Search

The hopelessness theory, Beck's cognitive theory, and the response styles theory dominate our understanding and the treatment of depression in adolescents. However, research supporting them is largely based on White individuals. Further, the associations between stressors, cognitive vulnerabilities, and depressive symptoms in Black adolescents are not as one would expect based on the predictions from those theories. Both raise the question of if and to what degree these theories and previous findings can be generalized to Black adolescents. Additionally, without a theoretical basis, clinicians regularly use interventions developed based on one theory to influence vulnerabilities described in another theory. Thus, the purpose of our study was to examine the structure of an integrated cognitive stress-vulnerability model as well as the strengths of associations between stressors, cognitive vulnerabilities, and depressive symptoms in Black and White adolescents. In our study, 295 Black (37% female) and 213 White (49% female) ninth-grade students from a public high school participated. Network analyses demonstrated that the three original cognitive theories of depression can and should be integrated and that each variable we examined is comparably relevant for Black and White adolescents. At the same time, the structure of the two integrated networks differed significantly among Black and White adolescents, exhibiting specific distinctions at four edge levels. Furthermore, the predictability of the network is notably lower for Black adolescents than for White adolescents. Important theoretical and clinical implications can be derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to identify and report data from studies investigating associations between loneliness and maladaptive cognitions. Eighteen studies were included in the present systematic review. Findings generally supported positive associations between loneliness and maladaptive cognitions, and this pattern was consistent across different types of cognitions. Maladaptive cognitions may represent vulnerability factors for loneliness, but given that most evidence comes from studies reporting cross-sectional data in convenience samples, further research is needed to clarify the nature and dynamic of the association. Existing studies provide evidence for a relation between loneliness and maladaptive cognitions, and support the relevance of further research on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractObjectivesMethodResultsConclusionCare-related beliefs are considered risk factors for decreased mental health in family caregivers of people with dementia. However, their exact role in the caregiver stress process remains unclear. Hence, we tested a cognitive vulnerability-stress model of depression and anxiety in family caregivers of people with dementia.A cross-sectional study was conducted using baseline data from a caregiver intervention trial (N = 322). Within Bayesian moderated mediation analysis, we examined mediation of effects of objective demands (severity of dementia, challenging behavior, caregiving intensity, caregiving duration) on depression and anxiety via subjective caregiver burden and moderation by care-related beliefs in four domains (dysfunctional caregiving standards, dysfunctional attitudes towards dementia, functional self-care-related beliefs, functional acceptance-related beliefs).The relation between objective demands and subjective burden was amplified by dysfunctional caregiving standards and dysfunctional attitudes towards dementia and mitigated by functional self-care-related beliefs. Further, functional acceptance-related beliefs attenuated the effect of subjective caregiver burden on depression.The study provides preliminary evidence for a cognitive vulnerability-stress model of depression and anxiety in family caregivers of people with dementia. The results indicate that the four-domain model of care-related beliefs is a valuable framework for future research and may serve as a heuristic model for cognitive-behavioral therapy in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the concept of grounded cognition and its potential impact on cognitive-oriented cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It challenges the traditional view of cognition as purely information-based and suggests that cognition is closely tied to our experiences through brain simulations. The author argues for the adoption of a grounded cognition model in CBT, which takes into account biological influences on cognition. This shift in perspective could have practical implications for therapy, such as using affective methods to change beliefs and diversifying interventions aimed at changing irrational beliefs. The article also emphasizes the importance of understanding the connection between cognition and emotion in therapy. [Extracted from the article]

Rumination predicts wellbeing and is a core construct in the cognitive vulnerabilities to depression literature. Traditional measures of depressive rumination (e.g., Ruminative Responses Subscale, RRS; Treynor et al., 2003) rarely include items capturing thoughts about problems or events, even though these thoughts are in measures of related constructs (e.g., co-rumination, post-event processing). We created the Rumination on Problems Questionnaire (RPQ) for use on its own and with the RRS to capture rumination about problems and to align with measures of other ruminative and repetitive thinking processes. Our cross-sectional study of 927 undergraduates revealed the RPQ had a single factor, good internal reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and significantly predicted depression, anxiety, and stress controlling for the RRS and co-rumination. Researchers and clinicians interested in rumination or cognitive vulnerabilities may wish to include the RPQ in their assessments. Measuring and addressing problem-focused rumination may be an important transdiagnostic treatment and prevention goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the association between irrational beliefs and the 10‐year cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence among apparently healthy adults. The ATTICA study is a population‐based, prospective cohort (2002–2012) consisting of 853 participants without evidence of CVD (453 men and 400 women) who underwent psychological evaluations. Participants completed the Irrational Beliefs Inventory (IBI, range 0–88), a self‐reported measure consistent with the Ellis model of psychological disturbance. We conducted a factor analysis to develop irrational beliefs factors to evaluate the association between subcategories of irrational beliefs and CVD incidence. Demographic characteristics, detailed medical history, other psychological factors, and dietary and other lifestyle habits were also evaluated. The incidence of CVD was defined according to the International Coding Diseases (ICD)‐10 criteria. The identified dominant irrational beliefs factor, "cognitive vulnerability to anxiety," consisted of demandingness, perfectionism, emotional irresponsibility, anxious overconcern, dependence on others, and overconcern for the welfare of others, was strongly associated with an increased 10‐year CVD risk. Nested multi‐adjusted regression analysis revealed that anxiety, as well as negative physical well‐being, mediated this relationship, and subset of irrational beliefs predicted CVD risk directly and indirectly through anxiety and negative physical well‐being. These findings further map the path through which irrational beliefs can contribute to CVDs and provide insights in favor of preventive healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of research suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic did not cause the severe and extensive mental health crisis predicted by some experts. However, this does not mean that everyone was resilient. The purpose of this study was to try to identify subgroups of people that may have experienced more severe and negative trajectories of symptoms during this time. To this end, we examined a host of individual difference factors (e.g., age, gender, race, country, parental status, medical conditions, lost wages, perceived support, initial symptom levels, and cognitive vulnerability) using a 1-year longitudinal design with 8 time points and participants (n = 233) from over 20 countries. We were unable to identify a single moderator associated with a robust and increasingly negative trajectory of depressive and anxious symptoms throughout the COVID interval. These results underscore the need for better theories of mental illness, stronger research designs that do not rely on simple cross-sectional between-group comparisons, and more caution when predicting mental health crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Interpretation bias and safety behaviours (Safe-B) have been proposed as factors perpetuating social anxiety (SA). However, longitudinal research on how they contribute to SA in everyday life is scarce. Aim: The aim was to examine whether interpretation bias predicts daily Safe-B and SA. A mediated moderation was hypothesized, where the relationship between daily social stressors and Safe-B would be moderated by interpretation bias, and Safe-B, in turn, would mediate the association between stressors and SA levels. In addition, it was hypothesized that prior levels of SA would predict higher Safe-B use, especially in co-occurrence with stressors. Method: An intensive longitudinal design was employed, with 138 vocational training students (51% men, mean age 20.15 years). They completed initial measures of SA and interpretation bias and 7-day diaries with measures of social stressors, Safe-B, and SA. They reported SA levels two months later. Results: Both stressors and interpretation bias in ambiguous situations predicted Safe-B, which in turn predicted daily SA levels. However, neither interpretation bias nor Safe-B predicted SA levels at the follow-up, and interpretation bias did not moderate the association between stressors and daily SA. In addition, the relationship between stressors and Safe-B was stronger in people with higher initial SA levels. Conclusions: The results suggest that Safe-B are a mechanism through which earlier SA levels and interpretation bias contribute to higher SA levels in daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative perceptions and vulnerable feelings about sharks have been one of the greatest barriers to effective shark conservation efforts. This study used a self-report survey of young adults in a coastal state (N = 616) to examine how shark-related risk perceptions (severity and susceptibility) and sensation-seeking tendency influence cognitive vulnerability to sharks and its affective, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes. Results of a path analysis showed that perceived susceptibility was positively associated with cognitive vulnerability to sharks, which in turn was negatively related to behavioral intention to shark dive. Perceived severity was associated with higher levels of fear, less favorable attitudes toward shark diving, and had a negative indirect effect on behavioral intention through attitude. Sensation-seeking had both a direct and an indirect effect through attitude on behavioral intention to shark diving. Theoretical and practical implications of findings in human-wildlife interactions are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: According to the cognitive vulnerability hypothesis (Abramson et al., 1989), some people are at heightened risk for depression because they generate stable-global causal attributions for stressful events (i.e., exhibit a cognitive vulnerability). However, it remains unclear if the predictive power of cognitive vulnerability, as measured by the Cognitive Style Questionnaire (CSQ), is driven by attributions specifically or a rather a more general emotional negativity. Method: We compared the predictive power of the traditional operationalization of the Cognitive Style Questionnaire (composite score of Likert ratings of stability and globality ratings) and the emotional valence and tone of idiographic written responses (which are usually ignored in the scoring). The study used a two time point longitudinal design with a sample of 837 undergraduates in the United States. Results: Stable-global attributions, regardless of the emotional valence and tone of their idiographic written responses, predicted future depressive symptoms and event-specific inferences. Emotional valence and tone did not predict either outcome. Discussion: Results support prior theorizing that the unchangeability of causal explanations is more important than the emotional valence of the explanation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

True premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is hard to diagnose. It has been suggested that women's expectations influence the symptoms of this disorder, which could increase their vulnerability to depression. This study aimed to estimate PMDD in a group of women by comparing their self-diagnosis with clinical evaluation; differentiate between PMDD symptoms and their intensity and its subthreshold form, determining its social-employment and relational consequences, finding differences in symptoms and vulnerability to depression; and identifying possible cognitive vulnerability to depression in PMDD. 105 women participated, 85 from the general population and 20 women with Major Depressive Disorder were selected. For the self-diagnosis, they filled out several self-reports and PMDD Criteria Indicators A, B, C (APA) and D (by author). The clinical diagnosis was made using a semi-structured interview following DSM-5 criteria. PMDD was overestimated when it was self-reported (51,76%) compared to clinical evaluation (5,88%). Therefore, retrospective and self-reported evaluation could bias what they remember and overestimate the indicators of the disorder and their severity. Cognitive vulnerability to depression for PMDD was not supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Risk factors (e.g. motor symptom asymmetry) for short- and long-term cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms following deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in patients with Parkinson's disease have yet to be fully identified. The objectives of the present study were to determine whether motor symptom asymmetry in Parkinson's disease is one such risk factor and to identify predictors of subnormal cognitive decline. Methods A total of 26 patients receiving STN-DBS (13 with left-sided motor symptoms and 13 with right-sided ones) underwent follow-up neuropsychological, depression and apathy assessments over a 5-year period. Nonparametric intergroup comparisons were performed on raw scores, as well as Cox regression analyses on standardized Mattis Dementia Rating Scale scores. Results Compared with patients who had predominantly left-sided symptoms, right-sided patients scored higher on both apathy (at 3 months and 36 months) and depressive symptoms (at 6 months and 12 months) and scored lower on global cognitive efficiency (at 36 months and 60 months). Survival analyses revealed that only right-sided patients had subnormal standardized dementia scores, which were negatively associated with the number of perseverations in the Wisconsin Card Scoring Test. Conclusion Right-sided motor symptoms are a risk factor for more severe short- and long-term cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms following STN-DBS, confirming literature findings on left hemispheric vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveTo test a diathesis-stress model whereby self-criticism interacts with monthly perceived stress to predict same-month or next-month internalizing problems, including depression, anxiety, nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), and suicidal ideation, in students transitioning to university. Participants: 704 students (73% female, Mage = 17.97) were recruited during their first month of university in 2017 and 2018. Methods: Students completed surveys assessing self-criticism, perceived stress, and internalizing problems from September to April. Results: Self-criticism predicted higher depression and anxiety, as well as odds of NSSI and suicidal ideation, in students' first month on campus. Consistent with a diathesis-stress model, self-criticism strengthened the associations between stress and same-month depression and anxiety. Conclusions: Self-critical students are at elevated risk of internalizing problems during the transition to university, particularly when they feel more stressed than usual. These findings elucidate which students should be targeted in interventions and when interventions should be delivered to curtail internalizing problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive theories of depression contend that biased cognitive information processing plays a causal role in the development of depression. Extensive research shows that deeper processing of negative and/or shallower processing of positive self-descriptors (i.e., negative and positive self-schemas) predicts current and future depression in adults and children. However, the neural correlates of the development of self-referent encoding are poorly understood. We examined children's self-referential processing using the self-referent encoding task (SRET) collected from 74 children at ages 6, 9, and 12; around age 10, these children also contributed structural magnetic resonance imaging data. From age 6 to age 12, both positive and negative self-referential processing showed mean-level growth, with positive self-schemas increasing relatively faster than negative ones. Further, voxel-based morphometry showed that slower growth in positive self-schemas was associated with lower regional gray matter volume (GMV) in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC). Our results suggest that smaller regional GMV within vlPFC, a critical region for regulatory control in affective processing and emotion development, may have implications for the development of depressogenic self-referential processing in mid-to-late childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual differences in vulnerability to depression are still underexplored in athletes. We tested the influence of different brooding and reflective rumination profiles (i.e., repetitive thought processes in response to low/depressed mood) on the odds of experiencing clinically relevant depressive symptoms in competitive athletes (N = 286). The Patient Health Questionnaire–9 and the Ruminative Responses Scale–short form were utilized to measure depression and rumination, respectively. Compared to athletes with a low brooding/reflection profile, athletes with a high brooding/reflection profile had significantly higher odds of experiencing clinical levels of depressive symptoms (OR = 13.40, 95% CI = 3.81–47.11). A high reflection/low brooding profile was not, however, related to increased odds of depressive symptoms. Future research could extend our findings by exploring determinants of ruminative tendencies, especially brooding, in athletes. Furthermore, psychological interventions targeting rumination could be examined as a potential prevention and treatment approach to tackling depressive symptoms in athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convergent evidence supports a crucial role for dysfunctional appraisals in the development and maintenance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, most research in this area has used self-report measures, assessing only explicit forms of such negative cognitions; the relevance of their more automatically-activated counterparts, as assumed by cognitive models, remains relatively unexplored. The current study aimed to further our understanding of the potential utility of measuring automatic dysfunctional associations in the context of posttraumatic stress. The relationship between scores on two different implicit association tests (IATs) and posttraumatic stress symptoms was investigated in a sample of adults (N = 279) who reported having experienced a potentially traumatic negative life event. Participants completed the two IATs (one assessing self-traumatized associations, the other self-vulnerable associations), a self-report measure of dysfunctional appraisals, and measures of posttraumatic stress symptoms and other aspects of psychopathology online. Scores indicating higher levels of dysfunctional associations on both IATs were associated with higher levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Only scores on the IAT measuring self-vulnerable associations, and not the IAT measuring self-traumatized associations, continued to show an association with posttraumatic stress symptoms after controlling for explicit dysfunctional appraisals. Overall, the results indicate the value of investigating PTSD-relevant automatic associations to further develop our understanding of cognitive processes implicated in posttraumatic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress generation suggests a reciprocal relationship between depression and prospective stressful life events. However, the applicability of stress generation to anxiety disorders has been understudied, particularly among youth. We address this gap by examining stress generation in youth at high-risk of developing anxiety disorders. Participants were one-hundred thirty-six at-risk youth (M age = 8.69, 84.6% Caucasian; 55.9% female), each of whom had a parent with an anxiety disorder. We examined the role of an anxiety disorder diagnosis, anxiety symptoms, and cognitive distortions in youth's prospective one and six-year stressful life events (i.e., stress generation). Anxiety symptoms and cognitive distortions were significant predictors of one-year total dependent stress. Anxiety diagnosis and anxiety symptoms were significant predictors of one-year dependent interpersonal stress. Anxiety diagnosis and anxiety symptoms were significant predictors of six-year independent stress. Support for the stress generation model was found in high-risk youth, but only over a one-year period. This suggests important effects of anxiety and cognitive distortions on stress generation, though their implications might be time-capped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Identifying mechanisms of major depressive disorder that continue into remission is critical, as these mechanisms may contribute to subsequent depressive episodes. Biobehavioral markers related to depressogenic self-referential processing biases have been identified in adults with depression. Thus, we investigated whether these risk factors persisted during remission as well as contributed to the occurrence of stress and depressive symptoms over time. Methods: At baseline, adults with remitted depression (n = 33) and healthy control subjects (n = 33) were administered diagnostic and stress interviews as well as self-report symptom measures. In addition, participants completed a self-referential encoding task while electroencephalography data were acquired. Stress interviews and self-report symptom measures were readministered at the 6-month follow-up assessment. Results: Drift diffusion modeling showed that compared with healthy individuals, adults with remitted depression exhibited a slower drift rate to negative stimuli, indicating a slower tendency to reject negative stimuli as self-relevant. At the 6-month follow-up assessment, a slower drift rate to negative stimuli predicted greater interpersonal stress severity among individuals with remitted depression but not healthy individuals while controlling for both baseline depression symptoms and interpersonal stress severity. Highlighting the specificity of this effect, results were nonsignificant when predicting noninterpersonal stress. For self-relevant positive words endorsed, adults with remitted depression exhibited smaller left- than right-hemisphere late positive potential amplitudes; healthy control subjects did not show hemispheric differences. Conclusions: Self-referential processing deficits persist into remission. In line with the stress generation framework, these biases predicted the occurrence of interpersonal stress, which may provide insight about a potential pathway for the re-emergence of depressive symptoms.

Objectives: Childhood disturbances in social, emotional, language, motor and cognitive functioning, and schizotypy have each been implicated as precursors of schizophrenia‐spectrum disorders. We investigated whether relationships between early childhood developmental vulnerabilities and childhood schizotypy are mediated by educational underachievement in middle childhood. Methods: Participants were members of a large Australian (n = 19,216) population cohort followed longitudinally. Path analyses were used to model relationships between developmental vulnerabilities at age ~5 years, educational underachievement from ages ~8 to 10 years and three distinct profiles of schizotypy at age ~11 years (true, introverted and affective schizotypy). Results: Early childhood developmental vulnerabilities on five broad domains (related to physical, emotional, social, cognitive and communication development) were associated with schizotypy profiles in middle childhood. Educational underachievement in middle childhood was associated with all schizotypy profiles, but most strongly with the true schizotypy profile (OR = 3.92, 95% CI = 3.12, 4.91). The relationships between schizotypy profiles and early childhood developmental vulnerabilities in 'language and cognitive skills (school‐based)' and 'communication skills and general knowledge' domains were fully mediated by educational underachievement in middle childhood, and the relationships with early childhood 'physical health and well‐being' and 'emotional maturity' domains were partially mediated. Conclusion: Developmental continuity from early childhood developmental vulnerabilities to schizotypy in middle childhood is mediated by educational underachievement in middle childhood. While some domains of early developmental functioning showed differential relationships with distinct schizotypy profiles, these findings support a developmental pathway to schizotypy in which cognitive vulnerability operates from early childhood through to middle childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dysfunctional Attitude Scale measures depression related enduring beliefs and is one of the central measures of cognitive behavioral (CBT) research and theory. It has been the central marker of etiological claims of CBT, and so any change to the understanding of the composition of the DAS would have potentially far-reaching implications for a large body of literature. We sought to capitalize on advances in psychometric techniques since the original 100-item DAS was last analyzed in a sufficiently large clinical sample to provide a definitive measurement model of this important instrument. Beyond the two dimensions usually found on the shorter forms of the scale, we identified the following subscales: imperatives, cognitive flexibility, and negative expectancy. This richer and more precise DAS structure renews its potential to meet the challenge of predicting who is prone to develop depression or experience a recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tests of generalizability can diversify psychological science and improve theories and measurement. To this end, we conducted five studies testing the cognitive vulnerability to depression hypothesis featured in the hopelessness theory of depression: Study 1 was conducted with Honduran young adults (n = 50); Study 2 was conducted with Nepali adults (n = 34); Study 3 was conducted with Western hemisphere adults (n = 104); Study 4 was conducted with Black U.S. adults (n = 119); and Study 5 was conducted with U.S. undergraduates (n = 110). Results showed that cognitive vulnerability could be measured reliably in diverse populations and the distribution of vulnerability scores was similar for all samples. However, the tendency to generate negative inferences about stress had different implications for depression depending on sample; the association between cognitive vulnerability and depressive symptoms did not generalize to Honduran and Nepali participants. It is now necessary to understand why a negative cognitive style confers risk for depression in some contexts but not others (e.g., is it issues related to measurement, theory, or both). The results also suggest that understanding and reducing the global burden of depression will require more than simply "translating" existing cognitive measures and theories to other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present narrative review has covered the current evidence regarding the role of cognitive impairments during the early phase of major depressive disorder (MDD), attempting to describe the cognitive features in childhood, adolescence and in at-risk individuals. These issues were analyzed considering the trait, scar and state hypotheses of MDD by examining the cold and hot dimensions, the latter explained in relation to the current psychological theoretical models of MDD. This search was performed on several electronic databases up to August 2022. Although the present review is the first to have analyzed both cold and hot cognitive impairments considering the trait, scar and state hypotheses, we found that current evidence did not allow to exclusively confirm the validity of one specific hypothesis since several equivocal and discordant results have been proposed in childhood and adolescence samples. Further studies are needed to better characterize possible cognitive dysfunctions assessing more systematically the impairments of cold, hot and social cognition domains and their possible interaction in a developmental perspective. An increased knowledge on these topics will improve the definition of clinical endophenotypes of enhanced risk to progression to MDD and, to hypothesize preventive and therapeutic strategies to reduce negative influences on psychosocial functioning and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression is a frequent mental affective disorder. Cognitive vulnerability models propose two major cognitive risk factors that favor the onset and severity of depressive symptoms. These include a pronounced self-focus, as well as a negative emotional processing bias. According to two-process models of cognitive vulnerability, these two risk factors are not independent from each other, but affect information processing already at an early perceptual processing level. Simultaneously, a processing advantage for self-related positive information including better memory for positive than negative information has been associated with mental health and well-being. This perspective paper introduces a research framework that discusses how EEG-ERP methodology can serve as a standardized tool for the decoding of negative and positive processing biases and their potential use as risk markers of cognitive vulnerability for depression, on the one hand, and as protective indicators of well-being, on the other hand. Previous results from EEG-ERP studies investigating the time-course of self-referential emotional processing are introduced, summarized, and discussed with respect to the specificity of depression-related processing and the importance of EEG-ERP-based experimental testing for well-being and the prevention and treatment of depressive disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 56 to 84% of college students report having experienced at least one lifetime traumatic or adverse life event. However, little is known about trauma exposure among Latina college students and the association of cognitive vulnerabilities to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms among this population. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to: (a) explore the traumatic events experienced by 436 Latina college women, and (b) examine the unique contribution of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and its two subscales (prospective and inhibitory IU) to PTSD-5 symptom severity among the 263 (76%) trauma-exposed Latina college women in the sample. Most frequently reported trauma events included interpersonal bullying and ridicule, attempted sexual assault, traumatic bereavement, and life-threatening accident or natural disaster. As expected, when controlling for college stress and anxiety sensitivity: (a) IU scores were associated with overall PTSD symptom severity and with two of the four PTSD-5 cluster symptoms, arousal/reactivity, and negative alteration in cognition/mood, and (b) IU was not associated with the PTSD-5 intrusion cluster symptoms' severity. Inconsistent with expectations, IU was not uniquely associated with the avoidance of PTSD-5 cluster symptoms. Paralysis in the face of uncertainty (inhibitory IU) was more strongly related to PTSD symptom severity than concerns regarding anticipated uncertainty (prospective IU). Results suggest that IU is a transdiagnostic cognitive vulnerability that plays a unique role in relation to PTSD symptom severity among trauma exposed Latina college women. Therefore, interventions to ameliorate IU could complement established psychological and pharmacological PTSD treatments with this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tests of generalizability can diversify psychological science and improve theories and measurement. To this end, we conducted five studies testing the cognitive vulnerability to depression hypothesis featured in the hopelessness theory of depression: Study 1 was conducted with Honduran young adults (n = 50); Study 2 was conducted with Nepali adults (n = 34); Study 3 was conducted with Western hemisphere adults (n = 104); Study 4 was conducted with Black U.S. adults (n = 119); and Study 5 was conducted with U.S. undergraduates (n = 110). Results showed that cognitive vulnerability could be measured reliably in diverse populations and the distribution of vulnerability scores was similar for all samples. However, the tendency to generate negative inferences about stress had different implications for depression depending on sample; the association between cognitive vulnerability and depressive symptoms did not generalize to Honduran and Nepali participants. It is now necessary to understand why a negative cognitive style confers risk for depression in some contexts but not others (e.g., is it issues related to measurement, theory, or both). The results also suggest that understanding and reducing the global burden of depression will require more than simply "translating" existing cognitive measures and theories to other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishing a better understanding of the structure of the hierarchy is a primary goal of neuroscience. Recent research has highlighted a connectome gradient dysfunction in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, it remains unclear whether these changes exist prior to the onset of the disease. We used a newly developed resting-state functional connectivity (FC)-based gradient approach to evaluate the principal functional gradient in individuals with cognitive vulnerability to depression (CVD) and healthy controls (HC). We further examined the associations between CVD-related alterations in the principal connectome gradient with multiple cognitive behavioral variables. Individuals with CVD showed significantly lower functional gradient scores in the left ventral insular gyrus than HC. The left ventral insular gyrus gradient score was positively correlated with the total attentional control scale as well as the dimension of attentional control. The left ventral insular gyrus gradient score was negatively correlated with the total BHS scale, the dimension of expectations, the total RRS scale, and the depression-related dimension. The preliminary results indicate that alterations in the principal functional gradient in individuals with CVD might be a biomarker of cognitive vulnerability to MDD, and the alterations may exist prior to the onset of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative emotionality (NE) and multiple cognitive vulnerabilities (CVs) (negative inferential style, brooding, self-criticism, dependency, dysfunctional attitudes) independently predict internalizing outcomes. The present study examined whether NE and CVs could be structurally integrated into a common factor reflecting shared variance across risks, and specific factors reflecting unique variance in risks. We evaluated the validity and utility of this integrated model via prospective prediction of future depression and anxiety compared to alternative models (NE and CVs individually, a correlated factor model). Youth from a large community sample (N = 571; M = 13.58 years old; 55% girls, 44% boys) reported on NE and CVs. Depression and anxiety symptoms based on youth report, and disorder onset based on youth and caregiver diagnostic interviews were assessed over a 1½ years follow-up. Results supported a structural model including a general NE-CV dimension and specific dimensions for NE, common cognitive risk, negative inferential style, and brooding; model invariance was obtained from late childhood through late adolescence and for girls and boys. The integrated general NE-CV factor more consistently and strongly predicted future depressive (β = 0.58) and anxiety (β = 0.56) symptoms, and onsets of depression (OR = 1.81) and anxiety (OR = 2.23) relative to NE and CV risk dimensions across alternative models (ps <.01). The general NE-CV dimension represents an important means to efficiently represent transdiagnostic risk for internalizing outcomes among youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The hopelessness theory is one of the most studied cognitive vulnerability theories of depression. It proposes that risk for depression is conferred by attributing the causes of negative events to global, internal, stable causes and inferring future negative consequences and negative characteristics about oneself from these events. Nearly all research has operationalized cognitive style using individuals' responses to hypothetical events at single timepoints. Far less research has explored attributions of specific events as they occur, none of which has involved clinical samples.Methods: This study aimed to examine if measuring event-specific attributions clarifies the relationship between negative cognitive style and clinical symptoms. Adults (n = 51), who had attempted suicide at least once in the year prior, were recruited from the community via online forums related to suicide risk. Participants provided nightly ratings of hopelessness and attributions of the most stressful event that day for four weeks.Results: The daily diary composite measure of cognitive style was more strongly associated with hopelessness and depressive symptoms than the trait measure. Daily attributions fully mediated the relationship between trait cognitive style and hopelessness.Limitations: The measurement period could not capture the occurrence of a next depressive episode for all participants. Relatedly, we could not account for the precise nature of individual stressors.Conclusions: At a population level, trait measures alone may be a useful risk factor. But, with the goal to move towards more personalized prediction and intervention, more dynamic, ecologically valid, and real time measures may help gain more traction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Dental anxiety and fear is not only a psychological problem but also a dental health problem. It is important to understand how the cognitive elements influence child's dental anxiety/fear and interact with their oral health. Objective: This study was conducted among children to determine the association between cognitive vulnerability (CV) with dental fear and their oral health status. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 500 schoolchildren aged 12–15 years in Bengaluru city. Methodology: The schools and participants were selected by cluster random and systematic random sampling method, respectively. Cognitive vulnerability and Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear (IDAF-4C+) were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire. Oral health status was recorded using the World Health Organization 2013 proforma for children. Statistical Analysis Used: Chi-square test, Student's t-test, Spearman's correlation, and multivariate hierarchical linear regression were used in this study. The statistical significance was considered at P < 0.05. Results: Nearly half of the study participants had cognitive perceptions, dental anxiety/fear, phobia, and stimulus toward dental treatment. Majority had dental caries and gingival bleeding. Cognitive vulnerability, dental anxiety/fear, phobia, and stimulus were independent of the age and gender and were associated with socioeconomic status. A significant correlation was found between participants' CV, IDAF-4C+, dental caries, and gingival bleeding. Cognitive vulnerability was a significant predictor of dental caries and gingival bleeding. Dental anxiety/fear and dental phobia were significant predictors of dental caries. Conclusion: Oral health status was significantly poorer and was associated with CV, dental anxiety/fear, phobia, and stimulus. Cognitive elements together with dental fear influenced oral health.

Background: Adolescent mental health is of utmost importance. E-mental health interventions, and serious games in particular, are appealing to adolescents and can have beneficial effects on their mental health. A serious game aimed at improving cognitive vulnerability (ie, beliefs or attitudes), which can predispose an individual to mental health problems, can contribute to the prevention of these problems in adolescents., Objective: This study aimed to assess the feasibility of the prototype of a serious game called "Silver.", Methods: The prototype of the serious game was developed using a user-centered participatory design. The prototype of Silver focused on 1 aspect of a serious game for improving cognitive vulnerability in adolescents, that is, the recognition and identification of cognitive distortions. Through the game, players were required to identify and classify the character's thoughts as helpful or unhelpful. Upon successful advancement to the next level, the task becomes more challenging, as players must also identify specific types of cognitive distortions. A pre- and posttest uncontrolled design was used to evaluate the game, with a 1-week intervention phase in which participants were asked to play the game. Participants aged 12-16 years were recruited in schools. The outcomes of interest were the recognition of cognitive distortions and presence of participants' cognitive distortions. The game was also evaluated on its effects, content, and usefulness., Results: A total of 630 adolescents played Silver and completed the assessments. Adolescents were significantly better at recognizing cognitive distortions at the pretest (mean 13.09, SD 4.08) compared to the posttest (mean 13.82, SD 5.09; t629=-4.00, P<.001). Furthermore, their cognitive distortions decreased significantly at the posttest (mean 38.73, SD 12.79) compared to the pretest (mean 41.43, SD 10.90; t629=7.98, P<.001). Participants also indicated that the game helped them recognize cognitive distortions. Many participants considered the game appealing (294/610, 48.2%) but boring (317/610, 52%) and preferred a more comprehensive game (299/610, 49%)., Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that a serious game may be an effective tool for improving cognitive vulnerability in adolescents. The development of such a serious game, based on the prototype, is recommended. It may be an important and innovative tool for the universal prevention of mental health problems in adolescents. Future research on the effects of the game is warranted., (© Eva De Jaegere, Kees van Heeringen, Peter Emmery, Gijs Mommerency, Gwendolyn Portzky. Originally published in JMIR Serious Games (https://games.jmir.org).)

Knowledge on Omani adolescents' vulnerability to depression is very limited. The current study examines the associations between Omani adolescents' depressive symptoms (DS) and three central constructs: negative cognition (NC), as reflected by the individual's view of self (VoS), view of the world (VoW) and view of the future (VoF), emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBDs), and negative life events (NLE). The Symptom Check List (SCL-90R), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Cognitive Triad Inventory for Children (CTI-C), and Negative Life Events Checklist (NLEC) were administered to a sample of 486 students aged between 13 and 16 from high schools in the southern region of Oman. A path analysis tested the effects of NC, EBDs, and NLE on Omani adolescents' DS. Findings revealed that EBDs and NLE have direct effects on Omani adolescents' DS. Similarly, the hypothesis that NC has direct effects on DS was partially supported. Our hypothesis, that EBDs and NLE may confer vulnerability to DS among Omani adolescents through NC, received partial support. The cognitive vulnerability hypothesis of depression is partially supported in an Arab sample. It could be argued that the hypothesis is culturally bound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mood Induction Procedures (MIPs) are used widely in research on cognitive vulnerability to depression. Although empirical evidence supports certain MIPs as effective, little research has evaluated whether MIP-induced sad moods are sufficiently persistent. This study aimed to determine (1) how long an MIP-induced mood lasts according to commonly used operational definitions and (2) whether these findings vary according to the type of MIP used.Methods: Four-hundred-and-one undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of three commonly used sad MIPs (music, memory, music+memory) or to one of three matched neutral MIPs. Mood was repeatedly measured immediately prior to and following the MIP.Results: Results did not support the widely held belief that commonly used MIPs induce a sufficient and persistent sad mood. The memory-related MIPs induced the most persistent sad mood. Based on the majority of operational definitions, however, induced mood effects did not last longer than 4 min, regardless of MIP type.Limitations: Future studies should examine additional factors that may have affected the trajectories observed in the current study (e.g., task completed in between mood measurements) and in vulnerable (e.g., past-depressed) populations.Conclusions: This study constitutes an important first step in validating the use of MIPs in cognitive vulnerability research and provides researchers with important information on future study designs. More important, the study raises doubt about the validity of various conclusions drawn from some MIP studies and calls into question the theoretical conceptualizations of depression that are based on potentially biased results and a possibly incomplete literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This multi-wave longitudinal study examined the role of depressive symptoms and the weakest link approach as an indicator of cognitive vulnerability to predict stress generation. The weakest link approach posits that an individual is as cognitively vulnerable as his or her strongest attributional style. Data of 521 Chinese adolescents were investigated in this study. During an initial assessment, participants completed a demographic survey that assessed depressive symptoms, weakest links, and stress. Over the subsequent 6 months, participants completed monthly assessments of depressive symptoms and stress. The results indicated that both depressive symptoms and weakest link approach predict the generation of stress. High scores of depressive symptoms were associated with high levels of both independent stress and dependent stress. High weakest link scores predicted an increase of dependent stress. For the follow-up interval, the interaction of weakest link × depressive symptoms was a significant predictor for dependent stress but not for independent stress. In addition, gender difference was identified as a predictor of the stress generation effect. Compared with adolescent boys, adolescent girls tended to experience higher levels of dependent stress. These results suggest that depressive symptoms and cognitive vulnerability are important for the prediction of stress generation in Chinese adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Individuals who possess the "Looming Cognitive Style" (LCS; Riskind et al. in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 79:837–852, 2000) are biased to perceive mental simulations of possible threats as dynamically emergent phenomena that are rapidly growing, approaching, and expanding in negative consequences. The present study aimed to evaluate whether the LCS is a cognitive risk factor for anxiety and whether it tends to more consistently predict anxiety than depression over 6-month and 12-month time windows. Methods: A cohort of Italian college students (N = 187) were administered measures of the LCS, anxiety, and depression (the BAI and BDI-II) at baseline and then at two successive follow-up assessments 6 and 12 months later. Results: After controlling for initial symptoms, the LCS and its subscales were generally found to predict 6 months changes in anxiety symptoms but not 6 months changes in depression. In further analyses of 12 months changes, the effect sizes for LCS in predicting 12 months change were equivalent to 6 months change but attenuated in significance due to lower statistical power resulting from the exclusion of the 6 months wave of data collection. Added to this, at 12 months, the LCS physical threat subscale also emerged as a significant predictor of 12 months changes in depression symptoms. Results showed, contrary to expectations of a "positive feedback loop" hypothesis, that anxiety did not predict future increases in LCS. Conclusions: The LCS predicts anxiety and may do so more consistently than depression, at least in time windows of 6 months of less. The findings are discussed in terms of the potential importance of dynamic threat parameters to anxiety that are not captured by other current putative vulnerability factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present narrative review has covered the current evidence regarding the role of cognitive impairments during the early phase of major depressive disorder (MDD), attempting to describe the cognitive features in childhood, adolescence and in at-risk individuals. These issues were analyzed considering the trait, scar and state hypotheses of MDD by examining the cold and hot dimensions, the latter explained in relation to the current psychological theoretical models of MDD. This search was performed on several electronic databases up to August 2022. Although the present review is the first to have analyzed both cold and hot cognitive impairments considering the trait, scar and state hypotheses, we found that current evidence did not allow to exclusively confirm the validity of one specific hypothesis since several equivocal and discordant results have been proposed in childhood and adolescence samples. Further studies are needed to better characterize possible cognitive dysfunctions assessing more systematically the impairments of cold, hot and social cognition domains and their possible interaction in a developmental perspective. An increased knowledge on these topics will improve the definition of clinical endophenotypes of enhanced risk to progression to MDD and, to hypothesize preventive and therapeutic strategies to reduce negative influences on psychosocial functioning and well-being.

Depression is a frequent mental affective disorder. Cognitive vulnerability models propose two major cognitive risk factors that favor the onset and severity of depressive symptoms. These include a pronounced self-focus, as well as a negative emotional processing bias. According to two-process models of cognitive vulnerability, these two risk factors are not independent from each other, but affect information processing already at an early perceptual processing level. Simultaneously, a processing advantage for self-related positive information including better memory for positive than negative information has been associated with mental health and well-being. This perspective paper introduces a research framework that discusses how EEG-ERP methodology can serve as a standardized tool for the decoding of negative and positive processing biases and their potential use as risk markers of cognitive vulnerability for depression, on the one hand, and as protective indicators of well-being, on the other hand. Previous results from EEG-ERP studies investigating the time-course of self-referential emotional processing are introduced, summarized, and discussed with respect to the specificity of depression-related processing and the importance of EEG-ERP-based experimental testing for well-being and the prevention and treatment of depressive disorders.

The Seasonal Beliefs Questionnaire (SBQ) is a 26-item self-report measure of a winter seasonal affective disorder (SAD)-specific cognitive vulnerability consisting of maladaptive thoughts about the seasons, light availability, and weather conditions. In a known groups comparison, currently depressed adults with SAD had significantly higher SBQ scores than currently depressed adults with nonseasonal major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy controls, and the MDD group had significantly higher SBQ scores than controls. Using that database, this study explored the predictive validity of using an SBQ cutoff score to differentiate SAD from MDD. Receiver operator characteristic curve analyses used SBQ total score to predict SAD versus MDD, SAD versus control, and MDD versus control status. The SBQ subscale combined score, derived from multivariable logistic regression with SBQ subscales, was examined as an alternative predictor. SBQ total score with a cutpoint of 132 had good predictive ability for distinguishing SAD from MDD (C-statistic =.792, sensitivity =.798, specificity =.794). The SBQ subscale combination score slightly improved predictive ability for the SAD/MDD distinction (C-statistic =.813), with better sensitivity (.930) but worse specificity (.571). In contrast, the score on a generic measure of depressogenic cognitive vulnerability, the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale, was poor for differentiating SAD from MDD. SBQ total score was excellent in discriminating SAD cases from controls with a cutpoint of 121 (C-statistic =.962, sensitivity =.939, specificity.873), but had poor sensitivity for discriminating MDD cases from controls. Results support using the SBQ to screen for probable SAD in practice settings. Public Significance Statement: This study tested the predictive ability of Seasonal Beliefs Questionnaire (SBQ) score in differentiating between cases of seasonal versus nonseasonal major depression. Results support using the SBQ total score with a cutpoint ≥132 in initial screening for making this distinction in clinical practice, based on sufficient sensitivity (i.e., 79.8% true positive rate) and specificity (i.e., 79.4% true negative rate) to warrant further assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psychologie Française is the property of Elsevier B.V. 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.)

The mechanisms of the well-documented relationship between maternal depression and offspring psychopathology are not yet fully understood. Building upon cognitive theories of depression and the modeling hypothesis, path analyses tested whether maternal depression history predicted adolescent internalizing symptoms via the transmission of cognitive vulnerabilities within a sample of 635 adolescents (Mage = 13.1 years, range = 11.2–17.2 years; 53% female; 48% African American/Black) and their primary female caregivers. Maternal depression history did not directly predict adolescent symptoms. Two significant indirect effects were found; maternal depression history was associated with maternal negative cognitive style, which predicted greater adolescent negative generalization, which, in turn, predicted adolescents' greater depressive and anxiety symptoms. These findings suggest that the transmission of cognitive vulnerabilities may link maternal depression and offspring internalizing psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present study was designed to assess the interplay between depressive cognition, coping‐oriented substance use, and future behavioral disengagement tendencies. Cognitive risk subtypes examined include brooding rumination, attributional bias (internal/stable/global), and dysfunctional attitudes. Method: Individuals were recruited from outpatient treatment settings and met criteria for a unipolar depressive disorder (N = 70; 66% female; 81% White; Mage = 31; SDage = 13.2). Participants completed self‐report measures of brooding rumination, attributional style, dysfunctional attitudes, coping‐oriented substance use, and behavioral disengagement tendencies following a 3‐week period. Results: Brooding rumination, stable attributional style, and dysfunctional attitudes were positively associated with later behavioral disengagement tendencies. Coping‐oriented substance use moderated associations between both internal attributional style, as well as dysfunctional attitudes onto later behavioral disengagement. Conclusions: With regard to stress‐related avoidance, subsyndromal substance use may play a detrimental role among cognitively vulnerable, depressed outpatients when said drug or alcohol use serves as a means of coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative Mood Regulation Expectancies (NMRE) refer to the beliefs that one has concerning his/her ability to control and regulate a negative mood state. NMRE play an important role in development of psychological disorders since it is known to buffer the negative impact of various risk factors for emotional distress. The present study aims to test the interaction of NMRE with Looming Cognitive Style (LCS), a cognitive vulnerability factor specific for anxiety disorders and the role this interaction plays in subjectively felt anxiety. Data were collected from 326 university students (251 female) through self-report questionnaires assessing LCS, NMRE, anxiety and depression. The results showed that both LCS and NMRE are significantly associated with anxiety scores while controlling for the overlap between anxiety and depression. Moreover, NMRE was found to be significantly able to moderate the association between LCS and anxiety. That is; tendency to generate looming cognitions appeared to be linked to higher anxiety when the individuals have low levels of confidence in their capacities for mood regulation and coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-referential processing (i.e., self-schemas that guide processing of self-descriptive information) emerges early in youth, with deeper encoding of negative self-descriptors and/or shallower encoding of positive self-descriptors causally linked to depression. However, the relationship between depressogenic self-schemas and brain structure is unclear. We investigated associations between self-schemas and regional grey matter volume (GMV) in 84 never-depressed preadolescents oversampled for depression risk based on maternal depression history. Self-schemas were assessed using a Self-Referent Encoding Task (SRET) and regional GMV was indexed via voxel-based morphometry analysis of structural magnetic resonance imaging data. Youths’ positive self-schemas were associated with greater regional GMV within the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), while negative self-schemas were associated with smaller regional GMV within vlPFC and PCC, areas important to emotion regulation and self-referential processing. These associations remained significant after controlling for youths’ concurrent depressive symptoms. Exploratory mediation analysis suggested that adolescents’ depressogenic self-schemas may mediate associations between GMV and depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that the observed GMV variations within vlPFC and PCC may serve as neurobiological markers of depressogenic self-schemas during preadolescence.

Objectives: Most of the studies that examine cognitive vulnerability tend to focus on cognitive vulnerability for depression and explain anxiety through its intersection with depression. Looming Cognitive Style (LCS) was suggested as a cognitive vulnerability model that is specific for anxiety. According to the model, people who have looming vulnerability tend to evaluate the threats coming from the environment as more overwhelming than they actually are and are constantly hypervigilant to the threat cues that may come from the environment. This pattern plays an important role in both generation and maintenance of anxiety disorders. A two-factor looming vulnerability scale was developed to assess looming cognitive style and the present study aims to adapt the scale into Turkish and examine its psychometric characteristics. Method: The sample is composed of 657 university students between the ages of 18 and 29. The participants were administered LMSQ-R as well as scales that assess anxiety, depression, and worry. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis results supported the original factor structure of the scale providing two distinct, but correlated factors as social and physical looming. In addition to that, total score and subscale scores had moderate to high correlations with other study variables and reliability scores appearing close to the original form provides support for the reliability of the scale. Conclusion: The Turkish version of the LMSQ-R is a reliable and valid scale that can be used with Turkish population.

The goal of the current study was to compare diathesis-stress and transactional models of cognitive vulnerability to depression in samples of Canadian (n = 118) and Chinese (n = 405) adolescents. We utilized a six-month multi-wave, longitudinal design in order to examine whether (a) perceived control moderated the association between the occurrence of dependent interpersonal stressors and subsequent increases in depressive symptoms (i.e., a diathesis-stress perspective) and (b) dependent interpersonal stressors mediated the association between perceived control and subsequent increases in depressive symptoms (i.e., a transactional perspective). Results from idiographic, time-lagged, hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that for Canadian adolescents both diathesis-stress and transactional models were significant predictors of depressive symptomology. When examining the diathesis-stress model, boys, but not girls, who reported lower perceived control, reported higher levels of depressive symptoms following the occurrence of dependent interpersonal stress. Gender differences, however, were not present in the transactional model. In contrast, transactional, but not diathesis-stress, models were significant in Chinese adolescents, and gender differences did not emerge. Overall, these results may reflect culturally-relevant differences in the etiology of depression in Canadian and Chinese adolescents.

Habitual thinking may underpin a heightened disposition to engage in rumination in response to negative mood, a widely held notion that has rarely been directly tested. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether rumination is associated with habitual attributes and whether it is related to an imbalance in habit relative to goal-directed behavior control. University students (N=115) completed self-report questionnaires, a rumination induction paradigm and an outcome devaluation task that measures habitual vs goal-directed behavior control. Greater habitual characteristics of negative thinking (e.g., automaticity, lack of conscious awareness, control, and intent) were associated with ruminative brooding but not ruminative reflection and predicted more persistent dysphoric mood following rumination induction. Rumination was not, however, consistently associated with an imbalance in habit versus goal-directed behavior control. These findings indicate that depression vulnerability may be in the form of rumination being habitually triggered (without awareness or intent) with deleterious effects on mood. Although habitual, rumination may not be related to an imbalance in habit relative to goal-directed behavior control. These findings provide support for current theoretical accounts of rumination and set important boundary conditions in the search for specific factors that contribute to rumination as a habit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]