Evaluation of the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to treat chronic insomnia

IntroductionAs having positive effects on reducing distress and symptoms associated with different mental and physical disorders, many studies have focused on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.ObjectiveIt is suggested that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) could help reducing insomnia by focusing on certain cognitive factors associated to insomnia.MethodA pre-experimental, pre-test protocol with a post-test and three month follow-up was used to measure the effect of a group intervention of eight sessions and 12 participants.ResultsThe intervention had a positive effect on participants’ subjective evaluation regarding their sleep and the gains were maintained after three months. However, after the intervention, no significant effect was found on the objective measures of sleep. Two factors associated to the maintenance of insomnia, such as dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep and mental control strategies were improved following treatment and these improvements were maintained during the follow-up.ConclusionThe results of this study suggest that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy might be an interesting addition in the treatment of insomnia, given that it focuses on certain cognitive factors that contribute to the maintenance of insomnia.     

Learning and development of trust,acceptance and the mental model of ACC. A longitudinal on-road study

To harness the potential of advanced driver assistance systems, drivers must learn how to use them in a safe and appropriate manner. The present study investigates the learning process, as well as the development of trust, acceptance and the mental model for interacting with adaptive cruise control (ACC). Research questions aim to model the learning process in mathematical/statistical terms, examine moments and conditions when these processes stabilize, and assess how experience changes the mental model of the system. A sample of fifteen drivers without ACC experience drove a test vehicle with ACC ten consecutive times on the same route within a 2-month period. All participants were fully trained in ACC functionality by reading the owner’s manual in the beginning. Results show that learning, as well as the development of acceptance and trust in ACC follows the power law of learning. All processes stabilize at a relatively high level after the fifth session, which corresponds to 185 km or 3.5 h of driving. No decline is observable with ongoing system experience. However, limitations that are not experienced tend to disappear from the mental model if they are not activated by experience. Therefore, it is recommended that users be periodically reminded of system limitations (e.g. by intelligent tutoring systems) to make sure that corresponding knowledge nodes are activated.     

Relationships Between Physical Symptoms,Emotional Distress,and Pain Appraisal in Fibromyalgia: The Moderator Effect of Alexithymia

Alexithymia is a personality construct that is frequently identified in fibromyalgia (FM). Previous studies have explored the relationship between alexithymia and emotional distress in this disease. Yet, the additional link with factors of pain appraisal is unknown. This study examined the moderating effect of alexithymia in the relationship between emotional distress and pain appraisal in 97 FM women. A control group of 100 healthy women also participated in the study. All participants completed several self-reports about pain experience, sleep quality, impairment, emotional distress, pain appraisal, and alexithymia. FM women showed significantly more difficulty in identifying and describing feelings, but less externally oriented thinking than healthy women. In the clinical group, difficulty in identifying feelings and difficulty in describing feelings significantly correlated with lower sleep quality, higher anxiety and depression, and increased pain catastrophizing and fear of pain. Difficulty in describing feelings significantly correlated with higher pain experience and vigilance to pain. Externally oriented thinking was not correlated with any of the clinical variables. Difficulty in identifying feelings moderated the relationship between anxiety and pain catastrophizing, and difficulty in describing feelings moderated the relationship between anxiety and fear of pain. Implications of the findings for the optimization of care of FM patients are discussed.     

1 + 2 is more than 2 + 1: Violations of commutativity and identity axioms in mental arithmetic

Over the past decade or so, a large number of studies have revealed that conceptual meaning is sensitive to situational context. More recently, similar contextual influences have been documented in the domain of number knowledge. Here we show such context dependency in a length production task. Adult participants saw single digit addition problems of the form n1 + n2 and produced the sum by changing bi-directionally the length of a horizontally extended line, using radially arranged buttons. We found that longer lines were produced when n1 < n2 compared to n1 > n2 and that unit size increased with result size. Thus, the mathematical axioms of commutativity and identity do not seem to hold in mental addition. We discuss implications of these observations for our understanding of cognitive mechanisms involved in mental arithmetic and for situated cognition generally.     

An exploration of an integrated counselling and coaching approach with distressed young people

This mixed methods study explored the effectiveness and experience of an integrated counselling and coaching approach with young people. An effectiveness study allocated 80 young people aged between 13 and 25 years from four Youth Information Advice and Counselling Services centres in England to two groups: an integrated counselling and coaching group, based on the Personal Consultancy (PC) model, and a humanistic counselling group. Self-report measures of distress were administered at baseline and endpoint. Findings of the quantitative analysis showed that although baseline distress levels between groups were equivalent, post-intervention levels were significantly lower in the integrated group. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of qualitative experiences from five young people from the integrated group explored possible reasons for these results. Five master themes emerged: making sense of past, present and/or future, developing a sense of agency, management of affect, enhancing interpersonal relationships and development of self. Findings indicated that young people responded well to the integrated treatment; attending to intra-psychic issues alongside their developmental challenges seemed to have a beneficial effect on their sense of agency in particular. In conclusion, PC may be an effective means of reducing distress in young people.     

Inter- and intra-group differences in psychological concerns among international students

With data gathered from 47 university counseling centers in the United States, this study addresses both inter- and intra-group differences in symptomatology at intake among international students. In Study 1, symptomatology among international students was explored in comparison to US ethnic groups. In Study 2, intra-group differences in symptomatology among international students were examined. In Study 1, data consisted of 14,421 international, White American, African American, Asian American, and Latina/Latino American counseling center clients who completed the CCAPS-62 at intake. Partially supporting our hypothesis, results indicate significant findings among international students in the social anxiety and academic distress domains of the CCAPS-62. Contrary to our expectations, Asian American students reported significantly greater concerns across many domains when compared to other groups. In Study 2, international students (n = 607) were further divided into five continents of origin: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Europe. Results indicate that in multiple domains, international students from Asia and Africa reported significantly greater concerns than those from Europe, North America, or South America. Implications of findings for university counseling centers and universities at large are discussed.     

Children's hostile intent attributions and emotional distress: What do parents perceive?

Traditionally, assessments of social information processing and associated emotional distress have used children's self‐reports. We posit that additional informants, such as parents, may help illuminate the association between these variables and aggression. Our sample was composed of 222 dual‐parent families of fourth‐grade children (103 boys; 119 girls). Children responded to instrumental and relational provocations and their parents read the same scenarios and responded the way they believed their child would. Peer nominations provided aggression scores. We explored how means differed by provocation type (relational vs. instrumental), informant (mother, father, and child), and gender of child. The results also suggest that parent perceptions may effectively predict children's participation in relational and physical aggression, above and beyond the child's self‐reports.

     

Confinement : construction d’une nouvelle représentation sociale chez les étudiants et les salariés

IntroductionThe lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was a brutal experience that had a lasting impact on people's daily lives.ObjectiveThe construction of the social representation of this event was monitored over one year in two sampling phases (March 2020 and March 2021).MethodThe evolution of social representation was carried out using the hierarchical verbal association method and a characterisation questionnaire.ResultsThe results obtained highlighted, on one hand, the emergence of a figurative core, which is transformed into a central core by the repetition and pressure of the lockdown episodes. On the other hand, the variability of the social representation of confinement according to social status, employees structure the social representation around isolation whereas students are focused on loneliness.ConclusionThe effects of lockdown are reflected in the social representation of confinement, showing an impact on mental health, particularly on students.     

Psychological consequences of motor vehicle accidents: A systematic review

People involved in motor vehicle accidents (MVA) are at increased risk for psychological problems. Although the existing literature states that MVAs cause substantial negative mental health effects, summarizing and comparing these effects to understand their consequences could be more explored. This systematic literature review provides an overview of the literature surrounding the psychological consequences of MVAs to summarize and quantify their effects on mental health. The studies published in an English-language journal in the last 20 years (2001–2021) that present psychological consequences of MVAs were included. Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases were used for the literature search. The systematic literature search found 23 eligible studies. After identifying all relevant studies on the topic, we synthesized the applied psychological assessment methods and the psychological consequences of MVAs. Current gaps in the reviewed papers and what future research are needed are also discussed. Results indicated that negative psychological consequences following an MVA are substantial, with all studies pointing to negative consequences in at least one psychopathology. Trauma-related MVA injuries are associated with elevated psychological distress, and MVA-related psychological consequences could have long-term effects if left untreated.     

Coping with COVID-19: The sociomaterial dimensions of living with pre-existing mental illness during the early stages of the coronavirus crisis

In this article, we use the case study method to detail the experiences of five participants who reported living with pre-existing mental illness during COVID-19. We adopted a sociomaterial analytical approach, seeking to identify how human and nonhuman agents came together to generate states of wellbeing or distress during this challenging period. As the case studies show, feelings of anxiety, fear and risk were generated from the following sociomaterial conditions: loss of face-to-face contact with friends and family members; concerns about hygiene and infecting others; financial stress; loss of regular paid employment or volunteering work; public spaces; and the behaviour of unknown others in public spaces. The agents and practices that emerged as most important for opening capacities for coping and maintaining wellness during lockdown included: the space of the home; contact with a small number of intimate others; online therapeutic care; practising self-care skills learnt from previous difficult times; helping and supporting others; engaging in leisure activities; and the companionship of pets. Contributing to an affirmative approach to more-than-human assemblages of health, distress and recovery, these findings demonstrate what bodies can do in times of crisis and the agents and practices that can generate capacities for coping.