Negative Affect Reduction Research Articles

A randomized controlled trial of yoga for pregnant women with symptoms of depression and anxiety

BackgroundYoga may be well suited for depressed and anxious pregnant women, given reported benefits of meditation and physical activity and pregnant women's preference for nonpharmacological treatments. MethodsWe randomly assigned 46 pregnant women with symptoms of depression and anxiety to an 8-week yoga intervention or treatment-as-usual (TAU) in order to examine feasibility and preliminary outcomes. ResultsYoga was associated with high levels of credibility and satisfaction as an intervention for depression and anxiety during pregnancy. Participants in both conditions reported significant improvement in symptoms of depression and anxiety over time; and yoga was associated with significantly greater reduction in negative affect as compared to TAU (β = −0.53, SE = 0.20, p = .011). ConclusionPrenatal yoga was found to be a feasible and acceptable intervention and was associated with reductions in symptoms of anxiety and depression; however, prenatal yoga only significantly outperformed TAU on reduction of negative affect.

Individual differences in cognitive control processes and their relationship to emotion regulation

Cognitive control and emotional control share many similarities, but the specific relationship between these processes is not well understood. This study explored the relationship between three types of cognitive control (working memory updating, response inhibition and set-shifting) and two emotional regulation strategies (expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal). Corrugator electromyography, behaviour and self-reports of affect were measured as indices of emotion regulation. Results indicate that working memory updating predicted negative affect reduction during reappraisal and during expressive suppression. This study specifically shows that the working memory component of cognitive control is associated with negative affect reduction. Response inhibition and set-shifting were not specifically related to negative affect reduction, but these variables did predict aspects of emotional behaviour and regulation. These results suggest a general role for cognitive control in some aspects of emotion regulation as well as a specific modulatory role for working memory updating in the regulation of negative affect.

X good things in life: Processing fluency effects in the “Three good things in life” exercise

The present study examined whether difficulty of recollection may influence the effectiveness of the “Three good things in life” exercise that has previously been shown to increase happiness. Participants were randomly assigned to write 1–10 good things that happened to them during the day in the course of two weeks. We measured life satisfaction, positive and negative affect before the exercise and three times after the exercise. We found no effect of the number of good things participants wrote each day. Life satisfaction and positive affect of participants did not increase after the two weeks of the exercise, but we found a reduction in negative affect. We further investigated various aspects of the exercise in exploratory analyses.

Light treatment improves sleep quality and negative affectiveness in high arctic residents during winter.

The seasonal extremes of photoperiod in the high Arctic place particular strain on the human circadian system, which leads to trouble sleeping and increased feelings of negative affect in the winter months. To qualify for our study, potential participants had to have been at Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert (82° 30' 00″ N) for at least 2 weeks. Subjects filled out questionnaires regarding sleep difficulty, psychological well-being and mood and wore Actigraphs to obtain objective sleep data. Saliva was collected at regular intervals on two occasions, 2 weeks apart, to measure melatonin and assess melatonin onset. Individuals with a melatonin rhythm that was in disaccord with their sleep schedule were given individualized daily light treatment interventions based on their pretreatment salivary melatonin profile. The light treatment prescribed to seven of the twelve subjects was effective in improving sleep quality both subjectively, based on questionnaire results, and objectively, based on the actigraphic data. The treatment also caused a significant reduction in negative affect among the participants. Since the treatment is noninvasive and has minimal associated side effects, our results support the use of the light visors at CFS Alert and other northern outposts during the winter for individuals who are experiencing sleep difficulty or low mood.

Validating pain communication: current state of the science.

There is growing recognition that pain communication is important, and the way that people (e.g. partners, healthcare providers) respond to patients sharing their pain-related thoughts and feelings may have significant implications for pain-related outcomes[8]. One potentially important factor that has been relatively understudied until recently is the level of validation that may or may not be provided by people who are the recipients of a pain communication [4]. Many patients with chronic pain believe that others do not understand their pain or even consider their pain condition to be legitimate[9], beliefs which are likely to lead to increases in psychological distress and negative affect. It is possible that validation of pain-related thoughts and feelings for these patients may lead to reductions in negative affect. Furthermore, validation from a romantic partner may enhance relationship intimacy, which is related to several positive benefits (e.g. increased positive affect, improved psychological well-being) [10; 11]. Despite the potential benefits of validation, some research suggests that receiving social reinforcement (including validation) after sharing pain-related thoughts and feelings may be associated with worse patient outcomes such as increased pain[22]. This paper highlights studies examining the effects of validation of pain-related thoughts and feelings. It is divided into four sections. In the first section, we describe the concept of validation. The second section describes several theories that attempt to explain the impact of validation on patient outcomes (e.g. affect, report of pain intensity). In the third section, we review a number of studies examining validation and invalidation in the context of pain. In the final section of the paper, we highlight several important future directions for research on the influence of validation on chronic pain.

Neural indicators of emotion regulation via acceptance vs reappraisal in remitted major depressive disorder.

Mood disorders are characterized by impaired emotion regulation abilities, reflected in alterations in frontolimbic brain functioning during regulation. However, little is known about differences in brain function when comparing regulatory strategies. Reappraisal and emotional acceptance are effective in downregulating negative affect, and are components of effective depression psychotherapies. Investigating neural mechanisms of reappraisal vs emotional acceptance in remitted major depressive disorder (rMDD) may yield novel mechanistic insights into depression risk and prevention. Thirty-seven individuals (18 rMDD, 19 controls) were assessed during a functional magnetic resonance imaging task requiring reappraisal, emotional acceptance or no explicit regulation while viewing sad images. Lower negative affect was reported following reappraisal than acceptance, and was lower following acceptance than no explicit regulation. In controls, the acceptance > reappraisal contrast revealed greater activation in left insular cortex and right prefrontal gyrus, and less activation in several other prefrontal regions. Compared with controls, the rMDD group had greater paracingulate and right midfrontal gyrus (BA 8) activation during reappraisal relative to acceptance. Compared with reappraisal, acceptance is associated with activation in regions linked to somatic and emotion awareness, although this activation is associated with less reduction in negative affect. Additionally, a history of MDD moderated these effects.

Hormones and ethics: Understanding the biological basis of unethical conduct.

Globally, fraud has been rising sharply over the last decade, with current estimates placing financial losses at greater than $3.7 trillion annually. Unfortunately, fraud prevention has been stymied by lack of a clear and comprehensive understanding of its underlying causes and mechanisms. In this paper, we focus on an important but neglected topic--the biological antecedents and consequences of unethical conduct--using salivary collection of hormones (testosterone and cortisol). We hypothesized that preperformance cortisol levels would interact with preperformance levels of testosterone to regulate cheating behavior in 2 studies. Further, based on the previously untested cheating-as-stress-reduction hypothesis, we predicted a dose-response relationship between cheating and reductions in cortisol and negative affect. Taken together, this research marks the first foray into the possibility that endocrine-system activity plays an important role in the regulation of unethical behavior.

Effects of physical exercise on depressive symptoms and biomarkers in depression.

Regular physical exercise/activity has been shown repeatedly to promote positive benefits in cognitive, emotional and motor domains concomitant with reductions in distress and negative affect. It exerts a preventative role in anxiety and depressive states and facilitates psychological well-being in both adolescents and adults. Not least, several meta-analyses attest to improvements brought about by exercise. In the present treatise, the beneficial effects of exercise upon cognitive, executive function and working memory, emotional, self-esteem and depressed mood, motivational, anhedonia and psychomotor retardation, and somatic/physical, sleep disturbances and chronic aches and pains, categories of depression are discussed. Concurrently, the amelioration of several biomarkers associated with depressive states: hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis homeostasis, anti-neurodegenerative effects, monoamine metabolism regulation and neuroimmune functioning. The notion that physical exercise may function as "scaffolding" that buttresses available network circuits, anti-inflammatory defences and neuroreparative processes, e.g. brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), holds a certain appeal.

Posttraumatic stress symptoms and cognitive-based smoking processes among trauma-exposed, treatment-seeking smokers: the role of dysphoria.

Despite the co-occurrence and clinically significant relationship between trauma exposure and smoking, there is little understanding of the mechanisms underlying the posttraumatic stress symptoms-smoking relationship. This study examined whether dysphoria (ie, a psychopathologic symptom dimension that reflects depression's core affective, cognitive, and psychomotor features) accounted for the covariance between posttraumatic stress symptom severity and an array of smoking processes among trauma-exposed daily smokers. Participants (n = 189; 47.6% female; Mage = 41.15; SD = 12.47) were trauma-exposed, treatment-seeking daily cigarette smokers who completed measures of posttraumatic stress symptom severity, dysphoria, and 4 cognitive-based smoking processes that interfere with smoking cessation-avoidance/inflexibility to smoking, perceived barriers to smoking cessation, negative affect reduction motivation for smoking, and negative affect reduction/negative reinforcement expectancies from smoking. Dysphoria indirectly and significantly accounted for the relationship between posttraumatic stress symptom severity and smoking outcomes. The present results provide initial empirical support that dysphoria accounts for the covariance between posttraumatic symptom severity and various clinically relevant smoking variables in trauma-exposed, treatment-seeking smokers. The findings suggest the potential importance of targeting dysphoria during smoking cessation among trauma-exposed individuals.

Is cognitive bias modification training truly beneficial for adolescents?

Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) has been shown to change interpretation biases commonly associated with anxiety and depression and may help ameliorate symptoms of these disorders. However, its evidence base for adolescents is scarce. Previous results have been hard to interpret because of methodological issues. In particular, many studies have used negative bias training as the control condition. This would tend to inflate any apparent benefits of CBM compared to a neutral control. Most studies also only examined the effects of a single training session and lacked follow-up assessment or ecologically valid outcome measures. Seventy-four adolescents, aged 16-18 years, were randomised to two sessions of CBM training or neutral control. Interpretation bias and mood were assessed three times: at baseline, immediately post-training and 1 week post-training. A controlled experimental stressor was also used, and responses to everyday stressors were recorded for 1 week after training to assess responses to psychological challenges. Feedback for the training programme was collected. The CBM group reported a greater reduction in negative affect than control participants. However, other hypothesised advantages of CBM were not demonstrated. Regardless of training group, participants reported increased positive interpretations, decreased negative interpretations, reduced depressive symptoms and no change in trait anxiety. The two groups did not differ in their stress reactivity. After controlling for group differences in training performance, all the mood effects disappeared. When tested under stringent experimental conditions the effects of CBM in healthy adolescents appear to be minimal. Future studies should concentrate on participants with elevated cognitive biases and/or mood symptoms who may be more sensitive to CBM.

Partner validation in chronic pain couples

In this issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Pain, Edlund and o-workers introduce a novel perspective to the management of hronic pain, namely the role of validation from the partners of eople struggling with chronic pain [1]. Through an experimental ithin-groups design, the authors aim to investigate how a brief alidation training of the partner without pain would influence pain nd emotions in the partner with pain. The study, which included 0 couples where the partners without pain received a brief valiation training, did indeed show that the training was successful n increasing validating responses, which again were followed by a ecrease in negative affect in the partner with pain. It has long been known that chronic pain takes a toll on the pouse of the chronic pain sufferer as well as the person suffering rom chronic pain [2]. Deterioration of the marital relationship is nfortunately a common consequence of long-lasting pain, with ole changes and decreased sexual activity as contributing factors 3]. Few intervention studies on chronic pain have focused their fforts on the couple interaction itself, and even fewer, if any, have argeted partner validation specifically. The study by Edlund et al. hus contributes with much needed knowledge about a novel angle o include in pain treatments. The main effect of the validation training appeared to involve reduction in negative affect, as reported by the chronic pain ufferer. As mentioned by the authors, this is concordant with he theoretical rationale behind partner validation, which is the ntimacy models of interaction [4]. In contrast to operant models f pain, where solicitous responses from the spouse are considred likely reinforcers of dysfunction, intimacy models postulate hat one particular response style, namely validation of emotional isclosure, has great potential to facilitate pain adjustment and ealthy emotional regulation [4]. Validating responses differeniates from other pain communication and pain behaviour by ommunicating understanding, legitimacy and acceptance. Since hronic pain patients often live in intimate relationship with a artner, involving the partner with a targeted intervention may epresent an untapped potential in treatment. Biopsychosocial

Yoga in public school improves adolescent mood and affect.

The purpose of the present study was to directly compare the acute effects of participating in a single yoga class versus a single standard physical education (PE) class on student mood. Forty-seven high school students completed self-report questionnaires assessing mood and affect immediately before and after participating in a single yoga class and a single PE class one week later. Data were analyzed using paired-samples t tests and Wilcoxon-signed ranks tests and by comparing effect sizes between the two conditions. Participants reported significantly greater decreases in anger, depression, and fatigue from before to after participating in yoga compared to PE. Significant reductions in negative affect occurred after yoga but not after PE; however, the changes were not significantly different between conditions. In addition, after participating in both yoga and PE, participants reported significant decreases in confusion and tension, with no significant difference between groups. Results suggest that school-based yoga may provide unique benefits for students above and beyond participation in PE. Future research should continue to elucidate the distinct psychological and physiological effects of participating in yoga compared to PE activities.

Positive affect moderates the effect of negative affect on cardiovascular disease-related hospitalizations and all-cause mortality after cardiac rehabilitation.

Little is known as to whether negative emotions adversely impact the prognosis of patients who undergo cardiac rehabilitation. We prospectively investigated the predictive value of state negative affect (NA) assessed at discharge from cardiac rehabilitation for prognosis and the moderating role of positive affect (PA) on the effect of NA on outcomes. A total of 564 cardiac patients (62.49 ± 11.51) completed a comprehensive three-month outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program, filling in the Global Mood Scale (GMS) at discharge. The combined endpoint was cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related hospitalizations plus all-cause mortality at follow-up. Cox regression models estimated the predictive value of NA, as well as the moderating influence of PA on outcomes. Survival models were adjusted for sociodemographic factors, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, and severity of disease. During a mean follow-up period of 3.4 years, 71 patients were hospitalized for a CVD-related event and 15 patients died. NA score (range 0-20) was a significant and independent predictor (hazard ratio (HR) 1.091, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.012-1.175; p = 0.023) with a three-point higher level in NA increasing the relative risk by 9.1%. Furthermore, PA interacted significantly with NA (p < 0.001). The relative risk of poor prognosis with NA was increased in patients with low PA (p = 0.012) but remained unchanged in combination with high PA (p = 0.12). The combination of NA with low PA was particularly predictive of poor prognosis. Whether reduction of NA and increase of PA, particularly in those with high NA, improves outcome needs to be tested.

Influence of Experience Level on Physical Activity During Interactive Video Gaming.

The ability of interactive video games (IVGs) to individualize physical demands influences their viability as a physical activity option. This study examined the influence of experience level on activity levels and affect resulting from playing a martial arts IVG. Twenty participants completed 3 15-minute trials: (1) walking, (2) IVG with no previous experience (INEXP), and (3) IVG activity after 2 hours of practice (EXP) during which heart rate (HR), step counts, metabolic equivalents of task (METs), ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), session RPE, and affect (positive/negative affect, enjoyment) were measured. Mean HR was lower during walking (107 ± 18 bpm) than during INEXP (131 ± 25 bpm) and EXP (120 ± 20 bpm). Peak HR and session RPE were lower for walking than for INEXP and EXP. No difference in mean HR was observed between IVG conditions, but peak HR and session RPE were lower for EXP than for INEXP. Walking resulted in greater postactivity reduction of negative affect; however, the IVG conditions were perceived as more enjoyable. Although the current IVG provided a greater exercise stimulus than walking, results suggest that user movements become more efficient with greater IVG experience and that exercise outcomes may decrease as a result.

Posttraumatic stress symptoms and tobacco abstinence effects in a non-clinical sample: evaluating the mediating role of negative affect reduction smoking expectancies.

The relation between posttraumatic stress symptoms and smoking is well documented but poorly understood. The present investigation sought to evaluate the impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms on subjective and behavioral tobacco abstinence effects both directly and indirectly through negative affect reduction smoking outcome expectancies. Participants included 275 (68.7% male; Mage =43.9, 10+ cig/day) adult non-treatment seeking smokers, who attended two counterbalanced laboratory sessions (16 h of smoking deprivation vs ad libitum smoking), during which they completed self-report measures of withdrawal symptoms and mood followed by a smoking lapse task in which they could earn money for delaying smoking and purchase cigarettes to smoke. Results supported a mediational pathway whereby higher baseline symptoms of posttraumatic stress predicted greater endorsement of expectancies that smoking will effectively reduce negative affect, which in turn predicted greater abstinence-provoked exacerbations in nicotine withdrawal symptoms and negative affect. Posttraumatic stress symptoms also predicted number of cigarettes purchased independent of negative affect reduction expectancies, but did not predict delaying smoking for money. Findings highlight tobacco abstinence effects as a putative mechanism underlying posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-smoking comorbidity, indicate an important mediating role of beliefs for smoking-induced negative affect reduction, and shed light on integrated treatment approaches for these two conditions.

Indirect effects of smoking motives on adolescent anger dysregulation and smoking

Cigarette smoking is one of the leading causes of disease and death in the United States, and smoking typically begins in adolescence. It is therefore important to understand factors that relate to increased risk for cigarette smoking during this stage of development. Adolescence is a period when emotion regulatory capacities are still emerging and a common affective state to be regulated is anger, which adult research has linked to nicotine use. Drawing from work suggesting that negative affect reduction motives are one of the most common reasons for cigarette smoking, the current study was designed to evaluate the indirect effects of negative affect reduction motives on the relation between anger dysregulation and nicotine use within a sample of 119 treatment-seeking adolescents enrolled in group-based residential therapy. Results were generally consistent with hypotheses, suggesting significant indirect effects of negative affect reduction smoking motives on the relation between anger dysregulation and smoking outcomes. Findings are discussed in terms of negative affect reduction motives for cigarette use in the context of anger regulation among youths.

The affective response to health-related information and its relationship to health anxiety: An ambulatory approach

Affective reactions to health-related information play a central role in health anxiety. Therefore, using ambulatory assessment, we analysed the time course of negative affect in a control group (CG, n = 60) which only rated their negative affect and an experimental group (EG, n = 97) which also rated the presence of somatic symptoms (e.g., back pain). By means of mixed regression models, we observed a decline of negative affect following the symptom self-ratings in the EG and a stable affect in the CG. The decline of negative affect was not moderated by the degree of health anxiety. Our findings might indicate that evaluating one's health status leads to a general reduction of negative affect in healthy individuals. The results of the study are in line with a bidirectional symptom perception model and underline the crucial role of affect regulation in the processing of health-related information.

Psychophysiological reactions to music in male coronary patients and healthy controls

The study aimed to present a comparative account of psychophysiological responses to music-listening in male coronary patients and healthy controls. The stimulus material was a slow-paced, taped rāga Desi-Todi played on a flute. The participants listened to music for 30 minutes a day for 20 days. Pre- and post-treatment procedure was adopted for assessment on psychophysiological measures. The study supports the following conclusions: (1) music-listening produces significant decreases in the blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic) and heart rate of coronary patients but has no significant effect in healthy controls; (2) music-listening reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, enhances life satisfaction, optimism and hope, and makes life more meaningful in both coronary patients and healthy controls; (3) the effects of music listening, that is, reduction in negative affect, enhancement of positive affect, and decrease in blood pressure and heart rate, are more intense in coronary patients than healthy controls.

Negative affect and smoking motives sequentially mediate the effect of panic attacks on tobacco-relevant processes

Introduction: Empirical work has documented a robust and consistent relation between panic attacks and smoking behavior. Theoretical models posit smokers with panic attacks may rely on smoking to help them manage chronically elevated negative affect due to uncomfortable bodily states, which may explain higher levels of nicotine dependence and quit problems. Methods: The current study examined the effects of panic attack history on nicotine dependence, perceived barriers for quitting, smoking inflexibility when emotionally distressed, and expired carbon monoxide among 461 treatment-seeking smokers. A multiple mediator path model was evaluated to examine the indirect effects of negative affect and negative affect reduction motives as mediators of the panic attack-smoking relations. Results: Panic attack history was indirectly related to greater levels of nicotine dependence (b = 0.039, CI95% = 0.008, 0.097), perceived barriers to smoking cessation (b = 0.195, CI95% = 0.043, 0.479), smoking inflexibility/avoidance when emotionally distressed (b = 0.188, CI95% = 0.041, 0.445), and higher levels of expired carbon monoxide (b = 0.071, CI95% = 0.010, 0.230) through the sequential effects of negative affect and negative affect smoking motives. Conclusions: The present results provide empirical support for the sequential mediating role of negative affect and smoking motives for negative affect reduction in the relation between panic attacks and a variety of smoking variables in treatment-seeking smokers. These mediating variables are likely important processes to address in smoking cessation treatment, especially in panic-vulnerable smokers.

Multiple Facets of Problematic Anger Among Regular Smokers: Exploring Associations With Smoking Motives and Cessation Difficulties

Research has implicated problematic anger in multiple smoking outcomes, including nicotine dependence and difficulties with cessation. However, the mechanisms underlying the role of anger in smoking behavior and cessation difficulties remain unclear. The current study examined associations between different facets of anger with smoking motives, problematic symptoms during past quit attempts, reasons for quitting, and perceived barriers to cessation. Current smokers (N = 93) were administered measures assessing the relevant constructs. After controlling for gender and negative affectivity, greater trait anger was uniquely related to more severe symptoms during past cessation attempts, perceived internal and external barriers to cessation, social influence reasons for quitting, and negative affect reduction and sensorimotor smoking motivations. These findings add uniquely to the literature on anger and smoking and suggest anger plays a role in everyday smoking behavior. Smokers with problematic anger might benefit from treatment focused on reducing anger and improving interpersonal functioning. Reducing trait anger may help reduce problematic symptoms during quitting, making relapse less likely.