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Background and Objectives: Resilience refers to the process through which individuals show better outcomes than what would be expected based on the adversity they experienced. Several theories have proposed that variation in resilience is underpinned by cognitive flexibility, however, no study has investigated this using an outcome-based measure of resilience. Design: We used a residual-based approach to index resilience, which regresses a measure of mental health difficulties onto a measure of adversity experienced. The residuals obtained from this regression constitute how much better or worse someone is functioning relative to what is predicted by the adversity they have experienced. Methods: A total of 463 undergraduate participants completed questionnaires of mental health difficulties and adversity, as well as a number-letter task-switching task to assess cognitive flexibility. Results: Multiple regression analyses showed that better cognitive flexibility was not associated with greater resilience. Conclusions: Our findings do not support theoretical models that propose the existence of a relationship between cognitive flexibility and resilience. Future research may serve to refine the residual-based approach to measure resilience, as well as investigate the contribution of "hot" rather than "cold" cognitive flexibility to individual differences in resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Worry is frequently associated with reduced cognitive performance, through consumption of attention control resources. Assessing attention control during acute worry may better reflect cognitive performance in real-world scenarios. This study examined whether attention control (assessed at rest and under acute worry) moderates the relationship between worry and academic performance. Methods: Worry (Penn State Worry Questionnaire) and academic performance (examination grades) were assessed in 87 undergraduates, with attention control (antisaccade performance) measured at baseline and following worry induction. Results: When assessed at rest, attention control did not moderate the relationship between trait worry and academic performance. However, under acute worry, attention control significantly moderated the relationship between worry and academic performance (p =.05, f2 = 0.14), such that at low levels of attention control under worry, higher trait worry was significantly associated with lower academic performance. At high levels of attention control under worry, however, the relationship between trait worry and academic performance was not significant. Conclusions: Findings suggest that worry may shape performance according to attention control levels, with attention control's moderating role being more pronounced under conditions of acute worry. These results provide preliminary evidence that attention control assessed under worry may better predict real-world performance, compared to assessment at rest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social anxiety disorder is maintained by biased attentional processing, which may encompass biases in the component engagement, disengagement, and avoidance attentional processes. However, few studies have directly examined whether such biases occur during social-evaluative conditions characteristically feared in social anxiety. The current study presents a novel approach for the assessment of attentional bias. Clinically socially anxious (n = 27) and control (n = 29) participants were required to give a speech in front of a pre-recorded audience displaying emotional social gestures while eye movement was recorded. Socially anxious individuals avoided attending to positive and threatening stimuli. At the onset of an emotional gesture, control participants were additionally faster to orient towards positive, relative to threatening gestures, while this bias was absent in socially anxious participants. The findings suggest that during conditions of social-evaluative stress, social anxiety is characterized by the attentional avoidance of emotional stimuli, and the absence of an engagement bias favouring positive stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attentional bias modification (ABM) represents one of a number of cognitive bias modification techniques which are beginning to show promise as therapeutic interventions for emotional pathology. Numerous studies with both clinical and non-clinical populations have now demonstrated that ABM can reduce emotional vulnerability. However, some recent studies have failed to achieve change in either selective attention or emotional vulnerability using ABM methodologies, including a recent randomised controlled trial by Carlbring et al. Some have sought to represent such absence of evidence as a sound basis not to further pursue ABM as an online intervention. While these findings obviously raise questions about the specific conditions under which ABM procedures will produce therapeutic benefits, we suggest that the failure of some studies to modify selective attention does not challenge the theoretical and empirical basis of ABM. The present paper seeks to put these ABM failures in perspective within the broader context of attentional bias modification research. In doing so it is apparent that the current findings and future prospects of ABM are in fact very promising, suggesting that more research in this area is warranted, not less. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anhedonia, or a deficit in the liking, wanting, and seeking of rewards, is typically assessed via self-reported “in-the-moment” emotional and motivational responses to reward stimuli and activities. Given that mental imagery is known to evoke emotion and motivational responses, we conducted two studies to investigate the relationship between mental imagery use and self-reported anhedonia. Using a novel Reward Response Scale (adapted from the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale, DARS; Rizvi et al., 2015) modified to assess deliberate and spontaneous mental imagery use, Study 1 (N = 394) compared uninstructed and instructed mental imagery use, and Study 2 (N = 586) conducted a test of replication of uninstructed mental imagery use. Results showed that greater mental imagery use was associated with higher reward response scores (Study 1 & 2), and this relationship was not moderated by whether imagery use was uninstructed or instructed (Study 1). Importantly, mental imagery use moderated the convergence between reward response and depression scale measures of anhedonia, with lower convergence for those reporting higher mental imagery use (Study 1 & 2). Results suggest that higher spontaneous mental imagery use may increase self-reported reward response and reduce the convergence between reward response scale and depression questionnaire measures of anhedonia. [199 / 200 words] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundObjectiveMethodsResultsConclusions\nKEY POINTSTrauma exposure can have significant mental health impacts on students that impair academic performance and engagement. It is therefore important to describe the occurrence of trauma experiences and associated symptoms among undergraduate students.This study aimed to 1) assess the rates of potentially traumatic experiences, 2) examine the frequency of different trauma experience types, and 3) compare post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptom severity across experience subtypes in a large sample of undergraduate students.Participants were 806 undergraduate students from three Australian universities who completed online self-report measures of trauma exposure, psychological distress, and PTS symptoms.Approximately two-thirds of students (64%) reported having experienced at least one potentially traumatic event. The most common experience types were the unexpected death of a loved one and accidents. Students reporting exposure to potential trauma had significantly higher general distress than non-exposed students. Events involving interpersonal violence were associated with greater PTS symptom severity.This study provides evidence that the occurrence of potentially traumatic events is high among university students and may carry negative effects for mental health and functioning. Results highlight the need for trauma-informed educational approaches and robust counselling services to support students managing trauma histories.What is already known about this topic: Trauma occurrence in undergraduates affects mental health and academic outcomes.Interpersonal violence trauma relates to higher psychological distress.Existing research has focused on specific trauma subtypes or PTSD criteria, overlooking the broader spectrum of trauma experiences and their psychological impacts.Trauma occurrence in undergraduates affects mental health and academic outcomes.Interpersonal violence trauma relates to higher psychological distress.Existing research has focused on specific trauma subtypes or PTSD criteria, overlooking the broader spectrum of trauma experiences and their psychological impacts.What this topic adds: This study provides updated evidence of potential trauma experiences among university students in Australia.Interpersonal violence was consistently linked to greater post-traumatic stress symptom severity, supporting the need for specialised support services.Findings emphasise the necessity for trauma-informed educational approaches and robust counselling services to aid students with trauma histories.This study provides updated evidence of potential trauma experiences among university students in Australia.Interpersonal violence was consistently linked to greater post-traumatic stress symptom severity, supporting the need for specialised support services.Findings emphasise the necessity for trauma-informed educational approaches and robust counselling services to aid students with trauma histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]