Checking Different Video Game Mechanics to Assess Cognitive Abilities in Groups with and without Emotional Problems.

This study assesses cognitive abilities through video games for entertainment (Blek, Edge, and Unpossible) that were programmed from scratch to record players' behavior and the levels achieved in a sample without emotional problems and in one with emotional problems. The non-emotional-problem sample was recruited from three universities and two bachelor's degree programs. The emotional-problem sample was recruited from two outpatient centers. The participants in the emotional-problem sample completed reduced versions of the ability tests and video games, as required by their emotional problems. Three subtests of the Differential Aptitude Test that assessed abstract reasoning, visuospatial reasoning, and perceptual speed were selected as ability tests. All participants were required to complete a mental health questionnaire (PROMIS) and a brief questionnaire on their gaming habits and previous experience with the video games used. The results that were obtained showed good convergent validity of the video games as measures of cognitive abilities, and they showed that the behavior of players in the sample without emotional problems while playing predicted the level achieved in the Blek and Unpossible game fragments, but this was only true for Unpossible in the emotional-problem sample; finally, shorter versions of the Blek and Edge game fragments can be used because they maintain their good psychometric properties.

Effect of personality on blood glucose control in patients with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: The diagnosis of type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) has a major impact on young people and their families. Psychosocial factors, patient motivation, participation and acceptance of the disease are essential to achieve good blood glucose control. Our aims were to analyse personality traits and how they are related to blood glucose control in patients with DM1. METHODS: Sixty-two patients with DM1 over 18 years of age, with at least one-year disease duration and absence of advanced chronic complications were studied. Clinical, biological and personality parameters were measured. The Millon Index of Personality Styles was administered for personality assessment. RESULTS: Significant correlations between different personality variables and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) values were found. Individuals with poor blood glucose control had significantly higher scores on the Feeling-guided (53.6±25.7 vs 36.2±26.8, p=0.021), Innovation-seeking (36.7±24.1 vs 21.9±21.4, p=0.025), Dissenting (41.1±24.4 vs 15.6±16.6, p=0.001), Submissive (41.5±25.1 vs 28.3±14.7, p=0.038) and Dissatisfied (37.5±27.5 vs 19.5±20.2, p=0.015) scales. This psychological profile is characterised by greater focus on emotions and personal values (feeling-guided), the tendency to reject conventional ideas (innovation-seeking), an aversion to complying with norms and a preference for autonomy (unconventional/dissenting), labile self-confidence (submissive/yielding) and expressed disagreement with others (dissatisfied/complaining). Factor analysis based on the main components of the variance yielded four factors. Factor characterised as related to rebelliousness or independent judgement and action was correlated with poor blood glucose control (r=0.402, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The rebellious or non-conformist personality type is closely associated with poor blood glucose control in patients with DM1.

Fibromyalgia Detection Based on EEG Connectivity Patterns.

OBJECTIVE: The identification of a complementary test to confirm the diagnosis of FM. The diagnosis of fibromyalgia (FM) is based on clinical features, but there is still no consensus, so patients and clinicians might benefit from such a test. Recent findings showed that pain lies in neuronal bases (pain matrices) and, in the long term, chronic pain modifies the activity and dynamics of brain structures. Our hypothesis is that patients with FM present lower levels of brain activity and therefore less connectivity than controls. METHODS: We registered the resting state EEG of 23 patients with FM and compared them with 23 control subjects' resting state recordings from the PhysioBank database. We measured frequency, amplitude, and functional connectivity, and conducted source localization (sLORETA). ROC analysis was performed on the resulting data. RESULTS: We found significant differences in brain bioelectrical activity at rest in all analyzed bands between patients and controls, except for Delta. Subsequent source analysis provided connectivity values that depicted a distinct profile, with high discriminative capacity (between 91.3-100%) between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with FM show a distinct neurophysiological pattern that fits with the clinical features of the disease.

Emotion Network Analysis During COVID-19 Quarantine - A Longitudinal Study.

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency has imposed important challenges in the lives of individuals, particularly since the restriction of free movement. In Spain, this mandatory home confinement started on March 14, 2020. In this scenario, some calls have been made to better understand the exact impact of the quarantine on the emotional status of individuals across time. Materials and Methods: On the first day that the Spanish government imposed the quarantine, our team launched an online longitudinal study to monitor emotional responses to the COVID-19 emergency over time. For 2 weeks, 187 people have responded to a daily diary on emotion functioning. An emotion network analysis was performed to study the network structure of 30 mood states and its changes during the first 2 weeks of the quarantine. Results: The emotional network showed critical changes in the interactions of emotions over time. An analysis of mean emotional levels did not show statistically significant changes in mood over time. Interestingly, two different network patterns were found when the sample was divided between those with favorable responses and those with unfavorable responses. Discussion: This new approach to the study of longitudinal changes of the mood state network of the population reveals different adaptation strategies reflected on the sample's emotional network. This network approach can help identify most fragile individuals (more vulnerable to external stressors) before they develop clear and identifiable psychopathology and also help identify anti-fragile individuals (those who improve their functioning in the face of external stressors). This is one of the first studies to apply an emotional network approach to study the psychological effects of pandemics and might offer some clues to psychologists and health administrators to help people cope with and adjust to this critical situation.

Emotion Regulation Strategies, Workload Conditions, and Burnout in Healthcare Residents.

BACKGROUND: Burnout syndrome is very prevalent among healthcare residents. Initiatives addressing workload conditions have had limited impact on burnout. The present study aims to explore the contribution of two emotion regulation strategies, namely emotion suppression and cognitive reevaluation, to residents' burnout, while accounting for workload factors. METHODS: Participants were 105 residents (68.6% women; mean age = 27.5, SD = 3.0). They completed measures of workload, burnout, and emotion regulation. The study was cross-sectional. RESULTS: Emotional suppression was associated with higher burnout (depersonalization scale; ß = 0.20, p < 0.05, CI 0.15-2.48) and cognitive revaluation was linked to lower burnout (higher personal accomplishment; ß = 0.35, p < 0.01, CI 0.16-2.56), even after controlling for demographic and workload factors. We found interaction effects between workload variables (supervisor support and number of patient hours) and emotion regulation (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between workload, emotion regulation, and burnout seems to be complex. That is, similar work conditions might generate different levels of burnout depending on the resident's emotional regulation strategies. This might partly explain why existing initiatives based on workload changes have had a modest impact on burnout. Results also support including emotion regulation training in prevention and treatment programs targeting burnout during residency.

How Much Support Is There for the Recommendations Made to the General Population during Confinement? A Study during the First Three Days of the COVID-19 Quarantine in Spain.

Background: Recommendations on lifestyles during quarantine have been proposed by researchers and institutions since the COVID-19 crisis emerged. However, most of these have never been tested under real quarantine situations or derive from older investigations conducted mostly in China and Canada in the face of infections other than COVID-19. The present study aimed at exploring the relationship between a comprehensive set of recommended lifestyles, socio-demographic, and personality variables and mood during the first stages of quarantine. Methods: A virtual snow-ball recollection technique was used to disseminate the survey across the general population in Spain starting the first day of mandatory quarantine (15 March 2020) until three days later (17 March). In total, 2683 Spanish adults (mean age = 34.86 years, SD = 13.74 years; 77.7% women) from the general population completed measures on socio-demographic, COVID-related, behavioral, personality/cognitive, and mood characteristics. Results: In the present study, depression and anger were higher than levels reported in a previous investigation before the COVID-19 crisis, while vigor, friendliness, and fatigue were lower. Anxiety levels were comparable. The expected direction of associations was confirmed for the majority of predictors. However, effect sizes were generally small and only a subset of them correlated to most outcomes. Intolerance of unpleasant emotions, neuroticism, and, to a lesser extent, agreeableness, sleep quality, young age, and time spent Internet surfing were the most robust and strongest correlates of mood states. Conclusions: Some recommended lifestyles (i.e., maintaining good quality of sleep and reducing Internet surfing) might be more important than others during the first days of quarantine. Promoting tolerance to unpleasant emotions (e.g., through online, self-managed programs) might also be of upmost importance. So far, recommendations have been made in general, but certain subgroups (e.g., certain personality profiles and young adults) might be especially vulnerable and should receive more attention.

Usos y abusos de la creatividad / Uses and abuses of creativity

El interés en la creatividad ha aumentado considerablemente en las últimas décadas, lo que supone un cambio notable a un área de investigación científica que en el pasado reciente fue considerada marginal o irrelevante científicamente. Sin embargo, este crecimiento en su popularidad, no siempre se acompaña del rigor exigible a las disciplinas científicas. El objetivo de este trabajo es intentar exponer algunas de estas dificultades y los avances en el campo del estudio de la creatividad como área de interés para la Psicología

Interest in creativity has increased considerably in recent decades, this represents a significant change to an area of scientific research that not so long ago was considered marginal or scientifically irrelevant. However, this growth in popularity is not always accompanied by the rigor required by scientific disciplines. The objective of this work is to try to summarize some of these difficulties and the advances in the field of the study of creativity as an area of interest for Psychology

Psoriasis lesions are associated with specific types of emotions. Emotional profile in psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: At present there is still controversy about the relationship between emotional stress and psoriasis lesions. Most of the published literature does not include the broad spectrum of emotional response. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between skin lesions and emotional state in a large sample of patients with psoriasis. METHODS: 823 psoriasis patients were recruited (mean age 45.9 years, 55.7% female) and answered two online questionnaires: lesion severity and current extension were evaluated using a self-administered psoriasis severity index (SAPASI); emotional state was assessed using the positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS). Second order factors were calculated and correlated with the SAPASI. RESULTS: We found positive associations between the extent and severity of skin lesions and the negative and submissive emotions, a negative correlation with dominance emotions and no association with positive emotions. CONCLUSION: Our data supports the relationship between emotions and skin lesions. It also allows for discrimination of the associations between psoriasis lesions and the specific type of emotions.

Maternal anxiety following delivery, early infant temperament and mother's confidence in caregiving

A mother’s emotional state is a well-known environmental factor that relates to the development of infant temperament. However, some relevant issues have not yet been fully explored. The current study examines the influence of determined maternal, contextual and perinatal variables on infant temperament and the mother’s confidence in caregiving during the first weeks of life. A prospective study was carried out in three-hundred and seventeen newborns and their mothers. Perinatal and socio-demographic variables were recorded. The mother’s anxiety and mood were measured in the first days after childbirth and again at 8 weeks. Infant temperament and the mother’s confidence in caregiving were measured at 8 weeks. A mother’s postpartum anxiety following delivery was the best predictor for most of the variables of infant temperament, including infant irritability (p = .001), and other child variables like infant sleep (p = .0003) and nursing difficulty (p = .001). Contextual-family variables, such as the number of people at home (p = .0024) and whether they were primiparous (p = .001), were the best predictors for a mother's confidence in caregiving. Support was found for an early effect of maternal anxiety on infant temperament. The results have clinical implications for postnatal psychological interventions (AU)

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Regulación emocional, trastorno límite de la personalidad y juego patológico. A propósito de un caso / No disponible

El juego patológico supone una alteración del comportamiento que repercute en diversas áreas de funcionamiento y que provoca malestar clínicamente significativo en el individuo y en los allegados de éste. La comorbilidad entre la ludopatía y otros trastornos mentales como la depresión y la ansiedad se han relacionado con los trastornos de personalidad, en concreto con el trastorno límite de la personalidad. Recientemente existe evidencia del factor modulador de la impulsividad entre la depresión y el trastorno de juego patológico. Sin embargo, falta evidencia sobre la organización temporal de estos síntomas con los episodios de juego patológico. Se presenta un caso de juego patológico con trastorno de personalidad borderline y su asociación a lo largo del tiempo con eventos vitales que desencadenan sentimientos de abandono que preceden a los episodios de juego

Pathological gambling disorder is a behavioural disorder that affects many areas of personal functioning and causes clinically significant distress in the individual and those close to him or her. The comorbidity between pathological gambling and other disorders such as mental depression and anxiety have been associated with personality disorders, particularly with borderline personality disorder. Recent evidence shows the modulating factor of impulsivity between depression and pathological gambling disorder. Evidence is however lacking on the temporal organization of these symptoms with episodes of pathological gambling. We report a case of pathological gambling with borderline personality disorder and its association over time with life events that trigger feelings of fear of abandonment preceding the gambling episodes

Maternal anxiety following delivery, early infant temperament and mother's confidence in caregiving.

A mother's emotional state is a well-known environmental factor that relates to the development of infant temperament. However, some relevant issues have not yet been fully explored. The current study examines the influence of determined maternal, contextual and perinatal variables on infant temperament and the mother's confidence in caregiving during the first weeks of life. A prospective study was carried out in three-hundred and seventeen newborns and their mothers. Perinatal and socio-demographic variables were recorded. The mother's anxiety and mood were measured in the first days after childbirth and again at 8 weeks. Infant temperament and the mother's confidence in caregiving were measured at 8 weeks. A mother's postpartum anxiety following delivery was the best predictor for most of the variables of infant temperament, including infant irritability (p = .001), and other child variables like infant sleep (p = .0003) and nursing difficulty (p = .001). Contextual-family variables, such as the number of people at home (p = .0024) and whether they were primiparous (p = .001), were the best predictors for a mother's confidence in caregiving. Support was found for an early effect of maternal anxiety on infant temperament. The results have clinical implications for postnatal psychological interventions.

Estilos de pensamiento y creatividad / Creative intelligence and thinking styles

La Teoría del Autogobierno Mental de Sternberg ha relacionado diferentes estilos de pensamiento (legislativo, ejecutivo y judicial) con la creatividad (Sternberg, 1999). El objetivo general de este trabajo es explorar la relación existente entre los estilos de pensamiento y la creatividad. El Cuestionario de Estilos de Pensamiento (TSI) de Sternberg y Wagner y el Test de Inteligencia Creativa (CREA) de Corbalán y colaboradores fue administrada a una muestra total de 237 alumnos, pertenecientes a la Facultad de Psicología y de Educación de la Universidad de Murcia (España) que cursan 2º y de 1º de carrera respectivamente. La investigación se llevó a cabo a través de un análisis de comparación de medias entre los estudiantes más creativos (situados sobre una desviación típica por encima de la media en creatividad) y de creatividad media y baja. Los resultados arrojan diferencias de medias entre los alumnos más creativos indicando una mayor tendencia a utilizar el estilo de pensamiento legislativo en individuos creativos lo que coincide con la teoría del autogobierno mental de Sternberg. Con todo ello podemos decir que el CREA resulta un buen instrumento para discriminar aquellos sujetos con altas capacidades creativas (AU)

The thinking styles (legislative, ejecutive and judicial styles) and creativity had been put in relation in the Sternberg’s theory of Mental Self-Government. The general objective of this work is to explore the relationship between thinking styles and creativity in students of the faculty of Psychology and Education. The Sternberg-Wagner Thinking Styles Inventory and the test of Corbalán (CREA) were administrated in a sample composed by 237 students. The research was conducted with a mean difference analisys between the most creative subjects (using one standard deviation over the mean as the cutpoint to identify the most creative subjects) and the medium and low creativity persons. Mean differences in the use of the legislative style between the high creative students and the rest were founded. This results indicate that the high creativity students prefer the legislative styles. The data founded here suggests that the CREA seems to be a good instrument to discriminate those subjects with high creativity capacities (AU)

Estilos de personalidad en pacientes con psoriasis / Personality styles in patients with psoriasis

La relación entre las enfermedades de la piel y los factores psicológicos ha sido ampliamente documentada en la literatura científica. Dentro de las enfermedades de la piel con claro componente psicológico se encuentra la psoriasis. La correlación entre el agravamiento de las lesiones cutáneas y un aumento de los niveles de psicopatología en respuesta a eventos estresantes ha sido descrita anteriormente en esta enfermedad. Sin embargo, los estudios que comparan personalidad en psoriasis y población normal mediante pruebas objetivas han sido escasas y no del todo concluyentes. Objetivo: Comprobar si existe alguna variable de estilos de personalidad implicada en el desarrollo o mantenimiento de la enfermedad de psoriasis. Método: Se comparó una muestra de 36 pacientes de psoriasis con población normal no dermatológica. Resultados: Los pacientes de psoriasis presentaron diferencias en metas motivacionales, modos cognitivos y conductas interpersonales característicos así como un índice de ajuste más bajo que la población normal. Conclusiones: Este trabajo presenta datos que apoyan la existencia de un perfil de personalidad diferente a la población normal y que podrían actuar como factor de riesgo para el desencadenamiento y/o mantenimiento de la psoriasis (AU)

The relationship between skin diseases and psychological factors has been well documented in scientific literature. Among the skin diseases with clear psychological component is the psoriasis. The correlation between the worsening of skin lesions and increased levels of psychopathology in response to stressful events has been described previously in this disease. However, studies comparing personality in psoriasis and normal population using objective tests have been limited and not conclusive. Purpose: To determine whether any variable of personality styles involved in the development or maintenance of psoriasis disease. Method: We compared a sample of 36 psoriasis patients with normal (non dermatological disease) population. Results: Psoriasis patients showed differences in motivational goals, cognitive and interpersonal behavior characteristic modes and a lower setting rate than the normal population. Conclusions: This study presents data supporting the existence of a personality profile different from the normal population and that could act as a risk factor for the onset and / or maintenance of psoriasis (AU)

Personality differences between patients with lichen simplex chronicus and normal population: A study of pruritus.

Itching is common to many skin disorders. The relationship between skin disease and psychological variables has been widely documented in the literature. The association between the exacerbation of skin lesions and increased levels of psychopathological conditions in response to stressful events has also been described. Lichen Simplex Chronicus (LSC) is a skin disorder characterized by itching, which seems to have a marked psychological component. However, examples of empirical evidence linking this skin disorder to personality variables, as measured by standardized personality questionnaires, are relatively few so far. The objective of this research was to investigate the involvement of certain personality variables in the development of LSC. The personality profiles of 60 patients with LSC were compared to a normative sample of the normal Spanish population, who were free of any kind of skin disease. The personality variables for the LSC group were obtained by administering the Millon Index of Personality Styles (MIPS). Participants with LSC presented personality characteristics that differed from the control group. The most significant variables were as follows: greater tendency to pain-avoidance, greater dependency on other peoples' desires, and more conforming and dutiful compared to the control group. Results are discussed in the light of other dermatological pathologies that might share some characteristics with LSC subjects. Lichen simplex chronicus patients may present differential personality characteristics that could be related to triggering and exacerbating skin lesions. Therefore, it is relevant to evaluate the personality profiles of these people to increase treatment efficiency.