Alexithymia as a mediator between adverse childhood events and the development of psychopathology: a meta-analysis.

Introduction: Victims of child abuse have an elevated risk of developing mental health issues later in life. Several variables have been suggested as mediators of this correlation, but little is known about the possible influence of alexithymia. Alexithymia is a sub-clinical personality trait that manifests as difficulties recognizing and verbalizing emotions. Methods: In this study, two separate meta-analyses were conducted using questionnaire data, and Pearson correlations for overall effects were estimated. Results: The correlation between child abuse and alexithymia showed to be significant (r = .26), as did the correlation between alexithymia and general psychopathology (r = .44). Further analyses revealed no indication for possible publication bias. When investigating differences between various subtypes of child maltreatment, each subtype significantly correlated with alexithymia. Emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect had stronger correlations than physical and sexual abuse. Discussion: These results suggest that alexithymia plays a mediating role, at least in part, in the relationship between experiences of child abuse and general psychopathology in adulthood. Therefore, alexithymia may be relevant to further research and deserves attention in the prevention of and therapy for mental health issues in victims of child abuse.

Correlation of mental and psychological status with disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease using SCL-90 R Questionnaire.

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can affect mental health. There is no evidence that stress is a direct cause of the disease. Most IBD patients describe an emotional impact, mainly feelings of depression and anxiety. Many questionnaires are used to assess anxiety in those patients, including SCL-90. Aim: To investigate the correlation between mental and psychological status to disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease using 90-Item Symptom Checklist (SCL-90 R) questionnaire. Material and methods: The study included 100 patients (50 Crohn's disease (CD) patients - 50 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients). Detailed history taking, systemic physical examination, laboratory investigations, colonoscopy, and the SCL-90-R symptom checklist - a self-report psychometric instrument (questionnaire) for each patient. Results: The mean age of Crohn's disease patients was 24.2 ±3.6 years. In ulcerative colitis the mean age was 28.5 ±7.3 years. No age or gender relation could be detected with the SCL-90 score in both groups. Our study showed a direct correlation of CD disease activity (CDAI) and endoscopic activity (SES) according to the SCL-90 R questionnaire. There was direct correlation of UC disease activity (SCCAI) and endoscopic activity (UCEIS) according to the SCL-90 R questionnaire. Conclusions: There is a direct correlation between disease activity and endoscopic activity in UC and CD according to the SCL-90 R questionnaire.

Music-based therapeutic interventions for medical school students with emotional regulation and mental health: a pre-post cohort study.

Purpose: Depression and anxiety are prevalent mental health challenges among college students. Music therapy has shown effectiveness in addressing depressive symptoms and enhancing psychosomatic functioning. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a 4-step structured music therapy program in improving mood and reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety among medical school students. Materials and methods: The self-controlled study involved 45 medical school students (21 men and 24 women) aged 18-24 years to examine the prevalence of depression and anxiety, common mental health issues among medical school students. Participants underwent psychological assessment using the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). An 8-week music therapy intervention, comprising four steps-sociality, interaction, music lessons, and creative expression-was administered. Results: Before-intervention, 55.6% and 15.6% students were identified as suffering from depression and anxiety respectively. Post-intervention, significant reductions in psychological distress, particularly in the Global Severity Index (GSI) and Positive Symptom Total (PST) on the SCL-90 scale, were observed (P < 0.05). Male students exhibited notable improvements in various psychological symptoms compared to females. Junior grade students demonstrated greater improvements, and clinical medicine students exhibited significant enhancements in specific areas post-intervention. Conclusion: The structured music therapy program showed promising results in improving mood and regulating emotions among medical school students. Music therapy holds potential as a holistic approach to address mental health challenges in this demographic.

The Role of Psychosomatic Traits in Tailored Workup for Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion-A Case Series.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of preoperatively assessed psychosomatic traits on postoperative pain, disability, and quality of life outcomes. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is a widely employed surgical procedure for treating cervical spondylosis. Despite its effectiveness, various studies have reported non-success rates in terms of alleviating disability and pain. Psychological factors have become increasingly recognized as critical determinants of surgical outcomes in various medical disciplines. The full extent of their impact within the context of ACDF remains insufficiently explored. This case series aims to assess the influence of preoperative psychological profiling on long-term pain, disability and quality of life outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of prospectively collected data from 76 consecutive patients who underwent ACDF with PEEK inter-fixed cages from July 2019 to November 2021. The preoperative psychological traits were assessed using the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) questionnaire. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Neck Disability index (NDI), EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D), and Short Form-36 (SF-36) were collected preoperatively, one month postoperatively, and at least one year after the surgical procedure. RESULTS: The correlation analyses revealed associations between psychosomatic traits and multiple preoperative and postoperative outcome measures. The univariate analyses and linear regression analyses demonstrated the influence of the Global Severity Index (GSI) over the final follow-up scores for the ODI, VAS, NDI, EQ-5D, and SF-36. The GSI consistently exhibited a stronger correlation with the final follow-up pain, disability, and quality of life outcomes with respect to the correspondent preoperative values. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the importance of psychosomatic traits as predictive factors for ACDF outcomes and emphasizes their relevance in preoperative assessment for informing patients about realistic expectations. The findings underscore the need to consider psychological profiles in the preoperative workup, opening avenues for research into medications and psychological therapies. Recognizing the influence of psychosocial elements informs treatment strategies, fostering tailored surgical approaches and patient care.

Changes in mental health levels among Chinese athletes from 1995 to 2023.

Objective: In recent years, with the increasing intensity of sports competition and social pressure, the issue of mental health among athletes have gradually attracted attention. Understanding the changing trends of athletes' mental health is of great significance for formulating effective intervention measures and safeguarding the mental health of athletes. Methods: A total of 306 articles were accumulated from September to November 2023 by selecting literature from databases that measured the mental health of Chinese athletes using the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). Based on the screening criteria, 28 articles (N = 4,227) were finally included. A cross-sectional historical meta-analysis of these 28 studies using the SCL-90 between 1995 and 2023 was conducted. Based on cross-sectional historical meta-analysis methods, specific statistical methods, such as correlation and regression analyses, were used to examine trends over time in the scores of the nine SCL-90 factors measured by the athletes in the studies, as well as athlete type and gender differences. Results: (1) Athletes' scores on the depression, hostility, phobic anxiety, and paranoid ideation factors gradually increased with the change of era, and the explanation rate of the variation of each factor by era ranged from 18.8 to 27.2%; (2) During the period from 1995 to 2023, the mental health of athletes in China gradually deteriorated on the factors of depression, hostility, and phobic anxiety, the rate of change was rapid, with a medium to large magnitude (0.28-0.42); (3) The scores of female athletes on the depression and psychoticism factors scores showed a significant upward trend, while male mental health scores for each factor did not improve significantly over the years; (4) College athletes' scores on the depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism factors showed an upward trend as the years changed. Conclusion: Chinese athletes' mental health has been on a downward trend for the past 28 years, which needs to be a cause for concern.

A detailed hierarchical model of psychopathology in Chinese clinical sample: Based on the SCL-90-R measure.

OBJECTIVE: The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP)model is an impressive effort to overcome shortcomings of traditional diagnostic systems. However, almost all of the quantitative empirical evidence used to structure the model comes from Western cultures and is built upon traditional diagnostic categories. This study aims to provide a detailed Chinese version of the HiTOP structure, ranging from symptoms based on The Symptom Checklist 90-R (SCL-90-R) up to the general factor. METHODS: We explored the detailed hierarchical structure of the SCL-90-R scale in adult (N = 34,222) and adolescent (N = 1973) clinical sample from Shanghai Mental Health Center, using extended bass-ackwards approach to draw the HiTOP model. RESULTS: The Chinese HiTOP structure had a general factor at the top, 4 higher-order spectra (Internalizing, Externalizing, Broad Thought Disorder and Somatization and Somatic Anxiety) and 6 subfactors (Distress, Somatoform, Hostility, Fear, Psychosis and OCD) across both adult and adolescent samples. In addition, the adult sample contained 2 other subfactors: a) Sleep, and b) Suicide and Guilt. At the symptom level, some items were posited to components diverged from the original SCL-90-R subscales. CONCLUSIONS: These findings offer the first description of the HiTOP structure in two Chinese samples and demonstrate that the SCL-90-R can be used to examine the HiTOP structure. The Somatization spectrum first emerged as a higher-order dimension, suggesting structural differences between Western and Eastern cultures. The results also suggest that transdiagnostic research should (1) further examine the positioning of somatoform symptoms using measures in other Eastern samples, and (2) place more emphasis on interpreting SCL-90-R results across different cultures.

Epidemiological analysis of axillary apocrine bromhidrosis in China: a survey from Chinese higher education students.

Background: There are few epidemiological data on axillary apocrine bromhidrosis (AAB) in the Chinese population, making it impossible to accurately estimate its prevalence or impact on individuals. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of AAB in China, and to survey and compare the psychological status of individuals with and without AAB. Methods: Students in several universities in China were surveyed online for AAB, and the prevalence of AAB was calculated. The Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) was used to evaluate the psychological status. Results: The prevalence of AAB in the surveyed students was 7.5% (194/2571). The projected number of Chinese higher education students with AAB was about 3 million. The onset age of AAB was mainly between 11 and 20 years old (79.90%, 155/194). 68.04% (132/194) of individuals with AAB had a positive family history, and 60.30% (117/194) had wet earwax. Individuals with AAB often felt depression, anxiety, loneliness and social alienation, and scored significantly higher on the nine primary psychological symptom dimensions than individuals without AAB. Conclusion: AAB affects a small proportion but large numbers of Chinese population. China and the West or East-Asia and the West have different perception, recognition and treatment preferences for AAB.

Evaluation of the mental health status of community frontline medical workers after the normalized management of COVID-19 in Sichuan, China.

Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, community medical workers, as the primary enforcers of community control measures, undertook many tasks with high exposure risk, resulting in severe psychological pressure, anxiety, depression and other psychological problems. Gender, type of workers, education, marital status, working years and other demographic factors were affect the mental state of medical workers. Community frontline medical workers gradually returned to normal work and life after the normalized management of COVID-19, but heavy work and high psychological pressure may continue to affect them. Thus, our research team used the same psychological questionnaire to investigate the psychological status of community frontline medical workers after the normalized management of COVID-19 compared with the COVID-19 period. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of community frontline medical workers in Sichuan, China, from February 6 to 17, 2023. Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) and a self-designed questionnaire of demographic characteristics were provided to the participants point-to-point through a mobile network platform. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze influencing factors related to community frontline medical workers' psychology. Results: A total of 440 valid questionnaires were statistically analyzed, including 192 (43.64%) from doctors and 248 (56.36%) from nurses. There were 222 (50.45%) participants who were SCL-90 positive. The median total SCL-90 score of medical workers was 105.0 (IQR 95.00-123.75), which was higher than that during the COVID-19 period. The doctor's median SCL-90 score was 108.5 (IQR 96.00-136.25), and the positive item score was 16.5; the nurse's median score was 104.0 (IQR 94.00-119.50), and the positive item score was 12.0. Bachelor's degree education, no fixed contract and working years (10-19 years, 20-29 years, 30-39 years) were independent influencing factors for community frontline medical workers' psychology. Conclusion: After the normalized management of COVID-19, community frontline medical workers still suffered from psychological problems that were even more serious than those during COVID-19. Doctors were more likely to have psychological problems than nurses. In addition, the mental health status of community frontline medical workers was affected by education, type of contract and working years. Managers should pay attention to the mental health of these people.

Effects of Physical Activity and Circadian Rhythm on SCL-90 Scores by Factors among College Students.

OBJECTIVE: A study was conducted to investigate the effects of different levels of physical activity and circadian rhythm differences on the nine factors of obsessive-compulsive disorder, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobia, paranoia, and psychoticism on the SCL-90 scale. METHODS: A questionnaire and mathematical and statistical methods were used to conduct the study. Data were collected through a web-based cross-sectional survey of college students from three universities in Anhui. A statistical analysis of the collected data was conducted using mathematical and statistical methods. RESULTS: A total of 1248 students were included in the statistics of this study. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that low physical activity levels were associated with somatization (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 0.95-1.94), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OR = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.25-2.75), interpersonal sensitivity (OR = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.30-2.88), depression (OR = 2.03, 95% CI = 1.31-3.16), anxiety (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.03-2.69), hostility (OR = 1.80, 95% CI = 1.12-2.89), phobia (OR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.20-2.94), and paranoia (OR = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.43-3.46). Circadian rhythm differences were associated with somatization (OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.87-0.96), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OR = 0.93, p < 0.01, 95% CI = 0.89-0.98), interpersonal sensitivity (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.85-0.94), depression (OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.87-0.97), anxiety (OR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.83-0.95), hostility (OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.86-0.97), phobia (OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.82-0.93), and paranoia (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.85-0.95) were all negatively associated. In addition, gender was associated with somatization and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.57-0.98), depression (OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.87-0.97), and paranoia (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.40-0.76). CONCLUSIONS: Low-intensity physical activity was more likely to be associated with somatization, obsessive-compulsive disorder, relationship sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, terror, and paranoia than high-intensity and moderate-intensity physical activity, and circadian rhythm differences showed that people who slept later (known as nocturnal) were more likely to have these problems.

The relationship between typical dreams and mental health of residents in village-in-city.

Aim: This study aimed to explore the relationship between typical dreams and the mental health of residents in village-in-city. Methods: This study used the Chinese version of the Typical Dreams Questionnaire and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) to investigate the mental health status and typical dream themes of 1,190 residents recruited through random sampling from a village-in-city in Xi'an. Correlation analysis, t-test, and binary regression analysis were performed on the data using SPSS 24.0. Results: The five most frequent dream themes among residents in the village-in-city were "falling"; "school, teacher, study"; "being chased but not physically injured"; "enjoying delicious food"; and "repeatedly trying to do something," in the given order. The most frequent dream theme with negative SCL-90 factors was "falling" and with positive SCL-90 factors was "school, teacher, study." Typical dreams on different themes were significantly correlated with SCL-90 factors. The theme of "enjoying delicious food" was not significantly associated with most factors in SCL-90.

Disease Perception and Mental Health in Pregnancies with Gestational Diabetes-PsychDiab Pilot Study.

(1) Background: The aim of this work is to investigate the extent to which pregnant women's well-being is burdened by the diagnosis of gestational diabetes, as well as their sensitivities and illness perceptions. Since gestational diabetes is associated with mental disorders, we hypothesized that the burden of illness might be related to pre-existing mental distress. (2) Methods: Patients treated for gestational diabetes in our outpatient clinic were retrospectively asked to complete a survey, including the self-designed Psych-Diab-Questionnaire to assess treatment satisfaction, perceived limitations in daily life and the SCL-R-90 questionnaire to assess psychological distress. The association between mental distress and well-being during treatment was analyzed. (3) Results: Of 257 patients invited to participate in the postal survey, 77 (30%) responded. Mental distress was found in 13% (n = 10) without showing other relevant baseline characteristics. Patients with abnormal SCL-R-90 scores showed higher levels of disease burden, were concerned about glucose levels as well as their child's health, and felt less comfortable during pregnancy. (4) Conclusions: Analogous to the postpartum depression screening, screening for mental health problems during pregnancy should be considered to target psychologically distressed patients. Our Psych-Diab-Questionnaire has been shown to be suitable to assess illness perception and well-being.

Prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and their association with psychological problems in youths.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal symptoms and psychological problems are common in youths, which can negatively affect their lives on physical, mental, and social levels. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in youths and further explore their association with psychological problems. METHODS: Self-reported data on gastrointestinal symptoms and psychological problems in 692 sophomores who majored in education in a high vocational school and 310 recruits who were undergoing basic training in an army in China were retrospectively collected. The self-reported data included demographics, gastrointestinal symptoms, and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) used for the assessment of psychological problems. Gastrointestinal symptoms surveyed included nausea, emesis, abdominal pain, acid regurgitation, eructation, heartburn, anorexia, abdominal bloating, diarrhea, constipation, hematemesis, and hematochezia. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the independent risk factors associated with gastrointestinal symptoms. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. RESULTS: The prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms was 36.7% (n=254) and 15.5% (n=48) in the sophomores and recruits, respectively. Participants with gastrointestinal symptoms had a significantly higher prevalence of total SCL-90 score beyond 160 than those without gastrointestinal symptoms in both sophomores (19.7% vs. 3.2%, P<0.001) and recruits (10.4% vs. 1.1%, P<0.001). Total SCL-90 score beyond 160 was independently associated with gastrointestinal symptoms in both sophomores (OR =5.467; 95% CI: 2.855-10.470; P<0.001) and recruits (OR =6.734; 95% CI: 1.226-36.999; P=0.028). CONCLUSIONS: Gastrointestinal symptoms may be common and strongly associated with psychological problems in youths. Prospective studies should be required to explore the impact of the correction of psychological problems on the improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms.

An AI-based Decision Support System for Predicting Mental Health Disorders.

Approximately one billion individuals suffer from mental health disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and anxiety. Mental health professionals use various assessment tools to detect and diagnose these disorders. However, these tools are complex, contain an excessive number of questions, and require a significant amount of time to administer, leading to low participation and completion rates. Additionally, the results obtained from these tools must be analyzed and interpreted manually by mental health professionals, which may yield inaccurate diagnoses. To this extent, this research utilizes advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to develop a decision support system (DSS) that can efficiently detect and diagnose various mental disorders. As part of the DSS development process, the Network Pattern Recognition (NEPAR) algorithm is first utilized to build the assessment tool and identify the questions that participants need to answer. Then, various machine learning models are trained using participants' answers to these questions and other historical data as inputs to predict the existence and the type of their mental disorder. The results show that the proposed DSS can automatically diagnose mental disorders using only 28 questions without any human input, to an accuracy level of 89%. Furthermore, the proposed mental disorder diagnostic tool has significantly fewer questions than its counterparts; hence, it provides higher participation and completion rates. Therefore, mental health professionals can use this proposed DSS and its accompanying assessment tool for improved clinical decision-making and diagnostic accuracy.

The status and influencing factors of adolescents' mental health in a province of China: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the mental health status of adolescents in China and its influencing factors. METHODS: The stratified cluster sampling method was used to evaluate the mental health status of 5633 adolescents using the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90). RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences in the overall mean score of SCL-90 and the mean score of each subscale among adolescents in gender, grade, family, and region. The mean score of the interpersonal sensitivity and phobic anxiety subscales of the adolescents with rural household registration was higher than that of the urban household registration. Except for hostility and phobic anxiety subscales, there was a significant difference between junior high school and senior high school students in the remaining subscales. There were significant differences between only children and non-only children in the obsessive-compulsive symptoms and phobic anxiety subscales. The mean scores of depression, phobic anxiety, and other subscales of left-behind adolescents were significantly different from those of non-left-behind adolescents. Female gender (OR = 1.789), different-grade (junior high school sophomore: OR = 2.201; junior high school third grade: OR = 2.004; high school freshman: OR = 2.279; high school sophomore: OR = 2.947; high school senior: OR = 2.112), different-region (central region: OR = 1.302; southern region: OR = 1.925) and high school (OR = 1.281) adolescents had a higher risk of mental health problems, while those from two-parent families (OR = 0.68) had a lower risk. LIMITATIONS: This study is a cross-sectional study and not widely representative. CONCLUSION: Gender, grade, region, and academic period are risk factors, and a two-parent family is a protective factor for adolescents' mental health.

Changes in mental health levels among Chinese physical education college students from 1995 to 2019.

To explore the changes in the mental health levels of Chinese physical education college students, the present study conducted a cross-temporal meta-analysis of 43 papers that adopted the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) from 1995 to 2019. The results showed that the average scores of the seven SCL-90 factors were negatively correlated with the year of data collection. The socioeconomic indicators (GDP, per capita GDP and household consumption level) were significantly negatively correlated with the eight dimension scores of the SCL-90 (except for phobic anxiety). The mean effect sizes of the sex differences in the seven dimension scores (except depression and phobic anxiety) were lower than the small effect size. In conclusion, Chinese physical education college students' mental health levels have increased in the past 25 years. This phenomenon may be related to Chinese socioeconomic growth, the implementation of national sports policies, and the provision of mental health education for college students. In addition, although the increasing trend in the mental health level of female students was more obvious, there were no significant sex differences.

Analysis of scores of Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) questionnaire of 182 parents of children with spinal muscular atrophy: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a hereditary disorder characterized by progressive muscle weakness and atrophy in children. However, less attention is paid to psychiatric symptoms of SMA parents. Attention to the psychiatric symptoms of parents of SMA children can improve the comprehensiveness of family support for SMA children, which is beneficial to the rehabilitation of SMA children. Here, we conducted a survey on the psychiatric symptoms of SMA parents and analyzed its relevant factors, with an attempt to inform the psychological support for SMA parents. Methods: The Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) and a self-designed basic information (such as parent's gender, household area, place of residence, education background, etc.) questionnaire (in electronic questionnaire) were distributed to parents of SMA children aged 0-18 in a charity WeChat group sponsored by the Meier Advocacy & Support Center for SMA during the period from August 1 to August 31, 2021. Parents completed the electronic questionnaires by mobile phone or computer voluntarily. A total of 188 questionnaires were obtained, of which 182 were valid. Comparisons were performed with the SCL-90 adult norms as the standards. The potential correlations between the general data of SMA parents and children and abnormal factors in the SCL-90 for SMA parents were analyzed. Results: The SCL-90 factors somatization (1.56±0.80, P=0.002), depression (1.78±0.98, P<0.001), anxiety (1.58±0.87, P=0.007), fear (1.39±0.74, P=0.003), and sleep and eating problems (1.67±0.87, P=0.014) of SMA parents were significantly higher than the national norms. Place of residence was correlated with sleep and eating problems (r=0.158, P=0.033). Increasing age [odds ratio (OR) =1.012, P=0.014] and continuous home-living status (OR =0.360, P=0.031) of SMA children increased the risk of depression in their parents, and the lack of rehabilitation management in SMA children increased the risk of anxiety of their parents (OR =0.409, P=0.038). Non-urban residence (OR =2.602, P=0.017) and poor physical health (OR =0.163, P=0.031) were the relevant factors for the increased risk of sleep and eating problems in SMA parents. Conclusions: SMA parents have a higher risk of developing psychiatric symptoms problems compared with the general population. Increasing age and the continuous home-living status of SMA children increase the risk of depression in their parents, and the lack of rehabilitation management increase the risk of anxiety in SMA parents.

Psychological assessment in infertility: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Infertility is a prevalent worldwide health issue and is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a global health problem. Considering the importance of the psychological dimensions of infertility, various measurement tools have been used to measure the variables involved in infertility, of which the most widely used are the following: the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL90), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form (STAI), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). Therefore, given the problems of infertile people in terms of psychological dimensions, the aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the psychological assessment score in infertility. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, we applied an online database with no time restriction. Data were gathered using a random-effect model to estimate the standard mean difference (SMD) for the evaluation of the strength of association analyses. Our data demonstrated a significant higher SCL90 score (CI SCL90: 0.96, 0.34-1.57, heterogeneity: 94%, p heterogeneity < 0.001), and a non-significant higher DASS score (CI Anxiety : 0.82, -0.14 to 1.79; CI Depression : 0.8, -0.28 to 1.87; and CI Stress : 0.82, -0.24 to 1.88). It is essential to seek for strategies to help infertile patients overcome their infertility-related psychological problems.

Association between psychological symptoms and illegal driving behaviors in a sample of Chinese private car drivers.

Background: Findings on the associations between psychological symptoms and driving behaviors in private car drivers are inadequate. Method: The study consisted of 3,115 private car drivers in Yulin, China. The measurements included socio-demographic data, traffic violations, accidents, and Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). In addition, an ordered logistic regression model was employed to examine the association between each psychological symptom and risky driving behaviors. Results: The overall prevalence rate of any self-reported psychological symptom was 10.24%, with 9.22% for males and 11.49% for females. Among them, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, additional items, hostility, and depression were the five most common psychological symptoms, with prevalence rates of 7.90, 6.29, 6.00, 5.91, and 5.62%, respectively. Any psychological symptom factor was associated with a higher risk of traffic violations and accidents. However, the intensity of the correlations varied, with obsessive-compulsive symptoms the strongest in general traffic violations and anxiety symptoms in traffic accidents. All psychological symptoms except phobic anxiety and paranoid ideation contributed to a higher risk of failing the driver's license test. Conclusions: The prevalence rate of psychological symptoms was high in private car drivers. This study calls for an urgent need to establish a pilot tertiary prevention strategy to reduce risky driving behaviors through psychological symptom screening and interventions among private car drivers.

Coping with incarceration: examining the longitudinal relationship between individual coping styles and mental health outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Experiencing incarceration leads to increased rates of stress that result in a variety of negative physical, mental, and emotional outcomes. However, little research focuses on how individuals vary in their coping responses to stressful life events, like imprisonment. AIMS: This study extends prior research by examining whether changes in coping styles throughout the first year of incarceration influence mental health symptomology at 6- and 12-months post placement. METHODS: Using longitudinal data collected via semi-structured interviews with incarcerated men, this study measures changes in coping strategies and their effect on psychological well-being using the SCL-90-R. Ordinary least squares regression models were used to regress mental health symptomology on residual change scores of coping strategies. RESULTS: Changes in dysfunctional coping during the first 6- and 12-months of placement were associated with increased levels of adverse mental health symptoms. Changes in emotion- and problem-focused coping were not associated with mental health symptomology. CONCLUSIONS: This research illustrates the need to continue exploration into individual responses to stressful events, such as initial incarceration, and suggests that prison systems should be designed in ways that decrease the need to adapt in dysfunctional ways, while providing opportunities for incarcerated people to cope in more productive ways.

A dimensional approach to affective disorder: The relations between Scl-90 subdimensions and QEEG parameters.

Objectives: QEEG reflects neuronal activity directly rather than using indirect parameters, such as blood deoxygenation and glucose utilization, as in fMRI and PET. The correlation between QEEG spectral power density and Symptom Check List-90-R may help identify biomarkers pertaining to brain function, associated with affective disorder symptoms. This study aims at determining whether there is a relation between QEEG spectral power density and Symptom Check List-90-R symptom scores in affective disorders. Methods: This study evaluates 363 patients who were referred for the initial application and diagnosed with affective disorders according to DSM-V, with QEEG and Scl-90-R. Spectral power density was calculated for the 18 electrodes representing brain regions. Results: Somatization scores were found to be correlated with Pz and O1 theta, O1 and O2 high beta. Whereas FP1 delta activities were correlated with anxiety, F3, F4, and Pz theta were correlated with obsession scores. Interpersonal sensitivity scores were found to be correlated with F4 delta, P3, T5, P4, T6 alpha and T5, and T6 theta activities. While depression scores were correlated with P3 and T4 delta, as well as T4 theta, there was a correlation between anger and F4, as well as T4 alpha and F8 high beta activities. Paranoia scores are correlated with FP1, F7, T6 and F8 theta, T5 and F8 delta, and O2 high beta activities. Conclusions: According to our results, anxiety, obsession, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anger, and paranoia are related to some spectral powers of QEEG. Delta-beta coupling seems to be a neural biomarker for affective dysregulation.