Since October 2023, families across Israel have been living under conditions of continuous traumatic stress (CTS): ongoing, unresolved threat due to repeated rounds of regional conflict. Demand for mental health support has far outstripped the capacity of clinician-delivered services, leaving many families without evidence-based help. This community case study describes the development and early implementation of ADAPT-Israel. To our knowledge, this is likely to be the first population-level, parenting-centered public health approach designed for families living under CTS. The initiative uses a tiered model to provide parenting support across layers of care: (i) a universal layer of brief, trauma-informed public health messages and a self-directed, interactive online parenting program (with an optional AI avatar guide); (ii) a selective layer of facilitator-delivered ADAPT groups for live higher-risk families, beginning with families of long-serving military reservists; and (iii) an indicated layer of individual telehealth support for families experiencing clinical levels of difficulty. The approach adapts Adaptive Parenting Tools/ADAPT, an evidence-based program grounded in Social Interaction Learning theory and validated in a different context – for military families in the United States across three randomized controlled trials with nearly 1,000 military families. We describe the rationale, the methodology used to develop each tier, and early implementation experience. Feasibility and acceptability indicators from initial pilot groups are promising, including high group completion and positive participant reports of improved parenting and family relationships, though these are small-sample, self-report, early-stage findings rather than effectiveness evidence. We discuss practical implications, lessons learned, and the model’s potential utility in settings of protracted conflict and chronic threat.
The impact of social media use on appearance anxiety among college students —the chain mediating effect of upward social comparison and envy
BackgroundThe widespread adoption of digital media has reshaped young people’s aesthetic experiences. The abundance of idealized and digitally enhanced appearance-related content on social media has made appearance anxiety increasingly prevalent among university students. However, the psychological pathways linking social media use to appearance anxiety require systematic examination. This study examined the relationship between social media use and appearance anxiety among university students and tested the chain mediating roles of upward social comparison and envy.MethodsUsing convenience sampling, 1,640 university students in China completed the Social Media Use Intensity Scale, Appearance Anxiety Scale, Upward Social Comparison Scale, and Envy Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and PROCESS Model 6 analysis with 5,000 percentile bootstrap samples were used to examine the relationship between social media use and appearance anxiety and the chain mediating effects of upward social comparison and envy. All regression equations controlled for gender, educational level, and average daily social media use time.Results(1) Social media use was significantly and positively associated with appearance anxiety among university students. (2) Upward social comparison mediated the relationship between social media use and appearance anxiety. (3) Envy mediated the relationship between social media use and appearance anxiety. (4) Upward social comparison and envy showed a significant chain mediating effect in the relationship between social media use and appearance anxiety.ConclusionThis study provided preliminary cross-sectional evidence for an appearance-anxiety-specific comparison–envy pattern linking social media use to appearance anxiety among university students. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for aesthetic education and media literacy education in higher education within the digital media environment. They may also help guide university students toward more rational aesthetic perceptions, reduced appearance anxiety, and improved physical and mental well-being.
Regional Conference: Investing in Mental Health for Resilient Societies
Mental health is increasingly recognised as a societal priority across Europe, but that recognition has not yet turned into the sustained, cross-sector investment people and communities need. Investing in mental health means investing in education, employment, housing, social protection and community support, not only in health services.
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Forty percent of high school students report binge eating in new CDC survey
About 40% of high school students reported binge eating in the past month in a large new government survey, putting a spotlight on how widespread this common form of disordered eating is among young people in the U.S.
This is the first time the biennial survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has asked about binge eating, and the first data on disordered eating collected by the Youth Risk Behavior Survey in a decade. Among its other striking findings: 17% of nearly 7,000 students said they had engaged in binge eating within the last three days. “It was extremely alarming seeing how high those numbers were,” said Ariel Beccia, a researcher in the adolescent and children’s medicine division of Boston Children’s Hospital.
Interactive Massage Intervention in Toddlers With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Conditions: Autism
Interventions: Behavioral: Maternal Interactive Massage; Behavioral: Behavioral
Sponsors: Children’s Hospital of Fudan University
Recruiting
Interventions: Behavioral: Maternal Interactive Massage; Behavioral: Behavioral
Sponsors: Children’s Hospital of Fudan University
Recruiting
Effectiveness of Enhanced Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training Group for Borderline Personality Disorder
Conditions: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD); Dialectical Behavior Therapy; Public Health; Suicide Behavior; Self Harm
Interventions: Behavioral: Enhanced Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training; Behavioral: Dialectical Behavior Therapy; Behavioral: Treatment as Usual (TAU)
Sponsors: Hospital Dr Sotero del Rio; MIDAP Millennium Institute for Research in Depression and Personality; Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile; Servicio de Salud Metropolitano Sur Oriente; University of Chile; Universidad de los Andes, Chile; Universidad del Desarrollo
Recruiting
Interventions: Behavioral: Enhanced Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training; Behavioral: Dialectical Behavior Therapy; Behavioral: Treatment as Usual (TAU)
Sponsors: Hospital Dr Sotero del Rio; MIDAP Millennium Institute for Research in Depression and Personality; Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile; Servicio de Salud Metropolitano Sur Oriente; University of Chile; Universidad de los Andes, Chile; Universidad del Desarrollo
Recruiting
Self-Compassion Based Psychoeducation Program for Adolescents With Adverse Childhood Experiences
Conditions: Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adolescent Mental Health
Interventions: Behavioral: Brief Self-Compassion Intervention Program (BSCIP)
Sponsors: Ahmet Alkal
Completed
Interventions: Behavioral: Brief Self-Compassion Intervention Program (BSCIP)
Sponsors: Ahmet Alkal
Completed
Feasibility and Preliminary Outcomes of Compassion-Focused Group Therapy for Depression and Anxiety
Conditions: Depression / Major Depressive Disorder; Anxiety Disorder (Panic Disorder or GAD)
Interventions: Behavioral: Compassion-Focused Group Therapy (CFT)
Sponsors: Karolinska Institutet
Completed
Interventions: Behavioral: Compassion-Focused Group Therapy (CFT)
Sponsors: Karolinska Institutet
Completed
Altered attention network dynamics in resting-state fMRI of individuals with high smartphone addiction scores
IntroductionAltered attention network activity has been consistently reported in recent neuroimaging literature of smartphone addiction and problematic smartphone use. However, many functional imaging studies have relied on traditional static functional connectivity analyses, which cannot capture time-varying or recurrent dynamics of attention networks.MethodsGiven the importance of temporal and spatial dynamics for attentional processing, we applied two complementary dynamic functional connectivity approaches: functional connectivity-based attractor networks (fcANN), which characterize transitions between discrete attractor states related to internal-external context and action-perception dynamics, and cPCA-based quasi-periodic pattern (QPP) analysis, which captures phase relationships between cortical networks including the default mode network, dorsal attention network, and frontoparietal control network.ResultsIn a resting-state fMRI dataset comparing participants with High and Low SAS-M scores (SAS-M: Smartphone addiction scale-Malay version questionnaire), we observed context-dependent differences in DMN-attention-network relationships across attractor states. The most consistent effects emerged during transitions between internal and external attractor states, where subjects with high smartphone addiction (SPA) scores showed greater DMN dominance relative to attention-related networks. For DMN-FPN, these differences correlated with subject SAS-M scores.DiscussionOverall, these findings provide preliminary evidence that smartphone addiction may be associated with altered large-scale attentional dynamics at rest, warranting further investigation in larger and more diverse samples.
[Comment] Action needed to address HbA1C and weight increases in people initiating antipsychotic medicines
Juan Bazo-Alvarez and colleagues1 present a compelling study investigating trajectories of HbA1C concentration and bodyweight before and after the initiation of second-generation antipsychotic medicines in adults living with severe mental illness (SMI). The findings provide valuable real-world data from electronic health records in England on the metabolic alterations that emerge early after antipsychotic initiation. Several important findings stand out from the study. First, increases in HbA1C concentration were not proportional to weight gain.