The value of suppressor effects in explicating the construct validity of symptom measures

Individual Differences in the Contents and Form of Present-Moment Awareness: The Multidimensional Awareness Scale

Decentering, a detached, observer perspective on one's mental activity, is an important concept for understanding mental health. Meta-awareness, people's awareness of their own current mental activity, is thought to facilitate decentering. However, trait measures of these concepts are not available or have validity concerns. We sought to create a theoretically derived measure of meta-awareness and decentering that allowed an exploration of questions in the literature regarding whether there are multiple forms of decentered awareness and whether meta-awareness and external awareness are distinct. Across six samples and 2,480 participants, we developed the 25-item Multidimensional Awareness Scale, with subscales assessing meta-awareness (present moment awareness of mental activity), decentered awareness (meta-awareness from a psychologically distant perspective), and external awareness (present moment awareness of the world outside of oneself). The scales demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity. Results are discussed in terms of the conceptual implications of the scale structure and its potential uses.

Predicting Recovery in Individuals With Serious Mental Illness: Expanding the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) Framework

People with psychiatric disabilities experience significant impairment in fulfilling major life roles due to the severity of their mental illness. Recovery for people with serious mental illness (SMI) can be a long, arduous process, impacted by various biological, functional, sociological, and psychological factors which can present as barriers and/or facilitators. The purposes of this study were to: (a) investigate the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) framework’s ability to predict recovery in adults with SMI and (b) determine to what extent the ICF constructs in the empirical model explain the variance in recovery. Participants ( N = 192) completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and various measures representing all predictor and outcome variables. Results from hierarchical regression analysis with six sets of predictors entered sequentially (1 = personal factors-demographics, 2 = body functions-mental, 3 = activity-capacity, 4 = environmental factors, 5 = personal factors-characteristics, and 6 = participation-performance) accounted for 75% (large effect) of the variance in recovery. Controlling for all factors, by order of salience, higher levels of significant other support, education, executive function impairment, and social self-efficacy; primary, non-bipolar SMI diagnosis; greater resilience; lower levels of explicit memory-health impairment, affective self-stigma, and cognitive self-stigma; being younger; fewer self-care limitations; less severe psychiatric symptoms; and being unemployed and unmarried were found to significantly predict recovery. Findings support the validation of the ICF framework as a biopsychosocial recovery model and the use of this model in the development of effective recovery-oriented interventions for adults with SMI. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Social and Economic Political Ideology Consistently Operate as Mutual Suppressors: Implications for Personality, Social, and Political Psychology

Right–left political views can be decomposed into distinct economic and social dimensions that bear differing relations with external criteria. In three community samples (total N = 1,487), we identified replicable suppressor situations in which statistically controlling for either social or economic political ideology increased the other ideology dimension’s relations with variables reflecting cognitive rigidity, authoritarianism, dangerous worldview, and lethal partisanship. Specifically, positive bivariate relations between social conservatism and these outcomes were enhanced after controlling for economic conservatism, whereas, after controlling for social conservatism, positive bivariate relations between economic conservatism and external criteria became negative and negative bivariate relations were enhanced. We identified similar, albeit less consistent, suppressor phenomena for general personality. Taken together, our results suggest that social and economic conservatism differ substantially in their psychological implications, and that following statistical control, these differences emerge in samples in which social and economic conservatism are highly positively correlated.

Psychological inflexibility and somatization in nonepileptic attack disorder

BACKGROUND

There is no clear understanding of what causes and maintains nonepileptic attack (NEA) disorder (NEAD), or which psychological therapies may be helpful. The relationships between variables of psychological inflexibility: experiential avoidance (EA), cognitive fusion (CF), mindfulness, and key outcome variables in NEAD: somatization, impact upon life, and NEA frequency were investigated.

METHOD

Two hundred eighty-five individuals with NEAD completed validated measures online. Linear regression was used to explore which variables predicted somatization and impact upon life. Ordinal regression was used to explore variables of interest in regard to NEA frequency.

RESULTS

Mindfulness, EA, CF, somatization, and impact upon life were all significantly correlated. Mindfulness uniquely predicted somatization when considered in a model with EA and CF. Higher levels of somatization increased the odds of experiencing more NEAs. Individuals who perceived NEAD as having a more significant impact upon their lives had more NEAs, more somatic complaints, and more EA.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher levels of CF and EA appear to be related to lower levels of mindfulness. Lower levels of mindfulness predicted greater levels of somatization, and somatization predicted NEA frequency. Interventions that tackle avoidance and increase mindfulness, such as, acceptance and commitment therapy, may be beneficial for individuals with NEAD. Future directions for research are suggested as the results indicate more research is needed.

Big Five personality facets explaining variance in anxiety and depressive symptoms in a community sample

BACKGROUND

Personality traits are risk and protective factors in affective disorders. However, few studies have investigated the role of narrow personality facets, with existing research yielding contradictory results. Previous research has mostly focused on simple correlations. Several studies have performed separate multiple regressions within each trait, and have used non-standard measures of personality, making it difficult to determine how individual facets make unique contributions.

METHOD

This study performed secondary analysis of the NewMood data set (collected 2004-2009), comprising 264 participants from Greater Manchester. Participants provided self-reports of all NEO-PI-R personality facets, and semi-structured questionnaires of clinical depression and anxiety. All personality facets were entered into multiple regressions to explain variance in depression and anxiety.

RESULTS

Variance in both anxiety and depression were explained by a small number of personality facets, namely facet depression (referring to demotivation), facets positive emotion and assertiveness in extroversion, and facet competence in conscientiousness.

LIMITATIONS

This study relies on cross-sectional data and cannot determine causation. This study uses a mostly female sample, and the results were not stratified by sex due to the small sample.

CONCLUSION

Previous studies suggest that broad trait neuroticism positively associates with affective disorders; this study adds that the effect of neuroticism is limited to facet depression (related to demotivation). Contrary to previous studies, no facet of agreeableness or openness explained variance in affective disorders, and facet assertiveness positively associated with affective disorder scores. These findings may help to improve treatment matching and explain the mechanisms through which affective disorders develop.

AI Evaluation in Selection

Abstract. This study investigates how information provided prior to the application stage of the selection process affects application intentions toward the job and organization. Existing research has focused on applicants who have already entered into the selection process; however, information revealed prior to application may cause candidates to self-select themselves out of the process. Utilizing a randomized experimental design, participants read a job ad specifying that their prerecorded interviews would be reviewed by a human or an artificial intelligence-based evaluator. The results show increased intentions to apply and pursue the job in the human evaluation condition.

Common and unique connectivity at the interface of motor, neuropsychiatric, and cognitive symptoms in Parkinson's disease: A commonality analysis

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by overlapping motor, neuropsychiatric, and cognitive symptoms. Worse performance in one domain is associated with worse performance in the other domains. Commonality analysis (CA) is a method of variance partitioning in multiple regression, used to separate the specific and common influence of collinear predictors. We apply, for the first time, CA to the functional connectome to investigate the unique and common neural connectivity underlying the interface of the symptom domains in 74 non-demented PD subjects. Edges were modeled as a function of global motor, cognitive, and neuropsychiatric scores. CA was performed, yielding measures of the unique and common contribution of the symptom domains. Bootstrap confidence intervals were used to determine the precision of the estimates and to directly compare each commonality coefficient. The overall model identified a network with the caudate nucleus as a hub. Neuropsychiatric impairment accounted for connectivity in the caudate-dorsal anterior cingulate and caudate-right dorsolateral prefrontal-right inferior parietal circuits, while caudate-medial prefrontal connectivity reflected a unique effect of both neuropsychiatric and cognitive impairment. Caudate-precuneus connectivity was explained by both unique and shared influence of neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms. Lastly, posterior cortical connectivity reflected an interplay of the unique and common effects of each symptom domain. We show that CA can determine the amount of variance in the connectome that is unique and shared amongst motor, neuropsychiatric, and cognitive symptoms in PD, thereby improving our ability to interpret the data while gaining novel insight into networks at the interface of these symptom domains.

Positive and Negative Activation in the Mood Disorder Questionnaire: Associations With Psychopathology and Emotion Dysregulation in a Clinical Sample

The Mood Disorder Questionnaire is a screening measure for bipolar disorder, previously found to comprise separate Positive and Negative Activation subscales. We sought to replicate these factors and examine their associations with a range of psychopathology. To further explicate the nature of Negative Activation, we examined associations with the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, a measure of emotion dysregulation. The sample consisted of 1,787 participants from an outpatient treatment facility. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the existence of Positive and Negative Activation subscales. Logistic regressions, as hypothesized, found that Positive Activation was positively associated only with bipolar disorder, while Negative Activation was associated with almost all disorders. The Impulse and Goals subscales of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale were uniquely associated with Negative Activation, suggesting it may specifically assess impulsive behavior in emotional situations. The findings suggest that it may be important to attend to both Mood Disorder Questionnaire subscales.

Emotion Dysregulation Moderates the Association Between Stress and Problematic Cannabis Use

Background: Research suggests emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic risk factor for substance use and addiction and that stress may lead to problematic cannabis use. Thus, the current study examines how emotion dysregulation moderates the associations between stress (stressful life events and perceived stress) and problematic cannabis use. Methods: Eight hundred and fifty-two adults reporting any lifetime cannabis use completed an anonymous online survey. Participants completed a brief demographic questionnaire and were asked to report their past 30-day use of cannabis, alcohol, nicotine, and illicit substances. Problematic cannabis use (via the Marijuana Problem Scale), emotion dysregulation (via the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale), perceived stress (via the Perceived Stress Scale), and stressful life events (via the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory) were assessed. Hierarchical multiple linear regressions were conducted. Results: Findings indicate that when examining the moderating role of emotion dysregulation, more stressful life events and less perceived stress were associated with more severe problematic cannabis use, and these associations were stronger at higher levels of emotion dysregulation. Conclusions: These results demonstrate a strong step toward understanding how emotion dysregulation moderates the relationship between stress and problematic cannabis use; however, longitudinal studies are needed to determine directionality of effects. Overall, these results suggest the importance of examining emotion dysregulation as a moderator of both stressful life events and stress perception as they relate to problematic cannabis use.

Constructing validity: New developments in creating objective measuring instruments

In this update of Clark and Watson (1995), we provide a synopsis of major points of our earlier article and discuss issues in scale construction that have become more salient as clinical and personality assessment has progressed over the past quarter-century. It remains true that the primary goal of scale development is to create valid measures of underlying constructs and that Loevinger's theoretical scheme provides a powerful model for scale development. We still discuss practical issues to help developers maximize their measures' construct validity, reiterating the importance of (a) clear conceptualization of target constructs, (b) an overinclusive initial item pool, (c) paying careful attention to item wording, (d) testing the item pool against closely related constructs, (e) choosing validation samples thoughtfully, and (f) emphasizing unidimensionality over internal consistency. We have added (g) consideration of the hierarchical structures of personality and psychopathology in scale development, discussion of (h) codeveloping scales in the context of these structures, (i) "orphan," and "interstitial" constructs, which do not fit neatly within these structures, (j) problems with "conglomerate" constructs, and (k) developing alternative versions of measures, including short forms, translations, informant versions, and age-based adaptations. Finally, we have expanded our discussions of (l) item-response theory and of external validity, emphasizing (m) convergent and discriminant validity, (n) incremental validity, and (o) cross-method analyses, such as questionnaires and interviews. We conclude by reaffirming that all mature sciences are built on the bedrock of sound measurement and that psychology must redouble its efforts to develop reliable and valid measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Prevalence and Correlates of Academic Dishonesty: Towards a Sustainable University

Academic dishonesty (AD) is a problem that affects all higher education institutions. It hurts their reputation, undermines integrity programs, and sidelines sustainability efforts. To understand its negative impact, the empirical study of AD is a critical issue. Up to now, the majority of research on AD has taken place in the North American context. The current research analyzes the prevalence of AD in a non-American university and, focusing on individual differences, examines some of its causes and consequences. The results prove that: (1) AD is a problem that occurs frequently among students; (2) three dimensions of the big five personality model correlate with AD. These are conscientiousness (ρ = −0.49, p < 0.01), extraversion (ρ = 0.39, p < 0.01), and agreeableness (ρ = −0.14, p < 0.01); (3) AD is associated to students’ GPA (Grade Point Average) (ρ = −0.34, p < 0.01) and contextual performance (ρ = −0.50, p < 0.01); (4) personality accounts for 30% of AD variance (R = 0.55, p < 0.01); and (5) AD and some of the studied individual differences explain 38% and 41% of GPA and contextual performance variance (R = 0.62, p < 0.01 and R = 0.64, p < 0.01). Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Personality Disorders as Emergent Interpersonal Syndromes: Psychopathic Personality as a Case Example

Personality disorders have long been bedeviled by a host of conceptual and methodological quandaries. Starting from the assumption that personality disorders are inherently interpersonal conditions that reflect folk concepts of social impairment, the authors contend that a subset of personality disorders, rather than traditional syndromes, are emergent interpersonal syndromes (EISs): interpersonally malignant configurations (statistical interactions) of distinct personality dimensions that may be only modestly, weakly, or even negatively correlated. Preliminary support for this perspective derives from a surprising source, namely, largely forgotten research on the intercorrelations among the subscales of select MMPI/MMPI-2 clinical scales. Using psychopathic personality as a case example, the authors offer provisional evidence for the EIS hypothesis from four lines of research and delineate its implications for personality disorder theory, research, and classification. Conceptualizing some personality disorders as EISs elucidates long-standing quandaries and controversies in the psychopathology literature and affords fruitful avenues for future investigation.

Synchrony, metastability, dynamic integration, and competition in the spontaneous functional connectivity of the human brain

The human brain is functionally organized into large-scale neural networks that are dynamically interconnected. Multiple short-lived states of resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) identified transiently synchronized networks and cross-network integration. However, little is known about the way brain couplings covary as rsFC states wax and wane. In this magnetoencephalography study, we explore the synchronization structure among the spontaneous interactions of well-known resting-state networks (RSNs). To do so, we extracted modes of dynamic coupling that reflect rsFC synchrony and analyzed their spatio-temporal features. These modes identified transient, sporadic rsFC changes characterized by the widespread integration of RSNs across the brain, most prominently in the β band. This is in line with the metastable rsFC state model of resting-state dynamics, wherein our modes fit as state transition processes. Furthermore, the default-mode network (DMN) stood out as being structured into competitive cross-network couplings with widespread DMN-RSN interactions, especially among the β-band modes. These results substantiate the theory that the DMN is a core network enabling dynamic global brain integration in the β band.

Does a social self-perceptual bias mask internalizing symptoms in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?

BACKGROUND

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often present with additional psychiatric conditions. Comorbidity is associated with poorer long-term outcomes, highlighting the need for effective assessment and intervention. However, self-perceptual biases may mask the presence of symptoms for a subgroup of children with ADHD. This study examined the role of social self-perceptual biases in children with ADHD versus control children on self-reports of loneliness, and depressive and anxious symptoms.

METHODS

The research question was examined in two samples. Sample 1 consisted of 7.7-12.8-year-old boys with ADHD (n = 199) and control boys (n = 74); Sample 2 consisted of 7.7-11.4-year-old boys and girls with ADHD (n = 178) and control children (n = 86). Across samples, children reported social competence and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Child-reported loneliness was examined in Sample 1. A social competence discrepancy score (difference between self-report and teacher-report) was used as an indicator of social self-perceptual bias.

RESULTS

Hierarchical multiple regression analyses tested social self-perceptual bias as a suppressor variable. The magnitude of the associations between ADHD and self-reported feelings of depression, anxiety and loneliness was greater when social self-perceptual bias was included in models as compared to models that did not include social self-perceptual bias (ΔR² s range = 0.04-0.19).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings across both samples suggest that social self-perceptual biases may mask internalizing symptom severity on self-reports for individuals who overestimate their social competence. More research is needed to determine the best approach to assessing internalizing problems among children with ADHD.

Reward processing and future life stress: Stress generation pathway to depression

Blunted reward sensitivity and life stress are each depressogenic. Additionally, individuals with clinical and psychosocial vulnerabilities are prone to experience or evoke dependent life stressors (e.g., interpersonal conflict) that, in turn, increase depression risk. However, no previous study has investigated the role of neural vulnerability factors in generating life stress. Therefore, the current study investigated whether a neural measure of reward sensitivity prospectively predicts the generation of life stress, which in turn mediates effects of these neural processes on subsequent depression. Participants were 467 never-depressed adolescent girls. Using event-related potentials, neural sensitivity to the difference between monetary reward and loss (the Reward Positivity [RewP]) was assessed at baseline. Negative life events were assessed twice via interview over the ensuing 18 months, yielding an index of total life stress over the follow-up period. A self-report dimensional measure of depression symptoms was administered at baseline and follow-up. After accounting for baseline age, depression, and race, a blunted RewP predicted greater dependent, but not independent, life stress over the follow-up. Mediation analyses revealed a significant indirect effect of the RewP on follow-up depression through dependent, but not independent, life stress. Our results suggest that neural processing reward and loss plays a crucial role in depressogenic stress generation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Affective models of depression and anxiety: Extension to within-person processes in daily life

BACKGROUND

Affective models (e.g., tripartite model) delineate shared and unique components of depression and anxiety. Specifically, negative affect is broadly associated with these symptoms, whereas low positive affect is relatively specific to depression and social anxiety. However, it is unknown how affect relates to symptoms as they occur naturalistically in daily life or as a within-person dynamic process.

METHOD

135 treatment-seeking adults completed a baseline assessment of trait affect and then rated current affect and symptoms (depression, social anxiety, panic, worry) three times per day for 10 days. Multilevel structural equation modeling was used, and prospective analyses held constant current symptoms.

RESULTS

Baseline trait negative affect and individual differences in momentary negative affect predicted all four symptoms in daily life, whereas low positive affect predicted greater depression only. Similar results were found for within-person concurrent analyses. Prospectively, momentary negative affect predicted increased depression up to 24 h later, and increased panic or worry up to 8-16 h later. Low momentary positive affect predicted greater depression only (8 h later).

LIMITATIONS

All data were self-reported, and some relevant anxiety and mood symptoms were excluded. The timing of reports was random and may have missed notable symptoms. Given the novelty of the study, replication is important.

CONCLUSIONS

Affective models of depression and anxiety derived from retrospective assessments demonstrated strong ecological validity. With the exception of PA and social anxiety, associations found at the between-person level generally applied to within-person processes, which may be amenable to tracking and targeting in therapy.

Psychometric Properties of the Expanded Version of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in a Turkish Population

The study examined psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms-II (IDAS-II) in a Turkish sample. The sample consisted of nonclinical ( N = 931) and clinical ( N = 208) individuals. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that Turkish IDAS-II was similar to the original IDAS-II and supported the construct validity of the test. The Turkish IDAS-II showed good internal consistency, significant acceptable retest correlations, and was sensitive to changes over time. The Turkish IDAS-II also showed good convergent and discriminant validity in relation to the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Mood Disorder Questionnaire, the Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory, the Panic Agoraphobia Scale, and the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version. Discriminant analyses revealed that the subscales of the Turkish IDAS-II significantly differentiated healthy controls from outpatients. The Turkish IDAS-II is a reliable and valid measure for assessing symptoms of depression and anxiety in Turkish-speaking participants.

Ventrolateral prefrontal cortex activation during social exclusion mediates the relation between intolerance of uncertainty and trait aggression

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is an important individual difference factor that may contribute to trait-like aggression. Deficient engagement of the ventrolateral PFC (vlPFC) during social situations may also be a mechanism that links these two constructs. The aim of the current study was to test a proposed mediation model whereby IU is associated with trait aggression through neural activation of the vlPFC during a social exclusion task. Fifty-three adults with a range of impulsive-aggressive traits completed validated assessments of IU and trait aggression, and the 'Cyberball' social exclusion task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Results supported the mediation model such that greater levels of IU were associated with greater trait aggression through hypoactivation of the vlPFC during social exclusion. This study is the first to provide evidence suggesting that individuals higher in IU have difficulties engaging regulatory neural processes, which in-turn may increase the propensity for aggression.

Predictors of health-related quality of life in chronically ill children and adolescents over time

OBJECTIVE

This study aims at identifying predictors of generic health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in chronically ill children and adolescents over time. The newly developed computer-adaptive test Kids-CAT was used to assess five dimensions of HRQoL.

METHODS

Longitudinal data from the Kids-CAT study on children and adolescents with asthma, diabetes and juvenile arthritis (n = 248; aged 7-17 years) were assessed at three measurement points over six months. Individual growth modeling served to investigate effects of sociodemographic, disease- and health-related as well as psychosocial factors on HRQoL dimensions Physical Well-Being (WB), Psychological WB, Parent Relations, Social Support & Peers, and School WB over time.

RESULTS

Besides effects of sociodemographic variables on HRQoL dimensions Social Support & Peers as well as School WB, we found that a longer duration of the disease was associated with better Physical WB. Lower scores were found for patients with juvenile arthritis compared to those with diabetes in HRQoL dimensions Physical WB and Social Support & Peers. Disease control was positively related to Physical and Psychological WB over time. Mental health problems were negatively associated with four, and subjective health complaints with all five HRQoL dimensions over time. Parental mental health was positively related to the patients' HRQoL score in Parent Relations over time.

CONCLUSIONS

HRQoL as a multidimensional construct is associated with a wide range of different factors. Pediatricians should consider potential mental health problems and subjective health complaints in their patients. Finally, parental HRQoL can affect HRQoL in chronically ill children and adolescents.

What Money Can't Buy: Different Patterns in Decision Making About Sex and Money Predict Past Sexual Coercion Perpetration

Self-reported impulsivity has been found to predict the perpetration of sexual coercion in both sexual offenders and male college students. Impulsivity can be conceptualized as a generalized lack of self-control (i.e., general perspective) or as a multifaceted construct that can vary from one context to the other (i.e., domain-specific perspective). Delay discounting, the tendency to prefer sooner smaller rewards over larger delayed rewards, is a measure of impulsive decision making. Recent sexual adaptations of delay discounting tasks can be used to test domain-specific assumptions. The present study used the UPPS-P impulsivity questionnaire, a standard money discounting task, and a sexual discounting task to predict past use of sexual coercion in a sample of 98 male college students. Results indicated that higher negative urgency scores, less impulsive money discounting, and more impulsive sexual discounting all predicted sexual coercion. Consistent with previous studies, sexuality was discounted more steeply than money by both perpetrators and non-perpetrators of sexual coercion, but this difference was twice as large in perpetrators compared to non-perpetrators. Our study identified three different predictors of sexual coercion in male college students: a broad tendency to act rashly under negative emotions, a specific difficulty to postpone sexual gratification, and a pattern of optimal non-sexual decision making. Results highlight the importance of using multiple measures, including sexuality-specific measures, to get a clear portrait of the links between impulsivity and sexual coercion.

Change of appetite in patients with functional digestive disorder. Association with psychological disorders: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Changes in appetite are a frequent complaint in patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). The aims of this study are to evaluate whether the changes in appetite are associated with specific FGIDs and to explore associations of these changes with symptoms of anxiety or depression.

METHODS

This study included 1009 consecutive FGID patients (71% female), aged 48.9 years who all filled out a Rome III questionnaire for the evaluation of FGIDs, submitted to a psychological evaluation of symptoms of anxiety, and completed the Beck Depression Inventory questionnaire. The patients were classified according to their appetite change using a 7-point grading scale and split into three groups: those with appetite loss, those with no change in appetite, and those with increased appetite.

RESULTS

Among the 1009, 496 patients (49%) reported a change in appetite, of which 332 (33%) patients reported a decrease in appetite and 164 (16%) patients reported an increase in appetite. Appetite was not affected in 51% of patients. Changes in appetite depended on gender, body mass index and psychometric evaluation scores. Increased appetite did not have specific FGIDs associations, while decreased appetite was associated with esophageal, gastroduodenal, bowel, and anorectal symptoms. The presence of depressive symptoms was also a predictor for the majority of FGIDs in decreased appetite, while anxiety trait was significant for globus and dysphagia.

CONCLUSIONS

Decreased appetite was associated with FGIDs, especially in the presence of depressive symptoms. A reduced appetite would help to predict psychological disorders associated with FGIDs.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

None declared.

LEGAL REGISTRATION

This study was a registered study in the French National Drug Agency (ANSM, Agence Nationale de Securité du Medicamentet des produits de santé, Study Number 2016-A01120-51).

COMPETING INTERESTS

Michel Bouchoucha, Marinos Fysekidis, Florence Mary, Gheorghe Airinei, Cyriaque Bon, and Robert Benamouzig have no competitive interests.

In the mind's eye: The late positive potential to negative and neutral mental imagery and intolerance of uncertainty

There are many advantages to human beings' ability to generate and sustain mental imagery in the absence of exteroceptive stimuli; however, this ability may also underlie emotional disorders characterized by worry, rumination, or excessive concern about the future. For instance, fear-based disorders may be characterized by heightened ERPs to negative imagery. On the other hand, distress disorders may be characterized by attempts to avoid engaging with negative mental imagery, and therefore reduced electrocortical response. Prior ERP work has used negative and neutral pictorial stimuli to establish the parameters of response in healthy individuals, before taking these paradigms to clinical samples to assess aberrant emotion processing. Yet despite its clinical relevance, no study to date has elicited a late positive potential (LPP), a robust measure of emotion processing, to standardized negative imagined scenes. Here, participants listened to audio descriptions of negative and neutral scenes, and were asked to imagine these scenes as vividly as possible. Results showed that negative imagined scenes elicited an increased LPP, lasting approximately 10 s after audio description offset, as well as heightened ratings of arousal and unpleasantness. Moreover, participants with greater self-reported cognitive concerns about uncertain future events (higher prospective intolerance of uncertainty) showed reduced emotional modulation of the LPP. These data provide the first evidence of sustained electrocortical processing of standardized negative imagery elicited in the absence of salient visual cues, and suggest that cognitive risk for anxiety in an unselected sample may be represented phenotypically by blunted LPPs to negative imagery.

Impact of posttraumatic stress symptom dimensions on amygdala reactivity to emotional faces

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent and associated with impairment, even at the subthreshold level. It is therefore important to identify biological processes that contribute to the pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Although neuroimaging research has highlighted the importance of heightened amygdala reactivity to aversive stimuli in PTSS, not all studies have yielded evidence of this relationship. Given that PTSS is comprised of four, factor analytically distinct dimensions of symptoms - re-experiencing, avoidance, hyperarousal, and negative cognitions and mood - it is possible that heightened amygdala reactivity to aversive stimuli is specific to certain PTSS clusters. In a sample of 45 trauma-exposed individuals, the present study therefore examined how specific PTSS clusters relate to amygdala responding during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to both negative and positive emotional faces during a well-validated social-emotional task, the Emotional Face Assessment Task (EFAT). Results indicated that hyperarousal symptoms were positively associated with left amygdala reactivity across all emotional face conditions. There was no interaction of hyperarousal by condition (i.e., fearful, sad, angry, or happy faces), and other PTSS clusters were not associated with amygdala reactivity. These results indicate that the hyperarousal cluster of PTSS may have a unique relationship with amygdala reactivity to socioemotional information. The results also corroborate a growing literature suggesting that trauma-exposed individuals characterized by high PTSS hyperarousal symptoms may display exaggerated psychophysiological reactivity to appetitive and aversive stimuli.

Anxiety and Depression Symptom Dimensions Demonstrate Unique Relationships with the Startle Reflex in Anticipation of Unpredictable Threat in 8 to 14 Year-Old Girls

There is growing evidence that heightened sensitivity to unpredictability is a core mechanism of anxiety disorders. In adults, multiple anxiety disorders have been associated with a heightened startle reflex in anticipation of unpredictable threat. Child and adolescent anxiety has been linked to an increased startle reflex across baseline, safety, and threat conditions. However, it is unclear whether anxiety in youth is related to the startle reflex as a function of threat predictability. In a sample of 90 8 to 14 year-old girls, the present study examined the association between anxiety symptom dimensions and startle potentiation during a no, predictable, and unpredictable threat task. Depression symptom dimensions were also examined given their high comorbidity with anxiety and mixed relationship with the startle reflex and sensitivity to unpredictability. To assess current symptoms, participants completed the self-report Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders and Children's Depression Inventory. Results indicated that social phobia symptoms were associated with heightened startle potentiation in anticipation of unpredictable threat and attenuated startle potentiation in anticipation of predictable threat. Negative mood and negative self-esteem symptoms were associated with attenuated and heightened startle potentiation in anticipation of unpredictable threat, respectively. All results remained significant after controlling for the other symptom dimensions. The present study provides initial evidence that anxiety and depression symptom dimensions demonstrate unique associations with the startle reflex in anticipation of unpredictable threat in children and adolescents.

Impact of posttraumatic stress symptom dimensions on psychophysiological reactivity to threat and reward

Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are associated with significant distress and impairment. Research has therefore focused on identifying neurobehavioral deficits that contribute to the pathophysiology of PTSS. One issue that has contributed to difficulty in identifying these deficits is the highly heterogeneous nature of PTSS. PTSS is comprised of four, factor analytically distinct dimensions of symptoms - re-experiencing, avoidance, hyperarousal, and negative cognitions and mood. It is therefore unlikely that there is one single mechanism that accounts for all of PTSS and elucidating neurobehavioral deficits associated with specific PTSS symptom dimensions may better inform clinical prevention and intervention efforts. Within the broader internalizing disorder literature, two key constructs that contribute to psychopathology are aberrant neural reactivity to threat and reward. However, the literature linking PTSS to these deficits is mixed, suggesting that aberrant neural reactivity to threat or reward may be specific to certain PTSS dimensions. In a sample of 51 trauma-exposed adults with a range PTSS, the present study therefore examined how the four dimensions of PTSS uniquely relate to two well-validated event-related potential (ERP) neural indices of threat and reward reactivity - the error-related negativity (ERN) and reward-related positivity (RewP), respectively. Results indicated that hyperarousal symptoms were associated with enhanced ERN, and enhanced RewP. In contrast, negative cognitions and mood symptoms were uniquely associated with a more blunted RewP. These results indicate that certain PTSS symptom dimensions have unique relations with neural indicators of threat and reward reactivity and may therefore have distinct pathophysiologies.

Development and Validation of the Faceted Inventory of the Five-Factor Model (FI-FFM)

The Faceted Inventory of the Five-Factor Model (FI-FFM) is a comprehensive hierarchical measure of personality. The FI-FFM was created across five phases of scale development. It includes five facets apiece for neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness; four facets within agreeableness; and three facets for openness. We present reliability and validity data obtained from three samples. The FI-FFM scales are internally consistent and highly stable over 2 weeks (retest rs ranged from .64 to .82, median r = .77). They show strong convergent and discriminant validity vis-à-vis the NEO, the Big Five Inventory, and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5. Moreover, self-ratings on the scales show moderate to strong agreement with corresponding ratings made by informants ( rs ranged from .26 to .66, median r = .42). Finally, in joint analyses with the NEO Personality Inventory-3, the FI-FFM neuroticism facet scales display significant incremental validity in predicting indicators of internalizing psychopathology.

Neural responses to others' pain vary with psychopathic traits in healthy adult males

Disrupted empathic processing is a core feature of psychopathy. Neuroimaging data have suggested that individuals with high levels of psychopathic traits show atypical responses to others’ pain in a network of brain regions typically recruited during empathic processing (anterior insula, inferior frontal gyrus, and mid- and anterior cingulate cortex). Here, we investigated whether neural responses to others’ pain vary with psychopathic traits within the general population in a similar manner to that found in individuals at the extreme end of the continuum. As predicted, variation in psychopathic traits was associated with variation in neural responses to others’ pain in the network of brain regions typically engaged during empathic processing. Consistent with previous research, our findings indicated the presence of suppressor effects in the association of levels of the affective-interpersonal and lifestyle-antisocial dimensions of psychopathy with neural responses to others’ pain. That is, after controlling for the influence of the other dimension, higher affective-interpersonal psychopathic traits were associated with reduced neural responses to others’ pain, whilst higher lifestyle-antisocial psychopathic traits were associated with increased neural responses to others’ pain. Our findings provide further evidence that atypical function in this network might represent neural markers of disrupted emotional and empathic processing; that the two dimensions of psychopathy might tap into distinct underlying vulnerabilities; and, most importantly, that the relationships observed at the extreme end of the psychopathy spectrum apply to the nonclinical distribution of these traits, providing further evidence for continuities in the mechanisms underlying psychopathic traits across the general population.

Longitudinal Associations Between Preschool Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder Symptoms and Neural Reactivity to Monetary Reward During Preadolescence

OBJECTIVE

Reward-processing abnormalities are thought to be a key feature of various psychiatric disorders and may also play a role in disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), a new diagnosis in DSM-5. In the current study, we used event-related potentials (ERP) sensitive to monetary gains (i.e., the reward positivity [RewP]) and losses (i.e., the N200) to examine associations between symptoms of DMDD during early childhood and later reward processing during preadolescence.

METHODS

To assess early emerging DMDD symptoms in a large longitudinal community sample (n=373) of 3-year old children, we administered a diagnostic interview, Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment (PAPA) with parents. At a later assessment, ∼6 years later, children completed a monetary reward task while an electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Children's lifetime history of psychopathology was also assessed at that time using Kiddie-Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS) with the child and parent.

RESULTS

Multiple regression analyses revealed that age 3 DMDD symptoms predicted an enhanced RewP to monetary rewards in preadolescence. This association is independent of demographics and lifetime history of symptoms of depression, any anxiety disorder, attention-deficit disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, or conduct disorder Conclusions: Early manifestations of DMDD in children as young as 3 years old predicted enhanced reward processing later in development. These findings add to the growing corpus of literature on the pathophysiology of DMDD, and underscore the predictive validity of preschool DMDD on a neural level.

Diagnostic and symptom-based predictors of emotional processing in generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder: An event-related potential study

The delineation of specific versus overlapping mechanisms in GAD and MDD could shed light on the integrity of these diagnostic categories. For example, negative emotion generation is one mechanism that may be especially relevant to both disorders. Emotional processing abnormalities were examined among 97 outpatients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) or major depressive disorder (MDD) and 25 healthy adults, using the late positive potential (LPP), an event-related potential that is larger for emotional versus neutral stimuli. GAD and MDD were also assessed dimensionally across all participants. Both MDD diagnosis and dimensional depression scores were associated with reduced ΔLPP. When controlling for MDD diagnosis/dimension, both the diagnosis and dimension of GAD were associated with increased ΔLPP. Both MDD and GAD dimensions, but not diagnoses, were associated with increased ΔRT to targets that followed emotional pictures. Therefore, MDD and GAD have distinguishable and opposing features evident in neural measures of emotion processing.

Short- and Long-Term Self-Regulation and Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors in Unmarried Heterosexual Young Adults

The goal of this study was to explore associations between short- and long-term self-regulation and dimensions of oral and coital sexual risk-taking in emerging adulthood. A total of 287 unmarried heterosexual young adults ages 18 to 26 years (62% female; 87% European American; 81% enrolled in college) provided study data via Internet surveys. High levels of long-term self-regulation predicted later initiation of oral sex and coitus, fewer lifetime coital partners, increased likelihood of condom and other contraceptive use at last intercourse, and low composite levels of coital risk. High levels of short-term self-regulation predicted reduced likelihood of condom use and high overall coital risk. The discussion focuses on the interpretation of these effects and potential directions for future research.

Openness to experience, intellect, schizotypal personality disorder, and psychoticism: resolving the controversy

Section III of DSM-5 includes an alternative model for personality disorders comprising five higher-order pathological personality traits, four of which resemble domains from the Big Five/Five-Factor Model of Personality (FFM). There has, however, been considerable debate regarding the association of FFM Openness-to-Experience/Intellect (OE/I) with DSM-5 Psychoticism and Schizotypal Personality Disorder (STPD). The authors identify several limitations in the literature, including inattention to (a) differences in the conceptualization of OE/I in the questionnaire and lexical traditions and (b) the symptom heterogeneity of STPD. They then address these limitations in two large patient samples. The results suggest that OE/I per se is weakly associated with Psychoticism and STPD symptoms. However, unique variance specific to the different conceptualizations of OE/I demonstrates much stronger associations, often in opposing directions. These results clarify the debate and the seemingly discrepant views that OE/I is unrelated to Psychoticism and contains variance relevant to Psychoticism.

Personality, Emotions, and the Emotional Disorders

We examined symptom-level relations between the emotional disorders and general traits within the five-factor model of personality. Neuroticism correlated strongly with the general distress/negative affectivity symptoms (depressed mood, anxious mood, worry) that are central to these disorders; more moderately with symptoms of social phobia, affective lability, panic, posttraumatic stress disorder, lassitude, checking, and obsessive intrusions; and more modestly with agoraphobia, specific phobia, and other symptoms of depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Extraversion was negatively correlated with symptoms of social anxiety/social phobia and was positively related to scales assessing expansive positive mood and increased social engagement in bipolar disorder. Conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness showed weaker associations and generally added little to the prediction of these symptoms. It is noteworthy, moreover, that our key findings replicated well across (a) self-rated versus (b) interview-based symptom measures. We conclude by discussing the diagnostic and assessment implications of these data.

Consensually defined facets of personality as prospective predictors of change in depression symptoms

Depression has robust associations with personality, showing a strong relation with neuroticism and more moderate associations with extraversion and conscientiousness. In addition, each Big Five domain can be decomposed into narrower facets. However, we currently lack consensus as to the contents of Big Five facets, with idiosyncrasies across instruments; moreover, few studies have examined associations with depression. In the current study, community participants completed six omnibus personality inventories; self-reported depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline and 5 years later. Exploratory factor analyses suggested three to five facets in each domain, and these facets served as prospective predictors of depression in hierarchical regressions, after accounting for baseline and trait depression. In these analyses, high anger (from neuroticism), low positive emotionality (extraversion), low conventionality (conscientiousness), and low culture (openness to experiences) were significant prospective predictors of depression. Results are discussed in regard to personality structure and assessment, as well as personality-psychopathology associations.

Three-pronged assessment and diagnosis of personality disorder and its consequences: personality functioning, pathological traits, and psychosocial disability

The alternative dimensional model of personality disorder (PD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), Section III, has two main criteria: impairment in personality functioning and one or more pathological personality traits. The former is defined as disturbances in self-functioning (viz., identity, self-direction), and/or interpersonal functioning (viz., empathy, intimacy). Distinguishing personality functioning and traits is important conceptually, because simply having extreme traits is not necessarily pathological. However, adding personality functioning to PD diagnosis represents an empirical challenge, because the constructs overlap conceptually. Further, there is debate regarding whether diagnosis of mental disorder requires either distress or disability, concepts that also overlap with maladaptive-range personality traits and personality dysfunction. We investigated interrelations among these constructs using multiple self-report measures of each domain in a mixed community-patient sample (N = 402). We examined the structures of functioning (psychosocial disability and personality) and personality traits, first independently, then jointly. The disability/functioning measures yielded the 3 dimensions we have found previously (Ro & Clark, 2013). Trait measures had a hierarchical structure which, at the 5-factor level, reflected neuroticism/negative affectivity (N/NA), (low) sociability, disinhibition, (dis)agreeableness, and rigid goal engagement. When all measures were cofactored, a hierarchical structure again emerged which, at the 5-factor level, included (a) internalizing (N/NA and self-pathology vs. quality-of-life/satisfaction); (b) externalizing (social/interpersonal dysfunction, low sociability, and disagreeableness); (c) disinhibition; (d) poor basic functioning; and (e) rigid goal engagement. Results are discussed in terms of developing an integrated PD diagnostic model.