Child physical abuse and neglect in Kenya,Zambia and the Netherlands: A cross‐cultural comparison of prevalence,psychopathological sequelae and mediation by PTSS

This study compared the prevalence of self‐reported childhood physical abuse and neglect and the associated psychopathological sequelae among Kenyan, Zambian, and Dutch university students. In addition, we sought to find out the differentiated role of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in mediating the associations between childhood maltreatment experiences and psychopathology symptoms. The sample consisted of 862 university students from Kenya (n = 375), Zambia (n = 182), and The Netherlands (n = 305) who completed the Personal and Relationships Profile (PRP). Results showed that physical abuse was highly prevalent in Kenya (59%) and Zambia (40%), and that neglect was even more prevalent than physical abuse in Zambia and The Netherlands at 59%, 54%, and 42% for the Kenyan, Zambian, and Dutch samples respectively. Neglect was associated with psychopathological symptoms in all three samples, whereas physical abuse was associated with psychopathological sequelae in the Kenyan and Zambian samples only. PTSS mediated the association between neglect and psychopathology symptoms in the Dutch sample and between physical abuse and psychopathology symptoms in the Dutch and Kenyan samples. We conclude that physical abuse and neglect are associated with psychopathology symptoms independently of country and cultural context. However, the pathways through which physical abuse and neglect may lead to psychopathological sequelae may be dependent on perceptions of specific parental behavior in different sociocultural contexts.     

A mediational model of trait negative affectivity, dispositional thought suppression, and intrusive thoughts following laboratory stressors

Two studies examined the relationships among trait negative affectivity, dispositional thought suppression, and intrusions in non-clinical samples. In Study 1 (N=87), participants were presented with a series of emotionally evocative images and intrusions were examined 48 h after presentation via self-report. In Study 2 (N=118), intrusions were examined using a behavioral Key-press and self-report at two time points (5 and 20 min) following exposure to a series of emotionally evocative images. In each study, participants were assessed for trait negative affectivity and the tendency to engage in thought suppression in response to unpleasant cognitions. Results from both studies support a model in which chronic thought suppression fully mediates the relationship between negative affectivity and the frequency of intrusions.     

Above and beyond emotional valence: the unique contribution of central and traumatic shame memories to psychopathology vulnerability

This paper explores whether shame memories have a distinct impact on emotional difficulties and psychopathology that goes beyond their negative emotional valence. Study 1 (N=292) investigates the contribution of centrality of shame memory, in comparison to the centrality of fear and sadness memories, to explain the memory's traumatic impact, shame, depression, anxiety, stress, paranoid, and dissociative symptoms. Study 2 (N=192) explores the impact of shame traumatic memory on shame and depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, in comparison to fear and sadness traumatic memories. Both studies used undergraduate student samples. Results show that shame memories' centrality and traumatic features made an independent contribution to current external and internal shame and distinct psychopathological symptoms, after controlling for the effect of fear and sadness, centrality, and traumatic qualities. Moreover, shame memories' centrality and traumatic features were the best global predictors of external and internal shame and depressive symptoms. Centrality of shame memories was also the only significant predictor of paranoid ideation and dissociation. These results offer novel perspectives on the nature of shame and its relation to psychopathology, emphasising the distinct role of shame memories in human functioning and suffering, which goes above and beyond its negative emotional valence.     

Trait vulnerability and coping strategies in the transition to motherhood

Using a prospective design, we explored the role of approach and emotional/avoidance-coping strategies in the relations between dependent and self-critical trait vulnerabilities and postpartum depressive symptoms among first-time mothers. It was assumed that dependency and self-criticism associate with approach and emotional/ avoidance strategies respectively, and that approach-coping strategies moderate trait vulnerabilities to depressive symptoms after childbirth. One hundred forty-six first pregnancy participants were assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy and eight weeks postpartum. Dependency was found to associate positively with high approach and low emotional/avoidance-coping strategies, while self-criticism was found to correlate positively with high emotional/avoidance and low approachcoping strategies. In addition, approach-coping scores were found to moderate selfcritical trait vulnerability, reducing self-critical participants' depressive symptoms, thus confirming the coping effectiveness hypothesis. Results suggest that personality dispositions may affect the selection of coping processes, but that specific coping strategies are effective beyond personality characteristics, moderating the association between trait vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms. We propose a model in which self-criticism functions as vulnerability to depressive symptoms in the childbearing period. Our results illustrate the need to distinguish dependent and selfcritical personality traits, and point to the need to integrate personality and contextual factors in the study of childbirth depressive symptoms.     

Trait vulnerability and coping strategies in the transition to motherhood

Using a prospective design, we explored the role of approach and emotional/avoidance-coping strategies in the relations between dependent and self-critical trait vulnerabilities and postpartum depressive symptoms among first-time mothers. It was assumed that dependency and self-criticism associate with approach and emotional/ avoidance strategies respectively, and that approach-coping strategies moderate trait vulnerabilities to depressive symptoms after childbirth. One hundred forty-six first pregnancy participants were assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy and eight weeks postpartum. Dependency was found to associate positively with high approach and low emotional/avoidance-coping strategies, while self-criticism was found to correlate positively with high emotional/avoidance and low approachcoping strategies. In addition, approach-coping scores were found to moderate selfcritical trait vulnerability, reducing self-critical participants' depressive symptoms, thus confirming the coping effectiveness hypothesis. Results suggest that personality dispositions may affect the selection of coping processes, but that specific coping strategies are effective beyond personality characteristics, moderating the association between trait vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms. We propose a model in which self-criticism functions as vulnerability to depressive symptoms in the childbearing period. Our results illustrate the need to distinguish dependent and selfcritical personality traits, and point to the need to integrate personality and contextual factors in the study of childbirth depressive symptoms.     

Who Turns Green with Envy? Conceptual and Empirical Perspectives on Dispositional Envy

Previous research has conceptualized dispositional envy as a general construct that does not vary across comparison domains. In five studies (N = 1393), we examine dispositional envy as a domain‐specific construct. In Study 1, we present the development of a domain‐specific measure of dispositional envy. Across samples from different populations and two countries (Studies 2 and 3), the measure is shown to have good reliability, construct validity and stability over three months, highlighting the trait‐like character of the construct. State levels of envy were also examined in the academic domain (Study 4) and in dyadic interactions between unacquainted participants (Study 5). Results show a Person × Situation Interaction effect (i.e. Dispositional Envy × Situation) on experiences of envy. By placing domain‐specific dispositional envy into a network of similar and dissimilar constructs, the current findings serve as a foundation for drawing conclusions about the nature of dispositional envy. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Personality traits and anxiety symptoms: the multilevel trait predictor model

Investigation of relations between personality traits and mental disorders can inform key issues in psychopathology research. However, it has been hindered by extensive correlations among the traits. Building on studies of affect-psychopathology relations (e.g., the tripartite model), an organizational framework is proposed to solve this problem with respect to anxiety pathology. To test the resulting model, associations between four traits (negative emotionality, positive emotionality, anxiety sensitivity, and negative evaluation sensitivity) and four anxiety symptoms (chronic worry, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, panic, and social anxiety) were examined in an undergraduate sample (N=907). Confirmatory factor analyses supported operationalizations of the constructs in this study. Examination of the trait-symptom links using hierarchical multiple regression analyses supported most of the predicted relations. Specifically, negative emotionality emerged as a general predictor that was significantly related to all four symptom dimensions. In contrast, anxiety sensitivity was specific to panic and worry, whereas negative evaluation sensitivity was specific to social anxiety and worry. Finally, positive emotionality was uniquely related to social anxiety. The model accounted for a substantial amount of variance in the symptoms and almost all of the covariation among them.     

Longitudinal Associations Between the Five-Factor Model of Personality and The Bi-Factor Model of Psychopathology: Continuity,Pathoplasty and Complication Effects in Adolescents

The study of the bifactor structure of psychopathology, which includes a general factor of psychopathology (or p factor) in addition to the internalizing and externalizing factors, has gained attention. However, its associations with the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality has been addressed in few studies, and none has examined different plausible etiological models (i.e., continuity, pathoplasty, complication) to explain its relationship, which is the aim of the present research. Additionally, the longitudinal association of the General Factor of Personality (GFP) and the p factor will be also explored. Personality and psychopathological symptoms of high school students were assessed at three time points (once a year) (n?=?655; M?=?13.79, SD?=?1.24; 49.8% girls). Confirmatory Factor Analysis (and measurement invariance across waves) were tested for the traits, the GFP and the bifactor model of psychopathology. While the bifactor model and the one-factor solution for each personality trait displayed good fit to the data and remained invariant over time, the structure of the GFP was adequate and invariant in two of the three waves. The resulting factors were included in cross-lagged panel models and showed that the FFM traits and the psychopathology factors influenced each other reciprocally. Most associations fell in line with the continuity model, but minor pathoplastic and complication effects were also reported. Similar associations were found between the GFP and the p factor. These results suggest that interventions in riskier personality profiles might prevent the development of general and more specific psychopathology spectra.

     

Disturbed dreaming, posttraumatic stress disorder, and affect distress: a review and neurocognitive model

Nightmares are common, occurring weekly in 4%-10% of the population, and are associated with female gender, younger age, increased stress, psychopathology, and dispositional traits. Nightmare pathogenesis remains unexplained, as do differences between nontraumatic and posttraumatic nightmares (for those with or without posttraumatic stress disorder) and relations with waking functioning. No models adequately explain nightmares nor have they been reconciled with recent developments in cognitive neuroscience, fear acquisition, and emotional memory. The authors review the recent literature and propose a conceptual framework for understanding a spectrum of dysphoric dreaming. Central to this is the notion that variations in nightmare prevalence, frequency, severity, and psychopathological comorbidity reflect the influence of both affect load, a consequence of daily variations in emotional pressure, and affect distress, a disposition to experience events with distressing, highly reactive emotions. In a cross-state, multilevel model of dream function and nightmare production, the authors integrate findings on emotional memory structures and the brain correlates of emotion.     

Profiling Hoarding Within the Five-Factor Model of Personality and Self-Determination Theory

This study investigated the dispositional profile associated with hoarding symptoms by applying a personality and motivational trait perspective. A community sample oversampling high hoarding symptoms (N = 649, ages 18–74 years) completed an online questionnaire assessing hoarding, the five-factor model of personality, and general causality orientations drawn from self-determination theory. Personality aspects (10 traits), a level of measurement intermediate to factors (5 traits) and facets (30 traits), were assessed to provide greater specificity than a factor-level approach. Hoarding was correlated with neuroticism and conscientiousness. Aspects predicting hoarding were industriousness (C), orderliness (C), withdrawal (N), and assertiveness (E). Hoarding was significantly related to impersonal and control orientations, albeit with only slight (1.4%) incremental validity for general causality orientations above personality aspects in predicting hoarding. These findings may not generalize to a clinical treatment sample, and possible configurative interactions between traits were not assessed. This study extended the existing literature by reporting aspect-level personality and general causality orientation correlates of hoarding. These data may inform preventative monitoring and intervention programs, as well as predicting meaningful personality characteristics of hoarding clients.     

Agreeableness: Dimension of Personality or Social Desirability Artifact?

Agreeableness is linked to socially valued traits and prosocial motives, so self-reported Agreeableness may be distorted by self-favoring biases (SFB). A three-study multimethod research program explored links between the Big Five dimension of Agreeableness and SFB from three perspectives. First, we examined zero-order relations between Agreeableness and SFB measures (N = 316). Next, we used a round robin design (N = 351) and the Social Relations Model analyses (Kenny, 1994) to partition perceptions of Agreeableness into target and perceiver effects. These effects then were related to SFB concerns, and differential responsiveness to a manipulation of the social desirability of Agreeableness. Study 3 (N = 312) examined a manipulation of Agreeableness as a moderator of the relation between dispositional Agreeableness and interpersonal conflict tactics. Overall, results indicate that Agreeableness is not easily manipulated nor distorted by SFB. Results are discussed in terms of Agreeableness as a substantive system of motives.     

Irritability as a Transdiagnostic Vulnerability Trait:Current Issues and Future Directions

In recent years, irritability has received increasing attention among mental health professionals given its transdiagnostic associations with diverse forms of psychopathology. In contrast to other emotional states and traits, however, literature addressing associations between irritability and related temperament and personality constructs is limited. In addition, those who study irritability have diverse perspectives on its neurobiological substrates. In this comment, we situate irritability in the literatures on child temperament and adult personality, and describe a model in which irritability derives from low tonic dopamine (DA) levels and low phasic DA reactivity in subcortical neural structures implicated in appetitive responding. We note that different findings often emerge in neuroimaging studies when irritability is assessed in circumscribed diagnostic groups versus representative samples. We conclude with directions for future research, and propose that more authors use hierarchical Bayesian modeling, which captures functional dependencies between irritability and other dispositional traits (e.g., trait anxiety) that standard regression models are insensitive too. Treatment implications are also considered.     

Structural relations between borderline personality disorder features and putative etiological correlates

This study assessed the structural relations between borderline personality disorder (BPD) features and purported etiological correlates. Approximately 5,000 18-year-old nonclinical young adults were screened for BPD features, and 2 cohorts of participants (total N = 421; approximately one half of whom endorsed significant borderline features) completed the laboratory phase of the study. Measures included self-report and interview-based assessments of BPD psychopathology, personality, psychopathology in biological parents, and childhood physical and sexual abuse. Significant relations between BPD features and purported etiological correlates of BPD were found. A multivariate model that included parental psychopathology, childhood abuse, and personality factors provided an adequate fit to the data and supported the contention that the personality traits disinhibition and negative affectivity underlie BPD features.     

When are adaptive strategies most predictive of psychopathology?

In recent work, we showed that putatively adaptive emotion regulation strategies, such as reappraisal and acceptance, have a weaker association with psychopathology than putatively maladaptive strategies, such as rumination, suppression, and avoidance (e.g., Aldao & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2010; Aldao, Nolen-Hoeksema, & Schweizer, 2010). In this investigation, we examined the interaction between adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in the prediction of psychopathology symptoms (depression, anxiety, and alcohol problems) concurrently and prospectively. We assessed trait emotion regulation and psychopathology symptoms in a sample of community residents at Time 1 (N = 1,317) and then reassessed psychopathology at Time 2 (N = 1,132). Cross-sectionally, we found that the relationship between adaptive strategies and psychopathology symptoms was moderated by levels of maladaptive strategies: adaptive strategies had a negative association with psychopathology symptoms only at high levels of maladaptive strategies. In contrast, adaptive strategies showed no prospective relationship to psychopathology symptoms either alone or in interaction with maladaptive strategies. We discuss the implications of this investigation for future work on the contextual factors surrounding the deployment of emotion regulation strategies.     

Measuring individual differences in the tendency to forgive: construct validity and links with depression

Four studies examine the construct validity of the Tendency to Forgive Scale (TTF), a brief measure of dispositional forgiveness. Study 1 showed that romantic partners' ratings of targets converged with targets' self-ratings, and Study 2 demonstrated that higher scores on the TTF were associated with lower offense accessibility. Study 3 examined the TTF's relation to self-reported depression symptoms, both independent of and interacting with attitudes toward forgiveness and dispositional vengeance. Lower TTF scores were associated with higher degrees of depression, especially for individuals with positive attitudes toward forgiveness or those low in dispositional vengeance, although neither of these latter variables displayed significant zero-order relations with depression. Finally, Study 4 examined relations between the TTF, dispositional empathy, another recent measure of dispositional forgiveness, and the dimensions of the Big Five, providing both convergent and discriminant validity evidence for the TTF.     

Mindfulness and Forgiveness Buffer Distress: Associations With Interpersonal Transgression Blameworthiness

This study examined psychopathological symptom outcomes in victims of interpersonal transgressions (IPTs) based on differences in offender blameworthiness attributions. Mindfulness and forgiveness were hypothesized to serve as protective factors against depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. The results highlight the buffering influence of dispositional mindfulness and forgiveness on symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. These results provide initial evidence that mindfulness‐ and forgiveness‐based procedures may have beneficial therapeutic outcomes for individuals who experience psychopathology as the result of IPTs, specifically IPTs deemed intentional by the victim.     

Episodic repetitive thought: dimensions, correlates, and consequences

Repetitive thought (RT) - attentive, prolonged, or frequent thought about oneself and one's world - plays an important role in many models of psychological and physical ill health (e.g., rumination and worry), as well as models of recovery and well-being (e.g., processing and reminiscing). In these models, repetitive thought is typically treated as stable or trait-like. In contrast, episodic RT reflects what people have "on their minds" at a particular point in time. In four studies, young women (N=94), college students (N=166), first-year law students (N=73), and older adults (N=174) described their episodic RT, which was then rated for qualities including valence, purpose, and theme. Episodic RT valence was associated with mood and depressive symptoms both between (Studies 1-4) and within people (Studies 3-4), and it mediated the effects of dispositional coping through emotional approach (Study 1). The effect of episodic RT valence in turn was moderated by other properties of episodic RT, including purpose, "trait" valence, and theme (Studies 1-4). The study of episodic RT complements that of trait RT and allows for observations of how RT and psychological adjustment change in concert and in context, as well as examining how the RT qualities that are not reflected in trait measures affect adjustment.     

Alexithymia in chronic urticaria patients

Alexithymia has been described as an important dimension in several medical and psychiatric diseases. Chronic urticaria (CU) is a chronic condition, in which treatment is difficult. Our aim is to determine the prevalence of alexithymia traits in patients with CU, and to identify the relationships between alexithymia and psychological variables and quality-of-life dimensions. Fifty-five sequential CU patients in a faculty ambulatory specialized consultation, with an average age of 44.92, were compared with 31 healthy volunteers. Both groups were studied by means of validated scales for alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale [TAS-20]), attachment (Adult Attachment Scale-R [AAS-R]), psychopathology (Brief Symptom Inventory [BSI]), personality dimensions (The NEO Five-Factor inventory [NEO-FFI]) and quality of life (Short Form-36 [SF-36]). The classification of CU reactions was obtained from the patient's history, physical examination, laboratory assessment and histopathologic findings. All the patients were under treatment with sedating H1-antihistamines, non-sedating H1-antihistamines combination of H1 and H2 blocker, 2 H1-antihistamines and 3 H1-antihistamines. High traits of alexithymia were found on CU patients (56.9%) as well as high symptom rates of anxiety. Alexithymia traits were significantly positively correlated with insecure attachment styles, with psychopathological symptoms, and with the defense mechanism turn against self. We also reported a significant negative correlation between alexithymia traits and the dimensions of quality of life. Insecure attachment styles were positively correlated with psychopathological symptoms and negatively correlated with quality of life. We did not find significant statistical correlations between alexithymia and clinical variables. CU patients present serious difficulty in dealing with emotion arousal. There is strong evidence of a psychosomatic specificity in CU, with marked alexithymic traits.     

Prediction of symptoms of emotional distress by mood regulation expectancies and affective traits

Three studies examined negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE) and affective traits as independent predictors of self‐reported symptoms of emotional distress. NMRE represent individuals' beliefs that they can alleviate unpleasant emotional states. Stronger NMRE are associated with more adaptive coping, more positive cognition during negative moods, more effective responses under stress and less emotional distress. Affective traits represent long‐term tendencies toward particular affective experiences; they confer risk for specific symptoms of emotional distress. In Study 1, NMRE, trait negative affect (TNA) and trait positive affect (TPA) were all independently associated with depression among students and staff of a German university. In Study 2, in prospective analyses among U.S. college students traits exhibited hypothesised relationships with anxiety and depressive symptoms, and NMRE uniquely predicted anhedonic depression. Study 3 revealed independent prediction of change in symptoms over time by NMRE among U.S. college students, whereas traits were not associated with change in distress, anxiety and depression symptoms. Results suggest independent roles for NMRE and traits in the development of depression and anxiety symptoms and highlight the importance of NMRE as a potential target of therapeutic intervention in the process of symptom change.     

Contextualizing neuroticism in the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology

Neuroticism is the personality trait most consistently and strongly connected to psychopathology. The majority of research on the relationship between traits and mental illness has focused on neuroticism’s connection with broad psychopathology spectra or discrete disorders. However, both personality and psychopathology are hierarchically-organized domains that may be examined at multiple levels of fidelity and bandwidth from very specific thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (i.e., nuance traits or symptoms) to very broad patterns indexing many interrelated tendencies (i.e., general factors). The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) is a recently proposed nosologic framework for psychopathology symptoms and domains that accounts for this tiered organization. Here, we illustrate how neuroticism-psychopathology relationships—both what is known and unknown—may be elucidated through the HiTOP system.