In their introduction to the special issue on addressing clinical heterogeneity in psychopathology through brain science, Damme and Mittal (see record 2025-40884-001) highlighted the transformative potential of using brain data to uncover variability in mental health diagnoses and their underlying mechanisms. The articles in this issue exemplify this, such as Reimann et al. (see record 2025-40884-008)

Zilcha-Mano (see record 2026-05243-001) provided several important insights relating to our recent special issue on utilizing data from brain science to better manage clinical heterogeneity (Damme & Mittal, 2024) and expanded on these ideas by emphasizing that individualized definitions of what "healthy" is an important consideration as well. We agree that tailoring treatment planning to an individual

Cis-heteronormative frameworks have inadequately addressed the complexity of trans masculine, nonbinary, and agender (TMNB) individuals' sexual attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and experiences, often marginalizing these perspectives. To fully capture the richness of TMNB sexuality, it is essential for researchers to resist the constraints of cis-heteronormativity by employing participatory research methods

There has been an increase in research using online forums for individuals who are attracted to children. This research is beneficial because it allows the study of individuals attracted to children recruited from the community, in contrast to individuals recruited from clinical or forensic samples. The aim of the present review was to explore who researchers are recruiting from online forums and how

Insight into predictors of functioning after treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD) is limited, despite growing recognition that more focus on other aspects of recovery, especially psychosocial functioning, is warranted. The present study explored the utility of a widely used omnibus assessment instrument, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF)

The large impact and sequelae of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) place the development of accurate assessment tools a top priority. The latest version of the PTSD Checklist (PCL-5) is commonly administered in conjunction with the Life Events Checklist (LEC-5) to categorize a person as having or not having PTSD. Despite this being a common approach, researchers have yet to investigate to what degree

Depressive symptoms and sleep problems are detrimental for adolescents, with emotion regulation related to both problems. The present study explores emotion regulation as a potential mediator of the reciprocal associations between depressive symptoms and sleep problems and examines gender differences. A total of 1,535 adolescents (47.4% girls; baseline Mage = 13.19 years) were included in this four-wave

Addressing the persistent heterogeneity in psychopathology, treatment outcomes, and the science-practice gap requires a systematic approach to personalizing psychotherapy. Case conceptualization seeks to understand a patient's unique psychopathology by generating and continuously updating hypotheses about predisposing, precipitating, and maintaining factors. This study introduces a new data-driven

Physical activity has a well-known positive effect on mood and often occurs outside in natural light. The specific effects of natural light exposure on mood are understudied, but clinically significant as it may reflect a widely accessible method to enhance mood. This study thus aimed to disentangle the effects of (a) physical activity and (b) natural light exposure on daily mood. For 2 weeks, 131

Engagement in healthy and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours are related to a range of mental health outcomes. Most existing research has focussed on individual lifestyle behaviours, so it is not clear the extent to which clusters of healthy lifestyle behaviours relate to mental health outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically review and quantitatively synthesise research which have examined

Moral injury (MI), characterized by distress stemming from exposure to events that transgress one's moral beliefs, has gained prominence as a focal point of study in military and Veteran populations. In recent years, researchers and clinicians have acknowledged that MI carries substantial significance within health care settings. However, existing measures of MI may not adequately address the experiences

Theory and evidence suggest that people attempt suicide to escape acute distress. However, little is known about why people select suicide instead of other ways to escape (e.g., alcohol/drug use). One possibility is that suicide-related stimuli in one's environment (e.g., suicide methods) bias this decision, particularly when such stimuli elicit little aversion. We tested whether suicide-related stimuli

Network analysis is a popular method researchers use to characterize the structure of psychopathology and inform personalized treatments. Typically, applied researchers, based on network theory, interpret symptoms with the highest strength centrality as most important to network structure and represent amenable treatment targets. This study examines the stability of strength centrality in idiographic

Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) experience fewer positive and more negative emotions and use fewer positive words to describe themselves. Natural language processing techniques have been used to predict depression, with pronoun and emotion usage being identified as important features. However, it is unclear how depressed individuals use positive and negative words when writing about

Childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a known risk factor for later alcohol-related outcomes, such as drinking at young ages or developing alcohol use disorder by adulthood. However, research has yet to determine whether common ADHD-related impairments (e.g., lower educational attainment) in early adulthood play a role in this outcome above and beyond ADHD symptom persistence

Loss-of-control eating (LOCE) is the subjective inability to stop eating once one has started or to refrain from food consumption. State-level affect, food craving, and reward dysfunction have all been implicated as vulnerabilities to recurrent LOCE, mostly studied in the context of binge eating (i.e., LOCE with objective overeating). Hypothetical purchase tasks are a behavioral economic approach to

The death of a romantic partner results in major changes to the surviving partner's psychological and physical well-being, yet post-bereavement sexual experiences are often disregarded in both research and clinical settings. Continuing bonds theory suggests that an internal emotional bond can persist between the bereaved and the memory of the deceased after the physical end of the relationship; that

The increasingly common dyadic diary method uniquely captures how fluctuations in the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of each member of a couple contribute to sexual outcomes within relationships. Dyadic diary methods assess these processes close in time to when they occur in a natural setting, and permit examination of within-person fluctuations in variables of interest while accounting for relational

Computational psychiatry aims to quantify individual patients' psychiatric pathology by measuring behavior during psychophysical tasks and characterizing the neurocomputational parameters underlying specific decision-making systems. While this approach has great potential for informing us about specific computational processes associated with psychopathology, the fundamental psychometric properties

One of the largest challenges in intensive longitudinal monitoring studies (e.g., ecological momentary assessment [EMA]) that include repeated assessments of constructs of interest is getting participants to complete the surveys they are sent. The goal of this study was to test a simple gamification method called "The Emoji Game" that was designed to increase adherence with EMA surveys (i.e., compliance

Some evidence suggests that anhedonia is a component of nicotine withdrawal, but additional research is needed to support this conclusion and establish its clinical relevance. Secondary analyses were conducted for a comparative effectiveness smoking cessation clinical trial of combination nicotine replacement therapy, nicotine patches, and varenicline (N = 1,084). Self-reported consummatory anhedonia

Smoking cue-exposure research provides a powerful experimental method to investigate craving, test new treatments, and identify individuals and groups who may be at heightened risk for relapse. Exposure to smoking cues consistently increases craving levels, and research indicates that these peak cravings reliably predict a range of clinically meaningful outcomes. To date, studies have been underpowered

Individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for developing psychotic disorders are thought to exhibit atypical visuoperceptual organization. Furthermore, CHR status is associated with reduced cognitive, social, and role functioning. We hypothesize that atypical visuoperceptual organization may lead to downstream impairments in cognitive, social, and role functioning. However, the degree to which visuoperceptual

Dispositional mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions have been linked to emotion regulation and may reduce anger and aggression. The present set of four meta-analyses examined and quantified correlational relationships between trait mindfulness, trait anger, and trait aggression, as well as the effects of experimental mindfulness-based interventions on anger and aggression. These meta-analyses

McIntyre et al. (2024) conducted a systematic review of mental imagery measures in emotional disorders using the COSMIN framework. While their work is a valuable contribution, several methodological issues raise concerns about the validity of their conclusions. This commentary discusses three key issues: (1) potential misinterpretation of scale construct definitions, (2) inconsistencies in study selection

A multitude of factors shape the labor conditions of men engaged in digitally facilitated sex work. To examine these labor conditions, we conducted a scoping review of research conducted with men about their use of internet technologies to facilitate in-person sex work and/or provide sexual services online through digital platforms. We retrieved 72 papers and book chapters published between 1990 and

Extinction learning refers to a reduction in fear to a conditioned stimulus (CS) that previously signaled a threat, but now occurs without the expected threat. This mechanism is core to exposure-based treatments for anxiety-related disorders. Enhancing the generalization of extinction learning is crucial for improving treatment outcomes, as it helps reduce fear across a range of generalization stimuli

The optimal classification of mania symptoms within dimensional models such as the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology remains unclear, although progress has been made recently. We extend dimensional classification research by assessing mania and other domains at the symptom level using a longitudinal, daily diary design (7-day period). Participants (N = 230; 1,243 total surveys) were adults recruited

Antisocial attitudes and associates are central constructs related to antisocial and criminal behavior. The self-report Measures of Criminal Attitudes and Associates (MCAA) has grown in application within the literature over the past 2 decades. However, tests of the MCAA's factor structure can best be described as preliminary, and there has been no test of measurement invariance. For the present study

The Personality Assessment Inventory is a broadband self-report instrument of personality, psychopathology, and response style that is commonly used in Sexually Violent Predator evaluations. These evaluations typically involve assessment of personality pathology that is empirically associated with recidivism, such as psychopathic personality disorder. Over the past several years, researchers have developed

The term "diagnostic overshadowing" was coined in 1982 (Reiss et al., 1982) to refer to a phenomenon in which a diagnosis of intellectual disability (ID) is so salient that it "overshadows" the presence of other mental health conditions, whose symptoms are falsely attributed to the ID. Much of the research on this topic was conducted more than 20 years ago using a singular methodology. The present

Eating disorders (EDs) are among the deadliest psychiatric disorders but are underdetected in health care settings, and the majority of people with these conditions do not get treatment for them. There is a need for well-validated and brief screening measures of EDs to aid in early detection and intervention. We compared the performance of two existing brief screeners in a sample of U.S. military veteran

A recent viewpoint article by J. R. Cougle (see record 2025-32396-001) noted that, of 77 empirical articles appearing in the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science in 2023, "only three…incorporated an experimental manipulation" (i.e., 96% are nonexperimental)-skewed, to be certain, perhaps even alarmingly so. This is at the same time a useful observation and, in the present author's view,

The efficacy of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatments might be hampered by individual differences. In order to maximize treatment efficacy in existing and newly developed interventions, controlling for individual variables is essential in treatment research. Given the marked physiological correlates of PTSD, biomarkers represent a promising solution. Throughout the PTSD literature, biomarkers

The use of medicinal cannabis to improve mental health is increasing globally, both in clinical settings and through self-medication. This involves a variety of products containing ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), THC + CBD combinations, or derivatives. This review provides an up-to-date overview of the positive and negative effects of medicinal cannabis on mental health diagnoses

Serious parental physical or mental illness significantly increases the risk of adverse adjustment outcomes in adolescents and young adults. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the efficacy of psychosocial interventions targeting this vulnerable group. Eligible randomized control trials (RCTs) were searched through the Medline, Web of Science, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, Cinahl, and ProQuest

Systematic research on the impact of psychedelic use on sexuality and intimacy remains limited. This study investigated reported effects of psychedelic use on various aspects of sexuality, gender, and relationships through an online survey of individuals who had used psychedelics (N = 581). Most participants (70.2%) reported perceived impacts of psychedelic experiences on their sexuality and/or sexual

A growing body of research utilizes virtual reality (VR) in the field of mental health. Yet, the potential of this technology for sexual dysfunctions remains underexplored. This study focused on erectile disorder (ED) and evaluated the ability of virtual three-dimensional sexual scenarios to elicit ED manifestations (e.g. sexual performance anxiety, low sexual response). It further investigated the

Interpersonal problems are a fundamental feature of depression, but study-level meta-analyses of their association with treatment outcome have been limited by heterogeneity in primary studies' analyses and reported results. We conducted a pre-registered individual participant data meta-analysis (IPD-MA) to examine this relationship for adult depression. This meta-analytic strategy can reduce variability

The triarchic model posits that boldness, meanness, and disinhibition comprise psychopathy. Critics have questioned whether boldness is essential to psychopathy because boldness is minimally related to meanness and disinhibition and is associated with positive outcomes such as psychological health. The aim of the present study was to develop a Psychopathic Boldness Scale (PBS) that would be more closely

Development is an iterative dynamic process that unfolds over time. Few theories, however, discuss the speed of developmental processes. Therefore, decisions about measurement timing often rely on arbitrary or practical choices, disregarding the timescale dependency of the results. As an exemplary case, this preregistered study assessed reciprocal associations between parent-adolescent conflict and

This study tracked depressive symptoms across the first year of parenthood in two cohorts of mothers recruited during pregnancy: one (n = 99) recruited before spring 2020, and one (n = 615) recruited during the first wave of pandemic lockdowns in spring 2020. We fit a series of multigroup covariance pattern models to our data. Within the pandemic cohort, symptoms were highest during pregnancy and decreased

OBJECTIVE Depression is an ongoing public health issue impacting over 5 million American adolescents. Although prevention has been shown to be an effective strategy in reducing the incidence of depressive symptoms, depression prevention programs have been developed and tested in largely White populations. Thus, the effects of such programs in diverse groups are understudied, though research shows adapted

OBJECTIVE To explore which cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) self-help app usage predicted depression during a selective prevention trial. METHOD A recent controlled trial (ECoWeB-PREVENT) randomized young people aged 16-22, at increased risk for depression because of elevated worry/rumination, negative appraisals, and/or rejection sensitivity but without past or current history of major depression

OBJECTIVE Depression and anxiety are major mental health concerns for college students, and accessible, low-cost interventions are urgently needed. Although traditional treatments focus on negative emotions, there is growing support for the efficacy of positive emotion-focused interventions. We extended this prior work by developing a peer-delivered brief promoting positive emotion (BPPE) intervention

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with estimated worldwide prevalence of 7.2 % in children and adolescents. Comorbidity of psychiatric disorders is considered common in ADHD and has been found to contribute to poorer prognosis. Despite decades of research, the actual prevalence of comorbid psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents with ADHD is

Early life adversity (ELA) describes stressful experiences that may increase risk for psychopathology and impact emotion regulation and executive functioning systems. The influence of ELA on the development of empathy—the ability to understand and resonate with others’ thoughts and emotions—remains understudied, despite the fact that empathy development relies on cognitive and emotional abilities often

Gambling disorder (GD) is an officially recognized mental health disorder. However, its conceptualization and diagnostic criteria have changed substantially over the years due to new clinical and epidemiological research supporting its reconceptualization from an impulse control disorder to an addictive disorder. The evolving nature of GD led to changes in its diagnostic approach within the 11th revision

In the internet age, recruitment, participation, and compensation for survey research can occur remotely, away from a laboratory setting. Although this method of data collection offers notable benefits such as access to more diverse samples and lower study costs, it is possible that rates of inattentive or otherwise invalid response patterns are more common when survey completion occurs without any

Relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction are key predictors of wellbeing and can substantially contribute to quality of life. Assumptions are often made that relationship and sexual satisfaction are heightened for those in monogamous relationship configurations. This meta-analytic review challenges such assumptions by comparing the degree of relationship and sexual satisfaction of monogamous

The literature examining racial preferences in attraction among sexual minority men in Western contexts illuminates a stable racial hierarchy of desire. Within this hierarchy, White men are generally highly favored, and racially minoritized men are systematically stratified below them in terms of sexual appeal. The present research employed latent class analysis to empirically model gay White men's

Novel and automated means of opioid use and relapse risk detection are needed. Unstructured electronic medical record data, including written progress notes, can be mined for clinically relevant information, including the presence of substance use and relapse-critical markers of risk and recovery from opioid use disorder (OUD). In this study, we used natural language processing (NLP) to automate the

A global mental health crisis is threatening a generation of young people with a lifetime of symptoms that do not fit neatly into diagnostic systems. Optimal decisions regarding treatments, services, research, and policies are critically needed, yet such decisions are based on idiosyncratic categorization of clinical courses. This review suggests clinical staging approaches may unite mental health

While sex education has been linked to adolescent health, few studies have examined how comprehensiveness of school-based sex education may promote young adult sexual wellbeing. The current study used latent class analysis to examine patterns in the comprehensiveness of topics included in sex education among a national sample of young adults (N = 676). Many participants had not received sex education

OBJECTIVE Young adults in college engage in risky drinking that results in alcohol-related harms. Most evidence-based prevention interventions recommended for this population rely on correcting exaggerated drinking norms via personalized normative feedback (PNF). Informed by an extensive literature linking alcohol attitudes and drinking behavior, we adapted a brief counter-attitudinal advocacy (CAA)

Intensive longitudinal data (ILD) have become a popular data format to capture people's momentary affect in everyday life. Besides describing persons' average affect over time, ILD are also often used to describe affect dynamics-that is, how affect changes over time-such as intraindividual variability or moment-to-moment temporal dependencies. Given that ILD studies mostly use self-report rating data

Models have been put forth to describe relations between psychopathology and personality. However, the relation in individuals with psychotic disorders is unclear. As a test of models of psychopathology-personality in psychosis, the current study included 239 individuals, each with one of four psychotic disorders-schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder with psychotic features (BPp), major depressive disorder

Latinx sexual minority men (SMM) living in the U.S. endure intersectional oppression which has been linked to their engagement in sexual risk behaviors, increasing their risk for adverse outcomes such as HIV/STI/STD contraction and ongoing poverty. While research extensively documents the sexual behaviors of Latinx SMM, there is a lack of research examining the influence of their online experiences