Abstract Purpose Social isolation is associated with suicidal ideation (SI) and self-harm (SH) among adolescents. However, the association between preference for solitude (PfS), SI, and SH is ...unknown. The prevalence of adolescents who have both of PfS and social isolation and the risks for SI and SH among them are also unknown. Methods Information on PfS, social isolation, SI, and SH was collected in a large-scale school-based survey on adolescents, using a self-report questionnaire. Associations between PfS, SI, and SH were examined by logistic regression analysis. The interactions between PfS and social isolation on SI and SH were also investigated. The odds of SI and SH were examined for groups defined by presence of PfS and social isolation. Results Responses from 17,437 students (89.3% of relevant classes) were available. After adjusting for demographic characteristics and social isolation, PfS was associated with increased odds of SI (odds ratio OR = 3.1) and SH (OR = 1.9). There was no interaction between PfS and social isolation on SI and SH. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, the odds for SI (OR = 8.6) and SH (OR = 3.8) were highest among adolescents with both PfS and social isolation (8.4% of all respondents). Conclusions PfS was associated with increased odds of SI and SH in adolescents. No interaction effect between PfS and social isolation on SI and SH was found, but adolescents with PfS and social isolation had the highest risk for SI and SH. Parents and professionals should pay attention to suicide risk in adolescents with PfS.
There is growing interest in public health strategies to modify dementia risk in midlife to reduce the burden of cognitive impairment in subsequent decades. Risk reduction messages should include key ...recommendations for women in response to the high prevalence of dementia observed in this population. Midlife is a critical period for dementia-related brain changes and psychosocial crises. Psychological well-being can improve resilience to crises, yet it is not well understood with respect to dementia risk reduction.
This study aimed to examine the association between midlife psychological well-being and cognitive function in later life in women.
The study included 703 women from the British 1946 birth cohort in the Medical Research Council's National Survey of Health and Development. Psychological well-being at 52 years was assessed using the Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-being over six dimensions: autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. Cognitive function at 69 years was measured using the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination, Third Edition.
After controlling for cognitive ability at eight years, educational attainment by 26 years, occupational attainment and marital status by 53 years, depression, smoking, and physical exercise at 60-64 years, there was a significant association between greater personal growth and lower self-acceptance at 52 years, and better cognition at 69 years. However, there was no association between cognition and the other four Ryff scales.
Most aspects of midlife psychological well-being, except for personal growth and self-acceptance, were not prospectively associated with cognition.
There is an alarming increase in the obesity prevalence among children in an environment of increasing availability of preprocessed high-calorie foods. However, some people maintain a healthy weight ...even in such obesogenic environments. This difference in body weight management could be attributed to individual differences in dietary restraint; however, its underlying neurocognitive mechanisms in adolescents remain unclear.
This study aimed to elucidate these neurocognitive mechanisms in adolescents by examining the relationships between dietary restraint and the food-related value-coding region located in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC).
The association between dietary restraint and BMI was tested using a multilinear regression analysis in a large early adolescent cohort (n = 2554; age, 12.2 ± 0.3 years; BMI, 17.9 ± 2.5 kg/m2; 1354 boys). Further, an fMRI experiment was designed to assess the association between the vmPFC response to food images and dietary restraint in 30 adolescents (age, 17.6 ± 1.9 years; BMI, 20.7 ± 2.2 kg/m2; 13 boys). Additionally, using 54 individuals from the cohort (age, 14.5 ± 0.6 years; BMI, 18.8 ± 2.6 kg/m2; 31 boys), we assessed the association between dietary restraint and intrinsic vmPFC-related functional connectivity.
In the cohort, adolescents with increased dietary restraint showed a lower BMI (β = −0.38; P < 0.001; B = −0.06; SE = 0.003). The fMRI results showed a decreased vmPFC response to high-calorie food were correlated with greater dietary restraint. Moreover, there was an association of attenuated intrinsic vmPFC-related functional connectivity in the superior and middle frontal gyrus and the middle temporal gyrus with greater dietary restraint.
Our findings suggest that dietary restraint in adolescents could be a preventive factor for weight gain; its effect involves modulating the vmPFC, which is associated with food value coding.
Aims There is still little information available on the negative impact of online activities on psychotic experiences. This limitation is further compounded for online gaming, where even a beneficial ...impact has been suggested via the evocation of positive emotions. We aimed to examine how problematic online gaming (POG) is associated with subsequent psychotic experiences in adolescents. Methods This birth cohort study employed randomly sampled adolescents born between September 2002 and August 2004. The eligibility criterion was those who did not have psychotic experiences at age 14. We analyzed the association between POG at age 14 and subsequent psychotic experiences at age 16. Adolescents were categorized into the no, low, and high POG groups based on the behaviors and emotions related to online gaming at age 14. Missing data were handled using random forest imputations. Results A total of 1722 adolescents without psychotic experiences at age 14 were analyzed. At age 16, 55 adolescents exhibited psychotic experiences, while 225 showed potential psychotic experiences. Compared with the no POG group, a higher risk of psychotic experiences was shown in both the low (RR 1.93, 95% CI 1.74–2.15) and high (RR 2.81, 95% CI 2.50–3.15) POG groups. Findings were consistent when analyzing potential psychotic experiences. Conclusion POG appears detrimental to the development of psychotic experiences in adolescents. Our findings provide public health implications in the context of policymaking.
Autistic traits are associated with psychotic experiences in adolescence; however, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not well understood. Prior research indicates that bullying ...victimization increases the risk of psychotic experiences in general adolescent populations, and autistic youth are at higher risk of being bullied than their non-autistic peers. Using longitudinal data from general population adolescents aged 10–14 in the Tokyo Teen Cohort study, we tested the hypothesis that bullying is responsible for the association between autistic traits and psychotic experiences in adolescence. We identified an indirect effect (estimate = 0.033 95% CIs: 0.014–0.057, p < 0.001) between autistic traits and psychotic experiences via bullying victimization, even after controlling for known confounders. Prevention of bullying victimization may be one avenue for reducing risk of psychosis among adolescents with high levels of autistic traits.
Abstract
Background
The importance of advance care planning for people with dementia has increased during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic. However, family caregivers may have concerns about ...having conversations regarding advance care planning with their loved ones, which may hinder the initiation of such planning. This study investigated family caregivers’ concerns regarding conducting advance care planning for home-dwelling individuals with dementia.
Methods
A prospective cross-sectional study compared the level of family-caregiver concern between those who had initiated advance care planning and those who did not. In June 2021, an internet-based questionnaire survey was administered to Japan-based family caregivers of persons with dementia. Registered members of a Japan-based survey company were recruited; inclusion criteria were being aged 40 years or older and having been a primary, non-professional caregiver of a family member with dementia. Respondents rated their level of agreement with six statements regarding advance-care-planning-related concerns. Respondents also reported their psychological well-being using the WHO-5 Well-Being Index.
Results
Overall, 379 family caregivers participated in this survey. Of these, 155 (40.9%) reported that their loved ones had initiated advance care planning, of whom 88 (56.8%) stated that care professionals were involved in the advance-care-planning conversations. The level of family-caregiver concern was significantly lower when the loved one initiated the conversation concerning advance care planning. After adjusting for the characteristics of persons with dementia and their caregivers, family caregivers with lower psychological well-being showed significantly higher levels of concern.
Conclusions
Family caregivers reported concerns regarding conducting advance care planning. There is a need for educational and clinical strategies that encourage professionals to address the psychological needs of family caregivers.
Abstract
Background and Hypotheses
A wealth of evidence suggests that adolescent psychotic experiences (PEs), and especially auditory hallucinations (AHs), are associated with an increased risk for ...self-injurious behavior (SIB). However, the directionality and specificity of this association are not well understood, and there are no published studies investigating within-person effects over time. The present study aimed to test whether AHs and SIB prospectively increase reciprocal risk at the individual level during early-to-middle adolescence.
Study Design
Three waves (12y, 14y, and 16y) of self-reported AHs and SIB data from a large Tokyo-based adolescent birth cohort (N = 2825) were used. Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) analysis was conducted to test the within-person prospective associations between AHs and SIB.
Study Results
At the within-person level, AHs were associated with subsequent SIB over the observation period (12y–14y: β = .118, P < .001; 14–16y: β = .086, P = .012). The reverse SIB->AHs relationship was non-significant at 12–14y (β = .047, P = .112) but emerged from 14y to 16y as the primary direction of influence (β = .243, P < .001). Incorporating depression as a time-varying covariate did not meaningfully alter model estimates.
Conclusions
A complex bi-directional pattern of relationships was observed between AHs and SIB over the measurement period, and these relationships were independent of depressive symptoms. Adolescent AHs may be both a predictor of later SIB and also a manifestation of SIB-induced psychological distress.
Objective: To describe the psychosocial functioning in children with undiagnosed persistent ADHD symptoms. Method: A prospective, population-based birth cohort study was conducted among 2,945 ...children and their primary caregivers who lived in Tokyo, Japan, and were followed up at the age of 10 years and 12 years. Parents reported a history of ADHD diagnosis and completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results: Overall, 91 participants had persistent ADHD symptoms; however, 76 (83.5%) had no history of an ADHD diagnosis. The presence of undiagnosed ADHD symptoms was significantly associated with worse psychosocial functioning for most continuous outcomes when compared with the absence of ADHD symptoms and diagnosis, including lower self-esteem (standardized mean difference SMD = −0.31) and higher depression (SMD = 0.36), emotional symptoms (SMD = 0.69), conduct problems (SMD = 1.26), and peer relationship problems (SMD = 0.98). Conclusion: Our findings suggest the importance of paying more attention to the possible underdiagnosis of ADHD in children.
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