Two studies explored whether perfectionism moderates the impact of implementation intentions on goal progress. Study 1 used an implementation intention manipulation to examine the effects of these plans in interaction with perfectionism on the progress of New Year's resolutions. Study 2 added a repeated implementation intention condition and monitored affect and monthly goal progress. The results of both studies revealed a significant backfire effect of the implementation intentions on goal progress for participants high on a particular dimension of perfectionism (socially prescribed perfectionism). These perfectionists reported doing significantly worse at reaching their personal goals when they were asked to formulate implementation intentions than when they completed a control exercise. There also was evidence that implementation planning aroused negative affect for socially prescribed perfectionists. These results are the first to suggest that implementation planning may be contra-indicated for individuals with self-critical tendencies.

Objectives-Alexithymia is a characteristic style of thinking and feeling involving deficits in the recognition of emotions. It is associated with depression onset and severity in younger adults, but researchers have not yet examined the association between alexithymia and depression severity in clinically depressed older adults. Design-Cross-sectional.Participants-One hundred and thirty four patients 50 years and age or older with a confirmed DSM-IV Axis I mood disorder and currently receiving mental health treatment.Measures-Alexithymia was measured using the Toronto Alexithymia , a 20-item measure with subscales assessing Difficulty Identifying Feelings (DIF), Difficulty Describing Feelings (DDF), and Externally Oriented Thinking (EOT). Depression symptom severity was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II).Results-Total alexithymia scores were independently related to depressive symptom severity after controlling for demographics, cognitive functioning and illness burden. DIF and DDF subscale scores were also independently associated with BDI-II scores. Conclusion-The association between alexithymia and depression symptom severity could be attributed to difficulties in recognizing and describing negative emotions and resulting delays in seeking mental health treatment. Future research should focus on modifiable risk factors related to difficulties identifying and describing feelings. KeywordsAlexithymia; depression; older adults Derived from the Greek for "lacking words for emotions," the term alexithymia was first used to describe a phenomena characterized by difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty communicating feelings, restricted imaginal capacity and externally oriented thinking. 1 More recent conceptualizations emphasize deficits in the regulation of emotions and impairments in the encoding and processing of emotional information. 2 Regardless of the conceptual framework, alexithymia's hallmark symptom includes decreased ability to recognize emotions. 2 With rare exceptions, 4-6 alexithymia has been ignored in the geriatric psychiatry literature. This is surprising, because aspects of alexithymia increase with age 7 and alexithymia is associated with an array of conditions seen in clinical psychiatric practice. [8][9][10]11,12 Studies of clinical and community samples of adults have shown that alexithymia is associated with incident depression, depression severity, and poorer treatment outcomes. [13][14][15][16] Previous research has examined the association between age and alexithymia. 7 To our knowledge this is the first study of alexithymia and depression severity in a sample of adult 50 years of age or older receiving mental healthcare.Of the numerous assessment procedures designed to assess alexithymia, 2, 17, 18 we chose the most widely used scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20.2 Despite its flaws,19 research has consistently shown that it has acceptable validity and internal consistency. 20 Its three subscales assess Difficulty Identifying Feelings (DIF...

Multiple measures of both the covert and overt expressions of self-criticism and perfectionism have been developed. The present study examined the relation between a measure of overt self-criticism and several measures of covert self-criticism and perfectionism, using 59 male and 152 female university students. The study also examined the relation between these constructs and depression. The results replicated previous reports that two factors, self-critical perfectionism and high personal standards, underlie existing measures of covert expressions. Self-critical perfectionism and overt self-criticism were shown to be independent predictors of depression, suggesting the importance of assessing the overt interpersonal, as well as the covert, manifestations of self-criticism.

Depressive symptoms are common in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), and are frequently exacerbated by pain; however, spiritual well-being may allow persons with MS to more effectively cope with pain-related deficits in physical and role functioning. We explored the associations between spiritual well-being, pain interference and depressive symptoms, assessing each as a potential mediator, in eighty-one patients being treated for MS, who completed self-report measures: Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale, Pain Effects Scale, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised. At the bivariate level, spiritual well-being and its subscale of meaning and peace were negatively associated with depression and pain interference. In mediation models, depression was not related to pain interference via spiritual well-being, or to spiritual well-being via pain interference. Pain interference was related to depression via spiritual well-being and meaning/peace, and to spiritual well-being and meaning/peace via depressive symptoms. Finally, spiritual well-being and meaning/peace were related to depression via pain interference, and to pain interference via depressive symptoms. For patients with MS, a multi-faceted approach to treatment that includes pain reduction and promotion of spiritual well-being may be beneficial, although amelioration of depression remains a critical task.

Independent of SVPT associations with depressive symptoms, some expressions of social connectedness (measured as life events and political engagement) are associated with a lower risk of SVPT.