Individual differences in environmental sensitivity: associations between cognitive emotion regulation and mental health.

Introduction: Environmental sensitivity is defined as the ability to perceive and process internal and external information. Previous studies have suggested that mental health-related factors differ by sensitivity level. This study aimed to investigate whether environmental sensitivity moderates the associations between cognitive emotion regulation strategies (e.g., rumination and blaming others) and mental health. Materials and methods: In this three-wave longitudinal study, participants (N = 1,233, 585, and 349 at Times 1, 2, and 3, respectively) completed the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-short and Kessler 10 scale at all the measurement points as well as the 10-item version of the Highly Sensitive Person scale and some covariates only at Time 1. Results: Latent growth model analyses indicated that the blaming others strategy had contrastive effects on changes in mental health by sensitivity level; the increase in refocusing on planning was associated with improved mental health over time only for highly sensitive individuals; and the rumination and catastrophizing strategies were the most important risk factors for mental health problems, although their effects differed slightly by sensitivity level. Conclusion: The associations between some of the cognitive strategies and mental health differ by environmental sensitivity level. Future investigations based on individual differences in sensitivity could provide innovative insights into practices.

The effects of sensory-processing sensitivity and sense of coherence on depressive symptoms in university students.

Sensory-processing sensitivity differentiates individuals according to responsivity to internal and external stimuli. It has been positively correlated with depressive symptoms. Meanwhile, sense of coherence, an individual's perception that stressors are comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful for their life, could improve depression. This cross-sectional study investigated the moderation effect of sense of coherence on the relationship between sensory-processing sensitivity and depressive symptoms in university students. Japanese students (N = 430) participated in a questionnaire survey that assessed levels of sensory-processing sensitivity, sense of coherence, and depressive symptoms. The results showed that a strong sense of coherence moderated the relationship between sensory-processing sensitivity and depressive symptoms in university students.

The overlap of sense of coherence and the Big Five personality traits: A confirmatory study.

Sense of coherence is the perception of the world as coherent. Its conceptual similarities to the Big Five personality traits have been demonstrated. We therefore investigated the relationship between sense of coherence and the Big Five. In total, 1088 Japanese youths completed the 29-item Sense of Coherence Scale and the Ten-Item Personality Inventory. Neuroticism was negatively correlated and extraversion was positively correlated with comprehensibility (r = -.47, .35), manageability (r = -.44, .26), and meaningfulness (r = -.28, .30). These correlations were strong, and the overlap between the two scales was about 36 percent. While the Big Five are related to sense of coherence, their differences cannot be ignored.

[Development of the Life Skills Scale for Adolescents and Adults].

The present study aims to develop and examine the reliability, internal validity, and criterion validity of the Life Skills Scale for Adolescents and Adults (LSSAA) that would enable measurement of the level of life skills in Japanese adolescents and adults. In study 1, 238 university students completed a 41-item questionnaire for the LSSAA based on a previous study (Kase et al., 2016). Exploratory factor analysis was divided into four sub-scales: decision-making (8 items), interpersonal relationships (5 items), effective communication (5 items), and coping with emotion (3 items). In study 2, the reliability, content validity, and criterion validity of the LSSAA were examined by administering the questionnaire to 500 Japanese adolescents and adults. Confirmatory factor analysis and correlation analysis showed that the LSSAA had high reliability and validity. Additionally, it was confirmed that the LSSAA was effective for measuring the life skills needed for a satisfactory social life for a wide range (based on sex and/or age) of Japanese adolescents and adults.

Autonomic nervous system activities during motor imagery in elite athletes.

Motor imagery (MI), a mental simulation of voluntary motor actions, has been used as a training method for athletes for many years. It is possible that MI techniques might similarly be useful as part of rehabilitative strategies to help people regain skills lost as a consequence of diseases or stroke. Mental activity and stress induce several different autonomic responses as part of the behavioral response to movement (e.g., motor anticipation) and as part of the central planning and preprogramming of movement. However, the interrelationships between MI, the autonomic responses, and the motor system have not yet been worked out. The authors compare a number of autonomic responses (respiration, heart rate, electro skin resistance) and motoneuron excitability (soleus H-reflex) in elite and nonelite speed skaters during MI. In contrast to the nonelite athletes, MI of elite speed skaters is characterized by larger changes in heart rate and respiration, a greater reliance on an internal perspective for MI, a more vivid MI, a more accurate correspondence between the MI and actual race times, and decreased motoneuron excitability. Two observations suggest that the changes in the autonomic responses and motoneuron excitability for the elite speed skaters are related to the effects of central motor programming: (1) there was no correlation between the autonomic responses for MI and those recorded during mental arithmetic; and (2) mental arithmetic did not significantly alter motoneuron activity. It is suggested that in elite speed skaters, the descending neural mechanisms that reduce motoneuron excitability are activated even when full, vivid MI is performed internally. These inhibitory responses of the motor system may enhance actual motor performance under conditions of remarkably high mental stress, such as that which occurs in the Olympic games.