Personalized cognitive training: Protocol for individual-level meta-analysis implementing machine learning methods.

Accumulating evidence suggests that cognitive training may enhance well-being. Yet, mixed findings imply that individual differences and training characteristics may interact to moderate training efficacy. To investigate this possibility, the current paper describes a protocol for a data-driven individual-level meta-analysis study aimed at developing personalized cognitive training. To facilitate comprehensive analysis, this protocol proposes criteria for data search, selection and pre-processing along with the rationale for each decision. Twenty-two cognitive training datasets comprising 1544 participants were collected. The datasets incorporated diverse training methods, all aimed at improving well-being. These training regimes differed in training characteristics such as targeted domain (e.g., working memory, attentional bias, interpretation bias, inhibitory control) and training duration, while participants differed in diagnostic status, age and sex. The planned analyses incorporate machine learning algorithms designed to identify which individuals will be most responsive to cognitive training in general and to discern which methods may be a better fit for certain individuals.

Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression: A Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Network Meta-analysis.

Importance: Personalized treatment choices would increase the effectiveness of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) for depression to the extent that patients differ in interventions that better suit them. Objective: To provide personalized estimates of short-term and long-term relative efficacy of guided and unguided iCBT for depression using patient-level information. Data Sources: We searched PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, and Cochrane Library to identify randomized clinical trials (RCTs) published up to January 1, 2019. Study Selection: Eligible RCTs were those comparing guided or unguided iCBT against each other or against any control intervention in individuals with depression. Available individual patient data (IPD) was collected from all eligible studies. Depression symptom severity was assessed after treatment, 6 months, and 12 months after randomization. Data Extraction and Synthesis: We conducted a systematic review and IPD network meta-analysis and estimated relative treatment effect sizes across different patient characteristics through IPD network meta-regression. Main Outcomes and Measures: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores. Results: Of 42 eligible RCTs, 39 studies comprising 9751 participants with depression contributed IPD to the IPD network meta-analysis, of which 8107 IPD were synthesized. Overall, both guided and unguided iCBT were associated with more effectiveness as measured by PHQ-9 scores than control treatments over the short term and the long term. Guided iCBT was associated with more effectiveness than unguided iCBT (mean difference [MD] in posttreatment PHQ-9 scores, -0.8; 95% CI, -1.4 to -0.2), but we found no evidence of a difference at 6 or 12 months following randomization. Baseline depression was found to be the most important modifier of the relative association for efficacy of guided vs unguided iCBT. Differences between unguided and guided iCBT in people with baseline symptoms of subthreshold depression (PHQ-9 scores 5-9) were small, while guided iCBT was associated with overall better outcomes in patients with baseline PHQ-9 greater than 9. Conclusions and Relevance: In this network meta-analysis with IPD, guided iCBT was associated with more effectiveness than unguided iCBT for individuals with depression, benefits were more substantial in individuals with moderate to severe depression. Unguided iCBT was associated with similar effectiveness among individuals with symptoms of mild/subthreshold depression. Personalized treatment selection is entirely possible and necessary to ensure the best allocation of treatment resources for depression.

Tapering Antidepressants While Receiving Digital Preventive Cognitive Therapy During Pregnancy: An Experience Sampling Methodology Trial.

Background: Previous studies indicated that affect fluctuations, the use of antidepressant medication (ADM), as well as depression during pregnancy might have adverse effects on offspring outcomes. The aim of the current proof-of-principle study is to explore the effect of tapering ADM while receiving online preventive cognitive therapy (PCT) on pregnant women and the offspring as compared to pregnant women continuing ADM. Objectives: We sought to compare positive and negative affect fluctuations in pregnant women receiving online PCT while tapering ADM vs. pregnant women continuing ADM, and to investigate if affect fluctuations in early pregnancy were related to offspring birth weight. Method: An experience sampling methodology (ESM)-trial ran alongside a Dutch randomized controlled trial (RCT) and prospective observational cohort of women using ADM at the start of pregnancy. In the ESM-trial fluctuations of positive and negative affect were assessed in the first 8 weeks after inclusion. Recurrences of depression were assessed up to 12 weeks post-partum, and birth records were used to assess offspring birth weight. The RCT has been registered at the Netherlands Trial Register (NTR4694, https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/4551). Results: In total, 19 pregnant women using ADM at start of their pregnancy participated in the ESM-trial. There were no significant differences in positive and negative affect fluctuations, nor recurrence rates between women receiving PCT while tapering ADM vs. women continuing ADM. We found no association between affect fluctuations, pre-natal depressive symptoms, and birth weight (all p > 0.05). Conclusion: This explorative study showed that tapering ADM while receiving online PCT may protect pregnant women against recurrences of depression and affect fluctuations, without affecting birth weight. There is a high need for more controlled studies focusing on tapering ADM with (online) psychological interventions during pregnancy.

Psychological interventions for depression in Chinese university students: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: University students in China are vulnerable to depression with a high estimated prevalence. It is currently unknown which types of psychological interventions are being delivered to treat depression in this population and whether they are effective. Therefore, a systematic review was conducted to address this issue. METHODS: We searched records in English and Chinese databases up to January 2019. RESULTS: From 2,739 records, we identified 39 randomized controlled trails (RCTs) and 54 non-RCTs. A range of psychological interventions were identified including cognitive behaviour therapy, interpersonal therapy, and local interventions. Hedge's g pooled effect size of 23 comparisons from 21 RCTs (N =858) compared to a control group (N = 802) was 1.08 (95% CI: 0.72 to 1.45). Heterogeneity was moderate with I2 = 47 (95%CI: 14 to 68). Type of control group was significantly associated with the effect size (p =0.039). Comparisons between the intervention condition and the 'no intervention' condition yielded a higher effect size (Hedges' g =1.38, 95% CI: 0.89 to 1.87) than comparisons between the intervention condition and the 'usual care/control' condition (Hedges' g = 0.56, 95% CI 0.08 to 1.05). No other significant differences based on the study characteristics were observed. LIMITATIONS: Publication bias and quality of inclusions. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, there is evidence that psychological interventions for depression in Chinese university students are effective as compared to control groups, although the effects merit further examination by research of higher quality. Innovations in treatment delivery could facilitate wider dissemination of evidence-based interventions.

Psychological theories of depressive relapse and recurrence: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies.

Psychological factors hypothesized to account for relapse of major depressive disorder (MDD) roughly originate from five main theories: Cognitive, diathesis-stress, behavioural, psychodynamic, and personality-based. In a meta-analysis we investigated prospective, longitudinal evidence for these leading psychological theories and their factors in relation to depressive relapse. Included studies needed to establish history of MDD and prospective depressive relapse through a clinical interview, have a longitudinal and prospective design, and measure at least one theory-derived factor before relapse. We identified 66 eligible articles out of 43,586 records published up to November 2018. Pooled odds ratios (OR) indicated a significant relationship between the cognitive, behavioural, and personality-based theories and depressive relapse (cognitive: k = 17, OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.10-1.40; behavioural, k = 8, OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.05-1.25; personality: k = 12, OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.02-1.54), but not for the psychodynamic theories (k = 4, OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 0.83-1.99). Pooled hazard ratios of the theories were not significant. There were no articles identified for the diathesis-stress theories. To conclude, there is a restricted number of prospective studies, and some evidence that the cognitive, behavioural, and personality-based theories indeed partially account for depressive relapse.

Fifteen Years Controlling Unwanted Thoughts: A Systematic Review of the Thought Control Ability Questionnaire (TCAQ).

Thought control ability is a vulnerability factor implicated in the etiology and maintenance of emotional disorders. This manuscript aims to systematically review the use and psychometric performance of the Thought Control Ability Questionnaire (TCAQ), designed to assess people's ability to control unwanted thoughts. Three electronic databases were searched for papers administering the TCAQ published in indexed peer-reviewed journals. Data (participants characteristics, country, study design, etc.) were extracted from the results for qualitative synthesis. The TCAQ's content validity, dimensionality, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent/divergent validity, floor/ceiling effects, and interpretability were summarized. Two reviewers independently screened articles and assessed quality taking COSMIN criteria into account. Finally, the review included 17 papers. The TCAQ has been administered to healthy individuals, students, and adult patients, in six languages from nine countries. We found that the TCAQ, and its shorter versions, demonstrate robust reliability and adequate content validity. Of interest is the TCAQ's capacity to predict performance in diverse experimental tasks focused on thought control. The TCAQ unidimensionality has been supported in exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Regarding construct validity, the TCAQ is significantly related to a wide range of psychopathological measures of anxiety, worry, depression, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, etc. However, as only a few of the included studies had a longitudinal design, we are unable to draw firm conclusions about the measure's temporal stability. Moreover, psychometric aspects such as factorial invariance across different samples have not been analyzed. Despite these limitations, based on available psychometric evidence we can recommend using the TCAQ for measuring perceived control of unwanted thoughts.

Reducing behavioral avoidance with internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy for generalized anxiety disorder.

Recent research has sought to identify maladaptive behaviors that are associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Although maladaptive behaviors may contribute to the maintenance of the disorder, little is known about how these behaviors change during the course of cognitive behavior therapy and whether such changes relate to treatment outcomes. This study examined changes in maladaptive behaviors, symptoms of GAD and depression, and disability across internet-based cognitive behavior therapy (iCBT) for GAD in two large clinical samples (N = 206 and 298). Assessments were completed at pre and post-treatment. Significant reductions in patients' maladaptive behaviors (WBI), GAD and depression severity (GAD-7 and PHQ-9), and disability (WHODAS-II) were observed following iCBT. Reductions in maladaptive behaviors predicted post-treatment GAD symptom severity after controlling for pre-treatment GAD symptom severity and reductions in depression and disability. Findings provide further support for the importance of maladaptive behaviors in contemporary conceptualizations of GAD and highlight the need for experimental investigations to examine the possible causal relationships between maladaptive behaviors and GAD.

Recurrence of depression in the perinatal period: Clinical features and associated vulnerability markers in an observational cohort.

OBJECTIVE: Antidepressant medication is commonly used for the prevention of depression recurrence in the perinatal period, yet it is unknown what vulnerability markers may play a role in recurrence. The objective of the current study was to provide a descriptive overview of the associated characteristics of women who experienced a perinatal recurrence of depression despite ongoing antidepressant use, and further, to identify clinically measurable vulnerability markers associated with recurrence. METHODS: Eighty-five pregnant women with a history of depression who used antidepressants (e.g. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors) at the start of the study were included. Clinical features, including information on psychiatric history and antidepressant use, were collected throughout the perinatal period (in this study defined as the period between 12 weeks of pregnancy untill three months postpartum). The clinical features of women experiencing recurrence of depression were described in detail. To identify vulnerability markers associated with recurrence of depression, we performed exploratory univariable logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Eight women (9.4%) experienced a recurrence of depression; two during pregnancy and six in the first 12 weeks postpartum. All women with recurrence of depression had first onset of depression during childhood or adolescence and had at least 2 psychiatric co-morbidities. Identification of vulnerability markers associated with recurrence of depression yielded associations with depressive symptoms around 16 weeks of pregnancy (OR 1.28, 95%CI 1.08-1.52), number of psychiatric co-morbidities (OR 1.89, 95%CI 1.16-3.09) and duration of antidepressant use (OR 1.01, 95%CI 1.00-1.02). CONCLUSION: Implementing adequate risk assessment in pregnant women who use antidepressants can help identify predictors for recurrence of depression in future studies and thus ultimately lead to improved care.

Dysfunctional attitudes or extreme response style as predictors of depressive relapse and recurrence after mobile cognitive therapy for recurrent depression.

BACKGROUND: According to previous research, dysfunctional attitudes and/or scoring extreme on the end-point anchors of questionnaires of dysfunctional thinking predict depressive relapse/recurrence. Evidence that these two methods represent a risk for depressive relapse/recurrence is however mixed, due to differential or poorly defined concepts. The current study aimed to test the two methods. METHODS: Remitted recurrently depressed patients with low residual depressive symptoms (N = 264) were recruited as part of a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of mobile Cognitive Therapy for recurrent depression versus treatment as usual. In the current secondary analysis, Cox regression models were conducted to test dysfunctional attitudes and extreme responding variables (assessed on the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale [DAS]) as predictors of depressive relapse/recurrence within two years after randomization. RESULTS: Data from 255 participants were analyzed. Results showed that DAS total scores at baseline significantly predicted depressive relapse/recurrence (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 1.01, p = .042). An index that reflects endorsement of habitual relative to functional responses was a significant predictor of depressive relapse/recurrence (HR = 2.11, p = .029). LIMITATIONS: The current study employed a single measure to identify extreme responses and dysfunctional attitudes. Secondly, various statistical analyses were performed without correcting for multiple testing, which in turn increased the likelihood to finding significant results. CONCLUSIONS: Current study confirmed both methods: People who scored higher on the DAS or had relatively more habitual than functional responses on the extreme positive ends of the DAS had a decreased time to depressive relapse/recurrence.

Offspring outcomes after prenatal interventions for common mental disorders: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: It is presumed that pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment of prenatal common mental disorders can mitigate associated adverse effects in offspring, yet strong evidence for the prophylactic benefits of treatment is lacking. We therefore examined the effect of prenatal treatments for common mental disorders on offspring outcomes. METHODS: For this meta-analysis, articles published up to August 31, 2017, were obtained from PubMed, PsycInfo, Embase, and Cochrane databases. Included studies needed to be randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effect of treatment of prenatal common mental disorders comparing an intervention to a control condition, including offspring outcome(s). Random effects models were used to calculate Hedges' g in the program Comprehensive Meta-Analysis© (version 3.0). RESULTS: Sixteen randomized controlled trials among 2778 pregnant women compared offspring outcomes between prenatal interventions and control groups. There were zero pharmacological, 13 psychological, and three other interventions (homeopathy, relaxation interventions, and short psycho-education). Birth weight (mean difference 42.88 g, g = 0.08, 95% CI -0.06 to 0.22, p = 0.27, n = 11), Apgar scores (g = 0.13, 95% CI -0.28 to 0.54, p = 0.53, n = 4), and gestational age (g = 0.03, 95% CI -0.06 to 0.54, p = 0.49, n = 10) were not significantly affected. Other offspring outcomes could not be meta-analyzed due to the inconsistent reporting of offspring outcomes and an insufficient number of studies. CONCLUSIONS: Non-pharmacological interventions had no significant effect on birth outcomes, although this outcome should be considered with caution due to the risk of biases. No randomized controlled trial examined the effects of prenatal pharmacological treatments as compared to treatment as usual for common mental disorders on offspring outcomes. Present clinical guidelines may require more research evidence on offspring outcomes, including child development, in order to warrant the current recommendation to routinely screen and subsequently treat prenatal common mental disorders. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42016047190.

Do guided internet-based interventions result in clinically relevant changes for patients with depression? An individual participant data meta-analysis.

Little is known about clinically relevant changes in guided Internet-based interventions for depression. Moreover, methodological and power limitations preclude the identification of patients' groups that may benefit more from these interventions. This study aimed to investigate response rates, remission rates, and their moderators in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effect of guided Internet-based interventions for adult depression to control groups using an individual patient data meta-analysis approach. Literature searches in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and Cochrane Library resulted in 13,384 abstracts from database inception to January 1, 2016. Twenty-four RCTs (4889 participants) comparing a guided Internet-based intervention with a control group contributed data to the analysis. Missing data were multiply imputed. To examine treatment outcome on response and remission, mixed-effects models with participants nested within studies were used. Response and remission rates were calculated using the Reliable Change Index. The intervention group obtained significantly higher response rates (OR = 2.49, 95% CI 2.17-2.85) and remission rates compared to controls (OR = 2.41, 95% CI 2.07-2.79). The moderator analysis indicated that older participants (OR = 1.01) and native-born participants (1.66) were more likely to respond to treatment compared to younger participants and ethnic minorities respectively. Age (OR = 1.01) and ethnicity (1.73) also moderated the effects of treatment on remission.Moreover, adults with more severe depressive symptoms at baseline were more likely to remit after receiving internet-based treatment (OR = 1.19). Guided Internet-based interventions lead to substantial positive treatment effects on treatment response and remission at post-treatment. Thus, such interventions may complement existing services for depression and potentially reduce the gap between the need and provision of evidence-based treatments.

Maladaptive Behaviours Associated with Generalized Anxiety Disorder: An Item Response Theory Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive models of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) suggest that maladaptive behaviours may contribute to the maintenance of the disorder; however, little research has concentrated on identifying and measuring these behaviours. To address this gap, the Worry Behaviors Inventory (WBI) was developed and has been evaluated within a classical test theory (CTT) approach. AIMS: As CTT is limited in several important respects, this study examined the psychometric properties of the WBI using an Item Response Theory approach. METHOD: A large sample of adults commencing treatment for their symptoms of GAD (n = 537) completed the WBI in addition to measures of GAD and depression symptom severity. RESULTS: Patients with a probable diagnosis of GAD typically engaged in four or five maladaptive behaviours most or all of the time in an attempt to prevent, control or avoid worrying about everyday concerns. The two-factor structure of the WBI was confirmed, and the WBI scales demonstrated good reliability across a broad range of the respective scales. Together with previous findings, our results suggested that hypervigilance and checking behaviours, as well as avoidance of saying or doing things that are worrisome, were the most relevant maladaptive behaviours associated with GAD, and discriminated well between adults with low, moderate and high degrees of the respective WBI scales. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the importance of maladaptive behaviours to GAD and the utility of the WBI to index these behaviours. Ramifications for the classification, theoretical conceptualization and treatment of GAD are discussed.

Internet Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Depression in Older Adults With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of an internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (iCBT) program for depression in older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee and comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled trial in 69 adults (ages ≥50 years) meeting criteria for MDD and OA of the knee with 1-week postintervention (week 11) and 3-month followup (week 24) end points. Patients were allocated to either a 10-week iCBT program for depression added to treatment as usual (TAU) or to a TAU control group. Primary outcomes were depression symptoms (9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9]) and psychological distress (Kessler-10 [K-10]). Secondary outcomes included arthritis self-efficacy (Arthritis Self-Efficacy Scale [ASES]), OA pain, stiffness, physical function (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index [WOMAC]), and physical and mental health (Short Form 12-Item health survey physical component and mental component summaries). Depression status was assessed by blinded diagnostic interview (the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview) at intake and followup. RESULTS: Intent-to-treat analyses indicated between-group superiority of iCBT over TAU on the primary outcomes (PHQ-9: Hedges g = 1.01, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.47, 1.54; K-10: Hedges g = 0.75, 95% CI 0.23, 1.28), at postintervention and 3-month followup (PHQ-9: Hedges g = 0.90, 95% CI 0.36, 1.44; K-10: Hedges g = 0.94, 95% CI 0.41, 1.48), and on secondary OA-specific measures (ASES: Hedges g = -0.81, 95% CI -0.29, -1.33; WOMAC: Hedges g = 0.56-0.65, 95% CI 0.04, 1.18) at the 3-month followup. The majority of iCBT participants (84%) no longer met diagnostic criteria at 3-month followup. CONCLUSION: Results support the efficacy of an iCBT program (requiring no face-to-face contact) for depression in individuals with comorbid depression and OA of the knee. Importantly, the benefits of the program extended beyond reduced depressive symptoms and distress to include increased self-efficacy and improved pain, stiffness, and physical function at followup.

Image reprocessing via wearable cameras: effects on memory recall and rumination after a social-stress task.

BACKGROUND: Video feedback has been used in the context of social anxiety disorder (SAD) to help modify individuals' perceptions about performance during exposure tasks. A novel way to capture both the observer and field perspective is through the use of wearable cameras. Compared to video feedback, which only provides information from the observer perspective and hence addresses concerns regarding the individual's own performance, field/first-person image capture has the advantage that it can direct attention to external information during social situations. We aimed to develop a paradigm to capture both field and observer perspective images generated during a social stress task, to manipulate the mode of memory re-processing, and to evaluate the impact on state anxiety, memory recall, and negative post-event processing. METHOD: A total of 46 participants (22 males and 24 females) with a mean age of 24.30 (SD =8.86) performed a 3-minute speech in front of a pre-recorded audience, after which they reviewed images taken during the speech task either from a field or observer perspective, or mentally reviewed the task or were assigned to the control condition. Twenty-four hours after the speech, they completed follow-up measures of memory recall and ruminative post-event processing. RESULTS: Participants in the field perspective condition recalled more factual memories of the speech task compared to those in the mental review and control conditions. Observer perspective re-processing (akin to video feedback review) was associated with higher post-event processing at 24-hour follow-up relative to control, but only for the negative Self subscale. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that wearable cameras can facilitate recall of corrective information during exposure-based tasks and could be integrated into behavioural experiments for SAD. Ethical consideration and future direction are discussed.

Psychometric Properties of the Worry Behaviors Inventory: Replication and Extension in a Large Clinical and Community Sample.

BACKGROUND: The use of maladaptive behaviors by individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is theoretically important and clinically meaningful. However, little is known about the specificity of avoidant behaviors to GAD and how these behaviors can be reliably assessed. AIMS: This study replicated and extended the psychometric evaluation of the Worry Behaviors Inventory (WBI), a brief self-report measure of avoidant behaviors associated with GAD. METHOD: The WBI was administered to a hospital-based sample of adults seeking treatment for symptoms of anxiety and/or depression (n = 639) and to a community sample (n = 55). Participants completed measures of symptom severity (GAD, depression, panic disorder, health anxiety, and personality disorder), and measures of checking, reassurance-seeking and behavioral inhibition. Analyses evaluated the factor structure, convergent, divergent, incremental, and discriminant validity, as well the temporal stability and treatment sensitivity of the WBI. RESULTS: The two-factor structure found in the preliminary psychometric evaluation of the WBI was replicated. The WBI was sensitive to changes across treatment and correlated well with measures of GAD symptom severity and maladaptive behaviors. The WBI was more strongly related to GAD symptom severity than other disorders. The WBI discriminated between clinical and community samples. CONCLUSIONS: The WBI provides clinicians and researchers with a brief, clinically meaningful index of problematic behaviors that may guide treatment decisions and contribute to our understanding of maintaining factors in GAD.

The Use of User-Centered Participatory Design in Serious Games for Anxiety and Depression.

There is increasing interest in using serious games to deliver or complement healthcare interventions for mental health, particularly for the most common mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Initial results seem promising, yet variations exist in the effectiveness of serious games, highlighting the importance of understanding optimal design features. It has been suggested that the involvement of end-users in the design and decision-making process could influence game effectiveness. In user-centered design (UCD) or participatory design (PD), users are involved in stages of the process, including planning, designing, implementing, and testing the serious game. To the authors' knowledge, no literature review to date has assessed the use of UCD/PD in games that are designed for mental health, specifically for anxiety or depression. The aim of this review is, therefore, to document the extent to which published studies of serious games that are designed to prevent or treat anxiety and depression have adopted a PD framework. A search of keywords in PubMed and PsychINFO databases through to December 2016 was conducted. We identified 20 serious games developed to prevent, treat or complement existing therapies for anxiety and/or depression. Half (N = 10; 50%) of these games were developed with input from the intended end-users, in either informant (N = 7; 70%) or full participatory co-design roles (N = 3; 30%). Less than half of games (45%) included users only in the testing phase.

Distrust of the senses and its association with obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Leading cognitive theories of OCD suggests that despite prevalent and persistent doubt, individuals with OCD do not have perceptual deficits. An alternate cognitive theory, the Seeking Proxies for Internal States hypothesis (SPIS), proposes that sensory distrust in OCD stems from actual deficits in accessing internal states. Consistent with the SPIS, previous research has found that high-OC individuals were less accurate than low-OC individuals in producing target levels of muscle tension in a biofeedback task and that OC symptoms were positively associated with reliance on an external proxy. METHODS: The current study aimed to replicate and extend the SPIS hypothesis in two experiments using a modified version of the biofeedback-aided muscle tensing task using grip strength as the sensory input and a distance perception task. We contrasted the performance of undergraduate students self-reporting high- and low-OC symptoms. RESULTS: Overall, our findings failed to substantially support the SPIS hypothesis such that OC symptoms were not associated with deficient access to internal states of grip strength and distance perception or increased reliance on feedback. LIMITATIONS: As this study was conducted in a non-clinical sample, we were unable to generalise our findings to a clinical population. CONCLUSIONS: Findings are commensurate with the wider OCD literature suggesting the absence of cognitive and perceptual deficits in OCD individuals.

Help from home for depression: A randomised controlled trial comparing internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy with bibliotherapy for depression.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of the Global Burden of Disease. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for MDD, but access can be impaired due to numerous barriers. Internet-delivered CBT (iCBT) can be utilised to overcome treatment barriers and is an effective treatment for depression, but has never been compared to bibliotherapy. This Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) included participants meeting diagnostic criteria for MDD (n = 270) being randomised to either: iCBT (n = 61), a CBT self-help book (bCBT) (n = 77), a meditation self-help book (bMED) (n = 64) or wait-list control (WLC) (n = 68). The primary outcome was the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item scale (PHQ-9) at 12-weeks (post-treatment). All three active interventions were significantly more effective than WLC in reducing depression at post-treatment, but there were no significant differences between the groups. All three interventions led to large within-group reductions in PHQ-9 scores at post-treatment (g = 0.88-1.69), which were maintained at 3-month follow-up, although there was some evidence of relapse in the bMED group (within-group g [post to follow-up] = 0.09-1.04). Self-help based interventions could be beneficial in treating depression, however vigilance needs to be applied when selecting from the range of materials available. Replication of this study with a larger sample is required.

The Worry Behaviors Inventory: Assessing the behavioral avoidance associated with generalized anxiety disorder.

BACKGROUND: Understanding behavioral avoidance associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has implications for the classification, theoretical conceptualization, and clinical management of the disorder. This study describes the development and preliminary psychometric evaluation of a self-report measure of avoidant behaviors associated with GAD: the Worry Behaviors Inventory (WBI). METHODS: The WBI was administered to treatment-seeking patients (N=1201). Convergent validity was assessed by correlating the WBI with measures of GAD symptom severity. Divergent validity was assessed by correlating the WBI with measures of general disability and measures of depression, social anxiety and panic disorder symptom severity. RESULTS: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor structure (Safety Behaviors and Avoidance). Internal reliability was acceptable for the 10-item WBI scale (α=.86), Safety Behaviors (α=.85) and Avoidance subscales (α=.75). Evidence of convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity is reported. WBI subscales demonstrated differential associations with measures of symptom severity. The Safety Behaviors subscale was more strongly associated with GAD symptoms than symptoms of other disorders, whereas the Avoidance subscale was as strongly correlated with GAD severity as it was with depression, social anxiety and panic disorder severity. LIMITATIONS: Structured diagnostic interviews were not conducted therefor validity analyses are limited to probable diagnoses based on self-report. The cross-sectional design precluded examination of the WBI's temporal stability and treatment sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary evidence supports the use of the WBI in research and clinical settings and may assist clinicians to identify behaviors that are theorized to maintain GAD and that can be targeted during psychological treatment.