Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are subclinical forms of psychosis commonly experienced in the general population. The nature of PLEs has yet to be clearly defined, yet mood and sleep disturbances ...may be two predictors. Sleep disturbance increases paranoia and hallucinations in experimental studies, and insomnia is considered a longitudinal precursor of psychosis. Mood disturbances including depression and mania, which can be induced by insomnia, can also result in psychotic symptoms. However, whether insomnia may predict PLEs via the mediation of mood disturbance has yet to be fully clarified. To advance this field, the aim of this study was to investigate the mediation role of depression and mania symptoms on the relationship between insomnia and PLEs.
1.086 community members (28.32±9.04 years, 58.1% females) cross-sectionally completed self-reported measures of insomnia severity, depression/mania symptoms, and PLEs. Bivariate correlations, hierarchical multiple regressions and mediation analyses with bootstrap approach were performed. Insomnia and mood disturbances (depression/mania) were significantly associated with PLEs (β = 0.06, p < .05; β = 0.225, p < .001, respectively). Mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect effect between insomnia and PLEs mediated by mood disturbance through bootstrap approach (β=0.13, se= 0.02, 95% CI: 0.10 - 0.17). Our results support the view of insomnia and mood disturbances as predictors of PLEs in the general population and foster the replication of these findings using longitudinal designs.
With rapid economic development in China, the competition for spaces of production, living and ecology is getting fierce. The Yellow River Basin, a principal agricultural and manufacturing region, ...has been affected significantly by urbanization and industrialization, as well as national development policies. Consequently, the ecology has become particularly vulnerable. In this complex region, scientifically measuring the coordinated development state of the recurrent pattern of production, living and ecological spaces (PLES) and exploring the spatial differentiation of the coordination development state are crucial for future planning, management, environmental protection and high-quality development. Therefore, we estimated the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of PLES by employing spatiotemporal data and spatial statistic models, and investigated the influencing factors of CCD. We found that CCD was relatively low and presented a pyramid-shaped distribution in 1995 and 2015. The influencing factors included altitude, slope, temperature, precipitation, economy, and population. Stable factors included altitude, slope and temperature, whereas variable factors included precipitation, economy and population. The promotion effects of climatic and economic factors were evident and intensified with time, whereas the inhibition effect of the precipitation was observed, which also intensified with time. Policy implications for land-use optimization in such an ecologically fragile area were proposed.
•Coupling coordination degree model used to study PLES of river basin.•Geographically weighted regression model used in dynamic analysis of river basin.•CCD of PLES presented a pyramid-shaped distribution in the Yellow River Basin.•Impacts of geographical factors on CCD of PLES are spatially varying.
Sustainable land use is an important part of sustainable development. China is the largest developing country and has made significant achievements in economic development. However, in the process of ...development, there are also problems such as tightening resource constraints and intensifying land use conflicts. With mainland China as the research area in this article, the perspective of “production–living–ecological spaces” (PLES) from the administrative unit scale and grid scale was used to build a land use evaluation index system. Through geographic information technology and mathematical models, we researched PLES spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of various Chinese cities, regions, and provinces, and analyzed the present situation of the coupling coordination and drew several conclusions. (1) From 2010–2019, the PLES function scores of cities in China increased to a certain extent, presenting a high spatial distribution pattern in the south and low in the north, and the spatial correlation analysis shows that there is a certain correlation between the land use function scores of each city. (2) From 2010–2019, the spatial suitability of PLES in China showed a downward trend, suggesting that human activities and different land use patterns may have a certain impact on land use suitability. In addition, ecological space suitability is negatively correlated with human production and living activities. (3) The coupling coordination degree of land use in China has been continuously reducing over the past 9 years, indicating that the coordination degree of different land use activities has been continuously deteriorated. There are also some cities with poor PLES coordination, caused by unreasonable production and living activities inflicting great damage upon the ecological space, or by low production efficiency with dense populations. Therefore, it is suggested to reasonably adjust the layout of land space, improve the efficiency of land resource utilization, and pay attention to the harmonious development between humans and nature, so as to achieve the sustainable development of land use.
•Multi-scale mathematical and coupling coordination degree model are applied comprehensively.•A complete index system from different scales to evaluate land use sustainability are conducted.•The relationship between PLES and SDGs detailed indicators are analyzed and discussed.
This study aimed to explore the relationship between life events and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in college students, as well as the mediating effect of sleep disturbances and psychotic-like ...experiences (PLEs). After excluding invalid questionnaires, 5,754 were retained, and the valid efficiency was 75.94%. The subjects were aged 16 to 29 years (M = 19.166; SD = 1.392), with 1,969 males (34.22%) and 3,785 females (65.78%). Life events, sleep disturbances, PLEs, and NSSI were assessed using standard scales. Data were analyzed by Pearson Correlation Analysis and bias-correction percentile Bootstrap method. The results show that (1) life events were significant positive predictors of NSSI, sleep disturbances, and PLEs; (2) sleep disturbances, PLEs, and the chain mediation between the two, were mediators between life events and NSSI. Life events are thus shown to be an important external factor influencing NSSI in university students, and this process is mediated through sleep disturbances, PLEs, and the chain between the two. Interventions for NSSI can therefore be made by improving college students' sleep quality and reducing PLEs.
Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are experiences in the general population that, in their extreme form, are attributed to clinical psychosis. They are correlated with general psychopathology and ...increased risk of developing psychosis. Previous research show a multitude of measuring tools which most often lack psychometric validation. This study aimed to examine both categorical and metacognitive measures of PLEs.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used in seven online studies with n's ranging from 259 to 6772 to explore factor structures of Prodromal Questionnaire 16 item (PQ-16), Revised Green et al. Paranoid Thoughts Scale (R-GPTS), Multi-Modality Unusual Sensory Experiences Questionnaire (MUSEQ), Beliefs about Paranoia Scale (BAPS) and Interpretation of Voices Inventory (IVI). Additionally, we explored measurement invariance between diagnosed with psychiatric disorders and undiagnosed individuals in PQ-16, R-GPTS and BAPS.
We confirmed the factor structures of all questionnaires except IVI. We confirmed configural, threshold and metric measurement invariance in R-GPTS and BAPS and partially PQ-16.
The current results demonstrate structural validity and measurement invariance of several categorical and metacognitive measures of PLEs.
This study aimed to examine the specific relationships between screen time and various mental health problems among community-dwelling adults in China.
Self-reports of weekday and weekend screen time ...(TV, computer use and cell phone/tablet use), symptoms of PTSD, depression, and ADHD, and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) were completed by 7121 Chinese adults. Logistic regression was used to examine specific relationships between screen time and mental health problems with demographics, physical activity, drinking, smoking, and sleep duration as covariates.
On weekdays, the participants spending at least 3 h on watching TV, computer use and cell phone/tablet use respectively accounted for 6.8%, 15.9% and 45.9%. On weekends, the proportions were 15.5%, 12.1% and 50.0%. Computer use on weekends was associated with higher risk of PTSD (OR = 1.81); cell phone/tablet use on weekdays and weekends was related to increased depression (OR = 1.38, OR = 1.28, respectively), while only computer use on weekends was related to depression (OR = 1.33); cell phone/tablet use both on weekdays and weekends was also connected to ADHD (OR = 1.56, OR = 1.48, respectively); on weekdays and weekends, more time TV viewing (OR = 1.76–1.79, OR = 1.46–1.71, respectively) and less cell phone/tablet use (OR = 0.66, OR = 0.65, respectively) were associated with higher numbers of PLEs.
The relationships between different types of screen time and mental health problems are variant. Future longitudinal studies should subdivide screen time on the basis of content and explore the specific causal relationship between screen time and mental health problems.
In this paper, we lay the foundations of the personal learning environment or PLE, its conception, cognitive and theoretical underpinnings, and implications for the design of pedagogical processes ...and learning ecosystems. We characterize the PLE as a technosocial reality that embodies the sociomaterial entanglement with which people learn as well as an approach that enacts contemporary ideas about how people learn. We argue that the learning ecology of the PLE and its disruptive educational character, position it as a framework that addresses the challenges of being in a continuous learning mode and empowers learners to direct their own learning and develop agency in lifelong learning. We envision the PLE as the core of a learning activity ecosystem that is diverse, personalized, social, adaptive, integrated, and transparent, enabling the creation of a network of learning that supports students as peers, creators and entrepreneurs, and agents of their own learning. We conclude with implications and challenges for future research and educational practice.
•Patients with psychosis have a significant Facial Emotion Recognition (FER) deficit.•FER deficit is present early and increases along the psychosis continuum.•Fear recognition is similarly impaired ...in high-risk, first-episode and schizophrenia.•Psychotic-like experiences and symptoms are related to FER.•FER should be included in evaluation and treatment from early stages of the illness.
Our study aimed to explore the recognition of specific emotions across the course of psychosis.
A visual task representing the six basic emotions was used to assess facial emotion recognition (FER) in 204 healthy controls classified into 152 low-risk (LR) and 52 high-risk for psychosis (HR), following a psychometric risk approach; and 100 patients: 44 with first-episode psychosis (FEP) and 56 with multi-episode schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (MES). First, we performed a MANCOVA to compare the four conditions. Next, we conducted a logistic regression to explore whether specific FER deficits predicted the presence of psychosis. Finally, we investigated the relationships of FER with psychosis-like experiences (PLEs) and psychotic symptoms.
Global FER, anger and fear recognition were impaired in HR, FEP and MES. No differences between HR and FEP appeared. Moreover, fear and anger correctly classified 83% of individuals into LR or psychosis. FER was associated with PLEs and psychotic symptoms.
Concluding, FER is early impaired in HR individuals and increases along the psychosis continuum. However, fear recognition is similarly impaired throughout the illness, suggesting a possible vulnerability marker. Furthermore, deficits in anger and fear recognition predicted the presence of psychosis. Therefore, we suggest that FER may be essential in detecting psychosis risk.
This study designed and pilot-tested a learning path in Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) to facilitate learners' Self-regulated Learning. 122 postgraduates who joined an International English ...Language Testing System (IELTS) course at a comprehensive university in China were evenly divided into two groups. The experimental group used PLEs with a learning path design, while the control group used PLEs without a learning path design. The pre-and-post-tests of IELTS were conducted to assess participants' cognitive achievements. The results indicated that both groups improved cognitively, with the experimental group indicating significantly better improvements than the control group. Further, a questionnaire on participants' satisfaction with the PLEs platform was administered. The results showed that the experimental group was highly satisfied with the path-controlled PLEs, while the controlled group expressed their need for scaffoldings in PLEs. The study could provide learning platform designers with useful guidance to improve learners' learning performance and satisfaction.
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