Negative Affect Factors Research Articles

Infant temperament: stability by age, gender, birth order, term status, and socioeconomic status.

Two complementary studies focused on stability of infant temperament across the 1st year and considered infant age, gender, birth order, term status, and socioeconomic status (SES) as moderators. Study 1 consisted of 73 mothers of firstborn term girls and boys queried at 2, 5, and 13months of age. Study 2 consisted of 335 mothers of infants of different gender, birth order, term status, and SES queried at 6 and 12months. Consistent positive and negative affectivity factors emerged at all time points across both studies. Infant temperament proved stable and robust across gender, birth order, term status, and SES. Stability coefficients for temperament factors and scales were medium to large for shorter (<9months) interassessment intervals and small to medium for longer (>10months) intervals.

Duration of Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms Over the Menopause Transition

The expected duration of menopausal vasomotor symptoms (VMS) is important to women making decisions about possible treatments. To determine total duration of frequent VMS (≥ 6 days in the previous 2 weeks) (hereafter total VMS duration) during the menopausal transition, to quantify how long frequent VMS persist after the final menstrual period (FMP) (hereafter post-FMP persistence), and to identify risk factors for longer total VMS duration and longer post-FMP persistence. The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) is a multiracial/multiethnic observational study of the menopausal transition among 3302 women enrolled at 7 US sites. From February 1996 through April 2013, women completed a median of 13 visits. Analyses included 1449 women with frequent VMS. Total VMS duration (in years) (hot flashes or night sweats) and post-FMP persistence (in years) into postmenopause. The median total VMS duration was 7.4 years. Among 881 women who experienced an observable FMP, the median post-FMP persistence was 4.5 years. Women who were premenopausal or early perimenopausal when they first reported frequent VMS had the longest total VMS duration (median, >11.8 years) and post-FMP persistence (median, 9.4 years). Women who were postmenopausal at the onset of VMS had the shortest total VMS duration (median, 3.4 years). Compared with women of other racial/ethnic groups, African American women reported the longest total VMS duration (median, 10.1 years). Additional factors related to longer duration of VMS (total VMS duration or post-FMP persistence) were younger age, lower educational level, greater perceived stress and symptom sensitivity, and higher depressive symptoms and anxiety at first report of VMS. Frequent VMS lasted more than 7 years during the menopausal transition for more than half of the women and persisted for 4.5 years after the FMP. Individual characteristics (eg, being premenopausal and having greater negative affective factors when first experiencing VMS) were related to longer-lasting VMS. Health care professionals should counsel women to expect that frequent VMS could last more than 7 years, and they may last longer for African American women.

Assessing the underlying dimensionality of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms in Chinese adolescents surviving the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

By analyzing data yielded from a sample of Chinese adolescents surviving a high-intensity earthquake, this study investigated the underlying dimensionality of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms. The sample included 743 traumatized middle school students (396 females and 332 males) aged 11–17 years (mean=13.6, SD=1.0). Results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that an intercorrelated seven-factor model comprised of intrusion, avoidance, negative affect, anhedonia, externalizing behaviors, anxious arousal, and dysphoric arousal factors provided a significant better representation of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms than other alternative models. Further analyses indicated that external measures of major depression disorder and panic disorder symptoms displayed unique associations with four PTSD factors. The findings provide further support for the newly proposed seven-factor model of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms, add to very limited empirical knowledge on the latent structure of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms among adolescents, and carry implications for further refinement of the current classifications of PTSD symptoms and further clinical practice and research on posttraumatic stress symptomatology.

Prężność psychiczna a zadowolenie z życia osób uzależnionych od alkoholu

IntroductionThe aim of the study was to determine the relationship between resiliency and satisfaction with life in alcohol addicts. Results of 82 alcohol-dependent persons, aged 25–75 years (M = 46.13, SD = 11.33) who participated in therapy were analysed. Most of the participants were male (58.5%). MethodFahrenberg's et al Life Satisfaction Questionnaire and Ogińska-Bulik's & Juczyński's Resiliency Assessment Scale were used in the study. ResultsResiliency positively correlates with total result of Life Satisfaction Questionnaire and five of its dimensions, it is self-satisfaction, as well as satisfaction with health, finances, friends/relatives and sexuality. Among resiliency factors predictive role play openness to new experiences and sense of humor (factor 2), persistence and determination in action (factor 1), and personal competencies to cope and tolerance of negative affect (factor 3). Development of resiliency may contribute to improving quality of life alcohol-dependent persons.

Identifying Shared Latent Dimensions of Psychological Symptoms: Implications for the Psychological Correlates of Smoking.

Shared latent dimensions may account for the co-occurrence of multiple forms of psychological dysfunction. However, this conceptualization has rarely been integrated into the smoking literature, despite high levels of psychological symptoms in smokers. In this study, we used confirmatory factor analysis to compare three models (1-factor, 2-factor [internalizing-externalizing], and 3-factor [low positive affect-negative affect-disinhibition]) of relations among nine measures of affective and behavioral symptoms implicated in smoking spanning depression, anxiety, happiness, anhedonia, ADHD, aggression, and alcohol use disorder symptoms. We then examined associations of scores from each of the manifest scales and the latent factors from the best-fitting model to several smoking characteristics (i.e., experimentation, lifetime established smoking [≥100 cigarettes lifetime], age of smoking onset, cigarettes/day, nicotine dependence, and past nicotine withdrawal). We used two samples: (1) College Students (N =288; mean age =20; 75 % female) and (2) Adult Daily Smokers (N=338; mean age=44; 32 % female). In both samples, the 3-factor model separating latent dimensions of deficient positive affect, negative affect, and disinhibition fit best. In the college students, the disinhibition factor and its respective indicators significantly associated with lifetime smoking. In the daily smokers, low positive and high negative affect factors and their respective indicators positively associated with cigarettes/day and nicotine withdrawal symptom severity. These findings suggest that shared features of psychological symptoms may be parsimonious explanations of how multiple manifestations of psychological dysfunction play a role in smoking. Implications for research and treatment of co-occurring psychological symptoms and smoking are discussed.

Exploring temperamental differences in infants from the USA and the Netherlands

This longitudinal study employed the Infant Behaviour Questionnaire-Revised in assessing temperamental differences between infants at 6 months (n = 114 US, 184 Dutch) and 12 months (n = 92 US, 172 Dutch) from the USA and the Netherlands. Main effects indicated that Dutch infants were rated higher on the Orienting/Regulatory Capacity (ORC) factor and fine-grained dimensions of smiling and laughter, falling reactivity, cuddliness, low-intensity pleasure, and soothability, whereas US infants received higher ratings on the Negative Affectivity factor and on dimensions of activity level, vocal reactivity, fear, frustration, and sadness. Cultural differences for ORC were more pronounced in early infancy, cultural differences for Fear were stronger in late infancy, and US infants demonstrated higher duration of orienting at 12 months only. Culture also appeared to impact the pace of consolidation of temperamental characteristics, with greater stability exhibited by US than Dutch infants in smiling and laughter and vocal reactivity.

Differences in within- and between-person factor structure of positive and negative affect: Analysis of two intensive measurement studies using multilevel structural equation modeling.

The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) is a widely used measure of emotional experience. The factor structure of the PANAS has been examined predominantly with cross-sectional designs, which fails to disaggregate within-person variation from between-person differences. There is still uncertainty as to the factor structure of positive and negative affect and whether they constitute 2 distinct independent factors. The present study examined the within-person and between-person factor structure of the PANAS in 2 independent samples that reported daily affect over 7 and 14 occasions, respectively. Results from multilevel confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a 2-factor structure at both the within-person and between-person levels, with correlated specific factors for overlapping items, provided good model fit. The best-fitting solution was one where within-person factors of positive and negative affect were inversely correlated, but between-person factors were independent. The structure was further validated through multilevel structural equation modeling examining the effects of cognitive interference, daily stress, physical symptoms, and physical activity on positive and negative affect factors.

Everyday Discrimination Prospectively Predicts Inflammation Across 7-Years in Racially Diverse Midlife Women: Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.

Self-reported discrimination has emerged as a predictor of negative psychological and physical health outcomes across racial/ethnic groups. The goals of this study were to determine whether C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation and risk factor for future cardiovascular disease (CVD) was independently predicted by everyday discrimination or whether race or body mass index (BMI) modified this association over a 7-year period among 2,490 women from racially diverse backgrounds. At baseline, the 10-item Williams' measure of everyday discrimination was administered. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess these associations. Descriptive results showed that Black and Chinese women reported greater discrimination than White, Japanese, and Hispanic women, while Black and Hispanic women had the highest levels of CRP over the 7-year period. There was no main effect of everyday discrimination (B = .003, SE = .005, p = .58) and this association did not differ as a function of race (p's > .05). The everyday discrimination × BMI interaction term significantly predicted higher CRP levels over time in the full sample of women (p = .03). Specifically, in non-obese women (BMI less than 30), higher perceived everyday discrimination was associated with higher CRP levels over the 7-year period. These findings were independent of demographic, negative affect, biomedical, and behavioral factors. The results demonstrate that greater everyday discrimination is associated with increased inflammation over time in non-obese women. These findings highlight the implications of interpersonal sources of social stress for long-term physical health via their impact on intermediary biological pathways, specifically inflammation. Greater emphasis on such linkages is warranted as we work towards ameliorating health disparities exacerbated by individual-level factors.

The underlying dimensions of DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in an epidemiological sample of Chinese earthquake survivors

The current study investigated the underlying dimensions of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms in an epidemiological sample of Chinese earthquake survivors. The sample consisted of 810 females and 386 males, with a mean age of 47.9 years (SD=10.0, range: 16–73). PTSD symptoms were assessed using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, and alternative models were evaluated with confirmatory factor analysis. Results indicated that a six-factor model comprised of intrusion, avoidance, negative affect, anhedonia, dysphoric arousal, and anxious arousal factors emerged as the best fitting model. The current findings add to limited literature on the latent structure of PTSD symptoms described in the recently released DSM-5, and carry implications for further trauma-related research and clinical practice.

Addressing Workplace Violence Among Nurses Who Care for the Elderly

The objective of this study was to examine the social-situational (ie, Job Demands-Resource model) and individual (ie, negative affectivity) factors that might be associated with violence among nurses caring for the elderly (aged care nurses). Workplace violence is recognized as a serious issue among nurses. Effective intervention and prevention require an understanding of antecedent factors. Nurses working in elderly care facilities across an Australian healthcare organization participated in a cross-sectional survey. Job demands were associated with all of the externally sourced types of violence. Low job control was linked with external emotional abuse and physical assault. Outside work support was related to external physical assault and verbal sexual harassment. Finally, high negative affectivity was linked to internal and external emotional abuse and threat of assault. Both the Job Demands-Resource model and negative affectivity were useful in identifying relationships with violence, supporting suggestions that situational and individual factors are associated with violence among nurses who care for the elderly.

Dimensions in major depressive disorder and their relevance for treatment outcome

BackgroundMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is a heterogeneous disease. More homogeneous psycho(patho)logical dimensions would facilitate MDD research as well as clinical practice. The first aim of this study was to find potential dimensions within a broad psychopathological assessment in depressed patients. Second, we aimed at examining how these dimensions predicted course in MDD. MethodsTen psychopathological variables were assessed in 75 MDD inpatients. Factor and regression analyses assessed putative relations between psychopathological factors and depression severity and outcome after 8 weeks of treatment. ResultsA 3-factor model (eigenvalue: 54.4%) was found, representing a psychomotor change, anhedonia and negative affect factor. Anhedonia and negative affect predicted depression severity (R2=0.37, F=20.86, p<0.0001). Anhedonia predicted non-response (OR 6.00, CI 1.46–24.59) and both negative affect (OR 5.69, CI 1.19–27.20) and anhedonia predicted non-remission (OR 9.28, CI 1.85–46.51). LimitationsThe sample size of the study was relatively modest, limiting the number of variables included in the analysis. ConclusionsResults confirm that psychomotor change, anhedonia and negative affect are key MDD dimensions, two of which are related to treatment outcome.

Affective style characteristics and the relationships between affective style, resilience, positive and negative affect, cognitive attention in military medical students

Objective To identify the affective style characteristics and the relationships among affective style, resilience, positive and negative affect and cognitive attention in military medical students. Methods Affective Neuroscience Personality Scale(ANPS), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale(CD-RISC), Chinese version of Positive and Negative Affect Schedule(PANAS-C) and Attention to Positive and Negative Information Scale(APNIS) were surveyed in 1014 military medical students. Results (1) Between male and female students, there existed significant difference in the scores of fear and anger (P<0.05). There existed significant difference in the scores of fear, anger, playfulness and sadness in students with different adaptation.(2) There were significant difference in resilience, positive and negative affect(34.95±5.07 vs 29.82±6.22, P<0.01), cognitive attention between positive and negative affective style group.(3)Positive affective style factors had an obvious positive correlation with resilience, positive affect, positive/others and positive/self(0.078≤r≤0.342, P<0.05), but not with caring and positive/self.Negative affective style factors had an obvious positive correlation with negative affect, negative/others and negative/self(0.153≤r≤0.337, P<0.05), but not with anger and negative affect. Conclusion Positive affective style may be important predictor of resilience, positive affect and positive cognitive attention. Key words: Affective style; Resilience; Positive and negative affect; Cognitive attention; Military medical students

Attitudes of children and adolescents toward persons who are deaf, blind, paralyzed or intellectually disabled

This study aimed to explore Dutch students' attitudes toward deaf, blind, paralyzed or intellectually disabled persons and to determine whether age, self-esteem, gender, religion and familiarity with a disabled person have a significant effect on these attitudes. The attitudes of 200 high school and 144 university students were determined with two questionnaires, the CATCH and MAS. Only the CATCH was applicable with all four disabled groups. Two factors were found: behavior-positive affect and cognition-negative affect. With regard to the first factor respondents had more positive attitudes toward deaf, blind and paralyzed persons than toward intellectually disabled persons. The cognition and negative affect factor showed that respondents had more positive attitudes toward deaf and blind persons than toward paralyzed and intellectually disabled persons. Being older and familiarity with a disabled person had a significant positive effect on attitudes, while self-esteem and gender had only a partial effect and having religious beliefs was not a significant predictor in this study.

The Relationship between Temperamental Negative Affect, Effortful Control, and Sensory Regulation: A New Look.

Temperamental negative affectivity (NA) and effortful control (EC) have long been of interest to psychologists, but sensory regulation (SR) has received less attention. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the present study reexamined the Rothbart model of EC and NA using the Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ; M.K. Rothbart, S.A. Ahadi, K.L. Hershy, & P. Fisher, 2001), along with alternative models of EC, NA, and SR using the CBQ and Short Sensory Profile. The results failed to replicate the Rothbart model of EC and NA, which includes SR within the EC and NA factors. A good fit was found for a three-factor model (EC, NA, and SR) that was replicated in a holdout sample. A three-factor model also showed a good fit when EC, NA, and SR items similar to symptoms of behavior problems were eliminated.

Oppression and exposure as differentiating predictors of types of workplace violence for nurses

To extend a model of the antecedents of workplace bullying to apply to a wider range of types of workplace aggression, including bullying and several types of violence, among nurses. Research that has focused on workplace bullying has found that the Demand-Control-Support model, negative affectivity and certain demographic factors play important roles as antecedents of bullying. A cross-sectional design. A validated questionnaire was sent to the work addresses of all nursing and midwifery staff in a medium-to-large hospital in Australia. A total of 273 nurses and midwives returned their completed questionnaires. Ordinal regressions were conducted to assess the antecedents of workplace aggression across bullying and violence. Aspects of the Demand-Control-Support model and job tenure significantly predicted particular forms of violence, while negative affectivity and work schedule were significant for bullying. The patterns of the results suggest key mechanisms that characterise certain forms of violence and distinguish between bullying and types of violence across the range of workplace aggression. In particular, oppression and exposure appear to differentiate types of workplace violence. The study suggests ways in which nursing and hospital managers may act to reduce the likelihood of certain forms of aggression, particularly violence, from occurring.

A Study on Students’ Affective Factors in Junior High School English Teaching

Affect is considered as aspects of emotion, feeling, mood or attitude which condition behaviors in second language acquisition. Positive affect is good for studying while negative affect will inevitably hinder learners’ learning process. As we know, students in junior high school are special groups as they are experiencing great changes both in physiology and psychology. Their affect can be easily influenced by external and internal factors. Therefore, it is of vital importance to pay close attention to students’ affective factors in English learning process, particularly to the negative ones. Based on the results of the previous research about affects in second language acquisition, the study finds that junior high school students have the following negative affective factors such as boredom, anxiety, hopelessness, inhibition and low self-confidence in their English learning. Then some suggestions for cultivating and improving students’ affect are put forward in the hope of improving junior high school English teaching and learning.

The relative impact of work-related stress, life stress and driving environment stress on driving outcomes

Previous research has shown the association between stress and crash involvement. The impact of stress on road safety may also be mediated by behaviours including cognitive lapses, errors, and intentional traffic violations. This study aimed to provide a further understanding of the impact that stress from different sources may have upon driving behaviour and road safety. It is asserted that both stress extraneous to the driving environment and stress directly elicited by driving must be considered part of a dynamic system that may have a negative impact on driving behaviours. Two hundred and forty-seven public sector employees from Queensland, Australia, completed self-report measures examining demographics, subjective work-related stress, daily hassles, and aspects of general mental health. Additionally, the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) and the Driver Stress Inventory (DSI) were administered. All participants drove for work purposes regularly, however the study did not specifically focus on full-time professional drivers. Confirmatory factor analysis of the predictor variables revealed three factors: DSI negative affect; DSI risk taking; and extraneous influences (daily hassles, work-related stress, and general mental health). Moderate intercorrelations were found between each of these factors confirming the ‘spillover’ effect. That is, driver stress is reciprocally related to stress in other domains including work and domestic life. Structural equation modelling (SEM) showed that the DSI negative affect factor influenced both lapses and errors, whereas the DSI risk-taking factor was the strongest influence on violations. The SEMs also confirmed that daily hassles extraneous to the driving environment may influence DBQ lapses and violations independently. Accordingly, interventions may be developed to increase driver awareness of the dangers of excessive emotional responses to both driving events and daily hassles (e.g. driving fast to ‘blow off steam’ after an argument). They may also train more effective strategies for self-regulation of emotion and coping when encountering stressful situations on the road.

The measurement of menstrual symptoms: factor structure of the menstrual symptom questionnaire in adolescent girls.

This study examined the factor structure of the Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ) in a sample of 210 adolescent girls (11-17 years). Such an examination has not been carried out with an adolescent sample. In addition, the definitions of menstrual disorders have evolved since the creation of the MSQ. Exploratory factor analysis supported a three factor structure indicating abdominal pain, negative affect/somatic complaints, and back pain. Partial correlations indicated all three MSQ factors were correlated with depressive symptoms, but only the negative affect factor was correlated with trait anxiety. Future research should explore potential associations in multiple areas of functioning as menstrual symptoms may alter healthy developmental processes during adolescence.

Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Disturbances in Early Adolescence: A Structural Modeling Investigation Examining Negative Affect and Peer Factors

This study tested five proposed models of the relationship of negative affect and peer factors in early adolescent body dissatisfaction, dieting, and bulimic behaviors. A large community sample of girls in early adolescence was assessed via questionnaire ( X age = 12.3 years). Structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that negative affect mediated the relationship between body dissatisfaction and bulimic behaviors. Body dissatisfaction also contributed independently to the concurrent prediction of bulimic behaviors. The proposed pathways from dieting to negative affect and dieting to bulimic behaviors were not supported. However, perceived peer influence, perceived weight-related teasing, and the self-reported eating behaviors of friendship clique members all contributed significantly to the concurrent prediction of individual eating pathology. These findings highlight the importance of negative affect and both perceived and actual peer attitudes and behaviors in early adolescent eating pathology.

Contribution of emotion regulation difficulties to disordered eating and body dissatisfaction in college men

Affect regulation models of disordered eating propose that disordered eating behaviors function as maladaptive efforts to modulate or escape from aversive emotional states. Prior studies have shown both negative affect and emotion regulation factors to be significantly associated with disordered eating and body dissatisfaction in women. The purpose of the current investigation was to evaluate whether emotion regulation difficulties contribute to disordered eating and body dissatisfaction in men. Two hundred and ninety-six undergraduate men completed a series of questionnaires assessing negative affect, difficulties in emotion regulation, disordered eating, and body dissatisfaction. A series of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that emotion regulation difficulties accounted for unique variance in both outcome measures after accounting for the variance associated with BMI and negative affect. Results are discussed in terms of the role of emotion regulation difficulties in the etiology and maintenance of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in men.