Functional Role Research Articles

AM I OVER-SLEEPER? OVERSLEEPING AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Sleep and mental well-being play crucial roles in the normal cognitive functioning of university students. The present study aims to explore the predictive roles of oversleeping and mental well-being in the relationship with cognitive function. Cross-sectional research design was used. A total of 359 university students (male=161 and female=198), selected by purposive sampling, completed the survey, adhering to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results reveal a significant negative correlation between university students’ oversleeping and cognitive functioning (r=-0.173, p<0.01) as well as mental well-being (r=-0.372, p<0.01). Multiple regression analysis confirms that both oversleeping (β=0.107, t=2.713, p=0.007) and Cognitive Functioning (β=0.754, t=19.084, p=0.000) are significant predictors of mental well-being. Mediation analysis was done through AMOS. Results showed partial mediation. Mediation analysis indicates that mental well-being serves as a significant mediator (p=0.000) with an estimated value of 0.407 (SE=0.21, p=0.000). These findings underscore the importance of incorporating mental well-being and sleep duration considerations into interventions aimed at promoting cognitive health among university students.

Quality of Life in Caregivers of Alcohol Use Disorder Patients: Role of Family Functioning and Social Support.

Background: Caring for alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients poses significant challenges, impacting caregivers' quality of life (QOL) across all the dimensions. Following Lazarus and Folkman's Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, family functioning (FF) and social support (SS) are crucial coping resources. Purpose: This study aims to explore how FF and SS relate to QOL in caregivers of individuals with AUD, recognising their pivotal role in navigating diverse caregiving-related stressors. Methods: A sample of 128 primary caregivers for AUD patients was collected from two psychiatric hospitals in Amritsar, Punjab. Data were collected using assessment tools, such as the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF), Family Assessment Device and PGI Social Support Questionnaire, and were analysed through the Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regression analysis. Results: FF (r = -0.603) and SS (r = 0.641) exhibited significant correlations with caregivers' QOL. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that both FF (β = -0.345) and SS (β = 0.436) significantly predicted QOL among caregivers. Approximately 49% of the variance in QOL was explained by the linear combination of SS and FF. Conclusion: Developing tailored programs is essential to enhance caregivers' physical, mental, social and environmental well-being. Healthcare professionals should recognise the intricate connections among these dimensions, crafting holistic approaches to nurture a supportive caregiving environment.

Does adult attachment mediate the relationship between primary emotion traits and eating disorder symptoms?

Primary emotion traits and attachment patterns, have been linked to various mental disorders. This study aims to shed more light on the less studied relationship with eating disorder (ED) symptoms. A total of 921 non-clinical subjects (69.9% females) were assessed for primary emotions traits (B-ANPS-GL), attachment insecurity (ECR-RD8), and eating disorder pathology (EDE-Q8). A theoretically derived model was evaluated by means of a path analysis with attachment anxiety as assumed mediator variable. Global problematic eating behavior showed negative correlations with the positive emotions PLAY, CARE, and LUST (r = -0.10 to -0.24), positive correlations with the negative primary emotions ANGER, FEAR, and SADNESS (r = 0.12-0.27), as well as with attachment anxiety (r = 0.22, all p < 0.01). Path analyses revealed direct effects between eating behavior pathology with LUST (β = -0.07 to -0.15) and FEAR (β = 0.12-0.19; all p < 0.05). The association of SADNESS and Weight (β = 0.05) and Shape Concern (β = 0.06, p < 0.001) was fully mediated by attachment anxiety. Overall, the path model explained 17% of the variance for attachment anxiety and 6% of the Restraint, 13% for Eating, 10% for Weight and 14% for Shape Concern Subscales. The findings shed light on the multifactorial relationship between affective traits, attachment security, and eating disorder pathology. In line with previous research, the results emphasize the role of attachment and affective functioning in ED symptoms.

Psychosocial Outcomes Associated With Types and Intensities of Physical Activity in People With Spinal Cord Injury: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy and Functionality.

Low rates of participation and quality of life (QoL) and high rates of psychological distress are common in spinal cord injury (SCI) population. Research has supported the mediating role of self-efficacy and functionality in improving psychosocial outcomes. Furthermore, evidence supports the impact of physical activity (PA) on psychosocial variables, but little is known about the types and intensities of PA. The objective of this study was to determine whether functionality and/or general self-efficacy (GSE) mediate the relationships between the various types of PA: (1) lifestyle and (2) leisure-time physical activity(LTPA); and various intensitiesof PA: (1) mild, (2) moderate, and (3) heavy PA with participation, psychological distress, and perception of QoL. The Physical Activity Recall Assessment for SCI, and measures of functionality, GSE, participation, psychological distress, and perception of QoL were administered to 159 participants. Path analysis was performed using Jeffrey's Amazing Statistics Program. GSE significantly mediated, and functionality partially significantly mediated, the relationship between LTPA and psychosocial outcomes. GSE and functionality did not mediate the relationship between lifestyle activity and psychosocial outcomes. It is recommended that people with SCI perform LTPA on a regular basis to achieve psychosocial benefits. These programs should be accompanied by strategies to improve GSE.

A Hybrid Routing Pattern in Human Brain Structural Network Revealed By Evolutionary Computation.

The human brain functional connectivity network (FCN) is constrained and shaped by the communication processes in the structural connectivity network (SCN). The underlying communication mechanism thus becomes a critical issue for understanding the formation and organization of the FCN. A number of communication models supported by different routing strategies have been proposed, with shortest path (SP), random diffusion (DIF), and spatial navigation (NAV) as the most typical, respectively requiring network global knowledge, local knowledge, and both for path seeking. Yet these models all assumed every brain region to use one routing strategy uniformly, ignoring convergent evidence that supports the regional heterogeneity in both terms of biological substrates and functional roles. In this regard, the current study developed a hybrid communication model that allowed each brain region to choose a routing strategy from SP, DIF, and NAV independently. A genetic algorithm was designed to uncover the underlying region-wise hybrid routing strategy (namely HYB). The HYB was found to outperform the three typical routing strategies in predicting FCN and facilitating robust communication. Analyses on HYB further revealed that brain regions in lower-order functional modules inclined to route signals using global knowledge, while those in higher-order functional modules preferred DIF that requires only local knowledge. Compared to regions that used global knowledge for routing, regions using DIF had denser structural connections, participated in more functional modules, but played a less dominant role within modules. Together, our findings further evidenced that hybrid routing underpins efficient SCN communication and locally heterogeneous structure-function coupling.

Neural Correlates of Analogical Reasoning on Syntactic Patterns.

Analogical reasoning is central to thought and learning. However, previous neuroscience studies have focused mainly on neural substrates for visuospatial and semantic analogies. There has not yet been research on the neural correlates of analogical reasoning on syntactic patterns generated by the syntactic rules, a key feature of human language faculty. The present investigation took an initial step to address this paucity. Twenty-four participants, whose brain activity was monitored by fMRI, engaged in first-order and second-order relational judgments of syntactic patterns as well as simple and complex working memory tasks. After scanning, participants rated the difficulty of each step during analogical reasoning; these ratings were related to signal intensities in activated regions of interest using Spearman correlation analyses. After prior research, differences in activation levels during second-order and first-order relational judgments were taken as evidence of analogical reasoning. These analyses showed that analogical reasoning on syntactic patterns recruited brain regions consistent with those supporting visuospatial and semantic analogies, including the anterior and posterior parts of the left middle frontal gyrus, anatomically corresponding to the left rostrolateral pFC and the left dorsolateral pFC. The correlation results further revealed that the posterior middle frontal gyrus might be involved in analogical access and mapping with syntactic patterns. Our study is the first to investigate the process of analogical reasoning on syntactic patterns at the neurobiological level and provide evidence of the specific functional roles of related regions during subprocesses of analogical reasoning.

Dynamical Modeling and Qualitative Analysis of a Delayed Model for CD8 T Cells in Response to Viral Antigens.

Although the immune effector CD8 T cells play a crucial role in clearance of viruses, the mechanisms underlying the dynamics of how CD8 T cells respond to viral infection remain largely unexplored. Here, we develop a delayed model that incorporates CD8 T cells and infected cells to investigate the functional role of CD8 T cells in persistent virus infection. Bifurcation analysis reveals that the model has four steady states that can finely divide the progressions of viral infection into four states, and endows the model with bistability that has ability to achieve the switch from one state to another. Furthermore, analytical and numerical methods find that the time delay resulting from incubation period of virus can induce a stable low-infection steady state to be oscillatory, coexisting with a stable high-infection steady state in phase space. In particular, a novel mechanism to achieve the switch between two stable steady states, time-delay-based switch, is proposed, where the initial conditions and other parameters of the model remain unchanged. Moreover, our model predicts that, for a certain range of initial antigen load: 1) under a longer incubation period, the lower the initial antigen load, the easier the virus infection will evolve into severe state; while the higher the initial antigen load, the easier it is for the virus infection to be effectively controlled and 2) only when the incubation period is small, the lower the initial antigen load, the easier it is to effectively control the infection progression. Our results are consistent with multiple experimental observations, which may facilitate the understanding of the dynamical and physiological mechanisms of CD8 T cells in response to viral infections.

The importance of Neuro-Cognitive Processing to the Understanding and Treatment of Child PTSD

Abstract Basic research and current clinical practice have revealed the difficulty in separating/connecting cognition and emotion and their respective localizations in the brain. Regarding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), emotions (usually fear) cause a cascade of symptoms, including those impacting several cognitive processes. And it is often considered that relieving the emotional upset associated with PTSD will also improve related cognitive functioning. While it is often assumed that the relationship of emotion, cognition and PTSD is unidirectional, this may not necessarily be the case. The present article aims to describe the complex relationship between emotion and cognitive processes in those with PTSD and suggests an important role for executive functioning as a modulator of the emotion/cognition relationship, as well as the latter’s importance as a contributor to the successful treatment of PTSD. The paper concludes by stressing the importance of assessing cognitive processes in standard treatment protocols evaluating patients with PTSD and highlights the potential benefits of training executive functions as part of PTSD therapy. Keywords: PTSD, Cognitive processes, Emotion, Executive function, Neuropsychology.

Growth and organotypic branching of lung-specific microvascular cells on 2D and in 3D lung-derived matrices

Tissue-specific endothelial cells have vital roles in maintenance and functioning of native tissues with constant reciprocal crosstalk with resident cells. Three-dimensional (3D) physio-mimetic in vitro models which incorporate lung-specific microvasculature are needed to model lung-related diseases which involve modulation of endothelial cell behavior like cancer. In this study, we investigated the growth kinetics, morphological changes and responses to biological cues of lung microvasculature on two-dimensional (2D) and in lung matrix-derived 3D hydrogels. HUVEC and HULEC-5a cells were cultured on 2D and compared for their growth, morphologies, and responses to varying growth medium formulations. Brightfield and immunofluorescence imaging was performed to assess differences in morphology. For 3D cultures, native bovine lungs were decellularized, lyophilized, solubilized, and reconstituted into hydrogel form in which endothelial cells were embedded. Cell growth and organotypic branching was monitored in 3D hydrogels in the presence of varying biological cues including lung cancer cell secretome. HUVEC and HULEC-5a cells demonstrated comparable growth and morphology on 2D. However, in 3D lung-derived ECM hydrogels, tissue-specific HULEC-5a cells exhibited much better adaptation to their microenvironment, characterized by enhanced organotypic branching and longer branches. HULEC-5a growth was responsive to lung cancer cell-conditioned medium in both 2D and 3D conditions. In 3D, the concentration of ECM ligand significantly affected cell growth in long-term culture where molecular crowding had an inhibitory role. Our data reveals that HULEC-5a cells offer a reliable alternative to frequently pursued HUVECs with comparable growth and morphology. Due to their intrinsic program for cellular crosstalk with resident cells, the use of tissue-specific endothelium constitutes a vital aspect for modeling physiological and pathological processes. Furthermore, our study is the first demonstration of the synergy between lung-specific microvasculature with lung-specific ECM within a 3D in vitro model.

PLUG KNOT PROCESSING OF GLOBE VALVE

Globe valves are essential components in fluid control systems, widely used in various industries for regulating flow. This paper provides an overview of globe valves, focusing on their design, operation, and applications. The distinctive spherical body shape of globe valves allows for precise control of fluid flow through the system. The paper discusses the internal components of globe valves, including the valve stem, disk, seat, and bonnet, highlighting their roles in the valve's functionality. Furthermore, it examines different types of globe valves, such as straight pattern, angle pattern, and Y-pattern valves, along with their specific applications and advantages. Additionally, the paper addresses common materials used in globe valve construction, emphasizing the importance of selecting materials suitable for the operating conditions and the fluid being controlled. Lastly, maintenance and troubleshooting tips are provided to ensure optimal performance and longevity of globe valves in industrial settings. Emphasis is placed on their operational mechanisms, wherein the movement of the plug, controlled by the stem, modulates flow rates precisely. Overall, this paper serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding globe valves and their significance in fluid control systems Keywords: Globe vаlve (type) , valve body, bonnet, plug , disk ,valve seat, stem.

Randomized Feasibility Pilot of an Executive Functioning Intervention Adapted for Children's Mental Health Settings.

The critical role of executive functioning in autism as well as the co-occurring mental health challenges common among autistic youth support to the immense value of interventions targeting executive functioning for enhancing mental health services for autistic children. The goal of the present study was to conduct a randomized feasibility trial of Unstuck and On Target, an executive functioning intervention, adapted for delivery in children's community mental health setting. Mental health therapists (n = 26) enrolled with participating autistic clients (n = 32) were randomized to receive training in and deliver the adapted Unstuck intervention or to deliver care as usual. We completed masked observational measures of Unstuck strategy use (fidelity) during recorded sessions of participating therapist-client dyads and collected measures of acceptability from participating clients and their caregivers. We also collected measures of pre-post changes in executive functioning and mental health symptoms. Therapists trained in Unstuck demonstrated significantly higher use of Unstuck strategies compared to usual care therapists. Caregivers and autistic clients perceive adapted Unstuck as highly acceptability and helpful. Autistic clients whose therapists were trained in adapted Unstuck demonstrated larger pre-post changes in executive functioning compared to usual care. Across all participating clients, changes in executive functioning were significantly related to changes in mental health symptoms. Finally, clients of therapists trained in adapted Unstuck demonstrated moderate improvements in overall mental health symptoms. The current study provides preliminary evidence of the feasibility and impact of Unstuck and On Target for children's community mental health settings.

Family Functioning and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems in Gifted Children.

Although gifted children can express high cognitive skills, they can also show socioemotional difficulties. Drawing from Olson's circumplex model, the present paper assessed the role of family functioning in internalizing and externalizing problems in gifted children. 362 mothers and their 362 gifted children were included. The unbalanced subscales of the FACES IV-disengagement, enmeshment, rigidity, and chaos-and the CBCL were administered to mothers. The children completed the WISC-IV. The model predicting internalizing problems was significant and explained 5.6% of the variance. Only rigidity had an independent and positive effect on internalizing problems in gifted children over and above sociodemographic variables and QI, whereas disengagement, enmeshment, and chaos were not associated with internalizing problems. The model predicting externalizing problems was significant and explained 10% of the variance. Again, rigidity was the only variable that had an independent and positive effect on externalizing problems in gifted children over and above sociodemographic variables and QI, whereas disengagement, enmeshment, and chaos were not associated with externalizing problems in this population. Rigid families with a low ability to change in conditions that require readjustment appear to increase the risk of both internalizing and externalizing problems in gifted children. Although further studies are needed to support these preliminary findings, parental support interventions aimed at increasing flexibility appear to be useful.

Parental burnout during COVID-19: The moderating role of anxiety and family functioning.

Parental burnout (PB) is characterised by parental exhaustion resulting from exposure to chronic parental stress. Due to the social and economic changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic that impacted families, there is a significant scientific interest in identifying factors related to PB within the pandemic context. This study aimed to analyse the relationships between parental stress (parental concerns, parental satisfaction, lack of control, and fears and anxieties), family functioning, psychological morbidity (anxiety and depression), and burnout in parents. The sample consisted of 253 parents, legal guardians or primary caregivers of children aged between 0 and 6years. Results revealed that the child's age, psychological morbidity (depression), and parental stress were significant predictors of PB. Anxiety and family functioning played a moderating role in the relationship between parental satisfaction and PB. According to the results, intervention programs should focus on anxiety symptoms and family functioning to mitigate the effects of parental stress on PB.

The southernmost Errina antarctica hydrocoral savannah in Patagonian waters

Marine animal forest (MAF) are animal-dominated megabenthic communities that support high biodiversity levels and play key roles in ecosystem functioning. However, there is limited data available in Patagonian waters related to the presence of these vulnerable benthic communities. We report a monospecific MAF of Errina antartica in Angostura Tomms, which represents the southernmost known living MAF of this species. With coverages reaching up to 28.5% of the substrate from 1.23 m to, at least, 33 m depth is the shallowest stylasterid assemblage described worldwide to date. The size of the colonies ranged from 0.14 to 15.8 cm, with small colonies (< 10 cm) being the most abundant (99%). We hypothesize that this MAF might correspond to a recent colonization of a space, extending its distribution range towards shallower areas or it could be an assemblage formed at the limit of the species’ distribution in which the environmental conditions are not optimal for the major development of the colonies. Additionally, results showed that habitats structured by three-dimensional sessile invertebrate such as E. antarctica showed higher values of species richness and alpha diversity than non-biogenic habitats. Analyses were based on 297 photos taken at 22 different sites in the western Strait of Magellan, along vertical transects from 5 to 25 m depth. Our study highlights the importance of the benthic communities existing in Patagonian waters, evidencing the need to act actively to ensure their maintenance.

Ageist attitudes and psychological distress in older adults: The moderating role of reflective functioning.

Ageist attitudes have been associated with various aspects of psychological functioning in older adults. According to Terror Management Theory, older adults may be seen as a reminder of human demise and death, and research has demonstrated links between ageist attitudes and compromised abilities to seek and maintain close personal relationships, which ward off awareness of one's mortality. Accordingly, the current work examined whether reflective functioning, or the ability to comprehend one's own and others' mental states, mitigates the negative psychological manifestations of ageist attitudes in older adults. Data was collected from 686 participants aged 60-94 (Mage=72.64, SD=6.28), who completed scales assessing ageist attitudes, reflective functioning, and psychological distress, as well as relevant socio-demographic information. Results indicated that ageist attitudes were linked with low levels of reflective functioning and enhanced psychological distress. Moreover, reflective functioning moderated the ageist attitudes-distress link, which was not significant in individuals reporting high levels of reflective functioning. This study provides insight into how the ability to comprehend others' mental states mitigates the adverse psychological effects of ageist attitudes and highlights the importance of examining relationship-enhancing personal factors within the context of negative ageing perceptions and psychological distress.

Chinese college students' mental health during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic: the protective role of family functioning.

Various psychological theories suggest that a supportive family environment protects the mental health of young adults during stressful life events. However, evidence is limited regarding the protective role of family support during a major public health crisis. To examine the role of family functioning on mental health among Chinese college students during first stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between January-March 2020, 1,555 college students (44% female, on average 19 years old) from five Chinese universities participated. Participants rated their family functioning on the Family APGAR Index and their mental health on the Psychological Questionnaires for Emergent Events of Public Health, measuring depression, neurasthenia, fear, obsessive-anxiety and hypochondriasis. Better family functioning was associated with having fewer psychological symptoms. In addition, we identified three mental health profiles related to the severity across the psychological symptoms: Low-level, medium-level and high-level symptom clusters. Latent profile analysis showed that as family function improved, students were, respectively, 16 to 24% more likely to be in the low-level symptom group, compared to being in the medium symptom group or the high-level symptom group. These results support the notion that family support may act as a psychological buffer for young adults during a large-scale public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Role of supranational bodies in regulating water cooperation: Central Asian experience

AbstractGrowing environmental problems in recent decades have made the water issue one of the most important agenda items in relations between the countries of the Central Asian (CA) region. Because water is a strategic resource and, at the same time, the foundation of social and economic development in CA, it is possible to assume that the settlement of water allocation problems will become a driving force for the development of regional interaction. The study aims to analyze the importance of supranational bodies in regulating water cooperation between the states of the CA region. The methodological basis of the study was built based on a combination of such theoretical methods of cognition as historical, structural‐functional, forecasting, and political and legal analysis, as well as an institutional approach. The main study results consist of assessing the efficiency of water resources use in the CA region, formulating areas of cooperation between the states in this sector after independence and up to the present, analyzing the role of functioning and under‐construction hydropower facilities in stimulating the resolution of water and energy challenges, and formulating initiatives of the countries of the region in solving existing water problems. In addition, it identified points of convergence in transboundary water use, analyzed steps to further deepen cooperation in water allocation among CA countries, and assessed the activities of supranational bodies in regulating water cooperation. The work can be applied in research and applied areas: It can be useful for scientists whose interests include water management issues in the CA region, as well as for government officials in the CA countries who implement policies in this area.

Personality Traits and Internet Addiction among Adolescent Students: The Moderating Role of Family Functioning.

Objectives: Internet addiction is a behavioral addiction characterized by excessive and compulsive use of the internet. The risk of internet addiction among adolescents has risen recently due to an increase in technological advancement and globalization. However, previous studies have focused on the precipitating factors triggering the internet addiction without looking at the exogenous factors and boundary conditions, such as family functioning, that can either sustain or weaken such behavior. Thus, the present study aimed to examine the moderating role of family functioning in the relationship between personality traits and internet addiction among adolescents. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study consisting of 3150 adolescent students in the grade/class level of JSS1-SS3 who were assessed with standardized measures of the Big-Five Personality Inventory, Internet Addictive Test, and Family APGAR Index. Pearson correlation was used to explore the bivariate relationships between the demographic variable and other variables of interest, while Hayes regression-based PROCESS macro for SPSS was used to test the Hypotheses. Results: (1) Openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism positively correlated with internet addiction, whereas agreeableness was negatively associated with internet addiction. (2) Positive family functioning correlated negatively with internet addiction. (3) Positive family functioning moderated the relationships of extraversion and agreeableness with internet addiction but not on openness to experience, conscientiousness, and neuroticism with internet addiction. Conclusions: Positive family functioning correlated negatively with internet addiction among adolescents, suggesting that improving family functioning would be a valuable tactic for reducing adolescents' susceptibility to personality-related internet addiction.

Associations of recent stressful life events with anxiety symptoms among Chinese adolescents with a consideration of family functioning

ABSTRACT Background: The association between stressful life events (SLEs) and adolescent anxiety symptoms has been extensively studied, but the specific impacts of different SLEs domains remain inconclusive. Moreover, limited research has examined the role of family functioning in these associations. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the associations between various recent SLEs and adolescent anxiety symptoms and explore the role of family functioning. Methods: Data were obtained from the second phase of the Longitudinal Study of Adolescents’ Mental and Behavioral Well-being Research in Guangzhou, China. A total of 10,985 students (51.9% boys; mean [SD] age, 15.3 [1.5] years) from forty middle schools participated in the study in 2022 and completed a self-report questionnaire assessing anxiety symptoms, SLEs, and family functioning using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Adolescent Self-rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC; including five subscales: interpersonal stress, academic stress, punishment-related stress, loss-related stress, and adaptation-related stress), and the adapted Chinese version of the Family Assessment Device (FAD), respectively. Linear mixed-effects models were performed and the moderation role of family functioning was also examined. Results: The fully adjusted model revealed that a 1-SD increase in the overall ASLEC score was associated with higher levels of anxiety symptoms (β = 2.23, 95%CI: 2.15–2.32). Among various SLEs domains, the academic domain shows the most significant association (β = 2.25, 95%CI: 2.17–2.33). Family functioning exerted an independent protective influence on anxiety symptoms, with each 1-SD increase in FAD scores negatively associated with anxiety symptoms (β = −2.11, 95%CI: – 2.29 to – 1.93) in the adjusted model. Moreover, family functioning significantly buffered the impacts of overall SLEs and each domain, except for adaptation-related SLEs, on anxiety symptoms. Conclusion: Higher recent SLEs levels were associated with increased anxiety symptoms among adolescents, with academic SLEs showing the greatest association. Positive family functioning had both direct and buffering influences on anxiety symptoms.

Sibling bullying and mental health in British and Turkish autistic children and adolescents: The role of social and emotional functioning

Nearly one in two autistic individuals is involved in sibling bullying, which is linked to increased mental health difficulties. Despite its high prevalence, only a handful of studies have focused on the relationship between sibling bullying and mental health in the autistic population. Of these, a vast majority of evidence comes from Western cultures while little is known about non-western cultures. For the first time, the current study investigated the cross-cultural variability in the prevalence and demographic and mental health correlates of sibling bullying between a Western (the United Kingdom) and non-western (Turkey) country. Parents of British (N = 289) and Turkish (N = 171) autistic individuals, aged 9–20 years, completed online questionnaires. Structural equation models were fitted to test the risk factors for behavioural and mental health correlates of sibling bullying. Overall, sibling bullying was highly prevalent in the lives of both British and Turkish autistic adolescents as more than two-thirds either bullied a sibling or were bullied by a sibling every week. While some potential risk factors for sibling bullying were present in both cultures (e.g., past sibling bullying experiences), some were culture-specific (e.g., having a male sibling (British), higher parental education (Turkish)). Consistent with previous reports, higher rates of sibling bullying were significantly correlated with poorer mental health in both British and Turkish samples. Additionally, sibling bullying was indirectly linked to mental health difficulties through detrimental social behaviours (British and Turkish) and emotion regulation (British-only) in autistic children and adolescents. There were no indirect correlations between sibling bullying and mental health through social skills in either sample. Implications of these findings as well as cross-cultural similarities and differences are discussed in more detail in light of the relevant cross-cultural psychological theory.