Siblings of individuals with intellectual and developmental disability: Relations between involvement, personal resources, loneliness, and their adjustment.

Background: The study examined relations between a number of variables regarding typically-developing adult siblings of individuals with intellectual and developmental disability: involvement in the lives of their siblings with disability, personal resources (self-efficacy and sense of coherence), loneliness, and adjustment.

Method: Participants included 99 siblings of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who completed questionnaires examining involvement, personal resources (self-efficacy and sense of coherence), loneliness, and adjustment.

Results: Results indicated that siblings who are more involved and perceive their efficacy and coherence as higher and loneliness as lower, experience higher levels of mental wellbeing and lower levels of mental distress.

Challenges to accessing behaviour support services for people with intellectual disability before and after the NDIS.

Background: This study investigated the extent to which behaviour support services are accessible under Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Method: We conducted semi-structured interviews with families who support a member with an intellectual disability and challenging behaviour. We analysed this data with a supply and demand access framework initially designed for health care and described the lived experiences of participants and their families accessing behaviour supports.

An Australian online training and support program for caregivers of children and youth with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Families linking with families.

Background: Australia has limited supports to help families where Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) impacts children and young people. National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Australia (NOFASD), in conjunction with the University of Otago, New Zealand, piloted and established a 7-week online program to assist caregivers to develop strategies and supports to help their families live well in a disabling society.

Method: The online program, Families Linking with Families (FLWF), was delivered to 88 caregivers.

Reasonable adjustments to the application of the comprehensive care standard within an Australian mainstream internal medicine outpatient clinic attended by adults with Down syndrome.

Background: The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care recommends the development of reasonable adjustments to Comprehensive Care Standard to better suit the needs of people with intellectual disability.

Method: An audit of adults with Down syndrome attending a mainstream internal medicine outpatient clinic was undertaken to describe their biopsychosocial profile, identify previously developed reasonable adjustments to clinical service and to consider their alignment with comprehensive care.

Results: Of 54 adults, 31 (57%) male, average age 36 years (17.

Young people with intellectual disability speak out about life after school: "I want to do more in life than just…be a disability person".

Background: The transition from school to adult life is challenging for young people with intellectual disability. The study aimed to explore how young people with intellectual disability themselves experience the transition from school to adult life.

Methods: A co-designed, qualitative study.

Socio-demographic and clinical profiles of adults with an intellectual disability admitted to acute general psychiatric wards in a Singapore hospital.

Background: People with an intellectual disability have a higher risk of developing mental disorders compared to the general population. Available evidence suggests those with an intellectual disability receiving inpatient treatment in general psychiatric wards may have certain unique characteristics.

Method: Data gathered from a retrospective review of records of adults with intellectual disability admitted to general psychiatry wards in a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Singapore were analysed.

Chimpanzee Activity and Behavioral Diversity Extends Across 24 Hours in Both Captive and Wild Settings.

Studying nocturnal behavior is crucial for understanding the full scope of a species' behavioral flexibility so as to inform the conservation of wild populations and the care of captive individuals. However, this aspect of primate behavior is understudied, especially in great apes, which exhibit some of the widest documented behavioral diversity and flexibility. Our investigation is among the first to systematically compare the 24 h activity patterns and behavioral activities of captive chimpanzees (Saint Louis Zoo, USA) with those of wild chimpanzees (three sites across the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo) and a published data set of the nocturnal behavior of all chimpanzee subspecies.

'It Feels Very Weird and Normal at the Same Time': Sibling Perceptions of Their Relationships With an Autistic Brother or Sister With Complex Care Needs.

Background: The impact of having a disabled brother or sister on siblings' psychological well-being and sibling relationships has been the subject of several research studies. However, research which focuses on the relationship between siblings and their autistic brother or sister with an intellectual disability and complex care needs is rare. We explored siblings' views and experiences of their sibling relationship with their autistic brother or sister with complex care needs.

Stimulate to Remember? The Effects of Short Burst of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS) on Memory Performance and Pupil Dilation.

The decline in noradrenergic (NE) locus coeruleus (LC) function in aging is thought to be implicated in episodic memory decline. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), which supports LC function, might serve to preserve or improve memory function in aging. However, taVNS effects are generally very heterogeneous, and it is currently unclear whether taVNS has an effect on memory.

Implementation of a national programme to train and support healthcare professionals in brief behavioural interventions: A qualitative study using the theoretical domains framework.

Objectives: Behaviour change interventions offered opportunistically by healthcare professionals can support patient health behaviour change. The Making Every Contact Count (MECC) programme in Ireland is a national programme to support healthcare professionals to use brief behavioural interventions. The aim of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the enablers of, and barriers to, embedding MECC across the healthcare system.

Planum Temporale Asymmetries in Primates: A Comparative Study in Great Apes and Monkeys.

Objectives: Most human brains exhibit left hemisphere asymmetry for planum temporale (PT) surface area and gray matter volume, which is interpreted as cerebral lateralization for language. Once considered a uniquely human feature, PT asymmetries have now been documented in chimpanzees and olive baboons. The goal of the current study was to further investigate the evolution of PT asymmetries in nonhuman primates.

Importance of transgender nuances in research and advocacy: Reply to Morgenroth (2025) and Tate (2025).

In their responses to our paper 'Conceptualizing transgender experiences in psychology: Do we have a "true" gender?' (The British Journal of Psychology, 2024, 115, 723), Tate (2025) and Morgenroth (2025) provide reflections on the importance of nuance when researching gender and in transgender advocacy. In this reply, I note where this paper is situated in the literature and engage in a discussion of the role of definitions in transgender advocacy. Over-reliance on an individual's true gender when evaluating transgender people's legitimacy may exclude individuals whose gender is not understandable as 'true' to a cisgender majority.

Engaging With a Community of Practice in Dementia: Impacts on Skills, Knowledge, Networks and Accessing Support.

Background: To deliver implementable, meaningful research and advance knowledge, different stakeholders need to be brought together regularly via a suitable platform or community of practice. The Liverpool Dementia & Ageing Research Forum, set up in 2019, is a public/professional community of practice, providing in-person and remote events and activities to connect people living with dementia, unpaid carers, health and social care professionals, Third Sector representatives and commissioners. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore the experiences and impacts of engaging with Forum events by different stakeholders.

Language about gender/sex should be used intentionally and flexibly.

In their paper, 'Conceptualizing transgender experiences in psychology: Do we have a 'true' gender?' Jackson and Bussey (British Journal of Psychology, 115, 723) critique the idea of having a 'true' gender and propose that the term 'transgender experience' may be more appropriate than 'transgender identity'. In this commentary, I reflect on the usefulness of the terms transgender identity and transgender experience and argue that both hold value and can contribute to a more nuanced discussion of gender/sex. I use the discussion of these two terms as a springboard to make a broader point: As researchers, we should use language about gender/sex flexibly and intentionally.

Clusters of Patient Empowerment and Mental Health Literacy Differentiate Professional Help-Seeking Attitudes in Online Mental Health Communities Users.

Objectives: Grounded in the Health Empowerment Model, which posits that health literacy and patient empowerment are intertwined yet distinct constructs, this study investigates how the interplay of these factors influences attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help in members of online communities for mental health (OCMHs). This while acknowledging the multidimensionality of patient empowerment, encompassing meaningfulness, competence, self-determination, and impact.

Design And Methods: A cluster analysis of data gathered from 269 members of Italian-speaking OCMHs on Facebook has been performed.

Internalized Transnegativity, Self-Warmth, Self-Coldness, and Eating Disorder Symptomatology Among Transgender and Nonbinary Adults.

Eating disorders (EDs) are highly prevalent among transgender and nonbinary (TNB) adults, and internalized transnegativity is a key risk factor for ED symptomatology. Although extant literature has established that self-compassion protects against EDs among the cisgender population, research among TNB adults is nascent. The current study sought to identify whether internalized transnegativity and components of self-compassion (i.

An ALE meta-analysis of the neural evidence of facial emotion processing in autism.

Objective: Facial emotion recognition is central to successful social interaction. People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties in this area. However, neuroimaging evidence on facial emotion processing in ASD has been diverse.

An Expert Consensus Statement for Implementing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Nightmares in Adults.

Objectives: Research supports cognitive behavioral therapies for nightmares (CBT-N) in adults. However, the nuances of implementation and unstandardized nomenclature for treatment components has created confusion in the field. To provide clarification, an expert consensus panel convened to review treatment manual components and to develop guidelines for the standardized implementation and terminology of CBT-N.

"Telephone Angels" Against Loneliness: Experimental Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Telephone Partnerships with Older Adults.

Loneliness affects many older adults.As part of the "Telephone Angel" project, telephone partnerships between volunteers and older adults affected by loneliness were designed to counteract experiencing loneliness. Volunteers (100 ≤  ≤ 114) and older adults who are (22 ≤  ≤ 45) and who are not (25 ≤  ≤ 71) part of the project were surveyed twice.

Clinical efficacy and safety of vortioxetine as an adjuvant drug for patients with bipolar depression.

Objectives: Whether vortioxetine has a utility as an adjuvant drug in the treatment of bipolar depression remains controversial. This study aimed to validate the efficacy and safety of vortioxetine in bipolar depression.

Methods: Patients with bipolar Ⅱ depression were enrolled in this prospective, two-center, randomized, 12-week pilot trial.

Barriers to and enablers of modifying diet after metabolic bariatric surgery: A systematic review of published literature.

This is a qualitative systematic review in which we investigated barriers and enablers influencing dietary behavior change after metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS). Database searches retrieved publications reporting perceived factors influencing dietary behavior change post-MBS. Data (quotes, survey results, interpretative summaries) were extracted and analyzed using combined deductive and inductive thematic analyses.

Perceptions and Use of Extended-Duration Exposure Therapy Amongst Psychologists.

Background: Extended-duration exposure therapy, in which treatment is delivered over a single prolonged session or cluster of long-duration sessions, is a highly efficacious and efficient treatment for anxiety disorders such as specific phobias. Despite this, little is known about the use of extended-duration exposure therapy in clinical practice.

Methods: In the present study we investigated the perceptions and use of extended-duration exposure therapy amongst a sample of Australian psychologists via a survey, and the Therapist Beliefs about Exposure Scale.

Determinants of Dropping Out of Remote Patient-Reported Outcome-Based Follow-Up Among Patients With Epilepsy: Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: The use of patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures is an emerging field in health care. In the Central Denmark Region, epilepsy outpatients can participate in remote PRO-based follow-up by completing a questionnaire at home instead of attending a traditional outpatient appointment. This approach aims to encourage patient engagement and is used in approximately half of all epilepsy outpatient consultations.

Identification of Behavioral, Clinical, and Psychological Antecedents of Acute Stimulant Poisoning: Development and Implementation of a Mixed Methods Psychological Autopsy Study.

Background: Despite increasing fatal stimulant poisoning in the United States, little is understood about the mechanism of death. The psychological autopsy (PA) has long been used to distinguish the manner of death in equivocal cases, including opioid overdose, but has not been used to explicitly explore stimulant mortality.

Objective: We aimed to develop and implement a large PA study to identify antecedents of fatal stimulant poisoning, seeking to maximize data gathering and ethical interactions during the collateral interviews.

The Association Between Posting WeChat Moments and the Risk of Depressive Symptoms Among Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Adults: Prospective National Cohort Study.

Background: The association between social media usage and the risk of depressive symptoms has attracted increasing attention. WeChat is a popular social media software in China. The impact of using WeChat and posting WeChat moments on the risk of developing depressive symptoms among community-based middle-aged and older adults in China is unknown.