Distinct acute stressors exert an antagonistic effect on complex grooming during novelty habituation in rats

Grooming is a common readout in multiple rat models of neuropsychiatric diseases. It is usually associated with distress and negative emotionality, but also with emotional de-arousal after stress. These seemingly conflicting interpretations may result from specific grooming sequences appearing at different arousal levels and during distinct phases of the stress response. To further explore this hypothesis, we analyzed how distinct stressors affect grooming syntaxis and kinetics. To that end, we explored the independent and interacting effects of foot shocks, corticosterone (CORT), and novelty on exploratory activity, grooming, and ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in an open-field test (OF). Wistar rats were intraperitoneally injected either with vehicle or CORT, placed in a chamber where half of them were foot-shocked and then assessed in the OF. The next day, animals were re-exposed to the shock chamber and then tested in the OF without receiving any treatment. On day 1, foot shocks and -to a less extent CORT- increased freezing and inhibited rearing in the chamber, but only foot shocks increased distress USVs. In the OF, both treatments suppressed complex grooming, with foot-shocks also inhibiting exploration and CORT marginally reducing rearing. On day 2, foot-shocked rats showed conditioned fear when re-exposed to the chamber. When tested in the OF, foot-shocked and CORT-treated animals still showed low levels of complex grooming, with the former group also showing increased distress USVs. In this study, all different stressors inhibited complex grooming, suggesting an inverse association between these grooming subtypes and negative emotionality.

Existential threat as a challenge for individual and collective engagement: Climate change and the motivation to act

The global climate crisis can be perceived as a threat to existential human needs like control, certainty, and personal existence. These threat appraisals elicit an affective state of individual anxiety - one of the strongest motivators of individual pro-environmental behavior and collective policies and activism. Direct action against a threat is associated with other affective approach-motivated states that help to overcome anxiety: Recent findings show collective emotions of anger, guilt, and 'being moved' increase collective engagement but also show a positive relationship between positive activation and individual behavior. Climate threat furthermore promotes palliative responses, such as ingroup defense, identification with nature, or salient common humanity. Here, collective responses seem to reduce anxiety, and when combined with pro-environmental norms, even promote pro-environmental action.

The relationship sabotage scale: an evaluation of factor analyses and constructive validity

BACKGROUND

Some individuals are no longer entering romantic relationships, others move through relationships too quickly searching for "the one" and making quick assessments of their romantic partners, while others stay in their relationships but "check out" or do not work on their issues. These are conclusions from two studies: (1) an interview with psychologists who specialise in relationship therapy, and (2) an analysis of individuals' lived experiences of relationships. The concept of relationship sabotage can explain these phenomena. However, presently, there is no instrument to conceptualise and empirically measure how people continue to employ self-defeating attitudes and behaviors in (and out) of relationships to impede success, or withdraw effort, and justify failure.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A series of three studies (involving a total of 1365 English speaking individuals of diverse gender orientation, sexual orientation, and cultural background, with relationship sabotage experience) were conceptualized for the current project to fill the need for scale development and to build empirical evidence on the topic of self-sabotage in romantic relationships. The scale was developed over two studies using exploratory factor analysis and one-congeneric model analyses. The third study, using confirmatory factor analysis, confirmed the final structure for the Relationship Sabotage Scale (RSS), which contains 12 items and three factors: defensiveness, trust difficulty, and lack of relationship skills. Constructive validity analyses were also conducted.

CONCLUSION

The RSS is a brief scale that provides conclusive information about individual patterns in relationships. Findings using this scale can offer explanations regarding the reasons that individuals engage in destructive behaviours from one relationship to the next. Investigations should continue to test a model for sabotage in romantic relationships using the developed scale and other factors such as relationship diferences and insecure attachment. More specifically, this measure can be used to understand mediator constructs of relational outcomes within the attachment framework to explain relationship dissolution and work towards relationship maintenance.

The associations of hostility and defensiveness with telomere length are influenced by sex and health status

Background

Shorter telomere length (TL) may indicate premature cellular aging and increased risk for disease. While there is substantial evidence for shorter TL in individuals suffering from psychiatric disorders, data is scarce on maladaptive personality traits related to coronary artery disease (CAD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of TL with hostility and defensiveness in individuals with CAD or other non-cardiovascular illnesses and whether associations were moderated by CAD status and sex.

Methods

One thousand thirty-six individuals (M_age = 65.40 ± 6.73 years) with and without CAD completed the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and the Cook–Medley Hostility Scale. Relative TL was measured via quantitative polymerase chain reaction of total genomic DNA samples. Analyses involved hierarchical regressions on TL, performed separately for hostility and defensiveness, controlling for pertinent sociodemographic, behavioural, and medical risk factors. Separate analyses were performed on 25 healthy participants.

Results

A hostility by sex interaction emerged (β = − .08, p = .006) in the patient groups, where greater hostility was associated with shorter TL in women only (p < .01). A Defensiveness by CAD status interaction (β = − .06, p = .049) revealed longer TL in more defensive CAD patients only (p = .06). In healthy men, shorter TL was observed in those with greater defensiveness (β = .52, p = .006) but lower hostility (β = − .43, p = .049).

Conclusion

Hostility and defensiveness are differentially associated with TL as a function of sex and health status. The implication of these results for health remains to be determined, but propose an additional pathway through which the effect of maladaptive personality traits may contribute to CV and other disease.

I understand you feel that way, but I feel this way: the benefits of I-language and communicating perspective during conflict

Using hypothetical scenarios, we provided participants with potential opening statements to a conflict discussion that varied on I/you language and communicated perspective. Participants rated the likelihood that the recipient of the statement would react in a defensive manner. Using I-language and communicating perspective were both found to reduce perceptions of hostility. Statements that communicated both self- and other-perspective using I-language (e.g. 'I understand why you might feel that way, but I feel this way, so I think the situation is unfair') were rated as the best strategy to open a conflict discussion. Simple acts of initial language use can reduce the chances that conflict discussion will descend into a downward spiral of hostility.

A meta-analytic review of the MMPI validity scales and indexes to detect defensiveness in custody evaluations

Background/Objective: In child custody disputes, one of the remit of the forensic psychologist is to evaluate parental attributes while suspecting defensiveness. The instrument of choice for undertaking this double task is the MMPI. Method: As to establish the state of the art on this, a meta-analysis was undertaken with a total of 32 primary studies from which 256 effect sizes were assessed. A meta-analysis was undertaken, effect sizes were corrected for sampling error and criterion unreliability. Results: The results revealed a positive, significant, large and generalizable mean true effect size for the L, K, S and MP scales, and the L + K and L + K-F indexes. The Wsd was positive, significant and large, but not generalizable. A negative and significant, but not generalizable mean true effect size was found for the F and generalizable for F-K index. The effect sizes for the L, K, S and MP scales, and the L + K and L + K-F indexes were equal. Both the gender of parents (father vs. mother) and the context of evaluation (parent child custody disputes vs. parenting capacity) were assessed as moderators. Conclusions: The results are discussed in relation to forensic practice.

Self-reported Pleasantness Ratings and Examiner-Coded Defensiveness in Response to Touch in Children with ASD: Effects of Stimulus Material and Bodily Location

Tactile defensiveness, characterized by behavioral hyperresponsiveness and negative emotional responses to touch, is a common manifestation of aberrant sensory processing in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities (DD). Variations in tactile defensiveness with the properties of the stimulus and the bodily site of stimulation have been addressed in adults with self-report of perceived tactile pleasantness, but not in children. We presented three materials (pleasant, unpleasant, social) at three bodily sites and measured both examiner-coded defensiveness and self-reported pleasantness from a group of children with ASD and two comparison groups (one with DD, one with typical development (TD)). The main findings were: (1) children with ASD and DD showed significantly more defensiveness reactions and lower pleasantness ratings than the TD group, with higher variability, (2) there was a double dissociation for the effects of material and bodily site of stimulation: while bodily site predicted behavioral defensiveness, material predicted pleasantness rating. Additionally, it was noted that (3) the most pleasant material and the social touch conditions best distinguished ASD and DD from TD on defensiveness, and (4) within the ASD group, social impairment and defensiveness in bodily sites associated with social touch were positively correlated, suggesting a clinically relevant distinction between social and discriminative touch in ASD.

The impact of defensiveness and incident reactions on post-sanction drinking behaviors among mandated students

INTRODUCTION

Prior studies with mandated students (students referred for an intervention following violation of a campus alcohol policy) have suggested that decreases in drinking behaviors may occur before clinical intervention. Others studies have suggested that greater reductions were associated with lower defensiveness and stronger incident reactions, such as responsibility and aversiveness. The current study sought to integrate these findings and examine the influence of pre-sanction drinking and perceptions on mandated students' post-sanction drinking levels prior to attending a brief intervention.

METHODS

Data were collected as part of a longitudinal study of brief interventions in a mandated student sample (N=61, 43% female, 97% White). Participants completed demographic measures, scales measuring incident reactions and defensiveness, and a Time Line Follow Back assessing drinking quantity and frequency both pre- and post-sanction.

RESULTS

Analyses revealed significant post-sanction decreases in quantity (average total drinks per month) and frequency (number of monthly drinking days). Pre-sanction drinking quantity and frequency significantly predicted post-sanction quantity and frequency, respectively. Interaction effects suggest higher post-sanction quantities among moderate and heavier drinkers with higher defensiveness and lower aversiveness perceptions, while perceptions did not influence outcomes among light drinkers. None of the interactions involving blame or responsibility, or predicting post-sanction frequency, were significant.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest a complex relationship between pre-sanction drinking and student reactions. Implications for mandated student interactions and future research directions are discussed.

The role of current affect, anticipated affect and spontaneous self-affirmation in decisions to receive self-threatening genetic risk information

One reason for not seeking personally threatening information may be negative current and anticipated affective responses. We examined whether current (e.g., worry) and anticipated negative affect predicted intentions to seek sequencing results in the context of an actual genomic sequencing trial (ClinSeq®; n = 545) and whether spontaneous self-affirmation mitigated any (negative) association between affect and intentions. Anticipated affective response negatively predicted intentions to obtain and share results pertaining to both medically actionable and non-actionable disease, whereas current affect was only a marginal predictor. The negative association between anticipated affect and intentions to obtain results pertaining to non-actionable disease was weaker in individuals who were higher in spontaneous self-affirmation. These results have implications for the understanding of current and anticipated affect, self-affirmation and consequential decision-making and contribute to a growing body of evidence on the role of affect in medical decisions.