Cognitive biases in response to visual body-related stimuli in eating disorders: study protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Biased processing of body-related information may be linked to the development and maintenance of eating disorders (ED). The objective of this systematic review will be to examine the occurrence and the extent of cognitive biases in response to visual body-related stimuli in individuals with ED and individuals with an increased risk to develop ED. Methods: Studies will be identified by searching MEDLINE and PsycINFO. We will include observational and experimental studies that examine the association between cognitive biases (information processing biases) in response to visual body-related stimuli and eating-related pathology in clinical and non-clinical adult samples. In addition to database searches, citation tracking will be used. Two reviewers will first screen titles and abstracts independently and will then review full texts for eligibility. Data extraction will be done independently by two reviewers. Conflicts at all levels of screening and extraction will be resolved through discussion. Studies will be included if they 1) assess cognitive biases (i.e., attentional biases, memory biases, judgment biases, response biases, and interpretation biases) in response to visual body-related stimuli (i.e., pictures or photographs of a human body or a human body shape), 2) if they report associations between biases and eating-related pathology, 3) if study participants are at least 16 years or older, and 4) if no priming task was administered prior to the assessment. Descriptive data of studies will also be collected. Risk of bias assessment will be undertaken by two independent reviewers. Data will be analyzed using random-effects meta-analysis. Discussion: This systematic review will synthesize the evidence for cognitive bias in response to visual body-related stimuli in individuals with ED and individuals with an increased risk of developing an ED. The findings may help to better understand information processing in eating-related psychopathology

Body image perceptions and symptoms of disturbed eating behavior among children and adolescents in Germany

Abstract Theoretical background Body image distortions such as perception biases are assumed to be precursors of eating disorders (ED). This study aims to investigate body image perceptions and symptoms of disturbed eating behavior among a sample of 11–17 year-old students in Germany. Methods A cross-sectional survey study was carried out among 1524 students of twelve secondary schools from all school types in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). A naturalistic photograph-rating consisting of photographs of young women’s bodies was used to examine children’s perceptions of female bodies (i.e., perceived average body size and perceived ideal body size of young women). Also, symptoms of disturbed eating behavior were examined. Results Compared to statistical data, children and adolescents underestimated the average body size of young women by more than two BMI-points (estimated average BMI = 20), with no differences between boys and girls. Also, girls and boys generally held a slim female thin-ideal (perceived ideal BMI = 19.5), which is nearly three BMI-points below the average body size in the young female population. Girls showed a slightly stronger female thin-ideal than boys. Among all subgroups, early-adolescent girls (13–14 years) displayed the strongest thin-ideal internalization. Nearly one-third of this group perceived a BMI below 18 as ideal female body size. Symptoms of disturbed eating behavior were common among youth and most frequent among adolescent girls (15–17 years). Girls who displayed a bias towards underestimation of female body size and girls who displayed an underweight female thin-ideal were more likely to report harmful dieting behaviors and psychological distress associated with eating, body, and weight. Conclusions This study found that 11–17 year-old girls and boys do not show accurate judgements regarding the average body size of young women. Instead, there is systematic and significant underestimation, indicating considerable perception biases, which may constitute a risk factor for the development and maintenance of ED. Symptoms of disturbed eating behavior were common, especially among girls, and associated with body-related perceptions. Future research will need to clarify the severity and course of these symptoms

Effectiveness of proactive telephone counselling for smoking cessation in parents: Study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Contains fulltext : 99284.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Background Smoking is the world's fourth most common risk factor for disease, the leading preventable cause of death, and it is associated with tremendous social costs. In the Netherlands, the smoking prevalence rate is high. A total of 27.7% of the population over age 15 years smokes. In addition to the direct advantages of smoking cessation for the smoker, parents who quit smoking may also decrease their children's risk of smoking initiation. Methods/Design A randomized controlled trial will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of proactive telephone counselling to increase smoking cessation rates among smoking parents. A total of 512 smoking parents will be proactively recruited through their children's primary schools and randomly assigned to either proactive telephone counselling or a control condition. Proactive telephone counselling will consist of up to seven counsellor-initiated telephone calls (based on cognitive-behavioural skill building and Motivational Interviewing), distributed over a period of three months. Three supplementary brochures will also be provided. In the control condition, parents will receive a standard brochure to aid smoking cessation. Assessments will take place at baseline, three months after start of the intervention (post-measurement), and twelve months after start of the intervention (follow-up measurement). Primary outcome measures will include sustained abstinence between post-measurement and follow-up measurement and 7-day point prevalence abstinence and 24-hours point prevalence abstinence at both post- and follow-up measurement. Several secondary outcome measures will also be included (e.g., smoking intensity, smoking policies at home). In addition, we will evaluate smoking-related cognitions (e.g., attitudes towards smoking, social norms, self-efficacy, intention to smoke) in 9-12 year old children of smoking parents. Discussion This study protocol describes the design of a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of proactive telephone counselling in smoking cessation. It is expected that, in the telephone counseling condition, parental smoking cessation rates will be higher and children's cognitions will be less favorable about smoking compared to the control condition. Trial registration The protocol for this study is registered with the Netherlands Trial Register NTR2707.6 p

Self-reported emotion regulation difficulties are associated with mood but not with the biological stress response to thin ideal exposure

BACKGROUND:Difficulties in emotion regulation have been related to psychological and physiological stress responses such as lower mood and lower parasympathetic activation (HF-HRV) under resting condition, but evidence on the potential link to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning and to physiological stress responses during a stress task is still scarce. The aim of the study was to investigate stress responses in young women when confronted to a daily stressor such as exposure to thin ideals and to understand the role of correlates of self-reported trait-like emotion regulation difficulties (ERD). METHODS:Heart rate variability (HRV) and salivary cortisol data were collected in a sample of 273 young women aged 18-35 with and without mental disorders during a vivid imagination of thin ideals (experimental condition) or landscapes (control condition). Changes in mood states were measured on a visual analogue scale (0-100). Correlates of trait-like ERD were self-reported using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). RESULTS:Participants with higher ERD showed a stronger decline in self-reported mood after vivid imagination of thin ideals compared to participants with lower ERD in the experimental condition but also a stronger increase of positive mood with increasing ERD in the control condition. ERD were not related to baseline HF-HRV or baseline salivary cortisol levels nor to any physiological response during and after the imagination of thin ideals. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION:The results corroborate the role of ERD regarding the immediate psychological impact of daily stressors. Exposition to daily stressors in the laboratory results in discrepant psychological and physiological reactivity. Future studies should investigate under what conditions the complex interrelations between immediate and long-term ERD and biological activation are amenable to assessment in a laboratory setting. The additive effects of multiple exposition to stressors, such as thin ideals in daily life, also need to be addressed

Transgenerational improvements following child anxiety treatment: An exploratory examination.

BACKGROUND:The present study conducted secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial to examine the transgenerational relationship between cognitive-behavioral therapy for child Separation Anxiety Disorder (SepAD) and the mental health of parents. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were compared before and after child treatment between parents of children treated for SepAD and parents of healthy children, who did not receive any treatment. METHODS:One hundred and seven children aged 4-14 years with SepAD received one of two cognitive behavioral treatment programs for SepAD (TAFF; TrennungsAngstprogramm Für Familien; English: Separation Anxiety Family Therapy or CC; Coping Cat). Their parents (N = 189; 101 mothers and 88 fathers) were assessed at baseline and post-treatment for symptoms of separation anxiety, general anxiety, and depression. A comparison group of parents (N = 74; 42 mothers and 32 fathers) of 45 children without SepAD, who did not receive any treatment, were also assessed. RESULTS:Results indicated a significant interaction effect between group and time on mothers' depression and separation anxiety, indicating that maternal symptoms of depression and separation anxiety improved in the child treatment condition in comparison to mothers of healthy children. There was no significant improvement in parental pathology levels among fathers of children treated for SepAD. CONCLUSIONS:Treatment for child SepAD may have subsequent positive effects on mothers' own levels of separation anxiety and depression, though the mechanisms are yet unknown. Future studies are needed that test the transgenerational effect of child SepAD treatment on parental mental health as the primary research question

Body image perceptions and symptoms of disturbed eating behavior among children and adolescents in Germany

$\textbf {Theoretical background:}$ Body image distortions such as perception biases are assumed to be precursors of eating disorders (ED). This study aims to investigate body image perceptions and symptoms of disturbed eating behavior among a sample of 11–17 year-old students in Germany. $\textbf {Methods:}$ A cross-sectional survey study was carried out among 1524 students of twelve secondary schools from all school types in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). A naturalistic photograph-rating consisting of photographs of young women’s bodies was used to examine children’s perceptions of female bodies (i.e., perceived average body size and perceived ideal body size of young women). Also, symptoms of disturbed eating behavior were examined. $\textbf {Results:}$ Compared to statistical data, children and adolescents underestimated the average body size of young women by more than two BMI-points (estimated average BMI = 20), with no differences between boys and girls. Also, girls and boys generally held a slim female thin-ideal (perceived ideal BMI = 19.5), which is nearly three BMI-points below the average body size in the young female population. Girls showed a slightly stronger female thin-ideal than boys. Among all subgroups, early-adolescent girls (13–14 years) displayed the strongest thin-ideal internalization. Nearly one-third of this group perceived a BMI below 18 as ideal female body size. Symptoms of disturbed eating behavior were common among youth and most frequent among adolescent girls (15–17 years). Girls who displayed a bias towards underestimation of female body size and girls who displayed an underweight female thin-ideal were more likely to report harmful dieting behaviors and psychological distress associated with eating, body, and weight. $\textbf {Conclusions:}$ This study found that 11–17 year-old girls and boys do not show accurate judgements regarding the average body size of young women. Instead, there is systematic and significant underestimation, indicating considerable perception biases, which may constitute a risk factor for the development and maintenance of ED. Symptoms of disturbed eating behavior were common, especially among girls, and associated with body-related perceptions. Future research will need to clarify the severity and course of these symptoms

Parental smoking and smoking cognitions among youth

$\textit {Aims:}$ We summarized and discussed the empirical evidence for an association between parental smoking and smoking-related cognitions among youth and for the mediating role of smoking-related cognitions in the relation between parental and youth smoking behaviour. $\textit {Methods:}$ We conducted a systematic review of articles published between 1980 and February 2015 using the databases PsychInfo and PubMed. $\textit {Results:}$ The systematic search resulted in 41 eligible studies. Only 4 studies investigated smoking-related cognitions as putative mediators in the association between parental and youth smoking. The synthesis of evidence showed a mix of significant and non-significant associations between parental smoking and smoking-related cognitions among youth. A majority of results reported positive associations even when non-significant findings were found. However, studies that report an effect suggest that the effect may be quite modest. $\textit {Conclusion:}$ Empirical evidence does not confirm the commonly applied assertions of social learning theories that parental smoking increases the risk of youth smoking through the development of favourable smoking-related cognitions. Methodological and theoretical aspects that might explain the lack of consistent findings are discussed

Ionic Current Mn K-Edge X-ray Absorption Spectra Obtained in a Flow Cell

Xi L, Schellenberger M, Prag RF, Golnak R, Schuck G, Aziz-Lange K. Ionic Current Mn K-Edge X-ray Absorption Spectra Obtained in a Flow Cell. JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C. 2018;122(27):15588-15594.Ionic current X-ray absorption spectroscopy (IC-XAS) relaying on the synchrotron beam-induced ionization current was recently proposed as an alternative approach for XAS detection in flow cells. In this study, we investigate the mechanism behind IC-XAS by varying the spacer thickness and the cell orientation. On the basis of these studies, we propose that the driving force for the ionic current is a beam-induced electric potential between the two electrodes. After that, we attempt to detect IC-XA spectra from the Mn K-edge of several manganese salts, specifically nitrate, chloride, sulfate, acetate, and permanganate. We find that Mn K-edge IC-XAS spectra of aqueous Mn ions can be affected by the mass and concentration of the anions, the substrate as well as the beam intensity. Potential applications and limitations of this method are discussed