The Impact of Treatment Components Suggested by the Psychological Flexibility Model: A Meta-Analysis of Laboratory-Based Component Studies

An important aspect of psychotherapy research is the examination of the theoretical models underlying intervention approaches. Laboratory-based component research is one useful methodology for this endeavor as it provides an experimental means of testing questions related to intervention components and the change process they engage with a high level of control and precision. A meta-analysis was conducted of 66 laboratory-based component studies evaluating treatment elements and processes that are suggested by the psychological flexibility model that underlies Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (acceptance, defusion, self as context, committed action, values, and present moment), but also touches on a variety of contextual forms of cognitive behavior therapy. Significant positive effect sizes were observed for acceptance, defusion, present moment, values, mixed mindfulness components, and values plus mindfulness component conditions compared to inactive comparison conditions. Additional analyses provided further support for the psychological flexibility model, finding larger effect sizes for theoretically specified outcomes, expected differences between theoretically distinct interventions, and larger effect sizes for component conditions that included experiential methods (e.g., metaphors, exercises) than those with a rationale alone. Effect sizes did not differ between at-risk/distressed and convenience samples. Limitations with the meta-analysis and future directions for laboratory-based component research are discussed.     

Experiential Avoidance: An Examination of the Construct Validity of the AAQ-II and MEAQ

Experiential avoidance (also referred to as acceptance or psychological flexibility) is a core construct of third-wave behavior therapies. It is the tendency to avoid uncomfortable thoughts or feelings, even when doing so has negative long-term consequences. In order for developments in experiential avoidance and third-wave behavior therapies to continue, it is imperative to examine the construct validity of the most widely used measures of this construct, the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire–II (AAQ-II) and the Multidimensional Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (MEAQ). In Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (N = 1,052) and college (N = 364) samples, we evaluated the construct validity of these measures. The AAQ-II demonstrated suboptimal patterns of convergent and discriminant validity with measures of neuroticism/negative affect (Big Five Inventory, Big Five Aspects Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule), the MEAQ, and mindfulness (Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire). In contrast, the MEAQ demonstrated optimal convergent and discriminant validity. Factor analyses at the scale, subscale, and item levels demonstrated that the AAQ-II loads with indicators of neuroticism/negative affect and not with other constructs at the core of third-wave behavior therapies. In contrast, the MEAQ loads on factors with mindfulness or forms its own factors. These findings suggest the AAQ-II functions as a measure of neuroticism/negative affect, whereas the MEAQ functions as an indicator of experiential avoidance. These findings have substantial implications for research on experiential avoidance and third-wave behavior therapies. Therefore, in order to improve the theory, research, and practice of third-wave behavior therapies, we recommend using the MEAQ to assess experiential avoidance.     

The Use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Promote Mental Health and School Engagement in University Students: A Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of this multisite randomized controlled trial was to determine whether an intervention based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) was efficacious in improving university students’ psychological flexibility, mental health, and school engagement. Students were recruited in four Canadian universities and randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 72) or a wait-list control group (n = 72). Students in the intervention group took part in four 2.5-hour workshops during a 4-week period and were asked to do exercises at home (e.g., meditation, observation grids). Wait-list students received the intervention soon after the post measurements. MANCOVAs and ANCOVAs revealed that students in the intervention group showed greater psychological flexibility at postintervention than those in the control group. They also reported greater well-being and school engagement, and lower stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms. Taken together, results of this study suggest that an ACT-based intervention offers a valuable way to promote mental health and school engagement in postsecondary settings.     

A Comprehensive Examination of the Model Underlying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain

The therapeutic model underlying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is reasonably well-established as it applies to chronic pain. Several studies have examined measures of single ACT processes, or subsets of processes, and have almost uniformly indicated reliable relations with patient functioning. To date, however, no study has performed a comprehensive examination of the entire ACT model, including all of its component processes, as it relates to functioning. The present study performed this examination in 274 individuals with chronic pain presenting for an assessment appointment. Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires, assessing multiple aspects of the ACT model, as well as pain intensity, disability, and emotional distress. Initial exploratory factor analyses examined measures of the ACT model and measures of patient functioning separately with each analysis identifying three factors. Next, the fit of a model including ACT processes on the one hand and patient functioning on the other was examined using Structural Equation Modeling. Overall model fit was acceptable and indicated moderate correlations among the ACT processes themselves, as well as significant relations with pain intensity, emotional distress, and disability. These analyses build on the existing literature by providing, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive evaluation of the ACT theoretical model in chronic pain to date.     

接纳与承诺疗法的功能性语境主义解读

接纳与承诺疗法(ACT)是认知行为疗法“第三次浪潮”中最有代表性的疗法之一。依托功能性语境主义,探究ACT中的语境主义和实用主义。在功能性语境主义背景下,分析心理事件时要综合考虑其背景和功能及其相应的交互作用,提升分析的准确性、全面性。同时,以目标为导向,明确心理事件的内涵及其改善措施。基于此,在ACT的两大治疗过程中,充分渗透功能性语境主义,并通过灵活多样的治疗方法,提升个体的心理灵活性。     

关系研究的新取向：社会网络分析

社会网络分析（Social Network Analysis, SNA）是用社会实体之间的关系来描述、解释和预测社会现象的一种研究取向。SNA提供了深入探究社会环境特征及其对个体心理发展影响的一种方法。本文基于SNA的发展历程,依次介绍了中心性分析、小团体分析、位置分析、QAP以及统计模型法。SNA在社会学研究中得到了较多应用,近年来在心理学研究中开始受到重视。     

接纳承诺疗法的作用机制——基于元分析结构方程模型

接纳承诺疗法(Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, ACT)被认为是行为治疗“第三浪潮”的重要代表。本研究使用元分析结构方程模型, 考察ACT的作用机制。通过数据库检索与筛选, 最终纳入文献50篇。结果发现: ACT所假设的心理灵活性、接纳、此时此刻、价值的中介作用都达到统计显著, 认知解离这一中介变量并不显著; 中介机制在网络化干预中仍然得到检验; 相较之传统CBT, ACT在所假设的机制上有其区别于CBT的优势。后续临床研究应更全面地测量6大核心机制, 关注对美好生活提升的影响, 采用多点瞬时评价法, 并尽可能使用更高级、更先进的统计方法检验其作用机制。     

社区老年人心理健康评价模式研究

在已有研究证据和理论框架基础上,本文对社区老年人心理健康状况(PWB)的理论构念及其多指标评价模型进行实证研究。验证性因素分析表明,从正性情感、负性情感摆脱、愿望与实际所得的符合程度以及自尊感四个核心领域对PWB进行综合评价的模型与社区老年人(N=220)测评数据的拟合度良好。研究结果也表明,根据该模型而建立的量表具有符合心理测量学要求的信度和效度,能够对社区老年人的心理健康状况进行有效评价,并可用于老年心理疾患的筛查。     

A Systems/Dialectical Model of Supervision: A Symbolic Process

Although there has been a proliferation of models of supervision in the marriage and family therapy literature recently, most tend to focus on methods rather than on the process of supervision. The model presented here is grounded in developmental concepts and focuses on student learning through a dialectical process of cognitive and emotional growth and incorporates three stages: 1) developing relationships; 2) breaking impasses, and 3) orchestrating changes. Students discover that supervision becomes isomorphic with relationship issues that arise in their therapy sessions. Dialectical in nature in that each stage is characterized by the resolution of contradictory emotions, the supervision process helps supervisees experience emotional shifts in their interactions with others, referred to as emotional restructuring.     

A randomized controlled pilot trial of acceptance and commitment training (ACT) for preventing stress-related ill health among future nurses

Background: Levels of stress and burnout increase during nursing education. This development has consequences for nursing students' health, learning, competence, and interest in quality issues in health care. Design: In a randomized controlled pilot trial with a sample of 113 nursing students the effect of an intervention using techniques from acceptance and commitment training (ACT) to prevent the development of stress and burnout was evaluated. Method: The 6 × 2-hour program was compared to standard treatment (reflection seminars) post-intervention and at a three-month follow-up using longitudinal analysis of mean response profiles. Mechanisms of change were investigated using a baseline-post intervention two-mediator model. Results: The intervention resulted in increased mindful awareness and decreased experiential avoidance, as well as decreased perceived stress and burnout. Levels of mindful awareness and perceived stress were sustained at follow-up. The proposed mechanisms of change were partly supported by the data. Conclusion: This study shows that techniques from ACT might have the potential to contribute to preventing the development of stress and burnout during nursing education. However, additional studies are needed to validate these results.     

Impact of acceptance and commitment therapy versus education on stigma toward people with psychological disorders

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has previously been shown to alter stigmatizing attitudes and to be relatively useful for psychologically inflexible participants. The present study is the first to bring those two findings together by comparing ACT to an education intervention for reducing stigma toward people with psychological disorders, and examining whether results differ for psychologically inflexible versus flexible individuals. A sample of college students (N =95) was randomly assigned to a 2(1)2h ACT or educational workshop. Measures were taken before and after the workshop and at a 1-month follow-up. ACT reduced mental health stigma significantly regardless of participants' pre-treatment levels of psychological flexibility, but education reduced stigma only among participants who were relatively flexible and non-avoidant to begin with. Acceptance could be an important avenue of exploration for stigma researchers.     

我国运动员退役意识与心理状态的定量分析

基于运动员退役过程理论,对我国运动员的退役意识和生活心理状态进行定量分析,旨在探索运动员在退役过程中的意识与心理状态变化。通过对789名运动员（现役运动员540人,退役运动员249人）的退役意识和生活心理状态调查,结果发现运动员的退役意识主要反映在运动员角色和退役准备的认知方面,当运动员角色的认知下降时,退役准备的认知会上升;在生活心理状态的评估方面,有退役想法的运动员要比无退役想法的运动员差;现役运动员的心理状态与退役运动员的心理状态在表现形式上不一样,主要表现为现役运动员反映了较高的生活焦虑,而退役运动员反映了较高的孤独感;分析进一步发现,运动员在退役过程中普遍感到缺乏社会支持。基于以上这些发现,研究从社会心理学角度,讨论了我国运动员退役的意识与心理现状     

A Psychometric Network Perspective on the Validity and Validation of Personality Trait Questionnaires

This article reviews the causal implications of latent variable and psychometric network models for the validation of personality trait questionnaires. These models imply different data generating mechanisms that have important consequences for the validity and validation of questionnaires. From this review, we formalize a framework for assessing the evidence for the validity of questionnaires from the psychometric network perspective. We focus specifically on the structural phase of validation, where items are assessed for redundancy, dimensionality, and internal structure. In this discussion, we underline the importance of identifying unique personality components (i.e. an item or set of items that share a unique common cause) and representing the breadth of each trait's domain in personality networks. After, we argue that psychometric network models have measures that are statistically equivalent to factor models but we suggest that their substantive interpretations differ. Finally, we provide a novel measure of structural consistency, which provides complementary information to internal consistency measures. We close with future directions for how external validation can be executed using psychometric network models. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology     

消费心理预期与股票涨跌关系的初步研究

在间隔两个月重复测试我国城市居民消费心理预期水准的基础上,采用交叉滞后相关法(CLPC)研究了消费心理预期水准与股票涨跌幅之间的关系．发现：消费心理预期是导致股票涨跌的主要因素．从而证明消费心理预期是影响消费需求的重要因素。     

The Effectiveness of Attachment Injury Resolution Model (AIRM) on Increasing Trust among the Injured Women with Marital Infidelity: A Case Study Approach

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed at determining the effectiveness of emotionally-focused couple therapy, based on attachment injury resolution model (AIRM) on increasing trust among the injured women with marital infidelity. Method: The present study was a single case experiment of the multiple baseline design type. The population included all injured women with marital infidelity, referring to Bushehr family therapy clinics, among whom three women were selected and participated in the intervention through purposive sampling method, based on the desired recall, By considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria and answering the trust scale. Data analysis was conducted by visual analysis, clinically meaningful (reliable change index and normative comparison) and percentage improvement formula. Results: The percentage obtained from the overall increase of trust among the injured women during the therapy was 38.76 and follow-up was 48.58. In addition, the reliable change index during the therapy and a follow-up was 2.77 and 3.49 in the first couple, 3.10 and 3.62 in the second couple, 2.66 and 3.67 in the third couple indicating that these values were significant and higher than z?=?1.96 during the therapy and follow-up (p?=?0.05). Conclusion: Based on the research results, the emotionally-focused couple therapy based on attachment injury resolution model can be used as an effective intervention in reducing the injuries by marital infidelity.     

Difficult Patients in Group Analysis: The Personification of (ba) I:A/M

Following a discussion of the treatment of difficult patients in group analysis, two theories are proposed concerning a fourth basic assumption in the unconscious life of groups, called Incohesion: Aggregation/Massification or (ba) I:A/M and the personification of basic assumption processes, in particular that of (ba) I:A/M by difficult patients. These theories are illustrated with clinical data. Special attention is given to crustacean and amoeboid forms of encapsulation as a defence against the fear of annihilation within the context of the traumatogenic process. It is suggested that for difficult patients the treatment of choice is dyadic psychotherapy/psychoanalysis followed by group analysis.