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Over the past 25 years, the development of multi-user applications has seen significant advancements and challenges. The technological development in this field has emerged from simple chatrooms, thro…

Over the past 25 years, the development of multi-user applications has seen significant advancements and challenges. The technological development in this field has emerged from simple chatrooms, through videoconferencing tools to the crea-tion of complex, interactive, and often multisensory virtual worlds. These multi-user technologies have gradually found their way into mental health care, where they are used in both dyadic counselling and group interventions. However, some limitations in hardware capabilities, user experience designs, and scalability may have hindered the effectiveness of these applications. Objective: The present systematic review aimed at summarizing the progress made and the potential future directions in this field while evaluating various factors and perspectives relevant to remote multi-user interventions. Methods: The systematic review was performed based on Web of Science (WoS) and PubMed database search covering articles in the English language published from Jan-uary 1999 to March 2024 related to multi-user mental health interventions. Several inclusion and exclusion criteria were determined before and during the records screening process performed in several steps. Results: We have identified 49 records exploring the multi-user applications in mental health care, ranging from text-based interventions to interventions set in fully immer-sive environments. The number of publications exploring this topic is growing since 2015, with a large increase during COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of digital inter-ventions were delivered in a form of video-conferencing, with only a few implementing immersive environments. The studies utilized professional or peer supported group interventions or a combination of both approaches. The research studies targeted di-verse groups and topics, from nursing mothers to psychiatric disorders or various mi-nority groups. Most group sessions happened weekly, or in case of the peer-support groups, often with flexible schedule. Conclusions: We have identified many benefits to multi-user digital interventions for mental healthcare. These approaches provide distributed, always available and afford-able peer support that can be used to deliver necessary help to people living outside of areas where in-person interventions are easily available. While immersive virtual envi-ronments have become a common tool in many areas of psychiatric care, such as expo-sure therapy, our results suggest that this technology in multi-user settings is still in its early stages. Most identified studies investigated mainstream technologies, such as vid-eo conferencing or text-based support, substituting immersive experience for conven-ience and ease of use. While many studies discuss useful features of virtual environ-ments in group interventions, such as anonymity or stronger engagement with the group, we discuss persisting issues with these technologies, which currently prevent their full adoption.

Alcohol use is one of the leading public health concerns in the Czech Republic. Drinking motives play a vital role in both initiation and subsequent alcohol use. A revised version of the self-report D…

Alcohol use is one of the leading public health concerns in the Czech Republic. Drinking motives play a vital role in both initiation and subsequent alcohol use. A revised version of the self-report Drinking Motives Questionnaire (DMQ-R) has been proposed to assess these motives. The present study aims to validate the DMQ-R in the Czech general population. METHODS: A total sample of 1,784 Czech participants completed a national survey. For the analysis, only a sub-sample of the past 12 months alcohol users was used: N = 1,123; 52.8% male; mean (SD) age = 40.2 (13.3). Drinking motives were assessed by the adopted Czech version of the DMQ-R. Both confirmatory (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were conducted to examine the factorial structure of the instrument. The age of the participant was additionally considered in the analysis (15-24 years as opposed to 25-64 years). RESULTS: The CFA supported the four-factor model in the 25-64 age group. The analysis supported the construct validity of the Social, Conformity, and Coping factors. The Enhancement factor retained only two items and was found to refer more to a domain of 'Pleasant Feeling'. For the 15-24 age group, the hypothesised four-factor structure was not corroborated. CONCLUSIONS: The Czech version of the DMQ-R was found to be a reliable measurement tool of the Social, Conformity, and Coping motives. Future research should investigate the dimensionality of the instrument items presumed to correspond to the Enhancement motives. This should be conducted particularly among adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 years, where administering the DMQ-R with a large enough sample is also needed.

Previous studies have found that threatening stimuli are more readily perceived and more intensely experienced when presented during cardiac systole compared with diastole. Also, threatening stimuli a…

Previous studies have found that threatening stimuli are more readily perceived and more intensely experienced when presented during cardiac systole compared with diastole. Also, threatening stimuli are judged as physically closer than neutral ones. In a pre-registered study, we tested these effects and their interaction using a naturalistic (interactive and three-dimensional) experimental design in immersive virtual reality: we briefly displayed threatening and non-threatening animals (four each) at varying distances (1.5–5.5 m) to a group of young, healthy participants (n = 41) while recording their electrocardiograms (ECGs). Participants then pointed to the location where they had seen the animal (approx. 29 000 trials in total). Our pre-registered analyses indicated that perceived distances to both threatening and non-threatening animals did not differ significantly between cardiac phases—with Bayesian analysis supporting the null hypothesis. There was also no evidence for an association between subjective fear and perceived proximity to threatening animals. These results contrast with previous findings that used verbal or declarative distance measures in less naturalistic experimental conditions. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the cardiac phase-related variation in threat processing may not generalize across different paradigms and may be less relevant in naturalistic scenarios than under more abstract experimental conditions.

Objectives: Regular monitoring of health-related behaviours among vulnerable populations is of public health importance. This study examines trends in cigarette smoking among Czech adolescents followi…

Objectives: Regular monitoring of health-related behaviours among vulnerable populations is of public health importance. This study examines trends in cigarette smoking among Czech adolescents following the marked changes reported in the mid-2010s. Methods: Data from three recent rounds of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study conducted in Czechia in 2014, 2018, and 2022 were analysed. Temporal trends were assessed for two indicators of adolescent cigarette use: (i) lifetime cigarette use and (ii) cigarette use in the last 30 days. Binary logistic regression was used to test for temporal changes between survey periods. In 2022, the same two indicators were also calculated for electronic cigarette use. Results: A continuing decline in adolescent cigarette use was observed for both indicators, extending the trends reported in the mid-2010s into the 2020s. However, the findings also highlight the increasing prevalence of electronic cigarette use among Czech adolescents. Conclusions: Although conventional cigarette use among adolescents continues to decline, the growing popularity of electronic cigarettes undermines efforts to reduce overall nicotine exposure and, in the long term, could counteract the intended trends in nicotine-related harms.

Objectives: Planetary-health literacy (PHL), the knowledge, motivation and social support required to safeguard both human and environmental health, may help adolescents cope with climate-related dist…

Objectives: Planetary-health literacy (PHL), the knowledge, motivation and social support required to safeguard both human and environmental health, may help adolescents cope with climate-related distress and adopt sustainable behaviours. Evidence on the linkage between PHL and mental health from Central and Eastern Europe is lacking. The aim of the study was to describe PHL in Czech adolescents by sex, grade and family affluence, examine its association with mental-health indicators, and explore links with selected environment-relevant behaviours. Methods: Cross-sectional data were drawn from the nationally representative Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) 2022 survey (n = 4,195, 50.8% boys, ages 13 and 15 years). PHL was measured with an 11-item HBSC optional package yielding three sub-scales (knowledge, action, perceived pro-environmental social norms). Outcomes were wellbeing (WHO-5), life satisfaction (Cantril’s ladder), and psychological complaints (HBSC symptom checklist). Fruit and vegetable intake plus cigarette and e-cigarette use served as behavioural correlates. Results: Girls scored higher than boys on all PHL domains (Cohen d = 0.10–0.19). Thirteen-year-olds reported more action and stronger social norms than fifteen-year-olds (p < 0.001); socioeconomic gradients were small. In fully adjusted models, social norms were positively associated with wellbeing (β = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.12–1.72) and life satisfaction (β = 0.10, 0.08–0.13), and inversely with psychological complaints (β = −0.27, −0.33 to −0.21). Knowledge showed weak adverse relations with wellbeing and complaints, whereas action was associated with wellbeing only. Higher PHL related to daily fruit and vegetable consumption and inversely to intensive e-cigarette use; effect sizes were modest. Conclusions: Perceived pro-environmental social norms appear most tightly related to adolescent mental health, while overall PHL is slightly associated with sustainable dietary patterns and lower use of e-cigarettes. School curricula that combine climate education with collaborative, action-oriented projects may therefore deliver co-benefits for planetary and psychological health in Central and Eastern Europe.