Indicators Of Social Functioning Research Articles

Minority language happiness: The link between social inclusion, well-being, and speaking a regional language in the northern Netherlands

Belonging to groups is often based on shared features between members and is associated with higher levels of (social) well-being. One especially strong marker of one's group membership is language. In linguistics, most research about group membership and well-being focuses on migrants and refugees. However, very little research has focused on the link between speaking a regional language and well-being. This is surprising, as regional languages index a strong shared in-group identity that could lead to exclusion of those who do not speak them. As a first empirical step, this paper reports on the association between regional language use (specifically, of Frisian and Low Saxon) and social well-being. We distributed a language background questionnaire to participants of the Lifelines cohort, a multigenerational cohort study comprising data from 167,729 participants living in the north of the Netherlands. In both language contexts (Frisian in Fryslân, and Low Saxon in Groningen and Drenthe), those using the regional language half of the time or more were found to have significantly more social contacts. They also experienced higher levels of social embeddedness than those who did not know or did not frequently use the regional language. The higher degree of social embeddedness for frequent regional language users was most strongly present in rural areas. Furthermore, we found that frequent users of Frisian living in Fryslân had higher levels of social embeddedness in rural areas than frequent users of Low Saxon living in Groningen or Drenthe. No effect was found for more overt measures of social well-being such as loneliness or life satisfaction. While our results confirm an association between regional language speaking and some indices of social functioning on a large scale, they cannot uncover a causal relationship between the two. We discuss how longitudinal studies and interviews in future studies may inform us further about the relation between regional language use and social well-being.

The Study of Mass Panic Resulting from the Social Crisis of Covid-19 and its Effect on the Job Performance of the Employees of the Ministry of Health in Tehran (Statistical Study of the Employees of the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education of the Country)

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic caused problems at various levels. One of its consequences is public health problems at the community level, as well as being affected by people's job performance due to the quarantine conditions and the resulting stress. This study intends to investigate the effect of mass panic caused by covid-19 on the job performance of Ministry of Health employees. The present research is a descriptive-analytical study that was conducted in 2019 in Tehran. In this study, 250 employees working in the Ministry of Health participated. Data collection tools were two demographic questionnaires and Patterson's job performance.The samples completed the questionnaires electronically on the Google Form platform. SPSS version 22 software was used for data analysis. The significance level of the data was 0.05. In total, 250 questionnaires were completed. The average age of the samples was 44.11±23.74 and their average work experience was 16.07±8.66. The findings of this study showed that collective panic caused by covid-19 had a significant effect on the indicators of social functioning. Also, based on the findings, fear caused by Corona had a negative effect on people's job performance. The variables of diploma and post-diploma education had an inverse effect on job performance in these people. It seems that due to the limited number of studies on the effect of panic caused by Corona on the social function and job performance of people in occupational groups other than the Corona treatment staff, there is a need for more investigations in this Field.

Neural signatures of social inferences predict the number of real-life social contacts and autism severity

We regularly infer other people’s thoughts and feelings from observing their actions, but how this ability contributes to successful social behavior and interactions remains unknown. We show that neural activation patterns during social inferences obtained in the laboratory predict the number of social contacts in the real world, as measured by the social network index, in three neurotypical samples (total n = 126) and one sample of autistic adults (n = 23). We also show that brain patterns during social inference generalize across individuals in these groups. Cross-validated associations between brain activations and social inference localize selectively to the right posterior superior temporal sulcus and were specific for social, but not nonsocial, inference. Activation within this same brain region also predicts autism-like trait scores from questionnaires and autism symptom severity. Thus, neural activations produced while thinking about other people’s mental states predict variance in multiple indices of social functioning in the real world.

Gender characteristics of health-related quality of life indicators in children with high normal blood pressure and primary hypertension

Background. The study of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has great practical importance for patients with hypertension. The aim of the work was to investigate the gender characteristics of HRQoL in children with primary hypertension and high normal blood pressure. Material and methods. One hundred and ninety-nine patients (107 boys and 92 girls) aged 9–17 years were examined. Among them, 81 children had high normal blood pressure, 44 were with stage 1 hypertension, 38 patients had hypertension stage 1 аnd 36 children had normal blood pressure. All patients underwent ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The Ukrainian version of the PedsQL 4.0 scale was used to assess HRQoL. Results. In girls with high normal blood pressure and in the initial stages of the stable hypertension, a higher frequency of complaints of headache, dizziness, heart pain was found compared to boys, as well as a moderate and significant negative correlation between the frequency of these complaints and HRQoL indicators. The lowest PedsQL indicators were in girls with hypertension stage 2 (total score of the PedsQL 4.0 scale was 67.41 ± 9.94 points). Boys with hypertension stage 2 had normal PedsQL scores. Regardless of gender, psychosocial health indicators were found to be low in children with high normal blood pressure compared to the control group: in girls — 70.68 ± 12.46 points (р < 0.05), in boys — 70.23 ± 13.09 points (p < 0.05). The indicators of social functioning in all children did not differ from the data of the control group. Conclusions. HRQoL indicators in children aged 9–17 years with hypertension and high normal blood pressure depend on the level of blood pressure and have gender characteristics. Girls with hypertension stage 2, except for social functioning data, have worse HRQoL indicators compared to boys with stable hypertension stage 2. Children with high normal blood pressure, regardless of gender, have lower psychosocial health indicators compared to the control group. HRQoL indicators are negatively correlated with complaints of headache (more pronounced in boys), dizziness and heart pain (more pronounced in girls). These data should be taken into account when assessing the state of children with high normal blood pressure and hypertension.

Measuring Empathy Across the Adult Lifespan: A Comparison of Three Assessment Types.

Empathy is a core component of social cognition that can be indexed via behavioral, informant-report, or self-report methods of assessment. However, concerns have been raised regarding the lack of convergence between these assessment approaches for cognitive empathy. Here, we provided the first comparison of all three measurement approaches for cognitive and affective empathy in a large adult sample (N = 371) aged 18 to 101 years. We found that poor convergence was more of a problem for cognitive empathy than affective empathy. While none of the cognitive empathy measures correlated with each other, for affective empathy, self-report was significantly associated with both behavioral and informant-report assessments. However, for both cognitive and affective empathy, there was evidence for poor discriminant validity within the measures. Out of the three assessment approaches, only the informant-report measures were consistently associated with indices of social functioning. Importantly, age did not moderate any of the tested relationships, indicating that both the strengths and the limitations of these different types of assessment do not appear to vary as a function of age. These findings highlight the variation that exists among empathy measures and are discussed in relation to their practical implications for the assessment of empathy.

Different functions of emotion regulation in linking harmony seeking and rejection avoidance to life satisfaction and social support in Germany, Hong Kong, and Japan

This study examined whether two facets of interdependence, harmony seeking and rejection avoidance, were differently related to life satisfaction and social support from friends across cultures through the differential use of emotion regulation strategies. Specifically, we propose that individuals who seek harmony and avoid rejection regulate emotions differently to achieve social adaptation in their sociocultural contexts. University students from Germany (n = 129), Hong Kong (n = 136), and Japan (n = 123) completed our online survey. Data were analysed through multigroup structural equation modelling. Across cultures, harmony seeking was positively while rejection avoidance was negatively related to indices of social functioning (life satisfaction or social support). For Germans, emotion regulation (more rumination, less reappraisal, more suppression) completely mediated the associations of rejection avoidance with life satisfaction. Germans may emotionally overreact when fearing rejection, which is reflected in using dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies. In contrast, rejection avoidance was only weakly related to emotional dysregulation among Hong Kong Chinese and Japanese who might be adapted to fearing exclusion due to living in low relational mobility societies. Our findings demonstrate cultural similarities and differences in the interplay of harmony seeking and rejection avoidance with emotion regulation, life satisfaction, and social support.

Związki diadyczne osób chorujących na schizofrenię

Creating successful partnerships is important for the overall quality of life. People suffering from schizophrenia experience significant difficulties in entering and maintaining dyadic relationships due to psychotic symptoms, consequences of the disease and its treatment or social stigmatization. Difficulties in creating intimate relationships are noticed already during adolescence, constituting one of the elements of prepsychotic changes. Among people diagnosed with schizophrenia, women more often than men create dyadic relationships, which may be due to the later onset of the disease, better indicators of social functioning, and favorable socio-cultural patterns. Among coupled individuals, the quality of their relationships is important for the course of the disease and treatment. People with schizophrenia often prefer to bond with other patients because of the possibility of creating a balanced relationship providing acceptance and support. Healthy partners of people with schizophrenia, due to the burden arising from the specificity of the disease and commitment to care for a sick partner, also need professional support. Issues regarding dyadic relationships should be included in a holistic therapeutic approach to people diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Cross-disorder and disorder-specific deficits in social functioning among schizophrenia and alzheimer's disease patients.

BackgroundSocial functioning is often impaired in schizophrenia (SZ) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, commonalities and differences in social dysfunction among these patient groups remain elusive.Materials and methodsUsing data from the PRISM study, behavioral (all subscales and total score of the Social Functioning Scale) and affective (perceived social disability and loneliness) indicators of social functioning were measured in patients with SZ (N = 56), probable AD (N = 50) and age-matched healthy controls groups (HC, N = 29 and N = 28). We examined to what extent social functioning differed between disease and age-matched HC groups, as well as between patient groups. Furthermore, we examined how severity of disease and mood were correlated with social functioning, irrespective of diagnosis.ResultsAs compared to HC, both behavioral and affective social functioning seemed impaired in SZ patients (Cohen’s d’s 0.81–1.69), whereas AD patients mainly showed impaired behavioral social function (Cohen’s d’s 0.65–1.14). While behavioral indices of social functioning were similar across patient groups, SZ patients reported more perceived social disability than AD patients (Cohen’s d’s 0.65). Across patient groups, positive mood, lower depression and anxiety levels were strong determinants of better social functioning (p’s <0.001), even more so than severity of disease.ConclusionsAD and SZ patients both exhibit poor social functioning in comparison to age- and sex matched HC participants. Social dysfunction in SZ patients may be more severe than in AD patients, though this may be due to underreporting by AD patients. Across patients, social functioning appeared as more influenced by mood states than by severity of disease.

Ефективність та безпека прегабаліну в лікуванні болю в нижній частині спини: огляд і дані власного дослідження

Робота присвячена дослідженню ефективності i безпеки препарату Судорега в лікуванні пацієнтів із болем у нижній частині спини з нейропатичним компонентом. Показано, що застосування препарату Судорега в дозі 75 мг двічі на день протягом 30 діб прискорювало купірування больового синдрому. Препарат проявляв виражений анальгетичний ефект вже в перший тиждень терапії зі збереженням стійкої позитивної динаміки до кінця лікування. Зниження інтенсивності больового синдрому супроводжувалося зменшенням вираженості тривожно-депресивної симптоматики, порушень циклу «сон — неспання», підвищенням показників соціального функціонування. За даними якісної і кількісної оцінки ЕЕГ виявлено позитивний нейрофізіологічний ефект використання препарату Судорега.

Self- but Not Other-Dimensions of Mentalizing Moderate the Impairment Associated With Social Anxiety in Adolescents From the General Population.

Mentalizing, or social cognition, refers to the brain’s higher order capacity that allows humans to be aware of one’s own and others’ mental states (e.g., emotions, feelings, intentions). While cognition in social anxiety has been broadly analyzed, there is a paucity of research regarding the role of social cognition. Moreover, mentalizing or social cognition research is traditionally focused on the understanding of others’ mental states, rather than self-mentalizing. Finally, most studies analyze the role of social cognition in the development or maintenance of social anxiety, yet no study to date has analyzed whether social cognition moderates functional impairment associated with it. This study analyzes whether self- and other-mentalizing moderate the relationship between social anxiety and impairment in social and self-functioning. A sample of 262 adolescents from the non-clinical population was assessed on measures of social anxiety, self- and other- mentalization, indicators of social functioning (social competence and sociometric status), and indicators of self-functioning (depression and self-esteem). Multiple linear regressions were conducted to test possible moderation effects of self-mentalizing and other-mentalizing on the relationships between social anxiety and social and self-functioning. Results revealed that other-mentalizing does not moderate social- nor self-functioning, while self-mentalizing moderates the impairment of all of them. While impairment in social functioning is buffered by one dimension of self-mentalizing (emotional clarity; b = 0.003, p = 0.043 and b = 0.016, p = 0.008 for social competence and sociometric status, respectively), impairment in self-functioning is strengthened by the other dimension (attention to emotions; b = −0.007, p = 0.008 and b = 0.009, p = 0.047 for self-esteem and depression, respectively). Probing the moderation at the 16th, 50th, and 84th percentiles revealed that the negative imbalance between dimensions (i.e., high attention and low clarity) tended to exacerbate impairment most on all indicators, while the positive imbalance (i.e., low attention and high clarity) was usually the most buffering condition. This supports that “low-flying” or implicit mentalizing provides more resilience than explicit mentalizing (i.e., high attention and high clarity). Findings suggest that the work on emotional self-awareness should be stressed in the intervention of the social anxiety spectrum conditions in order to improve prevention, functioning, and ultimately, treatments, of people impaired by symptoms of social anxiety.

Subjective Cognitive Complaints in Unaffected First-Degree Relatives of Schizophrenia Patients: Relation to Cognitive Performance, Psychotic Experiences, and Social Functioning.

Background:Neurocognitive deficits are well-documented in patients of schizophrenia and their first-degree relatives (FDRs). Metacognitive awareness of these deficits, called neurocognitive insight (NI), has been found to be poor in schizophrenia patients but has not been assessed in their FDRs. This study evaluated NI and its relationship with objective cognitive performance, a history of psychotic experiences (PEs), and social functioning in unaffected FDRs.Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted at the outpatient department of a tertiary care teaching hospital. A total of 100 FDRs were assessed for PEs and evaluated for subjective cognitive complaints (SCC), objective cognitive performance, and social functioning using the Subjective Scale to Investigate Cognition in Schizophrenia, neurocognitive tests from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences battery, and SCARF Social Functioning Index, respectively.Results:Compared to normative data, episodic memory was the most commonly impaired domain (up to 72% of participants), followed by working memory, attention, and executive function. There was no correlation between SCC and neuropsychological test scores in the corresponding cognitive domains, implying poor NI. 15% of participants had a lifetime history of PEs. This group had significantly higher SCC as compared to those without PEs (U = 0.366, P = 0.009, r = 0.26). A regression analysis showed that the FDRs’ social functioning reduced by 0.178 units for each unit increase in SCC [F (1,98) = 5.198, P = 0.025].Conclusion:Similar to schizophrenia patients, FDRs also have poor NI. The severity and progression of SCC could be explored as a possible marker for screening and monitoring FDRs at an ultrahigh risk for psychosis. Importantly, even in unaffected FDRs, SCC could affect socio-occupational functioning and need further research.

Psychological distress, social function and financial burden of cancer patients receiving treatment in an African setting.

e19048 Background: The improvement in the quality of cancer treatment is key to increasing survival. However, the functional well-being of these patients is equally important. This study aimed to assess the degree of psychological distress, social function and financial burden in patients undergoing cancer treatment in our center. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed to prospectively recruit patients in our teaching hospital between December 2019 to February 2020. Those with cancer, aged 18 years and above, who had surgery, chemotherapy and (or) radiotherapy for treatment were included while those who had not commenced cancer treatment were excluded. Information on their clinicopathologic characteristics was obtained. The degree of psychological distress was assessed using a distress thermometer (DT) based on an 11-point scale. Social function was assessed using validated SCARF social functioning index (SSFI) (Cronbach's alpha = 0.818) which has 4-domains, each with scores ranging from 0 (very poor) to 4 (very good). Financial burden (FB) was assessed on a 5-point Likert scale. SPSS was used for data analysis with p &lt; 0.05 considered significant. Results: Seventy-two patients were analyzed with a mean age of 50.3 ± 13.7 years and male to female ratio of 0.8:1.0. The median time from diagnosis was 6.0 (2.5 – 16.0) months and 51 (70.8%) were on palliative treatment. The median psychological distress score was 6.0 (4.0 – 8.0) while the mean SSFI score was 12.0 ± 3.3. Relationship with immediate family (3.4 ± 0.7) had a significantly higher sub-score than two other domains (occupational role: 2.3 ± 1.4, p &lt; 0.001; self-concern/care: 3.0 ± 1.0, p &lt; 0.001). Fifty patients (69.4%) had heavy or extreme financial burden with 34 (47.2%) admitting to income reduction since onset of therapy. Female sex (p &lt; 0.001, 95% CI: 1.246 – 3.597), higher ECOG score (p = 0.033, 95% CI: 0.061 – 1.383) and palliative treatment (p = 0.038, 95% CI: 0.084 – 2.768) were independent predictors of psychological distress. Conclusions: Despite the marked psychological distress and huge financial burden in patients receiving cancer treatment in this setting, they still maintained a relatively normal status in most of the social function domains.

Rationale, Methods, Feasibility, and Preliminary Outcomes of a Transdiagnostic Prevention Program for At-Risk College Students.

PurposeEarly adulthood represents one period of increased risk for the emergence of a serious mental illness. The college campus provides a unique opportunity to assess and monitor individuals in this at-risk age group. However, there are no validated early detection programs that are widely implemented on college campuses. In an effort to address this gap, we designed and tested an early detection and prevention program tailored to college students. A transdiagnostic approach was employed because of evidence for shared risk factors across major mental illnesses.DesignSingle arm, prospective study evaluating outcomes following a 4-week intervention.MethodThree in-person mental health screenings were conducted on the campus of one university. Undergraduate students with at least mildly elevated, self-reported levels of depressive or subclinical psychotic symptoms, who were not receiving treatment for these symptoms, were invited to participate in a 4-session workshop focused on increasing self- and other- awareness and emotion regulation using established mindfulness, self-compassion, and mentalization principles and experiential exercises. Symptoms, resilience-promoting capacities, and aspects of social functioning were assessed pre- and post- intervention.Results416 students were screened and a total of 63 students participated in the workshop. 91% attended at least 3 of the 4 sessions. The majority of participants found the workshop interesting and useful and would recommend it to a friend. Significant pre-to-post reductions in symptoms (depression, anxiety, and subclinical psychotic symptoms, ps < 0.004) and improvements in resilience-promoting capacities (self-compassion and self-efficacy, ps < 0.006) and indices of social functioning (social motivation, activity, and a measure of comfort with the physical presence of others, ps < 0.04) were observed. Moreover, the significant increases in resilience-promoting capacities correlated with the reductions in affective symptoms (ps < 0.03).ConclusionsThese findings suggest that an on-campus mental health screening and early intervention program is feasible, acceptable, and may be associated with improvements in resilience-related capacities and symptom reductions in young adults with non-impairing, subclinical symptoms of psychopathology. Follow-up work will determine whether this program can improve both shorter and longer-term mental health and functional outcomes in this at-risk population.

Subjective cognitive complaints and its relation to objective cognitive performance, clinical profile, clinical insight, and social functioning in patients of schizophrenia: A cross-sectional study.

Context:Neurocognitive deficits are well documented in schizophrenia. Neurocognitive insight (NI), described as awareness of neurocognitive deficits, has not been evaluated in the Indian context. Its relation to clinical profile and social functioning also remains unexplored.Aims:The aim of this study was to evaluate the subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs) and their relation to objective cognitive performance, clinical profile, clinical insight, and social functioning in patients of schizophrenia.Settings and Design:This was a cross-sectional study at the outpatient department of a tertiary care teaching hospital.Materials and Methods:One hundred individuals with schizophrenia were evaluated using Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Subjective Scale To Investigate Cognition in Schizophrenia, abbreviated version of Scale to Assess Unawareness in Mental Disorders, and Schizophrenia Research Foundation–Social Functioning Index. Cognitive performance was assessed using (1) Digit Span Test (attention) from Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 3rd edition and (2) Passages Test (explicit memory), (3) Verbal n-back Test (working memory), and (4) Stroop Test (executive functioning) from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences Battery.Statistical Analysis:Statistical analysis was done using descriptive statistics, nonparametric tests, and Pearson's coefficient of correlation.Results:Participants showed impairment in all cognitive domains. Except for working memory, there was no correlation between SCC and objective performance for other cognitive domains correspondingly, implying poor NI. Severity of psychosis and clinical insight did not have any correlation with SCC. Higher SCC correlated with poorer social functioning, especially in “occupational” and “other social roles” domains.Conclusions:Individuals with schizophrenia have poor NI. This is independent of severity of psychosis or clinical insight into illness. Socio-occupational functioning and depression should be actively enquired into when patients present with SCC.

Bidirectional Relationships Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Social Functioning During Cognitive Processing Therapy

This study investigated temporal relationships between posttraumatic stress symptoms and two indicators of social functioning during cognitive processing therapy. Participants were 176 patients (51.5% female, M age = 39.46 [SD = 11.51], 89.1% White, 42.6% active duty military/veteran) who participated in at least two assessment time points during a trial of cognitive processing therapy. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (PTSD Checklist for DSM-IV) and interpersonal relationship and social role functioning problems (Outcome Questionnaire–45) were assessed prior to each of 12 sessions. Multivariate multilevel lagged analyses indicated that interpersonal relationship problems predicted subsequent PTSD symptoms (b = .22, SE = 0.09, cr = 2.53, p = .01, pr = .46) and vice versa (b = .05, SE = 0.02, cr = 2.11, p = .04, pr = .16); and social role functioning problems predicted subsequent PTSD symptoms (b = .21, SE = 0.10, cr = 2.18, p = .03, pr = .16) and vice versa (b = .06, SE = 0.02, cr = 3.08, p < .001, pr = .23). Military status moderated the cross-lag from social role functioning problems to PTSD symptoms (b = –.35, t = –2.00, p = .045, pr = .16). Results suggest a robust association between PTSD symptoms and social functioning during cognitive processing therapy with a reciprocal relationship between PTSD symptoms and social functioning over time. Additionally, higher social role functioning problems for patients with military status indicate smaller reductions in PTSD symptoms from session to session.

Influence of non-motor manifestations of Parkinson’s disease on quality of life

Aim. To estimate the degree of influence of non-motor manifestations on the quality of life among patients with Parkinson’s disease.&#x0D; Materials and methods. In the study, the “case-control” design was used, processing of the data was conducted with nonparametric methods. Complex examination of 58 patients with Parkinson’s disease was performed. The control group included 15 healthy persons.&#x0D; Results. Manifestation of cognitive, anxiety-depressive, vegetative symptoms in the main group was significantly higher than in the control. There was revealed a negative correlation dependence between the general manifestation of vegetative disorders and the social functioning indices (R = – 0.5; p = 0.001), pain intensity (R = – 0.5; p = 0.001) and psychical health (R = – 0.5; p = 0.005) that proves aggravation of the data on health components as the severity of symptoms was growing. The analyzed vegetative disorders of separate subsystems demonstrated the analogous tendencies. Severity of depressive symptoms influences the pain indices (R = – 0.4; p = 0.01) and the social functions (R = – 0.3; p = 0.03). According to unified scale, non-motor symptoms negatively influence the general health status (R = – 0.3; p = 0.001), social functioning (R= – 0.23; p = 0.004), pain assessment (R = – 0.5; p = 0.001).&#x0D; Conclusions. Non-motor symptoms aggravate the quality of life, influencing both physical and psychological component of health. The absence of correlation between the duration of therapy and the severity of non-motor symptoms confirms the independence of this block of symptoms.

Social functioning impairments in schizotypy when social cognition and neurocognition are not impaired

The present study examined the social, cognitive, and emotional functioning of persons with schizotypy. Over 2000 undergraduate students were screened for schizotypy with the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire – Brief over two consecutive semesters. Ninety-two persons with high schizotypy and 22 persons with low schizotypy completed measures of social functioning (Social Adjustment Scale, Social Functioning Scale, MOS Social Support Survey), working memory (Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, Digit Span, Letter-Number Sequencing, Corsi Block Tapping Test) and empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Empathy Quotient). Persons with high schizotypy, when compared to their counterparts with low schizotypy, displayed deficits on many indices of social functioning even though differences in working memory and empathy were not observed. The social functioning deficits of persons with high schizotypy included impairments in friendship relations, family relations, interpersonal engagement, and recreational activities. These findings indicate that persons with high schizotypy experience broad deficits in social functioning even when their cognitive and emotional skills are unaffected.

Social determinants of subjective well-being among young adults living in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

We investigated the relationships between certain social determinants (age, gender, marital status, education, income, and employment) and subjective well-being (SWB) in a young adult population in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The participants consisted of 977 persons aged 18 to 40 years living in the historically deprived Eastern Cape, South Africa (females = 48%; age range = 18 to 40; rural dwellers = 15%). We measured their SWB utilising the World Health Organization (Ten) Well-Being Scale. Results following analysis of variance showed that age, education, and income were predictors of SWB. Higher SWB was associated with being older, having a higher level of formal education, and having a higher level of income. However, employment status did not have a significant relationship with SWB, suggesting the relative importance of other social indicators of social functioning in this population.

Acute Effects of Music Therapy in Subjects With Psychosis During Inpatient Treatment

Objective: Previous studies have proposed music therapy (MT) as a useful rehabilitation approach for patients with psychosis, but few studies have focused on acute settings. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of a structured MT program on clinical and social functioning indices of patients with psychosis while hospitalized in an emergency psychiatric ward. Method: The intervention followed a modified approach to Benenzon’s MT model and was delivered biweekly to 61 patients with psychosis consecutively admitted to our ward. Before and after the MT program, all subjects were administered the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) for assessment of general psychopathology, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for affective symptomatology, the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale for severity of symptoms, and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale for psychosocial functioning. Results: A repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed that patients who underwent the MT intervention had a statistically significant reduction of BPRS and CGI scores, compared to the control group; furthermore, the BPRS anxiety/depression factor and the HADS scores for affective symptomatology significantly decreased after the observation period compared to controls. Conclusion: Our results are in line with previous studies showing favorable effects of MT in patients with psychosis, in particular on affective symptomatology, but extend this observation to an emergency setting with short periods of hospital stay.

Relations of emotion-related temperamental characteristics to attentional biases and social functioning.

The current study examined whether an important temperamental characteristic, effortful control (EC), moderates the associations between dispositional anger and sadness, attention biases, and social functioning in a group of preschool-aged children (N = 77). Preschoolers' attentional biases toward angry and sad facial expressions were assessed using eye-tracking, and we obtained teachers' reports of children's temperament and social functioning. Associations of dispositional anger and sadness with time looking at relevant negative emotional stimuli were moderated by children's EC, but relations between time looking at emotional faces and indicators of social functioning, for the most part, were direct and not moderated by EC. In particular, time looking at angry faces (and low EC) predicted high levels of aggressive behaviors, whereas longer time looking at sad faces (and high EC) predicted higher social competence. Finally, latency to detect angry faces predicted aggressive behavior under conditions of average and low levels of EC. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of differentiating between components of attention biases toward distinct negative emotions, and implications for attention training. (PsycINFO Database Record