Callous-unemotional Traits and Emotion Recognition Difficulties: Do Stimulus Characteristics Play a role?

Emotion recognition difficulties are linked to callous-unemotional (CU) traits, which predict risk for severe antisocial behavior. However, few studies have investigated how stimulus characteristics influence emotion recognition performance, which could give insight into the mechanisms underpinning CU traits. To address this knowledge gap, children aged 7-10 years old (N = 45; 53% female, 47% male; 46.3% Black/African-American, 25.9% White, 16.7% Mixed race or Other, 9.3% Asian) completed an emotion recognition task featuring static facial stimuli from child and adult models and facial and full-body dynamic stimuli from adult models. Parents reported on CU traits of children in the sample. Children showed better emotion recognition for dynamic than static faces. Higher CU traits were associated with worse emotion recognition, particularly for sad and neutral expressions. Stimulus characteristics did not impact associations between CU traits and emotion recognition.

Heterogeneity of posttraumatic stress, depression, and fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer survivors: a latent class analysis.

PURPOSE: Breast cancer survivors may demonstrate elevated psychological distress, which can also hinder adherence to survivorship care plans. Our goal was to study heterogeneity of behavioral health and functioning in breast cancer survivors, and identify both risk and protective factors to improve targets for wellness interventions. METHODS: Breast cancer survivors (n = 187) consented to complete self-reported psychological measures and to access their medical records. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to classify heterogeneous subpopulations based on levels of depression, post-traumatic stress, fear of cancer recurrence, cancer-related pain, and fatigue. Multinomial logistic regression and auxiliary analysis in a 3-step modeling conditional approach was used to identify characteristics of the group based on demographics, treatment history and characteristics, and current medication prescriptions. RESULTS: Three subpopulations of breast cancer survivors were identified from the LCA: a modal Resilient group (48.2%, n = 90), a Moderate Symptoms group (34%, n = 65), and an Elevated Symptoms group (n = 17%, n = 32) with clinically-relevant impairment. Results from the logistic regression indicated that individuals in the Elevated Symptoms group were less likely to have a family history of breast cancer; they were more likely to be closer to time of diagnosis and younger, have received chemotherapy and psychotropic prescriptions, and have higher BMI. Survivors in the Elevated Symptoms group were also less likely to be prescribed estrogen inhibitors than the Moderate Symptoms group. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified subgroups of breast cancer survivors based on behavioral, psychological, and treatment-related characteristics, with implications for targeted monitoring and survivorship care plans. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Results showed the majority of cancer survivors were resilient, with minimal psychological distress. Results also suggest the importance of paying special attention to younger patients getting chemotherapy, especially those without a family history of breast cancer.

Prolonged Grief Disorder: Course, Diagnosis, Assessment, and Treatment.

Losing a loved one is one of life's greatest stressors. Although most bereaved individuals navigate through a period of intense acute grief that lessens with time, approximately 10% will develop a prolonged grief condition. This review provides an overview of the course of grief and describes risk factors for developing prolonged grief disorder. The evolution of the prolonged grief disorder diagnosis, including the latest criteria sets for ICD-11 and DSM-5, as well as common comorbid conditions and differential diagnosis are discussed. Clinically useful self-report and clinician-rated measures for assessing symptom constructs and overall prolonged grief disorder severity, evidence-based psychotherapies (such as complicated grief treatment), as well as evidence about pharmacologic approaches are presented. Finally, the authors discuss important future directions, including a potential increase in prolonged grief disorder cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barriers and engagement in breast cancer survivorship wellness activities.

PURPOSE: Breast cancer survivors may be at risk for increased rates of emotional distress and poorer quality of life. Survivorship care plans (SCPs) promoting wellness activities may support well-being; however, survivors may not receive or engage in their SCPs. This study aimed to assess receipt and participation in SCP activities as well as barriers to engagement amongst breast cancer survivors. METHODS: Breast cancer survivors (n = 187; 99% female, Mean age = 57.7) consented and completed self-reported assessments of SCP recommendations, engagement and interest in wellness activities, and potential barriers to engagement. RESULTS: A minority of participants recalled receiving an SCP (21%). The most physician recommended (62%) and completed (53%) activity was exercise. Interest in adding other wellness activities to the SCP was high, with reported interest levels of approximately 50% for several activities (e.g., mind body, nutrition, psychotherapy interventions). Fully half reported that having a physician-designed plan would influence participation in activities. The most common reported barriers to SCP activity engagement were lack of time (82%), work/school (65%), and lack of information (65%). CONCLUSION: Few survivors recalled receiving a formal SCP, and lack of information about wellness activities was a commonly reported barrier to participation. Interest in wellness activities was generally high and may indicate the need for more formal prescription or motivation enhancement techniques to promote SCP engagement. There may be a clinical need to emphasize SCP recommendations to enhance recall and increase engagement in wellness activities that may reduce psychological distress and improve quality of life.

Longitudinal association between callous-unemotional traits and friendship quality among adjudicated adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: Youth with callous-unemotional (CU) traits show severe and chronic forms of antisocial behavior, as well as deficits in socioaffiliative processes, such as empathy, guilt, and prosocial behavior. Adolescence represents a critical developmental window when these socioaffiliative processes can help to deepen the strength of supportive peer friendships. However, few studies have explored the relationship between CU traits and friendship quality during adolescence. In the current study, we used data from the Pathways to Desistance dataset to examine reciprocal and longitudinal associations between CU traits and friendship quality at three assessment points separated by 6 months each during adolescence. METHODS: The sample included adolescents who had interacted with the justice system (age at baseline, M = 16.04, SD = 1.14; N = 1354; 13.6% female). CU traits were assessed using the callousness scale of the self-reported Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory and friendship quality using a scale adapted from the Quality of Relationships Inventory. Models accounted for co-occurring aggression, impulsive-irresponsible traits, grandiose-manipulative traits, age, gender, location, and race. RESULTS: At every assessment point, CU traits were uniquely related to lower friendship quality. Moreover, we found evidence for reciprocal effects between the first two assessment points, such that CU traits were related to decreases in friendship quality over time, while lower friendship quality simultaneously predicted increases in CU traits across the same period. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions for CU traits could benefit from including specific modules that target the social processes associated with adaptive and successful friendships, including empathic listening and other-orientated thinking.