Negative Cognitive Style Research Articles

A negative cognitive style is associated with greater insomnia and depression symptoms: The mediating role of sleep reactivity.

Insomnia and depression are distinct clinical phenomena, yet they are highly comorbid. One potential explanation for the high comorbidity rates is the overlap in risk factors. Atypical responses to stress, for example, place individuals at greater risk for both insomnia and depression. The goal of the present study was to simultaneously assess vulnerability to stress-related sleep disturbance (sleep reactivity) and the tendency to make negative attributions about stressful events (negative cognitive style), and how they relate to insomnia and depression. Study participants included 224 undergraduate students recruited from a large, public university in the United States. Sleep reactivity and negative cognitive style were assessed using the Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test (FIRST) and the Cognitive Style Questionnaire (CSQ), respectively. Insomnia symptoms were assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Sleep reactivity was independently associated with greater insomnia and depression symptoms. Additionally, a negative cognitive style was related to greater depressive symptoms, and this effect was partially mediated by sleep reactivity. The current findings suggest that sleep reactivity may contribute to the development of disorders beyond insomnia. These findings further support the use of an interdisciplinary approach to investigating etiological models, and more specifically, the further exploration of how multiple stress responses (in terms of cognitions, sleep, etc.) place individuals at greater risk for developing psychopathology.

The relationships between narcissistic admiration, rivalry, and interpersonal trust in adolescents: The mediating effect of ostracism experience

Abstract Adolescent narcissism is an important issue in youth development. This study adopted a semi-longitudinal design with six-month interval to investigate the mediating effect of ostracism experience on the relationship between grandiose narcissism and interpersonal trust within the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept (NARC) model. The NARC model differentiates two facets of grandiose narcissism: narcissistic admiration and rivalry according to their distinct social strategies of maintaining a grandiose self-view. The sample consisted of 364 high school students with an average age of 16.33 years old (SD = 0.41, range = 15.50–18.58). Results showed that narcissistic admiration was positively related to interpersonal trust while narcissistic rivalry was negatively associated with interpersonal trust. Furthermore, narcissistic admiration negatively linked to ignored and exclusion, which in turn were negatively related to interpersonal trust. On the contrary, narcissistic rivalry was positively associated with ignored (not exclusion), which was further negatively related to interpersonal trust. These results support the NARC model and provide an available perspective to improve adolescents’ interpersonal relationships and mental health. Educators and parents should pay more attention to adolescents high in narcissistic rivalry and help them adjust their negative cognitive styles so as to guarantee their healthy development.

Relationships Among Callous-Unemotional Traits, Future Orientation, Optimism, and Self-Esteem in Justice-Involved Adolescents

Both negative future orientation and elevated callous-unemotional (CU) traits are well-established predictors of delinquency during adolescence. However, CU traits have been related to a grandiose self-worth, which is not consistent with a pessimistic outlook towards the future. We examined whether the association between future orientation and CU traits differs depending on whether the optimism was specific to prosocial outcomes (e.g., success with family, jobs, and education) or whether it was measured as more general optimism for success or self-esteem. We also examined the association between future orientation and CU traits controlling for the main and interactive effects of delinquency. The sample included male adolescents (n = 1216) who were arrested for the first time for a moderate level offense. Results revealed that CU traits were negatively related to future optimism and self-esteem, irrespective of whether this outcome was measured as expectations (r = −0.33, p < 0.01) and aspirations (r = −0.38, p < 0.01) for success in prosocial outcomes or as a more general indicator of optimism (r = −0.24, p < 0.01) and self-esteem (r = −0.34, p < 0.01). Further, CU traits continued to be negatively associated with an optimistic view of the future (β = −0.24, p < 0.001), even when considering both the main and interactive effects of self-reported delinquency. Thus, this negative cognitive style needs to be considered as possibly contributing to the risk for later antisocial behavior experienced by youth with elevated levels of CU traits.

Suicide Attempts in Turkish University Students: The Role of Cognitive Style, Hopelessness, Cognitive Reactivity, Rumination, Self-esteem, and Personality Traits

Suicide is one of the major public health problems in young adults. Detecting the risk factors and correlates among university students might help identify students who are under risk and who need early interventions for suicide prevention. The current study aimed to investigate the cognitive style, self-esteem, hopelessness, rumination, cognitive reactivity, and personality characteristics of Turkish university students, who previously attempted suicide and who did not. A total of 355 university students (34 previous suicide attempters) were recruited for this study, and they completed the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), the Leiden Index of Depression Sensitivity-Revised, the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), the Cognitive Style Questionnaire-Short Form (CSQ), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Higher RRS, BHS, CSQ scores and lower TIPI-A and RSES scores were significantly associated with a previous suicide attempt. Negative cognitive style, hopelessness, and rumination were significant correlates of a previous suicide attempt. These cognitive factors may be targets in psychotherapy to reduce suicide attempts in college-age individuals.

Evaluating Structural Models of Cognitive Vulnerabilities: Transdiagnostic and Specific Pathways to Internalizing Symptoms.

The structure of cognitive vulnerabilities to anxiety and depression was examined via a hierarchical approach to examine the usefulness of a bifactor model for identifying a broad transdiagnostic (i.e., common core) factor versus disorder-specific variables (i.e., unique dimensions) in predicting internalizing psychopathology. Several models (i.e., single factor, correlated factor, single hierarchical, and bifactor models) were evaluated in undergraduate (n = 351) and adolescent (n = 385) samples. Across both samples, the bifactor model exhibited comparable good fit as the correlated and single hierarchical models. This model comprised a core transdiagnostic vulnerability factor and six specific factors (i.e., negative cognitive style, dysfunctional attitudes, ruminative style, intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety sensitivity, and fear of negative evaluation). Although the transdiagnostic factor predicted a general internalizing symptom factor, unique fear-related specific-level associations between individual vulnerability and symptom remained significant. Moreover, the transdiagnostic vulnerability factor predicted internalizing symptoms, even after controlling for personality and gender. These findings highlight the importance of advancing an integrative etiologic model of internalizing psychopathology.

DSM-5 personality traits and cognitive risks for depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms

Given the strong comorbidity between personality and clinical disorders, an integrative model of psychopathology that delineate common and distinct etiologic mechanism is warranted. The relations between personality pathology and cognitive risk variables associated with depression, anxiety, and obsessions/compulsions were examined among college students (N = 275). Self- and informant-reports on the participants' tendencies on maladaptive personality traits were obtained. A core transdiagnostic factor underlie several cognitive risk variables (e.g., negative cognitive style, dysfunctional attitudes, intolerance of uncertainty, obsessive beliefs). This core factor and the constituent cognitive risks were linked to the pathological personality domains and facets of negative affectivity and detachment (as operationalized in the Alternative Model of Personality Disorder). Findings were largely consistent across measurement sources. The delineation of specific patterns between trait dimensions and cognitive processes is useful in partially explaining the observed comorbidity among presumably distinct psychopathological syndromes.

Gender Differences in Depression: Biological, Affective, Cognitive, and Sociocultural Factors.

The odds ratio (OR) for gender differences in major depression is 1.95, averaged meta-analytically over all ages and nations. The gender difference appears by age 12, OR = 2.37, and peaks at OR = 3.02 for ages 13-15. Using the ABC (affective, biological, cognitive) model as a framework within a vulnerability-stress approach, we consider the evidence for biological vulnerabilities (genes, pubertal hormones, and pubertal timing), affective vulnerabilities (temperament), and cognitive vulnerabilities (negative cognitive style, objectified body consciousness, and rumination). The impact of stress is central to the vulnerability-stress model, and we review evidence on gender differences in stress exposure, emphasizing gender differences in sex-related traumas such as child sexual abuse and rape. Finally, we examine sociocultural factors that may contribute to the gender difference, including the media and gender inequality. An implication for research methods is that single-gender designs should be questioned. Regarding clinical implications, the vulnerabilities and stressors identified in this review should contribute to personalized interventions with depressed individuals, especially depressed women.

Negative Cognitive Style and Cortisol Reactivity to a Laboratory Stressor: a Preliminary Study

According to the hopelessness theory of depression, some individuals have a cognitive vulnerability (i.e., negative cognitive style) that interacts with stressful life events to produce depression. A negative cognitive style is associated with a maladaptive cognitive response to stress (i.e., increased negative attributions); however, no study has assessed whether this cognitive vulnerability is also associated with a maladaptive endocrine (e.g., cortisol) response to stress. If shown to be related, individual differences in cognitive style may potentially explain why the literature on the association between cortisol stress reactivity and depression is mixed, as cortisol responses to stress may vary as a function of attributional style. The aim of the present study was to provide a preliminary test of whether cognitive vulnerability was related to cortisol reactivity to an acute laboratory stressor among a sample of young adults (n = 20; Mage = 23.1 years; 10 females). Negative cognitive style and depressive symptoms were assessed via the Cognitive Style Questionnaire and the Patient Health Questionnaire, respectively. All participants also completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Salivary cortisol was collected before, during, and after the TSST. Results showed a significant association between negative cognitive style and cortisol stress reactivity, such that a greater negative cognitive style was related to a larger cortisol response to the TSST. Post hoc analyses revealed that this association was moderated by gender (i.e., effect observed in males only). Cortisol responses to the TSST, in general, were lower among females, but this relationship was not moderated by cognitive style. These findings may be related to underlying gender differences in stress vulnerability, which may have clinical implications for understanding the interactive effect of cognitive and neuroendocrine processes on vulnerability and resiliency to depression.

The development and validation of an algorithm to predict future depression onset in unselected youth.

Universal depression screening in youth typically focuses on strategies for identifying current distress and impairment. However, these protocols also play a critical role in primary prevention initiatives that depend on correctly estimating future depression risk. Thus, the present study aimed to identify the best screening approach for predicting depression onset in youth. Two multi-wave longitudinal studies (N = 591, AgeM = 11.74; N = 348, AgeM = 12.56) were used as the 'test' and 'validation' datasets among youth who did not present with a history of clinical depression. Youth and caregivers completed inventories for depressive symptoms, adversity exposure (including maternal depression), social/academic impairment, cognitive vulnerabilities (rumination, dysfunctional attitudes, and negative cognitive style), and emotional predispositions (negative and positive affect) at baseline. Subsequently, multi-informant diagnostic interviews were completed every 6 months for 2 years. Self-reported rumination, social/academic impairment, and negative affect best predicted first depression onsets in youth across both samples. Self- and parent-reported depressive symptoms did not consistently predict depression onset after controlling for other predictors. Youth with high scores on the three inventories were approximately twice as likely to experience a future first depressive episode compared to the sample average. Results suggested that one's likelihood of developing depression could be estimated based on subthreshold and threshold risk scores. Most pediatric depression screening protocols assess current manifestations of depressive symptoms. Screening for prospective first onsets of depressive episodes can be better accomplished via an algorithm incorporating rumination, negative affect, and impairment.

Perceived Everyday Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms: Does Cognitive Style Mediate?

In the hopelessness theory of depression, a causal chain from stressors (e.g., perceived everyday discrimination [PED]) to 5 negative cognitive styles (NCSs) and depressive symptoms is delineated. In a sample of 243 diverse community college students, PED was positively associated with 4 NCSs. Furthermore, 2 specific NCSs were associated with depressive symptoms and mediated the effect between PED and depressive symptoms. Implications for research and practice with individuals who experience PED are discussed.

Cognitieve gedragstherapie voor depressieve klachten bij jongeren in residentiële zorg met een LVB in vergelijking met normaal begaafde jongeren

Abstract Cognitive behavioural therapy and depressive symptoms among youth with and without Mild Intellectual Disability in residential care: an exploratory study investigating ‘Op Volle Kracht’ Depression is at least as prevalent in youth with a mild intellectual disability (MID) as it is in youth without disabilities. Little is known however about the etiology and treatment of depression in this group. This paper aims to investigate the possiblities for cognitive behavioural therapy in youth with MID by (1) testing the validity of Beck’s cognitive theory and Nolen-Hoeksema’s response style theory in youth with and without a MID in residential youth care; and (2) to examine the effects of Op Volle Kracht (OVK), a CBT-based depression prevention program among youth with and without a MID in a residential treatment setting. In study 1 the relationship between negative cognitive errors (Beck), response styles (Nolen- Hoeksema) and depressive symptoms was examined in 135 adolescents (age 9-17 years) using linear regression. Study 2 was an initial cluster randomized controlled trial in which twenty residential treatment groups (including in total N=92 adolescents aged 9-17 years), half of which targeted adolescents with a MID, were randomly assigned to either treatment as usual (TAU), or a combination of TAU and the group-CBT-program Op Volle Kracht (OVK+TAU). Depressive symptoms, cognitive errors and response styles were assessed at pre-test, post-test and 3 months follow-up. The data were analyzed by mixed effects linear regression analyses with age and gender as covariates. Results Study 1 showed that only the cognitive error ‘underestimation of the ability to cope’, and a ruminative and distractive response style predicted depressive symptoms in both youth with- and without MID. The negative cognitive error ‘underestimation of the ability to cope’ was more prevalent among youth with MID than among youth without MID. Study 2 showed that the group CBT-program OVK was effective in reducing rumination, but not in reducing depressive symptoms or cognitive errors. This effect was the same for youth with and without a MID. The main premises of Beck’s cognitive theory and Nolen-Hoeksema’s response style theory of depression are applicable to both youth with and without a MID. The cognitive error ‘underestimation of the ability to cope’ poses a specific risk factor for developing a depression for youth with a MID and may require special attention in treatment and prevention of depression. The specifically adapted program OVK did not show effectiveness in reducing symptoms of depression in youth in residential care.

Unique and predictive relationships between components of cognitive vulnerability and symptoms of depression.

Cognitive vulnerability theories of depression outline multiple, distinct inferential biases constitutive of cognitive vulnerability to depression. These include attributing negative events to internal, stable, and global factors, assuming that negative events will lead to further negative consequences, and inferring that negative events reflect negative characteristics about the self. Extant research has insufficiently examined these biases as distinct, limiting our understanding of how the individual cognitive vulnerability components interrelate and confer risk for depression symptoms. Thus, we conducted exploratory network analyses to examine the relationships among the five components of negative cognitive style and explore how components may differentially relate to depressive symptoms in adolescents. Participants completed measures of negative cognitive style twice over a two-year period. We estimated Graphical Gaussian Models using contemporaneous data and computed a cross-lagged panel network using temporal data from baseline and 2-year follow-up. Results reveal interesting structural dynamics among facets of negative cognitive style and depressive symptoms. For example, results point to biases towards stable and future-oriented inferences as highly influential among negative cognitive style components. The temporal model revealed the internal attributions component to be heavily influenced by depressive symptoms among adolescents, whereas stable and global attributions most influenced future symptoms. This study presents novel approaches for investigating cognitive style and depression. From this perspective, perhaps more precise predictions can be made about how cognitive risk factors will lead to the development or worsening of psychopathology.

Measuring cognitive vulnerability to depression: Further evidence on the factorial and predictive validity of negative cognitive style

Background and objectivesPrevious research has provided insufficient evidence on the factorial validity of the negative cognitive style questionnaires, which is a problem for the validity of the total score's computation. In Study 1, we focused on the relationship between internality and the other dimensions of negative cognitive style. In Study 2, we explored the predictive validity of negative cognitive style for negative interpretation bias. MethodsIn Study 1, 770 participants completed the Cognitive Style Questionnaire – Short Form (CSQ-SF). In Study 2, from a prescreening data collection (N = 300) we selected participants with low (N = 40) and high (N = 32) cognitive vulnerability to depression who were primed with negative mood induction and who completed a generative interpretation task. ResultsIn Study 1, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that the best fitting model for the CSQ-SF was a bifactor model without the internality dimension. In Study 2, a CFA replicated the factorial structure of Study 1 and individuals with a high negative cognitive style exhibited a negative interpretation bias after controlling for depressive symptoms. LimitationsThe university-age sample limited the generalizability of our results to different populations, and the lack of longitudinal data prevented us from discussing further implications on the relationship between the negative interpretation bias and negative cognitive style in predicting depression. ConclusionsTogether, the results of our two studies support the construct validity of the CSQ-SF and recommend the use of a composite score of negative cognitive style without internality.

Pubertal Timing and Substance use in Adolescence: an Investigation of Two Cognitive Moderators.

Off-time pubertal development is a predictor of substance use among adolescents. Early-maturing girls and early- and late-maturing boys appear to be at greater risk for substance use, although findings are more consistent for girls. Although cognitive factors are also important in the etiology of adolescent substance use, few studies have investigated potential cognitive risk and protective factors in these associations. The current study tested whether future orientation or cognitive style (e.g., attributions youth make about the causes and consequences of negative life events) moderated the association between pubertal timing and substance use two years later and whether this effect was stronger for females. Multiple linear regressions revealed cognitive style and future orientation significantly moderated the association between pubertal timing and substance use, and these effects did not differ by sex. Importantly, the pattern of these interactions differed, such that early pubertal timing predicted more substance use in the context of more negative and moderate cognitive styles and greater and moderate future orientation. Follow-up analyses revealed that an adolescent's attributions about the consequences, globality, and self-worth implications of negative life events significantly moderated the pubertal timing - future substance use association. Furthermore, the pattern of these interactions predicted each of the four types of substances assessed in the context of cognitive style, but only predicted nicotine and marijuana use in the context of future orientation. These results highlight which cognitive factors may influence risk for substance use for early-maturing youth.

Cognitive Styles in Preschool-Age Children: Associations with Depression Risk and Evidence of Stability

Evidence suggests cognitive styles are associated with depression; however, little research has examined cognitive styles in early childhood. Using developmentally appropriate, stress-inducing laboratory paradigms to assess young children’s cognitive vulnerability, the current study assessed negative and positive cognitive styles, their concurrent associations with well-established risk factors for depression in early childhood, and their stability from early to middle childhood. Participants included 173 preschool-aged children and their parents. Cognitive styles were assessed by coding children’s negative and positive self-referent and non-self-referent verbalizations and assistance-seeking verbalizations during stress-inducing laboratory tasks during early childhood (Wave 1; ages 3–5) and middle childhood (Wave 2; ages 6–10). Children’s Wave 1 verbalizations were concurrently associated with exposure to maternal depression, child negative and positive temperamental emotionality, and child externalizing psychopathology. Assistance-seeking verbalizations demonstrated homotypic continuity from Wave 1 to Wave 2, and both assistance-seeking verbalizations and negative non-self-referent verbalizations at Wave 1 predicted increases in negative self-referent verbalizations from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Findings suggest that cognitive styles can be observed in young children when using an ecologically valid assessment and are linked to risk factors for depression. Further research is warranted to elucidate the development of cognitive vulnerability in young children, which may inform prevention and early interventions targeting cognitive risk for depression.

Effectiveness of Providing Cognitive-behavioral Group Therapy for Both Children and their Parents Separately in the Treatment of Childhood Major Depressive Disorder: A Pilot Study

Background: Three social learning mechanisms were hypothesized to influence the development of depressogenic cognitive styles: modeling of parents’ negative cognitive styles; direct learning from negative parental inferential feedback regarding the stressful events in the child’s life; and indirect learning from negative parenting practices. In this study, I proposed an approach addressing psychopathology in parents as well as their children through providing cognitive behavioral therapy for both, separately, in treatment of childhood Major depressive disorder. This study’s objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach. Method: Cognitive behavioral group therapy was provided separately to seven children diagnosed with Major depressive disorder, and their parents in 12 weekly 1-hour sessions. Parents’ sessions were parallel to children sessions, focused on learning the same skills and techniques taught in the children’s groups, targeting modifying negative cognitive styles of parents as well as children. Psychiatric clinical interview by specialized child psychiatrists and Parent-rated Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (PMFQ) were used pre- and post-treatment to evaluate depressive symptoms. Results: At the end of the treatment, all children no longer met criteria for major depressive disorder. There were statistically significant reductions in scores of parent-rated Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, which also demonstrated that none of the children no longer had a score indicative of depressive disorder. Conclusion: This study suggested that providing cognitive behavioral group therapy for both children and their parents, separately, is an effective approach for childhood major depressive disorder treatment.

Negative cognitive styles as risk factors for the occurrence of PMS and PMDD

ABSTRACTBackground: The purpose of our study is to verify whether elements of cognitive vulnerability to affective disorders may enhance the occurrence of PMS/PMDD.Methods: In total, 293 women with regular cycles took part in the study. The subjects were exposed to failure during the follicular phase or luteal phase, as appropriate, and the attributional style of failure, cognitive triad inventory (CTI) and presence of biased information processing were determined. The mood of the subjects before and after failure was measured, and the depressive mood was screened by CES-D. The occurrence of PMS/PMDD was assessed on the basis of PSST.Results: The women suffering from PMS/PMDD differed from those without PMS in terms of the cognitive triad, the use of positive and negative adjectives when describing themselves and biased information processing. In the luteal cycle phase, considerably greater sadness and irritation were observed in women with PMS/PMDD after experiencing failure, but only in those from the group not taking oral contraceptives.Conclusions: Negative cognitive styles are an important factor in the development of PMS/PMDD. PMDD is similar to major depression regarding cognitive vulnerability. Only in the case of PMDD was biased information processing in the luteal cycle phase recorded.

Comparison of Team and Participant Ratings of Event Dependence: Inferential Style, Cognitive Style, and Stress Generation

Introduction: Previous research has linked negative cognitive styles with stress generation. However, measures of cognitive styles have replied on ratings for hypothetical events, not experienced events. We examined the relationship between stress generation and attributional style for experienced events (i.e., inferential style) at both macro and daily levels. Methods: We measured stress generation in college students using the traditional objective team ratings (i.e., observer) as well as via participants’ own ratings (i.e., actor), which we argue captures more information and is consistent with calls for participant-centered research. Results: Cognitive style and inferential style positively correlated, indicating consistency between these two forms of assessment. Actor and observer identified events were significantly correlated for both dependent and independent events, suggesting that participants and teams are consistent in these categorizations. Results from both studies showed that inferential style was associated with actor but not observer identified dependent events. Discussion: Our findings provide some of the first evidence for the role of inferential style in actor identified stress generation and indicate that it is useful to examine both participant and observer ratings of stressful life events.

The Relationship Between Negative Cognitive Styles and Lifetime Suicide Attempts is Indirect Through Lifetime Acute Suicidal Affective Disturbance Symptoms

Previous evidence suggests an association between negative cognitive styles and suicide-related outcomes. Recently, Acute Suicidal Affective Disturbance (ASAD) was proposed to characterize the phenomenology of acute suicidal crises, with key features being the rapid onset of suicidal intent, social- or self-alienation, perceptions of intractability, and overarousal. ASAD may account for the association between negative cognitive styles and suicide-related outcomes. Students (N = 177) selectively recruited based on their history of suicidality completed self-report measures. ASAD symptoms explained the association between rumination subtypes (brooding and reflection), as well as anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns, and lifetime number of suicide attempts. Further, ASAD symptoms significantly accounted for the relationship between a latent negative cognitive styles variable and lifetime number of suicide attempts. Together, these findings are consistent with theoretical conceptions of negative cognitive styles being an associated feature of ASAD, and that ASAD symptoms may account for the relationship between negative cognitive styles and suicidal behavior.

Frontoparietal processing of stress-relevant information differs in individuals with a negative cognitive style.

Prior research indicates that cognitive vulnerabilities can render individuals more susceptible to psychopathology in the wake of stressful events. However, little work has directly targeted the neural mechanisms involved. In this study, we examined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activity as a function of negative cognitive style, a well-studied cognitive vulnerability for depression. We adapted a robust paradigm in which undergraduate students completed fMRI testing after a known ecologically valid stressor (a midterm exam). Negative cognitive style correlated with brain activity in response to both negative and exam-related information in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and/or angular gyrus, both regions involved in abstract, self-referential thought. There were commonalities and differences in patterns of activity, suggesting that these individuals may process domain-general and domain-specific negative information in different ways but drawing upon a common frontoparietal network. This study, thus, identifies a potential brain network associated with negative cognitive style, and enhances our understanding of neural mechanisms of cognitive vulnerability to psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record