Three-wave longitudinal prediction of positive mental health in Germany and China.

The present study is a follow-up of a prior study examining a broad range of longitudinal predictors of dimensional positive mental health (PMH) and negative mental health (NMH), using cross-cultural data from the Bochum Optimism and Mental Health (BOOM) study. The present study sought to expand prior findings on positive mental health predictors to a longer longitudinal timeframe. The analysis, specifically, tests our prior model using a third time point, The following positive constructs were examined in relation to later positive mental health: resilience, social support, social rhythm, family affluence, physical health and expectations for fertility.

Obesity and Mental Health: A Longitudinal, Cross-Cultural Examination in Germany and China.

The present study examines the relationship between obesity and mental health using longitudinal data. Participants with data at baseline and one-year follow-up were included from two countries: Germany (364) and China (9007). A series of structural equation models with three mediators and one moderator were conducted separately for female and male students in Germany and China.

A longitudinal examination of the relationship between smoking and panic, anxiety, and depression in Chinese and German students.

The present study examines the relationship between smoking and panic, depression, and anxiety over time and across two cultures, using data from the BOOM studies. The relationship between smoking and anxiety disorders, including panic requires further exploration, in order to reconcile inconsistent, contradictory findings and cross-cultural differences. Participants in the present study included 5,416 Chinese university students and 282 German university students.

Mental health and the wish to have a child: a longitudinal, cross-cultural comparison between Germany and China.

Background: The desire to have children has been declining globally, especially in industrialized nations. This study examines the physical health correlates, and positive and negative mental health correlates of the wish to have a child across time and in two countries.

Method: Questionnaire data were obtained from large-scale university samples of 12,574 participants in Germany and China.

Longitudinal prediction of positive and negative mental health in Germany, Russia, and China.

The present study examines a broad range of longitudinal predictors of dimensional positive mental health (PMH) and negative mental health (NMH), using data from the BOOM study. Participants were drawn from university student samples in Germany (1,608), Russia (677) and China (12,057). A structural equation model was conducted with four groups of predictors and PMH/NMH as criteria (outcomes).

Beliefs about the controllability of social characteristics and children's jealous responses to outsiders' interference in friendship.

Although some jealous children respond to outsider interference in friendships with problem solving and discussion, others withdraw from the relationship or retaliate against the friends or others. Beliefs about the nature of social characteristics are proposed as an explanation for behavioral heterogeneity in response to jealous provocation. Based on learned helplessness theory and research on children's implicit personality theories, children who subscribed strongly to the belief that social characteristics are fixed and that social outcomes are uncontrollable (high entity beliefs), were expected to more strongly endorse asocial and antisocial responses and less strongly endorse prosocial responses to outsider interference than children who did not have strong entity beliefs, depending on their internal versus external attributions of blame.

Predictors of Incidence, Remission and Relapse of Axis I Mental Disorders in Young Women: A Transdiagnostic Approach.

Unlabelled: An understanding of etiological and maintaining factors of mental disorders is essential for the treatment of mental disorders, as well as mental health promotion and protection. The present study examines predictors of the incidence, remission and relapse of a wide range of Axis I mental disorders, using data from the Dresden Predictor Study. A sample of 1394 young German women completed questionnaires evaluating psychological factors (positive mental health, self-efficacy, life satisfaction, neuroticism, psychopathology and dysfunctional attitudes) and global assessment of functioning, as well as structured diagnostic interviews assessing incidence and change (remission, relapse) in mental disorders.

Lifestyle choices and mental health: a representative population survey.

Background: Identifying healthy lifestyle behaviours that promote psychological wellbeing is crucial to preventing mental disorders. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the individual and combined associations between different aspects of everyday life and mental health within a representative community sample in Germany.

Method: The study was conducted in 2012/2013 and included 7,937 participants representative of the German population.

Patterns of family identification and self-congruence in childhood separation anxiety disorder.

Background: Patterns of identification among family members may differ in families with children with separation anxiety disorder (SAD) as compared with healthy children. However, this has not been explored to date.

Method: The present study examines identification processes in 199 families: 100 families of children with SAD, 43 families of children with other anxiety disorders, and 56 families of nondisordered children, using the Family Identification Test.

The efficacy of a family-based cognitive-behavioral treatment for separation anxiety disorder in children aged 8-13: a randomized comparison with a general anxiety program.

Background: This randomized controlled trial examines the relative efficacy of a disorder-specific treatment program (TrennungsAngstprogramm Für Familien [TAFF]; English: Separation Anxiety Family Therapy) for children suffering from separation anxiety disorder (SAD) in comparison with a general anxiety program.

Method: Sixty-four children aged 8-13 with SAD and their parents were assigned either to a 16-session disorder-specific SAD treatment program, including parent training and classical cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) components (TAFF), or to a general child-focused 16-week comparison group (Coping Cat [CC]) without any parent training. Diagnoses and parent cognitions were assessed at baseline and at follow-ups.

DSM-IV criteria for childhood separation anxiety disorder: informant, age, and sex differences.

Background: The present study examines frequency of DSM-IV symptom and diagnostic criteria for separation anxiety disorder (SAD) by informant, age, and sex.

Methods: Children aged 4-15 years with a primary DSM-IV diagnosis of SAD (N=106) were assessed using structured diagnostic interviews (Kinder-DIPS; DSM-IV-TR Version). Frequency of DSM-IV symptom and diagnostic criteria were examined as a function of informant and child characteristics, along with impairment and distress ratings.

The role of inflexible friendship beliefs, rumination, and low self-worth in early adolescents' friendship jealousy and adjustment.

Two focal social cognitive processes were evaluated in a structural model for their direct and indirect roles in early adolescents' jealousy surrounding their closest friend in a sample of 325 early adolescents (169 girls and 156 boys) ages 11-14 years. Individuals who are rigid and unrealistic about meeting their friendship needs were more vulnerable to feelings of jealousy than individuals who think more flexibly. Inflexible individuals also engage in more jealousy-driven surveillance and other problem behavior towards their friends.

Domain-specific identity, epistemic regulation, and intellectual ability as predictors of belief-biased reasoning: a dual-process perspective.

To explore the hypothesis that domain-specific identity development predicts reasoning biases, adolescents and young adults completed measures of domain-general and domain-specific identity, epistemic regulation, and intellectual ability and evaluated arguments that either supported or threatened their occupational goals. Biases were defined as the use of sophisticated reasoning to reject goal-threatening arguments and the use of cursory reasoning to accept goal-supportive arguments. Across two measures of bias, hierarchical regression analyses showed that domain-specific vocational identity and epistemic regulation best predicted reasoning biases.

The impact of first-grade "friendship group" experiences on child social outcomes in the fast track program.

Many interventions for children's behavior problems successfully utilize a group format for social skills training, providing opportunities for practice and performance feedback from peers. Recent studies however, suggest that grouping aggressive children together may reduce intervention effectiveness or even increase risk. The present study examined the relative impact of children's own behavior and their experiences with peers in the first-grade "friendship groups" of Fast Track, a multi-component preventive intervention program.