The Attentional Control Scale for Children (ACS-C) is a widely used self-report questionnaire that measures attentional control in youth. Previous research examined factor-structure and validation of the ACS-C and yielded a 2-factor structure with Attentional Focusing and Attentional Shifting subscales. This study used a confirmatory factor analysis in a large, ethnically diverse sample of clinic-referred

Few consistent predictors of differential cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) outcome for anxious youth have been identified, although emerging literature points to youth reward responsiveness as a potential predictor. In a sample of youth ages 7–17 with a primary anxiety disorder (N = 136; Mage = 12.18 years, SDage = 3.12; 70 females; Caucasian n = 108, Black n = 12, Asian n = 4, Hispanic n = 5, other

The Adjustment Disorder New Module (ADNM) is a self-report instrument for assessing Adjustment disorder (AjD), but uncertainties remain in evaluating factor structure and psychometric properties of ADNM in previous studies. Three studies were conducted to examine the factor structure, psychometrics properties, and clinical utility of the 20-item version of ADNM (ADNM-20) and 4-item version (ADNM-4)

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) or the fear of anxious symptomatology, has garnered support in both adult and child samples for its predictive validity of anxiety disorders. Recent efforts to identify familial factors that predict anxiety amongst youth have identified a construct similar to AS amongst parents, but instead focused on the child rather than on the self. The overarching goal of the present study

Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is the current first-line psychological treatment for Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, substantial inter-individual variability exists in treatment outcomes, including inadequate symptom improvements, and notable refusal and attrition rates. These are driven, in part, by impracticalities in simulating intrusive thoughts within clinical settings. Virtual

The current study examined the association of OCD symptoms and OCD belief domains, for individuals engaged in Technology Supported Mindfulness training (TSM) using an EEG-based biofeedback device (called “Muse”) that permits individuals to engage in home based mindfulness meditation practices. In this randomized controlled study, treatment-seeking participants with a principal DSM-5 diagnosis of OCD

Objective Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized, in part, by physical symptoms such as muscle tension and gastrointestinal (GI) distress. To date, little research has examined how changes in psychological symptoms associated with GAD may impact physical symptoms. This study investigated if reductions in worry, anxiety, and depression precede changes in muscle tension and GI distress throughout

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is the trait propensity to react negatively to uncertainty. To date, very few studies have explored early childhood predictors of IU. The current study identifies relations between child temperament assessed at age 3 (N = 559) and IU assessed at ages 12 (N = 432) and 15 (N = 415). Temperament was assessed through both laboratory observation (Laboratory Temperament Assessment

The present study explored rape acknowledgment among 131 college women survivors of rape utilizing three subgroups: acknowledged rape, unacknowledged rape, and ambivalent acknowledgment. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters and parameters of victimization and were compared between the subgroups. Of the participants, 28.2 % were classified as ambivalent rape acknowledgment, 49.6 % as

Background One reason for the inclusion of Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) was its suspected relevance for treatment indications. We investigated whether CPTSD predicted and moderated treatment outcomes of Prolonged Exposure (PE), intensified PE (iPE) and Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation

To examine moderators of change during group-based intervention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), multilevel models were used to assess trajectories of symptom clusters in male veterans receiving trauma focused Group Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (gCBT; N = 84) or non-trauma focused Group Present Centered Therapy (gPCT; N = 91; Sloan et al., 2018). Separate models were conducted for symptom

Why do people with social anxiety disorder (SAD) engage in the use of safety behaviours? While past research has established that fears of negative self-portrayal are strongly associated with safety behaviour use in SAD, no research to date has investigated the potential role of fears of receiving compassion. Both types of fears could motivate those with SAD to engage in safety behaviours in order

Aim To compare the efficacy and acceptability of internet-delivered exposure therapy for panic disorder, to multi-component internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) that included controlled breathing, cognitive restructuring and exposure. Methods Participants with panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia, were randomized to internet-delivered exposure therapy (n = 35) or iCBT (n = 34)

Contamination-based obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is thought to develop and be maintained by excessive propensity to experience disgust, particularly in response to perceived contaminants, and dysfunctional threat appraisals pertaining to illness. The present studies attempted to integrate these lines of research by testing the degree to which contamination-based OCD is associated with individual

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an established treatment for panic disorder (PD). Remote CBT (RCBT) is becoming increasingly popular and has the potential to enhance access to this treatment. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of RCBT for PD using a meta-analytic approach. An electronic database search was used to identify relevant articles and the references of previously completed

The 11th version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11; WHO, 2018) describes two distinct trauma related disorders, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD (CPTSD). This review aims to summarise and synthesize evidence from factor analytic and mixture modelling studies that have investigated the latent structure of the International Trauma Questionnaire. A systematic

Previous research has documented that fearful individuals avoid fear-relevant cues even if they incur costs in doing so. Paradigms that were previously used to study avoidance in the lab, manipulated reward contingencies in favor of selecting either fear-relevant or neutral cues, e.g., spiders versus butterflies. We, thus, developed a paradigm where the chance of monetary gains was linked with increasing

Especially individuals with mental disorders might experience an escalation of psychopathological symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we investigated the role of anxiety, depressive, and other mental disorders for levels and longitudinal changes of COVID-19-related fear, anxiety and depressive symptoms during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. In a longitudinal observational

Objective Following exposure to events that transgress moral beliefs and expectations rooted in cultural, organizational, and group-based ethical rules, veterans can experience psychological, social, and spiritual problems referred to as Moral Injury (MI). We examined patterns of exposure to potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) among Israeli veterans as well as psychological and functional

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), collectively referred to as compulsive disorders, have typically not been included in structural research on the internalizing spectrum due to low prevalence in community samples. The current study examined the higher-order structure of anxiety, depressive and compulsive disorders among patients in a psychiatric partial hospital

Nighttime fears are highly prevalent in children and are linked to children’s distress and internalizing problems, especially childhood anxiety. Although its assessment may be critical, there is a lack of available standardized self-reports. This study aimed to describe the development and psychometric evaluation of the Nighttime Fears Scale (NFS), a new standardized self-report for assessing nighttime

Objective This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to clarify the association between social anxiety and affective (AE) and cognitive empathy (CE). Methods 1442 studies from PsycINFO, Medline, and EMBASE (inception-January 2020) were systematically reviewed. Included studies (N = 48) either predicted variance in empathy using social anxiety scores or compared empathy scores between socially anxious

Background Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) co-occur at high rates and greater disorder severity. Studies examining the contributions of specific emotion regulation (ER) processes and negative affect (NA) to PTSD and MDD co-occurrence are scarce. This study investigated a transdiagnostic understanding of the nature of PTSD and MDD co-occurrence by examining the

While research supports the role of disgust in contamination OCD, there is also an overlap with fear in motivating avoidance. The “heebie-jeebies” is an emotional response associated with fear and disgust that motivates avoidance of contact with skin-transmitted pathogens (e.g., parasites). This motivation aligns with characteristics of contamination OCD. From a screening of undergraduate students

Affective facial expressions elicit automatic approach or avoidance action tendencies, which are dysregulated in Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). However, research has not dissociated the initiation and execution phases of automatic action tendencies, which may be distinctly modulated by affective faces and SAD. In Study 1, fifty adults completed a modified Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) that characterized

The Self-Beliefs related to Social Anxiety (SBSA) scale assesses maladaptive social-evaluative beliefs, a key aspect in models of social anxiety disorder (SAD) that is frequently measured in research and clinical contexts. The SBSA has been evaluated psychometrically in student samples, but not in a large sample of individuals diagnosed with SAD. The current study tested the psychometric properties

Pandemics are associated with panic buying (PB) of groceries and other supplies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, community leaders expressed frustration and bewilderment about PB. Psychological explanatory concepts, including those from social learning theory and the concept of the behavioral immune system, along with recent research, suggests the following account of pandemic-related PB. PB arises when

Recent meta-analyses indicated differences in fear acquisition and extinction between patients with anxiety-related disorders and comparison subjects. However, these effects are small and may hold for only a subsample of patients. To investigate individual trajectories in fear acquisition and extinction across patients with anxiety-related disorders (N = 104; before treatment) and comparison subjects

The purpose of the present study was to examine, via meta-analysis, the efficacy of third wave therapies in reducing posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. A secondary aim was to identify whether treatment efficacy was moderated by treatment type, treatment duration, use of exposure, use of intent-to-treat samples, and treatment format (i.e., individual, group, both). Risk of bias was also assessed.

Introduction Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) are at elevated risk of loneliness, yet little research has examined loneliness in this population. Cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) have demonstrated efficacy in treating SAD, yet research has not examined whether they lead to reductions in loneliness. Methods This sample comprised 108

We analyzed the network structure of DSM-IV PTSD symptoms among 2,792 help-seeking Central and East African refugees in Kenya exposed to multiple, severe traumatic events and on-going stressors. To some extent, our results reproduced structures identified among clinical populations in Europe, including strong links within traditional symptom clusters, such as between avoidance of thoughts and situations

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent and burdensome condition that is typically assessed using in-depth interviews or lengthy self-report measures. Accordingly, routine screening in busy non-mental health settings is impractical, and OCD is often under- (or mis-) recognized. We evaluated an ultra-brief version of a widely used self-report measure, the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised

Exposure therapy is highly effective for anxiety-related disorders, but there is a need for enhancement. Recent trials of adjunctive neuromodulation have shown promise, warranting evaluation of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as an augmentation. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, contamination- and animal-phobic participants (N = 49) were randomized to active tDCS (1.7 mA,

Background Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health conditions. Individuals with anxiety typically seek services in primary, rather than specialty, care. While there is significant evidence supporting the efficacy and effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders, there have been no naturalistic studies reporting anxiety-specific treatment outcomes in primary

Previous research has linked certain psychological disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), to the experience of disgust and how it is interpreted/appraised. Therefore, the present study examined whether targeting primary and secondary disgust appraisals (i.e., cognitive reappraisal) in individuals with moderate to high OCD-relevant contamination fears can effectively reduce disgust

Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) is a dispositional tendency to react negatively to uncertainty. The Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale for Children (IUS-C) is designed to measure IU in children but there has been limited investigation into the psychometric properties of this scale. Using data from 227 preadolescent children and 204 parents, we examined (a) readability and whether any items were difficult

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) tend to report higher levels of disgust, but not much is known about factors that might underlie this relationship. The present study was motivated by the behavioral immune theory, which suggests that disgust has evolved as a protective reaction to potential presence of disease agents in the immediate environment. We examined the relationships between

There is considerable concern in the mental health community about the psychological consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and who may be most vulnerable. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms may be particularly sensitive to the context of the pandemic. Previous research suggests insomnia symptoms may contribute to increased OCD symptoms over time, particularly during times of stress, such

The trauma memory is a crucial feature of PTSD etiology and maintenance. Nonetheless, the nature of memories associated with childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) requires explication. The present study, as part of a larger project on psychological outcomes of childbirth, utilized a multi-method approach to characterize childbirth memories in relation to CB-PTSD symptoms. We here

Given that first responders experience elevated rates of posttraumatic stress disorder and suicide, there is a need for evidence-based assessments and treatments to accurately assess, diagnose, and evaluate treatment outcome. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) in a sample of 133 firefighters/emergency medical technicians

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted global measures to prevent infection. Experts assume that it is particularly affecting people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), especially those with washing compulsions. Data, however, are currently lacking. 394 participants with OCD (n = 223 washers) participated in an online survey. Change in severity of OCD symptoms, reasons participants reported for the

Mobile applications are increasingly part of mental health programs and various apps have been developed for treating anxiety disorders. Typically, they aim to improve anxiety symptoms via established CBT techniques, such as exposure principles, which are considered extremely unpleasant for fearful individuals. We combined in a mobile application exposure principles with gamification elements (e.g

The outbreak of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was a great threat to the physical and mental health of the general population. Our research aimed to investigate the relationship between perceived stress and emotional distress during the initial outbreak. Furthermore, potential risks and protective factors, i.e., coping and boredom proneness, of stress-related emotional distress were also explored

Mindfulness-based interventions have gained extensive support for their application in the treatment of anxiety. However, their mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Excessive reactivity to uncertainty plays a central role in anxiety, and may represent a mechanism for the effect of mindfulness on anxiety, as mindfulness training fosters an open and accepting stance towards all aspects of experience

Introduction PTSD sufferers often have problems with remembering the past, but do they also have trouble remembering tasks to be completed in the future? We argue characteristics of PTSD—such as negative appraisals and maladaptive strategies—might contribute to biased reporting of prospective memory failures among PTSD sufferers—or people with severe PTSD symptoms—within a general population. Methods

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has broadly increased anxiety and changed individual behavior. However, there is limited research examining predictors of pandemic-related changes, and the majority of existing research is cross-sectional in nature, which limits causal inference. Given functional links with disease avoidance processes, individual differences in contamination fear may be especially

Growing network approach analyses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have enhanced the knowledge of PTSD symptomatology. This study aims to explore changes in network patterns of PTSD symptoms among youth survivors following the Zhouqu debris flow through a network approach. A two-year longitudinal study was conducted to follow 1460 children and adolescents at 3, 15, and 27 months after the disaster

The aim of this study was to assess the available evidence on potential moderators of psychological and psychoeducational interventions for the prevention of anxiety. A systematic review using PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Embase, OpenGrey, and CENTRAL was performed up to October 2019. Two independent researchers assessed the fulfillment of eligibility criteria, extracted the data and performed

Inhibition plays a crucial role in reducing intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors, such as handwashing, in response to the feeling of disgust. The current study examines whether manipulating arousal can facilitate inhibition and the resistance of compulsive cleansing. Forty-seven participants with high contamination fears were recruited for this study. Participants were divided into a caffeine

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) has been linked to maladaptive forms of fear regulation, including flexibly distinguishing between learned threat and safety signals. Few studies have examined this in young, unmedicated SAD patients, including its neural basis. We aimed to characterize the neural, subjective, and autonomic correlates of reversal learning in patients with SAD and compare them to matched

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Behavioural Activation Therapy (BA) were used to treat individuals with comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Fifty-two individuals (48 women, 4 men) were randomized to CPT alone (n = 18), CPT then BA for MDD (n = 17), or BA then CPT (n = 17). Presenting trauma was primarily interpersonal (87 %). Participants were assessed

Background Many psychological factors play a role in the COVID-19 pandemic, including various forms of worry, avoidance, and coping. Adding to the complexity, some people believe the threat of COVID-19 is exaggerated. We used network analysis to investigate how these diverse elements are interrelated. Methods A population-representative sample of 3,075 American and Canadian adults completed an online

To optimise the effects of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders, research has increasingly focussed on understanding mechanisms of change. Specifically, the therapeutic relationship has been identified as a potential “active ingredient” of therapy. The evidence for the effects of eleven elements of the therapeutic relationship (alliance, collaboration, goal consensus, group cohesion

Background Anxiety disorders are the most common childhood-onset psychiatric disorders and are extensively associated with child functional impairment. Data suggest that family accommodation plays a role in the association between anxiety severity and functional impairment in children, but more empirical evidence is needed. Methods Participants were 425 clinically anxious children (ages 6–17 years)

Background Revealing the dynamic interplay between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters has always been an important topic in traumatic stress studies. Based on longitudinal studies, different hypotheses have been proposed to explain PTSD symptom dynamics. But currently, no study have been conducted to test these hypotheses in children and adolescents. Methods Data were derived from

Individuals may drink or use cannabis to cope with social anxiety, and drinking or using cannabis prior to social situations (e.g., pregaming) may be a way to limit the experience of anxiety when entering social settings. However, theoretical and empirical work has reported mixed associations between social anxiety and substance use, specifically alcohol and cannabis. Little work has looked at how

Background Poor mental health literacy and greater alignment with norms of hegemonic masculinity are established barriers to mental health help-seeking in men. However, little is known about how these variables influence adolescent male help-seeking and in particular, help-seeking for anxiety disorders. This study investigated the relationship between i) anxiety mental health literacy, ii) alignment

Background Aerobic exercise (AE) demonstrated an overall medium treatment effect in anxiety disorders (AD) but there is evidence for an “intensity-response” relationship. High intensity interval training (HIIT) was highly effective on a range of (mental) health parameters. However, so far no randomised-controlled trial (RCT) investigated the efficacy of HIIT in AD. Methods 33 patients with generalized

Although health anxiety and corresponding safety behaviors can facilitate disease transmission avoidance, they can be maladaptive in excess, including during the coronavirus pandemic. Disgust proneness (i.e., tendency to experience and be sensitive to disgust) is one factor that may predict elevated coronavirus anxiety and safety behaviors during the pandemic, given the role of disgust in avoiding