Predicting post‐traumatic growth and post‐traumatic stress in firefighters

Emergency service workers (e.g., firefighters, police, and paramedics) are exposed to elevated levels of potentially traumatising events through the course of their work. Such exposure can have lasting negative consequences (e.g., post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)) and/or positive outcomes (e.g., post‐traumatic growth (PTG)). Research had implicated trauma, occupational and personal variables that account for variance in post‐trauma outcomes yet at this stage no research has investigated these factors and their relative influence on both PTSD and PTG in a single study. Based in Calhoun and Tedeschi's model of PTG and previous research, in this study regression models of PTG and PTSD symptoms among 218 firefighters were tested. Results indicated organisational factors predicted symptoms of PTSD, while there was partial support for the hypothesis that coping and social support would be predictors of PTG. Experiencing multiple sources of trauma, higher levels of organisational and operational stress, and utilising cognitive reappraisal coping were all significant predictors of PTSD symptoms. Increases in PTG were predicted by experiencing trauma from multiple sources and the use of self‐care coping. Results highlight the importance of organisational factors in the development of PTSD symptoms, and of individual factors for promoting PTG.     

Comparing elite male and female distance runner's experiences of disordered eating through narrative analysis

ObjectivesResearchers have called for additional forms of theorizing and qualitative methodologies to explore disordered eating in athletes. The current study used social constructionism and narrative analysis to compare and contrast the disordered eating experiences of one male and female athlete.DesignNarrative inquiry was combined with an in-depth case study approach to explore the narrative and gendered construction of disordered eating in one elite male (age 19) and female (age 34) distance runner. The personal and cultural narratives drawn upon to construct meanings around the body, food and running and how these framed experiences were of interest.MethodsA structural and performative narrative analysis was conducted on four in-depth interviews (i.e., both runners participated in two separate interviews).ResultsBoth runners drew upon a performance narrative to construct running experiences and self-identities as elite athletes. When elite athletic identity became threatened by moments of perceived failure (e.g., poor performance, injury), disordered eating thoughts and behaviors emerged for both runners. Gendered narratives around the body, food and running further differentiated specific meanings and the emotional impact of these experiences for each male and female athlete.ConclusionsThis study extends quantitative and qualitative explorations of disordered eating in distance runners by highlighting additional understandings of the complex social, cultural and gendered construction of these experiences.     

Body image in social anxiety disorder,obsessive–compulsive disorder,and panic disorder

Body dysmorphic disorder falls under the category of obsessive–compulsive and related disorders, yet research has suggested it may also be highly associated with social anxiety disorder. The current study examined body image variables among 68 outpatients with primary obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD; n = 22), social anxiety disorder (SAD; n = 25), and panic disorder (PD; n = 21). Participants filled out self-report measures of body image disturbance, attitudes toward one's appearance, and anxiety. Body image disturbance and attitudes toward appearance did not significantly differ between the groups. However, SAD symptoms predicted body image disturbance, Appearance Evaluation and Body Areas Satisfaction, and OCD symptoms predicted Appearance Orientation. These findings suggest that SAD and OCD may be associated with different facets of body image. Implications for the treatment of anxiety disorders and for future research are discussed.     

Victimization,social anxiety,and body dysmorphic concerns: Appearance-based rejection sensitivity as a mediator

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is characterized by extreme preoccupation with perceived deficits in physical appearance, and sufferers experience severe impairment in functioning. Previous research has indicated that individuals with BDD are high in social anxiety, and often report being the victims of appearance-based teasing. However, there is little research into the possible mechanisms that might explain these relationships. The current study examined appearance-based rejection sensitivity as a mediator between perceived appearance-based victimization, social anxiety, and body dysmorphic symptoms in a sample of 237 Australian undergraduate psychology students. Appearance-based rejection sensitivity fully mediated the relationship between appearance-based victimization and body dysmorphic symptoms, and partially mediated the relationship between social anxiety and body dysmorphic symptoms. Findings suggest that individuals high in social anxiety or those who have a history of more appearance-based victimization may have a bias towards interpreting further appearance-based rejection, which may contribute to extreme appearance concerns such as BDD.     

Impaired discriminative fear-conditioning resulting from elevated fear responding to learned safety cues among individuals with panic disorder

Classical fear-conditioning is central to many etiologic accounts of panic disorder (PD), but few lab-based conditioning studies in PD have been conducted. One conditioning perspective proposes associative-learning deficits characterized by deficient safety learning among PD patients. The current study of PD assesses acquisition and retention of discriminative aversive conditioning using a fear-potentiated startle paradigm. This paradigm was chosen for its specific capacity to independently assess safety- and danger learning in the service of characterizing putative anomalies in each type of learning among those with PD. Though no group difference in fear-potentiated startle was found at retention, acquisition results demonstrate impaired discriminative learning among PD patients as indexed by measures of conditioned startle-potentiation to learned safety and danger cues. Importantly, this discrimination deficit was driven by enhanced startle-potentiation to the learned safety cue rather than aberrant reactivity to the danger cue. Consistent with this finding, PD patients relative to healthy individuals reported higher expectancies of dangerous outcomes in the presence of the safety cue, but equal danger expectancies during exposure to the danger cue. Such results link PD to impaired discrimination learning, reflecting elevated fear responding to learned safety cues.     

The impact of experiential avoidance on the reduction of depression in treatment for borderline personality disorder

Background

Reducing symptoms of depression is an important target in the treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Although current treatments for BPD are effective in reducing depression, the average post-treatment level of depression remains high.

Aim

To test whether experiential avoidance (EA) impedes the reduction of depression during treatment for BPD.

Method

EA and depression were assessed in 81 clients at baseline and 4-month intervals during 1 year of therapy. Simple correlations, hierarchical linear modeling, and latent difference score models were used to investigate the association between self-reports of EA and both self-reports and observer-based ratings of depression.

Results

EA was positively associated with greater severity of depression at all points of assessment, and changes in EA were positively associated with changes in depression. Moreover, EA significantly predicted less subsequent reduction in depression whereas no such effect was found for depression on subsequent EA.

Conclusion

The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that EA impedes the reduction of depression in the treatment of BPD and should thus be considered an important treatment target.     

Overvaluation of shape and weight in binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, and sub-threshold bulimia nervosa

Increasing empirical evidence supports the validity of binge eating disorder (BED), a research diagnosis in the appendix of DSM-IV, and its inclusion as a distinct and formal diagnosis in the DSM-V. A pressing question regarding the specific criteria for BED diagnosis is whether, like bulimia nervosa (BN), it should be characterized by overvaluation of shape and weight. This study compared features of eating disorders in 436 treatment-seeking women comprising four groups: 195 BED participants who overvalue their shape/weight, 129 BED participants with subclinical levels of overvaluation, 61 BN participants, and 51 participants with sub-threshold BN. The BED clinical overvaluation group had significantly higher levels of specific eating disorder psychopathology than the three other groups which did not differ significantly from each other. Findings suggest that overvaluation of shape and weight should not be considered as a required criterion for BED because this would exclude a substantial proportion of BED patients with clinically significant problems. Rather, overvaluation of shape and weight warrants consideration either as a diagnostic specifier or as a dimensional severity rating as it provides important information about severity within BED.     

An investigation of the psychometric evidence of CBM-R passage equivalence: Utility of readability statistics and equating for alternate forms

Claims have been made that grade appropriate curriculum-based measurement of reading (CBM-R) passages are of comparable difficulty and can be used interchangeably to monitor student progress. Empirical evidence to support claims of equivalence has been lacking. This research investigated the basis for making claims of equivalence. The use of readability statistics to justify passage equivalence was found to be lacking. Using a general measurement model for congeneric tests, CBM-R passages were found to measure a single latent factor with a high degree of reliability. However, evidence indicated that the raw scores, words read correctly per minute, across passages did not provide equivalent measurements. Statistical equating was investigated as an approach to overcome the lack of equivalence with promising results.