Mid Sweden University

For decades, research on stress recovery has been neglected, as reflected in the underdevelopment of instruments measuring recovery processes. Nevertheless, a notable exception is the Recovery Experience Questionnaire (REQ) developed by Sonnentag and Fritz, which assesses work recovery experiences during leisure time. The REQ has demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity across multiple languages. In this study, we used the Swedish version of the REQ to investigate whether a factor covering experiences of contrast between work time and non-work time could be incorporated as a fifth factor into the established four-factor model of the REQ, which currently includes the factors control, relaxation, mastery, and psychological detachment. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using a sample of 812 participants recruited through social media. Utilizing four questions as indicators of contrasting experiences, all fit indices suggested a satisfactory model fit, closely resembling those of the four-factor model. Moreover, indices of reliability and validity indicated good composite reliability, internal convergent validity, and discriminant validity for all five factors. Among the five recovery factors, experiences of contrast exhibited the weakest relationship with both burnout and vitality. In conclusion, despite certain limitations in the present study, further examination of experiences of contrast as a recovery factor and the inclusion of this factor in the initial Swedish version of the 5-factor REQ are warranted.

Background: Child maltreatment (CM), i.e. neglect and abuse of children by their caregivers, has been linked to reduced psychological safety and a sense of disrupted body boundaries (DBB), both of which have been proposed to impair social functioning. However, evidence-based interventions to increase psychological safety and to reduce DBB are lacking. Objectives: We conducted two experiments across two separate studies. Study I examined the effect of a brief (60-minute) body-oriented intervention, derived from Somatic Experiencing (SE), on psychological safety. Study II investigated the effect of the same intervention on DBB. Methods: In both studies, adults with varying levels of CM exposure, based on total self-report scores across subtypes, were randomized to an SE group or to a psychoeducation control group. Study I included participants with a lack of psychological safety (n = 89); Study II included participants with DBB (n = 55). Results: In Study I, compared to controls, the SE group showed an increase in psychological safety (d = -.95, p <.001). SE group-specific changes were also found for different types of positive and negative affect and for social connectedness. Heart Rate (HR) decreased, and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) increased across groups. In Study II, compared to controls, the SE group showed a reduction in DBB (d = 1.13, p <.001) and an increase in interoceptive awareness, a proposed mechanism of action. Conclusions: A brief, SE-based intervention can facilitate momentary states of perceived safety and improve social connectedness in adults with different levels of CM. Future research should explore longer-lasting positive effects of SE. 

Acute psychological stress triggers rapid physiological adjustments, but the full scope of associated metabolic changes in humans remains poorly characterized. Prior studies have typically examined a limited set of candidate metabolites or pathways. We used untargeted metabolomics to characterize the plasma metabolite response to acute psychosocial stress induced by the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in 33 adults (10 men, 21 women, 2 non-binary; age M = 41.7, SD = 10.8). Blood was sampled at baseline, 5-min, and 90-min post-stress. A total of 561 metabolites were quantified using LC/GC–MS. Linear mixed models tested time-dependent (quadratic) effects while controlling for age, sex, BMI, and time since last meal. Acute psychosocial stress induced widespread metabolic changes, with 250 metabolites showing significant non-linear time effects. Most metabolites increased 5-min after stress and returned toward baseline at 90-min, reflecting transient activation and recovery. Three distinct clusters emerged: (1) Fatty acid–dominated cluster including long-chain and hydroxylated fatty acids, and cortisol, reflecting upregulated lipid mobilization and energy metabolism; (2) Phospholipid and sphingolipid–dominated cluster implicating membrane remodeling and signaling; and (3) Amino acid/nucleotide–dominated cluster, characterized by reduced essential amino acids and nucleotide intermediates. Pathway analysis revealed enrichment in steroid hormone biosynthesis, α-linolenic acid, and carbohydrate metabolism. Acute psychosocial stress elicits coordinated and reversible changes across multiple biochemical systems, primarily involving lipid mobilization and amino acid catabolism. Many of the identified metabolites overlap with those previously linked to depression, anxiety, and PTSD, suggesting that stress-induced metabolic responses may engage biological pathways relevant to psychiatric disorders and represent an initial step toward understanding how acute stress responses relate to these conditions.

Child maltreatment (CM) is associated with social problems, such as loneliness and isolation. One factor that might contribute to these problems is the tendency for individuals who have experienced CM to interpret neutral facial expressions as negative (i.e., negativity bias). Previous research has shown that mental representations of an attachment figure (AF) can lead to positive evaluations of neutral stimuli. We assessed whether such representations can also counteract negativity bias among individuals who experienced CM. Adults (N = 159) with and without a CM history completed a facial emotion recognition task. Prior to that, 53 participants with a CM history imagined an AF, and the rest (n = 49), as well as controls with no CM history (n = 57), imagined a neutral person. Participants in the AF group, d = 0.36, p <.001, but not the two other groups, demonstrated increased self-reported security in response to the imagination task. However, imagining an AF did not lead to stronger vagal responses to the imagination task than imagining a neutral person nor did it counteract negativity bias; compared to controls, individuals who experienced CM interpreted neutral expressions more often as contempt, βs.46–.48; ps =.016–.019, regardless of whether they imagined an AF or a neutral person. Thus, imagining an AF may be a helpful intervention to increase momentary feelings of security in individuals with a CM history. However, alternative—possibly body-oriented—interventions and their potential to reduce socially relevant alterations (e.g., negativity bias) on a behavioral level should be explored. 

Recovery from work stress is crucial for health and well-being. While research has strongly focused on recovery processes after the workday, there is increasing recognition of the importance of such processes during work. A challenge in investigating recovery processes at work has been the absence of validated measurement tools. This study developed and examined the psychometric properties of a work context-adapted version of the Swedish version of the Recovery Experience Questionnaire (REQ). Data were collected by means of an online survey, consisting of 481 employees at a large-sized company located in a medium-sized community in Sweden, in which the questionnaire was completed at two occasions (269 completed the questionnaire on the first or the second occasion, and 105 participants on both occasions). To determine the best-fitting model, we first conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test the a priori model. Both the EFA and the CFA supported the proposed four-factor structure of the scale, consisting of the factors Control, Relaxation, Mastery, and Psychological detachment. High reliability estimates were demonstrated for both internal consistency of the total measure and of each subscale, and test-retest consistency. Furthermore, the measure proved to have good convergent validity and discriminant validity for all factors, except some concern regarding convergent validity for Mastery. Despite the limitations discussed, the findings provide support for the use of the Swedish version of the REQ-W and suggest the development and psychometric testing of translated versions of the REQ-W in other languages.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Cognitive Assessment System ver.2 in Swedish and Norwegian contexts (CAS-2). Methodology: A total of 614 students (aged 5 to 18 years) were assessed using the CAS-2. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to investigate the construct validity of three competing models of the Scandinavian version of the CAS-2: a four-factor, a three-factor, and a bifactor model. The measurement invariance was tested for age and sex. Key Findings: The results indicated an acceptable to good fit for all three models. In addition, measurement invariance across sex and age groups was also supported. However, with respect to the four-factor model, the two factors (Planning and Attention) were strongly correlated, raising a discussion on the empirical and theoretical distinctiveness of these factors. Conclusions/Implications: These findings suggest that all three tested models contribute uniquely to understanding the CAS-2 but also underscore the need for further refinement and caution when drawing conclusions about cognitive profiles in the present version.

Childhood maltreatment (CM), defined as caregiver-perpetrated abuse or neglect during childhood or adolescence, is associated with enduring social dysfunction. Adults with a history of CM often maintain greater interpersonal distance from both friends and strangers, regardless of relational closeness. Predictive-processing models suggest that such impairments may stem from the development of overly precise negative beliefs about others, which are resistant to updating, even in the face of contradictory information. The current study investigated whether the ability to form and update social beliefs varies as a function of CM history, and whether belief updating moderates the association between CM and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following trauma exposure in adulthood. One hundred and eighteen participants completed a battery of questionnaires and a performance-based task assessing belief formation and updating about friends and strangers. Results indicated no CM-related differences in initial belief formation. However, as predicted, adults with a CM history showed impaired belief updating when interacting with strangers. Importantly, deficits in stranger-related belief updating moderated the relationship between CM severity and PTSD symptoms: those with poor updating showed a stronger association between CM and PTSD, while those with greater flexibility in belief updating reported low symptom levels regardless of maltreatment severity. These findings suggest that CM may disrupt adaptive belief updating in interpersonal contexts, contributing to later vulnerability to psychopathology. The results highlight the potential value of targeting social cognitive processes, particularly belief updating, in interventions aimed at improving social functioning and psychological resilience among individuals with a history of CM.

Anxiety and depression commonly occur together resulting in worse health outcomes than when they occur in isolation. We aimed to determine whether the genetic liability for comorbid anxiety and depression was greater than when anxiety or depression occurred alone. Data from 12,792 genotyped twins (ages 38–85) were analysed, including 1,986 complete monozygotic and 1,594 complete dizygotic pairs. Outcomes were prescription of antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs, as defined by the World Health Organization Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System (ATC) convention, for comorbid anxiety and depression (n = 1028), anxiety only (n = 718), and depression only (n = 484). Heritability of each outcome was estimated using twin modelling, and the influence of common genetic variation was assessed from polygenic scores (PGS) for depressive symptoms, anxiety, and 40 other traits. Heritability of comorbid anxiety and depression was 79% compared with 41% for anxiety and 50% for depression alone. The PGS for depressive symptoms likewise predicted more variation in comorbid anxiety and depression (adjusted odds ratio per SD PGS = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.43–1.63; ΔR2 = 0.031, ΔAUC = 0.044) than the other outcomes, with nearly identical results when comorbid anxiety and depression was defined by International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnoses (adjusted odds ratio per SD PGS = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.53–1.90; ΔR2 = 0.036, ΔAUC = 0.051). Individuals in the highest decile of PGS for depressive symptoms had over 5 times higher odds of being prescribed medication for comorbid anxiety and depression compared to those in the lowest decile. While results on a predominant role of depressive symptoms may have been biased by the size and heterogeneity of available data bases, they are consistent with the conclusion that genetic factors explain substantially more variation in comorbid anxiety and depression than anxiety or depression alone.

Strategic self-talk is a powerful mental skill that athletes can use to self-regulate the effects of pressure and enhance task performance. Multistates (MuSt) theory considers the combination of emotion- and action-centered self-regulation to be the most effective strategy to optimize athletes' performance and subjective experience. The aim of this study was to test the tenets of MuSt theory ona pressurized performance task, involving male junior football players (N= 20, Mage =18.6) competing at the elite level in Finland. The task tested the players' passing abilities over six trials while they applied different self-talk strategies in attempts to improve passing performance. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of strategic self-talk as a form of self-regulation. Specifically, the combination of emotion- and action-centered cue words proved to be the optimal strategy for coping with the demands of the task. The study findings have relevant practical implications for players, coaches, and practitioners.

The main purpose of the present study was to test if PSYDISC demonstrates incremental validity in predicting science skepticism across domains, beyond science attitude measures, in a Swedish context. Swedish-speaking participants (N = 314) completed an online survey containing the PSYDISC scale and two science attitude scales (Faith in Science and Negative Perceptions of Science), as well as measures of science skepticism regarding climate change, vaccines, and genetically modified organisms (GMO). Results from confirmatory factor analysis found support for the previously found four-factor model (hypothetical distance, social distance, spatial distance, and temporal distance). Additionally, measurement invariance was supported for age and gender, and local psychometric properties indicated good internal consistency with good discriminant validity but somewhat poor convergent validity. Regression analyses showed that PSYDISC demonstrated incremental predictive validity for climate change and vaccine skepticism but not for GMO skepticism. The present study thus supports PSYDISC as an incremental predictor of science skepticism.