Psychological Medicine最新文献

{"title":"Functional gradient dysfunction in drug-naïve first-episode schizophrenia and its correlation with specific transcriptional patterns and treatment predictions.","authors":"Guanqun Yao, Jing Luo, Jing Li, Kun Feng, Pozi Liu, Yong Xu","doi":"10.1017/S0033291724001739","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291724001739","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>First-episode schizophrenia (FES) is a progressive psychiatric disorder influenced by genetics, environmental factors, and brain function. The functional gradient deficits of drug-naïve FES and its relationship to gene expression profiles and treatment outcomes are unknown.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this study, we engaged a cohort of 116 FES and 100 healthy controls (HC), aged 7 to 30 years, including 15 FES over an 8-week antipsychotic medication regimen. Our examination focused on primary-to-transmodal alterations in voxel-based connection gradients in FES. Then, we employed network topology, Neurosynth, postmortem gene expression, and support vector regression to evaluate integration and segregation functions, meta-analytic cognitive terms, transcriptional patterns, and treatment predictions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>FES displayed diminished global connectome gradients (Cohen's <i>d</i> = 0.32-0.57) correlated with compensatory integration and segregation functions (Cohen's <i>d</i> = 0.31-0.36). Predominant alterations were observed in the default (67.6%) and sensorimotor (21.9%) network, related to high-order cognitive functions. Furthermore, we identified notable overlaps between partial least squares (PLS1) weighted genes and dysregulated genes in other psychiatric conditions. Genes linked with gradient alterations were enriched in synaptic signaling, neurodevelopment process, specific astrocytes, cortical layers (layer II and IV), and developmental phases from late/mid fetal to young adulthood. Additionally, the onset age influenced the severity of FES, with discernible differences in connection gradients between minor- and adult-FES. Moreover, the connectivity gradients of FES at baseline significantly predicted treatment outcomes.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These results offer significant theoretical foundations for elucidating the intricate interplay between macroscopic functional connection gradient changes and microscopic transcriptional patterns during the onset and progression of FES.</p>","PeriodicalId":20891,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142648878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using machine learning to determine a functional classifier of reward responsiveness and its association with adolescent psychiatric symptomatology.","authors":"Robert James Richard Blair, Johannah Bashford-Largo, Ahria Dominguez, Matthew Dobbertin, Karina S Blair, Sahil Bajaj","doi":"10.1017/S003329172400240X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329172400240X","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Machine learning (ML) has developed classifiers differentiating patient groups despite concerns regarding diagnostic reliability. An alternative strategy, used here, is to develop a functional classifier (hyperplane) (e.g. distinguishing the neural responses to received reward <i>v.</i> received punishment in typically developing (TD) adolescents) and then determine the functional integrity of the response (reward response distance from the hyperplane) in adolescents with externalizing and internalizing conditions and its associations with symptom clusters.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Two hundred and ninety nine adolescents (mean age = 15.07 ± 2.30 years, 117 females) were divided into three groups: a training sample of TD adolescents where the Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm was applied (<i>N</i> = 65; 32 females), and two test groups- an independent sample of TD adolescents (<i>N</i> = 39; 14 females) and adolescents with a psychiatric diagnosis (major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) & conduct disorder (CD); <i>N</i> = 195, 71 females).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>SVM ML analysis identified a hyperplane with accuracy = 80.77%, sensitivity = 78.38% and specificity = 88.99% that implicated feature neural regions associated with reward <i>v.</i> punishment (e.g. nucleus accumbens <i>v.</i> anterior insula cortices). Adolescents with externalizing diagnoses were significantly less likely to show a normative and significantly more likely to show a deficient reward response than the TD samples. Deficient reward response was associated with elevated CD, MDD, and ADHD symptoms.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Distinguishing the response to reward relative to punishment in TD adolescents via ML indicated notable disruptions in this response in patients with CD and ADHD and associations between reward responsiveness and CD, MDD, and ADHD symptom severity.</p>","PeriodicalId":20891,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142648906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic health and social connection with the risk of depression and anxiety.","authors":"Xinghe Huang, Jie Liang, Junyu Zhang, Jiayi Fu, Wuxiang Xie, Fanfan Zheng","doi":"10.1017/S0033291724002381","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291724002381","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>To explore the association of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) health with the risk of depression and anxiety and to investigate the joint association of CKM health and social connection with depression and anxiety.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This prospective cohort study included 344 956 participants from the UK Biobank. CKM syndrome was identified as a medical condition with the presence of metabolic risk factors, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease, and was classified into five stages (stage 0-4) in this study. Loneliness and social isolation status were determined by self-reported questionnaires. Cox proportional hazards models were applied for analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with participants in stage 0, the HRs for depression were 1.17 (95% CI 1.10-1.25), 1.40 (95% CI 1.33-1.48), and 2.14 (95% CI 1.98-2.31) for participants in stage 1, 2-3, and 4, respectively. Similarly, participants in stage 2-3 (HR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.14-1.26) and stage 4 (HR = 1.63, 95% CI 1.51-1.75) had greater risks of incident anxiety. We found additive interactions between loneliness and CKM health on the risk of depression and anxiety. Participants simultaneously reported being lonely and in stage 4 had the greatest risk of depression (HR = 4.44, 95% CI 3.89-5.07) and anxiety (HR = 2.58, 95% CI 2.21-3.01) compared with those without loneliness and in stage 0. We also observed an additive interaction between social isolation and CKM health on the risk of depression.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings suggest the importance of comprehensive interventions to improve CKM health and social connection to reduce the disease burden of depression and anxiety.</p>","PeriodicalId":20891,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142648839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Associations among environmental unpredictability, changes in resting-state functional connectivity, and adolescent psychopathology in the ABCD study.","authors":"Yumeng Yang, Tianjiao Kong, Feng Ji, Ran Liu, Liang Luo","doi":"10.1017/S0033291724001855","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291724001855","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Unpredictability is a core but understudied dimension of adversities and has been receiving increasing attention recently. The effects of unpredictability on psychopathology and the underlying neural mechanisms, however, remain unclear. It is also unknown how unpredictability interacts with other dimensions of adversities in predicting brain development and psychopathology of youth.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We applied cluster robust standard errors to examine how unpredictability was associated with the developmental changes in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of large-scale brain networks implicated in psychopathology, as well as the moderating role of deprivation, using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which included four measurements from baseline (mean ± s.d. age, 119.13 ± 7.51 months; 2815 females) to 3-year follow-up (<i>N</i> = 5885).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After controlling for threat, unpredictability was associated with a smaller increase in rsFC within default mode network (DMN) and a smaller decrease in rsFC between cingulo-opercular network (CON) and DMN. Neighborhood educational deprivation moderated the associations between unpredictability and changes in rsFC within DMN and fronto-parietal network (FPN), as well as between CON and DMN. A smaller decrease in rsFC between CON and DMN mediated the association between unpredictability and externalizing problems. Neighborhood educational deprivation moderated the indirect pathway from unpredictability to externalizing problems via a smaller decrease in CON-DMN rsFC.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying the associations between unpredictability and adolescents' psychopathology and the moderating role of deprivation, highlighting the significance of providing stable environment and abundant educational opportunities to facilitate optimal development.</p>","PeriodicalId":20891,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142648850","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effects and costs of an anti-bullying program (KiVa) in UK primary schools: a multicenter cluster randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Lucy Bowes, Malavika Babu, Julia R Badger, Matthew R Broome, Rebecca Cannings-John, Suzy Clarkson, Elinor Coulman, Rhiannon Tudor Edwards, Tamsin Ford, Richard P Hastings, Rachel Hayes, Fiona Lugg-Widger, Eleri Owen-Jones, Paul Patterson, Jeremy Segrott, Mia Sydenham, Julia Townson, Richard C Watkins, Holly Whiteley, Margiad E Williams, Judy Hutchings","doi":"10.1017/S0033291724002666","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291724002666","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Childhood bullying is a public health priority. We evaluated the effectiveness and costs of KiVa, a whole-school anti-bullying program that targets the peer context.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A two-arm pragmatic multicenter cluster randomized controlled trial with embedded economic evaluation. Schools were randomized to KiVa-intervention or usual practice (UP), stratified on school size and Free School Meals eligibility. KiVa was delivered by trained teachers across one school year. Follow-up was at 12 months post randomization. Primary outcome: student-reported bullying-victimization; secondary outcomes: self-reported bullying-perpetration, participant roles in bullying, empathy and teacher-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Outcomes were analyzed using multilevel linear and logistic regression models.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Between 8/11/2019-12/02/2021, 118 primary schools were recruited in four trial sites, 11 111 students in primary analysis (KiVa-intervention: <i>n</i> = 5944; 49.6% female; UP: <i>n</i> = 5167, 49.0% female). At baseline, 21.6% of students reported being bullied in the UP group and 20.3% in the KiVa-intervention group, reducing to 20.7% in the UP group and 17.7% in the KiVa-intervention group at follow-up (odds ratio 0.87; 95% confidence interval 0.78 to 0.97, <i>p</i> value = 0.009). Students in the KiVa group had significantly higher empathy and reduced peer problems. We found no differences in bullying perpetration, school wellbeing, emotional or behavioral problems. A priori subgroup analyses revealed no differences in effectiveness by socioeconomic gradient, or by gender. KiVa costs £20.78 more per pupil than usual practice in the first year, and £1.65 more per pupil in subsequent years.</p><p><strong>Interpretation: </strong>The KiVa anti-bullying program is effective at reducing bullying victimization with small-moderate effects of public health importance.</p><p><strong>Funding: </strong>The study was funded by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Public Health Research program (17-92-11). Intervention costs were funded by the Rayne Foundation, GwE North Wales Regional School Improvement Service, Children's Services, Devon County Council and HSBC Global Services (UK) Ltd.</p>","PeriodicalId":20891,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142771751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Similarity and difference in large-scale functional network alternations between the behavioral addictions and substance use disorder: A comparative meta-analysis - CORRIGENDUM.","authors":"Xinglin Zeng, Xinyang Han, Dong Zheng, Ping Jiang, Zhen Yuan","doi":"10.1017/S0033291724001168","DOIUrl":"10.1017/S0033291724001168","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20891,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142591405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative efficacy of interpersonal psychotherapy and antidepressant medication for adult depression: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis.","authors":"Zachary D Cohen, Jasmijn Breunese, John C Markowitz, Erica S Weitz, Steven D Hollon, Dillon T Browne, Paola Rucci, Carolina Corda, Marco Menchetti, Myrna M Weissman, R Michael Bagby, Lena C Quilty, Marc B J Blom, Mario Altamura, Ingo Zobel, Elisabeth Schramm, Carlos Gois, Jos W R Twisk, Frederik J Wienicke, Pim Cuijpers, Ellen Driessen","doi":"10.1017/S0033291724001788","DOIUrl":"10.1017/S0033291724001788","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) and antidepressant medications are both first-line interventions for adult depression, but their relative efficacy in the long term and on outcome measures other than depressive symptomatology is unknown. Individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses can provide more precise effect estimates than conventional meta-analyses. This IPD meta-analysis compared the efficacy of IPT and antidepressants on various outcomes at post-treatment and follow-up (PROSPERO: CRD42020219891). A systematic literature search conducted May 1st, 2023 identified randomized trials comparing IPT and antidepressants in acute-phase treatment of adults with depression. Anonymized IPD were requested and analyzed using mixed-effects models. The prespecified primary outcome was post-treatment depression symptom severity. Secondary outcomes were all post-treatment and follow-up measures assessed in at least two studies. IPD were obtained from 9 of 15 studies identified (<i>N</i> = 1536/1948, 78.9%). No significant comparative treatment effects were found on post-treatment measures of depression (<i>d</i> = 0.088, <i>p</i> = 0.103, N = 1530) and social functioning (<i>d</i> = 0.026, <i>p</i> = 0.624, <i>N</i> = 1213). In smaller samples, antidepressants performed slightly better than IPT on post-treatment measures of general psychopathology (<i>d</i> = 0.276, <i>p</i> = 0.023, <i>N</i> = 307) and dysfunctional attitudes (<i>d</i> = 0.249, <i>p</i> = 0.029, <i>N</i> = 231), but not on any other secondary outcomes, nor at follow-up. This IPD meta-analysis is the first to examine the acute and longer-term efficacy of IPT <i>v</i>. antidepressants on a broad range of outcomes. Depression treatment trials should routinely include multiple outcome measures and follow-up assessments.</p>","PeriodicalId":20891,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11578913/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142569131","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the severity of core symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in females and males.","authors":"Susan Young, Omer Uysal, Jennifer Kahle, Gisli H Gudjonsson, Jack Hollingdale, Samuele Cortese, Ayse Sakalli-Kani, Ben Greer, Kelly Cocallis, Nicole Sylver, Ugur Eser Yilmaz, Bengi Semerci, Ozge Kilic","doi":"10.1017/S0033291724001600","DOIUrl":"10.1017/S0033291724001600","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the past decade, there have been substantial changes in diagnostic nomenclature. This study investigated sex differences in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom severity based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-IV, DSM-IV(TR), and DSM-5 criteria, separating rating scale and clinical interview data in children and adults with ADHD. PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus were searched for published studies (1996-2021) reporting severity of attention, and hyperactivity/impulsivity in males and females. We compared data: (1) across the entire lifespan aggregating rating scale and clinical interview data (51 studies), (2) drawing solely on rating scale data (18 studies), and (3) drawing solely on clinical interview data (33 studies). Fifty-two studies met inclusion criteria comparing data for females (<i>n</i> = 8423) and males (<i>n</i> = 9985) with ADHD across childhood and/or adulthood. In total, 15 meta-analyses were conducted. Pooled data across the lifespan aggregating both rating scale and clinical diagnostic interview data, showed males had significantly more severe hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms than females. Rating scale data were similar; boys had significantly more severe hyperactivity/impulsivity than girls. In adulthood, men were rated to have significantly more severe inattention than women with no difference in the hyperactivity/impulsivity dimension. All significant differences were of small effect size. No significant sex differences in the severity of symptoms emerged for clinical interview data for children or adults, in contrast. Possible reasons for the discrepancy in findings between rating scales and clinical diagnostic interviews are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":20891,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-22"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11578919/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142569129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Alterations in inhibitory neuron subtype-selective transcripts in the prefrontal cortex: comparisons across schizophrenia and mood disorders.","authors":"Takeshi Okuda, Sohei Kimoto, Rika Kawabata, Yufan Bian, Makoto Tsubomoto, Kazuya Okamura, John F Enwright, Mitsuru Kikuchi, David A Lewis, Takanori Hashimoto","doi":"10.1017/S0033291724002344","DOIUrl":"10.1017/S0033291724002344","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In schizophrenia (SZ), impairments in cognitive functions, such as working memory, have been associated with alterations in certain types of inhibitory neurons that utilize the neurotransmitter <i>γ</i>-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). For example, GABA neurons that express parvalbumin (PV) or somatostatin (SST) have more prominent gene expression alterations than those that express vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). In bipolar disorder (BD) and major depression (MD), which exhibit similar, but less severe, cognitive impairments than SZ, alterations of transcript levels in GABA neurons have also been reported. However, the extent to which GABA neuron subtype-selective transcripts in the DLPFC are affected, and the relative magnitudes of the diagnosis-associated effects, have not been directly compared across SZ, BD, and MD in the same study.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used quantitative polymerase chain reaction to examine levels of GABA neuron subtype-selective transcripts (PV, potassium voltage-gated channel modifier subfamily-S member-3, SST, VIP, and calretinin mRNAs), as well as the pan-GABA neuron marker 67 kDa glutamate decarboxylase mRNA, in DLPFC total gray matter of 160 individuals, including those with SZ, BD, or MD and unaffected comparison (UC) individuals.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Relative to UC individuals, individuals with SZ exhibited large deficits in levels of all transcripts except for calretinin mRNA, whereas individuals with BD or MD showed a marked deficit only for PV or SST mRNAs, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings suggest that broader and more severe alterations in DLPFC GABA neurons might contribute to the greater cognitive impairments in SZ relative to BD and MD.</p>","PeriodicalId":20891,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11578916/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142547057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Measuring loneliness: a head-to-head psychometric comparison of the 3- and 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scales.","authors":"Corentin J Gosling, Romain Colle, Ariane Cartigny, Fabrice Jollant, Emmanuelle Corruble, Ariel Frajerman","doi":"10.1017/S0033291724002083","DOIUrl":"10.1017/S0033291724002083","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Despite the growing interest in the prevalence and consequences of loneliness, the way it is measured still raises a number of questions. In particular, few studies have directly compared the psychometric properties of very short measures of loneliness to standard measures.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a large epidemiological study of midwife students (<i>n</i> = 1742) and performed a head-to-head comparison of the psychometric properties of the standard (20 items) and short version (3 items) of the UCLA Loneliness Scales (UCLA-LS). All participants completed the UCLA-LS-20, UCLA-LS-3, as well as other measures of mental health, including anxiety and depression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>First, as predicted, we found that the two loneliness scales were strongly associated with each other. Second, when using the dimensional scores of the scales, we showed that the internal reliability, convergent-, discriminant-, and known-groups validities were high and of similar magnitude between the UCLA-LS-20 and the UCLA-LS-3. Third, when the scales were dichotomized, the results were more mixed. The sensitivity and/or specificity of the UCLA-LS-3 against the UCLA-LS-20 were systematically below acceptable thresholds, regardless of the dichotomizing process used. In addition, the prevalence of loneliness was strikingly variable as a function of the cut-offs used.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Overall, we showed that the UCLA-LS-3 provided an adequate dimensional measure of loneliness that is very similar to the UCLA-LS-20. On the other hand, we were able to highlight more marked differences between the scales when their scores were dichotomized, which has important consequences for studies estimating, for example, the prevalence of loneliness.</p>","PeriodicalId":20891,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11578901/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142547080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}