Cognitive bias modification (CBM) interventions are strongly advocated in research and clinical practice.

To examine the efficiency of CBM for clinically relevant outcomes, along with study quality, publication bias and potential moderators.

We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of CBM interventions that reported clinically relevant outcomes assessed with standardised instruments.

We identified 49 trials and grouped outcomes into anxiety and depression. Effect sizes were small considering all the samples, and mostly non-significant for patient samples. Effect sizes became non-significant when outliers were excluded and after adjustment for publication bias. The quality of the RCTs was suboptimal.

CBM may have small effects on mental health problems, but it is also very well possible that there are no significant clinically relevant effects. Research in this field is hampered by small and low-quality trials, and by risk of publication bias. Many positive outcomes are driven by extreme outliers.

There is little research on children's positive attributes and their association with psychiatric outcomes.

To examine the hypothesis that children's positive attributes are associated with a reduced risk of developing psychopathology in future.

Positive attributes, measured with the Youth Strengths Inventory (YSI) and psychiatric outcomes were assessed on two occasions over 3 years in a large epidemiological sample of British children and adolescents (n = 5325).

The YSI showed high to moderate cross-informant correlations and longitudinal stability. Children scoring high on positive attributes at baseline had fewer psychiatric symptoms and disorders at follow-up, adjusting for symptoms at baseline, disorder at baseline and child and family factors. Analyses with propensity score matching also suggested that positive attributes decrease the likelihood of psychiatric morbidity.

Children's positive attributes are associated with significantly less psychopathology across time and may be a target for intervention.

Intergenerational continuities in criminal behaviour have been well documented, but the familial nature of psychopathic personality is less well understood.

To establish if there is an association between the psychopathic traits of a community sample of men and their offspring and whether psychosocial risk factors mediate this.

Participants of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (n = 478 dyads) were assessed for psychopathy using the PCL: SV. Multilevel regression models were used to investigate intergenerational continuity and mediation models examined indirect effects.

The fathers' psychopathy was transmitted to both sons and daughters. The transmission of Factor 1 scores was mediated via the fathers' employment problems. For male offspring, the Factor 2 scores were mediated via the fathers' drug use, accommodation and employment problems. For female offspring, Factor 2 scores were mediated via the fathers' employment problems.

Understanding of the specific role of certain psychosocial risk factors may be useful in developing preventive measures for the development of psychopathy.

Language use is often disrupted in patients with schizophrenia; novel computational approaches may provide new insights.

To test word use patterns as markers of the perceptual, cognitive and social experiences characteristic of schizophrenia.

Word counting software was applied to first-person accounts of schizophrenia and mood disorder.

More third-person plural pronouns (‘they’) and fewer first-person singular pronouns (‘I’) were used in schizophrenia than mood disorder accounts. Schizophrenia accounts included fewer words related to the body and ingestion, and more related to religion. Perceptual and causal language were negatively correlated in schizophrenia accounts but positively correlated in mood disorder accounts.

Differences in pronouns suggest decreased self-focus or perhaps even an understanding of self as other in schizophrenia. Differences in how perceptual and causal words are correlated suggest that long-held delusions represent a decreased coupling of explanations with sensory experience over time.

We still know little about whether and how the auditory hallucinations associated with serious psychotic disorder shift across cultural boundaries.

To compare auditory hallucinations across three different cultures, by means of an interview-based study.

An anthropologist and several psychiatrists interviewed participants from the USA, India and Ghana, each sample comprising 20 persons who heard voices and met the inclusion criteria of schizophrenia, about their experience of voices.

Participants in the USA were more likely to use diagnostic labels and to report violent commands than those in India and Ghana, who were more likely than the Americans to report rich relationships with their voices and less likely to describe the voices as the sign of a violated mind.

These observations suggest that the voice-hearing experiences of people with serious psychotic disorder are shaped by local culture. These differences may have clinical implications.

Antiviral therapy with interferon-alpha (IFN-α) for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with increased risk for depression.

To identify clinical predictors for IFN-α-induced depression during antiviral therapy for HCV infection.

Depression (defined with the Montgomery–åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)) was evaluated before and during antiviral treatment in 91 people with chronic HCV infection without a history of psychiatric disorders. Cognitive function was evaluated using the Trail Making Test A/B (TMT A/B). (Trial registration at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00136318.)

Depression during antiviral therapy was significantly associated with a baseline MADRS score of 3 or higher (P = 0.006). In total, 89% (n = 16) of patients who had a baseline score >0 for the single item sadness developed depression. Poor baseline performance in the TMT A (P = 0.027) and TMT B (P=0.033) was predictive for severe depression.

Pre-treatment screening for subthreshold depressive and cognitive symptoms will help to identify those at risk for IFN-α-associated depression among patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Little is known about the impact of insulin resistance on bipolar disorder.

To examine the relationships between insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and clinical course and treatment outcomes in bipolar disorder.

We measured fasting glucose and insulin in 121 adults with bipolar disorder. We diagnosed type 2 diabetes and determined insulin resistance. The National Institute of Mental Health Life Chart was used to record the course of bipolar disorder and the Alda scale to establish response to prophylactic lithium treatment.

Patients with bipolar disorder and type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance had three times higher odds of a chronic course of bipolar disorder compared with euglycaemic patients (50% and 48.7% respectively v. 27.3%, odds ratio (OR) = 3.07, P = 0.007), three times higher odds of rapid cycling (38.5% and 39.5% respectively v. 18.2%, OR = 3.13, P = 0.012) and were more likely to be refractory to lithium treatment (36.8% and 36.7% respectively v. 3.2%, OR = 8.40, P<0.0001). All associations remained significant after controlling for antipsychotic exposure and body mass index in sensitivity analyses.

Comorbid insulin resistance may be an important factor in resistance to treatment in bipolar disorder.

Despite evidence for the effectiveness of structured psychological therapies for bipolar disorder no psychological interventions have been specifically designed to enhance personal recovery for individuals with recent-onset bipolar disorder.

A pilot study to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a new intervention, recovery-focused cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT), designed in collaboration with individuals with recent-onset bipolar disorder intended to improve clinical and personal recovery outcomes.

A single, blind randomised controlled trial compared treatment as usual (TAU) with recovery-focused CBT plus TAU (n = 67).

Recruitment and follow-up rates within 10% of pre-planned targets to 12-month follow-up were achieved. An average of 14.15 h (s.d. = 4.21) of recovery-focused CBT were attended out of a potential maximum of 18 h. Compared with TAU, recovery-focused CBT significantly improved personal recovery up to 12-month follow-up (Bipolar Recovery Questionnaire mean score 310.87, 95% CI 75.00–546.74 (s.e. = 120.34), P = 0.010, d=0.62) and increased time to any mood relapse during up to 15 months follow-up (χ2 = 7.64, P<0.006, estimated hazard ratio (HR) = 0.38, 95% CI 0.18–0.78). Groups did not differ with respect to medication adherence.

Recovery-focused CBT seems promising with respect to feasibility and potential clinical effectiveness. Clinical- and cost-effectiveness now need to be reliably estimated in a definitive trial.

Severe depression can be a life-threatening disorder, especially in elderly patients. A fast-acting treatment is crucial for this group. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may work faster than medication.

To compare the speed of remission using ECT v. medication in elderly in-patients.

The speed of remission in in-patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of major depression (baseline MADRS score $20) was compared between 47 participants (mean age 74.0 years, s.d. = 7.4) from an ECT randomised controlled trial (RCT) and 81 participants (mean age 72.2 years, s.d. = 7.6) from a medication RCT (nortriptyline v. venlafaxine).

Mean time to remission was 3.1 weeks (s.d. = 1.1) for the ECT group and 4.0 weeks (s.d. = 1.0) for the medication group; the adjusted hazard ratio for remission within 5 weeks (ECT v. medication) was 3.4 (95% CI 1.9–6.2).

Considering the substantially higher speed of remission, ECT deserves a more prominent position in the treatment of elderly patients with severe depression.

The leaving of a will prior to death by suicide is a relatively unexplored area.

To determine the frequency and details of will content in suicide notes.

Coroner records for 1565 deaths by suicide in Toronto (2003–2009) were reviewed for (a) will content and (b) the presence of depression, psychotic illness, dementia and intoxication prior to death.

In total, 59 (20.7%) of 285 available suicide notes were found to have will content. Of those who left a will, 43 (72.9%) were reported to have a major mood or psychotic disorder, but none had dementia. Fifteen of 19 toxicology samples showed alcohol, sedative hypnotic/benzodiazepine, opioid and/or recreational drugs were present.

A substantial minority of suicide notes may also include testamentary intent. The observed high rate of mental illness and substance use around the time of death has important clinical implications for understanding the mindset of people who die by suicide and hence also legal implications regarding testamentary capacity.