Cognitive Therapy and Research

Childhood exposure to parental threatening behaviors has been associated with a number of negative outcomes, including anxiety symptoms. However, research is lacking regarding the mechanisms that may explain these associations. One such mechanism may be cognitive biases, or more specifically, the degree to which individuals interpret neutral or ambiguous events as threatening (i.e., interpretive biases) and make negative judgments about their ability to cope with internal and external events (i.e., judgment biases). The purpose of this study was to examine the direct links between childhood exposure to parental threatening behaviors and anxiety symptoms in young adulthood, as well as the mediating role of cognitive biases in this association. Multiple mediator analyses in both normal (n = 643; mean age = 18.77 years, SD = 1.06; age range = 18–24; 69% women) and anxious groups (n = 152; mean age = 18.64 years, SD = 0.97; age range = 18–23; 80% women) revealed that childhood exposure to parental threatening behaviors significantly predicted current anxiety disorder symptoms. In both groups, this association was fully mediated by participants’ judgment biases. The mediated effect was significant after controlling for negative affectivity. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that childhood exposure to parental threatening behaviors may set the stage for the development of judgment biases, which, in turn, may increase the risk for anxiety symptoms. These findings highlight the potential utility of targeting judgment biases in interventions for anxiety-related problems.

The current study examines whether a particular negative cognitive style, Fear of Criticism and Rejection, a subscale of Sociotropy, mediates an association between perceived childhood emotional abuse and adult onset of major depression. The study was motivated by Rose and Abramson's theory that childhood emotional abuse may be particularly relevant to the development of adult cognitive risk for depression. The case–control sample used in the study (N = 50) was drawn from a larger case–control study examining adult cognitive styles and major depression. Childhood emotional abuse was assessed from retrospective reports using a structured interview. Consistent with expectations, Fear of Criticism and Rejection mediated an association between perceived childhood emotional abuse and major depression in adulthood.

Two studies examined the extent to which different cognitive assessment procedures yield similar data in pre-adolescent children. In Study 1, situationally anxious children reported their self-talk via think-aloud and verbal thought-listing procedures (N = 88). Half of the children reported their self-talk using both think-aloud and thought-listing while the remainder engaged in thought-listing only. Prior participation in think-aloud did not influence the self-talk subsequently reported by children during verbal thought-listing. Compared with thought-listing, more problem-solving (analytical) self-talk and less valenced self-talk was reported during think-aloud. In Study 2, 41 children reported their self-talk via both verbal thought-listing and video-mediated recall (own and other's perspective) procedures. Video-mediated recall generated self-talk of a similar valence to that obtained by thought-listing. More self-talk was generated when the children viewed their own perspective videotape compared with observer perspective videotape and thought-listing. While pre-adolescent children were able to respond to all three cognitive assessment methods, the self-talk produced was not identical. In choosing a cognitive assessment method, researchers and clinicians should be guided by the purpose of the assessment and the setting in which it occurs.

The role of problem-solving self-appraisal and negative life stress in hopelessness among college students was examined. Subjects (n =186) completed the Problem-Solving Inventory, the Life Experiences Survey, the Self-Rating Depression Scale, and the Hopelessness Scale. The results of a hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that problem-solving self-appraisal and its interaction with negative life stress are independent predictors of hopelessness beyond depressed mood. Results are discussed in terms of the implications for future research and treatment of hopelessness and suicidal behavior.

The present investigation examined the main and interactive effects of a nonclinical panic attack history and two different measures of distress tolerance (DT)—perceived (self-report) and behavioral (breath-holding duration)—in relation to the global and lower-order factors of anxiety sensitivity (AS). Results indicated that lower levels of perceived DT were significantly related to greater levels of global as well as all lower-order AS factors (physical, cognitive, and social concerns); however, lower levels of behavioral DT were not significantly related to the global or lower-order AS factors at the main effect level. The interaction between a nonclinical panic attack history and perceived DT was only significantly related to the AS-cognitive factor. Moreover, the interaction between a nonclinical panic attack history and behavioral DT was only significantly related to the AS-physical factor. The present findings suggest that DT may be an important factor to target among panic-vulnerable populations.

Cognitive models of mental contamination (feelings of dirtiness/washing behaviour that arise without direct contact with a contaminant) highlight the central role of perceptions of violation in the onset and maintenance of these feelings. Little research has been done to clarify violation-specific appraisals relevant to mental contamination. Perceptions of violation of one’s moral self-concept may represent one such appraisal domain. This experiment aimed to examine the impact of these appraisals on feelings of mental contamination. One hundred and fifty participants received false feedback that they scored high on a morality subscale of a bogus personality test. They then completed a writing task wherein their degree of moral self-violation was manipulated. They received a writing prompt corresponding to one of three randomly assigned conditions (violated self (VS), bolstered self (BS), general negative (GN)). Finally, participants completed measures of mental contamination. The manipulation was effective at violating participants’ moral self-concept. Those in the VS condition reported significantly higher levels of feelings of mental contamination than those in the BS or GN conditions. There were no significant differences between conditions regarding urges to wash. Findings highlight the relevance of moral self-violation in the understanding and treatment of mental contamination.

Research indicates that therapist competence in assigning homework may play a prominent role for outcome in cognitive therapy (CT) with various psychiatric disorders, including Cluster C personality disorders. Potentially cofounding factors need to be addressed though, and the present study examined to what extent therapist competence in (a) assigning homework and (b) agenda setting, as well as (c) the quality of the therapeutic alliance, contributes uniquely to a positive outcome in CT with cluster C personality disorders. Twenty-four patients receiving CT were taken from a previously published randomized controlled trial, and a residualized composite score of psychopathology/distress was used as outcome measure. The quality of the therapeutic alliance was rated by patients at session four, whereas therapist competence in assigning homework and agenda setting was assessed by independent raters in an early session (typically session six). Therapist competence in assigning homework was a strong predictor of outcome in CT, even when taking into account potentially confounding factors such as the quality of the therapeutic alliance and therapist competence in agenda setting. Structuring sessions to increase the benefits of homework assignments appear to be important in CT with cluster C personality disorders.