Impact of trauma exposure and depression comorbidity on response to transdiagnostic behavioral therapy for pediatric anxiety and depression.

By adolescence, two-thirds of youth report exposure to at least one traumatic event, yet the impact of trauma history is not routinely considered when evaluating the effect of psychotherapeutic interventions. Trauma may be a particularly important moderator of the effects of transdiagnostic therapies for emotional disorders, as trauma exposure is associated with risk for the development of comorbid depression and anxiety. The current study examined the history of trauma exposure and the presence of clinically significant depression as moderators of treatment outcomes in the Brief Behavioral Therapy (BBT) trial, the largest study of transdiagnostic psychotherapy for youth.

Early indicators of response to transdiagnostic treatment of pediatric anxiety and depression.

Background: Pediatric anxiety and depression are prevalent, impairing, and highly comorbid. Available evidence-based treatments have an average response rate of 60%. One path to increasing response may be to identify likely non-responders midway through treatment to adjust course prior to completing an episode of care.

Autonomic reactivity during acute social stress: exploratory investigation of an interaction by threat interpretation bias and emotion regulation difficulties.

: This preliminary study examined the interactive influences of interpretation bias and emotion dysregulation in predicting autonomic stress response.: Participants ( = 72 college students; ages 18-25, 70% female, 47% Hispanic/Latinx), completed a performance-based assessment of threat interpretation bias and self-report measures of emotion regulation difficulties. Electrodermal activity (EDA; skin conductance level) was collected while participants completed a standardized psychosocial stressor task.

Reduction in avoidance mediates effects of brief behavioral therapy for pediatric anxiety and depression.

Brief behavioral therapy (BBT) is an efficacious transdiagnostic intervention for pediatric anxiety and depression that targets behavioral avoidance as a key mechanism. It is unknown if change in avoidance mediates treatment effects, as theorized. Data on avoidance at baseline and Week 16 were available on 52 youth (ages 8-16 years) from a randomized controlled trial (Weersing, Jeffreys, et al.

The role of threat appraisal and coping style in psychological response to the COVID-19 pandemic among university students.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to psychological distress among community samples and university students. Some coping behaviors and cognitive appraisals allow individuals to experience positive psychological growth amid such a crisis (Folkman et al. 1986).

Health Service Utilization Among Children and Adolescents with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Case-Control Study.

Objective: Trauma exposure is widely prevalent, with more than 60% of adolescents having experienced at least 1 traumatic event and a third of those at high risk to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Data are scarce and out of date on the services children and adolescents with PTSD receive, impeding efforts to improve care and outcomes. This study examines health service use for a large and diverse sample of children and adolescents with and without a diagnosis of PTSD.

Predictors of Early Postpartum Maternal Functioning Among Women Veterans.

Introduction: The perinatal period constitutes an important window of opportunity for optimizing healthy development of offspring but is heavily influenced by maternal mental health. Maternal pregnancy-related anxiety (PrA), depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been implicated in adverse outcomes for both mother and child. The current study examined whether psychopathology during pregnancy and postpartum was associated with greater experienced parenting stress and bonding difficulties in women veterans, who may be predisposed to develop psychopathology due to heightened risk of exposure to traumatic events.

Family based treatment of anxiety disorders: A review of the literature (2010-2019).

Anxiety disorders are the most common and impairing mental health problems across the lifespan. Familial factors are strongly implicated in the onset and maintenance of anxiety, but available evidence-based treatments are usually individual-focused. The aim of this review was to evaluate the current evidence base (2010-2019) of family based interventions addressing youth and adult anxiety and highlight findings comparing family based and individual-focused treatments.

Cognitive bias modification for threat interpretations: Impact on anxiety symptoms and stress reactivity.

Background: Cognitive bias modification for interpretations (CBM-I) is a computerized intervention that has received increasing attention in the last decade as a potential experimental intervention for anxiety. Initial CBM-I trials with clinical populations suggest the potential utility of this approach. However, most CBM-I experiments have been conducted with unaffected samples, few (one or two) training sessions, and have not examined transfer effects to anxiety-related constructs such as stress reactivity.

The association between current maternal psychological control, anxiety symptoms, and emotional regulatory processes in emerging adults.

Background And Objectives: High levels of psychological control (PC), the (intentional or unintentional) attempt by parents to control their child's emotional experience, have been associated with increased risk for anxiety in youth. However, little is known regarding the association between PC and anxiety in emerging adulthood, a developmental period marked by various life transitions and high risk for the onset of internalizing symptoms, or about the relation between current parental PC and emotional regulatory processes during this stage. The current study examined whether perceived maternal PC was significantly associated with anxiety symptoms and both objective (psychophysiological; respiratory sinus arrhythmia) and subjective (self-reported) emotion regulatory processes.