Body exposure and vocal analysis: validation of fundamental frequency as a correlate of emotional arousal and valence.

Introduction: Vocal analysis of fundamental frequency (f0) represents a suitable index to assess emotional activation. However, although f0 has often been used as an indicator of emotional arousal and different affective states, its psychometric properties are unclear. Specifically, there is uncertainty regarding the validity of the indices of f0mean and f0variabilitymeasures (f0dispersion, f0range, and f0SD) and whether higher or lower f0 indices are associated with higher arousal in stressful situations. The present study therefore aimed to validate f0 as a marker of vocally encoded emotional arousal, valence, and body-related distress during body exposure as a psychological stressor. Methods: N = 73 female participants first underwent a 3-min, non-activating neutral reference condition, followed by a 7-min activating body exposure condition. Participants completed questionnaires on affect (i.e., arousal, valence, body-related distress), and their voice data and heart rate (HR) were recorded continuously. Vocal analyses were performed using Praat, a program for extracting paralinguistic measures from spoken audio. Results: The results revealed no effects for f0 and state body dissatisfaction or general affect. F0mean correlated positively with self-reported arousal and negatively with valence, but was not correlated with HRmean/maximum. No correlations with any measure were found for any f0variabililtymeasures. Discussion: Given the promising findings regarding f0mean for arousal and valence and the inconclusive findings regarding f0 as a marker of general affect and body-related distress, it may be assumed that f0mean represents a valid global marker of emotional arousal and valence rather than of concrete body-related distress. In view of the present findings regarding the validity of f0, it may be suggested that f0mean, but not f0variabilitymeasures, can be used to assess emotional arousal and valence in addition to self-report measures, which is less intrusive than conventional psychophysiological measures.

Short-term functions and long-term consequences of checking behavior as a transdiagnostic phenomenon: protocol for a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Checking behaviour (CB) occurs in various mental health problems. Cognitive-behavioural models for these mental disorders share similar theoretical assumptions. Thus, they postulate a negative reinforcing effect of CB by reducing negative affect (ie, anxiety) and a maintenance of the pathology due to a lack of reality testing of concerns. This paper details methods for a systematic review that will be conducted to synthesise empirical evidence testing these theoretical assumptions across obsessive-compulsive, generalised anxiety, eating, body dysmorphic and illness anxiety disorder. The results are expected to foster our understanding of the mechanisms of action underlying CB, which is of high clinical relevance. Depending on whether or not the findings confirm the model assumptions regarding CB, the focus of treatments would need to be intensified or modified. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search PsycINFO, PubMed, PSYNDEX and Scopus for studies investigating the emotional state in which CB is being used as well as the immediate and longer-term effects of CB on cognitive and emotional measures in clinical and analogue samples. The selection process, data extraction and quality assessment of included studies will be performed by two independent reviewers. In the case of inconsistencies, a third reviewer will be involved. Study results will be reported in a narrative synthesis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval will not be required as this is a protocol for systematic review. The results are mainly disseminated through peer-reviewed publications. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021238835.

Revisiting the Postulates of Etiological Models of Eating Disorders: Questioning Body Checking as a Longer-Term Maintaining Factor.

Body checking (BC) is not only inherent to the maintenance of eating disorders but is also widespread among healthy females. According to etiological models, while BC serves as an affect-regulating behavior in the short term, in the longer term it is assumed to be disorder-maintaining and also produces more negative affect. The present study therefore aimed to empirically examine the proposed longer-term consequences of increased BC. In an online study, N = 167 women tracked their daily amount of BC over a total of 7 days: Following a 1-day baseline assessment of typical BC, participants were asked to check their bodies in an typical manner for 3 days and with a 3-fold increased frequency for 3-days. Before and after each BC episode, the impact of BC on affect, eating disorder symptoms, general pathology and endorsement of different functions of BC was assessed. Participants showed longer-term consequences of increased BC in terms of increased negative affect and general pathology, while eating disorder symptoms remained unaffected. In the case of typical BC, participants showed decreased general pathology and anxiety. Furthermore, the endorsement of a higher number of BC functions led to increased negative affect and an increased amount of typical BC. The findings support the theoretically assumed role of maladaptive BC in maintaining negative emotion in the longer term. However, though requiring replication, our finding of positive effects of typical BC calls into question the overall dysfunctionality of BC among non-clinical women who are not at risk of developing an eating disorder.