Are Rumination and Worry Two Sides of the Same Coin? A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

Abstract Worry and rumination are two types of Repetitive Negative Thinking (RNT) that have been shown to be related to the development and maintenance of emotional problems. Whereas these two forms of RNT have traditionally been regarded as distinct and differentially related to psychopathology, researchers have recently argued that worry and rumination share the same process and show a very similar relationship to different forms of psychopathology. In a series of three studies, we employed a structural equation modelling approach to compare these competing hypotheses. Results showed that a bi-factor model (representing RNT by one latent factor with two uncorrelated method factors) provided a better fit to the data than a two-factor model (with worry and rumination represented by separate factors). In addition, the shared variance within the bi-factor model fully accounted for changes in symptom levels of depression and anxiety in two prospective studies. These findings support a transdiagnostic account of RNT. Implications for theory, measurement and clinical practice are discussed

Long-term effectiveness and prediction of treatment outcome in cognitive behavioral therapy and sertraline for late-life anxiety disorders

Background: Although anxiety disorders are prevalent in older adults, randomized controlled trials of treatment effectiveness for late-life anxiety are scarce and have focused primarily on the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions. However, recent findings suggest that in some cases, pharmacological treatment may be more beneficial for late-life anxiety disorders. As yet, there have been no systematic studies investigating prognostic factors for the outcome of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy for late-life anxiety. The objective of the present study was to study long-term treatment outcomes and to explore differential predictors for both short-term and long-term treatment outcomes of sertraline and CBT for late-life anxiety disorders. Methods: Participants of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing sertraline and CBT for the treatment of late-life anxiety were contacted one year after completing their treatment, so that predictors for both short-term and long-term treatment outcome could be established. Results: Sertraline showed a greater reduction of symptoms than CBT on anxiety (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale; HARS) and worry (Worry Domain Questionnaire) ratings at one-year follow-up. The strongest predictor for short-term CBT outcome was poor perceived health, explaining 40% of the variance in post-treatment residual gain scores on the HARS. The strongest predictor for long-term CBT outcome was neuroticism, explaining 20% of the variance in residual gain scores at one-year follow-up. Analyses revealed no significant predictors for treatment outcome in sertraline participants. Conclusions: Our study suggests that long-term use of sertraline might be more beneficial for late-life anxiety than a 15-week CBT program. Poor perceived health and neuroticism are predictive of less improvement after CBT in anxious older adults. Implications of these findings are discussed

Home-based parent training for school-aged children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and behavior problems with remaining impairing disruptive behaviors after routine treatment:a randomized controlled trial

The objective is to investigate the effectiveness of home-based behavioral parent training for school-aged children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and behavior problems with remaining impairing disruptive behaviors after routinely offered treatments in clinical practice. In a randomized controlled study including 73 referred children with ADHD and impairing disruptive symptoms after routine clinical pharmacotherapy and/or clinic-based parent training had been tried or, at least, offered, home-based behavioral parent training (n = 26) was compared to a waiting list (n = 23) and a care-as-usual home-based treatment (n = 24). It was unknown to families which of the home-based treatments that they received. Using mixed models for repeated measures, we examined the effectiveness on the primary outcome measure of children's severity of disruptive behaviors and on a number of secondary outcome measures [the degree to which parents experienced the disruptive behaviors as troublesome, ADHD symptoms, oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms, and internalizing problems]. Compared to the waiting list, children receiving home-based parent training improved significantly more regarding severity of disruptive behaviors (ES = 0.75), ADHD symptoms (ES = 0.89), ODD symptoms (ES = 0.65), and internalizing problems (ES = 0.60). Compared to care-as-usual, home-based parent training was more effective in reducing disruptive behaviors (ES = 0.57), ADHD symptoms (ES = 0.89), and ODD symptoms (ES = 0.88). Significantly more reduction of children's internalizing problems was not found. In conclusion, children with ADHD and residual behavioral problems after routine treatment may benefit from home-based behavioral parent training

Cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depressive symptoms in diabetes patients: design of a randomized controlled trial

Background Depressive symptoms are a common problem in patients with diabetes, laying an additional burden on both the patients and the health care system. Patients suffering from these symptoms rarely receive adequate evidence-based psychological help as part of routine clinical care. Offering brief evidence-based treatments aimed at alleviating depressive symptoms could improve patients’ medical and psychological outcomes. However, well-designed trials focusing on the effectiveness of psychological treatments for depressive symptoms in patients with diabetes are scarce. The Mood Enhancement Therapy Intervention Study (METIS) tests the effectiveness of two treatment protocols in patients with diabetes. Individually administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) are compared with a waiting list control condition in terms of their effectiveness in reducing the severity of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, we explore several potential moderators and mediators of change underlying treatment effectiveness, as well as the role of common factors and treatment integrity. Methods/design The METIS trial has a randomized controlled design with three arms, comparing CBT and MBCT with a waiting list control condition. Intervention groups receive treatment immediately; the waiting list control group receives treatment three months later. Both treatments are individually delivered in 8 sessions of 45 to 60 minutes by trained therapists. Primary outcome is severity of depressive symptoms. Anxiety, well-being, diabetes-related distress, HbA1c levels, and intersession changes in mood are assessed as secondary outcomes. Assessments are held at pre-treatment, several time points during treatment, at post-treatment, and at 3-months and 9-months follow-up. The study has been approved by a medical ethical committee. Discussion Both CBT and MBCT are expected to help improve depressive symptoms in patients with diabetes. If MBCT is at least equally effective as CBT, MBCT can be established as an alternative approach to CBT for treating depressive symptoms in patients with diabetes. By analyzing moderators and mediators of change, more information can be gathered for whom and why CBT and MBCT are effective. Trial registration Clinical Trials NCT01630512

Standardization of health outcomes assessment for depression and anxiety: recommendations from the ICHOM Depression and Anxiety Working Group

Purpose National initiatives, such as the UK Improving Access to Psychological Therapies program (IAPT), demonstrate the feasibility of conducting empirical mental health assessments on a large scale, and similar initiatives exist in other countries. However, there is a lack of international consensus on which outcome domains are most salient to monitor treatment progress and how they should be measured. The aim of this project was to propose (1) an essential set of outcome domains relevant across countries and cultures, (2) a set of easily accessible patient-reported instruments, and (3) a psychometric approach to make scores from different instruments comparable. Methods: Twenty-four experts, including ten health outcomes researchers, ten clinical experts from all continents, two patient advocates, and two ICHOM coordinators worked for seven months in a consensus building exercise to develop recommendations based on existing evidence using a structured consensus-driven modified Delphi technique. Results: The group proposes to combine an assessment of potential outcome predictors at baseline (47 items: demographics, functional, clinical status, etc.), with repeated assessments of disease-specific symptoms during the treatment process (19 items: symptoms, side effects, etc.), and a comprehensive annual assessment of broader treatment outcomes (45 items: remission, absenteeism, etc.). Further, it is suggested reporting disease-specific symptoms for depression and anxiety on a standardized metric to increase comparability with other legacy instruments. All recommended instruments are provided online (www.ichom.org). Conclusion: An international standard of health outcomes assessment has the potential to improve clinical decision making, enhance health care for the benefit of patients, and facilitate scientific knowledge. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11136-017-1659-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Assessment of explanatory models of mental illness: effects of patient and interviewer characteristics

Background: Explanatory models (EMs) refer to patients’ causal attributions of illness and have been shown to affect treatment preference and outcome. Reliable and valid assessment of EMs may be hindered by interviewer and respondent disparities on certain demographic characteristics, such as ethnicity. The present study examined (a) whether ethnic minority patients reported different EMs to ethnically similar interviewers in comparison with those with a different ethnicity, and (b) whether this effect was related to respondents’ social desirability, the perceived rapport with the interviewer and level of uncertainty toward their EMs. Methods: A total of 55 patients of Turkish and Moroccan origins with mood and anxiety disorders were randomly assigned to ethnically similar or dissimilar interviewers. EMs were assessed, using a semi-structured interview, across 11 different categories of causes. Results: Participants who were interviewed by an ethnically similar interviewer perceived interpersonal, victimization and religious/mystical causes as more important, whereas interviews by ethnically dissimilar interviewers generated higher scores on medical causes. These effects were not mediated by the perceived rapport with the interviewer, and social desirability had a modest impact on the results. Higher uncertainty among participants toward medical and religious/mystical causes seemed to be associated with greater adjustment in the report of these EMs. Conclusion: The findings have significant implications for interviewer selection in epidemiological research and clinical practice

UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Attention bias modification: the Emperor's new suit? Attention bias modification: the Emperor's new suit?

Abstract A series of primarily laboratory-based studies found attention bias modification in socially anxious participants to lead to reduced anxiety. It is argued that the failure to replicate the positive results of attention bias modification in the study of Carlbring et al. may be due to reasons other than the application through the Internet. A number of controlled studies failed to replicate the positive effects of attention bias modification in clinically rather than subclinically socially anxious subjects. Given the lack of robust evidence for attention bias modification in clinically socially anxious individuals, the author is inclined to consider attention bias modification as 'the Emperor's new suit'. Results achieved with regular Internet-based treatments for social anxiety disorder based on cognitive therapy and exposure methods are much better than those achieved with attention bias modification procedures delivered 'face to face' in clinically distressed participants. Given the lack of robust evidence for attention bias modification in clinical samples, there is no need yet to investigate the implementation of attention bias modification through the Internet. Please see related article