Background: Guilt proneness and shame proneness are interconnected yet distinct personality traits that are gaining attention in addiction research. However, studies examining their differential associations with internet gaming disorder (IGD) and mediation mechanisms explaining these associations remain scarce. Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that emotional dysregulation could be a potential mediator of the associations between guilt proneness and shame proneness and IGD. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the associations between guilt proneness in cognitive (guilt-negative behavior-evaluations) and behavioral (guilt-repair) domains and shame proneness in cognitive (shame-negative self-evaluations) and behavioral (shame-withdrawal) domains and IGD, as well as related mediation mechanisms via emotional dysregulation. Methods: A multicenter, cross-sectional, anonymous online survey was conducted among medical undergraduate students in seven Chinese cities (Wenzhou, Dali, Nanning, Harbin, Baotou, Qiqihar, and Shantou) from December 2023 to February 2024. In total, 12,912 invitations were sent out, of which 8522 eligible cases were included; the mean response rate was 71.0%. The 9-item DSM-5 IGD Checklist was used to screen for IGD cases; the 16-item Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale was used to assess guilt and shame proneness; the Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire was used to assess emotional dysregulation. Univariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the associations between background factors and IGD. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to test the mediation mechanism, with the adjustment of background factors. Results: Of all participants, the prevalence of IGD was 7.5%. Background factors of male sex (vs female, OR 2.78, 95% CI 2.36, 3.28) and self-reported poor household financial situation (vs good, odds ratio [OR] 1.96, 95% CI 1.51, 2.55) were significantly associated with a higher risk of IGD; the associations involving study city, year of study, study major, and origin (residency) of students were statistically nonsignificant. SEM showed that shame proneness in both cognitive ( β =.29, 95% CI 0.26, 0.33) and behavioral ( β =.20, 95% CI 0.18, 0.22) domains and emotional dysregulation of rumination, catastrophizing, and self-blame ( β =.36, 95% CI 0.32, 0.40) were positively associated with IGD, while guilt proneness in both cognitive ( β =−.08, 95% CI −0.12 to −0.03) and behavioral domains ( β =−0.10, 95% CI −0.14 to −0.06) was negatively associated with IGD. Furthermore, emotional dysregulation partially mediated the association between guilt proneness and shame proneness in both domains and IGD (mediation effect size ranged from 22.0% to 45.8%). Conclusions: This study observed relatively high prevalence of IGD among medical undergraduate students in China. Furthermore, the associations between shame and guilt proneness and IGD were differential. Shame proneness and guilt proneness in cognitive and behavioral domains were both directly and indirectly (via emotional dysregulation) associated with IGD, suggesting that future intervention studies may reduce maladaptive shame proneness or shift from shame towards adaptive guilt to reduce the risk of IGD.

Background: Emotional granularity (EG), the ability to finely distinguish emotional experiences, plays a crucial role in emotion regulation and social interactions. This study measures EG using a standardized experimental procedure and assesses related variables through questionnaires. We employ both undirected graphical Gaussian models (GGM) and directed Bayesian network analysis (NA) to investigate how positive EG (PEG) and negative EG (NEG), in conjunction with emotion regulation, uniquely influences social anxiety and interpersonal relationships. Methods: The sample comprised 407 junior high school students from China, aged 13–14 years old. We utilized the Photo Emotion Differentiation Task (PED task), Emotion Regulation Scale (ERS), Interpersonal Relationship Comprehensive Diagnostic Scale (IRCDS), and Adolescent Social Anxiety Scale (SAS‐A) to measure emotional differentiation, emotion regulation, interpersonal relationships, and social anxiety, respectively. Results: The undirected network highlights a pronounced relationship between interpersonal relationships and social anxiety. “Socialization and Friendship Distress” shows the highest expected influence, followed by “Social Avoidance and Distress in General Situations”, and “Conversational Distress”. Bayesian NA indicates that both PEG and NEG, along with cognitive reappraisal (CR), influence social anxiety and interpersonal relationships. PEG directly affects social anxiety features, whereas NEG is influenced by them. Additionally, females experience more severe issues with interpersonal relationships and social anxiety than males. Conclusion: The study revealed that individuals with lower positive EG directly impact social anxiety and interpersonal issues, and indirectly affect CR. Conversely, negative EG is mainly influenced by social anxiety symptoms and directly affects CR strategies. These findings highlight the importance of EG in adolescent mental health, suggesting that enhancing emotional differentiation could effectively address social anxiety and foster healthier interpersonal relationships.

This study aimed to explore the chain mediating effects of interpersonal sensitivity and loneliness in the relationship between neuroticism and depression

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is common in older adults and may progress to Alzheimer disease. Accessible behavioral measures are needed to identify subtle cognitive changes; tactile tasks may provide a low-cost approach. Objective: To examine whether tactile cognitive tasks can differentiate between older adults with MCI and healthy controls (HC), and to explore whether processing related to working memory may contribute to tactile task deficits. Methods: We recruited two independent cohorts of older adults. Cohort 1 completed a tactile angle size comparison task and a tactile angle sequencing task, while Cohort 2 completed a visual learning-recognition task. We analyzed group differences while controlling for age, sex, years of education, and scores on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale and Hamilton Depression Scale. We then calculated signal detection indices for the learning-recognition task. Results: After covariate adjustment, the tactile angle size comparison task did not show a significant group difference ( p =0.388). The tactile angle sequencing task significantly distinguished individuals with MCI from HC ( p <0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analyses showed acceptable-to-good discriminatory performance for the tactile tasks, with stronger performance for the sequencing task. In the learning-recognition task, individuals with MCI showed reduced discrimination sensitivity indexed by d ′. Conclusion: Tactile sequencing performance appears more sensitive to MCI-related impairment than simple tactile angle comparison. These findings suggest that complex tactile deficits in MCI may be partly associated with working-memory–related processing.