Two roads diverged: Distinct mechanisms of attentional bias differentially predict negative affect and persistent negative thought.

PubMed

Onie, Sandersan; Most, Steven B

2017-08-01

Attentional biases to threatening stimuli have been implicated in various emotional disorders. Theoretical approaches often carry the implicit assumption that various attentional bias measures tap into the same underlying construct, but attention itself is not a unitary mechanism. Most attentional bias tasks-such as the dot probe (DP)-index spatial attention, neglecting other potential attention mechanisms. We compared the DP with emotion-induced blindness (EIB), which appears to be mechanistically distinct, and examined the degree to which these tasks predicted (a) negative affect, (b) persistent negative thought (i.e., worry, rumination), and (c) each other. The 2 tasks did not predict each other, and they uniquely accounted for negative affect in a regression analysis. The relationship between EIB and negative affect was mediated by persistent negative thought, whereas that between the DP and negative affect was not, suggesting that EIB may be more intimately linked than spatial attention with persistent negative thought. Experiment 2 revealed EIB to have a favorable test-retest reliability. Together, these findings underscore the importance of distinguishing between attentional bias mechanisms when constructing theoretical models of, and interventions that target, particular emotional disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Trait rumination and response to negative evaluative lab-induced stress: neuroendocrine, affective, and cognitive outcomes.

PubMed

Vrshek-Schallhorn, Suzanne; Velkoff, Elizabeth A; Zinbarg, Richard E

2018-04-06

Theoretical models of depression posit that, under stress, elevated trait rumination predicts more pronounced or prolonged negative affective and neuroendocrine responses, and that trait rumination hampers removing irrelevant negative information from working memory. We examined several gaps regarding these models in the context of lab-induced stress. Non-depressed undergraduates completed a rumination questionnaire and either a negative-evaluative Trier Social Stress Test (n = 55) or a non-evaluative control condition (n = 69), followed by a modified Sternberg affective working memory task assessing the extent to which irrelevant negative information can be emptied from working memory. We measured shame, negative and positive affect, and salivary cortisol four times. Multilevel growth curve models showed rumination and stress interactively predicted cortisol reactivity; however, opposite predictions, greater rumination was associated with blunted cortisol reactivity to stress. Elevated trait rumination interacted with stress to predict augmented shame reactivity. Rumination and stress did not significantly interact to predict working memory performance, but under control conditions, rumination predicted greater difficulty updating working memory. Results support a vulnerability-stress model of trait rumination with heightened shame reactivity and cortisol dysregulation rather than hyper-reactivity in non-depressed emerging adults, but we cannot provide evidence that working memory processes are critical immediately following acute stress.

Who finds neutral pictures pleasant and relaxing?

PubMed

Moè, Angelica; Sarlo, Michela

2011-04-01

Valence and arousal are independent dimensions of consciously experienced affect. The former refers to pleasantness; the latter to the degree of excitement or stimulation. The present research explores some of the predictors of these dimensions through the hypothesis that valence relates to positive affect and lack of negative affect, while arousal is tied to negative affect, and that both are predicted by personal wellbeing, considered as a way of achieving happiness. The occurrence of depressive symptoms is also considered within the hypothesis: as a facet of negative affect, as lack of wellbeing, or as an independent dimension placed at the same level as wellbeing, and which relates to both positive and negative affect (considered as mediators). Sixty-one participants were asked to view on a computer screen a series of 20 neutral pictures, having medium valence and low arousal, and complete self-report questionnaires to assess affect, personal wellbeing, and the occurrence of depressive symptoms. After picture viewing, valence and arousal judgments were requested. In the analysis, three competing models with latent variables were tested, to assess at best the role depressive symptoms have. They confirmed that valence is predicted by high positive and low negative affect, arousal by negative affect and even directly by the occurrence of depressive symptoms, and that personal wellbeing and depressive symptoms are the starting point. They are negatively correlated and predict positive (both) and negative affect (just the occurrence of depressive symptoms). The discussion focuses on both theoretical and practical implications. Suggestions for future research are given.

Direct Observations of Parenting and Real-time Negative Affect among Adolescent Smokers and Non-Smokers

PubMed Central

Richmond, Melanie J.; Mermelstein, Robin J.; Wakschlag, Lauren S.

2012-01-01

Objective This longitudinal study examined how observations of parental general communication style and control with their adolescents predicted changes in negative affect over time for adolescent smokers and non-smokers. Method Participants were 9th and 10th grade adolescents (N = 111; 56.8% female) who had all experimented with cigarettes and were thus at risk for continued smoking and escalation; 36% of these adolescents (n = 40) had smoked in the past month at baseline and were considered smokers in the present analyses. Adolescents participated separately with mothers and fathers in observed parent-adolescent problem-solving discussions to assess parenting at baseline. Adolescent negative affect was assessed at baseline, 6- and 24-months via ecological momentary assessment. Results Among both smoking and non-smoking adolescents, escalating negative affect significantly increased risk for future smoking. Higher quality maternal and paternal communication predicted a decline in negative affect over 1.5 years for adolescent smokers but was not related to negative affect for non-smokers. Controlling maternal, but not paternal, parenting predicted escalation in negative affect for all adolescents. Conclusions Findings suggest that reducing negative affect among experimenting youth can reduce risk for smoking escalation. Therefore, family-based prevention efforts for adolescent smoking escalation might consider parental general communication style and control as intervention targets. However, adolescent smoking status and parent gender may moderate these effects. PMID:23153193

Direct observations of parenting and real-time negative affect among adolescent smokers and nonsmokers.

PubMed

Richmond, Melanie J; Mermelstein, Robin J; Wakschlag, Lauren S

2013-01-01

This longitudinal study examined how observations of parental general communication style and control with their adolescents predicted changes in negative affect over time for adolescent smokers and nonsmokers. Participants were 9th- and 10th-grade adolescents (N = 111; 56.8% female) who had all experimented with cigarettes and were thus at risk for continued smoking and escalation; 36% of these adolescents (n = 40) had smoked in the past month at baseline and were considered smokers in the present analyses. Adolescents participated separately with mothers and fathers in observed parent-adolescent problem-solving discussions to assess parenting at baseline. Adolescent negative affect was assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 24 months via ecological momentary assessment. Among both smoking and nonsmoking adolescents, escalating negative affect significantly increased risk for future smoking. Higher quality maternal and paternal communication predicted a decline in negative affect over 1.5 years for adolescent smokers but was not related to negative affect for nonsmokers. Controlling maternal, but not paternal, parenting predicted escalation in negative affect for all adolescents. Findings suggest that reducing negative affect among experimenting youth can reduce risk for smoking escalation. Therefore, family-based prevention efforts for adolescent smoking escalation might consider parental general communication style and control as intervention targets. However, adolescent smoking status and parent gender may moderate these effects.

Using Emotion as Information in Future-Oriented Cognition: Individual Differences in the Context of State Negative Affect

PubMed Central

Marroquín, Brett; Boyle, Chloe C.; Nolen-Hoeksema, Susan; Stanton, Annette L.

2016-01-01

Predictions about the future are susceptible to mood-congruent influences of emotional state. However, recent work suggests individuals also differ in the degree to which they incorporate emotion into cognition. This study examined the role of such individual differences in the context of state negative emotion. We examined whether trait tendencies to use negative or positive emotion as information affect individuals' predictions of what will happen in the future (likelihood estimation) and how events will feel (affective forecasting), and whether trait influences depend on emotional state. Participants (N=119) reported on tendencies to use emotion as information (“following feelings”), underwent an emotion induction (negative versus neutral), and made likelihood estimates and affective forecasts for future events. Views of the future were predicted by both emotional state and individual differences in following feelings. Whereas following negative feelings affected most future-oriented cognition across emotional states, following positive feelings specifically buffered individuals' views of the future in the negative emotion condition, and specifically for positive future events, a category of future-event prediction especially important in psychological health. Individual differences may confer predisposition toward optimistic or pessimistic expectations of the future in the context of acute negative emotion, with implications for adaptive and maladaptive functioning. PMID:27041783

Negative Affective Spillover from Daily Events Predicts Early Response to Cognitive Therapy for Depression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Lawrence H.; Gunthert, Kathleen C.; Butler, Andrew C.; Parrish, Brendt P.; Wenze, Susan J.; Beck, Judith S.

2008-01-01

This study evaluated the predictive role of depressed outpatients' (N = 62) affective reactivity to daily stressors in their rates of improvement in cognitive therapy (CT). For 1 week before treatment, patients completed nightly electronic diaries that assessed daily stressors and negative affect (NA). The authors used multilevel modeling to…

Chronic and Daily Stressors Along With Negative Affect Interact to Predict Daily Tiredness.

PubMed

Hartsell, Elizabeth N; Neupert, Shevaun D

2017-11-01

The present study examines the within-person relationship of daily stressors and tiredness and whether this depends on daily negative affect and individual differences in chronic stress. One hundred sixteen older adult participants were recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk for a 9-day daily diary study. Daily tiredness, daily stressors, and negative affect were measured each day, and chronic stress was measured at baseline. Daily stressors, daily negative affect, and chronic stress interacted to predict daily tiredness. People with high chronic stress who experienced an increase in daily negative affect were the most reactive to daily stressors in terms of experiencing an increase in daily tiredness. We also found that people with low levels of chronic stress were the most reactive to daily stressors when they experienced low levels of daily negative affect. Our results highlight the need for individualized and contextualized approaches to combating daily tiredness in older adults.

The Role of Negative Affect and Self-Concept Clarity in Predicting Self-Injurious Urges in Borderline Personality Disorder Using Ecological Momentary Assessment.

PubMed

Scala, J Wesley; Levy, Kenneth N; Johnson, Benjamin N; Kivity, Yogev; Ellison, William D; Pincus, Aaron L; Wilson, Stephen J; Newman, Michelle G

2018-01-01

Deficits in identity as well as negative affect have been shown to predict self-injurious and suicidal behaviors in individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, less is known about the interactive effects of these two predictors. We examined the moderating effect of a particular component of identity, self-concept, on the relationship between negative affect and self-injurious urges utilizing ecological momentary assessments. Outpatients diagnosed with either BPD (n = 36) or any anxiety disorder but no BPD (n = 18) completed surveys throughout the day over a 21-day period. Higher levels of momentary negative affect predicted greater subsequent urges to self-injure, but only when self-concept clarity was low (z = -3.60, p < .01). This effect did not differ between diagnostic groups. The results suggest that self-concept clarity has a protective effect against self-injurious urges in light of high negative affect, and that this effect may be transdiagnostic.

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

PubMed

Ferrer, Rebecca A; Taber, Jennifer M; Klein, William M P; Harris, Peter R; Lewis, Katie L; Biesecker, Leslie G

2015-01-01

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.

Posttraumatic stress symptoms and tobacco abstinence effects in a non-clinical sample: evaluating the mediating role of negative affect reduction smoking expectancies.

PubMed

Langdon, Kirsten J; Leventhal, Adam M

2014-11-01

The relation between posttraumatic stress symptoms and smoking is well documented but poorly understood. The present investigation sought to evaluate the impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms on subjective and behavioral tobacco abstinence effects both directly and indirectly through negative affect reduction smoking outcome expectancies. Participants included 275 (68.7% male; Mage =43.9, 10+ cig/day) adult non-treatment seeking smokers, who attended two counterbalanced laboratory sessions (16 h of smoking deprivation vs ad libitum smoking), during which they completed self-report measures of withdrawal symptoms and mood followed by a smoking lapse task in which they could earn money for delaying smoking and purchase cigarettes to smoke. Results supported a mediational pathway whereby higher baseline symptoms of posttraumatic stress predicted greater endorsement of expectancies that smoking will effectively reduce negative affect, which in turn predicted greater abstinence-provoked exacerbations in nicotine withdrawal symptoms and negative affect. Posttraumatic stress symptoms also predicted number of cigarettes purchased independent of negative affect reduction expectancies, but did not predict delaying smoking for money. Findings highlight tobacco abstinence effects as a putative mechanism underlying posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-smoking comorbidity, indicate an important mediating role of beliefs for smoking-induced negative affect reduction, and shed light on integrated treatment approaches for these two conditions. © The Author(s) 2014.

Negative affect and a fluctuating jumping to conclusions bias predict subsequent paranoia in daily life: An online experience sampling study.

PubMed

Lüdtke, Thies; Kriston, Levente; Schröder, Johanna; Lincoln, Tania M; Moritz, Steffen

2017-09-01

Negative affect and a tendency to "jump to conclusions" (JTC) are associated with paranoia. So far, only negative affect has been examined as a precursor of subsequent paranoia in daily life using experience sampling (ESM). We addressed this research gap and used ESM to test whether JTC fluctuates in daily life, whether it predicts subsequent paranoia, and whether it mediates the effect of negative affect on paranoia. Thirty-five participants with schizophrenia spectrum disorders repeatedly self-reported negative affect, JTC, and paranoia via online questionnaires on two consecutive days. We measured JTC with a paradigm consisting of ambiguous written scenarios. Multilevel linear models were conducted. Most participants showed JTC consistently on two days rather than only on one day. When time was used as a predictor of JTC, significant slope variance indicated that for a subgroup of participants JTC fluctuated over time. For 48% of participants, these fluctuations equaled changes of approximately ±1 point on the four-point JTC scale within one day. There was no mediation. However, negative affect and JTC both significantly predicted subsequent paranoia. The ESM assessment period was short and encompassed few assessments (8 in total). Our findings indicate that JTC is both stable (regarding its mere occurrence) and fluctuating simultaneously (regarding its magnitude). Although JTC was not a mediator linking negative affect and paranoia, it did predict paranoia. Further ESM studies on JTC are needed to confirm our findings in longer assessment periods and with other JTC paradigms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monoamine Oxidase A (MAOA) Genotype Predicts Greater Aggression Through Impulsive Reactivity to Negative Affect

PubMed Central

Chester, David S.; DeWall, C. Nathan; Derefinko, Karen J.; Estus, Steven; Peters, Jessica R.; Lynam, Donald R.; Jiang, Yang

2015-01-01

Low functioning MAOA genotypes have been reliably linked to increased reactive aggression, yet the psychological mechanisms of this effect remain largely unknown. The low functioning MAOA genotype’s established link to diminished inhibition and greater reactivity to conditions of negative affect suggest that negative urgency, the tendency to act impulsively in the context of negative affect, may fill this mediating role. Such MAOA carriers may have higher negative urgency, which may in turn predict greater aggressive responses to provocation. To test these hypotheses, 277 female and male participants were genotyped for an MAOA SNP yet to be linked to aggression (rs1465108), and then reported their negative urgency and past aggressive behavior. We replicated the effect of the low functioning MAOA genotype on heightened aggression, which was mediated by greater negative urgency. These results suggest that disrupted serotonergic systems predispose individuals towards aggressive behavior by increasing impulsive reactivity to negative affect. PMID:25637908

Metacognitive deficits predict future levels of negative symptoms in schizophrenia controlling for neurocognition, affect recognition, and self-expectation of goal attainment.

PubMed

Lysaker, Paul H; Kukla, Marina; Dubreucq, Julien; Gumley, Andrew; McLeod, Hamish; Vohs, Jenifer L; Buck, Kelly D; Minor, Kyle S; Luther, Lauren; Leonhardt, Bethany L; Belanger, Elizabeth A; Popolo, Raffaele; Dimaggio, Giancarlo

2015-10-01

The recalcitrance of negative symptoms in the face of pharmacologic treatment has spurred interest in understanding the psychological factors that contribute to their formation and persistence. Accordingly, this study investigated whether deficits in metacognition, or the ability to form integrated ideas about oneself, others, and the world, prospectively predicted levels of negative symptoms independent of deficits in neurocognition, affect recognition and defeatist beliefs. Participants were 53 adults with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Prior to entry into a rehabilitation program, all participants completed concurrent assessments of metacognition with the Metacognitive Assessment Scale-Abbreviated, negative symptoms with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, neurocognition with the MATRICS battery, affect recognition with the Bell Lysaker Emotion Recognition Task, and one form of defeatist beliefs with the Recovery Assessment Scale. Negative symptoms were then reassessed one week, 9weeks, and 17weeks after entry into the program. A mixed effects regression model revealed that after controlling for baseline negative symptoms, a general index of neurocognition, defeatist beliefs and capacity for affect recognition, lower levels of metacognition predicted higher levels of negative symptoms across all subsequent time points. Poorer metacognition was able to predict later levels of elevated negative symptoms even after controlling for initial levels of negative symptoms. Results may suggest that metacognitive deficits are a risk factor for elevated levels of negative symptoms in the future. Clinical implications are also discussed. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Negative affective spillover from daily events predicts early response to cognitive therapy for depression.

PubMed

Cohen, Lawrence H; Gunthert, Kathleen C; Butler, Andrew C; Parrish, Brendt P; Wenze, Susan J; Beck, Judith S

2008-12-01

This study evaluated the predictive role of depressed outpatients' (N = 62) affective reactivity to daily stressors in their rates of improvement in cognitive therapy (CT). For 1 week before treatment, patients completed nightly electronic diaries that assessed daily stressors and negative affect (NA). The authors used multilevel modeling to compute each patient's within-day relationship between daily stressors and daily NA (within-day reactivity), as well as the relationship between daily stressors and next-day NA (next-day reactivity; affective spillover). In growth model analyses, the authors evaluated the predictive role of patients' NA reactivity in their early (Sessions 1-4) and late (Sessions 5-12) response to CT. Within-day NA reactivity did not predict early or late response to CT. However, next-day reactivity predicted early response to CT, such that patients who had greater NA spillover in response to negative events had a slower rate of symptom change during the first 4 sessions. Affective spillover did not influence later response to CT. The findings suggest that depressed patients who have difficulty bouncing back the next day from their NA reactions to a relative increase in daily negative events will respond less quickly to the early sessions of CT.

Yes: The Symptoms of OCD and Depression Are Discrete and Not Exclusively Negative Affectivity

PubMed Central

Moore, Kathleen A.; Howell, Jacqui

2017-01-01

Although Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Depression are classified as separate disorders, the high incidence of co-morbidity and the strong correlations between measures of each has led to debate about the nature of their relationship. Some authors have proposed that OCD is in fact a mood disorder while others have suggested that the two disorders are grounded in negative affectivity. A third proposition is that depression is an essential part of OCD but that OCD is a separate disorder from depression. The aim in this study was to investigate these diverse propositions in a non-clinical sample and also to determine whether factors implicated in each, that is anxious and depressive cognitions, hopelessness, and self-criticism, would demonstrate commonality as predictors of the symptoms of OCD and of depression. Two hundred participants (59% female) (M age = 34 years, SD = 16) completed the Padua Inventory, Carroll Rating Scale, Cognitions Checklist, Self-Criticism Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory-Revised and a Negative Affectivity Schedule. Results indicated a strong correlation between OCD and depression, depression, and negative affectivity but a weaker relationship between OCD and negative affectivity. Path analyses revealed that both anxious and depressive cognitions, as well as hostility predicted both disorders but the Beta-weights were stronger on OCD. Self-criticism predicted only depression while hopelessness failed to predict either disorder but was itself predicted by depressive cognitions. Depression was a stronger indicator of negative affect than OCD and while OCD positively predicted depression, depression was a negative indicator of OCD. These results support the hypothesis that OCD and depression are discrete disorders and indicate that while depression is implicated in OCD, the reverse does not hold. While both disorders are related to negative affectivity, this relationship is much stronger for depression thus failing to confirm that both are subsumed by a common factor, in this case, negative affectivity. The proposition that depression is part of OCD but that OCD is not necessarily implicated in depression and is, in fact, a separate disorder, is supported by the current model. Further research is required to support the utility of the model in clinical samples. PMID:28553250

Associations Between Infant Negative Affect and Parent Anxiety Symptoms are Bidirectional: Evidence from Mothers and Fathers

PubMed Central

Brooker, Rebecca J.; Neiderhiser, Jenae M.; Leve, Leslie D.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Scaramella, Laura V.; Reiss, David

2015-01-01

Little is known about child-based effects on parents’ anxiety symptoms early in life despite the possibility that child characteristics may contribute to the quality of the early environment and children’s own long-term risk for psychological disorder. We examined bidirectional effects between parent anxiety symptoms and infant negative affect using a prospective adoption design. Infant negative affect and adoptive parent anxiety symptoms were assessed at child ages 9, 18, and 27 months. Birth parent negative affect was assessed at child age 18 months. More anxiety symptoms in adoptive parents at child age 9 months predicted more negative affect in infants 9 months later. More infant negative affect at child age 9 months predicted more anxiety symptoms in adoptive parents 18 months later. Patterns of results did not differ for adoptive mothers and adoptive fathers. Birth parent negative affect was unrelated to infant or adoptive parent measures. Consistent with expectations, associations between infant negative affect and rearing parents’ anxiety symptoms appear to be bidirectional. In addition to traditional parent-to-child effects, our results suggest that infants’ characteristics may contribute to parent qualities that are known to impact childhood outcomes. PMID:26696939

Negative Urgency: A Personality Predictor of Externalizing Behavior Characterized by Neuroticism, Low Conscientiousness, and Disagreeableness

PubMed Central

Settles, Regan E.; Fischer, Sarah; Cyders, Melissa A.; Combs, Jessica L.; Gunn, Rachel L.; Smith, Gregory T.

2012-01-01

Negative urgency, the tendency to act rashly when distressed, is characterized by high Neuroticism, low Conscientiousness, and low Agreeableness. Because of this set of characteristics, the authors hypothesized that (1) negative urgency (NU) is a particularly important predictor of externalizing dysfunction; (2) traits that reflect primarily high Neuroticism predict internalizing dysfunction and (3) traits that reflect primarily low Conscientiousness predict those types of externalizing dysfunction that include intense affect less strongly than does NU. In three studies, the authors showed that negative urgency concurrently predicted alcohol dependence symptoms in disordered women, drinking problems and smoker status in pre-adolescents, and aggression, risky sex, illegal drug use, drinking problems, and conduct disordered behavior in college students. High Neuroticism traits predicted internalizing dysfunction but predicted none of these externalizing criteria beyond negative urgency. Low Conscientiousness did not add to prediction from negative urgency, except in a few cases. The tendency toward affect-driven rash action may underlie many externalizing behaviors. PMID:21859164

Daily variability in working memory is coupled with negative affect: the role of attention and motivation.

PubMed

Brose, Annette; Schmiedek, Florian; Lövdén, Martin; Lindenberger, Ulman

2012-06-01

Across days, individuals experience varying levels of negative affect, control of attention, and motivation. We investigated whether this intraindividual variability was coupled with daily fluctuations in working memory (WM) performance. In 100 days, 101 younger individuals worked on a spatial N-back task and rated negative affect, control of attention, and motivation. Results showed that individuals differed in how reliably WM performance fluctuated across days, and that subjective experiences were primarily linked to performance accuracy. WM performance was lower on days with higher levels of negative affect, reduced control of attention, and reduced task-related motivation. Thus, variables that were found to predict WM in between-subjects designs showed important relationships to WM at the within-person level. In addition, there was shared predictive variance among predictors of WM. Days with increased negative affect and reduced performance were also days with reduced control of attention and reduced motivation to work on tasks. These findings are in line with proposed mechanisms linking negative affect and cognitive performance.

Social information processing in children: specific relations to anxiety, depression, and affect.

PubMed

Luebbe, Aaron M; Bell, Debora J; Allwood, Maureen A; Swenson, Lance P; Early, Martha C

2010-01-01

Two studies examined shared and unique relations of social information processing (SIP) to youth's anxious and depressive symptoms. Whether SIP added unique variance over and above trait affect in predicting internalizing symptoms was also examined. In Study 1, 215 youth (ages 8-13) completed symptom measures of anxiety and depression and a vignette-based interview measure of SIP. Anxiety and depression were each related to a more negative information-processing style. Only depression was uniquely related to a less positive information processing style. In Study 2, 127 youth (ages 10-13) completed measures of anxiety, depression, SIP, and trait affect. SIP's relations to internalizing symptoms were replicated. Over and above negative affect, negative SIP predicted both anxiety and depression. Low positive SIP added variance over and above positive affect in predicting only depression. Finally, SIP functioning partially mediated the relations of affect to internalizing symptoms.

Reducing negative affect and increasing rapport improve interracial mentorship outcomes

PubMed Central

Ayduk, Özlem; Boykin, C. Malik; Mendoza-Denton, Rodolfo

2018-01-01

Research suggests that interracial mentoring relationships are strained by negative affect and low rapport. As such, it stands to reason that strategies that decrease negative affect and increase rapport should improve these relationships. However, previous research has not tested this possibility. In video-chats (Studies 1 and 2) and face-to-face meetings (Study 3), we manipulated the degree of mutual self-disclosure between mentees and mentors, a strategy that has been shown to reduce negative affect and increase rapport. We then measured negative affect and rapport as mediators, and mentee performance (quality of speech delivered; Studies 1 and 3) and mentor performance (warmth and helpfulness; Studies 2 and 3) as key outcomes. Results revealed that increased self-disclosure decreased negative affect and increased rapport for both mentees and mentors. Among mentees, decreased negative affect predicted better performance (Studies 1 and 3). Among mentors, increased rapport predicted warmer feedback (Studies 2 and 3). These effects remained significant when we meta-analyzed data across studies (Study 4), and also revealed the relationship of rapport to more helpful feedback. Findings suggest that affect and rapport are key features in facilitating positive outcomes in interracial mentoring relationships. PMID:29617368

Health Communication in Social Media: Message Features Predicting User Engagement on Diabetes-Related Facebook Pages.

PubMed

Rus, Holly M; Cameron, Linda D

2016-10-01

Social media provides unprecedented opportunities for enhancing health communication and health care, including self-management of chronic conditions such as diabetes. Creating messages that engage users is critical for enhancing message impact and dissemination. This study analyzed health communications within ten diabetes-related Facebook pages to identify message features predictive of user engagement. The Common-Sense Model of Illness Self-Regulation and established health communication techniques guided content analyses of 500 Facebook posts. Each post was coded for message features predicted to engage users and numbers of likes, shares, and comments during the week following posting. Multi-level, negative binomial regressions revealed that specific features predicted different forms of engagement. Imagery emerged as a strong predictor; messages with images had higher rates of liking and sharing relative to messages without images. Diabetes consequence information and positive identity predicted higher sharing while negative affect, social support, and crowdsourcing predicted higher commenting. Negative affect, crowdsourcing, and use of external links predicted lower sharing while positive identity predicted lower commenting. The presence of imagery weakened or reversed the positive relationships of several message features with engagement. Diabetes control information and negative affect predicted more likes in text-only messages, but fewer likes when these messages included illustrative imagery. Similar patterns of imagery's attenuating effects emerged for the positive relationships of consequence information, control information, and positive identity with shares and for positive relationships of negative affect and social support with comments. These findings hold promise for guiding communication design in health-related social media.

Cognitive reappraisal and secondary control coping: associations with working memory, positive and negative affect, and symptoms of anxiety/depression.

PubMed

Andreotti, Charissa; Thigpen, Jennifer E; Dunn, Madeleine J; Watson, Kelly; Potts, Jennifer; Reising, Michelle M; Robinson, Kristen E; Rodriguez, Erin M; Roubinov, Danielle; Luecken, Linda; Compas, Bruce E

2013-01-01

The current study examined the relations of measures of cognitive reappraisal and secondary control coping with working memory abilities, positive and negative affect, and symptoms of anxiety and depression in young adults (N=124). Results indicate significant relations between working memory abilities and reports of secondary control coping and between reports of secondary control coping and cognitive reappraisal. Associations were also found between measures of secondary control coping and cognitive reappraisal and positive and negative affect and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Further, the findings suggest that reports of cognitive reappraisal may be more strongly predictive of positive affect whereas secondary control coping may be more strongly predictive of negative affect and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Overall, the results suggest that current measures of secondary control coping and cognitive reappraisal capture related but distinct constructs and suggest that the assessment of working memory may be more strongly related to secondary control coping in predicting individual differences in distress.

The Many Faces of Affect: A Multilevel Model of Drinking Frequency/Quantity and Alcohol Dependence Symptoms Among Young Adults

PubMed Central

Simons, Jeffrey S.; Wills, Thomas A.; Neal, Dan J.

2016-01-01

This research tested a multilevel structural equation model of associations between 3 aspects of affective functioning (state affect, trait affect, and affective lability) and 3 alcohol outcomes (likelihood of drinking, quantity on drinking days, and dependence symptoms) in a sample of 263 college students. Participants provided 49 days of experience sampling data over 1.3 years in a longitudinal burst design. Within-person results: At the daily level, positive affect was directly associated with greater likelihood and quantity of alcohol consumption. Daily negative affect was directly associated with higher consumption on drinking days and with higher dependence symptoms. Between-person direct effects: Affect lability was associated with higher trait negative, but not positive, affect. Trait positive affect was inversely associated with the proportion of drinking days, whereas negative affectivity predicted a greater proportion of drinking days. Affect lability exhibited a direct association with dependence symptoms. Between-person indirect effects: Trait positive affect was associated with fewer dependence symptoms via proportion of drinking days. Trait negative affect was associated with greater dependence symptoms via proportion of drinking days. The results distinguish relations of positive and negative affect to likelihood versus amount of drinking and state versus trait drinking outcomes, and highlight the importance of affect variability for predicting alcohol dependence symptoms. PMID:24933278

The happy personality: a meta-analysis of 137 personality traits and subjective well-being.

PubMed

DeNeve, K M; Cooper, H

1998-09-01

This meta-analysis used 9 literature search strategies to examine 137 distinct personality constructs as correlates of subjective well-being (SWB). Personality was found to be equally predictive of life satisfaction, happiness, and positive affect, but significantly less predictive of negative affect. The traits most closely associated with SWB were repressive-defensiveness, trust, emotional stability, locus of control-chance, desire for control, hardiness, positive affectivity, private collective self-esteem, and tension. When personality traits were grouped according to the Big Five factors, Neuroticism was the strongest predictor of life satisfaction, happiness, and negative affect. Positive affect was predicted equally well by Extraversion and Agreeableness. The relative importance of personality for predicting SWB, how personality might influence SWB, and limitations of the present review are discussed.

Harm avoidance in adolescents modulates late positive potentials during affective picture processing.

PubMed

Zhang, Wenhai; Lu, Jiamei; Ni, Ziyin; Liu, Xia; Wang, Dahua; Shen, Jiliang

2013-08-01

Research in adults has shown that individual differences in harm avoidance (HA) modulate electrophysiological responses to affective stimuli. To determine whether HA in adolescents modulates affective information processing, we collected event-related potentials from 70 adolescents while they viewed 90 pictures from the Chinese affective picture system. Multiple regressions revealed that HA negatively predicted late positive potential (LPP) for positive pictures and positively predicted for negative pictures; however, HA did not correlate with LPP for neutral pictures. The results suggest that at the late evaluative stage, high-HA adolescents display attentional bias to negative pictures while low-HA adolescents display attentional bias to negative pictures. Moreover, these dissociable attentional patterns imply that individual differences in adolescents' HA modulate the late selective attention mechanism of affective information. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The Relative Salience of Daily and Enduring Influences on Off-Job Reactions to Work Stress.

PubMed

Calderwood, Charles; Ackerman, Phillip L

2016-12-01

Work stress is an important determinant of employee health and wellness. The occupational health community is recognizing that one contributor to these relationships may be the presence of negative off-job reactivity to work, which we argue involves continued thoughts directed towards work (cognitive reactivity), continued negative mood stemming from work (affective reactivity), and the alteration of post-work behaviours in response to work factors (behavioural reactivity). We explored the relative contributions of daily work stressors, affective traits, and subjective job stress perceptions to negative off-job reactivity. These relationships were evaluated in a study of hospital nurses (n = 75), who completed trait measures and then provided self-assessments of daily work stress and off-job reactions for four work days. The results of several multilevel analyses indicated that a main-effects model best described the data when predicting cognitive, affective, and behavioural reactivity from daily work stressors, affective traits, and subjective job stress perceptions. A series of multilevel dominance analyses revealed that subjective job stress perceptions dominated the prediction of behavioural reactivity, while trait negative affect dominated the prediction of affective reactivity. Theoretical implications and the relative salience of daily and enduring contributors to negative off-job reactivity are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Parents’ emotion expression as a predictor of child’s social competence: children with or without intellectual disability

PubMed Central

Green, S.; Baker, B.

2014-01-01

Background Parents’ expression of positive emotion towards children who are typically developing (TD) is generally associated with better social development. However, the association between parents’ negative emotion expression and social development can be positive or negative depending upon a number of factors, including the child’s emotion regulation abilities. Given the lower emotion regulation capabilities of children with intellectual disability (ID), we hypothesised that parents’ negative emotion expression would be associated with lower social development in children with ID compared to those with TD. Methods Participants were 180 families of children with or without ID enrolled in a longitudinal study. Parents’ positive and negative affect were coded live from naturalistic home interactions at child ages 5–8 years, and child’s social skills were measured by using mother report at child ages 6–9 years. We examined mothers’ and fathers’ emotion expression as a time-varying predictor of social skills across ages 5–9 years. Results Mothers, but not fathers, expressed less positive affect and more negative affect with ID group children. Parents’ positive affect expression was related to social skills only for TD children, with mothers’ positive affect predicting higher social skills. Contrary to expectations, fathers’ positive affect predicted lower social skills. Parents’ negative affect predicted significantly lower social skills for children with ID than for children with TD. Conclusions Findings support the theory that low to moderate levels of negative expression may be less beneficial or detrimental for children with ID compared to children with TD. Implications for further research and intervention are discussed. PMID:21241394

Emotion, working memory task demands and individual differences predict behavior, cognitive effort and negative affect.

PubMed

Storbeck, Justin; Davidson, Nicole A; Dahl, Chelsea F; Blass, Sara; Yung, Edwin

2015-01-01

We examined whether positive and negative affect motivates verbal and spatial working memory processes, respectively, which have implications for the expenditure of mental effort. We argue that when emotion promotes cognitive tendencies that are goal incompatible with task demands, greater cognitive effort is required to perform well. We sought to investigate whether this increase in cognitive effort impairs behavioural control over a broad domain of self-control tasks. Moreover, we predicted that individuals with higher behavioural inhibition system (BIS) sensitivities would report more negative affect within the goal incompatible conditions because such individuals report higher negative affect during cognitive challenge. Positive or negative affective states were induced followed by completing a verbal or spatial 2-back working memory task. All participants then completed one of three self-control tasks. Overall, we observed that conditions of emotion and working memory incompatibility (positive/spatial and negative/verbal) performed worse on the self-control tasks, and within the incompatible conditions individuals with higher BIS sensitivities reported more negative affect at the end of the study. The combination of findings suggests that emotion and working memory compatibility reduces cognitive effort and impairs behavioural control.

Biases in affective forecasting and recall in individuals with depression and anxiety symptoms.

PubMed

Wenze, Susan J; Gunthert, Kathleen C; German, Ramaris E

2012-07-01

The authors used experience sampling to investigate biases in affective forecasting and recall in individuals with varying levels of depression and anxiety symptoms. Participants who were higher in depression symptoms demonstrated stronger (more pessimistic) negative mood prediction biases, marginally stronger negative mood recall biases, and weaker (less optimistic) positive mood prediction and recall biases. Participants who were higher in anxiety symptoms demonstrated stronger negative mood prediction biases, but positive mood prediction biases that were on par with those who were lower in anxiety. Anxiety symptoms were not associated with mood recall biases. Neither depression symptoms nor anxiety symptoms were associated with bias in event prediction. Their findings fit well with the tripartite model of depression and anxiety. Results are also consistent with the conceptualization of anxiety as a "forward-looking" disorder, and with theories that emphasize the importance of pessimism and general negative information processing in depressive functioning.

The Relation between Maternal Work Hours and Primary School Students' Affect in China: The Role of the Frequency of Mother-Child Communication (FMCC) and Maternal Education.

PubMed

Zhou, Huan; Lv, Bo; Guo, Xiaolin; Liu, Chunhui; Qi, Bing; Hu, Weiping; Liu, Zhaomin; Luo, Liang

2017-01-01

Background: Although substantial evidence suggests that maternal work hours may have a negative effect on children's cognitive development, the link between maternal work hours and children's affect remains unclear. Some studies have observed that non-daytime maternal work hours are associated with more emotional problems among children. However, few studies have focused on the effects of maternal work hours on workdays and non-workdays. Therefore, this study separately investigated the relation between maternal work hours on workdays and on non-workdays and explored the mediating role of the frequency of mother-child communication (FMCC) and the moderating role of maternal education. Method: Using cluster sampling, this study selected 879 students in grades 4-6 at two primary schools in the Hebei and Shandong provinces in China and their mothers as the study subjects. A multi-group structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the relations between maternal work hours, FMCC and children's affect and the moderating effect of maternal education. Results: (1) Non-college-educated mothers' work hours on workdays negatively predicted FMCC, but there was no such effect for college-educated mothers; (2) non-workday work hours of all employed mothers negatively predicted FMCC; (3) the FMCC of all employed mothers positively predicted children's positive affect; (4) the FMCC of college-educated mothers negatively predicted children's negative affect although there was no such relation for non-college-educated mothers; (5) there was a significant mediating effect of FMCC on the relation between maternal work hours and children's affect only for non-college-educated mothers; and (6) the workday work hours of non-college-educated mothers positively predicted children's negative affect, but this correlation was negative for college-educated mothers. Conclusion: Maternal work hours have a marginally significant negative effect on children's affect through FMCC only for non-college-educated mothers. Compared with non-college-educated mothers, college-educated mothers more easily compensate for the loss of communication opportunities caused by increased work hours on workdays, and children with college-educated mothers benefit more from this communication. However, compensating for the loss of communication opportunities caused by increased work hours on non-workdays is difficult for all employed mothers.

The Relation between Maternal Work Hours and Primary School Students’ Affect in China: The Role of the Frequency of Mother–Child Communication (FMCC) and Maternal Education

PubMed Central

Zhou, Huan; Lv, Bo; Guo, Xiaolin; Liu, Chunhui; Qi, Bing; Hu, Weiping; Liu, Zhaomin; Luo, Liang

2017-01-01

Background: Although substantial evidence suggests that maternal work hours may have a negative effect on children’s cognitive development, the link between maternal work hours and children’s affect remains unclear. Some studies have observed that non-daytime maternal work hours are associated with more emotional problems among children. However, few studies have focused on the effects of maternal work hours on workdays and non-workdays. Therefore, this study separately investigated the relation between maternal work hours on workdays and on non-workdays and explored the mediating role of the frequency of mother-child communication (FMCC) and the moderating role of maternal education. Method: Using cluster sampling, this study selected 879 students in grades 4–6 at two primary schools in the Hebei and Shandong provinces in China and their mothers as the study subjects. A multi-group structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the relations between maternal work hours, FMCC and children’s affect and the moderating effect of maternal education. Results: (1) Non-college-educated mothers’ work hours on workdays negatively predicted FMCC, but there was no such effect for college-educated mothers; (2) non-workday work hours of all employed mothers negatively predicted FMCC; (3) the FMCC of all employed mothers positively predicted children’s positive affect; (4) the FMCC of college-educated mothers negatively predicted children’s negative affect although there was no such relation for non-college-educated mothers; (5) there was a significant mediating effect of FMCC on the relation between maternal work hours and children’s affect only for non-college-educated mothers; and (6) the workday work hours of non-college-educated mothers positively predicted children’s negative affect, but this correlation was negative for college-educated mothers. Conclusion: Maternal work hours have a marginally significant negative effect on children’s affect through FMCC only for non-college-educated mothers. Compared with non-college-educated mothers, college-educated mothers more easily compensate for the loss of communication opportunities caused by increased work hours on workdays, and children with college-educated mothers benefit more from this communication. However, compensating for the loss of communication opportunities caused by increased work hours on non-workdays is difficult for all employed mothers. PMID:29075219

Beyond Negative Pain-Related Psychological Factors: Resilience Is Related to Lower Pain Affect in Healthy Adults.

PubMed

Hemington, Kasey S; Cheng, Joshua C; Bosma, Rachael L; Rogachov, Anton; Kim, Junseok A; Davis, Karen D

2017-09-01

Resilience, a characteristic that enhances adaptation in response to stressful events, is a positive psychological factor that can predict and modulate health outcomes. However, resilience is rarely considered in pain research. Conversely, negative psychological factors (eg, anxiety, depression) are known to be related to the affective dimension of pain. It is critical to understand all potential psychological drivers of pain affect, a prominent component of chronic pain. We tested the hypothesis that higher resilience is associated with lower pain affect, above and beyond the predictive value of negative psychological factors. Healthy adults underwent psychophysical testing to acquire ratings of heat pain intensity and unpleasantness and completed the Resilience Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (trait form), Beck Depression Inventory, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and the Pain Vigilance and Attention Questionnaire. Multiple regression modeling (n = 68) showed resilience to be a negatively associated with pain affect (unpleasantness). Furthermore, in individuals with higher anxiety scores, resilience was protective against higher pain affect. This highlights the importance of resilience, a positive psychological factor, in the affective dimension of pain. This study is the first to assess a positive psychological factor and experimental pain affect, and has the potential to improve prediction of and treatment strategies for clinical pain. We report that resilience, a positive psychological factor, interacts with anxiety and is associated with heat pain affect (unpleasantness) in healthy individuals. Resilience may provide predictive value of chronic pain affect and treatment outcomes, and could be a target for behavioral therapy. Copyright © 2017 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dependency, self-criticism and negative affective responses following imaginary rejection and failure threats: meaning-making processes as moderators or mediators.

PubMed

Besser, Avi; Priel, Beatriz

2011-01-01

This study evaluated the intervening role of meaning-making processes in emotional responses to negative life events based on Blatt's (1974, 2004) formulations concerning the role of personality predispositions in depression. In a pre/post within-subject study design, a community sample of 233 participants reacted to imaginary scenarios of interpersonal rejection and achievement failure. Meaning-making processes relating to threats to self-definition and interpersonal relatedness were examined following the exposure to the scenarios. The results indicated that the personality predisposition of Dependency, but not Self-Criticism predicted higher levels of negative affect following the interpersonal rejection event, independent of baseline levels of negative affect. This effect was mediated by higher levels of negative meaning-making processes related to the effect of the interpersonal rejection scenario on Dependent individuals' senses of interpersonal relatedness and self-worth. In addition, both Self-Criticism and Dependency predicted higher levels of negative affect following the achievement failure event, independent of baseline levels of negative affect. Finally, the effect of Self-Criticism was mediated by higher levels of negative meaning-making processes related to the effect of the achievement failure scenario on self-critical individuals' senses of self-definition.

Gender Differences in Contextual Predictors of Urban, Early Adolescents' Subjective Well-Being

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vera, Elizabeth M.; Moallem, B. Isabel; Vacek, Kimberly R.; Blackmon, Sha'kema; Coyle, Laura D.; Gomez, Kenia L.; Lamp, Kristen; Langrehr, Kimberly J.; Luginbuhl, Paula; Mull, Megan K.; Telander, Kyle J.; Steele, J. Corey

2012-01-01

Gender differences in predicting subjective well-being (SWB) were examined in 168 urban adolescents. School satisfaction predicted life satisfaction for boys; for girls, family satisfaction predicted life satisfaction and neighborhood satisfaction predicted negative affect. Self-esteem predicted positive affect for both genders, but friends…

Happy but overconfident: positive affect leads to inaccurate metacomprehension.

PubMed

Prinz, Anja; Bergmann, Viktoria; Wittwer, Jörg

2018-05-14

When learning from text, it is important that learners not only comprehend the information provided but also accurately monitor and judge their comprehension, which is known as metacomprehension accuracy. To investigate the role of a learner's affective state for text comprehension and metacomprehension accuracy, we conducted an experiment with N = 103 university students in whom we induced positive, negative, or neutral affect. Positive affect resulted in poorer text comprehension than neutral affect. Positive affect also led to overconfident predictions, whereas negative and neutral affect were both associated with quite accurate predictions. Independent of affect, postdictions were rather underconfident. The results suggest that positive affect bears processing disadvantages for achieving deep comprehension and adequate prediction accuracy. Given that postdictions were more accurate, practice tests might represent an effective instructional method to help learners in a positive affective state to accurately judge their text comprehension.

Early Negative Affect Predicts Anxiety, not Autism, in Preschool Boys with Fragile X Syndrome

PubMed Central

Tonnsen, Bridgette L.; Malone, Patrick S.; Hatton, Deborah D.

2012-01-01

Children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) face high risk for anxiety disorders, yet no studies have explored FXS as a high-risk sample for investigating early manifestations of anxiety outcomes. Negative affect is one of the most salient predictors of problem behaviors and has been associated with both anxiety and autistic outcomes in clinical and non-clinical pediatric samples. In light of the high comorbidity between autism and anxiety within FXS, the present study investigates the relationship between longitudinal trajectories of negative affect (between 8 and 71 months) and severity of anxiety and autistic outcomes in young males with FXS (n= 25). Multilevel models indicated associations between elevated anxiety and higher fear and sadness, lower soothability, and steeper longitudinal increases in approach. Autistic outcomes were unrelated to negative affect. These findings suggest early negative affect differentially predicts anxiety, not autistic symptoms, within FXS. Future research is warranted to determine the specificity of the relationship between negative affect and anxiety, as well as to explore potential moderators. Characterizing the relationship between early negative affect and anxiety within FXS may inform etiology and treatment considerations specific to children with FXS, as well as lend insight into precursors of anxiety disorders in other clinical groups and community samples. PMID:23011214

The Affective Consequences of Cognitive Inhibition: Devaluation or Neutralization?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frischen, Alexandra; Ferrey, Anne E.; Burt, Dustin H. R.; Pistchik, Meghan; Fenske, Mark J.

2012-01-01

Affective evaluations of previously ignored visual stimuli are more negative than those of novel items or prior targets of attention or response. This has been taken as evidence that inhibition has negative affective consequences. But inhibition could act instead to attenuate or "neutralize" preexisting affective salience, predicting opposite…

Differences in the subjective and motivational properties of alcohol across alcohol use severity: application of a novel translational human laboratory paradigm.

PubMed

Bujarski, Spencer; Jentsch, J David; Roche, Daniel J O; Ramchandani, Vijay A; Miotto, Karen; Ray, Lara A

2018-05-08

The Allostatic Model proposes that Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is associated with a transition in the motivational structure of alcohol drinking: from positive reinforcement in early-stage drinking to negative reinforcement in late-stage dependence. However, direct empirical support for this preclinical model from human experiments is limited. This study tests predictions derived from the Allostatic Model in humans. Specifically, this study tested whether alcohol use severity (1) independently predicts subjective responses to alcohol (SR; comprised of stimulation/hedonia, negative affect, sedation and craving domains), and alcohol self-administration and 2) moderates associations between domains of SR and alcohol self-administration. Heavy drinking participants ranging in severity of alcohol use and problems (N = 67) completed an intravenous alcohol administration paradigm combining an alcohol challenge (target BrAC = 60 mg%), with progressive ratio self-administration. Alcohol use severity was associated with greater baseline negative affect, sedation, and craving but did not predict changes in any SR domain during the alcohol challenge. Alcohol use severity also predicted greater self-administration. Craving during the alcohol challenge strongly predicted self-administration and sedation predicted lower self-administration. Neither stimulation, nor negative affect predicted self-administration. This study represents a novel approach to translating preclinical neuroscientific theories to the human laboratory. As expected, craving predicted self-administration and sedation was protective. Contrary to the predictions of the Allostatic Model, however, these results were inconsistent with a transition from positively to negatively reinforced alcohol consumption in severe AUD. Future studies that assess negative reinforcement in the context of an acute stressor are warranted.

Neural activity to a partner's facial expression predicts self-regulation after conflict.

PubMed

Hooker, Christine I; Gyurak, Anett; Verosky, Sara C; Miyakawa, Asako; Ayduk, Ozlem

2010-03-01

Failure to self-regulate after an interpersonal conflict can result in persistent negative mood and maladaptive behaviors. Research indicates that lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) activity is related to emotion regulation in response to laboratory-based affective challenges, such as viewing emotional pictures. This suggests that compromised LPFC function may be a risk factor for mood and behavior problems after an interpersonal conflict. However, it remains unclear whether LPFC activity to a laboratory-based affective challenge predicts self-regulation in real life. We investigated whether LPFC activity to a laboratory-based affective challenge (negative facial expressions of a partner) predicts self-regulation after a real-life affective challenge (interpersonal conflict). During a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan, healthy, adult participants in committed relationships (n = 27) viewed positive, negative, and neutral facial expressions of their partners. In a three-week online daily diary, participants reported conflict occurrence, level of negative mood, rumination, and substance use. LPFC activity in response to the laboratory-based affective challenge predicted self-regulation after an interpersonal conflict in daily life. When there was no interpersonal conflict, LPFC activity was not related to mood or behavior the next day. However, when an interpersonal conflict did occur, ventral LPFC (VLPFC) activity predicted mood and behavior the next day, such that lower VLPFC activity was related to higher levels of negative mood, rumination, and substance use. Low LPFC function may be a vulnerability and high LPFC function may be a protective factor for the development of mood and behavior problems after an interpersonal stressor. Copyright 2010 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neural activity to a partner's facial expression predicts self-regulation after conflict

PubMed Central

Hooker, Christine I.; Gyurak, Anett; Verosky, Sara; Miyakawa, Asako; Ayduk, Özlem

2009-01-01

Introduction Failure to self-regulate after an interpersonal conflict can result in persistent negative mood and maladaptive behaviors. Research indicates that lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) activity is related to the regulation of emotional experience in response to lab-based affective challenges, such as viewing emotional pictures. This suggests that compromised LPFC function may be a risk-factor for mood and behavior problems after an interpersonal stressor. However, it remains unclear whether LPFC activity to a lab-based affective challenge predicts self-regulation in real-life. Method We investigated whether LPFC activity to a lab-based affective challenge (negative facial expressions of a partner) predicts self-regulation after a real-life affective challenge (interpersonal conflict). During an fMRI scan, healthy, adult participants in committed, dating relationships (N = 27) viewed positive, negative, and neutral facial expressions of their partners. In an online daily-diary, participants reported conflict occurrence, level of negative mood, rumination, and substance-use. Results LPFC activity in response to the lab-based affective challenge predicted self-regulation after an interpersonal conflict in daily life. When there was no interpersonal conflict, LPFC activity was not related to the change in mood or behavior the next day. However, when an interpersonal conflict did occur, ventral LPFC (VLPFC) activity predicted the change in mood and behavior the next day, such that lower VLPFC activity was related to higher levels of negative mood, rumination, and substance-use. Conclusions Low LPFC function may be a vulnerability and high LPFC function may be a protective factor for the development of mood and behavior problems after an interpersonal stressor. PMID:20004365

Problem-Solving Appraisal and the Prediction of Depression during Pregnancy and in the Postpartum Period.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elliott, Timothy R.; And Others

1996-01-01

Tested hypothesis that higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect would predict depression during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. Analysis of 100 women indicated that women at risk for depression during pregnancy and in the postpartum period may exhibit heightened negative moods and a dearth of positive affective…

Emotionally laden impulsivity interacts with affect in predicting addictive use of online sexual activity in men.

PubMed

Wéry, Aline; Deleuze, Jory; Canale, Natale; Billieux, Joël

2018-01-01

The interest in studying addictive use of online sexual activities (OSA) has grown sharply over the last decade. Despite the burgeoning number of studies conceptualizing the excessive use of OSA as an addictive disorder, few have tested its relations to impulsivity, which is known to constitute a hallmark of addictive behaviors. To address this missing gap in the literature, we tested the relationships between addictive OSA use, impulsivity traits, and affect among a convenience sample of men (N=182; age, M=29.17, SD = 9.34), building upon a theoretically driven model that distinguishes the various facets of impulsivity. Results showed that negative urgency (an impulsivity trait reflecting the tendency to act rashly in negative emotional states) and negative affect interact in predicting addictive OSA use. These results highlight the pivotal role played by negative urgency and negative affect in addictive OSA use, supporting the relevance of psychological interventions that focus on improving emotional regulation (e.g., to reduce negative affect and learn healthier coping strategies) to mitigate excessive use of OSA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interrelation and independence of positive and negative psychological constructs in predicting general treatment adherence in coronary artery patients - Results from the THORESCI study.

PubMed

van Montfort, Eveline; Denollet, Johan; Widdershoven, Jos; Kupper, Nina

2016-09-01

In cardiac patients, positive psychological factors have been associated with improved medical and psychological outcomes. The current study examined the interrelation between and independence of multiple positive and negative psychological constructs. Furthermore, the potential added predictive value of positive psychological functioning regarding the prediction of patients' treatment adherence and participation in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) was investigated. 409 percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients were included (mean age = 65.6 ± 9.5; 78% male). Self-report questionnaires were administered one month post-PCI. Positive psychological constructs included positive affect (GMS) and optimism (LOT-R); negative constructs were depression (PHQ-9, BDI), anxiety (GAD-7) and negative affect (GMS). Six months post-PCI self-reported general adherence (MOS) and CR participation were determined. Factor Analysis (Oblimin rotation) revealed two components (r = − 0.56), reflecting positive and negative psychological constructs. Linear regression analyses showed that in unadjusted analyses both optimism and positive affect were associated with better general treatment adherence at six months (p < 0.05). In adjusted analyses, optimism's predictive values remained, independent of sex, age, PCI indication, depression and anxiety. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that in patients with a cardiac history, positive affect was significantly associated with CR participation. After controlling for multiple covariates, this relation was no longer significant. Positive and negative constructs should be considered as two distinct dimensions. Positive psychological constructs (i.e. optimism) may be of incremental value to negative psychological constructs in predicting patients' treatment adherence. A more complete view of a patients' psychological functioning will open new avenues for treatment. Additional research is needed to investigate the relationship between positive psychological factors and other cardiac outcomes, such as cardiac events and mortality.

Predictors of change in depressive symptoms from preschool to first grade.

PubMed

Reinfjell, Trude; Kårstad, Silja Berg; Berg-Nielsen, Turid Suzanne; Luby, Joan L; Wichstrøm, Lars

2016-11-01

Children's depressive symptoms in the transition from preschool to school are rarely investigated. We therefore tested whether children's temperament (effortful control and negative affect), social skills, child psychopathology, environmental stressors (life events), parental accuracy of predicting their child's emotion understanding (parental accuracy), parental emotional availability, and parental depression predict changes in depressive symptoms from preschool to first grade. Parents of a community sample of 995 4-year-olds were interviewed using the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment. The children and parents were reassessed when the children started first grade (n = 795). The results showed that DSM-5 defined depressive symptoms increased. Child temperamental negative affect and parental depression predicted increased, whereas social skills predicted decreased, depressive symptoms. However, such social skills were only protective among children with low and medium effortful control. Further, high parental accuracy proved protective among children with low effortful control and high negative affect. Thus, interventions that treat parental depression may be important for young children. Children with low effortful control and high negative affect may especially benefit from having parents who accurately perceive their emotional understanding. Efforts to enhance social skills may prove particularly important for children with low or medium effortful control.

Solitary Alcohol Use in Teens Is Associated With Drinking in Response to Negative Affect and Predicts Alcohol Problems in Young Adulthood

PubMed Central

Creswell, Kasey G.; Chung, Tammy; Clark, Duncan B.; Martin, Christopher S.

2015-01-01

Adolescent solitary drinking may represent an informative divergence from normative behavior, with important implications for understanding risk for alcohol-use disorders later in life. Within a self-medication framework, we hypothesized that solitary alcohol use would be associated with drinking in response to negative affect and that such a pattern of drinking would predict alcohol problems in young adulthood. We tested these predictions in a longitudinal study in which we examined whether solitary drinking in adolescence (ages 12–18) predicted alcohol-use disorders in young adulthood (age 25) in 466 alcohol-using teens recruited from clinical programs and 243 alcohol-using teens recruited from the community. Findings showed that solitary drinking was associated with drinking in response to negative affect during adolescence and predicted alcohol problems in young adulthood. Results indicate that drinking alone is an important type of alcohol-use behavior that increases risk for the escalation of alcohol use and the development of alcohol problems. PMID:25977842

Solitary Alcohol Use in Teens Is Associated With Drinking in Response to Negative Affect and Predicts Alcohol Problems in Young Adulthood.

PubMed

Creswell, Kasey G; Chung, Tammy; Clark, Duncan B; Martin, Christopher S

2014-09-01

Adolescent solitary drinking may represent an informative divergence from normative behavior, with important implications for understanding risk for alcohol-use disorders later in life. Within a self-medication framework, we hypothesized that solitary alcohol use would be associated with drinking in response to negative affect and that such a pattern of drinking would predict alcohol problems in young adulthood. We tested these predictions in a longitudinal study in which we examined whether solitary drinking in adolescence (ages 12-18) predicted alcohol-use disorders in young adulthood (age 25) in 466 alcohol-using teens recruited from clinical programs and 243 alcohol-using teens recruited from the community. Findings showed that solitary drinking was associated with drinking in response to negative affect during adolescence and predicted alcohol problems in young adulthood. Results indicate that drinking alone is an important type of alcohol-use behavior that increases risk for the escalation of alcohol use and the development of alcohol problems.

Mindfulness and Self-compassion as Unique and Common Predictors of Affect in the General Population.

PubMed

López, Angélica; Sanderman, Robbert; Schroevers, Maya J

2016-01-01

In contrast to the increased research interest in the benefits of mindfulness and self-compassion, relatively few studies have examined their unique and combined effects in predicting affect. This cross-sectional study examined the predictive value of mindfulness and self-compassion for depressive symptoms, negative affect, and positive affect in a large representative sample of community adults ( N  = 1736). The Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) was used as a measure of mindfulness and the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) as a measure of self-compassion. Five FFMQ facets were explored: observe, describe, act with awareness, non-judgment, and non-reactivity. Two SCS facets were explored: its positive items (SCS Pos) and its negative items (SCS Neg). When simultaneously examining all seven facets of mindfulness and self-compassion, three of the five FFMQ facets and SCS Neg significantly predicted both depressive symptoms and negative affect, with SCS Neg and act with awareness being the strongest predictors. These findings suggest that a harsh attitude towards oneself and a lack of attention when acting have the greatest value in predicting the presence of psychological symptoms. With respect to positive affect, four of the five FFMQ facets (except non-judgment) were significant predictors, with no unique predictive value of the two SCS's facets, suggesting that mindfulness is a more important predictor of positive affect than self-compassion, as measured by the FFMQ and SCS.

Parents' emotion expression as a predictor of child's social competence: children with or without intellectual disability.

PubMed

Green, S; Baker, B

2011-03-01

Parents' expression of positive emotion towards children who are typically developing (TD) is generally associated with better social development. However, the association between parents' negative emotion expression and social development can be positive or negative depending upon a number of factors, including the child's emotion regulation abilities. Given the lower emotion regulation capabilities of children with intellectual disability (ID), we hypothesised that parents' negative emotion expression would be associated with lower social development in children with ID compared to those with TD. Participants were 180 families of children with or without ID enrolled in a longitudinal study. Parents' positive and negative affect were coded live from naturalistic home interactions at child ages 5-8 years, and child's social skills were measured by using mother report at child ages 6-9 years. We examined mothers' and fathers' emotion expression as a time-varying predictor of social skills across ages 5-9 years. Mothers, but not fathers, expressed less positive affect and more negative affect with ID group children. Parents' positive affect expression was related to social skills only for TD children, with mothers' positive affect predicting higher social skills. Contrary to expectations, fathers' positive affect predicted lower social skills. Parents' negative affect predicted significantly lower social skills for children with ID than for children with TD. Findings support the theory that low to moderate levels of negative expression may be less beneficial or detrimental for children with ID compared to children with TD. Implications for further research and intervention are discussed. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Distract or reappraise? Age-related differences in emotion-regulation choice.

PubMed

Scheibe, Susanne; Sheppes, Gal; Staudinger, Ursula M

2015-12-01

Does aging impact strategy choice with regard to regulating negative emotions? Based on the assumption that older adults are highly motivated to quickly defuse negative states, we predicted that older adults, relative to young adults, would show an increased preference for distraction (a cognitive disengagement strategy) over reappraisal (a cognitive engagement strategy) in the face of negative material. A stronger preference for distraction, in turn, should be associated with higher affective well-being at older ages, as it helps to avoid high physiological arousal. Young (19-28 years, n = 38) and older (65-75 years, n = 39) adults completed a laboratory task of emotion-regulation choice in which they viewed negative pictures of high and low intensity and chose between distraction and reappraisal to regulate their emotional response. Confirming predictions, age was associated with an increased preference to choose distraction over reappraisal. Among older but not young adults, the relative preference for distraction to reappraisal predicted higher state-affective well-being. In addition, across age groups, the preference for distraction over reappraisal was positively predicted by stimulus intensity and negatively by cognitive resources. Findings support the notion of an age-related shift toward disengagement strategies to regulate negative emotions, which maps onto older adults' prohedonic orientation and holds affective benefits. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Daily spillover to and from binge eating in first-year university females.

PubMed

Barker, Erin T; Williams, Rebecca L; Galambos, Nancy L

2006-01-01

Coping models of binge eating propose that stress and/or negative affect trigger binge eating, which serves to shift attention to the binge and its consequences. The current study tested these general assumptions using 14-day daily diary data collected from 66 first-year university females. Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling results showed that increased stress, negative affect, and weight concerns were associated with an increased likelihood of reporting symptoms of binge eating within days. Elevated weight concerns predicted next-day binge eating and binge eating predicted greater next-day negative affect. Discussion focuses on implications for coping models of binge eating.

Tobacco Withdrawal Components and Their Relations with Cessation Success

PubMed Central

Piper, Megan E.; Schlam, Tanya R.; Cook, Jessica W.; Sheffer, Megan A.; Smith, Stevens S.; Loh, Wei-Yin; Bolt, Daniel M.; Kim, Su-Young; Kaye, Jesse T.; Hefner, Kathryn R.; Baker, Timothy B.

2011-01-01

Rationale Tobacco withdrawal is a key factor in smoking relapse, but important questions about the withdrawal phenomenon remain. Objectives This research was intended to provide information about two core components of withdrawal (negative affect and craving): 1) how various withdrawal symptom profile dimensions (e.g., mean level, volatility, extreme values) differ between negative affect and craving; and 2) how these dimensions relate to cessation outcome. Methods Adult smokers (N=1504) in a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled smoking cessation trial provided real-time withdrawal symptom data four times per day for 4 weeks (2 weeks pre-quit and 2 weeks post-quit) via palmtop computers. Cessation outcome was biochemically confirmed 8-week point-prevalence abstinence. Results Examination of craving and negative affect dimensions following a cessation attempt revealed that craving symptoms differed from negative affect symptoms, with higher means, greater variability, and a greater incidence of extreme peaks. Regression analyses revealed that abstinence was associated with lower mean levels of both craving and negative affect and fewer incidences of extreme craving peaks. In a multivariate model, the increase in mean craving and negative affect scores each uniquely predicted relapse. Conclusions Real-time reports revealed different patterns of abstinence-related negative affect and craving and that dimensions of both predict cessation outcome, suggesting that negative affect and craving dimensions each has motivational significance. This underscores the complexity of withdrawal as a determinant of relapse and the need to measure its distinct components and dimensions. PMID:21416234

How does spatial variability of climate affect catchment streamflow predictions?

EPA Science Inventory

Spatial variability of climate can negatively affect catchment streamflow predictions if it is not explicitly accounted for in hydrologic models. In this paper, we examine the changes in streamflow predictability when a hydrologic model is run with spatially variable (distribute...

Questions of time and affect: a person’s affectivity profile, time perspective, and well-being

PubMed Central

Sailer, Uta; Nima, Ali Al; Archer, Trevor

2016-01-01

Background. A “balanced” time perspective has been suggested to have a positive influence on well-being: a sentimental and positive view of the past (high Past Positive), a less pessimistic attitude toward the past (low Past Negative), the desire of experiencing pleasure with slight concern for future consequences (high Present Hedonistic), a less fatalistic and hopeless view of the future (low Present Fatalistic), and the ability to find reward in achieving specific long-term goals (high Future). We used the affective profiles model (i.e., combinations of individuals’ experience of high/low positive/negative affectivity) to investigate differences between individuals in time perspective dimensions and to investigate if the influence of time perspective dimensions on well-being was moderated by the individual’s type of profile. Method. Participants (N = 720) answered to the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory and two measures of well-being: the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale and Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Well-Being-short version. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was conducted to identify differences in time perspective dimensions and well-being among individuals with distinct affective profiles. Four structural equation models (SEM) were used to investigate which time perspective dimensions predicted well-being for individuals in each profile. Results. Comparisons between individuals at the extreme of the affective profiles model suggested that individuals with a self-fulfilling profile (high positive/low negative affect) were characterized by a “balanced” time perspective and higher well-being compared to individuals with a self-destructive profile (low positive/high negative affect). However, a different pattern emerged when individuals who differed in one affect dimension but matched in the other were compared to each other. For instance, decreases in the past negative time perspective dimension lead to high positive affect when negative affect is high (i.e., self-destructive vs. high affective) but to low negative affect when positive affect was high (i.e., high affective vs. self-fulfilling). The moderation analyses showed, for example, that for individuals with a self-destructive profile, psychological well-being was significantly predicted by the past negative, present fatalistic and future time perspectives. Among individuals with a high affective or a self-fulfilling profile, psychological well-being was significantly predicted by the present fatalistic dimension. Conclusions. The interactions found here go beyond the postulation of a “balanced” time perspective being the only way to promote well-being. Instead, we present a more person-centered approach to achieve higher levels of emotional, cognitive, and psychological well-being. PMID:27019786

Questions of time and affect: a person's affectivity profile, time perspective, and well-being.

PubMed

Garcia, Danilo; Sailer, Uta; Nima, Ali Al; Archer, Trevor

2016-01-01

Background. A "balanced" time perspective has been suggested to have a positive influence on well-being: a sentimental and positive view of the past (high Past Positive), a less pessimistic attitude toward the past (low Past Negative), the desire of experiencing pleasure with slight concern for future consequences (high Present Hedonistic), a less fatalistic and hopeless view of the future (low Present Fatalistic), and the ability to find reward in achieving specific long-term goals (high Future). We used the affective profiles model (i.e., combinations of individuals' experience of high/low positive/negative affectivity) to investigate differences between individuals in time perspective dimensions and to investigate if the influence of time perspective dimensions on well-being was moderated by the individual's type of profile. Method. Participants (N = 720) answered to the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory and two measures of well-being: the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale and Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-Being-short version. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was conducted to identify differences in time perspective dimensions and well-being among individuals with distinct affective profiles. Four structural equation models (SEM) were used to investigate which time perspective dimensions predicted well-being for individuals in each profile. Results. Comparisons between individuals at the extreme of the affective profiles model suggested that individuals with a self-fulfilling profile (high positive/low negative affect) were characterized by a "balanced" time perspective and higher well-being compared to individuals with a self-destructive profile (low positive/high negative affect). However, a different pattern emerged when individuals who differed in one affect dimension but matched in the other were compared to each other. For instance, decreases in the past negative time perspective dimension lead to high positive affect when negative affect is high (i.e., self-destructive vs. high affective) but to low negative affect when positive affect was high (i.e., high affective vs. self-fulfilling). The moderation analyses showed, for example, that for individuals with a self-destructive profile, psychological well-being was significantly predicted by the past negative, present fatalistic and future time perspectives. Among individuals with a high affective or a self-fulfilling profile, psychological well-being was significantly predicted by the present fatalistic dimension. Conclusions. The interactions found here go beyond the postulation of a "balanced" time perspective being the only way to promote well-being. Instead, we present a more person-centered approach to achieve higher levels of emotional, cognitive, and psychological well-being.

The influence of work characteristics, emotional display rules and affectivity on burnout and job satisfaction: A survey among geriatric care workers.

PubMed

Rouxel, Géraldine; Michinov, Estelle; Dodeler, Virginie

2016-10-01

Previous studies have demonstrated that geriatric care employees are exposed to a large number of factors that can affect their levels of job satisfaction and occupational stress. Although working with elderly people is emotionally demanding, little research has been done on the role played by perceptions of emotional display rules, alongside more traditional work characteristics and individual factors, in the prediction of geriatric care employees' wellbeing. The aim of the present study was to examine the role played by work characteristics (job demands, job control, emotional display rules) and individual (affectivity) factors to predict job satisfaction and burnout among French geriatric care nurses. Questionnaires were sent to 891 employees working in 32 geriatric care centers in France. A total of 371 valid questionnaires (response rate: 41.60%) were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. Results revealed two main processes of burnout and job satisfaction among women geriatric care workers, namely a salutogenic process and a pathogenic process. As expected, negative affectivity, low job status, perceived negative display rules and job demands are involved in the pathogenic process; while positive affectivity, perceived positive display rules and job control are implied in the salutogenic one. More specifically, as expected, negative affectivity is a positive predictor of burnout, both directly and indirectly through its impact on perceived negative display rules and job demands. Moreover, negative affectivity was negatively related to job satisfaction. Simultaneously, positive affectivity can predict job satisfaction, both directly and indirectly through its impact on perceived positive display rules and job control. Positive affectivity is also a negative predictor of burnout. Practical implications are discussed to support intervention programs that develop healthy workplaces, and also to inform nurses about how to manage emotional display rules in retirement homes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Momentary assessment of contextual influences on affective response during physical activity.

PubMed

Dunton, Genevieve Fridlund; Liao, Yue; Intille, Stephen; Huh, Jimi; Leventhal, Adam

2015-12-01

Higher positive and lower negative affective response during physical activity may reinforce motivation to engage in future activity. However, affective response during physical activity is typically examined under controlled laboratory conditions. This research used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine social and physical contextual influences on momentary affective response during physical activity in naturalistic settings. Participants included 116 adults (mean age = 40.3 years, 73% female) who completed 8 randomly prompted EMA surveys per day for 4 days across 3 semiannual waves. EMA surveys measured current activity level, social context, and physical context. Participants also rated their current positive and negative affect. Multilevel models assessed whether momentary physical activity level moderated differences in affective response across contexts controlling for day of the week, time of day, and activity intensity (measured by accelerometer). The Activity Level × Alone interaction was significant for predicting positive affect (β = -0.302, SE = 0.133, p = .024). Greater positive affect during physical activity was reported when with other people (vs. alone). The Activity Level × Outdoors interaction was significant for predicting negative affect (β = -0.206, SE = 0.097, p = .034). Lower negative affect during physical activity was reported outdoors (vs. indoors). Being with other people may enhance positive affective response during physical activity, and being outdoors may dampen negative affective response during physical activity. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

The role of negative affectivity in pay-at-risk reactions: a longitudinal study.

PubMed

Begley, Thomas; Lee, Cynthia

2005-03-01

In this article, the authors examine the moderating role of negative and positive affectivity on the relationship of bonus size with bonus satisfaction and distributive justice in a company that had installed an unpopular pay-at-risk (PAR) compensation system. Extending the met expectations hypothesis, the authors predict that those low in negative affectivity will show a more pronounced positive relationship between size of PAR bonus and bonus reactions than those high in negative affectivity. Conversely, the authors expect positive affectivity to be unrelated to pay reactions. The results support their hypotheses. Implications are discussed.

Using Ecological Momentary Assessment to Examine Interpersonal and Affective Predictors of Loss of Control Eating in Adolescent Girls

PubMed Central

Ranzenhofer, Lisa M.; Engel, Scott G.; Crosby, Ross D.; Anderson, Micheline; Vannucci, Anna; Cohen, L. Adelyn; Cassidy, Omni; Tanofsky-Kraff, Marian

2015-01-01

Objective Pediatric loss of control (LOC) eating is predictive of partial- and full-syndrome binge eating disorder. The interpersonal model proposes that LOC eating is used to cope with negative mood states resulting from interpersonal distress, possibly on a momentary level. We therefore examined temporal associations between interpersonal problems, negative affect, and LOC eating among overweight adolescent girls using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Method Thirty overweight and obese (≥85th body mass index (BMI) percentile; BMI: M = 36.13, SD = 7.49 kg/m2) adolescent females (Age: M = 14.92, SD = 1.54 y; 60.0% African American) who reported at least two LOC episodes in the past month completed self-report momentary ratings of interpersonal problems, state affect, and LOC eating for 2 weeks. A series of 2-level multilevel models with centering within subjects was conducted. Results Between- and within-subjects interpersonal problems (p’s < .05), but not between- (p = .12) or within- (p = .32) subjects negative affect predicted momentary LOC eating. At the between-subjects level, interpersonal problems significantly predicted increases in negative affect (p < 001). Discussion Naturalistic data lend support to the predictive value of interpersonal problems for LOC eating among adolescents. Interventions targeting interpersonal factors on a momentary basis may be useful during this developmental stage. PMID:25046850

Replication and extension of the dual pathway model of disordered eating: The role of fear of negative evaluation, suggestibility, rumination, and self-compassion.

PubMed

Maraldo, Toni M; Zhou, Wanni; Dowling, Jessica; Vander Wal, Jillon S

2016-12-01

The dual pathway model, a theoretical model of eating disorder development, suggests that thin ideal internalization leads to body dissatisfaction which leads to disordered eating via the dual pathways of negative affect and dietary restraint. While the dual pathway model has been a valuable guide for eating disorder prevention, greater knowledge of characteristics that predict thin ideal internalization is needed. The present study replicated and extended the dual pathway model by considering the addition of fear of negative evaluation, suggestibility, rumination, and self-compassion in a sample of community women and female university students. Results showed that fear of negative evaluation and suggestibility predicted thin ideal internalization whereas rumination and self-compassion (inversely) predicted body dissatisfaction. Negative affect was predicted by fear of negative evaluation, rumination, and self-compassion (inversely). The extended model fit the data well in both samples. Analogue and longitudinal study of these constructs is warranted in future research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Relationship Between Social Support and Subjective Well-Being Across Age

PubMed Central

Salthouse, Timothy A.; Oishi, Shigehiro; Jeswani, Sheena

2014-01-01

The relationships among types of social support and different facets of subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect) were examined in a sample of 1,111 individuals between the ages of 18 and 95. Using structural equation modeling we found that life satisfaction was predicted by enacted and perceived support, positive affect was predicted by family embeddedness and provided support, and negative affect was predicted by perceived support. When personality variables were included in a subsequent model, the influence of the social support variables were generally reduced. Invariance analyses conducted across age groups indicated that there were no substantial differences in predictors of the different types of subjective well-being across age. PMID:25045200

The Scope of Our Affective Influences: When and How Naturally Occurring Positive, Negative, and Neutral Affects Alter Judgment.

PubMed

Gasper, Karen; Danube, Cinnamon L

2016-03-01

To determine how naturally arising affect alters judgment, we examined whether (a) affective states exert a specific, rather than a general, influence on valenced-specific judgments; (b) neutral affect is associated with increased neutral judgments, independent of positive, negative, and ambivalent affects, and whether neutral judgments are associated with behavioral disengagement; and (c) the informational value of naturally arising states may be difficult to alter via salience and relevance manipulations. The results support several conclusions: (a) Affective states exerted a judgment-specific effect-positive affect was most strongly associated with positive judgments, negative affect with negative judgments, and neutral affect with neutral judgments. (b) Neutral affect influenced judgments, taking into account positive, negative, and ambivalent affects; and neutral judgments predicted behavioral disengagement. (c) With the exception of negative affect, naturally arising affective states typically influenced judgments regardless of their salience and relevance. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

The contribution of trait negative affect and stress to recall for bodily states.

PubMed

Ma-Kellams, Christine; Lai, Lei; Taylor, Shelley E; Lerner, Jennifer S

2016-12-01

How does trait negative affect shape somatic memory of stressful events? We hypothesized that negative affect would impair accurate recall of one's own heart rate during stressful situations. Two bio-behavioral studies used a new paradigm to test retrospective visceral perception and assessed whether negative affective states experienced during aversive events (i.e., the Trier Stress Task-Time 1) would retrospectively shape recall of past heart rate (Time 2), even when accounting for actual heart rate at the time of each stressful event (Time 1). Results across both studies showed that individual differences in negative affect in response to a stressful task predicted visceral recollections, and those who experienced more negative affect were more inaccurate. Negative affect was associated with a tendency to remember visceral reactions as worse than they actually were. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Relations among affect, abstinence motivation and confidence, and daily smoking lapse risk.

PubMed

Minami, Haruka; Yeh, Vivian M; Bold, Krysten W; Chapman, Gretchen B; McCarthy, Danielle E

2014-06-01

This study tested the hypothesis that changes in momentary affect, abstinence motivation, and confidence would predict lapse risk over the next 12-24 hr using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) data from smokers attempting to quit smoking. One hundred and three adult, daily, treatment-seeking smokers recorded their momentary affect, motivation to quit, abstinence confidence, and smoking behaviors in near real time with multiple EMA reports per day using electronic diaries postquit. Multilevel models indicated that initial levels of negative affect were associated with smoking, even after controlling for earlier smoking status, and that short-term increases in negative affect predicted lapses up to 12, but not 24, hr later. Positive affect had significant effects on subsequent abstinence confidence, but not motivation to quit. High levels of motivation appeared to reduce increases in lapse risk that occur over hours although momentary changes in confidence did not predict lapse risk over 12 hr. Negative affect had short-lived effects on lapse risk, whereas higher levels of motivation protected against the risk of lapsing that accumulates over hours. An increase in positive affect was associated with greater confidence to quit, but such changes in confidence did not reduce short-term lapse risk, contrary to expectations. Relations observed among affect, cognitions, and lapse seem to depend critically on the timing of assessments.

Anticipated affective consequences of physical activity adoption and maintenance.

PubMed

Dunton, Genevieve Fridlund; Vaughan, Elaine

2008-11-01

The expected emotional consequences of future actions are thought to play an important role in health behavior change. This research examined whether anticipated affective consequences of success and failure vary across stages of physical activity change and differentially predict physical activity adoption as compared to maintenance. Using a prospective design over a 3-month period, a community sample of 329 healthy, middle-aged adults were assessed at 2 time points. Anticipated positive and negative emotions, stage of behavior change (precontemplation [PC], contemplation [C], preparation [P], action [A], maintenance [M]), and level of physical activity. At baseline, anticipated positive emotions were greater in C versus PC, whereas anticipated negative emotions were greater in M versus A and in M versus P. Higher anticipated positive but not negative emotions predicted physical activity adoption and maintenance after 3 months. Although the expected affective consequences of future success and failure differentiated among individuals in the early and later stages of physical activity change, respectively; only the anticipated affective consequences of success predicted future behavior.

Affiliative and Instrumental Marital Discord, Mother's Negative Affect, and Children's Negative Interactions with Unfamiliar Peers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cookston, Jeffrey T.; Harrist, Amanda W.; Ainslie, Ricardo C.

2003-01-01

Indices of marital discord and mother-child affective processes were used to predict levels of negativity children displayed with unfamiliar peers. Thirty-nine mothers and their 5-year-olds were observed with 5-7 other mother-child dyads during a 30-minute free play session. Mother and child negativity were coded and two types of marital discord…

Perceived neighborhood characteristics predict severity and emotional response to daily stressors.

PubMed

Scott, Stacey B; Munoz, Elizabeth; Mogle, Jacqueline A; Gamaldo, Alyssa A; Smyth, Joshua M; Almeida, David M; Sliwinski, Martin J

2018-03-01

Neighborhood characteristics may influence health and well-being outcomes through stressors in daily life. This study tested whether a varied set of perceived characteristics of neighborhood (i.e., social cohesion, safety, aesthetic quality, violence) predicted stressor frequency and severity as well as negative emotional responses to stressors. We predicted greater reported cohesion and safety and less violence would be associated with less frequent stressor exposure and severity and less intense negative affect following stressors; we conducted subsequent tests of neighborhood aesthetic quality as a predictor. Participants (n = 233, age 25-65 years) were residents in a socio-economically, racially, and ethnically diverse zip code in Bronx, New York, most who participated in the Effects of Stress on Cognitive Aging, Physiology and Emotion study between 2012 and 2013. They provided demographic information and neighborhood ratings, then participated in the EMA protocol in which they completed brief smartphone surveys of current negative affect and stressor exposure, severity, and recency, five times daily for 14 days. No coded neighborhood characteristic was related to the frequency of stressors. Individuals who reported greater neighborhood violence, however, rated their stressors as more severe. Individuals rating their neighborhood lower in safety or aesthetic quality, or higher in violence, had greater negative affect following stressors. Even among people living within the same zip code, individual differences in perceptions of neighborhood predict how stressful they appraised stressors in daily life to be and how much negative affect they reported following stressors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Unique Effects of Parental Alcohol and Affective Disorders, Parenting, and Parental Negative Affect on Adolescent Maladjustment

PubMed Central

Haller, Moira; Chassin, Laurie

2010-01-01

Using a high-risk community sample, multiple regression analyses were conducted separately for mothers (N=416) and fathers (N= 346) to test the unique, prospective influence of parental negative affect on adolescent maladjustment (internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and negative emotionality) two years later over and above parental alcohol and affective disorders, major disruption in the family environment, and parenting. Adolescent sex was tested as a moderator. Results indicated that maternal (but not paternal) negative affect had a unique, prospective effect on adolescent internalizing symptoms in girls and negative emotionality in both sexes, but did not predict adolescent externalizing symptoms. Findings demonstrate that mothers’ negative affect may have unique effects on adolescent adjustment, separate from the effects of clinically significant parental psychopathology, parenting, and disruption in the family environment. PMID:23761947

The Unique Effects of Parental Alcohol and Affective Disorders, Parenting, and Parental Negative Affect on Adolescent Maladjustment.

PubMed

Haller, Moira; Chassin, Laurie

2011-07-01

Using a high-risk community sample, multiple regression analyses were conducted separately for mothers ( N =416) and fathers ( N = 346) to test the unique, prospective influence of parental negative affect on adolescent maladjustment (internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and negative emotionality) two years later over and above parental alcohol and affective disorders, major disruption in the family environment, and parenting. Adolescent sex was tested as a moderator. Results indicated that maternal (but not paternal) negative affect had a unique, prospective effect on adolescent internalizing symptoms in girls and negative emotionality in both sexes, but did not predict adolescent externalizing symptoms. Findings demonstrate that mothers' negative affect may have unique effects on adolescent adjustment, separate from the effects of clinically significant parental psychopathology, parenting, and disruption in the family environment.

Negative affect predicts social functioning across schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: Findings from an integrated data analysis

PubMed Central

Grove, Tyler B.; Tso, Ivy F.; Chun, Jinsoo; Mueller, Savanna A.; Taylor, Stephan F.; Ellingrod, Vicki L.; McInnis, Melvin G.; Deldin, Patricia J.

2016-01-01

Most people with a serious mental illness experience significant functional impairment despite ongoing pharmacological treatment. Thus, in order to improve outcomes, a better understanding of functional predictors is needed. This study examined negative affect, a construct comprised of negative emotional experience, as a predictor of social functioning across serious mental illnesses. One hundred twenty-seven participants with schizophrenia, 113 with schizoaffective disorder, 22 with psychotic disorder not otherwise specified, 58 with bipolar disorder, and 84 healthy controls (N=404) completed self-report negative affect measures. Elevated levels of negative affect were observed in clinical participants compared with healthy controls. For both clinical and healthy control participants, negative affect measures were significantly correlated with social functioning, and consistently explained significant amounts of variance in functioning. For clinical participants, this relationship persisted even after accounting for cognition and positive/negative symptoms. The findings suggest that negative affect is a strong predictor of outcome across these populations and treatment of serious mental illnesses should target elevated negative affect in addition to cognition and positive/negative symptoms. PMID:27416540

Negative affect predicts social functioning across schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: Findings from an integrated data analysis.

PubMed

Grove, Tyler B; Tso, Ivy F; Chun, Jinsoo; Mueller, Savanna A; Taylor, Stephan F; Ellingrod, Vicki L; McInnis, Melvin G; Deldin, Patricia J

2016-09-30

Most people with a serious mental illness experience significant functional impairment despite ongoing pharmacological treatment. Thus, in order to improve outcomes, a better understanding of functional predictors is needed. This study examined negative affect, a construct comprised of negative emotional experience, as a predictor of social functioning across serious mental illnesses. One hundred twenty-seven participants with schizophrenia, 113 with schizoaffective disorder, 22 with psychosis not otherwise specified, 58 with bipolar disorder, and 84 healthy controls (N=404) completed self-report negative affect measures. Elevated levels of negative affect were observed in clinical participants compared with healthy controls. For both clinical and healthy control participants, negative affect measures were significantly correlated with social functioning, and consistently explained significant amounts of variance in functioning. For clinical participants, this relationship persisted even after accounting for cognition and positive/negative symptoms. The findings suggest that negative affect is a strong predictor of outcome across these populations and treatment of serious mental illnesses should target elevated negative affect in addition to cognition and positive/negative symptoms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early Adolescent Affect Predicts Later Life Outcomes.

PubMed

Kansky, Jessica; Allen, Joseph P; Diener, Ed

2016-07-01

Subjective well-being as a predictor for later behavior and health has highlighted its relationship to health, work performance, and social relationships. However, the majority of such studies neglect the developmental nature of well-being in contributing to important changes across the transition to adulthood. To examine the potential role of subjective well-being as a long-term predictor of critical life outcomes, we examined indicators of positive and negative affect at age 14 as predictors of relationship, adjustment, self-worth, and career outcomes a decade later at ages 23 to 25, controlling for family income and gender. We utilised multi-informant methods including reports from the target participant, close friends, and romantic partners in a demographically diverse community sample of 184 participants. Early adolescent positive affect predicted fewer relationship problems (less self-reported and partner-reported conflict, and greater friendship attachment as rated by close peers) and healthy adjustment to adulthood (lower levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness). It also predicted positive work functioning (higher levels of career satisfaction and job competence) and increased self-worth. Negative affect did not significantly predict any of these important life outcomes. In addition to predicting desirable mean levels of later outcomes, early positive affect predicted beneficial changes across time in many outcomes. The findings extend early research on the beneficial outcomes of subjective well-being by having an earlier assessment of well-being, including informant reports in measuring a large variety of outcome variables, and by extending the findings to a lower socioeconomic group of a diverse and younger sample. The results highlight the importance of considering positive affect as an important component of subjective well-being distinct from negative affect. © 2016 The International Association of Applied Psychology.

Early Adolescent Affect Predicts Later Life Outcomes

PubMed Central

Kansky, Jessica; Allen, Joseph P.; Diener, Ed

2016-01-01

Background Subjective well-being as a predictor for later behavior and health has highlighted its relationship to health, work performance, and social relationships. However, the majority of such studies neglect the developmental nature of well-being in contributing to important changes across the transition to adulthood. Methods To examine the potential role of subjective well-being as a long-term predictor of critical life outcomes, we examined indicators of positive and negative affect at age 14 as a predictor of relationship, adjustment, self worth, and career outcomes a decade later at ages 23 to 25, controlling for family income and gender. We utilized multi-informant methods including reports from the target participant, close friends, and romantic partners in a demographically diverse community sample of 184 participants. Results Early adolescent positive affect predicted less relationship problems (less self-reported and partner-reported conflict, greater friendship attachment as rated by close peers), healthy adjustment to adulthood (lower levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness). It also predicted positive work functioning (higher levels of career satisfaction and job competence) and increased self-worth. Negative affect did not significantly predict any of these important life outcomes. In addition to predicting desirable mean levels of later outcomes, early positive affect predicted beneficial changes across time in many outcomes. Conclusions The findings extend early research on the beneficial outcomes of subjective well-being by having an earlier assessment of well-being, including informant reports in measuring a large variety of outcome variables, and by extending the findings to a lower socioeconomic group of a diverse and younger sample. The results highlight the importance of considering positive affect as an important component of subjective well-being distinct from negative affect. PMID:27075545

Affective tone of mothers’ statements to restrict their children’s eating

PubMed Central

Pesch, Megan H.; Miller, Alison L.; Appugliese, Danielle P.; Rosenblum, Katherine L.; Lumeng, Julie C.

2016-01-01

Maternal restrictive feeding behaviors have been associated with child weight status. The affective tone of mothers’ statements intended to restrict their children’s eating has not been examined. The objectives of this study were to describe the affective tone of mothers’ restrictive feeding behaviors (positive or negative), and to test the association of child and mother characteristics with rates of Restriction with Positive Affect, Restriction with Negative Affect and Total Restriction. A total of 237 low-income child-mother dyads (mean child age 5.9 years) participated in a videotaped standardized laboratory eating protocol, during which mothers and children were both presented with large servings of cupcakes. A coding scheme was developed to count each restrictive statement with a positive affective tone and each restrictive statement with a negative affective tone. To establish reliability, 20% of videos were double-coded. Demographics and anthropometrics were obtained. Poisson regression models were used to test the association between characteristics of the child and mother with counts of Restriction with Positive Affect, Restriction with Negative Affect, and Total Restriction. Higher rates of Restriction with Positive Affect and Total Restriction were predicted by child obese weight status, and mother non-Hispanic white race/ethnicity. Higher rates of Restriction with Negative Affect were predicted by older child age, child obese weight status, mother non-Hispanic white race/ethnicity, and lower mother education level. In conclusion, in this study mothers of obese (vs. non-obese) children had higher rates of restriction in general, but particularly higher rates of Restriction with Negative Affect. Rather than being told not to restrict, mothers may need guidance on how to sensitively restrict their child’s intake. Future studies should consider the contributions of maternal affect to children’s responses to maternal restriction. PMID:27090342

Affective tone of mothers' statements to restrict their children's eating.

PubMed

Pesch, Megan H; Miller, Alison L; Appugliese, Danielle P; Rosenblum, Katherine L; Lumeng, Julie C

2016-08-01

Maternal restrictive feeding behaviors have been associated with child weight status. The affective tone of mothers' statements intended to restrict their children's eating has not been examined. The objectives of this study were to describe the affective tone of mothers' restrictive feeding behaviors (positive or negative), and to test the association of child and mother characteristics with rates of Restriction with Positive Affect, Restriction with Negative Affect and Total Restriction. A total of 237 low-income child-mother dyads (mean child age 5.9 years) participated in a videotaped standardized laboratory eating protocol, during which mothers and children were both presented with large servings of cupcakes. A coding scheme was developed to count each restrictive statement with a positive affective tone and each restrictive statement with a negative affective tone. To establish reliability, 20% of videos were double-coded. Demographics and anthropometrics were obtained. Poisson regression models were used to test the association between characteristics of the child and mother with counts of Restriction with Positive Affect, Restriction with Negative Affect, and Total Restriction. Higher rates of Restriction with Positive Affect and Total Restriction were predicted by child obese weight status, and mother non-Hispanic white race/ethnicity. Higher rates of Restriction with Negative Affect were predicted by older child age, child obese weight status, mother non-Hispanic white race/ethnicity, and lower mother education level. In conclusion, in this study mothers of obese (vs. non-obese) children had higher rates of restriction in general, but particularly higher rates of Restriction with Negative Affect. Rather than being told not to restrict, mothers may need guidance on how to sensitively restrict their child's intake. Future studies should consider the contributions of maternal affect to children's responses to maternal restriction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reciprocal associations between adolescents' night-time sleep and daytime affect and the role of gender and depressive symptoms.

PubMed

van Zundert, Rinka M P; van Roekel, Eeske; Engels, Rutger C M E; Scholte, Ron H J

2015-02-01

During adolescence, students not only obtain less sleep and sleep of poorer quality but also experience increases in negative affect, decreases in positive affect, and increases in depressive symptoms. Given that sleep and affect may both influence one another, a disruption of either one of the two may trigger a downward spiral where poor sleep and affective dysfunctioning continue to negatively influence each other. As a result, the present study aims to examine the bidirectional daily associations between adolescents' nighttime sleep (sleep quality and disturbance) and daytime affect as well as the moderational effects of participants' gender and depressive symptoms. To this end, we conducted hierarchical linear regression modelling in a sample of 286 13-16 year-old non-disordered adolescents (59% female) who completed 9 randomly sampled assessments per day as well as a standard morning and evening assessment for a period of 6 days. Results indicate that sleep disturbance was not associated with positive and negative affect, whereas sleep quality was. Poorer sleep quality predicted more negative and less positive affect the next day, and also was predicted by higher levels of negative and lower levels of positive affect the day before. Girls and participants higher in depressive symptoms seemed to experience stronger adverse effects of poor sleep quality on their negative affect than boys and participants low in depressive symptoms. Additionally, the positive association between positive affect and next day's positive affect was weaker for those who scored higher on depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that improving sleep quality and improving daily affect are both useful strategies to create upward spirals of adolescent well-being that might be needed particularly for girls and adolescents with elevated symptoms of depression.

Childhood adversity predicts reduced physiological flexibility during the processing of negative affect among adolescents with major depression histories.

PubMed

Daches, Shimrit; Kovacs, Maria; George, Charles J; Yaroslavsky, Ilya; Kiss, Eniko; Vetró, Ágnes; Dochnal, Roberta; Benák, István; Baji, Ildikó; Halas, Kitti; Makai, Attila; Kapornai, Krisztina; Rottenberg, Jonathan

2017-11-01

Adversity during early development has been shown to have enduring negative physiological consequences. In turn, atypical physiological functioning has been associated with maladaptive processing of negative affect, including its regulation. The present study therefore explored whether exposure to adverse life events in childhood predicted maladaptive (less flexible) parasympathetic nervous system functioning during the processing of negative affect among adolescents with depression histories. An initially clinic-referred, pediatric sample (N=189) was assessed at two time points. At Time 1, when subjects were 10.17years old (SD=1.42), on average, and were depressed, parents reported on adverse life events the offspring experienced up to that point. At Time 2, when subjects were 17.18years old (SD=1.28), and were remitted from depression, parents again reported on adverse life events in their offspring's lives for the interim period. At time 2, subjects' parasympathetic nervous system functioning (quantified as respiratory sinus arrhythmia) also was assessed at rest, during sad mood induction, and during instructed mood repair. Extent of adverse life events experienced by T1 (but not events occurring between T1 and T2) predicted less flexible RSA functioning 7years later during the processing of negative affect. Adolescents with more extensive early life adversities exhibited less vagal withdrawal following negative mood induction and tended to show less physiological recovery following mood repair. Early adversities appear to be associated with less flexible physiological regulatory control during negative affect experience, when measured later in development. Stress-related autonomic dysfunction in vulnerable youths may contribute to the unfavorable clinical prognosis associated with juvenile-onset depression. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Negative (but not Positive) Parenting Interacts with Infant Negative Affect to Predict Infant Approach: Evidence of Diathesis-Stress.

PubMed

Holzman, Jacob B; Burt, Nicole M; Edwards, Erin S; Rosinski, Leanna D; Bridgett, David J

2018-01-01

Temperament by parenting interactions may reflect that individuals with greater risk are more likely to experience negative outcomes in adverse contexts (diathesis-stress) or that these individuals are more susceptible to contextual influences in a 'for better or for worse' pattern (differential susceptibility). Although such interactions have been identified for a variety of child outcomes, prior research has not examined approach characteristics - excitement and approach toward pleasurable activities - in the first year of life. Therefore, the current study investigated whether 6-month maternal reported infant negative affect - a phenotypic marker of risk/susceptibility - interacted with 8-month observed parenting behaviors (positive parenting, negative parenting) to predict 12-month infant behavioral approach. Based a sample of mothers and their infants ( N =150), results indicated that negative parenting was inversely associated with subsequent approach for infants with high, but not low, levels of early negative affect. Similar results did not occur regarding positive parenting. These findings better fit a diathesis-stress model rather than a differential susceptibility model. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

3x2 Classroom Goal Structures, Motivational Regulations, Self-Concept, and Affectivity in Secondary School.

PubMed

Méndez-Giménez, Antonio; Cecchini-Estrada, José-Antonio; Fernández-Río, Javier; Prieto Saborit, José Antonio; Méndez-Alonso, David

2017-09-20

The main objective was to analyze relationships and predictive patterns between 3x2 classroom goal structures (CGS), and motivational regulations, dimensions of self-concept, and affectivity in the context of secondary education. A sample of 1,347 secondary school students (56.6% young men, 43.4% young women) from 10 different provinces of Spain agreed to participate (M age = 13.43, SD = 1.05). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated the self-approach CGS was the most adaptive within the spectrum of self-determination, followed by the task-approach CGS. The other-approach CGS had an ambivalent influence on motivation. Task-approach and self-approach CGS predicted academic self-concept (p < .01; p < .001, respectively; R 2 = .134), and both along with other-approach CGS (negatively) predicted family self-concept (p < .05; p < .001; p < .01, respectively; R 2 = .064). Physical self-concept was predicted by the task-approach and other-approach CGS's (p < .05; p < .001, respectively; R 2 = .078). Finally, positive affect was predicted by all three approach-oriented CGS's (p < .001; R 2 = .137), whereas negative affect was predicted by other-approach (positively) and self-approach (negatively) CGS (p < .001; p < .05, respectively; R 2 = .028). These results expand the 3x2 achievement goal framework to include environmental factors, and reiterate that teachers should focus on raising levels of self- and task-based goals for students in their classes.

Predictors of caregiving burden: impact of subjective health, negative affect, and loneliness of octogenarians and centenarians.

PubMed

Lee, Kyuho; Martin, Peter; Poon, Leonard W

2017-11-01

This study aimed (1) to determine whether octogenarian and centenarian care recipients' self-report on physical, social, and emotional status are different from caregivers' reports, (2) to assess associations between octogenarian and centenarian care recipients' poor physical, social, and emotional status and caregiver burden, and (3) to determine which report, the care recipients' self-report or caregivers' report, about the participants' physical and emotional status predicted more accurately levels of caregiver burden. Self-ratings and caregiver informant ratings were obtained from 309 participants of the Georgia Centenarian Study. Care recipients' health, negative affect, and loneliness were reported by both the caregivers and care recipients for the analyses. Differences between care recipients' and caregivers' reports were assessed by t-test. Blockwise multiple regression analysis was computed to assess predictors of caregiver burden. Caregivers' reports on the three measures were significantly higher than self-reports. Caregivers' negative affect and loneliness, not physical health, reported by caregivers predicted higher caregiver burden. Care recipients' reports did not predict caregiver burden. Caregivers perceived care recipients' social and emotional status more negatively, and caregivers' negative perceptions on care recipients' well-being status were an important predictor of caregiver burden.

Difficulties in emotion regulation mediate negative and positive affects and craving in alcoholic patients.

PubMed

Khosravani, Vahid; Sharifi Bastan, Farangis; Ghorbani, Fatemeh; Kamali, Zoleikha

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was to assess the mediating effects of difficulties in emotion regulation (DER) on the relations of negative and positive affects to craving in alcoholic patients. 205 treatment-seeking alcoholic outpatients were included. DER, positive and negative affects as well as craving were evaluated by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Positive/Negative Affect Scales, and the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) respectively. Clinical factors including depression and severity of alcohol dependence were investigated by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) respectively. Results revealed that both increased negative affect and decreased positive affect indirectly influenced craving through limited access to emotion regulation strategies. It was concluded that limited access to emotion regulation strategies may be important in predicting craving for alcoholics who experience both increased negative affect and decreased positive affect. This suggests that treatment and prevention efforts focused on increasing positive affect, decreasing negative affect and teaching effective regulation strategies may be critical in reducing craving in alcoholic patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Somatic focus/awareness: Relationship to negative affect and pain in chronic pain patients

PubMed Central

O’Brien, Erin M.; Atchison, James W.; Gremillion, Henry A.; Waxenberg, Lori B.; Robinson, Michael E.

2009-01-01

Somatic focus refers to the tendency to notice and report physical symptoms, and has been investigated in relation to chronically painful conditions. This study investigated the relationship between somatic focus, as measured by the Pennebaker Inventory of Limbic Languidness (PILL), negative affect and pain. A secondary purpose of the present study was to examine sex differences in these relationships. Participants included 280 chronic pain patients (69.6% females, 88.9% Caucasian), who completed a battery of self-report measures on somatic focus, pain, negative affect, coping, and dysfunction. Results for the overall sample revealed that the PILL shares considerable variance with measures of negative affect, particularly with the physiological components of anxiety and depression. When the results were analyzed separately for male and female patients, it was found that several components of negative affect and cognitive factors play a stronger role in predicting somatic focus among men compared to women. Additional analyses then examined whether somatic focus was predictive of male and female patients’ pain reports. Results indicated that somatic focus explained a small, but unique amount of variance in female patients’ pain reports, which differed from the relationship observed among male patients. PMID:17524684

Wanting to Maximize the Positive and Minimize the Negative: Implications for Mixed Affective Experience in American and Chinese Contexts

PubMed Central

Sims, Tamara; Tsai, Jeanne L.; Jiang, Da; Wang, Yaheng; Fung, Helene H.; Zhang, Xiulan

2016-01-01

Previous studies have demonstrated that European Americans have fewer mixed affective experiences (i.e., are less likely to experience the bad with the good) compared to Chinese. In this paper, we argue that these cultural differences are due to “ideal affect,” or how people ideally want to feel. Specifically, we predict that people from individualistic cultures want to maximize positive and minimize negative affect more than people from collectivistic cultures, and as a result, they are less likely to actually experience mixed emotions (reflected by a more negative within-person correlation between actual positive and negative affect). We find support for this prediction in two experience sampling studies conducted in the U.S. and China (Studies 1 and 2). In addition, we demonstrate that ideal affect is a distinct construct from dialectical view of the self, which has also been related to mixed affective experience (Study 3). Finally, in Study 4, we demonstrate that experimentally manipulating the desire to maximize the positive and minimize the negative alters participants' actual experience of mixed emotions during a pleasant (but not unpleasant or combined pleasant and unpleasant) television clip in the U.S. and Hong Kong. Together, these findings suggest that across cultures, how people want to feel shapes how they actually feel, particularly people's mixed affective experience. PMID:26121525

Wanting to maximize the positive and minimize the negative: implications for mixed affective experience in American and Chinese contexts.

PubMed

Sims, Tamara; Tsai, Jeanne L; Jiang, Da; Wang, Yaheng; Fung, Helene H; Zhang, Xiulan

2015-08-01

Previous studies have demonstrated that European Americans have fewer mixed affective experiences (i.e., are less likely to experience the bad with the good) compared with Chinese. In this article, we argue that these cultural differences are due to "ideal affect," or how people ideally want to feel. Specifically, we predict that people from individualistic cultures want to maximize positive and minimize negative affect more than people from collectivistic cultures, and as a result, they are less likely to actually experience mixed emotions (reflected by a more negative within-person correlation between actual positive and negative affect). We find support for this prediction in 2 experience sampling studies conducted in the United States and China (Studies 1 and 2). In addition, we demonstrate that ideal affect is a distinct construct from dialectical view of the self, which has also been related to mixed affective experience (Study 3). Finally, in Study 4, we demonstrate that experimentally manipulating the desire to maximize the positive and minimize the negative alters participants' actual experience of mixed emotions during a pleasant (but not unpleasant or combined pleasant and unpleasant) TV clip in the United States and Hong Kong. Together, these findings suggest that across cultures, how people want to feel shapes how they actually feel, particularly people's experiences of mixed affect. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Object relations predicts borderline personality disorder symptoms beyond emotional dysregulation, negative affect, and impulsivity.

PubMed

Huprich, Steven K; Nelson, Sharon M; Paggeot, Amy; Lengu, Ketrin; Albright, Jeremy

2017-01-01

Many studies have determined that the traits of emotional dysregulation, negative affect, and impulsivity are the strongest predictors of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Although psychodynamic, empirically supported BPD treatments (i.e., transference-focused, mentalization based) focus upon changing the internal representations of self and other, no studies have simultaneously evaluated the contribution of object relations in relation to these traits in predicting BPD symptoms. This study sought to determine the combined effects of emotional dysregulation, negative affect, impulsivity, and object relations in the prediction of BPD through the use of mediation modeling in 4 a priori hypothesized relationships among these variables. One hundred sixty-nine psychiatric outpatients and 171 undergraduate students were evaluated with self-reported trait and object relations measures and were administered 2 semistructured diagnostic interviews for BPD. Although all trait and object relations measures were correlated with BPD symptoms, the best fitting model was one in which object relations partially mediated the relationship of negative affect and impulsivity with BPD symptoms. Direct effects of the traits were also observed in mediation. Self-reported object relational quality had more of an effect on the prediction of BPD than previously recognized within a trait-framework, thus further supporting the model explicated in psychodynamic and relationally based treatments for BPD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Better Off Alone: Daily Solitude Is Associated With Lower Negative Affect in More Conflictual Social Networks.

PubMed

Birditt, Kira S; Manalel, Jasmine A; Sommers, Heidi; Luong, Gloria; Fingerman, Karen L

2018-06-19

Older adults are often considered at risk for social isolation. Little is known, however, about how often older adults lack social contact (in person, phone, electronic) throughout the day, the implications of lacking contact (i.e., solitude), and whether the effects of solitude vary by the broader social context. Participants were from the Daily Experiences and Well-being Study (DEWS) which included 313 older adults (aged 65+) who completed baseline interviews followed by 5-6 days of ecological momentary assessments approximately every 3 hr. Individuals reported having no social contact (i.e., solitude) on 11% of the occasions. Solitude predicted lower negative and positive affect on those occasions. The solitude-negative affect link varied by social network quality. Solitude predicted lower negative affect among individuals with more conflictual social networks but not among those with less conflictual networks. Overall, solitude may serve as an adaptive strategy for individuals embedded in demanding or irritating social contexts.

The affective regulation of cognitive priming.

PubMed

Storbeck, Justin; Clore, Gerald L

2008-04-01

Semantic and affective priming are classic effects observed in cognitive and social psychology, respectively. The authors discovered that affect regulates such priming effects. In Experiment 1, positive and negative moods were induced before one of three priming tasks; evaluation, categorization, or lexical decision. As predicted, positive affect led to both affective priming (evaluation task) and semantic priming (category and lexical decision tasks). However, negative affect inhibited such effects. In Experiment 2, participants in their natural affective state completed the same priming tasks as in Experiment 1. As expected, affective priming (evaluation task) and category priming (categorization and lexical decision tasks) were observed in such resting affective states. Hence, the authors conclude that negative affect inhibits semantic and affective priming. These results support recent theoretical models, which suggest that positive affect promotes associations among strong and weak concepts, and that negative affect impairs such associations (Clore & Storbeck, 2006; Kuhl, 2000). (Copyright) 2008 APA.

Mediators of the Association of Major Depressive Syndrome and Anxiety Syndrome with Postpartum Smoking Relapse

PubMed Central

Correa-Fernández, Virmarie; Ji, Lingyun; Castro, Yessenia; Heppner, Whitney L.; Vidrine, Jennifer Irvin; Costello, Tracy J.; Mullen, Patricia Dolan; Cofta-Woerpel, Ludmila; Velasquez, Mary M.; Greisinger, Anthony; Cinciripini, Paul M.; Wetter, David W.

2012-01-01

Objective Based on conceptual models of addiction and affect regulation, this study examined the mechanisms linking current major depressive syndrome (MDS) and anxiety syndrome (AS) to postpartum smoking relapse. Method Data were collected in a randomized clinical trial from 251 women who quit smoking during pregnancy. Simple and multiple mediation models of the relations of MDS and AS with postpartum relapse were examined using linear regression, continuation ratio logit models, and a Bootstrapping procedure to test the indirect effects. Results Both MDS and AS significantly predicted postpartum smoking relapse. After adjusting for MDS, AS significantly predicted relapse. However, after adjusting for AS, MDS no longer predicted relapse. Situationally-based self-efficacy, expectancies of controlling negative affect by means other than smoking, and various dimensions of primary and secondary tobacco dependence individually mediated the effect of both MDS and AS on relapse. In multiple mediation models, self-efficacy in negative/affective situations significantly mediated the effect of MDS and AS on relapse. Conclusion The findings underscore the negative impact of depression and anxiety on postpartum smoking relapse, and suggest that the effects of MDS on postpartum relapse may be largely explained by comorbid AS. The current investigation provided mixed support for affect regulation models of addiction. Cognitive and tobacco dependence-related aspects of negative and positive reinforcement significantly mediated the relationship of depression and anxiety with relapse, while affect and stress did not. The findings emphasize the unique role of low agency with respect to abstaining from smoking in negative affective situations as a key predictor of postpartum smoking relapse. PMID:22390410

Mediators of the association of major depressive syndrome and anxiety syndrome with postpartum smoking relapse.

PubMed

Correa-Fernández, Virmarie; Ji, Lingyun; Castro, Yessenia; Heppner, Whitney L; Vidrine, Jennifer Irvin; Costello, Tracy J; Mullen, Patricia Dolan; Cofta-Woerpel, Ludmila; Velasquez, Mary M; Greisinger, Anthony; Cinciripini, Paul M; Wetter, David W

2012-08-01

Based on conceptual models of addiction and affect regulation, this study examined the mechanisms linking current major depressive syndrome (MDS) and anxiety syndrome (AS) to postpartum smoking relapse. Data were collected in a randomized clinical trial from 251 women who quit smoking during pregnancy. Simple and multiple mediation models of the relations of MDS and AS with postpartum relapse were examined using linear regression, continuation ratio logit models, and a bootstrapping procedure to test the indirect effects. Both MDS and AS significantly predicted postpartum smoking relapse. After adjusting for MDS, AS significantly predicted relapse. However, after adjusting for AS, MDS no longer predicted relapse. Situationally based self-efficacy, expectancies of controlling negative affect by means other than smoking, and various dimensions of primary and secondary tobacco dependence individually mediated the effect of both MDS and AS on relapse. In multiple mediation models, self-efficacy in negative/affective situations significantly mediated the effect of MDS and AS on relapse. The findings underscore the negative impact of depression and anxiety on postpartum smoking relapse and suggest that the effects of MDS on postpartum relapse may be largely explained by comorbid AS. The current investigation provided mixed support for affect regulation models of addiction. Cognitive and tobacco dependence-related aspects of negative and positive reinforcement significantly mediated the relationship of depression and anxiety with relapse, whereas affect and stress did not. The findings emphasize the unique role of low agency with respect to abstaining from smoking in negative affective situations as a key predictor of postpartum smoking relapse. © 2012 American Psychological Association

Manipulating affective state influences conditioned appetitive responses.

PubMed

Arnaudova, Inna; Krypotos, Angelos-Miltiadis; Effting, Marieke; Kindt, Merel; Beckers, Tom

2017-10-06

Affective states influence how individuals process information and behave. Some theories predict emotional congruency effects (e.g. preferential processing of negative information in negative affective states). Emotional congruency should theoretically obstruct the learning of reward associations (appetitive learning) and their ability to guide behaviour under negative mood. Two studies tested the effects of the induction of a negative affective state on appetitive Pavlovian learning, in which neutral stimuli were associated with chocolate (Experiment 1) or alcohol (Experiment 2) rewards. In both experiments, participants showed enhanced approach tendencies towards predictors of reward after a negative relative to a positive performance feedback manipulation. This increase was related to a reduction in positive affect in Experiment 1 only. No effects of the manipulation on conditioned reward expectancies, craving, or consumption were observed. Overall, our findings support the idea of counter-regulation, rather than emotional congruency effects. Negative affective states might therefore serve as a vulnerability factor for addiction, through increasing conditioned approach tendencies.

Do prospective workday appraisals influence end-of-workday affect and self-monitored performance?

PubMed

Grawitch, Matthew J; Granda, Stephanie E; Barber, Larissa K

2008-10-01

The current study uses self-regulation as the basis for a model that examines the influence of three types of workday appraisals (resource, task, and response). At the beginning of their workday, a total of 170 faculty, graduate students, and staff of a university completed appraisal ratings of their anticipated workday tasks, resources, and responses. At the end of the workday, they completed assessments of positive and negative affect and self-monitored performance. Results suggested that resource appraisals of control and skills were predictive of task appraisals of difficulty, threat, and ambiguity. Task appraisals were then predictive of both response appraisals, in terms of anticipated support and effort, and self-monitored performance at the end of the day. Anticipated effort and self-monitored performance were both positively related to positive affect at the end of the day. Anticipated support and self-monitored performance were both negatively related to negative affect at the end of the day, while threat task appraisals were positively related to negative affect. Implications of the results for workplace interventions are discussed.

Relations among Affect, Abstinence Motivation and Confidence, and Daily Smoking Lapse Risk

PubMed Central

Minami, Haruka; Yeh, Vivian M.; Bold, Krysten W.; Chapman, Gretchen B.; McCarthy, Danielle E.

2016-01-01

Aims This study tested the hypothesis that changes in momentary affect, abstinence motivation, and confidence would predict lapse risk over the next 12–24 hours using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) data from smokers attempting to quit smoking. Method 103 adult, daily, treatment-seeking smokers recorded their momentary affect, motivation to quit, abstinence confidence, and smoking behaviors in near real time with multiple EMA reports per day using electronic diaries post-quit. Results Multilevel models indicated that initial levels of negative affect were associated with smoking, even after controlling for earlier smoking status, and that short-term increases in negative affect predicted lapses up to 12, but not 24, hours later. Positive affect had significant effects on subsequent abstinence confidence, but not motivation to quit. High levels of motivation appeared to reduce increases in lapse risk that occur over hours while momentary changes in confidence did not predict lapse risk over 12 hours. Conclusion Negative affect had short-lived effects on lapse risk, whereas higher levels of motivation protected against the risk of lapsing that accumulates over hours. An increase in positive affect was associated with greater confidence to quit, but such changes in confidence did not reduce short-term lapse risk, contrary to expectations. Relations observed among affect, cognitions, and lapse seem to depend critically on the timing of assessments. PMID:24955665

Influences of Mood Variability, Negative Moods, and Depression on Adolescent Cigarette Smoking

PubMed Central

Weinstein, Sally M.; Mermelstein, Robin J.

2013-01-01

Understanding the emotional risk factors for cigarette smoking in adolescence can greatly inform prevention efforts. The current study examined prospective relationships between three affective dimensions – negative mood variability, overall negative mood, and depression, affect-related smoking motives, and future smoking patterns among adolescents. The current study expands on prior research by using real-time methods to assess mood and by focusing on a key developmental transition in smoking behavior: the progression from experimentation or low level, infrequent use to higher use. Ninth and 10th grade students (N = 461; 55% girls) provided data on cigarette use at a baseline and follow-up 15-month wave, and also provided ecological momentary assessments of negative moods via palmtop computers for one week at each wave. Negative mood was examined via the means of negative mood reports at each wave, and mood variability was examined via the intraindividual standard deviations of negative mood reports at each wave. Depressive symptoms and smoking motives were also assessed. Findings supported a complex self-medication model of smoking escalation in adolescence whereby mood-smoking relationships differed by affect dimension and gender. For girls, greater negative mood variability at baseline significantly predicted rapid escalation in smoking over time, whereas depressive symptoms and overall negative mood were unrelated to girls’ smoking patterns. In contrast, overall negative mood significantly predicted boys’ smoking escalation among those with affect-related motives for smoking. Results thus suggest that inconsistent mood-smoking relations in past work may be driven by the complex interrelationships among affect vulnerabilities, gender, and smoking patterns. PMID:23438244

Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms and Aggression: A Within-Person Process Model

PubMed Central

Scott, Lori N.; Wright, Aidan G. C.; Beeney, Joseph E.; Lazarus, Sophie A.; Pilkonis, Paul A.; Stepp, Stephanie D.

2017-01-01

Theoretical and empirical work suggests that aggression in those with borderline personality disorder (BPD) occurs primarily in the context of emotional reactivity, especially anger and shame, in response to perceived rejection. Using intensive repeated measures, we examined a within-person process model in which perceived rejection predicts increases in aggressive urges and behaviors via increases in negative affect (indirect effect) and in which BPD symptoms exacerbate this process (moderated mediation). Participants were 117 emerging adult women (ages 18–24) with recent histories of aggressive behavior who were recruited from a community-based longitudinal study of at-risk youth. Personality disorder symptoms were assessed by semi-structured clinical interview, and aggressive urges, threats, and behaviors were measured in daily life during a three-week ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol. Multilevel path models revealed that within-person increases in perceived rejection predicted increases in negative affect, especially in women with greater BPD symptoms. In turn, increases in negative affect predicted increased likelihood of aggressive urges or behaviors. Further analysis revealed that BPD symptoms predicted greater anger and shame reactivity to perceived rejection, but not to criticism or insult. Additionally, only anger was associated with increases in aggression after controlling for other negative emotions. Whereas BPD symptoms exacerbated the link between perceived rejection and aggression via increases in negative affect (particularly anger), this process was attenuated in women with greater antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) symptoms. These findings suggest that anger reactivity to perceived rejection is one unique pathway, distinct from ASPD, by which BPD symptoms increase risk for aggression. PMID:28383936

INFANT AVOIDANCE DURING A TACTILE TASK PREDICTS AUTISM SPECTRUM BEHAVIORS IN TODDLERHOOD.

PubMed

Mammen, Micah A; Moore, Ginger A; Scaramella, Laura V; Reiss, David; Ganiban, Jody M; Shaw, Daniel S; Leve, Leslie D; Neiderhiser, Jenae M

2015-01-01

The experience of touch is critical for early communication and social interaction; infants who show aversion to touch may be at risk for atypical development and behavior problems. The current study aimed to clarify predictive associations between infant responses to tactile stimuli and toddler autism spectrum, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors. This study measured 9-month-old infants' (N = 561; 58% male) avoidance and negative affect during a novel tactile task in which parents painted infants' hands and feet and pressed them to paper to make a picture. Parent reports on the Pervasive Developmental Problems (PDP), Internalizing, and Externalizing scales of the Child Behavior Checklist were used to measure toddler behaviors at 18 months. Infant observed avoidance and negative affect were significantly correlated; however, avoidance predicted subsequent PDP scores only, independent of negative affect, which did not predict any toddler behaviors. Findings suggest that incorporating measures of responses to touch in the study of early social interaction may provide an important and discriminating construct for identifying children at greater risk for social impairments related to autism spectrum behaviors. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Resting connectivity between salience nodes predicts recognition memory.

PubMed

Andreano, Joseph M; Touroutoglou, Alexandra; Dickerson, Bradford C; Barrett, Lisa F

2017-06-01

The resting connectivity of the brain's salience network, particularly the ventral subsystem of the salience network, has been previously associated with various measures of affective reactivity. Numerous studies have demonstrated that increased affective arousal leads to enhanced consolidation of memory. This suggests that individuals with greater ventral salience network connectivity will exhibit greater responses to affective experience, leading to a greater enhancement of memory by affect. To test this hypothesis, resting ventral salience connectivity was measured in 41 young adults, who were then exposed to neutral and negative affect inductions during a paired associate memory test. Memory performance for material learned under both negative and neutral induction was tested for correlation with resting connectivity between major ventral salience nodes. The results showed a significant interaction between mood induction (negative vs neutral) and connectivity between ventral anterior insula and pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, indicating that salience node connectivity predicted memory for material encoded under negative, but not neutral induction. These findings suggest that the network state of the perceiver, measured prior to affective experience, meaningfully influences the extent to which affect modulates memory. Implications of these findings for individuals with affective disorder, who show alterations in both connectivity and memory, are considered. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

Ruminative self-focus, negative life events, and negative affect

PubMed Central

Moberly, Nicholas J.; Watkins, Edward R.

2008-01-01

Ruminative thinking is believed to exacerbate the psychological distress that follows stressful life events. An experience-sampling study was conducted in which participants recorded negative life events, ruminative self-focus, and negative affect eight times daily over one week. Occasions when participants reported a negative event were marked by higher levels of negative affect. Additionally, negative events were prospectively associated with higher levels of negative affect at the next sampling occasion, and this relationship was partially mediated by momentary ruminative self-focus. Depressive symptoms were associated with more frequent negative events, but not with increased reactivity to negative events. Trait rumination was associated with reports of more severe negative events and increased reactivity to negative events. These results suggest that the extent to which a person engages in ruminative self-focus after everyday stressors is an important determinant of the degree of distress experienced after such events. Further, dispositional measures of rumination predict mood reactivity to everyday stressors in a non-clinical sample. PMID:18684437

Dysfunctional Attitudes and Affective Responses to Daily Stressors: Separating Cognitive, Genetic, and Clinical Influences on Stress Reactivity

PubMed Central

Conway, Christopher C.; Slavich, George M.; Hammen, Constance

2016-01-01

Despite decades of research examining diathesis-stress models of emotional disorders, it remains unclear whether dysfunctional attitudes interact with stressful experiences to shape affect on a daily basis and, if so, how clinical and genetic factors influence these associations. To address these issues, we conducted a multi-level daily diary study that examined how dysfunctional attitudes and stressful events relate to daily fluctuations in negative and positive affect in 104 young adults. Given evidence that clinical and genetic factors underlie stress sensitivity, we also examined how daily affect is influenced by internalizing and externalizing symptoms and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) genotype, which have been shown to influence neural, endocrine, and affective responses to stress. In multivariate models, internalizing symptoms and BDNF Val66Met genotype independently predicted heightened negative affect on stressful days, but dysfunctional attitudes did not. Specifically, the BDNF Met allele and elevated baseline internalizing symptomatology predicted greater increases in negative affect in stressful circumstances. These data are the first to demonstrate that BDNF genotype and stress are jointly associated with daily fluctuations in negative affect, and they challenge the assumption that maladaptive beliefs play a strong independent role in determining affective responses to everyday stressors. The results may thus inform the development of new multi-level theories of psychopathology and guide future research on predictors of affective lability. PMID:27041782

Developmental trends in alcohol use initiation and escalation from early- to middle-adolescence: Prediction by urgency and trait affect

PubMed Central

Spillane, Nichea S.; Merrill, Jennifer E.; Jackson, Kristina M.

2016-01-01

Studies on adolescent drinking have not always been able to distinguish between initiation and escalation of drinking, because many studies include samples in which initiation has already occurred; hence initiation and escalation are often confounded. The present study draws from a dual-process theoretical framework to investigate: if changes in the likelihood of drinking initiation and escalation are predicted by a tendency towards rash action when experiencing positive and negative emotions (positive and negative urgency); and whether trait positive and negative affect moderate such effects. Alcohol naïve adolescents (n=944; age: M=12.16, SD=.96; 52% female) completed 6 semi-annual assessments of trait urgency and affect (wave-1) and alcohol use (waves 2–6). A two-part random-effects model was used to estimate changes in the likelihood of any alcohol use vs. escalation in the volume of use amongst initiators. Main effects suggest a significant association between positive affect and change in level of alcohol use amongst initiators, such that lower positive affect predicted increased alcohol involvement. This main effect was qualified by a significant interaction between positive urgency and positive affect predicting changes in the escalation of drinking, such that the effect of positive urgency was augmented for those high on trait positive affect, though only at extremely high levels of positive affect. Results suggest risk factors in the development of drinking depend on whether initiation or escalation is investigated. A more nuanced understanding of the early developmental phases of alcohol involvement can inform prevention and intervention efforts. PMID:27031086

Trauma exposure and cigarette smoking: the impact of negative affect and affect-regulatory smoking motives.

PubMed

Farris, Samantha G; Zvolensky, Michael J; Beckham, Jean C; Vujanovic, Anka A; Schmidt, Norman B

2014-01-01

Cognitive-affective mechanisms related to the maintenance of smoking among trauma-exposed individuals are largely unknown. Cross-sectional data from trauma-exposed treatment-seeking smokers (n = 283) were utilized to test a series of multiple mediator models of trauma exposure and smoking, as mediated by the sequential effects of negative affect and affect-modulation smoking motives. The sequential effects of both mediators indirectly predicted the effect of greater trauma exposure types on nicotine dependence, a biochemical index of smoking, perceived barriers to smoking cessation, and greater withdrawal-related problems during past quit attempts. Negative affect and affect-modulation motives for smoking may contribute to the trauma-smoking association.

Trauma Exposure and Cigarette Smoking: The Impact of Negative Affect and Affect-Regulatory Smoking Motives

PubMed Central

Farris, Samantha G.; Zvolensky, Michael J.; Beckham, Jean C.; Vujanovic, Anka A.; Schmidt, Norman B.

2014-01-01

Cognitive-affective mechanisms related to the maintenance of smoking among trauma-exposed individuals are largely unknown. Cross-sectional data from trauma-exposed treatment-seeking smokers (n = 283) were utilized to test a series of multiple mediator models of trauma exposure and smoking, as mediated by the sequential effects of negative affect and affect-modulation smoking motives. The sequential effects of both mediators indirectly predicted the effect of greater trauma exposure types on nicotine dependence, a biochemical index of smoking, perceived barriers to smoking cessation, and greater withdrawal-related problems during past quit attempts. Negative affect and affect-modulation motives for smoking may contribute to the trauma-smoking association. PMID:25299617

What constitutes a good life? Cultural differences in the role of positive and negative affect in subjective well-being.

PubMed

Wirtz, Derrick; Chiu, Chi-yue; Diener, Ed; Oishi, Shigehiro

2009-08-01

East Asians and Asian Americans report lower levels of subjective well-being than Europeans and European Americans. Three studies found support for the hypothesis that such differences may be due to the psychological meanings Eastern and Western cultures attach to positive and negative affect. Study 1 demonstrated that the desire to repeat a recent vacation was significantly predicted by recalled positive affect-but not recalled negative affect-for European Americans, whereas Asian Americans considered both positive and negative affect. Study 2 replicated this effect in judging satisfaction with a personal friendship. Study 3 linked changes in European Americans' life satisfaction to everyday positive events caused by the self (vs. others) and changes in Japanese life satisfaction to everyday negative events caused by others (vs. the self). Positive affect appears particularly meaningful for European Americans and negative affect for Asian Americans and Japanese when judging a satisfying vacation, friendship, or life.

One Size Fits All? Applying Theoretical Predictions about Age and Emotional Experience to People with Functional Disabilities

PubMed Central

Piazza, Jennifer R.; Charles, Susan T.; Luong, Gloria; Almeida, David M.

2015-01-01

The current study examined whether commonly observed age differences in affective experience among community samples of healthy adults would generalize to a group of adults who live with significant functional disability. Age differences in daily affect and affective reactivity to daily stressors among a sample of participants with spinal cord injury were compared to a non-injured sample. Results revealed that patterns of affective experience varied by sample. Among non-injured adults, older age was associated with lower levels of daily negative affect (NA), higher levels of daily positive affect (PA), and less negative affective reactivity in response to daily stressors. In contrast, among participants with spinal cord injury, no age differences emerged. Findings, which support the model of Strength and Vulnerability Integration (SAVI), underscore the importance of taking life context into account when predicting age differences in affective well-being. PMID:26322552

Undifferentiated negative affect and impulsivity in borderline personality and depressive disorders: A momentary perspective.

PubMed

Tomko, Rachel L; Lane, Sean P; Pronove, Lisa M; Treloar, Hayley R; Brown, Whitney C; Solhan, Marika B; Wood, Phillip K; Trull, Timothy J

2015-08-01

Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often report experiencing several negative emotions simultaneously, an indicator of "undifferentiated" negative affect. The current study examined the relationship between undifferentiated negative affect and impulsivity. Participants with a current BPD (n = 67) or depressive disorder (DD; n = 38) diagnosis carried an electronic diary for 28 days, reporting on emotions and impulsivity when randomly prompted (up to 6 times per day). Undifferentiated negative affect was quantified using momentary intraclass correlation coefficients, which indicated how consistently negative emotion items were rated across fear, hostility, and sadness subscales. Undifferentiated negative affect at the occasion-level, day-level, and across 28 days was used to predict occasion-level impulsivity. Multilevel modeling was used to test the hypothesis that undifferentiated negative emotion would be a significant predictor of momentary impulsivity above and beyond levels of overall negative affect. Undifferentiated negative affect at the occasion and day levels were significant predictors of occasion-level impulsivity, but undifferentiated negative affect across the 28-day study period was only marginally significant. Results did not differ depending on BPD or DD status, though individuals with BPD did report significantly greater momentary impulsivity and undifferentiated negative affect. Undifferentiated negative affect may increase risk for impulsivity among individuals with BPD and depressive disorders, and the current data suggest that this process can be relatively immediate as well as cumulative over the course of a day. This research supports the consideration of undifferentiated negative affect as a transdiagnostic construct, but one that may be particularly relevant for those with BPD. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Undifferentiated Negative Affect and Impulsivity in Borderline Personality and Depressive Disorders: A Momentary Perspective

PubMed Central

Pronove, Lisa M.; Treloar, Hayley R.; Brown, Whitney C.; Solhan, Marika B.; Wood, Phillip K.; Trull, Timothy J.

2015-01-01

Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often report experiencing several negative emotions simultaneously, an indicator of “undifferentiated” negative affect. The current study examined the relationship between undifferentiated negative affect and impulsivity. Participants with a current BPD (n = 67) or depressive disorder (DD; n = 38) diagnosis carried an electronic diary for 28 days, reporting on emotions and impulsivity when randomly prompted (up to 6 times per day). Undifferentiated negative affect was quantified using momentary intraclass correlation coefficients, which indicated how consistently negative emotion items were rated across fear, hostility, and sadness subscales. Undifferentiated negative affect at the occasion-level, day-level, and across 28 days was used to predict occasion-level impulsivity. Multilevel modeling was used to test the hypothesis that undifferentiated negative emotion would be a significant predictor of momentary impulsivity above and beyond levels of overall negative affect. Undifferentiated negative affect at the occasion and day levels were significant predictors of occasion-level impulsivity, but undifferentiated negative affect across the 28-day study period was only marginally significant. Results did not differ depending on BPD or DD status, though BPD individuals did report significantly greater momentary impulsivity and undifferentiated negative affect. Undifferentiated negative affect may increase risk for impulsivity among individuals with BPD and depressive disorders, and the current data suggest that this process can be relatively immediate as well as cumulative over the course of a day. This research supports the consideration of undifferentiated negative affect as a transdiagnostic construct, but one that may be particularly relevant for those with BPD. PMID:26147324

Intuition, Affect, and Peculiar Beliefs

PubMed Central

Boden, Matthew Tyler; Berenbaum, Howard; Topper, Maurice

2012-01-01

Research with college students has found that intuitive thinking (e.g., using hunches to ascribe meaning to experiences) and positive affect interactively predict ideas of reference and odd/magical beliefs. We investigated whether these results would generalize to a diverse community sample of adults that included individuals with elevated levels of peculiar perceptions and beliefs. We measured positive and negative affect and intuitive thinking through questionnaires, and peculiar beliefs (i.e., ideas of reference and odd/magical beliefs) through structured clinical interviews. We found that peculiar beliefs were associated with intuitive thinking and negative affect, but not positive affect. Furthermore, in no instance did the interaction of affect and intuitive thinking predict peculiar beliefs. These results suggest that there are important differences in the factors that contribute to peculiar beliefs between college students and clinically meaningful samples. PMID:22707815

Testing the cognitive catalyst model of rumination with explicit and implicit cognitive content.

PubMed

Sova, Christopher C; Roberts, John E

2018-06-01

The cognitive catalyst model posits that rumination and negative cognitive content, such as negative schema, interact to predict depressive affect. Past research has found support for this model using explicit measures of negative cognitive content such as self-report measures of trait self-esteem and dysfunctional attitudes. The present study tested whether these findings would extend to implicit measures of negative cognitive content such as implicit self-esteem, and whether effects would depend on initial mood state and history of depression. Sixty-one undergraduate students selected on the basis of depression history (27 previously depressed; 34 never depressed) completed explicit and implicit measures of negative cognitive content prior to random assignment to a rumination induction followed by a distraction induction or vice versa. Dysphoric affect was measured both before and after these inductions. Analyses revealed that explicit measures, but not implicit measures, interacted with rumination to predict change in dysphoric affect, and these interactions were further moderated by baseline levels of dysphoria. Limitations include the small nonclinical sample and use of a self-report measure of depression history. These findings suggest that rumination amplifies the association between explicit negative cognitive content and depressive affect primarily among people who are already experiencing sad mood. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Individual differences in the impact of vicarious racism: African American students react to the George Zimmerman trial.

PubMed

Mason, Tyler B; Maduro, Ralitsa S; Derlega, Valerian J; Hacker, Desi S; Winstead, Barbara A; Haywood, Jacqueline E

2017-04-01

This research focused on how race-based rejection sensitivity (RS-Race) and components of racial identity intensify negative psychological reactions to an incident of vicarious racism. We examined how these individual difference variables directly and/or indirectly predicted African American students' reactions to the trial of George Zimmerman in the killing of the African American teenager, Trayvon Martin. In Study 1, 471 African American students completed measures of RS-Race, thought intrusions about the Zimmerman trial, and outcome variables (negative affect about the Zimmerman trial and forgiveness for Mr. Zimmerman). In Study 2, 304 African American students completed measures of racial identity (centrality, private regard, and public regard), thought intrusions about the Zimmerman trial, negative affect, and forgiveness. In Study 1, higher RS-Race was either directly and/or indirectly (via thought intrusions) related to more negative affect and lower forgiveness. In Study 2, high racial centrality and low public regard either directly and/or indirectly (via thought intrusions) predicted more negative affect and lower forgiveness. RS-Race and specific components of racial identity are likely to sensitize African Americans to incidents of racism that happen to other African Americans, leading to negative psychological reactions when these events occur. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Neuroticism as Distancing: Perceptual Sources of Evidence

PubMed Central

Liu, Tianwei; Ode, Scott; Moeller, Sara K.; Robinson, Michael D.

2013-01-01

Several theories and self-reported sources of data link individual differences in negative affectivity to avoidance motivation. Chronic avoidance motivation, through repeated practice, may result in a relatively cognitive distance-enhancing dynamic whereby events and stimuli are perceived as further away from the self, even when they are not threatening. Such predictions are novel, but follow from cybernetic theories of self-regulation. In five studies (total N = 463), relations of this type were investigated. Study 1 presented participants with phrases that were ambiguous and found that trait negative affect predicted phrase interpretation in a distance-enhancing temporal direction. Study 2 replicated this effect across a systematic manipulation of event valence. Study 3 asked individuals to estimate the size of words and found that individuals higher in neuroticism generally perceived words to be smaller than did individuals lower in neuroticism. In Study 4, people high (but not low) in neuroticism perceived words to be shrinking faster than they were growing. In Study 5, greater perceptual distancing, in a font size estimation task, predicted more adverse reactions to negative events in daily life. Although normative effects varied across studies, consistent support for a chronic distancing perspective of individual differences in negative affectivity was found. PMID:23527850

The developmental dynamics of children's academic performance and mothers' homework-related affect and practices.

PubMed

Silinskas, Gintautas; Kiuru, Noona; Aunola, Kaisa; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

2015-04-01

This study investigated the longitudinal associations between children's academic performance and their mothers' affect, practices, and perceptions of their children in homework situations. The children's (n = 2,261) performance in reading and math was tested in Grade 1 and Grade 4, and the mothers (n = 1,476) filled out questionnaires on their affect, practices, and perceptions while their children were in Grades 2, 3, and 4. The results showed, first, that the more help in homework the mothers reported, the slower was the development of their children's academic performance from Grade 1 to Grade 4. This negative association was true especially if mothers perceived their children not to be able to work autonomously. Second, children's good academic performance in Grade 1 predicted mothers' perception of child's ability to be autonomous and positive affect in homework situations later on, whereas poor performance predicted mothers' negative affect, help, and monitoring. Finally, mothers' negative affect mediated the association between children's poor performance, maternal practices, and perceptions of their children. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

The temporal course and clinical correlates of subjective impulsivity in bipolar disorder as revealed through ecological momentary assessment.

PubMed

Depp, Colin A; Moore, Raeanne C; Dev, Sheena I; Mausbach, Brent T; Eyler, Lisa T; Granholm, Eric L

2016-03-15

Impulsivity is frequently linked with bipolar disorder and is associated with mania and negative outcomes. The temporal dynamics of subjective impulsivity are unclear, in particular whether impulsivity precedes or follows changes in positive or negative affect. A total of 41 outpatients with bipolar disorder (I or II) were provided with mobile devices for 11 weeks and completed twice-daily surveys about affective states and subjective impulsivity. We examined the association between aggregate subjective impulsivity with baseline global cognitive function, suicide risk ratings, and medication adherence, as well as concurrent and lagged associations with momentary positive and negative affect ratings. A total of 2902 ratings were available across study subjects. Higher aggregate mean ratings of impulsivity were associated with worse baseline global cognitive function, prior suicide attempts, and self-reported problems with medication adherence, as well as more severe manic (but not depressive) symptoms. Time-lagged models indicated that greater negative affect, but not positive affect, predicted subsequent increases in subjective impulsivity, which, in turn, predicted diminished positive affect. Other measures of impulsivity with which to validate subjective ratings were unavailable and the sample was restricted to generally clinically stable outpatients. Subjective impulsivity as measured by daily monitoring was associated with worse cognitive function and self-rated medication adherence, and higher suicide risk ratings. Impulsivity may be a maladaptive strategy to regulate negative affect in bipolar disorder. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Toddler Emotional States, Temperamental Traits, and Their Interaction: Associations with Mothers’ and Fathers’ Parenting

PubMed Central

Fields, Margaret A.; Cole, Pamela M.; Maggi, Mirella C.

2016-01-01

We investigated the degree to which toddlers’ observed emotional states, toddlers’ temperamental traits, and their interaction accounted for variance in mothers’ and fathers’ parenting. Main effects of two emotional states (positive emotion and negative emotion), three temperamental traits (negative affectivity, effortful control, and surgency) as well as state-by-trait interactions, were examined in relation to parental sensitivity, positive affect, and negative affect. The hypothesis that toddlers’ temperamental traits would moderate the association between their observed emotional states and parenting was partially supported. Significant state-by-trait interactions were found in models predicting the probability that mothers and fathers expressed negative affect towards their toddlers. For parental sensitivity and positive affect, only main effects of temperament and/or emotion expression accounted for variance in parenting. PMID:28479643

Threat ≠ prevention, challenge ≠ promotion: the impact of threat, challenge and regulatory focus on attention to negative stimuli.

PubMed

Sassenberg, Kai; Sassenrath, Claudia; Fetterman, Adam K

2015-01-01

The purpose of the current experiment was to distinguish between the impact of strategic and affective forms of gain- and loss-related motivational states on the attention to negative stimuli. On the basis of the counter-regulation principle and regulatory focus theory, we predicted that individuals would attend more to negative than to neutral stimuli in a prevention focus and when experiencing challenge, but not in a promotion focus and under threat. In one experiment (N = 88) promotion, prevention, threat, or challenge states were activated through a memory task, and a subsequent dot probe task was administered. As predicted, those in the prevention focus and challenge conditions had an attentional bias towards negative words, but those in promotion and threat conditions did not. These findings provide support for the idea that strategic mindsets (e.g., regulatory focus) and hot emotional states (e.g., threat vs. challenge) differently affect the processing of affective stimuli.

White Students Reflecting on Whiteness: Understanding Emotional Responses

PubMed Central

Todd, Nathan R.; Spanierman, Lisa B.; Aber, Mark S.

2010-01-01

In the present investigation, the authors explored potential predictors of White students’ general emotional responses after they reflected on their Whiteness in a semi-structured interview (n = 88) or written reflection (n = 187). Specifically, the authors examined how color-blindness (i.e., awareness of White privilege) and racial affect (i.e., White empathy, White guilt, and White fear), assessed before the interview or written reflection, may predict positive and negative emotional responses, assessed immediately following the interview or written reflection. Furthermore, the authors considered whether affective costs of racism to Whites moderated the association between racial color-blindness and general positive and negative emotional responses of White students. Findings indicated that affective costs of racism moderated associations between racial color-blindness and general emotional responses. Specifically, White fear moderated associations for the written reflection group whereas White empathy moderated an association in the interview. White guilt did not moderate, but instead directly predicted a negative emotional response in the written reflection group. Findings suggest that the interaction between racial color-blindness and racial affect is important when predicting students’ emotional responses to reflecting on their Whiteness. Implications for educators and administrators are discussed. PMID:20657811

The future in clinical genetics: affective forecasting biases in patient and clinician decision making.

PubMed

Peters, S A; Laham, S M; Pachter, N; Winship, I M

2014-04-01

When clinicians facilitate and patients make decisions about predictive genetic testing, they often base their choices on the predicted emotional consequences of positive and negative test results. Research from psychology and decision making suggests that such predictions may often be biased. Work on affective forecasting-predicting one's future emotional states-shows that people tend to overestimate the impact of (especially negative) emotional events on their well-being; a phenomenon termed the impact bias. In this article, we review the causes and consequences of the impact bias in medical decision making, with a focus on applying such findings to predictive testing in clinical genetics. We also recommend strategies for reducing the impact bias and consider the ethical and practical implications of doing so. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Delinquency as a mediator of the relation between negative affectivity and adolescent alcohol use disorder.

PubMed

Shoal, Gavin D; Gudonis, Lauren C; Giancola, Peter R; Tarter, Ralph E

2007-12-01

This investigation examined mediators of the longitudinal relation between negative affectivity and the development of problematic drinking behavior in adolescent boys and girls. In the present study, 499 early adolescents completed inventories of negative affectivity, attitudes toward delinquency, personal delinquency, and affiliation with delinquent peers. Positive attitudes toward delinquency emerged as the most consistent mediator and strongly predicted drinking frequency in various situations. Compared with personal delinquency, both attitudes toward delinquency and peer delinquency were superior predictors of affect-related drinking. Our results also demonstrated that positive attitudes toward delinquency mediated the relation between negative affectivity and later development of an alcohol use disorder. These findings suggest that a proneness to unpleasant affect impacts adolescent drinking by heightening risk for general rejection of normative behavior, rather than by increasing drinking as a means of managing affect. The importance and implications of testing delinquency variables together in the same model are discussed.

Resilience in Adolescents with Cancer: Association of Coping with Positive and Negative Affect.

PubMed

Murphy, Lexa K; Bettis, Alexandra H; Gruhn, Meredith A; Gerhardt, Cynthia A; Vannatta, Kathryn; Compas, Bruce E

2017-10-01

To examine the prospective association between adolescents' coping with cancer-related stress and observed positive and negative affect during a mother-adolescent interaction task involving discussion of cancer-related stressors. Adolescents (age 10-15 years) self-reported about their coping and affect approximately 2 months after cancer diagnosis. Approximately 3 months later, adolescents and mothers were video recorded having a discussion about cancer, and adolescents were coded for expression of positive affect (positive mood) and negative affect (sadness and anxiety). Adolescents' use of secondary control coping (i.e., acceptance, cognitive reappraisal, and distraction) in response to cancer-related stress predicted higher levels of observed positive affect, but not negative affect, over time. Findings provide support for the importance of coping in the regulation of positive emotions. The potential role of coping in preventive interventions to enhance resilience in adolescents facing cancer-related stress is highlighted.

Positive Affect and Pain: Mediators of the Within-Day Relation Linking Sleep Quality to Activity Interference in Fibromyalgia

PubMed Central

Kothari, Dhwani J.; Davis, Mary C.; Yeung, Ellen W.; Tennen, Howard A.

2017-01-01

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition often resulting in functional impairments. Nonrestorative sleep is a prominent symptom of FM that is related to disability, but the day-to-day mechanisms relating the prior night’s sleep quality to next day reports of disability have not been examined. The current study examined the within-day relations among early-morning reports of sleep quality last night, late-morning reports of pain and positive and negative affect, and end-of-day reports of activity interference. Specifically, we tested whether pain, positive affect, and negative affect mediated the association between sleep quality and subsequent activity interference. Data were drawn from electronic diary reports, collected from 220 FM patients for 21 consecutive days. The direct and mediated effects at the within-person level were estimated with Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling. Results showed that pain and positive affect mediated the relation between sleep quality and activity interference. Early-morning reports of poor sleep quality last night predicted elevated levels of pain and lower levels of positive affect at late-morning, which, in turn, predicted elevated end-of-day activity interference. Of note, positive affect was a stronger mediator than pain, and negative affect was not a significant mediator. In summary, the findings identify two parallel mechanisms, pain and positive affect, through which the prior night’s sleep quality predicts disability the next day in FM patients. Further, results highlight the potential utility of boosting positive affect following a poor night’s sleep as one means of preserving daily function in FM. PMID:25679472

Positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, and coping with stress by attachment styles in Turkish students.

PubMed

Deniz, M Engin; Işik, Erkan

2010-10-01

The purpose was to investigate positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, and coping with stress in relation to attachment styles. Undergraduate students (N=421) completed the Relationship Scales Questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, and the Coping with Stress Scale. Results indicated that secure attachment style was the unique predictor of positive affect while fearful and preoccupied attachment styles significantly predicted negative affect. Regarding life satisfaction, a positive correlation with secure attachment style and a negative correlation with fearful and preoccupied styles were seen. However, the unique predictor of life satisfaction was preoccupied attachment style. In terms of coping with stress, there was no significant association between attachment variables and avoidance coping style, but significant links were observed between problem-focused coping and dismissing, and fearful and preoccupied attachment styles.

Embedding Multilevel Survival Analysis of Dyadic Social Interaction in Structural Equation Models: Hazard Rates as Both Outcomes and Predictors

PubMed Central

Snyder, James

2014-01-01

Objective Demonstrate multivariate multilevel survival analysis within a larger structural equation model. Test the 3 hypotheses that when confronted by a negative parent, child rates of angry, sad/fearful, and positive emotion will increase, decrease, and stay the same, respectively, for antisocial compared with normal children. This same pattern will predict increases in future antisocial behavior. Methods Parent–child dyads were videotaped in the fall of kindergarten in the laboratory and antisocial behavior ratings were obtained in the fall of kindergarten and third grade. Results Kindergarten antisocial predicted less child sad/fear and child positive but did not predict child anger given parent negative. Less child positive and more child neutral given parent negative predicted increases in third-grade antisocial behavior. Conclusions The model is a useful analytic tool for studying rates of social behavior. Lack of positive affect or excess neutral affect may be a new risk factor for child antisocial behavior. PMID:24133296

Positive and negative affect as predictors of urge to smoke: temporal factors and mediational pathways.

PubMed

Leventhal, Adam M; Greenberg, Jodie B; Trujillo, Michael A; Ameringer, Katherine J; Lisha, Nadra E; Pang, Raina D; Monterosso, John

2013-03-01

Elucidating interrelations between prior affective experience, current affective state, and acute urge to smoke could inform affective models of addiction motivation and smoking cessation treatment development. This study tested the hypothesis that prior levels of positive (PA) and negative (NA) affect predict current smoking urge via a mediational pathway involving current state affect. We also explored if tobacco deprivation moderated affect-urge relations and compared the effects of PA and NA on smoking urge to one another. At a baseline session, smokers reported affect experienced over the preceding few weeks. At a subsequent experimental session, participants were randomly assigned to 12-hr tobacco deprived (n = 51) or nondeprived (n = 69) conditions and reported state affect and current urge. Results revealed a mediational pathway whereby prior NA reported at baseline predicted state NA at the experimental session, which in turn predicted current urge. This mediational pathway was found primarily for an urge subtype indicative of urgent need to smoke and desire to smoke for NA relief, was stronger in the deprived (vs. nondeprived) condition, and remained significant after controlling for PA. Prior PA and current state PA were inversely associated with current urge; however, these associations were eliminated after controlling for NA. These results cohere with negative reinforcement models of addiction and with prior research and suggest that: (a) NA plays a stronger role in smoking motivation than PA; (b) state affect is an important mechanism linking prior affective experience to current urge; and (c) affect management interventions may attenuate smoking urge in individuals with a history of affective disturbance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

Social support and social strain among husbands and wives: a multilevel analysis.

PubMed

DeLongis, Anita; Capreol, Martha; Holtzman, Susan; O'Brien, Tess; Campbell, Jennifer

2004-09-01

In response to recent calls in the literature for within-person examinations of social support processes over time, this study explores the relationships of spousal support, spousal strain, and well-being among husbands and wives, both within the same day and across days. Eighty-three couples were interviewed and completed a structured diary twice daily for 1 week. The results of multilevel hierarchical modeling suggest that both spousal support and spousal strain made significant, independent contributions to concurrent negative affect, although only spousal support was a significant predictor of next-day negative affect. Spousal strain interacted with spousal support to predict next-day negative affect. Direct and moderating effects of perceived marital adjustment on negative affect were discussed. Copyright 2004 American Psychological Association

Female Clerical Workers' Occupational Stress: The Role of Person and Social Resources, Negative Affectivity, and Stress Appraisals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, Jodi E.; Long, Bonita C.

2002-01-01

Relations among person and social resources, work-stress appraisals, and depression were examined with data from 2 longitudinal studies of female clerical workers. Results were consistent with predictions that primary appraisals contribute to change in depression beyond the effects of person and social resources and negative affectivity. There was…

Negative Affect in Victimized Children: The Roles of Social Withdrawal, Peer Rejection, and Attitudes toward Bullying

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dill, Edward J.; Vernberg, Eric M.; Fonagy, Peter; Twemlow, Stuart W.; Gamm, Bridget K.

2004-01-01

This study evaluated the validity of mediating pathways in predicting self-assessed negative affect from shyness/social withdrawal, peer rejection, victimization by peers (overt and relational), and the attitude that aggression is legitimate and warranted. Participants were 296 3rd through 5th graders (156 girls, 140 boys) from 10 elementary…

Comparing the Validity of Informant- and Self-reports of Personality Using Laboratory Indices of Emotional Responding as Criterion Variables

PubMed Central

Lieberman, Lynne; Liu, Huiting; Huggins, Ashley A.; Katz, Andrea C.; Zvolensky, Michael J.; Shankman, Stewart A.

2016-01-01

Personality traits relate to risk for psychopathology and can inform predictions about treatment outcome. In an effort to obtain a comprehensive index of personality, informant-reports of personality are sometimes obtained in addition to self-reports of personality. However, there is limited research comparing the validity of self- and informant-reports of personality, particularly among those with internalizing psychopathology. This is important given that informants may provide an additional (and perhaps different) perspective on individuals’ personality. The present study therefore compared how both reports of positive affectivity (PA) and negative affectivity (NA) relate to psychophysiological and subjective measures of emotional responding to positive and negative stimuli. Given that our sample (n = 117) included individuals with no history of psychopathology, as well as individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and/or panic disorder (PD), we were also able to explore whether these internalizing diagnoses moderated the association between personality reports and measures of emotional responding. Informant-reported PA predicted physiological responses to positive stimuli (but not negative). Informant reported NA predicted physiological responses to negative stimuli (but not positive). Self-reported personality did not predict physiological responding, but did predict subjectively measured emotional responding (NA for negative responding; PA for positive responding). Diagnoses of internalizing psychopathology (PD or MDD) did not moderate these associations. Results suggest self- and informant-reports of personality may each provide valid indices of an individual’s emotional response tendencies, but predict different aspects of those tendencies. PMID:27273802

Relationship between obesity, negative affect and basal heart rate in predicting heart rate reactivity to psychological stress among adolescents.

PubMed

Park, Andres E; Huynh, Pauline; Schell, Anne M; Baker, Laura A

2015-08-01

Reduced cardiovascular responses to psychological stressors have been found to be associated with both obesity and negative affect in adults, but have been less well studied in children and adolescent populations. These findings have most often been interpreted as reflecting reduced sympathetic nervous system response, perhaps associated with heightened baseline sympathetic activation among the obese and those manifesting negative affect. However, obesity and negative affect may themselves be correlated, raising the question of whether they both independently affect cardiovascular reactivity. The present study thus examined the separate effects of obesity and negative affect on both cardiovascular and skin conductance responses to stress (e.g., during a serial subtraction math task) in adolescents, while controlling for baseline levels of autonomic activity during rest. Both obesity and negative affect had independent and negative associations with cardiovascular reactivity, such that reduced stress responses were apparent for obese adolescents and those with high levels of negative affect. In contrast, neither obesity nor negative affect was related to skin conductance responses to stress, implicating specifically noradrenergic mechanisms rather than sympathetic mechanisms generally as being deficient. Moreover, baseline heart rate was unrelated to obesity in this sample, which suggests that heightened baseline of sympathetic activity is not necessary for the reduced cardiovascular reactivity to stress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Features of objectified body consciousness and sociocultural perspectives as risk factors for disordered eating among late-adolescent women and men.

PubMed

Jackson, Todd; Chen, Hong

2015-10-01

Body surveillance and body shame are features of objectified body consciousness (OBC) that have been linked to disordered eating, yet the evidence base is largely cross-sectional and limited to samples in certain Western countries. Furthermore, it is not clear whether these factors contribute to the prediction of eating disturbances independent of conceptually related risk factors emphasized within other sociocultural accounts. In this prospective study, body surveillance, body shame, and features of complementary sociocultural models (i.e., perceived appearance pressure from mass media and close interpersonal networks, appearance social comparisons, negative affect, body dissatisfaction) were assessed as risk factors for and concomitants of eating disturbances over time. University-age, mainland Chinese women (n = 2144) and men (n = 1017) completed validated measures of eating-disorder pathology and hypothesized risk factors at baseline (T1) and 1-year follow-up (T2). Among women, elevations on T1 measures of sociocultural-model features predicted more T2 eating disturbances, independent of T1 disturbances. After controlling for other T1 predictors, body surveillance and shame made modest unique contributions to the model. Finally, heightened T2 body dissatisfaction, media, and interpersonal appearance pressure, negative affect, and body shame predicted concomitant increases in T2 eating concerns. For men, T1 features of sociocultural accounts (negative affect, body dissatisfaction) but not OBC predicted T2 eating disturbances, along with attendant elevations in T2 negative affect, interpersonal appearance pressure, and body shame. Implications are discussed for theory and intervention that target disordered eating. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

A daily diary study of perceived social isolation, dietary restraint, and negative affect in binge eating.

PubMed

Mason, Tyler B; Heron, Kristin E; Braitman, Abby L; Lewis, Robin J

2016-02-01

Negative affect and dietary restraint are key predictors of binge eating, yet less is known about the impact of social factors on binge eating. The study sought to replicate and extend research on the relationships between negative affect, dietary restraint, perceived social isolation and binge eating using a daily diary methodology. College women (N = 54) completed measures of dietary restraint, negative affect, perceived social isolation, and binge eating daily for 14 days. Participants completed the measures nightly each day. A series of generalized estimating equations showed that dietary restraint was associated with less binge eating while controlling for negative affect and for perceived social isolation separately. Negative affect and perceived social isolation were associated with greater binge eating while controlling for restraint in separate analyses, but only perceived social isolation was significant when modeled simultaneously. All two-way interactions between negative affect, dietary restraint, and perceived social isolation predicting binge eating were nonsignificant. This study furthers our understanding of predictors of binge eating in a nonclinical sample. Specifically, these data suggest perceived social isolation, negative affect, and dietary restraint are important variables associated with binge eating in daily life and warrant further research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The association between adolescents' depressive symptoms, maternal negative affect, and family relationships in Hong Kong: cross-sectional and longitudinal findings.

PubMed

Leung, Sharron S K; Stewart, Sunita M; Wong, Joy P S; Ho, Daniel S Y; Fong, Daniel Y T; Lam, T H

2009-10-01

This study investigated the bidirectional relationships of adolescents' and maternal mood, and the moderating effect by gender and perceived family relationships on these relationships. Data were obtained from 626 adolescent-mother dyads and follow-up data were collected one year later from a subset. Adolescents reported their depressive symptoms, and their mothers reported their negative affect. Adolescents described their perception of family relationships. Maternal negative affect and adolescents' depressive symptoms were significantly correlated at baseline. This association was moderated by gender and family relationships. The association was stronger in mother-daughter compared to mother-son dyads. In families where relationships were reported to be poor, adolescent depressive symptoms were uniformly high, regardless of maternal negative affect. However, in families where relationships were good, maternal negative affect was associated with higher adolescents' depressive symptoms. In longitudinal analyses, adolescents' mood at baseline was found to relate to maternal negative affect at follow-up. Family relationships at baseline were also associated with adolescents' depressive symptoms at follow-up. However, there was no prediction from maternal negative affect at baseline to adolescents' depressive symptoms at follow-up. Gender and quality of family relationships did not moderate the longitudinal relationships between adolescents' depressive symptoms and maternal negative affect in either direction.

Dispositional Mindful Attention in Relation to Negative Affect, Tobacco Withdrawal, and Expired Carbon Monoxide On and After Quit Day.

PubMed

Paulus, Daniel J; Langdon, Kirsten J; Wetter, David W; Zvolensky, Michael J

Mindfulness (or "Mindful Attention") has been described as the presence or absence of attention to, and awareness of, what is occurring in the present moment. Among smokers, greater mindfulness is associated with greater effect stability and reduced cue-induced craving. While studies have shown that mindfulness is associated with other smoking-related factors such as reduced withdrawal symptoms using cross-sectional data, relatively little is known about the associations between baseline mindful attention and future abstinence-related effect/withdrawal. The current study sought to examine whether levels of mindful attention before cessation predicts negative affect, withdrawal, and level of expired carbon monoxide (CO) on quit day, and also 3 and 7 days after quitting, during a self-quit attempt. Data from 58 adults (mean age = 34.9; 65.5% male) participating in a self-quit study were available for analysis. Self-report measures of mindful attention, negative affect, and withdrawal symptoms were collected. Biochemical measurement of expired CO was also collected. Dependent variables were assessed on quit day, and also 3 and 7 days after quitting. Covariates included age, race, sex, self-reported level of cigarette dependence, and smoking status through 7 days. Multivariate regression was used to evaluate the association of baseline mindful attention in relation to the studied outcomes. Greater mindful attention predicted lower negative affect and reduced withdrawal at all 3 time-points. Mindful attention did not predict levels of expired CO. The findings suggest that mindful attention before or during smoking-cessation treatment may help to reduce negative affect and withdrawal, which serve as barriers to cessation for many smokers.

Does trait affectivity predict work-to-family conflict and enrichment beyond job characteristics?

PubMed

Tement, Sara; Korunka, Christian

2013-01-01

The present study examines whether negative and positive affectivity (NA and PA, respectively) predict different forms of work-to-family conflict (WFC-time, WFC-strain, WFC-behavior) and enrichment (WFE-development, WFE-affect, WFE-capital) beyond job characteristics (workload, autonomy, variety, workplace support). Furthermore, interactions between job characteristics and trait affectivity while predicting WFC and WFE were examined. Using a large sample of Slovenian employees (N = 738), NA and PA were found to explain variance in WFC as well as in WFE above and beyond job characteristics. More precisely, NA significantly predicted WFC, whereas PA significantly predicted WFE. In addition, several interactive effects were found to predict forms of WFC and WFE. These results highlight the importance of trait affectivity in work-family research. They provide further support for the crucial impact of job characteristics as well.

Disgust proneness predicts obsessive-compulsive disorder symptom severity in a clinical sample of youth: Distinctions from negative affect.

PubMed

Olatunji, Bunmi O; Ebesutani, Chad; Kim, Jingu; Riemann, Bradley C; Jacobi, David M

2017-04-15

Although studies have linked disgust proneness to the etiology and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in adults, there remains a paucity of research examining the specificity of this association among youth. The present study employed structural equation modeling to examine the association between disgust proneness, negative affect, and OCD symptom severity in a clinical sample of youth admitted to a residential treatment facility (N =471). Results indicate that disgust proneness and negative affect latent factors independently predicted an OCD symptom severity latent factor. However, when both variables were modeled as predictors simultaneously, latent disgust proneness remained significantly associated with OCD symptom severity, whereas the association between latent negative affect and OCD symptom severity became nonsignificant. Tests of mediation converged in support of disgust proneness as a significant intervening variable between negative affect and OCD symptom severity. Subsequent analysis showed that the path from disgust proneness to OCD symptom severity in the structural model was significantly stronger among those without a primary diagnosis of OCD compared to those with a primary diagnosis of OCD. Given the cross-sectional design, the causal inferences that can be made are limited. The present study is also limited by the exclusive reliance on self-report measures. Disgust proneness may play a uniquely important role in OCD among youth. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

What Constitutes a Good Life? Cultural Differences in the Role of Positive and Negative Affect in Subjective Well-Being

PubMed Central

Wirtz, Derrick; Chiu, Chi-yue; Diener, Ed; Oishi, Shigehiro

2009-01-01

East Asians and Asian Americans report lower levels of subjective well-being than Europeans and European Americans. Three studies found support for the hypothesis that such differences may be due to the psychological meanings Eastern and Western cultures attach to positive and negative affect. Study 1 demonstrated that the desire to repeat a recent vacation was significantly predicted by recalled positive affect—but not recalled negative affect—for European Americans, whereas Asian Americans considered both positive and negative affect. Study 2 replicated this effect in judging satisfaction with a personal friendship. Study 3 linked changes in European Americans’ life satisfaction to everyday positive events caused by the self (vs. others) and changes in Japanese life satisfaction to everyday negative events caused by others (vs. the self). Positive affect appears particularly meaningful for European Americans and negative affect for Asian Americans and Japanese when judging a satisfying vacation, friendship, or life. PMID:19558439

Older and younger adults differently judge the similarity between negative affect terms.

PubMed

Ready, Rebecca E; Santorelli, Gennarina D; Mather, Molly A

2018-01-02

Theoretical models of aging suggest changes across the adult lifespan in the capacity to differentiate emotions. Greater emotion differentiation is associated with advantages in terms of emotion regulation and emotion resiliency. This study utilized a novel method that directly measures judgments of affect differentiation and does not confound affective experience with knowledge about affect terms. Theoretical predictions that older adults would distinguish more between affect terms than younger persons were tested. Older (n = 27; aged 60-92) and younger (n = 56; aged 18-32) adults rated the difference versus similarity of 16 affect terms from the Kessler and Staudinger ( 2009 ) scales; each of the 16 items was paired with every other item for a total of 120 ratings. Participants provided self-reports of trait emotions, alexithymia, and depressive symptoms. Older adults significantly differentiated more between low arousal and high arousal negative affect (NA) items than younger persons. Depressive symptoms were associated with similarity ratings across and within valence and arousal. Findings offer partial support for theoretical predictions that older adults differentiate more between affect terms than younger persons. To the extent that differentiating between negative affects can aid in emotion regulation, older adults may have an advantage over younger persons. Future research should investigate mechanisms that underlie age group differences in emotion differentiation.

The Main and Interactive Effects of Maternal Interpersonal Emotion Regulation and Negative Affect on Adolescent Girls' Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms.

PubMed

Dixon-Gordon, Katherine L; Whalen, Diana J; Scott, Lori N; Cummins, Nicole D; Stepp, Stephanie D

2016-06-01

The transaction of adolescent's expressed negative affect and parental interpersonal emotion regulation are theoretically implicated in the development of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Although problem solving and support/validation are interpersonal strategies that foster emotion regulation, little is known about whether these strategies are associated with less BPD severity among adolescents. Adolescent girls (age 16; N = 74) and their mothers completed a conflict discussion task, and maternal problem solving, support/validation, and girls' negative affect were coded. Girls' BPD symptoms were assessed at four time points. A 3-way interaction of girls' negative affect, problem solving, and support/validation indicated that girls' negative affect was only associated with BPD severity in the context of low maternal support/validation and high maternal problem solving. These variables did not predict changes in BPD symptoms over time. Although high negative affect is a risk for BPD severity in adolescent girls, maternal interpersonal emotion regulation strategies moderate this link. Whereas maternal problem solving coupled with low support/validation is associated with a stronger negative affect-BPD relation, maternal problem solving paired with high support/validation is associated with an attenuated relationship.

The Main and Interactive Effects of Maternal Interpersonal Emotion Regulation and Negative Affect on Adolescent Girls’ Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms

PubMed Central

Whalen, Diana J.; Scott, Lori N.; Cummins, Nicole D.; Stepp, Stephanie D.

2015-01-01

The transaction of adolescent’s expressed negative affect and parental interpersonal emotion regulation are theoretically implicated in the development of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Although problem solving and support/validation are interpersonal strategies that foster emotion regulation, little is known about whether these strategies are associated with less BPD severity among adolescents. Adolescent girls (age 16; N = 74) and their mothers completed a conflict discussion task, and maternal problem solving, support/validation, and girls’ negative affect were coded. Girls’ BPD symptoms were assessed at four time points. A 3-way interaction of girls’ negative affect, problem solving, and support/validation indicated that girls’ negative affect was only associated with BPD severity in the context of low maternal support/validation and high maternal problem solving. These variables did not predict changes in BPD symptoms over time. Although high negative affect is a risk for BPD severity in adolescent girls, maternal interpersonal emotion regulation strategies moderate this link. Whereas maternal problem solving coupled with low support/validation is associated with a stronger negative affect-BPD relation, maternal problem solving paired with high support/validation is associated with an attenuated relationship. PMID:27185969

The affective profiles, psychological well-being, and harmony: environmental mastery and self-acceptance predict the sense of a harmonious life

PubMed Central

Al Nima, Ali; Kjell, Oscar N.E.

2014-01-01

Background. An important outcome from the debate on whether wellness equals happiness, is the need of research focusing on how psychological well-being might influence humans’ ability to adapt to the changing environment and live in harmony. To get a detailed picture of the influence of positive and negative affect, the current study employed the affective profiles model in which individuals are categorised into groups based on either high positive and low negative affect (self-fulfilling); high positive and high negative affect (high affective); low positive and low negative affect (low affective); and high negative and low positive affect (self-destructive). The aims were to (1) investigate differences between affective profiles in psychological well-being and harmony and (2) how psychological well-being and its dimensions relate to harmony within the four affective profiles. Method. 500 participants (mean age = 34.14 years, SD. = ±12.75 years; 187 males and 313 females) were recruited online and required to answer three self-report measures: The Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule; The Scales of Psychological Well-Being (short version) and The Harmony in Life Scale. We conducted a Multivariate Analysis of Variance where the affective profiles and gender were the independent factors and psychological well-being composite score, its six dimensions as well as the harmony in life score were the dependent factors. In addition, we conducted four multi-group (i.e., the four affective profiles) moderation analyses with the psychological well-being dimensions as predictors and harmony in life as the dependent variables. Results. Individuals categorised as self-fulfilling, as compared to the other profiles, tended to score higher on the psychological well-being dimensions: positive relations, environmental mastery, self-acceptance, autonomy, personal growth, and purpose in life. In addition, 47% to 66% of the variance of the harmony in life was explained by the dimensions of psychological well-being within the four affective profiles. Specifically, harmony in life was significantly predicted by environmental mastery and self-acceptance across all affective profiles. However, for the low affective group high purpose in life predicted low levels of harmony in life. Conclusions. The results demonstrated that affective profiles systematically relate to psychological well-being and harmony in life. Notably, individuals categorised as self-fulfilling tended to report higher levels of both psychological well-being and harmony in life when compared with the other profiles. Meanwhile individuals in the self-destructive group reported the lowest levels of psychological well-being and harmony when compared with the three other profiles. It is proposed that self-acceptance and environmental acceptance might enable individuals to go from self-destructive to a self-fulfilling state that also involves harmony in life. PMID:24688843

Daily affective experiences predict objective sleep outcomes among adolescents.

PubMed

Tavernier, Royette; Choo, Sungsub B; Grant, Kathryn; Adam, Emma K

2016-02-01

Adolescence is a sensitive period for changes in both sleep and affect. Although past research has assessed the association between affect and sleep among adolescents, few studies have examined both trait (typical) and day-to-day changes in affect, and fewer still have specifically examined negative social evaluative emotions (e.g. embarrassment) in relation to sleep. Both between- and within-person variations in daily affect were examined in relation to four objectively-measured sleep outcomes (sleep hours; sleep latency; sleep efficiency; and length of wake bouts) among adolescents. Participants (N = 77 high-school students; 42.9% female; M = 14.37 years) wore an actiwatch and completed daily-diaries for 3 days. The results of hierarchical linear models (controlling for age, gender, race, ethnicity, parental employment status, income, puberty and caffeine) indicated that negative social evaluative emotions and high-arousal affective experiences generally predicted poor sleep outcomes, whereas low-arousal affective experiences were associated with good sleep outcomes. Specifically, at the person level, adolescents reporting higher negative social evaluative emotions had shorter average sleep hours, and those experiencing higher anxiety–nervousness had longer wake bouts. In addition, individuals experiencing more dysphoria (sad, depressed, lonely) had longer average sleep hours and shorter wake bouts, while those experiencing more calmness had shorter sleep latencies. At the within-person level, individuals had longer sleep latencies following days that they had experienced high-arousal positive affect (e.g. excitement), and had longer wake bouts following days they had experienced more negative social evaluative emotions. The results highlight the detrimental effects of negative social evaluative emotions and high-arousal affective states for adolescent sleep. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Sleep Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Sleep Research Society.

Stress in nurses: stress-related affect and its determinants examined over the nursing day.

PubMed

Johnston, Derek W; Jones, Martyn C; Charles, Kathryn; McCann, Sharon K; McKee, Lorna

2013-06-01

Nurses are a stressed group and this may affect their health and work performance. The determinants of occupational stress in nurses and other occupational groups have almost invariably been examined in between subject studies. This study aimed to determine if the main determinants of occupation stress, i.e. demand, control, effort and reward, operate within nurses. A real time study using personal digital-assistant-based ecological momentary assessment to measure affect and its hypothesised determinants every 90 min in 254 nurses over three nursing shifts. The measures were negative affect, positive affect, demand/effort, control and reward. While the effects varied in magnitude between people, in general increased negative affect was predicted by high demand/effort, low control and low reward. Control and reward moderated the effects of demand/effort. High positive affect was predicted by high demand/effort, control and reward. The same factors are associated with variations in stress-related affect within nurses as between.

Maternal report of infant negative affect predicts attenuated brain response to own infant.

PubMed

Kuzava, Sierra; Bernard, Kristin

2018-06-24

Parent-infant interaction is known to be influenced bidirectionally by parent and infant characteristics. However, it is unclear whether infant temperament affects parents' neural responses to infant stimuli. 85 infants (6-12 months) were filmed in distress-eliciting tasks, which were coded for infants' negative affect. Mothers' reported infant affect was obtained from the Infant Behavior Questionnaire Very Short Form-Revised. Mothers' EEG activity was recorded while passively viewing photos of own, familiarized, and unfamiliar infants. Multiple regression indicated that mothers who reported greater infant negative affect showed a smaller difference in the late positive potential (LPP) response to own infant versus familiarized infant, controlling for researcher-coded infant negative affect. The findings suggest that parents' perceptions of their infant's temperament, but not independent measures of infant temperament, are related to electrocortical indices of emotional attention. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Negative impacts of climate change on cereal yields: statistical evidence from France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gammans, Matthew; Mérel, Pierre; Ortiz-Bobea, Ariel

2017-05-01

In several world regions, climate change is predicted to negatively affect crop productivity. The recent statistical yield literature emphasizes the importance of flexibly accounting for the distribution of growing-season temperature to better represent the effects of warming on crop yields. We estimate a flexible statistical yield model using a long panel from France to investigate the impacts of temperature and precipitation changes on wheat and barley yields. Winter varieties appear sensitive to extreme cold after planting. All yields respond negatively to an increase in spring-summer temperatures and are a decreasing function of precipitation about historical precipitation levels. Crop yields are predicted to be negatively affected by climate change under a wide range of climate models and emissions scenarios. Under warming scenario RCP8.5 and holding growing areas and technology constant, our model ensemble predicts a 21.0% decline in winter wheat yield, a 17.3% decline in winter barley yield, and a 33.6% decline in spring barley yield by the end of the century. Uncertainty from climate projections dominates uncertainty from the statistical model. Finally, our model predicts that continuing technology trends would counterbalance most of the effects of climate change.

An Idiographic Examination of Day-to-Day Patterns of Substance Use Craving, Negative Affect, and Tobacco Use among Young Adults in Recovery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zheng, Yao; Wiebe, Richard P.; Cleveland, H. Harrington; Molenaar, Peter C. M.; Harris, Kitty S.

2013-01-01

Psychological constructs, such as negative affect and substance use cravings that closely predict relapse, show substantial intraindividual day-to-day variability. This intraindividual variability of relevant psychological states combined with the "one day at a time" nature of sustained abstinence warrant a day-to-day investigation of substance…

The Role of Child Negative Affect in the Relations between Parenting Styles and Play

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lagace-Seguin, Daniel G.; d'Entremont, Marc-Robert L.

2006-01-01

Interactions between parenting styles and children's negative affect in the prediction of reticent, solitary-active, and rough-and-tumble play behaviours were examined. The present study involved 98 children, their mothers and their preschool teachers. Participants (53 boys and 45 girls) were a mean age of 3.83 years (standard deviation = 0.69).…

Behavior Problems among Cocaine Exposed Children: Role of Physiological Regulation and Parenting

PubMed Central

Finger, Brent; Schuetze, Pamela; Eiden, Rina D.

2014-01-01

This study examined interrelations between prenatal cocaine exposure, child autonomic regulation, parenting behavior and child sex on parent-reported behavior problems at 36 months of age. We hypothesized that respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)1 at 13 months of age would mediate the relation between cocaine exposure and behavior problems. We also hypothesized that child sex, maternal negative affect, and maternal sensitivity observed at 13 months of age would moderate the relation between RSA and behavior problems. Results revealed that cocaine exposure predicted low baseline RSA and low RSA withdrawal during a negative affect task. Low baseline RSA, in turn, predicted fewer behavior problems offering support for an indirect association between cocaine exposure and behavior problems. The association between baseline RSA and behavior problems was further moderated by maternal negative affect such that high baseline RSA was more strongly related to behavior problems under conditions of high compared to low maternal negative affect. Results also revealed a near significant trend for baseline RSA to be more strongly related to behavior problems among boys than girls. These findings highlight several possible pathways toward behavior problems among cocaine exposed children. PMID:24480789

Investigating the moderating role of emotional awareness in the association between urgency and binge eating.

PubMed

Manjrekar, Eishita; Berenbaum, Howard; Bhayani, Natasha

2015-04-01

Binge eating has been found to be associated with urgency (the tendency to act impulsively in response to negative affect) and emotional awareness (i.e., attention to emotions, clarity of emotions). The present study tested the hypothesis that the relation between binge eating and urgency would be moderated by emotional awareness, over and above negative affect. Participants were 249 female college students. Items from the Trait Meta Mood Scale (TMMS), the Urgency subscale of the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale, and the Bulimia (B) subscale of the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI-3) were administered. As predicted, emotional awareness moderated the link between urgency and binge eating. Both Urgency×Attention to emotions and Urgency×Clarity of emotions significantly predicted binge eating scores, even after taking into account negative affect. Consistent with past research, higher levels of urgency were associated with higher levels of binge eating, even after taking negative affect into account. However, the associations were particularly strong among individuals with low levels of attention to emotions and low levels of clarity of emotions. The findings from this study have implications for future research examining binge eating. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neuroticism as distancing: perceptual sources of evidence.

PubMed

Liu, Tianwei; Ode, Scott; Moeller, Sara K; Robinson, Michael D

2013-05-01

Several theories and self-reported sources of data link individual differences in negative affectivity to avoidance motivation. Chronic avoidance motivation, through repeated practice, may result in a relatively cognitive distance-enhancing dynamic whereby events and stimuli are perceived as further away from the self, even when they are not threatening. Such predictions are novel but follow from cybernetic theories of self-regulation. In 5 studies (total N = 463), relations of this type were investigated. Study 1 presented participants with phrases that were ambiguous and found that trait negative affect predicted phrase interpretation in a distance-enhancing temporal direction. Study 2 replicated this effect across a systematic manipulation of event valence. Study 3 asked individuals to estimate the size of words and found that individuals higher in neuroticism generally perceived words to be smaller than did individuals lower in neuroticism. In Study 4, people high (but not low) in neuroticism perceived words to be shrinking faster than they were growing. In Study 5, greater perceptual distancing, in a font size estimation task, predicted more adverse reactions to negative events in daily life. Although normative effects varied across studies, consistent support for a chronic distancing perspective of individual differences in negative affectivity was found. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved

How Different Guilt Feelings Can Affect Social Competence Development in Childhood.

PubMed

Tani, Franca; Ponti, Lucia

2018-01-01

The authors examined how the two different dimensions of guilt feelings, needed for reparation and fear of punishment, could influence social conduct, such as prosocial and aggressive behaviors, and how they are linked to popularity in childhood. The authors hypothesized a theoretical model that they tested, fitting it with empirical data obtained from a sample of 242 Italian children 9-11 years old. Both dimensions of guilt predict prosocial and aggressive behaviors. Specifically, the feeling of guilt linked to the need for reparation tends to negatively predict aggressive behaviors, and positively predict prosocial behaviors. The feeling of guilt linked to the fear of punishment, on the contrary, tends to positively affect aggressive and negatively affect prosocial conducts in children. These results highlight that the different feelings of guilt can represent a relevant risk or protective factor for the development of social competence in childhood. Limitations, strengths, and further development of the present study are discussed.

The interplay between daily affect and sleep: a 2-week study of young women.

PubMed

Kalmbach, David A; Pillai, Vivek; Roth, Thomas; Drake, Christopher L

2014-12-01

Little attention has been paid to the relation between daily affect and sleep, as most prior studies have focused instead on the role of pathological mood in the context of sleep disturbance. However, understanding the transaction between normal variations in emotional experiences and sleep can shed light on the premorbid vulnerabilities that trigger the evolution of affect and sleep into more problematic states. The present study used a 2-week daily sampling approach to examine the impact of day-to-day variations in positive and negative affect on nightly self-reported sleep-onset latency, sleep duration and sleep quality in a sample of young women. Hierarchical linear modelling revealed temporal relations between positive and negative affect states and sleep parameters. Specifically, different aspects of both positive and negative affect were uniquely predictive of sleep indices, with sadness and serenity acting as the most consistent predictors. Additionally, better sleep quality was predictive of greater happiness the following day. These results highlight the importance of how our daily emotional experiences influence our nightly sleep and, in turn, how our sleep has an impact on our daily affect. Moreover, our findings may offer insight into the progression of normative levels of affect and sleep as they develop into comorbid depression, anxiety and insomnia. © 2014 European Sleep Research Society.

Affective Forecasting and Self-Rated Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and Hypomania: Evidence for a Dysphoric Forecasting Bias

PubMed Central

Hoerger, Michael; Quirk, Stuart W.; Chapman, Benjamin P.; Duberstein, Paul R.

2011-01-01

Emerging research has examined individual differences in affective forecasting; however, we are aware of no published study to date linking psychopathology symptoms to affective forecasting problems. Pitting cognitive theory against depressive realism theory, we examined whether dysphoria was associated with negatively biased affective forecasts or greater accuracy. Participants (n = 325) supplied predicted and actual emotional reactions for three days surrounding an emotionally-evocative relational event, Valentine’s Day. Predictions were made a month prior to the holiday. Consistent with cognitive theory, we found evidence for a dysphoric forecasting bias – the tendency of individuals in dysphoric states to overpredict negative emotional reactions to future events. The dysphoric forecasting bias was robust across ratings of positive and negative affect, forecasts for pleasant and unpleasant scenarios, continuous and categorical operationalizations of dysphoria, and three time points of observation. Similar biases were not observed in analyses examining the independent effects of anxiety and hypomania. Findings provide empirical evidence for the long assumed influence of depressive symptoms on future expectations. The present investigation has implications for affective forecasting studies examining information processing constructs, decision making, and broader domains of psychopathology. PMID:22397734

Trait mindfulness modulates neuroendocrine and affective responses to social evaluative threat.

PubMed

Brown, Kirk Warren; Weinstein, Netta; Creswell, J David

2012-12-01

Individual differences in mindfulness have been associated with numerous self-report indicators of stress, but research has not examined how mindfulness may buffer neuroendocrine and psychological stress responses under controlled laboratory conditions. The present study investigated the role of trait mindfulness in buffering cortisol and affective responses to a social evaluative stress challenge versus a control task. Participants completed measures of trait mindfulness, perceived stress, anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation before being randomized to complete the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirschbaum et al., 1993) or a control task. At points throughout the session, participants provided five saliva samples to assess cortisol response patterns, and completed four self-report measures of anxiety and negative affect to assess psychological responses. In accord with hypotheses, higher trait mindfulness predicted lower cortisol responses to the TSST, relative to the control task, as well as lower anxiety and negative affect. These relations remained significant when controlling for the role of other variables that predicted cortisol and affective responses. The findings suggest that trait mindfulness modulates cortisol and affective responses to an acute social stressor. Further research is needed to understand the neural pathways through which mindfulness impacts these responses. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Affective forecasting and self-rated symptoms of depression, anxiety, and hypomania: evidence for a dysphoric forecasting bias.

PubMed

Hoerger, Michael; Quirk, Stuart W; Chapman, Benjamin P; Duberstein, Paul R

2012-01-01

Emerging research has examined individual differences in affective forecasting; however, we are aware of no published study to date linking psychopathology symptoms to affective forecasting problems. Pitting cognitive theory against depressive realism theory, we examined whether dysphoria was associated with negatively biased affective forecasts or greater accuracy. Participants (n=325) supplied predicted and actual emotional reactions for three days surrounding an emotionally evocative relational event, Valentine's Day. Predictions were made a month prior to the holiday. Consistent with cognitive theory, we found evidence for a dysphoric forecasting bias-the tendency of individuals in dysphoric states to overpredict negative emotional reactions to future events. The dysphoric forecasting bias was robust across ratings of positive and negative affect, forecasts for pleasant and unpleasant scenarios, continuous and categorical operationalisations of dysphoria, and three time points of observation. Similar biases were not observed in analyses examining the independent effects of anxiety and hypomania. Findings provide empirical evidence for the long-assumed influence of depressive symptoms on future expectations. The present investigation has implications for affective forecasting studies examining information-processing constructs, decision making, and broader domains of psychopathology.

A Prospective Investigation of Affect, the Desire to Gamble, Gambling Motivations and Gambling Behavior in the Mood Disorders.

PubMed

Quilty, Lena C; Watson, Chris; Toneatto, Tony; Bagby, R Michael

2017-03-01

Time-sampling methodology was implemented to examine the prospective associations between affect, desire to gamble, and gambling behavior in individuals diagnosed with a mood disorder. Thirty (9 male, 21 female) adults with a lifetime diagnosis of a depressive or bipolar disorder diagnosis who endorsed current gambling and lifetime gambling harm participated in the present study. Participants completed electronic diary entries of their current affective state, desire to gamble, and gambling behavior for 30 consecutive days. Hierarchical linear modelling revealed that affect was not a predictor of gambling behavior. Instead, affect predicted the desire to gamble, with high levels of sadness and arousal independently predicting an increased desire to gamble. Desire to gamble predicted actual gambling behavior. There were no differences across diagnostic groups in terms of gambling motivations at baseline; however, during the 30-day period, participants with bipolar disorder endorsed gambling to cope with negative affect more often than did participants with depressive disorder, whereas those with depressive disorder more often endorsed gambling for social reasons or enhancement of positive affect. The present findings provide evidence that negative affect is not directly related to actual gambling behavior, and suggest that affective states rather impact the desire to gamble.

Alexithymia, Defenses, and Ego Strength: Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Relationships with Psychological Well-Being and Depression.

PubMed

Ziadni, Maisa S; Jasinski, Matthew J; Labouvie-Vief, Gisela; Lumley, Mark A

2017-12-01

Affect regulation is important to mental health. A deficit in one's ability to identify and express emotions (alexithymia), cognitive styles of regulating emotional conflict (defenses), and the capacity for integrative and complex self-other understanding (ego strength or maturity) need to be studied to understand how they relate to each other as well as to mental health and well-being. A sample of 415 community-dwelling adults from a major metropolitan area in the Midwest U.S., stratified for gender, age, and ethnicity, completed three methodologically different measures of affect regulation along with measures of well-being and depression. Six years later, 49% of the sample again reported their well-being and depression. At baseline, ego strength and the defenses of principalization and reversal correlated negatively with alexithymia and the other defenses (turning against self, turning against object and projection), even after controlling for negative affect. Cross-sectionally, relationships were largely as hypothesized, with low alexithymia, use of mature defenses, and greater ego strength correlating with less depression and greater well-being, although some of these relationships were attenuated after controlling for negative affect. Prospectively, each of the affect regulation measures predicted hypothesized changes in well-being after 6 years, after controlling for baseline well-being, but affect regulation did not predict changes in depression. These findings illuminate similarities and differences among these affect regulation constructs, suggest the importance of differentiating well-being from depression, and reveal that affect regulation uniquely predicts changes in long-term well-being.

An Affective Dimension within Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms among Boys: Personality and Psychopathology Outcomes into Early Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Jeffrey D.

2012-01-01

Background: A dimension of negatively oriented affect within oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms, which has been described as irritability, has been shown to predict depression and anxiety. Related constructs have been linked to temperament and personality constructs. However, only a few studies have examined the prediction from…

Adolescents' aggressive and prosocial behaviors: links with social information processing, negative emotionality, moral affect, and moral cognition.

PubMed

Laible, Deborah J; Murphy, Tia Panfile; Augustine, Mairin

2014-01-01

The goal of this study was to examine whether moral affect, moral cognition, negative emotionality, and attribution biases independently predicted adolescents' prosocial and aggressive behavior in adolescence. A total of 148 adolescents completed self-report measures of prosocial and aggressive behavior, moral affect, moral cognition, negative emotionality, and attribution biases. Although in general all 3 factors (emotional, moral, and social cognitive) were correlated with adolescent social behavior, the most consistent independent predictors of adolescent social behavior were moral affect and cognition. These findings have important implications for intervention and suggest that programs that promote adolescent perspective taking, moral reasoning, and moral affect are needed to reduce aggressive behavior and promote prosocial behavior.

Changes in task self-efficacy and emotion across competitive performances in golf.

PubMed

Boardley, Ian D; Jackson, Ben; Simmons, Alexander

2015-08-01

This research aimed to investigate (a) the effect of golfers' perceptions of coach motivation efficacy on golfers' precompetition task self-efficacy, (b) the effect of performance on pre-to-postround changes in self-efficacy, (c) the effect of pre-to-postround changes in self-efficacy on pre-to-postround changes in affect and emotion, and (d) whether any effects of performance on pre-to-postcompetition changes in affect and emotion were mediated by pre-to-postcompetition changes in self-efficacy. In Study 1, a scale measuring golf self-efficacy was developed and validated using data from 197 golfers. In Study 2, 200 golfers completed this measure alongside measures of coach motivation efficacy, and positive and negative affect before a golf competition; all measures (except coach motivation efficacy) were again completed following the competition. Structural equation modeling showed that coach motivation efficacy positively predicted precompetition self-efficacy, performance positively predicted pre-to-postcompetition changes in self-efficacy, which had positive and negative effects, respectively, on pre-to-postcompetition changes in positive and negative affect; mediation analyses demonstrated that pre-to-postcompetition changes in self-efficacy mediated effects of performance on pre-to-postcompetition changes in positive and negative affect. In Study 3, the Study-2 procedures were replicated with a separate sample of 212 golfers, except measures of excitement, concentration disruption, somatic anxiety, and worry replaced those for positive and negative affect. Structural analyses showed the findings from Study 2 were largely replicated when specific emotions were investigated in place of general indices of affect. This investigation makes novel contributions regarding the potential importance of perceptions of coach efficacy for golfers' own efficacy beliefs, and the role personal efficacy beliefs may play in facilitating the effects of performance on affective outcomes.

Acculturative stressor and meaning of life as predictors of negative affect in acculturation: a cross-cultural comparative study between Chinese international students in Australia and Hong Kong.

PubMed

Pan, Jia-Yan; Wong, Daniel Fu Keung; Joubert, Lynette; Chan, Cecilia Lai Wan

2007-09-01

The purpose of the present study was to compare the predictive effects of acculturative stressor and meaning of life on negative affect in the process of acculturation between Chinese international students in Australia and Hong Kong. Four hundred mainland Chinese students studying at six universities in Hong Kong and 227 Chinese international students studying at the University of Melbourne in Australia completed a questionnaire that included measures of acculturative stressor, meaning of life, negative affect and demographic information. The Australian sample was found to have a higher level of acculturative stressor and negative affect than the Hong Kong sample. Acculturative stressor had a positive impact on negative affect in both samples, but the impact of different domains of acculturative stressor on negative affect varied between the two groups. Finally, meaning of life partially mediated the relationship between acculturative stressor and negative affect in the Hong Kong sample, but no such effect was found in the Australia sample. Acculturative stressor is a critical risk factor for negative affect in acculturation for Chinese international students in Australia and Hong Kong. Meaning of life acted as a protective factor that mitigated negative affect for mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong, but not for the Chinese international students in Australia. The theoretical and practical implications for resilience-based and meaning-oriented intervention for Chinese international students are discussed.

Implicit negative affect predicts attention to sad faces beyond self-reported depressive symptoms in healthy individuals: An eye-tracking study.

PubMed

Bodenschatz, Charlott Maria; Skopinceva, Marija; Kersting, Anette; Quirin, Markus; Suslow, Thomas

2018-04-04

Cognitive theories of depression assume biased attention towards mood-congruent information as a central vulnerability and maintaining factor. Among other symptoms, depression is characterized by excessive negative affect (NA). Yet, little is known about the impact of naturally occurring NA on the allocation of attention to emotional information. The study investigates how implicit and explicit NA as well as self-reported depressive symptoms predict attentional biases in a sample of healthy individuals (N = 104). Attentional biases were assessed using eye-tracking during a free viewing task in which images of sad, angry, happy and neutral faces were shown simultaneously. Participants' implicit affectivity was measured indirectly using the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test. Questionnaires were administered to assess actual and habitual explicit NA and presence of depressive symptoms. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with sustained attention to sad faces and reduced attention to happy faces. Implicit but not explicit NA significantly predicted gaze behavior towards sad faces independently from depressive symptoms. The present study supports the idea that naturally occurring implicit NA is associated with attention allocation to dysphoric facial expression. The findings demonstrate the utility of implicit affectivity measures in studying individual differences in depression-relevant attentional biases and cognitive vulnerability. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mothers' depressive symptoms predict both increased and reduced negative reactivity: aversion sensitivity and the regulation of emotion.

PubMed

Dix, Theodore; Moed, Anat; Anderson, Edward R

2014-07-01

This study examined whether, as mothers' depressive symptoms increase, their expressions of negative emotion to children increasingly reflect aversion sensitivity and motivation to minimize ongoing stress or discomfort. In multiple interactions over 2 years, negative affect expressed by 319 mothers and their children was observed across variations in mothers' depressive symptoms, the aversiveness of children's immediate behavior, and observed differences in children's general negative reactivity. As expected, depressive symptoms predicted reduced maternal negative reactivity when child behavior was low in aversiveness, particularly with children who were high in negative reactivity. Depressive symptoms predicted high negative reactivity and steep increases in negative reactivity as the aversiveness of child behavior increased, particularly when high and continued aversiveness from the child was expected (i.e., children were high in negative reactivity). The findings are consistent with the proposal that deficits in parenting competence as depressive symptoms increase reflect aversion sensitivity and motivation to avoid conflict and suppress children's aversive behavior. © The Author(s) 2014.

On the joys of perceiving: Affect as feedback for perceptual predictions.

PubMed

Chetverikov, Andrey; Kristjánsson, Árni

2016-09-01

How we perceive, attend to, or remember the stimuli in our environment depends on our preferences for them. Here we argue that this dependence is reciprocal: pleasures and displeasures are heavily dependent on cognitive processing, namely, on our ability to predict the world correctly. We propose that prediction errors, inversely weighted with prior probabilities of predictions, yield subjective experiences of positive or negative affect. In this way, we link affect to predictions within a predictive coding framework. We discuss how three key factors - uncertainty, expectations, and conflict - influence prediction accuracy and show how they shape our affective response. We demonstrate that predictable stimuli are, in general, preferred to unpredictable ones, though too much predictability may decrease this liking effect. Furthermore, the account successfully overcomes the "dark-room" problem, explaining why we do not avoid stimulation to minimize prediction error. We further discuss the implications of our approach for art perception and the utility of affect as feedback for predictions within a prediction-testing architecture of cognition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The role of emotional dysregulation in concurrent eating disorders and substance use disorders.

PubMed

Spence, Sarah; Courbasson, Christine

2012-12-01

This study explored the role of emotional dysregulation in 178 participants with concurrent EDs and SUDs. We ran two path analyses: Model 1 predicted negative mood regulation from alexithymia, and Model 2 predicted emotional eating from negative mood regulation. For Model 1, difficulty identifying and describing feelings was related to poor coping expectancies, while externally-oriented thinking was related to greater coping expectancies. For Model 2, poor coping expectancies in general were related to emotional eating, while greater coping expectancies in relation to behavior (i.e., the belief that some behavior or action can alleviate one's negative affect) also resulted in increased emotional eating. This finding suggests that there may be differences in the purpose of emotional eating; some people may believe that emotional eating can be used as an effective coping strategy to deal with negative affect. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparing the validity of informant and self-reports of personality using laboratory indices of emotional responding as criterion variables.

PubMed

Lieberman, Lynne; Liu, Huiting; Huggins, Ashley A; Katz, Andrea C; Zvolensky, Michael J; Shankman, Stewart A

2016-09-01

Personality traits relate to risk for psychopathology and can inform predictions about treatment outcome. In an effort to obtain a comprehensive index of personality, informant reports of personality are sometimes obtained in addition to self-reports of personality. However, there is limited research comparing the validity of self- and informant reports of personality, particularly among those with internalizing psychopathology. This is important given that informants may provide an additional (and perhaps different) perspective on individuals' personality. The present study therefore compared how both reports of positive affectivity (PA) and negative affectivity (NA) relate to psychophysiological and subjective measures of emotional responding to positive and negative stimuli. Given that our sample (n = 117) included individuals with no history of psychopathology, as well as individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and/or panic disorder (PD), we were also able to explore whether these internalizing diagnoses moderated the association between personality reports and measures of emotional responding. Informant-reported PA predicted physiological responses to positive stimuli (but not negative). Informant-reported NA predicted physiological responses to negative stimuli (but not positive). Self-reported personality did not predict physiological responding, but did predict subjectively measured emotional responding (NA for negative responding, PA for positive responding). Diagnoses of internalizing psychopathology (PD or MDD) did not moderate these associations. Results suggest self- and informant reports of personality may each provide valid indices of an individual's emotional response tendencies, but predict different aspects of those tendencies. © 2016 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Temperament and parenting predicting anxiety change in cognitive behavioral therapy: the role of mothers, fathers, and children.

PubMed

Festen, Helma; Hartman, Catharina A; Hogendoorn, Sanne; de Haan, Else; Prins, Pier J M; Reichart, Catrien G; Moorlag, Harma; Nauta, Maaike H

2013-04-01

A considerable amount of children with anxiety disorders do not benefit sufficiently from cognitive behavioral treatment. The present study examines the predictive role of child temperament, parent temperament and parenting style in the context of treatment outcome. Participants were 145 children and adolescents (ages 8-18) with DSM-IV-TR anxiety disorders who received a 12-session CBT program and were assessed at pretreatment, posttreatment and three months follow-up. Multiple-regression analyses were used to evaluate the following pretreatment and posttreatment variables as potential predictors of treatment response at follow-up: baseline level of anxiety symptoms, child reported maternal and paternal rearing style (emotional warmth, rejection, and overprotection), parent reported child temperament traits (negative affect, effortful control, and extraversion), and mothers' and fathers' self-report temperament traits. More maternal negative affect and less emotional warmth as perceived by the child before treatment were related to less favorable treatment outcome (accounting for 29% of the variance in anxiety at follow-up). Furthermore, maternal negative affect and children's extraversion measured after treatment also predicted anxiety at follow-up (together accounting for 19% of the variance). Paternal temperament and parenting style were unrelated to treatment outcome, as were children's pretreatment temperament traits. The results suggest that tailoring intervention to include strategies to reduce maternal negative affect and promote an emotional warm rearing style may improve treatment outcome. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Positive and negative affect dimensions in chronic knee osteoarthritis: effects on clinical and laboratory pain.

PubMed

Finan, Patrick H; Quartana, Phillip J; Smith, Michael T

2013-06-01

This study investigated whether daily and laboratory assessed pain differs as a function of the temporal stability and valence of affect in individuals with chronic knee osteoarthritis (KOA). One hundred fifty-one men and women with KOA completed 14 days of electronic diaries assessing positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and clinical pain. A subset of participants (n =79) engaged in quantitative sensory testing (QST). State PA and NA were assessed prior to administration of stimuli that induced suprathreshold pain and temporal summation. Multilevel modeling and multiple regression evaluated associations of affect and pain as a function of valence (i.e., positive versus negative) and stability (i.e., stable versus state). In the diary, stable NA (B = -.63, standard error [SE] = .13, p < .001) was a stronger predictor of clinical KOA pain than stable PA (B = -.18, SE = .11, p = .091), and state PA (B = -.09, p < .001) was a stronger predictor of concurrent daily clinical pain than state NA (B = .04, SE = .02, p = .068). In the laboratory, state PA (B = -.05, SE = .02, p = .042), but not state NA (p = .46), predicted diminished temporal summation of mechanical pain. Stable NA is more predictive of clinical pain than stable PA, whereas state PA is more predictive of both clinical and laboratory pain than state NA. The findings suggest that dynamic affect-pain processes in the field may reflect individual differences in central pain facilitation.

Delinquency as a Mediator of the Relation between Negative Affectivity and Adolescent Alcohol Use Disorder

PubMed Central

Shoal, Gavin D.; Gudonis, Lauren C.; Giancola, Peter R.; Tarter, Ralph E.

2007-01-01

This investigation examined mediators of the longitudinal relation between negative affectivity and the development of problematic drinking behavior in adolescent boys and girls. In the present study, 499 early adolescents completed inventories of negative affectivity, attitudes toward delinquency, personal delinquency, and affiliation with delinquent peers. Positive attitudes toward delinquency emerged as the most consistent mediator and strongly predicted drinking frequency in various situations. Compared with personal delinquency, both attitudes toward delinquency and peer delinquency were superior predictors of affect-related drinking. Our results also demonstrated that positive attitudes toward delinquency mediated the relation between negative affectivity and later development of an alcohol use disorder. These findings suggest that a proneness to unpleasant affect impacts adolescent drinking by heightening risk for general rejection of normative behavior, rather than by increasing drinking as a means of managing affect. The importance and implications of testing delinquency variables together in the same model are discussed. PMID:17490823

Antecedents of Psychological Contract Breach: The Role of Job Demands, Job Resources, and Affect

PubMed Central

Vantilborgh, Tim; Bidee, Jemima; Pepermans, Roland; Griep, Yannick; Hofmans, Joeri

2016-01-01

While it has been shown that psychological contract breach leads to detrimental outcomes, relatively little is known about factors leading to perceptions of breach. We examine if job demands and resources predict breach perceptions. We argue that perceiving high demands elicits negative affect, while perceiving high resources stimulates positive affect. Positive and negative affect, in turn, influence the likelihood that psychological contract breaches are perceived. We conducted two experience sampling studies to test our hypotheses: the first using daily surveys in a sample of volunteers, the second using weekly surveys in samples of volunteers and paid employees. Our results confirm that job demands and resources are associated with negative and positive affect respectively. Mediation analyses revealed that people who experienced high job resources were less likely to report psychological contract breach, because they experienced high levels of positive affect. The mediating role of negative affect was more complex, as it increased the likelihood to perceive psychological contract breach, but only in the short-term. PMID:27171275

Antecedents of Psychological Contract Breach: The Role of Job Demands, Job Resources, and Affect.

PubMed

Vantilborgh, Tim; Bidee, Jemima; Pepermans, Roland; Griep, Yannick; Hofmans, Joeri

2016-01-01

While it has been shown that psychological contract breach leads to detrimental outcomes, relatively little is known about factors leading to perceptions of breach. We examine if job demands and resources predict breach perceptions. We argue that perceiving high demands elicits negative affect, while perceiving high resources stimulates positive affect. Positive and negative affect, in turn, influence the likelihood that psychological contract breaches are perceived. We conducted two experience sampling studies to test our hypotheses: the first using daily surveys in a sample of volunteers, the second using weekly surveys in samples of volunteers and paid employees. Our results confirm that job demands and resources are associated with negative and positive affect respectively. Mediation analyses revealed that people who experienced high job resources were less likely to report psychological contract breach, because they experienced high levels of positive affect. The mediating role of negative affect was more complex, as it increased the likelihood to perceive psychological contract breach, but only in the short-term.

Alcohol-related memory associations in positive and negative affect situations: drinking motives, working memory capacity, and prospective drinking.

PubMed

Salemink, Elske; Wiers, Reinout W

2014-03-01

Although studies on explicit alcohol cognitions have identified positive and negative reinforcing drinking motives that are differentially related to drinking indices, such a distinction has received less attention in studies on implicit cognitions. An alcohol-related Word-Sentence Association Task was used to assess implicit alcohol-related memory associations in positive and negative affect situations in 92 participants. Results revealed that enhancement motives were specifically associated with the endorsement of alcohol words in positive affect situations and coping motives were associated with the endorsement of alcohol words in negative affect situations. Furthermore, alcohol associations in positive affect situations predicted prospective alcohol use and number of binges, depending on levels of working memory capacity. The current findings shed more light on the underpinnings of alcohol use and suggest that implicit memory processes and working memory capacity might be important targets for intervention.

The Effect of Positive Affect on the Memory of Pain.

PubMed

Bąbel, Przemysław

2017-06-01

The aim of the study was to assess the accuracy of the memory of experimentally induced pain and the affect that accompanies experimentally induced pain. Sixty-two healthy female volunteers participated in the study. In the first phase of the study, the participants received three pain stimuli and rated pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, state anxiety, and their positive and negative affect. About a month later, in the second phase of the study, the participants were asked to rate the pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, state anxiety, and the emotions they had felt during the first phase of the study. Both recalled pain intensity and recalled pain unpleasantness were found to be underestimated. Although the positive affect that accompanied pain was remembered accurately, recalled negative affect was overestimated and recalled state anxiety was underestimated. Experienced pain, recalled state anxiety, and recalled positive affect accounted for 44% of the total variance in predicting recalled pain intensity and 61% of the total variance in predicting recalled pain unpleasantness. Together with recent research findings on the memory of other types of pain, the present study supports the idea that pain is accompanied by positive as well as negative emotions, and that positive affect influences the memory of pain. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Daily affect and female sexual function.

PubMed

Kalmbach, David A; Pillai, Vivek

2014-12-01

The specific affective experiences related to changes in various aspects of female sexual function have received little attention as most prior studies have focused instead on the role of clinical mood and anxiety disorders and their influence on sexual dysfunction. We sought to understand the transaction between daily affect and female sexual function in effort to provide a more nuanced understanding of the interplay between affective and sexual experiences. The present study used a 2-week daily diary approach to examine same-day and temporal relations between positive and negative affect states and sexual function in young women. We examined the unique relations between positive (i.e., joviality, serenity, self-assurance) and negative (i.e., fear, sadness, hostility) affects and female sexual response (i.e., desire, subjective arousal, vaginal lubrication, orgasmic function, and sexual pain) while controlling for higher order sexual distress, depression, and anxiety, as well as age effects and daily menstruation. Analyses revealed different aspects of both positive and negative affects to be independently related to sexual response indices. Specifically, results indicated that joviality was related to same-day sexual desire and predicted increased desire the following day. This latter relation was partially mediated by sexual activity. Further, greater sexual desire predicted next-day calmness, which was partially mediated by sexual activity. Notably, fear was related to same-day subjective arousal, lubrication, orgasmic function, and vaginal pain, whereas poorer orgasmic function predicted greater next-day sadness. These findings describe the manner in which changes in affect correspond to variations in female sexual function, thus highlighting the inextricability of mental and sexual health. Further, these findings may offer insight into the progression of normative levels of affect and sexual function as they develop into comorbid depression, anxiety, and sexual dysfunction. © 2014 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Acculturative Stressors and Acculturative Strategies as Predictors of Negative Affect among Chinese International Students in Australia and Hong Kong: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pan, Jia-Yan; Wong, Daniel Fu Keung

2011-01-01

Objective: There are few studies comparing cross-cultural adaptation of migrant groups in two different cultural settings. This study compares the level of negative affect and acculturative stressors between Chinese international students in Australia and Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong. The predictive effects of acculturative stressors and…

Common Factor Mechanisms in Clinical Practice and Their Relationship with Outcome.

PubMed

Gaitan-Sierra, Carolina; Hyland, Michael E

2015-01-01

This study investigates three common factor mechanisms that could affect outcome in clinical practice: response expectancy, the affective expectation model and motivational concordance. Clients attending a gestalt therapy clinic (30 clients), a sophrology (therapeutic technique) clinic (33 clients) and a homeopathy clinic (31 clients) completed measures of expectancy and the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) before their first session. After 1 month, they completed PANAS and measures of intrinsic motivation, perceived effort and empowerment. Expectancy was not associated with better outcome and was no different between treatments. Although some of the 54 clients who endorsed highest expectations showed substantial improvement, others did not: 19 had no change or deteriorated in positive affect, and 18 had the same result for negative affect. Intrinsic motivation independently predicted changes in negative affect (β = -0.23). Intrinsic motivation (β = 0.24), effort (β = 0.23) and empowerment (β = 0.20) independently predicted positive affect change. Expectancy (β = -0.17) negatively affected changes in positive affect. Clients found gestalt and sophrology to be more intrinsically motivating, empowering and effortful compared with homeopathy. Greater improvement in mood was found for sophrology and gestalt than for homeopathy clients. These findings are inconsistent with response expectancy as a common factor mechanism in clinical practice. The results support motivational concordance (outcome influenced by the intrinsic enjoyment of the therapy) and the affective expectation model (high expectations can lead for some clients to worse outcome). When expectancy correlates with outcome in some other studies, this may be due to confound between expectancy and intrinsic enjoyment. Common factors play an important role in outcome. Intrinsic enjoyment of a therapeutic treatment is associated with better outcome. Active engagement with a therapeutic treatment improves outcome. Unrealistic expectations about a therapeutic treatment can have a negative impact on outcome. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Momentary affect predicts bodily movement in daily life: an ambulatory monitoring study.

PubMed

Schwerdtfeger, Andreas; Eberhardt, Ragna; Chmitorz, Andrea; Schaller, Eva

2010-10-01

There is converging evidence that physical activity influences affective states. It has been found that aerobic exercise programs can significantly diminish negative affect. Moreover, among healthy individuals, moderate levels of physical activity seem to increase energetic arousal and positive affect. However, the predictive utility of affective states for bodily movement has rarely been investigated. In this study, we examined whether momentarily assessed affect is associated with bodily movement in everyday life. Using a previously published data set (Schwerdtfeger, Eberhardt, & Chmitorz, 2008), we reanalyzed 12-hr ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data from 124 healthy volunteers. Electronic momentary positive-activated affect (EMA-PAA) and negative affect (EMA-NA) were assessed via handheld computers, and bodily movement was recorded via accelerosensors. Generalized linear mixed models were calculated. Results indicated that EMAPAA increases were accompanied by bodily movement increases of varying intensity. EMA-NA was also positively associated with increases in certain kinds of bodily movement. In light of previous research, this finding suggests that affect and bodily movement may have circular effects on each other.

Investigating the relative importance of individual differences on the work-family interface and the moderating role of boundary preference for segmentation.

PubMed

Michel, Jesse S; Clark, Malissa A

2013-10-01

This study examines the relative importance of individual differences in relation to perceptions of work-family conflict and facilitation, as well as the moderating role of boundary preference for segmentation on these relationships. Relative importance analyses, based on a diverse sample of 380 employees from the USA, revealed that individual differences were consistently predictive of self-reported work-family conflict and facilitation. Conscientiousness, neuroticism, negative affect and core self-evaluations were consistently related to both directions of work-family conflict, whereas agreeableness predicted significant variance in family-to-work conflict only. Positive affect and core self-evaluations were consistently related to both directions of work-family facilitation, whereas agreeableness and neuroticism predicted significant variance in family-to-work facilitation only. Collectively, individual differences explained 25-28% of the variance in work-family conflict (primarily predicted by neuroticism and negative affect) and 11-18% of the variance in work-family facilitation (primarily predicted by positive affect and core self-evaluations). Moderated regression analyses showed that boundary preference for segmentation strengthened many of the relationships between individual differences and work-family conflict and facilitation. Implications for addressing the nature of work and family are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Children's Negative Emotionality Combined with Poor Self-Regulation Affects Allostatic Load in Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dich, Nadya; Doan, Stacey; Evans, Gary

2015-01-01

The present study examined the concurrent and prospective, longitudinal effects of childhood negative emotionality and self-regulation on allostatic load (AL), a physiological indicator of chronic stress. We hypothesized that negative emotionality in combination with poor self-regulation would predict elevated AL. Mothers reported on children's…

An integrative model of risk for high school disordered eating.

PubMed

Davis, Heather A; Smith, Gregory T

2018-06-21

Binge eating and purging behaviors are associated with significant harm and distress among adolescents. The process by which these behaviors develop (often in the high school years) is not fully understood. We tested the Acquired Preparedness (AP) model of risk involving transactions among biological, personality, and psychosocial factors to predict binge eating and purging behavior in a sample of 1,906 children assessed in the spring of 5th grade (the last year of elementary school), the fall of 6th grade (the first year of middle school), spring of 6th grade, and spring of 10th grade (second year of high school). Pubertal onset in spring of 5th grade predicted increases in negative urgency, but not negative affect, in the fall of 6th grade. Negative urgency in the fall of 6th grade predicted increases in expectancies for reinforcement from eating in the spring of 6th grade, which in turn predicted increases in binge eating behavior in the spring of 10th grade. Negative affect in the fall of 6th grade predicted increases in thinness expectancies in the spring of 6th grade, which in turn predicted increases in purging in the spring of 10th grade. Results demonstrate similarities and differences in the development of these two different bulimic behaviors. Intervention efforts targeting the risk factors evident in this model may prove fruitful in the treatment of eating disorders characterized by binge eating and purging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

A Sensitive and Specific Neural Signature for Picture-Induced Negative Affect

PubMed Central

Chang, Luke J.; Gianaros, Peter J.; Manuck, Stephen B.; Krishnan, Anjali; Wager, Tor D.

2015-01-01

Neuroimaging has identified many correlates of emotion but has not yet yielded brain representations predictive of the intensity of emotional experiences in individuals. We used machine learning to identify a sensitive and specific signature of emotional responses to aversive images. This signature predicted the intensity of negative emotion in individual participants in cross validation (n =121) and test (n = 61) samples (high–low emotion = 93.5% accuracy). It was unresponsive to physical pain (emotion–pain = 92% discriminative accuracy), demonstrating that it is not a representation of generalized arousal or salience. The signature was comprised of mesoscale patterns spanning multiple cortical and subcortical systems, with no single system necessary or sufficient for predicting experience. Furthermore, it was not reducible to activity in traditional “emotion-related” regions (e.g., amygdala, insula) or resting-state networks (e.g., “salience,” “default mode”). Overall, this work identifies differentiable neural components of negative emotion and pain, providing a basis for new, brain-based taxonomies of affective processes. PMID:26098873

Attitudes without Objects: Evidence for a Dispositional Attitude, its Measurement, and its Consequences

PubMed Central

Hepler, Justin; Albarracin, Dolores

2013-01-01

We hypothesized that individuals may differ in the dispositional tendency to have positive versus negative attitudes, a trait termed the Dispositional Attitude. Across four studies, we developed a 16-item Dispositional Attitude Measure (DAM) and investigated its internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and predictive validity. DAM scores were (a) positively correlated with positive affect traits, curiosity-related traits, and individual pre-existing attitudes, (b) negatively correlated with negative affect traits, and (c) uncorrelated with theoretically unrelated traits. Dispositional attitudes also significantly predicted the valence of novel attitudes while controlling for theoretically relevant traits (such as the big-five and optimism). The dispositional attitude construct represents a new perspective in which attitudes are not simply a function of the properties of the stimuli under consideration, but are also a function of the properties of the evaluator. We discuss the intriguing implications of dispositional attitudes for many areas of research, including attitude formation, persuasion, and behavior prediction. PMID:23586409

Attitudes without objects: evidence for a dispositional attitude, its measurement, and its consequences.

PubMed

Hepler, Justin; Albarracín, Dolores

2013-06-01

We hypothesized that individuals may differ in the dispositional tendency to have positive vs. negative attitudes, a trait termed the dispositional attitude. Across 4 studies, we developed a 16-item Dispositional Attitude Measure (DAM) and investigated its internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and predictive validity. DAM scores were (a) positively correlated with positive affect traits, curiosity-related traits, and individual preexisting attitudes; (b) negatively correlated with negative affect traits; and (c) uncorrelated with theoretically unrelated traits. Dispositional attitudes also significantly predicted the valence of novel attitudes while controlling for theoretically relevant traits (such as the Big 5 and optimism). The dispositional attitude construct represents a new perspective in which attitudes are not simply a function of the properties of the stimuli under consideration, but are also a function of the properties of the evaluator. We discuss the intriguing implications of dispositional attitudes for many areas of research, including attitude formation, persuasion, and behavior prediction. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Configural approaches to temperament assessment: implications for predicting risk of unintentional injury in children.

PubMed

Berry, Jack W; Schwebel, David C

2009-10-01

This study used two configural approaches to understand how temperament factors (surgency/extraversion, negative affect, and effortful control) might predict child injury risk. In the first approach, clustering procedures were applied to trait dimensions to identify discrete personality prototypes. In the second approach, two- and three-way trait interactions were considered dimensionally in regression models predicting injury outcomes. Injury risk was assessed through four measures: lifetime prevalence of injuries requiring professional medical attention, scores on the Injury Behavior Checklist, and frequency and severity of injuries reported in a 2-week injury diary. In the prototype analysis, three temperament clusters were obtained, which resembled resilient, overcontrolled, and undercontrolled types found in previous research. Undercontrolled children had greater risk of injury than children in the other groups. In the dimensional interaction analyses, an interaction between surgency/extraversion and negative affect tended to predict injury, especially when children lacked capacity for effortful control.

Coping as a building mechanism to explain the unique association of affect and goal motivation with changes in affective states.

PubMed

Blouin-Hudon, Eve-Marie C; Gaudreau, Patrick; Gareau, Alexandre

2016-09-01

In this study, we examined the mediating role of university students' coping strategies in the unique/additive influence of affective states and goal motivation on upward changes in affect during a midterm exam period. Using a short-term prospective design, key assumptions from the self-concordance model and the broaden-and-build theory were drawn upon to determine whether coping strategies are influenced by goal motivation and affective states, while also subsequently influencing short-term changes in affective states during a semester. A sample of 272 students (79% females and 21% males) participated in a study in which they completed questionnaires twice during the semester. Results of structural equation modeling, using a true latent change approach, have generally supported our hypotheses. Positive affective states and autonomous goal motivation prospectively predicted task-oriented coping which, in turn, was associated with increases in positive affect. Negative affective states and controlled goal motivation prospectively predicted disengagement-oriented coping which, in turn, was associated with increases in negative affect. Coping partially mediates the unique association of affect and goal motivation with changes in affective states of university students.

The roles of negative affect and goal adjustment capacities in breast cancer survivors: Associations with physical activity and diurnal cortisol secretion.

PubMed

Castonguay, Andree L; Wrosch, Carsten; Sabiston, Catherine M

2017-04-01

This study examined whether within-person changes of breast cancer survivors' high-arousal negative affect (e.g., feeling scared, upset, anxious, or guilty) could predict high levels of diurnal cortisol secretion and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). In addition, goal adjustment capacities (goal disengagement and goal reengagement) were expected to buffer the effect of negative affect on cortisol and to increase its effect on MVPA. High-arousal negative affect, self-reported MVPA, area-under-the-curve of diurnal cortisol secretion, and goal adjustment capacities were assessed in a longitudinal sample of 145 female breast cancer survivors. Based on hierarchical linear modeling, breast cancer survivors reported increased levels of both MVPA and cortisol secretion if they experienced higher (as compared with lower) levels of high-arousal negative affect than their personal average. Furthermore, within-person negative affect was associated with: (a) higher MVPA among participants with high (but not low) goal reengagement capacities; and (b) elevated cortisol secretion among participants with low (but not high) goal reengagement capacities. High-arousal negative affect may exert differing functions among breast cancer survivors in that it can trigger adaptive health behaviors, yet simultaneously elevate diurnal cortisol secretion. In addition, being able to engage in new goals may be a necessary condition for breast cancer survivors to experience the beneficial behavioral effects of high-arousal negative affect, and it may prevent the adverse effect of negative affect on enhanced cortisol output. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

When bad moods may not be so bad: Valuing negative affect is associated with weakened affect-health links.

PubMed

Luong, Gloria; Wrzus, Cornelia; Wagner, Gert G; Riediger, Michaela

2016-04-01

Bad moods are considered "bad" not only because they may be aversive experiences in and of themselves, but also because they are associated with poorer psychosocial functioning and health. We propose that people differ in their negative affect valuation (NAV; the extent to which negative affective states are valued as pleasant, useful/helpful, appropriate, and meaningful experiences) and that affect-health links are moderated by NAV. These predictions were tested in a life span sample of 365 participants ranging from 14-88 years of age using reports of momentary negative affect and physical well-being (via experience sampling) and assessments of NAV and psychosocial and physical functioning (via computer-assisted personal interviews and behavioral measures of hand grip strength). Our study demonstrated that the more individuals valued negative affect, the less pronounced (and sometimes even nonexistent) were the associations between everyday experiences of negative affect and a variety of indicators of poorer psychosocial functioning (i.e., emotional health problems, social integration) and physical health (i.e., number of health conditions, health complaints, hand grip strength, momentary physical well-being). Exploratory analyses revealed that valuing positive affect was not associated with the analogous moderating effects as NAV. These findings suggest that it may be particularly important to consider NAV in models of affect-health links. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Desire thinking: A risk factor for binge eating?

PubMed

Spada, Marcantonio M; Caselli, Gabriele; Fernie, Bruce A; Manfredi, Chiara; Boccaletti, Fabio; Dallari, Giulia; Gandini, Federica; Pinna, Eleonora; Ruggiero, Giovanni M; Sassaroli, Sandra

2015-08-01

In the current study we explored the role of desire thinking in predicting binge eating independently of Body Mass Index, negative affect and irrational food beliefs. A sample of binge eaters (n=77) and a sample of non-binge eaters (n=185) completed the following self-report instruments: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Irrational Food Beliefs Scale, Desire Thinking Questionnaire, and Binge Eating Scale. Mann-Whitney U tests revealed that all variable scores were significantly higher for binge eaters than non-binge eaters. A logistic regression analysis indicated that verbal perseveration was a predictor of classification as a binge eater over and above Body Mass Index, negative affect and irrational food beliefs. A hierarchical regression analysis, on the combined sample, indicated that verbal perseveration predicted levels of binge eating independently of Body Mass Index, negative affect and irrational food beliefs. These results highlight the possible role of desire thinking as a risk factor for binge eating. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Negative Emotions Predict Elevated Interleukin-6 in the United States but not in Japan

PubMed Central

Miyamoto, Yuri; Boylan, Jennifer Morozink; Coe, Christopher L.; Curhan, Katherine B.; Levine, Cynthia S.; Markus, Hazel Rose; Park, Jiyoung; Kitayama, Shinobu; Kawakami, Norito; Karasawa, Mayumi; Love, Gayle D.; Ryff, Carol D.

2013-01-01

Previous studies conducted in Western cultures have shown that negative emotions predict higher levels of pro-inflammatory biomarkers, specifically interleukin-6 (IL-6). This link between negative emotions and IL-6 may be specific to Western cultures where negative emotions are perceived to be problematic and thus may not extend to Eastern cultures where negative emotions are seen as acceptable and normal. Using samples of 1044 American and 382 Japanese middle-aged and older adults, we investigated whether the relationship between negative emotions and IL-6 varies by cultural context. Negative emotions predicted higher IL-6 among American adults, whereas no association was evident among Japanese adults. Furthermore, the interaction between culture and negative emotions remained even after controlling for demographic variables, psychological factors (positive emotions, neuroticism, extraversion), health behaviors (smoking status, alcohol consumption), and health status (chronic conditions, BMI). These findings highlight the role of cultural context in shaping how negative emotions affect inflammatory physiology and underscore the importance of cultural ideas and practices relevant to negative emotions for understanding of the interplay between psychology, physiology, and health. PMID:23911591

Factors affecting workplace bullying and lateral violence among clinical nurses in Korea: descriptive study.

PubMed

Oh, Hyunjin; Uhm, Dong Choon; Yoon, Young Joo

2016-04-01

Workplace bullying and lateral violence are serious issues affecting the work life of hospital nurses. The purpose of this study was to identify the selected individual and institutional characteristics for workplace bullying and lateral violence using a conceptual framework. A descriptive survey design was used. A convenience sample of 255 nurses in tertiary hospitals, who had a minimum of 6 months clinical experience, completed the survey. Regression analysis was used to determine factors significantly associated with workplace bullying and lateral violence. The Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised and the Lateral Violence scale were used to measure workplace bullying and lateral violence. A negative affect, individualism and working in hospital specialty units predicted workplace bullying. Individualism, a negative affect, affiliated hospital and working hours predicted verbal abuse whereas the place of employment was significantly associated with lateral violence. The results of this study identified factors that are associated with bullying and violence but did not fully support the conceptual framework. The individual characteristic negative affect was significantly associated with most types of workplace bullying and lateral violence bully whereas the place of employment was an important factor in lateral violence. Nurse managers need to be aware that both individual and institutional factors may impact levels of workplace bullying and lateral violence in their hospitals and need to prepare specific strategies to address these multiple factors. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Changes in coping and social motives for drinking and alcohol consumption across the menstrual cycle.

PubMed

Joyce, Kayla M; Hudson, Amanda; O'Connor, Roisin; Thompson, Kara; Hodgin, Megan; Perrot, Tara; Stewart, Sherry H

2018-04-01

Alcohol use has been reported to fluctuate over women's menstrual cycles (MCs), with increased intake occurring premenstrually/menstrually (phases characterized by heightened negative affect) and during the ovulatory phase (a phase characterized by positive affect). This suggests women may drink for particular emotion-focused reasons at specific points in their cycles. However, no research had yet examined MC variability in drinking motives, or links between cycle-related changes in drinking motives and alcohol consumption. Ninety-four normally cycling women (M age  = 22.9 years old, SD age  = 4.7) completed daily diary measures (via Smartphone surveys), with questions pertaining to state drinking motives and quantity of alcohol consumed for the course of a full MC. Drinking motives differed by cycle phase. Women reported a slight increase in drinking to self-medicate for negative affect premenstrually, with drinking to cope peaking in the menstrual phase and declining mid-cycle. Women reported a slight increasing trend across the cycle in social motives for drinking, while enhancement motives remained relatively stable across the cycle. Cycle-related changes in drinking motives predicted increases in the quantity of alcohol consumed. Drinking to cope with negative affect predicted a greater number of drinks menstrually (days 1-5). While social motives predicted a greater number of drinks during the follicular and ovulatory phases (days 5-16), enhancement motives were unrelated to drinking quantity across cycle phase. Clinicians should be attentive to cycle phase when treating reproductive-aged women with alcohol disorders (e.g., encouraging the use of healthier means of coping with negative affect during menses). © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

OXTR polymorphism predicts social relationships through its effects on social temperament

PubMed Central

Wright, Aidan G. C.; Troxel, Wendy M.; Ferrell, Robert E.; Flory, Janine D.; Manuck, Stephen B.

2015-01-01

Humans have a fundamental need for strong interpersonal bonds, yet individuals differ appreciably in their degree of social integration. That these differences are also substantially heritable has spurred interest in biological mechanisms underlying the quality and quantity of individuals’ social relationships. We propose that polymorphic variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) associates with complex social behaviors and social network composition through intermediate effects on negative affectivity and the psychological processing of socially relevant information. We tested a hypothesized social cascade from the molecular level (OXTR variation) to the social environment, through negative affectivity and inhibited sociality, in a sample of 1295 men and women of European American (N = 1081) and African American (N = 214) ancestry. Compared to European Americans having any T allele of rs1042778, individuals homozygous for the alternate G allele reported significantly lower levels of negative affectivity and inhibited sociality, which in turn predicted significantly higher levels of social support and a larger/more diverse social network. Moreover, the effect of rs1042778 variation on social support was fully accounted for by associated differences in negative affectivity and inhibited sociality. Results replicated in the African American sample. Findings suggest that OXTR variation modulates levels of social support via proximal impacts on individual temperament. PMID:25326040

Exercise identity and attribution properties predict negative self-conscious emotions for exercise relapse.

PubMed

Flora, Parminder K; Strachan, Shaelyn M; Brawley, Lawrence R; Spink, Kevin S

2012-10-01

Research on exercise identity (EXID) indicates that it is related to negative affect when exercisers are inconsistent or relapse. Although identity theory suggests that causal attributions about this inconsistency elicit negative self-conscious emotions of shame and guilt, no EXID studies have examined this for exercise relapse. Weiner's attribution-based theory of interpersonal motivation (2010) offers a means of testing the attribution-emotion link. Using both frameworks, we examined whether EXID and attributional properties predicted negative emotions for exercise relapse. Participants (n = 224) read an exercise relapse vignette, and then completed EXID, attributions, and emotion measures. Hierarchical multiple regression models using EXID and the attributional property of controllability significantly predicted each of shame and guilt, R² adjusted = .09, ps ≤ .001. Results support identity theory suggestions and Weiner's specific attribution-emotion hypothesis. This first demonstration of an interlinking of EXID, controllability, and negative self-conscious emotions offers more predictive utility using complementary theories than either theory alone.

Neighborhood cohesion and daily well-being: Results from a diary study

PubMed Central

Robinette, Jennifer W.; Charles, Susan T.; Mogle, Jacqueline A.; Almeida, David M.

2013-01-01

Neighborly cohesiveness has documented benefits for health. Furthermore, high perceived neighborhood cohesion offsets the adverse health effects of neighborhood socioeconomic adversity. One potential way neighborhood cohesion influences health is through daily stress processes. The current study uses participants (n = 2022, age 30–84 years) from The Midlife in the United States II and the National Study of Daily Experiences II, collected between 2004–2006, to examine this hypothesis using a within-person, daily diary design. We predicted that people who perceive high neighborhood cohesion are exposed to fewer daily stressors, such as interpersonal arguments, lower daily physical symptoms and negative affect, and higher daily positive affect. We also hypothesized that perceptions of neighborhood cohesion buffer declines in affective and physical well-being on days when daily stressors do occur. Results indicate that higher perceived neighborhood cohesion predicts fewer self-reported daily stressors, higher positive affect, lower negative affect, and fewer physical health symptoms. High perceived neighborhood cohesion also buffers the effects of daily stressors on negative affect, even after adjusting for other sources of social support. Results from the present study suggest interventions focusing on neighborhood cohesion may result in improved well-being and may minimize the adverse effect of daily stressors. PMID:24034965

Distracted and down: neural mechanisms of affective interference in subclinical depression

PubMed Central

Andrews-Hanna, Jessica R.; Spielberg, Jeffrey M.; Warren, Stacie L.; Sutton, Bradley P.; Miller, Gregory A.; Heller, Wendy; Banich, Marie T.

2015-01-01

Previous studies have shown that depressed individuals have difficulty directing attention away from negative distractors, a phenomenon known as affective interference. However, findings are mixed regarding the neural mechanisms and network dynamics of affective interference. The present study addressed these issues by comparing neural activation during emotion-word and color-word Stroop tasks in participants with varying levels of (primarily subclinical) depression. Depressive symptoms predicted increased activation to negative distractors in areas of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), regions implicated in cognitive control and internally directed attention, respectively. Increased dACC activity was also observed in the group-average response to incongruent distractors, suggesting that dACC activity during affective interference is related to overtaxed cognitive control. In contrast, regions of PCC were deactivated across the group in response to incongruent distractors, suggesting that PCC activity during affective interference represents task-independent processing. A psychophysiological interaction emerged in which higher depression predicted more positively correlated activity between dACC and PCC during affective interference, i.e. greater connectivity between cognitive control and internal-attention systems. These findings suggest that, when individuals high in depression are confronted by negative material, increased attention to internal thoughts and difficulty shifting resources to the external world interfere with goal-directed behavior. PMID:25062838

Pons to Posterior Cingulate Functional Projections Predict Affective Processing Changes in the Elderly Following Eight Weeks of Meditation Training.

PubMed

Shao, Robin; Keuper, Kati; Geng, Xiujuan; Lee, Tatia M C

2016-08-01

Evidence indicates meditation facilitates affective regulation and reduces negative affect. It also influences resting-state functional connectivity between affective networks and the posterior cingulate (PCC)/precuneus, regions critically implicated in self-referential processing. However, no longitudinal study employing active control group has examined the effect of meditation training on affective processing, PCC/precuneus connectivity, and their association. Here, we report that eight-week meditation, but not relaxation, training 'neutralized' affective processing of positive and negative stimuli in healthy elderly participants. Additionally, meditation versus relaxation training increased the positive connectivity between the PCC/precuneus and the pons, the direction of which was largely directed from the pons to the PCC/precuneus, as revealed by dynamic causal modeling. Further, changes in connectivity between the PCC/precuneus and pons predicted changes in affective processing after meditation training. These findings indicate meditation promotes self-referential affective regulation based on increased regulatory influence of the pons on PCC/precuneus, which new affective-processing strategy is employed across both resting state and when evaluating affective stimuli. Such insights have clinical implications on interventions on elderly individuals with affective disorders. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Momentary changes in craving predict smoking lapse behavior: a laboratory study.

PubMed

Motschman, Courtney A; Germeroth, Lisa J; Tiffany, Stephen T

2018-04-27

Current research on factors that predict smoking lapse behavior is limited in its ability to fully characterize the critical moments leading up to decisions to smoke. We used a validated and widely used experimental analogue for smoking lapse to assess how moment-to-moment dynamics of craving relate to decisions to smoke. Heavy smokers (N = 128, M age = 35.9) participated in a 50-min laboratory delay to smoking task on 2 consecutive days, earning money for each 5 min they remained abstinent or ending the task by choosing to smoke. Participants rated craving and negative affect levels immediately prior to each choice. Participants were randomized to smoking as usual (n = 50) or overnight abstinence (n = 50 successfully abstained, n = 22 failed abstaining) prior to session 2. Discrete-time hazard models were used to examine craving and negative affect as time-varying predictors of smoking. Higher craving levels prior to smoking opportunities predicted increased risk of smoking. When controlling for craving levels, incremental increases in craving predicted increased smoking risk. Increases in negative affect incrementally predicted increased smoking risk at session 2 only. Smokers who failed to abstain were at a higher risk of smoking than those who successfully abstained, whereas abstinent and non-abstinent smokers did not differ in smoking risk. Findings demonstrate an extension of the smoking lapse paradigm that can be utilized to capture momentary changes in craving that predict smoking behavior. Evaluations of nuanced craving experiences may inform clinical and pharmacological research on preventing smoking lapse and relapse.

Long term impact of emotional, social and cognitive intelligence competencies and GMAT on career and life satisfaction and career success

PubMed Central

Amdurer, Emily; Boyatzis, Richard E.; Saatcioglu, Argun; Smith, Melvin L.; Taylor, Scott N.

2014-01-01

Career scholars have called for a broader definition of career success by inviting greater exploration of its antecedents. While success in various jobs has been predicted by intelligence and in other studies by competencies, especially in management, long term impact of having intelligence and using competencies has not been examined. Even in collegiate outcome studies, few have examined the longer term impact on graduates' careers or lives. This study assesses the impact of demonstrated emotional, social, and cognitive intelligence competencies assessed at graduation and g measured through GMAT at entry from an MBA program on career and life satisfaction, and career success assessed 5 to 19 years after graduation. Using behavioral measures of competencies (i.e., as assessed by others), we found that emotional intelligence competencies predict career satisfaction and success. Adaptability had a positive impact, but influence had the opposite effect on these career measures and life satisfaction. Life satisfaction was negatively affected by achievement orientation and positively affected by teamwork. Current salary, length of marriage, and being younger at time of graduation positively affect all three measures of life and career satisfaction and career success. GMAT (as a measure of g) predicted life satisfaction and career success to a slight but significant degree in the final model analyzed. Meanwhile, being female and number of children positively affected life satisfaction but cognitive intelligence competencies negatively affected it, and in particular demonstrated systems thinking was negative. PMID:25566128

Long term impact of emotional, social and cognitive intelligence competencies and GMAT on career and life satisfaction and career success.

PubMed

Amdurer, Emily; Boyatzis, Richard E; Saatcioglu, Argun; Smith, Melvin L; Taylor, Scott N

2014-01-01

Career scholars have called for a broader definition of career success by inviting greater exploration of its antecedents. While success in various jobs has been predicted by intelligence and in other studies by competencies, especially in management, long term impact of having intelligence and using competencies has not been examined. Even in collegiate outcome studies, few have examined the longer term impact on graduates' careers or lives. This study assesses the impact of demonstrated emotional, social, and cognitive intelligence competencies assessed at graduation and g measured through GMAT at entry from an MBA program on career and life satisfaction, and career success assessed 5 to 19 years after graduation. Using behavioral measures of competencies (i.e., as assessed by others), we found that emotional intelligence competencies predict career satisfaction and success. Adaptability had a positive impact, but influence had the opposite effect on these career measures and life satisfaction. Life satisfaction was negatively affected by achievement orientation and positively affected by teamwork. Current salary, length of marriage, and being younger at time of graduation positively affect all three measures of life and career satisfaction and career success. GMAT (as a measure of g) predicted life satisfaction and career success to a slight but significant degree in the final model analyzed. Meanwhile, being female and number of children positively affected life satisfaction but cognitive intelligence competencies negatively affected it, and in particular demonstrated systems thinking was negative.

Psychometric properties of the Greek TCI-R and its clinical correlates: schizotypy and the self-regulation of affective and cognitive functioning.

PubMed

Giakoumaki, Stella G; Karagiannopoulou, Leda; Rózsa, Sándor; Zouraraki, Chrysoula; Karamaouna, Penny; Cloninger, C Robert

2016-01-01

Background. The revised Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) measures Cloninger's psychobiological model of personality. The average effects of individual temperament and character traits have been associated with schizotypy and with impaired regulation of affect and cognition. We extended prior research by testing predictions about the association of specific multidimensional configurations of temperament and character traits on schizotypy, affect balance, and self-perceived cognitive functioning. Method. A well-educated sample of native Greeks (N = 483), completed a new Greek translation of the TCI-R, as well as the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), the Positive/Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). The factor structure of the TCI-R was examined with exploratory and confirmatory tests. Associations between reported measures were examined with correlational and regression analyses. Results. The TCI-R had good psychometric properties as expected from studies in other countries. As predicted, specific configurations of temperament and character were associated with schizotypy, negative affect balance, and cognitive lapses. The "Borderline/Explosive temperament" (high Novelty Seeking, high Harm Avoidance, low Reward Dependence), "Schizotypal/Disorganized character" (low Self-directedness, low Cooperativeness, high Self-transcendence), and "Low Ego Strength/Fragile" profile (high Harm Avoidance, low Persistence, low Self-Directedness) were each strongly associated with higher stereotypy, negative affect balance (low positive affect and high negative affect), and subjective cognitive lapses compared to their contrast groups. Discussion. Multidimensional TCI profiles are strongly related to individual differences in schizotypy and self-reported regulation of affect and cognition. The Greek translation of the TCI-R is psychometrically sound and useful for clinical assessment and research.

Psychometric properties of the Greek TCI-R and its clinical correlates: schizotypy and the self-regulation of affective and cognitive functioning

PubMed Central

Karagiannopoulou, Leda; Rózsa, Sándor; Zouraraki, Chrysoula; Karamaouna, Penny; Cloninger, C. Robert

2016-01-01

Background. The revised Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) measures Cloninger’s psychobiological model of personality. The average effects of individual temperament and character traits have been associated with schizotypy and with impaired regulation of affect and cognition. We extended prior research by testing predictions about the association of specific multidimensional configurations of temperament and character traits on schizotypy, affect balance, and self-perceived cognitive functioning. Method. A well-educated sample of native Greeks (N = 483), completed a new Greek translation of the TCI-R, as well as the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), the Positive/Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). The factor structure of the TCI-R was examined with exploratory and confirmatory tests. Associations between reported measures were examined with correlational and regression analyses. Results. The TCI-R had good psychometric properties as expected from studies in other countries. As predicted, specific configurations of temperament and character were associated with schizotypy, negative affect balance, and cognitive lapses. The “Borderline/Explosive temperament” (high Novelty Seeking, high Harm Avoidance, low Reward Dependence), “Schizotypal/Disorganized character” (low Self-directedness, low Cooperativeness, high Self-transcendence), and “Low Ego Strength/Fragile” profile (high Harm Avoidance, low Persistence, low Self-Directedness) were each strongly associated with higher stereotypy, negative affect balance (low positive affect and high negative affect), and subjective cognitive lapses compared to their contrast groups. Discussion. Multidimensional TCI profiles are strongly related to individual differences in schizotypy and self-reported regulation of affect and cognition. The Greek translation of the TCI-R is psychometrically sound and useful for clinical assessment and research. PMID:27019787

An Exploration Based Cognitive Bias Test for Mice: Effects of Handling Method and Stereotypic Behaviour.

PubMed

Novak, Janja; Bailoo, Jeremy D; Melotti, Luca; Rommen, Jonas; Würbel, Hanno

2015-01-01

Behavioural tests to assess affective states are widely used in human research and have recently been extended to animals. These tests assume that affective state influences cognitive processing, and that animals in a negative affective state interpret ambiguous information as expecting a negative outcome (displaying a negative cognitive bias). Most of these tests however, require long discrimination training. The aim of the study was to validate an exploration based cognitive bias test, using two different handling methods, as previous studies have shown that standard tail handling of mice increases physiological and behavioural measures of anxiety compared to cupped handling. Therefore, we hypothesised that tail handled mice would display a negative cognitive bias. We handled 28 female CD-1 mice for 16 weeks using either tail handling or cupped handling. The mice were then trained in an eight arm radial maze, where two adjacent arms predicted a positive outcome (darkness and food), while the two opposite arms predicted a negative outcome (no food, white noise and light). After six days of training, the mice were also given access to the four previously unavailable intermediate ambiguous arms of the radial maze and tested for cognitive bias. We were unable to validate this test, as mice from both handling groups displayed a similar pattern of exploration. Furthermore, we examined whether maze exploration is affected by the expression of stereotypic behaviour in the home cage. Mice with higher levels of stereotypic behaviour spent more time in positive arms and avoided ambiguous arms, displaying a negative cognitive bias. While this test needs further validation, our results indicate that it may allow the assessment of affective state in mice with minimal training-a major confound in current cognitive bias paradigms.

An Exploration Based Cognitive Bias Test for Mice: Effects of Handling Method and Stereotypic Behaviour

PubMed Central

Novak, Janja; Bailoo, Jeremy D.; Melotti, Luca; Rommen, Jonas; Würbel, Hanno

2015-01-01

Behavioural tests to assess affective states are widely used in human research and have recently been extended to animals. These tests assume that affective state influences cognitive processing, and that animals in a negative affective state interpret ambiguous information as expecting a negative outcome (displaying a negative cognitive bias). Most of these tests however, require long discrimination training. The aim of the study was to validate an exploration based cognitive bias test, using two different handling methods, as previous studies have shown that standard tail handling of mice increases physiological and behavioural measures of anxiety compared to cupped handling. Therefore, we hypothesised that tail handled mice would display a negative cognitive bias. We handled 28 female CD-1 mice for 16 weeks using either tail handling or cupped handling. The mice were then trained in an eight arm radial maze, where two adjacent arms predicted a positive outcome (darkness and food), while the two opposite arms predicted a negative outcome (no food, white noise and light). After six days of training, the mice were also given access to the four previously unavailable intermediate ambiguous arms of the radial maze and tested for cognitive bias. We were unable to validate this test, as mice from both handling groups displayed a similar pattern of exploration. Furthermore, we examined whether maze exploration is affected by the expression of stereotypic behaviour in the home cage. Mice with higher levels of stereotypic behaviour spent more time in positive arms and avoided ambiguous arms, displaying a negative cognitive bias. While this test needs further validation, our results indicate that it may allow the assessment of affective state in mice with minimal training—a major confound in current cognitive bias paradigms. PMID:26154309

The Relationship Between Body Image and Domains of Sexual Functioning Among Heterosexual, Emerging Adult Women.

PubMed

Quinn-Nilas, Christopher; Benson, Lindsay; Milhausen, Robin R; Buchholz, Andrea C; Goncalves, Melissa

2016-09-01

Research suggests that body image affects sexual functioning, but the relationship between specific types of body image (evaluative, affective, and behavioral) and domains of sexual functioning (desire, arousal, and orgasm) has not been investigated. To determine whether, and to what degree, body image concerns (evaluative, affective, and behavioral) influence aspects of women's sexual functioning (desire, arousal, and orgasm). Eighty-eight sexually active women in heterosexual romantic relationships completed surveys assessing evaluative, affective, and behavioral body image and sexual functioning. Body composition data also were collected using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Sexual functioning was assessed using the desire, arousal, and orgasm subscales of the Female Sexual Functioning Index. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that poor evaluative, affective, and behavioral body image were detrimental to women's sexual functioning. Specifically, dissatisfaction with one's body predicted decrements in desire (β = -0.31, P < .05) and arousal (β = -0.35, P < .01). Similarly, feeling that others evaluate one's body negatively predicted decrements in desire (β = 0.22, P < .05) and arousal (β = 0.35, P < .01). Feeling negatively about one's appearance predicted decrements in arousal (β = 0.26, P < .05). Negative thoughts and feelings about one's body during a sexual encounter (body image self-consciousness) predicted decrements in arousal (β = -0.37, P < .01) and orgasm (β = -0.25, P < .05). Findings from this study suggest important linkages between body image and sexual functioning constructs and indicates that interventions to improve body image could have concomitant benefits related to sexual experience. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Patterns of Sensitivity to Parenting and Peer Environments: Early Temperament and Adolescent Externalizing Behavior.

PubMed

Tung, Irene; Noroña, Amanda N; Morgan, Julia E; Caplan, Barbara; Lee, Steve S; Baker, Bruce L

2018-03-14

Although parenting behavior and friendship quality predict adolescent externalizing behaviors (EBs), individual differences in temperament may differentially affect susceptibility to these factors over time. In a multi-method and multi-informant study of 141 children followed prospectively from toddlerhood to adolescence, we tested the independent and interactive associations of age 3 reactive temperament (e.g., negative emotionality) and age 13 observed parenting (i.e., positive and negative behavior) and friendship (i.e., conflict and warmth), with multi-informant ratings of age 15 aggression and rule-breaking behavior. Negative parenting predicted growth in parent-rated EB, but only for adolescents with early reactive temperament. Temperament did not affect sensitivity to positive parenting or friendship. Results are discussed in the context of differential susceptibility theory and intervention implications for adolescents. © 2018 Society for Research on Adolescence.

Controlling images: How awareness of group stereotypes affects Black women's well-being.

PubMed

Jerald, Morgan C; Cole, Elizabeth R; Ward, L Monique; Avery, Lanice R

2017-10-01

This paper presents research exploring how stereotypes that are simultaneously racialized and gendered affect Black women. We investigated the mental and physical health consequences of Black women's awareness that others hold these stereotypes and tested whether this association was moderated by the centrality of racial identity. A structural equation model tested among 609 young Black women revealed that metastereotype awareness (i.e., being aware that others hold negative stereotypes of one's group) predicted negative mental health outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety, hostility), which, in turn, predicted diminished self-care behaviors and greater drug and alcohol use for coping. High racial centrality exacerbated the negative association between metastereotype awareness and self-care. We discuss implications of the findings for clinical practice and for approaches to research using intersectionality frameworks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Understanding heterogeneity in borderline personality disorder: differences in affective reactivity explained by the traits of dependency and self-criticism.

PubMed

Kopala-Sibley, Daniel C; Zuroff, David C; Russell, Jennifer J; Moskowitz, D S; Paris, Joel

2012-08-01

This study examined whether the personality traits of self-criticism and dependency respectively moderated the effects of perceived inferiority and emotional insecurity on negative affect during interpersonal interactions in individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). A sample of 38 patients with BPD and matched community comparison participants completed event-contingent record forms after each significant interaction for a 20-day period. Multilevel models showed that, controlling for baseline levels of depressive symptoms and neuroticism, as well as lagged negative affect, event-level elevations in perceived inferiority and emotional insecurity were related to more negative affect in both groups. Event-level perceived inferiority was more strongly associated with negative affect in patients with BPD who reported higher levels of self-criticism, while event-level perceived emotional insecurity was more strongly associated with negative affect in patients with BPD who reported higher levels of dependency. No significant interactions emerged for the comparison group. These findings further our understanding of differences among patients with BPD and support the application of personality-vulnerability or diathesis-stress models in predicting negative affect in BPD. Results have implications for the design of therapies for patients with BPD. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Affect asymmetry and comfort food consumption.

PubMed

Dubé, Laurette; LeBel, Jordan L; Lu, Ji

2005-11-15

It is proposed that the emotional triggers of comfort food consumption can reliably be predicted by factors tied to affect asymmetry whereby negative affects dominate one's experience, decision making and behaviors in some instances while positive emotions prevail in others. Specifically, we relate three of these factors (age, gender, and culture) to differences in the emotional triggers of comfort food consumption and we further explore the possibility that the type of food eaten during comfort-seeking episodes can also be tied to affect asymmetry. Two hundred and seventy-seven participants completed a web-based survey conducted to assess the emotional antecedents and consequences of comfort food consumption. Consistent with expectations, results indicate that men's comfort food consumption was motivated by positive emotions whereas women's consumption was triggered by negative affects. Consumption of comfort foods alleviated women's negative emotions but also produced guilt. Positive affect was a particularly powerful trigger of comfort food consumption for older participants and for participants with French cultural background. Younger participants and participants with English background reported more intense negative emotions prior to consuming comfort foods. Foods high in sugar and fat content were more efficient in alleviating negative affects whereas low-calorie foods were more efficient in increasing positive emotions.

Writing content predicts benefit from written expressive disclosure: Evidence for repeated exposure and self-affirmation.

PubMed

Niles, Andrea N; Byrne Haltom, Kate E; Lieberman, Matthew D; Hur, Christopher; Stanton, Annette L

2016-01-01

Expressive disclosure regarding a stressful event improves psychological and physical health, yet predictors of these effects are not well established. The current study assessed exposure, narrative structure, affect word use, self-affirmation and discovery of meaning as predictors of anxiety, depressive and physical symptoms following expressive writing. Participants (N = 50) wrote on four occasions about a stressful event and completed self-report measures before writing and three months later. Essays were coded for stressor exposure (level of detail and whether participants remained on topic), narrative structure, self-affirmation and discovery of meaning. Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software was used to quantify positive and negative affect word use. Controlling for baseline anxiety, more self-affirmation and detail about the event predicted lower anxiety symptoms, and more negative affect words (very high use) and more discovery of meaning predicted higher anxiety symptoms three months after writing. Findings highlight the importance of self-affirmation and exposure as predictors of benefit from expressive writing.

Benefit Finding, Affective Reactions to Diabetes Stress, and Diabetes Management among Early Adolescents

PubMed Central

Tran, Vincent; Wiebe, Deborah J.; Fortenberry, Katherine T.; Butler, Jorie M.; Berg, Cynthia A.

2011-01-01

Objective To examine whether benefit finding was associated with better adjustment among adolescents with diabetes by buffering negative affective reactions to diabetes stress and by promoting positive affective reactions. Design Early adolescents aged 10-14 with type 1 diabetes (n=252) described recent diabetes stressors, affective reactions, and perceived coping effectiveness. They also completed measures of benefit finding, depressive symptoms, and adherence. Metabolic control (i.e., HbA1c) was obtained from medical records. Main Outcome Measures The main outcome measures were perceived coping effectiveness, depressive symptoms, adherence, and HbA1c. Results Benefit finding was associated with lower depressive symptoms, higher perceived coping effectiveness and better adherence, and with higher positive as well as negative affective reactions to diabetes stress. Benefit finding interacted with negative affective reactions to predict depressive symptoms and HbA1c. Negative affective reactions to stress were associated with poorer adjustment among those with low benefit finding, but were unrelated or more weakly related to poor adjustment among those with high benefit finding. Positive affective reactions did not mediate associations between benefit finding and any outcome. Conclusions Consistent with a stress-buffering process, benefit finding may be a resource that buffers the disruptive aspects of negative affective reactions to stress for adolescents’ diabetes management. PMID:21401255

Under threat by popular vote: German-speaking immigrants’ affect and cognitions following the Swiss vote against mass immigration

PubMed Central

Janke, Stefan; Greifeneder, Rainer

2017-01-01

A popular initiative in support of regulating future immigration to Switzerland was accepted by the electorate in 2014. Assuming that the initiative acted as an exclusionary threat for current immigrants of Switzerland, we conducted an online survey among a sample of highly-skilled German-speaking immigrants (“expats”). Participants reported having experienced negative affect following the vote. Moreover, having a more left-wing orientation, living in a political constituency that had voted pro-regulation and having proportionally few Swiss friends positively predicted negative affect following the vote. Negative affect was associated with a reported negative change in one’s attitudes towards Switzerland, increased considerations to leave the country, and impaired satisfaction with life. In sum, the results suggest that a powerful exclusionary threat such as a national vote may be experienced as distressful by highly-skilled immigrants currently living in the country. PMID:28406990

Under threat by popular vote: German-speaking immigrants' affect and cognitions following the Swiss vote against mass immigration.

PubMed

Rudert, Selma Carolin; Janke, Stefan; Greifeneder, Rainer

2017-01-01

A popular initiative in support of regulating future immigration to Switzerland was accepted by the electorate in 2014. Assuming that the initiative acted as an exclusionary threat for current immigrants of Switzerland, we conducted an online survey among a sample of highly-skilled German-speaking immigrants ("expats"). Participants reported having experienced negative affect following the vote. Moreover, having a more left-wing orientation, living in a political constituency that had voted pro-regulation and having proportionally few Swiss friends positively predicted negative affect following the vote. Negative affect was associated with a reported negative change in one's attitudes towards Switzerland, increased considerations to leave the country, and impaired satisfaction with life. In sum, the results suggest that a powerful exclusionary threat such as a national vote may be experienced as distressful by highly-skilled immigrants currently living in the country.

Emotion regulation strategies in daily life: mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal and emotion suppression.

PubMed

Brockman, Robert; Ciarrochi, Joseph; Parker, Philip; Kashdan, Todd

2017-03-01

Most empirical studies of emotion regulation have relied on retrospective trait measures, and have not examined the link between daily regulatory strategies and every day emotional well-being. We used a daily diary methodology with multilevel modelling data analyses (n = 187) to examine the influence of three emotion regulation strategies (mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal and emotion suppression) on the experience of daily negative and positive affect. Our results suggested that daily mindfulness was associated with lower negative and higher positive affect whereas the converse pattern was found for daily emotion suppression; cognitive reappraisal was related to daily positive, but not negative affect. When daily mindfulness, suppression and reappraisal were included in the same models, these strategies predicted unique variance in emotional well-being. Random slope analyses revealed substantial variability in the utility of these strategies. Indeed the presumably "adaptive" cognitive reappraisal strategy seemed to confer no benefit to the regulation of negative affect in approximately half the sample. Additional analyses revealed that age moderates the effect of cognitive reappraisal on daily negative affect: Higher use of reappraisal was associated with more negative affect for adolescents (aged 17 to 19) but became associated with less negative affect with increasing age. We interpret these results in line with a contextual view of emotion regulation where no strategy is inherently "good" or "bad".

Just How Bad Negative Affect is for Your Health Depends on Culture

PubMed Central

Curhan, Katherine B.; Sims, Tamara; Markus, Hazel Rose; Kitayama, Shinobu; Karasawa, Mayumi; Kawakami, Norito; Love, Gayle D.; Coe, Christopher L.; Miyamoto, Yuri; Ryff, Carol D.

2014-01-01

Pressman, Lopez and Gallagher (2013) conclude that across the globe negative emotions are bad for one’s health. Yet, just how bad negative emotions are for health depends on culture. In U.S. American contexts, negative feelings are construed as the individual’s responsibility and as harmful. In Japanese contexts, negative feelings are construed as rooted in relationships and as natural. Using six clinically-relevant measures and two representative samples, we tested the hypothesis that negative affect is more strongly associated with poor health in the U.S. (n = 1,741) than in Japan (n = 988). Negative affect more strongly predicted poor health in the U.S. than in Japan for multi-item assessments of physical health (chronic conditions, physical functioning) and mental health (psychological well-being, self-esteem). There were no differences for single-item health assessments (life satisfaction, global health). These findings underscore the need for further theoretically-driven investigations of how cultural construals shape the emotion-health link. PMID:25304884

Subjective Responses to Emotional Stimuli During Labeling, Reappraisal, and Distraction

PubMed Central

Lieberman, Matthew D.; Inagaki, Tristen K.; Tabibnia, Golnaz; Crockett, Molly J.

2011-01-01

Although multiple neuroimaging studies suggest that affect labeling (i.e., putting feelings into words) can dampen affect-related responses in the amygdala, the consequences of affect labeling have not been examined in other channels of emotional responding. We conducted four studies examining the effect of affect labeling on self-reported emotional experience. In study one, self-reported distress was lower during affect labeling, compared to passive watching, of negative emotional pictures. Studies two and three added reappraisal and distraction conditions, respectively. Affect labeling showed similar effects on self-reported distress as both of these intentional emotion regulation strategies. In each of the first three studies, however, participant predictions about the effects of affect labeling suggest that unlike reappraisal and distraction, people do not believe affect labeling to be an effective emotion regulation strategy. Even after having the experience of affect labels leading to lower distress, participants still predicted that affect labeling would increase distress in the future. Thus, affect labeling is best described as an incidental emotion regulation process. Finally, study four employed positive emotional pictures and here, affect labeling was associated with diminished self-reported pleasure, relative to passive watching. This suggests that affect labeling tends to dampen affective responses in general, rather than specifically alleviating negative affect. PMID:21534661

Past racial discrimination exacerbates the effects of racial exclusion on negative affect, perceived control, and alcohol-risk cognitions among Black young adults.

PubMed

Stock, Michelle L; Peterson, Laurel M; Molloy, Brianne K; Lambert, Sharon F

2017-06-01

Racial discrimination is associated with alcohol use and risky sex cognitions and behaviors, which are risk factors for negative health outcomes, including human immunodeficiency virus infection. The current study investigated the causal impact of racial discrimination on alcohol and sexual-risk cognitions while exploring potential mediators that might help explain this relation: negative affect, perceived control, and meaningful existence. We also examined if past discrimination impacts the strength of (moderates) these effects. Participants were 287 Black/African American young adults aged 18-25. They were randomly assigned to be excluded or included by White peers via the game Cyberball. Racial exclusion (vs. inclusion) predicted greater: perceived racial discrimination, negative affect, alcohol use willingness, and reduced perceived control and meaningful existence. Furthermore, excluded participants who experienced more past racial discrimination reported the lowest perceived control, and greatest negative affect and alcohol-risk cognitions. The findings suggest that past racial discrimination exacerbates the harmful health effects of immediate experiences of discrimination.

Big Five personality traits: are they really important for the subjective well-being of Indians?

PubMed

Tanksale, Deepa

2015-02-01

This study empirically examined the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and subjective well-being (SWB) in India. SWB variables used were life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect. A total of 183 participants in the age range 30-40 years from Pune, India, completed the personality and SWB measures. Backward stepwise regression analysis showed that the Big Five traits accounted for 17% of the variance in life satisfaction, 35% variance in positive affect and 28% variance in negative affect. Conscientiousness emerged as the strongest predictor of life satisfaction. In line with the earlier research findings, neuroticism and extraversion were found to predict negative affect and positive affect, respectively. Neither openness to experience nor agreeableness contributed to SWB. The research emphasises the need to revisit the association between personality and SWB across different cultures, especially non-western cultures. © 2014 International Union of Psychological Science.

Housing conditions affect rat responses to two types of ambiguity in a reward–reward discrimination cognitive bias task

PubMed Central

Parker, Richard M.A.; Paul, Elizabeth S.; Burman, Oliver H.P.; Browne, William J.; Mendl, Michael

2014-01-01

Decision-making under ambiguity in cognitive bias tasks is a promising new indicator of affective valence in animals. Rat studies support the hypothesis that animals in a negative affective state evaluate ambiguous cues negatively. Prior automated operant go/go judgement bias tasks have involved training rats that an auditory cue of one frequency predicts a Reward and a cue of a different frequency predicts a Punisher (RP task), and then measuring whether ambiguous cues of intermediate frequency are judged as predicting reward (‘optimism’) or punishment (‘pessimism’). We investigated whether an automated Reward–Reward (RR) task yielded similar results to, and was faster to train than, RP tasks. We also introduced a new ambiguity test (simultaneous presentation of the two training cues) alongside the standard single ambiguous cue test. Half of the rats experienced an unpredictable housing treatment (UHT) designed to induce a negative state. Control rats were relatively ‘pessimistic’, whilst UHT rats were quicker, but no less accurate, in their responses in the RR test, and showed less anxiety-like behaviour in independent tests. A possible reason for these findings is that rats adapted to and were stimulated by UHT, whilst control rats in a predictable environment were more sensitive to novelty and change. Responses in the new ambiguity test correlated positively with those in single ambiguous cue tests, and may provide a measure of attention bias. The RR task was quicker to train than previous automated RP tasks. Together, they could be used to disentangle how reward and punishment processes underpin affect-induced cognitive biases. PMID:25106739

Organisational stressors, coping, and outcomes in competitive sport.

PubMed

Arnold, Rachel; Fletcher, David; Daniels, Kevin

2017-04-01

Organisational stressors are associated with positive and negative outcomes in extant literature; however, little is known about which demands predict which outcomes. Extant theory and literature also suggests that coping style may influence an individual's resilience or vulnerability to stressors and, subsequently, their psychological responses and outcomes. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to examine the main effects of organisational stressors and coping styles on various outcomes (e.g., positive and negative affect, performance satisfaction). Sport performers (n = 414) completed measures of organisational stressors, coping styles, positive and negative affect, and performance satisfaction. Multiple regression analyses revealed positive relationships of both goals and development stressors (duration and intensity) and team and culture stressors (frequency and intensity) on negative affect. Furthermore, problem-focused coping was positively related to positive affect, and emotion-focused coping was positively related to negative affect. This study furthers theoretical knowledge regarding the associations that both organisational stressors (and their dimensions) and coping styles can have with various outcomes, and practical understanding regarding the optimal design of stress management interventions.

[The relationship of empathic-affective responses toward others' positive affect with prosocial behaviors and aggressive behaviors].

PubMed

Sakurai, Shigeo; Hayama, Daichi; Suzuki, Takashi; Kurazumi, Tomoe; Hagiwara, Toshihiko; Suzuki, Miyuki; Ohuchi, Akiko; Chizuko, Oikawa

2011-06-01

The purposes of this study were to develop and validate the Empathic-Affective Response Scale, and to examine the relationship of empathic-affective responses with prosocial behaviors and aggressive behaviors. Undergraduate students (N = 443) participated in a questionnaire study. The results of factor analysis indicated that empathic-affective responses involved three factors: (a) sharing and good feeling toward others' positive affect, (b) sharing of negative affect and (c) sympathy toward others' negative affect. Correlations with other empathy-related scales and internal consistency suggested that this scale has satisfactory validity and reliability. Cluster analysis revealed that participants were clustered into four groups: high-empathic group, low-empathic group, insufficient positive affective response group and insufficient negative affective response group. Additional analysis showed the frequency of prosocial behaviors in high-empathic group was highest in all groups. On the other hand, the frequency of aggressive behaviors in both insufficient positive affective response group and low-empathic group were higher than others' groups. The results indicated that empathic-affective responses toward positive affect are also very important to predict prosocial behaviors and aggressive behaviors.

The Affective Impact of Financial Skewness on Neural Activity and Choice

PubMed Central

Wu, Charlene C.; Bossaerts, Peter; Knutson, Brian

2011-01-01

Few finance theories consider the influence of “skewness” (or large and asymmetric but unlikely outcomes) on financial choice. We investigated the impact of skewed gambles on subjects' neural activity, self-reported affective responses, and subsequent preferences using functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI). Neurally, skewed gambles elicited more anterior insula activation than symmetric gambles equated for expected value and variance, and positively skewed gambles also specifically elicited more nucleus accumbens (NAcc) activation than negatively skewed gambles. Affectively, positively skewed gambles elicited more positive arousal and negatively skewed gambles elicited more negative arousal than symmetric gambles equated for expected value and variance. Subjects also preferred positively skewed gambles more, but negatively skewed gambles less than symmetric gambles of equal expected value. Individual differences in both NAcc activity and positive arousal predicted preferences for positively skewed gambles. These findings support an anticipatory affect account in which statistical properties of gambles—including skewness—can influence neural activity, affective responses, and ultimately, choice. PMID:21347239

Mind-wandering and negative mood: does one thing really lead to another?

PubMed

Poerio, Giulia L; Totterdell, Peter; Miles, Eleanor

2013-12-01

Mind-wandering is closely connected with negative mood. Whether negative mood is a cause or consequence of mind-wandering remains an important, unresolved, issue. We sought to clarify the direction of this relationship by measuring mood before and after mind-wandering. We also measured the affective content, time-orientation and relevance of mind-wandering to current concerns to explore whether the link between mind-wandering and negative mood might be explained by these characteristics. A novel experience-sampling technique with smartphone application prompted participants to answer questions about mind-wandering and mood across 7 days. While sadness tended to precede mind-wandering, mind-wandering itself was not associated with later mood and only predicted feeling worse if its content was negative. We also found prior sadness predicted retrospective mind-wandering, and prior negative mood predicted mind-wandering to current concerns. Our findings provide new insight into how mood and mind-wandering relate but suggest mind-wandering is not inherently detrimental to well-being. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reactivity to negative affect in smokers: the role of implicit associations and distress tolerance in smoking cessation.

PubMed

Cameron, Amy; Reed, Kathleen Palm; Ninnemann, Andrew

2013-12-01

Avoidance of negative affect is one motivational factor that explains smoking cessation relapse during cessation attempts. This negative reinforcement model of smoking cessation and relapse has demonstrated the importance of one's ability to tolerate nicotine withdrawal symptoms, particularly negative affect states, in remaining abstinent from smoking. Distress tolerance and implicit associations are two individual constructs that may influence the strength of this relationship. In this pilot study the authors examined implicit associations related to avoidance and negative affect using a modified Implicit Association Test (IAT), a measure designed to examine implicit associations related to negative affect and avoidance, and the relationship of these associations to distress tolerance and smoking relapse. In total, 40 participants were recruited through community flyers as part of a larger smoking cessation study. Participants completed a brief smoking history, behavioral distress tolerance assessments, and the modified IAT. Smoking status was assessed via phone 3days and 6days post-quit date. Results from a Cox proportional hazard model revealed that implicit associations between avoidance and negative affect were significantly negatively correlated with time to relapse after a smoking cessation attempt, whereas the behavioral distress tolerance assessments did not predict time to relapse. This study provides novel information about the cognitive associations that may underlie avoidant behavior in smokers, and may be important for understanding smoking relapse when negative affect states are particularly difficult to tolerate. Authors discuss the importance of implicit associations in understanding smoking relapse and how they can be targeted in treatment. © 2013.

Individual Temperament and Problem Behavior in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adamek, Lauren; Nichols, Shana; Tetenbaum, Samara P.; Bregman, Joel; Ponzio, Christine A.; Carr, Edward G.

2011-01-01

Temperament is important for considering differences among diagnostic groups and for understanding individual differences that predict problematic behavior. Temperament characteristics, such as negative affectivity, effortful control, and surgency (highly active and impulsive), are predictive of externalizing behavior in typically developing…

Pain, movement, and mind: does physical activity mediate the relationship between pain and mental health among survivors of breast cancer?

PubMed

Sabiston, Catherine M; Brunet, Jennifer; Burke, Shaunna

2012-07-01

This study examined the relationship between pain and mental health outcomes of depression and affect among survivors of breast cancer. The mediating role of physical activity was also tested. Survivors of breast cancer (N=145) completed self-report measures of pain symptoms at baseline, wore an accelerometer for 7 days, and reported levels of depression symptoms and negative and positive affect 3 months later. Hierarchical linear regression analyses, controlling for personal and cancer-related demographics, were used to test the association between pain symptoms and each mental health outcome, as well as the mediation effect of physical activity. Pain positively predicted depression symptoms [F(6,139)=4.31, P<0.01, R=0.15] and negative affect [F(5,140)=4.17, P<0.01, R=0.13], and negatively predicted positive affect [F(6,139)=2.12, P=0.03, R=0.08]. Physical activity was a significant (P<0.01) partial mediator of the relationship between pain and depression and between pain and positive affect. Participation in physical activity is one pathway through which pain influences mental health. Efforts are needed to help survivors of breast cancer manage pain symptoms and increase their level of physical activity to help improve mental health.

Positive Affect as a Source of Resilience for Women in Chronic Pain.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zautra, Alex J.; Johnson, Lisa M.; Davis, Mary C.

2005-01-01

A sample of 124 women with osteoarthritis or fibromyalgia, or both, completed initial assessments for demographic data, health status, and personality traits and 10-12 weekly interviews regarding pain, stress, negative affect, and positive affect. Multilevel modeling analyses indicated that weekly elevations of pain and stress predicted increases…

Is the Association of Subjective SES and Self-Rated Health Confounded by Negative Mood? An Experimental Approach

PubMed Central

Kraus, Michael W.; Adler, Nancy; David Chen, Teh-Way

2012-01-01

Objective Lower subjective socioeconomic status (SSS) consistently shows associations with poorer health with the strongest relationships emerging with global self-rated health. Though often interpreted as reflecting the impact of low SSS on health, the association could also arise from confounding SSS with negative affect. In this research we sought to determine if negative affect confounds, or alternatively, is on the causal pathway linking SSS to self-rated health. Methods 300 adult participants—recruited from throughout the United States—were randomized to experience sadness, shame, or a neutral mood induction wherein they wrote about and visualized a particularly emotionally evocative event. Participants subsequently completed measures of SSS, self-rated health, depression, and negative mood. Results Consistent with predictions, neither SSS scores nor the association of SSS with self-rated health, depression, and chronic negative affect differed by mood induction condition, controlling for demographic factors that covary with SSS (e.g., age, gender, education, income). Moreover, chronic negative affect partially explained the relationship between SSS and self-rated health, independent of manipulated mood. Conclusions These findings support the utility of the measurement of SSS, and provide evidence suggesting that chronic negative affect is a likely mediator of the SSS association with global health rather than a confounder. PMID:22329426

Negative emotions predict elevated interleukin-6 in the United States but not in Japan.

PubMed

Miyamoto, Yuri; Boylan, Jennifer Morozink; Coe, Christopher L; Curhan, Katherine B; Levine, Cynthia S; Markus, Hazel Rose; Park, Jiyoung; Kitayama, Shinobu; Kawakami, Norito; Karasawa, Mayumi; Love, Gayle D; Ryff, Carol D

2013-11-01

Previous studies conducted in Western cultures have shown that negative emotions predict higher levels of pro-inflammatory biomarkers, specifically interleukin-6 (IL-6). This link between negative emotions and IL-6 may be specific to Western cultures where negative emotions are perceived to be problematic and thus may not extend to Eastern cultures where negative emotions are seen as acceptable and normal. Using samples of 1044 American and 382 Japanese middle-aged and older adults, we investigated whether the relationship between negative emotions and IL-6 varies by cultural context. Negative emotions predicted higher IL-6 among American adults, whereas no association was evident among Japanese adults. Furthermore, the interaction between culture and negative emotions remained even after controlling for demographic variables, psychological factors (positive emotions, neuroticism, extraversion), health behaviors (smoking status, alcohol consumption), and health status (chronic conditions, BMI). These findings highlight the role of cultural context in shaping how negative emotions affect inflammatory physiology and underscore the importance of cultural ideas and practices relevant to negative emotions for understanding of the interplay between psychology, physiology, and health. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Negative affect variability and adolescent self-medication: The role of the peer context.

PubMed

Shadur, Julia M; Hussong, Andrea M; Haroon, Maleeha

2015-11-01

Findings in the literature show mixed support for adolescent self-medication. Following recent reformulations of the self-medication hypothesis, we tested within-person effects of daily fluctuations in sadness and worry on daily substance use, and explored the moderating role of the peer context on self-medication. We hypothesized that greater daily fluctuations in mood would predict greater daily substance use, and lower levels of peer social support and higher levels of peer drug use would further increase this risk. Experience sampling methods captured within-person daily variations in mood and substance use over 21 days among 73 adolescents. An observational coding system was employed to characterize enacted peer social support. Multilevel modeling was used to parse between- versus within-person differences in risk for daily substance use. Greater within-person daily fluctuations in feelings of worry (but not sadness) significantly predicted increased daily substance use, consistent with self-medication. Moreover, greater daily fluctuations in negative affect were a stronger predictor of daily use than total level of daily negative affect. Peer social support moderated this relationship such that those with more supportive friendships were less likely to engage in self-medication. This is the first reported study to examine within-person processes of adolescent self-medication related to daily variability in mood and the peer context. Adolescent self-medication processes appear to differ depending on the type of negative affect and whether daily affective experiences are chronic or fluctuating, suggesting that the affective processes that cue adolescents to engage in substance use are quite nuanced. © 2015 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Interplay between Marital Attributions and Conflict Behavior in Predicting Depressive Symptoms

PubMed Central

Ellison, Jenna K.; Kouros, Chrystyna D.; Papp, Lauren M.; Cummings, E. Mark

2015-01-01

Marital attributions--i.e., causal inferences and explanations spouses make about their partners’ behavior--have been implicated as predictors of relationship functioning. Extending previous work, we examined marital attributions as a moderator of the link between marital conflict and depressive symptoms one year later. Participants were 284 couples who reported on marital attributions and depressive symptoms. Couples also engaged in a videotaped marital conflict interaction, which was later coded for specific conflict behaviors. The results showed that husbands’ and wives’ marital attributions about their partner moderated relations between marital conflict behavior and later depressive symptoms, controlling for global marital sentiments. For husbands, positive behavior and affect during marital conflict predicted a decrease in depressive symptoms, but only for husbands’ who made low levels of responsibility and causal attributions about their wives. Wives’ causal attributions about their partner also moderated relations between positive behavior and affect during marital conflict and husbands’ later depressive symptoms. Reflecting an unexpected finding, negative behavior and affect during marital conflict predicted increases in wives’ depressive symptoms, but only for wives who made low levels of responsibility attributions about their partner. The findings suggest that, for husbands, low levels of negative marital attributions for spouses may be protective, strengthening the positive effect of constructive conflict behaviors for their mental health, whereas for wives low levels of responsibility attributions about their spouse may be a risk factor, exacerbating the negative effect of negative marital conflict behaviors on their later depressive symptoms. PMID:26751758

Interplay between marital attributions and conflict behavior in predicting depressive symptoms.

PubMed

Ellison, Jenna K; Kouros, Chrystyna D; Papp, Lauren M; Cummings, E Mark

2016-03-01

Marital attributions-that is, causal inferences and explanations spouses make about their partners' behavior-have been implicated as predictors of relationship functioning. Extending previous work, we examined marital attributions as a moderator of the link between marital conflict and depressive symptoms 1 year later. Participants were 284 couples who reported on marital attributions and depressive symptoms. Couples also engaged in a videotaped marital conflict interaction, which was later coded for specific conflict behaviors. The results showed that husbands' and wives' marital attributions about their partner moderated relations between marital conflict behavior and later depressive symptoms, controlling for global marital sentiments. For husbands, positive behavior and affect during marital conflict predicted a decrease in depressive symptoms, but only for husbands' who made low levels of responsibility and causal attributions about their wives. Wives' causal attributions about their partner also moderated relations between positive behavior and affect during marital conflict and husbands' later depressive symptoms. Reflecting an unexpected finding, negative behavior and affect during marital conflict predicted increases in wives' depressive symptoms, but only for wives who made low levels of responsibility attributions about their partner. The findings suggest that, for husbands, low levels of negative marital attributions for spouses may be protective, strengthening the positive effect of constructive conflict behaviors for their mental health, whereas for wives low levels of responsibility attributions about their spouse may be a risk factor, exacerbating the negative effect of negative marital conflict behaviors on their later depressive symptoms. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Predictors of men's sexual response to erotic film stimuli: the role of affect and self-reported thoughts.

PubMed

Oliveira, Cátia; Laja, Pedro; Carvalho, Joana; Quinta Gomes, Ana; Vilarinho, Sandra; Janssen, Erick; Nobre, Pedro J

2014-11-01

Both emotions and cognitions seem to play a role in determining sexual arousal. However, no studies to date have tested the effects of self-reported thoughts on subjective sexual arousal and genital response using psychophysiological methods. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of self-reported thoughts and affect during exposure to erotic material in predicting subjective and genital responses in sexually healthy men. Twenty-seven men were presented with two explicit films, and genital responses, subjective sexual arousal, self-reported thoughts, and positive and negative affect were assessed. Men's genital responses, subjective sexual arousal, affective responses, and self-reported thoughts during exposure to sexual stimulus were measured. Regression analyses revealed that genital responses were predicted by self-reported thoughts (explaining 20% of the variance) but not by affect during exposure to erotic films. On the other hand, subjective sexual arousal was significantly predicted by both positive and negative affect (explaining 18% of the variance) and self-reported thoughts (explaining 37% of the variance). Follow-up analyses using the single predictors showed that "sexual arousal thoughts" were the only significant predictor of subjective response (β = 0.64; P < 0.01) and that "distracting/disengaging thoughts" were the best predictor of genital response (β = -0.51; P < 0.05). The findings of this study suggest that both affect and sexual arousal thoughts play an important role in men's subjective sexual response, whereas genital response seems to be better predicted by distracting thoughts. © 2014 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Relationship between Item Responses of Negative Affect Items and the Distribution of the Sum of the Item Scores in the General Population

PubMed Central

Kawasaki, Yohei; Ide, Kazuki; Akutagawa, Maiko; Yamada, Hiroshi; Furukawa, Toshiaki A.; Ono, Yutaka

2016-01-01

Background Several studies have shown that total depressive symptom scores in the general population approximate an exponential pattern, except for the lower end of the distribution. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) consists of 20 items, each of which may take on four scores: “rarely,” “some,” “occasionally,” and “most of the time.” Recently, we reported that the item responses for 16 negative affect items commonly exhibit exponential patterns, except for the level of “rarely,” leading us to hypothesize that the item responses at the level of “rarely” may be related to the non-exponential pattern typical of the lower end of the distribution. To verify this hypothesis, we investigated how the item responses contribute to the distribution of the sum of the item scores. Methods Data collected from 21,040 subjects who had completed the CES-D questionnaire as part of a Japanese national survey were analyzed. To assess the item responses of negative affect items, we used a parameter r, which denotes the ratio of “rarely” to “some” in each item response. The distributions of the sum of negative affect items in various combinations were analyzed using log-normal scales and curve fitting. Results The sum of the item scores approximated an exponential pattern regardless of the combination of items, whereas, at the lower end of the distributions, there was a clear divergence between the actual data and the predicted exponential pattern. At the lower end of the distributions, the sum of the item scores with high values of r exhibited higher scores compared to those predicted from the exponential pattern, whereas the sum of the item scores with low values of r exhibited lower scores compared to those predicted. Conclusions The distributional pattern of the sum of the item scores could be predicted from the item responses of such items. PMID:27806132

Latina adolescent sleep and mood: an ecological momentary assessment pilot study.

PubMed

Garcia, Carolyn; Zhang, Lei; Holt, Katie; Hardeman, Rachel; Peterson, Barbara

2014-08-01

Sleep and mood represent two important malleable opportunities for adolescent health. This study investigated the sleep-mood relationship in adolescent girls. Short-term, longitudinal design. Latina adolescents (N = 19, mean age 15) completed ecological momentary assessments on sleep (perceived quality, self-report quantity) and mood (negative affect, positive affect, and positivity ratio). Adolescents sent 1,598 texts on sleep and mood. Bidirectional sleep-mood relationships were in expected directions; negative affect and the positivity ratio affect predicted adolescents' sleep quality. Interventions should encourage sleep-mood relationship awareness, and further research should identify significant differences to inform tailored interventions with adolescents. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Role of Affect in the Maintenance of Anorexia Nervosa: Evidence from a Naturalistic Assessment of Momentary Behaviors and Emotion

PubMed Central

Engel, Scott G.; Wonderlich, Stephen A.; Crosby, Ross D.; Mitchell, James E.; Crow, Scott; Peterson, Carol B.; Le Grange, Daniel; Simonich, Heather K.; Cao, Li; Lavender, Jason M.; Gordon, Kathryn H.

2014-01-01

The current study examines the relationship of affect and eating disorder behavior in anorexia nervosa (AN) using ecological momentary assessment. Participants were 118 adult females recruited at three sites from eating disorder treatment centers and community advertisements. All participants met full DSM-IV criteria or sub-threshold criteria for AN. Participants were provided handheld computers and asked to report positive affect, negative affect, loss of control (LOC) eating, purging, exercise, drinking fluids to curb appetite, and weighing one's self multiple times per day as well as dietary restriction once daily over a two-week interval. Mixed-effects models were used to examine the extent to which affective states predict dietary restriction. Additionally, we used two analytic approaches to compare affect prior to and after other eating disorder behaviors. We found that higher daily ratings of negative affect were associated with a greater likelihood of dietary restriction on subsequent days. When examining the single rating immediately before and after behaviors, we found that negative affect increased significantly following LOC eating, purging, the combination of LOC and eating/purging, and weighing of one's self. Using this same analytic approach we also found negative affect to decrease significantly following the consumption of fluids to curb appetite and exercise. When examining the covariation of AN behaviors and negative affect assessed multiple times in the hours and minutes before the behaviors, we found negative affect significantly increased prior to LOC eating, purging, the combination of LOC eating/and purging, and weighing behavior. Negative affect also significantly decreased following the occurrence of these behaviors. These findings are consistent with the idea that that negative affect is potentially a critical maintenance mechanism of some AN symptoms, but that the analytic approach used to examine affect and behavior may have significant implications on the interpretation of findings. PMID:24016011

OXTR polymorphism predicts social relationships through its effects on social temperament.

PubMed

Creswell, Kasey G; Wright, Aidan G C; Troxel, Wendy M; Ferrell, Robert E; Flory, Janine D; Manuck, Stephen B

2015-06-01

Humans have a fundamental need for strong interpersonal bonds, yet individuals differ appreciably in their degree of social integration. That these differences are also substantially heritable has spurred interest in biological mechanisms underlying the quality and quantity of individuals' social relationships. We propose that polymorphic variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) associates with complex social behaviors and social network composition through intermediate effects on negative affectivity and the psychological processing of socially relevant information. We tested a hypothesized social cascade from the molecular level (OXTR variation) to the social environment, through negative affectivity and inhibited sociality, in a sample of 1295 men and women of European American (N = 1081) and African American (N = 214) ancestry. Compared to European Americans having any T allele of rs1042778, individuals homozygous for the alternate G allele reported significantly lower levels of negative affectivity and inhibited sociality, which in turn predicted significantly higher levels of social support and a larger/more diverse social network. Moreover, the effect of rs1042778 variation on social support was fully accounted for by associated differences in negative affectivity and inhibited sociality. Results replicated in the African American sample. Findings suggest that OXTR variation modulates levels of social support via proximal impacts on individual temperament. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Emotional processing and self-control in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

PubMed

Hughes, Amy E; Berg, Cynthia A; Wiebe, Deborah J

2012-09-01

This study examined whether emotional processing (understanding emotions), self-control (regulation of thoughts, emotions, and behavior), and their interaction predicted HbA1c for adolescents with type 1 diabetes over and above diabetes-specific constructs. Self-report measures of self-control, emotional processing, self-efficacy for diabetes management, diabetes-specific negative affect, and adherence, and HbA1c from medical records were obtained from 137 adolescents with type 1 diabetes (M age = 13.48 years). Emotional processing interacted with self-control to predict HbA1c, such that when adolescents had both low emotional processing and low self-control, HbA1c was poorest. Also, both high emotional processing and self-control buffered negative effects of low capacity in the other in relation to HbA1c. The interaction of emotional processing × self-control predicted HbA1c over diabetes-specific self-efficacy, negative affect, and adherence. These findings suggest the importance of emotional processing and self-control for health outcomes in adolescents with diabetes.

Emotional Processing and Self-Control in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes

PubMed Central

Hughes, Amy E.; Wiebe, Deborah J.

2012-01-01

Objective This study examined whether emotional processing (understanding emotions), self-control (regulation of thoughts, emotions, and behavior), and their interaction predicted HbA1c for adolescents with type 1 diabetes over and above diabetes-specific constructs. Methods Self-report measures of self-control, emotional processing, self-efficacy for diabetes management, diabetes-specific negative affect, and adherence, and HbA1c from medical records were obtained from 137 adolescents with type 1 diabetes (M age = 13.48 years). Results Emotional processing interacted with self-control to predict HbA1c, such that when adolescents had both low emotional processing and low self-control, HbA1c was poorest. Also, both high emotional processing and self-control buffered negative effects of low capacity in the other in relation to HbA1c. The interaction of emotional processing × self-control predicted HbA1c over diabetes-specific self-efficacy, negative affect, and adherence. Conclusions These findings suggest the importance of emotional processing and self-control for health outcomes in adolescents with diabetes. PMID:22523404

Moments in time: metacognition, trust, and outcomes in dyadic negotiations.

PubMed

Olekalns, Mara; Smith, Philip L

2005-12-01

This research tested the relationships between turning points, cognitive and affective trust, and negotiation outcomes. After completing a simulated negotiation, participants identified turning points from videotape. Turning points were then classified as substantive (interest, offer), characterization (positive, negative), or procedural (positive, negative). Prenegotiation affective trust predicted subsequent turning points, whereas prenegotiation cognitive trust did not, suggesting that different cues influence the two types of trust. Postnegotiation cognitive trust was increased by the occurrence of interest, positive characterization, and positive procedural turning points and decreased by negative characterization turning points. Affective trust was increased by positive procedural turning points. Finally, interest turning points resulted in higher joint outcomes, whereas negative characterization turning points resulted in lower joint outcomes. We conclude that there are two paths to building trust and increasing joint gain, one through insight and one through signaling good faith intentions.

Distracted and down: neural mechanisms of affective interference in subclinical depression.

PubMed

Kaiser, Roselinde H; Andrews-Hanna, Jessica R; Spielberg, Jeffrey M; Warren, Stacie L; Sutton, Bradley P; Miller, Gregory A; Heller, Wendy; Banich, Marie T

2015-05-01

Previous studies have shown that depressed individuals have difficulty directing attention away from negative distractors, a phenomenon known as affective interference. However, findings are mixed regarding the neural mechanisms and network dynamics of affective interference. The present study addressed these issues by comparing neural activation during emotion-word and color-word Stroop tasks in participants with varying levels of (primarily subclinical) depression. Depressive symptoms predicted increased activation to negative distractors in areas of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), regions implicated in cognitive control and internally directed attention, respectively. Increased dACC activity was also observed in the group-average response to incongruent distractors, suggesting that dACC activity during affective interference is related to overtaxed cognitive control. In contrast, regions of PCC were deactivated across the group in response to incongruent distractors, suggesting that PCC activity during affective interference represents task-independent processing. A psychophysiological interaction emerged in which higher depression predicted more positively correlated activity between dACC and PCC during affective interference, i.e. greater connectivity between cognitive control and internal-attention systems. These findings suggest that, when individuals high in depression are confronted by negative material, increased attention to internal thoughts and difficulty shifting resources to the external world interfere with goal-directed behavior. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Self-regulation via neural simulation

PubMed Central

Gilead, Michael; Boccagno, Chelsea; Silverman, Melanie; Hassin, Ran R.; Weber, Jochen; Ochsner, Kevin N.

2016-01-01

Can taking the perspective of other people modify our own affective responses to stimuli? To address this question, we examined the neurobiological mechanisms supporting the ability to take another person’s perspective and thereby emotionally experience the world as they would. We measured participants’ neural activity as they attempted to predict the emotional responses of two individuals that differed in terms of their proneness to experience negative affect. Results showed that behavioral and neural signatures of negative affect (amygdala activity and a distributed multivoxel pattern reflecting affective negativity) simulated the presumed affective state of the target person. Furthermore, the anterior medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)—a region implicated in mental state inference—exhibited a perspective-dependent pattern of connectivity with the amygdala, and the multivoxel pattern of activity within the mPFC differentiated between the two targets. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on perspective-taking and self-regulation. PMID:27551094

The Relationship between Rumination and Affective, Cognitive, and Physiological Responses to Stress in Adolescents.

PubMed

Aldao, Amelia; McLaughlin, Katie A; Hatzenbuehler, Mark L; Sheridan, Margaret A

Although previous studies have established that rumination influences responses to stressful life events, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain inadequately understood. The current study examines the relationship between trait rumination and affective, cognitive, and physiological responses to a standardized laboratory-based stressor in adolescents. A community-based sample of adolescents (N = 157) aged 13-17 completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Affective, cognitive, and physiological responses were obtained before, during, and after the TSST. Adolescents who engaged in habitual rumination experienced greater negative affect and more negative cognitive appraisals in response to the TSST than adolescents with lower levels of rumination. Rumination was unrelated to heart rate reactivity, but predicted slower heart rate recovery from the TSST, indicating that rumination might be specifically associated with physiological recovery from stress. Rumination is associated with negative affective, cognitive, and physiological responses following stressors, suggesting potential mechanisms through which it might increase risk for psychopathology.

Self-management and quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): The mediating effects of positive affect.

PubMed

Benzo, Roberto P; Abascal-Bolado, Beatriz; Dulohery, Megan M

2016-04-01

This study aimed to increase our understanding of general self-management (SM) abilities in COPD by determining if SM can predict disease specific quality of life (QoL), by investigating whether specific SM domains are significant in COPD and by exploring the mediating effect of the positive/negative affect in the association between SM and QoL. Cross-sectional study based on 292 patients with COPD. Measures included demographics, lung function, gait speed, health care utilization, positive/negative affect, SM abilities, breathlessness and disease specific QoL. We performed, correlation, multiple regression models and mediation analysis (positive/negative affect being mediator between SM and QoL association). After controlling for breathlessness, living alone, marital status, hospitalization history, age and lung function, SM related to QoL (p<0.0001). Investment in behaviors (hobbies and social relationships) and self-efficacy are SM domains independently related to QoL in COPD. Positivity measured by the positive/negative affect ratio completely mediates the relationship of SM with QoL. SM is independently associated with disease specific QoL in COPD after adjustment significant covariates but positive/negative affect ratio completely mediates the relationship of SM with QoL. Measuring positive/negative affect and addressing investment behavior and self-efficacy are important in implementing COPD-SM programs. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The alexithymia, emotion regulation, emotion regulation difficulties, positive and negative affects, and suicidal risk in alcohol-dependent outpatients.

PubMed

Ghorbani, Fatemeh; Khosravani, Vahid; Sharifi Bastan, Farangis; Jamaati Ardakani, Razieh

2017-06-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential contributing factors such as alexithymia, emotion regulation and difficulties in emotion regulation, positive/negative affects and clinical factors including severity of alcohol dependence and depression connected to high suicidality in alcohol-dependent outpatients. 205 alcohol-dependent outpatients and 100 normal controls completed the demographic questionnaire, the Persian version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (FTAS-20), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), the Positive/Negative Affect Scales, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). The suicidal risk was assessed using the Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI) and history taking. Alcohol-dependent outpatients showed higher means in alexithymia, difficulties in emotion regulation, suppression subscale, negative affect, and suicide ideation than normal controls. Logistic regression analysis revealed that negative affect, duration of alcohol use, externally-oriented thinking, and severity of alcohol dependence explained lifetime suicide attempts. Depression, impulsivity, severity of alcohol dependence, reappraisal (reversely), externally-oriented thinking, difficulties engaging in goal-directed behaviors, and negative affect significantly predicted the suicidal risk. The findings may constitute useful evidence of the relevancies of alexithymia, emotion regulation, emotion regulation difficulties, and affects to suicidality in alcoholic patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Appraisals to affect: Testing the integrative cognitive model of bipolar disorder.

PubMed

Palmier-Claus, Jasper E; Dodd, Alyson; Tai, Sara; Emsley, Richard; Mansell, Warren

2016-09-01

Cognitive models have suggested that extreme appraisals of affective states and maladaptive affect regulation strategies are important in the development of bipolar symptomatology. Little is known about the pathway by which these appraisals and behaviours interact in the formation of activated and depressed affective states. This study tested the predictions that (1) ascent behaviours mediate the relationship between positive appraisals of activated mood and activation; and (2) descent behaviours mediate the relationship between negative appraisals of activated mood and depression. A total of 52 individuals with a DSM-IV diagnosis of bipolar I or II disorder (confirmed by structured interview) completed biweekly assessments of affect regulation behaviours and mood for 4 weeks. Positive and negative appraisals of affective states were assessed at baseline through the Hypomanic Attitudes and Positive Prediction Inventory. Multilevel mediation analysis was used to explore the data. Ascent behaviours partially mediated the relationship between positive appraisals of activated mood and activation. Descent behaviours, but not negative appraisals of activated mood, predicted levels of depression indicating the absence of a mediation effect. The results suggest that positive appraisals of activated mood can escalate activation in individuals with bipolar disorder. Such appraisals may be inherently rewarding and reinforcing directly elevating levels of activation, whilst increasing individuals' use of ascent behaviours. The results are consistent with the view that appraisals and behaviours should be targeted during cognitive behavioural therapy for bipolar disorder. It may be beneficial to target positive appraisals of activated mood in cognitive behavioural therapy for mania. Cognitive behavioural therapists may also wish to focus on identifying and targeting individuals' use of ascent behaviours to reduce highly activated states. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Trajectories of affective states in adolescent hockey players: turning point and motivational antecedents.

PubMed

Gaudreau, Patrick; Amiot, Catherine E; Vallerand, Robert J

2009-03-01

This study examined longitudinal trajectories of positive and negative affective states with a sample of 265 adolescent elite hockey players followed across 3 measurement points during the 1st 11 weeks of a season. Latent class growth modeling, incorporating a time-varying covariate and a series of predictors assessed at the onset of the season, was used to chart out distinct longitudinal trajectories of affective states. Results provided evidence for 3 trajectories of positive affect and 3 trajectories of negative affect. Two of these trajectories were deflected by team selection, a seasonal turning point occurring after the 1st measurement point. Furthermore, the trajectories of positive and negative affective states were predicted by theoretically driven predictors assessed at the start of the season (i.e., self-determination, need satisfaction, athletic identity, and school identity). These results contribute to a better understanding of the motivational, social, and identity-related processes associated with the distinct affective trajectories of athletes participating in elite sport during adolescence.

The Effects of Oncologist Implicit Racial Bias in Racially Discordant Oncology Interactions

PubMed Central

Dovidio, John F.; Gonzalez, Richard; Albrecht, Terrance L.; Chapman, Robert; Foster, Tanina; Harper, Felicity W.K.; Hagiwara, Nao; Hamel, Lauren M.; Shields, Anthony F.; Gadgeel, Shirish; Simon, Michael S.; Griggs, Jennifer J.; Eggly, Susan

2016-01-01

Purpose Health providers’ implicit racial bias negatively affects communication and patient reactions to many medical interactions. However, its effects on racially discordant oncology interactions are largely unknown. Thus, we examined whether oncologist implicit racial bias has similar effects in oncology interactions. We further investigated whether oncologist implicit bias negatively affects patients’ perceptions of recommended treatments (i.e., degree of confidence, expected difficulty). We predicted oncologist implicit bias would negatively affect communication, patient reactions to interactions, and, indirectly, patient perceptions of recommended treatments. Methods Participants were 18 non-black medical oncologists and 112 black patients. Oncologists completed an implicit racial bias measure several weeks before video-recorded treatment discussions with new patients. Observers rated oncologist communication and recorded interaction length of time and amount of time oncologists and patients spoke. Following interactions, patients answered questions about oncologists’ patient-centeredness and difficulty remembering contents of the interaction, distress, trust, and treatment perceptions. Results As predicted, oncologists higher in implicit racial bias had shorter interactions, and patients and observers rated these oncologists’ communication as less patient-centered and supportive. Higher implicit bias also was associated with more patient difficulty remembering contents of the interaction. In addition, oncologist implicit bias indirectly predicted less patient confidence in recommended treatments, and greater perceived difficulty completing them, through its impact on oncologists’ communication (as rated by both patients and observers). Conclusion Oncologist implicit racial bias is negatively associated with oncologist communication, patients’ reactions to racially discordant oncology interactions, and patient perceptions of recommended treatments. These perceptions could subsequently directly affect patient-treatment decisions. Thus, implicit racial bias is a likely source of racial treatment disparities and must be addressed in oncology training and practice. PMID:27325865

The Effects of Oncologist Implicit Racial Bias in Racially Discordant Oncology Interactions.

PubMed

Penner, Louis A; Dovidio, John F; Gonzalez, Richard; Albrecht, Terrance L; Chapman, Robert; Foster, Tanina; Harper, Felicity W K; Hagiwara, Nao; Hamel, Lauren M; Shields, Anthony F; Gadgeel, Shirish; Simon, Michael S; Griggs, Jennifer J; Eggly, Susan

2016-08-20

Health providers' implicit racial bias negatively affects communication and patient reactions to many medical interactions. However, its effects on racially discordant oncology interactions are largely unknown. Thus, we examined whether oncologist implicit racial bias has similar effects in oncology interactions. We further investigated whether oncologist implicit bias negatively affects patients' perceptions of recommended treatments (i.e., degree of confidence, expected difficulty). We predicted oncologist implicit bias would negatively affect communication, patient reactions to interactions, and, indirectly, patient perceptions of recommended treatments. Participants were 18 non-black medical oncologists and 112 black patients. Oncologists completed an implicit racial bias measure several weeks before video-recorded treatment discussions with new patients. Observers rated oncologist communication and recorded interaction length of time and amount of time oncologists and patients spoke. Following interactions, patients answered questions about oncologists' patient-centeredness and difficulty remembering contents of the interaction, distress, trust, and treatment perceptions. As predicted, oncologists higher in implicit racial bias had shorter interactions, and patients and observers rated these oncologists' communication as less patient-centered and supportive. Higher implicit bias also was associated with more patient difficulty remembering contents of the interaction. In addition, oncologist implicit bias indirectly predicted less patient confidence in recommended treatments, and greater perceived difficulty completing them, through its impact on oncologists' communication (as rated by both patients and observers). Oncologist implicit racial bias is negatively associated with oncologist communication, patients' reactions to racially discordant oncology interactions, and patient perceptions of recommended treatments. These perceptions could subsequently directly affect patient-treatment decisions. Thus, implicit racial bias is a likely source of racial treatment disparities and must be addressed in oncology training and practice. © 2016 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

When managers and their teams disagree: a longitudinal look at the consequences of differences in perceptions of organizational support.

PubMed

Bashshur, Michael R; Hernández, Ana; González-Romá, Vicente

2011-05-01

The authors argue that over time the difference between team members' perception of the organizational support received by the team (or team climate for organizational support) and their manager's perception of the organizational support received by the team has an effect on important outcomes and emergent states, such as team performance and team positive and negative affect above and beyond the main effects of climate perceptions themselves. With a longitudinal sample of 179 teams at Time 1 and 154 teams at Time 2, the authors tested their predictions using a combined polynomial regression and response surface analyses approach. The results supported the authors' predictions. When team managers and team members' perceptions of organizational support were high and in agreement, outcomes were maximized. When team managers and team members disagreed, team negative affect increased and team performance and team positive affect decreased. The negative effects of disagreement were most amplified when managers perceived that the team received higher levels of support than did the team itself.

Dimensions of depressive symptoms and smoking cessation.

PubMed

Leventhal, Adam M; Ramsey, Susan E; Brown, Richard A; LaChance, Heather R; Kahler, Christopher W

2008-03-01

Because different psychopathologic components of depressive symptoms may have distinct etiologies, examining their differential effects on smoking cessation may elucidate mechanisms underlying the smoking-depression relationship. Negative affect (NA), somatic features (SF), low positive affect/anhedonia (PA), and interpersonal disturbance (IP) have been identified as unique dimensions of depression that can be measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD). This study examined common and unique associations between CESD subscales and baseline smoking characteristics, nicotine withdrawal, and relapse in 157 participants enrolled in a smoking cessation trial for heavy social drinkers. Each dimension was univariately associated with negative and positive reinforcement smoking motives. Only SF had unique relations with tolerance smoking motives and univariate associations with nicotine dependence severity. Only PA predicted cessation-related changes in withdrawal symptoms on quit day. Analyses predicting abstinence at 8, 16, and 26 weeks post quit date showed that NA, SF, and PA each univariately predicted relapse, ps< or =.0083. Only low PA predicted poorer outcomes incrementally to the other dimensions, even when controlling for level of nicotine dependence, smoking frequency, and history of major depression, p = .0018. Interventions targeting anhedonia and low positive affect may be useful for smokers trying to quit.

Nightmares in the general population: identifying potential causal factors.

PubMed

Rek, Stephanie; Sheaves, Bryony; Freeman, Daniel

2017-09-01

Nightmares are inherently distressing, prevent restorative sleep, and are associated with a number of psychiatric problems, but have rarely been the subject of empirical study. Negative affect, linked to stressful events, is generally considered the key trigger of nightmares; hence nightmares have most often been considered in the context of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, many individuals with heightened negative affect do not have nightmares. The objective of this study was to identify mechanistically plausible factors, beyond negative affect, that may explain why individuals experience nightmares. 846 participants from the UK general population completed an online survey about nightmare occurrence and severity (pre-occupation, distress, and impairment), negative affect, worry, depersonalisation, hallucinatory experiences, paranoia, alcohol use, sleep duration, physical activity levels, PTSD symptoms, and stressful life events. Associations of nightmares with the putative predictive factors were tested controlling for levels of negative affect. Analyses were also repeated controlling for levels of PTSD and the recent occurrence of stressful life events. Nightmare occurrence, adjusting for negative affect, was associated with higher levels of worry, depersonalisation, hallucinatory experiences, paranoia, and sleep duration (odds ratios 1.25-1.45). Nightmare severity, controlling for negative affect, was associated with higher levels of worry, depersonalisation, hallucinatory experiences, and paranoia (R 2 s: 0.33-0.39). Alcohol use and physical activity levels were not associated with nightmares. The study identifies a number of potential predictors of the occurrence and severity of nightmares. Causal roles require testing in future longitudinal, experimental, and treatment studies.

Issues in the Development of the AIDMAN VISION SCREENER

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-01

relationship between the P-T ratio and disease prevalence . As indicated in the bottom portion of Figure 2, the predictive value of any screening test is...absence of disease/injury The Importance of Disease/Injury Prevalence Disease Prevalence - (TP + FN) / TOTAL The specificity and sensitivity The positive...and negative (and their corresponding inverses) predictive values of a given test of a given test are not affected by disease prevalence ! are affected

Pain-Contingent Interruption and Resumption of Work Goals: A Within-Day Diary Analysis

PubMed Central

Okun, Morris; Karoly, Paul; Mun, Chung Jung; Kim, Hanjoe

2015-01-01

Daily pain-related attributions for and negative affective reactions to the non-pursuit of work goals and individual differences in chronic pain severity and stress were used to predict work goal resumption in a sample of 131 adults with chronic pain. Variables were assessed via questionnaires and a 21-day diary. On days when participants reported non-pursuit of work goals in the afternoon, increases in pain-related attributions for goal interruption were positively associated with higher negative affective reactions which, in turn, were associated with an increased likelihood of same-day work goal resumption. Stress amplified the relation between pain-related attributions and negative affective reactions, and chronic pain severity was positively related to work goal resumption. PMID:26460172

Cognitive correlates of anxious and depressive symptomatology: an examination of the Helplessness/Hopelessness model.

PubMed

Waikar, S V; Craske, M G

1997-01-01

Expectancies about future life events were assessed in anxious and depressed patients to test predictions of the Helplessness/Hopelessness model of anxiety and depression (Alloy, Kelly, Mineka, & Clements, 1990). In addition to expectancies for future events, patients from affective and anxiety treatment clinics completed anxiety and depression symptom ratings and positive and negative affects scales. Findings revealed partial support for the model. Negative outcome and helplessness expectancies were related specifically to depression. Cognitions regarding future positive events were interrelated and associated with symptom measures more strongly than were cognitions regarding negative events. Additionally, positive affects was more strongly related to depression than to anxiety symptom ratings. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

Affective temperaments play an important role in the relationship between childhood abuse and depressive symptoms in major depressive disorder.

PubMed

Toda, Hiroyuki; Inoue, Takeshi; Tsunoda, Tomoya; Nakai, Yukiei; Tanichi, Masaaki; Tanaka, Teppei; Hashimoto, Naoki; Takaesu, Yoshikazu; Nakagawa, Shin; Kitaichi, Yuji; Boku, Shuken; Tanabe, Hajime; Nibuya, Masashi; Yoshino, Aihide; Kusumi, Ichiro

2016-02-28

Previous studies have shown that various factors, such as genetic and environmental factors, contribute to the development of major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of this study is to clarify how multiple factors, including affective temperaments, childhood abuse and adult life events, are involved in the severity of depressive symptoms in MDD. A total of 98 participants with MDD were studied using the following self-administered questionnaire surveys: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 measuring the severity of depressive symptoms; Life Experiences Survey (LES) measuring negative and positive adult life events; Temperament Evaluation of the Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego auto-questionnaire (TEMPS-A) measuring affective temperaments; and the Child Abuse and Trauma Scale (CATS) measuring childhood abuse. The data were analyzed using single and multiple regression analyses and structural equation modeling (SEM). The neglect score reported by CATS indirectly predicted the severity of depressive symptoms through affective temperaments measured by TEMPS-A in SEM. Four temperaments (depressive, cyclothymic, irritable, and anxious) directly predicted the severity of depressive symptoms. The negative change in the LES score also directly predicted severity. This study suggests that childhood abuse, especially neglect, indirectly increases the severity of depressive symptoms through increased scores of affective temperaments in MDD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Affective personality as cognitive-emotional presymptom profiles regulatory for self-reported health predispositions.

PubMed

Archer, T; Adolfsson, B; Karlsson, E

2008-08-01

Three studies that examined the links between affective personality, as constructed from responses to the Positive Affect (PA) and Negative Affect (NA) Scale (PANAS), and individuals' self-report of self-esteem, intrinsic motivation and Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) depression in high school students and persons in working occupations are described. Self-report estimations of several other neuropsychiatric and psychosocial variables including, the Uppsala Sleep Inventory (USI), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) test, Dispositional optimism, Locus of control, the Subjective Stress Experience test (SSE) and the Stress-Energy (SE) test, were also derived. Marked effects due to affective personality type upon somatic and psychological stress, anxiety and depression, self-esteem, internal and external locus of control, optimism, stress and energy, intrinsic motivation, external regulation, identified regulation, major sleep problems, problems falling asleep, and psychophysiological problems were observed; levels of self-esteem, self-motivation and BDI-depression all produced substantial effects on health and well-being. Regression analyses indicated PA was predicted by dispositional optimism (thrice), energy (thrice), and intrinsic motivation, and counter predicted by depression (twice) and stress (twice); and NA by anxiety (twice), stress (twice), psychological stress, identified regulation, BDI depression and psychophysiological problems, and counter predicted by internal locus of control and self-esteem. BDI-depression was predicted by negative affect, major sleep problems and psychophysiological problems (Study III), self-esteem by dispositional optimism and energy, and counter predicted by anxiety, depression and stress (Study I), and intrinsic motivation by dispositional optimism, energy, PA and self-esteem (Study II). These convergent findings are interpreted from a perspective of the cognitive-emotional expressions underlying behavioural or presymptomatic profiles presenting predispositions for health or ill health.

Neural activity during affect labeling predicts expressive writing effects on well-being: GLM and SVM approaches

PubMed Central

Memarian, Negar; Torre, Jared B.; Haltom, Kate E.; Stanton, Annette L.

2017-01-01

Abstract Affect labeling (putting feelings into words) is a form of incidental emotion regulation that could underpin some benefits of expressive writing (i.e. writing about negative experiences). Here, we show that neural responses during affect labeling predicted changes in psychological and physical well-being outcome measures 3 months later. Furthermore, neural activity of specific frontal regions and amygdala predicted those outcomes as a function of expressive writing. Using supervised learning (support vector machines regression), improvements in four measures of psychological and physical health (physical symptoms, depression, anxiety and life satisfaction) after an expressive writing intervention were predicted with an average of 0.85% prediction error [root mean square error (RMSE) %]. The predictions were significantly more accurate with machine learning than with the conventional generalized linear model method (average RMSE: 1.3%). Consistent with affect labeling research, right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (RVLPFC) and amygdalae were top predictors of improvement in the four outcomes. Moreover, RVLPFC and left amygdala predicted benefits due to expressive writing in satisfaction with life and depression outcome measures, respectively. This study demonstrates the substantial merit of supervised machine learning for real-world outcome prediction in social and affective neuroscience. PMID:28992270

Criterion and incremental validity of the emotion regulation questionnaire

PubMed Central

Ioannidis, Christos A.; Siegling, A. B.

2015-01-01

Although research on emotion regulation (ER) is developing, little attention has been paid to the predictive power of ER strategies beyond established constructs. The present study examined the incremental validity of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross and John, 2003), which measures cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, over and above the Big Five personality factors. It also extended the evidence for the measure's criterion validity to yet unexamined criteria. A university student sample (N = 203) completed the ERQ, a measure of the Big Five, and relevant cognitive and emotion-laden criteria. Cognitive reappraisal predicted positive affect beyond personality, as well as experiential flexibility and constructive self-assertion beyond personality and affect. Expressive suppression explained incremental variance in negative affect beyond personality and in experiential flexibility beyond personality and general affect. No incremental effects were found for worry, social anxiety, rumination, reflection, and preventing negative emotions. Implications for the construct validity and utility of the ERQ are discussed. PMID:25814967

The combined effects of self-referent information processing and ruminative responses on adolescent depression.

PubMed

Black, Stephanie Winkeljohn; Pössel, Patrick

2013-08-01

Adolescents who develop depression have worse interpersonal and affective experiences and are more likely to develop substance problems and/or suicidal ideation compared to adolescents who do not develop depression. This study examined the combined effects of negative self-referent information processing and rumination (i.e., brooding and reflection) on adolescent depressive symptoms. It was hypothesized that the interaction of negative self-referent information processing and brooding would significantly predict depressive symptoms, while the interaction of negative self-referent information processing and reflection would not predict depressive symptoms. Adolescents (n = 92; 13-15 years; 34.7% female) participated in a 6-month longitudinal study. Self-report instruments measured depressive symptoms and rumination; a cognitive task measured information processing. Path modelling in Amos 19.0 analyzed the data. The interaction of negative information processing and brooding significantly predicted an increase in depressive symptoms 6 months later. The interaction of negative information processing and reflection did not significantly predict depression, however, the model not meet a priori standards to accept the null hypothesis. Results suggest clinicians working with adolescents at-risk for depression should consider focusing on the reduction of brooding and negative information processing to reduce long-term depressive symptoms.

Watchful Waiting for Cases of Pediatric Otitis Media: Modeling Parental Response to Physician Advice.

PubMed

MacGeorge, Erina L; Smith, Rachel A; Caldes, Emily P; Hackman, Nicole M

2016-08-01

Watchful waiting (WW) can reduce unnecessary antibiotic use in the treatment of pediatric otitis media (ear infection), but its utility is impaired by underutilization and noncompliance. Guided by advice response theory, the current study proposes advantage and capacity as factors that predict how caregivers evaluate and respond affectively to WW. Parents (N = 373) of at least 1 child age 5 years or younger completed questionnaires that assessed responses to hypothetical WW advice for their youngest child. Perceptions of advantage from WW and the capacity to monitor and manage symptoms predicted advice quality, physician trust, and future compliance both directly and indirectly through negative affect. The findings suggest the elaboration of advice response theory to include more aspects of advice content evaluation (e.g., advantage) and the influence of negative affect. The study also provides practical guidance for physicians seeking to improve caregiver reception of WW advice.

Affective Determinants of Anxiety and Depression Development in Children and Adolescents: An Individual Growth Curve Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Bolle, Marleen; De Clercq, Barbara; Decuyper, Mieke; De Fruyt, Filip

2011-01-01

The tripartite model (in Clark and Watson, "J Abnorm Psychol" 100:316-336, 1991) comprises Negative Affect (NA), Positive Affect (PA), and Physiological Hyperarousal (PH), three temperamental-based dimensions. The current study examined the tripartite model's assumptions that (a) NA interacts with PA to predict subsequent depressive (but not…

Responses to Positive Affect Predict Mood Symptoms in Children under Conditions of Stress: A Prospective Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bijttebier, Patricia; Raes, Filip; Vasey, Michael W.; Feldman, Gregory C.

2012-01-01

Rumination to negative affect has been linked to the onset and maintenance of mood disorders in adults as well as children. Responses to positive affect have received far less attention thus far. A few recent studies in adults suggest that responses to positive affect are involved in the development of both depressive and hypomanic symptoms, but…

Effect of workplace incivility on end-of-work negative affect: examining individual and organizational moderators in a daily diary study.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhiqing E; Yan, Yu; Che, Xin Xuan; Meier, Laurenz L

2015-01-01

Although previous studies have linked workplace incivility with various negative outcomes, they mainly focused on the long-term effects of chronic exposure to workplace incivility, whereas targets' short-term reactions to incivility episodes have been largely neglected. Using a daily diary design, the current study examined effects of daily workplace incivility on end-of-work negative affect and explored potential individual and organizational moderators. Data collected from 76 full-time employees across 10 consecutive working days revealed that daily workplace incivility positively predicted end-of-work negative affect while controlling for before-work negative affect. Further, the relationship was stronger for people with low emotional stability, high hostile attribution bias, external locus of control, and people experiencing low chronic workload and more chronic organizational constraints, as compared with people with high emotional stability, low hostile attribution bias, internal locus of control, and people experiencing high chronic workload and fewer chronic organizational constraints, respectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved). PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Past racial discrimination exacerbates the acute effects of racial discrimination on negative affect, perceived control, and alcohol-risk cognitions among Black young adults

PubMed Central

Stock, Michelle L.; Peterson, Laurel M.; Molloy, Brianne; Lambert, Sharon F.

2017-01-01

Racial discrimination is associated with alcohol use and risky sex cognitions and behaviors, which are risk factors for negative health outcomes, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The current study investigated the causal impact of racial discrimination on alcohol and sexual-risk cognitions while exploring potential mediators that might help explain this relation: negative affect, perceived control, and meaningful existence. We also examined if past discrimination impacts the strength of (moderates) these effects. Participants were 287 Black/African American young adults aged 18 to 25. They were randomly assigned to be excluded or included by White peers via the game Cyberball. Racial exclusion (vs. inclusion) predicted greater: perceived racial discrimination, negative affect, alcohol use willingness, and reduced perceived control and meaningful existence. Furthermore, excluded participants who experienced more past racial discrimination reported the lowest perceived control, and greatest negative affect and alcohol-risk cognitions. The findings suggest that past racial discrimination exacerbates the harmful health effects of immediate experiences of discrimination. PMID:27646550

Age differences in psychosocial predictors of positive and negative affect: a longitudinal investigation of young, midlife, and older adults.

PubMed

Windsor, Tim D; Anstey, Kaarin J

2010-09-01

Research has consistently shown that despite aging-related losses, older adults have high levels of emotional well-being relative to those in young and midlife adults. We aimed to contribute to knowledge around the factors that predict emotional well-being over the life course by examining age group differences in associations of positive and negative social exchanges and mastery beliefs with positive and negative affect in a sample of 7,472 young, midlife, and older adults assessed on 2 measurement occasions, 4 years apart. Results from structural equation models indicated lower levels of negative affect with advancing age. Mastery was consistently related to higher well-being, with the strongest associations evident for young adults. Older adults reported the most frequent positive and least frequent negative social exchanges; however, associations of social relations with affect tended to be stronger among young and midlife adults relative to older adults. Results are discussed in the context of life course perspectives on goal orientations and self-regulatory processes. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Stress and puberty-related hormone reactivity, negative emotionality, and parent--adolescent relationships.

PubMed

Marceau, Kristine; Dorn, Lorah D; Susman, Elizabeth J

2012-08-01

Hormone reactivity to stressors and hormones that rapidly change at puberty are hypothesized to influence moods, which may in turn affect parent-child relationship quality. The present study investigated whether reactivity of testosterone, DHEA, and cortisol in a clinic setting (venipuncture paradigm) predicted negative emotionality and family problems at Time 1 (0 months), Time 2 (6 months), and Time 3 (12 months) in a sample of 56 boys (M = 12.72, SD = 1.32 years) and 52 girls (M = 11.99, SD = 1.55 years). Reactivity of each hormone, negative emotionality, and family problems were measured at each of three laboratory visits. Testosterone reactivity at the first assessment predicted family problems one year later. DHEA stress reactivity was related to concurrent negative emotionality at six and 12 months. Cortisol reactivity did not predict negative emotionality or family problems. Reactivity of different hormones that change at puberty may play an important role in adolescent moods and family processes during puberty. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tobacco exposure and maternal psychopathology: Impact on toddler problem behavior.

PubMed

Godleski, Stephanie A; Eiden, Rina D; Schuetze, Pamela; Colder, Craig R; Huestis, Marilyn A

Prenatal exposure to tobacco has consistently predicted later problem behavior for children. However, little is known about developmental mechanisms underlying this association. We examined a conceptual model for the association between prenatal tobacco exposure and child problem behavior in toddlerhood via indirect paths through fetal growth, maternal depression, and maternal aggressive disposition in early infancy and via maternal warmth and sensitivity and infant negative affect in later infancy. The sample consisted of 258 mother-child dyads recruited during pregnancy and assessed periodically at 2, 9, and 16months of child age. Pathways via maternal depression and infant negative affect to toddler problem behavior were significant. Further, combined tobacco and marijuana exposure during pregnancy and reduced fetal growth also demonstrated important associations with infant negative affect and subsequent problem behavior. These results highlight the importance of considering the role of maternal negative affect and poor fetal growth as risk factors in the context of prenatal exposure. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Relations among early adolescents' parent-adolescent attachment, perceived social competence, and friendship quality.

PubMed

Boling, Melissa W; Barry, Carolyn McNamara; Kotchick, Beth A; Lowry, Jen

2011-12-01

To assess whether the relation between attachment and friendship quality may be explained by social competence, 113 students in Grades 7 and 8 from the Baltimore metropolitan area completed self-report questionnaires on the variables of interest. In hierarchical regression analyses, both maternal Affective Quality of Attachment and the interaction of School with paternal Affective Quality of Attachment predicted social competence. Also, the interaction of School with paternal Affective Quality of Attachment predicted negative friendship features, whereas social competence predicted positive friendship features. These findings provide support for a pathway between adolescents' attachment to both parents and adolescents' perceived social competence and, in turn, their friendship quality.

Parenting styles, parental response to child emotion, and family emotional responsiveness are related to child emotional eating.

PubMed

Topham, Glade L; Hubbs-Tait, Laura; Rutledge, Julie M; Page, Melanie C; Kennedy, Tay S; Shriver, Lenka H; Harrist, Amanda W

2011-04-01

The aim of the present study was to examine the relations of parenting style, parent response to negative child emotion, and family emotional expressiveness and support to child emotional eating. Mothers (N=450) completed questionnaires and their 6-8-year-old children (N=450) were interviewed. Results showed that emotional eating was negatively predicted by authoritative parenting style and family open expression of affection and emotion, and positively predicted by parent minimizing response to child negative emotion. Results suggest the need for early prevention/intervention efforts directed to these parenting and family variables. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A longitudinal analysis of drinking motives moderating the negative affect-drinking association among college students.

PubMed

Armeli, Stephen; Conner, Tamlin S; Cullum, Jerry; Tennen, Howard

2010-03-01

We examined among college students (N = 530; 276 women) the moderating effects of avoidance (coping) and appetitive (social-enhancement) drinking motives on the within-person associations between anxious and depressive affect and drinking frequency and quantity. Once per year for up to 4 years participants completed standard measures of drinking motives and retrospective reports of affect and drinking in the previous month. In addition, each year they completed a 30-day daily diary of affect and drinking. Results from models examining both the retrospective and aggregate daily data indicated that individuals with high compared with low social-enhancement motives showed stronger positive associations among changes in monthly negative affect and drinking frequency. Weak evidence was found for the predicted moderating effects of coping motives, although some results indicated that its effects were contingent on levels of social-enhancement motives. Our findings suggest that appetitive drinking motives might play an integral role in stress- and negative-affect related drinking among college students.

Natural hazards and motivation for mitigation behavior: people cannot predict the affect evoked by a severe flood.

PubMed

Siegrist, Michael; Gutscher, Heinz

2008-06-01

Past research indicates that personal flood experience is an important factor in motivating mitigation behavior. It is not fully clear, however, why such experience is so important. This study tested the hypothesis that people without flooding experience underestimate the negative affect evoked by such an event. People who were affected by a severe recent flood disaster were compared with people who were not affected, but who also lived in flood-prone areas. Face-to-face interviews with open and closed questions were conducted (n= 201). Results suggest that people without flood experience envisaged the consequences of a flood differently from people who had actually experienced severe losses due to a flood. People who were not affected strongly underestimated the negative affect associated with a flood. Based on the results, it can be concluded that risk communication must not focus solely on technical aspects; in order to trigger motivation for mitigation behavior, successful communication must also help people to envisage the negative emotional consequences of natural disasters.

Need for Affect and Attitudes Toward Drugs: The Mediating Role of Values.

PubMed

Lins de Holanda Coelho, Gabriel; H P Hanel, Paul; Vilar, Roosevelt; P Monteiro, Renan; Gouveia, Valdiney V; R Maio, Gregory

2018-05-04

Human values and affective traits were found to predict attitudes toward the use of different types of drugs (e.g., alcohol, marijuana, and other illegal drugs). In this study (N = 196, M age = 23.09), we aimed to gain a more comprehensive understanding of those predictors of attitudes toward drug use in a mediated structural equation model, providing a better overview of a possible motivational path that drives to such a risky behavior. Specifically, we predicted and found that the relations between need for affect and attitudes toward drug use were mediated by excitement values. Also, results showed that excitement values and need for affect positively predicted attitudes toward the use of drugs, whereas normative values predicted it negatively. The pattern of results remained the same when we investigated attitudes toward alcohol, marijuana, or illegal drugs separately. Overall, the findings indicate that emotions operate via excitement and normative values to influence risk behavior.

The interactive role of distress tolerance and eating expectancies in bulimic symptoms among substance abusers.

PubMed

Lavender, Jason M; Happel, Kate; Anestis, Michael D; Tull, Matthew T; Gratz, Kim L

2015-01-01

Difficulties tolerating distress and the expectancy that eating will relieve negative affect have been linked with bulimic symptoms, which commonly co-occur with other forms of psychopathology characterized by emotion dysregulation (e.g., substance abuse). Indeed, problems with emotional functioning may be of particular relevance to bulimic symptoms in at-risk populations with heightened emotion dysregulation (such as substance use disorder patients). This study examined the interactive role of two emotion-related constructs (distress tolerance and the expectancy that eating relieves negative affect) in relation to bulimic symptoms among patients (N=93) recruited from a residential substance abuse treatment facility. Participants completed the Bulimia Test-Revised, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, the Distress Tolerance Scale, and the Eating Expectancy Inventory. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the main effects and interaction of distress tolerance and negative affect eating expectancies in relation to bulimic symptoms, controlling for participant gender and overall negative affect. Significant main effects were found for both distress tolerance and negative affect eating expectancies, and these two constructs were found to significantly interact in the prediction of bulimic symptoms. Interventions that address these constructs may be useful in treating those with bulimic symptoms, as well as those with co-occurring bulimic symptoms and substance use disorders. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Within Your Control? When Problem Solving May Be Most Helpful.

PubMed

Sarfan, Laurel D; Gooch, Peter; Clerkin, Elise M

2017-08-01

Emotion regulation strategies have been conceptualized as adaptive or maladaptive, but recent evidence suggests emotion regulation outcomes may be context-dependent. The present study tested whether the adaptiveness of a putatively adaptive emotion regulation strategy-problem solving-varied across contexts of high and low controllability. The present study also tested rumination, suggested to be one of the most putatively maladaptive strategies, which was expected to be associated with negative outcomes regardless of context. Participants completed an in vivo speech task, in which they were randomly assigned to a controllable ( n = 65) or an uncontrollable ( n = 63) condition. Using moderation analyses, we tested whether controllability interacted with emotion regulation use to predict negative affect, avoidance, and perception of performance. Partially consistent with hypotheses, problem solving was associated with certain positive outcomes (i.e., reduced behavioral avoidance) in the controllable (vs. uncontrollable) condition. Consistent with predictions, rumination was associated with negative outcomes (i.e., desired avoidance, negative affect, negative perception of performance) in both conditions. Overall, findings partially support contextual models of emotion regulation, insofar as the data suggest that the effects of problem solving may be more adaptive in controllable contexts for certain outcomes, whereas rumination may be maladaptive regardless of context.

Personality differences in the susceptibility to stress-eating: The influence of emotional control and impulsivity.

PubMed

Van Blyderveen, Sherry; Lafrance, Adele; Emond, Michael; Kosmerly, Stacey; O'Connor, Megan; Chang, Felicia

2016-12-01

Stress has been associated with deviations from typical eating patterns, with respect to both food choice and overall caloric intake. Both increases and decreases in dietary intake have been previously noted in response to stress. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the affect regulation strategies of emotional control and impulsivity predict susceptibility to eating in response to stress. Specifically, it was anticipated that emotional suppression would predict decreases in caloric intake, whereas impulsivity would predict increases in caloric intake, in response to a stressor. Participants were randomly assigned to view either a video designed to elicit stress or a control video. Food was provided during the video and the amount and type of food consumed was measured. Participants' nutritional intake was greater in the stress condition than in the control condition. One aspect of affect regulation, impulsivity, moderated this relationship, with a tendency for greater impulsivity to be associated with greater caloric intake in the stress condition. The degree of negative affect that participants experienced in the stress condition predicted food choice and overall caloric intake. Both emotional control and impulsivity moderated the relationship between negative affect and both food choice and caloric intake in the stress condition. The present study highlights the importance of considering the personality attributes of both impulsivity and emotional suppression in understanding stress eating. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Living Large: Affect Amplification in Visual Perception Predicts Emotional Reactivity to Events in Daily Life

PubMed Central

Palder, Spencer L.; Ode, Scott; Liu, Tianwei; Robinson, Michael D.

2012-01-01

It was hypothesized that affect-amplifying individuals would be more reactive to affective events in daily life. Affect amplification was quantified in terms of overestimating the font size of positive and negative, relative to neutral, words in a basic perception task. Subsequently, the same (N = 70) individuals completed a daily diary protocol in which they reported on levels of daily stressors, provocations, and social support as well as six emotion-related outcomes for 14 consecutive days. Individual differences in affect amplification moderated reactivity to daily affective events in all such analyses. For example, daily stressor levels predicted cognitive failures at high, but not low, levels of affect amplification. Affect amplification, then, appears to have widespread utility in understanding individual differences in emotional reactivity. PMID:22989107

Positive and negative affect produce opposing task-irrelevant stimulus preexposure effects.

PubMed

Lazar, Josef; Kaplan, Oren; Sternberg, Terri; Lubow, R E

2012-06-01

In three experiments, groups were exposed to either positive or negative affect video clips, after which they were presented with a series of task-irrelevant stimuli. In the subsequent test task, subjects were required to learn an association between the previously irrelevant stimulus and a consequence, and between a new stimulus and a consequence. Induced positive affect produced a latent inhibition effect (poorer evidence of learning with the previously irrelevant stimulus than with the novel stimulus). In opposition to this, induced negative affect resulted in better evidence of learning with a previously irrelevant stimulus than with a novel stimulus. In general, the opposing effects also were present in participants scoring high on self-report questionnaires of depression (Experiments 2 and 3). These unique findings were predicted and accounted for on the basis of two principles: (a) positive affect broadens the attentional field and negative affect contracts it; and (b) task-irrelevant stimuli are processed in two successive stages, the first encodes stimulus properties, and the second encodes stimulus relationships. The opposing influences of negative and positive mood on the processing of irrelevant stimuli have implications for the role of emotion in general theories of cognition, and possibly for resolving some of the inconsistent findings in research with schizophrenia patients.

Abnormal GABAergic function and negative affect in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Taylor, Stephan F; Demeter, Elise; Phan, K Luan; Tso, Ivy F; Welsh, Robert C

2014-03-01

Deficits in the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system have been reported in postmortem studies of schizophrenia, and therapeutic interventions in schizophrenia often involve potentiation of GABA receptors (GABAR) to augment antipsychotic therapy and treat negative affect such as anxiety. To map GABAergic mechanisms associated with processing affect, we used a benzodiazepine challenge while subjects viewed salient visual stimuli. Fourteen stable, medicated schizophrenia/schizoaffective patients and 13 healthy comparison subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging using the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) technique while they viewed salient emotional images. Subjects received intravenous lorazepam (LRZ; 0.01 mg/kg) or saline in a single-blinded, cross-over design (two sessions separated by 1-3 weeks). A predicted group by drug interaction was noted in the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) as well as right superior frontal gyrus and left and right occipital regions, such that psychosis patients showed an increased BOLD signal to LRZ challenge, rather than the decreased signal exhibited by the comparison group. A main effect of reduced BOLD signal in bilateral occipital areas was noted across groups. Consistent with the role of the dmPFC in processing emotion, state negative affect positively correlated with the response to the LRZ challenge in the dmPFC for the patients and comparison subjects. The altered response to LRZ challenge is consistent with altered inhibition predicted by postmortem findings of altered GABAR in schizophrenia. These results also suggest that negative affect in schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder is associated-directly or indirectly-with GABAergic function on a continuum with normal behavior.

Smoking-specific experiential avoidance cognition: explanatory relevance to pre- and post-cessation nicotine withdrawal, craving, and negative affect.

PubMed

Farris, Samantha G; Zvolensky, Michael J; Schmidt, Norman B

2015-05-01

Negative-reinforcement based cognitive processes have been implicated in the maintenance of cigarette smoking. Given the expectation that smoking will attenuate aversive internal experiences, smokers may be particularly unwilling to experience or remain in contact with smoking-related distress (i.e., experiential avoidance). Yet, there is little known about a cognitive-based process termed smoking-specific experiential avoidance with regard to withdrawal, craving, or negative affect during a quit attempt. Data were collected from adult daily smokers (n = 259) participating in a larger smoking cessation trial. Pre- and post-quit experiences of nicotine withdrawal, craving, and negative affect were examined in terms of cognitive-based smoking-specific experimental avoidance, measured by the Avoidance and Inflexibility Scale (AIS). Results indicated that baseline smoking-specific experiential avoidance was associated with greater overall levels of withdrawal, craving, and negative affect at treatment initiation (pre-cessation). Reductions in smoking-specific experiential avoidance from baseline to quit day were associated with increased likelihood of quit day abstinence. Such reductions were also predictive of lower levels of nicotine withdrawal, craving, and negative affect on quit day. Also, less reduction in experiential avoidance was associated with experiencing greater withdrawal in the early phase of quitting. The impact of cognitive-based experiential avoidance pertaining to smoking impacts both pre- and post-cessation experiences in terms of negative affect, withdrawal, and smoking cravings and may represent an important treatment target. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of pathological narcissism on interpersonal and affective processes in social interactions.

PubMed

Wright, Aidan G C; Stepp, Stephanie D; Scott, Lori N; Hallquist, Michael N; Beeney, Joseph E; Lazarus, Sophie A; Pilkonis, Paul A

2017-10-01

Narcissism has significant interpersonal costs, yet little research has examined behavioral and affective patterns characteristic of narcissism in naturalistic settings. Here we studied the effect of narcissistic features on the dynamic processes of interpersonal behavior and affect in daily life. We used interpersonal theory to generate transactional models of social interaction (i.e., linkages among perceptions of others' behavior, affect, and one's own behavior) predicted to be characteristic of narcissism. Psychiatric outpatients (N = 102) completed clinical interviews and a 21-day ecological momentary assessment protocol using smartphones. After social interactions (N = 5,781), participants reported on perceptions of their interaction partner's behavior (scored along the dimensions of dominant-submissive and affiliative-quarrelsome), their own affect, and their own behavior. Multilevel structural equation modeling was used to examine dynamic links among behavior and affect across interactions, and the role of narcissism in moderating these links. Results showed that perceptions of others' dominance did not predict dominant behavior, but did predict quarrelsome behavior, and this link was potentiated by narcissism. Furthermore, the link between others' dominance and one's own quarrelsome behavior was mediated by negative affect. Moderated mediation was also found: Narcissism amplified the link between ratings of others' dominance and one's own quarrelsomeness and negative affect. Narcissism did not moderate the link between other dominance and own dominance, nor the link between other affiliation and own affiliation. These results suggest that narcissism is associated with specific interpersonal and affective processes, such that sensitivity to others' dominance triggers antagonistic behavior in daily life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Relationship between negative affect and smoking topography in heavy drinking smokers.

PubMed

Green, ReJoyce; Bujarski, Spencer; Roche, Daniel J O; Ray, Lara A

2016-10-01

Heavy drinking smokers represent a sizeable subgroup of smokers for whom nicotine deprivation and alcohol use increases the urge to smoke in the laboratory and predicts lapses during smoking cessation. The manner in which individuals smoke a cigarette (i.e. smoking topography) provides a reliable index of smoking intensity and reinforcement, yet the effects of affect on smoking topography have not been thoroughly examined in heavy drinking smokers. The current study examined how affect and nicotine deprivation predict smoking behavior as participants (N=27) smoked one cigarette using a smoking topography device after 12-h of nicotine abstinence and after a priming dose of alcohol (target BrAC=0.06g/dl). Primary smoking topography measures were puff volume, velocity, duration, and inter-puff interval (IPI). The effect of nicotine deprivation was measured by the Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Scale (MNWS) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Measures were obtained at baseline (i.e. 12-h of nicotine abstinence and pre-alcohol) and 30-minutes after alcohol administration (i.e. peak BrAC). Results revealed post-priming negative affect significantly moderated the trajectories of puff volume, puff duration and IPI (p's<0.05) over the course of the cigarette, such that those with greater negative affect had flatter slopes for volume and duration and increasingly infrequent puffs. Our results suggest that baseline and post-priming negative affect following nicotine deprivation alters smoking patterns and increases nicotine exposure throughout a single cigarette. Future studies need to examine differential amounts of nicotine deprivation on response to alcohol and smoking in heavy drinking smokers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Affect Dynamics, Affective Forecasting, and Aging

PubMed Central

Nielsen, Lisbeth; Knutson, Brian; Carstensen, Laura L.

2008-01-01

Affective forecasting, experienced affect, and recalled affect were compared in younger and older adults during a task in which participants worked to win and avoid losing small monetary sums. Dynamic changes in affect were measured along valence and arousal dimensions, with probes during both anticipatory and consummatory task phases. Older and younger adults displayed distinct patterns of affect dynamics. Younger adults reported increased negative arousal during loss anticipation and positive arousal during gain anticipation. In contrast, older adults reported increased positive arousal during gain anticipation but showed no increase in negative arousal on trials involving loss anticipation. Additionally, younger adults reported large increases in valence after avoiding an anticipated loss, but older adults did not. Younger, but not older, adults exhibited forecasting errors on the arousal dimension, underestimating increases in arousal during anticipation of gains and losses and overestimating increases in arousal in response to gain outcomes. Overall, the findings are consistent with a growing literature suggesting that older people experience less negative emotion than their younger counterparts and further suggest that they may better predict dynamic changes in affect. PMID:18540748

Differential Predictability of Four Dimensions of Affect Intensity

PubMed Central

Rubin, David C.; Hoyle, Rick H.; Leary, Mark R.

2013-01-01

Individual differences in affect intensity are typically assessed with the Affect Intensity Measure (AIM). Previous factor analyses suggest that the AIM is comprised of four weakly correlated factors: Positive Affectivity, Negative Reactivity, Negative Intensity and Positive Intensity or Serenity. However, little data exist to show whether its four factors relate to other measures differently enough to preclude use of the total scale score. The present study replicated the four-factor solution and found that subscales derived from the four factors correlated differently with criterion variables that assess personality domains, affective dispositions, and cognitive patterns that are associated with emotional reactions. The results show that use of the total AIM score can obscure relationships between specific features of affect intensity and other variables and suggest that researchers should examine the individual AIM subscales. PMID:21707262

Marital conflict and parental responses to infant negative emotions: Relations with toddler emotional regulation.

PubMed

Frankel, Leslie A; Umemura, Tomo; Jacobvitz, Deborah; Hazen, Nancy

2015-08-01

According to family systems theory, children's emotional development is likely to be influenced by family interactions at multiple levels, including marital, mother-child, and father-child interactions, as well as by interrelations between these levels. The purpose of the present study was to examine parents' marital conflict and mothers' and fathers' distressed responses to their infant's negative emotions, assessed when their child was 8 and 24 months old, in addition to interactions between parents' marital conflict and their distressed responses, as predictors of their toddler's negative and flat/withdrawn affect at 24 months. Higher marital conflict during infancy and toddlerhood predicted both increased negative and increased flat/withdrawn affect during toddlerhood. In addition, toddlers' negative (but not flat) affect was related to mothers' distressed responses, but was only related to father's distressed responses when martial conflict was high. Implications of this study for parent education and family intervention were discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neural evidence that inhibition is linked to the affective devaluation of distractors that match the contents of working memory.

PubMed

De Vito, David; Al-Aidroos, Naseem; Fenske, Mark J

2017-05-01

Stimuli appearing as visual distractors subsequently receive more negative affective evaluations than novel items or prior targets of attention. Leading accounts question whether this distractor devaluation effect occurs through evaluative codes that become associated with distractors as a mere artefact of attention-task instructions, or through affective consequences of attentional inhibition when applied to prevent distractor interference. Here we test opposing predictions arising from the evaluative-coding and devaluation-by-inhibition hypotheses using an electrophysiological marker of attentional inhibition in a task that requires participants to avoid interference from abstract-shape distractors presented while maintaining a uniquely-colored stimulus in memory. Consistent with prior research, distractors that matched the colour of the stimulus being held in memory elicited a Pd component of the event-related potential waveform, indicating that their processing was being actively suppressed. Subsequent affective evaluations revealed that memory-matching distractors also received more negative ratings than non-matching distractors or previously-unseen shapes. Moreover, Pd magnitude was greater on trials in which the memory-matching distractors were later rated negatively than on trials preceding positive ratings. These results support the devaluation-by-inhibition hypothesis and strongly suggest that fluctuations in stimulus inhibition are closely associated with subsequent affective evaluations. In contrast, none of the evaluative-coding based predictions were confirmed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

miRNAs in human subcutaneous adipose tissue: Effects of weight loss induced by hypocaloric diet and exercise.

PubMed

Kristensen, Malene M; Davidsen, Peter K; Vigelsø, Andreas; Hansen, Christina N; Jensen, Lars J; Jessen, Niels; Bruun, Jens M; Dela, Flemming; Helge, Jørn W

2017-03-01

Obesity is central in the development of insulin resistance. However, the underlying mechanisms still need elucidation. Dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs; post-transcriptional regulators) in adipose tissue may present an important link. The miRNA expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue from 19 individuals with severe obesity (10 women and 9 men) before and after a 15-week weight loss intervention was studied using genome-wide microarray analysis. The microarray results were validated with RT-qPCR, and pathway enrichment analysis of in silico predicted targets was performed to elucidate the biological consequences of the miRNA dysregulation. Lastly, the messenger RNA (mRNA) and/or protein expression of multiple predicted targets as well as several proteins involved in lipolysis were investigated. The intervention led to upregulation of miR-29a-3p and miR-29a-5p and downregulation of miR-20b-5p. The mRNA and protein expression of predicted targets was not significantly affected by the intervention. However, negative correlations between miR-20b-5p and the protein levels of its predicted target, acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 1, were observed. Several other miRNA-target relationships correlated negatively, indicating possible miRNA regulation, including miR-29a-3p and lipoprotein lipase mRNA levels. Proteins involved in lipolysis were not affected by the intervention. Weight loss influenced several miRNAs, some of which were negatively correlated with predicted targets. These dysregulated miRNAs may affect adipocytokine signaling and forkhead box protein O signaling. © 2017 The Obesity Society.

The role of negative affectivity and negative reactivity to emotions in predicting outcomes in the unified protocol for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders.

PubMed

Sauer-Zavala, Shannon; Boswell, James F; Gallagher, Matthew W; Bentley, Kate H; Ametaj, Amantia; Barlow, David H

2012-09-01

The present study aimed to understand the contributions of both the trait tendency to experience negative emotions and how one relates to such experience in predicting symptom change during participation in the Unified Protocol (UP), a transdiagnostic treatment for emotional disorders. Data were derived from a randomized controlled trial comparing the UP to a waitlist control/delayed-treatment condition. First, effect sizes of pre- to post-treatment change for frequency of negative emotions and several variables measuring reactivity to emotional experience (emotional awareness and acceptance, fear of emotions, and anxiety sensitivity) were examined. Second, the relative contributions of change in negative emotions and emotional reactivity in predicting symptom (clinician-rated anxiety, depression, and severity of principal diagnosis) reductions were investigated. Results suggested that decreases in the frequency of negative emotions and reactivity to emotions following participation in the UP were both large in magnitude. Further, two emotional reactivity variables (fear of emotions and anxiety sensitivity) remained significantly related to symptom outcomes when controlling for negative emotions, and accounted for significant incremental variance in their prediction. These findings lend support to the notion that psychological health depends less on the frequency of negative emotions and more on how one relates to these emotions when they occur. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Syntactic Language Correlates of Written Communication Apprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stacks, Don W.; And Others

A study provided the initial test of a multidimensional instrument based on the idea that syntactic language choice might predict writing apprehension. The test measured six factors: (1) blank page paralysis, (2) general affect toward writing, (3) positive/negative business affect, (4) alternative modes, (5) attitude toward writing competence, and…

Cognitive-Affective Dimensions of Female Orgasm: The Role of Automatic Thoughts and Affect During Sexual Activity.

PubMed

Tavares, Inês M; Laan, Ellen T M; Nobre, Pedro J

2017-06-01

Cognitive-affective factors contribute to female sexual dysfunctions, defined as clinically significant difficulties in the ability to respond sexually or to experience sexual pleasure. Automatic thoughts and affect presented during sexual activity are acknowledged as maintenance factors for these difficulties. However, there is a lack of studies on the influence of these cognitive-affective dimensions regarding female orgasm. To assess the role of automatic thoughts and affect during sexual activity in predicting female orgasm occurrence and to investigate the mediator role of these variables in the relation between sexual activity and orgasm occurrence. Nine hundred twenty-six sexually active heterosexual premenopausal women reported on frequency of sexual activities and frequency of orgasm occurrence, cognitive factors, and social desirability. Participants completed the Sexual Modes Questionnaire-Automatic Thoughts Subscale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and the Socially Desirable Response Set. Multiple linear regressions and mediation analyses were performed, controlling for the effect of covariates such as social desirability, sociodemographic and medical characteristics, and relationship factors. The main outcome measurement was orgasm frequency as predicted and mediated by automatic thoughts and affect experienced during sexual activities. The presence of failure thoughts and lack of erotic thoughts during sexual activity significantly and negatively predicted female orgasm, whereas positive affect experienced during sexual activity significantly and positively predicted female orgasm. Moreover, negative automatic thoughts and positive affect during sexual activity were found to mediate the relation between sexual activity and female orgasm occurrence. These data suggest that the cognitive aspects of sexual involvement are critical to enhancing female orgasm experience and can aid the development of strategies that contemplate the central role of automatic thoughts and of positive emotions experienced during sexual activity. Data were not collected face to face, which constitutes a strength of this study, because it is known that social desirability is lower in self-administered online questionnaires compared with traditional paper-and-pencil questionnaires, particularly for more sensitive sexual issues. The fact that the sample was composed of heterosexual, premenopausal, and relatively young women demands some caution regarding generalization of the present results. The findings support the contribution of cognitive and affective factors to female orgasmic functioning. It is recommended that future research confirm these findings with other samples, particularly clinical samples of women with orgasmic difficulties. Tavares IM, Laan ETM, Nobre PJ. Cognitive-Affective Dimensions of Female Orgasm: The Role of Automatic Thoughts and Affect During Sexual Activity. J Sex Med 2017;14:818-828. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Longitudinal Relations Among Negative Affect, Substance Use and Peer Deviance During the Transition from Middle to Late Adolescence

PubMed Central

Mason, W. Alex; Hitchings, Julia E.; Spoth, Richard L.

2010-01-01

The transition from middle to late adolescence brings challenges that increase risk for emotional, behavioral, and social problems. The nature of the associations among these types of problems is poorly understood. This National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded study examined longitudinal relations among negative affect, substance use, and peer deviance from ages 16 to 18 years. Multiwave youth and parent questionnaire data collected from 429 6thgraders (222 girls) and their families residing in the rural Midwestern United States and recruited in 1993 were analyzed via structural equation modeling. Consistent with the self-medication hypothesis, negative affect statistically predicted increased substance use over time. Implications for theory and prevention are discussed and the study's limitations are noted. PMID:19544145

Multitasking With Television Among Adolescents

PubMed Central

Christensen, Claire G.; Bickham, David; Ross, Craig S.; Rich, Michael

2015-01-01

Using Ecological Momentary Assessment, we explored predictors of adolescents’ television (TV) multitasking behaviors. We investigated whether demographic characteristics (age, gender, race/ethnicity, and maternal education) predict adolescents’ likelihood of multitasking with TV. We also explored whether characteristics of the TV-multitasking moment (affect, TV genre, attention to people, and media multitasking) predict adolescents’ likelihood of paying primary versus secondary attention to TV. Demographic characteristics do not predict TV multitasking. In TV-multitasking moments, primary attention to TV was more likely if adolescents experienced negative affect, watched a drama, or attended to people; it was less likely if they used computers or video games. PMID:26549930

Multitasking With Television Among Adolescents.

PubMed

Christensen, Claire G; Bickham, David; Ross, Craig S; Rich, Michael

Using Ecological Momentary Assessment, we explored predictors of adolescents' television (TV) multitasking behaviors. We investigated whether demographic characteristics (age, gender, race/ethnicity, and maternal education) predict adolescents' likelihood of multitasking with TV. We also explored whether characteristics of the TV-multitasking moment (affect, TV genre, attention to people, and media multitasking) predict adolescents' likelihood of paying primary versus secondary attention to TV. Demographic characteristics do not predict TV multitasking. In TV-multitasking moments, primary attention to TV was more likely if adolescents experienced negative affect, watched a drama, or attended to people; it was less likely if they used computers or video games.

Examining acute bi-directional relationships between affect, physical feeling states, and physical activity in free-living situations using electronic ecological momentary assessment.

PubMed

Liao, Yue; Chou, Chih-Ping; Huh, Jimi; Leventhal, Adam; Dunton, Genevieve

2017-06-01

Current knowledge about the relationship of physical activity with acute affective and physical feeling states is informed largely by lab-based studies, which have limited generalizability to the natural ecology. This study used ecological momentary assessment to assess subjective affective and physical feeling states in free-living settings across 4 days from 110 non-physically active adults (Age M = 40.4, SD = 9.7). Light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were measured objectively by an accelerometer. Multilevel modeling was used to test the bi-directional associations between affective and physical feeling states and LPA/MVPA minutes. Higher positive affect, lower negative affect and fatigue were associated with more MVPA over the subsequent 15 min, while higher negative affect and energy were associated with more LPA over the subsequent 15 and 30 min. Additionally, more LPA and MVPA were associated with feeling more energetic over the subsequent 15 and 30 min, and more LPA was additionally associated with feeling more negative and less tired over the subsequent 15 and 30 min. Positive and negative affective states might serve as antecedents to but not consequences of MVPA in adults' daily lives. Changes in LPA may be predicted and followed by negative affective states. Physical feeling states appear to lead up to and follow changes in both LPA and MVPA.

Social anxiety and the interpretation of positive social events.

PubMed

Alden, Lynn E; Taylor, Charles T; Mellings, Tanna M J B; Laposa, Judith M

2008-05-01

We report four independent studies that examined the relationship between social interaction anxiety and the tendency to interpret positive social events in a threat-maintaining manner. Study 1 described the development of a scale that measures negative interpretations of positive social events, the interpretation of positive events scale (IPES). Study 2 cross-validated the structure of the IPES and established that social interaction anxiety explained significant variance in negative interpretations of positive social events beyond negative affect in general. Study 3 demonstrated that negative interpretation of positive events was significantly greater in a clinical sample of patients with generalized social anxiety disorder (GSAD) than a matched group of non-anxious community controls. In addition, within the GSAD group, the IPES was associated with negative social predictions following a positive interaction. Finally, study 4 confirmed that negative interpretations of positive social events mediated the relationship between social interaction anxiety and low positive affect.

Perceived racism and alcohol consequences among African American and Caucasian college students.

PubMed

Grekin, Emily R

2012-12-01

Few studies have assessed relationships between perceived racism, racism-related stress, and alcohol problems. The current study examined these relationships within the context of tension reduction models of alcohol consumption. Participants were 94 African American and 189 Caucasian college freshmen who completed an online survey assessing perceived racism, alcohol consequences, alcohol consumption, negative affect, and deviant behavior. Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that racism-related stress predicted alcohol consequences for both African American and Caucasian college students, even after controlling for alcohol consumption, negative affect, and behavioral deviance. The frequency of racist events predicted alcohol consequences for Caucasian but not African American students. These findings highlight the need to address racism and racism-related stress in college-based alcohol prevention and intervention efforts. 2013 APA, all rights reserved

Personality domains and traits that predict self-reported aberrant driving behaviours in a southeastern US university sample.

PubMed

Beanland, Vanessa; Sellbom, Martin; Johnson, Alexandria K

2014-11-01

Personality traits are meaningful predictors of many significant life outcomes, including mortality. Several studies have investigated the relationship between specific personality traits and driving behaviours, e.g., aggression and speeding, in an attempt to identify traits associated with elevated crash risk. These studies, while valuable, are limited in that they examine only a narrow range of personality constructs and thus do not necessarily reveal which traits in constellation best predict aberrant driving behaviours. The primary aim of this study was to use a comprehensive measure of personality to investigate which personality traits are most predictive of four types of aberrant driving behaviour (Aggressive Violations, Ordinary Violations, Errors, Lapses) as indicated by the Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ). We recruited 285 young adults (67% female) from a university in the southeastern US. They completed self-report questionnaires including the DBQ and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5, which indexes 5 broad personality domains (Antagonism, Detachment, Disinhibition, Negative Affectivity, Psychoticism) and 25 specific trait facets. Confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate evidence for the DBQ internal structure. Structural regression analyses revealed that the personality domains of Antagonism and Negative Affectivity best predicted both Aggressive Violations and Ordinary Violations, whereas the best predictors of both Errors and Lapses were Negative Affectivity, Disinhibition and to a lesser extent Antagonism. A more nuanced analysis of trait facets revealed that Hostility was the best predictor of Aggressive Violations; Risk-taking and Hostility of Ordinary Violations; Irresponsibility, Separation Insecurity and Attention Seeking of Errors; and Perseveration and Irresponsibility of Lapses. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Acculturation Predicts Negative Affect and Shortened Telomere Length.

PubMed

Ruiz, R Jeanne; Trzeciakowski, Jerome; Moore, Tiffany; Ayers, Kimberly S; Pickler, Rita H

2016-10-12

Chronic stress may accelerate cellular aging. Telomeres, protective "caps" at the end of chromosomes, modulate cellular aging and may be good biomarkers for the effects of chronic stress, including that associated with acculturation. The purpose of this analysis was to examine telomere length (TL) in acculturating Hispanic Mexican American women and to determine the associations among TL, acculturation, and psychological factors. As part of a larger cross-sectional study of 516 pregnant Hispanic Mexican American women, we analyzed DNA in blood samples (N = 56) collected at 22-24 weeks gestation for TL as an exploratory measure using monochrome multiplex quantitative telomere polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We measured acculturation with the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans, depression with the Beck Depression Inventory, discrimination with the Experiences of Discrimination Scale, and stress with the Perceived Stress Scale. TL was negatively moderately correlated with two variables of acculturation: Anglo orientation and greater acculturation-level scores. We combined these scores for a latent variable, acculturation, and we combined depression, stress, and discrimination scores in another latent variable, "negative affectivity." Acculturation and negative affectivity were bidirectionally correlated. Acculturation significantly negatively predicted TL. Using structural equation modeling, we found the model had an excellent fit with the root mean square error of approximation estimate = .0001, comparative fit index = 1.0, Tucker-Lewis index = 1.0, and standardized root mean square residual = .05. The negative effects of acculturation on the health of Hispanic women have been previously demonstrated. Findings from this analysis suggest a link between acculturation and TL, which may indicate accelerated cellular aging associated with overall poor health outcomes. © The Author(s) 2016.

Attributions of responsibility and affective reactions to decision outcomes.

PubMed

Zeelenberg, M; van der Pligt, J; de Vries, N K

2000-06-01

Immediate affective reactions to outcomes are more intense following decisions to act than following decisions not to act. This finding holds for both positive and negative outcomes. We relate this "actor-effect" to attribution theory and argue that decision makers are seen as more responsible for outcomes when these are the result of a decision to act as compared to a decision not to act. Experiment 1 (N = 80) tests the main assumption underlying our reasoning and shows that affective reactions to decision outcomes are indeed more intense when the decision maker is seen as more responsible. Experiment 2 (N = 40) tests whether the actor effect can be predicted on the basis of differential attributions following action and inaction. Participants read vignettes in which active and passive actors obtained a positive or negative outcome. Action resulted in more intense affect than inaction, and positive outcomes resulted in more intense affect than negative outcomes. Experiment 2 further shows that responsibility attributions and affective reactions to outcomes are highly correlated; that is, more extreme affective reactions are associated with more internal attributions. We discuss the implications for research on post-decisional reactions.

Neural activity during affect labeling predicts expressive writing effects on well-being: GLM and SVM approaches.

PubMed

Memarian, Negar; Torre, Jared B; Haltom, Kate E; Stanton, Annette L; Lieberman, Matthew D

2017-09-01

Affect labeling (putting feelings into words) is a form of incidental emotion regulation that could underpin some benefits of expressive writing (i.e. writing about negative experiences). Here, we show that neural responses during affect labeling predicted changes in psychological and physical well-being outcome measures 3 months later. Furthermore, neural activity of specific frontal regions and amygdala predicted those outcomes as a function of expressive writing. Using supervised learning (support vector machines regression), improvements in four measures of psychological and physical health (physical symptoms, depression, anxiety and life satisfaction) after an expressive writing intervention were predicted with an average of 0.85% prediction error [root mean square error (RMSE) %]. The predictions were significantly more accurate with machine learning than with the conventional generalized linear model method (average RMSE: 1.3%). Consistent with affect labeling research, right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (RVLPFC) and amygdalae were top predictors of improvement in the four outcomes. Moreover, RVLPFC and left amygdala predicted benefits due to expressive writing in satisfaction with life and depression outcome measures, respectively. This study demonstrates the substantial merit of supervised machine learning for real-world outcome prediction in social and affective neuroscience. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

The influence of childhood abuse, adult stressful life events and temperaments on depressive symptoms in the nonclinical general adult population.

PubMed

Nakai, Yukiei; Inoue, Takeshi; Toda, Hiroyuki; Toyomaki, Atsuhito; Nakato, Yasuya; Nakagawa, Shin; Kitaichi, Yuji; Kameyama, Rie; Hayashishita, Yoshiyuki; Wakatsuki, Yumi; Oba, Koji; Tanabe, Hajime; Kusumi, Ichiro

2014-04-01

Previous studies have shown the interaction between heredity and childhood stress or life events on the pathogenesis of major depression. We hypothesized that childhood abuse, affective temperaments, and adult stressful life events interact and influence depressive symptoms in the general adult population and tested this hypothesis in this study. The 294 participants from the nonclinical general adult population were studied using the following self-administered questionnaire surveys: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Life Experiences Survey (LES), Temperament Evaluation of the Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego auto-questionnaire (TEMPS-A), and Child Abuse and Trauma Scale (CATS). The data were analyzed with single and multiple regressions and structural equation modeling (Amos 20.0). Childhood abuse indirectly predicted the severity of the depressive symptoms through affective temperaments measured by TEMPS-A in the structural equation modeling. Four temperaments - depressive, cyclothymic, irritable, and anxious - directly predicted the severity of depressive symptoms and the negative appraisal of life events during the past year. The negative appraisal of life events during the past year mildly, but significantly, predicted the severity of depressive symptoms. The subjects of this study were nonclinical. The findings might not be generalized to patients with mood disorders. This study suggests that childhood abuse, especially neglect, indirectly increased depressive symptoms through increased affective temperaments, which, in turn, increase the negative appraisal of stressful life events. An important role of affective temperaments in the effect of childhood abuse and stressful life events on depressive symptoms was suggested. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploring the social-environmental determinants of well- and ill-being in dancers: a test of basic needs theory.

PubMed

Quested, Eleanor; Duda, Joan L

2010-02-01

Grounded in the basic needs mini-theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), this study examined the interplay among perceptions of the social environment manifested in vocational dance schools, basic need satisfaction, and indices of elite dancers' well- and ill-being. The hypothesized mediating role of need satisfaction was also tested. Dancers (N = 392) completed a questionnaire tapping the targeted variables. Structural equation modeling supported a model in which perceptions of task-involving dance environments positively predicted need satisfaction. Perceived ego-involving climates negatively corresponded with competence and relatedness. Perceptions of autonomy support were positively related to autonomy and relatedness. Need satisfaction positively predicted positive affect. Competence and relatedness satisfaction corresponded negatively to reported negative affect. Emotional and physical exhaustion was not related to need satisfaction. Partial support emerged for the assumed mediation of the needs. Results highlight the relevance of task-involving and autonomy-supportive dance climates for elite dancers' need satisfaction and healthful engagement in vocational dance.

The moderating effects of gender on the associations between multidimensional hostility and psychosomatic symptoms: a Chinese case.

PubMed

Weng, Chia-Ying; Lin, I-Mei; Jiang, Ding-Yu

2010-08-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of gender on the relationship between multidimensional hostility and psychosomatic symptoms in Chinese culture. The participants in this study were 398 Chinese college students (40% female) recruited from Taiwan. Four dimensions of multidimensional hostility-hostility cognition, hostility affect, expressive hostility behavior, and suppressive hostility behavior-were measured by the Chinese Hostility Inventory. After controlling for the effects of depression and anxiety, the results of path analysis revealed that the multidimensional hostility predicted psychosomatic symptoms directly, and predicted psychosomatic symptoms indirectly through negative health behavior. Furthermore, gender moderated the relationships between multidimensional hostility and health outcomes. Expressive hostility exacerbated psychosomatic symptom in females but buffered it in males, while affective hostility exacerbated psychosomatic symptoms in males. Additionally, suppressive hostility behavior was correlated to psychosomatic symptoms indirectly through negative health behavior in females. Moreover, expressive hostility was correlated to psychosomatic symptoms indirectly through negative health behavior more in males than in females.

Cognitive Risk and Protective Factors for Suicidal Ideation: A Two Year Longitudinal Study in Adolescence

PubMed Central

Burke, Taylor A.; Connolly, Samantha L.; Hamilton, Jessica L.; Stange, Jonathan P.; Abramson, Lyn Y.; Alloy, Lauren B.

2015-01-01

Adolescence is a developmental period associated with heightened risk for both the onset and escalation of suicidal ideation (SI). Given that SI is a potent predictor of suicidal behavior, it is important to develop models of vulnerability for and protection against SI, particularly among young adolescents. This study examined the relative impact of several cognitive vulnerabilities, as well as protective factors, for SI among young adolescents over a 2-year interval encompassing their transition to mid-adolescence. At baseline, 324 adolescents (M=12.39 years; SD=0.63; 52.5 % female) completed measures of depressive symptoms, self-referent information processing biases, negative inferential style, and responses to negative affect. Further, the adolescents and their mothers were administered a diagnostic interview to assess current and past depressive disorders and SI. Over follow-up, adolescents and their mothers were administered the diagnostic interview every 12 months and adolescents completed a self-report measure inquiring about SI every 6 months to assess interviewer-rated and self-reported SI. Logistic regressions indicated that preferential endorsement of negative adjectives as self-referent (only among girls), rumination in response to negative affect, and a negative inferential style prospectively predicted SI. Additionally, young adolescents’ tendency to respond to negative affect with distraction and problem-solving buffered against their risk for exhibiting SI. When these factors were entered simultaneously, preferential endorsement of negative adjectives as self-referent and the use of distraction and problem-solving skills remained the only significant prospective predictors of SI. No previous studies have examined these variables as predictors of SI, thereby highlighting their potential utility in improving the predictive validity of extant models of suicide risk and resilience. PMID:26597963

Mindfulness predicts lower affective volatility among African Americans during smoking cessation.

PubMed

Adams, Claire E; Chen, Minxing; Guo, Lin; Lam, Cho Y; Stewart, Diana W; Correa-Fernández, Virmarie; Cano, Miguel A; Heppner, Whitney L; Vidrine, Jennifer Irvin; Li, Yisheng; Ahluwalia, Jasjit S; Cinciripini, Paul M; Wetter, David W

2014-06-01

Recent research suggests that mindfulness benefits emotion regulation and smoking cessation. However, the mechanisms by which mindfulness affects emotional and behavioral functioning are unclear. One potential mechanism, lower affective volatility, has not been empirically tested during smoking cessation. This study examined longitudinal associations among mindfulness and emotional responding over the course of smoking cessation treatment among predominantly low-socioeconomic status (SES) African American smokers, who are at high risk for relapse to smoking and tobacco-related health disparities. Participants (N = 399, 51% female, mean age = 42, 48% with annual income <$10,000) completed a baseline measure of trait mindfulness. Negative affect, positive affect, and depressive symptoms were assessed at five time points during smoking cessation treatment (up to 31 days postquit). Volatility indices were calculated to quantify within-person instability of emotional symptoms over time. Over and above demographic characteristics, nicotine dependence, and abstinence status, greater baseline trait mindfulness predicted lower volatility of negative affect and depressive symptoms surrounding the quit attempt and up to 1 month postquit, ps < 0.05. Although volatility did not mediate the association between greater mindfulness and smoking cessation, these results are the first to show that mindfulness is linked to lower affective volatility (or greater stability) of negative emotions during the course of smoking cessation. The present study suggests that mindfulness is linked to greater emotional stability and augments the study of mindfulness in diverse populations. Future studies should examine the effects of mindfulness-based interventions on volatility and whether lower volatility explains effects of mindfulness-based treatments on smoking cessation.

Trustworthiness and Negative Affect Predict Economic Decision-Making.

PubMed

Nguyen, Christopher M; Koenigs, Michael; Yamada, Torricia H; Teo, Shu Hao; Cavanaugh, Joseph E; Tranel, Daniel; Denburg, Natalie L

2011-09-01

The Ultimatum Game (UG) is a widely used and well-studied laboratory model of economic decision-making. Here, we studied 129 healthy adults and compared demographic (i.e., age, gender, education), cognitive (i.e., intelligence, attention/working memory, speed, language, visuospatial, memory, executive functions), and personality (i.e., "Big Five", positive affect, negative affect) variables between those with a "rational" versus an "irrational" response pattern on the UG. Our data indicated that participants with "rational" UG performance (accepting any offer, no matter the fairness) endorsed higher levels of trust, or the belief in the sincerity and good intentions of others, while participants with "irrational" UG performance (rejecting unfair offers) endorsed higher levels of negative affect, such as anger and contempt. These personality variables were the only ones that differentiated the two response patterns-demographic and cognitive factors did not differ between rational and irrational players. The results indicate that the examination of personality and affect is crucial to our understanding of the individual differences that underlie decision-making.

Trustworthiness and Negative Affect Predict Economic Decision-Making

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Christopher M.; Koenigs, Michael; Yamada, Torricia H.; Teo, Shu Hao; Cavanaugh, Joseph E.; Tranel, Daniel; Denburg, Natalie L.

2012-01-01

The Ultimatum Game (UG) is a widely used and well-studied laboratory model of economic decision-making. Here, we studied 129 healthy adults and compared demographic (i.e., age, gender, education), cognitive (i.e., intelligence, attention/working memory, speed, language, visuospatial, memory, executive functions), and personality (i.e., “Big Five”, positive affect, negative affect) variables between those with a “rational” versus an “irrational” response pattern on the UG. Our data indicated that participants with “rational” UG performance (accepting any offer, no matter the fairness) endorsed higher levels of trust, or the belief in the sincerity and good intentions of others, while participants with “irrational” UG performance (rejecting unfair offers) endorsed higher levels of negative affect, such as anger and contempt. These personality variables were the only ones that differentiated the two response patterns—demographic and cognitive factors did not differ between rational and irrational players. The results indicate that the examination of personality and affect is crucial to our understanding of the individual differences that underlie decision-making. PMID:23493494

Doing Gender for Different Reasons: Why Gender Conformity Positively and Negatively Predicts Self-Esteem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Good, Jessica J.; Sanchez, Diana T.

2010-01-01

Past research has shown that valuing gender conformity is associated with both positive and negative consequences for self-esteem and positive affect. The current research (women, n= 226; men, n= 175) explored these conflicting findings by separating out investing in societal gender ideals from personally valuing one's gender identity ("private…

Stress, Self-Esteem, Hope, Optimism, and Well-Being in Urban, Ethnic Minority Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vacek, Kimberly R.; Coyle, Laura D.; Vera, Elizabeth M.

2010-01-01

This study examined hope, optimism, self-esteem, social support, stress, and indices of subjective well-being (SWB) in 137 low-income, urban, ethnic minority adolescents. Hope, optimism, and self-esteem were significant predictors of SWB indices, but stress predicted only 1 SWB index: negative affect. No moderators of stress and negative affect…

"I'll Remember This!" Effects of Emotionality on Memory Predictions versus Memory Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zimmerman, Carissa A.; Kelley, Colleen M.

2010-01-01

Emotionality is a key component of subjective experience that influences memory. We tested how the emotionality of words affects memory monitoring, specifically, judgments of learning, in both cued recall and free recall paradigms. In both tasks, people predicted that positive and negative emotional words would be recalled better than neutral…

Predisaster Trait Anxiety and Negative Affect Predict Posttraumatic Stress in Youths after Hurricane Katrina

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weems, Carl F.; Pina, Armando A.; Costa, Natalie M.; Watts, Sarah E.; Taylor, Leslie K.; Cannon, Melinda F.

2007-01-01

On the basis of theory and previous research, it was hypothesized that predisaster child trait anxiety would predict disaster-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, even after controlling for the number of hurricane exposure events. Results support this hypothesis and further indicate that predisaster…

Traumatic exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder among flood victims: Testing a multiple mediating model.

PubMed

Quan, Lijuan; Zhen, Rui; Yao, Benxian; Zhou, Xiao

2017-05-01

A total of 187 flood victims from Wuhu, a Chinese city affected most severely by a flood during July 2016, were selected to complete self-report measures of traumatic exposure, feelings of safety, fear, posttraumatic negative cognition, and posttraumatic stress disorder. The results found that traumatic exposure could directly predict posttraumatic stress disorder. Besides, traumatic exposure had indirect prediction on posttraumatic stress disorder through three ways, including a one-step path of negative self-cognition, a two-step path from feelings of safety to fear, and a three-step path from feelings of safety to negative self-cognition via fear. Implications and future directions are correspondingly discussed.

How Does Optimism Suppress Immunity? Evaluation of Three Affective Pathways

PubMed Central

Segerstrom, Suzanne C.

2005-01-01

Studies have linked optimism to poorer immunity during difficult stressors. In the present report, when first-year law students (N = 46) relocated to attend law school, reducing conflict among curricular and extracurricular goals, optimism predicted larger delayed type hypersensitivity responses, indicating more robust in vivo cellular immunity. However, when students did not relocate, increasing goal conflict, optimism predicted smaller responses. Although this effect has been attributed to negative affect when difficult stressors violate optimistic expectancies, distress did not mediate optimism’s effects on immunity. Alternative affective mediators related to engagement – engaged affect and fatigue – likewise failed to mediate optimism’s effects, although all three types of affect independently influenced in vivo immunity. Alternative pathways include effort or self-regulatory depletion. PMID:17014284

Infants' Temperament and Mothers', and Fathers' Depression Predict Infants' Attention to Objects Paired with Emotional Faces.

PubMed

Aktar, Evin; Mandell, Dorothy J; de Vente, Wieke; Majdandžić, Mirjana; Raijmakers, Maartje E J; Bögels, Susan M

2016-07-01

Between 10 and 14 months, infants gain the ability to learn about unfamiliar stimuli by observing others' emotional reactions to those stimuli, so called social referencing (SR). Joint processing of emotion and head/gaze direction is essential for SR. This study tested emotion and head/gaze direction effects on infants' attention via pupillometry in the period following the emergence of SR. Pupil responses of 14-to-17-month-old infants (N = 57) were measured during computerized presentations of unfamiliar objects alone, before-and-after being paired with emotional (happy, sad, fearful vs. neutral) faces gazing towards (vs. away) from objects. Additionally, the associations of infants' temperament, and parents' negative affect/depression/anxiety with infants' pupil responses were explored. Both mothers and fathers of participating infants completed questionnaires about their negative affect, depression and anxiety symptoms and their infants' negative temperament. Infants allocated more attention (larger pupils) to negative vs. neutral faces when the faces were presented alone, while they allocated less attention to objects paired with emotional vs. neutral faces independent of head/gaze direction. Sad (but not fearful) temperament predicted more attention to emotional faces. Infants' sad temperament moderated the associations of mothers' depression (but not anxiety) with infants' attention to objects. Maternal depression predicted more attention to objects paired with emotional expressions in infants low in sad temperament, while it predicted less attention in infants high in sad temperament. Fathers' depression (but not anxiety) predicted more attention to objects paired with emotional expressions independent of infants' temperament. We conclude that infants' own temperamental dispositions for sadness, and their exposure to mothers' and fathers' depressed moods may influence infants' attention to emotion-object associations in social learning contexts.

The cortisol reactivity threshold model: Direction of trait rumination and cortisol reactivity association varies with stressor severity.

PubMed

Vrshek-Schallhorn, Suzanne; Avery, Bradley M; Ditcheva, Maria; Sapuram, Vaibhav R

2018-06-01

Various internalizing risk factors predict, in separate studies, both augmented and reduced cortisol responding to lab-induced stress. Stressor severity appears key: We tested whether heightened trait-like internalizing risk (here, trait rumination) predicts heightened cortisol reactivity under modest objective stress, but conversely predicts reduced reactivity under more robust objective stress. Thus, we hypothesized that trait rumination would interact with a curvilinear (quadratic) function of stress severity to predict cortisol reactivity. Evidence comes from 85 currently non-depressed emerging adults who completed either a non-stressful control protocol (n = 29), an intermediate difficulty Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; n = 26), or a robustly stressful negative evaluative TSST (n = 30). Latent growth curve models evaluated relationships between trait rumination and linear and quadratic effects of stressor severity on the change in cortisol and negative affect over time. Among other findings, a significant Trait Rumination x Quadratic Stress Severity interaction effect for cortisol's Quadratic Trend of Time (i.e., reactivity, B = .125, p = .017) supported the hypothesis. Rumination predicted greater cortisol reactivity to intermediate stress (r p  = .400, p = .043), but blunted reactivity to more robust negative evaluative stress (r p  = -0.379, p = 0.039). Contrasting hypotheses, negative affective reactivity increased independently of rumination as stressor severity increased (B = .453, p = 0.044). The direction of the relationship between an internalizing risk factor (trait rumination) and cortisol reactivity varies as a function of stressor severity. We propose the Cortisol Reactivity Threshold Model, which may help reconcile several divergent reactivity literatures and has implications for internalizing psychopathology, particularly depression. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transdiagnostic assessment of repetitive negative thinking and responses to positive affect: Structure and predictive utility for depression, anxiety, and mania symptoms.

PubMed

McEvoy, Peter M; Hyett, Matthew P; Ehring, Thomas; Johnson, Sheri L; Samtani, Suraj; Anderson, Rebecca; Moulds, Michelle L

2018-05-01

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a cognitive process that is repetitive, passive, relatively uncontrollable, and focused on negative content, and is elevated in emotional disorders including depression and anxiety disorders. Repetitive positive thinking is associated with bipolar disorder symptoms. The unique contributions of positive versus negative repetitive thinking to emotional symptoms are unknown. The first aim of this study was to use confirmatory factor analyses to evaluate the psychometrics of two transdiagnostic measures of RNT, the Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire (RTQ-10) and Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ), and a measure of repetitive positive thinking, the Responses to Positive Affect (RPA) Questionnaire. The second aim was to determine incremental predictive utility of these measures. All measures were administered to a sample of 2088 undergraduate students from the Netherlands (n = 992), Australia (n = 698), and America (n = 398). Unidimensional, bifactor, and three-factor models were supported for the RTQ-10, PTQ, and RPA, respectively. A common factor measured by all PTQ items explained most variance in PTQ scores suggesting that this measure is essentially unidimensional. The RNT factor of the RTQ-10 demonstrated the strongest predictive utility, although the PTQ was also uniquely although weakly associated with anxiety, depression, and mania symptoms. The RPA dampening factor uniquely predicted anxiety and depression symptoms, suggesting that this scale is a separable process to RNT as measured by the RTQ-10 and PTQ. Findings were cross-sectional and need to be replicated in clinical samples. Transdiagnostic measures of RNT are essentially unidimensional, whereas RPA is multidimensional. RNT and RPA have unique predictive utility. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Maternal early-life trauma and affective parenting style: the mediating role of HPA-axis function.

PubMed

Juul, Sarah H; Hendrix, Cassandra; Robinson, Brittany; Stowe, Zachary N; Newport, D Jeffrey; Brennan, Patricia A; Johnson, Katrina C

2016-02-01

A history of childhood trauma is associated with increased risk for psychopathology and interpersonal difficulties in adulthood and, for those who have children, impairments in parenting and increased risk of negative outcomes in offspring. Physiological and behavioral mechanisms are poorly understood. In the current study, maternal history of childhood trauma was hypothesized to predict differences in maternal affect and HPA axis functioning. Mother-infant dyads (N = 255) were assessed at 6 months postpartum. Mothers were videotaped during a 3-min naturalistic interaction, and their behavior was coded for positive, neutral, and negative affect. Maternal salivary cortisol was measured six times across the study visit, which also included an infant stressor paradigm. Results showed that childhood trauma history predicted increased neutral affect and decreased mean cortisol in the mothers and that cortisol mediated the association between trauma history and maternal affect. Maternal depression was not associated with affective measures or cortisol. Results suggest that early childhood trauma may disrupt the development of the HPA axis, which in turn impairs affective expression during mother-infant interactions in postpartum women. Interventions aimed at treating psychiatric illness in postpartum women may benefit from specific components to assess and treat trauma-related symptoms and prevent secondary effects on parenting.

Psychometric schizotypy predicts psychotic-like, paranoid, and negative symptoms in daily life.

PubMed

Barrantes-Vidal, Neus; Chun, Charlotte A; Myin-Germeys, Inez; Kwapil, Thomas R

2013-11-01

Positive and negative schizotypy exhibit differential patterns of impairment in social relations, affect, and functioning in daily life. However, studies have not examined the association of schizotypy with real-world expression of psychotic-like, paranoid, and negative symptoms. The present study employed experience-sampling methodology (ESM) to assess positive and negative schizotypy in daily life in a nonclinical sample of 206 Spanish young adults. Participants were prompted randomly 8 times daily for 1 week to complete assessments of their current symptoms and experiences. Positive schizotypy was associated with psychotic-like and paranoid symptoms in daily life. Negative schizotypy was associated with a subset of these symptoms and with negative symptoms in daily life. Momentary stress was associated with psychotic-like and paranoid symptoms, but only for those high in positive schizotypy. Social stress predicted momentary psychotic-like symptoms in both positive and negative schizotypy. Time-lagged analyses indicated that stress at the preceding signal predicted psychotic-like symptoms at the current assessment, but only for individuals high in positive schizotypy. The results are consistent with models linking stress sensitivity with the experience of psychotic symptoms. The findings provide cross-cultural support for the multidimensional model of schizotypy and schizophrenia. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that ESM is an effective method for predicting the experience of psychotic-like symptoms, as well as their precursors, in daily life. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Anxiety, affect, self-esteem, and stress: mediation and moderation effects on depression.

PubMed

Nima, Ali Al; Rosenberg, Patricia; Archer, Trevor; Garcia, Danilo

2013-01-01

Mediation analysis investigates whether a variable (i.e., mediator) changes in regard to an independent variable, in turn, affecting a dependent variable. Moderation analysis, on the other hand, investigates whether the statistical interaction between independent variables predict a dependent variable. Although this difference between these two types of analysis is explicit in current literature, there is still confusion with regard to the mediating and moderating effects of different variables on depression. The purpose of this study was to assess the mediating and moderating effects of anxiety, stress, positive affect, and negative affect on depression. Two hundred and two university students (males  = 93, females  = 113) completed questionnaires assessing anxiety, stress, self-esteem, positive and negative affect, and depression. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using techniques based on standard multiple regression and hierarchical regression analyses. The results indicated that (i) anxiety partially mediated the effects of both stress and self-esteem upon depression, (ii) that stress partially mediated the effects of anxiety and positive affect upon depression, (iii) that stress completely mediated the effects of self-esteem on depression, and (iv) that there was a significant interaction between stress and negative affect, and between positive affect and negative affect upon depression. The study highlights different research questions that can be investigated depending on whether researchers decide to use the same variables as mediators and/or moderators.

Associations among perceptual anomalies, social anxiety, and paranoia in a college student sample.

PubMed

Tone, Erin B; Goulding, Sandra M; Compton, Michael T

2011-07-30

Recent evidence suggests that normal-range paranoid ideation may be particularly likely to develop in individuals disposed to both social anxiety and perceptual anomalies. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that among college students in an unselected sample, social anxiety and experience of perceptual anomalies would not only each independently predict the experience of self-reported paranoid ideation, but would also interact to predict paranoid patterns of thought. A diverse sample of 644 students completed a large battery of self-report measures, as well as the five-factor Paranoia/Suspiciousness Questionnaire (PSQ). We conducted hierarchical multiple regression analyses predicting scores on each PSQ factor from responses on measures of social anxiety, perceptual aberration, and the interaction between the two constructs. Current general negative affect was covaried in all analyses. We found that both social anxiety and perceptual aberrations, along with negative affect, predicted multiple dimensions of paranoia as measured by the PSQ; the two constructs did not, however, interact significantly to predict any dimensions. Our findings suggest that perceptual aberration and anxiety may contribute to normal-range paranoid ideation in an additive rather than an interactive manner. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of urgency in maladaptive behaviors.

PubMed

Anestis, Michael D; Selby, Edward A; Joiner, Thomas E

2007-12-01

Prior work on maladaptive behaviors has cited impulsivity as a risk factor. The concept of impulsivity, however, fails to address the potential role of negative affect in such behaviors. The UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale addresses this weakness by dividing impulsivity into four subscales: Urgency, Sensation Seeking, (lack of) Premeditation, and (lack of) Perseverance. We predicted that urgency, defined as the tendency, specifically in the face of negative affect, to act quickly and without planning, would predict elevations on three maladaptive behaviors--excessive reassurance seeking, drinking to cope, and bulimic symptoms as measured by the Eating Disorder Inventory--in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses in an undergraduate sample (N=70). Participants were assessed at two time points, 3-4 weeks apart. Urgency significantly predicted all three outcome variables cross-sectionally at both Time 1 and Time 2. Time 1 urgency significantly predicted Time 2 excessive reassurance seeking. Changes in urgency from Time 1 to Time 2 predicted changes in all three outcome variables. Results indicate a clear cross-sectional relationship between urgency and certain maladaptive behaviors. Additionally, some form of longitudinal relationship may exist between these variables, although the use of residual change scores precluded distinction between true change and change due to error.

Facing Sorrow as a Group Unites. Facing Sorrow in a Group Divides

PubMed Central

Rennung, Miriam; Göritz, Anja S.

2015-01-01

Collective gatherings foster group cohesion through providing occasion for emotional sharing among participants. However, prior studies have failed to disentangle two processes that are involved in emotional sharing: 1) focusing shared attention on the same emotion-eliciting event and 2) actively sharing one’s experiences and disclosing one’s feelings to others. To date, it has remained untested if shared attention influences group cohesion independent of active emotional sharing. Our experiment investigated the effect of shared versus individual attention on cohesion in groups of strangers. We predicted that differences in group cohesion as called forth by shared vs. individual attention are most pronounced when experiencing highly arousing negative affect, in that the act of experiencing intensely negative affect with others buffers negative affect’s otherwise detrimental effect on group cohesion. Two-hundred sixteen participants were assembled in groups of 3 to 4 people to either watch an emotion-eliciting film simultaneously on a common screen or to watch the same emotion-eliciting film clip on a laptop in front of each group member using earphones. The film clips were chosen to elicit either highly arousing negative affect or one of three other affective states representing the other poles in Russel’s Circumplex model of affect. We examined self-reported affective and cognitive group cohesion and a behavioral measure of group cohesion. Results support our buffer-hypothesis, in that experiencing intense negative affect in unison leads to higher levels of group cohesion than experiencing this affect individually despite the group setting. The present study demonstrates that shared attention to intense negative emotional stimuli affects group cohesion independently of active emotional sharing. PMID:26335924

Nicotine withdrawal modulates frontal brain function during an affective Stroop task

PubMed Central

Modlin, Leslie; Wang, Lihong; Kozink, Rachel V.; McClernon, F. Joseph

2013-01-01

Background Among nicotine-dependent smokers, smoking abstinence disrupts multiple cognitive and affective processes including conflict resolution and emotional information processing (EIP). However, the neurobiological basis of abstinence effects on resolving emotional interference on cognition remains largely uncharacterized. In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate smoking abstinence effects on emotion–cognition interactions. Methods Smokers (n=17) underwent fMRI while performing an affective Stroop task (aST) over two sessions: once following 24-h abstinence and once following smoking as usual. The aST includes trials that serially present incongruent or congruent numerical grids bracketed by neutral or negative emotional distractors and view-only emotional image trials. Statistical analyses were conducted using a statistical threshold of p<0.05 cluster corrected. Results Smoking abstinence increased Stroop blood-oxygenation-level-dependent response in the right middle frontal and rostral anterior cingulate gyri. Moreover, withdrawal-induced negative affect was associated with less activation in frontoparietal regions during negative emotional information processing; whereas, during Stroop trials, negative affect predicted greater activation in frontal regions during negative, but not neutral emotional distractor trials. Conclusion Hyperactivation in the frontal executive control network during smoking abstinence may represent a need to recruit additional executive resources to meet task demands. Moreover, abstinence-induced negative affect may disrupt cognitive control neural circuitry during EIP and place additional demands on frontal executive neural resources during cognitive demands when presented with emotionally distracting stimuli. PMID:21989805

Positive Affect and the Complex Dynamics of Human Flourishing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fredrickson, Barbara L.; Losada, Marcial F.

2005-01-01

Extending B. L. Fredrickson's (1998) broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and M. Losada's (1999) nonlinear dynamics model of team performance, the authors predict that a ratio of positive to negative affect at or above 2.9 will characterize individuals in flourishing mental health. Participants (N=188) completed an initial survey to…

Interactive effect of negative affectivity and anxiety sensitivity in terms of mental health among Latinos in primary care.

PubMed

Zvolensky, Michael J; Paulus, Daniel J; Bakhshaie, Jafar; Garza, Monica; Ochoa-Perez, Melissa; Medvedeva, Angela; Bogiaizian, Daniel; Robles, Zuzuky; Manning, Kara; Schmidt, Norman B

2016-09-30

From a public health perspective, primary care medical settings represent a strategic location to address mental health disapirty among Latinos. Yet, there is little empirical work that addresses affective vulnerability processes for mental health problems in such settings. To help address this gap in knowledge, the present investigation examined an interactive model of negative affectivity (tendency to experience negative mood states) and anxiety sensitivity (fear of the negative consequences of aversive sensations) among a Latino sample in primary care in terms of a relatively wide range of anxiety/depression indices. Participants included 390 Latino adults (Mage=38.7, SD=11.3; 86.9% female; 95.6% reported Spanish as first language) from a primary care health clinic. Primary dependent measures included depressive, suicidal, social anxiety, and anxious arousal symptoms, number of mood and anxiety disorders, and disability. Consistent with prediction, the interaction between negative affectivity and anxiety sensitivity was significantly related to suicidal, social anxiety, and anxious arousal symptoms, as well as number of mood/anxiety diagnoses and disability among the primary care Latino sample. The form of the interactions indicated a synergistic effect, such that the greatest levels of each outcome were found among those with high negative affectivity and high anxiety sensitivity. There was a trending interaction for depressive symptoms. Overall, these data provide novel empirical evidence suggesting that there is a clinically-relevant interplay between anxiety sensitivity and negative affectivity in regard to the expression of anxiety and depressive symptoms among a Latino primary care sample. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The good, the bad (and the ugly): The role of curiosity in subjective well-being and risky behaviors among adolescents.

PubMed

Jovanović, Veljko; Gavrilov-Jerković, Vesna

2014-02-01

Previous studies have shown that enhanced trait curiosity has positive influence on well-being. It remains an open question, however, whether curiosity has any detrimental effects on behavioral outcomes in adolescence. The main aim of this research was to investigate the role of trait curiosity in the prediction of risky behavior engagement and subjective well-being (SWB) among adolescents. A total of 371 Serbian adolescents (mean age 15.5, SD = 0.57) participated in the 5-month follow up study. The results showed that the embracing component of curiosity (but not stretching) predicted risky behavior engagement, while the stretching component of curiosity (but not embracing) predicted positive affect. In addition, neither embracing nor stretching was a significant predictor of negative affect and life satisfaction. The results of this study call into question the conceptualization of curiosity as a completely positive emotional-motivational system, and suggest that curiosity can contribute to negative outcomes in adolescence.

Negative affect subtypes and craving differentially predict long-term cessation success among smokers achieving initial abstinence.

PubMed

Zuo, Yantao; Rabinovich, Norka E; Gilbert, David G

2017-03-01

This study aimed to examine the associations of individual trajectories of three types of negative affect (NA: anxiety, depression, and anger) and craving during a 44-day period of incentivized smoking abstinence period with cessation outcome at 3 months and at 1 year. Adult smokers (N = 140) completed questionnaire assessments of NA and craving during pre-quit baseline sessions and 15 postquit sessions over the 45 days of biochemically verified abstinence while on nicotine or placebo patch treatment. Growth curve and logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations of trajectory parameters of the individual NA states and craving with the abstinence outcomes at 3 months and 1 year postquit. Greater declines in anxiety, depression, and anger symptoms over the first 44 days of smoking cessation were predictive of higher odds of abstinence at both 3 months and 1 year. Moreover, the greater declines in anxiety and anger remained as significant predictors of abstinence at both time points, independent of the predictive ability of the trajectory profiles of craving. The findings suggest that slower dissipation of NA, especially anxiety and anger, represents a greater risk for relapse to smoking beyond that predicted by craving during early abstinence. Thus, temporal profiles of the affective symptoms convey unique motivational significance in relapse. Reduction in NA during early abstinence may be a valid target for interventions to increase long-term cessation success rates particularly among individuals with refractory affective symptoms.

Effects of Prenatal Factors and Temperament on Infant Cortisol Regulation in Low-Income Mexican American Families

PubMed Central

Luecken, Linda J.; MacKinnon, David P.; Jewell, Shannon L.; Crnic, Keith A.; Gonzales, Nancy A.

2016-01-01

Prenatal psychosocial exposures can significantly affect infant health and development. Infants with higher temperamental negativity are theorized to be more susceptible to environmental exposures. We evaluated the interaction of prenatal maternal exposures and infant temperamental negativity to predict infant cortisol response to mildly challenging mother-infant interaction tasks. Participants included 322 Mexican American mother-infant dyads (mother age 18–42; 82% Spanish-speaking; modal family income $10,000–$15,000). Mothers reported depressive symptoms and social support prenatally and infant temperamental negativity at 6 weeks postpartum. Salivary cortisol was collected from infants before and after mother-infant interaction tasks at 12 weeks. Higher prenatal maternal depressive symptoms and lower social support predicted higher cortisol among infants with higher temperamental negativity. Higher infant temperamental negativity predicted an increase in maternal distress and a decrease in social support from prenatal to 12 weeks postpartum. Interactive influences of maternal social-contextual factors and infant temperament may influence the development of infant neurobiological regulation and promote or strain maternal and infant adaptation over time. PMID:26119970

Religious Engagement in a Risky Family Model Predicting Health in Older Black and White Seventh-day Adventists.

PubMed

Morton, Kelly R; Lee, Jerry W; Haviland, Mark G; Fraser, Gary E

2012-11-01

In a structural equation model, associations among latent variables - Child Poverty, Risky Family exposure, Religious Engagement, Negative Social Interactions, Negative Emotionality, and Perceived Physical Health - were evaluated in 6,753 Black and White adults aged 35-106 years (M = 60.5, SD = 13.0). All participants were members of the Seventh-day Adventist church surveyed in the Biopsychosocial Religion and Health Study (BRHS). Child Poverty was positively associated with both Risky Family exposure (conflict, neglect, abuse) and Religious Engagement (intrinsic religiosity, religious coping, religiousness). Risky Family was negatively associated with Religious Engagement and positively associated with both Negative Social Interactions (intrusive, failed to help, insensitive, rejecting) and Negative Emotionality (depression, negative affect, neuroticism). Religious Engagement was negatively associated with Negative Emotionality and Negative Social Interactions at a given level of risky family. Negative Social Interactions was positively associated with Negative Emotionality, which had a direct, negative effect on Perceived Physical Health. All constructs had indirect effects on Perceived Physical Health through Negative Emotionality. The effects of a risky family environment appear to be enduring, negatively affecting one's adult religious life, emotionality, social interactions, and perceived health. Religious engagement, however, may counteract the damaging effects of early life stress.

Emotional inertia and external events: The roles of exposure, reactivity, and recovery.

PubMed

Koval, Peter; Brose, Annette; Pe, Madeline L; Houben, Marlies; Erbas, Yasemin; Champagne, Dominique; Kuppens, Peter

2015-10-01

Increased moment-to-moment predictability, or inertia, of negative affect has been identified as an important dynamic marker of psychological maladjustment, and increased vulnerability to depression in particular. However, little is known about the processes underlying emotional inertia. The current article examines how the emotional context, and people's responses to it, are related to emotional inertia. We investigated how individual differences in the inertia of negative affect (NA) are related to individual differences in exposure, reactivity, and recovery from emotional events, in daily life (assessed using experience sampling) as well as in the lab (assessed using an emotional film-clip task), among 200 participants commencing their first year of tertiary education. This dual-method approach allowed us to assess affective responding on different timescales, and in response to standardized as well as idiographic emotional stimuli. Our most consistent finding, across both methods, was that heightened NA inertia is related to decreased NA recovery following negative stimuli, suggesting that higher levels of inertia may be mostly driven by impairments in affect repair following negative events. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Cognitive and affective trait and state factors influencing the long-term symptom course in remitted depressed patients.

PubMed

Timm, Christina; Ubl, Bettina; Zamoscik, Vera; Ebner-Priemer, Ulrich; Reinhard, Iris; Huffziger, Silke; Kirsch, Peter; Kuehner, Christine

2017-01-01

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by a high risk for relapses and chronic developments. Clinical characteristics such as residual symptoms have been shown to negatively affect the long-term course of MDD. However, it is unclear so far how trait repetitive negative thinking (RNT) as well as cognitive and affective momentary states, the latter experienced during daily-life, affect the long-term course of MDD. We followed up 57 remitted depressed (rMDD) individuals six (T2) and 36 (T3) months after baseline. Clinical outcomes were time to relapse, time spent with significant symptoms as a marker of chronicity, and levels of depressive symptoms at T2 and T3. Predictors assessed at baseline included residual symptoms and trait RNT. Furthermore, momentary daily life affect and momentary rumination, and their variation over the day were assessed at baseline using ambulatory assessment (AA). In multiple models, residual symptoms and instability of daily-life affect at baseline independently predicted a faster time to relapse, while chronicity was significantly predicted by trait RNT. Multilevel models revealed that depressive symptom levels during follow-up were predicted by baseline residual symptom levels and by instability of daily-life rumination. Both instability features were linked to a higher number of anamnestic MDD episodes. Our findings indicate that trait RNT, but also affective and cognitive processes during daily life impact the longer-term course of MDD. Future longitudinal research on the role of respective AA-phenotypes as potential transdiagnostic course-modifiers is warranted.

Personality Predictors of Successful Development: Toddler Temperament and Adolescent Personality Traits Predict Well-Being and Career Stability in Middle Adulthood

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

The aim of the study was to predict both adaptive psychological functioning (well-being) and adaptive social functioning (career stability) in middle adulthood based on behaviors observed in toddlerhood and personality traits measured in adolescence. 83 people participated in an ongoing longitudinal study started in 1961 (58% women). Based on children’s behavior in toddlerhood, three temperamental dimensions were identified – positive affectivity, negative affectivity and disinhibition. In adolescence, extraversion and neuroticism were measured at the age of 16 years. Various aspects of well-being were used as indicators of adaptive psychological functioning in adulthood: life satisfaction, self-esteem and self-efficacy. Career stability was used as an indicator of adaptive social functioning. Job careers of respondents were characterized as stable, unstable or changeable. Extraversion measured at the age of 16 proved to be the best predictor of well-being indicators; in case of self-efficacy it was also childhood disinhibition. Extraversion in adolescence, childhood disinhibition and negative affectivity predicted career stability. Findings are discussed in the context of a theoretical framework of higher order factors of the Big Five personality constructs, stability and plasticity. PMID:25919394

Perceived Partner Responsiveness Predicts Diurnal Cortisol Profiles 10 Years Later.

PubMed

Slatcher, Richard B; Selcuk, Emre; Ong, Anthony D

2015-07-01

Several decades of research have demonstrated that marital relationships have a powerful influence on physical health. However, surprisingly little is known about how marriage affects health--both in terms of psychological processes and biological ones. Over a 10-year period, we investigated the associations between perceived partner responsiveness--the extent to which people feel understood, cared for, and appreciated by their romantic partners--and diurnal cortisol in a large sample of married and cohabitating couples in the United States. Partner responsiveness predicted higher cortisol values at awakening and steeper (i.e., healthier) cortisol slopes at the 10-year follow-up. These associations remained strong after we controlled for demographic factors, depressive symptoms, agreeableness, and other positive and negative relationship factors. Furthermore, declines in negative affect over the 10-year period mediated the prospective association between responsiveness and cortisol slope. These findings suggest that diurnal cortisol may be a key biological pathway through which social relationships affect long-term health. © The Author(s) 2015.

Affiliation and control in marital interaction: interpersonal complementarity is present but is not associated with affect or relationship quality.

PubMed

Cundiff, Jenny M; Smith, Timothy W; Butner, Jonathan; Critchfield, Kenneth L; Nealey-Moore, Jill

2015-01-01

The principle of complementarity in interpersonal theory states that an actor's behavior tends to "pull, elicit, invite, or evoke" responses from interaction partners who are similar in affiliation (i.e., warmth vs. hostility) and opposite in control (i.e., dominance vs. submissiveness). Furthermore, complementary interactions are proposed to evoke less negative affect and promote greater relationship satisfaction. These predictions were examined in two studies of married couples. Results suggest that complementarity in affiliation describes a robust general pattern of marital interaction, but complementarity in control varies across contexts. Consistent with behavioral models of marital interaction, greater levels of affiliation and lower control by partners-not complementarity in affiliation or control-were associated with less anger and anxiety and greater relationship quality. Partners' levels of affiliation and control combined in ways other than complementarity-mostly additively, but sometimes synergistically-to predict negative affect and relationship satisfaction. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Positive is usually good, negative is not always bad: The effects of group affect on social integration and task performance.

PubMed

Knight, Andrew P; Eisenkraft, Noah

2015-07-01

Grounded in a social functional perspective, this article examines the conditions under which group affect influences group functioning. Using meta-analysis, the authors leverage heterogeneity across 39 independent studies of 2,799 groups to understand how contextual factors-group affect source (exogenous or endogenous to the group) and group life span (one-shot or ongoing)-moderate the influence of shared feelings on social integration and task performance. As predicted, results indicate that group positive affect has consistent positive effects on social integration and task performance regardless of contextual idiosyncrasies. The effects of group negative affect, on the other hand, are context-dependent. Shared negative feelings promote social integration and task performance when stemming from an exogenous source or experienced in a 1-shot group, but undermine social integration and task performance when stemming from an endogenous source or experienced in an ongoing group. The authors discuss implications of their findings and highlight directions for future theory and research on group affect. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Behavioral observations of positive and negative valence systems in early childhood predict physiological measures of emotional processing three years later.

PubMed

Kessel, Ellen M; Kujawa, Autumn; Goldstein, Brandon; Hajcak, Greg; Bufferd, Sara J; Dyson, Margaret; Klein, Daniel N

2017-07-01

The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) constructs of Positive Valence Systems (PVS) and Negative Valence Systems (NVS) are presumed to manifest behaviorally through early-emerging temperamental negative affectivity (NA) and positive affectivity (PA). The late positive potential (LPP) is a physiological measure of attention towards both negative and positive emotional stimuli; however, its associations with behavioral aspects of PVS and NVS have yet to be examined. In a community sample of children (N = 340), we examined longitudinal relationships between observational measures of temperamental PA and NA assessed at age 6, and the LPP to both pleasant and unpleasant images assessed at age 9. Lower PA at age 6 predicted reduced LPP amplitudes to pleasant, but not unpleasant, images. NA as a composite measure was not related to the LPP, but specific associations were observed with facets of NA: greater fear predicted an enhanced LPP to unpleasant images, whereas greater sadness predicted a reduced LPP to unpleasant images. We were unable to evaluate concurrent associations between behavioral observations of temperament and the LPP, and effect sizes were modest. Results support correspondence between behavioral and physiological measures of emotional processing across development, and provide evidence of discriminant validity in that PA was specifically related to the LPP to pleasant images, while facets of NA were specifically linked to the LPP to unpleasant images. Distinct associations of temperamental sadness and fear with the LPP highlight the importance of further evaluating subconstructs of NVS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The role of metacognitive beliefs in stress sensitisation, self-esteem variability, and the generation of paranoia.

PubMed

Palmier-Claus, J E; Dunn, G; Morrison, A P; Lewis, S W

2011-11-01

INTRODUCTION. Stress sensitisation may play a key role in the formation of psychosis. The authors examined whether metacognitive beliefs and self-esteem moderate affective response to stress, and whether subtle fluctuations in self-esteem act as a mediator between stress and attenuated psychotic phenomena. METHOD. 70 healthy volunteers completed two conditions of the same experimental tasks, which were designed to be either neutral or stress inducing. Ambulant assessments of negative affect, self-esteem, and suspicious thoughts were taken before and after each task, and standardised questionnaires were completed at the beginning or end of each session. RESULTS. Metacognitive belief subscales, but not self-esteem, moderated the association between stress and resultant negative affect, and negative affect and suspicious thinking. Individuals who placed greater emphasis on controlling their thoughts had greater variability in their self-esteem during the stress condition, which in turn predicted the severity of their attenuated psychotic phenomena. DISCUSSION. Metacognitive beliefs may sensitise an individual to minor stressors, by increasing affective reactivity and causing subtle shifts in appraisals of self-worth. Psychosocial intervention may wish to target these beliefs in order to desensitise an individual to negative events.

Affective, Biological, and Cognitive Predictors of Depressive Symptom Trajectories in Adolescence

PubMed Central

Salk, Rachel; Hyde, Janet Shibley; Priess-Groben, Heather A.; Simonson, Jordan L.

2013-01-01

Heterogeneity in the longitudinal course of depressive symptoms was examined using latent growth mixture modeling among a community sample of 382 U.S. youth from ages 11 to 18 (52.1% female). Three latent trajectory classes were identified: Stable Low (51%; displayed low depressive symptoms at all assessments), Increasing (37%; reported low depressive symptoms at age 11, but then significantly higher depressive symptoms than the Stable Low class at ages 13, 15, and 18), and Early High (12%; reported high early depressive symptoms at age 11, followed by symptoms that declined over time yet remained significantly higher than those of the Stable Low class at ages 13, 15, and 18). By age 15, rates of Major Depressive Disorder diagnoses among the Early High (25.0%) and Increasing (20.4%) classes were more than twice that observed among the Stable Low class (8.8%). Affective (negative affectivity), biological (pubertal timing, sex) and cognitive (cognitive style, rumination) factors were examined as predictors of class membership. Results indicated general risk factors for both high-risk trajectories as well as specific risk factors unique to each trajectory. Being female and high infant negative affectivity predicted membership in the Increasing class. Early puberty, high infant negative affectivity for boys, and high rumination for girls predicted membership in the Early High class. Results highlight the importance of examining heterogeneity in depression trajectories in adolescence as well as simultaneously considering risk factors across multiple domains. PMID:24158642

Spirituality, Illness Unpredictability, and Math Anxiety Effects on Negative Affect and Affect-Management Coping for Individuals Diagnosed with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.

PubMed

Worthington, Amber K; Parrott, Roxanne L; Smith, Rachel A

2018-04-01

A growing number of genetic tests are included in diagnostic protocols associated with many common conditions. A positive diagnosis associated with the presence of some gene versions in many instances predicts a range of possible outcomes, and the uncertainty linked to such results contributes to the need to understand varied responses and plan strategic communication. Uncertainty in illness theory (UIT; Mishel, 1988, 1990) guided the investigation of efforts to feel in control and hopeful regarding genetic testing and diagnosis for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). Participants included 137 individuals with AATD recruited from the Alpha-1 Research Registry who were surveyed about their subjective numeracy, anxiety about math, spirituality, perceptions of illness unpredictability, negative affect regarding genetic testing, and coping strategies about a diagnosis. Results revealed that experiencing more fear and worry contributed both directly and indirectly to affect-management coping strategies, operating through individual perceptions of illness unpredictability. The inability to predict the symptoms and course of events related to a genetic illness and anxiety regarding math heightened fear and worry. Spirituality lessened both illness unpredictability and negative affective responses to a diagnosis. Results affirm the importance of clinician and counselor efforts to incorporate attention to patient spirituality. They also illustrate the complexity associated with strategic efforts to plan communication about the different versions of a gene's effects on well-being, when some versions align with mild health effects and others with severe effects.

Positive affect, negative affect, and physiological hyperarousal among referred and nonreferred youths.

PubMed

Laurent, Jeff; Joiner, Thomas E; Catanzaro, Salvatore J

2011-12-01

The Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children (PANAS-C) and the Physiological Hyperarousal Scale for Children (PH-C) seem ideal measures for school mental health screenings, because they are theory based, psychometrically sound, and brief. This study provides descriptive information and preliminary cutoff scores in an effort to increase the practical utility of the measures. Scores on the PANAS-C Positive Affect (PA) and Negative Affect (NA) scales and the PH-C were compared for a general sample of schoolchildren (n = 226), a group of students referred for special education services (n = 83), and youths on an inpatient psychiatric unit (n = 37). Expected patterns of scores emerged for the general school and referred school samples, although only scores on the PH-C were statistically significantly different. Differences in scores between the general school and inpatient samples were significant for all 3 scales. Differences in scores between the referred school and inpatient samples were significant for the NA scale and the PH-C but not for the PA scale. In addition, we used traditional self-report measures to form groups of normal, anxious, depressed, and mixed anxious and depressed youths. Again, predicted general patterns of PA, NA and PH scores were supported, although statistical differences were not always evident. In particular, scores on the PH-C for the anxious and depressed groups were inconsistent with predictions. Possible reasons related to sample and scale issues are discussed. Finally, preliminary cutoff scores were proposed for the PANAS-C scales and the PH-C.

Contextualizing individual differences in error monitoring: Links with impulsivity, negative affect, and conscientiousness.

PubMed

Hill, Kaylin E; Samuel, Douglas B; Foti, Dan

2016-08-01

The error-related negativity (ERN) is a neural measure of error processing that has been implicated as a neurobehavioral trait and has transdiagnostic links with psychopathology. Few studies, however, have contextualized this traitlike component with regard to dimensions of personality that, as intermediate constructs, may aid in contextualizing links with psychopathology. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to examine the interrelationships between error monitoring and dimensions of personality within a large adult sample (N = 208). Building on previous research, we found that the ERN relates to a combination of negative affect, impulsivity, and conscientiousness. At low levels of conscientiousness, negative urgency (i.e., impulsivity in the context of negative affect) predicted an increased ERN; at high levels of conscientiousness, the effect of negative urgency was not significant. This relationship was driven specifically by the conscientiousness facets of competence, order, and deliberation. Links between personality measures and error positivity amplitude were weaker and nonsignificant. Post-error slowing was also related to conscientiousness, as well as a different facet of impulsivity: lack of perseverance. These findings suggest that, in the general population, error processing is modulated by the joint combination of negative affect, impulsivity, and conscientiousness (i.e., the profile across traits), perhaps more so than any one dimension alone. This work may inform future research concerning aberrant error processing in clinical populations. © 2016 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Negative Affect Mediates the Relation Between Trait Urgency and Behavioral Distress Tolerance

PubMed Central

Borges, Allison M.; Dahne, Jennifer; Lim, Aaron C.; MacPherson, Laura

2017-01-01

Distress tolerance is associated with a range of psychopathology and risk-taking behavior. Current research suggests that the behavioral ability to persist at goal-directed behavior when distressed may be malleable. However, little is known about the contributing factors that underlie individual differences in distress tolerance. Trait urgency, or the tendency to act impulsively in the context of acute changes in affect, may predict distress tolerance because the prepotent response to avoid or remove an aversive state may undermine persistence. To date, most research has examined the role of negative urgency, a valenced subfactor of urgency, in relation to distress tolerance. However, the broad trait of urgency may be associated with a greater change in affect that precedes the inability to tolerate distress. The current study examined whether greater changes in negative affect was indeed a mediator in the relationship between trait urgency and behavioral distress tolerance. The effects of both positive and negative urgency on affect change were examined to investigate the potential contribution of the broader urgency trait. The results suggest that a greater change in negative affect over the course of a stressor mediated the association between both subfactors of urgency and distress tolerance. These findings suggest that trait urgency, regardless of valence, may be associated with experiencing greater changes in affect that ultimately undermine the ability to tolerate distress. These findings also highlight important components of distress tolerance that could inform behavioral interventions. PMID:28080084

Negative affect mediates the relation between trait urgency and behavioral distress tolerance.

PubMed

Borges, Allison M; Dahne, Jennifer; Lim, Aaron C; MacPherson, Laura

2017-06-01

Distress tolerance is associated with a range of psychopathology and risk-taking behavior. Current research suggests that the behavioral ability to persist at goal-directed behavior when distressed may be malleable. However, little is known about the contributing factors that underlie individual differences in distress tolerance. Trait urgency, or the tendency to act impulsively in the context of acute changes in affect, may predict distress tolerance because the prepotent response to avoid or remove an aversive state may undermine persistence. To date, most research has examined the role of negative urgency, a valenced subfactor of urgency, in relation to distress tolerance. However, the broad trait of urgency may be associated with a greater change in affect that precedes the inability to tolerate distress. The current study examined whether greater changes in negative affect was indeed a mediator in the relationship between trait urgency and behavioral distress tolerance. The effects of both positive and negative urgency on affect change were examined to investigate the potential contribution of the broader urgency trait. The results suggest that a greater change in negative affect over the course of a stressor mediated the association between both subfactors of urgency and distress tolerance. These findings suggest that trait urgency, regardless of valence, may be associated with experiencing greater changes in affect that ultimately undermine the ability to tolerate distress. These findings also highlight important components of distress tolerance that could inform behavioral interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Why humans deviate from rational choice.

PubMed

Hewig, Johannes; Kretschmer, Nora; Trippe, Ralf H; Hecht, Holger; Coles, Michael G H; Holroyd, Clay B; Miltner, Wolfgang H R

2011-04-01

Rational choice theory predicts that humans always optimize the expected utility of options when making decisions. However, in decision-making games, humans often punish their opponents even when doing so reduces their own reward. We used the Ultimatum and Dictator games to examine the affective correlates of decision-making. We show that the feedback negativity, an event-related brain potential that originates in the anterior cingulate cortex that has been related to reinforcement learning, predicts the decision to reject unfair offers in the Ultimatum game. Furthermore, the decision to reject is positively related to more negative emotional reactions and to increased autonomic nervous system activity. These findings support the idea that subjective emotional markers guide decision-making and that the anterior cingulate cortex integrates instances of reinforcement and punishment to provide such affective markers. Copyright © 2010 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Type D personality and the development of PTSD symptoms: a prospective study.

PubMed

Rademaker, Arthur R; van Zuiden, Mirjam; Vermetten, Eric; Geuze, Elbert

2011-05-01

Psychological trauma and prolonged stress may cause mental disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Pretrauma personality is an important determinant of posttraumatic adjustment. Specifically, trait neuroticism has been identified as a risk factor for PTSD. Additionally, the combination of high negative affectivity or neuroticism with marked social inhibition or introversion, also called Type D personality (Denollet, 2000), may compose a risk factor for PTSD. There is no research available that examined pretrauma Type D personality in relation to PTSD. The present study examined the predictive validity of the Type D personality construct in a sample of Dutch soldiers. Data were collected prior to and 6 months after military deployment to Afghanistan. Separate multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the predictive validity of Type D personality. First, Type D personality was defined as the interaction between negative affect and social inhibition (Na × Si). In a second analysis, Type D was defined following cutoff criteria recommended by Denollet (2000). Results showed that negative affectivity was a significant predictor of PTSD symptoms. Social inhibition and the interaction Na × Si did not add to the amount of explained variance in postdeployment PTSD scores over the effects of childhood abuse, negative affectivity, and prior psychological symptoms. A second analysis showed that Type D personality (dichotomous) did not add to the amount of explained variance in postdeployment PTSD scores over the effects of childhood abuse, and prior psychological symptoms. Therefore, Type D personality appears to be of limited value to explain development of combat-related PTSD symptoms.

The Intricate Relationship between Psychotic-Like Experiences and Associated Subclinical Symptoms in Healthy Individuals.

PubMed

Unterrassner, Lui; Wyss, Thomas A; Wotruba, Diana; Haker, Helene; Rössler, Wulf

2017-01-01

The interplay between subclinical psychotic, negative, and affective symptoms has gained increased attention regarding the etiology of psychosis spectrum and other mental disorders. Importantly, research has tended to not differentiate between different subtypes of psychotic-like experiences (PLE) although they may not have the same significance for mental health. In order to gain information on the subclinical interplay between specific PLE and other symptoms as well as the significance of PLE for mental health, we investigated their specific associations in 206 healthy individuals (20-60 years, 73 females) using correlational and linear regression analyses. PLE were assessed with the Magical Ideation Questionnaire, the revised Exceptional Experiences Questionnaire, and subscales of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). The revised Symptom Checklist 90, the SPQ, and the Physical Anhedonia Scale were used to measure subclinical negative symptoms, affective symptoms, and other symptoms such as, emotional instability. As hypothesized, we found that (1) most affective symptoms and all other subclinical symptoms correlated positively with all PLE, whereas we found only partial associations between negative symptoms and PLE. Notably, (2) magical ideation and paranormal beliefs correlated negatively with physical anhedonia. In the regression analyses we found (3) similar patterns of specific positive associations between PLE and other subclinical symptoms: Suspiciousness was a specific predictor of negative-like symptoms, whereas ideas of reference, unusual perceptual experiences, and dissociative anomalous perceptions specifically predicted anxiety symptoms. Interestingly, (4) ideas of reference negatively predicted physical anhedonia. Similarly, paranormal beliefs were negatively associated with constricted affect. Moreover, odd beliefs were a negative predictor of depression, emotional instability, and unspecific symptoms. Our findings indicated that subtypes of PLE are differentially implicated in psychological functioning and should therefore not be categorized homogeneously. Moreover, paranormal beliefs, odd beliefs, and partly ideas of reference might also contribute to subjective well being in healthy individuals. Our results might serve as a starting point for longitudinal studies investigating the interplay of subtypes of subclinical symptoms along a psychopathological trajectory leading to mental disorders. Importantly, this research might help to improve therapeutic strategies for psychosis prevention.

The Intricate Relationship between Psychotic-Like Experiences and Associated Subclinical Symptoms in Healthy Individuals

PubMed Central

Unterrassner, Lui; Wyss, Thomas A.; Wotruba, Diana; Haker, Helene; Rössler, Wulf

2017-01-01

The interplay between subclinical psychotic, negative, and affective symptoms has gained increased attention regarding the etiology of psychosis spectrum and other mental disorders. Importantly, research has tended to not differentiate between different subtypes of psychotic-like experiences (PLE) although they may not have the same significance for mental health. In order to gain information on the subclinical interplay between specific PLE and other symptoms as well as the significance of PLE for mental health, we investigated their specific associations in 206 healthy individuals (20–60 years, 73 females) using correlational and linear regression analyses. PLE were assessed with the Magical Ideation Questionnaire, the revised Exceptional Experiences Questionnaire, and subscales of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). The revised Symptom Checklist 90, the SPQ, and the Physical Anhedonia Scale were used to measure subclinical negative symptoms, affective symptoms, and other symptoms such as, emotional instability. As hypothesized, we found that (1) most affective symptoms and all other subclinical symptoms correlated positively with all PLE, whereas we found only partial associations between negative symptoms and PLE. Notably, (2) magical ideation and paranormal beliefs correlated negatively with physical anhedonia. In the regression analyses we found (3) similar patterns of specific positive associations between PLE and other subclinical symptoms: Suspiciousness was a specific predictor of negative-like symptoms, whereas ideas of reference, unusual perceptual experiences, and dissociative anomalous perceptions specifically predicted anxiety symptoms. Interestingly, (4) ideas of reference negatively predicted physical anhedonia. Similarly, paranormal beliefs were negatively associated with constricted affect. Moreover, odd beliefs were a negative predictor of depression, emotional instability, and unspecific symptoms. Our findings indicated that subtypes of PLE are differentially implicated in psychological functioning and should therefore not be categorized homogeneously. Moreover, paranormal beliefs, odd beliefs, and partly ideas of reference might also contribute to subjective well being in healthy individuals. Our results might serve as a starting point for longitudinal studies investigating the interplay of subtypes of subclinical symptoms along a psychopathological trajectory leading to mental disorders. Importantly, this research might help to improve therapeutic strategies for psychosis prevention. PMID:28936192

Orbitofrontal structural markers of negative affect in alcohol dependence and their associations with heavy relapse-risk at 6 months post-treatment.

PubMed

Zois, E; Vollstädt-Klein, S; Hoffmann, S; Reinhard, I; Charlet, K; Beck, A; Jorde, A; Kirsch, M; Walter, H; Heinz, A; Kiefer, F

2017-10-01

Alcohol relapse is often occurring to regulate negative affect during withdrawal. On the neurobiological level, alcoholism is associated with gray matter (GM) abnormalities in regions that regulate emotional experience such as the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). However, no study to our knowledge has investigated the neurobiological unpinning of affect in alcoholism at early withdrawal and the associations of OFC volume with long-term relapse risk. One hundred and eighty-two participants were included, 95 recently detoxified alcohol dependent patients (ADP) and 87 healthy controls (HC). We measured affective states using the positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS). We collected T1-weighted brain structural images and performed Voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Findings revealed GM volume decrease in alcoholics in the prefrontal cortex (including medial OFC), anterior cingulate gyrus, and insula. GM volume in the medial OFC was positively associated with NA in the ADP group. Cox regression analysis predicted that risk to heavy relapse at 6 months increases with decreased GM volume in the medial OFC. Negative affect during alcohol withdrawal was positively associated with OFC volume. What is more, increased GM volume in the OFC also moderated risk to heavy relapse at 6 months. Reduced GM in the OFC poses as risk to recovery from alcohol dependence and provides valuable insights into transient negative affect states during withdrawal that can trigger relapse. Implications exist for therapeutic interventions signifying the OFC as a neurobiological marker to relapse and could explain the inability of ADP to regulate internal negative affective states. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Self-Compassion and the Self-Regulation of Exercise: Reactions to Recalled Exercise Setbacks.

PubMed

Semenchuk, Brittany N; Strachan, Shaelyn M; Fortier, Michelle

2018-02-01

Self-compassion facilitates health behavior self-regulation; few studies have examined self-compassion and exercise. This online, cross-sectional study investigated self-compassion's relationship with exercise self-regulation of an exercise setback. Adults (N = 105) who had experienced an exercise setback within the last 6 months completed baseline measures, recalled an exercise setback, and completed questionnaires assessing self-regulation in this context. Self-compassion associated with self-determined motivations and exercise goal reengagement, and negatively related to extrinsic motivations, state rumination, and negative affect. Self-compassion predicted unique variance, beyond self-esteem, in exercise goal reengagement, external regulation, state rumination, and negative affect experienced after an exercise setback. Self-compassion and self-esteem had unique relationships with goal reengagement, state rumination, and situational motivation, while having a complementary relationship with negative affect. This research adds to the few studies that examine the role of self-compassion in exercise self-regulation by examining how self-compassion and self-esteem relate to reactions to a recalled exercise setback.

Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms and Negative Affect During Tobacco Withdrawal in a Non-Clinical Sample of African American Smokers

PubMed Central

Bello, Mariel S.; Pang, Raina D.; Chasson, Gregory S.; Ray, Lara A.; Leventhal, Adam M.

2016-01-01

The association between obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptomatology and smoking is poorly understood, particularly in African Americans—a group subject to smoking- and OC-related health disparities. In a non-clinical sample of 253 African American smokers, we tested the negative reinforcement model of OC-smoking comorbidity, purporting that smokers with higher OC symptoms experience greater negative affect (NA) and urge to smoke for NA suppression upon acute tobacco abstinence. Following a baseline visit involving OC assessment, participants completed two counterbalanced experimental visits (non-abstinent vs. 16-hr tobacco abstinence) involving affect, smoking urge, and nicotine withdrawal assessment. OC symptom severity predicted larger abstinence-provoked increases in overall NA, anger, anxiety, depression, fatigue, urge to smoke to suppress NA, and composite nicotine withdrawal symptom index. African American smokers with elevated OC symptoms appear to be vulnerable to negative reinforcement-mediated smoking motivation and may benefit from cessation treatments that diminish NA or the urge to quell NA via smoking. PMID:27769664

Impact of daily mood, work hours, and iso-strain variables on self-reported health behaviors.

PubMed

Jones, Fiona; O'Connor, Daryl B; Conner, Mark; McMillan, Brian; Ferguson, Eamonn

2007-11-01

Four hundred and twenty-two employees completed daily diaries measuring positive affect, negative affect, work hours, and health behaviors (snacking, smoking, exercise, alcohol, caffeine consumption) on work days over a 4-week period. In addition, measures of job demands, job control, and social support (iso-strain variables) were completed on 1 occasion. Multilevel random coefficient modeling was used to examine relationships between the job characteristics, daily work variables, and self-reported health behaviors. Results indicated a more important role for within-person daily fluctuations than for between-persons variations in predicting health behaviors. Whereas negative affect was negatively related to health behavior for both men and women, work hours had negative impacts for women only. Iso-strain variables showed few main effects and a modest number of interactions with daily variables (mainly for men). Findings point to the limited impact of stable features of work design compared to the effects of daily work stressors on health behaviors. (c) 2007 APA

Emotional bias of sleep-dependent processing shifts from negative to positive with aging.

PubMed

Jones, Bethany J; Schultz, Kurt S; Adams, Sydney; Baran, Bengi; Spencer, Rebecca M C

2016-09-01

Age-related memory decline has been proposed to result partially from impairments in memory consolidation over sleep. However, such decline may reflect a shift toward selective processing of positive information with age rather than impaired sleep-related mechanisms. In the present study, young and older adults viewed negative and neutral pictures or positive and neutral pictures and underwent a recognition test after sleep or wake. Subjective emotional reactivity and affect were also measured. Compared with waking, sleep preserved valence ratings and memory for positive but not negative pictures in older adults and negative but not positive pictures in young adults. In older adults, memory for positive pictures was associated with slow wave sleep. Furthermore, slow wave sleep predicted positive affect in older adults but was inversely related to positive affect in young adults. These relationships were strongest for older adults with high memory for positive pictures and young adults with high memory for negative pictures. Collectively, these results indicate preserved but selective sleep-dependent memory processing with healthy aging that may be biased to enhance emotional well-being. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Open Up or Close Down: How Do Parental Reactions Affect Youth Information Management?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tilton-Weaver, Lauree; Kerr, Margaret; Pakalniskeine, Vilmante; Tokic, Ana; Salihovic, Selma; Stattin, Hakan

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to test a process model of youths' information management. Using three waves of longitudinal data collected from 982 youths, we modeled parents' positive and negative reactions to disclosure predicting youths' feelings about their parents, in turn predicting youths' disclosure and secrecy about their daily activities.…

Resilience Predicts Well-Being in Teachers, but Not in Non-Teaching Employees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pretsch, Johanna; Flunger, Barbara; Schmitt, Manfred

2012-01-01

The resilience concept has often been criticized as simply reflecting the absence of neuroticism (i.e. vulnerability to stress and negative affectivity). Challenging this point of view, the aim of this study was to show that resilience could predict well-being in teachers above and beyond neuroticism. By contrast, we expected that resilience would…

Social stress reactivity alters reward and punishment learning

PubMed Central

Frank, Michael J.; Allen, John J. B.

2011-01-01

To examine how stress affects cognitive functioning, individual differences in trait vulnerability (punishment sensitivity) and state reactivity (negative affect) to social evaluative threat were examined during concurrent reinforcement learning. Lower trait-level punishment sensitivity predicted better reward learning and poorer punishment learning; the opposite pattern was found in more punishment sensitive individuals. Increasing state-level negative affect was directly related to punishment learning accuracy in highly punishment sensitive individuals, but these measures were inversely related in less sensitive individuals. Combined electrophysiological measurement, performance accuracy and computational estimations of learning parameters suggest that trait and state vulnerability to stress alter cortico-striatal functioning during reinforcement learning, possibly mediated via medio-frontal cortical systems. PMID:20453038

Social stress reactivity alters reward and punishment learning.

PubMed

Cavanagh, James F; Frank, Michael J; Allen, John J B

2011-06-01

To examine how stress affects cognitive functioning, individual differences in trait vulnerability (punishment sensitivity) and state reactivity (negative affect) to social evaluative threat were examined during concurrent reinforcement learning. Lower trait-level punishment sensitivity predicted better reward learning and poorer punishment learning; the opposite pattern was found in more punishment sensitive individuals. Increasing state-level negative affect was directly related to punishment learning accuracy in highly punishment sensitive individuals, but these measures were inversely related in less sensitive individuals. Combined electrophysiological measurement, performance accuracy and computational estimations of learning parameters suggest that trait and state vulnerability to stress alter cortico-striatal functioning during reinforcement learning, possibly mediated via medio-frontal cortical systems.

Changes in Sleep Predict Changes in Affect in Older Caregivers of Individuals with Alzheimer's Dementia: A Multilevel Model Approach.

PubMed

McCrae, Christina S; Dzierzewski, Joseph M; McNamara, Joseph P H; Vatthauer, Karlyn E; Roth, Alicia J; Rowe, Meredeth A

2016-05-01

Understanding predictors of older dementia caregivers' mood could provide insight into potential treatments which may delay institutionalization of their care recipient. Research with older noncaregivers has shown that nights characterized by better subjective sleep were associated with days characterized by higher positive and lower negative affect, and vice versa. Examining daily relationships is important, as sleep and affect are state-like behaviors that fluctuate within individuals, across time. This study was a preliminary examination of whether a sample with a greater proportion of older dementia caregivers exhibits similar daily sleep/affect associations. Sleep diaries, actigraphy, and affect data were collected concurrently for 7 days in 55 community-dwelling, dementia caregivers (M = 62.80 years, SD = 12.21; 77.8% female). Sleep and affect were examined within- (day-to-day level) and between-persons (mean level). Findings for older noncaregivers were replicated for negative affect only. Specifically, nights characterized by better subjective sleep were characterized by lower negative affect, and vice versa. Examining older caregivers' daily sleep/affect association is important, because caregiving-related awakenings are unavoidable, often unpredictable, and can impact mood. Future research is needed to examine whether regularization in awakenings and/or negative affect represent important secondary, or even target, treatment outcomes for this vulnerable population. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

How do you feel? Self-esteem predicts affect, stress, social interaction, and symptom severity during daily life in patients with chronic illness.

PubMed

Juth, Vanessa; Smyth, Joshua M; Santuzzi, Alecia M

2008-10-01

Self-esteem has been demonstrated to predict health and well-being in a number of samples and domains using retrospective reports, but little is known about the effect of self-esteem in daily life. A community sample with asthma (n = 97) or rheumatoid arthritis (n = 31) completed a self-esteem measure and collected Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) data 5x/day for one week using a palmtop computer. Low self-esteem predicted more negative affect, less positive affect, greater stress severity, and greater symptom severity in daily life. Naturalistic exploration of mechanisms relating self-esteem to physiological and/or psychological components in illness may clarify causal relationships and inform theoretical models of self-care, well-being, and disease management.

Climates Past, Present, and Yet-to-Come Shape Climate Change Vulnerabilities.

PubMed

Nadeau, Christopher P; Urban, Mark C; Bridle, Jon R

2017-10-01

Climate change is altering life at multiple scales, from genes to ecosystems. Predicting the vulnerability of populations to climate change is crucial to mitigate negative impacts. We suggest that regional patterns of spatial and temporal climatic variation scaled to the traits of an organism can predict where and why populations are most vulnerable to climate change. Specifically, historical climatic variation affects the sensitivity and response capacity of populations to climate change by shaping traits and the genetic variation in those traits. Present and future climatic variation can affect both climate change exposure and population responses. We provide seven predictions for how climatic variation might affect the vulnerability of populations to climate change and suggest key directions for future research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How Do You Feel? Self-esteem Predicts Affect, Stress, Social Interaction, and Symptom Severity during Daily Life in Patients with Chronic Illness

PubMed Central

JUTH, VANESSA; SMYTH, JOSHUA M.; SANTUZZI, ALECIA M.

2010-01-01

Self-esteem has been demonstrated to predict health and well-being in a number of samples and domains using retrospective reports, but little is known about the effect of self-esteem in daily life. A community sample with asthma (n = 97) or rheumatoid arthritis (n = 31) completed a self-esteem measure and collected Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) data 5x/day for one week using a palmtop computer. Low self-esteem predicted more negative affect, less positive affect, greater stress severity, and greater symptom severity in daily life. Naturalistic exploration of mechanisms relating self-esteem to physiological and/or psychological components in illness may clarify causal relationships and inform theoretical models of self-care, well-being, and disease management. PMID:18809639

Gender Roles, Externalizing Behaviors, and Substance Use Among Mexican-American Adolescents

PubMed Central

KULIS, STEPHEN; MARSIGLIA, FLAVIO F.; NAGOSHI, JULIE L.

2010-01-01

A sample of 60 male and 91 female Mexican-American adolescents (age 13–18) were administered measures of positive (i.e., assertive masculinity, affective femininity) and negative (i.e., aggressive masculinity, submissive femininity) gender roles, internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors, peer substance use, and own substance use (alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana). Negative gender roles were significantly correlated with internalizing and externalizing problems for both boys and girls, with aggressive masculinity also predicting peer substance use for both genders. Assertive masculinity significantly predicted lower alcohol use in boys, and this effect was not mediated by internalizing problems, externalizing problems, or peer substance use. Negative gender roles significantly predicted higher alcohol use in girls, but this effect was almost completely mediated by internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and peer substance use. Results are discussed in terms of gender role socialization among Mexican Americans. PMID:21031145

Who Chokes Under Pressure? The Big Five Personality Traits and Decision-Making under Pressure.

PubMed

Byrne, Kaileigh A; Silasi-Mansat, Crina D; Worthy, Darrell A

2015-02-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the Big Five personality factors could predict who thrives or chokes under pressure during decision-making. The effects of the Big Five personality factors on decision-making ability and performance under social (Experiment 1) and combined social and time pressure (Experiment 2) were examined using the Big Five Personality Inventory and a dynamic decision-making task that required participants to learn an optimal strategy. In Experiment 1, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed an interaction between neuroticism and pressure condition. Neuroticism negatively predicted performance under social pressure, but did not affect decision-making under low pressure. Additionally, the negative effect of neuroticism under pressure was replicated using a combined social and time pressure manipulation in Experiment 2. These results support distraction theory whereby pressure taxes highly neurotic individuals' cognitive resources, leading to sub-optimal performance. Agreeableness also negatively predicted performance in both experiments.

Political Orientation Predicts Credulity Regarding Putative Hazards.

PubMed

Fessler, Daniel M T; Pisor, Anne C; Holbrook, Colin

2017-05-01

To benefit from information provided by other people, people must be somewhat credulous. However, credulity entails risks. The optimal level of credulity depends on the relative costs of believing misinformation and failing to attend to accurate information. When information concerns hazards, erroneous incredulity is often more costly than erroneous credulity, given that disregarding accurate warnings is more harmful than adopting unnecessary precautions. Because no equivalent asymmetry exists for information concerning benefits, people should generally be more credulous of hazard information than of benefit information. This adaptive negatively biased credulity is linked to negativity bias in general and is more prominent among people who believe the world to be more dangerous. Because both threat sensitivity and beliefs about the dangerousness of the world differ between conservatives and liberals, we predicted that conservatism would positively correlate with negatively biased credulity. Two online studies of Americans supported this prediction, potentially illuminating how politicians' alarmist claims affect different portions of the electorate.

Personality, negative affect coping, and drinking alone: a structural equation modeling approach to examine correlates of adolescent solitary drinking

PubMed Central

Creswell, Kasey G.; Chung, Tammy; Wright, Aidan G. C.; Clark, Duncan B.; Black, Jessica J.; Martin, Christopher S.

2015-01-01

Aims This study examined the personality traits of negative emotionality and constraint and the ability to resist drinking during negative affective states as correlates of solitary drinking in adolescence. We hypothesized that higher levels of negative emotionality and lower levels of constraint would predict solitary drinking and that these relationships would be mediated by the ability to resist drinking in response to negative emotions. Design Structural equation modeling was used to fit a path model from the personality traits of negative emotionality and constraint to solitary drinking status through intermediate effects on the ability to resist drinking during negative emotions using cross-sectional data. Setting Clinical and community settings in Pennsylvania, USA. Participants The sample included 761 adolescent drinkers (mean age = 17.1). Measurements Adolescents completed the Lifetime Drinking History, the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, the Constructive Thinking Inventory and the Situational Confidence Questionnaire. Findings The path model provided a good fit to the data. The association between trait negative emotionality and solitary drinking was fully mediated by adolescents' ability to resist drinking during negative affective states (b = 0.05, P = 0.01). In contrast, constraint had a direct effect on solitary drinking (odds ratio (OR) = 0.79, b = –0.23, P<0.01), as well as an indirect effect through the ability to resist drinking during negative affective states (b = –0.03, P = 0.02). Conclusions The ability to resist drinking while experiencing negative feelings or emotions may be an important underlying mechanism linking trait negative emotionality (a tendency toward depression, anxiety and poor reaction to stress) and constraint (lack of impulsiveness) to adolescent solitary drinking. PMID:25664806

Personality, negative affect coping, and drinking alone: a structural equation modeling approach to examine correlates of adolescent solitary drinking.

PubMed

Creswell, Kasey G; Chung, Tammy; Wright, Aidan G C; Clark, Duncan B; Black, Jessica J; Martin, Christopher S

2015-05-01

This study examined the personality traits of negative emotionality and constraint and the ability to resist drinking during negative affective states as correlates of solitary drinking in adolescence. We hypothesized that higher levels of negative emotionality and lower levels of constraint would predict solitary drinking and that these relationships would be mediated by the ability to resist drinking in response to negative emotions. Structural equation modeling was used to fit a path model from the personality traits of negative emotionality and constraint to solitary drinking status through intermediate effects on the ability to resist drinking during negative emotions using cross-sectional data. Clinical and community settings in Pennsylvania, USA. The sample included 761 adolescent drinkers (mean age = 17.1). Adolescents completed the Lifetime Drinking History, the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, the Constructive Thinking Inventory and the Situational Confidence Questionnaire. The path model provided a good fit to the data. The association between trait negative emotionality and solitary drinking was fully mediated by adolescents' ability to resist drinking during negative affective states (b = 0.05, P = 0.01). In contrast, constraint had a direct effect on solitary drinking (odds ratio (OR) = 0.79, b = -0.23, P<0.01), as well as an indirect effect through the ability to resist drinking during negative affective states (b = -0.03, P = 0.02). The ability to resist drinking while experiencing negative feelings or emotions may be an important underlying mechanism linking trait negative emotionality (a tendency toward depression, anxiety and poor reaction to stress) and constraint (lack of impulsiveness) to adolescent solitary drinking. © 2015 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Positive affect moderates the effect of negative affect on cardiovascular disease-related hospitalizations and all-cause mortality after cardiac rehabilitation.

PubMed

Meyer, Fiorenza Angela; von Känel, Roland; Saner, Hugo; Schmid, Jean-Paul; Stauber, Stefanie

2015-10-01

Little is known as to whether negative emotions adversely impact the prognosis of patients who undergo cardiac rehabilitation. We prospectively investigated the predictive value of state negative affect (NA) assessed at discharge from cardiac rehabilitation for prognosis and the moderating role of positive affect (PA) on the effect of NA on outcomes. A total of 564 cardiac patients (62.49 ± 11.51) completed a comprehensive three-month outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program, filling in the Global Mood Scale (GMS) at discharge. The combined endpoint was cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related hospitalizations plus all-cause mortality at follow-up. Cox regression models estimated the predictive value of NA, as well as the moderating influence of PA on outcomes. Survival models were adjusted for sociodemographic factors, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, and severity of disease. During a mean follow-up period of 3.4 years, 71 patients were hospitalized for a CVD-related event and 15 patients died. NA score (range 0-20) was a significant and independent predictor (hazard ratio (HR) 1.091, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.012-1.175; p = 0.023) with a three-point higher level in NA increasing the relative risk by 9.1%. Furthermore, PA interacted significantly with NA (p < 0.001). The relative risk of poor prognosis with NA was increased in patients with low PA (p = 0.012) but remained unchanged in combination with high PA (p = 0.12). The combination of NA with low PA was particularly predictive of poor prognosis. Whether reduction of NA and increase of PA, particularly in those with high NA, improves outcome needs to be tested. © The European Society of Cardiology 2014.

An Examination of the Relationship between Self-Control and Cyber Victimization in Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peker, Adem

2017-01-01

Purpose: Cyber bullying is a new phenomenon which adversely affects young people. Exposure to the cyber bullying can negatively affect the mental health. The aim of this study is to examine the predictive effect of self-control on cyber victimization in adolescents. Research Methods: The study group was composed of 353 Turkish secondary school…

Affective Self-Regulation Trajectories during Secondary School Predict Substance Use among Urban Minority Young Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffin, Kenneth W.; Lowe, Sarah R.; Acevedo, Bianca P.; Botvin, Gilbert J.

2015-01-01

This study explored the relationship between trajectories of affective self-regulation skills during secondary school and young adult substance use in a large multiethnic, urban sample (N = 995). During secondary school, participants completed a measure of cognitive and behavioral skills used to control negative, unpleasant emotions or perceived…

Positive and negative eating expectancies in disordered eating among women and men.

PubMed

Hayaki, Jumi; Free, Sarah

2016-08-01

Deficits in emotion regulation are known to characterize disordered eating patterns including binge eating, purging, and dietary restraint, though much of this work has been conducted exclusively on women. Eating expectancies, or expectations regarding reinforcement from food and eating, constitute one cognitive mechanism that is thought to serve as a proximal influence on eating behavior. Previous research shows that eating to manage negative affect (a negative eating expectancy) is associated with eating pathology in women, but less is known about eating as a reward or for pleasure (a positive eating expectancy). In addition, no prior work has examined eating expectancies among men. This study examines the role of emotion regulation and eating expectancies on disordered eating in women and men. Participants were 121 female and 80 male undergraduates who completed self-report measures of emotion regulation, eating expectancies, and disordered eating. In women, body mass index (BMI), emotion regulation, and eating to manage negative affect directly predicted disordered eating in the final multivariate model, whereas eating for pleasure or reward was inversely associated with disordered eating. However, in men, emotion regulation predicted disordered eating, but not when eating expectancies were added to the model. In the final model, only BMI and eating to manage negative affect contributed significantly to the variance in disordered eating. These findings suggest that some correlates of eating pathology, particularly eating expectancies, may vary by gender. Future research should continue to examine gender differences in the explanatory mechanisms underlying disordered eating. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The affective reactivity of psychotic speech: The role of internal source monitoring in explaining increased thought disorder under emotional challenge.

PubMed

de Sousa, Paulo; Sellwood, William; Spray, Amy; Bentall, Richard P

2016-04-01

Thought disorder (TD) has been shown to vary in relation to negative affect. Here we examine the role internal source monitoring (iSM, i.e. ability to discriminate between inner speech and verbalized speech) in TD and whether changes in iSM performance are implicated in the affective reactivity effect (deterioration of TD when participants are asked to talk about emotionally-laden topics). Eighty patients diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum disorder and thirty healthy controls received interviews that promoted personal disclosure (emotionally salient) and interviews on everyday topics (non-salient) on separate days. During the interviews, participants were tested on iSM, self-reported affect and immediate auditory recall. Patients had more TD, poorer ability to discriminate between inner and verbalized speech, poorer immediate auditory recall and reported more negative affect than controls. Both groups displayed more TD and negative affect in salient interviews but only patients showed poorer performance on iSM. Immediate auditory recall did not change significantly across affective conditions. In patients, the relationship between self-reported negative affect and TD was mediated by deterioration in the ability to discriminate between inner speech and speech that was directed to others and socially shared (performance on the iSM) in both interviews. Furthermore, deterioration in patients' performance on iSM across conditions significantly predicted deterioration in TD across the interviews (affective reactivity of speech). Poor iSM is significantly associated with TD. Negative affect, leading to further impaired iSM, leads to increased TD in patients with psychosis. Avenues for future research as well as clinical implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How do feelings influence effort? An empirical study of entrepreneurs' affect and venture effort.

PubMed

Foo, Maw-Der; Uy, Marilyn A; Baron, Robert A

2009-07-01

How do feelings influence the effort of entrepreneurs? To obtain data on this issue, the authors implemented experience sampling methodology in which 46 entrepreneurs used cell phones to provide reports on their affect, future temporal focus, and venture effort twice daily for 24 days. Drawing on the affect-as-information theory, the study found that entrepreneurs' negative affect directly predicts entrepreneurs' effort toward tasks that are required immediately. Results were consistent for within-day and next-day time lags. Extending the theory, the study found that positive affect predicts venture effort beyond what is immediately required and that this relationship is mediated by future temporal focus. The mediating effects were significant only for next-day outcomes. Implications of findings on the nature of the affect-effort relationship for different time lags are discussed.

Social support and well-being at mid-life among mothers of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Smith, Leann E; Greenberg, Jan S; Seltzer, Marsha Mailick

2012-09-01

The present study investigated the impact of social support on the psychological well-being of mothers of adolescents and adults with ASD (n = 269). Quantity of support (number of social network members) as well as valence of support (positive support and negative support) were assessed using a modified version of the "convoy model" developed by Antonucci and Akiyama (1987). Having a larger social network was associated with improvements in maternal well-being over an 18-month period. Higher levels of negative support as well as increases in negative support over the study period were associated with increases in depressive symptoms and negative affect and decreases in positive affect. Social support predicted changes in well-being above and beyond the impact of child behavior problems. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.

Electroconvulsive therapy in treatment-resistant schizophrenia: prediction of response and the nature of symptomatic improvement.

PubMed

Chanpattana, Worrawat; Sackeim, Harold A

2010-12-01

The clinical features of patients with schizophrenia who respond to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) are uncertain. There is a longstanding belief that the duration of illness and/or the presence of affective symptoms associate with good prognosis. There is also little information on the nature of symptomatic improvement with this treatment. We examined the demographic and clinical history features associated with response, the symptom profile predictive of response, and the profile of symptomatic improvement. Using a standardized protocol, 253 patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia were prospectively treated with a combination of ECT and flupenthixol. Of this group, 138 patients (54.5%) met the response criteria. Independence of sex, longer duration of current episode, and greater severity of baseline negative symptoms were predictive of poorer outcome. Duration of illness had weak relations with outcome only among females. There were marked sex differences in other clinical features and symptoms associated with response. In contrast, no sex differences were observed in the nature of symptomatic improvement. Treatment resulted in marked improvement in specific positive symptoms, with an intermediate effect on affective symptoms and no effect or worsening of specific negative symptoms. The findings challenge recommendations that long duration of illness or absence of affective symptoms portends poor response to ECT in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Sex may play a critical role in determining the features of the illness that predict outcome.

Maternal regulation of child affect in externalizing and typically-developing children.

PubMed

Lougheed, Jessica P; Hollenstein, Tom; Lichtwarck-Aschoff, Anna; Granic, Isabela

2015-02-01

Temporal contingencies between children's affect and maternal behavior play a role in the development of children's externalizing problems. The goal of the current study was to use a microsocial approach to compare dyads with externalizing dysregulation (N =191) to healthy controls (N = 54) on maternal supportive regulation of children's negative and positive affect. Children were between the ages of 8 and 12 years. Mother-child dyads participated in conflict and positive discussions, and child affect and maternal supportive affect regulation were coded in real time. First, no group differences on overall levels of mother supportive regulation or child affect were found. Second, three event history analyses in a 2-level Cox hazard regression framework were used to predict the hazard rate of (a) maternal supportiveness, and of children's transitions (b) out of negative affect and (c) into positive affect. The hazard rate of maternal supportiveness, regardless of child affect, was not different between groups. However, as expected, the likelihood of mothers' supportive responses to children's negative affect was lower in externalizing than comparison dyads. In addition, children with externalizing problems were significantly less likely than typically developing children to transition out of negative affect in response to maternal supportiveness. The likelihood of both typically developing children and children with externalizing problems transitioning into positive affect were not related to specific occurrences of maternal supportiveness. Results of the current study show the importance of temporal dynamics in mother-child interactions in the emergence of children's externalizing problems. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Infant temperament reactivity and early maternal caregiving: independent and interactive links to later childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms.

PubMed

Miller, Natalie V; Degnan, Kathryn A; Hane, Amie A; Fox, Nathan A; Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea

2018-06-11

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with origins early in life. There is growing evidence that individual differences in temperament reactivity are predictive of ADHD symptoms, yet little is known about the relations between temperament reactivity in early infancy and later ADHD symptoms or the combined effect of reactivity with early environmental factors on ADHD symptom development. Using a 9-year prospective longitudinal design, this study tested the independent and interactive contributions of infant reactivity and maternal caregiving behaviors (MCB) on parent- and teacher-reported childhood ADHD symptoms. Participants included 291 children (132 male; 159 female) who participated in a larger study of temperament and social-emotional development. Reactivity was assessed by behavioral observation of negative affect, positive affect, and motor activity during novel stimuli presentations at 4 months of age. MCB were observed during a series of semistructured mother-infant tasks at 9 months of age. Finally, ADHD symptoms were assessed by parent- and teacher-report questionnaires at 7 and 9 years, respectively. Reactivity was predictive of ADHD symptoms, but results were sex specific. For boys, infant motor activity was positively predictive of later ADHD symptoms, but only at lower quality MCB. For girls, infant positive affect was positively predictive of later ADHD symptoms at lower quality MCB, and-unexpectedly-infant positive affect and motor activity were negatively predictive of later ADHD symptoms at higher quality MCB. These results point to early parenting as a moderating factor to mitigate temperament-related risk for later ADHD, suggesting this as a potential intervention target to mitigate risk for ADHD among reactive infants. © 2018 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

A Comparison of Two Models of Risky Sexual Behavior During Late Adolescence.

PubMed

Braje, Sopagna Eap; Eddy, J Mark; Hall, Gordon C N

2016-01-01

Two models of risky sexual behavior (RSB) were compared in a community sample of late adolescents (N = 223). For the traumagenic model, early negative sexual experiences were posited to lead to an association between negative affect with sexual relationships. For the cognitive escape model, depressive affect was posited to lead to engagement in RSB as a way to avoid negative emotions. The current study examined whether depression explained the relationship between sexual trauma and RSB, supporting the cognitive escape model, or whether it was sexual trauma that led specifically to RSB, supporting the traumagenic model. Physical trauma experiences were also examined to disentangle the effects of sexual trauma compared to other emotionally distressing events. The study examined whether the results would be moderated by participant sex. For males, support was found for the cognitive escape model but not the traumagenic model. Among males, physical trauma and depression predicted engagement in RSB but sexual trauma did not. For females, support was found for the traumagenic and cognitive escape model. Among females, depression and sexual trauma both uniquely predicted RSB. There was an additional suppressor effect of socioeconomic status in predicting RSB among females. Results suggest that the association of trauma type with RSB depends on participant sex. Implications of the current study for RSB prevention efforts are discussed.

Anxiety, Affect, Self-Esteem, and Stress: Mediation and Moderation Effects on Depression

PubMed Central

Nima, Ali Al; Rosenberg, Patricia; Archer, Trevor; Garcia, Danilo

2013-01-01

Background Mediation analysis investigates whether a variable (i.e., mediator) changes in regard to an independent variable, in turn, affecting a dependent variable. Moderation analysis, on the other hand, investigates whether the statistical interaction between independent variables predict a dependent variable. Although this difference between these two types of analysis is explicit in current literature, there is still confusion with regard to the mediating and moderating effects of different variables on depression. The purpose of this study was to assess the mediating and moderating effects of anxiety, stress, positive affect, and negative affect on depression. Methods Two hundred and two university students (males  = 93, females  = 113) completed questionnaires assessing anxiety, stress, self-esteem, positive and negative affect, and depression. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using techniques based on standard multiple regression and hierarchical regression analyses. Main Findings The results indicated that (i) anxiety partially mediated the effects of both stress and self-esteem upon depression, (ii) that stress partially mediated the effects of anxiety and positive affect upon depression, (iii) that stress completely mediated the effects of self-esteem on depression, and (iv) that there was a significant interaction between stress and negative affect, and between positive affect and negative affect upon depression. Conclusion The study highlights different research questions that can be investigated depending on whether researchers decide to use the same variables as mediators and/or moderators. PMID:24039896

Impact of sleep quality on amygdala reactivity, negative affect, and perceived stress.

PubMed

Prather, Aric A; Bogdan, Ryan; Hariri, Ahmad R

2013-05-01

Research demonstrates a negative impact of sleep disturbance on mood and affect; however, the biological mechanisms mediating these links are poorly understood. Amygdala reactivity to negative stimuli has emerged as one potential pathway. Here, we investigate the influence of self-reported sleep quality on associations between threat-related amygdala reactivity and measures of negative affect and perceived stress. Analyses on data from 299 participants (125 men, 50.5% white, mean [standard deviation] age = 19.6 [1.3] years) who completed the Duke Neurogenetics Study were conducted. Participants completed several self-report measures of negative affect and perceived stress. Threat-related (i.e., angry and fearful facial expressions) amygdala reactivity was assayed using blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging. Global sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Amygdala reactivity to fearful facial expressions predicted greater depressive symptoms and higher perceived stress in poor (β values = 0.18-1.86, p values < .05) but not good sleepers (β values = -0.13 to -0.01, p values > .05). In sex-specific analyses, men reporting poorer global sleep quality showed a significant association between amygdala reactivity and levels of depression and perceived stress (β values = 0.29-0.44, p values < .05). In contrast, no significant associations were observed in men reporting good global sleep quality or in women, irrespective of sleep quality. This study provides novel evidence that self-reported sleep quality moderates the relationships between amygdala reactivity, negative affect, and perceived stress, particularly among men.

When you see it coming: Stressor anticipation modulates stress effects on negative affect.

PubMed

Neubauer, Andreas B; Smyth, Joshua M; Sliwinski, Martin J

2018-04-01

Research on the effect of exposure to minor stressors in people's daily lives consistently reports negative effects on indicators of well-being, often coined stress reactivity. Recent advances in the intensity of data collection have brought about an increasing interest in within-day associations of stress exposure and indicators of well-being, including dynamic aspects of the stress response such as stress recovery. In the present work, we investigated the other end of the stress response: the anticipation of a stressor. We hypothesized that anticipation of an upcoming stressor would be accompanied by higher negative affect. Based on the anticipatory coping account, lower negative affect after occurrence of anticipated (vs. not anticipated) stressors was predicted. We approached this question with a measurement burst study that allowed us to disentangle variation in stress processes across different time scales. One-hundred and seventy-five participants (mean age = 50, range 20-79) completed up to 3 measurement bursts. Each burst consisted of an ecological momentary assessment with 5 assessments per day over 7 days. In line with our expectations, negative affect was significantly higher after stressor anticipation, especially on days with high levels of intrusive thoughts. However, negative affect was not lower after anticipated (vs. not anticipated) stressors. Findings point to the role of perseverative cognition in the effect of stressor anticipation. Directions for future research including the role of controllability and effects on stress recovery are outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

The Relative Importance of Psychopathy-Related Traits in Predicting Impersonal Sex and Hostile Masculinity

PubMed Central

LeBreton, James M.; Baysinger, Michael; Abbey, Antonia; Jacques-Tiura, Angela J.

2013-01-01

This paper reports the relative contributions of several facets of subclinical psychopathy (i.e., callous affect, erratic lifestyle, interpersonal manipulation), subclinical narcissism (i.e., entitlement, exploitation), and trait aggression (i.e., anger) to the prediction of four enduring attitudes towards women and sexual assault (i.e., hostility towards women, negative attitudes regarding women, sexual dominance, impersonal sex) and a behavioral indicator of an impersonal sexual behavior (i.e., number of one-night stands). Survey data were collected from 470 single men living in the Detroit Metropolitan area. The importance of personality traits varied as a function of the outcome with anger most predictive of hostility toward women; erratic lifestyle most predictive of impersonal sexual attitudes and behavior, and entitlement most predictive of sexual dominance and negative attitudes toward women. These outcome-specific findings are interpreted and directions for future research are discussed. PMID:26082565

Gender differences in the content of cognitive distraction during sex.

PubMed

Meana, Marta; Nunnink, Sarah E

2006-02-01

This study compared 220 college men and 237 college women on two types of self-reported cognitive distraction during sex, performance- and appearance-based. Affect, psychological distress, sexual knowledge, attitudes, fantasies, experiences, body image, satisfaction, and sexual function were assessed with the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory and the Sexual History Form to determine associations with distraction. Between-gender analyses revealed that women reported higher levels of overall and appearance-based distraction than did men, but similar levels of performance-based distraction. Within-gender analyses revealed that women reported as much of one type of distraction as the other, while men reported more performance- than appearance-based distraction. In women, appearance-based distraction was predicted by negative body image, psychological distress, and not being in a relationship, while performance-based distraction was predicted by negative body image, psychological distress, and sexual dissatisfaction. In men, appearance-based distraction was predicted by negative body image, sexual dissatisfaction and not being in a relationship, while performance-based distraction was predicted by negative body image and sexual dissatisfaction. Investigating the content of cognitive distraction may be useful in understanding gender differences in sexual experience and in refining cognitive components of sex therapy.

Personality traits and dysfunctional construal of online health promotion messages.

PubMed

Lee, Yaeeun; Kurtz, John E

2017-10-20

With the Internet becoming increasingly popular as a source of information, blogs offering healthy lifestyle techniques and knowledge have become popular and accessible. Despite their focus on health, these blogs portray content that may be negatively construed by viewers, especially those with or at risk for eating disorders. The present study investigated changes in affect and self-esteem after viewing a prototypic health blog. Personality traits, specifically neuroticism and conscientiousness, were also investigated. A prototypic health blog was constructed after extensive review of existing blogs. A parallel format was then followed to create a home décor website for a control condition. Female undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of two blog sites, and participants completed an earlier personality assessment and post-viewing study questionnaires. Contrary to the hypothesis that readers of the health blog will report more negative outcomes, no main effect of blog condition was found. However, individuals high in trait neuroticism experienced greater differences in negative affect, but not self-esteem, when viewing the health blog versus the control blog. This study found that viewing health blogs did not have immediate effects on affect and self-esteem, but more neurotic individuals were more inclined to experience negative affect when viewing health promotion messages. Personality traits assessed prior to the experiment were more predictive of negative affect and self-esteem during the experiment than blog viewing conditions. No level of evidence, experimental study.

Performing a secondary executive task with affective stimuli interferes with decision making under risk conditions.

PubMed

Gathmann, Bettina; Pawlikowski, Mirko; Schöler, Tobias; Brand, Matthias

2014-05-01

Previous studies demonstrated that executive functions are crucial for advantageous decision making under risk and that therefore decision making is disrupted when working memory capacity is demanded while working on a decision task. While some studies also showed that emotions can affect decision making under risk, it is unclear how affective processing and executive functions predict decision-making performance in interaction. The current experimental study used a between-subjects design to examine whether affective pictures (positive and negative pictures compared to neutral pictures), included in a parallel executive task (working memory 2-back task), have an impact on decision making under risk as assessed by the Game of Dice Task (GDT). Moreover, the performance GDT plus 2-back task was compared to the performance in the GDT without any additional task (GDT solely). The results show that the performance in the GDT differed between groups (positive, negative, neutral, and GDT solely). The groups with affective pictures, especially those with positive pictures in the 2-back task, showed more disadvantageous decisions in the GDT than the groups with neutral pictures and the group performing the GDT without any additional task. However, executive functions moderated the effect of the affective pictures. Regardless of affective influence, subjects with good executive functions performed advantageously in the GDT. These findings support the assumption that executive functions and emotional processing interact in predicting decision making under risk.

Do Time in Child Care and Peer Group Exposure Predict Poor Socioemotional Adjustment in Norway?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solheim, Elisabet; Wichstrøm, Lars; Belsky, Jay; Berg-Nielsen, Turid Suzanne

2013-01-01

Extensive exposure to nonparental child care during the first 4.5 years of life has been demonstrated in some American studies to negatively affect children's socioemotional functioning. Data from 935 preschool children who averaged 54.9 (SD = 3.0) months of age, from Trondheim, Norway were used to examine whether such negative effects, would…

Parental Involvement Protects against Self-Medication Behaviors during the High School Transition

PubMed Central

Gottfredson, Nisha C.; Hussong, Andrea M.

2011-01-01

We examined how drinking patterns change as adolescents transition to high school, particularly as a function of parental involvement. Stress associated with the transition to high school may deplete psychological resources for coping with negative daily emotions in an environment when opportunities to drink are more common. A cohort of elevated-risk middle school students completed daily negative affect (sadness, worry, anger, and stress) and alcohol use assessments before and after the transition to high school, resulting in a measurement burst design. Adolescents who reported less parental involvement were at higher risk for drinking on any given day. After (but not before) the transition to high school, daily within-person fluctuations of sadness predicted an increased probability of same-day alcohol use for adolescents who reported that their parents were minimally involved in their lives. The other negative affect indicators were not predictive of use. Our results suggest that the transition to high school may represent an important intervention leverage point, particularly for adolescents who lack adequate parental support to help them cope with day-to-day changes in sadness. PMID:21880433

Evaluation with 3.0-T MR imaging: predicting the pathological response of triple-negative breast cancer treated with anthracycline and taxane neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

PubMed

Kim, Min Jung; Kim, Eun-Kyung; Park, Seho; Moon, Hee Jung; Kim, Seung Il; Park, Byeong-Woo

2015-09-01

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) which expresses neither hormonal receptors nor HER-2 is associated with poor prognosis and shorter survival. Several studies have suggested that TNBC patients attaining pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) show a longer survival than those without pCR. To assess the accuracy of 3.0-T breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in predicting pCR and to evaluate the clinicoradiologic factors affecting the diagnostic accuracy of 3.0-T breast MRI in TNBC patients treated with anthracycline and taxane (ACD). This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board; patient consent was not required. Between 2009 and 2012, 35 TNBC patients with 3.0-T breast MRI prior to (n = 26) or after (n = 35) NAC were included. MRI findings were reviewed according to pCR to chemotherapy. The diagnostic accuracy of 3.0-T breast MRI for predicting pCR and the clinicoradiological factors affecting MRI accuracy and response to NAC were analyzed. 3.0-T MRI following NAC with ACD accurately predicted pCR in 91.4% of TNBC patients. The residual tumor size between pathology and 3.0-T MRI in non-pCR cases showed a higher correlation in the Ki-67-positive TNBC group (r = 0.947) than in the Ki-67 negative group (r = 0.375) with statistical trends (P = 0.069). Pre-treatment MRI in the non-pCR group compared to the pCR group showed a larger tumor size (P = 0.030) and non-mass presentation (P = 0.015). 3.0-T MRI in TNBC patients following NAC with ACD showed a high accuracy for predicting pCR to NAC. Ki-67 can affect the diagnostic accuracy of 3.0-T MRI for pCR to NAC with ACD in TNBC patients. © The Foundation Acta Radiologica 2014.

Longitudinal Modeling of the Association Between Transmissible Risk, Affect During Drug Use and Development of Substance Use Disorder.

PubMed

Tarter, Ralph E; Kirisci, Levent; Reynolds, Maureen; Horner, Michelle; Zhai, ZuWei; Gathuru, Irene; Vanyukov, Michael

2015-01-01

This longitudinal investigation examined the hypothesis that subjective experience during consumption of preferred drugs mediates the association of transmissible risk for substance use disorder (SUD) measured in childhood and adolescence, and SUD diagnosis in adulthood. Transmissible risk denotes the psychological characteristics having intergenerational continuity between parents and their biological children. The transmissible liability index (TLI) was administered to four hundred eighty-three 10 to 12-year-old boys (baseline). Follow-up evaluations were conducted when the boys attained 12-14, 16, 19, and 22 years of age, using age-specific versions of the TLI. Frequency of consumption of the participants' three most preferred drugs, affect on an ordinary day, affect while under influence of the preferred substances, and presence/absence of current SUD were assessed at 22 years of age. Consumption frequency of preferred drugs among boys mediates the association of transmissible risk during childhood, and adolescence and SUD diagnosis in adulthood. Severity of negative affect on a drug-free day predicts frequency of consumption of preferred drugs, which, in turn, predicts severity of negative affect during the drug use event. Neither affect on a drug-free day nor affect during the drug use event mediates the association of transmissible risk and SUD. Affect on drug-free days, and while under influence of preferred substances, covary with consumption frequency; however, affect is not related to transmissible SUD risk or SUD outcome.

Adult Judgments and Fine-Grained Analysis of Infant Facial Expressions: Testing the Validity of A Priori Coding Formulas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oster, Harriet; And Others

1992-01-01

Compared subjects' judgments about emotions expressed by the faces of infants pictured in slides to predictions made by the Max system of measuring emotional expression. Judgments did not coincide with Max predictions for fear, anger, sadness, and disgust. Results indicated that expressions of negative affect by infants are not fully…

Negative urgency and reward/punishment sensitivity in intermittent explosive disorder.

PubMed

Puhalla, Alexander A; Ammerman, Brooke A; Uyeji, Lauren L; Berman, Mitchell E; McCloskey, Michael S

2016-09-01

Intermittent explosive disorder (IED) is the sole psychiatric diagnosis in which affective aggression is the cardinal symptom. Previous research has been equivocal with regard to the relationship between IED and impulsivity. This inconsistency may reflect the varied facets of impulsivity, with some aspects of impulsivity (e.g. negative urgency) as well as some overlapping, albeit distinct constructs (e.g. reward and punishment sensitivity) yet to be studied. The present study compared individuals diagnosed with IED (n=81) with psychiatric controls (PCs; n=52) and healthy volunteers (HVs; n=58) on the impulsivity domains of negative and positive urgency, perseverance, sensation seeking, and premeditation, as well as on reward and punishment sensitivity. We hypothesized that individuals with IED would show greater negative and positive urgency, reward sensitivity, punishment sensitivity, with negative urgency independently predicting IED status. We also hypothesized that negative urgency would predict levels of anger, aggression, and aggression control among those with IED. The IED participants reported greater negative urgency than both comparison groups, and greater levels of positive urgency, reward sensitivity, and punishment sensitivity compared to HVs. Further, heightened negative urgency was the sole predictor an IED diagnosis. Within the IED group negative urgency uniquely predicted decreased aggression control and increased trait anger. Limitations included reliance on self-report measures to assess RS/PS, impulsivity, and aggression. These findings suggest that negative urgency is a key factor associated with IED and is associated with dampened control of aggression within those with IED. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effectively Coping With Task Stress: A Study of the Validity of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF).

PubMed

O'Connor, Peter; Nguyen, Jessica; Anglim, Jeromy

2017-01-01

In this study, we investigated the validity of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF; Petrides, 2009) in the context of task-induced stress. We used a total sample of 225 volunteers to investigate (a) the incremental validity of the TEIQue-SF over other predictors of coping with task-induced stress, and (b) the construct validity of the TEIQue-SF by examining the mechanisms via which scores from the TEIQue-SF predict coping outcomes. Results demonstrated that the TEIQue-SF possessed incremental validity over the Big Five personality traits in the prediction of emotion-focused coping. Results also provided support for the construct validity of the TEIQue-SF by demonstrating that this measure predicted adaptive coping via emotion-focused channels. Specifically, results showed that, following a task stressor, the TEIQue-SF predicted low negative affect and high task performance via high levels of emotion-focused coping. Consistent with the purported theoretical nature of the trait emotional intelligence (EI) construct, trait EI as assessed by the TEIQue-SF primarily enhances affect and performance in stressful situations by regulating negative emotions.

STEPPS: Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving in women offenders with borderline personality disorder in prison--a pilot study.

PubMed

Black, Donald W; Blum, Nancee; Eichinger, Leanne; McCormick, Brett; Allen, Jeff; Sieleni, Bruce

2008-10-01

An uncontrolled pilot study of Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS) was conducted with incarcerated women offenders. STEPPS is a promising new cognitive-behavioral group treatment for persons with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Twelve women offenders with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition BPD were enrolled in the 20-week program at an Iowa prison. Efficacy assessments included the Borderline Evaluation of Severity over Time, the Positive and Negative Affectivity Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Data were collected at baseline, and weeks 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20. A prison therapist was trained to deliver the STEPPS program. The 12 volunteers had a mean age of 34.8+/-8.5 years. Two women discontinued early because they were released from prison; the others attended all sessions. The analysis showed significant improvements in BPD-related symptoms, negative affectivity, and depression. The Borderline Evaluation of Severity over Time total score was highly significant at week 20 (P=.009), indicating overall improvement in BPD-related symptoms. Effect sizes for the efficacy measures were moderate to large. The prison therapist showed excellent adherence to the model. This study demonstrated the successful implementation of the STEPPS program in a women's prison. Participants achieved "real-world" benefits, including a reduction in the negative thoughts and behaviors associated with BPD, negative affectivity, and depression. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Religious Engagement in a Risky Family Model Predicting Health in Older Black and White Seventh-day Adventists

PubMed Central

Morton, Kelly R.; Lee, Jerry W.; Haviland, Mark G.; Fraser, Gary E.

2012-01-01

In a structural equation model, associations among latent variables – Child Poverty, Risky Family exposure, Religious Engagement, Negative Social Interactions, Negative Emotionality, and Perceived Physical Health – were evaluated in 6,753 Black and White adults aged 35–106 years (M = 60.5, SD = 13.0). All participants were members of the Seventh-day Adventist church surveyed in the Biopsychosocial Religion and Health Study (BRHS). Child Poverty was positively associated with both Risky Family exposure (conflict, neglect, abuse) and Religious Engagement (intrinsic religiosity, religious coping, religiousness). Risky Family was negatively associated with Religious Engagement and positively associated with both Negative Social Interactions (intrusive, failed to help, insensitive, rejecting) and Negative Emotionality (depression, negative affect, neuroticism). Religious Engagement was negatively associated with Negative Emotionality and Negative Social Interactions at a given level of risky family. Negative Social Interactions was positively associated with Negative Emotionality, which had a direct, negative effect on Perceived Physical Health. All constructs had indirect effects on Perceived Physical Health through Negative Emotionality. The effects of a risky family environment appear to be enduring, negatively affecting one’s adult religious life, emotionality, social interactions, and perceived health. Religious engagement, however, may counteract the damaging effects of early life stress. PMID:23560134

Regional Cultures and the Psychological Geography of Switzerland: Person–Environment–Fit in Personality Predicts Subjective Wellbeing

PubMed Central

Götz, Friedrich M.; Ebert, Tobias; Rentfrow, Peter J.

2018-01-01

The present study extended traditional nation-based research on person–culture–fit to the regional level. First, we examined the geographical distribution of Big Five personality traits in Switzerland. Across the 26 Swiss cantons, unique patterns were observed for all traits. For Extraversion and Neuroticism clear language divides emerged between the French- and Italian-speaking South-West vs. the German-speaking North-East. Second, multilevel modeling demonstrated that person–environment–fit in Big Five, composed of elevation (i.e., mean differences between individual profile and cantonal profile), scatter (differences in mean variances) and shape (Pearson correlations between individual and cantonal profiles across all traits; Furr, 2008, 2010), predicted the development of subjective wellbeing (i.e., life satisfaction, satisfaction with personal relationships, positive affect, negative affect) over a period of 4 years. Unexpectedly, while the effects of shape were in line with the person–environment–fit hypothesis (better fit predicted higher subjective wellbeing), the effects of scatter showed the opposite pattern, while null findings were observed for elevation. Across a series of robustness checks, the patterns for shape and elevation were consistently replicated. While that was mostly the case for scatter as well, the effects of scatter appeared to be somewhat less robust and more sensitive to the specific way fit was modeled when predicting certain outcomes (negative affect, positive affect). Distinguishing between supplementary and complementary fit may help to reconcile these findings and future research should explore whether and if so under which conditions these concepts may be applicable to the respective facets of person–culture–fit. PMID:29713299

Perceptual discrimination difficulty and familiarity in the Uncanny Valley: more like a "Happy Valley".

PubMed

Cheetham, Marcus; Suter, Pascal; Jancke, Lutz

2014-01-01

The Uncanny Valley Hypothesis (UVH) predicts that greater difficulty perceptually discriminating between categorically ambiguous human and humanlike characters (e.g., highly realistic robot) evokes negatively valenced (i.e., uncanny) affect. An ABX perceptual discrimination task and signal detection analysis was used to examine the profile of perceptual discrimination (PD) difficulty along the UVH' dimension of human likeness (DHL). This was represented using avatar-to-human morph continua. Rejecting the implicitly assumed profile of PD difficulty underlying the UVH' prediction, Experiment 1 showed that PD difficulty was reduced for categorically ambiguous faces but, notably, enhanced for human faces. Rejecting the UVH' predicted relationship between PD difficulty and negative affect (assessed in terms of the UVH' familiarity dimension), Experiment 2 demonstrated that greater PD difficulty correlates with more positively valenced affect. Critically, this effect was strongest for the ambiguous faces, suggesting a correlative relationship between PD difficulty and feelings of familiarity more consistent with the metaphor happy valley. This relationship is also consistent with a fluency amplification instead of the hitherto proposed hedonic fluency account of affect along the DHL. Experiment 3 found no evidence that the asymmetry in the profile of PD along the DHL is attributable to a differential processing bias (cf. other-race effect), i.e., processing avatars at a category level but human faces at an individual level. In conclusion, the present data for static faces show clear effects that, however, strongly challenge the UVH' implicitly assumed profile of PD difficulty along the DHL and the predicted relationship between this and feelings of familiarity.

Regional Cultures and the Psychological Geography of Switzerland: Person-Environment-Fit in Personality Predicts Subjective Wellbeing.

PubMed

Götz, Friedrich M; Ebert, Tobias; Rentfrow, Peter J

2018-01-01

The present study extended traditional nation-based research on person-culture-fit to the regional level. First, we examined the geographical distribution of Big Five personality traits in Switzerland. Across the 26 Swiss cantons, unique patterns were observed for all traits. For Extraversion and Neuroticism clear language divides emerged between the French- and Italian-speaking South-West vs. the German-speaking North-East. Second, multilevel modeling demonstrated that person-environment-fit in Big Five, composed of elevation (i.e., mean differences between individual profile and cantonal profile), scatter (differences in mean variances) and shape (Pearson correlations between individual and cantonal profiles across all traits; Furr, 2008, 2010), predicted the development of subjective wellbeing (i.e., life satisfaction, satisfaction with personal relationships, positive affect, negative affect) over a period of 4 years. Unexpectedly, while the effects of shape were in line with the person-environment-fit hypothesis (better fit predicted higher subjective wellbeing), the effects of scatter showed the opposite pattern, while null findings were observed for elevation. Across a series of robustness checks, the patterns for shape and elevation were consistently replicated. While that was mostly the case for scatter as well, the effects of scatter appeared to be somewhat less robust and more sensitive to the specific way fit was modeled when predicting certain outcomes (negative affect, positive affect). Distinguishing between supplementary and complementary fit may help to reconcile these findings and future research should explore whether and if so under which conditions these concepts may be applicable to the respective facets of person-culture-fit.

Perceptual discrimination difficulty and familiarity in the Uncanny Valley: more like a “Happy Valley”

PubMed Central

Cheetham, Marcus; Suter, Pascal; Jancke, Lutz

2014-01-01

The Uncanny Valley Hypothesis (UVH) predicts that greater difficulty perceptually discriminating between categorically ambiguous human and humanlike characters (e.g., highly realistic robot) evokes negatively valenced (i.e., uncanny) affect. An ABX perceptual discrimination task and signal detection analysis was used to examine the profile of perceptual discrimination (PD) difficulty along the UVH' dimension of human likeness (DHL). This was represented using avatar-to-human morph continua. Rejecting the implicitly assumed profile of PD difficulty underlying the UVH' prediction, Experiment 1 showed that PD difficulty was reduced for categorically ambiguous faces but, notably, enhanced for human faces. Rejecting the UVH' predicted relationship between PD difficulty and negative affect (assessed in terms of the UVH' familiarity dimension), Experiment 2 demonstrated that greater PD difficulty correlates with more positively valenced affect. Critically, this effect was strongest for the ambiguous faces, suggesting a correlative relationship between PD difficulty and feelings of familiarity more consistent with the metaphor happy valley. This relationship is also consistent with a fluency amplification instead of the hitherto proposed hedonic fluency account of affect along the DHL. Experiment 3 found no evidence that the asymmetry in the profile of PD along the DHL is attributable to a differential processing bias (cf. other-race effect), i.e., processing avatars at a category level but human faces at an individual level. In conclusion, the present data for static faces show clear effects that, however, strongly challenge the UVH' implicitly assumed profile of PD difficulty along the DHL and the predicted relationship between this and feelings of familiarity. PMID:25477829

[The influence of affect on satisfaction with conversations and interpersonal impressions from the perspective of dyadic affective combinations].

PubMed

Ken, Fujiwara; Daibo, Ikuo

2013-12-01

This study examined the influence of affect on interpersonal relationships in a dyadic communication context. The combination of speakers' affective states was considered, as compared to previous studies which considered only the individual's affective state. The independent variables, in a between-subjects design, were affective condition (positive vs. negative) and affective combination (similar vs. dissimilar). Participants (N = 86) took a test on creative thinking and were given false feedback. Then they had a 6-minute conversation and answered questions about their satisfaction with the conversation and their impressions of their partner. Results showed that the two-factor interactions were significant for satisfaction with the conversation and interpersonal impressions (social desirability) of the partner. The scores for these variables in the positive affect condition were higher than in the negative affect condition only when the affective combination was dissimilar. These results show that individual's affect could not predict conversational outcomes. The results were discussed in terms of incorrect inferences about the partner's affective state and imbalanced conversation activity.

Risk factors for body dissatisfaction in adolescent boys and girls: a prospective study.

PubMed

Presnell, Katherine; Bearman, Sarah Kate; Stice, Eric

2004-12-01

Despite evidence that body dissatisfaction predicts the onset of eating pathology and depression, few prospective studies have investigated predictors of body dissatisfaction. We examined risk factors for body dissatisfaction using prospective data from 531 adolescent boys and girls. Elevations in body mass, negative affect, and perceived pressure to be thin from peers, but not thin-ideal internalization, social support deficits, or perceived pressure to be thin from family, dating partners, or media, predicted increases in body dissatisfaction. Gender moderated the effect of body mass on body dissatisfaction and revealed a significant quadratic component for boys, but not girls. Gender also moderated negative affect. Results support the assertion that certain sociocultural, biologic, and interpersonal factors increase the risk for body dissatisfaction, but differ for boys and girls. Results provided little support for other accepted risk factors for body dissatisfaction. Copyright 2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Picky eating in preschool children: the predictive role of the child's temperament and mother's negative affectivity.

PubMed

Hafstad, Gertrud Sofie; Abebe, Dawit Shawel; Torgersen, Leila; von Soest, Tilmann

2013-08-01

The objective of this study is to describe the development and examine predictors of picky eating from 1.5 to 4.5 years of age in a community sample of children. Mothers completed a questionnaire, assessing picky eating and a range of child and maternal factors, when their children were aged 1.5 (n = 913), 2.5 (n = 777), and 4.5 (n = 727) years. Picky eating increased significantly from 1.5 to 4.5 years. Lower maternal age, higher levels of child emotionality, and maternal negative affectivity at the child's age 1.5 predicted an increase in picky eating from 1.5 years to 2.5 and 4.5 years. Having siblings protected against the development of picky eating. Child and maternal temperament at a very early stage in the child's life increase the risk for picky eating later on. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predictors of changes in body image concerns of Chinese adolescents.

PubMed

Chen, Hong; Jackson, Todd

2009-08-01

This nine-month prospective study tested the extent to which risk factors implicated in recent accounts of body dissatisfaction predicted changes in body image concerns of adolescent boys and girls in China. A sample of 593 Chinese adolescents (217 boys, 376 girls) completed measures of weight esteem, appearance esteem and physical stature concern in addition to demographics, internalization of attractiveness ideals, negative affect, and appearance pressure, teasing, and comparison at baseline and nine-month follow-up. For girls, initial levels of social comparison, and internalized attractiveness ideals predicted decreases in body esteem over time. Time 1 negative affect contributed to changes in both appearance esteem and weight esteem for boys. Baseline level of stature concerns and reported height were the only predictors of later stature concerns within each sex. In sum, this study suggests specific factors previously implicated in Western accounts also have utility for understanding body image concerns of adolescents in China.

Physical activity measurement in older adults: relationships with mental health.

PubMed

Parker, Sarah J; Strath, Scott J; Swartz, Ann M

2008-10-01

This study examined the relationship between physical activity (PA) and mental health among older adults as measured by objective and subjective PA-assessment instruments. Pedometers (PED), accelerometers (ACC), and the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) were administered to measure 1 week of PA among 84 adults age 55-87 (mean = 71) years. General mental health was measured using the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWL). Linear regressions revealed that PA estimated by PED significantly predicted 18.1%, 8.3%, and 12.3% of variance in SWL and positive and negative affect, respectively, whereas PA estimated by the PASE did not predict any mental health variables. Results from ACC data were mixed. Hotelling-William tests between correlation coefficients revealed that the relationship between PED and SWL was significantly stronger than the relationship between PASE and SWL. Relationships between PA and mental health might depend on the PA measure used.

A causal role for the anterior mid-cingulate cortex in negative affect and cognitive control.

PubMed

Tolomeo, Serenella; Christmas, David; Jentzsch, Ines; Johnston, Blair; Sprengelmeyer, Reiner; Matthews, Keith; Douglas Steele, J

2016-06-01

Converging evidence has linked the anterior mid-cingulate cortex to negative affect, pain and cognitive control. It has previously been proposed that this region uses information about punishment to control aversively motivated actions. Studies on the effects of lesions allow causal inferences about brain function; however, naturally occurring lesions in the anterior mid-cingulate cortex are rare. In two studies we therefore recruited 94 volunteers, comprising 15 patients with treatment-resistant depression who had received bilateral anterior cingulotomy, which consists of lesions made within the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, 20 patients with treatment-resistant depression who had not received surgery and 59 healthy control subjects. Using the Ekman 60 faces paradigm and two Stroop paradigms, we tested the hypothesis that patients who received anterior cingulotomy were impaired in recognizing negative facial affect expressions but not positive or neutral facial expressions, and impaired in Stroop cognitive control, with larger lesions being associated with more impairment. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that larger volume lesions predicted more impairment in recognizing fear, disgust and anger, and no impairment in recognizing facial expressions of surprise or happiness. However, we found no impairment in recognizing expressions of sadness. Also consistent with the hypothesis, we found that larger volume lesions predicted impaired Stroop cognitive control. Notably, this relationship was only present when anterior mid-cingulate cortex lesion volume was defined as the overlap between cingulotomy lesion volume and Shackman's meta-analysis-derived binary masks for negative affect and cognitive control. Given substantial evidence from healthy subjects that the anterior mid-cingulate cortex is part of a network associated with the experience of negative affect and pain, engaging cognitive control processes for optimizing behaviour in the presence of such stimuli, our findings support the assertion that this region has a causal role in these processes. While the clinical justification for cingulotomy is empirical and not theoretical, it is plausible that lesions within a brain region associated with the subjective experience of negative affect and pain may be therapeutic for patients with otherwise intractable mood, anxiety and pain syndromes. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

THE BRIEF PSYCHIATRIC RATING SCALE IN POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SUBTYPES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

PubMed Central

Kulhara, P.; Mattoo, S.K.; Avasthi, A.; Malhotra, A.

1987-01-01

SUMMARY Usefulness of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) in distinguishing positive and negative subtypes of schizophrenia is presented. Ninety five schizophrenic patients were assessed on BPRS. Significant differences emerged between positive and negative subtypes of schizophrenia on items like emotional withdrawal, guilt feelings, tension, hallucinatory behaviour, motor retardation, blunted affect and excitement. Discriminant function equation generated by these items had a high rate of prediction of group membership either to positive or negative schizophrenia group. Principal components analysis of BPRS scores yielded factors which favour categorization of patients in positive, negative subtypes. The study provides support for classification of schizophrenia into these subtypes. PMID:21927241

Parsing affective dynamics to identify risk for mood and anxiety disorders.

PubMed

Heller, Aaron S; Fox, Andrew S; Davidson, Richard J

2018-06-04

Emotional dysregulation is thought to underlie risk for both anxiety and depressive disorders. However, despite high rates of comorbidity, anxiety and depression are phenotypically different. Apart from nosological differences (e.g., worry for anxiety, low mood for depression), it remains unclear how the emotional dysregulation inherent in individual differences in trait anxiety and depression severity present on a day-to-day basis. One approach that may facilitate addressing these questions is to utilize Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) using mobile phones to parse the temporal dynamics of affective experiences into specific parameters. An emerging literature in affective science suggests that risk for anxiety and depressive disorders may be associated with variation in the mean and instability/variability of emotion. Here we examine the extent to which distinct temporal dynamic parameters uniquely predict risk for anxiety versus depression. Over 10 days, 105 individuals rated their current positive and negative affective state several times each day. Using two distinct approaches to statistically assess mean and instability of positive and negative affect, we found that individual differences in trait anxiety was generally associated with increased instability of positive and negative affect whereas mean levels of positive and negative affect were generally associated with individual differences in depression. These data provide evidence that the emotional dysregulation underlying risk for mood versus anxiety disorders unfolds in distinct ways and highlights the utility in examining affective dynamics to understand psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Positive Parenting Interacts with Child Temperament and Negative Parenting to Predict Children’s Socially Appropriate Behavior

PubMed Central

Danzig, Allison P.; Dyson, Margaret W.; Olino, Thomas M.; Laptook, Rebecca S.; Klein, Daniel N.

2017-01-01

This study examined the effects of parents’ positive and negative affect and behavior while interacting with their preschool child and the moderating role of child temperament in predicting children’s subsequent difficulty with socially appropriate behavior around school-entry. Independent observational measures were used to assess child temperament (dysphoria; exuberance) and parenting at age 3, and multi-informant reports of child socially appropriate behavior were collected at age 6 (N = 219). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that children’s temperamental dysphoria moderated the relationship between positive parenting and later socially appropriate behavior. High- and low-dysphoric children trended in opposite directions; highly dysphoric children experienced greater difficulty with socially appropriate behavior as levels of positive parenting increased, whereas low-dysphoric children experienced less difficulty with socially appropriate behavior with higher levels of positive parenting. There was also an interaction between positive and negative parenting, whereby the combination of elevated positive and negative parenting predicted children’s later difficulty with socially appropriate behavior. The findings suggest that positive parenting interacts with early child temperament and negative parenting to impact the development of children’s socially appropriate behavior. PMID:28824223

Incidental mood state before dissonance induction affects attitude change.

PubMed

Martinie, Marie-Amélie; Almecija, Yves; Ros, Christine; Gil, Sandrine

2017-01-01

The way that incidental affect impacts attitude change brought about by controlled processes has so far been examined when the incidental affective state is generated after dissonance state induction. We therefore investigated attitude change when the incidental mood occurs prior to dissonance state induction. We expected a negative mood to induce systematic processing, and a positive mood to induce heuristic processing. Given that both systematic processing and attitude change are cognitively costly, we expected participants who experienced the dissonance state in a negative mood to have insufficient resources to allocate to attitude change. In our experiment, after mood induction (negative, neutral or positive), participants were divided into low-dissonance and high-dissonance groups. They then wrote a counterattitudinal essay. Analysis of their attitudes towards the essay topic indicated that attitude change did not occur in the negative incidental mood condition. Moreover, written productivity-one indicator of cognitive resource allocation-varied according to the type of incidental mood, and only predicted attitude change in the high-dissonance group. Our results suggest that incidental mood before dissonance induction influences the style of information processing and, by so doing, affects the extent of attitude change.

Incidental mood state before dissonance induction affects attitude change

PubMed Central

Martinie, Marie-Amélie; Almecija, Yves; Ros, Christine; Gil, Sandrine

2017-01-01

The way that incidental affect impacts attitude change brought about by controlled processes has so far been examined when the incidental affective state is generated after dissonance state induction. We therefore investigated attitude change when the incidental mood occurs prior to dissonance state induction. We expected a negative mood to induce systematic processing, and a positive mood to induce heuristic processing. Given that both systematic processing and attitude change are cognitively costly, we expected participants who experienced the dissonance state in a negative mood to have insufficient resources to allocate to attitude change. In our experiment, after mood induction (negative, neutral or positive), participants were divided into low-dissonance and high-dissonance groups. They then wrote a counterattitudinal essay. Analysis of their attitudes towards the essay topic indicated that attitude change did not occur in the negative incidental mood condition. Moreover, written productivity–one indicator of cognitive resource allocation–varied according to the type of incidental mood, and only predicted attitude change in the high-dissonance group. Our results suggest that incidental mood before dissonance induction influences the style of information processing and, by so doing, affects the extent of attitude change. PMID:28708861

The impact of stress and psychosocial interventions on assisted reproductive technology outcome.

PubMed

Morreale, Mary; Balon, Richard; Tancer, Manuel; Diamond, Michael

2011-01-01

In natural cycles of attempted conception, stress has been shown to predict lower conception rates. The objective of this article is to determine whether stress affects the outcome of assisted reproductive technology (ART) as well. In addition, this article analyzes the effect that psychosocial interventions targeting the reduction of stress have on ART outcomes. This review examined available PubMed articles published in the past 15 years, and 28 articles were included. Looking specifically at numbers of women studied, stress appears to negatively affect ART outcome; interventions targeting stress reduction appear beneficial. Because stress appears to negatively affect ART outcome, and psychosocial interventions do not have detrimental effects, screening for stress should occur and some type of intervention considered during the ART process.

The Virtual Threat Effect: A Test of Competing Explanations for the Effects of Racial Stereotyping in Video Games on Players' Cognitions.

PubMed

Behm-Morawitz, Elizabeth; Hoffswell, Joseph; Chen, Szu-Wei

2016-05-01

Past research provides evidence that embodying a racially stereotyped African American video game character triggers stereotyped thinking among White players. However, the mechanisms through which virtual racial embodiment of a negatively stereotyped character in a video game impacts stereotyped thinking are still unknown. This study expands on past research and utilizes a between-subjects experimental design to test two possible theoretical explanations: the virtual threat effect and presence. On the one hand, embodying a negatively stereotyped African American character may elicit stereotyped thinking among White players due to the mere exposure to the threatening stereotype. According to this explanation, negative affective response to the threatening stimulus predicts stereotyping. On the other hand, the process of embodying, not just observing, the stereotyped African American character suggests that presence in the game may determine how impactful the game imagery is on White players' stereotyping of African Americans. In this case, level of presence would predict stereotyping. The findings of this study advance research by providing evidence of a psychological explanation for the negative effects of embodying a racially stereotyped video game character on players' race-related perceptions. We conceptualize the "virtual threat effect," which may be applied in additional contexts to understand how embodying stereotyped representations of outgroups in virtual environments may negatively affect individuals' perceptions and support of these groups.

A daily process examination of episode-specific drinking to cope motivation among college students.

PubMed

Ehrenberg, Ethan; Armeli, Stephen; Howland, Maryhope; Tennen, Howard

2016-06-01

Theory suggests that state- and trait-like factors should interact in predicting drinking to cope (DTC) motivation, yet no research to date has demonstrated this at the drinking episode level of analysis. Thus, we examined whether daily variation in positive and negative affect and avoidance and active coping were associated with DTC motivation during discrete drinking episodes and whether these associations were moderated by tension-reduction expectancies and other person-level risk factors. Using a secure website, 722 college student drinkers completed a one-time survey regarding their tension reduction expectancies and then reported daily for 30 days on their affect, coping strategies, drinking behaviors and motives for drinking. Individuals reported higher levels of DTC motivation on days when negative affect and avoidance coping were high and positive affect was low. We found only little support for the predicted interactive effects among the day- and person-level predictors. Our results support the state and trait conceptualizations of DTC motivation and provide evidence for the antecedent roles of proximal levels of daily affect and avoidance coping. Our inconsistent results for interaction effects including day-level antecedents raise the possibility that some of these synergistic processes might not generalize across level of analysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Daily Process Examination of Episode-Specific Drinking to Cope Motivation among College Students

PubMed Central

HOWLAND, MARYHOPE; TENNEN, HOWARD

2016-01-01

Objective Theory suggests that state- and trait-like factors should interact in predicting drinking to cope (DTC) motivation, yet no research to date has demonstrated this at the drinking episode level of analysis. Thus, we examined whether daily variation in positive and negative affect and avoidance and active coping were associated with DTC motivation during discrete drinking episodes and whether these associations were moderated by tension-reduction expectancies and other person-level risk factors. Methods Using a secure website, 722 college student drinkers completed a one-time survey regarding their tension reduction expectancies and then reported daily for 30 days on their affect, coping strategies, drinking behaviors and motives for drinking. Results Individuals reported higher levels of DTC motivation on days when negative affect and avoidance coping were high and positive affect was low. We found only little support for the predicted interactive effects among the day- and person-level predictors. Conclusion Our results support the state and trait conceptualizations of DTC motivation and provide evidence for the antecedent roles of proximal levels of daily affect and avoidance coping. Our inconsistent results for interaction effects including day-level antecedents raises the possibility that some of these synergistic processes might not generalize across level of analysis. PMID:26894551

Delineating potential mechanisms of implicit alcohol cognitions: drinking restraint, negative affect, and their relationship with approach alcohol associations.

PubMed

Cohn, Amy M; Cameron, Amy Y; Udo, Tomoko; Hagman, Brett T; Mitchell, Jessica; Bramm, Stephanie; Ehlke, Sarah

2012-06-01

Problem drinkers may use alcohol to avoid negative mood states and may develop implicit cognitive associations between negative emotional states and reinforcing properties of drinking. It is paradoxical that attempts to control drinking, such as among those high in drinking restraint, may inadvertently increase desire to drink and subsequent alcohol consumption, and this may be exaggerated under times of emotional distress when urges to drink are high. We examined whether individuals who are high on drinking restraint would demonstrate stronger alcohol-related thoughts elicited by stimuli that represent the desire to use alcohol, in response to stronger versus weaker negative mood arousal. Seventy hazardous drinkers completed measurements of drinking restraint, alcohol consumption, and consequences of use. After being randomized to view negative or positive pictures sets, participants completed an Implicit Association Task (IAT) to test differences in the strength of the association between desire to approach or avoid alcohol or water cues, and then a measurement of subjective craving following the IAT. Regression analyses showed that trait restriction not temptation was positively related to IAT scores, after controlling for relevant covariates and explained 7% of the total variance. Trait temptation not IAT predicted subjective craving. Negative affect was unrelated to IAT scores, singly or in conjunction with measures of drinking restraint, contrary to predictions. In sum, implicit alcohol cognitions are related to attempts to restrict drinking not temptation to drink and are less strongly influenced by mood state.

Depressive symptoms and momentary affect: the role of social interaction variables.

PubMed

Vranceanu, Ana-Maria; Gallo, Linda C; Bogart, Laura M

2009-01-01

Interpersonal functioning may be one important factor in the development and course of depression symptomatology. This study used ecological momentary assessment to test the associations among depressive symptoms, social experiences and momentary affect in women. Middle-aged women (N=108, M age: 41.6 years, 81% White) completed diary questions on handheld computers for 2 days. Diary items assessed social (conflictive versus supportive) and affective (negative versus positive) experiences at random times during the day. Women also completed a self-report measure of recent depressive symptoms. Multilevel modeling analyses showed that higher levels of symptoms of depression were related to higher negative affect and lower positive affect both directly and indirectly, through experiences of social conflict. Depressive symptoms were not significantly related to socially supportive interactions. In an alternative model testing the reverse association, neither positive nor negative affect significantly predicted social experiences. Generalizability is limited by the homogenous small sample and strict inclusionary criteria (working full-time or part-time, cohabitating or married, healthy). Due to the cross sectional nature of the data as well as the manner in which social and affective experiences were assessed, definitive conclusions regarding the temporal associations among depression symptoms, social functioning, and affect are not possible. Results are consistent with prior reports suggesting the salience of socially conflictive experiences, and the role of affect, in the etiology and maintenance of depression symptoms. Interventions that attempt to decrease socially conflictive experiences via cognitive-behavioral skills training, whereas concomitantly targeting positive and negative affect, could help prevent the development of full-blown depressive episodes in vulnerable individuals.

Many apples a day keep the blues away--daily experiences of negative and positive affect and food consumption in young adults.

PubMed

White, Bonnie A; Horwath, Caroline C; Conner, Tamlin S

2013-11-01

Prior research has focused on the association between negative affect and eating behaviour, often utilizing laboratory or cross-sectional study designs. These studies have inherent limitations, and the association between positive affect and eating behaviour remains relatively unexplored. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the bidirectional relationships between daily negative and positive affective experiences and food consumption in a naturalistic setting among healthy young adults. Daily diary study across 21 days (microlongitudinal, correlational design). A total of 281 young adults with a mean age of 19.9 (± 1.2) years completed an Internet-based daily diary for 21 consecutive days. Each day they reported their negative and positive affect, and their consumption of five specific foods. Hierarchical linear modelling was used to test same-day associations between daily affect and food consumption, and next-day (lagged) associations to determine directionality. Moderating effects of BMI and gender were also examined in exploratory analyses. Analyses of same-day within-person associations revealed that on days when young adults experienced greater positive affect, they reported eating more servings of fruit (p = .002) and vegetables (p < .001). Results of lagged analysis showed that fruits and vegetables predicted improvements in positive affect the next day, suggesting that healthy foods were driving affective experiences and not vice versa. Meaningful changes in positive affect were observed with the daily consumption of approximately 7-8 servings of fruit or vegetables. Eating fruit and vegetables may promote emotional well-being among healthy young adults. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Drinking to Cope Motivation as a Prospective Predictor of Negative Affect.

PubMed

Armeli, Stephen; Sullivan, Tami P; Tennen, Howard

2015-07-01

Consistent with research indicating that drinking to cope (DTC) motivation might exacerbate negative affective states within or immediately proximal to discrete drinking episodes, we examined whether yearly deviations in more global levels of DTC motivation prospectively predicted depressive and anxious affect over several weeks. College students (N = 521, 52% women) completed baseline measures of drinking motives, recent depression and anxiety symptoms, recent alcohol use, and alcohol use disorder symptoms on a secure website. Approximately 2 weeks after completing this survey, participants completed the 30-day daily diary portion of the study in which they reported on their current-day affective states. This yearly assessment burst in which participants completed a baseline survey and a daily diary assessment was repeated for 3 additional years. We found that changes in DTC motivation were positively associated with changes in depressive and anxious affect in the subsequent month, after we controlled for changes in concurrent anxiety and depressive symptoms, drinking level, enhancement drinking motivation, and alcohol use disorder symptoms. Our findings are consistent with the notion that DTC motivation confers a unique vulnerability for emotion dysregulation, and that drinking for such reasons possibly prolongs or exacerbates negative affective states.

The Influence of Subjective Social Status on Vulnerability to Postpartum Smoking Among Young Pregnant Women

PubMed Central

Reitzel, Lorraine R.; Vidrine, Jennifer I.; Li, Yisheng; Mullen, Patricia D.; Velasquez, Mary M.; Cinciripini, Paul M.; Cofta-Woerpel, Ludmila; Greisinger, Anthony; Wetter, David W.

2007-01-01

Objectives. Associations between subjective social status, a subjective measure of socioeconomic status, and predictors of risk for postpartum smoking were examined among 123 pregnant women (aged 18–24 years) who stopped smoking because of pregnancy. The goal was to identify how subjective social status might influence the risk for postpartum smoking and to elucidate targets for intervention. Methods. We used multiple regression equations to examine the predictive relations between subjective social status and tobacco dependence, self-rated likelihood of postpartum smoking, confidence, temptations, positive and negative affect, depression, stress, and social support. Adjusted analyses were also conducted with control for race/ethnicity, education, income, and whether participant had a partner or not (partner status). Results. In unadjusted and adjusted analyses, subjective social status predicted tobacco dependence, likelihood of postpartum smoking, confidence, temptations, positive affect, negative affect, and social support. Adjusted analyses predicting depression and stress approached significance. Conclusions. Among young pregnant women who quit smoking because of pregnancy, low subjective social status was associated with a constellation of characteristics indicative of increased vulnerability to postpartum smoking. Subjective social status provided unique information on risk for postpartum smoking over and above the effects of race/ethnicity, objective socioeconomic status, and partner status. PMID:17600249

Highly accurate prediction of emotions surrounding the attacks of September 11, 2001 over 1-, 2-, and 7-year prediction intervals.

PubMed

Doré, Bruce P; Meksin, Robert; Mather, Mara; Hirst, William; Ochsner, Kevin N

2016-06-01

In the aftermath of a national tragedy, important decisions are predicated on judgments of the emotional significance of the tragedy in the present and future. Research in affective forecasting has largely focused on ways in which people fail to make accurate predictions about the nature and duration of feelings experienced in the aftermath of an event. Here we ask a related but understudied question: can people forecast how they will feel in the future about a tragic event that has already occurred? We found that people were strikingly accurate when predicting how they would feel about the September 11 attacks over 1-, 2-, and 7-year prediction intervals. Although people slightly under- or overestimated their future feelings at times, they nonetheless showed high accuracy in forecasting (a) the overall intensity of their future negative emotion, and (b) the relative degree of different types of negative emotion (i.e., sadness, fear, or anger). Using a path model, we found that the relationship between forecasted and actual future emotion was partially mediated by current emotion and remembered emotion. These results extend theories of affective forecasting by showing that emotional responses to an event of ongoing national significance can be predicted with high accuracy, and by identifying current and remembered feelings as independent sources of this accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Highly accurate prediction of emotions surrounding the attacks of September 11, 2001 over 1-, 2-, and 7-year prediction intervals

PubMed Central

Doré, B.P.; Meksin, R.; Mather, M.; Hirst, W.; Ochsner, K.N

2016-01-01

In the aftermath of a national tragedy, important decisions are predicated on judgments of the emotional significance of the tragedy in the present and future. Research in affective forecasting has largely focused on ways in which people fail to make accurate predictions about the nature and duration of feelings experienced in the aftermath of an event. Here we ask a related but understudied question: can people forecast how they will feel in the future about a tragic event that has already occurred? We found that people were strikingly accurate when predicting how they would feel about the September 11 attacks over 1-, 2-, and 7-year prediction intervals. Although people slightly under- or overestimated their future feelings at times, they nonetheless showed high accuracy in forecasting 1) the overall intensity of their future negative emotion, and 2) the relative degree of different types of negative emotion (i.e., sadness, fear, or anger). Using a path model, we found that the relationship between forecasted and actual future emotion was partially mediated by current emotion and remembered emotion. These results extend theories of affective forecasting by showing that emotional responses to an event of ongoing national significance can be predicted with high accuracy, and by identifying current and remembered feelings as independent sources of this accuracy. PMID:27100309

The Metacognitions about Gambling Questionnaire: Development and psychometric properties.

PubMed

Caselli, Gabriele; Fernie, Bruce; Canfora, Flaviano; Mascolo, Cristina; Ferrari, Andrea; Antonioni, Maria; Giustina, Lucia; Donato, Gilda; Marcotriggiani, Antonella; Bertani, Andrea; Altieri, Antonella; Pellegrini, Eliana; Spada, Marcantonio M

2018-03-01

Recent research has suggested that metacognitions may play a role across the spectrum of addictive behaviours. The goal of our studies was to develop the first self-report scale of metacognitions about gambling. We conducted three studies with one community (n = 165) and two clinical (n = 110; n = 87) samples to test the structure and psychometric properties of the Metacognitions about Gambling Questionnaire and examined its capacity to prospectively predict severity of gambling. Findings supported a two factor solution consisting of positive and negative metacognitions about gambling. Internal consistency, predictive and divergent validity were acceptable. All the factors of the Metacognitions about Gambling Questionnaire correlated positively with gambling severity. Regression analyses showed that negative metacognitions about gambling were significantly associated to gambling severity over and above negative affect and gambling-specific cognitive distortions. Finally only gambling severity and negative metacognitions about gambling were significant prospective predictors of gambling severity as measured three months later. The Metacognitions about Gambling Questionnaire was shown to possess good psychometric properties, as well as predictive and divergent validity within the populations that were tested. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Psychosocial work characteristics and social support as predictors of SF-36 health functioning: the Whitehall II study.

PubMed

Stansfeld, S A; Bosma, H; Hemingway, H; Marmot, M G

1998-01-01

To assess whether work characteristics and social support are predictors of physical, psychological, and social functioning. Work characteristics (Karasek and Siegrist models) and social support at baseline were used to predict health functioning measured by the SF-36 General Health Survey 5 years later in a prospective cohort study of 10,308 British male and female civil servants. Effort-reward imbalance and negative aspects of close relationships predicted poor physical, psychological, and social functioning after adjustment for the potential confounding effects of age, employment grade, baseline ill health, and negative affectivity. These psychosocial characteristics seem to act in a similar way in the healthy and those with existing illness. Psychological demands at work in women, and low confiding/emotional support in men, also predicted poor functioning. Etiologically. these effects are not mediated through health-related behaviors. Negative aspects of work (high demands and effort-reward imbalance) and negative aspects of close relationships are independent powerful predictors of poor health functioning. They may have an etiological role, which is independent of baseline illness.

The cheater's high: the unexpected affective benefits of unethical behavior.

PubMed

Ruedy, Nicole E; Moore, Celia; Gino, Francesca; Schweitzer, Maurice E

2013-10-01

Many theories of moral behavior assume that unethical behavior triggers negative affect. In this article, we challenge this assumption and demonstrate that unethical behavior can trigger positive affect, which we term a "cheater's high." Across 6 studies, we find that even though individuals predict they will feel guilty and have increased levels of negative affect after engaging in unethical behavior (Studies 1a and 1b), individuals who cheat on different problem-solving tasks consistently experience more positive affect than those who do not (Studies 2-5). We find that this heightened positive affect does not depend on self-selection (Studies 3 and 4), and it is not due to the accrual of undeserved financial rewards (Study 4). Cheating is associated with feelings of self-satisfaction, and the boost in positive affect from cheating persists even when prospects for self-deception about unethical behavior are reduced (Study 5). Our results have important implications for models of ethical decision making, moral behavior, and self-regulatory theory.

Influence of caring youth sport contexts on efficacy-related beliefs and social behaviors.

PubMed

Gano-Overway, Lori A; Newton, Maria; Magyar, T Michelle; Fry, Mary D; Kim, Mi-Sook; Guivernau, Marta R

2009-03-01

Understanding what factors influence positive youth development has been advocated by youth development researchers (P. L. Benson, 2006; J. S. Eccles & J. A. Gootman, 2002). Consequently, the purpose of this study was to examine whether perceptions of a caring youth sport context influenced prosocial and antisocial behavior through efficacy-related beliefs, that is, positive and negative affective self-regulatory efficacy (ASRE) and empathic self-efficacy (ESE). Multiethnic youths taking part in summer sport programs (N = 395) completed a questionnaire that measured perceptions of the caring climate, ESE, ASRE, and social behavior. Structural equation modeling was used to test whether ASRE and ESE mediated the relationship between caring and social behaviors. Findings revealed that perceptions of caring positively predicted ASRE and ESE. In turn, positive ASRE positively predicted ESE. Prosocial behaviors were positively linked to ESE, whereas antisocial behaviors were negatively predicted by positive ASRE. The results suggest that caring influences prosocial and antisocial behavior because such contexts develop youths' ability to monitor, manage, and control positive affect, which in turn enhances their belief in their ability to empathize.

Fear of food prospectively predicts drive for thinness in an eating disorder sample recently discharged from intensive treatment.

PubMed

Levinson, Cheri A; Brosof, Leigh C; Ma, Jackie; Fewell, Laura; Lenze, Eric J

2017-12-01

Fears of food are common in individuals with eating disorders and contribute to the high relapse rates. However, it is unknown how fears of food contribute to eating disorder symptoms across time, potentially contributing to an increased likelihood of relapse. Participants diagnosed with an eating disorder (N=168) who had recently completed intensive treatment were assessed after discharge and one month later regarding fear of food, eating disorder symptoms, anxiety sensitivity, and negative affect. Cross lagged path analysis was utilized to determine if fear of food predicted subsequent eating disorder symptoms one month later. Fear of food-specifically, anxiety about eating and feared concerns about eating-predicted drive for thinness, a core symptom domain of eating disorders. These relationships held while accounting for anxiety sensitivity and negative affect. There is a specific, direct relationship between anxiety about eating and feared concerns about eating and drive for thinness. Future research should test if interventions designed to target fear of food can decrease drive for thinness and thereby prevent relapse. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Isolating the Role of Psychological Dysfunction in Smoking Cessation Failure: Relations of Personality and Psychopathology to Attaining Smoking Cessation Milestones

PubMed Central

Leventhal, Adam M.; Japuntich, Sandra J.; Piper, Megan E.; Jorenby, Douglas E.; Schlam, Tanya R.; Baker, Timothy B.

2012-01-01

Research exploring psychological dysfunction as a predictor of smoking cessation success may be limited by nonoptimal predictor variables (i.e., categorical psychodiagnostic measures vs. continuous personality-based manifestations of dysfunction) and imprecise outcomes (i.e., summative point prevalence abstinence vs. constituent cessation milestone measures). Accordingly, this study evaluated the unique and overlapping relations of broad-spectrum personality traits (positive emotionality, negative emotionality, and constraint) and past-year psychopathology (anxiety, mood, and substance use disorder) to point prevalence abstinence and three smoking cessation milestones: (1) initiating abstinence; (2) first lapse; and (3) transition from lapse to relapse. Participants were daily smokers (N=1365) enrolled in a smoking cessation treatment study. In single predictor regression models, each manifestation of internalizing dysfunction (lower positive emotionality, higher negative emotionality, and anxiety and mood disorder) predicted failure at one or more cessation milestone. In simultaneous predictor models, lower positive and higher negative emotionality significantly predicted failure to achieve milestones after controlling for psychopathology. Psychopathology did not predict any outcome when controlling for personality. Negative emotionality showed the most robust and consistent effects, significantly predicting failure to initiate abstinence, earlier lapse, and lower point prevalence abstinence rates. Substance use disorder and constraint did not predict cessation outcomes, and no single variable predicted lapse-to-relapse transition. These findings suggest that personality-related manifestations of internalizing dysfunction are more accurate markers of affective sources of relapse risk than mood and anxiety disorders. Further, individuals with high trait negative emotionality may require intensive intervention to promote the initiation and early maintenance of abstinence. PMID:22642858

Incremental validity of mindfulness skills in relation to emotional dysregulation among a young adult community sample.

PubMed

Vujanovic, Anka A; Bonn-Miller, Marcel O; Bernstein, Amit; McKee, Laura G; Zvolensky, Michael J

2010-01-01

The present investigation examined the incremental predictive validity of mindfulness skills, as measured by the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS), in relation to multiple facets of emotional dysregulation, as indexed by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), above and beyond variance explained by negative affectivity, anxiety sensitivity, and distress tolerance. Participants were a nonclinical community sample of 193 young adults (106 women, 87 men; M(age) = 23.91 years). The KIMS Accepting without Judgment subscale was incrementally negatively predictive of all facets of emotional dysregulation, as measured by the DERS. Furthermore, KIMS Acting with Awareness was incrementally negatively related to difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior. Additionally, both observing and describing mindfulness skills were incrementally negatively related to lack of emotional awareness, and describing skills also were incrementally negatively related to lack of emotional clarity. Findings are discussed in relation to advancing scientific understanding of emotional dysregulation from a mindfulness skills-based framework.

Feeling Blue or Turquoise? Emotional Differentiation in Major Depressive Disorder

PubMed Central

Demiralp, Emre; Thompson, Renee J.; Mata, Jutta; Jaeggi, Susanne M.; Buschkuehl, Martin; Barrett, Lisa Feldman; Ellsworth, Phoebe C.; Demiralp, Metin; Hernandez-Garcia, Luis; Deldin, Patricia J.; Gotlib, Ian H.; Jonides, John

2014-01-01

Some individuals have very specific and differentiated emotional experiences, such as anger, shame, excitement, and happiness, whereas others have more general affective experiences of pleasure or discomfort that are not as highly differentiated. Considering that individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) have cognitive deficits for negative information, we predicted that people with MDD would have less differentiated negative emotional experiences than would healthy people. To test this hypothesis, we assessed participants' emotional experiences using a 7-day experience-sampling protocol. Depression was assessed using structured clinical interviews and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. As predicted, individuals with MDD had less differentiated emotional experiences than did healthy participants, but only for negative emotions. These differences were above and beyond the effects of emotional intensity and variability. PMID:23070307

Immunohistochemical expression profiles of mucin antigens in salivary gland mucoepidermoid carcinoma: MUC4- and MUC6-negative expression predicts a shortened survival in the early postoperative phase.

PubMed

Honjo, Kie; Hiraki, Tsubasa; Higashi, Michiyo; Noguchi, Hirotsugu; Nomoto, Mitsuharu; Yoshimura, Takuya; Batra, Surinder K; Yonezawa, Suguru; Semba, Ichiro; Nakamura, Norifumi; Tanimoto, Akihide; Yamada, Sohsuke

2018-02-01

In mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC), the most common salivary gland carcinoma, there is a lack of novel prognostic markers, but post-operative early recurrence strongly affects the clinical course and a poor outcome. It is critical to predict which MEC patients are prone to develop recurrence/metastases. Mucins play pivotal roles in influencing cancer biology, thus affecting cell differentiation, adhesion, carcinoma invasion, aggressiveness and/or metastatic potential. Our aim is to elucidate the significance of expression profiles for mucins, particularly MUC4 and MUC6, and their correlations with various clinicopathological features and recurrence in salivary gland MECs. We performed immunohistochemical analyses on patients with surgically resected primary MEC using antibodies against mucin core proteins MUC4/8G7 and MUC6/CLH5 in 73 paraffin-embedded samples. Recurrence was noted in 15 of 73 (20.5%) patients. MUC4 or MUC6 expression was considered to be negative when <30% or 0% of the MEC cells showed positive staining, respectively. MUC4- and/or MUC6-negative expression respectively and variably showed a significant relationship to pathological tumor high-grade, the presence of lymphovascular invasion, lymph node metastasis and/or tumor-related death. In addition, MUC4 showed significantly negative co-expression with MUC6. Kaplan-Meier analyses revealed that not only single MUC4/6-negative expression but also the combination of both predicted significantly shorter disease-free and disease-specific survivals in MECs, especially within the first two years postoperatively. Therefore, each mucin plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of MEC progression. The detection of MUC4 and/or MUC6 might be a powerful parameter in the clinical management of MECs in the early postsurgical phase.

How absent negativity relates to affect and motivation: an integrative relief model.

PubMed

Deutsch, Roland; Smith, Kevin J M; Kordts-Freudinger, Robert; Reichardt, Regina

2015-01-01

The present paper concerns the motivational underpinnings and behavioral correlates of the prevention or stopping of negative stimulation - a situation referred to as relief. Relief is of great theoretical and applied interest. Theoretically, it is tied to theories linking affect, emotion, and motivational systems. Importantly, these theories make different predictions regarding the association between relief and motivational systems. Moreover, relief is a prototypical antecedent of counterfactual emotions, which involve specific cognitive processes compared to factual or mere anticipatory emotions. Practically, relief may be an important motivator of addictive and phobic behaviors, self destructive behaviors, and social influence. In the present paper, we will first provide a review of conflicting conceptualizations of relief. We will then present an integrative relief model (IRMO) that aims at resolving existing theoretical conflicts. We then review evidence relevant to distinctive predictions regarding the moderating role of various procedural features of relief situations. We conclude that our integrated model results in a better understanding of existing evidence on the affective and motivational underpinnings of relief, but that further evidence is needed to come to a more comprehensive evaluation of the viability of IRMO.

Extraversion and reward-related processing: probing incentive motivation in affective priming tasks.

PubMed

Robinson, Michael D; Moeller, Sara K; Ode, Scott

2010-10-01

Based on an incentive motivation theory of extraversion (Depue & Collins, 1999), it was hypothesized that extraverts (relative to introverts) would exhibit stronger positive priming effects in affective priming tasks, whether involving words or pictures. This hypothesis was systematically supported in four studies involving 229 undergraduates. In each of the four studies, and in a subsequent combined analysis, extraversion was positively predictive of positive affective priming effects, but was not predictive of negative affective priming effects. The results bridge an important gap in the literature between biological and trait models of incentive motivation and do so in a way that should be informative to subsequent efforts to understand the processing basis of extraversion as well as incentive motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Forecasting system predicts presence of sea nettles in Chesapeake Bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Christopher W.; Hood, Raleigh R.; Li, Zhen; Decker, Mary Beth; Gross, Thomas F.; Purcell, Jennifer E.; Wang, Harry V.

Outbreaks of noxious biota, which occur in both aquatic and terrestrial systems, can have considerable negative economic impacts. For example, an increasing frequency of harmful algal blooms worldwide has negatively affected the tourism industry in many regions. Such impacts could be mitigated if the conditions that give rise to these outbreaks were known and could be monitored. Recent advances in technology and communications allow us to continuously measure and model many environmental factors that are responsible for outbreaks of certain noxious organisms. A new prototype ecological forecasting system predicts the likelihood of occurrence of the sea nettle (Chrysaora quinquecirrha), a stinging jellyfish, in the Chesapeake Bay.

Alcohol enhances unprovoked 22–28 kHz USVs and suppresses USV mean frequency in High Alcohol Drinking (HAD-1) male rats

PubMed Central

Thakore, Neha; Reno, James M.; Gonzales, Rueben A.; Schallert, Timothy; Bell, Richard L.; Maddox, W. Todd; Duvauchelle, Christine L.

2016-01-01

Heightened emotional states increase impulsive behaviors such as excessive ethanol consumption in humans. Though positive and negative affective states in rodents can be monitored in real-time through ultrasonic vocalization (USV) emissions, few animal studies have focused on the role of emotional status as a stimulus for initial ethanol drinking. Our laboratory has recently developed reliable, high-speed analysis techniques to compile USV data during multiple-hour drinking sessions. Since High Alcohol Drinking (HAD-1) rats are selectively bred to voluntarily consume intoxicating levels of alcohol, we hypothesized that USVs emitted by HAD-1 rats would reveal unique emotional phenotypes predictive of alcohol intake and sensitive to alcohol experience. In this study, male HAD-1 rats had access to water, 15% and 30% EtOH or water only (i.e., Controls) during 8 weeks of daily 7-hr drinking-in-the-dark (DID) sessions. USVs, associated with both positive (i.e., 50–55 kHz frequency-modulated or FM) and negative (i.e., 22–28 kHz) emotional states, emitted during these daily DID sessions were examined. Findings showed basal 22–28 kHz USVs were emitted by both EtOH-Naïve (Control) and EtOH-experienced rats, alcohol experience enhanced 22–28 kHz USV emissions, and USV acoustic parameters (i.e., mean frequency in kHz) of both positive and negative USVs were significantly suppressed by chronic alcohol experience. These data suggest that negative affective status initiates and maintains excessive alcohol intake in selectively bred HAD-1 rats and support the notion that unprovoked emissions of negative affect-associated USVs (i.e., 22–28 kHz) predict vulnerability to excessive alcohol intake in distinct rodent models. PMID:26802730

Alcohol enhances unprovoked 22-28 kHz USVs and suppresses USV mean frequency in High Alcohol Drinking (HAD-1) male rats.

PubMed

Thakore, Neha; Reno, James M; Gonzales, Rueben A; Schallert, Timothy; Bell, Richard L; Maddox, W Todd; Duvauchelle, Christine L

2016-04-01

Heightened emotional states increase impulsive behaviors such as excessive ethanol consumption in humans. Though positive and negative affective states in rodents can be monitored in real-time through ultrasonic vocalization (USV) emissions, few animal studies have focused on the role of emotional status as a stimulus for initial ethanol drinking. Our laboratory has recently developed reliable, high-speed analysis techniques to compile USV data during multiple-hour drinking sessions. Since High Alcohol Drinking (HAD-1) rats are selectively bred to voluntarily consume intoxicating levels of alcohol, we hypothesized that USVs emitted by HAD-1 rats would reveal unique emotional phenotypes predictive of alcohol intake and sensitive to alcohol experience. In this study, male HAD-1 rats had access to water, 15% and 30% EtOH or water only (i.e., Controls) during 8 weeks of daily 7-h drinking-in-the-dark (DID) sessions. USVs, associated with both positive (i.e., 50-55 kHz frequency-modulated or FM) and negative (i.e., 22-28 kHz) emotional states, emitted during these daily DID sessions were examined. Findings showed basal 22-28 kHz USVs were emitted by both EtOH-Naïve (Control) and EtOH-experienced rats, alcohol experience enhanced 22-28 kHz USV emissions, and USV acoustic parameters (i.e., mean frequency in kHz) of both positive and negative USVs were significantly suppressed by chronic alcohol experience. These data suggest that negative affective status initiates and maintains excessive alcohol intake in selectively bred HAD-1 rats and support the notion that unprovoked emissions of negative affect-associated USVs (i.e., 22-28 kHz) predict vulnerability to excessive alcohol intake in distinct rodent models. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Relationships Between Craving Beliefs and Abstinence Self-Efficacy are Mediated by Smoking Motives and Moderated by Nicotine Dependence.

PubMed

Reese, Elizabeth D; Veilleux, Jennifer C

2016-01-01

Decreased abstinence self-efficacy is linked to increased craving and negative affect, as well as poorer smoking outcomes, such as lapse, relapse, and withdrawal symptom severity. Research suggests that beliefs and cognitions concerning ourselves and the world orient us toward specific goals and thus impact our judgments and behavior. This study serves to investigate whether motives for smoking mediate the relationship between beliefs about craving and abstinence self-efficacy judgments and whether this may differ by nicotine dependence. In a sample of 198 smokers (M age = 34.96, 51.8% female, 81.8% Caucasian), self-report measures of craving beliefs, situational abstinence self-efficacy, and smoking motives were measured. We examined the effect of beliefs on abstinence self-efficacy in both craving and negative affect situations, with craving and negative reinforcement smoking motives as mediators, and nicotine dependence as a moderator. Results indicate that craving beliefs predict lower abstinence self-efficacy judgments in craving situations indirectly through increased craving motives. However, this relationship was only significant for less dependent smokers. Additionally, regardless of nicotine dependence, craving beliefs predicted lower abstinence self-efficacy in negative affect situations via increased negative reinforcement smoking motives. These findings suggest that beliefs concerning the specific nature of craving correlate with smoking motives (ie, smoking goals) and thus abstinence self-efficacy judgments. Furthermore, these associations are stronger for less dependent smokers. Such findings suggest the importance of addressing craving beliefs during smoking cessation treatment, especially for less dependent smokers whose craving beliefs are associated with abstinence self-efficacy across multiple situations. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Affect and Subsequent Physical Activity: An Ambulatory Assessment Study Examining the Affect-Activity Association in a Real-Life Context.

PubMed

Niermann, Christina Y N; Herrmann, Christian; von Haaren, Birte; van Kann, Dave; Woll, Alexander

2016-01-01

Traditionally, cognitive, motivational, and volitional determinants have been used to explain and predict health behaviors such as physical activity. Recently, the role of affect in influencing and regulating health behaviors received more attention. Affects as internal cues may automatically activate unconscious processes of behavior regulation. The aim of our study was to examine the association between affect and physical activity in daily life. In addition, we studied the influence of the habit of being physically active on this relationship. An ambulatory assessment study in 89 persons (33.7% male, 25 to 65 years, M = 45.2, SD = 8.1) was conducted. Affect was assessed in the afternoon on 5 weekdays using smartphones. Physical activity was measured continuously objectively using accelerometers and subjectively using smartphones in the evening. Habit strength was assessed at the beginning of the diary period. The outcomes were objectively and subjectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) performed after work. Multilevel regression models were used to analyze the association between affect and after work MVPA. In addition, the cross-level interaction of habit strength and affect on after work MVPA was tested. Positive affect was positively related to objectively measured and self-reported after work MVPA: the greater the positive affect the more time persons subsequently spent on MVPA. An inverse relationship was found for negative affect: the greater the negative affect the less time persons spent on MVPA. The cross-level interaction effect was significant only for objectively measured MVPA. A strong habit seems to strengthen both the positive influence of positive affect and the negative influence of negative affect. The results of this study confirm previous results and indicate that affect plays an important role for the regulation of physical activity behavior in daily life. The results for positive affect were consistent. However, in contrast to previous reports of no or an inverse association, negative affect decreased subsequent MVPA. These inconsistencies may be-in part-explained by the different measurements of affect in our and other studies. Therefore, further research is warranted to gain more insight into the association between affect and physical activity.

How Self-Generated Thought Shapes Mood—The Relation between Mind-Wandering and Mood Depends on the Socio-Temporal Content of Thoughts

PubMed Central

Ruby, Florence J. M.; Smallwood, Jonathan; Engen, Haakon; Singer, Tania

2013-01-01

Recent work has highlighted that the generation of thoughts unrelated to the current environment may be both a cause and a consequence of unhappiness. The current study used lag analysis to examine whether the relationship between self-generated thought and negative affect depends on the content of the thoughts themselves. We found that the emotional content could strongly predict subsequent mood (e.g. negative thoughts were associated with subsequent negative mood). However, this direct relationship was modulated by the socio-temporal content of the thoughts: thoughts that were past- and other-related were associated with subsequent negative mood, even if current thought content was positive. By contrast, future- and self-related thoughts preceded improvements of mood, even when current thought content was negative. These results highlight the important link between self-generated thought and mood and suggest that the socio-temporal content plays an important role in determining whether an individual's future affective state will be happy or sad. PMID:24194889

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms and negative affect during tobacco withdrawal in a non-clinical sample of African American smokers.

PubMed

Bello, Mariel S; Pang, Raina D; Chasson, Gregory S; Ray, Lara A; Leventhal, Adam M

2017-05-01

The association between obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptomatology and smoking is poorly understood, particularly in African Americans-a group subject to smoking- and OC-related health disparities. In a non-clinical sample of 253 African American smokers, we tested the negative reinforcement model of OC-smoking comorbidity, purporting that smokers with higher OC symptoms experience greater negative affect (NA) and urge to smoke for NA suppression upon acute tobacco abstinence. Following a baseline visit involving OC assessment, participants completed two counterbalanced experimental visits (non-abstinent vs. 16-h tobacco abstinence) involving affect, smoking urge, and nicotine withdrawal assessment. OC symptom severity predicted larger abstinence-provoked increases in overall NA, anger, anxiety, depression, fatigue, urge to smoke to suppress NA, and composite nicotine withdrawal symptom index. African American smokers with elevated OC symptoms appear to be vulnerable to negative reinforcement-mediated smoking motivation and may benefit from cessation treatments that diminish NA or the urge to quell NA via smoking. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Perceptions of the motivational climate, need satisfaction, and indices of well- and ill-being among hip hop dancers.

PubMed

Quested, Eleanor; Duda, Joan L

2009-01-01

Grounded in the self-determination theoretical framework (SDT) formulated by Deci and Ryan, and specifically the basic needs mini-theory (BNT), this study examined the relationship between perceptions of the motivational climate manifested in hip hop environments, satisfaction of the three basic needs, and indicators of well- and ill-being among hip hop dancers. Fifty-nine hip hop dancers (mean age: 20.29 years) completed a questionnaire assessing the variables of interest in the study. Perceptions of a task-involving climate were positively associated with satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Perceptions of an ego-involving climate negatively predicted relatedness. Satisfaction of the need for competence was positively associated with positive affect, and negatively linked to negative affect. Competence need satisfaction significantly mediated the relationship between a perceived task-involving climate and positive and negative affective states. In sum, the findings provided partial support for the facets of SDT and BNT. The results also indicated that promoting the task-involving features of dance learning environments may be beneficial to dancers' well-being.

Predictors of levels of functioning among Chinese people with severe mental illness: a 12-month prospective cohort study.

PubMed

Chien, Wai-Tong; Lam, Claire K K; Ng, Bacon F L

2015-07-01

The aim of the study was to identify the predictors of functioning in Chinese people with serious mental illness. Mental healthcare services for people suffering from serious mental illness are delivered to not only minimise their psychiatric symptoms but also enhance their levels of functioning in the community. Yet, there is insufficient research directed towards the associated or predictive factors that may influence different aspects of functioning, particularly in terms of patients' psychosocial variables. A longitudinal, prospective cohort study design was adopted. A clustered random sample of 395 of 611 outpatients with serious mental illness completed the same set of questionnaires at baseline and at 12 months. Changes in patients' functioning as measured by self-maintenance, social functioning and community living skills were recorded over 12 months. Potential relationships between their level of functioning and symptom severity, self-esteem, self-efficacy, perceived negative familial response, negative self-stigma towards mental illness, re-hospitalisation rate and socio-demographic characteristics were investigated. Most participants reported moderate to moderately high levels of overall functioning, self-efficacy, self-stigma and perceived negative familial response at baseline and there were significant observed correlations between these variables. Results of multiple regression models indicated that while symptom severity predicted functioning in patients with psychotic and affective disorders, a negatively perceived familial response only predicted negative changes in social functioning of the patients with psychotic disorders (β = -0·25). In addition, improvements in self-efficacy (β = 0·23) and reduction in self-stigma (β = -0·15) positively predicted changes in the community living skills of patients with affective disorders. The findings indicate the significance of psychiatric patients' symptom management and factors such as self-efficacy and self-stigma to predict their functioning over a 12-month follow-up. Mental healthcare services should consider giving priority to self-stigma reduction and empowerment to manage illness especially in this population of patients and their families, thus effectively enhancing their self-care ability to cope with their illness and/or difficult life situations. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Roles of attachment and self-esteem: impact of early life stress on depressive symptoms among Japanese institutionalized children.

PubMed

Suzuki, Hanako; Tomoda, Akemi

2015-02-05

Although exposure to early life stress is known to affect mental health, the underlying mechanisms of its impacts on depressive symptoms among institutionalized children and adolescents have been little studied. To investigate the role of attachment and self-esteem in association with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and depressive symptoms, 342 children (149 boys, 193 girls; age range 9-18 years old, mean age = 13.5 ± 2.4) living in residential foster care facilities in Japan completed questionnaires related to internal working models, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms. Their care workers completed questionnaires on ACEs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was created and the goodness of fit was examined (CMIN = 129.223, df = 1.360, GFI = .959, AGFI = .936, CFI = .939, RMSEA = .033). Maltreatment negatively predicted scores on secure attachment, but positively predicted scores on avoidant and ambivalent attachment. The secure attachment score negatively predicted depressive symptoms. The ambivalent attachment score positively predicted depressive symptoms both directly and through self-esteem, whereas the avoidant attachment score positively predicted depressive symptoms only directly. Maltreatment neither directly predicts self-esteem nor depressive symptoms, and parental illness/death and parental sociopathic behaviors did not predict any variables. Results show that the adversity of child maltreatment affects depression through attachment styles and low self-esteem among institutionalized children. Implications of child maltreatment and recommendations for child welfare services and clinical interventions for institutionalized children are discussed.

Self-determination theory and diminished functioning: the role of interpersonal control and psychological need thwarting.

PubMed

Bartholomew, Kimberley J; Ntoumanis, Nikos; Ryan, Richard M; Bosch, Jos A; Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Cecilie

2011-11-01

Drawing from self-determination theory, three studies explored the social-environmental conditions that satisfy versus thwart psychological needs and, in turn, affect psychological functioning and well-being or ill-being. In cross-sectional Studies 1 and 2, structural equation modeling analyses supported latent factor models in which need satisfaction was predicted by athletes' perceptions of autonomy support, and need thwarting was better predicted by coach control. Athletes' perceptions of need satisfaction predicted positive outcomes associated with sport participation (vitality and positive affect), whereas need thwarting more consistently predicted maladaptive outcomes (disordered eating, burnout, depression, negative affect, and physical symptoms). In addition, athletes' perceptions of psychological need thwarting were significantly associated with perturbed physiological arousal (elevated levels of secretory immunoglobulin A) prior to training. The final study involved the completion of a diary and supported the relations observed in the cross-sectional studies at a daily level. These findings have important implications for the operationalization and measurement of interpersonal styles and psychological needs.

Affect and sexual behavior in the transition to university.

PubMed

Dalton, Andrea L; Galambos, Nancy L

2009-10-01

This research applied a lifespan developmental framework to the study of sexual behavior among late adolescents by examining monthly covariations of penetrative and oral sex with positive and negative affect across the first year of university. Participants were 177 Canadian students who completed baseline questionnaires, followed by six monthly, web-based questionnaires assessing sexual behaviors and affect. Multilevel analyses revealed an average positive relation between oral sex and positive affect. Of six variables, five predicted individual differences in covariation between sex and affect: psychosocial maturity (immature and semi-mature status), attitudes toward sex, prior sexual experience, and living situation. During months when participants reported sexual behavior, psychosocially mature students reported more positive affect than did less mature students; students with more permissive attitudes reported more positive affect than did students with less permissive attitudes; students with no penetrative sexual experience reported more positive affect than students who had penetrative sexual experience; and living away from parents was associated with less negative affect. Implications for further study of sexual behavior from a developmental perspective are discussed.

Fear and Loving in Las Vegas: Evolution, Emotion, and Persuasion.

PubMed

Griskevicius, Vladas; Goldstein, Noah J; Mortensen, Chad R; Sundie, Jill M; Cialdini, Robert B; Kenrick, Douglas T

2009-06-01

How do arousal-inducing contexts, such as frightening or romantic television programs, influence the effectiveness of basic persuasion heuristics? Different predictions are made by three theoretical models: A general arousal model predicts that arousal should increase effectiveness of heuristics; an affective valence model predicts that effectiveness should depend on whether the context elicits positive or negative affect; an evolutionary model predicts that persuasiveness should depend on both the specific emotion that is elicited and the content of the particular heuristic. Three experiments examined how fear-inducing versus romantic contexts influenced the effectiveness of two widely used heuristics-social proof (e.g., "most popular") and scarcity (e.g., "limited edition"). Results supported predictions from an evolutionary model, showing that fear can lead scarcity appeals to be counter-persuasive, and that romantic desire can lead social proof appeals to be counter-persuasive. The findings highlight how an evolutionary theoretical approach can lead to novel theoretical and practical marketing insights.

Bidirectional, temporal associations of sleep with positive events, affect, and stressors in daily life across a week

PubMed Central

Sin, Nancy L.; Almeida, David M.; Crain, Tori L.; Kossek, Ellen Ernst; Berkman, Lisa F.; Buxton, Orfeu M.

2017-01-01

Background Sleep is intricately tied to emotional well-being, yet little is known about the reciprocal links between sleep and psychosocial experiences in the context of daily life. Purpose To evaluate daily psychosocial experiences (positive and negative affect, positive events, and stressors) as predictors of same-night sleep quality and duration, in addition to the reversed associations of nightly sleep predicting next-day experiences. Methods Daily experiences and self-reported sleep were assessed via telephone interviews for eight consecutive evenings in two replicate samples of U.S. employees (131 higher-income professionals and 181 lower-income hourly workers). Multilevel models evaluated within-person associations of daily experiences with sleep quality and duration. Analyses controlled for demographics, insomnia symptoms, the previous day’s experiences and sleep measures, and additional day-level covariates. Results Daily positive experiences were associated with improved as well as disrupted subsequent sleep. Specifically, positive events at home predicted better sleep quality in both samples, whereas greater positive affect was associated with shorter sleep duration among the higher-income professionals. Negative affect and stressors were unrelated to subsequent sleep. Results for the reversed direction revealed that better sleep quality (and, to a lesser degree, longer sleep duration) predicted emotional well-being and lower odds of encountering stressors on the following day. Conclusions Given the reciprocal relationships between sleep and daily experiences, efforts to improve well-being in daily life should reflect the importance of sleep. PMID:28188584

Bidirectional, Temporal Associations of Sleep with Positive Events, Affect, and Stressors in Daily Life Across a Week.

PubMed

Sin, Nancy L; Almeida, David M; Crain, Tori L; Kossek, Ellen Ernst; Berkman, Lisa F; Buxton, Orfeu M

2017-06-01

Sleep is intricately tied to emotional well-being, yet little is known about the reciprocal links between sleep and psychosocial experiences in the context of daily life. The aim of this study is to evaluate daily psychosocial experiences (positive and negative affect, positive events, and stressors) as predictors of same-night sleep quality and duration, in addition to the reversed associations of nightly sleep predicting next-day experiences. Daily experiences and self-reported sleep were assessed via telephone interviews for eight consecutive evenings in two replicate samples of US employees (131 higher-income professionals and 181 lower-income hourly workers). Multilevel models evaluated within-person associations of daily experiences with sleep quality and duration. Analyses controlled for demographics, insomnia symptoms, the previous day's experiences and sleep measures, and additional day-level covariates. Daily positive experiences were associated with improved as well as disrupted subsequent sleep. Specifically, positive events at home predicted better sleep quality in both samples, whereas greater positive affect was associated with shorter sleep duration among the higher-income professionals. Negative affect and stressors were unrelated to subsequent sleep. Results for the reversed direction revealed that better sleep quality (and, to a lesser degree, longer sleep duration) predicted emotional well-being and lower odds of encountering stressors on the following day. Given the reciprocal relationships between sleep and daily experiences, efforts to improve well-being in daily life should reflect the importance of sleep.

Does Couples’ Communication Predict Marital Satisfaction, or Does Marital Satisfaction Predict Communication?

PubMed Central

Lavner, Justin A.; Karney, Benjamin R.; Bradbury, Thomas N.

2016-01-01

The quality of communication between spouses is widely assumed to affect their subsequent judgments of relationship satisfaction, yet this assumption is rarely tested against the alternative prediction that communication is merely a consequence of spouses’ prior levels of satisfaction. To evaluate these perspectives, newlywed couples’ positivity, negativity, and effectiveness were observed four times at 9-month intervals and these behaviors were examined in relation to corresponding self-reports of relationship satisfaction. Cross-sectionally, relatively satisfied couples engaged in more positive, less negative, and more effective communication. Longitudinally, reliable communication-to-satisfaction and satisfaction-to-communication associations were identified, yet neither pathway was particularly robust. These findings raise important doubts about theories and interventions that prioritize couple communication skills as the key predictor of relationship satisfaction, while raising new questions about other factors that might predict communication and satisfaction and that strengthen or moderate their association. PMID:27152050

Evaluating the real-world predictive validity of the Body Image Quality of Life Inventory using Ecological Momentary Assessment.

PubMed

Heron, Kristin E; Mason, Tyler B; Sutton, Tiphanie G; Myers, Taryn A

2015-09-01

Perceptions of physical appearance, or body image, can affect psychosocial functioning and quality of life (QOL). The present study evaluated the real-world predictive validity of the Body Image Quality of Life Inventory (BIQLI) using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA). College women reporting subclinical disordered eating/body dissatisfaction (N=131) completed the BIQLI and related measures. For one week they then completed five daily EMA surveys of mood, social interactions, stress, and eating behaviors on palmtop computers. Results showed better body image QOL was associated with less negative affect, less overwhelming emotions, more positive affect, more pleasant social interactions, and higher self-efficacy for handling stress. Lower body image QOL was marginally related to less overeating and lower loss of control over eating in daily life. To our knowledge, this is the first study to support the real-world predictive validity of the BIQLI by identifying social, affective, and behavioral correlates in everyday life using EMA. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Motivation versus aversive processing during perception.

PubMed

Padmala, Srikanth; Pessoa, Luiz

2014-06-01

Reward facilitates performance and boosts cognitive performance across many tasks. At the same time, negative affective stimuli interfere with performance when they are not relevant to the task at hand. Yet, the investigation of how reward and negative stimuli impact perception and cognition has taken place in a manner that is largely independent of each other. How reward and negative emotion simultaneously contribute to behavioral performance is currently poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate how the simultaneous manipulation of positive motivational processing (here manipulated via reward) and aversive processing (here manipulated via negative picture viewing) influence behavior during a perceptual task. We tested 2 competing hypotheses about the impact of reward on negative picture viewing. On the one hand, suggestions about the automaticity of emotional processing predict that negative picture interference would be relatively immune to reward. On the other, if affective visual processing is not obligatory, as we have argued in the past, reward may counteract the deleterious effect of more potent negative pictures. We found that reward counteracted the effect of potent, negative distracters during a visual discrimination task. Thus, when sufficiently motivated, participants were able to reduce the deleterious impact of bodily mutilation stimuli.

Mothers' depressive symptoms and infant negative emotionality in the prediction of child adjustment at age 3: testing the maternal reactivity and child vulnerability hypotheses.

PubMed

Dix, Theodore; Yan, Ni

2014-02-01

This study examined individual differences in how mothers' depressive symptoms affect children's early adjustment. It tested whether problematic development among children high in negative emotionality is accentuated by (a) maternal reactivity, the negative reactivity of mothers with depressive symptoms to difficult child characteristics; and (b) child vulnerability, the susceptibility of negatively emotional children to the negative parenting of mothers with depressive symptoms. Based on 1,364 participants from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, results showed that mothers' depressive symptoms predicted greater risk for adjustment problems at age 3 among children who as infants were high rather than low in negative emotionality. Increased risk was evident for behavior problems, low responsiveness, high separation distress, and low social competence. Mediational tests suggested that increased risk reflected maternal reactivity: the stronger mothers' depressive symptoms, the more they responded with negative parenting to children high in negative emotionality. The proposal that child vulnerability mediates the greater impact of mothers' depressive symptoms on negatively emotional children was verified only for separation distress. The results support the proposal that, when mothers are high in depressive symptoms, aversive characteristics of children and their behavior increasingly influence early adjustment and do so because they elicit negative parent behavior.

Mental toughness in sport: motivational antecedents and associations with performance and psychological health.

PubMed

Mahoney, John W; Gucciardi, Daniel F; Ntoumanis, Nikos; Mallett, Cliff J; Mallet, Cliff J

2014-06-01

We argue that basic psychological needs theory (BPNT) offers impetus to the value of mental toughness as a mechanism for optimizing human functioning. We hypothesized that psychological needs satisfaction (thwarting) would be associated with higher (lower) levels of mental toughness, positive affect, and performance and lower (higher) levels of negative affect. We also expected that mental toughness would be associated with higher levels of positive affect and performance and lower levels of negative affect. Further, we predicted that coaching environments would be related to mental toughness indirectly through psychological needs and that psychological needs would indirectly relate with performance and affect through mental toughness. Adolescent cross-country runners (136 male and 85 female, M(age) = 14.36) completed questionnaires pertaining to BPNT variables, mental toughness, and affect. Race times were also collected. Our findings supported our hypotheses. We concluded that BPNT is generative in understanding some of the antecedents and consequences of mental toughness and is a novel framework useful for understanding mental toughness.

Influence of affective valence on working memory processes.

PubMed

Gotoh, Fumiko

2008-02-01

Recent research has revealed widespread effects of emotion on cognitive function and memory. However, the influence of affective valence on working or short-term memory remains largely unexplored. In two experiments, the present study examined the predictions that negative words would capture attention, that attention would be difficult to disengage from such negative words, and that the cost of attention switching would increase the time required to update information in working memory. Participants switched between two concurrent working memory tasks: word recognition and a working memory digit updating task. Experiment 1 showed substantial switching cost for negative words, relative to neutral words. Experiment 2 replicated the first experiment, using a self-report measure of anxiety to examine if switching cost is a function of an anxiety-related attention bias. Results did not support this hypothesis. In addition, Experiment 2 revealed switch costs for positive words without the effect of the attention bias from anxiety. The present study demonstrates the effect of affective valence on a specific component of working memory. Moreover, findings suggest why affective valence effects on working memory have not been found in previous research.

Implications of weight-based stigma and self-bias on quality of life among individuals with Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Barber, Jessica; Palmese, Laura; Reutenauer, Erin L.; Grilo, Carlos; Tek, Cenk

2011-01-01

Obesity has been associated with significant stigma and weight-related self-bias in community and clinical studies, but these issues have not been studied among individuals with schizophrenia. A consecutive series of 70 obese individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder underwent assessment for perceptions of weight-based stigmatization, self-directed weight-bias, negative affect, medication compliance, and quality of life. Levels of weight-based stigmatization and self-bias were compared to levels reported for non-psychiatric overweight/obese samples. Weight measures were unrelated to stigma, self-bias, affect, and quality of life. Weight-based stigmatization was lower than published levels for non-psychiatric samples, whereas levels of weight-based self-bias did not differ. After controlling for negative affect, weight-based self-bias predicted an additional 11% of the variance in the quality of life measure. Individuals with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder reported weight-based self-bias to the same extent as non-psychiatric samples despite reporting less weight stigma. Weight-based self-bias was associated with poorer quality of life after controlling for negative affect. PMID:21716053

Impact of neonatal risk and temperament on behavioral problems in toddlers born preterm.

PubMed

Guilherme Monte Cassiano, Rafaela; Gaspardo, Claudia Maria; Cordaro Bucker Furini, Guilherme; Martinez, Francisco Eulogio; Martins Linhares, Maria Beatriz

2016-12-01

Children born preterm are at risk for later developmental disorders. The present study examined the predictive effects of neonatal, sociodemographic, and temperament characteristics on behavioral outcomes at toddlerhood, in children born preterm. The sample included 100 toddlers born preterm and with very-low-birth-weight, and their mothers. Neonatal characteristics were evaluated using medical records. The mothers were interviewed using the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire for temperament assessment, and the Child Behavior Checklist for behavioral assessment. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed. Predictors of 39% of the variability of the total behavioral problems in toddlers born prematurely were: temperament with more Negative Affectivity and less Effortful Control, lower family socioeconomic status, and younger mothers at childbirth. Temperament with more Negative Affectivity and less Effortful Control and lower family socioeconomic status were predictors of 23% of the variability of internalizing behavioral problems. Additionally, 37% of the variability of externalizing behavioral problems was explained by temperament with more Negative Affectivity and less Effortful Control, and younger mothers at childbirth. The neonatal characteristics and stressful events in the neonatal intensive care unit did not predict behavioral problems at toddlerhood. However, temperament was a consistent predictor of behavioral problems in toddlers born preterm. Preventive follow-up programs could assess dispositional traits of temperament to provide early identification of preterm infants at high-risk for behavioral problems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adverse childhood experiences and health anxiety in adulthood.

PubMed

Reiser, Sarah J; McMillan, Katherine A; Wright, Kristi D; Asmundson, Gordon J G

2014-03-01

Childhood experiences are thought to predispose a person to the development of health anxiety later in life. However, there is a lack of research investigating the influence of specific adverse experiences (e.g., childhood abuse, household dysfunction) on this condition. The current study examined the cumulative influence of multiple types of childhood adversities on health anxiety in adulthood. Adults 18-59 years of age (N=264) completed a battery of measures to assess adverse childhood experiences, health anxiety, and associated constructs (i.e., negative affect and trait anxiety). Significant associations were observed between adverse childhood experiences, health anxiety, and associated constructs. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicted that adverse childhood experiences were predictive of health anxiety in adulthood; however, the unique contribution of these experience were no longer significant following the inclusion of the other variables of interest. Subsequently, mediation analyses indicated that both negative affect and trait anxiety independently mediated the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and health anxiety in adulthood. Increased exposure to adverse childhood experiences is associated with higher levels of health anxiety in adulthood; this relationship is mediated through negative affect and trait anxiety. Findings support the long-term negative impact of cumulative adverse childhood experiences and emphasize the importance of addressing negative affect and trait anxiety in efforts to prevent and treat health anxiety. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anticipatory anxiety disrupts neural valuation during risky choice.

PubMed

Engelmann, Jan B; Meyer, Friederike; Fehr, Ernst; Ruff, Christian C

2015-02-18

Incidental negative emotions unrelated to the current task, such as background anxiety, can strongly influence decisions. This is most evident in psychiatric disorders associated with generalized emotional disturbances. However, the neural mechanisms by which incidental emotions may affect choices remain poorly understood. Here we study the effects of incidental anxiety on human risky decision making, focusing on both behavioral preferences and their underlying neural processes. Although observable choices remained stable across affective contexts with high and low incidental anxiety, we found a clear change in neural valuation signals: during high incidental anxiety, activity in ventromedial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum showed a marked reduction in (1) neural coding of the expected subjective value (ESV) of risky options, (2) prediction of observed choices, (3) functional coupling with other areas of the valuation system, and (4) baseline activity. At the same time, activity in the anterior insula showed an increase in coding the negative ESV of risky lotteries, and this neural activity predicted whether the risky lotteries would be rejected. This pattern of results suggests that incidental anxiety can shift the focus of neural valuation from possible positive consequences to anticipated negative consequences of choice options. Moreover, our findings show that these changes in neural value coding can occur in the absence of changes in overt behavior. This suggest a possible pathway by which background anxiety may lead to the development of chronic reward desensitization and a maladaptive focus on negative cognitions, as prevalent in affective and anxiety disorders. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/353085-15$15.00/0.

Ants have a negative rather than a positive effect on extrafloral nectaried Crotalaria pallida performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira, Marcela Fernandes; Trigo, José Roberto

2013-08-01

Crotalaria pallida (Fabaceae) is a pantropical plant with extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) near the reproductive structures. EFN-visiting ants attack and remove arctiid moth Utetheisa ornatrix larvae, the main pre-dispersal seed predator, but the impact of ants on C. pallida fitness is unknown. To assess this impact, we controlled ant presence on plants and evaluated the reproductive output of C. pallida with and without ants. Predatory wasps also visit EFNs, prey upon U. ornatrix larvae, and may be driven out by ants during EFN feeding. Does this agonistic interaction affect the multitrophic interaction outcome? We found it difficult to evaluate the effect of both visitors because cages excluding wasps affect plant growth and do not allow U. ornatrix oviposition. Therefore, we verified whether ant presence inhibited wasp EFN visitation and predicted that (1) if ants confer a benefit for C. pallida, any negative effect of ants on wasps would be negligible for the plant because ants would be the best guardians, and (2) if ants are poor guardians, they would negatively affect wasps and negatively impact the fitness of C. pallida. Surprisingly, we found that the number of seeds/pods significantly increased, ca. 4.7 times, after ant removal. Additionally, we unexpectedly verified that controls showed a higher percentage of herbivore bored pods than ant-excluded plants. We found that wasps spent less time visiting EFNs patrolled by ants (ca. 299 s less). These results support our second prediction and suggest that the outcome of multitrophic interactions may vary with natural enemy actors.

Positive and Negative Affect and Adolescent Adjustment: Moderation Effects of Prefrontal Functioning.

PubMed

Brieant, Alexis; Holmes, Christopher J; Maciejewski, Dominique; Lee, Jacob; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; King-Casas, Brooks; Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen

2018-03-01

We examined whether cognitive control moderates the effects of emotion on adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptomatology in a longitudinal study of 138 adolescents. Self-reported positive affect (PA) and negative affect and behavioral and neural indicators of cognitive control, indexed by performance and prefrontal hemodynamic response during a cognitive interference task, were collected at Time 1. Self-reported internalizing and externalizing symptomatology were collected at Time 1 and Time 2 (1 year later). Results indicated that higher PA predicted decreases in externalizing symptomatology, but only for adolescents with poor neural cognitive control. No moderation effects were found for behavioral cognitive control. Findings imply the beneficial effects of PA on the development of externalizing problems among adolescents with poor prefrontal functioning. © 2018 Society for Research on Adolescence.

Relationships between Drinking Motives and Smoking Expectancies among Daily Smokers who are also Problem Drinkers

PubMed Central

Foster, Dawn W.; Zvolensky, Michael J.; Garey, Lorra; Ditre, Joseph W.; Schmidt, Norman B.

2014-01-01

Objective There is a high co-occurrence of problem drinking and regular cigarette smoking, and cognitive processes (e.g., motivation to use, expectations about the consequences of use) related to each are positively associated with one another. We explored drinking motives in relation to cognitive-based smoking processes among smokers with problematic drinking. We expected that drinking coping motives would be associated with smoking consequences related to negative reinforcement and negative personal outcomes, and inflexibility of smoking behavior; observed effects for coping motives would be unique from shared variance with other motives and incrementally evident beyond the variance accounted for by tobacco-related health problems, smoking rate, negative affectivity, cannabis use, and gender. Methods The sample included 195 individuals recruited into a larger study of smoking cessation treatments (i.e., they were interested in quitting), who were heavy drinkers and smoked daily. Participants were primarily male (n = 122, 63%), fairly young (Mage=30.3 years; SD=12.46), and predominantly White/Caucasian (n = 175, 80%). Roughly 57% (n = 111) had at least one comorbid Axis I disorder, the most common being social anxiety (n = 21, 11%) and generalized anxiety disorder (n = 12, 6%). Results Coping drinking motives predicted negative smoking consequences, negative reinforcement, and smoking inflexibility. Enhancement drinking motives marginally predicted positive reinforcement. Conformity drinking motives predicted smoking consequences related to appetite/weight control. Social drinking motives predicted negative reinforcement and barriers to cessation, and marginally predicted positive reinforcement. Conclusions Theoretical models and clinical activities focused on smoking cessation among problem drinkers may benefit from considering the role of drinking motives, particularly coping-oriented motives, to better understanding cognitive-based smoking processes. PMID:25392285

Trait positive affect is associated with hippocampal volume and change in caudate volume across adolescence.

PubMed

Dennison, Meg; Whittle, Sarah; Yücel, Murat; Byrne, Michelle L; Schwartz, Orli; Simmons, Julian G; Allen, Nicholas B

2015-03-01

Trait positive affect (PA) in childhood confers both risk and resilience to psychological and behavioral difficulties in adolescence, although explanations for this association are lacking. Neurodevelopment in key areas associated with positive affect is ongoing throughout adolescence, and is likely to be related to the increased incidence of disorders of positive affect during this period of development. The aim of this study was to prospectively explore the relationship between trait indices of PA and brain development in subcortical reward regions during early to mid-adolescence in a community sample of adolescents. A total of 89 (46 male, 43 female) adolescents participated in magnetic resonance imaging assessments during both early and mid-adolescence (mean age at baseline = 12.6 years, SD = 0.45; mean follow-up period = 3.78 years, SD = 0.21) and also completed self-report measures of trait positive and negative affect (at baseline). To examine the specificity of these effects, the relation between negative affect and brain development was also examined. The degree of volume reduction in the right caudate over time was predicted by PA. Independent of time, larger hippocampal volumes were associated with higher PA, and negative affect was associated with smaller left amygdala volume. The moderating effect of negative affect on the development of the left caudate varied as a function of lifetime psychiatric history. These findings suggest that early to mid-adolescence is an important period whereby neurodevelopmental processes may underlie key phenotypes conferring both risk and resilience for emotional and behavioral difficulties later in life.

An investigation of negative affect, reactivity, and distress tolerance as predictors of disordered eating attitudes across adolescence.

PubMed

Juarascio, Adrienne S; Felton, Julia W; Borges, Allison M; Manasse, Stephanie M; Murray, Helen B; Lejuez, Carl W

2016-06-01

The current study examined internalizing symptoms, affect reactivity, and distress intolerance as prospective predictors of increases in eating disorder (ED)-attitudes during adolescence. Adolescents (n = 206) took part in a six-year longitudinal study examining the development of psychopathology. Latent growth curve analysis was used to examine associations between predictors and later ED-attitudes. Distress intolerance and internalizing symptoms were associated with ED-attitudes at baseline, but did not predict increases over time. Affect reactivity, however, was significantly associated with increases in ED-attitudes over time. Baseline affect reactivity did not interact with baseline distress intolerance to predict increases in ED-attitudes; however higher baseline internalizing symptoms interacted with distress intolerance to predict increases in ED-attitudes across adolescence. These results are among the first to document that affect reactivity alone and the combined effect of high internalizing symptoms and high distress intolerance early in adolescence are risk factors for the later development of ED-attitudes. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sleep quality predicts positive and negative affect but not vice versa. An electronic diary study in depressed and healthy individuals.

PubMed

Bouwmans, Mara E J; Bos, Elisabeth H; Hoenders, H J Rogier; Oldehinkel, Albertine J; de Jonge, Peter

2017-01-01

The exact nature of the complex relationship between sleep and affect has remained unclear. This study investigated the temporal order of change in sleep and affect in participants with and without depression. 27 depressed patients and 27 pair-matched healthy controls assessed their sleep in the morning and their affect 3 times a day for 30 consecutive days in their natural environment. Daily sleep quality and average positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) were used to examine whether changes in sleep quality preceded or followed changes in PA and NA, and whether this was different for patients and healthy controls. Second, presumptive mediating factors were investigated. We hypothesized that fatigue mediated the effect of changes in sleep quality on subsequent PA/NA, and that rumination mediated the effect of changes in PA/NA on subsequent sleep quality. Multilevel models showed that changes in sleep quality predicted changes in PA (B=0.08, p<0.001) and NA (B=-0.06, p<0.001), but not the other way around (PA: B=0.03, p=0.70, NA: B=-0.05, p=0.60). Fatigue was found to be a significant mediator of the relationship between sleep quality and PA (Indirect Effect=0.03, p<0.001), and between sleep quality and NA (Indirect Effect=-0.02, p=0.01). Rumination was not investigated because of non-significant associations between PA/NA and sleep quality. The associations were not different for patients and controls. The analyses were restricted to self-reported sleep quality, and conclusions about causality could not be drawn. Improvements in sleep quality predicted improvements in affect the following day, partly mediated by fatigue. Treatment of sleep symptoms would benefit affect in clinical care and beyond. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Positive Psychotherapy for Smoking Cessation: Treatment Development, Feasibility and Preliminary Results

PubMed Central

Kahler, Christopher W.; Spillane, Nichea S.; Day, Anne; Clerkin, Elise; Parks, Acacia; Leventhal, Adam M.; Brown, Richard A.

2013-01-01

Low positive and high negative affect predict low rates of smoking abstinence among smokers making a quit attempt. Positive Psychotherapy can both increase positive affect and decrease negative affect and therefore may be a useful adjunct to behavioral smoking counseling. The purpose of the present study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a Positive Psychotherapy for Smoking Cessation (PPT-S) intervention that integrates standard smoking cessation counseling with nicotine patch and a package of positive psychology interventions. We delivered PPT-S to 19 smokers who were low in positive affect at baseline. Rates of session attendance and satisfaction with treatment were high, and most participants reported using and benefiting from the positive psychology interventions. Almost one-third of participants (31.6%) sustained smoking abstinence for 6 months after their quit date. Future studies to assess the relative efficacy of PPT-S compared to standard smoking cessation treatment are warranted. PMID:24683417

Positive Psychotherapy for Smoking Cessation: Treatment Development, Feasibility and Preliminary Results.

PubMed

Kahler, Christopher W; Spillane, Nichea S; Day, Anne; Clerkin, Elise; Parks, Acacia; Leventhal, Adam M; Brown, Richard A

2014-01-01

Low positive and high negative affect predict low rates of smoking abstinence among smokers making a quit attempt. Positive Psychotherapy can both increase positive affect and decrease negative affect and therefore may be a useful adjunct to behavioral smoking counseling. The purpose of the present study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a Positive Psychotherapy for Smoking Cessation (PPT-S) intervention that integrates standard smoking cessation counseling with nicotine patch and a package of positive psychology interventions. We delivered PPT-S to 19 smokers who were low in positive affect at baseline. Rates of session attendance and satisfaction with treatment were high, and most participants reported using and benefiting from the positive psychology interventions. Almost one-third of participants (31.6%) sustained smoking abstinence for 6 months after their quit date. Future studies to assess the relative efficacy of PPT-S compared to standard smoking cessation treatment are warranted.

What does cognitive control feel like? Effective and ineffective cognitive control is associated with divergent phenomenology.

PubMed

Saunders, Blair; Milyavskaya, Marina; Inzlicht, Michael

2015-09-01

Cognitive control is accompanied by observable negative affect. But how is this negative affect experienced subjectively, and are these feelings related to variation in cognitive control? To address these questions, 42 participants performed a punished inhibitory control task while periodically reporting their subjective experience. We found that within-subject variation in subjective experience predicted control implementation, but not neural monitoring (i.e., the error-related negativity, ERN). Specifically, anxiety and frustration predicted increased and decreased response caution, respectively, while hopelessness accompanied reduced inhibitory control, and subjective effort coincided with the increased ability to inhibit prepotent responses. Clarifying the nature of these phenomenological results, the effects of frustration, effort, and hopelessness-but not anxiety-were statistically independent from the punishment manipulation. Conversely, while the ERN was increased by punishment, the lack of association between this component and phenomenology suggests that early monitoring signals might precede the development of control-related subjective experience. Our results indicate that the types of feelings experienced during cognitively demanding tasks are related to different aspects of controlled performance, critically suggesting that the relationship between emotion and cognitive control extends beyond the dimension of valence. © 2015 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Influence of Age, Thought Content, and Anxiety on Suppression of Intrusive Thoughts

PubMed Central

Beadel, Jessica R.; Green, Jennifer S.; Hosseinbor, Shahrzad; Teachman, Bethany A.

2013-01-01

Understanding differences in responses following attempts to suppress versus simply monitor intrusive thoughts is important given the established relationship between intrusive thinking and numerous forms of psychopathology. Moreover, these differences may vary as a function of age. Because of the links between aging and both enhancement in emotion regulation skills and decline in inhibition skills, older and younger adults were expected to differ in their responses (e.g., experience of negative affect and thought recurrence) to attempts at suppressing intrusive thoughts. This study examined whether efforts to suppress thought content that varied in valence and age-relevance differentially affected older (N = 40, aged 66–92) and younger (N = 42, aged 16–25) adults’ ability to inhibit intrusive thought recurrence and their resulting negative affect. Interestingly, older adults experienced less recurrence for most thoughts than younger adults. Also, for several dependent variables (negative affect and perceived difficulty suppressing intrusive thoughts), older adults showed less decline in their magnitude of response across thinking periods (i.e., from suppression to monitoring) than did younger adults. These age effects were not generally moderated by level of trait anxiety, though higher anxiety did predict intrusive thought responding in expected directions, such as greater negative affect. These findings point to independent influences of age and anxiety, and suggest a complex mix of risk and protective factors for older adults’ responses to intrusive thoughts. PMID:23395408

Effect of obesity on preterm delivery prediction by transabdominal recording of uterine electromyography.

PubMed

Lucovnik, Miha; Chambliss, Linda R; Blumrick, Richard; Balducci, James; Gersak, Ksenija; Garfield, Robert E

2016-10-01

It has been shown that noninvasive uterine electromyography (EMG) can identify true preterm labor more accurately than methods available to clinicians today. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the accuracy of uterine EMG in predicting preterm delivery. Predictive values of uterine EMG for preterm delivery were compared in obese versus overweight/normal BMI patients. Hanley-McNeil test was used to compare receiver operator characteristics curves in these groups. Previously reported EMG cutoffs were used to determine groups with false positive/false negative and true positive/true negative EMG results. BMI in these groups was compared with Student t test (p < 0.05 significant). A total of 88 patients were included: 20 obese, 64 overweight, and four with normal BMI. EMG predicted preterm delivery within 7 days with area under the curve = 0.95 in the normal/overweight group, and with area under the curve = 1.00 in the obese group (p = 0.08). Six patients in true preterm labor (delivering within 7 days from EMG measurement) had low EMG values (false negative group). There were no false positive results. No significant differences in patient's BMI were noted between false negative group patients and preterm labor patients with high EMG values (true positive group) and nonlabor patients with low EMG values (true negative group; p = 0.32). Accuracy of noninvasive uterine EMG monitoring and its predictive value for preterm delivery are not affected by obesity. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Predictors and moderators of response to cognitive behavioral therapy and medication for the treatment of binge eating disorder.

PubMed

Grilo, Carlos M; Masheb, Robin M; Crosby, Ross D

2012-10-01

To examine predictors and moderators of response to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and medication treatments for binge-eating disorder (BED). 108 BED patients in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial testing CBT and fluoxetine treatments were assessed prior, throughout, and posttreatment. Demographic factors, psychiatric and personality disorder comorbidity, eating disorder psychopathology, psychological features, and 2 subtyping methods (negative affect, overvaluation of shape/weight) were tested as predictors and moderators for the primary outcome of remission from binge eating and 4 secondary dimensional outcomes (binge-eating frequency, eating disorder psychopathology, depression, and body mass index). Mixed-effects models analyzed all available data for each outcome variable. In each model, effects for baseline value and treatment were included with tests of both prediction and moderator effects. Several demographic and clinical variables significantly predicted and/or moderated outcomes. One demographic variable signaled a statistical advantage for medication only (younger participants had greater binge-eating reductions), whereas several demographic and clinical variables (lower self-esteem, negative affect, and overvaluation of shape/weight) signaled better improvements if receiving CBT. Overvaluation was the most salient predictor/moderator of outcomes. Overvaluation significantly predicted binge-eating remission (29% of participants with vs. 57% of participants without overvaluation remitted). Overvaluation was especially associated with lower remission rates if receiving medication only (10% vs. 42% for participants without overvaluation). Overvaluation moderated dimensional outcomes: Participants with overvaluation had significantly greater reductions in eating disorder psychopathology and depression levels if receiving CBT. Overvaluation predictor/moderator findings persisted after controlling for negative affect. Our findings have clinical utility for prescription of CBT and medication and implications for refinement of the BED diagnosis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Predictors and Moderators of Response to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Medication for the Treatment of Binge Eating Disorder

PubMed Central

Grilo, Carlos. M.; Masheb, Robin M.; Crosby, Ross D.

2012-01-01

Objective To examine predictors and moderators of response to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and medication treatments for binge-eating disorder (BED). Method 108 BED patients in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial testing CBT and fluoxetine treatments were assessed prior, throughout-, and post-treatment. Demographic factors, psychiatric and personality-disorder co-morbidity, eating-disorder psychopathology, psychological features, and two sub-typing methods (negative-affect, overvaluation of shape/weight) were tested as predictors and moderators for the primary outcome of remission from binge-eating and four secondary dimensional outcomes (binge-eating frequency, eating-disorder psychopathology, depression, and body mass index). Mixed-effects-models analyzed all available data for each outcome variable. In each model, effects for baseline value and treatment were included with tests of both prediction and moderator effects. Results Several demographic and clinical variables significantly predicted and/or moderated outcomes. One demographic variable signaled a statistical advantage for medication-only (younger participants had greater binge-eating reductions) whereas several demographic and clinical variables (lower self-esteem, negative-affect, and overvaluation of shape/weight) signaled better improvements if receiving CBT. Overvaluation was the most salient predictor/moderator of outcomes. Overvaluation significantly predicted binge-eating remission (29% of participants with versus 57% of participants without overvaluation remitted). Overvaluation was especially associated with lower remission rates if receiving medication-only (10% versus 42% for participants without overvaluation). Overvaluation moderated dimensional outcomes: participants with overvaluation had significantly greater reductions in eating-disorder psychopathology and depression levels if receiving CBT. Overvaluation predictor/moderator findings persisted after controlling for negative-affect. Conclusions Our findings have clinical utility for prescription of CBT and medication and implications for refinement of the BED diagnosis. PMID:22289130

Rumination and Rebound from Failure as a Function of Gender and Time on Task

PubMed Central

Whiteman, Ronald C.; Mangels, Jennifer A.

2016-01-01

Rumination is a trait response to blocked goals that can have positive or negative outcomes for goal resolution depending on where attention is focused. Whereas “moody brooding” on affective states may be maladaptive, especially for females, “reflective pondering” on concrete strategies for problem solving may be more adaptive. In the context of a challenging general knowledge test, we examined how Brooding and Reflection rumination styles predicted students’ subjective and event-related responses (ERPs) to negative feedback, as well as use of this feedback to rebound from failure on a later surprise retest. For females only, Brooding predicted unpleasant feelings after failure as the task progressed. It also predicted enhanced attention to errors through both bottom-up and top-down processes, as indexed by increased early (400–600 ms) and later (600–1000 ms) late positive potentials (LPP), respectively. Reflection, despite increasing females’ initial attention to negative feedback (i.e., early LPP), as well as both genders’ recurring negative thoughts, did not result in sustained top-down attention (i.e., late LPP) or enhanced negative feelings toward errors. Reflection also facilitated rebound from failure in both genders, although Brooding did not hinder it. Implications of these gender and time-related rumination effects for learning in challenging academic situations are discussed. PMID:26901231

Determinants of pre-procedural state anxiety and negative affect in first-time colposcopy patients: implications for intervention.

PubMed

Kola, S; Walsh, J C

2012-07-01

Women experience significant emotional distress in relation to further diagnostic evaluation of pre-cancerous cell changes of the cervix. However, less is known about the specific variables that contribute to elevated state anxiety and negative affect prior to colposcopy. The study aims to identify psychosocial factors that predict distress in this patient group, which can help in the development of more sophisticated interventions to reduce psychological distress. Socio-demographic variables, scores for state anxiety, negative affect, trait anxiety, fear of pain, coping style, pain-related expectancy and knowledge were assessed in 164 first-time colposcopy patients immediately before the colposcopy examination. Twenty-six per cent of variance in pre-colposcopy state anxiety was significantly explained by marital status, parity, trait anxiety, fear of minor pain and expectations of discomfort. Twenty-nine per cent of variance in pre-colposcopy negative affect was significantly explained by trait anxiety and expectations of pain. Women who are single, have children, are high trait anxious, and anticipate pain and discomfort appear to be at risk for pre-colposcopy distress. Interventions aimed at reducing pre-colposcopy psychological distress should include situation-specific variables that are amenable to change, and trait anxious women are likely to benefit from interventions to reduce distress. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Positivity and well-being among community-residing elders and nursing home residents: what is the optimal affect balance?

PubMed

Meeks, Suzanne; Van Haitsma, Kimberly; Kostiwa, Irene; Murrell, Stanley A

2012-07-01

To explore whether a ratio of positive to negative affect, from the work of Fredricksen and Losada, could predict high levels of well-being in elderly samples and especially in nursing home residents despite multiple chronic health conditions, consonant with Ryff and Singer's notion of "flourishing under fire." We used two samples: a probability sample of community-residing elders and a sample from nursing homes. We calculated ratios of positive to negative affect in each sample and measured well-being with social interaction, mental health, life satisfaction, and general well-being. The positivity ratio of 2.9 differentiated high levels of well-being in both the samples, as in previous research on younger samples. Although we expected the positivity ratio to perform less well among nursing home residents, we found that it differentiated residents with high well-being just as well as in the community sample. The ability to regulate positive affect to maintain a relative ratio of positive over negative affect appears to be an important aspect of successful adjustment in late life. Further research is needed on objective indicators of quality of life and on whether intra-individual shifts in affect balance are coupled with shifts in indicators of positive mental health.

Positivity and Well-being Among Community-Residing Elders and Nursing Home Residents: What Is the Optimal Affect Balance?

PubMed Central

Van Haitsma, Kimberly; Kostiwa, Irene; Murrell, Stanley A.

2012-01-01

Objectives: To explore whether a ratio of positive to negative affect, from the work of Fredricksen and Losada, could predict high levels of well-being in elderly samples and especially in nursing home residents despite multiple chronic health conditions, consonant with Ryff and Singer's notion of “flourishing under fire.” Method: We used two samples: a probability sample of community-residing elders and a sample from nursing homes. We calculated ratios of positive to negative affect in each sample and measured well-being with social interaction, mental health, life satisfaction, and general well-being. Results: The positivity ratio of 2.9 differentiated high levels of well-being in both the samples, as in previous research on younger samples. Discussion: Although we expected the positivity ratio to perform less well among nursing home residents, we found that it differentiated residents with high well-being just as well as in the community sample. The ability to regulate positive affect to maintain a relative ratio of positive over negative affect appears to be an important aspect of successful adjustment in late life. Further research is needed on objective indicators of quality of life and on whether intra-individual shifts in affect balance are coupled with shifts in indicators of positive mental health. PMID:22227736

Public Response to a Near-Miss Nuclear Accident Scenario Varying in Causal Attributions and Outcome Uncertainty.

PubMed

Cui, Jinshu; Rosoff, Heather; John, Richard S

2018-05-01

Many studies have investigated public reactions to nuclear accidents. However, few studies focused on more common events when a serious accident could have happened but did not. This study evaluated public response (emotional, cognitive, and behavioral) over three phases of a near-miss nuclear accident. Simulating a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) scenario, we manipulated (1) attribution for the initial cause of the incident (software failure vs. cyber terrorist attack vs. earthquake), (2) attribution for halting the incident (fail-safe system design vs. an intervention by an individual expert vs. a chance coincidence), and (3) level of uncertainty (certain vs. uncertain) about risk of a future radiation leak after the LOCA is halted. A total of 773 respondents were sampled using a 3 × 3 × 2 between-subjects design. Results from both MANCOVA and structural equation modeling (SEM) indicate that respondents experienced more negative affect, perceived more risk, and expressed more avoidance behavioral intention when the near-miss event was initiated by an external attributed source (e.g., earthquake) compared to an internally attributed source (e.g., software failure). Similarly, respondents also indicated greater negative affect, perceived risk, and avoidance behavioral intentions when the future impact of the near-miss incident on people and the environment remained uncertain. Results from SEM analyses also suggested that negative affect predicted risk perception, and both predicted avoidance behavior. Affect, risk perception, and avoidance behavior demonstrated high stability (i.e., reliability) from one phase to the next. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Cultural variation in seasonal depression: cross-national differences in winter versus summer patterns of seasonal affective disorder.

PubMed

Kasof, Joseph

2009-05-01

Research suggests that two dimensions of national culture, individualism-collectivism and power distance, predict affective responses to the seasonally varying levels of ambient sunlight that may underlie regular cycles of mood and behavior in Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Specifically, negative affect is predicted by the diminished sunlight of fall-winter in countries higher in individualism and lower in power distance, and by the increased sunlight of spring-summer in countries lower in individualism and higher in power distance. This study tests whether individualism correlates positively, and power distance negatively, with the frequency of winter-SAD relative to that of summer-SAD. A search for studies reporting frequencies of both winter-SAD and summer-SAD identified 55 samples encompassing 18 countries and 38,408 participants, including 1931 with SAD. The frequency of winter-SAD, relative to that of summer-SAD, correlated positively with individualism (r=.67, p=.001) and negatively with power distance (r=-.72, p=.0001). Countries in which winter-SAD was more common than summer-SAD were significantly more individualistic and less power-distant than countries in which summer-SAD was more common than winter-SAD. Results survived various tests of threats to validity. The study is limited by the quantity, quality, diversity, and representativeness of the research under review and by its correlational design. Individualism and power distance are strongly related to the relative prevalence of winter-SAD and summer-SAD. Culture may play an important but previously overlooked role in the etiology of SAD.

The influence of types of war experiences on conduct problems in war-affected youth in Northern Ugandan: Findings from the WAYS study.

PubMed

Amone-P Olak, Kennedy; Ovuga, Emilio

2017-05-01

Exposure to war is associated with poor psychosocial outcomes. Yet the effects of different types of war events on various psychosocial outcomes such as conduct problems remain unknown. This study aims to assess whether various war events differ in predicting conduct problems. Using data from an on-going longitudinal research project, the WAYS study, the current article examined the relationship between specific war events and conduct problems in war-affected youth in Northern Uganda (N=539, baseline age=22.39; SD=2.03, range 18-25). Regression analyses were conducted to relate each type of war experience to conduct problems. War categories of "witnessing violence", "deaths", "threat to loved ones" and "sexual abuse" were associated with reporting conduct problems. Multivariable models yielded independent effects of ''witnessing violence'' (β=0.09, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.18) and ''Sexual abuse'' (β=0.09, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.19) on conduct problems while "duration in captivity" independently and negatively predicted conduct problems (β=-0.14, 95% CI: -0.23, -0.06). Types of war events vary in predicting conduct problems and should be considered when designing interventions to alleviate negative consequences of exposure to war. Moreover, longer duration in captivity appear to protect war-affected youth from conduct problems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of types of war experiences on conduct problems in war-affected youth in Northern Ugandan: Findings from the WAYS study

PubMed Central

Amone-P′Olak, Kennedy; Ovuga, Emilio

2017-01-01

Exposure to war is associated with poor psychosocial outcomes. Yet the effects of different types of war events on various psychosocial outcomes such as conduct problems remain unknown. This study aims to assess whether various war events differ in predicting conduct problems. Using data from an on-going longitudinal research project, the WAYS study, the current article examined the relationship between specific war events and conduct problems in war-affected youth in Northern Uganda (N=539, baseline age=22.39; SD=2.03, range 18– 25). Regression analyses were conducted to relate each type of war experience to conduct problems. War categories of “witnessing violence”, “deaths”, “threat to loved ones” and “sexual abuse” were associated with reporting conduct problems. Multivariable models yielded independent effects of “witnessing violence” (β=0.09, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.18) and “Sexual abuse” (β=0.09, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.19) on conduct problems while “duration in captivity” independently and negatively predicted conduct problems (β=−0.14, 95% CI: −0.23, −0.06). Types of war events vary in predicting conduct problems and should be considered when designing interventions to alleviate negative consequences of exposure to war. Moreover, longer duration in captivity appear to protect war-affected youth from conduct problems. PMID:28171768

Distributed Neural Processing Predictors of Multi-dimensional Properties of Affect

PubMed Central

Bush, Keith A.; Inman, Cory S.; Hamann, Stephan; Kilts, Clinton D.; James, G. Andrew

2017-01-01

Recent evidence suggests that emotions have a distributed neural representation, which has significant implications for our understanding of the mechanisms underlying emotion regulation and dysregulation as well as the potential targets available for neuromodulation-based emotion therapeutics. This work adds to this evidence by testing the distribution of neural representations underlying the affective dimensions of valence and arousal using representational models that vary in both the degree and the nature of their distribution. We used multi-voxel pattern classification (MVPC) to identify whole-brain patterns of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-derived neural activations that reliably predicted dimensional properties of affect (valence and arousal) for visual stimuli viewed by a normative sample (n = 32) of demographically diverse, healthy adults. Inter-subject leave-one-out cross-validation showed whole-brain MVPC significantly predicted (p < 0.001) binarized normative ratings of valence (positive vs. negative, 59% accuracy) and arousal (high vs. low, 56% accuracy). We also conducted group-level univariate general linear modeling (GLM) analyses to identify brain regions whose response significantly differed for the contrasts of positive versus negative valence or high versus low arousal. Multivoxel pattern classifiers using voxels drawn from all identified regions of interest (all-ROIs) exhibited mixed performance; arousal was predicted significantly better than chance but worse than the whole-brain classifier, whereas valence was not predicted significantly better than chance. Multivoxel classifiers derived using individual ROIs generally performed no better than chance. Although performance of the all-ROI classifier improved with larger ROIs (generated by relaxing the clustering threshold), performance was still poorer than the whole-brain classifier. These findings support a highly distributed model of neural processing for the affective dimensions of valence and arousal. Finally, joint error analyses of the MVPC hyperplanes encoding valence and arousal identified regions within the dimensional affect space where multivoxel classifiers exhibited the greatest difficulty encoding brain states – specifically, stimuli of moderate arousal and high or low valence. In conclusion, we highlight new directions for characterizing affective processing for mechanistic and therapeutic applications in affective neuroscience. PMID:28959198

Associations of Affective Responses During Free-Living Physical Activity and Future Physical Activity Levels: an Ecological Momentary Assessment Study.

PubMed

Liao, Yue; Chou, Chih-Ping; Huh, Jimi; Leventhal, Adam; Dunton, Genevieve

2017-08-01

Affective response during physical activity may influence motivation to perform future physical activity behavior. However, affective response during physical activity is often assessed under controlled laboratory conditions. The current study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to capture affective responses during free-living physical activity performed by adults, and determined whether these affective responses predict future moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels after 6 and 12 months. At baseline, electronic EMA surveys were randomly prompted across 4 days asking about current activities and affective states (e.g., happy, stressed, energetic, tired). Affective response during physical activity was operationalized as the level of positive or negative affect reported when concurrent physical activity (e.g., exercise or sports) was also reported. Data were available for 82 adults. Future levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were measured using accelerometers, worn for seven consecutive days at 6 and 12 months after the baseline assessment. Feeling more energetic during physical activity was associated with performing more minutes of daily MVPA after both 6 and 12 months. Feeling less negative affect during physical activity was associated with engaging in more daily MVPA minutes after 12 months only. This study demonstrated how EMA can be used to capture affective responses during free-living physical activity. Results found that feelings more energetic and less negative during physical activity were associated with more future physical activity, suggesting that positive emotional benefits may reinforce behavior.

You may worry, but can you recognize threats when you see them?; Neuroticism, threat identifications, and negative affect.

PubMed

Tamir, Maya; Robinson, Michael D; Solberg, Emily Crawford

2006-10-01

The present studies sought to investigate the hedonic consequences of threat-identification skills at low and high levels of neuroticism. Such skills were assessed in terms of both speed (Study 1) and accuracy (Study 2) of identifying threatening objects in cognitive tasks. As predicted, threat-identification skills interacted with trait neuroticism in predicting subjective experiences. Specifically, individuals high in neuroticism experienced lower levels of negative affect during their everyday lives if they were also skilled in identifying threats in the cognitive tasks (Studies 1-2). Such skills did not matter at low levels of neuroticism. This interactive pattern was also replicated in the context of life domain satisfaction (Study 2). The results support the view that avoidance motivation encompasses multiple component processes, including some that are cognitive in nature, and specifically extends self-regulatory views of neuroticism. Of most importance, our data indicate that threat-identification skills can be hedonically beneficial, rather than costly, at high levels of neuroticism.

Empathic Responses to Mother’s Emotions Predict Internalizing Problems in Children of Depressed Mothers

PubMed Central

Tully, Erin C.; Donohue, Meghan Rose

2016-01-01

Recent theories posit that empathy, typically an adaptive characteristic, may be associated with internalizing problems when children are chronically exposed to mother’s depression. We tested this postulation in a sample of children (N=82, Mage=5 years). Children witnessed their mothers express sadness, anger, and happiness during a simulated phone conversation, and researchers rated children’s negative affective empathy, positive affective empathy, and information-seeking (cognitive empathy) in response to their mother’s emotions. The chronicity of mother's depression during the child’s lifetime moderated associations between children’s empathy and internalizing problems. As predicted, all three empathy measures were related to greater mother-rated internalizing problems in children of chronically (i.e., 2–3 years) depressed mothers. Greater positive empathy was related to lower internalizing problems in children of nondepressed mothers. Positive empathy may contribute to adaptive processes when mothers are not depressed, and positive, negative, and cognitive empathy may contribute to maladaptive processes when mothers are chronically depressed. PMID:27262565

The soothing function of touch: affective touch reduces feelings of social exclusion.

PubMed

von Mohr, Mariana; Kirsch, Louise P; Fotopoulou, Aikaterini

2017-10-18

The mammalian need for social proximity, attachment and belonging may have an adaptive and evolutionary value in terms of survival and reproductive success. Consequently, ostracism may induce strong negative feelings of social exclusion. Recent studies suggest that slow, affective touch, which is mediated by a separate, specific C tactile neurophysiological system than faster, neutral touch, modulates the perception of physical pain. However, it remains unknown whether slow, affective touch, can also reduce feelings of social exclusion, a form of social pain. Here, we employed a social exclusion paradigm, namely the Cyberball task (N = 84), to examine whether the administration of slow, affective touch may reduce the negative feelings of ostracism induced by the social exclusion manipulations of the Cyberball task. As predicted, the provision of slow-affective, as compared to fast-neutral, touch led to a specific decrease in feelings of social exclusion, beyond general mood effects. These findings point to the soothing function of slow, affective touch, particularly in the context of social separation or rejection, and suggest a specific relation between affective touch and social bonding.

The relationship between personality and the response to acute psychological stress.

PubMed

Xin, Yuanyuan; Wu, Jianhui; Yao, Zhuxi; Guan, Qing; Aleman, André; Luo, Yuejia

2017-12-04

The present study examined the relationship between personality traits and the response to acute psychological stress induced by a standardized laboratory stress induction procedure (the Trier Social Stress Test, TSST). The stress response was measured with a combination of cardiovascular reactivity, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity, and subjective affect (including positive affect, negative affect and subjective controllability) in healthy individuals. The Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) approach was applied to account for the relationship between personality traits and stress responses. Results suggested that higher neuroticism predicted lower heart rate stress reactivity, lower cortisol stress response, more decline of positive affect and lower subjective controllability. Individuals higher in extraversion showed smaller cortisol activation to stress and less increase of negative affect. In addition, higher openness score was associated with lower cortisol stress response. These findings elucidate that neuroticism, extraversion and openness are important variables associated with the stress response and different dimensions of personality trait are associated with different aspects of the stress response.

Reward system and temporal pole contributions to affective evaluation during a first person shooter video game.

PubMed

Mathiak, Krystyna A; Klasen, Martin; Weber, René; Ackermann, Hermann; Shergill, Sukhwinder S; Mathiak, Klaus

2011-07-12

Violent content in video games evokes many concerns but there is little research concerning its rewarding aspects. It was demonstrated that playing a video game leads to striatal dopamine release. It is unclear, however, which aspects of the game cause this reward system activation and if violent content contributes to it. We combined functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) with individual affect measures to address the neuronal correlates of violence in a video game. Thirteen male German volunteers played a first-person shooter game (Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror) during fMRI measurement. We defined success as eliminating opponents, and failure as being eliminated themselves. Affect was measured directly before and after game play using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Failure and success events evoked increased activity in visual cortex but only failure decreased activity in orbitofrontal cortex and caudate nucleus. A negative correlation between negative affect and responses to failure was evident in the right temporal pole (rTP). The deactivation of the caudate nucleus during failure is in accordance with its role in reward-prediction error: it occurred whenever subject missed an expected reward (being eliminated rather than eliminating the opponent). We found no indication that violence events were directly rewarding for the players. We addressed subjective evaluations of affect change due to gameplay to study the reward system. Subjects reporting greater negative affect after playing the game had less rTP activity associated with failure. The rTP may therefore be involved in evaluating the failure events in a social context, to regulate the players' mood.

The reciprocal relationship between daily fatigue and catastrophizing following cancer treatment: Affect and physical activity as potential mediators.

PubMed

Müller, Fabiola; Stephenson, Ellen; DeLongis, Anita; Smink, Ans; Van Ginkel, Robert J; Tuinman, Marrit A; Hagedoorn, Mariët

2018-03-01

Fatigue is a distressing symptom many cancer patients experience even after completion of treatment. Although theory and empirical evidence indicate that negative cognitions perpetuate fatigue after completion of treatment, insight into how this process unfolds in daily life is limited. This study used an intensive longitudinal design to investigate the reciprocal relationship between catastrophizing and fatigue in daily life and whether affective and behavioral processes mediate these relationships. Post-treatment colorectal cancer patients (n = 101) completed daily diaries (14 days, 3 times daily) regarding their fatigue, catastrophizing, positive and negative affect, and physical activity. Multilevel modeling was applied to investigate within-person associations within days. Analyses revealed a positive reciprocal relationship between fatigue and catastrophizing throughout the day. That is, high levels of catastrophizing were associated with increases in fatigue within patients. In turn, but to a lesser extent, high levels of fatigue predicted increases in catastrophizing at the next assessment. Low positive affect and high negative affect mediated the effect of catastrophizing on increases in fatigue. Only negative affect mediated the reverse relationship. Physical activity did not mediate either relationship. This study provides evidence for a mutually reinforcing relationship between catastrophizing and fatigue in daily life, which might explain the perpetuation of fatigue after completion of cancer treatment. Fatigue-specific cognitive behavior therapy could be improved by educating patients about this daily reciprocal relationship, train them to quickly replace catastrophizing thoughts in daily life, and help them to cope with affective changes induced by fatigue. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Telling good from bad news: ADHD differentially affects processing of positive and negative feedback during guessing.

PubMed

van Meel, Catharina S; Oosterlaan, Jaap; Heslenfeld, Dirk J; Sergeant, Joseph A

2005-01-01

Neuroimaging studies on ADHD suggest abnormalities in brain regions associated with decision-making and reward processing such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and orbitofrontal cortex. Recently, event-related potential (ERP) studies demonstrated that the ACC is involved in processing feedback signals during guessing and gambling. The resulting negative deflection, the 'feedback-related negativity' (FRN) has been interpreted as reflecting an error in reward prediction. In the present study, ERPs elicited by positive and negative feedback were recorded in children with ADHD and normal controls during guessing. 'Correct' and 'incorrect' guesses resulted in respectively monetary gains and losses. The FRN amplitude to losses was more pronounced in the ADHD group than in normal controls. Positive and negative feedback differentially affected long latency components in the ERP waveforms of normal controls, but not ADHD children. These later deflections might be related to further emotional or strategic processing. The present findings suggest an enhanced sensitivity to unfavourable outcomes in children with ADHD, probably due to abnormalities in mesolimbic reward circuits. In addition, further processing, such as affective evaluation and the assessment of future consequences of the feedback signal seems to be altered in ADHD. These results may further help understanding the neural basis of decision-making deficits in ADHD.

Rejection elicits emotional reactions but neither causes immediate distress nor lowers self-esteem: a meta-analytic review of 192 studies on social exclusion.

PubMed

Blackhart, Ginette C; Nelson, Brian C; Knowles, Megan L; Baumeister, Roy F

2009-11-01

Competing predictions about the effect of social exclusion were tested by meta-analyzing findings from studies of interpersonal rejection, ostracism, and similar procedures. Rejection appears to cause a significant shift toward a more negative emotional state. Typically, however, the result was an emotionally neutral state marked by low levels of both positive and negative affect. Acceptance caused a slight increase in positive mood and a moderate increase in self-esteem. Self-esteem among rejected persons was no different from neutral controls. These findings are discussed in terms of belongingness motivation, sociometer theory, affective numbing, and self-esteem defenses.