Experiences of childhood trauma (CT) are associated with increased psychological vulnerability. Past research suggests that CT might alter stress processing with a subsequent negative impact on mental health. However, it is currently unclear how different domains of CT exert effects on specific subjective experiences of stress during adulthood.

In the present study, we used network analysis to explore the complex interplay between distinct domains of CT and perceived stress in a large, general-population sample of middle-aged adults (N = 1252). We used a data-driven community-detection algorithm to identify strongly connected subgroups of items within the network. To assess the replicability of the findings, we repeated the analyses in a second sample (N = 862). Combining data from both samples, we evaluated network differences between men (n = 955) and women (n = 1159).

Results indicate specific associations between distinct domains of CT and perceived stress. CT domains reflecting a dimension of deprivation, i.e. experiences of neglect, were associated exclusively to a stress network community representing low perceived self-efficacy. By contrast, CT associated with threat, i.e. experiences of abuse, was specifically related to a stress community reflecting perceived helplessness. Our results replicated with high accordance in the second sample. We found no difference in network structure between men and women, but overall a stronger connected network in women.

Our findings emphasize the unique role of distinct domains of CT in psychological stress processes in adulthood, implying opportunities for targeted interventions following distinct domains of CT.

This study aimed to explore the impacts of COVID-19 outbreak on mental health status in general population in different affected areas in China.

This was a comparative study including two groups of participants: (1) general population in an online survey in Ya'an and Jingzhou cities during the COVID-19 outbreak from 10–20 February 2020; and (2) matching general population selected from the mental health survey in Ya'an in 2019 (from January to May 2019). General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) were used.

There were 1775 participants (Ya'an in 2019 and 2020: 537 respectively; Jingzhou in 2020: 701). Participants in Ya'an had a significantly higher rate of general health problems (GHQ scores ⩾3) in 2020 (14.7%) than in 2019 (5.2%) (p < 0.001). Compared with Ya'an (8.0%), participants in Jingzhou in 2020 had a significantly higher rate of anxiety (SAS scores ⩾50, 24.1%) (p < 0.001). Participants in Ya'an in 2020 had a significantly higher rate of depression (SDS scores ⩾53, 55.3%) than in Jingzhou (16.3%) (p < 0.001). The risk factors of anxiety symptoms included female, number of family members (⩾6 persons), and frequent outdoor activities. The risk factors of depression symptoms included participants in Ya'an and uptake self-protective measures.

The prevalence of psychological symptoms has increased sharply in general population during the COVID-19 outbreak. People in COVID-19 severely affected areas may have higher scores of GHQ and anxiety symptoms. Culture-specific and individual-based psychosocial interventions should be developed for those in need during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Although the association between cannabis use and a wide range of psychiatric symptoms is fairly well established, it is not clear whether cannabis use is also a risk factor for general mental health problems at secondary school.

A total of 10 324 secondary school children aged 11–16 years, participating in an ongoing Public Health Service School Survey, gave information on demographics, substance use, school factors and stressful life events and completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

Cannabis use in the past month was associated with a clinically relevant score on the SDQ [unadjusted odds ratio (OR) 4.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.46–5.76]. Other risk factors associated with poor psychosocial functioning were: a low level of education, alcohol use, cigarette smoking, hard drug use, frequent truancy, an unfavourable school evaluation, feeling unsafe at school, being victimized, frequent absence due to illness, a mentally ill parent, molestation by a parent, financial problems and feeling distressed by an adverse event. In a full model adjusting for these risk factors, cannabis was not significantly associated with mental health problems, although an association at trend level was apparent. Of these risk factors, regular alcohol use, cigarette smoking, hard drug use, frequent truancy, an unfavourable school evaluation and frequent absence due to illness were also associated with cannabis use.

The association between cannabis use and poor psychosocial functioning in adolescence is due, at least in part, to confounding by other risk factors. Thus, cannabis use can best be viewed as an indicator of risk for mental health problems in adolescence.

Prior research on the nature of the vulnerability of neuroticism to psychopathology suggests biases in information processing towards emotional rather than neutral information. It is unclear to what extent this relationship can be explained by genetic or environmental factors.

The genetic relationship between a neuroticism composite score and free recall of pleasant and unpleasant words and the reaction time on negative probes (dot-probe task) was investigated in 125 female twin pairs. Interaction effects were modelled to test whether the correlation between neuroticism and cognitive measures depended on the level of the neuroticism score.

The only significant correlation was between neuroticism and the proportion of recalled unpleasant words (heritability is 30%), and was only detectable at the higher end of the neuroticism distribution. This interaction effect seems to be due to environmental effects that make people in the same family more similar (e.g. parental discipline style), rather than genetic factors. An interesting sub-finding was that faster reaction times for left versus right visual field probes in the dot-probe task suggest that cognitive processing in the right hemisphere is more sensitive to subliminal (biologically relevant) cues and that this characteristic is under substantial genetic control (49%). Individual differences in reaction times on right visual field probes were due to environmental effects only.

There is no evidence that the predisposition of individuals to focus on negative (emotional) stimuli is a possible underlying genetic mechanism of neuroticism.

The past two decades have seen a great improvement in the care of people with Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS), particularly with regard to control of diet and behaviour management. Has this affected mortality rates or thrown up new issues regarding premature ageing or dementia? We investigated two aspects of ageing in people with PWS: (1) an estimate of mortality over 9 years in a cohort of people with PWS, originally recruited in 1998–2000; and (2) premature ageing or dementia in people aged ⩾40 years.

(1) A follow-up of the population-based 1998–2000 cohort to investigate the subsequent mortality rate; and (2) the recruitment and structured assessment of all members of the Prader–Willi Syndrome Association UK (PWSA-UK) aged ⩾40 years who agreed to participate.

Follow-up of the population-based 1998–2000 cohort gave a mortality rate of at least 7/62 over 9 years (1.25% per annum; 20 untraced), age at death was between 13 and 59 years. Twenty-six members of the PWSA-UK aged ⩾40 years were recruited, 18 of whom had a genetic diagnosis (gd) of PWS. Twenty-two (14 gd) showed no evidence of dementia. Four, with possible symptoms, are described in more detail; all are female, of maternal uniparental disomy (mUPD) genetic subtype, or have a disomic region, and all have a long history of psychotic illness.

The mortality rate in people with PWS seems to be declining. The subgroup of people with PWS due to UPD or disomic region with female gender and a history of psychosis may be at risk of early onset dementia.

A congenital heart defect (CHD) can increase the risk of mental health problems in affected children and their parents. The extent to which risk factors for these problems are shared in families or are specific to the individual family member is unclear.

Prospective data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa; n = 93 009) were linked with a nationwide CHD registry, and 408 children with CHD were identified. Mothers' reports on child internalizing problems and their own distress were assessed by questionnaires at child ages 6, 18 and 36 months. A structural model was applied to distinguish between familial (shared) factors and individual-specific factors for mental health problems.

CHD was a substantial risk factor for problems in children and their mothers at all time points. CHD contributed on average 31% and 39% to the variance in children's and mothers' problems respectively. Both shared familial and individual-specific factors unique to CHD families contributed to risk for mental health problems. Whereas individual-specific risk factors contributed to the stability of problems in mothers, the effect of these factors lasted only a short time in children. Mutual influences over time were found between the mother's and the child's mental health at 18 and 36 months.

The burden of CHD in a child is shared between family members but is also specific to the individual. This study points to a need for both an individual and a family-based approach to provide psychological support to children with CHD and their parents.

Poor sleep is a modifiable risk factor for multiple disorders. Frontline treatments (e.g. cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia) have limitations, prompting a search for alternative approaches. Here, we compare manualized Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Insomnia (MBTI) with a Sleep Hygiene, Education, and Exercise Program (SHEEP) in improving subjective and objective sleep outcomes in older adults.

We conducted a single-site, parallel-arm trial, with blinded assessments collected at baseline, post-intervention and 6-months follow-up. We randomized 127 participants aged 50–80, with a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score ⩾5, to either MBTI (n = 65) or SHEEP (n = 62), both 2 hr weekly group sessions lasting 8 weeks. Primary outcomes included PSQI and Insomnia Severity Index, and actigraphy- and polysomnography-measured sleep onset latency (SOL) and wake after sleep onset (WASO).

Intention-to-treat analysis showed reductions in insomnia severity in both groups [MBTI: Cohen's effect size d = −1.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) −1.61 to −0.89; SHEEP: d = −0.69, 95% CI −0.96 to −0.43], with significantly greater improvement in MBTI. Sleep quality improved equivalently in both groups (MBTI: d = −1.19; SHEEP: d = −1.02). No significant interaction effects were observed in objective sleep measures. However, only MBTI had reduced WASOactigraphy (MBTI: d = −0.30; SHEEP: d = 0.02), SOLactigraphy (MBTI: d = −0.25; SHEEP: d = −0.09), and WASOPSG (MBTI: d = −0.26; SHEEP (d = −0.18). There was no change in SOLPSG. No participants withdrew because of adverse effects.

MBTI is effective at improving subjective and objective sleep quality in older adults, and could be a valid alternative for persons who have failed or do not have access to standard frontline therapies.

Although relapse in psychosis is common, a small proportion of patients will not relapse in the long term. We examined the proportion and predictors of patients who never relapsed in the 10 years following complete resolution of positive symptoms from their first psychotic episode.

Patients who previously enrolled in a 12-month randomized controlled trial on medication discontinuation and relapse following first-episode psychosis (FEP) were followed up after 10 years. Relapse of positive symptoms was operationalized as a change from a Clinical Global Impression scale positive score of <3 for at least 3 consecutive months to a score of ⩾3 (mild or more severe). Baseline predictors included basic demographics, premorbid functioning, symptoms, functioning, and neurocognitive functioning.

Out of 178 first-episode patients, 37 (21%) never relapsed during the 10-year period. Univariate predictors (p ⩽ 0.1) of patients who never relapsed included a duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) ⩽30 days, diagnosed with non-schizophrenia spectrum disorders, having less severe negative symptoms, and performing better in logical memory immediate recall and verbal fluency tests. A multivariate logistic regression analysis further suggested that the absence of any relapsing episodes was significantly related to better short-term verbal memory, shorter DUP, and non-schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Treatment delay and neurocognitive function are potentially modifiable predictors of good long-term prognosis in FEP. These predictors are informative as they can be incorporated into an optimum risk prediction model in the future, which would help with clinical decision making regarding maintenance treatment in FEP.

Results of studies on antisaccade (AS) deficit in relatives of patients with schizophrenia are inconclusive. We hypothesized that AS performance in siblings of patients with schizophrenia is worse than in healthy controls and better than in patients with schizophrenia.

We included 55 first-episode patients with schizophrenia, 28 healthy siblings and 36 healthy controls to evaluate AS performance. Eye movements were measured electromagnetically by the double magnetic induction (DMI) method.

Patients with schizophrenia had a significantly higher error rate than siblings (d=0.86, p<0.0001) and controls (d=1.35, p<0.0001). Siblings had a higher mean error rate than healthy controls but this did not reach significance (d=0.56, p=0.29). The intra-class correlation (ICC) was 0.33 for the error rate. Mean AS gain was higher in siblings than in patients (d=0.75, p=0.004) and controls (d=0.6, p=0.05). The ICC was 0.08.

AS parameters in strictly screened healthy young siblings of young first-episode patients with schizophrenia are comparable to results found in studies investigating older relatives. However, the statistical results (i.e. the ICCs) suggest that there is little evidence of shared environmental or genetic factors on error rate variation.