An evaluation of the construct validity of the Adult Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire.

Rejection sensitivity (RS), the predisposition to defensively expect, readily perceive, and react strongly to interpersonal rejection (Downey & Feldman, 1996; Feldman & Downey, 1994), may be a transdiagnostic trait associated with a range of psychiatric symptoms and psychosocial dysfunction. Valid and reliable assessment of vulnerability factors is essential for individualized treatment and improving clinical outcomes. Limited research has examined the factor structure of the predominantly used self-report measure of RS, the Adult Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (A-RSQ; Berenson et al.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on anhedonia, reward exposure and responsiveness, and sleep in college students.

The COVID-19 pandemic's effects on college student mental health and its underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Although necessary, physical distancing abruptly restricts interaction with environmental rewards and disrupts sleep patterns, both of which may contribute to psychological symptoms (eg, depression and anhedonia). This study explored differences in psychological symptoms, reward exposure and responsiveness, and sleep before versus during the pandemic.

Relationships Among Sleep Disturbance, Reward System Functioning, Anhedonia, and Depressive Symptoms.

Recent models propose reward system dysfunction as a key mediator of the relationship between sleep and depression and anhedonia. This study explored interrelationships among sleep disturbance, depressive symptoms, anhedonia, and reward responsiveness. Two-hundred and sixty undergraduate students completed questionnaires and a daily diary paradigm assessing sleep, reward responsiveness, depression, anhedonia, and positive affect over 1 week.

Suppression and acceptance in unipolar depression: Short-term and long-term effects on emotional responding.

Objectives: Transdiagnostic treatments increasingly include emotion regulation training focused on use of emotional suppression and acceptance. Despite the frequent use of these treatments in depression, little is known about the effects of these strategies in this population.

Design: An experimental study.

Associations between insomnia and reward learning in clinical depression.

Background: Depression and insomnia commonly co-occur. Yet, little is known about the mechanisms through which insomnia influences depression. Recent research and theory highlight reward system dysfunction as a potential mediator of the relationship between insomnia and depression.

Associations Among Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Substance Use, and Affective Attentional Processing in OEF/OIF/OND Veterans.

The majority of research examining affective attentional bias in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has not examined the influence of co-occurring psychiatric disorders. This study examined the individual and interactive effects of PTSD symptoms and substance use disorders (SUDs) on affective attentional processing among 323 veterans deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Participants were divided into those with SUD (SUD+, n = 46) and those without (SUD-, n = 277).

Results from the Field: Development and Evaluation of a Psychiatry Residency Training Rotation in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies.

Objective: The goal of this project was to develop and evaluate a new residency training rotation focused on cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT) and to assess outcomes across multiple domains.

Methods: Data are presented from 30 psychiatry residents. Primary learning-related outcomes included content knowledge, self-efficacy, and attitudes and behavioral intentions towards evidence-based psychotherapies (e.

Punishment Learning in U.S. Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Learning processes have been implicated in the development and course of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, little is currently known about punishment-based learning in PTSD. The current study investigated impairments in punishment-based learning in U.S.

Associations among smoking, anhedonia, and reward learning in depression.

Depression and cigarette smoking co-occur at high rates. However, the etiological mechanisms that contribute to this relationship remain unclear. Anhedonia and associated impairments in reward learning are key features of depression, which also have been linked to the onset and maintenance of cigarette smoking.

Psychophysiologic reactivity, subjective distress, and their associations with PTSD diagnosis.

Intense subjective distress and physiologic reactivity upon exposure to reminders of the traumatic event are each diagnostic features of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, subjective reports and psychophysiological data often suggest different conclusions. For the present study, we combined data from five previous studies to assess the contributions of these two types of measures in predicting PTSD diagnosis.

Association between smoking and heart rate variability among individuals with depression.

Background: Both depression and smoking have been independently associated with lower heart rate variability (HRV), suggesting dysregulation of cardiac autonomic function. However, no studies have systematically explored the effects of smoking on HRV among depressed patients.

Purpose: This study examined differences in HRV based on smoking status among depressed individuals.

Changes in posttraumatic stress disorder and depressive symptoms during cognitive processing therapy: evidence for concurrent change.

Objective: Trauma-focused psychotherapies reduce both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and co-occurring depression. However, little is known about the relationship between changes in PTSD and depression during treatment. This study examined the association between changes in PTSD and depression during the course of cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and its treatment components.

The relationship between reward-based learning and nicotine dependence in smokers with schizophrenia.

Cigarette smoking rates remain remarkably high in schizophrenia relative to smoking in other psychiatric groups. Impairments in the reward system may be related to elevated rates of nicotine dependence and lower cessation rates in this psychiatric group. Smokers with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (SWS; n=15; M(age)=54.

Generalized anxiety disorder within the course of major depressive disorder: examining the utility of the DSM-IV hierarchy rule.

Background: The current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) specifies that generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) should not be diagnosed if it occurs exclusively during an episode of a major depressive disorder (MDD) or another mood disorder. This hierarchy rule was intended to promote diagnostic parsimony, but may result in the loss of important clinical information. The goal of this study was to compare individuals with MDD, comorbid MDD and GAD, and GAD within the course of MDD at intake and 12-month follow-up on self-report measures, clinician ratings, and rates of comorbidity.

Emotion regulation in unipolar depression: the effects of acceptance and suppression of subjective emotional experience on the intensity and duration of sadness and negative affect.

This study examined the effects of emotional suppression and acceptance in a depressed sample. Sixty participants with diagnoses of unipolar depression completed a questionnaire packet and participated in an experiment. The experiment utilized two conditions to explore correlates of the spontaneous use of emotion regulation strategies and the effects of an experimental manipulation of acceptance and suppression.

A taxometric investigation of the latent structure of social anxiety disorder in outpatients with anxiety and mood disorders.

The latent structure of social phobia was examined in a sample of 2,035 outpatients with anxiety and mood disorders to determine whether the disorder operates in a categorical or dimensional fashion. We performed three mathematically distinct taxometric procedures-MAMBAC, MAXEIG, and L-Mode-using five indicators constructed from clinical interview ratings and questionnaire measures of social anxiety symptoms. Results from screening analyses and simulated comparison data consistently indicated that the data were suitable for taxometric analysis.

The distinctiveness of compulsive hoarding from obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The present study investigated the relation of compulsive hoarding to other obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms in a sample of 162 patients with OCD. Obsessions and compulsions reported on the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV were submitted to an exploratory factor analysis. Results suggested a four-factor model: "Certainty," "Contamination," "Obsessions," and "Numbers/Ordering.

Psychometric evaluation of the behavioral inhibition/behavioral activation scales in a large sample of outpatients with anxiety and mood disorders.

The latent structure, reliability, and validity of the Behavioral Inhibition/Behavioral Activation Scales (BIS/BAS; C. L. Carver and T.