Adaptive self-concept: Identifying the basic dimensions of self-beliefs

Promoting Resilience in Youth through Mindfulness mEditation (PRYME): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of mindfulness training as add-on to care-as-usual on internalizing problems, mental illness development, and associated brain and cognitive processes in help-seeking youth

BACKGROUND

Internalizing problems, such as worrying, anxiety and low mood, are increasingly common in youth and may constitute an early stage of mental illness development. There is thus an urgent need for effective measures to address mental health complaints as they develop and to prevent progression into more serious mental illness. Enhanced understanding of early-stage mental illness development, associated cognitive and brain processes, and their amenability to early intervention is crucial to this effort. Mindfulness-based interventions offer an accessible intervention option with demonstrated positive effects on internalizing disorders such as depression. Furthermore, mindfulness-based interventions may modulate cognitive processes and brain activity patterns associated with internalizing disorders. This study aims to determine how early-stage mindfulness-based intervention impacts internalizing symptom development, associated cognitive and brain processes, and mental illness progression in help-seeking youth.

METHODS

This longitudinal two-arm randomized controlled trial will be conducted in 155 help-seeking youth between 16 and 25 years of age. The investigational treatment, the Learning to Offset Stress program, is an adaptation of existing mindfulness-based programs. Developed for youth with internalizing problems, the training combines mindfulness exercises with mindful physical activity and yoga in 8 weekly 2-hour sessions. Participants are randomized to either Learning to Offset Stress program as an add on to care-as-usual, or care-as-usual-only. Assessments take place at baseline, end of treatment, and 2 months and 6 months after completion of treatment. The primary outcome is the level of internalizing problems measured with the internalizing subscale of the Adult Self Report questionnaire at end of treatment. Secondary outcomes include measures of self-compassion, rumination, experiential avoidance, and well-being. In addition, (functional) magnetic resonance imaging and computerized cognitive tasks are conducted at baseline and at end of treatment.

DISCUSSION

The current randomized controlled trial aims to enhance our understanding of the trajectory of emerging mental illness, associated cognitive and brain processes, and their modulation by early-stage mindfulness-based intervention.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05916651. Registered on 23 June 2023.

Self-compassion promotes self-concept clarity and self-change in response to negative events

OBJECTIVE

Negative events tend to reduce self-concept clarity, which could hinder self-change. Three studies (total n = 1603) including two preregistered tested whether inducing self-compassion in response to negative events promotes self-concept clarity and self-change.

METHODS

Participants engaged in either a self-compassionate or a control writing task regarding negative events. They responded to the scales of self-concept clarity and self-change before and after the manipulation. Self-change was assessed using two indicators: self-improvement regarding the negative aspects of the self (i.e., negativity transformation, Studies 1-3) and openness to self-change (Studies 2 and 3). In Study 3, self-esteem and affect were assessed to test alternative processes.

RESULTS

Across the studies, participants induced to be self-compassionate reported higher levels of self-concept clarity, negativity transformation (except in Study 1), and openness to self-change. Studies 2 and 3 found that self-concept clarity mediated the effect of self-compassion on openness to self-change. Study 3 indicated that this indirect effect remained significant, while the indirect effect of self-compassion on negativity transformation was nonsignificant when self-esteem and affect were considered.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, boosting self-compassion in response to negative events could help people retain self-concept clarity and, thus, be open to self-change. Self-compassion could also orient people to engage in negativity transformation.

A truly responsive listener is a self-verifying listener

We propose that accounts of responsiveness and responsive listening are tailored for people with positive self-views (high self-esteem, positive self-concepts). Researchers define responsiveness, in part, as valuing and appreciating a partners' attributes, accomplishments, and worldview. This emphasis on being positively validated overlooks the dangers of feeling overvalued, which are especially salient to those with low self-esteem and negative self-views. Self-verification motives lead people to feel closest to partners who see them as they see themselves. Responsiveness and positive validation may increase closeness among those with positive self-views, but these processes may backfire for those with negative self-views. We describe the challenges such individuals face in eliciting self-verification from partners and suggest ways of improving responsiveness to those with negative self-views.

Internalized homophobia and sexual risk behavior in men who have sex with men: The mediational role of sexual self-concept

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are one of the populations most likely to be infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) worldwide. Sexual risk behaviors (SRB) are the main route of HIV transmission. Among the factors associated with SRB, internalized homophobia (rejection of one's sexuality) is a risk factor unique for MSM. However, how this factor influences SRB is not clear. Therefore, the present study attempts to clarify the mechanism of action of the relationship between internalized homophobia on SRB based on the mediating effects of sexual self-concept. A study was conducted with 124 MSM living in Chile over 18 years of age (M = 24.4 and SD = 4.19). Through path analysis, it was observed that internalized homophobia has slight inverse effects on SRBs (multiple sexual partners and sexual activity under the influence of alcohol or drugs) when the sexual self-efficacy dimension acts as a mediating variable. These findings suggest that developing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns focused on MSM must highlight the development of a healthy sexual self-concept and address self-stigma.