Information processing style and institutional trust as factors of COVID vaccine hesitancy.

This study investigates the factors contributing to COVID vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy has commonly been attributed to susceptibility to misinformation and linked to particular socio-demographic factors and personality traits. We present a new perspective, emphasizing the interplay between individual cognitive styles and perceptions of public health institutions. In January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, 318 participants underwent a comprehensive assessment, including self-report measures of personality and clinical characteristics, as well as a behavioral task that assessed information processing styles. During 2021, attitudes towards vaccines, scientists, and the CDC were measured at three time points (February-October). Panel data analysis and structural equation modeling revealed nuanced relationships between these measures and information processing styles over time. Trust in public health institutions, authoritarian submission, and lower information processing capabilities together contribute to vaccine acceptance. Information processing capacities influenced vaccination decisions independently from the trust level, but their impact was partially mediated by authoritarian tendencies. These findings underscore the multifactorial nature of vaccine hesitancy, which emerges as a product of interactions between individual cognitive styles and perceptions of public health institutions. This novel perspective provides valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms that drive this complex phenomenon.

Sex, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Substance Use Disorders in US Military Veterans: Results From the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

OBJECTIVES: US veterans report more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) than nonveterans, and a greater number of ACEs has been linked to substance use disorders (SUDs). To date, however, no study has examined whether specific ACEs may be linked to SUDs in this population in a sex-related fashion. METHODS: We analyzed data from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, a nationally representative survey of 4069 US veterans. ACEs, current alcohol use disorder (AUD), and current drug use disorder (DUD) were assessed using validated self-report measures. RESULTS: Being raised in a household with people with SUDs was independently associated with current AUD. Childhood sexual abuse and having an incarcerated family member were independently associated with current DUD. Sex moderated associations with specific ACEs. Specifically, female veterans who had experienced physical neglect in childhood or were raised with a mentally ill family member in the home were more likely to endorse current AUD and DUD, whereas male veterans who experienced sexual abuse in childhood or who were raised in a home with someone who used substances were more likely to endorse current AUD and DUD. CONCLUSIONS: Results underscore the importance of targeted and sex-sensitive interventions in addressing potentially unresolved childhood traumas as part of treatment efforts for SUDs in veterans.

Corrigendum: Safety, feasibility, tolerability, and clinical effects of repeated psilocybin dosing combined with non-directive support in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: protocol for a randomized, waitlist-controlled trial with blinded ratings.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1278823.].

Safety, tolerability, and clinical and neural effects of single-dose psilocybin in obsessive-compulsive disorder: protocol for a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, non-crossover trial.

Background: Psilocybin may help treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To date, only one open-label study of psilocybin for OCD exists, necessitating further investigation with a randomized controlled design. The neural correlates of psilocybin's effects on OCD have also not been studied. Objectives: This first-of-its-kind trial aims to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and tolerability of psilocybin in the treatment of OCD, provide preliminary evidence on the effects of psilocybin on OCD symptoms, and elucidate neural mechanisms that may mediate psilocybin's effects on OCD. Design: We use a randomized (1:1), double-blind, placebo-controlled, non-crossover design to examine the clinical and neural effects of either a single dose of oral psilocybin (0.25 mg/kg) or active placebo-control agent (250 mg of niacin) on OCD symptoms. Methods and analysis: We are enrolling 30 adult participants at a single site in Connecticut, USA who have failed at least one trial of standard care treatment (medication/psychotherapy) for OCD. All participants will also receive unstructured, non-directive psychological support during visits. Aside from safety, primary outcomes include OCD symptoms over the past 24 h, assessed by the Acute Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale and Visual Analog Scale ratings. These are collected by blinded, independent raters at baseline and the primary endpoint of 48 h post-dosing. Total follow-up is 12 weeks post-dosing. Resting state neuroimaging data will be collected at baseline and primary endpoint. Participants randomized to placebo will be offered the chance to return for an open-label dose of 0.25 mg/kg. Ethics statement: All participants will be required to provide written informed consent. The trial (protocol v. 5.2) was approved by the institutional review board (HIC #2000020355) and registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03356483). Discussion: This study may represent an advance in our ability to treat refractory OCD, and pave the way for future studies of neurobiological mechanisms of OCD that may respond to psilocybin.