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• Latinx ethnicity moderated associations between obesity and mental health. • In Latinx veterans, obesity associated strongly with externalizing disorders. • In White veterans, obesity associated strongly with internalizing disorders. • Obesity associated more strongly with PTSD in Latinx vs. White veterans. • Obesity linked to higher hostility and loneliness in Latinx veterans. Obesity disproportionately affects Latinx communities and is linked to an increased risk of mental health problems. Military veterans are more likely to develop mental health problems, but the role of Latinx ethnicity in moderating the association between obesity and these problems is unclear. To address this gap, this study examined psychiatric and psychosocial correlates of obesity in a nationally representative sample of Latinx and White U.S. military veterans. Data were analyzed from the 2019–2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, which surveyed 3524 Latinx and White veterans. Analyses revealed that Latinx ethnicity moderated associations between obesity and several measures. Specifically, among veterans with obesity, Latinx veterans had higher rates of major depression, generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders, drug use disorders, non-suicidal self-injury, and higher levels of childhood trauma, loneliness, and hostility relative to White veterans. These findings underscore the importance of culturally sensitive prevention and treatment efforts to help mitigate symptoms of internalizing disorders, drug use disorder, loneliness, and hostility, and to cultivate psychosocial resources such as resilience and coping self-efficacy among Latinx veterans with obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The Symptom Checklist-90-revised (SCL-90-R) is a valid tool to assess psychiatric disorders. • The three subscales Somatization, Hostility and Phobic Anxiety of the SCL-90-R are the top-3: they show the best reliability and validity properties. • These three subscales show better reliability in seven clinical and non-clinical samples in four European countries: Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands and France. While the reliability of SCL-90-R subscales is often questioned, five relatively recent European studies have examined the factor structure of SCL-90-R using a bifactor model and concluded that most of these subscales are reliable. However, examination of their results shows that three subscales, Somatization, Hostility, and Phobic Anxiety, consistently had significantly higher reliability than the other six across clinical and community samples recruited in three very different European countries, Greece, Hungary, and the Netherlands. The objective of this study was to examine whether this "top-3″ would be found in a sample from a fourth European country, France. To do this, we had 696 university students (387 women, 56 %) complete the SCL-90-R and we examined the reliability of the scales of this questionnaire by testing a bifactor model using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM). Our results confirmed that, in our sample, the three scales presented a higher reliability than the other six scales. It therefore seems that there exists, at least in the European cultural area, a stable structure of the SCL-90-R comprising a global distress factor and three reliable and robust specific factors: Somatization, Hostility, and Phobic Anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We examined the impact of COVID-19-related behavioral restrictions in Japan. • Scant studies focused on university students' mental health during the pandemic. • COVID-19 negatively impacted upper-level university students' mental health. • Fourth-year students had greater mental health changes than did their counterparts. • This research informs public health interventions and programs. This study aimed to investigate the differences in mental health during COVID-19, specifically among second-, third-, and fourth-year Japanese university students (n = 2,157; n = 2,000; and n = 2,284; respectively). A one-way MANOVA was conducted to assess the association between year of enrollment (academic years 2020, 2021, and 2022) and each of the eight subscales of the counseling Center Assessment Psychological Symptoms-Japanese. For second-year students, depression and generalized anxiety mean scores were higher in 2021 than those in 2020 and 2022. Alcohol use mean scores got smaller each year. For third-year students, depression, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, hostility, and alcohol use were significantly higher in 2021 than those in 2020 and 2022. Among fourth-year students, means for all eight subscale categories were significantly higher in 2021 than those in 2020 and 2022. The findings found worsened mental health profiles during 2021, which recovered to approximate pre-pandemic levels in 2022. This study demonstrates that university students' mental health has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, an effect which is more salient among fourth-year students. Further, it offers insights into mental health trends among Japanese university students and a possible foundation for learning about changes among university students worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This cross-sectional study with relatively large sample size found that patients with untreated first-episode schizophrenia had low global functioning by the GAF. • Pearson correlation analysis revealed that the GAF was positively associated with the MCCB and its six domains, while negatively associated with the PANSS and its four dimensions. • The study found that the negative symptom factor, the positive symptom factor, the excitement hostility factor, and attention/vigilante were all independent risk factors for global functioning in untreated first-episode schizophrenia. Although many studies have been conducted on the relationship between cognitive functioning, psychopathological symptoms, and global functioning in patients with schizophrenia, these studies frequently suffer from a lack of control for confounding variables, high attrition rates, and a lack of cognitive domains completed at each assessment point. The purpose of this study is to select patients with untreated first-episode schizophrenia to investigate the relationship between psychopathological symptoms, cognitive functioning, and global functioning. A total of 117 untreated first-episode schizophrenia patients were evaluated using the global assessment functions (GAF), the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), and some social and role functional parameters. The GAF, PANSS, and MCCB scores of 117 patients were significantly lower than normal. Multiple stepwise linear regression analysis revealed that the negative symptom factor, positive symptom factor, excitation-hostility factor, and attention/vigilance were all independent factors influencing global functioning. Our findings show that the negative symptom factor, the positive symptom factor, the excitement hostility factor, and attention/vigilante are all independent risk factors for GAF in first-episode schizophrenia. The negative symptom factor had the most noticeable effect among these influencing factors, followed by the positive symptom factor, the excitement hostility factor, and attention/vigilance in that order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female Veterans are the fastest growing demographic group in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Moreover, suicide rates in female Veterans are increasing, making suicide in female Veterans a topic of vital clinical and research significance. The current study examined the association between suicide, aggression, and mood symptoms by sex. Participants consisted of 264 Veterans (female=54, male=210) ages 18-55. Veterans completed well-validated measures of suicidal behaviors, aggression, anxiety, and depression. Male Veterans reported higher physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, hostility, and total aggression compared to female Veterans. In male Veterans, lifetime suicidal behavior including ideation and attempts was correlated with total aggression and subscales of physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility. However, in female Veterans lifetime suicidal behavior was significantly associated with hostility and anger. There were no between-group differences in measures of suicidal behaviors, anxious or depressive symptoms. These results suggest important differences in the association between aggression and suicidal behavior by sex. These data have significant clinical implications, as males with aggressive traits and females who endorse hostility and anger may be more likely to engage in suicidal behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]