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Author(s): Monique Williams [sup.1] , Cynthia Honan [sup.2] , Sarah Skromanis [sup.2] , Ben Sanderson [sup.1] , Allison J. Matthews [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) https://ror.org/01nfmeh72, grid.1009.8, 0000 0004 1936 826X, [...], This systematic review aimed to identify 1) the effect of mindfulness training on pre-post measures of anxiety and attention among adults experiencing high levels of generalised anxiety; and 2) the impact of predictors, mediators and moderators on post-intervention changes in anxiety or attention. Trait mindfulness and distress measures were included as secondary outcomes. A systematic search was conducted in November 2021 in electronic databases using relevant search terms. Eight articles comprising four independent studies were included (N = 334). All studies included participants diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) who participated in an 8-week manualised program. The meta-analysis indicated that mindfulness training had a large effect on anxiety symptoms (g = -1.92, 95%CI[-3.44, -0.40]) when compared to inactive (i.e., care as usual, waitlist) or non-specified (i.e., condition not defined) controls. However, a significant effect was not found when compared to active controls. Effects for depression, worry and trait mindfulness did not reach statistical significance, despite small-large effect sizes favouring mindfulness compared to inactive/non-specified controls. Our narrative review found evidence that changes in aspects of trait mindfulness mediate anxiety reduction following mindfulness training. However, a small number of studies were available for inclusion in the review, with high risk of bias and low certainty of evidence present. Overall, the findings support the use of mindfulness training programs for GAD and indicate mechanisms that may differ from those involved in other cognitive therapy approaches. Further RCTs with evidence-based controls are needed to clarify techniques most beneficial for generalised anxiety to support individually tailored treatment.

Background and purpose: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with high rates of unemployment, and barriers for work are essential to identify in the regular follow-up of these people. The current study aimed to culturally adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Multiple Sclerosis Work Difficulties Questionnaire-23 (MSWDQ-23). Methods: Following backward and forward translation, the Norwegian version of the MSWDQ-23 (MSWDQ-23NV) was completed by 229 people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Validity was evaluated through confirmatory factor analysis and by associating scores with employment status, disability, and health-related quality of life outcome measures. Convergent validity was checked by correlating MSWDQ-23 scores with alternative study measures. Internal consistencies were examined by Cronbach's alfa. Results: A good fit for the data was demonstrated for the MSWDQ-23NV in confirmatory factor analysis, with excellent internal consistencies also demonstrated for the full scale and its subscales (physical barriers, psychological/cognitive barriers, external barriers). The MSWDQ-23NV subscales were related in the expected direction to health-related quality of life outcome measures. While higher scores on the physical barriers subscale was strongly associated with higher levels of disability and progressive MS types, higher scores on all subscales were associated with not working in the past year. Discussion: The Norwegian MSWDQ-23 is an internally consistent and valid instrument to measure perceived work difficulties in persons with all types of MS in a Norwegian-speaking population. The MSWDQ-23NV can be considered a useful tool for health care professionals to assess self-reported work difficulties in persons with MS. The Norwegian MSWDQ-23 scale should be examined for test-retest reliability and considered implemented in the regular follow up at the MS-outpatient clinics in Norway to support employment maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use is frequently involved in crime, making it crucial to understand the role of alcohol in facial recognition to maximize correct perpetrator identifications. Although the majority of the alcohol and face recognition research has investigated recognition with "retrospective" confidence judgments, we examined the effects of alcohol intoxication on face recognition with "prospective" metacognitive judgments. Participants (N = 54 university students without a history of hazardous alcohol/substance use) consumed either alcohol (mean breath alcohol concentration of 0.06 at pretest and 0.07 at post-test) or a non-alcoholic placebo drink. Participants then studied unfamiliar male and female faces and made judgments of learning (JOLs) for each face (i.e., predicted the likelihood of recognizing that face on a future memory test). After a brief distractor task, participants completed an old--new recognition test on which they attempted to distinguish the studied faces from new faces. It was found that the alcohol manipulation had minimal effect on face recognition performance or judgments of learning. Our results suggest that theory-based cues about the effects of alcohol might play a greater role in retrospective judgments than prospective judgments. Although not a primary focus of the study, face recognition was better for male faces than female faces, and this occurred for both female and male participants. Limitations and implications of the research are discussed.

Background: Growing evidence suggests that sitting is activated automatically on exposure to associated environments, yet no study has yet sought to identify in what ways sitting may be automatic. Method: This study used data from a 12-month sitting-reduction intervention trial to explore discrete dimensions of sitting automaticity, and how these dimensions may be affected by an intervention. One hundred ninety-four office workers reported sitting automaticity at baseline, and 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months after receiving one of two sitting-reduction intervention variants. Results: Principal component analysis extracted two automaticity components, corresponding to a lack of awareness and a lack of control. Scores on both automaticity scales decreased over time post-intervention, indicating that sitting became more mindful, though lack of awareness scores were consistently higher than lack of control scores. Conclusion: Attempts to break office workers' sitting habits should seek to enhance conscious awareness of alternatives to sitting and afford office workers a greater sense of control over whether they sit or stand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social disinhibition is becoming increasingly recognised in the neuropsychological literature as a complex and debilitating sequalae associated with acquired frontal lobe damage. Despite this, the term has been inconsistently defined and described in both clinical and research contexts. The purpose of this paper was to explore and examine the concept of social disinhibition in the context of brain injury and other organic neurological conditions. Method: A literature search for articles published in the English language from journal inception to June 2021 was conducted using MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science. A 'concept analysis' was conducted on the identified literature using Walker & Avant's (2019) framework. Results: The analysis suggested that while several terms are often used interchangeably with social disinhibition, including impulsivity and behavioural dysregulation, these terms may be differentiated and defined separately within the broader domain of 'behaviours of concern'. Attributes, antecedents and consequences of social disinhibition were also identified and discussed. Conclusions: Clarifying the concept of social disinhibition has important implications in both clinical and research contexts, including increased understanding of the behaviours, more accurate estimates of incidence and prevalence, and the development and implementation of targeted rehabilitation programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of self-concept change in the process of psychosocial adjustment following multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis has become more apparent in recent years. The current study aimed to investigate the experience of self-concept change as described by an MS sample. Sixteen people (aged 26–67 years, 62.5% female) who had been living with MS for an average of 12 years, participated in a single online semi-structured interview. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis guided by phenomenology produced three superordinate themes: 1) Changing life (salient external events that were related to changing views of self), 2) Changing self (the experience of self-concept change), and 3) Changing thoughts (the internal thought processes that served as the filter between changing life circumstances and changing self-views). Overall, external events appeared to facilitate a process of internally driven revaluations and redefinitions of self-concept both globally and within specific self domains. Self-concept change due to MS emerges as a complex internal process, often arising from external challenges and changes in everyday life. These novel findings illustrate the need to better support people with MS to make sense of changes to their self-concept, particularly during key transitions across the illness. Self-concept change following MS diagnosis and throughout the disease course has wide-ranging impacts on psychological adjustment. Several key external events contribute to changing the self-views of people living with MS. While external events prompt change, key internal processes likely facilitate the redefinition of self-concept. Targeted support during key transitional periods to assist pwMS to productively renegotiate and manage these changes to their self-concept is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the factor structure, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of the Smoking Expectancies Scale for Adolescents (SESA) using 717 Australian adolescents (87% nonsmokers, 11% current smokers, and 2% ex-smokers). Exploratory factor analysis of SESA yielded 8 factors. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 8-factor model, and also a 2nd-order cost-benefit model, fit the data significantly better than 4 alternatives. Validation analyses revealed the 8-factor model explained 26% to 32% of the variance in adolescent cigarette use, smoking intentions, smoking subjective norms, and peer smoking. The 2nd-order model explained 12% to 17% of the variance in these same variables.

• Disability is a key contributor to self-concept change for people with MS. However, it is unclear what other psychosocial factors might contribute to this association. • This study reports on a model that shows that health-related quality of life partially mediates the relationship between disability and self-concept change. • Domains of health-related quality of life that may be considered 'behaviourally informed' appear to contribute more to this relationship than other domains. • Relationship satisfaction does not moderate the mediation effect of health-related quality of life on the relationship between disability and self-concept change. • These key factors may be the focus of future interventions that aim to improve self-concept change following MS diagnosis. Disability is a key factor related to self-concept change following a Multiple Sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. Psychosocial factors (e.g., social integration, marital support) are also associated with changing self-concept in people with MS (pwMS). What remains unclear however, is whether psychosocial factors account for the relationship between disability and self-concept change. The current study aimed to investigate the potential mediation effect of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) on the relationship between disability and self-concept change in pwMS, and whether relationship satisfaction is a moderator of the mediated relationship. Nine hundred and ninety-five pwMS (79.5 % female; Age M = 59.72 years, SD = 11.15) completed measures of disability, HRQoL, and self-concept change. Of these participants, seven hundred and twenty-six pwMS who indicated they were currently in a relationship also completed a measure of relationship satisfaction. A moderated mediation (conditional process) analysis indicated that the relationship between disability and self-concept change was partially mediated by HRQoL. A further parallel mediation found that across the eight subdomains of HRQoL, only participants' reported levels of 'relationships' and 'coping' significantly mediated the relationship between disability and self-concept change. However, for those participants in a relationship, relationship satisfaction did not moderate any mediation effects. The findings highlight the role that perceptions of HRQoL in some domains may have in explaining the relationship between disability and self-concept change. Further research is needed to explicate the causal direction of these relationships through longitudinal studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the Multiple Sclerosis Work Difficulties Questionnaire-23 (MSWDQ-23). Two hundred and thirty-nine employed persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 59 healthy controls completed the MSWDQ-23. To verify the factor structure, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. To assess construct validity, the MSWDQ-23 scores were correlated to measures of physical disability, fatigue, cognitive and neuropsychiatric problems, depression, health-related quality of life, and work-related variables. MSWDQ-23 scores were compared within different age groups, gender, education levels, and job types. Predictive validity was assessed using a logistic regression analysis to predict a deterioration in employment status after one year based on MSWDQ-23 scores. The internal consistency of the MSWDQ-23 was acceptable (α = 0.913, 95% CI = 0.897–0.928) and the results indicated a fair fit. The MSWDQ-23 showed acceptable construct validity, confirming 94% of the hypotheses. The total scale and the psychological/cognitive subscale were able to predict a deterioration in employment status after one year (χ2(1)=18.164, p < 0.001). The Dutch version of the MSWDQ-23 is a valid and internally consistent instrument to measure self-reported work difficulties in persons with MS. The Dutch version of the 23-item Multiple Sclerosis Work Difficulties Questionnaire (MSWDQ-23) is a reliable and valid tool to measure self-reported work difficulties in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). More psychological and cognitive work difficulties are predictive of a deteriorated employment status after one year. The MSWDQ-23 is a helpful tool for researchers and (occupational) health professionals to identify current work difficulties in persons with MS and identify persons at risk for a deterioration in employment one year later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS)-related knowledge is an important evaluation metric for health education interventions. However, few MS knowledge assessment tools are currently available for use. Objectives: This study aims to develop a reliable and valid Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge Assessment Scale (MSKAS) for use in the MS community and the general public. Methods: The MSKAS was developed using a Delphi study methodology and was administered to participants in the first open enrolment of the Understanding Multiple Sclerosis (UMS) online course. Rasch analysis was used to examine its psychometric properties and develop the final scale. Results: Experts from across the MS community participated in the development of the MSKAS, resulting in an initial scale of 42 items. Five hundred and forty-three UMS participants completed the MSKAS; 89% were female and 30% were people with MS. The final unidimensional 22-item scale has a person separation index of 2.16, a person reliability index of 0.82, an item separation index of 11.19, and a Cronbach's alpha (kr-20) test reliability of 0.87. Conclusion: The MSKAS is a unidimensional scale with good construct validity and internal consistency. The MSKAS has the potential to be useful for the assessment of MS knowledge in research and clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]