Prolonged Grief, Posttraumatic Stress and Depression Symptoms Before and After COVID-19 in Brazil.

This study aims to explore the differences in prolonged grief (PDG), posttraumatic stress (PTSD), and depression symptoms (MDD) following the loss of a loved one before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a cross-sectional design, 888 bereaved individuals were classified on different groups according to the cause of death. Results indicate that participants who experienced a loss during the pandemic, regardless of the cause, presented higher levels of prolonged grief, posttraumatic stress and depression when compared to those who lost a loved one before the pandemic.

Improving access to evidence-based interventions for trauma-exposed adults in low- and middle-income countries.

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the mental health consequences of trauma exposure pose a substantial personal, societal, and economic burden. Yet, the significant need for evidence-based mental health treatment remains largely unmet. To unlock the potential for mental health care for trauma survivors in lower-resource contexts, it is critical to map treatment barriers and identify strategies to improve access to evidence-based, culturally appropriate, and scalable interventions.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of epigenetic clocks in schizophrenia.

Introduction: Evidence suggests that schizophrenia (SZ) is associated with accelerated biological aging. DNA methylation can be used as an indicator of biological aging by means of epigenetic clock estimates.

Objective: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the association between SZ and different epigenetic clocks.

Habituating to pandemic anxiety: Temporal trends of COVID-19 anxiety over sixteen months of COVID-19.

The impact of COVID-19 anxiety on mental health and its association with preventive measures is well-established. We aimed to study how COVID-19 anxiety and its dimensions vary over time (16 months) in a sample of individuals (N = 2717) suffering from mental distress in the pandemic context that participated in a randomized clinical trial testing psychosocial interventions in Brazil. Results showed that pandemic anxiety reduced over time.

Migration experience and mental health: A qualitative study in France and Brazil.

Background: The relationship between migration and mental health is complex and involves factors at different levels, as the individual history of the migrant, the collective history of their home country, the host society's and their mutual past history. Even though the migratory scenario of France and Brazil has changed over the years, both countries currently host an important number of immigrants.

Aim: The main objective of the present study was to describe and analyze the impacts of the migratory experience on mental health of migrants with different migration experiences and living in two countries: France and Brazil.

A behavioral economic risk aversion experiment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We investigated what degree of risk of infection with COVID-19 is necessary so that people intend to stay home, even when doing so means losing their salary. We conducted an online survey across Brazil during the initial outbreak, in which 8,345 participants answered a questionnaire designed to identify the maximum tolerated risk (k') necessary for them to disregard social distancing recommendations and guarantee their salaries. Generalized linear mixed models, path analysis structural equation, and conditional interference classification tree were performed to further understand how sociodemographic factors impact k' and to establish a predictive model for the risk behavior of leaving home during the pandemic.

Assessment of the relationship between stress and performance in candidates for the Brazilian Bar Association examination.

Objective: This study investigated stress and performance levels in candidates for the Brazilian Bar Association examination (Exame da Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil) in Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil.

Methods: The following instruments were used: A sociodemographic data sheet, Lipp's Stress Symptom Inventory for Adults, the Ways of Coping Scale, the Adult Self-Report Scale, and the Self-Report Questionnaire. The final sample comprised 117 candidates, aged from 18 to 59 years (mean = 29.

Validation of the Core Beliefs Inventory (CBI) in Brazilian Portuguese.

Introduction: Experiencing trauma may entail psychopathological consequences, but also changes considered to be positive (i.e., posttraumatic growth).

Dysfunctional posttraumatic cognitions, posttraumatic stress and depression in children and adolescents exposed to trauma: a network analysis.

Background: The latest version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) proposes a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis reduced to its core symptoms within the symptom clusters re-experiencing, avoidance and hyperarousal. Since children and adolescents often show a variety of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in the aftermath of traumatic events, the question arises whether such a conceptualization of the PTSD diagnosis is supported in children and adolescents. Furthermore, although dysfunctional posttraumatic cognitions (PTCs) appear to play an important role in the development and persistence of PTSD in children and adolescents, their function within diagnostic frameworks requires clarification.

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the International Trauma Questionnaire for use in Brazilian Portuguese.

Background: The most recent editions of diagnostic manuals have proposed important modifications in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) criteria. The International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ) is the gold-standard measurement for assessing PTSD and complex PTSD in accordance with the model of the 11th International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).

Objective: The aim of this study was to adapt the ITQ for the Brazilian context.

Psychometric properties of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory in a sample of Brazilian university students.

Objective: To examine psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI).

Method: A total of 300 university students were evaluated though instruments that investigated trauma history, depression and posttraumatic symptoms, and personality traits through the Big Five model. Pearson's correlation was used to assess internal consistency, inter-item reliability and construct validity.

Executive functions and clinical symptoms in children exposed to maltreatment.

There is evidence of an association between childhood maltreatment and lifelong cognitive impairment. Few studies investigate cognitive functioning in maltreated children. The objective of this study was to investigate whether there are differences in executive processing between maltreated and nonmaltreated children.

Psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire.

Introduction: The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) was developed to measure nine cognitive strategies referring to what someone thinks after the experience of threatening or stressful events. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of the Brazilian version of the CERQ.

Methods: The adaptation process included translation, backtranslation, expert committee evaluation, and test on 30 participants from the target population.

Prevalence and factors associated with PTSD, anxiety and depression symptoms in Haitian migrants in southern Brazil.

Background: Prevalence rates of mental health disorders in migrants are controversial. The socio-historical and economic background of the host country may play an important role in the mental health status of migrants. As studies are mostly conducted in developed countries, researching migration in developing countries may add important information to scientific literature.

Brazilian norms and effects of age and education on the Hayling and Trail Making Tests.

Objectives: To describe normative data for the Hayling Test and the Trail Making Test (TMT) in a sample of Brazilian adults, and to investigate the effects of age and education on test performance.

Method: A total of 313 (TMT) and 364 (Hayling) individuals with age ranges of 19-39, 40-59, and 60-75 years, and with at least 5 years of formal education, participated in this study. The tests were administered as part of a large battery of a normative project.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist 5 (PCL-5) and Life Events Checklist 5 (LEC-5) for the Brazilian context.

Objective:: To describe the process of cross-cultural adaptation of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist 5 (PCL-5) and the Life Events Checklist 5 (LEC-5) for the Brazilian sociolinguistic context.

Method:: The adaptation process sought to establish conceptual, semantic, and operational equivalence between the original items of the questionnaire and their translated versions, following standardized protocols. Initially, two researchers translated the original version of the scale into Brazilian Portuguese.

Culture-sensitive psychotraumatology.

Background: Although there is some evidence of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) construct's cross cultural validity, trauma-related disorders may vary across cultures, and the same may be true for treatments that address such conditions. Experienced therapists tailor psychotherapy to each patient's particular situation, to the nature of the patient's psychopathology, to the stage of therapy, and so on. In addition, culture-sensitive psychotherapists try to understand how culture enhances the meaning of their patient's life history, the cultural components of their illness and help-seeking behaviors, as well as their expectations with regard to treatment.

Childhood maltreatment and executive functions in adolescents.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate differences in executive functions between adolescents exposed to different forms of single- and multitype childhood maltreatment.

Method: The sample was composed of 83 adolescents, divided into three groups: single-type maltreatment (n = 24), multitype maltreatment (n = 19), and no history of maltreatment (n = 40), matched for education and sex.

Results: The results showed that teenagers who suffered a single type of childhood maltreatment performed worse than the other two groups on tasks of cognitive flexibility and visual processing speed.

Dual-memory processes in crack cocaine dependents: The effects of childhood neglect on recall.

Exposure to adversities during sensitive periods of neurodevelopment is associated with the subsequent development of substance dependence and exerts harmful, long-lasting effects upon memory functioning. In this study, we investigated the relationship between childhood neglect (CN) and memory using a dual-process model that quantifies recollective and non-recollective retrieval processes in crack cocaine dependents. Eighty-four female crack cocaine-dependent inpatients who did (N = 32) or did not (N = 52) report a history of CN received multiple opportunities to study and recall a short list composed of familiar and concrete words and then received a delayed-recall test.