Negative Appraisals Research Articles

Indigeneity in Context—Evolving Maya Ch’orti’ Notions of Cultural Identity: A Qualitative Study From 1993 to 2019

The Maya Ch’orti’ people are Indigenous to the border regions of Honduras and Guatemala. For a great number of years, they have faced structural racism and discrimination combined with continued land dispossession. In the contexts of colonization and the creation of the modern Honduran state, any identification with Indigenous groups has generally had negative connotations. Since the advent of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Discourses (IPRD), however, more communities have actively aligned with the Maya Ch’orti’ people. In our investigation of the ways in which cultural identity and belonging to a Maya Ch’orti’ community have shifted and evolved over time, we analyzed a total of 45 interview transcripts across three time points (1990s: n = 15, 2003–2004: n = 15, and 2018–2019: n = 15) using thematic analysis and a cross–data set analysis. Five major themes were developed: “Our land,” “In the past, we were oppressed and ashamed,” “Difficult present life: We are still oppressed,” “Maya Ch’orti’ revitalization and empowerment,” and “Being Indigenous.” As we compared these themes across our time points, it became apparent that notions of cultural identity have evolved in the Maya Ch’orti’ community from a negative appraisal to a positive, empowered, and confident notion. Our findings are being discussed in connection to the context of the IPRD and Indigenous peoples in other countries.

Intrusive Thoughts and Images in Health Anxiety: Rates, Characteristics, and Responses.

Intrusive thoughts and images in Health Anxiety are poorly understood. The current study aims to explore the rates and nature of health-related intrusive thoughts and images in people with and without Health Anxiety. We used a cross-sectional interview and survey design recruiting 82 participants (Health Anxiety: n = 37; control: n = 45). Participants completed a diagnostic and clinical interview, and questionnaires to assess experiences and appraisals of intrusive thoughts and images about health. Experiencing an intrusive thought or image was common in both groups (Health Anxiety: 89.2%, control: 55.6%). However, the Health Anxiety group reported their intrusive thoughts as more frequent, more distressing, and associated them with more negative emotions than controls. Further, the Health Anxiety group had increased negative appraisals and specific maladaptive behaviours for both intrusive thoughts and intrusive images compared to controls. We conclude that, relative to controls, individuals with Health Anxiety experience intrusive thoughts and images more intensely and negatively, have more dysfunctional appraisals of them, and are more likely to respond to them with specific maladaptive behaviours. As such, addressing intrusive thoughts and images as part of cognitive behavioural interventions for Health Anxiety is warranted.

Sex Differences in Coping Strategies and Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Taiwanese Police Officers

This study compares Taiwanese male and female police officers’ work stress and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data derived from 1,329 male and 225 female police officers between May and July 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was found that male officers experienced more family-work stress than their female colleagues. Male officers were more likely to engage in avoidance coping and used humor to cope with stress. On the contrary, female officers were more inclined to adopt emotion regulation strategies and distraction to cope with stress. Supervisor support was found to be positively associated with officers’ well-being and negatively connected with officers’ stress. Humor and self-distraction were found to be positively associated with officers’ well-being, whereas avoidance and negative stressor appraisal of COVID-19 were negatively connected with well-being. Policy implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Alexithymia and illness perceptions in persons with multiple sclerosis and their partners

Illness perceptions (IPs) encompass opinions regarding the nature, severity and curability of a disease. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between alexithymia and IPs among persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and their partners, as well as within the dyads composed of PwMS and partners. PwMS referred to the Multiple Sclerosis Center of the University Hospital “Policlinico-San Marco” from 11th August 2021 to 7th January 2022 and their partners completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 and the Illness Perception Questionnaire Revised. A dyadic data analysis (Actor-Partner Interdependence Model) was performed to test the effect of alexithymic traits both on a person’s own illness perceptions (actor effect) and on the partner’s illness perceptions (partner effect). 100 PwMS (71 women; mean age 47.6 ± 10.4 years) and 100 partners (29 women; mean age 49.1 ± 10.8 years), with a mean partnership duration of 20.1 ± 11.7 years, were enrolled. At the dyadic analysis, statistically significant small-to-moderate actor and partner effects were found considering alexithymia (total score and alexithymic facets) and IPs, whereby higher alexithymic traits related to higher negative perceptions (i.e. consequences, emotional representations) and lower positive ones (i.e. coherence, treatment control). Our findings support the relationship between alexithymia and negative illness appraisals. This data may inform therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing alexithymic traits, which in turn may reduce negative, and potentially dysfunctional, illness perceptions.

Cognitive and affective links between childhood adversity and psychological adjustment in emerging adults with chronic medical conditions.

Childhood adversity has been linked to poor psychological adjustment and decreased emotion regulation (ER) abilities. The extended process model of ER outlines the pivotal role of cognitive appraisals in the generation and expression of emotion as well as the pursuit of ER. The aim of the current study is to examine whether illness-related cognitive appraisals (i.e., illness uncertainty and illness intrusiveness) and emotion dysregulation serially mediate the relationship between childhood adversity and psychological adjustment for emerging adults with chronic medical conditions (CMCs). Participants included 557 undergraduate college students (Mage= 19.53 years, SD = 1.34) enrolled in a Midwestern public university with self-reported CMCs. Participants completed measures of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), illness uncertainty, illness intrusiveness, emotion dysregulation, anxious symptoms, and depressive symptoms. A path analysis was conducted examining ACEs → cognitive appraisals (i.e., illness uncertainty, illness intrusiveness) → emotion dysregulation → depressive and anxious symptoms. The overall model was significant and predicted 63.5% of the variability in anxious symptoms and 60.2% of the variability in depressive symptoms. All anticipated direct and indirect paths were significant. The current study indicates that greater childhood adversity is indeed associated with negative appraisals of one's CMC, such as greater perceived uncertainty and intrusiveness. Negative illness-related cognitive appraisals thus may limit one's ability to effectively employ adaptive strategies to regulate emotions, which could contribute to greater depressive and anxious symptoms.

Quality of Life and Appraisal Factors of Patients with Advanced Cancer and Their Family Caregivers.

Purpose Few existing interventions have effectively improved the quality of life (QOL) for patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers, partly due to limited research on the factors associated with QOL. Guided by an adapted stress-coping model, this study aimed to examine the associations between the QOL of cancer patients and their caregivers and their primary and secondary appraisals. Primary appraisals involve perceptions and evaluations of advanced cancer and related caregiving, while secondary appraisals relate to their available resources and coping capabilities. Methods Using multi-level modeling, we conducted a secondary analysis of the baseline data collected from a randomized clinical trial that examined the effects of a family-based, psychoeducational support program for patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers (N = 362 dyads). Results The appraisal variables hypothesized in the adapted stress-coping model explained 74.14% of the variance in the QOL of patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers when controlling for demographics and other disease-related variables. Better QOL in patients and caregivers was associated with less negative appraisals of illness/caregiving, less uncertainty and hopelessness, less avoidant coping strategies, more family support, more health behaviors, higher self-efficacy, and more active coping strategies. Conclusion Our study highlights the significant impact that advanced cancer has on patients and their caregivers' perceptions, responses to the illness, and QOL. It also highlights that effective interventions may need to target illness/caregiving appraisals, uncertainty, hopelessness, family support, health behaviors, self-efficacy, and coping strategies tailored to patient and caregiver needs.

Language teachers’ emotions in online classrooms: Relations among teachers’ appraisals of classroom events, emotional responses, and instructional practices

Drawing upon Frenzel’s (2014) framework of appraisals, the current study explored language teachers’ emotional experiences and their antecedents in the online teaching context. Moreover, the interrelations between teachers’ emotions and their instructional practices were also investigated. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eleven language teachers from a top-tier international university in China. Our findings revealed that positive appraisals of online classroom events, including goal attainment, the capacity in and responsibility of effectively delivering lessons online, and the importance teachers attached to online teaching, tended to result in positive emotional experiences, which consequently led to motivational stimulations in more creative and productive instructional practices. By contrast, teachers who had negative appraisals of online teaching events tended to experience more unpleasant emotions and emotional vulnerability, which would possibly impede effective instructional practices and steer their teaching towards more traditional teaching methods. Our study contributes to the understanding of the relations among teachers’ appraisals of classroom events, emotional experiences, and instructional practices in online language classrooms. Implications for how to prepare teachers emotionally for online teaching are also discussed.

A comparison of challenging and positive caregiving experiences for caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia spectrum and bipolar disorders

BackgroundCaregivers of people with serious mental illness experience challenges that may affect their mental health. Few researchers have explored whether positive or negative caregiver experiences differ due to disorder characteristics of the person receiving care. We aimed to determine whether caregiver appraisals and psychological functioning differed between caregivers of those diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum (SSD) and bipolar disorder (BD). MethodsCaregivers of people with SSD and BD participated in an online self-report survey assessing appraisals, distress, anxiety, depression, and psychological wellbeing. Independent samples t-tests and multivariate generalised linear models determined group differences, and Pearson correlation coefficients and Fisher z-score transformations determined differences in the strength of correlations between groups. Results108 caregivers participated in the study. Caregivers of people with SSD reported significantly greater negative appraisals of the care recipient's negative symptoms and dependency. Caregivers did not differ on positive appraisals. Both groups reported moderate distress, mild anxiety and depression, and moderate psychological wellbeing, but did not differ. Higher negative caregiver appraisals were more strongly associated with higher distress, anxiety and depression, and lower psychological wellbeing, for caregivers of those with SSD than BD. LimitationsSmall between group sample sizes, and analyses may have been moderated by significant demographic differences between groups. ConclusionsCaregivers can experience difficulties associated with their role, and some differences may be attributed to the care recipient's disorder. Future research and interventions should consider specific disorder characteristics, such as symptom profiles, to better support caregivers in having their specific needs addressed whilst themselves providing care.

Interplay among attention, appraisal, and memory bias in provisional posttraumatic stress disorder: Exploring the combined cognitive biases hypothesis.

Both theoretical and empirical studies suggest that negative cognitive biases significantly influence the onset and persistence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, the interplay among these cognitive biases and their conjoint contribution to the long-term trajectory of posttraumatic stress symptoms remains underexplored. This study delves into the interplay among attention, appraisal, and memory biases within a provisional PTSD population and evaluates the predictive effects of two integrative models (weakest link, additive approach) on posttraumatic stress symptoms reported 2 months later. Sixty Chinese participants (Mage = 20.17, SDage = 2.11) with provisional PTSD undertook the scrambled sentences test (appraisal bias) with their eye movements recorded (attention bias) and then the free recall task (memory bias). Posttraumatic stress symptom was assessed at baseline and 2-month follow-up. Selective attention bias toward negative words was positively associated with the negative appraisal of scrambled sentences, which subsequently showed a strong association with negative memory bias. Regarding the progression of posttraumatic stress symptoms, the additive approach was found to be a more reliable predictor of self-reported posttraumatic stress symptoms at 2 months than the weak link approach. This study provides initial evidence supporting the combined cognitive biases hypothesis in provisional PTSD. It also underscores potential avenues to enhance cognitive bias modification techniques. Replication of these findings in broader clinical samples is essential. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Predictive models of post-traumatic stress disorder, complex post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety in children and adolescents following a single-event trauma.

This study examined the power of theory-derived models to account for the development of PTSD, Complex PTSD (CPTSD), depression, and anxiety in children and adolescents who had experienced a single-event trauma. Children (n = 234, aged 8-17 years) recruited from local Emergency Departments were assessed at two and nine weeks post-trauma. Data obtained from self-report questionnaires completed by the child, telephone interviews with parents, and hospital data were used to develop four predictive models of risk factors for PTSD, CPTSD, depression, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). ICD-11 proposed diagnostic criteria were used to generate measures for CPTSD and PTSD to assess for risk factors and identify the sample prevalence of these disorders. At nine weeks post-trauma, 64% did not meet criteria for any disorder, 23.5% met criteria for PTSD, and 5.2% met criteria for CPTSD. 23.9% and 10.7% had developed clinically significant symptoms of depression and GAD, respectively. A cognitive model was the most powerful predictive model, a psychosocial model was weak, and subjective markers of event severity were more powerful than objective measures. Youth exposed to single-incident trauma may develop different forms of psychopathology, and PTSD and CPTSD are frequently experienced alongside other conditions. The cognitive model of PTSD shows utility in identifying predictors of PTSD, CPTSD, depression, and GAD, particularly the role of trauma-related negative appraisals. This supports the application of cognitive interventions which focus upon re-appraising trauma-related beliefs in youth.

Exploring stigma, shame, and safety behaviours in social anxiety and paranoia amongst people diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Social anxiety and paranoia are connected by a shared suspicion framework. Based on cognitive-behavioural approaches, there is evidence for treating social anxiety and psychosis. However, mechanisms underlying the relationship between social anxiety and paranoia remain unclear. To investigate mediators between social anxiety and paranoia in schizophrenia such as negative social appraisals (i.e. stigma or shame; Hypothesis 1), and safety behaviours (i.e. anxious avoidance or in situ safety behaviours; Hypothesis 2). A cross-sectional study was conducted among Asian out-patients with schizophrenia (January-April 2020). Data on social anxiety, paranoia, depression, shame, stigma, anxious avoidance, and in situ behaviours were collected. Associations between social anxiety and paranoia were investigated using linear regressions. Mediation analysis via 10,000 bias-corrected bootstrap samples with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was used to test the indirect effects (ab) of mediators. Participants (n=113, 59.3% male) with a mean age of 44.2 years were recruited. A linear relationship between social anxiety and paranoia was found. In multiple mediation analyses (co-varying for depression), stigma and shame (Hypothesis 1) did not show any significant indirect effects with ab=.004 (95%CI=-.013, .031) and -.003 (-.023, .017), respectively, whereas in situ behaviours (Hypothesis 2) showed a significant effect with ab=.110 (.038, .201) through the social anxiety-paranoia relationship. Social anxiety and paranoia are positively correlated. In situ safety behaviours fully mediated the social anxiety and paranoia relationship. Targeted interventions focusing on safety behaviours could help reduce paranoia in psychosis. Symptom severity should be measured to help characterise the participants' characteristics.

Unravelling the impact of prior depression and trauma-related cognitive processes on depression following trauma: A 2-year prospective study of burn survivors

ObjectiveIndividuals with severe burn injuries may develop depression, yet knowledge about psychological risk factors for depression following trauma is limited. This study investigated the prospective impact and interplay of prior depression and trauma-related cognitive processes (posttraumatic negative appraisals and trauma-related rumination) to depressive symptoms between 6 and 24 months after burn injury. MethodTaiwanese adult survivors of burn (N = 118) participated in surveys immediately post-burn and at 6-, 12-, and 24-months follow-up. Participants were 7 5% men, with an average age of 41.8 years and an average of TBSA of 18.3%. ResultsA total of 8.5%, 5.9%, and 4.2% met criteria for probable major depression at 6, 12, and 24 months post-burn, respectively. The prevalence increased to 23.7%, 11.0%, and 5.9% using the cutoff on the PHQ-9. Prior depression and trauma-related cognitive processes immediately post-burn explained 13.5%, 20.5%, and 18.6% of the variance in depressive symptoms at 6, 12, and 24 months post-burn, respectively. Posttraumatic negative appraisals strongly predicted depressive symptoms post-burn across follow-ups. Moreover, posttraumatic negative appraisals significantly mediated the effect of prior depression on subsequent depressive symptoms across follow-ups. Prior depression significantly moderated the effect of trauma-related rumination on depressive symptoms at 6 months post-burn. ConclusionsOur results are the first to demonstrate the role and interplay of prior depression and trauma-related cognitive processes in post-burn depression. Findings highlight that pre-and post-trauma psychological factors jointly affect depression following trauma, broadening the applicability of cognitive theories of PTSD.

Foreign Language Learners' Uncertainty Experiences and Uncertainty Management.

Uncertainty is unavoidable in life; it is also an indispensable characteristic of educational settings. The process of learning a foreign language naturally involves interaction and coconstruction of knowledge. During this process, students may encounter uncertainty from a variety of sources, including the course, context, friends, or the teacher. Besides, to communicate meaningfully, the mutual effort of both the listener and the speaker is needed to deal with uncertainty. Considering this, the present study makes an effort to comprehend how learners appreciate and manage uncertainty in language learning environments. Although uncertainty is considered a multidisciplinary research topic, a limited number of studies are found in the literature which examine how students experience uncertainty and how they react to it. Regarding foreign language learning, related research focused on a specific form of uncertainty, Tolerance of Ambiguity, which is conceptualized as a cognitive style. In-class pen-and-paper surveys, reflective journals, video recordings, and stimulated recall interviews were the instruments used to gather data. The findings demonstrate that language learners frequently encounter uncertainty during the language learning process due to course-related, cognitive, and social factors, and learners may appreciate uncertainty in both positive and negative ways. Additionally, learners' emotional reactions to uncertainty depend on their positive or negative appraisals of uncertain situations. By recognizing and embracing uncertainty, language learners will adapt to it and be able to handle it through a variety of techniques. The results suggest that learners employ a variety of strategies, such as reducing, maintaining, and resolving uncertainty as well as ignoring uncertainty.

Do psychological treatments for PTSD in children and young people reduce trauma-related appraisals? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Research is increasingly highlighting the role of negative trauma-related appraisals in child and adolescent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The cognitive model of PTSD claims that an essential mechanism of treatment is a reduction in these appraisals. The current systematic review with meta-analysis investigated the extent to which psychological treatments for PTSD reduce negative trauma-related appraisals in children and adolescents. Four databases (PsycINFO, Medline Complete, CINAHL Complete and PTSDpubs) were searched on the 11–12th December 2022. The Risk of Bias 2 (ROB-2) tool was used to assess for risk of bias. Thirteen studies were included in this review, comprising 937 child and adolescent participants. Using a random effects model to perform the meta-analysis, a medium pooled effect size for the effect of current treatments on trauma-related appraisals was found (g = −.67, 95% CI [-.86, −.48]). There was only a moderate level of heterogeneity between studies (I2 = 44.4%), increasing the confidence with which these findings can be interpreted. These results indicate that psychological treatments for child and adolescent PTSD significantly reduce negative trauma-related appraisals. However, it is important to note that no trial included in the review was categorised as having low risk of bias.

Self-blame, posttraumatic stress, and cardiovascular reactivity among sexual trauma survivors.

Although trauma is closely linked with hyperarousal and cardiovascular health, little research has examined the effects of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) on cardiovascular reactivity to trauma reminders among sexual trauma survivors. One type of negative appraisal after trauma, self-blame, is common after sexual trauma, but its relation to cardiovascular reactivity is unknown. The present study aimed to examine the influence of both PTSS and self-blame on blood pressure and heart rate (HR) reactivity to a trauma reminder. Cardiovascular reactivity was measured before, during, and after a laboratory-based sexual trauma reminder among 72 young adult women who have experienced sexual trauma. Higher PTSS predicted lower diastolic blood pressure (DBP) reactivity during the trauma reminder. Higher levels of self-blame predicted higher HR and systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity during and after the trauma reminder. Overall, these findings suggest that survivors of sexual trauma with higher levels of PTSS experience a blunting reaction of DBP when exposed to trauma reminders, as opposed to a more typical cardiovascular stress reaction that may elevate and then extinguish to baseline levels. Meanwhile, individuals with higher levels of self-blame have heightened cardiovascular SBP and HR responses during trauma reminders that do not return to baseline levels, perhaps due to self-blame leading individuals to be more 'on guard' to prevent future threats. Longitudinal studies are needed to explore the potential long-term cardiovascular impacts of heightened self-blame and PTSS and their associated cardiovascular reactivity patterns.

Symptom burden and quality of life among patient and family caregiver dyads in advanced cancer.

Symptom management among patients diagnosed with advanced cancer is a high priority in clinical care that often involves the support of a family caregiver. However, limited studies have examined parallel patient and caregiver symptom burden and associations with their own and each other's quality of life (QOL). This study seeks to identify patient and caregiver symptom clusters and investigate associations between identified clusters and demographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors (cognitive appraisals and QOL). This study was a secondary analysis of self-reported baseline survey data collected from a randomized clinical trial of 484 adult advanced cancer patients and their caregivers. Latent class analysis and factor analysis were used to identify symptom clusters. Bivariate statistics tested associations between symptom clusters and demographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables. The most prevalent symptom for patients was energy loss/fatigue and for caregivers, mental distress. Low, moderate, and high symptom burden subgroups were identified at the patient, caregiver, and dyad level. Age, gender, race, income, chronic conditions, cancer type, and treatment type were associated with symptom burden subgroups. Higher symptom burden was associated with more negative appraisals of the cancer and caregiving experience, and poorer QOL (physical, social, emotional, functional, and overall QOL). Dyads whose caregivers had more chronic conditions were more likely to be in the high symptom burden subgroup. Patient and caregiver symptom burden influence their own and each other's QOL. These findings reinforce the need to approach symptom management from a dyadic perspective.

Caregiving Appraisals and Emotional Valence: Moderating Effects of Activity Participation.

The present study examines the extent to which a two-factor model of affect explains how caregiving appraisals experienced by caregivers influence their own well-being. We used data from three waves of Nation Study of Caregiving (NSOC) to conduct latent growth curve models with the time-varying predictors to investigate the effect of between-person (BP) and within-person (WP) caregiving appraisals on positive and negative affect. Furthermore, we simultaneously modeled WP differences in activity participation and affective experience with multilevel modeling. Then, we tested the moderating effect of activity participation in the association between WP caregiving appraisals and emotional valence. We found that BP and WP caregiving negative appraisal also contribute to caregiver positive affect similar to that of negative affect. Time-varying effects of negative appraisals and emotional valence are consistent with the two-factor model. Future longitudinal investigations could target WP and BP activity participation to alleviate caregiving cognitive appraisal among caregivers.

Imagery rescripting in the treatment of prolonged grief disorder: Insights, examples, and future directions

BackgroundImagery Rescripting (ImRs) has received increasing attention in the past decades. It proved to be effective in reducing symptoms associated with aversive memories in a range of mental disorders, including anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Given its proposed working mechanisms, ImRs may also be a relevant treatment strategy for prolonged grief disorder (PGD), where negative appraisals, helplessness, and unmet needs play a key role as maintaining factors. ObjectiveWe aimed to illustrate how ImRs may be used in the treatment of PGD. MethodWe present examples of clinical cases for several central themes in PGD: (1) Unfulfilled responsibilities, self-blame, and guilt; (2) Third-party failures, other-blame, and anger; (3) Unfinished businesses, troubled minds, and regrets; (4) Unsatisfactory goodbyes; (5) Emotional loneliness; 6) Shattered self-identity and reduced self-clarity. ResultsBased on the case examples, we illustrate how ImRs may be applied for each theme. ConclusionWe hope to inspire clinicians to apply and researchers to investigate ImRs as a treatment strategy for PGD.

A randomised controlled trial of the Learning Skills Together (LST) intervention to improve dementia family caregivers’ self-efficacy with complex care

BackgroundNearly two-thirds of family caregivers of persons living with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias (AD/ADRD) provide complex care, including medical care. Family caregivers typically receive little to no training on how to provide this care. Furthermore, family caregivers simultaneously grapple with the presence of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), diminished communication abilities, and comorbidities such as diabetes. We developed Learning Skills Together (LST), a 6-week digitally delivered psychoeducational program, to facilitate family caregiver abilities to administer complex care tasks. The goal of the present study is to test the efficacy of LST and to reduce adverse outcomes associated with caregiving, such as depressive symptomology and negative appraisal of BPSD.MethodsTo test the efficacy of LST, we will conduct a two-arm single-site randomized controlled trial (RCT) with N = 200 family caregivers of persons living with AD/ADRD. Eligible family caregivers will be randomly assigned to participate in either the LST intervention or a structurally equivalent control condition focused on healthy living. All family caregivers will complete four surveys, including a baseline survey administered prior to randomization, a post-intervention survey, and a 3- and 6-month follow-up survey to assess change in study outcomes. Between-group comparisons of each outcome will be evaluated using generalized estimating equation models. Mediation analyses will assess family caregiver self-efficacy as the intervention’s mechanism of change in depressive symptomology and BPSD. We will also examine caregiver race, ethnicity, and gender as effect modifiers of the intervention.DiscussionLST findings will inform the field of AD/ADRD and caregiving regarding optimally supporting family caregivers in managing complex care tasks. If efficacious, the LST intervention will support family caregivers in preserving their own mental health while providing complex care.Trial registrationClinical Trials.gov NCT05846984. This study was registered on May 6, 2023.

“You must succeed!”: The role of leader irrational language on follower irrationality.

Extant literature has shown the impact of leadership styles on followers’ cognitive, behavioural, and emotional outcomes. Irrational beliefs are a set of thoughts about oneself, others, and the world, that are rigid, extreme, illogical, and non-empirical. Literature has demonstrated that holding irrational beliefs can be detrimental to one’s well-being and performance (Ellis, David, & Lynn (2010). Rational and Irrational Beliefs: A historical and Conceptual Perspective. In Ellis, David, & Lynn (Eds). Rational and Irrational Beliefs: Research, Theory, and Clinical Practice (pp. 3-22). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.). However, the extent to which the use of irrational language by leaders can influence the irrational thoughts of followers remains unexplored. Using a performance context, this study investigated the leader-follower belief transaction and its impact on participants’ cognition and performance in a Stroop test competition. We explored the differential effects of rational vs irrational leadership language styles on psychological outcomes and performance. This is the first study to examine the effects of manipulating language styles (rational vs irrational) on followers’ irrational beliefs. We hypothesised that participants in the irrational leader condition would: (1) endorse greater performance-related irrational beliefs, (2) demonstrate a greater performance decline from baseline to competition, (3) report a greater increase in performance anxiety compared to the rational condition, (4) report a greater increase in negative appraisal towards the performance compared to the rational condition, (5) report a greater decrease in performance-related self-efficacy compared to the rational condition. We recruited 73 participants (24 ± 5 years) from undergraduate (N=49), postgraduate (N=18), and doctorate level (N=6) cohorts. Participants were recruited using convenience and snowball sampling via university platform (Moodle), SONA-system and Prolific. The participants came from MMU (N=10), Staffordshire (N=1), Salford University (N=2) and other universities (N=60). The study was granted institutional ethical approval and all participants completed informed consent before data collection. All data were collected using an online questionnaire (Qualtrics), a performance task (PsychoPy), and data were analysed using SPSS. Results demonstrate no significant between-groups differences in performance-related irrational beliefs (P = 0.158), performance-related appraisal (P = 0.640), performance anxiety (P = 0.587), self-efficacy (P = 0.392), or performance scores (P = 0.448). In other words, participants’ approach to performance was not impacted by leaders’ language style. Our null findings have several implications. First, the manipulation was not strong enough and maybe too subtle. Hence, we should consider making the language style more explicit in the next study. Secondly, it is possible that a single interaction with the leader is not enough. After all, we were observing acute responses to leadership behaviour and should consider observing the long-term effect of exposure to irrational language. Finally, the performance task was maybe deemed as not relevant or purposeful enough for the participants.