Qualitative dimensions of normal worry and normal obsessions: A comparative study

Despite the crucial role typically given to negative thoughts in cognitive conceptualisations of emotional problems, few studies have compared the characteristics of varieties of such thoughts. The present study compared the process features of naturally occurring worries and obsessions in a non-patient group. Analyses of variance revealed several significant differences between these types of thought. The relationship between worries and obsessions, and the clinical and conceptual importance of the observed differences is briefly discussed.     

Prognostic Factors for Distress After Genetic Testing for Hereditary Cancer

The psychological impact of an unfavorable genetic test result for counselees at risk for hereditary cancer seems to be limited: only 10–20 % of counselees have psychological problems after testing positive for a known familial mutation. The objective of this study was to find prognostic factors that can predict which counselees are most likely to develop psychological problems after presymptomatic genetic testing. Counselees with a 50 % risk of BRCA1/2 or Lynch syndrome completed questionnaires at three time-points: after receiving a written invitation for a genetic counseling intake (T1), 2–3 days after receiving their DNA test result (T2), and 4–6 weeks later (T3). The psychological impact of the genetic test result was examined shortly and 4–6 weeks after learning their test result. Subsequently, the influence of various potentially prognostic factors on psychological impact were examined in the whole group. Data from 165 counselees were analyzed. Counselees with an unfavorable outcome did not have more emotional distress, but showed significantly more cancer worries 4–6 weeks after learning their test result. Prognostic factors for cancer worries after genetic testing were pre-existing cancer worries, being single, a high risk perception of getting cancer, and an unfavorable test result. Emotional distress was best predicted by pre-existing cancer worries and pre-existing emotional distress. The psychological impact of an unfavorable genetic test result appears considerable if it is measured as “worries about cancer.” Genetic counselors should provide additional guidance to counselees with many cancer worries, emotional distress, a high risk perception or a weak social network.     

The Structure and Dynamics of Worry: Theory, Measurement, and Cross-National Replications

This article presents a comprehensive conceptualization of the structure of worry and the relation of worry to mental health and well-being. It is assumed that worries have two facets, namely, the object of a worry (e.g., self, close others, society, the world) and the domain of a worry (the field of life with which it is concerned). The object of a worry is presumed to be more important than its domain in determining the impact of worries on mental health. Only worries concerned with self and close others (micro worries) are expected to be related to poor mental health, whereas worries about society or the entire world (macro worries) are expected to be positively related to mental health. An instrument is introduced to study worries in accordance with the proposed structure. Its validity is tested by two confirmatory techniques (similarity structure analysis and confirmatory factor analysis) in samples from Israel, West Germany, and (the former) East Germany. Worry scores are also related to five mental health indicators. Results show that across samples micro and macro worries can validly be distinguished. Micro worries are strongly related to poor mental health, whereas macro worries are unrelated to mental health or relate marginally to positive well-being.     

Worries in restaurant managers

This paper explores the concept of job specific worries (JS worries) in managers in the restaurant industry. The focus of interest in the present explorative study was the degree and content of restaurant managers' worries. Of a total of 58 eligible managers in a Norwegian (fast food) restaurant chain, 57 (representing an equal number of restaurants) were surveyed for JS worries and personal worries. These managers also judged aspects of their relation to the organization they work for, such as perceived organizational hierarchy, job commitment and perceived risk at work. The results indicate that the concept of JS worry is state dependent as opposed to personal worry, which may be regarded as a trait. In addition, the observed correlations indicate a connection between characteristics of perceived job environment and the respondents' degree of JS worry, whereas no such correlations were observed between trait worry and job environment.     

Worries in expectant parents: Its relation with perinatal well‐being and relationship satisfaction

Although much has been written about the impact of pregnancy on expectant parents, less is known about the worries couples experience during pregnancy. Sex differences in worries and the link between self and coparent worries on perinatal well‐being and relationship satisfaction in 104 primiparous couples were examined. It was found not only do expectant mothers and fathers worry about different things, but also type of worry is related to different outcomes. Moreover, using structural equation modeling, childbirth worries and worry frequency indirectly predict lower relationship satisfaction through worse well‐being. However, coparent's worries did not significantly relate to their partner's perinatal well‐being or relationship satisfaction. This study suggests the importance of examining perinatal worries in parents, as well as the dyadic interaction between coparents.     

What Do Youth Referred for Anxiety Problems Worry About? Worry and Its Relation to Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents

This study examined worry and the parameters of worry that may be associated with clinical anxiety in a sample of 119 children and adolescents referred to a childhood anxiety disorders specialty clinic. Using an interviewing procedure, results indicated that the types of worries reported by the children were similar to those reported in previous studies of nonreferred community children. Also similar to previous community studies were findings showing moderate but significant correlations between different indices of worry (i.e., number, intensity, and frequency of the worries) and children's scores on self-rating scales of anxiety. Results further indicated that worry contributed additional variance beyond that of anxiety in predicting fear. In addition, intensity differentiated clinic children's worries from nonreferred children's. Intensity, and number of worries differentiated subsamples of children within the clinic-referred sample (i.e., children with overanxious disorder or generalized anxiety disorder and children with simple phobia). The importance of examining children's worries to further understand anxiety and its disorders in youth is discussed.     

Unity through truth

Synthese - Renewed worries about the unity of the proposition have been taken as a crucial stumbling block for any traditional conception of propositions. These worries are often framed in terms of...     

Basic need satisfaction in the parental relationship offsets millennials’ worries about the transition to college

ABSTRACT

Students’ worries about transitioning to college are correlated with long-term reduced psychological well-being, so we investigated how psychological need satisfaction might mitigate millennials’ worries about college. As parents can support or undermine their children’s basic needs, we also examined the influence of autonomy-supportive and helicopter parenting during the transition. Additionally, we compared these outcomes between first- and continuing-generation students. Incoming college students (N = 355) completed measures of parental relationship need satisfaction, parental involvement, worries about college, and family achievement guilt. Higher need satisfaction in the parental relationship was associated with reduced worries and feelings of achievement guilt for both first- and continuing-generation students. Autonomy-supportive parenting moderated the relationship between autonomy and millennials’ worries about college. Helicopter parenting did not moderate any of the relationships examined in this study but was positively associated with students’ transition worries and achievement guilt. We discuss these findings in the context of self-determination theory.     

The Effects of Values on Worries Associated With Acute Disaster: A Naturally Occurring Quasi‐Experiment1

On April 12, 1995, a bomb exploded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, destroying a federal office building, killing 168 people, and upending American notions of safety and security in the heartland. Using data collected before, immediately after, and 1 year after the bombing from 3 samples living within 25 miles of the explosion in a naturally occurring quasi‐experiment, research examined effects of values on people's worries in the context of a macrolevel traumatic event. High self‐transcendence and conservation values correlated with higher macro‐worries immediately after vs. before the explosion, but these worries were lower 1 year later. Findings indicate that values emphasizing broader social perspectives were associated with higher macrolevel worries, while values emphasizing one's own life and welfare were not.     

Exposing Worry’s Deceit: Percentage of Untrue Worries in Generalized Anxiety Disorder Treatment

Theories of cognitive therapy have long proposed that those with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) have inaccurate expectations. By challenging them with objective evidence, symptoms are thought to decrease. To test these premises, this study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) during the Worry Outcome Journal (WOJ) treatment to determine the percentage of GAD worries that did not come true. We then analyzed the association between participants’ untrue worry percentages and GAD symptom change across treatment. Twenty-nine participants with GAD recorded worries when prompted for 10 days, reviewed them online nightly, and tracked their worry outcomes across 30 days. These recordings were then coded by independent raters. Analyses applied bias-correct bootstrapping path analysis on slopes extracted from longitudinal linear mixed models. Primary results revealed that 91.4% of worry predictions did not come true. Higher percentages of untrue worries significantly predicted lower GAD symptoms after treatment, as well as a greater slope of symptom reduction from pre- to post-trial. Participants’ average expected likelihoods of worries coming true were much greater than actual observed likelihoods. The most common percentage of untrue worries per person was 100%. Thus, worries in those with GAD were mostly inaccurate. Greater evidence of this inaccuracy predicted greater improvement in treatment. As theorized, disconfirming false expectations may significantly contribute to treatment’s effect.     

Cognitive variables related to worry among adolescents: avoidance strategies and faulty beliefs about worry

Studies aiming to better understand worry have neglected children and adolescents. This constitutes an important limitation considering that excessive worry is frequent among adolescents and that patients suffering from excessive worries associate the beginning of their disorder with adolescence. This study evaluates the cognitive variables associated with worry in a sample of 777 adolescents. It attempts to determine whether cognitive avoidance and false beliefs about the usefulness of worries are present and associated with worries in adolescence. The results showed that participants with a high level of worry used more avoidance strategies and held more beliefs about worry. The results also revealed that avoidance of stimuli that trigger unpleasant thoughts and thought substitution were the major avoidance strategies related to worry among adolescents. The belief that worry helps to avoid future negative events was also related to worry. These findings may suggest that adolescents' worries are maintained by processes similar to those observed among adults.     

Perceptions of breastfeeding in mothers of babies born preterm in comparison to mothers of full-term babies

The purpose of the present study was: a) to describe the theme of verbalizations about breastfeeding in mothers' pre-term (M-PT) and full-term (M-FT) infants; b) to examine the association between these themes and mother's anxiety and depression indicators and socio-demographic characteristics and, neonatal characteristics of the infants. The sample consisted of 50 M-PT and 25 M-FT. The mothers were assessed through State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory and were interviewed using a Guide focusing breastfeeding issues. The M-PT group had significantly more mothers with clinical symptom of anxiety than the M-FT group. The M-PT reported more uncertainties and worries about breastfeeding and figured out more obstacles for the successful breastfeeding than the M-FT. These reports were associated positively with the infants' risk neonatal status; lower birth-weight, higher neonatal clinical risk, and more length time stay in NICU were associated with more mothers' worries and seeing obstacles for breastfeeding. In conclusion, the strategies to enhance the breastfeeding rate in the preterm population have to take into account the mothers' psychological status and their ideas in addition to offering information about the advantages of breastfeeding for child development.     

Worries and values

Relations of individuals' value priorities to their worries are investigated in seven samples from four cultural groups (N = 1,441). A social-cognitive analysis suggests that value priorities influence worries by increasing attention to and perception of threats to valued goals. On this basis, we generate hypotheses relating two types of worries, micro (about self and its extensions) and macro (about society and world), to 10 types of values. As predicted, giving priority to self-transcendence values (universalism and benevolence) is associated with low micro and high macro worry, whereas giving priority to self-enhancement values (power, hedonism, and--to a lesser degree--achievement) is associated with high micro and low macro worry. Meaningful associations are also found for other values. Values account for substantially more variance in macro than in micro worries.     

Stress and accessibility of proximity-related thoughts: exploring the normative and intraindividual components of attachment theory

Three studies examine the effects of stress on the accessibility of proximity-related thoughts. In all the studies, participants reported on their attachment style, and the accessibility of proximity themes and worries in a lexical decision task was assessed upon the priming of a stress or neutral word. In Study 2, the primed stress word was semantically related to attachment themes. In Study 3, lexical decisions were made under low or high cognitive load conditions. Overall, the priming of a stress word led to increased accessibility of proximity themes, regardless of attachment style. Anxious-ambivalent people also showed high accessibility to proximity themes and worries in both neutral and stress contexts. In most conditions, avoidant persons' reactions were similar to those of secure persons. However, they showed no accessibility to proximity worries even after the priming of a semantically related word and reacted with high accessibility to these worries upon the addition of cognitive load.     

转型期初中生心理健康与父母养育方式的研究

本研究采用《心理健康诊断量表》和《父母养育方式问卷》对196名初中生进行测量,探讨初中生心理健康与父母养育方式的影响因素及其相互之间的关系。结果表明,初中生的心理健康问题的检出率依次是自责倾向、恐怖倾向、冲动倾向和对人焦虑;性别因素只在心理健康的学习焦虑、养育方式上的父亲的惩罚、严厉、母亲的过干涉、过保护、父母的拒绝、否认等因素上表现出了显著差异;独生子女与非独生子女子女比较,在恐怖倾向以及惩罚、严厉的养育方式上存在显著差异;父母的文化程度、职业状况、离异、下岗等因素,只有母亲的职业状况因素对心理健康构成了影响;父母消极的教养方式将使学生的焦虑增加,母亲积极的教养方式将使学生的焦虑减少。     

Attentional bias to threat in clinical anxiety states

Abstract

Attentional responses to threat stimuli were assessed in anxious patients, normal controls, and subjects who had recovered from a clinical anxiety state. The main aims of the study were: (1) to replicate MacLeod, Mathews, and Tata's (1986) finding of an attentional bias to threat in currently anxious patients compared with normal control subjects; (2) to assess whether the bias is related to the predominant worries of anxious patients; and (3) to investigate whether the bias is present in recovered anxious patients. The original finding of an anxiety-related attentional bias was replicated. The results indicated that the extent to which anxious patients selectively attended to social threat words was associated with the seventy of their social worries. The attentional responses of the recovered anxious group were not significantly differentiated from those of the currently anxious or normal control groups.     

Modern health worries – the dark side of spirituality?

Modern health worries (MHWs) are widespread in modern societies. MHWs were connected to both negative and positive psychological characteristics in previous studies. The study aimed to investigate the relationships among intuitive‐experiential information processing style, spirituality, MHWs, and psychological well‐being. Members of the Hungarian Skeptic Society (N = 128), individuals committed to astrology (N = 601), and people from a non‐representative community sample (N = 554) completed questionnaires assessing intuitive‐experiential information processing style, spirituality, modern health worries (MHWs), and psychological well‐being. Astrologers showed higher levels of spirituality, intuitive‐experiential thinking, and modern health worries than individuals from the community sample; and skeptics scored even lower than the latter group with respect to all three constructs. Within the community sample, medium level connections between measures of spirituality and the experiential thinking style, and weak to medium level correlations between spirituality and MHWs were found. The connection between MHWs and experiential thinking style was completely mediated by spirituality. Individuals with higher levels of spirituality are particularly vulnerable to overgeneralized messages on health related risks. Official communication of potential risks based on rational scientific reasoning is not appropriate to persuade them as it has no impact on the intuitive‐experiential system.     

WHAT'S WRONG WITH CONTEXTUALISM?

This paper addresses two worries that might be raised about contextualism in epistemology and that carry over to its moral analogues: that contextualism robs epistemology (and moral theory) of a proper subject-matter, and that contextualism robs knowledge claims (and moral claims) of their objectivity. Two theses are defended: (1) that these worries are appropriately directed at interest-dependent theories in general rather than at contextualism in particular, and (2) that the two worries are over-stated in any case. Finally, the paper offers some considerations in favour of attributor contextualism over 'subject-sensitive invariantism', both in epistemology and in moral theory. But here we note an interesting result: the very considerations that support contextualism as a semantic thesis, threaten to rob that position of its anti-sceptical force.     

Worries about crime: Rank‐ordering survival concerns among urban transient females

This exploratory study examined the role that worries about crime occupies in the lives of New York City's homeless women. Building upon Coston's (1988) research finding of self‐perceptions of high vulnerability but low levels of fear of crime among homeless females, the present study suggests that homeless women deprioritize worries about crime in lieu of worries about their family's well‐being, poor physical health, lack of proper nutrition, and lack of money. Maslow's (1954) needs hierarchy is applied as an explanation of these findings.     

Psychological side effects of breast cancer screening

Evaluated the impact of receiving abnormal mammogram results on women's anxiety and breast cancer worries and on their breast self-examination (BSE) frequency and intentions to obtain subsequent mammograms. A telephone survey was conducted with 308 women 50 years old and older approximately 3 months following a screening mammogram. Subjects included women with suspicious abnormal mammograms, nonsuspicious abnormal mammograms, and normal mammograms. Women with suspicious abnormal mammograms exhibited significantly elevated levels of mammography-related anxiety and breast cancer worries that interfered with their moods and functioning, despite the fact that diagnostic work-ups had ruled out breast cancer. Women with moderate levels of impairment in mood or functioning were more likely to practice monthly BSE than women with either high or low levels of impairment. Breast cancer worries, perceived susceptibility to breast cancer, and physician encouragement to get mammograms all exhibited independent positive relationships to mammogram intentions.