Delusions and hallucinations of cocaine abusers and paranoid schizophrenics: a comparative study

We compared delusions and hallucinations of 100 cocaine abusers and 100 paranoid schizophrenic subjects admitted to an East Texas state psychiatric hospital. Subjects in both groups feared that individuals or organized groups might harm them in some way, but delusions of the paranoid schizophrenic subjects were more often bizarre than those of the cocaine abuse subjects. "Cocaine bugs" (parasitosis) were more often found in the cocaine abuse subjects. Command hallucinations were found in both groups, but the commands of the schizophrenic group more often related to harming or killing others. Cocaine abusers had a greater frequency of visual hallucinations (47 to 7), distinguished by shadows, flashing lights ("snow lights"), objects moving and bugs crawling on the arm. Finally, the most distinguishing characteristics were identity delusions, possession delusions, grandiose delusions (other than identities and possessions), and delusions that their families were imposters (Capgras Syndrome) reported by paranoid schizophrenics. No such delusions were reported by the cocaine abusers.     

Hypnosis, reporting bias, and suggested negative hallucinations.

We examined the role of reporting bias in hypnotic negative hallucinations by using a paradigm in which reporting bias was assessed independently of perceptual change. In Experiment 1, highly hypnotizable subjects reported significant loudness reductions when tested for hypnotic deafness. Later, however, these subjects biased their reported loudness reductions in the absence of perceptual change, and their reporting bias scores were almost as large as their hypnotic deafness reports. Subjects also biased their ratings of strategy use. In Experiment 2, ratings of blindness given in response to a hypnotic negative visual hallucination suggestion were significantly correlated with reporting bias scores obtained in this paradigm. Although hypnotic blindness and hypnotic deafness correlated significantly, the partial correlation between these variables was nonsignificant when reporting bias scores were statistically controlled. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

Depressive symptoms in early marriage: predictions from relationship confidence and negative marital interaction.

The authors proposed a model of depressive symptoms in early marriage in which relationship confidence, defined as perceived couple-level efficacy to manage conflicts and maintain a healthy relationship, mediates the effect of negative marital interactions on depressive symptoms. The model was tested in a sample of 139 couples assessed prior to marriage and 1 year later. As predicted, relationship confidence demonstrated simple negative associations with negative marital interaction and depressive symptoms for all participants. Longitudinal path analyses supported the mediational model for women only. In women but not men, negative marital interaction indirectly had an impact on depressive symptoms through the mediator of relationship confidence. Findings suggest that relationship confidence may be important to understanding links between marital distress and depressive symptoms, especially in women.     

Punishment vs negative reinforcement in the aversive conditioning of auditory hallucinations1

The behavioural treatment of auditory hallucinations in three chronic schizophrenic patients is reported. Two treatment conditions, one in which white noise followed hallucinations and a second in which white noise was presented during reported hallucinations, were contrasted in a crossover design with a control condition where white noise was presented randomly. All three patients improved, although reported reductions in hallucinations were more marked in two cases than in the third. Some generalization of treatment effects was observed in all three patients. White noise presented concurrently with hallucinatory reports appeared to be the most effective. The implication of these findings for a theory of auditory hallucinations is discussed.     

Fear of negative evaluation augments negative affect and somatic symptoms in social-evaluative situations

The aim of this study was to determine whether fear of negative evaluation (FNE) moderates effects of eye contact on mood, bodily symptoms and physiological activity during social-evaluative situations. Facial blood flow, skin conductance, heart rate and respiration rate were recorded in 42 participants while they sang a children's song, while they were observed or made direct eye contact with the experimenter, and while they listened to an audiotape of themselves singing. Physiological responses were similar in high and low FNE groups. However, differences lay in the perception of bodily symptoms and ratings of negative affect, with the high FNE group reporting greater ratings. In addition, prior eye contact enhanced the perception of bodily symptoms in the high FNE group when they listened to the audiotape. Concern about the social consequences of displaying bodily disturbances such as trembling, blushing and sweating may explain these findings.     

Preliminary examination of sex differences in depressive symptoms among adolescent psychiatric inpatients: the role of anxious symptoms and generalized negative affect.

Assessed the emerging view that generalized negative affect and anxious symptoms are important in understanding sex differences in depressive symptoms. Sixty-three adolescent psychiatric inpatients (32 boys, 31 girls), ages 12 to 16 (M = 13.87, SD = 1.36), completed measures of positive and negative affect and anxious and depressive symptoms. Results demonstrated, as predicted, that depressive and anxious symptoms were more highly associated in adolescent girls than boys. Furthermore, girls with depressive symptoms were more likely to have comorbid anxious symptoms than boys with depressive symptoms. Sex differences were not found for adolescents with specific depressive symptoms and specific anxious symptoms (i.e., the absence of comorbidity). Our findings supported the possibility that sex differences in pure forms of depression are overestimated and that comorbid internalizing conditions may be more prevalent in adolescent girls than boys.     

Within-subjects positive and negative contrast effects in rats.

Rats were given alternating 1-min. access periods to 2 tubes containing either 32% or 4% sucrose solutions for daily 6-min. test sessions. Lick rate for 32% was higher under comparison (32 vs. 4) than noncomparison (32 vs. 32) conditions; and lick rate for 4% was lower under comparison conditions (4 vs. 32) than under noncomparison conditions (4 vs. 4). All sucrose conditions were varied within subjects and both positive and negative contrast were obtained with a small n. In addition to lick rate, intake and latency measures also revealed contrast effects. Deprivation conditions altered latency but not lick rate measures of contrast. Reducing the test session to 3 min. (alternating 30-sec. access periods) did not greatly affect contrast. Additional experiments provided evidence for distinct within-days and between-days contrast effects, as well as a between-groups contrast effect.     

The relationship between ADHD symptoms and driving behavior in college students: The mediating effects of negative emotions and emotion control

Previous research has shown a relationship between attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and driving anger and adverse driving outcomes. Moreover, adults with ADHD symptoms express their emotions in more aggressive ways, indicating a lack of emotion control. The present study surveyed 246 college students to examine the relationship among ADHD symptoms, negative emotions, emotion control, and driving anger and safe driving behavior. Mediating effects of negative emotions and emotional control on the relationship between ADHD symptoms and self-reported driving anger and safe driving behavior were also examined. Both negative emotions and emotion control were significant mediators of the relationship between ADHD symptoms and driving anger, but not safe driving behavior. Mediation was stronger for ADHD-Hyperactive/Impulsive symptoms than for ADHD-Inattention symptoms. These results may provide some insight on how to design training programs for individuals with ADHD symptoms to increase driving safety.     

Let it be: Accepting negative emotional experiences predicts decreased negative affect and depressive symptoms

The present studies examined whether a tendency to accept negative emotional experiences buffers individuals from experiencing elevated negative affect during negative emotional situations (Study 1) and from developing depressive symptoms in the face of life stress (Study 2). Both studies examined female samples. This research expands on existing acceptance research in four ways. First, it examined whether acceptance has beneficial correlates when it matters most: in emotionally taxing (versus more neutral) contexts. Second, in Study 2 a prospective design was used in which acceptance was measured before stress was encountered and before outcomes were measured. Third, depressive symptoms (rather than general functioning or trauma symptoms) were examined as a particularly relevant outcome in the context of stress. Fourth, to enhance generalizability, a community sample (versus undergraduates or a purely clinical sample) was recruited. Results indicated that acceptance was correlated with decreased negative affect during a negative emotion induction but not an affectively neutral condition (Study 1). In Study 2, acceptance interacted with life stress such that acceptance predicted lower levels of depressive symptoms after higher, but not lower, life stress. These results suggest that accepting negative experiences may protect individuals from experiencing negative affect and from developing depressive symptoms.     

Accentuate the negative: the positive effects of negative acknowledgment

Three studies investigated the capacity of negative acknowledgment, the admission of an unfavorable quality, to elicit relatively positive responses. In Study 1, an acknowledgment that a written paragraph was confusing led individuals to rate the paragraph as clearer than they did when no acknowledgment was offered. In Study 2, a foreign speaker was rated as possessing a clearer voice when he acknowledged his strong accent than when he did not. In Study 3, a hypothetical college applicant's acknowledgment of receiving less than stellar high school grades resulted in a more positive evaluation of those grades. The interpersonal risks and benefits of negative acknowledgment as an impression-management strategy are discussed.     

Illusion of control: invulnerability to negative affect and depressive symptoms after laboratory and natural stressors.

We examined whether individual differences in susceptibility to the illusion of control predicted differential vulnerability to depressive responses after a laboratory failure and naturally occurring life stressors. The illusion of control decreased the likelihood that subjects (N = 145) would (a) show immediate negative mood reactions to the laboratory failure, (b) become discouraged after naturally occurring negative life events, and (c) experience increases in depressive symptoms a month later given the occurrence of a high number of negative life events. In addition, the stress-moderating effect of the illusion of control on later depressive symptoms appeared to be mediated in part by its effect on reducing the discouragement subjects experienced from the occurrence of negative life events. These findings provide support for the hopelessness theory of depression and for the optimistic illusion-mental health link.     

Proneness to hallucinations and delusions in a non‐clinical sample: Exploring associations with metacognition and negative affect

Commonly, individuals prone to hallucinations and delusions hold dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs and report higher levels of negative affect, yet, these associations have not been clearly investigated in non‐clinical samples due to the failure to control for high intercorrelations between variables. The aim of the current study was to investigate how hallucination and delusion proneness are associated with dysfunctional metacognitions and negative affect. A cross‐sectional sample of 715 students free from psychiatric diagnoses (M_age = 28.1 years, SD = 10.9, range 18–65) completed the Launay‐Slade Hallucination Scale (LSHS‐R); Peters et al. Delusion Inventory (PDI‐21); Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS‐21); and the Metacognition Questionnaire (MCQ‐30). Findings that participants who were prone to both hallucinations and delusions reported elevated levels of negative affect support the need for targeted mental health treatment for individuals who experience psychological distress related to their hallucinatory and delusional experiences. While metacognition beliefs of need to control thoughts and cognitive self‐consciousness, along with the anxiety and stress DASS‐21 subscales appeared as significant cross‐sectional predictors of proneness to hallucinations and delusions, only metacognitions demonstrated any notable predictive value for delusion proneness. This finding questions the role of metacognitions in determining hallucination and delusion proneness in non‐clinical samples.