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Background: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic and long-lasting illness affecting approximately 2% of the population. Up to 40%–60% of patients with OCD do not have satisfactory outcomes, thereby leading to disability in performing daily routine activities. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) provides a substitute for old-fashioned psychotherapies, as it involves the client directly experiencing the problematic emotion, that is, anxiety and obsessions in the case of OCD. Aim: To observe the effect of ACT on patients with OCD and compare its effect on obsessive compulsive symptoms, thought control, thought and action fusion, acceptance and action, and depression. Materials and Methods: A total of 62 patients diagnosed with OCD as per Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) in the age range between 18 and 60 years, having duration of illness less than two years, both male and female, literate and illiterate, hailing from rural and urban background, were included in the study. For pre- and post-assessment Yale-Brown Obsessive and Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), acceptance and commitment questionnaire, thought control questionnaire, and thought and action fusion questionnaire were used in this study, and ACT was used for management of OCD. Results: There is a significant difference between the groups treated with ACT and those treated as usual, on every domain of thought control questionnaire (TCQ) -- distraction (t = 9.07), social control (t = 11.13), worry (t = 11.93), punishment (t = 16.78), and re-appraisal (t = 16.47). Significance is also seen in the thought and action fusion in the moral domain (t = 16.22), the likelihood domain (t = 16.49), and others (t = 9.23). On Y-BOCS, HDRS, and acceptance and action questionnaire (AAQ) both groups show a significant difference between each other. Conclusion: The findings of the present study indicate that ACT is a productive method for patients with OCD as it encourages the patient to accept and integrate their lived experiences, challenges effective responses, and recognizes and eliminates the controlling dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rehabilitation Sciences: Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy / Reabilitacijos Mokslai: Slauga, Kineziterapija, Ergoterapija is the property of Lithuanian Sports University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Understanding and treating OCD can be one of the greatest challenges facing mental health professionals. Experts recommend cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which includes a heavy component of exposure and response prevention (ERP), the first-line treatment of choice for mild to moderate cases of obsessions and compulsions. Since, traditional ERP is mostly based on western philosophies, mindfulness strategies, which are more relatable to the Indian population, has been used as an adjunct to ERP and cognitive restructuring for the treatment of OCD. The present study aimed to examine the effect of mindfulness as an adjunct to ERP and cognitive restructuring on individuals diagnosed with OCD. The individuals (n= 4) were assessed in the domains of thought control using the Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ), emotional schema using the Leahy Emotional Schema Scale II (LESS II), quality of life using WHOQOL - BREF, dysfunctional attitude by the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale-Short Form 1 and Y-BOCS total score, pre and post therapeutic intervention. It was found that mindfulness as an adjunct to CBT led to improved thought control, better quality of life, lower dysfunctional attitude and lesser severity of symptoms. It further highlights the need for developing therapeutic strategies more suitable for the Indian culture which would have a wider applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We meta‐analytically examined correlations between task‐based and self‐report thought control measures as well as potential moderators. Results of a frequentist meta‐analysis indicate that the two measures do not overlap, r =.07, 95% CI [−0.01;0.15] (k = 20; N = 1194); subgroup analyses for different self‐report measures r =.12; 95% CI [−0.06;0.30] and r =.03, 95% CI [−0.05;0.11], respectively. Additionally, we found no evidence for the presence of moderators. To further test whether the identified effect size is more consistent with a null effect or the assumption of a positive association, robust Bayesian meta‐analyses were conducted. We did not obtain sufficiently strong evidence to decide for or against a null effect. In sum, our findings suggest that task‐based and self‐report thought control measures might capture different psychological processes and thus call for more research on the different underlying processes and constructs they measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, only a few studies have examined whether and when stressed individuals are still prosocially motivated and willing to help others, which is in contrast to the relevance and importance that helping others has for our society. The present study investigates the impact of affective and biopsychological acute stress responses on prosociality (prosocial motivation, helping behavior) under controlled laboratory conditions. In addition, it was examined whether this relationship is affected by individuals' current life stress and the cognitive ability to keep stress-related thoughts at bay. To induce acute stress responses (heart rate, negative affect, salivary alpha-amylase, cortisol), 55 individuals (28 women, M-24 years old, SD-4.53) were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Current life stress (cortisol) was assessed over two days of participants' everyday lives. Thought control ability was assessed with the think/no-think paradigm and was additionally manipulated after the acute stress intervention (TSST) via instructions. The results showed that acute stress was positively associated with prosociality. Specifically, negative affect was positively related to prosocial motivation and salivary alpha-amylase was positively associated with helping behavior. Current life stress moderated the relationship between salivary cortisol and helping behavior: the association was positive at low levels of current life stress. The instruction to control one's thoughts but not participants' general ability to do so reduced stress responses (negative affect). In sum, the findings suggest that prosociality increases following acute stress and that this effect depends on the level of current life stress. Additionally, adopting the strategy of controlling stress-related thoughts was found to be promising for attenuating individuals' stress responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dealing with unwanted thoughts is a recurrent phenomenon in everyday life. The present study focuses on intrusive thoughts in the work context and examines the protective function of thought control for self‐esteem. Possible mediators (negative affect, task focus) and individual differences in the ability to control unwanted thoughts are also considered. We assessed 143 employees' individual ability to suppress thoughts using the think/no‐think paradigm, followed by a five‐day experience sampling study in the work context. Multilevel analyses showed that individuals with lower suppression abilities experienced higher negative affect and lower self‐esteem when they tried to suppress intrusive thoughts, whereas individuals with higher suppression abilities did not. The findings reveal the protective nature of thought suppression abilities, but also highlight possible detrimental aspects of unsuccessfully engaging in thought control. The results provide a basis for recommendations to individuals on dealing with intrusive thoughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Electronic Turkish Studies is the property of Electronic Turkish Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Mersin University Journal of the Faculty of Education / Mersin Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Mersin University Faculty of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterized by a pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, affect, self-image and is marked by behavioral impulsivity including suicidal ideation and attempts. Additionally, individuals with BPD tend to engage in maladaptive ruminative thinking that is also related to suicidal ideation and attempts. Given these relations, this study aims to understand the 5 strategies of thought control (distraction, punishment, reappraisal, worry, and social control) as predictors of BPD symptoms and suicide risk.Methods: The sample was collected at a Southeastern University using a convenience sample of undergraduate participants. The final sample (n = 403) had an age range of 18 to 27 (M  = 19.67, SD = 1.45), was 74.4% female and 25.6% male, and was primarily Caucasian (69.7%) and African American (24.8%).Results: Results demonstrate that distraction was negatively associated with BPD and suicide risk while worry and punishment were positively associated with BPD and suicide risk across three different measures of BPD. Social control was negatively associated with suicide risk and BPD but only on one of the BPD measures. Lastly, reappraisal was positively related to BPD symptoms on two measures.Limitations: Given the sample characteristics, there may be limitations in the generalizability of the findings.Conclusions: The findings represent a first step towards examining thought control strategies as possible predictors of BPD symptoms and suicide that can inform clinical interventions designed to increase or decrease utilization of these specific strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thought control ability is a vulnerability factor implicated in the etiology and maintenance of emotional disorders. This manuscript aims to systematically review the use and psychometric performance of the Thought Control Ability Questionnaire (TCAQ), designed to assess people's ability to control unwanted thoughts. Three electronic databases were searched for papers administering the TCAQ published in indexed peer-reviewed journals. Data (participants characteristics, country, study design, etc.) were extracted from the results for qualitative synthesis. The TCAQ's content validity, dimensionality, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent/divergent validity, floor/ceiling effects, and interpretability were summarized. Two reviewers independently screened articles and assessed quality taking COSMIN criteria into account. Finally, the review included 17 papers. The TCAQ has been administered to healthy individuals, students, and adult patients, in six languages from nine countries. We found that the TCAQ, and its shorter versions, demonstrate robust reliability and adequate content validity. Of interest is the TCAQ's capacity to predict performance in diverse experimental tasks focused on thought control. The TCAQ unidimensionality has been supported in exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Regarding construct validity, the TCAQ is significantly related to a wide range of psychopathological measures of anxiety, worry, depression, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, etc. However, as only a few of the included studies had a longitudinal design, we are unable to draw firm conclusions about the measure's temporal stability. Moreover, psychometric aspects such as factorial invariance across different samples have not been analyzed. Despite these limitations, based on available psychometric evidence we can recommend using the TCAQ for measuring perceived control of unwanted thoughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of educational and motivational self -talk on thinking control over the intruder's thoughts of teenage girls' swimmers. The method of this study was semi-experimental and applied in nature which information was gathered in field form. The statistical population of this study was all girls in swimmers in Tehran in the age group of adolescents (range from 12 to 18 years old) and 36 female teenage swimmers who have the ability to swim over 50 meters (in chest material) were selected as an available and targeted sample in Tehran and also they were randomly divided into three groups: self-spoken instructional (n = 12), selfspoken motivation group (n = 12) and control group (n = 12). Personal information form, company satisfaction, and Wels and Davis thought control strategies questionnaire (TCQ) were used as a tool. Experimental groups trained in a session under the supervision of their researcher and trainer. The group spoke motivationally after repeating the phrase "I can," and the group spoke with a repetition of the words "ankles" and "stretched hands" about 50 meters of the chest. Data were analyzed by covariance analysis. Results showed that there was no s ignificant difference between thought control and intrusive thoughts of adolescent swimmer girls (p = 0.69), that is, self-spoken learning and self-spoken motivation did not have a significant effect on thought control versus disturbing thoughts, and there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two interventions. It is suggested that more studies be done on larger and larger samples and that intervention should be used over a longer period of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between metacognitive beliefs, thought control strategies and personality type. Method: Participants were 135 students of medical sciences in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Iran. The subjects were evaluated using Friedman and Rosenman questionnaire, Type D personality scale (DS14), Metacognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30), and Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ). Data were analysed using MANOVA and Tukey's range test in SPSS software. Results: The results of our study showed that there was a significant difference among students with Type B and Type D personalities in terms of "positive beliefs about worry" and "beliefs about uncontrollability of thought and danger". Also, from among subscales of thought control strategies, all three type of personalities differed from each other in terms of "distraction", "worry" and "punishment". Furthermore, there was a significant difference between Type A and B, and Type A and D personalities in terms of "distraction" and between TypeD and B personalities in terms of "worry". Conclusion: It was concluded that there is a significant difference in metacognitive beliefs and thought control strategies among Iranian students with Type A, B, and D personality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ, Wells and Davies in Behav Res Therapy, 32, pp 871-878, ) measures individual differences in thought suppression strategies. This study describes the development and psychometric properties of an adolescent version of the questionnaire. Pilot studies were conducted to make some of the items more accessible to young people while still retaining the meaning of the original items. The adolescent version of the questionnaire and measures of emotional disorder were then administered to 589 school pupils aged 13-17 years. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded mixed results with only partial support for a five factor solution. Subsequently exploratory factor analysis did suggest a five factor structure that was the same as the original TCQ with the only difference being two fewer items. The five factors were distraction, social control, worry, punishment and reappraisal. The TCQ-A showed good internal consistency and evidence of stability over time. Scores on the worry and punishment subscales were positively correlated with measures of emotional symptoms. These data provided initial support for the psychometric properties of the TCQ-A and extend findings suggesting worry and punishment strategies are associated with psychological vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background and objectives: Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is common to multiple emotional disorders and occurs before, during, and following a stressor. One replicated difference between common forms of RNT such as worry and rumination is temporal orientation towards a stressor, with worry being more future-oriented and rumination more past-oriented. Different mechanisms may drive RNT at these different time points. The aim of Study 1 was to examine whether previously demonstrated relationships between post-stressor RNT and mechanisms theorized to drive engagement in RNT, including metacognitive beliefs, cognitive avoidance strategies, and thought control strategies, would be replicated with anticipatory (pre-stressor) RNT. The aim of Study 2 was to replicate these associations in a new sample that completed measures of both pre- and post-stressor RNT. Method: Participants in Study 1 (N = 175) completed the RNT-L in anticipation of a stressor, along with measures of metacognitive beliefs, cognitive avoidance strategies, and thought control strategies. Participants in Study 2 (N = 91) completed the measures both before and after a stressor. Results: Pre- and post-stressor RNT were significantly correlated with all three mechanism measures. Metacognitive beliefs that RNT is uncontrollable and dangerous, and the thought control strategy of punishment, were most consistently and uniquely associated with RNT at both time-points. Limitations: Replication with clinical samples and with reference to a broader array of stressors is required. The correlational design precluded causal conclusions. Conclusions: Common and possibly some distinct mechanisms drive RNT before and after a stressor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Lee and Kwon''s (2003) autogenous–reactive model of obsessions proposes that obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is marked by two distinct types of intrusive thoughts—autogenous and reactive intrusive thoughts. Within Lee and Kwon''s model, the use of thought control is purportedly of particular relevance to the phenomenology of autogenous intrusive thoughts. However, to date, the extant literature has provided equivocal conclusions as to the relevance of thought control to autogenous intrusive thoughts. Informed by cognitive-behavioral models of OCD, the relevance of thought control to autogenous intrusive thoughts was further examined in the present research by investigating whether thought control moderated the relation between autogenous/reactive intrusive thoughts and the severity of obsessional symptoms in a large nonclinical sample (N=401). Consistent with predictions, thought control moderated the relation between autogenous, but not reactive, intrusive thoughts and the severity of obsessional symptoms. Simple effects revealed that autogenous intrusive thoughts shared a significant association with the severity of obsessional symptoms at high, but not low, levels of thought control. Conceptual and therapeutic implications are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study sought to better understand the persistence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by studying the dismissability of obsessional thoughts in individuals with OCD relative to the dismissability of panic-relevant thoughts in individuals with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PD/A). Individuals with a principal diagnosis of OCD (n =25) or PD/A (n =25) completed a thought replacement task in which they replaced a primary obsession (target thought for the OCD group) or a primary panic-relevant thought (target thought for the PD/A group), with a neutral thought, signaling when the target thought occurred and when the neutral thought was in mind. The OCD group had more target thoughts and appraised the recurrence of the target thought more negatively. Whereas mood state did not change in the PD/A group, it declined in the OCD group, and this change was predicted by negative appraisal of target thought recurrences, but not amount of time thinking the target thought. These findings suggest that in vivo appraisal of the recurrence of obsessions may be a unique, key mechanism in the persistence of OCD and that the identification and exploration of appraisal of thought recurrences may be an especially important target in its treatment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with intrusive trauma-related thoughts and avoidance behaviors that contribute to its severity and chronicity. This study examined thought control and avoidance coping strategies associated with both a probable diagnosis and symptom severity of combat-related PTSD in a sample of 167 treatment-seeking Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF–OIF) Veterans. Within one year of returning from deployment, Veterans completed a survey containing measures of combat exposure, coping strategies, psychopathology, and postdeployment social support. Veterans with a positive screen for PTSD scored higher than Veterans without a positive screen for PTSD on measures of worry, self-punishment, social control, behavioral distraction, and avoidance coping strategies. Worry and social avoidance coping were positively related to PTSD symptoms, and greater perceptions of understanding from others were negatively related to these symptoms. A structural equation model revealed that scores on a measure of postdeployment social support were negatively associated with scores on measures of maladaptive cognitive coping (i.e., worry, self-punishment) and avoidance coping (social and non-social avoidance coping) strategies, which were positively associated with combat-related PTSD symptoms. These results suggest that maladaptive thought control and avoidance coping may partially mediate the relation between postdeployment social support and combat-related PTSD symptoms in treatment-seeking OEF–OIF Veterans. Consistent with cognitive therapy models, these findings suggest that interventions that target maladaptive coping strategies such as worry, self-punishment, and social avoidance, and that bolster social support, most notably understanding from others, may help reduce combat-related PTSD symptoms in this population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The suppression of intrusive thoughts, which have been related significantly to depressive and anxious symptoms (Blumberg, 2000), has become an area of interest for those treating individuals with psychological disorders. The current study sought to extend the findings of Luciano, Algarabel, Tomas, and Martinez (2005), who developed the Thought Control Ability Questionnaire (TCAQ) and found that scores on this measure were predictive of psychopathology. In particular, this study examined the relationship between scores on the TCAQ and the Personality Assessment Inventory. Findings suggested that individuals' perceived thought control ability correlated significantly with several dimensions of commonly-occurring psychological symptoms (e.g. anxiety) and more severe and persistent psychological symptoms (e.g. schizophrenia). Regression analyses also showed that perceived thought control ability predicted significantly a range of psychological symptoms over and above individuals' sex and perceived stress. Findings suggested that thought control ability may be an important future research area in psychological assessment and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifty men and women were exposed to only one of four experimentally generated magnetic fields over the left prefrontal region (above the eyebrow) or to a sham field immediately after the words “true” or “false” were presented following statements of definitions of words for a “foreign language”. Three of the patterns (25 Hz, 50 Hz, or burst-firing) with intensities between 1 and 10 microT were presented for 1 s during the refutation process (immediately after the offset of “true” or “false”) for specific statements from a total of 28 statements. The fourth pattern was a variable approximately 7-10 Hz (10 nT) field generated from the circuitry that was present continuously during the entire experiment. When the statements were presented again, the groups who had received the burst-firing (“limbic”) or 25 Hz pulsed magnetic fields during the refutation process accepted about twice the number of false statements as true compared to those exposed to the 50 Hz field or sham-field conditions. The treatments did not significantly affect the numbers of true statements accepted as false. These results suggest that the appropriately pulsed magnetic field during the refutation process of what one has been told or has heard can increase the probability a person will accept a false statement as true. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has linked obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to maladaptive strategies of thought control, which in turn may elicit a paradoxical increase in the unwanted thought. One explanation for OCD patients’ use of maladaptive thought control strategies is that they tend to overestimate the importance of their thoughts, or perceive a greater need to control them. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between obsessive beliefs and use of maladaptive thought control strategies in a sample of 77 OCD patients and 35 anxious control patients. Patients completed the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire-44 (OBQ-44) and the Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ), as well as measures of trait anxiety and depression. Across the entire sample and for OCD patients only, when controlling for depression and trait anxiety, the TCQ Punishment scale correlated significantly with the OBQ-44 Importance/Control of Thoughts scale. Regression analyses indicated that beliefs about the Importance/Control of Thoughts accounted for the relationship between OCD and the use of Punishment as a thought control strategy. In addition to providing additional construct validation for the OBQ-44, the present data add to a growing body of research suggesting that OCD patients, believing their intrusive thoughts to be particularly important and perceiving a need to control them, overuse maladaptive thought control strategies; these strategies tend to “backfire” and trigger additional intrusive thoughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has established that parents commonly experience intrusive harm-related thoughts pertaining to their infants (e.g., "My baby might die from SIDS"). Cognitive-behavioral models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) posit that maladaptive strategies for managing such thoughts play a role in the development and maintenance of obsessional problems. In the present study, we examined (1) the strategies parents used to manage unwanted infant-related thoughts and (2) the relationships between thought control strategies and obsessional and depressive symptoms. Non-treatment-seeking parents (n = 75) of healthy newborns completed measures of intrusive thoughts, thought control strategies, and obsessional and depressive symptoms. Mothers and fathers did not differ in their use of various thought control strategies. Strategies involving distraction, self-punishment, and reappraisal of the intrusive thought were positively related to the severity of obsessional symptoms. Punishment was also positively associated with depressive symptoms. Results are discussed in terms cognitive-behavioral models of OCD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Previous research suggests that an individual difference factor could account for the divergent findings across thought suppression studies. The present study reports on the development and validation of the Thought Control Ability Questionnaire (TCAQ), a self-report measure of individual differences in the perceived ability to control unwanted, intrusive thoughts. The TCAQ and a battery of instruments that assess emotional vulnerability, psychopathological symptoms and thought control strategies were administered to 211 Spanish university students. Data analysis yielded a unidimensional instrument with 25 items that showed high internal consistency and test–retest reliability. In addition, the TCAQ had significant negative relationships with trait anxiety (STAI-T), neuroticism (EPQ-N), depressive symptomatology (BDI), guilt feelings (SC-35), worry (PSWQ), obsessive–compulsive symptoms (MOCI) and with the use of self-punishment as thought control strategy (TCQ). The implications of these results are discussed in relation to thought suppression and clinical research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article explores the politics of Japanese wartime medical policy, demonstrating how state propaganda about the people and their armed forces influenced authoritative views on health and what might endanger it. By focusing on the obstacles faced by psychiatrists trying to promote more official concern for mental health issues, it challenges the validity of figures indicating a low incidence of psychological trauma among the country's soldiers. Civilian psychiatrists had to contend with the threat of censorship and arrest for even discussing war-induced mental disorders; at the same time, army psychiatrists as military insiders were pressured to convince their patients that their conditions were not serious and did not merit compensation. While discussing the neglected topic of Japanese psychiatric casualties, an attempt is made to provide a comparative approach by referring to the state of military psychiatry in other national settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Metacognitive beliefs about the need to control thoughts predicted self-punishment. • Worry- and punishment-related thought control strategies predicted suicide ideation. • Distraction, social control and reappraisal negatively predicted suicidal ideation. A relationship between rumination and suicidal ideation is well-evidenced. A role for thought suppression has also been suggested but under-explored. The present study assessed the relative contribution of rumination and a range of thought control strategies in the understanding of suicidal ideation, within the theoretical framework of the self-regulatory executive function (S-REF) model (Wells & Matthews, 2015). Twenty-four participants who had experienced suicidal ideation in the last two months completed trait-level measures of metacognitive beliefs and momentary sampling measures of thought control strategy use, rumination and suicidal ideation over six days. Maladaptive thought control strategy use (worry and punishment), alongside rumination, predicted suicidal ideation. Adaptive strategies (distraction, social control and reappraisal) emerged as negative predictors. Metacognitive beliefs about the need to control thoughts predicted the use of punishment- but not worry-based thought control strategies. Thought control strategy use is as important in the development of suicidal ideation as rumination. The S-REF model represents a promising new approach to understanding these processes in the development of suicidal ideation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can people persuade and influence others? One option is to directly target others' behavior through rules and incentives. Another increasingly popular option, however, is to focus on modifying what others think rather than how they behave, and hoping behaviors will then change as a result. The assumption underlying this latter approach is that targeting thoughts and attitudes might be easier or more effective than targeting behaviors. Drawing from psychological reactance theory (Brehm, 1966), we investigate whether efforts targeted at controlling what people think, rather than how they behave, will indeed be met with differing levels of psychological reactance. Across four studies, we find that people experience greater psychological reactance towards efforts to control their thoughts compared to efforts to control their behaviors. Specifically, thought control, compared to behavioral control, led people to experience greater anger and negativity, and to report lowered motivation to engage in requested behaviors (Study 1). These effects occurred, at least in part, because people perceived that those who try to control their thoughts are likely to try to control their behaviors too, but not vice versa. As a result, thought control elicited greater reactance than behavioral control because the former was perceived as more restrictive than the latter (Studies 2 & 3). We also address other explanations for why thought control may elicit more reactance than behavioral control (Study 4). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]