The Cyborg Method: A Method to Identify Fraudulent Responses from Crowdsourced Data.

Crowdsourcing is an essential data collection method for psychological research. Concerns about the validity and quality of crowdsourced data persist, however. A recent documented increase in the number of invalid responses within crowdsourced data has highlighted the need for quality control measures. Although a number of approaches are recommended, few have been empirically evaluated. The present study evaluated a Cyborg Method that used automated evaluation of participant meta-data and a review of short answer responses. Two samples were recruited - in the first, the Cyborg Method was applied after data collection to gauge the extent to which invalid responses were collected when a priori quality controls were absent. In the second, the Cyborg Method was applied during data collection to determine if the method would proactively screen invalid responses. Results suggested that Cyborg Method identified a substantial portion of invalid responses and both automated and human evaluation components was necessary. Furthermore, the Cyborg Method could be applied proactively to screen invalid responses and substantially reduced the per participant cost of data collection. These results suggest that the Cyborg Method is a promising means by which to collect high quality crowdsourced data.

Preliminary Investigation Into the Effectiveness of Group webSTAIR for Trauma-exposed Veterans in Primary Care.

INTRODUCTION: A substantial number of trauma-exposed veterans seen in primary care report significant symptoms of PTSD and depression. While primary care mental health integration (PCMHI) providers have been successful in delivering brief mental health treatments in primary care, few studies have evaluated interventions that combine mobile health resources with PCMHI groups. This pilot study assessed the potential benefits of webSTAIR, a 10-module transdiagnostic treatment for trauma-exposed individuals, supported by 5 biweekly group sessions delivered via telehealth. The transdiagnostic and mobile health nature of the treatment, as well as the therapist and peer support provided through group sessions, may offer an innovative approach to increasing access to patient-centered and trauma-informed treatment in primary care settings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-nine male and female veterans with trauma-related symptoms (i.e., PTSD and/or depression) participated in group webSTAIR. Mixed effects analyses were conducted to assess changes in PTSD and depression at pre-, mid-, and post-treatment. Baseline symptom severity was assessed as a predictor of module completion and group attendance. The project was part of a VHA quality improvement project, and IRB approval was waived by the affiliated university. RESULTS: Analyses revealed significant pre-to-post improvement in both PTSD and depression outcomes with a large effect size for PTSD (Hedges' gav = 0.88) and medium to large for depression (Hedges' gav = 0.73). Of participants who completed the baseline assessment, 90% began webSTAIR; of those, 71% completed the program. Baseline symptoms of PTSD and depression did not predict group attendance or module completion. CONCLUSIONS: Good outcomes and a satisfactory retention rate suggest that group webSTAIR may provide easily accessible, high-quality, and effective treatment for patients presenting with trauma-related problems without increasing therapist or system burdens. The results suggest the value of conducting a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of group webSTAIR relative to PCMHI usual care or other evidence-based, disorder-specific (e.g., PTSD) treatments for trauma-exposed individuals in PCMHI.

A preliminary evaluation of the Supportive Other Experiences Questionnaire: integrating the perspectives of social support providers after traumatic injury.

BACKGROUND: Social support is a protective factor against the development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, examinations of the social support after trauma have relied primarily on the self-reports of trauma survivors to the exclusion of their support providers. A new measure, the Supportive Other Experiences Questionnaire (SOEQ) was adapted from a well-established behavioral coding schema of support behaviors to capture social support experiences from the support provider perspective. METHOD: 513 Concerned Significant Others (CSOs) recruited on MTurk who had served as support providers to a traumatically injured romantic partner were recruited to respond to SOEQ candidate items and other relevant measures of psychopathology and relational factors. Factor analytic, correlational and regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analytic results of SOEQ candidate items provide evidence for three support types (i.e., informational, tangible, and emotional) and two support processes (i.e., frequency, difficulty), producing a final 11-item version of the SOEQ. Evidence of convergent and discriminant validity provide good psychometric support for the measure. Evidence of construct validity was derived from support for two hypotheses: (1) difficulty providing social support is negatively associated with CSO perceptions of trauma survivor recovery, (2) social support provision frequency is positively associated with relationship satisfaction. LIMITATIONS: Though factor loadings for support types were significant, several were small, limiting interpretability. Cross-validation in a separate sample is needed. CONCLUSIONS: The final version of the SOEQ demonstrated promising psychometric properties, and can provide key information one the experiences of CSOs as social support providers for trauma survivors.

The Enduring Importance of Parenting: Caregiving Quality and Fear-Potentiated Startle in Emerging Adults With a Child Maltreatment History.

Background: The transition to adulthood is a period of increased risk for emergent psychopathology; emerging adults with a childhood maltreatment history are at risk for poor outcomes. Method: Using a multi-measure, transdisciplinary, cross-sectional design, this study tested whether participant-reported positive parenting, a potential resilience-promoting factor, moderated the association between clinician-rated PTSD symptom severity and a transdiagnostic maladjustment biomarker, fear-potentiated startle (FPS), in a sample of 66 emerging adults (Myears = 18.83, SD = 0.89) with a maltreatment history. We hypothesized that characteristics of effective parenting would moderate the relation between PTSD symptoms and FPS. Results: Results indicated that elevated PTSD, as measured by the CAPS, was associated with a more severe startle reaction. The magnitude of the increase in startle reactivity was moderated by parenting such that those with more positive parenting (Accepting [relative to rejecting]: b = -0.42, p < .001; Psychologically-controlling [relative to autonomy-promoting]: b = 2.96, p = .004) had significantly less reactivity across the task at higher levels of PTSD symptoms. Conclusions: Emerging adults with childhood maltreatment histories, high levels of PTSD symptoms, and who perceive present-day high-quality caregiver support may cope better with novel stressors relative to youth lacking that support, potentially translating to better psychological outcomes.

An examination of the heterogeneity of the relationships between posttraumatic stress disorder, self-compassion and gratitude.

Previous research has found both self-compassion and gratitude to be protective against overall posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. PTSD is a highly heterogeneous disorder; however, it is unclear if these protective constructs are differentially associated with each cluster of PTSD. The present study examined differences in the association of self-compassion and gratitude with the four clusters of PTSD as indicated by the DSM-5. Participants were 1424 trauma-exposed individuals recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk. The mean age of participants was 31.49 (SD = 11.25) years old, and 55.3% of the sample identified as female. A structural equation model (SEM) approach was used to examine relationships between factors of gratitude, self-compassion and the four PTSD symptom clusters. A two-factor model of self-compassion best fits the data. Both the self-compassion and gratitude factors were significantly associated with all symptom clusters of PTSD. Wald chi-square tests indicated self-compassion and gratitude to have the strongest association with negative alterations in cognitions and mood (NACM) PTSD symptoms. These findings may have important implications for treatment targets to reduce specific symptoms of PTSD, particularly in PTSD symptoms related to negative affect.

Doomscrolling during COVID-19: The negative association between daily social and traditional media consumption and mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Consumption of traditional and social media markedly increased at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as new information about the virus and safety guidelines evolved. Much of the information concerned restrictions on daily living activities and the risk posed by the virus. The term doomscrolling is used to describe the phenomenon of elevated negative affect after viewing pandemic-related media. The magnitude and duration of this effect, however, is unclear. Furthermore, the effect of doomscrolling likely varies based on prior vulnerabilities for psychopathology, such as a history of childhood maltreatment. It was hypothesized that social and traditional media exposure were related to an increase in depression and PTSD and that this increase was moderated by childhood maltreatment severity. METHOD: Participants completed a baseline assessment for psychopathology and 30 days of daily assessments of depression, PTSD, and pandemic-related media use. RESULTS: Using multilevel modeling, social media exposure was associated with increased depression and PTSD. This association was stronger for those with more severe maltreatment histories. Furthermore, those with more severe baseline psychopathology used more social media during this period. These relations were not observed for traditional media sources. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that regular viewing of pandemic-related social media is associated with increases in psychopathology for those with existing vulnerabilities. Those with such vulnerabilities should adopt strategies to limit social media consumption. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Examination of the association between exposure to childhood maltreatment and brain structure in young adults: a machine learning analysis.

Exposure to maltreatment during childhood is associated with structural changes throughout the brain. However, the structural differences that are most strongly associated with maltreatment remain unclear given the limited number of whole-brain studies. The present study used machine learning to identify if and how brain structure distinguished young adults with and without a history of maltreatment. Young adults (ages 18-21, n = 384) completed an assessment of childhood trauma exposure and a structural MRI as part of the IMAGEN study. Elastic net regularized regression was used to identify the structural features that identified those with a history of maltreatment. A generalizable model that included 7 cortical thicknesses, 15 surface areas, and 5 subcortical volumes was identified (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.71, p < 0.001). Those with a maltreatment history had reduced surface areas and cortical thicknesses primarily in fronto-temporal regions. This group also had larger cortical thicknesses in occipital regions and surface areas in frontal regions. The results suggest childhood maltreatment is associated with multiple measures of structure throughout the brain. The use of a large sample without exposure to adulthood trauma provides further evidence for the unique contribution of childhood trauma to brain structure. The identified regions overlapped with regions associated with psychopathology in adults with maltreatment histories, which offers insights as to how these disorders manifest.

Concreteness of thoughts and images during suppression and expression of worry.

The avoidance theory of worry (Borkovec, Alcaine, & Behar, 2004) posits that the verbal-linguistic (versus imagery-based) nature of worry elicits abstract (versus concrete) processing, which inhibits affective responding and generates a host of negative consequences. Although suppression of worrisome thinking is maladaptive (Purdon, 1999), expression of worry using vivid imagery may increase concreteness of worrisome thinking and facilitate more adaptive emotional responding. The present study examined whether the valence, content, and expression of mentation impacts concreteness of thought. Participants (N = 62) were randomly assigned to verbalize their thoughts while engaging in either verbal-linguistic- or imagery-based mentation about both worrisome and neutral topics. Participants were also randomly assigned to engage in a 5-min period of suppressing or expressing the target stimuli before engaging in 5-min of freely expressing the targets. Verbalizations of mental content were coded for level of abstractness/concreteness. For neutral stimuli, imagery-based mentation led to greater concreteness than did verbal-linguistic mentation; however, for worrisome stimuli, imagery-based mentation did not enhance concreteness. In addition, for neutral (but not worrisome) stimuli, an initial period of suppression was associated with increased concreteness during subsequent expression. Imagery-based mentation about worrisome stimuli may not enhance concreteness; moreover, unlike suppression of neutral stimuli, suppression of worrisome stimuli may maintain, rather than ameliorate, abstractness of thought.

Different trajectories of PTSD symptoms during the acute post-trauma period.

The majority of adults in the United States will experience a potentially traumatic event during their lifetime, yet only a subset will develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The trajectory of symptoms in the period of time immediately following the trauma (the acute post-trauma period) may be important in determining which individuals develop PTSD. The current study examined trajectories of PTSD symptom severity across the acute post-trauma period and if membership in these trajectories was predictive of PTSD symptom severity, depression symptoms, and functional impairment 1- and 3-months post-trauma. Four trajectories were identified: low and decreasing, rapid decreasing, slow decreasing, and consistently high. Further, trajectory membership in the acute post-trauma period was found to predict differences in PTSD symptoms, depression symptoms, and functional impairment severity at both 1- and 3- months post-trauma. These findings highlight a relationship between PTSD symptoms during the acute post-trauma period and later impairment.

Emotionally valenced stimuli impact response inhibition in those with substance use disorder and co-occurring anxiety and depression symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Substance use disorder (SUD) is associated with impaired response inhibition. Given the deficits in emotion regulation associated with SUD, it is unclear if this impairment is exacerbated by emotionally valenced stimuli. Co-occurring conditions may further exacerbate these impairments as many co-occurring conditions further impact emotion regulation. It was hypothesized that negative stimuli may further impact response inhibition for this population. METHODS: The current study used the stop-signal task to examine response inhibition to negative, neutral and positive stimuli in a sample of those with a history of SUD and co-occurring depression and anxiety symptoms. RESULTS: Response inhibition was poorer for negative stimuli relative to neutral stimuli. There was no difference between negative and positive stimuli. Depression severity moderated the difference between response inhibition for negative and neutral stimuli. At elevated depression, response inhibition was worse and there was no difference across emotional stimuli. At low depression, there was a significant difference between negative and neutral stimuli. This effect was not found for anxiety symptoms. LIMITATIONS: Study participants presented with polysubstance use of varying duration and amount. It is unclear whether findings are attributed to specific substances, or substance use broadly. Additionally, happy, angry, and calm facial emotions were used to represent positive, negative, and neutral valences respectively. It is unclear whether these findings are generalizable to other emotional expressions. CONCLUSION: Results suggested that emotionally valenced stimuli affected response inhibition among those with low symptom severity. At elevated symptom severity, response inhibition to all stimuli were impaired.

The short-term dynamics of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms during the acute posttrauma period.

BACKGROUND: The manner in which posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops remains largely unknown. PTSD is comprised of 20 symptoms across 4 clusters. These clusters were hypothesized to reflect a failure of recovery model in which intrusive symptoms appear first. Intrusive symptoms led to avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, which resulted in sustained arousal. The sustained arousal ultimately led to dysphoria. METHODS: This hypothesized symptom progression was evaluated during the acute posttrauma period (the first 30 days postevent). Participants (N = 80) reported their PTSD symptoms for 30 days via mobile devices. Using a short-term dynamic modeling framework, a temporal and contemporaneous model of PTSD symptoms was obtained. RESULTS: In the temporal network, a fear-conditioning component was identified that supported the hypothesized set of relations among symptom clusters. The contemporaneous network was classified by two subnetworks. The first corresponded to a fear-conditioning model that included symptoms of intrusions and avoidance. The second included symptoms of dysphoria and arousal. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that, after a trauma, there may be a fear-conditioning process that involves intrusions, avoidance, and arousal symptoms. Dysphoric symptoms were also present but developed as a partially distinct component.

The symptoms at the center: Examining the comorbidity of posttraumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and depression with network analysis.

Comorbid mental health disorders are highly common in trauma-exposed individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) among the most common co-occurring conditions. Network models of psychopathology offer a novel method to understand how this comorbidity manifests. The present study examined the presence of symptom communities (groups of highly connected symptoms) within a network of these disorders and hub symptoms (symptoms that connect such communities). Cross-sectional data were obtained from a community sample (N = 1184) of trauma exposed adults. Network analyses identified 5 communities: 1 containing all depression and GAD symptoms and 4 for PTSD. The PTSD communities corresponded to symptoms of intrusion and avoidance, hyperarousal, dysphoria, and negative affect. These communities had varying levels of connectivity to the Depression & GAD community. Symptoms of GAD (inability to relax) and PTSD (restricted or diminished positive emotion) were identified as key hub symptoms for the network. The results suggest symptoms of depression and GAD are highly interrelated and that PTSD is heterogeneous. The comorbidity among these diagnoses is thought to stem from their overlap with negative affect.

Heterogeneity in the Strength of the Relation Between Social Support and Post-Trauma Psychopathology.

Potentially traumatic events (PTEs) increase risk for psychopathology, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Social support (SS) is associated with reduced symptoms for each disorder. Each disorder, however, is highly heterogeneous such that they are comprised of clusters of different symptoms. It is unclear if SS is associated with all clusters equally. The current study examined the relation between SS and the symptom clusters of each disorder. Participants completed a battery of self-report assessments for PTSD, MDD, GAD, and SS. All participants experienced a Criterion A traumatic event. Although SS was significantly associated with all symptom clusters, the strength of relations varied. The relation between SS and MDD-affective was significantly stronger than its association with all other factors. The relations between SS and GAD, MDD-somatic, PTSD-AAR, and PTSD-NACM did not significantly differ. These relations were stronger than the relations between SS and the remaining PTSD factors. There was no significant difference in the relations between SS and PTSD-intrusions or PTSD-avoidance. These results suggest that SS is more closely aligned to specific aspects of post-trauma psychopathology.

Implementing assessments via mobile during the acute posttrauma period: feasibility, acceptability and strategies to improve response rates.

Background: PTSD is posited to develop in the acute posttrauma period. Few studies have examined psychopathology symptoms within this period due to the demands on individuals in the first month after a trauma. Mobile devices can overcome these barriers. The feasibility of using mobile devices for this purpose, however, is unclear. Objective: The present study evaluated the acceptability of administering PTSD symptom assessments via a mobile application throughout the acute posttrauma period. Method: Participants (N = 90) were recruited from a Level 1 Trauma Center within M = 4.88 days of experiencing a traumatic event. A mobile application was placed on their smartphone that administered a daily self-report assessment of PTSD symptoms for 30 days. Participants were compensated US$1 for each assessment completed. Results: The overall response rate was 61.1% or M = 18.33, SD = 9.12 assessments. Assessments were accessed M = 65.2 minutes after participants were notified to complete them and took M = 2.52 minutes to complete. Participants reported that the daily assessments were not bothersome and were moderately helpful. Conclusion: The present study suggests that using mobile devices to monitor mental health symptoms during the acute posttrauma period is feasible and acceptable. Strategies are needed to determine how to best take advantage of these data once collected.

Antecedentes: Se ha propuesto que el Trastorno por Estrés Post-Traumático (TEPT) se desarrolla en el período post-trauma agudo. Pocos estudios han estudiado síntomas psicopatológicos durante este periodo, debido a las demandas de los individuos en el primer mes después de un trauma. Los dispositivos móviles pueden superar estas barreras. Sin embargo, la viabilidad de usar dispositivos móviles para este propósito no está clara. Objetivo: Este estudio evaluó la aceptabilidad de la administración de evaluaciones de síntomas de TEPT a través de una aplicación para dispositivos móviles durante el periodo agudo post-trauma. Método: Los participantes (N=90) fueron reclutados desde un Centro de Trauma de Nivel 1 con M=4,88 días de haber experimentado un evento traumático. Se instaló una aplicación en sus teléfonos móviles, que administró una evaluación diaria de autoreporte de síntomas de TEPT, por 30 días. Los participantes fueron compensados con US$1 por cada evaluación completada. Resultados: La tasa de respuesta general fue 61,1% o M=18,33, SD=9,12 evaluaciones. Se tuvo acceso a las evaluaciones M=65,2 minutos después que los participantes fueron notificados para completarlas y les tomó M=2,52 minutos completarlas. Los participantes reportaron que las evaluaciones diarias no fueron tediosas y fueron moderadamente útiles. Conclusión: El presente estudio sugiere que usar dispositivos móviles para monitorear síntomas de salud mental durante el periodo post-trauma agudo es viable y aceptable. Se necesitan estrategias para determinar cómo sacar el mayor provecho de estos datos una vez obtenidos.

mHealth solutions for early interventions after trauma: improvements and considerations for assessment and intervention throughout the acute post-trauma period.

Interventions administered shortly after a traumatic event have the potential to prevent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related mental health conditions. A key challenge in delivering such interventions is understanding how PTSD symptoms develop in the acute post-trauma period, defined as the first 30 days after a trauma. Mobile devices have the potential to transform the way symptoms are assessed and how treatment is delivered in that they can capture the dynamic and nuanced nature of symptom progression after trauma. Symptoms can be assessed through active strategies that require user input, such as self-report, or through passive strategies, such as location information. Adaptive mobile interventions can be tailored to target PTSD symptoms as they appear and ultimately prevent more chronic courses of illness. Considerations for how such mobile strategies should be implemented are discussed.

An Examination of Social Support and PTSD Treatment Response During Prolonged Exposure.

OBJECTIVE: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) results from exposure to traumatic events. Social support is negatively related to PTSD symptoms in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. It is unclear, however, if social support is associated with treatment response for PTSD. The current study evaluated the extent to which social support was associated with PTSD treatment response among treatment-seeking veterans receiving prolonged exposure (PE). It was hypothesized that social support would improve PTSD treatment response and that PTSD symptom reduction would improve social support. METHOD: A total of 123 veterans were recruited from a Veterans Affairs Medical Center and evaluated for PTSD, diagnostic-related symptoms, and social support. All participants received PE. Data were analyzed using mixed-effects models. RESULTS: Findings suggested that elevated social support during treatment was associated with greater reductions in PTSD symptoms during treatment. Social support also increased during treatment. Increases in social support were not moderated by PTSD symptoms during treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that social support and PTSD symptoms are related throughout treatment. Social support moderated the change in PTSD symptoms, whereas PTSD symptoms did not moderate changes in social support.

The Effects of Worry and Relaxation on Flexibility During Cognitive Restructuring.

Worry is associated with inflexibility in cognitive, emotional, and physiological functioning. In addition, worry's negative valence and abstract level of construal are rigid characteristics that contribute to its nonadaptive consequences. Relaxation and cognitive therapy aim to increase flexibility in chronic worriers, and may have greater efficacy when administered in combination. We examined the extent to which relaxation enhances and/or worry inhibits cognitive flexibility during a cognitive restructuring exercise in which participants generated alternative predictions for their worries. Participants ( n = 189) were randomly assigned to engage in relaxation, worry, or neutral thinking prior to cognitive restructuring. We measured the number and perceived likelihood of alternative predictions generated by participants, and coded those alternative predictions for their degree of positive valence, negative valence, and level of construal (abstractness to concreteness). Worry and relaxation did not lead to different numbers or perceived likelihood of alternative predictions. However, compared with participants with minimal symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), those with elevated symptoms of GAD who engaged in prior worry generated alternative predictions characterized by greater negative valence and more abstractness (i.e., less concreteness). We also found that greater negative valence of alternative predictions was associated with more abstractness, whereas greater positive valence of alternative predictions was associated with more concreteness. These findings suggest that after engaging in worry, individuals with GAD may be less able to flexibly shift from the use of nonadaptive characteristics (negative valence, abstractness) associated with feared outcomes to the use of more adaptive characteristics (positive valence, concreteness) when considering alternative predictions.