Do Primary Emotions Predict Psychopathological Symptoms? A Multigroup Path Analysis

Investigating the network ties between affect, attachment, and psychopathology

OBJECTIVES

Recent years have seen an increased interest regarding theoretical and empirical associations of adult attachment security and primary affective traits concerning psychiatric disorders. In this study, network analysis technique is applied to dissect the links between both psychodynamic personality constructs and an array of psychopathological symptoms.

METHODS

A total sample of 921 (69.9 % female) participants from the general population was investigated. A regularized cross-sectional partial correlation network between attachment (Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised [ECR-RD8]), primary affective traits (Brief Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales [BANPS-GL]) and psychopathological symptoms (ICD-10-Symptom-Rating Questionnaire [ISR]) was estimated via the EBICglasso algorithm. Node centrality, predictability and bridge centrality were analyzed. To evaluate the stability of the network and evaluate the significance of differences, we employed bootstrap techniques.

RESULTS

The network was found to be stable, allowing reliable interpretations. We observed SADNESS, as well as depressive, PTSD and anxiety symptoms as the most influential nodes within the investigated network. Attachment AV and SADNESS were observed as nodes with the highest bridge centrality.

CONCLUSIONS

The results provide a data-driven in-depth look into the complex dynamics between psychopathological symptoms, attachment security and basic affective traits. Results underscore the critical interconnections between affect, attachment, and psychopathology, advocating for a psychodynamically informed systems approach in psychological research that considers the affective dimensions underlying human mental health.

Influence of anxious attachment on the relationship between primary emotions and substance-related addictive behaviors

Objectives

To date there is no universally accepted model that describes the development of substance related addictive behavior. In order to address this gap, the study sought to examine whether the association between primary emotions and the inclination toward addictive behavior is mediated by an anxious attachment style.

Methods

The total sample consisted of 900 German speaking non-clinical adults (age: M = 27; SD = 9.60; 71.6% female). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied to examine the connection between the primary emotions (SADNESS and ANGER), and the latent variables attachment anxiety and symptoms of addictive behavior.

Results

Substance use symptomatology was correlated with higher attachment anxiety (r = 0.15), SADNESS (r = 0.15), and ANGER (r = 0.11). The effect of SADNESS on addictive behavior is mediated by attachment anxiety (p < 0.01) whereas ANGER had a direct effect on addictive behavior (p < 0.01). The final SEM explains 4% of the variance of addictive behaviors and 22% of attachment anxiety.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that both SADNESS and ANGER, along with attachment anxiety, are dispositions that contribute to the risk of engaging in addictive behavior. However, while ANGER directly influences addictive behavior, SADNESS acts through its impact on attachment anxiety.

Originalbeiträge (Originals). Primäremotionen und Bindung bei psychischer Störung

Primaryemotions and attachment in mental disorder Objectives: There is increasing evidence for associations between primary emotions and attachment with mental illness. This study illuminates the mediation relationship of these psychodynamic constructs in relation to psychiatric disorders.

METHODS

921 subjects (69.9 % female) were examined, who completed the questionnaires Brief Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales including a LUST Scale, Experiences in Close Relationships - Revised 8, and ICD-10 Symptom Rating online. A path analysis was conducted to evaluate the mediation effects of attachment anxiety.

RESULTS

A disease-specific pattern of direct associations between primary emotions, attachment anxiety, and psychological impairment emerged (all p < .01). Attachment exerted mediating effects primarily for SADNESS (p < .01), and to a lesser extent for LUST and CARE (p > .01).The model provided variance resolution ranging from7%(eating disorders) to 47%(depression).

CONCLUSION

The results demonstrate the relevance of affective explanations regarding the development of psychological symptoms, as well as therapeutic implications.

Is there an affective neuroscience of spirituality? The development and validation of the OCEANic feelings scale

Background

Oceanic feelings represent a phenomenological structure of affective sensations that characteristically involve feelings of self-dissolution and feelings of unity and transcendence. This study presents the preliminary version of a self-report instrument to measure individual dispositions toward oceanic feelings in order to enable further research within the concept of primary emotions postulated by Jaak Panksepp.

Methods

A first version of the questionnaire was applied to a total sample of 926 German-speaking adults of the general population. After performing item analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) in a first study (N = 300), the questionnaire was shortened. In a second study (N = 626), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted and emerged scales were related to the already established instruments for the assessment of primary emotions (BANPS-GL) and Big Five personality traits (BFI-44).

Results

The OCEANic scale exhibited reliabilities ranging from Cronbach's α = 0.82 (positive) to α = 0.88 (negative) and plausible correlations with behavioral traits related to the seven affective neurobiological systems (ANGER, FEAR, CARE, SEEK, PLAY, SADNESS, and LUST) as well as with personality factors measured by the Big Five Inventory. For CFA, a bifactorial model with an overall factor demonstrated good fit: RMSEA = 0.00 (90% CI:0.00, 0.03); TLI = 1.00; CFI = 1.00; NFI = 0.99.

Discussion

The OCEANic scale enables the operationalization of oceanic feelings comprising two subscales and one total scale. The results indicate good reliability and acceptable factorial validity. Establishment and further validation of the OCEANic scale within future research will be needed to fully understand the role of oceanic feelings within the human affective life, especially the personality trait of spirituality.

An Investigation of Affective Personality Traits in Alzheimer's Disease: SEEKING as a Possible Predictor for Early-Stage Alzheimer's Dementia

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the current study was to investigate affective personality traits in Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative condition mainly characterized by episodic memory impairment.

METHOD

The sample included 69 participants from 3 diagnostic categories. Twenty-five participants were diagnosed with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), 26 participants were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment of the amnestic type (aMCI), and the remaining 18 participants were diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's dementia (ADD). Diagnostic labels were given as a result of detailed neurological, neuropsychological, and neuroradiological assessment. Affective personality traits were assessed via Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS).

RESULTS

The only significant intergroup difference was obtained for the SEEKING subscale of ANPS. Here, ADD group scored significantly lower compared to the SCI group. The results of logistic regression analysis also indicated that SEEKING score successfully predicted early-stage ADD diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that a specific personality constellation characterized by reduced investment in the outside world might be associated with Alzheimer's disease, either as a risk factor or a byproduct of the neurodegenerative process initiated by AD pathology.

The German version of the brief affective neuroscience personality scales including a LUST scale (BANPS-GL)

Objectives

This study presents the German version of the Brief Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (BANPS), which includes an additional subscale for the dimension LUST. The BANPS represents a shortened version of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS), a self-report instrument to assess individual dispositions toward primary emotional systems as proposed by Jaak Panksepp.

Methods

In a large sample (N = 926), the reliability and various facets of validity of the German translation of the BANPS were examined together with the newly included LUST scale. The BANPS-GL was related to the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale (SSSS) and analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Results

Overall, the BANPS-GL exhibited reliabilities ranging from McDonald's ω = 0.70 (CARE) to α = 0.86 (SADNESS) and plausible correlations with external criteria. For CFA a correlated 7-factor model demonstrated good fit [TLI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.04 (90% CI: 0.04, 0.05); SRMR = 0.06]. A similar fit was demonstrated for a 2-higher-factor model [TLI = 0.93; RMSEA = 0.05 (90% CI: 0.05, 0.06); SRMR = 0.07].

Conclusion

In broad agreement with the results of the original English version, the BANPS-GL showed good reliability and acceptable factorial validity, and overall improved the psychometric properties of the original long form. Finally, the inclusion of the dimension LUST allows for a complete coverage of the primary emotion dispositions as originally conceptualized by Panksepp.

Affective Neuroscience Personality Scale (ANPS) and clinical implications: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Affective neuroscience (AN) theory assumes the existence of seven basic emotional systems (i.e., SEEKING, ANGER, FEAR, CARE, LUST, SADNESS, PLAY) that are common to all mammals and evolutionarily determined to be tools for survival and, in general, for fitness. Based on the AN approach, the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) questionnaire was developed to examine individual differences in the defined basic emotional systems. The current systematic review aims to examine the use of ANPS in clinical contexts attempting to define those behavioral elements associated with underlying stable personality traits.

METHODS

The systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA statements. PubMed and PsycInfo were used for research literature from March 2003 to November 2021.

RESULTS

Forty-four studies including ANPS were identified from 1763 studies reviewed. Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria.

LIMITATIONS

The review comprised some papers with incomplete psychological assessments (e.g., lack of other measures in addition to the ANPS) and missing information (e.g., on the [sub]samples), which may affect the generalizability of findings.

CONCLUSION

Specific endophenotypes and/or patterns of emotional/motivational systems were found for several mental disorders. Specifically, endophenotypes emerged for the Depressive and Autism Spectrum Disorders, Borderline and Avoidant Personality Disorders, type I and II Bipolar Disorders, and the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The endophenotypes can provide useful reflective elements for both psychodiagnosis and intervention. Overall, the current study may represent an attempt to contribute to the understanding of the basic emotional systems involved in the psychopathological manifestations identified by AN.

The future of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales: A reflection on seven pressing matters

The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) were designed to provide researchers in the mental sciences with an inventory to assess primary emotional systems according to Pankseppian Affective Neuroscience Theory (ANT). The original ANPS, providing researchers with such a tool, was published in 2003. In the present brief communication, about 20 years later, we reflect upon some pressing matters regarding the further development of the ANPS. We touch upon problems related to disentangling traits and states of the primary emotional systems with the currently available versions of the ANPS and upon its psychometric properties and its length. We reflect also on problems such as the large overlap between the SADNESS and FEAR dimensions, the disentangling of PANIC and GRIEF in the context of SADNESS, and the absence of a LUST scale. Lastly, we want to encourage scientists with the present brief communication to engage in further biological validation of the ANPS.

Cholecystokinin B receptor gene polymorphism (rs2941026) is associated with anxious personality and suicidal thoughts in a longitudinal study

OBJECTIVES

Cholecystokinin is a neuropeptide with a role in the neurobiology of adaptive behaviour that is implicated in anxiety disorders, while the underlying mechanisms currently remain insufficiently explained. The rs2941026 variation in the cholecystokinin B receptor gene has previously been associated with trait anxiety. Our aim was to investigate associations between the CCK_B receptor gene polymorphism rs2941026 with anxiety, personality, depressiveness and suicidality in a longitudinal study of late adolescence and early adulthood.

METHODS

We used reports on trait and state anxiety, depressiveness and suicidal thoughts, as well as Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales, from the two birth cohorts of the Estonian Children Personality, Behaviour and Health Study. We measured associations between the CCKBR gene rs2941026 and anxiety-related phenotypes both longitudinally and cross-sectionally at ages 15, 18, 25 and 33.

RESULTS

Homozygosity for both alleles of the CCKBR rs2941026 was associated with higher trait and state anxiety in the longitudinal analysis. Cross-sectional comparisons were statistically significant at ages 18 and 25 for trait anxiety and at ages 25 and 33 for state anxiety. Higher depressiveness and suicidal thoughts were associated with the A/A genotype at age 18. Additionally, homozygosity for the A-allele was related to higher FEAR and SADNESS in the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales. The genotype effects were more apparent in females, who displayed higher levels of negative affect overall.

CONCLUSIONS

CCKBR genotype is persistently associated with negative affect in adolescence and young adulthood. The association of the CCKBR rs2941026 genotype with anxiety-related phenotypes is more pronounced in females.

Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales and Early Maladaptive Schemas in Depressive Disorders

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the interrelationships of Young’s early maladaptive schemas with indicators of specific neural emotional systems conceptualized in Panksepp’s theory in a group of people suffering from depressive disorders. Materials and methods: The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) v. 2.4. and J. Young’s Early Maladaptive Schema Questionnaire (YSQ-S3-PL) were used. Ninety (90) individuals aged 18–58, including 45 people treated for depression (DD group), were qualified to participate in the experiment. Results: The subjects in the DD group scored statistically significantly lower than the subjects from the control group (CG group) on the three ANPS scale domains, namely SEEKING, PLAY, and ANGER. The subjects with depressive symptoms scored significantly higher in the YSQ-S3-PL questionnaire on two domains of early maladaptive schemas, i.e., “Impaired autonomy and performance” and “Other-directedness”. Regression analysis results indicate that impairment of the emotional SEEKING system explains most of the variability in the following typical domains of depression: “Disconnection and rejection”, “Impaired autonomy and performance”, and “Other-directedness”. For score variability in the domain area of “Impaired limits”, the ANGER system was found to be most significant, and the FEAR system proved the same for “Overvigilance and Inhibition”. Conclusions: 1. Two domains of early maladaptive schemas are significant for the onset of depressive symptoms, namely “Impaired autonomy and performance” and “Other-directedness”, linked to difficulties in engaging in behaviors to meet one’s own needs. 2. Impairment of the neural emotional SEEKING system most significantly explains the variability in depression-typical areas of early maladaptive schemas.

Primary emotions as predictors for fear of COVID-19 in former inpatients with Major Depressive Disorder and healthy control participants

INTRODUCTION

There are reports of an increase in depressive symptoms and fear during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular in patients with depression. This study investigates factors related to fear of COVID-19 in former inpatients suffering from depression and healthy controls by assessing variables typically associated with depression and anxiety disorders, i.e. stressful life events (SLEs), the primary emotions SADNESS, PLAY and SEEKING as well as dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies with respect to suppression and reappraisal.

METHODS

Data of n = 44 former inpatients suffering from depression and n = 49 healthy controls were collected. The study had a longitudinal design with two measurement points. Before the pandemic, SLEs, primary emotions, emotion regulation and depression severity were assessed. During the pandemic, COVID-19 associated stressors and life events, emotion regulation, depression severity and fear of COVID-19 were assessed.

RESULTS

Fear of COVID-19 and depression severity during the pandemic were significantly higher in former inpatients than in healthy controls. Depression diagnosis, SLEs and depression severity before the pandemic were significant positive predictors of fear of COVID-19. The primary emotion PLAY was a significant negative predictor of fear of COVID-19. Depression severity did not change significantly in healthy controls.

CONCLUSION

The results show that risk factors for depression might be risk factors for high fear of COVID-19. In addition, a playful personality could help preventing mental stress in pandemic situations. Thus, positivity based interventions could counteract elevated fear scores during a pandemic.

A meta-analysis on individual differences in primary emotional systems and Big Five personality traits

The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) were constructed as a self-report assessment to measure individual differences in Jaak Panksepp's cross-species primary emotional systems: SEEKING, PLAY, CARE (positive emotions) and FEAR, SADNESS, ANGER (negative emotions). Beginning with the first published work on the ANPS in 2003, individual differences on the ANPS measures of these six primary emotional systems have been consistently linked to Big Five personality traits. From a theoretical perspective, these primary emotional systems arising from subcortical regions, shed light on the nature of the Big Five personality traits from an evolutionary perspective, because each of these primary emotional systems represent a tool for survival endowing mammalian species with inherited behavioral programs to react appropriately to complex environments. The present work revisited 21 available samples where both ANPS and Big Five measures have been administered. Our meta-analytical analysis provides solid evidence that high SEEKING relates to high Openness to Experience, high PLAY to high Extraversion, high CARE/low ANGER to high Agreeableness and high FEAR/SADNESS/ANGER to high Neuroticism. This seems to be true regardless of the ANPS inventory chosen, although much more work is needed in this area. Associations between primary emotional systems and Conscientiousness were in the lower effect size area across all six primary emotions, thereby supporting the idea that Conscientiousness rather seems to be less directly related with the subcortical primary emotions and likely is the most cognitive/cortical personality construct out of the Big Five. In sum, the present work underlines the idea that individual differences in primary emotional systems represent evolutionarily ancient foundations of human personality, given their a) meaningful links to the prominent Big Five model and b) their origins lying in subcortical areas of the human brain.

A comprehensive review of studies using the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales in the psychological and psychiatric sciences

Jaak Panksepp's Affective Neuroscience Theory (ANT) belongs to the most prominent emotion theories in the psychological and psychiatric sciences. ANT proposes the existence of seven primary emotional systems deeply anchored in the mammalian brain. These emotional/motivational systems have been shaped by evolutionary processes and function as tools for survival in mammalian species. The systems are called SEEKING, LUST, CARE, and PLAY, as well as ANGER, FEAR, and SADNESS. Panksepp carved out these emotional systems via means of deep brain stimulation, brain lesion and pharmacological manipulation studies. Davis et al. (2003) designed the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) against the background of findings from ANT. This self-report inventory is meant to enable researchers to assess individual differences in primary emotional systems. Seventeen years have passed since the first version of the ANPS has been published. Therefore, we now provide a comprehensive overview on studies using the ANPS including work from personality science, psychiatry and the neurosciences.

Pinpointing Neural Correlates of Attachment in Poly-Drug Use: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

An increasing amount of evidence indicates the significance of attachment in the etiology of poly-drug use disorder (PUD). The aim of this study was to investigate associations between PUD and adult attachment in particular, with a focus on white matter (WM) fiber tract integrity. For this purpose, we selected several regions-of-interest based on previous findings which were examined for their role in PUD and estimated whole-brain associations between adult attachment and WM integrity. A total sample of 144 right-handed males were investigated (Age: M = 27; SD = 4.66). This included a group of patients diagnosed with PUD (n = 70) and a group of healthy controls (HC; n = 74). The Adult Attachment Scales (AAS) was applied to assess attachment attitudes in participants. Diffusion Tensor Imaging was used to investigate differences in WM integrity. The findings suggest substantially less attachment security in PUD patients compared to HC. Furthermore, PUD patients exhibited reduced integrity in WM fiber tracts, most pronounced in the bilateral corticospinal tract, the fronto-occipital fasciculus, and the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus. However, these results were not controlled for comorbid depressiveness. With regard to associations between adult attachment and WM integrity, the results for PUD patients indicate a negative relationship between "Comfort with Closeness" and the structural integrity of a cluster comprising parts of the right anterior thalamic radiation, the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and the uncinate fasciculus. Despite being limited by the cross-sectional design of this study, the results emphasize the significance of attachment in PUD etiology, both at a behavioral and a neurological level. Largely in line with previous research, the findings revealed tentative links between adult attachment and WM fiber tracts related to cognitive and affective functions in PUD patients.

Childhood Trauma, Personality, and Substance Use Disorder: The Development of a Neuropsychoanalytic Addiction Model

BACKGROUND

While traditional psychoanalysis has been criticized as insufficient for the treatment of substance use disorder (SUD), recent progress in the field of neuropsychoanalysis has generated new and promising hypotheses regarding its etiology. However, empirical research applying this framework has been sparse.

AIM AND SCOPE

The present overview aims at developing and empirically validating a neuroscientifically informed psychodynamic framework regarding the etiology of SUD. For this purpose, this review provides a concise overview of the most relevant historical and contemporary psychoanalytic theories on SUD etiology. Furthermore, the original research summarized in this paper consists of three studies investigating connections between childhood trauma, primary emotions, personality structure and attachment, as well as their relation to SUD development and treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The results highlight the empirical validity of the neuropsychoanalytic approach towards SUD etiology. In particular, the findings underscore the conceptualization of SUD as a disorder related to dysfunctional attachment and affect regulation abilities especially linked to increased SADNESS and ANGER dispositions, which mediated the relationship between SUD and traumatic childhood relationships. Based on these findings, a refined model of SUD etiology is proposed, which should be tested in future studies.