Perceived Emotion Control Moderates the Relationship between Neuroticism and Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Development of the Panic Response Scale and the Predicting Factors of Panic Response During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction

During emergencies, individuals and communities often react in a variety of ways, including panic response. However, the study of panic response is limited due to narrow assessment tools that measure only one or two dimensions of human response (eg, physiology, cognition, emotion, and behavior). To address this limitation and to explore the risk and protective factors of panic response during the global spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the current study developed and evaluated the Panic Response Scale (PRS).

Methods

Four samples were recruited for the following purposes: interview analysis (n = 26); item analysis and exploratory factor analysis (n = 604); confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis (n = 603); and retest reliability, validity analysis, and regression analysis (n = 349).

Results

The PRS consists of 21 items with four subscales: Physical Discomfort, Anxious Fluster, Sensitive Depression, and Excessive Prevention. Each of these subscales demonstrated good internal consistency (rs > 0.73), test-retest reliability (rs > 0.77), criterion validity (r = 0.69, p < 0.01), and convergent validity (rs = 0.31-0.65, p < 0.01). Regression analysis revealed significant predicting effects of COVID-19 knowledge and neuroticism on panic response. Additionally, cognitive reappraisal moderated the association between neuroticism and panic response.

Discussion

Following a traumatic event, the PRS offers a potential tool for identifying individuals in need of mental health services. Moreover, during the COVID-19 pandemic, knowledge and neuroticism served as risk factors for heightened panic response, while cognitive reappraisal served as a protective factor for coping with panic response.

Contrast avoidance prospectively mediates effects of fear of emotional responding, negative problem orientation, and sensitivity to low perceived control on generalized anxiety disorder symptoms

The Contrast Avoidance Model (CAM; Newman & Llera, 2011) has been well established in the literature on the etiology and maintenance of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Research has investigated other factors that may also characterize GAD, such as fear of emotional responding, negative problem orientation (NPO), and negative beliefs about control; however, these have yet to be explored within the context of the CAM regarding maintenance of GAD symptoms. The purpose of this study was to explore the predictive relationship between the above-mentioned factors and GAD symptoms, mediated by contrast avoidance. Participants (N = 99, 49.5% of whom scored in the upper range on GAD symptoms) completed a series of questionnaires across three time points, each one week apart. Results indicated that fear of emotional responding, NPO, and sensitivity to low perceived control predicted CA tendencies a week later. CA tendencies then mediated the relationship between each predictor and GAD symptoms in the following week. Findings suggested that known vulnerabilities for GAD predict coping with distressing internal responses via sustained negative emotionality (such as through chronic worry) as a way to avoid negative emotional contrasts. However, this coping mechanism itself may maintain GAD symptoms over time.

Adaption and validation of the Perceived Control of Internal States Scale (PCOISS) in Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Perceived control of internal states is important for disease prevention, stress buffering and life adaptability. However, there is no psychometric scale to measure control beliefs over internal states in China. This study aimed to adapt and validate the Perceived Control of Internal States Scale (PCOISS) in a large sample of Chinese adults.

METHODS

Data was collected through a big project, in which a cross-sectional online survey was conducted nationwide in China using a powerful Chinese online survey platform named WenJuanXing ( https://www.wjx.cn/ ). We translated the PCOISS into Chinese (C-PCOISS) with the forward-backward translation procedure. For the first time of the survey, a sample of 2709 participants (Sample 1) was valid for final analysis. Sample 1 was split into two datasets for principal component analysis (PCA) (n_A = 1355) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) (n_B = 1354) to determine potential factor structure. The scale's validity (i.e., discriminant validity, convergent validity, criterion validity) and internal consistency reliability were evaluated. Among the 1354 respondents (n_B), 761 (n_C = 761) participated in the follow-up second wave of the survey to assess a cross-sectional test-retest reliability.

RESULTS

The C-PCOISS retained 14 items. PCA yielded a three-factor model which was supported with the best fit indices in CFA. The C-PCOISS had satisfactory internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.86, 0.78 and 0.72 for three subscales, respectively. The scale also showed adequate test-retest reliability (Pearson correlations coefficient of 0.64, 0.62 and 0.54 with p < 0.001 for three subscales, respectively). Three factors of the C-PCOISS were positively associated with positive affect, and negatively associated with negative affect, depression, compulsion-anxiety and perceived stress.

CONCLUSIONS

The C-PCOISS is reliable and valid for measuring control beliefs over internal states in Chinese adults.

Longitudinal Effects of Personality on Physical Activity Among College Students: Examining Executive Function as a Potential Moderator

Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between personality and physical activity, with a specific focus on whether executive function moderates this relationship. Methods One hundred twenty-six young adults provided complete data at baseline and the five-month follow-up assessment. Executive function was assessed via the parametric Go/No-Go computer task; outcome measures of parametric Go/No-Go were mean reaction time and percent of correct target detection across executive function tasks (simple rule and repeating rule). Personality and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were assessed via validated questionnaires; one-week test-retest was established on a random sample of the participants, with pedometry employed in the subsample. Results Individuals with a higher baseline conscientiousness personality type had greater five-month follow-up moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (β = 18.5; 95% confidence interval: 5.3, 31.7; p = .006). There was no evidence of an interaction effect for personality trait and executive function on five-month follow-up moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Conclusion The personality trait conscientiousness was associated with greater moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. However, there was no evidence to suggest that executive function moderates the role between personality and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Thus, if confirmed by future work, personality may exert its effects on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity independent of executive function level.

Development and validation of two measures of emotional contrast avoidance: The contrast avoidance questionnaires

The Contrast Avoidance (CA) model (Newman & Llera, 2011) proposed that individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) fear sharp emotional shifts (or contrasts), such as the shift from a pleasant or neutral state to one of sudden distress following a negative event. Further, the model suggests that chronic worry is employed by those with GAD to sustain negative emotionality as a means to avoid sudden shifts into negativity. The model has received empirical support; however, no validated measure exists to assess CA tendencies. In this paper we developed and tested two measures of CA: one focusing on worry, and another examining broader mechanisms of CA that could be used test whether CA is applicable to other disorders. In Study 1, Part 1, we used 3 samples of participants (each N=410) to perform item reduction, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. In Study 1, Part 2, we performed tests of construct validity. In Study 2, we used a new sample (N=126) to determine test-retest reliability. All data point to the strong psychometric properties of the CA questionnaires and their relationship to GAD. Both measures distinguished between participants reporting clinical levels of GAD symptoms and nonanxious controls, demonstrating their utility as complementary measures of CA tendencies.

Core belief content examined in a large sample of patients using online cognitive behaviour therapy

BACKGROUND

Computerised cognitive behavioural therapy provides a unique opportunity to collect and analyse data regarding the idiosyncratic content of people's core beliefs about the self, others and the world.

METHODS

'Beating the Blues' users recorded a core belief derived through the downward arrow technique. Core beliefs from 1813 mental health patients were coded into 10 categories.

RESULTS

The most common were global self-evaluation, attachment, and competence. Women were more likely, and men were less likely (than chance), to provide an attachment-related core belief; and men were more likely, and women less likely, to provide a self-competence-related core belief. This may be linked to gender differences in sources of self-esteem. Those who were suffering from anxiety were more likely to provide power- and control-themed core beliefs and less likely to provide attachment core beliefs than chance. Finally, those who had thoughts of suicide in the preceding week reported less competence themed core beliefs and more global self-evaluation (e.g., 'I am useless') core beliefs than chance.

LIMITATIONS

Concurrent symptom level was not available. The sample was not nationally representative, and featured programme completers only.

CONCLUSIONS

Men and women may focus on different core beliefs in the context of CBT. Those suffering anxiety may need a therapeutic focus on power and control. A complete rejection of the self (not just within one domain, such as competence) may be linked to thoughts of suicide. Future research should examine how individual differences and symptom severity influence core beliefs.