Psychiatric Times: Psyched Perspectives: Closing the ADHD Diagnostic Gap for Girls and Minority Youth. Comment: Being elderly now and reading this, it fits neatly into childhood, expelled from school, twiddling hair, day dreaming. Then dreaded anxiety to depression complicated by TBI … inner perfection voice made the impact of TBI so hard for me to engage with

Psyched Perspectives: Closing the ADHD Diagnostic Gap for Girls and Minority Youth

Author(s)Frank A. Clark, MDPaige Walton, MD

Psyched Perspectives

Drs Clark and Walton discuss ADHD in underrecognized groups, along with treatment and lifestyle options.

Photographee.eu/Adobe Stock

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is frequently missed in girls, who tend to present with quieter, inattentive symptoms rather than overt hyperactivity, and in children from racial and ethnic minority groups, who face delayed diagnosis and treatment even when exhibiting the same symptoms as their peers.1 Untreated ADHD can affect self-esteem, academic performance, and family relationships, and its impulsivity component raises the risk of accidents, unsafe driving, and substance misuse into adulthood. Screen time does not cause ADHD, but the two share a bidirectional relationship, and lifestyle interventions—sleep, exercise, nutrition, and predictable routines—remain central to nonpharmacologic management. The pharmacologic landscape for ADHD recently expanded with the FDA approval of centanafadine, a first-in-class norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin reuptake inhibitor.2 Frank Clark, MD, host of Psyched Perspectives, spoke with Paige Walton, MD, a double board-certified child and adolescent and adult psychiatrist, about diagnostic disparities in ADHD, the effects of screen time on the developing brain, the treatment landscape, and practical lifestyle strategies for patients and families.

Frank Clark, MD: I would love for you to talk about why you have such joy and passion when it comes to working with individuals with ADHD.

Paige Walton, MD: This is a population I love working with. What I love most about working with children and adolescents with ADHD is helping them feel understood. Many of these children have spent years hearing that they are not trying hard enough or not living up to their potential, when in reality they are trying so much harder than adults realize, or than it may look like on the outside. When we are able to identify what is really going on and give them the right support, we see improvements not just in school performance but also in their confidence and their relationships with peers and family. Helping families and patients move from a place of frustration and blame—which comes with ADHD so often—toward understanding, and giving them practical support, can be life-changing and so rewarding to see.

Clark: What got you interested in specializing in treating children and adolescents with ADHD?

Walton: It goes back to how misunderstood these patients are, and how often they get missed. Over time, that can have significant consequences. The biggest impact is on self-esteem and how a child views themselves and their self-concept, but there are also academic difficulties and grades, which can affect relationships with peers and within the family. Impulsivity can increase the risk of accidents, unsafe driving, and substance misuse, and if it carries into adulthood, it can affect employment and finances. Early intervention is so important, because a lot of these outcomes can be prevented with appropriate treatment.

Clark: Could you talk about the disparities you’ve seen related to individuals who may be misdiagnosed, undertreated, or undiagnosed with ADHD? I know there is a lot of data about gender disparities and racial disparities.

Walton: When people think about ADHD, they think about the young boy running around creating disruption, and those children are the most likely to get picked up on because they are creating distraction and inconvenience in the classroom, so they are the first to get picked out. But there are certainly groups that get missed. Girls are one group that can experience delayed diagnosis. They tend to be quieter and more on the inattentive side, so they are daydreaming, or they might struggle with disorganization and paying attention, but they are struggling quietly. Over time, they internalize that, and they end up working really hard to compensate, so nobody knows. I hear so many parents say, “She has all As,” but then I ask if she is sleeping, and they say no, she stays up until midnight to do her homework and stays after school working so hard. That compensation can turn into anxiety and perfectionism, and then it becomes, “She is so sensitive, she is always so overwhelmed,” when really the core of that ends up being ADHD. It can be missed in girls because they are working so hard to compensate for it. Certain racial and ethnic minority groups are also more likely to have delayed diagnosis or treatment, even when they are exhibiting the same symptoms as their peers. There are a lot of possible reasons for that: limited access to care, or cultural differences in how people think about mental health or concerns about medication, understandably. But there certainly is a role of bias as well, where one child’s behavior gets labeled as defiant or bad behavior, while another child’s same behavior prompts the question, “Is that ADHD?” It is so important that we are not just looking at the behavior in isolation, but at what is driving it, and that every child gets a quality evaluation where all possibilities—including ADHD and everything else that could be going on—are considered.

Clark: As you were talking about the gender disparities, a lot of the adult women I have treated in my clinic with ADHD tell me they have these perfectionistic characteristics, and what you then find out is that they were overcompensating straight-A students—I think it is so important to highlight that. As it relates to the racial disparities, I am not a child and adolescent psychiatrist, but I do see children and adolescents when they come into the emergency room in a behavioral crisis, and many have a history of ADHD, though sometimes it gets labeled as conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder instead, and we are missing a lot of these children. How we treat ADHD is not how we treat conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder, and I always think about the downstream effects, like the school-to-prison pipeline—some of these kids are getting suspended when they actually need to go to the counselor and have some screening done to figure out the root of the problem so we can better address it. Along those lines, I am curious—and I am not trying to throw a curveball here—but since we are talking about ADHD and concentration, I know some people feel like they have ADHD when some of their inattentiveness could also be related to screen time. Given that you are a child and adolescent psychiatrist, and our pediatric colleagues have really been advocating for limiting screen time, could you speak a little bit about how too much screen time can impact the developing brain?

Walton: This is something I am so passionate about, and I am glad you brought it up, because it is so important, especially in the time we are living in. It is something you cannot escape, especially now that a lot of schools are doing their work on computers, so it is hard to get away from. Screen time does not necessarily cause ADHD, but there is a bidirectional relationship: we notice that if children are spending more time on screens, they do seem to struggle more with attention and with significant emotional dysregulation, so it can make those symptoms worse. At the same time, children with ADHD are more drawn to screens—to that novelty, to the immediate reward—and they have trouble with impulsivity, so they might really struggle with transitioning away from the screen; it can become a coping strategy for them as well. It is so important that we are talking about limiting screen time, and I would not say there is a perfect number for every child. It is more about what they are looking at on the screens, what they are using it for, how much difficulty they have pulling away from the screens, and whether they can separate from screens at night. It is also important to think about what screen time is taking away—time that could be spent getting adequate sleep, exercise, and in-person socialization with friends and family. I think it is impossible to completely take screens away, but it is important to have those conversations, and I tell parents it is up to them to model appropriate screen behaviors. As parents, we all have to reflect on our own screen time and what our kids are seeing—that is the best thing a parent can do.

Clark: A lot of times our patients will say, “Hey doc, what is new on the pharmaceutical scene?” I know there was a new medication that has been FDA approved for ADHD. What are your thoughts about it, and what would you like to share with our viewers?

Walton: I am glad we are talking about medication, because it is such an important piece—of course, we do not want to forget screen time and the other lifestyle and behavioral modifications for ADHD, but medication is so important. We have our traditional stimulants, methylphenidates, which are so helpful with great evidence but do come with some side effects, as all medications do. Then we have the non-stimulants, which I think of in two families: the alpha agonists, and our other non-stimulants, atomoxetine and viloxazine. But now we also have the new medication, centanafadine, which is exciting—it has a novel mechanism as a triple reuptake inhibitor, primarily norepinephrine but with significant activity at dopamine and serotonin as well. It is exciting to have more options, because there is no one medication that works for everybody, so it is good to have something with a novel mechanism, and it will be interesting to see how it works in the real world and how patients respond to it.

Clark: I did not want to leave this conversation without touching on the nonpharmacologic interventions you mentioned, since we are both big proponents of lifestyle medicine and that holistic approach. What would be three take-home points you would give our listeners and viewers about lifestyle changes that can be implemented in a timely fashion? We know medications can take some time to work—stimulants act pretty quickly, but the non-stimulants can take longer—so what would you recommend for parents who are the primary caregivers for their children with ADHD?

Walton: There are even more than 3—there are so many things to work on, and I sometimes get so excited that I name all of them, but I think picking one or two things to focus on at a time is really helpful. The number one lifestyle modification people should prioritize is sleep. Sleep is so incredibly important, and our children and adolescents are not getting enough of it, and we know people with ADHD struggle with sleep, so that is not surprising. Prioritizing good sleep hygiene and a regular routine—going to sleep and waking up at the same time, which is a big struggle especially in the summer—is so important, because if we are not getting good sleep, it is really hard for the brain to concentrate and function well. We also know the ADHD brain really thrives with exercise and physical activity, so that is important, along with good nutrition. A lot of my patients with ADHD are picky eaters, and while we would love good-quality, healthy food—vegetables, fruits, whole grains—a lot of these kids are not getting enough nutrition or calories in general, so making sure they are getting proper nutrition is really important. If I could add a fourth point, I would say predictability and regular routines are really helpful, not only for the child but also for the parents. As I work with these families over time, a child’s diagnosis can become the lens through which a parent starts to understand their own lifelong struggles with ADHD, so I try to be compassionate toward these parents and recognize that I am asking them to execute structure and consistency when they might be personally struggling with these same things. Using strategies such as alarms, visual calendars, checklists, and automating things as much as possible—rather than relying on memory—can be really helpful, not only for the child but also for the parent, so they are not carrying that mental load.

Clark: You said a lot, and I think it is so important—sleep matters for adults too. I find that a lot of my adult patients with ADHD are quite nocturnal; they have that delayed sleep, so I am glad you mentioned it—our bodies have to recover. The other thing I wanted to ask about: I know a lot of my patients will try to self-medicate their ADHD symptoms with caffeine. What are your thoughts on the amount you would recommend for someone with ADHD, especially if they are also taking a stimulant, since we try to encourage some caffeine but not too much?

Walton: That is a great point, and it is something we sometimes forget to ask about. When I am doing my review of substance use, I always start with caffeine, and you can be surprised by how much people are drinking—not just a cup of coffee, but sometimes energy drinks and other products with really high caffeine levels. It makes sense that patients use caffeine, because it helps with energy and can have some benefit for focus and motivation, but especially if a patient has a stimulant on board, we have to be careful monitoring how much caffeine they are drinking, because it can impact those side effects and carry cardiac risks. It can create worsening anxiety and jitteriness, which can then become more distracting, so it is something to monitor. I would probably say around 200 mg is what I tell most people to stick with, but some people have a higher or lower tolerance than others, so it is also important to monitor how they feel when they drink caffeine.

Clark: I have had patients tell me they drink their last caffeinated beverage around 7:00 pm, and I tell them that is probably why they are not sleeping—it can be hard for people to cut down, but even one fewer caffeinated beverage is progress. And thank you for speaking with us today and sharing your expertise!

Dr Clark is an outpatient psychiatrist at Prisma Health-Upstate and clinical associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville. He served on the American Psychiatric Association’s Task Force to Address Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry, and he currently serves as the Diversity and Inclusion section editor and advisory board member for Psychiatric Times.

Dr Walton is a double board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist and adult psychiatrist practicing at Sweetgrass Psychiatry in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. She also serves as an affiliate assistant professor at the Medical University of South Carolina.

References

1. Shalaby N, Sengupta S, Williams JB. Large-scale analysis reveals racial disparities in the prevalence of ADHD and conduct disorders. Sci Rep. 2024;14:25123.

2. Walters J. FDA approves centanafadine for ADHD in children, adolescents, and adults. Psychiatric Times. July 24, 2026. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/fda-approves-centanafadine-for-adhd-in-children-adolescents-and-adults

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Psychiatric Times: Exploitation of Individuals With Psychosis

Quote: “How online scams and AI deepfakes prey on people with schizophrenia, triggering relapse—plus practical clinician screening and safety planning tips.

Exploitation of Individuals With Psychosis

Author(s)Samya Isa, MDNidal Moukaddam, MD, PhDKatharine Wojcik, PhD

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Key Takeaways

  • Epidemiologic data suggest markedly elevated victimization in psychotic disorders (4–6× general population), with ~20% experiencing victimization annually, yet technology-specific evidence and guidance remain sparse.
  • Case dynamics show scammers can become delusion-congruent attachment figures or financial “opportunities,” undermining reality testing, competing with treatment goals, and escalating paranoia when confronted.

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How online scams and AI deepfakes prey on people with schizophrenia, triggering relapse—plus practical clinician screening and safety planning tips.

schizophrenia

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TALES FROM THE CLINIC

-Series Editor Nidal Moukaddam, MD, PhD

In this installment of Tales From The Clinic: The Art of Psychiatry, the team tackles exploitation of individuals with psychosis. While this is clinically recognized facet and sequelae of being vulnerable, there is surprisingly little literature, evidence base, or policy to guide clinicians when they encounter such cases.

Case 1

“Monica,” a 30-year-old woman with schizophrenia and suspected intellectual developmental disability (IDD), was hospitalized for acute psychosis after several weeks of increased distress and perceptual disturbances. Her decompensation was preceded by frequent online communication with a medium, through whom she sought guidance about persistent delusional guilt related to a boyfriend who had died several years earlier. Monica reported hearing spirits and was utilizing the medium to communicate with them. On discussion with the family, it was determined that this medium had been in touch with Monica for years, had pressured her to maintain their relationship, and had solicited money from her. Shortly before hospitalization the family encouraged her to cut ties with this medium, but Monica became resentful towards them and perceived them as dismissive and controlling.

During hospitalization, when clinicians raised concern about fraud, she became angry and mistrustful. The rupture of contact, combined with family conflict and pressure from the medium, was a trigger for worsening psychosis.

Case 2

“Collin,”a 43-year-old man with schizophrenia, presented with a persistent preoccupation with money-making schemes. He expressed strong desire for financial independence and described recurrent conflict with family members who restricted his spending due to concerns about alcohol and cannabis use. During outpatient visits, he received assistance applying for employment; however, he remained focused on multiple “get rich quick” and crypto-related scams accessed via smartphone apps and messaging platforms. As a result, he missed opportunities for actual employment.

Collin repeatedly complained that he had spent hours completing “work” through apps without receiving pay, and he sometimes stepped out of therapy sessions to check accounts or take calls related to these schemes. Over time, scam-related content was incorporated into his delusions (such as beliefs that he was being intentionally blocked from payment, or that he was now wealthy).

Discussion

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 0.29% of the world’s population—or 1 in 345 individuals—live with schizophrenia.1 They, like other vulnerable populations, face an increased risk of exploitation and victimization—up to 4 to 6 times greater risk than the general population. These crimes include those of violent, sexual, and nonviolent/property offense natures.2 A systematic review and meta-analysis of 35 studies done in 2018 showed that approximately 1 in 5 adults with a psychotic disorder were victimized in a 1-year period.3

Thus far, literature around the financial exploitation of individuals with schizophrenia has centered around discussions around financial capacity, as they often inappropriately manage spending and are prone to fraud.4 There are also case reports of erotomanic symptoms elicited by romantic deception.5-7

Individuals with schizophrenia are vulnerable for several reasons. Their condition includes social/cognitive deficits, cognitive impairment, and issues with emotional perception.8,9 Studies have demonstrated deficits with processing speed, attention, working memory, episodic memory, language, and executive functions.10

The rapid evolution of technology in recent decades and the dependence on internet has lead to significant sophistication in the methods utilized for fraud and deception. Internet dependence can be characterized by society largely relying on the internet for socialization, commerce, employment, and hobby engagement.11 It is well known that internet addiction is also pervasive, built on mechanisms that capture human attention and engagement.12 The US Federal Trade Commission reported a significant increase in consumer fraud losses in 2023, averaging around $12.5 billion. Romance and investment scams, including crypto-based scams, were the most costly contributors to this number. With the pervasiveness of artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years, deepfake-impersonations have also become a new threat in convincingly scamming others.

There is limited evidence that examines victimization in individuals with schizophrenia in today’s technological and digitized society. Exploring the available evidence will help clinicians to understand patient risk, ways to intervene or prevent scams, and find opportunities to advocate for policy changes to protect the vulnerable.

The Brief History of Fraud and Exploitation

Before widespread internet access, fraud was primarily offline and could follow predictable patterns, such as deception in interpersonal relationships, theft, and exploitation tied to disability benefits. People with severe mental illness are disproportionately affected given higher rates of poverty, unemployment, substance use, and social isolation, as well as cognitive deficits.2 Deinstitutionalization beginning in the mid-20th century further reduced support for vulnerable people.

The internet became more accessible around 2010, and was dominated by social media and romance baiting, including within dating apps and catfishing. Catfishing is a scam in which someone presents as someone they are not, often using stolen photos or a stolen identity. Initially, scams were closer to phishing or fake auctions. Later on, cybercrime became more sophisticated, using social media to create trusting relationships that eventually lead to the transfer of money.11

Around 2023, AI and crypto exploded onto the technological scene. Scams include “pig-butchering” (fraud that combines romance, investment fraud, and social engineering to exploit victims), deep-fake or voice cloning, instant-payment push rails (where recovery of money is nearly impossible due to the speed at which scammers move), and long-term grooming via social media platforms.13 Deepfake or AI voice cloning is particularly troublesome as it can use seconds of audio to mimic a family member, creating a “relative in distress” situation. It can also superimpose words on videos of others speaking. Another fraud is that of fake remote jobs, such as crypto-mining, refund processing or wallet verification. In these jobs, a victim is required to pay fees or provide personal information to get “employed.” These jobs attract vulnerable populations, including those with schizophrenia, who are trying to find anything that gives them a sense of financial security or autonomy.14

Sophisticated algorithms or spam messaging used by websites and apps further exploit those that interact with their systems through repeating the person’s exposure to said scams through “digital reinforcement,” especially once a person interacts with it. These scams can be difficult for the average person to identify, as they are quite targeted in their exploitation of cognitive vulnerabilities and social engineering. They can give off a sense of urgency and promise money fast, creating a high-risk environment that can draw in someone struggling with impulse, not unlike how other addictive habits, such as gambling.12 They are significantly more difficult for a person with psychosis to identify, particularly if they are in an isolated or decompensated (delusions, grandiosity, paranoia) position or are struggling with impulsive or executive dysfunction.12 Digital reinforcement further makes it difficult for them to protect themselves.

Another important consideration is the after-effects of a vulnerable person falling victim to a scam. If they can recognize the scam, which is not always the case, they will often experience associated shame, guilt, distress and anxiety, compounded by family which may also put pressure on them. If the person does not recognize the scam, confrontation by family or staff can feel invalidating, controlling, or persecutory, especially in the context of paranoid ideation. Family pressure around restricting devices or finances may further intensify conflict, particularly when autonomy is already a sensitive topic.4 Collectively, these dynamics can precipitate decompensation, reduce engagement in treatment, and increase risk of hospitalization.

A Clinical Lens

As previously mentioned, cognitive deficits in attention, working memory, and executive functioning may reduce the ability of people with schizophrenia or psychosis to evaluate claims, ignore urgency, track inconsistencies or assess intent.8-10

The case studies listed above demonstrate how online exploitation can become clinically correlated with psychosis. In case 1, a “medium” validated delusions and delusional guilt, and increased dependence for the patient. Reality testing became a point of conflict. In case 2, scam engagement competed with treatment and further validated delusions and disorganized thought patterns. Scam narratives were incorporated into the patients’ thought processes, furthering impairment.

A recurring and unfortunate theme in psychotic disorders is loneliness and the desire for reintegration. When a person remains chronically undertreated for prolonged periods of time with intermittent decompensation, they tend to lose social connections and further find it difficult to return to a baseline where they can re-engage in safe, meaningful relationships, until they receive appropriate treatment. A meta-analysis from this year highlights the loneliness epidemic within this population.15 People with schizophrenia are often exploited by strangers or acquaintances. The apparent benefit of engaging in questionable relationships can appear more appealing to them than to someone without a psychosis. Scammers offer consistent contact, validation and compete with real-world supports and people are susceptible to attempts to form relationships or gain status through the acquisition or of money.4,15 Unfortunately, these interactions move them further from their goals of forming social connections.

Clinical Implications

Online exploitation of people with psychosis is related to the interaction of several factors, including individualized, specific factors, the digital environment that they are exposed to, and the specific scam they are victim to. Amplified harm, clinical sequelae and intervention points, and the ultimate results can be seen in the Figure.

Figure. Online Exploitation in Psychosis: Conceptual Pathway for Clinicians

Figure. Online Exploitation in Psychosis: Conceptual Pathway for Clinicians

Practical Tips for Clinicians

There are several ways that clinicians can intervene to protect patients with psychotic disorders from online fraud. The simplest method is to include questions related to fraud as a part of a patient’s initial intake interview, and periodically throughout follow-up visits. Basic screening questions include asking if anyone has asked the patient for money, crypto, gift cards, or fees for jobs. It is also helpful to ask if the patient is in a relationship, the nature of said relationship, and whether the patient has been requested to keep the relationship secret or not. An important follow-up question is to inquire regarding whether the patient has ever met the individual in person or not.

Identifying reliable and safe contacts for a patient to seek counsel from, or have additional monitoring from, can also be useful. It is important to work carefully with family, so that patients do not feel they are losing autonomy. In the case of a scam, patients and their trusted family/friends can assist with trying to minimize financial losses, and involve adult protective services, if appropriate. They can also assist the patient in enrolling in financial education classes, which are often offered at local community centers/colleges, as well as online.

As online fraud can become part of a delusion, it is important to address involvement in fraudulent schemes in a compassionate manner, such as validating patient distress without direct or abrasive confrontation.

Concluding Thoughts

Technology-facilitated exploitation is increasingly sophisticated and can intersect with psychosis in clinically meaningful ways. The 2 cases presented here illustrate how online scams may validate delusional content, capture attention through reinforcement, disrupt treatment, provoke family conflict around autonomy, and contribute to acute decompensation. A structured clinical approach with screening, psychoeducation, collaborative safety planning, autonomy-preserving family involvement, and coordinated support, may reduce harm. Greater research is needed to characterize prevalence, risk factors, and effective interventions for digital victimization among individuals with psychotic disorders in recent online environments.

Dr Isa is a 4th year psychiatry resident at Baylor College of Medicine.

Dr Moukaddam is a professor of psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine and the director of outpatient psychiatry at Harris Health. She also serves on the Psychiatric Times Editorial Board.

Dr Wojcik is an assistant professor of psychology at Baylor College of Medicine, an associate training director for BCM Psychology Internship, and program director for the Support, Treatment, and Rehabilitation (S.T.A.R.) Program at Harris Health.

References

1. Solmi M, Seitidis G, Mavridis D, et al. Incidence, prevalence, and global burden of schizophrenia—data, with critical appraisal, from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019. Mol Psychiatry. 2023;28(12):5319-5327.

2. Dean K, Laursen TM, Pedersen CB, et al. Risk of being subjected to crime, including violent crime, after onset of mental illness: a Danish national registry study. JAMA Psychiatry. 2018;75(7):689-696.

3. de Vries B, van Busschbach JT, van der Stouwe ECD, et al. Prevalence rate and risk factors of victimization in adult patients with a psychotic disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Schizophr Bull. 2019;45(1):114-126.

4. De Vries B, Pijnenborg GHM, Van Der Stouwe ECD, et al. “Please tell me what happened”: a descriptive study on prevalence, disclosure and characteristics of victimization in people with a psychotic disorder. PLoS One. 2019;14(7):e0219056.

5. Alotti N, Osvath P, Tenyi T, Voros V. Induced erotomania by online romance fraud: a novel form of deception. BMC Psychiatry. 2024;24(1):218.

6. Marson DC, Chatterjee A, Ingram KK, Harrell LE. Toward a neuropsychological model of competency: cognitive predictors of capacity to consent in Alzheimer’s disease. Am J Psychiatry. 1996;153(9):1193-1200.

7. Rosenheck R, Leslie D, Keefe R, et al. Barriers to employment for people with schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 2006;163(3):411-417.

8. Fett AKJ, Viechtbauer W, Dominguez MD, et al. The relationship between neurocognition and social cognition with functional outcomes in schizophrenia: a meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011;35(3):573-588.

9. Green MF, Horan WP, Lee J. Social cognition in schizophrenia. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2015;16(10):620-631.

10. Fioravanti M, Bianchi V, Cinti ME. Cognitive deficits in schizophrenia: an updated meta-analysis of the scientific evidence. BMC Psychiatry. 2012;12:64.

11. Nurse JRC. Cybercrime and you: how criminals attack and the human factors that they seek to exploit. arXiv preprint. 2018. Accessed August 17, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/1811.06624

12. Consumer Reports’ assessment of AI voice-cloning products. Consumer Reports. March 10, 2025. Accessed August 17, 2026. https://www.consumerreports.org/media-room/press-releases/2025/03/consumer-reports-assessment-of-ai-voice-cloning-products/

13. Oak R, Shafiq Z. “Hello, is this Anna?”: a first look at pig-butchering scams. arXiv preprint. 2025. Accessed August 17, 2026. https://arxiv.org/html/2503.20821v1

14. Holkar M, Lees C. Caught in the web: financial scams, mental health and vulnerability. Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. 2020. Accessed August 17, 2026. https://www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Caught-in-the-web-full-report.pdf

15. Hajek A, Gyasi RM, Pengpid S, et al. Prevalence of loneliness and social isolation amongst individuals with severe mental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2025;34:e25.

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DW: Russia turns to jet-powered drones to wear Kyiv down

Grzegorz Szymanowski in Kyiv18 hours ago18 hours ago

Moscow has shifted to nearly round-the-clock attacks on Kyiv, largely thanks to the mass production of new, jet-powered drones. They are up to three times faster than drones with piston engines and harder to intercept.

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Russia is increasingly using jet-powered Geran drones to attack Ukrainian cities, posing a new challenge for air defenses.

Faster and capable of flying at higher altitudes than earlier drone models, they are harder to intercept.

Ukrainian officials say Moscow is producing the drones on a large scale to overwhelm air defenses and exhaust missile stockpiles.

As attacks intensify around Kyiv, residents and emergency crews are adapting to a new reality of air raid alerts and strikes occurring around the clock.

Volos 2019 | Grzegorz Szymanowski

Grzegorz Szymanowski Reporter specializing on geopolitics and security in Central and Eastern Europe

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DW: How close is Germany’s AfD to taking power?

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Mario Nawfal on X: The world’s largest wealth fund may dump $80 BILLION of U.S Treasuries

🇳🇴 The world’s largest wealth fund may dump $80 BILLION of U.S Treasuries

Norway’s fund has proposed slashing U.S government bond exposure from 34% to 22% of its bond portfolio.

The official reasoning is “diversification.” Truthfully, decade-high yields and a $40 trillion debt pile doesn’t scream “safe haven” like it used to.

Norway’s wealth fund owns on average 1.5% of all listed companies globally.

Source: CNBC / Writers: Bri, Ian

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Visegrad: BREAKING: Putin’s talks with Witkoff and Kushner in the Kremlin are over They lasted more than three hours. Russian media report that the motorcade with the U.S. special representatives has already left the Kremlin grounds.

BREAKING: Putin’s talks with Witkoff and Kushner in the Kremlin are over They lasted more than three hours. Russian media report that the motorcade with the U.S. special representatives has already left the Kremlin grounds.

Sumptious surroundings … Russia excels in decor

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Legacy Mindset: The Psychology of Why The Kindest People Cut Everyone Off

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Health Ranger: We are facing a serious DIESEL CRISIS that was just made far worse by the U.S. and Iran strikes on tankers in the Persian Gulf. The world’s economies are going to burn, and the diesel crack spread is going to skyrocket beyond $120 / barrel before long. Food inflation is going to worsen sharply before the coming election. This clip is from my diesel supply shock alert podcast on Bright Videos.

https://twitter.com/HealthRanger/status/2096465506664411634/video/1

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Mario Nawfal on X: 🇺🇸 Diesel just hit a record, California is heading toward $8 a gallon, and the bond market is telling a stranger story than the doom crowd thinks California diesel is $7.22 today.

https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2096426157491286450/video/1

🇺🇸 Diesel just hit a record, California is heading toward $8 a gallon, and the bond market is telling a stranger story than the doom crowd thinks California diesel is $7.22 today.

The West Coast average is $6.50, and with refiners’ profit margins per barrel above $100, eight or nine dollars in the country’s biggest farm state is no longer a wild guess.

So why hasn’t everything broken yet? Jeff Snider’s answer is that shocks work slowly.

The economy is a ship that creaks and takes on water for months before anyone notices it’s leaning, and the longer this goes, the more water comes in.

Here’s the twist most people miss. Bond yields aren’t surging… the 30-year sits barely a quarter point above where it was three years ago.

That isn’t a market panicking over $40 trillion in debt. It’s a market that expects weak growth for years, which is worse news wearing a calmer face.

@JeffSnider_EDU

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Mario Nawfal on X: The tanker war is escalating, and the clock on America’s oil reserves may be ticking just as fast.

The tanker war is escalating, and the clock on America’s oil reserves may be ticking just as fast.

The U.S. and Iran are now trading strikes on tankers, with each move raising the stakes around the Strait of Hormuz.

Intelligence analyst Malcolm Nance says this kind of tit-for-tat escalation can quickly spiral.

“You sink or set fire to this tanker. Now we have three Iranian tankers ablaze. You may kill the crew.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is reportedly heading toward a critical level, with around 270 million barrels described as a hard floor.

At that point, the White House faces a brutal choice: protect emergency war stocks or keep enough oil moving to limit the economic fallout. And that may be the question Washington can’t afford to ignore.

@MalcolmNance

https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2096435217120530568/video/1

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