Psycho-social factors associated with mental resilience in the Corona lockdown.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is not only a threat to physical health but is also having severe impacts on mental health. Although increases in stress-related symptomatology and other adverse psycho-social outcomes, as well as their most important risk factors have been described, hardly anything is known about potential protective factors. Resilience refers to the maintenance of mental health despite adversity. To gain mechanistic insights about the relationship between described psycho-social resilience factors and resilience specifically in the current crisis, we assessed resilience factors, exposure to Corona crisis-specific and general stressors, as well as internalizing symptoms in a cross-sectional online survey conducted in 24 languages during the most intense phase of the lockdown in Europe (22 March to 19 April) in a convenience sample of N = 15,970 adults. Resilience, as an outcome, was conceptualized as good mental health despite stressor exposure and measured as the inverse residual between actual and predicted symptom total score. Preregistered hypotheses (osf.io/r6btn) were tested with multiple regression models and mediation analyses. Results confirmed our primary hypothesis that positive appraisal style (PAS) is positively associated with resilience (p < 0.0001). The resilience factor PAS also partly mediated the positive association between perceived social support and resilience, and its association with resilience was in turn partly mediated by the ability to easily recover from stress (both p < 0.0001). In comparison with other resilience factors, good stress response recovery and positive appraisal specifically of the consequences of the Corona crisis were the strongest factors. Preregistered exploratory subgroup analyses (osf.io/thka9) showed that all tested resilience factors generalize across major socio-demographic categories. This research identifies modifiable protective factors that can be targeted by public mental health efforts in this and in future pandemics

Mental rotation and mental folding in 7- and 8-year-old children

Mielessä kääntäminen ja mielessä taittelu ovat avaruudellisten representaatioiden mielessä muuntamista. Mielessä kääntäminen muuttaa objektin suunnan, kun taas mielessä taittelussa täytyy kuvitella, miltä objekti näyttää taittamisen jälkeen. Taitoja on tutkittu paljon, mutta silti ei ole varmuutta, ovatko ne samanlaisia vai erilaisia prosesseja. Aiemmat tutkimukset ovat löytäneet yhteyden mielessä kääntämisen ja matematiikan taitojen välille, mutta mielessä taittelun yhteyttä matematiikkaan ei ole osoitettu. Kuitenkin, suurin osa tutkimuksesta on tehty aikuisilla, joten lasten mielessä muuntamisen taitoja ei ole tutkittu yhtä laajasti. Tässä tutkimuksessa tavoitteena oli tutkia mielessä kääntämisen ja mielessä taittelun prosesseja 7- ja 8-vuotiailla lapsilla, ja selvittää, voivatko prosessit ennustaa matematiikassa suoriutumista. Tutkimukseen osallistui 118 lasta Jyväskylän Normaalikoulun ensimmäiseltä ja toiselta luokalta. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin uutta tietokonetestistöä testaamaan lasten mielessä kääntämisen ja mielessä taittelun taitoja sekä kynä-paperitestejä selvittämään lukemista, matematiikkaa ja visuospatiaalisia taitoja. Tulokset osoittivat, että mielessä kääntämisen ja mielessä taittelun tehtävät korreloivat keskenään, mutta prosessit eivät voi olla täysin samanlaisia, sillä korrelaatiot kynä-paperitesteihin erosivat. Vain mielessä kääntäminen oli yhteydessä matematiikkaan, mutta se ennusti matematiikan tuloksia heikosti. Lisäksi, sukupuolieroja esiintyi vain mielessä taittelun tehtävässä, jossa tytöt suoriutuivat poikia paremmin. Kuitenkin, tulokset osoittavat, että suurin osa tämän ikäisistä lapsista ei kääntänyt kuvia mielessään. Koska joidenkin tehtävien reliabiliteetit olivat melko matalia, joitakin muutoksia seuraavaan testiversioon on tehtävä, jotta saataisiin luotettavampia tuloksia mielessä muuntamisen prosesseista tässä iässä.Mental rotation and mental folding are mental transformations of spatial representations. Mental rotation changes the orientation of an object, whereas mental folding requires picturing how an object will look like after it has been folded. The skills have been studied a lot but still it is not sure if they are similar or different processes. Earlier research has found a connection between mental rotation and mathematical skills but a relation between mathematics and mental folding has not been proved. However, most of the research has been done with adult participants, so the mental transformations in children have not been studied as much. The goal of the present study was to examine the mental transformation processes in 7- and 8-year-old children, and to test whether the processes can predict the performance in mathematics. The participants were 118 children from the first and second grades of the University of Jyväskylä Teacher Training School. We used new computer-based tests to test the mental rotation and mental folding skills, and paper-and-pencil tests to measure reading, mathematics and visuospatial skills. The results showed that the mental rotation and mental folding tasks correlated with each other, but they cannot be completely similar processes since the correlations with paper-and-pencil tests differed. In addition, only mental rotation had a connection with mathematical skills, although it predicted math scores weakly. Furthermore, only mental folding showed gender differences: girls had better scores in mental folding task than boys. However, the results showed that most of the children at this age did not mentally rotate images. As some of the task reliabilities were quite low, some improvements to the next test version are needed to get more reliable results of the mental transformation processes at this age

Cognitive emotion regulation difficulties increase affective reactivity to daily-life stress in autistic adolescents and young adults

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Characterizing daily-life social interactions in adolescents and young adults with neurodevelopmental disorders: a comparison between individuals with Autism Spectrum Disoders and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

AbstractSocial impairments are common features of several neurodevelopmental conditions, including 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, little is known about social interactions in daily-life. The Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) was used to have access to daily-life information and to distinguish the phenomenology of social interactions between the two conditions, often considered as presenting a similar profile of social impairments. 32 individuals with 22q11DS, 26 individuals with ASD and 44 healthy controls (HC) aged 12-30 were recruited. All participants were assessed during 6 days 8 times a day using a mobile app. The EMA protocol assessed positive (PA) and negative (NA) affect, social context (alone versus in company) and the subjective experience of aloneness and social interactions. Participants with 22q11DS and ASD did not spend more time alone, but spent less time with familiar individuals such as friends, and more time with people they live with, compared to HC. However, distinct profiles emerged between the two conditions regarding the subjective experience of aloneness, with more intense feelings of exclusion in participants with ASD compared to participants with 22q11DS and HC. The subjective appreciation of interactions revealed that individuals with ASD felt more judged and more nervous than both 22q11DS and HC. Nevertheless, both conditions expressed a higher desire to be alone when in company of other people than HC. This study highlights distinct social functioning profiles in daily-life in 22q11DS and ASD, giving new intel regarding the social phenotype in these conditions, and pointing towards different therapeutic targets

Characterizing daily‐life social interactions in adolescents and young adults with neurodevelopmental disorders: a comparison between individuals with autism spectrum disorders and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Social impairments are common features of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) allowed access to daily-life information in order to explore the phenom- enology of social interactions. 32 individuals with 22q11DS, 26 individuals with ASD and 44 typically developing peers (TD) aged 12–30 were assessed during 6 days 8 times a day using a mobile app. Participants with 22q11DS and ASD did not spend more time alone but showed distinct implication in the social sphere than TD. Distinct profiles emerged between the two conditions regarding the subjective experience of aloneness and the subjective experience of social interactions. This study highlights distinct social functioning profiles in daily-life in 22q11DS and ASD that points towards different therapeutic targets

Psychotic experiences in daily-life in adolescents and young adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: an Ecological Momentary Assessment study

AbstractObjectives: 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a genetic condition associated with a markedly increased risk for psychosis. Psychotic experiences (PE) are classically evaluated by clinical interviews that give little information about the fluctuation of these symptoms in daily-life. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate these phenomena using the Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), a structured diary technique that collects real-life measures in the everyday-life context, and to examine how these manifestations relate to a goal standard semi-structured assessment of PE. Method: Eighty-six adolescents and young adults with 22q11DS as well as healthy controls (HC) aged 12-27 were recruited. All participants completed a 6-day ESM protocol assessing momentary psychotic experiences as well as their current mood (measured by positive and negative affects). The presence of (attenuated) psychotic symptoms was assessed in the 22q11DS group with a clinical interview (SIPS). Results: Our main findings indicate that participants with 22q11DS reported more intense and more frequent momentary PE than HC and similar associations between affects (both PA and NA) and momentary PE. In participants with 22q11DS, more intense and more frequent momentary PE measured by EMA were associated with the severity of SIPS positive symptoms. Finally, participants with 22q11DS reporting at least attenuated positive symptoms of psychosis on the SIPS had more frequent and more intense momentary PE than participants with 22q11DS without psychotic symptoms. Conclusions: Altogether, this study highlights the validity of EMA to assess PE and broadens previous findings about mood and PE associations

Loneliness in daily life

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Increased affective reactivity to daily social stressors is associated with more severe psychotic symptoms in youths with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

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Diurnal cortisol profiles and exposure to stress in adolescents and young adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

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Exploring associations between diurnal cortisol, stress, coping and psychopathology in adolescents and young adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Background 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a neurogenetic condition associated to a high risk for psychiatric disorders, including psychosis. Individuals with 22q11DS are thought to experience increased levels of chronic stress, which could lead to alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA)-axis functioning. In the current study, we investigated for the first time diurnal salivary cortisol profiles in adolescents and young adults with 22q11DS as well as their link with stress exposure, coping strategies and psychopathology, including psychotic symptoms. Methods Salivary cortisol was collected from adolescents and young adults with 22q11DS (n = 30, age = 19.7) and matched healthy controls (HC; n = 36, age = 18.5) six times a day for two days. Exposure to stressful life events, including peer victimization, coping strategies and general psychopathology were assessed with questionnaires. Psychotic symptoms and psychiatric comorbidities were evaluated with clinical interviews. Results We observed similar daily levels and diurnal profiles of salivary cortisol in adolescents and young adults with 22q11DS compared to HCs. However, participants with 22q11DS reported less frequent exposure to stress than HCs. In 22q11DS, we observed a significant association between the use of non-adaptive coping strategies and the severity of psychotics symptoms. Cortisol level was not associated to severity of psychotic symptoms, but elevated cortisol awakening response (CAR) was found in participants with 22q11DS with higher levels of general psychopathology. Conclusions Our results do not support earlier propositions of altered HPA-axis functioning in 22q11DS but highlight the need to further investigate diurnal cortisol as an indicator of HPA-axis functioning and its link with (earlier) stress exposure and psychopathology in this population. Interventions should target the development of adaptive coping skills in preventing psychosis in 22q11DS