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Objectives: Recent initiatives have highlighted the importance of investigating clinically relevant variations in social processes that contribute to mental illness. Surprisingly little research has examined the associations between socially and clinically relevant transdiagnostic factors, such as social anxity (SA) and rejection sensitvity (RS), on theory of mind (ToM) decoding ability. Methods: The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task and self‐report measures of SA and RS were completed by 199 adult participants. Results: Linear regression analyses suggest a specific difficulty decoding positive emotion associated with SA and global decrements in ToM associated with RS that may reflect a negative interpretation bias. Conclusions: These findings may have important implications for understanding how those with SA and RS perceive and navigate social interactions, which may contribute to the maintenance of symptoms and decreased psychosocial functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examined long-term general life adjustment among members of one trauma-exposed population, Vietnam veterans, using data from a nationally representative sample. Our particular concern was the relationship between coping strategies used in the war zone and the outcomes of achievement, life satisfaction, and lifetime adaptation (the latter defined in terms of the absence of psychosocial problems in core life domains) as a function of level of combat exposure. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses supported a hypothesized quadratic interaction between problem-focused coping and the outcomes of achievement and lifetime adaptation, with this form of coping most strongly related to adjustment (positively) at moderate levels of combat exposure. One aspect of emotion-focused coping, the use of wishful thinking, likewise interacted in a quadratic manner for the dependent variable of achievement, exhibiting its strongest association with adjustment (negatively) at moderate levels of combat exposure. The importance of interactions between coping and stressors, especially quadratic interactions, is emphasized.

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2009.01.006 Byline: Laura E. Watkins (a), Timothy J. O'Farrell (b)(c), Michael K. Suvak (a)(d), Christopher M. Murphy (f), Casey T. Taft (a)(e) Keywords: Parenting satisfaction; Alcohol use; Alcoholism Abstract: This study examined parenting satisfaction among a clinical sample of 88 men with alcoholism at baseline and 6-month and 12-month follow-up. Findings indicated no overall improvements in parenting satisfaction from the outset of treatment across assessments. Alcohol consumption variables were associated with parenting satisfaction at the bivariate level, and changes in alcohol consumption from pre to post treatment emerged as a significant predictor of changes in parenting satisfaction over the course of the study. Greater decreases in alcohol consumption were associated with greater improvement in parenting satisfaction. Author Affiliation: (a) National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 S. Huntington St. (116B-2) Boston, MA, United States (b) Families and Addiction Program, Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry, VAMC (116B-1), 940 Belmont Street, Brockton, MA 02301, United States (c) VA Boston Healthcare System, VAMC (116B-1), 940 Belmont Street, Brockton, MA 02301, United States (d) Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States (e) Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States (f) Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, United States

According to several interpersonal theories of depression, excessive reassurance-seeking is one way depressed individuals may contribute to relationship deterioration, particularly in romantic relationships. The present study is the first behavioral investigation of the hypothesis that reassurance-seeking induces negative affect in interaction partners in real time. This study also investigates potential affective precursors to reassurance-seeking behaviors. A videotaped discussion task completed by 121 women and their male romantic partners was behaviorally coded to assess reassurance-seeking and affect in both members of the couple. Female depression was measured via self-report. Results indicated that the association between female reassurance-seeking and male partner's subsequent anxiety approached statistical significance, but no other significant relations between reassurance-seeking and partner affect were found. Additionally, female anxious affect positively predicted subsequent reassurance-seeking, and depression symptoms moderated this relation. Unexpectedly, the relation between anxious affect and reassurance-seeking was stronger among women with less severe depression symptoms. Our findings support integrated and revised theories of reassurance-seeking and underscore the need to further investigate reassurance-seeking behavior in real-time interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Childhood adversity has been suggested, but not yet empirically examined, as a factor in sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) in childhood.Objective: This study was an examination of SCT in relation to childhood adversity, and its association with exposure to non-interpersonal and interpersonal trauma.Method: Caregivers (N = 161) and a sub-sample of children, 8-17 years old, were recruited from mental health and pediatric practices/programs and interviewed.Results: SCT was positively associated with interpersonal trauma but not non-interpersonal trauma. Two hierarchical regression analyses revealed that interpersonal trauma exposure was associated with SCT score over and above symptoms of other psychopathologies.Conclusion: Results suggest that SCT is associated with interpersonal trauma exposure in children. Further research is needed to examine the association between SCT and interpersonal trauma exposure, and trauma-related biopsychosocial impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing concern about suicide among Operation Enduring Freedom ( OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom ( OIF) veterans. We examined the role of postdeployment mental health in associations between deployment stressors and postdeployment suicidal ideation ( SI) in a national sample of 2,321 female and male OEF/ OIF veterans. Data were obtained via survey, and path analysis was used. For women and men, mental health symptoms largely accounted for associations between deployment stressors and SI; however, they only partly accounted for the sexual harassment and SI association among women. These findings enhance the understanding of the mental health profile of OEF/ OIF veterans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined correlates of intimate partner violence (IPV) in a military Veteran sample (N = 129) using Finkel's (2007) framework for understanding the interactions between impelling and disinhibiting risk factors. Correlates investigated included head contact events (HCEs), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and antisocial features. Results indicated that antisocial features were significantly associated with IPV at the bivariate level. PTSD symptoms also were associated with IPV, but this association was marginally significant. Tests of moderation provided support for the expectation that HCEs would potentiate associations between antisocial features and IPV. HCEs also moderated the association between PTSD symptoms and IPV. However, contrary to expectations, the opposite pattern emerged such that PTSD symptoms were associated with a higher rate of IPV for those without a history of HCEs. Study findings have potentially important implications for furthering our understanding of the complex etiology of IPV in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]