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Anxiety disorders are effectively treated with exposure therapy, but relapse remains high. Fear may reinstate after reoccurrence of the negative event because the expectancy of the aversive outcome (unconditioned stimulus [US]) is adjusted but not its evaluation. Imagery rescripting (ImRs) is an intervention that is proposed to work through revaluation of the US. The aim of our preregistered study was to test the effects of ImRs and extinction on US expectancy and US revaluation. Day 1 (n = 106) consisted of acquisition with an aversive film clip as US. The manipulation (ImRs + extinction, extinction-only, or ImRs-only) took place on Day 2. Reinstatement of fear was tested on Day 3. Results showed expectancy learning in both extinction conditions but not in the ImRs-only condition and no enhanced revaluation learning in ImRs. The combination of ImRs and extinction slowed down extinction but did not protect against reinstatement, which pleads in favor of stand-alone interventions in clinical practice.

01 april 2022, Item does not contain fulltext, Event centrality is defined as the extent to which a memory of a traumatic event forms a reference point for people’s identity and attribution of meaning to other experiences in their life. Event centrality is typically measured with the Centrality of Event Scale (CES; Berntsen & Rubin, 2006). The present study’s first aim was to investigate the underlying factor structure and construct validity of the Dutch 20-item CES (CES-20) in undergraduates (N = 1,091). The second aim was to test whether the CES-20 could prospectively predict posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms four months later. The data supported a one-factor structure of the CES with a high internal consistency (alpha = .95), which is not in line with the theoretical model of event centrality but aligns with previous empirical research. Furthermore, high construct validity was evidenced by positive and significant relations between the CES and PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, DSM-5 trauma A criterion, and the number of experienced negative life events. Event centrality was not a significant predictor of PTSD symptoms four months later when controlling for PTSD symptoms at time 1, which questions the prospective relation between event centrality and later PTSD symptoms for those events.

21 december 2021, Item does not contain fulltext, Anxiety disorders are effectively treated with exposure therapy, but relapse remains high. Fear may reinstate after reoccurrence of the negative event because the expectancy of the aversive outcome (unconditioned stimulus [US]) is adjusted but not its evaluation. Imagery rescripting (ImRs) is an intervention that is proposed to work through revaluation of the US. The aim of our preregistered study was to test the effects of ImRs and extinction on US expectancy and US revaluation. Day 1 (n = 106) consisted of acquisition with an aversive film clip as US. The manipulation (ImRs + extinction, extinction-only, or ImRs-only) took place on Day 2. Reinstatement of fear was tested on Day 3. Results showed expectancy learning in both extinction conditions but not in the ImRs-only condition and no enhanced revaluation learning in ImRs. The combination of ImRs and extinction slowed down extinction but did not protect against reinstatement, which pleads in favor of stand-alone interventions in clinical practice.

Memory Specificity Training (MeST) is an intervention developed from basic science that has found clinical utility. MeST uses cued recall exercises to target the difficulty that some people with emotional disorders have in recalling personally experienced events. MeST is simple enough to be delivered alongside traditional interventions or online by artificial intelligence. Currently, research indicates MeST's effects are immediate but short-lived, and there is limited research indicating its superiority over established interventions. Future investigations must establish the dosage and specific components of MeST that are necessary for clinically significant effects. Further, it must establish the secondary processes (e.g., problem-solving) that mediate between MeST-driven improvements in memory and symptoms. Similar interventions that build upon the idea of training autobiographical memory specificity are also emerging and warrant further investigation.

Item does not contain fulltext, Event centrality is defined as the extent to which the memory of a traumatic event forms a reference point for personal identity and the attribution of meaning to other experiences in a person’s life. The current study investigated the psychometric properties of the Dutch translation of the Centrality of Event Scale (CES; Berntsen & Rubin, 2006) and its relation with symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, exposure to traumatic events as defined by DSM-5 trauma criterion A, and negative life events in a student sample (N = 967). An underlying structure of one factor was found. This factor structure was replicated in two additional independent samples. High internal consistency was found for a 6-item CES. CES scores were positively related to symptoms of PTSD and depression, to the DSM-5 trauma criterion A, and the number of negative life events. The CES made a unique contribution to the explained variance in PTSD symptoms when controlling for depression. However, CES scores were unrelated to depression when controlling for PTSD symptoms, suggesting that event centrality might be more typically related to PTSD, and less to depression.

Contains fulltext : 206966.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access), Objectives: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the assessment of mindfulness skills. The present study describes the validation of the Dutch Comprehensive Inventory of Mindfulness Experiences (CHIME) and the development of a short form. Methods: The original scale was translated into Dutch. The psychometric properties of the CHIME were examined, including its factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent and discriminant validity in a group of 481 participants consisting of clinical and non-clinical samples. In addition, a 24-item short form (CHIME-SF) was developed and its psychometric properties were assessed in the same sample. Results: Confirmatory factor analyses showed an acceptable model fit of an 8-factor structure of the CHIME with the following subscales: awareness of internal experiences, awareness of external experiences, acting with awareness, accepting and non-judgmental attitude, nonreactive decentering, openness to experiences, awareness of thought’s relativity, and insightful understanding (X2 = 1534.90, df = 601, X2/df = 2.55, CFI = 0.90, RMSEA = 0.057 [90% CI 0.053, 0.060], SRMR = 0.06). The CHIME-SF showed a good model fit (X2 = 486.13, df = 224, X2/df = 0.17, CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.049 [90% CI 0.043, 0.055], SRMR = 0.05.) and the subscales of the CHIME and CHIME-SF showed high corrected correlations (rc = .69-.88). The CHIME and the CHIME-SF proved to be sensitive to change. Conclusions: The results indicate that the Dutch version of the CHIME and CHIME-SF are valid instruments to assess mindfulness skills in clinical and non-clinical populations. The psychometric properties of the CHIME-SF should be further evaluated in an independent sample.

Item does not contain fulltext, Event centrality refers to the extent to which a personal event in autobiographical memory serves as a reference point for other experiences, as a turning point in the life-story, and is integrated into components of personal identity. Research has shown that event centrality is positively related to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, limited research is available on the causal relation between event centrality and PTSD symptoms. We examined this causal link in a series of experiments. A pilot test showed that, out of four manipulations, only a cognitive bias modification training of appraisal (CBM-App) decreased event centrality in participants with high event centrality scores. Next, we tested whether the CBM-App training influenced event centrality and PTSD symptoms in a new sample. Participants in the CBM-App condition reported reduced event centrality compared to participants in a non-centrality control condition. No changes in PTSD symptoms were found. The link between event centrality and PTSD symptoms was mediated by posttraumatic cognitions and rumination. Together, these studies suggest that CBM-App training can lower appraisals of event centrality of a distressing autobiographical memory. Long-term effects on PTSD symptoms will need to be tested in future research.