Individual differences and emotion regulation through music

Many individuals manipulate and change emotions using music. People may use different strategies to regulate emotions; some strategies may be adaptive in nature by producing positive emotions, or maladaptive, producing negative affect. Researchers have identified how different populations are likely to use music to regulate emotions and which strategies are commonly utilised by different groups of people. This is an active area of research, but no consensus has been achieved regarding the results of this field; thus, this thesis combines the data collected in previous studies into three meta-analyses, focussing on personality, mental health, and other demographics. A discussion of previous literature contextualises these results, focussing on other uses of music, namely cognitive and background uses, and genre preferences. Of the five traits of the Five-Factor Model of personality, neuroticism correlated the most with the regulation of emotions with a positive and medium-to-large correlation, suggesting that individuals with unstable emotions are more likely to regulate mood through music. Individuals with depression or stress are also likely to use music to regulate emotions with a small-to-medium correlation, further portraying that individuals with negative emotions are more likely to need to use regulatory strategies. Age negatively correlates with emotion regulation use with music, suggesting that as individuals get older, they are less likely to need to regulate emotions. This thesis recommends that the adaptive strategies reappraisal, the process of interpreting stressful situations in positive ways, and problem solving, adapting thought processes about stressful events, can be used in therapeutic settings as these techniques may change negative mood states into positive emotions, improving long-term subjective wellbeing. Future research is needed to focus on the effectiveness of applied emotion regulation through music on wellbeing, and whether certain genres of music in particular may help produce positive affect via music regulatory techniques

Exploring the cognitive, emotional and sensory correlates of social anxiety in autistic and neurotypical adolescents

BACKGROUND: Social anxiety is common in autistic adolescents. While emerging evidence indicates the importance of several mechanisms (including intolerance of uncertainty (IU), alexithymia and sensory processing) for maintaining anxiety, limited research has explored how these factors are associated with social anxiety in autistic adolescents. METHODS: We investigated whether IU, emotional and sensory processing are related to social anxiety in autistic and neurotypical adolescents, gathering experimental and questionnaire data from 61 autistic and 62 neurotypical 11- to 17-year-olds recruited to have similarly high levels of anxiety. RESULTS: In autistic and neurotypical adolescents matched for social anxiety, similar significant associations were observed between social anxiety and IU, alexithymia, maladaptive emotion regulation, sensory hypersensitivity and interoceptive sensibility. Taking a dimensional approach, we found that child- and parent-reported IU, alexithymia and sensory hypersensitivity mediated the relationship between autistic traits and social anxiety symptoms in the combined group of adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that similar correlates of social anxiety are evident in autistic and neurotypical youths experiencing social anxiety, and further our understanding of mechanisms that may contribute towards social anxiety in both groups

Autistic and non-autistic young people's and caregivers' perspectives on COVID-19-related schooling changes and their impact on emotional well-being: An opportunity for change?

Autistic children and young people experience poorer mental health and well-being compared to their non-autistic peers. Navigating the complex social, academic, procedural and sensory aspects of school may be particularly challenging for autistic young people and contribute to poorer mental well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented school changes and provided a unique opportunity to gather caregiver’s and young people’s perspectives on the impact of school and pandemic-related school changes on the well-being of both autistic and non-autistic young people. Open-text online survey data from 71 caregivers (of n = 45 autistic young people) and 30 young people aged 11–18 years (n = 18 autistic) gathered across three timepoints between May and December 2020 during the pandemic revealed both benefits and challenges associated with school changes. Insights into possible lessons from the pandemic and recommendations for more flexible, individualised and strengths-based educational practices going forward are discussed

A qualitative study of Autistic adults' quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns

Background: Autistic people experience higher rates of most mental health conditions and report more difficulties with change than nonautistic people. As such, the periods of national stay-at-home orders (known in the United Kingdom as a “lockdown”) endured since the beginning of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic in March 2020 may have been particularly challenging for autistic people. Aim: This study explored autistic adults' experience of quality of life and well-being during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (specifically March to August 2020) using open-text responses from an online survey. Methods: In total, 79 autistic adults from the United Kingdom (aged 21–75 years) took part. Participants completed an online survey, including open-text questions on how various factors influencing quality of life, such as social interactions, general health, well-being, and sensory experiences, were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the first set of national lockdowns that occurred between March and August 2020. Results: Thematic analysis created four key themes, each illustrated by several subthemes. These four themes explore (1) health, (2) social changes, (3) support provisions, and (4) adopting new routines. Many participants discussed the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic and the first set of national lockdowns had on their health and expressed concerns regarding the transition out of periods of lockdown, including readjusting to new rules, going back to in-person interactions, and reacclimatizing to high-stimulation sensory environments. However, several participants reported positive experiences of the periods of lockdown, such as reduced commuting, more control over sensory environments, and more time to pursue personal interests and self-care. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of giving autistic individuals the support they need to transition back to “normality” as COVID-19 becomes endemic

Associations between emotion recognition and autistic and callous-unemotional traits:differential effects of cueing to the eyes

BackgroundAlthough autism and callous-unemotional (CU) traits are distinct conditions, both are associated with difficulties in emotion recognition. However, it is unknown whether the emotion recognition difficulties characteristic of autism and CU traits are driven by comparable underpinning mechanisms.MethodsWe tested whether cueing to the eyes improved emotion recognition in relation to autistic and CU traits in a heterogeneous sample of children enhanced for social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Participants were 171 (n = 75 male) children aged 10–16 years with and without a diagnosis of autism (n = 99 autistic), who completed assessments of emotion recognition with and without cueing to the eyes. Parents completed the assessment of autistic and CU traits.ResultsAssociations between autistic and CU traits and emotion recognition accuracy were dependent upon gaze cueing. CU traits were associated with an overall decrease in emotion recognition in the uncued condition, but better fear recognition when cued to the eyes. Conversely, autistic traits were associated with decreased emotion recognition in the cued condition only, and no interactions between autistic traits and emotion were found.ConclusionsThe differential effect of cueing to the eyes in autistic and CU traits suggests different mechanisms underpin emotion recognition abilities. Results suggest interventions designed to promote looking to the eyes may be beneficial for children with CU traits, but not for children with autistic characteristics. Future developmental studies of autism and CU characteristics are required to better understand how different pathways lead to overlapping socio-cognitive profiles

Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 and phosphodiesterase 4B: towards an understanding of psychiatric illness

Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) is one of the most convincing genetic risk factors for major mental illness identified to date. DISC1 interacts directly with phosphodiesterase 4B (PDE4B), an independently identified risk factor for schizophrenia. DISC1–PDE4B complexes are therefore likely to be involved in molecular mechanisms underlying psychiatric illness. PDE4B hydrolyses cAMP and DISC1 may regulate cAMP signalling through modulating PDE4B activity. There is evidence that expression of both genes is altered in some psychiatric patients. Moreover, DISC1 missense mutations that give rise to phenotypes related to schizophrenia and depression in mice are located within binding sites for PDE4B. These mutations reduce the association between DISC1 and PDE4B, and one results in reduced brain PDE4B activity. Altered DISC1–PDE4B interaction may thus underlie the symptoms of some cases of schizophrenia and depression. Factors likely to influence this interaction include expression levels, binding site affinities and the DISC1 and PDE4 isoforms involved. DISC1 and PDE4 isoforms are targeted to specific subcellular locations which may contribute to the compartmentalization of cAMP signalling. Dysregulated cAMP signalling in specific cellular compartments may therefore be a predisposing factor for major mental illness

Chapter 9 Outdoor air pollutants sources, characteristics, and impact on human health and the environment

In this chapter, sources and characteristics of outdoor air pollutants are presented along with their effects on human health and the environment. In addition, emphasis is given to air pollutant monitoring by exploring the type of monitoring programs, sampling methods, and emission standards and by presenting the case of air pollution monitoring in the United Arab Emirates. Finally, the chapter explores the case of climate change by looking into its causes and economic and environmental impacts

Risk factors for Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) death in a population cohort study from the Western Cape province, South Africa

Risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) death in sub-Saharan Africa and the effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis on COVID-19 outcomes are unknown. We conducted a population cohort study using linked data from adults attending public-sector health facilities in the Western Cape, South Africa. We used Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for age, sex, location, and comorbidities, to examine the associations between HIV, tuberculosis, and COVID-19 death from 1 March to 9 June 2020 among (1) public-sector “active patients” (≥1 visit in the 3 years before March 2020); (2) laboratory-diagnosed COVID-19 cases; and (3) hospitalized COVID-19 cases. We calculated the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for COVID-19, comparing adults living with and without HIV using modeled population estimates.Among 3 460 932 patients (16% living with HIV), 22 308 were diagnosed with COVID-19, of whom 625 died. COVID19 death was associated with male sex, increasing age, diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease. HIV was associated with COVID-19 mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.70–2.70), with similar risks across strata of viral loads and immunosuppression. Current and previous diagnoses of tuberculosis were associated with COVID-19 death (aHR, 2.70 [95% CI, 1.81–4.04] and 1.51 [95% CI, 1.18–1.93], respectively). The SMR for COVID-19 death associated with HIV was 2.39 (95% CI, 1.96–2.86); population attributable fraction 8.5% (95% CI, 6.1–11.1)

Individual differences and emotion regulation through music

Many individuals manipulate and change emotions using music. People may use different strategies to regulate emotions; some strategies may be adaptive in nature by producing positive emotions, or maladaptive, producing negative affect. Researchers have identified how different populations are likely to use music to regulate emotions and which strategies are commonly utilised by different groups of people. This is an active area of research, but no consensus has been achieved regarding the results of this field; thus, this thesis combines the data collected in previous studies into three meta-analyses, focussing on personality, mental health, and other demographics. A discussion of previous literature contextualises these results, focussing on other uses of music, namely cognitive and background uses, and genre preferences. Of the five traits of the Five-Factor Model of personality, neuroticism correlated the most with the regulation of emotions with a positive and medium-to-large correlation, suggesting that individuals with unstable emotions are more likely to regulate mood through music. Individuals with depression or stress are also likely to use music to regulate emotions with a small-to-medium correlation, further portraying that individuals with negative emotions are more likely to need to use regulatory strategies. Age negatively correlates with emotion regulation use with music, suggesting that as individuals get older, they are less likely to need to regulate emotions. This thesis recommends that the adaptive strategies reappraisal, the process of interpreting stressful situations in positive ways, and problem solving, adapting thought processes about stressful events, can be used in therapeutic settings as these techniques may change negative mood states into positive emotions, improving long-term subjective wellbeing. Future research is needed to focus on the effectiveness of applied emotion regulation through music on wellbeing, and whether certain genres of music in particular may help produce positive affect via music regulatory techniques