Association between depression and hostile attribution bias in hostile and non-hostile individuals: An ERP study

Validation of a new assessment of hostile attribution bias in romantic relationships: The Hostile Attributions in Romantic Relationships Test

While hostile attributional bias (a tendency to interpret others' behaviors as intentionally hostile) is associated with negative outcomes in romantic relationships, no measure has been developed specifically for this context. Here, we describe the development and validation of a self-report questionnaire across three studies, named Hostile Attribution in Romantic Relationships Test. Study 1 introduces the development and preliminary validation (N = 152). Study 2 tests the validity and test-retest stability of the modified version revised based on findings in Study 1 (N = 151). Study 3 reports the translation and validation of a Chinese version (N = 630). The final 9-vignette scale is the first to specifically measure hostile attribution bias in romantic relationships, with good internal reliability, test-retest stability, and convergent validity. Factor analysis reveals a three-factor structure reflecting direct hostile attribution, indirect hostile attribution, and benign attribution to partners' behaviors. Implications regarding couple dynamics and clinical therapeutic interventions are discussed.

Towards the understanding of the core of general personality disorder factor: g-PD and its relation to hostile attributions

There is a general consensus that personality disorders (PDs) share a general factor (g-PD) overlapping with the general factor of psychopathology (p-factor). The general psychopathology factor is related to many social dysfunctions, but its nature still remains to some extent ambiguous. We posit that hostile attributions may be explanatory for the factor common for all PDs, i.e., interpersonal problems and difficulty in building long-lasting and satisfying relationships of all kinds. Thus, the main objective of the current project was to expand the existing knowledge about underlying factors of g-PD with regard to hostile attributions. We performed a cross-sectional study on a representative, community sample of Poles (N = 1031). Our hypotheses were primarily confirmed as hostile attributions predicted p-factor. However, the relation was positive only for hostile attributions related to ambiguous situations involving relational harm and physical harm done by female authorities and negative in case of hostile attributions in situations involving physical harm done by peers. Additionally, paranoia-like thoughts strongly related to hostile attributions and independently predicted g-PD. The results contribute to the current discussion on the nature of the g-PD, confirm that hostile attributions and paranoia are a crucial aspect of personality pathology, and indicate the importance of working on these cognitions in the course of therapeutic work.

Hostile attribution bias's role in perceived stress among college freshman students: A latent growth modelling approach

This study's objective was to examine the growth trajectories of freshman students' perceived stress and whether hostile attribution bias predicts the pattern of perceived stress change using latent growth analyses. A longitudinal dataset with fourth measurement points was gathered from a total of 1109 college students enrolled at a university in Guizhou Province in the first 3 months after college freshmen enrollment. The freshman students' levels of perceived stress tend to show a piecewise linear decline during the transition period, which manifests as a faster decline in the first stage (within the first month) than in the second stage (after the first month). Moreover, hostile attribution bias not only positively predicted the initial level of perceived stress but also positively predicted the slope of perceived stress in the first and second stages. In addition, there was a significant sex difference in the initial level of perceived stress where the initial level of perceived stress was higher in females than in males, but there was no significant sex difference in the rate of perceived stress decline. These results highlight the longitudinal relationship between hostile attribution bias and perceived stress and have implications for improving freshmen' college adaptation.

Trait Depression and Subjective Well-Being: The Chain Mediating Role of Community Feeling and Self-Compassion

Although subjective well-being has been widely discussed as being one of the important indicators of clinical depression, few studies have explored how it relates to trait depression. In particular, increasing the number of positive experiences has long been a potential goal for depression-related clinical interventions, but the mechanisms by which such interventions work in countering depression have been poorly studied. Grounded in the cognitive theory of depression, the current study aimed to address this specific gap by testing the mediating effects of community feeling and self-compassion between trait depression and subjective well-being. A survey of 783 college students found that trait depression was not only able to directly and negatively predict individual subjective well-being but also indirectly predict individual subjective well-being through the mediating role of community feeling and self-compassion alone and through the chain mediating role of self-compassion from community feeling. These findings reveal the internal mechanisms of trait depression that, to some extent, impede subjective well-being and offer certain guiding significance for the self-regulation of interventions for clinical and non-clinical individuals with trait depression.

Comparison of the effect of hostility on the level of depression of drug addicts and non-addicts and the mediating role of sense of life meaning between them

BACKGROUND

The level of depression among drug addicts is generally higher than normal. Hostility and sense of life meaning may influence depression and become risk factors for depression. This study has three research purposes. First, to analyze whether drug use can aggravate hostility and depression levels. Second, to assess whether the hostility has different effects on depression among drug addicts and non-addicts. Third, to examine whether the sense of life meaning has a mediating role between different groups (drug addicts and non-addicts).

METHODS

This study was conducted from March to June 2022. 415 drug addicts (233 males and 182 females) and 411 non-addicts (174 males and 237 females) were recruited in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. After signing informed consent, their psychometric data were obtained using the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (CMI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) questionnaires. Linear regression models were used to assess the impact of hostility and depression among drug addicts and non-addicts. Bootstrap mediation effect tests were used to further test the mediation effect of sense of life meaning between hostility and depression.

RESULTS

The results showed four main outcomes. First, compared with non-addicts, drug addicts had higher levels of depression. Second, hostility exacerbated depression in both drug addicts and non-addicts. Compared with non-addicts, hostile affect had a greater effect on depression in drug addicts. Third, the sense of life meaning among females was higher than males. Fourth, for drug addicts, the sense of life meaning showed a mediating effect between social aversion and depression, while for non-addicts, the sense of life meaning showed a mediating effect between cynicism and depression.

CONCLUSIONS

Depression is more severe in drug addicts. More attention should be paid to the mental health of drug addicts, because the elimination of negative emotions is conducive to reintegration into society. Our results provide a theoretical basis for reducing depression among drug addicts and non-addicts. As a protective factor, we can reduce their hostility and depression by improving the sense of life meaning.

The brain correlates of hostile attribution bias and their relation to the displaced aggression

BACKGROUND

Hostile attribution bias (HAB) has been considered as a risk factor of various types of psychosocial adjustment problem, and contributes to displaced aggression (DA). The neural basis of HAB and the underlying mechanisms of how HAB predicts DA remain unclear.

METHODS

The current study used degree centrality (DC) and resting-sate functional connectivity (RSFC) to investigate the functional connection pattern related to HAB in 503 undergraduate students. Furthermore, the "Decoding" was used to investigate which psychological components the maps of the RSFC-behavior may be related to. Finally, to investigate whether and how the RSFC pattern, HAB predicts DA, we performed mediation analyses.

RESULTS

We found that HAB was negatively associated with DC in bilateral temporal poles (TP) and positively correlated with DC in the putamen and thalamus; Moreover, HAB was negatively associated with the strength of functional connectivity between TP and brain regions in the theory of mind network (ToM), and positively related to the strength of functional connectivity between the thalamus and regions in the ToM network. The "Decoding" showed the maps of the RSFC-behavior may involve the theory mind, autobiographic, language, comprehension and working memory. Mediation analysis further showed that HAB mediated the relationship between some neural correlates of the HAB and DA.

LIMITATIONS

The current results need to be further tested by experimental methods or longitudinal design in further studies.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings shed light on the neural underpinnings of HAB and provide a possible mediation model regarding the relationships among RSFC pattern, HAB, and displaced aggression.

Examining Differences, Relationships, and Predictors for Loneliness in an Adult Population: The Roles of Personal Characteristics, Place of Residence, Leisure Activities, Mental Health, and Social Outcomes

Loneliness is associated with poor mental and social outcomes globally. The literature suggests an association between loneliness and personal characteristics, place of residence, and leisure activities. However, the current literature has produced inconsistent findings and has focused largely on older adults. This study is one of the first to examine the differences, relationships, and predictors of loneliness in an adult population, and the roles of personal characteristics, place of residence, leisure activities, mental health, and social outcomes. A cross-sectional online survey was undertaken. A sample of 155 adults responded, with a mean age of 34.5 years (SD = 13.2), and with 54.1% identifying as female. An analysis revealed experiences of loneliness across the sample. In addition, age was moderately associated with loneliness, while psychological distress, depressive symptoms, and social networks were significantly associated with loneliness. Depressive symptoms were a positive predictor for loneliness, and social networks were a negative predictor for loneliness. This study has confirmed findings from previous research and provided new information on loneliness, which can guide future research and interventions to prevent or support people who suffer from loneliness.

Inflammatory and environmental contributions to social information processing

It appears that social information processing is negatively affected by inflammation, but extant research is primarily experimental and comes from laboratory-based manipulations of inflammatory states. We aimed to examine interactions between inflammation, stressful life events, and positive memories of childhood relations with parents in relation to social information processing in 201 adults. We hypothesized that increased inflammation and stressful life events would be associated with greater hostile social information processing, but that positive memories of childhood relations with parents would moderate both relations. Results indicated that high IL-6 levels and stressful life events were significantly associated with direct and hostile social information processing. Positive memories of childhood relations with parents attenuated the link between stressful life events and social information processing. Findings suggest that both immune function and environmental stressors are related to social information processing and that positive memories of childhood relations exert some buffering effect.

Psychometric properties of the Mexican version of the Driver's Angry Thoughts Questionnaire and analysis of invariance with the Romanian and Spanish versions

Research has shown the relevance of three axes in the study of violent behaviour: the emotional axis (anger), the behavioural axis (aggression), and the cognitive axis (hostility or aggressive thinking). In the field of driving, the first two axes have received a lot of attention, whereas the third one has been less studied. The current research aimed to analyse the psychometric properties of the Driver's Angry Thoughts Questionnaire (DATQ) in a Mexican sample. Besides, the structural invariance of this instruments was analysed with respect to both the Spanish and the Romanian versions. A sample of 294 participants taken from the general Mexican drivers population completed a set of measures including the DATQ and the Driving Survey, as a measure of risky driving, aggressive driving, and crash-related events. The results showed that the Mexican version of the DATQ replied the original five-factor structure, maintaining the 65 items likewise in both the Spanish and Romanian versions. Analyses of the invariance suggested the equivalence among the three versions, especially in the case of Mexican-Spanish. Moreover, the five factors were positive and mostly significantly related to each other, and with both risky driving and aggressive driving. Some significant relationships were attained also with crash-related events, especially in the case of those which happened in the last three months (short-termed). Finally, males showed higher scores than females in the five ways of aggressive thinking. Limitations of the study, practical implications and future research are discussed.