Construction and Validation of an Analytical Grid about Video Representations of Suicide (“MoVIES”)

International audienceExposure to fictional suicide scenes raises concerns about the risk of suicide contagion. However, researchers and clinicians still lack empirical evidence to estimate this risk. Here, we propose a theory-grounded tool that measures properties related to aberrant identification and suicidal contagion of potentially harmful suicide scenes. Methods. The items of the Movies and Video: Identification and Emotions in reaction to Suicide (MoVIES) operationalize the World Health Organization's recommendations for media coverage of suicide, and were adapted and completed with identification theory principles and cinematographic evidence. Inter-rater reliability (Cohen's kappa) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) were estimated and optimized for two series of 19 and 30 randomly selected movies depicting a suicide scene. The validity of the scale in predicting identification with the suicidal character was tested in nine unknowledgeable participants who watched seven suicide movie scenes each. Results. The MoVIES indicated satisfying psychometric properties with kappas measured at 0.7 or more for every item and a global internal consistency of [α = 0.05]. The MoVIES score significantly predicted participants' strength of identification independently from their baseline empathy ((β = 0.20), p < 0.05). Conclusions. The MoVIES is available to scholars as a valid, reliable, and useful tool to estimate the amount of at-risk components of fictional suicidal behavior depicted in films, series, or television shows

PTSD in time of Covid‐19: Trauma or not trauma, is that the question?

Many studies have reported negative outcomes of the COVID‐19 pandemic on people's mental health. Notably, high prevalence rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms have been described in healthcare workers (26.9% [20.3%‐33.,6%]), individuals with COVID‐19 (23.8% [16.6%‐31.0%]) and in the general population (19.3% [15.3%‐23.2%]) (1)

Posttraumatic stress disorder in time of COVID‐19: Trauma or not trauma, is that the question?

International audienc

Assessing knowledge of suicide: a systematic review of available instruments

Objective. Literacy of suicide is the corner stone of numerous prevention programs but is a difficult construct to appraise. To bring methodological and epistemological clarifications, we aimed to investigate the actual content and psychometric properties of the available tools designed to inquire knowledge of suicide. Methods. We conducted a systematic review of the literature. Electronic databases were searched for questionnaire assessing literacy, attitudes, knowledge or misconceptions about suicide. After checking the quality of validation procedures, we exhaustively collected the psychometric properties of the scales. Contents were submitted to a qualitative thematic analysis. Results. We identified 18 unique instruments from 48 papers. On the metrological level, general poor to fair compliance with validation standards and variability of psychometric properties stand out as the most prominent results. As regards to the constructs that instruments appraise, we derived 6 thematic categories of knowledge: epidemiology, consequences of media coverage and 4 common myths about the presumed monocausality, unpredictability, harmlessness and unpreventability of suicidal behaviors. Overall, five scales emerge as robust and/or valid enough tools to probe knowledge of suicide. Limitations. We chose selection criteria based on a priori conceptions of literacy. This may have restricted the scope of retrievable scales and limited our inferences about what is explored under the labels “knowledge” or “literacy”. Conclusions. To design refined instruments about literacy of suicide, scholars should consider differentiating the types of knowledge under exploration. Adapted rating procedure with clearer standards about the truthfulness of statements could improve psychometric quality and interpretability

Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on non-frontline healthcare workers

International audienceNo abstract availabl

Test de l'efficacité de deux dispositifs d'aide à la réussite en première année à l'université : remédiations précoces et blocus dirigés

La massification de l’accès à l’université et le taux d’échec important en première année ont poussé les institutions universitaires belges à proposer de nombreux dispositifs d’aide à la réussite. Leur inventaire chronologique est d’abord présenté, avec une attention particulière au projet « Passeports pour le Bac » (test de prérequis à l’entrée suivi par des remédiations) et au blocus dirigé de décembre. L’effet de ces deux dispositifs sur les résultats obtenus par les étudiants aux examens de janvier constitue le cœur de l’article. Les analyses sont effectuées par pairage entre plus de 150 étudiants ayant participé à au moins un de ces dispositifs et d’autres étudiants n’y ayant pas pris part mais présentant un profil similaire. Les résultats de cette étude montrent l’effet prédictif des résultats aux Passeports et l’impact positif des remédiations sur les notes obtenues aux examens, surtout dans le cadre de prérequis disciplinaires (vs transversaux). La participation au blocus dirigé, quant à elle, permet aux étudiants les plus faibles d’améliorer leurs résultat

Leveraging the Web and Social Media to Promote Access to Care Among Suicidal Individuals

International audienceAfter two decades of exponential development, the Internet has become an inseparable component of suicide prevention matters. More specifically, social media has turned out to be a privileged space for suicidal individuals to express their distress and seek support. Although this tendency carries with it specific risks and challenges, it creates unprecedented opportunities to face the challenges of help seeking and access to care. In this paper, we present the empirical, technological, and theoretical evidence supporting the implementation of a digitally augmented prevention policy that would increase its reach. Congruent to the clinical observations and theories on the help-seeking process, we argue that social media can help undertake three main functions of increasing proactivity to bring suffering Web users to care. The gateway function relates to the properties of social media interactions to leverage help-seeking barriers and enable ambivalent individuals to access the mental healthcare system. The communication outreach function Aims:to broadcast pro-help-seeking messages, while drawing on the functional structure of the social media network to increase its audience. The intervention outreach function consists in using machine learning algorithms to detect social media users with the highest risk of suicidal behaviors and give them a chance to overcome their dysfunctional reluctance to access help. We propose to combine these three functions into a single coherent operational model. This would involve the joint actions of a communication and intervention team on social networks, working in close collaboration with conventional mental health professionals, emergency service, and community resources

Substance Use, Substance Use Disorders, and Co-Occurring Psychiatric Disorders in Recently Incarcerated Men: A Comparison with the General Population

International audienceThe rates of alcohol and illegal drug use and the prevalence of alcohol and illegal drug use disorders (AUDs and DUDs) are high in prison populations, particularly in men entering jail. However, these rates have never been exhaustively assessed and compared to those of the general population in France. We based our research on two surveys, conducted in the same French region, which included a total of 630 men entering jail and 5,793 men recruited from the general population. We used the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview to assess alcohol and drug use, AUD, DUD, as well as co-occurring psychiatric disorders, and we examined differences in prevalence rates between the two populations. Logistic regression models were performed to (i) identify the factors associated with AUD and DUD and (ii) test whether the interaction between admission to jail and the presence of AUD, DUD, or both is linked to the presence of at least one co-occurring psychiatric disorder. Compared to the general population sample, the prevalence of AUD (33.8% vs. 8.7%, p < 0.001) and DUD (at least one type of drug: 28.7% vs. 5.0%, p < 0.001; cannabis: 24.0% vs. 4.7%, p < 0.001; opioids: 6.8% vs. 0.4%, p < 0.001; stimulants: 5.2% vs. 0.8%, p < 0.001) was significantly higher in the jail population sample, as well as the rates of past-year use of various substances (alcohol: 62.1% vs. 56.4%, p = 0.007; at least one type of illegal drug: 50.0% vs. 14.4%, p < 0.001; cannabis: 45.6% vs. 13.9%, opioids: 9.4% vs. 0.7%; stimulants: 8.6% vs. 1.9%). Admission to jail was associated with a higher risk of AUD (aOR = 3.80, 95% CI: 2.89–5.01, p < 0.001) or DUD (aOR = 4.25, 95% CI: 3.10–5.84, p < 0.001). History of trauma was also associated with both AUD (aOR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.53–2.14, p < 0.001) and DUD (aOR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.74–2.65, p < 0.001), whereas history of migration was only associated with DUD (aOR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.12–1.71, p = 0.003). AUDs and DUDs were more strongly associated with co-occurring psychiatric disorders in incarcerated men than in the general population. Among individuals with AUD, DUD, or both, co-occurring anxiety and mood disorders were particularly more frequent in jail than in the general population.As in most countries, AUD and DUD are highly prevalent among men entering jail in France. Our results also suggest that incarceration constitutes an independent vulnerability factor for a dual disorder, which supports a systematic assessment and treatment of psychiatric disorders in men entering jail and diagnosed with an AUD or DUD

Prevalence and Risk Factors of PTSD in Older Survivors of Covid-19 Are The Elderly so Vulnerable?

International audienceNo abstract availabl

Conspiracy beliefs and perceptual inference in times of political uncertainty.

International audienceSociopolitical crises causing uncertainty have accumulated in recent years, providing fertile ground for the emergence of conspiracy ideations. Computational models constitute valuable tools for understanding the mechanisms at play in the formation and rigidification of these unshakeable beliefs. Here, the Circular Inference model was used to capture associations between changes in perceptual inference and the dynamics of conspiracy ideations in times of uncertainty. A bistable perception task and conspiracy belief assessment focused on major sociopolitical events were administered to large populations from three polarized countries. We show that when uncertainty peaks, an overweighting of sensory information is associated with conspiracy ideations. Progressively, this exploration strategy gives way to an exploitation strategy in which increased adherence to conspiracy theories is associated with the amplification of prior information. Overall, the Circular Inference model sheds new light on the possible mechanisms underlying the progressive strengthening of conspiracy theories when individuals face highly uncertain situations