Increased chronic stress predicts greater emotional negativity bias and poorer social skills but not cognitive functioning in healthy adults

Background and Objectives: Chronically stressed individuals report deficits spanning cognitive and emotional functioning. However, limitations to clinical populations and measures of stress have impeded the generalisability and scope of results. This study investigated whether chronic stress predicted cognitive and emotional functioning, and whether these relationships differed between males and females, in a large representative sample of healthy participants.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Method: 1883 healthy adults sampled from the Brain Resource International Database reported stress using the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. Participants then completed a cognitive and emotional assessment battery (IntegNeuro), as well as questionnaires related to sleep, emotional functioning, and self-regulation.

Results: In contrast to previously reported results, chronic stress did not predict cognitive functioning. However, higher stress predicted a greater negativity bias and poorer social skills, confirming previous research identifying these links.

Conclusions: Cognitive deficits related to stress are absent in healthy participants when stress is measured using the 21-items Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. Identifying how chronic stress is associated with aspects of emotional functioning can lead to personalized interventions for individuals to better manage the negative outcomes resulting from stress.     

The Impact of a Suicide Prevention Program for Adolescents on Suicidal Tendencies,Hopelessness, Ego Identity,and Coping

Three-hundred ninety-three adolescents from six schools participated in a study aimed at examining the effectiveness of an experiential suicide prevention program with regard to suicidal tendencies, hopelessness, ego identity, and coping ability. The subjects were randomly divided into experimental (n = 215) and control (n = 178) groups. The experimental groups took part in seven weekly 2-hour meetings. The program was based on the notion that a gradual, controlled confrontation and exploration of inner experiences and life difficulties related to suicidal behavior accompanied by an emphasis on coping strategies can immunize against self-destructive feelings. In this pretest-posttest design, the students completed questionnaires of suicidal tendencies, hopelessness, ego identity, and coping ability before and after the program. The statistical analyses showed that the experimental groups were superior to the controls, with at least some of the dependent measures pointing out the effectiveness of the program.     

THE OUTCOME OF SHORT‐TERM PSYCHODYNAMIC ART THERAPY COMPARED TO SHORT‐TERM PSYCHODYNAMIC VERBAL THERAPY FOR DEPRESSED WOMEN

The primary aim of this randomized controlled clinical trial was to compare the outcome from two types of short‐term psychodynamic psychotherapy. The participants were thirty‐nine women with depression. Half of the participants (n = 18) received art psychotherapy and the other half received verbal psychotherapy (n = 21). Data was collected before and after psychotherapy, and at a 3‐month follow‐up using self‐rating scales and interviewer‐based ratings. Results showed that art and verbal psychotherapies were comparable, and at follow‐up, the average participant in both groups had few depressive symptoms and stress‐related symptoms. The conclusion was that short‐term psychodynamic art therapy could be a valuable treatment for depressed women.     

Pragmatic effects on reference resolution in a collaborative task: evidence from eye movements

In order to investigate whether addressees can make immediate use of speaker-based constraints during reference resolution, participant addressees’ eye movements were monitored as they helped a confederate cook follow a recipe. Objects were located in the helper’s area, which the cook could not reach, and the cook’s area, which both could reach. Critical referring expressions matched one object (helper’s area) or two objects (helper’s and cook’s areas), and were produced when the cook’s hands were empty or full, which defined the cook’s reaching ability constraints. Helper’s first and total fixations showed that they restricted their domain of interpretation to their own objects when the cook’s hands were empty, and widened it to include the cook’s objects only when the cook’s hands were full. These results demonstrate that addressees can quickly take into account task-relevant constraints to restrict their referential domain to referents that are plausible given the speaker’s goals and constraints.     

Psychological adjustment in patients post-curative treatment for oesophageal cancer: a longitudinal interview study

Objective: Oesophageal cancer is an increasingly prevalent disease with a demanding post-curative treatment recovery period and sustained longer-term effects. Although post-curative treatment is a key transitionary period, the process of psychological adjustment for the individual is under-researched which limits the evidence base to inform supportive care. The aim of this study was to understand the process of adjustment for oesophageal cancer patients post-curative treatment, in particular the beliefs participants hold regarding their condition and how these are appraised against their experience.

Design: Serial interviews were undertaken with six oesophageal cancer patients who have recently completed curative treatment, at baseline and at 6-month follow-up using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Results: The findings demonstrate an effortful process of adjustment, including recognising and accepting a changed self, fostering control beliefs over the course of the illness and physical sequelae, searching for meaning, developing illness coherence and moving away from self-blame.

Conclusions: This study is the first to utilise a longitudinal qualitative design in oesophageal cancer, and provides an understanding of post-treatment adjustment over time for this clinical population through which to inform clinical practice and service development.     

Hopeful struggling for health: Experiences of participating in computerized cognitive training and aerobic training for persons with stress-related exhaustion disorder

It is important to understand how people with exhaustion disorder (ED) perceive interventions aiming to facilitate cognitive functioning. Therefore, the overall aim of this study was to explore experiences from persons with ED after participating in a 12-week intervention of either computerized cognitive training or aerobic training. Both interventions were performed in addition to a multimodal rehabilitation programme. Thirteen participants, 11 women and 2 men, were interviewed about pros and cons with participating in the training. The interviews were analysed with Qualitative Content Analysis. The analyses resulted in the theme hopeful struggling for health and the categories support, motivation and sensations. It was hard work recovering from ED. Support from others who are in the same situation, family members, and technology and routines for the training were strongly emphasized as beneficial for recovery. Timing, i.e., matching activities to the rehabilitation programme, getting feedback and perceiving joy in the training were important for motivation. Participants in both interventions experienced positive sensations with improved memory performance, everyday life functioning and increased faith in the prospect of recovery. However, it is important to consider various aspects of support and motivation in both computerized cognitive training and aerobic training to enable participants to pursue their participation.