Exaggerated interpretation bias for uncertain information as a predictor of anxiety-related symptoms: A new method of assessment for IU.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), or fear of the unknown, is as an important transdiagnostic risk factor across anxiety-related conditions, namely generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD). IU is typically indexed using self-report measures. Given the importance of multi-method assessments and the shortcomings associated with existing behavioral indices of IU, additional methods of assessment are needed. Emerging literature supports the use of interpretation bias (IB) paradigms to index constructs such as IU. However, only one study to date has examined the association between an IU-focused IB paradigm (IU-IB) and self-report IU and no research has investigated whether an IU-IB paradigm would be related to increased anxiety-related symptoms. METHODS: The current investigation examined the utility of an IU-IB paradigm across two separate samples wherein participants completed an interpretation bias task and self-report measures. Sample 1 included 86 participants (74.4% female; Mage = 19.14) and sample 2 included 138 participants (79.7% female; Mage = 18.88). RESULTS: Findings from Study 1 indicated a significant association between an exaggerated IU-IB and symptoms of GAD and OCD, and this relationship held after covarying for negative affect. Study 2 results indicated a significant relationship between an exaggerated IU-IB and symptoms of GAD, OCD, and SAD, after covarying for negative affect. LIMITATIONS: The current study had a variety of limitations, including the use of cross-sectional data and an undergraduate sample. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide an important replication and extension of previous work and highlight the transdiagnostic utility of this IU-IB task.

Social Functioning in Youth with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Sluggish Cognitive Tempo.

The current review summarizes the research to date on social functioning for youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with a focus on three key domains: peer rejection, friendship, and social information processing. The review extends past reviews by examining the research to date on how the presence of sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) symptoms, a common correlate of ADHD, affects the social presentation of youth with ADHD. Overall, youth with ADHD show significant difficulty with peer rejection, forming and maintaining friendships, and abnormalities in how they process and respond to social information. Further, the presence of SCT symptoms results in great social withdrawal and isolation. Future studies are needed to better understand the social difficulties of youth with ADHD, particularly using experimental approaches that can manipulate and isolate mechanisms within the social information processing model. In addition, novel intervention approaches are needed to more effectively ameliorate the social difficulties of youth with ADHD and those with co-occurring SCT symptoms.

Investigating the role of hopelessness in the relationship between PTSD symptom change and suicidality.

BACKGROUND: This study served as an initial investigation of the role hopelessness may play in the relationship between PTSD symptom change and suicide intent, among a trauma-exposed, treatment-seeking sample. We explored whether the effect of PTSD symptom change on self-reported likelihood of a future suicide attempt (FSA) varies as a function of pre-treatment hopelessness, and whether reductions in hopelessness serve as a mechanism through which PTSD symptom change influences FSA likelihood. METHODS: Data was collected from participants (N = 159) in a larger randomized clinical trial of a suicide risk-factor intervention. Self-report questionnaires assessed hopelessness, PTSD symptoms, depression symptoms, and FSA likelihood at pre-treatment and one-month follow-up. RESULTS: Pre-treatment hopelessness emerged as a significant moderator, such that overall PTSD symptom reductions were related to overall decreases in FSA likelihood among those at or above (but not those below) the sample mean of pre-treatment hopelessness. In a subsample of individuals who reported FSA likelihood > 0 and elevated hopelessness at pre-treatment, overall pre-treatment-to-month-one reductions in hopelessness significantly mediated the relationship between overall PTSD symptom reductions and decreased FSA likelihood during this same time period, even after accounting for depression symptom changes. LIMITATIONS: Data were limited to self-report measures (i.e., hopelessness, FSA likelihood). The intervention was not PTSD-specific. Mediation analyses were strictly statistical due to overlapping time-points. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary investigation suggests pre-treatment hopelessness may serve to identify trauma-exposed individuals for whom PTSD treatment would significantly reduce FSA likelihood. Moreover, reductions in FSA likelihood during treatment may be due in part to reduced hopelessness.

Interpersonal trauma and hoarding: The mediating role of aggression.

BACKGROUND: A growing body of literature indicates that exposure to interpersonal trauma contributes to the onset or exacerbation of hoarding symptoms. However, little research has explored psychosocial factors that may help to explain the relationship between interpersonal trauma and hoarding symptoms. One outcome of trauma exposure that may be associated with hoarding symptoms is aggression, defined as the tendency to experience and express hostility and anger, and to engage in aggressive behavior. Therefore, the current study examined the relationship between hoarding and aggression, as well as the mediating role of aggression in the relationship between exposure to interpersonal trauma and hoarding symptoms. METHODS: Community participants (n = 258) completed a battery of questionnaires assessing trauma exposure, hoarding symptoms, aggression, and negative affect. RESULTS: Results revealed that when accounting for negative affect, hoarding symptoms were associated with greater aggression, and the relationship between exposure to interpersonal trauma and hoarding symptoms was mediated by aggression. Specificity analyses indicated that depression symptoms and emotion dysregulation did not mediate the relationship between interpersonal trauma exposure and hoarding, providing further support for the importance of aggression. LIMITATIONS: Findings should be interpreted in light of limitations, including the use of cross-sectional and self-report data, and a general community sample. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our findings suggest that interpersonal processes, such as aggression toward others, may be associated with increased hoarding symptoms.