Faculty Bibliography

Initial research has indicated that college students have experienced numerous stressors as a result of the pandemic. The current investigation enrolled the largest and most diverse sample of college students to date (N = 4714) from universities in New York (NY) and New Jersey (NJ), the epicenter of the North American pandemic in Spring 2020. We described the impact on the psychological, academic, and financial health of college students who were initially most affected and examined racial/ethnic group differences. Results indicated that students' mental health was severely affected and that students of color were disproportionately affected by academic, financial, and COVID-related stressors. Worry about COVID-19 infection, stressful living conditions, lower grades, and loneliness emerged as correlates of deteriorating mental health. COVID-19's mental health impact on college students is alarming and highlights the need for public health interventions at the university level.

Behavioral inhibition (BI), an infant temperament characterized by distress to novelty, is amongst the strongest early risk markers for future anxiety. In this review, we highlight three ways that recent research elucidates key details about the pathophysiology of anxiety in individuals with BI. First, atypical amygdala connectivity during infancy may be related to BI. Second, developmental shifts in cognitive control may portend risk for anxiety for children with BI. Lastly, distinct cognitive control processes moderate the BI-anxiety relation in different ways. Studying the intersection of these three streams of work may inform prevention or intervention work.

Fetal, infant, and toddler neuroimaging is commonly thought of as a development of modern times (last two decades). Yet, this field mobilized shortly after the discovery and implementation of MRI technology. Here, we provide a review of the parallel advancements in the fields of fetal, infant, and toddler neuroimaging, noting the shifts from clinical to research use, and the ongoing challenges in this fast-growing field. We chronicle the pioneering science of fetal, infant, and toddler neuroimaging, highlighting the early studies that set the stage for modern advances in imaging during this developmental period, and the large-scale multi-site efforts which ultimately led to the explosion of interest in the field today. Lastly, we consider the growing pains of the community and the need for an academic society that bridges expertise in developmental neuroscience, clinical science, as well as computational and biomedical engineering, to ensure special consideration of the vulnerable mother-offspring dyad (especially during pregnancy), data quality, and image processing tools that are created, rather than adapted, for the young brain.

This article draws into focus the role of cultural and structural humility in shaping a mental health system that can address the mental health disparities for BIPOC youths. In an era of growing diversity in the United States population and a calling out of racism and discrimination on an interpersonal and systemic level, the commitment to a lifelong engagement of cultural awareness and an openness to reflect and critique, is whereby mutual partnerships between professionals, patients, and clinician themselves can strengthen. This hallmark tenet of cultural humility is actively being adopted into community programs and academic health care institutions as ways to improve the mental health understanding and needs of BIPOC youths.

Achieving the 95-95-95 UNAIDS targets requires meeting the needs of adolescents, however we lack evidenced-based approaches to improving adolescent adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), increasing viral suppression, and supporting general wellbeing. We developed Family Connections as a group intervention for adolescents and their adult caregivers and conducted a randomized controlled trial in Ndola, Zambia to test feasibility and acceptability. Fifty pairs (n = 100) of adolescents (15-19 years and on ART ≥ 6 months) and their caregivers were randomly assigned either to the intervention consisting of 10 group sessions over 6 months, or to a comparison group, which received the usual care. Each pair completed baseline and endline surveys, with adolescents also undergoing viral load testing. Of the 24-intervention adolescent/caregiver pairs, 88% attended at least eight group sessions. Most adolescents (96%) and all caregivers would recommend Family Connections to peers. Adolescent viral failure decreased but did not significantly differ by study group. Adolescents in the intervention group showed a greater reduction in HIV-related feelings of worthlessness and shame than the comparison group. The feasibility, acceptability, and the positive trend toward significantly reducing internalized stigma, generated by this Family Connections pilot study, contributes valuable data to support adolescent/caregiver approaches that use peer groups.

The preva lence of long-COVID symptoms is rising but it is not still possible to predict which patients will present them, and which types of symptoms they will present. We followed up 95 patients with confirmed COVID-19 for 9 months to identify and characterize long-COVID symptoms. Easy fatigability was the most common symptom (51.04%), followed by anxiety (38.54%), dyspnea (38.54%), and new-onset headache (38.54%). There was no association between COVID-19 severity in the acute phase and the number of long-COVID symptoms (F(1,93) = 0.75, p = 0.45), and cognitive function (MoCA) scores (F(1,90) = 0.073, p = 0.787) at follow-up. Being female (F(1,92) =  - 2.27, p = 0.02), having a higher number of symptoms (F(1,93) = 2.76, p = 0.0068), and experiencing constitutional neuropsychiatric symptoms (F(1,93) = 2.529, p = 0.01) in the acute phase were associated with having chronic fatigue syndrome at follow-up. Moreover, constitutional neuropsychiatric symptoms in the acute phase were associated with a lower MoCA score (F(1,93) = 10.84, p = 0.001) at follow-up. Specific clinical presentations such as constitutional neuropsychiatric symptoms in the acute phase might be predictors of debilitating long-COVID symptoms such as chronic fatigue syndrome and cognitive deficits.

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:Violence by patients against health care professionals has been widely described. Although psychiatric trainees are particularly exposed, little is known about the extent, context, and impact of violence toward them in Europe. METHODS:A cross-sectional online survey was distributed between June 2018 and December 2019 among European psychiatric trainees through professional networks, using a snowball approach. The questionnaire asked about experiences of verbal abuse and physical and sexual assaults, as well as their context and impact. Descriptive analyses of the obtained data were conducted. RESULTS:The survey was completed by 827 trainees from 39 countries (68.4% females). Most (83.6%) reported having been abused/assaulted at least once (of these, 92% verbally, 44.1% physically, and 9.3% sexually). Emergency rooms and inpatient units were the most frequent settings. Psychological impact of these events was commonly reported. Most respondents did not report abuses and assaults to their supervisors. They also described a lack of training for staff and aggression management plans at their institutions or of being unaware of their existence. CONCLUSIONS:Violence from patients is reported by many psychiatric trainees across countries in Europe, with very frequent verbal abuse and worrisome figures of physical and sexual assaults. Particularly concerning are the low proportion of trainees reporting to authorities, the lack of staff training and management protocols, and trainees' lack of awareness about those resources. Despite the study limitation of a small response rate, these results support a call for urgent efforts to address this problem in Europe, and possibly beyond.