A test of the functional avoidance hypothesis in the development of overgeneral autobiographical memory

Overgeneral memory (OGM) refers to the failure to recall memories of specific personally experienced events, which occurs in various psychiatric disorders. One pathway through which OGM is theorized to develop is the avoidance of thinking of negative experiences, whereby cumulative avoidance may maladaptively generalize to autobiographical memory (AM) more broadly. We tested this, predicting that negative experiences would interact with avoidance to predict AM specificity. In Study 1 (N = 281), negative life events (over six months) and daily hassles (over one month) were not related to AM specificity, nor was avoidance, and no interaction was found. In Study 2 (N = 318), we revised our measurements and used an increased timeframe of 12 months for both negative life events and daily hassles. The results showed no interaction effect for negative life events, but they did show an interaction for daily hassles, whereby increased hassles and higher avoidance of thinking about them were associated with reduced AM specificity, independent of general cognitive avoidance and depressive symptoms. No evidence was found that cognitive avoidance or AM specificity moderated the effect of negative experiences on depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that life events over 6–12 months are not associated with AM specificity, but chronic daily hassles over 12 months predict reduced AM specificity when individuals avoid thinking about them. The findings provide evidence for the functional-avoidance hypothesis of OGM development and future directions for longitudinal studies.     

Some sources and consequences of career exploration

The present research investigated (a) factors that may influence participation in career exploration, and (b) the role of anxiety in the exploration process. The sample consisted of 161 undergraduate college students. Work-role salience (the importance of work in a person's life) was positively related to participation in self-related and work-related exploration. Self-related exploration was positively related to satisfaction with the occupational decision of low anxiety students and was negatively related to satisfaction among high anxiety students. Furthermore, dissatisfaction with an occupational decision was more likely to stimulate future work-related exploration for low anxiety students than for highly anxious students. The implications of these findings for the career exploration process were discussed.     

Psychometric Properties of the Response to Anxiety Questionnaire

Recent research highlights the importance of transdiagnostic factors of psychopathology, particularly in understanding comorbidity. Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is one such factor, which may elucidate anxiety-depression comorbidity. The Response to Anxiety Questionnaire (RAQ) aims to evaluate repetitive negative thinking (RNT) related to anxiety-depression comorbidity, specifically hopelessness and rumination about anxiety symptoms. Anxious hopelessness is negative thoughts about the future due to anxiety symptoms, and anxious rumination includes negative evaluations of the meaning of anxiety symptoms, therefore the current study assessed the RAQ in three studies. We used exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis methodologies to examine the factor structure of the RAQ. In addition, we tested indirect effects of the two factors of RAQ (Rumination and Hopelessness) between anxiety and depression, and tested measure convergent validity. Results of the current study provide additional support for the psychometric properties of the RAQ, suggesting a two factor makeup (hopelessness, rumination), as well as its use in predicting anxiety and depressive symptoms.     

Perseverative thought: a robust predictor of response to emotional challenge in generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) frequently co-occur, yet the reasons for their comorbidity remain poorly understood. In the present experiment, we tested whether a tendency to engage in negative, repetitive thinking constitutes a common risk process for the two disorders. A mixed sample of adults with comorbid GAD–MDD (n = 50), GAD only (n = 35), MDD only (n = 34), or no lifetime psychopathology (n = 35) was administered noncontingent failure and success feedback on consecutive performance tasks. Perseverative thought (PT), measured by negative thought intrusions during a baseline period of focused breathing, emerged as a powerful prospective predictor of responses to this experimental challenge. Participants reporting more frequent negative thought intrusions at baseline, irrespective of thought content or diagnostic status, exhibited a stronger negative response to failure that persisted even after subsequent success. Higher PT over the course of the experiment was associated with later behavioral avoidance, with negative affect and other traits closely linked to anxiety and depression, and with the presence and severity of GAD and MDD. These findings provide evidence for a broadly-defined PT trait that is shared by GAD and MDD and contributes to adverse outcomes in these disorders.     

Social anxiety and vulnerability for problematic drinking in college students: the moderating role of post-event processing

Socially anxious college students are at increased risk for engaging in problematic drinking (i.e. heavy or risky drinking) behaviors that are associated with the development of an alcohol use disorder. The present study examined whether post-event processing (PEP), repeatedly thinking about and evaluating one’s performance in a past social situation, strengthens the association between social anxiety and vulnerability to problematic drinking among college students. Eighty-three college drinkers with high or low social anxiety participated in a social interaction task and were exposed to a manipulation that either promoted or inhibited PEP about the social interaction. Among participants randomized to the PEP promotion condition, those with high social anxiety exhibited a greater urge to use alcohol after the social interaction and greater motivation to drink to cope with depressive symptoms over the week following the manipulation than did those with low social anxiety. These findings suggest that targeting PEP in college drinking intervention programs may improve the efficacy of such programs for socially anxious students.     

Repetitive negative thinking mediates the association between perfectionism and psychological distress

Our objective was to analyze the relationships between Repetitive negative thinking (RNT), perfectionism and psychological distress. Specifically we wanted to test if RNT mediates the relationship between perfectionism and psychological distress. 788 college students completed self-report questionnaires to evaluate perfectionism trait dimensions [Evaluative concerns (EC) and Positive strivings (PS)], RNT dimensions [Repetitive thinking (RT) and Cognitive interference and unproductivity (CIU)], perceived stress, and perceived support. Psychological distress was measured with the Profile of Mood States subscales: Depression (D), Tension–anxiety (TA), Anger–hostility (AH), Fatigue–inertia (FI) and Vigor–anxiety (VA). After controlling for perceived stress and support, perfectionism dimensions and RNT (particularly CIU) remained a significant predictors of psychological distress. CIU was a partial mediator of the relationship between EC and D, TA, AH, FI and VA and a full mediator of the relationship of PS with D and FI. Whereas the effect of negative perfectionism on emotional disturbances was potentiated by RNT, PS was only associated to it when high levels of RNT were also present. Showing that Positive striving effects on psychological distress may be a function of specific mediators, these results contribute to a better understanding of the nature of positive perfectionism.     

Intergroup anxiety from the self and other: Evidence from self‐report,physiological effects,and real interactions

Intergroup anxiety has become important in understanding the success or failure of intergroup contact. In this paper, we suggest that intergroup anxiety is made up from two constructs: self‐anxiety (anxiety over thinking or doing something that is prejudiced) and other‐anxiety (anxiety that the other might do something to you). Over four studies, we show how these two dimensions have different correlates and independently predict psychophysiological reactivity to an intergroup interaction. Other‐anxiety was associated with negative intergroup attitudes and negative affect. In contrast, self‐anxiety had no simple relationship with conventional measures of intergroup attitudes but was associated with a flattening of responses that were indicative of freezing (Study 3) and simultaneous approach and avoidance (Study 4). We suggest that whereas other‐anxiety is associated with negative affect and avoidance, self‐anxiety is associated with ‘freezing’ responses to intergroup interaction. Thus, the distinction between these two constructs has important repercussions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Comparison of Repetitive Negative Thinking and Post-Event Processing in the Prediction of Maladaptive Social-Evaluative Beliefs: A Short-Term Prospective Study

Theoretical models propose that transdiagnostic and disorder-specific repetitive thinking processes each interact with individual environmental conditions to predict symptoms. The current study aimed to test this hypothesis in the context of social anxiety. Specifically, we aimed to predict future maladaptive social-evaluative beliefs (high standard, conditional, and unconditional beliefs) from: (a) the transdiagnostic tendency to engage in repetitive negative thinking (RNT), (b) the social anxiety-specific tendency to engage in post-event processing (PEP), and (c) the interaction of these repetitive thinking tendencies with the frequency of recent negative social events and social anxiety levels. An initial undergraduate sample (N = 331) was recruited and 215 participants completed measures of the constructs of interest at two time points within an acceptable timeframe (average 8.44 days apart). Using hierarchical linear modelling, significant interactions were only obtained for conditional and unconditional beliefs with a specific component of PEP that focuses on thinking about the past involved in prediction. Follow-up simple slopes analyses indicated mainly no change in these beliefs or decreasing trajectories over time for different combinations of levels on the predictor variables. However, for participants with high social anxiety levels who experienced a high number of recent negative social events, those who reported low levels of thinking about the past exhibited a pattern of increasing trajectories for conditional and unconditional beliefs. These findings indicate that RNT and PEP differ in their ability to predict social-evaluative beliefs, and highlight the importance of research comparing different types of repetitive thinking to better understand these processes.     

Does a short self‐compassion intervention for students increase healthy self‐regulation? A randomized control trial

The primary aim of this study was to examine the effects of a two‐week self‐compassion course on healthy self‐regulation (personal growth self‐efficacy and healthy impulse control) and unhealthy self‐regulation (self‐judgment and habitual negative self‐directed thinking) in university students. We also examined the effects on self‐compassion, anxiety and depression. Students (N = 158, 85% women, mean age = 25 years) were randomized to an intervention group and a waiting‐list control group in a multi‐baseline randomized control trial. Healthy self‐control was measured by the Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS) and the Self‐Control Scale; unhealthy self‐control was measured by the Non‐judgement subscale from the Five‐Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (reversed) and the Habit Index of Negative Thinking (HINT). Secondary outcomes were measured by the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI‐trait), the Major Depression Inventory (MDI), and the Self‐Compassion Scale (SCS). A 2 × 3 repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed gains for the intervention‐group in personal growth self‐efficacy and healthy impulse‐control and reductions in self‐judgment and habitual negative self‐directed thinking, as well as increases in self‐compassion and reductions in anxiety and depression. After all participants had completed the course, the groups were combined and repeated measures ANOVAs showed that changes remained at six‐month follow‐up for personal growth self‐efficacy, self‐judgment and habitual negative self‐directed thinking; as well as for self‐compassion, anxiety and depression. Concluding, a short self‐compassion course seems an effective method of increasing self‐compassion and perceived control over one's life for university students, as well as increasing mental health.     

Students under academic stress in a Turkish University: Variables associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety

The present study intended to find out the associated variables of depression and anxiety symptoms for young adults confronted with an academic stress. Ninety-two graduate students, who were actively involved in preparing their thesis, participated in this study. Two regression analyses were conducted to see different variables associated with depression and anxiety symptoms separately. Consistent with the expectations, depression and anxiety had overlapping predictors, such as negative automatic thoughts and hopelessness. However, adequacy of problem-solving abilities seemed to be associated with anxiety symptoms. Findings were discussed in the light of relevant literature. This work has been supported by the Turkish Academy of Sciences in the framework of the Young Scientist Award Program (TG-TUBA-GEBIP/2002-1-11).     

Students under academic stress in a Turkish University: Variables associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety

The present study intended to find out the associated variables of depression and anxiety symptoms for young adults confronted with an academic stress. Ninety-two graduate students, who were actively involved in preparing their thesis, participated in this study. Two regression analyses were conducted to see different variables associated with depression and anxiety symptoms separately. Consistent with the expectations, depression and anxiety had overlapping predictors, such as negative automatic thoughts and hopelessness. However, adequacy of problem-solving abilities seemed to be associated with anxiety symptoms. Findings were discussed in the light of relevant literature. This work has been supported by the Turkish Academy of Sciences in the framework of the Young Scientist Award Program (TG-TUBA-GEBIP/2002-1-11).     

Career pathfinders: a qualitative study of career development

This paper examined the perceptions of career path and issues of MBA students in response to Lore's The Pathfinder, a comprehensive career-planning model. Using internet discussion boards, an interactive dialogue was mentioned by participants in response to the components of Lore's model. The sample consisted of 50 fully employed MBA students enrolled in a course on self-assessment and career planning. A total of 1,781 separate postings were made and analyzed, using inductive analysis derived from discussion threads based on Lore's categories: comments on Lore's Pathfinder model, living a life you love (what's the holdup, career fantasies, work and family issues, and career selection), how to get there from here (commitment and future from the present), and designing your future career. Findings indicated several interesting trends in the career planning of current MBA students, particularly the importance of self or self-reflective observations in real time as students who are also fully employed formulate career plans. Implications for psychologists and career counselors, career development models, and suggestions for research are presented.     

Positive and negative well-being among adolescents from theological and conventional schools in India

In this pilot study, we examined positive and negative well-being among 60 students from theological and conventional schools. Participants included 30 students (50% females) from each school, aged 16–18 years. Self-reported measures included life satisfaction and achievement motivation for positive well-being and stress and anxiety for negative well-being. Results indicated that theological school students reported much lower life satisfaction compared to students in conventional schools with a large effect size. Similar patterns were observed with stress and anxiety, although effects were small. There were no differences in achievement motivation between the two schools. Regarding gender, findings showed that males reported lower stress and anxiety than their female counterparts and these effects were large. Genders did not differ in life satisfaction and achievement motivation.     

Anxiety-linked expectancy bias across the adult lifespan

Anxiety is characterised by a negative expectancy bias, such that anxious individuals report negatively distorted expectations about the future. Contrary to anxiety, ageing is characterised by a positivity effect, such that ageing is associated with a tendency to attend to and remember positive information, relative to negative information. The current study integrates these literatures to examine anxiety- and age-linked biases when thinking about the future. Participants (N=1,109) completed a procedure that involved reading valenced scenarios (positive, negative, or ambiguous) and then rating the likelihood of future valenced events occurring. Results suggest that ageing and anxiety have independent and opposing effects. Heightened anxiety was associated with a reduced expectancy for positive events, regardless of the scenarios’ current emotional valence, whereas increased age was associated with an inflated expectancy for positive events, which was strongest when individuals were processing socially relevant or negative scenarios.     

The “Arnold Schwarzenegger Effect”: Is strength of the “victim” related to misinterpretations of harm intrusions?

The present study used an in vivo paradigm to examine whether the victim's vulnerability in a harm-related intrusion affects beliefs about the importance of thoughts (i.e., Thought Action Fusion; TAF). Sixty-six undergraduate students at a large university were randomly assigned to imagine either a vulnerable (e.g., elderly man) or able-bodied individual (e.g., strong youthful male) they know getting into a car accident and provided in vivo ratings of anxiety, guilt, likelihood, moral wrongness, and urges to neutralize. Results indicated that thinking of car accident involving a vulnerable, compared to an able-bodied person, provoked more distress (anxiety and guilt), stronger feelings of moral wrongness, greater urges to cancel the effects of thinking such thoughts, and higher estimates of the likelihood that the collision would occur. The findings of our study broadly support Rachman's (1998) assertion that more significance and importance is attached to negative thoughts about vulnerable or helpless people. Current findings are discussed in terms of the cognitive-behavioral model of obsessions and clinical implications are addressed.     

Correlates and predictors of an Arabic translation of the Snyder Hope Scale

Snyder, C. R. (1994) has defined hope as goal-directed thinking in which the person has the perceived capacity to find routes to goals (called pathways thinking), along with the motivation to use those pathways (called agency thinking). Using this definition, Snyder, C. R., et al. (1991) developed and validated the trait Hope Scale. This Hope Scale was translated from English to Arabic for the present sample of Kuwaiti college students. Results showed that the scale manifested excellent internal and test–retest reliabilities. In addition, a principal components analysis affirmed the presence of the two expected factors, pathways and agency components. Furthermore, the concurrent validation of the Arabic Hope Scale (AHS) was also demonstrated. The AHS was positively correlated with measures of positive affect, optimism, satisfaction with life, self-esteem, and extraversion, whereas the AHS was inversely related to measures of negative affect, anxiety, and pessimism. The findings strongly support the use of the AHS in Arabic speaking samples.     

Is positive thinking in anticipation of a performance situation better than distraction? An experimental study in preadolescents

The current study compares the effects of experimentally induced positive anticipatory thinking and distraction in preadolescents aged 12–13. Eighty‐seven participants were instructed to either engage in positive anticipatory thoughts or perform a distraction task while preparing to perform a sporting activity in front of their peers. Results revealed that trait social anxiety was associated with more negative estimates of sport performance and catastrophic thoughts relating to the impending sport activity. Additionally, compared to children who distracted, children in the positive anticipation condition showed significantly increased anxiety levels, more catastrophic thoughts and more negative predictions of sport performance and appearance, although these effects did not appear to interact with trait social anxiety. Finally, no significant manipulation effect on participants’ observable behavior was found. The findings further highlight the utility of distracting from an impending, anxiety‐provoking situation to keep anxious feelings to a low level.     

情绪调节灵活性对负性情绪的影响：来自经验取样的证据

情绪调节灵活性是指个体根据不断变化的情境需求灵活部署情绪调节策略的能力。本研究采用经验取样方法,通过拟合个体在日常生活事件(如,未通过考试)和突发公共卫生事件(COVID-19)中的策略使用剖面结构和情境负性程度与策略使用程度的共变关系测量个体的情绪调节灵活性水平,并探讨其对个体后续负性情绪(抑郁和焦虑)的影响。两个独立样本结果表明：单一策略使用偏好(如沉浸偏好和表达抑制偏好)的个体在负性生活事件中和疫情期间经历了更高水平的抑郁和焦虑情绪。此外,当个体随情境负性程度提高使用更多分心策略,而随情境负性程度降低使用更多认知重评策略(意味较高的情绪调节灵活性),其抑郁和焦虑情绪水平更低。以上结果共同证实了情绪调节灵活性有利于减少个体的负性情绪体验。     

Imagining the future in health anxiety: the impact of rumination on the specificity of illness-related memory and future thinking

Individuals with health anxiety experience catastrophic fears relating to future illness. However, little research has explored cognitive processes involved in how health anxious individuals picture the future. Ruminative thinking has been shown to impede the ability to recall specific autobiographical memories, which in turn is related to maladaptive, categoric future thinking processes. This study examined the impact of rumination on memory and future thinking among 60 undergraduate participants with varying health anxiety (35% clinical-level health anxiety). Participants were randomized to experiential/ruminative self-focus conditions, then completed an Autobiographical Memory Test and Future Imaginings Task. Responses were coded for specificity and the presence of illness concerns. Rumination led to more specific illness-concerned memories overall, yet at the same time led to more categoric illness-related future imaginings. Rumination and health anxiety together best predicted overgeneral illness-related future imaginings. Highly specific illness-related memories may be maintained due to their personal salience. However, more overgeneral illness-related future imaginings may reflect cognitive avoidance in response to the threat of future illness. This divergent pattern of results between memory and future imaginings may exacerbate health anxiety, and may also serve to maintain maladaptive responses among individuals with realistic medical concerns, such as individuals living with chronic illness.     

Self-representation in social anxiety disorder: linguistic analysis of autobiographical narratives

Cognitive models of social anxiety disorder (SAD) posit aberrant beliefs about the social self as a key psychological mechanism that maintains fear of negative evaluation in social and performance situations. Consequently, a distorted self-view should be evident when recalling painful autobiographical social memories, as reflected in linguistic expression, negative self-beliefs, and emotion and avoidance. To test this hypothesis, 42 adults diagnosed with SAD and 27 non-psychiatric healthy controls (HC) composed autobiographical narratives of distinct social anxiety related situations, generated negative self-beliefs (NSB), and provided emotion and avoidance ratings. Although narratives were matched for initial emotional intensity and present vividness, linguistic analyses demonstrated that, compared to HC, SAD employed more self-referential, anxiety, and sensory words, and made fewer references to other people. There were no differences in the number of self-referential NSB identified by SAD and HC. Social anxiety symptom severity, however, was associated with greater self-referential NSB in SAD only. SAD reported greater current self-conscious emotions when recalling autobiographical social situations, and greater active avoidance of similar situations than did HC. These findings support cognitive models of SAD, and suggest that autobiographical memory of social situations in SAD may influence current and future thinking, emotion, and behavioral avoidance.