Negative Automatic Thoughts Research Articles

Comparing the Effectiveness of Cognitive Therapy Based on Mindfulness and Compassion Therapy on Automatic Negative Thoughts, Psychological Symptoms, Pain Intensity, and Quality of Life in Patients With Fibromyalgia

Background and Aim Fibromyalgia syndrome is a chronic disease that causes widespread musculoskeletal pain. It primarily affects women and negatively impacts many aspects of a person’s psychological and social life. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of cognitive therapy based on mindfulness and compassion therapy on automatic negative thoughts, psychological symptoms, pain intensity, and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome. Methods & Materials This research is a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design with two experimental and one control group. The statistical study population consisted of all individuals with fibromyalgia syndrome referred to Mehregan Pain Clinic in Mirdamad (District 3), Seyed Khandan Clinic (District 4), and Taleghani Hospital Pain Clinic (District 1) in Tehran City, Iran. Of them, 30 patients were randomly selected and divided into three groups of experimental 1, experimental 2, and control; each group will include 10 people. The instruments used in this study included the World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire (WHOQOL BREF), pain intensity questionnaire (PIS), psychological symptoms questionnaire (Anxiety, Stress and Depression [DASS]), and automatic negative thoughts (QNS). Ethical Considerations This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University (Code: IR.IAU.ARAK.REC.1400.005). Results The analysis of covariance showed the effectiveness of both cognitive therapies based on mindfulness and compassion therapy on four variables of pain intensity, psychological symptoms, automatic negative thoughts, and quality of life (P<0.05). Comparing the two intervention methods showed that both therapies had almost the same effect on pain intensity, psychological symptoms, and automatic negative thoughts (P<0.05) but the effectiveness of mindfulness intervention on the quality of life was significantly higher than compassion intervention (P<0.05). Conclusion The results indicate that cognitive therapy based on mindfulness and compassion therapy are suitable for people with fibromyalgia under appropriate treatment.

The Lived Experiences of Learning Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: a Qualitative Study of Psychiatry Residents.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the lived experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and needs of psychiatry residents learning cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Eight general psychiatry residents beginning their outpatient psychotherapy training in July 2020, answered open-ended questions about their experiences learning CBT in October 2020. The residents learned CBT through didactics, role-play, observation, video review, and individual and group supervision. Participants were asked to describe their experiences broadly, reflect on the simple and challenging aspects of learning, identify the most and least helpful learning modalities, and share thoughts or personal reflections activated through their journey. Written data were analyzed using Colaizzi's phenomenological methodology, including the extraction of significance statements and collapsing of meaning statements into key thematic clusters. Verification strategies were used to ensure the trustworthiness and credibility of data analysis. Participants found various learning modalities effective, most notably individual and group supervision. While rapport building and mood checks were least challenging, many found adhering to structure or implementation of advanced techniques to be the more arduous parts of learning. Patient progress tended to stimulate resident engagement, whereas incomplete action plans or lack of observable treatment gains led to some automatic negative thoughts. Many participants applied CBT techniques to themselves to address their own automatic thoughts, biases, or behavioral patterns. The results of this study offer valuable insight about learners' experiences of becoming a therapist that could help normalize residents' experiences and help educators guide residents through the learning process.

Depressive symptomatology and different dimensions of social support serially mediate the effect of negative automatic thoughts on suicidal ideation

Depressive symptomatology and different dimensions of social support serially mediate the effect of negative automatic thoughts on suicidal ideation

Formulation and validation of intervention approach for non-suicidal self-injury, emotion regulation difficulty, mother-daughter relationship and negative automatic thoughts in adolescent girls

Formulation and validation of intervention approach for non-suicidal self-injury, emotion regulation difficulty, mother-daughter relationship and negative automatic thoughts in adolescent girls

Mindfulness intervention improves executive functions of depressed individuals and their neural mechanism

<p indent="0mm">By 2030, depression is expected to become a global economic burden due to its serious effect on people’s physical and mental health. According to LeMoult and Gotlib’s cognitive theory of depression, individuals with depression have executive function defects, which lead to negative cognitive processing bias and increased use of non-adaptive emotional regulation strategies such as rumination. According to Beevers’ dual processing theory of cognitive vulnerability to depression, individuals with depression use more negative automatic processing and less reflective processing, which results in bad mood cycles. This review suggests that executive functions are closely related to reflective processing and that the improvement of executive functions provides depressed individuals with more cognitive resources for such processing. This is because the improvement of executive functions reduces the bias of negative cognitive processing and the negative automatic processing mentioned in the dual processing theory of cognitive vulnerability to depression. The decentralized mechanism of mindfulness can effectively improve executive functions, trigger reflective processing, particularly in depressed individuals, correct negative automatic thinking, and alleviate depressive symptoms. Depressive individuals have defects in working memory, cognitive flexibility, and response inhibition and maintain cognitive processing biases consistent with depressive mood. Therefore, executive function defects may be an important cognitive dispositional factor for individuals with depression. Mindfulness interventions can alleviate depressive symptoms and negative cognitive processing biases by improving executive functions. This review compared two studies published in <italic>Nature Reviews Neuroscience</italic> on the cognitive neural mechanisms of mindfulness and depression respectively, and then suggested that the intrinsic functional connectivity of the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, default mode network, and frontal limbic system is an important neural mechanism for mindfulness intervention’s effect on the executive function defects of depressed individuals. Specifically, mindfulness intervention can activate the anterior cingulate gyrus in depressed individuals and enhance the functional connection between the prefrontal lobe and anterior cingulate gyrus, which is the neural mechanism of attentional control in mindfulness intervention. Improvements in attentional control are conducive to the inhibition of depressed individuals’ responses to negative stimuli. Mindfulness interventions can effectively reduce the activation of the amygdala in depressed individuals and enhance the functional connection between the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, which is the neural mechanism for emotional regulation in depressed individuals. This can reduce attentional bias to negative stimuli and the feeling of negative emotions. Mindfulness interventions can also effectively reduce the activation level of the default mode network in depressed individuals and enhance the control of the central executive network, which is the neural mechanism that aids mindfulness in improving meta-awareness. Improvements in meta-awareness help depressed individuals reduce negative self-reference processing and rumination. Future research should first explore the interactions between the three components of executive functions in individuals with depression. The executive functions that are the most effective predictors of depression should also be explored. Next, the aspect of mindfulness intervention that has the largest effect on the executive functions of individuals with depression should be clarified, specifically, which executive functions of mindfulness intervention has the most obvious effect on depressed individuals—whether “Awareness” or “Acceptance” is the core component of the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions on individuals with depression. This should be proved by randomized dismantling trial. Finally, mindfulness intervention programs should be developed to improve the efficacy of depression treatment. “Acceptance” may be a key component of the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions for individuals with depression. Morita therapy can be integrated into the daily practice of mindfulness to improve individuals’ acceptance of negative events. Cognitive impairment in individuals with subclinical depression is not very severe. Thus, cognitive training can first improve the cognitive functions of individuals with subclinical depression; then, mindfulness interventions that increase the acceptance can consolidate cognitive functions and relieve depressive symptoms.

Psychophysiological stress response in SCUBA divers: The contribution of negative automatic thoughts and negative emotions

The research questions in this study were to examine the contribution of negative automatic thoughts and negative emotions, measured by two newly-constructed questionnaires, to psychophysiological stress responses among more experienced military and less experienced recreational divers. Further, we examined whether daily variations in cortisol levels could be attributed to the impact of negative thoughts/emotions rather than diving experience. Altogether 15 recreational and 14 military male divers participated in the dive wherein stress responses were measured by anxiety measures (DASS-21 and STAI) and cortisol salivary concentrations. The results of factor analysis and principal component analysis demonstrated acceptable construct validity and internal consistency of both questionanires. Recreational and military divers did not differ significantly in the proportion of negative thoughts and emotions, while recreational divers had significantly higher levels of cortisol release after awakening and immediately before/after diving, indicating their more intense stress responses. A significant interaction between daily variations in cortisol secretion and negative emotions indicated a greater importance of emotions in response to diving stress rather than diving experience. Accordingly, using a multiple regression analysis showed that more pre-diving negative emotions predicted higher levels of pre-diving anxiety and depression as well as more cortisol release. More negative thoughts predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms, while belonging to a group of recreational divers was a significant predictor of higher pre-diving anxiety. This study points to the importance of considering cognitive and emotional experiences, particularly in recreational divers, for the purpose of prevention of negative psychophysiological stress responses prior to diving.

The Relation between Negative Automatic Thoughts and Psychological Inflexibility in Schizophrenia.

Background: Schizophrenia is one of the most severe disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) spectrum. Negative automatic thoughts (NAT), cognitive fusion (CF), and experiential avoidance (EA), as part of psychological inflexibility (PI), can be considered important dysfunctional cognitive processes in schizophrenia. Methods: In the present study, two samples were included: a target group consisting of 41 people with schizophrenia (23 females; aged 44.98 ± 11.74), and a control group consisting of 40 individuals with end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) (27 males; aged 60.38 ± 9.14). Results: Differences were found between the two groups, with patients with schizophrenia showing an increased frequency of NAT, as well as higher levels of CF and EA (psychological inflexibility), compared to the control group. NAT were the mediator in the relation between the schizophrenia diagnosis and CF, as well as EA. Conclusion: Individuals with schizophrenia present a specific dysfunctional pattern of cognitive functioning, in which negative automatic thoughts represent a distinctive pathway to cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance.

Effects of Depression on Processing and Evaluation of Sexual Stimuli in Women

BackgroundSexual dysfunctions are commonly associated with depression by which women are particularly affected. AimIn the following study, we looked at which stage–early attention-related processes or later evaluation-related processes–of the processing of sexual stimuli deviations occur in depressed individuals. MethodsWe examined 96 women who either suffered from a major depressive disorder, or had recovered from it, and a healthy control group. The early level of attention processes was represented by reaction time tasks (dot probe, line orientation, picture categorization). In addition, implicit approach and avoidance behavior was tested by the Approach-Avoidance Task. Later evaluation of the visual material was determined with the help of a questionnaire for recording automatic negative thoughts regarding sexuality. OutcomesReaction times and explicit ratings as well as the Becks Depression Inventory (BDI II), the Trait Sexual Motivation Questionnaire (TSMQ), the Sexual Modes Questionnaire (SMQ) and a screening for sexual dysfunction were used. ResultsDepressed women did not differ significantly from healthy women in their attention processes and approach-avoidance behavior. However, there were clear differences in explicit assessment and automatic thoughts about sexual stimuli. Women who had recovered from depression lay between the 2 groups. Clinical ImplicationsThe results indicated that the therapy of sexual dysfunction in depressed patients should focus more on automatic thoughts than on attention processes. Strengths & LimitationsThis study is the first to experimentally research the attention processes of depression towards sexual stimuli. However, participants were only tested on one occasion so that change of attention processes and evaluation of sexual stimuli over the course of a depression could not be assessed. ConclusionOur novel findings demonstrate the role of attention processes in sexual dysfunctions of depressed women and suggest potential mechanisms that may underlie the observed correlation between depression and sexual dysfunction.Baranowski AM, Noll A-K, Golder S, et al. Effects of Depression on Processing and Evaluation of Sexual Stimuli in Women. J Sex Med 2022;19:441–451.

A pilot randomized controlled trial of the shogi-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy (S-CBT) preventive stress management program

BackgroundShogi is a traditional board game in Japan. A preventive stress management program based on Shogi-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy (S-CBT) was applied in the Japanese municipality of Kakogawa City. The study aimed to develop an S-CBT preventive stress management program for the elderly and determine its efficacy.MethodsThe participants were 67 elderly men with amateur-level Shogi skills. They were randomly assigned to either the S-CBT group (n = 33) or the waiting-list control group (n = 34). The S-CBT program was conducted over six 90-min sessions. The outcome measures were recorded using K6 instrument, the Japanese version of the abbreviated Lubben Social Network Scale, five items on cognitive behavioral functioning, and subjective well-being scale.Results and conclusionsThe dropout rates of the S-CBT group and waiting-list control groups were 36.4 and 44.1%, respectively. Effect sizes (Cohen’s d) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for each group. Domains that changed immediately after the S-CBT intervention were problem-solving skills, self-reinforcement, and negative automatic thoughts. Future research should promote mental and physical health through the design of intervention programs using familiar materials.Trial registrationUniversity Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN CTR) UMIN000036003.

Management of psychiatric disorders in patients with cancer.

Management of psychiatric disorders in patients with cancer.

The Effect of Abandonment Anxiety in College Students on Interpersonal Problems: The Mediation Effect of Negative Automatic Thoughts and Moderated Mediation Effect Unconditional Self-Acceptance

본 연구는 대학생의 유기불안이 대인관계문제에 미치는 영향에서 부정적 자동적 사고의 매개효과 와 부정적 자동적 사고가 대인관계문제에 미치는 영향에서 무조건적 자기수용의 조절효과 그리고 이러한 매개효과를 무조건적 자기수용이 조절하는 조절된 매개효과를 살펴보고자 하였다. 이를 위 해 전국 4년제 대학생 259명의 자료를 분석하였다. 연구 결과, 첫째, 주요 변인 간에 모두 유의미한 상관관계가 나타났다. 둘째, 유기불안이 대인관계문제에 미치는 영향을 부정적 자동적 사고가 부분 매개하였다. 셋째, 부정적 자동적 사고가 대인관계문제에 미치는 영향을 무조건적 자기수용이 조절 하였다. 넷째, 유기불안이 부정적 자동적 사고를 매개하여 대인관계문제에 미치는 영향을 무조건적 자기수용이 조절하는 조절된 매개효과가 나타났다. 연구 결과를 바탕으로 대학생의 대인관계문제 개입을 위한 시사점을 논의하였다.

Investigation of the relationship between the negative automatic thoughts of patients with schizophrenia and their levels of social functionality.

This study was carried out to investigate the relationship between the negative automatic thoughts of patients with schizophrenia and their levels of social functionality. This cross-sectional study was conducted 142 patients with schizophrenia. The data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Negative Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (NATQ) and Social Functioning Assessment Scale (SFAS). There was a strong negative correlation between the mean scores obtained from the overall NATQ and SFAS. In addition, negative automatic thoughts of the patients with schizophrenia had a negative effect of 47.2% on their social functionality. It was found that the patients had moderate levels negative automatic thoughts and social functionality; and that their negative automatic thoughts affected their social functionality negatively.

Physical Education, Art and Music Pre-Service Teachers' Life Satisfaction and Automatic Negative Thought Perception

The purpose of this study is to examine the life satisfaction and automatic negative thoughts perception of physical education, art and music pre-service teachers. Students (n=387) who training in physical education and sport, art work and music departments participated in this study. Results showed that physical education teacher candidates' life satisfaction scores were significantly higher than those of art and music teacher candidates. On the other hand, the automatic negative thought perceptions of the art and music pre-service teachers were found to be higher than the physical education teacher candidates. Life satisfaction levels of the physical education pre-service teachers are found to be high, negative thought levels were low. Current findings emphasize the importance of participating in sports activities in order to increase the life satisfaction levels of pre-service teachers and decrease their negative automatic thinking levels.

Stress events and Changes in Dysfunctional Attitudes and Automatic Thoughts Following Recovery from Depression in Inpatient Psychotherapy: Mediation Analyses with Longitudinal Data

BackgroundStressful event exposure, dysfunctional attitudes (DA), negative automatic thoughts (NAT), and declining positive automatic thoughts (PAT) have been associated with depressive relapse/recurrence. Few studies have investigated the course of these variables and their relevance for relapse/recurrence in remitted depression.MethodsFollowing successful inpatient treatment, in 39 remitted depressive patients, stressful events, DA, NAT, PAT, and depressive relapse/recurrence were assessed five times during a 16-month follow-up. Data were analyzed with mixed effect models, and mediation effects were tested.ResultsStressful events after discharge correlated with depressive relapse/recurrence. This association was mainly mediated by a stress-related decline of PAT within four months post discharge. Patients’ DA were relatively stable during the observation period and did not depend on stressful events, indicating DA as a risk trait for depressive relapse/recurrence. Mediation analyses revealed that independent of stress, DA were linked to depressive relapse/recurrence through more NAT.ConclusionOur findings suggest stressful events evoke relapse/recurrence in remitted depression through rapid deterioration of PAT after discharge from inpatient therapy. DA are expressed through NAT which additionally contribute to higher risk of depressive relapse/recurrence. Consequently, maintenance therapy requires techniques to promote the maintenance of PAT, and to effectively restructure DA and NAT.

Mental health in context: structural vulnerability and support in primary care.

In 2018, the British Medical Association drew attention to the increasing concern of GPs about the scale of mental health problems in the UK in light of insufficient resources.1 Due to the influence of social factors on mental health, the document highlights the importance of coordinating a public mental health response to address social determinants such as poverty, unemployment, housing, social environments, and relationships, and the symbiosis between physical and mental health.1 Three years on, the above issues have been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and its socioeconomic consequences, including poverty, isolation, and the political alienation of entire communities. These are known risk factors for the development of mental health problems.2 At present, structural factors rarely feature in assessment and treatment of mental health problems in the NHS. Instead, psychotropic prescriptions — and the risks associated with their use — increase year on year. Data from England indicate a 6.8% yearly increase in psychotropic prescriptions, with antidepressants increasing by 10% annually,3 and the number of antidepressant prescriptions has almost doubled over the past decade from 36 million in 2008 to 70.9 million in 2018.4 So why is this? The reasons are multifactorial but, we argue, chief among these is the ongoing conceptualisation of mental health within a biomedical model. New insights on the physiological basis of distress, and its impact on the brain and nervous system, are changing clinical practice. Brain structures such as the amygdala and the limbic system are key in our experience of emotion, memory, and autonomic function.5 The clinical application of this understanding is most apparent in the treatment of anxiety and selective memory resulting from traumatic experiences. Autonomic responses (for example, increased heart rate, dizziness, difficulty breathing), cognitive appraisal (for example, negative automatic thoughts, flashbacks), and ensuing emotions (for …

Patient reported self-help strategies and the perceived benefits for managing sub-threshold depressive symptoms: A nested qualitative study of Australian primary care attendees.

Subthreshold depression is common in primary care, but there is little information about the self-help strategies that patients use and the perceived benefits of these. This study sought to elicit the self-help strategies that primary care attendees identified as beneficial for the self-management of subthreshold depressive symptoms and the implications for general practitioners. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 14 people (April-May 2017) from the Target-D randomised controlled trial (RCT). Target-D investigated whether using a patient-centred clinical prediction tool and an e-health platform to match mental health management options to prognosis was beneficial for improving depressive symptoms at 3months compared to usual care. Interviews were thematically analysed to identify self-help strategies and their perceived benefits. Four overarching domains for the self-management strategies were identified: social, cognitive, behavioural and restorative. Interviewees reported using strategies across multiple domains, which included undertaking enjoyable, immersive activities, that provided relief from automatic negative thoughts and had a perceived cognitive benefit. Differences in the perceived sense of agency were noted around the self-regulation of mood, which indicated more explicit direction to patient-identified self-help management strategies by general practitioners for some may be of benefit in routine care. Some of the reported self-management strategies aligned with evidence-based approaches such as physical activity and mindfulness for mental health symptom management. These findings can inform low-intensity interventions within stepped care models for mental health in primary care, social prescribing models and, help to guide the management of patients by GPs for subthreshold depression.

Quality of Life in Adolescents with Primary Headache May be Associated with Anxiety, Depression, and Negative Automatic Thoughts

Quality of Life in Adolescents with Primary Headache May be Associated with Anxiety, Depression, and Negative Automatic Thoughts

The Effect of Children’s Negative Automatic Thoughts on Their Problematic Smartphone Use: The Moderating Effect of Weekend Family Rituals

Objectives: The prevalence of smartphone use among children raises concerns about the potential for problematic smartphone use. According to previous findings, it was reported that psychological factors affect children’s problematic smartphone use. However, cognitive factors affecting children’s problematic smartphone use have not been investigated enough. To find out how to mitigate and prevent their problematic smartphone use, the present study explores whether children’s negative automatic thoughts affect their problematic smartphone use. It also seeks to investigate the moderation effect of weekend family rituals on the relationship between children’s negative automatic thoughts and problematic smartphone use.Methods: The study participants included 274 fifth and sixth graders attending elementary schools in Seoul and Incheon, South Korea. Statistical analysis for the present study was conducted using SPSS 22.0 and PROCESS macro version 3.2.Results: The study found that children’s negative automatic thoughts are positively related to problematic smartphone use. In addition, children’s negative automatic thoughts are adversely related to weekend rituals, and weekends ritual are also negatively associated with children’s problematic smartphone use. Children’s negative automatic thoughts have an effect on their problematic smartphone use. It also found that weekend family rituals moderated the association between children’s negative automatic thoughts and their problematic smartphone use. That is, children who automatically perceive themselves negatively tend to be dependent on smartphones.Conclusion: Based on the results, this study suggests that it is necessary not only to design intervention programs for preventing children’s problematic smartphone use but also to support work and life balance so that families can create and maintain their weekend family rituals.

A Primer on Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modeling: the Case of Depression.

In this paper, we show how the methods of systematic reviewing and meta-analysis can be used in conjunction with structural equation modeling to summarize the results of studies in a way that will facilitate the theory development and testing needed to advance prevention science. We begin with a high-level overview of the considerations that researchers need to address when using meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) and then discuss a research project that brings together theoretically important cognitive constructs related to depression to (a) show how these constructs are related, (b) test the direct and indirect effects of dysfunctional attitudes on depression, and (c) test the effects of study-level moderating variables. Our results suggest that the indirect effect of dysfunctional attitudes (via negative automatic thinking) on depression is two and a half times larger than the direct effect of dysfunctional attitudes on depression. Of the three study-level moderators tested, only sample recruitment method (clinical vs general vs mixed) yielded different patterns of results. The primary difference observed was that the dysfunctional attitudes → automatic thoughts path was less strong for clinical samples than it was for general and mixed samples. These results illustrate how MASEM can be used to compare theoretically derived models and predictions resulting in a richer understanding of both the empirical results and the theories underlying them.

Increasing Graduation Rate: Academic Hardiness, Academic Locus of Control, Tolerance of Ambiguity, Students’ Engagement and Automatic Negative Thoughts

Increasing Graduation Rate: Academic Hardiness, Academic Locus of Control, Tolerance of Ambiguity, Students’ Engagement and Automatic Negative Thoughts