The association of WTELS as a master motivator with higher executive functioning and better mental health.
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ABSTRACT: Supplementary information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02078-8.
SUBMITTER: Kira IA
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8272615 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Higher-order mentalising is the ability to represent the beliefs and desires of other people at multiple, iterated levels - a capacity that sets humans apart from other species. However, there has not yet been a systematic attempt to determine what cognitive processes underlie this ability. Here we present three correlational studies assessing the extent to which performance on higher-order mentalising tasks relates to emotion recognition, self-reported empathy and self-inhibition. In Study 1a and 1b, examining emotion recognition and empathy, a relationship was identified between individual differences in the ability to mentalise and an emotion recognition task (the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task), but no correlation was found with the Empathy Quotient, a self-report scale of empathy. Study 2 investigated whether a relationship exists between individual mentalising abilities and four different forms of self-inhibition: motor inhibition, executive inhibition, automatic imitation and temporal discounting. Results demonstrate that only temporal discounting performance relates to mentalising ability; suggesting that cognitive skills relevant to representation of the minds of others' are not influenced by the ability to perform more basic inhibition. Higher-order mentalising appears to rely on the cognitive architecture that serves both low-level social cognition (emotion recognition), and complex forms of inhibition.
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Project description:ObjectiveTo assess the impact of resilience, the ability to withstand and bounce back from adversity, on measures of well-being, self-reported stress, and mental health diagnoses.MethodsThis study was a cross-sectional survey of participants seen at an executive health practice at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, from January 2012 through September 2016. Participants completed an anonymous survey that included demographic information and 3 validated survey instruments-the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the 12-item Linear Analogue Self-Assessment Scale (LASA), and the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Self-reported history of mental health diagnoses was also collected. CD-RISC scores were used to stratify participants into lower (<30), medium (30-34), or higher (≥35) resilience categories. Participants' LASA scores, PSS scores, and self-reported mental health diagnoses were compared among resilience categories.ResultsOf the 2,027 eligible participants, 1,954 met the study inclusion criteria as currently employed corporate-sponsored executive or business professionals (self-designated) who completed the CD-RISC survey. Most participants (62.5%) were aged 40 to 59 years. The majority were male (78.3%), white (95.3%), educated (86.2%), and in a committed relationship (89.7%). Among participants, 41.7% reported higher resilience, 34.3% had medium resilience, and 24.0% had lower resilience. The quality of life and overall LASA scores were positively associated with higher resilience (P < .001). PSS scores and self-reported mental health diagnoses were negatively associated with higher resilience (P < .001). These associations remained significant after adjusting for patient characteristics.ConclusionsIn this cross-sectional survey of a large cohort of corporative executives, the lower-resilience cohort had a 4-fold higher prevalence of depression and an almost 3-fold higher prevalence of anxiety compared with the higher-resilience cohort. High resilience was positively associated with well-being and negatively associated with perceived stress. Our findings suggest that higher resilience in the executive workplace environment is associated with better mental health, reduced stress, and greater well-being.
| S-EPMC6559706 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health, physical activity, and sedentary behavior of people worldwide. According to the Health Belief Model (HBM), health-related behavior is determined by perceived barriers and motivators. Using an online survey with 1669 respondents, we sought to understand why and how physical activity and sedentary behavior has changed by querying about perceived barriers and motivators to physical activity that changed because of the pandemic, and how those changes impacted mental health. The following results were statistically significant at p < .05. Consistent with prior reports, our respondents were less physically active (aerobic activity, -11%; strength-based activity, -30%) and more sedentary (+11%) during the pandemic as compared to 6-months before. The pandemic also increased psychological stress (+22%) and brought on moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression. Respondents' whose mental health deteriorated the most were also the ones who were least active (depression r = -.21, anxiety r = -.12). The majority of respondents were unmotivated to exercise because they were too anxious (+8%,), lacked social support (+6%), or had limited access to equipment (+23%) or space (+41%). The respondents who were able to stay active reported feeling less motivated by physical health outcomes such as weight loss (-7%) or strength (-14%) and instead more motivated by mental health outcomes such as anxiety relief (+14%). Coupled with previous work demonstrating a direct relationship between mental health and physical activity, these results highlight the potential protective effect of physical activity on mental health and point to the need for psychological support to overcome perceived barriers so that people can continue to be physically active during stressful times like the pandemic.
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Project description:Physical fitness (PF) has been associated with improved cognition in older age, but less is known about its effects on different cognitive domains in individuals diagnosed with dementia. We explored the associations between PF and cognitive performance in 40 healthy elderly and 30 individuals with dementia. Participants completed a battery of standardized cognitive tests (Mini-Mental State Exam, Verbal Fluency, Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire, Clock Drawing, and California Verbal Learning Test) and were classified into high versus low levels of PF based on their score on the Physical Fitness Questionnaire. Analyses took into account age, gender, education, occupation, head injury, Internet use, brain training, and past levels of exercise and revealed overall benefits of PF, in particular for the people with dementia. Discriminant analysis showed high accuracy of reclassification, with most errors being due to the misclassification of dementia cases as healthy when they had high PF. The first discriminant function accounted for 83% of the variance. Using individual estimates of this function, which reflected global cognitive performance, confirmed the beneficial role of PF in dementia, even when taking into account age, past level of exercise, and the number of years since the dementia diagnosis. Finally, univariate analyses confirmed the differential sensitivity of the cognitive tests, with MMSE and clock drawing showing reliable interaction effects. This work shows that PF is associated with a reduced level of cognitive deterioration expected with dementia, especially in executive functioning and provides empirical support for the cognitive benefits of interventions promoting PF for individuals with dementia.
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Project description:BackgroundMental health problems during adolescence may create a problematic start into adulthood for affected individuals. Usually, categorical indicators of adolescent mental health issues (yes/no psychiatric disorder) are used in studies into long-term functional outcomes. This however does not take into account the full spectrum of mental health, nor does it consider the trajectory of mental health problem development over time. The aim of this study was twofold: (1) to identify distinct developmental trajectories of (co-occurring) internalizing and externalizing mental health symptoms over the course of adolescence (ages 11-19), and (2) to document the associations between these adolescent trajectories and economic, social, and health outcomes in young adulthood (age 22), unadjusted and adjusted for childhood functioning, putative confounders and current mental health.MethodsData were used from the Dutch TRAILS cohort study (subsample n = 1524, 47.3% males). Self-reported INT and EXT symptoms using the Youth/Adult Self Report were assessed four times (ages 11y, 13y, 16y, 19y). Adolescent mental health trajectories were estimated using Parallel-Processes Latent Class Growth Analyses. Self-reported economic, social, and health outcomes and parent-reported current mental health (using Adult Behaviour Checklist) were assessed at age 22. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to test associations between trajectories and outcomes.ResultsFour distinct trajectory classes were identified: (1) a normative class with decreasing-low INT+EXT symptoms (n = 460), (2) continuous moderately-high INT+EXT (n = 298), (3) continuous moderate, INT>EXT (n = 414), and (4) decreasing moderate, EXT>INT (n = 352). Compared to the normative class, the other three trajectories generally predicted less optimal early-adult outcomes, with the strongest effects observed for individuals with continuous moderate-high levels of both INT and EXT symptoms throughout adolescence. The associations largely remained after adjustment for pre-adolescent functioning, selected confounders and current mental health.ConclusionsBoth adolescent trajectories and current mental health had substantial independent effects on early-adult functioning.
| S-EPMC7286481 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundYouth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represent a growing population with significant service needs. Prominent among these needs are high rates of co-occurring psychiatric conditions that contribute to increased functional impairments and often necessitate mental health services. Executive functioning deficits are associated with ASD as well as common co-occurring conditions (e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and an evidence-based intervention has been developed and tested to address executive functioning within the school context. There is an urgent need to implement indicated evidence-based interventions for youth with ASD receiving care in community mental health settings. Interventions that optimally "fit" the mental health services context as well as the complex and co-occurring mental health needs of these youth have the potential to improve key clinical outcomes for this high priority population.MethodsThis mixed-methods developmental study will apply the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment implementation framework and a community-academic partnership approach to systematically adapt and test an evidence-based executive functioning intervention for youth with ASD for delivery in community mental health settings. Specific aims are to (1) conduct a need and context assessment to inform the systematic adaptation an executive functioning evidence-based intervention; (2) systematically adapt the clinical intervention and develop a corresponding implementation plan, together entitled "Executive Functioning for Enhancing Community-based Treatment for ASD," (EFFECT for ASD); and (3) conduct a feasibility pilot test of EFFECT for ASD in community mental health settings.DiscussionTailoring evidence-based interventions for delivery in community-based mental health services for youth with ASD has the potential to increase quality of care and improve child outcomes. Results from the current study will serve as the foundation for large-scale hybrid implementation and effectiveness trials and a generalizable approach for different service systems of care and clinical populations.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov, NCT04295512.
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Project description:Research shows that maltreated children are at elevated risk of arrest as adults and that higher verbal intelligence, reading ability, and executive functioning (abstract reasoning and cognitive flexibility) may be protective against criminal behavior. The current study examines this hypothesis using data from court-substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect and demographically matched controls followed prospectively into middle adulthood ( N = 1,196). At age 29, verbal intelligence was assessed with the Quick Test and reading ability with the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised. At age 41, abstract reasoning was assessed with the Matrix Reasoning Test and cognitive flexibility with the Trail Making Test-B. Arrest records were gathered from law enforcement agencies through mean age 51. Data were analyzed with binomial logistic regressions. The results indicated that maltreated children were at increased risk of arrest for nonviolent and violent crime. Higher verbal intelligence, reading ability, nonverbal reasoning, and cognitive flexibility were protective against arrest for violent crime. The protective effects of neuropsychological functions were more pronounced for violent than nonviolent crime, for the control than maltreated children, and differed by gender and race. These results suggest that interventions targeting improved cognitive and neuropsychological functions may serve an important role in reducing risk of crime.
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Project description:BackgroundExecutive functioning (EF) varies in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is associated with clinical symptoms, academic, and adaptive functioning. Here, we examined whether middle-childhood EF mediates associations between early-childhood autism symptoms and adolescent outcomes in children with ASD.MethodsThe Pathways in ASD Cohort comprising children recruited at the time of ASD diagnosis (at 2-4 years-of-age) and followed prospectively across eight subsequent timepoints over ~10 years was used. A subset of Pathways participants (n = 250) with Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF)-Parent Form data from at least one timepoint when participants were school-aged was analyzed. A mediation framework was used to examine whether BRIEF-measured EF across age 7-10 years (middle-childhood) mediated associations between early-childhood autism symptoms (measured using the parent-report Social Responsiveness Scale across age 2-6 years) and clinical, academic, and functional outcomes, indexed at age >10-11.8 years (early-adolescence) using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)-Internalizing and Externalizing Scales, Academic Performance from the Teacher's Report Form, and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Models were rerun substituting clinician-rated and teacher-rated measures, where possible.ResultsMediation models indicated a significant indirect effect of middle-childhood EF on associations between early-childhood autism symptoms and externalizing behavior, academic performance, or adaptive functioning in early adolescence; kappa squared (κ2 ) effect sizes ranged from large to small. Model findings were stable across raters. Middle-childhood EF did not mediate associations between early-childhood autism symptoms and adolescent internalizing behavior.ConclusionsAmong children with an ASD diagnosis, middle-childhood EF may be one pathway through which early-childhood autism symptoms influence a variety of outcomes in early-adolescence. An experimental study targeting middle-childhood EF to improve adolescent academic, emotional/behavioral, and adaptive functioning is needed to evaluate the clinical meaningfulness of these findings.
| S-EPMC9291328 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We compared the mental health of higher education students with that of nonstudents. Moreover, we examined whether the mental health of students predicts their probability of obtaining a higher education degree, and whether the extent to which mental health affects educational attainment varies by gender. Drawing on a risk and resilience framework, we considered five facets of mental health that may be implicated in distinct ways in the educational attainment process: positive attitude towards life, self-esteem, self-efficacy, negative affectivity, and perceived stress. We used data from a nationally representative panel study from Switzerland (Nstudents = 2070, 42.8% male; Nnonstudents = 3755, 45.9% male). The findings suggest that overall, the mental health of higher education students was relatively similar to that of nonstudents, although students exhibited slightly higher self-esteem, slightly weaker self-efficacy, greater negative affectivity, and higher levels of perceived stress. The effects of different facets of mental health on higher education degree attainment were mostly statistically and/or practically insignificant. However, positive attitudes towards life had a substantial positive effect on the probability of being awarded a higher education degree. Mental health was equally important for male and female students' educational attainment.Supplementary informationThe online version of this article (10.1007/s11618-023-01187-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
| S-EPMC10942912 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThere is increasing empirical evidence for the positive mental health effects of compassion-based interventions. Although numerous smartphone apps offering compassion-based interventions ('compassion apps') are now available for the general public, the quality of these apps has not yet been reviewed. A qualitative review of existing compassion apps serves as a crucial first step toward testing the efficacy of these apps, by identifying good-quality compassion apps that might be worth the investment of a scientific trial.AimsThe current study focuses on reviewing the quality of existing compassion apps.MethodExisting compassion apps were identified through searches in the Google Play Store and App Store. The 24 included apps were reviewed on their quality by using the Mobile App Rating Scale, and on their consistency with current evidence by comparing them to existing and studied compassion-based interventions.ResultsOf the 24 included apps, eight were identified that met the criteria of being consistent with existing and studied compassion-based interventions, and acceptable to good overall quality. The other 16 apps failed to meet one or both of these criteria.ConclusionsGood-quality compassion apps are available, but many of the available apps fail to meet certain quality criteria. In particular, many apps failed to offer sufficient relevant and correct information, or failed to offer this information in an entertaining and interesting way. It is recommended that future compassion apps are based on a clear definition of compassion, offer evidence- and theory-based exercises and implement tools for increasing engagement.
| S-EPMC10486246 | biostudies-literature