Cyberbullying, metacognition, and quality of life: preliminary findings from the Longitudinal Adolescent Brain Study (LABS)

Cyberbullying contributes to poor mental health outcomes and quality of life (QoL), and peer victimisation has been shown to be positively associated with both positive and negative metacognition. Whilst metacognitive beliefs are associated with pathological worry, obsessive–compulsive symptoms, and rumination in depression, research is yet to examine whether metacognitive beliefs influence negative outcomes, such as reduced QoL, associated with experiences of cyberbullying. This study examines whether cybervictimisation, cyberbullying and metacognition play predictive roles in QoL, and if metacognition mediates any association between cybervictimisation, cyberbullying and QoL over time. Participants in the Longitudinal Adolescent Brain Study (LABS), aged 12 years and in grade 7, who had completed up to four assessment time-points (T) were included in this analysis: T1: N = 65; T2: N = 61; T3: N = 56; T4: N = 44. Structural equation modeling revealed significant associations between cyberbullying, cybervictimisation, metacognitive beliefs, and QoL. However, mediation analysis showed that only cognitive confidence acted as a partial mediator between cybervictimisation and QoL. The results suggest those who were more frequently cybervictimised had reduced confidence in their memory, which resulted in lower QoL. In addition, uncontrollability/danger and superstition, punishment, and responsibility were all negatively associated with QoL, indicating that as these metacognitive beliefs increased, QoL decreased. Our findings highlight the detrimental impact that cybervictimisation experiences can have on QoL in young people over time, and that some forms of metacognitive beliefs can also impact QoL. These findings can inform educators and health professionals on the importance of metacognition in regard to QoL over time, particularly in those who experience cybervictimisation.

Progressing the construct of enjoyment: conceptualizing enjoyment as a proactive process

Enjoyment is an important psychological construct in many life domains. Despite the importance of the construct, conceptual clarity in what enjoyment is remains elusive. The elusive understanding of enjoyment is probably caused by conceptual ambiguity of the construct and a confusion in the public usage between hedonic and eudaimonic qualities of positive feelings. The hedonic quality of positive feelings (e.g., fun) reflects the simple attainment of desires; whereas the eudaimonic quality of positive feelings (e.g., joy) reflects fulfilling or realizing one’s true nature through full functioning of one’s ability. To better understand this important construct of enjoyment, we conducted a focused review of relevant literature. In the first section, relevant literature was reviewed to identify conceptual ambiguities contributing to why enjoyment has remained an elusive construct in research. In the second section, an operational conceptualization of enjoyment was proposed from integrative perspectives to overcome the identified issues. We proposed operationally conceptualizing enjoyment as a proactive behavioral and psychological process towards the eudaimonic or hedonic qualities of positive feelings. In this process, the individual appraises the situation in a positive way and commits oneself to savoring the situation and engaging in the task to have positive feelings of joy and fun. We explained why the operational conceptualization is important and useful from theoretical, empirical, and practical perspectives. In doing so, we also proposed possible future research directions with the operational conceptualization of enjoyment.

Intolerance of uncertainty predicts fear of healthcare settings but not desire for testing during the novel coronavirus pandemic

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused unprecedented uncertainty, and differences in how people cope with this uncertainty will influence the cost of viral pandemics to both individuals and society. The personality trait of intolerance of uncertainty (IU), defined as a dispositional fear of the unknown, has been linked to higher health anxiety and fear of the virus. Although IU may increase the desire for medical information and treatment, during pandemics, this might be weighed against the risk of becoming infected while in a healthcare setting. We examined whether people with higher IU report greater fear of healthcare settings, and show more desire to be tested for the virus. Residents of the United States (n = 149) were surveyed in early May 2020, while most states had active stay-at-home orders. Higher prospective but not inhibitory IU predicted more fear of healthcare settings. The largest effect size, however, was for fear of leaving the home, indicating a general tendency toward fear and avoidance. Fear of leaving the home, perceiving the virus as dangerous, access to testing, and having symptoms were significant predictors of desire for testing.

The influence of attachment style on interpersonal learning in substance use psychotherapy groups

Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) are prevalent, long-term conditions, commonly treated via group intervention. Additionally, interpersonal learning (IL) is a therapeutic factor unique to group treatment programs, which has been associated with successful group therapy outcomes. While previous research has suggested attachment styles may predict experiences of IL within groups, research in this area is limited. Therefore, this study aims to investigate if attachment style impacts IL, within SUD group treatment programs and specifically, if anxious and avoidant attachment styles influence IL. Participants (N = 38) were recruited voluntarily from an outpatient SUD open group therapy program at a private mental health hospital in Sydney. All participants completed paper-based self-report questionnaires to assess attachment style and IL. Two separate Multiple Linear Regressions (MLRs) revealed anxious attachment was not a significant predictor of IL and avoidant attachment was a significant, negative predictor of IL. Additionally, thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed themes and behaviours which may improve IL. Thus, future directions and implications of the study’s findings indicate the need to conduct additional research into members attachment-based needs to enhance SUD group treatment outcomes.

Feasibility of an adjunctive cognitive task in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder

Visuospatial cognitive tasks that influence memory reconsolidation may be of benefit in reducing intrusive memories for traumatic events when used as an adjunct to trauma-focused psychotherapy. We conducted a feasibility assessment of a protocol that involved the use of a visuospatial cognitive task, the Tetris intervention, alongside routine exposure-based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants were inpatients attending for PTSD treatment at a psychiatric hospital. The Tetris intervention was administered on three occasions when imaginal exposure had formed part of the treatment session. Using a phone app, participants also monitored intrusive memories over a 3-week period. Feasibility outcomes were fully met for the demand, implementation, practicality and adaptability criteria. Only a single criterion was not met for each of the acceptability and implementation criteria. Limited-efficacy testing outcomes are also discussed. Overall, the findings from our feasibility study indicated viability of the protocol, which involved implementation of the Tetris intervention alongside routine exposure-based treatment for PTSD, in a clinical inpatient setting.

Deception in everyday life of Japanese young adults: a reanalysis

Very little research has focused on the subject of lying in everyday life, despite the benefits such study would provide. In this paper, we reanalyze the data from Murai’s work in 2000, which examined the telling of lies and the perception of being lied to in daily life by using a diary method in which participants recorded events in a diary for a certain period of time as directed by the researcher. Our reanalysis led us to three key findings. First, we found one prolific liar in the data. This is relevant because previous deception studies have only discussed the existence of “a few prolific liars” in Asia through one-shot surveys, whereas we confirm it through the reanalysis of the data collected by the diary method. Second, we did not find any significant rank correlation between the number of lies told and the number of perceptions of lies, nor was there evidence of any “prolific lie perceivers”. Third, we found that the mean percentage of the subjective accuracy of recording was roughly 80%, which demonstrates the accuracy of the diary method. In this paper, we report our findings, discuss the limitations (in particular, the small sample size), and mention future research directions using the diary method in deception studies.

Do we still need psychological self-report questionnaires in the age of the Internet of Things?

Digital data are abundantly available for researchers in the age of the Internet of Things. In the psychological and psychiatric sciences such data can be used in myriad ways to obtain insights into mental states and traits. Most importantly, such data allow researchers to record and analyze behavior in a real-world context, a scientific approach which was expensive and difficult to conduct until only recently. Much research in recent years linked digital footprints to self-report questionnaire data, likely to demonstrate proof of concept(s)—for instance linking socializing on the smartphone to self-reported extraversion (a personality trait linked to socializing)—in the sciences investigating the human mind. The present perspective piece reflects on this approach by revisiting recent work which has been carried out mining smartphone log and social media data and questions if and when self-report data will still be of relevance in psychological/psychiatric research in the near future.

Factors associated with depression and anxiety in the adult population of Qatar after the first COVID-19 wave: a cross-sectional study

There is limited data from Arabic-speaking countries on risk factors for depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Country-specific data is necessary given differences in culture, demographics, and COVID-19 infection and mortality rates. The main purpose of the study is to identify the factors associated with symptoms of depression-anxiety in the adult population of Qatar during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey in Qatar between July and December 2020 after Qatar’s first COVID-19 wave and before the beginning of the second wave. Depression-anxiety was defined as a cut-off of 20 or higher on the Patient Health Questionnaire-Anxiety Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS). Of 1138 participants, 71.0% were female, 69.0% Arabs, 70.0% Non-Qataris, and 77.0% were < 40 years (the median age in Qatar is 32 years). In a fully-adjusted model, six variables were significantly associated with moderate-to-severe levels of depression or anxiety on the PHQ-ADS; Arab ethnicity (OR = 1.67, p = 0.026), never married versus married (OR = 1.69, p = 0.015), prior history of psychiatric disorder versus no history (OR = 1.80, p = 0.009), increased worries due to social media use for COVID-related news/updates (OR = 1.72, p = 0.003), a history of COVID-19 (OR = 1.76, p = 0.039), loneliness (OR = 1.91, p < 0.001), and lower levels of religiosity (OR = 0.96, p = 0.039). These associations also pertained in the reduced model, with the exception of religiosity which was only marginally statistically significant (OR = 0.97, p = 0.055). The potential risk factors identified may assist with anxiety and depression prevention in future COVID-19 waves, and similar national events, and assist with early intervention to treat sufferers.

The association between falls and autonomy in older adults is mediated by self-efficacy

Objective Falling has various physical and psychological consequences in older adults. We aimed at replicating previous findings that reported autonomy is associated with a history of falls and that this association is moderated by self-efficacy. We further assumed that cognitive function would moderate this relationship. Method We analyzed data from the German Ageing Survey (“Deutscher Alterssurvey,” DEAS, year 2017, n = 6626), a longitudinal cohort-based survey of individuals living in private households aged 40 and over in Germany. Results Linear regression confirmed that perceived autonomy was negatively associated with a history of falls. With higher self-efficacy, the association between falls and autonomy was less substantial. Further, we extend previous findings in that self-efficacy also mediated the effect of falls on perceived autonomy. Against our assumptions, cognition as measured with the digit-symbol substitution test predicted perceived autonomy but did not moderator this association. Discussion We conclude that interventions facilitating self-efficacy might ameliorate negative effects of falling on autonomy of older adults.

Gender equality mainstreaming and the Australian academy: paradoxical effects?

Australian Universities consistently rank highly on lists that celebrate the most gender equal higher education institutions in the world. Despite participation in institutional frameworks for gender equity accreditation, what often lies beneath the outward display of gender equality is a lived experience of inequality. Whilst there is relative gender equality amongst academics employed at universities overall, men continue to dominate appointments at the professorial or senior executive levels. At the same time, gender asymmetries make women’s access to the opportunities and resources that are highly valued by the sector difficult. Women who experience intersections with care, mothering, race, sexual identity, class, and ability face additional obstacles. In this paper, three women in Australian academia attempt to disrupt the dominant masculine ideology and value system by sharing our lived experience of gender (in)equality in the academy.