Feasibility and acceptability of an online group dialectical behavioural therapy skills training in a Transdiagnostic group with Anxiety and Depression.

Transdiagnostic approaches offers a paradigm shift in managing psychiatric disorders. Emotion regulation difficulties are a transdiagnostic prevalent across various mood and personality disorders. Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Skills Training (DBT-ST), initially designed as part of treatment for borderline personality disorder, targets emotion regulation and has shown promise in diverse psychiatric conditions. In lower middle-income countries with resource-constrained settings, online delivery of evidence-based interventions holds potential to bridge treatment gaps. This study assesses the feasibility and acceptability of online group DBT skills training for individuals with depression or anxiety disorders in India. Mental health professionals practising in India referred twenty-four eligible participants currently not engaged in psychotherapy. Of these, 18 initiated the 8-week virtual group DBT-ST program, with 12 completing it (66 % female, 18-35 years of age, 5 on concurrent medication). They provided feedback on therapy content's usefulness. Baseline, post-intervention, and one-month follow-up assessments measured changes in emotion regulation difficulties, depression, and anxiety symptoms. Treatment retained 66.7 % of participants, all participants found the intervention beneficial. Repeated measures ANOVA indicates significant reductions in self-reported difficulties in emotion regulation, depression, and anxiety symptoms post-intervention. These findings highlight the promise of transdiagnostic interventions like DBT-ST that merit further evaluations using RCTs with larger sample sizes.

The fundamentals of Indian personality: An investigation of the big five.

Context: The Big Five model is a well-accepted model of personality but there is scant research on the factor structure of personality from Asian populations. It is unclear whether the Big Five personality model can account for cross-cultural variation in personality structures. Aim: To explore the factor structure of personality by analyzing the Big Five personality factors in a sample from Karnataka, South India. Settings and Design: This was a cross-structural observational study conducted in Udupi and Mangalore. Methods and Material: 400 community participants (200 women) from diverse socio economic backgrounds were recruited for the study and were assessed on either an English or Kannada version of the BFI-2-S. The reliability of the translated version of BFI-2-S was established. Statistical Analysis Used: Exploratory factor analysis using Principal Component Analysis with Varimax Rotation and Kaiser Normalization was carried out. Results: Factor Analysis revealed a four-factor and a five-factor solution that varied distinctly from the original Big Five. None of the identified factors fit into the original five factors. The four-factor solution explained 36.86% of the variance and the five-factor solution explained 41.74%. The five factors were named as - Social Effectiveness, Interpersonal Ability, Altruism, Emotional Instability, and Innovativeness. The translated tool showed good temporal stability. Conclusions: The Five factors identified in the present study differ from the Big Five model or the General Factor of Personality. This raises questions about the cross-cultural validity of the Big Five model as well as highlighting the need to adopt more culturally adaptive methods of assessing personality.

Recurrent Angiolymphoid Hyperplasia with Eosinophilia of the Parotid.

Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE) is a benign vasculoproliferative disorder. It usually affects young adults presenting as papules or nodules involving the skin of head and neck region and rarely involves extracutaneous sites. ALHE involving parotid is rare and can be a diagnostic dilemma as it mimics a parotid neoplasm. This is a case of a 23 year old male presenting with a recurrent swelling over the left parotid region post surgery. Ultrasonography revealed a vascular soft tissue lesion in the preauricular region suggestive of a benign lesion. Contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging showed a hyperintense lesion involving the superficial lobe of the left parotid gland. Patient underwent superficial parotidectomy and histopathologically was diagnosed to have ALHE. Very few cases have been reported and this case is highlighted as the facial nerve was enmeshed by the intraparotid lesion which was a surgical challenge.

Pattern of acquisition of theory of mind in pre-schoolers: A cross-sectional study from South India.

BACKGROUND: Theory of Mind (ToM) is an important part of children's social cognitive development. The pattern of ToM acquisition depends on many factors including culture, the number of family members, and siblings. This study aimed to examine the pattern of ToM acquisition in Indian culture. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study among preschool children (three to six years) (N = 118) from rural and urban backgrounds. ToM development was assessed using the Wellman and Liu Theory of Mind Scale and the Children's Social Understanding Scale (parent report). RESULTS: The order of acquisition of ToM in Indian children was as follows: diverse desire> diverse belief> knowledge access> explicit false belief> content false belief> hidden emotion. The number of siblings positively correlated with the total ToM task score, and the number of adults in the family did not show any positive correlation. CONCLUSIONS: Although India is a collectivistic country, the acquisition pattern of ToM in our population was like that of individualistic countries such as the United States.

The Influence of Cartoons Soundscape Irrelevant Sound Effects on young children's Auditory Processing and Working memory skills.

BACKGROUND: Irrelevant sound or speech effect (ISE) affects an individual's serial recall task of visual and auditory presentations. Cartoon soundscape mimics irrelevant sound effect hypothesis. A constant and repeated exposure to cartoons in early childhood should influence children's auditory learning or recall performance. PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of cartoons' soundscape irrelevant sound effects on young children's auditory processing and working memory skills. RESEARCH DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was used to observe the influence of the cartoon soundscape irrelevant sound effects on children. STUDY SAMPLE: Sixty young children with normal hearing in the age range 5-6years were exposed to cartoons (Indian plus Non-Indian) considered for the study. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Pitch Pattern Test (PPT), Duration Pattern Test (DPT), and Corsi-Block working memory apparatus were applied to the participants exposed to cartoons. The data obtained were compared statistically in terms of the groups' performances. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in PPT (p=.023) and DPT (p=.001) between the cartoon exposed and non-exposed groups. In contrast, there was no significant difference between the two groups in Corsi-Block working memory(p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Cartoon soundscape irrelevant sound or speech affects young children's auditory processing skills. The visual-spatial recall follows a different developmental pattern in young children without recoding to phonological aspects. It is predicted that our study findings might help determine the ill effects of cartoons on the auditory and language development process.

Weathering the Storm: Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Clinical and Nonclinical Healthcare Workers in India.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed healthcare workers (HCWs) to a unique set of challenges and stressors. Our frontline workers are under tremendous psychological pressure because of the ever-rising crisis. This study was done to assess the magnitude of the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical and nonclinical HCWs in India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a cross-sectional, online survey that was done from June 1, 2020, to July 4, 2020. A total of 313 clinical and nonclinical HCWs, who were directly or indirectly involved in patient care, participated in the study. The psychological impact was assessed in terms of four variables: insomnia, anxiety, depression, and stress. Insomnia was assessed by the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Anxiety and depression were assessed via the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), which included a 2-item anxiety scale and a 2-item depression scale (PHQ-2). Stress was assessed via the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). We also compared the psychological impact of this pandemic between clinical and nonclinical HCWs. RESULTS: 7.3% of HCWs were having moderate insomnia, 3.8% had severe insomnia, and 20.8% were having subthreshold insomnia. Severe anxiety and depression were found in 6.7% of respondents. 8.0 and 32.3% of the respondents had moderate and mild anxiety-depression, respectively. 6.4% had high perceived stress. 47.6 and 46.0% of the respondents had moderate and low stress, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in severe insomnia between clinical and nonclinical HCWs, whereas no significant difference in anxiety, depression, and stress between clinical and nonclinical HCWs. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that psychological morbidity is prevalent among both clinical and nonclinical HCWs and both males and females. Early intervention may be beneficial to prevent this issue. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Sunil R, Bhatt MT, Bhumika TV, Thomas N, Puranik A, Chaudhuri S, et al. Weathering the Storm: Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Clinical and Nonclinical Healthcare Workers in India. Indian J Crit Care Med 2021;25(1):16-20.

Cortical auditory evoked potentials and hemispheric specialization of speech in individuals with learning disability and healthy controls: A preliminary study.

Background: Dichotic listening (DL) technique is a behavioral non-invasive tool which is used in studying hemispheric lateralization. Previous studies using behavioral DL have hypothesized that individuals with learning disabilities (LD) exhibit a lack of cortical specialization for processing speech stimulus. However, there is no event related potential (ERP) evidence, hence the main objective of the study is to explore hemispheric asymmetry using cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEPs) in normal hearing adults and also to compare the same in children with LD and healthy controls. Methods: CAEPs were recorded in 16 normal hearing young adults, eight right-handed children with LD and their age matched controls. Two stop constants (/Pa/ - voiceless, bilabial, stop: /Ta/ - voiceless, alveolar, stop) were chosen for this experiment and presented in each ear and dichotically in two different orders (/pa-ta/, /ta-pa/). ERPs were processed using a standard pipeline, and electrodes readings over the left and right hemispheres were averaged to create left and right regions of interest (ROI). The CAEPs were analyzed for mean amplitude and peak latency of P1-N1-P2 components. Results: The current study results suggest no statistically significant difference between the two stimulus in monaural condition and absence of order effect in dichotic condition. In healthy controls the CAEP latencies were shorter over the left hemisphere in both monaural and dichotic conditions in adults and control children. However, it was very evident that such a difference was lacking in children with LD. Conclusions: Hemispheric asymmetry can be detected using CAEPs for speech stimulus. The measures are consistent and void of stimulus or order effect. Taken together, the findings of current study, both monaural and dichotic condition illustrates the hemispheric differences in processing speech stimuli in normal hearers. Absence of latency differences between hemispheres in children with LD indicate a lack of hemispheric asymmetry.