Common Anxiety Research Articles

Humorous Linguistic Memes as Students' Coping Relief Against COVID-19 Anxiety

This quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of humorous linguistic memes as a coping strategy against anxiety. The respondents consisted of 41 students who were purposefully selected based on their manifestation of COVID-19 anxiety. These participants received interventions using humorous linguistic memes. The study used a researcher-made instrument on COVID-19 anxiety composed of 30 items on common anxiety about the coronavirus pandemic. The study utilized the mean for descriptive data analysis, the Mann-Whitney U, and the t-test for inferential data analysis. The researcher also analyzed the respondents' impressions of humorous linguistic memes. Data analysis deduced that funny linguistic memes can potentially reduce a person's anxiety about COVID-19. Frequent exposure to funny memes may contribute to good mental and emotional health. The study suggests that individuals can be exposed to humorous linguistic memes when confronted with a stressful situation.

Pengaruh Terapi Bermain Dengan Media Scrapbook Terhadap Kecemasan Anak Usia Prasekolah Yang Mengalami Hospitalisasi

Background : Hospitalization is a condition where a child is hospitalized in a hospital in a planned or emergency condition for treatment until the child’s condition improves when he returns home. The most common anxiety experienced by children is crying, an excessive fear of both officers and new people. One of the interventions that can be done to overcome anxiety in children is by doing Scrapbook therapy. Research Purpose : The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of playing therapy with Scrapbook media on the anxiety of preschool-aged children who were hospitalized at the Palembang Muhammadiyah Hospital. Methods : This study uses a pre-experimental method, with a one group pre test and post test design. The sampling technique used in this study was purposive sampling on pediatric patients treated at the Muhammadiyah Palembang Hospital with a total of 16 respondents. The intervention was given for 30 minutes, carried out once a day during the child’s free time. Result : The result of the nonparametric test using the Wilcoxon Test obtained a p value of < 0.000 (< 0.05). Conclusion : There is an effect of playing therapy with Scrapbook media on the anxiety of preschool-aged children who are hospitalized at the Palembang Muhammadiyah Hospital.

Dissecting clinical and biological heterogeneity in clinical states of bipolar disorder: a 10-year retrospective study from China.

To dissect clinical and biological heterogeneity in clinical states of bipolar disorder (BD), and investigate if neuropsychological symptomatology, comorbidity, vital signs, and blood laboratory indicators are predictors of distinct BD states. A retrospective BD cohort was established with data extracted from a Chinese hospital's electronic medical records (EMR) between 2009 and 2018. Subjects were inpatients with a main discharge diagnosis of BD and were assessed for clinical state at hospitalization. We categorized all subjects into manic state, depressive state, and mixed state. Four machine learning classifiers were utilized to classify the subjects. A Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) algorithm was applied to the classifiers to aid in quantifying and visualizing the contributions of each feature that drive patient-specific classifications. A sample of 3,085 records was included (38.54% as manic, 56.69% as depressive, and 4.77% as mixed state). Mixed state showed more severe suicidal ideation and psychomotor abnormalities, while depressive state showed more common anxiety, sleep, and somatic-related symptoms and more comorbid conditions. Higher levels of body temperature, pulse, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures were present during manic episodes. Xgboost achieved the best AUC of 88.54% in manic/depressive states classification; Logistic regression and Random forest achieved the best AUCs of 75.5 and 75% in manic/mixed states and depressive/mixed states classifications, respectively. Myocardial enzymes and the non-enzymatic antioxidant uric acid and bilirubin contributed significantly to distinguish BD clinical states. The observed novel biological associations with BD clinical states confirm that biological heterogeneity contributes to clinical heterogeneity of BD.

Understanding anxiety experienced by young males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a qualitative focus group study

In this multi-methods study we explored the characteristics, causes and impact of anxiety in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) from the perspective of young males with DMD and their parents. Eight young males with DMD (7–18 years) and 14 parents participated in separate focus groups. Perspectives on anxiety were explored using semi-structured interview schedules. Themes were identified using Framework Analysis. Neurodevelopmental, emotional and behavioural symptom scores were obtained using standard instruments including the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale. We identified six common anxiety characteristics: Catastrophic conclusions; Rigidly-held anxieties; Extreme distress; Social anxieties; Physical changes/needs; Unexpected/unfamiliar. Four further themes described influential systemic factors: Individual, Family, and Social responses and Physical environment and service contexts. All DMD participants had significantly higher total difficulties, emotional problems and impact scores than population norms. The Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale showed low sensitivity in identifying anxiety symptoms. Fifty-seven percent (8/14) of parents who had wanted help for their son's anxiety were dissatisfied with the available support. In conclusion, anxiety can severely impact wellbeing and functioning of individuals with DMD. There are important nuances to consider when managing DMD-associated anxiety. We highlight the importance of multimodal assessment considering the multiple contexts within which anxiety arises.

Current prevalence and determinants of generalized anxiety disorder from a nationally representative, population-based survey of India.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the common anxiety disorders leading to impairment and burden. However, GAD remains the least studied anxiety disorder. There is a need for nationally representative epidemiological data of GAD to understand the current burden and plan the mental health policies and programs to attain their unmet needs. Hence, this study focuses on epidemiology, socio-demographic correlates, disability, and treatment gap of GAD from India's National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) 2016. NMHS 2016 was a nationally representative epidemiological survey of adult respondents from 12 states of India. NMHS is a multi-stage, stratified, random cluster sampling with random selection based on probability proportional to size at each stage. The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview 6.0.0 used to diagnose psychiatric disorders. Sheehan disability scale was used to assess the disability. The current weighted prevalence of GAD was estimated. Association between GAD and socio-demographic factors was done using Firth's penalized logistic regression. The treatment gap and disability in GAD also calculated. The current weighted prevalence of GAD is 0.57%. The male gender and higher education groups have significantly lesser odds with current GAD. Urban metro and the married group have significantly higher odds with current GAD. The most common comorbid psychiatric disorders are depression (15.8%) followed by agoraphobia (9.4%). Among respondents with current GAD in the past 6 months across three domains, around 2/5th has mild and moderate disability, 1/10th has a severe disability, and 1/20th has an extreme disability. The overall treatment gap of current GAD is 75.7%. NMHS 2016 has provided valuable insights into the epidemiology and burden of GAD among the general population. The available findings provide a glimpse of the current scenario in GAD to aid policymakers in targeting interventions.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for General Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a common and challenging anxiety disorder with origins in DSM-III and later DSM-III-R. It involves persistent, uncontrollable worry and various symptoms affecting people of various ages. While GAD has received less research attention compared to other anxiety disorders, this essay examines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as an effective GAD treatment. It introduces two theoretical models, compares CBT to control groups, and highlights its partial effectiveness and potential long-term benefits. CBT is applicable across age groups, with limitations in older adults. It may also impact cognitive function. In conclusion, evidence supports CBT as a useful GAD treatment, acknowledging potential bias and the need for research into cultural influences.

Dietary counselling plus omega-3 supplementation in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder: protocol for a randomized wait-list controlled pilot trial (the “EASe-GAD Trial”)

BackgroundAnxiety disorders are prevalent and disabling conditions involving excessive worry and tension. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), the most common anxiety disorder, affects 5% of individuals from high-income countries and many individuals report that treatment options are not accessible, effective, or tolerable. Clinical evidence suggests that nutrition interventions, based on the Mediterranean diet and supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids, can significantly improve symptoms of depression; however, the effect of nutrition interventions on anxiety symptoms has not been studied in a clinical population. The primary objective of the present study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a dietary counselling and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation intervention delivered to adult women with GAD. The secondary objectives include assessing changes in anxiety symptom severity, assessing changes in quality of life, assessing changes in biomarkers, and evaluating the components of the program.MethodsThis study is a randomized, wait-list controlled pilot trial delivering a 12-week, dietary counselling intervention and omega-3 supplementation to 50 adult women with GAD. Participants will complete seven individual counselling sessions which include education, personalized recommendations, mindful eating techniques, motivational interviewing, and goal setting. They will be provided with recipes, instructional videos, and food items. The intervention is designed based on the Social Cognitive Theory and previous research that has been done by the author team to identify dietary constituents with the most evidence to support their use in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Questionnaires and blood work will be completed at baseline, after the waiting period (for those in the waitlist group), and after the intervention.DiscussionResults from this study will lay the foundation for future large-scale studies in this area and may provide preliminary evidence of the role of diet counselling and omega-3 supplementation in the management of GAD. Research on the role of nutrition in psychiatric care has been identified as a priority by a number of international organizations. The present trial directly addresses the call for the research that is most needed to advance the field.Trial registrationThis protocol was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov on October 10, 2022; NCT05573672.Trial sponsor: The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, 1255 Sheppard Ave E, Toronto, ON M2K 1E2, 416–498-1255.Steering committee: Composed of MA, LL, KC, IvdW, SM, UN, AJ. The committee meets monthly to oversee the trial.Protocol identifier: CCNM_EASe-GADCT_2201v4.

Depression and anxiety have distinct and overlapping language patterns: Results from a clinical interview.

Depression has been associated with heightened first-person singular pronoun use (I-usage; e.g., "I," "my") and negative emotion words. However, past research has relied on nonclinical samples and nonspecific depression measures, raising the question of whether these features are unique to depression vis-à-vis frequently co-occurring conditions, especially anxiety. Using structured questions about recent life changes or difficulties, we interviewed a sample of individuals with varying levels of depression and anxiety (N = 486), including individuals in a major depressive episode (n = 228) and/or diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (n = 273). Interviews were transcribed to provide a natural language sample. Analyses isolated language features associated with gold standard, clinician-rated measures of depression and anxiety. Many language features associated with depression were in fact shared between depression and anxiety. Language markers with relative specificity to depression included I-usage, sadness, and decreased positive emotion, while negations (e.g., "not," "no"), negative emotion, and several emotional language markers (e.g., anxiety, stress, depression) were relatively specific to anxiety. Several of these results were replicated using a self-report measure designed to disentangle components of depression and anxiety. We next built machine learning models to detect severity of common and specific depression and anxiety using only interview language. Individuals' speech characteristics during this brief interview predicted their depression and anxiety severity, beyond other clinical and demographic variables. Depression and anxiety have partially distinct patterns of expression in spoken language. Monitoring of depression and anxiety severity via language can augment traditional assessment modalities and aid in early detection. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Reducing Dental Anxiety in Children Using a Mobile Health App: Usability and User Experience Study.

Dentistry interventions cause common anxiety and fear problems in children (6-11 years), and according to scientific evidence, this causes a decrease in their quality of life. Therapies mediated by IT-based tools have been shown to positively influence children's mood based on distraction as well as relaxing activities, but there is no evidence of their use to reduce dental anxiety in children. The aim of this study was to answer the following research question: Does our new children-centered codesign methodology contribute to achieving a usable mobile-based product with a highly scored user experience? A mobile health app was developed to reduce dental anxiety in children using rapid application development following the usage-centered design methodology. Structured interviews were conducted to test the usability and user experience of the app prototype among 40 children (n=20, 50%, boys and n=20, 50%, girls; age 6-11 years) using a children-adapted questionnaire and the 7-point Single Ease Question rating scale. The Smiley Faces Program-Revised questionnaire was used to assess the level of dental anxiety in participants. There were no significant differences between girls and boys. The task completion rate was 95% (n=19) for children aged 6-8 years (group 1) and 100% (n=20) for children aged 9-11 years (group 2). Group 1 found watching the relaxing video (task C) to be the easiest, followed by playing a video minigame (task B) and watching the narrative (task A). Group 2 found task C to be the easiest, followed by task A and then task B. The average time spent on the different types of tasks was similar in both age groups. Most of the children in both age groups were happy with the app and found it funny. All children thought that having the app in the waiting room during a dental visit would be useful. The findings confirmed that the app is usable and provides an excellent user experience. Our children-adapted methodology contributes to achieving usable mobile-based products for children with a highly scored user experience.

Review of Therapy for GAD

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), a chronic anxiety disorder characterized by persistent significant nervousness, autonomic nervous function excitement and excessive vigilance, is the most common anxiety disorder. With the deepening of research, people have a profound understanding of the causes and mechanisms of GAD and for patients with GAD, and there are systematic treatments based on series of clinical evidence and meta-analysis. This article will start with some mainstream treatment methods including CBT, DBT and medication therapy, commonly used in clinical practice, compare their feedback, and discuss their advantages and disadvantages.

A - 143 Factor Structure of the Beck Anxiety Inventory in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

The Beck Anxiety Inventory-II (BAI) is a widely used screening instrument for anxiety symptoms in clinical and medical populations. The factor structure of the BAI remains unknown for people with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), despite common anxiety symptoms in this group. This study compared one, two, and four-factor models of the BAI in an mTBI sample. A sample of 141 individuals diagnosed with an mTBI were evaluated. All subjects were administered the BAI screening measure during a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation in a private practice setting. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test whether items loaded on a single anxiety factor, a two-factor structure with a somatic-affective and cognitive component of anxiety (based on original BAI), or a four-factor structure derived from studies in other populations with cognitive impairments. The sample was predominantly female (63%), with a mean age of 46.93 (SD = 13.28) and a mean education level of 15.08 (SD = 2.65). Consistent with prior literature, 69% of our sample reported at least mild symptoms of anxiety (BAI > 8). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results indicated the best fit was the model with four factors consisting of cognitive, autonomic, neuromotor, and panic symptoms, CFI = 0.92; RMSEA = 0.067, 90% CI (0.053,0.081). These results suggest that instead of the two-factor model posited by original creators of the BAI, clinicians and researchers should attend to four clusters of anxiety symptoms in mTBI populations. Anxiety symptoms following mTBI can be evaluated based on cognitive, autonomic, neuromotor, and panic components.

Effect of cross-cultural education combined with music therapy on anxiety disorders

BackgroundAnxiety disorder usually refers to anxiety disorder. Common anxiety disorders include social phobia and separation anxiety disorder. Different anxiety disorders have different incidence rates. At present, the pathogenesis of anxiety disorder is not yet clear, but its common causes include genetic and psychological factors. Music therapy treats diseases from both physiological and psychological perspectives.Subjects and MethodsIn order to analyze the relief effect of cross-cultural education combined with music therapy on academic anxiety disorder in university students, the study selected 80 students with anxiety disorder. They were randomly divided into two groups, the observation group and the control group, with 40 students in each group. Among them, the control group only received cross-cultural education, while the observation group received music therapy based on cross-cultural education. Both groups were treated three times a week for a total of 8 weeks. After the treatment, the study evaluated the treatment results using the Self Rating Anxiety Scale, Self Rating Depression Scale, and SPSS23.0.ResultsThe results showed that there was a significant decrease in anxiety and depression scores between the observation group and the control group students after treatment, and there was a significant difference compared to before treatment (P<0.05). In addition, after treatment, the anxiety and depression scores of the observation group students decreased more than those of the control group, and the difference between the two was significant (P<0.05).ConclusionsIn summary, the combination of cross-cultural education and music therapy in universities has a certain alleviating effect on students’ academic anxiety disorder.

Maternal exposure of mice to glyphosate induces depression- and anxiety-like behavior in the offspring via alterations of the gut-brain axis

The past decade has been characterized by increased awareness and de-stigmatization of mental health issues, in particular the most common neuropsychiatric disorders depression and anxiety. Further, with growing understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder, the number of diagnosed patients has increased. The pathogenesis of these behavioral disorders is multifactorial and early-life exposure to environmental chemicals has been proposed to be a relevant risk factor that might mediate these effects by disturbances on the gut-brain-axis. However, for glyphosate, the most widely used pesticide worldwide, there are only limited and inconsistent findings that link chronic low-dose exposure in particular during early life to neurobehavioral disorders. Here, we explored the impact of maternal oral glyphosate exposure (0.5 and 50 mg/kg body weight/day) during pregnancy and the lactational period on offspring's behavior, brain gene expression and gut microbiota using a cross-generational mouse model. Behavioral analyses revealed a depression- and anxiety-like behavior as well as social deficits most notably in adult female offspring of glyphosate-exposed dams. Furthermore, the expression of tryptophan hydroxylase 2, an enzyme discussed to be linked to behavioral problems, was reduced in the hippocampus of female offspring and correlated to a glyphosate-induced DNA hypermethylation of the gene. Moreover, maternal glyphosate exposure significantly altered the gut microbiota in the female offspring including a decreased abundance of Akkermansia and increased abundance of Alistipes and Blautia, bacteria involved in tryptophan metabolism and associated with depression- and anxiety-like disorders. Our results suggest that glyphosate might influence the gut-brain axis crosstalk following in-utero and lactational exposure. This study underlines the importance of understanding the impact of exposure to pesticides on the gut-brain axis and further emphasizes the need for microbiome analyses to be compulsorily included in health risk assessments of pesticides.

A comparison of schema modes and self-beliefs related to social anxiety in individuals with subclinical social anxiety disorder and without social anxiety disorder: a preliminary finding

ABSTRACT Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is the most common anxiety disorder and has serious negative effects on multiple areas of life. The possibility of comorbidity with other disorders and malfunction in different domains of life exists in both full-blown and subclinical social anxiety. This study aimed to compare the schema modes and self-beliefs related to social anxiety in individuals with subclinical social anxiety disorder and without social anxiety disorder. Multistage cluster random and purposive sampling methods were used to select 100 students, 50 with and 50 without symptoms of social anxiety disorder. Participants were evaluated in regard to schema modes, self-beliefs related to social anxiety, social anxiety, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder. They were then evaluated clinically through Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5). Data analysis was performed by Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) which showed that there was a significant difference between the groups of individuals with and without symptoms of social anxiety in schema modes and self-beliefs related to social anxiety (p < 0.001). The obtained results can contribute to a deeper understanding of the dimensions of vulnerability underlying subclinical social anxiety disorder in the relationship between symptoms of subclinical social anxiety disorder and schema modes.

Digital Application of Clinical Staging to Support Stratification in Youth Mental Health Services: Validity and Reliability Study.

As the demand for youth mental health care continues to rise, managing wait times and reducing treatment delays are key challenges to delivering timely and quality care. Clinical staging is a heuristic model for youth mental health that can stratify care allocation according to individuals' risk of illness progression. The application of staging has been traditionally limited to trained clinicians yet leveraging digital technologies to apply clinical staging could increase the scalability and usability of this model in services. The aim of this study was to validate a digital algorithm to accurately differentiate young people at lower and higher risk of developing mental disorders. We conducted a study with a cohort comprising 131 young people, aged between 16 and 25 years, who presented to youth mental health services in Australia between November 2018 and March 2021. Expert psychiatrists independently assigned clinical stages (either stage 1a or stage 1b+), which were then compared to the digital algorithm's allocation based on a multidimensional self-report questionnaire. Of the 131 participants, the mean age was 20.3 (SD 2.4) years, and 72% (94/131) of them were female. Ninety-one percent of clinical stage ratings were concordant between the digital algorithm and the experts' ratings, with a substantial interrater agreement (κ=0.67; P<.001). The algorithm demonstrated an accuracy of 91% (95% CI 86%-95%; P=.03), a sensitivity of 80%, a specificity of 93%, and an F1-score of 73%. Of the concordant ratings, 16 young people were allocated to stage 1a, while 103 were assigned to stage 1b+. Among the 12 discordant cases, the digital algorithm allocated a lower stage (stage 1a) to 8 participants compared to the experts. These individuals had significantly milder symptoms of depression (P<.001) and anxiety (P<.001) compared to those with concordant stage 1b+ ratings. This novel digital algorithm is sufficiently robust to be used as an adjunctive decision support tool to stratify care and assist with demand management in youth mental health services. This work could transform care pathways and expedite care allocation for those in the early stages of common anxiety and depressive disorders. Between 11% and 27% of young people seeking care may benefit from low-intensity, self-directed, or brief interventions. Findings from this study suggest the possibility of redirecting clinical capacity to focus on individuals in stage 1b+ for further assessment and intervention.

Joint factor analysis and approximate equipercentile linking of common trait health anxiety measures: a cross-sectional study of the 14-, 18- and 64-item health anxiety inventory, the illness attitude scale, and the 14-item Whiteley Index

BackgroundResearch on health anxiety has bloomed in recent years, but summaries of the literature are complicated by the use of dissimilar self-report questionnaires. Furthermore, these instruments have rarely been administered in parallel, and especially not in clinical samples. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between five widespread health anxiety measures, and to draft guidelines for the conversion of different sum scores.MethodsClinical trial participants with principal pathological health anxiety (n = 335) and a sample of healthy volunteers (n = 88) completed the 14-item Whiteley Index (WI-14), the Illness Attitude Scale (IAS), and the 14-, 18-, and 64-item Health Anxiety Inventory (the HAI-64, HAI-18, and HAI-14). Cross-sectional data from all participants were pooled (N = 423) and we conducted a joint factor analysis and approximate equipercentile linking of the WI-14, IAS, HAI-64, HAI-18, and HAI-14.ResultsInter-scale correlations were high (rs ≥ 0.90 and ≥ 0.88 in adjusted analyses), and the scree plot of the joint factor analysis spoke for a unifactorial solution where 89/105 items (85%) had loadings ≥ 0.40. Most items at the core of this broad trait health anxiety factor pertained to the worry about health, the fear of having or developing a serious disease, and to some extent bodily preoccupation. We present a cross-walk table of observed equipercentile linked sum scores.ConclusionsThis study speaks clearly in favor of the WI-14, IAS, HAI-64, HAI-18, and HAI-14 all tapping into the same trait health anxiety construct, the core of which appears to concern the worry about health, the fear of having or developing a serious disease, and to some extent bodily preoccupation. Based on recently reported cut-offs for the HAI-14, a reasonable cutoff for pathological health anxiety in a psychiatric setting probably lies around 7–8 on the WI-14, 52–53 on the IAS, 82–83 on the HAI-64, and 26–27 on the HAI-18.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01966705, NCT02314065.

Prevalence of common mental disorders among medical students in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The prevalence of mental distress is common for medical students in China due to factors such as the long duration of schooling, stressful doctor-patient relationship, numerous patient population, and limited medical resources. However, previous studies have failed to provide a comprehensive prevalence of these mental disorders in this population. This meta-analysis aimed to estimate the prevalence of common mental disorders (CMDs), including depression, anxiety, and suicidal behaviors, among medical students in China. We conducted a systematic search for empirical studies on the prevalence of depression, anxiety, suicide attempt, suicide ideation, and suicide plan in Chinese medical students published from January 2000 to December 2020. All data were collected pre-COVID-19. The prevalence and heterogeneity estimations were computed by using a random-effects model and univariate meta-regression analyses. A total of 197 studies conducted in 23 provinces in China were included in the final meta-analysis. The prevalence data of depression, anxiety, suicide attempt, suicide ideation, and suicide plan were extracted from 129, 80, 21, 53, and 14 studies, respectively. The overall pooled crude prevalence for depression was 29% [38,309/132,343; 95% confidence interval (CI): 26%-32%]; anxiety, 18% (19,479/105,397; 95% CI: 15%-20%); suicide ideation, 13% (15,546/119,069; 95% CI: 11%-15%); suicide attempt, 3% (1,730/69,786; 95% CI: 1%-4%); and suicide plan, 4% (1,188/27,025; 95% CI: 3%-6%). This meta-analysis demonstrated the high prevalence of CMDs among Chinese medical students. Further research is needed to identify targeted strategies to improve the mental health of this population.

Black representation in social media well-being research: A scoping review of social media experience and psychological well-being among Black users in the United States

There has been a wide array of scholarship that has investigated the effects of social media use on psychological well-being since 2006, with most focusing on general populations, specific populations of non-Black individuals, or specific use patterns such as passive use, active use, and addictive use. Comparatively, the extant literature focusing on Black populations is sparse. In this scoping review, we collected 38 articles that studied social media experience and psychological well-being by Black social media users in America. We found recurring research themes that focused on the Performance of Signifyin,’ cyberbullying victimization, racial stereotyping and discrimination, along with more common well-being measures, including self-esteem, social support, depression, stress, anxiety, and negative affect. The findings of this research suggest nuanced dynamics of Black social media experience, potentially due to the unique overlapping influences of social practices and exposure to traumatizing content that Black users encounter on social media. Because our examination of articles was limited to populations of Black users in the United States, we note that our findings may not be extendable to Black social media users who reside in other parts of the world.

Maternal mental illness and child atopy: a UK population-based, primary care cohort study.

The number of children exposed to maternal mental illness is rapidly increasing and little is known about the effects of maternal mental illness on childhood atopy. To investigate the association between maternal mental illness and risk of atopy among offspring. Retrospective cohort study using a UK primary care database (674 general practices). In total, 590 778 children (born 1 January 1993 to 30 November 2017) were followed until their 18th birthday, with 359 611 linked to their hospital records. Time-varying exposure was captured for common (depression and anxiety), serious (psychosis), addiction (alcohol and substance misuse), and other (eating and personality disorder) maternal mental illness from 6 months before pregnancy. Using Cox regression models, incidence rates of atopy were calculated and compared for the exposed and unexposed children in primary (asthma, eczema, allergic rhinitis, and food allergies) and secondary (asthma and food allergies) care, adjusted for maternal (age, atopy history, smoking, and antibiotic use), child (sex, ethnicity, and birth year/season), and area covariates (deprivation and region). Children exposed to common maternal mental illness were at highest risk of developing asthma (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.15 to 1.20) and allergic rhinitis (aHR 1.17, 95% CI = 1.13 to 1.21), as well as a hospital admission for asthma (aHR 1.29, 95% CI = 1.20 to 1.38). Children exposed to addiction disorders were 9% less likely to develop eczema (aHR 0.91, 95% CI = 0.85 to 0.97) and 35% less likely to develop food allergies (aHR 0.65, 95% CI = 0.45 to 0.93). The finding that risk of atopy varies by type of maternal mental illness prompts important aetiological questions. The link between common mental illness and childhood atopy requires GPs and policymakers to act and support vulnerable women to access preventive (for example, smoking cessation) services earlier.

DEVELOPING A CULTURE OF MINDFUL LEARNING: CHALLENGES, BENEFITS, AND OPPORTUNITIES

Learning is an individual process for each student. People can be aware of own learning or do not think about it at all in the diverse situations of life. However, in the pedagogical reality, the awareness of students' learning is essential as it contributes to self-regulation of behaviour and self-reflection of actions, striving towards continuous self-development. It is important to be aware of oneself mentally and physically, understanding and accepting own thoughts or feelings. The integration of all areas of personal development becomes relevant, as changes in one area are linked to changes in another. Awareness of own learning directs the learner towards the social, emotional and academic dimension, including not only awareness of the knowledge and acquired skills, but awareness of own goals, motivations, emotions, interests, the personal relevance of the learning content and also the variability of the current situation, strategies for future learning, and other elements of the learning process. Mindfulness can also be seen as a powerful 'antidote' to common mental health problems, e.g. fatigue, exhaustion, apathy, anxiety and difficulty in concentrating. Mindfulness practices can be implemented at schools as an element of the lesson, but it is also important to purposefully create a culture of mindfulness at the institutional level, which can be greatly facilitated by the professional development of teachers. Mindfulness is a mental state of being reflective in the present moment. It provides the ability to live intensely in the present moment, acceptance of own thoughts and feelings, a sense of perspective and the ability to cope with stressful situations through conscious concentration. The aim of this publication is to analyze the theoretical aspects of mindfulness, the possibilities of facilitating the learning process through mindfulness practices, as well as to carry out empirical research evaluating 16-19-year-old students` self-awareness skills, the phenomenon of the presence of mindfulness in their learning process and its impact on their learning outcomes.