Stress,coping, HIV status,psychosocial resources,and depressive mood in African American gay,bisexual, and heterosexual men

The associations between stress, physical health, psychosocial resources, coping, and depressive mood were examined in a community sample of African American gay, bisexual, and heterosexual men (N=139). Data were collected from physical exams and in-person interviews. In our theoretical framework, depressive mood scores were regressed first on stressors, next on psychosocial resources, and finally on coping strategy variables. Results revealed that psychosocial resources mediate the effects of stressors, including health symptoms, hassles, and life events, on depressive mood. There were no significant differences in depressive mood associated with HIV status or sexual orientation. Results are discussed in terms of community interventions needed to provide social support as a buffer between stress and psychological distress in African American men. The research was completed at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California at San Francisco and was supported in part by National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH44045 and MH42459. The authors express their appreciation to the participants in this study.     

A Prospective Study of High-School Adolescent Sexting Behavior and Psychological Distress

Abstract

Relying on conceptualization of sexting as a deviant behavior, which appear to be related with mental health problems, we examined the relationship between sexting and psychological distress. A one-year longitudinal study was performed among 216 girls and 143 boys, aged from 15 to 17?years (M?=?16.32, SD = .64). Participants completed the Sexting Behavior Questionnaire and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale at both time points of the study. The results showed that the prevalence for receiving sexts between the two time points was around 30%, and for sending sexts around 60%. The prevalence rates of receiving and sending sexually explicit context were quite stable over time, though they varied significantly across gender. Participants usually had sexted with a current or (ex)partner or friends. The number of person with whom participants exchange sexts did not exceed five. Anxiety and stress symptoms were more prevalent among sexters who receive sexts at the baseline than follow-up study (p < .05). Stress has been found to be significant predictors of sending sext at the baseline study (p < .05), while depression of receiving and sending at the follow-up study (p < .001). This study confirms that sexting is common among youth, and appears to be associated with negative consequences.     

Moderating effects of the valence of social interaction on the dysfunctional consequences of perseverative cognition: an ecological study in major depression and social anxiety disorder

Background and Objectives: Major depression disorder (MDD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) are characterized by the use of perseverative cognition (PC) as a dysfunctional coping strategy. We sought to investigate the dysfunctional physiological and psychological consequences of PC and how the valence of social interactions moderates such consequences in these psychopathological conditions.

Design/Methods: The study combined 24-hour heart rate variability (HRV) and ecological momentary assessments in 48 individuals with MDD, SAD, and sex-matched controls.

Results: In all participants, PC was associated with mood worsening and reduced ability of the parasympathetic nervous system, mainly the vagus, to inhibit sympathetic arousal (i.e., reduced HRV). Individuals with SAD had the highest frequency of daily PC, while those with MDD reported that PC interfered more with their ongoing activities. In SAD, daily PC was associated with significantly lower HRV after negative social interactions. Individuals with MDD reported higher levels of sadness during PC irrespective of the valence of the preceding social interaction but higher levels of anxiety and efforts to inhibit PC following positive interactions.

Conclusions: Results highlight the need to account for important moderators like the valence of social interaction when looking at the physiological consequences of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies.     

The Association of Negative Urgency with Psychological Distress: Moderating Role of Proactive Coping Strategies

Abstract

Negative urgency, which is the tendency to act impulsively under the influence of negative emotions, is a risk factor for various psychological disorders including anxiety and depression. In contrast, proactive coping is a future oriented coping strategy that aims to prepare the self for future stressors by reappraising the stressors as challenges or keep oneself prepared for impending losses. Although the effect of proactive coping and preventive coping strategies on reducing depression and anxiety has been consistently documented, the association of their interaction with risk factors received little attention. In the current study, the moderator roles of two dimensions of Proactive Coping strategies in the association of negative urgency with anxiety and depression, is examined. Data were collected from 404 individuals (255 women) aged 18 to 59 (M?=?31.29, SD = 11.70) through scales assessing negative urgency, proactive coping, anxiety and depression from a community sample. The results revealed that the interaction of proactive coping with negative urgency to be significantly associated with individual differences in depression scores, indicating that appraising the threats as challenges may have potential for buffering the effects of negative urgency on depression. However, a similar pattern was not observed for anxiety or preventive coping.     

Perceived social support,coping, and symptoms of distress in American and Spanish students

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test whether coping responses mediated the influence of perceived social support on symptoms of anxiety/depression, social withdrawal, and aggressive behavior in American (N=349) and Spanish students (N=437). Participants completed measures of perceived support, social stress, coping, and distress. Coping partially mediated relations between perceived support and distress, with coping mediation most evident in individuals facing high levels of social stress. Decreased use of disengagement coping by individuals with high perceived support appears to partially explain the protective value of perceived social support. Multiple group covariance structure analysis showed that models linking perceived support, coping, and distress were very similar across cultures, suggesting that the mechanisms underlying decreased risk for individuals with high perceived support may be relatively independent of cultural context, and that interventions designed to increase perceived support and decrease disengagement could be appropriate in both cultures.     

The social phobia and social interaction anxiety scales: An exploration of the dimensions of social anxiety and sex differences in structure and relations with pathology

This study sought to provide information on the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) of Mattick and Clarke (1989) with respect to factor structure, relations with psychopathology, and sex differences. A sample of 200 university students completed the SPS and SIAS and various measures of anxiety symptoms and depression. The results from the factor analyses for the sample as a whole suggest the presence of three factors corresponding to scrutiny fears, social interaction anxiety, and a general level of discomfort in social interactions. The results for men replicated this structure. For women, the three-factor solution demonstrated a blurring between the types of anxiety-provoking situations, and a general discomfort in situations involving differences in social power. In general, the discomfort factor was not correlated with measures of pathology, raising the possibility that uneasiness in these situations represents a process that is not part of social anxiety. The distinction between scrutiny fears and social interaction anxiety was also supported by the pattern of partial correlations that suggests that the presence of scrutiny fears is a stronger predictor of psychopathology than is social interaction anxiety, especially for men.     

Predictors of anxiety and depression among newly diagnosed people living with HIV: A longitudinal study

This longitudinal study examined whether past resilience and internalized stigma predicted anxiety and depression among newly diagnosed Spanish-speaking people living with HIV (PLWH). We also analyzed whether coping strategies mediated this relationship. Data were collected at two time points from 119 PLWH. Approximately a third of participants had scores indicative of anxiety symptoms, the same result was found for depressive symptoms. Structural equations modeling revealed that 61% of the variance of anxiety and 48% of the variance of depression 8 months after diagnosis was explained by the proposed model, which yielded a good fit to data. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were significantly and negatively predicted by positive thinking, thinking avoidance, and past resilience, and positively predicted by self-blame. Additionally, anxiety was positively predicted by internalized stigma. Past resilience negatively predicted internalized stigma, self-blame, and thinking avoidance and it positively predicted positive thinking. Internalized stigma positively predicted self-blame. Moreover, internalized stigma had a significant indirect effect on anxiety symptoms through self-blame, and past resilience had significant indirect effects on anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms through internalized stigma and coping. The results point to the need for clinicians and policy makers to conduct systematic assessments and implement interventions to reduce internalized stigma and train people living with HIV to identify and use certain coping behaviors.     

Associations between adults' recalled childhood bullying victimization,current social anxiety,coping, and self-blame: evidence for moderation and indirect effects

Abstract

Prior studies have shown that bullying victimization is common during childhood and may have negative effects over the short term. Evidence is also emerging that childhood bullying victimization in the form of teasing may precipitate social anxiety in adulthood. The present study extended the field by testing for associations between adults' recall of four common subtypes of childhood bullying victimization and their current social anxiety. It also provided the first test of whether coping moderated those associations, if they were indirect effects through self-blame, and if sex differences existed. Data were collected from 582 students aged 23+ years at two universities in the UK. Collectively, and for social exclusion and relational victimization uniquely, the subtypes of bullying victimization did predict social anxiety. Evidence for hypothesized moderation and indirect effects was obtained but these varied by subtype of victimization (but not sex). The theoretical and practical implications of these results were discussed.     

‘Coming out’ and sexual debut: understanding the social context of HIV risk-related behaviour

This paper explores HIV risk-related behaviour in the context of men's entry into the gay community. It is an exploratory study which employed a qualitative approach to describe men's accounts of the process of acculturation. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with working-class gay men from Barnsley, UK. These were translated and analysed, using interpretative phenomenological analysis, for recurrent themes which reflect the way gay men thought about HIV risk-related behaviour, ‘coming out’ and their sexual debut. As men began to socialize with other gay men in their local community they had much to learn with regard to local gay culture, e.g. a distinct new vocabulary and local sexual mores. By virtue of their lack of experience and the personal impact of first sexual experiences, some men reported feelings of disempowerment with their initial sexual partners. Theoretical accounts relating to gay men's sexual health would benefit from a consideration of the way gay men report the process of acculturation. Sexual debut and the particular vulnerabilities of entry into the gay community highlight a temporal context in which affective experiences are privileged above considerations of sexual health. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social influences on cognitive processing in enacted social support: effects on receivers’ cognitive appraisals,emotion, and affiliation

Background and objectives. Social support is linked with psychological health, but its mechanisms are unclear. We examined supporters’ influence on recipients’ cognitive processing as a mechanism of effects of support on outcomes associated with depression.

Design/methods. 2?×?2 between-subjects experiment. 147 participants (1) experienced a negative event (false feedback); (2) received social support modeling one of two contrasting cognitive processing modes (abstract/evaluative or concrete/experiential); (3) generated explanations for the event, later coded for processing mode and internal/external causal attribution; and (4) reported on emotion, perceptions of self and future, and social affiliation. To examine relational effects, half of participants were led to perceive the supporter as similar to themselves via a shared birthday manipulation.

Results. Support condition influenced participants’ processing mode and causal attributions as predicted. Abstract/evaluative support led to more positive emotion and self-perceptions, and less pessimistic expectancies for the future than concrete/experiential support. Perceived similarity moderated effects on beliefs about an upcoming social interaction, magnifying positive affiliation outcomes of abstract/evaluative versus concrete/experiential support.

Conclusions. Processing modes that are generally maladaptive at the intrapersonal level may be adaptive (and vice versa) when they are interpersonally influenced, and perceived similarity may facilitate interpersonal effects of processing mode on affiliation.     

Test Anxiety,Coping Strategies,and Perceived Health in a Group of High School Students: A Turkish Sample

A group of high school juniors and a group of high school seniors in Izmir, Turkey completed measures of test anxiety, coping skills, and perceived health status both before and after a major exam period. Students with high test anxiety used less effective coping mechanisms and tended to have poorer perceptions of their health. Prior to the exams, juniors displayed higher test anxiety and used less effective coping mechanisms than seniors. After the exam periods, improvements were seen for both age groups on perceived health, but scores of younger students remained significantly higher than scores of seniors on one of the key measures of test anxiety. Results of the study lend support to those of previous studies done in other cultural contexts, and findings have implications for the development of interventions designed to help students cope with stress.     

Effects of cognitive-behavioural therapy on anxiety,depression and condom use in people with HIV in Mexico City: a pilot study

Anxiety and depression in people living with HIV (PLWH) are negatively associated with healthy sexual behaviours. We pilot-tested a Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)-based intervention to reduce anxiety and depression, aimed to increase serostatus disclosure to sexual partners, quality of sexual life (QoSL) and condom use. The study had a single-case experimental design (AB) with follow-up measures. Eleven PLWH with moderate/severe anxiety/depression received six-module CBT intervention delivered in ten one-hour individual weekly sessions. Anxiety, depression, consistent/correct condom use and QoSL were measured. Depression and anxiety decreased after the intervention (depression baseline [BL] Mdn = 21, final [F] Mdn = 3, z = -2.934, p = .003; anxiety BL Mdn = 30, F Mdn = 4, z = -2.941, p = .003). QoSL improved (BL Mdn = 28, F Mdn = 13, z = -2.625, p = .009), along with participants’ ability to use condoms (57.14 vs.100, z = -2.937, p = .003). Effect size was large, changes were maintained at follow-up measurements. The CBT intervention had positive effects in reducing anxiety and depression, which could facilitate the acquisition of healthy sexual behaviours. Further studies are important to clarify the benefits of targeting emotional variables to improve wellbeing and prevention behaviours in PLWH.     

Another dragon in the kitchen: Psychological experiences of hepatitis C treatment among HIV‐hepatitis C co‐infected gay men

Background: Increasing numbers of HIV‐infected gay men acquire hepatitis C virus (HCV) co‐infection, which causes serious medical consequences. Treatment for HCV is associated with many severe side effects, in some cases psychological, and many patients subsequently fail to adhere, even when psychological services are utilised, to improve treatment adherence. Objective: This qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences of HIV‐infected gay men undergoing treatment for HCV in order to inform psychological services to better meet specific treatment needs of this population. Methods: Thirteen HIV‐infected gay men who had undergone HCV treatment were interviewed and a qualitative analysis was conducted. Participants described HCV and its treatments in the context of their relationships and lifestyles. Findings: Four domains emerged: HCV diagnosis and treatment; HCV treatment education; change in sense of self; and sexual risk‐taking. Adhering to treatment was a significant challenge for all participants and emerged across all domains. Discussion: Psychological services for this population of co‐infected gay men should assist this clinical population not only with adherence to hepatitis C treatment but should also be available at an earlier stage in the process to help patients make informed choices about whether or not to begin a course of treatment. Assessing factors such as coping strategies, treatment readiness and knowledge, self‐awareness, and level of risk‐taking, can guide clinicians in tailoring treatment and adherence planning for HIV/HCV‐co‐infected gay men.     

虚拟现实暴露疗法在社交焦虑中的应用:效果、机制及展望

由于传统干预方法的诸多局限,虚拟现实暴露疗法(virtual reality exposure therapy,VRET)逐渐应用于对社交焦虑的干预,VRET是将虚拟现实技术与传统行为暴露治疗相结合而形成的一种新的干预方法。文章总结了VRET的三个发展阶段及其研究范式,述评了在VRET过程中的作用机制。未来研究可致力于设计更加自然的人机交互技术,实现技术与社交焦虑治疗的深度融合以及关注第三人称视角应用的作用及机制。     

Relations between plasma oxytocin,depressive symptoms and coping strategies in response to a stressor: the impact of social support

Background: Social support can serve as a protective factor against the negative impacts of stressors and may thereby promote well-being. As well, exogenous administration of oxytocin has been tied to diminished stress responses and might also enhance the effects of social support.

Methods/Results: In the current study, conducted among female undergraduate students (N?=?67), higher depressive symptoms were related to lower endorsements of problem-focused coping in response to a psychosocial stressor comprising the Trier Social Stress test (TSST). However, the relation between depressive symptoms and problem-focused coping was absent among participants who had a close female friend present serving as social support prior to the stressor experience. Additionally, endogenous plasma oxytocin levels were related to certain coping strategies being favored (e.g., problem-solving, humor, cognitive distraction, self-blame and support seeking) in response to the psychosocial stressor. However, the strength of these relations varied as a function of whether individuals had social support present or not.

Conclusion: These findings confirm the positive impact of social support in attenuating the relation between depressive symptoms and specific coping methods. The results of this study are consistent with view that oxytocin levels are accompanied by particular stress responses, possibly through the promotion of coping methods endorsed.     

Understanding associations between negatively biased attention and depression and social anxiety: positively biased attention is key

ABSTRACT

Background and objectives: Although research supports the premise that depressed and socially anxious individuals direct attention preferentially toward negative emotional cues, little is known about how attention to positive emotional cues might modulate this negative attention bias risk process. The purpose of this study was to determine if associations between attention biases to sad and angry faces and depression and social anxiety symptoms, respectively, would be strongest in individuals who also show biased attention away from happy faces.

Methods: Young adults (N?=?151; 79% female; M?=?19.63 years) completed self-report measures of depression and social anxiety symptoms and a dot probe task to assess attention biases to happy, sad, and angry facial expressions.

Results: Attention bias to happy faces moderated associations between attention to negatively valenced faces and psychopathology symptoms. However, attention bias toward sad faces was positively and significantly related to depression symptoms only for individuals who also selectively attended toward happy faces. Similarly, attention bias toward angry faces was positively and significantly associated with social anxiety symptoms only for individuals who also selectively attended toward happy faces.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that individuals with high levels of depression or social anxiety symptoms attend preferentially to emotional stimuli across valences.     

Emotions and self‐esteem as indicators of somatic complaints in children

The literature on somatic complaints in children without a clear physical medical cause often demonstrates connections with various psychological factors, such as negative emotions and problems handling them, poor self‐image, and coping potential. We entered these elements into a structural model to elucidate the relationships among them and tested it on 330 children (mean age 10 years and 9 months). The results showed that mood balance contributed most to the prediction of self‐reported somatic complaints. Moreover, mood (in combination with anxiety and depression problems) had an indirect impact on children's somatic complaints by influencing self‐esteem. The influence and position of coping was less clear. The results are discussed in terms of the ‘symptom perception theory’. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Change in subjective social status following HIV diagnosis and associated effects on mental and physical health among HIV-positive gay men in Australia

Objective: This study investigates the impact of HIV diagnosis on subjective social status and if changes are linked to health outcomes.

Design: Two measures of subjective social status, socio-economic and standing in the community were examined in 342 Australian HIV-positive gay men in 2014. Participants recalled ratings at diagnosis were compared with current ratings.

Main outcome measures: Self-reported mental (psychological distress, self-esteem, positive mental health and satisfaction with life) and physical health (self-rated health, CD4 count, viral load).

Results: Half of the participants reported improvements in subjective socio-economic status (59%) or standing in the community (52%) since diagnosis, yet one quarter reported socio-economic status (25%) or standing in the community had decreased (23%). Increases in either measure of subjective social status were linked to higher self-esteem, positive mental health, satisfaction with life and better self-rated health. Decreases in subjective social status, however, were strongly linked to poorer outcomes on all mental health measures. Decreases in standing in the community were also associated with poorer physical self-rated health.

Conclusion: Most participants reported their subjective social status were the same or better since diagnosis. Changes in subjective social status following diagnosis were strongly linked to mental health outcomes. Those who reported a decrease in subjective social status were particularly vulnerable to mental health problems.     

Social emotions and social cognition in the development of social anxiety disorder

ABSTRACT

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most prevalent mental disorders with serious individual impairments and societal costs. Little is known about the mechanisms involved in SAD development. Here, I propose that dysregulated social emotions (social fear and shyness) are crucial for SAD development and that these dysregulated social emotions originate in the disturbances in socio-cognitive abilities. The research from our lab confirmed this. It showed that behavioural and physiological indices of social fear contribute to the development of SAD in toddlerhood and early childhood. Later in childhood, between ages 4.5 and 7.5, we found a new risk factor for SAD―dysregulated shyness. Specifically, we found that negative shy expressions and prolonged physiological blushing (temperature increase) contribute to SAD development. Whereas elevated fear may be rooted in deficits in socio-cognitive skills, dysregulated shyness may be rooted in advanced socio-cognitive abilities. These findings imply that dysregulated social emotions play an important role in SAD and should be explicitly targeted in clinical treatments of SAD.