ADHD often persists from childhood into adulthood yet understanding of the neuropsychological profile of ADHD in emerging adults (18-24 years) is limited and inconsistent. Both diagnosed individuals and those with subthreshold symptoms often struggle with executive functioning. This study examined executive function subdomains in emerging adults with ADHD symptoms. Participants included 71 emerging adults (45 women, 24 men, 2 other) who completed computerized tasks assessing working memory, response inhibition, set shifting, and sustained attention; and questionnaires of ADHD symptoms and cognitive disengagement. Categorical and dimensional analyses both showed that individuals with ADHD symptoms had more false alarms (N-back task) and had higher rates of unsuccessful stopping (stop-signal task). Cognitive disengagement syndrome symptoms predicted more false alarms, distinct from effects of inattention severity. Results indicate that working memory and unsuccessful stopping distinguish ADHD in emerging adults. Cognitive disengagement syndrome symptoms also predict lapses in working memory and may offer unique additional information toward understanding working memory performance in ADHD. Evaluating symptoms of cognitive disengagement syndrome in addition to ADHD may provide additional insights into observed working memory deficits. Emerging adults with ADHD symptoms-including those without clinical diagnosis-may benefit from working memory support and evaluation for cognitive disengagement syndrome.

In the Nigerian university environment, students face various stressors that can hinder their academic performance. Despite their dedication to achieving academic success, the challenging environment can be a barrier. While there is existing research on stress, none has focused specifically on agricultural students. This gap in the literature inspired researchers to investigate the impact of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) on stress and resilience among agricultural students through a randomised controlled trial. A sample of 90 participants from year two and year three at Kogi State University in Nigeria was randomly selected for an 8-week randomised evaluation using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Evaluation Resilience Scale (EERS). Data were analysed using repeated measures analysis, revealing that agricultural students who underwent the 8-week CBT intervention experienced significantly lower stress levels and increased resilience compared to the waitlisted control group. In conclusion, CBT intervention can help agricultural students effectively manage stress and enhance resilience. These findings highlight the effectiveness of CBT in reducing stress and boosting resilience among agricultural students. It is recommended that the university implement CBT interventions to support agricultural students.

This study aimed to examine the mediating roles of emotional abuse and emotional autonomy in the relationship between internet addiction and psychological need motivations towards the internet in adolescents. The data for this cross-sectional study were collected from 412 adolescents between December 2023 and March 2025. For data collection, the Internet Addiction Scale, Psychological Needs Scale, Emotional Abuse Scale, and Emotional Autonomy Scale were used. Direct and indirect roles were tested with structural equation modelling (SEM). Analyses showed that psychological need motivations towards the internet were positively correlated with internet addiction (r = .389, p < .01) and emotional abuse (r = .298, p < .01) and negatively correlated with the emotional autonomy total score (r = -.231, p < .01). Psychological need motivations were negatively associated with emotional autonomy (β = -.234, p < .001) and positively associated with emotional abuse (β = .277, p < .01). At the same time, psychological need motivations were positively associated with internet addiction (β = .273, p < .001). Emotional autonomy was negatively associated with emotional abuse (β = -.264, p < .001) and internet addiction (β = -.165, p < .05), whereas emotional abuse was positively associated with internet addiction (β = .208, p < .01). Furthermore, the indirect association between psychological need motivations and internet addiction through emotional autonomy and emotional abuse was statistically significant (β = .109, p < .001). In conclusion, it was determined that psychological need motivation towards the internet was directly associated with internet addiction. Emotional abuse and emotional autonomy play mediating roles in this relationship.

Previous studies have reported positive associations between psychopathic traits and fear enjoyment. The current studies were conducted to examine potential mediators in this relationship. Because enjoyment of fear may be contingent on feeling that one is not actually in danger, Study 1 investigated whether a sense of invincibility would mediate the relationship between psychopathy and fear enjoyment. Undergraduate students and MTurk participants (N = 825) viewed exciting and fear-inducing video clips and self-reported their positive and negative reactions. As expected, psychopathy was related to both aspects of fear enjoyment (lessened negative response and heightened positive response). However, invincibility was only a significant mediator with respect to the former. Thus, in Study 2, we examined boredom proneness as a second potential mediator (N = 425). As in Study 1, invincibility was a significant mediator in the relationship between psychopathic traits and lessened negative responses and in the relationship between psychopathic traits and positive responses. Boredom proneness was not a significant mediator. Results suggest that invincibility does help explain why psychopathic traits are related to fear enjoyment, but boredom proneness does not.

People often favor self-verifying feedback which reinforces existing self-beliefs, a preference that can further entrench negative self-views. Prior work suggests that emotional responses to the prospect of receiving non-self-verifying feedback may influence whether people engage in self-verification; however, the contribution of emotion regulation to feedback choices is unclear. The current study aimed to explore how affective processes affect whether people choose to observe feedback that is likely to either confirm or disconfirm their existing self-views. Participants (N = 202) completed an online survey to assess their self-views, emotion regulation habits, and preference for self-verifying feedback in a simulated feedback task. Additional open-ended questions assessed how participants' made their feedback choice, what they were feeling, and whether they managed their emotional response to make their decision. The qualitative results demonstrated that the choice of negative self-verifying feedback was related to the desire for subjective accuracy, consistent with existing theories of self-verification. However, our results also indicate significant relationships between emotion regulation habits and feedback choice among participants with high depression symptom severity. This study's findings provide new insights into the cognitive and affective determinants of self-verification, suggesting that for individuals with depression, training in engagement-based emotion regulation could potentially lessen negative self-verification tendencies.

Emerging adulthood is a transitional life stage in which parent-child relationships remain meaningful for psychological adjustment and well-being of individuals. The present study examined the associations among cognitive flexibility, assertiveness, and parent-child relationship quality among a sample of Indian emerging adults, as well as the theoretical predictive associations of cognitive flexibility and assertiveness with parent-child relationship quality within a regression framework, drawing on Social Learning Theory. A sample of 376 participants aged 18-29 years completed the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS), the Scale for Interpersonal Behavior (SIB), and the Network of Relationships Inventory-Behavioral Systems Version (NRI-BSV). Using a correlational cross-sectional design, Spearman's correlations, regression analyses and Mann-Whitney U tests were conducted. Results indicated significant positive associations among cognitive flexibility, assertiveness, and parent-child relationship quality. Regression analyses demonstrated statistically significant models, with assertiveness showing a statistically significant theoretical predictive association with relationship quality for both mothers and fathers, whereas cognitive flexibility demonstrated a statistically significant theoretical predictive association only with father-child relationship quality. No significant gender differences were observed across the study variables. Together, cognitive flexibility and assertiveness accounted for a modest proportion of the variance in parent-child relationship quality, suggesting that they represent only one part of a broader network of psychological, relational, familial and sociocultural factors. The findings suggest that adaptive thinking and assertive interpersonal behaviour are associated with perceived parent-child relationship quality among a predominantly college-going sample of Indian emerging adults from intact families. As an exploratory study, the insights derived provides a foundation for future research examining additional factors and the mechanisms through which parent-child relationships are shaped across diverse populations and contexts. The findings may also inform counselling and psychoeducational interventions that strengthen adaptive thinking and effective communication as part of a broader, multifaceted approach to promoting supportive parent-child relationships.

Youth represents a critical transitional phase from adolescence to adulthood, characterized by significant psychological changes and challenges. Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), defined as the intentional harm to one's body tissue without suicidal intent, is increasingly conceptualized as a transdiagnostic entity that often emerges during this period. This study examines the combined effects of impulsivity and depression on NSSI in youths from both variable-centered and person-centered approaches. A total of 2,292 university students were recruited for this study, in which we performed moderation and latent profile analyses. The results indicated that impulsivity and depression interact to significantly influence NSSI. Specifically, high levels of impulsivity and depression were associated with elevated NSSI scores. Furthermore, latent profile analysis identified four subtypes of impulsivity-depression, with the "high impulsivity-high depression" type exhibiting the most severe NSSI. These findings highlight the importance of considering both impulsivity and depression in understanding and preventing NSSI among youths.

The Multi-Component Gratitude Measure (MCGM) is a 29-item instrument that assesses emotions, attitudes, and behaviors related to gratitude. This brief report describes the development and exploratory evaluation of a 13-item abbreviated MCGM (aMCGM). A nationally representative sample of 1,028 low-income US veterans collected December 2022-January 2023 was used to develop and test the aMCGM. All MCGM items were evaluated for reliability, factor structure, and construct validity to derive the aMCGM. The aMCGM consists of Emotion/Expressed Emotion (8 items), Introspection (3 items), and Unconditionality (2 items) scales. The aMCGM scales showed good internal consistency as well as preliminary convergent and discriminant validity in relation to other constructs using the total sample and split subsamples. These findings provide preliminary support for the use of the aMCGM as a multi-dimensional measure of gratitude and suggest low-income US veterans, on average, report high gratitude.

This study examined whether individuals display an attributional bias when identifying the source of their emotions. Specifically, do people favor situational over dispositional explanations when attributing their negative emotions? Sixty-eight participants completed two assessments to identify the cause of emotions-one evaluating their own emotions and another evaluating someone else's. Dispositional and situational attributions were measured for both positive and negative emotions. The findings show that individuals tend to attribute their own negative emotions more to situational factors than to dispositional ones, but this pattern does not apply to others' emotions. This same asymmetry was not observed for positive emotions. This study broadens previous research on attributional bias to include personal emotional experiences. The work indicates that self-reports of the source of negative emotions could be biased.

The present study proposed a model analysing the indirect effect of depressive symptoms in the relationship between social support sources (family, friends and significant other), and loneliness among Portuguese and immigrant population. Survey data sample consisted of 300 participants (150 Portuguese and 150 immigrants) adults residing in Portugal. The bootstrap result for indirect effect of depressive symptoms was significant, indicating that social support sources (family, friends, and significant other) had a significant effect on loneliness through the role of depressive symptoms. Portuguese participants reported higher levels of depressive symptoms, perceived social support sources from friends and significant other compared to immigrant population. No gender differences were found between male and female participants and perception of the aforementioned variables. Moreover, participants in the Portuguese sample with age ranging from 18 to 30 years manifested higher levels of depressive symptoms and loneliness. Meanwhile, individuals with secondary education in both samples reported higher levels of depressive symptoms. This research advances our understanding of social support sources from family, friends and significant other among Portuguese and immigrant population while providing empirical data on the effect of depressive symptoms in the relation of social support and loneliness.

The persistent gap between health intentions and actual behavior calls into question accounts of physical inactivity that treat it as a uniformly rational and freely chosen preference. This theoretical article draws on a non-systematic narrative synthesis of research on action initiation, individual differences relevant to physical activity, and public health ethics. Action-initiation paradigms show that neural activity can precede reported awareness of simple actions and, in some cases, predict aspects of ensuing choices, but they do not establish that such activity causally determines complex behavior or explains physical activity maintained over time. Evidence from behavioral genetics and developmental research indicates that self-regulatory characteristics and physical activity are partly shaped by heritable and early-life factors. We therefore develop an account of situated agency in which deliberation retains a meaningful role but operates under biological, developmental, and environmental conditions that are unequally distributed. Within this framework, individual and institutional responsibility are complementary, with greater prospective responsibility falling on institutions where they can modify avoidable barriers while preserving individual choice. Success should therefore be assessed not by equalizing individual capacity or increasing average population physical activity alone, but by whether improvements in access, uptake, and sustained participation extend to people facing greater baseline barriers.

This study aimed to analyze the mediating role of post-traumatic growth in the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and psychological well-being among nursing students after the Kahramanmaraş Earthquake. This study, which was a descriptive cross-sectional design, included 345 participants (201 female and 144 male). It used the descriptive characteristics questionnaire form, the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5, the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory, and the Psychological Well-being Scale to collect the research data one year after the Kahramanmaraş Earthquake. The mediating role of post-traumatic growth in the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and psychological well-being was tested using Hayes' PROCESS Macro Model 4. The findings showed that post-traumatic growth significantly mediated the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and psychological well-being (indirect effect = .158, 95% CI [.114, .207], K[2] = .30). Furthermore, post-traumatic stress disorder was negatively associated with psychological well-being, whereas post-traumatic growth was positively associated with psychological well-being. The mediation effect was of medium magnitude, indicating that post-traumatic growth partially buffered the negative impact of post-traumatic stress disorder on psychological well-being. In general, the study findings significantly contributed to the body of literature since they revealed that, even a year later, post-traumatic stress disorder negatively affected psychological well-being; however, post-traumatic growth positively predicted psychological well-being. Moreover, this study is among the first to demonstrate the buffering role of post-traumatic growth in mitigating the negative impact of post-traumatic stress disorder on psychological well-being one year after a major earthquake. These findings underscore the importance of implementing both coping-focused and growth-oriented interventions to promote long-term psychological well-being among earthquake survivors.

This study aimed to identify heterogeneous profiles of school teachers in rural China and to examine whether these profiles differed across sociodemographic, work-related, health behavior, and psychosocial factors. Participants were 513 teachers from rural schools in Hunan Province, China (Mage = 28.84 years, SD = 9.80 years; 53.6% female). They completed self-report scales assessing negative mental health indicators (depression, anxiety, and loneliness), positive mental health indicators (life satisfaction, psychological capital, and perceived social support), and other psychosocial factors (neuroticism and perceived stress). They also reported their sociodemographic characteristics (sex, age, marital status, education level, and chronic physical illness), occupational factors (employment status, working seniority, and grade level taught), and health behaviors (exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, and insomnia). A three-profile solution was identified as the optimal model based on latent profile analysis: complete mental health group (26.9%), vulnerable group (56.5%), and troubled group (16.6%). Multinomial logistic regression indicated that the profiles differed in socioeconomic status, exercise, insomnia, neuroticism, and perceived stress. These findings inform the development of targeted prevention strategies and intervention policies for rural school teachers' mental health profiles.

Purpose: Self-efficacy for illness management is increasingly recognized as important for outcomes in cancer. We examined whether the Big Five personality dimensions were associated with self-efficacy for illness management and hypothesized that patients who were less neurotic and more conscientious would have better self-efficacy. Methods: A total of 372 adults with cancer completed a cross-sectional survey that included the Mini-International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) and three subscales of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Self-Efficacy for Chronic Conditions: managing emotions, managing symptoms, and managing treatment and medication. Linear regressions were used to test the hypotheses, while controlling for covariates. Results: The personality and PROMIS self-efficacy measures demonstrated good evidence of reliability (Cronbach's alphas = .68 to .83). As hypothesized, lower neuroticism or higher conscientiousness were associated with higher levels of illness self-efficacy overall and on each of the three subscales (all ps < .001). Openness was associated with better overall illness self-efficacy (p = .024) and self-management of symptoms (p = .023). Extraversion was associated with better self-management of emotions (p = .022) and overall illness self-efficacy (p = .034). Conclusions: Personality was associated with illness self-efficacy for patients with cancer. As a part of multidisciplinary care teams, psychosocial experts can use these findings to help patients better manage their illness.

Experiencing pain repeatedly or over prolonged periods has been shown to affect the pain experience itself. Similarly, people overexposed to others' pain respond differently to expressions of it. Given that pain experience and empathy toward others' pain share cognitive and cerebral mechanisms, examining how both are affected by overexposure to self-pain and others' pain within the same population is of particular interest. Athletes represent one such population. This study thus aimed to compare pain perception and empathy in athletes and non-athletes. Thirty athletes and 28 non-athletes were asked to imagine their pain in different contexts and report its intensity and unpleasantness, assess the intensity and unpleasantness of others' pain, and report their felt empathy for pain. They also completed questionnaires on pain, sports experiences, and trait empathy. The main results show that athletes reported similar pain intensity but less unpleasantness for their own pain than non-athletes, comparable intensity and unpleasantness for others' pain, and less empathy specifically for facial expressions depicting high pain. Together, these findings suggest reduced affective responding rather than changes in the sensory perception of pain. Several sport-specific mechanisms may explain these reductions, including greater habituation, stronger beliefs about pain controllability, regulatory flexibility, and the possibility that more sport-relevant contexts are required to fully engage athletes' propensity for empathy. This study contributes to a better understanding of the complex relationship between repeated pain experience and empathy toward that state in others.