Positive and negative social media experiences and proximal risk for suicidal ideation in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Social media (SM) has received considerable attention as a potential risk factor for adolescent suicide. Few empirical studies, however, have examined adolescents' daily negative and positive experiences on SM and its proximal impacts on suicidal ideation (SI), particularly using intensive monitoring designs. METHOD: Adolescents (N = 60; 14-17 years; 49% girls; 62% LGBTQ+) recruited using SM across the United States and participated in an 8-week intensive monitoring protocol. Ecological momentary assessment (three brief surveys per day) asked about negative and positive SM experiences and SI (passive and active). Multilevel modelling was used to evaluate the within-person relationships between daily SM experiences (e.g. individual fluctuations compared to a person's average) and SI, controlling for average levels of SM experiences, SM use screen time, and lifetime SI. RESULTS: Significant within-person effects of negative and positive SM experiences were associated with days when adolescents had SI. Specifically, on days when teens endorsed more frequent negative SM experiences than usual, they were more likely to report SI. However, more positive SM experiences than usual were associated with a lower likelihood of having SI. There were no significant effects of SM use ('screen time') on SI or on the reverse associations of SI on next-day SM experiences. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that SM experiences may be dynamic and modifiable risk and protective factors for SI in adolescents, whereas there is no effect of SM screen time on SI. Our results highlight that targeting negative SM experiences and augmenting the positive experiences on SM may be critical targets to improve teens' mental health and prevent suicide, rather than focusing on limiting SM screen time.

A semi-structured interview is associated with bariatric surgery outcomes.

Pre-surgical psychological evaluations (PSPE) are required by many insurance companies and used to help identify risk factors that may compromise bariatric post-surgical outcomes. These evaluations, however, are not yet standardized. The present study investigated the utility of a semi-structured assessment, Stanford Integrated Psychosocial Assessment for Transplantation (SIPAT), on post-surgical outcomes across 18 months. A total of 272 adult patients underwent a psychosocial evaluation and received bariatric surgery November 2017 to September 2020 at a Midwestern academic medical center. Average age at pre-surgical evaluation was 45.2 (SD = 10.7) years and 82.3% of patients were female (n = 224). With an a priori α of 0.05, multi-level modeling with weight as the outcome and regression with complications as the outcome were used. Higher SIPAT Patient Readiness, indicating difficulty with adhering to health behaviors and a reduced understanding of bariatric surgery, was associated with elevated patient weight at the 18-month follow-up (𝛽 = 0.129, p = 0.03). Higher SIPAT Social Support, was associated with patient weight at the 18-month follow-up, with reduced support associated with greater weight (𝛽 = 0.254, p = 0.004). Higher SIPAT Social Support also was associated with a greater risk of complications across the 18-month follow-up window (𝛽 = -0.108, p = 0.05). Patients with higher readiness to adhere to behavioral changes, and those reporting an intact social support system, generally weighed less at 18 months. The SIPAT may be considered as part of the standardized pre-surgical assessment, however, further research is required to elucidate its utility.

Perceived functions and importance of digital media use and adolescent depression and suicidal ideation.

INTRODUCTION: Although social media (SM) use is nearly ubiquitous among adolescents, there is a lack of clarity concerning the relationship between SM use and mental health outcomes like depression and suicidal ideation (SI), which increase during adolescence. Much of the previous literature has focused on the frequency of SM use; however, the current study examined the relationship between the perceived importance of three types of interactions and functions of SM use and depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. METHODS: A sample of 4057 adolescents (M age = 14.6; 47.0% girls; 69.0% Non-Hispanic/Latine White) were recruited via an online survey manager between February and March 2019. Participants completed the Adolescent Digital Technology Interactions and Importance (ADTI) Scale, which assessed the perceived importance of bridging online and offline experiences (bridging), going outside one's identity or offline experience (identity), and facilitating social connections (social). Participants also completed measures of depressive symptoms and SI and a self-report measure of SM use. A series of path analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between bridging, identity, social, and depressive symptoms and SI. RESULTS: After accounting for covariates (gender identity, racial identity, age, and SM use), bridging was negatively associated with depressive symptoms, whereas identity was positively associated with depressive symptoms. Bridging and social connection were negatively associated with SI, whereas identity was positively associated with SI. Gender moderated these relationships; however, racial identity did not. CONCLUSION: The results highlight the importance of understanding adolescent SM use beyond screen time in relation to depression and SI.

Total scattering measurements at the Australian Synchrotron Powder Diffraction beamline: capabilities and limitations.

This study describes the capabilities and limitations of carrying out total scattering experiments on the Powder Diffraction (PD) beamline at the Australian Synchrotron, ANSTO. A maximum instrument momentum transfer of 19 Å-1 can be achieved if the data are collected at 21 keV. The results detail how the pair distribution function (PDF) is affected by Qmax, absorption and counting time duration at the PD beamline, and refined structural parameters exemplify how the PDF is affected by these parameters. There are considerations when performing total scattering experiments at the PD beamline, including (1) samples need to be stable during data collection, (2) highly absorbing samples with a µR > 1 always require dilution and (3) only correlation length differences >0.35 Šmay be resolved. A case study comparing the PDF atom-atom correlation lengths with EXAFS-derived radial distances of Ni and Pt nanocrystals is also presented, which shows good agreement between the two techniques. The results here can be used as a guide for researchers considering total scattering experiments at the PD beamline or similarly setup beamlines.

Sleep influences daily suicidal ideation through affective reactivity to interpersonal events among high-risk adolescents and young adults.

BACKGROUND: Identifying proximal risk factors for suicidal ideation that are modifiable and relevant for adolescents and young adults is critical for suicide prevention. This study used an intensive monitoring approach to examine whether objectively- and subjectively- measured sleep characteristics predict next-day suicidal ideation occurrence and intensity through affective reactivity to interpersonal events in young people at high risk for suicide. METHODS: Participants included 59 (13-23 years; 76% White; 75% female) adolescents and young adults undergoing intensive outpatient program treatment for depression and suicidality. Participants completed daily ratings of suicidal ideation, sleep quality, and affective reactivity to positive and negative interpersonal events for up to 3 months (M = 56 days, SD = 24.13). Actigraphy captured behavioral sleep duration and timing. Multilevel modeling was used to evaluate within-person fluctuations in sleep and affective reactivity as predictors of suicidal ideation, and multilevel mediation tested the indirect effects of sleep on suicidal ideation via affective reactivity to interpersonal events. RESULTS: Results indicate significant indirect effects of objectively measured sleep duration and subjective sleep quality on next-day suicidal ideation via affective reactivity to negative and positive interpersonal events, respectively. Shorter-than-usual sleep predicted the presence and intensity of next-day suicidal ideation via heightened affective reactivity to negative interpersonal events. Worse sleep quality than usual predicted next-day suicidal ideation via reduced affective reactivity to positive interpersonal events. CONCLUSIONS: Affectivity reactivity is a proximal mechanism through which sleep indices may influence risk for suicidal thinking on a daily basis. Findings highlight the utility of targeting sleep and emotion regulation in suicide prevention among adolescents and young adults at high-risk for suicide.

Daily and average associations of physical activity, social media use, and sleep among adolescent girls during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adolescents' daily lives have been disrupted during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It remains unclear how changes in adolescents' daily physical and social behaviours affect their sleep. The present study examined the daily and average effects of physical activity and social media use (i.e., video chatting, texting, and social networking sites) on adolescent girls' sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adolescent girls aged 12-17 years (N = 93; 69% White) from a larger longitudinal study completed a 10-day daily diary protocol during state-mandated stay-at-home orders. Girls reported on daily sleep (duration, timing, quality), physical activity, and social media use during COVID-19. Multilevel modelling was used to examine the within- and between-person effects of physical activity and social media on sleep duration, timing, and quality during the 10-day period. Between-person associations indicate that youth with greater social media use (texting, video chatting, and social networking) and less physical activity had later sleep timing across the 10-day study period. Only video chatting was associated with shorter sleep duration. There were no within-person effects of physical activity or social media activities on sleep outcomes. Findings indicate that physical activity and social media use may impact later adolescent sleep timing during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be critical for research to examine the potential long-term costs of delayed sleep timing, and whether targeting specific youth behaviours associated with sleep and circadian disruption improve mental and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

The link between adolescent girls' interpersonal emotion regulation with parents and peers and depressive symptoms: A real-time investigation.

Adolescents often experience heightened socioemotional sensitivity warranting their use of regulatory strategies. Yet, little is known about how key socializing agents help regulate teens' negative emotions in daily life and implications for long-term adjustment. We examined adolescent girls' interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) with parents and peers in response to negative social interactions, defined as parent and peer involvement in the teen's enactment of emotion regulation strategies. We also tested associations between rates of daily parental and peer IER and depressive symptoms, concurrently and one year later. Adolescent girls (N = 112; Mage = 12.39) at temperamental risk for depressive disorders completed a 16-day ecological momentary assessment protocol measuring reactivity to negative social interactions, parental and peer IER, and current negative affect. Results indicated that adolescents used more adaptive strategies with peers and more maladaptive strategies with parents in daily life. Both parental and peer IER down-regulated negative affect, reflected by girls' decreased likelihood of experiencing continued negative affect. Higher proportions of parental adaptive IER predicted reduced depressive symptoms one year later. Findings suggest that both parents and peers effectively help adolescent girls down-regulate everyday negative emotions; however, parents may offer more enduring benefits for long-term adjustment.

Key Challenges and Potential Strategies for Engaging Youth with Lived Experience in Clinical Science.

Centering the perspectives of youth with lived experience (YWLE) in psychopathology is critical to engaging in impactful clinical research to improve youth mental health outcomes. Over the past decade there has been a greater push in clinical science to include community members, and especially community members with lived experience, in all aspects of the research process. The goal of this editorial is to highlight the need for and importance of integrating YWLE into every stage of clinical science research, from idea generation to interpretation and dissemination of research findings. We identify five key problems associated with pursuing research on adolescent mental health without involvement of YWLE and propose strategies to overcome barriers to youth engagement in clinical science research. We conclude with a call to action, providing guidance to clinical scientists, institutions, and funding agencies in conducting research on youth psychopathology with YWLE.

Iron Isotopes in Acid Mine Drainage: Extreme and Divergent Fractionation between Solid (Schwertmannite, Jarosite, and Ferric Arsenate) and Aqueous Species.

Examination of stable Fe isotopes is a powerful tool to explore Fe cycling in a range of environments. However, the isotopic fractionation of Fe in acid mine drainage (AMD) has received little attention and is poorly understood. Here, we analyze Fe isotopes in waters and Fe(III)-rich solids along an AMD flow-path. Aqueous Fe spanned a concentration and δ56Fe range of ∼420 mg L-1 and + 0.04‰ at the AMD source to ∼100 mg L-1 and -0.81‰ at ∼450 m downstream. Aqueous As (up to ∼33 mg L-1) and SO42- (up to ∼2000 mg L-1), like aqueous Fe, decreased in concentration down the flow-path. X-ray absorption spectroscopy indicated that downstream attenuation in aqueous Fe, As, and SO42- was due to the precipitation of amorphous ferric arsenate (AFA), schwertmannite, and jarosite. The Fe(III) in these solids displayed extreme variability in δ56Fe, spanning +3.95‰ in AFA near the AMD source to -1.34‰ in schwertmannite at ∼450 m downstream. Similarly, the isotopic contrast between solid Fe(III) precipitates and aqueous Fe (Δ56Feppt-aq) dropped along the flow-path from about +4.1 to -1.1‰. The shift from positive to negative Δ56Feppt-aq reflects divergence between competing equilibrium versus kinetic fractionation processes.

Antimony(V) Incorporation into Schwertmannite: Critical Insights on Antimony Retention in Acidic Environments.

This study examines incorporation of Sb(V) into schwertmannite─an Fe(III) oxyhydroxysulfate mineral that can be an important Sb host phase in acidic environments. Schwertmannite was synthesized from solutions containing a range of Sb(V)/Fe(III) ratios, and the resulting solids were investigated using geochemical analysis, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), dissolution kinetic experiments, and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. Shell-fitting and wavelet transform analyses of Sb K-edge EXAFS data, together with congruent Sb and Fe release during schwertmannite dissolution, indicate that schwertmannite incorporates Sb(V) via heterovalent substitution for Fe(III). Elemental analysis combined with XRD and Fe K-edge EXAFS spectroscopy shows that schwertmannite can incorporate Sb(V) via this mechanism at up to about 8 mol % substitution when formed from solutions having Sb/Fe ratios ≤0.04 (higher ratios inhibit schwertmannite formation). Incorporation of Sb(V) into schwertmannite involves formation of edge and double-corner sharing linkages between SbVO6 and FeIII(O,OH)6 octahedra which strongly stabilize schwertmannite against dissolution. This implies that Sb(V)-coprecipitated schwertmannite may represent a potential long-term sink for Sb in acidic environments.

Use of the Stanford Integrative Psychosocial Assessment for Transplant as a Pre-surgical Psychological Evaluation Tool for Bariatric Surgery.

How clinicians perform pre-surgical psychological evaluations (PSPE) for bariatric surgery remains variable across institutions. Bariatric PSPE guidelines state that self-report measures should be incorporated in the PSPE procedure, yet only 50-60% of PSPEs utilize patient self-report measures. Previous studies describing the presurgical psychological evaluation report a range of measures, however a gold standard in PSPE has yet to be agreed upon. Given this gap in how a presurgical psychological evaluation for bariatric patients is defined, incorporating more objective measures into this process may help clinicians identify specific areas in which a patient is struggling and benefit from additional psychosocial support. The present study proposes the use of the SIPAT, a semi-structured interview initially developed to assess organ transplant candidates, as part of this evaluation. A total of 292 adult patients underwent a pre-surgical psychological evaluation for bariatric surgery between November 2017 and February 2020 at a Midwest medical center. Patient average age was 45.2 (11.3) years and 83.3% were female. At time of analysis, 160 patients received bariatric surgery. Logistic regression and analyses of bivariate associations were conducted in R. The SIPAT exhibited good convergent validity via correlations with analogous scales on the PROMIS 43, and it yielded a small effect size predicting patients who ultimately received surgery. Accordingly, this semi-structured interview may be a useful tool to help differentiate patients for surgical candidacy.

Higher Rates of Sleep Disturbance Among Offspring of Parents With Recurrent Depression Compared to Offspring of Nondepressed Parents.

OBJECTIVE: Youth who have a parent with recurrent depression are at high risk for mental health problems. There is a need to identify transdiagnostic and clinically actionable mechanisms that explain higher rates of psychopathology among high-risk youth. The present study sought to examine whether offspring of depressed parents exhibit greater parent- and self-reported sleep disturbance, shorter sleep duration, and later sleep midpoint compared to youth without any parental psychopathology. METHOD: Participants included 82 youth, including 41 youth (ages 9-13; mean age = 11.07 years; 46% female) deemed to be at high-risk based on having a parent with a recurrent depression history, and 41 (mean age = 11.16 years; 49% female) at low-risk based on having parents without any history of psychopathology. Youth and their parents completed measures of youth sleep disturbance, and youth completed measures of sleep duration and midpoint using a daily sleep diary for 9 days. RESULTS: Offspring of parents with depression exhibited more sleep disturbance (e.g., problematic nighttime behaviors and daytime sleepiness) than low-risk youth as reported by both parents and youth. For parent-reported sleep disturbance, there were also sex differences. High-risk girls had more sleep disturbance than high-risk boys or low-risk girls. There were no group differences for daily sleep duration and midpoint. CONCLUSION: Sleep disturbance may be an important area for assessment among offspring of parents with depression. Our findings highlight one potential transdiagnostic risk factor that may emerge among high-risk youth, and sex-specific differences in sleep disturbance, which have implications for prevention and intervention.

Social media use predicts later sleep timing and greater sleep variability: An ecological momentary assessment study of youth at high and low familial risk for depression.

INTRODUCTION: Social media (SM) use has been increasingly recognized as a potential contributor to poor sleep. Few studies have examined SM use and sleep using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), compared different types of media use (SM, television, gaming), or examined whether youth at high and low familial risk for depression are differentially affected by SM use. METHODS: The current study included 76 youth (46% female; Mean age = 11.28 years) who were recruited based on parental history of recurrent depression (N = 35 high risk; N = 41 low risk) in the United States. Youth completed a 9-day EMA protocol, which included current activity at time of prompt and daily sleep onset and offset times. Regression and multilevel models were conducted to examine the effects of media use on sleep. RESULTS: Results indicated that youth who used more SM (mean and number of days) went to sleep later, but did not have shorter sleep duration. Youth with more SM use also had higher levels of variability of both sleep timing and sleep duration across the 9-day period. There were no effects of gaming or TV on sleep, and youth at high risk for depression did not have differences in SM use or its effects on sleep compared to low-risk youth. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate a unique impact of SM use on sleep timing and variability for youth (regardless of risk status), which may suggest a unique and modifiable pathway through which SM use contributes to poor health.

Multicultural Awareness and a Comprehensive Team Approach to Liver Transplantation: A Case Report.

Patients being considered for a liver transplant undergo a rigorous evaluation process to identify the medical and psychosocial factors that may impact transplant success. The American Association for the Study of Liver Disease outlines recommendations for medical factors, but guidelines for psychosocial factors, such as multiculturalism, are less clear. The aim of this unique case study was to highlight the importance of multicultural awareness in the context of liver transplantation. More specifically, the report follows an American Indian man from initial diagnosis through psychological assessment and transplantation in order to illustrate the benefits of a comprehensive, multicultural team approach. Various components of multiculturalism are discussed, including the patient's ethnicity, intellectual functioning, socioeconomic status, and mental health history. Consideration of these factors by the patient's treatment team ultimately led to the patient's candidacy for transplant, as well as effective psychosocial support throughout the transplant process and recovery. Incorporation more specific psychosocial recommendations into national liver transplantation guidelines would likely improve the evaluation process and outcomes.

The Combination of Living in High Crime Neighborhoods and High Rumination Predicts Depressive Symptoms among Adolescents.

Living in high crime areas and rumination each have been identified as risk factors for depression among youth, yet it is unclear how crime and rumination may synergistically increase the risk of adolescent depression. Adolescents (N = 309; 51% female, Mage= 12.9, SD = 0.61) completed self-report measures of rumination, depressive symptoms, and provided local addresses, which were used to match police district crime statistics. Approximately one year later, participants again reported depressive symptoms. Moderation analyses indicated that the tendency to ruminate exacerbated the relationship between violent crime rates, but not non-violent crime, and higher prospective levels of depressive symptoms among adolescents. These findings suggest that individual-level interventions that promote more adaptive emotion response styles may lower the risk of depression among adolescents residing in high crime areas.

Development and Content Validation of the Transition Readiness Inventory Item Pool for Adolescent and Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer.

Objective: The development of the Transition Readiness Inventory (TRI) item pool for adolescent and young adult childhood cancer survivors is described, aiming to both advance transition research and provide an example of the application of NIH Patient Reported Outcomes Information System methods. Methods: Using rigorous measurement development methods including mixed methods, patient and parent versions of the TRI item pool were created based on the Social-ecological Model of Adolescent and young adult Readiness for Transition (SMART). Results: Each stage informed development and refinement of the item pool. Content validity ratings and cognitive interviews resulted in 81 content valid items for the patient version and 85 items for the parent version. Conclusions: TRI represents the first multi-informant, rigorously developed transition readiness item pool that comprehensively measures the social-ecological components of transition readiness. Discussion includes clinical implications, the application of TRI and the methods to develop the item pool to other populations, and next steps for further validation and refinement.

Cognitive Vulnerabilities to Depression for Adolescents in Single-Mother and Two-Parent Families.

Although research consistently suggests that adolescents in single-mother families are at increased risk for depression, the mechanisms that explain this relationship are unclear. In a community sample of adolescents (N = 368; ages 12-16; 50 % female; 50 % White) and their mothers (42 % single), adolescents completed measures of depressive symptoms, rumination, and depressogenic inferential style at baseline and two yearly follow-ups. Mothers reported on stressful events that occurred in the child's life from birth until baseline. Adolescents raised by single mothers, relative to partnered mothers, experienced more childhood stressors and higher rumination levels at 1-year follow-up. Additionally, higher rumination mediated the relationship between single motherhood and greater youth depressive symptoms at the 2-year follow-up. Clinical implications and developmental considerations are discussed.

Emotional Clarity as a Mechanism Linking Emotional Neglect and Depressive Symptoms during Early Adolescence.

The present study examined whether emotional abuse and neglect differentially predicted decreases in emotional clarity, and whether emotional clarity, in turn, predicted increases in depressive symptoms. Participants included 204 early adolescents (52% African-American; 54% female; Mean age= 12.85 years) who completed four assessments with measures of depressive symptoms, emotional clarity, and emotional abuse and neglect. Hierarchical linear regressions indicated that emotional neglect significantly predicted decreases in emotional clarity, whereas emotional abuse did not. Further, mediational analyses revealed that decreases in emotional clarity mediated the relationship between emotional neglect and increases in depressive symptoms. The current study suggests that emotional neglect (more so than emotional abuse) may hinder an individual's ability to identify his or her own emotions, which may increase the risk of depressive symptoms during adolescence. These findings have significant implications for the development of intervention and prevention programs for depression.