Encoding of everyday objects in older adults: Episodic memory assessment in virtual reality.

Introduction: Age-related decline in episodic memory performance in otherwise healthy older adults is indisputably evident. Yet, it has been shown that under certain conditions episodic memory performance in healthy older adults' barely deviates from those seen in young adults. Here we report on the quality of object encoding in an ecologically valid, virtual-reality based memory assessment in a sample of healthy older and younger adults with comparable memory performance.

Digitally Assisted Standard Diagnostics in Insurance Medicine (DASDIM): psychometric data in psychiatric work disability evaluations.

Purpose: Insurers often commission psychiatric experts to evaluate the eligibility of workers with mental disorders for disability benefits, by estimating their residual work capacity (RWC). We investigated the validity of a standardized, computer-based battery of established diagnostic instruments, for evaluating the personality, cognition, performance, symptom burden, and symptom validity of claimants.

Methods: One hundred and fifty-three claimants for benefits were assessed by the assembled test battery, which was applied in addition to a conventional clinical work disability evaluation.

Latent state-trait structure of BPRS subscales in clinical high-risk state and first episode psychosis.

To investigate the longitudinal latent state-trait structure of the different dimensions of psychosis symptoms in clinical high-risk state (CHRS) and first episode psychosis (FEP) individuals over a one year time-span. This paper examines if the symptom clusters Positive Symptoms, Negative Symptoms, Affectivity, Resistance, Activation, and Excitement according to the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) differ in their trait and state characters in 196 CHRS and 131 FEP individuals. Statistical analysis was performed using latent state-trait analysis.

[Guidance in Simple Language for Psychopathological Assessment of People with Intellectual Disabilities According to the AMDP].

This study evaluates the usefulness of a modified version of "AMDP Interview Guidance", the established German instrument in simple language for psychopathological examination. A total of 19 patients with intellectual disabilities underwent psychopathological examination with the help of the original version of the AMDP interview guidance, a modified version and a free, non-standardised and the three versions were assessed. With the original version of the AMDP interview guidance, 50% of the patients with intellectual disabilities were able to answer in a proper way and delivered an appropriate result for the psychopathological assessment.

Psychomorbidity, Resilience, and Exacerbating and Protective Factors During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused mental stress in a number of ways: overstrain of the health care system, lockdown of the economy, restricted opportunities for interpersonal contact and excursions outside the home and workplace, and quarantine measures where necessary. In this article, we provide an overview of psychological distress in the current pandemic, identifying protective factors and risk factors.

Methods: The PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched for relevant publications (1 January 2019 - 16 April 2020).