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The Impact of Spin on the Interpretations of Abstracts of Randomized Controlled Trials in the Field of Clinical Psychology: An Online Randomized Controlled Trial
No full textABSTRACT
Objectives To assess the impact of spin on the interpretation of the results and conclusions reported in abstracts describing randomized controlled trials investigating behavioural treatments for depression.
Design This study was an online parallel-group randomized controlled trial.
Participants We recruited clinicians and clinical researchers by sending 6794 email invitations. We received 190 eligible responses of which 91 were randomized into the ‘without spin’-condition and 99 into the ‘with spin’-condition.
Interventions We selected 10 abstracts from published RCTs that investigated behavioural treatments for depression. The RCTs had at least one nonsignificant primary outcome and an abstract conclusion that claimed a beneficial effect despite that nonsignificant primary outcome. We rewrote the abstracts to create a spinless version of each of the 10 abstracts. Participants were randomly assigned to read one version of one of the 10 abstracts and answer questions about the study described in the abstract.
Outcome measures The primary outcome was the participants’ perception of the effectiveness of the treatment proposed in the abstract, rated on a scale from 0 to 10.
Results The Bayesian analysis showed no convincing support for an effect of spin on the participants’ perception of the treatment effectiveness (posterior mean = 0.53, SE = 0.27, 95% CI [-0.01, 1.07]; posterior mode = 0.54, 95% HDI [-0.02, 1.06]). However, following the Bayes factor of 1.8, no convincing support for a null-effect was found either.
Conclusion The presence of spin in abstracts did not convincingly impact the perceptions of clinicians and clinical researchers regarding the effectiveness of the proposed treatment
Psychometric properties of the German version of the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory
No full textData and code for the studies reported in Meule, A., Ertl, S., Forbush, K.T., Mindrup, L.M., Ehrenthal, J.C., & Kolar, D.R. (2025). Psychometric properties of the German version of the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory. Journal of Eating Disorders, 13, 60. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-025-01253-
Youth adversity and adolescent mental health: the role of parental and peer support at the intersection of gender, socio-economic status, and ethnicity
No full textBackground: Disadvantaged and minoritized young people experience the highest rates of youth adversity and mental health problems. The detrimental effects of youth adversity on mental health are often buffered by social support, but whether this depends on the intersection of multiple characteristics is unknown.
Methods: Analysis of cross-sectional self-reported data for 5,662 11-13-year-olds from the Determinants of Adolescent Social well-being and Health [DASH] study. Indirect effects of youth adversity on depression/anxiety via parental and peer support were estimated in a structural equation model, for 16 intersectionality profiles (based on gender, socio-economic status [SES], and ethnicity). Moderation attributable to these characteristics and their intersections was estimated.
Results: Youth adversity had a detrimental impact on depression/anxiety across all intersectionality profiles (b=0.08-0.36, p=0.02). Parental and peer support did not mediate the effect of youth adversity on depression/anxiety broadly across profiles. However, a weak indirect effect of parental nurturing was observed for the Lower SES South Asian Female profile (θ=0.12 [<0.01, 0.26]).
Conclusions: The harmful effects of youth adversity on adolescent mental health pervade across different societal intersections. Future research should refine the methods needed to investigate the mechanisms including structural conditions through which youth adversity operates, to inform the design of effective interventions
Interrogating process deficiencies in large-scale hydrologic models with interpretable machine learning
No full textLarge-scale hydrologic models are increasingly being developed for operational use in the forecasting and planning of water resources. However, the predictive strength of such models depends on how well they resolve various functions of catchment hydrology, which are influenced by gradients in climate, topography, soils, and land use. Most assessment of hydrologic model uncertainty has been limited to traditional statistical methods. Here, we present a proof-of-concept approach that uses interpretable machine learning techniques to provide post-hoc assessment of model sensitivity and process deficiency in hydrologic models. We train a random forest model to predict the Kling-Gupta Efficiency (KGE) of National Water Model (NWM) and National Hydrologic Model (NHM) streamflow predictions for 4,383 streamgages in the conterminous United States. Thereafter, we explain the local and global controls that 48 catchment attributes exert on KGE prediction using interpretable Shapley values. Overall, we find that soil water content is the most impactful feature controlling successful model performance, suggesting that soil water storage is difficult for hydrologic models to resolve, particularly for arid locations. We identify non-linear thresholds beyond which predictive performance decreases for NWM and NHM. For example, soil water content less than 210 mm, precipitation less than 900 mm/yr, road density greater than 5 km/km2, and lake area percent greater than 10% contributed to lower KGE values. These results suggest that improvements in how these influential processes are represented could result in the largest increases in NWM and NHM predictive performance. This study demonstrates the utility of interrogating process-based models using data-driven techniques, which has broad applicability and potential for improving the next generation of large-scale hydrologic models
Investigating Listening Effort in Preschool Children
No full textThis research aims to examine preschool children’s listening effort behaviorally using a response time paradigm with varying task difficulty. Additionally, a questionnaire looking into subjective listening effort is used
Benchmarking the Physical Performance Qualities in Women’s Football: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Across the Performance Scale
No full textBackground: There is a lack of data relating to the physical performance qualities of women’s football players across the performance scale. Objectives: (1) to establish meta-analytic estimates for select assessment protocols across seven physical qualities (cardiorespiratory fitness, sprint, acceleration, change of direction, lower limb power and strength, and maximal velocity), and (2) to investigate the moderating effect of participant tier; collectively providing normative benchmarking data. Methods: A systematic literature search of 4 databases (Pubmed, SportDiscuss, Scopus, Web of Science) for studies published between 2003 and 2023 was conducted, with a secondary search for studies published until August 2024. Studies were considered for inclusion if; the population were female football players, with a mean age >16 years, reported descriptive data of selected testing protocols, and didn’t include acute training interventions. Performance level (i.e., participant tier) of the study participants were categorised into 4 unique tiers (Tier 2 to Tier 5) using a modified version of the Participant Classification Framework. Means and standard deviations were analysed using mixed-effects, multilevel hierarchical models to obtain pooled estimates, 90% confidence intervals (CI) and prediction intervals (PIs). Meta-regression of modifying effects for participant tier were conducted, and comparisons were expressed as standardised mean differences. Results: The final dataset included 1840 estimates from 972 groups across 287 studies. All descriptive data including meta-analytic estimates for all testing protocols assessed are available (https://fifawomensdevelopmentprogramme.shinyapps.io/FIFA_Womens_Profiling/). The moderating effect of participant tier was assessed where adequate data permitted. Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 demonstrated moderate to large improvements when progressing from Tier 2 to Tiers 4 and 5 (combined; [b = 175 to 344 m]), similarly for velocity attained during the 30:15 Intermittent Fitness Test when directly comparing Tier 2 to Tiers 4 and 5 (b = 2.5 km·h-1). Sprint time decreased when progressing between tiers, where a moderate to large reduction for both 20 m (b= –0.17 to -0.22 s), and 30 m (b = –0.16 to -0.47 s) time when comparing Tier 2 to Tier 3 and Tiers 4 and 5, respectively. Moderate to large improvements in jump height were observed for SJ (restricted arm movement) between participant tiers (b = 3.6 to 6.2 cm), and similarly for CMJ when comparing Tier 3 to Tiers 4 and 5 for restricted (b = 3.1 cm) and unrestricted arm movement (b = 8.8 cm). Conclusions: Normative benchmarks that are useful for athlete profiling and development, talent identification, and training program design have been established. These findings highlight the role of sprinting ability, lower limb power, and intermittent aerobic capacity in differentiating athletes across the performance scale.
Registration: Protocol registration can be found in Open Science Framework and available through: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/8W3JH
Lucid dreaming of a prior virutal reality experience with ego-transcendent qualities: A proof-of-concept study
No full textThe Demographic Predictors of Flourishing: A Standardized Framework for Individual Country-Specific Analyses in the Global Flourishing Study
No full textThe Global Flourishing Study is a longitudinal panel assessment of the demographic and childhood predictors of flourishing in 22 countries, involving (in its first wave) over 200,000 individuals. Participation involves a one-off intake questionnaire of 43 items and an annual questionnaire of 71 items, which collectively cover, (a) six key dimensions of flourishing, and (b) eight demographic predictors. We hypothesize that these predictors will have meaningful and varied associations across each GFS flourishing outcome. While we will be mindful of potential interpretation challenges due to varying cultural contexts and response scales used, we anticipate the strength of these associations will differ by country, reflecting diverse socio-cultural influences. Indeed, this preregistration is specifically designed to allow in-depth analyses of individual countries, providing a common foundation and template for studies focusing separately on each of the 22 countries. Collectively this work will illuminate the distributions and descriptive statistics of flourishing across these predictors, offer insight into country-specific variations in flourishing, and lay a foundation for future investigations into sociocultural influences that might shape flourishing