESI might improve the evaluation of scientific evidence and increase public support for evidence-based climate policies. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10584-023-03535-y.

Vertical representational biases in healthy university students.

In line bisection tasks neurologically intact individuals tend to bisect lines slightly left of their midpoint for horizontal lines, and above centre for vertical lines, a phenomenon known as perceptual pseudoneglect (Bowers & Heilman, 1980; Van Vugt, Fransen, Creten, & Paquiner, 2000). Recent investigations have demonstrated the leftward bias to extend to mental imagery, a finding known as representational pseudoneglect (McGeorge, Beschin, Colnaghi, Rusconi, & Della Sala, 2007). This paper examined whether the upward bias found in perceptual tasks extended to mental imagery in healthy individuals. University students studied a diagram depicting a central character and target objects that were located in six positions relative to the person in the diagram (left/right, up/down, and front/back). Following learning, participants recalled the locations of the objects from several imagined orientations. Performance on the recall task revealed faster response latencies for upward targets, providing evidence for vertical representational biases in healthy individuals.

Surprisingly high prevalence rates of severe psychological distress among consumers who purchase loot boxes in video games.

Loot boxes are randomised rewards available in some video games, often purchasable for real-world money. Loot boxes have been likened to conventional forms of gambling and may satisfy legal requirements to be considered bona fide gambling in some jurisdictions. Research has consistently shown that people with problem gambling symptoms report spending more on these mechanisms than people without such symptoms. However, a significant gap in our current understanding is whether engaging with these mechanisms is associated with harm. Here we examine the prevalence rates of severe psychological distress among purchasers of loot boxes relative to non-purchasers. A reanalysis of two cross-sectional surveys collected online via online collection platforms. Participants were 2432 Aotearoa New Zealand, Australian, and United States residents recruited through online survey. Our results show that purchasers of loot boxes are at approximately 1.87 times higher risk of severe psychological distress on a standardised clinical screening tool than people who do not purchase loot boxes. These relative risk rates are not due to gender, age, spending on other video game related purchases, or problem gambling symptoms. Individuals who purchased loot boxes appeared to also have higher risk of severe psychological distress irrespective of demographic characteristics or problem gambling status. Loot boxes appear to be associated with significantly higher risk of experiencing psychological harm even for players without problem gambling symptoms.

No effect of short term exposure to gambling like reward systems on post game risk taking.

Is engaging with gambling-like video game rewards a risk factor for future gambling? Despite speculation, there are no direct experimental tests of this "gateway hypothesis". We test a mechanism that might support this pathway: the effects of engaging with gambling-like reward mechanisms on risk-taking. We tested the hypothesis that players exposed to gambling-like rewards (i.e., randomised rewards delivered via a loot box) would show increased risk-taking compared to players in fixed and no reward control conditions. 153 participants (Mage = 25) completed twenty minutes of gameplay-including exposure to one of the three reward conditions-before completing a gamified, online version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Self-reports of gambling and loot box engagement were collected via the Problem Gambling Severity Index, and Risky Loot-Box Index. Bayesian t-tests comparing BART scores across reward conditions provided moderate to strong evidence for a null effect of condition on risk-taking (BF = 4.05-10.64). Null effects were not moderated by players' problem gambling symptomatology. A Spearman correlation between past loot box engagement and self-reported gambling severity (rs = 0.35) aligned with existing literature. Our data speak against a "gateway" hypothesis, but add support to the notion that problem gambling symptoms might make players vulnerable to overspending on loot boxes.

Links between problem gambling and spending on booster packs in collectible card games: A conceptual replication of research on loot boxes.

Loot boxes are digital containers of randomised rewards present in some video games which are often purchasable for real world money. Recently, concerns have been raised that loot boxes might approximate traditional gambling activities, and that people with gambling problems have been shown to spend more on loot boxes than peers without gambling problems. Some argue that the regulation of loot boxes as gambling-like mechanics is inappropriate because similar activities which also bear striking similarities to traditional forms of gambling, such as collectable card games, are not subject to such regulations. Players of collectible card games often buy sealed physical packs of cards, and these 'booster packs' share many formal similarities with loot boxes. However, not everything which appears similar to gambling requires regulation. Here, in a large sample of collectible card game players (n = 726), we show no statistically significant link between in real-world store spending on physical booster and problem gambling (p = 0.110, η2 = 0.004), and a trivial in magnitude relationship between spending on booster packs in online stores and problem gambling (p = 0.035, η2 = 0.008). Follow-up equivalence tests using the TOST procedure rejected the hypothesis that either of these effects was of practical importance (η2 > 0.04). Thus, although collectable card game booster packs, like loot boxes, share structural similarities with gambling, it appears that they may not be linked to problem gambling in the same way as loot boxes. We discuss potential reasons for these differences. Decisions regarding regulation of activities which share structural features with traditional forms of gambling should be made on the basis of definitional criteria as well as whether people with gambling problems purchase such items at a higher rate than peers with no gambling problems. Our research suggests that there is currently little evidence to support the regulation of collectable card games.

Misinformation effects in an online sample: results of an experimental study with a five day retention interval.

Traditional face-to-face laboratory studies have contributed greatly to our understanding of how misinformation effects develop. However, an area of emerging concern that has been relatively under-researched is the impact of misinformation following exposure to traumatic events that are viewed online. Here we describe a novel method for investigating misinformation effects in an online context. Participants (N = 99) completed the study online. They first watched a 10-min video of a fictional school shooting. Between 5 and 10 days later, they were randomly assigned to receive misinformation or no misinformation about the video before completing a recognition test. Misinformed participants were less accurate at discriminating between misinformation and true statements than control participants. This effect was most strongly supported by ROC analyses (Cohen's d = 0.59, BF10 = 8.34). Misinformation effects can be established in an online experiment using candid violent viral-style video stimuli.

Effects of self-isolation and quarantine on loot box spending and excessive gaming-results of a natural experiment.

COVID-19 has prompted widespread self-isolation and citywide/countrywide lockdowns. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has encouraged increased digital social activities such as video game play to counteract social isolation during the pandemic. However, there is active debate about the potential for video game overuse, and some video games contain randomised purchases (loot boxes) that may psychologically approximate gambling. In this pre-registered study, we examined the effects of self-isolation and quarantine on excessive gaming and loot box spending. We recruited 1,144 (619 male, 499 female, 26 other) Australian, Aotearoa New Zealand, and US residents who self reported being quarantined or self-isolating (n = 447) or not (n = 619) during the COVID-19 pandemic to a cross-sectional natural experiment. We compared the associations between problem gambling symptomology, excessive gaming and loot box spending for isolated and non-isolated participants. Participants completed the Kessler-10 Psychological Distress Scale, Problem Gambling Severity Index, Internet Gaming Disorder Checklist, a measure of risky engagement with loot boxes, concern about contamination, and reported money spent on loot boxes in the past month, as well as whether they were quarantined or under self-isolation during the pandemic. Although, in our data, excessive gaming and loot box spending were not higher for isolated (self-isolated/ quarantined) compared to non-isolated gamers, the established association between problem gambling symptomology and loot box spending was stronger among isolated gamers than those not isolated. Concerns about being contaminated by germs was also significantly associated with greater excessive gaming and, to a lesser extent, loot box spending irrespective of isolation status. Gamers might be managing concerns about the pandemic with greater video game use, and more problem gamblers may be purchasing loot boxes during the pandemic. It is unclear whether these relationships may represent temporary coping mechanisms which abate when COVID-19 ends. Re-examination as the pandemic subsides may be required. More generally, the results suggest that social isolation during the pandemic may inflate the effect size of some media psychology and gaming effects. We urge caution not to generalise psychological findings from research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic to be necessarily representative of the magnitude of relationships when not in a pandemic.

Do longitudinal studies support long-term relationships between aggressive game play and youth aggressive behaviour? A meta-analytic examination.

Whether video games with aggressive content contribute to aggressive behaviour in youth has been a matter of contention for decades. Recent re-evaluation of experimental evidence suggests that the literature suffers from publication bias, and that experimental studies are unable to demonstrate compelling short-term effects of aggressive game content on aggression. Long-term effects may still be plausible, if less-systematic short-term effects accumulate into systematic effects over time. However, longitudinal studies vary considerably in regard to whether they indicate long-term effects or not, and few analyses have considered what methodological factors may explain this heterogeneity in outcomes. The current meta-analysis included 28 independent samples including approximately 21 000 youth. Results revealed an overall effect size for this population of studies (r = 0.059) with no evidence of publication bias. Effect sizes were smaller for longer longitudinal periods, calling into question theories of accumulated effects, and effect sizes were lower for better-designed studies and those with less evidence for researcher expectancy effects. In exploratory analyses, studies with more best practices were statistically indistinguishable from zero (r = 0.012, 95% confidence interval: -0.010, 0.034). Overall, longitudinal studies do not appear to support substantive long-term links between aggressive game content and youth aggression. Correlations between aggressive game content and youth aggression appear better explained by methodological weaknesses and researcher expectancy effects than true effects in the real world.

The relationship between problem gambling, excessive gaming, psychological distress and spending on loot boxes in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and the United States-A cross-national survey.

Loot boxes are digital containers of randomised rewards available in many video games. Due to similarities between some loot boxes and traditional forms of gambling, concerns regarding the relationship between spending on loot boxes in video games and symptoms of problematic gambling have been expressed by policy makers and the general public. We present the first investigation of these concerns in large cross-sectional cross-national samples from three countries (Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and the United States). A sample of 1,049 participants were recruited through Qualtrics' Survey Targeting service from a broad cross-section of the population in Australia (n = 339), Aotearoa New Zealand (n = 323), and the United States (n = 387). Participants answered a survey assessing problem gambling, problem gaming symptomology, and how much they spent on loot boxes per month. On average, individuals with problem gambling issues spent approximately $13 USD per month more on loot boxes than those with no such symptoms. Loot box spending was also associated with both positive and negative moods, albeit with small effect sizes. Analyses showed both interactions and correlations between problematic gambling and problematic gaming symptoms, indicating both some commonality in the mechanisms underlying, and independent contributions made by, these proposed diagnostic criteria. These results provide context for dialogues regarding how best to reduce the impacts of loot box spending among those with problematic gambling symptoms.

Spatial knowledge of geographical globes: evidence of vertical alignment effects.

This study investigated human spatial memory of geographical globes. In two experiments, participants studied locations presented on a three-dimensional globe. Subsequently, participants' knowledge of the locations was tested employing two types of pointing task. Directional judgments from imagined locations on the globe were performed either vertically through the ground (as if digging a straight tunnel between the locations) or horizontally along the surface of the globe (the shortest distance for an aircraft to fly to a given destination). In the vertical pointing task, judgments originating from imagined locations in the upper hemisphere were superior by comparison with those originating from imagined locations in the lower hemisphere. Performance in the horizontal pointing task was more variable, with a tendency for superior judgments originating from imagined locations in the lower hemisphere. The results provide evidence of a novel alignment effect involving vertical judgments.

Registered Replication Report: Dijksterhuis and van Knippenberg (1998).

Dijksterhuis and van Knippenberg (1998) reported that participants primed with a category associated with intelligence ("professor") subsequently performed 13% better on a trivia test than participants primed with a category associated with a lack of intelligence ("soccer hooligans"). In two unpublished replications of this study designed to verify the appropriate testing procedures, Dijksterhuis, van Knippenberg, and Holland observed a smaller difference between conditions (2%-3%) as well as a gender difference: Men showed the effect (9.3% and 7.6%), but women did not (0.3% and -0.3%). The procedure used in those replications served as the basis for this multilab Registered Replication Report. A total of 40 laboratories collected data for this project, and 23 of these laboratories met all inclusion criteria. Here we report the meta-analytic results for those 23 direct replications (total N = 4,493), which tested whether performance on a 30-item general-knowledge trivia task differed between these two priming conditions (results of supplementary analyses of the data from all 40 labs, N = 6,454, are also reported). We observed no overall difference in trivia performance between participants primed with the "professor" category and those primed with the "hooligan" category (0.14%) and no moderation by gender.

Enhancing endorsement of scientific inquiry increases support for pro-environment policies.

Pro-environment policies require public support and engagement, but in countries such as the USA, public support for pro-environment policies remains low. Increasing public scientific literacy is unlikely to solve this, because increased scientific literacy does not guarantee increased acceptance of critical environmental issues (e.g. that climate change is occurring). We distinguish between scientific literacy (basic scientific knowledge) and endorsement of scientific inquiry (perceiving science as a valuable way of accumulating knowledge), and examine the relationship between people's endorsement of scientific inquiry and their support for pro-environment policy. Analysis of a large, publicly available dataset shows that support for pro-environment policies is more strongly related to endorsement of scientific inquiry than to scientific literacy among adolescents. An experiment demonstrates that a brief intervention can increase support for pro-environment policies via increased endorsement of scientific inquiry among adults. Public education about the merits of scientific inquiry may facilitate increased support for pro-environment policies.

Exploring the measurement structure of the Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS) in treatment-seekers: A Bayesian structural equation modelling approach.

Knowledge of a problem gambler's underlying gambling related cognitions plays an important role in treatment planning. The Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS) is therefore frequently used in clinical settings for screening and evaluation of treatment outcomes. However, GRCS validation studies have generated conflicting results regarding its latent structure using traditional confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). This may partly be due to the rigid constraints imposed on cross-factor loadings with traditional CFA. The aim of this investigation was to determine whether a Bayesian structural equation modelling (BSEM) approach to examination of the GRCS factor structure would better replicate substantive theory and also inform model re-specifications. Participants were 454 treatment-seekers at first presentation to a gambling treatment centre between January 2012 and December 2014. Model fit indices were well below acceptable standards for CFA. In contrast, the BSEM model which included small informative priors for the residual covariance matrix in addition to cross-loadings produced excellent model fit for the original hypothesised factor structure. The results also informed re-specification of the CFA model which provided more reasonable model fit. These conclusions have implications that should be useful to both clinicians and researchers evaluating measurement models relating to gambling related cognitions in treatment-seekers.