Frequency Of Intrusive Thoughts Research Articles

The aversiveness of intrusiveness: Evidence from involuntary musical imagery.

Intrusive thoughts are characterized by a sense of intrusiveness of foreign entry into cognition. While not always consisting of negative content, intrusive thoughts are almost solely investigated in that context. Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI) offers a promising alternative, as it is a type of involuntary cognition that can be used to evaluate intrusiveness without negative content. In Study 1, 200 participants completed self-report questionnaires to assess several aspects of intrusiveness: meta-awareness, control, repetitiveness, frequency, and subjective experience of INMI. In Study 2, 203 participants completed self-report questionnaires to explore the clinical characteristics (depression, stress, anxiety, and rumination) which might mediate the connection between INMI frequency and INMI negative experience. Study 1 revealed, through exploratory factor analysis, that intrusiveness shares variance with the negative experience of INMI but not with INMI frequency. In Study 2, ruminative thinking was found to mediate the relationship between frequent INMI and the negative experience of INMI. These results suggest that INMI might be used to investigate intrusiveness in the lab without the potential confound of negative emotions. In addition, the results suggest that neither the content nor the frequency of intrusive thoughts can solely explain why these thoughts are aversive to some but not others. Ruminative style might be the missing link to explain how and why these intrusive thoughts become aversive and obsessive. In other words, we suggest that the cause for intrusiveness lies not in the thought or repetitiveness, but in the thinker.

A Systematic Review of Behavioral, Physiological, and Neurobiological Cognitive Regulation Alterations in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by cognitive regulation deficits. However, the current literature has focused on executive functioning and emotional response impairments in this disorder. Herein, we conducted a systematic review of studies assessing the behavioral, physiological, and neurobiological alterations in cognitive regulation in obsessive-compulsive patients using the PubMed database. Most of the studies included explored behavioral (distress, arousal, and frequency of intrusive thoughts) and neurobiological measures (brain activity and functional connectivity) using affective cognitive regulation paradigms. Our results pointed to the advantageous use of reappraisal and acceptance strategies in contrast to suppression to reduce distress and frequency of intrusive thoughts. Moreover, we observed alterations in frontoparietal network activity during cognitive regulation. Our conclusions are limited by the inclusion of underpowered studies with treated patients. Nonetheless, our findings support the OCD impairments in cognitive regulation of emotion and might help to improve current guidelines for cognitive therapy.

Testing the differential effects of acceptance and attention-based psychological interventions on intrusive thoughts and worry

BackgroundWorry is a key component of anxiety and may be an effective target for therapeutic intervention. We compared two psychological processes (attention and acceptance) on the frequency of intrusive worrying thoughts in an experimental worry task. Method77 participants were randomised across three groups and completed either a 10 min attention or acceptance-based psychological exercise, or progressive muscle relaxation control. We subsequently measured anxiety, and the content and frequency of intrusive thoughts before and after a ‘worry induction task’. ResultsGroups did not differ in baseline worry, anxiety or thought intrusions. Both attention and acceptance-based groups experienced fewer negative thought intrusions (post-worry) compared to the relaxation control group. The acceptance exercise had the largest effect, preventing ‘worry induction’. Increases in negative intrusive thoughts predicted subjective anxiety. DiscussionWe provide evidence that acceptance and attention psychological exercises may reduce anxiety by reducing the negative thought intrusions that characterise worry.

Individuals With Dysphoria Keep Thinking “Try Not to Think” During Distraction: The Effect of Meta-Awareness of Suppression on the Relationship Between Depression and Intrusive Thoughts

Previous research has suggested that individuals with dysphoria have more intrusive thoughts than do individuals without dysphoria when engaging in thought suppression by using distraction. We hypothesized that meta-awareness of suppression mediates the relationship between severity of depressive symptoms and the frequency of intrusive thoughts during distraction. In Experiment 1, participants were instructed to suppress thoughts about a distressing story by focusing on a memory task (focused-distraction condition), or to simply suppress their thoughts (suppression condition). Results indicated the severity of depressive symptoms predicted increased meta-awareness of suppression and a higher frequency of intrusive thoughts in the focused-distraction condition. Moreover, meta-awareness of suppression mediated the relationship between the severity of depressive symptoms and the frequency of intrusive thoughts. This relationship was not found in the suppression condition. In Experiment 2, we replicated the findings of Experiment 1 using a lexical decision task. These findings suggest that the severity of depressive symptoms enhances intrusive thoughts by maintaining meta-awareness of suppression during distraction.

Anxiety Symptoms Influence the Effect of Post-Trauma Interventions after Analogue Trauma

The present study aimed to replicate the beneficial effect of imagery rescripting (IRS) over imagery reexperiencing (IRE) in a trauma analogue experiment. The impact of anxiety on the manipulations was also examined. Anxious (n = 33) and non-anxious (n = 40) participants were randomly assigned to IRE or IRS, taking place 30 minutes after watching an aversive film. Intrusive memories were recorded in the subsequent week. Results showed that IRE resulted in more intrusive thoughts and intrusive images than IRS. Frequency of intrusive thoughts or images did not differ for anxious and non-anxious participants. However, anxiety influenced the effect of the manipulation: IRE resulted in higher levels of intrusive images than IRS in anxious but not in non-anxious participants. Such anxiety × condition interaction was not present for intrusive thoughts. The results suggest that anxious individuals may be particularly sensitive to interventions in the memory consolidation phase.

The Effectiveness of the Attention Training Technique in Reducing Intrusive Thoughts in Schizophrenia

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the attention training technique (ATT) on the frequency of intrusive thoughts experienced by a person with schizophrenia in her daily life. The attentional procedure was designed to attenuate self-focused attention and to reinforce attentional control and consisted of auditory external exercises. Homework practice was included to promote transfer to everyday life. The efficacy and specificity of the ATT were assessed with cognitive, functional, and control measures. The impact of ATT on symptomatology, work functioning, and self-esteem was also measured. Postrehabilitation results showed that, after nine training sessions, there was a reduction in intrusive thoughts for the cognitive and ecological outcome measures. Selective attention, attention switching, and resistance to distractive interference specifically improved. The person reported a reduction in intrusive thoughts in her daily life. In addition, positive symptoms decreased. Finally, a 6-month follow-up assessment revealed the maintenance of most of the beneficial effects in daily life.

Low perceived control as a risk factor for episodic memory: the mediational role of anxiety and task interference

Low perceived control is considered a risk factor for poor cognitive functioning, but the mechanisms are unclear. The goal of the present study was to analyze anxiety and task interference as sequential mediators of the association between control beliefs and episodic memory. Cognitive-specific control beliefs were assessed prior to the lab session. State anxiety was assessed in the lab, followed by a word list recall task. The frequency of intrusive thoughts during the memory task was reported by the participants as a measure of task interference after the completion of the cognitive testing. The results for 152 participants from the ages of 22 to 84 years supported the predicted three-path mediation model. Lower levels of control beliefs were associated with higher state anxiety, which in turn affected episodic memory performance by increasing the likelihood of task interference, with age, sex, and verbal abilities as covariates. The implications of the results for developing interventions to improve memory performance are considered.

Do gains in working memory capacity explain the written self-disclosure effect?

Klein and Boals (2001) concluded that expressive writing about negative life events improves health by reducing intrusive thoughts, as measured by the Impact of Events Scale (IES), and thus freeing working memory (WM) capacity. We replicated their WM gain and rejected the possibility that it reflected task practice alone. We extended their work by showing that such WM effects and reductions in self-reported health symptoms can be observed within a short time frame of a week in a normal population of college students and can occur without reductions in IES scores. Two alternative explanations are discussed of how WM gains can be observed in the written self-disclosure effect without reductions in the frequency of intrusive thoughts and avoidance attempts.

From intrusive thoughts to obsessions: The role of perceptions of responsibility, salience, and thought suppression

Salkovskis [1985. Obsessional-compulsive problems: A cognitive-behavioural analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 23, 571–583.] hypothesized that intrusive thoughts are more likely to occur if the thought is salient for the individual, triggers feelings of responsibility and if the individual attempts to suppress the thought. The relationship between these three factors (responsibility, salience, thought suppression) and frequency of intrusive thoughts as well as anxiety were examined in the present study. One hundred female college students were led to believe that a snake had escaped from the cage in which it was housed. Half of the participants were led to believe that they were responsible for the snake's escape and half were not (Responsibility/No Responsibility). Half of the participants in each Responsibility condition were instructed to suppress thoughts of snakes during a stream of consciousness exercise and half were not (Thought Suppression vs. No Thought Suppression). All participants then completed a second stream of consciousness without suppression instructions. Salience groups were determined by a median split on a measure of snake fearfulness. Participants for whom the snake was a salient stimulus and who believed that they were responsible for the snake's escape had the highest frequency of snake thoughts during the second stream of consciousness task and also experienced the highest levels of state anxiety. Findings are discussed with respect to Salkovskis' model.

Predicting post-traumatic symptoms in cardiac patients

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify correlates and predictors of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a cohort of patients with myocardial infarction, while the patients were in hospital and 3 months after infarction. Design: Longitudinal, consecutive referrals were used. Patients: From a possible 68 consecutive patients with a first myocardial infarction who completed questionnaires in hospital and survived to 3-month follow-up, 39 completed follow-up questionnaires. Outcome Measures: PTSD measures were taken in hospital and 3 months after discharge. Predictor variables were measures of mood taken in hospital and measures of the immediate cognitive and emotional reactions at the time of the infarct. Results: Associations between the independent variables and PTSD symptoms were stronger at 3-month follow-up than while in hospital. At this time, the frequency of intrusive thoughts was predicted by the degree of fright at the time of the event (adjusted R2 = 0.262; β =.57; t = 3.30; P <.01) and positive affect scores (additional adjusted R2 = 0.112; β = –.37 t = –2.18; P <.05). The degree of physiologic arousal at the time of such flashbacks was predicted by levels of negative affect in hospital (adjusted R2 = 0.174; β =.46; t = 2.46; P <.05), which also predicted avoidance scores (adjusted R2 = 0.203; β =.48; t = 2.62; P <.05). Conclusions: Because many of the symptoms of PTSD are self-remitting, and intervening too early in the course of the disorder may exacerbate the disorder, it is important not to intervene too early or over-treat this disorder. Formal treatment may be useful if provided some months after discharge from hospital. If either secondary or primary care services are to treat myocardial infarction–related PTSD effectively, it is important to identify patients who are at risk for it. These data contribute to the development of a profile of patients at risk. (Heart Lung® 2001;30:458-65.)

Intrusive Thoughts and Psychological Distress Among Breast Cancer Survivors: Global Meaning as a Possible Protective Factor

Previous research has consistently demonstrated a positive association between intrusive thoughts about stressful experiences and psychological distress. The strength of this relation, however, has varied considerably across studies. To examine the possibility that an individual's sense of global meaning (ie, the existential belief that one's life has purpose and order) may moderate the relation between intrusive thoughts and psychological distress, the authors conducted telephone assessments of 61 women who had survived breast cancer. Results confirmed that the frequency of intrusive thoughts was positively related to psychological distress. Global meaning, moreover, moderated the relation between intrusive thoughts and psychological distress consistent with the authors' hypotheses. Among women with lower global meaning, more frequent intrusive thoughts were associated with higher psychological distress. No association was found between intrusive thoughts and psychological distress among those participants with higher global meaning.

Effectiveness of the Use of Humor in the Rehabilitation of People with SCI: A Pilot Study

Despite the empirically established beneficial effects of laughter on psychological health, humor remains a much neglected area of research. This study examined the psychological impact of humor on people with SCI, the hypothesis being that it would significantly reduce the deleterious psychological effects of the injury. Mood state, frequency of intrusive thoughts and avoidance behavior of eight male inpatients at the National Spinal Injuries Centre were monitored before and after exposure to a series of five humorous video presentations. Although differences in these parameters were in the predicted direction, statistical analysis revealed no significant effect. Nevertheless, this pilot study highlighted pertinent issues and suggested modifications for further exploration.

Part III — Intrusive thoughts: The effects of an uncontrived stress

The main purpose of the experiment was to investigate the effects of an uncontrived stress on emotional reactions and on the nature and frequency of intrusive thoughts. The behaviour and reactions of twenty five mothers whose children were being admitted to hospital for surgery were compared to those of twenty five control group mothers. The mothers in the experimental group reported distress and an elevated number of unpleasant intrusive cognitions. They performed poorly on a cognitive task and showed heightened sensitivity to stress-related words.