Extending our understanding of the association between posttraumatic stress disorder and positive emotion dysregulation: A network analysis approach

Weiss, Nicole H.; Contractor, Ateka A.; Raudales, Alexa M.; Greene, Talya; Short, Nicole A.

doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102198

Cited by 44 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Additionally, they may exhibit behavioral dyscontrol in the context of positive emotions (Weiss, Tull, Sullivan, Dixon‐Gordon, & Gratz, 2015). Indeed, empirical evidence supports that trauma‐exposed individuals, including those with PTSD severity, are nonaccepting of positive emotions, and have difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors and engaging in goal‐directed behaviors when experiencing positive emotions (Weiss, Contractor, et al, in press; Weiss, Contractor, Raudales, Greene, & Short, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moderating effects of dysregulation and fear of positive emotions on the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and positive memory count

Contractor

Weiss

2020

J Clin Psychol

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Objectives We examined moderating effects of positive emotion dysregulation and fear of positive emotions in the relation between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity and positive memory count. Method Participants were 205 trauma‐exposed community individuals (Mage = 35.44; 61.50% female). Results Moderation analyses indicated interaction effects of PTSD severity with nonacceptance of positive emotions (b = −0.01, p = .002) and difficulties with goal‐directed behaviors when experiencing positive emotions (b = −0.01, p = .006) on positive memory count. Conclusions Greater PTSD severity was associated with more specific positive memories when individuals reported less nonacceptance of positive emotions and fewer difficulties engaging in goal‐directed behaviors in the context of positive emotions. Greater PTSD severity was associated with fewer specific positive memories when individuals reported greater nonacceptance of positive emotions and greater difficulties engaging in goal‐directed behaviors in the context of positive emotions. Results support addressing positive emotion dysregulation in memory‐focused interventions for PTSD.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moderating effects of dysregulation and fear of positive emotions on the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and positive memory count

Contractor

Weiss

2020

J Clin Psychol

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“…Positive internal experiences, for the purposes of the current review, reference subjective experiences of positively-valenced and pleasant memories, cognitions, and emotions. Evidence indicates that trauma/PTSD severity is associated with (1) deficits in positive memory recall, access, and other processes (Contractor, Banducci, et al, 2019; Contractor, Banducci, et al, 2020; Harvey et al, 1998; McNally et al, 1995; Megías et al, 2007; Sutherland & Bryant, 2005); (2) a predominance of negative and reduced positive cognitions (Berntsen & Rubin, 2006; Foa & Kozak, 1986; Janoff-Bulman, 1992) worsened by attentional biases toward negative information/memories (Aupperle et al, 2012; Fani et al, 2012; McNally et al, 1995) and rumination on negative memories prompted by trauma reminders (Ehlers & Clark, 2000); and (3) difficulties experiencing, expressing, and/or regulating intense positive emotions (Litz et al, 2000; Weiss, Contractor, Forkus, et al, 2020; Weiss, Contractor, Raudales, et al, 2020; Weiss et al, 2018; Weiss, Nelson, et al, 2019). Indeed, disturbances in positive internal experiences are at least one of the diagnostic symptoms (D7) of PTSD’s negative alterations in cognitions and mood cluster (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).…”

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confidence: 99%

Positive Internal Experiences in PTSD Interventions: A Critical Review

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Weiss

Keegan

2020

Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

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Evidence suggests that individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms exhibit deficits in positive internal experiences. This study critically reviewed empirically validated PTSD interventions to determine (1) whether positive memories, cognitions, and emotions were explicitly addressed and (2) the goals of focusing on these positive internal experiences. We selected 11 empirically validated PTSD interventions listed as “recommended/strongly recommended” in recently published reviews, reviewed existing literature for studies using these interventions ( N = 1,070), short-listed randomized controlled trial studies meeting predetermined inclusion criteria for the selected interventions (in English, developed for adults, individual therapy modality, in-person administration, tailored to PTSD; N = 47), and emailed authors ( N = 41) to obtain the unique intervention manuals. Hereby, we reviewed 13 unique empirically validated PTSD intervention manuals. Findings indicated 53.85%, 69.23%, and 69.23% of reviewed manuals explicitly discussed positive memories, emotions, and cognitions, respectively. Primarily, positive memories were integral to mechanisms underlying PTSD, a precursor to targeting negative experiences, an indicator of treatment progress, or a way to identify client problems; positive emotions were discussed when providing psychoeducation on PTSD/trauma reactions; and positive cognitions were addressed in reference to coping with negative experiences or as targets to enhance self-concept. This review demonstrates that comparatively, positive memories are infrequently elicited in the reviewed interventions; positive emotions and cognitions are explicitly referenced in two-thirds of the reviewed interventions but are included as a primary focus for therapeutic processing only in a few interventions; and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing has the most comprehensive focus on positive internal experiences.

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“…This preregistered hypothesis (H1) is located on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/t38kh/), along with relevant data files for each study. The connection between COVID-19 papers and positive emotion was exploratory given its mixed connection to how people respond to and internally manage trauma (Chu et al, 2016;Fredrickson et al, 2003;Weiss et al, 2020).…”

Section: The Current Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological Trauma and Emotional Upheaval as Revealed in Academic Writing: The Case of COVID-19

Dm¹

2021

Preprint

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Trauma victims often respond to distress in systematic ways that are psychologically rich. People who face trauma or emotional upheavals, for example, try to make meaning of their experiences by putting in psychological effort to resolve their distress. The current paper used a preregistered set of language dimensions to indicate how scientists psychologically managed the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects. Study 1 used over 1.8 million preprints from arXiv.org to evaluate how papers about COVID-19 were written compared to non-COVID-19 papers. The data suggest COVID-19 papers were written with more affect (specifically, negative emotion), more cognitive processing terms to indicate writers working through a crisis, and less analytic thinking to indicate an inward focus relative to non-COVID-19 papers. Study 2 (N = 74,809 published PLoS One papers) observed consistent emotion results across COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 papers, but cognitive processing and analytic thinking patterns were reversed. Study 3 (N = 361,189 published papers) replicated the Study 2 results across a more diverse set of journals. Together, emotional upheavals are associated with psychological correlates that are reflected in the language of scientists at scale. Having time to work through and manage a crisis, however, may reduce their prevalence in published academic papers. Implications for psychology of language research and trauma are discussed.

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Extending our understanding of the association between posttraumatic stress disorder and positive emotion dysregulation: A network analysis approach

Cited by 44 publications

References 67 publications

Moderating effects of dysregulation and fear of positive emotions on the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and positive memory count

Moderating effects of dysregulation and fear of positive emotions on the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and positive memory count

Positive Internal Experiences in PTSD Interventions: A Critical Review

Psychological Trauma and Emotional Upheaval as Revealed in Academic Writing: The Case of COVID-19

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