Cognitive Processing Therapy Versus Supportive Counseling for Acute Stress Disorder Following Assault: A Randomized Pilot Trial

The study tested the efficacy and tolerability of cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for survivors of assault with acute stress disorder. Participants (N = 30) were randomly allocated to CPT or supportive counseling. Therapy comprised six individual weekly sessions of 90-min duration. Independent diagnostic assessment for PTSD was conducted at posttreatment. Participants completed self-report measures of posttraumatic stress, depression, and negative trauma-related beliefs at pre-, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up. Results indicated that both interventions were successful in reducing symptoms at posttreatment with no statistical difference between the two; within and between-group effect sizes and the proportion of participants not meeting PTSD criteria was greater in CPT. Treatment gains were maintained for both groups at 6-month follow-up.     

An investigation of adult attachment and coping with exam-related stress

Students differ in how they cope with and manage stress associated with university life. This study investigates associations between adult attachment and coping strategies for exam-related stress. Fifty-seven students at a university in the north of England completed online questionnaires to assess attachment anxiety and avoidance, helpful and unhelpful coping strategies, and positive and negative affect. We found that students who were more avoidant in their attachment relationships were less likely to report using helpful problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies to cope with their exams. We also found that students who were more anxious in their attachment relationships reported using more dysfunctional coping strategies. We discuss the implications of the findings for university pastoral care and academic support systems.     

惊反射在创伤后应激障碍研究中的应用:高唤醒与恐惧抑制

创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)是唯一在诊断标准中包含惊反射改变的精神疾病.相比自我报告法,对惊反射的实验室测量与总体症状关联更紧密,并已积累了较多神经机制研究成果,可作为连接前临床与临床研究的桥梁.在惊反射应用于PTSD研究的初期,它主要作为PTSD患者高唤醒症状的客观指标,但是尚未发现惊反射强度的变化与总体症状的明确关系.近年来,惊反射与情境性焦虑、恐惧抑制等新范式结合,发现特定情境下惊反射改变是PTSD患者特有的表现.惊反射在创伤应激障碍研究中所取得的新进展对PTSD病理机制的探索和临床诊断都有所启发和推进.     

Your heart makes my heart move: Cues of social connectedness cause shared emotions and physiological states among strangers

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that cues of social connectedness could lead even new interaction partners to experience shared emotional and physiological states. In Experiment 1, a confederate prepared for a stress-inducing task. Participants who had been led to feel socially connected to the confederate reported feeling greater stress than participants who had not. In Experiment 2, a confederate ran vigorously in place. Socially-connected participants had greater cardiovascular reactivity (heart rate and blood pressure) than controls. Each study held constant exposure to the confederate. The results suggest that the sharing of psychological and physiological states does not occur only between long-standing relationship partners, but can also result from even subtle experiences of social connectedness. These findings illustrate the dynamic and fluid ways in which important aspects of self can change in response to cues of social relatedness.     

A Structural Model of Racial Discrimination, Acculturative Stress, and Cultural Resources Among Arab American Adolescents

Despite evidence towards the risk for discrimination and acculturative stress that Arab American adolescents may face, the link between socio-cultural adversities and psychological well-being in this population has not been established. This study examined the role of socio-cultural adversities (discrimination and acculturative stress) and cultural resources (ethnic identity, religious support and religious coping) in terms of their direct impact on psychological distress. Using structural equation modeling, the proposed model was tested with 240 Arab American adolescents. The results indicated a strong positive relationship between socio-cultural adversities and psychological distress. Furthermore, this study supported a promotive model of cultural resources, where a negative association between cultural resources and psychological distress was found. Understanding the manner in which socio-cultural adversities and resources are linked to psychological distress can inform the development of culturally appropriate interventions that can effectively mitigate mental health concerns for understudied and vulnerable populations.     

Group critical incident stress debriefing with emergency services personnel: a randomized controlled trial

Although single-session individual debriefing is contraindicated, the efficacy of group psychological debriefing remains unresolved. We conducted the first randomized controlled trial of critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) with emergency workers (67 volunteer fire-fighters) following shared exposure to an occupational potentially traumatic event (PTE). The goals of group CISD are to prevent post-traumatic stress and promote return to normal functioning following a PTE. To assess both goals we measured four outcomes, before and after the intervention: post-traumatic stress, psychological distress, quality of life, and alcohol use. Fire brigades were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: (1) CISD, (2) Screening (i.e., no-treatment), or (3) stress management Education. Controlling for pre-intervention scores, CISD was associated with significantly less alcohol use post-intervention relative to Screening, and significantly greater post-intervention quality of life relative to Education. There were no significant effects on post-traumatic stress or psychological distress. Overall, CISD may benefit broader functioning following exposure to work-related PTEs. Future research should focus on individual, group, and organizational factors and processes that can promote recovery from operational stressors. Ultimately, an occupational health (rather than victim-based) approach will provide the best framework for understanding and combating potential threats to the health and well-being of workers at high risk for PTE exposure.     

Negative cognitive style and looming cognitive style synergistically predict stress generation

There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that cognitive vulnerabilities to depression or anxiety may lead individuals to generate negative interpersonal life events. However, there has been no study to date that examines the effects of co-occurring vulnerabilities to depression and anxiety. In a sample of 304 participants, we examined the potential interaction of co-occurring negative cognitive style, a vulnerability to depression and looming cognitive style, vulnerability to anxiety. Results indicate that co-occurring cognitive vulnerabilities synergistically predict higher levels of negative interpersonal life events six weeks later, even when controlling for initial levels of stressful life events and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Thus, co-occurring vulnerabilities may have stronger stress generating effects than would be expected from the additive effects of each vulnerability considered separately. This finding highlights the importance of examining cognitive vulnerabilities as interactive effects rather than as individual vulnerabilities.     

Vulnerability-specific stress generation: an examination of depressogenic cognitive vulnerability across multiple domains

Background and Objectives: Although there is supporting evidence for the stress generation hypothesis (i.e., the tendency for depression-prone individuals to experience more negative dependent events influenced by their behaviors and characteristics), additional research is required to advance current understanding of the specific types of dependent events relevant to this effect. The present study elaborated on the stress generation hypothesis, in which the content of negative dependent events experienced by individuals is contingent upon, and matches, the nature of their particular vulnerabilities. This extension was tested within the context of Cole's competency-based model of depression. Design: Participants (n = 185) were assessed at two time-points separated by a four-month interval. Methods: Self-perceived competence in academic, social, and appearance domains at the initial time-point were examined in relation to negative life events prospectively occurring over the four-month follow-up period, assessed using the “contextual threat” method. Results: Partial support was obtained for vulnerability-specific stress generation. Stress-generation specificity was found for self-perceived competence in appearance and academic domains, but not for self-perceived social competence. Conclusions: The current findings are consistent with the possibility of a more complex relation between self-perceived social competence and domain-congruent stress generation. Individuals may be more likely to experience negative dependent events in domains matching their specific vulnerabilities.     

Understanding the relationships between age,gender, and life satisfaction: the mediating role of stress and religiosity

Although hundreds of investigations have examined the relationship between age and life satisfaction, a recent review of these studies reveals that relatively little is known about the nature of this relationship, especially between genders and across cultures, and the mechanisms that link age to life satisfaction. Using a large-scale study in Malaysia, the present research explores the mediating effects of stress and religiosity that might be responsible for the empirical findings reported in previous studies. Contrary to previous findings based on US studies, this study finds that women are more satisfied with their lives than men in the early and later stages of life. Chronic stress and religiosity were found to partially mediate the relationship between age and life satisfaction, suggesting that these may be mechanisms that explain the findings of previous studies.