When does it hurt to try? Effort as a mediator of the links between anxiety symptoms and the frequency and duration of unwanted thought recurrence

Holocaust centrality, anxiety, and other risk factors associated with terror threat salience among descendants of Holocaust survivors

The study examined risk factors for sensitivity to terror threats among descendants of Holocaust survivors (Holocaust G1) during a significant rise in terrorist attacks in Israel. We examined the association of the number of familial Holocaust G1, trauma exposure, probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety symptoms, and Holocaust centrality with terror threat salience (TTS) in children and grandchildren of Holocaust G1 (Holocaust G2; G3). A web-based national sample included 297 Holocaust G2 (Mage=62.95, SD=10.25), 224 comparison G2 (Mage=61.79, SD=10.13), 379 Holocaust G3 (Mage=34.02, SD=8.65) and 171 comparison G3 (Mage=33.55, SD=8.26). Participants completed questionnaires on background characteristics, Holocaust background, trauma exposure, probable PTSD, anxiety symptoms, Holocaust centrality, and TTS. Findings showed that Holocaust G2 and G3 reported higher Holocaust centrality and TTS relative to comparisons, and Holocaust G3 reported higher levels of anxiety than comparison G3. The number of Holocaust G1, background characteristics, Holocaust centrality, and anxiety symptoms were associated with TTS in G2 and G3. Probable PTSD and trauma exposure were also associated with TTS in G2 and G3, respectively. Results highlight Holocaust centrality and anxiety among the factors associated with an increased preoccupation with terror threats in Holocaust descendants. Practitioners should implement interventions focusing on these factors, particularly at times of increased terrorism.

Are failures to suppress obsessive-intrusive thoughts associated with working memory?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterised by repeated attempts to suppress obsessive-intrusive thoughts (OITs). Nonclinical individuals also regularly engage in thought suppression. Attempts to suppress OITs are often unsuccessful and there is wide variation in suppression abilities across nonclinical and clinical samples. Understanding the mechanisms that explain variations in suppression abilities could enhance our understanding of OCD. This study aimed to investigate one potential mechanism - working memory - using a comprehensive thought suppression task.

METHODS

Eighty-three nonclinical participants completed a computerized thought dismissibility task (in which they replaced an obsessive-intrusive thought with a neutral thought), and a computerized working memory task. Participants also completed measures of OCD and negative mood.

RESULTS

None of the suppression variables (OIT frequency, mean OIT duration, mean latency to return, total OIT duration) were correlated with working memory capacity. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms were correlated with total OIT duration, but the relationship was not significant after controlling for negative mood.

LIMITATIONS

The thought dismissibility task does not account for differences in motivation to suppress OITs. The sample was non-clinical and mostly female.

CONCLUSION

An individual's ability to suppress OITs is not associated with their working memory capacity, suggesting poor working memory does not explain persistent OITs in individuals with OCD.

Don't Tell Me What to Think: Comparing Self- and Other-Generated Distraction Methods for Controlling Intrusive Thinking

Cognitive control is central to the phenomenon of intrusive thinking in obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. The current study tested how attempts at cognitive control are impacted by self- vs. other-generated distractor thoughts. Participants (N=1913) were randomly assigned to suppress or monitor an intrusive thought and also randomly assigned to: a) self-generate a distractor, b) receive a distractor, or c) receive no distractor guidance. Participants reported subsequent thought recurrences, perceived success and effort keeping the thought out of mind, and positive and negative affect during a one-minute thinking period and a one-minute monitoring period. During the first thinking period only, self-generated distractors resulted in greater perceived control (p<.001; during monitoring instructions only) relative to no guidance, and less effort (ps<.001) relative to both other conditions. Interestingly, self-generated distractors led to longer duration of recurrences relative to both other conditions (ps≤.007). Finally, there were no distractor differences in trajectories of positive and negative affect (ps>.10). These findings suggest that the source of distractors may inform when attempts to control intrusive thinking will be helpful versus harmful.

The relationship between suppression and subsequent intrusions: the mediating role of peritraumatic dissociation and anxiety

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Although previous studies showed that thought and emotion suppression represent risk factors for intrusions development, the mechanisms that explain these relations were less explored. This study aims to examine the relationships between thought and emotion suppression and the symptoms of intrusion following the exposure to a trauma-related event. Moreover, we explored if these relationships would be mediated by peritraumatic state dissociation and state anxiety.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The trauma film paradigm was used and the participants were students (N = 148) experimentally exposed to an aversive film to model a traumatic experience. Thought and emotion suppression were measured before the trauma exposure. After exposure, the participants completed scales for measuring state dissociation and state anxiety. Intrusive images and thoughts of the film were recorded in the subsequent week using an intrusion diary.

RESULTS

Thought suppression predicted intrusive thoughts frequency, and this effect was mediated by the peritraumatic anxiety. State anxiety predicted both intrusive images and thoughts, while state dissociation only predicted intrusive images.

CONCLUSIONS

Intrusive images and intrusive thoughts are different phenomena and they are predicted by different variables. The practical implications of these results for posttraumatic stress disorder treatment and secondary traumatization are discussed.