Studies suggest that general control deficits and elevated affect intensity in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) extend beyond memory for the index trauma. However, few researchers have pursued this possibility experimentally by examining memory for novel events. We used an experimental design to measure the frequency and characteristics of involuntary memories over time. Veterans with and without

In this report, we examined baseline affective response to binge eating as a predictor of binge-eating disorder (BED) treatment outcome. Baseline affective response was defined as (a) each individual’s average net change (i.e., area under the curve [AUC]) of positive affect (PA) or negative affect (NA) before and after binge-eating episodes and (b) slope of PA or NA after binge eating across 7 days

A recent theory posits that prediction deficits may underlie the core symptoms in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, empirical evidence for this hypothesis is minimal. Using a visual extrapolation task, we tested motion-prediction abilities in children and adolescents with and without ASD. We examined the factors known to be important for motion prediction: the central-tendency response bias

Aberrant decision-making characterizes various pediatric psychopathologies; however, deliberative choice strategies have not been investigated. A transdiagnostic sample of 95 youths completed a child-friendly sequential sampling paradigm. Participants searched for the best offer by sampling a finite list of offers. Participants’ willingness to explore was measured as the number of offers sampled, and

Our previous research with U.S. Vietnam veterans focused on war-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We used data from a clinically diagnosed subsample of 254 men from the 1986–1988 National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS). We found that one of the most important factors associated with war-related PTSD was veterans’ participation in harm to civilians and/or prisoners (13% of the

The emotional experiences of people with major depressive disorder (MDD) are characterized by emotional disturbances. We examined whether these patterns characterize people with MDD in remission. Participants included individuals who had experienced at least two major depressive episodes (remitted-MDD group; n = 80), had current MDD (current-MDD group; n = 48), or were control participants (n = 87)

Experiencing doubt in an uncertain situation has been theorized to be an antecedent of compulsive checking. However, whether and when obsessive compulsive (OC) symptoms are associated with experiencing doubt and increased checking is unclear. In this study, we investigated the relationship between OC symptoms, the experience of doubt, and checking in a tone-discrimination task. Doubt was measured using

In this study, we tested potential mediators that may explain change in depressive symptoms following exposure to a food-related behavioral activation intervention (F-BA). These included behavioral activation, avoidance and rumination, eating styles, body mass index, and dietary behavior at baseline and 3-month and 12-month follow-up. The trial used a community sample of 1,025 overweight adults with

Given the importance of the alliance in psychotherapy, nonverbal synchrony has been suggested as a promising automatic objective marker of its levels and development. Accumulating research presents mixed results regarding the association between alliance and nonverbal synchrony. In the current study, we propose that one of the reasons for the inconsistencies is that previous studies did not disentangle

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI)—deliberate self-harm without the intent to die—is a high-risk and impairing behavior associated with long-term morbidity and mortality risks. The prevalence of NSSI escalates in adolescence, indicating a sensitive developmental period for the emergence of this behavior. Neurobiological, interpersonal, and affective processes leading to NSSI have been proposed. However

Personality disorder (PD) symptoms in a parent generation may confer risk for problems in future generations, but intergenerational transmission has not been studied beyond parent–child effects. We examined the generational transfer of risk associated with PDs using structural models of grandparent personality pathology and grandchild psychopathology among 180 adults (mean age = 66.9 years), 218 of

The contrast-avoidance model (CAM) originally described emotion-regulation patterns in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), proposing that chronic worry maintains negative emotionality, thus attenuating strong shifts into negative emotion (emotional contrasts) as a result of adverse events. Rumination may function similarly in depression, although this proposal requires further research. In this study

Research suggests that individuals who are more depressed are prone to behaviors that reinforce their depressive symptoms. We performed a novel test of the self-verification perspective of this phenomenon. In two experiments, nonclinical participants completed a sham color-gazing task in which depressed people ostensibly see colors become less intense (less-intense condition) or more intense (more-intense

The motivational model of substance use posits that four motive subtypes (coping, enhancement, social, conformity) dynamically interact with contextual factors to affect decisions about substance use. Yet prior studies assessing the motivational model have relied on between-persons, cross-sectional evaluations of trait motives. We systematically reviewed studies using ecological momentary assessment

Autobiographical memory distortions are a key feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial (N = 43), we evaluated an autobiographical memory flexibility intervention, MemFlex. We aimed to determine whether the mechanism-focused intervention, which aims to improve autobiographical memory processes, may also affect other cognitive predictors of

Some clinical scientists are shifting from research on complete named therapy protocols to a more elemental approach—research on specific therapy components that contribute to therapy goals. To characterize and evaluate this emerging field, we systematically searched PsycINFO and Medline for studies evaluating therapy components. We identified 208 studies. In a scoping review, we map, explain, and

Depression is associated with reduced flexibility in emotion regulation (ER). Diversity in the use of ER strategies is crucial for ER flexibility. In this study, we examined associations between depression and ER diversity and proposed a novel measure: the ER diversity index. Currently depressed (n = 58), remitted depressed (n = 65), and healthy control participants (n = 55) rated their use of nine

Recent work has begun to examine the link between motivation for specific emotions and psychopathology. Yet research on this topic to date has focused primarily on depression. To understand patterns of motivation for emotions within and across affective disorders, we assessed motivation for emotions in adults at increased risk for and diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD). We focused on motivation for

Previous studies suggest that cognitive control training (CCT) shows potential as a preventive intervention for depression. In this study, the first to examine long-term preventive effects of CCT, we examined effects on (a) task-specific cognitive transfer at 1-year follow-up, (b) recurrence of depression, and (c) functioning over the course of a year. Each of 92 remitted depressed patients were randomly

Exposure to stressful life events is strongly associated with internalizing psychopathology, and identifying factors that reduce vulnerability to stress-related internalizing problems is critical for development of early interventions. Drawing on research from affective science, we tested whether high emotion differentiation—the ability to specifically identify one’s feelings—buffers adolescents from

Symptoms are vital representations of human disorders, are key to understanding disorders, and may be the focus of specific therapeutic efforts. Symptoms are imperfect, and there are many influences on how they are described and understood. Are they hand servants of diagnosis or important in their own right? The answer seems to be both, but diagnosis is typically the way in which communication about

There is no consensus on whether burnout constitutes a depressive condition or an original entity requiring specific medical and legal recognition. In this study, we examined burnout–depression overlap using 14 samples of individuals from various countries and occupational domains (N = 12,417). Meta-analytically pooled disattenuated correlations indicated (a) that exhaustion—burnout’s core—is more

Increased attention to threat is considered a core feature of anxiety. However, there are multiple mechanisms of attention and multiple types of threat, and the relationships among attention, threat, and anxiety are poorly understood. In the present study, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to separately isolate attentional selection (N2pc) and suppression (PD) of pictorial threats (photos of

In this multisite study, we examined whether aggressive cognitions and facial displays of negative affect and anger experienced during provocation mediated the association between alcohol intoxication and intimate-partner aggression (IPA). Participants were 249 heavy drinkers (148 men, 101 women) with a recent history of IPA perpetration. Participants were randomly assigned to an alcohol or no-alcohol

Caregiving for a person with dementia or neurodegenerative disease is associated with increased rates of depression and anxiety. As the population ages and dementia prevalence increases worldwide, mental health problems related to dementia caregiving will become an even more pressing public health concern. In the present study, we assessed emotional empathy (physiological, behavioral, and self-reported

Physically aggressive individuals are more likely to decide that others are threatening. Yet no research has examined how physically aggressive individuals’ social decisions unfold in real time. Seventy-five incarcerated men completed a task in which they identified the emotions in faces displaying anger (i.e., threat) and happiness (i.e., nonthreat) at low, moderate, or high ambiguity. Participants

In this article, we examine how symptoms are conceptualized in theories of psychopathology. We identify five questions that need to be asked about symptoms, including what kind of constructs they are, how we should describe them, and what causal explanations they support. We then examine how three different theoretical frameworks address these questions: the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical

There is consistent evidence from cross-sectional studies that smoking is positively associated with mental disorders. The research on the prospective association, however, is inconsistent. In the present study, we aimed to further increase the knowledge of this association by addressing several issues in the body of research. Data used were from a nationally representative, population-based cohort

Suicide rates among military-connected populations have increased over the past 15 years. Meta-analytic studies indicate prediction of suicide outcomes is lacking. Machine-learning approaches have been promoted to enhance classification models for suicide-related outcomes. In the present study, we compared the performance of three primary machine-learning approaches (i.e., elastic net, random forests

We examined longitudinal associations of resting heart rate (RHR) and general intelligence (IQ) with two psychopathology models (correlated factors and general factor model). RHR and IQ were measured during conscription (mean age = 18.23 years; N = 899,398 Swedish males). A correlated factors model of register-based outcomes (including 10 psychiatric diagnoses, criminal convictions, and prescription

In our original article (this issue, p. ♦♦♦), we argued that focusing research on individual symptoms of psychopathology might provide valuable information about their underlying nature and result in better classification systems, explanations, and treatment. To this end, we formulated five core questions that were intended to guide subsequent research and symptom conceptualizations in the psychopathology

There is concern that the COVID-19 pandemic may cause increased risk of suicide. In the current study, we tested whether suicidal thinking has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether such thinking was predicted by increased feelings of social isolation. In a sample of 55 individuals recently hospitalized for suicidal thinking or behaviors and participating in a 6-month intensive longitudinal

The therapeutic alliance has been reliably associated with outcome across psychotherapies. We investigated the alliance–outcome relationship in the early sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy of depression using a model that disaggregates within- and between-persons variance while estimating the reciprocal relation between variables. We used this model in a combined data set from two studies totaling

Understanding longitudinal associations between problematic peer relations and psychopathology is needed to inform public health. Three models have been proposed: Poor peer relations (a) lead or are a risk factor for psychopathology, (b) lag or are a consequence of psychopathology, or (c) both lead and lag psychopathology. Another model is that poor peer relations lead or lag psychopathology depending

Wilshire, Ward, and Clark (this issue, p. ♦♦♦) critiqued the classification of psychopathology in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, offering as an alternative a “Cambridge model” that focuses on symptoms rather than syndromes. They compared their model with additional alternatives, such as the Research Domain Criteria, the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology, and network

In this epidemiological investigation, we assessed the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 10,061 adults participated in the study. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were 2 to 3 times higher compared with prepandemic samples. Participants who predominantly socially distanced themselves revealed substantially higher symptoms than their counterparts

Mental disorders may be best represented by dimensional constructs that span traditional diagnostic boundaries. There is evidence that empirically derived dimensional phenotypes improve nosology and etiological research, but less is known about their clinical utility. We compared dimensional and categorical representations of anxiety and depression as predictors of response to psychological treatment

In this study, we evaluated the variation on stress reactions in Italian adolescents during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic as related to national diffusion of the outbreak, demographic characteristics, and personal experiences related to COVID-19. An online survey was disseminated from April 1 to April 5, 2020. The sample was composed of 5,295 Italian adolescents (75.2% females; mean age = 16.67

Relatively little is known about the links between the events and emotions experienced in daily life and long-term outcomes among people diagnosed with depression. Using daily diary data from the Midlife Development in the United States, we examined how positive daily life events and emotions influence long-term (10 years later) depression severity and well-being. Participants met criteria for major

Much of the knowledge about the relationships among domains of psychopathology is built on the diagnostic categories described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and relatively little research has examined the symptom-level structure of psychopathology. The aim of this study was to delineate a detailed hierarchical model of psychopathology—from individual symptoms up

In this study, we examined processes of change in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) delivered to a community sample of 81 youths. Emotional processing theory (EPT) is used as an organizational framework. EPT highlights activating and changing pathological trauma-related responses and increasing adaptive responses across cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physiological domains

We examined associations between common psychiatric disorders and fecundity in a population-based cohort of 1,252 twins prospectively assessed from adolescence into adulthood. Major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and alcohol use disorders were associated with lower likelihood of having children and having fewer children. Survival analyses yielded similar results accounting for timing and recurrence

Many models of psychopathology include a single general factor of psychopathology (GFP) or “p factor” to account for covariation across symptoms. The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study provides a rich opportunity to study the development of the GFP. However, a variety of approaches for modeling the GFP have emerged, raising questions about how modeling choices affect estimated GFP

Rapid instructed task learning (RITL) is the uniquely human ability to transform task information into goal-directed behavior without relying on trial-and-error learning. RITL is a core cognitive process supported by functional brain networks. In patients with schizophrenia, RITL ability is impaired, but the role of functional network connectivity in these RITL deficits is unknown. We investigated

Despite a consistent body of work documenting associations between racial discrimination and negative mental health outcomes, the utility and validity of these findings have recently been questioned because some authors have posited that personality traits may account for these associations. To test this hypothesis in a community sample of African Americans (n = 419, age: M = 43.96 years), we used

Reduced ability to retrieve specific autobiographical memories is a well-defined feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and science-driven interventions have emerged to improve memory specificity and thereby symptoms. However, research in depressed samples indicates that the ability to flexibly move between retrieval of specific and general memory types (i.e., memory flexibility) may more

The knowledge–practice gap remains a challenge in many fields. Health research has shown that professional networks influence various aspects of patient care, including diffusion of innovative practices. In the current study, we examined the potential utility of professional networks to spread the use of violence-risk-assessment tools in forensic psychiatric settings. A total of 6,664 reports, written

Emotion regulation flexibility has been conceptualized as a multicomponent construct that consists of context sensitivity, repertoire, and feedback responsiveness. Although individuals with greater abilities in each component show better psychological adjustment, the patterns of these components remain unknown. In two cross-sectional MTurk studies (Ns = 200 and 802), we identified four or five predominant

The human fear-conditioning paradigm is a widely used procedure to study anxiety. However, merely thinking about the aversive outcome is typically not measured in this procedure. This is surprising because thinking of an aversive event is of clinical relevance (e.g., in the form of intrusions) and theoretical interest. We present two preregistered studies that (a) included thinking of an aversive outcome

The use of machine learning is increasing in clinical psychology, yet it is unclear whether these approaches enhance the prediction of clinical outcomes. Several studies show that machine-learning algorithms outperform traditional linear models. However, many studies that have found such an advantage use the same algorithm, random forests with the optimism-corrected bootstrap, for internal validation

Because of the traditional conceptualization of delusion as “irrational belief,” cognitive models of delusions largely focus on impairments to domain-general reasoning. Nevertheless, current rationality-impairment models do not account for the fact that (a) equivalently irrational beliefs can be induced through adaptive social cognitive processes, reflecting social integration rather than impairment;

Trait impulsivity—defined by strong preference for immediate over delayed rewards and difficulties inhibiting prepotent behaviors—is observed in all externalizing disorders, including substance-use disorders. Many laboratory tasks have been developed to identify decision-making mechanisms and correlates of impulsive behavior, but convergence between task measures and self-reports of impulsivity are

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with persistent, impaired life functioning. Motivational deficits in physical and cognitive effort expenditure have not been evaluated as contributors to functional impairment in MDD. In this study, we adapted parallel measures of choices to expend physical and cognitive effort and assessed their associations with symptoms, cognition, and life functioning

More than 10% of the general population regularly experience paranoid thoughts. Persecutory delusions occur in one third of psychiatric patients in the United Kingdom and are associated with severe clinical and social impairment. Furthermore, individuals with elevated vulnerability to paranoia interpret ambiguous environmental information more negatively than those with low vulnerability, a cognitive

Original article: Tybur, J. M., Wesseldijk, L. W., and Jern, P. (2020). Genetic and environmental influences on disgust proneness, contamination sensitivity, and their covariance. Clinical Psychological Science. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/2167702620951510

Unwanted memories often enter conscious awareness when individuals confront reminders. People vary widely in their talents at suppressing such memory intrusions; however, the factors that govern suppression ability are poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that successful memory control requires sleep. Following overnight sleep or total sleep deprivation, participants attempted to suppress intrusions

Social cognition has become a major focus in psychosis research aimed at explaining heterogeneity in functional outcome and developing interventions oriented to functional recovery. However, there is still no consensus on the structure of social cognition in psychosis, and research in this area has been plagued by lack of replication. Our first goal was to replicate the factor structure of social cognition

Research indicates that a subtle shift in language—silently referring to oneself using one’s own name and non–first-person-singular pronouns (i.e., distanced self-talk)—promotes emotion regulation. Yet it remains unclear whether the efficacy of distanced self-talk depends on the intensity of the negative experience reflected on and whether the benefits extend to emotionally vulnerable individuals.

Ovarian hormones significantly influence dysregulated eating in females. However, most women do not develop appreciable disordered eating, which suggests that ovarian hormones may not affect all women equally. We examined whether individual differences in trait negative affect (NA) moderate ovarian hormone–dysregulated eating associations in 446 women who provided saliva samples for hormone measurements

Self-distancing is associated with adaptive emotion regulation (ER), thereby making it a common treatment target across psychotherapies. However, less is known about cognitive processes that facilitate self-distancing. Working memory capacity (WMC) has been associated with self-distancing and ER, although research has not directly examined WMC and spontaneous self-distancing activity. Here, we tested