Depressive symptoms and conspiracy beliefs

Conspiratorial beliefs can endanger individuals and societies by increasing the likelihood of harmful behaviors such as the flouting of public health guidelines. While scholars have identified various correlates of conspiracy beliefs, one factor that has received scant attention is depressive symptoms. We use three large surveys to explore the connection between depression and conspiracy beliefs. We find a consistent association, with the extent of the relationship depending on individual and situational factors. Interestingly, those from relatively advantaged demographic groups (i.e., White, male, high income, educated) exhibit a stronger relationship between depression and conspiracy beliefs than those not from such groups. Furthermore, situational variables that ostensibly increase stress—such as having COVID-19 or parenting during COVID-19—exacerbate the relationship while those that seem to decrease stress, such as social support, vitiate it. The results provide insight about the development of targeted interventions and accentuate the need for theorizing about the mechanisms that lead depression to correlate with conspiracy beliefs.     

Big five dimensions and ADHD symptoms: links between personality traits and clinical symptoms

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adulthood is conceptualized as originating in childhood. Despite considerable theoretical interest, little is known about how ADHD symptoms relate to normal personality traits in adults. In 6 studies, the Big Five personality dimensions were related to ADHD symptoms that adults both recalled from childhood and reported concurrently (total N = 1,620). Substantial effects emerged that were replicated across samples. First, the ADHD symptom cluster of inattention-disorganization was substantially related to low Conscientiousness and, to a lesser extent, Neuroticism. Second, ADHD symptom clusters of hyperactivity-impulsivity and oppositional childhood and adult behaviors were associated with low Agreeableness. Results were replicated with self-reports and observer reports of personality in community and clinical samples. Findings support theoretical connections between personality traits and ADHD symptoms.     

Menstrual symptoms and up-down vectors

Multiple studies considered the somatic symptom correlates of up-down asymmetries in women. In four samples, involving a total of 81 women, menstrual symptoms were significantly linked with the up-down distortion of the space surrounding self. In addition, there were borderline relationships between menstrual symptoms and other indices of up-down asymmetry. The findings suggested a possible link between menstrual symptoms and concerns about possessing versus not possessing power. Over-all, the results support previous studies indicating that spatial sets reflect important attitudes or conflicts that seem to play a role in somatic symptomatology. However, they point up the importance of considering sex differences.     

Borderline personality and obsessive-compulsive symptoms

Diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD) are diverse, covering a broad range of symptoms. One criterion, self-mutilation, is a behavioral excess that may be considered a predictor of other psychopathological states. The present study sought to determine the extent to which two groups of BPD patients, those who mutilate and those who do not, differed on measures of general psychopathology, depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Results indicate that the only source of significant variation was the level of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, with mutilators exhibiting greater symptomatology. The findings from this study support the idea that self-mutilation is a more severe form of psychopathology relative to the rest of the BPD population. These results are interpreted based on the affect regulation model of self-mutilation, and contrasted with contemporary models of impulse control in relation to obsessive-compulsive disorder.     

Irrational beliefs and bulimia symptoms

The psychological correlates of bulimia include affective disorder and emotional liability. In addition, emotional liability appears to precipitate binge-purge episodes. It has been proposed that emotional liability is a function of irrational beliefs regarding personal performance, interpersonal relationships and self-control. Irrational beliefs and bulimia symptoms were assessed with psychometrically valid self-report measures. Correlational analyses showed that the irrational beliefs of Anxious Overconcern, Problem Avoidance, Helplessness and Blame Proneness are separately correlated with bulimia symptoms. The implications for the psychological assessment and treatment of bulimia symptoms are discussed.Jeffrey M. Lohr, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Arkansas. His research interests are in the assessment of irrational beliefs and their association with dysphoric motivational states.Donna L. Parkinson, M.A., is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arkansas. Her research interests are in the assessment of eating disorders.     

Personality factors and somatic symptoms

This study investigates the association between self-reported somatic complaints (GSCL, Giessen Symptom Check List), medically evaluated global health and coping style (MBHI, Millon Behavior Health Inventory), current emotions (TESI, Tension Effort Stress Inventory), subjective well-being, and mental absorption (ABS, Tellegen Absorption Scale). The MBHI basic coping scales denoted introversive, sociable, confident, and respectful were negatively correlated with the GSCL, while the inhibited and the sensitive scales were positively correlated with the GSCL. The forceful and the cooperative scales were uncorrelated with symptoms. All the psychogenic attitude scales were firmly positively associated with reported somatic complaints. Mental absorption was weakly positively associated with the GSCL. Current emotions were firmly positively and negatively related to symptom report. Medically assessed health status was almost uncorrelated with the MBHI scales, current mood, well-being, and absorption. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Group prevention of depression and anxiety symptoms

To prevent depression and anxiety, we delivered a brief, classroom-based cognitive-behavioral workshop along with ongoing Web-based materials and e-mail coaching to college students at risk for depression. At risk was defined as having mild to moderate depressive symptoms on a self-report measure of depression. Two hundred forty students were randomized into either an eight-week workshop that met in groups of 10, once per week for 2 h or into an assessment-only control group. We plan to track participants for 3 years after the workshop and here we report the 6 month preventive effects on depression and anxiety. The workshop group had significantly fewer depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms than the control group, but there was no significant difference between the conditions on depression or anxiety episodes at 6 month follow up. The workshop group had significantly better well being than the control group, and the workshop group had significantly greater improvement in optimistic explanatory style than the control group. Improved explanatory style was a significant mediator of the prevention effects from pre- to post-workshop for depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as for improved well being.     

Inflated perceptions of responsibility and obsessive-compulsive symptoms

In Salkovskis' [Salkovskis, P. (1985). Obsessional-compulsive problems: a cognitive-behavioural analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28, 571-588; Salkovskis P. (1989) Cognitive-behavioural factors and the persistence of intrusive thoughts in obsessional problems. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 27, 677-682] cognitive model for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), inflated perception of responsibility is highlighted as the critical feature that maintains the disorder. In the current study, the relationship between responsibility and obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms was examined. Specifically, three measures of responsibility were evaluated for their psychometric properties. These measures were then used to test Salkovskis's model by examining the relationships among pervasive responsibility, automatic thoughts related to causing harm, and OC symptom severity. Findings provide partial support for the validity and reliability of the measures and for the model as a whole. Based on regression analyses, data support that pervasive responsibility significantly contributes to the prediction of OC symptoms. Furthermore, this relationship appears to be mediated by automatic thoughts related to causing harm in OCD contexts.     

Clinicians' ratings and self-reports of basic symptoms

A sample of 34 paranoid or undifferentiated schizophrenic outpatients were given the Rome Basic Disorders Scale, a self-rating questionnaire aimed to the assessment of basic symptoms, as defined by the Bonn Scale. These patients were then interviewed on the same 54 basic symptoms explored with the scale, by two independent clinicians blind to the outpatients' data. Self-ratings compared with clinicians' ratings by Student t for dependent samples yielded only one significant difference (p< .01) for the item measuring hypersensitivity to light. Present findings suggest that the Rome Basic Disorders Scale may be safely self-rated even by collaborative schizophrenic patients.     

Correlated symptoms and simulated medical classification

Category learning theories can be separated into those that expect judgments to be sensitive to configural information and those that expect judgments to be based on a weighted, additive summation of information. Predictions of these two classes of models were investigated in a simulated medical diagnosis task. Subjects learned about a fictitious disease or about two diseases from hypothetical case studies in which some symptoms were correlated with each other and others were independent. Following this initial training, subjects were presented either with pairs of new cases and asked to judge which was more likely to have the disease or with a single case and asked which disease was present. Across four experiments, subjects proved to be sensitive to configural information. When choosing between pairs of new cases, subjects tended to choose the case that preserved the correlation over the case that broke the correlation, even when the case with correlated symptoms contained fewer typical symptoms. When judging which disease was present in a single case, subjects' diagnoses were determined primarily by the correlated symptoms. Implications of these findings to process models of categorization are discussed.     

Assessment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia

In spite of their prevalence and persistence, why are behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia difficult for clinicians to assess and manage? This paper provides an overview of the methodological challenges encountered in measuring behavioral disturbances of dementia. Specifically, conceptual constructs of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, the strengths and weaknesses of the currently existing rating instruments, analytic methodologies, and the utility of technological devices are outlined in the service of formulating future directions in behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia assessment research.