An elusive deficit: Psychopathic personality traits and aberrant attention to emotional stimuli.

Emotional stimuli are typically prioritized in competition for attention in healthy individuals. In contrast, there is evidence that individuals high in psychopathic traits fail to similarly prioritize emotional stimuli. With aberrant attention to emotional stimuli implicated in the development and maintenance of other psychopathologies, attentional insensitivity to emotional stimuli may also be important in the callous-unemotional responding seen in psychopathy. This study assessed emotional attention in association with psychopathic traits in a community sample (N = 121) using two commonly used emotional attention tasks-the dot probe and emotion-induced blindness tasks. Psychopathic personality traits were examined in association with two attention domains where emotional attention effects are reliably found: early perceptual competition and competition for spatial attention. Participants high in interpersonal-affective traits of psychopathy (boldness or meanness) exhibited emotional attention deficits in both domains when impulsive-antisocial traits were also high. These findings are discussed in the context of the inconsistent literature on attention to emotional stimuli in psychopathy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The association between visa insecurity and mental health, disability and social engagement in refugees living in Australia.

Background: The vast majority of the world's refugees and people seeking asylum live in a state of sustained displacement. Little is known, however, about the mental health impact of prolonged insecurity. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between insecure visa status and mental health, suicidality, disability and social engagement in a sample of refugees and asylum-seekers living in Australia Method: Participants were 1,085 refugees with secure (i.e. permanent residency or Australian citizenship, n = 826, 76.1%) and insecure (i.e. asylum-seeker claim, bridging visa, temporary visa, n = 259, 23.9%) visa status who had arrived in Australia since January 2011, and were from Arabic, Farsi, Tamil or English-speaking backgrounds. Participants completed an online survey assessing pre- and post-migration experiences, mental health, disability and social engagement. Results: Results indicated that, after controlling for background factors, refugees with insecure visas had significantly greater PTSD symptoms, depression symptoms, thoughts of being better off dead and suicidal intent compared to those with secure visas. There were no group differences in disability. Refugees with insecure visas received support from significantly more groups in the Australian community than those with secure visas. Further, refugees with insecure visa status who had low group membership showed greater depression symptoms and suicidal intent than those with secure visa status who had low group membership. Conclusion: Findings highlight the negative mental health consequences of living in a state of protracted uncertainty for refugees and people seeking asylum, and the key role of social engagement in influencing mental health amongst insecure visa holders. Results also underscore the importance of designing and implementing policies and services that facilitate improved mental health for those with visa insecurity.

Antecedentes: la mayoría de los refugiados del mundo y las personas que solicitan asilo viven en un estado de desplazamiento sostenido. Sin embargo, se conoce muy poco sobre el impacto en la salud mental de la inseguridad prolongada.Objetivo: este estudio investiga la asociación entre el estatus inseguro de la visa y la salud mental, la suicidalidad, la discapacidad y la participación social en una gran muestra de refugiados y solicitantes de asilo que viven en Australia.Metodología: Los participantes fueron 1.085 refugiados. Un grupo tenía un estatus seguro de la visa (como por ejemplo residencia permanente o ciudadanía australiana n=826, 76.1%) y otro grupo tenía un estatus inseguro de su visa (como por ejemplo solicitantes de asilo, visa puente1, visas temporales, n = 259, 23,9%). Los sujetos llegaron a Australia desde Enero de 2011, y eran de origen árabe, farsi, tamil o angloparlante. Los participantes completaron un cuestionario online que evaluaba las experiencias pre y post migración, salud mental, discapacidad y participación social.Resultados: Los resultados indican que después de controlar factores contextuales importantes, los refugiados con visas inseguras tuvieron síntomas de TEPT significativamente mayores (ß=0.15, 95%; intervalo de confianza (IC) = 0,05-0,26), síntomas depresivos (ß=0.22, 95% CI=0.069-0.34), pensamientos de estar mejor muerto (OR=1.9, 95% CI=1.26-2.89) e intentos suicidas (OR=2.41, 95% CI=1.03-5.62), comparados con aquellos que contaban con visas seguras. No existen diferencias entre grupos para la discapacidad. Los refugiados con visas inseguras recibieron el apoyo de muchos más grupos que aquellos que tenían visas seguras (Chi ­ cuadrado de Wald= 33.01, p <.001). Además, los refugiados con estatus de visa inseguro con baja pertenencia al grupo mostraron mayores síntomas de depresión (B=0.17, t=3.85, p <.001) e intentos suicidas que aquellos que tenían un estatus de visa seguro y una baja pertenencia a un grupo (B=−1.25, OR=0.29, p =0.006).Conclusión: Los resultados destacan las consecuencias negativas para la salud mental de vivir en un estado de incertidumbre prolongada para los refugiados y las personas que solicitan asilo, y el papel clave de la participación social para influir en la salud mental entre los titulares de visas inseguras. Los resultados también subrayan la importancia de diseñar e implementar políticas y servicios que faciliten una mejor salud mental para las personas con visas inseguras.