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Self-insights focused on the coping process are implicated in the refinement of capacities for resilience. To advance this research, we must identify key coping self-insights and develop a concise measurement tool. The purpose of this paper is to develop evidence for the construct dimensionality and validity of a measure of coping self-insight. Items measuring 13 coping self-insight dimensions were generated via consultation with theoretical work, subject matter experts, and pre-testing items for clarity. Thereafter, the dimensionality of items was assessed with undergraduate students (N = 232) and an online sample (N = 800) via exploratory and confirmatory analyses. Finally, a multi-trait, multi-method approach was used to test discriminant validity in a further sample of students (N = 228). The initial item list was reduced to five key dimensions that balanced data-driven and conceptual considerations. Confirmatory Factor Analysis revealed moderate-to-strong correlations (r =.47–.80) among dimensions. We also demonstrated evidence of internal reliability, convergent, criterion, and discriminant validity. Invariance tests for sub-groups of interest (e.g., sex, sample type) frequently demonstrated metric or scalar invariance, except for age sub-groups. Findings offer a starting point regarding the types of coping self-insights important for the emergence of resilience and a validated tool for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) refers to positive psychological changes that result from a traumatic experience. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) and the Stress-Related Growth Scale (SRGS) are the two most commonly used measures of PTG. One criticism of these measures is that all their items are positively worded (for example, "I have a greater feeling of self-reliance"). In the current paper, we conducted two studies that examined a possible wording effect in these two measures. In Study 1, we found that positively worded items on the PTGI are positively correlated with the negatively worded version of the same items. Additionally, the positively and negatively worded versions of these items formed two separate factors, further suggesting a wording effect. In Study 2, we conducted an experimental design by comparing self-reports of PTG when randomly assigned to complete either positively- or neutrally worded versions of the items. We found that participants reported 27% less PTG when given neutrally worded items. The combined results strongly suggest a wording effect that encourages overreporting of self-reports of PTG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social anxiety disorder is associated with distinct mobility patterns (e.g., increased time spent at home compared to non-anxious individuals), but we know little about if these patterns change following interventions. The ubiquity of GPS-enabled smartphones offers new opportunities to assess the benefits of mental health interventions beyond self-reported data. This pre-registered study () assesses the impact of a brief, online cognitive training intervention for threat interpretations using passively-collected mobile sensing data. Ninety-eight participants scoring high on a measure of trait social anxiety completed five weeks of mobile phone monitoring, with 49 participants randomly assigned to receive the intervention halfway through the monitoring period. The brief intervention was not reliably associated with changes to participant mobility patterns. Despite the lack of significant findings, this paper offers a framework within which to test future intervention effects using GPS data. We present a template for combining clinical theory and empirical GPS findings to derive testable hypotheses, outline data processing steps, and provide human-readable data processing scripts to guide future research. This manuscript illustrates how data processing steps common in engineering can be harnessed to extend our understanding of the impact of mental health interventions in daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper uses the Conservation of Resources Theory to frame an examination of the impact of exposure to political violence on posttraumatic stress symptomology among three groups within Israeli society: (1) Native Born Jews; (2) Foreign Born Jews; and (3) Palestinian Citizens of Israel. The study population was a large nationally representative sample of 1613 respondents collected during The Second Intifada. The sample consists of approximately 40% Jews born in Israel (n = 652), 30% (n = 484) were Jews who immigrated to Israel, and close to 30% (n = 477) were Palestinian Citizens of Israel. Mediation analyses explored the role of resource loss in the relationship between social status and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. Compared to native born Jews, foreign born Jews and Palestinian Citizens of Israel reported greater PTSD symptom severity at wave III. These relationships were not mediated by psychosocial resource loss or economic resource loss. We discuss the importance of tailored interventions with minority groups in the context of ongoing political violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little has been done to examine socioeconomic differences in the trajectory of psychological well-being during a disaster. This paper investigates educational differences in the changes in psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic and explores the mechanisms of the differences. The data were obtained from a unique two-wave panel survey conducted during the peak and waning phases of the pandemic in Hubei province, the epicenter of the pandemic in China. At the peak of the pandemic, individuals with different levels of education reported high and similar levels of psychological distress. As the pandemic subsided, the psychological well-being of people of all educational levels rebounded, but the recovery was greater and faster for those with tertiary education. Mediation analysis shows that neighborhood social support and evaluation of the performance of grassroots government partially explained the advantage of the more highly educated. This study reveals how social differentiation is translated into health disparities when a disaster strikes. It may also inform public policy by identifying segments of the population at heightened risk of psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/rationale: The carbon dioxide (CO2) challenge has been reliably used in laboratory settings as a panicogen in clinical populations. However, the magnitude of these effects on healthy and non-clinical control populations are not clear. The aim of this meta-analysis and systematic review is to provide quantitative estimates of those effects. Specifically, the current paper will evaluate the relative efficacy of the CO2 challenge in eliciting both subjective and physiological arousal in healthy and non-clinical control populations.Method: A total of 16 articles with 35 independent samples were included in the meta-analysis, while 37 studies with 74 independent samples were included in the systematic review.Results: Both the meta-analysis and systematic review found the CO2 challenge to elicit an increase in subjective distress via self-reported anxiety and fear. Physiological responses via blood pressure and heart rate were heterogeneous in studies sampled, with no significant changes observed across studies. Moderator analyses revealed the variations in findings may be attributed to participant screening and invasive sampling.Discussion: Findings highlight the CO2 challenge as a useful tool in the provocation of subjective distress. Implications for both the use of the CO2 challenge and its anticipated effects in healthy and non-clinical control populations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent theoretical work suggests that self-reflection on daily stressors and the efficacy of coping strategies and resources is beneficial for the enhancement of resilient capacities. However, coping insights emerging from self-reflection, and their relationship to resilient capacities, is an existing gap in our understanding. Given that insights come in many forms, the objective of this paper is to delineate exemplar coping insights that strengthen the capacity for resilience. After providing an overview of self-reflection and insight, we extend the Systematic Self-Reflection model of resilience strengthening by introducing the Self-Reflection and Coping Insight Framework to articulate how the emergence of coping insights may mediate the relationship between five self-reflective practices and the enhancement of resilient capacities. We explore the potential for coping insights to convey complex ideas about the self in the context of stressor exposure, an awareness of response patterns to stressors, and principles about the nature of stress and coping across time and contexts. This framework adds to existing scholarship by providing a characterization of how coping insight may strengthen resilient capacities, allowing for a guided exploration of coping insight during future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Compassionate work appears paradoxical as it may provide great rewards, but may also come at great costs to care providers. This paper explores the paradox of compassionate work by examining what interactions contribute to compassion satisfaction and what interactions contribute to compassion fatigue.Design: This mixed-methods, cross-sectional study uses qualitative interview data from animal health care providers (N = 20) to identify work interactions that they find satisfying or stressful. Quantitative survey data (N = 572) are used to test hypotheses generated from the interviews regarding predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue.Methods: Interview transcripts were analyzed using a directed content analysis approach. Survey data were analyzed using ordinary least squares regression.Results: The results highlight the complex nature of compassionate work. As hypothesized, making a difference to animals and building relationships with animal patients and human clients relate to greater compassion satisfaction. Human client barriers to animal care and witnessing client grief relate to greater compassion fatigue, as predicted. None of the predictors relate to less compassion fatigue, but forming relationships with animal patients relates to both greater compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue.Conclusions: This paper enhances our understanding of provider-client-patient interactions and highlights the paradox of compassionate work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the following topics: (a) The defining features of the Gulf War, a war that was like no other in Israeli experience; (b) Extent of physical damage caused by the war; (c) Prevalence and intensity of the psychological stress reactions and coping behaviors immediately prior to, during, and after the war; (d) Identification of stress-conducive and stress-resistant variables; (e) Peer review of Psychology's wartime contributions; and (f) Conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Individual differences in uncertainty have been associated with heightened anxiety, stress and approach-oriented coping. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a trait characteristic that arises from negative beliefs about uncertainty and its consequences. Researchers have established the central role of IU in the development of problematic worry and maladaptive coping, highlighting the importance of this construct to anxiety disorders. However, there is a need to improve our understanding of the phenomenology of IU. The goal of this paper was to present hypotheses regarding the similarities and differences between IU and three related constructs – intolerance of ambiguity, uncertainty orientation, and need for cognitive closure – and to call for future empirical studies to substantiate these hypotheses. To assist with achieving this goal, we conducted a systematic review of the literature, which also served to identify current gaps in knowledge. This paper differentiates these constructs by outlining each definition and general approaches to assessment, reviewing the existing empirical relations, and proposing theoretical similarities and distinctions. Findings may assist researchers in selecting the appropriate construct to address their research questions. Future research directions for the application of these constructs, particularly within the field of clinical and health psychology, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Extant self-report measures of social anxiety primarily assess the breadth of social situations in which respondents feel anxious, rather than assessing severity in terms of the distress and impairment that individuals experience due to their social anxiety symptoms. This paper describes the development and validation of the Ryerson Social Anxiety Scales (RSAS; Rogojanski et al., 2019; see Appendix), a new measure for assessing both the breadth of situations that trigger social anxiety and the severity (i.e., distress and impairment) associated with social anxiety, across two studies. Method/Design: Two samples of university students (N = 501 total) completed demographic and self-report symptom measures. In Study 1, participants completed the RSAS and several other measures of psychological symptoms. In Study 2, participants completed the same measures and were also assessed for the presence of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) using a semistructured clinical interview. Results: Across both samples, the RSAS demonstrated excellent internal consistency and incremental validity. It consistently emerged as a unique predictor of psychosocial impairment. In Study 2, increases in RSAS scores were associated with increased odds of having SAD. Conclusions: The RSAS has robust psychometric properties and fills an important gap among available measures for assessing SAD severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objective: Coping styles play a role in how individuals respond to stress and therapy. One aspect of coping which has been linked to adverse outcomes including anxiety disorders and PTSD is avoidance. However, a tendency to avoid may affect the accuracy of paper and pencil inventories used to identify avoidant temperaments. Previously, we showed that a computer-based task in which an on-screen "avatar" is guided through a series of onscreen events could predict avoidance including behavioral inhibition, harm avoidance, and self-reported PTSD symptoms. Since some coping styles involve avoidance, we extended this work to determine whether scores on the avatar task would also differentiate avoidant and non-avoidant coping styles as measured by the Brief COPE. Methods: One hundred and fifty undergraduates voluntarily completed the avatar task and the Brief COPE. Results: Scores on the avatar task had a significant positive relationship with an aggregate score for the five avoidant coping styles and a significant negative relationship with an aggregate score for the nine non-avoidant coping styles. Conclusions: The effectiveness of the avatar task to differentiate coping styles based on avoidance further validates this task and also shows selectivity to avoidant coping styles as opposed to other non-avoidant coping styles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Exposure to demands is normally considered to drain resources and threaten wellbeing. However, studies have indicated a resilience-strengthening role for stressors.Objectives: This paper introduces a unifying model, including five testable hypotheses regarding how resilience can be strengthened progressively via exposure to life-stressors.Methods: We review and synthesize relevant scholarship that underpins the Systematic Self-Reflection model of resilience-strengthening.Results: The model highlights the importance of a specific meta-cognitive skill (self-reflection on one's initial stressor response) as a mechanism for strengthening resilience. The Systematic Self-Reflection model uniquely proposes five self-reflective practices critical in the on-going adaptation of three resilient capacities: (1) coping resources, (2) usage of coping and emotional regulatory repertoire, and (3) resilient beliefs. The self-reflective process is proposed to strengthen a person's resilience by developing insight into their already-present capacities, the limitations of these capacities, and by stimulating the search for person-driven alternative approaches.Conclusion: This model extends the existing scholarship by proposing how the experience of stressors and adversity may have resilience-strengthening opportunities. The implication of this model is that engaging with stressors can have positive consequences for longer-term healthy emotional development if scaffolded in adaptive reflective practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conceptually explores Paul Tillich's theory of existential anxiety and examines existing research relevant to each of Tillich's domains of existential apprehension. This paper also reports data from two initial empirical studies of Tillich's model of existential anxiety and its relation to symptoms of anxiety and depression. A self-report measure of existential anxiety, the Existential Anxiety Questionnaire (EAQ) based on Tillich's conceptualization, was developed and data were collected from two socioeconomic and ethnically diverse samples of adults (Study 1, N =225; Study 2, N =331). Results indicated that the EAQ has good test-retest and internal consistency reliability and a factor structure consistent with theory. The EAQ also demonstrated good convergent and incremental validity estimates. The data suggest that existential anxiety concerns are common and that they are associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression as well as psychological distress related to identity problems. Results are discussed with regard to their support for the viability of employing Tillich's theory in empirical research on existential anxiety and the importance of further exploring the relation between existential anxiety concerns and other facets of emotional experience such as clinical anxiety and depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of this special issue has its origin in a symposium organized by Ihsan Al-Issa, on stress and war in the Middle East that took palce during the 13the International Conference of the Stress and Anxiety Research Society in Leuven, Begium, July 17–19, 1992. It is, however, Knut A. Hagtvet who first suggested this special issue. His diligent and persistent effort in reviewing and commenting on the papers has helped in bringing this issue into being. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Vigilant coping is characterized by a deep processing of threat-related information. In many cases, vigilant coping increases stress symptoms, whereas avoidant coping decreases negative affect. However, vigilance may be beneficial when stress-eliciting situations involve a risk of injury or escalation as is usually the case in police operations.Design: We investigated the roles of vigilance and cognitive avoidance in police operations in a cross-sectional survey.Methods: The participants were 137 students (104 men, Mage = 28.54, SD = 8.04) from the Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences; 76 of them were already police officers (work experience: M = 12.59 years), and 61 were police officer candidates who had completed a 3- to 6-month police internship. Participants completed a paper-and-pencil survey and reported their operational stress, dispositional vigilance and cognitive avoidance in police operations, and stress symptoms.Results: We found that vigilance was negatively associated with stress symptoms and moderated the relationship between operational stress and stress symptoms. Cognitive avoidance, on the other hand, just missed the level of statistical significance in our test of whether it was positively associated with stress symptoms.Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that vigilance may protect against the negative consequences of stress in police operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Although perfectionism has been proposed to be a risk factor for the development of anxiety, research on perfectionism and anxiety symptoms in adolescents is scarce and inconclusive. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the two higher-order dimensions of perfectionism - perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns - predict the development and maintenance of anxiety symptoms. An additional aim of the present study was to examine potential reciprocal effects of anxiety symptoms predicting increases in perfectionism.Design: The study used a longitudinal design with three waves spaced 4-5 months apart.Methods: A non-clinical sample of 489 adolescents aged 12-19 years completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire.Results: As expected, results showed a positive effect from perfectionistic concerns to anxiety symptoms, but the effect was restricted to middle-to-late adolescents (16-19 years old): Perfectionistic concerns predicted longitudinal increases in adolescents' anxiety symptoms, whereas perfectionistic strivings did not. Furthermore, anxiety symptoms did not predict increases in perfectionism.Conclusions: Implications for the understanding of the relationship between perfectionism and anxiety symptoms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Internet-based interventions are a viable treatment option for various mental problems. However, their effects on the burnout syndrome yielded mixed results. In this paper, we examine the efficacy of a structured and therapist-guided internet intervention, based on solution-focused and cognitive-behavioral therapy, for individuals with symptoms of burnout.Design: Two-arm, Internet-based, randomized, wait-list controlled trial (RCT).Methods: Participants were recruited through in-house events and online advertising. They were randomly assigned to the intervention or a wait-list. Group comparison was conducted three months after randomization. Outcomes were the burnout level according to the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-GS) and the levels of depression, anxiety and stress according to the DASS-21.Results: Thirty-nine participants were included in the trial; 36 (92.3%) took part at the 3-months-follow-up. Intention-to-treat analyses revealed significant group differences in favor of the intervention group in depression (d = 0.66), cynicism (d = 0.87) and personal accomplishment (d = 0.75).Conclusions: The intervention helped ameliorate symptoms of work-related stress and burnout. Although limited by a small sample size, the study suggests that the program provides effective support for affected individuals. However, further studies with bigger sample sizes should be conducted to examine the effects of such programs more precisely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the relationship between test anxiety and metacognitive word knowledge on performance on a standardized reading comprehension test. One hundred and seventeen (117) college students participated by completing three paper and pencil measures: (1) a self-report measure of test anxiety; (2) a metacognitive word knowledge task; and (3) a standardized measure of reading comprehension. The results of a series of multiple regression analyses suggest that the cognitive component of test anxiety (worry) exerted a negative influence on students' performance on the metacognitive word knowledge task, independent of overall reading ability. Additional analyses suggest that once initial reading ability is controlled, both anxious worrying and metacognitive word knowledge jointly influence performance on a standardized measure of reading comprehension. On the most cognitively demanding reading comprehension tasks, however, metacognitive word knowledge interacted with worry, such that when anxious worrying was low, increases in metacognitive word knowledge were associated with higher performance; and when anxious worrying was high, increases in metacognitive word knowledge were associated with lower levels of performance. The findings are discussed within a cognitive capacity framework of test anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background and Objectives: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease. Previous studies showed that perceived social support has an important role in enhancing patient's quality of life (QOL). However, the precise mechanisms through which social support exerts such an effect are not completely understood. The aim of this paper is to test two alternative models explaining the relationship between social support (positive and problematic) and two dimensions of QOL: Health-Related (HR-QOL) and Non-Health-Related (NHR-QOL).Design: Model A (mediation) hypothesized that positive support would reduce stress while problematic support would increase stress), and that this in turn would reduce QOL. Model B (moderation) hypothesized that the effect of support on QOL would be moderated by the experience of stress in that more stressed individuals would show stronger effects.Methods: Three hundred and forty-four Italian patients with SLE completed an online questionnaire.Results: Stress partially mediated the relationship between support and QOL dimensions (either HR-QOL and NHR-QOL) thus supporting Model B. As hypothesized, positive support reduced stress, while problematic support increased stress.Conclusions: These findings help to explain the complex relationship between social support, stress and QOL in patients with SLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: This paper consists of two studies that test for the presence and content of stereotypes of highly socially anxious individuals.Design: The current studies examined traits that comprise social anxiety stereotypes, and then tested whether undergraduate students held part of this stereotype via an implicit-association test (IAT).Methods: In Study 1, a sample of undergraduate students (n = 635) was asked to generate descriptors of people who are highly socially anxious. These descriptors were utilized to create the Social Anxiety Stereotype Measure (SASM) and the underlying factor structure of the SASM was analyzed. In Study 2, a different sample of undergraduate students (n = 87) was given an IAT to further test for the presence of one of the factors obtained in Study 1.Results: Factor analyses indicated the presence of two social anxiety stereotypes: social inhibition and oddity (comparative fit index = .97, Tucker-Lewis Index = .95, root mean square error of approximation = .07, standardized root mean square residual = .06). Oddity as a stereotype of social anxiety was further supported via an IAT: Participants reacted more quickly when oddity (vs. normality) words were paired with social anxiety (vs. social confidence) words (D = -1.15, SD = .26; t(85) = -41.50, p < .001).Conclusions: Factor analyses revealed two social anxiety stereotypes: social inhibition and oddity. Further testing of the oddity stereotype was supported via an IAT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The NIH Toolbox for Neurological and Behavioral Function assessment battery contains measures in the domains of cognitive function, motor function, sensory function, and emotional health. It was designed for use in epidemiological and clinical trials health-related research. Design: This paper describes the first phase of instrument development for the stress and self-efficacy subdomain of emotional health. Based on an extensive literature review and expert consultation, 127 measures were initially considered for inclusion in this subdomain, including measures of stress, self-efficacy, emotion regulation, and coping. Results: Several measures, including emotion regulation and measures of coping strategies, did not meet criteria that were a priori established for inclusion. Psychometric properties of the remaining candidate measures were evaluated using data from five independent samples (combined N = 3175). Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses indicated the Perceived Stress Scale and the General Self-Efficacy Scale each assessed single dimensions. Conclusions: Based on their psychometric performance, these two instruments were selected for inclusion and subsequent national norming for the NIH Toolbox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health behaviors such as eating and exercising have been linked to stress in many studies, and researchers suggest that these links are in large part due to the use of health behaviors to cope with stress. However, health behaviors in the context of coping have received relatively little research attention. In this paper, we briefly survey the literature linking stress, coping, and health behaviors, noting that very little research has explicitly examined health behaviors as coping with stress. We address critical theoretical and methodological issues that arise in applying a stress and coping perspective to health behaviors. We conclude with potential directions for interventions, including the need for conceptually solid and methodologically rigorous research and the development of new measures, and with suggestions for future research. The concepts of self-regulation and stress management and their implications in health behavior research and interventions are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background/Objective: Coping styles play a role in how individuals respond to stress and therapy. One aspect of coping which has been linked to adverse outcomes including anxiety disorders and PTSD is avoidance. However, a tendency to avoid may affect the accuracy of paper and pencil inventories used to identify avoidant temperaments. Previously, we showed that a computer-based task in which an on-screen "avatar" is guided through a series of onscreen events could predict avoidance including behavioral inhibition, harm avoidance, and self-reported PTSD symptoms. Since some coping styles involve avoidance, we extended this work to determine whether scores on the avatar task would also differentiate avoidant and non-avoidant coping styles as measured by the Brief COPE. Methods: One hundred and fifty undergraduates voluntarily completed the avatar task and the Brief COPE. Results: Scores on the avatar task had a significant positive relationship with an aggregate score for the five avoidant coping styles and a significant negative relationship with an aggregate score for the nine non-avoidant coping styles. Conclusions: The effectiveness of the avatar task to differentiate coping styles based on avoidance further validates this task and also shows selectivity to avoidant coping styles as opposed to other non-avoidant coping styles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous findings characterize the belief in a just world (BJW) as a valuable resource for maintaining positive well-being and assimilating injustice. The present cross-sectional study applies just world research to school bullying and tested the hypotheses that the personal BJW is positively correlated with subjective well-being, here particularly school distress. In this paper the generalizability of this association is tested in victims, bullies, and defenders, and across gender and also two countries with different cultures, Portugal and India. We will test if BJW can best be interpreted as a personal resource (main effect) or a buffer (moderator) for the distress of victims, bullies and defenders of the victims. The participants were 465 school students (Portuguese sample: 187 students aged between 12 and 18 years; Indian sample: 278 Indian students aged between 14 and 17 years). Overall, the results of the study supported the personal resource hypothesis. The stronger the adolescents' endorsements of the BJW the less they felt distressed at school, and this was true independent of their bullying behavior and within both sexes and across both samples, although boys, bullies, and Portuguese adolescents experienced more distress and defenders experienced less distress at school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychological models of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders suggest that poor coping responses to life stressors and to symptoms of illness is central to their development and maintenance and influences recovery. These models are widely accepted and inform psychological treatments for psychotic disorders. In this paper, 85 studies that explore how individuals with established psychotic disorders cope with symptoms associated with their illness, and with independent life events and stressors are comprehensively reviewed. Reviewed research included cross-sectional and longitudinal investigations of self-initiated coping. Despite limitations in the existing research, it is concluded that most individuals experiencing psychosis implement at least one strategy to cope with symptoms, and life events and most implement more than one strategy. It appears that having a repertoire of strategies to employ leads to greater effectiveness than simply relying on one strategy. This suggests that treatment strategies that aim to enhance the coping of individuals with psychosis should emphasize the development of a range of coping strategies. It also seems that there is no one coping strategy that is universally effective and situational, or other factors may influence both the choice of coping strategy implemented and its efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a disgust-inducing film, Gross (1998) showed that the instruction to suppress mimic expression (suppression) triggered physiological arousal, while the instruction to think about the film in order to adopt a detached and unemotional attitude (reappraisal) reduced affective strain compared to a condition instructing subjects simply to watch the film (watch). The present paper investigates, if disgust sensitivity has a moderating role in this context. Physiological, subjective, and behavior responses were recorded in 120 males divided according to high/low disgust sensitivity who were exposed to the disgust-inducing film used by Gross. The instruction effects reported by Gross could not be replicated. However, high disgust-sensitive subjects were more physiologically and emotionally aroused than low disgust-sensitive subjects. Interactions between disgust sensitivity and the three film instructions can possibly be traced back to a repressive coping style of subjects with low disgust sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrorism creates a ripple of fear and uncertainty. Although most individuals are resilient and recover over time, a minority remains functionally and psychologically impaired. In this paper, we examine research on coping strategies employed in the aftermath of terrorist events, theories and empirical findings related to appraisal processes that influence individuals' primary attributions of risk, and normative processes that shape secondary appraisals, which predict specific coping behaviors. We also describe individual diatheses and factors promoting resilience that may influence coping and functioning in the face of terrorism. Finally, we offer suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is now mounting evidence that disgust is critically involved in anxiety disorders. Despite the emphasis on irrational fear in understanding these disorders, there has been little investigation into the cognitive component of disgust. In this theoretical paper, a process to distinguish normal versus pathological disgust responding is proposed and its clinical implications considered. Similar to intrusive thoughts in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), it is the interpretation of a disgust reaction as personally meaningful or threatening that will lead to pathological disgust. Building upon the belief domains thought to contribute to OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Cognition Working Group [OCCWG], 1997) and the laws of sympathetic magic in normal disgust (Rozin & Nemeroff, 1990), it is suggested that beliefs about one's ability to cope with being contaminated, dirty, or disgusted may help predict avoidance and pathological disgust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the role of disgust sensitivity in anxiety and related disorders. According to the author, emerging descriptive and experimental research has shown that disgust is uniquely related to animal phobia and blood-injection-injury phobia. He said studies have also implicated disgust in contamination-related obsessive-compulsive disorder. He explained that information processing is a potential area of growth in the multi-modal assessment of disgust in anxiety disorders.

In this paper we examine: (1) recency and duration effects of layoff contact; and (2) the order effects associated with different types of layoff contact experiences. Workers employed by a large company engaged in repeated waves of downsizing completed questionnaires in 1997, 1999, and 2003. Using data only from workers who experienced indirect or direct layoff contact at each time period ( N =460), we found some evidence that recent direct experiences were associated with significant group differences for intent to quit and depression. There was also some evidence to suggest that a single direct layoff experience still affected workers’ levels of job security, even when this experience occurred some 6 years prior to the Time 3 measurement. The largest within-group changes in scores over time were typically found among workers experiencing an indirect experience followed by a direct experience, suggesting that the order of events impacted worker job security, intent to quit, and depression. For workers experiencing back-to-back direct downsizing, the rate of decline slowed for depression. These findings are examined in light of the stress vulnerability and resiliency hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the differential predictability of Maslach's three burnout components on the intention to quit the teaching profession among Chinese teachers in Hong Kong. A sample of 379 teachers participated in the current study, which provided data on the associations among social support, burnout, and intention to quit. Results from structural equation modeling confirmed that the three components of burnout acted differently on intention to quit, with emotional exhaustion as the dominant factor, while the other two components exerted no effect. The findings concurred with those from US research. Support from a supervisor has a direct influence on the teacher's intention to quit and an indirect effect through emotional exhaustion. In contrast to the findings in the West, the effect of support from colleagues was shown to be minimal in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents spend more than one-third of their waking lives using media such as TV, print, audio and computer media. This paper focuses on the relationship between media use and health in adolescents from a stress-theoretical perspective, exploring the dynamics between the extent of media use, the functional value of media use in terms of coping, and stress symptoms reported by 357 fifth-graders. For different kinds of media, extent and functions of media use were recorded as well as symptomatology using the Youth Self Report (YSR). The results show gender differences with regard to both externalizing and internalizing symptomatology, and the extent of media use. Further analyses reveal significant positive correlations between media use and symptomatology. These correlations are partly mediated by the use of media in the function of coping; media use can partly be explained as an attempt to cope with stress experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to provide a conceptual framework placing anxiety in a perceived control perspective. We analyse the basic cognitive components of anxiety with reference to the need for control, both pragmatic and epistemic. We address the difference between fear and anxiety by pointing to the special role played in anxiety by the need for epistemic control and uncertainty reduction. We examine some typical “questions” of anxiety, and some typical “answers” or coping strategies, with special reference to their relationships with either need for control. We focus on the need for epistemic control, its relationship with pragmatic control, its impact on the amount of anxiety experienced, and its role in anxiety-proneness. We address worry and its relationships with anxiety and the needs for control. Finally, we compare our approach with related models, point to its implications for clinical treatment, and discuss the interplay of conscious and unconscious processes in anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigated the effects of perceived social support such as (a) protection from stress, (b) promotion of wellbeing, and (c) buffering negative effects of stress on wellbeing. Those effects were analysed in the context of moderating role of hardiness and emotional reactivity in a sample of 152 man managers. At first wave of data collection perceived social support from different sources, work stress, wellbeing, hardiness and emotional reactivity were measured. Six weeks later wellbeing and work stress were assessed again. Results of hierarchical regression showed that support from supervisors protects from work stress. Promotive effect of social support was found only in analyses where the moderating role of personality was considered. Buffering effect was found more frequently, if the moderating role of personality was considered, compared to analyses that did not include any personality moderator. Social support from coworkers or family buffered the effects of work stress in managers with low hardiness or high emotional reactivity. Managers with low hardiness (or with high emotional reactivity) who perceived high support had the same level of curiosity, regardless work stress. The results are discussed in the context of support—stress—outcome matching hypothesis. An extension of matching hypothesis may be proposed, referring to the fit between social support, stress, wellbeing (or stress outcomes), and personality characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflicting findings concerning the nature and presence of attentional bias in social anxiety and social phobia have been reported in the literature. This paper reports the findings of two studies comparing people with high and low social anxiety on dot probe tasks using words, faces photographed in front view, and faces photographed in profile as stimuli. In Study 1 those with high social anxiety displayed an attentional bias towards negative faces. The low social anxiety group showed an attentional bias towards positive faces. No significant effects were observed on the dot probe using words as stimuli. Study 2 used pairs of faces presented in profile as though looking at each other. One of the faces displayed either a positive, negative or neutral expression. The second face always had a neutral expression, and in half of the trials it was the subject's own face. The findings of this more ecologically valid procedure replicated those of Study 1. Facilitated attention to dots following emotional faces was specific to threatening facial stimuli. From these studies it appears that the facial dot probe task is a more sensitive index of attentional bias than the word task in a non-clinical sample with social anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines downsizing and restructuring within a stress-and-coping framework. Psychological effects of downsizing; Discussion on individual resources, stress and downsizing; Overview on social support and downsizing.

We examined the effects of ultra-brief training in mindfulness and cognitive reappraisal on affective response and performance under stress. We hypothesized that one or both types of training would decrease affective responding and improve performance, and that these effects might be moderated by acute stress induction. We manipulated training (mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal, control) between subjects and level of stress (low, high) within subjects in a 3 × 2 mixed factorial design. Method: Participants (N = 112, ages 18–35) completed two sessions on different days. In each session, they received mindfulness or cognitive reappraisal training or listened to a control script prior to a low- or high-stress simulated hostage situation. We measured motor performance efficiency (proportion of shots that hit hostile and hostage targets), affective responding (self-reported anxiety, salivary cortisol and alpha amylase, and autonomic physiology), and physical activity. Compared to control instructions, ultra-brief training in cognitive reappraisal or mindfulness reduced subjective anxiety and increased performance efficiency. There were few effects of training on other measures. Ultra-brief training in cognitive reappraisal or mindfulness prior to a stressful task may be both helpful and harmful; effects are preliminary and subject to boundary conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Although dispositional optimism and pessimism have been prospectively associated with health outcomes, little is known about how these associations manifest in everyday life. This study examined how short-term optimistic and pessimistic expectations were associated with psychological and physiological stress processes. Methods: A diverse sample of adults (N = 300) completed a 2-day/1-night ecological momentary assessment and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) protocol at ∼45-minute intervals. Results: Moments that were more optimistic than typical for a person were followed by moments with lower likelihood of reporting a stressor, higher positive affect (PA), lower negative affect (NA), and less subjective stress (SS). Moments that were more pessimistic than typical were not associated with any affective stress outcome at the following moment. Neither optimism nor pessimism were associated with ABP, and did not moderate associations between reporting a stressor and outcomes. Discussion: These findings suggest that intraindividual fluctuations in optimistic and pessimistic expectations are associated with stressor appraisals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents' natural language when describing health-related threats reflects parents' cognitions that may shape their transmission of anxiety and fear. Parents' greater communal focus (i.e., higher we-talk) and less self-focus (i.e., lower I-talk) may buffer against intergenerational fear/anxiety transmission. The current study investigated whether the relation between parents' and children's anxiety and pandemic-related fear differed by parent we- and I-talk. Parents of 114 children (2–19 years; M = 9.75, SD = 3.73) completed online measures assessing children's and parents' anxiety and COVID-19-related fears, and engaged in a written reflection on their early pandemic experiences. The proportion of parents' we-talk and I-talk during the reflection was obtained using Linguistic Inquiry Word Count software. Results of multilevel structural equation models were partially consistent with expectations: The protective effect of we-talk was only observed for parents with lower fear/anxiety. For parents with higher fear/anxiety, higher I-talk was associated with lower child fear/anxiety. At higher levels of parent we-talk and at lower levels of I-talk, there was an unexpectedly positive association between parents' and children's fear/anxiety. The concordance between parents' and their children's fear/anxiety differs depending on parents' natural language when reflecting on the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social anxiety has long been related to reduced eye contact, and this feature is seen as a causal and a maintaining factor of social anxiety disorder. The present research adds to the literature by investigating the relationship between social anxiety and visual avoidance of faces in a reciprocal face-to-face conversation, while taking into account two aspects of conversations as potential moderating factors: conversational role and level of intimacy. Eighty-five female students (17–25 years) completed the Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale and had a face-to-face getting-acquainted conversation with a female confederate. We alternated conversational role (talking versus listening) and manipulated intimacy of the topics (low versus high). Participants' gaze behavior was registered with Tobii eye-tracking glasses. Three dependent measures were extracted regarding fixations on the face of the confederate: total duration, proportion of fixations, and mean duration. The results revealed that higher levels of social anxiety were associated with reduced face gaze on all three measures. The relation with total fixation duration was stronger for low intimate topics. The relation with mean fixation duration was stronger during listening than during speaking. The results highlight the importance of studying gaze behavior in a naturalistic social interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People of lower social status tend to have greater emotional responses to stress. The present study assessed whether lower social status was related to greater emotional responses in anticipation of a naturalistic stressor: academic exams among college students. College students in an introductory statistics class (N = 252; 75.81% female; 18.41% Latino, 25.10% White, 43.93% Asian, 12.56% different racial backgrounds) completed two course exams as part of this naturalistic prepost-experimental design. They provided four reports of positive, depressive, and anxious emotion – one the day before and one immediately after each exam. As hypothesized, multilevel models (ratings nested within participants) predicting emotion indicated that students with lower mother's education had less positive emotion, more depressive emotion, and more anxious emotion the day prior to academic exams than students with higher mother's education (proportional reductions in variance [PRV] =.013–.020). Specifically, lower mother's education was associated with poorer well-being before but not after the exam. Exploratory models revealed that differences in emotion by mother's education were strongest for students with lower exam scores (PRV =.030–.040). Socioeconomic status may influence college students' anticipatory distress prior to academic exams, which may impact health and academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from British to Chinese rule in 1997 is a unique example of a predictable stressful event that affects the community of Hong Kong in various ways. The present paper describes the historical and political context preceding this transition characterized by high sociopolitical volatility, as suggested by some objective data (e.g., emigration) and subjective data (e.g., opinion surveys). Psychometric items designed to assess threat/worry, challenge/self-efficacy, and benefit were administered to two groups, a large random sample of the ethnic Chinese Hong Kong population and a sample of Chinese university students. About half the random sample reported to be seriously concerned about the future after 1997, whereas in the student sample only about one fifth did so. Neither group expected advantages from the political transition. The students felt somewhat less challenged or less self-efficacious in dealing successfully with the upcoming event. In discussing these findings it is argued that first-year students might have other concerns shortly after being admitted to college as opposed to the average population, which might be more involved in sociopolitical matters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A recent study by Thomas and Tymon identified a set of interpretive styles that appeared to contribute to job-related stress symptoms in workers. This paper reports two new studies that extend that research. These studies use survey data from 142 part-time MBA students and 408 project engineers, respectively. Results identify three interpretive styles that explain a significant proportion of variance in self-reported stress symptoms. Deficiency focusing involves a tendency to focus on what is wrong or can go wrong. Necessitating involves thinking in terms of what one “needs” to do. Low skill recognition involves a tendency not to attribute successes to one's competence. These interpretive styles appear consistent with constructs proposed by Beck, Ellis, and Seligman in clinical populations. The styles are asserted to increase stress by skewing subjects' primary appraisal process toward higher perceived threat. Possible interventions for modifying these interpretive styles are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of the present paper is to explore the contribution of Terror Management Theory (TMT) and Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET) to the explanation of severe self-defeating anxiety. Following a theoretical outline, three cardinal constructs are identified and their contribution examined in two separate empirical studies. Study 1 included 109 members of self-help clubs for people with severe anxiety problems. As expected, irrational standards and self-focused attention were concomitants of anxiety as well as independent contributors (multiple R=.714) in the prediction of anxiety. No significant interaction effect was observed. Study 2 included 36 women with severe anxiety problems, volunteering for a program in assertiveness training. As expected, self-focused attention, irrational standards and coping incapability here contributed independently (multiple R=.776) to the prediction of anxiety before entering the program. Following the program, expected decreases were observed both in irrational standards and coping incapability, the two variables explicitly targeted for change during the program. An alleviation of anxiety, which had not been explicitly targeted for change during the program, was also demonstrated. Finally, following the program, predictor variables showing these improvements seem to forfeit their initial ability to contribute independently to the prediction of a significantly decreased level of anxiety. It is concluded that the present research supports the selected constructs as cardinal constituents of self-defeating anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of the Gulf War on the number and frequency of behavior problems among Israeli children as related to the children's age and sex. During the Gulf War, 316 second- and sixth-grade children were interviewed and asked to complete self-report scales about their behavior during the war and before the war. Results showed an increase in the number of behavior problems during the war as compared with their number before the war. Age had a significant influence, with younger children reporting more problems. Sex did not influence the number and frequency of the behavior problems. The main predictor of children's behavior problems during the war was the number and freqeuncy of such problems before the war. The paper supports a hypothesis of constant rather than proportional rise in the number of behavior problems during war, but also highlights the methodological difficulties in such research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper attempts to determine the subjective utility and value of reductions in test anxiety in students via intervention programs by asking subjects to estimate their willingness to pay to reduce such anxiety. The sample was composed of 207 students drawn from the Departments of Economics and Education at the University of Haifa in Israel. In the analogue procedure used, students were provided with four vignettes depicting profiles of students characterized by varying degrees of test anxiety. Subjects were asked to indicate what percentage of student tuition they recommend each of the hypothetical test-anxious students to pay for counselling designed to reduce their typical baseline levels of test anxiety to designated target levels. Students also rated the perceived probability of treatment success for each willingness to pay assessment. In addition, students responded to a test anxiety inventory, rated their current and desired levels of test anxiety, and indicated their own willingness to pay to receive counselling that would reduce their current level of anxiety with the desired level. As predicted, students with higher stakes associated with exam success are more anxious and are also willing to pay more for reduction in their own test anxiety levels compared to students with lower stakes. The data also supported the hypothesis that students who are more test anxious tend to be willing to pay more for test anxiety reduction. Furthermore, willingness to pay for reduction in test anxiety was related to the level of dissatisfaction with current anxiety levels, more so than with absolute baseline levels of test anxiety. In addition, students were willing to pay significantly more for a larger than smaller reduction in test anxiety. Based on the results, it appears that students are willing to pay for test anxiety reductions but the amount is far less than the services cost to provide—hardly good news for counselling center psychologists. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports the development of a dispositional self-report measure of multiple dimensions of generalised worry. Factor analyses demonstrated a replicable three factor structure indicating that this measure of worry comprises three basic dimensions: social worry, health worry, and meta-worry. The first two factors reflect different content dimensions whereas the meta-worry factor consists of both content and process dimensions of worry. Individual differences in subscale scores show moderate stability over time, and the subscales possess good psychometric properties. Significant correlations were found between worry subscales and personality dimensions of self-consciousness and EPI scores. The role of multi-dimensional measurement in the exploration of worry is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It has often been suggested that vigilant information-seeking helps reduce uncertainty and coping with stress. The present paper argues that additional information can resolve uncertainty only to the extent that it is adequately structured or categorized. However, people may differ in their ability to achieve cognitive structure (AACS) and therefore in their ability to achieve certainty. This postulate may shed new light on Miller's (1987) findings that high monitors suffer from greater distress than low monitors. It is suggested that when high monitors have high AACS they will suffer from less psychological distress than low monitors. This interaction will not be found when blunting is involved. To examine these hypotheses, both AACS and information-seeking behavior of 77 rheumatoid arthritis patients were assessed. The two hypotheses were confirmed even after discounting the effect of subjective health perception and number of years subjects suffered from the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]