The effect of working memory load on selective attention to emotional faces for social anxiety individuals.

Research has confirmed that individuals with social anxiety (SA) show an attentional bias towards threat-related stimuli. However, the extent to which this attentional bias depends on top-down cognitive control processes remains controversial. The present study investigated the effect of working memory (WM) load on selective attention to emotional faces in both high social anxiety (HSA) and low social anxiety (LSA) groups by manipulating WM load through the inclusion of forward counting in multiples of two (low load) or backward counting in multiples of seven (high load) within a modified flanker task. In the flanker task, emotional faces (angry, happy, or neutral faces) were used as targets and distractors. A total of 70 participants (34 HSA participants; 36 LSA participants) completed the flanker task in the laboratory. The results showed that the HSA individuals performed worse when responding to angry targets. Relative to LSA individuals, HSA individuals showed interference from angry distractors in the flanker task, resulting in significantly lower accuracy in identifying angry targets compared to happy targets. These results were unaffected by the manipulation of WM load. The findings imply HSA individuals have impaired attentional control, and that their threat-related attentional bias relies more on the bottom-up automatic attentional process.

Longitudinal associations of menstrual characteristics with mental health problems among Chinese girls.

Cross-sectional studies indicate that menstrual problems are related to poorer mental health; however, longitudinal studies are limited. This longitudinal study aimed to determine whether baseline menstrual characteristics were risk factors for incident and persistent mental health problems. The study was conducted among Chinese adolescent girls. Menstrual characteristics including menarche, menstrual cycle and menstrual pain were assessed at baseline, whereas mental health problems including PTSD, depression, anxiety, ADHD, insomnia, psychotic-like experiences, non-suicidal self-injury, suicide ideation, suicide plan, and suicide attempt were assessed at baseline (n = 1039) and at the 1-year follow-up (n = 946) by self-administered, structured questionnaires. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to examine whether menstrual characteristics were associated with incident (e.g., PTSD at follow-up but not baseline) and persistent (e.g., PTSD at both time points) mental health problems. The results demonstrated that early menarche was related to persistence of psychotic-like experiences; irregular menstruation was associated with higher rates of incident anxiety and insomnia, and persistent depression, anxiety, ADHD, insomnia, non-suicidal self-injury, suicide ideation, and suicide plan; menstrual pain was associated with elevated rates of incident PTSD and depression, and persistent depression, insomnia, psychotic-like experiences, non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal ideation, suicide plan, and suicide attempt. In conclusion, irregular menstruation and menstrual pain specifically contributed to the development of emotional problems and insomnia, and were associated with maintenance of the most mental health problems in early adolescence. The long-term effects of menstrual problems on mental health need further study.

The serial mediation effect of prospective imagery vividness and anxiety symptoms on the relationship between perceived stress and depressive symptoms among Chinese vocational college students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mental health of vocational college students has been neglected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prospective imagery may play a role in the relationships among stress, anxiety and depression. This study aimed to survey the mental health of Chinese vocational college students and explore the mediation effect of prospective imagery vividness and anxiety symptoms on the relationship between perceived stress and depressive symptoms. A total of 2, 381 vocational college students (Mage = 18.38 years, range: 16-21, SD = 0.92) provided self-report data on perceived stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms and prospective imagery vividness. Two potential serial mediation models were postulated regarding the roles of prospective imagery vividness and anxiety symptoms in the relationship between perceived stress and depressive symptoms. The prevalence rates of stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms were 55.7%, 33.2% and 53.5%, respectively, among vocational college students. Perceived stress was associated with decreased vividness of positive prospective imagery and increased vividness of negative prospective imagery and anxiety symptoms, leading to increased depressive symptoms. Additionally, prospective imagery vividness and anxiety symptoms had a serial mediation effect on the relationship between perceived stress and depressive symptoms. The results demonstrated that impoverished vividness of positive prospective imagery is not only a central feature of depression but also associated with anxiety. Interventions targeting prospective imagery vividness may alleviate anxiety and depressive symptoms among Chinese vocational college students and should be implemented as soon as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Effect of Social Appearance Anxiety on the Online Impulse Purchases of Fashionable Outfits Among Female College Students During Pandemic Periods: The Mediating Role of Self-Control and the Moderating Role of Subjective Socioeconomic Status.

Purpose: With the rise of social media, an increasing number of young females have focused more attention on their body image, leading to social appearance anxiety. Thus, the current study aimed to investigate a moderated mediation model of social appearance anxiety and online impulse purchases of fashionable outfits through self-control moderated by subjective socioeconomic status during the pandemic. Methods: A total of 1651 female college students (Age = 17-24, Mage = 19.30, SD = 1.14) with more than one month of closed-off management experience completed self-report questionnaires concerning social appearance anxiety, self-control, online impulse purchases of fashionable outfits, and subjective socioeconomic status. Results: After controlling for the potential influence of coronavirus stress, the results indicated that social appearance anxiety was positively related to online impulse purchases of fashionable outfits among female college students during the pandemic, mediated by self-control. Furthermore, subjective socioeconomic status moderated the indirect link between social appearance anxiety and the online impulse purchase of fashionable outfits. Specifically, subjective socioeconomic status buffers the negative effect of social appearance anxiety on self-control and the risk effect of low self-control on the online impulse purchases of fashionable outfits. Implications: The current study deepens the research on the relationship between social appearance anxiety and online impulse purchases during pandemic periods; meanwhile, it provides evidence for preventing excessive online impulse purchases of fashionable outfits among young females.

Brain activation and individual differences of emotional perception and imagery in healthy adults: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) study.

The current study investigated the brain activation and individual differences in perception and imagery of sad pictures versus happy and neutral pictures. Sixty-eight healthy adults were instructed to view and visualize sad, happy, and neutral pictures during 64-channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) recording. The results indicated that emotional perception evoked increased occipital activation, while emotional imagery involved increased activation in the bilateral prefrontal and parietal cortex. Sad pictures evoked decreased brain activation in the occipital and prefrontal cortex than happy and neutral pictures. For women, imagery activation was greater than perception activation in the right parietal cortex. Additionally, participants' self-rated imagery vividness was positively correlated with the occipital activation during happy imagery and trait rumination was negatively correlated with the occipital activation during perception. The findings suggest that emotional perception may involve the bottom-up sensory input, while emotional imagery may involve the top-down cognitive processes. Healthy individuals engage decreased cognitive resources for sad perception and imagery. Moreover, our observation could provide useful information to establish fNIRS assessment as an objective tool to monitor the emotional status on an individual trait basis.

The psychological mechanism underlying neuroticism on divorce proneness: The chain mediating roles of negative partner support and couple burnout and the moderating role of economic level.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have found that neuroticism is a significant predictor of divorce proneness. However, how neuroticism affects divorce proneness remains unclear. Based on the vulnerability-stress-adaptation (VSA) model of marriage, this study aimed to explore the psychological mechanism by which neuroticism affects divorce proneness. METHODS: A total of 752 Chinese heterosexual married individuals were surveyed by the Neurotic Subscale of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, the Negative Subscale of the Dyadic Coping Inventory, the Couple Burnout Measure, the Divorce Proneness Scale, and the Personal Monthly Income Survey. RESULTS: (1) Negative partner support and couple burnout played chain mediating roles in the relationship between neuroticism and divorce proneness, which constructed a chain mediating model. (2) Economic level played a moderating role in the relationship between couple burnout and divorce proneness, which was the latter part of the chain mediating model. CONCLUSIONS: Divorce proneness can be decreased by perfecting personality traits, reducing negative partner support and couple burnout, and improving the economic level.

Latent patterns of depression trajectory among adolescents during the covid-19 pandemic.

Present study aimed to explore adolescent depression trajectory during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of parental style on it. Five-wave data of adolescent sample in China mainland were collected, and the group-based trajectory modeling was used to examine the theory constructs. Findings showed that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are four distinct patterns of change in depression symptoms over time, namely, resistance (72.3 %), recovery (15.3 %), increasing (6.7 %), chronic (5.7 %). Differences about the impact of parental style and grade on depression trajectory were found. Findings contribute to the knowledge of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression trajectory among general population, and parental style and grade should be considered in adolescent psychological intervention in the pandemic.

Online Disinhibition and Online Trolling Among Chinese College Students: The Mediation of the Dark Triad and the Moderation of Gender.

The Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism) is associated with online disinhibition and antisocial online behaviors. However, the mediating role between online disinhibition and online trolling has never previously been investigated. We examined direct and indirect associations between online disinhibition and online trolling via the Dark Triad among 1,303 participants. The results showed that online disinhibition is positively correlated with online trolling, and their link is partly mediated by Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Furthermore, men exhibited higher levels of Dark Triad traits and were more likely to engage in online trolling than women. Moderated mediation analyses indicated that gender moderated the relationship between psychopathy and online trolling. The study provided a promising perspective for the intervention of online trolling, namely netizens should be taught to reduce impulsivity and improve empathy and self-control, especially for men.

The role of parental conflict in predicting adolescent depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study.

The present study was designed to investigate the association and the underlying mechanism between parental conflict and adolescent depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a longitudinal study, a total of 655 Chinese adolescents ranging from 13 to 16 years old completed a three-wave survey (W1, W2, W3) via a survey website. The data was collected three times: March 15-20, 2020 (W1, the outbreak period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mainland China), June 20-25, 2020 (W2, the trough stage), and December 15-20, 2020 (W3, six months after the trough stage). The SPSS 16.0 software was used to investigate the relationships among study variables. The findings showed that a double-hump effect was found for depression detection among adolescents during the pandemic, with depression rates in W1 (26.9%) and W3 (29%) were higher than that in W2 (21.9%). The parental conflict subscales of content and resolution had a greater impact on adolescent adjustment than other subscales. The parental conflict had direct and indirect impacts (through reducing family support and increasing burdensomeness) on adolescent depression symptoms in W3. It was concluded that when the COVID-19 pandemic was in a trough curve for more than six months, adolescent adjustment was significantly impacted by the pandemic, and parental conflict was an important risk factor in predicting individual adjustment. Therefore, family intervention is recommended when improving adolescent adjustment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Antisocial and borderline personality traits and childhood trauma in male prisoners: Mediating effects of difficulties in emotional regulation.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of probable antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) among prisoners, and further examine the mediating effect of difficulties in emotional regulation (ER) between childhood trauma and symptoms of ASPD and BPD. METHODS: A total of 1491 male participants (35.4 ± 9.69 years) were recruited from a prison in Guangdong, China. The symptoms of ASPD and BPD, childhood trauma, difficulties in ER, and suicidal behaviors were measured by self-administered structured questionnaires. Logistic regressions were performed to investigate the associations of ASPD and BPD with suicidal behaviors. Path analysis was used to examine the mediating effects of difficulties in ER between childhood trauma and symptoms of ASPD and BPD. RESULT: Approximately, 21.2 % and 11.2 % of the participants were screened as ASPD and BPD, respectively. Probable ASPD and BPD were associated with higher risk of suicidal behaviors. Childhood trauma and difficulties in ER were significantly associated with suicidal behaviors in prisoners with probable ASPD and BPD. Path analyses showed that partial mediating effects of difficulties in ER were significant in the dimensions of clarity and strategies on ASPD, and in the dimensions of clarity, impulse, and strategies on BPD. CONCLUSION: ASPD and BPD are two of the common personality disorders in prisoners. Difficulties in ER are key to understanding the relationships between childhood trauma and personality disorders.

The relationship between risk perception of COVID-19 and willingness to help: A moderated mediation model.

Previous studies have revealed that situational risk factors have a significant influence on the willingness to help. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, maybe risk perception of COVID-19 is also correlated to the willingness to help. This study examined the mediating effect of interpersonal alienation and the moderating effect of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression in the relationship between risk perception of COVID-19 and willingness to help. Data from a large sample of Chinese college students (N = 2, 163) completed the measures of risk perception of COVID-19, willingness to help, interpersonal alienation, emotion regulation strategies including cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. The results indicated that the risk perception of COVID-19 negatively correlated to willingness to help. Interpersonal alienation partially mediated the link between risk perception of COVID-19 and willingness to help. College students' expressive suppression moderated the associations between interpersonal alienation and willingness to help. And who adopted more expressive suppression, the connection between interpersonal alienation and willingness to help was weaker compared to students who reported less expressive suppression. But cognitive reappraisal did not moderate the relationship between risk perception of COVID-19 and interpersonal alienation. Implications of the present paper for theory and practice are discussed.

The transmission of psychological distress and lifestyles from parents to children during COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak had rapidly become a global health threat, and its impact on the mental health was transmitted among different populations, especially from parents to children. The study aimed to investigate Chinese parents' influence on their children, in terms of mental health and lifestyles (screen time and physical exercise), during the COVID-19. METHODS: Self-reported online questionnaires of depression, anxiety, COVID-19 related worries, physical exercise, and screen time were completed by 3471 Chinese children and one of their parents (1514 fathers and 1957 mothers), during the COVID-19 epidemic in February 2020. Path analysis was used to examine the extent of transmission of psychological distress and whether lifestyles tied to transmission. RESULTS: During the quarantine, Chinese parents' depression and anxiety both positively predicted their children's depression and anxiety; parents' COVID-19 related worries, physical exercise and screen time separately had positive effects on children's COVID-19 related worries, physical exercise and screen time; parents' depression and anxiety were positively influenced by their COVID-19 related worries, self-quarantine and quarantine of family members, relatives or friends; children's depression and anxiety positively predicted their non-suicidal self-injury and suicide ideation. Bootstrap analyses showed that parents' COVID-19 related worries and lifestyles increased children's depression and anxiety via children's COVID-19 related worries and lifestyles, as well as parents' depression and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: When families face to public events, parents' psychological distress and lifestyles are related to children's psychological stress and lifestyles. Interventions of parents' psychological distress and lifestyles would improve family resilience.

Family Cohesion and Sleep Disturbances During COVID-19: the Mediating Roles of Security and Stress.

Despite the increase in proximity to one's family amid university closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, the mechanisms underlying how family cohesion influenced students' sleep remain understudied. Using a large sample of college students in China (N = 1,178) during the COVID-19 pandemic, the current study examined the serial mediating roles of sense of security and perceived stress on the effect of family cohesion on sleep disturbance. Generalized linear modeling serial mediation analysis with 1,000 resampled bootstrapping methods showed that sense of security and perceived stress were negatively and positively associated with sleep disturbance, respectively. Furthermore, sense of security and perceived stress fully mediated the indirect effect of family cohesion on sleep disturbances. Implications and conclusions are discussed.

Meta-analysis of association between TPH2 single nucleotide poiymorphism and depression.

Tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) plays a crucial role in the human brain. Although the association between the TPH2 gene and depression has been suggested in previous meta-analyses, studies based on Chinese subjects are often neglected. Therefore, we included some previous studies based on Chinese subjects to explore the relationship between TPH2 polymorphisms and depression via conducting an extensive meta-analysis. We reviewed 40 research papers that included data on TPH2 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 5766 patients with depression and 5988 healthy subjects. The analysis showed an association between polymorphisms in the TPH2 gene and depression, and some results were significant in 24 studies that included Chinese Han study participants. The results of our meta-analysis showed that rs4570625, rs17110747, rs120074175, rs4290270, rs120074175, and rs4290270 may be significantly associated with depression, and that rs11178997 (A/A genotype) may be a significant risk factor for depression in the Chinese subjects. Based on the results of this study, biological experiments should be performed in the future to explore how different SNPs affect depression.

Does mindfulness reduce trolling? The relationship between trait mindfulness and online trolling: The mediating role of anger rumination and the moderating role of online disinhibition.

BACKGROUND: Online trolling is a highly prevalent online antisocial behaviour that has recently received increasing attention because of its potentially destructive consequences. The current study aimed to examine whether trait mindfulness was negatively related to online trolling and whether anger rumination mediated this relationship. We further examined whether online disinhibition moderated the direct and indirect relation between trait mindfulness and online trolling. METHODS: A total of 1303 Chinese college students completed the measurements of trait mindfulness, anger rumination, online disinhibition, and online trolling. Moderated mediation analysis was performed to examine the relationships between these variables. RESULTS: After controlling for sex, the results showed that trait mindfulness was negatively related to online trolling and that this relationship was partially mediated by anger rumination. Moreover, the effect of anger rumination on online trolling was strengthened when online disinhibition was high. LIMITATIONS: This study is a cross-sectional study, and causal inferences cannot be drawn. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with trait mindfulness are less likely to ruminate anger and further express less online trolling. Online disinhibition serves as a risk factor for online trolling. Interventions targeting trait mindfulness, anger rumination, and online disinhibition might aid prevention strategies.

COVID-19 Stressors and Poor Sleep Quality: The Mediating Role of Rumination and the Moderating Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies.

BACKGROUND: The global spread of COVID-19 has brought immense psychological distress and sleep problems to those affected. This study examined the mediating role of rumination in the direct association between COVID-19 stressors and poor sleep quality and the moderating roles of emotion regulation strategies. METHOD: A cross-sectional online survey study was conducted in China during the early outbreak of the pandemic. A total of 1106 Chinese college students (Mage = 19.58, SD = 1.61) completed measures of COVID-19 stressors, rumination, emotion regulation strategies (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), and poor sleep quality. RESULTS: COVID-19 stressors were positively associated with poor sleep quality (ß = .431, p < .001), and rumination partially mediated this association. The mediation effect accounted for 70.93% of the total effect of COVID-19 stressors on poor sleep quality. Moreover, cognitive reappraisal moderated the relation between COVID-19 stressors and rumination, and expressive suppression moderated the association between rumination and poor sleep quality. CONCLUSION: Rumination could be a mechanism by which COVID-19 stressors are linked with poor sleep quality. Cognitive reappraisal might provide desired benefits to improving sleep quality while expressive suppression may do the opposite. Implications for future steps and health interventions are discussed.

Access to Epidemic Information and Life Satisfaction under the Period of COVID-19: the Mediating Role of Perceived Stress and the Moderating Role of Friendship Quality.

The present study mainly focused on college students amidst the COVID-19 outbreak and aimed to develop and examine a moderated mediation model between access to epidemic information and life satisfaction. Friendship quality as a moderator, and perceived stress as a mediator. A sample of 1032 college students participated in this study and completed questionnaires regarding access to epidemic information, perceived stress, friendship quality, and life satisfaction. Findings indicated that 1) access to epidemic information was strongly related to life satisfaction; 2) perceived stress acts as a mediator in the positive relationship between access to epidemic information and life satisfaction; 3) friendship quality moderated the relationship between access to epidemic information and perceived stress as well as perceived stress and life satisfaction, and such that there was a stronger association between access to epidemic information and perceived stress for college students with high friendship quality. But the relationship between perceived stress and life satisfaction became weaker for college students with high friendship quality. The results illuminate the mechanism to theoretical and practical implications for improving college students' life satisfaction during the pandemic.

Are mindful people less involved in online trolling? A moderated mediation model of perceived social media fatigue and moral disengagement.

Online trolling is aggressive online behavior that has severe consequences for the mental health of internet users. Online trolling can be influenced by personal factors and psychological states. Based on the General Aggression Model, moral disengagement was examined as a moderator of the direct and indirect relations between mindfulness and online trolling via social media fatigue. A total of 1123 college students completed questionnaires regarding their experience with online trolling, mindfulness, social media fatigue, and moral disengagement. The results showed that individuals with high mindfulness were less likely to troll others online, which was mediated by their social media fatigue. Furthermore, moral disengagement moderated the indirect relationship between mindfulness and online trolling. Specifically, the relationship between mindfulness and social media fatigue became weaker for individuals with high moral disengagement. The relationship between social media fatigue and online trolling became strengthened for individuals with high moral disengagement. These findings elucidate the role of personal factors and the present internal state in online trolling and suggest that comprehensive intervention programs may be promising for reducing online trolling.

Life history strategy and overeating during COVID-19 pandemic: a moderated mediation model of sense of control and coronavirus stress.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the mediating effect of sense of control and the moderating effect of coronavirus stress on the relationship between life history strategy and overeating among Chinese college students during the COVID-19 period. METHODS: 3310 Chinese students (Mage = 19.74, SD = 1.50; 47% males) completed self-reported questionnaires regarding life history strategy, sense of control, overeating, and coronavirus stress. The data were analyzed using Pearson's r correlations and moderated mediation analysis. RESULTS: The results revealed that control sense mediated the link between life history strategy and college students' overeating. College students' coronavirus stress moderated the associations between life history strategy and college students' sense of control and between control sense and overeating. The association between life history strategy and sense of control was stronger for those with lower coronavirus stress, and the association between sense of control and overeating was stronger for those with lower coronavirus stress. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified that the critical factors were associated with overeating. On the one hand, the research deepens the application and interpretation of life history theory in the field of eating; on the other hand, it provides evidence for the prevention of overeating, and provides theoretical basis for psychological assistance among Chinese college students.

Development and Validation of an Unethical Professional Behavior Tendencies Scale for Student Teachers.

Teacher's unethical professional behaviors affect students' physical and mental health. Prevention should start with student teachers, but empirical research is lacking in China. This study surveyed over 2,000 student teachers from China to examine the psychometric properties of a student teachers' unethical professional behavior tendencies scale which revised by primary and secondary school teachers' unethical professional behavior tendencies scale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that a bi-factor model fit the data best. The final student teachers' unethical professional behavior tendencies scale comprised four subscales, including a general factor (unethical professional behaviors) and four special factors (perfunctory attitude and carelessness, insults and discrimination, unfairness, and using power for personal gain). The student teachers' unethical professional behavior tendencies scale correlated negatively with their professional ethical values and positively with perceived frequency of unethical professional behaviors of college teachers around them. The data supported the scale's measurement invariance across gender, and male student teachers scored significantly higher on unethical professional behavior tendencies than female student teachers. The findings suggest that the student teachers' unethical professional behavior tendencies scale is a useful instrument for assessing student teachers' unethical professional behaviors in China.