HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders

HIV infection is associated with disturbances in brain function referred to as HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). This literature review outlines the recently revised diagnostic criteria for the range of HAND from the earliest to the more advanced stages: (i) asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment; (ii) mild neurocognitive disorder; and (iii) HIV-associated dementia. Relevant literature is also reviewed regarding the differential impact upon component cognitive domains known to be affected in HAND, which in turn should ideally be targeted during clinical and neuropsychological assessments: psychomotor and information processing speed, learning and memory, attention and working memory, speech and language, executive functioning and visuospatial functioning. A discussion outlining the neuropsychological tools used in the diagnostic screening of HAND is also included. The central mechanisms of HAND appear to revolve primarily around psychomotor slowing and cognitive control over mental operations, possibly reflecting the influence of disrupted fronto-striatal circuits on distributed neural networks critical to cognitive functions. The accurate assessment and diagnosis of HAND depends on meeting the need for statistically sound neuropsychological assessment techniques that may be used confidently in assessing South African populations, as well as the development of relevant norms for comparison of test performance data

The assessment and management of dementia

South African family practitioners can expect to contend with rising rates of dementia as the aged segment of the population grows larger and HIV-related neuropsychiatric complications manifest with increasing prevalence. Family practitioners are often the first professional consulted by families concerned with a family member's suspected dementia. This fortunate position facilitates the early identification of cognitive difficulties, which, in turn, greatly increases the likelihood of optimal management. Dementia is best managed with a multidisciplinary-team approach that sees family practitioners fulfilling the role of key support to families and of the coordinators of multidisciplinary referrals and inputs. This article reviews the key diagnostic features of dementia and provides suggestions that may be utilised by physicians in the basic assessment of these features. It concludes with a summary of the most appropriate management plan to be adopted by family practitioners

Procenjivanje simptoma poremećaja igranja kompjuterskih igara na internetu (eng. Internet Gaming Disorder) kod studenata - internacionalna validaciona studija mere samoprocene

The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of a self-report scale for assessing Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) symptoms according to the DSM-5 and ICD-11 among 3270 college/univers ity students (2095 [64.1%] females; age mean 21.6 [3.1] years) from different countries worldwide. Croatian, English, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Turkish, and Vietnamese versions of the scale were tested. The study showed that symptoms of IGD could be measured as a single underlying factor among college/university students. A nine itemsymptom scale following DSM-5, and a short four-item scale representing the main ICD-11 symptoms, had sound internal consistency and construct validity. Three symptom-items were found non-invariant across the language samples (i.e., preoccupation with on-line gaming, loss of interests in previous hobbies and entertainment, and the use of gaming to relieve negative moods). This study provides initial evidence for assessing IGD symptoms among college/university students and will hopefully foster further research into gaming addiction in this population worldwide especially with taking into account language/cultural differences.U ovoj studiji su procenjena psihometrijska svojstva skale samoprocene koja je namenjena proceni simptoma poremećaja igranja kompjuterskih igrara na internetu (eng. Internet Gaming Disorder-IGD) prema DSM-5 i ICD-11 klasifikacijama mentalnih bolesti na uzorku od 3270 studenata (2095 [64.1%] devojaka; prosečna starost 21.6 [3.1] godina) iz više zemalja. Ispitana je hrvatska, engleska, poljska, portugalska, srpska, turska i vijetnamska verzija skale. Rezultati su pokazali da se kod studenata IGD simptomi mogu izmeriti instrumentom u čijoj osnovi leži jedan faktor. Skala od devet stavki koje se odnose na DSM-5 kriterijume i kratka skala od četiri stavke koja se odnosi na glavne simptome prema ICD-11 kriterijumima imaju zadovoljavajuću internu konzistentnost i konstruktnu validnost. Merna invarijantnost u odnosu na različite jezike je utvrđena za tri ajtema (preokupiranost igranjem onlajn igara, gubljenje interesovanja za dotadašnje hobije i zabavu i korišćenje igranja za rasterećenje od negativnih emocija). Ova studija je ponudila početne podatke za procenu simptoma poremećaja igranja kompjuterskih igrara na internetu kod studenata i nadamo se da će podstaći buduća istraživanja zavisnosti od kompjuterskih igrara u populacijama širom sveta uzimajući u obzir jezičke/kulturološke razlike

A Worldwide Test of the Predictive Validity of Ideal Partner Preference-Matching

©American Psychological Association, [2024]. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. The final article is available, upon publication, at: [ARTICLE DOI]”Ideal partner preferences (i.e., ratings of the desirability of attributes like attractiveness or intelligence) are the source of numerous foundational findings in the interdisciplinary literature on human mating. Recently, research on the predictive validity of ideal partner preference-matching (i.e., do people positively evaluate partners who match versus mismatch their ideals?) has become mired in several problems. First, articles exhibit discrepant analytic and reporting practices. Second, different findings emerge across laboratories worldwide, perhaps because they sample different relationship contexts and/or populations. This registered report—partnered with the Psychological Science Accelerator—uses a highly powered design (N=10,358) across 43 countries and 22 languages to estimate preference-matching effect sizes. The most rigorous tests revealed significant preference-matching effects in the whole sample and for partnered and single participants separately. The “corrected pattern metric” that collapses across 35 traits revealed a zero-order effect of β=.19 and an effect of β=.11 when included alongside a normative preference-matching metric. Specific traits in the “level metric” (interaction) tests revealed very small (average β=.04) effects. Effect sizes were similar for partnered participants who reported ideals before entering a relationship, and there was no consistent evidence that individual differences moderated any effects. Comparisons between stated and revealed preferences shed light on gender differences and similarities: For attractiveness, men’s and (especially) women’s stated preferences underestimated revealed preferences (i.e., they thought attractiveness was less important than it actually was). For earning potential, men’s stated preferences underestimated—and women’s stated preferences overestimated—revealed preferences. Implications for the literature on human mating are discussed.Unfunde

The psychological science accelerator’s COVID-19 rapid-response dataset

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

Tears evoke the intention to offer social support: A systematic investigation of the interpersonal effects of emotional crying across 41 countries

Tearful crying is a ubiquitous and likely uniquely human phenomenon. Scholars have argued that emotional tears serve an attachment function: Tears are thought to act as a social glue by evoking social support intentions. Initial experimental studies supported this proposition across several methodologies, but these were conducted almost exclusively on participants from North America and Europe, resulting in limited generalizability. This project examined the tears-social support intentions effect and possible mediating and moderating variables in a fully pre-registered study across 7007 participants (24,886 ratings) and 41 countries spanning all populated continents. Participants were presented with four pictures out of 100 possible targets with or without digitally-added tears. We confirmed the main prediction that seeing a tearful individual elicits the intention to support, d = 0.49 [0.43, 0.55]. Our data suggest that this effect could be mediated by perceiving the crying target as warmer and more helpless, feeling more connected, as well as feeling more empathic concern for the crier, but not by an increase in personal distress of the observer. The effect was moderated by the situational valence, identifying the target as part of one's group, and trait empathic concern. A neutral situation, high trait empathic concern, and low identification increased the effect. We observed high heterogeneity across countries that was, via split-half validation, best explained by country-level GDP per capita and subjective well-being with stronger effects for higher-scoring countries. These findings suggest that tears can function as social glue, providing one possible explanation why emotional crying persists into adulthood.</p