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AbstractThe contents and characteristics of mental imagery (MI) have been investigated with respect to a few mental disorders, but not yet in healthy samples. In adults, it was found that characteristics like the vividness and perspective of MI might be associated with emotions and emotional distress, a matter which needs to be examined in youths. A sample of 80 adolescents (14–20 years; 75.3% female) completed a web-based quasi-experimental design about the contents, and characteristics (frequency, vividness, perspective, controllability) of spontaneous positive and negative MI and emotional distress and emotions, as well as the Beck Depression Inventory and the Social Phobia Inventory. Adolescents described mental images primarily about social themes and those participants experiencing images about social conflicts reported higher levels of emotional distress. Participants reported perceiving images in a combination of field- and observer perspective also stated a higher score of anxiety. A higher frequency, vividness and less control over negative images were significantly linked to a higher intensity of emotional distress and anxiety. A higher frequency, vividness and a higher level of control over positive images were significantly linked to a higher intensity of joy. Small sample size and high social status of participants limits generalizability. Findings indicate that encouraging young people to create vivid positive images and to use a training to increase control over MI might be useful to increase mental health. The results do not permit causal conclusions to be drawn, but raise questions about previous studies comparing each imagery perspective individually.

Among the cultural conceptualizations of distress, susto is defined in the DSM-5 as "a cultural explanation of distress and misfortune in Latin America that refers to an illness attributed to a terrifying event that causes the soul to leave the body and leads to unhappiness and illness, as well as difficulties in performing key social functions" (American Psychiatric Association (APA) (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition. Washington, DC: APA, p. 836). Thus, susto represents a cultural explanation that encompasses the symptoms of various mental disorders and physical diseases. We analyzed the descriptions of susto from different scientific fields and related them to definitions of DSM-5 syndromes. Three syndromic subtypes of susto show a symptomatic overlap with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and somatic disorder. However, linguistic metaphors describing symptoms and perceived causes that are specific for Latin American culture support the concept of susto as a specific idiom of distress (e.g., loss of soul, shadow or ajayu; sunken, closed or white eyes; jumping and screaming in the night; being thrown to the ground). In addition, if diagnostic criteria are met for mental disorders, then susto describes a perceived cause of psychopathological states (e.g., depressive disorder, PTSD, somatic disorder, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder). Future research with people who have experienced susto is needed to clarify whether susto precedes the onset of other mental disorders (perceived cause) or whether it is a way of designating distress (idiom of distress).

The current research presents an adapted Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP) to assess the aspects of the relational schema of romantic partners that are difficult to verbalize and tests the prediction that a positive implicit image of the partner constitutes a psychological resource that increases well‐being. In Study 1, the partner‐AMP predicted well‐being in student participants even after controlling for explicit partner attitudes and socially desirable responding. In Study 2, the partner‐AMP was assessed in women with a recent history of physical abuse and a control group. As expected, the partner‐AMP was related to group membership and predicted well‐being over and above explicit partner attitudes and battering experience. The results are compatible with the notion of an implicit secure base schema.