Most studies on stress have primarily focused on Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic samples, which may differ from populations in non-Western countries in terms of how they think and respond to stress. This study investigated the interplay of stress-related variables, including repetitive negative thinking (RNT), neuroticism, mindful awareness, cognitive control, academic or general stress, anxiety, and depression among Indonesian university undergraduates. Network analyses (association, graphical least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (gLASSO), and relative importance network) were conducted to estimate associations between the aforementioned constructs in 474 undergraduate students in Indonesia. Consistent with the association network, the gLASSO network revealed that general stress and anxiety had the strongest partial association. The relative importance network further demonstrated that general stress and anxiety exhibited the most robust bidirectional predictive relationships. Furthermore, general stress, RNT, and depression emerged as the strongest predictors within the network structure. The centrality indices from the gLASSO network (expected influence, strength, and closeness) identified general stress as the most central node in terms of expected influence and strength. Additionally, RNT and depression showed high strength and closeness values. Similarly, in the relative importance network, RNT, depression, and stress showed the highest outstrength and closeness centrality values. These findings suggest that general stress, anxiety, depression, and RNT are interconnected constructs that play crucial roles in the mental health of non-Western students. Further studies are required to investigate interventions for those constructs tailored to undergraduate students.

Parent–child interaction plays a key role in the development and maintenance of individual social emotional ability. Although studies have found that parents' alexithymia affects their offspring's social–emotional abilities, it is unclear how parents' and children's alexithymia affect each other and their empathic abilities. This study examined the relationship between college students' and their parents' alexithymia and empathy, focusing on both actor effects (individual-level associations) and partner effects (dyadic-level associations). A total of 1058 parent-youth dyads from a single college participated in the study, completing self-report measures of alexithymia and empathy. Using an actor-partner interdependence model analysis, the results revealed significant actor effects of alexithymia on cognitive empathy across all parent-youth dyads, though no such effects were found for affective empathy. Additionally, significant partner effects were observed, with sons' alexithymia linked to their fathers' cognitive empathy and mothers' affective empathy. These findings emphasize the complex dynamics of social-affective abilities within parent-youth relationships among college students and provide important implications for future research, intervention, and prevention efforts.

Previous research has established a strong link between parental attachment and depression in youth. However, the nuances of paternal-maternal attachment congruence and its relationship with depressive symptoms, as well as the roles of gender differences and peer attachment in this context, remain unclear. This study aimed to explore these associations among emerging adults. Attachment and depressive symptoms were assessed in 1564 college students using the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), respectively. Polynomial regression and response surface analysis were utilized for data analysis. The results revealed that when paternal and maternal attachment were congruent, students with average-range levels of parental attachment (i.e., scores near the IPPA mean) exhibited the least depressive symptoms. Conversely, greater discrepancies between paternal and maternal attachment were associated with more pronounced depressive symptoms, while this effect was buffered by higher levels of peer attachment. In addition, incongruent paternal and maternal attachments were not significantly associated with depressive symptoms in sons, whereas insecure maternal attachment was more closely related to daughters' depressive symptoms. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of parental attachment (in)congruence in college students' depressive symptoms and the moderating roles of gender and peer attachment.

Assessing adolescent body image is crucial for mental health interventions, yet traditional methods suffer from limited dimensional coverage, poor dynamic tracking, and weak ecological validity. To address these gaps, this study proposes a multidimensional evaluation using large language models (LLMs) and compares its criterion validity against a dictionary-based method and expert ratings. We defined four dimensions—perception, positive attitude, negative attitude, behavior—by reviewing the body-image literature and built a validated dictionary through expert ratings and iterative refinement. A four-step prompt-engineering process, incorporating role-playing and other optimization techniques, produced tailored prompts for LLM-based recognition. To validate these tools, we collected self-reported texts and scale scores from 194 university students, performed semantic analyses with Llama-3.1-70B, Qwen-Max, and DeepSeek-R1 using these prompts, and confirmed ecological validity on social media posts. Results indicate that our multidimensional dictionary correlated significantly with expert ratings across all four dimensions (r = 0.515–0.625), providing a solid benchmark. LLM-based assessments then outperformed both the dictionary and human ratings, with zero-shot LLMs achieving r = 0.664 in positive attitude (vs. expert r = 0.657) and DeepSeek-R1 reaching r = 0.722 in perception. Role-playing techniques significantly improved the validity in the perception dimension (Δr = +0.117). Consistency checks revealed that the DeepSeek model reduced error dispersion in extreme score ranges by 48.4% compared to human ratings, with the 95% consistency limits covering the fluctuations of human scores. Incremental validity analysis showed that LLMs could replace human evaluations in the perception dimension (ΔR² = 0.220). In ecological validity checks, the Qwen model achieved a correlation of 0.651 in the social media behavior dimension—53.1% higher than the dictionary method. We found that LLMs demonstrated significant advantages in the multidimensional assessment of body image, offering a new intelligent approach to mental health measurement.

Developmental researchers generally use a multi-informant approach to assess youth depressive symptoms to increase diagnostic accuracy and reliability, but informant discrepancies between youth and caregivers are common. Previous studies have predominantly used the sum score-level approach to examine informant discrepancies, which may obscure the heterogeneity of depression. This study adopted a symptom-level approach, network analysis, to examine informant discrepancies regarding depressive symptoms. The participant sample comprised 1043 community youth living in China (M_age = 13.68, 48.3% male) and their caregivers. Youth and caregivers completed the Children's Depression Inventory-Youth (CDI-Y) and the Children's Depression Inventory-Parents (CDI-P) separately. We employed R 4.3.0 and the Ising model to estimate two distinct networks. We then utilized the R-package Network Comparison Test to compare these two networks. Our findings revealed that irritability emerged as a symptom with high centrality in both networks, while crying demonstrated the most significant disparity in strength centrality, being stronger in the youth-report network. Youth-reported crying showed stronger connections with suicidal ideation (edge weight = 2.78), social withdrawal (edge weight = 1.72) and schoolwork difficulty (edge weight = 1.70), whereas caregivers-reported crying was more strongly associated with self-hatred (edge weight = 1.21). This study contributes to a better understanding of the structure of depressive symptoms from the perspectives of both youth and their caregivers.

Subjective well-being is an essential construct in positive psychology and is linked with various physical and mental health outcomes in college students. This study examined the associations between different intensities of physical activity (PA) and multiple dimensions of subjective well-being at the beginning and end of a semester. A short-term longitudinal design was employed with a cohort of 743 undergraduate students (mean age = 19.63 years). Data on PA and subjective well-being indicators, including life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect, were collected during the third week of the semester and the week before final exams. The results revealed a significant decline in PA and life satisfaction, and a significant increase in negative affect from the beginning to the end of the semester. Vigorous-intensity PA at the semester's end showed a positive relationship with life satisfaction and positive affect, and a negative relationship with negative affect, while PA levels at the beginning of the semester did not predict subjective well-being at the semester's end. This study highlights the importance of vigorous-intensity PA in supporting subjective well-being during periods of academic stress. Universities should implement targeted programs to encourage vigorous-intensity PA to support student well-being.

Mutual support groups are increasingly implemented in higher education settings across high-income countries to promote peer-based support, with demonstrated benefits for emotional well-being and social connectedness. However, their impact on other domains of students' lives remains underexplored, particularly in low- and middle-income contexts. This study investigates the outcomes of mutual support groups by examining students' perceived changes in mental well-being, academic skills, career certainty, social support attitudes, interpersonal functioning, and attitudes toward seeking psychological help. Using a qualitative retrospective approach, open-ended responses were collected from 20 Kosovar students (aged 18–25 years) at a major public university after a 5-week support group program. Data were thematically analyzed using a deductive approach based on predefined themes aligned with the study's objectives. Findings revealed that participating in mutual support groups contributed to reduced stress, lower anxiety, and improved mood, as students felt heard and emotionally supported by peers facing similar challenges. Students adopted more effective study habits and time management techniques through the sharing of practical strategies and encouragement. Open discussions about career uncertainty fostered clarity and confidence in students' academic and professional goals. Hearing from the perspectives of others on mental health reduced internalized stigma and increased willingness to seek psychological support. The group setting also enabled students to develop stronger interpersonal skills, including empathy, emotional expression, and a sense of connection and belonging. This study highlights the potential of mutual support groups as effective peer-led supplements in higher education by emphasizing improvements in student well-being, academic development, and mental health attitudes.

This study examined the language use in Chinese university students with depressive symptoms based on negative and positive memory recall tasks. People with depression used more first-person singular pronouns in the negative memory task and more negative words in both memory tasks.

Situational awareness (SA) refers to “knowing what is going on” in a situation. As an essential concept originating in aviation literature approximately 40 years ago, SA has demonstrated significant potential and has since been extended across various fields, leading to a growing body of research. With its expanding application in diverse fields, SA literature has become increasingly fragmented. This study systematically reviews previous empirical studies to provide a structured categorization and comprehensive analysis of SA applications, contributing to the advancement of SA research. Our search identified 2860 empirical studies on SA published between 1975 and 2024, spanning 11 major fields, including aviation, driving, power systems, traffic and transportation, health care and medicine, emergency management, military, training, sport, system autonomy, and network information and communication. We examined the specific characteristics of SA in these fields and, by integrating the characteristics with human factors/ergonomics principles, developed a comprehensive framework. Based on this framework, we categorized the SA research into three groups: the ergonomics-centered group (e.g., aviation), the human-centered group (e.g., sports), and the machine-centered group (e.g., system autonomy). Our findings have the potential to foster collaboration among researchers across diverse fields, facilitating the expansion and integration of SA research through cross-referencing theories, models, and methodologies.

To evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions in reducing suicidal ideation among patients with depression, and to identify factors that moderate treatment outcomes, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted searching seven major biomedical databases (CNKI, China Wanfang Database, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Sinomed) from inception to November 8, 2023. Randomized controlled trials examining CBT interventions for suicidal ideation in depressed patients were included. Fourteen studies (1256 patients) met inclusion criteria. CBT demonstrated a moderate effect in reducing suicidal ideation compared to control conditions (Hedges' g = −0.47 (95% CI [−0.73, −0.22]), p < 0.01). Significant moderators included intervention mode (Q = 8.33, p < 0.05), suicidal ideation measure (Q = 17.98, p < 0.001), intervention duration (Q = 9.55, p < 0.05), and CBT follow-up interval (Q = 6.66, p < 0.05). Age, intervention cycles, frequency, and intervention form did not significantly moderate outcomes. No publication bias was detected, and the overall quality of evidence was moderate. CBT is effective in reducing suicidal ideation among patients with depression. Factors associated with greater effectiveness include combining CBT with drug, targeting older adults, using specific suicidal ideation measures (e.g., C-SSRS, SIOSS), interventions lasting 0–12 weeks with more than once a week, more than an hour per session, and short-term follow-up. Group therapy formats may also enhance outcomes. Future randomized trials should further examine these factors and assess impacts on suicidal behaviors in addition to ideation.

Humans use multiple frames of reference (FORs) to represent spatial information, for example, one egocentric FOR (anchored on the observer) and various intrinsic FORs (anchored on the objects in the environment). Previous studies have shown that the cognitive resource competition of FORs will lead to FOR-based conflicts (e.g., egocentric–intrinsic, intrinsic–intrinsic) and their interactions. However, it remains unclear whether these conflicts and their interactions occur during the cognitive process stage of stimulus-representation, response-selection, or both. In our study, on the basis of a modified two-cannon task, the spatial congruency and response congruency of two cannons (intrinsic FORs anchored) were manipulated to localize the two process stages of intrinsic–intrinsic conflict. The results revealed that intrinsic–intrinsic conflict was affected by both factors, indicating that response time (RT) in the spatially incongruent condition was longer than that in the spatially congruent condition and that RT in the response incongruent condition was longer than that in the response congruent condition. Furthermore, an interaction between egocentric–intrinsic and intrinsic–intrinsic conflicts was observed, showing that the egocentric–intrinsic conflict did not change between the spatially congruent and incongruent conditions but increased from the response congruent condition to the response incongruent condition. These findings suggest that intrinsic–intrinsic conflict occurs in both the stimulus-representation and response-selection stages, whereas egocentric–intrinsic conflict occurs only in the response-selection stage. The two conflicts share a common conflict processing mechanism in the response-selection stage.

Conceptual expansion, referred to as the expansion of existing conceptual structures and the generation of new concepts, is a key cognitive component of creative ideation in human beings. However, the specific brain regions associated with the process of conceptual expansion remain unclear, particularly in the field of divergent thinking. In the present study, we examined neural correlates of conceptual expansion in the alternate uses task (AUT). Specifically, during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning, participants were asked to process a set of creative AUT ideas, each consisting of a common object and a corresponding alternate use, and then in the post-scan phase, they were required to evaluate the degree of conceptual expansion for each AUT idea (i.e., compared with the familiar concept, the extent to which the AUT idea could expand the conceptual boundaries of the object). By linking the behavioral assessments with brain activation, the results showed that greater engagement of the posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) was involved in the processing of creative AUT ideas with higher conceptual expansion, which aligns with previous findings from other creative domains such as insight problem solving and creative product design. Given the recognized function of the pMTG in conceptual processing, our findings indicate that the pMTG may specifically support the forming of new conceptual categories in AUT.

Different types of epistemic curiosities are associated with opposite attitudes toward risky behavior. However, few studies have taken environmental factors into account. We do not know the specific performance of different curiosities regarding traffic risky behavior (TRB) after introducing public attitudes. Epistemic curiosity is the desire for new knowledge or information. There are two types: interest curiosity and deprivation curiosity. Based on the uncertainty-identity theory and the interest/deprivation model of curiosity, we explored the impact of epistemic curiosity on TRB and the mediating role of conformity. Study 1 employed a cross-sectional design with mediation effect tests. Study 2 employed two substudies, further exploring the specific performance of different levels of interest/deprivation curiosity through a 2 × 2 mixed design and elaborating on the causal relationships between the variables. Study 1 revealed a positive correlation between interest curiosity and TRB, but no such correlation was found between deprivation curiosity and TRB. Mediation test results showed that conformity fully mediated the relationship between deprivation curiosity and TRB, while it could not explain the relationship between interest curiosity and TRB. Study 2 results showed that people with higher levels of deprivation curiosity could be influenced by public attitudes to change their attitudes toward TRB. Our findings provide empirical evidence for distinguishing between different types of epistemic curiosity, as well as a new explanatory mechanism for the emergence of TRBs.

Natural disaster exposure is considered to be one of the risk factors for mental health. We investigated whether natural disaster exposure was associated with insomnia severity and the roles of catastrophizing and dark personalities in the association. The current study, using data collected from 1526 participants (27.50 ± 15.49 years old, 40.4% male), was conducted within 2 weeks after the 7⋅20 flood in Henan, China. Results showed that natural disaster exposure was significantly positively associated with insomnia severity, catastrophizing partially mediated the association between natural disaster exposure and insomnia severity, and the Dark Triad played moderating roles in the mediation model. Specifically, higher levels of the Dark Triad, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy weakened the negative link between disaster exposure and catastrophizing; whereas a higher level of narcissism exacerbated the relationships between natural disaster exposure and catastrophizing, and between natural disaster exposure and insomnia severity in the mediation model. The present results may provide important practical implications: the preventions and interventions that target the change of Dark Triad traits and the mitigation of catastrophizing could potentially be more effective in counteracting the development of sleep issues following exposure to floods.

Significant performance failures by athletes can have detrimental psychological effects, potentially leading to maladaptive coping mechanisms, performance anxiety, and psychological distress. The current study investigated if a brief writing intervention could combat the negative impact of recalled performance failures in a sample of competitive athletes. Initially, the athletes recalled an instance of a significant performance failure. Next, an Intervention group completed an expressive writing task based on the principles of cognitive restructuring and reframing, and a Control group completed a neutral writing task. The results indicated that both groups showed improvements in the outcome measures from pre-test to post-test. However, the magnitude of the reduced self-critical rumination behaviors, increased positive affect, and reduced negative affect was greater in the Intervention group than in the Control group. The current study highlights how an expressive writing task can combat negative rumination thoughts and affective reactions. Such brief interventions could be used by athletes during a break in a game or immediately following a game to address performance failures as they happen.

This study aims to assess the validity of the Revised Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ-RR) within the Chinese population to examine the applicability of the 19-factor Theory of Individual Values in the Chinese cultural context. A sample of 9590 Chinese participants (age range: 11–60; 4360 males) completed the Chinese version of the PVQ-RR. Psychometric analyses indicated that the Chinese version of the PVQ-RR consistently measures 19 basic values and 4 higher-order values. Multidimensional scaling results showed that the circular structure of individual values among Chinese generally aligns with the Theory of Individual Values, but the positions of some values among the 19 basic individual values exhibit strong cultural characteristics. The findings also revealed that the most valued among Chinese people is security-societal, while the least valued are power-resources and power-dominance. This study reaffirms the cross-cultural consistency of the Theory of Individual Values and provides a reliable tool for assessing individual values among Chinese people.

The present research aimed to validate the Chinese version of the Scale of Perceived Overqualification (SPOQ), which assesses employees' perceptions of possessing more knowledge, skills, and abilities than their job requires. A preliminary meta-analytic review highlighted the need to evaluate the SPOQ's psychometric properties in different cultural contexts. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis supported a single-factor structure of the SPOQ-Chinese version, and test–retest analysis confirmed its stability over a 2-week interval. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a good model fit, further verifying the scale's structural validity. Criterion-related validity was also supported, with significant correlations between perceived overqualification and relevant job-related and career-related variables. Overall, our findings suggest the SPOQ-Chinese version is an appropriate measure of perceived overqualification among Chinese employees.