Self-Efficacy, Anxiety, and Phobic Disorders

Environmental complexity impacts anxiety in broiler chickens depending on genetic strain and body weight

The objective was to assess the impact of environmental complexity on affective state (anxiety) in fast- and slow-growing broilers (Gallus gallus domesticus) as they gain weight. Six hundred fast-growing broilers (Ross 708; "fast-growers") and 600 slow-growing broilers (Hubbard Redbro Mini; "slow-growers") were raised in 24 pens with simple (standard; SE) or complex (permanent and temporary enrichments; CE) environments. Six birds/pen underwent the attention bias test on day 23 (fast-growers only), 28-29, 35-36, 42-43, and 56-57 (slow-growers only), with individuals only tested once (n = 576). Proportion of birds feeding, time spent vigilant and latencies to eat and step were recorded. Greater vigilance and longer latencies indicate more anxiety. Slow-growers fed more (p = 0.001), were less vigilant (p = 0.003), and stepped sooner than fast-growers (p = 0.007). For both strains, likelihood of feeding was unrelated to weight in SE, but decreased with increasing weight in CE (p = 0.048). Birds in CE stepped sooner than birds in SE (p = 0.030). Vigilance increased with body weight (p = 0.024). These results indicate that affective state (anxiety) can change as birds gain weight, depending on environmental complexity and genetic strain. Overall, slow-growers showed reduced anxiety compared to fast-growers, across housing treatments or weights.

Effects of a brief online emotion word learning task on negative emotion differentiation, emotional self-efficacy, and prospective distress: Preliminary findings

BACKGROUND

Disruptions in emotion processing are common across psychological disorders. Research suggests that emotion differentiation (ED; specificity in language used to characterize one's emotional experience) and emotional self-efficacy (ESE; perceived ability to understand and manage one's emotions) are important transdiagnostic factors associated with various psychological benefits. Whether ED and ESE can be improved in adults remains largely unclear.

METHODS

Using a longitudinal prospective design, we tested a brief online training targeting emotion word knowledge (vs. a control condition) to see if it improved negative ED (NED) and ESE in a college sample. Moreover, we tested if changes in NED or ESE mediated the effects of the training on levels of psychological distress one week and two-months post-intervention.

RESULTS

Findings provided partial support for our hypotheses. Individuals whose ESE increased post-intervention reported lower levels of distress two months later. Moreover, exploratory analyses revealed those who demonstrated greater training engagement experienced increases in NED that in turn predicted lower distress one-week post-intervention. However, there were no direct effects of intervention group on NED or ESE and distress.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the potential of a remotely-administered emotion-language intervention to influence key dimensions of emotion processing and suggest avenues for further refinement. Both NED and ESE may be malleable for some, and that enhancements in ESE may produce long-term psychological benefits.

Treating specific phobia in youth: A randomized controlled microtrial comparing gradual exposure in large steps to exposure in small steps

INTRODUCTION

Exposure may be especially effective when within exercises, there is a strong violation of threat expectancies and much opportunity for fear reduction. Outcomes of exposure may therefore improve when exposure is conducted in large steps (LargeSE) relative to small steps (SmallSE).

METHODS

Children and young people with a specific phobia (SP) (N = 50, age 8-17, 64 % girls) participated in a preregistered single-blind, randomized controlled microtrial comparing LargeSE and SmallSE in a four-week baseline-treatment design. Clinical interviews, behavioral avoidance tests, and self-report measures were assessed at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at one-month follow-up.

RESULTS

Within exercises, LargeSE resulted in higher initial fear levels and more within-session expectancy violation. Nevertheless, SmallSE resulted in a larger decline of SP severity from baseline to post-treatment and follow-up, and a larger decline of anxiety and avoidance towards one's individual goal from baseline to follow-up. There were no differences between LargeSE and SmallSE regarding changes in general self-efficacy or behavioral avoidance. Although session duration was standardized and similar for both conditions, participants in SmallSE received more (shorter) exercises.

DISCUSSION

SmallSE might be more effective in reducing SP severity because children in SmallSE were exposed to a larger number and variety of exercises than children in LargeSE.

Psychological Predictors of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Outcomes for Anxiety and Depressive Disorders in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

By understanding specific differences between responders to a treatment and non-responders, treatment modalities may be fitted to the individual in order to increase effectiveness, a concept known as "precision medicine". This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated which pretreatment patient and family characteristics may predict the outcome of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in clinically anxious and/or depressed youth. In particular, higher symptom severity, more severe co-occurring anxiety or depression and more severe parental psychopathology were hypothesized to predict a worse CBT outcome.

METHODS

The databases PubMed, PsycINFO and Cochrane Library were searched; 73 publications were included in the review from which 23 studies were used for the meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Higher symptom severity represented a clinically relevant predictor of a worse CBT outcome, with large effects estimated by meta-analysis. Further, parental psychopathology was significant and detrimental for CBT outcome in anxious but not depressed youth, while the effects for co-occurring anxiety and depression remained unclear. The additional results of the review show that only few characteristics seemed to be clearly associated with a worse CBT outcome, namely worse coping skills and, restricted to depressed patients, more non-suicidal self-injury.

LIMITATIONS

The available evidence was of only moderate quality in general, further high-quality research with more transparent reporting is needed.

CONCLUSIONS

The patient characteristics identified as being relevant for CBT outcome may represent important candidates for use in single patient prediction models for precision medicine in the field of child and adolescent psychotherapy. The review was preregistered on PROSPERO (ID: CRD42018116881).

An Integrative Model for the Effectiveness of Biofeedback Interventions for Anxiety Regulation: Viewpoint

Biofeedback has shown to be a promising tool for the treatment of anxiety; however, several theoretical as well as practical limitations have prevented widespread adaptation until now. With current technological advances and the increasing interest in the use of self-monitoring technology to improve mental health, we argue that this is an ideal time to launch a new wave of biofeedback training. In this viewpoint paper, we reflect on the current state of biofeedback training, including the more traditional techniques and mechanisms that have been thought to explain the effectiveness of biofeedback such as the integration of operant learning and meditation techniques, and the changes in interoceptive awareness and physiology. Subsequently, we propose an integrative model that includes a set of cognitive appraisals as potential determinants of adaptive trajectories within biofeedback training such as growth mindset, self-efficacy, locus of control, and threat-challenge appraisals. Finally, we present a set of detailed guidelines based on the integration of our model with the mechanics and mechanisms offered by emerging interactive technology to encourage a new phase of research and implementation using biofeedback. There is a great deal of promise for future biofeedback interventions that harness the power of wearables and video games, and that adopt a user-centered approach to help people regulate their anxiety in a way that feels engaging, personal, and meaningful.

Low Perceived Self-Efficacy Impedes Discriminative Fear Learning

Perceived self-efficacy refers to a subject’s expectation about the outcomes his/her behavior will have in a challenging situation. Low self-efficacy has been implicated in the origins and maintenance of phobic behavior. Correlational studies suggest an association between perceived self-efficacy and learning. The experimental manipulation of perceived self-efficacy offers an interesting approach to examine the impact of self-efficacy beliefs on cognitive and emotional functions. Recently, a positive effect of an experimentally induced increased self-efficacy on associative learning has been demonstrated. Changes in associative learning constitute a central hallmark of pathological fear and anxiety. Such alterations in the acquisition and extinction of conditioned fear may be related to cognitive and neurobiological factors that predict a certain vulnerability to anxiety disorders. The present study builds on previous own work by investigating the effect of an experimentally induced low perceived self-efficacy on fear acquisition, extinction and extinction retrieval in a differential fear conditioning task. Our results suggest that a negative verbal feedback, which leads to a decreased self-efficacy, is associated with changes in the acquisition of conditioned fear. During fear acquisition, the negative verbal feedback group showed decreased discrimination of fear responses between the aversive and safe conditioned stimuli (CS) relative to a group receiving a neutral feedback. The effects of the negative verbal feedback on the acquisition of fear discrimination learning were indexed by an impaired ability to discriminate the probability of receiving a shock during acquisition upon presentation of the aversive (CS+) relative to the safe stimuli (CS−). However, the effects of low self-efficacy on discrimination learning were limited to fear acquisition. No differences between the groups were observed during extinction and extinction retrieval. Furthermore, analysis of other outcome measures, i.e., skin conductance responses and CS valence ratings, revealed no group differences during the different phases of fear conditioning. In conclusion, lower perceived self-efficacy alters cognitive/expectancy components of discrimination during fear learning but not evaluative components and physiological responding. The pattern of findings suggests a selective, detrimental role of low(er) self-efficacy on the subject’s ability to learn the association between ambiguous cues and threat/safety.

Self-Efficacy:

This article examines Forsyth and Leary's seven interfaces of social and counseling psychology from the perspective of social cognitive theory. In each interface domain, the authors consider ways in which social cognitive inquiry (and self-efficacy research in particular) can be brought to bear on topics of mutual concern to social and counseling psychology. They also examine social cognitive theory as a unifying framework for bridging counseling and social psychology and other subdisciplines that share an interest in issues of health promotion, optimal adjustment, and psychological change mechanisms. Social cognitive theory's explicit concern with the interplay of social and cognitive factors may provide a fulcrum for rapprochement among psychological branches that have historically favored either intrapersonal or interpersonal accounts of human functioning. The theory's emphasis on personal agency and its application to many counseling-relevant problems may also help to bridge the gap between psychological researchers and practitioners.

Increased perceived self-efficacy facilitates the extinction of fear in healthy participants

Self-efficacy has been proposed as an important element of a successful cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT). Positive changes in perceived self-efficacy have been linked to an improved adaptive emotional and behavioral responding in the context of anxiety-provoking situations. Furthermore, a positive influence of increased self-efficacy on cognitive functions has been confirmed. The present study examined the effect of verbal persuasion on perceived self-efficacy and fear extinction. Healthy participants were subjected to a standardized differential fear conditioning paradigm. After fear acquisition, half of the participants received a verbal persuasion aimed at increasing perceived self-efficacy. The extinction of fear was assessed immediately thereafter on both the implicit and explicit level. Our results suggest that an increased perceived self-efficacy was associated with enhanced extinction, evidenced on the psychophysiological level and accompanied by more pronounced decrements in conditioned negative valence. Changes in extinction were not due to a decrease in overall emotional reactivity to conditioned stimuli (CS). In addition, debriefing participants about the false positive feedback did not affect the processing of already extinguished conditioned responses during a subsequent continued extinction phase. Our results suggest that positive changes in perceived self-efficacy can be beneficial for emotional learning. Findings are discussed with respect to strategies aimed at increasing extinction learning in the course of exposure-based treatments.

Psychometric Validation of the Moorong Self-Efficacy Scale in People With Spinal Cord Injury

The main study objective was to further evaluate the factorial validity of the Moorong Self-Efficacy Scale (MSES) with 266 Canadians with spinal cord injuries (SCI). Exploratory factor analysis yielded three reliable factors (Interpersonal, Instrumental, and Participation Self-Efficacy) building on earlier studies that extracted two factors. The MSES appears to be a promising rehabilitation assessment tool for individuals with SCI.

Outcome Expectancy and Self-Efficacy: Theoretical Implications of an Unresolved Contradiction

According to self-efficacy theory, self-efficacy—defined as perceived capability to perform a behavior—causally influences expected outcomes of behavior, but not vice versa. However, research has shown that expected outcomes causally influence self-efficacy judgments, and some authors have argued that this relationship invalidates self-efficacy theory. Bandura has rebutted those arguments saying that self-efficacy judgments are not invalidated when influenced by expected outcomes. This article focuses on a contradiction in Bandura’s rebuttal. Specifically, Bandura has argued (a) expected outcomes cannot causally influence self-efficacy, but (b) self-efficacy judgments remain valid when causally influenced by expected outcomes. While the debate regarding outcome expectancies and self-efficacy has subsided in recent years, the inattention to this contradiction has led to a disproportionate focus on self-efficacy as a causal determinant of behavior at the expense of expected outcomes.

Stereotype Threat, State Anxiety, and Specific Self-Efficacy as Predictors of Promotion Exam Performance

This field study examined perceived stereotype threat in a promotion context using a written job knowledge test. The authors hypothesized that race and ethnic identity would predict perceptions of stereotype threat and that the effect of stereotype threat on test performance would be mediated by state anxiety and specific self-efficacy in a specified sequential order. Using structural equation modeling analyses of data from two public safety departments in a metropolitan city indicated support for this model. However, the stereotype threat effect was small, which may be because of the use of a job knowledge test, a promotion sample, or the composition of the applicant pool. Noteworthy contributions include the use of a self-report measure of stereotype threat, inclusion of two mediator variables in a theory-based sequence, and a test of the stereotype threat effect in an actual employment context.

Postural, physiological and psychological reactions to challenging balance: does age make a difference?

OBJECTIVES

To determine if increases in balance challenge influenced concomitant change in self-efficacy, state anxiety and physiological arousal, and if these changes were correlated with changes in standing balance in young and older adults.

DESIGN

A 2 x 2 between- (age) by within-subject (balance challenge) factorial design.

SETTING

quiet standing trials were performed on low and high support-surface heights in a research laboratory.

SUBJECTS

14 Young (22-31 years) and 14 older (60-83 years) adults with no known neurological or balance disorders, or falls within the last year.

METHODS

Forceplate-derived measures of standing balance, measures of state anxiety, blood pressure and task-specific balance and coping self-efficacy.

RESULTS

Independent of age, mean position, amplitude and frequency of centre of pressure displacements were significantly influenced by surface height, as were anxiety and efficacy. Decreased amplitude and increased frequency changes observed in both age groups with increased balance challenge were consistent with a stiffening strategy. Blood pressure, state anxiety and self-efficacy were correlated with different postural control changes in young and older adults.

CONCLUSIONS

Older adults used the same stiffening strategy as young adults to cope with the increased anxiety and lowered confidence associated with standing on a high surface. Converging evidence indicates that physiological status, state anxiety and balance efficacy are related to specific changes in postural performance with increased balance challenge. Findings highlight the potential additive effects of psychological and physiological factors on clinical balance performance and the need to consider comprehensive rehabilitation and prevention techniques that concern psychological and physiological contributions to balance deficits.

The role of catastrophic misinterpretation of bodily sensations and panic self-efficacy in predicting panic severity

This study investigated the role of both negative and positive cognitions in predicting panic severity in an international sample of patients diagnosed with panic disorder (with and without agoraphobia). One hundred and fifty-nine patients were administered the Brief Bodily Sensations Interpretation Questionnaire (BBSIQ), the Self-efficacy to Control Panic Attacks Questionnaire, and the Panic and Agoraphobia Scale (PAS) prior to receiving treatment. Regression analyses indicated that both catastrophic misinterpretation of bodily sensations and panic self-efficacy independently predicted panic severity. The influence of panic self-efficacy upon panic severity remained significant even after controlling for the presence or absence of agoraphobia. There was no evidence to suggest a moderating relationship between the two cognitive factors. Results are discussed in terms of the need to consider both negative and positive cognitions in cognitive accounts of panic disorder.

A large-scale study of handedness and pregnancy/birth risk events: implications for genetic theories of handedness

Whether left-handedness is due to genetic factors or to pregnancy and birth stress events is an important question for models that attempt to explain the origins and distribution of human handedness. Major genetic theories of handedness, such as those of Annett (1985) and McManus (1981), allow for a nondetermination of some left- or right-handedness by "chance", but they hold that "pathological left-handedness", specifically, is of minimal influence. On the other hand, theorists such as Bakan (1971) and Coren (1995) take the view that right-handedness is a universal human characteristic, presumably due to a polygenic influence, and that left-handedness is essentially always the product of pregnancy and birth risk factors. Research attempting to find associations of left-handedness and unfortunate pregnancy and birthing events has produced very inconsistent results. We report a large-scale study that employed handedness for writing as the criterion for handedness, mothers' reports regarding the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a large number of possible pregnancy and birth stress events, and mothers' reports regarding the handedness of the biological parents and of their offspring. Of the 25 potential stressors studied, only maternal age showed a significant association with left-handedness of offspring. Further, this relationship was quite weak and would account for no more than 1/84th of the approximate 11% incidence of left-hand-edness in the general population. Implications for theories of handedness are discussed.

Role of affective self-regulatory efficacy in diverse spheres of psychosocial functioning

This prospective study with 464 older adolescents (14 to 19 years at Time 1; 16 to 21 years at Time 2) tested the structural paths of influence through which perceived self-efficacy for affect regulation operates in concert with perceived behavioral efficacy in governing diverse spheres of psychosocial functioning. Self-efficacy to regulate positive and negative affect is accompanied by high efficacy to manage one's academic development, to resist social pressures for antisocial activities, and to engage oneself with empathy in others' emotional experiences. Perceived self-efficacy for affect regulation essentially operated mediationally through the latter behavioral forms of self-efficacy rather than directly on prosocial behavior, delinquent conduct, and depression. Perceived empathic self-efficacy functioned as a generalized contributor to psychosocial functioning. It was accompanied by prosocial behavior and low involvement in delinquency but increased vulnerability to depression in adolescent females.

Measures of self-efficacy and optimism in older adults with generalized anxiety

This study provides initial psychometric data for the Self-Efficacy Scale (SES) and the Life Orientation Test (LOT) in a sample of older adults with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Participants included 76 adults, ages 60 to 80, who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) criteria for GAD. Self-efficacy and outcome expectancies were lower in older adults with GAD relative to published data from younger and older community samples. Both the SES and LOT demonstrated adequate internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence for optimism and pessimism factors within the LOT and exploratory factor analysis of the SES suggested threefactors that overlap with previous findings. Overall, the data support the potential utility of these instruments in late-life GAD and set the stage forfuture investigations of generalized self-efficacy expectancies and outcome expectancies (or optimism) as they relate to the prediction of affect and behavior in this group.

Examination of relationships among trait-like individual differences, state-like individual differences, and learning performance

Several authors (e.g., J.T. Austin & H.J. Klein, 1996; R. Kanfer, 1990b, 1992) have urged researchers to examine comprehensive models of distal individual differences as predictors of proximal motivational processes and performance. Two field studies in an academic setting tested a model of relationships among trait-like individual differences (cognitive ability, general self-efficacy, and goal orientation), state-like individual differences (state anxiety, task-specific self-efficacy, and goals), and learning performance. Most hypothesized relationships among these constructs received support when tested on 2 samples, when examining different performance episodes, and when using different goal orientation and state-anxiety measures. In general, state-like individual differences were found to mediate the relationships between trait-like individual differences and learning performance. Implications of these results are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.

Thinking about self-efficacy

People's perceptions of their capabilities for performance, or self-efficacy perceptions, are a cognitive mechanism underlying behavioral change. This article addresses three questions in the study of perceived self-efficacy: Do self-efficacy perceptions generalize across situations? Do affective states influence perceived self-efficacy? Do people have a singular level of perceived self-efficacy in any domain, or are there multiple aspects to self-efficacy perception? These questions are answered by analyzing the cognitive processes through which people appraise their efficacy for performance. The research reviewed indicates that (a) self-efficacy perceptions generalize across idiosyncratic sets of situations relating to schematic personal attributes; (b) induced negative mood does not reliably influence perceived self-efficacy but does raise performance standards, creating efficacy-standards discrepancies; (c) distinct aspects of self-efficacy appraisal can be organized by distinguishing between perceived self-efficacy for executing strategies and for attaining goals.

EFFECTS OF SELF-EFFICACY AND SOCIAL SUPPORT ON THE MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS OF MUTUAL-AID ORGANIZATION MEMBERS

The present study examined the effects of self-efficacy and social support on the mental health of 65 members of a mutual-aid organization in Hong Kong. Participants had anxiety and depressive problems and had received cognitive-behavioral treatment before they joined the mutual-aid groups in the organization. A three-wave design was adopted, and participants filled in measures including the General Health Questionnaire, the State Anxiety Inventory, the Centre of Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the General Self-efficacy Scale, and the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey. Regression analyses showed that residualized self-efficacy was a strong predictor of the mental health variables. Effects of social support, both functional and structural, were mainly mediated by self-efficacy.

Comparing perceived self-efficacy among adolescent Bosnian and Croatian refugees with and without posttraumatic stress disorder

To examine the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and perceived self-efficacy (PSE), 98 Bosnian and Croatian refugees, ages 13-18, completed Bandura's Children's Multidimensional Scales of Perceived Self-Efficacy, which measure self-predicted social functioning in 9 areas. Through interviews, participants were categorized according to DSM-IV criteria as traumatized PTSD-positive, traumatized PTSD-negative, and nontraumatized. ANCOVAs showed PTSD-positive participants exhibit higher PSE than nontraumatized participants in 5 of 9 areas. No significant differences among 3 female groups were observed; however, nontraumatized boys demonstrated lower PSE than the 2 traumatized groups in 7 of 9 areas. Thus, PTSD did not have a negative impact on PSE in this cultural context. Furthermore, surviving traumatic experience and preserving social support networks may be protective factors for maintaining high levels of PSE.