Application of a worry reduction intervention in a medically unexplained symptoms-analogue student-sample

Objective: Worry is an important perpetuating factor of Medically Unexplained Symptoms (MUS). Former research has shown that a worry postponement instruction is effective in reducing Subjective Health Complaints (SHC) in non-clinical samples. This study aimed to (1) replicate these findings in a MUS-analogue student-sample and (2) assess alexithymia as a moderator.

Design: The current study had an experimental design with two waves of data collection: pre- and post-intervention.

Main outcome measures: A MUS-analogue student-sample consisting of 114 undergraduate students with high self-reported health worry and a minimum of two doctor visits in the previous year with no current diagnosis for a (chronic or acute) disease were instructed to register their worry frequency and duration eight times per day via an experience sampling-application on their smartphones. The intervention group additionally postponed their worries to a 30-minute period in the evening. SHC were assessed pre- and post-intervention.

Results: The intervention did not have an effect on worry or SHC. Alexithymia did not moderate this effect (p’s > .05).

Conclusion: Our study did not find evidence for the effectiveness of the worry reduction intervention on SHC in a MUS-analogue student-sample. This finding contributes to several previous studies that have found mixed evidence for the effectiveness of the worry reduction intervention on SHC and suggests that the worry intervention may not be effective in all cases.     

Therapist attentiveness and negative capability in dialogical family meetings for psychosis

Jaakko Seikkula (2008) has pointed towards the importance of practitioners working in the present moment in dialogical therapy. Extrapolating from Seikkula's work, this article considers the significance of the qualities of therapist attentiveness, generosity and negative capability in dialogical family meetings for psychosis. It is proposed that these qualities are of particular importance when family meetings occur in crisis situations, as when under pressure practitioners can easily be drawn into prematurely interventionist stances that may unintentionally promote chronicity for the person experiencing psychosis. The value of co‐working arrangements in enabling practitioners to maintain attentiveness and negative capability in this work is also considered.     

Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Flourishing Scale and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience

ABSTRACT

The Flourishing Scale (FS) and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) are scales that are newly introduced to evaluate well–being. The present study aims to assess the psychometric distinctive features of two scales by utilising two different Turkish samples: university students (n?=?320), and employees (n?=?180). Confirmatory factor analysis results demonstrate that a one-factor model of the FS and a two–factor model of the SPANE yield significant findings in those samples. Scales’ factorial structures are valid for gender groups also they have good internal consistency. Concurrent validity, and discriminant validity with the use of several conceptually related and unrelated measures in two samples reveal satisfactory validity results for both the FS and the SPANE. The results of the present study show the utility of these scales in Turkish culture.     

青少年早期负面评价恐惧的发展轨迹及其影响因素

采用问卷法对977名初中生在校三年间负面评价恐惧的发展状况进行三次追踪测试，通过建构潜变量增长模型，检验初中生负面评价恐惧的变化趋势，并考察学业自尊和社交自尊对负面评价恐惧变化的影响。结果发现：（1）初中青少年负面评价恐惧呈上升趋势；（2）从初一到初三，学生较高的学业自尊和社交自尊显著抑制负面评价恐惧的增长；（3）性别对负面评价恐惧发展轨迹的影响是由于自尊的性别差异引起的。     

The effects of violent video games and shyness on individuals’ aggressive behaviors

The general aggression model (GAM) has suggested that the interaction between person factors (e.g., personality variables) and situation factors (e.g., playing violent video games [VVGs]) can increase individuals’ aggressive behaviors through their cognition (e.g., hostile attributions), affect (e.g., negative affect), and/or arousal. The present study employed a modified competitive reaction time task to test the effects of shyness, violent (vs. nonviolent) gameplay, and shyness on individuals’ positive–negative affect, hostile attributions, and aggressive behaviors. In addition, the present study also employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the mediation (by cognition and affect) and moderation (by shyness). Results showed that playing a VVG increased aggressive behaviors, negative affect, and hostile attributions primarily among shy participants. In addition, the results of SEM also revealed that this moderating role was mediated by negative affect and hostile attributions. The present study supported GAM and showed that individuals’ aggressive behaviors are differentially susceptible to VVGs, depending on their level of shyness in a “for bad and for worse” manner.     

Editorial

No abstract available for this article.     

Racial exclusion causes acute cortisol release among emerging-adult African Americans: The role of reduced perceived control

ABSTRACT

Racial discrimination contributes to stress-related health disparities among African Americans, but less is known about the acute effects of racial exclusion on the hypo-pituitary-adrenocortical response and psychological mediators. Participants were 276 Black/African American emerging-adults (54% female; M _age = 21.74, SD = 2.21) who were randomly assigned to be excluded or included by White peers via the game Cyberball. Racial exclusion (vs. inclusion) predicted: greater negative affect (F(1, 276) = 104.885, p < .0001), lower perceived control (F(1, 276) = 205.523, p < .0001), and greater cortisol release (F(1, 274) = 4.575, p = .033). Racial exclusion’s impact on cortisol release was mediated by lower perceived control (95% CI: .027, .112), but not negative affect (?.041, .013). These findings suggest that racial exclusion contributes to acute cortisol release, and that reduced perceived control is a consequence of racial discrimination that has important implications for the health of those who experience discrimination.     

Attentional disengagement from negative natural sounds for high-anxious individuals

Background and objectives: Previous studies have not consistently concluded whether high-anxious persons exhibit attentional bias towards negative natural auditory stimuli. The present study explores whether auditory negative stimuli could induce attentional bias to negative sounds in real life and investigates the exact nature of these biases using an emotional spatial cueing task.

Design: Experimental study with a mixed factorial design.

Method: We created two groups according to the state-trait anxiety scale, namely high and low trait anxiety. Participants (N?=?68 undergraduate students) were required to respond to an auditory target after receiving a negative (aversive sounds from natural life) or neutral auditory stimuli.

Results: A 2 (Validity: valid/invalid)?×?2 (Cue Valence: negative/neutral)?×?2 (Anxiety Group: LA/HA) repeated-measures ANOVA on reaction times revealed that participants with high trait anxiety exhibited slower reaction times in invalid trials following negative cues than following neutral cues. Higher levels of trait anxiety were associated with more difficult attentional disengagement from negative auditory information.

Conclusions: The results demonstrate that impaired attentional disengagement was one of the mechanisms by which high-anxious participants exhibited auditory attentional bias to natural negative information.