Prevention of excessive co-rumination in adolescent girls: Theoretical mini review with a critical integrative intervention perspective
Patricia Vuijk*, Per Norrgren
Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Research Centre Innovations in Care and Research Centre Urban Talent, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Co-rumination, defined as repetitive and emotionally focused problem talk between peers, has been consistently associated with heightened risk for internalising symptoms during adolescence, particularly among girls. Despite growing evidence of its emotional and physiological costs, co-rumination remains common within close friendships, raising the question of why this interaction pattern persists. In this theoretical, integrative mini review, we described developmental, physiological, and interpersonal research to clarify mechanisms that sustain excessive co-rumination in adolescent girls. We argue that co-rumination becomes self-reinforcing through the interaction of heightened emotional distress, consciously experienced relational reassurance, and unresolved uncertainty. While early stress appraisal processes during co-rumination may operate largely outside awareness, the reassurance, validation, and relational closeness experienced during and after these interactions are accessible to awareness and shape learning and future expectations. Building on this framework, we outline the working mechanisms of the recently developed Happy Friends, Positive Minds intervention program that focus on interrupting the relief-without-resolution loop and the prevention of co-rumination and associated anxiety and depression symptoms, while preserving disclosure and relational closeness within friendships.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/2.1368 View / Download PdfPerfectionism, Mind-wandering, and a Global Pandemic
Emilie E. Caron1*, Allison C. Drody1, Jonathan S. A. Carriere2, James Danckert1, Daniel Smilek1
1Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
2Department of Psychology, Bishop’s University, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
The current study explored how individual differences in perfectionism cognitions relate to people’s perceived changes in their mind-wandering experiences (spontaneous and deliberate) since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals (Nanalyzed = 382) completed the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory and reported relative judgments of change between their current mind-wandering experiences (measured Summer 2021) and their remembered experiences from before the COVID-19 disruption. Results revealed that as perfectionism cognitions increased, there were greater perceived increases in both spontaneous and deliberate mind-wandering. Moreover, perfectionism cognitions independently predicted spontaneous and deliberate mind-wandering even after accounting for the established shared variance between these two types of mind-wandering. These findings highlight the significance of considering individual differences when assessing the impact of global crises on attention.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/1.1358 View / Download PdfSchema mode networks for borderline, avoidant and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Jorinde Derrix1, Milan Zarchev2, Hester V. Eeren3, Marieke van Geffen1,4*
1De Viersprong National Institute of Personality Disorders, Halsteren, The Netherlands
2Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
3Department of Psychiatry, Section Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Erasmus University Medical Center, CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands
4Department of Management Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, HK Nijmegen, The Netherlands
This study aims to examine differences between schema mode networks of borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders. We seek to determine whether the networks identified through network analysis align with theoretical assumptions about each disorder’s mode model.
We conducted a cross-sectional study using the Short Schema Mode Inventory (SMI) data from client of The Viersprong, National Institute of Personality Disorders that started treatment between 2012–2023. Diagnoses were based on Structured Clinical Interview interviews, and we focused on patients with borderline (n=386), avoidant (n=504), and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (n=129). Network analyses were performed on the 14 schema modes as measured by the SMI using regularized partial correlations. Centrality metrics and group comparisons were conducted to examine diagnostic differences in mode networks.
Significant mean differences were found across all schema modes between the three groups. The networks for the borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders groups were of considerable similarity.
Contrary to our hypothesis, mode networks showed notable overlap across the borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive PD groups. This finding raises questions about the added value of tailoring Schema Therapy interventions strictly based on diagnosis-specific mode patterns, although further research is needed to clarify the clinical relevance of these similarities.
Key Practitioner Message
- Mean scores on the modes can be used to differentiate between borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.
- Although mean levels of the modes vary across the different personality disorders investigated in this study, we found no evidence for differences in the relationship between the modes (the mode network) of these personality disorders.
- Schema mode patterns showed considerable similarity across different personality disorders, raising questions about the added value of diagnosis-specific adaptations to Schema Therapy.
Perceived Scarcity as a Health Determinant in Adult Sickle Cell Disease
Camrynn Cutchin1,2,3,6, Ashley S. Membreno Lopez1,3,6, Lavila Jackson1,3,6, Isabella Maymi1,3,6, Jasmine Benner1,3,6, Cara Green3,4,6, Kyla Whitten1,3,6, Brianna Jones3, Mary Wood3, Elaine Whitworth3, Jessica Miller3,7, Camela S. Barker3, Elwood Robinson3,8, Keith E. Whitfield5, Dwayne T. Brandon1,2,3,4, Jonathan Livingston1,2,3,4, John J. Sollers III1,2,3,4,6, Goldie S. Byrd3,9, Christopher L. Edwards1,2,3,4,6*
1North Carolina Central University, Department of Psychology, Durham, North Carolina, USA
2NCCU Community Health Psychology Laboratory, Durham, North Carolina, USA
3NCCU Kylyn Love/ Edwards Psychoneuroendocrine and Rare Diseases Laboratory, Durham, North Carolina, USA
4NCCU Sollers Psychophysiology Laboratory, Durham, North Carolina, USA
5Program for Research on Men’s Health, Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
6NCCU Debra O. Parker Research Incubator, Durham, North Carolina, USA
7Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara, California, USA
8Winston-Salem State University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
9Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
Sickle cell disease (SCD) and other hemoglobinopathies present a compelling case for examining how perceived scarcity operates as an understudied yet essential social determinant of health. While traditional frameworks have focused on objective measures of poverty and resource deprivation, the construct of perceived scarcity encompasses subjective experiences of inadequacy across material, temporal, and psychological domains. This conceptual review proposes that perceived scarcity may function as a mediating mechanism through which structural disadvantage, systemic racism, and chronic illness burden converge to shape clinical outcomes in African American and global populations affected by hemoglobinopathies. Drawing upon behavioral economics, neuroscience, health psychology, and social epidemiology, we examine how perceived scarcity may contribute to neurobiological and cognitive changes, including tunneling, executive function impairment, and maladaptive coping patterns. We propose that perceived scarcity may operate as a distinct pathway from objective poverty, creating psychological states that fundamentally alter decision-making capacity, stress physiology, and health behaviors among individuals managing complex chronic illnesses. This framework suggests capitalist economic structures and systemic racism may contribute to scarcity experiences that transcend individual circumstances, creating cyclical patterns of disadvantage particularly pronounced among marginalized communities. We identify critical gaps in current research methodologies and propose that the Perceived Scarcity Scale may offer a more nuanced assessment than traditional socioeconomic measures for understanding health disparities in hemoglobinopathies. This analysis offers a theoretical foundation and conceptual model for developing interventions that address the psychological and social roots of health inequities rather than merely treating material symptoms.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/1.1363 View / Download PdfCommentary: Association between coping of the primary caregiver and the adolescent patient with cancer
Leonel Jaramillo Villanueva
Department of Mental Health, High Specialty Medical Unit, XXI Century National Medical Center Pediatric Hospital. Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), Mexico City, Mexico
In this commentary, I synthesize and clinically contextualize findings from our recent study on coping interdependence in adolescent patient–primary caregiver dyads, “Association between coping of the primary caregiver and the adolescent patient with cancer”1. The study demonstrated that coping in adolescent patients with cancer and their primary caregivers operates as an interdependent and compensatory emotional system rather than as two parallel individual processes. This perspective challenges traditional clinical assumptions and supports a paradigm shift toward dyad-centered care. Here, I offer a critical synthesis of the study, discuss its implications for psycho-oncology practice, and outline concrete directions for developing brief, culturally sensitive interventions focused on the adolescent patient–primary caregiver dyadic relationship.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/1.1361 View / Download PdfThe Association Between Music Engagement and Self-Reported Mental Health
Mark V. Prizmic
Harvard Extension School, Harvard University, Anaheim, California, USA
Music is widely used for mood regulation, stress relief, and social connection, but individuals differ in how music relates to their mental well-being. Using the public Music & Mental Health (MxMH) survey dataset (N = 736) hosted on Kaggle, this paper examines whether everyday music listening and perceived effects of music are associated with self-reported symptoms of depression and related concerns. Respondents reported average daily music listening (hours/day), several music-engagement characteristics, and symptom ratings for anxiety, depression, insomnia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) on 0–10 scales.
Two research questions guided the analysis: (1) Is time spent listening to music associated with higher or lower depression scores? and (2) Do depression scores differ across participants who report that music improves, worsens, or does not affect their mental health? Statistical analyses included Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression, as well as nonparametric group comparisons (Kruskal–Wallis and Mann– Whitney U tests). Listening time showed a small positive association with depression (r = 0.111, p = 0.003).
In a regression model adjusting for age and select listening-context variables, hours/day remained a modest predictor of depression (b = 0.089, p = 0.022), while age was negatively associated with depression (b = -0.028, p = 0.003). Depression scores differed across perceived music-effect groups (Kruskal–Wallis H = 13.40, p = 0.001), with the “worsen” group reporting higher depression than both the “improve” and “no effect” groups. Limitations include self-report measurement, cross-sectional design, and potential selection bias. Although several associations reached statistical significance, effect sizes were small, underscoring the need for cautious interpretation.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/1.1366 View / Download PdfPrevalence of anxiety and associated psychological factors in French-Canadian adolescents before, during and later in the COVID-19 pandemic
Alexandra Pinsonneault1, Danyka Therriault2*, Jonathan Smith3, Patrick Gosselin1, Audrey Dupuis4, Eliane Saint-Pierre Mousset5, Mathieu Roy6, Pascale Morin7, Julie Lane5
1Department of Psychology, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
2Department of Psychoeducation, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
3Department of Preschool and Elementary Education, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
4Department of Secondary Education and Human Resources, University of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
5Department of School and Social Adaptation Studies, Faculty of Education, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
6Department of Family Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
7Department of Kinanthropology, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
Mental health professionals and researchers worldwide are concerned about the impact of the pandemic on mental health, particularly that of adolescents who have been identified as a vulnerable subpopulation. This study was therefore interested in comparing the prevalence of anxiety and associated psychological factors in French-Canadian adolescents before the pandemic, in its early phase and late in the pandemic. Three independent cohorts were recruited at three time points, one before the pandemic (2019), one early in the pandemic (2020) and one later in the pandemic (2022). The full sample included 3963 French-Canadian adolescents (Mage = 12.55 years, 50.6% girls). They were invited to complete questionnaires targeting their anxiety and associated psychological factors (depressive symptoms, intolerance to uncertainty, cognitive avoidance, negative attitudes when faced with problems, self-esteem, self-efficacy, impact of anxiety on academic, social, and family activities). Their answers were analysed with multivariate analysis of variance. Results showed that several types of anxiety (panic symptoms, separation anxiety, social anxiety) did not differ between pre-pandemic and early-pandemic cohorts, but were lower in the late-pandemic cohort, whereas generalized anxiety was higher in the early-pandemic cohort and lower in the late-pandemic cohort. Moreover, self-esteem, self-efficacy and negative attitude towards problems were worse in the late-pandemic cohort compared with pre-pandemic and early-pandemic cohorts. Depressive symptoms were higher in the early-pandemic cohort compared to pre-pandemic and late-pandemic cohorts. Our study suggests that overall, the pandemic did not have longer-term negative effects on anxiety symptomology, highlighting the importance of documenting the evolution of anxiety throughout the pandemic.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/1.1360 View / Download Pdf