History of abuse and risky sex among substance users: The role of rejection sensitivity and the need to belong

Ecological validity of common behavioral decision making tasks: evidence across two samples

BACKGROUND

Clinicians and scholars routinely use behavioral decision tasks to assess real-world decision making capabilities. However, many common behavioral decision making tasks lack data on the extent to which they predict real-world risky behaviors. Across two pre-registered studies, and two timepoints, we assessed decision making abilities using common behavioral tasks and predicted participants' real-world risky decision making from task performance.

METHOD

In Study 1, 918 Mechanical Turk (MTurk) workers completed three decision making tasks in addition to assessments of real-world risk behavior: preventive health behaviors, COVID-19 vaccination status, and virtual social distancing task performance. In Study 2, 221 college student participants completed the Study 1 tasks plus additional assessments of decision making and real world risk and protective behaviors.

RESULTS

Across both studies, the selected behavioral decision tasks rarely predicted real world behavior and, when they did, the relationship was weak at best.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that these behavioral decision making tasks may not be good predictors of real world risky behavior at present, with some evidence that the specificity of the behavior being assessed matters (i.e. the closer the task was to the specific behavior being predicted), calling for additional ecological validity research, with a greater variety of tasks in the future.

Examining the Roles of Prior Victimization, Perpetrator Identity and the Correlates of Female Rape Myth Acceptance Among Indian Females

This research attempts to address a widely under-explained phenomenon of female rape myth acceptance (RMA) among the female population. A total number of 500 literate women from India with a mean age of 28.89 years were selected to examine the different determinants of their RMA. The research explored the important correlates of RMA among women, where the stepwise regression model revealed the significant impact of sexual desires, rejection sensitivity, loneliness, and neuroticism/emotional stability on their RMA. This further implied that women high on these four constructs run a 17.7% chance of endorsing female rape myths. The model eliminated the construct of online pornography usage, owing to its non-significant impact on RMA. Further, it was revealed that the history of prior victimization had a significant effect on the rape myths endorsed by the women. The study also reflected on the identity of the perpetrators of the women with a prior victimization history, where 55.43% reported it was perpetrated by a "known" person in their last experienced assault (and 44.57% "stranger" perpetrator). Whereas most women were victimized by "known" perpetrators, there was no significant difference in the sample's RMA, between the perpetrator identity groups (known and stranger perpetrators). The research concretely adds novel knowledge on identifying and predicting the female rape supportive attitudes among females.

Does Self-Silencing Behavior Mediate the Relation Between Rejection Sensitivity and Sexual Violence Victimization?

Previous research reveals that rejection sensitivity is associated with both sexual violence victimization and self-silencing behavior, yet the association among these variables has not been examined. As the foundation for this study, we propose a theoretical model that integrates these constructs. Using mediational analyses with bootstrapping, the results from a sample of 241 heterosexual college women revealed that consistent with the proposed model, self-silencing mediated the link between rejection sensitivity and reports of unwanted sexual contact and rape. The implications of the findings for the prevention of victimization/revictimization and interventions with victimized women are discussed.

The Implicit Sexual Risk Assessment: A Pilot Study of a Novel Behavioral Task

Risky sexual behaviors are a significant public health concern. Laboratory experiments are necessary to identify causal determinants of risky sexual behavior. However, experiments often rely on analogue sexual risk behavior, assessed by self-reported intentions in response to a sexual scenario. Using behavioral tasks to assess risk taking may be a valuable addition to self-reported intention outcome measures. The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) is a commonly used measure of general risk-taking. However, BART's associations with sexual risk-taking have been mixed. In this pilot study, we developed a task akin to the BART, the Implicit Sexual Risk Assessment (ISRA), which incorporates sexual stimuli. We hypothesized sexual arousal would increase risk taking on ISRA relative to BART. Using a within-persons experimental design, 79 participants (52% women, mean age = 19.5 (SD = 1.42)) were randomized to condition (i.e., arousal versus neutral) and completed the BART and ISRA tasks. As expected, sexual arousal was associated with increased risk-taking (i.e., adjusted pumps) on ISRA relative to BART. However, this was unexpectedly the result of decreased pumps on BART instead of increased pumps on ISRA. Neither BART nor ISRA were significantly associated with sexual risk behavior or intentions. Null findings are qualified by the fact that sexual arousal was not significantly associated with sexual risk intentions.

Social Disconnection as a Pathway to Sexual Risk Behavior Among Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization is a strong predictor of women's sexual risk behavior. Social disconnection may be central to understanding this association. In a sample of 204 IPV victims, we (a) evaluated the extent to which social disconnection underlies the association between IPV severity and sexual risk behavior, and (b) tested the idea that the association between social disconnection and sexual risk behavior is stronger among women without alternative means to social connection (i.e., lack close friendships). The indirect effect of physical and sexual IPV, respectively, on sexual risk behavior via social disconnection was significant. The number of close friends women had moderated the association between social disconnection and sexual risk behavior, such that having multiple close friendships buffered the effects of social disconnection.

Effect of behavioral inhibition system and childhood emotional neglect on serotonergic activity, negative affect, and rejection sensitivity in non-clinical adults

Introduction

Behavioral inhibition system (BIS) has a strong genetic basis, and emotional neglect (EN) in childhood is one of many environmental experiences that can affect individuals. This study aimed to examine the effects and interaction between BIS and EN on central serotonergic activity and other negative affect and cognition.

Methods

A total of 153 non-clinical volunteers (54 men and 99 women; average age, 27.72 years, standard deviation = 6.40) were included in the analyses. The Behavioral Inhibition System scale, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and negative affect and cognition (Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire) were measured. As a biomarker of central serotonergic activity, the loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials was measured.

Results

High EN was associated with higher loudness dependence of auditory evoked potential (LDAEP) levels and low EN was associated with lower LDAEP levels in high BIS people only. People with high EN people showed significantly higher levels of depression and state anxiety than did those with low EN. Moreover, of people with low BIS, those who had more EN experience had higher levels of rejection sensitivity than did those with less EN experience, while people with high BIS did not show different patterns of rejection sensitivity regardless of the difference of EN.

Conclusions

This study revealed different effects on physiological (loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials), intrapersonal (depression and state anxiety), and interpersonal aspects (rejection sensitivity) based on the interaction of BIS and EN. Our results suggest that the physiological and interpersonal aspects, but not the intrapersonal aspect, are significantly influenced by the interactive effect of BIS and EN.

Differential relationships of PTSD and childhood trauma with the course of substance use disorders

A large body of research documents the link between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the course of Substance Use Disorders (SUD). Similar relationships have been reported between Childhood Trauma (CT) and the course of illness in patients with SUD even in the absence of PTSD, but few studies have examined differential effects of PTSD and CT (independent of PTSD) in this population. We used the International Diagnostic Checklist (IDCL) and the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) to diagnose PTSD in a sample of patients with SUD (N = 459). The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the European Addiction Severity Index (EuropASI) were administered to assess childhood trauma and addiction related problems including comorbid psychopathological symptoms. The sample was divided into three groups: patients with experiences of CT and PTSD (CT-PTSD), experiences of CT without PTSD (CT-only), and neither experiences of CT nor PTSD (No trauma) to examine their differential associations with the course and severity of SUD. Patients of both the CT-PTSD (n = 95) and the CT-only group (n = 134) reported significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression as well as more suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts during their lifetime than the No trauma group (n = 209). Regarding most variables a graded association became apparent, with the highest level of symptoms in the CT-PTSD group, an intermediate level in the CT-only group and the lowest level in the No trauma group. The CT-PTSD group also differed in almost all substance use variables significantly from the No trauma group, including a younger age at first use of alcohol and cannabis, more cannabis use in the last month, and more lifetime drug overdoses. Our results confirm the relationships of both CT and PTSD with psychiatric symptoms in patients with SUD. Thus, it seems important to include both domains into the routine assessment of SUD patients. Specific treatments for comorbid PTSD but also for other consequences of childhood trauma should be integrated into SUD treatment programs.

Another look at impulsivity: Could impulsive behavior be strategic?

In the present article, we propose that impulsive behavior may be a response to certain needs or goals that people have in the moment and could therefore be strategic. We review briefly the dominant approaches and findings in the impulsivity literature. We then examine different behaviors that are typically considered impulsive such as delay discounting, risky sexual behavior, risk taking in the context of emotion dysregulation, and adolescent risk behavior and present evidence suggesting that they follow the general principles of goal pursuit. Specifically, they are (a) enacted when perceived as relevant to the individual's motivation; (b) less likely when alternative means to fulfill these goals are available; and (c) supported rather than reduced by sufficient executive control, a hallmark of goal pursuit. We do not argue that there is no impulsive behavior. Rather, we suggest that such behavior may represent individuals' attempts to fulfill current motivations or needs. This approach emphasizes the functionality and dynamism of the behavior, it provides a framework to explain the inconsistencies in the literature, it helps us to move away from pathologizing or moralizing the behavior, and it provides insights about potential strategies to mitigate the negative consequences of acting impulsively.

Young Women's Perspectives of Their Adolescent Treatment Programs: A Qualitative Study

The perspectives of at-risk adolescent clients can play an important role in informing treatment services. The current study examines qualitative interview data from 15 young women with histories of maltreatment. Using a semi-structured qualitative interview approach, we asked the women to think retrospectively about their treatment experiences as adolescent girls. Results highlight the need for providing adolescent girls with reliable and practical information about risky sexual behavior and drug use from relatable and trustworthy helping professionals. We discuss strategies for developing and maintaining trust and delivering specific content.

When do traumatic experiences alter risk-taking behavior? A machine learning analysis of reports from refugees

Exposure to traumatic stressors and subsequent trauma-related mental changes may alter a person's risk-taking behavior. It is unclear whether this relationship depends on the specific types of traumatic experiences. Moreover, the association has never been tested in displaced individuals with substantial levels of traumatic experiences. The present study assessed risk-taking behavior in 56 displaced individuals by means of the balloon analogue risk task (BART). Exposure to traumatic events, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression were assessed by means of semi-structured interviews. Using a novel statistical approach (stochastic gradient boosting machines), we analyzed predictors of risk-taking behavior. Exposure to organized violence was associated with less risk-taking, as indicated by fewer adjusted pumps in the BART, as was the reported experience of physical abuse and neglect, emotional abuse, and peer violence in childhood. However, civil traumatic stressors, as well as other events during childhood were associated with lower risk taking. This suggests that the association between global risk-taking behavior and exposure to traumatic stress depends on the particular type of the stressors that have been experienced.

The Effect of Abuse History on Adolescent Patients with Feeding and Eating Disorders Treated through Psychodynamic Therapy: Comorbidities and Outcome

OBJECTIVES

The first aim of our study was to compare the characteristics and comorbidities of patients with eating disorders between those who suffered from a childhood abuse and those who did not. Our second aim was to analyze the differences in the outcome of the psychodynamic therapy between abused and not abused patients.

METHODS

Twenty-six adolescent patients with eating disorders were assessed. Adolescent were evaluated by a single expert psychiatrist by checklists and questionnaires: EDI 3, SCL 90, BIS11, Dissociative Experiences Scale, Global Assessment of Functioning, SCID II, and CTQ-Self control (SF). According to the results of CTQ-SF (cut-off ≥ 8), patients were divided into two groups: those who had experienced a history of abuse and those who had not. They underwent a psychodynamic psychotherapy and were assessed again after 12 months.

RESULTS

Eleven patients (42.3%) had a history of abuse according to CTQ score. No significant differences were found in abused and not abused patients in their demographic, clinical, and comorbid characteristics (sex, age, type of eating disorder, comorbid impulse control, personality, and addictive disorders). Abused patients showed a significantly higher score in many scale. The psychotherapeutic intervention in patients with a history of abuse resulted only in a significant decrease in symptom checklist-90 (SCL-90) psychoticism dimension (p < 0.05), whereas in patients with no history of abuse a significant decrease was found for SCL-90 somatization, obsessive-compulsive and phobic anxiety dimensions, the SCL-90 Global Severity Index, the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 interceptive deficits, and the dissociative experience scale.

CONCLUSION

Regarding the first aim of our study, we proved that history of abuse is not significantly related to patient comorbidities. Regarding our second aim, history of abuse was related to patient improvement only for psychotic symptoms; whereas patients who had not experienced an abuse improved in a variety of symptoms. Thus, abuse history can be considered as a negative prognostic factor for patients with eating disorders undergoing dynamic psychotherapy. However, this psychotherapy may have a role in preventing early psychotic disorders in patients with and without an history of abuse.