Social Support and Depressive Symptoms in the Context of COVID-19 Lockdown: The Moderating Role of Attachment Styles.

Objectives: COVID-19 sanitary measures (social distancing, school closures) have deeply impacted social life, support networks, and their protective role in mental health. The present study aims to understand how attachment styles influence the way individuals experience social support. Particularly, investigating its moderating role in the relationship between social support and depression. Methods: An online survey was designed to clarify the role of adult attachment styles (ECR-S) in the perceived social support (MOSS) and self-reported depressive symptoms (BDI-SF) in the COVID-19 context. Results: Positive social interactions was the most important dimension of social support for lower depression symptoms. Individuals attachment strategies have a moderating role in the relation between of social support and depression. Crucially, insecure attachment style wanes the positive impact of social support in depression. Conclusion: Aligned with the existing literature, attachment security is an essential factor in our current understanding of relationships and mental health. Exploring specific and indivual attachment strategies might be a powerful tool to protect population's mental healt.

Adapting to Adversity: Effects of COVID-19 on Parenting in Chile.

The pandemic outbreak in March 2020 and its associated sanitary regulations and restrictions triggered an abrupt and significant change for society in general and for families' organization in particular. In Chile, the Santiago Metropolitan District was under a strict lockdown that involved the closure of the entire educational system. From a systemic-family stress perspective, the impact of these changes might have consequences not only for each individual family member, but for the parental dynamic and, consequently, for children's well-being. This paper presents the results of a follow-up study showing changes in self-reported parental depression and the perceived home organization of mothers and fathers assessed at three different moments: before the pandemic, at the initial outbreak, and after 1 month of strict lockdown. Relevant moderators were explored using linear mixed models to understand the within-subject changes in mothers' and fathers' self-reports across the different assessment times. Financial strain, personality traits of self-criticism and dependency, previous parent-child quality interaction, recent major stressful events, and number of children are highlighted as relevant factors that moderate changes in home chaos and parental mental health perception. Significant risks and protective factors are described for fathers and mothers. The use of pre-pandemic measures as baseline levels enabled the identification of personal and family characteristics that were related to better outcomes. The results help increase our understanding of the sanitary regulations' impacts on the family system and identify vulnerability indicators that should be considered.

Attachment research and anti-racism: learning from Black and Brown scholars.

Preliminary evidence suggests that people and scholars of African and/or Latin American and Caribbean origin are often under-represented in mainstream attachment scholarship. In this commentary, we highlight the difficulty of conducting attachment theory research outside of the United States, particularly in Latin American countries. We reflect on the contributions by the authors of this special issue . We also identify (a) ways in which to center the experiences of Black and Brown people and scholars to push the field toward antiracism, and (b) the challenges of attachment theory and research in becoming anti-racist by considering the structural nature of racism.

Hydrocortisone decreases metacognitive efficiency independent of perceived stress.

It is well established that acute stress produces negative effects on high level cognitive functions. However, these effects could be due to the physiological components of the stress response (among which cortisol secretion is prominent), to its psychological concomitants (the thoughts generated by the stressor) or to any combination of those. Our study shows for the first time that the typical cortisol response to stress is sufficient to impair metacognition, that is the ability to monitor one's own performance in a task. In a pharmacological protocol, we administered either 20 mg hydrocortisone or placebo to 46 male participants, and measured their subjective perception of stress, their performance in a perceptual task, and their metacognitive ability. We found that hydrocortisone selectively impaired metacognitive ability, without affecting task performance or creating a subjective state of stress. In other words, the single physiological response of stress produces a net effect on metacognition. These results inform our basic understanding of the physiological bases of metacognition. They are also relevant for applied or clinical research about situations involving stress, anxiety, depression, or simply cortisol use.

Corrigendum: Biological Stress Reactivity and Introspective Sensitivity: An Exploratory Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00543.].

Biological Stress Reactivity and Introspective Sensitivity: An Exploratory Study.

Reaction to stressful events has an impact on several cognitive processes. High levels of stress can be detrimental to working memory, attention and decision-making. Here, we investigated whether individuals' reactivity to stress is related to their introspective sensitivity (i.e., how well individuals monitor their own cognitive processes). To this aim, 27 participants (16 women, mean 20 years old) were exposed to a psychosocial stress protocol (trier social stress test, TSST), where individuals were asked to simulate a job interview and perform arithmetic calculations in front of a panel of experts. The salivary cortisol concentration, which is considered a hormonal index of stress reactivity, was collected during the TSST through the enzyme immunoassay DRG cortisol ELISA kit. Based on literature recommendations, we classified participants as responders and non-responders to the TSST. In a second session, through a visual search paradigm, we evaluated the introspective sensitivity of the participants. We evaluated how these individuals (i) monitor their own performance (through a confidence estimation), (ii) monitor their own attentional shifts (through a subjective number of scanned items estimation, SNSI), and (iii) monitor their own response times (through an introspective response time estimation, iRT). We found that individuals with lower biological reactivity to stress are more accurate in estimating their SNSI (p = 0.033) and iRT (p = 0.002), and in evaluating their own performance (p = 0.038) through their confidence. We argue that the effect of stress on introspection is not limited to a particular type of introspective evaluation, but rather consists of a general alteration of the introspective mechanism.

Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS): Psychometric Properties and Discriminative Capacity in Several Chilean Samples.

We evaluated the factor structure, reliability, and discriminative capacity of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) questionnaire in four different samples: two general adult populations (N = 1,548, N = 964), one adolescent population (N = 1,044), and young people with depressive symptomatology (N = 307). Exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) were performed with subsamples from Studies 1 (n = 773) and 2 (n = 527), finding that the two- and three-factor solutions had a good fit. In a confirmatory factor analysis, the two-factor solution resulted in an adequate fit in a second set of subsamples from both studies (n = 775, n = 517). In Study 3, we found good convergent and divergent validity with adequate and significant correlations found for depression (Beck's Depression Inventory), anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), and neuroticism and extroversion (Big Five Inventory). In Study 4, the results of an EFA performed in a subsample (n = 154) found that the two- and three-factor solutions were appropriate with the former solution being confirmed in a second subsample (n = 153). Reliability was α = .85 for positive affect and α = .87 for negative affect. The PANAS questionnaire showed adequate indicators of validity and reliability in adult and adolescent populations as well as in a sample with depressive symptoms.

Physical and psychosocial development of Mapuche and nonindigenous Chilean toddlers: A modest role of ethnicity.

Mapuche represents the largest indigenous group in Chile amounting to nearly 10% of the total population. In a longitudinal cohort of 12,398 children, we analyzed the role of ethnicity in physical and psychosocial development of Mapuche and nonindigenous Chilean toddlers (age 2.5 years), taking into account sociodemographic and caregiver characteristics. As indicated by our univariate analysis, the Mapuche developmental niche was characterized by lower income, lower maternal education, poorer quality of the home environment, longer breastfeeding, and higher parental stress. Physical development showed higher body mass index. Mapuche children showed less externalizing problems. We then analyzed the incremental contribution of ethnicity in a series of hierarchical regressions with the second wave of developmental measurements (age 4.5 years) as outcome variables, showing a significant but modest incremental contribution of ethnicity to the prediction of children's development between 2.5 and 4.5 years of age. Controlling for environmental variables, Mapuche showed less externalizing and internalizing, behavior problems. Socioeconomic status, quality of the home environment, and parenting stress were stronger predictors of socioemotional development than ethnicity per se.

Psychotherapy and Genetic Neuroscience: An Emerging Dialog.

Recent research in psychiatric genetics has led to a move away from simple diathesis-stress models to more complex models of psychopathology incorporating a focus on gene-environment interactions and epigenetics. Our increased understanding of the way biology encodes the impact of life events on organisms has also generated more sophisticated theoretical models concerning the molecular processes at the interface between "nature" and "nurture." There is also increasing consensus that psychotherapy entails a specific type of learning in the context of an emotional relationship (i.e., the therapeutic relationship) that may also lead to epigenetic modifications across different therapeutic treatment modalities. This paper provides a systematic review of this emerging body of research. It is concluded that, although the evidence is still limited at this stage, extant research does indeed suggest that psychotherapy may be associated with epigenetic changes. Furthermore, it is argued that epigenetic studies may play a key role in the identification of biomarkers implicated in vulnerability for psychopathology, and thus may improve diagnosis and open up future research opportunities regarding the mechanism of action of psychotropic drugs as well as psychotherapy. We review evidence suggesting there may be important individual differences in susceptibility to environmental input, including psychotherapy. In addition, given that there is increasing evidence for the transgenerational transmission of epigenetic modifications in animals and humans exposed to trauma and adversity, epigenetic changes produced by psychotherapy may also potentially be passed on to the next generation, which opens up new perspective for prevention science. We conclude this paper stressing the limitations of current research and by proposing a set of recommendations for future research in this area.

Introjective Individuals Tend Toward Anhedonia: Self-Report and Experimental Evidence.

A broad line of research has conceptualized personality based on the interaction of two aspects: interpersonal relatedness and self-definition. This theoretical corpus understands these functions as two poles according to the patterns of interaction and relevance in personality. Additionally, the exacerbation of one of these poles generates a psychopathological model that identifies three types of depressive experience: anaclitic, introjective, or mixed pattern. Understanding the lack of interest as a key symptom of depression, this experiment evaluates a relation for anhedonia and the polarities model configuration using an empirical and experimental protocol. We tested 177 individuals using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) subscale for anhedonia and a visual discrimination task with a specific reward system, which was implemented to study reinforcement sensitivity. Participants were classified into four groups by the polarities of experience model. The subscale's results showed that individuals with an introjective character exhibited an enhanced anhedonic symptomatology but no co-occurrence of this evidence on the experimental protocol. These results empirically support the two polarities of the depressive personality model and raise new questions regarding how to experimentally test this relation.

Biological stress reactivity as an index of the two polarities of the experience model.

The two-polarities model of personality argues that experience is organized around two axes: interpersonal relatedness and self-definition. Differential emphasis on one of these poles defines adaptive and pathological experiences, generating anaclitic or introjective tendencies. The anaclitic pattern, on one hand, has been conceptually related with an exaggerated emphasis on interpersonal relatedness. On the other hand, the introjective pattern has been connected to high levels of self-criticism. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychophysiological basis for this relationship. Specifically, we hypothesized that the anaclitic individual should have a higher biological reactivity to stress (BRS), measured by the cortisol concentration in saliva, in an interpersonal stress induction protocol (Trier Social Stress Test). Contrary to what was expected, the results indicated that introjective participants presented a higher BSR than the anaclitic group. Interestingly, in contrast to their higher BSR, the introjective group reported a diminished subjective stress in relation to the average. In the anaclitic group, a tendency that goes in the opposite direction was found. Theoretical implications of these findings were discussed.

Vulnerability or Sensitivity to the Environment? Methodological Issues, Trends, and Recommendations in Gene-Environment Interactions Research in Human Behavior.

Research on the potential role of gene-environment interactions (GxE) in explaining vulnerability to psychopathology in humans has witnessed a shift from a diathesis-stress perspective to differential susceptibility approaches. This paper critically reviews methodological issues and trends in this body of research. Databases were screened for studies of GxE in the prediction of personality traits, behavior, and mental health disorders in humans published between January 2002 and January 2015. In total, 315 papers were included. Results showed that 34 candidate genes have been included in GxE studies. Independent of the type of environment studied (early or recent life events, positive or negative environments), about 67-83% of studies have reported significant GxE interactions, which is consistent with a social susceptibility model. The percentage of positive results does not seem to differ depending on the gene studied, although publication bias might be involved. However, the number of positive findings differs depending on the population studied (i.e., young adults vs. older adults). Methodological considerations limit the ability to draw strong conclusions, particularly as almost 90% (n = 283/315) of published papers are based on samples from North America and Europe, and about 70% of published studies (219/315) are based on samples that were also used in other reports. At the same time, there are clear indications of methodological improvements over time, as is shown by a significant increase in longitudinal and experimental studies as well as in improved minimum genotyping. Recommendations for future research, such as minimum quality assessment of genes and environmental factors, specifying theoretical models guiding the study, and taking into account of cultural, ethnic, and lifetime perspectives, are formulated.

Self-Knowledge Dim-Out: Stress Impairs Metacognitive Accuracy.

Modulation of frontal lobes activity is believed to be an important pathway trough which the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress response impacts cognitive and emotional functioning. Here, we investigate the effects of stress on metacognition, which is the ability to monitor and control one's own cognition. As the frontal lobes have been shown to play a critical role in metacognition, we predicted that under activation of the HPA axis, participants should be less accurate in the assessment of their own performances in a perceptual decision task, irrespective of the effect of stress on the first order perceptual decision itself. To test this prediction, we constituted three groups of high, medium and low stress responders based on cortisol concentration in saliva in response to a standardized psycho-social stress challenge (the Trier Social Stress Test). We then assessed the accuracy of participants' confidence judgments in a visual discrimination task. As predicted, we found that high biological reactivity to stress correlates with lower sensitivity in metacognition. In sum, participants under stress know less when they know and when they do not know.

Effects of an intervention to promote socioemotional development in terms of attachment security: a study in early institutionalization in Chile.

The Chilean government commissioned a quasi-experimental study with a pre-/postintervention design that had two general aims: (a) to assess infants' psychoaffective developmental levels (pre-intervention phase) and (b) to evaluate whether an intervention based on the promotion of socioemotional development modifies the infant's psychoaffective development. Sixty-two institutionalized infants and their alternative caregivers were evaluated at a pre-intervention stage. An intervention then took place, with the caregivers trained according to an "attachment sensitivity manual." Results showed normal ranges of psychomotor development (64% normal, 9% delayed) and a very high frequency of attachment insecurity, as compared to the normative population (53%).The intervention significantly improved social orientation and object orientation as well as activity and reactivity levels. We conclude that although institutionalized infants in Chile do not exhibit high levels of atypical attachment, socioemotional deterioration may lead to vulnerability in present and future development. Finally, the scope of this study affected public policies regarding children, initiating a change to a foster family system and a variety of modifications in the strategies for adopting institutionalized infants.

The CUIDEME Study: determinants of burden in chilean primary caregivers of patients with dementia.

BACKGROUND: Caring for a person with dementia is associated with well-documented increases in burden and distress and decreases in mental health and wellbeing. Studies assessing burden in caregivers of patients with dementia and its determinants are scarce in Latin America. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study was to assess the extent and the determinants of burden in informal primary caregivers of patients with dementia in Chile. METHODS: A descriptive study was conducted using clinically validated scales to assess dementia characteristics and to measure caregiver variables. Family socio-demographic characteristics and functional status, patient functional dependency and behavioral disturbances, and caregiver psychiatric morbidity were analyzed as independent variables to determine caregiver burden. RESULTS: Two hundred and ninety-two informal caregivers were included. There were more female (80%) than male caregivers, consisting mainly of daughters and spouses of the patients. Severe burden was reported in 63% of the caregivers, and 47% exhibited psychiatric morbidity. Burden was associated with caregiver psychiatric distress, family dysfunction, severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms and functional disability, but neither patient age, gender, nor socioeconomic status impacted burden. CONCLUSION: Our results underscore the importance of assessing the consequences of dementia in both caregivers and patients in order to evaluate the real biopsychosocial impact of dementia, as well as the importance of planning appropriate and effective public health interventions in Latin American countries. In addition, interventions targeting caregiver psychological distress, caregiver familial dysfunction, patient neuropsychiatric disorders, and patient functional disability could potentially diminish caregiver burden.

Escala de bienestar de Ryff: análisis comparativo de los modelos teóricos en distintos grupos de edad / Ryff scale of well-being: factorial structure of theoretical models in different age groups

La escala de bienestar psicológico surge a partir del modelo multidimensional propuesto por Ryff (1989). Pese a su amplia utilización, su estructura teórica inicial no ha sido confirmada completamente, debido a que se han encontrado otro tipo de soluciones factoriales distintas a las 6 dimensiones propuestas por la autora. Estas divergencias podrían estar relacionadas al tipo de muestras y poblaciones utilizadas. Ante esto, la siguiente investigación compara el ajuste factorial de los modelos tradicionalmente aplicados de corrección en distintos grupos en edad adulta. Se describen las propiedades psicométricas de la adaptación al español realizada por Díaz et al. (2006), analizando los niveles de confiabilidad (consistencia interna y estabilidad temporal) y estructura factorial confirmatoria, en datos de 1646 personas entre 18 y 90 años de edad. Se encuentran diferencias en los indicadores de confiabilidad para la escala total y las dimensiones, así como en los indicadores de bondad de ajuste dependiendo del grupo de edad. El modelo que presenta mejores indicadores de ajuste en la mayoría de los rangos etarios evaluados fue el de seis factores de primer orden.(AU)

The scale of psychological well-being arises from the multidimensional model proposed by Ryff (1989). Despite its wide use, its initial theoretical structure has not been completely confirmed because other factorial solutions which are different from those 6 dimensions proposed by the author have been found. These differences may be related to the type of sample and population used. Given this fact, the current study compares the adjustment factor of correction models traditionally used in different groups of adults. We describe the psychometric properties of the Spanish adaptation done by Díaz et al. (2006) and analyze the levels of reliability (internal consistency and temporal stability) and confirmatory factorial structure with data from 1,646 people aged from 18 to 90 years old. Differences are found in the indicators of reliability for the total scale and its dimensions as well as in the indicators of goodness of fit depending on the age group. The model that presents the best indicators of adjustment for most age ranges evaluated was the one of six first-order factors.(AU)

Escala de bienestar de Ryff: análisis comparativo de los modelos teóricos en distintos grupos de edad / Ryff scale of well-being: factorial structure of theoretical models in different age groups

La escala de bienestar psicológico surge a partir del modelo multidimensional propuesto por Ryff (1989). Pese a su amplia utilización, su estructura teórica inicial no ha sido confirmada completamente, debido a que se han encontrado otro tipo de soluciones factoriales distintas a las 6 dimensiones propuestas por la autora. Estas divergencias podrían estar relacionadas al tipo de muestras y poblaciones utilizadas. Ante esto, la siguiente investigación compara el ajuste factorial de los modelos tradicionalmente aplicados de corrección en distintos grupos en edad adulta. Se describen las propiedades psicométricas de la adaptación al español realizada por Díaz et al. (2006), analizando los niveles de confiabilidad (consistencia interna y estabilidad temporal) y estructura factorial confirmatoria, en datos de 1646 personas entre 18 y 90 años de edad. Se encuentran diferencias en los indicadores de confiabilidad para la escala total y las dimensiones, así como en los indicadores de bondad de ajuste dependiendo del grupo de edad. El modelo que presenta mejores indicadores de ajuste en la mayoría de los rangos etarios evaluados fue el de seis factores de primer orden.

The scale of psychological well-being arises from the multidimensional model proposed by Ryff (1989). Despite its wide use, its initial theoretical structure has not been completely confirmed because other factorial solutions which are different from those 6 dimensions proposed by the author have been found. These differences may be related to the type of sample and population used. Given this fact, the current study compares the adjustment factor of correction models traditionally used in different groups of adults. We describe the psychometric properties of the Spanish adaptation done by Díaz et al. (2006) and analyze the levels of reliability (internal consistency and temporal stability) and confirmatory factorial structure with data from 1,646 people aged from 18 to 90 years old. Differences are found in the indicators of reliability for the total scale and its dimensions as well as in the indicators of goodness of fit depending on the age group. The model that presents the best indicators of adjustment for most age ranges evaluated was the one of six first-order factors.

Estudio multicéntrico para la validación de la versión en español del Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale / Validation of the Spanish version of the Eating Disorders Diagnostic Scale

Background: The Eating Disorders Diagnostic Scale (EDDS) is a self-administered low cost psychometric instrument with excellent levels of temporal reliability and validity. Aim: To adapt and validate the EDDS in Chile. Material and Methods: Thefactorial structure, internal consistency and test-retest reliability ofthe Spanish-language version of the EDDS was analyzed in a sample of1964 university and high school students. The concurrent validity was tested in a sample of 50 primary care patients with ED and 59 controls, comparing its results with those of a structured psychiatric interview (CIDI). Results: The EDDS showed a high internal consistency, moderate test-retest reliability, an appropriate factorial structure (in women) and an excellent convergent validity. Also, the diagnosis of ED obtained with the EDDS is moderately consistent with the structured psychiatric interview. Conclusions: The Spanish-language version of the EDDS showed a satisfactory psychometric behavior and a good capacity for detecting ED, according to the DSM criterion.

[Prognostic heterogeneity of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults]. / Descomponiendo el síndrome de déficit atencional en el adulto: hacia un entendimiento de su heterogeneidad pronóstica.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a clinical syndrome characterized by an onset in early life. More than 65% of patients persist with manifestations of ADHD in adulthood. These symptoms may interfere in activities of daily-living, interpersonal relationships and professional and academic achievement. Nevertheless, the observation of an important group of adults with ADHD who do not show significant difficulties in the areas mentioned before puts into evidence the prognostic heterogeneity of this disorder. One of the current, most accepted explanations is the Double-Pathway Model: two double-dissociated deficits (Executive Disorders and Delayed-Reward Processing impairments) are involved in the genesis of ADHD, which explains the existence of different behavioral phenotypes. Moreover, personality traits like tenacity or perseverance are associated with higher levels of achievement in adults. On these grounds, we propose the hypothesis that the neurobiological correlate of tenacity/perseverance is a preserved Delayed-Reward Processing capacity, although further studies are needed to verify this idea.

Descomponiendo el síndrome de déficit atencional en el adulto: hacia un entendimiento de su heterogeneidad pronóstica / Prognostic heterogeneity of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a clinical syndrome characterized by an onset in early life. More than 65% of patients persist with manifestations of ADHD in adulthood. These symptoms may interfere in activities of daily-living, interpersonal relationships and professional and academic achievement. Nevertheless, the observation of an important group of adults with ADHD who do not show significant difficulties in the areas mentioned before puts into evidence the prognostic heterogeneity of this disorder. One of the current, most accepted explanations is the Double-Pathway Model: two double-dissociated deficits (Executive Disorders and Delayed-Reward Processing impairments) are involved in the genesis of ADHD, which explains the existence of different behavioral phenotypes. Moreover, personality traits like tenacity or perseverance are associated with higher levels of achievement in adults. On these grounds, we propose the hypothesis that the neurobiological correlate of tenacity/perseverance is a preserved Delayed-Reward Processing capacity, although further studies are needed to verify this idea.