scholarly journals Are Autistic and Alexithymic Traits Distinct? A Factor-Analytic and Network Approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélio Clemente Cuve ◽  
Jennifer Murphy ◽  
Hannah Hobson ◽  
Eri Ichijo ◽  
Caroline Catmur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Network Approach ◽  
Factor Analytic ◽  
Separate Condition ◽  
Network Approaches ◽  
Socioemotional Difficulties

AbstractDespite the heterogeneity in autism, socioemotional difficulties are often framed as universal. Increasing evidence, however, suggests that socioemotional difficulties may be explained by alexithymia, a distinct yet frequently co-occurring condition. If, as some propose, autistic traits are responsible for socioemotional impairments, then alexithymia may itself be a symptom of autism. We aimed to determine whether alexithymia should be considered a product of autism or regarded as a separate condition. Using factor-analytic and network approaches, we provide evidence that alexithymic and autistic traits are distinct. We argue that: (1) models of socioemotional processing in autism should conceptualise difficulties as intrinsic to alexithymia; and (2) assessment of alexithymia is crucial for diagnosis and personalised interventions.

scholarly journals Are Autistic and Alexithymic Traits Distinct? A Factor-Analytic and Network Approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helio Clemente Cuve ◽  
Jennifer Murphy ◽  
Hannah Hobson ◽  
Eri Ichijo ◽  
Caroline Catmur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Network Approach ◽  
Factor Analytic ◽  
Separate Condition ◽  
Network Approaches ◽  
Socioemotional Difficulties

Despite the heterogeneity in autism, socioemotional difficulties are often framed as universal. Increasing evidence, however, suggests socioemotional difficulties may be explained by alexithymia, a distinct yet frequently co-occurring condition. If, as some propose, autistic traits are responsible for socioemotional impairments, then alexithymia may itself be a symptom of autism. We aimed to determine whether alexithymia should be considered a product of autism or regarded as a separate condition. Using factor-analytic and network approaches, we provide evidence that alexithymic and autistic traits are distinct. We argue that: 1) models of socioemotional processing in autism should conceptualise difficulties as intrinsic to alexithymia; and 2) assessment of alexithymia is crucial for diagnosis and personalised interventions.

scholarly journals Comparing Discourse and Policy Network Approaches: Evidence from Water Policy on Micropollutants

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Schaub ◽  
Florence Metz
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Policy Networks ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
Policy Network ◽  
Network Approach ◽  
Coalition Structures ◽  
Network Approaches ◽  
Policy Proposals

To understand how actors make collective policy decisions, scholars use policy and discourse network approaches to analyze interdependencies among actors. While policy networks often build on survey data, discourse networks typically use media data to capture the beliefs or policy preferences shared by actors. One of the reasons for the variety of data sources is that discourse data can be more accessible to researchers than survey data (or vice versa). In order to make an informed decision on valid data sources, researchers need to understand how differences in data sources may affect results. As this remains largely unexplored, we analyze the differences and similarities between policy and discourse networks. We systematically compare policy networks with discourse networks in respect of the types of actors participating in them, the policy proposals actors advocate and their coalition structures. For the policy field of micropollutants in surface waters in Germany, we observe only small differences between the results obtained using the policy and discourse network approaches. We find that the discourse network approach particularly emphasizes certain actor types, i.e., expanders who seek to change the policy status quo. The policy network approach particularly reflects electoral interests, since preferences for policies targeting voters are less visible. Finally, different observation periods reveal some smaller differences in the coalition structures within the discourse network. Beyond these small differences, both approaches come to largely congruent results with regards to actor types, policy preferences and coalition structures. In our case, the use of discourse and policy network approaches lead to similar conclusions regarding the study of policy processes.

scholarly journals Network Approaches to Representing and Understanding Personality Dynamics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emorie D Beck ◽  
Joshua James Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Systems ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Personality Structure ◽  
Dynamic Systems Theory ◽  
Network Approach ◽  
Structure And Dynamics ◽  
Idiographic Approach ◽  
History Of ◽  
Nomothetic Approach ◽  
Network Approaches

From its emergence at the beginning of the 20th century, personality scientists pursued two goals – a nomothetic approach that investigated the structure of individual differences between people in a population and an idiographic approach that explored variation within a person relative to him or herself. Implicit in both was an assumption that dynamic processes underlay the emergence of personality within and across people, but available methods at the time precluded testing dynamic questions. In this chapter, we first track the how the history of both nomothetic idiographic perspectives impacted the study of personality structure and dynamics. Next, we review findings and unanswered contemporary questions regarding nomothetic and idiographic structure, processes, and dynamics. Finally, we conclude by arguing for an idiographic network approach to understanding personality based in dynamic systems theory. We provide both theoretical questions for future research, some of which were proposed by early personality theorists but progressed slowly due to a lack of adequate methods, as well as cutting-edge techniques for actually testing them. We believe these methods capable of moving the study of personality dynamics – and personality more broadly -- forward.

How a network approach has advanced the field of plant invasion ecology.

2020 ◽  
pp. 324-339
Author(s):  
Carine Emer ◽  
◽  
Sérgio Timóteo ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Plant Invasion ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Plant Invasions ◽  
Network Approach ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Network Approaches ◽  
Plant Herbivore

Every organism on Earth, whether in natural or anthropogenic environments, is connected to a complex web of life, the famous 'entangled bank' coined by Darwin in 1859. Non-native species can integrate into local 'banks' by establishing novel associations with the resident species. In that context, network ecology has been an important tool to study the interactions of non-native species and the effects on recipient communities due to its ability to simultaneously investigate the assembly and disassembly of species interactions as well as their functional roles. Its visually appealing tools and relatively simple metrics gained momentum among scientists and are increasingly applied in different areas of ecology, from the more theoretical grounds to applied research on restoration and conservation. A network approach helps us to understand how plant invasions may or may not form novel species associations, how they change the structure of invaded communities, the outcomes for ecosystem functionality and, ultimately, the implications for the conservation of ecological interactions. Networks have been widely used on pollination studies, especially from temperate zones, unveiling their nested patterns and the mechanisms by which non-native plants integrate into local communities. Yet, very few papers have used network approaches to assess plant invasion effects in other systems such as plant-herbivore, plant-pathogen or seed-dispersal processes. Here we describe how joining network ecology with plant invasion biology started and how it has developed over the last few decades. We show the extent of its contribution, despite contradictory results and biases, to a better understanding of the role of non-native plant species in shaping community structure. Finally, we explore how it can be further improved to answer emerging questions.

scholarly journals M83. AUTISTIC TRAITS AS LINKING PIN TO SOCIAL FUNCTIONING IN PSYCHOSIS: A NETWORK APPROACH

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S166-S166
Author(s):  
Tim Ziermans ◽  
Adela-Maria Isvoranu ◽  
Frederike Schirmbeck ◽  
Hilde Geurts ◽  
Lieuwe De Haan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Functioning ◽  
Psychotic Disorders ◽  
Familial Risk ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Autism Spectrum Quotient ◽  
Network Approach ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Clinical Awareness

Abstract Background Both psychotic and autistic traits are related to poor social outcome in individuals with psychotic disorders (PD). However, it is unknown how specific trait clusters relate to each other and which are pivotal to social functioning. The aim of the present study was to use a network approach to address this issue and to investigate whether relations are similar in individuals with a familial risk for psychosis (FR) or typical comparisons (TC). Methods The total sample consisted of 1413 individuals (504 PD, 572 FR, and 337 TC). Traits were assessed with the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ; 5 nodes) and the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE; 9 nodes). Social functioning was measured with the Social Functioning Scale (7 nodes). Results Overall our results show that autistic traits are more negatively and closely related to social functioning, particularly in the interpersonal environment, than psychotic traits. These relations are more intrinsically connected for the PD network, as more and stronger connections between nodes were observed than for the FR and TC networks. In addition, the latter two networks appeared strikingly similar with only few unique relations. Discussion Presence of autistic traits generally have a negative effect on social functioning, but in PD they may have a disproportional detrimental effect on psychopathology and levels of social functioning. These findings emphasize the need for increased clinical awareness of autistic comorbidity in psychotic patients to help enrich their daily social environments.

scholarly journals More than the sum of its parts: Merging network psychometrics and network neuroscience with application in autism

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Joe Bathelt ◽  
Hilde M. Geurts ◽  
Denny Borsboom
Keyword(s):  
Data Exchange ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Psychological Phenomena ◽  
Brain Level ◽  
Social Difficulties ◽  
Brain Data ◽  
Network Approaches ◽  
Network Neuroscience

Abstract Network approaches that investigate the interaction between symptoms or behaviours have opened new ways of understanding psychological phenomena in health and disorder. In parallel, network approaches that characterise the interaction between brain regions have become the dominant approach in neuroimaging research. Combining these parallel approaches would enable new insights into the interaction between behaviours and their brain-level correlates. In this paper, we introduce a methodology for combining network psychometrics and network neuroscience. This approach utilises the information from the psychometric network to obtain neural correlates for each node in the psychometric network (network-based regression). We illustrate the approach by highlighting the interaction between autistic traits and their resting-state functional associations. To this end, we utilise data from 172 male autistic participants (10–21 years) from the autism brain data exchange (ABIDE, ABIDE-II). Our results indicate that the network-based regression approach can uncover both unique and shared neural correlates of behavioural measures. In addition, the methodology enables us to isolate mechanisms at the brain-level that are unique to particular behavioural variables. For instance, our example analysis indicates that the overlap between communication and social difficulties is not reflected in the overlap between their functional correlates.

Network Analysis of Psychopathology: Controversies and Challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. McNally
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
First Century ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Network Approach ◽  
Central Idea ◽  
Network Approaches

Empirical publications inspired by the network approach to psychopathology have increased exponentially in the twenty-first century. The central idea that an episode of mental disorder arises from causal interactions among its symptomatic elements has especially resonated with those clinical scientists whose disenchantment with traditional categorical and dimensional approaches to mental illness have become all too apparent. As the field has matured, conceptual and statistical concerns about the limitations of network approaches to psychopathology have emerged, inspiring the development of novel methods to address these concerns. Rather than reviewing the vast empirical literature, I focus instead on the issues and controversies regarding this approach and sketch directions where the field might go next. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, Volume 17 is May 7, 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

The network structure of schizotypy in a population-based sample

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Dodell-Feder ◽  
Abhishek Saxena ◽  
Lauren Rutter ◽  
Laura Germine
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Network Approach ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Personality Organization ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Network Approaches

Outcomes for people with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSDs) are generally poor making it important to understand risk states and illness transition. The network approach, which conceptualizes psychopathology as a network of causally interacting symptoms, may hold promise in this regard. Here, we present a network analysis of schizotypy—the personality organization involving schizophrenia-like phenomena that is thought to index one’s vulnerability for an SSD—using an international, population-based sample. In line with other research, we find that the schizotypy network is densely connected, characterized by three communities of items with interpersonal and disorganized features exhibiting the greatest centrality and predictability. Further, we find network differences between certain groups differing in levels of SSD risk. Together, these findings demonstrate the utility of using network approaches to understand SSD risk states as well as the replicability of network findings on schizotypy and related SSD risk concepts.

How a network approach has advanced the field of plant invasion ecology.

2020 ◽  
pp. 324-339
Author(s):  
Carine Emer ◽  
Sérgio Timóteo
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Plant Invasion ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Plant Invasions ◽  
Network Approach ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Network Approaches ◽  
Plant Herbivore

Abstract Every organism on Earth, whether in natural or anthropogenic environments, is connected to a complex web of life, the famous 'entangled bank' coined by Darwin in 1859. Non-native species can integrate into local 'banks' by establishing novel associations with the resident species. In that context, network ecology has been an important tool to study the interactions of non-native species and the effects on recipient communities due to its ability to simultaneously investigate the assembly and disassembly of species interactions as well as their functional roles. Its visually appealing tools and relatively simple metrics gained momentum among scientists and are increasingly applied in different areas of ecology, from the more theoretical grounds to applied research on restoration and conservation. A network approach helps us to understand how plant invasions may or may not form novel species associations, how they change the structure of invaded communities, the outcomes for ecosystem functionality and, ultimately, the implications for the conservation of ecological interactions. Networks have been widely used on pollination studies, especially from temperate zones, unveiling their nested patterns and the mechanisms by which non-native plants integrate into local communities. Yet, very few papers have used network approaches to assess plant invasion effects in other systems such as plant-herbivore, plant-pathogen or seed-dispersal processes. Here we describe how joining network ecology with plant invasion biology started and how it has developed over the last few decades. We show the extent of its contribution, despite contradictory results and biases, to a better understanding of the role of non-native plant species in shaping community structure. Finally, we explore how it can be further improved to answer emerging questions.

scholarly journals Ординація та сітьовий аналіз угруповань павуків

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-77
Author(s):  
O. M. Kunakh
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Community Analysis ◽  
Community Formation ◽  
Network Approach ◽  
Network Representation ◽  
Structure Description ◽  
Animal Community ◽  
Network Approaches

The network approach is proposed to study the animal community with herpetobiont spiders of Dnipropetrovsk region as an example. The network representation is an alternative of an ordination paradigm in community structure description. The advantages of the network approaches in animal community analysis are shown. The possible directions of the herpetobiont spiders community formation of the steepe zone ofUkraine have been found. The effect of the forests on the steepe animals community is shown.

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