Changes in Anxiety Control Beliefs Following a Brief CBT Treatment and Their Association With Anxiety Symptom Reduction

Anxiety control beliefs (i.e., beliefs regarding one’s ability to cope with external, fear-inducing threats and internal reactions to those perceived threats) have been found to negatively predict anxiety symptoms in children and adults and to be modifiable by cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders. The current study examines whether changes in anxiety control beliefs were seen following a brief, intensive treatment for specific phobias, and whether those changes were associated with improvements in the targeted phobia and comorbid anxiety disorder symptoms. Participants were 135 children and adolescents (M age = 9.01 years, 49% male) who received one-session treatment (OST) with or without parental involvement for their primary specific phobia. Results indicated that self-reported anxiety control beliefs significantly increased following treatment and that these increases significantly predicted reductions in specific phobia severity and symptoms of comorbid anxiety disorders 6 months and 1 year following treatment. Findings illustrate that involvement in a single 3-hour OST was associated with changes in anxiety control beliefs and demonstrate the potential importance of targeting control beliefs in pediatric anxiety treatment.     

Childhood Maltreatment,Emotional Response Inhibition,and Suicide in Psychiatric Inpatients

Childhood abuse and/or neglect adversely influences development of neurocognitive systems that regulate affect and behavior. Poor inhibitory control over emotional reactions is thus one potential pathway from maltreatment to suicide. Adult psychiatric inpatients completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and an emotional stop-signal task indexing negative emotional action termination (NEAT): the ability to inhibit ongoing motor reactions to aversive stimuli triggered by negative affect. Clinical interviews assessed suicidal thoughts and behaviors during hospitalization (n = 131) and at follow-up assessments 6 months later (n = 87). Our primary aim was to examine whether maltreatment history and NEAT explain overlapping variance in suicidal behaviors (1) retrospectively and (2) 6 months following hospital discharge. Contrary to prediction, childhood maltreatment was unrelated to history of suicidal behaviors. However, NEAT was consistently associated with prior suicidal acts, even controlling for suicidal ideation and demographic covariates. NEAT similarly contributed to the prediction of post-discharge suicidal behaviors, whereas we found no effect of maltreatment history. The present study suggests that NEAT captures suicide risk independently of childhood maltreatment. Results implicated NEAT impairment specifically, rather than broader response inhibition deficits (e.g., to positive stimuli), in past and future suicidal behaviors. These findings provide preliminary support for NEAT as a behavioral vulnerability marker for suicide, with implications for understanding links between maltreatment history and suicidal acts.     

The role of temperament traits as predictors of depressive symptoms and resilience in adolescents

From the initial sample of 956 adolescents from the Basque Country (Spain), 790 (M_age = 14.56, 49.4% girls) completed at least two waves including Wave 1 (retention rate: 82.6%), analyzing temperament traits as longitudinal predictors of depression and resilience. Positive affectivity (PA) predicted decreased depression and increased resilience, while negative affectivity (NA) had the opposite effect, and effortful control (EC) predicted reduced depression. Results indicated that PA protects adolescents who are low in EC against depression. In contrast, high EC levels worsened the damaging effect of NA on depression. Resilience and depression were bidirectionally associated and mediated the effects of temperament traits. Findings highlight the need to consider the effect of the complex interplays between temperament traits on resilience and depression improvement.     

Psychometric Properties and Factor Structure of the French Version of the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS) in Non-Clinical Adults

Behavioral activation (BA) is a well-established empirical treatment for depression that aims to improve depressive mood by increasing activation and reducing avoidance. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate activation and avoidance when a BA treatment is applied. The Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS) was developed to measure the changes in activation and avoidance over the course of BA treatment of depression. This study aims to validate the French version of this scale. In a first study, 131 bilingual adults were recruited to explored internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity of the final French version. In a second study, 409 non-clinical adults completed an online survey assessing concurrent measures. Results of the first study suggested good internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity. The second study revealed a confirmatory factor analysis supporting the original four-factor structure, with Activation, Avoidance/Rumination, Work/School Impairment, and Social Impairment subscales. Results also revealed that a 5-factor model distinguishing Behavioral Avoidance and Rumination had a better fit than the original four-factor structure. All subscales showed adequate internal consistency and good construct validity with evidence of convergent validity with depressive symptoms, brooding, psychological flexibility, negative automatic thought, behavioral inhibition and activation system. Furthermore, the French BADS total scale and subscales showed a good ability to predict depressive symptoms. The French version of the BADS appears to be a reliable tool for clinician and researchers to assess mechanisms of change in BA interventions.     

冲突水平的变化诱发冲突适应

冲突适应是重要的认知控制现象, 反映了认知控制的动态过程。然而, 目前为止对于冲突水平上的差异能否诱发冲突适应尚不清楚。本研究采用字母Flanker的变式, 通过改变目标-分心物的一致性操纵冲突水平, 探究冲突水平的变化对认知控制调整的影响。结果发现被试的反应时间随冲突水平的提高而增加; 而且先前试次的一致性影响当前试次的干扰效应, 无冲突和低冲突、无冲突和高冲突、低冲突和高冲突条件之间均出现了典型的冲突适应。本研究结果表明, 除了冲突的有无, 冲突水平的变化也能诱发冲突适应, 支持更大的冲突驱动更强的认知控制, 而且冲突诱发的认知控制的功能可能通过注意聚焦实现。这一发现为冲突监测理论的注意调节机制提供了直接的支持证据, 对于促进冲突适应的相关研究具有重要意义。     

句子结构与控制动词类型对题元角色指派的影响

扩展论元依存模型认为：语序固定语言的题元角色指派依赖论元的语序线索; 论元线索与动词论元表征不一致时, 题元角色再分析会产生额外的加工负荷。为检验该模型, 本研究采用眼动记录方法, 实验为2 (句子结构：居中、前置) × 2 (控制动词类型：主语控制、宾语控制)被试内设计。通过操纵句子结构, 考察汉语读者对语序线索的依赖性; 通过操纵控制动词类型, 考察汉语论元线索与动词论元表征的一致性对题元角色指派的影响。结果发现：(1)前置结构的句子在名词1、名词2和动词区域的阅读时间和回视次数多于居中结构的句子; (2)宾语控制动词条件在动词和动词后区域的第二遍阅读时间和总回视次数多于主语控制动词条件; (3)在居中结构中, 宾语控制动词条件在名词2和动词区域的阅读时间和回视次数多于主语控制动词条件; 在前置结构中, 宾语控制动词条件在动词后区域的阅读时间多于主语控制动词条件。结果支持扩展论元依存模型。     

Plus de contention ni d’isolement sans contrôle du juge judiciaire

Although of old and common use, the use of isolation and restraint in psychiatry was not regulated until 2016 with the creation of article L. 3222-5-1 of the Public Health Code. However, the Court of Cassation considered that, as a form of care, it was beyond the office of the liberty and custody judge to controle its implementation. Questioned by a plea of unconstitutionality submitted by the Court of Cassation, the Constitutional Council considered, with its decision of 19 June 2020, that these measures constituted a deprivation of liberty requiring judicial review at short notice. The Sages thus declare the provisions of article L. 3222-5-1 unconstitutional, with delayed effect as of December 31, 2020, requiring legislator to rethink and organise the supervision and control of decisions of restraint and isolation.     

Inhibitory control and set shifting describe different pathways from behavioral inhibition to socially anxious behavior

Individuals with a behaviorally inhibited (BI) temperament are more likely to develop social anxiety. However, the mechanisms by which socially anxious behavior emerges from BI are unclear. Variation in different forms of top‐down control, specifically executive functions (EF), may play distinct roles and characterize differential pathways to social anxiety. Here 291 children were assessed for BI in toddlerhood (ages 2 and 3), parent‐reported inhibitory control and set shifting during middle childhood (age 7), and multidimensional assessment of socially anxious behavior completed during late childhood and early adolescence (ages 9 and 12). Structural equation modeling revealed that early variation in BI predicted the development of socially anxious behavior through either higher levels of parent‐reported inhibitory control or lower levels of parent‐reported set shifting. These data reinforce the notion that top‐down control does not uniformly influence relations between temperament and socially anxious behavior. These data suggest novel approaches to thinking about the role of EFs and social anxiety outcomes as children approach adolescence.     

Trust and intention to use autonomous vehicles: Manufacturer focus and passenger control

Autonomous Vehicle (AV) research has focused on public acceptance of and intention to use AVs, with trust emerging as important to these variables. Research on AV trust has centered on trust in vehicle performance. However, trust evaluation may include AV manufacturers and developers, and regulation pertaining to AVs; thus, we expand our measurement of trust to include beliefs based on manufacturers and regulation. In this experiment, we manipulate information regarding manufacturer focus (i.e., an emphasis on standards, regulations, and research (SRR) versus speed to market) to determine its effect on trust. When information focused on SRR, we found higher levels of trust in AV performance and in manufacturers, compared to when it focused on speed to market. In addition, information regarding passenger control (i.e., the ability to take over for the vehicle and to determine privacy settings) was manipulated to yield either high or low passenger control conditions. Behavioral Intention (BI) to use AVs was lowest when speed to market was emphasized and when passenger control was low. Furthermore, trust was tested as a mediator between perceived risk and BI. Trust in AV performance partially mediated the relationship between perceived AV performance risk and BI. In addition, trust in AV regulation partially mediated the relationship between AV privacy/security risk and BI. Researchers should continue to examine trust beyond the AV itself to encompass trust in manufacturers and regulations. Those designing and marketing AVs should carefully consider decisions that influence manufacturer/developer reputation and passenger control due to their effect on intention to use AVs.