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Institute
Background:
There is growing evidence that Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) is as effective as a stand-alone treatment and helps facilitating access to treatment. Given the complexity of the treatment, we argue that the effect of ICBT could be even greater if guided by a therapist, as this could increase treatment adherence. We modified an established and well-evaluated treatment approach and developed a mobile application for treating social anxiety disorder (SAD). In the present study, we compare the efficacy of app use alone (APP) with video-based, therapist-guided app use (TG-APP) and with a wait-list control group (WLC) in terms of symptom reduction, and various secondary outcomes such as increase in quality of life or decrease of general psychological distress.
Methods/design:
A within-between interaction design with randomization to one of three conditions will be used. In the APP condition, patients receive only the app without any additional contact with therapists, while in the TG-APP condition, therapists provide 8 sessions of video-based treatment in addition to using the app. The study will be conducted in two university outpatient treatment centers with reliably diagnosed SAD patients. The primary outcome will be defined as change in SAD symptoms, as measured by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (expert rating). Furthermore, a wide range of self-reports and clinician ratings for other symptoms (depression, general psychopathology) or quality of life will be used. A simulation-based power analysis for a 3 × 2 interaction effect (group × time) on the primary outcome in a linear mixed model resulted in a total sample size of N = 165.
Discussion:
The present study will be one of the first to examine the additional benefit of therapist-guided video sessions regarding the use of an app treating SAD. Study results are pivotal to future treatment application in SAD.
Agility, as the ability to react rapidly to unforeseen events, is an essential component of football performance. However, existing agility diagnostics often do not reflect the complex motor–cognitive interaction required on the field. Therefore, this study evaluates the criterion and ecological validity of a newly developed motor–cognitive dual-task agility approach in elite youth football players and compare it to a traditional reactive agility test. Twenty-one male youth elite football players (age:17.4 ±0 .6; BMI:23.2 ± 1.8) performed two agility tests (reactive agility, reactive agility with integrated multiple-object-tracking (Dual-Task Agility)) on the SKILLCOURT system. Performance was correlated to motor (sprint, jump), cognitive (executive functions, attention, reaction speed) and football specific tests (Loughborough soccer passing test (LSPT)) as well as indirect game metrics (coaches' rating, playing time). Reactive agility performance showed moderate correlations to attention and choice reaction times (r = 0.48−0.63), as well as to the LSPT (r = 0.51). The dual-task agility test revealed moderate relationships with attention and reaction speed (r = 0.47−0.58), executive functions (r = 0.45−0.63), as well as the game metrics (r = 0.51−0.61). Finally, the dual-task agility test significantly differentiated players based on their coaches' rating and playing time using a median split (p < 0.05; d = 0.8–1.28). Motor–cognitive agility performance in elite youth football players seems to be primarily determined by cognitive functions. The integration of multiple object tracking into reactive agility testing seems to be an ecologically valid approach for performance diagnostics in youth football.
Highlights
* The study introduces a novel motor–cognitive dual-task agility approach (incorporation of multiple-object-tracking in agility testing), evaluating its criterion and ecological validity in elite youth football players compared to a standard agility test.
* The standard agility test was shown to have moderate correlations with attention and choice reaction times, while the dual-task agility approach additionally incorporates executive functions
* While the agility test correlates to football-specific test performance, the dual-task agility test significantly discriminates players based on their potential ratings and in-season playing time, highlighting its potential as a valuable tool for assessing performance in youth football.
* The findings suggest that agility performance in elite youth football is primarily determined by cognitive functions
* Incorporating more complex cognitive elements such as multiple-object-tracking in agility testing may improve ecological validity and therefore the predictive value of the testing procedure.
The relationship between external and internal load parameters in 3 × 3 basketball tournaments
(2022)
Purpose: 3 × 3 basketball games are characterized by high-intensity accelerations and decelerations, and a high number of changes of direction and jumps. It is played in tournament form with multiple games per day. Therefore, optimal regeneration is crucial for maintaining a high performance level over the course of the tournament. To elucidate how load of a match affects the athletes' bodies (i.e., internal load), muscular responses to the load of 3 × 3 games were analyzed. We aimed to investigate changes in contractility of the m. rectus femoris (RF) and m. gastrocnemius medialis (GC) in response to the load of single 3 × 3 games and a 3 × 3 tournament.
Methods: Inertial movement analysis was conducted to capture game load in 3 × 3. Changes in contractility were measured using tensiomyography (TMG). During a two-day tournament, TMG measurements were conducted in the morning and after each game. Additionally, off-game performance analysis consisting of jump and change-of-direction (COD) tests was conducted the day before the tournament.
Results: Significant changes of the muscle contractility were found for GC with TMG values being higher in the baseline than in the post-game measurements. In contrast to athletes of the GC group, athletes of the RF group responded with either decreased or increased muscle contractility after a single 3 × 3 game. A significant correlation between external and internal load parameters could not be shown. Concerning off-game performance, significant correlations can be reported for COD test duration, CMJ height and ∆Vc as well as COD test duration and ∆Dm. No systematic changes in muscle contractility were found over the course of the tournament in RF and GC.
Conclusion: The athletes' external 3 × 3 game load and their performance level did not seem to affect muscular contractility after a single 3 × 3 game or a complete 3 × 3 tournament within this investigation. This might indicate that elite athletes can resist external load without relevant local muscular fatigue. With respect to the course of the tournament, it can therefore be concluded that the breaks between games seem to be sufficient to return to the initial level of muscle contractility.
Social identification is health-beneficial as social groups provide social support (i.e., the social cure effect). We study this social cure effect in diabetes patients by focusing on two relevant sources of social support, namely medical practitioners (MP) and fellow patients. As both groups have diabetes-specific knowledge, we predict that sharing an identity with them provides access to specific support, which, in turn, optimizes individuals’ diabetes management and reduces diabetes-related stress. We further predict that identifying with their MP or fellow patients will be more strongly related to perceived social support among individuals with lower diabetes-specific resilience because they pay more attention to supportive cues. We tested this moderated mediation model in a two-wave study with n = 200 diabetes patients. Identification with the MP related to more support, which, in turn, was related to better diabetes management and less diabetes-specific stress. Identification with fellow patients related to more support; however, social support was unrelated to diabetes management and stress. Resilience only moderated the relationship between MP identification and support, as people with lower resilience levels reported more support from their MP. This study shows the importance of social identification with the MP and other diabetes patients, especially for people with lower resilience levels.
Nowadays, teachers are facing a more and more digitized world, as digital tools are being used by their students on a daily basis. This requires digital competencies in order to react in a professional manner to individual and societal challenges and to teach the students a purposeful use of those tools. Regarding the subject (e.g., STEM), this purpose includes specific content aspects, like data processing, or modeling and simulations of complex scientific phenomena. Yet, both pre-service and experienced teachers often consider their digital teaching competencies insufficient and wish for guidance in this field. Especially regarding immersive tools like augmented reality (AR), they do not have a lot of experience, although their willingness to use those modern tools in their lessons is high. The digital tool AR can target another problem in science lessons: students and teachers often have difficulties with understanding and creating scientific models. However, these are a main part of the scientific way of acquiring knowledge and are therefore embedded in curricula. With AR, virtual visualizations of model aspects can be superimposed on real experimental backgrounds in real time. It can help link models and experiments, which usually are not part of the same lesson and are perceived differently by students. Within the project diMEx (digital competencies in modeling and experimenting), a continuing professional development (CPD) for physics teachers was planned and conducted. Secondary school physics educators were guided in using AR in their lessons and their digital and modeling competencies for a purposeful use of AR experiments were promoted. To measure those competencies, various instruments with mixed methods were developed and evaluated. Among others, the teachers’ digital competencies have been assessed by four experts with an evaluation matrix based on the TPACK model. Technological, technical and design aspects as well as the didactical use of an AR experiment were assessed. The teachers generally demonstrate a high level of competency, especially in the first-mentioned aspects, and have successfully implemented their learnings from the CPD in the (re)design of their AR experiments.
Mexico’s role in the US-Central American migration regime is threefold: not only is it a country of origin, and a transit country, but also increasingly becoming a receiving country for migrants who flee from violence, insecurity and poverty. The Mexican state responds with detention enforcement. Clinical research usually puts emphasise on the negative impact of detention enforcement on the detainees‘ mental health. Yet, it often disregards the spatial configurations of detention centres and their socio-political context. This study aims to fill this gap by analysing how such factors create harmful environments that affect both the detainees‘ mental health and their social life in Mexico’s migration detention centres. The study’s mixed method approach builds on semi-structured interviews with a sample of N = 56 migrants of diverse nationalities and varying socioeconomic status of whom 22 were still detained while 34 had been released. The interviews include the Torturing Environment Scale (TES), a novel instrument for the analysis of detention environments, as well as clinical psychological measures of emotional distress. Additional n = 10 in-depth interviews with human rights advocates to explore the interconnections between the detention environments, their impact on mental health, and Mexican migration politics. Facultative counter-mappings of the detention centres complement the interviews. Without exception, all interviews of detainees underline that the manipulation of detention conditions creates torturing environments that cause harm to basic physiological and psychological needs. A comparison between detained vs. released interviewees revealed lasting feelings of fear and shame. The study emphasises that immigration detention immobilises migrants in a necropolitical limbo, which destroys hope as much as human integrity. It indicates that detention is part of deterrence politics, which perpetuates harm and inequality through detention and deportation. Highlighting structural human rights violations, the findings stress the need to review current migration policies.
The purpose of this study was to investigate which social groups are perceived as a threat target and which are perceived as a threat source during the COVID-19 outbreak. In a German sample (N = 1454) we examined perceptions of social groups ranging from those that are psychologically close and smaller (family, friends, neighbors) to those that are more distal and larger (people living in Germany, humankind). We hypothesized that psychologically closer groups would be perceived as less affected by COVID-19 as well as less threatening than more psychologically distal groups. Based on social identity theorizing, we also hypothesized that stronger identification with humankind would change these patterns. Furthermore, we explored how these threat perceptions relate to adherence to COVID-19 health guidelines. In line with our hypotheses, latent random-slope modelling revealed that psychologically distal and larger groups were perceived as more affected by COVID-19 and as more threatening than psychologically closer and smaller groups. Including identification with humankind as a predictor into the threat target model resulted in a steeper increase in threat target perception patterns, whereas identification with humankind did not predict differences in threat source perceptions. Additionally, an increase in threat source perceptions across social groups was associated with more adherence to health guidelines, whereas an increase in threat target perceptions was not. We fully replicated these findings in a subgroup from the original sample (N = 989) four weeks later. We argue that societal recovery from this and other crises will be supported by an inclusive approach informed by a sense of our common identity as human beings.
Background: The assessment of therapeutic adherence and competence is essential to understand mechanisms that contribute to treatment outcome. Nevertheless, their assessment is often neglected in psychotherapy research.
Aims/Objective: To develop an adherence and a treatment-specific competence rating scale for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (DBT-PTSD), and to examine their psychometric properties. Global cognitive behavioural therapeutic competence and disorder-specific therapeutic competence were assessed using already existing scales to confirm their psychometric properties in our sample of patients with PTSD and emotion regulation difficulties.
Method: Two rating scales were developed using an inductive procedure. 155 videotaped therapy sessions from a multicenter randomised controlled trial were rated by trained raters using these scales, 40 randomly chosen videotapes involving eleven therapists and fourteen patients were doubly rated by two raters.
Results: Both the adherence scale (Patient-level ICC = .98; αs = .65; αp = .75) and the treatment-specific competence scale (Patient-level ICC = .98; αs = .78; αp = .82) for DBT-PTSD showed excellent interrater – and good reliability on the patient level. Content validity, including relevance and appropriateness of all items, was confirmed by experts in DBT-PTSD for the new treatment-specific competence scale.
Conclusion: Our results indicate that both scales are reliable instruments. They will be useful to examine possible effects of adherence and treatment-specific competence on DBT-PTSD treatment outcome.
Growing up in cities is associated with increased risk for developing mental health problems. Stress exposure and altered stress regulation have been proposed as mechanisms linking urbanicity and psychopathology, with most research conducted in adult populations. Here, we focus on early childhood, and investigate urbanicity, behavior problems and the regulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a central circuit of the stress system, in a sample of N = 399 preschoolers aged 45 months. Urbanicity was coded dichotomously distinguishing between residences with more or less than 100,000 inhabitants. Behavior problems were measured using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) 1½ - 5. Cortisol stress reactivity was assessed using an age-appropriated game-like stress task, and cortisol in the first morning urine was measured to assess nocturnal HPA axis activity. Urbanicity was not associated with behavior problems, urinary cortisol or the cortisol stress response. Neither urinary cortisol nor salivary cortisol response after stress exposure were identified as mediators of the relationship between urbanicity and behavior problems. The findings suggest no strong association of urbanicity with behavior problems and HPA axis regulation in preschool age. To our knowledge, this is the youngest sample to date studying the relationship between urbanicity and behavior problems as well as HPA axis regulation. Future research should examine at which age associations can first be identified and which mechanisms contribute to these relationships.
Background: Dialectical behaviour therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (DBT-PTSD), which is tailored to treat adults with PTSD and co-occurring emotion regulation difficulties, has already demonstrated its efficacy, acceptance and safety in an inpatient treatment setting. It combines elements of DBT with trauma-focused cognitive behavioural interventions.
Objective: To investigate the feasibility, acceptance and safety of DBT-PTSD in an outpatient treatment setting by therapists who were novice to the treatment, we treated 21 female patients suffering from PTSD following childhood sexual abuse (CSA) plus difficulties in emotion regulation in an uncontrolled clinical trial.
Method: The Clinician Administered PTSD Symptom Scale (CAPS), the Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS), the Borderline Section of the International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE) and the Borderline Symptom List (BSL-23) were used as primary outcomes. For secondary outcomes, depression and dissociation were assessed. Assessments were administered at pretreatment, post-treatment and six-week follow-up.
Results: Improvement was significant for PTSD as well as for borderline personality symptomatology, with large pretreatment to follow-up effect sizes for completers based on the CAPS (Cohens d = 1.30), DTS (d = 1.50), IPDE (d = 1.60) and BSL-23 (d = 1.20).
Conclusion: The outcome suggests that outpatient DBT-PTSD can safely be used to reduce PTSD symptoms and comorbid psychopathology in adults who have experienced CSA.
Objectives: To investigate whether citizens’ adherence to health-protective non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic is predicted by identity leadership, wherein leaders are perceived to create a sense of shared national identity.
Design: Observational two-wave study. Hypotheses testing was conducted with structural equation modelling.
Setting: Data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, Germany, Israel and the USA in April/May 2020 and four weeks later.
Participants: Adults in China (n=548, 66.6% women), Germany (n=182, 78% women), Israel (n=198, 51.0% women) and the USA (n=108, 58.3% women).
Measures: Identity leadership (assessed by the four-item Identity Leadership Inventory Short-Form) at Time 1, perceived shared national identification (PSNI; assessed with four items) and adherence to health-protective NPIs (assessed with 10 items that describe different health-protective interventions; for example, wearing face masks) at Time 2.
Results: Identity leadership was positively associated with PSNI (95% CI0.11 to 0.30, p<0.001) in all countries. This, in turn, was related to more adherence to health-protective NPIs in all countries (95% CI 0.03 to 0.36, 0.001≤p≤0.017) except Israel (95% CI−0.03 to 0.27, p=0.119). In Germany, the more people saw Chancellor Merkel as engaging in identity leadership, the more they adhered to health-protective NPIs (95% CI 0.04 to 0.18, p=0.002). In the USA, in contrast, the more people perceived President Trump as engaging in identity leadership, the less they adhered to health-protective NPIs (95% CI−0.17 to −0.04, p=0.002).
Conclusions: National leaders can make a difference by promoting a sense of shared identity among their citizens because people are more inclined to follow health-protective NPIs to the extent that they feel part of a united ‘us’. However, the content of identity leadership (perceptions of what it means to be a nation’s citizen) is essential, because this can also encourage people to disregard such recommendations.
Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt die Entwicklung eines interaktionalen Simulationsmodells zum späteren Einsatz in der VR-Simulation Clasivir 2.0 (Classroom Simulator in Virtual Reality), welche in der Lehrkräftebildung eingesetzt werden soll. Das Clasivir-Simulationsmodell wurde im Rahmen eines Prototyps implementiert und zwei anderen Simulationsmodellen in einem Fragebogen entgegengestellt. Ein Simulationsmodell beschreibt im Kontext einer digitalen Schulunterrichtssimulation, wie sich SuS in der Simulation verhalten.
Die drei Simulationsmodelle wurden über zwei unterschiedliche Typen von Video-Visualisierungen, genannt Mockup-Videos, dargestellt: Zum einen über eine 2D-Darstellung aus Vogelperspektive, zum anderen über eine 3D-Darstellung, in welcher 3D-Modelle von SuS animiert wurden. Bei dem realen Simulationsmodell handelt es sich um eine Übertragung einer authentischen Videoaufzeichnung von Unterricht einer hessischen Realschule in 2D/3D-Visualisierungen. Im randomisierten Simulationsmodell führen SuS ihre Verhalten zufällig aus. Alle Modelle basieren auf zweisekündigen Intervallen. Im Falle des realen Simulationsmodells wurde dies durch Analyse aller beobachtbaren einundzwanzig SuS gewonnen, im Falle des Clasivir-Simulationsmodells wurden die Vorhersagen des Simulationsmodells übertragen. Das Simulationsmodell von Clasivir basiert auf behavior trees, stellt eine Art von künstlicher Intelligenz dar und modelliert das SuS-Verhalten größtenteils in Abhängigkeit von Lehrkrafthandlungen. Die Entwicklung des interaktionalen Simulationsmodells von Clasivir ist eine Kernkomponente dieser Arbeit. Das Simulationsmodell basiert auf empirischen Ergebnissen aus den Bereichen der Psychometrie, der pädagogischen Psychologie, der Pädagogik und Ergebnissen der Simulations-/KI-Forschung. Ziel war die Entwicklung eines Modells, das nicht nur auf normativen Vorhersagen basiert, sondern empirisch und theoretisch valide ist. Nur wenige Simulationsmodelle in Unterrichtssimulationen werden mit dieser Art von Transparenz beschrieben, was eines der Alleinstellungsmerkmale dieser Arbeit ist. Es wurden Anstrengungen unternommen die vorliegenden empirischen Ergebnisse in einen kausalen Zusammenhang zu bringen, der mathematisch modelliert wurde. Im Zentrum steht die Konzentration von SuS, welche Ein uss auf Stör-, Melde- und Antwortverhalten hat. Diese Variable wird durch andere situative und personenbezogene Variablen (im Sinne von traits) ergänzt. Wo keine direkten empirischen Ergebnisse vorlagen wurde versucht plausibles Verhalten anhand der Übertragung von Konzeptionsmodellen zu gewinnen.
Da die bisherige Verwendung der angrenzenden Begriffe rund um die Simulationsentwicklung bislang sehr inkonsistent war, wurde es notwendig diese Termini zu definieren. Hervorzuheben ist die Entwicklung einer Taxonomie digitaler Unterrichtssimulationen, die so bislang nicht existierte. Anhand dieser Taxonomie und der erarbeiteten Fachtermini wurden Simulationen in der Lehrkräftebildung auf ihre Modellierung des Simulationsmodells hin untersucht. Die Untersuchung der Simulationen simSchool und VCS war, da sie einen verwandten Ansatz zu Clasvir verfolgen, besonders ergiebig.
Nach der Generierung der Mockup-Videos wurden N=105 Studierende, N=102 davon Lehramtsstudierende, aufgefordert, in einem Online-Fragebogen zwei der Simulationsmodelle miteinander zu vergleichen. Lehramtsstudierende wurden ausgewählt, da sie die Zielgruppe der Simulation sind. Welche Modelle die Partizipantinnen verglichen, war abhängig von der Gruppe der sie zugeteilt wurden. Hierbei wurde neben den Simulationsmodellen auch die visuelle Darstellung variiert. Insbesondere wurden die Partizipantinnen darum gebeten, den Fidelitätsgrad des Simulationsmodells, also den Maßstab, wie realistisch die Partizipantinnen das Verhalten der SuS in der Simulation fanden, zu bewerten. Inferenzstatistisch bestätigte sich, dass Partizipantinnen keinen Unterschied zwischen dem realen Simulationsmodell und dem Clasivir-Simulationsmodell erkennen konnten (t=1.463, df=178.9, p=.1452), aber das randomisierte Simulationsmodell mit einer moderaten Effektstärke von d=.634 als signifikant schlechter einschätzten (t=-2.5231, df=33.581, p=.008271). Die Art der Darbietung (2D oder 3D) hatte keinen statistisch signifikanten Einfluss auf die wahrgenommene Schwierigkeit der Bewertung (z=1.2426, p=.107). Damit kann festgestellt werden, dass eine komplexe und zeitintensive 3D-Visualisierung eines Simulationsmodells bei noch nicht vorliegender Simulation nicht erforderlich ist. Das Clasivir-Simulationsmodell wird als realistisch wahrgenommen. Es kann damit empfohlen werden, es in der VR-Simulation zu verwenden.
Im Ausblick werden bereits während des Schreibens der Arbeit gemachte Entwicklungen beschrieben und Konzepte zum weiteren Einsatz der Ergebnisse entwickelt. Es wird darauf verwiesen, dass eine erste Version eines VR-Simulators entwickelt wurde (Clasivir 1.0), der jedoch rein deterministisch funktioniert und noch nicht das in dieser Arbeit entwickelte Simulationsmodell inkludiert.
Systemic therapy considers the complex dynamics of relational factors and resources contributing to psychological symptoms. Negative maintaining factors have been well researched for people suffering from Alcohol-use Disorders (AUD). However, we know little about the complex dynamics of these negative factors and resources. We interviewed fifty-five participants suffering or fully remitted from Alcohol-use disorders in this cross-sectional study (M = 52 years; 33% female). The interviews focused on relational factors (e.g., social support and social negativity) referring to a Support Social Network and a Craving Social Network (CSN). The CSN included all significant others who were associated with craving situations. We compared the network characteristics of the group suffering from Alcohol-use Disorders (n = 38) to a fully remitted control group (n = 17). The abstinent group with full remission named on average fewer individuals in the CSNs. They had lower social negativity mean scores in the Support Social Network compared to the non-remitted group (d = 0.74). In the CSN, the mean scores of social support were significantly higher than the median for both groups (d = 2.50). These findings reveal the complex interplay of relational patterns contributing to the etiology, maintenance, and recovery from Alcohol-use disorders. A successful recovery can be linked to increased social resources and reduced relations associated with craving. However, craving-associated relations represent an important source of social support. Future research should investigate this ambivalence for the systemic perspective on the explanation and treatment of Alcohol-use disorders.
Cultural and biographical influences on the expression of emotions manifest themselves in so-called “display rules.” These rules determine the time, intensity, and situations in which an emotion is expressed. To date, only a small number of empirical studies deal with this transformation of how migrants, who are faced with a new culture, may change their emotional expression. The present, cross-sectional study focuses on changes in anger expression as part of a complex acculturation process among Iranian migrants. To this end, Iranian citizens in Iran (n = 61), German citizens (n = 61), and Iranian migrants in Germany (n = 60) were compared in terms of anger expression behavior and acculturation strategy (assimilation, separation, integration, marginalization) was assessed among the migrants, using the Frankfurt Acculturation Scale (FRACC). A questionnaire developed in a preliminary study was used to measure anger expression via subjective anger experience and anger expression within 16 hypothetical situations. Multivariate Analyses of Variance (MANOVA) revealed that Iranians and Iranian migrants reported higher anger experience ratings than Germans and directed their anger more often inward (anger-in). Further findings suggest that transformation processes may have affected Iranian migrants in terms of suppressed anger (anger-in): Iranian migrants with a higher orientation toward German culture reported lower average anger-in scores. These results suggest that there was different emotional expression among Iranian migrants, depending on their acculturation. The results provide new insight into socio-cultural and individual adjustment processes.
Trajectories of internalizing disorders and behavioral addictions are still largely unknown. Research shows that both disorders are highly comorbid. Previous longitudinal studies have focused on associations between internalizing disorders and behavioral addictions using screening instruments. Our aim was to develop and examine a theory-based model of trajectories, according to which internalizing disorders foster symptoms of Internet use disorders, mediated by a reward deprivation and maladaptive emotion regulation. We applied clinically relevant measures for depression and social anxiety in a prospective longitudinal study with a 12-month follow-up investigation. On the basis of an at-risk population of 476 students (mean age = 14.99 years, SD = 1.99), we investigated the predictive influence of clinically relevant depression and social anxiety at baseline (t1) on Internet use disorder symptoms at 12-month follow-up (t2) using multiple linear regression analyses. Our results showed that both clinically relevant depression and social anxiety significantly predicted symptom severity of Internet use disorders one year later after controlling for baseline symptoms of Internet use disorders, gender and age. These results remained robust after including both depression and social anxiety simultaneously in the model, indicating an independent influence of both predictors on Internet use disorder symptoms. The present study enhances knowledge going beyond a mere association between internalizing disorders and Internet use disorders. To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating clinically relevant depression and social anxiety to predict future Internet use disorder symptoms at 12-month follow-up. In line with our model of trajectories, a significant temporal relationship between clinically relevant internalizing disorders and Internet use disorder symptoms at 12-month follow-up was confirmed. Further studies should investigate the mediating role of reward deprivation and maladaptive emotion regulation, as postulated in our model. One implication of these findings is that clinicians should pay particular attention to the increased risk of developing behavioral addictions for adolescents with depression and social anxiety.
In recent decades, the assessment of instructional quality has grown into a popular and well-funded arm of educational research. The present study contributes to this field by exploring first impressions of untrained raters as an innovative approach of assessment. We apply the thin slice procedure to obtain ratings of instructional quality along the dimensions of cognitive activation, classroom management, and constructive support based on only 30 s of classroom observations. Ratings were compared to the longitudinal data of students taught in the videos to investigate the connections between the brief glimpses into instructional quality and student learning. In addition, we included samples of raters with different backgrounds (university students, middle school students and educational research experts) to understand the differences in thin slice ratings with respect to their predictive power regarding student learning. Results suggest that each group provides reliable ratings, as measured by a high degree of agreement between raters, as well predictive ratings with respect to students’ learning. Furthermore, we find experts’ and middle school students’ ratings of classroom management and constructive support, respectively, explain unique components of variance in student test scores. This incremental validity can be explained with the amount of implicit knowledge (experts) and an attunement to assess specific cues that is attributable to an emotional involvement (students).
Understanding the brain's proactive nature and its ability to anticipate the future has been a longstanding pursuit in philosophy and scientific research. The predictive processing framework explains how the brain generates predictions based on environmental regularities and adapts to both predicted and unpredicted events. Prediction errors (PE) occur when sensory evidence deviates from predictions, triggering cognitive and neural processes that enhance learning and subsequent memory. However, the effects of PE on episodic memory have not been clearly explained. This dissertation aims to address three key questions to advance our understanding of PE and episodic memory. First, how does the degree of PE influence episodic memory, and how do expected and unexpected events interact in this process? Second, what insights can be gained from studying the electrophysiological activity associated with prediction violations, and what role does PE play in subsequent memory benefits? Lastly, how do memory processes change across the lifespan, and how does this impact the brain's ability to remember events? By answering these questions, this dissertation contributes to advancing our understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the relationship PE and episodic memory.
Do leaders who build a sense of shared social identity in their teams thereby protect them from the adverse effects of workplace stress? This is a question that the present paper explores by testing the hypothesis that identity leadership contributes to stronger team identification among employees and, through this, is associated with reduced burnout. We tested this model with unique datasets from the Global Identity Leadership Development (GILD) project with participants from all inhabited continents. We compared two datasets from 2016/2017 (n = 5290; 20 countries) and 2020/2021 (n = 7294; 28 countries) and found very similar levels of identity leadership, team identification and burnout across the five years. An inspection of the 2020/2021 data at the onset of and later in the COVID-19 pandemic showed stable identity leadership levels and slightly higher levels of both burnout and team identification. Supporting our hypotheses, we found almost identical indirect effects (2016/2017, b = −0.132; 2020/2021, b = −0.133) across the five-year span in both datasets. Using a subset of n = 111 German participants surveyed over two waves, we found the indirect effect confirmed over time with identity leadership (at T1) predicting team identification and, in turn, burnout, three months later. Finally, we explored whether there could be a “too-much-of-a-good-thing” effect for identity leadership. Speaking against this, we found a u-shaped quadratic effect whereby ratings of identity leadership at the upper end of the distribution were related to even stronger team identification and a stronger indirect effect on reduced burnout.
Fitness and exercise may counteract the detrimental metabolic and mood adaptations during prolonged sitting. This study distinguishes the immediate effects of a single bout vs. work-load and intensity-matched repeated exercise breaks on subjective well-being, blood glucose, and insulin response (analyzed as area under the curve) during sedentary time; and assesses the influence of fitness and caloric intake on metabolic alterations during sedentariness. Eighteen women underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing and three 4 h sitting interventions: two exercise interventions (70% VO2max, 30 min, cycle ergometer: (1) cycling prior to sitting; (2) sitting interrupted by 5 × 6 min cycling), and one control condition (sitting). Participants consumed one meal with ad libitum quantity (caloric intake), but standardized macronutrient proportion. Exercise breaks (4057 ± 2079 μU/mL·min) reduced insulin values compared to a single bout of exercise (5346 ± 5000 μU/mL·min) and the control condition (6037 ± 3571 μU/mL·min) (p ≤ 0.05). ANCOVA revealed moderating effects of caloric intake (519 ± 211 kilocalories) (p ≤ 0.01), but no effects of cardiorespiratory fitness (41.3 ± 4.2 mL/kg/min). Breaks also led to lower depression, but higher arousal compared to a no exercise control (p ≤ 0.05). Both exercise trials led to decreased agitation (p ≤ 0.05). Exercise prior to sitting led to greater peace of mind during sedentary behavior (p ≤ 0.05). Just being fit or exercising prior to sedentary behavior are not feasible to cope with acute detrimental metabolic changes during sedentary behavior. Exercise breaks reduce the insulin response to a meal. Despite their vigorous intensity, breaks are perceived as positive stimulus. Detrimental metabolic changes during sedentary time could also be minimized by limiting caloric intake.
Background: ICD-11 features Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) as a new diagnosis. To date, very few studies have investigated CPTSD in young patients, and there is a need for evidence on effective treatment.
Objective: The present study evaluates the applicability of developmentally adapted cognitive processing therapy (D-CPT) for CPTSD in young patients in a secondary analysis of the treatment condition of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigating the efficacy of D-CPT.
Methods: The D-CPT treatment group in the original study included 44 patients (14–21 years) with DSM-IV PTSD after childhood abuse. We used the ICD-11 algorithm to divide the sample into a probable CPTSD and a non-CPTSD group. We performed multilevel models for interviewer-rated and self-rated PTSD symptoms with fixed effects of group (CPTSD, non-CPTSD) and time (up to 12 months follow-up) and their interaction. Treatment response rates for both groups were calculated.
Results: Nineteen (43.2%) patients fulfilled criteria for probable ICD-11 CPTSD while 25 (56.8%) did not. Both CPTSD and non-CPTSD groups showed symptom reduction over time. The CPTSD group reported higher symptom severity before and after treatment. Linear improvement and treatment response rates were similar for both groups. D-CPT reduced symptoms of disturbances in self-regulation in both groups.
Discussion: Both, patients with and without probable ICD-11 CPTSD seemed to benefit from D-CPT and the treatment also reduced disturbances in self-regulation.
Conclusion: This study presents initial evidence of the applicability of D-CPT in clinical practice for young patients with CPTSD. It remains debatable whether CPTSD implies different treatment needs as opposed to PTSD.
Our mind has the function of representing the physical and social world we are in, so that we can efficiently interact with it. This results in a constant and dynamic interaction between mind and world that produces a balance when representations are at the same time accurate with respect to what the world is communicating to our organism, but also compatible with how our mind works.
A paradigmatic case of this interaction is offered by perception, which is the mental function that represents contingent aspects of the world built from what is captured by our senses. Indeed, the dominant philosophical view in cognitive science is that our perceptual states are representations of the world and not direct access to that world. These representational perceptual states therefor include the aspects of the world they represent and that initiate the perception by stimulating our sensory organs.
Perceptual representations are built using information from the sensory system, i.e., bottom-up information, but are also integrated with information previously acquired, i.e., top-down information, so that perception interacts with memory through language and other mental functions. Such organization is believed to reflect a general mechanism of our mind/brain, which is to acquire and use information to make efficient predictions about the future, continuously updating older information with present information.
This predictive processing works because the world is not random, but shows a regular structure from which reliable expectations can be built. One way that our minds make these predictions is by adapting to the structure of the world in an implicit, automatic and unconscious way, a process that has been called Implicit Statistical Learning (ISL). ISL is a learning process that does not require awareness and happens in an incidental and spontaneous way, with mere exposure to statistical regularities of the world. It is what happens when we learn a language during early childhood, and that allows us to be implicitly sensitive to the phonological structure of speech, or to associate speech patterns with objects and events to learn word meaning.
A specific case of ISL is the learning of spatial configuration in the visual world, which we apply to abstract arrays of items, but most importantly, also to more ecological settings such as the visual scenes we are immersed in during our everyday life. The knowledge we acquire about the structure of visual scenes has been called “Scene Grammar”, because it informs about presence and position of objects in a similar way to what linguistic grammar tells us about the presence and position of words. So, we implicitly acquire the semantics of scenes, learning which objects are consistent with a certain scene, as well as the syntax of scenes, learning where objects are positioned in a consistent way within a certain scene.
More recent developments have proposed that scene grammar knowledge might be organized based on a hierarchical system: objects are arranged in the scene, which offers the more general context, but within a scene we can identify different spatial and functional clusters of objects, called “phrases”, that offer a second level of context; within every phrase, then, objects have different status, with usually one object (“anchor object”) offering strong prediction of where and which are the other objects within the phrase (“local objects”). However, these further aspects of the organization of objects In scenes remain poorly understood.
Another problem relates to the way we measure the structure of scenes to compare the organization of the visual world with the organization in the mind. Typically, to decide if an object appears or not in a certain scene, and whether or not it appears in a certain position within a scene, researchers based their decision on intuition and common-sense, maybe validating those decisions with independent raters. But it has been shown that often these decisions can be limited and more complex information about objects’ arrangement in scenes can be lost.
A potential solution to this problem might be using large set of real-world images, that have annotations and segmentations of objects, to measures statistics about how objects are arranged in the environment. This idea exploits the nowadays larger availability of this kind of datasets due to increasing developments of computer vision algorithms, and also parallels with the established usage of large text corpora in language research.
The goals of the current investigation were to extract object statistics from this image datasets and test if they reliably predict behavioural responses during object processing, as well as to use these statistics to investigate more complex aspects of scene grammar, such as its hierarchical organization, to see if this organization is reflected in the organization of objects in our mind.
Mask induced airway resistance and carbon dioxide rebreathing is discussed to impact gas exchange and to induce discomfort and impairments in cognitive performance. N = 23 healthy humans (13 females, 10 males; 23.5 ± 2.1 years) participated in this randomized crossover trial (3 arms, 48-h washout periods). During interventions participants wore either a surgical face mask (SM), a filtering face piece (FFP2) or no mask (NM). Interventions included a 20-min siting period and 20 min steady state cycling on an ergometer at 77% of the maximal heart rate (HR). Hemodynamic data (HR, blood pressure), metabolic outcomes (pulse derived oxygen saturation, capillary carbon dioxide (pCO2), and oxygen partial pressure (pO2), lactate, pH, base excess), subjective response (ability to concentrate, arousal, perceived exertion) and cognitive performance (Stroop Test) were assessed. Compared to NM, both masks increased pCO2 (NM 31.9 ± 3.3 mmHg, SM = 35.2 ± 4.0 mmHg, FFP2 = 34.5 ± 3.8 mmHg, F = 12.670, p < 0.001) and decreased pH (NM = 7.42 ± 0.03, SM = 7.39 ± 0.03, FFP2 = 7.39 ± 0.04, F = 11.4, p < 0.001) during exercise. The FFP2 increased blood pressure during exercise (NM = 158 ± 15 mmHg, SM = 159 ± 16 mmHg, FFP2 = 162 ± 17 mmHg, F = 3.21, p = 0.050), the SM increased HR during sitting (NM = 70 ± 8 bpm, SM = 74 ± 8 bpm, FFP2 = 73 ± 8 bpm, F = 4.70, p = 0.014). No mask showed any comparative effect on other hemodynamic, metabolic, subjective, or cognitive outcomes. Mask wearing leads to slightly increased cardiovascular stress and elevated carbon dioxide levels during exercise but did not affect cognitive performance or wellbeing.
Despite its popularity in practice, the Grit-O Scale has shown inconsistent factorial structures and differing levels of internal consistency in samples outside the USA. The validity of the Grit-O Scale in different contexts is, therefore, questionable. As such, the purpose of this paper was to determine whether the Grit-O Scale could be used as a valid and reliable measure to compare grit across different nations. Specifically, the aim was to investigate the factorial validity, reliability, and concurrent validity of the Grit-O Scale and to investigate measurement invariance across three national cohorts (Europe, the USA, and Hong Kong). Data were gathered from 1888 respondents stemming from one USA- (n = 471), two Hong Kong- (n = 361) and four European (n = 1056) universities. A series of traditional CFA and less restrictive ESEM models were estimated and systematically compared to determine the best factorial form of the Grit-O Scale. The results showed that a bifactor ESEM model, with one general factor of overall grit and two specific factors (consistency of interest and perseverance of effort), fitted the data best, showed strong measurement invariance across the three samples, and showed itself to be a reliable measure. Furthermore, concurrent validity was established by showing that the three grit factors were directly and positively related to task performance. Meaningful latent comparisons between the three cultural cohorts could therefore be made. The results imply that cross-national comparisons of grit may only be problematic when traditional CFA approaches are favoured. In contrast, ESEM modelling approaches may compensate for cross-national differences in understanding grit and control for differences in the interpretation of the scale’s items. Therefore, the bifactor ESEM approach may be more appropriate for cross-cultural and cross-national comparison studies, as it allows for these differences to be meaningfully captured, modelled, and controlled for.
Lexical access speed and the development of phonological recoding during immediate serial recall
(2022)
A recent Registered Replication Report (RRR) of the development of verbal rehearsal during serial recall revealed that children verbalized at younger ages than previously thought, but did not identify sources of individual differences. Here, we use mediation analysis to reanalyze data from the 934 children ranging from 5 to 10 years old from the RRR for that purpose. From ages 5 to 7, the time taken for a child to label pictures (i.e. isolated naming speed) predicted the child’s spontaneous use of labels during a visually presented serial reconstruction task, despite no need for spoken responses. For 6- and 7-year-olds, isolated naming speed also predicted recall. The degree to which verbalization mediated the relation between isolated naming speed and recall changed across development. All relations dissipated by age 10. The same general pattern was observed in an exploratory analysis of delayed recall for which greater demands are placed on rehearsal for item maintenance. Overall, our findings suggest that spontaneous phonological recoding during a standard short-term memory task emerges around age 5, increases in efficiency during the early elementary school years, and is sufficiently automatic by age 10 to support immediate serial recall in most children. Moreover, the findings highlight the need to distinguish between phonological recoding and rehearsal in developmental studies of short-term memory.
Als Ausgangspunkt dieser Arbeit dienen Ansätze, die eine narrative Perspektive für das Verständnis von Psychopathologie und die psychotherapeutische Praxis vorschlagen. Im Hinblick auf die Fragen, welche Vorteile die Analyse von Patient*innenerzählungen bieten kann, und durch welche Merkmale psychopathologische Narrative sich auszeichnen, wird ein Überblick über ausgewählte Fallberichte, empirische Untersuchungen und theoretische Überlegungen gegeben. Diese werden unter den drei Kategorien Kohärenz, „Agency“ und Perspektiven beschrieben. Die Arbeit mag einen Impuls geben, ein tieferes Verständnis für narrative Dysfunktionen zu entwickeln und ihre Ursprünge sowie ihre Bedeutung für psychische Störungen und deren Behandlung vermitteln.
High-intensity functional training (HIFT) has become a popular method in the sports and fitness sector. In contrast to unimodal approaches such as strength or endurance training, it has been hypothesized to induce concurrent adaptations in multiple markers of motor function. However, to date, the effectiveness of HIFT in this regard has not been studied. The present systematic review quantified the chronic effects of HIFT on motor function in healthy individuals. A multilevel meta-analysis with a robust random effects meta-regession model was used to pool the standardized mean differences (SMD) between (a) HIFT and (b) no-exercise (NEX) as well as conventional endurance, resistance and balance training for outcomes of muscle strength, endurance capacity and balance. The influence of possible effect modifiers such as program duration, session duration, age or sex was examined in a moderator analysis. Seventeen papers with moderate to high methodological quality (PEDro scale) were identified. Compared to NEX, HIFT had small to moderate positive effects on endurance capacity (SMD: 0.42, 95% CI 0.07–0.78, p = 0.03) and strength (0.60, 95% CI 0.02–1.18, p = 0.04) but no effect on balance (SMD: − 0.10, 95% CI − 1.13 to 0.92, p = 0.42). Regarding endurance, HIFT showed similar effectiveness as moderate-intensity endurance training (SMD: − 0.11, 95% CI − 1.17 to 0.95, p = 0.75) and high-intensity interval endurance training (SMD: − 0.15, 95% CI − 1.4 to 1.1, p = 0.66). No comparisons of HIFT vs. classical resistance or balance training were found. Moderator analyses revealed no influence of most effect modifiers. However, regarding endurance, females seemed to respond more strongly to HIFT in the comparison to NEX (p < .05). HIFT appears to represent an appropriate method to induce chronic improvements in motor function. While being superior to NEX and non-inferior to endurance training, current evidence does not allow a comparison against resistance and balance training. The impact of possible effect moderators should be further elucidated in future research.
"Autonomy is the condition under which what one does reflects who one is" (Weinrib, 2019, p.8). This quote encapsulates the core idea of autonomy, namely the correspondence of one’s inner values with one’s actions. This is a beautiful idea. After all, who wants their actions to be determined or controlled from the outside?
The classical definition of autonomy is precisely about this independence from external circumstances, which Murray (1938) primarily coined. Among other things, Murray characterizes autonomy as resistance to influence and defiance of authority. Similarly, Piaget (1983) describes individuals as autonomous, independent of external influences, in their thinking and actions, and foremost, adult authority. Subsequent work criticized this equation of autonomy with separation or independence (Bekker, 1993; Chirkov et al., 2003; Hmel & Pincus, 2002). In lieu thereof, autonomy is defined as an ability (Chirkov, 2011; Rössler, 2017) and as an essential human need (Ryan & Deci, 2006). Focus is now
on self-governing while relying on rationally determined values to pursue a happy life (Chirkov, 2011). According to Social Determination Theory (SDT), autonomy is about a sense of initiative and responsibility for one’s own actions. The experience of interest and appreciation can strengthen autonomy, whereas experiences of external control, e.g., through rewards or punishments, limit autonomy (Ryan & Deci, 2020). In the psychological discourse of autonomy, SDT is strongly represented (Chirkov et al., 2003; Koestner & Losier, 1996; Weinstein et al., 2012). Notably, SDT distinguishes between autonomy and independence as follows. While a person can autonomously ask for help or rely on others, a person can also be involuntarily alone and independent. Interestingly, these definitions are again closer to its etymological meaning as self-governing, originating from Greek αυτòνoμζ (autonomous).
The two strands of autonomy as independence and autonomy as self-determination are also reflected in the vital differentiation into reactive and reflective autonomy by Koestner and Losier (1996). Resisting external influence, particularly interpersonal in fluence, is what reactive autonomy entails. This interpretation is closely related to the classical concept of autonomy as separation and independence from others (Murray, 1938). On the other hand, reflective autonomy concerns intrapersonal processes, such as self-governing or self-regulation, as defined in Self-Determination Theory (Ryan et al., 2021). In this dissertation, we investigated the concept in three different approaches while focusing on its assessment and operationalization: To begin, in Article 1, we compared the layperson’s and the scientific perspective to each other to gain insight into the characteristics of autonomy. Then, in Articles 2 and 3, we experimentally tested behavioral autonomy as resistance to external influences. Simultaneously, we investigated the link between various autonomy trait measures and autonomous behavior. As a result, in Article 2, we looked at how people reacted to the effects of message framing and sender authority on social distancing behavior during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, in Article 3 we investigated the resistance to a descriptive norm in answering factual questions, in the context of autonomous personality. In our first article, we used a semi-qualitative bottom-up approach to gain insights into the laypersons’ perspective on autonomy and compare it to the scientific notion. We followed a design proposed by Kraft-Todd and Rand (2019) on the term heroism. We derived five components from philosophical and psychological literature: dignity, independence from others, morality, self-awareness, and unconventionality. In three preregistered online studies, we compared these scientific components to the laypersons’ understanding of autonomy. In Study 1, participants (N = 222) listed at least three and up to ten examples of autonomous (self-determined) behaviors. Here, the participants named 807 meaningful examples, which we systematically categorized into 34 representative items for Study 2. Next, new participants (N = 114) rated these regarding their autonomy. Finally, we transferred the five highest-rated autonomy and the five lowest-rated autonomy items to Study 3 (N = 175). We asked participants to rate how strongly the items represented dignity, independence from others, morality, self-awareness, and unconventionality. We found all components to distinguish between high and low autonomy items but not for unconventionality. Thus, we conclude that laypersons’ view corresponds with the scientific characteristics of dignity, independence from others, self-awareness, and morality. A qualitative analysis of the examples also showed that both reactive and reflective definitions of autonomy are prevalent.
The implications of telework are discussed controversially and research on its positive and negative effects has produced contradictory results. We explore voluntariness of employee telework as a boundary condition which may underpin these contradictory findings. Under normal circumstances, individuals who do more telework should perceive fewer disadvantages. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, employees could no longer voluntarily choose to telecommute, as many organizations were forced to introduce telework by governmental regulations. In two studies, we examine whether the voluntary nature of telework moderates the association between the amount of telework and perceptions of disadvantage. In Study 1, we collected data before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 327). Results show that pre-pandemic participants (who were more likely to voluntarily choose this form of work) reported fewer disadvantages the more telework they did, but this was not the case for employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. To validate these findings, we measured employees’ voluntariness of telework in Study 2 (N = 220). Results support the importance of voluntariness: Individuals who experience a high degree of voluntariness in choosing telework perceive fewer disadvantages the more they telework. However, the amount of telework was not related to reduced perceptions of disadvantages for those who experienced low voluntariness regarding the telecommuting arrangement. Our findings help to understand when telework is related to the perception of disadvantages and they can provide organizations with starting points for practical interventions to reduce the negative effects of telework.
The implications of telework are discussed controversially and research on its positive and negative effects has produced contradictory results. We explore voluntariness of employee telework as a boundary condition which may underpin these contradictory findings. Under normal circumstances, individuals who do more telework should perceive fewer disadvantages. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, employees could no longer voluntarily choose to telecommute, as many organizations were forced to introduce telework by governmental regulations. In two studies, we examine whether the voluntary nature of telework moderates the association between the amount of telework and perceptions of disadvantage. In Study 1, we collected data before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 327). Results show that pre-pandemic participants (who were more likely to voluntarily choose this form of work) reported fewer disadvantages the more telework they did, but this was not the case for employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. To validate these findings, we measured employees’ voluntariness of telework in Study 2 (N = 220). Results support the importance of voluntariness: Individuals who experience a high degree of voluntariness in choosing telework perceive fewer disadvantages the more they telework. However, the amount of telework was not related to reduced perceptions of disadvantages for those who experienced low voluntariness regarding the telecommuting arrangement. Our findings help to understand when telework is related to the perception of disadvantages and they can provide organizations with starting points for practical interventions to reduce the negative effects of telework.
In the application of range of motion (ROM) tests there is little agreement on the number of repetitions to be measured and the number of preceding warm-up protocols. In stretch training a plateau in ROM gains can be seen after four to five repetitions. With increasing number of repetitions, the gain in ROM is reduced. This study examines the question of whether such an effect occurs in common ROM tests. Twenty-two healthy sport students (10 m/12 f.) with an average age of 25.3 ± 1.94 years (average height 174.1 ± 9.8 cm; weight 66.6 ± 11.3 kg and BMI 21.9 ± 2.0 kg/cm2) volunteered in this study. Each subject performed five ROM tests in a randomized order—measured either via a tape measure or a digital inclinometer: Tape measure was used to evaluate the Fingertip-to-Floor test (FtF) and the Lateral Inclination test (LI). Retroflexion of the trunk modified after Janda (RF), Thomas test (TT) and a Shoulder test modified after Janda (ST) were evaluated with a digital inclinometer. In order to show general acute effects within 20 repetitions we performed ANOVA/Friedman-test with multiple comparisons. A non-linear regression was then performed to identify a plateau formation. Significance level was set at 5%. In seven out of eight ROM tests (five tests in total with three tests measured both left and right sides) significant flexibility gains were observed (FtF: p < 0.001; LI-left/right: p < 0.001/0.001; RF: p = 0.009; ST-left/right: p < 0.001/p = 0.003; TT-left: p < 0.001). A non-linear regression with random effects was successfully applied on FtF, RF, LI-left/right, ST-left and TT-left and thus, indicate a gradual decline in the amount of gained ROM. An acute effect was observed in most ROM tests, which is characterized by a gradual decline of ROM gain. For those tests, we can state that the acute effect described in the stretching literature also applies to the performance of typical ROM tests. Since a non-linear behavior was shown, it is the decision of the practitioner to weigh up between measurement accuracy and expenditure. Researchers and practitioners should consider this when applying ROM assessments to healthy young adults.
This cross-sectional study examined gender differences between male- and female-typed housework during the early COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020. Participants in Germany, India, Nigeria, and South Africa (N = 823) rated their housework share before and during the lockdown, then speculated about the division of housework performed by men and women in general, before and post-lockdown. Women spent more time on female-typed tasks and men (in Nigeria and South Africa) on male-typed tasks before and during the lockdown. Irrespective of participants’ gender, they speculated that men's and women's housework was more pronounced post-lockdown than before, but we only found gender differences in South Africa and India. Gender role ideology (GRI) moderated the gender‒housework relationship in Germany, but gender did not moderate the paid work hours and housework relationship in any country. Our findings suggest that gendered housework persisted in these countries and raises concerns that this pattern is likely to continue post-lockdown.
Childhood and adolescent sexual abuse (CSA) is a traumatic experience associated with a variety of short- and long-term negative consequences. Theoretical models assume that an abuse related and learned distorted image of sexuality might lead CSA survivors to feel obligated to provide sex or engage in unwanted sexual practices in order to gain affection or prevent abandonment. Dialectical behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (DBT-PTSD) is tailored to people with PTSD and comorbid emotion regulation deficits. This case study presents the results of an outpatient DBT-PTSD treatment of an adult patient with posttraumatic stress disorder following sexual and physical abuse. DBT-PTSD was used to treat the patient’s complex psychopathological problems and to decrease her risky sexual behavior, which manifested itself in highly dangerous sexual practices with her partner. The treatment took place over a period of 18 months, with a total of 72 sessions. At the end of the treatment, the patient no longer met criteria for PTSD as indicated by large reductions in the assessments used. Furthermore, she managed to distance herself from risky sexual practices and to remain in a satisfying relationship.
This review provides an overview of the current state of research concerning the role of mental imagery (MI) in mental disorders and evaluates treatment methods for changing MI in childhood. A systematic literature search using PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, and PsycINFO from 1872 to September 2020 was conducted. Fourteen studies were identified investigating MI, and fourteen studies were included referring to interventions for changing MI. Data from the included studies was entered into a data extraction sheet. The methodological quality was then evaluated. MI in childhood is vivid, frequent, and has a significant influence on cognitions and behavior in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and depression. The imagery’s perspective might mediate the effect of MI on the intensity of anxiety. Imagery rescripting, emotive imagery, imagery rehearsal therapy, and rational-emotive therapy with imagery were found to have significant effects on symptoms of anxiety disorders and nightmares. In childhood, MI seems to contribute to the maintenance of SAD, PTSD, and depression. If adapted to the developmental stages of children, interventions targeting MI are effective in the treatment of mental disorders.
Mental imagery is a transdiagnostic feature that has been increasingly researched in mental disorders in the past years. This study is the first to investigate mental imagery in individuals suffering from Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD), a new disorder which will be included into the new edition of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11).
Our objective was to find out to what extent patients suffering from PGD differ from healthy, but equally bereaved, controls in terms of mental imagery, and how mental imagery is related to psychopathology. Patients with PGD and matched bereaved healthy controls (n = 54) completed a mental imagery questionnaire specifically designed for the study, and other established measures of psychopathology. Patients suffering from PGD reported mental images more frequently, had less control over them, and described negative images as more vivid than did healthy controls. Also, in reaction to mental images, patients less frequently experienced joy, but more often grief, anger and guilt. Besides these group differences, significant correlations between mental imagery other psychopathological measures could be found. Mental imagery is clearly related to PGD. The underlying mechanisms on whether it is a developing or maintaining factor need to be addressed in future studies. Future research should also investigate in what way mental imagery might be used in therapeutic approaches.
Based on the stressor-detachment model, previous research has assumed that work-related ICT use in the evening impairs psychological detachment. However, since most of the studies to date have assessed cross-sectional relationships, little is known about the actual direction of effects. In this 5-day diary study, we implemented a day-level longitudinal model to shed light on the causal relationships between work-related ICT use, detachment, and task progress (N = 340 employees, N = 1289 day-level cases). We also investigated the role of unfinished work tasks because we assumed, based on boundary theory, that they are a driving force leading to impaired detachment and work-related ICT use in the evening. Contrary to current research consensus but in line with our expectations, we found that low psychological detachment increased work-related ICT use and task progress. We found no evidence for reversed lagged effects. These results applied both to planned and unplanned ICT use. Furthermore, our results support the notion that unfinished work tasks precede ICT use and detachment. Thus, our findings suggest that work-related ICT use should not be treated as a stressor in its own right in the stressor-detachment model. Instead, it needs to be investigated as a behavioral outcome that employees engage in when they cannot detach from work.
Many sports employ caloric restriction (CR) to reduce athletes’ body mass. During these phases, resistance training (RT) volume is often reduced to accommodate recovery demands. Since RT volume is a well-known anabolic stimulus, this review investigates whether a higher training volume helps to spare lean mass during CR. A total of 15 studies met inclusion criteria. The extracted data allowed calculation of total tonnage lifted (repetitions × sets × intensity load) or weekly sets per muscle group for only 4 of the 15 studies, with RT volume being highly dependent on the examined muscle group as well as weekly training frequency per muscle group. Studies involving high RT volume programs (≥ 10 weekly sets per muscle group) revealed low-to-no (mostly female) lean mass loss. Additionally, studies increasing RT volume during CR over time appeared to demonstrate no-to-low lean mass loss when compared to studies reducing RT volume. Since data regarding RT variables applied were incomplete in most of the included studies, evidence is insufficient to conclude that a higher RT volume is better suited to spare lean mass during CR, although data seem to favor higher volumes in female athletes during CR. Moreover, the data appear to suggest that increasing RT volume during CR over time might be more effective in ameliorating CR-induced atrophy in both male and female resistance-trained athletes when compared to studies reducing RT volume. The effects of CR on lean mass sparing seem to be mediated by training experience, pre-diet volume, and energy deficit, with, on average, women tending to spare more lean mass than men. Potential explanatory mechanisms for enhanced lean mass sparing include a preserved endocrine milieu as well as heightened anabolic signaling.
Innovation is considered essential for today's organizations to survive and thrive. Researchers have also stressed the importance of leadership as a driver of followers' innovative work behavior (FIB). Yet, despite a large amount of research, three areas remain understudied: (a) The relative importance of different forms of leadership for FIB; (b) the mechanisms through which leadership impacts FIB; and (c) the degree to which relationships between leadership and FIB are generalizable across cultures. To address these lacunae, we propose an integrated model connecting four types of positive leadership behaviors, two types of identification (as mediating variables), and FIB. We tested our model in a global data set comprising responses of N = 7,225 participants from 23 countries, grouped into nine cultural clusters. Our results indicate that perceived LMX quality was the strongest relative predictor of FIB. Furthermore, the relationships between both perceived LMX quality and identity leadership with FIB were mediated by social identification. The indirect effect of LMX on FIB via social identification was stable across clusters, whereas the indirect effects of the other forms of leadership on FIB via social identification were stronger in countries high versus low on collectivism. Power distance did not influence the relations.
Objectives: Interpersonal factors, such as impairments in social interaction or lack of social support, have an important share when it comes to the development, maintenance, and progression of various mental disorders.
Methods: Individuals suffering from prolonged grief disorder (PGD) and matched bereaved healthy controls (n = 54) underwent a thorough diagnostic procedure, further completed the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-D-32), and participated in a finitely iterated prisoner's dilemma (FIPD).
Results: Individuals suffering from PGD reported significantly more interpersonal problems. Both groups behaved differently in the FIPD with healthy controls being more carefully, adapting their behavior more flexible, whereas PGD patients displayed a lower responsiveness, which may indicate an inability to adapt to changes in relationships.
Conclusion: We conclude that interpersonal problems appear to be a relevant feature of PGD. Future studies need to clarify the causal relation behind this link, and should also include measures of attachment, social support, and disconnectedness.
Research on collective resilience processes still lacks a detailed understanding of psychological mechanisms at work when groups cope with adverse conditions, i.e., long-term processes, and how such mechanisms affect physical and mental well-being. As collective resilience will play a crucial part in facing looming climate change-related events such as floods, it is important to investigate these processes further. To this end, this study takes a novel holistic approach by combining resilience research, social psychology, and an archeological perspective to investigate the role of social identity as a collective resilience factor in the past and present. We hypothesize that social identification buffers against the negative effects of environmental threats in participants, which increases somatic symptoms related to stress, in a North Sea region historically prone to floods. A cross-sectional study (N = 182) was conducted to analyze the moderating effects of social identification on the relations between perceived threat of North Sea floods and both well-being and life satisfaction. The results support our hypothesis that social identification attenuates the relationship between threat perception and well-being, such that the relation is weaker for more strongly identified individuals. Contrary to our expectations, we did not find this buffering effect to be present for life satisfaction. Future resilience studies should further explore social identity as a resilience factor and how it operates in reducing environmental stress put on individuals and groups. Further, to help communities living in flood-prone areas better cope with future environmental stress, we recommend implementing interventions strengthening their social identities and hence collective resilience.