Executive functions, impulsivity, and inhibitory control in adolescents: a structural equation model

Background. Adolescence represents a critical period for brain development, addressed by neurodevelopmental models to frontal, subcortical-limbic, and striatal activation, a pattern associated with rise of impulsivity and deficits in inhibitory control. The present study aimed at studying the association between self-report measures of impulsivity and inhibitory control with executive function in adolescents, employing structural equation modeling. Method. Tests were administered to 434 high school students. Acting without thinking was measured through the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and the Dickman Impulsivity Inventory, reward sensitivity through the Behavioral Activation System, and sensation seeking through the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire. Inhibitory control was assessed through the Behavioral Inhibition System. The performance at the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task indicated executive function. Three models were specified using Sample Covariance Matrix, and the estimated parameters using Maximum Likelihood. Results. In the final model, impulsivity and inhibitory control predicted executive function, but sensation seeking did not. The fit of the model to data was excellent. Conclusions. The hypothesis that inhibitory control and impulsivity are predictors of executive function was supported. Our results appear informative of the validity of self-report measures to examine the relation between impulsivity traits rather than others to regulatory function of cognition and behavior

Relationship between Temperament, Depression, Anxiety, and Hopelessness in Adolescents: A Structural Equation Model

The purpose of this study was to test the validity of affective temperaments for predicting psychiatric morbidity and suicide risk, using a two-factor model to explain the relationships between temperament, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. We investigated 210 high school students, 103 males and 107 females, 18-19 years old, who were administered self-report questionnaires to assess temperament (TEMPS-A), depression (BDI-II), anxiety (STAI) and hopelessness (BHS). The final structural model had a good fit with the data, with two factors significantly correlated, the first labeled unstable cyclothymic temperament including Dysthymic/Cyclothymic/Anxious temperament, Irritable temperament and Depression, and the second labeled Demoralization including Anxiety (State/Trait) and Hopelessness. Depression, anxiety and hopelessness are in a complex relationship partly mediated by temperament

Unique diagnostic signatures of concussion in the saliva of male athletes: the Study of Concussion in Rugby Union through MicroRNAs (SCRUM)

Funder: Medical Research Council; FundRef: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000265Funder: National Institute for Health Research; FundRef: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000272Funder: Marker DiagnosticsFunder: Rugby Football UnionFunder: Midland Neuroscience Teaching and Research FundObjective: To investigate the role of salivary small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) in the diagnosis of sport-related concussion. Methods: Saliva was obtained from male professional players in the top two tiers of England’s elite rugby union competition across two seasons (2017–2019). Samples were collected preseason from 1028 players, and during standardised head injury assessments (HIAs) at three time points (in-game, post-game, and 36–48 hours post-game) from 156 of these. Samples were also collected from controls (102 uninjured players and 66 players sustaining a musculoskeletal injury). Diagnostic sncRNAs were identified with next generation sequencing and validated using quantitative PCR in 702 samples. A predictive logistic regression model was built on 2017–2018 data (training dataset) and prospectively validated the following season (test dataset). Results: The HIA process confirmed concussion in 106 players (HIA+) and excluded this in 50 (HIA−). 32 sncRNAs were significantly differentially expressed across these two groups, with let-7f-5p showing the highest area under the curve (AUC) at 36–48 hours. Additionally, a combined panel of 14 sncRNAs (let-7a-5p, miR-143-3p, miR-103a-3p, miR-34b-3p, RNU6-7, RNU6-45, Snora57, snoU13.120, tRNA18Arg-CCT, U6-168, U6-428, U6-1249, Uco22cjg1,YRNA_255) could differentiate concussed subjects from all other groups, including players who were HIA− and controls, immediately after the game (AUC 0.91, 95% CI 0.81 to 1) and 36–48 hours later (AUC 0.94, 95% CI 0.86 to 1). When prospectively tested, the panel confirmed high predictive accuracy (AUC 0.96, 95% CI 0.92 to 1 post-game and AUC 0.93, 95% CI 0.86 to 1 at 36–48 hours). Conclusions: SCRUM, a large prospective observational study of non-invasive concussion biomarkers, has identified unique signatures of concussion in saliva of male athletes diagnosed with concussion

The validation of the THAM-2 (Test de Habilidades Metalingüísticas n. 2, Núñez Delgado, & Pinto 2015)

This article describes the statistical analyses performed for validating the THAM-2, a metalinguistic ability test for children aged from 9-14, translated from the original Italian TAM-2 (Pinto, Candilera & Iliceto 2003) into Spanish (Pinto, Titone & Gonzáles Gil 2000 ; Núñez Delgado & Pinto 2015) with partial adaptations. The test is composed of six subtests : Comprehension, Synonymy, Acceptability, Ambiguity, Grammatical function and Phonemic Segmentation. The scoring system is based on the distinction between Linguistic (measuring metalinguistic awareness at the implicit level) and Metalinguistic scores (measuring metalinguistic awareness at the explicit level). Three hundred and one Spanish-speaking children between 9 and 16 (mean age = 12.5 ; SD = 1.3) participated in the study. Based on the Spanish school system, the sample was subdivided into four grades from 4-5 primaria (4th and 5th grade) to 2° ESO (8th grade). All the participants took the THAM-2 and the Raven’s SPM3 (Raven et al. 1998). Skewness and Kurtosis showed that the data were normally distributed. ANOVAs evidenced relevant group differences as a function of two main factors : gender, with females outperforming males, and education level, where each school grade was associated with significant improvement in performances. Inter-rater agreement, as measured by Cohen’s Kappa (Cohen 1960) was highly satisfactory. Cronbach’s alpha, calculated on the ML scales, presented acceptable internal consistency estimates. Correlations between the THAM-2 and the SPM38 were significant, although moderate. The results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA, Brown 2006) overall supported the theoretical two-factor structure of the original test, the ML and the L factor, but with a strong asymmetry between the two factors. Only the ML emerged as a unitary construct, well measured by the all the ML scales, whereas the L factor was well measured only by two out of six scales. These results stress the metalinguistic character of this test, which lends itself to various types of studies in education, especially in correlation with metacognitive competences

The validation of the THAM-3 (Test de Habilidades Metalingüísticas n. 3, Lasagabaster, Merino, & Pinto 2015)

This paper describes the statistical analyses performed to validate the THAM-3, a metalinguistic ability test for late adolescence and adulthood, translated from the original Italian version TAM-3 (Pinto & Iliceto 2007) into Spanish (Pinto, Titone, & Gonzales Gil 2000 ; Lasagabaster, Merino, & Pinto 2015) with partial adaptations. The test consists of three subtests : Comprehension, Acceptability and Figurative language, and its scoring system is based on the distinction between Linguistic (L, measuring metalinguistic awareness at the implicit level) and Metalinguistic (ML, measuring metalinguistic awareness at the explicit level) scores. One hundred and fifty students recruited at the University of Valladolid in Soria (Spain), aged 18 to 37 years (mean age = 21.1 ; SD = 2.7), took the THAM-3 and Raven’s SPM38 (Raven, Raven, & Court 1998). Skewness and Kurtosis as measures of the shape of the distribution showed that the data were normally distributed. Reliability analyses, measured by Cohen’s Kappa (Cohen 1960) and Cronbach’s alpha, presented relatively adequate estimates. The correlations between all the THAM-3 measures and the SPM38 scores were statistically significant. The results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA, Brown 2006) supported the theoretical two-factor structure of the original test, assigning the ML subtests’ scores to the corresponding Metalinguistic latent factor, the L subtests’ scores to the corresponding Linguistic latent factor, and explaining the inter-correlations between the observed variables. The final model provided a good fit to the empirical data, although only the Metalinguistic factor emerged as a unitary construct, whereas the Linguistic factor proved poorer. On the basis of these results, the THAM-3 can be considered as a valid measure of metalinguistic abilities for all subjects having Spanish as their first language

The validation of the THAM-3 (Test d’Habiletés Métalinguistiques n. 3, Pinto & El Euch 2015)

This paper describes the statistical analyses performed to validate the THAM-3 (Test d’Habiletés Métalinguistiques n°3, Pinto & El Euch 2015), a metalinguistic ability test for late adolescence and adulthood, translated from the original Italian version TAM-3 (Pinto & Iliceto 2007) into French with partial adaptations. The THAM-3 is composed of three subtests : Comprehension, Acceptability and Figurative language, and its scoring system is based on the distinction between Linguistic (L, measuring metalinguistic awareness at the implicit level) and Metalinguistic (ML, measuring metalinguistic awareness at the explicit level) scores. One hundred and fifty students recruited at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, aged from 19 to 52 years (mean age : 24.75 ; SD = 6.5), took the THAM-3 and the Raven’s SPM38 (Raven, Raven & Court 1998), as a measure of nonverbal intelligence to examine convergent validity. Means and standard deviations, Skewness and Kurtosis as measures of the shape of the distribution showed that the data were normally distributed. Reliability analyses, measured by Cohen’s Kappa (Cohen 1960) and Cronbach’s alpha, presented adequate estimates. Correlations between all the THAM-3 measures and the SPM38 scores were statistically significant. The results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA, Brown 2006) supported the theoretical two-factor structure of the original test, assigning the ML subtests’ scores to the corresponding Metalinguistic latent factor, the L subtests’ scores to the corresponding Linguistic latent factor, and explaining the inter-correlations between the observed variables. The final model provided a good fit to the empirical data, evidencing mainly the robustness of the Metalinguistic factor as a unitary construct. On the basis of these results, the THAM-3 can be considered as a valid measure of metalinguistic abilities for all subjects having French as their first language and also for advanced learners of French

The pilot studies on the MKT-2 (Metalinguistischer Kompetenztest Teil 2, Jessner, Hofer, & Pinto 2015) and the MKT-3 (Metalinguistischer Kompetenztest Teil 3, Jessner, Pellegrini, Moroder, Hofer, & Pinto 2015)

This article presents the results of the pilot studies conducted on the MKT-2 (Metalinguistischer Kompetenz Test Teil 2 for subjects 9-14) and the MKT-3 (Metalinguistischer Kompetenztest Teil 3, for late adolescence-adulthood), two tests translated from the original Italian metalinguistic ability test TAM-2 (Pinto, Candilera, & Iliceto 2003) and TAM-3 (Pinto, Iliceto 2007) into German. As these German versions were, after a lenghty translation process, administered for the first time to native speakers of German, (Jessner, Hofer, Pellegrini, & Pinto 2015), it was particularly significant to test their impact on German-speaking subjects. The pilot studies were conducted in three small centers of South Tyrol (North of Italy) on native speakers of German. Performances were measured by descriptive and inferential statistics indicators, and by comparison with the normative samples of the Italian TAM-2 and TAM-3. Results showed that both German pilot samples attained good metalinguistic performances at the implicit level, as measured by the L scores of each test, and in line with the Italian normative samples at the corresponding ages, and also at the explicit level, as measured by the ML scores of these tests, which were even superior to those of the Italian subjects. In either MKT-2 and MKT-3, Skewness and Kurtosis values were within range, reliability coefficients ranged from average to high, intercorrelations ranged from moderate to strong, and by means of Principal Component Analysis (PCA), a major component was extracted, that represents the metalinguistic core of the test, as measured by the ML subtests. These preliminary results encourage to further systematic validation studies on both MKT-2 and MKT-3

Obsessive–compulsive tendencies, self/other perception, personality, and suicidal ideation in a non-clinical sample

Research on the risk factors for SI in adults with OC tendencies is limited, and it is still unclear whether the association between OC tendencies and SI in non-clinical individuals exists. The goal of the present study was to test the associations between OC tendencies, self/other perception, personality traits, depressive symptoms and SI among a non-clinical adult population. We investigated an Italian sample of 337 adults, who were administered a set of self-report questionnaires to assess obsessive–compulsive tendencies, depression, self/other perception, personality traits, and hopelessness. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed. In the final model we found that personality, obsessive– compulsive factor and suicidal ideation were significantly correlated with each other: personality correlated negatively with obsessive–compulsive factor and suicidal ideation, while obsessive–compulsive factor and suicidal ideation resulted as strongly positively associated. Our results highlight the importance of assessing OC tendencies, negative self/ other perception and SI. Understanding their role and interplay will allow for the development and implementation of more advanced prevention and treatment policies

Temperament, insecure attachment, impulsivity, and sexuality in women in jail

Background: Women constitute only a small proportion of inmates, but several studies have shown that they have higher rates of psychiatric disturbance than incarcerated men and community samples. Mental health treatment is necessary to prevent severe illness and suicide in these women. Methods: The convenience sample consisted of 40 female detainees and 40 controls who were administered self-report questionnaires to assess temperament (TEMPS-A), insecure attachment (ECR), impulsivity (BIS-11), and sexual behavior (SESAMO). Results: The incarcerated women had higher levels of affective temperament (except for hyperthymia), avoidance, anxiety, impulsivity, and psychosexual issues than the female community sample. Conclusions: Many interrelated emotional and affective disturbances affect the physical and psychological well-being of women in jail, and it is possible that these problems may lead to suicide. Health professionals need to develop gender-specific therapeutic interventions for women in jail. © 2012 International Association of Forensic Nurses

Occupational stress and psychopathology in health professionals: An explorative study with the Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model approach

Occupational stress is a multivariate process involving sources of pressure, psycho-physiological distress, locus of control, work dissatisfaction, depression, anxiety, mental health disorders, hopelessness, and suicide ideation. Healthcare professionals are known for higher rates of occupational-related distress (burnout and compassion fatigue) and higher rates of suicide. The purpose of this study was to explain the relationships between occupational stress and some psychopathological dimensions in a sample of health professionals. We investigated 156 nurses and physicians, 62 males and 94 females, who were administered self-report questionnaires to assess occupational stress [occupational stress inventory (OSI)], temperament (temperament evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego autoquestionnaire), and hopelessness (Beck hopelessness scale). The best Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes model with five OSI predictors yielded the following results: chi(2) (9) 14.47 (p = 0.11); chi(2)/df = 1.60; comparative fit index = 0.99; root mean square error of approximation = 0.05. This model provided a good fit to the empirical data, showing a strong direct influence of casual variables such as work dissatisfaction, absence of type A behavior, and especially external locus of control, psychological and physiological distress on latent variable psychopathology. Occupational stress is in a complex relationship with temperament and hopelessness and also common among healthcare professionals