Psychologist veteran status as a predictor of veterans' willingness to engage in psychotherapy.

Many veterans experience difficulties with mental health and functioning, yet many do not seek treatment and dropout rates are high. A small body of literature suggests that veterans prefer to work with providers or peer support specialists who are also veterans. Research with trauma-exposed veterans suggests that some veterans prefer to work with female providers.

Predicting engagement in behaviors to reduce the spread of COVID-19: the roles of the health belief model and political party affiliation.

Efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 within the United States have been compromised by varying levels of engagement in preventive behaviors, such as mask wearing, social distancing and vaccine uptake. The purpose of this study was to evaluate potential predictors of both (1) engagement in behaviors aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19 and (2) intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19. It was hypothesized that Health Belief Model (HBM) constructs would predict each outcome.

The Role of Negative Affect in Differentiating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, and Their Comorbidity Among United States Veterans.

Following trauma exposure, two frequently co-occurring forms of psychopathology include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Although these diagnoses have been identified as distinct constructs, the proper classification of these disorders remains a challenge due to overlapping symptoms. Instead, systematically establishing higher- and lower-order personality traits associated with each diagnosis may avoid this confound and improve differential diagnosis.

The Future of Women in Psychological Science.

There has been extensive discussion about gender gaps in representation and career advancement in the sciences. However, psychological science itself has yet to be the focus of discussion or systematic review, despite our field's investment in questions of equity, status, well-being, gender bias, and gender disparities. In the present article, we consider 10 topics relevant for women's career advancement in psychological science.

Moderated mediation for exercise maintenance in pain and posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized trial.

This study utilizes the Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) experimental medicine approach to evaluate the effects of a 3-month, individually prescribed progressive exercise training program on neurobiological, cognitive and motivational mechanisms by which our exercise-training paradigm may foster exercise maintenance. We will investigate hypothesized relationships between exercise-training associated augmentation of neuropeptide Y (NPY) system function and improvements in self-regulation and reward sensitivity-cognitive control and motivational processes posited to promote self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation, which have been shown to predict exercise maintenance. This study will recruit Veterans with chronic low back pain and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Toward Reduced Burden in Evidence-Based Assessment of PTSD: A Machine Learning Study.

Structured diagnostic interviews involve significant respondent burden and clinician administration time. This study examined whether we can maintain diagnostic accuracy using fewer posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) assessment questions. Our study included 1,265 U.

The 20-year course of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among veterans.

Although numerous longitudinal studies have examined heterogeneity in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom course, the long-term course of the disorder remains poorly understood. This study sought to understand and predict long-term PTSD symptom course among a nationwide sample of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom veterans enrolled in Veterans Health Administration services. We assessed PTSD symptoms at 4 time points over approximately 4.

Reward Ameliorates Posttraumatic Stress Disorder-Related Impairment in Sustained Attention.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder is associated with impairments in a fundamental cognitive process important for a variety of social and occupational tasks. To date, however, the precise nature of these impairments and the posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms associated with them have not been well understood.

Methods: Using a well-characterized sample of returning United States military OEF/OIF/OND Veterans who varied in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, we employed a validated sustained attention paradigm designed to probe fluctuations across two attentional states characterized by prior research, including a peak state termed "in the zone" and a less efficient, more error-prone state termed "out of the zone.

PTSD symptoms are differentially associated with general distress and physiological arousal: Implications for the conceptualization and measurement of PTSD.

Background: The primary purpose of this study was to examine the place of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) vis-à-vis the external dimensions of general distress and physiological arousal.

Methods: Using data collected from veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (N = 1350), latent variable covariance structure modeling was employed to compare correlations of PTSD symptom clusters and individual PTSD symptoms with general distress and physiological arousal.

Results: Each PTSD symptom cluster, and 17 of 20 individual PTSD symptoms were more strongly associated with general distress than with physiological arousal.

Disrupted cortico-limbic connectivity during reward processing in remitted bipolar I disorder.

Objectives: Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with elevated reward sensitivity and persistent positive affect, yet the neural mechanisms underlying these patterns are not well understood. In the present study, we examined putative disruptions in communication within a well-known cortico-limbic reward circuit during reward processing as a potential contributing mechanism to these symptoms.

Methods: The present investigation employed a within- and between-subjects design utilizing a monetary and social incentive delay task among adults with bipolar disorder type I (BD; N = 24) and a healthy non-psychiatric control group (HC; N = 25) during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Perspectives on the conceptualization of the dissociative subtype of PTSD and implications for treatment.

A dissociative subtype of PTSD was added to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) to denote a distinct presentation of PTSD marked by symptoms of derealization and depersonalization. The subtype has brought renewed interest in the conceptualization of dissociation in PTSD, and raised questions about its treatment. We review the evidence for two models of PTSD-related dissociative symptoms and the treatment approaches that align with each.

Psychological flexibility mitigates effects of PTSD symptoms and negative urgency on aggressive behavior in trauma-exposed veterans.

Recent literature suggests that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms can interact with personality factors to predict externalizing behaviors. Engagement in externalizing behaviors such as substance abuse and aggressive behavior may, in turn, increase risk for further trauma exposure and a more chronic course of PTSD. In order to better understand how to intervene on this cycle, the current study aimed to identify factors that could explain risk for externalizing behaviors among trauma-exposed veterans.

Stress and reward processing in bipolar disorder: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Objectives: A link between negative life stress and the onset of mood episodes in bipolar disorder (BD) has been established, but processes underlying such a link remain unclear. Growing evidence suggests that stress can negatively affect reward processing and related neurobiological substrates, indicating that a dysregulated reward system may provide a partial explanation. The aim of this study was to test the impact of stress on reward-related neural functioning in BD.

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.

Elevated striatal reactivity across monetary and social rewards in bipolar I disorder.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with increased reactivity to rewards and heightened positive affectivity. It is less clear to what extent this heightened reward sensitivity is evident across contexts and what the associated neural mechanisms might be. The present investigation used both a monetary and social incentive delay task among adults with remitted BD Type I (n = 24) and a healthy nonpsychiatric control group (HC; n = 25) using fMRI.

Perceived life stress exposure modulates reward-related medial prefrontal cortex responses to acute stress in depression.

Introduction: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is often precipitated by life stress and growing evidence suggests that stress-induced alterations in reward processing may contribute to such risk. However, no human imaging studies have examined how recent life stress exposure modulates the neural systems that underlie reward processing in depressed and healthy individuals.

Methods: In this proof-of-concept study, 12 MDD and 10 psychiatrically healthy individuals were interviewed using the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (LEDS) to assess their perceived levels of recent acute and chronic life stress exposure.

Illness progression, recent stress, and morphometry of hippocampal subfields and medial prefrontal cortex in major depression.

Background: Longitudinal studies of illness progression in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) indicate that the onset of subsequent depressive episodes becomes increasingly decoupled from external stressors. A possible mechanism underlying this phenomenon is that multiple episodes induce long-lasting neurobiological changes that confer increased risk for recurrence. Prior morphometric studies have frequently reported volumetric reductions in patients with MDD--especially in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the hippocampus--but few studies have investigated whether these changes are exacerbated by prior episodes.

Boiling at a different degree: an investigation of trait and state anger in remitted bipolar I disorder.

Background: Elevated anger is a prominent clinical feature of bipolar disorder (BD). However, it is unclear whether this feature is characterized by elevated trait anger (i.e.

Blunted reward responsiveness in remitted depression.

Major depressive disorder has been associated with blunted responsiveness to rewards, but inconsistencies exist whether such abnormalities persist after complete remission. To address this issue, across two independent studies, 47 adults with remitted major depressive disorder (rMDD) and 37 healthy controls completed a Probabilistic Reward Task, which used a differential reinforcement schedule of social or monetary feedback to examine reward responsiveness (i.e.

Dopamine-related deficit in reward learning after catecholamine depletion in unmedicated, remitted subjects with bulimia nervosa.

Disturbances in reward processing have been implicated in bulimia nervosa (BN). Abnormalities in processing reward-related stimuli might be linked to dysfunctions of the catecholaminergic neurotransmitter system, but findings have been inconclusive. A powerful way to investigate the relationship between catecholaminergic function and behavior is to examine behavioral changes in response to experimental catecholamine depletion (CD).

Decreased cognitive control in response to negative information in patients with remitted depression: an event-related potential study.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with difficulty disengaging attention from emotionally negative information. Few studies have investigated whether euthymic individuals with a history of depression (remitted MDD [rMDD]) show similar deficits, and little is known about concomitant neurophysiological features of such deficits. To fill these gaps, we investigated cognitive control over emotional stimuli in participants with rMDD and controls without history of depression or psychopathology.

Varenicline as a smoking cessation aid in schizophrenia: effects on smoking behavior and reward sensitivity.

Rationale: Smoking rates are up to five times higher in people with schizophrenia than in the general population, placing these individuals at high risk for smoking-related health problems. Varenicline, an α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, is a promising aid for smoking cessation in this population. To maximize treatment efficacy while minimizing risks, it is critical to identify reliable predictors of positive response to varenicline in smokers with schizophrenia.

Emotional and physiological responses to normative and idiographic positive stimuli in bipolar disorder.

Background: Few studies have examined differences in emotional responding among distinct types of positive stimuli. This is important to understand both for individuals characterized by extreme positive mood (i.e.