Adaptive Cognitive Strategies Research Articles

The role of positive thinking in overcoming stress a cognitive-behavioural approach

This article discusses the role of positive thinking in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for treating psychological disorders. The relevance of the topic is due to the growing use of CBT in psychotherapeutic practice and the need for a better understanding of its effectiveness, including the role of positive thinking. This work highlights the importance of positive thinking in promoting mental health and well-being. It argues that positive thinking is a practical tool for developing adaptive cognitive strategies, rather than an unattainable ideal. In CBT, positive thinking is not just about replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, but is a component of a comprehensive approach to re-evaluating an individual's experience. Such an approach contributes to the formation of a more realistic and adaptive perception of oneself and the world. The main methods and techniques of CBT, including cognitive restructuring and behavioral experiments, utilize positive thinking as a tool for correcting destructive thoughts and behaviors. This article discusses different perspectives on the effectiveness of positive thinking in CBT, weighing the arguments for and against its potential limitations. It contributes to improving an individual's psychological well-being and developing psychological resilience, which enables more effective coping with life challenges and stresses. However, to achieve maximum effectiveness, the application of positive thinking must be closely integrated with a comprehensive treatment strategy that considers the individual needs and characteristics of each client. This approach requires a profound understanding of the mechanisms of cognitive distortions and their impact on a person's emotional state.

Perceived academic anxiety and procrastination among emergency nursing students: the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation

Abstract Aim Explore the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies used by nursing students between academic anxiety and procrastination. Design: A descriptive correlational design was used. Setting: This study was carried out in the faculty of nursing at the University of Alexandria. Sample: The participants in this study were all students enrolled in emergency nursing during the second semester of the academic year 2021–2022 and a convenience sampling of 654 nursing students. The Sobel test was used as a statistical method to determine the significance of a mediation effect by assessing whether the relationship between perceived academic anxiety and procrastination was significantly reduced when cognitive emotion regulation was included, using coefficients and standard errors from regression models to calculate the test statistic. Tools: Academic Anxiety Scale, Academic Procrastination Scale, and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire were used to collect data. Results The study found that 46.5% of students reported high anxiety levels, with 40.1% perceiving moderate anxiety and only 11.3% experiencing low anxiety. Moreover, 80.4% of nursing students showed moderate academic procrastination. There is a positive correlation between procrastination and academic anxiety, with Adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies mediating this relationship, according to the Sobel test. Conclusion Based on the results, it can be concluded that there is a complex causal and effect relationship between academic anxiety and procrastination. Nursing students may resort to academic procrastination as a means of coping. Therefore, reducing anxiety, correcting maladaptive behaviors, and enhancing adaptive cognitive and emotional regulation strategies could effectively reduce academic procrastination.

Saudi Interpreters’ Adaptive Cognitive Strategic Behaviors in Consecutive Interpretation

This study investigates the adaptive cognitive strategies used by Saudi interpreters in consecutive interpretation (CI) guided by Gile’s (2009) Effort Models. Using a structured questionnaire, insights were gathered from 102 Saudi interpreters, divided into undergraduate students and professional interpreters with varying levels of experience. The research focuses on how interpreters manage the selection of interpretation strategies across four phases of CI: listening, note-taking, note-decoding, and reformulating. Notable findings include the contrast between experienced professionals, who seldom rely on common sense, omitting, or paraphrasing, and trainees, who employ these strategies more frequently in response to unfamiliar topics. Professionals, regardless of experience, effectively use paraphrasing when faced with numerical complexities. When dealing with fast-speaking speakers, experienced professionals avoid omitting content, while trainees rely on this strategy. In conclusion, to manage concentration during long speeches, trainees prioritize attention to the source speech and use selective omission, while experienced professionals gravitate toward generalizing and summarizing approaches. This research highlights the influence of experience on strategy choice, aligning with Jääskeläinen’s (1996) claim that experienced translators allocate more cognitive resources to production strategies than novices. A key recommendation of this study is the need for specialized training for novice interpreters, particularly in strategy development, to handle various CI process challenges. Training focused on enhancing note-taking skills is vital, especially for trainees, as clear and understandable notes are crucial for success in the note-decoding and reformulating stages of CI.

Neuroplasticity in F16 fighter jet pilots.

Exposure to altered g-levels causes unusual sensorimotor demands that must be dealt with by the brain. This study aimed to investigate whether fighter pilots, who are exposed to frequent g-level transitions and high g-levels, show differential functional characteristics compared to matched controls, indicative of neuroplasticity. We acquired resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data to assess brain functional connectivity (FC) changes with increasing flight experience in pilots and to assess differences in FC between pilots and controls. We performed whole-brain exploratory and region-of-interest (ROI) analyses, with the right parietal operculum 2 (OP2) and the right angular gyrus (AG) as ROIs. Our results show positive correlations with flight experience in the left inferior and right middle frontal gyri, and in the right temporal pole. Negative correlations were observed in primary sensorimotor regions. We found decreased whole-brain functional connectivity of the left inferior frontal gyrus in fighter pilots compared to controls and this cluster showed decreased functional connectivity with the medial superior frontal gyrus. Functional connectivity increased between the right parietal operculum 2 and the left visual cortex, and between the right and left angular gyrus in pilots compared to controls. These findings suggest altered motor, vestibular, and multisensory processing in the brains of fighter pilots, possibly reflecting coping strategies to altered sensorimotor demands during flight. Altered functional connectivity in frontal areas may reflect adaptive cognitive strategies to cope with challenging conditions during flight. These findings provide novel insights into brain functional characteristics of fighter pilots, which may be of interest to humans traveling to space.

Web-Based Mind-Body Tactical Resilience Training Program for First Responders: Pre-Post Study Assessing Feasibility, Acceptability, and Usability.

First responders report elevated rates of mental disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet many are reluctant to seek care. Preventative resilience training programs attempt to proactively address this issue, and there is evidence showing promise for programs targeting cognitive processes. However, these programs rarely address the physical health conditions associated with PTSD. There is emerging evidence of mind-body exercise training improving PTSD symptoms as well as its associated physical health symptoms. However, the feasibility and acceptability of delivering a web-based mind-body resilience training among first responders are not yet known. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of a web-based mind-body tactical resilience training program designed for first responders. In addition, we explored the preliminary effectiveness of the training program on mental health outcomes, adaptive cognitive strategies, and work productivity. A total of 42 first responders based in the United States enrolled in the web-based training program. Participants were administered web-based surveys before enrolling in the 6-week web-based program and at the end of the program. The primary outcomes of feasibility were measured using the number of training hours, program adherence rates, and self-reported data on frequency of practice. Acceptability and usability were measured using self-reported data. Secondary outcomes were symptoms of PTSD, psychological distress, emotion regulation, stress mindset, psychological preparedness, and work performance. Overall, the training program was feasible based on the median number of training hours spent on the web-based program (7.57 hours out of an expected total of 6 to 9 hours), and 55% (23/42) of the enrolled participants completed more than half of the program. Although acceptability, usability, and frequency of practice were rated as high, this was based on only 29% (12/42) of the respondents who provided follow-up data. Secondary outcomes showed a significant improvement in the adaptive cognitive strategy of the stress mindset, with a mean difference of -5.42 (SD 4.81; 95% CI -8.475 to -2.358; t11=-3.898; P=.002). All other secondary outcomes were not significant. However, the secondary outcomes were exploratory only, and this study was neither designed nor powered to adequately assess efficacy. These findings suggest that a mind-body tactical resilience training program delivered in a web-based format is feasible and acceptable among first responders; however, further refinements may be required to improve adherence rates. Further research using a larger, more rigorous trial design is warranted to examine the effectiveness of this type of training as a possible prevention or treatment strategy for this population.

Cognitive Adaptation to Stress and Trauma: The Role of Self-Appraised Problem-Solving in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Background Cognitive appraisals play a fundamental role in mental health outcomes following exposure to trauma. Appraisals influence emotional reactions, coping responses, and adaptation to stress and represent a modifiable factor that can serve as a central focus for intervention. Most studies have primarily focused on the role of dysfunctional cognitions in the persistence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study, we extend research in this area by investigating the role of problem-solving appraisal, an adaptive cognitive strategy, in the association between stress and PTSD. Methods A total of 322 participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale, the problem-solving inventory (PSI), and the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5. Descriptive statistics were generated, and intercorrelations and mediation analysis were performed. Results Problem-solving confidence and personal control partially mediated the relationship between stress and PTSD. However, contrary to existing research, the approach-avoidance style, which is a subscale of the PSI, did not mediate the relationship between these variables. Conclusion Interventions for PTSD should incorporate a complementary focus on developing and increasing adaptive cognitions pertaining to personal control and confidence in problem-solving abilities. This could potentially form part of a broader process of rebuilding the individual's cognitive worldview following exposure to trauma.

Bridging people and perspectives: General and language-specific social network structure predict mentalizing across diverse sociolinguistic contexts.

Mentalizing, or reasoning about others' mental states, is a dynamic social cognitive process that aids in communication and navigating complex social interactions. We examined whether exposure to diverse perspectives, afforded by occupying influential social network positions, predicted bilingual adults' performances on a behavioral mentalizing rating task in regions of high and low linguistic diversity. We calculated the degree to which respondents' social network position generally bridged unconnected others (i.e., general betweenness) and specifically bridged language communities (i.e., language betweenness). General betweenness predicted mentalizing performance regardless of region, whereas language betweenness only predicted mentalizing in a high linguistic diversity region, where bilingualism is ubiquitous and mentalizing to resolve perspective differences on the basis of language may be an adaptive cognitive strategy. These results indicate that human cognition is sensitive to social context and adaptive to the sociolinguistic demands of the broader environment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Mental health mobile application self-help for adolescents exhibiting psychological distress: A single case experimental design.

The present demand for child and adolescent mental health services exceeds the capacity for service provision. Greater research is required to understand the utility of accessible self-help interventions, such as mobile apps. This study sought to investigate whether use of a mental health app, underpinned by CBT, led to changes in psychological distress amongst adolescents. Mechanisms of change were examined, specifically whether changes are attributable to cognitive strategies. This study utilised a multiple-baseline single-case experimental design, tracking variables across baseline and intervention phases. Surveys assessing participant experience were also administered. Five participants with moderate-to-severe levels of psychological distress engaged with a CBT-based app over five weeks. Participants were recruited from both a well-being service and the general population. Supplementary weekly calls to participants offered clarification of app content. A small overall effect of the intervention of psychological distress was evident; however, outcomes were dependent on the analysis conducted. The intervention appeared to promote an increase in use of adaptive cognitive strategies but not negative thinking styles. The CBT app did not promote changes in participant well-being. Participant feedback highlighted practical challenges of utilising the app. The clinical benefits of app-based CBT were small, and a range of barriers to engagement were recognised. While further research is required, caution should be exercised in the interpretation of studies reporting on app effectiveness.

Identification of Cognitive Strategies Used by Cancer Patients as a Basis for Psychological Self-Support during Oncological Therapy.

Background: Cancer diagnosis is associated not only with health problems but also with psycho-social disability. Both medical and non-medical problems have impacts on cancer patients’ quality of life. The aim of the study was the identification of cognitive emotion regulation strategies among cancer patients during radiotherapy. Methods: The study was conducted on 78 radically treated cancer patients (median 63 years). A Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) was used. Results: Cancer patients mostly used acceptance, positive refocusing, putting into perspective and refocus on planning. Age was inversely correlated with refocus on planning. Patients with higher levels of education tended to use rumination and catastrophizing less frequently (p < 0.05). Adaptive cognitive strategies based on putting into perspective were more frequently used by professionally active patients (p < 0.05). Patients who lived in cities used positive refocusing and putting into perspective significantly often and patients who lived in villages more frequently used catastrophizing (p < 0.05). Among lung cancer patients, catastrophizing and rumination were popular (p < 0.05) and breast cancer patients rarely used non-adaptive cognitive strategies. Conclusion: Cancer patients tended to use adaptive cognitive strategies. Personalized psychological support should be focused on lung cancer patients and older, less educated, unemployed individuals and people who lived in the countryside.

In search of convergent regional brain abnormality in cognitive emotion regulation: A transdiagnostic neuroimaging meta-analysis.

Ineffective use of adaptive cognitive strategies (e.g., reappraisal) to regulate emotional states is often reported in a wide variety of psychiatric disorders, suggesting a common characteristic across different diagnostic categories. However, the extent of shared neurobiological impairments is incompletely understood. This study, therefore, aimed to identify the transdiagnostic neural signature of disturbed reappraisal using the coordinate‐based meta‐analysis (CBMA) approach. Following the best‐practice guidelines for conducting neuroimaging meta‐analyses, we systematically searched PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science databases and tracked the references. Out of 1,608 identified publications, 32 whole‐brain neuroimaging studies were retrieved that compared brain activation in patients with psychiatric disorders and healthy controls during a reappraisal task. Then, the reported peak coordinates of group comparisons were extracted and several activation likelihood estimation (ALE) analyses were performed at three hierarchical levels to identify the potential spatial convergence: the global level (i.e., the pooled analysis and the analyses of increased/decreased activations), the experimental‐contrast level (i.e., the analyses of grouped data based on the regulation goal, stimulus valence, and instruction rule) and the disorder‐group level (i.e., the analyses across the experimental‐contrast level focused on increasing homogeneity of disorders). Surprisingly, none of our analyses provided significant convergent findings. This CBMA indicates a lack of transdiagnostic convergent regional abnormality related to reappraisal task, probably due to the complex nature of cognitive emotion regulation, heterogeneity of clinical populations, and/or experimental and statistical flexibility of individual studies.

The study of perception bias toward affect emoticon on SNS among individuals with emotion dysregulation

ABSTRACT This study investigated the perception bias on affective emoticons in individuals with emotion dysregulation and a maladaptive regulation strategy. A total of 289 students from the university completed 1) the Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire, including both adaptive and maladaptive cognitive emotional strategies, 2) the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, 3) an emoticon rating in terms of perception intensity, based on 6 basic emotions. Twenty-six emoticons from KakaoTalk, a popular messenger application in South Korea, were used after arousal whereupon valence ratings were obtained. The results revealed that individuals with emotion dysregulation significantly displayed stronger perception to ambiguous affect emoticons in anger and fear emotions, as compared to the control. These findings suggest that individuals with emotion dysregulation may be more influenced by negative affect stimuli which then leads to daily negative affect bias.

Ключевые проблемы исследования алекситимии и ее взаимосвязь с когнитивными стратегиями регуляции эмоций, эластичностью копинга и эмоциональными нарушениями

The article discusses the ideas concerning the multidimensionality of the alexithymia construct and the problems of alexithymia studies. The relationship of various alexithymic traits with cognitive emotion regulation (ER), coping flexibility (CF) and psycho-emotional symptomatology was studied. The participants (N=109, 19—34 years old, 82.6% women) filled out the following questionnaires: the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Flexibility of Coping with Stress Questionnaire, and the Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire for assessing distress, depression, anxiety, and somatization. Young people with type III alexithymia and those with no alexithymia are characterized by favorable cognitive ER and CF. The opposite tendency is characteristic for individuals with alexithymia type I and II. High emotional arousability and low cognitive emotional processing ability determine low adaptiveness and vulnerability to emotional disorders. Low cognitive awareness of emotions contributes to the diminishing use of adaptive cognitive ER strategies and leads to a decrease in CF. Low emotional arousability contributes to a high CF and, along with concrete thinking, reduces the use of maladaptive ER strategies.

Changes in Identification of Possible Pain Coping Strategies by People with Osteoarthritis who Complete Web-based Pain Coping Skills Training.

We previously demonstrated that automated, Web-based pain coping skills training (PCST) can reduce osteoarthritis pain. The present secondary analyses examined whether this program also changed coping strategies participants identified for use in hypothetical pain-related situations. People with hip/knee osteoarthritis (n=107) were randomized to Web-based PCST or standard care control. At baseline and post-intervention, they reported their pain severity and impairment, then completed a task in which they described how they would cope with pain in four hypothetical pain-related situations, also reporting their perceived risk for pain and self-efficacy for managing it. We coded the generated coping strategies into counts of adaptive behavioral, maladaptive behavioral, adaptive cognitive, and discrete adaptive coping strategies (coping repertoire). Compared to the control arm, Web-based PCST decreased the number of maladaptive behavioral strategies generated (p=0.002) while increasing the number of adaptive behavioral strategies generated (p=0.006), likelihood of generating at least one adaptive cognitive strategy (p=0.01), and the size of participants' coping repertoire (p=0.009). Several of these changes were associated with changes in pain outcomes (ps=0.01 to 0.65). Web-based PCST also reduced perceived risk for pain in the situations (p=0.03) and increased self-efficacy for avoiding pain in similar situations (p<0.001). Salutary changes found in this study appear to reflect intervention-concordant learning.

More habitual physical activity is linked to the use of specific, more adaptive cognitive reappraisal strategies in dealing with stressful events.

Physical activity may improve stress resilience and well‐being. However, specific links to individuals' coping abilities with stressful events are sparse. This study tested whether individuals reporting more physical activity in daily life showed a higher capacity for cognitive reappraisal in dealing with potential stressors. Ninety‐eight participants reported their regular physical activity in the Freiburger Questionnaire on Physical Activity and completed a maximum performance test of their inventiveness in generating reappraisals for situations depicting real‐life stressors. The latter provides scores for overall cognitive reappraisal capacity (quantity of ideas) and preference for specific cognitive reappraisal strategies (quality of ideas; positive reinterpretation; problem‐oriented, de‐emphasizing reappraisals). Additionally, participants' anxious and depressive dispositions and general creative abilities were assessed. Results showed no association between time spent on physical activities per week and total quantity of generated reappraisal ideas. However, a higher degree of physical activity was specifically linked to a greater relative preference for the reappraisal strategy of positive reinterpretation. Opposite associations emerged for the strategy of de‐emphasizing reappraisals. The findings support the notion of more adaptive cognitive reappraisal use in more physically active individuals and may advance research on interrelationships between physical activity and cognitive and affective functions implicated in stress management.

Emotion dysregulation in adults suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a comparison with borderline personality disorder (BPD)

BackgroundEmotional dysregulation (ED) is now considered as an important symptom of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is believed to have a considerable impact on the severity of the disorder, one’s global functioning, and the prognosis. Our research aimed to evaluate and compare ED and cognitive emotional regulation strategies between ADHD and borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients.MethodsFour hundred six French-speaking outpatients (N = 279 ADHD, N = 70 BPD, N = 60 BPD + ADHD) were assessed with the Emotion Reactivity Scale (ERS), the Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), The Basic Empathy Scale (BES-A), the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ARSV-v1.1) and the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). ADHD, BPD and comorbid patients were compared with each other and with samples of controls extracted from already published data.ResultsADHD patients, although having higher ED than samples derived from the general population, had less ED, better control over their emotions with higher use of adaptive cognitive strategies and lesser use of non-adaptive strategies than BPD patients. However, ADHD subjects had similar scores as BPD subjects when looking at difficulties in perceiving self and others. ED generated considerable distress in all groups and was also positively associated with ADHD symptomatology. ADHD patients with comorbid BPD had the highest scores of ED.ConclusionsOur results suggest that there may be similarly inefficient cognitive emotional regulation skills leading to ED in both disorders (ADHD and BPD). However, ADHD patients showed a higher use of adaptive cognitive emotional strategies and a lower level of ED than BPD patients.

How to Differentiate Generalized Anxiety Disorder from Worry: The Role of Cognitive Strategies

The aim of the current study was to compare adults with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), high worriers and healthy control adults in terms of cognitive variables. A total of 125 participants, including 32 people with GAD, 43 high worriers and 50 healthy control people, completed questionnaires assessing cognitive avoidance strategies, adaptive and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and cognitive fusion. We found that people with GAD and high worriers scored significantly higher on self-blame, rumination, catastrophizing, blaming others, and avoidance of threatening stimuli. They also scored significantly lower on positive refocusing in comparison to the healthy control group. The GAD group significantly scored higher in rumination and avoidance of threatening stimuli and scored significantly lower in positive refocusing, and positive reappraisal in comparison to the high worriers group. These results suggested that individuals with GAD and high worriers, in comparison to healthy control people, and individuals with GAD, in comparison to high worriers, use more maladaptive and less adaptive cognitive strategies. The results of this study could help the researchers better understand some of the cognitive strategies involved in GAD and high worriers and pay more attention to these cognitive variables.

The use of the Adaptive and the Maladaptive Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies by Nurses Student in Morocco Facing to the Patient Death in a Clinical Setting

The purpose of this study is to describe the adaptive and the maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies used by nurse’s student having experienced the death of a patient in a clinical setting. The study was conducted in the Institute of Nursing and Technical Health of Rabat in Morocco. To carry out this study, 64 nurses student from license cycle have recruited (56,2% female, 43,8% male). 37,5% nurses student are from semester two and 62,5% are from the final semester (S6). The mean age is 20,33±1,67. The tool used to conduct this study is the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies Questionnaire. For the all group, the students use less the adaptive cognitive regulation strategies. However we could say that the use of maladptaive cognitive emotion regulation strategies is in the norms. There was significant difference between males and females in terms of catastrophizing (p&lt;0,001), self-blame (p=0,01), rumination (p=0,04) with a high scores among females. Compared to the nurses student from the semester two, the nurses student from the final semester had law self-blame, law catastrophizing, law rumination, and high positive refocusing. The study shows that, facing to the death, nurses student underutilized the adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. The use of the maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies is in the norms. However, significant differences related to the gender and to the study level were observed. These results show the great interest of intervention to promote the cognitive emotion regulation strategies while taking into account the gender approach. Other studies are also essential to deepen this aspect to see the impact of its strategies on nurses students' psychological health as well as on their performance.

Humorous cognitive reappraisal: More benign humour and less "dark" humour is affiliated with more adaptive cognitive reappraisal strategies.

The capacity to find humorous perspectives in aversive situations may outline a helpful strategy in the context of cognitive reappraisal. Yet, research suggested that some people produce more adaptive humour than others. At the same time, not all forms of cognitive reinterpretation seem to be unequivocally beneficial. The present study aimed to investigate specific cognitive reappraisal strategies that individuals employ in humorous reappraisal of adverse events. In a sample of 95 participants, the use of cognitive reappraisal sub-strategies was assessed in a behavioural test in which participants were required to generate a series of humorous reappraisals of self-relevant, threatening events. These reappraisal sub-strategies (three positive reinterpretation strategies, three de-emphasising strategies) were then related to the habitual use of different kinds of humour as well as the broader DSM-5 personality trait domains and well-being in terms of depressive experiences, assessed by self-report questionnaires. While no robust relationships were found for reappraisal strategies based on de-emphasising, sub-strategies within the positive reinterpretation category showed specific and contrasting associations with the examined traits. Findings indicated that the ability to produce humour is only linked to a favourable pattern of reappraisal strategies when manifested in benign forms of humour. Specific relations also emerged for the broader personality traits. The study suggests that some characteristics that advance the use of benign humour also benefit adaptive emotion regulation. The opposite seems to be true for malicious, or "dark" humour. The introduced behavioural approach to the analysis of humorous cognitive reappraisal may prove useful also in future related research.

The roles of cognitive avoidance, rumination and negative affect in the association between abusive supervision in the workplace and non-clinical paranoia in a sample of workers working in France

This study examined the relationship between abusive supervision and non-clinical paranoia and explored which cognitive mechanisms are mediating this association (i.e. rumination, cognitive avoidance and negative affect). A sample of two hundred and five French-speaking workers currently in employment in France was recruited to fill in a battery of online questionnaires comprising of the French adaptations of the Abusive Supervision Scale, the State Social Paranoia Scales, the Depression and Anxiety and Stress Scales, the Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire and the Mini-Cambridge Exeter Repetitive Thought Scale. Mediation analyses showed that the experience of supervisory abuse directly influences state paranoia, however, there were significant mediation effects. Abusive supervision impacted on cognitive avoidance that led to more rumination, which in its turn increased negative affect and this increased state paranoia. Rumination impacted on state paranoia but through the effect of negative affect only. This study showed that abusive supervision works together with cognitive and affective factors to impact on non-clinical paranoia. It is recommended that Cognitive and Behavioural therapy (CBT) is tailored to help workers to cope with experiences of supervisory abuse and associated paranoid thoughts by focusing on replacing rumination and cognitive avoidance strategies for more adaptive cognitive strategies and on how to manage depression.

Learning to Cope: A CBT Evaluation Exploring Self-Reported Changes in Coping with Anxiety Among School Children Aged 5–7 Years

This study examined the effects of a school-based cognitive-behavioural group intervention for anxiety in young children, Get Lost Mr Scary, on child self-reported anxiety and coping skills. Participants included 65 children (Mage = 6.50 years, SDage = 0.75) drawn from 13 public primary schools located in Western Sydney, Australia. The children participated in seven weekly 1-hour Get Lost Mr Scary sessions, and their parents attended three information sessions. The pictorial semistructured Child Anxiety and Coping Interview (CACI) was used to elicit the children's self-report of their anxiety symptoms, emotions, coping strategies, and coping efficacy before and after the 7-week intervention. Although children rated their maladaptive coping strategies as helpful, the postintervention results indicated a significant decrease in the use of maladaptive strategies such as behavioural avoidance and an increase in adaptive cognitive strategies, particularly cognitive restructuring. Consistent with parent and teacher reports, child self-reports indicated a significant reduction in anxiety and negative emotional distress. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed.