Integrating science into digital health workflows: A strategic approach for leaders.

As the digital health industry becomes increasingly competitive, companies must integrate science cross-functionally to drive innovation and differentiation. However, many companies face significant challenges in effectively leveraging science across their organization. This commentary explores the common obstacles digital health companies encounter when integrating science, including limited C-suite understanding, siloed structures, resource constraints, change resistance, and value demonstration challenges.

Social Media Use in Adolescents: Bans, Benefits, and Emotion Regulation Behaviors.

Social media is an integral part of adolescents' daily lives, but the significant time they invest in social media has raised concerns about the effect on their mental health. Bans and severe restrictions on social media use are quickly emerging as an attempt to regulate social media use; however, evidence supporting their effectiveness is limited. Adolescents experience several benefits from social media, including increased social connection, reduced loneliness, and a safe space for marginalized groups (eg, LGBTQ+) to interact.

Pathological personality domains and punishment-enhanced error-related negativity.

The error-related negativity (ERN) is an event-related potential that is observed after the commission of an error and is hypothesized to index threat sensitivity. The ERN is associated with multiple psychiatric disorders, but it is unclear if similar results are due to higher-order dimensions of psychopathology. When errors are punished, the ERN is further enhanced, which might better isolate threat sensitivity.

Using science as a differentiator in a crowded digital mental health market.

The digital mental health industry has seen remarkable growth in recent years. However, within this crowded landscape, many companies overlook a critical factor for gaining a competitive edge: the integration of science. In this context, "science" refers to the strategic collection and analysis of information (i.

Neural response to monetary and social rewards and familial risk for psychopathology in adolescent females.

Background: Adolescence is a key developmental period for the emergence of psychopathology. Reward-related brain activity increases across adolescence and has been identified as a potential neurobiological mechanism of risk for different forms of psychopathology. The reward positivity (RewP) is an event-related potential component that indexes reward system activation and has been associated with both concurrent and family history of psychopathology.

Self-Focused Brain Predictors of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Response in a Transdiagnostic Sample.

Background: Effective biomarkers of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) response provide information beyond available behavioral or self-report measures and may optimize treatment selection for patients based on likelihood of benefit. No single biomarker reliably predicts CBT response. In this study, we evaluated patterns of brain connectivity associated with self-focused attention (SFA) as biomarkers of CBT response for anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Satisfaction, Perceived Usefulness, and Therapeutic Alliance as Correlates of Participant Engagement in a Pediatric Digital Mental Health Intervention: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study.

Background: Although evidence suggests that digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) are effective alternatives to traditional mental health care, participant engagement continues to be an issue, especially for pediatric DMHIs. Extant studies of DMHIs among adults suggest that participants' satisfaction, perceived usefulness, and therapeutic alliance are closely tied to engagement. However, these associations have not been investigated among children and adolescents involved in DMHIs.

A Spiritual Self-Care Mobile App (Skylight) for Mental Health, Sleep, and Spiritual Well-Being Among Generation Z and Young Millennials: Cross-Sectional Survey.

Background: Generation Z (Gen Z) and young millennials (GenZennials) (ages 18-35 years) are unique in that they either have no memory of or were born shortly after the internet "explosion." They are constantly on the internet, face significant challenges with their mental health and sleep, and are frequent users of digital wellness apps. GenZennials also uniquely identify with and practice spirituality, which has been linked to better mental health and sleep in adult populations.

COVID-19 experiences and psychopathology symptoms in college students at the onset of the pandemic.

The present study examined what specific aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to psychopathology symptoms among college students during the initial stages of the pandemic. One thousand and eighty-nine college students ( = 20.73, = 2.

Using Digital Measurement-Based Care to Address Symptoms of Inattention, Hyperactivity, and Opposition in Youth: Retrospective Analysis of Bend Health.

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and associated behavioral disorders are highly prevalent in children and adolescents, yet many of them do not receive the care they need. Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) may address this need by providing accessible and high-quality care. Given the necessity for high levels of caregiver and primary care practitioner involvement in addressing ADHD symptoms and behavioral problems, collaborative care interventions that adopt a whole-family approach may be particularly well suited to reduce symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and opposition in children and adolescents.

Family study of the startle reflex and event-related potentials in anticipation of predictable and unpredictable threat in adolescents and their parents.

A heightened sensitivity to unpredictable threat has been identified as a potential transdiagnostic mechanism of psychopathology. The majority of supporting research has been conducted in adults, and it is unclear whether psychophysiological indicators of sensitivity to unpredictable threat are comparable in youth during developmental periods associated with increased risk for psychopathology. In addition, no studies have examined whether sensitivity to unpredictable threat is correlated between parents and their offspring.

Neurobiological sensitivity to unpredictable threat and familial risk for the internalizing and externalizing spectra in adolescents.

Background: Adolescence is a key developmental period for the emergence of psychiatric disorders. However, there is still no consensus on the core mechanisms of dysfunction in youth. Neurobiological sensitivity to unpredictable threat has been associated with several psychiatric disorders in adults.

Intolerance of uncertainty and psychophysiological reactivity in anticipation of unpredictable threat in youth.

Objective: Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a key transdiagnostic feature of internalizing psychopathology. An increasing body of research suggests that IU is associated with increased psychophysiological reactivity in anticipation of unpredictable threat. However, most studies examining the psychophysiological correlates of IU have been conducted in adults.

Evaluating the Therapeutic Alliance With a Free-Text CBT Conversational Agent (Wysa): A Mixed-Methods Study.

The present study aims to examine whether users perceive a therapeutic alliance with an AI conversational agent (Wysa) and observe changes in the t'herapeutic alliance over a brief time period. A sample of users who screened positively on the PHQ-4 for anxiety or depression symptoms ( = 1,205) of the digital mental health application (app) Wysa were administered the WAI-SR within 5 days of installing the app and gave a second assessment on the same measure after 3 days ( = 226). The anonymised transcripts of user's conversations with Wysa were also examined through content analysis for unprompted elements of bonding between the user and Wysa ( = 950).

An Evaluation of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Symptom Scale as a Measure of Treatment Response and Remission in Psychotherapy and Medication Trials.

The Body Dysmorphic Disorder Symptom Scale (BDD-SS) is a self-report tool that captures an array of representative behavioral and cognitive symptoms commonly displayed by individuals with BDD. The BDD-SS is regularly used among experts in the field, though its utility as a measure of treatment response has not yet been formally evaluated. Results from two clinical trials of BDD treatment were pooled from an archived database to create a sample of 220 BDD participants who received either psychosocial or medication-based interventions for BDD.

Maladaptive self-focused attention and default mode network connectivity: a transdiagnostic investigation across social anxiety and body dysmorphic disorders.

Maladaptive self-focused attention (SFA) is a bias toward internal thoughts, feelings and physical states. Despite its role as a core maintaining factor of symptoms in cognitive theories of social anxiety and body dysmorphic disorders (BDDs), studies have not examined its neural basis. In this study, we hypothesized that maladaptive SFA would be associated with hyperconnectivity in the default mode network (DMN) in self-focused patients with these disorders.

Serum oxytocin levels are elevated in body dysmorphic disorder and related to severity of psychopathology.

The neurobiological mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) are not well-understood. Oxytocin is a central nervous system peptide which regulates socioemotional functioning and may mediate physiologic processes in a range of psychiatric disorders, particularly those characterized by interpersonal dysfunction. Examining the role of oxytocin in the development and maintenance of BDD may elucidate new targets for intervention.