General Psychopathology, Cognition, and the Cerebral Cortex in 10-Year-Old Children: Insights From the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study

General psychopathology and cognition are likely to have a bidirectional influence on each other. Yet, the relationship between brain structure, psychopathology, and cognition remains unclear. This brief report investigates the association between structural properties of the cerebral cortex [surface area, cortical thickness, intracortical myelination indexed by the T1w/T2w ratio, and neurite density assessed by restriction spectrum imaging (RSI)] with general psychopathology and cognition in a sample of children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Higher levels of psychopathology and lower levels of cognitive ability were associated with a smaller cortical surface area. Inter-regionally—across the cerebral cortex—the strength of association between an area and psychopathology is strongly correlated with the strength of association between an area and cognition. Taken together, structural deviations particularly observed in the cortical surface area influence both psychopathology and cognition.

Evaluating the Factor Structure of the Emotion Dysregulation Scale-Short (EDS-s): A Preliminary Study

Emotion dysregulation (ED) can be considered a psychopathological transdiagnostic dimension, the presence of which should be reliably screened in clinical settings. The aim of the current study was to validate the Italian version of the Emotion Dysregulation Scale-short (EDS-s), a brief self-report tool assessing emotion dysregulation, in a non-clinical sample of 1087 adults (768 women and 319 men). We also assessed its convergent validity with scales measuring binge eating and general psychopathology. Structural equation modeling suggested the fit of a one-factor model refined with correlations between the errors of three pairs of items (χ2 = 255.56, df = 51, p < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.08, CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.93, SRMR = 0.04). The EDS-s demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency (ordinal alpha = 0.94). Moreover, EDS-s scores partly explained the variance of both binge eating (0.35, p < 0.001) and general psychopathology (0.60, p < 0.001). In conclusion, the EDS-s can be considered to be a reliable and valid measure of ED.

Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown in Eating Disorders: A Multicentre Collaborative International Study

Background. The COVID-19 lockdown has had a significant impact on mental health. Patients with eating disorders (ED) have been particularly vulnerable. Aims. (1) To explore changes in eating-related symptoms and general psychopathology during lockdown in patients with an ED from various European and Asian countries; and (2) to assess differences related to diagnostic ED subtypes, age, and geography. Methods. The sample comprised 829 participants, diagnosed with an ED according to DSM-5 criteria from specialized ED units in Europe and Asia. Participants were assessed using the COVID-19 Isolation Scale (CIES). Results. Patients with binge eating disorder (BED) experienced the highest impact on weight and ED symptoms in comparison with other ED subtypes during lockdown, whereas individuals with other specified feeding and eating disorders (OFSED) had greater deterioration in general psychological functioning than subjects with other ED subtypes. Finally, Asian and younger individuals appeared to be more resilient. Conclusions. The psychopathological changes in ED patients during the COVID-19 lockdown varied by cultural context and individual variation in age and ED diagnosis. Clinical services may need to target preventive measures and adapt therapeutic approaches for the most vulnerable patients.

How Is the History of Early Traumatic Exposure Associated With the Psychopathological Outcomes of COVID-19 Related Lockdown and Subsequent Re-opening in People With Eating Disorders?

The negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on people with Eating Disorders (EDs) has been documented. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a history of traumatic experiences during childhood or adolescence was associated with a higher degree of psychopathological worsening during COVID-19 related lockdown and in the following re-opening period in this group of people. People with EDs undergoing a specialist ED treatment in different Italian services before the spreading of COVID-19 pandemic (n = 312) filled in an online survey to retrospectively evaluate ED specific and general psychopathology changes after COVID-19 quarantine. Based on the presence of self-reported traumatic experiences, the participants were split into three groups: patients with EDs and no traumatic experiences, patients with EDs and childhood traumatic experiences, patients with EDs and adolescent traumatic experiences. Both people with or without early traumatic experiences reported retrospectively a worsening of general and ED-specific psychopathology during the COVID 19-induced lockdown and in the following re-opening period. Compared to ED participants without early traumatic experiences, those with a self-reported history of early traumatic experiences reported heightened anxious and post-traumatic stress symptoms, ineffectiveness, body dissatisfaction, and purging behaviors. These differences were seen before COVID-19 related restrictions as well as during the lockdown period and after the easing of COVID-19 related restrictions. In line with the “maltreated ecophenotype” theory, these results may suggest a clinical vulnerability of maltreated people with EDs leading to a greater severity in both general and ED-specific symptomatology experienced during the exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Semiotics of mental illness. General psychopathology

The methodology and systematics of the diagnostic process in psychiatry are given, information is given about psychopathological symptoms and dynamics of the main productive and negative syndromes, including addictive, as well as the most significant forms of norm and pathology of personality. The leading features of clinical and psychopathological research in general psychopathology are substantiated. The section "Symptomatology" reveals the psychological and clinical features of the main mental processes. The section "Syndromology" describes the clinical features of the main positive and negative syndromes, their features in children and adolescents. Meets the requirements of the federal state educational standards of higher education of the latest generation. It is intended for psychiatrists, psychiatrists, narcologists, psychotherapists, clinical psychologists undergoing pre- and postgraduate training, students of higher medical and psychological educational institutions, interns, clinical residents, graduate students and doctors of related disciplines.

Subjective cognitive complaints and relations to objective cognitive performance among Lebanese patients with schizophrenia

Background Patients with schizophrenia have a particularly low level of insight into their illness compared to people with other mental health disorders. The objectives of the study were to evaluate: 1) subjective cognitive complaints in individuals with schizophrenia in comparison with health controls, 2) the relation between subjective cognitive complaint (SCC) and objective cognitive performance in the patients group, and 3) factors related to cognitive complaint, such as depression, insight, autonomy, and psychological symptoms. Methods Cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2019 and March 2020 enrolled 120 patients with schizophrenia disorders, selected from the Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross (HPC) – Lebanon and 60 healthy controls. The Self-Assessment Scale of Cognitive Complaints in Schizophrenia (SASCCS) was used to measure people living with schizophrenia perception of their cognitive impairment, while the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) was used to evaluate their cognitive functioning. Results A significant difference was found between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls in all neurocognition and SASCCS tests. The hierarchical regression analysis showed that the BACS total score (Beta = −.06, p = .04), the PANSS general psychopathology (Beta = .29, p = .003), higher depression (Beta = .75, p = .003) were significantly associated with higher SCC. However, higher autonomy (Beta = − 6.35, p = .001) was significantly associated with lower SCC. A Structural equation model showed that the two most contributing variables were general psychopathology (Standardized Beta (SB): .33, p < 0.001) and autonomy (SB: −.29, p < 0.001). Conclusion A significant proportion of patients with schizophrenia could estimate their cognitive impairment. It also showed a positive correlation between depression and activity of daily living with SCC, suggesting that this aspect should be investigated alongside the clinical symptoms when a patient with schizophrenia presents with SCC.

Associations of self-repression with disordered eating and symptoms of other psychopathologies for men and women

Background: Disordered eating has been found to be associated with self-repression, specifically with selflessness, the tendency to relinquish one’s needs for others’, and concern for appropriateness, an alertness to information about social comparison and tendency to vary one’s behavior in different social situations. This study aimed to examine associations between these self-repression variables and symptoms of general psychopathology for women and men in a community sample. Methods: Two hundred and thirty-six participants (92 men) aged 18-76 (M=29.11+10.10) volunteered to complete measures of ED symptoms (EDE-Q), concern for appropriateness (CFA-CSV and CFA-ATSCI), selflessness (SS), and symptoms of depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (BSI-18 anx) and somatization (BSI-18 som) online. Structural equation models were built to assess pathways between the study variables for men and women separately. Results: A MANOVA 2*7 design showed that women scored significantly higher than men on the SS, EDE-Q and PHQ-9. For men, SS scores were positively and significantly associated only with PHQ-9 scores. CAS-CSV scores were positively associated with PHQ-9, BSI-18 som and BSI-18 anx scores. For women, SS scores were positively and significantly associated with PHQ-9, EDE-Q, BSI-18 som and BSI-18 anx scores. CAS-CSV scores were positively and significantly associated with PHQ-9, BSI-18 anx and BSI-18 som scores but not EDE-Q scores. CAS-ASCI scores were positively and significantly associated only with EDE-Q scores.Conclusions: Self-repression is a much more central path to psychopathology in women than in men. For men, self-suppression seems to play an important role in the development and maintenance of symptoms of internalizing disorders, but not disordered eating. Even for women, it appears that self-repression is not connected specifically with disordered eating, but with symptoms of psychopathology in general. Future research should explore why self-suppression plays such a central role in women’s psychopathology.