Maximizing expectancy violation and exposure outcomes in patients with PTSD.

It has been proposed that maximizing expectancy violation enhances the efficacy of exposure therapy. The clinical utility of expectancy violation remains unclear and it has not yet been studied in PTSD. We aimed to test whether explicitly focusing on expectancy violation leads to superior exposure outcomes.

Chronotype, sleep quality, depression and pre-sleep rumination: A diary and actigraphy study.

Eveningness has been associated with both disturbed sleep and depression. It is unclear, however, if deprived sleep explains evening types' vulnerability to depression. The role of pre-sleep rumination in these associations also remains understudied.

Working alliance in exposure-based treatments of posttraumatic stress disorder related to childhood abuse.

Objectives: Working alliance is considered an important determinant of outcome of psychotherapy. Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following childhood abuse (CA-PTSD) may have challenges in building interpersonal relationships, including working alliance. Phase-based treatment provides an opportunity to strengthen alliance prior to trauma-focused treatment.

Distress variability during exposure therapy and its relationship with PTSD symptom decline.

Background And Objectives: Inhibitory Learning Theory (ILT) framework implies that in-session distress variability may promote extinction learning and thereby enhance exposure therapy efficacy. Thus far, research has mainly focused on in-session distress reduction. The aim of the current study was to assess whether in-session distress variability predicts next session PTSD symptom decline in PTSD patients receiving prolonged exposure (PE).

"Nobody Here Likes Her"-The Impact of Parental Verbal Threat Information on Children's Fear of Strangers.

Parental verbal threat (vs. safety) information about strangers may induce fears of these strangers in adolescents. In this multi-method experimental study, utilizing a within-subject design, parents provided standardized verbal threat or safety information to their offspring (N = 77, M = 11.

The Role of Parental Verbal Threat Information in Children's Fear Acquisition: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Children can acquire fears of novel stimuli as a result of listening to parental verbal threat information about these stimuli (i.e., instructional learning).

Impact of three variants of prolonged exposure therapy on comorbid diagnoses in patients with childhood abuse-related PTSD.

Recent studies indicated that Prolonged Exposure (PE) is safe and effective for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is unclear whether PE also leads to a reduction in comorbid diagnoses. Data from a large randomized controlled trial ( = 149) on the effects of three variants of PE for PTSD were used.

Parent to Offspring Fear Transmission via Modeling in Early Life: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Infants can acquire fears vicariously by observing parents' fearful reactions to novel stimuli in everyday situations (i.e., modeling).

Exposure-based treatments for childhood abuse-related post-traumatic stress disorder in adults: a health-economic evaluation.

Prolonged exposure (PE) is an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study aimed to analyse the cost-effectiveness of three exposure-based treatments in patients with childhood abuse-related PTSD. A net-benefit analysis was conducted alongside a pragmatic randomized controlled trial with participants (= 149) randomized to three conditions: PE (48), intensified PE (i-PE, = 51), and phase-based PE [Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) + PE, = 50].

"Covid-19 is dangerous": The role of parental verbal threat information on children's fear of Covid-19.

Introduction: Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that the effect of parental verbal threat information on the offspring's fear acquisition of novel stimuli may be causal. The current study investigated this verbal fear acquisition pathway from parents to children in the unique context of Covid-19 as a novel environmental threat for parents and children.

Methods: Using an online cross-sectional survey, we collected data about fear of Covid-19, parent-child communication, parental anxiety, and child temperament, in the period between June 11th 2020 and May 28th 2021.

Temporal Relationship Between Change in Subjective Distress and PTSD Symptom Decrease During Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

There is growing evidence that change in distress is an indicator of change during Prolonged Exposure (PE) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, temporal sequencing studies investigating whether change in distress precedes PTSD symptom decline are lacking. These studies are essential since the timeline between indicators of change and treatment outcome is a key assumption for mediation.

Psychological risk factors and the course of depression and anxiety disorders: A review of 15 years NESDA research.

Background: The Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA; N=2981) is an ongoing longitudinal, multi-site, naturalistic, cohort study examining the etiology, course, and consequences of depression and anxiety. In this article we synthesize and evaluate fifteen years of NESDA research on prominent psychological risk factors for the onset, persistence, recurrence, and comorbidity of affective disorders.

Methods: A narrative review of 62 NESDA articles examining the specificity and predictive value of neuroticism, behavioral inhibition, repetitive negative thinking, experiential avoidance, cognitive reactivity, locus of control, (implicit) self-esteem, (implicit) disorder-specific self-associations, and attentional bias for the course of affective disorders.

Personalization of Treatment for Patients with Childhood-Abuse-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Background: Differences in effectiveness among treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are typically small. Given the variation between patients in treatment response, personalization offers a new way to improve treatment outcomes. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of psychotherapy outcome in PTSD and to combine these into a personalized advantage index (PAI).

Impact of review method on the conclusions of clinical reviews: A systematic review on dietary interventions in depression as a case in point.

Background: The recommendations of experts who write review articles are a critical determinant of the adaptation of new treatments by clinicians. Several types of reviews exist (narrative, systematic, meta-analytic), and some of these are more vulnerable to researcher bias than others. Recently, the interest in nutritional interventions in psychiatry has increased and many experts, who are often active researchers on this topic, have come to strong conclusions about the benefits of a healthy diet on depression.

EEG Theta/Beta Ratio Neurofeedback Training in Healthy Females.

A growing number of studies suggest that EEG theta/beta ratio (TBR) is inversely related to executive cognitive control. Neurofeedback training aimed at reducing TBR (TBR NFT) might provide a tool to study causality in this relation and might enhance human performance. To investigate whether TBR NFT reduces TBR in healthy participants.

Temporal stability of symptoms of affective disorders, cognitive vulnerability and personality over time.

Background: Signs and symptoms of psychopathology can be chronic but are generally regarded as less stable over time than markers of cognitive vulnerability and personality. Some findings suggest that these differences in temporal stability are modest in size but a rigorous examination across concepts is lacking. The current study investigated the temporal stability of affective symptoms, cognitive vulnerability markers and personality traits at various assessments over nine years.

Electroencephalography theta/beta ratio covaries with mind wandering and functional connectivity in the executive control network.

The ratio between frontal resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) theta and beta frequency power (theta/beta ratio, TBR) is negatively related to cognitive control. It is unknown which psychological processes during resting state account for this. Increased theta and reduced beta power are observed during mind wandering (MW), and MW is related to decreased connectivity in the executive control network (ECN) and increased connectivity in the default mode network (DMN).