Examining cognitive behavioral therapy interventions for unaccompanied minors: a systematic review and qualitative research synthesis

Background This systematic review examined the evidence on effectiveness and acceptability of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions in improving quality of life (QoL) and psychological well-being of unaccompanied minors (UM). Methods PubMed, Scopus, Embase, ProQuest, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, and Open Dissertations databases were used to identify quantitative and qualitative studies. The Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tools were used for quality assessment. Narrative synthesis and qualitative research synthesis were carried out to collate the findings. Results 18 studies were included. Two studies examined QoL, and five studies examined acceptability of interventions. Most quantitative studies (n = 10) were appraised as methodologically weak. Trauma-Focused CBT appears to have the most evidence demonstrating effectiveness in ameliorating symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. Promising findings (i.e., increased mindfulness and psychological flexibility) were observed for third wave interventions but further replication is required. Conclusions The literature is tainted by under-powered studies, lacking blinding, and follow-up assessments. Female UM remain largely underrepresented. This review calls for a drastic augmentation of high quality quantitative and qualitative research focusing on augmenting QoL and examining acceptability rather than merely aiming for psychological symptom reduction in UM to enhance overall well-being and functionality. The research protocol was registered in PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42021293881)

A Protocol of a Pilot Experimental Study Using Social Network Interventions to Examine the Social Contagion of Attitudes Towards Childhood Vaccination in Parental Social Networks

Increasing vaccination hesitancy that burdens global health and safety can be attributed to multiple reasons. Individuals’ social environment seems to be the catalyst for vaccination hesitancy perpetuation, thus it is important to examine the influence of different social network mechanisms in vaccination attitudes’ contagion. The proposed pilot experiment will examine the social contagion of childhood vaccination attitudes within a parental community using social network interventions. By identifying centrally-located people or groups of like-minded individuals from a parents’ community, we will examine whether the position of a person within a social group can have a greater impact in spreading positive vaccination messages to other community members. Parents will be recruited from social media and will be randomly assigned into three groups. Firstly, each group will participate in an online game to map their social networks and identify members with certain network position, who will then receive a short training about valid vaccination information provisions. All groups’ members will participate in daily vaccination discussion groups for one week, where the selected members will spread positive vaccination attitudes to others. We hypothesize that centrally located individuals and like-minded group of people will more likely cause a change on the childhood-vaccination attitudes and will sustain a long-term change at 3 months follow-up, compared to randomly located people

Behavioral, cognitive and emotional determinants of getting vaccinated for COVID-19 and the mediating role of institutional trust among young adults in Cyprus

Background: Vaccination uptake is a complex behavior, influenced by numerous factors. Behavioral science theories are commonly used to explain the psychosocial determinants of an individual’s health behavior. This study examined the behavioural, cognitive, and emotional determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intention based on well-established theoretical models: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behaviour (COM-B) and the Health Belief Model (HBM). Additionally, it examined the mediating role of institutional trust in the relationship between determinants of these models and vaccination intentions. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to May 2022, where university students in Cyprus completed an online survey. Results: A total of 484 university students completed the online survey, with 23.8% reporting being vaccinated with fewer than three vaccination doses and/or no intention to vaccinate further. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis showed that higher scores in institutional trust, perceived severity, motivation, physical and psychological capability were significantly associated with higher odds of intending to vaccinate. Higher psychological flexibility and not being infected with COVID-19 were also associated with higher odds of vaccination intention, but not in the final model when all determinants were included. Additionally, significant indirect effects of psychological and physical capability, motivation and perceived severity on vaccination intention were found to be mediated by institutional trust. Conclusions: When tackling COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy, behavioural, cognitive, and emotional aspects should be considered. Stakeholders and policymakers are advised to implement targeted vaccination programs in young people while at the same time building trust and improving their capabilities and motivation towards getting vaccinated

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum