Behavioral pharmacology of methocinnamox: A potential new treatment for opioid overdose and opioid use disorder

Opioid overdose and opioid use disorder continue to be significant public health challenges despite the availability of effective medications and significant efforts at all levels of society. The emergence of highly potent and efficacious opioids such as fentanyl and its derivatives over the last decade has only exacerbated what was already a substantial problem. Behavioral pharmacology research has proven invaluable for understanding the effects of drugs as well as developing and evaluating pharmacotherapies for disorders involving the central nervous system, including substance abuse disorders. This paper describes a program of research characterizing a potent, selective, and long-lasting mu opioid receptor antagonist, methocinnamox, and evaluating its potential for treating opioid overdose and opioid use disorder. Studies in rodents and nonhuman primates demonstrate that methocinnamox prevents and reverses opioid-induced ventilatory depression and selectively blocks opioid self-administration. This work, taken together with rigorous in vitro and ex vivo studies investigating methocinnamox neuropharmacology, lays a solid foundation for the therapeutic utility of this potentially life-saving medication. Moreover, these studies demonstrate how rigorous behavioral pharmacological studies can be integrated in a broader drug discovery and development research program.     

对付出-回报失衡理论的推进——基于经济报酬对教师心理健康的影响

付出-回报失衡作为职业健康心理学领域的重要模型,具有跨文化、跨职业、跨时间的一致性,能够显著预测心理健康,但经济报酬对心理健康的影响鲜有研究。本研究基于付出-回报失衡理论,采用格兰杰因果分析方法,检验了48712名教师症状自评量表横断历史分析的结果和薪酬统计数据之间的关系,研究发现:(1)1998~2009年教师心理健康水平显著下降,9个因子均值上升了12.7%至18.5%,躯体化、抑郁为中等效应,其余因子为大效应;2009年之后教师心理健康水平改善,除敌对因子外,其余8个因子均值下降了0.1%至2.8%,躯体化、恐怖、偏执和精神病性为小效应,其余4个因子未达到小效应。性别对教师心理健康影响不显著,职业类别对教师心理健康影响显著。(2)经济报酬显著影响心理健康。经济报酬与强迫等心理因素之间存在单向因果关系,第N期的经济报酬显著影响第N+1期的人际关系、焦虑、敌对、精神病性因子和第N+3期的强迫、偏执、抑郁因子。本研究应用症状自评量表横断历史分析结果及薪酬统计数据进行格兰杰因果检验,揭示了经济报酬与心理健康之间的单向因果关系。在经济社会发生剧烈变化的较长时间内,经济报酬对心理健康的影响不仅显著,而且呈现出平稳性,研究结果推进并丰富了付出-回报失衡理论。     

Consent to mental health treatment: a theoretical analysis of coercion, freedom, and control

Research has shown that substantial numbers of mental health patients may be coerced into 'voluntary' treatment. This article examines the concept of coercion to address the concerns of social scientists, treatment providers, and policy makers to know when coercion into treatment has occurred. This logically takes precedence over the second important question of whether or not coercion is desirable in some situations. A review of the scientific research on coercion and related topics of freedom, control, and choice leads to a theoretical framework in which coercion is defined in terms of opportunities to choose among courses of action. Implications of this analysis are drawn for mental health service delivery, mental health policy, and mental health research.     

A growth mindset intervention to improve mental health in adolescents during COVID-19

COVID-19 poses a considerable threat to adolescent mental health. We investigated depression rates in teens from pre to post-COVID. We also explored if leveraging a growth mindset intervention (“Healthy Minds”) could improve adolescent mental health outcomes during the pandemic, especially for adolescents experiencing the most distress. In Study 1, we recruited youth from schools in a rural southern community (N = 239) and used a pre-post design. In Study 2, we recruited an online sample (N = 833) and used a longitudinal randomized control trial design to test the effectiveness of Healthy Minds. Across both studies, there is evidence of higher rates of depression in youth during COVID-19, relative to pre-pandemic numbers. In Study 1, the intervention effectively changed psychological and behavioral processes related to mental health, especially for adolescents experiencing greater COVID-19 stress. However, in Study 2, the intervention failed to impact depression rates or symptoms at follow-up.     

Barriers to evidence-based treatment: developmental psychopathology and the interdisciplinary disconnect in school mental health practice

Reframing the role of school psychologists and related school professionals in a public health and primary prevention model represents a proactive antidote to their more traditional reactive stance to mental health problems. Two additional concepts, developmental psychopathology and complex comorbidity, are suggested as critical to complete this transition, and illustrations of these concepts for more effective school mental health services are provided.     

National attitudes towards mental health treatment: the importance of research evidence

Most conceptualizations of evidence-based practice view it as a “three legged stool” consisting of: the use of best available research evidence, clinical expertise, and client preferences. Although empirical evidence and clinical expertise have received greater empirical attention, relatively little research has systematically explored client preferences. The present study analyzed self-reported treatment preferences for various clinical and non-clinical presentations. Adult participants (n = 1262) residing in the United States were presented with diagnostic vignettes and rated their relative preferences among 5 treatment variables, including: use of an empirically supported treatment (EST), quality of the client–therapist relationship, therapist empathy, therapist experience, and client speaking for the majority of therapy sessions. Results indicated that participants endorsed significant preference for receiving an EST over other treatment variables for all clinical disorders, with effect sizes ranging from small to large depending on the diagnosis. There was slightly greater variability in treatment preferences for non-clinical issues, though participants generally reported greater preference for receiving an EST. Follow-up questions provided further evidence for EST preferences. The implications of these results are discussed.     

Introduction to the Special Section: Advances in psychological prevention and treatment interventions to promote children's mental health

This paper introduces the Special Section on Advances in Psychological Prevention and Treatment Interventions to Promote Children's Mental Health. The three articles in the Special Section provide perspectives on the adaptation, evaluation, and implementation of evidence‐based psychological interventions for children in countries in Northern and Eastern Europe, and Latin America. The articles highlight disparate methodologies for the examination of intervention data, including addressing causal inference in the absence of availability of true experiment data (i.e., randomised controlled trial data), randomised trial data from a school‐based prevention programme, and predictors of change in an evidence‐based treatment programme. Together, the articles highlight the movement of evidence‐based practices into routine care settings and emerging strategies for settings in which randomised trial data are not yet available. They demonstrate the contribution of psychological research to the advancement of practices for improving children's mental health.     

Perinatal maternal mental health and infant socio-emotional development: A growth curve analysis using the MPEWS cohort

Pregnancy and the early post partum period are widely understood as a critical period for the infant’s emotional development and the earliest influence shaping social interaction. The present study aims to understand the potential influence of both antenatal and postnatal maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms on socio-emotional outcomes in offspring aged 12 months. The study used longitudinal data from a prospective cohort study on Australian pregnant women and their children. Data were available for 282 mothers and their children. Maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms were measured in early pregnancy, trimester three of pregnancy, six and 12 months postpartum. Social and emotional development in children was measured using the Brief Infant and Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) at 12 months. Using growth curve analysis of 4 waves of repeated measurement to examine intercept and slope, we found that both initial maternal depression and anxiety symptom levels, and the growth of these symptoms over time, predicted more problems with children’s social and emotional development. In the final model anxiety accounted for 19% of the variance in child socio-emotional problems and depression 23% of variance. The results emphasise the importance of perinatal maternal mental health as a potential risk factor for child development. This carries important implications for policy development, such as the need to build early identification and early intervention models in to the current clinical practice for perinatal care, specifically, to develop targeted screening, assessment and interventions to address maternal mental health issues for at-risk parents during pregnancy, and continuing monitoring of young children whose mothers have experienced perinatal mental health difficulties.     

General practitioners' perceptions of psychologists: A response to the Medicare changes in Australia

General practitioners (GPs) have historically been at the centre of primary health‐care delivery in Australia, including delivery of mental health‐care services. Recent changes, however, by the Australian Federal government have led to the creation of a number of mental health‐care items provided by psychologists that are now available on the Medicare Benefits Schedule. The aim of the present study was to examine GPs' perceptions of psychologists and the ways in which GPs have responded to these policy changes in making referrals for mental health patients. Nine GPs were interviewed regarding the provision of mental health‐care services. Analysis of the interviews indicated a number of themes including the benefits of the new Medicare policy in increasing accessibility of psychologists, GPs' frustrations with the bureaucracy surrounding the use of this policy, GPs' knowledge about the specific skills and training of psychologists, and the importance of GPs' matching patients and clinicians. Recommendations are made to facilitate the professional and clinical relationship between GPs and psychologists.     

Dissemination of effective mental health treatment procedures: Maximizing the return on a significant investment

While much is known about the efficacy of evidence-based practices, it is currently less clear how to implement these practices into the broader mental health system. Dissemination and implementation research will play a critical role in addressing this uncertainty. This commentary reviews the most recent and compelling research related to these topics while advocating a broader and more defined perspective of dissemination for future research. Three of the authors' most pressing questions are proposed and explored.     

Physical activity in employees with differing occupational stress and mental health profiles: A latent profile analysis

ObjectivesTo examine whether employees with differing occupational stress and mental health profiles differ in their self-reported levels of physical activity.DesignCross-sectional survey data.MethodThe sample consisted of 2660 Swedish health care workers and social insurance officers (85% women, M = 46.3 years). Latent profile analysis was performed to identify classes. Between-class-differences in physical activity were tested via χ²-tests and multinominal logistic regression analyses using sex, age, BMI, marital status, children at home, caregiving, and smoking as covariates.ResultsLatent profile analysis resulted in a six-profile solution. Two pairs of classes had equal stress levels, one pair with high stress, one pair with moderate stress. Within each pair, one group showed some resilience (i.e. only moderate mental health problems despite high stress or good mental health despite moderate stress), whereas the other did not. The other two classes were characterized by either low stress and good mental health or moderate-to-high stress and elevated mental health problems. Participants who were resilient to high or moderate stress were more active than participants of the corresponding non-resilient classes. Participants with low stress and good mental health reported the highest physical activity levels, participants with high stress and high mental health problems reported the lowest physical activity levels.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that physical activity is associated with resilience to occupational stress, and that beyond primary prevention efforts to make work less stressful regular physical activity should be a target variable for health professionals working in the occupational setting.     

Employee perceptions of the work environment and mental health: A suggestive study

The purpose of this study was to examine a model for investigating employee mental health in industrial environments and, more particularly, to determine the extent to which a worker's perceptions of the environment covaried with mental health criteria. The managerial segments of two divisions of a 35,000 employee company were represented in this study. In general, it was found that employees who perceived the environment as having clarity in the organizational structures, little administrative interference in work processes, equitable reward systems, and trust and consideration for employees tended to have more favorable scores on mental health indices. Also, some differences between the two work environments, as well as between male and female employees, were noted and discussed.     

Beyond mental health: an evolutionary analysis of development under risky and supportive environmental conditions: an introduction to the special section

Evolutionary approaches to behavior have increasingly captured the attention and imagination of academics and laypeople alike. One part of this trend has been the increasing influence of evolutionary theory in developmental science. The articles in this special section of Developmental Psychology attempt to demonstrate why an evolutionary analysis is needed to more fully understand the contexts and contingencies of development. The 3 theoretical articles articulate the core evolutionary logic underlying conditional adaptation (and maladaptation) to both stressful and supportive environmental conditions over development. These theoretical articles are then followed by 9 empirical articles that test these evolutionary-developmental theories and hypotheses. Finally, 6 commentaries evaluate the prospects, pitfalls, and implications of this body of work.     

Media experiences and associations with mental health among the bereaved of the MH17‐disaster: A latent profile analysis

Research has shown that the amount of media exposure is associated with post‐event mental health problems. Whether bereaved individuals have negative experiences with media reports and whether they are associated with post‐event mental health is unclear. This study evaluated these experiences and associations following the MH 17‐disaster. How media reports were experienced (nine topics, modified MAS ), depression symptoms (QIDS ‐SR ), functional problems (WSAS ) and event‐related coping‐self‐efficacy (CSE ) were assessed about one year post‐disaster (May‐August 2015) among Dutch bereaved (N  = 152). A substantial minority reported negative experiences such as reports made me angry (30%) and made me sad (48%). Latent profile analysis with symptoms, problems and coping self‐efficacy as indicators, identified four classes of post‐disaster mental health: a Well‐functioning^{(class 1)}, 35.1%; a Mild‐problems^{(class 2)}, 30.4%; a Sub‐clinical^{(class 3)}, 27.0%; and a Clinical^{(class 4)}, 7.4%. Differences in symptoms, problems and coping self‐efficacy levels between classes were large according to Cohen's d s. Multivariate logistic regression (MLR ) showed that the Clinical^{(class 4)} compared to the Well‐functioning^{(class 1)}, more often that felt that reports strongly “embarrassed me,” “made me feel sad,” “filled me with fear” and “served as a magnifying glass.” Future research should assess opportunities and effects of limiting media consumption.     

Life values and mental health: A longitudinal study comparing chronically ill women to women without chronic disease

We tested the hypothesis that among women who are chronically ill, a re-ordering of life values maintains mental health. A community-based prospective longitudinal study was conducted in which data were obtained from 601 women in 1986, when the women were with mean age 42 and again in 2003, when the women were with mean age 58. There was a significant change in life values as women aged with more change among women with chronic disease (n = 476) than those without chronic disease (n = 125). Increased valuation of intrinsic life values (health and love) and decreased valuation of extrinsic life values (power, fame and attractiveness) were associated with subsequent better mental health for women with chronic disease, but not for those without chronic disease.     

The role of mindfulness and compassion in early adults' subsequent mental health,coping and compliance with health guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective longitudinal study

The present study explored prospective links between trait mindfulness and compassion on subsequent coping and compliance with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and indirect effects via well-being and internalized distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study included N = 736 US college students who participated in a three-wave longitudinal study across a single academic year. The first two assessment waves took place in 2018 and 2019, respectively, while the third wave took place in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants completed self-report measures of trait mindfulness, compassion, well-being, internalized distress, coping, and compliance with CDC health guidelines. Results of a series of autoregressive, cross-lagged panel models revealed that trait mindfulness was associated with better coping via indirect effects of greater well-being and lower internalized distress. Greater compassion was linked with greater adherence to CDC guidelines. Findings suggest that trait mindfulness and compassion may play a role in college students' coping and compliance during the pandemic.     

Sources of stress and worry in the development of stress-related mental health problems: A longitudinal investigation from early- to mid-adolescence

Background and Objectives: Stress and stress-related mental health complaints are common and increasing among adolescents, especially girls. Identifying typical sources of stress as well as central intervention targets is an important effort in the development of effective prevention and treatment protocols. This study investigated worry as potential mediator in the development of mental health problems in response to common stressors in adolescence. We also examined to what sources adolescents ascribe their stress over the years from the 7th through the 9th grade.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Methods: Self-reported subjective stressor load, worry, anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed in a sample of Swedish 7th graders (N?=?1137; 46% girls, mean age 13.2) with follow-up assessments one and two years later.

Results: School was the most common source of stress across all time-points, with girls reporting considerable more stress than boys. Worry mediated the relationship between overall stressor load and depressive symptoms and anxiety over time and was not moderated by gender.

Conclusions: Worry may be an important target in stress prevention and efforts to prevent stress-related problems would benefit from focusing on early adolescence as especially school stress is already relatively common in grade 7.