Psychological mechanisms connected to dissociation: Generating hypotheses using network analyses

Developing an understanding of the relationship between anxiety and dissociation in adolescence

“…The moderate associations between trait anxiety and dissociation symptoms found in this age group are consistent with previous theory and research in adult clinical and nonclinical groups (Černis et al, 2022;Hunter et al, 2003), including supporting the proposed overlap between depersonalisation and felt sense of anomaly (Černis, Beierl, et al, 2021). This finding is also consistent with research on adolescents with panic disorder that shows around ANXIETY AND DISSOCIATION IN ADOLESCENCE 13 50% of adolescents experience symptoms of dissociation (Kearney et al, 1997).…”

“…There will also be other potential moderators that could explain the large amounts of variance unaccounted for by trait anxiety and the mediating variables in our models. For example, research with large adult non-clinical community and psychosis patient samples (Černis, Evans, et al, 2021;Černis et al, 2022) have found direct relationships linking felt sense of anomaly with alexithymia and affect intolerance. In addition, since a high level of state anxiety may escalate beyond the common fight or flight response into a state of experiencing dissociation (Schauer & Elbert, 2015), future research may wish to explore the relationship between state anxiety and dissociation symptoms in adolescents and to compare the constructs of state and trait anxiety.…”

“…Perseverative thinking, i.e., the tendency to ruminate upon (negative) thoughts, may also mediate the relationship between anxiety and dissociative symptoms, but again this has not been tested in adolescents. It is proposed that perseverative thinking about the negative cognitive appraisals of dissociative experiences contributes to a prolonged experience of dissociation symptoms in adults (Černis et al, 2022;Hunter et al, 2003). Freeman et al (2013) have provided experimental evidence supporting this by demonstrating that inducing worry in adults with persecutory delusions resulted in an increase in depersonalisation symptoms, whereas a worry reduction condition led to a reduction in symptoms of dissociation.…”

The Relationship Between Dissociation and Panic Symptoms in Adolescence and the Exploration of Potential Mediators

“…Greater dissociative symptoms at the first time point related to less use of cognitive reappraisal (e.g., 'When I'm worried about something, I make myself think about it in a way that helps me feel better'), which in turn was associated with more severe panic symptoms at the second time point. Thus, it could be that when individuals prone to dissociation fail to reappraise their symptoms in a way that reduces their negative impact, the resulting escalation of anxiety may heighten both the feared dissociation sensation (Hunter et al, 2003;Černis et al, 2022a;Černis et al, 2022b) and panic symptoms. Although this study provides tentative preliminary evidence in support of this interpretation, experimental evidence is needed to confirm whether the combination of catastrophic misinterpretations of dissociation and a lack of reappraisal is not only co-morbid with panic symptoms but plays a causal role in their occurrence.…”

The relationship between dissociation and panic symptoms in adolescence and the exploration of potential mediators

“…et al (2022a; FSA-dissociation), which highlight the role of negative appraisals in the maintenance of psychopathological symptoms. For example, at the centre of Clark's cognitive model of panic…”