Are women really (not) more talkative than men? A registered report of binary gender similarities/differences in daily word use.

Women are widely assumed to be more talkative than men. Challenging this assumption, Mehl et al. (2007) provided empirical evidence that men and women do not differ significantly in their daily word use, speaking about 16,000 words per day (WPD) each.

Clinical and cost-effectiveness of parenting intervention for mothers experiencing psychosocial stress: insights from the early closure of the Mellow Babies RCT.

Background: Problems in children's early social and emotional development are likely to have major long-term consequences for the individual and society: maternal emotional well-being is associated with better outcomes. Interventions designed to improve both maternal mental health and the mother-child relationship are thus likely to benefit both maternal health and child development.

Objectives: To establish the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the Mellow Babies parenting intervention for women experiencing psychosocial stress and their 6- to 18-month-old babies.

Adaptability as a Journey: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study Exploring the Transition to Motherhood in the Context of Bipolar Disorder.

Despite growing evidence that women with bipolar disorder (BD) diagnoses are at a particularly increased risk for perinatal mental and physical health complications, our understanding of their experiences and support needs from pre-conception to early postnatal years is still in its early stages. To address this gap, a qualitative study was carried out employing a constructivist grounded theory approach to identify the underlying processes shaping women's journeys to motherhood in the context of BD. In-depth, semi-structured online interviews were conducted with 10 mothers worldwide with a pre-existing diagnosis of BD and a first child under 5 years of age.

Modelling the associations between parental depressive symptoms, hypomanic traits, and infant socio-emotional development: The mediating role of parental reflective functioning.

Background: Although understanding of maternal hypomania in the postpartum period is gradually improving, the intergenerational pathways of risk associated with hypomania in the context of postpartum depression remain unknown. It is also unclear whether distinct or shared pathways of risk exist for infants exposed to different parental mood characteristics and whether these pathways are mediated by parental reflective functioning.

Methods: An online survey was administered to 1788 parents (89 % mothers, 50 % White) who were primary caregivers of a child under 2.

Management of the therapeutic relationship in a patient with Complex PTSD and Personality Disorder.

Individuals diagnosed with Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) have experienced repeated and often prolonged traumatic events. From a therapeutic perspective this can lead to difficulties in emotion regulation within-session, challenges with patient-therapist attunement, and impaired coregulation of emotions during therapeutic interactions. As a result, frequent therapeutic alliance ruptures can emerge, which in turn pose challenges for symptom-focused work.

Discriminant diagnostic validity of paediatric bipolar disorder screening tests: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Bipolar disorders (BD) are among the most significantly impairing of childhood and adolescent psychiatric disorders. Although BD symptoms may begin in adolescence, they are frequently not diagnosed until adulthood, and accordingly BD scales could aid diagnostic assessment in paediatric populations. This review aims to synthesis the evidence for the accuracy of BD symptom index tests for discriminating BD from non-BD (other diagnoses or healthy controls) in paediatric population.

Digital mental health and peer support: Building a Theory of Change informed by stakeholders' perspectives.

Digital Mental Health and Peer support has the potential to bridge gaps in support through its scalability and accessibility. Despite the increasing use of these platforms, there remains a lack of understanding of how they operate in real life, from initial engagement to longer-term impact. We aimed to explore the key inputs, processes, user interactions, assumptions, barriers, facilitators, outcomes, and impacts associated with the use of DMH and peer support platforms by developing a Theory of Change with stakeholders.

Trajectories of risk and resilience: The role of empathy and perceived social support in the context of early adversity.

Background: Evidence overwhelmingly suggests that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is a risk factor for poor mental health outcomes. However, the specific mechanisms via which ACEs confer an increased risk of psychopathology are less well understood.

Objective: The study modelled the effect of empathy and perceived social support (PSS) on mental health outcomes in a mixed clinical and non-clinical population, within the context of exposure to ACEs.

"It is not all glowing and kale smoothies": An exploration of mental health difficulties during pregnancy through women's voices.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the experiences of women with moderate-to-severe mental health difficulties during pregnancy, with a focus on establishing their psychological needs. Psychological distress caused by mental health difficulties during pregnancy is common and can significantly impact women and their babies. However, women's subjective experiences of difficulties with their mental health throughout pregnancy, alongside their experiences of staff, services and treatments are less well understood.

Associations between maternal smartphone use and mother-infant responsiveness: A cluster analysis of potential risk and protective factors.

Contradictory results in the extant literature suggests that additional risk factors should be considered when exploring the impacts of maternal smartphone use on mother-infant relationships. This study used cluster analysis to explore whether certain risk factors were implicated in mother-infant dyads with high smartphone use and low mother-infant responsiveness. A cross-sectional survey of 450 participants in the UK measured infant social-emotional development, maternal depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms, wellbeing, social support, smartphone use, and mother-infant responsiveness.

Genetic sex validation for sample tracking in next-generation sequencing clinical testing.

Objective: Data from DNA genotyping via a 96-SNP panel in a study of 25,015 clinical samples were utilized for quality control and tracking of sample identity in a clinical sequencing network. The study aimed to demonstrate the value of both the precise SNP tracking and the utility of the panel for predicting the sex-by-genotype of the participants, to identify possible sample mix-ups.

Results: Precise SNP tracking showed no sample swap errors within the clinical testing laboratories.

Diversity, equity, and inclusivity in observational ambulatory assessment: Recommendations from two decades of Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) research.

Ambient audio sampling methods such as the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) have become increasingly prominent in clinical and social sciences research. These methods record snippets of naturalistically assessed audio from participants' daily lives, enabling novel observational research about the daily social interactions, identities, environments, behaviors, and speech of populations of interest. In practice, these scientific opportunities are equaled by methodological challenges: researchers' own cultural backgrounds and identities can easily and unknowingly permeate the collection, coding, analysis, and interpretation of social data from daily life.

Psychosis Recovery Orientation in Malawi by Improving Services and Engagement (PROMISE) protocol.

Malawi has a population of around 20 million people and is one of the world's most economically deprived nations. Severe mental illness (largely comprising psychoses and severe mood disorders) is managed by a very small number of staff in four tertiary facilities, aided by clinical officers and nurses in general hospitals and clinics. Given these constraints, psychosis is largely undetected and untreated, with a median duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) of around six years.

Investigating the relationship between specific negative symptoms and metacognitive functioning in psychosis: A systematic review.

Background: Disrupted metacognition is implicated in development and maintenance of negative symptoms, but more fine-grained analyses would inform precise treatment targeting for individual negative symptoms.

Aims: This systematic review identifies and examines datasets that test whether specific metacognitive capacities distinctly influence negative symptoms.

Materials & Methods: PsycINFO, EMBASE, Medline and Cochrane Library databases plus hand searching of relevant articles, journals and grey literature identified quantitative research investigating negative symptoms and metacognition in adults aged 16+ with psychosis.

Pathways from childhood trauma to aberrant salience: A structural equation approach to mentalization model.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between affective disturbances and aberrant salience in the context of childhood trauma, attachment, and mentalization in an analogue study.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, an online community sample completed self-report measures of key variables. Structural equation modelling was used to test childhood trauma's influence on aberrant salience via a set of intermediate risk factors (depression, negative schizotypy, and insecure attachment).

Genetic Sex Validation for Sample Tracking in Clinical Testing.

Objective: Data from DNA genotyping via a 96-SNP panel in a study of 25,015 clinical samples were utilized for quality control and tracking of sample identity in a clinical sequencing network. The study aimed to demonstrate the value of both the precise SNP tracking and the utility of the panel for predicting the sex-by-genotype of the participants, to identify possible sample mix-ups.

Results: Precise SNP tracking showed no sample swap errors within the clinical testing laboratories.

Metacognitive interpersonal therapy-eating disorders cognitive behavioral therapy for eating disorders for non-underweight adults with eating disorders: study protocol for a pilot pre-registered randomized controlled trial.

Eating disorders (ED) are serious disorders characterized by an alteration of eating habits and excessive concern about weight and body shapes (Fairburn, 2002), accompanied by significant impairment inequality of life, high mortality rates and serious organic consequences (Jenkins et al., 2011; Treasure et al., 2015; 2020).

Thinking about the next generation: The case for a mentalization-informed approach to perinatal and intergenerational mental health.

Background: There has been substantial progress made across multiple disciplines to emphasize the importance of perinatal mental health both for parents and offspring. This focuses on what has been termed the 'First 1000 Days' from conception to the child's second birthday. We argue that our understanding of this issue can go further to create an intergenerational approach to mental health.

Direct Insertion Polymerization of Ionic Monomers: Rapid Production of Anion Exchange Membranes.

The limited number of methods to directly polymerize ionic monomers currently hinders rapid diversification and production of ionic polymeric materials, namely anion exchange membranes (AEMs) which are essential components in emerging alkaline fuel cell and electrolyzer technologies. Herein, we report a direct coordination-insertion polymerization of cationic monomers, providing the first direct synthesis of aliphatic polymers with high ion incorporations and allowing facile access to a broad range of materials. We demonstrate the utility of this method by rapidly generating a library of solution processable ionic polymers for use as AEMs.

Experiential techniques and therapeutic relationship in the treatment of narcissistic personality disorder: The case of Laura.

Experiential techniques can be used to address maladaptive interpersonal patterns in patients with personality disorders (PDs) as long as they are delivered minding about the therapeutic relationship. We present the case study of Laura, a 38-year-old woman presenting with covert narcissism, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and complicated grief treated with metacognitive interpersonal therapy. Laura initially refused to engage in any experiential work out of fear of being judged and abandoned by her therapist.

The association of different presentations of maternal depression with children's socio-emotional development: A systematic review.

Maternal depression from the perinatal period onwards is a global health priority associated with an increased likelihood of suboptimal socio-developmental outcomes in offspring. An important aspect of this association is the extent to which sustained maternal depression impacts on these outcomes. The current review synthesised the evidence on maternal depression from the perinatal period onwards and offspring internalising, externalising, and social competence outcomes.