Development and validation of the Symptomatic Transdiagnostic Test (S2T)

INTRODUCTION

The categorical approach in psychiatry has received many criticisms. Modern research tends to develop a transdiagnostic approach. However, transdiagnostic works lack an overall understanding and focus mainly on anxiety and depression. The aim of the present study was to develop an easy to use tool to evaluate multiple dimensions opening the way for further research in the transdiagnostic approach. This will allow researchers to quickly assess the efficacy of psychotherapeutic interventions on multiple psychopathological dimensions.

METHOD

First, we identified the main symptoms of psychopathology in a sample of mental healthcare workers. Second, we developed the Symptomatic Transdiagnostic Test (S2T) to assess the main symptoms of psychopathology. Third, we evaluated its psychometric properties (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency) in three non-clinical samples and one clinical sample.

RESULTS

The 66-item S2T included eleven factors referring to: i) negative thoughts and mood; ii) psycho-traumatic and maladaptive symptoms; iii) addiction symptoms; iv) disturbed eating behavior; v) disturbed perception and behavior; vi) panic and agoraphobia; vii) emotional lability; viii) dejection; ix) neurodevelopmental manifestations; x) anxiety and xi) psychic hyperactivity. We found a high internal consistency for the general scale (α=0.96) and the subscales. We found a good concurrent validity. As expected, we found higher levels of symptoms within the clinical population as compared to the non-clinical samples, except for addiction symptoms and disrupted eating behavior. We found negative associations between the symptomatic dimensions and psychological skills.

CONCLUSION

The S2T is a relevant tool for clinicians and researchers to assess the psychopathological profile. The main psychopathological symptoms are negatively related to the psychological skills.

The process of emotion identification: Considerations for psychiatric disorders

Emotional regulation is important for mental health and behavioral regulation. A relevant precursor to emotional regulation may involve identification of one's emotions. Here, we propose a model of seven components that may provide a foundation for emotion identification. These factors include baseline mood, monitoring, physiological responses, interoception, past personal experiences regarding emotions/metacognition, context, and labeling. We additionally examine how deficits in different components may contribute to the concept of alexithymia, which is defined by difficulty identifying and describing one's own emotions. Ultimately, we explore how the model may support a relationship between specific psychiatric disorders and alexithymia. The proposed model may help explain emotional identification impairment in multiple psychiatric disorders and guide future research and treatment development efforts.

Emotional processes in binge drinking: A systematic review and perspective

Binge drinking is a widespread alcohol consumption pattern commonly engaged by youth. Here, we present the first systematic review of emotional processes in relation to binge drinking. Capitalizing on a theoretical model describing three emotional processing steps (emotional appraisal/identification, emotional response, emotional regulation) and following PRISMA guidelines, we considered all identified human studies exploring emotional abilities among binge drinkers. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and PsychINFO, and a standardized methodological quality assessment was performed for each study. The main findings offered by the 43 studies included are: 1) regarding emotional appraisal/identification, binge drinking is related to heightened negative emotional states, including greater severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms, and have difficulties in recognizing emotional cues expressed by others; 2) regarding emotional response, binge drinkers exhibit diminished emotional response compared with non-binge drinkers; 3) regarding emotional regulation, no experimental data currently support impaired emotion regulation in binge drinking. Variability in the identification and measurement of binge drinking habits across studies limits conclusions. Nevertheless, current findings establish the relevance of emotional processes in binge drinking and set the stage for new research perspectives to identify the nature and extent of emotional impairments in the onset and maintenance of excessive alcohol use.

Identification of emotions in mixed disgusted-happy faces as a function of depressive symptom severity

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Interpersonal difficulties are common in depression, but their underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. The role of depression in the identification of mixed emotional signals with a direct interpersonal value remains unclear. The present study aimed to clarify this question.

METHODS

A sample of 39 individuals reporting a broad range of depression levels completed an emotion identification task where they viewed faces expressing three emotional categories (100% disgusted and 100% happy faces, as well as their morphed 50% disgusted - 50% happy exemplars). Participants were asked to identify the corresponding depicted emotion as "clearly disgusted", "mixed", or "clearly happy".

RESULTS

Higher depression levels were associated with lower identification of positive emotions in 50% disgusted - 50% happy faces.

LIMITATIONS

The study was conducted with an analogue sample reporting individual differences in subclinical depression levels. Further research must replicate these findings in a clinical sample and clarify whether differential emotional identification patterns emerge in depression for different mixed negative-positive emotions (sad-happy vs. disgusted-happy).

CONCLUSIONS

Depression may account for a lower bias to perceive positive states when ambiguous states from others include subtle signals of social threat (i.e., disgust), leading to an under-perception of positive social signals.