ORCID Profile
0000-0002-7839-7920
Current Organisations
Australian National University
,
Griffith University
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-1993
DOI: 10.1016/0005-7916(93)90060-A
Abstract: The cognitive-behavioral treatment of a 24-year-old woman with moderately severe obsessional ruminations is described. The case demonstrates both the effectiveness and limitations of exposure with response prevention techniques for obsessive-compulsive disorder. The client's response raises questions about the clinical utility of viewing obsessions exclusively as conditioned anxiety stimuli. In addition, the case shows that cognitions related to control rather than appraisals of responsibility were instrumental in initiating neutralising activity. Further modification of the current cognitive-behavioural hypotheses regarding obsessions is recommended.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-11-2011
DOI: 10.1002/JTS.20690
Abstract: To examine the connection between trauma memory integration in personal memory, memory organization, and posttraumatic symptom severity, 47 trauma-exposed adults undertook an event-cuing task for their trauma memory and for a memorable nontraumatic negative event. Measures of integration provided by self-endorsement, rated by naïve judges, or calculated from the language of the memories, did not significantly predict posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity after adjusting for age, time since the event, anxiety when disclosing, familiarity of the memory, and integration of nontrauma memory. Less use of casual connectives in the trauma memory narrative was associated with higher trauma-related avoidance (r = .33 p = .03), whereas self-rating of the trauma memory as disorganized was associated with higher overall symptom severity (r = .42 p = .006).
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2006
DOI: 10.1002/JTS.20099
Abstract: Nineteen empirical studies providing evidence about the nature of trauma narratives in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were reviewed. Selected studies had participants with a diagnosis of PTSD or with PTSD symptoms. The studies used either linguistic indices or participants' rating of narrative quality. There was evidence of a relationship between PTSD specific pathology and the occurrence of sensory erceptual references and disturbed temporal aspects. Evidence for PTSD-related narrative fragmentation was inconclusive, and there were little data about specific self-referential content. Poor validity and confusion of content and syntactic aspects of narrative organization limited the data on the organization of PTSD narratives. Approaches that address some of these limitations and allow narrative-based evaluation of memory for trauma in PTSD are outlined.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-10-2021
DOI: 10.1002/JTS.22596
Abstract: We undertook a systematic review to assess the efficacy of exposure‐based writing therapies (WTs) for trauma‐exposed adults with subthreshold or clinical levels of posttraumatic stress disorder. Four databases (PsycINFO, Medline, Wiley Online, PILOTS) were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of exposure‐based WTs. A total of 13 RCTs that reported on results from 17 WT versus control comparisons were included. The primary outcomes were posttraumatic stress symptom severity at posttreatment and/or clinical response. An overall unclear or high risk of bias was identified in 84.6% of studies. In comparison to both waitlist k = 3, Hedges’ g = −0.97, 95% CI [‐1.20, ‐0.73], and placebo writing conditions, k = 9, Hedges’ g = −0.48, 95% CI [‐0.87, ‐0.08], WTs were more beneficial to participants. There was no evidence of a difference between WTs that were longer in duration compared to other psychotherapy, k = 2 pooled OR = 1.42 95% CI [0.83, 2.43]. These findings indicate that exposure‐based WTs are effective when compared to waitlist and placebo writing control conditions. The evidence needs to be considered in the context of the modest number of studies conducted to date, the high methodological heterogeneity between the studies, and the high or unclear risk of bias across many studies. Further research is needed to increase the evidence base regarding the efficacy of WTs for posttraumatic stress. Future research should also measure the mediators and predictors of outcomes to further develop protocols and understand which variants of WTs work for different populations or in iduals.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-2013
DOI: 10.5665/SLEEP.2640
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 17-09-2018
DOI: 10.1080/16506073.2018.1513555
Abstract: This study provides a preliminary exploration of factors which differentially predict treatment response to telephone-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (TCBT) compared to face-to-face CBT (CBT) in a randomised non-inferiority controlled trial of 72 children (aged 11-18 years) with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Potential moderator variables, their interaction with treatment group (CBT, TCBT) and baseline levels of OCD severity were entered into separate regression models where the primary outcome measure was the post-intervention Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale total score (CYBOCS). Separate regressions were also used to test associations between predictors and outcome controlling for pretreatment CYBOCS. Only pretreatment level of parent-rated child peer problems moderated the effects of the two interventions on CYBOCS severity at post-treatment. After controlling for baseline CYBOCS, only family accommodation rated by mothers predicted poorer outcomes in both groups. While CBT and TCBT may be equally effective for adolescents with OCD, the current results tentatively suggest that higher baseline level of peer problems strengthened the response to therapy for youth receiving TCBT and the predictor analyses reinforce the importance of directly addressing family accommodation during CBT for paediatric OCD regardless of delivery mode. Limitations of the current findings and directions for future work are discussed.
Publisher: American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Date: 08-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2019
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 05-2000
DOI: 10.1136/EBMH.3.2.53
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 24-05-2013
DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2013.795975
Abstract: As in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), intrusive memories (IMs) also play an important role in depression. Evidence about the comparative quality of IMs in PTSD and depression is limited and inconsistent. A total of 28 adults with PTSD, 29 with depression, and 30 controls identified intrusive and voluntary segments of narrative memories of key events. Self-report and language measures of memory quality were obtained. Depressed and PTSD participants reported higher frequency of IMs and higher IM-related interference than controls. IMs in PTSD participants were distinguished from depressed and control participants by higher self-rated distress, higher self-rated sensory quality, and a higher proportion of sensory words in the narrative. The depressed and control groups did not differ on IM quality. PTSD IM segments had more sensory content than voluntary segments and fewer temporal markers. The IM segments of the depressed and control groups had fewer temporal markers than the voluntary segments. Depression severity predicted fewer sensory words in the IM after considering peri-event dissociation and arousal but did not add to the prediction of other IM qualities. A strong sensory quality is a distinctive feature of IMs in PTSD but not in depression. Basic sensory processes contribute to the intrusiveness of remembering in PTSD but not in depression.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-06-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S10567-022-00401-8
Abstract: Attachment- and emotion-focused parenting interventions (AE) have grown in popularity as an alternative to behavioral parent training (BPT) for children and adolescents. AE go beneath behavior by helping parents understand and respond to their child’s underlying attachment and emotional needs. Past reviews have examined their effects on attachment security and caregiver sensitivity, though less is known regarding their effects on child mental health symptoms. Reported here is the first systematic review and meta-analysis of in idual and group AE on externalizing behavior (EXT) and internalizing behavior (INT) for children aged 0–18 years. A search of four databases prior to July 2021 elicited 43 studies that met eligibility criteria. Meta-analysis revealed that AE were superior to waitlist controls for EXT ( SMD = − 0.17) and INT ( SMD = − 0.34). Effects were sustained at follow-up periods of 6 months and greater, and AE considered to target child mental health were significantly more effective than those that did not in reducing EXT and INT. Two studies retrieved directly compared AE to BPT, which showed no evidence of a difference for follow-up measures of EXT. No studies compared AE to BPT on INT. AE demonstrated no evidence of superiority compared to controls for parent mental health. Findings support the potential for AE to reduce EXT and INT in children and adolescents however, future research should consider the relative effectiveness of AE.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-06-2022
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 03-2007
DOI: 10.1080/00048670601172707
Abstract: The aim of the present paper was to critically examine evidence about the benefits of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) from controlled and single group studies, including its benefits relative to medication are critically reviewed. Selected studies were categorized by study type and by risk of bias classification. Standardized mean differences (Hedges’ g or Cohen d) and, where appropriate, weighted mean difference (WMD) were calculated. All five comparison and 14 one-group studies showed a significant benefit for CBT within a wide range (ES = .78 to 4.38). Low risk of bias studies produced the lower adjusted effect sizes. The best available estimate of CBT efficacy relative to no treatment is about 1 standardized mean difference, equivalent to a treatment effect of 8 points on the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. This represents a reduction in the risk of continuing to have OCD post-treatment of about 37% (95% CI 14% to 54%). Evidence from 3 studies indicates that the efficacy of CBT and medication do not differ significantly. CBT combined with medication is significantly more efficacious than non-active controls or medication alone but not relative to CBT alone. CBT should be regarded as a first line equivalent to anti-OCD medication with the potential to lead to better outcomes when combined with medication than medication alone can provide. Additional studies are needed to further clarify CBT's benefits and to investigate how it can be made more available as a treatment option for children and youth who suffer from OCD.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 2009
DOI: 10.1002/DA.20507
Abstract: This study evaluates the benefits of a self-directed Internet intervention for depression (MoodGYM) delivered as a part of the high school curriculum. One hundred and fifty-seven girls, aged 15 and 16 years, were allocated to undertake either MoodGYM or their usual curriculum. MoodGYM's impact on depressive symptoms, risk of depression, attributional style, depression literacy and attitudes toward depression was examined using random effect regression. MoodGYM produced a significantly faster rate of decline in depressive symptoms over the trial period than the control condition. The effect size for MoodGYM was not significant immediately after the intervention (Cohen's d=.19, 95% CI -.18-.56) but was moderate and significant 20 weeks after the intervention (d=.46, 95% CI .10-.82). Girls with high depression scores before intervention showed the strongest benefits on self-reported depression at follow-up (d=.92, 95% CI .10-1.38). There were no significant intervention effects on depression status, attributional style, depression literacy, and attitudes. Approximately 70% of girls in the MoodGYM group completed less than three of its modules and completion of fewer modules was related to high depression score before intervention. The findings suggest that there are benefits from MoodGYM on self-reported depressive symptoms but has low rates of completion highlight problems in ensuring adherence to Internet programs for depression.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-10-2012
DOI: 10.1111/JCPP.12009
Abstract: Prospective evidence on psychological outcomes for children with specific language impairments (SLI) is accumulating. To date, there has been no attempt to summarise what this evidence says about the strength of link between SLI and later child and adolescent emotional and behavioural (EB) outcomes. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis (following PRISMA guidelines and involving a literature search to June 2012 of seven databases, including MEDLINE and PsychAPA) of prospective, cohort studies of children with SLI and typical language development (TLD) reporting on the incidence and severity of EB problems later in childhood or adolescence. Nineteen follow-up reports of eight cohorts with 553 SLI children and 1533 TLD controls were identified. Initial assessment was at 3-8.8 years of age and follow-up duration from 2 to 12 years. Pooled across comparable studies, SLI children were about two times more likely to show disorder levels of overall internalising problems, overall externalising and ADHD problems than TLD children. Compared with the average TLD child (50 percentile), at follow-up, the symptom severity of the average SLI child was at the 72 percentile (95% CI 65-79 percentile) on internalising symptoms, the 69 percentile (95% CI 63-74 percentile) on externalising symptoms and the 60 percentile (95% CI 52-68 percentile) on AHDH severity. The findings about risk to specific mental disorders and the severity of specific problems were inconclusive. Relative to typical children, SLI children experience clinically important increases in the severity of erse emotional, behavioural and ADHD symptoms and more frequently show a clinical level of these problems. The small number of studies included in pooled analysis and methodological heterogeneity reduce the precision and generalisability of the findings. Most studies do not account for initial levels of EB problems.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-06-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41588-019-0450-7
Abstract: An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 02-2008
DOI: 10.1136/EBMH.11.1.20
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 14-06-2007
DOI: 10.1093/AJE/KWM116
Abstract: The authors assessed the association of smoking with dementia and cognitive decline in a meta-analysis of 19 prospective studies with at least 12 months of follow-up. Studies included a total of 26,374 participants followed for dementia for 2-30 years and 17,023 participants followed up for 2-7 years to assess cognitive decline. Mean study age was 74 years. Current smokers at baseline, relative to never smokers, had risks of 1.79 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.43, 2.23) for incident Alzheimer's disease, 1.78 (95% CI: 1.28, 2.47) for incident vascular dementia, and 1.27 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.60) for any dementia. Compared with those who never smoked, current smokers at baseline also showed greater yearly declines in Mini-Mental State Examination scores over the follow-up period (effect size (beta)=-0.13, 95% CI: -0.18, -0.08). Compared with former smokers, current smokers at baseline showed an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (relative risk=1.70, 95% CI: 1.25, 2.31) and an increased decline in cognitive abilities (effect size (beta)=-0.07, 95% CI: -0.11, -0.03), but the groups were not different regarding risk of vascular dementia or any dementia. The authors concluded that elderly smokers have increased risks of dementia and cognitive decline.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 26-12-2019
DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2018.1561421
Abstract: We investigate perception of, and responses to, facial expression authenticity for the first time in social anxiety, testing genuine and polite smiles. Experiment 1 (
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-03-2019
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-10-2006
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 2008
Abstract: Australians and Asians were asked to provide autobiographical memories of events they believe shaped who they are as in iduals (self-defining memories). The authors found the anticipated cultural differences for the memories' themes. Contrary to previous suggestions, however, elaboration of personal memories occurred equally for both groups and was dependent on the content of the memory. Australians provided more elaborate autonomous memories and Asians more elaborate relatedness memories. The findings indicate that elaborating personal memories may function to enhance the dominant self-focus.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-07-2015
DOI: 10.1111/DESC.12203
Abstract: Most developmental studies of face emotion processing show faces in isolation, in the absence of any broader context. Here we investigate two types of interactions between expression and threat contexts. First, in adults, following of another person's direction of social attention is increased when that person shows fear and the context requires vigilance for danger. We investigate whether this also occurs in children. Using a Posner-style eye-gaze cueing paradigm, we tested whether children would show greater gaze-cueing from fearful than happy expressions when the task was to be vigilant for possible dangerous animals. Testing across the 8-12-year-old age range, we found this fear priority effect was absent in the youngest children but developed to reach adult levels in the oldest children. However, even the oldest children were unable to sustain fear-prioritization when the onset of the target was delayed. Second, we addressed the development of 'threat bias' - namely faster identification of dangerous animals than safe animals - in the social context provided by expressive faces. In our non-anxious s les (i.e. with typical-population levels of anxiety), adults showed a threat bias regardless of the expression or looking direction of the just-seen cue face whereas 8-12-year-olds only showed a threat bias when the just-seen cue face displayed fear. Overall, the results argue that some, but not all, aspects of expression-context interactions are mature by 12 years of age.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-03-2014
DOI: 10.1111/SBR.12054
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 30-06-2016
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 02-2001
DOI: 10.1136/EBMH.4.1.22
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVINT.2015.10.014
Abstract: Within the FP7 EU project NanoValid a consortium of six partners jointly investigated the hazard of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) paying special attention to methodical aspects that are important for providing high-quality ecotoxicity data. Laboratories were supplied with the same original stock dispersion of AgNPs. All partners applied a harmonised procedure for storage and preparation of toxicity test suspensions. Altogether ten different toxicity assays with a range of environmentally relevant test species from different trophic levels were conducted in parallel to AgNP characterisation in the respective test media. The paper presents a comprehensive dataset of toxicity values and AgNP characteristics like hydrodynamic sizes of AgNP agglomerates and the share (%) of Ag(+)-species (the concentration of Ag(+)-species in relation to the total measured concentration of Ag). The studied AgNP preparation (20.4±6.8 nm primary size, mean total Ag concentration 41.14 mg/L, 46-68% of soluble Ag(+)-species in stock, 123.8±12.2 nm mean z-average value in dH2O) showed extreme toxicity to crustaceans Daphnia magna, algae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and zebrafish Danio rerio embryos (EC50<0.01 mg total Ag/L), was very toxic in the in vitro assay with rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss gut cells (EC50: 0.01-1 mg total Ag/L) toxic to bacteria Vibrio fischeri, protozoa Tetrahymena thermophila (EC50: 1-10 mg total Ag/L) and harmful to marine crustaceans Artemia franciscana (EC50: 10-100 mg total Ag/L). Along with AgNPs, also the toxicity of AgNO3 was analyzed. The toxicity data revealed the same hazard ranking for AgNPs and AgNO3 (i.e. the EC50 values were in the same order of magnitude) proving the importance of soluble Ag(+)-species analysis for predicting the hazard of AgNPs. The study clearly points to the need for harmonised procedures for the characterisation of NMs. Harmonised procedures should consider: (i) measuring the AgNP properties like hydrodynamic size and metal ions species in each toxicity test medium at a range of concentrations, and (ii) including soluble metal salt control both in toxicity testing as well as in Ag(+)-species measurements. The present study is among the first nanomaterial interlaboratory comparison studies with the aim to improve the hazard identification testing protocols.
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 12-2009
DOI: 10.1037/A0017391
Abstract: The aim in the current study was to investigate the effectiveness of an online, self-directed cognitive-behavioral therapy program (MoodGYM) in preventing and reducing the symptoms of anxiety and depression in an adolescent school-based population. A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with 30 schools (N = 1,477) from across Australia, with each school randomly allocated to the intervention or wait-list control condition. At postintervention and 6-month follow-up, participants in the intervention condition had significantly lower levels of anxiety than did participants in the wait-list control condition (Cohen's d = 0.15-0.25). The effects of the MoodGYM program on depressive symptoms were less strong, with only male participants in the intervention condition exhibiting significant reductions in depressive symptoms at postintervention and 6-month follow-up (Cohen's d = 0.27-0.43). Although small to moderate, the effects obtained in the current study provide support for the utility of universal prevention programs in schools. The effectiveness of booster sessions should be explored in future research.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 05-05-2015
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-2019
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2008
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-2004
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-1995
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-2006
DOI: 10.1080/16506070500303456
Abstract: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a cognitive behaviour therapy Internet program (MoodGYM) for depressive symptoms, attributional style, self-esteem and beliefs about depression, and on depression and depression-vulnerable status in male youth. A total of 78 boys age 15 and 16 years were allocated to either undertake MoodGYM or to standard personal development activities. Outcomes were measured before commencement, post-program and 16 weeks post-program. There were no significant between-group differences in change scores pre- to post- or pre- to follow-up using the intention to treat s le or for participants with post- and/or follow-up data. For boys completing 3 or more modules there were small relative benefits of MoodGYM for depressive symptoms (Effect Size, ES = 0.34), attributional style (ES = 0.17) and self-esteem (ES = 0.16) at post-program, although only the effect for self-esteem was sustained at follow-up. Both groups showed improvement in their beliefs about depression at follow-up, with the control group showing a moderate relative benefit (ES = 0.40). While the numbers are small, there was a reduction in the risk of being depressed in the MoodGYM group of 9% at post-treatment compared with a slightly increased risk for the control group. The risk of being classified as vulnerable to depression reduced by 17% in the MoodGYM group at post-treatment compared with no change in risk for the control group. These reductions in risk for the MoodGYM group were not sustained at follow-up. The limitations of the study highlight several important challenges for MoodGYM and other self-directed Internet cognitive behaviour therapy programs. These include how to ensure enough of the program is received and that people who could potentially benefit access the program and continue to remain engaged with it, and how to enhance the sustainability of any benefits.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-09-2020
DOI: 10.1007/S10578-019-00927-Z
Abstract: While maternal elaborative reminiscing has been found to be positively connected to children's emotion competencies, little is known about how the quality of maternal talk during mother-child talk about shared emotion events relates to emotional competencies in children with disruptive behavioural disorders. In this study of 68 four to eight year-olds with oppositional defiant disorder and 34 children without a diagnosis there was no evidence of differences between mothers of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) children and mothers of non-ODD children in their use of emotion descriptors and open-ended questions when discussing emotion events with their child. After controlling for child age, gender, expressive verbal abilities and number of conversational turns, the more the mothers used these devices the poorer child's ability to generate causes for emotions and the lower the child's emotion regulation ability. The association for child emotion regulation was moderated by child's diagnostic status with a notable relationship for ODD mother-child dyads but not for the other group. The implications of the findings for the conceptualisation of mother-child talk and its relationship to the development of emotion competencies in children with disruptive behavioural problems are discussed.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-12-2014
Abstract: Language impairments are associated with an increased likelihood of emotional difficulties later in childhood or adolescence, but little is known about the impact of LI on the growth of emotional problems. To examine the link between early language status (language impaired (LI), typical language (TL)) and the pattern and predictors of growth in emotional difficulties from school entry to the start of high school in a large cohort of Australian children. Unconditional latent growth curves of emotional difficulties were modelled across four waves (ages 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 and 10-11) using data from 1627 boys (280 LI, 1347 TL) and 1609 girls (159 LI, 1450 TL). Conditional latent growth curves estimated the main effects of LI on the severity and slope of growth in emotional problems. Simultaneous multiple regression tested the interaction between language status and the other predictors of the development of emotional symptoms. LI predicted a significant persistent elevation in severity of emotional difficulties across childhood among boys (d = 0.33-0.57) and girls (d = 0.25-0.39) but was not associated with their growth. LI moderated the association between hostile parenting and the severity of emotional symptoms for boys and the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) and temperamental sociability on the linear and quadratic growth of emotional problems for girls but had no impact on the influence of other predictors. There is no effect of LI on the characteristic rate and shape of growth in emotional symptoms across childhood although LI children maintain elevated severities of emotional difficulties. The associations between child reactivity, peer problems, prosocial behaviours, maternal distress and parental warmth and the development of emotional difficulties were the same for LI and TL children. LI enhanced the influence of hostile parenting on a higher severity of emotional symptoms for boys and of lower SES on a faster rate of development of emotional symptoms for girls. LI offset the usual protective effect of higher sociability and the usual vulnerability of higher social avoidance to a faster increase in emotional symptoms with age.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-10-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-019-12576-W
Abstract: The risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma is heritable, but robust common variants have yet to be identified. In a multi-ethnic cohort including over 30,000 PTSD cases and 170,000 controls we conduct a genome-wide association study of PTSD. We demonstrate SNP-based heritability estimates of 5–20%, varying by sex. Three genome-wide significant loci are identified, 2 in European and 1 in African-ancestry analyses. Analyses stratified by sex implicate 3 additional loci in men. Along with other novel genes and non-coding RNAs, a Parkinson’s disease gene involved in dopamine regulation, PARK2 , is associated with PTSD. Finally, we demonstrate that polygenic risk for PTSD is significantly predictive of re-experiencing symptoms in the Million Veteran Program dataset, although specific loci did not replicate. These results demonstrate the role of genetic variation in the biology of risk for PTSD and highlight the necessity of conducting sex-stratified analyses and expanding GWAS beyond European ancestry populations.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-06-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-019-10461-0
Abstract: Epigenetic processes, including DNA methylation (DNAm), are among the mechanisms allowing integration of genetic and environmental factors to shape cellular function. While many studies have investigated either environmental or genetic contributions to DNAm, few have assessed their integrated effects. Here we examine the relative contributions of prenatal environmental factors and genotype on DNA methylation in neonatal blood at variably methylated regions (VMRs) in 4 independent cohorts (overall n = 2365). We use Akaike’s information criterion to test which factors best explain variability of methylation in the cohort-specific VMRs: several prenatal environmental factors (E), genotypes in cis (G), or their additive (G + E) or interaction (GxE) effects. Genetic and environmental factors in combination best explain DNAm at the majority of VMRs. The CpGs best explained by either G, G + E or GxE are functionally distinct. The enrichment of genetic variants from GxE models in GWAS for complex disorders supports their importance for disease risk.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 14-12-2011
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-09-2021
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-2009
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-03-2016
DOI: 10.1111/BJOP.12188
Abstract: This study distinguished between different subclusters of autistic traits in the general population and examined the relationships between these subclusters, looking at the eyes of faces, and the ability to recognize facial identity. Using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) measure in a university-recruited s le, we separate the social aspects of autistic traits (i.e., those related to communication and social interaction AQ-Social) from the non-social aspects, particularly attention-to-detail (AQ-Attention). We provide the first evidence that these social and non-social aspects are associated differentially with looking at eyes: While AQ-Social showed the commonly assumed tendency towards reduced looking at eyes, AQ-Attention was associated with increased looking at eyes. We also report that higher attention-to-detail (AQ-Attention) was then indirectly related to improved face recognition, mediated by increased number of fixations to the eyes during face learning. Higher levels of socially relevant autistic traits (AQ-Social) trended in the opposite direction towards being related to poorer face recognition (significantly so in females on the Cambridge Face Memory Test). There was no evidence of any mediated relationship between AQ-Social and face recognition via reduced looking at the eyes. These different effects of AQ-Attention and AQ-Social suggest face-processing studies in Autism Spectrum Disorder might similarly benefit from considering symptom subclusters. Additionally, concerning mechanisms of face recognition, our results support the view that more looking at eyes predicts better face memory.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 04-2011
DOI: 10.3109/00048674.2010.534072
Abstract: Objective: Despite high demand for anticipatory planning tools in mental health there is little Australian research about their implementation. This study examines the processes and outcomes of the introduction of structured mental health advanced agreements in the Australian Capital Territory. Method: Thirty-three patients with serious mental illness collaborated with a key clinician to develop an advanced agreement. Patients and clinicians were provided with appropriate education, workbooks and materials. The process and outcomes associated with developing and completing an agreement were evaluated with patient and clinician interviews and self-report measures. Results: The process was strongly accepted by the patients with only 16% discontinuing for reasons related to the advanced agreement. Participants strongly endorsed benefits both to themselves and to the management of patients’ illnesses. Service level impediments, particularly clinician acceptance, limited treatment options, and the lack of legal force of the agreement were identified. Conclusions: When supported, mental health patients can work collaboratively with clinicians to produce anticipatory treatment requests which are beneficial, feasible and consistent with good care. Implementation of anticipatory planning in mental health will require service-level changes to promote clinician acceptance and to embed practices which facilitate these tools as part of routine care.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 03-1982
DOI: 10.3109/00048678209159469
Abstract: One hundred and seventy-eight subjects completed a questionnaire regarding ECT. The s le comprised three groups of approximately equal size: a group of patients who had received ECT, a group of visitors to ECT-treated psychiatric patients, and a group of visitors to non-ECT-treated psychiatric patients. Misconceptions about ECT were common throughout, particularly in the young, those giving films and television as a source of information and those visiting patients not receiving ECT. Fewer misconceptions occurred among those who were more highly educated or had experience of ECT either personally or via a visited friend or relative. Less fear of the procedure was expressed by those given the treatment and those who had the treatment explained to them by a doctor. Over half of the patient group denied having had ECT explained to them.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-02-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUBIOREV.2012.08.006
Abstract: The present meta-analysis aimed to clarify whether deficits in emotion recognition in psychopathy are restricted to certain emotions and modalities or whether they are more pervasive. We also attempted to assess the influence of other important variables: age, and the affective factor of psychopathy. A systematic search of electronic databases and a subsequent manual search identified 26 studies that included 29 experiments (N = 1376) involving six emotion categories (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise) across three modalities (facial, vocal, postural). Meta-analyses found evidence of pervasive impairments across modalities (facial and vocal) with significant deficits evident for several emotions (i.e., not only fear and sadness) in both adults and children/adolescents. These results are consistent with recent theorizing that the amygdala, which is believed to be dysfunctional in psychopathy, has a broad role in emotion processing. We discuss limitations of the available data that restrict the ability of meta-analysis to consider the influence of age and separate the sub-factors of psychopathy, highlighting important directions for future research.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.JBTEP.2011.12.003
Abstract: Recent cognitive models propose that intrusive trauma memories arise and persist because high levels of emotional arousal triggered by the trauma disrupt conceptual processing of elements of the event, while enhancing sensory erceptual processing. A trauma film analogue design was used to investigate if the predicted facilitating effects on intrusions from inhibiting conceptual processing and predicted attenuating effects on intrusions from inhibiting sensory processing are moderated by in idual differences in emotionality. One hundred and five non-clinical participants viewed a traumatic film while undertaking a conceptual interference task, a sensory interference task, or no interference task. Participants recorded the frequency and intensity of intrusions over the following week. There was no facilitating effect for the conceptual interference task compared to no interference task. A significant attenuation of the frequency of intrusions was evident for those undertaking sensory interference (ŋ(2) = .04). This effect, however, was only present for those with high trait anxiety (d = .82) and not for those with low trait anxiety (d = .08). Relative to high trait anxious controls, high anxious participants who undertook sensory interference also reported lower intensity of intrusions (d = .66). This is the first trauma film analogue study to show that the attenuating effect of concurrent sensory erceptual processing on the frequency and intensity of subsequent intrusions is evident only for people with high trait anxiety. The results have implications for conceptual models of intrusion development and for their application to the prevention of post traumatic distress.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 05-2009
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 12-05-2005
DOI: 10.1017/S095457940505025X
Abstract: This study compared the structure and quality of emotion language in adolescents with externalizing disorders (N = 21), internalizing disorders (N = 18), and without a behavioral or emotional disorder (N = 16). Emotion language was elicited in response to vignette material prototypical for anger/sadness and fear, to autobiographical experiences, and to an actual emotional challenge. The findings reveal different emphases in the emotion language of internalizing and externalizing youth rather than a relative weakness for externalizing adolescents. Overall, clinical adolescents used fewer emotion terms that were semantically specific for anger, sad, or fear than typical adolescents. The results also show that emotion language is affected differentially for externalizing and internalizing adolescents depending on the emotion domain. Internalizing youth's emotion language to anger/sad events used inner-directed terms, situational references, and reduced intensity while their representation of emotions in response to salient threatening material was dominated by terms with a cognitive focus. Externalizing adolescents' emotion language responses to anger/sad events were more outer directed and intense, and their emotion language in a salient threat situation more orientated to direct affective terms. The results suggest that examining emotion language for specific emotion domains in adolescents with specific disorders will better clarify the role of emotion language in the regulation of emotions than approaches that globalize emotion language competencies or deficits.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-10-2004
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 08-2014
DOI: 10.1037/A0037326
Abstract: Increased physiological responsiveness to trauma memories is common in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is related to higher felt memory intrusiveness. Physiological reactivity to remembering of distressing personal events in depression and its association with memory quality have not been examined. Heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC) reactivity during script-driven recall were assessed in participants with a depressive episode without PTSD (n = 24), participants with PTSD (n = 24), and nondisordered controls (n = 24). Participants reported on event impact and memory quality. PTSD participants showed higher HR and SC reactivity during trauma recall compared with recall of other events and compared with depressed participants for HR and SC reactivity and compared with nondisordered participants for HR reactivity. Although reactivity between depressed and nondisordered participants was not significantly different, the findings indicated a consistent trend toward an attenuation of reactivity to memories of events subjectively associated with symptom onset for those with depression. There was no evidence that the presence of depression impacted the increased physiological responsiveness observed in PTSD. Higher avoidance was associated with lower HR reactivity to the event memory for depressed participants, whereas higher avoidance was associated with higher HR reactivity to the trauma memory for PTSD participants. Trauma remembering in PTSD is distinctive from comparable remembering in depression in triggering high physiological reactivity. Avoidance of remembering the event predicts attenuated physiological reactivity to critical event recall in depression.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 06-2008
DOI: 10.1375/BECH.25.2.55
Abstract: This study investigated whether in idual differences in obsessive-compulsive symptoms and in thought–action fusion are related to theory of mind abilities. One hundred and ninety-two adult participants completed self-reports of obsessive–compulsive symptoms (OCI-R), thought–action fusion (TAF), private self-consciousness (PSC) and self-reflectiveness (SR) as mentalising abilities, and anxiety and depression. A nonintrospective method examining participants' implicit structure of their lexicon for ‘knowing’ was used to assess theory of mind. Private self-conciousness and SR added to the prediction of OCD symptoms independently of TAF and depression but did not mediate the relationship between TAF and OCD symptoms. Participants high in thought–action fusion gave a greater emphasis to the certainty dimension of the mental lexicon and placed lesser importance on the source of information dimension than those low in TAF. Our results provide preliminary evidence of a relationship between theory of mind and thought–action fusion. People disposed to thought–action fusion are more likely to make a significance judgment about ‘knowing’ based on the degree of certainty than on reference to the source of knowledge. Identifying disruptions to theory of mind abilities in OCD provides links to solid theory and evidence about metacognitive development and may help integrate cognitive processing and cognitive appraisal models of OCD.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-01-2021
DOI: 10.1002/JTS.22643
Abstract: Thompson‐Hollands et al.’s (2020) commentary on our systematic review of exposure‐based writing therapies for subthreshold and clinical posttraumatic stress symptoms (Dawson et al., 2020) emphasizes important questions about the impact of heterogeneity in drawing inferences from evidence reviews. In this reply, we discuss (a) our rationale for undertaking a systematic review that was broad rather than narrow in scope and (b) provide clarifications on how heterogeneity was considered in the meta‐analyses that were conducted. We also strongly agree with Thompson‐Hollands et al.’s recommendation that future research should focus on better understanding the mechanisms by which exposure‐based writing therapies help reduce posttraumatic stress symptoms.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 24-07-2019
Abstract: This review examines the evidence from head-to-head randomised controlled trials addressing whether the efficacy of cognitive-behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorders in adults delivered by computer or online (computer- and Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy) is not inferior to in-person cognitive-behavioural therapy for reducing levels of symptoms and producing clinically significant gains at post-treatment and at follow-up. A supplementary aim is to examine the evidence for severity as a moderator of the relative efficacy of computer- and Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy and in-person cognitive-behavioural therapy. PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase and Cochrane database of randomised trials were searched for randomised controlled trials of cognitive-behavioural therapy for these disorders with at least an in-person cognitive-behavioural therapy and Internet or computer cognitive-behavioural therapy arm. A total of 14 randomised controlled trials (9 Internet, 5 computer) of cognitive-behavioural therapy for social anxiety disorder, panic disorder and specific phobia and 3 reports of effect moderators were included. One study showed a low risk of bias when assessed against risk of bias criteria for non-inferiority trials. The remaining studies were assessed as high or unclear risk of bias. One study found that Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy was superior and non-inferior at post-treatment and follow-up to group in-person cognitive-behavioural therapy for social anxiety disorder. One study of Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy for panic disorder showed non-inferiority to in idual in-person cognitive-behavioural therapy for responder status at post-treatment and one of Internet cognitive-behavioural therapy for panic disorder for symptom severity at follow-up. Other comparisons (22 Internet, 13 computer) and for estimates pooled for Internet cognitive-behavioural therapy for social anxiety disorder, Internet cognitive-behavioural therapy for panic disorder and computer-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy studies did not support non-inferiority. Evidence of effect moderation by severity and co-morbidity was mixed. There is limited evidence from randomised controlled trials which supports claims that computer- or Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders is not inferior to in-person delivery. Randomised controlled trials properly designed to test non-inferiority are needed before conclusions about the relative benefits of in-person and Internet- and computer-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy can be made. CRD420180961655-6
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2007
DOI: 10.1002/ACP.1294
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 07-2015
DOI: 10.1037/PER0000108
Abstract: Three theoretical explanations for the affective facet of psychopathy were tested in in iduals with high levels of callous unemotional (CU) traits. Theory 1 (Blair) proposes specific difficulties in processing others' distress (particularly fear). Theory 2 (Dadds) argues for lack of attention to the eyes of faces. Theory 3 (Newman) proposes enhanced selective attention. The theories make contrasting predictions about how CU traits would affect cueing of attention from eye-gaze direction in distressed (i.e., fearful) faces eye-gaze direction in nondistressed (i.e., happy, neutral) faces and nonsocial stimuli (arrows). High CU adults (n = 33) showed reduced attentional cueing compared with low CU adults (n = 75) equally across all conditions (eye-gaze in distressed and nondistressed faces, arrows). The high CU group's ability to suppress following of eye-gaze emerged with practice while the low CU group showed no such reduction in gaze-cueing with practice. Overall accuracy and RTs were not different for the low and high CU groups indicating equivalent task engagement. Results support an enhanced selective attention account-consistent with Newman and colleagues' Response Modulation Hypothesis--in which high CU in iduals are able to suppress goal-irrelevant social and nonsocial information. The current study also provides novel evidence regarding the nature of gaze-following by tracking practice effects across blocks. While supporting the common assumption that following of gaze is typically mandatory, the results also imply this can be modified by in idual differences in personality.
No related grants have been discovered for Richard O'Kearney.