The relationship between narcissism, intensity of Facebook use, Facebook flow and Facebook addiction.

Introduction: The present study investigated mechanisms that may contribute to the enhanced risk of narcissistic individuals to develop Facebook addiction. Methods: In a sample of 449 Facebook users (age: () = 31.07(9.52), range: 18-65) the personality trait narcissism, Facebook flow, intensity of Facebook use, and Facebook addiction were assessed by an online survey. Results: In a moderated mediation analysis, the positive relationship between narcissism and Facebook addiction was positively mediated by the level of flow experienced on Facebook. Intensity of Facebook use moderated the positive association between Facebook flow and Facebook addiction. Conclusions: Excessive Facebook use may cause psychological dependence. Narcissistic individuals are at enhanced risk for this form of dependence that is fostered by experience of flow during Facebook use and intensity of Facebook use. Current results should be taken into account, when assessing individuals at risk for pathological Facebook use and when planning specific interventions to deal with it

Effects of acute stress on exposure therapy outcome and generalization in women: considering the modulatory role of hormonal contraceptive use

The administration of glucocorticoids (GC) as an adjunct to exposure might represent a promising strategy to improve exposure therapy outcome in anxiety disorders (AD). The beneficial effects, however, might be sex-dependent and/or further modulated by hormonal factors (e.g., contraceptive usage in women). In the present study, we investigated whether acute stress before exposure therapy affects its efficacy in women using oral contraceptives (OC) relative to free-cycling (FC) women. In addition, possible effects of stress on generalization of therapy effects towards untreated stimuli were examined. Women with fears of spiders and cockroaches were randomly assigned to a stress (n=24) or no-stress (n=24) group prior to a standardized one-session exposure. Acute stress did not influence exposure-induced reduction in fear and avoidance of the treated stimuli (spiders). However, stress led to a less pronounced beneficial exposure outcome for treated stimuli in OC women relative to FC women. This effect occurred on the level of subjective fear and self-report questionnaires at post-treatment (24 hours after exposure) and follow-up (4 weeks after exposure). No effects of stress on generalization of therapy effects towards untreated stimuli (cockroaches) were found. Our findings suggest that OC usage diminishes the beneficial effects of stress on exposure therapy outcome seen in FC women. We present first clinical findings regarding the interaction of stress (and possibly GCs) and OC in exposure therapy of AD. OC intake in women constitutes a crucial factor to be considered in augmentation studies using stress and GCs

Do oral contraceptives modulate the effects of stress induction on one-session exposure efficacy and generalization in women?

$\bf Rationale$ The administration of glucocorticoids (GC) as an adjunct to exposure represents a promising strategy to improve one-session exposure outcome in anxiety disorders. It remains to be determined whether similar effects can be induced with the use of acute stress. Furthermore, the possible modulation of exposure effects by hormonal factors (e.g., use of oral contraceptives (OCs)) was not explored so far. $\bf Objectives$ We investigated whether acute stress prior to one-session exposure for spider fear affects its efficacy in women using oral contraceptives ($\it OC$) relative to free-cycling ($\it FC$) women. In addition, effects of stress on generalization of exposure therapy effects towards untreated stimuli were examined. $\bf Methods$ Women with fears of spiders and cockroaches were randomly assigned to $\textit {a Stress}$ (n = 24) or $\textit {No-Stress}$ (n = 24) condition prior to one-session exposure. Of these 48 participants, 19 women used OC (n = 9 in the Stress, and n = 10 in the No-Stress group). All $\it FC$ women had a regular menstrual cycle and were tested only in the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle. Pre-exposure stress induction was realized with the socially evaluated cold-pressor test. Exposure-induced changes towards treated and untreated fear stimuli were tested with behavioral approach tests for spiders and cockroaches and subjective fear and self-report measures. $\bf Results$ Acute stress did not influence exposure-induced reduction in fear and avoidance of the treated stimuli (spiders). Similarly, stress had no effect on the generalization of exposure-therapy effects towards untreated stimuli (cockroaches). Exposure-induced reduction in subjective fear and self-report measures for treated stimuli was less evident in women using $\it OC$ specifically after pre-exposure stress. Women using $\it OC$ had higher levels of subjective fear and scored higher in self-report measures at post-treatment (24 h after exposure) and follow-up (4 weeks after exposure). $\bf Conclusions$ OC intake may represent an important confounding factor in augmentation studies using stress or GC