Social aesthetics and mental health

Social aesthetics is an aesthetics of the social situation as it is lived and experienced. As humans we are always and every-where social beings, so the question no longer arises as to whether we live socially but rather how we live socially. This question of the How – how we experience and structure our life together – determines the core field of work and research in social aesthetics. European intellectual history teaches us that beauty is not just an adornment to life but is also a major source of strength for our life. Moreover, the positive aesthetic experience also has healing power. That beauty is a highly effective antidote to life’s suffering, i.e. acts as an “anti-depressant”. Social aesthetics that wishes also to be understood as the science of beauty in interpersonal relationships provides us with knowledge that in medical-therapeutic practice be-comes a key pillar of human-centered approaches to prevention and treatment

Psychopathology in the 21st century.

International audienceThe present publication sets out to evaluate the position of psychopathology in the 21st century and should also serve as a basis for defining the framework for the future tasks of the WFSBP Task Force. Review of publications on the various approaches of psychopathology in general and of different tasks, theories and tools of psychopathology approaches in particular. The main tasks of psychopathology are, to record and describe experiential and behavioral abnormalities in their intersubjective context, to explain their origin from an objective scientific perspective, and to attempt to understand them from the subjective perspective of the patient. In order to provide stable fundaments for the work in clinical and scientific psychiatry all three components are indispensable. The future of psychiatry hence lies in the hands of a type of psychopathology that we will call Integrative Psychopathology. The main tasks of psychopathology can only be pursued in close cooperation with other branches of science interested in studying psychiatric issues. Whereas contemporary psychopathology must lay the foundations for that cooperation, Integrative Psychopathology must be complemented by further advancements in Theoretical Psychopathology, so as to enable conceptual new developments, which can then be fruitful for cooperative research and psychiatric clinical practice

The impact of life satisfaction in the treatment of gaming disorder and other internet use disorders: Results from a randomized controlled trial

Objective: According to ICD-11 gaming disorder is currently defined as a behavioral addiction. While our understanding of crucial aspects of this new condition including other subtypes of internet use disorders is growing, less is known about treatment strategies and their effectiveness. Particularly, dimensions of life satisfaction and their meaning for internet use disorders are poorly investigated. The aim of this study was addressing the role of life satisfaction dimensions in a randomized controlled trial. We examined life satisfaction as an additional treatment outcome and investigated in how far life satisfaction is predictive for symptom reduction and related to personality traits. Methods: A multicenter randomized controlled trial with three measure points (baseline, post-treatment, 6-month follow-up) was conducted based on N 5 143 patients aged 17 and above meeting diagnostic criteria for internet use disorders. A cognitivebehavioral disorder specific intervention was applied in n 5 72 and compared to a wait list control (n 5 71). Endpoints included symptoms of internet use disorders, psychosocial functioning, and life satisfaction. Personality traits were assessed as moderating factors. Results: Life satisfaction (η2 5 0.106) and health satisfaction (η2 5 0.173) significantly increased in the intervention group with large effect sizes. Decreasing symptoms of internet use disorders at follow-up were predicted by life satisfaction at posttreatment (ß 5 0.51) with extraversion (B 5 1.606) and openness (B 5 2.069) moderating this association. Conclusion: Life satisfaction yields additional value as a secondary treatment outcome in internet use disorders and can be therapeutically addressed in order to stabilize treatment effects in the long run. Our study indicates that existing treatment strategies might benefit from explicitly addressing and enhancing psychosocial resources in order to prevent relapses in patients

Efficacy of short-term treatment of internet and computer game addiction : a randomized clinical trial

Internet and computer game addiction represent a growing mental health concern, acknowledged by the World Health Organization.To determine whether manualized cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), using short-term treatment for internet and computer game addiction (STICA), is efficient in individuals experiencing internet and computer game addiction.A multicenter randomized clinical trial was conducted in 4 outpatient clinics in Germany and Austria from January 24, 2012, to June 14, 2017, including follow-ups. Blinded measurements were conducted. A consecutive sample of 143 men was randomized to the treatment group (STICA; n = 72) or wait-list control (WLC) group (n = 71). Main inclusion criteria were male sex and internet addiction as the primary diagnosis. The STICA group had an additional 6-month follow-up (n = 36). Data were analyzed from November 2018 to March 2019.The manualized CBT program aimed to recover functional internet use. The program consisted of 15 weekly group and up to 8 two-week individual sessions.The predefined primary outcome was the Assessment of Internet and Computer Game Addiction Self-report (AICA-S). Secondary outcomes were self-reported internet addiction symptoms, time spent online on weekdays, psychosocial functioning, and depression.A total of 143 men (mean [SD] age, 26.2 [7.8] years) were analyzed based on intent to-treat analyses. Of these participants, 50 of 72 men (69.4%) in the STICA group showed remission vs 17 of 71 men (23.9%) in the WLC group. In logistic regression analysis, remission in the STICA vs WLC group was higher (odds ratio, 10.10; 95% CI, 3.69-27.65), taking into account internet addiction baseline severity, comorbidity, treatment center, and age. Compared with the WLC groups, effect sizes at treatment termination of STICA were d = 1.19 for AICA-S, d = 0.88 for time spent online on weekdays, d = 0.64 for psychosocial functioning, and d = 0.67 for depression. Fourteen adverse events and 8 serious adverse events occurred. A causal relationship with treatment was considered likely in 2 AEs, one in each group.Short-term treatment for internet and computer game addiction is a promising, manualized, short-term CBT for a broad range of internet addictions in multiple treatment centers. Further trials investigating the long-term efficacy of STICA and addressing specific groups and subgroups compared with active control conditions are required

Environment, social behavior, and growth

Twenty-four scientists met for the annual Auxological conference held at Krobielowice castle, Poland, to discuss the diverse influences of the environment and of social behavior on growth following last year’s focus on growth and public health concerns (Hermanussen et al., 2022b). Growth and final body size exhibit marked plastic responses to ecological conditions. Among the shortest are the pygmoid people of Rampasasa, Flores, Indonesia, who still live under most secluded insular conditions. Genetics and nutrition are usually considered responsible for the poor growth in many parts of this world, but evidence is accumulating on the prominent impact of social embedding on child growth. Secular trends not only in the growth of height, but also in body proportions, accompany the secular changes in the social, economic and political conditions, with major influences on the emotional and educational circumstances under which the children grow up (Bogin, 2021). Aspects of developmental tempo and aspects of sports were discussed, and the impact of migration by the example of women from Bangladesh who grew up in the UK. Child growth was considered in particular from the point of view of strategic adjustments of individual size within the network of its social group. Theoretical considerations on network characteristics were presented and related to the evolutionary conservation of growth regulating hypothalamic neuropeptides that have been shown to link behavior and physical growth in the vertebrate species. New statistical approaches were presented for the evaluation of short term growth measurements that permit monitoring child growth at intervals of a few days and weeks