Ernst H. W. Koster

People suffering from schizophrenia, depression and other severe mental illnesses often suffer from cognitive problems. In most people, these problems persists after the major symptomatic episode is over, and in some cases cognitive problems also preceded an episode. Unfortunately, even after symptomatic remission, full recovery of cognitive functions often does not occur, thereby severely and enduringly impeding daily life functioning. Although it’s recognized in the field of psychiatry and psychology that these cognitive problems persist, there is little mechanistic understanding of how these problems arose and persist. We believe that this lack of a mechanistic understanding severely hampers mitigation of these residual problems and limits the ability for stable remission and potential for rebuilding a fulfilling live. In this perspective paper, we introduce a model inspired by behavioural economics that focuses on the decision making process underpinning cognitive control allocation. With this model we conceptualize the situational inability to engage in enduring and/or demanding cognitive daily life tasks, as a consequence of aberrant/maladaptive decision-making. We integrate insights from cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, clinical psychology with practices of cognitive remediation in the field of severe mental illness. With this multidisciplinary approach, we offer hypotheses on how widely available therapies could be used to boost cognitive functioning following mental illness.

Rumination constitutes a maladaptive form of self-focused cognition (Mor & Winquist, 2002; Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 2008), defined by repetitive and passive contemplation of the causes and consequenc...

Bullying is associated with internalizing symptoms and impaired everyday functioning. Cognitive‐behavioural therapy (CBT) and imagery interventions have been studied as treatments to improve mental health after such experiences. This meta‐analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of individual CBT and imagery interventions in targeting internalizing symptoms (negative affect, depression, anxiety and post‐traumatic stress symptoms) and improving self‐perception and coping in bullying victims. Systematic searches of PubMed, PsycInfo, Embase and Web of Science identified 23 studies applying CBT ( n = 15) and imagery interventions ( n = 8) in bullying victims. Risk of bias and random‐effects meta‐analyses were conducted for pre ‐ post and pre ‐ follow‐up comparisons. Sensitivity analyses and meta‐regressions explored potential moderators. Unadjusted analyses showed reductions in internalizing symptoms pre‐ to post ‐ intervention ( k = 21, g = 0.72). These symptoms were maintained at follow‐up assessments ( k = 9, g = 0.54). Similar initial improvements emerged for self‐perception and coping outcomes ( k = 15, g = 0.75). However, substantial heterogeneity existed ( I ² = 68%–98%). Crucially, after adjusting for publication bias, the pre–post internalizing effect dropped to g = 0.26 and was no longer statistically significant. Conversely, the adjusted effect for self‐perception and coping increased to g = 0.98, whereas the follow‐up internalizing effect decreased ( g = 0.37) but remained significant. Both CBT and imagery interventions may offer potential benefits for bullying victims in reducing internalizing symptoms and in improving self‐perception and coping abilities. However, large heterogeneity, methodological limitations and publication bias warrant cautious interpretation. Further high‐quality controlled trials are needed to establish the robustness and clinical efficacy of these interventions.

Psychological functioning fluctuates over time, particularly in response to stress, with considerable interindividual differences (Waugh & Sali, 2023). In this sense, rather than following a unifor...

As fertility rates decline in industrialized nations, an increasing number of adults expect to remain without children. While often grouped together in demographic studies, non‐parents comprise diverse subgroups with distinct motivations. Despite growing discourse around reproductive choices, the psychological functioning of these specific subgroups remains poorly understood. This cross‐sectional study recruited 492 non‐parent adults from the United Kingdom via Prolific. Participants were categ o rized as childless ( N = 258; desire children or undecided), childfree ( N = 199; do not desire children for personal, social, or economic reasons), or antinatalist ( N = 35; do not desire children for moral or ethical reasons). Participants completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale‐21 (DASS‐21), Child Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Experiences in Close Relationships—Revised (ECR‐R), Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), and Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire—Revised (SBQ‐R). Group differences were analyzed using Kruskal‐Wallis tests and quantile regression, adjusting for age, education, marital status, and ethnicity. Significant demographic differences were found between the groups in age, education level, marital status, and ethnicity. Unadjusted analyses showed that childless individuals reported significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, stress, attachment anxiety, and search for meaning compared to childfree individuals. After adjusting for demographic covariates, most of these group differences became non‐significant. However, childfree individuals still showed significantly lower attachment anxiety (at the median), lower reported childhood physical abuse (at the upper quantile), and lower suicidal ideation (at the lower quantile) compared to childless individuals. No evidence emerged that antinatalists experienced greater psychological distress than the other groups. After accounting for demographic factors, psychological differences among antinatalist, childfree, and childless individuals were minimal. Demographic characteristics, rather than reproductive stances, largely accounted for observed variations. These findings counter narratives portraying voluntarily childless individuals, particularly antinatalists, as psychologically maladjusted. However, the small antinatalist sample size ( n = 35) severely limited statistical power.

Empirical evidence on whether the presence of a smartphone reduces attentional resources is mixed, suggesting additional factors are involved. The current study examines one such factor, namely the presence (or absence) of reward expectations. In a lab experiment, 111 participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (no smartphone present, smartphone present, or smartphone present with induced reward-message expectation). They completed a Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) before and after the manipulation. Results indicate that the presence of a smartphone reduced reaction-time performance on the SART, but that reward expectations did not lead to an additional performance decrement. Exploratory analysis indicated that individuals higher in online vigilance showed greater attentional disruption in both the smartphone presence and reward expectation conditions. Together, these findings suggest that smartphone-related attentional costs may depend more on reward history and stable individual differences than on momentary reward anticipation.

Research on social media use and mental health has increasingly emphasized that global usage metrics such as screentime obscure the heterogeneous nature of users’ online experiences. This study introduces and validates the Social Media Content and Engagement scale (SMCE), a formative self-report measure assessing four dimensions of social media use: (1) frequency of exposure; (2) engagement with content; (3) perceived emotional impact (with valence and intensity as separate dimensions), and (4) perceived algorithmic targeting, applied across six major content categories. A representative adult sample (UK-based) completed baseline measures (n = 573) and a one-month follow-up (n = 486). As expected for a formative measure, interaction dimensions contributed differentially across content types, confirming that each dimension captures unique, non-redundant information. Indicator collinearity was low, and test–retest reliability ranged from fair to good. Convergent and discriminant validity were supported through expected associations with affective well-being and emotional reactivity, with no associations observed with need for cognition. Structural analyses showed that mental well-being and influencer content were weakly but significantly associated with depression, anxiety and stress complaints. Emotional valence was associated with depressive symptoms and predicted anxiety and stress complaints over one month above baseline symptomatology. Emotional intensity showed small but consistent positive associations with depression, anxiety, and stress. Perceived algorithmic targeting was not significantly associated with mental health outcomes. Overall, findings demonstrate that the SMCE is a psychometrically robust tool for capturing content-specific social media experiences and provides a more nuanced alternative to traditional global usage metrics.

Dit essay brengt zeven kerninzichten samen die voortvloeien uit onderzoeksprojecten aande Universiteit Gent (UGent), Universiteit Antwerpen (UAntwerpen) en KatholiekeUniversiteit Leuven (KULeuven) die de wetenschap achter digitaal welbevinden en digitaalontkoppelen onderzoeken:• Project DISCONNECT, gefinancierd door de Europese Onderzoeksraad onder het Horizon2020 Research and Innovation programma (950635).• Project DISCONNECT TO RECONNECT, gefinancierd door het Vlaams Fonds voorWetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO-Vlaanderen; S005923N).• Project COST OF 24/7, gefinancierd door het Vlaams Fonds voor WetenschappelijkOnderzoek (FWO-Vlaanderen; G075524N).