Abstract
BackgroundExtant research supports causal roles of cognitive biases in stress regulation under experimental conditions. However, their contribution to psychological adjustment in the face of ecological major stressors has been largely unstudied.ObjectiveWe developed a novel online method for the ecological examination of attention and interpretation biases during major stress (ie, the COVID-19 lockdown in March/April 2020) and tested their relations with the use of emotion regulation strategies (ie, reappraisal and rumination) to account for individual differences in psychological adjustment to major COVID-19–related stressors (ie, low depression and anxiety, and high well-being and resilience).MethodsParticipants completed an online protocol evaluating the psychological impact of COVID-19–related stressors and the use of emotion regulation strategies in response to them, during the initial weeks of the lockdown of March/April 2020. They also completed a new online cognitive task designed to remotely assess attention and interpretation biases for negative information. The psychometric properties of the online cognitive bias assessments were very good, supporting their feasibility for ecological evaluation.ResultsStructural equation models showed that negative interpretation bias was a direct predictor of worst psychological adjustment (higher depression and anxiety, and lower well-being and resilience; χ29=7.57; root mean square error of approximation=0.000). Further, rumination mediated the influence of interpretation bias in anxiety (P=.045; 95% CI 0.03-3.25) and resilience (P=.001; 95% CI −6.34 to −1.65), whereas reappraisal acted as a mediator of the influence of both attention (P=.047; 95% CI −38.71 to −0.16) and interpretation biases (P=.04; 95% CI −5.25 to −0.12) in well-being.ConclusionsThis research highlights the relevance of individual processes of attention and interpretation during periods of adversity and identifies modifiable protective factors that can be targeted through online interventions.
Highlights
The occurrence of major stressors has a deep psychological impact on individuals in terms of both increased depression and anxiety symptoms [1,2], and reduced well-being [3]
This study aimed to provide an initial examination of the interplays among cognitive biases, emotion regulation processes, and outcomes of psychological adaptation to major stress, introducing a novel online method that allows for remote ecological assessment of attention and interpretation biases during daily life functioning
Single Married In a relationship Divorced/widower Educational level, n (%) Without studies Primary school High school University graduate Negative interpretation bias, mean (SD) Negative attention bias, mean (SD) Rumination level, mean (SD) Reappraisal level, mean (SD) Depression level, mean (SD) Anxiety level, mean (SD) Well-being level, mean (SD) Resilience level, mean (SD)
Summary
The occurrence of major stressors (eg, serious illnesses, loss of beloved ones, job loss, and economic difficulties) has a deep psychological impact on individuals in terms of both increased depression and anxiety symptoms [1,2], and reduced well-being [3]. Extant empirically supported “diathesis-stress” models [4] highlight how such a psychological impact would be the result of life stressors, in individuals who have pre-existing vulnerabilities. Among those vulnerabilities, cognitive models https://mental.jmir.org/2021/11/e30961 XSLFO RenderX. Extant research supports causal roles of cognitive biases in stress regulation under experimental conditions Their contribution to psychological adjustment in the face of ecological major stressors has been largely unstudied
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