Affect Labeling to Facilitate Inhibitory Learning: Clinical Considerations

Mindfulness, subjective, and psychological well-being: A comparative analysis of FFMQ and MAAS measures

This study investigates the relationships of mindfulness with subjective well-being and psychological well-being through the mediating role of psychological capital. It also compares the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) in relation to these outcomes. Using a randomized controlled design, 185 participants from Prolific completed a brief two-week mindfulness intervention, with one pre- and two post-intervention measures. While the intervention effects were limited, the findings reveal that mindfulness is positively and similarly associated with both SWB and PWB, with stronger indirect links to PWB via PsyCap. While both measures of mindfulness had similar relationships with all outcomes, the multidimensional FFMQ offered additional insights, identifying the "describing" facet as particularly influential for both SWB and PWB, informing new potential paths for theorizing and practice.

Negative emotion differentiation buffers against intergenerational risk for social anxiety in at-risk adolescent girls

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) tends to emerge during adolescence and is more prevalent among those assigned female at birth. Parental social anxiety confers risk for adolescent SAD but less is known regarding protective factors. Research suggests that emotion differentiation (the ability to discriminate between similarly valenced emotions, e.g., fear vs. sadness vs. anger) may be protective, as it is associated with adaptive psychosocial outcomes. However, little work has examined how emotion differentiation influences the development of SAD, particularly during periods of higher risk such as adolescence. In a longitudinal study of adolescent girls at high temperamental risk for SAD (aged 11-14-years; n=114), we tested whether emotion differentiation (derived using negative and positive emotion ratings from 16-day ecological momentary assessments at baseline) moderated the relationship between parental and adolescent social anxiety symptoms across two years. Results revealed significant moderation by negative (but not positive) emotion differentiation (p=.042): Baseline parental social anxiety was positively associated with adolescent social anxiety symptoms at two-year follow-up but only at lower (vs. higher) levels of emotion differentiation, even after controlling for baseline depressive symptoms. Exploratory analyses showed that these effects were unique to avoidance of social situations (p=.014). Findings highlight the protective effects of emotion differentiation and have important clinical implications for understanding and treating SAD.

Optimizing Long-term Outcomes of Exposure for Chronic Primary Pain from the Lens of Learning Theory

Exposure in vivo is a theory-driven and widely used treatment to tackle functional disability in people with chronic primary pain. Exposure is quite effective; yet, in line with exposure outcomes for anxiety disorders, a number of patients may not profit from it, or relapse. In this focus article, we critically reflect on the current exposure protocols in chronic primary pain, and provide recommendations on how to optimize them. We propose several adaptations that are expected to strengthen inhibitory learning and/or retrieval of the extinction memory, thus likely decreasing relapse. We summarize the limited, but emerging experimental data in the pain domain, and draw parallels with experimental evidence in the anxiety literature. Our reflections and suggestions pertain to the use of the fear hierarchy, reassurance, positive psychology interventions, exposure with a range of stimuli and within different contexts, and the use of safety behaviors during treatment, as well as associating the fear-inducing stimuli with novel outcomes. In addition, we reflect on the importance of specifically tackling (the return of) pain-related avoidance behavior with techniques such as disentangling fear from avoidance and reinforcing approach behaviors. Finally, we discuss challenges in the clinical application of exposure to improve functioning in chronic primary pain and possible avenues for future research. Perspectives: Inspired by recent advances in learning theory and its applications on the treatment of anxiety disorders, we reflect on the delivery of exposure treatment for chronic primary pain and propose strategies to improve its long-term outcomes.