To model individuals' experience of urban spaces, this study integrates knowledge from environmental psychology and artificial intelligence to propose a framework for individuals' perceptions and emotion by incorporating individual characteristics and cognitive appraisal together with environment attributes as determinants. A path model is employed to capture how the four perceptions of environmental qualities (safety, liveliness, comfort, and legibility) and three dimensions of emotion (pleasure, arousal, dominance) are influenced by individual characteristics and cognitive appraisal using data collected in an online virtual reality experiment with 237 participants. Results show that emotional pleasure is more directly influenced by environmental attributes while arousal and dominance are closely related to a person's current mood and personality. Perceptions of environmental qualities do have mediating effects in emotion generation, but contribute differently to the three dimensions of emotion. Cognitive appraisal variables directly influence emotion generation, with ideal values always having positive effects and expected values always negative effects. The findings can help capture the dynamic process of emotional experiences between diverse individuals and may support experience-centered simulation and prediction.
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Background: People with a personality disorder (PD) suffer from enduring inflexible patterns in cognitions and emotions, leading to significant subjective distress, affecting both self and interpersonal functioning. In clinical practice, Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) is provided to clients with a PD, and although research continuously confirms the value of DMT for many populations, to date, there is very limited information available on DMT and PD. For this study, a systematic literature review on DMT and PD was conducted to identify the content of the described DMT interventions and the main treatment themes to focus upon in DMT for PD. Methods: A systematic search was conducted across the following databases: EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, WEB OF SCIENCE, PsycINFO/OVID, and SCOPUS following the PRISMA guidelines. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme for qualitative studies was used to rank the quality of the articles. The Oxford Center for Evidence-based Medicine standards were applied to determine the hierarchical level of best evidence. Quantitative content analysis was used to identify the intervention components: intended therapeutic goals, therapeutic activities leading to these goals, and suggested therapeutic effects following from these activities. A thematic synthesis approach was applied to analyze and formulate overarching themes. Results: Among 421 extracted articles, four expert opinions met the inclusion criteria. Six overarching themes were found for DMT interventions for PD: self-regulation, interpersonal relationships, integration of self, processing experiences, cognition, and expression and symbolization in movement/dance. No systematic descriptions of DMT interventions for PD were identified. A full series of intervention components could be synthesized for the themes of self-regulation, interpersonal relationships, and cognition. The use of body-oriented approaches and cognitive strategies was in favor of dance-informed approaches. Conclusions: Dance movement therapists working with PD clients focus in their interventions on body-related experiences, non-verbal interpersonal relationships, and to a lesser extent, cognitive functioning. A methodological line for all intervention components was synthesized for the themes of self-regulation, interpersonal relationships, and cognition, of importance for developing systematic intervention descriptions. Future research could focus on practitioners’ expertise in applying DMT interventions for PD to develop systematic intervention descriptions and explore the suitability of the identified themes for clinical application. Clients’ experiences could offer essential insights on how DMT interventions could address PD pathology and specific PD categories.
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Research shows that victimization rates in forensic mental health care are high for both female and male patients. However, gender differences have been found in types and patterns of victimization (more sexual abuse and more complex trauma for women), cognitive appraisal, and response to traumatic events. Gender-responsive treatments focusing on trauma have been designed to adhere to these gender differences; however, despite promising research results, these interventions are yet to be introduced in many settings. This study examined how trauma is addressed in current clinical practice in Dutch forensic mental health care, whether professionals are knowledgeable of gender differences in trauma, and how gender-responsive factors such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, social relations, and coping skills are considered in treatment for female patients. We used a mixed-method design consisting of an online survey and 33 semi-structured interviews with professionals and patients. The results suggested that Dutch forensic mental health care could address trauma more structurally, and professionals could be more aware of gender differences and gender-responsive factors. Early start of trauma treatment was deemed important but was not current practice according to patients. Based on this study, guidelines were developed for gender-responsive, trauma-informed work in forensic mental health care.
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