General Negative Affect Research Articles

Self-efficacy Mediates the Association Between Shyness and Subjective Well-Being: The Case of Chinese College Students

The aim of the current study was to examine whether self-efficacy mediated the associations between shyness and subjective well-being, and the universality and specificity of this mediated effect between the different groups in demographic factors, e.g., gender, only children and non-only children, urban and rural in a sample of Chinese college students. We had 311 university students, with age range of 18–24 respond to self-report measures by using the paper and pencil assessments including Cheek and Buss shyness scale, general self-efficacy scale, positive affect and negative affect scale and satisfaction with life scale. Results of structural equation modeling showed fully mediated effect of self-efficacy in the relationship between shyness and life satisfaction, and partially mediated effect of self-efficacy in the relationship between shyness and positive and negative affect. Moreover, multi-group analyses found that the paths did not differ by only children and non-only children, urban and rural, but shyness was more strongly associated with males’ self-efficacy, compared to females. Implications and limitations of the findings are discussed.

A behavioral test of contamination fear in excessive health anxiety

Background and objectivesHealth anxiety is characterized by a preoccupation with the possibility of having a serious health condition or disease. Contemporary conceptualizations of health anxiety have improved in recent years to incorporate a fear of acquiring an illness; however, there is limited experimental data demonstrating the presence of fear of contamination among health anxious individuals. MethodThe present study utilized behavior approach tasks (BATs) to examine the degree to which contamination fear is present in elevated health anxiety. Participants were 60 undergraduate students who reported elevated health anxiety, contamination fear, or no anxiety about either health or contamination. Participants completed four BATS from which avoidance, anxiety, and disgust ratings were derived. ResultsHealth anxious and contamination fearful individuals exhibited a similar degree of avoidance during the BATs. Contamination fearful participants reported significantly more anxiety and disgust relative to the non-anxious controls, but not the health anxious participants. Health anxious participants did not report more anxiety or disgust than the non-anxious participants. LimitationsThe use of an analogue sample may limit the extension of these findings to clinical populations. Additionally, the role of general negative affect could not be reliably determined in the absence of an anxious control group. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that contamination fear may be a source of conceptual overlap between health anxiety and other disorders characterized by contamination fear. This highlights the importance of considering contamination fear in excessive health anxiety.

Subjective Well-being and Depression: A Comparative Study among College Students

The study examines the differences in subjective well-being among mildly-depressed and non-depressed college students (n=160). Subjective well-being was assessed using measures of general well-being, life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect and self-esteem. The P.G.I. general well being scale was used to assess general well-being of the participants, while the Satisfaction with Life Scale was used to assess global life satisfaction. PANAS-R adapted from the original PANAS was used to measure affective responses while the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory was used to assess the self-esteem of participants. The results indicate that non-depressed participants reported better general well-being, greater life satisfaction, more positive affect and less negative affect and higher self-esteem as compared to mildly-depressed participants.

The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: Shadows and Lights on its Construct Validity

Past studies on the factor validity of the Trait subscale of the Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T) do unanimously agree on its structure. In fact, researchers are still debating whether the STAI-T is unidimensional or multidimensional. Our aim was to clarify what the STAI-T measures. The STAI-T, the Beck Depression Inventory–II, the Teate Depression Inventory, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory were administered to 1124 psychiatric outpatients and to 877 healthy subjects. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed in order to compare various models in the literature. The internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity of the STAI-T as well as its factorial subscales were assessed. The one-construct two-method (i.e., the STAI-T measures one substantive anxiety construct plus artifacts due to negative–positive item polarity) and the bifactor (i.e., the STAI-T comprises two first-order specific factors [“Anxiety” and “Depression”] and one first-order general factor) models were the best-fitting solutions for the STAI–T in both the clinical and nonclinical samples. The STAI–T total score correlated more strongly with measures of depression than with a concurrent measure of anxiety. The STAI-T should be considered a measure of general negative affect, including specific aspects of cognitive anxiety and depression together.

Affective Induction and Creative Thinking

Three studies explored the relation between affect and production of creative divergent thinking, assessed with the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Figural TTCT). In the first study, general, positive, and negative affect, assessed with the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) were compared with creative production. In the second study, 2 affective states—happiness and sadness—were induced by means of 2 film sets, and creative production under these 2 conditions was compared. In the third study, using masked facial feedback, 2 affective states were induced: happiness—by requesting participants to hold a pencil in their teeth—and anger—by holding it with their lips—and creative production under both induced affects, as well as with a previous noninduced affect, was compared. In general terms, the results of all 3 studies show that positive affect, both general positive affect and the happy affect induced in the two experimental manipulations, increased the production of creative divergent thinking. Negative affect had no impact on the production of creative divergent thinking, neither general negative affect nor the experimentally induced affects of sadness and anger. In masked induction, the induced positive affect improved creative production, compared to the noninduced control situation; in contrast, the induced negative affect presented no differences in creative production, compared to its previous noninduced condition.

Alexithymia and Chronic Pain

Alexithymia has been shown to be associated with key pain-related variables in persons with chronic pain from western countries, but the generalizability of these findings across cultures has not been examined adequately. Also, there remain questions regarding the importance of alexithymia to patient functioning over and above the effects of the general negative affectivity. Alexithymia, pain intensity, pain interference, depression, anxiety, and pain catastrophizing were measured in 128 Japanese patients with chronic pain. Because of the low internal consistency coefficients for 2 of the alexithymia scales (measuring difficulty describing feelings and externally oriented feelings) in our sample, we limited our analyses to a scale assessing difficulty identifying feelings and the total alexithymia scale score. Although the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale total and the Difficulty Identifying Feelings scale scores were not significantly associated with pain intensity, these scales were associated with pain interference, catastrophizing, and negative affectivity in our sample. However, these associations became nonsignificant when measures of negative affectivity were controlled. The findings support the cross-cultural generalizability of significant associations between alexithymia and both pain interference and catastrophizing. However, whether (1) alexithymia influences patient functioning indirectly by its effects on negative affect or (2) the univariate associations found between alexithymia and measures of patient functioning are a byproduct of both being influenced by negative affect needs to be tested using longitudinal and experimental research.

Food Consumption as Affect Modulation in Borderline Personality

The present study examined relationships among negative affect, borderline personality features, and eating behavior through the experimental manipulation of mood. Undergraduate women (N = 307) completed a baseline mood assessment, viewed a 39-minute sad film either with or without concurrent food presentation, then completed a second mood assessment and questionnaires assessing personality and eating attitudes/behaviors. Women reporting more borderline personality features exhibited greater negative affect across time and were more reactive to the sad film. Food presentation appeared to have a small ameliorative effect on sadness and general negative affect. However, quantity of food consumption was associated with improvements in mood only for women reporting higher levels of borderline personality features. These data suggest that women with borderline personality characteristics may be at elevated risk for developing problems with binge eating, because consuming larger quantities of food appeared to have a tempering effect on their negative mood and feelings of sadness.

The role of intergroup disgust in predicting negative outgroup evaluations

We introduce intergroup disgust as an individual difference and contextual manipulation. As an individual difference, intergroup disgust sensitivity (ITG-DS) represents affect-laden revulsion toward social outgroups, incorporating beliefs in stigma transfer and social superiority. Study 1 (5 samples, N=708) validates the ITG-DS scale. Higher ITG-DS scorers demonstrated greater general disgust sensitivity, disease concerns, authoritarian/conservative ideologies, and negative affect. Greater ITG-DS correlated with stronger outgroup threat perceptions and discrimination, and uniquely predicted negative outgroup attitudes beyond well-established prejudice-predictors. Intergroup disgust was experimentally manipulated in Study 2, exposing participants (n=164) to a travel blog concerning contact with a disgust-evoking (vs. neutral) outgroup. Manipulated disgust generated negative outgroup evaluations through greater threat and anxiety. This mediation effect was moderated: Those higher (vs. lower) in ITG-DS did not experience stronger disgust, threat, or anxiety reactions, but demonstrated stronger translation of aversive reactions (especially outgroup threat) into negative attitudes. Theory development and treatment implications are considered.

The relationship between trait impulsivity, negative affective states, and urge for nonsuicidal self-injury: A daily diary study

Theories of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and impulsivity suggest that individuals with high levels of negative urgency (e.g., those with a propensity to act rashly while experiencing negative affect) should experience the urge to engage in NSSI during negative affect states. However, previous research has not directly tested these predictions. This study used a daily diary methodology in a sample of individuals who engaged in NSSI in the last year. Participants completed self-report measures of trait impulsivity and subsequently made daily ratings of negative affect, sadness, guilt, and urge to engage in NSSI for 14 days. Our results indicated that for individuals high in negative urgency, daily sadness, but not guilt or general negative affect, was a positive predictor of urge to engage in NSSI. Meanwhile, for those low in negative urgency, sadness was unrelated to NSSI urge. Implications for theories of NSSI and treatment are discussed.

Dietary sodium citrate supplementation enhances rehydration and recovery from rapid body mass loss in trained wrestlers

This study assessed the effects of dietary sodium citrate supplementation during a 16 h recovery from 5% rapid body mass loss (RBML) on physiological functions, affective state, and performance in trained wrestlers. Sixteen wrestlers performed an upper body intermittent sprint performance (UBISP) test under three conditions: before RBML, after RBML, and after a 16 h recovery from RBML. During recovery, the subjects ate a prescribed diet supplemented with sodium citrate (600 mg·kg(-1); CIT group, N = 8) or placebo (PLC group, N = 8) and drank water ad libitum. RBML reduced (p < 0.05) UBISP mean power and increased urine specific gravity (USG). Reduction in mean power was associated with changes in plasma volume (PV) (r = 0.649, p = 0.006) and USG (r = -0.553, p = 0.026). During the 16 h recovery, increases in body mass (BM) and PV were greater (p < 0.05) in the CIT group than in the PLC group. BM gain was associated with water retention in the CIT group (r = 0.899, p = 0.002) but not in the PLC group (r = 0.335, p = 0.417). Blood pH, HCO(3)(-) concentration, and base excess increased (p < 0.05) only in the CIT group. Changes in UBISP, general negative affect, and general positive affect did not differ in the two groups. In conclusion, ingestion of sodium citrate increases blood buffering capacity and PV and stimulates BM regain during a 16 h recovery from RBML in trained wrestlers. However, sodium citrate does not improve UBISP nor does it have an impact on the affective state.

How do children cope with global climate change? Coping strategies, engagement, and well-being

The aim of this questionnaire study was to explore how Swedish 12-year-olds (n = 293) cope with climate change, and how different coping strategies relate to environmental engagement and well-being. Three coping strategies were identified: problem-focused coping, de-emphasizing the seriousness of climate change, and meaning-focused coping. Problem-focused and meaning-focused coping had positive associations with measures of environmental engagement, while de-emphasizing the threat had negative associations with engagement. Problem-focused coping was positively related to general negative affect, which was explained by the tendency for highly problem-focused children to worry more about climate change. In contrast, the more meaning-focused coping the children used the less they experienced negative affect, and the more they experienced life satisfaction, general positive affect, purpose, and optimism. Finally, moderation analyses revealed that for children high on problem-focused coping; meaning-focused coping, purpose, and optimism worked as buffers against negative affect. The importance of positive emotions for constructive coping is discussed.

Time-course of attention to negative stimuli: Negative affectivity, anxiety, or dysphoria?

Although biased attention to emotional stimuli is considered a vulnerability factor for anxiety and dysphoria, research has infrequently related such attentional biases to dimensional models of vulnerability for anxiety and mood disorders. In two studies (Study 1, n = 64; Study 2, n = 168), we evaluate the differential associations of general negative affectivity, anxiety, and dysphoria with biases in selective attention among nonclinical participants selected to vary in both anxiety and dysphoria. Across both studies, preferential processing of angry faces at a 300-ms exposure duration was associated with a general tendency to experience a range of negative affect, rather than being specific to symptoms of either anxiety or dysphoria. In the second study, we found evidence of a suppressor relationship between anxiety and dysphoria in the prediction of delayed attentional biases (1,000 ms) for sad faces. In particular, dysphoria was specifically associated with biased attention toward sad cues, but only after statistically accounting for anxiety; by contrast, anxiety was specifically associated with attentional avoidance of sad cues, but only after statistically accounting for dysphoria. These results suggest that the specificity of relationships between components of negative affectivity and attention to emotional stimuli varies as a function of the time course at which attentional biases are assessed, highlighting the importance of evaluating both anxiety and dysphoria in research on attentional processing of emotional stimuli.

Trait reappraisal amplifies subjective defeat, sadness, and negative affect in response to failure versus success in nonclinical and psychosis populations.

Perceptions of defeat have been linked to a range of clinical disorders including psychosis. Perceived defeat sometimes increases in response to failure, but the strength of this association varies between individuals. The present research investigated whether trait reappraisal, a thought-focused coping style, amplified response to stressful events. Two studies (Study 1, n = 120 nonclinical participants; Study 2, n = 77 participants with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders) investigated whether trait reappraisal amplified feelings of defeat following an experience of failure versus success. Frequent reappraisers showed the largest increases in subjective defeat after failure versus success in both studies, with nonclinical participants with greater habitual reappraisal also showing larger increases in sadness and general negative affect. Frequent use of reappraisal may confer vulnerability to subjective defeat in response to stressful life events among nonclinical and clinical populations and could be an area for relapse prevention interventions to target.

Emotional distress, positive affect, and mortality in patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator

BackgroundLittle is known about the relationship between emotional distress and mortality in patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). Our aim was to examine the predictive value of general negative and positive affect, and depressive symptoms (including its components somatic symptoms and cognitive-affective symptoms) for mortality. MethodsICD patients (N=591, 81% male, mean age=62.7±10.1years) completed the Global Mood Scale to measure the independent dimensions negative and positive mood, and the Beck Depression Inventory to measure depressive symptoms. Covariates consisted of demographic and clinical variables. ResultsDuring the median follow-up of 3.2years, 96 (16.2%) patients died. After controlling for covariates, negative affect was significantly related to all-cause mortality (HR=1.034, p=0.002), whereas positive affect was not (HR=1.007, p=0.61). Depressive symptoms were also independently associated with an increased mortality risk (HR=1.031, p=0.030) and somatic symptoms of depression in particular (HR=1.130, p=0.003), but cognitive-affective symptoms were not associated with mortality (HR=0.968, p=0.29). When entering both significant psychological predictors in a covariate-adjusted model, negative mood remained significant (HR=1.039, p=0.009), but somatic symptoms of depression did not (HR=0.988, p=0.78). Similar results were found for cardiac-related death. Of covariates, increased age, CRT, appropriate shocks were positively related to death. ConclusionsNegative affect in general was related to mortality, but reduced positive affect was not. Depression, particularly its somatic symptoms, was also related to mortality, while cognitive-affective symptoms were not. Future research may further focus on the differential predictive value of emotional distress factors, as well as on mechanisms that relate emotional distress factors to mortality.

Associations among perceptual anomalies, social anxiety, and paranoia in a college student sample

Recent evidence suggests that normal-range paranoid ideation may be particularly likely to develop in individuals disposed to both social anxiety and perceptual anomalies. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that among college students in an unselected sample, social anxiety and experience of perceptual anomalies would not only each independently predict the experience of self-reported paranoid ideation, but would also interact to predict paranoid patterns of thought. A diverse sample of 644 students completed a large battery of self-report measures, as well as the five-factor Paranoia/Suspiciousness Questionnaire (PSQ). We conducted hierarchical multiple regression analyses predicting scores on each PSQ factor from responses on measures of social anxiety, perceptual aberration, and the interaction between the two constructs. Current general negative affect was covaried in all analyses. We found that both social anxiety and perceptual aberrations, along with negative affect, predicted multiple dimensions of paranoia as measured by the PSQ; the two constructs did not, however, interact significantly to predict any dimensions. Our findings suggest that perceptual aberration and anxiety may contribute to normal-range paranoid ideation in an additive rather than an interactive manner.

The modeling of internalizing disorders on the basis of patterns of lifetime comorbidity: associations with psychosocial functioning and psychiatric disorders among first-degree relatives.

Two broadband latent factors--internalizing and externalizing--have frequently been identified in studies of the hierarchical structure of psychopathology. In the present research, 3 competing measurement models of putative internalizing disorders (i.e., a parsimonious single-factor model, a model based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [4th ed., American Psychiatric Association, 1994], and an alternative model proposed by Krueger, 1999, and Watson, 2005) were evaluated in terms of their ability to account for lifetime patterns of diagnostic comorbidity. Four diagnostic assessments were performed on an age-based cohort of 816 persons over a 15-year interval. Each of the 3 measurement models demonstrated adequate or good fit to the data and similar approximating abilities. Additional analyses, however, suggested that nonspecific aspects of lifetime mood/anxiety or distress/fear disorders (i.e., general negative affect) largely accounted for indicators of psychosocial functioning at age 30 as well as densities of specific psychiatric disorders among the 1st-degree relatives of probands. The relevance of these findings for theoretical and descriptive models of internalizing disorders is discussed.

Relationships between depressive rumination, anger rumination, and borderline personality features.

We examined relationships between depressive rumination, anger rumination, and features of borderline personality disorder in a sample of 93 students with a wide range of borderline symptoms. All completed self-report measures of borderline features; trait-level negative affect; depressive and anger rumination; and current symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Depressive and anger rumination were strongly associated with borderline features after controlling for comorbid symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Both types of rumination showed significant incremental validity over trait-level sadness, anger, and general negative affect in predicting borderline features. Relationships with borderline features were stronger for anger rumination than for depressive rumination. Relationships between trait-level negative affect and borderline features were substantially reduced when anger rumination was included in regression models, suggesting the need for longitudinal analyses of mediation. Findings suggest that severity of borderline symptoms is influenced by ruminative thinking in response to negative affect, especially anger.

Factors associated with problematic vocalizations in nursing home residents with dementia.

Problematic vocalizations (PVs) are the most frequent and persistent disruptive behaviors exhibited by nursing home residents with dementia. Understanding factors associated with these behaviors are important to prevent or reduce them. We used the Need-Driven Dementia-Compromised Behavior model to identify the characteristics of persons with dementia who are likely to display nonaggressive and aggressive PVs and the conditions under which these behaviors are likely to occur and persist. This multisite descriptive study included 138 residents of 17 nursing homes, and approximately half had a history of PVs. Background data were gathered through interviews, chart reviews, and administration of physical and neuropsychological assessments. Proximal data were obtained from observations and videotapes. When the 2 subscales of the Verbal Behavior Scale were used as the dependent variables, agreeableness and conscientiousness, positive affect, and discomfort were associated with nonaggressive vocalizations, and general health state (GHS), age, and negative and positive affect were associated with aggressive vocalizations. When the verbally agitated (nonaggressive) section of the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory was the dependent variable, the background factors of gender, agreeableness, GHS, and age remained predictors, as did the proximal factors of affect and discomfort. We identified 5 background factors and 3 proximal factors as risk factors for PVs in persons with dementia, with variation between nonaggressive or aggressive PVs. These data provide direction for caregiving for persons with dementia and design of interventions to prevent or reduce PVs.

A bifactor model of negative affectivity: Fear and distress components among younger and older youth.

The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children (PANAS-C) is a 27-item youth-report measure of positive affectivity and negative affectivity. Using 2 large school-age youth samples (clinic-referred sample: N = 662; school-based sample: N = 911), in the present study, we thoroughly examined the structure of the PANAS-C NA and PA scales and fit a bifactor model to the PANAS-C NA items. Our exploratory factor analytic results demonstrated that negative affectivity is comprised of 2 main components-NA: Fear and NA: Distress-specifically among older youth. A bifactor model also evidenced the best model fit relative to a unidimensional and second-order factor structure of the PANAS-C NA items. The NA: Fear group factor evidenced significant correspondence with external criterion measures of anxiety. However, the original PANAS-C NA scale evidenced equal (and in some cases greater) correspondence with criterion measures of anxiety. We thus recommend continued usage and interpretation of the full PANAS-C NA scale despite the identification of the fear and distress group factors underlying general negative affectivity. The identification of these fear and distress group factors nonetheless suggest that negative affectivity may be comprised largely of a fear and distress component among older youth. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to better understanding the structure of psychopathology across childhood development and informing the development of future treatments of negative emotions.

The role of magical thinking in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder symptoms and cognitions in an analogue sample

Background and objectivesIn addition to clinical observations exemplifying biased reasoning styles (e.g., overemphasis of thoughts) and particular ritualistic behaviors, it is also empirically supported that magical beliefs are also associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms and some cognitions. It should be noted, however, that most empirical studies have been carried out on the samples from Western cultures, even though these beliefs were culturally determined. Thus, more research is needed in order to understand their roles in the OCD symptoms in different cultural contexts. The present study aimed to examine the impact of magical beliefs in OCD symptoms, cognitions and thought control in a non-Western analogue sample from Turkey. MethodThe measures of paranormal beliefs, fusion of thoughts-actions, obsessive beliefs, strategies of thought control and OCD symptoms were administered to an undergraduate sample. ResultConsistent with findings in the literature, the analyses of group comparisons, correlation and regression showed that even after controlling general negative affect, magical beliefs were still associated with OCD symptoms, some beliefs and control strategies, namely the symptoms of obsessional thoughts and checking, fusions of thoughts and actions in likelihood, faulty beliefs in perfectionism-certainty and punishment. LimitationsSome methodological concerns such as cross-sectional nature, inclusion of only non-clinical sample were major restrictions of the present study. ConclusionEvidence that magical thinking is a critical factor in the OCD is supported once more in a different cultural context.