Browse Our Latest Psychology and Behavioral Science Journals
Psychological journals are peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journals that publish original work in some areas of psychology. The most common publications include cognitive, health and clinical psychology, applied, developmental, biological, social, experimental, and educational psychology, and psychoanalysis.
Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Background and aims
Simulated gambling products, like loot boxes and social casino games, contain gambling elements, but are not classified as gambling. They are available to minors, raising concerns about a “gateway effect” into gambling. This study examined the time course of young people's engagement in simulated and monetary gambling, and associations between simulated gambling and gambling problems and harm. A necessary, although not sufficient, condition for simulated games leading to real money gambling is that simulated play must come first.
Method
Participants were 1,026 young adults (aged 18–25 years) who played video games in the last year. They reported the age at which they first took part in seven simulated and twelve monetary gambling products, and current gambling problems and harm.
Results
First use of loot boxes and video games with gambling content tended to precede monetary gambling. Forms where gambling is a core gameplay element, such as social casino and demonstration games, tended to follow some monetary gambling forms. Engagement in most simulated gambling products was associated with greater harm from monetary gambling.
Discussion
The findings leave open the possibility of a catalyst pathway from youth engagement in loot boxes and games with gambling content to later monetary gambling, but causal psychosocial mechanisms remain unclear. However, a pathway from social casino and demonstration games to monetary gambling appears less likely, which may instead reflect containment or substitution effects. Simulated gambling disproportionately attracts youth who are vulnerable to gambling problems and harm, indicating the need for consumer protection measures.
Abstract
The Sonoran Desert Toad (Incilius alvarius) is the only vertebrate known to produce the powerful psychedelic, 5-MeO-DMT, which is easily-accessible form the animal's exterior glands. This paper seeks to present the biocultural (ecological and cultural) history, and conservation concerns of I. alvarius. Discovery of 5-MeO-DMT in I. alvarius was first reported in 1965 and 1967 (Erspamer et al.), and eventually led to the popular psychedelic use of this species after a pamphlet was published in 1984 (Most). Its mostly unmitigated use in for-profit spirituality, wellness, and adventurism has driven erroneous, coerced, and exploitive narratives of ancient Indigenous use – increasing: exploitation of I. alvarius, biocultural erosion, and malpractice of 5-MeO-DMT. Reconciliation of diverse needs is intellectually and financially challenging. It must be careful of approaches that are implicitly biased by a demand that extracts, appropriates, and trades in Indigenous and wellness motifs – but can be reached from the reconciliation and intersection of Indigenous and Western science and priorities. Few conservation-oriented studies and outreach elements concerning I. alvarius exist, and most have been supported by crowdfunding.
Csecsemőmegfigyelések környezetpszichológiai tapasztalatai egy kvalitatív kutatás tükrében
Environmental psychological experiences of infant observations
Background and goals: In our research, we examined infant observation protocols with a psychoanalytical approach made for professional training purposes. Considering their original purpose, the observations focused on mother-infant interactions, the development of the baby, and the experiences by the observer, however, we were looking for the answer to what specific experiences this information is fed from, and what sociophysical aspects of these can be seen in action. We were, therefore, curious to see whether, even though this was not the goal, environmental psychological/socio-physical factors appeared in the aspects of the observation and, if so, how they were articulated. Method: Students participating in the Ego Clinic's method-specific child therapist training provided data for the research as observers. We performed an analysis of ten protocols containing the notes of weekly infant observations made between 2006 and 2016 for one to one and a half years. The qualitative research was conducted with content analysis, using the Grounded Theory (GT) method developed by Corbin and Strauss (2015). Results: According to our content analysis, three important key categories emerged, which displayed the socio-physical aspect of the observations, these bear the category names “movement in space”, “experience of place” and “cover-ups”. In addition, categories with a non-directly sociophysical aspect emerged (called “imprints of the past”, “emotions”, and “adaptations”), which can be interpreted as an important contextual background. Conclusions: Our research revealed that the environmental psychological socio-physical context, as an unconscious but still strongly present factor, lies in the background of the phenomena to be observed, even though the observation task did not include the observation of physical aspects. The socio-physical factors clearly outlined in the records presumably influenced the observer's thoughts and methods of interpretation and seem to have served as an important source of information, in many cases as the cornerstones of their interpretation framework. This feature also raises the possibility that the study of socio-physical environmental conditions can be included in the analysis of observation records.
Abstract
Background and aims
This scoping review employed a multifaceted conceptualization of well-being to examine how psilocybin use affects well-being and related sub-concepts in healthy individuals. It investigated which factors influence the relationship between psilocybin use and well-being, what research protocols have been employed, and what underlying mechanisms have been proposed in existing studies.
Methods
A comprehensive literature search in line with the PRISMA guidelines was conducted. Scopus, PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched for peer-reviewed articles about psilocybin and well-being in healthy populations.
Results
Studies were heterogeneous in regard to study objectives, study design, study procedure, sample size and psilocybin dosage. In all studies, psilocybin use led to positive well-being-related outcomes for the majority of participants. Facets of well-being positively affected by psilocybin use in this review were self-acceptance, positive relationships, and meaning/purpose in life.
Conclusions
This scoping review provided preliminary evidence for the beneficial effects of psilocybin on well-being and related sub-concepts such as self-acceptance, positive relationships, and meaning/purpose in life in healthy individuals. Ego-dissolution, unity, connectedness, and mystical-type experiences are interrelated concepts that seem to be crucial for explaining such positive well-being-related effects of psilocybin. Under conducive conditions, the use of psilocybin may contribute to healthy functioning, through broad and sustained improvements in a variety of well-being concepts. Due to the heterogeneous nature of the studies, more definite conclusions require further research with a rigorous and homogeneous design.
A termék-influenszer összeillés és a szponzorált tartalom jelölésének együttes hatása a környezettudatos szponzorált posztok értékelésére
The simultaneous effect of the product-influencer fit and sponsorship disclosure on the evaluation of sponsored environmentally conscious posts
Background and Objectives: Marketing communication about eco-friendly products is gaining importance on social media. Two main aspects of influencer marketing are the product-influencer fit, which positively affects persuasion effectiveness and the sponsorship disclosure, which negatively affects the persuasion outcomes. The present study examines the simultaneous effect of product-influencer fit and the presence of sponsorship disclosure on the effectiveness of a sponsored post promoting an environmentally conscious detergent. We hypothesized that in the case of a high product-influencer fit, the sponsorship disclosure would have a less negative effect on the evaluation of the post. Method: To answer our hypotheses, we performed a between-subject online experiment with 2 (control versus environmentally conscious profile) × 2 (control versus sponsored content disclosure) experimental groups. We recruited our participants from a university course (N = 430, M = 22.1 years, SD = 4.22 years). The authors generated the stimuli set by creating fictitious influencer profiles and posts. Hypotheses were tested using two-way analyses of variance. Results: According to our results, neither the advertising nor the brand attitude was affected by the interaction effect of the product-influencer fit and the sponsorship disclosure; thus, we did not prove our first two hypotheses. However, high product-influencer fit positively impacted advertising and brand attitudes. Regarding the purchase intention, we found that although the interaction of the two independent variables affected the purchase intention, contrary to hypothesized, the sponsorship disclosure in the high product-influencer post had a more negative effect on the purchase intention. Conclusions: The positive effect of high product-influencer fit on advertising and brand attitudes is in line with previous results presented in the literature. Regarding the intention to purchase, our results may be explained by the topic of the sponsored post, methodological differences, and different psychological mechanisms underlying the evaluation of the post. Future research should consider examining consumer perceptions regarding the influencer's ulterior motives to publish an eco-friendly product recommendation.
Abstract
Background & aims
The gamblification of UK football has resulted in a proliferation of in-game marketing associated with gambling and gambling-like products such as cryptocurrencies and financial trading apps. The English Premier League (EPL) has in response banned gambling logos on shirt-fronts from 2026 onward. This ban does not affect other types of marketing for gambling (e.g., sleeves and pitch-side hoardings), nor gambling-like products. This study therefore aimed to assess the ban's implied overall reduction of different types of marketing exposure.
Methods
We performed a frequency analysis of logos associated with gambling, cryptocurrency, and financial trading across 10 broadcasts from the 2022/23 EPL season. For each relevant logo, we coded: the marketed product, associated brand, number of individual logos, logo location, logo duration, and whether harm-reduction content was present.
Results
There were 20,941 relevant logos across the 10 broadcasts, of which 13,427 (64.1%) were for gambling only, 2,236 (10.7%) were for both gambling and cryptocurrency, 2,014 (9.6%) were for cryptocurrency only, 2,068 (9.9%) were for both cryptocurrency and financial trading, and 1,196 (5.7%) were for financial trading only. There were 1,075 shirt-front gambling-associated logos, representing 6.9% of all gambling-associated logos, and 5.1% of all logos combined. Pitch-side hoardings were the most frequent marketing location (52.3%), and 3.4% of logos contained harm-reduction content.
Discussion & Conclusions
Brand logos associated with gambling, cryptocurrency, and financial trading are common within EPL broadcasts. Approximately 1 in 20 gambling and gambling-like logos are subject to the EPL's voluntary ban on shirt-front gambling sponsorship.
Abstract
Background and aims
Smartphones extend the situational characteristics of sports betting beyond those available with land-based and computer platforms. This study examined 1) the role of situational features and betting platforms in harmful betting behaviours and short-term betting harm, and 2) whether people with more gambling problems have preferred situational features, engage more in harmful betting behaviours, and experience more severe short-term betting harm.
Methods
An ecological momentary assessment analysed 1,378 betting sessions on sports, esports or daily fantasy sports, reported by 267 respondents (18–29 years; 50.9% male) over 10 weeks.
Results
Factor analysis revealed five situational features of betting sessions: 1) quick, easy access from home, 2) ability to bet anywhere anytime, 3) privacy while betting, 4) greater access to promotions and betting options, and 5) ability to use electronic financial transactions. Regression models underpinned the analyses. Greater short-term betting harm was significantly associated with the ability to bet anywhere anytime, privacy when betting, and greater access to promotions and betting options. Betting sessions when these features were prioritised were more likely to involve impulsive betting, use of betting inducements, and betting with more operators. Respondents with more gambling problems were more likely to prioritise privacy and the ability to bet anywhere anytime; and to bet on in-game events, use promotional inducements, bet with more operators, and report greater betting harm.
Discussion and conclusions
Certain situational features of sports betting are empirically associated with engagement and subsequent harm. Only smartphone betting combines all three features associated with betting harm.
Abstract
Background and aims
Resting-state brain activity may be associated with the ability to perform tasks; however, a multimodal approach involving resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potentials (ERPs) has not been widely used to investigate addictive disorders.
Methods
We explored resting-state fMRI and auditory oddball ERP values from 26 with internet gaming disorder (IGD) patients and 27 age- and intelligence quotient-matched healthy controls (HCs). To assess the characteristics of resting-state fMRI, we calculated regional homogeneity (ReHo), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF); we also calculated the P3 component of the ERPs.
Results
Compared with HCs, the individuals with IGD exhibited significant decreases in ReHo and fALFF values in the left inferior occipital gyrus, increased ReHo and ALFF values in the right precuneus, increased ALFF in the left superior frontal gyrus, and lower P3 amplitudes in the midline centro-parietal area during the auditory ERP task. Furthermore, the regional activity of resting-state fMRI in the right inferior temporal gyrus and the occipital regions were positively correlated with the P3 amplitudes in IGD patients, whereas ReHo values of the left hippocampus and the right amygdala were negatively correlated with P3.
Discussion and conclusions
Our results suggest that IGD patients have difficulty interacting effectively with cognitive function and sensory processing, although its interpretations need some cautions. The findings in this study will broaden the overall understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie IGD pathophysiology.
Abstract
Background and aims
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (P-AT) has been shown to reduce post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety symptoms, and is likely to be approved in the United States (US) in the coming years. However, concerns about participant safety in these early trials have surfaced, including allegations of sexual misconduct. This paper aims to illuminate how potential risks have been communicated to P-AT participants via informed consent documents and to suggest how existing policy might be modified given the unique risks involved in P-AT trials.
Methods
Publicly available informed consent forms (ICFs) were gathered by searching clinicaltrials.gov. Queries were applied to filter trials involving the use of a classical psychedelic (psilocybin, LSD) or psychedelic-adjacent substance (MDMA, ketamine) in tandem with psychotherapeutic intervention and those with a status of “completed,” “recruiting,” or “active.”
Results
Nineteen ICFs met inclusion criteria and were reviewed to determine what risks, benefits, and safety protocols were communicated to participants in their respective trials. The primary finding from this review of ICFs from P-AT trials revealed that studies were in compliance with federal regulation. However, there were missing elements related to the vulnerability experienced while under the effects of psychedelics that warrant inclusion in future ICFs in P-AT trials.
Conclusion
Although the ICFs for P-AT trials examined in this study covered several important areas related to risk, benefits, safety, and accountability as required by federal regulations in the US, future research should consider ways to expand this content in order to assure that consent is truly informed prior to enrolling subjects.
Abstract
Background and Aims
In the digital age, Internet addiction (IA) was deemed an epidemic and few treatments had been effectively developed for it. Here, we proposed a solution-focused group counseling (SFGC) as a potentially solution to reduce Internet addiction among college students. The present study examined the short- and long-term effect of a five-week solution-focused group counseling intervention on Internet addiction.
Methods
Thirty-two participants were recruited and randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group, and twenty-six participants completed the whole intervention. The experimental group (n = 14) received the intervention, while control group (n = 12) did not. The revised version of the Chinese Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS-R), the Future Time Perspective, and resting-state EEG were administered pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at two follow-up tests (one month and six months after intervention).
Results
The results showed that the scores of the CIAS-R in the experimental group were significantly decreased after intervention, and these effects could be sustained for one month and six months follow-ups. Additionally, the intervention conducted an increase in future time perspective. EEG results further suggested that the alpha, beta, and gamma absolute power decreased after the intervention.
Conclusion
These results from the pilot-study primarily suggested that solution-focused group counseling could be an effective intervention for Internet addiction.
Abstract
Community-based literacy teaching workshops attend to the learning needs of new students who have not been able to benefit from enrollment as children in the public school system. The following report from the field calls attention to the special circumstances of this heterogeneous group of literacy learners. The workshop described here engages learners who are literacy learners as well as second language learners of the national language, in this case Spanish. Literacy learning proceeds in parallel with second language learning. The report summarizes a series of informal interviews with students and their teacher and observation of their adult literacy program, during a period of approximately ten years. As such it provides preliminary findings for better understanding the problems of community literacy programs in bilingual communities in general. The tasks of learning to read and write present themselves in a special situation of language contact, that of community language and national language.
Abstract
Background and aims
Gaming disorder [GD] risk has been associated with the way gamers bond with their visual representation (i.e., avatar) in the game-world. More specifically, a gamer's relationship with their avatar has been shown to provide reliable mental health information about the user in their offline life, such as their current and prospective GD risk, if appropriately decoded.
Methods
To contribute to the paucity of knowledge in this area, 565 gamers (M age = 29.3 years; SD =10.6) were assessed twice, six months apart, using the User-Avatar-Bond Scale (UABS) and the Gaming Disorder Test. A series of tuned and untuned artificial intelligence [AI] classifiers analysed concurrently and prospectively their responses.
Results
Findings showed that AI models learned to accurately and automatically identify GD risk cases, based on gamers' reported UABS score, age, and length of gaming involvement, both concurrently and longitudinally (i.e., six months later). Random forests outperformed all other AIs, while avatar immersion was shown to be the strongest training predictor.
Conclusion
Study outcomes demonstrated that the user-avatar bond can be translated into accurate, concurrent and future GD risk predictions using trained AI classifiers. Assessment, prevention, and practice implications are discussed in the light of these findings.
Abstract
The present paper deals with a research methodology issue. After an introductory literature review, it presents a novel model developed to study the diffusion of educational innovations. This model does not focus on the time course, phases, or characteristics of diffusion, which can be described by various innovation indicators, but on persistent structural elements such as the actors, their relationships, and the territorial, organizational, or other entities that host the actors. The latter, which separate the actors from each other or even constitute a common space for them are called containers. The presented actor-container model (ACM) was developed to help interpret empirical data in the context of a larger research, named Innova project, dealing with the emergence, diffusion, and system-shaping impact of bottom-up innovations initiated by teachers or other local actors in the education sector. In this paper, we demonstrate the application of ACM by analyzing the responses of educational institutions (organizations) at different levels of public and higher education in Hungary, based on the 2018 online questionnaire survey database (N = 2042). The examples presented show that ACM provides a unique perspective for research on innovation diffusion by shedding new light on actors and containers, opening up new possibilities for data analysis and results interpretation. We believe that ACM can be applied not only in the context of educational innovations but also in other innovation fields.
Abstract
Background
The eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) defines the three key diagnostic criteria for gaming disorder (GD). These are loss of control over gaming, gaming as a priority over daily activities, and impaired functioning due to gaming. While this definition has implications for the prevention and treatment of GD, there is significant heterogeneity in the symptoms and etiology of GD among individuals, which results in different treatment needs. Cognitive control, emotional regulation, and reward sensitivity are three critical dimensions in the etiology model for GD. Aspects such as gender, comorbidity, motivation for gaming, stage or severity of GD, and risk factors all contribute to the heterogeneity of etiology among individuals with the disorder.
Method
On the basis of clinical symptoms and comorbidity characteristics among approximately 400 patients with gaming disorder, the present paper proposes a clinical typology of patients with GD based on the authors' clinical experience in treating individuals with GD.
Results
The findings indicated three common types of patients with GD: (i) impulsive male patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), (ii) dysphoria patients with dysfunctional coping skills, and (iii) isolated patients with social anxiety. The paper also discusses the presentation and treatment priority for these patients.
Conclusion
Personalized treatments for patients with GD should be developed to fit their individual needs. Future studies should examine the heterogeneity of GD and confirm these types, as well as obtain evidence-based information that can help in the development of personalized treatment. Treatment resources should be developed, and professionals should be trained to provide integrated individualized treatment.
Abstract
Background and aims
A growing body of evidence indicates a connection between emotional processes and the emergence and progression of addiction. However, scant research has examined the involvement of emotional processing within the framework of problematic pornography use (PPU). This study aimed to examine the electrophysiological and subjective differences in emotional processing between male individuals with PPU and healthy controls (HCs) following exposure to everyday affective images.
Methods
Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 42 PPU participants (mean age = 20.14 years, SD = 1.35) and 45 HCs (mean age = 20.04 years, SD = 1.45) during an oddball task, in which unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral images were presented as deviant stimuli, while a neutral kettle image served as the standard stimulus. The Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) was employed to assess participants' subjective experience on the dimensions of valence and arousal.
Results
Regarding subjective measures of emotion, individuals with PPU reported lower valence ratings for unpleasant images compared to HCs. In terms of electrophysiological measures of emotion, PPU participants reported larger P2 amplitudes for unpleasant pictures compared to both pleasant and neutral pictures. Moreover, HCs showed enhanced P3 amplitudes in response to pleasant images compared to neutral images, whereas this effect was not observed in PPU participants.
Discussion and Conclusion
These findings indicate that individuals with PPU may display deficits in emotional processing characterized by enhanced responsiveness to negative stimuli and attenuated responsiveness to positive stimuli. The heightened sensitivity to negative stimuli may contribute to the inclination of individuals with PPU to engage in pornography as a coping mechanism for stress regulation. Conversely, their diminished sensitivity to positive stimuli presents a challenge in seeking alternative natural rewards to counter potentially addictive behaviors.
Abstract
Background and Aims
Emerging research has identified parents' psychological distress as a potential risk factor that increases adolescents' vulnerability to problematic gaming. This study attempted to address “why” from a relational perspective. We hypothesized that parents' psychological distress may link to adolescents' problematic gaming through the mediation of parent-child relationship quality, while the mediating effects of parent-child relationship quality may vary depending on adolescents' emotion regulation.
Methods
We collected data from 4,835 parent-child dyads in China (parental age = 41.45 ± 4.53 years; adolescent age = 13.50 ± 1.00 years). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was utilized to analyze the relationships among the variables under study.
Results
Parent-reported parental depression/anxiety was related to worse adolescent-reported parent-child relationship, which in turn related to more severe adolescent-reported problematic gaming. Moreover, the mediating effects of parent-child relationship quality were weaker when adolescents used more expressive suppression (but not cognitive reappraisal).
Discussion and Conclusions
The findings of this study highlight the need to consider both parent-child relationships and adolescents' active role in their own emotion regulation in order to understand parental influence on adolescent problematic gaming.
Abstract
Aim
Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) is a new category in ICD-11. Research examining underlying brain mechanisms is sparse. Research into neurobiological differences can be helpful in advancing the possibilities of new diagnostic approaches and therapeutic methods. The present study aimed to examine brain matter volume and resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC) in CSBD.
Methods
Structural and rs-FC magnetic resonance imaging and data from questionnaires were collected in 30 men with CSBD and 32 age- and education-matched controls. Whole brain voxel based morphometry (VBM) and seed based rs-FC in a-priori defined seeds were analyzed.
Results
Structural analyses showed that men with CSBD had significantly increased gray matter volume in the right cerebellum, middle occipital and superior frontal lobe. No differences in rs-FC could be detected when using these brain structures as seed regions in rs-FC. In contrast, literature based rs-FC analysis revealed decreased rs-FC between the right orbital middle frontal cortex (mOFC) and the right gyrus rectus, as well as between left pallidum and right post/precentral gyrus in men with CSBD. In the left amygdala we observed increased rs-FC with precuneus in this group. In addition, most of these measures correlated with symptom severity.
Conclusion
Structural findings may underscore the idea that the cerebellum plays an important role in sexual arousal and CSBD. Perhaps, a simultaneous activation of the left amygdala and the precuneus reflects a constant sexual occupation of men with CSBD. Furthermore, lower connectivity between mOFC and gyrus rectus in CSBD may support the assumption that sexual stimuli are evaluated more positively because inhibition is decreased.
Az interocepció tudatos aspektusainak fejlődéséről és fejlesztéséről
Development and improvement of the conscious aspects of interoception
Background: From birth onwards, interoceptive information and its higher level of integration play an important role in survival and psychological functioning. Only a minority of this vast amount of information reach consciousness. Interoception can be divided into three categories: interoceptive accuracy, interoceptive sensitivity and interoceptive awareness. Aim: The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the developmental aspects of interoception and to present empirical findings on correlated of interoception in childhood and opportunities for its improvement. Method: We first review how interoception is included in different developmental theories, then we present the empirical results available in the literature, and finally we summarise the options for improvement. Results: Of the various theorists, György Ádám gives the most complex approach; the central element of his theory is that the individual’s attention is increasingly directed towards external stimuli after birth. Nevertheless, it seems that the perception of interoceptive feelings can be relearned later. Some factors, such as symptoms of anxiety and panic, show a positive correlation with interoceptive accuracy already in childhood. In other cases, such as obesity or chronic tic disorder, a negative association was found while in autism spectrum disorder results were ambiguous. Regarding the improvement of different aspects of interoception, findings obtained mainly from adult participants show that interoceptive sensibility can be improved through various interventions; with respect to accuracy, some contemplative interventions and body panning may have a positive effect. Conclusions: The higher number of positive results on interoceptive sensibility may be explained by the fact that interoceptive accuracy becomes stable in adulthood, but it is assumed that it may still be possible to influence it in childhood.
Az önkéntes munkavégzés mentális és fizikai egészségmutatókkal való összefüggései az empirikus kutatások tükrében – áttekintő tanulmány
The link between voluntary work, mental and physical health outcomes in the light of empirical researches – a review study
Volunteering is a prosocial behavior that affects the psychological and social well-being, physical health and physiological markers of both the volunteer and the beneficiary of volunteering. The aim of our study is to explore the most important domestic and international research conducted on the relationship between volunteering and physical and mental health in recent decades and to present a systematic review of it. The results of international research suggest that the relationship between volunteering and well-being is bilateral: most volunteers already report high well-being at the outset of volunteering, but the activity itself has a demonstrable positive impact on a person’s physical, psychological, and social well-being, which varies across individuals in interaction with the duration, frequency and type of volunteering, and other personal characteristics (eg. age, health condition). A substantial body of research agrees that volunteering is associated with reduced depression, functional limitations, and mortality rates, with the strongest connections observed in volunteers of older age. Research has identified an increase in psychological (e.g. self-efficacy, self-esteem, life satisfaction) and social resources (social integration and support), more frequent positive mood states and less frequent negative mood states as factors that impact mental health. Increased physical activity caused increased physical well-being, which, in turn, lead to a more favourable hormonal, immune, and cardiovascular profile. Through these mechanisms, volunteering may become a key mediator for healthy ageing, and its effect on public health shall be considered outstanding for prevention and intervention both.
A Betegségfolyamat Érzelmi Grafikonjának hazai adaptációja sebészeti beavatkozáson átesett betegek körében: a grafikus technika alkalmazásának és pszichometriai összefüggéseinek ismertetése
The Hungarian adaptation of Emotional Graph of Illness Trajectory in operated patients: application of the graphical technique and psychometric correlates
Theoretical background: Facing serious physical illness can be understood as a traumatic experience. Patients’ narratives of their illness can help to structure the physical and psychological burdens, that are difficult to narrate, reinterpret the experience of illness as a psychological stressor, thereby reducing psychological distress and improving coping and thus recovery. For this reason, the practice of health psychology requires the use of methods that can accurately and effectively explore the narratives of the illness trajectory based on simple tools. Objective: The aim of our study was the Hungarian adaptation of the Emotional Graph of Illness Trajectory, a tool for exploring the emotional perspective of the illness narrative, in patients operated on for chronic disease or malignant tumour. Methods: Our mixed methods study involved 120 patients. In addition to the Emotional Graph of Illness Trajectory based on the visual elicitation technique, we used the Spielberger State -Trait Anxiety Inventory, the short form of Beck Depression Inventory, the short form of Perceived Stress Scale, the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire and the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire. Results: The main results of the convergent validity test showed that the total intensity value of the graphical emotion showed a significant, positive, moderate-strength correlation with the depression score (r = 0.33; p < 0.001). For those who depicted negative emotion, there was a moderate-strength, positive directional correlation between the mean value of the intensity of the graphically depicted emotion with the scores for state (r = 0.31; p = 0.004) and trait anxiety (r = 0.30; p = 0.004), illness perception (r = 0.35; p = 0.001), perceived stress (r = 0.37; p < 0.001) and depression (r = 0.41); p < 0.001), and there was also a moderately strong, positive, significant relationship between the total intensity value of the graphical emotion and the perception of illness (r = 0.34; p = 0.001), the level of perceived stress (r = 0.32; p = 0.002) and depression (r = 0.40; p < 0.001), and between the emotion intensity score of final event and the state anxiety (r = 0.33; p = 0.002) and depression (r = 0.31; p = 0.003) scores. Results for individuals depicting positive emotion showed a significant, negative direction, moderate strength correlation between the intensity value of the graphically depicted emotion associated with the closing event and the score of state (r = -0.36; p = 0.048) and trait anxiety (r = -0.36; p = 0.045). The main results of the test of concurrent validity showed a significant, positive, moderate-strength correlation between the mean value of the intensity of the emotion depicted in the graph and the score of the emotional dimension of illness perception (r = 0.35; p =0.001) in a sample of individuals who depicted a negatively charged emotion in their graph and the total score of the graphical emotion intensity and the score of the emotional dimension of quality of life (r = 0.30; p = 0.005). An outstanding finding of our research is that the three disease narratives identified by the two independent coders (i.e: chaos, restitution and quest story), there was a significant difference in the mean intensity of the graphically depicted emotion (F(2, 117) = 4.254; MSE = 403.528; p = 0.016; η2 = 0.07), the value of the closing event emotion intensity (H(2) = 10.297); p = 0.006; η 2 = 0.10), trait anxiety (F(2, 117) = 4.070; MSE = 102.556; p = 0.020; η 2 = 0.07), perceived stress (F(2, 117) = 5.895; MSE = 34.058; p = 0.004; η 2 = 0.09) and perception of illness (F(2, 117) = 4.807; MSE = 175.871; p = 0.010, η 2 = 0.08). Conclusions: The Emotional Graph of Illness Trajectory has adequate psychometric properties and its validity in the population studied in the present research is considered good. The technique has been shown to be an effective tool in exploring the emotional perspective associated with the illness narrative.
Féléves csecsemők temperamentumának mérése a Csecsemőviselkedés Kérdőív 15 tételével: pszichometriai elemzés és korrelátumok
Studying temperament with 15 selected items of the Infant Behaviour Questionnaire among 6-month-old infants: Psychometric properties and correlates
Background: Temperament is an innate, though constantly developing disposition that is important to measure in infancy. Several theories have emerged to identify infant temperament types. Aim: Our study aims to examine the psychometric properties of the 15 selected items of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire in a representative Hungarian sample. Methods: Data of half-year-old infants (M = 5.74 months, SD = 0.51, range: 5–7 months) participating in the second wave of the Cohort ‘18 Hungarian Birth Cohort Study (n = 8,104) was analysed. The 15 selected items of the parental questionnaire Infant Behavior Questionnaire, abbreviated from the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-R-Very Short Form was applied in face-to-face interviews by health visitors. Results: The three-factor model (Positive affectivity/Surgency, Negative affectivity, Orientation and regulatory capacity, with 5-5 items), showed an acceptable fit (RMSEA = 0.047 [90% CI: 0.045; 0.049], Gamma Hat = 0.975, SRMR = 0.041, χ 2(86) = 1625.54, CFI = 0.910, TLI = 0.890) after allowing the correlation between two items’ error variances. The internal consistency of the Positive Affectivity/Surgency (Cronbach’s α = 0.55) and Orientation and Regulatory Capacity (Cronbach’s α = 0.53) scales are weak, while their distribution shifts toward high values. The internal consistency of the Negative Affectivity scale is adequate (Cronbach’s α = 0.72), with a distribution close to normal. Four temperament types were distinguished based on cluster analysis: Average temperament (n = 2516, 31.6%), Easy temperament (n = 2229, 28.0%), Difficult temperament (n = 1896, 23.8%) and Low activity (n = 1325, 16.6%). Low birth weight and the maternal evaluation of the burden of infant’s sleeping and crying, were associated with temperament characteristics suggesting more difficult or lower activity temperament. Conclusions: The 15 selected items of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire is suitable to quickly assess infant temperament and compare it to nationally representative data, considering its limitations.
A Gyermek Önszabályozás és Viselkedés Kérdőív (CSBQ) hazai változatának kialakítása
Development of the Hungarian version of the Child Self-Regulation and Behaviour Questionnaire
Background: The ability to self-regulate develops dynamically during the first five years and plays a crucial role in many areas of life. Emotional and behavioral self-regulation is a fundamental part of one’s social-emotional development, school readiness, successful school integration and the development of learning skills. The results from the impact evaluation of intervention programs support the case for early-childhood development and the point that developmental disadvantages can be compensated. All of these justify the need to adapt children’s self-regulation questionnaire as an instrument for Hungarian usage with sufficient reliability and validity. The screening of self-regulation difficulties in preschool and during the transition period between kindergarten and elementary school is of particular importance for the design of appropriate intervention programs and for the prevention of school disadvantages. Aim: The main aim of the study was to develop a Hungarian adaptation of the Child Self-Regulation and Behavior Questionnaire (CSBQ) and to test its validity through factor analyses on a sample of 3–6-year-old children with neurotypical development (n = 724). Methods: Following the standard steps of translation, the factor structure of the questionnaire was assessed using exploratory and hierarchical factor analyses. Our analyses resulted in a 19-item questionnaire, the criterion validity of which was tested using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results: Based on the analyses of the Hungarian sample, a 19-item, bifactorial, three-dimensional Hungarian version of the Child Self-Regulation and Behavior Questionnaire was developed, which has good psychometric properties (fit indicators:. χ 2(133) = 398.71, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.948, TLI = 0.933, RMSEA = 0.074, RMSEA CI90 = 0.065–0.082), Conclusions: The Hungarian version of the Child Self-regulation and Behavior Questionnaire is a valid measurement tool and can be used with good internal reliability to study the development of self-regulation, to screen for self-regulation difficulties in preschool and during the transition period from kindergarten to elementary school, as well as aid in the field of school readiness.
Abstract
Backgrounds and aims
Family dysfunction is a significant risk factor for adolescent problematic gaming, yet few studies have investigated the bidirectional relations between changes in family dysfunction and adolescent problematic gaming and potential mediating mechanisms. This study thus examined the bidirectional relations between family dysfunction and adolescent problematic gaming and the mediating role of self-concept clarity within this relation.
Methods
Participants included 4,731 Chinese early adolescents (44.9% girls; M age = 10.91 years, SD = 0.72) who were surveyed at four time points 6 months apart.
Results
Random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling found (a) family dysfunction directly predicts increased problematic gaming, (b) adolescent problematic gaming directly predicts increased experience of family dysfunction, (c) family dysfunction indirectly predicts problematic gaming via self-concept clarity, and (d) adolescent problematic gaming indirectly predicts family dysfunction via self-concept clarity.
Discussion and conclusions
The present study suggests that adolescents may be trapped in a vicious cycle between family dysfunction and problematic gaming either directly or indirectly through impairing their self-concept clarity. Findings indicate fostering youth self-concept clarity is essential to break the vicious circle between dysfunctional experiences in the family and problematic gaming among adolescents.
Abstract
Global university rankings have always been associated with international political and economic conflicts. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic there were signs that scientific and academic globalism was breaking down. The pandemic, the various measures taken to combat it, and military and ideological conflicts have led to the breakdown of international academic cooperation, the formation of very different research complexes, and the development of new regional ranking systems.
Abstract
Background
Data implicate overlaps in neurobiological pathways involved in appetite regulation and addictive disorders. Despite different neuroendocrine measures having been associated with both gambling disorder (GD) and food addiction (FA), how appetite-regulating hormones may relate to the co-occurrence of both entities remain incompletely understood.
Aims
To compare plasma concentrations of ghrelin, leptin, adiponectin, and liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 (LEAP-2) between patients with GD, with and without FA, and to explore the association between circulating hormonal concentrations and neuropsychological and clinical features in individuals with GD and FA.
Methods
The sample included 297 patients diagnosed with GD (93.6% males). None of the patients with GD had lifetime diagnosis of an eating disorder. FA was evaluated with the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0. All patients were assessed through a semi-structured clinical interview and a psychometric battery including neuropsychological tasks. Blood samples to measure hormonal variables and anthropometric variables were also collected.
Results
From the total sample, FA was observed in 23 participants (FA+) (7.7% of the sample, 87% males). When compared participants with and without FA, those with FA+ presented both higher body mass index (BMI) (p < 0.001) and leptin concentrations, after adjusting for BMI (p = 0.013). In patients with FA, leptin concentrations positively correlated with impulsivity, poorer cognitive flexibility, and poorer inhibitory control. Other endocrine measures did not differ between groups.
Discussion and conclusions
The present study implicates leptin in co-occurring GD and FA. Among these patients, leptin concentration has been associated with clinical and neuropsychological features, such as impulsivity and cognitive performance in certain domains.
Abstract
Social chatbots powered by artificial intelligence (AI) may be particularly appealing to individuals with social deficits or conditions that affect their social functioning. In this letter, we discuss some of the noteworthy characteristics of social chatbots and how they may influence adaptive and maladaptive behaviors, including the potential for ‘dependency’ on chatbots. We call for more independent studies to evaluate the potential developmental and therapeutic effects of this increasingly popular technology.
Abstract
Background
Whilst some research has explored the impact of COVID-19 on gambling behaviour, little is yet known about online search behaviours for gambling during this period. The current study explored gambling-related online searches before, during and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. We also assessed whether search trends were related to Gambling Commission behavioural data over the same period.
Methods
Google Trends™ search data, covering thirty months from January 2020 to June 2022, for five gambling activities and five gambling operators were downloaded. Graphical displays of the weekly relative search values over this period were then produced to visualise trends in search terms, with key dates in COVID-19 policy and sporting events highlighted. Cross-correlations between seasonally adjusted monthly search data and behavioural indices were conducted.
Results
Sharp increases in internet searches for poker, slots, and bingo were evident during the first lockdown in the UK, with operator searches sharply decreasing over this period. No changes in gambling activity searches were highlighted during subsequent lockdowns, although small increases in operator-based searches were detected. Strong positive correlations were found between search data and industry data for sports betting and poker but not for slots.
Conclusions
Google Trends™ data may act as an indicator of population-level gambling behaviour. Substitution of preferred gambling activities for others may have occurred during the first lockdown when opportunities for sports betting were limited. Further research is needed to assess the effectiveness of internet search data in predicting gambling-related harm.
Abstract
Introduction
Considering adverse correlates of problematic use of internet use (PUI), the present study evaluated an intervention aimed at PUI and several putative underpinnings.
Methods
A randomized controlled trial study investigated the efficacy of emotional working memory training (eWMT) in improving impulsivity, risky decision-making, and cognitive emotion-regulation (CER) strategies among individuals with PUI in comparison with a placebo group. Young adults (N = 36) with PUI were either trained for 20 sessions in an n-back dual emotional task (eWMT; n = 18) or a feature-matching task (placebo; n = 18).
Results
Twenty continuous sessions of eWMT significantly improved participants' impulsivity, risky decision-making, CER, internet use and PUI symptoms in the short term, compared to the placebo condition.
Discussion
These preliminary results suggest that eWMT may constitute a promising intervention for PUI and improving cognitive and emotional functioning, and larger, longer studies are warranted.
Abstract
Background and aims
Research on the development of gaming disorder assumes that the quality of reinforcement learning as well as the content of use expectancies are initially rewarding in the early stages of the addictive behavior and becomes steadily more compensatory in the later stages. This assumed transition could be reflected in gaming-related mental imagery as well as the decision to play videogames in daily life.
Methods
We recruited 127 individuals who play videogames. Following a strict diagnostic procedure, individuals were either classified as showing casual or at-risk gaming patterns. The experience and expectancy of reward and relief were assessed in the laboratory, followed by a 14-day ambulatory assessment asking for gaming-related mental imagery intensity and playing frequency. Besides group differences, we tested a gratification and a compensation pathway in a structural equation model among groups separately.
Results
Results indicate that mental imagery and playing frequency as well as reinforcement processes and use expectancies are heightened among individuals showing at-risk gaming patterns as compared to casual gaming patterns. Gaming-related mental imagery was only predicted by compensation among individuals showing casual gaming patterns, and we found no significant predictions for daily gaming frequency in any of the models.
Discussion and conclusions
The results implicate that individuals with at-risk gaming patterns might hold stronger learned reinforcement contingencies. Daily usage seems unaffected by these contingencies, possibly indicative of habitualized behaviors. Additionally, the results provide some support for the consideration of imaginal desire thoughts as a specific coping mechanism in the context of gaming behaviors.
Abstract
Open science refers to a set of practices that aim to make scientific research more transparent, accessible, and reproducible, including pre-registration of study protocols, sharing of data and materials, the use of transparent research methods, and open access publishing. In this commentary, we describe and evaluate the current state of open science practices in behavioral addiction research. We highlight the specific value of open science practices for the field; discuss recent field-specific meta-scientific reviews that show the adoption of such practices remains in its infancy; address the challenges to engaging with open science; and make recommendations for how researchers, journals, and scientific institutions can work to overcome these challenges and promote high-quality, transparently reported behavioral addiction research. By collaboratively promoting open science practices, the field can create a more sustainable and productive research environment that benefits both the scientific community and society as a whole.
Abstract
Background and aims
Internet Use Disorders (IUDs) are emerging as a societal challenge. Evidence-based treatment options are scarce. Digital health interventions may be promising to deliver psychological treatment to individuals with IUDs directly in their online setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a digital health intervention for IUDs compared to a waitlist control group (WCG).
Methods
In a two-armed randomized controlled trial, N = 130 individuals showing IUDs (Internet Addiction Test; IAT ≥49) were randomly allocated to the intervention group (IG; n = 65) or WCG (n = 65). The intervention consisted of 7 sessions based on cognitive behavioral therapy. The primary outcome was IUD symptom severity measured via the IAT at post treatment 7 weeks after randomization. Secondary outcomes included IUD symptoms (Compulsive Internet Use Scale; CIUS), quality of life, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and other psychosocial variables associated with IUDs.
Results
Participants were on average 28.45 years old (SD = 10.59) and 50% identified as women, 49% as men, and 1% as non-binary. The IG (n = 65) showed significantly less IUD symptom severity (IAT) (d = 0.54, 95% CI 0.19–0.89) and symptoms (d = 0.57, 95% CI 0.22–0.92) than the WCG (n = 65) at post-treatment. Study attrition was 20%. Effects on all other secondary outcomes were not significant. On average, participants completed 67.5% of the intervention.
Discussion and Conclusions
A digital health intervention could be a promising first step to reduce IUD symptom severity.
Abstract
Background and aims
The prominent cognitive-behavioral model of hoarding posits that information processing deficits contribute to hoarding disorder. Although individuals with hoarding symptoms consistently self-report attentional and impulsivity difficulties, neuropsychological tests have inconsistently identified impairments. These mixed findings may be the result of using different neuropsychological tests, tests with poor psychometric properties, and/or testing individuals in a context that drastically differs from their own homes.
Methods
One hundred twenty-three participants (hoarding = 63; control = 60) completed neuropsychological tests of sustained attention, focused attention, and response inhibition in cluttered and tidy environments in a counterbalanced order.
Results
Hoarding participants demonstrated poorer sustained attention and response inhibition than the control group (CPT-3 Omission and VST scores) and poorer response inhibition in the cluttered environment than when in the tidy environment (VST scores). CPT-3 Detectability and Commission scores also indicated that hoarding participants had greater difficulty sustaining attention and inhibiting responses than the control group; however, these effect sizes were just below the lowest practically meaningful magnitude. Posthoc exploratory analyses demonstrated that fewer than one-third of hoarding participants demonstrated sustained attention and response inhibition difficulties and that these participants reported greater hoarding severity and greater distress in the cluttered room.
Discussion and conclusions
Given these findings and other studies showing that attentional difficulties may be a transdiagnostic factor for psychopathology, future studies will want to explore whether greater sustained attention and response inhibition difficulties in real life contexts contribute to comorbidity and functional impairment in hoarding disorder.
Abstract
Questions are currently being posed concerning the implications of the clinical uptake of psychedelics. While enthusiasm surrounds the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelics and critique surrounds their appropriation to commercial ends, limited attention has been given to the role of psychedelics in generating social transformation. Herbert Marcuse contended radical change requires ‘new imaginaries of liberation’. We consider whether clinical uptake of psychedelics may produce the perceptual shifts necessary to generate social transformation surrounding contemporary alienating conditions. Economic structures contributing to these alienating conditions are highly resistant to change and may neuter psychedelics' revolutionary potential. We illustrate how psychedelics may be instrumentalised: regulating individuals into unjust systems; redirecting psychedelic usage away from therapeutic ends towards productivity; distracting or diverting attention from systemic forms of control; usurping non-ordinary states into the domain of self-care; and fetishistically commodifying psychedelic experience as a consumable. There are, however, reasons to believe that psychedelics, in raising consciousnesses, may prove resistant to co-option. In particular, psychedelics induce perceptual experiences that: challenge the paradigmatic assumptions of industrial society by provoking alternative epistemologies and metaphysics; generate expanded or ecological constructions of selfhood, thereby offering resignifications of meanings, desires, and life potentials; and offer the enriched phenomenological insight into self, other, and world called for in combating ubiquitous social alienation. In this way, psychedelics may induce the revolution in perception necessary to imagine liberatory potentials and spark the desire for collective emancipation.
Abstract
Objective and Method
Electronic gambling machines are a prominent cause of significant gambling harms globally. We use simulations of a simplified video poker game to show how changes in game volatility, defined primarily by the size of the main prize, affect patterns of wins and losses as well as winning streaks.
Results
We found that in low- and medium volatility games the proportion of winning players quickly drops to zero after about 30 h of play, while in the high volatility game 5% of players are still winning after playing for 100 h. However, the proportion of winning streaks was significantly higher in the low- and medium volatility games compared with high volatility: the simulated players were on a winning streak about 26.3, 25.6 and 18% of the time in the low-, medium- and high volatility games, respectively.
Conclusions
Fast-paced video poker with varying volatility levels but identical return-to-player rates and win frequencies can yield highly different result patterns across individuals. These patterns may be counter-intuitive for players and difficult to realize without simulations and visualizations. We argue that the findings have relevance for responsible gambling communication and for building a better understanding of how cognitive biases influence gambling behaviour.
Abstract
Background and Aims
While many scholars have called attention to similarities between the earlier SSRI hype and the ongoing hype for psychedelic medications, the rhetoric of psychedelic hype is tinged with utopian and esoteric aspirations that have no parallel in the discourse surrounding SSRIs or other antidepressants. This utopian discourse provides insight into the ways that global tech elites are instrumentalizing both psychedelics and artificial intelligence (AI) as tools in a broader world-building project that justifies increasing material inequality. If realized, this project would undermine the use of both tools for prosocial and pro-environmental outcomes.
Methods
My argument develops through rhetorical analysis of the ways that industry leaders envision the future of medicalized psychedelics in their public communications. I draw on examples from media interviews, blog posts, podcasts, and press releases to underscore the persuasive strategies and ideological commitments that are driving the movement to transform psychedelics into pharmaceutical medications.
Results
Counterfactual efforts to improve mental health by increasing inequality are widespread in the psychedelics industry. These efforts have been propelled by an elitist worldview that is widely-held in Silicon Valley. The backbone of this worldview is the TESCREAL bundle of ideologies, which describes an interrelated cluster of belief systems: transhumanism, Extropianism, singularitarianism, cosmism, Rationalism, Effective Altruism, and longtermism.
Conclusions
This article demonstrates that TESCREALism is a driving force in major segments of the psychedelic pharmaceutical industry, where it is influencing the design of extractive systems that directly contradict the field's world-healing aspirations. These findings contribute to a developing subfield of critical psychedelic studies, which interrogates the political and economic implications of psychedelic medicalization.
Abstract
Background and Aims
Advocates of psychedelic medicine have positioned psychedelics as a novel therapeutic intervention that will solve the mental health crisis by liberating individuals from their entrenched habits and limiting beliefs. Despite claims for novelty, the psychedelics industry is engaging in the same profit-oriented approaches that contributed to poor clinical outcomes with SSRIs and other earlier pharmaceuticals, which threatens to undermine their purported clinical benefits.
Methods
We present evidence that the liberatory rhetoric of psychedelic medicalization promotes neoliberal, individualised treatments for distress, which distracts from collective efforts to address root causes of suffering through systemic change. Drawing examples from the psychedelics industry, we illustrate how the discourse of psychedelic medicalisation subjects socially-determined distress to psychotropic intervention through the mechanisms of depoliticisation, productivisation, pathologisation, commodification, and de-collectivisation.
Results
Rather than disrupting or subverting the psychopharmaceutical status quo, the psychedelic industry's current instantiation aligns with and upholds key facets of neoliberal ideology by adhering to the same facilitative mechanisms that scholars identified in the antidepressant industry. We identify these common mechanisms in examples unique to the psychedelics industry, including the search for psychedelic analogues and political lobbying to reschedule psychedelics.
Conclusion
We demonstrate how a neoliberal mental health paradigm that individualises and interiorizes mental distress cannot meaningfully resolve suffering with ubiquitous origins in the current sociopolitical environment, which is characterised by inequality, precarity, exploitation, and ecological collapse. As a result, psychedelics must decouple from neoliberal incentives, and demonstrate efficacy, if they are to facilitate durable improvements in well-being and prosocial outcomes.
A Morbid Kíváncsiság Skála magyar nyelvű változatának adaptációja
Adaptation of the Hungarian version of the Morbid Curiosity Scale: MCS validation
Háttér és célkitűzések
Az erőszakos, kellemetlen vagy halálhoz köthető tartalmak iránti érdeklődés a morbid kíváncsiság mértékével jellemezhető. Az ilyen tartalmak általában félelmet, undort, illetve elkerülő viselkedést váltanak ki, ugyanakkor egyes embereket a kiváltott arousal emelkedés miatt mégis vonzanak. A jelenség részletesebb feltárásával pontosabb képet kaphatunk arról, milyen tényezők játszanak szerepet olyan specifikus fóbiák esetén, ahol mind az undor, mind pedig a félelem releváns érzelmi reakció. A jelen tanulmány célja a Morbid Kíváncsiság Skála pszichometriai elemzése egy megfelelően nagy és az életkor szempontjából diverz magyar anyanyelvű mintán.
Módszer
A kutatás során összesen 592 fő (442 nő, 150 férfi) töltötte ki a kérdőívcsomagot. A kitöltők átlagéletkora 34,2 év (SD: 10,64; terjedelem: 18–73 év). A Morbid Kíváncsiság Skála mellett a résztvevők a Szenzoros Élménykereséses Skálát és az Undorérzékenység Skálát töltötték ki. A Morbid Kíváncsiság Skála pszichometriai mutatóit klasszikus és modern tesztelméleti eljárásokkal is ellenőriztük.
Eredmények
A Morbid Kíváncsiság Skála megfelelő pszichometriai mutatókkal rendelkezik a vizsgált magyar mintán. A kérdőív tételei megfelelően diszkriminálnak a látens változó különböző szintjeivel rendelkező kitöltők között, és a kérdőív megbízhatóan mér az átlaghoz viszonyított kétszeres szórástartományban. A kérdőív összpontszáma és alskáláinak pontszámai pozitív irányú összefüggést mutattak a szenzoros élménykereséssel, míg az összpontszám, az Erőszak és a Test megsértése alksálák pedig az undorérzékenységgel mutattak negatív irányú kapcsolatot.
Következtetések
Mindent összevetve eredményeink alapján a Morbid Kíváncsiság Skála magyar mintán is megbízható és érvényes kérdőív. A kérdőív releváns eszköz lehet kellemetlen vagy undorító tartalmakhoz való viszonyulás mérésére, a megközelítő-elkerülő viselkedéses rendszer vizsgálatára; mind kutatások, mind pedig terápiák során utánkövetésre.
Psychedelics and critical theory
A response to Hauskeller's individualization and alienation in psychedelic psychotherapy
Abstract
In the monograph Philosophy and Psychedelics: Frameworks for Exceptional Experience, Hauskeller raises the important subject of individualization and alienation in psychedelic psychotherapy. Under the prevailing conditions of neoliberalism, Hauskeller contends that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy appropriates Indigenous knowledges in an oppressive fashion, may be instrumentalised to the ends of productivity gain and symptom suppression, and may be utilised to mask societal systems of alienation. Whilst offering a valuable socio-political critique of psychedelics' clinical uptake, we suggest that Hauskeller's view does not adequately acknowledge the ways in which psychedelics offer a challenge to the Western reductive bio-medical understanding of healing and wellbeing. It is contended herein that Indigenous knowledges, in alliance with a range of emerging sciences, offer both an engagement with ethnomedicines in a less harmfully appropriative fashion, and a renewed understanding of the means by which psychedelics achieve therapeutic change. With this understanding, what becomes apparent are the potential ways in which psychedelic medical usage may produce positive feedback upon the oppressive systems in which we are embedded. That is, transpersonal experience through encounters with the ineffable may offer a revisioning of Western psychology and cognitive science. Indeed, if psychedelics are approached with an understanding of the actual means by which they produce therapeutic outcomes—changing mental representations of the self, or self-insight derived through non-ordinary states of consciousness—then psychedelic psychotherapy offers a reimagining of psychiatric nosology, challenging conventional understandings of both pathology and wellbeing through an overturning of specified and discrete deficit models of psychopathology. This may provide both a critique of the prevailing categories used to describe madness and an expansion of our understanding of the mind-body relation, as well as an increased recognition of positive psychology grounded in cross-cultural contemplative traditions. This provides an implicit challenge to the pharmaceutical industrial-complex and its profit motives; and the corresponding neoliberalist, globalising tendencies which Hauskeller seeks to address.
Abstract
Background and aims
Problematic Internet use (PIU) has become a global public health problem. It has been suggested that parenting style is associated with adolescent PIU. However, the evidence in favor of this view is mixed. Based on the PRISMA method, the present study employed three-level meta-analysis approach to investigate the relationship between these two variables and further explore potential moderators.
Methods
After a systematic search for published articles, 35 studies were included, reporting 171 effect sizes (N = 40,587).
Results
The results showed that positive parenting styles were significantly negatively related to PIU. This association was moderated by gender, age, publication year, and measurements of PIU, but was not by culture and measurements of parenting styles. Negative parenting styles were significantly positively related to PIU, which was moderated by publication year, culture, and sub-types of negative parenting, but not by gender, age, and measurements of both parenting styles and PIU. In addition, the correlation of PIU with negative parenting styles was stronger than that with positive parenting styles.
Discussion and Conclusions
The present results demonstrated that parenting styles, especially punitive parenting styles, should be attached to more important when treating adolescent PIU.
Abstract
Introduction
It is not known how self-perception and self-recognition are influenced when one is highly self-focused under the influence of psilocybin. Here we examine self-reports of mirror self-recognition and self-perception during a psilocybin experience.
Methods
Reddit posts were examined in a systematic manner. Posts that were written by individuals that ingested psilocybin and subsequently looked in a mirror were examined. After both automatic and manual filtering, a total of 89 posts with 775 post excerpts were analyzed.
Results
It was found that it was rare to see one's own face as a different entity (e.g., an animal or other person) however people were equally likely to see themselves as they really are or distorted. People were significantly more positive than negative when perceiving their own face.
Discussion
We found wide variation in the perception of the own-face while under the influence of psilocybin. While generally positive, the self-face appears to be an experience that varies dramatically from person to person under the influence of psilocybin.
Abstract
Background and aims
Microdosing psychedelics refers to the practice of repeatedly ingesting doses that do not reach the threshold for perceptual alterations. This practice has gained attention from mass media, businesses, and the general public, as evidenced by the proliferation of online communities dedicated to it. In this contribution, we examine the content generated within the online community r/microdosing from its creation on October 16, 2013, until the day of data collection on October 31, 2020. Our aim is to examine the narratives reflected by users' contributions, specifically the compatibility or incompatibility of spiritual and scientific narratives.
Methods
In this contribution, we used text analysis techniques and examined the content generated within the online community r/microdosing from its creation on October 16, 2013, until the day of data collection on October 31, 2020.
Results
We clearly identified a topic that reflects a spirituality narrative as well as a topic that we coined as “neuro-cognition” and that reflects a scientific narrative. These topics were typically not present within the contributions of the same users, suggesting that the scientific and spiritual narratives are segregated within the r/subreddit community.
Conclusion
Our approach emphasizes the potential of text analytic techniques for uncovering the cultural repertoire surrounding a particular practice, in our case, the practice of microdosing psychedelics.
Negative mystical experiences
Why methods for determining mysticality of psychedelic experiences should not include measuring positivity of mood
Abstract
I propose that positive mood should not be among the criteria for determining when or if psychedelic experiences are mystical. My primary reasons are: 1) unlike rare proposed mystical criteria such as feelings of self-dissolution and time-transcendence, positive mood does not clearly separate mystical experiences from other emotionally powerful experiences like being in love; 2) other proposed mystical criteria can occur with non-positive moods; and 3) it is not true that framing all mystical experiences with only positive mood is more pragmatic.
Behavioral addictions in the ICD-11: An important debate that is anticipated to continue for some time
Commentary to the debate: “Behavioral addictions in the ICD-11”
Abstract
The Journal of Behavioral Addictions featured a debate on the topic of “behavioral addictions in ICD-11” in 2022. Three main debate papers were published and a total of eleven commentaries. One main topic of considerations in the three debate papers and in the majority of commentaries was compulsive sexual behavior disorder. The debate was balanced, collegial and conducted at a high scientific level. Although there are some disagreements regarding specific details, all authors consider more research on behavioral addictions as important. This scientific debate has been and continues to be enormously important to behavioral addiction research and clinical practice.
Abstract
Background and Aims
Problem gambling constitutes a public health concern associated with psychopathological comorbidity, substance use, and financial difficulties. Most individuals with gambling problems avoid counseling services due to perceived stigma and their preference for self-reliance. Treatment accessibility could be improved through web-based interventions.
Methods
We recruited 360 individuals with gambling problems and randomized them to a web-based intervention (n = 185) or an active control group consisting of a self-help manual for problem gambling (n = 175). The primary outcome was the number of days of gambling in the last 30 days. Secondary outcomes included money spent in the last 30 days, time gambling in the last 7 days, gambling-related problems, consumption of alcohol and cigarettes, and psychopathological comorbidity measured at posttreatment and 6-month follow-up.
Results
The primary outcome decreased significantly for both groups, with no significant difference between the groups. There were significant group × time interactions according to the Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale (F = 8.83, p <0 .001), the Problem Gambling Severity Index (F = 3.54, p = 0.030), for cigarettes smoked in the last 7 days (F = 26.68, p < 0.001), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (F = 19.41, p <0 .001), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (F = 41.09, p <0 .001) favoring the intervention group. We experienced an overall high dropout rate (76%).
Conclusions
Win Back Control seems to be an effective low-threshold treatment option for individuals with gambling problems that might otherwise be unapproachable for outpatient treatment services. Nevertheless, the high dropout rate should be considered when interpreting the study results, as they may have introduced a degree of variability.