Associations of Psychological Inflexibility with Exercise Self-Efficacy and Fatigue Severity among Individuals Seeking Treatment for Weight-Related Behaviors

Rates of obesity are continuing to rise, contributing to several negative health outcomes and economic burden. Past work suggests that individuals with greater body mass index (BMI) are more likely to report feeling fatigue and are less likely to follow an exercise regimen, which may lead to weight-related problems. Psychological inflexibility, a rigid thinking style in which individuals attempt to over-control psychological reactions to discomfort, may be an underrecognized explanatory factor underlying greater fatigue and lower rates of exercise among individuals with weight-related concerns. The aim of the current study was to explore the relationship between psychological inflexibility and both exercise self-efficacy and fatigue severity among adults seeking treatment for weight-related behaviors. The current study is a secondary analysis and included 162 treatment-seeking adults who attended a baseline appointment for a larger randomized-controlled trial for weight-related behaviors. Results indicated that greater psychological inflexibility was significantly related to greater fatigue severity and lower exercise self-efficacy. These results provide initial empirical evidence that psychological inflexibility may be an important individual difference factor in terms of fatigue and exercise beliefs among adults seeking treatment for weight-related behaviors

The Association Between Body Mass Index and Anxious Arousal, Depressive, and Insomnia Symptoms Among World Trade Center Responders

Elevations in body mass index (BMI) among World Trade Center (WTC) responders may be associated with poor mental health outcomes. The current study examined the association of BMI with anxious arousal, depressive, and insomnia symptoms among this group. Participants were 412 WTC responders (89.4% male, Mage = 55.3 years, SD = 8.66) who completed health monitoring assessments (self-report and objective) as part of the Long Island site of the WTC Health Program (LI-WTC-HP). Results suggested BMI was statistically significant only in relation to anxious arousal (sr2 = .02, p = .008), after accounting for age and sex. The current study suggests that weight management programs may aid in promoting additional benefits for WTC responders by reducing anxious arousal symptoms as a function of reduced BMI

Emotion Dysregulation Explains the Relation between Insomnia Symptoms and Negative Reinforcement Smoking Cognitions among Daily Smokers

Insomnia co-occurs with smoking. However, mechanisms that may explain their comorbidity are not well known. The present study tested the hypothesis that insomnia would exert an indirect effect on negative reinforcement smoking processes via emotion dysregulation among 126 adult daily smokers (55 females; Mage = 44.1 years, SD = 9.72). Dependent variables included negative reinforcement smoking outcome expectancies, negative reinforcement smoking motives, and two negative expectancies from brief smoking abstinence (somatic symptoms and harmful consequences). Insomnia symptoms yielded a significant indirect effect through emotion dysregulation for negative reinforcement smoking outcome expectancies, negative reinforcement smoking motives, and harmful consequences expectancies from brief smoking abstinence. In contrast to prediction, however, insomnia was not associated with somatic symptom expectancies from brief smoking abstinence through emotion dysregulation. These data may suggest that the indirect effect of emotion dysregulation is more relevant to cognitive-affective negative reinforcement processes rather than somatic states. Overall, the present findings contribute to a growing body of literature linking emotion dysregulation as an explanatory mechanism for insomnia and smoking and uniquely extend such work to an array of clinically significant negative reinforcement smoking processes.Psychology, Department o

COMPUTER-DELIVERED INTERVENTION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH OBESITY AND ELEVATED ANXIETY SENSITIVITY

Obesity is one the fastest growing public health problems related to numerous chronic diseases and frequently co-occurs with negative mood states. One promising integrative, theory-driven approach to address the heterogeneity of affective vulnerabilities and obesity is to focus on transdiagnostic processes that underpin both conditions. Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a transdiagnostic cognitive vulnerability factor associated with negative affect syndromes and obesity-related health behaviors. Thus, the current study was conducted to adapt and test a brief (single session), computer-delivered intervention for adults with obesity and elevated AS. Participants were 131 individuals with obesity and elevated AS who received either the AS reduction program (AST) or a health information control (HC). Latent growth curve modeling was utilized to examine the effect of treatment condition on change in AS, emotional eating, expectancies of eating to manage mood, exercise self-efficacy, and exercise avoidance from baseline to 1-week, 2-weeks, and 1-month follow-up. The mediational role of changes in AS on the relationship between treatment condition and changes in the outcome variables were examined. Results indicated AST was a statistically significant predictor of change in expectancies of eating to manage negative affect. Additionally, changes in AS had a statistically significant effect on changes in emotional eating and expectancies of eating to manage negative affect. Current data provide preliminary support for the utility of AST related to expectancies of eating to manage negative affect. Moreover, the current study provides a strong rationale for future work within this domain

Mindful Attention and Eating Expectancies Among Trauma-Exposed Latinx College Students

Rates of trauma exposure among college students are high, and extant work suggests that greater trauma-exposure risk is associated with ethnic minority status. Moreover, maladaptive health behaviors (e.g., disordered eating) are common among trauma-exposed individuals, as well as college students and Latinx individuals. There is a need, however, to further understand the cognitive processes that underlie maladaptive eating among these populations, such as the expectations related to the function of eating. Mindful attention may be an important factor related to eating expectancies among trauma exposed, Latinx college students. The current study employed a cross-sectional design, examining mindful attention in relation to expectancies of eating to help manage negative affect, expectancies of eating to alleviate boredom, and expectancies of eating to lead to feeling out of control among Latinx, trauma-exposed college students. Participants included 304 undergraduate Latinx students who reported some amount of trauma exposure (84.5% females; Mage = 22.8 years, SD = 5.79). Results of our study indicated that lower levels of mindful attention were associated with strong expectancies that eating will manage negative affect, alleviate boredom, and lead to a loss of control. These results were observed over and above variance accounted for by sex, body mass index (BMI), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. These findings suggest that increased mindful attention may be a protective factor against eating expectancies and subsequent disordered eating among trauma-exposed, Latinx college students. This project was completed with contributions from Jafar Bakhshaie from Baylor College of Medicine.Psychology, Department ofHonors Colleg

Treatment attrition: Associations with negative affect smoking motives and barriers to quitting among treatment-seeking smokers

Introduction: Pre-treatment attrition and perceived barriers for quitting are clinically important processes involved in early phases of quitting smoking. However, less is known about the constructs that may contribute to these processes such as negative affect reduction smoking motives. Method: The current study sought to evaluate the relation between negative affect reduction smoking motives with pre-treatment attrition and perceived barriers for quitting in a sample of 425 treatment-seeking smokers (48.5% female; Mage = 37.69; SD = 13.61) enrolled in a smoking cessation study examining the efficacy of a transdiagnostic panic-smoking cessation treatment relative to a standard smoking cessation treatment. Results: Results indicated that greater negative affect reduction smoking motives was associated with an increased likelihood of treatment initiation (Odds Ratio = 1.49, CI: 1.09, 2.04). Additionally, negative affect reduction smoking motives was associated with greater perceived barriers for cessation among pre-treatment drop-outs and treatment initiators. Conclusions: This initial investigation provides evidence for the possible clinical utility in addressing negative affect reduction smoking motives during early stages of quitting. Additionally, such findings could potentially inform the development of personalized, early stages of quitting interventions for smoking cessation

The Role of Anxiety Sensitivity and Fatigue Severity in Predicting E-Cigarette Dependence, Barriers to Cessation, and Cravings among Young Adults

: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has risen dramatically in the United States among young adults; however, little is understood about potential factors that are related to e-cigarette use and maintenance among this population. Fatigue severity is one promising individual difference factor, as past work indicates that it is related to greater withdrawal symptoms and greater dependence on e-cigarettes, and more barriers to quitting. In addition, anxiety sensitivity and severe fatigue are both uniquely related to poor e-cigarette use outcomes; yet, no known studies have examined whether these individual difference factors are related to e-cigarette outcomes among young adults. : The current study sought to examine the unique and interactive effects of anxiety sensitivity and fatigue severity in predicting a variety of e-cigarette outcomes among 685 (69.1% female; = 19.61 years,  = 1.44) young adult e-cigarette users. : Results indicated that anxiety sensitivity was significantly associated with greater barriers for cessation (β = .63, \u3c.001) and e-cigarette cravings (β = .67, =.001), but not dependence. Fatigue severity was significantly associated with greater e-cigarette dependence (β = .58, \u3c.001), barriers to cessation (β = 1.56, \u3c.001), and e-cigarette cravings (β = 3.34, \u3c.001). The interactive effects of anxiety sensitivity and fatigue severity did not significantly predict the outcomes. : Results suggest that anxiety sensitivity and fatigue severity independently predict greater e-cigarette maintenance factors among young adults. The current investigation highlights the importance of targeting anxiety sensitivity and fatigue severity among young adult e-cigarette users

Emotion dysregulation as an explanatory factor in the relation between negative affectivity and non-medical use of opioid in a diverse young adult sample

The non-medical use of prescription opioids is an area of increasing public health concern, particularly among young college-age adults (ages 18-25) who demonstrate an increased risk of opioid-related problems. Negative mood states are consistently associated with more severe non-medical use of opioid. Emotion dysregulation defined an impaired ability to understand, evaluate, and differentiate one\u27s emotions, and access strategies to regulate them could play an explanatory role in this association. The present study examined the potential explanatory role of emotion dysregulation in the relationship between negative affectivity and non-medical use of prescription opioid among a racially/ethnically diverse young adult sample (N = 2080, 78.7% female, Mage = 21.9, SD = 4.9) attending a large southwestern state university, and across the two sub-samples of individuals with and without pain. Results indicated that emotion dysregulation explained, in part, the association between negative affectivity and non-medical use of opioid-related variables, including self-reported addiction to opioids, denial of opioid prescription by a healthcare provider, and family concerns about participant\u27s opioid use. These indirect effects were comparable across individuals with and without pain. Findings suggest that targeting emotion dysregulation may be one therapeutic strategy to reduce non-medical use of opioid in the context of negative affectivity among college students

Situational fears: Association with negative affect-related smoking cognition among treatment seeking smokers

Despite the consistent clinically-significant relation between smoking and anxiety and its disorders, there is limited understanding of how specific fears relate to smoking processes. To isolate therapeutic targets for smoking-anxiety treatment development, there is a need to identify the underlying situational fears most related to smoking processes. Thus, the present study examined the association between interoceptive, agoraphobic, and social fears in terms of clinically significant negative affect-related smoking cognitions including negative affect reduction expectancies, coping motives, and perceived internal barriers to cessation. Participants were 469 treatment seeking smokers (48.2% female, M = 36.59, SD = 13.58) enrolled in a smoking cessation trial and completed baseline measures of smoking cognitions and situational fears. Results indicated that the there was a significant effect for social fears, relative to interoceptive and agoraphobic fears, for each of the studied clinically relevant smoking variables. Overall, this study offers initial empirical evidence that social fears are significantly and consistently related to several clinically-significant types of smoking cognition