Social anxiety,disengagement coping,and alcohol-use behaviors among adolescents

Background and Objectives: Although research indicates that social anxiety (SA) is associated with problematic drinking, few studies have examined these relations among adolescents, and all alcohol-related assessments have been retrospective. Socially anxious youth may be at risk to drink in an effort to manage negative affectivity, and a proclivity toward disengagement coping (e.g. avoidance of aversive stimuli) may enhance the desire to drink and learning of coping-related use. Design: Adding to research addressing adolescent SA and alcohol use, the current study examined (1) proportional drinking motives (subscale scores divided by the sum of all subscales), (2) current desire to drink in a socially relevant environment (introduction to research laboratory), and (3) the indirect effect of retrospectively reported disengagement in social stress contexts on proportional coping motives and desire to drink. Method: Participants were 70 community-recruited adolescents who reported recent alcohol use. Level of SA, disengagement coping, drinking motives, and desire to drink following laboratory introduction were assessed. Results: Proclivity toward disengagement in prior socially stressful contexts accounted for significant variance in the positive relations between SA and both proportional coping motives and current desire to drink. Conclusions: These data complement existing work. Continued efforts in building developmentally sensitive models of alcohol use are needed.     

Prospective associations between social status and social anxiety in early adolescence

This study examined the transactional longitudinal association between social status (likeability and popularity) and social anxiety symptoms (fear of negative evaluation and social avoidance and distress), and explored gender differences in this association. Participants included 274 adolescents (136 boys, M_age = 12.55). Data were collected at two waves with a 6-month interval. Likeability and popularity were measured with peer nominations and social anxiety symptoms with self-reports. Autoregressive cross-lagged path models showed relative stability of social status and social anxiety. Girls who were seen as less popular by their classmates avoided social situations more frequently and experienced more distress during such situations over time. These results highlight the importance of distinguishing between different social status components and social anxiety symptoms and to take gender into account. Early support for less popular girls seems important to prevent more severe consequences of avoidance and distress, such as social exclusion and victimization.     

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.     

新冠肺炎疫情下的评估、应对与抑郁和焦虑的关系：多元多重中介模型

作为全球性公共卫生事件,新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情成为潜在心理应激事件。本研究以线上调研形式在疫情爆发上升期考察了民众对疫情的可控性评估、应对方式和抑郁焦虑水平。结果表明：自控性显著负向预测抑郁焦虑,他控性对抑郁焦虑无显著预测作用;前行应对显著负向预测抑郁焦虑,创伤应对显著正向预测抑郁焦虑;前行应对在自控性与抑郁焦虑间起中介作用,即自控性通过正向预测前行应对进而负向预测抑郁焦虑;前行应对在他控性与抑郁焦虑间起中介作用,即他控性通过正向预测前行应对进而负向预测抑郁焦虑;创伤应对亦在他控性与抑郁焦虑间起中介作用,即他控性通过正向预测创伤应对进而正向预测抑郁焦虑。本研究对可控性评估与应对方式对抑郁焦虑的影响及其间中介路径进行了探讨。     

A contemporary behavior analysis of anxiety and avoidance

Despite the central status of avoidance in explaining the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders, surprisingly little behavioral research has been conducted on human avoidance. In the present paper, first we provide a brief review of the empirical literature on avoidance. Next, we describe the implications of research on derived relational responding and the transformation of functions for a contemporary behavioral account of avoidance, before providing several illustrative research examples of laboratory-based analogues of key clinical treatment processes. Finally, we suggest some challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for behavioral research on anxiety and avoidance.     

Prospective and retrospective duration judgments: A meta-analytic review

A meta-analytic review compared prospective and retrospective judgments of duration, or duration judgment paradigm. Some theorists have concluded that the two paradigms involve similar cognitive processes, whereas others have found that they involve different processes. A review of 20 experiments revealed that prospective judgments are longer and less variable than are retrospective judgments. Several theoretically important variables moderate these effects, especially those concerned with information processing activities. Therefore, somewhat different cognitive processes subserve experienced and remembered duration. Attentional models are needed to explain prospective judgments, and memory-based models are needed to explain retrospective judgments. These findings clarify models of human duration judgment and suggest directions for future research. Evidence on duration judgments may also influence models of attention and memory.     

Daily variations in attachment anxiety and avoidance: A density distributions approach

Attachment theory proposes that experiences of acceptance and rejection will modify feelings of attachment security, but such processes have rarely been investigated. In this study, daily variations in attachment anxiety and avoidance were investigated across 7 days in a sample of college undergraduates currently in romantic relationships. We observed significant within-person variation in attachment avoidance and anxiety. Participants reported lower anxiety and avoidance on days on which they felt more accepted by their romantic partners. Further, perceptions of acceptance predicted the following day’s attachment security through lower negative mood. Greater variability in attachment avoidance and anxiety was associated with greater physical aggression in relationships.     

Evidence for expectancy as a mediator of avoidance and anxiety in a laboratory model of human avoidance learning

A laboratory model was developed to study human avoidance learning. Participants could avoid an electric shock signalled by a 5-s conditioned stimulus (CS) by pressing one of a set of response buttons. Self-reported shock expectancy and skin conductance were recorded during a subsequent 10-s interval before shock. Shock expectancy declined when the correct avoidance response was learned and returned when the response was unavailable. Learning transferred to another shock CS. Parallel effects were observed on skin conductance once performance anxiety was controlled by requiring responding on all trials. Learning was faster when the Pavlovian contingencies were trained before introduction of the instrumental response. The results support a cognitive model of anxiety in which performance of an avoidance response reduces expectancy of an aversive outcome and thereby reduces anxiety.     

Evidence for expectancy as a mediator of avoidance and anxiety in a laboratory model of human avoidance learning

A laboratory model was developed to study human avoidance learning. Participants could avoid an electric shock signalled by a 5-s conditioned stimulus (CS) by pressing one of a set of response buttons. Self-reported shock expectancy and skin conductance were recorded during a subsequent 10-s interval before shock. Shock expectancy declined when the correct avoidance response was learned and returned when the response was unavailable. Learning transferred to another shock CS. Parallel effects were observed on skin conductance once performance anxiety was controlled by requiring responding on all trials. Learning was faster when the Pavlovian contingencies were trained before introduction of the instrumental response. The results support a cognitive model of anxiety in which performance of an avoidance response reduces expectancy of an aversive outcome and thereby reduces anxiety.     

Test anxiety and the hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement motivation

This research was designed to incorporate the test anxiety (TA) construct into the hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement motivation. Hypotheses regarding state and trait TA were tested in 2 studies, and the results provided strong support for the predictions. State TA (specifically, worry) was documented as a mediator of the negative relationship between performance-avoidance goals and exam performance. The positive relationship between performance-approach goals and exam performance was shown to be independent of TA processes. A series of analyses documented the conceptual and functional convergence of trait TA and fear of failure (FOF), and further validation of the proposed integration was obtained by testing trait TA/FOF and state TA together in the same model. Mastery goals were positively and performance-avoidance goals negatively related to long-term retention.     

A longitudinal analysis of self-regulation and well-being: avoidance personal goals, avoidance coping, stress generation, and subjective well-being

We conducted 2 longitudinal meditational studies to test an integrative model of goals, stress and coping, and well-being. Study 1 documented avoidance personal goals as an antecedent of life stressors and life stressors as a partial mediator of the relation between avoidance goals and longitudinal change in subjective well-being (SWB). Study 2 fully replicated Study 1 and likewise validated avoidance goals as an antecedent of avoidance coping and avoidance coping as a partial mediator of the relation between avoidance goals and longitudinal change in SWB. It also showed that avoidance coping partially mediates the link between avoidance goals and life stressors and validated a sequential meditational model involving both avoidance coping and life stressors. The aforementioned results held when controlling for social desirability, basic traits, and general motivational dispositions. The findings are discussed with regard to the integration of various strands of research on self-regulation.     

Resource diary: A positive writing intervention for promoting well-being and preventing depression in adolescence

Depression in adolescence is a widespread problem and leads to extensive psychosocial impairments. For these reason, a resource diary has been developed as a four-week positive writing intervention. The aims of this intervention were to enhance well-being, to promote emotion regulation and resource realization, as well as to prevent symptoms of depression in adolescence. Seventy-seven students of 8th form were randomized either to a positive writing group (n = 38) or to a neutral writing group (n = 39). At the post-test, the positive writing group showed a lower dysphoric mood, fewer worries and less rumination in comparison with the neutral writing group. No effects on resource realization were detected. This study provides the first evidence of the beneficial effects of positive writing on indicators of well-being and depressive symptoms. In conclusion, the resource diary represents an economical intervention for preventing depression in adolescence.     

Within-person variations in self-focused attention and negative affect in depression and anxiety: A diary study

This study examined within-person co-occurrence of self-focus, negative affect, and stress in a community sample of adolescents with or without emotional disorders. As part of a larger study, 278 adolescents were interviewed about emotional disorders. Later, they completed diary measures over three days, six times a day, reporting their current thoughts, affect, and levels of stress. Negative affect was independently related to both concurrent stress and self-focus. Importantly, the association between negative affect and self-focus was stronger among participants with a recent unipolar mood disorder, compared to those with an anxiety disorder, comorbid anxiety and depression, or those without an emotional disorder. The implications of these findings to theories of self-focus and its role in emotional disorders are discussed.     

Prospective evaluation of the etiology of anxiety sensitivity: test of a scar model

A large body of research has suggested that anxiety sensitivity (AS) acts as a specific vulnerability factor in the development of anxiety pathology. More recently, attention has turned to the etiology of AS per se. The present study represents a specific test of a Scar model of AS. A Scar model posits that the experience of distress will affect the vulnerability factor. We were specifically interested in evaluating the effects of a specific stressor (spontaneous panic) as well as general distress on changes in AS over time. A large nonclinical sample of young adults (N = 1296) was prospectively followed over a five week highly stressful period of time (i.e. military basic training). Findings were consistent with the Scar model and suggested that the specific stressor of experiencing a panic attack as well as general stressors creating significant anxiety symptoms uniquely contributed to increased levels of AS (regardless of prior history of panic). Moreover, the experience of spontaneous panic in the context of generally low levels of distress (both anxiety and depression) appeared to be particularly pernicious in terms of resulting in greater increases in AS. In sum, anxiety-related stressors appear to have the potential to 'scar' individuals in regard to this cognitive vulnerability factor.     

Relationships between cognitive coping,self-esteem,anxiety and depression: A cluster-analysis approach

It is important for prevention efforts and for designing appropriate interventions to identify people at risk of depression while considering cognitive coping and individual characteristics. This study with 334 French adults examined the ways in which people may combine the use of several cognitive coping strategies and investigated whether depression, self-esteem, and state- and trait-anxiety would differ across distinctive cognitive coping profiles. A two-phased cluster analytic plan was employed to derive clusters of cognitive coping profiles. We identified three profiles that differed according to the levels of depression, self-esteem, and state- and trait-anxiety. Research should therefore not focus on a single cognitive coping strategy, but on all cognitive coping strategies that are used simultaneously to investigate the relation between cognitive coping and emotional problems. Cognitive coping profiles provided a deeper understanding of how different individuals cope with negative and unpleasant events, and they allowed us to identify targeted groups that are most likely to benefit from specific mental health promotion and prevention campaigns.     

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.     

Positive affect predicts avoidance goals in social interaction anxiety: testing a hierarchical model of social goals

Models of self-regulation suggest that social goals may contribute to interpersonal and affective difficulties, yet little research has addressed this issue in the context of social anxiety. The present studies evaluated a hierarchical model of approach and avoidance in the context of social interaction anxiety, with affect as a mediating factor in the relationship between motivational tendencies and social goals. This model was refined in one undergraduate sample (N = 186) and cross-validated in a second sample (N = 195). The findings support hierarchical relationships between motivational tendencies, social interaction anxiety, affect, and social goals, with higher positive affect predicting fewer avoidance goals in both samples. Implications for the treatment of social interaction anxiety are discussed.     

Predator odor avoidance as a rodent model of anxiety: learning-mediated consequences beyond the initial exposure

Prey animals such as rats display innate defensive responses when exposed to the odor of a predator, providing a valuable means of studying the neurobiology of anxiety. While the unconditioned behavioral and neural responses to a single predator odor exposure have been well documented, the paradigm can also be used to study learning-dependent adaptations that occur following repeated exposure to a stressor or associated stimuli. In developing preclinical models for human anxiety disorders this is advantageous, as anxiety disorders seldom involve a single acute experience of anxiety, but rather are chronic and/or recurring illnesses. Part 1 of this review summarizes current research on the three most commonly used predator-related odors: cat odor, ferret odor, and trimethylthiazoline (a component of fox odor). Part 2 reviews the learning-based behavioral and neural adaptations that underlie predator odor-induced context conditioning, one-trial tolerance, sensitization, habituation and dishabituation.