COVID-19 vaccine mistrust, health literacy, conspiracy theories, and racial discrimination among a representative ethnically diverse sample in Canada: The vulnerability of Arab, Asian, Black, and Indigenous peoples.

Despite increased risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections and higher rates of COVID-19-related complications, racialized and Indigenous communities in Canada have lower immunization uptake compared to White individuals. However, there is woeful lack of data on predictors of COVID-19 vaccine mistrust (VM) that accounts for diverse social and cultural contexts within specific racialized and Indigenous communities. Therefore, we sought to characterize COVID-19 VM among Arab, Asian, Black, and Indigenous communities in Canada. An online survey was administered to a nationally representative, ethnically diverse panel of participants in October 2023. Arabic, Asian, Indigenous, and Black respondents were enriched in the sampling panel. Data were collected on demographics, COVID-19 VM, experience of racial discrimination, health literacy, and conspiracy beliefs. We used descriptive and regression analyses to determine the extent and predictors of COVID-19 VM among racialized and Indigenous individuals. All racialized respondents had higher VM score compared to White participants. Among 4220 respondents, we observed highest VM among Black individuals (12.18; ±4.24), followed by Arabic (12.12; ±4.60), Indigenous (11.84; ±5.18), Asian (10.61; ±4.28), and White (9.58; ±5.00) participants. In the hierarchical linear regression analyses, Black participants, women, everyday racial discrimination, and major experience of discrimination were positively associated with COVID-19 VM. Effects of racial discrimination were mediated by addition of conspiracy beliefs to the model. Racialized and Indigenous communities experience varying levels of COVID-19 VM and carry specific predictors and mediators to development of VM. This underscores the intricate interaction between race, gender, discrimination, and VM that need to be considered in future vaccination campaigns.

Beyond fixed sets: boundary conditions for obtaining SNARC-like effects with continuous semantic magnitudes.

Previous research has demonstrated the presence of an effect (i.e., the spatial-numerical association of response codes or SNARC) in both numerical parity and magnitude judgment tasks in which smaller numerical magnitudes are manually responded to faster on the left side and larger numerical magnitudes on the right side. Such a result has typically been attributed to a spatially based representation of numerical magnitude in long-term memory, the format of which has recently been postulated to be positional in line with learning of a canonically ordered number sequence. As a test of this view, in the current research, participants made classification judgments involving either the size (N = 88) or the living-nonliving status (N = 114) corresponding to the names of animals/objects etc. to which no learned canonical ordering of size exists. Names were taken from a very large set of 400 animals/objects etc. and each name was presented only once in an experimental session. Responses were made using left and right manual keypresses. In this work, the relation between response time and the relative sizes of the animals/objects did not differ across the left-right side of response indicating that SNARC-like effects did not occur. As such, the results suggest that space is not an inherent aspect of the long-term representation of magnitude in the brain and that some form of positional coding of magnitude is necessary for SNARC-like effects to occur.

Depression and suicidal ideation among Black individuals in Canada: mediating role of traumatic life events and moderating role of racial microaggressions and internalized racism.

PURPOSE: Although suicidal ideation (SI) is a serious concern in Canada, its prevalence and related factors among Black individuals are poorly documented. Using data from the Mental Health of Black Communities in Canada project (BeCoMHeal), this study aimed to assess the prevalence of SI in Black individuals aged 15-40 years old in Canada, the mediating role of traumatic life events in the association between depression and SI, and the moderating role of racial microaggressions and internalized racism. METHODS: Eight hundred and sixty participants aged between 15 and 40 years (Mage =24.96, SD = 6.29) completed the online questionnaire assessing sociodemographic data, depression symptoms, traumatic life events, racial microaggressions, internalized racism, and SI. RESULTS: Findings showed that 25.7% of the participants reported having experienced SI (26.5% women, 22.7% men, 𝛘2 = 1.08, p = .299). The moderated-mediation model revealed that traumatic life events fully mediated the association between depression and SI (B = 0.12, p = .004; 95% CI, [0.04, 0.20]) and that racial microaggressions (B = - 0.03, p = .042; 95% CI [-0.07, - 0.00]) and internalized racism (B = 0.06, p = .006; 95% CI [0.02, 0.10]) moderated this relationship. CONCLUSION: These findings underscore the importance of addressing racial microaggressions and internalized racism in therapy contexts among Black individuals to mitigate the potential negative impacts on their mental health. They also emphasize the need to develop effective, culturally sensitive, and racially adapted suicide prevention and intervention programs for Black communities in Canada.

Individual differences in absolute identification as a function of autistic trait levels.

The present study aimed to examine the links between a self-report measure known to be discriminative of autism (the AQ-10) and performance on the classic unidimensional absolute identification judgment task with 10 line lengths. The interest in this task is due to the fact that discriminating absolutely between such items is quite perceptually challenging and also that it is not very amenable to generalization. Importantly, there are two currently available views of perceptual learning in autism that suggest that those higher on the autism spectrum might have an advantage on this task. Results showed, however, that for N = 291 typically developing individuals, higher scores on the AQ-10 (and also on a measure of the degree to which individuals self-report having a more spontaneous, activist-type learning style) tended to relate to lower levels of accuracy on this task in contrast to what was expected. One explanation furthered for this result was that those with higher AQ-10 scores may have had more difficulties maintaining the overall stimulus context in memory. Such work adds greatly to knowledge of the nature of the individual differences that can affect performance on this particular task.

The state of COVID-19 vaccine confidence and need in Black individuals in Canada: Understanding the role of sociodemographic factors, health literacy, conspiracy theories, traumatic stressors and racial discrimination.

BACKGROUND: Black communities in Canada have been among the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of number of infections and deaths. They are also among those most hesitant about vaccination against COVID-19. However, while a few studies have documented the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, those related to vaccine confidence remain unknown. To respond to this gap, this study aims to investigate factors associated to vaccine confidence in Black individuals in Canada. METHODS: A total of 2002 participants (1034 women) aged 14 to 89 years old (Mean age = 29.34, SD = 10.13) completed questionnaires assessing sociodemographic information, COVID-19 vaccine confidence and need, health literacy, conspiracy beliefs, major racial discrimination, and traumatic stressors related to COVID-19. RESULTS: Results showed an average score of COVID-19 vaccine confidence and need of 33.27 (SD = 7.24), with no significant difference between men (33.48; SD = 7.24) and women (33.08; SD = 7.91), t (1999) = 1.19, p = 0.234. However, there were significant differences according to employment status, migration status, age, inhabited province, spoken language, education, marital status, religion, and income. The linear regression model explained 25.8 % of the variance and showed that health literacy (B = 0.12, p < 0.001) and traumatic stressors related to COVID-19 (B = 0.21, p < .001) predicted COVID-19 vaccine confidence and need positively, while conspiracy beliefs (B = -1.14, p < 0.001) and major racial discrimination (B = -0.20, p = 0.044) predicted it negatively. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that building the confidence of Black communities in vaccines requires health education, elimination of racial discrimination in the Canadian society and a focus on certain groups (e.g., young people, those living in Quebec and Ontario). The results also argue in favor of involving community leaders and organizations in the development and implementation of vaccination-related tools, strategies and programs by city, provincial and federal public health agencies.

Prevalence and determinants of anxiety, depression and comorbid anxiety-depression symptoms among adolescents in Ebola-affected zones.

BACKGROUND: Ebola virus disease (EVD) has been shown to be associated with poor mental health in affected zones. However, no study has yet explored its impact on adolescents' mental health. AIMS: This study aimed to assess the prevalence and risk factors associated with depression and anxiety symptoms among adolescents in EVD-affected areas in the Equateur Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: A provincial sample of adolescents aged 12-17 years (M = 14.84, s.d. = 1.49) living in the 18 urban and rural areas affected by the 2018 EVD outbreak completed a two-wave longitudinal survey. Surveys assessed symptoms of depression and anxiety, exposure to Ebola, social support and sociodemographic information. RESULTS: A total of 490 participants completed the baseline and follow-up surveys, 50% of whom were female. Elevated and worsened depressive symptoms were observed among participants from the baseline (56.94%) to the follow-up (91.43%; z = -11.37, P < 0.001), whereas anxiety symptoms decreased from the baseline (36.33%) to follow-up (24.90%; z = 4.06, P < 0.001). The final generalised estimating equation model showed that anxiety symptoms decreased over time (B = -3.92, P < 0.001), while depression symptoms increased (B = 4.79, P < 0.001). Stigmatisation related to Ebola positively predicted anxiety (B = 5.41, P < 0.001) and depression symptoms (B = 0.4452, P = 0.009). Social support negatively predicted anxiety (B = -1.13, P = 0.004) and depression (B = -0.98, P < 0.001) symptoms but only moderated the association between stigmatisation and depression symptoms (B = -0.67, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Most adolescents living in EVD-affected areas experience mental health issues. Stigmatisation related to EVD and living in urban areas are the most consistent predictors of mental health problems. Nevertheless, social support remains a protective factor for depression and anxiety symptoms and a necessary resource for building resilience.

Prevalence and Factors Related to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression Symptoms Among Children and Adolescents Survivors and Orphans of Ebola Virus Disease in Democratic Republic of the Congo Eastern Regions During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: Although previous studies have shown a high prevalence of mental health problems among adult Ebola virus disease survivors, no studies have yet been conducted on mental health problems among children and adolescents in affected regions. Consequently, the current study aimed to examine the prevalence and factors associated with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among children and adolescent survivors and orphans by utilizing a cross-sectional survey following the 2018-2020 epidemic in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. METHODS: A total of 146 survivors (mean age = 13.62, standard deviation [SD] = 2.50, 49.32% female), 233 orphans (mean age = 13.18, SD = 2.96, 53.32% female), and 34 orphan-survivor participants (mean age = 13.39, SD = 2.87, 44.12% female) were recruited. Participants completed measures assessing depression and PTSD symptoms, traumatic experiences, and stigma related to Ebola and COVID-19. RESULTS: The prevalence of depression and PTSD symptoms was 87.32% and 44.42%, respectively. Results showed significant differences in depression and PTSD symptoms between orphan-survivors (100% and 97.06%), survivors (90.21% and 75.86%), and orphans (83.48% and 16.52%; χ2(2) = 9.02; p = .011 and χ2(2) = 168.85; p < .001). Experience of traumatic events, Ebola stigmatization, and COVID-19 stigmatization positively predicted depression and PTSD symptoms. The regression models explained 61%-72% of the variance of depression and PTSD. DISCUSSION: The results reveal that the Ebola virus disease and its associated grief severely jeopardize the mental health of children and adolescents in affected regions. Despite the relative paucity of resources, intervention programs may be helpful to minimize associated stigma and promote psychological support.

Vaccine mistrust among Black individuals in Canada: The major role of health literacy, conspiracy theories, and racial discrimination in the healthcare system.

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected Black communities in Canada in terms of infection and mortality rates compared to the general population. Despite these facts, Black communities are among those with the highest level of COVID-19 vaccine mistrust (COVID-19 VM). We collected novel data to analyze the sociodemographic characteristics and factors associated with COVID-19 VM among Black communities in Canada. A survey was conducted among a representative sample of 2002 Black individuals (51.66% women) aged 14-94 years (M = 29.34; SD = 10.13) across Canada. Vaccine mistrust was assessed as the dependent variable and conspiracy theories, health literacy, major racial discrimination in healthcare settings, and sociodemographic characteristics of participants were assessed as independent variables. Those with a history of COVID-19 infection had higher COVID-19 VM score (M = 11.92, SD = 3.88) compared to those with no history of infection (M = 11.25, SD = 3.83), t (1999) = -3.85, p < 0.001. Participants who reported having experienced major racial discrimination in healthcare settings were more likely to report COVID-19 VM (M = 11.92, SD = 4.03) than those who were not (M = 11.36, SD = 3.77), t (1999) = -3.05, p = 0.002. Results also showed significant differences for age, education level, income, marital status, provinces, language, employment status, and religion. The final hierarchical linear regression showed that conspiracy beliefs (B = 0.69, p < 0.001) were positively associated with COVID-19 VM, while health literacy (B = -0.05, p = 0.002) was negatively associated with it. The mediated moderation model showed that conspiracy theories completely mediated the association between racial discrimination and vaccine mistrust (B = 1.71, p < 0.001). This association was also completely moderated by the interaction between racial discrimination and health literacy (B = 0.42, p = 0.008), indicating that despite having a high level of health literacy, those who experienced major racial discrimination in health services developed vaccine mistrust. This first study on COVID-19 VM exclusively among Black individuals in Canada provides data that can significantly impact the development of tools, trainings, strategies, and programs to make the health systems free of racism and increase their confidence in vaccination for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

Prevalence and risk factors associated with psychostimulant use among Black individuals: A meta-analysis and systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Psychostimulants (e.g., cocaine, amphetamine) are among the most widely used drugs globally with detrimental short and long-term physical, psychological and social consequences. There is limited data on psychostimulant use for various racial and ethnic groups, including Black people, and the challenges they face living as minorities overcoming historical challenges including increased incarceration associated with drug possession. METHODS: Peer-reviewed articles were identified in five databases (APA PsycInfo, CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, Embase, MEDLINE). Eligible studies were published in French or English, provided empiral data on psychostimulant use in Black individuals living in a minority context. The PRISMA guideline was used for structuring the review. Random-effects meta-analyses were generated to estimate the pooled prevalence of lifetime and periodic psychostimulant use among Black individuals using STATA 16. RESULTS: Sixty-three studies published from 1991 to 2022 with a sample size of 139,683 Black individuals were included in the current meta-analysis. Results indicate a pooled prevalence estimate of 11.4% for any form of psychostimulant use among Black individuals. The pooled prevalence estimates were 12.4% (95% CI, 8.4% - 16.4%) for cocaine, 8.3% (95% CI, 0% - 19.1%) for amphetamines, and 11.4% (95% CI, 4.6% - 18.1%) for other stimulants. Prediction intervals for all psychostimulant types were highly heterogenous ranging from 0% to as high as 51.2% for amphetamine suggesting prevalence of use in some studies of Black people could be found to be as low as zero. Subgroup analyses were conducted to examine differences between age groups, gender, reference period, and type of assessment. CONCLUSIONS: High prevalence rates of psychostimulant use among Black people argues for greater access to evidence-based treatments. However, current psychosocial interventions are suboptimal, warranting further study. Consideration needs to be given to the challenges of the large range of prediction intervals, living in urban areas, racial discrimination experiences, race-based stress, and sociodemographic characteristics, including poverty, education level, age, gender.

Prevalence and factors related to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and unwillingness in Canada: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the prevalence and factors associated with vaccine hesitancy and vaccine unwillingness in Canada. Eleven databases were searched in March 2022. The pooled prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy and unwillingness was estimated. Subgroup analyses and meta-regressions were performed. Out of 667 studies screened, 86 full-text articles were reviewed, and 30 were included in the systematic review. Twenty-four articles were included in the meta-analysis; 12 for the pooled prevalence of vaccine hesitancy (42.3% [95% CI, 33.7%-51.0%]) and 12 for vaccine unwillingness (20.1% [95% CI, 15.2%-24.9%]). Vaccine hesitancy was higher in females (18.3% [95% CI, 12.4%-24.2%]) than males (13.9% [95% CI, 9.0%-18.8%]), and in rural (16.3% [95% CI, 12.9%-19.7%]) versus urban areas (14.1% [95%CI, 9.9%-18.3%]). Vaccine unwillingness was higher in females (19.9% [95% CI, 11.0%-24.8%]) compared with males (13.6% [95% CI, 8.0%-19.2%]), non-White individuals (21.7% [95% CI, 16.2%-27.3%]) than White individuals (14.8% [95% CI, 11.0%-18.5%]), and secondary or less (24.2% [95% CI, 18.8%-29.6%]) versus postsecondary education (15.9% [95% CI, 11.6%-20.2%]). Factors related to racial disparities, gender, education level, and age are discussed.

Development of a novel, theoretically motivated scale to assess cognitive learning styles related to the autism spectrum.

BACKGROUND: Although theoretical efforts have been made to address the cognitive learning styles of individuals on the autism spectrum, no instrument to measure such learning styles is currently available. The current study aimed to develop such a scale based on the learning style theory of Qian and Lipkin (Front Hum Neurosci 5:77, 2011). METHODS: Response data from total of 768 undergraduate students was used for this study. This sample was split into two subsamples of N = 460 and N = 308 for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), respectively. The correlations between the resulting new subscales and some other potentially related measures were examined. RESULTS: A three-factor structure with 19 items was obtained measuring need for task clarity/familiarity, susceptibility to cognitive load, and the grasping of conceptual relations. CONCLUSIONS: This newly developed measure can be used to help understand the nature of the individual differences in cognitive processing that are evident across both the autism spectrum as well as the overall population more generally.

Perceived racial discrimination, psychosomatic symptoms, and resilience among Black individuals in Canada: A moderated mediation model.

OBJECTIVE: Although no study has explored psychosomatic symptoms in Black communities in Canada, several studies in the United States showed that psychological distress is often express as physical pain among African Americans. Using a cross-sectional design, the present study documents the frequency of psychosomatic symptoms and its association to racial discrimination, and resilience among Black individuals aged 15 to 40 in Canada. METHOD: A total of 860 participants (Mage = 25.0 years, SD = 6.3), predominantly born in Canada (79.1%) and women (75.6%), completed the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (somatization subscale), the Everyday Discrimination Scale, and the Resilience Scale-14. RESULTS: Findings revealed that 81.7% of participants experienced psychosomatic symptoms, with higher prevalence among women (84.2%) compared to men (70.7%;), ꭓ2 = 21.5, p < .001; participants aged 25 to 40 years old (93.7%) compared to those aged 15-24 years old (75.2%) (ꭓ2 = 45.0, p < .001). Participants reporting greater racial discrimination had more psychosomatic symptoms (89.4%) compared to others (72.9%), ꭓ2 = 39.2, p < .001). A moderated mediation model showed that everyday racial discrimination was positively associated with psychosomatic symptoms (B = 0.1, SE = 0.01, p < .001). The model showed that the association between racial discrimination and psychosomatic symptoms was partially mediated by resilience (B = -0.01, SE = 0.0, p < .01), and negatively moderated by gender (B = -0.04, SE = 0.01, p < .01). In other words, being a woman is associated with higher levels of psychosomatic symptoms among those who have experienced racial discrimination. CONCLUSION: By highlighting the association between racial discrimination and psychosomatic symptoms and the role of resilience and gender in this relation, this article reveals important factors to integrate to improve healthcare services, prevention, and interventions among Black individuals with psychosomatic symptoms.

Neuroticism and Frontal EEG Asymmetry Correlated With Dynamic Facial Emotional Processing in Adolescents.

The aim of this research was to investigate the link between resting frontal EEG asymmetry, neuroticism and the valence of emotional face processing in adolescents. Fifty right-handed adolescents (50% male; mean age = 14.20, SD = 1.97) were selected from schools in Mashhad. In order to investigate variables, we used BFQ-C, ADFES-BIV, and EEG. All data were analyzed using SPSS 22. The results showed that neuroticism correlates with the valences of fear, disgust, sadness, and surprise, but not with happiness, anger, and neutral faces. Furthermore, it was found that N was significantly positively correlated with mid-frontal asymmetry (F3-F4), and the lateral-frontal (F7-F8), whereas no correlation was found between N and frontal pole (Fp1-Fp2). We found significant negative correlations between the valence of fear, Fp1-Fp2, F3-F4, and F7-F8. The interaction findings revealed that neuroticism∗mid-frontal asymmetry can significantly affect the valence of fear. Therefore, neuroticism and mid-frontal EEG asymmetry may serve as a risk indicator for psychopathology.